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www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 6 No. 200 CITY EDITION 28 Pages Rs. 8.00 ●
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Pakistan fuelling J&K unrest: Jaitley
BRIEFLY Chief of cow vigilantes arrested in U.P. NEW DELHI: In a crackdown on
self-styled cow vigilantes, the Punjab police have arrested Gau Raksha Dal chief Satish Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, a fortnight after he was booked for sodomy, rioting and extortion. The police also arrested two other accused from Vrindavan.
쐍 NEWS | PAGE 12
TAKING OFF: BJP president Amit Shah at the launch of Tiranga Yatra in Mangaluru on Sunday. — PHOTO: H.S. MANJUNATH
Isolate those speaking against nation: Shah RAGHAVA M MANGALURU: In the backdrop of
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the controversy over an Amnesty International India (AII) event in Bengaluru, where “anti-national” slogans were allegedly raised, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Sunday called upon people to take on those making “anti-national comments”. Speaking at the Mangaluru University as part of BJP’s ‘Tiranga Yatra’ and ’Balidana Smarane’ (honouring martyrs) campaign here, Mr. Shah said “Agar koyi prayas karta hai to mai is pavitr manchh se Bharat samaj ko avahan karta hoon jo aise
gine- chune hai, unko alag thalag kardijiye. (If anybody attempts to speak against the nation, I call upon countrymen from this pious stage to isolate them).” Invokes Constitution Mr. Shah claimed it had now become a fashion for persons and organisations to question nationalism by invoking their right to freedom of expression. He said these organisations should remember that this right to freedom of expression was sourced from the Constitution of which nationalism forms the core.
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‘Stone-throwing protesters are aggressors out to divide country’
Pellet guns: Govt. weighs alternative
14% of victims are aged below 15
VIJAITA SINGH
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: As the unrest in the
PEERZADA ASHIQ
Kashmir Valley continues, a committee constituted by the Home Ministry to look for alternatives to pellet guns used against stone-pelting protesters is exploring options such as enhancing the intensity of teargas used in shells and using chilli powder and rubber bullets, a senior official said. The sevenmember committee was constituted on July 26 and is expected to submit its report in two months. The committee has met five times and most members had one major concern — any alternative should not defeat the “primary purpose” of safeguarding the security forces. PAGE 12
SRINAGAR: Eight-year-old Junaid Ahmad on Sunday became the latest victim of ‘targeted fire’ when he was shot at from close range by a pellet gun. He sustained extensive injuries to his chest, with pellets penetrating through to his lungs. “There are multiple pellet injuries in the chest but he is showing signs of improvement,” said a doctor at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital. Junaid is the latest to figure in the grim statistics that show 14 per cent of those injured by pellets since July 9 are below the age of 15. The hospital is overwhelmed with cases of pellet injuries. It received 933 pellet cases till the first week of August. PAGE 12
ian unrest showing no signs of let-up. Though he termed the situation “serious”, he dropped no hints at any concession to protesters or separatists. “…Pakistan was created only to divide India. It started a proxy war against us in the 1990s. During 2008 and 2010, they gave the new face of stone-pelting to their proxy war and that is what is happening in the Valley this time also,” Mr. Jaitley said.
left one youth dead and 88 civilians injured in north and south Kashmir as civilian unrest entered the 44th day on Sunday. Irfan Ahmad died after a tear-gas shell hit him in the chest at Nowhatta in Srinagar. “The youth was brought in a critical condition. He died of his injury,” Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital medical superintendent Nazir Chowdhary said.
One killed, 88 injured Meanwhile, clashes and the action by security forces
쐍 3 INFILTRATORS KILLED,
SRINAGAR: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday blamed Pakistan for the current unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and termed stonethrowing protesters as “aggressors out to divide the country.” “Those advocating the cause of stone-throwers are playing petty politics. Militancy and stone-pelting need to be dealt with firmly, and no laxity should be shown in dealing with such situations,” he said, during a speech in Samba district of Jammu in memory of Premnath Dogra.
‘Not satyagrahis’ Describing the stonethrowing protesters as “aggressors”, Mr. Jaitley said: “They are not satyagrahis but those who target the police and security forces. However, people with limited vision are not able to see this side. Some people… talk about human rights in Kashmir. Have they ever visited the Valley and seen those security men who have been injured while performing their duty?” Mr. Jaitley accused Pakis-
RALLYING POINT: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with J&K Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh at the Tiranga Yatra at Smailpur in Bari Brahmana, Jammu, on Sunday. — PHOTO: PTI
“Some talk about human rights in Kashmir. Have they seen the security men hurt in action?” tan of fuelling stone-throwing incidents in the Valley. “Pakistan is attacking India’s integrity in a new way, having failed to snatch the State by waging wars and fuelling trouble ever since the Partition in 1947,” he said. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three prior-
ities were “no compromise on the security and integrity of the country and no compromise with the people who indulge in violence. Two, Jammu and Kashmir has faced violence and wars, it needs development, which was denied for the past 60 years by the National Conference and Congress governments. Three, Jammu, the support base of the BJP, needs additional attention.” Mr. Jaitley is the second Union Minister to visit the State, after Home Minister Rajnath Singh, with the civil-
SAYS ARMY; UNREST CONTINUES | PAGE 12
JNU student booked for raping Ph.D scholar STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: An All India Stu-
dents’ Association activist at Jawaharlal Nehru University here has been booked for allegedly drugging and raping a 28-year-old research scholar in his university hostel room on Saturday. Additional Deputy Com-
missioner of Police-I (South) Nupur Prasad said the victim approached the police on Sunday and stated that she had been raped by one Anmol Ratan. The victim is in the first year of her Ph.D. According to Ms Prasad, the accused had taken the victim to his room on the pretext of giving
her a movie CD; there he gave her a spiked drink and assaulted her. Ms. Prasad said following the assault the accused had refused to let the victim leave, threatening her with consequences if she revealed the incident to anyone. However, on Sunday the victim reported the incident
to the police. “On the basis of statement of complainant, a case under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered and further investigation is in progress,” said Ms. Prasad. Anmol has been expelled from the primary membership of AISA.
As heady profits dry up, milk tastes bitter in dry Bihar AMARNATH TEWARY PATNA: Milk may build strong bones and teeth, but it doesn’t feed profits as fast as liquor does. So post-prohibition, a large number of liquor shops in Bihar have turned not to the white revolution, but to icecream, snacks and other hot favourites. In April, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had declared that those running liquor shops could turn them into milk parlours under Bihar State Milk Co-operative Federation Ltd. (COMFED), which sells ‘Sudha’ brand products. Four months later, though, there are few takers. The hangover of liquor profits is strong, and they are hoping for something “positive” to happen on prohibition any day now. Across the State, there were about 6,000 outlets selling liquor, with Patna accounting for 70. Bhupesh Kishore Sharma, who ran Rim-Jhim Wine Shop at Kankarbagh Colony Mor for over 20 years, laments the loss. Now his shop is ‘RimJhim Snax and Ice-cream Parlour’. “The CM’s ofer to open Sudha milk parlours was like asking someone earning over a lakh of rupees a month to now accept a salary of Rs. 2,000,” says Mr. Sharma.At the busy RBlock, outside a prominent hotel, two popular watering holes have now turned into icecream, food and soft drink outlets. Dhananjay Kumar Singh, the proprietor of ‘Kishore cold drinks’ rues the change: business is not the same.
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Head constable killed in accident His scooter was rammed by a car driven by an 18-year-old; the teenager did not have a licence STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A Delhi Police head
constable riding a twowheeler was fatally knocked down by a car near the Seelampur T-point in north-east Delhi on Sunday morning. The car was allegedly being driven by a teenager without a licence, the police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (north-east) A.K. Singla said the incident took place around 8.30 a.m., when head constable Naresh Pal Malik was on his way to work. The Ghaziabad resident was near Seelampur T-point
Also sitting in the car with the accused was the owner of the vehicle, the father of the teenager's friend when the car hit the scooter from behind. The victim lost his balance and fell on the road. Locals rushed to the spot and called up the police. Severe head injuries Naresh was taken to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, where he was declared brought dead, said the po-
lice, adding that the victim had sustained severe head injuries. Eyewitnesses chased down the accused, 18-yearold Shubham, and held him till the police arrived. Also sitting in the car was the owner of the vehicle, the father of Shubham’s friend, added the oicer. Shubham is a student of BCom at Delhi University. “We have booked Shubham for causing death by negligence, and rash and negligent driving. He also disclosed that he turned 18 recently and is yet to obtain a licence. We have also
booked his co-passenger for allowing him to drive the car without a licence.” Mr. Singla added that prima facie it does not make for a culpable homicide (not amounting to murder) as has been seen in certain fatal accidents this year. The head constable, a resident of Surya Vihar in Ghaziabad, had joined the Delhi Police in 1982. He was currently posted at the Special Branch. He is the second policeman to die in the past three days. Constable Anand Singh was shot at in Outer Delhi on Friday.
ENCOUNTER SITE: Police personnel investigating the crime scene in Outer Delhi’s Rohini on Sunday. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Police constable, criminals injured in Rohini encounter The five accused were allegedly on their way to target a property dealer STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A Delhi Police
constable and two alleged criminals sustained bullet injuries during an encounter in Outer Delhi’s Rohini on Sunday morning. Criminal record The police claimed five men, all of whom have been arrested, were on their way to target a property dealer at the time of the incident. All the accused have criminal records. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Vikramjit Singh said the police received a tip-of about the gang coming to Sector 24 Rohini to target a businessman. Police teams in three separate non-police cars
Girl assaulted
were sent to keep an eye on their movements. Eleven policemen, led by the Sultanpuri Station House Oicer, started patrolling around the location provided by the informer. Around 10.30 a.m., the accused were spotted near a traic signal. Four of them were in the car — Sudhir and Vijay in the front and Sanjay alias George and Farman in the back. The fifth accomplice — Rahul — was driving along on a motorcycle. “As soon as the police teams spotted them, one of the cars started chasing them. The accused took a u-turn in a bid to escape, but our second car was already stationed there to
block their way. We punctured one of their cars tyres by firing a bullet. All three of our vehicles surrounded them, leaving no escape route,” said another oicer. The accused allegedly opened fire at the police, injuring constable Pradeep in the thigh. Overpowered “We fired back. One of the rounds brushed past Sudhir’s ear, causing a minor injury. The same bullet pierced Vijay’s cheek [Vijay was sitting next to Sudhir],” said the oicer. Soon, all five accused were overpowered and arrested. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were declared
out of danger. Sudhir has several cases of extortion and robbery against him. He has even been slapped with the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act due to his repeated criminal involvements, said the police. Sudhir, Sanjay and Vijay had allegedly teamed up for an attempt-to-murder earlier this year. Sanjay is also accused in the 2008 cash van robbery case, the police added. The police did not divulge details about the businessman the gang had set out to target. Despite sitting in the car, Sanjay and Farman were wearing helmets, suggesting they had plans to split up and decamp with Rahul.
Special unit for women and child survivors to get 60 more counsellors Will provide counselling to survivors of violence, assault; couples on verge of separation SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR NEW DELHI: The number of counsellors available at the Delhi Police’s Special Police Unit for Women and Children is all set to increase to nearly four times the present strength. According to senior oicers, this will mean better distribution of personnel providing counselling services to women and child victims, and shorter queues at the unit’s oice. The unit currently has 22 counsellors. On Saturday, a tender was floated to invite entries from eligible firms, institutions, organisations and groups for hiring as well as training and monitoring of 60 professional counsellors at the district and subdivision level. All counsellors will be
STAFF REPORTER
The 10-year-old said Premu shoved a rolling pin down her throat, strangled her with his foot
NEW DELHI: Barely days after
HOT DAY: It was a sultry Sunday in the Capital, with the mercury settling at 35.4 degrees Celsius. The weather department has forecast generally cloudy sky for Monday. — PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
DELHI TODAY
STAFF REPORTER
Talk: Book discussion on “Bridging the Gulf: Maritime Cultural Heritage of the Western Indian Ocean” Edited by Himanshu Prabha Ray with Foreword by Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson, IIC – International Research Division. Discussants: Prof. Pia Brancaccio, Drexel University, USA; and B. M. Pande, former Director of the Archaeological Survey of India. Chairperson: Nalin Surie, DirectorGeneral, Indian Council of World Affairs at Conference Room II, India International Centre (IIC), 6.30 p.m. Music: Concert by Anand Seshadri, Indian pianist presently based in Budapest, will present a concert of works by Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Bartok at C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre (IIC), 6.30 p.m. Music: IHC Lok Sangeet Sammelan celebrates 250 years of poet Waris Shah's monumental work Heer. Performance by Jasbir Jassi. Guest artiste, Rabbi Shergill at The Stein Auditorium, Habitat World, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7 p.m. Theatre: Music/Dance/Drama. Sangeet Natak Akademi presents
run over by a driverless bus at the Delhi Transport Corporation’s Dwarka depot on Sunday. The victim has been identified as contractual DTC employee, Bhoj Singh. The engine of the bus, which was undergoing repairs at the Sector 2 depot, was on at the time of the incident. It suddenly started moving and ran over the 30year-old before hitting a building around 11 a.m., the police said. Singh was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. A case has been lodged, said the police. Singh's colleagues staged a protest at the depot alleging negligence.
Sponsored by NCW, Ministry Mr. Hibu added that the existing counsellors at the unit are sponsored by the National Commission for Women (NCW). The training and appointment of the proposed ones will be sponsored by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development. “We made a presentation before the Ministry explaining how human aid was crucial in dealing with crimes against women and children, and they accepted our proposal,” said Mr. Hibu.
Accused claimed he was trying to make his sister consume medicine
Freak accident NEW DELHI: A driver was fatally
contracted with the Delhi Police for two years and all posts will be filled by women. Once trained and inducted, these counsellors will provide crisis intervention and psycho-social services to women and child survivors of violence, including survivors of sexual assault and child sexual abuse. They will also help couples on the verge of separation, besides establishing linkages with multiple services essential for a
comprehensive response, such as the police. The counsellors will also provide personalised social services as per the requirements of victims, including emotional, social and legal support. “With 82 counsellors, we will become the first police force in the country with such a huge team to provide psychological aid to a large number of women and children who come to us and need support beyond normal policing duties. There are several victims of domestic violence or women who have been abandoned by their
husbands who come to us. There is always a need to provide them the right advice at a crucial time,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Police Unit for Women and Children) Robin Hibu.
Man kills sister in front of her son, sleeps next to body
Clouds on the horizon
STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A 10-year-old was allegedly sexually assaulted by a distant relative in northwest Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy on Saturday. According to the police, the girl was playing with her friends, including the children of the 30-year-old accused, when he arrived at the spot, took her to an isolated place nearby and assaulted her, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (north-west) Vijay Singh. The girl returned home and told her parents about the assault. They approached the police at night and based on her statement, a case was registered under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Ofences Act. The police discovered he was missing from his house. He was traced to a nearby forested area on Sunday morning. He was produced before a court, which sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody.
The Delhi Police’s Special Police Unit for Women and Children currently has just 22 counsellors
Raksha Bandhan, a man allegedly murdered his younger sister in front of her minor son at their residence in a JJ cluster in north-west Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar on Saturday. The accused has been arrested, but the motive behind the murder is not yet clear. The 10-year-old boy told the police that Premu shoved a rolling pin down his mother’s throat, strangled her using his foot and slept the whole night next to the corpse. The boy also told police that his uncle brutally assaulted his mother before the murder. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the siblings fought frequently ever since Madhuri left her husband and shifted to Premu’s house. According to the police, Premu’s wife left the
CINEMA "Rang Swadheenta". Shruti Adhikari and group, Bhopal: Panchnaad - Instrumental ensemble; Prem Singh Dehati, Rohtak: Ragini; Keerti Kirpal, Punjab: Main Bhagat Singh (play in Punjabi), at Rabindra Bhavan, Mandi House, 6 p.m. Paintings: “Chitrali” a Group show of paintings by N. C. Jindal Public School at Gallery 1, All India Fine Arts & Craft Society (AIFACS), 1 Rafi Marg, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Art: “Art Beyond Boundaries” - a group art exhibition at NIV Art Gallery, 210 Neb Sarai, Near IGNOU, 11a.m. – 7 p.m. Exhibition: Waves of Colors - art show by Jishu Nag at Anyahh Art 372/374, MG Road, Near Pillar No. 10 B, Sultanpur, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Screening: “The Pinochet Case” (Spanish/French/2001/109mins) documentary film screening at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7 p.m. (Mail your listings for this column at
[email protected])
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house some days ago due to the constant fights. According to senior police oicers, the accused claimed he was trying to make his sister consume medicine. However, it has been found that she wasn’t undergoing any treatment. The murder came to light when the child narrated the incident to Premu’s neighbours on Sunday morning. The neighbours called up the police immediately, but the accused managed to escape. “The boy narrated the entire incident in front of the police. He also alleged that Premu used to beat his mother and him frequently. We
mounted surveillance on Premu and trace him. He had not managed to run very far and was nabbed,” added a senior police oicer. Inebriated During interrogation, Premu purportedly confessed that he was inebriated and therefore did not realise the consequence of his action. “He claims he was trying to make Madhuri eat her medicine. A case of murder has been registered. A crime and forensic team visited the spot to collect samples and the matter is being investigated. Other family members have been informed about the matter and the body has been sent for post-mortem,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (north-west) Vijay Singh. The police have not ruled out Madhuri’s resistance to an attempted rape by Premu as the cause of her death.
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Dark and lonely road for survivors of sexual abuse Counsellors working with child victims say schools, parents and society must work together to ensure their psychological welfare SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR NEW DELHI: Before she was al-
legedly sexually assaulted last year, the teenager from Sarita Vihar was a topper in her class. She aced virtually every exam and was looking forward to sit for the Class-X boards. But after the incident, the teenager decided not to write her exam and stopped going to school altogether. The accused was booked and held by the police, but the mental trauma sufered by the girls was such that she has not resumed studies since. A similarly horrific incident happened to a sevenyear-old boy in another part of South Delhi. One of the most active ones in his class, he now needs his mother near him round-the clock, even for basic activities such as going to the washroom. He too has stopped going to school. These are just two of the many stories that counsellors working with abuse victims shared with The Hindu as they warned that even though numbers show that the rate of registration of cases under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Ofences (POCSO) Act have come down marginally this year, it does not represent the complete picture.
A TALE OF TWO NEIGHBOURHOODS
Don't go by numbers Counsellors, including those empanelled with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), say that many cases of sexual abuse are still going unreported, and psychological recovery of the victim — which can take anywhere between a few years and a lifetime — is extremely important to help them resume their life. Experts say that despite the limited deterrence that a law like POCSO has ensured, the
There was a case of a seven-year-old boy, who was sexually assaulted. He did not go to school for a long time. When he finally did, the class teacher made fun of him. His parents had taken great pains to make him forget the incident, but that mocking undid all recovery Sexual abuse counsellor
One unites to protect... SHIV SUNNY NEW DELHI: Ever since she
tendency of stigmatising the victim prevents discussion and more often than not results in the victims blaming themselves. “This is more common in the 16-18 age group and especially with girl victims who are on the verge of adulthood. During counselling, I have encountered numerous girls, who start believing in the very irrational stereotypes that the society tries to reinforce. Our sessions are comparatively shorter and the fact remains that they spend more time with families, who associate things like ‘family honour’ with these incidents,” said a counsellor.
Manju Upadhyay from Community Aid & Sponsorship Programme, who has counselled many victims, recalled an instance where a 15year-old girl was found dead months after she was allegedly raped by a group of men. Take care Ms. Upadhyay is not entirely convinced that the incident was a suicide, as claimed by the police. She says that the events post the alleged sexual assault had a lot to do with it. In certain cases, even the family’s eforts are not enough. “For instance, in the case of the seven-year-old boy, the
class teacher made fun of him when he rejoined school after a long gap due to the incident. His parents had taken great pains to make him forget the incident, but that mocking pushed the recovery back,” said another counsellor. Experts said that the initial sessions in the immediate aftermath of the incident are very important. Another counsellor said that part of the blame lies with the media. When a traumatised child watches TV, which continuously talks about his or her plight at a time when they are trying to forget, it creates a lasting impression and can
cause potentially irreversible damage. The counsellors added that the sessions have to be followed up with regular intervention. It is here they believe that the institutional mechanism has to be improved. “Private schools and even KVs have an edge in the form of in-house counsellors, but more work needs to be done as far as the government and MCD schools are concerned,” said a counsellor. In April this year, the Delhi Police made a submission before the High Court that over 5,000 cases had been registered under the POCSO Act since 2012.
AAP govt drags its feet on special prosecutors Public prosecutors appointed as special prosecutors; results in huge backlog of cases registered under the POCSO Act AKANKSHA JAIN
There are not enough lawyers to handle rising number of cases involving sexual assault of minors
NEW DELHI: In the light of the
rising number of cases of sexual assault on minors, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has gone as far as demanding immediate control of the Delhi Police, but seems to be dilly-dallying when it comes to handling such cases and ensuring speedy justice.
been conferred upon Additional Public Prosecutors (APPs),” Mr. Bansal said. The Delhi High Court bench headed by the Chief Justice had on November 27, 2013 stated in its order: “We make it clear that the respondents (Delhi government) must take necessary steps to appoint SPPs under the POCSO Act within three weeks.”
Section 32 Section 32 of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Ofences (POCSO) Act makes it obligatory on the State government to appoint special public prosecutors (SPPs), who can handle cases registered under this Act only. But rather than honouring the law, the AAP government has appointed already existing additional public prosecutors as SPPs for POCSO cases. Lawyers overburdened, but govt. says no pressure The number of POCSO cases has continued to rise, but State resources available to handle these cases has failed to keep pace. As a result there is a huge backlog of POCSO cases as the public prosecutors are overburdened. However, the AAP government seems to be in denial. It even submitted an aidavit before the Delhi High Court stating that there were CM YK
LONG DELAY: On November 27, 2013, the Delhi High Court had ordered the Delhi government to appoint special public prosecutors under the POCSO Act within three weeks. FILE PHOTO 3,216 cases under POCSO Act pending before diferent sessions courts in Delhi and that the public prosecutors can handle them “as it is not much in number to create pressure or burden”. Retired High Court judge
Justice S.N. Dhingra pointed to extreme shortage of public prosecutors as a reason for delay in disposal of sexual offence cases despite existence of fast-track courts. Advocate and activist Gaurav Bansal, who had ini-
tiated a PIL for appointing SPPs for POCSO cases, said that despite the High Court directing the AAP government to appoint SPPs in 2013, they have not obeyed the orders. “The powers of SPPs have
No action With no progress in the matter, the Centre submitted a letter on court on April 16, 2015. The letter was addressed to the chief secretaries of all States, including Delhi, clarifying that the LieutenantGovernor has the power to issue notification for appointment of SPPs under the POCSO Act. On the same day, the Delhi government assured the court that since the matter had been clarified, an appropriate notification would be issued within four weeks. It has been over a year since then and instead of appointing SPPs, the government has authorised existing public prosecutors to handle POCSO cases.
was brutally raped by a neighbour last month, fouryear-old Gudiya* regularly has nightmares about her attacker and often wakes up in the middle of the night crying. Her parents and neighbours know this because they have been taking turns to stay awake every night ever since that horrific day. The crime ended up uniting the five-odd families in the immediate neighbourhood of the victim’s home, located in an isolated area of Outer Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy area. “There are around a dozen girls in our families. After the incident, we realised we have to help each other to protect our girls,” said Mumtaz*, a local resident. The adults go to work every day in the morning, but they ensure that at least one of them stays at home to look after the children. Gudiya’s father, a mason, was away at work and her mother was in the market when a neighbouring youth raped her on July 24. Since the families cannot aford ACs or coolers, they sleep outside their homes at night. “After the rape incident, at nights we assemble all our cots at one place and sleep nearby so that
There are around a dozen girls in our families. After the rape incident, we realised we have to help each other to protect our girls anyone’s cry for help is heard by everyone,” said Gudiya’s mother, Rohini*. But the families felt this wasn’t enough, so now they take turns to keep awake at night. “We keep awake for four hours each. It is dii-
cult, so we are waiting for winters to arrive so that we can sleep safely indoors,” Ms. Rohini said. The rape incident has scarred Gudiya as well as other children of this tiny locality. “Gudiya suddenly wakes up in the middle of her sleep and says she dreamt of him (the rapist) beating her,” said Gudiya’s father Mukesh*. Unlike earlier when the children in this locality could play anywhere they wanted, the parents here have restricted their movement. A small ground in a walled complex is their playground now. *Names changed
...the other unites to boycott SHIV SUNNY DELHI: When Julie* dialled the police three months ago to report that her two minor daughters were being sexually abused, she had not anticipated the hostility she and her children would face in their own locality. Today, her family is ‘boycotted’ by most of her neighbours in Chanakyapuri’s Sanjay Camp. The locals accuse her of “exaggerating” the allegations. Julie says she can live with the boycott, but the verbal abuse and threats her children have been going through every day has forced her to repeatedly call the police and seek their intervention. Julie’s two daughters were among five children, aged between seven and 12, molested and tortured by a local youth, Johnny, in early May this year. While two of the kids backtracked from their statements later, the other three continued to pursue a case against Johnny. While the youth is behind bars, it is alleged that his kin and friends have been harassing the victims.
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Some neighbours threaten to torture me if I don’t take back my statement against Johnny uncle. They abuse me whenever they see me outside
We have lived here for 27 years, but never expected our own neighbours to boycott us for seeking justice against a sexual abuser
Rape victim
Mother of rape victim
“Some neighbours threaten to torture me if I don’t take back my statement against Johnny uncle. They abuse me whenever they see me outside,” said one of the victims, Seema*. Others call these kids to their homes and urge them to take back the case. The three kids now rarely go out of their homes to play. Since they are not seen outside, neighbours allegedly peep into their homes and hurl verbal abuses before walking away. Julie says that the neighbours have prohibited their children from playing with the victims. “Their children want to play with my daughters, but they are
scared of their parents. When they meet my girls in school, they behave nicely with them because their parents are not around,” says the mother. Julie says the hostility made her feel so helpless that she had decided to relocate to another slum. “But the continuous visits to the police station and court resulted in me losing my job as a maid. Now I do not have the money to relocate,” she says. “We have lived here for 27 years, but never expected our own neighbours to boycott us for seeking justice against a sexual abuser,” says Julie. * Names changed ND-ND
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Swaraj Abhiyan demands closure of 11 liquor vends Organisation leader Prashant Bhushan slams govt., threatens to launch campaign STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Firing a fresh salvo
at Chief Minister Arvind Kerjriwal over the Delhi government’s “anti-people” liquor policy, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Prashant Bhushan on Sunday demanded the immediate closure of 11 vends, failing which, he said, the organisation would launch a city-wide campaign. Mr. Bhushan claimed that the shops had been opened against the wishes of locals. “In case the Delhi government does not listen to the genuine demands of people, a city-wide campaign will be launched to expose AAP’s duplicity. We will build public pressure on the government to act,” he said. Mr. Bhushan added that he would conduct a public hearing on August 23 at a liquor vend in Khajoori of Karawal Nagar constituency. Lurking doubts The former AAP leader also questioned the Delhi government as to why it had decided to suspend the opening of liquor vends only for a year and if it would resume opening outlets after one year when the MCD and Punjab elections were over. The organisation also alleged that there was no legal sanction granted to Mohalla Sabhas under which they could decide to close liquor vends. Accusing Mr. Kejriwal of misleading the public, Anupam, a member of Swaraj Abhiyan, said, “Why is the government trying to mislead people by saying that Mohalla Sabhas will have the power to remove liquor vends, when no such power has yet been granted? Since the Mohalla Sabhas do not seem to be getting a legislative authority in the near future, will the government close down these shops immediately?”
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Locals seek crackdown on illegal liquor trade in Kirari
President’s Estate turns into haven for mosquitoes STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: More than hospi-
tals and luxury hotels, it is the President’s Estate in the heart of Delhi that is turning out to be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Over the past six months, the oices and quarters on the estate have been slapped with as many as 68 notices by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). NDMC oicials said there had been a spike in the number of mosquito larvae in the last two months. “Teams have been formed to inspect the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises,” said a senior oicial. Last year, the civic body had issued over 125 notices to the President’s Estate af-
IN THE DOCK: So far, the offices and quarters on the President’s Estate have been slapped with 68 notices by the NDMC. FILE PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
ter “heavy” mosquitobreeding was found across the campus. Crackdown So far, the civic body has issued a total of 3,762 den-
gue-related notices and 172 challans. Explaining the method of operation, another oicial said, “Our teams also include members from the sanitation and horticulture
units at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Besides, we have oicials from the civil engineering unit under the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and personnel of the malaria unit of the NDMC health department.” According to municipal reports, at least 171 cases of dengue have been reported this season in Delhi, with 52 of these being recorded in the first week of August. The vector-borne disease has claimed two lives so far this season. As the NDMC does not have the authority to issue challans or notices to embassies, it has issued advisories to more than 50 embassies that fall in its area urging them to be active in controlling mosquitobreeding.
CORRIDORS OF POWER Holiday time?
NO SAFETY: Residents of the area allege that the situation has become so serious that women are scared to step out of their homes after sunset. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A day after a Delhi Police constable was shot at by goons allegedly involved in surreptitious liquor trade in north-west Delhi, a large number of residents of Kirari led by Congress workers carried out a demonstration demanding a crackdown on the illegal liquor trade in the area. Local Congress leader Pratyush Kanth alleged that more than 400 illegal liquor shops are being run in the 106 resettlement colonies of Kirari, which is one of the most densely populated Assembly constituencies in Delhi. He said ninety percent of
“Every day, thousands of Kirari residents spend half their earnings on country liquor” the illegal liquor was brought from Haryana, and distributed in an organised manner to the shops here. “We want a CBI or an Anti-Corruption Bureau probe into this business. Politicians, police and rich property dealers are involved in it,” said Mr. Kanth. According to Mr. Kanth, about ninety-five percent of the working population in Kirari comprise daily wagers. “Every day, thousands of
them spend half or more of their earnings on country liquor. This business is spreading like cancer,” said Shadab Chaudhay, a local leader. Residents of the area allege that the situation has become so serious that women are scared to step out of their homes after sunset. The area also lacks police presence. “The government does not find it necessary to assign a full-fledged police station for the residents of this slum. People have to walk several kilometres to meet the SHO at the Aman Vihar police station, which falls in the Bawana Assembly constituency,” said Kanth.
Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hands are being flooded with tag-along requests from volunteers enthused about domestic travel as Assembly elections in States such as Goa and Gujarat inch closer, a senior leader quipped here last week. Having caught on after what the leader claimed were misinterpreted media reports of senior party hands being given the responsibility to further the AAP’s political prospects in these States at the earliest, the leader said not a day went by without a call from a volunteer overwhelmingly enthusiastic about campaigning, especially in Goa. “Ever since news reports claiming that even senior members of the Delhi Cabinet have been asked to chalk out the strategy for new States, our phones haven’t stopped ringing; most volunteers want to help us win Goa,” the leader joked.
“We have no option but to remind them that since there is still time for the Goa polls, they should concentrate on party activities till then,” the leader added. ★★★
with Mr Kejriwal early this month. Even Deputy CM Manish Sisodia is known to have practised Vipassana. ★★★
Jumping on the bandwagon
Justice. Every day, thousands of people visit Delhi courts in quest for justice, howsoever they may interpret it. Last week, an elderly man from Haryana went to the Delhi High Court seeking justice. He had been denied promotion in a government job, and had retired without the consequential benefits. He was passionate about his case, the court could feel. However, there was one problem. The chaste Haryanvi used by the dhoti-kurta-clad senior citizen shocked the court as he said he would not leave the courtroom without seeking justice, and despite the court intervening, he continued to advance his arguments. That is not all. When the court clarified that he could not go against
Following Delhi Chief Minister and national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s footsteps, AAP leaders are also practising Vipassana. While Mr. Kejriwal recently returned from his 10-day session from Dharamshala, AAP’s Delhi unit convener Dilip Pandey left for an 11-day Vipassana course on Friday. “OFF to Vipassana for nxt 11 days, will have no access to Phone+Internet. Lots of wishes to all for festivals, medals to come???? (sic),” Mr. Pandey, known to be a key aide of Mr. Kejriwal, wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter. Another AAP leader and Punjab’s co-convenor Durgesh Pathak also went to practise Vipassana along
Common man’s struggle
a certain judgment of a larger Bench, the man started citing verses from the Mahabharata. “I am a very simple person with no knowledge. All I want is justice. I have worked without caring for results. See, the Mahabharata also preaches that,” said the man, who had everybody in the courtroom in splits. Even the Judge could not hold back his smile. “You are an intelligent man. Who says you have no knowledge?” the Bench replied. When the High Court asked him to refer to a particular page of his petition, he refused saying, “I don’t understand page, petition, etc. Judge Saab, I understand justice.” The Judge politely ordered that a counsel be appointed for his case. At this, a noted PIL advocate volunteered to represent him but with one request, “You have to listen to me.” (Contributed by Jatin Anand, Maria Akram and Akanksha Jain)
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THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
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THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Bihar flood situation grim as Ganga water level rises
Notification on SBC reservation to be issued again SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JAIPUR: Facing flak over its failure to implement five per cent reservation for the Special Backward Classes (SBCs), the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Rajas-
than has launched a new exercise to assess the position and ensure that the quota and other promises made to Gujjars and other SBCs are fulfilled without delay. A Ministerial sub-committee
CM Nitish Kumar undertakes aerial survey; boats evacuate people PATNA: With the water level in the Ganga rising, the flood situation in Bihar was grim on Sunday. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed apprehension that the situation could worsen by Monday in view of the release of water from Bansagar dam. Mr. Kumar, who held a highlevel meeting to assess the situation, later went on an aerial survey of Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Begusarai and Khagaria. He told reporters that there was at the moment no possibility of flood waters entering Patna city. Meanwhile the rising water level of the Ganga has more or less created a flood-like situation in all the districts situated along the banks of the river. The Ganga and six other rivers were flowing above the danger mark in Patna, Bhagalpur, Khagaria, Katihar, Siwan, Bhojpur, Buxar and Hajipur districts, a disaster management department statement said. The Ganga was flowing above the danger mark at six places in various parts of three districts — Digha ghat, Gandhi ghat, Hathidah in Patna, Bhagalpur and Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district, Munger district and Buxar district. Altogether 1,326 boats have
on reservation for SBCs here over the week-end asked for issuing the notification once again with “clear guidelines” for the quota for SBCs, including Gujjars, in the government jobs and educational institutions.
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FLOODED: People wade through a water-logged road in Patna on Sunday. - PHOTO: RANJEET KUMAR (SEE ALSO PAGE 9) been pressed into service by the government to evacuate the afected people. Deploying five teams of NDRF and SDRF personnel in the flood-afected areas the government has also put the Army on alert. — PTI Amarnath Tewary reports from Patna:
Meanwhile, the State disaster management oicials said the Ganga was flowing above the danger mark at six places in districts like Patna, Bhagalpur, Munger and Buxar. Altogether 1,326 boats have been pressed into service to evacuate the affected people. Deploying five
teams of the NDRF and SDRF personnel in the flood-afected areas the government has also put the Army on alert. “We want to assure the people that we are alert and taking all precautions to help them at this time of crisis,” said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
SITUATIONS VACANT
Tejas chief designer felicitated STAFF REPORTER BERHAMPUR: Kota Harinarayana,
the programme director and chief designer of India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, was accorded a civic reception in his hometown of Berhampur in Odisha on Sunday. It was the first visit of Mr. Harinarayana to his home in Berhampur after Tejas got inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF). His childhood, schooling and college life was in Berhampur. The civic reception on Sunday in his honour had been jointly organised by former students’ association of City High School of Berhampur, where Mr. Harinarayana had studied, civic organisation Forum for Ganjam and Rotary Club of Behampur. Mr. Harinarayana along with his wife K. Nirmala attended the function. Some teachers of Mr. Harinarayana like M. Jagannath Rao were present on the occasion apart from local MLA Ra-
PROUD MOMENT: Kota Harinarayana and his wife K. Nirmala being accorded a civic reception in his hometown Berhampur, Odisha, on Sunday. – PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT mesh Chandra Chyaupatnaik, chairperson of Berhampur Development Authority Subash Moharana sub-collector and other dignitaries of the city. Addressing the gathering Mr. Harinarayana said Indians living anywhere in the country including Berhampur should discard
inferiority complex from their minds as they can achieve anything with proper perseverance. According to him Tejas was an example of this. He reiterated that indigenous Tejas was at par or better than aircrafts of its category produced in any developed country.
Mob attacks police in Malda, four oicers injured STAFF REPORTER
police oicers were injured after being attacked by a mob in Bengal’s Malda district on Sunday. The incident took place in Kumarganj village, when a team of 15 oicers of the Pukuria police station were returning to oice after arresting a couple from the village, about 40 km from Malda town.
Critical condition Locals said that when the police team, which went to the village on Saturday night were on their way back to the police station, a mob surrounded their vehicles and assaulted them with bamboo sticks and bricks to free the arrested. Two among the four injured police oicers are in a critical condition.
No arrest “Four of our oicials were attacked today (Sunday) by some locals and sustained injuries. Investigation is going on,” Superintendent of Police of Malda Arnab Ghosh told The Hindu. No one has been arrested in the case so far.
Admitted They are currently admitted in the Malda Medical College and Hospital. In January this year a mob attacked the local police station in the Kaliachak area of Malda district. Nearly a dozen police oicers were injured in the attack.
KOLKATA: Four
“It would be able to replace old fighter aircrafts of the country like the MIG”, he added. He hoped that in future light passenger aircrafts would enhance communication link in India. Mr. Harinarayana is also linked with hopes, aspirations and demands of his home town Berhampur. He informed that he is approaching all relevant authorities to upgrade the Rangeilunda airstrip near Berhampur to a full fledged airport. He felt if this 1850 m long air strip is extended to at least 2250 m length then cargo planes would be able to land on it. It would be a great adage to the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) coming up near Gopalpur port in Ganjam district. He called upon people of south Odisha to come together to form an integrated developmental plan, in which both public and private authorities would be given equal and proper importance.
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PUBLIC NOTICES
Rudy escapes unhurt CHAPRA: Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Sunday escaped unhurt when his car met with a minor accident in Saran district on Sunday. The Minister’s car was hit after one of the vehicles of his cavalcade suddenly applied brakes. Mr. Rudy is safe and moved on further to attend a function at Garkha block. - PTI
SP, BJP & BSP have destroyed Gandhi’s legacy: Azad LUCKNOW: Alleging that the Samajwadi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the BSP have destroyed the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh by dividing society, Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said his party would seek votes in 2017 Assembly polls on Gandhi’s “principle of unity”. “In past 27 years, SP, BJP and BSP have got several chances of forming governments in the State. In return the people got ‘goondaraj’, ‘pariwarwad’ (nepotism), corruption and their biggest sin is to divide the society,” he said. “These parties divided the society in the name of religion and caste to seek votes and formed government. They have destroyed legacy of Mahatama Gandhi and also Rajiv Gandhi and Indira
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Gandhi to unite the country. The people will not spare them for this,” he said. Claiming that the Congress always tried to unite people and worked in the interest of the country, Mr. Azad said: “The party will form government in the State on the principle of unity. We will give message that we want to form a successful government not by dividing but by uniting the society”. “After 27 years, we are once again trying to form government. We are contesting for forming the government and not only to increase our numbers (in Assembly),” he said. Hailing the decision to portray Sheila Dikshit as U.P.’s CM candidate, Mr. Azad said that she had made Delhi a “model state” in her 15 years regime. - PTI
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Boy, whose mercy killing was sought, dies STAFF REPORTER CHITTOOR: Five-year-old Mahesh of Dinnepalle village of Ramasamudram mandal, who was sufering from bone cancer, died while being treated at the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Bengaluru on Saturday night. His body was cremated at his native village on Sunday afternoon. The boy’s parents, Buttappa and Narasamma, on August 13 approached the Punganur court in Madanapalle division and sought the designated judge to grant mercy killing of the boy, as they were not in a position to bear medical expenses and unable to see the agony of the child. Though the appeal was rejected, the case was referred to the district administration. As there was no response from the medical and health department authorities, three days later, the parents took the child to the hospital in Bengaluru, where he died. Buttappa said that he did not want to blame anyone for the death of his son. “What we have sufered for five years is over. We do not want anything,” he said.
Sirisena, family visit Tirumala, take part in Suprabhata Seva The President of Sri Lanka was received with honour by temple authorities SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT TIRUMALA: President of Sri
Lanka Maithripala Sirisena, as part of his two-day pilgrimage to the sacred temple town of Tirupati visited the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara twice. The President, who stayed overnight at the shrine town, took part in the ‘Suprabhata Seva’ early on Sunday and also ofered prayers to the presiding deity for a second time during the VIP break darshan. He was accompanied by his wife Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari Sirisena, son Daham Tharaka and other family members. VIP made to wait The President was received by the temple authorities including Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Chairman Ch. Krishna Murthy Executive Oicer D. Sambasiva Rao and State Forest Minister Bojjala Go-
SPECIAL DARSHAN: Sri Lankan President Sirisena with wife Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari at Tirumala on Sunday. — PHOTO: PTI pala Krishna Reddy, who was specially deputed for the purpose. Despite the elaborate arrangements for the VIP visit, a last minute change in the President’s itinerary resulted in a diplomatic embarrassment when Mr Sirisena had to wait for his car outside the temple complex after the
early morning rituals. The incident, which took place early on Sunday, clearly reflected the lack of coordination between the police and temple oicials. Mr Sirisena was inadvertently escorted to the car by temple oicials even while his family members and other dignitaries remained inside the
Of with those plaits, says Kerala child rights panel STAFF REPORTER THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The
Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has said girl students in schools should not be compelled to part their hair and plait it. The Commission has directed the Secretary and Director of General Education and the Higher Secondary Director to issue an order on the issue at the earliest. However, heads of institutions can direct that students’ hair should be neatly arranged as part of
maintaining discipline, it said. The Commission, headed by chairperson Shobha Koshy and members K. Nazeer and Meena C.U., issued the directive on a petition from a Plus Two student of Cheemeni Higher Secondary School, Kasaragod, that the school authorities were insisting on hair being parted and arranged into two plaits. A smelly situation The petitioner pointed out that current school rules forced students to
A student had complained that schools’ insistence on plaits for girls led to health problems tie their hair even when wet and this gave rise to bad odour and led to problems such as hair breakage. To avoid this, girl students came to school without bathing, and this brought with it a host of health problems, she said. The compulsion on girls plaiting their hair was also
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discriminatory, the complaint said. Taking a serious view of the complainant’s stand that for hair to be plaited, it should have dried properly, the Commission also found that setting aside time in the morning for plaiting was diicult. Compelling girl students to make two plaits such that it afected their physical and mental health was a violation of child rights, the Commission said, directing the authorities to report on steps taken in this regard.
temple complex. The police oicials, who realised the lapse, immediately called for the driver who was along with other members of the President's entourage. The Tirupati SP (Urban) Jaya Lakshmi admonished the temple oicials and told The Hindu it was a miscommunication. Normally VIPs are seated at the Ranganayakula mandapam after a darshan of the deity for the post-darshan formalities such as the presentation of a memento and ‘prasadam’ and ‘Vedasirvachanams’ by the temple priests. According to the original itinerary, the President was scheduled to take part only in the ‘Suprabhata seva’ inside the temple followed by the post-darshan formalities. The last-minute inclusion of the VIP break darshan in the schedule and the change in the post-darshan formalities was not properly communicated.
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Naidu picks Microsoft’s Kaizala for governance P. SUJATHA VARMA
Hyderabad boy drowns amidst rush for holy dip SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Technology is playing a big role in the ongoing Krishna Pushkarams. The tech-savvy Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has asked officials to use the latest technology for efective networking of the huge contingent of government oicers and staf besides deploying scores of volunteers working round the clock for making the 12-day-long festival a success in Krishna, Guntur and Kurnool districts. Kaizala, an Android app developed by Microsoft, has made life easy for the multidisciplinary teams deployed at the Pushkar ghats and Pushkar Nagars.
VIJAYAWADA:
Ease of communication The app facilitates privacy-based sub-groups which can be coordinated as per requirement. Conducting polls, submission of bills and creation and assignment of jobs are other key features of this app. For ease of communication between the oicials on Pushkar duties, the district administration created 91 groups that keep in touch to
HYDERABAD: An eight-year-old
The Kaizala application take stock of the situation at the ghats and other logistics required to cater to the needs of such a mammoth crowd. Impressed by its many features, the Chief Minister now plans to institutionalise the app by making it mandatory in day-to-day administration across the State. Kaizala helps the user in getting work done by tracking bills, assigning jobs, finding location and much more; it’s as simple as chat. Incidentally, Kaizala in Marathi means “What’s up?”
boy from Hyderabad, Harthik, drowned in the Krishna river on Sunday while taking the dip as part of the on-going pushkaralu festival, far away from the ghat at Kacharajupalli in Chandampet mandal of Nalgonda district. A Hyderabad-based child rights organisation has demanded an ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh to the bereaved family alleging that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the authorities. The ghats witnessed a huge turnout on Sunday with just two days remaining for the festival. Traic jams clogged the national highway at Jadcherla and Bhootpur with vehicles stuck for two km at Bhootpur. The police diverted traic from Jadcherla to ghats at Kollapur and Somasila given the heavy rush at Beechupalli, the biggest attraction for pilgrims. Mahabubnagar Joint Collector M. Ramkishan said about 6.5 lakh persons took the dip at Beechupalli during the day. About 35 lakh devotees had taken part in the rituals in the entire district.
Shivamogga’s favourite tigress dies of old age STAFF CORRESPONDENT SHIVAMOGGA: Kruthika, one of the oldest tigers in captivity in Karnataka, died of old age at the Tyavarekoppa Lion and Tiger Safari near Shivamogga on Sunday. The 19-year old tigress was a favourite among visitors and staf, having beaten the odds on longevity. For tigers in captivity, the lifespan is about 17 years, Forest Department oicials said.
Senility set in Vinay S., senior veterinary oicer, Shivamogga Wildlife Division, said the tigress had become senile and ate less and less over the past three
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A STAR PASSES: Kruthika died at the Tiger and Lion Safari near Shivamogga on Sunday. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT months. Apart from a malfunctioning digestive system, the animal sufered from muscle atrophy. Though it was given fluids
intravenously, it breathed its last on Sunday. The carcass was cremated on the premises of the safari, after conducting post-mor-
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tem. Kruthika was born to Chamundi, a tigress at the safari which too lived for over 19 years. The tigress was known as the pride of a small safari. During a six-year period between 2003 and 2009, Kruthika gave birth to eight cubs. Her ofspring are in various zoos in the country, and her youngest cubs — Vijay and Dashimi — remain in the safari. With Kruthika’s death, the number of tigers in Tyavarekoppa safari has come down to seven, of which five are male. The loss of the 19-year-old Kruthika comes soon after the death of Machhli at Ranthambore
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THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Chennai floods: Panel rejects Centre’s stand NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel has rejected Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi’s contention that there cannot be preparation for a disaster like the Chennai floods which “occurs once in 100 years.” The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, in its report on ‘Disaster in Chennai caused by torrential rainfall and consequent flooding’, submitted to the Rajya Sabha, strongly recommended that the Ministry of Home Afairs bolster its disaster preparedness. Deposing before the committee, the Union Home Secretary had said, “There can be no preparation for a disaster that occurs once in hundred years because the cost of preparing for the disaster would be disproportionately high.” The panel said it did not accept the argument that since the rainfall was unprecedented and was more than the hundred years’ average, the damage was also huge. “In the opinion of the committee, any natural disaster of bigger intensity has the propensity to cause damage. Thus instead of putting the blame on the forces of nature, we should use advanced technology to fight it,” it said. The standing committee suggested that separate action should be taken to prepare calamity map of all important cities by developing standard vulnerability indices so as to minimise loss of life, loss of private and public property and vital installations. Devastating floods submerged Chennai and its neighbouring areas in November-December 2015 claiming the lives of over 400 people. — PTI
Ganga crosses danger mark in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh
Kamal Haasan chosen for prestigious French honour
NEW DELHI: The Ganga river on
will be awarded the prestigious Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres or The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Government. The order is a part of France’s premier award, the Legion of Honor, and he is only the second Tamil actor after the legendary Sivaji Ganesan to be chosen for the honour. In March 30 this year, the versatile actor, who made his debut as a child artiste in Kalathoor Kannamma in 1959, had received the Henri Langlois Award for his contribution to cinema in France. In an audio-recorded statement, Mr. Haasan thanked the French Ambassador to India,
Sunday crossed the danger mark in West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, where Yamuna river is also in spate, while heavy rainfall has created a flood-like situation in some parts of Rajasthan where six persons have died so far. However, the weather was hot and dry in the national capital and other northern states of Punjab and Haryana. In UP, Ganga is flowing above the danger mark at Fafamau (Allahabad), Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur and Ballia, while Yamuna is flowing above the red mark at Chillaghat (Banda) and Naini (Allahabad) and Mohna (Jalaun). Similarly, Sharda river is flowing above the danger mark at Palliakalan (Kheri). Vast areas in several villages of Malda district in West Bengal have submerged, affecting a population of nearly 20,000, even as heavy to very heavy rain in districts of southern parts and in the Sub-Himalayan region are predicted for Monday, triggered by a low pressure. Additional District Magistrate, Malda, Kanchan Chowdhury said the rise in the water level of the river was due to the release of 10 lakh cusecs of water from the Sone dam in Uttar Pradesh. Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall and created flood like situation in Rajasthan with Baran, Pratapgarh, Chittogarh and Jhalawar districts as the worst afected. The water level in Chambal river in Dholpur crossed the danger mark today. Six persons of a family died when a portion of their
Ex-palace manager, two siblings found dead BHUBANESWAR: A former palace manager of Odisha’s Gajapati dynasty was found dead along with two of her siblings inside a house at Parlakhemundi in Gajapati district on Sunday, police said. The deceased were Anang Manjari Patra, former manager of the Parlakhemundi palace, her brother Sanjay Patra, who was personal assistant of Maharaj Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deb, and their sister Bijaylaxmi Patra. Another sibling, Santosh Patra alias Tulu, was found in a serious condition in the house, Amitabh Thakur, Inspector-General of Police, Southern Range, said. Santosh has been taken to the MKCG Medical College
Hospital in Berhampur. Mr. Thakur said the victims were under police scanner after allegations of confining the Maharaja were made against them. Anang Manjari and Sanjay were accused of keeping Mr. Deb under house arrest and not allowing anyone to meet him. The police had begun investigation into the allegation two days ago, Mr. Thakur said. While the bodies of Anang Manjari and her sister Bijaylaxmi were found in one room of their house, Sanjay’s body was found hanging from the ceiling, the police said, adding that it appeared to be a case of suicide. — PTI
SITTING PRETTY: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan being carried across flood water by security personnel in Amanganj, Panna, on Sunday. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT house collapsed in Baran district of Rajasthan on Saturday. A total of 33 people were airlifted by the Air Force on Sunday from two locations in Pratapgarh district, while 24 others were airlifted from Baran on Saturday. Several others are also stranded and rescue operations are on. “Three persons are trapped at an island in Parvati river. They had gone for
fishing in the river but suddenly the water level in the river rose. Eforts are on to rescue them,” Baran Collector S.P. Singh said. Heavy rain warning The India Meteorological Department in its latest update has warned of heavy rains in East and West Madhya Pradesh over the next 48 hours. This could mean increased flooding in key tributaries of the Ganga.
HARD AT WORK: An artist in Kolkata moulds a clay idol of Lord Ganesha on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival. — PHOTO: PTI
documentaries and short films from the U.S., France, U.K., Spain, Italy, Canada and Japan will be screened including a film by Gautam Lewis, a 39-year-old film maker. As a polio afected child, Mr Lewis was rescued by Mother Teresa and later adopted by a British couple. The film maker will be in the city to attend the festival. Not only in Kolkata, but Mother’s country of birth, Macedonia, will mark the Sainthood conferment with many events.
KOLKATA: With less than two
CM YK
The districts which are witnessing flood-like situation in Bihar included Patna, Vaishali, Buxar, Bhojpur, Saran, Begusarai, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Munger, Bhagalpur and Katihar, the department statement said. Around 15,000 people are sheltered in 82 relief camps after being evacuated from flood afected areas. All camps have the facilities of medical team. — PTI
Shaping the divine
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Singer Usha Uthup at a Missionaries of Charity event celebrating the birth anniversary of Mother Teresa in Kolkata on Sunday. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT among the guests. The celebrations will continue till November, with the West Bengal government planning a ‘Homage to St. Teresa of Calcutta’. Among the books to be released is Mother Teresa — A Life, written by the late Sudeb Roy Chowdhury, a well-known journalist. It will be released by two diferent international publishers in French and English. Another book by a Kolkatabased entrepreneur is expected to be released in
CHENNAI: Actor Kamal Haasan
STAFF REPORTER
From book launches to a film festival, the city will celebrate it for next three months
Plethora of events The events celebrating the canonisation of Mother Teresa which includes book releases, talks, symposiums, film festivals and an art exhibition, began on Sunday, with a programme at Santi Dan, Mother’s home for the homeless. The celebrations will continue in the city till November. On October 2, a ‘Thanksgiving Holy Eucharist’ followed by a civic programme will be held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium with Vice President Hamid Ansari
STAFF REPORTER
Kamal Haasan Alexander Ziegler, who had informed him of the French Government’s decision to honour him. “I accept this honour with pride and happiness and I bow before my more deserving forerunners, Sivaji Ganesan and Satyajit Ray, who made the common man realise the value
of the Chevalier award,” he said. Stating that the award humbles him, Mr. Haasan said that teachers and admirers had showered motherly care on him and had applauded him on every step in his journey. “The melancholy of my parents not being alive to see this day is allayed by the fact that the other elders and the young in my family are still alive to enjoy it. I dedicate it to my admirers and audience who give me the tenacity of purpose to pursue to this day, my arts and letters,” the actor added. The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters is a recognition to people who have contributed to furthering arts in France and throughout the world.
Mock Assembly: Two FIRs filed against Stalin
Kolkata gears up for Mother’s canonisation weeks left for canonisation of Mother Teresa on September 4, the city where she served the poor and the destitute for nearly five decades has a series of events lined to commemorate the occasion. Archbishop Thomas D'Souza said a life-sized bronze statue of the Mother will be installed at the Bishop House next to the statue of Pope John Paul II. He added that the statue, donated by Namit Bajoria, the Designate Honorary Consul of Republic of Macedonia in Kolkata, will be installed at a programme on August 25.
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Rome by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who will be attending the ceremony in Rome. Special films One of the highlights of the celebrations will be the Mother Teresa International Film Festival (MTIFF), beginning on August 26. The film festival will feature 23 foreign and Indian films made on or inspired by the Nobel laureate. Besides seven Indian films,
Life of service Born of Albanian parents in Macedonia in 1910, Mother Teresa came to India in 1929. She set up the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 and dedicated her entire life to the service of the poor and the destitute living in slums and streets of Kolkata. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. She died on September 5, 1997. Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003, by the Late Pope John Paul after a miracle of curing a woman hailing from Uttar Dinajpur district of a tumour in her stomach, which was later approved by the Vatican. She became ‘Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’, one miracle away from being declared a Saint.
CHENNAI: The DMK on Sunday braced itself for possible police action against its treasurer and Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin and Deputy Leader in the Assembly Duraimurugan after the Chennai police registered two FIRs against them and others for staging a dharna outside the Assembly and holding a mock Assembly
session at the Secretariat. The incidents took place after Speaker P. Dhanapal suspended 79 DMK legislators for a week from the Assembly on Tuesday last. Both the cases were registered at the Fort Police Station under bailable Sections of the IPC – 143 (being a member of unlawful assembly) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) on separate
complaints from sub-inspectors Balu and Tamilselvi on August 18 and 19. In a related move, the police adopted heightened security measures in and around the Secretariat complex placing barricades at strategic locations, ahead of Monday’s Assembly session in which Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will present the Home Department’s demand for budgetary grants.
U.P. Police will now take to Twitter to redress grievances OMAR RASHID LUCKNOW: Social media is truly
emerging as a key component of modern policing, even in States like Uttar Pradesh, known for its poor law and order situation. The State police has been asked to increase its presence and activity on social media in a bid to directly connect with the common populace. UP is India’s most populous State with over 200 million inhabitants and monitoring activities and tracking criminals is considered an arduous task for its police machinery. In a circular issued to all senior oicers in the State, UP Director General of Police Javeed Ahmed has instructed them to “oicially” take to Twitter as an efective redressal mechanism of public grievances. The six-point directive instructs all top oicers of the rank of Superintendent of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Deputy Inspector General and Inspector
A six-point directive from the State police chief instructs all top officers to maintain a Twitter account General, to maintain a Twitter account. The oicers must maintain a log of the activity or action taken in their area on their Twitter handles. The State police would also be serviced with a permanent social media cell, where oicials would work in two shifts from 8 am to 10 pm daily. Swift action Mr. Ahmed also instructed his senior oicers to configure their Twitter accounts on their CUG (oicial) phone numbers so that they can ensure necessary and swift action to public complaints. All oicers and oicials of the police department will soon also receive a training in the use of Twitter at the
DGP’s headquarters in Lucknow. “Social media is an empowered medium of directly communicating with the people and it has become necessary for police to adopt it,” a police spokesperson said, quoting Mr. Ahmed, after he reviewed all Twitter handles of UP police. District-level accounts Apart from the directives to the oicers, Mr. Ahmed has also asked his forces to maintain Twitter accounts at every district level—these accounts would be directly named after the district, for instance, Varanasi police. Profile pictures and bio data should be customized for maintain uniformity. Senior oicers would also be required to reveal their rank and location as identifying markers on Twitter. The UP police may often draw a lot of flak for its on ground inefectiveness and negligence but its oicial Twitter handle has been appreciated for its alertness and quick response.
CRPF constable hurt in blast triggered by Maoists PAVAN DAHAT RAIPUR: A head constable of
the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured in a blast triggered by Maoists in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Sunday. According to a statement from Sukma Superintendent of Police I. Kalyaan Elesela, issued to the media by Bastar Inspector-General of Police S.R.P. Kalluri, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went of in the Errabore village market when the forces were going there for security duty. “One CRPF head constable was injured. Immediately after the blast, the inspector
of the Errabore police station and teams of the Special Task Force (STF) left for the spot and started searching the surrounding areas. Around two km from the road, our parties were fired at [by Maoists],” Mr. Elesela said. STF teams returned fire and searched the area. They recovered the body of a Maoist. “It appears a small action team of the Maoists was present at Errabore. It tried to divert the attention [of the security forces] by triggering the blast and then planned to attack the forces in the marketThree more IEDs were recovered in the market area,” he said.
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EDITORIAL
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THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Such a long silence on Yemen It is clear that the international community won’t do much to stop the Saudis from pounding Yemen. But as history shows, it is not easy to shape Yemen’s future from outside M O N D AY , A U G U S T 2 2 , 2 0 1 6
STANLY JOHNY
Challenges before Urjit Patel
T
he decision to pick Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Urjit Patel as the successor to outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan is a clear airmation of the Centre’s commitment to ensure policy continuity at the central bank. That the man chosen for the top job at the RBI is a person who helped formulate crucial changes in the monetary framework, including the decision to target a specified inflation level as the primary remit of the bank, reflects the administration’s focus on making price stability central to its economic agenda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently reiterated his backing for the 4 per cent retail inflation target, at a time when the Consumer Price Index-based measure had accelerated to 6.07 per cent. The Centre’s choice of the Yale economist who has earned a reputation as a “fiscal conservative” with a “hardline stance” on inflation, is in line with that thinking. Dr. Patel will need little time to settle in, given his insider credentials and experience in working with oicials at the Finance Ministry. But as in all such transitions, there will also be substantive change. Known at the RBI headquarters as someone who largely keeps his own counsel and prefers a low-profile and discreet working style, Dr. Patel is unlikely to grab headlines as frequently as his plainspeaking predecessor has done. And that is another factor that must have weighed in his favour. The first among many challenges that the new Governor will face will be the changed circumstances of monetary policy formulation. When Dr. Patel chairs the first meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee — the six-member panel that is expected to start deciding interest rates from the October 4 policy announcement onwards — it will be interesting and instructive to see how he helms the committee approach to rate-setting. As the head of the banking regulator, Dr. Patel also inherits the ongoing clean-up of bank balance sheets. Unclogging the credit pipeline by helping resolve the build-up of stressed assets with the country’s lenders and thereby improving monetary transmission are tasks that Dr. Rajan will now leave unfinished. Investors and markets alike will be keenly watching his successor’s approach to expediting the process, especially given Dr. Patel’s past stress on fiscal restraint. His wide-ranging experience — he has played roles at multilateral lending institutions and diverse industries, including a stint in advising on business development strategy at Reliance Industries — ought to stand him in good stead while dealing with the complexities of regulating the markets, the financial services industry and payments systems at a time of rapid technological change and disruption. Dr. Patel will also have his task cut out in managing and future-proofing key cadres at the central bank itself.
Early this August, the Pentagon announced plans to sell weapons worth $1.15 billion to Saudi Arabia. The news itself was not surprising as the Arab kingdom is one of America’s biggest arms buyers, but the timing of the announcement was rather conspicuous. The Saudis had resumed heavy bombardment of Yemen after a lull as part of the peace process. By deciding to send in more tanks and armaments to Saudi Arabia at a time when the kingdom faces severe international criticism for rights violations in Yemen, including the killing of children, the U.S. was unmistakably sending a message that it’s with Riyadh in this war. Descent into chaos Saudi Arabia went to war in Yemen in March 2015 only after getting permission from the U.S. Adel al-Jubeir, the then Saudi Ambassador in Washington, went to the White House in March 2015 to discuss the war plan with the administration oicials. Shia Houthi rebels had already taken over Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, and toppled the government of Mansour Hadi. Mr. Jubeir, now the kingdom’s Foreign Minister, argued that Iran had moved to Saudi Arabia’s backyard through its proxy Houthis and a military intervention was inevitable. Within days, Saudi bombers started pounding rebel locations in Yemen. But after 16 months of air strikes that have killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions, the Saudis haven’t managed to meet any of their strategic goals. Regionally, with or without the Houthis, Iran remains a powerful force. The Saudi bombing may have weakened the Houthis’ firepower, but they still control much of the territories they have captured, including Sana’a. Saudi Arabia’s border security has also worsened. The Houthis have retaliated by staging border raids and firing rockets into Saudi villages.
If the Saudis and their partners in this war take the right lessons from history, they should pull out of Yemen at the earliest, leaving Yemenis to decide their future The presence of al-Qaeda has spread in Yemen while much of the country’s northern parts has been plunged into anarchy and chaos. In other words, the war has turned Yemen into a humanitarian catastrophe, worsened regional security and helped terror groups, while the invader has been dragged deeper into the conflict. In such a scenario, two questions beg answers. Why doesn’t Saudi Arabia end the war despite the setbacks? And why is it allowed to continue a disastrous war with impunity? West Asian Cold War The Saudi interests in continuing the war are not hard to figure out. The intervention itself was a result of a Saudi-Iran Cold War. Riyadh believes that Tehran is consistently trying to expand its Shia influence across
West Asia. Iraq has already embraced Shia rule. Lebanon has the Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia doesn’t want a country in its backyard to have a Shia-dominated government. If the Saudis pull out of Yemen, that would obviously strengthen the Houthi forces. In today’s Yemen, there’s no proper army that could efectively challenge Houthi advances. The forces loyal to President Mansour Hadi are only a fraction of the strength of the Yemeni army till a few years ago. When former President Ali Abdullah Saleh joined hands with the Houthis, a major faction of the army did the same. Therefore, the only thing that prevents further advances of the Houthis is Saudi bombing and a blockade of Yemen. So the Saudis would prefer staying the course, at least till they put together a credible force on the ground that could defend the Hadi regime, now based in the southern city of Aden. But during its course, the Saudis, given the profundity of their campaign and little regard for human cost, will push Yemen further into anarchy. Kid-glove treatment Generally, Western nations present themselves in the international system as guardians of human rights. The U.S. and its European allies have even gone to war in the name of defending human rights, Libya being a recent example. They have imposed sanctions on several other countries for aggression. Even President Vladimir Putin of Russia has not been spared after his annexation of Crimea from Ukraine two years ago. But no such moral outrage is seen in the case of Saudi Arabia. Part of the reason for this is historical. U.S.-Saudi cooperation goes back to the Roosevelt era when the American President promised security to Saudi King Abdulaziz in 1945 in return for oil. Though the U.S.’s oil dependence on Saudi Arabia has come down in recent years in the wake of the shale oil boom, the geopolitical and economic aspects of the “special relationship” are ever more significant. Geopolitically, the Americans see their support for Saudi Arabia, even in the backdrop of the carnage in Yemen, as a
CARTOONSCAPE
Syria’s continuing human tragedy
T
he image of five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, sitting alone in the back seat of an ambulance, his face bloodied and dusty, has turned the spotlight again on the sheer barbarism of the Syrian civil war. Omran was rescued from the rubble of a building in the Qaterji neighbourhood of Aleppo, hit by air strikes by the Russian or Syrian regimes. Nearly a year ago an image of another Syrian boy had shaken the world’s conscience. Aylan Kurdi, who had fled the civil war with his parents, was found lying dead on a Turkish beach, provoking strong reactions from around the world. But the war continued, killing and injuring many more Syrians. According to the UN Special Envoy to Syria, around 400,000 people have been killed in the civil war over the past five and a half years. Besides, millions have been displaced, triggering one of the worst refugee crises since the Second World War. The complete disregard for human life displayed by almost all the actors of the Syrian civil war is impossible to comprehend. A government that bombs its citizens; a group that is employing mass killing as a weapon to terrorise enemies; the world’s two largest military powers that don’t care much about “collateral damage”; and a multitude of rebel factions, backed by regional powers, who compete with the regime in brutality. All of them must share the blame for turning a pluralist country of 23 million people, relatively stable and peaceful till six years ago, into the largest zone of human sufering. What is more tragic is that this man-made disaster could have been avoided had there been a proper diplomatic intervention in the early days of the civil war. If the regime was more receptive to voices of dissent, if the protesters stuck to peaceful methods as their counterparts in Egypt and Tunisia had, and if Syria’s rivals in West Asia stayed away from exploiting the conflict, the story would have been completely diferent. Of course, it is too late to mull over such questions. But the images of Omran and Aylan expose both the monstrosity of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the miserable failure of the international system to intervene. Finding a way out of the current spell of war will not be easy. But for the players involved in the conflict, there seems to be no other option. But how long can Mr. Assad kill his own people in the name of fighting the rebels? And how long can the rebels leave at the mercy of Syrian jets the people in the territories they control? Syria needs an immediate ceasefire between the regime and the rebels, followed by constructive talks backed by regional and global powers. CM YK
factor that will help them balance ties between Tehran and Riyadh. The Saudi royal family is genuinely upset with U.S. President Barack Obama’s nuclear diplomacy with Iran. The kingdom fears that an Iran without global sanctions and isolation will emerge as a stronger regional rival to its interests. Even the timing of the attack on Yemen is self-explanatory. The Iran nuclear talks were in the final stages when the Saudis went to war. So the U.S. decided to chug along in Yemen, trying to mollify some of the Saudi security concerns. Arms and the war Second, Saudi Arabia is too big a market for any arms exporting country to ignore. For the U.S., the world’s largest arms exporter, ties with Saudi Arabia are particularly important. Almost 10 per cent of U.S. arms exports goes to Saudi Arabia, and 9 per cent to the United Arab Emirates, an ally of Riyadh in the Yemen war. In 2015 alone, the U.S. sold military equipment and support worth more than $20 billion. In September last year, a few months after the Yemen operation began, Washington announced a $60-billion arms deal, the largest such sale in U.S. history, which includes the supply of 84 F-15 fighter planes, 70 Apache attack helicopters, 72 Black Hawk troop-transport helicopters, and 36 Little Bird surveillance copters. The cluster bombs the Saudis are accused of using in Yemen today were also bought from the U.S. In 2013, Saudi Arabia bought 1,300 cluster bombs — a weapon which is banned by more than 100 countries as it causes “unacceptable harm to civilians” — from Textron for $641 million. The last thing Mr. Obama would want at a time when U.S. exports are sagging and the economy is struggling would be to say no to arms buyers. So it’s clear that the international community won’t do much to stop the Saudis from pounding Yemen. No matter how hard the U.S. may talk about human rights, it won’t raise a finger against the Saudis. None other than U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged earlier this year that he had taken of Saudi Arabia from a UN list of countries/militias that kill children after Riyadh threatened to defund UN programmes. But will these financial threats, Westernsupplied weapons and diplomatic protection be enough for Saudi Arabia to shape the future of Yemen? How long can Riyadh continue a disastrous war at a time when its own border security is worsening and economy struggling with low oil prices? Besides, it’s not easy to shape Yemen’s politics from outside. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser sent thousands of troops in 1962 to Northern Yemen to back republican fighters against the royalists in a civil war. Five years later he had to withdraw the troops in ignominy. The U.S. started a drone war in Yemen against al-Qaeda in 2010. One of the most powerful branches of al-Qaeda is now in Yemen. Saudi Arabia sent troops to Yemen in 2009 to attack the Houthis at the request of then President Saleh. Six years later, Riyadh had to send bombers to attack the same group, which now controls much of the country’s north. If the Saudis and their partners in this war take the right lessons from this history, they should pull out of Yemen at the earliest, leaving the Yemenis to decide their future.
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Urjit Patel’s appointment The choice of Urjit Patel as the next Governor of the Reserve Bank of India should ensure a smooth transition and continuity in monetary policy (“Urjit Patel named Rajan’s successor”, Aug.21). His first challenge will be in managing the mountain of bad debt in government-owned banks. It is said that Dr. Patel is a strict fiscal disciplinarian, an “inflation warrior” and the “right man” to succeed Raghuram Rajan. Will he be allowed to succeed? Vinod C. Dixit, Ahmedabad
The announcement shows that the government still considers inflation to be a serious enough problem. It was the Urjit Patel committee’s recommendations that were among the first to insist on tackling inflation and in setting targets. Considering this point, as well as Dr. Patel’s long association with Raghuram Rajan, we look forward to some good work. S. Ramapriyan, Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
of cash awards and job promotions. Instead, the aim should be to groom such players further by providing them the best coaching facilities and other crucial infrastructure. We also seem to think about the Olympic Games only when they are around the corner. The mad rush to achieve qualifying standards, irrespective of whether the athlete is a medal prospect or not, is why we end up putting up such a mediocre display. C.M. Umanath, Kozhikode
It hardly matters whether or not our athletes have performed to their full potential in the Rio Olympics. What is of concern is the manner in which many of our “star athletes” crashed out without even qualifying because of shocking reasons. In the instance of the Indian men’s 4x400 m relay team of Muhammed Kunju, Muhammed Anas, Dharun Ayyasamy and Rajiv Arokia, it was disqualified for incorrect change of baton during the anchor leg between Dharun and Rajiv. These cases only prove how our coaches are totally ill-prepared to handle the basics. A.V. Narayanan, Tiruchi
Higher and stronger I was rubbing my eyes in disbelief when I read about the work ethics of Pullela Gopi Chand and his famous wards (‘Sport’ – “I knew Sindhu had a medal in her: Gopi” and “A silver seven years in the making”, both Aug.21). It is only when there is single-minded dedication by both coach and player towards the task on hand that one reach the pinnacle of glory. I would also like comment on the culture of rewards. The moment a sportsperson wins a medal in a high-profile tournament, there is a slew of announcements in the form
It is disappointing to see how people are relating P.V. Sindhu’s win to her being a woman. I don’t think this fact needs re-emphasis. She’s an athlete and that’s it. Respect her because of her hard work and achievement, and not because she’s a woman who belongs to India. Yuvanshi Verma, Gurgaon, Haryana
It is clear from the achievements by Sakshi Malik and P.V. Sindhu that India has plenty of latent talent. We have to hunt for these hidden jewels and nurture them from a young age. There has to be a renewed sporting
policy and increased budgetary support. The Indian Olympic Association and other sporting bodies must be manned by experienced managers. Rather than doling out tax-payers’ money to individual medal winners, we can spend the amount to develop existing infrastructure. Gaurav Singhal, Rewari, Haryana
One is no doubt proud of the medal winners but the focus seems to be only on individuals. We seem to have forgotten the importance of team games, in which India has fallen far behind the required global standards. Experts must now tour educational institutions and identify talent especially from rural India. Yuva kendras and sports associations have a huge role to play now in boosting the team concept. S. Vairamani, Kottaiyur, Tamil Nadu
Suspension of legislators The suspension of 79 DMK MLAs enmasse by the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu State Assembly for a week is unfortunate (Tamil Nadu, “DMK challenges Speaker’s power to ‘unilaterally’ suspend MLAs”, Aug.20). In a democratic framework, the Opposition enjoys a special place and has every right to question the acts of commission and omission of the ruling dispensation besides raising issues of public interest. Both Dravidian parties share an equal responsibility in rising above petty political considerations and working towards the development and prosperity of the State. M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
As members of an august body, the “drama” by DMK MLAs in
expressing their dissent is unbecoming (“Mock Assembly not meant to hurt anyone: Stalin”, Aug.20). Has the party forgotten how it had made a promise, after the recent State election, to serve as a constructive Opposition party on the floor of the Assembly? There has to be a review of the rules and procedures of legislative assemblies and the incorporation of amendments and provisions to ensure their smooth functioning. R. Janakiraman, Chennai
Stray dog attacks It is odd that a State such as Kerala, which has envious figures as far as human development is concerned, is unable to cope with its street dog menace (“Woman mauled to death by stray dogs”, Aug.21). Culling is not a solution in this new kind of human-animal conflict. Instead, we should focus on dog population control. There has to be an efective solution lest it afects the perception of a tourist arriving in “god’s own country”. Lalit Kumar Bhardwaj, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
The data are shocking — a 2.5 lakh stray population. Coming back to the report, how many more people have to face trauma this way? The Supreme Court has to pass orders to permit the putting down of stray dogs in Kerala. A human life is definitely more precious. M.K.B. Nambiar, Mahe
It is incredible that such an incident did not happen in a remote part of India but in Kerala. The incident should make authorities reconsider reviving the old rule of catching and putting down all stray dogs. One
hopes that animal lovers do not stand in the way of this. J. Eden Alexander, Thanjavur
In search of a sister The moving article, “Desperately seeking Mariyamma” (‘Ground Zero’ page, Aug.20), has prompted me to ofer my help in any way I can to help reunite the siblings. It was heart-warming to read about how Samantha Mari’s American family has brought her up with much love and care, and if she has expressed a desire to meet her family, she deserves every opportunity to have this wish fulfilled. I request Samantha’s parents to share more details about the orphanage from where she was adopted which will greatly aid in eforts to find her younger sister. Shubhika Gupta, New Delhi
It is touching that Yasamma, now Samantha Mari Tavis, still hasn’t forgotten about her family in India even after 18 long years. This is a story that needs a very happy ending and readers of The Hindu should make it happen. Sunanda V. Kurtakoti, Dharwad, Karnataka
It is sad that in the case of adoptions, families are separated and subject to emotional trauma. You cannot blame the biological parents of the siblings for what has happened, nor can you fault the American family, the Tavises, who have brought up Yasamma with great care and now support their daughter’s quest. I am sure that the publicity the article will have generated will ensure the ultimate aim. K.L.V. Prasad, Hanamkonda, Telangana ND-ND
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THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
FROM THE READERS' EDITOR
Engaging readers, going beyond comments On August 14, The Hindu published an interview with the celebrated Marathi playwright, Mahesh Elkunchwar, headlined, “I eat, sleep, dream in Marathi”. Tamil writer Era. Murugan wrote to us about a comment from a reader, K. Seshu, on that interview that read: “Marathi is a rich language and has produced great writers and thinkers. A.S. PANNEERSELVAN This writer is one of them. He has worked for people’s theatre and has done a lot for the development of street plays. Dr. Storm Lagoon (emphasis added) has also produced great works.” Mr. Murugan rightly pointed out that it should have been Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, and autocorrect reduced the thespian, author and poet to ‘Storm Lagoon’. Mr. Murugan’s contention was that there is no major creator with the name ‘Storm Lagoon’ and that the desk, particularly the subeditor who cleared the comments, was ignorant of the immense contributions of Dr. Lagoo. Mr. Murugan’s complaint is about the lapses on the part of the commenter who did not realise that autocorrect was rendering a famous theatre and film personality to a waterbody, and the failure of the moderators to take notice of the inherent limitations of autocorrect regarding proper nouns that are not familiar to the code writers in Silicon Valley. However, his mail is a timely reminder to look at the comments section itself in its entirety. It has always been a challenge for both the editorial team and the Readers’ EdiThe comments section has tor, especially when readers compare not pushed the boundary in the quality of writing above the line with those below the line. Why debates; it has created a should the below-the-line text fail to space for digital vigilantes adhere to the standards that The Hinand virtual lynch mobs du upholds for the text above the line in its Web edition? What should be the permissible leeway to encourage readers’ participation without undermining the quality and the intensity of the debate? Are there other means to have sustained feedback from the readers and ofer space for their opinions? I have dealt with the multiple problems that flow from the comments section in earlier columns: “Yes to criticism, no to vitriol” (November 25, 2013), “Hilary Mantel is not alone” (May 5, 2014), “Saving public sphere from trolls” (August 25, 2014), “Undeterred by malice” (August 1, 2015) and “Of doctored content and vile comments” (February 22, 2016). Commenters should first know why most media organisations opened their spaces for comments. Editors imagined that creating a space for reactions and responses from the readers would strengthen the public sphere in a Habermasian sense. The idea was that there would be digital empowerment — multiple voices would be amplified, listened to, and responded to, and there would be participation and mutual learning. It was a step taken to move away from the one-to-many narratives of the analogue media and create a polyphony that represented the layered reality of our complex world. In a larger sense, it was the media’s response to Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s clarion call: “The future of the Web depends on ordinary people discussing it, taking responsibility for it and challenging those who seek to control the Web for their own purposes. The first step is to answer one simple question: what kind of Web do we want?” The digital conundrum However, the comments section has failed to live up to its expectations. It has not pushed the boundary in debates that cover subjects ranging from politics to economy, sports to arts and culture, society to technological disruptions. On the other hand, it has created a space for digital vigilantes and virtual lynch mobs. We question the use of anonymous sources in journalism and the problem it poses to good reporting and informed public discourse. What is our position regarding anonymity in digital space that has been used by a small but voluble section of commenters to breach the line that divides criticism and abuse? As a person handling complaints and suggestions from the readers, I can vouch for the fact that important and substantial contributions have come in the form of mails rather than comments. Over the last two years, many news organisations began to evaluate the usefulness of the comments section. Some have decided to shut down the section fully: Reuters, Recode, The Verge, Popular Science, Chicago SunTimes and The Week. The public broadcaster, NPR, is the latest one to join this list. Scott Montgomery, Managing Editor of NPR, said: “After much experimentation and discussion, we've concluded that the comment sections on NPR.org stories are not providing a useful experience for the vast majority of our users. In order to prioritise and strengthen other ways of building community and engagement with our audience, we will discontinue storypage comments on NPR.org on August 23.” In this context, I think it would be beneficial for The Hindu to rework its digital engagement with its readers. The new weekly feature of The Guardian, ‘Guardian Social’, which debates the week with the readers, seems to be an interesting format. It is a structured discussion that runs every Friday from 12 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Readers are invited to pose their questions on the website. They are expected to answer some crucial questions: “What would you like to discuss during our guardian social? Explain why. Share a question for one of Guardian’s journalists.” It also gives the readers three choices in publishing their responses: yes with the identity of the reader; yes but the reader remains anonymous; and no. ‘The Hindu Social’ may be a way forward for engaging with the readers in a meaningful manner without opening up the digital space for spite, venom, vitriol and abuse.
[email protected]
FROM THE ARCHIVES (dated August 22, 1966)
Use of force to disperse unlawful groups The Centre has laid down broad guidelines to regulate use of force for dispersing unlawful assemblies. On the issue of a judicial inquiry into police firings, the consensus among States and the Centre is that this should not be mandatory. These are based on the report of the Sub-Committee of State Inspectors-General of
Police constituted to prepare a common manual of instructions. The Home Ministry has accepted the Sub-Committee’s recommendations. The State Governments have been asked to review their existing regulations and supplement them wherever necessary on the lines the SubCommittee has recommended. Broadly speaking, before police open fire, other means such as lathi-charge, tear gas and arrest of trouble-makers are to be adopted to disperse unlawful assemblies.
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS >In the Editorial, “An anachronistic law” (August 18, 2016), Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code was incorrectly referred to as Article 124-A. >>The report, “We used less lethal, non-lethal munitions in Kashmir: CRPF” (August 19, 2016, some editions), put the count of the pellets used in 32 days to control street protests in Kashmir as 1.6 million. It should have been 1.3 million. >>In the report, “Sakshi takes bronze, Sindhu in the hunt for gold” (August 19, 2016) the scores of P.V. Sindhu were erroneously given as 21-19, 21-14. They should have been 21-19, 21-10. It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers’ Editor’s oice can be contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday); E-mail:
[email protected] The Terms of Reference for the Readers’ Editor are on www.thehindu.com CM YK
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PERSPECTIVE
Ending the impasse The judiciary-government face-of cannot go on indefinitely. The Supreme Court and the executive need to finalise the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges the ground of national security or public interest, then such rejection is binding on the court. In simple terms, the last word would belong to the executive whenever this reason is invoked. This is where the court is unwilling to relent, since it goes against the grain of its judgments establishing the collegium.
SRIRAM PANCHU
The tension between the judiciary and the government on the appointment of judges to the High Courts and Supreme Court seems to be intensifying. The two have been locked into conflict on this issue for the last 16 months. Meanwhile, 475 seats in the High Courts remain unoccupied, a staggering and unprecedented number. The damage to an already overloaded judicial system is beyond calculation. Our higher judiciary at the State level struggles to keep its head above water, managing against odds to keep the system going, but its hopes of an eicient and responsive justice delivery system have receded considerably. The collegium debate Supreme Court judgments in 1993 and 1998 gave rise to the collegium of the five senior-most Supreme Court judges, who exercised the supreme power of appointment to the judicial ranks. The judgments provided for a consultative process between the executive and judiciary, and for the government to return for reconsideration a name sent by the collegium. However, the appointment had to be made if the collegium reiterated its view. Essentially, the court had the last word; this was the cardinal concept laid down. The methodology for consultation was contained in a Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) formulated in 1999. In April last year, the government brought in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, after securing an unanimous vote for its passage in Parliament and some State Assemblies. This was widely seen, in the language of Star Wars, as the empire striking back, an attempt to break the judiciary’s monopoly by placing the Law Minister and two “eminent persons” (in whose choice the judiciary had a minority voice) at the deciding table, along with the Chief Justice of India and his two senior-most colleagues. Predictably, the NJAC was challenged. Several appointments were in the pipeline, but the court declined to direct these to be processed for appointment. In October 2015, a five-judge Bench of the court held the NJAC to be unconstitutional, a decision that caused heart-
ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN
burn to the entire political class, and a severe loss of face for the government. It was clear that it would only be a matter of time before another attempt was made to undermine the supremacy of the collegium. That opportunity presented itself sooner than later. Following its judgment, the court, admitting that the existing collegium system had serious flaws, called for suggestions to improve it. Responses came in thick and fast. The court could itself have proceeded to reformulate the MoP, and in retrospect, it would have been wiser for it so to do. Instead it heeded the request of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that the government should be permitted to do this exercise. Perhaps the judges felt that this would compensate for having excluded the government from the deciding table, and that if the government drafted the revised MoP it would be coopted into acceptance of the judgment. However, in its Order dated December 16, 2015 permitting the government to
It looks as though apart from the court, the other branches do not view the deterioration of the justice system as a pressing issue formulate a revised MoP, the court was careful to mention the points that needed to be addressed, namely eligibility criteria, measures for transparency, establishment of a Secretariat, and a complaints mechanism. It also specified that this MoP was for the faithful implementation of its decisions in the earlier cases. The MoP runs into a few pages, and all it needed were insertions to cover the above points. This exercise should have taken a couple of weeks. However, it is eight months now and the document is far from finalised. It appears that the logjam is over the government’s assertion that if it rejects a candidate on
The government’s position An observer can be forgiven for thinking that the Arab and the camel syndrome is playing out here. The government sought a limited role as the draftsman of the MoP, and then utilised this slender opening to prise open the door, seat itself at the table, and exclude the judiciary by invoking the mantra of national security or public interest. It may be noted that the existing MoP does not deal with the “last word” issue, that being contained in the judgment itself; the government is therefore out of bounds in its current attempt. It is also somewhat strange that the government positions itself as the protector of national security and public interest, as if the court will insist on a name going through where these are threatened. This hiatus cannot go on indefinitely. Appeals, remonstrations and rebukes from the Chief Justice of India do not seem to have the desired efect. It looks as though apart from the court, the other branches do not view the deterioration of the justice system as a pressing issue. Perhaps the time has come to face the problem squarely, and to adopt a more direct method of engaging for resolution. The Attorney General could take the lead in meeting both sides, formulating and reformulating proposals. Else, the Law Minister, with necessary authority, could engage with the judges. Another option is for the Prime Minister to take the lead to invite the Chief Justice and senior judges for a discussion. And let us not rule out the ultimate possibility of the President being just that bit proactive to bring the heads of the two institutions together. These above methods may serve to end the impasse and get matters resolved. If these are not tried, or are unsuccessful, the Supreme Court should consider recalling its order permitting the government to draft the revised MoP, and to undertake the task itself. That exercise should take a week at the most. Sriram Panchu is a Senior Advocate at the Madras High Court. Email:
[email protected]
Recording each vote Limiting voice votes in Parliament would give MPs a greater stake in intra-party decision-making. MPs need to ask for a division every time there is a vote M.R. MADHAVAN
In the recently concluded session of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed 14 Bills each. However, only in the case of one of these Bills — the Constitution Amendment Bill that enables the Goods and Services Tax — do we know how each MP voted. All other Bills were voted by voice vote. This means that when the Speaker put the Bill to vote, MPs supporting it said “Aye”, those opposing it said “No”, and the Speaker judged that the chorus saying “Aye” had more people. Therefore, not only do we not know how each MP voted, we don’t even know who was present in the House. This session was not a special case. In general, very few Bills see a recorded vote (also called “division”). Only Constitution Amendments do, as they require the support of a majority of the membership of the House and twothirds majority of those present and voting; therefore, everyone’s vote is recorded and counted. In the five years of the last Lok Sabha, only 19 Bills of the total 179 passed witnessed a division. The 14th Lok Sabha (2004-2009) was even worse, with votes recorded in eight of the 248 Bills that were passed. Ensuring accountability Why is this important? In a parliamentary democracy, the government is accountable for its actions to Parliament. In turn, MPs are accountable for their actions to citizens. This means that citizens need to have information on the activity of their elected representatives, including how they voted on each Bill or issue. In the absence of such information, citizens cannot ask their representatives to justify the way they voted on any issue. Witness the election debates in the U.S. and how each Senator contesting for re-election (or another oice such as President or Governor) is questioned in televised debates to see the efectiveness of a system where the electorate has such information. The anti-defection law compounds the issue. Every MP is required to vote according to the party whip, failing which they could lose their seat in Parliament. Therefore, one could argue that recording the vote of each MP is a mere formality as the votes are a foregone conclusion. This line of reasoning
EXCEPTION: “Only in the case of the Constitution Amendment Bill that enables the GST do we know how each MP voted.” The two photos show voting on the GST Bill in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session in Parliament. — PHOTO: PTI/ TV GRAB is a slippery slope. We can extend the argument to say that any debate in Parliament is irrelevant as the final vote is pre-determined by each party’s leadership. Further, one could argue that Parliament is superfluous — and a small committee consisting of one representative of each party could take all decisions, with their votes weighted by the party membership in the House. This would question the very structure of representative democracy. We follow a constituency system, that is, each MP of Lok Sabha is elected by the citizens residing in a geographical constituency. The MP has several roles such as making laws, holding the government to account for its actions, and sanctioning government taxes and expenditure. MPs have to act in a manner that they believe is in national interest (or the interest of the people they represent). The anti-defection law turns this logic on its head and requires the MP to just follow the party diktat. The lack of recorded voting disables citizens from questioning the actions of the MP on any issue. This combination strikes at the very root of how a representative democracy is expected to work. For example, consider the vote related to the bifurcation of the State of Andhra Pradesh. This was an extremely contentious issue, which divided the MPs from that State depending on which region they represented. However, one can assume that all the Congress MPs voted for the bifurcation, including those from coastal Andhra and Rayala-
The need to explain their positions to the electorate will lead MPs to consider various issues more carefully before voting on them seema, despite having obstructed Parliament for several days in protest against the bifurcation. We don’t know this for sure, as the vote was not recorded. What we do know is that just 203 MPs were present in the Lok Sabha during the final vote on the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, which strengthened anti-rape laws following the gang rape in Delhi in December 2012; we know this as someone demanded a division for a proposed amendment to the Bill and the vote was recorded. Therefore, we even know which MPs were absent during this vote. Recording all votes How diicult is it to change the system to ensure that all votes are recorded? The rules of procedure require a voice vote on every bill and any other voting motion. If any member challenges the Speaker’s decision, a division must be called. Therefore, if there is a group of MPs that wants to see this change, it can just ask for division at the final stage of voting on every Bill. An alternative will be to amend the Rules. The infrastructure in our Parliament is geared for easy implementation of recorded voting. All MPs have a voting
system at their desk and have to merely press the button to record the votes. This is diferent from the U.K. House of Commons where the MPs walk out to two diferent lobbies to record their support or opposition to an issue and a physical count is taken; despite this cumbersome process, their votes on most Bills are recorded. There could be a significant positive change if all votes are recorded. The need to explain their positions to the electorate will lead to more careful examination and consideration of various issues before MPs vote on them. They will also have a greater stake in intraparty discussions on issues if their votes are determined by the party whip. If the anti-defection law is revoked, democratic deliberation will be further strengthened. If the government proposes any new law, it will have to convince a majority of MPs instead of just a few party leaders. This will necessitate arguments using evidence and reason as backroom negotiations would be far more diicult with a large number of MPs. In sum, these two changes can improve the quality of deliberations in Parliament. While changing the antidefection law will require the Constitution to be amended, ensuring recorded voting just needs a few MPs to ask for a division every time there is a vote. One hopes that a coalition of MPs across party lines can take up this reform. M.R. Madhavan is the President and co-founder of PRS Legislative Research. ND-ND
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NEWS
FROM PAGE ONE
Isolate those speaking against nation: Shah “If there is no nationalism, there will be no Constitution from which this right can be derived,” he said. Mr. Shah said people are free to question another person, an ideology or actions of a party by invoking their right to freedom of expression. But nobody can speak against the nation by invoking this right. Mr Shah said, “Some people were also campaigning on social media on whether nationalism was necessary” and that he would like to tell them that independence would not have taken place if there was no love for the national and patriotism. “The propaganda against nationalism could not be considered as freedom of speech,” he said. “The entire nation should unite to uphold patriotism Mr. Shah said youth should not be inspired by Non-Government Organi-
sations that speak against the country but by the works of personalities such as Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi and Subash Chandra Bose. The life of Rani Abbakka, who fought against the Portuguese to prevent their invasion into coastal Karnataka, was also inspiring, he said. Mr.Shah’s comments come at a time when the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has launched a series of protests against Amnesty International India (AII), following an event to discuss human rights violations in the Kashmir valley. The Bengaluru police, which had filed a sedition case against AII after an ABVP complaint that “anti national speeches and slogans” were made at the event, has said it has “found no evidence to substantiate the sedition charge”. (With PTI inputs)
Meagre margins in milk parlour But why didn’t he take the milk parlour ofer? “Have you seen any liquor shop transformed like that in Patna? What’s the margin? Just a rupee on each packet of milk,” he counters. Sujit Kumar, who ran an old liquor shop at crowded Mitahpur bus stand, has turned it into “Atithi Restaurant and Guest house”. The Managing Director of COMFED, Sudhir Kumar Singh, dismisses the criticism. He counts 16 liquor outlets that successfully switched to milk parlours in Patna and Vaishali districts. “We welcome them and will provide all support and facilities,” he asserts. He cites Sunil Kumar Rai’s enterprise on Arya Kumar Road in Patna as
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Delhi book fair to get private imprint? If Javadekar approves of Smriti Irani’s decision, National Book Trust will lose its role in the expo
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
gati Maidan in the heart of the national capital. The NBT does invite tenders for work such as putting up pavilions and stalls, for which it does not have internal expertise.
VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI: With the Human
Resource Development Ministry writing to the National Book Trust (NBT), an autonomous institution under it, late in June that the New Delhi World Book Fair be outsourced to a private company, there is a significant possibility that the hosting of the prestigious book fair is in for a change. Just before she was shifted to the Ministry of Textiles, the then Human Resource Minister, Smriti Irani, held a meeting on June 22, in which it was decided that a particular private company will be “involved in the management of the entire event”. A letter subsequently written by the Ministry to the NBT instructed it to forward a small presentation to the private company. “As a first step towards the direction, it is requested to immediately forward a small presentation on the events
TURNING A PAGE: Visitors at the New Delhi World Book Fair in January. — FILE PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA proposed to be held along with one or two video clippings of the last fairs...,” the letter accessed by The Hindu says.
However, a senior Ministry oicial told The Hindu that now the ball is in the court of the new Minister, Prakash Javadekar, who can
either go with the previous direction or reverse or modify it. Till now, the NBT organises the prestigious fair at Pra-
14% of pellet gun victims below 15 PEERZADA ASHIQ
ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN
“doing very good milk business”. But a visit showed Mr. Rai has given the milk parlour on rent to someone else, and his tenant was not too happy. Unsurprisingly, many have moved up the value chain to ice-cream and more. The lure of liquor profits remains strong, and many are pinning their hopes on the Patna High Court, where a judgment on prohibition is due.
FETO has infiltrated India: Turkey Minister
Cong. delegation meets Pranab on attacks on Dalits
SRINAGAR: Eight-year-old Junaid Ahmad on Sunday became the latest victim of ‘targeted fire’ when he was shot at from close range by a pellet gun, resulting in extensive injuries to his chest. Junaid is the latest to figure in the grim statistics showing that 14 per cent of those injured by pellets since July 9 are below the age of 15 and face complicated surgery. Ahmad was standing in a lane outside his house on at Nawabazaar’s Qalamdanpora area on Sunday evening when the security forces started withdrawing from the area after the day-long curfew. “A police Rakshak vehicle stopped at the lane and chased people assembling in the area. Ahmad did not flee from the spot. Instead, he stood there. He was shouted at by a police man from the vehicle and then fired at without any consideration for his age,” said Ahmad’s relative at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital. Dozens of pellets hit Ahmad in the chest, with some penetrating through to his lungs. “There are multiple pellet injuries in the chest but he is showing signs of improvement,” said a doctor in the hospital. “If he was a little closer to the barrel of the pellet shotgun, given his tender skin, pellets would have ruptured his lungs,” the doctor added. The hospital that receives only critical patients from 10 districts and caters to the city patients, is overwhelmed with cases of pellet injuries since July 9, a day after Hizb militant commander Burhan Wani was killed. It received 933 pellet cases till first week of August.
Outsourcing by bids A well-placed source said the NBT’s view is that the event should not be outsourced and even if it is, the outsourcing should be done by inviting bids and ascertaining whether the interested companies have the experience to organise an event that sees massive global participation. The NBT has been organising the fair since 1972, when the first event saw 200 participants flock to Delhi. Each such event since 1998 has seen more than 1,000 participants from across the globe. Stalls relating to areas ranging from science and technology to social sciences and children’s books are part of each such event.
NEW DELHI: As the unrest in
PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD
“We had 440 pellet patients who were hit in the eyes. Of these, 60 to 70 patients were under the age of 15,” Sajad Khanday, consultant ophthalmologist at the SMHS, told The Hindu. Around 40 surgeries are slated for next week. “There were around 250 patients who required second surgeries. Many among them were very young,” said Dr. Khanday. He admitted that performing surgeries on children is more demanding. “In adults injured by pellets, we administer local anaesthesia and perform surgeries. However, children have to undergo general anaesthesia, where functioning of all vitals must be regulated and observed minutely. Surgeries are more tedious than performed on adults,” said Dr. Khanday, who has operated upon patients as young as seven.
Slams Modi Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having enough time to speak about the peoples’ struggle in Balochistan, the delegation said Mr. Modi had no time to meet the Dalit families who have been subjected to serious human rights abuse in his home state Gujarat.
With over 400 injured in pellet fire, govt. weighs options VIJAITA SINGH
Eight-year-old Junaid in a hospital in Srinagar on Sunday after being hit by pellets in the chest. —
NEW DELHI: A delegation of Congress leaders from Gujarat met President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday and sought his intervention to stop the “rising atrocities” against Dalits and other Schedule Caste communities in Gujarat. Apart from calling President’s attention to “1000 atrocities committed against Dalits in Gujarat,” the delegation said there was complete “collapse” of law and order in the State which needed to be restored through his and Governor’s involvement.
the Kashmir valley continues for the 44th day, a committee constituted by the Home Ministry to look for alternatives to pellet guns is exploring options including enhancing the intensity of tear gas used in shells, using chilli powder and rubber bullets, a senior government oicial told The Hindu. The seven-member expert committee, headed by T.V.S.N Prasad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Afairs, was constituted on July 26 and is expected to submit its report within two months. The committee has met five times and most members had one major concern — any alternative should not defeat the “primary purpose” of safeguarding the security forces. Another area of
concern was the expected rise in number of civilian deaths if pellet guns were withdrawn altogether. “In all, the meetings held so far, the main objective is that security forces should not be left to fend for themselves. We are exploring whether to increase the chemical content in tear gas shells to drive away the protestors. The Tekanpur facility of Border Security Force, which manufactures the tear gas shells has been asked to come up with a solution whether the increased chemical content would be useful,” said an oicial familiar with the developments. The CRPF , which has been deployed in the valley to assist the State police for crowd-control informed the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in an aidavit that it had
fired 1.3 million pellets from pump-action guns in the period July 8 to August 11. More than 400 people have been injured due to pellet fire and several political parties have asked the government to withdraw its use in the valley, which has been simmering since Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8. The CRPF said it fired 8,650 tear-gas shells during the same period. “The use of chilli powder is also being explored and we have asked some foreign vendors to come and give us demonstration on the various kinds of crowd-control methods being used worldwide. The protestors in the valley are always armed with big stones and security forces are vulnerable during such demonstrations,” said the oicial.
NEW DELHI: Fethullah Gulen
Terrorist Organisation (FETO), blamed for last month’s coup attempt to topple President Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, has “infiltrated” India, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Asserting that the FETO is “secretive transnational criminal network” with presence around the world, Mr. Cavusoglu said, “Unfortunately, the FETO has also infiltrated India through associations and schools.” In an interview to PTI after holding talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, the Turkish Minister said, “I have already taken up this issue with my counterpart.” “In all countries where the FETO has a presence, we ask them to take immediate actions to remove them from their territories.” Asked for a response to the Minister’s comments, External Afairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup
J&K Opposition team to meet Modi today NEW DELHI: With Kashmir in
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. said the Indian side was “sensitive” to Turkish concerns and Indian security agencies were “looking into” Ankara’s demand for closure of associations connected with the FETO which were carrying out illegal activities. Asserting that terrorism, in all its forms constitute a threat to India and Turkey, the Turkish Minister said “Therefore, exchange of information regarding these threats and bilateral and multilateral cooperation and solidarity against terrorism is crucial.” — PTI
turmoil, a delegation of Opposition parties from the State will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to impress upon him on the need for finding a “political solution” to the crisis by initiating a dialogue with “all stakeholders.” The delegation led by former CM Omar Abdullah of the NCwill apprise Mr. Modi of the ground situation in the State, which is in the grip of a prolonged spell of violence and lockdown since the gunning down of militant commander Burhan Wani by the security forces on July 8, and highlight the plight of Kashmiri people. The delegation will include CPI(M) MLA Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami, State Congress president G.A.
Punjab police arrest chief of cow vigilantes from U.P. ing death), 384 (committing extortion), 341 (wrongfully restraining any person), along with Sections 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code was registered. Satish was also booked under Section 377, which criminalises unnatural sex, after a youth from Saharanpur alleged that he was abducted and sodomised by Satish’s goons.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: In a crackdown on
self-styled cow vigilantes, the Punjab police have arrested Gau Raksha Dal chief Satish Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, a fortnight after he was booked for sodomy, rioting, extortion among other charges. The Patiala police also arrested two other accused, Arun Kumar and Gauri, from Vrindavan in U.P, where they were hiding. “We have arrested three accused on Saturday from Vrindavan. Two other accused — Bablu and Gurpreet — are still at large, and we hope to arrest them very soon,” Rajinder Singh Sohal, Superintendent of Police, Rajpura, told The Hindu. The Patiala police had CM YK
Gau Raksha Dal chief Satish Kumar in police custody in Patiala on Sunday. — PHOTO: PTI lodged a case on August 6, two years after a video went viral showing Gau Raksha Dal members brutally thrashing people. A case under Sections 382 (having made preparation for caus-
One-day custody “The local Rajpura court has sent them to one-day police custody. We will demand their further remand,” said Mr. Sohal. The victim from Saharanpur had told a judicial magistrate that Satish, Bablu and few others had forcibly taken him to a cow shelter in Rajpura where he was sodomised.
Mir, senior leaders of the NC and some Independent MLAs. On Sunday, the delegation met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi where he pitched for eforts to find a political solution to the violent unrest in Kashmir. — PTI
3 infiltrators killed SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SRINAGAR: The Army on Sun-
day said it killed three infiltrators in Kupwara district and foiled an infiltration bid by militants to sneak into the plains of the Valley. A Defence spokesman told The Hindu that three militants were killed in Tanghdar area of Kupwara district.
One killed, 88 injured in violence PEERZADA ASHIQ SRINAGAR: One youth was killed and 88 civilians were injured in clashes in north and south Kashmir as unrest in the Valley entered the 44th day on Sunday. Irfan Ahmad died after a tear-gas shell hit his chest at Nowhatta in Srinagar. “The youth was brought in a critical condition. He died of chest injury,” Nazir Chowdhary, medical superintendent, Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital, said. Protests went on in Srinagar despite curfew.
Violence in Baramulla Violence erupted at Rafiabad and Sopore in Baramulla district, where 70 people sustained injuries. A major clash followed a clampdown
It will be AAP-BJP fight in Goa: Kejriwal PRAKASH KAMAT
DAILY SCENE: A slogan-filled protest in Srinagar on Sunday. — PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD
on a pro-freedom rally at Behrampora. Eyewitnesses told The Hindu that the security forces fired tear-gas shells into the crowd, triggering violence. Clashes started at Seelo in Sopore where a CRPF cavalcade came under attack
CEA’s continuance Tharoor says raising slogans shows ‘tolerance’, will not compromise security contended was a “big misNEW DELHI: National security says Swamy NEW DELHI: BJP MP Subrama-
PANAJI: Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that as in the 2015 Delhi polls, the Congress would go blank in the Goa Assembly polls early next year. Participating in a ‘Goa Dialogues’ held for tribals in the Quepem taluk of south Goa during his three-day visit, Mr. Kejriwal said that in the 2017 Assembly elections in Goa it would be a “straight fight” between the AAP and the BJP. “The Congress stands nowhere in these polls. You take it in writing from me, the Congress will not get a single seat in Goa, just like in Delhi. Don’t waste your vote by giving it to the Congress,” he said. He alleged that the corruption in BJP-led coalition government in Goa was worse
Arvind Kejriwal than the levels of corruption during the erstwhile Congress-led regime. He charged that Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and his predecessor Manohar Parrikar had cheated the people of Goa. Stating that drug trade was a huge problem in Goa, Mr. Kejriwal alleged that such a business could not flourish without political patronage.
from stone-throwers. People alleged that the security forces barged into a marriage party at Trumgund in Sopore and injured nine persons. One person was hit by pellets. The police refused to comment on the incident.
Six persons, including two women, were injured at Hygam when people tried to march to the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. One imam was injured when security forces allegedly thrashed him as he was on his way home in Kupwara from Srinagar, his family said. Two youths were injured at Moominabad in Anantnag, according to local people. Security agencies are grappling with anti-India rallies in south Kashmir. Hurriyat faction chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq alleged “a deliberate attempt” to instil fear in the people “through violence.” “Indiscriminate firing of pellets on innocent children is horrific and unbelievable in a nation that makes tall claims about ‘ahimsa’,” he said.
nian Swamy on Sunday launched a fresh attack on Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, terming his continuance in job “tolerance.” “Arvind S called Namo a mediocre leader, eicient in riots & asked US to grill India in WTO for drug cos mkt access, is CEA! Tolerance!!,” Dr. Swamy tweeted. However, Dr. Swamy’s support to the appointment of Kenya-born Urjit Patel as new RBI Governor, surprised many as the BJP MP had targeted outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan saying he was “mentally not fully Indian” and was holding a U.S. green card. Mr. Subramanian was appointed CEA by the Modi government in 2014. — PTI
does not get compromised when a few people raise slogans, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said, defending Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara’s clean chit to Amnesty International in a case of alleged sedition slapping which he
take“. “We are stronger than that, we are bigger than that, we are better than that,” Mr. Tharoor told PTI on the sidelines of a conference on IPR organised by O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) here. — PTI
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THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
SC upholds bar on automatic arrests in dowry cases KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL NEW DELHI: A Curative Bench, led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, has upheld a 2014 Supreme Court verdict that men cannot be “automatically” arrested on dowry harassment complaints filed by their wives. The four-judge Bench found no fault with the verdict that the dowry harassment law had become a “menace”, more often used as “weapons rather than shields by disgruntled wives”. Justices Anil R. Dave, J.S. Khehar and P.C. Ghose were in the Bench. Days before his retirement in 2014, Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad led a Bench that lamented that courts were filled with mothers-inlaw, sisters-in-law and fathers-in-law and husbands facing prosecution under Section 498 A (dowry harassment) of the Indian Penal Code. Dowry harassment is a cognisable and non-bailable ofence. If guilty, a person faces up to three years' imprisonment and fine. Women’s rights groups were irked by the verdict, and the National Commission for Women sought a rare curative relief in the court. In his verdict, Justice Prasad pointed to a “phenomenal increase in matrimonial disputes in recent years” even as the “institution of marriage is greatly revered in this country”.
‘Rampant harassment’ “The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision. In a quite number of cases, bedridden grandfathers and grandmothers of the husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested,” the verdict observed. Presenting government crime statistics to show that
In a plea filed by women’s panel, Curative Bench finds no fault with verdict passed in 2014 1.97 lakh people were arrested in 2012 for dowry harassment, nearly a quarter of those being women, the verdict said: “This depicts that mothers and sisters of the husbands were liberally included in their arrest net.” Lowest conviction rate More statistics were shared to show Section 498A made up 4.5 per cent of the total crimes charged under diferent sections of the IPC — “more than any other crimes excepting theft and hurt”. “The rate of charge-sheeting in cases under Section 498A of the IPC is as high as 93.6 per cent, while the conviction rate is only 15 percent, which is lowest across all heads. As many as 3,72,706 cases are pending trial of which on current estimate, nearly 3,17,000 are likely to result in acquittal,” the verdict observed. No casual detention Noting that “arrest brings humiliation, curtails freedom and cast scars forever”, the Supreme Court had directed the police not to arrest unnecessarily and Magistrates not to authorise detention casually and mechanically. Highlighting that the “power of arrest is one of the lucrative sources of police corruption”, the court had warned police oicers of contempt action unless they prepare and hand over a duly-filled checklist giving reasons for the arrest to the Magistrate, who would authorise detention only after recording his satisfaction in a reasoned order.
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In Mission Kashmir, Akbar meets Assad The counter-diplomacy initiative against OIC stand will see Minister visiting Lebanon and Iraq too SUHASINI HAIDAR NEW DELHI: Bracing for more statements on Kashmir from members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), India has launched a counter-diplomacy initiative of its own, reaching out to several West Asian nations to discuss common concerns about terrorism. In the first visit by an Indian Minister to war-torn Syria since the conflict began in 2011, Minister of State for External Afairs M.J. Akbar met Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, and called for “an age of reconstruction” to follow the “age of destruction” that the country has seen. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said Mr. Ak-
bar “highlighted the importance of cooperation in the field of combating terrorism and consolidating the Syrians’ achievements in this regard.” President Assad has often been castigated by the OIC for human rights violations and Syria was suspended from the grouping in 2012. Despite once voting against Syria on human rights issues at the U.N., India has consistently held out against foreign intervention for regime change as advocated by the U.S. and European countries. “President Assad welcomed India’s objective position on the conflict in Syria,” government sources said about the meeting, add-
Transfer of copter to Afghanistan delayed DINAKAR PERI NEW DELHI: In a major policy
shift last year, New Delhi had agreed to transfer four Mi-24/25 attack helicopters to Afghanistan, the first supply of lethal equipment to Kabul, which has been seeking Indian assistance to strengthen its fledgling Afghan National Army (ANA). However, it has been learnt that the last of the four helicopters is yet to be handed over due to lack of spares. The four helicopters were taken from the inventory of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the Air Force station in Pathankot. The IAF operates Russian-built Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters which are to be phased out very soon. Of these, three helicopters were delivered to Afghanistan ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kabul last December. “The fourth helicopter is yet to be transferred. It needs spares before it can be made fully operational and the
spares have to come from Russia,” diplomatic sources told The Hindu. Defence sources said efforts were on to fix the issue. “There was an issue with the spares. It is being sorted out. It should be delivered very soon,” a senior defence oicial said without specifying a timeframe. Early last year, India supplied three Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)-built Cheetal utility helicopters as well. While India is yet to communicate to Afghanistan when it would hand over the fourth Mi-25, Afghanistan has already requested India for additional Cheetal as well as Mi-24/25 helicopters, but the IAF has expressed its inability to spare anymore fixed wing platforms from its inventory due to its own operational requirements. However it has been learnt that India has promised supply of more helicopters at the highest level politically and this is expected to be discussed this week.
M.J. Akbar ing that both sides agreed on upgrading security consultations between them. Mr. Akbar is on a weeklong visit to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, part of the new push in West Asian diploma-
cy of the Modi government. While the government has focussed in the past year on the Gulf countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iran, it is now moving further west. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in Delhi last week to ask for cooperation on prosecuting ‘Gulenist’ supporters of the coup attempt in Turkey; preparations are on for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to visit India next month, sources have confirmed to The Hindu. OIC’s tough stand The outgoing and incoming visits are significant as they come in the wake of a tough position on the situa-
STAFF REPORTER AGRA: Launching the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh, party chief Mayawati on Sunday said the Narendra Modi government’s ultimate aim was to end reservation. Attacking Mr. Modi and the BJP government at the Centre, she said the rightwing party wanted to exploit the issue of nationalism for electoral gains. Addressing her first rally in Agra ahead of the elections next year, Ms. Mayawati said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre could even start a war with Pakistan “to distract public attention and exploit it for the polls”. “The BJP wants to deflect attention from real issues affecting the people and that is why the issue of nationalism is being highlighted so much. The Tiranga Yatra [of the BJP] is part of that strategy. The BJP can even take the country to war over the Kashmir issue to win polls,” Ms. Mayawati told the mas-
needs and lead to “greater harmony, meaningful development and inclusive growth.”
JAIPUR: A two-day conference of the BRICS Women Parliamentarians’ Forum ended here on Sunday with a call for women’s involvement in the development process for ensuring inclusive growth. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the governments should strengthen innovative partnerships with civil society groups to assess efectiveness of their development initiatives.
Conflicting views too While discussing the strategic partnership among the BRICS countries, the delegates stressed the need for greater role of their respective countries in the global bodies and strategies for combating global terrorism. Some conflicting views emerged in the plenary session on “Perspectives on implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs)”.
WOMEN POWER: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan flanked by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the Chairperson of National Council of Provinces of South Africa, Thandi Modise, at the BRICS Women Parliamentarians Forum in Jaipur on Sunday.— PHOTO: ROHIT JAIN PARAS When Wen Ma, head of the Chinese delegation and member of standing committee of National People’s Congress of China, called for her country’s bigger role in international afairs, proportionate to its “clout”, the Indian side retorted by airming that New Delhi too had enough clout and it deserved
membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Even as the delegates from other countries stayed back to get a taste of Rajasthani hospitality, the Chinese delegation left for Delhi immediately after the valedictory session. According to oicial sources, the Chinese dele-
Chandigarh set to become an issue in Punjab elections
IT'S ELECTION SEASON: Supporters greet Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati during a rally in Agra on Sunday.— PHOTO: PTI sive rally at the Koti Meena Bazar ground. BJP president Amit Shah had to cancel his muchawaited rally at the same venue last month after the party failed to mobilise enough Dalits. Ms. Mayawati focussed her attacks on the BJP and Mr. Modi with little mention of the ruling Samajwadi Party, though she did highlight the law and order situation. “There is no point in Chief
NEW DELHI: Even as the deci-
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Sustainable development The Lok Sabha Speaker laid emphasis on inclusiveness in development to make it sustainable and efective and said the role of legislations to achieve sustainable development was equally significant. “Development must be inclusive if it is to be equitable, sustainable and effective,” she said. Referring to SDGs, Ms. Mahajan said that as lawmakers, it was the responsibility of women parliamentarians to oversee and monitor the implementation strategies and mechanisms of the targets put in place by their respective governments. She called upon the delegates to learn from best practices in the BRICS membercountries to deal with the effects of climate change and
to promote women’s welfare. She cited the initiatives and action plans taken up in Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa for fostering an environment favourable for women’s growth. In her valedictory address, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said the BRICS could play a catalytic role in forging partnership among women lawmakers for mainstreaming SDGs. All member-countries of the BRICS had large populations, making it imperative that the development processes were sustainable, she said. A Jaipur Declaration adopted on the conclusion of the conference stated the pledge of women parliamentarians to work together in the fields of economic growth, social inclusion and environment protection by intensifying mutual cooperation and strengthening strategic partnerships.
All set for Haj
Both Punjab and Haryana have been demanding time and again that the city be made their capital. The Akali leadership has been quick to hit back at the Congress with Mr. Badal blaming Congress governments for “injustice and discrimination” against Punjab.
VIKAS VASUDEVA
sion to appoint an independent administrator for the union territory, Chandigarh, was dropped after resistance from political parties in Punjab, the claim over Chandigarh — the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana — is once again in the spotlight. With less than six months to go for the Punjab polls, the emotive issue is all set to snowball into an election issue with the ruling Akali Dal and the main Opposition party, the Congress, already taking jibes at each other. While the Congress is forcefully raking up the issue by asking Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to stake complete claim over Chandigarh, he has accused successive Congress governments of “snatching” Chandigarh from Punjab. “There cannot be a better and more conducive situa-
gates, including Ms. Wen Ma and Lu Sai Xia, were scheduled to fly from Delhi to Guangzhou in China late on Sunday night. In her concluding remarks, Ms. Mahajan said the active involvement of women parliamentarians would result in a greater responsiveness towards citizens’
Parkash Singh Badal tion than now for Mr. Badal to assert Punjab’s legitimate right over the capital — there is an NDA government at the Centre and the Akalis are partners. Besides, there’s a BJP government in Haryana,” Punjab Congress president Capt. Amarinder Singh had said at a recent election campaign programme. “If he [Mr. Badal] does not get it done now, it means he was never serious about Punjab’s claims over Chandigarh,” Capt. Amarinder said.
‘Unkept promise’ The then Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had gone back on the pledge made to the people of Punjab on the floor of Parliament pertaining to the transfer of Chandigarh, he said. “Despite announcing in Parliament that Chandigarh would be handed over to Punjab, the then Congress Prime Minister backtracked,” Mr. Badal said on the sidelines of a function in Sangrur. “Nobody can deny that being the parent state, Punjab has the sole right over Chandigarh,” he added.
cial followed Mr. Cavusoglu’s own trip to Islamabad on August 2, where he had demanded that an OIC delegation be allowed to go on a fact-finding mission to Kashmir. The Hindu has learnt that the MEA had taken up the statements with the Foreign Ministry in Ankara, which explained that Turkey’s position remains that Kashmir is a bilateral dispute to be resolved between India and Pakistan. Even so, by renewing its diplomatic initiatives in more parts of the Islamic world than have been reached out to in the recent past, the government is hoping to counter the statements. (With Kallol Bhattacherjee)
BSP bitter on BJP, takes mild swipes at SP
BRICS meet pledges to work for inclusive growth SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
tion in Kashmir from the 57member OIC, which spoke of “human rights violations” and “excessive violence” in Kashmir. According to a statement on the OIC website on the visit made by OIC secretarygeneral Iyad Ameen Madani to Islamabad on August 20, “The Secretary-General was briefed on the latest alarming situation in the Indian Held Kashmir [Jammu and Kashmir] including the grave human rights violation of the Kashmiri people and excessive violence used against them. Both sides also reviewed the additional actions that the OIC needs to adopt in order to further help the Kashmiri people.” The visit by the OIC oi-
The first batch of Haj pilgrims from Gujarat gets ready to leave for Makkah from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad on Sunday.— PHOTO: PTI
Minister Akhilesh Yadav getting rakhis tied on his hand by women when he is a complete failure in protecting women and maintaining law and order in the State,” she said. “It is the ultimate aim of the BJP government to finish reservation. You should notice how government work is being increasingly outsourced to private parties,” the former Chief Minister said.
Reaching out to her core constituency of Dalits, who form over 21 per cent of the population in the State and mentioning the attacks on minorities, Ms. Mayawati underlined the BSP’s slogan of Sarvjan sukhay, sarvajan hitay (happiness and welfare of every group) — the slogan which had brought Brahmins, Muslims and Dalits together as part of its social engineering campaign in 2007. Every attack on the Modi government evoked loud cheers from the audience consisting largely of Dalits but with a visible presence of Muslims. Dalits and Muslims Agra has a substantial population of Dalits and Muslims, the two groups whose combination the BSP hopes will catapult the party back to power in 2017. “Dalits are being harassed and attacked in BJP-ruled States — be it the Una incident or Rohith Vemula’s suicide or what BJP leader Daya Shankar Singh said about me,” Ms. Mayawati said.
‘Rail stations not safe for runaway children’
DANGER ZONE: On an average, three migrant children arrive at major railway stations of West Bengal daily, says a study. — FILE PHOTO: ARUNANGSU ROY CHOWDHURY
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KOLKATA: The physical torture
and sexual exploitation of migrant children living in major railway stations of West Bengal became apparent when a couple of years back several such children drew the sketch of a stick at a drawing programme held during a survey. According to researchers associated with the programme, the sketch of a stick drawn by most of these migrant children was a symbol of physical abuse. The sticks not only indicated “physical assault by the law enforcement personnel but also sexual abuse as it can be interpreted as the male genitalia,” the researchers said. A study has revealed that these children (average age 12) are subjected to extensive “physical and sexual abuse.” The study, published in a report of the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group (MCRG), a leading forum of research scholars, was jointly authored by Sabir Ahamed, a research coordinator at the Pratichi Trust, and Debarati Bagchi, former research associate with MCRG. Marginalised groups “Their profiles recorded by the NGOs and Railway Authorities reveal that an overwhelming 78 per cent of the children traced as runaway children or missing children at the Sealdah station belong to marginalised social groups, i.e, Scheduled
Castes and Muslims,” stated the research paper titled “A Study of Women and Children Migrants in Calcutta.” It also states that on an average three migrant children arrive at major railway stations of the State everyday. In the study, Mr. Ahamed points out that one of the key reasons behind these children running away from home is the “pressure” from their parents to financially contribute to the family. Majority of these homeless children at the Sealdah station are from North and South 24 Parganas districts as well as from Howrah and Hooghly. While 80 per cent of these children are from Bengal, the rest are from Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. They also fall prey to drug addiction and spend most of their earnings on it. “They spent most of their meagre daily income, ranging from Rs. 350 to Rs. 500, on drugs and sometimes on sex,” Mr. Ahamed told The Hindu. As for women migrants, research by Ms. Bagchi has found that they (migrant women) increasingly preferred rag picking over working as domestic help. “Rag picking provides them flexible working hours and they also do not have to face the humiliation involved in working as domestic help,” she told The Hindu. As domestic help, these women are not only discriminated against in wages but are often not allowed to use the toilet at the houses of employers. ND-ND
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51 killed in ‘IS attack’ in Turkey Blast at the site of a wedding party in Gaziantep, near Syria border, is blamed on a young bomber
Expediting execution “They were transferred to Nasiriyah last week after the President approved the executions,” he said, referring to the necessary green light from Fuad Masum. Following the death of more than 300 people in the worst-ever single bomb attack to strike Baghdad last month, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said he wanted to expedite the execution of inmates sentenced to death in terrorism cases.
Fire in Dhaka mall traps shoppers DHAKA: A fire broke out on Sunday at a shopping mall in the Bangladeshi capital, with authorities evacuating shoppers and staf but 12 people remained trapped inside the complex. The fire originated from a leather shop on the sixth floor of the eight-storey building in Bashundhara City here at around 11:20 AM. Nineteen people, including three women, were rescued by fire fighters who brought the flames under control after two hours of efforts. “12 persons were trapped on the roof of the eight-storey mall. They are safe and the fire-fighters are trying to rescue them,” an official was quoted as saying by bdnews24.com. The cause of the fire — the fourth such incident in the same mall — could not be confirmed yet. “I also want to know why this mall catches fire again and again,” Dhaka Mayor Annisul Huq said, The Dhaka Tribune reported. — PTI
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Trump campaign chief is a virulent opponent of H-1B WASHINGTON: Stephen Bannon,
SCARRED FOR LIFE: Turkish women mourn during a funeral for victims of Saturday night’s attack on a wedding party in Gaziantep, a city along the Syrian border. — PHOTO: AFP the death toll was now 51 with 94 hurt in the attack. A total of 69 people remained in hospital, with 17 in critical condition. The bride and groom were reportedly from the mainly Kurdish region of Siirt further to the east and had themselves been uprooted due to the flare-up in violence with Kurdish militants. Many jihadists see Kurds as one of their main enemies, with Kurdish militias playing a significant role in the fight
against IS on the ground in Syria. A defiant Erdogan said there was “no diference” between the group of U.S.based preacher Fethullah Gulen — whom he blames for the failed coup bid — the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) “and Daesh [IS], the likely perpetrator of the attack in Gaziantep”. A vile incident: Hollande World leaders quickly condemned the attack, with French President Francois
Hollande denouncing the “vile” incident and pledging that France “stands with all who fight against the scourge of terrorism”. A major city just 60 km north of the Syrian border, Gaziantep has become a hub for Syrians fleeing the civil war in their country. But as well as refugees and opposition activists, there have long been fears it was home to a significant jihadist presence. IS suicide bombers have
carried out several attacks in Istanbul this year, while Kurdish militants have hit targets in both Ankara and Istanbul. On Thursday, 12 people were killed in three bombings blamed on the PKK, who Mr. Erdogan said had killed 70 members of the security forces in the last month alone. The blast in Gaziantep came just hours after Prime Minister Yildirim said Ankara would play a “more active” role in eforts to solve the Syrian civil war. — AFP
Iraq hangs 36 jihadists over 2014 Unseat Corbyn, Sadiq tells Labour members massacre of military recruits NASIRIYAH (IRAQ): Iraq on Sunday hanged 36 men convicted over the 2014 massacre by Sunni jihadists and allied militants of up to 1,700 military recruits, oicials said. They had been found guilty of involvement in the “Speicher” massacre, named after a base near Tikrit where the recruits were kidnapped before being executed in a massacre claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. “The executions of 36 convicted over the Speicher crime were carried out this morning in Nasiriyah prison,” a spokesman for the Governor’s oice in Dhiqar, the Province of which Nasiriyah is the capital, told AFP.
THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
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GAZIANTEP (TURKEY): A suicide bomber as young as 12 killed at least 51 people at a wedding in Turkey on Saturday night, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, pointing the finger at the Islamic State (IS) group. Mr. Erdogan said Saturday’s blast in Gaziantep near the Syria border “was the result of a suicide bomber aged between 12 and 14 who either detonated [the bomb] or others detonated it”. The explosion was the latest attack to rock the key NATO member in a horrific year that has seen strikes blamed on Kurdish and Islamist militants as well as a bloody July 15 botched coup.
Bride and groom safe The President said the Islamic State group was the “likely perpetrator” of the bomb attack, the deadliest in 2016, that targeted a celebration attended by many Kurds. The remains of a suicide vest were found at the scene, the chief prosecutor’s oice said on Sunday according to broadcaster CNN-Turk. Gulser Ates, one of scores wounded in the attack, told Hurriyet the attack took place as the party was breaking up. The bride and groom — Besna and Nurettin Akdogan — were rushed to hospital but were not seriously wounded. According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, the bride was released from hospital, saying as she left: “They turned our wedding into a bloodbath.” Mr. Erdogan told reporters
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ANTI-IS SQUAD: A Norwegian combatant who is volunteering to help Kurdish peshmerga forces fight the Islamic State group north of Mosul. — PHOTO: AFP The Dhiqar Governor confirmed to AFP that the executions were carried out by hanging. The trials that have led to Iraq’s latest batches of death sentences have been severely criticised by rights groups as failing to meet basic standards. Amnesty International had slammed Iraq's systematic resort to the death penalty following the execution of 22 other people in May this year. The United Nations had criticised Mr. Abadi’s call to speed up executions,
which according to Amnesty already topped 100 for 2016 before Sunday’s hangings. The Speicher massacre is considered one of IS’s worst crimes since it took over large parts of the country in 2014. Combined with a call by the country’s top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for Iraqis to take up arms against them, the Speicher massacre played a key role in the mass recruitment of Shia volunteers to fight the jihadists. — AFP
LONDON: London’s Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday urged party members to unseat boss Jeremy Corbyn in the upcoming leadership election, saying he had “failed to win the respect of the British people”. “Jeremy’s personal ratings are the worst of any Opposition leader on record and the Labour party is sufering badly as a result,” Mr. Khan wrote in The Observer. “He has lost the confidence of more than 80 per cent of Labour’s MPs in Parliament — and I am afraid we simply cannot aford to go on like this,” he added.
Voting ends on Sep.21 Mr. Khan is backing Owen Smith in the upcoming party election, voting for which will begin on Monday when ballot papers will be sent out to Labour members. Voting ends on September 21 with the result to be announced three days later during a special congress in Liverpool, northwest England. Mr. Corbyn (67) stormed to the head of the party last September, securing 59.5 per cent of the votes of party activists. However, over 80 per cent
The London Mayor is backing Owen Smith in party election for which voting will begin on Monday of the party’s MPs recently backed a no-confidence vote against him, and an election was triggered when littleknown MP Mr. Smith (46) launched a leadership challenge. Mr. Corbyn can still count on the support of the party’s far-left members and most trade unions and remains favourite to be re-elected. As he came out in support of Smith, Mr. Khan highlighted Mr. Corbyn’s lacklustre attempt to keep Britain in the European Union (EU) in the June 23 referendum, saying he had “totally failed” to get his message across. “Why would things be different in a general election?” he asked. “Jeremy has already proved that he is unable to organise an efective team and has failed to win the trust and respect of the British people.” Mr. Smith said he was “hugely honoured” to have the Mayor’s backing. — AFP
Paralysed Afghan bears pain of unending war Residents of Helmand live in a state of continuous suffering inflicted by 15 years of war “We can’t take care of his stomach, or his medicine, or the orphans left for me,” said his mother, Khatira, who was away from home during the mortar strike, attending the funeral of a nephew who had been killed days earlier in an explosion. The remnants of the family have moved into the ruins of a historic quarter within Lashkar Gah.
MUJIB MASHAL TAIMOOR SHAH LASHKAR
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(AFGHANISTAN):
Long before the mortar shell landed, killing half of Ezzatullah Khan’s immediate family, their lives had turned into a cruel and extended race with death. Mr. Khan’s family, which for years had farmed in Helmand Province, first barely survived a brutal drought. Then, the relentless fighting between NATO forces and the Taliban uprooted the family from its ancestral village in the Kajaki District. About three years ago, Mr. Khan and his family finally settled in what they thought was a refuge: a modest threebedroom mud house in the Chah-e-Anjir neighbourhood, just outside Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. Repeated displacement Then, last winter, the fighting reached the gates of the provincial capital. Mr. Khan’s neighbours began packing up and leaving, one after the other, and he and his
LOSS OF DIGNITY: Ezzatullah Khan, who was paralysed by a mortar strike last year, at his new refuge in the Zara Kala neighbourhood, near Lashkar Gah. — PHOTO: NYT family began contemplating yet another move, this time into Lashkar Gah. The day before they were to leave, the mortar shell hit. About eight months ago, Mr. Khan was sipping tea outside around 2 p.m. when the shell slammed down in the centre of the yard. It killed his father, Muhammad Hashim, who was in his 60s; his 22year-old brother, Raz Muhammad; his wife, also in her
20s; and his daughter Nazia, who was 4. Finally, when the fighting subsided a little, Red Cross volunteers took Mr. Khan to the Emergency Hospital in Lashkar Gah, and the family’s dead were buried. He was paralysed from the waist down, and was left with two daughters and a son, the oldest just 7 years old. These days, relatives move him on a stretcher.
Daily loss Every time the fighting in Helmand has intensified, an annual occurrence since the departure of international combat troops, it grabs the headlines. What goes mostly unmeasured is the nonstop sufering inflicted on a people by 15 years of perpetual war. Numbers sometimes surface — thousands more displaced, hundreds of wounded arriving at the hospitals. However, they cannot fully gauge the cost to families forever changed, struggling to cope with daily loss and indignity. — New York Times News Service
the newly appointed chief executive of Donald Trump’s campaign, had lamented while interviewing him in November 2015 that twothirds of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) at Silicon Valley companies were Asians. Mr. Bannon, whose Rightwing website Brietbart News runs campaigns against the H-1B visa programme, is a virulent opponent of the scheme that sees thousands of skilled Indian workers coming into the United States every year. During the interview, Mr. Trump argued that getting talented job created through legal channels was needed and that he “felt strongly about it”. Mr. Trump, getting some of the details wrong, cited the case of Kunal Bahl, founder of Snapdeal, who could not stay on in the U.S after studies as his application for an H-1B visa was turned down. “We have to create job creators. One man went to Harvard, did well, but was not allowed to stay, went back to his home in India, started a company, which is now a very successful company with thousands and thousands of employees. He wanted to do it here. We have to be careful about this. We have to keep the talented people in this country,” said Mr. Trump. [Mr. Bahl did not go to Harvard but to Wharton Business School.] Job creator vs. immigrant The Bahl story is repeatedly cited by supporters of immigration such as Steve Case the founder of America Online (AOL). Proponents of immigration have also mentioned Mr. Bahl’s case in congressional hearings. Mr. Trump has always made the distinction between “job creators” and
Stephen Bannon, the new campaign chief of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump; (below) a Trump supporter in Dimondale, Michigan. — PHOTOS: REUTERS country is more than an economy. We are a civic society”.
other immigrants — including in the above-mentioned particular interview. “One of the things that I said before, and I feel strongly about this. When somebody is going to Harvard or Princeton... and they graduate and we throw them out of the country. And they can’t get back in. I think that is terrible. We have got to be able to keep great people in the country,” said Mr. Trump and cited the Bahl story. “I think you agree with that. Do you agree with that?” he asked Mr. Bannon. The latter replied: “Well. I got to be tougher… when two-thirds or more of the CEOS in Silicon Valley are from South Asia or Asia… A
Keeping them legally “We have to keep them legally,” responded Mr. Trump. “When people come in, they have to come in legally. I want people to come in, Steve… Those people who are waiting in queue for years to get in are being bypassed by illegal people.” Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has not said anything specifically on the H-1B programme yet, though she too has argued in favour of retaining foreign science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates in the U.S. In her ‘Initiative on Technology and Innovation’, Ms. Clinton has promised automatic ‘green card’ or permanent residency to STEM students who complete a master’s degree or a PhD from a U.S university. She has also opposed foreign workers replacing American workers. “The many stories of people training their replacements from some foreign country are heartbreaking, and it is obviously a cost-cutting measure to be able to pay people less than what you would pay an American worker,” she said during an interview.
Iran releases images of new indigenous missile system TEHRAN: Iran released images of its first domestically built long-range missile defence system on Sunday, a project started when the country was under international sanctions. Images on multiple state news agencies showed President Hassan Rouhani and Minister of Defence Hossein Dehghan standing in front of the new Bavar 373 missile defence system. The system was designed to intercept cruise missiles, drones, combat aircraft and ballistic missiles, according to earlier statements by Mr. Dehghan. The project was launched as an alternative to the Russian S-300 system, the delivery of which was suspended in 2010 due to sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear programme. Mr. Rouhani also unveiled the first Iranian-made turbo-
Xi honours battalion posted near Arunachal BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday bestowed special honours on a PLA battalion posted in Tibet close to Arunachal Pradesh for its “outstanding performance in safeguarding borders”. Mr. Xi, who heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), signed orders to give honorary titles, Xinhua news agency reported. “Troop 77656 is now titled as a ‘model plateau battalion’ for its outstanding performance in safeguarding borders, ensuring stability and helping disaster relief,” the report quoted a statement as saying. While the news report has not identified the battalion, Indian defence oicials and strategic think-tanks have said it is Gangba 2nd Independent Battalion. It is based in Shigatse City, Gangba County in Tibet, close to Arunachal Pradesh, and is one of the six battalions functioning under the Tibet Military Area Command, said oicial sources. — PTI
HOME-BUILT: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani standing next to an indigenous fighter jet engine, in Tehran. — PHOTO: REUTERS jet engine on Sunday, saying it was capable of flight at 50,000 feet. “The Islamic republic is one of eight countries in the world who have mastered the technology to build these engines,” the President said. Mr. Dehghan added that
Iran was now looking to develop seaborne cruise missiles capable of supersonic speed. The new Bavar 373 has Iran’s first vertical launcher, using Sayad 3 missiles that were first tested in September 2014. — AFP
Shabab attack in Somalia kills 20
MOGADISHU: More than 20 people were killed on Sunday when suicide bombers from the militant al-Shabab group detonated two car bombs at a local government headquarters in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, witnesses and
officials said. Residents of the town of Galkayo in north central Somalia said they heard two loud blasts in quick succession followed by heavy gunfire. Al Shabaab has become more active in Puntland, a large part of northern Somalia, since moving more forces there after being pushed out of strongholds farther south by an African Union force and the Somali National Army, experts and officials say. — Reuters
Israel targets Gaza after rocket attack
JERUSALEM: Israel targeted Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip by air and with tank fire on Sunday after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave
crashed into the Israeli city of Sderot. Police said the rocket hit “between two buildings on a road” in Sderot, which is less than four km from Gaza, causing no casualties. Army spokesman Peter Lerner said Israeli forces retaliated by hitting targets of the Palestinian Islamist movement in northern Gaza. (Picture shows an Israeli policeman carrying a rocket allegedly launched from Gaza.) — AFP ND-ND
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GiftCity banks mop up $650 mn
Ola unveils ‘Prime SUVs’ in 10 cities
Vegetable oil imports to touch 15 mn tonnes
GiftCity in Ahmedabad has got off to a good start with financial services players mopping up over $650 million in forex funds through the Centre as of June. — PTI
Transportation app Ola has added SUVs under ‘Prime’ category to cater to customers travelling in big groups, in 10 cities including Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai. — PTI
Country’s vegetable oil imports may rise to a record 15 million tonnes in the current marketing year ending October, on increasing domestic demand. — PTI
Electronics manufacturing policy may soon get nod NITI Aayog wants 10-year tax holiday for investments of $1 billion or more NEW DELHI: NITI Aayog may seek Cabinet’s approval in a fortnight for a long-term policy to boost manufacturing of electronic products by providing a host of incentives to attract investment. “NITI Aayog has almost finalised a policy for encouraging manufacturing of electronics in the country, which is likely to be placed before the Union Cabinet for its approval,” a source said. In view of great potential of electronics manufacturing sector, NITI Aayog has prepared a draft strategy paper titled ’Make in India—Strategy for Electronic Products.’
Draft for comments NITI put the draft in public domain for comments in May this year. The stakeholders and the general public were asked to submit the
Finance Ministry mulls advancing Union Budget NEW DELHI: The Union Budget has for decades been presented on the last day of February, but this could soon change with the government mulling advancing it to January-end so as to complete the budget exercise before the beginning of the new fiscal, sources said. The Finance Ministry is doing an overhaul of the entire Budget-making exercise which may see scrapping of the current practice of presenting a separate budget for Railways. — PTI
HARDWARE FOCUS: NITI suggested that India needs to forge FTAs to create duty-free market for electronic goods. — FILE PHOTO views and comments by June 30, 2016. Aayog had suggested a 10year tax holiday for companies investing over $1 billion in electronics manufacturing activities. “We would also want to provide for the 10-year tax holiday on investments of $1
billion or more that can also create 20,000 jobs. This would help bring some large foreign firms to India,” Aayog had said in the paper. The NITI Aayog has also been asked to devise an export-oriented strategy for the industry, saying the domestic market at $65 billion
Duty-free market NITI suggested that the country needs to forge free trade agreements (FTAs) to create duty-free market for electronic goods. It had also suggested setting up coastal economic zones (CEZ) which may be up to 200-250 kilometres wide from the coastline. — PTI
MANOJIT SAHA MUMBAI: Urjit Patel is the sec-
ond person in the country to become the Reserve Bank of India Governor directly, from being a deputy governor. C.D. Deshmukh was the first deputy governor to be promoted to the central bank chief’s post, in 1943. Mr. Patel will take over the mantle from Mr. Raghuram Rajan in early September, when the latter’s tenure ends. An big advantage in appointing Mr. Patel as the RBI governor is that he knows the system and its people, sources in the central bank said. Oicials at the RBI also said that a governor’s chances for success are higher if the person is not a ‘greenhorn’ parachuted from elsewhere.“Since the outgoing governor talked about unfinished tasks, Mr. Patel is best suited to take over the mantle,” said a former colleague of the new RBI governor-designate. His colleagues describe him as an open-minded per-
MPC members to be named this month NEW DELHI: After appointing Urjit Patel as the next Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, the government is now expected to finalise the names of three members to the interest rate setting panel MPC in the next few days. The government nominees to the MPC have been shortlisted by a Search-cumSelection Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary with RBI Governor and Economic Afairs Secretary and three experts in the field of economics or banking or finance or monetary policy as its members. The decision is expected
Centre’s nominees to the Monetary Policy panel have been shortlisted by a search committee in the next few days or may be in the beginning of the next month, sources privy to the development said. Next policy The next bi-monthly RBI policy, scheduled on October 4, will be decided by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The MPC was set up by
Poor Internet access a hurdle to rural banking: Bandhan Bank INDRANI DUTTA KOLKATA: Internet connectivity is one of the biggest challenges facing the country’s youngest bank, Bandhan Bank Ltd., as it opens new branches across states, Chandra Sekhar Ghosh Founder, Managing Director and CEO said. The bank completes a year of operations next week and has a presence in 50,000 villages through its 701 branches. “Currently, 33 per cent of our branches are in rural areas, some of which were unbanked ones,” he said in an interview. Poor Internet connectivity in the rural and semi -urban branches was one of the biggest hurdles in extending banking services. Skill development for the employees (many of whom
remains small in relation to the world market, which is in excess of $2 trillion. The Aayog’s line is big success requires operating in a large world market. Therefore, India must reorient its policy to ensure the industry becomes competitive in export markets. India’s domestic consumption of electronics hardware in 2014-15 was $63.6 billion while imports accounted for 58 per cent of this figure.
An open-minded economist, he makes quick decisions, say Patel’s colleagues
amending the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, through the Finance Bill 2016. Under this new system, the RBI Governor is ex-oicio Chairperson. Besides, RBI Deputy Governor in-charge of the monetary policy and an oice bearer of the Central bank are the other two members in the committee. Since Mr. Urjit Patel has been elevated as the next RBI Governor, the monetary policy department has to be looked after by any of the three deputy governors till the appointment of the fourth regular Deputy Gov-
ernor. So, even if the appointment takes time, the MPC can continue the work with regard to setting up interest rate to meet the inflation target fixed by the government. Glide path Under the agreement with the government, RBI is committed to anchoring retail inflation at 4 per cent (plus/minus 2 per cent) and has set itself a target of 5 per cent by next March as part of a ‘glide path’ to achieving the median mark. The Governor will have a casting vote once the country shifts to the panel system. — PTI
Urjit Patel son who is logical and, if convinced, makes quick decisions. They cited this as being a rare trait among regulators. Members of the committee that Mr. Patel headed, to revisit the monetary policy framework, came from across the financial spectrum.“My working in the committee gave me a high degree of professional experience. He is a thorough professional,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, group chief economist of L&T Finance Holdings who was a member of
the Urjit Patel Committee set up to revise and strengthen the monetary policy framework. “His credentials as a monetary economist are very strong – hence his leadership role in the committee,” Ms. Nitsure added. Mr. Patel’s appointment will also “convince the market about the government’s resolve to fight inflation”, a market analyst said. “As our fiscal and monetary policy need to work together, continuity (with) a monetary policy expert as the RBI Governor will be viewed positively, by the international rating and investing community, to India's advantage,” said Gagan Banga, Vice Chairman and MD, Indiabulls Housing Finance. Policy continuity Puja Mehra adds from New Delhi: “We assume continuity of the RBI's policies under the new Governor,” Marie Diron, Senior Vice President, Sovereign Risk Group, Moody’s Investors Service
said in a statement:. National Institute of Public Finance and Policy Director Rathin Roy, who is a member of a government committee that is reviewing India's fiscal consolidation roadmap, said that under the new governor the RBI will continue to make its policy pronouncements in a “transparent, analytical and evidence-based manner.” “Our fiscal and monetary institutions will continue to work in concert,” Mr. Roy said. The likelihood of the new governor speaking up publicly on important issues is low. He is seen to be someone who champions proposals quietly, from behind the scenes, sources said. “The governor's job is set to get suitably de-glamourised...because the interest rate decisions will be taken by the monetary policy committee, no longer by the governor alone, and also due to Mr. Patel's personal style,” said a top finance ministry oicial.
EPFO investments in ETFs to rise Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreyasaid that EPFO would raise proportion of its investments in exchange traded funds (ETFs) from the present 5 per cent and a final decision on the quantum for current fiscal would be taken very soon. SBI Mutual Fund and UTI Mutual Fund will manage the corpus of the retirement fund in ETFs, he said. As on July 31 this year, the amount invested in ETF by Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is Rs.7,468 crore and the market value of this as on date is
HYDERABAD:
An investment of Rs.7,468 crore in exchange traded funds has shown returns of 12.1% Rs.8,372 crore, which shows a positive return of 12.1 per cent, the minister said. “An emergency meeting of Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of EPFO will be convened soon and a final decision on how much (increase in quantum of investments in ETF) percentage will be taken after taking opinion. Earlier, we had gone for 5 per cent.
Now, how much we have to increase I will take a decision after the emergency meeting,” Mr. Dattatreya told PTI. “Anyhow the increase will be there and how much increase...within next 15 days we will decide,” he added. The Finance Ministry had last year notified a new investment pattern for EPFO, allowing the body to invest a minimum of 5 per cent and up to 15 per cent of its funds in equity or equity-related schemes. EPFO had started investing up to five per cent of its investible deposits in ETFs in August last year.
India is world’s third biggest tech start-up hub: Assocham study NEW DELHI: India is home to the
BAD LINK: Currently, 33 per cent of Bandhan’s branches are in rural areas, some of which were un-banked ones. — FILE PHOTO migrated from the MFI) was also another challenge. Bandhan is not only the first micro-financing institution to get a universal banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India, but it is also the first bank to be headquartered in Kolkata, since
Independence. Although the bank started with the advantage of its micro-credit customers migrating to the bank (and providing a large base), it has acquired over 20 lakh additional customers with its total base now standing at over 89 lakh.
third largest number of technology-driven start-ups in the world, with the U.S. and the U.K. occupying the top two positions, according to a report. The study, done by Assocham with Thought Arbitrage Research Institute, also revealed that Bengaluru is host to the largest share of technology start-ups in the country, followed by Delhi NCR and Mumbai, while Hyderabad and Chennai are also quite popular. “India has moved up to third position in technology driven start-ups numbering 4,200 up to 2015, with the U.S. occupying the top position with more than 47,000 and the U.K. with over 4,500. —PTI
Videocon sets eyes on premium market YUTHIKA BHARGAVA NEW DELHI: Videocon, one of the oldest consumer durables firm in the country, is betting big on innovation and high-end features to woo customers rather than just ofering lower priced products as it looks to compete with Japanese and Korean giants in the highly competitive segment. The shift at the homegrown firm is being lead by Akshay Dhoot, who took over as the company’s technology head early last year. “There is a change in the mindset of the company. We are now more focused on selling more high-end products that command a premium in the market than probable what happened a few years back where we did more R&D to cut costs rather than to build technologically advanced features,” Mr. Dhoot said in an interview.
IoT Aryabot The strategy has helped the company, which largely saw demand from tier II and tier III towns, create a market for itself in tier I cities. CM YK
GAME CHANGER: The firm claims it was the first to launch Wi-fi ACs that allowed users to access them on the go. — FILE PHOTO Videocon was the first in the world to launch Wi-fi ACs in 2015 that allowed users to access the AC on the go from a smartphone with an Internet connection, Mr. Dhoot said. Earlier this year, Videocon introduced first Satellite AC called Aryabot with advanced IoT (Internet of Things) features, among other products. “Products powered by innovation and new technology are changing the dynamics of consumer durable market in India...With these products, we have witnessed a significant shift and an in-
crease in demand coming majorly from the tier 1 market, surpassing the tier 2 and tier 3 markets. There has been an inclination of consumers towards premium products which bring out ease to their lives,” Mr. Dhoot said. Though, tier 1 markets contribute around one-third of the industry sales, for Videocon, these markets currently contribute around 43 per cent of the revenue. In 2014, this per cent stood at 26 per cent for the company. Further, the average selling price for Videocon products
has gone up by 5-10 per cent across diferent categories as more consumer demand more premium products. “We have observed that consumers today are looking to spend on products that bring ease and comfort to them. They want to upgrade to newer technologies and aspire for better and latest versions,” Mr Dhoot said. Videocon is also betting on the upcoming festive season, which generally accounts for about 50 per cent of annual sales, to boost demand. “We foresee an increasing demand for consumer durables… We plan to launch more than 20 new products across TV, washing machine, air conditioner, and refrigerator segment to boost sales. We will be also announcing an array of ofers along with premium launches, this festive season,” The company is targeting a growth of more than 60 per cent year-on-year in the south and 30 per cent growth in rest of the country. Flat panel displays contribute the most with 38 per cent share to Videocon’s revenue. ND-ND
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Man with a huge ‘negative’ carbon footprint Dr. Baliga’s invention, the IGBT, helps increase energy efficiency and touches our lives daily, be it in cars or refrigerators
K
nown as the “man with the largest negative carbon footprint in the world,” Indian-born American electrical engineer Jayant Baliga is the inventor of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a device that enabled the electronics in the now ubiquitous CFL lamp. An alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Dr. Baliga, who won the global energy prize in 2015, was in the city last month to preside over the convocation of his alma mater and receive an honorary doctorate from the institution. Shubashree Desikan
While he has many inventions to his credit, the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest is the IGBT, which functions as a kind of electronic switch. Tiny giant A CFL lamp needs such a switch as opposed to a tungsten-based lamp. In the latter, energy is lost due to the heating required by the tungsten filament. A CFL lamp works through a gas discharge. IGBTs are used to generate the gas discharge, which lights up the bulb. The IGBT’s
other advantage was to allow for electronics to fit into the small volume of the base below the gas tube. The use of electronics helped bring down the size, as well as the cost, of CFL lamps. Compared to incandescent bulbs, CFL bulbs improved lighting eiciency by 75 per cent. Use of CFL lamps instead of traditional lighting, in the last 25 years, has saved the world 73,000 Terawatt-hours of energy and almost 5.7 trillion litres of gas, and has helped decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 49.5 billion metric tonnes. Yet it was not easy for this component to be accepted initially, and there were many sceptics, said Mr. Baliga. “I had to convince not only the management at the GE research labs where I worked but even the Chairman of GE Jack Welch. After his buy in, I had to execute the design and fabrication of the device in a manufacturing line resulting to product availability in less than one year,” he said. General Electric then accepted the technology for a range of small appliances (steam irons, space heaters, etc), major appliances (refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, etc), air-conditioning heat pumps, numerical controls for factory automation (robotics), lighting products, and even in their medical products (X-ray, CAT, MRI). Selling a disruptive technology wasn’t easy. Dr Baliga recalls how it turned out that his product came to impact the entire portfolio at GE: “One of the Vice-Presidents at GE was trying to create a new product – adjustable speed motor drive for air-conditioning heat pumps. He challenged us at the GE research labs to create a viable technology. In response, I proposed the IGBT and informed him of other potential applications within GE.” The old or traditional motor drives used induction motors and dampers to regulate the output power to loads such as compressors in airconditioners. Damp-
The transistor found a place across GE’s products, following a challenge to create an efficient way to air-condition heat pumps Seed funds were available to get the companies going. But even after demonstrating that my ideas worked, it was diicult to get the larger amount of funds to grow my company. So, we ended up with a successful exit by having the companies acquired.”
ers waste a lot power as heat, making the eiciency only 50 per cent. The IGBT was used to create an adjustable (or variable) frequency power source by using pulsewidth modulation. In simpler words, Dr. Baliga says, “Moving from the traditional motor drive to the one based on IGBT is a paradigm shift – from analogue power control to digital power control with a massive increase in eiciency!” Company-wide adoption According to the scientist, “The V-P got excited and went all the way to the top and informed Chairman Jack Welch. Jack Welch decided to come from his head-oice in Connecticut to my labs in Schenectady, New York, to be briefed on this innovation that would impact the entire portfolio of products at GE.” Dr. Baliga says a a 30-minute presentation convinced Mr. Welch. “His reaction
was to support my proposed development and commercialization effort. But he embargoed any release of information on the IGBT so that GE could exploit it for its products. This prevented my scientific publications on the IGBT for several years.” His advice to inventors and entrepreneurs is to get to understand the applications of the innovation. “Only then can it be marketed successfully. It is important to understand the complexities of manufacturing the invention to get it to the marketplace quickly,” he said. All this happened in the 1970s and 1980s, when venture capital activity in North Carolina was very small when compared with the Silicon Valley. He recalls, “In the 1970s, and 1980s, I worked for a large company (GE) to bring my ideas to the market. In 2000, I began to create startup companies in North Carolina.
Law to tax indirect transfers is not bad in itself at all Mukesh Butani, managing partner at BMR Legal has just published a book on the knotty issue of tax disputes in India — a top concern for global investors. Here, he discusses how well tax disputes have been managed, what to watch for in an era of new domestic tax paradigms such as the impending Goods and Service Tax regime, and a global crackdown on crossborder tax arbitrage. Edited excerpts:
• What’s your prognosis of the tax disputes landscape often blamed for India’s uncertain investment climate? Tax disputes typically remind people of courts. But they arise at the lowest level where the taxpayer says ‘x’ and an oicer says something diferent, eg, ‘y’. What you do to avoid going to the trial stage? Why does it have to be settled only by the Supreme Court? The normal process of how courts administratively lookat disputes has to change. One reason is that disputes in the post-liberalisation era are of very different from those that occurred in earlier in India’s post-Independence history. If you do a fast-forward of how disputes will occur in the future, it’s going to be even more diferent. For example, with the imminent GST law you need to actually rewrite the entire jurisprudence to interpret the law judicially. Cross-border tax disputes will occur because of new regimes such as Base Erosion and Profit Shifting norms, for which there are no precedents. So you have to look at disputes very diferently even in the courts. We will have to look at alternative dispute resolution, tax arbitration, mutual agreement procedures. CM YK
For example, how should transfer pricing disputes on questions of valuation, not law, be settled? India got negative press because of Nokia, Vodafone, Microsoft, IBM, Flipkart and Amazon, because traditional forums for resolving disputes and jurisprudence are not going to help you settle these kind of disputes. Foreign investors feel there’s no clarity, certainty or consistency.
• Is it a legacy issue owing to the inability to push tax reform? We have been responsive to legislative changes and directional tax policy changes, in the last 25 years. After granting a spate of tax holidays to spur industrial growth in the nineties, we realised they should have a full-stop somewhere. But on aspects like dispute resolution and administrative practices, we haven’t moved, else we wouldn’t have seen record disputes.
• Do you sense reluctance on administrative reforms? I think the intent is there. But it’s a gigantic ecosystem. It’s like trying to bring the economy back to growth mode. We keep having this philosophical debate about when India will touch 9-10% growth… is it practical with the internal challenges? We have just got (our hands) around inflation thanks to crude oil prices, but we
global round-up New York nabs global property crown from London on Brexit fears New York has knocked off London as the world’s premier city for foreign investment in commercial real estate due to fears the vote to leave the European Union would diminish the British capital’s appeal as a global financial centre. Cross-border capital flows into London real estate fell 44 per cent in this year’s first six months from the same period in 2015, according to data from brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Property investors feared Britain's exit from the EU would erode London’s role as a premier financial centre. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, one of Britain’s largest foreign investors, said it cut the value of its U.K. property portfolio by 5 per cent because of the vote. — Reuters
Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis Massachusetts is preparing to levy a 5-cent fee per trip on ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft and spend the money on the traditional taxi industry, a subsidy that appears to be the first of its kind in the U.S. Governor Charlie Baker signed the nickel fee into law this month as part of a sweeping package of regulations for the industry. Ride services are not enthusiastic about the fee. “I don’t think we should be in the business of subsidising potential competitors,” said Kirill Evdakov, Chief Executive of Fasten, a ride service that launched in Boston last year and also operates in Austin, Texas. Some taxi-owners wanted the law to go further, perhaps banning start-up competitors unless they meet the requirements taxis do, such as regular vehicle inspection by the police. — Reuters
AT&T, Apple, Google to work on ‘robocall’ crackdown More than 30 major technology and communication companies have said they are joining the U.S. government to crack down on “robocalls,” automated, pre-recorded phone calls that regulators have labeled a “scourge.” AT&T Inc, Google parent Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and Comcast Corp are among members of the “Robocall Strike Force” that held its first meeting with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The strike force will report to the FCC by Oct. 19 on “concrete plans to accelerate the development and adoption of new tools and solutions,” said AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson, Chairman of the group. — Reuters
BOY GENIUS
INTERVIEW MUKESH BUTANI
VIKAS DHOOT
4 start-ups Dr. Baliga has been successful in founding four start-ups. “Silicon Wireless Corp created a revolutionary super-linear power RF MOSFET for use in cellular base stations. The company grew to 42 employees and was acquired by Fairchild.” Another one, Silicon Semiconductor Corp was started to commercialise his silicon chip set for powering microprocessors inside laptops and servers. This company’s technology was licensed for production by Linear Technologies Inc. A third start-up Micro-Ohm Corp was begun to create a revolutionary TMBS rectifier used in solar panels and power supplies. It was licensed to Vishay-Siliconix and became their most successful new rectifier product in 25 years, he said. “Giant Semiconductor Corp was created to commercialize my GD-MOSFET technology. This technology was licensed to Alpha and Omega Corp and is also made now by Infineon, Fairchild, and other companies for automotive electronics.” Dr. Baliga’s 1979 theory relating properties of semiconductors to the performance of power devices resulted in an equation named Baliga’s figure of merit (BFOM). This led to a comparison among semiconductor materials – Silicon, Gallium Arsenide and Silicon Carbide. “This predicted 13.7x enhanced performance by replacing Silicon with Gallium Arsenide which I demonstrated at GE in the 1980s. It predicted 200x enhanced performance by replacing Silicon with Silicon Carbide which I successfully demonstrated at my PSRC labs in North Carolina.”
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
still have a problem of NPAs, corporate debt and recapitalisation of banks. The government is talking of a national litigation policy and getting rid of obsolete laws. There is a move to set up dedicated tax benches. If you look back at the history of tax administration, you will not find any one government that has issued 23 notifications to address issues of ease of doing business. At the highest political level, you have the PM who says India has changed, is being reformed with a red carpet, not red tape — that is empowerment at a macro level. The message takes time to percolate down which is not easy, because you are dealing with-red tape there.
• Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram recently said he would have scrapped the retrospective tax that has spooked foreign investors by now… The common man became aware of retrospective tax changes only due to Vodafone. That assumed significance because here was a company that won the case and the law was changed. The manner in which it was done came up for questioning. On a standalone basis, retrospective amendment is not bad in law and some are in favour of taxpayers. I have shown a trend to demonstrate a direct correlation between past actions and FDI, and how retrospective amendments rose in 2012. There are some
very expensive lessons we have learnt. Suice for me to mention that if a law can be amended retrospectively, it can also be repealed retrospectively. But there are implications of that repeal. Take the infamous fringe benefits tax that was criticised a lot. Pranab Mukherjee, as finance minister, repealed it in two years. But he didn’t do it retrospectively as it would have meant people who were taxed had to be given refunds. But this law is diferent.
• Is this still a headache for investors? To be fair, in an era of BEPS and General Anti-Avoidance Rules, this law had to come. The question was: should it have been applied retrospectively? I don’t think that law to tax indirect transfers is bad per se. The debate is only on the retrospective aspect.
• Many people are getting notified about the end of LPG subsidy citing income over Rs.10 lakh a year, though the Centre has said it is not using I-T records for this. Taxpayer confidentiality is a big debate in the world. If LPG users are getting notices about ceasing subsidies as they are earning more than Rs.10 lakh, it means one department is using data collected by another. If one government agency makes use of my income tax data, it raises a question of taxpayer rights — a very big issue globally. In the western world, this will never be allowed. Part of the fundamental rights is the right to confidentiality of information, the right to a fair trial and right to be heard. Then there are moral rights like getting good infrastructure. That debate has not come up in India.
Morgan Stanley neglected warnings on broker A
troubling call came in to Morgan Stanley’s internal hotline in May 2010. One of the company’s top financial advisers in Mississippi, Steve Wyatt, was struggling with medications and was “not sleeping, coming in 3 and 4 a.m.,” his assistant said on the call, according to notes taken by the person who answered the phone. Wyatt, a broker, was also trading client money “erratically,” the assistant said. Morgan Stanley is one of the top banks on Wall Street, operating one of the most sophisticated financial advisory businesses in the world. But when the call came in, there was little efort to help fix the problems, Wyatt’s colleagues — and Wyatt himself — testified in arbitration. This was not the only time Morgan Stanley did not heed warnings about Wyatt, who managed tens of millions of dollars of customer money, according to a settlement this week and documents from arbitration cases against him and the company. Problematic behaviour During Mr. Wyatt’s five years at the company, supervisors and compliance oicers noted his problematic behaviour and business patterns many times and failed to step in, documents show. Lawyers for his former clients claim that they lost about half their money, or around $50 million. Mr. Wyatt’s case, while involving just one broker, sheds light on the diiculty that even sophisticated companies can encounter in supervising their far-flung networks of brokers, who manage the retirement savings of millions of people nationwide. Wall Street companies have been expanding into wealth management and brokerage services, as profits from other businesses have been under pressure from regulations imposed after the 2008 financial crisis. Morgan Stanley now has nearly 16,000 financial advisers, one of the largest such forces of any company.
WYATT’S UP: Morgan Stanley now has nearly 16,000 financial advisers. — FILE PHOTO: AP Mr. Wyatt, who oversaw more than $100 million in client money, was fired in 2012, more than two years after that phone call and after more concerns were raised. In an interview, Mr. Wyatt, now 44, described falling into depression and having suicidal feelings, set of by the chaos of financial crisis and its aftermath. He said his supervisors never ofered help or expressed concern. “If they thought I was suicidal, if they thought I was depressed, nobody mentioned anything to me — concerned or otherwise,” he said. This week, the Mississippi secretary of state said in a settlement with Morgan Stanley that it had “failed to reasonably supervise” Mr. Wyatt. “Clearly, they had warning signs — they had indications of personal issues,” Delbert Hosemann, the Mississippi secretary of state, said of Morgan Stanley. “All of those were either dealt with in a cursory manner or not dealt with at all.” The settlement barred Mr. Wyatt and his immediate supervisor from the securities industry for life. Morgan Stanley was also instructed to create a $4.2 million fund to reimburse clients, a small part of what customers claim they lost with Mr. Wyatt. Morgan Stanley did not admit or deny the accusations in the state settlement. The company is fighting
dozens of Mr. Wyatt’s former clients in arbitration. It has said in legal documents that the clients were “negligent” for not following Mr. Wyatt more closely. In the three arbitration cases that have been decided so far, Morgan Stanley has had to pay about $3 million. James Wiggins, a spokesman for the company, said this week that many of Mr. Wyatt’s losses had resulted largely from the turmoil caused by the financial crisis. “We take extremely seriously our responsibility for placing our clients’ interest first,” Mr. Wiggins said. The state settlement provides few details about the behaviour that got Mr. Wyatt and Morgan Stanley into trouble. But closed testimony and thousands of pages of documents from the arbitration cases reviewed by The New York Times shed light on how the matter played out at the company. ‘A Pile of Money’ When Mr. Wyatt was brought to Morgan Stanley in 2007 by Fred Brister, the manager of the Ridgeland, Mississippi, branch, there were no black marks on his regulatory record from more than a decade at Smith Barney. Jessica Clarke, one of Mr. Wyatt’s customers at Morgan Stanley, said he was a gregarious salesman who won her account with his confidence.
A “boy genius,” Clarke, 84, said. “I will make you a pile of money,” he wrote in an email to another client in 2007. “It ain’t gonna be easy and it may seem unorthodox at times but stay with me and do what I say.” The evidence now being used against Mr. Wyatt in arbitration began to pile up soon after he joined Morgan Stanley. In his first year, he took the money in some of his clients’ accounts and put it in just two stocks — BlackBerry, the cellphone maker, and Valence, a battery maker that later went bankrupt. Four clients who went to arbitration last year saw their investments in both stocks fall more than 60 per cent, according to their records. Morgan Stanley has said in legal documents that those stock trades were made in accounts that customers controlled. The customers said Mr. Wyatt rarely consulted them before trading and did not ask for approval on the big holdings of BlackBerry and Valence — behaviour the Mississippi secretary of state also noted. Less than a year after Mr. Wyatt arrived, the Morgan Stanley risk oicer in the Mississippi branch had made a handwritten list of “Triggers on Steve” with 10 problems, including trade errors, high fees and significant losses. Fran Finch, another broker in the oice, merged some of her clients with Mr. Wyatt’s when he joined Morgan Stanley, because of his apparent success in bringing in revenue. But she testified that in 2010 she took her clients away from Wyatt as his behaviour and financial returns grew more erratic. Mr. Wyatt was fired in June 2012 when a lawyer representing one of his clients presented Morgan Stanley with evidence that he had been using a personal email address to push clients to buy investments that he held in his own private accounts. — New York Times News Service ND-ND
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NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Joy for couple
Tough to please
Tough and Satisfying
Feeling bad
To win with your wife standing next to you is so special. We will cherish this for life. — 쑺 Britain’s Kate Richardson-Walsh, on winning the hockey gold along with wife Helen, the first married gay couple to do so
I called my mother before, when I won the synchronised event, but she said, ‘It’s so late, why are you calling? I was already asleep’.” — 쑺 China’s double Olympic gold medallist diver Chen Aisen admits his mother is hard to please
Mentally I had to be on the top of my game. The guys were out there to get me. It shows I didn’t just fluke it in London. To do it again is incredible. 쑺 I can’t believe I did it, it means so much to me. — Mo Farah on doing the distance double again
Every time you beat someone you're crushing their dreams, so it's a tough old process. — Two-time gold medallist boxer Nicola Adams has sympathy for her opponents
A double-double for Mo Farah
Narsingh issue: WFI wants a CBI enquiry
Sixth gold for Allyson Felix; Matthew Centrowitz wins the 1500m title
UTHRA GANESAN
He said welcome to the club. I thought that was very cool
KAMESH SRINIVASAN RIO DE JANEIRO: Mo Farah was
pushed hard, but had the reserves of energy to add the 5000 metres gold to the 10,000 metres he had won earlier, at the Olympic Stadium here on Saturday; a repeat of his double gold medal winning performance from London. Mo Farah was surprised at
— Matthew Centrowitz, on what former champ Sebastian Coe said to him at the presentation ceremony tional record 1:55.28 to beat Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi (1:56.49) and Margaret Nyairera Wambui of Kenya (1:56.89). Matthew Centrowitz of the US won the men’s 1500 metres gold with a time of 3:50.00, ahead of Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria (3:50.11) and Nicholas Willis of New Zealand
Wrestling: Men’s freestyle 65kg (qualification): Yogeshwar
Dutt lost to Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran (Mgl) 0-3. Golf: Women’s individual (final round): Aditi Ashok, T52, 76. Athletics: Men’s marathon: T.
Gopi, 25th (2:15.25); Kheta Ram, 26th (2:15.26); Nitendra Singh, 84th (2:22.52).
Matt Centrowitz (USA): Athletics: Men’s 1500m. Mo Farah (GBR): Athletics: Men’s 5000m. USA (Arman Hall, Tony McQuay, Gil Roberts and LaShawn Merritt): Athletics: Men’s
4x400m. Thomas Ruhler (Ger): Athletics: Men’s javelin. Caster Semenya (RSA): Athletics: Women’s 800m. USA (Courtney Okolo, Natasha Hastings, Phyllis Francis, Allyson Felix): Athletics: Women’s 4x400m. Ruth Beitia (Esp): Athletics:
ATHLETICS the speed with which the race started. Happy to be the last in the bunch initially, he made his move ahead steadily. At the end of an intense race, Mo Farah had to constantly look to his sides and check whether anyone would really overtake him. Mo Farah won with a time of 13 minutes 3.30 seconds, beating Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo of the US (13:03.90) by about half a second. Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia took the bronze at 13:04.35. “The guys were out there to get me. I just had to be alert,” said Mo Farah after the triumph. “I dreamt to become an
FOR THE FAMILY: Stating that the Olympics had become “harder and tougher”, Mo Farah said he was pleased that his four kids now have one gold each and he was going to engrave their names on them. — PHOTO: REUTERS Olympic champion as a youngster. I did it in London and that was incredible. Now four years later, to do it again, there are no words.“Mentally, I had to be on top of my game,” said Farah. Allyson Felix of the US won
her sixth Olympic gold, the maximum by a woman athlete. She anchored the women’s 4x400m team to the gold after she had helped the 4x100m relay team to the gold on the second leg, earlier. Allyson Felix helped the US
team finish ahead of Jamaica (3:20.34) with a season best run of 3:19.06. Britain was a distant third at 3:25.88. It was a record sixth gold medal for Allyson, and nine in all, matching the tally of Merlene Ottey of Jamaica.
The US won the men’s relay as well, with a time of 2:57.30, ahead of Jamaica (2:58.16) and Bahamas (2:58.49). In the women’s 800 metres, the 25-year-old Caster Semenya of South Africa proved too strong, as she clocked a na-
(3:50.24). “I had about five diferent strategies planned out in my head on how the race could unfold. So, I was prepared for any type of race. At the end of the day, it was all about putting myself in a good position,” said Centrowitz. Thomas Rohler of Germany won the hammer gold with a throw of 90.30m on his fifth attempt, 27 centimetres short of the Olympic record. He beat Julius Yego of Kenya, whose only valid throw was to a season best 88.24. Defending champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago won the bronze at 85.38.
NEW DELHI: Two days after
wrestler Narsingh Yadav was handed a four-year ban for doping violation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the WFI has demanded a CBI probe into the entire fiasco that forced India to forego its participation in the 74kg freestyle category at the Rio Olympics. The federation has also questioned the timing of its appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). “The Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh feels that the World Anti-Doping Agency’s timing of appeal against the NADA clean chit to Narsingh was suspect. “He has also objected to the CAS hearing being held just hours before the competition started in Rio,” the WFI said in a statement. “The notice from CAS came at such a time that neither could Narsingh bring his lawyer to Rio to argue his case nor could a replacement be arranged for the 74kg category by the WFI,” it added. The WADA had, as per protocol, issued the notice to India’s chef-de-mission Rakesh Gupta on August 13, and the hearing was initially scheduled for August 16. According to WFI, the chefde-mission failed to inform either the athlete or the federation on time, leading to a rescheduling of the hearing on August 18, hours before Narsingh’s opening bout.
Women’s high jump. Chen Long (Chn): Badminton: Men’s singles. USA: Basketball: Women. Robeisy Ramirez (Cub): Boxing: Men’s bantamweight (56kg). Arlen Lopez (Cub): Boxing: Men’s middleweight (75kg). Nicola Adams (GBR): Boxing: Women’s fly-
weight (51kg). Germany (Rendschmidt, Liebscher, Hoff, Gross): Canoeing: Men’s quadruple kayak 1,000m. Germany (Brendel, Vandrey): Canoe-
ing: Men’s double canoe 1,000m. Liam Heath (GBR): Canoeing: Men’s single kayak 200m. Hungary (Szabo, Kozak, Csipes, Fazekas-Zur): Canoeing:
Women’s quadruple kayak 500m. Jenny Rissveds (Swe): Cyclingmountain bike: Women’s cross country. Chen Aisen (Chn): Diving: Men’s 10m platform. Brazil: Football: Men. Park In-Bee (Kor): Golf: Women. Russia: Handball: Women. Margarita Mamun (Rus): Rhythmic gymnastics: Individual all-around. Aleksander Lesun (Rus): Modern pentathlon: Men. Radik Isaev (Aze): Taekwondo: Men’s +80kg. Zheng Shuyin (Chn): Taekwondo: Women’s +67kg. Serbia: Water polo: Men. Abdulrashid Sadulaev (Rus):
Wrestling: Men’s 86kg. Taha Akgul (Tur): Wrestling: Men’s 125kg. Gwen Jorgensen (USA): Triathlon: Women. China: Volleyball: Women.
Cross-border honour for Dipa Karmakar
RIO DE JANEIRO: Born in Moscow
Y.B. SARANGI SYED SAJJAD ALI AGARTALA: At a time when the
Tripura state administration is gearing up to welcome Dipa Karmakar on her homecoming on Monday, the gymnastics icon has been invited by a cultural association from Bangladesh for a felicitation function. A delegation from Bhairab, a small place close to Dhaka, visited the Karmakar family on
GENERAL Saturday and handed them a specially-designed invitation expressing their desire to honour Dipa for her fourth-place finish in the Rio Olympics. The letter, addressed to Dipa and her coach Bisweshwar Nandi, from Bangladeshi freedom-fighter Mohammad Syeddullah Mian said every Bengali, including those from Bangladesh, was feeling proud because of Dipa’s creditable showing and her coach Nandi’s able guidance.
SPECIAL GESTURE: A delegation from Dhaka visited the Karmakar family to hand over an invitation expressing their desire to honour Dipa. — PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR “The inhabitants of Bhairab in Bangladesh want to honour you. “Kindly let us know the suitable date and time when you will be available for this and make us grateful. Long live India-Bangladesh friendship!”
said the letter. Dipa’s father Dulal Karmakar said the date will be decided after consulting her. “She will be busy with her exams till August 30. After that we will decide on the date,” he said.
Thousands of people from all walks of life will witness the felicitation of Dipa and Nandi onMonday. The sports and youth afairs department, Tripura Sports Council and the other wings of the government will hold a grand reception for the duo at the Vivekananda Stadium in the outer area ofthe magnificent Ujjyanta Palace. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar will preside over the function, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Sports & Youth Afairs minister Sahid Choudhury and several of his ministerial colleagues, top sports personalities, prominent citizens and sports oicials are expected to attend. All the government and government-aided schools in Agartala, too, will send their teaching faculty and students to the stadium to cheer Tripura’s golden girl. From the airport, where Dipa will arrive at 9.30 a.m., a cavalcade will take her and Nandi to the Vivekananda Stadium. The quiet border city will be abuzz while welcoming its biggest hero.
Phelps and Bolt leave a void of Olympian proportions
Power couples in love with the Games
RIO DE JANEIRO: Twin titans Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps have mined a trove of Olympic gold, changed the sporting landscape and left a huge hole that starts in Rio and goes around the world. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach hailed the two superstars as “icons”. But he will leave the 31st Olympic Games wondering how to fill their places. There is no one in sight with the sporting power nor the charisma to take the place of Phelps and Bolt — who have 32 gold medals between them — in the swimming pool or on the running track. Bolt and his nine golds over three Olympics cannot be countered. Phelps won five golds in Rio at the age of 31 having retired once and come . From Beijing in 2008 through London 2012 and, finally, in Rio, Bolt and Phelps captivated die-hard fans of their sports and casual spectators attracted like moths to the Olympic flame. Both presaged their mature exploits with precocious Olympics appearances, Phelps as a 15-year-old contesting the 200m butterfly in 2000, and Bolt, at 17, finishing fifth in his heat in the 200m in 2004. By those Games in Athens in 2004, Phelps was already challenging Mark Spitz’s record of seven titles at one Games, coming away with six golds
RIO DE JANEIRO: Ashton Eaton and
CM YK
Mamun hails victory for ‘two countries’
Usain Bolt. — PHOTO: REUTERS
Michael Phelps. — PHOTO: AFP
and two bronze. In Beijing he cemented his place among Games greats with a perfect eight golds in eight events at the Water Cube while Bolt electrified the Birds’ Nest stadium with his 100m, 200m and 4x100m sprint triumphs. From Beijing on they were linked in Games lore, each adding to his legacy in 2012 — Bolt with another sprint sweep and Phelps with four more gold to add to his staggering tally of Olympic medals. Although a burned-out Phelps flirted with retirement after London, it was fitting that his decision to return for one last, fifth, campaign, saw him bow out at the same time as Bolt. The Jamaican’s unprecedented third sweep of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m means debate will rage loud
and long as to which can claim the status of “greatest Olympian”. Phelps leads the medals table by a mile. His five golds in Rio took his already stunning tally to 23 gold among a total of 28. Bolt, meanwhile, has dominated in the tests of speed that are the quintessential sporting contests, maintaining his supremacy over an unprecedented span of years. “It’s a massive gap, but it’s not a gap that is insuperable,” International Association of Athletics Federations president Sebastian Coe said of Bolt’s departure. He compared it to questions asked with Ali’s withdrawal in the 1970s. “Well, Floyd Mayweather, Marvin Hagler, Manny Pacquiao and Sugar Ray Leonard came along.” — AFP
Brianne Theisen-Eaton are the power couple of the Olympics, a gold and bronze medal to their names. American star Eaton, who retained his decathlon crown in Rio, and his Canadian heptathlon bronze medallist wife, married in 2013. They met as students at University and they are one of a number of medalwinning couples in Rio. “We don’t go on dates, and we don’t really spend time together. “And we don’t really have anything to talk about. We’re the couple that goes out to eat, and we sit at the table at a restaurant and look on our phones all the time,” admitted Theisen-Eaton. However, Ashton, 28, says he and his 27-year-old college
sweetheart are a perfect match. “Our relationship helps us because we understand what each other is doing, like physically and mentally,” she said. Ines Boubakri, won a bronze medal in the women’s foil for Tunisia, while her husband Erwann Le Pechoux was in the French foil team that lost to Russian in the men’s final. “He has always supported me but I’m a bit jealous because he got silver and mine is bronze. But his is team,” said Boubakri. British cyclists Jason Kenny and Laura Trott aren’t married yet, but they are engaged. Kenny took his career track haul of golds to six in Rio while Trott has four. “I’m really proud of her, but I’d be proud of her even if she didn’t win,” said Kenny.— AFP
LOVE PAIR: British cyclists Jason Kenny and Laura Trott are one of the couples with medals from Rio to adorn their walls. — PHOTO: BRYN LENNON/GETTY IMAGES
to a Bangladeshi father, rhythmic gymnast Margarita Mamun showed of her exquisite balancing and twirling skills as she captured what she called “a victory for two countries” in the individual all-around event at the Olympics. The 20-year-old Russian goes by the nickname of ‘The Bengal Tiger’ but rather than
ART GYMNASTICS knocking over her rivals with brute force, she simply left them chasing shadows as she produced four dazzling routines with the hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon to win her first global all-around title. To do that she beat overwhelming favourite and threetime world champion Yana Kudryavtseva, who surrendered her title hopes when her twirling act with the clubs went horribly wrong in its dying seconds. That error knocked a distraught Kudryavtseva, who was leading at the halfway point of the competition, of
Ramachandran awarded the Olympic order RIO DE JANEIRO: The president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), N. Ramachandran, was on Sunday awarded the Olympic Order for his outstanding service to the Olympic movement. Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, presented the award to Ramachandran and congratulated the IOA president for his contribution to the Indian Olympic movement. “I am humbled by the honour and it is indeed one of the best moments of my career in sports administration. I am extremely grateful to the IOC president Thomas Bach and the IOC executive board for choosing me for this award. This award belongs to the entire country,” Ramachandran said. Ramachandran, who has been actively associated with several sports organisations, has held several prominent positions. In 2008, Ramachandran became the president of the World Squash Federation, and at the WSF AGM in 2012, he was re-elected for a four-year period. He was appointed an associate vice-president of the Indian Olympic Association in 2001 and became a vicepresident in 2005. In February 2014, Ramachandran was elected president of the IOA. — PTI
FELINE GRACE: Russia’s Margarita Mamun, nicknamed the Bengal Tiger because of her Bangladeshi parentage, put on a dazzling routine on the way to a gold. — PHOTO: AFP the top and allowed Mamun to grab the top prize with a total of 76.483. Mamun, who had represented Bangladesh as a junior, was also delighted that her victory was also being celebrated in her father, Abdullah Al Mamun’s, homeland. “I’m really happy knowing that I have a lot of fans in Bangladesh who have been supporting me,” added Mamun in Russian. “I can count one to 10 in Ben-
gali. When I was younger my dad used to teach me Bengali but I have forgotten it all.” And why did she choose to represent Bangladesh as a junior considering she was born and raised in her mother’s homeland? “I had dual citizenship so that’s why I decided to represent Bangladesh in one competition as a junior. I came back to represent Russia as I always lived and trained in Russia.” — Reuters
Yogeshwar Dutt tumbles out
DISAPPOINTMENT: Yogeshwar Dutt found Mongolia's Mandakhnaran Ganzorig a tough nut to crack. — PHOTO: PTI KAMESH SRINIVASAN RIO DE JANEIRO: The wait for a
third medal ended for the Indian camp as wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt failed to deliver on his promise and crashed out in the first round of his fourth Olympics. The 33-year-old Yogeshwar could do little against the strong Mongolian Ganzorig Mandakhnaran and lost 3-0 on points in the 65kg freestyle category. There was no revival through the repechage, a path that had fetched him the bronze at London, as the Mongolian was beaten in the quarterfinals. After being warned and slapped a point penalty for being passive, as the seconds
ran out on the clock, by the end of the first two minutes, Yogeshwar tried hard to get a hold over his opponent but could not succeed. In contrast, the Mongolian
WRESTLING handled him with assurance to garner two more technical points in the second round. Even in the last few seconds of the second round of three minutes, Yogeshwar made a desperate attempt to catch the legs of his opponent. The Mongolian, with a strong defence, was far too smart to get into any trap. ND-ND
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Neymar’s final touch turns gold The Barcelona forward helps Brazil beat Germany 5-4 in shootout tears of joy after delivering Brazil’s first men’s football gold medal with the winning penalty in a 5-4 shootout triumph over Germany after a thrilling final ended in a draw following extra-time on Saturday.
HISTORIC MOMENT: Brazil claimed its first gold medal in football after beating Germany in the final. — PHOTO: REUTERS
Neymar had put the host ahead with a superb free kick after 27 minutes, but Germany captain Maximilian Meyer equalised just before the hour to take the game into the extra period at 1-1. There were no more goals as the match went to penalties
with Nils Petersen missing Germany’s fifth spot kick leaving Neymar, who appeared to injure himself late in the game, to limp up and coolly score from the spot to send the capacity crowd wild. The victory gave Brazil a measure of revenge for its humiliating 7-1 defeat by eventual World Cup winner Germany in the semifinal on home soil in 2014 — a game Neymar had to watch from the sidelines due to injury. “Yesterday we were criticised,” the 24-year-old Barce-
FOOTBALL
lona forward said.“We have replied with good football.” With a passionate crowd behind it, Brazil took the game to its opponents and dominated possession and territory. However, it struggled to make chances and it was the Germans who almost opened the scoring after 10 minutes when Julian Brandt smacked
T
hirty-seven year-old Ruth Beitia of Spain won her first Olympic medal, and a gold at that, in the high jump by virtue of having the fewest misses after four athletes recorded the same winning height of 1.97m. Not only has she become the oldest Olympic medallist in that event but it is also her country’s first Olympic gold in women’s athletics. Beitia, who retired briefly after finishing fourth in 2012, was appearing in her fourth Olympics here. She is the only Spanish woman to have crossed the 2metre mark (2.02m in 2007). A member of the Cantabria parliament since 2011, she has a degree in physiotherapy and is currently pursuing a degree in psychology. Beitia said the gold was the product of “26 years of work and pulling hair out”.
Karun and seamers propel India-A to victory TOWNSVILLE: India-A thrashed
Australia’s National Performance Squad (NPS) by 86 runs in the quadrangular ODI series here on Sunday. Batting first, the visitors scored 304 for seven in 50 overs. Opener Karun Nair topscored with 72 (85b, 7x4). In reply, NPS was bowled out for 218 in 46 overs.Seamers Jaydev Unadkat (three for 43) and Dhawal Kulkarni (three for 38) bowled well. The scores: India-A 304 for seven in 50 overs (Karun Nair 72, Sanju Samson 54, Kedar Jadhav 45, Shreyas Iyer 45) bt NPS 218 in 46 overs (Healton Cartwright 65, Sam Heazlett 60, Jaydev Unadkat three for 43, Dhawal Kulkarni three for 38). — PTI
the bar with a lovely curling shot from outside the box. Brazil kept pushing forward and just before the half-hour mark it got the goal. Neymar was brought down almost 25 metres from goal and, although the angle was tight, he curled a spectacular strike into the net of the underside of Timo Horn's bar. The goal shook Germany into action and it pushed forward more and hit the bar twice more before the half was out. Brazil still looked the hun-
grier side but it was Germany which got the next goal with an hour gone. Jeremy Toljan sent in a low cross from the right and captain Maximilian Meyer swept home a lovely finish from about 10 metres.
ATHLETICS Men’s 1500m: 1. Matt Centro-
3. Great Britain (Doyle, Onuora, Diamond, Ohurougu) 3:25.88. Women’s high jump: 1. Ruth Beitia (Esp) 1.97m, 2. Mirela Demireva (Bul) 1.97, 3. Blanka Vlasic (Cro) 1.97.
witz (USA) 3:50.00s, 2. Taoufik Makhloufi (Alg) 3:50.11, 3. Nick Willis (NZ) 3:50.24. Men’s 5000m: 1. Mo Farah (GBR) 13:03.30, 2. Hagos Gebrhiwet (Eth) 13:04.35, 3. Bernard Lagat (USA) 13:06.78. Men’s 4x400m: 1. USA (Arman Hall, Tony McQuay, Gil Roberts and LaShawn Merritt) 2:57.30, 2. Jamaica (Matthews, Allen, Dunkley, Francis) 2:58.16, 3. Bahamas (Russell, Mathieu, Gardiner, Brown) 2:58.49. Men’s javelin: 1. Thomas Rohler (Ger) 90.30m, 2. Julius Yego (Ken) 88.24, 3. Keshorn Walcott (Tri) 85.38. Women’s 800m: 1. Caster Semenya (RSA) 1:55.28s, 2. Francine Niyonsaba (Bdi) 1:56.49, 3. Margaret Nyairera Wambui (Ken) 1:56.89. Women’s 4x400m: 1. USA (Courtney Okolo, Natasha Hastings, Phyllis Francis, Allyson Felix) 3:19.06, 2. Jamaica (Mcpherson, MclaughlinWhilby, Jackson, Williams) 3:20.34,
CRICKET
Australia begins ODI series with win COLOMBO: Skipper Steve Smith
and opener Aaron Finch scored half-centuries as Australia won the first ODI at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Sunday. Chasing 228 for victory, the visitors reached the target for
Faulkner and Starc, who became the fastest to reach 100 wickets in his 52nd match, shared seven wickets between them to validate Smith’s decision to bowl first. Starc , who took three wickets, struck with the fourth ball of the innings.
the loss of seven wickets with 3.1 overs to spare. Earlier, Australian pacemen James Faulkner and Mitchell Starc restricted Sri Lanka to 227 for eight despite half-centuries from Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal.
SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka: K. Perera b Starc 1, T. Dilshan c Smith b Henriques 22, K. Mendis c Head b Faulkner 67, D. Chandimal (not out) 80, A. Mathews c Head b Faulkner 0, D. de Silva c Bailey b Starc 2, T. Siriwardana c Finch b Starc 19, T. Perera c Wade b Faulkner 21, D. Perera c Hazlewood b Faulkner 10, A. Aponso (not out) 2; Extras (b-1, w-2): 3; Total (for eight wickets in 50 overs): 227. Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-45, 3-124, 4-124, 5-132, 6-173, 7-209, 8-224.
w-12): 15; Total (for seven wkts. in 46.5 overs): 228. Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-79, 3-128, 4-190, 5-202, 6-216, 7-222. Sri Lanka bowling: Mathews 70-33-0, Dilshan 3.5-0-25-0, T. Perera 5-1-25-1, Aponso 10-1-27-1, Siriwardana 6-0-34-0, D. Perera 10-0-48-3, Sandakan 5-0-33-2. Toss: Australia. Man-of-the-Match: Faulkner. Australia won by three wickets with 3.1 overs remaining
Australia bowling: Starc 10-132-3, Hazlewood 10-0-56-0, Faulkner 10-1-38-4, Henriques 9-0-48-1, Zampa 7-0-34-0, Head 4-0-18-0. Australia: D. Warner c K. Perera b T. Perera 8, A. Finch c Mathews b Aphonso 56, S. Smith c sub b D. Perera 58, M. Wade c Dilshan b Sandakan 26, G. Bailey c Sandakan b D. Perera 39, M. Henriques c sub b Sandakan 6, T. Head st. K. Perera b D. Perera 10, J. Faulkner (not out) 5, M. Starc (not out) 5; Extras (lb-1, b-2,
THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Kipchoge takes marathon gold KAMESH SRINIVASAN RIO DE JANEIRO: T. Gopi and Khe-
RIO DE JANEIRO: Neymar shed
Brazil had lost the Olympic final three times — in 1984, 1988 and 2012 — but it finally got the gold it craved for, on a dramatic night at the Maracana Stadium in which it outplayed the Germans but was saved thrice by the woodwork.
NOIDA/DELHI
Neymar to step down Meanwhile, the Barcelona star said he will step down as Brazil captain on Saturday. “It was an honour to be captain, but from today I am no longer captain,” Neymar told SporTV. — Reuters
BASKETBALL Women: Gold: United States bt Spain 101-72. Bronze: Serbia bt
France 70-63. BOXING Men’s bantamweight: Gold:
Robeisy Ramirez (Cub) bt Shakur Stevenson (USA) 2-1. Bronze: Vladimir Nikitin (Rus) & Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzb). Men’s middleweight: Gold: Arlen Lopez Cardona (Cub) bt Bektemir Melikuziev (Uzb) 3-0. Bronze: Kamran Shakhsuvarly (Aze) & Misael Rodriguez (Mex). Women’s flyweight: Gold: Nicola Adams (GBR) bt Sarah Ourahmoune (Fra) 3-0. Bronze: Ren Cancan (Can) & Ingrit Valencia (Col). CANOEING Men’s quadruple kayak 1,000m: 1. Germany (Rendschmidt,
Liebscher, Hoff, Gross) 3:02.143s, 2.
No play due to wet outfield DURBAN: A wet outfield pre-
vented any play on the third day of the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand at Kingsmead on Sunday. New Zealand remained on 15 for two in reply to South Africa’s first innings total of 263. Rain continued through Saturday and into Sunday morning. Although the sun was shining at the scheduled resumption of play, there were extensive wet, muddy areas on a field which was re-seeded in June and was flooded by a freak storm in July. After an inspection by the umpires at midday, it was announced that underfoot conditions remained treacherous, with water coming up to the surface. — AFP
ta Ram clocked their personal bests as they placed 25th and 26th respectively in the Olympic marathon on Sunday, as Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya won the gold with a time of 2 hours 8 minutes and 44 seconds. Gopi finished in 2:15:25 seconds while Kheta Ram was one second behind. Nitendra Singh was 84th with a 2:22:52. Interestingly, it was in the 5,000m that Kipchoge had won his previous Olympic medals — bronze at the Athens Games and silver at Beijing. Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia (2:09:54) and Galem Rupp of the US (2:10:05) won the silver and bronze respectively. “It was a bit slow. So I decided to take over. Maybe it was the rain. I [came] here for gold,” said the Kenyan. Kipchoge became only the second Kenyan, after Samuel Wanjiru in 2008, to win the marathon gold. With Kipchoge’s triumph, Kenya became the first nation to win both the men’s and the women’s marathon golds; Jemima Jelagat Sumgong had won the women’s last week. “It is amazing for us. Kenyans will be very happy. This is history. It is the best moment of my life,” said Kipchoge. He has now won seven of his eight career marathons. He won the London marathon
Slovakia (Mysak, Vlcek, Tarr, Linka) 3:05.044, 3. Czech Republic (Havel, Trefil, Dostal, Sterba) 3:05.176. Men’s double canoe 1,000m: 1. Germany (Brendel, Vandrey) 3:43.912, 2. Brazil (de Souza Silva, Queiroz dos Santos) 3:44.819, 3. Ukraine (Ianchuk, Mishchuk) 3:45.949. Men’s single kayak 200m: 1. Liam Heath (GBR) 35.197, 2. Maxime Beaumont (Fra) 35.362, 3. Ronny Rauhe (Ger) 35.662. Women’s quadruple kayak 500m: 1. Hungary (Szabo, Kozak,
Csipes, Fazekas-Zur) 1:31.482, 2. Germany (Hering, Weber, Kriegerstein, Dietze) 1:32.383, 3. Belarus (Makhneva, Liapeshka, Khudzenka, Litvinchuk) 1:33.908. CYCLING Women’s mountain bike: 1. Jen-
ny Rissveds (Swe) 1:30:15s, 2. Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) 1:30:52, 3. Catharine Pendrel (Can) 1:31:41. DIVING Men’s 10m platform: 1. Chen Ai-
sen (Chn) 585.30 pts., 2. German Sanchez (Mex) 532.70, 3. David Bou-
앫 Gopi and Kheta clock
personal bests while finishing a creditable 25th and 26th among 155 runners
with the second all-time fastest time of 2:03.05. Rupp had competed in the 10,000 metres earlier. “I was emotionally drained after the 10K. I got it out of my system and decided to have an attacking race. Maybe, this is my best event,” said the American.
Ethiopian runner in ‘death’ protest RIO DE JANEIRO: Ethiopia’s
Feyisa Lilesa marked his silver medal in the Olympic Games men’s marathon on Sunday by staging a dramatic protest against his country’s government, claiming his life could be in peril. Lilesa, who was second to Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, crossed his arms above his head as he finished the gruelling event as a protest against the Ethiopian government’s crackdown on political dissent. “I have relatives in prison back home,” he said.
dia (USA) 525.25. GOLF Women’s individual: 1. Park In-
Bee (Kor) 268 [66-66-70-66], 2. Lydia Ko (NZ) 273 [69-70-65-69], 3. Feng Shanshan (Chn) 274 [70-67-68-690. FOOTBALL Men: Gold medal match: Brazil
bt Germany 5-4 on penalties, RT 1-1. Bronze: Nigeria 3 bt Honduras 2 HANDBALL Women: Gold medal match: Russia bt France 22-10. Bronze: Nor-
way bt The Netherlands 36-26. TRIATHLON Women’s individual: 1. Gwen
Jorgensen (USA) 1:56:16s, 2. Nicola Spirig Hug (Sui) 1:56:56, 3. Vicky Holland (GBR) 1:57:01. MODERN PENTATHLON Men’s individual: 1. Aleksander
Lesun (Rus) 1479 pts. 2. Pavlo Tymoshchenko (Ukr) 1472, 3. Ismael Marcelo Hernandez Uscanga (Mex) 1468. RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS Women’s all-around: 1. Margari-
ta Mamun (Rus) 76.483 pts., 2. Yana
EUROPEAN FOOTBALL
West Ham beats Bournemouth LONDON: West Ham started Pre-
mier League life at its new home at the London Stadium by beating 10-man Bournemouth 1-0 on Sunday, with Michail Antonio grabbing the 85th-minute winner. The winger rose at the far post to head in Gokhan Tore’s cross in one of the few chances created in a drab, low-quality match. Bournemouth had been left a man short eight minutes earlier, after midfielder Harry Arter was given a second booking. Meanwhile, Villarreal drew 1-1 at Granada while Sevilla beat Espanyol 6-4 in an incredible game.
The results: La Liga: Sporting Gijon 2 (Duje Cop 50, Victor 53) bt Athletic Bilbao 1 (Borja Viguera 86); Granada 1 (Ponce 65) drew with Villarreal 1 (Castillejo 62); Sevilla 6 (Sarabia 15, Vietto 22, 45, Vazquez 54, Yedder 66, Kiyotake 74) bt Espanyol 4 (Piatti 8, Perez 26, Sanchez 44, Moreno 80). Premier League: West Ham 1 (Antonio 85) bt Bournemouth 0; Sunderland 1 (van Aanholt 71) lost to Middlesbrough 2 (Stuani 13, 45). Serie A: AC Milan 3 (Bacca 38, 50, 62-pen) bt Torino 2 (Andrea Belotti 48, Daniele Baselli 90+1); Roma 4 (Perotti 65-pen, 75-pen, Dzeko 82, Salah 84) bt Udinese 0; Juventus 2 (Sami Khedira 37, Higuain 75) bt Fiorentina 1 (Kalinic 70). — Agencies
“If you talk about democracy they kill you. If I go back to Ethiopia maybe they will kill me, or put me in prison. “It is very dangerous in my country. Maybe I have to go to another country. I was protesting for people everywhere who have no freedom.” Human rights groups say Ethiopian security forces have killed scores of people in recent weeks as authorities crack down on anti-government unrest in two key regions, centralwestern Oromia and Amhara (north). — AFP
Kudryavtseva (Rus) 75.608, 3. Ganna Rizatdinova (Ukr) 73.583. TAEKWONDO Men’s +80kg: Gold: Radik Isaev
(Aze) bt Abdoulrazak Issoufou Alfaga (Nig) 6-2. Bronze: Maicon Siqueira (Bra) & Cha Dongmin (Kor). Women’s +67kg: Gold: Zheng Shuyin (Chn) bt Maria Del Rosario Espinoza Espinoza (Mex) 5-1. Bronze: Bianca Walkden (GBR) & Jackie Galloway (USA). VOLLEYBALL Women: Gold: China bt Serbia 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-23. Bronze:
USA bt The Netherlands (25-23, 2527, 25-22, 25-19). WATER POLO Men: Gold: Serbia bt Croatia 11-7. Bronze: Italy bt Montenegro 12-10. WRESTLING Men’s 86kg: Gold: Abdulrashid
Sadulaev (Rus) bt Selim Yasar (Tur) 3-0. Bronze: Sharif Sharifov (Aze) & J’den Cox (USA). Men’s 125kg: Gold: Taha Akgul (Tur) bt Komeil Nemat Ghasemi (Iri) 3-1. Bronze: Ibrahim Saidau (Blr) & Geno Petriashvili (Geo).
Day four abandoned PORT OF SPAIN: Play was abandoned without a ball being bowled for a third consecutive day on the scheduled fourth day of the fourth and final Test between the West Indies and India at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Sunday. Umpires Nigel Llong and Rod Tucker determined that the repair work being undertaken on a saturated outfield eliminated any chance of play despite almost continuous sunshine over the previous two days. Only 22 overs have been bowled so far in the match with the West Indies reaching 62 for two before lunch on the first day, before the weather and developing problems with the saturated ground ruined the fixture completely. — AFP
VARIETY THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11783 2
1
3
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5
9
Gridman
6
7
8
10
11
12 13
14
15 16
17
18
19
20
21 22 3
23
22 Spoils union leader in aerospace and defence company (4) 23 Beams at TO rollicking in ship (9) 25 Nothing good by a backward group's knockouts (7) 26 The better you fold, the better its shape and value? (7) 27 Father with great many in Indian city's temple (6) 28 Weaken five moving to the back in worship (8)
and become visible (4,2,3,4) 13 Being devious, coteries secrete core of grid in writing table (10) 16 Segregated, Oldie sat fidgeting (8) 18 A player in Gujarat's capital is letting up (7) 20 Expert Tara makes distribution that's in proportion (3,4) 21 Oriental politician starts investigating royal escapades in kingdom (6) 24 The French article man and woman abandoned in clever move (4)
24
Down 25
26
27
28
Across
1 Soldiers' average curative (8) 5 Managed little reportedly towards price to pay (6) 9 Mad follower with a complaint (7) 10 V-sign from boy on American car (7) 11 Mum's EP he and I palmed off using polite term (9) CM YK
12 By the river, start daring action (4) 14 Hurt American's left all tucked in (4) 15 Laughing uncontrollably after surgeon has tied up? (2,8) 17 Give away origins of ordinary folks (10) 19 Urge to drop player in decline (4)
1 Target practice area to go through on mountain (5,5) 2 Military unit where fellow hides bit of booze (7) 3 Hesitate, with girl over there, to give up drug (6) 4 Lots of things are hammered down in these places (7,6) 6 A chatty relation (8) 7 Shout as Canadian Indian enters small church (7) 8 Pay attention to object (4) 10 Arrive with child and man at teatime, say,
Solution to puzzle 11782
W I G G L E W A G G L E
A U N V I F S O R AM
D A P V I E S C E Y N R E P N A L T I
X P L V E A U S E A S Y
C I D F Y L E L I A S T S S P E E R K S
T Y K E A D A P R S E S S E E S I S T A N S WA Y S N D A Y P A C C M A V A U S G U E D E T
N O T E V E N
E E N E D O E R S C E M M E N E T S T
A S K A N U T E
FAITH
SU | DO | KU
A monkey, a man and a tiger There is a story about a monkey, a tiger and a man that shows the importance of Saranagati, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in a discourse. A man was chased by a tiger and he clambered up a tree. The tree was a monkey’s residence and the monkey assured the man its protection. The tiger, however, did not go away. The man was worn out after the chase and the monkey urged him to sleep and said it would keep awake to ensure he did not fall of the tree. The tiger said to the monkey: “Man is your enemy. He hunts you down, doesn’t he? Why do have to protect him? Push him down, so that I can eat him.” But the monkey said that the man had sought refuge on its tree and it would not betray his trust. After sometime, the man woke up and it was his turn to keep watch, while the monkey slept. Now the clever tiger said to the man: “Look, I will let you go. Push down that monkey. I will eat the monkey and spare your life.” The man did not hesitate at all but tried to push the monkey of the tree. Luckily, the monkey woke up and saved itself. Now the tiger asked the monkey why it should protect the man further when he had tried to get it killed. But the monkey said that no matter what the man had done he had sought its help and it would not let him be killed. If a monkey has such an acute sense of the importance of Saranagati, one can imagine how much value the Lord attaches to it. That is why we are urged to surrender at His feet.
A mind game and a puzzle that you solve with reasoning and logic. Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. The solution to yesterday’s puzzle is at left. ND-ND
http://everexam.com/
THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Saduakassova sweats her way to title CHESS / Narayanan finishes third in the boys’ event samina (Phi) 7.5; Shahin Lorparizangeneh (IRI) 8 drew with Tran Tuan Minh (Vie) 7.5; G. Akash 8 drew with Dennis Wagner (Ger) 7.5; Syed Khalil Mousavi (IRI) 7.5 drew with Arjun Kalyan 7.5. Girls: Dinara Saduakassova (Kaz) 9.5 drew with Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh (Mgl) 8.5; Parnali Dharia 8.5 drew with Dinara Dordzhieva (Rus) 9; R. Vaishali 8.5 bt Alina Bivol (Rus) 8; Michelle Catherina 8 drew with Paula Rodriguez Rueda (Col) 8.5; Nataliya Buksa (Ukr) 7.5 lost to P.V. Nandhidhaa 9; Gu Tianlu (Chn) 7.5 drew with Janelle Mae Frayna (Phi) 8.5; Anna Styazhkina (Rus) 8 bt Teodora Injac (Srb) 8 bt M. Mahalakshmi 7; P. Bala Kannamma 7 lost to Du Yuxin (Chn) 8; V. Varshini 7 drew with Karina Ivanova (Rus) 7.5.
P.K. AJITH KUMAR BHUBANESWAR: Dinara Sadua-
kassova went through a gamut of emotions for a couple of hours at the KIIT University campus here on Sunday afternoon before she emerged as the World junior girls’ chess champion. From the brink of victory, the top seed from Kazakhstan had to settle for a draw in her game with Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh of Mongolia. Now, her fate was no longer in her hands. The title was going to be decided by the second-board game between India’s Parnali Dharia and Russian Dinara Dordzhieva, who would have been the champion if she won. She seemed well on course for a victory too, but erred, allowing her rival to draw. “I was feeling very tense watching their game,” said a relived Saduakassova. “I was devastated after my game. But, right now I feel so happy as this is the biggest victory of my career.” She didn’t lose a single game in the 13-round tournament and finished with 9.5 points.
CHAMPS: Jeffery Xiong (left) and Dinara Saduakassova emerged the winners in their respective categories. — PHOTO: P.K. AJITH KUMAR Dordzhieva had to settle for the bronze after scoring nine points, the same as the host’s P.V. Nandhidhaa, who won the silver on account of a better tie-break score. There was more good news for India, with S.L. Narayanan taking the bronze in the boys’ event, edging out China’s Xu
Yi, who also scored nine points. The title had already been won by second seed Jeffery Xiong of the USA with a round a spare. The silver went to top seed Vladislav Artemiev of Russia, who finished with 9.5 points, one behind the champion. Important results: Jeffery Xiong
(USA) 10.5 drew with Masoud Mosadeghpour (IRI) 8; Vladislav Artemiev (Rus) 9.5 bt Aravindh Chithambaram 8; S.L. Narayanan 9 bt Grzegorz Nasuta (Pol) 8.5; Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI) 8 lost to Xu Yi (Chn) 9; Shardul Gagare 7.5 lost to Rasmus Svane (Ger) 8.5; Karthikeyan Murali 8.5 bt Cristobal Villagra Henriquez (Chi) 7.5; Xu Yinglun (Chn) 8.5 Paulo Ber-
Alaindair may score in Nizam’s Gold Cup HYDERABAD: Alaindair, who is in great heart, may score in the Nizam’s Gold Cup (2,000m), the main event of the races to be held here on Monday (Aug. 22). There will be no false rails. 1 SUBRAMANYA BHARATI PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), 3-y-o & over, rated upto 25 (Cat. III), 1-10 p.m.: 1. Green Memories (8) Koushik 62, 2. Ashwini (2) Kunal Bunde 61, 3. Coral Springs (9) Arshad Alam 60.5, 4. Dicta Royal (5) Rohit Kumar 60, 5. Man Of The Series (3) Rafique Sk. 59.5, 6. Jamie (1) Akshay Kumar 59, 7. Dorian (4) Md. Sameeruddin 58.5, 8. Amazing Weapon (7) Kiran Naidu 56 and 9. Royal Gold (6) G. Naresh 55. 1. Aswini, 2. Man Of The Series, 3. Dorian 2 SUBRAMANYA BHARATI PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), 3-y-o & over, rated upto 25 (Cat. III), 1-40: 1. Golden Phoenix (9) C.S. Vikrant 62, 2. Cirillo (1) B.R. Kumar 61.5, 3. Royal Rajkumari (3) Ajit Singh 61, 4. Zensational (6) AM. Tograllu 60.5, 5. Arracache (2) Koushik 59.5, 6. Squanderers Square (5) S.S. Tanwar 58.5, 7. Brioni (10) Akshay Kumar 57.5, 8. War Dancer (8) Rohit Kumar 57, 9. Jem Star (7) Kiran Naidu 56 and 10. Sensational Girl (4) N. Rawal 53.5. 1. Zensational, 2. Royal Rajku-
mari, 3. Brioni 3 INDISCRETION PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), 4-y-o & over, rated upto 75 (Cat. II), 2-10: .1 Sprint Legend (6) Md. Sameeruddin 60.5, 2. Mangalyaan (8) A. Sandesh 59.5, 3. Vijays Triumph (4) Laxmikanth 58.5, 4. Brilliant Twist (2) S.S. Tanwar 57, 5. Dublin (9) N. Rawal 53, 6. Mighty Swing (5) N.S. Rathore 51.5, 7. Princess Hina (3) Ajeeth Kumar 50.5, 8. City Of Wonders (7) Akshay Kumar 50 and 9. Rock Baby Rock (1) A.S. Pawar 50. 1. Mangalyaan, 2. City Of Wonders, 3. Brilliant Twist 4 BYERLY BRIGADE CUP (Div. II), (1,400m), 5-y-o & over, rated upto 50, 2-45: 1. Fenway Court (2) C.S. Vikrant 60.5, 2. Beauty Flash (3) P. Gaddam 60, 3. Field Commander (1) Ajit Singh 58, 4. Proud Image (9) G. Naresh 57.5, 5. Green Olive (8) Md. Sameeruddin 57, 6. Sea Change (6) Hanumant Singh 55, 7. Yet Another (4) Akshay Kumar 52.5, 8. Dear Friend (5) Kunal Bunde 50 and 9. Dolce (7) Ajeeth Kumar 50. 1. Dolce, 2. Fenway Court, 3. Proud Image 5 BASALAT JAH MEMORIAL CUP (1,600m), (Cat. I), 3-y-o & over (Terms), 3-15: 1. Machiavel-
| 19
SPORT
NOIDA/DELHI
lianism (5) Srinath 63, 2. Aventus (3) N. Rawal 58, 3. Woman O War (8) Suraj Narredu 57, 4. Policy Maker (6) Deep Shanker 56.5, 5. Galiat (2) Akshay Kumar 54.5, 6. Greek Star (1) S. Sreekant 54.5, 7. Always Bullish (4) A. Sandesh 53.5 and 8. Time For Fun (7) N.S. Rathore 52. 1. Machiavellianism, 2. Woman O War, 3. Aventus 6 BYERLY BRIGADE CUP (Div. I), (1,400m), 5-y-o & over, rated upto 50 (Cat. III), 3-45: 1. Western Express (2) Hanumant Singh 62, 2. Sonic (6) Sai Kumar 60.5, 3. Roma Rouge (1) Kiran Naidu 58.5, 4. Khoshgel (4) Akshay Kumar 58, 5. Amazing Power (8) G. Naresh 57, 6. Upon A Star (5) Laxmikanth 55, 7. Globetrotter (3) P. Gaddam 54, 8. Ice Cave (7) N.S. Rathore 51.5 and 9. Danielle (9) Arshad Alam 50.5. 1. Danielle, 2. Ice Cave, 3. Western Express 7 NIZAM’S GOLD CUP (2,000m), 4-y-o & over (Terms), 4-15: 1. Alaindair (2) Srinath 60, 2. Costa Del Sol (4) S. Zervan 58, 3. Cameron (1) Suraj Narredu 54.5 and 4. Booker Jones (3) A. Sandesh 52. 1. Alaindair, 2. Costa Del Sol 8
CHAITANYA CHAKRAM
CUP (1,400m), (Cat. II), maiden 3-y-o only (Terms), 4-45: 1. Handy Man (3) B. Dileep 56, 2. I Am Samsun (9) G. Naresh 56, 3. Ram Man (2) N. Rawal 56, 4. Silver Dollar (10) Suraj Narredu 56, 5. Sir Walter Raleigh (6) A. Sandesh 56, 6. Vijays Honour (4) Laxmikanth 56, 7. Avantika (8) Deepak Singh 54.5, 8. Fireiceanddynamite (5) C.S. Vikrant 54.5, 9. Great Glory (1) Arshad Alam 54.5 and 10. Love You Darling (7) Akshay Kumar 54.5. 1. Sir Walter Raleigh, 2. Handy Man, 3. Silver Dollar 9 INDISCRETION PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), 4-y-o & over, rated upto 75 (Cat. II), 5-20: 1. Symbol Of Glory (4) A. Sandesh 61.5, 2. Tinsel Town (2) G. Naresh 60.5, 3. Rubyonrails (9) A.S. Pawar 58.5, 4. Midnight In Paris (3) Md. Sameeruddin 58, 5. Roi’s Cruise (7) Deepak Singh 56.5, 6. Crown Royal (10) Deep Shanker 54, 7. Ice Crystal (6) N.S. Rathore 51, 8. Aware (1) Arshad Alam 50, 9. Dancing Farha (8) Rohit Kumar 50 and 10. Legend (5) Koushik 50. 1. Crown Royal, 2. Legend, 3. Symbol Of Glory Day’s best: Alaindair Double: Mangalyaan – Machiavellianism Jkt: 4, 5, 6, 8 & 9; Tr (i): 1, 2 & 3; (ii): 3, 4 & 5; (iii): 6, 8 & 9; Tla: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 & 9.
Final standings: Boys: 1. Xiong (10.5); Artemiev
(9.5); 3-4. Narayanan and Yi (9); 5-9. Karthikeyan, Mosadeghpour, Yinglun, Nasuta, and Svane (8.5); 9-13. Aravindh, Maghsoodloo, Bozidar Ivekovic (Cro), and Lorparizangeneh (8). Girls: 1. Saduakassova (9.5); 2-3. Nandhidhaa (Ind) and Dordzhieva (9); 4-8. Rueda, Frayna, Vaishali, Uurtsaikh, and Parnali (8.5); 8-13. Alina, Catherina, Mahalakshmi, Styazhkina, Yuxin 8.
Telecast schedule South Africa vs New Zealand:
First Test, TEN 3, 1.30 p.m. West Indies v India: Fourth Test, TEN 2, 3 & TEN HD1, 7 p.m.
Mahindra bikes on the podium BRNO: Aspar Mahindra Team’s Jorge Martin took a careerbest second place in a rainsoaked Moto3 Czech Republic Grand Prix here on Sunday. Peugeot MC Saxoprint’s John McPhee, also astride a Mahindra, won the race. It was the fifth podium finish for the Mahindra Racing team. Mufaddal Choonia, CEO Mahindra Racing, said: “Our aim was to have two MGP3O machines on the podium, preferably first and second. It is all the better to have achieved this so soon, and with our sister brand Peugeot Motocycles.” — Sports Bureau
MOTOR SPORTS
Vishnu takes over c'ship lead KOLHAPUR: The slippery conditions after a wet spell and the resultant ‘DNF’ against his name saw SeniorMax title favourite Ricky Donison slide from the championship lead after the fourth and penultimate round of the 13th JK Tyre FMSCI National Rotax Max Championship at the Mohite Racing Academy on Sunday. With Nayan Chatterjee winning the final race ahead of Chittesh Mandody and Akash Gowda, Vishnu Prasad took over the lead for the title by finishing fourth; he had won third in the pre-final. Donison, who had won the
previous three rounds, pulled into the scrutiny bay with an apparent problem with his kart. He returned to the track but the race organisers had removed his transponder, and ruled on technical grounds that he ‘did not finish’. Having won the pre-final race, Donison got 38 points from the weekend, which took his overall tally to 324, behind Vishnu Prasad who now has 328. The fifth and final round will be held in September. The results: SeniorMax: Final race (15 laps): 1. Nayan Chatterjee 20:34.842s, 2.
Chittesh Mandody 20:40.493, 3. Akash Gowda, 20:45.403. Pre-final race: 1. Ricky Donison 13:20.373, 2. Dhruv Mohite 13:22.885, 3. Jonathan Kuriakose 13:23.918. MicroMax: Final (15 laps): 1. Arjun Nair 16:23.165, 2. Shahan Ali Mohsin 16:27.692, 3. Y. More 16:28.345. Pre-final (12 laps): 1. Shahan 11:55.795, 2. Kunal Vinod 12:02.361, 3. Arjun 12:02.361. JuniorMax: Final (18 laps) 1. Yash Aradhya 18:52.000, 2. Chirag Ghorpade 19:09.584, 3. Paul Francis 19:14.258. Pre final (15 laps): 1. Ghorpade 13:20.373, 2. Aradhya 13:22.885, 3. Jonathan 13:23.918. — Special Correspondent
Vikash bags F1600 crown SPORTS REPORTER CHENNAI: Vikash Anand won a ‘double’ to clinch the title in the MRF Formula 1600 category and a ticket to the ‘Mazda Road to Indy’ shoot-out, as the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT track in Sriperumbudur, here on Sunday. The 22-year-old Chennai lad’s achievement is even more creditable considering he entered the season only in the second round in March after Karthik Tharani had won the first two races in January. Going into this weekend’s triple-header, Vikash and Karthik were locked on 138 points. Vikash began his campaign with a second place finish, behind Tharani, on Saturday, but won both races on Sunday to seal the championship. “I worked hard to win this championship, and I really can’t explain how I am feeling right now. Indy is a great opportunity to go abroad and explore new opportunities and learn. I will give my best to be competitive,” said Vikash, who returned to racing this season after an 18-month break and notched up six wins for a tally of 206 points, 10 ahead of Karthik. Also achieving a ‘double’ was Raghul Rangasamy who won both the races in the F1300 Rookie Championship and sealing the championship. He went on to claim the championship in the Super Stock
class too after Race-2 winner Veeresh Prasad was given a 20-second penalty for overtaking under yellow flag, which demoted him to fourth place. The result saw Raghul and Veeresh tying on 142 points, and the former was declared champion on the basis of his three wins to Veeresh’s two on the count-back. Ishaan Dodhiwala won both of Sunday’s races in the Volkswagen Vento Cup to consolidate his position at the top of the leader-board. The provisional results: MRF F1600 (10 laps): Race-2: 1. Vikash Anand 16mins, 54.111secs, 2. Raghul Rangasamy 16:58.677, 3. Karthik Tharani 17:02.390. Race-3: 1. Vikash 16:55.247, 2. Karthik 16:56.108, 3. Anindith Reddy 17:03.391. Championship: 1. Vikash 206 points, 2. Karthik 196, 3. Raghul 171. Volkswagen Vento Cup: Race-2 (9 laps): 1. Ishaan Dodhiwala 20:13.197, 2. Dhruv Bhel 20:15.171, 3. Niranjan B. Todkari 20:17.447. Race-3: 1. Ishaan 19:44.856, 2. Kar-
minder Pal Singh 19:46.918, 3. Todkari 19.50.640. Indian Touring Cars: Race-2 (8 laps): 1. Arjun Narendran (Red
Rooster Racing) 15:14.881, 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Racing) 15:26.777, 3. Siva Ramakrishnan (Red Rooster Racing) 15:34.819. Indian Junior Touring Cars: Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Keith Desouza
(UNIMEK Racing) 23:54.238, 2. Ananth Pithawalla (Team N1) 23:55.704, 3. Charen Chandran (Red Rooster Performance) 23:57.784. Championship: 1. Desouza 199, 2. Pithawala 191, 3. R Sri Hariram 113. Super Stock: Race-2 (10 laps):
1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) 24:04.104, 2. Deepak Ravi Kumar (Pvt) 24:06.357; 3. Dean Mascarenhas (Race Concepts) 24:08.161. Championship: 1. Raghul 142 (3 wins), 2. Veeresh Prasad 142 (2 wins), 3. Mascarenhas 117. F1300 Rookie Championship: Race-2 (8 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasa-
my (Wallace Sports) 15:38.816; 2. C.S. Tejasram (Wallace Sports) 15:43.047, 3. Alex Bora (Wallace Sports) 15:43.896. Championship: 1. Raghul 205, 2. Tejasram 179, 3. Bora 135.
THE LINE-UP OF CHAMPIONS: Keith Desouza (Junior Touring Cars), Arjun Narendran (Touring Cars), Vikash Anand (MRF F1600) and Raghul Rangasamy (Super Stock F1300 & Rookie).
Dancing Phoenix bags the Governor’s Cup HYDERABAD: Mr. Dinsha P. Shrof, Mr. Munchi P. Shrof, Mr. Manav Suri & Mrs. Leena Suri’s Dancing Phoenix (S. Zervan up) won the Governor’s Cup, the chief event of the races here on Sunday. Todywalla trains the winner. 1. SANGAREDDY PLATE (Div. II), (1,100m), md. 3-y-o & over, rated upto 50 (Cat. III): Amazing Venus (Ajeeth Kumar) 1, Good Image (P. Gaddam) 2, In Command (B.R. Kumar) 3, Amaravathi (G. Naresh) 4. Not run: Pride And Joy. 1-1/4, 6-3/4, 1-1/4. 1m 8.94s. Rs. 12 (w), 6, 7, 10 (p), FP: Rs. 38, SHP: Rs. 20, Q: Rs. 20, Tanala: Rs. 130. Favourite: Amazing Venus. Owners: M/s. Kudithi Mahender Reddy, Rammohan Belde and Premanand Sugandhi. Trainer: A. Sharma. 2. SANGAREDDY PLATE (Div. I), (1,100m), md. 3-y-o & over, rated upto 50 (Cat. III): Avenida (Sai Kumar) 1, Golden Joy (G. Naresh) 2, Chinese Thought (C.S. Vikrant) 3, Miramar (A.S. Pawar) 4. Not run: Tricky Star. 3/4, ½, 2-1/4. 1m 9.28s. Rs. 10 (w), 6, 7, 20 (p), FP: Rs. 33, SHP: Rs. 19, Q: Rs. 21, Tanala: Rs. 228. Favourite: Avenida. Owner: M/s. P.
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Anil Kumar Kishen and B.S. Reddy. Trainer: Prasad R. 3. SUBRAMANYA BHARATI PLATE (Div. III), (1,200m), 3-y-o & over, rated upto 25 (Cat. III): Act In Time (Rafique Sk.) 1, Nelly (Akshay Kumar) 2, Captain General (G. Naresh) 3, Sefarina (A.S. Pawar) 4. Not run: Gun Stream. 5-1/2, 1-1/2, hd. 1m 15.50s. Rs. 10 (w), 6, 8, 7 (p), FP: Rs. 70, Q: Rs. 63, SHP: Rs. 30, Tanala: Rs. 209. Favourite: Act In Time. Owners: M/s. T. Rakesh Reddy, Premanand Sugandhi, Ms. Swathi Kodali & Mr. Ashok Rupani. Trainer: A. Sharma. 4. DECCAN QUEEN PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), md. 3-y-o only (Cat. II): Mandy (Laxmikanth) 1, Seven Colours (S. John) 2, Composure (Aneel) 3, General Salute (Srinath) 4. Not run: Invasion. 2-1/4, 1, 1/2. 1m 14.94s. Rs. 10 (w), 7, 8, 51 (p), FP: Rs. 30, Q: Rs. 23, SHP: Rs. 20, Tanala: Rs. 830. Favourite: Mandy. Owner: Mr. Ahmed Alam Khan. Trainer: Deshmukh. 5. HAPPY VALLEY PLATE (1,600m), 4-y-o & over, rated upto 50 (Cat. III): Charming Beauty (David Breux) 1, Agusta Bomshell (AM. Togral-
lu) 2, Karromshade (Akshay Kumar) 3, Coruba (Laxmikanth) 4. Not run: Rumaiya Vastavaiya. 1-3/4, 1-1/4, 1/2. 1m 40.09s. Rs. 15 (w), 7, 11, 16 (p), FP: Rs. 65, Q: Rs. 44, SHP: Rs. 23, Tanala: Rs. 404. Favourite: Charming Beauty. Owners: Mr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy Chettiar of Chettinad Charitable Trust rep. by Mr. A.C. Muthaiah. Trainer: Satheesh. 6. ASTRONOMIC CUP (Div. II), (1,100m), 3-y-o & over, rated upto 50 (Cat. III): Rahuls Pet (Deepak Singh) 1, Kohinoor Karishma (Kunal Bunde) 2, Bharat King (Ajeeth Kumar) 3, Khan Sahib (Akshay Kumar) 4. 4, 1-1/4, 1-1/4. 1m 6.97s. Rs. 10 (w), 6, 13, 15 (p), FP: Rs. 92, Q: Rs. 79, SHP: Rs. 43, Tanala: Rs. 592. Favourite: Rahuls Pet. Owners: M/s. Rahul Rachupalli, G. Krishnamohan Rao & T.N. Mehta. Trainer: Netto. 7. GOVERNOR’S CUP (1,200m), 3-y-o & over: Dancing Phoenix (S. Zervan) 1, Smile Stone (Srinath) 2, Solomon (P. Trevor) 3, Vijay Vidhata (Akshay Kumar) 4. 1-1/4, ¾, 1-1/2. 1m 11.31s. Rs. 25 (w), 7, 13, 7 (p), FP: Rs. 289, Q: Rs. 231, SHP: Rs. 39, Tanala: Rs. 567. Favourite: Solomon. Owners: Mr. Dinsha P. Shrof,
Mr. Munchi P. Shrof, Mr. Manav Suri & Mrs. Leena Suri. Trainer: Todywalla. 8. ASTRONOMIC CUP (Div. I), (1,100m), 3-y-o & over, rated upto 50 (Cat. III): Big Flash (Deepak Singh) 1, Royal Dynamite (Srinath) 2, Born To Do It (Rafique Sk.) 3, Ruby’s Gift (N. Rawal) 4. 1-1/2, ¾, 1/4. 1m 7.49s. Rs. 10 (w), 7, 7, 17 (p), FP: Rs. 24, Q: Rs. 20, SHP: Rs. 21, Tanala: Rs. 178. Favourite: Big Flash. Owner: Mr. Raoof Ali Khan. Trainer: Netto. 9. DECCAN QUEEN PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), md. 3-y-o only (Cat. II) (Terms): Bharat Queen (P. Gaddam) 1, Patron Saint (David Breux) 2, Negress Pearl (Akshay Kumar) 3, Batur (Deepak Singh) 4. 3-1/2, 2-1/4, 1/4. 1m 14.02s. Rs. 11 (w), 7, 8, 9 (p), FP: Rs. 36, Q: Rs. 24, SHP: Rs. 22, Tanala: Rs. 105. Favourite: Bharat Queen. Owners: M/s. A.K. Jaiswal, K.T. Raidu & Digvijay Singh Shekhwat. Trainer: A.Sharma. Treble: (i): Rs. 75 (540 tkts.); (ii): Rs. 100 (335 tkts.); (iii): Rs. 179 (347 tkts.). Consolation jackpot: Rs. 173 (1105 tkts.). Jackpot: Rs. 1138 (392 tkts.).
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LIFE
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NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
Bosnian pine in Greece highlands is Europe’s oldest living tree A Bosnian pine growing in the highlands of Greece has been dated to be more than 1,075 years old, making it the oldest known living tree in Europe.It is one of more than a dozen individuals of millennial age, living in a treeline forest high in the Pindos mountains.
Canadians bid adieu to beloved band with cancer-hit singer Gord Downie of ‘The Tragically Hip’ is dubbed Canada’s unofficial poet laureate KINGSTON, ONTARIO: The rock
concert did not begin with a rock song. Instead, it started with flag-waving fans breaking into a national anthem, “O Canada.” The impromptu tribute by an emotional sold-out crowd that included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began what was expected to be the final Saturday performance by The Tragically Hip, a group known as Canada’s Band, and lead singer and songwriter Gord Downie, dubbed Canada’s unoicial poet laureate. Mr. Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and fans across Canada and abroad gathered at viewing parties to tune in and bid him farewell. The bluesy rock band is better known as The Hip, and Mr. Downie is known for penning paeans to Canadian life — about hockey and desolate small towns, about literature and the French explorer who named Canada. Being so defiantly Canadian might be one reason why The Hip sent nine of its 13 albums to No. 1 in Canada, but none above the top 100 in the U.S.
ON SONG: Gord Downie is displayed on a screen during the band’s final concert in Nova Scotia on Saturday. — PHOTO: AP After spending three decades together, The Hip returned on Saturday night to where they began as a college rock band, the Lake Ontario city of Kingston. Those who couldn’t get into the Rogers K-Rock Centre massed nearby to watch on a giant screen. Celebratory and sombre While the band was careful not to declare that its now-concluded 15-show ‘Man Machine Poem’ tour would be its last, the concert had an aura that was both celebratory and sombre.
STAR TREK DiCaprio backs out of Hillary Clinton fundraiser
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ollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio says he won’t host the originally-planned fundraiser for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at his LA home on Tuesday due to a scheduling conflict. The move comes as 41-year-old star has been linked to a $3 billion Malaysian embezzlement scandal. His representative, Shawn Sachs, has, however, maintained that the scheduling conflict forced the actor to bow out, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A source close to the event has claimed the reason DiCaprio backed out was workrelated. The actor is taking his documentary The Turning Point to the Toronto Film Festival in September. Josh Schwerin, a spokesperson with the Clinton campaign, said any suggestion the scandal is linked to DiCaprio dropping out “is completely false. It’s not at all true.” — PTI
Big B hits 22 million followers on Twitter
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egastar Amitabh Bachchan has scored 22 million followers on Twitter, retaining his position of the most followed Indian actor on the micro-blogging site. The 73-year-old actor is ahead of superstars like Shah Rukh Khan (20.8 million), Salman Khan (19 million), Aamir Khan (18.3 million), and Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, who have 15.6 million and 14.8 million followers respectively. Bachchan expressed his excitement via a post and shared the news along with a picture of himself in which he is seen joining hands and greeting his followers for the love. “BAAADUUUUMMMBAAAA! Twitter followers reaches 22 million #AB22Million.. Thank you all.. Your love made it,” wrote the actor. — PTI
Kareena may do a special song in Golmaal 4
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areena Kapoor Khan is not starring in the fourth instalment of hit comedy franchise Golmaal but the actor, who was seen in its previous two parts, might do a special song in Golmaal 4, director Rohit Shetty has confirmed. The filmmaker says he didn’t feel it was right to approach Kareena for the lead role in the upcoming film as she is expecting her first child but he would like to rope her in for a small appearance. “It would have been easy to call her and tell her to do the film. She would have said, ‘Let’s do it’ But I can’t do that [referring to her pregnancy]. I will miss her for sure,” Rohit said. “I can’t talk to her to do it [Golmaal 4]. It’s odd. But let’s see, we will do a song or something with her ,” he said. The fourth movie will go on floors next January and hit theatres during Diwali net year. Kareena featured in the second film Golmaal Returns and the third part Golmaal 3 of the Ajay Devgn-starrer franchise. — PTI
Despite being diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive cancerous brain tumour, an energetic Downie was in fine form as he and his bandmates played an epic 30-song set, punctuated by three encores. Mr. Trudeau, on learning of Mr. Downie’s diagnosis in May, tweeted that the singer “has been writing Canada’s soundtrack for more than 30 years.” On Saturday, the Prime Minister’s oicial photographer tweeted a photo of Mr. Trudeau, 44, and Mr. Downie, 52, embracing before the show.
Mr. Downie acknowledged Mr. Trudeau from the stage. The singer called on the Prime Minister to take action on behalf of Canada’s indigenous people, and then said he expected the latter would have plenty of time to do it. “He’s going to be looking good for about at least 12 more years. I don’t know if they let you go beyond that. But he’ll do it,” Mr. Downie told concertgoers between songs. Mr. Trudeau could be seen in the audience nodding and mouthing “thank you.” He also reminisced in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. about how he enjoyed the band’s music during high school and college. On Twitter, the Prime Minister said: “On behalf of Canadians, I thank Gord Downie and the Hip for their decades of service to Canadian music. Forever in our hearts and playlists.” While The Hip became one of Canada’s most beloved rock bands, lasting success in the U.S. was elusive outside of border cities like Bufalo, New York. — AP
In a first, scientists predict brain activity patterns NEW YORK: Researchers have, for the first time, decoded and predicted the brain activity patterns of word meanings within sentences, an advancement that may help brain injury and stroke patients communicate better. The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure human brain activation where researchers successfully predicted what the brain patterns would be for new sentences. “Using fMRI data, we wanted to know if given a whole sentence, can we filter out what the brain’s representation of a word is — that is to say, can we break the sentence apart into its word components, then take the components and predict what they would look like in a new sentence,” said Andrew Anderson from University of Rochester in the U.S. “We found that we can predict brain activity patterns — not perfectly [on average 70 per cent correct], but significantly better than chance,” said Mr. Anderson. The study makes key advances towards understanding how information is represented throughout the brain. “First, we introduced a method for predicting the neural patterns of words within sentences — which is a more complex problem than has been addressed by previous studies, which have almost all focused on single words,” said Mr. Anderson.
‘Novel approach’ “And second, we devised a novel approach to map semantic characteristics of words that we then correlated to neural activity patterns,” he said. In order to predict the patterns of particular words within sentences, researchers used a broad set of sentences, with many words
The study may help stroke patients and people with brain injuries communicate better shared between them. For example, “the green car crossed the bridge,” “the magazine was in the car,” and “the accident damaged the yellow car.” The fMRI data was collected from 14 participants as they silently read 240 unique sentences. “We estimate the representation of a word ‘car,’ in this case, by taking the neural activity pattern associated with all of the sentences which that word occurred in and we decomposed sentence level brain activity patterns to build an estimate of the representation of the word,” said Mr. Anderson. New combinations Researchers were able to recombine activity patterns for individual words, in order to predict brain patterns for entire sentences built up out of new combinations of those words. For example, the computer model could predict the brain pattern for a sentence such as, “the family played at the beach,” even though it had never seen that specific sentence before. Instead, it had only seen other sentences containing those words in diferent contexts, such as “the beach was empty” and “the young girl played soccer.” “Not now, not next year, but this kind of research may eventually help individuals who have problems with producing language, including those who sufer from traumatic brain injuries or stroke,” said Anderson. The research was published in the journal Cerebral Cortex. — PTI
Keeping smart cars safe from hacking NEW YORK: A team of
student researchers in the U.S. created a security protocol to protect from cyber attacks smart cars with GPS, Bluetooth and Internet connections. In 2015, two researchers remotely hacked a Jeep Cherokee and controlled everything — from the car’s radio and media console to its brakes and steering. “These cars have become the trend of the future,” said ShuCM YK
cheng Yu, an Associate Professor of computer science attached to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). Mr. Yu and his student Zachary King, a junior majoring in computer science at the UALR, created a security protocol to protect smart cars from hacking in the project “Investigating and Securing Communications in the Controller Area Network”. — IANS ND-ND
