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Opposition unity a must to take on BJP nationally and regionally: Pawar

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un hails test of rocket engine

Chuck Berry, one of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll music, dies at 90

India holds the whip hand thanks to Pujara, Saha and Jadeja

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Development is my priority: U.P. CM

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Adityanath heads 47-member Cabinet, promises to focus on law and order, unemployment

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Jat agitation called of after marathon talks Process to grant quota to be expedited

Omar Rashid

BJP wants to polarise voters, says Mayawati LUCKNOW

In the backdrop of BJP MP Yogi Adityanath taking oath as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday alleged that the safron party wanted to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls not on its development plank, but by “polarising voters”. NORTH

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Dhoni’s ‘missing’ phones recovered NEW DELHI

Former skipper M. S. Dhoni’s mobile phones, which allegedly went missing during the ire incident at a hotel here recently, have been found, the police said on Sunday. DELHI METRO 쑺 PAGE 1 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

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Lucknow

Ashok Kumar

BJP leader Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as the 21st Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, along with a 44-member Council of Ministers. The Chief Minister will be assisted by two Deputy Chief Ministers, Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, who were administered the oath of office along with the rest of the Council of Ministers by Governor Ram Naik. Interestingly, neither the Chief Minister nor his two deputies are currently members of the State legislature. Mr. Sharma held the post of Mayor of Lucknow, while Adityanath and Mr. Maurya are Lok Sabha Members. Apart from the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Ministers, the council of ministers comprises of 22 Cabinet Ministers, nine Ministers of State (Independent charge) and 13 Ministers of State. Though the BJP did not field a single Muslim in the elections, the list included Mohsin Raza, a Shia

New Delhi

Chemical used in IED at rail track identiied Vijaita Singh New Delhi

A forensic report with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said that “arsenic sulphide” was the primary material used in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which was found by the rail track at Ghorasan in Bihar on October 1 last year. The chemical is mostly used in firecrackers and was used to make a pressure cooker bomb, which was detected and defused in Ghorasan, along the Nepal border. Its discovery led to a series of arrests in Nepal

and Bihar, pointing to a conspiracy hatched by Pakistan’s ISI to mobilise people to plant explosives at railway tracks.

and former cricketer from Lucknow, who does not hold any political office.

High-profile attendees The swearing-in ceremony at the Kanshiram Smriti Upwan was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and a host of senior BJP leaders and Union ministers. Outgoing chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was among those on stage with his father and Samajwadi Party

Manipur blockade inally lifted Iboyaima Laithangbam Vijaita Singh

Businessman questioned Shamshul Hoda, a Nepali businessman arrested by the Nepal police in a double murder case and who is alleged to be a prime suspect, has already been questioned by an NIA team. Hoda told investigators that he had met a person named Shafi Sheikh, a Pakistani, who asked him to hire men to create mayhem in India. CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10

DETAILS 쑺 PAGE 10

The songs are mine, Ilayaraaja tells SPB Singer says he will drop Raja numbers

he said. While promising to improve the law and order, the Chief Minister also said he would create employment opportunities so that the youth would not have to migrate. “The youth has had to bear the bad rule of previous governments. We will ensure that recruitment for government jobs is corruption-free and done in a transparent manner,” he said. CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10 WAG THE DOG 쑺 EDITORIAL

Friends throng Panchur home In the Garhwal Hills, 95 km from Dehradun, a short walk from the road leads to Panchur, the native village of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. His parents and brothers received hundreds of friends and relatives at their home throughout Sunday. For them, it was a moment “beyond imagination.” 쑺 PAGE 10

Two rounds of talks Following two rounds of talks with Mr. Khattar, Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh and Union Minister of State for Law and Justice P.P. Chaudhary, Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti national president Yashpal Malik made an announcement in the evening calling

Manohar Lal Khattar and Yashpal Malik in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI *

off the proposed march and adding that most of the ongoing dharnas across Haryana would also be lifted by March 26. He, however, said that a few token dharnas by members of the samiti would continue till their demands were actually met. Meanwhile, 18 police personnel, including an SP and a DSP, were among 35 injured when Jat protesters clashed with the police on being prevented from marching towards Delhi. (With PTI inputs) CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10

‘Police have failed to implement any signiicant measure to improve situation’

Kerala priest stabbed in Melbourne

Press Trust of India

Indo-Asian News Service

Delhi traic situation alarming: panel gestion. Itl has recommended that the Delhi Police needs to prepare a meticulous traffic management plan and allocate adequate funds to address the issue.

New Delhi

Imphal/New Delhi

The four-month economic blockade in Manipur, imposed by the United Naga Council (UNC), was lifted following the successful talks between the UNC, the State government and the Centre. The UNC imposed the blockade to protest the creation of seven districts by the then Congress government saying that it violated “Greater Nagalim” envisaged by the group.

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founder Mulayam Singh. Mr. Modi later wished Adityanath’s team good luck. “I have immense confidence that this new team will leave no stone unturned in making U.P. ‘Uttam Pradesh.’ There will be record development,” he said on Twitter. Soon after taking charge, Adityanath addressed the press and said his government would fulfil all poll promises. “Our government will work for all sections without any discrimination,”

The proposed march of Jat protesters to Delhi on Monday in support of their demands, including reservation under the Other Backward Classes, was called off after the government promised to expedite the process of granting reservation to the community and meet their other demands in a time-bound manner. The decision was taken following a marathon meeting of Jat leaders with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Union Ministers at Haryana Bhawan here on Sunday.

A Parliamentary panel has described the traffic situation in the Capital as “alarming” and said that the Delhi Police has “failed” to improve it. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has observed that a large number of vehicles get registered in Delhi everyday and the roundabouts at various crossroads, instead of traffic signals, caused congestion. “The committee feels that the Delhi traffic congestion has become quite alarming

Delhi Police needs to prepare a meticulous traic management plan, MPs’ panel said. FILE PHOTO *

and the Delhi Police has failed to implement any significant measure to improve the situation,” the panel has said. In its report submitted to Parliament, the panel

headed by former Union Home and Finance Minister P Chidambaram has taken note of choked roads in Delhi which make evacuation of “protected persons” difficult during a traffic con-

Arterial roads “Urgent measures should be taken for managing the city traffic in a better way such as construction of more arterial roads and parking bays, declaring some roads as oneway, coming up with effective emergency evacuation measures for protected persons and stringent measures against traffic violators,” the panel has recommended.

Thiruvananthapuram

A Catholic priest from Kerala was attacked by an Italian on Sunday when the former was leading the mass in a Melbourne church. “The priest, Tomy Mathew, was stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife by the Italian during the mass conducted at a Catholic church in the Melbourne suburbs,” said Thiruvallom Bhasi, editor of a Melbourne daily who is now visiting here. DETAILS ON 쑺 PAGE 7

Sui clerics to return today Press Trust of India New Delhi

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday spoke to one of the two clerics of Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi, who were

traced after going missing in Pakistan. “I just spoke to Syed Nazim Ali Nizami in Karachi. He told me that they are safe and will be back in Delhi tomorrow [on Monday],” she

said in a tweet. Pakistan had on Saturday conveyed to India that the two missing clerics had been “traced”, and they had reached Karachi. DETAILS ON 쑺 PAGE 11

S.Poorvaja CHENNAI

Ask a music buff to name popular Tamil songs from the 1970s to 90s, and the list is sure to have chartbusters composed by Ilayaraaja and sung by S.P. Balasubrahmanyam. Fans of the duo were, therefore, in for a surprise when SPB, as the singer is popularly known, announced on his Facebook page on Saturday that he, and singers Chitra and S.P. Charan had been served legal notices by Ilayaraaja cautioning that they should not perform his compositions without his permission. If they do, they would face legal action for breaking copyright law.

‘Don’t know legalities’ SPB said in response in his FB post: “I am ignorant of these legalities. I did not get any feelers from Shri. Raja’s office at that time. I don’t know why now when we started our U.S. tour. As I said earlier, I am ignorant of the law. If it is a law, so be it and I obey it.” The singer and music composer have together produced generationspanning hits including Keladi kanmani, Ilaya nila, Nalam vaazha ennalum, Pothivecha malliga mottu, Kadhaalin deepam ondru and Enna satham indha neram. The ongoing SPB50 world concert tour began in August 2016 in Toronto and CM YK

Ilayaraaja

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R. RAGU

performances have taken place in Seattle and Los Angeles in U.S., Russia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, and parts of India. The FB post kicked up a storm on social media. SPB reacted again on his post and said that since he had got a notice, he either had to respond legally, which he did not want to, or accept the demand. The singer further asked people not to be judgemental. More SPB shows are scheduled in Dallas, Atlanta, Detroit and Chicago in the U.S. over the next two weeks. The singer said while he could not perform Ilayaraaja’s compositions, the group would present songs of other composers.

Injunction in 2015 The Madras High Court had, in 2015, given an injunction against four music labels from monetising Ilayaraaja’s musical works. The composer had said that he held the exclusive right to all his songs. A ND-ND

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THE HINDU

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Delhi Weather Delhi City Safdarjang Palam

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Monday, March 20

RISE 06:25 SET 18:32 RISE 00:30 SET 11:27 Tuesday, March 21

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Delhi Palam Today 31ºC A comfortable morning and warm day are expected. Afternoon will be windy with partly cloudy sky. Delhi Palam Tomorrow 32ºC Rise in day temperature likely. Bright sunshine, comfortable evening expected.

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BJP wants to polarise voters, says Mayawati Party has betrayed OBCs and Brahmins: BSP chief Press Trust of India Lucknow

In the backdrop of BJP MP Yogi Adityanath taking oath as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday alleged that the saffron party wanted to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls not on its development plank, but by “polarising voters”. “BJP wants to contest the 2019 polls not on the issue of development, but by polarising the voters. That is why they have made an RSS man the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh,” she told reporters here.

be banking on its polarisation agenda in 2019,” she claimed.

Boycotts ceremony “I got the invitation but boycotted the oath-taking ceremony as the BJP has betrayed the backward castes and Brahmins by making him (Adityanath) the chief minister. “As the BJP has not honoured any of its promises made in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, it will

‘Dy CMs’ have no role’ Regarding Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC, not becoming the chief minister, Ms. Mayawati said: “His (Maurya’s) name was put forward to garner OBC support. Had he not been made deputy chief minister, he would have got a heart attack. He has been betrayed

Mayawati

J&K prosecuting oicer held on graft charge Press Trust of India

EDUCATIONAL

Jammu

EDUCATIONAL

Vigilance sleuths in Jammu and Kashmir have arrested a senior prosecuting officer for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹ 2,00,000 for helping an accused in a murder case in Rajouri district here. Ajaz Ul Hassan, currently a senior prosecuting officer at Mendhar court in Poonch district, was arrested on Saturday night for helping an accused in a murder case in 2014, State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) Director Mun-

and so have been the Brahmins, whose votes were taken by the BJP. “I have been a chief minister. I know that deputy chief ministers have no role to play. It would have been better if they (Maurya and Dinesh Sharma) were made cabinet ministers with some departments.” The BSP chief also alleged that when Kalyan Singh of the BJP, also an OBC, was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the saffron party had “conspired”, so that he could not continue at the top post for long. Describing the BJP as an “anti-OBC” party, she alleged that it had “let the VP Singh government at the Centre fall” on the issue of reservation.

EVM issue “This state government has not been formed by honest practices. Besides tampering with the EVMs, it (BJP) has betrayed the OBCs and Brahmins,” Mayawati said.

‘Expedite scheme to interlink rivers’

Badal declines CM’s ofer on govt house Thanks successor for gracious gesture

Press Trust of India Jaipur

Rajasthan SP chief Pandit Ramkishan has asked the BJP-led State government to accelerate its scheme to interlink rivers in order to address the severe water crisis in Bharatpur. While welcoming the plan to interlink rivers to dissolve water crisis, he said the work should be started without any further delay. The former MP is leading a peaceful agitation for the last 10 years to demand water for Bharatpur. “It was never imagined that Bharatpur, which used to be flooded once, would ever face water crisis, but such a crisis looms large over the region now. In 1989-90, the then government had made a plan to provide water from theChambal but it did not materialise,” he said. “The government has taken up the project to interlink rivers which is welcoming but the work should start so that the eastern region could get benefit,” he said

Press Trust of India Chandigarh

Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday politely declined the offer of a free government accommodation made by the State government, saying he was thankful to his successor Amarinder Singh for the gracious gesture. In a gesture of goodwill, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on Saturday decided to provide Mr. Badal with free government accommodation of his choice amid reports that the senior Akali leader was hunting for a suitable residence after demitting the chief minister’s office. “It is very graceful of him to make this offer and I thank him for this from the core of my heart. But I am making my own arrangements for stay. However, I value his sentiment highly and fully reciprocate it,” he said in a statement here. Mr. Badal said he and his party, SAD, would fully, whole-heartedly and constructively support any de-

cision of the Congress government in the State which is in the larger interest of the people of Punjab.

No confrontation The SAD does not believe in confrontation nor in criticism for the sake of criticism, the ex-Chief Minister said, adding if the new government has the will to fulfil its promises, it can easily do so. “Their (Congress’) manifesto was prepared and released by one of the finest economists in the world, Dr Manmohan Singh, and he would not have made these promises if he thought that Punjab government’s treasury was empty and lacks the funds to meet these expenses,” the former Chief Minister said. “So I expect the new government to fulfil their promises in he first months itself. I will personally congratulate them when they do so,” he said. Mr. Badal said he was surprised over the setting up of a committee to study the farmer’s debt.

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Inside Patna

eer Khan said. He said that more arrests are likely as the investigation progresses.

Case registered A case was registered by the SVO against the official for demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹ 2,00,000 from Moulvi Mushtaq Ahmed of Panaid village for not arraying him as an accused in a murder case in 2014, in which Ahmed’s family members were also booked, Mr. Khan said.

Five killed in two separate accidents Press Trust of India Jaipur

Five persons were killed in two accidents in Bharatpur and Alwar districts of Rajasthan on Sunday, police said. In Bharatpur, three persons were killed and two injured after the two motorcycles they were riding were hit by a truck near Burja village, they said. Six persons were on the motorcycles. A woman was one of the injured in the incident, while an infant escaped unhurt, Investigating Officer Khalil Khan said. The bodies were handed over to the family members after post-mortem, he said.

Another incident In another incident, two teenagers were killed after being hit by a tractor-trolley in Behror town of Alwar district, a police officer said. The bodies were handed over to the family members after post-mortem, Investigating Officer Raghuveer Singh, said.

Bihar Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav releasing a model of a sparrow at the Patna zoo on the eve of World Sparrow Day on Sunday. *

PTI

Pauri district gives two CMs in two days Army Chief Bipin Rawat, NSA Doval and RAW head also hail from district Press trust of India Dehradun

Having provided two chief ministers to key north Indian States -- Trivendra Singh Rawat in Uttarakhand and Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh -- the hill district of Pauri finds itself at the centre stage. Adityanath, who took over as chief minister of UP on Sunday hails from village Panchur village in Pauri in Uttarakhand while Mr. Rawat who was sworn in on Saturday belongs to Khairsain village in the same

district. Both the chief ministers, who command massive three-fourth majority in their respective State Assemblies, have another similarity. They are bachelors.

Gorakhpur seat Though representing Gorakhpur seat of UP in the Lok Sabha consecutively since 1998, Adityanath was born in 1972 in Panchur in undivided Uttar Pradesh. Originally named Ajay Singh Bisht, Adityanath did his graduation from government college, Kotdwar, be-

fore coming to Rishikesh for post graduation where he came into contact with the chief of Gorakshpeeth Mahant Avaidyanath and became his disciple. It is learnt that Yogi last visited his parents in Panchur village recently when he came to campaign for BJP leader Satpal Maharaj who was the contested from Chaubatakhal constituency.

Unique distinction Yogi’s Uttarakhand counterpart Rawat on the other hand belongs to Khairsain village of Pauri, a district,

which also enjoys the unique distinction of having given the maximum number of chief ministers to the hill State after it was formed. Uttarakhand has seen nine CMs in the 16 years, of which four hail from Pauri district including Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Vijay Bahuguna and now Trivendra Singh Rawat. Significantly, the Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and RAW head Anil Dhasmana also hail from the Pauri district.

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THE HINDU

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NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

Manipur Assembly gets Protem Speaker

Another farmer commits suicide due to crop loss Peasants’ bodies slay Odisha government for terming it a ‘family problem’

IMPHAL

Staff Reporter

BJP MLA V Hangkhalian was on Sunday sworn in as the Protem Speaker of the Manipur Assembly. State Governor Najma Heptulla administered the oath of Protem Speaker to Hangkhalian at a function held at the Raj Bhavan here. Chief Minister N Biren Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar and other officers attended the ceremony.

BERHAMPUR

PTI

CoBRA commando commits suicide BERHAMPUR

A personnel of 202nd battalion of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself at his Sunabeda camp in Koraput district of Odisha on Sunday. The deceased, Shankar Prasad, a head constable, was found in a pool of blood in the camp. He allegedly shot himself by his service revolver, police sources said.According to sources, a court of enquiry has been ordered to find out why Prasad took this step. STAFF REPORTER

Another case of suicide by a farmer due to crop loss and debt burden had come up on Sunday in Aska block of Ganjam in Odisha. According to sources, the deceased Brundaban Swain (70) of Nuagaon village under Kalasandhapur panchayat had allegedly consumed poison on Sunday morning. He was initially admitted to Aska hospital and later transferred to MKCG medical college and hospital in Berhampur, where he died in the evening.

Debt burden Speaking to newsmen, his son Hadubandhu Swain said that crop loss due to inadequate rain and loan burden led his father to commit suicide. The deceased owned around two acres of land and had taken loan. He re-

Naveen Patnaik

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portedly had not been able to get proper yield during last Kharif and Rabi seasons. Aska Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Subash Panda said that till evening no one had lodged any complaint. “But I have ordered police officials concerned to start a detailed enquiry about the incident,” he added. Rushikulya Rayat Sabha (RRS) secretary Simanchal

Nahak said government and administration will again try to suppress this suicide by terming it a family problem. Meanwhile, farmers’ organisations Odisha Krushak Sabha (OKS), RRS and the All-India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) have separately demanded ₹10 lakh compensation for the family of another deceased peasant of Tikarada village in Ganjam district. This peasant named T.Bulu Reddy had attempted suicide on March 10 and had died on March 12.

Memorandum submitted Led by their State vice-president Jagannath Mishra and Ganjam district secretary Harekrushna Reddy, OKS activists submitted a memorandum addressed to the State Chief Minister at the office of Berhampur sub-collector. The OKS alleged that Mr Reddy had taken loans

over ₹1 lakh for his crop that got destroyed by untimely rains. The OKS also demanded that the government bears the cost of treatment of his ailing son. AIKMS national secretary Bhala Chandra Sarangi also demanded ₹10 lakh compensation for the family of the farmer. He alleged that at the direction of the State government, police and administration had made efforts to suppress the real cause behind the suicide by terming it a suicide due to family problems.

‘Give compensation’ The RRS has also protested against the claim of administration. Sabha secretary Simanchal Nahak said it was high time the State government accepts the truth and provide ₹10 lakh compensation to the bereaved families.

Berhampur residents take out silent rally They are protesting against air pollution due to burning of garbage in their area Staff Reporter

Fire in hospital in Hooghly district SERAMPORE (WB)

A fire broke out at the Staterun Serampore Walsh Hospital in Hooghly district on Sunday. “Smoke filled the Operation Theatre on the second floor as some hospital employees were doing maintenance work,” a senior district official said. The panic-stricken employees went downstairs even as two fire tenders rushed to the spot and the situation was brought under control. PTI

Darjeeling pollution case transferred Press Trust of India New Delhi

The National Green Tribunal has transferred a case relating to the indiscriminate dumping of municipal waste in the picturesque Darjeeling and pollution in Mahananda river to the Eastern Zonal Bench. A Bench, headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, passed the order after lawyers appearing for the parties informed it that a similar case was pending before the Eastern Zonal Bench in Kolkata. “The counsel appearing for the State of West Bengal and Siliguri Municipal Corporation submit that the case involving the same question in relation to river Mahananda in Siliguri is pending before the Eastern Zonal Bench of the Tribunal. In view of the circumstances, we direct that this Application be transferred to the Eastern Zonal Bench, Kolkata of National Green Tribunal,” the Bench said.

Notices issued The green panel had earlier issued notices to the West Bengal government, State pollution control board, Siliguri Municipal Corporation and its Deputy Commissioner in the case. “It has been brought to the notice of the Tribunal that there are serious environmental issues in relation to pollution of river Mahananda in Siliguri, District Darjeeling and indiscriminate dumping of municipal solid waste all over the city. Despite the fact that the matter was brought to the notice of public authorities, they have failed to take any remedial and precautionary steps. The river is being polluted by discharge of sewage and other effluents and dumping of waste. Consequently, we issue the notice,” the Bench had said. The NGT took suo motu cognisance of the reckless dumping of waste and issued the notices. CM YK

BERHAMPUR

Inhabitants of Harekrushna Nagar area of Berhampur in Odisha took out a silent rally on Sunday to protest against air pollution due to burning of garbage in their area. According to Harekrushna Nagar Development Committee secretary Ashok Das, it was an effort to make people aware of the effects of burning of garbage. “It is an irony that even the sanitary workers of Berhampur Municipal Corporation burn garbage at the dumping point instead of taking it away. At several places these workers create small dumps of dry waste and burn it,” he said.

Health hazard The silent protesters alleged that burning of garbage is releasing poisonous fumes, which is harmful for the families living in the area. Inhabitants of the area claim that for the past two

Man held in murder case Accused had been hiding in Bengal under diferent names Press Trust of India Paradip (Odisha)

A man was arrested from West Bengal on Sunday for his alleged involvement in the murder of an official of a shipping company in this port town of Odisha in October last year, police said. Ashok Bihari alias Kadir Khan, who had been hiding in West Bengal using different names, was picked up from Howrah area by a special team of police from Paradip, said Additional Superintendent of Police, Gadadhar Pradhani.

With this, a total of 11 people have so far been arrested by the police in connection with the killing of shipping company official Mahendra Swain here on October 26, last year, the ASP said adding efforts are on to nab three others in the sensational murder case.

Main accused Bihari, who played a major role in the conspiracy in the murder of Mahendra Swain, would be brought here soon on transit remand, Mr Pra-

dhani said. Swain had been gunned down in Madhuban area in this port town apparently due to business rivalry over stevedoring work in Paradip port, the police said. Those arrested so far in the case include prominent businessman and Managing Director of Odisha Stevedores Ltd (OSL), Mahimananda Mishra and his close aide Basant Bal. The two were arrested by a police team from Thailand in December last year, police said.

Bulgarian dies in blizzard in Arunachal Pradesh Army rescues 127 tourists, including ive foreigners Special Correspondent New Delhi

The Army launched a massive rescue operation and saved 127 tourists stranded after a massive blizzard struck West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. A Bulgarian national was killed after she slipped and fell down a steep gorge. The storm struck on Saturday around 2.45 p.m. between Ahirgarh, Sela and Nuranang on the road from Tezpur to Tawang in West

Kameng district of the State. “With darkness setting in by 5 p.m., the entire operation was almost conducted in the dark and continued till all 127 tourists including five foreign nationals from Japan, New Zealand and Bulgaria were rescued,” an Army officer said. The officer added that the rescued tourists were accommodated at Army transit camps and provided with medical assistance. The body of the Bulgarian na-

tional were recovered around midnight. The road with 2-3 feet of snow was opened by the BRO on Sunday.

PTI adds The rescued persons were accommodated at Army transit camps and provided with medical assistance, the official said. The blizzard hit Ahirgarh, Sela and Nuranang in the district and affected traffic on the road from Tezpur to Tawang.

Centre for e-learning inaugurated Press Trust of India Sambalpur

For a cause: Harekrushna Nagar residents in Berhampur on Sunday during a campaign against burning of garbage. LINGARAJ PANDA *

years they have been complaining about it to the municipal authorities but in vain. Area development committee cleans the region every fortnight and collects the garbage at a point. “Despite our repeated requests, the municipal cor-

poration is not taking it away immediately. The dump of February 17 was taken away on March 18,” Mr Das said.

Air pollution Earlier municipal workers had been burning the dump

at the spot, but now due to pressure have started transporting it away. However, the localites complain that garbage swept from streets is being burnt down, which is causing air pollution in their area.

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Age no bar

An e-learning centre constructed at a cost of ₹10.5 crore was inaugurated at Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology at Burla here. Inaugurating the centre on the occasion of the institution’s diamond jubilee, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also announced that an Incubation and Entrepreneur Development Centre would soon operate in VSSUT. The new building has six halls. While two halls have a capacity to accommodate 2,000 people, four others have 200 to 250 capacity. It will enable the institution to organise six programmes simultaneously, PR Cell in charge P C Swain said.

OBITUARY & REMEMBRANCE HOMAGE

Exam time: Seventy-year-old Birendra Tirki appearing for the Basic Literacy Exam conducted by the West Bengal Literacy Mission near Balurghat in South Dinajpur on Sunday. PTI *

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‘Hardly any ilms on female bonding’ Film-maker Aparna Sen’s upcoming ilm Sonata celebrates friendship Indo-Asian News Service Kolkata

Film-maker Aparna Sen, whose forthcoming directorial venture Sonata starring powerhouse performers Shabana Azmi and Lillete Dubey celebrates female bonding, says there are hardly any films on the topic. “Basically, it is about female bonding. We see many films on male bonding, but hardly on female bonding. It really is a celebration of friendship. She (Lillete) is totally laid

Aparna Sen

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back. Both are team persons. It becomes important,” Ms Sen said at the trailer launch of the independent movie.

Sonata is adapted from the eponymous play by playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar. The film is slated for a mid-April release. Sonata is the psychological exploration of three unmarried women facing a mid-life crisis. Aparna also stars in the film. The 103-minute English drama revolves around three friends -- Aruna Chaturvedi, a professor essayed by Aparna, Dolon Sen, a banker portrayed by Shabana and Subhadra

Parekh, a journalist played by Lillete. Does it have any feminist elements? “It’s very much there. It’s not underlined but it’s there...People have to know how to see it,” she said. The Mr. and Mrs. Iyermaker revealed she had to coach Shabana (who plays a Bengali character) in pronouncing Bengali words. “I had to teach Shabana how to say Bangla words and Shabana had to brief me on how to say certain words,” Aparna added. A ND-ND

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Poll process, not EVMs, faulty Analysis casts aspersions on election process during Pune civic poll Shoumojit Banerjee Pune

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the civic polls in Pune on February 23, opposition parties have alleged that the BJP’s overwhelming victories were largely due to the result of EVM tampering. However, an analysis by city-based RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar, based on data from the State Election Department, casts aspersions on the election process during the crucial Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) poll, in which the BJP secured a record 98 of 162 seats. According to him, the fault lay not so much with the EVM machine as to the election process itself. Analysis of just one ward reveals discrepancies between control unit (CU) numbers and ballot unit (BU) numbers of various booths in the ward before polling day and during the actual day of voting. Nearly 27 lakh registered voters had to elect 162 candidates from 41 panels [wards] in the PMC poll, voting for which concluded on February 21. In 39 of these wards, the voter had to elect four candidates in each of these wards, while in the remaining two wards, the voter had to elect three candidates from each ward. “I’m not making allegations for the sake of it, but plain facts in this case cast doubt on the entire procedure followed during the PMC poll. These facts are based on documents provided by the Election Department itself,” Mr. Kumbhar told The Hindu. He pointed out that in ward no. 33, which comprised the city’s Wadgaon Dhayari-Wadgaon Budruk area, around five BU numbers were changed without prior intimation to the candidates.

Randomisation process As per procedure, the EVMs

Online petition to get IAS oicer back

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Juice up your summer

Meena R. Prashant Mumbai

To bring back Panvel Municipal Commissioner Sudhakar Shinde, the residents of Kharghar have started an online petition. The move came following his sudden transfer to Ulhasnagar on March 15. The Commissioner had taken charge just six months ago after the council changed into corporation.

Matter of right: People queue up to cast their votes for the civic poll in Pune. were checked, randomised, allotted booth and sequence wise, and sealed in presence of the authorities, candidates or their representatives, and a representative of the EVM manufacturing company on February 15, six days before the voting. The randomisation implies allotment of BU and CU numbers to corresponding booths, with the BU and CU charts given to the candidates or their representatives. The sequence of candidates was also set on the same day. “However, on the actual polling day [February 21], when the polling staff opened ballot units, the serial numbers were different from those recorded and sealed on February 15,” said Mr. Kumbhar. According to him, in booth numbers 10, 12, 28, 49 and 50, the ballot unit numbers were P44052, P 43551, MO22334, P 143888 and P14390 on February 15. However, the ballot unit numbers corresponding to these booths somehow changed to P14992, P11947, MO23334, P 14386 and MO 27617 on polling day. “Is it possible that despite all precautions, ballot units were changed on voting day? This is very serious and

the Election Commission has to clarify these glaring discrepancies,” said Mr. Kumbhar. According to the documents, the CU numbers for booth numbers 24 and 30 [in ward number 33] in the copy handed over to the candidates were M22232 and M21591, but on polling day, the figures were inexplicably changed to 7507 and M21595. The sequence of ballot units was also found changed in 20 booths in ward no. 33. The rules plainly stipulate that a ballot unit be connected to the control unit according to a particular sequence allotted to them. “Changing that sequence is tantamount to an exchange of votes among candidates. Just how anyone could have access to sealed machines is anybody’s guess. The matter has to be probed sternly and objectively,” said Mr. Kumbhar.

Late discovery The main reason why many candidates, who recently discovered these lapses, woke up so late is that in most cases, they did not bother to collect Form 11 which is due from the election office. This form enu-

EDUCATIONAL

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merates the number of voters casting their votes in a particular booth, along with the BU and CU numbers. Had the candidates collected this form from election authorities at the end of voting day, they would have discovered the error in their BU and CU numbers on February 21 itself. “Instead most were caught up in election fervour, with their eyes on the counting two days later,” said Mr. Kumbar.

Mismatch in tally In fact, according to data made public by the PMC’s election office, soon after the counting of votes on February 23, it was found that at least 14 electoral panels had a lesser vote count than the actual number of votes polled. As per the election process, the total number of votes cast should remain the same for each of the four wards in an electoral panel and match the polling data. Late last month, candidates from prominent parties, including the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena, and the Congress took to the street accusing the ruling BJP of tampering with the EVMs.

Political action The petitioner Mangesh Ranawade said that the online petition addressing the CM of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis was started and 1,000 people have supported the petition which reads as “Believe me, we saw it for the first time!” “It is surely a political action due to which a fearless and honest officer like Mr. Shinde has been transferred all of a sudden. He has done many good work for the citizens of PMC and it is unfair to transfer him like this,” said Mangesh Ranawade, a resident of Kharghar. Mr. Ranawade has also written a mail to the CM to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, a twitter campaign #support4sudhakrshinde also has gained movement. Abhijit Malge,who shared the tweet on March 16, has seen impressions of 2,167. “Mr. Sudhakar has transformed the whole PMC area by removing illegal constructions, encroachments, hawkers. We need such honest and strict officer to make smart cities. He gave confidence to citizens and we all support him. ” Meanwhile, a senior official said: “The move was taken following written orders from the Election Commission.”

EDUCATIONAL

Tickle your taste buds: Nagpur city is known throughout the world for its oranges. Picture shows arrival of the fruit at Kalmana market. S SUDARSHAN *

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What are you doing in U.P., Cong. asks Parrikar Special Correspondent Panaji

All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Girish Chodankar on Sunday criticised Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for attending the swearing-in ceremony of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, leaving the issues being faced by the State. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Mr. Chodankar said, “ I am surprised that in spite of having several issues at hand in Goa, Mr. Parrikar has gone to attend the swearing-in of Mr. Adityanath, who is known for his controversial statements against the minorities.” He referred to road accidents, licence to liquor outlets and casinos, and portfolio allocation as some of the issues facing the new government. On the defamation case filed against him by the BJP, Mr. Chodankar

said he will fight it out. The AICC secretary said Governor Mridula Sinha should resign with a call of her conscience over her decision on March 12 to summon the BJP to form a government. “When our delegation met her last week, we observed her body language. She had no eye contact with any of our leaders. I felt that she is now talking to her inner conscience. I am feeling sorry for her.” “She seems to be a very innocent lady. I have full respect for her. I feel she has been pressured to do something against her own wish,” he said. The Congress has alleged that the Governor should have invited the party to form a government as it emerged the largest single party in the February 4 elections with 17 out of 40 seats as against 13 of the BJP. The Congress also raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha last week.

EDUCATIONAL

5 die of swine lu since Jan. in Nashik Press Trust of India Mumbai

Five persons have died of swine flu in Nashik district since January 1, a senior official said on Sunday. “There was one death each due to the disease in January and February. Three persons have succumbed to the H1N1 virus in March,” said Suresh Jagdale, Nashik district civil surgeon. “There is one more death at the district civil hospital, but it is yet to be ascertained whether it is because of swine flu. The report is expected in a couple of days.” According to the civil surgeon, another patient with swine flu-like symptoms is in the hospital. “The sample has been sent to Pune-based National Institute of Virology. Once the report is received, we will treat the person accordingly,” said Mr. Jagdale.

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Telangana’s reforms work: KCR

IN BRIEF

Chief Minister highlights industrial policy to Pinarayi Vijayan over lunch clearances, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said, and gave the Kerala Chief Minister a copy.

Special Correspondent HYDERABAD

Padayatra to seek justice in Dalits tonsuring case KAKINADA

In protest against the inordinate delay in rendering justice in the ‘tonsuring of Venkatayapalem Dalits’ case, activists of the Human Rights Forum and Dalita Aikya Porata Vedika undertook a two-day padayatra in the Konaseema region. Five youths of the village had allegedly been humiliated about 20 years ago. HRF secretary V.S. Krishna accused the government of shielding the prime accused and TDP legislator Thota Trimurtulu.

Work time changed to prevent sunstroke THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

To prevent labourers from getting sunstroke, the Kerala Labour Commissioner has re-scheduled the shift timings of those who work in the day. Those working day shifts can take a break between noon and 3 p.m. till April 30. The shift should be so scheduled that they work eight hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This order is based on the Kerala Minimum Wages Act 24(3) of 1958, a press note said.

BJP urges EC to transfer 4 officers in Karnataka BENGALURU

Accusing four election officers on bypoll duty in Gundlupet constituency in Chamarajanagar district of being biased towards the ruling Congress, the BJP has petitioned the Election Commission seeking their transfer. BJP State secretary N. Shankarappa and party spokesperson Ashwathnarayan said these officers had completed the stipulated three years in their posts and demanded they be transferred to ensure conducting the bypolls in a free and fair manner.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday sought the intervention of his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, in getting land allotted for a facility for devotees from the State in Sabarimala. The two Chief Ministers met at lunch at Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao’s official residence here. Ease of doing business, law and order, welfare schemes, tourism, health tourism and Information Technology were discussed, officials said. The Telangana Chief Minister explained various initiatives of the State Government at the meeting, attended by, among others, Deputy Chief Minister Md. Mahamood Ali, and Ministers N. Narsimha Reddy and K.T. Rama Rao. The Telangana Chief Minister said allocation of land for a guest house at Sabarim-

Talking development: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao greets Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan in Hyderabad. PTI *

ala for the benefit of pilgrims from Telangana was pending.

MoU signed for facility A Memorandum of Understanding had been signed by the two governments and this was pending with the Tranvancore Devaswom Board.

Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao requested that the matter be expedited. A large number of devotees from Telangana went to Sabarimala regularly, he pointed out. Telangana was following an ‘innovative and hasslefree industrial policy’, TSiPASS, with single-window

Rohatgi should quit: Sudheeran He says advice to Kerala govt. on sale of liquor questionable Special Correspondent Thiruvananthapuram

Former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran has demanded Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi’s resignation in view of his ‘questionable’ conduct related to his advice to the State government on the Supreme Court verdict against sale of liquor along national and State highways and his appearance in an earlier case in favour of a bar hotel owner who challenged the liquor policy of the previous UDF government.

‘Lapses in conduct’ Mr. Sudheeran wrote to Mr. Rohatgi on Sunday pointing out to the lapses in his

V.M. Sudheeran

conduct by appearing for a bar hotel owner earlier in a High Court case against the UDF government’s liquor policy curbing the availability of alcohol and his recent advice to the LDF government that there was no hurdle in bar hotels and beer-wine parlours continuing business along the high-

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Bidding adieu

ways in the State. Mr. Sudheeran said the Supreme Court verdict had clearly prohibited the sale of liquor along the National Highways and State Highways, including bar hotels and beer-wine parlours. The judgment had even prevented the signage and advertisements about the availability of liquor. Any other stand would have the effect of wilfully disobeying it, he said. Many States had already implemented the judgment in its true spirit. But the Kerala government, on the basis of the Attorney General’s advice, had taken a ‘contumacious stand’ declaring that the Supreme Court verdict did not apply to bar hotels and beer-wine parlours.

Land records updated The visiting Chief Minister evinced interest in land reforms and maintenance of land records in Telangana, a release said. Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said proper land records were maintained since the Nizams’ era and the records were updated regularly. ‘Sada bainama’ transactions—land transactions done on plain paper— without charging any fee, were taken up by the State Government. About 11.5 lakh applications were received for registering such transactions. Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao presented an ‘Ikkat’ shawl and a replica of Charminar, a symbol of communal harmony in Telangana, as a memento to Mr. Vijayan.

NIT student ‘falls’ to death in Warangal Special Correspondent WARANGAL

A final year civil engineering student of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) reportedly jumped to death from the fifth floor of his hostel on campus in Warangal on Sunday. Sanketh Kumar Suryavamsi, from Latur, Maharashtra, was staying at the hostel’s fifth floor. He allegedly jumped to his death around 2 p.m. Students rushed him to a private hospital, where after two hours, he was declared dead. NIT Registrar Prof. Y.V. Reddy said the boy was suffering from severe fever for the past two days.

Wait for freedom: The leopard trapped on the BEML campus in Mysuru on Sunday.

The big cat was roaming in the BEML campus, causing alarm Special Correspondent MYSURU

A leopard that frequented the BEML campus area on the outskirts of Mysuru, leading to complaints from the management, was trapped on Sunday. This is the 42nd leopard trapped by the Forest Department in the Mysuru Territorial Division comprising the taluks of Mysuru, H.D. Kote, Nanjangud and T. Narsipura, during the last twoand-a-half years. The healthy leopardess in the BEML campus was about three-years-old and had taken refuge in the scrub jungles and vegetation of the public sector unit’s vast property that abuts Koorgalli. V. Karikalan, Deputy Conservator of Forests, told The Hindu that the factory authorities had pleaded with the department last week to

authorities < > Factory pleaded with the Forest Department last week to remove the big cat V. Karikalan Deputy Conservator of Forests

remove the big cat from the campus.

Shifted to Sollepura Following this, a cage was set up and the animal fell into the trap early on Sunday. It was later shifted to Sollepura reserve forest in Mysuru territorial division. Leopards straying into the BEML campus is a fairly common occurrence. Three of them were captured and released back into the forests in recent years. Mr. Karikalan said the scrub vegetation of the campus provides an ideal cover for the wild cats.

It is a reality show entertainment at the cost of our pain, say families Sathish G.T. Hassan

Last respects:The Thiruvananthapuram zoo keeper places lowers on Seetha, the lone zebra, which died on Sunday. S. MAHINSHA *

A ile picture of the wooden pole which had broken, killing a youth playing Sidi in Belur taluk in April 2016. SATHISH G.T. *

participating in Sidi for several years. During the festival, usually four Dalit men play the Sidi. The participants have to be on fast for at least five days before the festival as it believed to help in piercing the iron hook into their skin. “All these years we have continued with this tradition because our parents did. Now, I wish this is stopped, I

don’t want my children to continue with this,” said a Dalit man.

‘Govt. should intervene’ He wants the government to intervene to stop the ritual. “Last year, we were expecting officers to stop this tradition. However, by the time officers visited our village, the ritual had already begun,” he recalled.

The Dalits participating in the fair have another disadvantage that they cannot celebrate the occasion like others. “We have to be on a fast for five days prior to the festival, and even on that day, we suffer pain because of the iron hooks pierced into our body. We have to play Sidi for the entertainment of others. For those participating in the fair, it is a reality show entertainment at the cost of our pain,” he said. Even if someone falls unconscious because of having been on a fast, he/she will be blamed for showing disrespect to the deity. M.G. Pruthvi, district convener of the samiti, told The Hindu, “We have appealed to the district administration to stop the practice this year. We are not opposed to the religious event. However, it should be without any inhuman practice. Last year, a youth died while playing Sidi at Hebbal in Belur taluk.”

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3 killed as SUV-lorry Move to get world heritage status for Buddhist sites collide at Tirumala ASI seeks to include Sankaram, Salihundam, Lepakshi, Nagarjunakonda museum in proposal to Unesco Car driver reportedly dozed of at wheels

B. Madhu Gopal VISAKHAPATNAM

Staff Reporter CHITTOOR

Three pilgrims bound for Tirumala were killed on the spot and seven injured, three of them critically, when their SUV collided with a lorry at Lakshmaiah Kandriga village of Yadamarri mandal, five km from Chittoor, in the early hours of Sunday. According to Yadamarri police, three families, consisting of 13 members, from Tumkur town of Karnataka were on their way to Tirumala.

On its way to Karnataka Around 5 a.m., the vehicle met with accident as the driver reportedly dozed off at the wheels. CM YK

The lorry was on its way to Chennai from Karnataka. In the impact, the SUV was thrown into a ditch.

2-year-old among victims The deceased were identified as driver Vishal, 27, Kamakshi, 27, and Riday, a two-year-old girl. Among the injured five were girls and boys below 17. Three of them were referred to the Christian Medical College Hospital at Vellore and others were rushed to the district headquarters hospital in Chittoor. Police said the family heads, who are all working with a transport company, planned the trip for the weekend.

The Buddhist Heritage sites at Salihundam (Srikakulam district) and Sankaram near Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district, in addition to Lepakshi (Anantapur district) and the Nagarjunakonda International Museum (Guntur district) are likely to find a place in the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi, sought a proposal from its Hyderabad unit on March 17, for sending it to the Unesco World Heritage Centre for tentative listing. On March 3, national secretary of All India Panchayat Parishad, New Delhi, and chairman of

Amaravathi Development Authority, Andhra Pradesh, J. Veeranjaneyulu, wrote to the Prime Minister seeking inclusion of these sites in the world list.

Interesting feature Sankaram, also known as Bojjannakonda, was excavated under the aegis of Alexander Rim in 1906. A gold coin belonging to the Samudragupta period, copper coins of the Chalukya king, Kubja Vishnu Vardhan, coins of Andhra Satavahanas and pottery were discovered at the site. An interesting aspect of the Bojjannakonda finds is that they feature all the three phases of Buddhism: Hinayana, Mahayana and

Vajrayana. A stairway leads to a large double-storeyed cave on a hill. The rectangular cave has a doorway and is flanked by ‘dwarapalakas' on either side. There is a rock-cut stupa, standing on a square platform, at the centre of the cave. A series of rock-cut caves and monolithic structures standing on rock platforms are seen on the northern side of the hill. The upper cave has a rectangular doorway, flanked by figures of the Buddha on either side. The imposing figures of the Buddha in a seated meditative posture and the stupa are the main attractions for tourists at Bojjannakonda.

M.A.SRIRAM

Leopard trapped in Mysuru back in the wild

Dalits refuse to take part in Sidi ritual A section of Dalit families that has been taking part in the risky ritual of Sidi during the annual fair at Hariharapur in Holenarsipur taluk has refused to do so this year. The ritual involves men being tied to a wooden pole with the help of a hook inserted into their body and women walking with their mouths locked with iron hooks. The annual fair of the local deity — Udusalamma (Durga Parameshwari) — has been scheduled for March 24 and 25 this year. Hassan district unit of the Dalit Hakkugala Samiti has submitted a memorandum to the district administration and the tahsildar of Holenarsipur to avoid the “inhuman” ritual during the fair this year. The memorandum was submitted based on the opposition from a section of Dalit families that has been

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A ile picture of Bojjannakonda near Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district. C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM *

They prey on stray dogs and other smaller mammals. The BEML campus is spread over nearly 600 acres of land and a vast swathe, beyond the manufacturing units and testing tracks, lies open. In 2012, a leopard was impaled by the iron gates when it was trying to hop over the compound and had to be extricated after being immobilised by a tranquillizer shot. Leopards straying into factory premises in Mysuru is also not new. Many of them are known to live close to human habitations.

Wild visitors A few years ago one of the cats entered the Infosys campus while another was spotted hiding in the defunct Mandya National Paper Mills premises at Belagola, which abuts the industrial areas of the city.

Call for vigil against child abuse Special Correspondent THIRuVANANTHAPURAM

At a time when the World Health Organisation has determined that one in five persons suffers from mental disorders and personality disorders and against the backdrop of increasing instances of child abuse in the State, the Mental Health division of the Government Medical College here has cautioned parents to be ceaselessly vigilant against such abuse. The advisory notes that in 90% of the cases the perpetrator is someone intimately known to the child. Of this, 60% would be siblings, parents, and blood relatives. Only in 10% of cases are the perpetrators unknown to the child. Often abusers take advantage of the fact that the child is left alone or at a friend’s place. Such instances of abuse wreak short and long-term mental disorders. If the abuse was done by someone very close, they lose faith in life altogether. They would suffer from anxiety disorders and depression. According to mental health expert Mohan Roy of the MCH, one way of minimising abuse is to give a doll to the child and emphasise that the doll does not like anyone other than her mother to touch various parts of the body. If someone does that, the doll would raise a complaint. According to Dr. Roy if a child narrates an episode of abuse, they should never be scolded and never should they be told that the perpetrator is “our uncle.” When parents attend a social function the child should not be left alone or allowed allowed to sit on the lap of another person. If there are unexplained marks on the skin of a child, parents should find out how that came about. Symptoms such as preferring to be alone, indifference to studying and food are some of the symptoms of abuse, the advisory notes. A ND-ND

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IN BRIEF

From another era

‘Old, new architecture should co-exist for a city’s survival’ Architects on the challenge of creating urban spaces while conserving old buildings

Gopal Rai to meet farmers of Sanand

Suvojit Bagchi

AHMEDABAD

Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party’s Gujarat in-charge Gopal Rai will be meeting farmers of Sanand tehsil in the district, the party said on Sunday. “For three days starting tomorrow, Rai will meet farmers of nine villages in Sanand who had, on February 14, organised a march to demand water supply for their fields,” an AAP statement said. Several farmers were injured in police lathi-charge when the protest turned violent, it noted. PTI

Kolkata

Time-tested: Participants at he 'Vintage Car Rally 2017' in Gurugram on Sunday.

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PTI

Two arrested with 48 quintal poppy husk JAIPUR

Two persons have been arrested and 48 quintals of poppy husk (doda chura) were seized from them in Chhittorgarh district on Sunday, the police said. Acting on a tip-of, the two accused, both residents of Jawda village in Bhilwara district, were arrested. We are interrogating them about the source of the narcotics, Kanera Police Station SHO Tulsi Ram said. Preliminary probe showed the accused were hired to deliver them to a man in Chhittorgarh district, the oicer said. PTI

Speeding car crushes 5 to death, leaves 12 injured UJJAIN (MP)

Five persons, including three children, were killed and 12 injured when a speeding car hit them near a village in Ujjain district, the police said on Sunday. The victims were standing by the roadside when the speeding car hit them, they said. The victims were on the road after the tyre of their van got punctured. The State government has announced a inancial assistance of ₹2 lakh to the families of each of the deceased. PTI

‘Lack of emotional connect making sparrows extinct’ Mindless urbanisation taking away bird’s natural habitat Press Trust of India New Delhi

The house sparrow that was declared the ‘State Bird of Delhi’ in 2012 is edging towards extinction due to lack of emotional connect, says conservationist Mohammed Dilawar. Mr. Dilawar, who started the practice of observing March 20 as World Sparrow Day in 2010, says “mindless urbanisation” is leading to loss of the birds’ natural habitats. “Common sparrows are going extinct because of mindless urbanisation. They are losing not just their natural habitats but also the essential human touch they need and thrive upon. The current generation is so much surrounded by technology that they have forgotten about nature. The indifference caused by lack of emotional connect has pushed these birds to the edge of ex-

Once a common sight, sparrows are disappearing from our cities. FILE PHOTO *

tinction,” says Mr. Dilawar, who also founded the Nature Forever Society for India (NFSI), a non-profit organisation to conserve house sparrows.

Use of packed food World Sparrow Day, an initiative by NFSI, is now celebrated annually across 50 countries. The conservationist also attributed the depleting pop-

ulation of sparrows to the increased use of packed food, insecticides in farming, and changing lifestyles, resulting in an inadequate availability of food for the birds. “Earlier women used to clean grain outside their houses and sparrows would have plenty of food from there. Also, the severe use of insecticides in farming is killing sparrows’ primary food source in insects and grains,” says Mr. Dilawar.

No pockets Sparrows are also rendered homeless, he says, due to the “matchbox styled” architecture that makes it difficult for the birds to locate pockets to build nests. “Unlike pigeons that can make nests on ledges, sparrows need cavities to build their nests. Since the new matchbox style buildings don’t have cavities, sparrows are now homeless,” he says.

Leila Araghian, the acclaimed Iranian architect, sounded excited to share the details of the civil society movement that stopped the demolition of a Gio Ponti villa in northern Tehran last year. Built in the '60s, Villa Namazee, typically an art deco, designed by Giovanni Ponti — a major post-war artist-architect of Europe — is one of the few buildings to survive in Iran or even Europe. The plan to demolish Villa Namazee to construct a 20-storey hotel outraged Tehran’s civil society, especially the architects. “There were protests and the work was stopped but I’m not sure for how long,” said Ms Araghian, the designer-architect of Iran’s largest pedestrian bridge, Tabiat. Ms. Araghian, who created her own style and brand, recently visited Kolkata to attend an architects’ conference organised by CREDAI, the apex body of real estate developers. Creating new urban living spaces while conserving old buildings and bridges is a challenge, she said.

Saving small houses “It is more difficult to save the small houses, nondescript public buildings which do not have a glorious history. We have mosques and bridges which are very valuable but the rest are also contributing to our history,” Ms. Araghian told The Hindu. The crisis – to conserve the

places are < > Great made up of very complex plans. The danger is that by simplifying them, we end up with boring places George Ferguson Architect entrepreneur

Fitting in: A heritage building with a highrise in the backdrop at Dalhousie Square in Kolkata; (right) George Ferguson and Sugata Bose. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

old models while constructing new ones – is universal, she said. The crisis is never as severe anywhere as in Kolkata, where Villa Namazees of the city are making way to gigantic concrete cubes, called residential apartment blocks. But then, can Kolkata with its investment-famished identity afford to deny growth to its only buoyant sector – the real estate. Perhaps not; and perhaps that made the MP Sugata Bose to argue that he is “wholly in favour of new buildings” in the city. In the same breath, however, he also added that he is "simply adamantly against putting down old heritage structures; needlessly destroying the architecture of old neighbourhood,” and cited the example of the 1877 Trinity Church of Boston which is “coexisting” with the 60-storyed residential building in the neighbourhood, John Hancock Tower, built exactly 100 years after the Trinity Church. Kolkata’s Mayor stub-

bornly backs demolition of the old structures citing overcrowding of metro cities. In fact, even the members of CREDAI, who hosted the conference, believe that the “good living in the gated housing” is all about constructing taller skyscrapers.

Problem of residences “These discussions are good; but how does a city provide residential quarters to the growing middle class without filling up the empty spaces, parks and water bodies?” asks a CREDAI member-cumreal estate developer, on condition of anonymity. Perhaps similar questions inspired Giambattista Nolli, the 18th century Italian architect, to design a city plan of Rome. The design – referred to later as Nolli Plan was used till the late 20th century for any planning of Rome – is an amazing work of utilityart, said George Ferguson, an architect-entrepreneur and first elected Mayor of Bristol. “The Nolli Plan does two things – it looks at the public

spaces inside the buildings, while [providing] space for the public to walk around outside; wish we could all have our cities planned like that… our focus should be on ‘slow architecture’, created organically, as against the race of having the tallest building,” Mr Ferguson said. The high rises– however high – would remain "the highest for a short time”, he said. “Every new building in every city would go but what remains is the plan– like Nolli. Great places are made up of extraordinarily complex plans which will remain beyond the life of the buildings… our danger [is] while simplifying such plans we are making boring places,” Ferguson argued.

EDUCATIONAL

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CM YK

EDUCATIONAL

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THE HINDU

NATION 7

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

‘Buddhism relevant in today’s era’ At Nalanda conclave, President Mukherjee says no part of the world is free from scourge of violence

China to take part in Brahmaputra festival Five-day event begins on March 31

Amarnath Tewary Patna

Police station vandalised in Mumbai, 17 arrested MUMBAI

Enraged over an objectionable post by a man on social media, a mob allegedly vandalised a police station in suburban Trombay, Mumbai, where he was kept after being arrested, police said on Sunday. The vandals demanded that the accused be handed over to them, and also set afire some police vehicles outside the police station, police said. PTI

Two drown in a pond in Bihar

Addressing the closing ceremony of a three-day International Buddhist Conclave in Rajgir in Nalanda, President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said the philosophy of Buddhism is as relevant today as ever in the era of violence, “especially as the world grapples with the complex problems that seem intractable”. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Governor Ram Nath Kovind too addressed the conclave, organised by the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. The conclave on

“Buddhism in the 21st Century — perspectives and responses to Global Challenges and Crises” was attended by hundreds of Buddhist scholars, monks and delegates from 35 countries, with a special address by the Dalai Lama on Saturday. “No part of the world today is free from the scourge of violence...this crisis is all pervasive,” the President said, underscoring that “Buddhism has had a deep influence on human civilization.” Stating that “Nalanda reflects our ancient educational system which attracted mighty minds in the

delegates to “redouble their efforts to promote the simple Truths and the Path of the Buddha that show we can be better citizens and contribute to making our land a better place to live in”.

Pranab Mukherjee form of students and teachers in ancient India,” the President said, “Education means the development of the mind and requires an atmosphere which is conducive to free exchange of ideas.” Mr Mukherjee urged the

Lauds university The President also expressed happiness that the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, a deemed University, has recently published the entire Pali Tripitaka (texts or words of the Buddha) in 41 volumes in Devanagari script. He further congratulated the University for opening the first ever Department of Buddhist Sciences in the world.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too highlighted the tenets of Buddhism and said they were relevant in today’s world of violence and distrust. Mr Kumar also proposed to open a “Conflict Resolution Centre” at Rajgir. Earlier on Saturday, the Dalai Lama visited the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara after a gap of 60 years and planted a sapling of the Bodhi Tree. He inaugurated the Nagajurna Faculty Building and Santarakshita Hostel. Mentioning the tradition of Nalanda, his Holiness said Dignaga and Dharmakriti’s contribution have been unforgettable for the world.

Staff Reporter Kolkata

The five-day Brahmaputra river festival titled Namami Brahmaputra organised by the BJP-led government in Assam, will witness significant participation from China. According to the event organisers, described as the “biggest river festival of India,” various other countries such as Vietnam and Singapore are also attending. The Brahmaputra, 2,900 km long, is an international river with 918 km of it flowing in India, 1625 km in China and 337 km in

Bangladesh. “We have received confirmation from the Chinese officials regarding their participation. A team of delegates from China will take part in a trade seminar at the festival,” director of Assam’s Inland Water Transport B.B. Dev Chowdhury said. The festival will begin on March 31 with an event scheduled to be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee. “We are also trying to ensure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence during the festival,” said Mr. Chowdhury.

HAJIPUR

A minor girl and her younger brother drowned in a pond in Muradabad village in Bihar’s Vaishali district, the police on Sunday. Pinki Kumari (11) and her younger brother Arun (6) met a watery grave in a pond while they were taking a bath with their mother, they said. The villagers fished out the bodies before police reached the spot. PTI

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Clean job

‘The house need not be self-acquired or owned by them’ Press Trust of India New Delhi

18 peacocks found dead near TN forest THENI (TN)

Eighteen peacocks were found dead in a pathway to a forest area at Kondalanguppam in this district on Sunday, the police said. They said the peacocks were found dead near a grove and suspect that the birds might have been poisoned for their feathers. The carcasses had been sent for post-mortem, the police said. PTI

Parents can evict abusive adult children from their house: HC

New platform: Employees busy at work at the new laundry at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Coaching Depot in Mumbai. The Indian Railways has installed the state-of-the-art laundry to ensure quality cleaning of bedrolls and towels. The facility, inaugurated by Union Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday, is equipped to handle 13 tonnes of bedrolls a day in two shifts. FARIHA FAROOQUI *

Children who abuse their parents while staying with them in their house can be evicted from the property, the Delhi High Court has ruled. Justice Manmohan, in his ruling, specified that the house need not be self-acquired or owned by the parents. “As long as parents have legal possession of the property, they can evict their abusive adult children,” the court said, adding that even the “courts have repeatedly

acknowledged the right of senior citizens or parents to live peacefully and with dignity“. This is a major improvisation in a 2007 law that had left it to State governments to frame rules to protect the life and property of senior citizens. The court’s verdict came after it heard an appeal filed by an alcoholic former policeman and his brother, challenging a Maintenance Tribunal’s October 2015 order to evict the two from the residence where their elderly and ailing parents lived.

The brothers had contended that the Tribunal had exceeded its jurisdiction in passing the eviction order as there was no claim for maintenance and the relief was granted only on the allegations of physical assault, maltreatment, harassment and forceful ouster of their parents from the property. The alcoholic, whose services were terminated from the Delhi Police, had said that even in cases of parental abuse, no eviction order could be passed under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007.

Kolkata’s solar project under shadow Proposal moots panels over vegetable farms in city’s Eastern Wetlands Indrani Dutta KOLKATA

A proposal to set up a solar power harvesting centre on Dhapa, a part of the Eastern Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), is awaiting the approval of the West Bengal government which is keen to project Kolkata as a green city. However, this proposal may run into hurdles as it involves change in land-use

plan of the fragile EKW ecosystem. Vegetable farming has been undertaken here for decades and presently an estimated 40% of the city’s vegetables come from these areas. The proposal is to utilise the unhindered sunshine in this area to generate 1.5 MW of solar power, without disturbing the vegetable-growers. The panels would be

mounted on steel structures — around 10 feet above the ground of the vegetablepatches in a staggered manner. The project also aims at conserving water by controlling evaporation from the fields. This would be a pilotproject with a scalability potential of 100 MW. However, Dhrubajyoti Ghosh a former chief environment officer, whose name

has now become synonymous with the EKW conservation, feared that this project would affect the farmers’ livelihoods. “ These structures are bound to affect vegetable-farming of the cultivators, whose numbers stood at around 2,500 at the last such census done in 1986,” he said, adding that this would change land-use of this area.

Kerala priest stabbed in Melbourne Indo-Asian News Service Thiruvananthapuram

A Catholic priest from Kerala was attacked by an Italian on Sunday when the former was leading the mass in a Melbourne church. “The priest, Tomy Mathew, was stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife by

the Italian during the mass conducted at a Catholic church in the Melbourne suburbs,” said Thiruvallom Bhasi, editor of a Melbourne daily who is now visiting here. “While the ceremony was on, the accused person came forward and shouted

that since he [Mathew] is an Indian, he cannot conduct the mass there,” Mr. Bhasi said.

Accused arrested According to Mr. Bhasi, the accused has been arrested. The priest is now said to be out of danger.

Files on grant for Tilak ilm that was never made missing Matter surfaces at a CIC hearing PRESS TRUST OF INDIA NEW DELHI

Files relating to the grant of ₹2.5 crore for a film on Bal Gangadhar Tilak that was never made have gone missing from the government records. This surfaced at a hearing before the Central Information Commission, which was adjudicating a matter under the Union Ministry of Culture. “The Commission finds that the key records of sanction and payment of ₹2.5 crore to Vinay Dhumale for production of a movie on Bal Gangadhar Tilak are missing, and except for some oral statements by the CPIO and the Deputy Secretary, there is no record of who held the files,” Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu noted. He directed the Ministry to open an inquiry into the missing files and submit a report on the action taken within 60 days of receiving the order. V.R. Kamalapurkar had filed an application with the Ministry under the CM YK

Right to Information Act for the records on the film, which was sanctioned in 2005. Ministry officials told the Commission that ₹2.5 crore was given to Mr. Dhumale, a producer, to make the film, but it was never made. Nirmala Goyal, a Deputy Secretary, said the Ministry found out the embezzlement only after the RTI application was filed in 2011. “The money was transferred to Vinay [Dhumale] in two instalments. She [Ms. Goyal] said, however, the film was never made and there was no inquiry into the utility of the funds,” Mr. Acharyulu said.

Referred to CBI Arnab Aich, Central Public Information Officer of the Ministry and an Under Secretary, said the matter was referred to the CBI, but the final report was awaited. He said searches were carried out in the record rooms between 2013 and 2017, and the files were categorised as missing. A ND-ND

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8 EDITORIAL

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The Yogi and the magic of numbers Will India’s democrats let majoritarianism plant the seeds of counter-democracy?

Wag the dog

Last gasp tasks After the agreement on all GST bills, the rate itment process needs to be addressed

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t its twelfth meeting last Friday, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council cleared all the requisite State and Central-level legislative measures to implement the indirect tax regime. The State and Union Territories’ GST bills were approved along with necessary corrections to the three other GST Bills the Council had cleared previously — for Central GST, Integrated GST and compensation to States through a cess. This paves the way for State Assemblies and Parliament to ratify these laws quickly in order to meet the proposed July 1 rollout date for the system. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the Union Cabinet will soon take up the four laws that the Centre has to steer through Parliament, while the respective State governments will take up the State GST law. Separately, oicers from the States and the Centre are expected to inalise, by this weekend, drafts for four pending regulations out of a total of nine, that lay down the administrative procedures and processes to be followed by taxpayers under the GST regime. The Council will meet again on March 31 to consider those drafts. This will give the Centre enough buffer to make the transition to the new system. Though industry has indicated that it needs at least three months to prepare for the GST once it sees the ine print, one major action will still be pending on April 1. That action — the itment of thousands of commodities and services into the ive GST rate slabs (zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%) — could prove to be among the trickiest for the Council. The rate itment process, unlike legislative nuances, is more susceptible to lobbying not just from diferent sections of industry, but also States that would like a favourable tax treatment for products and services they excel in. For instance, the GST Council has now approved a ceiling on the cess that could be imposed over and above the highest GST rate of 28% on pan masala, chewing tobacco and cigarettes, luxury cars and aerated drinks. For all such ‘sin goods’, the cess ceiling has been set higher under the GST than the level necessary to maintain the present level of taxation. But beedis have been kept out of the cess net altogether in order to avoid friction with States that could delay the broader reform. Despite such pulls and pressures, in a best-case scenario the rate-setting process should take at least a fortnight and the Council could meet some time in April to approve the rates. Giving lakhs of enterprises just about two months to switch to the GST regime, with all its implications for supply chains, pricing strategies and accounting systems, could lead to a messy start. The Centre must keep its mind open on pushing forward the rollout by a month or so, while industry should rise above heckling over rates and invest more lobbying energy on bigger worries, such as the GST’s penal anti-proiteering clauses. CM YK

We are a democracy. What an original thought! And with the second biggest population, the largest democracy in the world. Cheers ! We are proud of being such a democracy. But of course! We must, as a democracy, respect the will of the majority. Absolutely! Because the voice of the people — vox populi — is the voice of truth. Er… his is where bombast and its counter — sarcasm — ends. Where irony, humour retires. And hard-rock reality stares us in the face, the reality that is Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of India’s most populous State. We cannot get anyone more democratic than him.

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Gradual ascent Born to no privilege in the hinterland isolation of the temple-town of Gorakhpur, he was raised in no metropolis, educated in no sequestered school or ivy-covered college. But being sharp-witted, he turned social stagnations into political steroids and taking his town’s eponymous dedication to cow protection seriously, became not just a priest but head priest of the temple. And then, as such head priest, ofered himself as a parliamentary candidate, becoming the youngest member of the Lok Sabha to which he was irst elected, winning each of the ive subsequent elections that he contested as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. More, MP Adityanath remained that quintessence of parliamentary democracy — the private

choose their law-makers, their leaders and lodestars in freedom and without fear, is only the least imperfect. It is far from, very far from, being perfect. Worse, it can and does recoil to shapes and forms that are in their nature and impact, un-democratic, antidemocracy. This process can be called counter-democracy. India holds a doctorate in democracy; it is doing a post-doc in counter-democracy. Ours is, of course, a global classroom.

Member, the back or middlebencher, sometimes of the party in power, sometimes in the Opposition, speaking the language of his people, the language of the masses as their chosen MP, the legislative digit that really counts, that makes up the numbers, the ‘body’ that gives that august body not its augusta meaning, in Latin, ‘majestic, grand’, but its body, its bones, sinew, muscle and lesh. He studied, one discovers, at the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Uttarakhand for his BSc., not music or philosophy (both courses being on ofer there), but mathematics. And so he knows his numbers, knows that numbers count and that in a democracy they are all that count — apart from money. Yogi Adityanath deserves to be congratulated, and I do so, for rising to the pinnacles of our legislative architecture from its very foundations, not being airdropped on its carpeted terrace from a helicopter. This is where factoids and their theoretical master, empiricism, end. Where chronology, ‘plain’ narration, retires. And where another stony reality stares us in the face, the reality that is our democracy’s subversion, distortion — in fact, its perversion. Of the many forms of government — old, new, and still in the making — electoral democracy, the system which enables people to

West to east Few persons can be as diferent as Donald J. Trump is from Yogi Adityanath. The President of the United States, according to a Forbes listing, has a net worth of $3.7 billion, or nearly ₹24,000 crore. The new Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, according to National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms, has assets amounting to a modest ₹72 lakh. Thrice married, part owner of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996 to 2015, Donald Trump is hedonism personiied compared to the celibate head priest of the Gorakhnath temple. But there is the great connect between them: the inter-leaved action of democracy and counter-democracy. Mr. Trump and Mr. Adityanath are, both, their people’s gifts to

About India But this article is not about Mr. Trump and Adityanath, twinned or separate. It is about India, united or divided. It is about an India that is a Republic in which all its citizens are constitutionally equal and a democracy in which they are politically unequal. Our Constitution separated politics from religion. Today they are becoming coextensive. ‘Hindus vote Hindu’ is cunning, it is not clean. “Clean?” the same interjector will put in. “Does the law deine ‘clean’?” No, it does not. But it does talk of something that is the opposite of clean, namely, ‘corrupt’. The Representation of the People Act, 1951, declares in its Section 123(3) as “corrupt practice”, “The promotion of, or attempt to promote, feelings of enmity or hatred between diferent classes of the citizens of India on grounds of

religion, race, caste, community, or language, by a candidate or his agent…” It is for the courts, if moved, to say whether in the U.P. elections that section of the Act was ofended or not. But it is for us to ask, is it democratic or counterdemocratic for a State of which 19% are Muslim to be ruled by a party that did not put up a single Muslim candidate? Is it democratic or counter-democratic for a State to have a Chief Minister said to face charges of promoting enmity between diferent groups on the ground of religion, injuring or deiling places of worship? Beyond U.P.’s election and its Chief Minister, a grim anomaly, a bitter truth, about our political selfhood faces us. Introducing the draft Constitution to the Constituent Assembly on November 4, 1948, B.R. Ambedkar said: “Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.” Notwithstanding this diagnosis, he went ahead and introduced the text. With his associates in the Assembly, Nehru foremost among them, and with Gandhi’s eclectic spirit brooding over the proceedings, he looked ahead to a future in which a truly representative democracy would percolate India’s soil. With setbacks, for half a century almost, its tender roots did deepen, protecting ethnic minorities and strengthening the ground for gender justice, Dalits, tribals, for free-speech, dissent. Today, will India’s democrats let majoritarianism lift that topsoil and plant in its place seeds of a counter-democratic biochemistry? I believe they will not. Wherefrom this optimism? It comes not from anything hopeful that I ind in our country but because in Mr. Trump’s America, a statue of that little Fearless Girl has just come up facing, four square, the lared nostrils of Wall Street’s Charging Bull. And how she inspires!

Gopalkrishna Gandhi is a former administrator, diplomat and Governor

The making of a Sultan The rise of Turkey’s Erdogan to absolute power is a classic example of the crisis democracies face today into force with the 2019 presidential election, Mr. Erdogan could rule Turkey until 2029, with powers perhaps no leader in the post-Sultanate Turkey has enjoyed so far, other than Kemal Ataturk.

Consolidating power

stanly johny

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urkey’s political system will undergo drastic changes if its President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, manages to get the support of a majority of the electorate for his constitutional amendment plans in the April 16 referendum. The proposal, already approved by Turkish Parliament — which is dominated by his AK Party — seeks to turn the country’s parliamentary model into an executive presidency. The President, in this case Mr. Erdogan, would be the head of the government, the state and the ruling party. He will have the powers to appoint cabinet ministers and senior oicials without Parliament’s nod. The post of the Prime Minister, currently the most powerful government position in theory, will be abolished. He could also appoint more than half the members of the nation’s highest judicial body, dissolve the national assembly and impose a state of emergency. The amendments will also guarantee two ive-year terms for the President. Provided the changes come

The rise of Mr. Erdogan, to power and then absolute power, with popular support, is a textbook case for the crisis electoral democracies face in the 21st century. His AK Party is a relatively new phenomenon in Turkey’s tumultuous politics that has historically been dominated by the military and traditional political parties. The party, which presented itself as a conservative, political force with a liberal economic outlook, promised stability and development to a people getting increasingly disillusioned with the establishment. After a year of its founding, the AKP came to power with a resounding majority in the 2002 parliamentary election. In 2003, after overcoming a legal hurdle, Mr. Erdogan became Prime Minister, and since then has not let his grip on Turkey loosen. Mr. Erdogan is fundamentally an Islamist who often invokes Turkey’s Islamist past and despises its modern secular values. Initially, he chose to go slow, focussing on promarket reforms that have accelerated Turkey’s economic growth and also in creating a new middle class

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A surprise choice The elevation of Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh is an ominous sign that the BJP’s recent victory in the State has emboldened the party to shed the thin igleaf of its claim of being an inclusive party aimed at Sabka saath, sabka vikas, more so when it is apparent that saner voices in the party are progressively getting gagged by hardcore religionists (March 19). It reminds me of Thomas Moore’s Utopia where the owner-shepherd is eaten up by his own lock of sheep. Ayyasseri Raveendranath, Aranmula, Kerala

■ Development will be possible only with investments for which the pre-requisites are law and order and good governance. The BJP should clarify how it will achieve its promise by

not abandon the original goal of changing the Turkish polity, but was ready to wait, often inluencing the political narrative through gradual interventions. Successive election victories solidiied the party’s position in Turkey’s politics, which allowed him to purge the powerful military of his critics. In 2014, he awarded himself the country’s presidency as he inished three terms as an AK Party deputy in Parliament, an internal limit set by the party which Mr. Erdogan himself had long publicly championed. And now the game to make him the executive president is entering the inals.

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hen the tail wags the dog, the dog risks losing control of it altogether. The national leadership of the BJP may or may not have been guided by the wishes of a vociferous section of its cadre base in nominating Hindutva irebrand Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. But in so doing it has ceded considerable power to a faction within its organisational structure that is both iercely autonomous and frequently deiant. After politically exploiting his divisive rhetoric, and allowing him to share State-level campaign space with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP would have found it diicult to refuse Mr. Adityanath a prominent role in post-election U.P. But to make him the Chief Minister is to risk the fringe taking hold of the centre. In doing so, the BJP has willy nilly shifted the discourse from development, which Mr. Modi often projected in the election campaign. Indeed, his choice is bound to signal in the public mind a frontstaging of issues such as cow protection, ‘love jihad’, and forced religious conversion, all of which assume a character of aggressive minority baiting. As the head of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, an organisation implicated in several cases of rioting, the new Chief Minister does not exactly inspire conidence about law and order, an area of major failing for the Samajwadi Party government that was voted out. Indeed, his assuming oice sends all the wrong signals to the law enforcement machinery of the State. When the BJP projected only Mr. Modi during the campaign and went into the election without a chief ministerial candidate, it was taking care not to upset the diferent streams within its support base. But the tact and sense that was evident at that stage seems to have been lost in the messy triumphalism after the victory. By opting for two Deputy Chief Ministers, Keshav Prasad Maurya, the party’s State president who is from the backward classes, and Dinesh Sharma, the Mayor of Lucknow who is a Brahmin, the BJP is perhaps hoping to not only get the caste representation right in the Cabinet but also rein in Mr. Adityanath. But going by experience, a person of Mr. Adityanath’s standing and persuasion is unlikely to let himself be outlanked in government. Mr. Modi, and his alter ego, the party president Amit Shah, may believe they will be able to make Mr. Adityanath behave more responsibly now that he is no longer in opposition but at the helm. But they could well be mistaken. If anything, it is Mr. Adityanath who has so far bent the party to his will by protecting the identity and independence of the HYV and setting his own agenda. Despite his past association with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Mr. Adityanath is not beholden to the Sangh Parivar for his popularity and clout in eastern U.P. As it turned out, it was he who rode the Modi wave to serve his personal ambition and push his pet projects. To make the Hindutva hardliner mend his ways is about as easy as straightening a dog’s tail.

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With Yogi Adityanath as U.P. Chief Minister, the BJP has front-staged the hardline fringe

themselves. They are the creations of the people’s own choice, their own voice as counted in numbers. They are the sum of the vox populi — enumerated. They are where they have reached by wholly licit procedures in the exercise of legitimate, constitutional, democratic choice. No one can question, let alone challenge, their democratic accomplishment. In this they are as twinned by the popular vote. They are also where they have reached, by the skilful, adroit managing of the processes of that same legitimate, constitutional and democratic choice to do something that is wholly counter-democratic – polarise the electorate. “Skilful?” an admirer of political bi-ceps might interject. “Is being skilful a crime?” Of course not. But not being criminal is not the same thing as being innocent. Adroitness is a skill, not a virtue. The creation of the bogey of the ‘Other’, an entity to be feared, hated, isolated, ostracised, intimidated, blocked from entering, perhaps hustled out, is a technique of emotional branding that is adroit; it is not clean. And so Mr. Trump and Mr. Adityanath are also twinned by the polarised vote.

A fading moderation who became loyal supporters of the AK Party in urban centres. The party also established a strong connect with the rural masses through its Islamist rhetoric. In a country where secularism was enforced by the military and political elite, the AKP’s positions broke with the establishment. The tension between the old Kemalist order, the guardian of Turkish secularism, and the neoIslamism of the AK Party has always been in the air during Mr. Erdogan’s reign. But unlike most dictators, he didn’t go for an immediate radical overhaul of the system. Instead, he worked largely from within his constitutional limits, though often trying to expand those limits. He did

His mask of moderation was of after the initial years in oice. Mr. Erdogan started publicly supporting the Islamism of the Muslim Brotherhood type after the Arab Spring protests in 2011 and had even altered his foreign policy to align Turkey in what he and many Brotherhood thinkers expected would be a new Islamist order in West Asia, and which never came. At home, his administration became increasingly repressive and his ambitions for more powers were hardly a secret. Mr. Erdogan and his supporters had started the debate on changing the Constitution in 2011, as they knew the rulebook remained the

biggest obstacle in their plans to build a new Turkey. But still Mr. Edrogan wanted an excuse to launch an all-out war against Turkish democracy. The failed coup of 2016 ofered him just that. He grabbed the opportunity and drove a “meversus-them” narrative, unleashing a purge not seen in Turkey’s recent history. Since then, over 1,30,000 government oicials, including security personnel and judges, have been arrested, suspended or dismissed on charges that they were part of the coup bid. Most media houses have been brought under the government’s direct or indirect control. Over 100 journalists are in prison. The military is demoralised and the opposition has disintegrated. It is in this context that Turkish citizens are voting in the April referendum. Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, once warned of Mr. Erdogan’s plans for executive presidency as a recipe “for a Sultanate without a throne”. The irony is that even Mr. Bahceli is now supporting the constitutional amendments to create that Sultanate — which will not only undermine the Turkish democracy but also set an example for the many other rising exclusivist nationalists elsewhere on how to topple the system from within. [email protected]

Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

choosing Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister, especially as he is accused in several criminal cases, known to issue provocative statements and trigger controversy. It appears that the BJP is succumbing to right-wing pressures at a time when Narendra Modi is emerging as an acceptable leader of all. Kshirasagara Balaji Rao, Hyderabad

away with the nontransparent and tiring methodology of paper ballots. When we are talking of Digital India, it is prudent to work on fool-proof automation and mechanisation of electoral processes. It is surprising that some politicians want to turn the clock back. We cannot revert to bullock carts just because they are accident free. Sivamani Vasudevan,

Back to paper? A techno-savvy, highly qualiied and a wellinformed politician among the handful in India, it is surprising that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is against the use of electronic voting machines and favours paper ballots instead. As a votary of probity in public life, he should realise that despite technical snags, EVMs have eiciently done

Chennai

India’s deadly roads India has lost a national racing champion in tragic circumstances (“Car racer Ashwin, wife killed in accident”, March 19). Many accidents have been caused due to speed bumps. Instead of saving lives, some are potential death traps. In many instances, speed bumps have no deined height or width and there

are no markings on most of them. Those which do, have something that look like white washed lines which fade away with time. At night, most are hardly visible. It is only when a celebrity meets with a tragic accident do people begin to think. Dayanand, Chennai

■ Road safety is a subject that needs consistent and round the clock attention. In this aspect, one needs to learn lessons from the West. Irrespective of the region or the terrain, almost all roads have consistent road safety markings and standards. There are constant visual reminders of the dangers of speeding and driving under the inluence of substances. There is also a healthy fear of highway patrols and the police force who are visible 24x7 and carry out their

work tirelessly. In India, one is sure that most drivers are unaware of road safety rules and have a very poor idea of what defensive driving is. Motor cars on Indian roads are also said to score very low in crash tests. This is a

worry as the number of vehicles seem to be far beyond the volume roads and highways can safely handle. Shweta Jaishankar, Alberta, Canada

more letters online: www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

corrections & clarifications: Editing error: In the report, “A hard Hindutva face of BJP” (March 19, 2017), the qualifying word allegedly was edited out from the sentence: “In 2007, members of the outit [Hindu Yuva Vahini] set aire the Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express after Mr. Adityanath was arrested in a case registered in Gorakhpur. Editing error: The strapline of a report, “Finding truth in the haystack of forwards” (Magazine, March 19, 2017) said, “veriication request jumped to half a million last December, when fake stories around demonetisation started to circulate.” It should have read, Website hits jumped to half a million… Mr. Swedesh Chatterjee’s designation is USIFC (U.S. – India Friendship Council) President and not USIBC (U.S. – India Business Council) President as mentioned in the second paragraph of a report, “U.S. lawmakers back green cards for STEM graduates (World, March 17, 2017).” It is the policy of The Hindu to correct signiicant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers’ Editor’s office can be contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday); Fax: +91-44-28552963; E-mail:[email protected]; Mail: Readers’ Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, India. All communication must carry the full postal address and telephone number. No personal visits. The Terms of Reference for the Readers’ Editor are on www.thehindu.com

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THE HINDU

OPED 9

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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Of deras, dynasties, and drugs

FROM THE READERS’ EDITOR

Rahul Verma and Pranav Gupta

During the campaign period, the 2017 Assembly election in Punjab was hailed as a harbinger of change. However, the March 11 verdict signals nothing more than an usual electoral turnover. Issues that have dominated politics in the State in the last few decades such as electoral influence of deras, the stranglehold of political dynasties, and the problem of drug trafficking will continue to shape political dynamics in future too. Why will Punjab politics continue with its heady cocktail of deras, dynasties, and drug cartels? The short answer is that these three elements are politically and economically interlinked. It is unlikely that any party would want to commit electoral harakiri by disturbing this apple cart.

Electoral significance of deras Deras are religious organisations centred on a spiritual leader or a guru who provides guidance to the followers. Most followers of deras come from marginalised sections of society. A study conducted by the Punjabi newspaper, Desh Sewak, in 2007 estimated that there were more than 9,000 deras in the State, though only a few such as Dera Radha Soami, Dera Sacha Sauda, Dera Nurmahal, Dera Nirankari, Dera Sachkhand Ballan and Dera Namdhari have a large following. While some deras maintain partisan preferences and commit their allegiance to a party, none of them do so explicitly. Support is usually communicated indirectly a few days before polling through religious sermons. In a pre-poll survey conducted by Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), close to one-fourth of the respondents (23%) said that they were followers of a specific dera. This perhaps explains why leaders from across the political spectrum approach deras for support before every election in Punjab. As the data show, among those who regularly visit a dera, 13% said that they would vote in accordance with instructions given by their deras, and 12% said that they may do so. In a close triangular contest, this alignment of dera followers with one party or the other could have a decisive impact on election outcomes. For example, Dera Sachkhand Ballan, with a huge following among the Ravidassia community, supported the Bahujan Samaj Party in the 2012 Assembly election, which benefited the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya

The heckler’s veto The apex court must issue guidelines to the lower courts to refrain from being an echo chamber for the heckler’s veto vitiated, it undermines the redeeming features of democracy. The lower courts in India, barring some notable exceptions, in contravention to the legal position taken by the apex court have repeatedly endorsed the heckler’s veto. Is there a procedure that enables all the lower court judges to be familiar with some of the defining pronouncements of the higher courts?

A.S. Panneerselvan The plight of artist M.F. Husain and of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, the forced exile from writing for Perumal Murugan, and the pulping of the earlier biography of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa, written by Vaasanthi are some of the cases where the threat to freedom of expression came from powerful sections who could use their proximity to administrative power and the lacunae in our judicial systems with a sense of entitlement and impunity.

Harbinger of change? Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh has announced that his government’s irst priority would be to deal with the problem of drug abuse. The Punjab CM and Congress leader Asha Kumari in Chandigarh. AKHILESH KUMAR *

Janata Party combine by cutting into the traditional Congress vote. This was the first dera visited by Arvind Kejriwal when he started campaigning in the State. Radha Soami Satsang, popularly known as Dera Beas, has its followers spread all over the Doaba and Majha regions. Like other deras, it has never openly supported any particular party though it did show a tilt towards the Congress. In the 2012 election, however, the dera shifted its allegiance to the SAD. This was largely attributed to the marriage of Bikram Singh Majithia, a Cabinet Minister and brother-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, to the daughter of the former chief of the dera.

Intricate network of dynasties This sort of intricate network of relationship between deras and politicians has sustained the rule of a few families in Punjab politics. According to some estimates, Punjab has one of the highest proportions of MLAs with dynastic links. Six families — the Badals of Muktsar, the Patiala royal family, the Majithias of Amritsar, the Kairons of Tarn Taran, the Brars of Sarai Naga, and the Manns of Sangrur — have dominated the State political landscape for more than three decades. These families are linked to each other through marriage. Captain Amarinder Singh and Simranjit Singh Mann are married to sisters Preneet Kaur and Geetinder Kaur, H.S. Brar with Pratap Singh Kairon’s niece, while Kairon’s grandson Adesh Pratap is married to Parkash Singh Badal’s daughter. Harsimrat Kaur, daughter of Satyajit Singh Majithia, who was the deputy Defence Minister during Jawaharlal

Nehru’s regime, is married to Sukhbir Badal. There are new political families rising on the political scene whose members have been elected from various parties. For example, the Ludhiana-based Bain brothers, who had aligned with the Aam Aadmi Party this time, won their respective seats second time in a row by a significant margin.

Financing elections Why do we see many political families in Punjab? Many social activists have said that the practice of widespread abuse of drugs in the State has been controlled and nurtured by the drug cartels which have close ties with some of these political dynasties. The election campaigns of many politicians have been financed by these cartels. There are also allegations that this network has close ties with certain deras and this facilitates smooth operation of this business across the State. The data suggest that the drug abuse problem in Punjab is highest in India. Voters also view this as a serious problem. In an open-ended question on what is the most important issue that would affect their voting decision, approximately one in every six voters mentioned problems related to abuse of drugs. Data suggests that a large proportion of respondents have held the Badals and their government responsible for this menace, while close to one-third held others — smugglers, Pakistan and the Inter-Services Intelligence, the youth, and politicians in general — as responsible. Despite a sustained campaign by the AAP on this issue, the party

could not reap the benefits. More voters in Punjab thought the AAP would be a mere spoiler (47%) rather than a serious contender for the ruling party in the State (32%). It remains to be seen how effective an opposition the AAP emerges in Punjab. While the Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, has announced that the first priority of his government would be to deal with the problem of drug abuse, we are not holding our breath. Punjab politics is likely to continue with its usual mix of deras, dynasties, and drugs. Politicians may continue to make the right noises to be in the news cycle, but there was nothing in the campaigns of the SAD-BJP combine, or of the Congress, or of the AAP that promised radical change or an arrival of a new dawn. Rahul Verma and Pranav Gupta are associated with Lokniti-CSDS, New Delhi

Upholding freedom of expression There are a number of Supreme Court judgments that have interpreted Article 19 of our Constitution, including the section dealing with ‘reasonable restrictions’, in a manner that upholds the principles of freedom of expression. Justice Krishna Iyer questioned in the Periyar Ramayana case the overzealousness of State governments: “The possible invocation of powers under Section 99A of the Code of Criminal Procedure by various state governments on several occasions induces us to enter a caveat. Basic unity amidst diversity notwithstanding, India is a land of cultural contrarieties, coexistence of many religions and anti-religions, rationalism and bigotry, primitive cults and materialist doctrines. The compulsions of history and geography and the assault of modern science on retreating forces of medieval ways — a mosaic like tapestry of lovely and un-lovely strands — have made large and liberal tolerance of mutual criticism. Even though expressed in intemperate diction, a necessity of life. Governments, we are confident, will not act in hubris, but will weigh these hard facts of our society while putting into operation the harsher directives for forfeiture.” Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, nearly a decade before his elevation as a Supreme Court judge, delivered in the M.F. Husain case a very sobering judgment: “A liberal tolerance of a different point of view causes no damage. It means only a greater self-restraint. Diversity in expression of views whether in writings, paintings or visual media encourages debate. A debate should never be shut out. ‘I am right’ does not necessarily imply ‘You are wrong’. Our culture breeds tolerance — both in thought and in actions.” The relationship between a free press and a vibrant democracy has been studied in detail. The broad consensus is that when the enabling environment for free speech gets

Granting an ex parte injunction The heckler’s veto, according to legal scholars, is a process by which socially powerful groups can shut down critical or inconvenient speech by threatening public disorder or disturbance. One of the ways in which the lower courts encourage the heckler’s veto is by granting an ex parte injunction against publication or broadcast of news. For instance, there are about 45 cases of ex parte injunctions against news media organisations in Karnataka alone. Though these are called interim injunctions, in reality they do become a prior restraint, which is not permissible under the Supreme Court judgment in the R. Rajagopal v. State of Tamil Nadu (1994) case. Early this year, the first bench led by the Chief Justice of India, J.S. Khehar, made it clear that prebroadcast or pre-publication censorship is not the business of the court and that all

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Amarinder Singh will have to make haste if he wants to upset this apple cart in Punjab

grievances against objectionable content will be dealt with in accordance with the law of the land after its publication. I would like to share the operative part of a recent injunction to bring out the sweeping nature of this exercise that denies people vital, credible information. One of the courts in Karnataka, in a hold-all judgment against 27 news media organisations, both print and television, said: “Hence defendants 2 to 28 are hereby restrained by order of temporary injunction from telecasting or publishing any defamatory and malicious visuals or report in their news channels/newspapers about any subsidiaries run by Plaintiff including Plaintiff pertaining to the project namely _____ in any manner till next date of hearing”. The time has come for the Supreme Court to issue some guidelines to the lower courts to refrain from being an echo chamber for the heckler’s veto. [email protected]

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Talent, not tokenism

FIFTY YEARS AGO MARCH 20, 1967

Stress on internal tourism

Despite an abundance of artists in the performing arts space in India, celebrities occupy that slot at international events

Dr. Karan Singh, the new Minister for tourism and Civil Aviation, to-day [March 19] hinted at a shift in Government’s tourism policy where the present overemphasis on foreign tourists would give way to development of internal tourism “to build a new image of India” within the country itself. Inaugurating the International Tourist Week in the capital [New Delhi], Dr. Karan Singh said promotion of internal tourism should go hand in hand with provision of tourist facilities for foreigners. Pointing out the inadequate attention being paid to internal tourism, he said that the country’s image among its own people would ultimately reflect its image abroad. He pleaded for special facilities being given to workers and students to tour the country at a cost within their means in order to “break down the prejudices which may exist within our mind.”

KUNAL RAY

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What have we reduced International Women’s Day to? It’s nothing short of a jamboree. Events aplenty are organised around March 8 to demonstrate our admiration for ‘womanhood’, which clearly most of us don’t seem to understand. Otherwise, how on earth could anybody choose to screen Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill as the most beitting representation, like a performance space in my city did? Art exhibitions are the easiest to organise. Invite seven women artists, hang their paintings on the wall, and bingo! You have a show! So what if the art on display is divergent to the extent of endangering dialogue amongst/with the paintings on display?

An obsession with celebrities To add to this, my social media feed went berserk with the news of director, author and now dancer Aishwaryaa R. Dhanush being invited to perform a Bharatanatyam recital at the United Nations on March 8 to celebrate womanhood. And what did she do to merit this distinction? Just a casual conversation with the Permanent Representative of India at the UN. She is reported to have said that the event had “gotten her back to serious dancing.” How lovely! That our Permanent Representatives at the UN are great culture experts who never miss an opportunity to lecture about India’s great art and heritage is perhaps a trite cliché, and rightly so. While this doesn’t surprise me any more, I ind our ever-increasing obsession with celebritydom sickening. It is an endorsement of mediocrity. The performing arts space in our country has always been a tightly contested one with a plethora of dancers, musicians, painters vying for acclaim and critical attention. There is no visible dearth of dance talent. Yet we couldn’t ind a better it than Aishwaryaa? India has fresh talent in abundance and their cutting-edge work, often a seamless conluence of tradition with modernity, is most inspiring. Think of Navtej Johar’s introspective dance idiom, for instance. Then there are the masters with an entire lifetime of teaching, performing and propagating a dance form and its aesthetics even in comparatively small cities. While celebrities invariably linked with cinema are projected as national ambassadors, the truly worthy are ignored. In August 2016, A.R. Rahman was invited to perform at the UN to mark India’s 70th Independence Day to pay homage to M.S. Subbulakshmi. I am an admirer of Rahman’s ilm music, but what explains his selection for the UN performance? Was it so diicult to ind a Carnatic musician? The concert was irst ofered to Anoushka Shankar, who politely declined, citing her inability to do justice to the scope of the event. Does our zeitgeist for nationalism include the classical performing arts at all or is it just empty sloganeering? At least let’s not reduce the arts to mere tokenism. Kunal Ray teaches contemporary literature at Flame University, Pune, and occasionally writes on art and culture.

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CONCEPTUAL

SHELF HELP

Carpe diem/ Phraseology

Not warring, just working

Carpe diem, the phrase from the poet Horace (65 BC-8 BC), is usually translated from Latin as ‘seize the day’. However, ‘carpe’ translates literally as ‘pluck’, so a better version would be to ‘pluck the day when it is ripe’. The full phrase carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero means ‘pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the future’. The line, ‘Gather ye rosebuds while ye may’, from Robert Herrick, reflects the spirit. It was Lord Byron’s use of the phrase, in his 1817 work Letters, published in 1830 by Thomas Moore, which set off its integration into English.

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Will India Script an Uninterrupted Growth Story? [Video and Full Text] By P. Chidambaram http://bit.ly/2nuJWuc

A guide to the U.S. media’s relationship with the government Sudipta Datta

U.S. President Donald Trump may have declared “a running war” with the media, but he is not the first hostile President in the White House. A book that records a particularly difficult time the American media had with the presidency is Katharine Graham’s Personal History (1997), which won the Pulitzer prize in 1998. While writing of her extraordinary life as daughter, mother, wife, and owner of the venerable The Washington Post, Graham narrates her most dramatic moments, especially overseeing coverage of the Watergate scandal and the Pentagon Papers. The great names of The Washington Post — executive editor Ben Bradlee and reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein — along with a stellar cast of characters feature in the book. In 1971, The New York Times and Post published the Pentagon Papers, a

secret government history of the Vietnam war and how the U.S. lied about the nature of its involvement. The newspapers had to fight it out with the government in the Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of publication. The next year, Graham backed Woodward and Bernstein’s investigation of the Watergate scandal, against the advice of her lawyers, but not before many threats came her way. As Woodward and Bernstein connected the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex with the Committee to Re-elect the President (Nixon was seeking his second term in office) and found out that there was a “secret fund at CRP controlled by five people, one of whom was then attorney-general John Mitchell”, pressure mounted on her. There’s another interesting tale she narrates of the Watergate days. As she

was getting increasingly anxious about the coverage, she decided to meet the reporters. “Woodward told me he had told no one the name of his secret source... dubbed Deep Throat. ‘Tell me,’ I said quickly, and then, as he froze, I laughed... and said that I was only kidding.” Deep Throat’s identity was made public in 2005 by the man himself, Mark Felt, No.2 in the FBI when Nixon was president. Read together with Ben Bradlee’s A Good Life: Newspapering and other Adventures (1995) and All the President’s Men (1974) by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, Personal History becomes both a personal memoir and history of how the media conducted itself when the White House was not exactly a friend. Graham’s Post did what the present editor of the publication, Martin Baron, likes to say: “We are not at war with the administration, we are at work.”

The Russian revolution: the new regime The public is making generous donations to the common weal (Petrograd, March 18). A group of Banks have given M. Kerensky a million roubles for political purposes. Prayers for the Tsar and the Imperial family have been replaced in the Church services by prayers for Great Russia and her rulers. Hundreds of political prisoners have been released in Moscow. Seventeen hundred criminals also escaped, but most were rearrested. The Kieff Police unanimously supported the new Government. In some provincial towns the Abdication Manifesto was read from the stages of theatres and was received with tremendous enthusiasm.

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10 NEWS

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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Development is my priority: U.P. CM The party has kept caste calculations, regional balance and organisation in mind while forming the cabinet. While Adityanath is a Thakur, Mr. Maurya belongs to the Maurya Other Backward Class, while Mr. Sharma is a Brahmin. A similar mix in caste distribution is evident in the selection of the rest of the ministers. Upper castes dominated the Cabinet berths, getting 15 out of the 22 posts. Of these five are Brahmins, four Kshatriyas, two Baniyas, one Bhumihar, two Punjabis and one Jat. Five OBCs — one each from the Maurya, Lodh, Kurmi, Chauhan and Rajbhar communities — and two Dalits have been included. Of the nine MoS with independent charge, six are from upper castes — three Kshatriyas and one each from Brahmin, Jat and Baniya castes — while the other three are from backward classes — one each from the Kurmi, Saini and Rajbhar communities. In the Minister of State category, there are three Dalits, four upper castes — two Brahmins and one each from Kshatriya and

Baniya castes — and four from backward classes — one each from Lodh, Nishad, Kurmi and Yadav communities. A Muslim, Mohsin Raza, and a Sikh, Baldev Aulakh, MLA from Bilaspur, also find their names on the list. In total, the first council of ministers included 27 upper castes, 13 from backward classes and five Dalits. The council of ministers has a mix of experience and youth, with also a fair share of leaders who moved to the BJP just before the elections or in the recent past. Among the Cabinet ministers are former BJP U.P. president and minister Surya Pratap Shahi; eight-time MLA from Shahjahanpur, Suresh Khanna; former minister and veteran from Kanpur, Satish Mahana; Lodh leader and three-time MLA from Aonla, Dharampal Singh; S.P.S Baghel, former BJP backward morcha head; former member of the Indian cricket team, Chetan Chauhan; BJP national spokespersons and Srikanth Sharma and Siddharth Nath Singh, who won from Mathura and Allahabad West respectively.

U.P. choice breaks the mould in Modi’s BJP Post-2014, party Chief Ministers have kept a low proile, but Yogi Adityanath is an assertive leader in his own right pectations within the core Hindutva constituency. Even as he towers over it, his Council of Ministers does mark an outreach towards both the upper castes — the party’s core base — and the Other Backward Classes. “Our Prime Minister believes in Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas [With all, development for all] and the U.P. Council of Ministers reflects this social outreach and balance. It has ensured wide social representation,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told The Hindu.

Vikas Pathak New Delhi

The elevation of Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh marks a new pattern in the dynamics of leadership within the BJP, political observers say. The rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed a multi-leader BIP into a party looking upon only one strong leader, but the rise of Adityanath may signal a subtle shift in this pattern, an Allahabad-based academic, Badri Narayan, says. “Yogi Adityanath is not like the BJP Chief Ministers of Jharkhand or Haryana,” Dr. Narayan told The Hindu. “He is visible, charismatic and assertive. This offers the leadership of the BJP a figure that is likely to dominate the State and have a potential national impact.”

Shoulder to shoulder: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya in Lucknow after the swearing-in on Sunday. RAJEEV BHATT

Change in contours He, however, said that this did not necessarily mean that Adityanath would emerge as a challenger to the

national leadership. It certainly meant a change in the contours of party leadership, he said. While the Chief Ministers

*

of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand are low-profile figures not belonging to dominant communities in the State, Adityanath is not just the ma-

hant (head priest) of the famous Gorakhnath temple but also a Thakur. The Thakur caste is one of the most influential in the

State, and Adityanath is known to be someone who does not mince words. However, his powerful personality means raised ex-

Proud Panchur jives to beats of dhol In his village in the Garhwal Hills, Adityanath is associated with education and progress

Jat agitation called of after marathon talks Mr. Khattar told a press conference that the process to include the community in the Central list of OBC category would be initiated soon after the chairman and the other members of the National Commission for Backward Classes were appointed. He also agreed to initiate the process to include the Jats quota law in the ninth schedule of the Constitution after the Punjab and Haryana High Court case pertaining to their reservation in the State was settled. “We have also decided to review the cases registered against the members of the community during the Jat reservation agitation since 2010. Besides, the next of kin of those killed and those handicapped during the violence last year would be given regular government jobs and ex gratia would be disbursed to the injured at

the earliest,” said Mr. Khattar. The Chief Minister also assured Jat leaders that the role of officials during the violence would be investigated and action initiated against the guilty. Mr. Chaudhary said the Union government would act as per law to grant reservation to the community so that it stood legal scrutiny. Meanwhile Jat protesters prevented from marching to Delhi set fire to two police buses during the clash that took place in Dhani Gopal village on the Sirsa-HisarDelhi national highway. Fatehabad’s SP O.P. Narwal, who sustained minor injury on his hand, said 18 police personnel, including two women, were injured in the incident. “A woman ASI and a woman constable were among the injured police personnel,” he said.

Adityanath’s stature has risen in the past years, his typical Garhwali family here lives a life of simplicity. The family members say Adityanath’s image as a Hindu hardliner is in stark contrast to the personality he had when he lived in the village as a young man. His father, Anand Singh Bisht, 85, attributed his present image to the time he spent with Mahant Avaidyanath.

Kavita Upadhyay Panchur (Uttarakhand)

In the picturesque Garhwal Hills, 95 kilometres from Dehradun, a short walk from the nearest motorable road leads to Panchur, a sleepy village from where hails the new Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Ajay Singh Bisht, popularly known as Yogi Adityanath. Throughout Sunday, Adityanath’s teary-eyed mother, proud father and brothers spent most of the time receiving hundreds of friends and relatives visiting to congratulate the family. As crowds shouted Har har Yogi, ghar ghar Yogi, drummers played the dhol. The village in Pauri district of Uttarakhand came alive as people celebrated with fervour. For Adityanath’s family, it was a moment “beyond imagination”. “We have not been able

Proud parents: Yogi Adityanath’s father, Anand Singh Bisht, and his mother, Savitri Devi, at Panchur in Pauri district of Uttarakhand on Sunday. VIRENDER SINGH NEGI *

to congratulate Mahantji yet... We have been trying to call him, but his phone is switched off,” Adityanath’s younger brother Mahendra Bisht said on Sunday evening. In 1994, 22-year-old Ajay became Yogi Adityanath when Mahant Avaidyanath,

a native of Kandi village, three kilometres from Panchur, and the then head of the powerful Gorakhnath Peeth in Gorakhpur, chose him as his successor. From then on, for his family and relatives too, Ajay became Mahantji. However, even as

Contribution as MP For the villagers, however, Adityanath is synonymous with “progress”. “Being a postgraduate in Mathematics, he believes that education is the building block towards progress… When he first became an MP in 1998, he got a degree college built in the village,” Surendra Singh Rawat from the village, said. Adityanath’s recent visit

Maurya, Dinesh and the Sangh U.P.’s Deputy CMs are both long-time workers of the RSS and its ailiates

Chemical used in IED at rail track identiied Hoda met Sheik once in Malaysia, multiple times in Dubai and on two occasions in Pakistan. Sheikh had promised him huge money. Hoda has told interrogators that he was not sure whether Sheikh was working for the ISI. While Hoda admitted to know about the conspiracy to plant explosives at Ghorasan and another one at Nakardehi in Bihar (a low intensity explosion which did not inflict any damage), he has told an NIA team that he was unaware of any such plan to target railway tracks near Kanpur on November

20, 2016 where more than 140 people were killed in a train derailment and at Kuneru in Andhra Pradesh where 40 people were killed in another derailment in January this year. One of the three accused arrested by the Bihar police in January had said that they had planted the bomb at Ghorasan at ISI’s instance and also at Kanpur, prompting the Home Ministry to transfer the probe to NIA, after Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu shot off a letter to Home Minister Rajnath Singh alleging sabotage in at least six train accidents.

Omar Rashid LUCKNOW

Though their political journeys could not have been more different, what connects the two new Deputy Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh is their deep association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). If Dinesh Sharma was born into a family with strong connections to the Sangh, Keshav Prasad Maurya started working with the RSS and its affiliates — the Vishwa Hindu ParishadBajrang Dal — from an early age.

Grassroots worker Mr. Maurya was active in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and various gauraksha campaigns in the State. He

Keshav Prasad Maurya

Dinesh Sharma

has held various RSS posts such as nagar karyawah. Mr. Maurya has been the regional (Kashi) coordinator of the Backward Class cell of the BJP and the Kisan Morcha. He won the prestigious Phulpur seat in Allahabad in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Mr. Sharma, born on Janu-

ary 12, 1964, is a two-time Mayor of Lucknow. His father Kedarnath Sharma was close to Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya, who was a regular visitor to their home in Aishbagh. The Ramleela maidan in Aishbag was where Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Dasara last year, in a

Naga blockade in Manipur lifted at last Centre, State, UNC reach settlement; no rollback of decision to form seven new districts Iboyaima Laithangbam Vijaita Singh

who signed the tripartite agreement on behalf of the Centre. Asked if the newly elected BJP government in the State would roll back the decision of creating seven new districts, the official said: “At the moment there is nothing like a rollback; there are many stakeholders.”

Imphal/New Delhi

The four-month economic blockade in Manipur, imposed by the United Naga Council (UNC), was lifted on Sunday midnight following the talks it had with the Union and the State governments. The UNC had imposed the blockade in protest against the creation of seven new districts by the then Congress-led government “as it was in contravention to Greater Nagalim” envisaged by the group. “Tripartite talks succeeded in addressing the issues and the UNC has agreed to lift the economic blockade. The government of Manipur took note of the grievances of the UNC, including that of them not being conCM YK

Hard hit: Hundreds of people waiting outside a petrol pump in Manipur as the blockade cut of supplies. RITU RAJ KONWAR *

sulted while creating the new districts. The UNC has to now frame what exactly their point of view is. Initially they had asked for nonbifurcation of Senapati and Jiribam districts. They will

have to clear their stand about the entire seven districts. Manipur government will consider whatever changes they want,” said Satyendra Garg, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry,

To release activists “The government of Manipur will unconditionally release the arrested UNC leaders and all the cases related to economic blockade against the Naga tribes leaders and students leaders will be closed. Next tripartite talks will be held within a month at the political level,” a statement issued by the three parties said. The statement was signed

by Mr. Garg, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Manipur, J. Suresh Babu, UNC general secretary S. Milan and All Naga Students Association president Seth Shatsang. On February 3, the first round of the tripartite talks was held in Delhi, and the Centre had then said “substantial progress” was made but the talks failed later on February 7 when they were held in Senapati district in Manipur. The UNC was represented by its president Gaidon Kamei and his publicity secretary Shankhen Stephen, who were brought from an Imphal jail to Delhi to attend the talks at North Block. Both Mr. Kamei and Mr. Stephen were arrested last November.

break from convention. Back then, Mr. Sharma was mentioned as a Chief Minister hopeful, though he always denied he had such ambitions, saying he was only a humble karyakarta (worker) of the party. Mr. Sharma enjoys a clean image and is popular across communities. He is also a life-time member of the World Association for Vedic Studies. His RSS background and good equations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah have seen him rise quickly up the BJP ladder. After Mr. Modi stormed to power at the Centre, Mr. Sharma was promoted as party vice-president and appointed in charge of party affairs in Gujarat.

VHP hopes Ram temple will be built Press Trust of India New Delhi

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday congratulated Yogi Adityanath on becoming the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and said it hoped that its longstanding demand for a Ram temple in Ayodhya would be fulfilled soon. VHP leader Pravin Togadia, who also congratulated Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma for becoming deputy CMs, said U.P. would become an “uttam” (best) State under the new leadership. “We hope and have full faith that under the new leadership, Bhagwan Ram will very soon get a grand temple at Ayodhya, and all promises to Hindus, would be fulfilled soon.”

to the house was in February. His sister-in-law Asha Devi said: “Whenever Mahantji comes home, his father sits with him and tells him to keep calm. His father tells him to keep certain things in his heart and not be too vocal about everything he feels.” Adityanath has been at the centre of several controversies. His father said he was “aware of the flak Mahantji draws”. “I do try to tell Adityanath to keep a check on his speeches, but he follows his own mind,” he said. “I hope that he follows the BJP’s agenda of Sabka saath, sabka vikas. This is also my advice to him that he should follow the BJP’s agenda, which is inclusive of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, the rich and the poor.”

Outreach to upper castes A look at the names suggests a clear outreach to upper castes and non-Yadav OBCs, who supported the BJP in good measure. Of the two deputies of Adityanath, Dinesh Sharma is a Brahmin and Keshav Maurya an OBC. Even among the Ministers, there is a mix of these castes. The names, however, suggest just one Yadav and one Muslim in the mix.

Give income details, CM tells Ministers Press Trust of India Lucknow

Sending a strong message against corruption on day one, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday asked all his ministers to provide details of their income, moveable and immoveable assets, within 15 days. He gave these directions to his ministers at the introductory meeting soon after assuming office, Cabinet Minister Srikant Sharma said. He added that the Chief Minister also emphasised on “coordination” between government and the BJP organisation. It was also decided to train new legislators and devise ways as to how they can remain connected with the electorate. On portfolios, Mr. Sharma said no decision has been taken yet.

Courts must resolve Ayodhya issue: Paswan Lauds PM for not raising it at hustings Amarnath Tewary Patna

Union Minister and head of NDA partner Lok Jan Shakti Party Ram Vilas Paswan on Sunday said the Ayodhya issue must be resolved through a court verdict. Addressing presspersons here on the BJP’s spectacular victory in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Paswan said: “The Ayodhya issue must be resolved through a court verdict…even Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not speak on contentious issues like Ram Temple at Ayodhya, scrapping of Article 370 …he, instead, sought votes in the name of development and eradication of corruption.” He said the LJP had not contested the U.P. elections despite having a support base “as it could have divided votes and benefited the Opposition parties”. Mr. Paswan gave full credit to Mr. Modi for leading the BJP’s campaign. “The entire opposition has been swept away under Modi Tsunami, particularly in Uttar Pradesh,” he said. When asked about JD(U) projections of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a to counter to Mr. Modi in the 2019 general elections, Mr.

Ram Vilas Paswan Paswan said, “Nitish Kumar will be swept away…PM Modi is hugely popular among the masses.” The Lok Janshakti Party chief further expressed satisfaction over his party's performance in the Manipur Assembly poll where it won one seat and was a part of the BJP-led coalition government. Mr. Paswan’s son and MP from Jamui, Chirag Paswan, who was also present, hinted at mid-term polls in Bihar citing differences between alliance partners RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar. “There are reports of sharp differences between Lalu and Nitish... in such a situation, midterm polls in Bihar cannot be ruled out,” said Chirag Paswan.

A ND-ND

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THE HINDU

NEWS 11

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

Sui clerics to return today Believed to have been in interior Sindh, they tell Sushma that they are safe the custody of Pakistan’s intelligence agency over their alleged links with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The clerics were offloaded from a Karachi-bound Shaheen Airlines flight on March 14 at the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, the officials said.

Press Trust of India New Delhi

Army chief to visit Nepal for defence cooperation KATHMANDU

Army chief General Bipin Rawat will arrive here on an official visit to Nepal from March 28 to 31. He is scheduled to meet the country’s top leadership and hold talks on improving defence cooperation. He will also meet President Bidya Devi Bhandari. PTI

Aadhaar devices to get new authentication keys NEW DELHI

Devices using Aadhaar authentication will have to adhere to new encryption standards from June 1, adding another security layer to the hardware. “We have asked manufacturers and vendors to go for STQC certification as per the new standards,” Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of the Unique Identity Authority of India, said. PTI

Indian panel in Pak. for Indus Commission meet

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday spoke to one of the two clerics of Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi, who were traced after going missing in Pakistan. “I just spoke to Syed Nazim Ali Nizami in Karachi. He told me that they are safe and will be back in Delhi tomorrow [on Monday],” she said in a tweet. Pakistan had on Saturday conveyed to India that the two missing clerics had been “traced”, and they had reached Karachi. Syed Asif Nizami, the head priest (Sajjadanashin) of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah, and his nephew, Nazim Nizami, had gone to Pakistan on March 8 and were to return to India on March 20.

Sigh of relief: Syed Sajid Nizami, a relative of the Sui priests, in New Delhi. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA *

The main purpose of the visit of the 80-year-old Asif to Pakistan was to see his sister in Karachi. On Saturday, Ms. Swaraj spoke to Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs, regarding the case.

According to Pakistani media reports, both clerics had been in “interior Sindh where there was no communication network”, and thus could not tell their relatives about their whereabouts. Earlier, Pakistani officials said the two clerics were in

Visited followers An Associated Press report from Karachi quoted a family member of the two in the city as saying that they had returned safely after travelling in a remote area with no cellular service. Waziruddin Nizami said on Sunday that they returned to Karachi after visiting followers in rural areas of Sindh. He had filed a missing person report with the police after family members lost contact with the pair.

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Ready for battle

LAHORE/NEW DELHI

A 10-member Indian delegation arrived here on Sunday to take part in the two-day meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) beginning on Monday in Islamabad.The delegation, which is led by India’s Indus Water Commissioner P. K. Saxena, comprises of MEA officials and technical experts. PTI

Cabinet likely to take up supporting GST Bills NEW DELHI

The Cabinet is likely to take up for approval the supporting GST Bills on Monday, which will then be introduced in Parliament to meet the July 1 target date for its rollout. A set of four supporting laws — the Compensation Law, the Central-GST , Integrated-GST and Union Territory-GST— are likely to together go to the Cabinet for approval. PTI

United front: National Conference and Congress leaders after a strategy session in Srinagar on Sunday for the Lok Sabha byelections. Farooq Abdullah is the NC candidate from Srinagar and G.A. Mir the Congress candidate from Anantnag NISSAR AHMAD *

‘Legal services bodies ensure justice for all’

123 Tejas jets to join IAF by 2024

Pakistan violates ceaseire Press Trust of India Jammu

HAL working on Mk-1A coniguration Dinakar Peri NEW DELHI

If the present development and capacity enhancement plans go as scheduled, the Indian Air Force will have 123 Tejas jets, indigenously made light combat aircraft, on its fleet by 2024-25. To enable this, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is in the process of setting up a new assembly line for the jets and is involving the private sector in a big way, T. Suvarna Raju, Chief Managing Director of the public sector aerospace major, said in a conversation with The Hindu. The IAF has placed orders for 40 jets in two batches of which the first 20 are in the initial operational configuration (IOC) and the remaining 20 in the final operational configuration (FOC). Last July, the IAF operationalised the first Tejas squadron — 45 Flying Daggers — with three aircraft. Two more aircraft will join the squadron shortly.

Mk-1A configuration Last November, the Defence Acquisition Council gave initial clearance for 83 aircraft in the Mk-1A configuration with specific improvements sought by the IAF. Mr. Raju said that some 45 improvements had been made for the configuration, and the HAL had already floated a tender for the advanced electronically scanned array radar and the self-protection jammer. On the timeline for the development of the Mk-1A, Mr. Raju said the tender would be opened by Marchend after which the technical evaluation and commercial negotiations would be held. “We will be able to prove it on the 1A by 2018 and start

LCAs will replace the MiG ighters which are being phased out. FILE PHOTO *

producing by 2019,” he said. Apart from the development, the low production rate of eight aircraft a year is delaying the induction of Tejas into the IAF. The government recently gave sanction for setting up another assembly line to increase the production rate to 16 a year. “The IAF will get Mk-1A in 2019; by that time, our capacity will also go up to 16 aircraft a year,” Mr. Raju said. To increase production, the HAL has outsourced major parts of the jet. “We are trying to be an integrator rather than a manufacturer,” he said. The IAF is in urgent need of new fighters and the LCAs will replace the MiG fighters which are being phased out. The IAF is scheduled to phase out all 11 squadrons of MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighters by 2024 on completion of their technical life. On the issue of spares and supports which has been an area of constant concern for the services, Mr. Raju said the HAL had now signed long-term supply contracts with their vendors, and said the availability of all platforms manufactured by the HAL had now gone “above 65%”.

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice on Sunday along the Line of Control, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army. “There was unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army in the Bhimbher Gali and Balakote sectors [in Jammu and Kashmir] from 6 a.m. to 6.45 a.m. using 2-inch mortars and automatic weapons,” a Defence spokesman said. Army troops gave a befitting reply, the spokesman said. This was the fifth ceasefire violation in the Poonch-Rajouri belt in the past 11 days. An Army jawan was killed on March 9 when Pakistani soldiers initiated indiscriminate and unprovoked firing.

Pakistani man sent back to jail Press Trust of India Jammu

A Pakistani national, awaiting deportation after completing a jail term for illegally crossing the border, has been slapped with Public Safety Act provisions and sent to the Kotbalwal jail in the district, the police said on Sunday. The Jammu and Kashmir Home Department issued a warrant under the Public Safety Act (PSA) against Khalid Parvez, alias Junaid, and it was executed by the Samba police, a police official said. Khalid has been lodged in the Central Jail, he said, adding that the detenue was awaiting deportation to Pakistan after completing his sentence.

Pyarimohan Mohapatra passes away Press Trust of India

Justice Gogoi calls for debate on amendments to statutes Legal Correspondent New Delhi

Legal services authorities are harbingers of justice for all, Supreme Court judge, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said at the 15th All India Meet of States’ Legal Services Authorities on Sunday. Justice Gogoi said there should be a debate on amendments to statutes to ensure access to justice through legal services authorities. He said the Supreme Court Legal Services Authority was not short of funds and needed to be proactive with the best legal talents within its fold. The judge was speaking at the meet’s valedictory function. On Saturday, Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar had said

Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar at the 15th All India Meet of States’ Legal Services Authorities in New Delhi. PTI *

that while the legal machinery worked overtime for giving terrorists and hardcore criminals access to justice there was hardly a mechanism to reach out to their victims. In his inaugural address, Chief Justice Khehar said he often wondered what befell

the victims of rape, sexual assault and acid attacks, many of whom were bread winners for their family. “I wish to make an appeal to you today as a patron of the organisation. Let us reach out to the victims. Make 2017 a year of the victims,” he added.

Bhubaneswar

Former Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra passed away on Sunday night at a hospital in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. He was 77. Regarded as the chief strategist and mentor of Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, the former IAS officer of 1963 batch played a key role in deciding the shape and contours of the Biju Janata Dal after the regional party was formed in 1997.Mr Mohapatra was the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Biju Patnaik. He got himself actively involved in the BJD affairs before the 2000 Assembly elections and continued to play a key role in consolidation of Naveen Patnaik as the undisputed leader of the party.

Join forces to ight BJP: Pawar Hints at tie-up with Cong., main Opposition in Gujarat, to avoid division of votes government faces a strong anti-incumbency sentiment and also major communities like the Patidars are unhappy with the ruling party. Before his rally, Mr. Pawar held a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Shankersinh Vaghela, who termed it a “courtesy meeting.” “The Congress and NCP were friends and that friendship will continue in the future also,” Mr. Vaghela said.

Special Correspondent Ahmedabad

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday hinted at an alliance with the Congress ahead of the Assembly polls in Gujarat, and stressed that Opposition unity was a must to ensure the BJP’s defeat regionally and nationally. “We have had an alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra and at the Centre in UPA,” said Mr. Pawar, who was in Ahmedabad to address a party rally. “All parties should come together to fight the BJP.” In Gujarat, the NCP has two MLAs in the 182-member Assembly and there is a possibility of it joining hands with the main Opposition party, the Congress, to prevent division of votes. Slamming the State BJP government, Mr. Pawar said the BJP’s more than 15-year CM YK

Mission Gujarat: NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel at the inauguration of party's new oice in Ahmedabad. PTI *

rule has resulted in neglect of the agriculture sector and small industries. “Farmers are distressed and so are small and me-

dium enterprises, which were once the backbone of Gujarat’s industrial base,” he said. According to him, the BJP

A third force Lately, the NCP has become active in the State, where Assembly polls are due later this year. Before Mr. Pawar’s rally, NCP leader Praful Patel had visited the State several times. On Friday, he told mediapersons in Gandhinagar that the NCP was emerging as a “strong third force in the State.” A ND-ND

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12 WORLD

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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ELSEWHERE

N. Korea tests powerful rocket engine It marks the birth of a new indigenous rocket industry, state media quotes Kim Jong-un as telling Agence France-Presse Seoul

Al-Qaeda operative convicted in U.S. NEW YORK

Ibrahim Suleiman Adnan Adam Harun (46), an alQaeda operative from Niger, has been convicted by a jury on multiple terrorism ofences, including conspiracy to murder American military personnel in Afghanistan and bomb the U.S. embassy in Nigeria. PTI

White House security boosted after arrest WASHINGTON

The U.S. Secret Service has bolstered security at the White House after a man was arrested making threats at one its checkpoints, the third such security scare in just over a week. CNN reported that the man made a threat claiming he had a bomb in his car, and that he was immediately arrested. AFP

Pak. Hindu marriage bill becomes law ISLAMABAD

In a landmark development, the bill to regulate marriages of Hindus in Pakistan became a law on Sunday after President Mamnoon Hussain gave his approval. With the President’s nod, Hindus got an exclusive personal law to regulate marriages. PTI

Death toll in Peru floods rises to 72 LIMA

Flash floods and landslides hit parts of Lima, leaving some communities cut off from roads on Saturday. The government announced on Saturday that so far this year 72 people have died as a result of heavy rains and flash floods around the country. AP

North Korea has tested a powerful new rocket engine, state media said Sunday, with leader Kim Jong-un hailing the successful test as a “new birth” for the nation’s rocket industry. The test was apparently timed to coincide with the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Beijing on Saturday, where he warned that regional tensions had reached a “dangerous level”.

‘Great victory’ State news agency said Mr. Kim had overseen the operation, and “emphasised that the whole world will soon witness what eventful significance the great victory won today carries”, KCNA reported, hinting that the North could use the new engine to launch a rocket to put a satellite in orbit. Rocket engines are easily re-purposed for use in mis-

siles. Outside observers say that the nuclear-armed Pyongyang’s space programme is a fig leaf for weapons tests. “The development and completion of a new-type high-thrust engine would help consolidate the scientific and technological foundation to match the world-level satellite delivery capability in the field of outer space development,” KCNA reported. “The leader [Kim] noted that the success made in the current test marked a great event of historic significance as it declared a new birth of the Juche-based rocket industry.” Mr. Tillerson has also visited U.S. allies Japan and South Korea where he said the U.S. would no longer observe the “failed” approach of patient diplomacy with Pyongyang, warning that American military action against the North was “on the table”.

Rocketing ahead: Kim Jong-un inspecting the test of a highthrust engine at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground. AFP *

The tougher U.S. talk followed two North Korean nuclear tests last year and recent missile launches that Pyongyang described as practice for an attack on U.S. bases in Japan. The last ground test of a high-powered rocket engine was in September last year, which was also observed by Mr. Kim.

Mr. Kim at that time hailed the test and called for more rocket launches to turn the country into a “possessor of geostationary satellites in a couple of years to come”. A geostationary satellite must be propelled to an altitude of 36,000 km and North Korea is showing off its progress in developing a

long-range inter-continental ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. east coast, Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies said. “The North is hinting strongly that it will soon launch a new satellite rocket” from its Sohae satellite launch site, Mr. Yang told AFP. It may also carry out a secretive intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test using a mobile launcher, he added. “The test is timed with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States,” and the anniversary of the founding of North’s army, he noted. North Korea is banned by the United Nations from conducting long-range missile tests, but it claims its satellite programme is for peaceful use, a claim many in the U.S. and elsewhere believe is questionable.

‘No evidence of Trump-Russia collusion’ Intelligence panel’s head speaks one day ahead of FBI chief ’s testimony Agence France-Presse Washington

A congressional intelligence panel so far has found “no evidence” that Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, its chairman said on Sunday, ahead of testimony by the head of the FBI on the U.S. President’s potential Russia ties. Based on “everything I have up to this morning — no evidence of collusion”, by Mr. Trump’s team and Moscow, Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Commit-

tee, told Fox News. Mr. Nunes made his remarks one day before Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey is to face lawmakers on the panel. Monday’s hearing was also expected to address a second explosive issue: Mr. Trump’s unsubstantiated accusations of wiretapping by Barack Obama — charges that have roiled political waters in Washington for the past two weeks. Mr. Trump on March 4 tweeted that Mr. Obama had “tapped” his phone — a charge that has consumed

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Call for democracy

Intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes.

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AFP

political debate in the U.S. capital. The U.S. intelligence community has publicly blamed Russia for hacks of the Democratic National Committee last year, and suggested the cyberattacks were

aimed at steering the election to a Trump victory. Russia has denied involvement in the hacks, and Mr. Trump has denounced the tumult over the Russia connections as a “total witch hunt”. But the question of whether Trump Tower was bugged nevertheless has risen to the top of Washington’s political agenda, becoming something of a national obsession even as a growing number of lawmakers and top U.S. officials assert there is no evidence of any such claim. The wiretapping issue mushroomed last month, when Mr. Trump’s national security adviser Michael

Security sought to mark Bhagat Singh’s anniversary Organiser cites threats from extremists Press Trust of India

Flynn was forced to resign after it was revealed he had misled top officials over his contacts with Russia. Mr. Nunes has said that the intelligence committee probe focuses in part on who revealed the fact that Mr. Flynn had unreported private contacts with the Russians over the issue of international sanctions against Moscow. Domestically, the headline-grabbing controversy over the wiretapping claim has pulled attention away from Trump's effort to push through other key items on his agenda, including the planned repeal of Mr. Obama’s healthcare law, tax reform and his controversial travel ban.

U.S., China to work together on N. Korea ‘President Trump looks forward to enhancing understanding with Beijing’ Reuters Beijing

With warm words from Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ended his first trip to Asia since taking office with an agreement to work together with China on North Korea and putting aside trickier issues. China has been irritated at being repeatedly told by Washington to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes and the U.S. decision to base an advanced missile defence system in South Korea. Beijing is also deeply suspicious of U.S. intentions towards self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, with the Trump administration crafting a big new arms package for the island that is bound to anger China. But meeting in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, those issues were brushed aside by Mr. Xi and Mr.

Tillerson, at least in front of reporters, with Mr. Xi saying Mr. Tillerson had made a lot of efforts to achieve a smooth transition in a new era of relations. “You said that China-U.S. relations can only be friendly. I express my appreciation for this,” Mr. Xi said. Mr. Xi said he had communicated with President Donald Trump several times through telephone conversations and messages.

Possible visit Mr. Tillerson said Mr. Trump looks forward to enhancing understanding with China and the opportunity for a visit in the future. Speaking in Seoul on Friday, Mr. Tillerson had issued the Trump administration’s starkest warning yet to North Korea, saying in Seoul that a military response would be “on the table” if Pyongyang took action to threaten South Korean and U.S. forces.

Cordial terms: Rex Tillerson with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on Saturday. AP *

Paris airport attacker’s father blames ‘drink and cannabis’ Investigators quiz family members to ascertain motive

Lahore

Rallying for a cause: Some 30,000 demonstrators, mostly Kurds, rallied in Frankfurt on Saturday calling for “democracy in Turkey” and supporting a ‘No’ vote in referendum. REUTERS *

Pakistan’s Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking security to mark his death anniversary, citing threats from “religious extremists”. Stating that threats had been received from religious extremists, the foundation’s chairman Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi filed a writ petition on Saturday. He said organisers of the March 23 event should be provided with security. He said the Punjab chief secretary, inspector general of police and DIG operations Lahore have been denying protection and security at a public place. Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh would take up the petition on Monday.

Agence France-Presse Paris

National Martyrs Memorial, Hussainiwala WIKIMEDIA *

March 23 marks the death anniversary of Bhagat Singh, who was hanged along with his comrades Sukhdev and Rajguru in 1931 at Shadman Chowk in Lahore.

French investigators were on Sunday trying to establish whether the man shot dead after holding up a soldier at Orly airport in Paris had planned the attack or acted on impulse. Saturday’s assault by Ziyed Ben Belgacem (39) caused a major security scare, leading to the temporary closure of the capital’s second-busiest airport and the cancellation of dozens of flights. By Sunday morning the situation had nearly returned to normal.

Of Tunisian-origin Ben Belgacem, who was born in France to Tunisian parents, said he wanted to “die for Allah” and that oth-

ers too would die after grabbing a soldier, putting a gun to her head and seizing her rifle. Ben Belgacem’s father insisted the assailant — who had spent time in prison for drugs and armed robbery and been investigated for links to radical Islam — was “not a terrorist” and was acting under the influence of drink and drugs. The father was released from custody late Saturday after being questioned. Investigators were continuing to quiz Ben Belgacem’s brother and cousin for clues as to whether the gunman had planned a terror attack or whether the airport attack was the unhinged epilogue to a shooting spree.

Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry takes last bow He was rock’s master theorist and a conceptual genius, a songwriter who understood what the kids wanted before they knew themselves Jon Pareles

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huck Berry, who with his indelible guitar licks, brash self-confidence and memorable songs about cars, girls and wild dance parties did as much as anyone to define rock and roll’s potential and attitude in its early years, died on Saturday. He was 90. The St. Charles County Police Department in Missouri confirmed his death on its Facebook page. The department said it responded to a medical emergency, and he was declared dead after lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.

Deining a genre: Chuck Berry grew up in a segregated locality in Missouri, soaking up gospel and blues. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS *

CM YK

Entertainment and more While Elvis Presley was rock’s first pop star and teenage heartthrob, Berry was its master theorist and conceptual genius, the songwriter who understood what the kids wanted before they knew themselves. With songs like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven”, he gave his

listeners more than they knew they were getting from jukebox entertainment. His guitar lines wired the lean twang of country and the bite of the blues into phrases with both a streamlined trajectory and a long memory. And tucked into the light-hearted, telegraphic narratives that he sang with such clear enunciation was a sly defiance, upending convention to claim the pleasures of the moment. In “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “You Can’t Catch Me” and other songs, Berry invented rock as a music of teenage wishes fulfilled and good times (even with cops in pursuit). In “Promised Land,” “Too Much Monkey Business” and “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”, he celebrated and satirised America’s opportunities and class tensions. His rock and roll was a music of joyful lusts, laughed-off tensions and gleefully shattered icons. Berry was already well

past his teens when he wrote mid-1950s manifestos like “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Rock and Roll Music” and “School Day”.

Segregated locality Born Charles Edward Anderson Berry in St. Louis on Oct. 18, 1926, he grew up in a segregated, middle-class neighbourhood there, soaking up gospel, blues, and rhythm and blues along with some country music. In Berry’s groundbreaking early songs, his guitar twangs his famous twostringed lick. It also punches like a horn section and sasses back at his own voice. The drummer eagerly socks the back-beat, and the pianist — usually either Johnson or Lafayette Leake — hurls fistfuls of tinkling anarchy all around him. From 1955 to 1958, Berry knocked out classic after classic. Although he was in his late 20s and early 30s, he came up with high school chronicles and plugs for the

newfangled music called rock and roll. No matter how calculated songs like “School Day” or “Rock and Roll Music” may have been, they reached the Top 10, caught the early rock ‘n’ roll spirit and detailed its mythology. “Johnny B. Goode” a Top 10 hit in 1958, told the archetypal story of a rocker who could “play the guitar just like ringin’ a bell”. In 1972, Berry had the biggest hit of his career with “My Ding-a-Ling”, a doubleentendre novelty song that was included on the album “The London Chuck Berry Sessions” (even though he recorded the song not in London but at a concert in Coventry, England). The New Orleans songwriter Dave Bartholomew wrote and recorded it in 1952; Berry recorded a similar song, “My Tambourine”, in 1968, and is credited on recordings as the sole songwriter of the 1972 “My Ding-a-Ling”.

It was a million-seller and Berry’s first and only No. 1 pop single. It was also his last hit. His 1973 follow-up album, “Bio”, was poorly received; “Rockit”, released by Atlantic in 1979, did not sell. But he stayed active: He appeared as himself in a 1979 movie about 1950s rock, American Hot Wax, and he continued to tour constantly.

Performing for Carter In July 1979 he performed for President Jimmy Carter at the White House. Three days later, he was sentenced to 120 days in federal prison and four years’ probation for income tax evasion. By the 1980s, Berry was recognised as a rock pioneer. He never won a Grammy Award in his prime, but the Recording Academy gave him a lifetime achievement award in 1984. He was in the first group of musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. NYT

“My son was not a terrorist. He never prayed and he drank,” his father told Europe 1 radio, blaming “drink and cannabis” for his son’s actions. An autopsy was to to be carried out on Ben Belgacem’s body Sunday to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor.

Had called father His father told Europe 1 his son phoned him shortly after the confrontation “in a state of extreme agitation”. “He said to me: ‘Daddy, please forgive me. I’ve screwed up with a police officer’.” A small amount of cocaine and a machete were found during a search of his home on Saturday.

Dhaka SC upholds death sentence Reuters Dhaka

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court rejected a final appeal on Sunday by a leading militant and two others against death sentences imposed over a grenade attack on the British Ambassador in 2004, lawyers said, meaning they could be hanged at any time. Three militants, including Mufti Abdul Hannan, the head of the Harkat-ul Jihad Islami group, were convicted and sentenced to death in 2008. Three people were killed in the May 21, 2004, attack and about 50 wounded, including then British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury, who was hit in the leg. A panel of three judges headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha rejected the petition that sought a review of the death sentences, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said. A ND-ND

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THE HINDU

BUSINESS 13

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

Doubts raised over second IFSC’s viability DEA comments sought on Maharashtra’s proposal for an International Financial Services Centre Arun S NEW DELHI

ONGC signs pact to buy GSPC’s KG block stake NEW DELHI

ONGC has signed deinitive agreements to buy out debt-ridden GSPC’s entire 80% in KG-basin natural gas block for $1.2 billion. “Subsequent to board approving the deal on February 23, we have now signed farm-in and farm-out agreements,” a company oicial said. The company will close the deal and pay Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation the money after regulatory approvals are secured. PTI

Two IPOs headed for subscription this week NEW DELHI

CL Educate and Shankara Building Products will hit the market this week with their initial public oferings to raise a total of ₹584 crore. The bidding for the CL Educate issue will start on March 20 and close on March 22 while Shankara Building Products’ IPO will open for public subscription on March 22 and close on March 24. The shares of the companies are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE. PTI

The Commerce Department has asked the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) to comment on the feasibility of having more than one International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India. It has also sought comments from the DEA on the viability of the Maharashtra government’s proposal for an IFSC in Mumbai. If the IFSC, proposed to be set up at the Bandra Kurla Complex in the country’s financial capital, gets all the required clearances, it will be the second such centre in India following the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar.

Nodal agency The DEA, in the Finance Ministry, is the nodal agency for formulation and monitoring of economic policies at the macro-level such as the ones relating to the functioning of the financial services sector in the country like banking, insurance and capital markets, including stock exchanges.

NEW DELHI

Amid renewed push for a BSNL-MTNL merger, BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava has said the combination would be “advantageous” for both the state-owned telecom irms but issues pertaining to debt and salary structure will need to be sorted out irst. A Parliamentary panel report has pointed out that the Telecom Department is planning to place the merger proposal before the Cabinet by June. Pti

CM YK

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IFSC-related matters fall within the jurisdiction of financial sector regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Securities and Exchange Board of India as well as the Finance Ministry. The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act is pertinent in this case as IFSC is set up in a SEZ, and therefore, the Commerce Department has a crucial role here as it is the nodal body at the Centre for SEZ-related matters. The SEZ Act merely states

Nod for Australian coal project by June: Adani REUTERS MUMBAI

BSNL, MTNL merger to help both: BSNL CMD

Aspirations galore: Maharashtra wanted the Mumbai IFSC to be a multi-services SEZ like the GIFT City in Gujarat. REUTERS

India’s Adani Enterprises said it would finalise an investment decision by June for its Carmichael coal project in the northern Australian state of Queensland, which has been delayed due to protests from environmental groups. For more than five years, Adani has battled opposition from green groups who fear the project will produce so much coal for export to India that it will require a mega-port expansion into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

However, the group’s chairman, Gautam Adani, expressed optimism the project would proceed and said the board would take a final decision on investments in May or June, including structure and planned funding. “Definitely,” Mr. Adani said, when asked if he was confident the project would go ahead. “Our internal planning is 2020 ...(for) first coal to come out,” Mr. Adani told reporters in Mumbai. He noted that construction could begin within three months of the board’s decision.

that the Centre can approve only one IFSC in a SEZ, and does not bar more than one IFSC in the country. Citing examples in other countries, the Commerce Department, however, has said even advanced nations have been finding it difficult to develop more than one major international financial centre in their respective territory. It added that therefore, India, which is yet to have full capital account convertibility, may find it even tougher to make more than one IFSC

viable. In its initial proposal, the Maharashtra government (and the concerned body, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) had sought a relaxation of the minimum land norm of 50 hectares of contiguous and vacant land because what could be made available then for the proposed Mumbai IFSC was only 32 hectares of such land. The State government sought the Centre’s nod to ease the land norms by considering the built-up area instead of contiguous and vacant land. The State wanted the Mumbai IFSC to be a multi-services SEZ like the GIFT City.

Revised proposal However, as the Centre had expressed reluctance to grant the Mumbai IFSC a ‘special exemption’ from the land norm, Maharashtra then sent a revised proposal stating that it is in possession of about 52 hectares for the IFSC. This included 32-33 hectares of commercial land as well as 19-20 hectares of ‘non-developable’ green

area, official sources said. According to the state government, once approved, the Mumbai IFSC would potentially generate employment for 1.3 lakh people and attract investments to the tune of ₹12,014 crore within ten years. The Commerce Department has now asked the Maharashtra government and the Development Commissioner (DC) of the Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone to explain and clarify the term ‘non-developable.’ The department wants to know whether it will include area falling under the Coastal Regulation Zone, where there are curbs on construction, development and industries, and therefore could attract objections from agencies in charge of environment and pollution. The Maharashtra government had proposed that the Mumbai IFSC can even enter into collaborations with the GIFT City International Financial Services Centre as Mumbai has the advantage of being the country’s de facto financial capital.

Indian markets can raise $100 bn. a year, says BSE CEO Ashish Chauhan ‘Funds could be used to drive India’s growth story’ PRESS TRUST OF INDIA NEW DELHI

The Indian stock market can raise $100 billion of capital annually going ahead to help meet the country’s funding needs, top bourse BSE’s CEO Ashish Chauhan has said while pegging the amount estimated to be raised through his exchange alone at $30 billion this fiscal. He said the capital markets have the potential to contribute nearly half of the estimated $2 trillion of funding required over the next

ten years for infrastructure building, setting up of new businesses, expansion of existing businesses, creation of jobs and other requirements to drive India’s growth story. In an interview to PTI, Chauhan said this target is “completely doable” given the high savings rate of Indians and what is required is channelising of these savings into financial market instruments. Mr. Chauhan said the debt market in India would need to play a much larger role

than equities, which was the case globally, for such high levels of fund raising activities, while he asserted that the necessary infrastructure and technology is there already in place for meeting these targets. The chief of Asia’s oldest bourse, who recently steered a highly successful initial public offering of the exchange that had been pending for close to a decade, said one of the biggest functions for the markets is capital formation.

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LeEco not to exit India, eyes proit Drops plan to open oline stores Yuthika Bhargava NEW DELHI

Amid reports of layoffs leading to speculation of LeEco’s possible exit from India, the Chinese electronic firm said it remained committed to the Indian market and is revamping its strategy with an eye on turning profitable within a year. The company has also dropped plans to open exclusive offline products store for now. “India is one of the most strategic markets for LeEco,” Alex Li, group vice president and COO LeEco India said. “We will definitely not exit. We will continue to launch new products, service existing customers and acquire new ones. Yes, we did have some change in strategy, but we want to have a consistent and sustainable business in India. This is a long-term strategy.” Mr. Li has recently been given the charge to head India operations after Atul Jain, who was chief operating officer, resigned amid lay-offs. While it was reported that the firm had fired

LeEco says it wants to have a consistent and sustainable business in India. 85% of its India staff, it could not be confirmed. “We are focussing on executing a new strategy, make processes more streamlined…For those products where we are losing money, we need a way to balance… balance like accessories or content which can bring in revenues to compensate the loss of the product,” Mr. Li said. In 2016, the company sold 1.25 million smartphones and 12,000 smart TVs in India, with a turnover of ₹1400 crore. Asked about profitability, he said, “Profitability will take some time…I believe within one year we will be able to turn around things.”

A ND-ND

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14 BUSINESS REVIEW

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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The call for a large safety net

GUEST COLUMN

Social security cover for all, even informal workers, is an ambitious target for the Centre and stumbling blocks pave its path from 32.6% in 1999-2000 to 28.6% in 2004-05 and further to 26.4% in 2009-10 due to increased casual workers entering the workforce and a rise in informal sector. In this context, K.R. Shyam Sundar, labour economist and professor of human resources management at XLRI said the proposed code on Social Security and Welfare is a landmark step. “This is a huge step forward towards inclusive social security coverage,” Mr. Sundar said. “This would be the most radical development that can happen in terms of workers’ benefit in India,” according to him. Universal social security to all workers has been one of the main demands of the central trade unions. “The idea of providing social security to all workers is good and has been our long-standing demand,” said All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) national secretary D.L. Sachdev. “Social security should be a fundamental right for all the citizens of the country,” he said.

Somesh Jha NEW DELHI

The Union government on Thursday proposed an ambitious law to provide social security net to the 47.41 crorestrong workforce of the country. The proposed code on ‘Social Security and Welfare’ intends to make a drastic shift in the social security framework of the country from an employment-based approach to a rights-based approach followed by some developing countries such as South Africa. This means claiming social security benefits will become a right for everyone who joins the workforce. At present, the social security set-up in India is only restricted to the formal sector where the employers make a contribution towards social security schemes such as provident fund, insurance and pension of the workers. Only about 8% of the informal sector is covered under any social security scheme, according the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS). At present, 82.7% of the 47.41 crore workforce is in the unorganised sector and does not have access to any kind of social security, according to the Labour and Employment Ministry. When the draft code takes final shape in the form of a law, there will be universal coverage of social security schemes guaranteeing equal treatment to all the workers.

One for everyone According to the proposed law, factories employing even a single worker will have to contribute towards social security benefits. Also, even households employing domestic help will also have contribute towards schemes including provident fund and gratuity for the worker. Self-employed persons, including agricultural labourers, will also make contribution towards the schemes on their own. Significantly, casual, parttime or self-employed workers earning less than the stipulated minimum wages will not have to pay any contribution towards the social secur-

Poor numbers: Only 8% of the informal sector is covered under any social security scheme. And, 82.7% of the 47.41 crore workforce is in the unorganised sector with no access to social security.

ity schemes but will be entitled to these benefits through a fund set up by the government, according to another proposal. The existing social security schemes have a limited reach due to application of thresholds based on income and number of workers in a factory. For instance, the provident fund and pension contribution, administered by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), is mandatory only for factories employing at least 20 workers. “We feel that only a rightsbased approach can lead the reform process to achieve universal social security cover for the workforce,” a top labour ministry official said. “The draft code clearly states the entitlement of beneficiaries to benefits and any denial of the same would justify recourse to legal remedies. It will become a right

to < > Contribution social security by households is a tax on them K.R. Shyam Sundar Professor, XLRI

for the claimant as it will be enforceable by law,” the official said. Various researches have pointed out significant flaws in the present social security framework of the country. The International Social Security Association (ISSA) in its ‘Social Security Coverage Extension in the BRICS’ report said that the best way to describe the social security coverage in India “is a patchwork” as there was a “total mismatch between the labour market realities and the history of social security laws.” “Despite attempts over several years by Central and State governments to extend

Oracle’s India pilot for start-ups goes global Peerzada Abrar

Baby monitor devices In India, the accelerator has incubated young firms with innovations ranging from CM YK

sleep monitoring devices for infants to fintech companies focused on alternative payment mechanism. Among them is Ray IoT Solutions which has developed a mobile-based sleep monitoring device to detect infant healthcare dysfunctions using artificial intelligence. The non-contact baby monitor tracks sleeping and breathing activity and analyses and relays a host of information about the baby’s health. Another firm initCodes specialises in fintech innovation, data protection and futuristic commerce. It is building a unified intelligence platform for digital transactions using the cloud, blockchain technology and predictive analytics. NiYO Solutions, one of the companies selected early for the Oracle accelerator programme, said that the success of a start-up depended more on the execution than on the product. “The moment you go to a

tional investors and the retail investor. Either of two things has to happen now. One, the earnings of the index stocks must climb substantially within a short period of time for the markets to sustain at this level. Or, two, there must be a sharp correction in the index sooner or the later. If markets remain elevated for a longer period, it does not mean that one goes out and shorts the market. As Lord J.M. Keynes put it succinctly: “Markets can remain irrational longer than we can remain solvent”. Or, as Seth Klarman, a successful investor, said, “Can we say when it will end? No. Can we say that it will end? Yes. And, when it ends and the trend reverses, here is what we can say for sure. Few will be ready. Few will be prepared.” We can conclude that if an investor goes on to buy stocks at these elevated levels, he will not be compensated for the risk he takes and there is more than an even chance that he may lose a significant portion of his capital. (The writer is an author and consultant. He may be contacted at: anand.s.srinivasan@ gmail.com)

Dispute raises questions on access to working capital for start-ups, prevailing sense of fairness

Bengaluru

Hand-holding: The programme provides six months of mentoring by business experts, VCs and entrepreneurs.

Informal numbers rise Even the proportion of wage workers covered under any social security law declined

Anand Srinivasan

The Nifty index, after a couple of deep cuts in the last calendar year, has seen a big recovery on both the occasions. The index is currently trading within striking distance of its all-time high. The PE (Profits to Earnings) Ratio as per the National Stock Exchange website is at 23.4 times trailing twelve-month earnings. There have been times when earnings have been discounted at rates higher than this figure. The website informs us that before the 2008 crash, the price discounted earnings 28 times. For the last 25 years, the price discounted earnings about 15-16 times, on average. Another significant fact is that since March 2014 till February 28, 2017, there has been no major growth in the earnings of the index stocks. The previous time in 2008, the earnings grew substantially year-on-year as seen in the table accompanying this article. Another disturbing feature of the current rally has been that the foreign institutional investors have hardly added to their position since May 2014. The Indian stock market has been largely supported by domestic institu-

Stayzilla — what lies beneath the ecosystem

Replicas now in Bristol, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Tel Aviv When Oracle, one of the world’s biggest technology companies, wanted to set up its first start-up accelerator, it chose India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru. With $37 billion in annual revenue, the company introduced the initiative as a pilot programme last April and it has been a success for the organisation. The Redwood City, California-based firm has now expanded its ‘start-up cloud accelerator’ by opening new centres across the globe in Bristol, Delhi–NCR, Mumbai, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Tel Aviv. “Working with start-ups is a very energising endeavour and a learning experience for us,” said Sanket Atal, group vice- president of development, Oracle India, in an interview. “It is a synergistic kind of relationship that we have with them,” said Mr. Atal who led the pilot programme. The programme is being run by members of the Oracle research and development team. It provides six months of mentoring by technical and business experts, and venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from outside the firm. The company said that it also provided technology, coworking space, access to Oracle customers, partners and investors, and free Oracle cloud credits.

social security coverage to marginalised groups of workers, the current state of affairs is still wholly unsatisfactory, as revealed by evidence-based research,” according to a report titled, ‘Social Security Reform in India’ submitted by Professor Marius Olivier to the International Labour Organisation in May 2016. It noted that only 1% of the agricultural workers have reportedly been provided social security cover, even as close to all the casual workers are deprived of any benefits and socially or economically deprived people had much less coverage than the others. It also said that wage workers in the unorganised sector too had close to no social security benefit.

Employers urge choice However, the employer representatives are not amused by the proposed law. “The only social security measure that a country of our size can afford to provide at the moment is formal jobs to the youth at a time when a million people are entering the workforce,” said TeamLease Services Executive Vice President and Co-Founder Rituparna Chakraborty. “This draft law will make situations worse as it will give rise to the informal sector,” he said. “People at the bottom of the income pillar are hostages to the social security benefits in India. Those with higher income bracket can still fend for themselves but the worry is for the people with lower incomes. Social security should be a choice that should be exercised by the employee and not a compulsion,” Mr. Chakraborty said. An industry executive, on conditions of anonymity, said it would be difficult for small industries in India, which are mostly not covered under social secur-

ity law at present, to provide such security to all the workers. Mr. Sundar said providing social security to all workers with the present infrastructure will be a difficult task. “I do not see how effectively the households will register voluntarily towards the social security of the domestic workers as a contribution towards social security schemes will be a tax on them. Also the moment you register them, the nature of employment becomes formal and in some states households will have to provide the minimum wages to domestic helps,” Mr. Sundar added. One of the major issues with the draft law is that workers in the unorganised sector mostly are daily wage earners and providing monthly contribution towards their social benefit schemes would be a big task, Mr. Sachdev said. A senior labour ministry official acknowledged this issue and said that the “government can notify a different contribution period for such sectors.” Collection of contribution from the self-employed and the unorganised sector will also be another grey area. “The present social security system is already under tremendous pressure to increase the coverage in the formal sector. The level of services provided by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation also needs drastic improvement. In all these circumstances, the government is looking at covering the entire workforce,” Mr. Chakraborty said. However, some trade union leaders feel implementation will not be an issue with the proposed framework under which a National Social Security Council will be set up headed by the Prime Minister to streamline, monitor and make policies. “This is a historic step proposed by the government and can be fully implemented across the organised and the unorganised sector,” according to RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) general-secretary Virjesh Upadhyay.

Are stock markets in a bubble?

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AP

customer and talk about your product coming out of the Oracle accelerator, a certain respect comes out (from them) automatically,” said Vinay Bagri, co-founder of NiYO Solutions, a fintech firm focused on payroll and benefits management for employees working at different companies. The company said that it bagged about 70 customers including Hero Group and Cafe Coffee Day within six months of joining the programme. It also got funded by a VC firm within a month of entering the accelerator. Oracle’s rivals such as Microsoft, SAP and Amazon have been engaging with young firms for a couple of years. But Oracle said this was the right time to reach out to the “start-up ecosystem”.India. “I don’t see this as competition. What attracts start-ups to us is that Oracle technologies are foundations of the most successful companies. It is a very aspirational thing,” said Mr. Atal.

even if the company structure gives leeway. “There seems to be a culture of supporting and celebrating the funded start-ups when compared with the unfunded ones. Also, the war is between the new-age versus traditional companies. A CIBIL-like system to measure credibility of the organisation as well as the founder should be explored,” he said.

K.T. Jagannathan Sanjay Vijayakumar CHENNAI

Even as the arrest of Yogendra Vasupal, founder of startup firm Stayzilla, on charges of non-payment of dues to its vendor, has seen the entire start-up ecosystem fuming, the demand for an environment that provides for a collateral-free working capital assistance of a specified limit is gaining ground. Such assistance could be made available through organised banking channels, said investment banker S. Ramabadran. According to him, a Stayzilla-like episode could have been avoided if the start-up had had access to working capital funding. Observers said that the happenings at Stayzilla also reflect the absence of a proper foundation for the start-up ecosystem to effectively address the ups and downs of business. The Stayzilla imbroglio, they point out, also underscores the need for educating the entire set of stake-holders in the start-up ecosystem — right from investors to entrepreneurs and vendors besides the law-enforcing authorities — on their rights and responsibilities.

Big picture In this instance, the arguments have been restricted only to whether it is a civil or criminal dispute. However, one needs to look at the larger picture - the issue of accountability, role of private equity players and the available mechanism to settle such disputes. On one side of the dispute is a company which has raised $30 million from private investors and which

Starting trouble: Observers say the Stayzilla episode relects the absence of a proper foundation for the start-up ecosystem to address the ups and downs of business. GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK *

recently announced that it would shut down and revamp its business model. On the other is an unfunded media agency start-up Jigsaw, which is desperate to get back its dues. While questioning the choice of the law to be enforced in this instance, Aarthi Sivanandh, Partner, JSA, a legal firm, wondered if the investors could not have bailed the entrepreneur out of an ugly situation. The episode has forced the funded start-up fraternity to close ranks. Will this prompt more vendors to take criminal action against failing start-ups? This fear must be seen in the context of a recent trend. According to data from start-up tracker Tracxn, 314 start-ups downed shutters in 2016. The count is 5 so far in 2017. According to Kartik Maheshwari of Nishith Desai Associates, a law firm, closing down operations or posting a blog entry will not help Stayzilla escape liability

arising from outstanding obligations. Under law, even if Stayzilla were to undergo voluntary winding up, it would have to first set off its liabilities towards creditors, he says. A civil case to claim unpaid monies stretches for years before a final order is passed. Given this, an increasingly large number of individuals are now choosing to file criminal cases alleging fraud, he says. “Irrespective of the veracity of the claims made by both the parties, technically there is nothing in the law that prevents a person from pursuing criminal action in cases where there is an alternative civil remedy available,” he added. Lawyers aver that there are no quick-fix solutions in such disputes as the current legal process is cumbersome even though it allows for winding-up. The upcoming Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code could go a long way in addressing such situations. “Parties could consider building in alternative dis-

pute resolution mechanisms such as arbitration in their contracts as these are gaining popularity due to heavy backlog of cases in civil courts,” according to Sharanya Ranga, Partner, Advaya Legal. “Also, try to clear dues to the greatest extent possible — whether it is employee salaries, vendor payments or office rents. However, this may not solve the issue of intimidatory criminal filings,” she said. Now most start-ups prefer having a structure of private limited companies or limited liability partnerships, when compared with proprietorship concerns as prevalent in the early 1990s, according to Nishit Dhruva, managing partner, MDP & Partners. The private limited company or limited liability partnerships structure helps promoters limit their liabilities. Serial entrepreneur Chandu Nair said that promoters should not forget their moral responsibilities towards settling liabilities,

Tranche funding According to Mr. Dhurva, Stayzilla is a prime example of a start-up malfunction and not meeting with its vendor obligations. “The funding structure of such start-ups entails tranche funding from venture capitalists whereby the start-up broadcasts the funding figures even before the capital is received. However, with VCs placing preconditions to be met for such disbursements, the funding does not accrue in toto. This creates an uncertain environment in the start-up ecosystem which inflates the apparent creditworthiness of a start-up,” he said. Prabhakar Mundkur, Chief Mentor, HGS Interactive Solutions, said that media agencies enjoy wafer-thin margins and non-payment from clients affected their reputation badly. “May more ad agencies be as tough with their clients. A long time ago, political parties drowned a few Indian agencies by defaulting on media payments. Then the ad agencies took a stance with political parties: to accept business only on advance payments. The ad agencies should perhaps be doing the same with startups,” he added. A start-up ecosystem that practices fairness is what is needed now. A ND-ND

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THE HINDU

SPORT 15

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

Pujara and Saha make a lasting impression The duo lattens the Aussie attack with a 199-run partnership; Jadeja’s double-strike tightens India’s grip S. Dinakar Ranchi

Trail Blazers beat Hawks LOS ANGELES

Portland Trail Blazers continued its quest for the final play-off spot in the Western Conference with a 113-97 win over Atlanta, that also snapped a five-game losing skid to Hawks. Other results: Hornets 98 bt Wizards 93; Rockets 109 bt Nuggets 105; Warriors 117 bt Bucks 92; Clippers 108 bt Cavaliers 78; Grizzlies 104 bt Spurs 96; Bulls 95 bt Jazz 86; Thunder 110 bt Kings 94. AFP

Murray and Djokovic to skip Miami Open MIAMI

Neither World No. 1 Andy Murray nor No. 2 Novak Djokovic will play the Miami Open Masters starting next week because of injuries. Both Murray and Djokovic are battling right elbow injuries. While Murray announced in a statement that he would rest and focus on the upcoming claycourt season, Djokovic announced that he would consult a doctor about the injury that plagued him right through the Indian Wells tournament. AFP

It was a rather dark, cloudy day. There was a little nip in the air and the game was in the balance. Out in the middle, Cheteshwar Pujara’s commitment shone like headlights on an unlit highway. The man backs his technique with immense heart. No Indian has played more deliveries in a Test innings than Pujara’s 525 here. This was no mere number, more a statement of sweat. And the slightly-built Wriddhiman Saha, who adds considerable weight to the Indian lower-order, joined forces with Pujara in a partnership that could inflict psychological scars on this Aussie attack. The resolute Pujara made 202 (21x4) — his third Test double century — and Saha came up with a typically feisty 117 (233b, 8x4, 1x6), his third Test century. As play drew to a close, the mercurial Ravindra Jadeja, after smashing an unbeaten half-century of characteristic aggression, spun the ball from the rough outside the left-handed David Warner’s off-stump to castle the Aussie opener. Virat Kohli celebrated by rubbing his still-on-the-mend right shoulder — it has been in considerable focus for the right and the wrong reasons — with glee. Soon, night-watchman Nathan Lyon was flummoxed by Jadeja’s spin and the Indians were full of beans as they walked back to the dressing room. How this game has turned! In a contest that has gathered steam going into

India’s day out: David Warner’s dismissal by Ravindra Jadeja in the inal moments augmented the home team’s victory push after Cheteshwar Pujara’s monumental 202 ensured that there could be only one winner in the third Test. K.R. DEEPAK *

the last stretch, Australia, trailing by 152 runs in the first innings, ended day four of the third Test at a worrying 23 for two. Batting on the final day demands technique and application. Jadeja is bound to further exploit the growing rough outside the righthander’s leg-stump, making him a distinct threat to remaining three left-handers in the Australian top seven.

Eden deja vu Earlier, Pujara and Saha seemed to bat for an eternity

reviving memories of an epic day in 2001 at the Eden Gardens when the Aussies drew a blank. This time, Pujara and Saha kept the Aussies frustrated and wicketless in the first two sessions, adding 199 valuable runs for the seventh wicket in 466 deliveries. For the first time in the series, the Aussie attack appeared flattened. The visitors gradually lost the plot. Josh Hazlewood who should have bowled a fuller length and attempted to swing the ball under a

Tour de France champion Pingeon passes away PARIS

Former Tour de France champion Roger Pingeon has died of a heart attack at the age of 76. Frenchman Pingeon won the 1967 Tour and came second to Belgian great Eddy Merckx in 1969, the year he won the Vuelta (Tour of Spain). REUTERS

Bowlers give TN the edge

cloud cover, began pitching short and entered into a verbal duel with both Pujara and Saha. The two Indians were unflustered. Pat Cummins bowled with some venom but Pujara blunted the paceman with his water-tight defence off either foot. And he collected runs with deft placements. The feature of the Indian innings was how well Pujara played the Aussie spinners. He went right forward or travelled deep into the crease after picking the length. Pujara also made the spinners alter their length, stepping out, and then when the ball was consequently pitched shorter, cutting and punching off the backfoot. He played the ball late, gauging the extent of turn, which meant the spinners were at a definite disadvantage. When Lyon spun the ball into the right-hander, Pujara went back and whipped with the turn. Despite the pres-

Aswin Crist.

Abhimanyu Easwaran.

Rakesh Rao

Gandhi (282), B. Aparajith (277), V. Ganga Sridhar Raju (274) and Vijay Shankar (196) have the final say. For Bengal, opener Abhimanyu Easwaran (471 runs) has shown the way. With every top and middle-order batsmen scoring consistently — Manoj Tiwary (346), Sreevats Goswami (322), Sudip Chatterjee (281) and Anustup Majumdar (155) — batting is least of Bengal’s worries. It could well turn out to be a close contest should the Bengal batsmen come good one more time. On the contrary, another good day for the Tamil Nadu bowlers and the title could come their way.

NEW DELHI

Tamil Nadu will have to deal with an upbeat Bengal batting line-up in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Ferozehshah Kotla ground here on Monday. In the quarterfinal against Maharashtra, Bengal chased down 300+ and in the semifinal, against Jharkhand, set a target of a bit more. So far, the Bengal batsmen appeared to have peaked for the title-match. On the other hand, Tamil Nadu’s bowlers have consistently done their job and made it easier for the batsmen. In eight outings this season, TN bowlers have taken 77 wickets. Barring Maharashtra and Delhi, all teams have scored sub-250 totals against this attack, headed by pace bowler Aswin Crist who is presently the highest wicket-taker in this year’s competition with 18 scalps. Left-arm spinner Rahil Shah, too, has done his job with 14 wickets.

Prolific From Bengal’s perspective, its bowlers have not been able to match the efforts of the batsmen. As a result, it should not come as a surprise if the inform brigade of Dinesh Karthik (495 runs), Kaushik CM YK

The teams (from): Bengal: Manoj Tiwary (capt.), Shreevats Goswami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Chatterjee, Agniv Pan, Anustup Majumdar, Debabrata Das, Aamir Gani, Kanishk Seth, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Sayan Ghosh, Mukesh Kumar, Abhishek Raman and Pankaj Shaw. Tamil Nadu: Dinesh Karthik (capt.), Kaushik Gandhi, V. Ganga Sridhar Raju, B. Aparajith, Vijay Shankar, Washington Sundar, M. Mohammad, Aswin Crist, Rahil Shah, R. Sai Kishore, B. Indrajith, N. Jagadeesan, R. Rohit and Anthony Dhas. Match starts at 9 a.m.

Definite gameplan The Indians had a definite gameplan against Lyon and Steve O’Keefe in this innings. They have also been adept with the sweep shot, such a critical aspect in playing spin. In the morning, Saha had his ways with DRS on leg-before appeals — he was adjudged out by on-field umpire to first Cummins and then Lyon — but replays saved him on both occasions. It was a fighting innings from the ’keeper. He has an organised, compact game, plays close to his body and is particularly strong between cover and point, driving, punching and cutting. The host lost wickets going for runs in the final session but it was all India here on Sunday.

My best hundred: Saha Tough to lose those two wickets tonight, says Aussie coach Lehmann Special Correspondent Ranchi

Upbeat Bengal batting line-up awaits

ence of a short-leg, it was a well thought-out ploy because Pujara was going hard at the ball.

Wriddhiman Saha is mature, calm and efficient. The Bengal cricketer rated his hundred here as the best among his three Test centuries. “We badly needed a partnership. It began slowly, then blossomed,” he said. On playing the shortpitched stuff, Saha said, “I practice against shortpitched bowling at the nets. My strength is leaving the ball, and I try that.” Saha admitted there was chatter in the middle between Aussie paceman Josh Hazlewood and him and Pujara. “A little banter always goes on. Pujara was telling him ‘look at the scoreboard’. He was on 180-odd then. He said something to me as well, I just said ‘go back and bowl’. Nothing more than that.” The wicketkeeper-batsman said he was playing the spinners better now. “I'm backing myself more now, whether playing the sweep

Going great guns: Wriddhiman Saha was conidence personiied on way to his third Test century. K.R. DEEPAK *

or stepping out. I used to have doubts, now the team is supporting me.” Dwelling on his crucial partnership with Pujara, Saha said, “Pujara told me to break it up and think of small, small partnerships of 10-20 runs.”

“The way Pujara was batting it never seemed we would lose a wicket. We backed each other.” Queried about Pujara’s immense patience, Saha said, “He scores 200-300 in domestic cricket almost routinely.”

On the pitch, Saha said, “Some balls are turning and some keep straight. Jadeja's one delivery turned from the rough to bowl Warner.” Australia coach Darren Lehmann knew his team faced a challenge on Monday. “Obviously we’ve got to save the game. Tough to lose those two wickets tonight, they were some good balls from them. Good challenge for the group.” He added, “Once the ball gets softer it plays pretty well, so there’s no real demons in the track. It’s a case of obviously applying ourselves much like Pujara and Saha did.” Dwelling on the footmarks, he said, “They will be there for the left-handers, but it was a great ball that got Warner. If they bowl 10 of those so be it. “This has been a really traditional Indian wicket, a good wicket. Going to have to come up with a plan to combat Jadeja but we’ve worked on that.”

THIRD TEST, DAY 4, JSCA INTERNATIONAL STADIUM, RANCHI AUSTRALIA — 1ST INNINGS

451

INDIA — 1ST INNINGS RUNS BALLS 4s 6s K.L. Rahul c Wade b Cummins dddddddddddd ddd 67 ddddd 102 dddddddd 9 dddddddddd M. Vijay st. Wade b O’Keefe dddddddddddddd ddd 82 ddddd 183 dddddd 10 dddddddd 1 Cheteshwar Pujara c Maxwell b Lyon dddd dd202 ddddd 525 dddddd 21 dddddddddd Virat Kohli c Smith b Cummins ddddddddddd ddddd6 dddddd 23 dddddddddd dddddddddd Ajinkya Rahane c Wade b Cummins dddddd ddd 14 dddddd 33 dddddddd 2 dddddddddd Karun Nair b Hazlewood ddddddddddddddddd ddd 23 dddddd 47 dddddddd 2 dddddddddd R. Ashwin c Wade b Cummins dddddddddddd ddddd3 dddddd 22 dddddddddd dddddddddd Wriddhiman Saha c Maxwell b O’Keefe dd dd117 ddddd 233 dddddddd 8 dddddddd 1 Ravindra Jadeja (not out) ddddddddddddddd ddd 54 dddddd 55 dddddddd 5 dddddddd 2 Umesh Yadav c Warner b O’Keefe dddddddd ddd 16 dddddd 33 dddddddd 2 dddddddddd Ishant Sharma (not out) ddddddddddddddddd ddddd0 dddddddd 4 dddddddddd dddddddddd Extras (b-14, lb-5) ddddddddddddddddddddddd ddd 19 Total (for nine wkts. decl. in 210 overs) dd dd 603 Fall of wickets: 1-91 (Rahul, 31.2 overs), 2-193 (Vijay, 70.4), 3-225 (Kohli, 80.4), 4-276 (Rahane, 91.2), 5-320 (Karun, 107.4), 6-328 (Ashwin, 115.4), 7-527 (Pujara, 193.2), 8-541 (Saha, 196.1), 9-595 (Umesh, 208.2).

AUSTRALIA BOWLING: Hazlewood 44-10-103-1, Cummins 39-10-106-4, O’Keefe 7717-199-3, Lyon 46-2-163-1, Maxwell 4-0-13-0. AUSTRALIA — 2ND INNINGS RUNS BALLS 4s 6s David Warner b Jadeja ddddddddddddddddddd ddd 14 dddddd 16 dddddddd 3 dddddddddd Matt Renshaw (batting) ddddddddddddddddd ddddd7 dddddd 21 dddddddd 1 ddddddddd Nathan Lyon b Jadeja dddddddddddddddddddd ddddd2 dddddddd 7 ddddddddd dddddddddd Total (for two wkts. in 7.2 overs) ddddddddd ddd 23 Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Warner, 5.1 overs), 2-23 (Lyon, 7.2).

INDIA BOWLING: Ashwin 4-0-17-0, Jadeja 3.2-1-6-2.

Rahul Poonia on target Tejaswini Sawant wins gold Special Correspondent New Delhi

Rahul Poonia pipped Olympian Sanjeev Rajput by 2.1 points to clinch the gold in the men’s 50-metre rifle prone event in the 11th Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Masters shooting championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Sunday. The seasoned Sushil Ghalay took the bronze ahead of Swapnil Kusale, Navdeep Rathore, Samsher Singh and Satyendra Singh. In the junior section, V. Sarvesh Swaroop Shankar of Tamil Nadu won the gold 2.9 points ahead of Md. Qamroosh, after having topped the qualification earlier. In men’s rapid fire pistol, Neeraj Kumar who had made the final in the World Cup recently at the same venue, beat Olympian Gurpreet Singh by two points. Anish won the bronze after having clinched the junior gold. In the women’s event,

former World Champion Tejaswini Sawant won the gold with a score of 621.9, ahead of Kuheli Gangulee and Aditi Singh. In the junior girls event, KU Priya, representing the National Cadet Corps (NCC) topped with 616.1 points. The results: Men: 25m rapid fire pistol: 1. Neeraj Kumar 28 (580); 2. Gurpreet Singh 26 (576); 3. Anish 21 (569). Juniors: 1. Anish 22 (569); 2. Adarsh Singh 20 (558); 3. Thomas George 17 (548). 50m rifle prone: 1. Rahul Poonia 249.9 (620.4); 2. Sanjeev Rajput 247.8 (623.2); 3. Sushil Ghalay 226.9 (618.8). Juniors: 1. V. Sarvesh Swaroop Shankar 246.6 (616.1); 2. Md. Qamroosh 243.7 (608.8); 3. Niraj Kumar 222.9 (606.2). Women: 50m rifle prone: 1. Tejaswini Sawant 621.9; 2. Kuheli Gangulee 619.0; 3. Aditi Singh 617.0. Juniors: 1. KU Priya 616.1; 2. Prasiddhi 614.5; 3. Ayushi Podder 610.3.

Federer in line for a record-equalling ifth Indian Wells title To meet Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss showdown for the crown Agence France-Presse Indian Wells

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka set up an all-Swiss showdown for the ATP Indian Wells Masters title on Saturday with straight-sets semifinal victories. Federer, who won his 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, subdued 17thseeded American Jack Sock 6-1, 7-6(4) to earn a crack at a record-equalling fifth Indian Wells title. US Open champion Wawrinka, past the quarterfinals in the California desert for the first time, knocked out Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2.

Federer went into his clash with Sock well-rested after ailing Aussie Nick Kyrgios pulled out of their highly anticipated quarterfinal.

Racing away Federer, who had trounced old foe Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, picked up right from where he left off as he raced through the first set in 21 minutes. But Sock, winner of two titles already this year at Auckland and Delray Beach, raised his game in the second set, saving a break point in the seventh game as it went on serve to the tiebreaker.

Smooth sailing: Roger Federer, who hasn’t been broken in the tournament, subdued Jack Sock in the semiinals. AFP *

The American energised US fans on Stadium Court when he zinged a backhand winner past Federer for a 3-1

lead in the decider. But Federer won six of the next seven points, including the last three, as he sealed

the contest on his first opportunity. “I think I definitely played great in the first set, came out and really saw the ball well,” Federer said. “I think Jack didn’t have his best first set, but I found a way to take advantage of that quickly, hardly made any mistakes and was able to press. “The second set was more like what I expected the first set to be. It was hard to break and return well off Jack's heavy serve. I maybe dropped my level just a bit, as well, as he lifted his. “I had to rely a lot on my second serve. I’m happy it

was there. Things got a bit more complicated, but it was definitely a good feeling to get through in two sets.”

Sock in awe Sock said he had little to regret in the loss to the player he considers the greatest of all time. “I didn’t play my service games really the way I wanted to in the first,” said the 24-year-old, who was in the first Masters semifinal of his career. “But I gave myself chances in the second. The results: Men: Semifinals: Roger Federer bt Jack Sock 6-1, 7-6(4); Stan Wawrinka bt Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2. A ND-ND

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16 SPORT

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

Special 100 for Bangladesh

Vighnesh, Saurabh duo triumphs

Visitors win landmark Test to share series with Sri Lanka

Second seed Vighnesh Devlekar and Saurabh Sharma defeated the seasoned duo of Chetan Anand and V. Diju 21-15, 2725 in the final to win the men’s title in the all-India ranking doubles badminton tournament here. Devlekar and V. Harika overcame Saurabh and Anoushka Parikh 16-21, 24-22, 21-9 in a keenly-contested mixed doubles summit clash to claim his second crown. The top-seeded pair of Agna Anto and Sneha Santhilal bagged the women’s title.

Special Correspondent Kolkata

Agence France-Presse COLOMBO

Srisaket upsets unbeaten Gonzalez

Opener Tamim Iqbal topscored with 82 in the second innings as Bangladesh pulled off a historic four-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second Test in Colombo on Sunday. The rare win for Bangladesh — just its fourth away from home and first against Sri Lanka in 18 attempts — ended the two-Test series in a draw after the visitors endured a 259-run loss in the opener in Galle. Chasing a target of 191, teenager Mehedi Hasan hit the winning run after an anxious half hour in the final session on the fifth day, getting Bangladesh across the line in 57.5 overs.

NEW YORK

Thailand’s Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (right) captured the WBC super flyweight title on Saturday with a stunning majority decision over Roman Gonzalez at Madison Square Garden. This was Gonzalez’s first loss in his star-studded career. Srisaket has now won 41 of his last 42 fights as he improves to 42-4 overall with one drawn and 38 knockouts. AFP

Zeel Desai wins title KUCHING (MALAYSIA)

Fifth seed Zeel Desai beat Mahak Jain 6-3, 6-2 in the girls’ final of the ITF grade-1 junior tennis tournament here on Sunday. This is the 18-year-old Zeel’s first ITF grade-1 title. She has won an ITF women’s title, though (in Gwalior recently).

Good stand Tamim laid the groundwork with his 22nd Test fifty, teaming up with Sabbir Rahman, who made 41 runs and shared 109 for the third wicket. Sri Lanka struck in phases through spinners Dilruwan Perera and skipper Rangana Herath, who grabbed three wickets each, but lacked the cutting edge to deny Bangladesh from celebrating its 100th Test in style. Bangladesh began looking nervous when Tamim — who faced 82 balls and hit seven fours and a six — hoisted a catch to Dinesh Chandimal off Perera just before tea. Perera then removed Sabbir through a successful review after the bowler's initial appeal for leg-before was rejected, giving Sri Lanka an outside chance for a win. Mushifiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan got Bangladesh through to the tea break with 35 runs still needed. Mushfiqur remained unbeaten on 22 to take Bangladesh home.

Mick Schumacher eyes driving licence BERLIN

He’s already a star behind the wheel in Formula Four, but Michael Schumacher’s teenage son Mick turns 18 on Wednesday — and can finally qualify for a driving licence. Mick, who is studying for his driving test, is looking forward to finally being old enough to get his licence in Switzerland, despite already having a Formula Four career. “I can hardly wait for the day when I can put my foot down not just on the race track,” the 17-year-old told German daily Bild. AFP

The results (finals): Men: Vighnesh DevlekarSaurabh Sharma bt Chetan Anand-V. Diju 21-15, 27-25. Women: Agna Anto-Sneha Santhilal bt Dhanya NairAshna Roy 21-19, 21-18; Mixed: Vighnesh Devlekar-V. Harika bt Saurabh SharmaAnoushka Parikh 16-21, 2422, 21-9.

Pure Zinc & Themis triumph MUMBAI: Pure Zinc ridden by J. Chinoy claimed the Shapoorji Pallonji Breeders’ Juvenile Colts’ Championship while Themis (P. Trevor up) won the Forbes Breeders’ Juvenile Fillies’ Championship, the two main attractions of Sunday’s (March 19) races here. Pure Zinc is owned by M/s. Kishore P. Rungta, Gaurav K. Rungta, Ms. Priti Singh & Ms. Devika Shekhawat and trained by Adhirajsingh Jodha. Themis is owned by Mr. & Mrs. Vijay B. Shirke, Mr. Jay V. Shirke & Mr. K.N. Dhunjibhoy rep. Five Stars Shipping Co. Pvt. Ltd. and trained by M.K. Jadhav. P.R. MEHTA TROPHY (2,400m), Cl. III, rated 40 to 66: VULCAN (Trevor) 1, Geranium (Neeraj) 2 and June (C.S. Jodha) 3. Not run: Olly Boy. 1-1/4, 5-1/2. ₹19 (w), SHP: 25, FP: 13. Favourite: Geranium. Owners: M/s. Kishore P. Rungta & Mr. & Mrs. Hoosain S. Nensey. Trainer: Adhirajsingh Jodha. R.M. & RUKMANI GOCULDAS MILLION (1,400m), 4-y-o & over: CELTIC PRINCE (Neeraj) 1, Dancing Prances (A. Imran Khan) 2, Your Royal Majesty (Trevor) 3 and Rule Downunder (C.S. Jodha) 4. Not run: Brahmachari. 1-1/4, 11/2, Lnk. 1m 22.74s. ₹31 (w), 16 and 25 (p), SHP: 36, FP: 169, Q: 122, Tanala: 113 and 38. Favourite: Your Royal Majesty. Owners: M/s. Juzer Abbas Lokhandwala &

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SRI LANKA VS BANGLADESH, SECOND TEST

Sri Lanka — 1st innings: 338. Bangladesh — 1st innings: 467. Sri Lanka — 2nd innings: D. Karunaratne c Sarkar b Shakib 126, U. Tharanga b Mehedi 26, K. Mendis c Mushfiqur b Mustafizur 36, D. Chandimal c Mushfiqur b Mustafizur 5, A. Gunaratne lbw b Shakib 7, D. de Silva c Mushfiqur b Mustafizur 0, N. Dickwella c Mushfiqur b Shakib 5, D. Perera run out 50, R. Herath lbw b Taijul 9, S. Lakmal c Mossadek b Shakib 42, L. Sandakan (not out) 0; Extras (b-4, lb-8, w-1): 13; Total (in 113.2 overs): 319. Fall of wickets: 1-57, 2-143, 3165, 4-176, 5-177, 6-190, 7-217, 8-238, 9-318. Bangladesh bowling: Subashis 16-4-36-0, Mehedi 24-0-71-1, Mustafizur 23-3-78-3, Shakib 36.2-9-74-4, Mossadek 3-010-0, Taijul 11-1-38-1. Bangladesh — 2nd innings:

Tamil Iqbal c Chandimal b Perera 82, Soumya Sarkar c Tharanga b Herath 10, Imrul Kayes c Gunaratne b Herath 0, Sabbir Rahman lbw b Perera 41, Shakib Al Hasan b Perera 15, Mushfiqur Rahim (not out) 22, Mossadek Hossain c Dickwella b Herath 13, Mehedi Hasan (not out) 2; Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-1): 6; Total (for six wkts. in 57.5 overs): 191. Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-22, 3131, 4-143, 5-162, 6-189. Sri Lanka bowling: Perera 221-59-3, Herath 24.5-2-75-3, de Silva 2-0-7-0, Sandakan 6-134-0, Lakmal 2-0-7-0, Gunaratne 1-0-4-0. Man-of-the-match: Tamim Iqbal. Man-of-the-series: Shakib Al Hasan. Bangladesh won by four wickets, series shared 1-1.

Pollard, Narine in T20 squad ANI St. John’s (Antigua)

The West Indies has picked Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons and Samuel Badree for the fourmatch T20 series against Pakistan beginning on March 26. Chris Gayle, who has not played international cricket since the 2016 World T20, has not been picked. The squad: Samuel Badree, Carlos Brathwaite (Capt.), Jonathan Carter, Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton and Keswick Williams.

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket

team for the 2nd Deaf Asia Cup in Bangladesh would be led by Rohit Saini. The team for the tournament, to be held from March 20-27 in Dhaka left on Sunday. Interestingly, eight of the 17 players selected for the competition are trainees of the SAI academy at the National Stadium here, including captain Saini. Pakistan had defeated India in the final of the inaugural edition in 2015 to win by 50 runs. The team: Fahimuddin, Sumit Jain, Rohit Saini, Rajat Arora, Jitender Tyagi, Amit Gaur, Vaibhav Kumar, Vicky, Chetan Kumar, Sushil Yadav, Arun Goel, Yashwanth Naidu, Rajaram Gaddam, Moses Katuri, Virender Singh, Santosh Srivastava, Manjeet Sahravat.

Zakir Husain football from today The 29th Zakir Husain memorial football tournament would be held at

World rapid and blitz championships and ‘Tests’ are some of the suggestions mooted part of the world’s top-10 lists in November last — have not played in India for far too long. For World No. 14 Hari and eighth-ranked woman Harika, it is time the players did their bit to help attract corporate interest in the event. “I agree, chess is not a spectator sport but world over the rapid and blitz versions get plenty of eyeballs, both from spectators and online followers,” says Hari. “It is much like how the crowd is drawn to say the T20 version in IPL as compared to Test cricket.” “Unlike classical timeformats, the shorter versions of the game have huge spectator interest. We see this during the World rapid and blitz championships. In In-

Rakesh Rao

For long, Indian chess players have done consistently well at all levels and made the nation a force to reckon with in the chess world. However, within the country, chess players are silent victims of the indifference of the corporate world, in general. Given the sport’s low profile and the perception that chess players are far too one-dimensional in character, both sports lovers and promoters take limited interest in their achievements. Worse, the indifference of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) towards holding elite events has resulted in Viswanathan Anand, P. Hari Krishna, K. Humpy and D. Harika — the four players who

dia, such events featuring our top players can make a huge difference. “Simultaneous displays could also be organised to invite chess-loving decisionmakers from various MNCs, Public Sector units, sportspromoting companies to play in these events,” says Hari. He also suggests organising matches where India plays other countries in a ‘Test’ series. “We can provide a bigger platform for the corporates for longer duration. They can surely get visibility, branding, etc. When we play as the National team, it will have a panIndia appeal and this could also help in marketing the event better.” World No. 8 Harika seconds Hari’s line of think-

schedules suitably to be available for chess promotion in India. “I am keen to make a difference,” asserts Harika, who recently was in the Capital to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Sports Minister Vijay Goel.

Voicing their opinion: P. Hari Krishna and D. Harika feel chess players are silent victims of indiference. RAKESH RAO *

ing and says, “Unless chess gets corporate support, the sport’s profile will continue to suffer. “I strongly feel that chess achievers are not hailed enough and more than any-

one in particular, the image of the game and its players is the reason for this indifference.” Harika and Hari, among the few chess players managed by a private company, are willing to tweak their

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RACING WORLD TROPHY (1,600m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: CELESTIAL LIGHT (Trevor) 1, Irises (Daman) 2, Furious N Fast (S. Amit) 3 and Commandperformance (Merchant) 4. 3, 2, 1. 1m 39.65s. ₹35 (w), 12, 15 and 22 (p), SHP: 43, FP: 201, Q: 74, Tanala: 1,143 and 420. Favourite: Trombone. Owners: M/s. D.R. Thacker & S.R. Sanas rep. Neo-Light Agr & Brdg. Pvt. Ltd., M/s. Mohan Chattaram & Vikram D. Shah. Trainer: Imtiaz Sait.

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SHAPOORJI PALLONJI BREEDERS’ JUVENILE COLTS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (Gr.3) (1,600m), Indian colts and geldings, 3-y-o only: PURE ZINC ( J. Chinoy) 1, Caprisca (Trevor) 2, Rochester (Suraj Narredu) 3 and Big Sur (Dashrath) 4. Lnk, 3/4, Lnk. 1m 38.04s. ₹78

(w), 32 and 33 (p), SHP: 54, FP: 493, Q: 444, Tanala: 2,307 and 719. Favourite: Timeless. Owners: M/s. Kishore P. Rungta, Gaurav K. Rungta, Ms. Priti Singh & Ms. Devika Shekhawat. Trainer: Adhirajsingh Jodha.

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J. RUSTOMJI SOPARIVALA TROPHY (1,000m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: ALFREDO (Santosh) 1, Baryshnikhov (Trevor) 2, Locarno (Nadeem) 3 and Romantic Lass (Neeraj) 4. Snk, 1-3/4, 1-1/2. 59.14s. ₹43 (w), 18, 14 and 46 (p), SHP: 43, FP: 98, Q: 25, Tanala: 701 and 421. Favourite: Baryshnikhov. Owners: Mrs. Bakhtawar B. Chenoy & Mr. Darius B. Chenoy rep. Enterprising Rac. & Brdg. Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Bezan Chenoy.

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PRONTO PRONTO PLATE (1,400m), Cl. V, rated 1 to 26: KISS FROM A ROSE (A. Gaikwad) 1, Firenze (Neeraj) 2, Allegria (Trevor) 3 and Gold Streak (S. Amit) 4. 1/2, 1-1/4, 2-1/4. 1m 25.45s. ₹32 (w), 17, 15 and 15 (p), SHP: 46, FP: 118, Q: 70, Tanala: 243 and 80. Favourite: Allegria. Owner: Mr. Sudhir Ruia. Trainer: S. Waheed. Jackpot: (70 per cent): ₹19, 264 (41 tkts.), (30 per cent): ₹2,027 (167 tkts.). Treble: ₹1,535 (24 tkts.). Super jackpot: (70 per cent): ₹1,48,762 (carried forward), (30 per cent): ₹7,969 (four tkts).

\ REGIONAL ROUND-UP \

Hari, Harika make a move for better proile for chess New Delhi

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FORBES BREEDERS’ JUVENILE FILLIES’ CHAMPIONSHIP (Gr.3) (1,600m), Indian Fillies, 3-y-o only: THEMIS (Trevor) 1, Manifold (Neeraj) 2, Angels Touch (P.S. Chouhan) 3 and Selfie Star (Sandesh) 4. Snk, 2-3/4, Lnk. 1m 38.38s. ₹35 (w), 13 and 23 (p), SHP: 36, FP: 212, Q: 182, Tanala: 252 and 155. Favourite: Summer Rays. Owners: Mr. & Mrs. Vijay B. Shirke, Mr. Jay V. Shirke & Mr. K.N. Dhunjibhoy rep. Five Stars Shipping Co. Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: M.K. Jadhav.

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Rohit Saini at the helm Sheet-anchor: Tamim Iqbal’s stroke-illed innings helped Bangladesh post a historic win over Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Nirmal Singh. Trainer: S. Waheed.

Role of social media “I think the social media platforms also help in changing the profiles of chess players. “It is time to change the preconceived notion that chess players are very boring and serious individuals. Trust me, chess players are equally fun-loving and chilled out.” “I think, an impressive beginning has to be made and once the corporate world is convinced , there will be no looking back,” asserts Harika, an eternal optimist.

the Zakir Husain College grounds from March 20 to 28. The inter-college tournament would see participation from 16 top teams of the city on a leaguecum-knockout basis with the two teams topping Pool A and Pool B respectively taking on each other in the final on March 28.

Hansraj Academy triumphs Opener and Man of the Match Abhishek Jain scored 64 runs while Sandeep Saini and Yashasvi Tiwari picked up four wickets each to help Hansraj Academy beat Friends Club by four wickets and lift the Mukharjee Memorial under-19 tournament. Jain was also named best batsman of the competition. The scores: Friends Club 196 all out in 25 overs (Apramay Jaiswal 53, Utsav Madan 32; Sandeep Saini four for 37, Yashasvi Tiwari four for 50) lost to Hansraj Academy 197 for six in 24.2 overs

(Abhishek Jain 64; Alipt Gupta three for 26).

Bhavesh scores century Man of the Match Bhavesh Seth scored a match-winning 106 as Maulana Azad Club beat PK Sports by four wickets in the Sai Devlopzone Cup tournament. The scores: PK Sports 216 for eight in 40 overs (Ankit Pratap Singh 55, Chetan Rishi 40; Lakshay Sharma three for 20) lost to MAC 217 for six in 37.5 overs (Bhavesh Seth 106; Dinesh Mor three for 27).

Rahul, Mohit shines Rahul Mathur's 71-run knock and four-wicket haul by off-spinner Mohit Sharma helped Devender Chaudhary Academy beat York Club by 21 runs in the Swastik Cup tournament. The scores: DCA 170 all out in 34.2 overs (Rahul Mathur 71; SK Soni three for 23) bt York Club 149 all out in 30.2 overs (Ajay Shankar 43; Mohit Sharma four for 15).

Arati Natekar to lead Fed Cup team Mahak Jain, Shivani Amineni absent Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

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A brand new Indian team with a new captain will attempt to fight its way towards qualification in the Asia-Oceania junior (under-16) Fed Cup (girls) tennis tournament, starting at the DLTA Complex on Monday. In the absence of Mahak Jain and Shivani Amineni, who had helped India qualify for the World Group last year, Salsa Aher and Sai Dedeepya will lead the hosts’ challenge, along with Humera Shaikh. Former Fed Cupper Arati Natekar will captain India in the 16-team competition, from which the top three

Top two from each of the four pools will go through to the knockout stage

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will play the World Group. With the top two from each of the four pools going through to the knockout stage, India finds itself in a tough group along with eighth seed Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei and Pacific Oceania. The groupings: Pool A: Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Korea. Pool B: Thailand, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand. Pool C: Australia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong. Pool D: Chinese Taipei, Pacific Oceania, India, Uzbekistan.

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THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11959 1

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(set by KrisKross)

French soldier — a wellmannered person (9)

FAITH

SUDOKU

Serving the needy

4 Plant’s tip gone off (7)

14 Short visit from John's relatives (4-2)

6 Guns raised on supporters chucking egg (9)

16 Worker crosses river from the east — it’s the shortest way (7)

7 Sign found in Shinto temples (5)

19 Excellent fellow who never gets the bride (4,3)

8 More determined to trade nothing with a foreigner (8)

21 Encourage to start translating Urdu — it is spoken in Afghanistan (6)

11 Rolls over in shame (4)

23 Fresh air, sun, sea for persons of a certain race (9)

15 Characters from Lockhart, USA, make up a book of Congress (4,5)

25 Ray catches red ish (5) 26

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26 Originally valuable article — it’s the source of your pride (6) 27 Order drinks for Peter (8) 28 Notice saying: “Change direction” (3-3) ■ ACROSS 1 Unnamed criminal captures South Pole's explorer (8) 5 Girl pays for jars (6) 9 Maid dons tailored suit (8) 10 Rama perhaps is a sailor, winning Ravana’s heart (6) 12 Instant tests for the audience (5) 13 To start with, Napoleon enters to receive the

CM YK

29 Retro songs about Long Island (3,5) ■ DOWN 1 Inspects collapsed stadium after many died (6) 2 A French bird (cowardly person), mostly in agreement (9) 3 Controlled cattle (5)

17 Mostly at sea (2,3,4) 18 Sees doctor and helps (8) 20 Clean without water (4)

Solution to puzzle 11958 21 Scientist from ancient continent, half-destroyed (7) 22 A crowd surrounds leader of extremists — a spineless creature (6) 24 Compass to begin navigating in storm (5) 25 Barely managed to sell a precious stone (5)

C H R I N B E S D E S C C A T A T E R

A R E E R C A N D O T G L I T I A S L O N G T R E I P E N D I N G L G L E D S U P C S I P T A I N S R M H MO S P H E R N L D E S T E D O

O V E T S B U U T E R I N G A O T I P P E R S N E A L AM P N P O S I N G E E R U S H E D C H D E A X L E N K E T H E R S

Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

Saint Vallalar’s teachings were simple, and while his verses were spiritual he never lost sight of the fact that we serve God best when we serve the needy on this earth. Contentment is a quality most of us lack. We want to accumulate more and more wealth and we do not spare a thought for the poor. But for men of God, wealth is insignificant, and whatever is at their disposal is spent on those in need, said M.A. Manickavelu in a discourse. Most people do not practise what they preach. But saint Vallalar not only told people to feed the poor, but he set an example by doing so himself. Vallalar urges people to introspect, for only such introspection will lead to the realisation that we should be indifferent to material possessions. Sekkizhar in his Peria Puranam says that to devotees of Lord Siva, a broken piece of a pot and pure gold are both the same. That is the attitude we must cultivate. Health is the best wealth one can ask for, and poet Avvaiyar emphasised this. Saint Vallalar, in his Deiva Mani Malai, sung in praise of Lord Shanmukha, the deity of the temple of Kanda Kottam in Chennai, prays for health. He seeks strength of body and mind, for without these how will he be able to think of the Lord? He wants his thoughts to remain focused on the Lord till he breathes his last and for this to happen he must be sound in body and mind. Vallalar prays for forbearance, a quality praised by Thiruvalluvar who says one should be patient like the earth. We dig the earth to lay foundations for buildings. We hurt the earth by digging wells to meet our need for water. And yet the earth does not complain, but bears our actions patiently. “Be like the earth,” Thiruvalluvar says. Vallalar prays that he should sing the Lord’s praises and never the praise of mortals. A ND-ND

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THE HINDU

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IN BRIEF

Atletico Madrid closes in on Sevilla Cuadrado heads a jittery Juventus past Sampdoria

Justin Kluivert beats dad Patrick’s Ajax record THE HAGUE

Justin Kluivert, the teenage son of former Ajax and Barcelona striker Patrick, scored his first top flight goal for Ajax on Sunday in a 1-1 draw against Excelsior. At just 17-years and 318 days Justin beat his father’s mark who was 18-years and 58-days old when he bagged his first league goal for Ajax. Patrick remains the youngest player to have scored in the Champions League final at 18-years, 10-months and 23-days. AFP

First strike: Diego Godin heads in Atletico Madrid’s opening goal against Sevilla. Agence France-Presse Madrid

Irfan clinches 20km walk bronze NOMI (JAPAN)

National record holder K.T. Irfan won the bronze in the 20km men’s event in the Asian race walk championships here on Sunday. Irfan finished in 1 hour 20 min and 59 secs. Korea’s Kim Hyun-Sub took the gold in 1:19:50 while Georgiy Sheiko of Kazakhstan bagged the silver in 1:20:47. In the women’s event, India’s Priyanka finished fourth (1:37:42). China’s Wang Na won the gold (1:30:51). PTI

TV PICKS NBA: Sony Six & Six HD, 7 a.m.

Vijay Hazare Trophy: Final, STAR Sports 2 & HD2, 9 a.m. India v Australia: 3rd Test, final day, STAR Sports 1 & 3 and HD1 & 3, 9.30 a.m.

CM YK

Antoine Griezmann teed up Diego Godin’s opener then struck a stunning free-kick as Atletico Madrid compounded a week to forget for Sevilla in a 3-1 win on Sunday. Koke added Atletico’s third before Joaquin Correa registered a consolation for Sevilla. Sevilla was dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico’s quarterfinal opponent Leicester City on Wednesday and has seen its lead over Atletico in third place in La Liga now whittled down to two points. A third straight league win moves Diego Simeone’s men seven points clear of Real Sociedad and Villarreal in the battle for fourth. And the Atletico fans also celebrated the return of Fernando Torres for the first time since he was knocked unconscious in a sickening head clash at Deportivo la Coruna on March 2. Kevin Gameiro was handed a start ahead of Torres as the French international also returned from injury. Meanwhile, in the Serie A,

EURO FOOTBALL a first-half header from Juan Cuadrado delivered a 1-0 win for a jittery Juventus at Sampdoria during which infuriated coach Massimiliano Allegri kicked kit bags on the touchline. Juve’s 24th league win of the campaign moved the champion 10 points clear of Napoli after its earlier 3-2 win at Empoli. But, days after sealing a mouthwatering Champions League quarterfinal matchup with Barcelona, it was a far from trademark Juventus performance at the Luigi Ferraris stadium. Cuadrado rose to meet a great delivery from Kwadwo Asamoah after just seven minutes to put Juve ahead, but after losing playmaker Paulo Dybala to injury early on the Turin giant laboured for the remainder of the match. The results: Premier League: Sunday: Middlesbrough 1 (Gestede 77) lost to Manchester United 3 (Fellaini 30, Lingard 62, Valencia 90+3); Tottenham 2 (Eriksen 14, Alli 33-pen) bt Southamp-

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ton 1 (Ward-Prowse 52). Saturday: Bournemouth 2 (Mawson 31-og, Afobe 72) bt Swansea 0. La Liga: Sunday: Leganes 0 drew with Malaga 0; Atletico Madrid 3 (Godin 37, Griezmann 60, Koke 77) bt Sevilla 1 (Correa 85). Saturday: Real Betis 2 (Navarro 4, Ruben Castro 28) bt Osasuna 0; Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aduriz 65) lost to Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 25, Casemiro 68); Alaves 1 (Deyverson 44) bt Real Sociedad 0. Bundesliga: Sunday: Mainz 0 lost to Schalke 04 1 (Kolasinac 50) Saturday: E. Frankfurt 0 drew with Hamburg 0. Serie A: Sunday: Empoli 2 (El Kaddouri 70, Maccarone 82pen) lost to Napoli 3 (Insigne 19, 38-pen, Mertens 24); Atalanta 3 (Gomez 14, 90+3, Grassi 69) bt Pescara 0; Bologna 4 (Verdi 61, Dzemaili 72, 90, Di Francesco 90+3) bt Chievo 1 (Castro 40); Cagliari 0 drew with Lazio 0; Crotone 0 lost to Fiorentina 1 (Kalinic 90); Sampdoria 0 lost to Juventus 1 (Cuadrado 7). Saturday: Torino 2 (Baselli 33, Acquah 59) drew with Inter Milan 2 (Kondogbia 27, Candreva 62); AC Milan 1 (Fernandez 33) bt Genoa 0.

Brahmanand not impressed Goalkeeper sceptical about ISL’s role in game development M.R. Praveen Chandran Panaji

The match between the two traditional rivals Bengal and Goa in the 71st edition of the National championship at GMC stadium in Bambolim turned out be a damp squib. Watching from the stands was one of India’s greatest goalkeepers S. Brahmanand. Like many, he was not impressed with the fare dished out by both teams. “I didn’t see a single player from either team who could one day become a star,” he said. “The standards have come down drastically. The former Goa captain and the first footballer from the State to win the Arjuna award said the All India Football Federation’s thinking on the Santosh Trophy was skewed. “If it is a national tourna-

S. Brahmanand.

ment I believe the best players in the country should take part in it. The AIFF should revive popular tournaments like the Federation Cup, the Rovers Cup, the Durand Cup, etc if they really want football to improve,” he said. “Personally, I have great memories of the Santosh Trophy. Playing against some of the greats of Indian

football was a challenge. I am still proud of my record in the Santosh Trophy; in 1984 when Goa won the tournament I didn’t concede a single goal,” said the man who was nicknamed ‘The Leopard’. Brahamanand said he was sceptical about whether the ISL would improve football in the country. “To be honest, I am not in a position to comment on that right now, but I can say that with the advent of the ISL, interest in the I-League has diminished. “I think Indian players should be given more chances to play in the Ileague, and over-dependence on foreigners is not going to help Indian football. The AIFF should ensure that the teams largely field Indian players at least in the second division I-League,” said Brahmanand.

Kerala storms into semiinals Punjab sufers a 1-0 defeat at Maharashtra’s hands M.R. Praveen Chandran Vasco

Kerala came up with its most authoritative performance in the tournament yet to blank Mizoram 4-1, and ensured itself of a place in semifinals of the 71st Santosh Trophy National Football championship at the Tilak Maidan here on Sunday. A brace from substitute Asharudeen and goals from Jobby Justin and Seesan scripted an easy win which sees Kerala now leading group-B with seven points from four matches. Maharashtra upset Punjab by a solitary goal at the GMC stadium, Bambolim, and that result sealed Kerala’s semifinal spot, irrespective of the outcome of its last league match against Maharashtra, Kerala rattled Mizoram with two goals inside the first 10 minutes. Mizoram’s problems were further compounded when it was reduced to

SANTOSH TROPHY 10 men in the 26th minute. Fakuzula, who had been yellow-carded earlier, received his second when he argued with the referee. Kerala found its rhythm pretty early, and in the seventh minute, Sreerag’s floated a free-kick from just outside the box to Jobby who converted it with a flying header. The second blow came even before Mizoram could recover from the first. Seesan latched on to a loose clearance and bulged the net with a rasping volley from 20 yards in the ninth minute. In the 24th minute, Sreerag arrowed in a precise cross to Jobby but the striker botched his kick. Taking advantage of its numerical superiority, Kerala swarmed the rival half but failed to convert the chances. Mizoram’s only genuine

chance came in the 41st minute when Apuia hooked a left-footer over the goalkeeper Midhun, only for the ball to rebound off the bar. Mizoram was in attack mode from the start in the second half. But Kerala soaked the pressure and counter-attacked whenever it got chance. On one such instance in the 65th minute, ball was quickly relayed to Usman who squared it to Asharudeen, and he scored with a low shot. IT became 4-0 in the 84th minute when Asharudeen shot home with a beautifully taken leftfooter. Taking advantage of Kerala lowering its guard, Lal Rammawia sneaked in the consolation goal in the 86th minute. The results: Kerala 4 (Jobby Justin 7, Seesan 9, Asharudeen 65, 84) bt Mizoram 1 (Lal Rammawia 86); Maharashtra 1 (Vijit Shetty 67) bt Punjab 0 .

Perfect 10 for Kaushal & Nitesh A. JOSEPH ANTONY PANAJI

Kaushal Kumar Yadav and Nitesh Kumar had a perfect 10 in the Hobie 16 class of the Goa International Sailing Week which concluded off the Dona Paula and Cidade de Goa beaches on Sunday. Maheswar Padhan narrowly missed such a flawless finish by a solitary point, logging 11 in the RS:X class. Padhan slackened a wee bit in the farewell rounds, slipping to third in both. “Today I sailed for fun,” he said. “Those who didn’t make it here don’t know what they missed. This series was a fine mix of low, medium and high winds. I will never forget the 22-knot wind speeds on the second day, during which just two of us finished in one race! “With the big breakers, I actually levitated when we were thrown upwards,” said Padhan. The results: Laser Standard: XI: 1. Md. Israj Ali (EMESA); 2. Deelip Kumar (EMESA); 3. Avinash Yadav (INSA). XII: 1. Himanshu Yadav (INSA); 2. Israj (EMESA); 3. Ajay Singh Rajput (INSA). Overall standings: 1. Upamanyu Dutta 13 pts. (INWTC); 2. Deelip Kumar 27 (EMESA); 3. Israj Ali 28 (EMESA). RS: X: XI: 1. Rahul Choudhary (INSA); 2. Kamalapati Ojha (EMESA); 3. Maheswar Padhan (INSA). XII: 1. Kamalapati; 2. Rahul; 3. Padhan. Overall standings: 1. Maheswar Padhan 11 (INSA); 2. Rahul Choudhary 21 (INSA); 3. Kamalapati Ojha 22 (EMESA). Hobie 16: XI: 1. Kaushal Kumar Yadav & Nitesh Kumar (AWSA); 2. Ajay Patel & Gurunath (GBSA); 3. Ashish Gaur & Naveen Kumar (AWSA). XII: 1. Kaushal & Nitesh; 2. Patel & Gurunath; 3. Indramani Yadav & Naveen Vashist (AWSA). Overall standings: 1. Kaushal & Nitesh 10 (AWSA); 2. Patel & Gurunath 27 (GBSA); 3. Indramani & Naveen 28 (AWSA).

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THE HINDU

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IN BRIEF

Reviving Assam’s ancient ink ‘Mahi’ has a protective efect on manuscripts because of its anti-fungal properties Indo-Asian News Service Kolkata

Dad who grew beard for daughter wins contest MONTPELIER (U.S.)

A father who grew a beard to honour his 11-year-old daughter’s memory has won the 2017 Vermont Beardies competition in the U.S. Bryan Sturge says he entered the beard contest as a tribute to his daughter Zoey, who died of cancer in 2013 before her wish of going to Disney World and swimming with dolphins could be granted. AP

Journalist who lashed Nazi surrender is dead NEW YORK

George E. Bria, the Associated Press reporter who flashed word of the German surrender in Italy at World War II’s end and went on to become chief U.N. correspondent died on Saturday. He was 101. AP

Diabetes drug may help treat breast cancer

By unravelling the science behind Assam’s ancient herbal ink ‘mahi’, researchers are planning to recreate the lost techniques of manuscript writing. They say their efforts could boost heritage tourism. The technique involves extracting ‘mahi’ using cow urine from a cocktail of fruit pulp and tree bark such as haritaki, amla, bibhitakhi or bhomora, mango and jamun — often infused with the blood of eels or catfish. Rust from iron tools or nails was added for an intense black hue. ‘Mahi’ was used in early and medieval Assam for writing on ‘sancipat’ (folios made of the bark of the sanci tree) manuscripts. Some folios were gifted by Kumar Bhaskar Barman, the then King of Pragjyotishpura (ancient Assam) to Harshavardhana, an emperor who ruled north India from 606 to 647 C.E., a testimony to the period of use. The endurance of the ink is proven by the stability of sancipat manuscripts. The key factor for this long-lasting marriage between ‘mahi’ and ‘sancipat’ is the herbal concoction’s resistance to aerial oxidation and fungal attacks. “One of the reasons for

Test of endurance: A ile photo of a manuscript stored at Auniati Satra museum at Majuli in Assam. RITU RAJ KONWAR *

the manuscripts’ stability is the anti-fungal activity of the ink. This is due to its raw materials, including astringent fruits and cow urine, which seems to have a protective effect on cellulosic sancipat against fungal attack in the hot and humid climate of Assam,” said Robin Kumar Dutta, Professor, Department of Chemical Sciences, Tezpur University.

No loss of text In contrast, some formulations of acidic iron gall ink — which was in use at the same time in Europe — can render documents illegible by causing loss of text, bleeding and fading due to ink corrosion. Professor Dutta believes the study of ancient ink and paint may help retrieve useful information regarding

traditional practices. “Efforts are on to recreate these heritage tokens (sancipat and mahi) in lab conditions and upscale them. They can be used as tourism marketing tools. For tourists who visit Egypt or Europe, papyrus scrolls are popular. Similarly, we are working towards the idea that mahi and sancipat can become popular tokens. In addition, for locals, there is an emotional attachment to a piece of heritage,” Professor Dutta explained. Professor Dutta and his colleagues Barsha R. Goswami, Monoj K. Das, Pranjal P. Das, Tapas Medhi, Anand Ramteke and Simanta Hazarika (Gauhati University) published a report on scientific assays of ‘mahi’ in Current Science last month.

The major phytochemical constituents in ‘mahi’ have been identified as phenolic acids, flavonoids and tannins and their complexes with iron. Though there are several recorded recipes for ‘mahi’ formulation, one commonality exists for all: the season during which it is concocted. “It is only prepared (in natural settings) in the winter season. The low temperature and dry conditions in winter ensure minimum exposure of the mixture to microbes and heat, which may decompose the dyes during the long time needed for extraction,” Professor Dutta noted. “In mahi, no external stabiliser is used whereas gum Arabic is used for the purpose in iron gall ink. Another interesting feature is that the pH of mahi remains neutral because of cow urine and the absence of acidic ingredients like vinegar. Iron gall ink has an acidic character that leads to destruction of the manuscripts,” he said. The study was carried out using a sample of ‘mahi’ obtained from M.M. Bora of Dhing in Assam. Mr. Bora is a practitioner of the manuscript-writing tradition on sancipat and fresh samples of mahi were prepared under his supervision.

New Wi-Fi system to ofer super-fast connectivity The wireless network is based on harmless infrared rays Press Trust of India London

Scientists have developed a new wireless Internet based on infrared rays that is reportedly 100 times faster than existing Wi-Fi networks. The wireless network developed by researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands not only has a huge capacity — more than 40 Gigabits per second (Gbit/s) — but does away with the need to share Wi-Fi as every device gets its own ray of light. The wireless data comes from a few central ‘light antennas’, which can be mounted on the ceiling, that are able to precisely direct the rays of light supplied by an optical fibre. The antennas contain a pair of gratings that radiate light rays of different wavelengths at different angles (‘passive diffraction gratings’). Changing the light wavelengths also changes the direction of the ray of light. A safe infrared wavelength is used that does not reach the retina in the eye. If a user is walking about

Buddhist Thailand boosts its ‘halal’ economy

BEIJING

Chinese researchers have discovered that a drug used to treat diabetes could be effective against a form of breast cancer. They found that epalrestat, which inhibits a metabolic enzyme called AKR1B1, was able to block the growth of cancer cells. PTI

Australian teen ‘punches’ crocodile and escapes SYDNEY

An Australian teenager is lucky to be alive, paramedics said on Sunday, after he reportedly escaped the jaws of a crocodile by punching it in the head during a swim in a river. Lee de Paauw suffered injuries on his left arm. AFP

The Southeast Asian nation is diversifying its visitor proile by reaching out to Muslim countries Agence France-Presse Bangkok

From hotels with segregated swimming pools to jelly made from seaweed instead of pig bones, Buddhist Thailand is chasing halal gold as it welcomes Muslim visitors and touts its wares to the Islamic world. Inside the cavernous dining hall of the five-star Al Meroz hotel in a Muslim suburb of Bangkok, an elderly man with a wispy beard recites verses of the Koran as a nervous-looking groom awaits the arrival of his bride. The young man bursts into a smile as his soon-to-be wife appears, clad in a brilliant white dress with matching headscarf. The ceremony is one of dozens of marriages held over the last few months at

Iran pre-nups land hundreds of men in jail

the Al Meroz — the city’s first entirely halal hotel. Thailand has long been a draw for the world’s sunseekers and hedonists, drawn to its parties, red-light districts, cheap booze and tropical beaches. But it has also seen a huge influx of visitors from Muslim countries, part of a quiet but deliberate strategy by the Southeast Asian nation to diversify its visitor profile. “Considering there are 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, I think this is a very good market,” explains Sanya Saenboon, the general manager of the hotel, one of a growing number of businesses serving a boom in Islamic tourists. The hotel opened its doors last year, setting itself

A wedding reception at the Al Meroz hotel in Bangkok.

apart with its attention to all things Islamic. For a start there is no alcohol on sale, while the top floor swimming pool and gym has specific times for when men and women can use the facilities.

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AFP

Everything in the building has been ticked off against stringent checklist for practising Muslims, from bed linen washed in a particular way, to ensuring toiletries are free of alcohol or animal fat — making everyday goods

“permissible” for the faithful. Ms. Saenboon, who is Muslim, says such checks give visitors “peace of mind” so clients never have to ask themselves “can I eat this?” Despite a decade of political turbulence, Thailand has seen an explosion in tourist arrivals, from 13.8 million annual visitors in 2006 to a record 32.5 million last year. An AFP analysis of government figures shows visitors from key majority Muslim nations in the Middle East and Asia have risen from 2.63 million in 2006 to 6.03 million last year. “Thailand was ahead of the curve,” says Fazal Baharden, founder of the Singapore-based Crescent Rating, which rates which countries are most welcoming to Muslim travellers.

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Solitary worker

‘Mehrieh’ system under the spotlight Agence France-Presse Tehran

When Sadegh married his college sweetheart, he never thought he’d end up as one of those Iranians facing ruin and even prison because of huge sums demanded by his wife’s family. But the “mehrieh” (affection) system, in which future husbands agree to pay a certain number of gold coins to the bride in the event of divorce, has left hundreds of men in Iran languishing in jail and many more destitute. “Our mehrieh was high, around 800 gold coins, but when we were planning the wedding, we didn’t think about how it might end,” said Mr. Sadegh, who was divorced last year after eight years of marriage.

Payment in gold Each gold coin is worth around 10 million rials ($300). A worker on Iran’s average wage would need 50 years to earn 800 gold coins. “Even when the problems started and we talked about separation, it was supposed to be mutual and no mehrieh was going to be paid,” said Mr. Sadegh, who spoke to AFP on condition that his full name not be used. But then his wife’s family got involved, and suddenly Mr. Sadegh found himself in court where he was told to pay 110 coins immediately or go to jail. “The thought of ending up in prison for this, like in the movies, seemed ridiculous,” he said. CM YK

“Mehrieh is good as a financial support for women in a patriarchal society like Iran, but it has become a business.” Pleading he was broke, the judge brokered a deal in which Mr. Sadegh agreed to pay the equivalent of 120 coins, one per month. That meant a decade of payments, each taking just under half his photographer’s salary. Then, five months in, he lost his job. It could have been even worse. At last count, the judiciary said some 2,297 men were in jail for failing to pay their mehrieh after a divorce. A glimmer of hope surfaced this week in Tehran, where a ceremony was held to celebrate the work of donors who pay off the debts of prisoners as a show of Islamic charity. They have freed 1,700 mehrieh-convicts over the past year. “Unfortunately, today competition among families has led to ever-increasing mehrieh,” said Hadi Sadeghi, a cleric and judiciary official who helps coordinate the releases. He said mehrieh, whose level is negotiated by the families at the time of a couple’s engagement as per ancient Islamic custom, had lost its simple traditional function as a form of dowry for the newly-weds to buy furniture. “The worst case is when families turn it into a business. Boys need to be careful not to be deceived,” said the cleric.

Spring is in the air: A isherman is engrossed in his daily tasks on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar on Sunday.

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NISSAR AHMAD

Vision for the future: Researchers were able to get a speed of 42.8 Gbit/s using the technology. GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO *

and a smartphone or tablet moves out of the light antenna’s direction, then another light antenna takes over, researchers said.

Tracks precise location The network tracks the precise location of every wireless device using its radio signal transmitted in the return direction, they said. Different devices are assigned different wavelengths by the same light antenna and so do not have to share capacity. Current Wi-Fi uses radio signals with a frequency of 2.5 or five gigahertz. The new system uses infrared

light with wavelengths of 1,500 nanometres and higher. Researchers managed to achieve a speed of 42.8 Gbit/s over a distance of 2.5 metres. The team said that even with the best Wi-Fi systems currenly available, users would not get more than 300 Megabit/s in total, which is some hundred times less than the speed per ray of light achieved by the new system. The system has so far used the light rays only to download; uploads are still done using radio signals since in most applications much less capacity is needed for uploading.

Woman’s view: New spoof of BBC interview Comedians make a parody of viral clip

Multitasking hero: A screenshot of the spoof interview. *

FACEBOOK/JONO AND BEN

Eleanor Ainge Roy Dunedin (New Zealand)

A video has emerged parodying the BBC’s viral hit which featured a professor interrupted by his children during a live interview , reimagining how the scene would have unfolded if a woman had been in the hot seat. Last week, the video of academician Robert Kelly became world famous after his four-year-old daughter Marion barged into the room mid-interview, followed by his eight-monthold son James and finally his panicked wife Jung-a Kim. The New Zealand comedy show Jono and Ben released their spoof, with a woman as the interviewee. The Facebook video has been watched 32 million times. During the one-minute clip the woman is first interrupted by a young child in a yellow jumper. She seamlessly continues answering complex political questions about South Korea while pulling the child onto her lap and feeding her a bottle.

Rattles and bombs Next, a baby totters into the room with a walker, and the woman continues answering questions, her eyes never leaving the camera, whilst holding the child in her lap, and entertaining the baby with a rattling ball. As the child wanders out of the room the mother

reaches off-camera and pulls out a roast chicken dinner, sniffing it to check if it is ready. The woman then reaches for a shirt to de-lint while she speaks, and, a moment later, scrubs a toilet bowl that appears on her left. The interview continues as a bomb squad burst into the room, and the woman defuses a bomb; “Oh my god, is that a bomb?” asks the interviewer. As the interview draws to a close a man in bare feet speaking in a broad New Zealand accent rushes into the study, flapping a sock at the woman’s back. “I can’t find my missing sock, I have looked everywhere, I have looked in the sock drawer!” he says, panicked. The BBC presenter thanks the woman for her time, calling the interview “interesting”. The woman smiles warmly, her eyes finally leaving the camera. “OK, let’s find this sock then!” she says cheerfully. The Jono and Ben version of the video was greeted with a decidedly mixed response. Some female commentators called the video “hilarious” and said it was an accurate and amusing reflection of a working mother’s life. However many others, both male and female, labelled the parody “sexist” and said it was a classic example of “man-bashing”. Guardian News and Media

Scientists discover ive new sub-atomic particles The ind will contribute to understanding how three constituent quarks are bound inside a baryon Press Trust of India Geneva

Scientists using the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator have discovered a new system of five particles all in a single analysis. The uniqueness of this discovery is that observing five new states all at once is very rare, researchers said. The LHCb experiment is one of seven particle physics

detector experiments collecting data at the Large Hadron Collider accelerator at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research). The collaboration has announced the measurement of a very rare particle decay and evidence of a new manifestation of matter —antimatter asymmetry, to name just two examples. The new particles were found to be in excited states

— a particle state that has a higher energy than the absolute minimum configuration (or ground state) — of a particle called Omega-c-zero.

Excited states Omega-c-zero is a baryon, a particle with three quarks, containing two “strange” and one “charm” quark. Omega-c-zero decays via the strong force into another baryon, called Xi-c-plus,

(containing a “charm”, a “strange” and an “up” quark) and a kaon K-. Then the Xi-c-plusparticle decays in turn into a proton p, a kaon K- and a pion p+. From the analysis of the trajectories and the energy left in the detector by all the particles in this final configuration, the LHCb collaboration could trace back the initial event — the decay of the Omega-c-zero — and its ex-

cited states. These particle states are named, according to the standard convention, Oc(3000)0, Oc(3050)0, Oc (3066)0, Oc(3090)0 and Oc (3119)0. The numbers indicate their masses in megaelectronvolts (MeV), as measured by LHCb. The next step will be the determination of the quantum numbers of these new particles — characteristic numbers used to

identify the properties of a specific particle — and the determination of their theoretical significance. This discovery will contribute to understanding how the three constituent quarks are bound inside a baryon and also to probing the correlation between quarks, which plays a key role in describing multi-quark states, such as tetraquarks and pentaquarks. A ND-ND