AV 1st June 2019

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

NEW ERA FOR INDIA Narendra Modi has re-written history with a sweeping win in the general elections

1 - 7 JUNE 2019 - VOL 48 ISSUE 5

inside: Home Office questioned over wrongly accused international students' visa cancellations SEE PAGE 4

Mitul Paniker Modi is now all set to be sworn in for his second term as Prime Minister at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. A communique from the President's House said, “President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the Oath of Office and Secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of Union Council of Ministers on May 30 at 7 pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan.� After the NDA won in the Lok Sabha elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party claiming 303 seats on its own, Modi was elected unanimously as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance on Saturday.

Continued on page 26

Sajid Javid joins race for Tory party leader SEE PAGE 6 EID SPECIAL

The Satanic Verses: 30 years on - in conversation with Mobeen Azha SEE PAGE 7

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onetoone WITH KEITH VAZ, MP

Anuj Chhabra

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Anuj is a Managing Director & heads Global South Asian business in the UK for UBS Global Wealth Management. He has been in banking for over 22 years. He holds MBA from India, MSc from University of Rochester, USA and Master in Advance studies from University of Bern, Switzerland. He is also an alumni of IMD Geneva and holds Chartered membership at MCSI UK. During his career, he successfully helped launch and build a Global banking franchise both in Asia and in UK. He is married and lives in North west London with his wife and two boys.

Anuj is keen to learn new things, travel to new places and learn about various cultures across the globe. Anuj is also interested in history and culture and its socio-political impact on the society.

Having travelled and dealt with individuals in various societies has helped him shape his understanding on the subject.

He always emphasizes the importance and relevance of emotional quotient in shaping an individual in his personal and professional life. For him, this is one of the most important parameters in hiring new talent.

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

I was born and brought up in Chandigarh, India and spent a considerable amount of my life there, so I have a natural connection with the city, which inspired me for its openness and easy adaptive nature.

Similarly, I have been living in London for over 16 years and have realised that the city has much to offer - its international flair,

multi-cultural co-existence, history and much more. I have been travelling across the world but once you live in London, there is nothing in the world that attracts and offers you anything more.

What are your proudest achievements?

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I am not there yet to be proud of my achievements. I am still working towards it.

My proudest moment would be when I am

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I think staying true to yourself is really important. Also, I believe that our culture and values shape our personality and I appreciate that whenever I see it in someone. I am really inspired by millennials, who are destined to inherit their family wealth, for their urge to do better for themselves and equally for the society.

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Any workplace is full of obstacles and opportunities. When things which are beyond your influence become critical for the business, many times one may feel helpless. Over the years, these experiences have helped me to develop an art to challenge and navigate these obstacles and sometimes convert them to an opportunity.

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

Without mentioning names, several people have taught me vital lessons and shown me directions over the years. However, one notable experience has helped shape my value system in my early career. When I was a young executive, my regional head asked me to run an independent unit where many of my colleagues were highly experienced and much older, but energy was getting diverted in every direction. This assignment provided me lifelong lessons that with right engagement and support, any one of us can achieve the best results. I learned that enabling the talent and faith in your people are the best business virtues.

What is the best aspect about your current role?

Meeting the most successful people across the world. Many of them are first generation entrepreneurs. It is fascinating to know how they convert the opportunities to successful ventures in their respective domestic markets and how they adapt and change when they approach global markets. The most exciting part is how humble they are about their achievements and the value sys-

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Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the Founding Director of London's Nehru Centre and grandson of India's 'Father of the Nation', is coming to Britain on a four day visit on 29 May to celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Mr Gandhi has previously served as the Secretary to the President of India and as High Commissioner of India to South Africa and Sri

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Our goals are the output of culture and value system. The Asian value system pushes us to achieve the best in our career and our culture pushes us to do well for our society. The art of giving is an age-old phenomenon and now we want to measure the impact of our contributions on the society.

My goal is to do both, and I am working towards it.

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

Private sector has the best brains and the government has the best resources. The government’s main objective is to serve the society, using the resources efficiently. I would invite people from private sector to help and to create an environment for efficient resource allocation and optimally benefit the most disadvantaged people, bring real change to their life.

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

I don’t believe much in historical figures except to draw inspiration from their work.

I believe my most treasured thing i.e, my time will be best spent with anyone who is doing real efforts to bring change to someone’s life. That person would be my hero and I would like to see if I can do the same for someone else. Life is too short and we all should use it most efficiently by bringing happiness and a smile to others and while doing so, one need not spend fortunes or be recognized for their selfless acts.

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I would love to see the next generation of talented men and women choose wealth management as their preferred career, which now is not necessarily the case. Some of the best brains are exploring other career options outside the financial industry.

What are your long term goals?

Lanka, among other administrative and diplomatic posts.

He was the UPA nominee for Vice President of India.

Mr Gandhi will be addressing three meetings in the UK. On 30 May, between from 4-6pm, he is conducting a dialogue on the theme of India at the Parliament. On 31 May at 6pm he is giving a lecture under the auspices of Mahatma Gandhi Foundation

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tem they provide to their young kids who will be inheriting their vast wealth. They are most engaged with us for UBS charity programs and take a keen interest in social welfare & empowerment. They want to bring the real impact to the society while building their business empires. Also, through our own UBS Optimus Foundation, we are running a program on child education in India and measuring its real impact and that too is very satisfying.

And the worst?

Gopalkrishna Gandhi to visit Britain

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able to fulfill both my professional and social aspirations i.e, my small but sustainable way to help the society. Being a parent, the ultimate objective is to implant our value system to our next generation. It should be part of their DNA to help the most disadvantaged and give back to society.

What inspires you? (50 words response)

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COMMENTS

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1 - 7 June 2019

Narendra Modi: India’s new colossus It is no Oriental hyperbole to describe Narendra Modi as a man of giant stature. A state chief minister to start, he took on the old national establishment embodied in a Congress party living off its past, woefully out of touch with the present. The pretender from Gujarat barnstormed across the country, demolishing Congress to a rump: 206 seats to a derisory 44 in Parliament. That was 2014.

In 2019, the drubbing was worse: all the standard calculations of caste, ethnicity and faith were subsumed, not by a wave – the favoured media description - but by an unforeseen tsunami. Congress is comatose; the unelectable Rahul Gandhi in grief, pole axed. Indian democracy needs a robust and credible opposition; hopefully one will emerge in the fullness of time.

The election campaign was bruising; no quart er given, none asked for. The country appeared polarised judging by the high octane rhetoric. It clearly wasn’t, as the scale of the Modi triumph amply demonstrated. The incumbency factor was pulped.

With the battle lost and won, Prime Minister Modi was every inch the statesman. His government, he said, represented not only the BJP, but every section of society including the many thousands who had voted against him and his party. Prime Minister-elect Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik set the tone with gracious acceptance of each other’s achivement: the Chief had won a record fifth consecutive State Assembly election by a landslide, the BJP had performed exceeding well in the national parliamentary elections. The two leaders promised to cooperate for the well-being of Odisha. An interesting fe ature of Odisha politics is that the Chief Minister barely speaks the local language, or Hindi, having spent much of his earlier life abroad. His sole medium of communication is English. This didn’t much matter. Over the past two decades his development policies have transformed the the face of a hitherto backward state, now moving briskly into the future.

Andhra Pradesh is yet another state deserving of

special mention. Its new young Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy swept to power routing the incumbent Chandrababu Naidu. Jagan Mohan Reddy happens to be a practising Christian. The majoritarian buzzword looks a trifle shallow. He called on Mr Modi to discuss the state’s financial problems., cooperation, not confrontation the motto. Mr Reddy has already established cordial relations with neighbouring Telan gana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. The picture in West Bengal is far sombre. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been traumatised by the scale of its setbacks to the BJP, poised, hereon, to become a primary force in a formerly marginal state. Banerjee was the principal architect of the TMC’s calamitous electoral performance, undoing much of her her good development record in the state. The violence by emboldened TMC goons backfired.

Mamata Banerjee’s future looks none too rosy.

The saturnine reports sections of the Anglo-American media, notably the BBC, CNN, the Guardian and New York Times newspapers, to go no further, was par for the course. CNN’s first take on the election result was a dark hint of anti-Muslim riots. The evidence on the ground was of considerable numbers of young voting BJP. Democracy for the US is Haiti and Saudi Arabia – the latter’s standing sanctified by mega purchases of US weaponry. Contrast such conduct with the refusal to issue visas to Mr Modi for travel to the US and UK because of perceived responsibility for the “anti-Muslim” rioting in Gujarat in March 2002. Those proven to be responsible have been tried and punished by the courts with long prison sentences. The ban was subsequently withdrawn when Mr Modi became a contender for the prime minister’s office.

Indian special pleaders for lacquered status in an American imperium – a privileged Bantustan, perhaps will, no doubt, keep fighting their corner, as is their constitutional right. But this endeavour is unlikely to yield positive dividends in the foreseeable future.

Foreign relations The list of foreign presidents and prime ministers congratulating Prime Minister Modi on his election victory was large, much of this routine, but some clearly more significant than the rest. US President Donald Trump issued buoyant message to Mr Modi, but he must know that his capricious policies of threats and sanctions against targeted states will command not the slightest support from a Modi-governed, sceptical India [See Media Watch p 12 for Sushma Swaraj statement at SCO] The greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, should be contextualised with the honour conferred on Mr Modi with Russia’s foremost civilian award, the ‘Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First.’ Prime Minister Modi received it on April 12, weeks before his election success. President Putin’s office stated: ‘The order was presented to the Prime Minister of India for his distinguished contribution to the development of a privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and friendly ties between the Russian and Indian peoples.’

It takes two to tango. The Indian Prime Minister responded warmly, saying, ‘President Putin remains a source of great strength for India-Russia friendship. Under his visionary leadership bilateral and multilateral cooperation between our two countries have scaled new heights.’ The best, possibly, is yet to come.

The other significant greetings to ‘Narendra’ emanated from his ‘friend’ Israeli Premier Benyamin Netanyahu, who both keep in touch on twitter, exchanging thoughts and deepening understanding as their two nations gallop

abreast into the future, bonded by trade, investment, defence and intelligence cooperation, together with ties of science and technology. A strong Israel means a more secure India, while a strong India contributes to Israel’s security: truths that took decades to register with the ponderous, Indian obtuse babus and their dim-witted political overlords. There has been closure to the lean years of the Indo-Israeli relationship.

Summing up India’s amazing democratic experience, one can scarcely do better than ponder the following lines of Britain’s wartime Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden: ‘Of all the experiments in government, which have been attempted since the beginning of time, I believe that the Indian venture into parliamentary government is the most exciting. A vast subcontinent is attempting to apply to its tens of thousands of millions a system of free democracy. It is a brave thing to try and do. The Indian venture is not a pale imitation of our practice at home, but a magnified and multiplied reproduction on a scale we have never dreamt of. If it succeeds, its influence on Asia is incalculable for good. Whatever the outcome we must honour those who attempted it.’

Writing to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, Britain’s wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, said: ‘It seems to me that you might be able to do what no other human being could in giving India the lead, at least in the realm of thought, throughout Asia, with the freedom and dignity of the individual as the ideal...’ Enough said.

Brixit saga, as Theresa May departs Like most enforced exits from high office, Prime Minister Theresa May’s departure from 10 Downing ended in tears.

The country has been in a sort of limbo since the British people in 2016 voted against continuing membership of the European Union. As Prime Minister Theresa May was entrusted with the onerous task of negotiating a deal with EU on the terms of Britain’s exit, while maintaining close economic and security ties to their mutual benefit. In time the negotiating process became an unforeseen talkathon; visits to and from Brussels were a weekly features on television, coupled with reams of speculative analyses in newspapers on possible outcomes. The cud was chaewed to visible exhaustion.

Debates and speeches in the House of Commons made confusion worse confounded, with the corridors of power the source of Byzantineintrigue and vicious backbiting. The

ruling Conservative Party was (and still is) a house divided; the Labour opposition is in little better shape.

The campaign for a new Conservative leader to replace Theresa May is underway; it will be mid-July before the new leader emerges from the shadows and Theresa May care-taker role ends. The cast of rival contenders is intriguing. Rumours and gossip should add spice to the serial.

Meanwhile, the European Union is embroiled in its deepening Time of Troubles. Political convulsions keep spreading, with individual states preferring national sovereignty to its pooled Brussels alternative. The Maastricht treaty, transforming a successful common market into a single political entity with a common currency may, in the fullness of time, become the cause of EU’s eventual undoing.

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud - Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

Alpesh Patel

Where are all the Hindu Nationalists?

Apparently a Hindu Nationalist in India managed to fool millions of Muslims to vote for him and therefore for their own annihilation, and he is, as we speak, building concentration camps in India because he's apparently a Hindu extremist. The type of Hindu extremist that praises a Muslim boy in his speech for five minutes at Wembley Stadium. The same Hindu extremist who also praised the former Muslim President of India, and talked about his meeting with Sikh organisations in the UK to discuss their concerns, all the while waiting to exterminate them all with strategic plans and policies.

When PM Modi came to Wembley Stadium, the scantily clad Bollywood singers were performing at the event, and the Muslim contingent there watched. And all I could think about in the meantime was that 'I bloody hope that PM Modi is not watching this kind of liberal secular stuff'. I waited for the public hangings I'd been promised by The Guardian in the football stadium in Wembley, like they have in Taliban controlled areas of Afghanistan, but none came.

Maybe I missed it? Only singing and dancing?

Surely, I got the wrong Taliban-Hindu event I thought. Where was the effigy burning? The public stoning of non-Hindus, the swastikas? Darn it.

And worse still, I had to sit with women - whatever happened to the intolerance I'd been promised, and segregation and the public beatings? Women were integrating with Muslims, and Christians and there was no obligatory caste questionnaire that you have to now fill out at all Indian airports since Fuhrer Modi took over the country in a coup and turned it into North Korea/ISIS/Hindu-State - modeled on Islamic State – with Hindutva/Sharia law.

Those intolerant Hindus who have national holidays for Islamic holidays and worship only Hindu actors like- Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan and don't let Muslim actors get a break. The same intolerant Hindus who don’t ever support or allow Muslims as the captain of the Indian cricket team not even Mohammed (Azharuddin).

Glass ceiling for Muslims is what it is for the rest of us- you can only go as high as President. There were 4 Muslim Presidents out of the 13 since Independence in this anti-Muslim islamophobic country. For a minority of 14% of the population getting the highest office in the land, that’s just discrimination – positive discrimination.

It is the media not Modi that fuels fear. Say it again; media not Modi. If you don't want to live in fear, don’t read the works of the journalists who useterms like ‘Hindu Nationalist’ – we know what they really think.

And PM Modi should condemn every party member and citizen who breaches the Constitutional Duty of all Indian citizens to foster no hatred based on religion. That's fair and objective. What's wrong is to portray him as a genocidal maniac wanting to exterminate Muslims in concentration camps. Though you're right there are psychopaths in India who want that.

alpesh.patel@tradermind.com Editor: CB Patel Asian Voice is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com Website: www.abplgroup.com INDIA OFFICE Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380 015.

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Home Office questioned over wrongly accused international students' visa cancellations Priyanka Mehta Tejas Soni first arrived to the UK from India in 2009 to complete his MBA at the London School of Accounting and Management, a college that had it's license revoked by the Home Office and he was subsequently advised by his solicitor to apply to another college. But in the pursuit of completing his education, he found himself being caught in the allegations of cheating in an English speaking exam, being thrown into detention centres and even today looking for a job while simultaneously seeking for justice.

“You open the window for international students to come and study here but then you keep changing immigration rules and closing down the colleges. Is that our fault?” asks Tejas.

Tejas, like many other international students, had to hop from one college to another in order to complete his degree as the Home Office was closing down various colleges. But this resulted in a financial drain of about £21,000, legal hassle, and additionally, he was also embroiled in an emotional battle where his marriage broke down over allegations of cheating in the TOEIC exam- an English speaking exam made mandatory for students from outside of the EU.

“It is the considered opinion of the Home Office that you have utilised deception to gain leave to remain in the United Kingdom,” read the letter which accused him of cheating in the English language test. “I must inform you that you have no lawful basis of stay in the United Kingdom and that you should make arrangements to leave without delay,” the letter continued.

the detention centre I had nothing but £200 that I had earned from working at the dentention centre. I borrowed clothes from my friend and then went to a charity shop to buy a few pairs of clothes,” he recalls.

Today following his release, he returned to India in the hope of appealing against the Home Office's mistake from there, without a job and a wife who wants to re-unite with him but only on the grounds of financial stability.

E-mailing Boris Johnson and Theresa May but no response?

Having received the letter from the Home Office which classified him as an immigration offender and informing him about the curtailment of his visa without providing any evidence, he decided to send out e-mails to Government officials expecting for authorities to address to his miserable situation.

“In September 2014, I emailed the Prime Minister David Cameron, Home Secretary Theresa May and even Boris Johnson telling them about my situation and asking for assistance,” says Tejas.

But aside from receiving a call from the police, Tejas says, he never received any other aid and instead in December 2014, found both the Home Office officials and police standing at the doorstep of his Shaftesbury Road house.

Home Office failed to protect those who did not cheat: NAO report Tejas Soni

“They asked me for my passport, questioned me around TOEIC exams and took me into custody for 18 hours,” says Tejas.

“I had to borrow clothes from my friend after being released from the detention centre” But he was then straightaway shipped to Dover Detention Centre and subsequently to the Gatwick Brooke House Detention Centre where in total he spent about 11 months. Fighting suicidal thoughts and being prescribed to anti-depressants by the centre's medical team, Tejas was finally released in following the court orders.

“The day I was released from

Recently, National Audit Office (NAO), a government watchdog after conducting an investigation into the Home Office's conduct over scrapping visas for the international students has released a report where it has critised the Home Office for failing to protect them.

About 2,500 students have been forcibly removed from the UK after being accused of cheating in the exam and a further 7,200 left the country after being warned that they faced detention and removal if they stayed. Many have protested their innocence; 12,500 appeals have been heard in UK courts, and so far 3,600 people have won their appeals.

“When the Home Office acted vigorously to exclude individuals

'Doubt' cast on girl's evidence in Telford child sex trial A barrister representing a man accused of trafficking a 15-year-old Telford girl for sex has raised doubts about her evidence.

Mark George QC, defending Ghamer Sulayman, claimed there was a "large dollop of fantasy" in her account. He said there were discrepancies between evidence given in court and police statements.

Prosecutors say the girl was "scared and coerced" into sex.

Mr Sulayman is one of three Birmingham men on trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court. The 22-year-old, denies three charges of trafficking and one of rape.

Saleh Qasem, 19, denies one charge of trafficking and one of sexual assault.

And 21-year-old Ayad Abdulla Hizam, denies four counts of child abduction and four of sexual activity with a child.

Mr George told the jury Mr Sulayman accepted taking the teenager to Birmingham on one occasion, but said she had gone willingly and suggested there was little evidence another visit to Birmingham for the purposes of sex had ever happened.

And he added "one of the hallmarks of a truthful witness is one who is consistent".

Ayad Abdulla Hizam, Ghamer Sulayman and Saleh Qasem

Lesley Manley, representing Mr Qasem, raised doubts about her client's ability to arrange or facilitate trafficking.

She said: "Without being unkind to him, he is no help to anyone whatsoever," adding he had got lost on a journey to Telford.

Both barristers admitted it had been a mistake for their clients to lie in initial

interviews with police and Mr George called his client "a prize idiot" for doing so.

Mr Hizam has admitted having sex with the girl, after allegedly first contacting her in early 2016, but claimed it was "consensual" and he thought she was 16.

The jury is due to be sent out to consider its verdict on Tuesday, after the bank holiday.

Hindu temple remembers victims of Manchester Arena bombing VHP (UK) organised an event on 22 May at Geeta Bhawan Hindu temple Manchester, to remember those who lost their lives in the bomb explosion on 22 May 2017.

This event was attended by members of the Hindu community as well as by representatives from various faiths, Interfaith, and Greater Manchester Faith Community Leaders Group

On that night two years ago, twenty-two innocent people - children, women and men – were killed, 139 received life-changing injuries, and countless more suffered severe psychological trauma.

Tributes were paid to all those who had come to the aid of the victims.

The importance of eliminating the scourge of terrorism, now an internation-

al problem, was emphasised.

We must support the government’s efforts in this connection.

Everyone should denounce terrorism, publicly and unequivocally.

We must denounce those who subscribe to the ideology of terrorism as well as those who help the terrorists, financially, ideologically or politically.

It was noted with satisfaction that the communi-

ties have not let the terrorists succeed in their aim to spread panic and terror, and to create social discord; our resolve to fight all acts of hatred, discrimination, persecution, and violence remains undiminished.

Finally, prayers were held for the departed souls, for the bereaved and affected families, and for peace to prevail in this country and all over the world.

and shut down colleges involved in the English language test cheating scandal, we think they should have taken an equally vigorous approach to protecting those who did not cheat but who were still caught up in the process, however small a proportion they might be.

This did not happen,” said Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO. “The Home Office did not have the expertise to validate the results,” the report said. “We could find no evidence that the department had actively looked at whether innocent people were wrongly assessed as cheats,” the report noted.

Migrant Voice, a charity led by Nazek Ramadan, has been at the forefront of the campaign supporting these international students.

“The report clearly proves what we have long suspected – that the Home Office, led by Theresa May, failed to scrutinise the evidence given to them by the testing company and shockingly chose to accept it at face value, despite multiple significant flaws in the data,” said Nazek Ramadan, Director of Migrant Voice.

The Home Secretary, Sajid Javed is expected to make a statement at the House of Commons after reviewing NAO's report as soon as Parliament resumes early next week.

in brief POLICE WANT TO TRACE THIS MAN IN CONNECTION WITH REPORT OF SEXUAL CRIME Police have released a picture of a man wanted in connection with a report of a sex crime. Officers from Leicestershire Police are appealing to the public to help locate Joginder Singh, who was living in Leicester when the offence is alleged to have happened in 2017. No further details of any crimes carried out have been released by police. They say that extensive but fruitless inquiries have been carried out in relation to the 30-year-old in order to speak with him about the offence. Detective constable Andy Moore said: "We have carried out numerous lines of enquiry to locate Singh and are appealing for your help in finding him. Do you recognise him or do you know where he is? If you have any information at all regarding his whereabouts we urge you to get in touch."

Mum-of-two told husband 'I love you' as he battered her to death because he wanted to be with her sister

MUM-OF-TWO TOLD HUSBAND 'I LOVE YOU' AS HE BATTERED HER TO DEATH A Bolton woman told her husband 'I love you' as he battered her to death - because he wanted to have a relationship with her sister. Fahima Yusuf was attacked with a wheel brace as she slept by her husband Ahmed Seedat. He then choked or suffocated her as their children - aged two and five - slept in the next room, the Mirror reports . He buried her in a shallow grave which he had got contractors to dig, telling them it was going to be a pool for the family's children at their home in Australia. The court heard that unfaithful Seedat had planned the murder - searching "burying a cat" and "burying someone aliv" online days before the killing. Seedat, originally from Durban, South Africa, had also searched "Can you marry brother in law if sister dead muslim".

Mum-of-two Fahima Yusuf's heartbreaking last words were revealed as Seedat - who had been hiring a prostitute for years - was sentenced to at least 23 years in prison. Ms Yusuf, originally from Bolton, woke up after the first blow but was vulnerable and easily overpowered by him as he continued his attack on August 31 last year, Supreme Court Judge Bruno Fiannaca said.

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Supporters of Narendra Sajid Javid joins race Modi rally to celebrate for Tory party leader victory in the UK Rupanjana Dutta

Minister begins his second incarnation with great hopes and expectation. I wish him well.”

Bob Blackman MP added, “My heartfelt congratulations to Narendra Modi on the occasion of his victory in the Indian general election and my congratulations to the BJP on being elected to govern for another term.

“For the BJP to win such a vast number of seats sends a very clear message that the people of India trust the party to deliver on its elec-

Photo courtesy: Suryakant Jadva

Thursday saw London's streets around North West and West London (Queensbury, Osterley etc) celebrate Narendra Modi's victory in Indian election, with supporters of Overseas Friends of BJP walking down the street in saffron and white t-shirts saying 'NaMo Again' and 'UK4Modi', holding Indian flag, shouting slogans, playing drums and music, distributing sweets while many in the 1.5mn strong Indian

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins a second term we congratulate him for his message: “Our alliance represents India's diversity and our agenda is India's progress. celebrating the country’s diversity. I look forward to deepening our friendship and trade.”

Prime minister Theresa May in a tweet said, “Congratulations @narendramodi on your re-election as Prime Minister of #India.

I look forward to the UK's relationship with India continuing to go from strength

community followed the results closely from early morning.

People gathered at the Indian Gymkhana as well as outside Queensbury station, rejoiced with pomp and gaiety, as the results were announced on tv.

A double decker open bus sponsored by the Golden Tours, decorated with the Indian flag, toured around London with Indian snacks (tea and bhajiya), while people of various age loudly sang 'Saare Jahan Se Acha', chanted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Vaande Mataram', 'Har Har Mahadev' and 'Har Har Modi'. One of the supporters on the bus, with a BJP scarf around his neck, supporting NaMo's latest victory said, “We are touring London's big monuments celebrating Modiji's victory.

He is God's boon for India.

Long live Modiji.” Leicester also witnessed a similar celebration.

Virendra Sharma MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for India, reportedly said IndiaUK relations can only grow further under PM Modi, as he has visited the UK twice and understood the importance of the diaspora as the 'living bridge'.

Barry Gardiner MP, the former Chair of the Labour Friends of India said, “As

to strength during your second term."

Lord Karan Bilimoria, who is one of the CBI chief contestants this year, said, this would bring stability and assurance, and focus on continued economic growth for the Indian economy.

Lord Bhikhu Parekh told Asian Voice, “Narendra Modi's recent victory is a remarkable personal achievement. Although the BJP provided the ground troops, the victory was entirely due to the Prime Minister's enormous energy, dedication and effort. He had worked out a coherent electoral strategy and by and large stuck to it during the campaign. Some of his colleagues and associates spoke out of turn and brought shame and disgrace to the party. The Prime Minister handled them all adroitly and make sure that no mud was allowed to tarnish his image. His programme also helped as did his rhetoric. His religious sympathies played a role but it was not decisive. It remains to be seen whether religion shapes the new government's policies with respect to the minority. As of now it seems unlikely. The Prime

tion pledges and promises.

“Beyond the size of the majority now commanded by the BJP, this result is a decisive verdict on the support enjoyed by Narendra Modi across the nation of India. His first term provided prosperity, security and a major uplift in social conditions and let us look forward to him delivering on these three fronts – and many more – in the next few years.

“The BJP are the natural allies of the Conservative and Unionist Party and I am positive about the ever blossoming relationship between our two great nation states.

“India has been strengthened both domestically and abroad under Modi’s premiership and I look forward to his new term - Jai Hind!”

K r u n a l Thakkar, a young member of the OFBJP(UK) told the newsweekly, “India is growing under Modiji's right leadership. Our country has always been respected internationally, but now with Modiji's guidance, it has grown by leaps and bounds. He has also brought India to a different level of political and economic success, which is our USP.”

Mitul Paniker Home Secretary Sajid Javid has become the first ethnic minority candidate for leadership of the Conservative party, as he too joined the rat race to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, who intends to step down as Tory leader on June 7. The minister launched his campaign on Monday with a video referencing the party's performance in the European Parliament elections. In the video, Javid said, “As last night's result made all too clear, we must get on and deliver Brexit to ensure there is renewed trust in our democracy.”

Javid is the ninth candidate to confirm he is running. As Home Secretary, Javid has struck more popularity with his liberal tone on immigration as compared to May. With his announcement for candidacy on Twitter, he wrote, “First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit.”

He also added, “We must bridge divides to heal communities, reminding us of our shared values as a United Kingdom, and we must strengthen our society and economy so that everyone can benefit from the opportunities which a prosperous nation provides.” In his announcement video, the Secretary who was chief guest at ABPL's Finance, Banking and Insurance magazine launch in the past, touched on his backstory as a second generation immigrant from Pakistan, who grew up on what one newspaper called “Britain's most dangerous street”. He said, “I entered politics to do my best for this country, the country which has done so much for me.”

Sources reveal a key theme of his campaign would be “uniting the country by delivering Brexit, but also bringing divided communities together.” A source said, “From a Conservative party point of view, it is very difficult to win a fourth term, it requires a change candidate. Only Boris and Saj tick that box, and Saj appeals to

a wider constituency across the UK.” Javid first entered Parliament in 2010 as the MP for Bromsgrove in the West Midlands. He soon rose through junior ministerial ranks to culture secretary and then business secretary before taking over the Home Office last year.

Just last year, Javid took over the Home Office following Amber Rudd's resignation amid the Windrush scandal. He spoke of wanting to “do right” by the Windrush generation, and promised to be “fair and humane” in how he managed immigration. His assuming of the role came at a time when the Home Office was bundled in chaos with the domestic handling of immigration. While he has faced his shortcomings, it is popular belief that he has handled the situation with a more liberalistic outlook than his predecessors.

Other contestants include Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom, Jeremy Hunt, Rory Stewart, Matt Hancock, Esther McVey, Dominic Raab, Graham Brady and Kit Malthouse.

Tory party 'looking at 100 cases of alleged Islamophobia' Javid's candidacy announcement ironically comes at a time when the Tory party is shrouded with an investigation of alleged Islamophobia. Concerns deepened last week after it was reported that the party was dealing with over 100 alleged cases, including a host of previously unreported ones. The Conservative party is rocked by allegations over the issue, including one from its former chair, Sayeeda Warsi, who has described the problem as “institutional”.

It emerged last week that the Equality and Human Rights Commission had written to the Conservative Party after receiving complaints. The Tory government has also been criticised for refusing to adopt the working definition of Islamophobia proposed by the all-party par-

liamentary group on British Muslims. Meanwhile, over 100 accusations of Islamophobia and all other kinds of racism made against people claiming to be Conservative party members have come out in a leaked dossier. ITV News said 19 of the 110 cases had not previously been made public. They reportedly include allegations that Tory members have called Islam a “cult”, which is being allowed to “take over our country”, and calling the Muslim population an “infestation” whose members cause “mayhem wherever they decide to invade.”

Two Conservative local election candidates were suspended last month over allegations they had spread racist and inflammatory material and, in March, a Guardian investigation revealed that 15 Tory councillors who had been suspended over similar allegations later had their membership quietly reinstated.

May bids a teary adieu In an emotional statement delivered on last Tuesday, Prime Minister Theresa May said she had done her best to deliver Brexit and it was a matter of “deep regret” that she had been unable to do so. She said she would continue to serve as PM while a Conservative leadership contest took place. She said she would step down as Tory leader on June 7 and had agreed with the chairman of Tory backbenchers that the contest to replace her should begin the following week. Over a dozen other MPs are reportedly considering entering the contest.

In her statement, which was delivered in Downing Street, May said she had done “everything I can” to convince MPs to support the withdrawal deal she had negotiated with the European Union, however it was now in the “best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort.”

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The Satanic Verses: 30 years on in conversation with Mobeen Azhar Priyanka Mehta

Success for British Bangladeshis comes at a price

Thirty years ago in 1989, Valentine's Day was marred by hatred after Ayatollah Khomeini, the then supreme leader of Iran, issued a fatwa against the British-Indian journalist Salman Rushdie for his novel “The Satanic Verses”.

The book sparked global unrest where if Iran was the epicentre of the protest then its seismic waves choked Bradford with the book buring demonstration. This incited a new debate of drawing the line between the freedom of speech, secularism and respecting religious views. While, 30 years on, Rushdie is himself no longer in hiding and the protests seem to have died down, the controversy surrounding 'The Satanic Verses' continues to play a major part in the projection of the anti-Muslim sentiment dominant in pockets of the UK even today. In his BBC Two documentary, journalist Mobeen Azhar undertakes a journey to Yorkshire to discover why the novel had such a devastating effect on the community.

“I have a personal link to The Satanic Verses in the way that I was eight years old growing up in an area [Huddersfield] that was predominantly Pakistani and Muslim.

“It is important for me to re-visit what happened 30 years ago for the contemporary discussion and argument that is taking place in Britain and across Europe regarding the rise of the right, rights of individual and religion. The bookburning in Bradford happened in January of 1989,

Oli Khan, FRSA; Chef, Commentator; Secretary General of the Bangladesh Caterers Association

Mobeen Azhar in 'The Satanic Verses: 30 Years On'

and by February the National Front were marching and saying, "There's going to be a war in Britain because of Muslims. It is important to understand these events as they were to be able to move on,” says Azhar.

The annecdotal documentary begins with Azhar actually reading the novel, recalling the game- "How would you kill Salman Rushdie?" that they played in school without having any understanding of politics either. Many in the society even today believe that the fundamental portrayal of the Muslim community is a consequence of the events as they unfolded. Therefore, to understand how the novel became the centrepoint for accusations of blasphemy – the laws against which protected only Christians and not Muslims in Britain (they were abolished in 2008), Azhar is able to track Mohammed Siddique, the person who was responsible for burning the book.

“My personal opinnion

is that blasphemy cannot be subjected to legislation in a pluralistic society and is quite an outdated concept today,” he says.

But beyond the archival footages, the documentary encompasses candid discussions with other faith leaders, community voices, journalists and those working with government today to understand if they have any regrets in accordance to the events. While a lot of the community members still “don't take responsibility”, Azhar interviews Shahid Butt who admits that The Satanic Verses is offensive but longer feels like punching him. Shahid was once associated with Abu Hamza and joined the Bosnian army, where he fought on the frontline against the Serbs but now works with the UK government to deradicalise extremists.

Sean O'Grady of 'The Independent' in his attempt at a satirical column over ' The Satanic Verses' recently wrote, “Rushdie's silly childhood book should be banned under today's anti-

Free sweet packs distributed to celebrate Ramadan On 23 May, Thursday on Colmore Row, Insight Westmids, a Community Interest Company (CIC) distributed hundreds of free sweet packs to celebrate Ramadan.

About 250 packs containing; a date, which Muslims use to break their fast with, a selection of sweets and a card explaining; ‘What is Ramadan’, were handed out to people at Cathedral Square at lunchtime.

The Company received £300 Fuel funding from the

UK’s Curry House

Beatfreeks collective.

Fuel is a pot of money which young people in the Beatfreeks Community aged 18-30

can use to react to social issues that are important to them. Atif Ali, the founder of INSIGHT WESTMIDS,

decided to make the packs and apply for the funding as a result of the recent issues in the world (Sri Lanka Bombings & the Christchurch terror attack) and additionally, the vandalism of B i r m i n g h a m mosques.

The idea of the packs was to promote an understanding of Ramadan, which as well as being one of the five pillars of Islam, is the nine month of the Islamic Calendar and involves a month of fasting, prayers, reflection and community.

hate legislation. It’s no better than racist graffiti on a bus stop”. But Azhar, doesn't support or believe this view.

“I don't think the book is to be blamed for the antiMuslim sentiment but it is the reaction to the book that is to be blamed. If you read the novel, you will understand the text in the book is anti-racist and it speaks about the immigrant experience. I think that the publication of the book rather became the catalyst for all other issues,” he believes.

However, the book provokes visceral reactions from the interviewees even today, particularly that scene in Bradford in a public space, where someone grabs the book from Azhar's hand, and run away with it, rips it and tries to set it on fire.

And Mobeen continues to say that the "ghost of The Satanic Verses hasn’t been put to bed". At the end of the day, Mobeen thinks that as a community it is about engaging into debates, having that conversation and answering some difficult questions.

Secret Sheikh gifts on Eid Many Muslims help Secret Santa staff pack their bags with presents for the most disadvantaged children across Blackburn and Darwen. This year, the 'Secret Sheikh' project between One Voice and Secret Santa Ltd will do the same for them. As part of the fundraising project the group has conducted sponsored swims, a 5-day Ramadan fast and a family Fun day, which was held at Bangor St community Centre.

“This was on the basis of humanity rather than religiousness. We wanted to repay their kindness against the slur that 'Blackburn is a divided community' we don’t believe it is, so by giving Muslim children presents at an important time in their lives, which of course is Eid was important to us,” said Phil Boulding, founder of Secret Santa to the Asian Image.

In my last column I wrote about the success of British Bangladeshis. It’s a fact that young British Bangladeshis have benefited from how their parents have integrated into the British life. They have better financial support and access to education; I believe their success has been built on the UK’s Bangladeshi curry industry – because as we have become more successful, our younger generations have become more aspirational. A journey where they are going to university, entering the world of arts and culture, opting for other professions such as law, IT, politics and more.

Yet, their success is bittersweet, because we can no longer rely on our young Bangladeshis to join our family businesses. As a result, it has impacted Britain’s Curry industry, which is struggling to find staff and the talent to take over the businesses we have built.

British Bangladeshi curry houses are here because of the hard work of our forefathers who were the pioneers of this wonderful industry. We have all built our business successes on the sweat and tears of our family members who helped us create this future; we had a legacy.

But now after five decades of expansion and overwhelming cultural acceptance, the British curry sector is going through one of the most critical periods in its history. We know that at least three to four restaurants are closing a week. There are also challenges for new curry houses who have had their openings delayed because they can’t find the chefs.

Yes, we can train chefs/staff from other nationalities to work alongside us and we have been doing so training and investing in workers from Europe, who after gaining the expertise decide to leave. But now, with the Brexit delays, there has been a steep drop in the recruitment and availability of the European staff as well.

The Government has repeatedly failed to listen to our business community's concerns and neither is it offering any sensible immigration rules to skilled workers from international countries out of the EU, with respect to allowing them temporary visas.

Unfortunately, as a result, some of these curry houses are being forced out of business by a shortage of chefs.

The Government needs to understand that there is such a thing as good immigration! The Bangladeshi population in Britain shows that migrant communities can thrive and more fundamentally contribute to the British economy.

I have empathy with our younger generation who are living in a bipolar world where on the one hand they’re very British, brought up with morals and principles of the British culture, and on the other side, they are weighed down under the mantle of expectations and traditions. Many of them struggle to straddle both realms. In a world of increasing divisions, it is important that we are able to celebrate what we have in common and be able to come together.

Eating food is wonderful way to do this, something that I am fortunate to experience on a daily basis in my restaurant. On the evening of 4 June, I with all my fellow Muslims will be celebrating Eid Al Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. A time to gather as a family; a joyous occasion for all Muslims throughout the world. So, to you my friends, from all communities, let us ‘break bread together’, heal and come together in the face of humanity. Eid Mubarak!

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® s there someone you know who has broken boundaries and deserves recognition for their unique contribution to the Asian Community or the Nation ?

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NOMINATIONS OPEN NOW The prestigious Asian Achievers Awards is hosted every year by UK’s leading news weeklies Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar to honour British Asians par excellence.

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Deadline for nomination 31st July, 2019 Please tick the appropriate category Achievement in Community Service In recognition for an individuals service to community.

Woman of the Year The award will recognise and honour a woman who has made a significant mark in any chosen field.

Sports Personality of the Year Awarded for excellence in sports.

Business Person of the Year Awarded to a business person who is a success in every sense of the word and can demonstrate a genuine passion for social issues.

Lifetime Achievement Award To honour those individuals, who during their lifetime, have made immense contributions in any given field. This remarkable individual can be marked as an example for the younger generation.

Uniformed and Civil Services For outstanding achievements in uniformed and civil services or contribution to the community through any of the above services.

Entrepreneur of the Year Awarded to an entrepreneur with a proven track record of operating a successful business enterprise.

Professional of the Year Professionals in the field of medicine, law, education, banking, finance and others, who have scaled the heights of their chosen profession.

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MoneyGram unveils promotions for cricket's big bash Cecil Soans Calling MoneyGram's association with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 one of its most exciting initiatives, Richard Levy, its Head of Marketing Europe, at a recent press briefing at the Lord's Media Centre said, “MoneyGram's association with the Cricket World Cup will bring people closer together in an exciting way and help enjoy a positive experience.”

The briefing was also attended by England captain Eoin Morgan and Campbell Jameison, General Manager, ICC. The campaigns that were launched at the briefing were, Pay with Cash, Send & Win ticket giveaway contest and the C o m m e n t a r y Challenge. Fans can send money with MoneyGram for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the 2019 Cricket World Cup. The promotion is open to all residents of the United Kingdom, aged 18 or over. There will be a total of 9 weekly prize draws. A total of 7 winners will be selected in each weekly prize draw.

Each winner will be entitled to 2 tickets to an ICC Cricket World Cup match.

They can also go online to moneygram.co.uk/myway and send their best wishes to their favourite team or favourite player and MoneyGram will get the message across to the right player or the right team.

At the ground, fans can visit the MoneyGram Commentary Challenge stand and choose a video from a list to record cricket commentary. The top 15 entries will be selected

(L to R) Richard Levy, MoneyGram; England captain Eoin Morgan; and Campbell Jameison, General Manager, ICC.

and two final winners will be chosen and given one pair of tickets to the ICC Cricket World Cup Final at Lord’s Cricket Ground on 14thJuly.

MoneyGram has been involved with ICC since 2010.

A money transfer company based in the United States, MoneyGram is a global provider of innovative money transfer and payment services with presence in more than 200 countries and territories. 'Last month alone people from 170 countries sent money to India via MoneyGram. Pretty much

every country in the world sends money to India via MoneyGram,” said Levy. In the UK, MoneyGram's network consists of Post Office, Tesco, online and the MoneyGram app.

Eoin Morgan's message for Asian parents Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice after the briefing at the Lord's Media Centre, the England skipper said, 'I grew up in Dublin which is a great distance from a professional contract in England. I moved to England to live my dream. There are now a huge number of opportunities throughout the country through counties, contract and coaching. Professional cricket now offers a number of avenues even after retirement, and the opportunities are increasing because the game is growing at a huge rate.

“So I would urge Asian parents who are sceptical about their children taking up cricket as a career to look at the guys in the national team who are living their dream. If your child's dream is to play cricket do not stop them from realising their dream.”

Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture Someone who has made a mark in media including print and broadcast media; cinema, art and culture.

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Make sure that you fill in this application form and send it on or before 31st July, 2019 by post, fax or email to Mr. L George, Tel: 020 7749 4013, Fax 020 7749 4081, Email: aaa@abplgroup.com.

If you are sending it by post the address is Mr. L George, Karma Yoga House, Unit 1, 12 Hoxton Market, London N1 6HW.

The Pavilion at Lord's

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Indian-origin Tom Aditya elected as Mayor in Bristol Councillor Tom Aditya has been elected as the Mayor of Bradley Stoke, Bristol, which is the hub of South West England and has recently been acclaimed for securing hattrick victory in the British local council elections.

He is the first person of Indian origin, elected Mayor in South West England and as the first Mayor from the Asian communities in South Gloucestershire. Tom is a first generation migrant from Kerala and has been active in the social spectrum of Bristol for the last two decades as a manage-

Tom Aditya

ment consultant, financial advisor and columnist.

He has also been renowned as a passionate community campaigner

advocating for social harmony and holistic community development in the UK. Tom informally acts as an ambassador of Bristol’s history, heritage and tourism; and brings many enthusiasts to the city. He is keen to bridge cultural exchange programmes with diverse nationalities.

Currently, Tom serves as Vice Chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Panel and partakes in scrutinising the police actions in Greater Bristol and the West of England counties, communicating local peo-

ple’s perspectives on the use of police powers and safeguarding civil rights.

Instantaneously, he serves as Chairman of Bristol Multi-Faith Forum, instituted by the Bristol City Council for inter-faith and intercultural cohesion and social harmony and to promote the health and wellbeing of the communities; and leads the NHS Blood and Organ Donation campaign in the West of England. He has been in the forefront to hold the annual day celebrations to commemorate Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the father of Indian Renaissance, who passed away in 1833 at Bristol.

In an interview, Tom

said, “This election took place in a very difficult situation. Even conservative party members were showing aversion for voting due to Brexit and other issues.

As expected, it was a very low turnout. Last year, I planned to step down and was keeping a very low profile. However, the community members and party leaders prompted me to stand again. It is heartening that we won the election against all adversities in the election. Our candidates were elected with a comfortable margin, almost double the votes than the closest opponent party candidates. People were so generous to us and I bow

down at their support.

However, I always admire diverse viewpoints on issues and wish to engage everyone interested in community matters”.

He added, “I believe politics should be first and foremost about getting things done for the people and not petty party-politics.

My approach has always been to bring excellent amenities for the residents and to deliver better quality services, whilst ensuring lower taxes, value for money, good governance and fairness for all. My aim is to make our town a better place to live and the community to have a stronger voice.”

Armed Forces Muslim 'Voice Of Legends' returns personnel return from Umrah with a UK wide tour

Ten Armed Forces personnel have completed Umrah, the Islamic religious pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and visited the Islamic Holy sites of Mecca and Medina.

Whilst considered the ‘lesser pilgrimage’ when compared with the Hajj, Umrah holds huge value and reward in Islam.

The personnel also undertook a number of meetings with key religious stakeholders, to promote an increased understanding of the UK Armed Forces in the region. These included engagements with the highest judges in Mecca, and a visit to the charity Hadiyah, where they were briefed on the organisation’s work.

The programme also included a meeting with the UK Consul General for Jeddah. The group were hosted by the Saudi Armed Forces while in-country and met with the Head of the Religious Directorate of the Royal Saudi Arabia Armed Forces.

Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt in a statement said, “The Armed Forces are here for everyone in the UK and every community. We are here to serve you. And we are you.”

“The personal testimonies of those on this visit underline the importance they place on their faith, and how many of those values are shared with their military life. As an open and diverse employer, the

Armed Forces allows individuals to deepen their faith, and I’m pleased that those on the visit talked so highly about the support they received. Visits like this demonstrate our commitment to the society we serve.”

Islamic Religious Advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff, Imam Asim Hafiz, said, “While fewer than 1% of the UK Armed Forces hold the Islamic faith, the MOD is absolutely committed to diversity and has a range of initiatives under its diversity and inclusion programme to ensure that individuals from all faiths and backgrounds are welcome and feel comfortable in the military.”

Cpl Nasir Adam of 11 Explosive Ordinance Disposal & Search Regiment told Asian Voice, “Discipline is the paramount military value that coincides with the values of the Umrah. In the Umrah, an individual

has to follow certain rules and regulations to make their Umrah acceptable.

These are strict guidelines that have to be followed and an individual has to be very disciplined in following these as the Umrah will not be valid without it.

“Respect for others is another crucial shared value, as during the Umrah in Mecca and Medina you are in crowds of a million people a day, mixing with people of different cultural backgrounds and languages, who were in close proximity throughout our trip in the mosques.”

Cpl Sohail Ifraz from 24 Commando, Royal Engineers said, “The Umrah has given our hosts a real opportunity to speak with us, as counterparts in the military, about life as Muslims in two very different militaries. They were also very humbled to learn of the support that we are offered as Muslims in the British Armed Forces.“

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Award winning singer Navin Kundra is back with his concert 'Voice of Legends' and this time in the form of a UK wide tour starting from 2nd June at Beck Theratre, Hayes.

“I started this show last year in London and Leicester.

But the response from the audience was absolutely phenomenal and it made me want to turn this show into a tour for areas where I don't usually get to perform such as Bradford and Oldham,” says Navin.

The tour will follow the format of last year's concert, where the Guinness book world record awardee will perform to Bollywood classics of RD Burman, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar among other legends. However, this year unlike before, the audience will get to watch more of Navin's performances alongside The 515 Crew, Bollywood celebrity choreographer, Shiamak Davar’s dance troupe and female singer Ambika Jois as part of their tour.

“We are sticking to the format of performing to classic Bollywood songs but because the catalogue is so rich to

choose from that we are expanding the music set. And because the audience feedback from last year indicated that they wanted to see more of my performances, you can expect more vocals from me instead of surprise guest visits.

“Whilst, it is more pressure on me but I also want to grow as an artist and this concert allows me to showcase my talent outside of what I usually do,” says Navin.

A graduate of pyschology and business, today Navin speaks about the difficulties of establishing a career in performing arts and culture especially for someone from an ethnic minortity where fami-

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lies usually tend to encourage their children into establishing themselves in professional services.

“I understand this partly as I had to struggle in my initial days as well.

In fact, there was a girl who came to my show last year and she followed her passion of dancing by joining professional classes after coming down to my show.

“But, she messaged me after the show about how her parents seemed unwilling of her career choice and she seemed lost. I just gave her an advice that I was given a long time ago- Look after your art and your art will look after you,” explained Navin.

Organised with the intent of entertaining his audience but at the same time providing that space for the various generations of families to come together to enjoy and appreciate music, this years Navin will be taking his show to Hayes, Bradford, Southampton, Manchester, Leicester and East London.

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Modi - the Change Maker

NaMo again!

Bharat

My letter to the Editor of Financial Times of May 5, 2014 one week before the elections, “Modi is the change that most Indians would like to see” is as relevant today as it was then. Prime Minister Modi and his party won a resounding victory in the Indian poll yesterday. We send our Hearty Congratulations and best wishes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his success.

This has been the largest ever poll conducted - about 1 billion people with 65% voter turnout. This victory came after a bitterly run political campaign with opposition parties demonstrating the worst behaviour involving caste, religion and class divides.

During his first term in office, Prime Minister Modi has undertaken several bold economic and political decisions which has started transforming India for the future, putting it on track to becoming the world’s third largest economy in the next twenty years.

The common person in India may not agree with all the decisions taken by the Modi Government, and in fact many may have suffered by some of the decisions, but most are convinced that Modi does not personally benefit and is an honest man. I think that has been his biggest strength. I hope in his second term Modi is more inclusive and also builds a leadership team to follow him.

The performance of the opposition has been extremely dismal with no leadership. Given that Modi does not belong to the elite and political bourgeoisie, he has never been accepted as one of them. Politicians who have been part of the political dynasties called Modi filthy nicknames never used before in Indian politics.

This election in India has also been a class war bringing permanent change to the social fabric of Indian society.

For Indian democracy to flourish further it needs a strong opposition. The Indian National Congress can still be a strong political force if it elects a national leader from among a number of its extremely capable leaders.

However, if it continues with the present leadership it will soon be a dwindling force leading to oblivion and India as a nation will be the biggest loser.

To conclude I must add that every Indian should be proud of the participatory Democracy in India including its institutions; Election Commission, Strong Judiciary, Strong Public Service and participatory processes from local Government to Central Government powered by advanced Technology.

India, though relatively a young democracy has become an example of an efficient and functioning democracy unparalleled in the world with an electorate of about one billion, over three times of USA ,the most powerful Democracy and over 10 times the UK, the oldest democracy making India the greatest Democracy in the world.

Dr Mohan Kaul, President of the Indian Professionals Forum

Terrific. That too with an overwhelming majority. Much awaited news for many supporters in India and around the world. Great that the most deserving person has won the historic second term. An awesome campaign by Modiji and his team. Time for celebration and rejoicing. A new era has begun for the country. Modiji is 'sui generis' He is here to give India its pride of place in the world. His first and last priority is the nation. India needs a big shakeup. Some dramatic changes have been seen during his first term and there are many more to come. Modiji has vigorously campaigned for strong, safe, progressive, prosperous, clean, innovative, corruption free and inclusive India and this peace-loving, noble statesman has been tirelessly and sincerely working on it.

Modiji strongly believes that casteism, nepotism, and fascism is doing great harm to the progress of India. It needs to be uprooted and apparently, that is all being taken care of.

Relax, it’s all win-win for India now!

Niranjan Vasant By email

In the last issue, under Political SketchBook, Alpesh pleads in a letter to Modi for a Constitutional amendment to have the name of India changed to Bharat. It was also proposed by him in an earlier column.

There is no need for it. The Article 1 in the Constitution states that India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. It is up to the individual and especially the citizenry of the country to use the correct name Bharat when they refer to the country. Unfortunately, the politicians and the media never bothered to respect what is written in the Constitution. Let us remember the Constitution and resolve to recognize that we are Bharati and belong to Bharat.

Alpesh also pleads for Bharat to become as a kind of homeland for Bharati living all over the world. The Indian Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed on Tuesday, 8th January 2019 in Lok Sabha on the similar lines but limited to the neighboring Muslim majority countries. Unfortunately, it is stalled because of opposition from some quarters and hence never made to Rajya Sabha. Let us hope that it will be made to cover all countries of the world and with the new mandate for Modi it becomes a law.

Sanatan culture (Dharm) was the main culture from Indonesia (in the east) to Iran (in the west) and from Japan (in the north) to Sri Lanka (in the south). It is a culture which has developed from first humans on the land of Bharat. It is the only culture whose adherent do not have to be embarrassed about their belief and action of their ancestors unlike for others. It is also the only Dharm which accepts others as equal (Sarva Dharma Sambhav).

Narsibhai Patel New Malden

Resting on his laurels Congratulations to Narendra Modi for being re-elected as prime minister of India. He is today's most popular prime minister. He was born in Vadnagar in Gujarat. At present there is not a single person in Gujarat and in India who does not respect Modi. He has admirers all over the world. This is because he has been instrumental in making Gujarat an envy of the rest of India by the changes he has brought about.

Before him, Gujarat was lacking behind other Indian states in almost all fields. He is the second Gujarati prime minister after Morarji Desai. The achievements by Modi have made us Gujaratis proud and proved that Gujarat can not only produce great people like Mahatma Gandhi, it can also give the country a prime minister who has done so much towards the advancement of not only Gujarat, but India as a whole. During his first tenure he has put in a lot of work to put India on the world map. We hope he will not rest on his laurels and will continue with his good work in making India a better place for us and the posterity, our children’s children. However, would the shower of ministers and politicians that influences elections and rules India by the divide and rule method, and thereby line their own pockets at the expense of the masses, let a Gujarati to continue to make India a great place as it is today?

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford What do you think?

We want to know your views on any issue. Write to: Asian Voice, 12 Hoxton Market, London N1 6HW or e-mail: aveditorial@abplgroup.com

Narendra Modi and the Indian Elections Three State Election wins and two National Election wins, all with unambiguous majorities can only be termed as a phenomenal democratic franchise most politicians can only dream of. The man has been chastised by the chattering classes and his opponents with the most horrid terms and labelled as an authoritarian and a fascist!

Yet this "fascist" keeps submitting himself to a democratic scrutiny that cannot be matched when some 900 million people take part in it unencumbered. Yet he is not from a privileged ancestry, nor a professional political family, he didn't go to Oxbridge or St Stephen's College. He is a mould breaker and arguably like no-one comparable in India's post independence history.

He has unleashed a warfare on corruption and scams, he has unleashed a battle to cleanse India off dirt and pollution, he has embarked on a journey to make it reliant on green energy, he has launched a scheme to attract foreign investment to bring jobs and technology, build its manufacturing sector and set Indian economy on a trajectory of growth that only can address the poverty of its vast majority and create an entrepreneurial zeal.

While building socio-economic buffers for its disadvantaged he also aims to work towards a mindset that should not encourage his people to live on subsidies but encourages self help by providing tools for that approach. He is working on removing reservation for college places and jobs by virtue of caste or creed and choose to treat people for their socio economic discomfiture rather than their religion or be defined by the insidious caste structure.

For all this Narendra Modi has been called a Divider, Polariser, Authoritarian and self obsessed. This has been the narrative of India's chattering class for nearly two decades and what it feeds to the global audience! But the people of India keep refuting that repeatedly and with louder refrain.

The unwashed, semi hungry unprivileged masses see him as their messiah while the aspirational youth and entrepreneurs see him as provider of opportunities in life to achieve their dreams! I am so proud that people of my country of birth have ignored all the calumnies against this man and chosen a leader yet again to lift their lot in life and their nation in the global sphere! It will inevitably take more than 5 years as PM to achieve that and so he gets another term to continue the process! Those who have made their careers and lives on the back of exploitation of religion and caste differences and proliferation of corrupt scams in the name of poverty alleviation, have been dispensed with by the landslide election today!

Vibhaker Baxi By email

Eid-ul-Fitr Eid-ul-Fitr is a very important day for the Muslim community as this day marks the end of the holy month of Ramazan.

During Ramazan, Muslims all over the world keep fasting from dawn till dusk, as a mark of piety to Allah and teachings of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him). Not even a glass of water is taken during the fasting season, however sultry the climate may be or however thirsty one may feel.

The month of Ramazan is very auspicious to the people belonging to the Muslim community all over the world. It is celebrated on the day after the crescent moon is sighted. The Muslims observe a fast for 30 days, starting with the sighting of the new moon and end it after seeing the new moon, the next month. Muslims give alms and recite the Holy Quran during this holy month. Muslims celebrate Eid all over the world with much enthusiasm and fervour.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai, India

The end of May Interesting to see that several politicians baying for prime minister Theresa May to quit suddenly changed their tune when she did and grudgingly paid her compliments instead.

How two-faced can one get!

Rudy Otter By email

West Bengal voters slaps CM Mamta Banerjee This election was unique in many ways. It will be best remembered as foul mouthed opposition with no policy, no common manifesto but one common factor, unbelievable hatred for PM Modi, to remove him at any cost, fair or foul, truth or lies. But as long as Modi and Shah, Chandragupta and Chanakya remain united, they are undefeatable!

The foul mouthed prominent politician amongst opposition cadre, who wanted Modi’s downfall and to warped her politically correct views on others, was West Bengal (WB) CM Mamta Banerji who wanted to slap Modi politically.

Modi, as usual, turned this hatred to his advantage; calling Mamta his Didi. (Elder sister) “She has every right to slap me” thus claiming moral high ground.

In an unexpected about-turn, matured voters of WB gave her fitting reply through ballot box, BJP winning 18 seats against 2 in 2014 election, TMC down 12. It is only a matter of time before TMC is ousted, losing hold on WB Assembly, one of the worst managed States in the Indian Union, infected by vote bank politics, bureaucracy, corruption and cronyism.

No one expected BJP to repeat its 2014 triumph, winning 282 seats on its own, when BJP was in the opposition. But if anything, Modi’s charm and Shah’s decorous efficiency, have stunned every one, winning massive 303 seats on its own, NDA’s total seats numbering 352, same as 2014, mainly due to ADMK, Akali Dal and couple of NDA partners losing 40 seats.

On the whole “Operation Lotus” the political tsunami was success beyond expectation which may have adverse effect on Congress, UPA ruled States like Rajasthan, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, allies deserting sinking ship, normal but unwelcome scenario in Indian politics.

Rahul’s future is uncertain, in doldrums, especially after losing Amati, bastion of Gandhi dynasty; to Shruti Irani, an upcoming BJP star. Although Rahul tendered his resignation, it is unlikely to be accepted, unless Priyanka Vadra is willing to take over. In any case Rahul’s gesture is hollow, meant for media and public consumption.

Another notable victory for Indian politics is that voters turned against deserters, opportunist, and floating politicians like Navjot Sidhu, Sinha, Vaghela and their likes who float from one flower to another, whichever yields most honey! It is also astonishing that BJP/NDA made clean or nearly clean sweep in so many States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Himachal, Delhi and few more. Well, there is never a dull moment when it comes to Indian election!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

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READERS’ VOICE

Should people pay ATM charges?

It seems Britain is becoming a materialistic society beyond belief. Each and every business tries to squeeze money out of their loyal customers in any way they can and banks who jointly make billions in profit are no exception, the five biggest banks made a mouth-watering profit of £30 billion in 2018.

First it was overdraft charges even on few pounds overdrawn; their interest rates would put crooked money lenders in shade.

Now banks would like to introduce ATM charge of £1 per transection to withdraw your own money using ATM situated in easily accessible places, like Post Offices and Supermarkets which we visit on most days, even though our bank current account may hold considerable sum without earning interest.

This will affect people living in rural areas most, as most bank branches have been closed and replaced by ATM. The original aim behind introduction of ATM was to reduce queues of people wanting to withdraw cash at local branches, thus enabled banks to reduce staffs, to reduce wage bills and increase their profits for shareholders!

Removing ATM could prove counter-productive if people are forced to queue at bank branches, forcing banks to employ more cashiers. It seems banks and indeed many other businesses are trying to create cash-free lifestyle by using our credit cards and online banking which may not suit older generation who do not trust online banking when these very banks are losing millions of pounds in rampant frauds affecting many customers.

Some 3200 ATM dispatching free money have been withdrawn while others have been converted to fee charging ATMs. It would not be long before free cash dispensing ATMs disappear completely.

It is time for the government to step-in and protects OAPs, chronically sick and disable people who would be most affected if ATMs are reduced in numbers and bank customers are forced to pay withdrawal charges.

Some OAPs may be tempted to put large sum under the mattress, a bonus for thieves and muggers! Government can use main and sub post-offices to have free cash dispensing ATMs, at least for Post Office customers, if not for everyone!

Kumudini Valambia By email

Theresa May resigns

Finally the Brexit crisis is taking a dramatic turn with the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May. Will it make a big difference by getting a new prime minister? It will be like putting old wine in a new bottle. The wine (issue) will remain same but only the bottle will change. Will the new prime minister be able pull a rabbit out of the hat? I don’t think so. Theresa May shot herself in the foot by presenting her Withdrawal Agreement three times which the Parliament rejected it every time. Yet she did not see the writing on the wall. She wanted to present it the fourth time, which led to her downfall.

This showed her illogical stubbornness, aloofness, failure to listen to others and carrying on regardless. She dug a hole for herself and kept digging, knowing fully well it was leading her to nowhere. The other blunder she made after having a majority in parliament she called snap general election in 2017, where she lost her majority and had to get the support of DUP of Northern Ireland by paying them £1 billion to keep her majority. Her downfall came about because her own Tory Party ministers and parliamentarians did not support her and DUP turn their back on her.

This left her isolated, she then at the last moment, turned to the Labour Party to sort the mess out, but it was too late to save the situation. She did not agree to change her red lines, which was the sticking point. Tragically she had to leave as three of her previous predecessors had to, because of Europe. The road ahead is rocky. ‘No Deal’ is not an option, because it will be disastrous for the country both economically, politically and socially. It looks like ultimately to get out of this deadlock, only a general election will solve the problem. One cannot see any other option.

Baldev Sharma Rayners, Lane, Harrow

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Tory donor charged for 'funding terrorism' A Tory party donor living in Wimbledon with family, has been charged for funding terror groups, fraud, money laundering and illegal arms dealing offences in Bangladesh. According to The Sunday Times, Mohammed Shahid Uddin Khan, 55, has also donated £20,000 to the Conservative party and has lived in the London since 2009.

A former colonel in the Bangladeshi army, the documents that were reportedly lodged in court by Bangladeshi police, allege that they have found weapons, radical jihadist literature linked to al-Qaeda and fake

Mohammed Shahid Uddin Khan

Bangladeshi currency in his Dhaka property. They say they have also uncovered 54 bank accounts held by the donor, which apparently provide evidence of money laundering and funding of terrorism.

Living in the UK on investors' visa, they allege Khan has made “fortune” through “land fraud” in the past 10 years. The documents also allege that Khan's Wimbeldon properties were bought with proceeds of crime, which Khan has denied. Khan has also denied making any political donations to the Tories.

Birmingham school on the frontline of anti-LGBT protests The teaching of LGBT relationships in primary schools has led to weeks of protest in Birmingham. The school head caught in the crossfire between demonstrators and the law tells of the stress endured as a result of her desire to promote equality.

Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson is crying. The headteacher at Anderton Park primary school in Birmingham has suffered eight weeks of protests outside her school gates over her decision to

teach LGBT-inclusive content to her young pupils, the vast majority of whom are Muslim.

The battle being fought on Hewitt-Clarkson’s school grounds is one that has nationwide implications for all schools.

The row centres on whether the local authorityrun school is teaching children about LGBT relationships, gender and sexual orientation in an “age-appropriate” manner.

Interim manager appointed at Bhaarat Welfare Trust Following reports of financial management issues, a new interim manager has been appointed at Bhaarat Welfare Trust by the Charity Commisssion. The Commission has frozen the charity’s bank accounts to protect funds intended for charitable purposes.

Trustees at the Bhaarat Welfare Trust could not demonstrate that the charity had the appropriate financial controls and the necessary due diligence checks in place.

The Leicester-based

charity provided grants primarily overseas toward its objective of promoting Hindu culture and religion.

According to the Charity commission appointment of the interim manager is a temporary and protective measure that occurs when the commission has identified misconduct or mismanagement. Finbarr O’Connell of Smith & Williamson LLP will be reviewing the charity’s financial controls and overseas payments and will consider evidence of how its funds were applied.

Asian MEPs from UK who won the EU elections British Indian entrepreneur Dinesh Dhamija won his seat as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from London to lead an anti-Brexit surge in favour of the Liberal Democrat party in the European Parliament elections. Indian origin, Claude Ajit Moraes, a Labour Party candidate also won his seat as an MEP from London while Labour MEP Neena

Gill retained her seat in the West Midlands.

The Brexit Party was the clear winner in the UK's European elections under the leadership of Nigel Farrage while the pro-EU Lib Dems came second.

The Conservatives and Labour suffered heavy losses, with the former getting less than 10% of the vote and vitally losing its seat in London.

Masters on Masters- Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Vibhaker Baxi Last Saturday, London’s Nehru Centre hosted the Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan with his wife Subhalakshmi Khan and sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash. The event was to mark the launch of a book penned by Khansaheb, titled Master on Masters. This book regales its readers with fascinating anecdotal and historical details on 12 of India’s greatest music legends in the world of Classical and Light Classical Music. The book makes for easy reading and provides intimate portraits of these legends from the vantage point of close and personal association and interaction with Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

Amjad Ali Khan’s career

Master on Masters book release at the Nehru Centre. In photo: Charanjeet Singh, Deputy High Commissioner of India to UK, British artist David Murphy, Sitar Maestro Amjad Ali Khan and Her Excellency Mrs Ruchi Ghanshyam, High Commissioner of India to UK

spans a period of over six decades, incredible in itself given he is only 73, and that has presented him with a

unique opportunity to transcend at least three generations of Music greats.

Coming from a lineage of

seven generations of Rabab and Sarod maestros hailing from Afghanistan he is the foremost exponent of the Sarod today representing the Bangash Senia Gharana (tradition) with its very unique style of playing that closely mimics the singing or gayaki effect which leaves a mesmerising impact on his audience.

The choice of Masters covered in this book by the Ustad was informed by the extent of his own personal interaction with them and influenced by their path breaking legacies. Many of them are household names for even those not deeply initiated into classical music scene. The great musicians featured include Instrumentalists Ustad Bismillah Khan (shehnai), Pandit Ravi Shankar and

Ustad Vilayat Khan (sitar), Vocalists M S Subhalakshmi, Kesarbai Kerkar, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Pandit Kumar Gandharva and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Percussionists Ustad Alla Rakha and Pandit Kishan Maharaj and the doyenne of Ghazals Begum Akhtar.

Khansaheb has mingled with them intimately not least owing to his own legendary father Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan but also sharing the stage at same events himself with many of the above.

At the event at Nehru Centre, Ustadji was joined by acclaimed Western Classical Music Conductor Dr David Murphy who has notably collaborated with Indian classical music leg-

ends like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

There ensued reading of extracts from the book

by Dr Murphy followed by conversation between the two musical luminaries drawing out some of the anecdotes and topics relating to evolution in the performance style of classical music over the era. The event ended with a number of questions from members of the audience who filled the auditorium. Khansaheb was feted by the Indian High Commissioner Mrs Ruchi Ghanshyam.

Khansaheb provides fascinating insights into a music era and the legends that made it which will be recorded for posterity. The book can be obtained on the Amazon platform.

12 MEDIA WATCH

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SCRUTATOR’S It was a triumph worthy of the great Roman Caesars. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah had confounded the critics and sceptical pundits, utterly wrong-footed the opposition, particularly the patrician Congress duo, Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, by cantering to a second term as Prime Minister of India and BJP President respectively. It was the greatest tectonic shift in Indian politics within living memory. Modi had done it twice: the first time in 2014 when he swept to power, obliterating the moribund incumbent Congress, trapped in its dynastic hall of mirrors.

supervised the mechanical and electrical modifications. India’s Defence Research and Development Organization and BrahMos Aerospace Ltd – an India, Russia joint venture, were all active participants in the project (Statesman May 23).

US Apaches delivered The first of the 24 Apache Guardian helicopters were recently delivered to the Indian Air Force at the Boeing production facility at Arizona. The first batch of these prized heavy lift attack helicopters will be shipped to India in July with the entire fleet fully operational by March next year. This comes with the induction of another US-made helicopter fleet, the Chinooks, highly prized for high altitude warfare (Times of India May 12).

India at SCO conference

PM Narendra Modi with Amit Shah

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended a twoday Shanghai Cooperation Organization conference of Foreign Ministers at Bishek, Kyrgyzstan, where she engaged on the sidelines with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on bilateral relations following Beijing’s dropping its hold on the UN Security Council’s categorization of Pakistani jihadi terrorist Masood Azhar. Relations between India and China had warmed and their dialogue had deepened. That said, loose talk on civilizational

multilateral trading system, centred around the World Trade Organization, and firmly opposed to unilateral and protectionism,’ she said. Foreign Minister Swaraj drew attention to the road network from Afghanistan via the port of Chabahar to Mumbai and beyond as a commercial facilitator, with a similar structure to the east linking Thailand, Myamar, Bangladesh and India (Statesman May 23).

Terrorists killed Two terrorists of the Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter with Indian security forces in the Kulgam district of Kashmir. One of the two was the noted jihadi Zahid Ahmad Mintoo. Acting on a tip-off, the two men were tracked down to a house, surrounded and eliminated in the ensuing gun battle (Statesman May 23).

Bigger catch A bigger catch, Zakir Rashid Bhat alias Zakir Musa, died in an encounter with security forces.

Musa was working for an alliance of different jihadi groups, his own Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-eMohammed. Musa was a close associate of the once iconic Burhan Wani, who was killed in 2016. A television reporter claimed the increasing levels of silent cooperation, in other words, tipoffs from the valley’s civil population, were yielding significant dividends (Hindu May 25).

India ban on Bangla jihadis India has banned Jamaat-ulMujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from entering India, as the jihadi terror outfit was planning to do.

The JMB was responsible for a terror attack on a popular cafe in Dhaka, frequented by foreign diplomats (Hindu May 25).

Sonia Gandhi with Rahul Gandhi

This time round pundits predicted a somewhat messy outcome with a horse traded coalition shuffling sheepishly into high office. The ensuing drama was Shakespearean in spirit if not in script. A country of over a billion souls were transfixed by the spectacle – the crowning of the old leader celebrating his Second Coming with his trusted alter ego at his side. Modi, the visionary, Shah the strategist, who turned words into flesh. The pair outthought, outfought and out rode their opponents into the sunset. Their first triumph exceeded improbably by the second will surely become the stuff of legend.

How this happened, why this happened will be for historians, political theorists and social anthropologists to resolve. The ordinary citizen will savour the experience and pass it on for remembrance - tales real and fictional for later generations to ponder.

Cipla surge Domestic and foreign analysts foresaw a Time of Troubles for India: economic slowdown, consumer lethargy, falling sales of cars and much else. However, all is not lost. India’s pharmaceutical major, Mumbai-based Cipla has been making waves at home and abroad. Its profit surged to 106 per

cent in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal ending March 31, 2019, to Rs 367 crore as opposed to Rs 179 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

ISRO launches new eye in sky

Indian, US, Africa sales Sales in India contributed 34 per cent to Cipla’s overall revenue.

Sales in North America rose 41 per cent year-on-year, driven by product rationalisation and rampup of generic drug launches. Sales from Southern Africa grew 30 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal. Three more assets were added to the specialty pipeline. ((Business Line M ay 23). Hardly surprising given the hectic election mode these past weeks.

BrahMos in Sukhoi planes The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully test-fired a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile travelling at 2.8 Mach (almost thrice the speed of sound) from a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft to hit its landbased target with precision. The integration of the 2.5 tonne missile into the aircraft was a highly complex undertaking, involving mechanical, electrical and software modifications on the aircraft. The software was developed by IAF engineers, while the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd

Sushma Swaraj

ties between the two countries can lead to the gullibility of the past that had cost India dear. Chin was opposed to Indian membership of the nuclear suppliers group, and its aggressive conduct in the South China Sea had alarmed Vietnam, India’s closest ally in Southeast Asia.

When you sup with the Devil carry a long spoon.

The Indian Research and Development Organization (ISRO), placed a satellite RISAT2B in a 556 km orbit from the

Rule-based order She told the plenary session of the SCO that, ‘India was committed to a rule-based, transparent, nondiscriminatory, open and inclusive

Hydrogen tank Dr Sivan flagged off India’s largest liquid hydrogen storage tank at Sri City. VRV Asia Pacific manufactured the storage tank with a liquid nitrogen shield in collaboration with Satish Dhawan Space centre in Bangalore. The tank can store 120 kilolitres of liquid hydrogen, which is used as fuel for satellite vehicles. Dr Sivan congratulated the team for the indigenous advanced version of the storage tank.

ISRO entity to help develop rockets ISRO has floated a new entity, NewSpace India Ltd enabling private industry to scale up high technology manufacture as well as becoming a production base for India’s space projects. NSIL was inaugurated by Kasturirangan, a former ISRO chairman and currently Adviser, NSIL will be the commercial arm of ISRO and a wholly owned Government of India undertaking. NSIL will act as an aggregator for all space-related activities in industry and private entrepreneurship in space related technology (Business Line May 24).

Adani lease for six non-metro airports The award of lease rights for six non-metro airports to Adani Enterprises Ltd will be one of the first acts of the new Indian government when it commences its new term of office. The company was the highest bidder when the Airports Authority of India – which currently runs the airports – sought bids for the operation and management of the existing airport assets. The airports in question are Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mangaluru.

The leases are for 50 years (Business Line May 24).

Tata unveils new truck product Tata Motors Ltd has rolled out India’s first compact truck, Tata Intra, in two variants VC10 and V20. ‘With this nationaal launch, we are filling an important gap in the small commercial vehicle space and are bringing yet another game-changing product after our highly successful product Tata Ace,’ said Girish Wagh, President, Commercial Vehicle Business, Tata Motors Ltd.

India empowered to fight terrorism Sushma Swaraj said the Pulwama ambush in the Kashmir valley which had claimed the lives of 40 Indian soldiers, and the bombings of Christian churches across Sri Lanka had taken a heavy toll of 258 lost lives, had strengthened India’s resolve to fight jihadi terrorism tooth and nail.

satellite will complement data from normal optical remote sensing satellites. This is ISRO’s third RISAT in 10 years. It can record images in the dark or under cloud (Hindu May 23).

ISRO satellite launch

earth. It was carried aboard a PSLV rocket. Data from the allweather satellite will be used by the Armed Forces, agriculture forecasters and disaster relief agencies. ISRO Chairman, Dr K. Sivan described the satellite as ‘an advanced Earth Observation satellite with an advanced technology of 3.6 metres radial rib antennae. Information from this

Game changer Says Guenter Butschek CEO and MD Tata Motors:‘With intense sales activity, new product launches and continued thrust on cost reduction, we have been able to improve our commercial vehicle business performance.

Tata Intra will be a game-changer for us in the SCV segment as it offers several industry-first features, setting a high standard in the market.’ (Hindu May 23).

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REVIEW

brought in his fine Indian expertise to Zaman, including addition of a few popular Indian dishes to the

A celebration among British Asians will always include a grand feast, whether it is at home or restaurant, no jubilation is ever complete without eating well. A few weeks ago, I visited the Zaman restaurant, which has recently been taken over by Mumbaiborn award-winning Chef Avadhoot Kamat.

The restaurant which is situated at Old Qubec Street, next to Marble Arch station, in the heart of the city's cosmopolitan hub, caters the Sportsman Casino's global clientèle.

Kamat, who has rebranded the menu, arrived in the UK in 2006, with extensive work experience in India, to study at the Ealing Hammersmith and West London College, where he got a postgraduate diploma in hospitality management. After working for 6 years at the Metropolitan Hotel in Park Lane, Kamat moved to Crown Aspinalls London, a members' club, where he also worked for almost 6 years, before joining Zaman as it's head chef.

The menu which is aimed at international clientele with wide range of expectations, is divided into appetisers, starters, classics, signature dishes, sauces, sides and desserts. The dishes are a good mix of Indian, European and Arabic cuisines, including Lentil soup in Arabic style and exquisitely and exclusively flavoured butter to go with freshly baked herb breads. The new chef who loves to experiment with flavours, has added Arabic and Japanese influence to his dishes, especially evident in his soups and fresh salads. Kamat has also

Avadhoot Kamat

menu as well as rediscovering the most loved and old dishes in the menu.

The Aloo Tikki Chat is authentic with the right sprinkle of spices but the samosas are worth trying.

Other than the India House canteen (High Commission of India), in Aldwych, which is not open to public, I have not tasted such perfect Punjabi samosas in the UK, with the right amount of stuffing. It reminded me of monsoon days in India, which was often spent stuck indoors eating hot samosas and chai (tea).

Kamat has added many

vegan and vegetarian dishes to the menu including batata harra and masala chips.

But his latest addition of biriyanis, which is a mix of Hyderabadi and Awadhi (Lucknow) style, is fingerlicking good.

Great cooking is one of the good things. Ambience, location and opening hours of the restaurant are other things that play a big role behind its popularity. Zaman is spacious, with enough room to host private events including a small stage. The restaurant is happy to cater to your particular requirements, and serve food till 2:30am. So if you want a hearty meal between Iftar (meal at sunset) and Suhoor (meal at sunrise) Kamat's team is there to cater to your special need. Zaman also has an option of set

lunch and dinner or pretheatre menus, and offers are sold through websites like Groupon.

Meal that fits your pocket and leaves you content, is definitely the perfect happy ending you are looking for.

For more see: https://www.thesportsma ncasino.com/food-anddrink/zamans-restaurant

Pic courtesy: Birmingham Mail

Sisters proudly breaking stereotypes of Asian women Sahida and Wehida recently joined 30 cyclists wearing safety gear and pink Saheli T-shirts who took part in a 10-mile ride for the project’s first outing at the Vélo.

The group were briefed on topics ranging from healthy eating tips during Ramadan to puncture repairs. Because the Vélo took place during Ramadan, when Muslims fast between dawn and sunset, the cyclists joined the event on the last 10 miles after being funnelled in once the main crowds had passed.

The ‘Ramadan Express’, as some of the Saheli cyclists call it, are aiming to complete the 100 and 45 mile distances next year, depend-

Sahida (l) and Wehida

ing on the date that the event is scheduled.

Established in 1998, Saheli responded to a need for women’s-only community health and well-being activities, with a study carried out for the charity finding this should take into account the culturally-sensitive needs of local Muslim women.

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Zaman, a feast of flavours Rupanjana Dutta

UK

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Run across three 'wellbeing hubs', including the main base by Calthorpe Park in Balsalll Heath, along with Handsworth and Bordesley Green, the project's activities reach around 1,500 women every year.

The age range at Saheli’s cycling sessions stretches from the early teens to members in their 60s.

Harrow Council permits Sri Ayyappan Temple expansion A Hindu temple is set to benefit from a larger prayer room after its extension plans were approved by the council.

Harrow Council’s planning committee unanimously backed the scheme at the London Sri Ayyappan Kovil Temple, in Masons Avenue, Harrow.

It will see the first floor at the site grow by more than 200 sq m, which will create more room for worshippers.

But the number of visitors is not expended to increase, while the council is imposing restrictions on the maximum number of people using the temple at any one time.

There were concerns from some nearby residents about parking – as well as a potential loss of daylight

and sunlight at neighbouring properties – and two petitions with 80 signatures criticising the proposals were handed in.

But Beverley Kuchar, interim chief planning officer at Harrow Council, explained that tests were conducted to ensure that lighting levels remained “acceptable”.

She added that the council’s highways team had

no issues with the parking situation, and the temple must implement a travel plan by August 30 for the planning permission to remain valid.

These points were supported by planning agent Rodger Pidgeon, of Lamont Planning Associates, who said “care has been taken” to ensure that neighbouring properties would not be affected.

Herschel Grammar School pupils win top award for setting up their own company Smart students from Slough's Herschel Grammar School proved they have the makings of great businessmen - after turning £10 into £100 selling their own product to students and staff.

They were taking part in the National Tenner Challenge, run by Young Enterprise - the charity that motivates young people to succeed in the work place.

It is the seventh year of the challenge and more than 26,000 students took part.

The winners were announced at an award ceremony at the Moorgate Auditorium in London and the Herschel pupils scooped the award as best team.

Abishayan Sivabalan, 13, Shubham Kulkarni, 14 and Abdullah Kassim, 14 had been given £10 and four weeks to set up a business and make as much profit as they could.

They came up with the idea of personalised wooden plaques. They took orders from students and staff, purchased high quality materials and manufactured the products in the design and technology workshops at school. They also took on board the fact that Mother’s Day fell within the four weeks of the competition and advertised their product as potential gifts for mum.

They made over £100 in profit and the award also recognised their idea, marketing skills and the way they charted their company progress..

David Wilkins, careers leader from Herschel Grammar School, said: “The Tenner Challenge has been a great experience for all of

The winning team with a competition judge

our students who really got behind our teams and supported them, but for our team who reached the final awards it has been an inspi-

ration – they now know what they are capable of if they use all of their skills and experience, work as a team and give it their all.”

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14 COMMUNITY

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Halari Visa Oshwal settlement in the UK The Oshwal community is believed to have been founded 70 years after the nirvana of Lord Mahavir (about 2475 years ago). A Jain Acharya, Shree Ratna Prabhsuriji Maharaj, went to the city of Upkeshpattan (the present day town called Oshiya) in Rajasthan, India and managed to convince the King, his ministers and more than a 125,000 Kshtariyas (warrior clan) to adopt the Jain religion. These Jain devotees were given the name 'Oshwal'.

Migration has played a very important role in the lives of Oshwals. Because of adverse religious, political and economic conditions a large contingent of Oshwals migrated, around 10th century AD, from Rajasthan to Sindh (now in Pakistan) and some moved to Punjab and Kutchh. Once again hostile conditions in Sindh forced the community to migrate southwards to Kutchh in the 16th /17th centuries. After a stay of just over 25 years a contingent of these Oshwals moved to the Halar district on the northern coast of Kathiawar, in Gujarat, with Jam Rawal, one of the two brothers who had ruled the kingdom of Kutchh. He was forced to flee after the heirs of his brother Jam Hamirji, whom he had earlier assassinated, defeated him in a battle for the control of Kutchh.

Halari Visa Oshwals Jam Rawal formed a new kingdom with Jamnagar as its capital and provided land to the Oshwals for settlement in 52 villages of the Halar district. These Oshwals became known as the Halari Visa Oshwals.

Towards the end of the 19th century Oshwals again faced an adverse situation as the land and climatic conditions were not conducive for agriculture. A migratory trend restarted with some Oshwals moving to other parts of India such as Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad. Following tales of opportunities in Africa a few young men ven-

tured out to Madagascar and East Africa. The building of the railway in Kenya began to open up the continent and very soon Oshwals as young as 10 to 15 years started migrating, by travelling on wooden dhows, to seek a better future. Halari Visa Oshwal migration to East Africa continued until the late 1950s. Over the period of time they developed into a community of successful business owners, both large and small, with some setting up pioneering industries.

Recognising the importance of education as a basic pillar for its future progress the community ensured the development of a new generation of well-educated Oshwals through the provision of educational institutions and facilities.

Ltd with his friends Venichand Khimchand and Ramniklal Karamshi Shah.

The independence of the East African countries at the start of 1960s prompted Oshwals with British passports to begin migrating to the UK. From 1962 to 1969 several Oshwal families migrated to the UK, but in 1969 this flow was slowed by the introduction of the Quota Voucher system by British Immigration authori-

Greater London, a sizeable number also settled in Luton, Leicester, Northampton and Wellingborough. Today the Halari Visa Oshwal community, numbering around 20,000, is spread throughout the UK with the largest number still residing in the various suburbs of Greater London.

Most of the Oshwal migrants started off as workers in various industries, but being an entrepreneurial

Migration to UK The seeds of the migration to the UK had already been sown in the 1930s when five Oshwal students came to the UK for higher education but returned home after graduation. The actual trend of migration for permanent settlement commenced in the 1950’s with Kishorilal Bharmal Nagda (popularly know as Kishorebhai Virani) being the first Oshwal to permanently settle in the UK around 1955. One of the most prominent Oshwals, Meghji Pethraj Shah, was the first Oshwal to start a business in the UK in 1957. Harkhchand Lakhamshi Shah came from Uganda at around the same time and established a business called Overseas Grocers

enterprises. Quite a few have become property investors and entrepreneurs as well.

Over the past fifty years the community has also evolved substantially with a whole new generation of highly educated professionals who have made a mark for themselves in various fields. There are pharmacists who have not only set up successful retail pharmacies, but some have even built up multi-million pound wholesale businesses. Oshwals have also made a mark as doctors, accountants, lawyers, engineers, scientists, bankers, actuaries, teachers, software engineers, management consultants, insurance specialists, estate agents, and in several other fields.

Oshwal Association of the UK

ties, which limited the number of migrants each year from the East African countries. A substantial number of families eventually moved to the UK via this system.

Whilst most of them settled in the various suburbs of

community several of them soon started establishing their own businesses.

Starting with small corner shops they soon started building up to wholesaling in various sectors and some have even set up industrial

With the increasing settlement of the Halari Visa Oshwals several visionary members of the community, who had been residing in the UK since the 1950s, floated the idea of forming a community organisation, along the similar lines to its compatriots in India and East Africa, to unite the community for the preservation of its unique religious identity, culture and her-

itage. This resulted in the formation of the Oshwal Association of the UK in 1968. Since then the Association has progressed to becoming a Registered Charity in 1974 and into a vibrant organisation today with its life membership numbering to well over 16,000.

The Oshwal Association owns a property in Potters Bar, in the leafy Hertfordshire countryside, which houses the headquarters of the Association, in a listed mansion, as well as two fully equipped modern assembly halls which are suitable for religious, cultural and social functions. The community has also built Europe’s first traditional domed Jain Temple, on untainted land within the property boundaries, which was inaugurated in August 2005. The Association also owns properties in Kingsbury (North West London), Hounslow and Croydon (South London), to provide localised community facilities for its members and others.

The migration of the Halari Visa Oshwals, which started, from India, about 120 years ago due to the economic necessities of the mostly poor Oshwal farming families, has resulted in a highly successful Community in the UK. Apart from achieving academic, professional, business and entrepreneurial successes, Halari Visa Oshwals have made notable contributions in public service, which have resulted in more than a dozen of them being honoured by Her Majesty The Queen, over the years, in both the annual Birthday and New Year’s Honours Lists.

[For details on Oshwal Health and Care Awareness Mela please see p30]

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TLIGHT

Dina Begum Popularising Bangladeshi Cuisine

Photo credit: JC Candanedo

Sunetra Senior

Lane Cookbook, she wanted to “honour the Bangladeshi culture and the geography behind the food.” The book explores the human history of the characteristic area as well as detailing chosen dishes: “I focussed on both traditional and modern Bangladeshi preparations while keeping to the geographical theme. It’s nostalgic for me. I remember going to the market with my father on Sundays.

He would buy groceries or meet with friends from the leather garments factory he worked in – tailoring was his trade and we’d also eat at one of the cafes there. There was such a buzz within the community and a diverse meeting of minds and nationalities which stuck with me as a child.” This sentiment certainly extends to modern times. Dina has hosted many popular “pop-ups,” or temporary, restaurants, which have expressly allowed her to bond with the customers, really giving life to her cooking, and uniting a variety of people. “I really enjoy hosting Supper Clubs, and would love to one day have a small café

ivacious yet reverent, rapidly rising home-grown chef, Dina, is popularising the underrepresented cuisine of Bangladesh in the UK, and meaningfully too. “Rice and fish dishes are the staple foods of this cuisine, but there are also a lot of vegetarian options that many people, even those of the culture, might not know.”

Indeed, as Dina herself emphasised, “South-Asian cooking is mostly passed down verbally,” and so tragically risks being forgotten through the generations.

This is agitated by the fact that food from this subcontinent, both within the community and across the West, is often generalised as simply Indian: an aggravating imperial aftertaste where the nuances of ethnicity can be harshly overlooked. As a result, Dina has sought to raise awareness about the incredible richness and broadness of Bangladeshi cuisine alongside cooking a vast array of individual recipes, using her own expert touch.

“Never formally trained, I was hugely inspired by my grandmother and mother, and I can’t think that we might lose such a wonderful culinary heritage.

I want to keep it alive,” and hopefully make it more widespread foodie knowledge! Indeed, authentic Ethiopian food Brick Lane Cookbook by Dina Begum is has recently begun to enjoy the attenpublished in hardback by Kitchen Press and is tion of increasingly dedicated diners as available from Waterstones, Amazon and independent bookshops an example of individualistic African cuisine. Dina has written extensively on or eatery in London. This would allow Bangladeshi food, having created a feame to continue talking on food as well as ture and recipe series for Great British writing. A proper restaurant, by conChefs, a prestigious platform that hontrast, may be all-consuming. The cuisine ours the best of British cooks, and filmed is still growing, and I feel it’s important a spice blends tutorial series that teaches to stay true to a grass-roots model that the precise art of Bangladeshi cooking: establishes the unique food.”

“Bengali 5 Spice which is a special whole Consequently, real Bangladeshi cuispice mixture, mustard, coconut and dry sine can be successfully spread rather and fermented fish are all very popular. than a multiplicity of contrived, The series introduces people to the key watered-down versions: “Take the curry elements of Bangladeshi cooking and houses of Brick Lane, for example. Curry demystifies it for them.” culture has become a sub-cuisine of Furthermore, Dina describes her India in itself, but where there used to be style as very classical with an accessible around fifty, now there are only a dozen! modern twist. This best preserves the The blanket approach definitely doesn't precious, piquant ancestral formulas work.” And so, through her warm while “saving time” to cater to investment and extroversion, the busy schedules of Dina’s professional journey today: “I won’t really "There is a not only invigorates a change the savoury worthy cuisine but also lot of sweetness recipes because main delectably demonstrates courses are fundamenin Bangladeshi the base of a true multital to the cuisine, but cultural meld: strong food, and I do love will experiment with interpersonal acknowldesserts. There is a lot to play with edgement that accompaof sweetness in nies the surface indicators this” Bangladeshi food, and I of culture. Comprehensively do love to play with this.” adopting a community’s food, a The spins on such luscious visceral part of society, then repretreats include “Rasgulla”, soft and sents the wholesome integration of the yummy, white spheres that are this people who have produced it: “I really Asian Voice writer’s childhood favourite, want to emphasise the mutual positivity and “Mishti Doi” otherwise known as of respecting a marginalised culture: sweet yoghurt which Dina has transBangladesh, for example, is still looked formed into a fusion “Mishti Doi” at in terms of poverty or disaster, but it cheesecake. Perhaps not surprisingly needn’t be the case. The practices and then, sugary conceptions are some of lifestyle are so dynamic.” No wonder the Dina’s best sellers. compassionate, crusading cook has However, the soulful cook also already taken Bangladeshi cuisine furmakes sure to infuse a crucial social ther West, to the capital city of the flavour too: author of the brilliant Brick world’s most lauded melting pot: New

V

Photo credit: Peter Watson

York in the US. And at an apt time of difficult tensions too. Dina deeply celebrates difference, refusing to treat it as if a clinical project that must be wrought.

What else constitutes Bangladeshi cuisine?

It’s quite a mixture. Dhaka, Bangladeshi’s capital city, has more similarities with Mogul or traditional Indian food with familiar overlaps in dishes such as biryanis and kebabs, while southern Bangladeshi food has exotic South-east Asian influences: you’ve got sweet and sour flavours, coconut and bamboo shoots which you wouldn’t normally think about. Generally, there’s a tradition of rice-based sweets and savouries called Pitha – including pastries, dumplings, pancakes, and flatbreads. While there are some similarities with West Bengal, Bangladeshi food is very distinct. Food is very seasonal, and centred around festivals.

What are some of your favourite ingredients to experiment with?

Tonka beans, which have a vanilla and floral undertone. They look coffeebean sized and can be used in sauces and custards. They’re really amazing for a release of flavour. A little goes a long way! It’s a powerful, fragrant spice. I enjoy using orange blossom water, especially around Ramadan and enjoy cooking with rhubarb. My dad has an allotment where he grows a lot of produce and I love experimenting with fresh ingredients and cooking from scratch.

I’ll use tender stem broccoli, purple broccoli, and spinach among other traditional veg and fruit.

Name another popular dish?

My mother’s Chicken Roast. It’s a traditional pan-fried roast dish in a thick, onion gravy - so very delicious. It’s my comfort food.

Do you think food had the potential to unite people?

Definitely. At Ramadan, for example, people are brought together. Friends and family come over and spend time together over food. There’s connection around exchanging food with neighbours and the local community. It’s a good way for children and parents to bond - especially when cooking together.

What really grabs you about cooking?

I love feeding people, and culinary history. Food is woven into the fabric of society and I love the idea of preserving food traditions. Finally, it helps me relax and unwind. It’s a great feeling to be able to create something delicious and then share it with others.

Twitter & Instagram: @dinasfoodstory

1 - 7 June 2019

UK

15

Wealth creation, Equality and Private Equity Private Equity (PE) is an instrument to divert capital to entrepreneurs who want to create new wealth by solving problems for the society or supplying the society with whatever it wants. In other words, it convinces the wealthy institutions (or individuals) to risk their money by backing an entrepreneur or management team, in return for more wealth Sachin Nandha if it succeeds. If new value is Chief Executive PillboxCapital 3 created and the entrepreneur succeeds, then everybody wins. The entrepreneur creates jobs, he or she gets wealthier, suppliers earn, the risk capital is returned with an interest, and the private equity guys who stitched the deal together and oversaw it, as well as shaped the entire process from start to finish also benefit immensely. All sounds idyllic.

Then comes along that proverbial thorn in the backside of capitalism: Equality. Wealth creators of all kinds, PE backed or not, ultimately centralise wealth in the hands of the few. Afterall, that’s why we have a tax system so that the government can fairly re-distribute some of that new value across society.

Increasingly in the public discourse however, there is a malignancy creeping in between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. One is good. The other is bad.

Society should strive to ensure that every citizen who has ideas coupled with talent and experience is given an equal opportunity to get the capital they deserve in order to create further wealth for society.

Things like prejudice, nepotism and high taxes work against this aspiration. However, it would be disastrous for any society if it tried to get the same outcomes for everyone regardless of their talent, experience and entrepreneurship. The incentive to create wealth, to strive, to risk and succeed would be instantly wiped out.

And yet, if one reads the rhetoric of socialists, or the unionists, they will often refer to an equality of outcome, rather than opportunity. In effect they are selling a false dream to workers that everyone can earn, and everyone must earn similar amounts. They hide their ignorance under the blanket of fluffy words such as ‘fairness’, and ‘deserving’. Society only needs to look back at the 20th century to discover what happened when we dabbled with socialism, but alas, it seems human beings suffer from amnesia all too quickly.

A society requires balance. And each society is at a different stage of evolution. The UK is a mature capitalist society, and one that has some moated institutions such as the NHS, Welfare, State pensions, among others. These are all good things, and the wealthier ought to, and on the whole do contribute more to them in absolute terms. Where there is not a level playing field, it should be made so. But to dream an utopian society of equality where everyone is considered the same, of equal talent and skill, is simply not feasible and wreaks of intellectual dishonesty.

PE is, and ought always to be, about wealth creation within the compounds of the norms of the society in which it operates. PE empowers the entrepreneurial, and encourages the rich to risk, while developing the skills in people to succeed more often than not, in wealth creation. It is a tool that not only should be better understood but actively encouraged.

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

16 ELECTION SPECIAL

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Minorities made to live in fear, we must end this: Modi tells MPs After the election heat has subsided, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the meeting of NDA MPs and said that minorities had long been made to live in fear by those who believed in vote bank politics and that this deception needs to end to take everyone along. “Unfortunately, the minorities of this country have been kept in fear, used in elections. We have to end this cycle,” PM Modi said.

He accused the opposition parties of keeping the minorities confused and frightened, instead of working on the improvement of education and health among them. He invoked the spirit of 1857’s first war of independence, saying all communities had joined hands for independence and a similar movement should be started for good governance now.

Emphasizing the need to win the trust of all sections, Modi said, “We have worked for ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas,’ now we have to strive for ‘sabka vishwas’.”

Modi reiterated the importance of coalition politics saying “BJP is 300 plus but we shall work together with the NDA partners in future,” and added, “The credit for good work will go to all allies and I will take blame for blemishes.” He floated the slogan of “NARA - National Ambition Regional Aspiration” - saying that a balance between the two will be key to the country’s progress and it can only be accomplished with the support of the regional parties.

Set for a second term as Prime Minister, Modi said his government will now begin “a

Narendra Modi addressing NDA MPs in New Delhi after election victory.

new journey to build a new India with new energy” and asked newly elected MPs of the NDA to work without any discrimination, including on the basis of faith and castes.

He said the 2019 elections have worked towards breaking down walls and connecting hearts. “In a way they had become a way to unite society... This gave a new height to these elections.

People have started a new era and all of us are witness to it,” the PM said, in a counter to commentaries that his election will divide people.

In his over-75-minute address, Modi urged Mps to shun “VIP culture”. He touched the feet of BJP veteran L K Advani as Parkash Singh Badal, Amit Shah, MM Joshi, Uddhav Thackeray and Nitin Gadkari look on, at the parliamentary party meeting Modi: 2019 victory is powered by Gujarat growth story Crediting Gujarat for the

victory. I see next five years as crucial and important time not only for Gujarat but also for the entire world. This is an opportunity for another renaissance that will make India a 'Vishwa Guru' (global leader)’’, he added.

Stating that people have voted for development, prosperity, safety and security, Modi said that pro-incumbency votes were cast in this election to re-elect the government. Referring to the second clean sweep in Gujarat, Modi said, “Vijaybhai (Rupani) told me that going by the victory in all 26 seats, BJP can now win around 173 seats (out of 182) in the state assembly.”

Grass-root workers hailed for his victory in Varanasi Chemistry has triumphed over poll arithmetic, Modi said profusely thanking the voters of Varanasi for his

He also said that modesty, thumping victory in the Lok discipline and politeness are a Sabha election, Modi said that must to digest this win. “This the growth story of his home huge victory has brought state had reached every nook along a greater responsibility. and corner of the country We need modesty, discipline even before the 2014 win. and politeness to digest this Calling 2019 as the most historic election since independence, Modi said unlike in the past, he had predicted with For Narendra Modi, the mandate of 2019 has brought conviction that BJP a thicker stability cushion but a heavier load of would win over 300 expectations. seats.

Domestic Agenda “In 2014, • Ram Temple:The matter is subjudice. RSS and journalists often affiliates in early 2019 were eager to announce a time asked me the line. But the Modi-Shah duo, in order to avoid a number of seats BJP confrontation with the apex court and diluting the would win. But I 'growth' message image, asked the Sangh to apply the avoided those brakes. questions and • Article 35A: BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' has promised merely replied using annulling the controversial clause that provides good adjectives. This special rights to residents of Jammu and Kashmir. time, I announced • Infra spending to zoom: The BJP manifesto publicly that we promises a `£1000 billion investment in would win over 300 infrastructure by 2024. The government plans to seats, but some kickstart the first tranche of investment from the people mocked at word go. this number,” the • Rural development: Under Phase III of the Pradhan PM said.

landslide victory in the elections. “Political analysts will have to accept that beyond poll arithmetic there is a chemistry,” he told party workers on his first visit to his constituency after his resounding victory, which was by a higher margin this time. “For the country I am the PM, but for you I am your MP, I am your sevak,” he said.

Giving full credit for his victory to the workers at the grassroots level, PM said, “Work and workers create wonders”, for creating awareness about his government’s policies and programmes for the people.

Modi also spoke about the importance of “perfect synergy” between the government and the party.

Modi, who also offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Flanked by party president Amit Shah and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Modi entered the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and paid obeisance to the deity as priests recited Sanskrit ‘shlokas’ in the sanctum sanctorum and blew conch shells.

100-day agenda for Modi?

Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), 1,25,000 km of link routes.

• National urban mission: About 200 urban clusters as hubs around big cities may be cleared, over and above the 300 large urban centres developed so far.

• More smart cities: Smart city mission to expand beyond existing 100. Total value of tenders might be pushed to `£15,000 billion by June-end.

• Housing & Social Welfare: The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), the affordable housing programme for the poor, will see stepped-up efforts in the first 100 days.

• Tough on corruption: Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi managed to escape from India after carrying out economic offences. The government will speed up its efforts to bring back these offenders who have been declared fugitives to showcase its intent. Tougher laws to check black money creation, especially through benami activities, could be coming.

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Jammu & Kashmir (seats 6) Result

2014 2019

BJP

03

National Conference PDP

OTHERS

00

03

03

00

00

02

BJP

01

2014 2019

Congress

01

BJP

NPP

07

10

02

00

MGB

15

State-wise comparison of Lok Sabha Election Results of 2014 and 2019 seat by seat, party by party

85

Result 542*/543

89

Congress wiped out from 14 states • Andhra Pradesh • Arunachal Pradesh • Chandigarh • Delhi • Gujarat • Himachal Pradesh • Jammu & Kashmir • Manipur • Mizoram • Odissa • Rajasthan • Sikkim • Tripura • Uttarakhand

00

Punjab (seats 13)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

02

Congress Shiromani Akali Dal AAP

03

04

04

02

02

01

* Election Commission cancelled elections in Tamil Nadu's Vellore

TamilNadu (seats 39)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

Congress

00

Result

2014 2019

OTHERS

00

25

24 01

Gujarat (seats 26)

Result BJP

2014 2019 26

26

Daman & Diu (seats 1)

Result BJP

2014 2019 01

01

DMK

AIADMK CPI

23

37

01

00

CPM

00

OTHERS BJP

00

01

01

08

02 02

02

00

Delhi (seats 7)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

07

07

Jharkhand (seats 14)

Maharashtra (seats 48)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

Congress JMM

00

Result

2014 2019

Shiv Sena

18

NCP

Congress OTHERS

23 04 02 01

23 18 04 01 02

Karnataka (seats 28)

Result

2014 2019

Congress

09

OTHERS

17

25

02

01

00

01 01

Madhya Pradesh (seats 29) Result

2014 2019

Congress

02

BJP

27

28 01

Kerala (seats 20)

Result

2014 2019

LDF

08

UDF

12

Congress with just one seat in 13 states

08

Rajasthan (seats 25)

Janta Dal (S)

Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath at Kashi Vishwanath Temple

353

OTHERS

04

Result

BJP +

CONG +

Haryana (seats 10)

BJP

Narendra Modi seeks blessings from his mother Hirabaa in Raisan near Gandhinagar

Who won where and how much?

2014 2019 04

19 01

(UDF - United Democratic Front and LDF - Left Democratic Front) UDF and LDF both has alliance of 12-12 parties

17

1 - 7 June 2019

Himachal Pradesh (seats 4) Result

ELECTION SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

AsianVoiceNews

BJP

OTHERS

12

11

02

01

00

01

01

Chhattisgarh (seats 11)

Result

2014 2019

Congress

01

BJP

Result

10

Goa (seats 2)

BJP

Congress

09 02

2014 2019 02 00

01 01

Telangana (seats 17)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

00

TRS

Congress OTHERS

00

09

00

03

00

04 01

Newly formed Telangana participated for the first time in 2019 Lok Sabha elections

Uttarakhand (seats 5)

Result BJP

2014 2019 05

05

Andhra Pradesh (seats 25)

Result

2014 2019

Telugu Desam

16

03

Congress

02

00

YRS Congress BJP

TRS

OTHERS

09

03 11 01

22

00 00 00

In 2014 parliamentary elections, Andhra Pradesh had 42 seats as Telangana was not still bifurcated. After the formation of Telangana as a state, Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats

Uttar Pradesh (seats 80)

Result

BJP BSP SP Congress RLD Apna Dal OTHERS

2014 2019 71 00 05 02 00 02 00

60 11 05 01 01 00 02

Bihar (seats 40)

Result

BJP Janta Dal (U) Lok Janshakti Congress RJD NCP OTHERS

2014 2019 22 02 06 02 04 01 03

17 16 06 01 00 00 00

West Bengal (seats 42)

• Haryana • Chhattisgarh • Goa • Assam • Lakshadweep • Uttar Pradesh • Maharashtra • Madhya Pradesh • West Bengal • Meghalaya • Nagaland • Puducherry • Bihar Assam (seats 14)

Result

2014 2019

Result

2014 2019

Congress

03

SDF

01

BJP

AIUDF

OTHERS

07

09

03

01

01

03 01

Dadra and Nagar Haveli (seats 1)

Result

2014 2019

OTHERS

00

BJP

01

00 01

Lakshadweep (seats 1)

Result NCP

2014 2019 01

01

Odisha (seats 21)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

01

Biju Janta Dal

20

13

08

Chandigarh (seats 1)

Result BJP

2014 2019 01

01

Tripura (seats 2)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

02

18

Result

2014 2019

CPM

02

00

CPM

02

Trinamool Congress Congress

34

04

22

02

Puducherry (seats 1)

Result

2014 2019

NR (Con)

01

Congress

00

01 00

Sikkim (seats 1)

BJP

00

02 00

Arunachal Pradesh (seats 2) Result

2014 2019

Congress

01

BJP

01

02 00

SKM

00

01 00

Nagaland (seats 1)

Result

2014 2019

Naga People’s

01

NDPT Front

00

01

00

Manipur (seats 2)

Result

2014 2019

Naga People’s

00

01

Congress

02

00

Result

2014 2019

BJP

Front

00

01

Meghalaya (seats 2)

Congress National People’s Party

01 01

01 01

Mizoram (seats 1)

Result

2014 2019

Mizo National Front

00

Result

2014 2019

BJP

01

Congress

01

00

01

Andaman (seats 1)

Congress

00

01 00

16 ELECTION SPECIAL

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1 - 7 June 2019

Minorities made to live in fear, we must end this: Modi tells MPs After the election heat has subsided, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the meeting of NDA MPs and said that minorities had long been made to live in fear by those who believed in vote bank politics and that this deception needs to end to take everyone along. “Unfortunately, the minorities of this country have been kept in fear, used in elections. We have to end this cycle,” PM Modi said.

He accused the opposition parties of keeping the minorities confused and frightened, instead of working on the improvement of education and health among them. He invoked the spirit of 1857’s first war of independence, saying all communities had joined hands for independence and a similar movement should be started for good governance now.

Emphasizing the need to win the trust of all sections, Modi said, “We have worked for ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas,’ now we have to strive for ‘sabka vishwas’.”

Modi reiterated the importance of coalition politics saying “BJP is 300 plus but we shall work together with the NDA partners in future,” and added, “The credit for good work will go to all allies and I will take blame for blemishes.” He floated the slogan of “NARA - National Ambition Regional Aspiration” - saying that a balance between the two will be key to the country’s progress and it can only be accomplished with the support of the regional parties.

Set for a second term as Prime Minister, Modi said his government will now begin “a

Narendra Modi addressing NDA MPs in New Delhi after election victory.

new journey to build a new India with new energy” and asked newly elected MPs of the NDA to work without any discrimination, including on the basis of faith and castes.

He said the 2019 elections have worked towards breaking down walls and connecting hearts. “In a way they had become a way to unite society... This gave a new height to these elections.

People have started a new era and all of us are witness to it,” the PM said, in a counter to commentaries that his election will divide people.

In his over-75-minute address, Modi urged Mps to shun “VIP culture”. He touched the feet of BJP veteran L K Advani as Parkash Singh Badal, Amit Shah, MM Joshi, Uddhav Thackeray and Nitin Gadkari look on, at the parliamentary party meeting Modi: 2019 victory is powered by Gujarat growth story Crediting Gujarat for the

victory. I see next five years as crucial and important time not only for Gujarat but also for the entire world. This is an opportunity for another renaissance that will make India a 'Vishwa Guru' (global leader)’’, he added.

Stating that people have voted for development, prosperity, safety and security, Modi said that pro-incumbency votes were cast in this election to re-elect the government. Referring to the second clean sweep in Gujarat, Modi said, “Vijaybhai (Rupani) told me that going by the victory in all 26 seats, BJP can now win around 173 seats (out of 182) in the state assembly.”

Grass-root workers hailed for his victory in Varanasi Chemistry has triumphed over poll arithmetic, Modi said profusely thanking the voters of Varanasi for his

He also said that modesty, thumping victory in the Lok discipline and politeness are a Sabha election, Modi said that must to digest this win. “This the growth story of his home huge victory has brought state had reached every nook along a greater responsibility. and corner of the country We need modesty, discipline even before the 2014 win. and politeness to digest this Calling 2019 as the most historic election since independence, Modi said unlike in the past, he had predicted with For Narendra Modi, the mandate of 2019 has brought conviction that BJP a thicker stability cushion but a heavier load of would win over 300 expectations. seats.

Domestic Agenda “In 2014, • Ram Temple:The matter is subjudice. RSS and journalists often affiliates in early 2019 were eager to announce a time asked me the line. But the Modi-Shah duo, in order to avoid a number of seats BJP confrontation with the apex court and diluting the would win. But I 'growth' message image, asked the Sangh to apply the avoided those brakes. questions and • Article 35A: BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' has promised merely replied using annulling the controversial clause that provides good adjectives. This special rights to residents of Jammu and Kashmir. time, I announced • Infra spending to zoom: The BJP manifesto publicly that we promises a `£1000 billion investment in would win over 300 infrastructure by 2024. The government plans to seats, but some kickstart the first tranche of investment from the people mocked at word go. this number,” the • Rural development: Under Phase III of the Pradhan PM said.

landslide victory in the elections. “Political analysts will have to accept that beyond poll arithmetic there is a chemistry,” he told party workers on his first visit to his constituency after his resounding victory, which was by a higher margin this time. “For the country I am the PM, but for you I am your MP, I am your sevak,” he said.

Giving full credit for his victory to the workers at the grassroots level, PM said, “Work and workers create wonders”, for creating awareness about his government’s policies and programmes for the people.

Modi also spoke about the importance of “perfect synergy” between the government and the party.

Modi, who also offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Flanked by party president Amit Shah and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Modi entered the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and paid obeisance to the deity as priests recited Sanskrit ‘shlokas’ in the sanctum sanctorum and blew conch shells.

100-day agenda for Modi?

Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), 1,25,000 km of link routes.

• National urban mission: About 200 urban clusters as hubs around big cities may be cleared, over and above the 300 large urban centres developed so far.

• More smart cities: Smart city mission to expand beyond existing 100. Total value of tenders might be pushed to `£15,000 billion by June-end.

• Housing & Social Welfare: The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), the affordable housing programme for the poor, will see stepped-up efforts in the first 100 days.

• Tough on corruption: Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi managed to escape from India after carrying out economic offences. The government will speed up its efforts to bring back these offenders who have been declared fugitives to showcase its intent. Tougher laws to check black money creation, especially through benami activities, could be coming.

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Jammu & Kashmir (seats 6) Result

2014 2019

BJP

03

National Conference PDP

OTHERS

00

03

03

00

00

02

BJP

01

2014 2019

Congress

01

BJP

NPP

07

10

02

00

MGB

15

State-wise comparison of Lok Sabha Election Results of 2014 and 2019 seat by seat, party by party

85

Result 542*/543

89

Congress wiped out from 14 states • Andhra Pradesh • Arunachal Pradesh • Chandigarh • Delhi • Gujarat • Himachal Pradesh • Jammu & Kashmir • Manipur • Mizoram • Odissa • Rajasthan • Sikkim • Tripura • Uttarakhand

00

Punjab (seats 13)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

02

Congress Shiromani Akali Dal AAP

03

04

04

02

02

01

* Election Commission cancelled elections in Tamil Nadu's Vellore

TamilNadu (seats 39)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

Congress

00

Result

2014 2019

OTHERS

00

25

24 01

Gujarat (seats 26)

Result BJP

2014 2019 26

26

Daman & Diu (seats 1)

Result BJP

2014 2019 01

01

DMK

AIADMK CPI

23

37

01

00

CPM

00

OTHERS BJP

00

01

01

08

02 02

02

00

Delhi (seats 7)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

07

07

Jharkhand (seats 14)

Maharashtra (seats 48)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

Congress JMM

00

Result

2014 2019

Shiv Sena

18

NCP

Congress OTHERS

23 04 02 01

23 18 04 01 02

Karnataka (seats 28)

Result

2014 2019

Congress

09

OTHERS

17

25

02

01

00

01 01

Madhya Pradesh (seats 29) Result

2014 2019

Congress

02

BJP

27

28 01

Kerala (seats 20)

Result

2014 2019

LDF

08

UDF

12

Congress with just one seat in 13 states

08

Rajasthan (seats 25)

Janta Dal (S)

Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath at Kashi Vishwanath Temple

353

OTHERS

04

Result

BJP +

CONG +

Haryana (seats 10)

BJP

Narendra Modi seeks blessings from his mother Hirabaa in Raisan near Gandhinagar

Who won where and how much?

2014 2019 04

19 01

(UDF - United Democratic Front and LDF - Left Democratic Front) UDF and LDF both has alliance of 12-12 parties

17

1 - 7 June 2019

Himachal Pradesh (seats 4) Result

ELECTION SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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BJP

OTHERS

12

11

02

01

00

01

01

Chhattisgarh (seats 11)

Result

2014 2019

Congress

01

BJP

Result

10

Goa (seats 2)

BJP

Congress

09 02

2014 2019 02 00

01 01

Telangana (seats 17)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

00

TRS

Congress OTHERS

00

09

00

03

00

04 01

Newly formed Telangana participated for the first time in 2019 Lok Sabha elections

Uttarakhand (seats 5)

Result BJP

2014 2019 05

05

Andhra Pradesh (seats 25)

Result

2014 2019

Telugu Desam

16

03

Congress

02

00

YRS Congress BJP

TRS

OTHERS

09

03 11 01

22

00 00 00

In 2014 parliamentary elections, Andhra Pradesh had 42 seats as Telangana was not still bifurcated. After the formation of Telangana as a state, Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats

Uttar Pradesh (seats 80)

Result

BJP BSP SP Congress RLD Apna Dal OTHERS

2014 2019 71 00 05 02 00 02 00

60 11 05 01 01 00 02

Bihar (seats 40)

Result

BJP Janta Dal (U) Lok Janshakti Congress RJD NCP OTHERS

2014 2019 22 02 06 02 04 01 03

17 16 06 01 00 00 00

West Bengal (seats 42)

• Haryana • Chhattisgarh • Goa • Assam • Lakshadweep • Uttar Pradesh • Maharashtra • Madhya Pradesh • West Bengal • Meghalaya • Nagaland • Puducherry • Bihar Assam (seats 14)

Result

2014 2019

Result

2014 2019

Congress

03

SDF

01

BJP

AIUDF

OTHERS

07

09

03

01

01

03 01

Dadra and Nagar Haveli (seats 1)

Result

2014 2019

OTHERS

00

BJP

01

00 01

Lakshadweep (seats 1)

Result NCP

2014 2019 01

01

Odisha (seats 21)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

01

Biju Janta Dal

20

13

08

Chandigarh (seats 1)

Result BJP

2014 2019 01

01

Tripura (seats 2)

Result

2014 2019

BJP

02

18

Result

2014 2019

CPM

02

00

CPM

02

Trinamool Congress Congress

34

04

22

02

Puducherry (seats 1)

Result

2014 2019

NR (Con)

01

Congress

00

01 00

Sikkim (seats 1)

BJP

00

02 00

Arunachal Pradesh (seats 2) Result

2014 2019

Congress

01

BJP

01

02 00

SKM

00

01 00

Nagaland (seats 1)

Result

2014 2019

Naga People’s

01

NDPT Front

00

01

00

Manipur (seats 2)

Result

2014 2019

Naga People’s

00

01

Congress

02

00

Result

2014 2019

BJP

Front

00

01

Meghalaya (seats 2)

Congress National People’s Party

01 01

01 01

Mizoram (seats 1)

Result

2014 2019

Mizo National Front

00

Result

2014 2019

BJP

01

Congress

01

00

01

Andaman (seats 1)

Congress

00

01 00

18 ELECTION SPECIAL

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1 - 7 June 2019

ABPL prediction on election outcome comes true When the Lok Sabha elections process began in India, everybody had this question: will it be NDA, Congress or 'Mahagathbandhan' which will have an upper hand in the 17th Lok Sabha? Indians across the nation and overseas projected many opinions on that matter. In January 2019, CB Patel, the editorpublisher of Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice, in his 'Jeevan Panth' column predicted that NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come back to power with minimum 340 seats.

CB made this prediction while he was attending the Indian Republic Day function at Guild Hall in London on 28 January 2019.

After the function, the journalists were discussing the changing trends and the political scenario in India. A correspondent, who is aware of CB's political connections, asked, “CB, what do you think? Will Narendra Modi government come back to power again?”

CB, who knew that even a week in politics is a long time, decided to take the risk and told the journalist, “based on my recent findings, I believe that the BJP-led NDA will get minimum 340 seats.”

Now that the election results are out, CB's predictions have come true with BJP winning 302 seats on its own and NDA tally touching 353 in the Lower House of Parliament.

Rahul yet to budge on resignation offer After Congress' abysmal performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi was quite insistent to resign from the post of its president at the Congress Working Committee meeting.

However, his offer was unanimously rejected by most of the senior party leaders. His move has triggered such uncertainty that the AICC urged the media not to speculate on issues arising out of CWC meeting held last week.

Senior leaders tried to convince him saying he had led from the front and there was no reason for him to be disheartened. After A K Antony, Ahmed Patel and Chidambaram sought to comfort him, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Rahul would be falling into the trap of BJP if he quit. Other leaders also chimed in, urging him to stay put.

Interestingly, a veteran said there was nobody to step into his shoes and that “workers would commit suicide” if he quit.

Interestingly, according to sources, when one participant remarked who else could lead the party, Rahul interjected, “why only us?” It was viewed as a reference to the Gandhi family. Rahul apparently said anyone could become the Congress president. The CWC later rejected his offer of resignation and told him that he had full freedom to take all measures necessary for organisational overhaul of the party at all levels. Several Congress leaders and workers took to social media to extend support to the Congress chief with a hashtag ‘IStandWithRahulGandhi’, lauding him for his efforts leading up the Lok Sabha elections and insisting that electoral loss should not be seen as the end of the road. “‘You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.’ We are with you in this battle,” All India Mahila Congress said on Twitter. Amid dramatic scenes that saw the leader accept responsibility for the Lok Sabha debacle, he lashed out at senior leaders for putting the interests of their sons ahead of the party.

BIG WINNERS

AMIT SHAH BJP Gandhinagar

MOHAN KUNDARIYA PARBAT PATEL MANSUKH VASAVA BJP BJP BJP Banaskantha Rajkot Bharuch

DUSHYANT SINGH AJAY BHATT BJP BJP, Jhalawar, Rajasthan Nainital, Uttarakhand

NARENDRA TOMAR BJP Morena, MP

SUNNY DEOL BJP Gurdaspur, Punjab

PRATAP CHIKHALIKAR BJP , Nanded

SHASHI THAROOR Congress Thiruvananthapuram

SUJAY VIKHEPATIL, BJP Ahmednagar

FAROOQ ABDULLAH NC SRINAGAR, J&K

NITIN GADKARI GAUTAM GAMBHIR BJP BJP Nagpur East Delhi

MK KANIMOZHI DMK Thoothukkudi, TN

ASADUDDIN OWAISI AIMIM Hyderabad

GIRIRAJ SINGH BJP Begusarai, Bihar

SURESH DHANORKAR Congress Chandrapur

SONIA GANDHI Congress Raebareli, UP

ABHISHEK BANERJEE TMC Dimond Harbour (WB)

BIG LOSERS

SOMA GANDA PATEL Congress Surendranagar

JAGDISH THAKOR Congress Patan

PARESH DHANANI Congress Amreli

BHARAT SOLANKI Congress Anand

ASHOK CHAVAN Congress Nanded

PARTH PAWAR NCP Maval

JAYA PRADA BJP Rampur UP

SHEILA DIKSHIT Congress N-E- Delhi

MOON MOON SEN TMC Asansol, W.Bengal

MISA BHARTI RJD Patliputra, Bihar

VAIBHAV GEHLOT Congress Jodhpur, Rajasthan

PRADEEP TAMTA Congress Almora, Uttarakhand

JYOTIRADITYA SCINDIA Congress Guna, MP

SURJIT SINGH RAKHRA SAD Patiala, Punjab

PON RADHAKRISHNAN BJP Kanyakumari, TN

MEHBOOBA MUFTI PDP Anantnag, J&K

BAIJAYANT PANDA BJP Kendrapara, Odisha

KALVAKUNTLA KAVITHA TRS Nizamabad, Telangana

REAL ESTATE VOICE

DOUBLING THE PIE

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Last Friday I attended an auction, with the hope of acquiring a property on behalf of a client. It was a corner property with the benefit of a large piece of land on the side.

The deal seemed obvious. There was potential to build another dwelling on the side, to be sold off on a separate title, or refinanced.

The house opposite had done the same.

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap London Property Investment

The idea was run by our planner who gave the affirmative, or as affirmative as a planner gets.

We were hoping to pick the property up for £575K-ish, however, the price went to £602K. It seemed as if half the room was after this lot. In my opinion this was due to a couple of reasons.

One is it’s very local to investors who live in this location. Many investors like to buy and own in and around where they live. The other is there are a lot of builders now looking to acquire development projects. Their purpose is not only to make money, they have another purpose, that is to keep their work force busy in between jobs. If they do not do this they may not have a work force.

THE FRIENDLY LANDLORD

This property floated in and out of

Some people think that the best way to be a landlord is to make friends with their tenants. Wrong! They think there might be less problems with the tenant if they considered them a friend as opposed to an authority figure.

In our experience it is always best to keep things professional and at arm’s length. We had a situation a few months ago where a landlord had become close friends with his tenants.

He’d been invited round to dinner, and even went to the pub with them. Now in the landlord’s eyes this made for a great relationship because the tenants were nice and friendly, and the landlord

1 - 7 June 2019

auction over the last couple of months. It was only put into this one a couple of weeks ago. I was hoping given the background it would slip through the net and miss the attention of many potential investors. It was not the case.

I never saw the property from inside, as the interest was driven by the development angle. The property was a probate. Even though the probate had not been granted it had been put into auction, with the proviso the deal can only be executed once probate has been granted.

Considering it was a probate, it was almost a given it would require substantial updating. This meant the margins for this deal were becoming tighter and tighter; unless of course you’re in the building game.

The principle of building on the side of a plot seems obvious, however sometimes such opportunities are completely missed by the developer; little or large.

I’ve seen an office to resi conversion in prime Ealing, where the developer completely missed the potential in the carpark to build a whole new building. They were

never had any issues with them.

Until!!! the tenants unfortunately missed paying the rent one month, but didn’t mention anything. After much deliberation, the landlord asked in a friendly way when the rent would come in, and was met with a ‘don’t worry, I’ll sort it out soon enough’ response.

After two months of no rent, and a mortgage to pay, the landlord didn’t know how to broach the subject. After much anguish he tried to raise the subject again, but was met with a very non-committal response, and no explanation.

BUY TO LET OPPORTUNITY

19

simply fixated on the office building.

Our planner had advised getting planning for a second building in the carpark was very strong.

We tried to buy the whole site off the developer, however, we could not get terms to meet.

I spotted a similar opportunity, last week, where there was a site with 29 car parking spaces, close to the station. Where a site is close to the station, the council may elect for the site to be a car parking free zone.

Under this premise the carpark can be converted into a new freehold block in addition to the existing block.

To describe this as a cherry on the pie would be doing it an injustice.

You are looking at doubling the pie – at least.

However, although the principle sounded sane, the reality did not match on this occasion. Our planner informed us that having the carpark was pivotal in getting the office to resi scheme approved, therefore the additional development would not be viable.

meaningful communication with the tenant, the landlord contacted me and explained the awkward situation he found himself in. He went on to explain he was having trouble addressing the issue because they had become friends. He asked us to get involved, which we were more than happy to do. As the relationship had broken down, the landlord asked us to become involved long-term.

If you need help with any aspect of your tenant or property management, do get in touch to see how we can help you.

After three months of no rent, and no

Richard Bond

l Large three bedroom flat in a purpose built block l Long lease and low service charges l Rentable condition

l Similar flats have been sold for £615 / sq. ft. and above, while we have secured this flat at £500 / sq. ft., a discount of at least 20%

l Yield of 5.5% per annum

London, NW6 Purchase Price: £440,000

l Close to bars, restaurants and a variety of shops

l Close to Finchley Road and West Hampstead stations l Excellent long term investment

Call us now for more information!

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Sowandreapuk

Turning land into cash Get in touch about our land opportunities

20 FINANCE - UK

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UK tax system, social security help reduce inequality: IFS According to a report released by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the UK tax system does help reduce the country’s wealth inequality problem, however, tax benefits still do most of the heavy lifting in redistributing wealth from rich to poor. The findings were seized on by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who said the IFS’s evidence showed that the government was wrong to plan tax cuts.

Funded by the government-backed Economic and Social Research Council, the IFS analysis contradicts the report published last year by Office for National Statistics, which found that the tax system has a “negligible effect on income inequality”.

The report stated that the system of direct taxes (income tax, NICs and council tax) and benefits reduces inequality. Pascale Bourquin, a research economist at IFS said: “The tax and benefit system significantly reduces the gap between rich and poor, with benefits playing a particularly big role. However, contrary to the ONS’s claim, taxes do also reduce inequality.

“But the bigger picture is that what matters for income inequality is the progressivity of the tax and benefit system as a whole, and not a specific part of it. The government should achieve its desired amount of redistribution using those parts of the tax and benefit system best suited to that particular job.” he added McDonnell said: “The IFS has confirmed the importance of taxation and social security in creating a fairer society. We all benefit at different times of our lives from the system we pay into, but many are being pushed into poverty by low pay, sharply rising rents and brutal cuts to social security.

“With tax cuts already featuring in the Conservative leadership election campaign, it’s clear only Labour is serious about addressing the problems created by nine years of austerity.”

The IFS found that benefits are still by far the biggest tool for reducing inequality. The poorest fifth of society receive 16 times more in benefits as a share of their net income than the highest-income fifth does. But the highest-income fifth pays just 2.7 times as much direct tax as a share of income as the poorest fifth.

Virgin Atlantic relaunching London Mumbai flight

Virgin Atlantic is relaunching air links between London and Mumbai, with flights on sale from May 28. The first daily service is set to commence using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in October, complementing the airline’s longestablished route between Heathrow and Delhi. The new flights will depart and arrive Heathrow in the morning to align with connecting flows to and from US. The airline founded by Sir Richard Branson first flew to Mumbai in 2005, but withdrew amid intense competition. The Heathrow-Mumbai link was restored in 2012 but dropped again three years later, when Virgin Atlantic entered a “codeshare” agreement to put passengers on Jet Airways’ twice-daily service on the route.

Juha Jarvinen, executive vice-president, commercial at Virgin Atlantic, said: “2019 marks a significant period of growth for Virgin Atlantic and I’m delighted that we’re continuing to expand our route network once more, by returning to Mumbai. Until recently we’ve been able to serve this important market through our partnership with Jet Airways, however, since Jet Airways has sadly suspended its operation, we now have an opportunity to provide alternative options for our customers and meet this demand.”

Meanwhile, in June, British Airways will scrap its daytime South Africa flights to cash in on the collapse of Jet Airways, adding an extra flight to Mumbai.

Karan Bilimoria tipped to become next CBI president Karan Bilimoria, the Indianorigin entrepreneur and founder of Cobra Beer, is tipped to become the next president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) at a crucial time for the business lobby group as Britain prepares to leave the EU. The CBI confirmed that Lord Bilimoria, an independent crossbench peer, would stand for election as the organisation's vicepresident at its annual meeting on June 18, taking over from the outgoing Paul Drechsler. If confirmed, Lord Bilimoria’s election will put him in line to take over from John Allan, the CBI’s current president, when his two-year term ends next summer.

Bilimoria turned Cobra Beer into a household name after founding it in 1989 and

Karan Bilimoria

remains its chairman. He was also the founding chairman of the UK-India Business Council. “I’m very much looking forward to the role,” he said. “These are very challenging times for the country, the economy, and for British business, and the CBI has a crucial role to play. I’m looking forward to

contributing.”

He said his personal view on Brexit was “completely separate” and that he would be aligned with the CBI as an organisation. He added: “I want a resolution to this in a way that would be good for the UK and for British business.” A CBI spokesman said: “Lord Bilimoria’s views on whether there should be a second referendum are well known, yet the CBI’s position is unchanged.

Passing a withdrawal agreement is the only way to avoid a damaging no-deal scenario and secure a transition period, creating muchneeded breathing space for

firms of all sizes.

“Failure to break the deadlock – by all politicians compromising to find a deal that commands a majority in parliament, [that] is acceptable to the EU and protects our economy – means the clamour for a general election or a second referendum will grow.”

Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI director-general, thanked Drechsler for his contribution and said “Lord Bilamoria has had a remarkable career in British business, during which he has built a deep understanding of what it takes to build a successful company.”

The CBI president is a non-executive role that chairs the group’s board and helps to shape the organisation’s policy decisions.

Mallya ordered to pay $135 mn to Diageo The high court in London has ordered Vijay Mallya and his son Siddharth to pay $135million to world’s largest producer of spirits Diageo.

Diageo had sued the duo as well as two companies associated with their family, Watson Limited and Continental Administration Services Limited (CASL), in the high court in London. Its claim was to claw back a $40 million payout Diageo had made to Mallya in 2016, as part of the $75 million

Vijay Mallya

settlement for his departure from United Spirits (USL), as well as a $135-million loan Diageo had refinanced for Mallya’s company Watson.

Renowned for brands like Johnnie Walker, Diageo had agreed to pay $40 million to Mallya in cash and $7 million every year for five years thereafter when he was removed as chairman from USL on 25 February 2016.

Diageo holds a 54% stake in USL. Diageo claiming breach of contract, has not paid $7

million since 2017 and now is claiming to get the $40 million back.

Mallya has a counterclaim against Diageo for $21 million for the unpaid amount of $75-million settlement. The commercial court heard that when Diageo in November 2012 was in the process of acquiring shares in USL, it agreed to become a backstop guarantor of the $135-million loan that Watson then owed ICICI Bank.

British Steel collapses, threatening thousands of jobs British Steel, the second largest steel maker in the country, collapsed after talks with the government failed to secure a bailout, threatening 5,000 workers and another 20,000 jobs depend on its supply chain.

The company had asked for a package of support to tackle issues related to Britain's pending departure from the European Union.

The High Court ordered the company into compulsory liquidation, according to the government's Insolvency Service.

"The immediate priority following my appointment as liquidator of British Steel is to continue safe operation of the site," said David Chapman, the official receiver, referring to the Scunthorpe plant in northeast England. The company will continue to trade and supply its customers while Chapman considers options for the business. A team from financial firm EY will work with the receiver and all parties to "secure a solution."

"To this end they have commenced a sale process to identify a purchaser for the businesses," EY said in a statement. The government said it had done all it could for the company, including providing a 120 million pound bridging facility to help meet emission trading compliance costs. Going further would not be lawful as it could be considered illegal state aid, Business Secretary Greg Clark said. "I have been advised that it would be unlawful to provide a guarantee or loan on the terms of any proposals that the company or any other party has made," he said.

Unions had called for the government to nationalize the business, but the government demurred. The opposition Labour Party's deputy leader, Tom Watson described the news as "devastating."

"It is testament to the government's industrial policy vacuum, and the farce of its failed Brexit," he said in a tweet.

The director-general of UK Steel, the trade association of the industry, Gareth Stace said, “The crisis underscores the anxieties of British manufacturers, who have been demanding clarity around plans for Britain's departure from the EU.

Longstanding issues such as noncompetitive electricity prices also continue to deter investment in UK manufacturing.” "Many of our challenges are far from unique to steel - the whole manufacturing sector is crying out for certainty over Brexit," Stace said. "Unable to decipher the trading relationship the UK will have with its biggest market in just five months' time, planning and decision making has become nightmarish in its complexity."

Greybull Capital, which bought British Steel in 2016 for a nominal sum, said turning around the company was always going to be a challenge.

It praised the trade union and management team, but said Brexit-related issues proved to be insurmountable. "We are grateful to all those who supported British Steel on the attempted journey to resurrect this vital part of British industry," it said in a statement.

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Naresh Goyal, wife offloaded from Emirates flight Former Jet Airways chief promoter Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita were offloaded from Emirates flight and were barred from leaving India. The duo was recalled from the flight which already had reached the taxiway and was preparing for take-off from the Mumbai International Airport.

As per the government sources, a lookout circular (LOC) had been issued by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), as per a November 2018 home ministry notification giving powers to public sector banks to prevent willful defaulters and fraudsters from fleeing the country. Officials in the government said the SFIO and the Enforcement Directorate had launched a probe against Jet. The Boeing 777 aircraft, with the Goyals among 371 people on board, was about to depart for Dubai, said an air traffic control official. “It began taxiing, but then, we received a call from immigration authorities asking us to call the aircraft back. They said there was an immigration issue.’’ the official added. The passengers would have barely settled in, when the Goyals seated in the second row of the

Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita

Emirates first class cabin were asked to deplane. The Goyals would have landed in Dubai in three hours had the aircraft not been called back, where a limousine, which is part of the Emirates first class service, was booked to ferry them from the airport to their penthouse residence in Dubai Marina. “Their bags were checked-in only

up to Dubai,’’ said an airport source.

However, another official said that they were travelling to London. If so, they had probably planned to break their journey in Dubai. On March 2, 2016, Vijay Mallya, whose Kingfisher Airlines reportedly owed banks £900 million, left the country for London on a Jet flight - triggering a political

firestorm and setting in motion protracted extradition proceedings in the UK. As for the 25-year old Jet, which "temporarily" suspended flight operations on April 17, it owes over £700 million to nine Indian banks led by State Bank of India which has a £160 million exposure.

Officials in the government said the SFIO and the Enforcement Directorate had launched a probe against Jet. Diversion of funds?

According to information, the couple was asked to get off the flight on the basis of an alert as the Enforcement Directorate is looking into Goyal's case since the grounded carrier owes £900 million to the lenders. While ED had earlier begun looking at Abu Dhabi carrier Ethihad's investment into the company that ran Jet's frequent flyer programme to possible violation of FDI norms, the agency is now investigating if funds were routed out of the grounded airline The MCA is yet to decide on ordering a probe by the SFIO, although an investigation by the Registrar of Companies is said to have found lapses, a news agency had reported recently.

Modi govt likely to invest £300 bn in transport sector The Narendra Modi government is likely to invest nearly £300 billion in transport sector in the next five years, which is nearly a third of the £1,000 billion investment push for the infrastructure sector to elevate economic growth and job creation.

According to the details of future investment that the BJP had prepared at the time of releasing the election manifesto, the largest chunk is proposed to be invested in railways, river-linking and highway expansion programme,. In addition, defense modernisation, which requires £90 billion, is also a part of the plan.

While investment of £300 billion has been estimated for building new corridors for bullet trains and dedicated freight move-

ment, around £300 billion is proposed to be allocated for the port sector over the next five years, with a large chunk earmarked for the Sagarmala project. Besides railways, roads, ports and airports, the allocation also envisages to focus on social infrastructure - education & health - and the farm sector, where investment is seen to be lagging.

Sources said depending on the pace of work undertaken or new requirements that may arise during implementation, the sectoral allocation can be modified.

Apart from budgetary allocation, support through viability gap funding and investment by public sector companies is also included in the capex estimates. Since 2013-14, capital expenditure

has increased by 113% to £96 billion and it is proposed to rise with faster GDP growth over the next five years. This is expected to result in more rapid job creation as labour costs are estimated to be around £100 billion.

With PM Narendra Modi keen to revive the plan for inter-linking of rivers, the BJP blueprint has suggested that 37 rivers would be taken up to transfer water from surplus to deficit areas. While implementing this plan is expected to cost around £110 billion, nearly £70 billion may have to be allocated for the next five years. Investment of another £70 billion has been worked out for upgrading other urban infrastructure.

Sources said according to the blueprint prepared by

Poll mandate gives RBI room to reduce rates A strong mandate to the Modi-led NDA government could pave the way for softer interest rates regime from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) when it announces its second bi-monthly policy for FY20 on June 6. One of the uncertainties over the monetary policy was the forthcoming Budget’s adherence to fiscal consolidation.

Before elections, there was a risk of slippage as the Congress-led UPA had promised minimum basic income of Rs 72,000 under its proposed Nyay scheme.

According to the reports, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had indicated that he will use all possible

instruments to ensure liquidity in the markets. On interest rates, he had called for more flexibility in policy making by suggesting that in an unpredictable environment, the central bank should not be a prisoner to its stance and should have the freedom to move rates either way. Das had also said that rate changes need not be in multiples of 25 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) and the central bank should be able to move rates by even 35bps to add nuance to its signal.

Syndicate Bank MD & CEO Mrutyunjay Mahapatra said, “RBI’s successive rates have had an impact on the

lending rates of a limited number of banks. I feel they might wait for the existing cuts to be digested or they could cut rates to signal easier money as short-term rates are a bit tight.”

Most economists feel that there is a case for the banking regulator to ease rates given the slowing growth momentum and benign inflation. “Given that our inflation forecasts remain below 4% during this year, growth remains below our estimated potential, and the Fed continues to be dovish, we project space for one more rate cut by the RBI,” said Prachi Mishra, an economist with Goldman Sachs India.

the party, £50 billion would be spent for urban housing scheme to provide financial assistance for approximately 20 million houses.

Considering that India is rapidly urbanising, a huge thrust on urban infrastructure gains importance.

There is significant growth

in migration from rural areas to cities and towns, triggering the need to augment the existing infrastructure.

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US hate crime convict told to study Sikhism as part of jail sentence WASHINGTON: The Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh body in America, in a statement said that a US judge has ordered a white youth, who admitted to attacking a Sikh store owner because of his religion, to learn more about the faith and submit a report in the court as part of his sentence for committing the hate crime. Marion County Judge Lindsay Partridge also sentenced 25-year-old Andrew Ramsey to three years of imprisonment.

On 14 January, Ramsey brutally assaulted Harwinder Singh Dodd, who was working at a convenience store in the US State of Oregon. Ramsey wanted rolling papers for cigarettes, but

Andrew Ramsey

did not have an ID and the clerk would not sell them to him without the document, as required by law. When Dodd asked Ramsey to leave, he attacked him by pulling his beard, punching him in the face, pulling him to the ground and kicking him.

Ramsey also spat on Dodd and ripped his turban off his head, the statement said.

The youth pleaded guilty to seconddegree intimidation, a hate crime under Oregon law. While sentencing the youth, the judge ordered him to attend the local temple’s annual parade to learn more about the Sikh religion, saying bigotry is the result of ignorance and “all of us are able to learn and benefit from cultures in our community”.

"Judge Partridge ruled that Ramsey is required to seek drug

and alcohol treatment along with mental health treatment.

Judge Partridge also included restorative justice components as part of Ramsey's probation, including a requirement that he obtain an awareness of Sikhism and report what he has learned to the court," the Sikh Coalition said. In a written statement to the court, Dodd said, "Every person should be able to live their life without fear of being targeted because of who they are, or how they practice their faith." According to the Sikh Coalition, Sikhs in America remain hundreds of times more likely to experience bigotry, bias or backlash than the average American.

Wayfair, co-founded by Niraj Shah, in Fortune 500 list CALIFORNIA: Wayfair, a company co-founded by Indian American Niraj Shah, has joined the Fortune 500 list. The company deals in online home furnishings and decor business that also has Joss & Main and Birch Lane in its portfolio. The company, based in Boston, Massachusetts, earned $6.8 billion in revenues and has over 12,000 employees.

Companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years. Included in the survey are companies that are incorporated and operated in the US and file financial statements with a government

Niraj Shah

agency. This includes private companies and cooperatives that file a 10-K or a comparable

Dhaka halts visas for Pak nationals DHAKA/ISLAMABAD: Amid strained relations, Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad has stopped issuing visas to Pakistani nationals for one week over a fresh diplomatic row.

The diplomatic row between Sheikh Hasina Bangladesh and Pakistan is on the rise since last year when Dhaka denied visa to the Pakistan high commissioner.

The foreign office in Dhaka is yet to confirm the news and no official notification has been issued. But a foreign ministry official said the Bangladeshi diplomat in charge of issuing visas refrained from processing the application by Pakistanis as the country’s authorities had been sitting on his own official visa renewal application for the past four months.

Pakistani high commission in Dhaka is not processing his family members’ visa applications, barring Bangladesh high commission’s press and visa affairs councillor Iqbal Hossain from meeting his family, the official said. “The visa counter in Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad has been closed since May 13,” reports quoted Hossain as saying.

Officials in the Pakistani high commission were not available for comments. Pakistan apparently has delayed the renewal of the visa after Dhaka refused to accept the nomination of the new high commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh for over a year.

financial statement with a government agency, and mutual insurance companies that file with state regulators.

It also includes companies that file with a government agency but are owned by private companies, domestic or foreign, that do not file such financial statements. Excluded are private companies not filing with a government agency; companies incorporated outside the US and US companies consolidated by other companies, domestic or foreign, that file with a government agency.

Also excluded are companies that failed to report full financial

statements for at least threequarters of the current fiscal year. They are not restated for mergers, acquisitions, or accounting changes.

The only changes to the prior years’ data are for significant restatement due to reporting errors that require a company to file an amended 10K, Fortune said.

In total, Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the US. GDP with $13.7 trillion in revenues, $1.1 trillion in profits, $22.6 trillion in market value, and employ 28.7 million people worldwide, the magazine said.

Emergency extended in Sri Lanka COLOMBO: Emergency, which was imposed immediately after the Easter Sunday Islamist bombings in Sri lanka that killed 258 people, has been extended by one more month. Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena issued a proclamation saying that the emergency, which gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods of time, would continue for another 30 days, citing "public security".

Sri Lanka initially imposed the emergency to crack down on local jihadists blamed for the April 21 bombings that targeted three churches and three luxury hotels. Three weeks after the suicide bombings, anti-Muslim riots broke out in a province north of the capital in a backlash against the attacks.

At least one Muslim man was killed and hundreds of Muslim-owned shops and homes were destroyed.

Several mosques were also vandalised.

The police and the military say they have arrested scores of suspects, both in connection with the bombings and over what appeared to be organised

violence against the Muslim minority. While extending emergency, Sirisena said the move was to maintain "public security."

Meanwhile, the independent Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka accused police of failing to prevent the anti-Muslim riots after the bombings.

"There appeared to be no preventive measures taken although retaliatory violence against the Muslim communities was a distinct possibility after the terror attacks," the HRCSL said in a letter.

The commission faulted the police for releasing suspects who were later seen taking part in attacks on Muslim targets. It said there was political interference to free some suspects. "As soon as they (the suspects) were released, the mob attacked all Muslim owned shops in Kuliyapitiya town during the curfew and went on to attack shops all the way to Rambawewa," the commission said.

It acknowledged that police could not have controlled the mobs on their own, but they had failed to arrange reinforcements from security forces.

"Ensure that no undue

political or other external interventions are tolerated, and that strict legal action be taken against those who obstruct police officers from performing their duties," the commission said.

Foreign hand seen The investigators said that the bombers used "Mother of Satan" explosives which was favoured by the Islamic State group and its shows a new sign of foreign involvement.

Detectives said the back-pack bombs used in the April 21 attacks were manufactured by local jihadists with Islamic State expertise. They named the explosive as triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, an unstable but easily made mixture favoured by Islamic State militants who call it "Mother of Satan". It was also used in the 2015 attacks in Paris, by a suicide bomber who hit the Manchester Arena in England in 2017 and attacks on churches in Indonesia one year ago.

Islamic State has claimed the Sri Lankan bombers operated as part of its franchise. But Sri Lankan and international investigators are anxious to know just how much outside help went into the attacks.

in brief INDIAN-ORIGIN LAWMAKER IN AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT Dave Sharma, the Liberal candidate and former Australian ambassador to Israel, has become the first Indian-origin lawmaker in the country’s Parliament after winning a seat in Sydney suburb in the federal election.

Sharma, 43, defeated independent candidate Kerryn Phelps for the eastern suburb seat of Wentworthin district. Sharma, who had lost to Phelps in a by-election six months ago, claimed the seat of Wentworth with 51% of the vote. “Very humbled by the trust placed in me by the people of Wentworth. Look forward to being a voice for them in Parliament and the party room,” Sharma tweeted. He said the three main issues he wanted to focus on were national security, female workforce participation and making sure Australia remains at the high end of the value chain.

MUEENUL HAQ APPOINTED AS PAK HIGH COMMISSIONER TO INDIA Pakistan announced that Mueenul Haq, a career diplomat, has been appointed as its new High Commissioner to India. "New Delhi, India, is very important...After consultation, I have decided to appoint Mueenul Haq, the current ambassador in France, who will be sent to (New) Delhi, and I hope that he (Haq) will deliver," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement. Haq was appointed after Sohail Mehmood left the High Commissioner's post to join as foreign secretary. Qureshi has expressed hope that Haq would perform his "new job with the best of his abilities." Along with India, Pakistan has announced new ambassadors to several countries including China, Japan and Brussels. In Beijing, Naghmana Hashmi will replace Masood Khalid, the incumbent envoy to China, after completion of his tenure.

Additional Secretary Imtiaz Ahmad has been appointed as ambassador to Japan, while Zaheer Janjua, currently serving as additional secretary in Europe, will look after the Pakistani mission in Brussels.

ZARDARI GETS INTERIM BAIL IN CORRUPTION CASE A Pakistani court has granted interim bail to former president Asif Ali Zardari in a case related to alleged award of illegal contracts, a media report said. The Islamabad high court granted bail till June 13 to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman against Rs 200,000 surety bonds. Zardari's counsel told the court the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had summoned Zardari on May 23 in an inquiry related to award of allegedly illegal contracts to a private firm in Sindh.

According to the NAB, the Harish and Company was awarded a contract for water supply by the Sindh government but failed to complete the projects and the public funds were allegedly misused to meet the expense of the residence of the PPP leader. The NAB officials claim that Harish and Company was the front company to Park Lane Estate which led to a loss of Rs 60 million to the national exchequer.

3 EXPLOSIONS ROCK NEPAL, 4 KILLED At least four people were killed in three consecutive blasts that took place in Kathmandu last week. The Nepal Police confirmed that blasts took place in Sukedhara, Ghattekulo and Naagdhunga areas of Kathmandu, whereas the Army defused bombs in Koteshwor, Satdobato, Gwarko and Lagankhel. A total of seven people have been injured in the blasts, police said. Most of the bombs exploded while they were being made.

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Over 37,000 Indians become US citizens in 9 months of 2018 Washington: The run-up to the US presidential elections has seen growing interest among green card holders to obtain citizenship. According to the data released recently by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the immigration agency of the US government, a little over 5,44,000 foreign nationals became US citizens during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2018. Interestingly, this is a rise of 15% over the same period last year. On the other hand, 7,07,000 immigrants had become US citizens during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 - this was a 6% decline from the previous fiscal.

Advocacy groups, such as the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), through outreach programmes and legal assistance, aim to mobilise one million ‘eligible’ foreign nationals in the United States to apply in time, to enable them to participate in the democratic process.

During this nine month period ended June 30, 2018, as many as 37,431 Indians became

US citizens (nearly 7% of the total), making them the second-largest group following Mexico. Chinese were the third-largest group, with 28,547 (5% of the total) obtaining US citizenship. As compared to the previous corresponding period, 5,950 more Indians were conferred US citizenship during the first three quarters of fiscal 2018, which is an increase of 19%.

Immigrant experts view the rise in citizenship is owing to two key factors uncertainty on the immigration policy front, which even renders green card holders vulnerable, and the desire to vote in the forthcoming elections. At the same time, the backlog in processing of citizenship applications is on the rise.

According to NPNA’s communication release, citizenship application backlogs remain at record-levels while processing delays have increased in fiscal 2018, showing that streamlining the citizenship process remains a critical issue ahead of the 2020 election.

British climber among 18 killed on Mount Everest groups than usual chose to push ahead rather than wait and risk harsh weather.

“It was such clear day, so everyone was rushing to the summit,” he said. “Once the weather is bad, no one can summit so in good weather,

KATHMANDU: A British man is among the eight climbers to die on Mount Everest and the 18th in Nepal's Himalayas during the current climbing season.

Hiking officials attributed most of the deaths to weakness, exhaustion and delays on the crowded route to the 8,850-metre (29,035 feet) summit. Robin Haynes Fisher, 41, died in the socalled "death zone" known for low levels of oxygen on descent from the summit, Mira Acharya, a tourism department official, said. He is the eighth fatality on Everest in the current climbing season that ends this month. “He died because of weakness after a long ascent and difficult descent,” Murari Sharma of the Everest Parivar Treks company that arranged his logistics said. “He was descending with his sherpa guides from the summit when he suddenly fainted."

Fellow guides changed Fisher's oxygen bottle and offered him water, but could not save him, Sharma said.

Garrett Madison of the US based Madison Mountaineering company that sponsors climbers to Mount Everest said many were not "well qualified or prepared climbers" and were without the support necessary to ascend and descend safely.

Traffic jams making Everest deadly The long, winding line to the peak added another element of risk to what is already one of the most dangerous mountains, raising the possibility of frostbite and oxygen depletion. At least two climbers died after having reached the summit, and their deaths may have been related to the delays. Donald Cash, 54, an American, died after collapsing on the mountain following an unusually long summit, according to Pioneer Adventures, a Kathmandubased organization that leads expeditions on Everest. Cash was traveling with Sherpa guides and fainted from altitude

sickness. He could not be revived. The other fatality, Anjali Kulkarni, 54, an Indian, collapsed while returning from the summit with her husband, according to Arun Treks and Expedition, which led the trip. “Due to the huge traffic and the delay in being able to return back, she couldn’t maintain her energy,” said Phupden Sherpa, the tour group’s manager.

Sherpa, who recalled similar episodes in 2017 that resulted in climber deaths, said it took the group an additional three hours to return to camp, a wait that he believes contributed to her death. Several of the climbers with Kulkarni returned to their camp with frostbite and other injuries.

Nivesh Karki, the manager of Pioneer Adventures, attributed the congestion at the summit to good weather. The frequently changing conditions mean that there is often only a small window of time for climbing, so last week, when weather was ideal more

everyone will try to go for the summit.” Karki said the crowding on the mountain increased the peril for all climbers, even under normal circumstances.

Two climbers are believed to have died on

Everest recently: An Indian man was found dead in his tent and an Irishman went missing after a fall. “This is a huge problem because the route is already dangerous, and there is always risk,” he said.

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SOUTH INDIA

Regional parties gain upper hand in South India CHENNAI: While the rest of india was swept under the 'Tsunamo', five southern states, except Karnataka, still resisted the Modi wave in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. among the five states - Karnataka, andhra Pradesh, Tamil nadu, Kerala and Telangana, only Karnataka resonated with what was happening north of the Vindhyas i.e. to give an emphatic triumph to the BJP. it won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka.

But, what unites the southern states in these elections is that people here have voted against the parties who are in power in these states. The five southern states collectively send 130 MPs to the Lok Sabha. excluding Vellore - where elections have been cancelled - this number comes down to 128. if we add one seat each of Puducherry and Lakshadweep, South india sends 130 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

AIADMK sweeps Tamil Nadu The ruling aiaDMK had registered a landslide win in the 2014 elections under the leadership of its late supremo Jayalalithaa. it was able to win 37 of the 39 seats in the state. aiaDMK also emerged as the third largest party in the Lok Sabha in 2014. But when results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were announced, the aiaDMK suffered a major setback with now having just one to representative in the Lower house. BJP too failed to win any seat. The DMK, the principal opposition party, on the other hand has won 23 seats. in 2014, it won zero. The Congress, which had joined hands with the DMK, has won

eight seats, CPi and CPM 2 seats each, iUML, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katch one each.

YSR Cong dwarfs Naidu's TDP in Andhra in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu naidu may have held hectic parleys with opposition leaders to form an anti-BJP grand alliance. But when results in andhra Pradesh were declared, he was left with nothing to hold on to. Considered a powerful regional party, the TDP has suffered a humiliating defeat having able to win only three of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in andhra Pradesh.

YS Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSR Congress registered its best performance in Lok Sabha elections with a landslide victory with 22 seats as compared to 8 seats

in 2014. Five years on, the party has also won the assembly election giving a double defeat to Chandrababu naidu.

Kerala: Left is completely left out Kerala is the only bastion of the Communist parties in india after being routed in West Bengal by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and in Tripura by the BJP. Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, Congress won 19 seats against 8 seats in 2014, leaving out just one seat for the Left parties. BJP, just like 2014, failed yet again to open its account in Kerala.

Karnataka: Lotus blooms again The people of Karnataka had a clear mandate - a BJP government headed by narendra Modi. it mattered little that it is the Congress-JD (S) government which is ruling the state at present. Of the 28 Lok

Sabha seats in Karnataka, the BJP has won 25, which is eight more that its tally in 2014.

The Congress and JD(S) have one seat each while the remaining one seat was won by an independent. The BJP's gain is not limited just to seats but even in terms of vote share the party has increased from 43.37 per cent votes in 2014 to 51.4 per cent this time. Contrasting this, Congress which had a vote share of 41.15 per cent in 2014 has been reduced to 31.88 per cent this time.

Telangana: KCR guards his ranks Telangana is the only state in South india where the ruling party was somehow able to safeguard its interest in these Lok Sabha elections. The people of Telangana have chosen to repose their trust on the K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)-led Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The TRS has won nine of the 17 Lok Sabha seats this time.

The BJP was able to make some inroads in the state and win four seats while the Congress picked up three. hyderabad seat was won by aiMiM. Puducherry & Lakshadweep: One each for NCP-Cong The Congress and the nationalist Congress Party (nCP) contested against each other in Lakshadweep and the contest was tough and close. in the end, nCP won the contest by a margin of 829 seats against Congress. in Puducherry the ruling Congress was able to guard its seat and also increase vote share. it won the Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and has been able to retain it this time. its vote share has increased from 27.16 per cent to 56.27 per cent this time.

PUNJAB

Haryana votes for BJP, Cong wins 8 seats in Punjab CHANDIGARH: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  gave a humiliating defeat to what were considered as bastions of prominent political families and won all 10 Lok Sabha seats by scoring a perfect 10 in haryana. in 2014, BJP had bagged seven seats, while the inLD had won two and Congress one. For the first time since haryana was carved out as a separate state in 1966, it was the BJP's best-ever performance while Congress, the inLD and its offshoot JJP had to bite the dust at the hustings. however, comparatively the BSP and JJP performed better than inLD and aaP. Proving the exit poll projections right, the Modi juggernaut continued propelling the ruling BJP in haryana to the top spot in the election 2019. in what came as a twin blow for the Congress was the defeat of father-son duo, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh hooda and his son Deepender hooda from Sonipat and Rohtak, respectively. Barring Rohtak, BJP candidates including five of their sitting MPs, won with

massive margins. The saffron outfit succeeded in smashing the bastions of the Chautala and Bhajan Lal clans. Besides hoodas, the other big name who lost was former Union minister Kumari Selja in ambala. Of the 11 women in the fray out of a total of 223 candidates, only BJP's Sunita Duggal managed a win from Sirsa reserved seat from where she defeated state Congress

chief ashok Tanwar by a margin of 3,09,918 votes. Union minister Krishan Pal Gurjar registered a massive victory over Congress' avtar Singh Bhadana by a margin of 6,38,239 votes. Other big wins for the BJP came from Karnal where Sanjay Bhatia won by over 6,54,000 votes; Bhiwani-Mahendragarh from where Dharambir Singh won by 4,35,000 votes, Gurgaon where another

Union minister Rao inderjit Singh won by over 3,82,000 votes and hisar, where Brijendra Singh won by 3,11,000 votes.

Cong wins 8 seats in Punjab in Punjab, Congress has won eight of 13 seats it contested. BJP has managed to win two seat, namely hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur. actor-turned politician Sunney Deol, who joined BJP earlier this month, has won the Gurdaspur seat with a margin of 80,000 votes. aaP's Bhagwat Mann has managed to win the Sangrur seat for the party. The opposition Shiromani akali Dal, which was looking to revive itself in the state, could bag only two seats. SaD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife and Union minister harsimrat Kaur Badal were the only party candidates who won. Sukhbir won from Ferozepur and his wife, a two-time MP from Bathinda, retained her seat. Sukhbir defeated SaD rebel and Congress candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya with a margin of over 1,98,000 votes while harsimrat defeated Warring by a margin of 21,772 votes.

WEST BENGAL

BJP makes deep inroads in Mamata's West Bengal KOLKATA: BJP has made huge strides in West Bengal by garnering 18 seats, 16 more than it had won in the 2014 polls, thereby breaching the once Left-ruled bastion and now the TMC citadel. Fortress Bengal was considered invincible. So in the run-up to 2019, when BJP president amit Shah said his party would win 23 of 42 seats in West Bengal, few took him seriously. But Shah and his lieutenants, party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and joint general secretary Shiv Prakash, kept chipping away before the BJP launched its final onslaught, breaching the Trinamool Congress citadel and making deep inroads.

The ruling TMC has won 22 out of 42 seats, Congress, on the other hand, managed to win just two seats while Left parties drew a blank. For BJP the star winners were -

Babul Supriyo (asansol), arjun Singh (Barrackpore), SS ahluwalia (BurdwanDurgapur), Locket Chatterjee (hooghly) and Dilip Ghosh (Medinipur). Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew abhishek Banerjee (TMC) retained his Diamond harbour seat, defeating his BJP rival nilanjan Roy by 3,20,594 votes. Other TMC candidates who won from their respective seats were Sougata Roy (Dum Dum), Satabdi Roy (Birbhum), Sunil Kumar Mondal (Bardhaman Purba), Mimi Chakraborty (Jadavpur) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (Kolkata north). Congress' adhir Ranjan Chowdhury defeated TMC's apurba Sarkar by 80,696 votes.

The shock and dismay was greater in the TMC, its cadres coming to terms with the BJP penetration into their home turf. The

electioneering too was rhetoric with both the parties launching personal attacks against each other. During the campaigning, Banerjee had repeatedly attacked Prime Minister narendra Modi, calling him as "expiry babu" and "liar." BJP had hit back at Banerjee, accusing her of "murdering" democracy in the state. The Prime Minister had dubbed the TMC supremo as "speed breaker Didi" for allegedly stalling development.

The election Commission had curtailed campaigning by a day ahead of the May 19 elections in nine constituencies in the state after violence marred amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata on May 14. The political violence that rocked the state during the polls was not witnessed elsewhere in the country. a bust of iconic social reformer ishwar Chandra

Vidyasagar was vandalized at a college named after him.

For the BJP, winning Bengal was more an ideological dream than an electoral victory.

Both Shah and Prime Minister Modi devoted a major part of their campaign time to Bengal. They addressed 15 rallies each in the state.

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HERITAGE HISTORY

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25

1 - 7 June 2019

Nine Schemes to Carve out Pakistan • Both Muslim League and Quaid had initially rejected the concept • Jinnah did not want a truncated Pakistan, but he had to swallow it he rulers are known to twist the history of their countries as per their convenience.

Even in good old days of the British rule in India, the coloured history was told and taught. The tradition continues till date. A Pakistani historian Khursheed Kamal Aziz (1927-2009) in his book “The Murder of History: A critique of history textbooks used in Pakistan” writes: “Our rulers have been systematically distorting history to create a place for their claim and perpetuation of the same over political power.” Even other Pakistani historians who have studied abroad and have been teaching history in various western universities are busy pointing out that the history being taught in Pakistan is not factual and collectively express necessity to amend the textbooks.

T

In January 1933, a Cambridge student Rahamat Ali had coined the name Pakistan and he presented more than one designs. Both Muslim League and Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah had initially rejected the concept calling it “Crazy Scheme” and Rahamat Ali “an irresponsible person”.

Rahmat reacted by calling Jinnah “Boozna or Boboona of Bombay” for which he had to pay heavy price after Pakistan was carved out in August 1947.

Dr. Mohammed Iqbal while delivering the Presidential address of the Muslim League convention at Allahabad in 1930 spoke about separating Muslim majority provinces within Indian Federation. That led to various nine schemes of Pakistan as under: (1) Rahmat Ali came out with a pamphlet “Now or Never” on 28 January 1933 proposing to carve out Muslim majority provinces of North West India. He added Assam and Bengal in his design of Pakistan in 1935. (2) In January 1939, the Muslim League assigned the responsibility of preparing the Pakistan design to Dr. Syed Abdul Latif of Hyderabad. (3) In his book “Confederacy of India” Mr.Punjabi presented 5federation scheme. (4) A Kolkata Maulavi Sahib presented a Muslim State under “Pakistan Khilafat Scheme” from Afghanistan to Assam and Himalaya to

the Lahore Resolution of Muslim League. (9) Rahmat Ali presented his final Pakistan scheme in 1942 which consisted of 10 Muslim Pakistans. In his book “The Millat and Mission”, Rahmat recommends changing the name of India as “Dinia” and Muslim-Asia as “PakAsia”.

After the Partition, Sardar Patel had told the Constituent Assembly of Choudhary Rahmat Ali, a student of Cambridge University coined the India on 10 October 1949: “We decided that Partition word Pakistan could be agreed upon on the Vindhyachal shifting terms that the Punjab Hindus from UP and Bihar. should be partitioned-they (5) The Premier of wanted the whole of it-that Punjab Sir Sikander Hayat Bengal should be Khan outlined the partitioned-they wanted Federation of seven Calcutta and the whole of it.

Divisions in his book in 1935 Mr. Jinnah did not want a without naming any as truncated Pakistan, but he Pakistan. (6) Sir Firoz Khan had to swallow it. We said Noon who was the member that these two provinces of the Executive Council of should be partitioned. I the Viceroy presented a made a further condition that in two months' time Next Column: power should be transferred Distorted Indian History and an Act should be passed

by Hired Writers

by Parliament in that time, if it was guaranteed that the scheme of five Dominions British Government would in support of Pakistan. (7) not interfere with the Two professors, Syed question of the Indian Zafarul Hassan and States.” With East Pakistan Mohammad Afzal Hussain turning Bangaladesh, at Kadri of Aligarh Muslim least two Pakistans became University under the reality and even more guidance of Rahamat Ali divisions are presented a scheme of expected.

Pakistan dividing India in 6 Dr. Hari Desai divisions. (8) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar published his (The writer is a book “Though on Pakistan” Socio-political Historian.

E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com) and presented his views on

Modi stresses for trust, fight against poverty as Pak PM calls to congratulate him Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the need for "jointly fighting against poverty, creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism in the region" when his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan dialed to congratulate him for his resounding victory in the justconcluded Lok Sabha elections.

"The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings. Recalling his initiatives in line with his g o v e r n m e n t ' s neighbourhood first policy, Prime Minister Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to Imran Khan to fight poverty jointly. He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress, and prosperity in our region," said an official statement.

The Pakistan foreign office spokesperson quoted Khan as saying, “Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives.” Earlier,

Narendra Modi

Imran Khan

Khan had congratulated Modi on Twitter over his election victory on May 23 and Modi had acknowledged the gesture positively.

The interactions between the two countries have been sporadic. It was the first conversation between Modi and Khan after India’s air strikes in Balakot targeting a Jaish-eMohammad terror camp exactly three months ago and after a long election season in India. Modi made it clear that end to terrorism and violence was a condition for dialogue to start, in keeping with the government's preparedness to retaliate against terrorism and its crackdown on Pakistan-aligned elements in the Kashmir Valley.

The President’s office declared that PM Narendra

Modi will take oath of office for his second term along with his new council of ministers on May 30. The names of ministers are yet to be disclosed.

There is a lot of speculation about Modi inviting foreign leaders again for his swearing in ceremony. But the readout of the Modi-Khan conversation made it clear that no such invitation was made to Khan.

Narendra Modi and Imran Khan are likely to meet in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in mid-June at the SCO summit, the first multilateral outing for Modi after his re-election.

Interestingly, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Khan had said that there might be a better chance of peace talks with India if Prime Minister Modi wins the elections.

22 killed, several injured in Surat coaching centre fire

Rashtrapati Bhavan hosts play on Gandhiji A biographical play 'Bharat Bhagya Vidhata' depicting the life story of Mahatma Gandhi was hosted in Rashtrapati Bhavan with a special invitation of President Ram Nath Kovind. The special show at the Rashtrapati Bhavan rekindled the message of Gandhiji and more importantly, a potential trigger to individual transformation and national growth.

A play commemorating Gandhiji's 150th birth anniversary was staged on 17th May, 2019. The play was watched and lauded by the President and the first lady Savita Kovind along with Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai, founder of Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur.

Many government officials, ministers, secretaries of state,

and admirers of Gandhiji were present among other distinguished guests. Visually impaired children as well as children from neighbouring schools were also invited to watch the play on the life and values of the Father of our Nation.

‘Bharat BhagyaVidhata’ has been envisioned and presented by Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur and inspired by

Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai. The play has been fervently supported by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Ministry of Culture, New Delhi as well as the Government of Gujarat.

Launched in March 2019, 'Bharat Bhagya Vidhata' has successfully staged over 50 house-full shows in Hindi and Gujarati across the nation in a span of just two months.

Twenty two students were killed and several others were injured when a massive blaze broke at the coaching centre in Sarthana area of Surat. Horrifying visuals of this tragic incidence showed some students jumping off the multi-storey building in an attempt to escape the inferno.

Fire broke out at Takshashila building when the students were attending tuition classes. Officials said at least 10 students on the third and fourth floors jumped to the ground to save themselves from the fire and smoke.

An initial investigation suggests the fire was caused by a shortcircuit. Flames roused from the ground floor and reached

the top floor, forcing some students to take shelter on the terrace which was covered. Nineteen fire tenders and two hydraulic platforms were pressed into service to douse the fire and rescue those stuck inside the building, said an official of Surat fire control room.

Local people also helped with the operation to save stranded students and other occupants of the building that house coaching classes and other establishments.

Expressing anguish, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in his tweet, “Extremely anguished by the fire tragedy in Surat. My thoughts are with bereaved families. May the injured recover quickly. Have asked

the Gujarat Government and local authorities to provide all possible assistance to those affected.”

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani visited the injured children in hospitals and expressed his grief for the deceased. Rupani, who ordered an investigation into the incident also ordered a fire safety audit of schools, colleges and coaching centres across the state.

Several leaders, including BJP chief Amit Shah, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala, Ashok Gehlot and Hardik Patel, also condoled the demise of the students.

26 INDIA

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Three West Bengal MLAs, 50 councillors cross over to BJP The BJP’s “Mission Bengal” gathered pace on Tuesday, with three MLAs from West Bengal joining the party at its headquarters in New Delhi, along with 50 municipal councillors from Kanchrapara, Halishahar and Naihati. Of the three legislators, Shubhrangshu Roy from Trinamool Congress is former Union Minister Mukul Roy’s son; the other two are Tusharkanti Bhattacharya and Debendra Nath Roy. Roy crossed over from the CPI(M) and Bhattacharya from the Trinamool Congress. The latter, elected on a Congress ticket from Bishnupur, had crossed over to Trinamool two years ago but did not resign his seat after doing so.

Boost in local bodies With over 50 councillors joining the BJP, the party now has a majority in at least three municipal councils. Speaking at the event, BJP general secretary in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijaywargiya said that more crossovers were on the anvil.

Earlier this month,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared at an election rally in West Bengal that 40 disgruntled Trinamool MLAs were in touch with the BJP and could shift loyalties.

Vijaywargiya said that the crossovers would happen “in seven phases”.

Sources in the party said the BJP was in touch with MLAs in those Assembly segments where the BJP had posted a lead in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

“The BJP led in 128 Assembly segments, out of a total of 295 (294 for which elections took place, with one nominated seat for the Anglo Indian community) and we are in touch with many of them,” said a senior leader.

Mukul Roy jibe Mukul Roy, once considered a confidant of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee before falling out with her and joining the BJP in 2017, mocked her claims that she had wanted to resign following her party’s less than expected showing in the general elections, terming it a “drama”.

Trinamool’s tally fell to 22 seats from 34, while that of the BJP went up to 18 from two in the Lok Sabha polls. “She will stick to her chair at all costs till people decide to remove her,” Roy said, claiming that in the Assembly polls due in 2021, her party would struggle to get the status of the opposition party.

Trinamool had won 211 of the 294 Assembly seats in 2016. The BJP had won only three, but has since emerged as the principal challenger.

A party needs to win at least 10% of the seats to be officially recognised as the main opposition party.

“People are fleeing Trinamool to join the BJP. Many more will join in the coming weeks,” Roy said.

“We want her (Ms. Banerjee’s) government to continue till 2021, but if it falls due to her doings, then we cannot help it,” he said.

Roy also rejected Trinamool’s claim that the BJP was practising horsetrading. Many MLAs of other parties, including Congress, had joined Trinamool due to “horsetrading”, he said.

Indian actress sparks debate on Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sati Call it a bad PR stunt or plain ignorance, either way, Indian actor Payal Rohatgi has managed to cause Raja Rammohan Roy to trend on the internet. It all began when Rohatgi went on to Twitter to call the Father of Indian Renaissance, a “chamcha to Britishers” on the micro-blogging website.

She tweeted a video titled 'Truth Behind Sati Pratha in India' and called Raja Rammohan Roy a “traitor”.

Her post was captioned, “#Jauhar was an incident related to 'Padmavati' during Mughal Khiljis invasion. Later society, with the help of traitors like Raja Ram, who Britishers used to divide society, made Sati into an evil forceful practice.”

Her tweet not only shocked Twitteratti, but also struck a nerve with many. She upset several with allegations that Roy sided with the British to malign Hindu tradition.

While the stunt did get her trending on the platform, she was slammed left and right as people schooled her on his contribution to Indian society. Rohatgi

Payal Rohatgi

Raja Rammohan Roy

responded to several comments with her own “knowledge” on the subject.

Reacting to a tweet which read 'Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a social reformer and founder of Brahmo Samaj movement', Payal Rohatgi called Roy a "chamcha [lackey]" of the British, who, she said, "used him to defame the Sati tradition".

In her tweet, she claimed, “Sati tradition was not compulsory but was introduced to prevent the prostitution of Hindu wives by the hands of Mughal invaders. It was the woman's choice. #FeministsofIndia Sati was not regressive.”

Even with her outburst, or her “freedom of

expression” as she called it, Rohatgi said she did not try to glorify Sati. She however, also raised the issue of triple talaq. Reacting to a tweet, she said, “I am not glorifying it. I am putting across the history of its origin. It was due to Mughal invaders that #Sati started in the 1st place.

Understand your history.

And yes no one is practising it NOW nor am I asking anyone to practice it. But #TripleTalaq is still ON.” This is not the first time the actress has courted controversy on the internet.

Just last week, Rohatgi faced the wrath of social media when she asked for names of Indian streets on Mughal emperors to be renamed.

NEW ERA FOR INDIA Continued from page 1

He later called on the President in his capacity as leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party, which has majority support in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament) following the general election to the 17th Lok Sabha. President Kovind exercised powers under the Constitution and appointed Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India and sought his advise on names of others to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers. A delegation of the NDA led by BJP president Amit Shah, and including Prakash Singh Badal, Rajnath Singh, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sushma Swaraj, Uddhav Thakeray, Nitin Gadkari, K Palaniswami, Conrad Sangma, and Neiphiu Rio, had called on the President earlier to hand over a letter stating Modi was elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party. Letters of support from NDA constituent parties were also handed over to the President.

Together, the NDA has a strength of 353 MPs, in the 543-member Lower House.

India sends strong signal to Pakistan Redefining its immediate neighbourhood barring Pakistan, the Indian government has invited leaders from BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation countries) – Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan, along with Kyrgyzstan and Mauritius. However, it sent a strong signal to Islamabad indicating it is not willing to engage yet, but not initiating an invitation to its border neighbour. The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the invitation, stating it was “in line with the government's focus on its 'Neighbourhood First' policy.”

This isn't the first time Modi invited foreign leaders to his swearing-in. In 2014, he had called upon leaders of all SAARC nations to his inauguration. The highlight then was Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's presence at the event. However, India's approach to Pak has changed dramatically under Modi's tenure.

While he hit it off personally with Sharif, repeated terror attacks from Pak has froze any bilateral process. Terror from Pakistan was a potent campaign issue this year.

MEA chief of protocol Nagesh Singh held a meeting with the ambassadors of these countries to discuss the invitations.

Presidents of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan have confirmed their presence for the event, and Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov will use the occasion to formally invite Modi for the SCO summit in mid-June. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will miss Modi's inauguration for the second time. She is currently on a four-nation tour, which will take her to Japan and Finland. Nepalese PM K P Sharma Oli will come for the inauguration. Bhutan will be represented by its new PM Lotay Tshering.

While Maldives has not been invited since it is not a member of BIMSTEC, Modi will make his first visit to the archipelago along with Sri Lanka in early June.

Modi magic sweeps across the nation, Congress left red-faced Just like the saffron party, or the NDA, this election was all about Modi and he proved his mettle by winning by a landslide. With the win, he is now the first non-Congress PM to return to office after a five-year term. He is also the first PM since Indira Gandhi to retain power without needing the help of allies. It is evidential that people of India voted for the name Narendra Modi and not just for the party BJP. Most significantly, NaMo is the first PM since Nehru to win back-to-back majorities on his own. The NDA's triumph has not only been staggering, but almost too good to be true. It won every seat in 10 states and UTs, increasing its vote share almost everywhere.

As counting began on Thursday, last week, BJP fate became appararent within a couple of hours as they raced to lead in over 200 seats. By the end of the day, it had managed to win more seats in Uttar Pradesh than Congress did all over the country.

Nothing could slow BJP down, neither the SP-BSP's 'Mahagathbandhan' nor regional powerhouses like Trinamool and BJD. While Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party turned to every cheap trick in the book, Modi campaign was more of a celebration of his aggressive military retaliation against Pak-sponsored terror. BJP increased its vote share fom 42% in 2014 to nearly 50%. The BJP also made inroads in Didi's Bengal, with a 40.2 per cent share.

In his victory speech, Modi called the 2019 mandate as unprecedented and one which would stun world opinion. He said, “Political pundits will have to forget the formulations of the last century.” BJP president Amit Shah said Congress had failed to score in 17 states and UTs, and parties that showed a contempt for the PM's hard work had paid a price for their arrogance. The verdict was a fitting response to the politics of appeasement and caste and dynasty, he added. Shah also hailed Modi as the world's most popular democratic leader.

Modi defied punditry that BJP would find it hard to repeat its domineering performances in states where it had done very well in 2014. It repeated its sweep of

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and won all seats in Madhya Pradesh except one. It swept Bihar in alliance with JD(U) and Ramvilas Paswan’s LJP. Even BJP's controversial candidate Pragya Thakur, an accused in a terror case, trounced Congress veteran Digvijay Singh, who was in the Sangh Parivar's crosshairs for allegedly coining the term “Hindu Terror”.

Kanhaiya Kumar of “Azaadi” fame fell victim to the Modi wave in Begusarai.

While Modi's campaign was full of cultural themes and nationalism, he scored high because of the pro-poor credentials he had amassed with his welfare schemes.

Congress and other opponents had banked on unemployment and farm distress, however, none of those concerns derailed BJP, mostly because of specific interventions such as the PM Kisan Samman income support and more importantly because the opposition failed to build a convincing narrative.

9“Every vote you cast will come directly to me,” Modi had said, and it has proven to be true. Meanwhile, there will be no Leader of Opposition in the upcoming Lower House for a second consecutive term.

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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1 - 7 June 2019

Public Health England urges everyone to get vaccinated against measles

in brief

Official figures reveal measles cases are twice as high as they were at the end of 2018

Making an appointment for breast and cervical cancer screening should be as simple as booking a plane ticket online, says the man behind an overhaul of the current system in England.

Prof Sir Mike Richards said text reminders and out-of-hours appointments were also a good idea.

Cervical screening or smear-test rates are at their lowest for a decade.

His interim report calls for technology to be used to stop the decline so more lives can be saved.

There are three national cancer screening programmes in England: Cervical screening - offered to women aged 25 to 64, every three years for women aged up to 49 and every five years from 50 to 64 Breast screening - offered to women aged 50 to 70, with women over 70 able to self-refer for screening Bowel screening - offered to men and women aged 60 to 74, and another bowel screening test offered to men and women at the age of 55 in some parts of England The screening programmes aim to detect cancer, or abnormal cells, early, often before symptoms develop, when treatment may be more effective.

More than 11 million invitations to screening were sent out last year.

But a recent report found that none of the programmes in England met its target last year, and many women experienced delays in getting results after cervical screening.

Blood deliveries to dozens of hospitals could be stalled 'because 100 couriers plan to go on strike over their pay'

Public Health England has urged parents to make sure their children get the MMR vaccine amid a spike in measles cases.

A leading scientist added it is vital the nation stops the spread of the killer infection in its tracks. PHE said its renewed call was triggered by concerns about outbreaks of the virus, which can kill children if they aren't protected.

Measles cases in England have more than doubled in the last two quarters, with 231 confirmed reports in the first quarter of 2019.

In comparison, PHE data shows there was just 97 cases in the last quarter of 2018, and 143 confirmed reports in the quarter before. Measles can kill and it is incredibly easy to catch, especially if you are not vaccinated,' said PHE's head of immunisation, Dr Mary Ramsay.

'Even one child missing their vaccine is one too many – if you are in any doubt about your child’s

vaccination status, ask your GP as it’s never too late to get protected.'

Leading scientists added their voice to the Government's warning, saying the UK hasn't escaped the effects of a global explosion in measles cases.

Dr Doug Brown, chief executive of the British Society for Immunology, said that it is 'incredibly important we stop this transmission in its tracks'.

He said this was possible by ensuring a high percentage of the population has been vaccinated.

Debate around anti-vaccination beliefs has been rumbling on in recent months. Politicians and scientists have had to warn parents not to believe scare stories about vaccines being dangerous which are spreading on social media.

The number of measles cases between January and March this year was the third highest for any quarter in the past five years.

The 231 confirmed cases in England came below only

Women more likely to die if they have a cardiac arrest in public Women are less likely than men to receive life-saving CPR in a public place if they suffer a cardiac arrest, research suggests.

Dutch scientists found 73 per cent of men who had public cardiac arrests received CPR from a bystander - but only 68 per cent of women did.

Fears touching a woman's chest may be seen as sexual harassment may

put people off from helping to restart their heart, scientists say.

An expert commenting on the study also claimed that bystanders may be scared of hurting 'frail' women by performing CPR. The researchers warned people are less likely to realise the seriousness of a woman's condition and may be slower to realise they need help. This may lead to delays in calling the emergency services, hindering the survival chances of female patients.

The British Heart Foundation said the finding that women were seven per cent less likely to get CPR from a member of the public was 'worrying'.

A cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. They are more serious than heart attacks. Figures show more than 30,000 cardiac arrests occur each year outside of

hospital in the UK, compared to 355,000 in the US. Researchers from the University of Amsterdam analysed 5,717 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in one part of the Netherlands between 2006 and 2012.

They found around 12.5 per cent of women who were resuscitated survived to be discharged from hospital, compared to 20 per cent of men.

The researchers suggested this was most likely to be down to delays in calling an ambulance and starting CPR on women.

the first two quarters of 2018 and more than the entire of 2014 and 2015 combined.

Mumps cases nearly tripled to 795 from 275 during the same period last year, but no new cases of rubella were reported.

Although many people recover from measles – which causes cold-like symptoms, a fever and a red rash – some develop serious complications such as pneumonia.

Worldwide, the number of measles cases in the first quarter of 2019 were four times higher than during the same period last year.

The World Health Organization has warned

slipping vaccination rates are partly to blame, and Ukraine, Brazil and the Philippines have experienced huge increases.

Some 112,163 measles cases were reported in January, February and March, with most of them in Africa.

PHE said that 94.9 per cent of eligible five-yearolds had received their first dose of MMR by the final quarter of 2018.

However, coverage of the second dose is lower at 87.4 per cent. To achieve herd immunity for measles, 95 per cent of the population should have had both doses.

Molecules in red wine could be used in breakthrough drug for blood pressure

Molecules found in red wine could be used to create a breakthrough treatment for high blood pressure, researchers announced.

Resveratrol, a compound produced in the skins of grapes, has long been touted as an elixir capable of combating many diseases from cancer to dementia.

But scientists have always struggled to translate these findings into successful treatments. That is largely because the exact mechanism driving resveratrol’s effects have been poorly understood. Now experts at King’s College London say they have established how it works.

The researchers, funded by the British Heart Foundation, showed that resveratrol interacts with a protein called PKG1a in the wall of blood vessels.

Resveratrol adds oxygen to the protein, causing the blood vessels to relax and expand, quickly leading to a drop in blood pressure.

This is a huge shift in the way scientists thought

resveratrol worked. Many assumed it is an ‘antioxidant’ – a substance that stops oxygen damaging cells in the body.

But in fact it does the opposite, allowing oxygen in the blood stream to interact and oxidise the PKG1a protein.Writing in the Circulation medical journal, the scientists described how tests on cells taken from people’s blood vessels showed notable change.

But they stressed that for a human to consume the same doses of resveratrol used in the study, they would need to drink around 1,000 bottles of red wine a day.

In its current form, resveratrol does not dissolve well and is broken down by the body before it can reach its target in the blood vessel wall. So future drug developments will rely on altering the chemical structure of resveratrol to make it more resistant to breakdown, to ensure more of the compound reaches the target cells.

'CANCER SCREENING SHOULD BE AS EASY AS BOOKING A FLIGHT'

BLOOD DELIVERIES COULD BE STALLED WHEN COURIERS PLAN TO GO ON STRIKE Around 100 cyclists, van drivers and motorcyclists travel plan to stop work for two days next week, according to a union.

The couriers, who deliver to more than 50 NHS and private hospitals in London and the south-east, plan to strike over their pay and conditions.

Workers are outraged that directors of The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) are receiving huge pay rises in the meantime.

Over the past two years, the union Independent Work's Union of Great Britain (IWGB) have challenged couriers' rights.

In 2018, couriers won full employment rights, giving them access to holiday pay, maternity leave and minimum wage.

It followed the TDL arguing its couriers were self-employed with no employment rights beyond basic health and safety and anti-discrimination rules.

The out of court settlement offered hope of job security for workers both within the company and among similar set-ups, such as Uber and Deliveroo.

HONEY IS 'JUST AS EFFECTIVE AS TREATING COLD SORES AS ANTI-VIRAL CREAMS' It's already used as a topping on breakfast.

But scientists say honey may also be able to fight cold sores.

Notoriously difficult get rid of, cold sores are normally treated with anti-viral creams bought over the counter.

But honey derived from a tree in New Zealand has been found to be just as effective at healing the blistering sore in a trial.

Participants in a trial used either cream or honey, both of which cleared the pain and wound within nine days.

The substance, produced by bumble bees, has a long history of therapeutic use with some studies showing it has antibacterial properties The researchers found that those using the acyclovir experienced symptoms for an average of eight to nine days with an open blister for around two days.

Honey proved to be just as effective without any changes in healing time, the findings in BMJ Open showed.

The authors wrote: 'Both treatments had similar efficacy across all outcome variables including time to healing, pain resolution and proportion of aborted episodes between treatment groups. Both treatments were considered highly acceptable by participants.'

Leading the research, Dr Alex Semprini said the results prove patients can chose an alternative option that is evidencebased.

The study had a few caveats, one being that the healing time for a cold sore was not compared with no treatment at all.

To Our Readers

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

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1 - 7 June 2019

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja Huma Qureshi

Bollywood actresses Huma Qureshi oozed glamour in her three-piece outfit in Anamika Khanna couture at the Cannes Film Festival. She wore a three-piece outfit, with a printed crop top and plain-black three-quarter skirt inside. The attraction of the ensemble was the beautiful Madhubani print border of the poncho. For the red carpet, Huma pulled all stops and looked nothing less than a dream when she stepped out in a metallic hued grey Gaurav Gupta gown accentuated with ruffled train. At an another event, Huma donned a black shimmery Balmain blazer-dress. Paired with a golden pair of heels from Stella McCartney, the look checked off all boxes on the 'modern-trends-meet-classic' list. She later opted for a tulle black gown with heavy ruffled sleeves. The actress is in the French Riviera on behalf of vodka brand Grey Goose.

Anil Kapoor lauds Rhea, Sonam Actor Anil Kapoor took to social media and shared several looks put together by his daughters, actress Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and producer Rhea Kapoor. He said his daughters are creating art with fashion. Rhea has not only styled Sonam on several occasions but also worked with her as a producer. Sonam donned an ivory white Ralph & Russo tuxedo dress with a long train on her second day at the red carpet and wrote: "The French Riviera suits me." The actress' first look was in a red dress by Valentino.

Later, she transformed into a Modern Maharani for a Chopard party. She also showcased a neon yellow gown by Ashi Studio. The flared off-shoulder gown was paired with matching stilettos. The festival has seen many Bollywood divas strutting the red carpet, including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Diana Penty and Hina Khan.

Huma Qureshi steals limelight at Cannes

Vivek Oberoi deletes his tweet mocking Aishwarya Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi has finally deleted his exit poll mockery tweet, which featured Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Salman Khan. The actor, who earlier refused to apologise claiming that he didn't see anything offensive in his post, now tweeted saying, "Sometimes what appears to be funny and harmless at first glance to one, may not be so to others. I have spent the last 10 years empowering 2,000 underprivileged girls, I can't even think of being disrespectful to any woman ever. sic)" He further stated, "Even if one woman is offended by my reply to the meme, it calls for remedial action.

Apologies.

Tweet deleted.

Sic." Vivek Oberoi was criticised by celebrities and social media users after he shared a viral meme, that referred to Salman and Aishwarya's relationship as the 'opinion poll', Vivek

and Aishwarya's affair as the 'exit poll' and her current family with husband Abhishek and daughter Aaradhya as the 'final result.'

Actress Sonam Kapoor was the first celebrity to slam Oberoi for the meme, calling it, "disgusting and classless. (sic)" Director Madhur Bhandarkar also tweeted, "Dear @vivekoberoi, never expected such tweet from u. The trolls may go to any extent and make memes but u as a responsible celebrity should be careful of hurting anyone's dignity.

Would request u to apologize and delete the tweet... (sic)."

I will never retire from films: Anupam Kher Anupam Kher in his 35-year-old film career has seen several ups and downs, but the actor says he will continue giving his all to films and retirement is nowhere in sight. The 64-year-old actor said one has to be excited about work to be able to continue for long. "You have to be excited about your work. The day you carry the burden of 'veteran', 'legend', 'thespian' (it wouldn't work).

You're given these titles to signal it's time to retire. But I won't retire from work even in the next 50 years," the actor said.

For Kher, the key to be a relevant artiste is to approach every film with a clean slate - without any baggage of past laurels. "Everyday when I go to work, I tell myself I don't know anything about acting. That's the only way. If we take pride in our knowledge, we won't learn something new. So I always walk in thinking I don't know anything, it helps a lot. When you're ready to learn from everyone, it's great."

Kher was speaking at the trailer launch of his upcoming film, 'One Day.' The actor said once he is done with his international commitment, he will resume work on domestic projects. He currently stars in a New York-based medical drama 'New Amsterdam' from NBC.

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Alia gets warm welcome from Pooja on 'Sadak 2' sets Pooja Bhatt extended a warm welcome to her sister and 'Sadak 2' co-star Alia Bhatti in a rather exceptional way. As the actors shoot for the fourth day, a super excited Pooja shared her rapture in an Instagram post with a picture of a poster reading Alia Bhatt's name. Calling out to her sister, Pooja captioned, "Alia Bhatt in the house."

Earlier, Alia had posted a photograph of 'Sadak 2's clapboard. She captioned it: "Today is Day 1 of Sadak 2. And that's my father, now also my director, holding the clap. I begin shoot in a few days and honestly, I'm petrified. I feel like a tiny mouse trying to climb a beautiful, immense, emotional mountain. I hope I make it to the top and if I fall I hope I'm able to get up again. It's a tough climb but from

everything I've seen and everything I've heard, I know every single step and misstep will be worth it! Here's to movies, family, dreams and starting out on a brand NEW journey! And what a journey it's going to be."

The film is a sequel to Mahesh Bhatt - directed 'Sadak.' Mahesh Bhatt will be back in the director's chair for the film, after almost 20 years. The film also features actors like Pooja Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt and Aditya Roy Kapur. Pooja and Sanjay also starred in the original 1991 film, which was a romantic thriller. 'Sadak 2' will hit the theatres on July 10, next year.

Katrina Kaif decides to turn producer Katrina Kaif, who has been charming the audience with her performances for over a decade, is now gearing up to start her production house. According to the latest buzz, the 'Thugs of Hindostan' actress has decided to turn producer.

Katrina, who is currently on a promotional spree for her next project 'Bharat', spoke about her future plans. She said, "Yes, it's true. I plan to start my production house sometime towards the end of this year."

Katrina further adds, "I really hope to put my name as a producer to one of the projects I've been in discussions with. So let's see."

Katrina will be joining the ranks of other actresses like Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, and Priyanka Chopra, who have also ventured into production in the past.

Priyanka Chopra entered into the production world in 2015, backing Marathi, Punjabi, Sikkimese films through her production house Purple Pebble Pictures, while Anushka Sharma turned producer with 'NH10'. She later went on to produce the films 'Phillauri' and most recently, the horrorthriller 'Pari'. busy shooting for his next '83, a biopic on The latest actress to Kapil Dev. The story follows how, under don the producer's hat captain Kapil Dev, the Indian cricket team was Deepika Padukone. defeated West Indies in the final of the The 'Bajirao Mastani' cricket World Cup in 1983. It tracks the actress turned into a coming-of-age of not just a cricketing team producer with but of a young nation in the eyes of the world.

Meghna Gulzar's Deepika, on the other hand, is currently 'Chhapaak', in which she gearing up for Meghna Gulzar's next, will be 'Chhapaak', which is based on the life of playing the lead role.

Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor.

Apart from this, she will Deepika will be seen portraying the role of co-produce husband Laxmi, and her character in the film is called Ranveer Singh starrer '83.

Malti.

Ranveer turns wifey Deepika into a cute baby

The ever-energetic Ranveer Singh loves calling wifey, Deepika Padukone, 'baby', and so what he did next shouldn't come as a surprise. He turned Deepika Padukone into an 'adorable baby' using a Snapchat filter on a photograph of his wife from Cannes 2019.

Ranveer recently posted a photograph of Deepika's stunning lime green Cannes 2019 look, but with a twist. He applied the 'baby filter' and transformed the 'Padmaavat' star into a cute child.

The 'Gully Boy' actor captioned the image with a lot of emojis and tagged Deepika in the post. On the work front, Ranveer is currently

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1 - 7 June 2019

Niddhi Agerwal in Jayam Ravi's 25th film TV Listing

Actor Nidhhi Agerwal, who made her acting debut opposite Tiger Shroff in 'Munna Michael', is all set for her Tamil debut in Jayam Ravi's 25th film. Jayam Ravi is currently shooting for his upcoming project ‘Comali’ co-starring with Kajal Aggarwal and Samyuktha Hegde. Meanwhile, Ravi has signed up his yet-to-be-titled film, which is said to take the audience to surprise in a very different look. The film will be directed by Lakshman, who had earlier worked in 'Romeo Juliet and Bogan' with Ravi. It will be bankrolled by the actor’s mother-in-law, Sujataa Vijayakumar and D Imman has been roped in as the music director.

Taapsee Pannu was earlier reported to be starring opposite Ravi in the new film. Sources close to the film said that, due to the actress’ clash of dates, she would not be working in this film and instead Nidhhi Agerwal will take her role.

Tipped to be a story set against a village backdrop, Ravi will be seen playing a farmer in this film. Slated to go on the floors from 15th June, it will be interesting to see what this fresh pairing has to offer in the film.

Arbaaz Khan to mark his debut in Malayalam cinema Bollywood star Arbaaz Khan is all set to mark his debut in Mollywood as a villain. The actor turned producer will be seen playing negative role Siddique’s next directorial 'Big Brother'.

Recently Arbaaz shared this exciting news of him debuting in Malayalam with Mohanlal.

Mahanlal also took to Twitter to welcome Arbaaz Khan: “It’s a pleasure to welcome @BeingSalmanKhan’s brother @arbaazSkhan , to be a part of my upcoming movie #BigBrother, directed by Siddique (sic)” The film has already spiked attention with Arbaaz being casted in the film, it would be interesting see what plot is about to unveil.

Further details on cast, development and release of the project are yet to be revealed.

* Schedule is subject to change

SATURDAY 1ST JUNE TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 16:30 KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI 18:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 20:00 SUPER DANCER CHAPTER 3 21:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 23:00 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW SUNDAY 2ND JUNE TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 17:00 KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI 18:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 20:00 SUPER DANCER CHAPTER 3

21:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 23:00 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW MON 3RD JUNE - FRI 7TH JUNE TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 17:30 MAIN MAAYKE CHALI JAAUNGI 18:00 VIGHNAHARTA GANESH 18:45 MERE SAI 19:30 YEH UN DINON KI BAAT HAI 20:00 CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA 20:30 BEYHADH 21:00 PATIALA BABES 21:30 LADIES SPECIAL 22:00 CRIME PATROL SONY MAX 2 PRIME TIME 19:00 MONDAY DIL DIWANA 19:00 TUESDAY RAM AUR SHYAM 19:00 WEDNESDAY INDIAN 19:00 THURSDAY KHUBSOORAT SAPNE SAAJAN KE 19:00 FRIDAY 19:30: 20:00: 20:30: 21:00:

Suniel Shetty in Rajnikanth's 'Darbar' The makers of 'Darbar' have roped in Suniel Shetty as the menacing antagonist opposite Rajinikanth. There is immense excitement hurling around 'Darbar' as it is speculated that this will be Rajni's last film before he enters politics. The shoot for the film began in mid-April in Mumbai. The superstar has reportedly also filmed an intensive action sequence with Prateik Babbar, who is playing Suniel Shetty's son in the film.

Suniel Shetty who will be seen as the main antagonist, will return to a negative role after 'Main Hoon Na.' In the film, Suniel Shetty, a corporate giant, will take on Thalaiva’s IPS officer. He joins the team during the second schedule which starts in the next few days in Mumbai and will be there all through", said a source.

The shoot of 'Darbar' will wrap up by August.

The shooting is held under tight security and nothing has been leaked so far, however, it seems Rajini will sport different avatars in the film. The Bollywood star is reported to be working out extra to build a menacing look. A source said, "The antagonist’s track has an emotional backstory also featuring Rajinikanth, which makes the revenge all the more exciting. There will be

* Schedule is subject to change

SUNDAY JUNE 1, 2019 00:20 FILM: FOUR PILLARS OF BASEMENT 05:00 FILM: BEZUBAAN ISHQ 07:34 FILM: HAIR IS FALLING 09:18 FILM: KASOOR 12:31 FILM: KEEMAT 16:00 FILM: TAAL 19:50 FILM: FITOOR 22:30 FILM: COMMANDO 2 MONDAY JUNE 2, 2019 00:52 FILM: KALYUG 05:00 FILM: PRITHIPAL SINGH... A STORY 07:00 FILM: MELA 10:24 FILM: KHEL 14:00 FILM: SOCHA NA THA 17:05 FILM: HOLIDAY-A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY 20:20 FILM: TANU WEDS MANU 22:45 FILM: FITOOR TUESDAY JUNE 3, 2019 01:10 FILM: TERE MERE PHERE 05:00 FILM: LOGIN 07:01 FILM: MRITYUDAND 10:15 FILM: TAAQATWAR POLICEWALA 12:25 FILM: TAAL 16:11 FILM: CHAAR DIN KI CHANDNI

19:00 FILM: JOSH 22:21 FILM: DHOKHA WEDNESDAY JUNE 4, 2019 00:42 FILM: TUMSA NAHIN DEKHA 05:00 FILM: THE SILENT HEROES 07:17 FILM: JAAN BAAZ THE HERO 09:32 FILM: SOCHA NA THA 12:43 FILM: HOLIDAY-A SOLDIER IS NEVER OFF DUTY 15:52 FILM: TANU WEDS MANU 18:15 LIFESTYLE : STAR STOP 19:00 FILM: SHAAPIT 21:52 FILM: HAI APNA DIL TOH AWARA THURSDAY JUNE 5, 2019 00:28 FILM: JAHAN TUM LE CHALO 05:00 FILM: THE PERFECT GIRL 07:00 FILM: CHORON KA CHOR 09:22 FILM: FAREB 11:50 FILM: SATYA 15:16 FILM: KEEMAT 18:38 LIFESTYLE : STAR STOP 19:15 FILM: YES BOSS 22:42 FILM: YEH HAI JUDGEMENT HANGED TILL DEATH FRIDAY JUNE 6, 2019 01:15 FILM: MAIN HOON SHERDIL 05:00 FILM: PRITHIPAL SINGH... A STORY 07:00 FILM: EK AUR LOFAR 10:00 FILM: SHOWBIZ 12:20 FILM: DASTAK 15:15 FILM: 16 DECEMBER 18:20 LIFESTYLE : STAR STOP 19:00 FILM: ARUNDHATI 22:00 FILM: PHIR HERA PHERI

several confrontation scenes between the duo in the film which climaxes with a stylized, larger than-life action scene." Suniel Shetty had taken up several meaty roles down South. He recently wrapped up Priyadarshan’s multi-lingual period drama, 'Marakkar: The Lion of Arabian Sea.' Also featuring Mohanlal, it is set against the Zamorin war with Portuguese.

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 27TH - FRI 31ST MAY 2019 15:30: SIRF 30 MINUTES 16:00: THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 2 16:30: RASOI SHOW 17:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: JAHAANARA

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 27TH - FRI 31ST MAY 2019 18:30: KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:30: UDAAN 20:00: SHAKTI ASTITVA KE EHSAAS KI 20:30: KESARRI NANDAN 21:00: GATHBANDHAN 21:45: SILSILA

BEPANNAH ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN MOHE RANNG DO LAAL BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE 22:00: RED ALERT SAT 1ST JUNE 2019 17:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: COURT ROOM 20:00: KHATRON KE KHILADI 21:30: ZINDAGI KI HAQEEQAT SE AAMNA SAAMNA SUN 2ND JUNE 2019 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: FILMFARE AWARDS 23:00: ZINDAGI KI HAQEEQAT SE AAMNA SAAMNA

22:15: KHOOB LADI MARDANI JHANSI KI RANI 23:00: SITARA SAT 1ST JUNE 2019 18:00: NAAGIN - SEASON 3 19:00: COLORS SE SANG ANTAKSHARI KE RANG 20:00: DESI BEAT RESET 21:00: RISING STAR - SEASON 3 23:00: KAWACH SUN 2ND JUNE 2019 18:30: RISING STAR INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL 19:30: COLORS SE SANG ANTAKSHARI KE RANG 20:30: DESI BEAT BEST OF SEASON 3 21:30: RISING STAR - SEASON 3 23:00: KAWACH

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1 - 7 June 2019

The essence of all the scriptures is to please God: Mahant Swami

BAPS chief Pujya Mahant Swami is presently in Sarangpur.

He was in Nadiad till May 24. In his divine presence, ‘Samarpan Din’ was celebrated on 23rd May. Mahant Swami wrote a letter to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his second consecutive victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

Swamiji expressed his deep grief and prayed for the people who lost their lives in the fire accident in Surat.

Mahant Swami presented a detailed report of the ground breaking ceremony of the new temple in Abu Dhabi in ‘Ravi Sabha’ organized on 26th May. Mahant Swami said, “God is with us this time. We have gone beyond ‘Kaala’, ‘Karma’, and ‘Maya’. Worship with true devotion definitely yields results.

The essence of all the scriptures is to please God.' During his stay in Saranpur, saints and devotees visit in large numbers everyday to worship and seek his blessings.

The All India Children's Conference commenced on 28th March in Sarangpur where children selected from every zone participated in singing and oratory competition.

Coming Events

l Morning Sabha by Pujaya Divaswaroopdasji Swami 27 May to 1 June, 2019, 7:30am to 8:30am, 6 to 12 June, 2019, 7:30am to 8:30am, Venue: Keyurbhai Patel, 460, Honeypot lane, HA7 1JW. l Vicharan of Pujya Divyaswami, May 26 to June 13, 2019 Swaminarayan Mandir Vasna Sanstha (SMVS) Unit 6, Bowman Trading Estate, Westmoreland Road, Kingsbury, NW9 9RL | Phone: 0203 6300 032/ 074 3071 2345 www.smvs.org | london@uk.smvs.org l On 158th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore presenting Shyama - The unforgivan, 1st June, 2019 7 pm to 8 pm. Venue: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 4A, Castletown Road, West Kensington, London, W14 9HE Phone: 020 7381 3086 l Book Launch - 'Values in foreign policy', 3rd June, 2019, 6 pm, Venue: Nehru Center UK 8S, Audley Street, Mayfair London W1K 1HF

Disclaimer

Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL) is not in any way responsible for the goods and services rendered by its advertisers. The ABPL management accepts all advertisements in good faith and it is entirely up to readers to verify advertisers’ products and services, should they feel the need to do so.

Sneh Joshi

Oshwal Health & Care Awareness Fair A mega event 'Oshwal Health & Care Awareness Fair', has been organised by the Oshwal Association of the UK on Sunday 2 June 2019 at Oshwal Centre from 10am-6pm. The Fair is aimed at all members, young and old, and will focus on health, well-being, care and career opportunities.

The Oshwal Health & Care Awareness Fair aims to promote: l Awareness of health issues applying to both young and old; l The care that is required to assist those individuals with particular health issues. In particular highlighting the burdens and needs of family members and carers (in many cases this falls on the younger

members); l Careers in health & social care. This will help higher education students, undergraduates, postgraduates, professionals and those not pursuing higher education in selecting and developing their chosen careers.

It is also aimed at parents to inform them of the current career and development options available to assist and guide their children; and l A healthy diet and lifestyle including alternative medicine and therapy.

For more details contact at: OHCAF@oshwal.orgor see https://www.oshwal.org.uk/ ohcaf/ [To read about the history of the Oshwal Association of the UK, please see page 14]

Face To Face - Poem by Rabindranath Tagore Day after day, O lord of my life, shall I stand before thee face to face.

With folded hands, O lord of all worlds, shall I stand before thee face to face.

Under thy great sky in solitude and silence, with humble heart shall I stand before thee face to face.

In this laborious world of thine, tumultuous with toil and with struggle, among hurrying crowds shall I stand before thee face to face.

And when my work shall be done in this world, O King of kings, alone and speechless shall I stand before thee face to face.

10th London Indian Film Festival to showcase thought provoking, independent cinema The 10thanniversary of the UK and Europe’s largest South Asian film festival, supported by the Bagri Foundation and the BFI will run from 20th June to 8th July across five UK cities, and will continue to showcase a rich assortment of entertaining and thought provoking independent cinema, including India’s new wave of LGBTQ+ films.

The 10th birthday celebrations open with the World Premiere of Anubhav Sinha’s hard-hitting Article 15. The closing night at the prestigious BFI Southbank will include the long-awaited return of Ritesh Batra, with the English premiere of Photograph, starring legendary actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and the star of 2018 Bollywood hit Badhaai Ho, Sanya Malhotra. The festival will also highlight Bengal's unique contributions to Indian and world cinema.

AJIT NINAN FOR TOI

Films focussing on present day young lives will also be featured, for eg Coming-ofage comedy The Lift Boy. True to the festival’s mission there will be film screening about real people’s stories as well as critical fillms on power and politics.

Special guest appearances at the festival will include Anurag Kashyap and Radhika Apte.

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The UK’s leading Vedic writer and TV personality

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 At home, be at your diplomatic

best and try not to tread on anyone's toes. Passions will run from hot to cold, and relationships may suffer. Even the most strong-willed Arians will be more open to compromise to keep the peace. Plan your spending and set sensible budgets to reach your financial goals. Your health should also be your priority.

Although there are very intense TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 amorous energies indicated in your chart, the trouble is that these are likely to be marred by feelings of jealousy. Do not therefore dabble in anything that could harbour such negative potential, as it is bound to end in heartache. Existing emotional differences can be sorted out now.

The focus is on finances this GEMINI May 22 - June 22 week, but that doesn’t mean you should worry yourself sick. Rather, it is about finding new and improved ways to boost your earnings potential. Don’t let nebulous tendencies interfere with your plans. It’s fine to consider several options but don’t get caught up in indecision. Schedule networking opportunities later this week.

Either you or your partner CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 have been going through a phase of inner doubts and uncertainties, and perhaps the main source of tension has simply been the need for breathing space in your relationship and a need to look at things more objectively.

Wait before going full steam ahead with grand actions and gestures.

There is an element of disruption or stress which may be hard to avoid, but it appears that there is a strong sense of purpose in the background. A certain amount of sheer hard graft will be necessary for a short while, but the final result will be extremely pleasing. An exchange of opinions ought to prove very enlivening at this time.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

Life appears to be focusing your mind on practical matters. So you will need to organise your time carefully if you are to avoid an "all work and no play" situation. Resist making any hasty moves when it comes to finances - this is a time to focus on consolidation of current assets rather than make any new investments.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

If lately you have had all sorts of demands being placed on you from all sides, don't despair; take some time out to reflect. Try and work out where you want to make changes in your busy life. Once you know, don't hesitate to implement it systematically. A tremendous amount of planetary activity in your chart signals a time of mixed emotions as well as personal issues to be dealt with.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

It is a particularly favourable time for dealing with financial interests with a long-term basis, such as investments, insurance and pension schemes, legacies and all jointly held resources. You will be able to sort out any difficulties by taking immediate action. There may be a certain amount of unfinished business to be dealt with.

Therefore you will need to adopt a fairly flexible policy in order to accommodate the odd twists and turns of everyday life.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

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SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

There seems to be some pressure on financial affairs and maybe a problem to contend with in regard to a joint venture. If you feel that something has been hanging in the balance, whatever happens you will get a clearer picture of the situation eventually – be on top of things and don’t allow matters to ride.

You will continue to be in a restless mood for some time to come. This makes you impatient with restrictions and even more determined to cut your own path. Do not get over-anxious if everything seems to be in slow motion - it is time to pull a few strings. You are likely to experience some tension in close relationships.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

A great deal will depend on how you organise your priorities this week. This does not mean that you will have to compromise your ideals but you may be obliged to realise that sometimes a more flexible approach is needed. Your best line of action this week is to stick doggedly to familiar routines and avoid all distractions where possible.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

If any emotional tensions in your love-life need sorting out, now is the time to get things into the open. You often sabotage your own best emotional interests by keeping too much inside yourself.

However, there comes a time when an inner pressure builds up and manifests as irrational moods that others find hard to understand.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

32

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Losing start for India, England in World Cup campaign England and India, both touted as favourites for the ICC World Cup 2019, began their preparations for the showpiece event on a losing note. Virat Kohli-led India were thrashed in their first warm-up game against New Zealand at The Oval. Leftarm pacer Trent Boult wreaked havoc on the Indian batsmen as they were bundled out for 179 which the Black Caps chased down easily, losing four wickets.

Ross Taylor (71) and captain Kane Williamson (67) both spent useful time in the middle as New Zealand crossed the line with almost 13 overs to spare. Earlier, having won the toss, Kohli elected to bat on a wicket with a fair amount of grass in order to test his batsmen in challenging conditions.

However, his decision backfired as none of the three opening options – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul – managed to make a mark. Even Kohli, the number one batter in the world, couldn’t provide much resistance to his struggling team and was cleanbowled by Colin de Grandhomme. After his wicket, India were left reeling at 39 for 4 in the 11th over.

Hardik Pandya managed some quick runs while MS

Dhoni hung around for a while, but by the time Ravindra Jadeja walked out to bat, they were reduced to 77 for 5, and three balls later, slid to 81 for 6. Boult snared a four-for while James Neesham snared three wickets as India folded up for 179, batting less than 40 overs.

However, despite the poor batting performance, Jadeja said there was no need for the team to press the panic button. "This was our first game, there's nothing to worry about as a batting unit. It's just a matter of one game. You can't judge a player from one bad innings. We just need to work harder and focus more on our batting skills.

Nothing to worry, everyone has a lot of experience... Hopefully,

during the (world cup) matches, we get a different wicket, better wicket to bat on," said Jadeja who scored 54 runs.

India would aim to amend their batting mistakes and get into the groove when they take on Bangladesh in the second warm-up match before beginning their World Cup campaign against South Africa on 5 June.

England too fail In the other warm-up game, England, in absence of their regular skipper Eoin Morgan, failed to come out with their usual powerpacked performance as they lost to arch-rivals Australia by 12 runs. Chasing 298, England were bowled out for 285 in Southampton.

Earlier, Steve Smith announced his return to international cricket with a flawless century as Australia put in a solid bowling performance without Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins to hand a hobbled England outfit a rare defeat on their home turf. Smith scored 116 runs as Australia posted 297/9 in their stipulated quota of 50 overs. For England, standin skipper Jos Buttler (52), James Vince (64), Chris Woakes (40) and Liam Plunkett (19) put up a valiant fight. However, they could not help their side get across the line as the hosts were eventually bowled out for 285 with three balls to spare.

Openers Jason Roy (32) and Jonny Bairstow (12) failed to give England the start they would have hoped chasing the total.

Having lost Morgan on the eve of the match, England's injury worries mounted further as pacer Mark Wood left the field during his opening spell and was sent for scans on his foot, before Liam Dawson also exited late in Australia's innings after hurting his finger collecting a return throw. Legspinner Adil Rashid too was on the sidelines with a shoulder niggle.

Used sunscreen, zip, mints to tamper ball, admits Monty Panesar

World Cup attracts more Indians to London

Former England spinner Monty Panesar made s h o c k i n g revelations about ball tampering, saying he would use sun screen, mints and also Monty Panesar the zip of his trouser to make the ball reverse swing. In his book ‘The Full Monty', Panesar said he was told to keep the ball as dry as possible by the likes of James Anderson for whom he used to prepare the ball. "Whether we broke the laws depends on how you interpret them.

We found that mints and sun cream had an effect on the saliva, and that helped the ball to reverse," the 37-year old was quoted as saying.

"I might also have 'accidentally' caught the ball on the zip of my trouser pocket to rough it up a little. We all tried to change the condition of the ball, because reverse swing has such a huge impact. When I came into the England side, my job was to prepare the ball for the seamers. They’d say, ‘Listen mate, if you want to bowl with us it’s on one condition. Make sure you don’t get your sweaty hands on our shiny side.’ Anderson would say: 'I just want you to keep that ball as dry as possible.'" Panesar, who played 50 tests between 2006 and 2013, said although rules of the game said the use of uniform was legal, there was some breach of the spirit. "That was probably a hairline fracture of the spirit of the game, even if the laws said you were allowed to 'use your uniform'."

A British High Commission spokesperson in India said that around 5,00,000 Indians received visas to travel to UK during calender year 2018 – which is more than 10 per cent compared to previous years. One major attraction for the Indians is the cool climes of London and the other is the starting of the cricket world in London on May 30. The High Commission in India estimates as many as 80,000 Indian fans will travel to the UK to watch the tournament this monthend, a figure corroborated by visa services agency VFS Global, which has received around 1,32,000 visa applications for the UK in March and April this year for travel.

This figure is far higher than the number of Indian football fans who turned up in Russia for the 2018 FIFA World cup. FIFA had said around 4,500 Indians got tickets to watch the matches. In fact, the figure is also much higher than the 25,000 Indians estimated to have travelled to Australia and New Zealand to watch their team in action at the last world cup played in

February-March of 2015.

Travel industry executives say that grounding of Jet Airways has led to a 15-20% rise in airfares to the UK, but is unlikely to dampen the spirits of travelling fans. An average Delhi-London return airfare has increased from Rs 60,000 to Rs 75,000 since April 17. An executive of a travel agency said that for cricket fans paying a little extra is not a big issue if they can manage to get a ticket for an India match.

Jet operated 35 weekly flights from Delhi and Mumbai before suspending

operations on April 17.

London is connected through direct flights from major Indian cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad

by Air India and British Airways. While Air India operates daily flights to London from Delhi and Mumbai, British Airways flies 49 weekly flights from these five cities. Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways also carry passengers to London with one-stop flights. Tour companies are also offering customised packages for fans who have managed to secure tickets.

in brief RAHANE SCORES A CENTURY ON COUNTY DEBUT Middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who failed to make the cut in the 15member Indian squad for the upcoming World Cup, scored a brilliant century on his County debut for Hampshire. Rahane, who had managed just 10 runs in the first innings of the Division One game against Nottinghamshire, smashed 119 runs off 197 balls in the second innings. His innings was studded with 14 boundaries. In the process, the 30-year-old became the third Indian to score a century on debut in the County Championship.

Piyush Chawla (for Sussex in 2009) and Murali Vijay (for Essex in 2018) are the two others on this list. Rahane and Sam Northeast (133) steadied the ship for Hampshire who were in trouble at 9-2 and then put on 257 for the third wicket. The 30-year-old was bowled by off-spinner Matthew Carter before tea in the 70th over.

ASHWIN TO PLAY FOR NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Nottinghamshire have signed India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as their overseas player for six matches in the County Championship. A press statement by Nottinghamshire said the off-spinning allrounder will take over as overseas player from James Pattinson at the end of June and is expected to feature in six of the final seven red ball matches of the season. "It’s a good, competitive standard of cricket over there and I can’t wait to get started," Ashwin said. "I’m really looking forward to joining up with Nottinghamshire, to playing cricket at an iconic venue like Trent Bridge and hopefully contributing to some County Championship victories." Ashwin’s stint with Nottinghamshire will start with a match against Essex on 30 June. He will then play against Somerset and Surrey. He is expected to miss Nottinghamshire’s match against Yorkshire, which will start from 18 August. India is scheduled to play a Test series against West Indies in August, and Ashwin’s international commitments are expected to keep him away from the County Championship.

ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS WINNER GOMATHI FAILS DOPE TEST Gomathi Marimuthu, who won the 800 metres gold at the Asian Championships last month, was handed a provisional suspension after being tested positive for a banned substance. The 'A' sample of the 30year-old runner from Tamil Nadu, who clocked 2 minute 2.70 seconds to win gold on April 22, has returned positive for 19norandrosterone, a metabolite of nandrolone (an anabolic steroid), in the test conducted during the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha. If her 'B' sample also tests positive, she faces a maximum ban of four years - as this will be her first doping offence - while India will lose a gold medal from the Asian Championships. India had won three gold, seven silver and as many bronze medals in the Asian Championships.