AV 06th March 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE First Muslim leader for Scottish Labour SEE PAGE - 4

Burmese Gurkhas in the UK worry for the safety of their loved ones in Myanmar

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SEE PAGE - 11

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

6 - 12 MARCH 2021 - VOL 49 ISSUE 43

inside:

MEET THE CHANGEMAKERS

Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Mukesh Ambani threatened

Women are choosing to challenge the status quo. Be it upending structural ranks in boardrooms orfighting Twitter trolls, and correcting legal institutions.

SEE PAGE - 26

Five states go to the ballot in a month

Sunil Arora

Clockwise from top to bottom: Bina Mehta, Claire Coutinho, Prerana Issar, Dr Halima Begum, Nisha Parti, Michelle Poonawalla, Perveen Akhtar and Lisa Franchesca Nand Priyanka Mehta and Shefali Saxena

Suppressed. Overruled. Dictated and unceremoniously dominated.

Traditionally, women particularly those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds have been inveigled into neat little ethnicity and gender tick-boxesat most organisations. But there are those who are choosing to challenge the status quo, holding institutions accountable for their flawed and misplaced narrative of justice and upending structural ranks to ensure more Continued on page 6 empathetic leadership is in charge.

The Election Commission last week announced assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry between March 27 and April 29, with an unprecedented eight-phase voting in Bengal.

The state, which has seen rising bitterness and violence between Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters, will see the country’s most staggered assembly poll to date. The election in Assam will be in three phases, up from two in 2016 while Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will have a single-day poll on April 6.

Counting for all the assemblies will be held on May 2.

Read International Women’s Day articles from P14-18

Down nload our virtual property seminar

pride eviewgroup.com/ /seminar seminar Speak to our team today on +44 20 4516 5119

Continued on page 26

2 UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

6 - 12 March 2021

with Keith Vaz

New hijab trial designed by New Zealand first tried in Leicester

Jigisa Mehta Jigisa Mehta, was born in Porbandar, Gujarat the hometown of Mahatma Gandhi. She moved to the UK with her family at the age of three and was brought up in Harrow.

She went on to study BA Business Honours at University of Westminster and a Masters in Management at Brunel University where she was awarded a First-Class Honours. Jigisa worked as a Business Development Manager for different recruitment agencies creating contracts within Healthcare both the public and private sector. Currently Jigisa manages a recruitment team within the NHS. Jigisa is also a Body Shop Consultant at Home and creates hampers for all occasions. You can follow her on her Instagram Jigisa Mehta or Facebook group called Beaute Boutique.

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Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in? (50 words response) India is my favourite country and where I feel most at home. The culture, heritage, history, art, and beauty make the country so magnificent.

Each city and state are unique and special in its own way. I am a practicing Hindu and love learning the philosophy and embarking on various pilgrimages.

What are your proudest achievements?

I don’t normally single out one area as my work varies in different projects I am involved with. In the NHS trust I work at, my team won an award for the best non-clinical team of the year last year. At Bhaktivedanta Manor, I partake in voluntary service in the Oxen farm, and it was an achievement to start the service myself and grow it successfully over the years. I am committed and dedicated to anything I put my mind to, I will endeavour to perform at my best ability and never give up.

What inspires you?

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I thrive on selfless service and helping others. My role models are my parents, brothers and close friends, as they inspire me to become a better person and serve others better. They are all an instrumental part in my personal development.

What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

Starting a new job in the NHS just during the pandemic and being part of a team but not being able to physically meet anyone in the team to be trained for the role.

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

It would have to be my parents as they brought my brothers and me to this country with nothing, they made sure we had a good education and everything we needed. They showered us with unconditional love and

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support and still do.

What is the best aspect about your current role?

Being part of the NHS and supporting the front-line workers and the country during this pandemic. It has been an incredibly tough year and every day is unpredictable and my team and I have worked relentlessly to provide staffing to the trust, and we have been very successful in doing our jobs.

And the worst?

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Working within the NHS especially during this pandemic has meant overworking and not taking enough breaks or annual leave as this would cause a delay in our services. It has been stressful and exhausting.

What are your long term goals?

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To always be happy; to do more selfless service for humanity; to continue to look after the animals at Bhaktivedanta Manor; to always look after my parents, family, and close friends and to grow my own side business called Beaute Boutique selling Body Shop items and hampers for all occasions.

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

I would increase NHS, key worker salaries, and make sure they are paid for what they are worth.

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

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was an Indian spiritual teacher and the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). I see Prabhupada as my teacher (Guru) so would like to be in his presence, take his blessings and see if he would like to share any messages to me directly.

I read his books and follow his teachings and instructions as much as possible.

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A new hijab designed in New Zealand especially for operational Muslim police officers is being trialled by Leicestershire Police in a first in England.

The operational hijab was created for the New Zealand Police and came after 16 months of research and was rolled out in the southern hemisphere country’s national force in November last year. Now officers in Leicestershire are trialling the hijab after the new design was launched and was shared in the media locally in New Zealand and internationally. Designers at the college have sent a sample to the force and it is currently being tested by a Leicestershire Police student officer.

The hijab is designed to sit comfortably with police issued headwear such as caps and radio ear pieces plus has been designed with safety in mind using magnetic fastenings that can release easily if grabbed.

Detective Constable Yassin Desai is joint chair of Leicestershire Police’s Association of Muslim Police (AMP) and also sits on the national AMP (NAMP) as lead for uniform and equipment.

He said, “We have been looking for the right design and the right product for a number of years. We saw the New Zealand

Khadeejah Mansur, Picture Courtesy: Leicestershire Police

hijab and liked the look of it so got in contact, built a really good relationship and have been trialling it for a number of weeks.

“We have had several failed attempts to get the right product but we are very hopeful with what we have seen so far. If everything goes well and the necessary tests and approvals are met then we could be rolling this out in Leicestershire. I have also been talking to other forces in England and Wales and the Home Office about it being a national solution for emergency services and frontline staff.

“It’s really important for our Muslim officers who wear the hijab. Operationally, a standard hijab is needed. It looks profes-

sional, uses very similar material to our current police uniform and has relevant design and safety features.

“More importantly it will help attract other Muslim females to become police officers. It shows that Leicestershire Police is inclusive and accessible and recognises the need for religious headwear. It will also help to provide role models to the community to show them they too can follow a career in policing.”

Student Officer Khadeejah Mansur joined the force in October and is currently undergoing her initial training period and is trialling the product.

She said, “Wearing the hijab had made me very comfortable and complements my uniform very well, it is comfortable and far from restricting. I am able to conduct my training just as well as everyone else and still be covered. I believe it is important to have it as part of our uniform to make other Muslim females aware that Leicestershire Police caters to all individuals needs especially with our uniform.

Once fellow Muslim females see myself as a frontline hijab wearing officer I hope it will inspire them to look at a career in policing as there are no restrictions or setbacks.”

Deol Foundation releases report on Indian farmers The Deol Foundation has released a 12-page report on the human rights of the Indian farmers. The Foundation supported by Patron Lord Indrajit Singh CBE of Wimbeldon has written an open letter to the United Nations (UN) seeking immediate intervention by setting up ‘United Nations Observation Posts’ at the farmers protest sites surrounding the New Delhi border.

It further requests the UN to send a fact-finding team to India, to investigate “human rights violations against farmers, farm labourers”. The letter seen

by Asian Voice, Lord Singh also cautions, “Over 230 people have died during this current crisis and if the national government does not change direction in its response against protest and dissent this will likely run into the

Lord Indrajit Singh

many thousands in the coming months.”

According to him, the Government of India is in: “Breach of Articles 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the United Nations Declaration of Human

Rights Act. "Breach of Articles 2, 3, 6, and 8 of the United Resolution of the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.

"Breach of Articles 14, 32, 21, 20 (1), 25(1), 19, 29 (1) of the Constitution Of India.

"Breach of Articles PT1: 1, PT2: 2, PT3: 6, 7 ,9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26 , of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

Currently, there are tens of thousands of farmers encamped at the three farmers' protest sites. Several other British Sikh MPs have written to the UK Foreign office with the aim of exerting influence and pressure on Downing Street to intervene in India’s domestic affairs.

Downing Street and FCDO are closely monitoring the situation.

Mother and daughter die off coronavirus after Christmas gathering On Monday 1st March, it was reported that a 64-year-old mother and her 43year-old daughter died when 11 members of the same family caught Covid19 after meeting on Christmas Day. Kashmir Bains and Paramjeet of Wolverhampton fell seriously ill after testing positive for the virus. The daughter died on the day after she was hospitalised, and her mother died four weeks later.

According to Mr Bains the family had initially considered not to meet at Christmas but decided to go ahead with the celebrations because his sister, who has learning disabilities, had been suf-

Kashmir and Paramjeet Bains

fering in isolation with her mental health. They gathered on Christmas Day, adhered to the government’s three household rule reportedly and "played

safe", only meeting for a few hours. Mr Bains and his family, and his younger sister and her family, met up with his mother, father and older sister. Days after Christmas, all 11 tested positive for coronavirus.

In a statement to the BBC, Mr Bains said, "We didn't meet anyone else beforehand, noone had any symptoms, we still don't know who brought the virus into the family, into the house, but it's happened and it's something we'll have to live with for the rest of our lives."

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6 - 12 March 2021

Are we on the right track to challenge inequalities?

On 8 March is the annual International Women’s Day celebration and the global moment to applaud the social, economic, cultural and political accomplishments of women. This year, #ChoosetoChallenge is the theme, with a call for everyone to step up and challenge all inequalities.

The story of why this day is celebrated on March 8 dates back to 1917. On the same date women gained suffrage. Later, 8 March became a national holiday celebrated by the communist countries. Thereafter in 1977 UN recognised the day and started celebrating it as the International Women's Day. According to Angelika Hibbett from the Women and Equality Unit, Department of Trade and Investment and Nigel Meager, from the Institute for Employment Studies, in 2001, there were around 30.2 million women in the UK, compared with 28.6 million men. So, women accounted for 51 percent of the population.

But it is projected that proportions of men and women in the population are moving gradually towards equalisation and will have effectively evened out by 2025.

Despite this population figure, even in 21st Century, gender bias is still prevalent in our communities, culture, politics and even in UK media. Even after decades of promoting women’s equality, discriminations and inequalities continue. During the Covid-19 pandemic, BBC reported, UN data has suggested that coronavirus could wipe out 25 years of increasing gender equality.

Women have been doing significantly more domestic chores and family care over this lockdown. Women bear the burden of care responsibilities of children's home schooling and as family members fall ill. They are also at greater risk of domestic violence and are deprived by reduced access to sexual and reproductiverelated health services.

Women are also more likely than men to have fewer hours of paid employment, be on zero-hour contracts, and are more affected by job losses with economic instability. According to the sixth edition of Deloitte Global’s Women Boardroom report, women hold just 16.9% of board seats globally. Female representation on FTSE 100 boards has only risen from 12% to over 33% in a decade. In UK politics, in 2020, there were 220 women MPs in the House of Commons. At 34%, this was an all-time high. The proportion of women grew slowly until a jump in the 1990s. Since 1918, 552 women have been elected to the House of Commons; 55% were first elected as Labour MPs and 31% as Conservatives.

There are 223 female Peers- 28% of the Members of the House of Lords. Out of 21 Cabinet Ministers, five ministers (23%) are women. Among them there is Home Secretary Priti Patel. The highest proportion of women in Cabinet was 36% between 2006 and 2007. Cl Asian women MPs include Seema Malhotra, Valerie Vaz, Preet Kaur Gill, Claire Coutinho, Rupa Huq, Rushanara Ali, Lisa Nandy to name a few. Yet nearly all government departments are led by men and dominated by men.

Caroline Nokes, Chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee, said in November, “We know when women are involved in decision making some real bread-and-butter issues like childcare don’t get ignored.

“It’s definitely time for the Prime Minister to bring some fresh new ministers to sit round his cabinet table — people like Victoria Prentis and Victoria Atkins would be a great start.

“And how about splitting the cabinet role of Minister for Women and Equalities into a cabinet job in its own right and giving it to Penny Mordaunt who has not only a strong track record but a real passion.”

History in danger of being repeated They condemn, protest and petition. But at the end of the day when push comes to shove, when the choice has to be made between protecting the human rights of Uighur Muslims versus standing up to the Chinese authorities there are limitations where countries like the UK and USA become complicit in China’s genocide of Uighur community. Reports detail allegations of rape and sexual abuse of Uighur women detained in China's internment camps in the Xinjiang region. While the UK and US condemned these acts, the status quo with China remains.

These are the same countries who have invaded Iraq previously for restoring democracy and saving the Iraqi people from the terror of Saddam Hussain. The same countries who stand in favour of extending economic sanctions on Iran. The same countries who will not punish Saudi Arabia despite mounting evidence noting that Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman was responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi. The same countries who are too cautious in protecting their bilateral ties with the UAE to investigate the circumstances under which the two Princess went missing and if they are even alive. It is in this respect, no shock that the UK and USA have chosen to become bystanders in what is considered to be an ethnic cleansing of the Uighur Muslims.

In an urgent question to the UK parliament recently, MP Nus Ghani said, "These horrifying stories add to the huge and growing body of evidence detailing atrocities perpetrated by the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang - atrocities which may even be genocidal." She called on UK Minister of State for Asia Nigel Adams to "make a promise today that no further deepening of any ties of any kind will take place with China until a full judicial

inquiry has investigated these crimes".

Yet, his only response? The UK would continue to work with European nations and the new US administration to pressure China and hold her to account. But if the circumstances in Myanmar and the British government’s response to the Junta pillaging the streets is to be taken into account then there are diminishing hopes that anything will change.

In his recent statement, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, “One month on and the military in Myanmar continues to escalate its use of violence to support its coup, including the killing of peaceful protesters over the weekend. The people of Myanmar want their voices heard and are showing huge bravery in response to this brutality. And today, Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s elected leader, again faced politically motivated charges. The international community must do everything it can to bring pressure to bare to halt the violence, release those detained arbitrarily and restore the elected government.”

But his words fall on deaf ears. The international community it appears has its hands tied. There is concern that China appears to be behind the curtains of the carnage on the streets of Naypyitaw. China has strong strategic and economic interests in Myanmar, where it hopes to continue building out the ChinaMyanmar Economic Corridor to provide an alternative route of access to the Bay of Bengal. If the UK and USA cannot be roused into repairing the breakdown of political machinery in Myanmar by restoring democracy in the South East Asian country. Then there is a fat chance that these countries aside from offering political asylum to Uighur Muslims will ever be able to hold China accountable for its deeds against humanity. Have the British and Americans learnt nothing from the Nazi era?

Renaming a stadium changes nothing about who Narendra Damodar Modi is The recent renaming of the Cricket Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad before India’s fantastic performance at the day-night Test cricket has caught the world’s attention. India’s President Ramnath Kovind had inaugurated the world’s largest cricket arena with 130,000 people capacity, after £70 million refurbishment, a few days ago.

To those who do not know who Sardar Vallabhai Patel is, a little history lesson may help. Sardar Patel, as commonly called, served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. An Indian barrister, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, he played a significant role in the integration and unification of India, after independence. He was often called Sardar, meaning ‘chief’ and he acted as the Home Minister during the political integration of India.

What people skimming through wikipedia would not know is the righteous nature of Sardar, who never did anything for monetary or personal gain, chose a path of selflessness, determination, idealism and servitude towards his countrymen, that ultimately made him immortal, even after seven decades of his death.

Former High Commissioner of India to UK, Ruchi Ghanashyam recently said, Sardar Patel, the Iron Man of India made civil servants the backbone of world’s largest democracy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a legend in his own rights.

He himself commissioned the Statue of Unity to pay homage to Sardar Patel, an icon India looks upto.

When world media, reported that PM Narendra Modi named the Motera stadium after himself- it called for serious backlash.

Critics have jumped on this occasion to compare him to Adolf Hitler, who named sports venue after himself, while still in the office. A barrage of insults was hurled at him on social media despite Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trying to salvage the situa-

tion.

Narendra Damodar Modi, with all his quirks, is a man with a mission. He has brought India’s name back on global map, with neighbours swooning to forge international ties. UK politicians have made two trips already, in 2021, amidst pandemic, to foster better relationship and PM Boris Johnson is not far from his next trip. President Joe Biden, has made his calls to Prime Minister Modi- and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

PM Modi does not need a stadium named after him to show the world what his commitment towards his country is. There are several stadiums or arenas named after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi across the country. Albeit named after their death. But Narendra Modi is not a believer of self-aggrandisement. There are two legacies here. One complimenting the other. PM Modi has never aspired to be Sardar Patel- a towering figure from the independence struggle and early Indian democracy. Nor has he ever tried to make any personal gains from his own political career. During his time as the chief minister of Gujarat, he has taken the state to great development. He encouraged the industries to flourish, especially, the pharma industry. Gujarat became number one in exports and in many fields during his stewardship. His vision is to see India as an economic superpower in the world. But it would have been ideal for PM Modi to discourage the sycophants from renaming the stadium after him.

As Rohit Mahajan wrote in The Tribune, “Those who wish to flatter a great leader will find ways and means to persuade him that it’s only right that a stadium — a great place to influence young people — is named after him.Renaming one stadium cannot sum up Narendra Modi’s contributions or dedication towards India as its Prime Minister. Nor can it reflect the country’s increasing stardom in international arena.

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. - Vince Lombardi

Alpesh Patel

I Speak for Oxford University and This Is What Free Speech Sounds Like Last week, it was a proud moment to represent my College, St Anne's, Oxford, as an alumnus in University Challenge, against existing students. It was a proud moment too, a couple of years ago to host the Vice Chancellor of Oxford University at an Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Dinner.

It was a prouder moment in my 20s to be elected a Visiting Fellow at Corpus Christi College – supported

by Margaret Thatcher's former Special Economic Advisor and separately by the Economics tutor to the former Leader of the Labour Party. And then at that College, to host Vikram Seth, a fellow Fellow of Oxford at a fundraising dinner at High Table. All proud moments.

So I am especially protective of the traditions and values of the University of Oxford. I have a talk to make to my old school next month, and they reminded me that my speech must by Government regulation adhere to British values.

I am immensely proud of the traditions of British values of free speech and free thought. However, tell me, when a faculty member of the University of Oxford makes comments like the ones you see in the images, is that not incitement to religious hatred contrary to the laws, let alone Britain's values?

So Mr. Sarkar, if you're reading this, I speak for the values of Oxford University, not you. I am British, and I stand up for, and speak for British values of tolerance, not you. I understand you are here on a visa – your vile hatred is not what I want in my country.

When you write, "clearly breaking Saraswati statues have not had any bad effect on my education" – I don't have a right not to be offended. You have a right to free speech. You claim to be atheist yet target one faith – that is religious bigotry. You proclaim it, that is incitement to religious hatred.

When a girl is hounded out of her position at the Oxford Union, and the British Free Speech Union writes they regret she was so hounded and returns to India in tears; you write 'Tell Zee News that Oxford students are still not ready for "Sanatani"' with a picture of Lord Ram, that is bullying and harassment of an Oxford student by Faculty.

I care not that you are atheist, that you believe faith to be superstition – so do billions. I care you incite religious hatred. I care you do this from a privileged position at Oxford University. I care you bring disrepute to my University.

You make me think twice about the donations I made last week to the University – a University whose students rely on goodwill based on a reputation you are trashing. Were I to protest by closing the cheque book and encouraging others to do the same, I would sadly be hurting those members, unlike you, who deserve all Oxford has to offer and who respect that enormous privilege.

I care that Oxford's standards for Faculty are embarrassing if you're an example. However, I suspect this is an uncharacteristic slip of some regret and shame for them.And because words must be met by action, this article and a letter of support from Members of the British Parliament, the home of free speech, goes to the Vice Chancellor of Oxford University, to the Proctors, to your College Head, your Head of Department and the Home Office regarding your visa, and the Police regarding potential criminality on your part. And the British High Commission in India on your visa application plus the Indian High Commission in London.

And if you're wondering; I am Oxford. I am British.

I don't look up at you because you are Oxford Faculty (you don't deserve it), and I don't look down on you because of caste (something you mention as repeatedly as your Oxford post) – I look down on you because of your lack of intellect, and well because you're not one of us as we might say at Oxford – in Britain.

Finally, I remind you, the very crest of the University of Oxford states, “The Lord is my Light”, it was built on the basis of religion and faith, it’s Colleges are called Jesus, Christ Church, Corpus Christi. But again, it is Hinduism you have a problem with so you seek to ignore that Mr Sarkar. The Goddess of Light, Saraswati’s statues you desecrate and revel in it. Your ancestors weep and your descendants will laugh at the fool.

4 UK

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6 - 12 March 2021

MPs write to foreign secretary for release of Jagtar Johal On Sunday 28th February, Tuesday, nearly 140 MPs and peers have written to Foreign Secretary urging Dominic Raab to do more to secure the release of a young Sikh man from Scotland and facing the death penalty in India. The letter appears after a confession was allegedly extracted under torture.

The letter urges Raab to accept that Jagtar Singh Johal is being detained arbitrarily, and says at least three of the charges levelled against him carried the death penalty.

In the letter the parliamentarians note, “When a British national is arbitrarily detained, tortured, and faces a potential death sentence, all on the basis of trumped-up political charges, the British government must make clear this is unacceptable. This is a moment for the UK to take a stand and bring this young British man home.”

They claimed in their letter that Johal, who has

Jagtar Singh Sohal

been detained for three years, is a Sikh human rights activist from Dumbarton who travelled to India in October 2017 to get married. Three weeks after his wedding, was violently arrested by plainclothes police officers in Punjab before being “bound, hooded, and bundled into a car”.

“We understand that his arrest was unlawful, amounting in effect to an abduction by the state,” they wrote.

They added, after his detention, “Jagtar was brutally tortured with electricity into ‘confessing’ his involvement in an alleged conspiracy.”

Jagtar is being support-

ed by the legal NGO Reprieve, which said the charges – of procuring arms, conspiracy to commit murder and a terrorist act – all carry the death penalty in Indian law. It has been alleged he provided £3,000 to a Sikh planning to kill members of the Swayamsevak Rashtriya Sangh (RSS), a charge he denies.

In a statement to The Guardian, Reprieve deputy director Dan Dolan said, “It’s baffling that the Foreign Office hasn’t sought Jaggi’s release. We’re talking about a young British man facing a death sentence, based on nothing but a supposed confession he recorded after being tortured with electricity. It is about as clear a case of arbitrary detention as you can imagine, but the government hasn’t acted to bring him home. Why?”

First Muslim leader for Scottish Labour Anas Sarwar has become the UK’s first Muslim to lead a party. He was elected to lead the Scottish Labour Party after beating his counterpart MSP Monica Lennon by 57.6% to 42.4%.

Sarwar’s father, Mohammed, was the first Muslim MP, elected to Glasgow Central in 1997, holding onto the seat until 2010 before going on to be governor of the Punjab region in his native Pakistan.

Born in Glasgow in 1983, Sarwar graduated from the University of Glasgow, and worked as a dentist in Paisley for five years prior to becoming a MP. He took an active role in the pro-Union campaign leading up to the 2014 independence referendum, touring Scotland in a bus with No activists.

The Glasgow MSP and his family has faced a series of racial hate mail and threats. He has recalled opening a hand-delivered envelope at his childhood home in 1997 to see a mocked-up picture of his mother with a gun to her head, saying: “Bang, bang, that’s all it takes.” He has also faced criticism over his children attending a feepaying school in Glasgow.

Questions were also raised over reports that his family’s cash and carry firm advertised jobs that paid less than the “real” living wage of £8.45 an hour.

Despite racist threats and abuse, however, Sarwar left his job as a dentist in 2010 to enter politics, win-

Anas Sarwar

ning the same Westminster seat as his father in an election in which Labour lost power after 13 years to a Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition. Sarwar was next elected to be deputy leader of Scottish Labour from 2011 to 2014, as well as the job of coordinating the party’s campaign during the independence referendum.

He would also serve as acting leader following the res-

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Learning a new skill Rohit Vadhwana Learning a new skill has become a fashion in the modern world. People learn different things like a new skill- like a foreign language.

I have seen people learning French, Spanish, Chinese, German or some other foreign language as a hobby and as a new skill. Some friends have also tried their hands-on culinary skills while others have gone deep into the painting. It is always rewarding to learn a new skill but if it is taken due to peer pressure and without examining own interest, it can turn out to be stressful. What kind of new skills should one look for? Let's have some parameters to help in deciding the appropriate skillset for better use of time.

1. Which field are you active in? Any new skills we learn are due to hobby or for professional development. If I am active in academics, I may well like to learn something which aligns with my interests in that field. Therefore, learning calligraphy or something related to that would be in line with my profession as well as a personal interest.

2. How will it be useful in future?

While learning a new skill should not be purely based on utility, a completely irrelevant skillset would only robe you of time. Therefore, whenever you decide to learn something, ask yourself - will it be useful in any manner? After all, you are investing a lot of time and money in acquiring that skill. if one has to decide,

one criterion should be its utility in future. If you have two options, learn about how to fly an aeroplane or how to repair a car. Perhaps the second option is better for a common man.

3. Don't follow the herd: If you are learning something just because others in your group are doing the same, it is the wrong decision. To impress others or to mix with others, if you plan to acquire something new, weigh its cost-benefit properly. There is no point in taking pressure of learning something new which doesn't in any manner interest you. We already do a lot of things under social pressure. So you don't want to add one more item to the list.

4. Finish what you start: If you start to learn a new skill, better to finish it properly. Don't give it up at half level. It will be a complete waste of money, time and also add to the psychological burden of failure. Be slow when you decide on something new, but once started, be vigorous to complete it. A little learning is a dangerous thing, afterall.

5. Learn something only if you strongly feel about it: Finally, ask yourself once again whether you are feeling passionate about learning a new skill. If not, don't go for it. No need to come under any pressure as social trends keep changing. Your need, utilisation of time and money should be in your interest.

There is no point in bragging to people about your learning a new skill unless it makes you happy.

(Expressed opinions are personal.)

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MEET THE CHANGEMAKERS Continued from page 1 There is plenty of female led success stories to celebrate this International Women’s Day. Be it the appointment of Nigeria’s former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) first female and first African leader.

Or KPMG UK appointing their first female chairwoman in Bina Mehta after 150 years.

Or Nikhil Rathi announcing five new appointments at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) where there are now seven women and four men on the executive committee. While women may have succeeded to create and affirm their positions despite a pandemic, the question, remains why are they crawling their way to the top and in that journey what are the challenges or issues that continue to remain unaddressed?

Speaking about the challenges that female employees often face at workplaces, Bina Mehta, Chair of KPMG UK said, “Covid-19 has shone a spotlight on all sets of challenges that women face: home-schooling, caring for elderly, looking after family besides meeting professional deadlines. These are just the tip of the iceberg. How do you as a leader inspire, encourage and support these women in their journeys? Most of the challenges that female employees feel they face, are centred around the feeling of being valued, being given equal opportunities for progression and knowing that they are supported in those opportunities across structural ranks and by the leadership.”

50% increase in women in executive positions in boardrooms According to the government-backed HamptonAlexander review, the number of female directors at FTSE-100 firms has increased by 50% in the last five years. The same review also notes that women now hold more than a third of roles in the boardrooms of the UK’s top 350 companies.

Welcoming the report, she further added, “This report shows that momentum for progress has been created. But the report also recognises that there are structural and cultural barriers that may exist for women and for all the underrepresented groups. We need to assure that all our efforts address those barriers and create an inclusive culture”.

The seeds of the International Women’s Day were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through the New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. Later Clara Zetkin suggested the idea to celebrate an International Women’s Day in 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen and was officially celebrated by the United Nations in 1975. The first theme adopted by the UN in 1996 was "Celebrating the past, Planning for the Future". This year’s theme is ‘Choose To Challenge’ with the idea that a challenged world is an alert world and individually, everyone is responsible for their own thoughts and

Priti Patel

in brief FAMILY APPEAL FOR JOHNSON TO INTERVENE The son of a British man held in India — in a case linked with a Dubai princess who claims she was kidnapped — has appealed to Christian Michel prime minister Boris Johnson for help. Arms dealer Christian Michel has been detained in India since December 2018 after being extradited from the United Arab Emirates over a helicopter deal.

India has dismissed calls by UN rights experts for him to be freed, rejecting suggestions that his detention had been politically motivated and without any legal basis. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) said Michel’s imprisonment lacked a legal basis. And it raised concerns that his extradition “was a de facto swap” for India’s capture and return of an unnamed high-profile detainee to Dubai in March 2018. Michel’s 26-year-old son, Alaric Michel, told Sky News he hoped the British prime minister would now intervene.

He said, “I hope he will take into consideration that he is a UK citizen and a UK citizen under his protection as prime minister of our country.”

The detention of Michel has suspected links to Sheikha Latifa, the daughter of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum. She was captured by Indian commandoes at sea in 2018 after trying to flee the UAE.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

“I have had instances of actions. But the question Society’s expectations of women receiving death threats, racially remains how do you challenge are so much narrower than for charged or misogynistic abuse. racial abuse on social media or men – and that has to change.

And it is quite shocking to go de-sensitise yourself from the The NHS is the largest employer through that as a new politician.

Twitter trolls especially when of women in Europe. A million But the best advise that I had identity politics is often a focal women deliver effectively and been given was to discover the point of decision-making? successfully every day across mute button on social media. more than 350 diverse roles: as “While there is still work to “I would advise all female nurses, medics, scientists, chief be done nationally in terms of politicians to do that because executives, managers, national representation, this isn’t 1970. most often they may not even be directors, leaders of local healthI’m not trying to break through real people and often enough care systems, chairs of boards, the glass ceiling in an organisathey are not your constituents. It finance directors, and many tion that functions like an oldis rather imperative that we more. boys’ club. That’s not to say we focus on our day job of dealing “The NHS is committed to don’t have our own “era-specific” with the concerns of our conbecoming the best employer for challenges. With MeToo, BLM stituents and follow through women in the world. To do that, and Covid, this feels like a definwith the processes of governI want government and commuing and too-often polarising ment,” said Claire Coutinho nity support to create a workperiod in history. Having a Conservative MP for East Surrey place designed by women for national platform as a BME and Parliamentary Private women, inclusive of everyone, woman, and a voice to speak out Secretary to HM Treasury. with more women and women of publicly is a great privilege and a Breaking down the barriers colour in senior, decision-makduty I take very seriously. Sadly, ing roles. Then we will truly be But how do you remove sexit also means I receive quite horthe best place to work,” said ism and bias in recruitment and rendous abuse and threats, Prerana Issar first NHS Chief from workplaces? whether by telephone, email or People Officer.

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PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH UK GOVERNMENT

KEEPING BRITAIN’S BUSINESSES MOVING The rules on trading with Europe have changed. But under our new relationship with the EU, British companies are going from strength to strength.

Martin Stemp

What every firm needs to know about the changes On 1 January 2021, the way we trade with the EU changed. New rules and processes came in affecting firms that import or export to the continent. But while many companies have taken steps to prepare for the changes, some haven’t, and that could leave their business at risk of disruption. Here, firms that have made the switch reveal their tips and how they have adjusted.

BEING ABLE TO IMPORT SMOOTHLY IS ESSENTIAL TO WHAT WE DO With his business dependent on successfully importing and exporting millions of pounds of goods every year, Martin Stemp was determined to ensure it continued to run smoothly after the Brexit transition period ended.

The owner of RS Aqua, an ocean technology firm based in Portsmouth, secured a Government grant to put his staff on a training course to learn how to complete the

new customs declarations.

The company also spoke to its shipping companies and suppliers and changed their paperwork to make sure it complied with the new rules. Having exported outside of the EU before, Martin found the new processes quite familiar.

However, he warns, “You definitely need to plan in advance, you have to be prepared. There is a lot [to do], it’s not to be sniffed at, but there is support if you need it.

“I suggest working with the Department for International Trade – it has an Export Champions programme – and talking to peers in your industry who are already exporting.”

PLANNING IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF OUR BREXIT SUCCESS Control Techniques recently picked up its Chinese factory, put it on a train across Siberia and relocated it in the Mid Wales countryside, to increase capacity. It is this commitment to success that led the company, which

Anthony Pickering

designs and manufactures electric motor control technology, to start planning two years ago for the end of the Brexit transition period.

“We export to 77 countries, so we had to be well prepared,” says President Anthony Pickering. “We made sure our suppliers were ready and had contingency plans in place, for example, if the port at Dover became blocked. They had to prove that their suppliers also had a plan, reaching all the way back down the supply chain.

“Planning has been the

reason for our success since 1 January, because we’re reliant on our supply chain.

Our factories are full – we’re absolutely flat out, with orders coming out of our ears. “We’ve not missed a beat, and our business is continuing to evolve. There are some delays thanks to logistics, but I think it will figure itself out.”

KEEP YOUR BUSINESS MOVING New rules now apply to business with Europe.

Act now at GOV.UK/ TRANSITION.

“I suggest working with the Department for International Trade – it has an Export Champions programme – and talking to peers in your industry who are already exporting.”

Even though a deal with the EU has been secured, for UK companies, doing business with and travelling to Europe has changed. There are new rules on exports, imports, tariffs, qualifications, hiring and travel that you need to follow, or your plans could face disruption.

To give businesses more time to prepare, new border controls are being introduced in three phases. If your business imports from the EU, you need to check the new requirements that will start in April and July, and make sure you are ready.

To make things easier, businesses can use the Brexit checker tool at gov.uk/transition for a personalised list of actions. The website also contains a host of other helpful information including a “Check an HGV is ready” service for hauliers, dedicated helplines, webinars with policy experts, step-bystep guides and video explainers.

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Shamima Begum loses Supreme Neel Shah: NK Biriyani Court ruling SP

Sunetra Senior Neel delivers premium modern dining to the comfort of the everyday home. A professional Executive Chef, food stylist and recipe developer by day, NK Biryani is the young talent’s first venture into the world of independent business. Starting the tasty takeaway service last November during this stiller restrictive time with his girlfriend, Keya, he has done impressively well. He prepares an eye-popping selection of tasty, quality meals from the expert domain of his own kitchen, sophisticatedly packaging and bringing them directly to your table. “We offer the fine three-course ambient experience despite the current situation. The food simply needs to be heated up and served!” Neel’s vast prior specialist food development experience lies in the world of successful commercial gastronomy, having worked for huge known establishments, including first-class supermarkets, food retailers and airlines. NK Biryani is an evolution of this with Neel’s colourful precise flourish.

His modish hand-crafted menu is centred on biriyanis but also offers a selection of revamped traditional dishes, including rich yet light curries, that preserve the tantalising flavours of culture while introducing an elevating contemporary twist.

Experimenting with technique and spices to transform recognisable street food, Neel’s signature dish is the Smoked Butter Chicken Biriyani: “a unique spin on a classic. Another smoky preparation is a chicken bao bun tikka dish.” Neel particularly enjoys the yummy yet wholesome edge that the barbequing cooking method brings, having used industrial apparatus to innovatively create the feel in the past. Now, using the simple domestic equipment to hand, he might “cook over wood to replicate the beautiful charred effect of a tandoor oven, grill and kick-start recipes with a pre-heated oven.” Being the real deal, this actually enhances the familiar deliciousness. Neel also elaborated on his creative authenticity with the product: “we freshly grind, roast and create fresh spices and mixes. In the tikka bao bun dish, for example, I put nigella seeds into the marinade so that the reassuring taste of naans and Indian breads run through.” Other special highlights on

TLIGHT

NK Biryani’s menu include Chicken Chettinad Biryani, home-style Lamb Biryani and a vegan delight: Fireroasted Celeriac Biryani. Each dish is served with a fresh pink peppercorn raita.

Neel adores the naturally hearty texture of vegetables, always appealing as much to the Vegetarian market. “In prior jobs, I have enjoyed inventing and sourcing funky meat substitutes, but personally I love the organically tasty sensation of vegetables. This is always at the core of my menu. Our recipes include many vegan alternatives. I much prefer a charred sweet potato, over say, introducing a blander soya protein.” As adaptive in his entrepreneurship, Neel’s online restaurant is one of a handful of new exceptional national eateries that have recently emerged at this unpredictable time. Whether it is Malaysian, North Korean, modern Italian or Neel’s own zests of the Indian subcontinent, there has been a trend of inimitable grass-roots cook-

ing not just surviving but thriving.

“We do hope to one day have a physical location,” Neel commented, “but for now

“

In prior jobs, I have enjoyed inventing and sourcing funky meat substitutes, but personally I love the organically tasty sensation of vegetables.

This is always at the core of my menu. Our recipes include many vegan alternatives

”

our homemade cuisine, purely advertised through the social platform of Instagram, is really exploding.”

Indeed, the site brimming with stellar feedback and enticing images, NK Biryani’s strength speaks for itself.

“Initially, we gave out a bunch of free samples, essentially feeding the whole of North London! However, we have continued to get repeat orders, growing a solid client-base.” Indeed, going deeper than a material restaurant, NK

Biriyani is a blossoming brand. “It definitely feels like the beginning of something big. Our exclusive trait is that we’re extensive. We’ve already created popular themed menus for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. We provide amazing dessert options too e.g., Chai Spiced Mishti Doi with Orange Crumble. There’s been steady consistent growth

with an overarching element of fun!”

Here, Neel also elaborated on the inherent freedom within his role: “being a good executive chef means having a natural flair for the imaginative. Also, charisma that lets your personality shine through your food. You have to be at the forefront of social trends; factor in spending and money; be responsibly aware of rules and regulations and have a knack for presentation.”

And so, as well as transforming standard Indian cuisine, Neel finally infuses his carefree western approach; reflecting the modern mindset of a new generation. Facilitated by the advancement of tech and increasing progressive awareness, work is becoming a blend of recreation and efficiency to value emotional wellbeing first. “Honestly, if you enjoy your profession working under someone else, you are going to enjoy it much more working for yourself! As my own chef, I love having complete autonomy with the trends I want to pay attention to. I can chuck in new ingredients when I want. Additionally, working with my girlfriend has really boosted my love affair with food! I wouldn’t have been able to form NK Biriyani without her. She’s very good at the marketing and business side: this leaves my hands free to do what I do best!” Although hard work remains important one must also incorporate smart strategy, passion, and, above all, a vibrant connection to the soul. A development of the zeitgeist, the future is in being happy and so sustainably productive.

“NK Biriyani started out as a casual idea. My girlfriend and I were discussing it on the couch, and it was on its legs a couple of weeks later. It’s been challenging but also certain because we are going on informed instinct.” Indeed, a few months on and NK Biryani is in high demand.

Continuing to buzz and brainstorm, it seem that this nifty concept will only expand.

I: @nkBiryani

On Friday 26th February, it was reported that Shamima Begum had failed to restore her British citizenship after the Supreme Court ruled that she had lost her case.

15-year-old Begum from Bethnal Green had fled the UK as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State in Syria in 2015.

Her British citizenship was revoked in 2019 by the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, on accounts of concerns around national security.

British nationality law allows the home secretary to remove a person’s UK citizenship if doing so is deemed to be “conducive to the public good”. However, it is illegal to revoke a person’s nationality if doing so would leave them stateless. There has been quite a debate that Begum could claim a Bangladeshi citizenship through her parents’ heritage. But, Bangladesh has consistently denied such statements considering Begum is born and brought up in the UK. The judgment in a way sets precedent on the UK’s policy to strip the citizenship of Britons who went to join ISIS and are being detained

by Syrian Kurdish groups without trial. Lord Reed, the president of the court, said its judges had decided unanimously to rule in favour of the home secretary and against Begum on all counts before it. This means the 21year-old will not be able to re-enter the UK to fight her case in person and will not be able to have her citizenship restored while she is being detained in Syria.

“The supreme court unanimously allows the home secretary’s appeals and dismisses Ms Begum’s cross-

Shamima Begum

appeal,” Reed said.

But the court also stated that Begum could have a final appeal against the decision to revoke her citizenship if she were to be in a position where she could properly instruct lawyers.

However, her detention in a Syrian camp, where she is not able to communicate with her legal team, makes that unlikely.

In a statement, Home Secretary, Priti Patel said, “The government will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of our citizens.”

In a 47-page ruling, the supreme court said the court of appeal had been wrong to conclude that Begum should be allowed to enter the UK and fight her case in person by substituting its own reasoning in place of the home secretary. “It made its own assessment of the requirements of national security, and preferred it to that of the home secretary, despite the absence of any relevant evidence before it,” the judgment said. “Its approach did not give the home secretary’s assessment the respect which it should have received, given that it is the home secretary who has been charged by parliament with responsibility for making such assessments.”

Mayor to launch £5 million post-Covid tourism campaign The Mayor of London has announced plans to launch a £5 million post-Covid tourism campaign to support the capital’s safe reopening.

The campaign will focus on bringing domestic tourists back to London to help aid the recovery of the hospitality, retail and cultural sectors. The new recovery proposals could include “major events that showcase central London’s public spaces and cultural riches.” Sadiq Khan said, “I am determined to do everything I can to help our great city recover as quickly as possible from this appalling pandemic.

“Crucial to that will be the safe reopening of central London and attracting

Londoners and domestic visitors back to our amazing restaurants, pubs, cultural venues and of course our major shopping districts like Oxford and Regent Street and Covent Garden.

The research commissioned by the mayor found that London’s Central Activities Zone, which includes most of central London and Canary Wharf, has been drastically hit by a fall of more than £10 billion in tourist spending last year, as well as reduced footfall due to more home working.

It has further highlighted the dire need for immediate action to protect against the “existential threat” to central London’s cultural and arts sector, with around 26,000 jobs at risk.

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Grieving mother pens story of domestic abuse A grieving mother has laid bare the story of the domestic abuse her daughter’s ex-boyfriend inflicted on her and which led to her taking her own life.

25-year-old Meera Dalal had suffered from physical and mental abuse for years which ultimately resulted to her ending her life in her family home in Syston in 2016. The NHS professional had sought help from doctors and a report from her GP was read out as evidence at the original inquest in Loughborough.

An inquest had later found that Meera, killed herself after suffering violence and abuse from her expartner. Now her mother, Daksha, has teamed up with author and domestic abuse campaigner Saurav Dutt to chronicle her grief and to reveal the ordeal her daughter went through in a book. They hope to create a guide for other vulnerable persons who may be experiencing abuse but don’t know where to turn.

Titled 'Fall in Light: A Mother's

Meera Dalal

Story' the memoir sheds light into sexual assault, psychological abuse, various forms of coercion, violence and intimidation. It also highlights subjects that are often considered taboo in South Asian communities

such as depression, mental wellness, and suicide awareness.

In a statement to Leicester Mercury, Daksha said, “It may have been five years ago since I lost my darling daughter, but it feels like five minutes ago. The loss of a child is an intense grief that you will never, ever be able to overcome.

Sometimes I go to sleep and I don’t want to wake up. But I have to raise awareness of this kind of abuse especially in the South Asian community - so that not one more sin-

gle person feels so defeated and weakened that they have to take their own life. “If I could help one girl, one child or somebody’s daughter, that would make me happy and give me some measure of peace. I know that there is help out there for the vulnerable but you have to be willing and brave enough to take it.”

Saurav Dutt’s debut novel The Butterfly Room also chronicled the accounts of more than 200 domestic abuse survivors.

Trial for four who toppled Whistle blowers of antiEdward Colston statue in Bristol Semitism in Labour should not be named

On Tuesday 2nd March, three men and a woman pleaded not guilty to a charge of criminal damage over their alleged role in the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol last year.

The statue was pulled down and thrown into Bristol harbour during an anti-racism demonstration in June earlier last year as part of Black Lives Matter protests.

Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Jake Skuse and Sage Willoughby, all in their 20s or 30s, were charged with criminal damage in December and appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday. After hearing their pleas of not guilty, judge Peter Blair set December 13 as

the start date for their trial, which is expected to last seven or eight days.

Series of other memorials of figures linked to the slave trade were being taken down or their future being debated, triggering a backlash from government ministers who said this amounted to censoring history.

After a few days at the bottom of the harbour, the statue was retrieved by city authorities and put into storage. It is expected to eventually be exhibited in a museum. In September, a concert hall that was named after Colston renamed itself the Bristol Beacon.

On 1st March Monday, the High Court ruled that the alleged leakers of a controversial Labour report into its handling of antisemitism should not be named because it would risk harm to potentially innocent individuals.

The report included confidential details of staffers’ private conversations expressing hostility towards the former leader Jeremy Corbyn. The report, which was originally prepared for the equalities watchdog but never submitted, concluded that factional hostility towards Corbyn hampered the party’s efforts to tackle antisemitism.

Five anonymous individuals, represented by the trade union Unite, who deny any responsibility for the leak, were also represented at the hearing.

The case was brought by the former senior Labour staffer Emilie Oldknow, who

had taken the party to court in an attempt to force it to disclose the identity of the leaker of the report, which contained hundreds of private WhatsApp messages. Oldknow has been ordered to pay the Labour party’s costs and has been refused permission to appeal.

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KHICHADI Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG Kapil’s

Protect Our World SEMINAR FOR OUR LETTER WRITERS Dear Readers, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar are planning to organise a virtual letter writers’ seminar on Friday 26 March 2021 from 3-4pm BST (8:30-9:30pm IST/1011am EST).

Many would recall, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar in the past have organised a greet and meet event annually for the regular letter writers Some of them even went on to compile and print these letters as a book or collection. Our esteemed letter writers such as Nagindas Khajuria and Arun Vaidyanathan are no more, but we remember them and their writings very fondly.

On this occasion, we would also be felicitating some of our renowned letter writers- thanking them for regularly contributing and inspiring us.

If you wish to attend the event, please register with Shrijit at shrijit.rajan@abplgroup.com by 24 March 2021.

Asian Voice team

I am Spartacus Echoing the sentiments of Mr Dudakia's column titled "I am Spartacus", I find that Indians should be proud of their heritage and culture that has existed for over several 1,000s of years, and some studies have pointed to the origins of Vedic history dating back to well over 10,000 years.

Ancient universities were prevalent in India to which students from all over the world were making arduous journeys to travel, go and learn at these ancient learning centres. Subsequent Islamic invasions devastated these, but the Mughal rulers also had a systematic pogrom against Hindus, Buddhists and Jains including destruction of temples.

As with any invading force and similarly with colonisation by Europeans to justify their conquest they had to demean and demonise the local culture and to denigrate and demoralise it to impose their way as superior.

Unfortunately, these elements are still active in the modern world as seen during the New Delhi riots on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the Farmers Protest. Social media was used to cause agitation and foster anti-India rhetoric.

Recently the Indian government pointed out that this is a new form of colonisation called "digital colonisation," and the Indian government is taking steps to combat it. Sovereignty and the right for India and Indians to selfrule and govern their own country should not be interfered with by outside elements including internal elements in guise of NGOs and other non-profit organisations. As a sovereign nation and with its long history, India has every right to restore monuments, temples and sacred shrines that have existed well before any of the foreign invasions that destroyed them. This right also exists in Jammu and Kashmir as it is an integral part of India.

Visvas Patel Lives in Maryland, Washington, USA

England’s venerability against spin!

India verses England cricket matches, screened live and free on Channel 4 for us, has been watched by cricket lovers all over the world, mainly in Commonwealth countries where British introduced the game. Now cricket is more popular in these former colonies than here in England, as weather here is uncertain with short summer, mostly disrupted by rain, when cricket can be played outdoors.

Moreover, football is more popular, can be played throughout the year, come rain, snow or heat waves, needs only a ball!

In cricket, home side always enjoys advantage, less so in other sports, as in cricket, they could prepare pitches more friendly for their bowlers. Pitches in England are normally greener, leaving more grass than in India where pitches are dry and bare.

While green pitches favour fast bowlers like Anderson, Archer and Wood, bare pitches favour spin, especially on day four and five and India has wonderful spinners, in Ashwin, Anshar Patel, Sunder Washington and Ravindra Jadeja, a few among many who plays in IPL. While watching Indian spinners closely, I feel there was not much turn. The damage was inflicted by the skill of Indian spinners who employed guile and variation that confused England players, leaving them stranded, plum LBW, although in Joe Root, England has the best player of spin.

A point that commentators raised is valid and should be acted upon, that is this was not five-day test match pitch. It barely took two days to get the result, totally unfair to those who paid for five-day match! After all spectators come to watch their favourite batsmen hitting fours and sixes, not a score of 112 and 81! England would have done better if there was second recognized spinner, like Moien, although Joe Root performed adequately with five wickets for eight runs! He should certainly bowl more in future! At one time, England had the best spinner in the world, in Tony Lock, Jim Laker, Ray Illingworth, Bob Appleyard and few more. Now nucleus, perseverance is fast bowling!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi London

Our beautiful world has been going through numerous problems out there. For instance, climate crisis, climate migration and crop failure have been nagging the world and the human race for quite some time. In the recent "one-on-one" on CNN, Bill Gates was seriously talking about the climate crisis across the globe and immediate steps needed to stop the problem escalating into a catastrophic form.

On the other side, I had recently bumped into an informative yet heartrending article about the climate migration in the New York Times Magazine online. That serious article was shedding light on the climate migration caused by climate crisis and also talking about the people affected - called climate migrants/refugees. In particular, countries from Central America and Latin America like Mexico and Guatemala have been facing issues like crop failure and climate refugees. Many reports have confirmed that such countries as Guatemala have been literally in the midst of those climate change-related issues despite being home to the vast green areas and natural vistas. One can say that the long-lasting political impasse and ineffective regimes have only added to the mass problems.

Thinking of the crop failure due to the climate crisis, it is really high time to stop overlooking such serious issues and take steps to mitigate. The food we have been taking and the economic boom each country has been pining for are all interrelated. They have been the direct results from the robust agriculture activities. Despite various issues and possible challenges, the people in my native areas like Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu have been able to do their agricultural activities because of reliable water sources and financial backup.

Should we really want to protect our planet, then it is very crucial to save countries like Guatemala and their inhabitants from the clutches of climate crises. The international community should work towards this "one goal" taking all the steps possible and following strong green strategies.

P Senthil Saravana Durai Mumbai

Why trade with India?

“Why trade with India is a top priority of the UK” is a timely and important article written by Lord Dolar Popat (AV dated 27 Feb – 5 Mar 2021). Visit of the international trade secretary Liz Truss to India is significant from a larger perspective of building a strong bond for mutually beneficial long-term relationship. The UK is in search of reliable countries with whom strategic partnership in terms of commercial agreement can be reached. India is one of the countries which can become a strong ally of the UK and provide the required highly educated, skilled, English speaking manpower. There are many areas in production, R&D, healthcare, education and back-end support where India can prove to be a country on which the UK can rely upon. It is one of the largest democracies having an independent judiciary so long-term opportunities for growth will always be there. India’s huge investment in construction, high-speed rails and other infrastructure facilities are to be looked into with a positive note.

As mentioned in the article India is “the pharmacy of the world” so there are plenty of scopes for mutual growth in terms of R&D and production at a competitive rate. I think it is time for the UK to look at India from a different, positive perspective to kick start the economy. Sluggish and slow response may cost money in terms of cost overrun and delay in important projects. One of the ways to attract Indian talent is to have a fast-track visa for the people who are in short supply in the UK. Hitesh Hingu London

Pay it forward It was very cold afternoon minus 7 with wind chill effect here in Markham and when I opened the newspaper The Star, it made our day warmer and brighter by reading a letter to the editor by Barbara Bernabe called ‘Nothing stops woman from ‘paying it forward’. I like to share some excerpt of her letter to the valued readers of Asian Voice.

“Every day we are bombarded with bad news. So, I would like to share feel good story about a remarkable woman. Devi Choksi born in India, followed her husband to England and finally settled in Canada in 1974. She is grateful for the blessing and believes in “paying it forward.” In December 2019 she told her husband that she would like to do something to help people who are not as fortunate as she is. She vowed that she would crochet a hat a day to donate to charity. By the end of December 2020, she made 370 hats of all different sizes, colours and patterns. An amazing feat on its own, it is made even more astounding by the fact that Devi Choksi is blind. She lost her eyesight after coming to Canada, but it has not stopped her from doing the things she loves, cooking, crocheting, listening to books. She told me that she believes challenges come to help build character and make you stronger. Her hats will be distributed to various charities. She is an inspiration to us all.”

After reading very heart touching letter I bowed my head and hats off to Devi Choksi - Devi meaning Goddess as per Hinduism in true sense and an example to all able-bodied people to pay back to society, country where you live, people who helped you in your life and get happiness in doing so which cannot be measured in terms of money. God bless all, stay safe and healthy.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel Markham, Canada

Seeds of Anarchy?

Kapil Dudakia Since 1984, Khalistani extremists have made many attempts to break up India. Let us be clear, a Khalistani is NOT a Sikh. The Gurus would reject these rogue imitators who continue to do the work of the Islamic invaders.

The very people the Gurus sacrificed their lives fighting against, and in so doing, protected their motherland, Bharat.

The Khalistanis are well resourced and have formed an international network. One wonders how they are funded given the tens of millions they expend in pursuit of their ‘break India’ goal.

Interestingly, these same Khalistanis exhibit cowardice and are too afraid to seek freedom in Pakistan.

After all, do remember, some of the most sacred places for the Sikh community are in Pakistan. Yet, these Khalistanis turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed against the Sikh community in Pakistan. As they say, agents of terror seem to band together against India!

Now they have brought their terrorism to the streets of the UK. Under the pretence of freedom of speech, right to protest, farmers march and so on, they rampage through the streets of our nation creating anarchy.

It seems they have secured the support of some Labour MPs and Councillors who have expressed antiIndia sentiments on Social Media. Keir Starmer has also been negligent in not condemning these MPs, which gives them a green light to continue their anti-India rhetoric.

The latest strategy brought to my attention is of Khalistanis who clandestinely attempted to organise a car rally in our major cities under the heading that it’s in support of India and the Indian Government. It seems they wanted to get Indians to drive down a route that went through some of the most sensitive areas. One suspects they had hoped this would have led to a violent reaction from the locals. Vinod Popat of the BHV rightly raised the issue with several Police Forces. Fortunately, the plot to plant the seeds of anarchy and incite hatred got exposed just in time.

So I say to every Indian in the UK, don’t fall for these traps. Don’t jump on any bandwagon of publicity conducted via Social Media. Let the anti-India forces show themselves for what they are, a danger to this nation. On that, I hope every Police Force and our friend, the Rt Hon Priti Patel are reading this article. I hope they are proactive and this international network of Khalistani extremism is investigated fully. I would not be surprised if names of some MPs came up with links with these networks.

The message to all true Sikhs is a simple one. Don’t allow these Khalistanis to hijack your wonderful faith. It will be your silence and inaction that will bring dishonour to our Gurus. The Gurdwaras supporting this anarchy dishonour our Gurus and Guru Granth Sahibji.

There is a clear attempt by certain entities to pit Sikhs against Hindus. A true Sikh can never be in conflict with a true Hindu. Our heritage is bound by a bloodline that cannot be broken or tarnished.

All true Indians and Indian community leaders (of all faiths and backgrounds) need to come together and reject such extremism, and to advise their communities that it is in our unity that we protect our nation from this madness. This land is our home. The people of this nation are our people. Our commitment as citizens is to work together to protect it from all forces, internal and external, that threaten its security. We are British Indians, and we cannot allow the seeds of anarchy to divide us.

International Women’s Day Every year on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day is celebrated as a worldwide event to honour women’s accomplishments from political to social. The original aim of this day is to achieve full gender equality for women around the world which has still not been realised. Figures show that globally, women’s education, health and violence towards women is still worse than that of men. Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.Women are now highly appreciated for their role not only in domestic chores but globally also. There is a need to create awareness among them on their rights in family laws, social justice, women and child health and other vital women rights which can provide them secure and better living.

“Every man needs a woman when his life is mess, because just like the game of chess, the queen protects the king."

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai, India

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in brief in brief INDIA APPEALS EXTRADITION OF KULDEEP SINGH Indian authorities have moved to the High Court in London to seek permission to appeal against a magistrates’ court order turning down the extradition on human rights grounds of Kuldeep Singh, wanted in India as an alleged member of the banned terrorist organisation Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF).

Singh, also known as Keepa Sidhu, is charged with conspiring with others to commit terror activities in Punjab dating back to 2015-16, including a plot to assassinate the then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The 44-year-old is also accused of recruiting youths in Punjab to the banned organisation by offering them money and organising a meeting of separatists in a gurdwara.

District Judge Gareth Branston, presiding over the extradition case at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, ruled in January that as the offences carry maximum sentences and “no possibility of a review of such a life sentence with a view to its commutation, remission, termination or conditional release” it would be contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), appearing on behalf of the Indian government in the legal proceedings, confirmed that the grounds of appeal against Singh’s discharge were lodged on February 19 and his lawyers are scheduled to file a response this Friday (5).

ALDI REMOVES STICKER AFTER HINDUS UPSET OVER BEEF ADVERTISEMENT Some British Hindus have demanded an apology and immediate withdrawal of words “Taste of India” from Beef Steaks product of Aldi UK. They are upset that Aldi has associated Beef with India considering of the 29 Indian states, 20 of those prohibit cow slaughter as cow is a sacred animal in India.

Lord Rami Ranger had tweeted, “No one should ever hurt the religious feelings of anyone. Beef cannot be the “Taste of India”.

Now, Aldi has removed a sticker from a meat dish in all its stores after the label caused offence amongst the Hindu community. The supermarket giant received complaints after it called its Mango Masala Beef Steaks a “Taste of India”.

Nandini Singh, of Reach India told MyLondon that the labelling shows the chain is “not aware or do not care about Hindus”.

She added: “The Hindus do not eat beef and we worship the cow.

“Aldi has been very insensitive and hurt the Hindus who shop at Aldi by selling this as Taste of India.

"Hindus make up the majority in India and give immense respect to the cow. Selling Beef as Taste of India in Aldi clearly shows they are either not aware or do not care about the Hindus."

An Aldi spokesperson apologised for the sticker and said they will no longer appear on products.

“We are very sorry for any disappointment this may have caused. It’s by no means out intension to cause any upset. The label has now been removed from these products,” they said.

“I haven’t spoken to my family in two weeks” Burmese Gurkhas worry for the safety of their loved ones in Myanmar, as violence increases amidst pro-democracy protests Rupanjana Dutta Like many other people residing in Myanmar, the majority of the Gurkhas and people of Nepalese-origin, went to live there were with the British administration. Many served during World War II in the Burma Campaign. After Burma and now Myanmar acquired independence in 1948, Gurkhas joined the infant Burma Army and were considered assets.

Fast forward to 2021, an estimated 300,000 ethnic Gurkhas live in Myanmar today. But they believe that their forefathers’ sacrifices have been forgotten, as the current reformist government continues to deny them citizenship and people regularly discriminate against them.

In the wake of the current violence, Burmese Gurkhas settled in the UK worry about the safety of their families in Myanmar.

Noom Raj moved to the UK in 2009 to study at the West London Business School. In an exclusive interview with Asian

Voice, he said, “Though in Myanmar my qualification was high level, when my father sent me to study here, I had to start from foundation.

“I later trained as a chef and started my own food truck (van). Mainly based in Camden, I have even been to Glastonbury festival with my truck. But in 2015, when my father passed away, I had to make my way back to Myanmar for his last rites. When I came back, using my van, I started a small business of removals and parcel deliveries.”

In the last few days, more than 30 demonstrators of prodemocracy supporters have been reportedly wounded and 18 dead, as police and military forces have fired tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades against crowds nationwide protesting in Myanmar.

The military, allegedly without any evidence, has claimed, that the ruling party of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for

Noom Raj

Democracy (NLD), has fraudulently won parliamentary elections in November and Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested on 1 February. The coup has brought a halt to the country’s steps towards democracy, after 50 years of military rule.

UK has described the situation as "deadly and escalating" and the violence against demonstrators as "abhorrent".

Noom, 38, who lives in Brent cross in London, told the newsweekly, “Myanmar is not a safe country to live now. My grandfather gave his life for the country, but we as Gurkhas face

discriminations daily. That is why my father was determined to send me to the UK. He wasn’t a rich man, but he wanted us to have a good future."

“Everybody knows the story of Aung San Suu Kyi, her sacrifices and she is like our ‘mother’”, he added. “But the situation now is gravely worrying.

My own mother and siblings live in Myanmar. On one hand there is the fear of Covid. On the other, military and police are arresting people randomly at night.”

Noom, who is expecting his second child soon, has been in between hospital runs with his wife and toddler. But amidst all this, he has also reached out to the Embassy of Myanmar in London to seek help to connect with his family. “I haven’t heard back from my family in two weeks. All communications have been severed. My 65-yearold mother has diabetes and other comorbidities. She often keeps unwell. I have siblings too and I worry for them every day.”

BAPIO Wales highlights disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities BAPIO Wales held their 11th Annual conference on the 30th January with a galaxy of National and International speakers including the First Minister of Wales and the Health Ministers of India and Wales. The conference dealt with the health and social impact of Covid-19 on our lives.

The conference was opened by Dr Hasmukh Shah BEM Secretary of BAPIO Wales, who welcomed the guests and expounded on the role of BAPIO. Professor Keshav Singhal MBE, Prof Keshav Singhal Chair of BAPIO Wales MBE, Chairman BAPIO gave an overview of Wales Covid-19 risk assessment tool developed in Wales which has saved many lives, and lauded the First Minister’s determination to stamp out any form of discrimination in Wales.

The First Minister Dr Hasmukh Shah BEM, Rt Hon Prof Mark Secretary BAPIO Wales Drakeford spoke about the disproportionate impact of pandemic on BAME staff in Health and Social Care. He also highlighted the all-Wales Covid-19 Workforce Risk Assessment Tool developed by a sub-group chaired by Professor Keshav Singhal MBE. In his keynote address, Rt. Hon. Professor the Lord Kakkar PC, Chairman of the King’s Fund analysed why Covid-19 had particularly affected the BAME community and recommended a holistic approach to resolving this pressing issue. The Health Minister of Wales, Vaughan Gething MS explained how the health partnership between Wales and India had benefited both countries and praised BAPIO Wales for their role in starting Fellowships for Indian Doctors. The Union Health Minister of India, Honourable Dr Harsh Vardhan MP described how India had coped admirably with the pandemic and was at the forefront of global vaccine production. His account of the highly successful Indian effort against Covid-19 made every Indian proud of their heritage. The conference was also addressed by the Director General Health Services and Chief Medical Officer Wales, and Prof Iqbal Singh OBE,

Chair of Cesop and my the Vice Chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education India and MPs Alun Cairns and Stephen Doughty.

Her Excellency, Ms Gaitri Issar Kumar, High

Commissioner of India to the UK, summarised the historic links and several mutually beneficial collaborations between the two nations.

She also, praised Work of BAPIO.

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SCRUTATOR’S 'World's highest' rail bridge in the making The iconic main arch of what is set to the world's highest railway bridge, in Jammu and Kashmir, is almost ready, over three years after construction began. Calling it an "infrastructure marvel in making", Railway Minister Piyush Goyal shared a photo of the 476 metre-long steel arch of the upcoming railway bridge over the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district. The arch bridge is a part of an ambitious railway project connecting Kashmir to the rest of India. Work on putting the main arch began in November 2017. The £125 million bridge will be 359 metres above the Chenab river bed and stand 35 metres taller than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris. The railway bridge will be able to withstand up to 8 magnitude earthquakes and high-intensity blasts, railway officials had said at the time of the project launch. It will also have a "security setup" against possible terror threats and quakes, officials had said. The overall length of the bridge is 1,315 metres. (Agency) Global award for PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will receive the CERAWeek global energy and environment leadership award during an annual international energy conference next week. The prime minister will also deliver the keynote address at the ceremony, which will be held virtually from March 1 to 5, its organiser, IHS Markit, said. Prominent speakers at the conference include US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and founder of Breakthrough Energy Bill Gates and president and CEO, Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser.

“We look forward to Prime Minister Modi’s perspectives on the role of the world’s largest democracy and are pleased to honour him with the CERAWeek Global Energy and Environment Leadership Award for his commitment to expanding India’s leadership in sustainable development to meet the country’s, and the world’s, future energy needs,” IHS Markit vice chairman and the conference’s chair, Daniel Yergin, said.

(Agency) Guides at Statue of Unity speak in Sanskrit Tourists visiting the Statue of Unity (SoU) at Kevadia get welcomed in chaste Sanskrit by tour guides who haven’t merely parroted a single line, but can even handle conversation in the world’s most ancient language.

While this may sound particularly unfamiliar to the uninitiated, the guides, mostly tribals, welcome guests in Sanskrit not only to impress but also to advocate the usage of the ancient language. Authorities at the SoU have trained 15 local tribals to speak in Sanskrit and they have already begun guiding the tourists. “The decision to train the guides in Sanskrit was inspired by PM Narendra Modi, who has been advocating the

usage of this language since long,” said Dr Rajiv Gupta, managing director, Sardar Sarovar Nigam Ltd (SSNL).

The guides can even answer queries in Sanskrit. “They learnt to speak Sanskrit in just five weeks. It isn’t easy to pick up this language and communicate with the tourists. I think this is the real empowerment of the local tribals who are working as guides at the SoU,” Gupta said. Apart from SoU, Sanskrit-speaking guides are also available at Jungle Safari, Arogya Van and Ekta Nursery.

(The Times of India) Police dogs to be evaluated with global standards now

Police dogs that are part of canine squads of Central paramilitary forces shall now be evaluated annually based on 'K9 proficiency evaluation test' developed by the home ministry in line with global performance standards. All young dogs will be put through 'K9 behaviour assessment test' at the entry level to evaluate their suitability for detection purpose or patrol work or for both, and get trained accordingly, a home ministry official said. The K9 proficiency evaluation test (PET) and K9 behaviour assessment test (BAT) have been devised by the MHA Police K9 cell, a dedicated wing established last year under the police modernisation division of the home ministry with the mandate of mainstreaming and augmentation of police K9s in the country. "With K9 BAT it would be easy to screen the most suitable pups or young adults and K9 PET or 'aanklan' would help in evaluating serving police dogs against globally-accepted

performance standards. These test models were shared with various central para-military forces in September 2020 for implementation,” Col P K Chug, consulting director of the MHA Police K9 cell, said. (Agency) Wife’s refusal to make tea no provocation The Bombay high court rejected the appeal of a man who was convicted for assaulting and killing his wife in 2013 for refusing to make tea. The court observed that the notion of patriarchy wherein a man treats his wife like property and can do as he wishes unfortunately still persists in the majority mindset.

The man who was convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment approached the court seeking reduction in his sentence on the grounds that the refusal of his wife to make tea for him resulted in grave and sudden provocation that made him assault her. However, the court held that as the man after assaulting his wife had wasted precious time in destroying the evidence before taking her to the hospital, there was no infirmity in the sentence and hence rejected the man’s appeal. Justice Revati Mohite Dere, while hearing the appeal filed by 36-year-old Santosh Atkar against his conviction and sentence by additional sessions judge, Pandharpur, on July 1, 2016, was informed that he was sentenced for culpable homicide and for causing disappearance of evidence. (Agency)

faster, faster)," one person in the group was heard saying as the huge animal began chasing the car while making loud noises.

Sharing the clip on Twitter, Mehra asked everyone to respect wildlife and give animals the right of passage. (Agency) Parents sell daughter to fund treatment of another A daily wager couple in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore sold their 12-year-old daughter to a 46-year-old man reportedly to fund the treatment of their eldest daughter (16) suffering from a respiratory illness. The man, Chinna Subbaiah, married the girl later. A day later, she was rescued by women and child welfare department officials and shifted to a district childcare centre where she is being counselled. The couple were approached by Subbaiah, their neighbour, who is said to have bargained and struck the ‘deal’ for Rs 10,000 instead of Rs 25,000 initially demanded by them. Police said Subbaiah’s wife had left him following marital discord. He is said to have made offers to the family in the past too, seeking to marry their second daughter. After ‘buying’ her, he married the girl and brought her to his relatives’ house. Neighbours heard the child screaming and crying.

“They (neighbours) approached the local sarpanch, who contacted us,” said an intergrated child development services official. Police have registered a case against Subbaiah and are interrogating him. (Agency) Direct Rajkot-Goa flight

People told to respect wildlife Hair-raising footage from an undisclosed location shows an elephant charging at a tourist vehicle while making loud trumpeting sounds. The footage has prompted warnings from wildlife officials who criticised the behaviour of the tourists as irresponsible. The video was shared on Twitter by Indian Forest Service officer Surender Mehra. "Arrey kuch nahi hoga, chill (Chill, nothing will happen)," a woman was heard saying in the clip, while another tourist encouraged her to film the elephant walking toward their vehicle. However, the elephant soon increased its speed and began running - prompting the tourists to speed up their car in order to make a quick exit.

"Bhagao, bhagao, bhagao (faster,

If all goes as scheduled, people of Rajkot will be able to fly directly to Goa from March.

This will be the first time that Saurashtra’s financial capital will get air connectivity to Goa. Rajkot is also set to get an additional flight to Mumbai from March. Airport officials said they have got confirmation that private airline SpiceJet will start a daily flight to Hyderabad from

March 1 and another flight to Mumbai from March 7.

According to sources, the airport authority has also got in principle confirmation on SpiceJet starting a direct flight to Goa from March. The private airliner has sought permission from Rajkot airport. The flight is likely to operate four days a week. Meanwhile, the first direct flight from Bengaluru arrived at Rajkot airport last week. It was welcomed with the traditional water salute. The Rajkot airport authorities distributed sweets among the 123 passengers who arrived on the Bengaluru flight.

(The Times of India)

Man found not guilty after 20 years in jail Vishnu Tiwari was 23 when a trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment. He had been convicted of rape and did not have the means to hire better lawyers. The continued to assert time and again that he had not committed the crime. After 20 years, he has finally been declared innocent by the Allahabad high court. Senior superintendent of Agra Central Jail VK Singh said, “Vishnu will be released very soon. It all started in the autumn of 2000.

Vishnu lived in UP’s Lalitpur village with his father and two brothers. In September that year, a woman from Silawan village accused him of violating her modesty. He was booked for rape, criminal intimidation and sexual exploitation of an SC woman. A trial court found him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He gathered his reserves and decided to challenge the verdict in high court. But it made no headway. So, the prison authorities stepped in. They approached the State Legal Services Authority and, last year, appealed in HC. On January 28, a division bench declared him not guilty. (Agency)

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What a remarkable reach The Randal Charitable Foundation of Asian Voice and partners with the British Asian Trust to Gujarat Samachar!

save lives impacted by Covid-19 in India

Subhash V Thakrar, BCom FCA FRSA Former Chair, London Chamber of Commerce and Founder Chair, Charity Clarity I wanted to share a fascinating story of my recent experience and how far Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar reaches in our society.

As you are aware, I write the odd articles for Asian Voice, which often get translated in Gujarati for Gujarat Samachar.

I claim no credit for the translations!

A few days ago, I had a call from Pujya Parvatiben Patel from Worthing. She is 94 and originally from Jinja, Uganda. I have never met her. At least I thought I had not met her. She called a day before and arranged with my wife, Rekha for her to call again to speak Parvatiben with her family to me.

She complimented me on my articles that appear in the publications. She said she reads them all and was devout reader of Gujarat Samachar.

Here is the astonishing part.

She said she saw my photos and my name in these articles. From this, she worked out that my face resembled that of my late father, Vithaldas Popatbhai Thakrar. She deduced that I was the son of my father Vithaldas and my mother late Lalitaben who she had known some 60 years ago during her days in Jinja Uganda. She then went through the trouble of finding a Chotai family to trace me Parvatiben Patel and locate my number.

When I spoke to Pujya Parvatiben, she said she was my late parents’ neighbour in Jinja, Uganda and she used to play with me when I was a toddler. So, I have sat on her lap when I was small!

Isn’t it amazing for a 94-year-old tracing me down to tell me the above? After all, I have met her! I am quite impressed with Pujya Parvatiben’s tenacity to read, investigate, followup with family contacts and then speak with me. And what a remarkable memory!

It truly made my day!

When I spoke to Parvatiben’s daughter, Illa, I learnt that Pujya Parvatiben has a great memory of the past and so much zeal for the wonders of life even at this mature age. I feel I have found a connection with my second mother. She lives in Worthing amongst 4 children, 14 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

What a remarkable reach of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar!

The British Asian Trust, the leading international charity founded by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, launched its Covid-19 Emergency Appeal in April 2020 in response to the unfolding crisis in South Asia.

In a region already home to 27% of the world’s poorest, with 750 million people surviving on less than $2.5 a day, tens of millions of poor and vulnerable families across the region faced life or death situations. Over 400 million daily workers in India saw their livelihoods vanish overnight.

With no form of income and no savings.

In response, the Randal Charitable Foundation donated over £500,000 to the British Asian Trust’s Appeal with the commitment to support the most vulnerable and marginalised communities hit hard by the pandemic and the results of lockdown across India, through provision of emergency kits.

As a result, the Foundation, together with the British Asian Trust and local delivery partners Jan Sahas and Goonj, have been able to impact

Pearson releases race and ethnicity editorial guidelines to help fight systemic racism in education Pearson recently released editorial guidelines that will advance the company’s commitment to fighting systemic racism in education. The guidelines will serve as a resource to help content developers -including authors, reviewers and editors—create meaningful representations of minorities and challenge racial stereotypes and associated prejudices in all Pearson courseware, digital materials, services, qualifications and assessments.

Yorkshire based tech startup to launch new threat intelligence platform Logically, the Yorkshire based tech startup combining advanced AI with human intelligence to tackle misinformation, has announced the launch of its new threat intelligence platform that can identify, analyse and disarm harmful online misinformation at scale.

Built on cutting-edge, secure, scalable cloud infrastructure, Logically Intelligence brings together Logically’s capabilities in atscale analysis, classification and detection of damaging narratives and online threats. It also provides access to a suite of countermeasures to tackle identified threats, including automated fact checking and OSINT research.

Logically was recently awarded first place in the News category of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’ launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Countries around the world are starting to experience the real harms posed by misinformation, from doubt over election results, low uptake of the Covid vaccine or violent protests. Logically Intelligence is designed for use by government and public sector bodies who need to closely monitor

some of the most vulnerable individuals in remote villages and communities across 15 states. Together, they have saved over 137,000 lives by reaching more than 27,500 families with emergency kits containing essential food and hygiene rations between June and November 2020.

Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of the British Asian Trust said, "This is a good news story in the midst of this devastating virus with its unprecedented long-term effects on individuals, families and economies. The generosity of the Randal Charitable

Foundation and dedication of its Founding Trustees Dr Nik and Moni Kotecha, together with the skills of our partners on the ground, shows what can be achieved at pace and through collaboration."

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, Founder and Chair of Trustees of the Randal Charitable Foundation, said, "Covid-19 has impacted the poorest and most disadvantaged in society the hardest. "We wanted to address the challenges in India as the early stages of the pandemic unfolded, with millions suddenly without jobs, security or any source of income. It is fantastic to have worked with our trusted partner the British Asian Trust and through amazing organisations on the ground, whose knowledge and experience ensures maximum impact in a crisis situation."

the online media landscape for the spread of damaging narratives and have the ability to intervene early in order to protect democratic processes and public Lyric Jain safety.

Lyric Jain, CEO of Logically, said, “Since 2016 we have seen the phenomenon of mis and disinformation firmly take root, evolve and proliferate, and increasingly cause real world harm. This is particularly urgent as India prepares for state elections this year as well as ensuring high uptake of Covid vaccinations.”

Logically Intelligence was tested in beta format during the 2019 general election in India and the 2020 elections in the US. In the 2019 election, Logically worked closely with public sector partners and members of the Election Commission to analyse 944,486 different articles circulating on social media, identifying 133,000 as unreliable, with 33,000 pieces of fake news.

Pearson is the world’s leading learning company with more than 22,500 employees operating in 70 countries. The company provides content, assessment and digital services to learners, educational institutions, employers, governments and other partners globally.

The guidelines will inform Pearson’s broader Global Editorial Policy that will be re-released later this year with enhanced standards for content relating to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class, religion and disability. Training on the guidelines is being rolled out globally to Pearson employees over the next 12 months.

The guidelines identify five main challenges that are commonly highlighted in academic sources including: underrepresentation of minorities, exaggerated negative associations, limited positive associations, missing stories, and the idea that disadvantages are personal, rather than systemic. The guidelines provide examples of each challenge and recommended solutions to guide Pearson content producers.

The guidelines were created by members of Pearson’s employee resource groups with consultation from Dr. Jason Arday, Deputy Executive Dean (People and Culture), Associate professor of sociology at Durham University UK and author of the Black Curriculum

Report, a seminal report on curriculum inequality in the UK. Specifically, employees from Pearson PRIME (People Representing the Interests of Multiple Ethnicities) and Pearson Bold, which is dedicated to empowering employees of Black and/or African ancestry led the report. “2020 was a year of enormous change and action across the world when it comes to race and ethnic equality. It has highlighted the need for action to address systemic inequality that people from diverse backgrounds face every day,” said Ebrahim

Matthews, Senior Vice President, Global Schools, Pearson.

“The guidelines produced represent a cultural shift in publishing that attempts to center race and racial equality at its core,” said Dr. Arday.

Similar guidelines for content relating to gender, LGBTQ+ and disability from Pearson employee resource groups will inform the Global Editorial Policy and advance Pearson’s commitment to being a fully inclusive and diverse organisation that reflects the communities it serves.

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WOMEN WHO CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE Shefali Saxena n her speech on women and mental health in 1993, Princess Diana said, “Each person is born with very individual qualities and potential. We as a society owe it to women to create a truly supportive environment in which they too can grow and move forward.”

Almost three decades later, her statement resonates with society more than ever. It took a woman to stand by a man to throw over a globally despised world leader from his office. It took a woman in a leadership role to make a country Covid free in the southern hemisphere. It took a woman to challenge one of the most powerful leaders in the world, in a state-level

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election where the ruling party at the centre had to put its best minds forward to compete with her legacy. It took a young woman activist and a pop icon to shake the very ground on which a democracy continues to debate over its grain-Gods. It took a woman (of course) to uproot sexual predators across the globe in various countries to make TimesUp and MeToo successful movements.

When Amazon founder Jeff Bezos divorced his wife, she received a whopping alimony, not just because she was legally entitled to get it, but because she was also an integral part of his journey in making Amazon a global e-commerce giant. “I was there when he wrote the business plan, and I worked with him and many others

[…] in the converted garage, the basement warehouse closet, the barbecue-scented offices, the Christmas-rush distribution centers, and the door-desk filled conference rooms in the early years of Amazon’s history,” MacKenzie Bezos wrote in an Amazon review of the book The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.

Women who choose to challenge the status quo, have time and again revolutionised workplaces, homes, societies and the lives of fellow women. Many have been breadwinners even before the pandemic for hundreds of years. There may be higher walls and taller ladders that women still have to climb to reach at the top, but in 2021, there are women who are thriving to

build longer tables, so that women can also get a seat and a chance to become decision makers.

In our special coverage on International Women’s Day 2021, Asian Voice brings you eight powerful female voices from around the UK who have persevered to make our society better. From the CEO at The Runnymede Trust, to the Chief People Officer at NHS, pioneering voices in art and culture to the Chairwoman of KPMG UK, one of the most sort after women MPs in the UK Parliament and scintillating minds in journalism and PR, here are eight exclusive interviews with women who have made exceptional contributions and accomplishments by choosing to challenge.

With MeToo, BLM and Covid, this is a defining and polarising period in history r Halima Begum is the Chief Executive of The Runnymede Trust. Her experience spans education, equality, human rights, public health, the environment and post-conflict reconstruction. She has held senior leadership positions across policy, programmes and research with a range of organisations including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the British Council and LEGO Foundation. Her portfolio of responsibilities has included leading the Sino-British Action Plan on food insecurity, the UK effort to promote girls’ education in Pakistan, and research collaborations between higher education institutions in Britain and Asia.

She began her career as a policy analyst on the Commission for a Multi-Ethnic Britain, before joining ActionAid and the LSE Centre for Civil Society. As a disabled Muslim woman raised in London, Dr Halima Begum is a lifelong campaigner for equality and civil rights. Today, she chairs the UK Women’s Environmental Network and sits on the board of various organisations including Toynbee Hall, the Ella Baker School of Organising and the Labour Campaign for Human Rights. She spoke to Asian Voice in an exclusive interview about women and human rights, including Shamima Begum’s case. Here are few excerpts:

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How has your journey been so far in running the trust as a woman in a leadership role?

These days, there are so many inspiring women leading organisations with compassion and dignity.

And I’m fortunate to be supported by wonderful colleagues and partners at the Runnymede Trust for whom leadership is not defined by gender, and without whom I simply could not function. While there’s still work to be done nationally in terms of representation, this isn’t 1970. I’m not trying to break through the glass ceiling in an organisation that functions like an old-boys’ club.

That’s not to say we don’t have our own “era-specific” challenges. With MeToo, BLM and Covid, this feels like a defining and too-often polarising period in history.

Having a national platform as a BME woman, and a voice to speak out publicly is a great privilege and a duty I take very seriously. Sadly, it also means I receive quite horrendous abuse and threats, whether by telephone, email or on social media. The very worst focus on my gender, race and disability. That says a lot about the progress we still need to make as a society.

What is your perspective on disabled people being neglected during the vaccination drive?

We should be utterly ashamed and incredibly disturbed by the Covid mortality figures among the disabled, as with our ethnic minorities. I remember early on in the pandemic, an exhausted nurse telling me she was feeling emotionally shattered because of guidelines around access to intensive care and Do Not Resuscitate orders, which she described as entirely discriminatory against disabled patients. To me, that smacks of eugen-

ics. I simply do not see any way in which such a scandalous and backdoor policy, where proven, can be anything other than a matter of urgent investigation for the national inquiry that must surely occur once we exit the pandemic. A society can only be judged by the extent to which we care for the most at risk among us. And here, we have failed abysmally.

Please share your views on Shamima Begum's case.

First, ISIS has committed untold atrocities, often directed at women. No one condones such evil. Though Shamima Begum is guilty of huge errors of judgment, she was a child when she left the UK, and the victim of grooming. As a society we have to add our own mea culpa, not least by allowing a child to leave these shores to join a terrorist group. While the Supreme Court decision effectively renders Begum stateless in breach of international law and prevents her return home, on principle she should have been brought back to answer for her actions, for the sake of the victims of ISIS if nobody else. Are men treated differently? Of course.

And UN data back that up. Thousands of FTFs (foreign terrorist fighters) have returned from Syria to their homes. Disproportionately, they’re men. To make a political point, governments can still find it expedient to publicly condemn a woman.

What is your assessment of the global approach towards women?

In a career already spanning 20 years with government and multinationals, I’ve experienced my fair share of sexism. I won’t mention which prime minister of which nation, but I recall meeting one head of government at an embassy garden party who clearly thought I was a waitress or an interloper rather than Her Majesty’s First Secretary. That’s an example of sexism that, looking back now, I can almost laugh about. But like every other woman, even in the recent past I’ve experienced those moments where gender-based discrimination exceeded any boundaries of law, and felt constant and oppressive. In some overseas deployments, the extent of the failings around gender equality can be particularly breathtaking. But one thing you realise working outside the UK is just how much progress our country has made in terms of gender equality, even since 2010. Our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers did us proud. Our job is to protect those hard-won rights.

day, some parents will consider a girl in school to represent a lost economic opportunity where the alternative is the girl in question providing support to younger children in the home, or producing food in the fields. So, where quality of learning outcomes are limited, and formal education is not leading to future jobs or livelihood opportunities, then parents don’t see the point in keeping their children in school and will often make a cost of living decision that favours boys over girls. Clearly this is the wrong thing to do. But it’s an issue many governments still need to address.

During the pandemic and in the post-Covid world, what do you think we urgently need to address about women and their rights to protect them from further atrocities and unemployment?

From the earliest days, we have known that women face particular risks as a result of conditions associated with the pandemic. The incidence of domestic violence has gone up alarmingly, at least 20 percent by some assessments. This can only be tackled by long-term public funding aimed at supporting and protecting women and girls, whether through strategies including prevention, shelter provision or counselling. The extra £40m the government has put into the pot as a Covid stopgap is welcome, but really just a short-term fix. The backlog in our courts now stretches years into the future, and is placing an intolerable emotional burden on those women who do seek justice against their abusers. Combine this with the precarious nature of frontline and key worker jobs occupied by many women, especially from BME communities, not to mention the increased risk of exposure to Covid, and I think it’s clear – there is no one silver bullet. Women and girls simply need more support across the board.

As someone who has led dialogue on global education policies, why do you think women still suffer the most when it comes to the right to education?

In terms of the SDGs, and speaking globally, poverty remains a fundamental barrier to women and girls accessing education. Even where free at the point of delivery, the hidden and sundry costs of education – like school uniforms, books and even feeding a child at school – can be prohibitively high. In the cold light of

Dr Halima Begum

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“I do things differently because of my values” - NHS Chief People Officer Prerana Issar is the first NHS Chief People Officer. Prior to joining the NHS Prerana was Director for Public-Private Partnerships at the United Nations and prior to that she was the Chief Human Resources Officer for the World Food Programme.

Before joining the United Nations, Prerana worked for over 15 years at Unilever Plc, starting with them in India and then for several years worked in global roles at Unilever’s headquarter in London. Her last role at Unilever was the VicePresident HR for the Global Foods business.

She’s a proud mother to a teenage son and a younger daughter. Prerana who has been leading from the front-line to serve the people of Britain during the pandemic, spoke exclusively to Asian Voice, on International Women’s Day about her journey and women in the NHS. Her support system - the strong progressive females in her family Like all exciting journeys, the beginning sets the tone for the experience and outcome. I was born and raised in India and had a great support network in the form of my family. My parents supported and encouraged me, giving me the confidence to pursue my interests, education and the drive to be the best I can be. I was also influenced by really strong progressive females in my grandmother and my mother, to fight against the odds in sometimes challenging circumstances.

My mother totally walked the talk, and I am extremely proud to say I am the daughter of the first woman to gain a master’s degree in her family. She spent many years in public service, a male-dominated world, becoming chief secretary of Haryana - only the third woman in the history of India to have held that title in any state. This bright example is what set me on my career path to spend a number of years at Unilever and the United Nations World Food Programme, and now with the NHS. On being a champion for women and girls during the pandemic As research has shown, Covid-19, lockdown and the changes in how we live our day-to-day lives have had a disproportionate impact on women. We have shouldered a lot of the responsibility: as carers, in home schooling, keeping essential services going as key workers or working from home. As a working mum myself, I salute every woman who has had to juggle work, life and family over the last year, showing courage every day. However, there is a real danger in the unique circumstances we’ve been experiencing that we put ourselves as individuals and our personal ambitions second.

So my major takeaway is that we need to ensure we strike a balance between caring for others, and ensuring we continue to drive towards our own goals. Keep going for it and don’t be stopped by any barriers that may be put in your way!

Covid-19 vaccination drive and apprehensions in the community The Covid-19 vaccination programme has made an incredible start. Since 8 December 2020, the NHS has vaccinated over 16 million people.

Many vaccination centres are out in the community, including places of worship like mosques and Islamic centres, temples and Gurudwaras, churches and cathedrals. I am determined to do all I can to lend a hand with vaccine hesitancy, helping people to understand and signpost to real evidence and the right information. For us to successfully cut across the mistrust and misinformation that have created these issues, we need to be the ambassadors. I have been really inspired by how general practice is working so closely with faith and community leaders to address this, creating a unique moment of engagement with the populations they serve. This will be one of the positive legacies of the pandemic, giving greater

MAKING IT RAIN Perveen Akhtar

Prerana Issar

recognition of the real depth of health inequalities in society today, and a renewed commitment to eradicating them.

On being a woman in leadership role and doing things differently I do things differently because of my values, my life experiences and a drive to make the world better for my daughter and all girls. My mother and grandmother instilled in me a strong sense of gender equality and the belief that being a woman was not a limitation to my abilities or achievements. We mustn’t be silent about this; we need to be vocal about what we want to see. That’s why I’m so excited to be hosting a major conference on International Women’s Day itself on 8 March, open to all women in health and care. We have a great programme with some fantastic speakers: discussing leadership, examining why women get such a hard time on social media, meeting the women (scientists, economists, doctors) behind the NHS vaccination programme, exploring what needs to change in the workplace and the boardroom. All women and allies are very welcome to join us at this free virtual event.

An inclusive workplace designed by women for women Take away the barriers.

Society’s expectations of women are so much narrower than for men – and that has to change. The NHS is the largest employer of women in Europe. A million women deliver effectively and successfully every day across more than 350 diverse roles: as nurses, medics, scientists, chief executives, managers, national directors, leaders of local healthcare systems, chairs of boards, finance directors, and many more. The pandemic has helped to break down many of the misconceptions that were barriers to more flexible and family friendly working practices. We were already working hard in the NHS before Covid hit to support women to become leaders; for example, actively targeting sexism and bias in recruitment and employment practices and ensuring leadership training at all levels better supports women in moving forward in their careers. The NHS is committed to becoming the best employer for women in the world. To do that, I want government and community support to create a workplace designed by women for women, inclusive of everyone, with more women and women of colour in senior, decision-making roles. Then we will truly be the best place to work.

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The NHS is committed to becoming the best employer for women in the world.

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Dolby Laboratories describe themselves as the rain on the roof in a movie. If Dolby is the rain on the roof, Perveen Akhtar makes sure it keeps raining.

Perveen Akhtar leads as the Senior PR Manager Europe at Dolby Laboratories.

Perveen is an award winning and a strong creative thinker, who is a senior International Marketing, Brand and PR professional in the consumer technology sector. She develops strategies that lead to exceptional PR coverage and positioning on thought leadership.

With a career spanning over 20 years, she has adapted well to international environments, having executed highly creative communications campaigns, with vast expertise in PR & Marketing.

In an exclusive Q&A with Asian Voice, she talks about her journey as a woman in PR & Marketing in the field of technology.

What are the challenges of being a woman in a powerful position like yours for a globally reputed company?

I don’t really think being a woman brings any additional challenges to my role. I’ve never felt that my gender was ever part of the equation in terms of my ability to do my job at any point in my career. I’m sure having more than 20 years under my belt as a communications professional probably helps in terms of having a level of confidence in my skills and abilities which allow me to do my current role effectively.

It is often seen that women hold strategic positions in the PR industry. Is there a science behind it?

Oh I don’t know if there’s a particular science but certainly some basic skills really help such as an obvious one of being a good communicator along with strategic thinking, creativity and also I think having that deeper understanding of all elements of a situation, which is an inherently female trait, helps. Being able to appreciate different viewpoints and understanding the audiences that you are trying to communicate with makes for strong leadership. I guess it’s also a numbers game. If you are in a predominantly female industry it is more likely that more than average females will hold strategic positions.

What do you bring to the table in terms of Marketing and PR, that may be your male counterparts would do differently?

As I mentioned before it’s that quality of having a more holistic view of a situation that makes women do things differently. You can’t say that all women haven’t got egos but less of them have, so I think more women are wanting to achieve in their jobs but for the good of the client as well as themselves. It means they possibly listen more and don’t simply want to push their own ideas forward.

As a woman, how do you juggle with work and personal life in such a competitive environment, especially in a pandemic?

I think that juggling personal and work life is a challenge for many and

particularly at the moment with so many women and men trying to balance their work lives and responsibilities as parents with home schooling and caring for children or other loved ones.

I don’t have children so that’s not something that I’ve had to contend with but I think the past year has been challenging for everyone in different ways. I think people have become much more attuned to the pressures that colleagues are under as they try to juggle work and personal lives. Just simple things like not scheduling calls towards the end of the work day when those with children need to focus on preparing dinner and having family time, I think is an example of an increased level of empathy and understanding that I’ve seen.

I’m also lucky that I work for a company that is really supportive of its employees and right from the get-go senior management and HR made it clear that family comes first and that if we needed flexibility then we can have it. I feel so fortunate to be working for a company that has such strong values and is genuinely supportive and I think in turn that then instils loyalty from employees.

What is the future of women in this field?

I’d say that I’ve been very fortunate that I have had a wonderfully rich and rewarding career in PR, working for some of the best companies and with some of the best people. For any woman wanting to pursue a career in PR, I’d say go for it.

I know with the backdrop of the pandemic there’s a lot of uncertainty in the industry, but I’ve seen that there are still a lot of roles coming up and some companies have some great graduate trainee programmes, particularly on the agency side.

Based on my own experience I would definitely recommend if possible, to try and start with an agency role.

That’s what I did and I learned all of the key PR skills as well as time management and multitasking as I was working across a number of different accounts at the same time, it was a baptism of fire! I moved my way up the ranks and when I’d got to a senior director position, I made the move inhouse. I was ready then and confident I knew what I was doing as in-house.

You can be a team of one in the company with your support being provided by an agency. This is a much more difficult place to be when you are just starting out as no matter how much you study PR you are not taught how to deal with the multifaceted demands of the job.

I also think for women who traditionally have the challenge of having to juggle parenting with work, the past year during the pandemic and the shift to homeworking is going to mean that there is more flexibility which can only be a good thing. I hope this will see more women having long and successful careers in the industry.

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Find the mute button on social media

A new

dawn at KPMG Priyanka Mehta

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t is two weeks after Bina Mehta stepped in to replace Bill Michael asChair of one of the big four accounting firms in the UK. It has taken 150 years for Bina to become the first woman to lead one of the four biggest accounting firms in the UK. It is thus, no exaggeration to state that Bina’s appointment is perhaps, the equivalent of the election of American Vice President Kamala Harris, in the corporate corridors of London.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, Bina discusses the need for more women role models and sheds light on challenges female employees continue to face around the gender pay gap and career progression.

But beyond all, she shares her optimism and confidence in future female entrepreneurs leading a paradigm shift in the world of business and investment.

Absence of female role models “I ventured into the world of CorporateFinance and Restructuring at a time when I was one of the very few women in that field and certainly the only ethnic minority member of my team. So, I didn’t really have role models at that time.”

An anomaly in her industry, Bina had joined KPMG in her early 20s after qualifying as an auditor. Over the years, as she progressed the ranks, serving the accountancy firm in various capacities including supporting the establishment of KPMG India.

She has also been instrumental in developing the Corporate Finance business in KPMG US and leading complex restructuring programmesacross Europe before moving to Canada and then returning to the UK with her family.

Admiration for Indra Nooyi, working with Pinky Lilani Although Bina speaks with great adulation and admiration of Indra Nooyi and her poise and ability in leading PepsiCo, she speaks of the lack of female role models in her area of expertise. Thus, navigating through the challenges of her early career withresilience that she had been conferred by her mother.

Her voice hitches ever so slightly, as she recollects, “Growing up, I had very strong women in my family. But my strongest role model is my mum. Her kindness, determination and sheer resilience to battle all adversities is something that I have admired the most and carry with me even today.

Determined in empowering and optimistic about innovative female entrepreneurship, she now works with fellow businesswomen including Pinky Lilani who has been an advocate of kindness in leadership. She is also a member of the Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs which is co-sponsored by HM Treasury and BEIS and a member of DIT’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group and the Professional Services Trade Advisory Group.

And while it may have taken the Big Four in the UK over a century to appoint

Bina Mehta

the first female chair, at KPMG, around 60% of their board members arewomen with 30% of their board comprising of members from an ethnic minority background. According to the governmentbacked Hampton-Alexander review, the number of female directors at FTSE-100 firms has increased by 50% in the last five years. The same review also notes that women now hold more than a third of roles in the boardrooms of the UK’s top 350 companies. Thus, achieving their target of 33% of board positions at FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 firms being held by women by the end of 2020. The question, however, remains why are we crawling our way to the top?

50% increase in female directors at FTSE-100 firms Welcoming the report, Binasaid, “This report shows that momentum for progress has been created. But the report also recognises that there are structural and cultural barriers that may exist for women and under-represented groups. We need to assure that all our efforts address those barriers and create an inclusive culture.

“Covid-19 has shone a spotlight on all sets of challenges that women face: homeschooling, caring for elderly, looking after family besides meeting professional deadlines. These are just the tip of the iceberg.

How do you as a leader inspire, encourage and support these women in their journeys? Most of the challenges that female employees feel they face, are centred around the feeling of being valued, being given equal opportunities for progression and knowing that they are supported in those opportunities across structural ranks and by the leadership. Any business organisation or workplace has to have the right foundations for everyone to feel equally valued. Ultimately, that is all about leadership and the commitment ofleadership.”

Closing the gender pay gap While organisations have worked hard to achieve gender parity on their Boards, some are still struggling to address the subject of the gender pay gap. According to the latest report by employment and partnership law firm Fox & Partners, female directors at the UK’s largest financial services firms earn on average twothirds less than their male counterparts.

Bina stressed the significance of transparency in the reporting of these issues within the organisation. She said, “Closing a gender and ethnicity pay gap is a critical issue for businesses. But are they recognising this and taking action against it? That starts with firms being transparent. If you’re reporting these things, then you are transparent. The next question remains, what is being done about it?”

KPMG employs about 15,600 people in the UK and recently disclosed a 36.2 per cent gender pay gap. But at the peak of women empowerment, the pandemic has thrown up a wider debate about whether females make better leaders.

In a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duke of Sussex spoke about his concern around history “repeating itself” as he recalled his mother Princess Diana’s untimely demise while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris. He worried the similar could have happened to the Duchess of Sussex as they complained about the British tabloids’ treatment of Meghan Markle.

For long social media and some pockets of media as well have become echo chambers of vilification, slander and horrific abuse particularly targeted towards women leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds.

There is no accurate dataset that quantifies or explains the degree of abuse or slander that female politicians like Priti Patel, Rushanara Ali, or Tulip Siddiq continue to receive every day. But, despite the challenges of the job, some are determined to keep their head down, mute those tweets and try and make a difference to their community.

“I have received death threats, racially charged or misogynistic abuse. It is quite shocking to go through with that as a new politician. But the best advice that I have been given is to discover the mute button on social media.

“I would advise all female politicians to Claire Coutinho do that because most often they may not even be real people, they may be bots and often enough they are not your constituents. We must focus on our day job of dealing with the concerns of our constituents and follow through with the processes of government,” said Claire Coutinho, Conservative MP for East Surrey.

Working with the Chancellor Claire was never intent on becoming a politician. Her story and journey in one way or another is quite similar to that of Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Elected MP for East Surrey in 2019, Claire graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Maths and Philosophy. Experienced in working with emerging markets in the City, she next ventured to work in social justice policy.

Here, she covered a range of issues, from education to financial inclusion to the regeneration of Britain’s most deprived communities. After five years, she became a Special Adviser to then-Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak and is now working as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to HM Treasury. She also sits on the Advisory Board of the think tank Onward and is a member of Policy Exchange’s Indo-Pacific Commission.

Speaking about the experience of working with the Chancellor, she explains, “It has been brilliant to work with the Chancellor.

It is amazing to see how well he has done and how quickly he has scaled upthe unprecedented economic support for the country.. I think his journey is reflective in that the barriers particularly those that people of colour in politics faced have reduced dramatically if not completely broken.”

Over half of ethnic minority MPs are women After the 2019 General Election, over half (37) of the 65 minority ethnic MPs are

women. In general, a total of 220 female MPs were elected in the 2019 General Elections, witnessing 12 more than the previous record of 208 in the 2017 general election. This was also the first time that both the Liberal Democrats and Labour have more women MPs than men in Parliament.

Does that, therefore, indicate that the political corridors of Westminster have become more receptive of female leaders?

“As a new female BAME politician, I can easily talk to cabinet ministers and senior civil servants. There aren’t, in my view, any traces left of that degree of prejudice within the government. Inside the party, I have only ever had positive interactions with the members of the government and our party.

Perhaps, that’s a testament of how civil and cordial the atmosphere of Parliament is today versus a couple of years ago.”

Pandemic has demonstrated women are better leaders What barriers continue to might further be broken down in light of emerging research studies that highlight that females make better leaders.

Detailed in their paper, Leading the Fight Against the Pandemic: Does Gender ‘Really’ Matter? data confirmed that Covid-19 outcomes are better in female-led countries.

Professors SupriyaGarikipati and Uma Kambhampati drew a comparative analysis between female-led countries and those with male leaders based on Covid-relevant social and demographic variables. Empathy, greater communication skills and efficient multitasking had in the initial phases of coronavirus helped countries such as New Zealand and Germany to mitigate the initial impact of coronavirus. Does that mean that “soft skills” which were typically seen to be a disadvantage for female leaders will now be perceived as their greatest asset in a postpandemic world?

Discussing the various qualities that female leaders must possess, Claire said, “I think it is really important that we don’t expect all female leaders to bring the same qualities. Each of them is unique in their own set of skills and qualities. It is up to the public to decide if that is the type of leader that they want. But We need to make sure that female leaders have equal access and equal opportunities to serve. They have demonstrated that women can do the job just as well if not better than men.”

But while the pandemic has drawn attention to plenty of female success stories, challenges abound.

In her view, “We need not have a particular view of what a female leader should look like. I think we need to address those sectors which have not been particularly accepting of women. Often enough the bigger challenges that women face in most industries today is around career progression. Women may constitute 50% of the workforce but are not necessarily making it to the top.”

The question remains what are we doing about it?

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Women are often seen as "aggressive and difficult" Nisha Parti

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“...MOST producers are white and male. It isn’t a hard industry to work in as a woman, but it is a hard industry to work in at the TOP – as a woman.”

isha Parti is the founder of Parti Productions, a company that aims to produce films and TV Drama that will have at their heart an undeniable link to India. Working with leading British producer David Heyman, Nisha was the first to read and discover the unpublished manuscript of Harry Potter and recognise its potential which led to him securing the film rights for a joint venture between Heyday Films and Warner Bros.

In 2019 she signed a first look distribution deal with Sony Pictures Television. In 2013 Nisha was selected as a Breakthrough Brit. An initiative run by BAFTA and Burberry to select and mentor emerging talent from the industry. She was Indian Creative Consultant on John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for Fox Searchlight and Blueprint Films.

Nisha comes from Indian origin with British nationality and multicultural upbringing in London. In an exclusive interview with the newsweekly, Nisha spoke about her career, being a female film producer and the future of women in the post-Covid world.

From photocopying and making cups of tea I was supposed to do medicine at Uni – like all good Indians! - But I dropped a grade in my Physics and rather than take a year out, I did a generic science degree, which I found pretty uninspiring. I always loved watching films but it was at Uni that I realised I wanted to get into that industry so I went to Film School and did an MA in Film Production at NSFTV. I then contacted hundreds of companies to try and get an internship and one replied! So that was my way in as I didn’t know anyone in the industry myself. So from photocopying and making cups of tea I had to work incredibly hard to get a paid job and then slowly work my way via various companies. It was a very long and hard journey before I finally set up my own production company. But I learnt a huge amount along the way.

Pursuing a non-Asian career My parents had three girls and were pretty supportive and encouraging in letting us do what we wanted. My dad just thought we would all get married anyway so we should enjoy ourselves in the meantime! All three of us have followed rather “non- Asian careers''.

Fashion, Beauty and Film. My Dad was an entrepreneur and we have definitely all got that gene from him. In the end he was super proud of all of us for doing so well in our own fields. So I didn’t really need to do any convincing. Although they never understood what I did and always did wonder why it takes so long to make a film! We lost my amazing father to Covid last year and he was and still is a driving force in terms of my ambition to succeed in whatever I do, and to make sure I enjoy the ride along the way.

Biggest takeaway as a woman in films Hmmm that is a hard one. I have to admit I have never felt held back in my career because I am a woman. On the way up I have predominantly worked for very successful white men who were encouraging and supportive. But I am very well aware that MOST producers are white and male. It isn’t a hard industry to work in as a woman, but it is a hard industry to work in at the TOP – as a woman. There are only a handful of female

producers and even fewer Brown ones. There is an issue of pay in the big corporations as recently exposed at the BBC and that is an issue which needs solving because it is outrageous that a woman can do the same job and not get paid the same.

A change in work culture for women I think a lot of women do very well in lower level jobs and as they climb the ladder then often decide to take time out to have kids and having kids and making films (when you have to travel and work all hours) can be really tough. So I think that is a big obstacle for women who want to produce. It is really hard without a supportive partner. I also think the industry is run by men predominantly so there is little in place to support women with kids. I would love to try and introduce proper childcare systems for the industry and for productions. It would really help encourage more women to work on sets.

Are women producers taken seriously?

Yes on the whole I think they are. But it is harder for women to get to those positions and I think they have to grow quite a thick skin and often be quite ballsy and outspoken in order to compete. As a result we are often seen as “aggressive” and “difficult” which drives me a bit mad. Whereas a man who throws his weight around is seen as strong and successful and that behaviour is more acceptable in men I think. I am pretty honest and can be pretty punchy. You often have to be to get things done and drive something forward. So you cannot be too afraid of what people think of you. And luckily I don’t! But at the same time it is really important to try and be kind whilst working really hard. I think those two things are possible.

Filmmaking can be unforgiving It is a very tough and unpredictable industry and for many freelancers the pandemic has been very tough as there has been little support for them. I am very lucky that I have an overhead deal with Sony so they have covered my costs during the pandemic. And shooting has been allowed to go ahead and the thirst for TV Drama has never been greater as so many of us are at home devouring box sets. So it is a good time for the TV industry but alas has been brutal for the film industry which I think will change forever after cinemas have been closed for so long.

The future of women in films I don’t think anything much has changed for women because of Covid. I think it has been a harder battle for me being Brown and wanting to make Asian content, than because I am a woman. There is not enough diversity of thinking and content in the industry and it is an everyday battle to convince the broadcasters and financiers that Asian stories can sell.

Tips to our women readers who'd want to pursue a career in film production My main tip would be not to worry about the fact you are a woman. Work your arse off and be focussed and dedicated. If you are smart and dedicated and work hard you will find a way through. It is a really hard and competitive industry which only pays well if you get to the top. So do it because you LOVE storytelling and the world and are prepared to roll up your sleeves and work very hard.

Don’t do it because you want to meet film stars or think it is glamorous because most of the time it really isn’t!

‘We all need to be much more open about what we are paid’

Lisa Francesca Nand

n times when most of the world hasn’t taken a flight or a vacation and all that one has is internet, news and videos to look at, Asian Voice reached out to Lisa Francesca Nand, to know more about what it is like to be a woman in broadcast journalism and a travel expert, the challenges as well as the opportunities that come with it. Lisa Francesca Nand is a broadcast journalist and travel expert. She is host of chart-topping The Big Travel Podcast and produces podcasts for many other clients.

Her father is Indian-Fijian and her mother is English but she was brought up on the Wirral and in Spain.

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Please talk about how you decided to pursue journalism as a career.

As a child I loved acting, singing and dancing but I fell into events (in music at first, which I loved) but then got sidetracked into corporate events. It was a good job, I travelled a lot and went to lots of glamorous events like the BAFTAs but I felt I had missed my calling in performing. I decided to train in broadcast journalism as, having always loved writing and talking, that combined many things I am passionate about.

Do you think women journalists, especially in the travel industry, get equal opportunities?

It's hard to know for sure but I think in any industry we often have to battle to be taken as seriously as the men, especially when you're young. I was the first ever female presenter on talkSPORT national radio and that of course was a very male dominated environment. When I've worked in other organisations such as the BBC there has been a stronger presence of women although unfortunately not always at the top. Travel is quite a female industry

but as is often the case the top jobs seem to be mainly male-dominated. Hopefully this is changing.

What are the challenges of being a woman who pursues travel journalism and how do you juggle between personal and professional life as a woman in such a demanding role?

On the Big Travel Podcast I interview a lot of well-known people and if I am going to ask anyone the question as to how they manage to travel so much and have a family I make sure I ask it of both men and women! It has however been especially difficult in recent times when there has been homeschooling to cope with. Trying to homeschool as well as work and manage all the extra domestic activities that come from having all of you at home all the time has been a real challenge. I have been very busy reporting on travel news rather than actually travelling.

What is your perspective on feminism and pay disparity? Have you ever faced any kind of racism or gender discrimination at work?

We all need to be much more open about what we are paid. I work in an industry where rates are often pre-agreed or agreed for you. I do hear that this hasn't always worked out well for women but I hope that some high-profile campaigning is helping change this. I don’t think I have experienced any outright racism in the workplace but then it doesn’t always have to be outright of course.

As a broadcaster and a podcaster, what kind of women related issues or topics do you think are most watched/listened to and why?

What I love about being a woman is we often open up to each other quickly and comfortably; I have found this especially so since becoming a mother. I love how we can talk about health concerns and feelings and get to the point straight away.

In the post Covid world, where unemployment will remain a burning issue, do you think women will stand a fair chance at procuring full time jobs in demanding careers like journalism?

I love how Covid has made it more acceptable for both women and men to be working from home and open about their child care issues. I feel this is something that, especially for those of us who are freelance and work from home, previously we felt more of a need to hide. Many of my female friends out-earn their male partners and are the main earners in the family but I am aware that in general women often take the brunt of the childcare difficulties and this has been especially so during the Covid crisis. I hope more flexible working might support all parents more with their careers.

What would be your message or advice to young women who want to be like you one day?

It took me a long while to get to where I wanted to be because I didn't see a pathway. I wanted to work in TV but didn't have any family in the industry or know how to get in. I spent a long time feeling like an outsider. It wasn't until I did a postgraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism that I felt doors started to open for me. My advice would be to train professionally as soon as you can because often it is about 'who you know' and if you don't come from a social circle or family that has those sort of contacts it can be harder to break into journalism, sad as that is.

“Many of my female friends out-earn their male partners and are the main earners in the family...”

18 IWD 2021/Art & Culture

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WORLD BOOK DAY 2021 O

How art and technology empower women Shefali Saxena ichelle Poonawalla is an artist who lives and works between London, UK, and Pune, India. Poonawalla’s works explore universal, socially engaged topics that resonate with a diverse range of audiences, creating powerful memories and moving experiences. Her practice combines cutting-edge technology and traditional artistic mediums in an emotionally charged and poetic form; often utilizing sound, video mapping, projection, motion sensors and other techniques to bring her innovative paintings and installations to life.

Her seminal piece, Introspection (2018), is a striking, immersive experiential artwork which leaves many viewers moved and affected, whilst inspiring them to take action in their own lives. More recently Poonawalla has begun exploring work with shorter digital format films. Her 3min 36 second film Circle of Life addresses the idea of memory was exhibited at the 7th Mediations Biennale in Poland. Poonawalla is currently exhibiting work in The Tangible Imaginative at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai. In an exclusive interview with the newsweekly she spoke about her artwork, her process and her thoughts on belonging to a globally famous family.

When asked if there’s a difference between how men and women view art from different lenses, she said, “Generally, I do not differentiate between a man and a woman.

No one knows what or how anyone thinks. I think art comes from one’s own thoughts, experiences and beliefs.”

We also explored the kind of training, support or preparation Michelle thinks women need, to pursue art as a career, especially women of colour. Commenting on that she said, “Training is always the same- be it for a man or a woman. It is the same classroom where there are boys and girls, people from different backgrounds and diverse cultures. The training is same for all, irrespective of gender, colour or race of an individual.”

If she were to paint a series of portraits on Asian Women, Poonawalla thinks that she would personally select subjects that SPEAK. “There are several factors like the expression, the portrait and the detail of the face which are exceptionally important to tell the right story,” she added.

Only a small percentage of Asian Women are well-versed with technology when it comes to art and creativity. Being technically sound minded and having the right resources can hence be quite empowering. Poonawalla agrees. “I would agree that I have been fortunate enough to work on projects using video mappings and other video works, which is an

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Michelle Poonawalla

expensive medium to be in. Having said that, I also strongly believe that the art world is a difficult place to be in, irrespective of a technological background. We need to have an increase in galleries, platforms and spaces for exhibitions,” she said.

Michelle has stood out and made her own mark despite belonging to a family that has various popular and successful names that are known worldwide. But what makes her secure and independent? Michelle said, “I believe talent can’t be procured. I constantly had to prove myself over and above who and what my family name is. I was inspired by my

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I desired the legacy to live on due to which I was willing and determined to prove myself, no matter any hurdles or what anyone said.

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grand-father to be an artist, he shared his prized technique of oil painting only with me. This led me to think- I cannot lead a lifetime doing nothing with what I know and my talent.”

“Determination is the key to success. I always believe if you want something you have to put in the hard-work and go after what you believe and want to achieve. I desired the legacy to live on due to which I was willing and determined to prove myself, no matter any hurdles or what anyone said,” she told the newsweekly.

n the first Thursday of March each year, World Book Day in the United Kingdom and Ireland pursues placing a book in every child and young adult's hand. That's been their mission since 1995! The event is the local manifestation of the original, global World Book Day organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing, and copyright, and widely observed on 23 April.

Organizers in the UK moved the observance to avoid clashes with Easter school holidays and with St George's Day. Here’s our top book recommendation by the renowned Sunday Times bestselling author Shrabani Basu’s latest publication, ‘The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer’. The book was launched on March 4. The online synopsis of the book read as follows: “In the village of Great Wyrley near Birmingham, someone is mutilating horses. Someone is also sending threatening letters to the vicarage, where the vicar, Shahpur Edalji, is a Parsi convert to

Christianity and the first Indian to have a parish in England. His son George quiet, socially awkward and the only boy at school with distinctly Indian features grows up into a successful barrister, till he is improbably linked to and then prosecuted for the above crimes in a case that left many convinced that justice hadn't been served. When he is released early, his conviction still hangs over him. Having lost faith in the police and the legal system, George Edalji turns to the one man he believes can clear his name - the one whose novels he spent his time reading in prison, the creator of the world's greatest detective. When he writes to Arthur Conan Doyle asking him to meet, Conan Doyle agrees.From the author of Victoria and Abdul comes an eye-opening look at race and an unexpected friendship in the early days of the twentieth century, and the perils of being foreign in a country built on empire.” It is published by Bloomsbury India.

Mother Language Day marked

by Sanskruti Centre nternational Mother Language Day was celebrated with self-written poetry, song and monologue presentations recently.

The online program titled Kaavyanjali organised

by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence has highlighted 27 languages, including few endangered ones. Roshan Kanal, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Nepal, Hassan Shifau former Deputy Ambassador at the High Commission of Maldives in London, Tim Brookes, Founder of Atlas of Endangered Scripts who joined from the USA, articulated how important it is to safeguard and promote languages. Mr Hamdun- former Minister of Planning, and a Member of Parliament, and currently President of Lexical Comity of the Academy of Dhivehi language, Pritheepal Singh,

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CEO of OCHD, SP Upadhya- a well-respected senior figure in Nepali Community were in attendance, amongst others.

Presenters included Bhaswati Gayan Dey (Assamese), acclaimed writer Dils Lakshmindra Sinha (Bishnupriya Manipuri), Arindam Dhar (Bengali), eminent Maldivian poetess Ishtar Zikr (Dhivehi), Indu Barot (Dingal), Lalit Sharma (Dogri), Mayura Patel (Gujarati), Gyan Sharma (Hindi), Dr Vipin Nadda (Himachali), Radhika Joshi (Kannada), Dr Harsha Jani (Kathiawadi), Mario Fernandes (Konkani), renowned composer-lyricist Rinchen Wacher (Ladakhi), Karma Barfungpa (Lokeh), Sharad Jha (Maithili), Deepa Nair (Malayalam), Maithili More (Marathi), Leina Moirangthem (Meitei), Acharya Durga Prasad Pokhrel (Nepali),

Bhagyashree Singh (Odia), celebrated Punjabi singer Amrinder Bobby, Kamalini Somalinga (Saurashtra), Dr Nari Mansukhani (Sindhi), Sushil Rapatwar (Sanskrit), Sugath Senevirathne (Sinhalese), Dr Laksmi Vyas (Tamil) and Ragasudha Vinjamuri (Telugu). A book containing all these works titled Kaavyanjali was also released virtually on the occasion.

Indian artists to raise awareness around wastewater in the fashion industry he ReFashion Hub is presenting a series of artworks and comic strips by leading Indian artists to raise awareness around wastewater in the fashion industry.

According to the Hub, a single cotton shirt uses up to 3,000 liters of water to make and a denim jacket takes 7,500 liters - enough drinking water for one person for 6 years! Organised by The

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ReFashion Hub, the artworks are part of a series of upcoming initiatives to raise awareness about water usage including public video projections, installations, and the Fashion Forward Fellowship. The ReFashion Hub collaborates with 7 artists and graphic designers including Priyanka Paul, Aditi Mali, Manasi Deshpande, Mehek Malhotra, Vinu Joseph,

Param Sahib and Sonali Bhasin to create a series of specially commissioned artworks and comic strips. This artistic intervention is aimed at raising awareness around the pressing issue of wastewater stewardship in the fashion industry with a focus on bringing climateaction to fashion. The artists had been invited to design comic strips which capture a sarcastic take on producing

a T-shirt, and the resources that it drains, with a key focus on water wastage. The resulting works showcase the absurdity of the fast fashion industry, hoping that viewers will lend a thought to the cause and take responsible decisions.

The idea behind this initiative is to ask audiences to question the source of the clothes that they wear and not just the final output.

The works examine the damaging impact fast fashion can have on our natural habitats and look to develop solutions to bring about change. The ReFashion Hub launched India’s first fellowship focussing on wastewater stewardship called the Fashion Forward Fellowship. The 5-week fellowship programme ends in April with one winning sustainable capsule collection.

Priyanka Paul, image courtesy of the artist and The ReFashion Hub

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Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel Should We Buy Any Stock Market Dips? That was the question from quite a few people emailing and messaging me on LinkedIN and TikTok and Facebook, worried about the poor performance of their pensions.

As the Dow Jones Index took a tumble at the end of February, many analysts saw this as the beginning of a longoverdue market correction. Some have floated talk of a stock market bubble for a while, but despite the challenging conditions of the last year, the market rebounded and finished out the year strongly. However, the dip on the 24th of February — which saw the index shed 1000 points — has led some traders to talk of an opportunity to cash in on the slide.

What Are Stock Market Dips?

“Buy the Dips'' is a phrase used in investment circles to describe taking advantage of a decline in the price of an asset.

What To Make of The Pullback?

The big thing for investors is to figure out precisely what this pullback means. Analysts have been suggesting that the stock market is overvalued, so these corrections weren’t a complete surprise. However, while buying the dip can be profitable, buying into a falling market would be disastrous for investors.

Time To Buy Mehvish Ayub at State Street Global Advisors suggests that while the correction was overdue, strong fundamentals and promising company earnings means there is nothing to get too worried about and, if anything, this dip should be seen as an opportunity to buy at a discounted price.

Marko Kolanovic, J.P. Morgan’s Global Head of Macro Quantitative and Derivatives Strategy team, echoes this sentiment. He suggests that as the economy recovers through government assistance and the vaccine rollout, any pullback in the S&P 500 should be seen as a buying opportunity.Kolanovic remains confident that there is no bubble and cites the yardstick that defines an asset bubble as a tripling of value in the space of three years. The S&P 500 is up 30% over that time period, so, for Kolanovic, this doesn’t meet the criteria, and he feels investors should take advantage of the short-term price decline.

Time To Be Cautious However, not everyone shares Ayub and Kolanovic’s exuberance. Micheal Hartnett of Bank of America made his case in a research report sent to clients that he expects a lower than 1% rise for the S&P 500 during 2021.

My Conclusion While it might be tempting to buy the dip, it does require having a very optimistic outlook of the broader market.

Catching stocks on the way down and holding on to them longer-term is a perfect plan if you sense they’ll return to previous levels. But it’s easy to miss the train and be left holding a costly ticket.

A wiser move is to be invested in resilient stocks. These are uncertain economic times, and while the vaccine rollout programs are speeding ahead and the economy is recovering from the pandemic, global governments have invested an unprecedented amount of money in recovery and stimulus packages.When government assistance is eased, the true scale of the damage of the pandemic will be felt across the economy, and loan delinquency could set-off a broader decline. In worrying times like these, portfolios with resilient stocks make more sense. While resilient stocks might not produce the eye-catching, marketing-beating returns associated with buying the dip, a diverse, lower-risk profile can be relied upon to make steady returns. Economic forecasts for the next year are uncertain, and with further corrections possible, exposing yourself to too much risk could go wrong in several ways.

CII-Grant Thornton report highlights fastest growing British investments in India The India-UK bilateral relations will touch a new high in the post-Covid-19 world, Britain Meets India report has noted, mapping the fastest growing British investments in India developed and published jointly by CII and Grant Thornton Bharat.

The India-UK bilateral relations will touch a new high in the post-Covid-19 world, Britain Meets India report has noted, mapping the fastest growing British investments in India developed and published jointly by CII and Grant Thornton Bharat.

The Report was launched by HE Gaitri Issar Kumar, High Commissioner of India to UK, HE Alex Ellis CMG, High Commissioner of UK to India, Mr. Sandeep Chakravorty, Joint Secretary (Western Europe), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj, Vice President, CII, Vishesh C Chandiok, CEO, Grant Thornton Bharat and Lord Karan Bilimoria, President, CBI in the presence of over 300 dignitaries, industry and government representatives from UK and India.

It includes UK-owned corporates with operations headquartered or with a significant base in India, with turnover of more than £5 million, year-on-year revenue growth of at least 10% and a minimum twoyear track record in India.

The Tracker also highlights the top Indian employers – companies that employ more than 1,000 people in India.

HE Gaitri Issar Kumar, High Commissioner of India to UK, said, “The insights from this report will highlight successful collaborations, key complementarities as well as areas of potential. This will give confidence to future UK investors who are looking for a secure footing as they partner with India. The governments of both India and the UK are committed to an enhanced trade partnership.

We are developing a roadmap to a free trade agreement with an ambitious target of 100 billion pounds by 2030.”

As the UK leaves the EU and inches closer to its discussion on the Enhanced Trade Partnership with India, the launch of this report therefore will be a strong marker of the IndiaUK economic relationship. It will also be an opportunity to highlight the role of British investments in India and attract future investors to make India as a choice of business destination. Mr. Sandeep Chakravorty, Joint

keen on increasing bilateral trade and investment as also make progress on the enhanced trade partnership between India and UK. With UK exiting European Union and signing the trade agreement it has made it inevitable for India and UK to cement its bilateral economic partnership further. The UK and India are among the largest investors in each other’s economies. UK stands as the 6th largest inward investor in India, ranking third among the G20 countries, and accounting for nearly 6% of all inward investment into India for the period April 2000 – March 2020.

Eventhough we have these indicative figures suggesting roughly the landscape of investment, it was absolutely necessary to analyse and present a baseline for British Investments in India.”

Highlighting the importance and timing of the report, Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said, “The year 2021, is a year for economic recovery and a year that we very much hope will bring the muchawaited Enhanced Trade Partnership Agreement between India and UK to fruition. Year 2021 is an important year for the CII as it completes its 40thyear of operations in the UK. CII representative office in the UK is the oldest international office in the CII network.”

Hindujas join SPAC boom with float of $2bn electric bus-maker Switch Hindujas, Britain’s secondrichest household, is exploring plans to join a wave of “blank cheque” mergers in a transfer that might see one other main UK electric car producer going public within the US. It is learnt that Ashok Leyland, the Indian-listed group managed by the Hindujas, is working with bankers on a possible merger

of Switch Mobility with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) in New York.

The plans, that are at an early stage, might see Switch Mobility valued at between $1.5bn and $2bn, in response to analysts and banking sources. Insiders say that the Hindujas, whose fortune was estimated by final year’s Sunday Times Rich List at

Sunak preparing to launch fund for fast growing tech firms Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to launch a fund that would channel up to £375m into fast growing UK tech companies that could leave the taxpayer with stakes in dozens of start-ups. The new initiative, called “Future Fund: Breakthrough”, could be announced as early as the Budget on Wednesday, according to three people close to the situation.

The tech sector will be a major focus in the Budget, with policies, such as a new tech visa to help attract skilled workers, expected to stimulate investment and provide support for entrepreneurs. The Chancellor’s new vehicle would see government funds matched by private sector venture capital, according to tech executives and Whitehall officials.

It is intended to support potentially world-beating tech companies that need to scale up to the next stage of development, one said. These groups are typically still loss making, owing to the need for extensive investment in research and development. Tech founders have raised concerns that British businesses sometimes fail to make the next leap in their development, instead selling out to

Secretary (Western Europe), Ministry of External Affairs, GoI, said, “Besides a free trade agreement, mobility and an interim trade deal, we are working on a 10-year 360 degree roadmap to strengthen our relationship with the UK. Going forward, we see investments in India’s clean energy sector coming from the UK.” Presenting the report findings at the launch of the first ever BMI Tracker report, Pallavi Joshi Bakhru, Partner and India-UK Corridor Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP said, “Our research identified 572 UK companies in India with a combined turnover of around INR 3,390 billion, tax payment of around INR 173 billion and employing 416,121 people directly. This reflects the important contribution made by the UK companies to the Indian economy as a key ally in India’s growth story.”

Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj, Vice President, CII and Chairman & MD, Bajaj Finserv Ltd remarked while launching the report, “As we prepare to welcome the UK Prime Minister Rt Hon Boris Johnson to India, our Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Sh Piyush Goyal and the UK Secretary of State, Elizabeth Truss, supported by Indian and UK industry, are very

overseas rivals before they reach their potential.

The Sunak fund will risk taxpayer money going into companies that fail because the majority of start ups lose money for their backers. Only a few become global leaders.

Sunak, who was a hedge fund investor before entering politics, has used Treasury funds to invest more than £1bn in 1,000 start-ups across the UK through an initiative called the Future Fund. This scheme, which was part of the Covid19 business support programme, offered convertible loans to loss-making start-ups struggling to raise funds in the pandemic matched by private investors. The loans can convert into equity stakes.

Several businesses have already converted the debt into equity, including a toilet maker based in Basildon. The new Future Fund: Breakthrough would be aimed at later stage businesses with established business models, rather than seeking to bail out Covid-hit start-ups. The Treasury declined to comment. Each investment would be tens of millions of pounds and matched by private sector funds, meaning that the fund would probably be left with stakes in a small number of larger companies than the Future Fund.

£16bn, had been additionally inspecting a personal capital-raising for the electric bus producer.

They cautioned that Switch Mobility’s shareholders might choose to boost personal capital solely and shun the general public markets till a later date Switch Mobility, which was beforehand referred to as Optare, has contracts with bus operators in cities together with London and York. More than 150 of its autos are already in service within the UK, and Ashok Leyland has signalled plans for an aggressive enlargement of its ambitions within the electric car market. Switch Mobility is chaired by Andy Palmer, the previous chief of Aston Martin Lagonda, who joined the board. Based close to Leeds, the company’s proprietor is one of the world’s three largest bus producers.

The Hindujas have indicated that they’re ready to inject extra fortune into turning into a world chief within the EV sector, which is seeing an explosion in funding and company

exercise. Dheeraj Hinduja, Ashok Leyland’s chairman, mentioned final year that the company, which is majority-owned by Hinduja firms, was seeking to carry all of its EV initiatives beneath the Switch Mobility umbrella.

This strategy reflects the clear growth opportunities in the global LCV [light commercial vehicle] and bus EV market, which is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of more than 25% and to be worth in the region of $50bn by 2030,” he mentioned. “To capture part of that market, we are considering EV initiatives through Switch that could include financial participation and strategic tie-ups.” Another UK-based electric car producer, Arrival, merged with a clean cheque company in November, underlining buyers’ urge for food for such offers.

Arrival, which was already backed by Hyundai, went public with a valuation of properly over $5bn, whereas Rivian, one other start-up, is making a fleet of electric vans for Amazon.

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Telcos place bids worth £7.7 bn for 4G spectrum Telecom operators on Monday placed bids worth £7.71 billion in India’s first 4G spectrum auction in more than four years against the government’s expectation of 45,000 crore, communications, electronics and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. The department of telecommunications (DoT) aims to raise at least 3.92 trillion in the auction of 2,308.8 MHz of spectrum. The auction will continue, the minister said.

All three telecom operators Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd which submitted earnest money deposits took part in the auction. The minister said bids were received for radio airwaves in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz,

2,100 MHz and 2,300 MHz bands. Spectrum in the 700 MHz and 2,500 MHz bands remained unsold on day one.

“Bidding will continue.

There were three bidders in Tuesday’s auction versus seven players in the 2016 auction. Of the total spectrum put up for sale, bids of £7.71 billion were received,” Prasad said. “Telecom operators seem to have bid marginally higher than I expected. However, it is still a fraction of the total spectrum put up for sale. In case of the 700 MHz band, telcos clearly found its high reserve price a deterrent.

This (700 MHz) is a valuable spectrum and if it doesn’t get sold, the government may be forced to lower the prices. The players can afford to wait it seems,” said Mahesh Uppal, a senior

telecom expert.

Jio has bid for 800 MHz spectrum which will expire in many circles, and high interest in the 2,300 MHz band, which is predominantly used for 4G in India, indicates that telcos are looking to improve their coverage and service quality, said Uppal. The government received bids for 89% of the 2300 MHz band, while 65% of 800 MHz spectrum was taken. Airwaves in the 900

MHz, 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz saw 38%, 41% and 9% bids, respectively.

The minister indicated that the 700 MHz band, which has remained unsold so far, could be used for 5G auction. According to experts, spectrum in the 700 MHz band can support 5G because of its efficiency, which also makes it the most expensive among those put under the hammer.

India exits recession, GDP up 0.4% in Q3 Growth returned to the Indian economy in the October-December quarter of 2020-21 helping it to move out of the recession that had gripped following one of the strictest lockdowns imposed last year to ward off the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data released by the National Statistical office (NSO) showed the economy grew 0.4% in the three months ended December powered by manufacturing, farm, electricity, construction, financial, real estate and professional services.

The numbers showed the contraction in the June quarter was sharper at 24.4% than the previous estimate of 23.9%, while the decline in the September quarter was

revised to 7.3% from the earlier 7.5%. An economy is said to be in recession after posting two consecutive quarters of contraction.

The second advance estimate for the full year showed the economy is forecast to contract by 8%, higher than the 7.7% projected earlier

and more or less in line with other estimates.

The December quarter data also showed that India had joined China, Vietnam and Taiwan, a select group of economies, which have posted growth during the three-month period against the backdrop of sharp declines in major

economies of the world hit hard by the pandemic. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had earlier estimated that growth would return in the third and fourth quarters of the current fiscal year that ends in March.

Recent estimates by multilateral agencies and economists have pointed to a rebound in the Indian economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also forecast India to be one of the fastest growing major economies in the world in 2021-22 as growth momentum gathers pace. The rollout of the vaccination programme has added to the optimism, but the resurgence of the virus in some parts of the country has emerged as a risk factor.

Mirage for sale Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

This weekend I went to see a commercial site in Wimbledon. The owner had applied for planning, not just on his site, but across the whole parade.

Oddly enough one can apply for planning on land one does not own.

The planning had not been granted but the response had been positive and the planning was applied for with the cooperation of the council. It is easy to see why they would wish for the whole parade of shops to come up together. That is always their preference.

The lot is due to come up in auction in the next couple of days. I met the owner at the site. He explained he had owned the site for 13 years and that it was formerly occupied by Ladbrokes. No doubt it was giving him a good rent roll whilst they were in situ.

An empty commercial site generally drops in value, as a large proportion of its value comes from the rent roll and the quality of the tenant.

As an empty commercial space, the only thing it had going for it was the strong location of Wimbledon.

The obvious issue with the planning is its implementation. The chances are it will be approved.

However, getting the other owners on board with the idea, implementing it and ensuring they have the funds to put into the deal is not an easy hoop to jump through.

We have had this experience first hand, even when it is in the benefit for two parties to work together, often they have varying agendas, which are not always transparent.

So, I posed the question as to whether the other owners are on board. He was shifty with his answer; he mentioned the last owner was on board, but the middle shop owners hadn’t come back to him.

Seeing as he has owned this property for 13 years, and has not managed to get the parties on board, it is unlikely a new incoming purchaser will be able to stitch this deal together.

After drilling him down, it appeared all he was selling is a 600 sq. ft. vacant commercial space, with perhaps some possibility of development.

This brings the value down from a guide price of £450K plus to about £275K, and that’s being generous.

I could see what he was trying to do, paint a picture of a potential to the incoming buyer; a mirage, which probably will not manifest in reality. I am doubtful an incoming buyer will fall for this. But I could be wrong. It will be interesting to see what this lot will go for in the coming days.

Disinvestment target realistic, Will push reforms in financial achievable, says Sitharaman sector: PM Modi Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed confidence that the disinvestment target set in the union budget 2021-22 is realistic and achievable.

The government has set a disinvestment target of £17.5 billion for 2021-22.

Accepting that the government could not achieve the disinvestment targets in last two years, Sitharaman, said, “Last year, it was Covid-19, so obviously we could not achieve the target. The economy (a year before) was slowing down and there was no appetite for any disinvestments. So, there is no hesitation is saying I could not achieve the target.”

Speaking at an interactive session on ‘The Economic Rebound and the Indian Economy in 2021’ at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

(IIM-A), she said, “Now, the appetite is probably better.

Even during the pandemic, the stock markets were doing well, and they are now doing even better after the budget. I have come up with a realistic number. I have not given an overestimated number. So, I am sure to achieve it (disinvestment target).”

On privatization, she clarified that the government was not on a ‘spree’ to get out of every public sector undertaking and it would maintain ‘bare minimum presence’ in public sector through professionally managed, big and scaled up public sector undertakings (PSUs). “PSUs cannot be laggard in its operations. It is after-all run on taxpayers’ money. In our vision for new India, we trust the private sector to

run this efficiently,” said the finance minister, responding to a question on disinvestment citing examples of efficiently functioning public entities in Singapore and China.

The finance minister also clarified that the government doesn’t intend to shut PSUs but instead wants them to run more efficiently. During an interaction with corporate professionals, business leaders, chambers of commerce and tax practitioners at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), Sitharaman said, “Over the decades, several governments have tried to run public sector units efficiently. We are reaching a stage where some units are not able to run despite a huge demand for products they’re producing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the importance of public sector entities in the financial sector, while pointing to the need to promote private participation, and promised to push ahead with reforms to strengthen the system to meet the requirements of a growing economy.

“A new public sector policy, including for the financial sector, has been announced. There is still a lot of possibility in banking and insurance and therefore, a number of steps have been taken... We are seeking to encourage the private sector, wherever possible.

But at the same time, banking and insurance still require an effective presence of the public sector,” the PM said during a post budget webinar with financial sector representatives.

Narendra Modi

The government’s decision to privatise a couple of state-run entities has drawn protests from the unions.

During the interaction, the PM once again sought to comfort bankers, who have been reluctant to lend, fearing action in case something goes wrong, saying he will back those where the intent is right, and underlined that all business deci-

sions cannot go right all the time.

“Any depositor or investor in the country, should experience trust and transparency. The country’s financial arrangement works only on trust - trust about the safety of your savings, trust about the growth of investment and trust about the country’s development.”

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in brief JAPAN APPOINTS ‘LONELINESS MINISTER’ TO TACKLE SUICIDES Japan has appointed its first minister for loneliness this month after the country’s suicide rate increased for the first time in 11 years during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Japan Times, PM Yoshihide Suga added a minister of loneliness to his cabinet earlier this month, following the example of the UK, which in 2018 became the first country to do so. Suga tapped minister Tetsushi Sakamoto, who is also in charge of combating the nation’s falling birth rate and revitalising regional economies, for the new portfolio. In his inaugural press conference, Sakamoto said PM Suga appointed him to address national matters “including the issue of the increasing women’s suicide rate under the pandemic.” “Suga instructed me to examine the issue and put forward a comprehensive strategy, by coordinating with the related ministry... I hope to carry out activities to prevent social loneliness and isolation and to protect ties between people,” he added.

HINDUS SUPPORT BLACK YOGA TEACHERS Hindus of Greater Houston donated about $8,000 to fund yoga-teacher-training for four Black students. The death of George Floyd last year shocked the nation, inciting protests and a widespread movement for racial justice. The movement has influenced many, including Hindus of Greater Houston, to act. “When the movement for justice for those racial minority members of our communities escalated last summer, my kids came to me and said, ‘We need to do something,’” said Vijay Pallod, who is on the Board of Hindus of Greater Houston. Pallod took his children’s calls for action to heart and brainstormed with others for ways to help. Funding training for Black yoga teachers is an idea the Indian American came up with while in conversation with his friend Benny Tillman, the first African American president of the Vedic Friends Association, an international body that has embraced Vedic culture

ZIMBABWE VICE PRESIDENT RESIGNS AMID SEX SCANDAL REPORTS Zimbabwean second Vice President Kembo Mohadi resigned on Monday following local media reports he had engaged in improper conduct, including accusations of sexual impropriety. Mohadi, 70, said in a letter shared by the information ministry he had decided to step down "not as a matter of cowardice but as a sign of demonstrating great respect to the office of the President."

Local media reported he had improper sexual liaisons with married women, including one of his subordinates. He denied the accusations a week ago, saying it was of a political plot against him. "I'm a victim of information distortion, voice cloning and sponsored spooking and political sabotage," Mohadi said in the letter.

LATIFA HAD URGED UK POLICE TO REOPEN SIS KIDNAP CASE Sheikha Latifa, one of the daughters of the ruler of Dubai, had written to UK police asking them to reopen their probe into the kidnapping of her older sister from a street in Cambridge in 2000, the BBC reported. In a letter seen by the British broadcaster and dated 2018, Latifa asked Cambridge police to refocus on the case of her sister Shamsa, now 39, who was captured aged 18 and has not been seen in public since. Dubai’s media office did not respond to a request for comment.

Onus on India to improve bilateral ties, says Pak PM ISLAMABAD: Days after the LoC ceasefire agreement, seen by some as the first real sign of thaw in ties since the Pathankot terror attack, Pakistan PM Imran Khan, while welcoming the cessation of hostilities, said the onus was on India to create an enabling environment for further progress in the bilateral relationship.

Khan’s statement is in complete contrast to India’s longheld position that it’s Pakistan’s responsibility to create right conditions for engagement by reining in terror groups active on its soil.

Significantly, Pakistan army also chose the day to release a new video of Wing Abhinandan Commander Varthaman in which the IAF pilot is seen saying that he believed there was “no reason” for Pakistan and India to continue with hostilities and called for peace between the two neighbours.

Delhi refrained from responding to Khan’s remarks, though sources in Delhi said Pakistan must take verifiable and irreversible action against crossborder terrorism if it really

wanted to see progress in the relationship. The Indian government had said after the military joint statement this week that its position on “key issues” remained unchanged.

Khan also said in a tweet that India must take necessary steps to meet the “longstanding demand and right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination according to UNSC resolutions”.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s comments are the latest in a series of assertions that the Kashmir issue can and should be resolved through dialogue.

India, however, has so far seen it as just grandstanding meant to deflect attention from the fact that the key issue of crossborder terrorism remained unaddressed.

There was no response from India to the Abhinandan video, which was released two years after the aerial clashes between Pakistan and India in Jammu and Kashmir. The video seemed to be part of the same interview which was aired two years ago shortly after Abhinandan’s capture in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Some Indian TV channel

Imran Khan

reports suggested that the video had been edited at several points. The IAF officer is seen saying in the video that war happened between countries when “there is no peace”.

“I do not know what we should do to achieve peace but I only know that there should be peace,” the wing commander said. He also spoke about Kashmir saying that neither he nor the Pakistanis know “what is happening to a Kashmiri”.

“We must think with calm heads,” the pilot said.

“I saw both countries when I was coming down on a parachute, and I could not differentiate between the two countries from above,” the

Indian pilot said, adding that that both countries are “beautiful”. “When I fell down I did not know whether I was in Pakistan or my own country India. To me, both countries looked the same, the people looked the same as well,” he said. “I was badly injured when I ejected from my aircraft and once I landed I was not able to move.

After landing, I tried finding out which country I was in,” the IAF pilot said.

“When it looked to me that I was not in my country, I tried running,” the Indian pilot said and added that a “charged” crowd tried to capture him as well but he was saved by the Pakistan army.

Pakistan remains on FATF’s grey list ISLAMABAD: The global terror-financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), retained Pakistan on its grey or ‘increased monitoring list’ even as it acknowledged “significant progress” made on the entire 27-point action plan Pakistan had committed to for checking money-laundering and terrorist financing. The Paris-based body said Pakistan had now largely addressed 24 of the 27 action items, and urged it to swiftly complete its full action plan before June 2021 as all action plan deadlines had already expired.

Importantly for India, one of the three issues yet to be fully addressed by Pakistan relates to

effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all 1267 and 1373 designated terrorists, specifically those acting for on their behalf.

India maintains that Pakistan has continued to provide safe

haven to UNSC proscribed terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.

While deciding to not go for onsite evaluation at this stage, FATF urged Pakistan to work on implementing the three

remaining items in its action plan to address its strategically important deficiencies, namely by demonstrating terrorist financing investigations and prosecutions against target persons and entities acting on behalf or at the direction of the designated persons or entities and by demonstrating that terrorist financing prosecutions result in effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

Responding to queries on whether or not Pakistan risked being blacklisted after June, FATF president Marcus Pleyer said the organisation doesn’t usually blacklist countries as long as they showed progress in implementing the actionplan.

Former French President Sarkozy jailed for corruption

Pak PM plays peace card in Lanka

PARIS: Former French President due back in court on separate charges Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty by a that he illegally exceeded campaignParis court of corruption after he spending limits ahead of his electoral offered to pull strings to help a magisdefeat. trate land a prestigious job in return He isn’t the first former French for a favour. The 66-year-old was also president to go on trial in modern sentenced to one-year prison term, times. But the late Jacques Chirac was though under the French too sick to attend court system he’s unlikely to serve before he was found guilty it, even if he fails to overturn in 2011 of misusing Paris the verdict on appeal. city funds. The 66-year-old politician, who was presi“Sarkozy used his status dent from 2007 to 2012, was as former French president,” convicted for having tried said Presiding Judge to illegally obtain informaChristine Mée as she read Nicolas Sarkozy tion from a senior magisout the court’s decision. She trate in 2014 about a legal action in said the wrongdoing he committed which he was involved. was “particularly serious.”

The court said Sarkozy will be entiThe conviction of Sarkozy - who tled to request to be detained at home still enjoys some popularity in the with an electronic bracelet. nation - is a shameful chapter in a Sarkozy will face another trial later political career that stuttered after his this month along with 13 other people failed 2012 re-election bid. The judgon charges of illegal financing of his ment puts the former president on the 2012 presidential campaign. back-foot just two weeks before he’s

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan PM Imran Khan frequently referred to India during his two-day visit to Sri Lanka, projecting himself as someone who had always advocated dialogue as the way forward for the two neighbours even as New Delhi took two steps back.

Addressing the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference in Colombo last week, Khan said one of his first tasks after assuming office was to "explain" to PM Narendra Modi the need to resolve all differences through dialogue for the sake of peace and prosperity in the subcontinent.

"I didn’t succeed, but I am optimistic that eventually common sense will prevail. The only way the subcontinent can tackle poverty is by improving trade relations. Let us live like civilised neighbours, just as the Europeans live," he said. "Germany and France have fought multiple times, but today it is unthinkable for them to have a conflict because they are so interlinked due to trade. Similarly, my dream for the subcontinent is that we resolve our differences," he said, adding that the Kashmir issue was the only reason for conflict in the region. Apprehensions about Khan raking up the Kashmir issue had reportedly led Colombo to cancel his planned address to the Sri Lankan parliament. Some within the Sri Lankan government fear that allowing Khan to speak to parliamentarians against Delhi's policies of Delhi could harm the island country’s ties with India.

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Lanka puts Chinese vaccine on hold, to rely on made in India doses COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government has decided to put the Chinese Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine on hold and will be using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made in India to inoculate 14 million people, officials said. The Chinese vaccine has not yet completed phase 3 clinical trials, Cabinet co-spokesman, Dr Ramesh Pathirana was quoted as saying. The complete dossier regarding the registration of the Chinese vaccine has also not yet been received, he further added.

The country will mostly rely on AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India. “For the time being, we need to go with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The moment we receive full documentation from the Chinese manufacturer we can consider registering it,” Pathirana was quoted as saying.

Pathirana earlier said Sri Lanka is likely to go only with the AstraZeneca vaccines for the

second phase of vaccination as the Chinese and Russian vaccines are not ready yet.

Registering the Sinopharm vaccine may take time as the World Health Organisation (WHO) is yet to approve it. “It is still under review,” he said.

Sri Lanka received 500,000 doses of Covid -19 vaccines ordered from India. Sri Lanka’s acting health minister Channa Jayasumana said 500,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine arrived last week. He said the new batch was ordered under an agreement between the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) of Sri Lanka and the Serum Institute of India.

India gifted 500,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine which kicked off Sri Lanka’s vaccine rollout in late January. The government has placed an order for 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India at a cost

of $ 52.5 million and a further 3.5 million doses directly from AstraZeneca Institute of UK under the COVAX programme.

Apart from Sri Lanka, other countries have also expressed concerns over the lack of information on Chinesemade vaccines.

In January, the Sinovac vaccine was found to be far less effective than the PfizerBioNTech and Moderna vaccines, according to a Brazilian government statement.

China, meanwhile, welcomed India supplying more Covid-19 vaccines to a number of countries, playing down reports that New Delhi has beaten Beijing in its vaccine diplomacy around the world. Responding to a question on a report that India has beaten China in its own game of vaccine diplomacy,

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin during a media briefing said, “We welcome that and hope to see more countries taking actions to provide vaccines to the world, especially developing countries, to help with the global response.”

A WHO regulatory evaluation of China’s vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac is expected to be completed by March at the earliest, according to WHO.

Remove me if you can: Nepal PM K P Sharma Oli challenges Prachanda KATHMANDU: Nepal’s embattled PM K P Sharma Oli challenged the ruling Nepal Communist Party’s splinter faction led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda to remove him from the top post if he can.

Oli challenged the Prachanda-led faction to table a vote of no confidence motion and endorse that, My Republica paper reported. “K P Oli is still the parliamentary party leader of NCP. He is the party chairman as well as the PM,” Oli said. “If you have restored parliament, remove KP Oli from the prime ministerial post.” Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 after President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May10 at the recommendation of Oli. A court last week annulled the Oli government’s

K P Sharma Oli

“unconstitutional” decision and ordered the government to summon the House session within the next 13 days. “Remove me if you can. If I am ousted, I’ll emerge victorious with a twothirds majority in the next election,” Oli said.

Nepal ruling party on verge of formal split With the Nepal Supreme Court having reinstated the parliament, the door has opened to political deal-making in

Kathmandu and the first step could see a formalising of the split in the Nepal Communist Party. The Prachanda-Madhav Nepal faction, opposed to PM Oli, not only commands more seats but sources said they may welcome breakaways from the Oli faction.

In addition, the rebels are reportedly talking to the Nepali Congress (under former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba) as well as the Baburam Bhattarai-led Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) to form a coalition, giving the prime minister slot to the NC which may suddenly find itself being wooed by both sides. Others in Kathmandu said the Oli faction may also be talking to the NC for the same reason. Foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali, spokesperson for the Oli faction, was quoted as saying that the government would accept the

Supreme Court ruling.

Significantly, there are no guarantees that Oli would actually resign. “A meeting of the House would also be called within 13 days,” Gyawali said.

Nepal sources said Deuba was very keen to become PM again, so may be tempted to shop for the best deal from the two sides.

After their party meeting, Madhav Nepal was quoted by the Nepali media as saying, “We are for joining hands with the Congress, Janata Samajbadi Party and other forces that are against Oli’s regression. We have to form a coalition government.

We told Deuba that let’s join hands.” The Prachanda-Madhav Nepal faction controls 90 seats in the reinstated Parliament while the Nepali Congress has 61 and the JSP 32. The Oli faction, on the other hand, has 83 members.

Yemen in the grip of massive famine SANA'A: Yemen is in the grip of the worst famine the world has seen for decades, the United Nations said. As the country faces its darkest hour, the efforts to bring peace to the country are more urgent than ever. But there are some signs of hope. There is no doubt that the enhanced diplomatic engagement by the US is giving new momentum to the UN-led political efforts. If this momentum is sustained, it could create the best chance yet to save lives, stave off a mass famine, and forge a path to peace.

The only question is whether the world seizes the opportunity. Many people have a role to play in this. But what the international donor community does now will be crucial. It is impossible to overstate the horror of daily life in Yemen. Two in three people

rely on aid to survive. Nearly 50,000 Yemenis are already living in famine-like conditions.

The war has decimated the economy and crushed public services. Life in Yemen for the average person has become unbearable, and children suffer the most.

Children are starving. This year, nearly half of all underfives are set to suffer from acute malnutrition. This includes 400,000 facing severe acute malnutrition. Many will die without urgent treatment, and those who survive will suffer from the largely irreversible damage caused by the condition.

Preventable diseases like cholera, diphtheria and measles cause the needless death of at least one child every 10 minutes in Yemen. Sick children are turned away by health facilities that do not have medicines or

in brief 2ND EX-AIDE ACCUSES NY GUV OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT A second former aide said she was sexually harassed by New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who responded with a statement saying he never made advances toward her and never intended to be inappropriate.

Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governor’s administration until November, said that Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men. Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, recently accused Cuomo of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comments. Cuomo denied the allegations.

Cuomo said Bennett “has every right to speak out”. He said he had intended to be a mentor for Bennett, who is 25. “I never made advances... nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate,” Cuomo said.

MOROCCO, NAMIBIA REMOVED FROM EU LIST OF TAX HAVENS Morocco and Namibia have been removed from the European Union’s list of tax havens after successfully implementing reforms to bring their tax systems up to the EU’s required standards. In a statement, the EU, however, said the island nation of Seychelles, Botswana and Estawani are still on the list.

The countries on this list "have refused to engage in dialogue with the EU or to address the shortcomings in good tax governance," the statement noted. In February last year, the EU granted Namibia and Morocco an extension to continue reforms already undertaken since 2019 to adapt their tax laws to the requirements of the institution. The deadline expired August 31 and December 31, 2020. With 11 other countries and territories, Brussels believes that Seychelles has a "major problem of transparency" in tax matters.

GERMAN COURT ISSUES GUILTY VERDICT IN SYRIA TORTURE TRIAL A German court sentenced a former member of President Bashar al-Assad’s security services to 4-1/2 years in prison for facilitating the torture of civilians, the first such verdict for crimes against humanity in the 10-year-old Syrian civil war. The higher regional court in the western city of Koblenz said Eyad A had arrested at least 30 anti-government protesters at the start of the conflict in 2011 and sent them to an intelligence facility where he knew detainees were tortured. The verdict gives hope to the 800,000 Syrians in Germany who say they were tortured in government facilities after attempts to establish an international tribunal for Syria failed. “This is an important step forward in the process of securing accountability for the Syrian government’s systematic use of torture against civilians,” said Steve Kostas, a lawyer with the Open Society Foundation, which is representing Syrian plaintiffs.

9 ARRESTED FOR PRACTICING HOMOSEXUALITY

supplies. And every day, Yemeni children are killed or maimed in the conflict.

The only long-term solution to Yemen’s problems is to find an end to the war, and a path towards peace, which is guided by the aspirations of Yemenis.

But a political and diplomatic effort will only stand a chance if

it is underpinned by a stable humanitarian situation. As the path to peace is forged, we must help rebuild the country, and the public systems, strengthen national capacity, stabilise the economy and – most urgently – feed the children who are wasting away because they are starving.

Nine Cameroonians suspected of practicing homosexuality have been arrested in western Cameroon. Two of them are still in custody, a police officer said. "We arrested them to check if they are homosexuals," an officer in the town of Bafoussam said. Homosexual practices are prohibited in this Central African nation. The law provides for sentences ranging from 6 months to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to 200,000 FCFA or 300 euros against anyone who has sex with someone of the same sex.

Arrests for alleged homosexuals have dropped significantly in recent years in Cameroon, but they seem to be on the rise again recently, the officer said.2nd ex-aide accuses NY guv of sexual harassment

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in brief FRANCE RAPS PAK PRESIDENT FOR HIS REMARK The French foreign ministry summoned Pakistan’s envoy to protest claims by President Arif Alvi that a French bill cracking down on radical Islam stigmatises Muslims.

“When you see that laws are being changed in favour of a majority to isolate a minority, that is a dangerous precedent,” Alvi said earlier. Referring to the bill drafted after the beheading of a French teacher over Prophet Muhammed cartoons, Alvi said: “When you insult the Prophet, you insult all Muslims. I urge the political leadership of France not to entrench these attitudes into laws... You have to bring people together - not to stamp a religion in a certain manner and create disharmony...”. The French foreign ministry said that raised its protest given that the bill contains “no discriminatory element.”

“Pakistan must understand this and adopt a constructive attitude for bilateral relations,” it added.

MOM OF TWO WINS MISS GERMANY TITLE A 33-year-old mother of two was crowned Miss Germany in a revamped contest which organisers say focused on a woman’s conviction and personality rather than her looks, ditching the classic swimsuit walk.

Dressed in a black trouser suit, Anja Kallenbach prevailed in the final of the “Empowering Authentic Women” contest. In the face of criticism that such contests are sexist and reinforce mysoginistic attitudes, other organisers, including those of Miss United States, have also dropped the swimsuit round. The Miss Germany organiser said the women aged between 18 and 39 needed to show that “they have a goal in mind and are committed to a better tomorrow”.

47 ACTIVISTS HELD IN HK ON CHARGES OF SUBVERSION Hong Kong police detained 47 prodemocracy activists on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion under the city’s national security law, in the largest mass charge against the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s opposition camp since the law came into effect last June. The former lawmakers had been previously arrested in a sweeping police operation in January but were released. They have been detained again and will appear in court, police said.

They allegedly violated the national security law that was imposed by Beijing for participating in unofficial election primaries for Hong Kong’s legislature last year. The defendants include 39 men and eight women aged between 23 and 64, police said.

CHINA MAN ORDERED TO PAY EX-WIFE $7,700 A Chinese man has been ordered to pay his ex-wife almost $8,000 for years of unpaid housework, in a landmark divorce case that has sparked furious debate in China. Under the country’s new civil code, which came into effect this year, divorcing spouses have the right for the first time to request compensation if they bore more responsibilities at home. Ex-wife Wang told the Beijing court that during five years of marriage she “looked after the child and managed household chores, while (her husband) Chen did not care”. The court ruled that Wang had indeed taken on more household responsibilities and should receive 50,000 yuan ($7,700) plus sole child custody and an additional 2,000 yuan in alimony per month.

Trump hints that he will run again in 2024 Washington: Former US President Donald Trump returned to center stage on Sunday, using a conservative jamboree to quash speculation that he would form a new political outfit while reasserting his stranglehold on the Republican Party and implicitly declaring he would run for the White House in 2024.

“Do you miss me yet?”

Trump asked an adoring crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, at the start of his first political speech since leaving the White House. He then went on to demonstrate his hold on the party by publicly naming 17 Republican lawmakers - seven senators and 10 representatives - who voted to impeach him, and demanding they be purged from the party. “With your help we will take back the House, we will win the Senate, and then a Republican president will make a triumphant return to the

Donald Trump

White House. And I wonder who that will be...who, who, who will that be? I wonder,” Trump said in the strongest indication that he will run again in 2024. In a 90-minute speech, Trump continued to ply lies about having won the 2020 election that he lost decisively, telling his supporters, “Actually, as you know, they (the Democratic Party) just lost the White House. But who knows, I might even decide to beat them for a third time.”

As expected, he lit into his successor, alleging Joe Biden had “the most disastrous first month of any president in mod-

ern history.” He also attacked the US Supreme Court, blaming it for not overturning the election in his favour, and lamenting, “they didn’t have the courage, the Supreme Court...they should be ashamed of themselves for what they’ve done to our country.”

The former president, who has been kicked off from social media platforms, lashed out at the Big Tech, accusing it of suppressing free speech and demanding action to rein them in. “All of the election integrity measures in the world will mean nothing if we don’t have free speech. If Republicans can be censored for speaking the truth and calling out corruption, we will not have democracy and we will only have left-wing tyranny,” he said, calling for breaking up big tech monopolies.

Trump's plea rejected The US Supreme Court rejected a challenge from Trump to keep his tax returns

secret. The ruling cleared the way for Manhattan prosecutors - who have been pursuing them for years - to finally get their hands on financial documents belonging to the former president and his companies.

Trump's tax returns have become the subject of mystique over the past five years, as he became the first major-party nominee since Gerald Ford to not voluntarily release them.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office, led by Cyrus Vance Jr., first sought Trump's tax documents since it opened an investigation into his finances in 2017.

The precise scope of the investigation is unclear, but court filings suggest that Vance's office is looking into whether the former president's tax filings amounted to criminal tax fraud. If Trump were to be indicted for financial crimes, the tax returns would no doubt be a centerpiece for the charges.

18 killed in Myanmar on bloodiest day of protests Yangon: Myanmar police fired on protesters around the country and at least 18 people were killed in the worst violence since a Feb. 1 military coup, the United Nations said, calling on the international community to act to stop the repression.

Crowds of demonstrators came under fire in various parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up their protests.

Across the country, protesters wearing plastic work helmets and with makeshift shields faced off against police and soldiers in battle gear, including some from units notorious for tough crackdowns on ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar's border regions.

"Severe action will be inevitably taken" against "riotous protesters", the state-run

Global New Light Of Myanmar said. The army had previously shown restraint, but could not ignore "anarchic mobs".

Several wounded people were hauled away in Yangon by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after arriving at a hospital with a bullet in his chest, said a doctor. "Police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force, according to credible information received by the UN Human Rights Office.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

The coup, which brought a

halt to tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries. "The UN SecretaryGeneral urges the international community to come together and send a clear signal to the military that it must respect the will of the people of Myanmar as expressed through the election and stop the repression," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned what he called "abhorrent violence" by Myanmar security forces. "We stand firmly with the courageous people of Burma & encourage all countries to speak with one voice in support of their will," Blinken

said on Twitter, adding the United States "will continue to promote accountability for those responsible."

Outside a Yangon medical school, doctors and students in white lab coats scattered after police hurled stun grenades. A group called the Whitecoat Alliance of medics said more than 50 medical staff had been arrested. Three people were killed at Dawei in the south, politician Kyaw Min Htike said. Two died in the second city of Mandalay, Myanmar Now media and a resident said.

Biden admn accused of being soft on Saudi prince despite Khashoggi stain Washington: The Biden White House is being accused of rank hypocrisy after purportedly giving Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman a free pass despite US intelligence agencies concluding that he was complicit in the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018.

The US president, who had excoriated Saudi Arabia and criticised his predecessors’ lack of action during the election campaign, is also reported to have concluded that the price of directly penalising the crown prince is too high considering Riyadh’s exalted status as an ally in countering Iran, and its help in building bridges with Israel in the Arab world. Although oil is no more a major factor, there are also apprehensions that punishing the prince will drive Saudi Arabia towards China.

Instead, the administration

imposed travel and financial sanctions on dozens of other Saudis, including members of the elite Royal Guard who protect the crown prince, and announced a “Khashoggi ban”, which would allow the state department to impose visa restrictions on individuals who, “acting on behalf of a foreign government, are believed to have been directly engaged in serious, extraterritorial counterdissident activities, including those that suppress, harass, surveil, threaten, or harm journalists, activists, or other persons perceived to be dissidents for their work, or who engage in such activities with respect to the families or other close associates of such persons”. Family members of such individuals also may be subject to visa curbs under this policy, where appropriate.

“While the United States

remains invested in its relationship with Saudi Arabia, President Biden has made clear that partnership must reflect US values. To that end, we have made absolutely clear that extraterritorial threats and assaults by Saudi Arabia against activists, dissidents, and journalists must end. They will not be tolerated by the US,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

But the new administration is being panned for essentially sticking to the policy of previous administrations while making a big to-do before coming to office. During the election campaign, Biden had called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state with “no redeeming social value,” and pledged action. The feeble argument being advanced now is merely releasing the intelligence report implicating the crown prince's embarrassment and

Mohammed bin Salman

punishment enough. In an interview the president said that he “spoke yesterday with the king, not the prince.” Biden added that he had “made it clear to him that the rules are changing, and we’re going to be announcing significant changes” to hold the Saudis accountable. “It is outrageous what happened.” Separately, the administration is also copping criticism for duplicity after critics dredged out tweets from Biden and his principals slamming the Trump’s Middle East airstrikes, and the coming to office and doing the same thing.

Biden had called Trump “erratic” and “impulsive”.

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SOUTH INDIA

AIADMK and rival DMK all set for a showdown in TN CHENNAI: The forthcoming coming assembly elections will witness a show-down between arch-rivals AIADMK and the DMK with the ruling party eyeing a record third straight term betting on its 'positive performance' and the latter keen to wrest power in the state after a 10-year hiatus.

The single phase elections to the 234-member assembly on April 6 would be the first state polls without the presence of icons of the two Dravidian parties - late chief minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, who died in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

Besides the two major Dravidian parties, actor Kamal Hassan's Makkal Needhi Maiam is also in the fray, hoping to make a mark in the polls. While CM Edappadi K Palaniswami began his campaign in December last, the DMK kickstarted its drive to reach out to the voters even before with programmes like the 'Stalin's

voice towards dawn,' featuring tours by party chief M K Stalin.

Youth wing leader and Stalin's son Udhayanidhi Stalin, party MP Kanimozhi were in the forefront besides the DMK president who spearheaded several poll initiatives like the 'We reject AIADMK.' AIADMK has taken the lead in announcing that its alliance with the BJP forged for the Lok Sabha polls would continue for the assembly elections also.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched several projects in Tamil Nadu in recent days and kick-started his party's campaign with a sharp attack on DMK-Congress over corruption. The AIADMK had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with BJP, the DMDK, the PMK and others but came a cropper with the combine winning only one seat as the DMK- Congress front swept the other 38 constituencies.

The AIADMK's campaign

this time, steered by Palaniswami, has so far focused on its slew of welfare measures, infrastructure projects initiatives besides including a recent amendment that enhanced punishment for crimes against women and children. The party has taken pride in its government effectively tackling the coronavirus pandemic and at the same time ensuring that the poor and ordinary people were not affected by extending sops to them. On the other hand, DMK is focusing on corruption allegations against Palaniswami and his Cabinet colleagues and days ago it submitted one more petition to Governor Banwarilal Purohit seeking action. 'Collection, Corruption and Commission' were among the catchphrases it has been using against the AIADMK. The DMK has also come up with slogans like 'Stalin

K Palaniswami and M K Stalin

thaan vararu, vidiyal thara poraru,' (Stalin is coming and he is set to provide dawn to the people).

Stalin has dismissed claims of dynasty politics of AIADMK saying he slogged for several decades for DMK and even went to jail during the infamous emergency (1975-77). Also, the DMK had all along accused the AIADMK of being servile to the Centre and bartering away Tamil Nadu's interests. Stalin has accused the government of trying to hoodwink people by not making financial allocations for the key schemes it announced.

PUNJAB

Punjab Assembly session begins on a stormy note CHANDIGARH: On the first day of the special Assembly session convened to counter the Centre’s farm laws, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday led the House in paying homage to all farmers who have lost their lives during the ongoing agitation in protest against the Narendra Modi government’s “draconian” agricultural laws.

The House was adjourned for an hour after paying tributes to Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu of Tarn Taran, lance naik Karnail Singh, besides freedom fighters Mahinder Singh, Sardar Singh, Rai Singh Patanga and Hemraj Mittal, who passed away recently. The session resumed around noon but was adjourned for the day after adopting a resolution to extend the duration of the special session by a day.

The Punjab Cabinet on

Sunday authorised Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to introduce the Bill to counter the Centre’s three “antifarmers” agri laws. It would be presented in the House for approval later. The CM had earlier announced that his government will fight the “antifederal“ and “vicious“ farm laws tooth and nail through legislative, legal and other routes.

He had said some days ago that he would call a special session of the Assembly to bring in necessary amendments to the state laws to “negate the dangerous impact of the central

legislations, which are designed to ruin the farmers as well as the state’s agriculture and economy”.

Earlier in the day, the Shiromani Akali Dal and two Congress’ Members of the Assembly rode tractors to the Assembly but were stopped by police at a roundabout near the Assembly complex. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs came to the Assembly on bicycles wearing black capes. Ahead of the start of Governor’s address, Akali Dal MLAs led by Bikram Singh Majithia raised slogans of “go back Governor” over the farm Bills. The Opposition members questioned the Governor for "not sending the amendments" passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on the farm Bills to the President. As many as 40 Congress MLAs, including Navjot Singh Sidhu

and Pargat Singh, were present in the House. The Akalis raised slogans as the Governor began his address.

The AAP MLAs staged a dharna in the Well of the House, demanding copies of the Bill against the farm laws to be tabled in the Assembly. SAD leader Bikram Majithia told reporters that they chose a tractor as a vehicle associated with farmers to mark their protest against the farm laws. Before going into the House, Akalis burnt copies of farm laws outside the Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Congress’s chief Sunil Jakhar said the Punjab Assembly should pass a unanimous resolution condemning the humiliating treatment meted out to the farmers representatives by the Modi government. “In doing so BJP has insulted not just the farming community but Punjab itself,” he said in a tweet.

WEST BENGAL

Mamata slams EC over Bengal poll dates KOLKATA: As the Election Commission of India announced the polling dates for four states and a Union Territory, an angry West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the poll panel for the decision to hold voting in eightphases. Banerjee alleged that it was a part of a "conspiracy" bythe Centre's ruling BJP and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah.

“Has this been done with the advice of Modi and Amit Shah?

Has this been done to facilitate their campaigning? So that they can finish Assam and Tamil Nadu before coming to Bengal?

This won't help BJP. We will demolish them,” Mamata Banerjee said at a press

conference in Kolkata.

Further, Mamata Banerjee alleged that BJP was misusing its authority as the ruling party to influence state polls. "I am the only one woman chief minister in the country... I will win... and then Modi and Shah, you watch the battle in the 2024 general elections. We will fight it and how," Banerjee said, adding, "you will face the music for this blunder."

The TMC chief alleged that the BJP was trying to divide the people on grounds of religion.

"They are diving people on lines of Hindu-Muslim. The game is on. We play and win. They are dividing the entire country. But let me tell you, I know Bengal very well," she said.Polls for the 294-seat Assembly will begin on

March 27 with the first phase and will continue over a record 33 days before the results which will be declared on May 2. The voting will take place in eight phases on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. In 2016 state election and in the 2019 national polls West Bengal voted in seven phases. The Election Commission said the reason for more phases was concerns over possible violence.

Meanwhile, the TMC held a meeting of its election committee where the leaders authorised Mamata to take the final call regarding selecting candidates. The decision was taken at a meeting of 12-member election committee of the TMC at her residence in Kalighat on

in brief PRESIDENT'S RULE IMPOSED IN PUDUCHERRY Puducherry has been placed under President's rule days after the Congress-led government collapsed following multiple resignations. The BJP and its allies did not stake claim to form government in the union territory, where polls are due in three months.

Since nobody has staked claim form the government, the Lieutenant Governor has recommended suspending the assembly and imposition of President's rule," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said. The V Narayanasamy government lost its majority in the 26member assembly after six resignations. Five Congress and one DMK MLA had quit in quick succession over the past few weeks.

Two of the MLAs who quit Congress have switched to the BJP and more are expected to follow.

TN EXTENDS LOCKDOWN TILL MARCH 31 Tamil Nadu has extended existing coronavirus-related restrictions till March 31, meaning offices, shops, and industrial and commercial establishments will continue with staggered working hours.

Authorities have been directed to crack down on violations of these or any other Covidrelated protocols. Police and municipal authorities have been further directed to ensure that measures in containment zones which will now be demarcated at micro-levels - are strictly followed. These include the use of face masks in public and maintaining social distancing. The state government has cautioned people over 65, those with comorbidities, those who are pregnant, and children under the age of 10 to take all necessary and required precautions.

FAMILY MEMBERS OF AMRITSAR RAIL TRAGEDY TO GET JOBS The Punjab government has decided to provide jobs to a family member each of 34 people killed in the 2018 Amritsar train accident by relaxing existing recruitment norms. The decision was taken by the state Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, an official statement said. On October 19, 2018, as many as 58 people were killed and 71 injured when a train ploughed into a crowd that had spilled onto the tracks while watching the burning of a Ravana effigy near Amritsar. On a proposal of the deputy commissioner of Amritsar, the Chief Minister’s Office, after detailed deliberations, decided that one member each of the 34 families of the 58 deceased be considered for a job in various institutions and departments of the state on the basis of their academic qualifications, the statement said.

CBI QUESTIONS ABHISHEK BANERJEE’S WIFE

Monday. Several sitting MLAs could be dropped from the candidate list, some reports said citing senior leaders of the TMC who are aware of the developments. The party is planning to nominate more youths, women, and leaders with clean image and acceptability in their area. A party leader, who was present at the meeting, said that elderly MLAs with age above 75 are likely to be dropped.

Officers from the CBI questioned Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s wife at the couple’s home last week, reaching the property exactly three minutes after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee left after a brief visit with the family. The questioning, in connection with an alleged coal-mining scam in the state, went on for nearly one-and-a-half hours. People close to the Banerjee family insisted Rujira “cooperated with the CBI officers” and the session “went off very well”. There was no official word from the CBI about the session except that the questioning was videorecorded and that officers would be going through Rujira’s responses. The questions could be divided into two parts, with half anhour devoted to “some basic queries about Rujira’s family” and the next hour or so focusing on specific questions related to her knowledge about certain individuals and certain transactions”.

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6 - 12 March 2021

ABPL Group’s Ahmedabad office celebrates the 15th anniversary day he Ahmedabad office of your favorite newsweeklies “Asian Voice” and “Gujarat Samachar” completed 16 glorious years of its establishment on 18 February 2021. The event was also telecasted live on the Zoom application. The online event was managed by famous announcer Shri Tushar Joshi. On this auspicious occasion, the august presence of our dignitaries, office staff, and guests from different parts of the world graced the occasion.

Shri Achyut Sanghvi, News Editor, Dr Urvi Parekh, Dr Bhavesh Parekh, Subhodhchandra Shah and Aashaben Shah Gujarat Samachar, initiated the program with Saraswati Vandana, Dr. Bhavesh Retd. Judge Shri Subhodhchandra Shah Parekh chanted Om Namo Arihantanam and unveiled the photo of the founder member of Shrimati Maayaben presented Paayoji Maine ABPL Group – Late Shri Bhupatrai Parekh and Ram Ratan Dhan Paayo. his wife Late Shrimati Sarlaben Parekh. Shri Mr Nilesh Parmar welcomed the dignitaries Subhodhchandra Shah his wife Aashaben Shah, Dr. Bhaveshbhai Parekh, and his wife Dr. and said, ABPL group’s Ahmedabad office has Urviben Parekh inaugurated the event by completed its 15 glorious years. The world is lightening the lamp. transforming towards digitalization but I feel addressing the audience, By proud and happy to share that ABPL Group has Subhodhchandra Shah said, the power of a Pen made this dream come true before one and half is very well understood by Courts and Press. decade ago. The credit of this technology update ABPL Group has been working for five decades, goes to the late Bhupatbhai Parekh and Asian in Europe and especially in London, by offering Voice and Gujarat Samachar’s Editor Shri C.B. its readers well-researched information. I Patel. In 2006, when we started our Ahmedabad would conclude by saying, we will surely office, both our weeklies were prepared from celebrate the completion of 25 years of the London office, but now the Ahmedabad establishment in the same manner. Jay Hind. office prepares both the newspapers and shares The entire office premises were decorated with the London Printers directly which is a with beautiful flowers and rose petals with great achievement for us. Once again I welcome positivity in the atmosphere. you all on this special day.

T

rief Introduction • Late Bhupatrai Tokarshi Parekh Bhupatrai Tokarshi Parekh, a well-wisher and senior journalist of ABPL Group, was the advisory editor of Gujarat Samachar's Ahmedabad office and the bureau chief of Hindustan Samachar News Agency. He studied Bachelor of Commerce and LLB from Ahmedabad and practiced for two years. Shri Bhupatrai Parekh was sincere, honest, and fearless journalist who had the courage to tell truth. He also worked as a correspondent for BBC Radio for 20 years. He had good contacts with many political leaders. Shri Bhupatrai was the co-founder of the Rashtriya Jain Seva Sansthan. He gave a commendable contribution in the campaign launched by Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice weekly to launch Ahmedabad-London direct flight.

Bhupatrai, a stalwart of ABPL Group passed away on 18 December 2019 at the age of 82.

• Former Justice Subodh Chandra G. Shah Former Justice of Gujarat High Court Shri Subodh Chandra Gunwantlal Shah is currently working as an Arbitrator and Consultant. He joined the legal service on 6 March 1997 and was promoted as a High Court judge on 12 November 2012. Justice Shah retired on 1 February 2019. He was awarded the Best Scout by the President of India. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1997, a Bachelor of Law in 1981, and LL.M. in 1987. He practiced as an advocate from 1981 to 1997 and served in various courts, tribunals, and commissions. He was actively involved in computerization projects in the new building complex of Gujarat High Court, Supreme Court, Madras High Court, and all District Courts of Gujarat. He has also served as a City Civil and Sessions Judge as well as a CBI Judge. Justice Shah introduced the concept of e-court in India.

In his career as a judge of the Gujarat High Court, he handled cases of different subjects with 1,260 judgments in 19,832 days.

• Dr. Bhavesh Parekh Bhavesh B. Parekh is a well-known Oncologist in

• Invited Guests • • Gujarat High Court’s former Justice Shri Subhodhchandra Shah, • Shrimati Aashaben Shah• Well known Oncologist Dr. Bhavesh B. Parekh,• Diabetologist Dr. Urvi Parekh • Gujarat High Court’s Lawyer Shri Ankitbhai Shah • Journalist Digant Sompura, • Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar’s Editor Shri C.B. Patel • Shri Dhirubhai Gadhvi – President Gujarat Cultural Association, Brighton • Shri Kamleshbhai Amin – Baroda • Binaben Kamdar – Kenya

Ahmedabad as well as outside the country. He serves as a Senior Medical Oncologist at Shalby Hospitals. In addition to writing thesis related to the treatment of cancer, he has also presented various research papers. He holds M.D- General Medicine and D.M- Medical Oncology degrees.

He is the first doctor from Gujarat to pursue MBA degree after D.M. Dr. Bhaveshbhai is serving as Honorary Advisor to the Governor of Gujarat for 15 years. Founder member of the National Medical Institute ICON, Dr. Bhaveshbhai is having more than 20 years of clinical experience. After completing the 6 Gaau Yatra of Palitana, he is following the Jain rituals since 18 years.

• Dr. Urvi Parekh Urvi Parekh is the daughter-in-law of late Bhupatrai Parekh, and wife of Dr. Bhavesh Parekh.

She is a Diabetologist from Ahmedabad. Dr. Urvi specializes in treating uncontrolled diabetes, thyroid, and hormone related irregularities.

• Ankit Shah Ankit Shah is an independent legislator practicing in all fields including civil and criminal in the Gujarat High Court and Supreme Court. He is also a panel advocate in several organizations, including the Ministry of Finance and insurance companies. He has also worked in various district courts and tribunals. Ankitbhai graduated from Gujarat University in 2004 and thereafter pursued LLB in 2007 and LLM in Commercial Law from Westminster University – UK. Ankitbhai is the son Subodh Chandra Shah and non-practicing lawyer Ashabahen Shah.

• Hiral Shah Based in Ahmedabad, Hiral Shah is the Director of Horizon Advertising and Marketing Company. Having experience in the field of academic and corporate management she is also a Director of an Educational Institute.

Graduated from Commerce stream in 2004, she also pursued Banking Diploma (AMA – 2005), Bachelors in Law (2007) and, MBA (Operations – ICFAI – 2012). Hiral is also working as an Operations Manager and Accountant in a UKbased company.

• Bhupatbhai Mehta – Manchester - UK • Jayendrabhai Patel – Manchester UK • Chandrakantbhai Mehta – Brighton UK • Ashwinbhai Doshi – Mombasa – Africa • Rakeshbhai Sheth – Hong Kong • Dr. Sureshbhai Samani - First Bureau Chief – Ahmedabad office • Nileshbhai Parmar – Bureau Chief Ahmedabad office • Hardik Shah • Shrijit Ranjan • K.K. Joseph • Achyut Sanghvi • Khushali Dave • Jitendra Umatiya • Sandeep Bhavsar • Kaushal Dabhi • Hemang Barot • Jagdish Arora • Dineshbhai Kadiya • Vikram Nayak

Reimagining Diplomacy in the Post- Covid World: An Indian Perspective

Dr S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs in India e enter 2021, hoping to put the Covid-19 pandemic behind us. While each society has dealt with it uniquely, global diplomacy will nevertheless focus on common concerns and shared lessons. Much of that revolves around the nature of globalization.

Our generation has been conditioned to think of that largely in economic terms. The general sense is one of trade, finance, services, communication, technology and mobility. This expresses the interdependence and interpenetration of our era. What Covid, however, brought out was the deeper indivisibility of our existence.

Real globalization is more about pandemics, climate change and terrorism. They must constitute the core of diplomatic deliberations. As we saw in 2020, overlooking such challenges comes at a huge cost.

Despite its many benefits, the world has also seen strong reactions to globalization. Much of that arises from unequal benefits, between and within societies. Regimes and dispensations that are oblivious to such happenings are therefore being challenged. We must ensure that this is not about winners and losers, but about nurturing sustainable communities everywhere.

Covid-19 has also redefined our understanding of security. Until now, nations thought largely in military, intelligence, economic, and perhaps, cultural terms. Today, they will not only assign greater weight to health security but increasingly worry about trusted and resilient supply chains.

The stresses of the Covid-19 era brought out the fragility of our current situation. Additional engines of growth are needed to de-risk the global economy, as indeed is more transparency and market-viability.

Multilateral institutions have not come out well from this experience.

Quite apart from controversies surrounding them, there was not even a pretense of a collective response to the most serious global crisis since 1945. This is cause for serious introspection. Reforming multilateralism is essential to creating effective solutions.

Fashioning a robust response to the Covid-19 challenge is set to dominate global diplomacy in 2021.

In its own way, India has set an example. That it has done by defying prophets of doom and creating the health wherewithal to minimize its fatality rate and maximize its recovery rate. An international comparison of these numbers tells its own story. Not just that, India also

W

stepped forward as the pharmacy of the world, supplying medicines to more than 150 countries, many as grants. As our nation embarks on a mass vaccination effort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance that it would help make vaccines accessible and affordable to the world is already being implemented. The first consignments of Made in India vaccines have reached not only our neighbors like Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka but partners far beyond like Brazil and Morocco.

Other key global challenges today deserve similar attention. As a central participant in reaching the Paris agreement, India has stood firm with regard to combating climate change.

Its renewable energy targets have multiplied, its forest cover has grown, its bio-diversity has expanded and its focus on water utilization has increased. Practices honed at home are now applied to its development partnerships in Africa and elsewhere.

By example and energy, Indian diplomacy is leading the way, including through the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure initiatives.

The challenge of countering terrorism and radicalization is also a formidable one. As a society, long subjected to cross-border terrorist attacks, India has been active in enhancing global awareness and encouraging coordinated action. It will be a major focus in India's diplomacy as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and in forums like FATF and G20.

Among the takeaways from the Covid-19 experience has been the power of the digital domain.

Whether it was contact tracing or the provision of financial and food support, India's digital focus after 2014 has yielded impressive results.

The "work from anywhere" practice was as strongly enhanced by Covid-19 as the "study from home" one. All these will help expand the toolkit of India's development programs abroad and assist the recovery of many partners.

2020 also saw the largest repatriation exercise in history–the return home of more than 4 million Indians. This alone brings out the importance of mobility in contemporary times. As smart manufacturing and the knowledge economy take deeper root, the need for trusted talent will surely grow.

Facilitating its movement through diplomacy is in the global interest.

A return to normalcy in 2021 will mean safer travel, better health, economic revival and digitally driven services. They will be expressed in new conversations and fresh understandings. The world after Covid-19 will be more multi-polar, pluralistic and rebalanced. And India, with its experiences, will help make a difference.

Dr. S. Jaishankar is the author of "The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World." The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

(This content originally appeared in Newsweek on 10/2/21 ) ( https://www.newsweek.com )

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Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Mukesh Ambani threatened Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Nana Patole recently asked why Bollywood celebrities, including actors Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, who had tweeted about high fuel prices during the UPA regime were quiet now.

Meanwhile, recovered 20 gelatin sticks from a Scorpio parked near Mukesh Ambani's residence. Stars such as Bachchan and Kumar had tweeted when the price of petrol rose to Rs 70 per litre, Patole said. “Rising fuel prices have hit common people’s homes.

During the Manmohan Singh government people like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar used to tweet (about fuel prices). Today they are silent,” Nana Patole, the state Congress chief, said. Don’t they have the courage to speak against “the dictatorial Modi government” he further asked, before meting out a threat.

The prices of branded or additive-laced petrol, which attracts higher taxes, have crossed the Rs 100-mark in some places, including Maharashtra, it was reported. In Mumbai, petrol now costs Rs 96.32 a litre and diesel Rs 87.32, the report said. “In Maharashtra, we will not allow the shooting of films involving Amitabh Bachchan or Akshay

Kumar. Either you speak up against the anti-national policies of the Narendra Modi government or we will stop your movies’ shooting,” he said.

Coming to Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan’s rescue, state BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the Congress’ soul was dictatorial while it wore the mask of democracy. “Since their office is on Akbar Road, they will walk only Akbar’s path. Amitabh Bachchan isn’t going to be worried about their threats. He had faced similar threats from Gabbar Singh in the movie Sholay,” Mungantiwar said.

Ram Kadam of the BJP said the Congress was threatening highly talented personalities. “Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar are talented and respected personalities. And now, the Congress party is saying that they won’t allow shooting or release of their films. We want to ask Congress what is the crime of these Bollywood stars,” BJP leader Ram Kadam said.

“Is tweeting in favour of the nation a crime? There are international elements hatching a conspiracy against the government and the Congress party is supporting these elements. But we want to warn the Congress that the entire nation is standing with the

people who have shown support for the cause of the nation,” the BJP leader said.

Mukesh Ambani's family threatened Two days after an SUV carrying explosive material was found abandoned outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani's home Antilia in Mumbai, a police investigation into the matter has revealed that at least two vehicles were involved in the execution of this threat. Police recovered 20 gelatin sticks from a Scorpio. The police also found several number plates inside the vehicle, some of them matching the number plates of vehicles used by the Ambani family's security team.

The Mumbai Police has roped in all its specialised investigative branches to crack this case.

Sources said over 15 persons have been questioned and hundreds of CCTV cameras are being scanned.

A threatening letter addressed to Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani was also recovered from the Scorpio. The letter said that the unassembled gelatin sticks and the SUV outside Antilia were just a "trailer". Warning that next time the gelatin sticks will be assembled, the letter adds that plans to attack the Ambani family are ready.

PM Modi takes ‘ made in India ’ vaccine Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Monday, the first day of India opening immunisation for those above 60 years of age and those over 45 who have comorbidities.

The government hopes that given Modi’s public presence and his large social media following, his decision to take the shot will boost the vaccination drive by increasing public trust in Covid vaccines.

The PM, who is 70, was administered Covaxin, the indigenous vaccine developed

by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

This decision too seemed deliberate as it is seen as a vote of confidence in the vaccine that has been criticised by some experts for lacking efficacy data.

“Took my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at AIIMS. Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against Covid-19,” Modi tweeted about an hour after taking the jab. “I appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine.

Together, let us make India Covid-19 free,” he added.

This assumes significance as India has started the second phase of vaccination targeting a larger population at a time when it is at a very crucial juncture with many states reporting an upswing in Covid-19 cases. Wider coverage of vaccination can help India stay ahead of the curve.

“Since daily case numbers from many pockets across India indicate a possible silent spread over the last weeks, we need to aggressively vaccinate now to prevent these numbers from swelling, and getting converted to deaths. Let’s also keep in mind that it takes many days to develop immunity even after the shot. We are at a key juncture,” Oommen C Kurian, senior fellow, health initiative at ORF, said.

Amitabh Bachchan, Mukesh Ambani,Akshay Kumar

According to the police, two cars - an Innova (white colour) and a Scorpio (green colour) - were used to execute this threat. Both cars drove up to Mukesh Ambani's residence from Thane or a neighbouring area. CCTV analysis has revealed that the two vehicles drove towards Antilia separately, but from the same direction. The vehicles met up at a spot in Mumbai and then drove to Antilia together.

Cameras at the Mulund toll post captured the green Scorpio heading towards Mumbai around 1.20 am on Thursday morning.

The white Innova was also seen crossing the Mulund toll post and travelling towards Mumbai around the same time. Once there,

the person driving the Scorpio parked it outside Mukesh Ambani's house, climbed into the Innova and fled the spot. The Innova then returned towards Thane using the Eastern Express Highway. In Thane, CCTVs couldn't capture the vehicle's movement due to low light.

Threatening, film pesonalties and Ambani will remind the Shiv Sena's sons of soil agitation during Bal Thackeray's time. The Sena that time threatened south Indians and other non-Marathis. It fizzled out after some time, since Mumbai is the commercial capital and nobody can prevent others from doing their genuine business and Indians can live in any part of the country.

Ghulam Nabi Azad praises Modi, says he ‘doesn’t hide his true self’ Three weeks after PM Narendra Modi’s teary-eyed farewell speech for him in the Rajya Sabha, Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad last week returned the compliment by lavishing praise on the former as someone who “doesn’t hide his true self ” and remains proud of his humble antecedents.

“I am from a village and feel proud about it. Even our PM hails from a village and very proudly says that he was a nobody - that he used to wash utensils and sell tea. We are political rivals, but I appreciate the fact that he is true to his roots. I like a lot of things about many leaders and he is one of them,” Azad, a former chief minister of the erstwhile state of J&K, said at an event in Jammu. “Those who hide their true selves are living in a bubble,” he said.

Since exiting as leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Azad has been active as a member of Congress’s “G23”, comprising senior functionaries who have been critical of the grand old party's functioning and style of leadership.

Alluding to PM Modi, who had spoken of Azad in the Rajya Sabha as someone whose counsel he would always welcome, the Congress stalwart said, “A man should be proud (of who he is and where he comes

from). I have travelled the world and stayed in 5-star hotels, 7-star hotels...but when I sit with people from my village, irrespective of whether they are wearing washed clothes or not, there is a fragrance that makes the experience special.”

Azad, who was speaking at a programme organised by the Gurjar Desh Charitable Trust, is from a remote village in Jammu's Doda district. On February 9, Modi had said of Azad in the Rajya Sabha, “The person who will replace Ghulam Nabi ji (as leader of the opposition) will have difficulty matching his work because he was not only concerned about his party but also about the country and the House.”

The PM added, “Do not feel like you are no longer in the House. My doors are always open for you. I will need your suggestions. I will not let you retire.” While keeping the unlikely mutual admiration society going, Azad didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Union Territory administration and the Centre. “There is a hollow ring to the Centre's claims about development of J&K. Everything is on paper. In reality, the people are being looted in the name of tax. Tax should be on income, but income in J&K is zero now,” he told reporters later.

Five states to vote between March 27-April 29 Continued from page - 1 The Election Commission last week announced assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry between March 27 and April 29, with an unprecedented eight-phase voting in Bengal. The state, which has seen rising bitterness and violence between Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters, will see the country’s most staggered assembly poll to date. The election in Assam will be in three phases, up from two in 2016 while Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will have a single-day poll on April 6. Counting for all the

assemblies will be held on May 2.

The elections are a trial of strength for BJP in the wake of the long-drawn agitation by farmers’ unions opposed to the new agri laws. Though the states going to polls are largely unaffected by matters such as procurement and MSP, the resonance of the issues raised by Punjab, Haryana and western UP agri unions will be watched closely as BJP defends the reforms as pro-farmer.

The polls will also test Congress, as it has opted for an alliance in Assam with the prominority AIUDF of Badruddin Ajmal and has pacts with Left and DMK in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu respectively. It is the main chal-

lenger to the Left in Kerala where it did well in the Lok Sabha polls. Jolted by the loss of its government in Puducherry just before polls, Congress will hope to retrieve some standing in alliance with DMK. As of now, the Left's prospects seem to have brightened in Kerala following tactical missteps by Congress that saw it lose ground in the local body elections last year. Yet, the contest is typically close.

Tamil Nadu will be without stalwarts J Jayalalitha and M Karunanidhi in an assembly poll for the first time and M K Stalin will look to seal his leadership of DMK with a win that makes him the chief minister.

In Assam, BJP looks to ensure that its

clean win in 2016 was not a fluke though it now faces the combined challenge of Congress-AIUDF which is intended to consolidate anti-BJP votes. BJP, on the other hand, sees factionalism in Congress as a factor that helps its cause while it is seen to have the upper hand in Bodo areas and Barak Valley. Its challenge lies in negotiating the Citizenship Amendment Act potholes in a state where "illegal migrants" are not a straightforward ethno-religious faultline.

With the Congress-DMK government losing office in Puducherry, BJP is hoping its alliance with former CM N Rangaswamy will see it through along with AIADMK.

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A black chapter in the history of Kashmiri Pandits Kunjal Zala The past is never chronicled by the sufferers. In fact, it falls wounded to either a conspiracy of silence or worse still. Orchestrated events are pushed down the innocent reader’s throat while those who actually live the hardship — the characters of the story – are busy looking for a piece of land to either burn or bury their dead or simply find the ground to stand on, that has always been the paradox of history. Therefore, the history of the Kashmiri Pandit Exodus has been no different. Mrs. Urvashi Jagadeesan shared her thoughts on problems faced by Kashmiri Pandits in a conversation with Asian Voice.

• How was the night of 19 January 1990?

It was a terrific night for Kashmiri Pandits. Muslim populace was on the streets crying ‘we will get Pakistan without Pandit infidels but with their women folk’. Indian Electronic media was simultaneously telecasting mass uprising in USSR. • During Dogra rule more specifically, how was the relationship that Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits shared before India’s Independence?

During Dogra rule, the relation between Hindus and Muslims was by and large very cordial for two reasons viz strict rule of law and Hindus were educated and most of them were Landlords. However, in 1931 at the instigation of NC leaders, there were some anti-Hindu riots.

Urvashi Jagadeesan

• The Modi –led Government has promised the return of Pandits to the Valley. Many believe that after the abrogation of Article 370, it is possible, what are your thoughts?

Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35(A) are positive measures by the present Government, however, no substantial measures have been taken which will instill confidence and assure safety for the Pandits to return. Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley because of targeted killings of the community due to utter failure of law and order. The government, till date, has not done anything substantial for the return of Kashmiri Pandits. Previous government under Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh did many things like 6000 jobs for Kashmiri Pandits in Valley, constructed transit accommodations in Valley besides repairing iconic temples like Kheer Bhawani, Tullmulla, and many others.

• Why Kashmiri Pandits can’t return to the Valley?

Kashmiri Pandits who had

migrated from Kashmir have settled now mainly in Jammu, Delhi, and other parts of India. The next-Gen educated youth are settled throughout the country and some of them outside the country and in no case, they can be expected to return, as suitable jobs are not available.

People who are settled in Jammu and willing to go back have to be assured of their personal safety and their properties. On this issue, nothing concrete has been achieved yet.

• What are the steps taken to preserve and promote the Kashmiri Pandit culture?

Community is doing this at their level. No contributions from Central or State Government.

• Shikara wasn’t a movie but a movement? What are your views on the same?

The insurgency in Kashmir and the intoxication of communal agenda on the youth of Kashmiri Muslims has been well-choreographed strategy by Pakistan.

Unemployed youths became easy victims of this propaganda.

Successive governments in J & K which were corrupt and inefficient could not fulfill the aspiration of the people. Unfortunately, this film oversimplifies the main cause of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and tries to internationalize the issue by suggesting US government’s intervention for settlement.

No doubt, a large section of the Muslims wants peace and prosperity in Kashmir but one has to watch the role of local political parties and kulaks who have their game plan.

BJP wins all six cities in municipal elections The BJP swept all the six municipal corporations of Gujarat as the saffron party put up its best-ever performance in two decades in the civic polls by winning 483 of the total 576 seats (83.85%), leaving the main opposition Congress in tatters. The BJP had won 68.18% of the total seats in the previous municipal elections held in 2015.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made a stunning debut in the state's electoral politics by winning as many as 27 of the total120 seats in Surat, virtually stamping out the Congress from the civic body. In Ahmedabad, another debutant Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party made a memorable launch winning seven seats in minority dominated areas which were all bastions of Congress. There were seldom any burning issues this election unlike the 2015 polls that were marked by bellicose Patidar and Dalit stirs. The elections were, however, held under the shadow of coronavirus pandemic that left nearly 260,000 infected and claimed around 4,406 lives in Gujarat since March last year. The landslide is significant as the bickering-infested Congress was banking on the job losses and overall business gloom after the Covid-induced lockdown, besides the recent fuel price hike.

The BJP's stupendous win has ensured four cities namely Rajkot, Vadodara, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar will not have an opposition as no other party has won 10% of total seats needed to qualify to be the opposition.

Only Surat will have AAP as opposition and Congress in Ahmedabad.

The most decisive victory for BJP was in chief minister Vijay Rupani's home town Rajkot where it won 68 out of the total 72 seats. In 2015, BJP had scored just one seat more than the majority 37 required.

BJP sweeps local body elections The BJP recorded a massive victory in the local body polls in the state by winning clear majority in all 31 district panchayats as well as in 196 out of 231 taluka panchayats and 74 out of 81 municipalities. The Congress, the main opposition party in the state, won a clear majority in only one municipality and 18 taluka panchayats, while AIMIM and AAP also made their presence felt.

In six municipalities and 15 taluka panchayats no party has got clear majority. In the second phase where polling was held for district and taluka panchayats as well as municipalities on February 28, the BJP again left the Congress far behind by winning 6,236 out of 8,470 seats for which results were declared. The position was not yet clear on four remaining seats. The Congress could win 1,805 seats, while the new entrants Aam Aadmi Paty (AAP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 42 and 17 seats, respectively. Meanwhile, Congress state unit president Amit Chavda and Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani resigned from their posts. Chavda said people had raised doubts about EVMs and all these things should be probed. After the Grand Old Party’s dismal performance, a party spokesperson said it was now up to the top brass of the Congress to decide the future course of action.

British court clears Nirav Modi's extradition A British court last week cleared the decks for fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's extradition to India, accepting "prima facie" that he defrauded Punjab National Bank (PNB) of £649.8 million, laundered the proceeds and interfered with witnesses and evidence. Forwarding the case to UK home secretary Priti Patel for the formality of signing the extradition order, district judge Sam Goozée of the Westminster magistrates’ court said doing so would

neither be oppressive nor a breach of 49-year-old Nirav's human rights.

Patel must put her seal on the extradition within two months, failing which Nirav can apply to be discharged. During this time, he may make representations as to why he should not be extradited. If she goes ahead and orders his extradition, then he will have 14 days to apply for permission to appeal in the UK high court.

Reinforcing the identity and philosophy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan – The principle of Akshar Purushotam Nitin and Kamu Palan SETTING THE SCENE In the previous article, we learnt that when Bhagwan Swaminarayan left for Akshardham, the spiritual world, he left behind an enormous legacy of temples, initiated sadhus, thousands of devotees, and volumes of spiritual text and scriptures.

We now introduce the work of Gunatitanand Swamiand and Pragji Bhakta who continued his work of establishing the true identity of Swaminarayan as Purushotam and of Guntatitanand swami as Akshar.

EARLY YEARS - Gunatitanand Swami Born on 28th Sept 1784, in a village called Bhadra, India he was named Mulji Sharma. Even from a very young age he clearly displayed his connection with Bhagwan Swaminarayan. To his parents’ utter amazement, he would talk about Bhagwan Swaminarayan, what he was doing and where he was – he would make statements like Bhagwan has now left home, or playing in the fields etc.

There were a number of occasions when Bhagwan Swaminarayan came to Bhadra and met with Mulji and told the villagers of his divinity.

Mulji continued to grow up totally oblivious to worldly matters and one day on 29th November 1809, whilst he was on his farm, he had a divine vision of Bhagwan Swaminarayan calling him to join him.”

In January 1810, Bhagwan Swaminarayan organised a huge yagna where thousands were invited and he ordained Mulji as his own abode and named him Gunatitanand Swami. The scale of the yagna was exceptional indicating his closeness with Gunatitanand Swami.

He quickly settled in amongst the groups of sadhus and started travelling around India spreading word of Swaminarayan. His outstanding capacity to narrate and to sing bhajans (spiritual songs) soon won the hearts of many.

Bhagwan Swaminarayan soon built a very large temple in Junagadh and established Gunatitanand Swami as its head. He would encourage all devotees and sadhus to go there at least once a month every year and listen to discourses of Gunatitanand Swami.

Gunatitanand Swami’s legacy lies in his intense devotion and unique connection to Bhagwan Swaminarayan and his many discourses that have now been compiled into a single book - Swamini Vato (Talks of Swami). It is considered to be one of the main scriptures of the Swaminarayan faith.

His other enormous contribution to the Swaminarayan faith was that he passed his knowledge and teachings to Pragji Bhakta who stayed and served him for many years.

At the age of 82 years, Gunatitanand announced that he had served as a head of the temple for 40 years and that he would hand over his work to other sadhus. He travelled to Gondal and eventually passed away to Akshardham. A mandir has since been built on the site where he was cremated as a memorial to him This mandir is referred to as Akshar Deri and is considered as one of the main places of pilgrimage for millions of devotees.

EARLY YEARS – Pragji Bhakta Born in a village called Mahuva, India on the 20th March 1829, he was called Pragji Bhakta.

As a young child, he would refuse to attend the local school and tell his friends that he did not need to study at school as he was already educated in spiritual matters and encouraged his friends to engage in devotion to God. Pragji Bhakta spent much of his time at the Swaminarayan mandir in Mahuva, where he met Gopalanand Swami, a senior sadhu. After this initial meeting, Pragji Bhakta became interested in furthering his understanding of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and his philosophy. He developed a close relationship with Gopalanand Swami, who before passing away, told Pragji Bhakta to go to Junagadh and learn from the discourses of Gunatitanand Swami, who he said, is the manifestation of Bhagwan Swaminarayan himself.

Once he was with Gunatitanand Swami who remarked, “Pragji, I am overflowing with knowledge, but I have yet to find a worthy person to receive it.” Hearing this, Pragji asked if he was worthy enough to be taught.

He became an excellent orator in propounding the philosophy of Swaminarayan much to the annoyance of many sadhus who simply could not understand the full glory of Swaminarayan and of Gunatitanand Swami.

On 7th November 1897, Pragji Bhakta passed away in his small hometown of Mahuva, leaving the legacy of continuing spreading the knowledge in the capable hands of Yagnapurushdas Swami.

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Sleep deprivation can lead to many problems We know that a good night’s sleep isn’t always as easy as it is made out to be. No matter how many new routines, sleep hacks and relaxation techniques you try in the hours leading up to bedtime, sometimes it’s the very stress and anxiety you’re trying to counter by going to sleep early that can stop you from nodding off, leaving you lying awake very late in the night until you have to wake up. No wonder we spend about one-third of our lives sleeping. A lot is still unknown about the purpose of sleep.

However, it’s widely accepted that there isn’t just one explanation for why we need to sleep. It’s likely necessary for many biological reasons. To date, scientists have found that sleep helps the body in several ways. We sleep to conserve our energy.

Sleeping allows us to reduce our caloric needs by spending part of our time funcat a lower tioning metabolism. This concept is backed by the way our metabolic rate drops during sleep. Research suggests that 8 hours of sleep for human beings can produce a daily energy savings of 35%.

Sleep affects many aspects of brain function, which includes learning, memory, problem-solving skills, creativity, decision making, focus and concentration. Similarly, sleep is necessary for emotional health. During sleep, brain activity increases in areas that regulate emotion, thereby supporting healthy brain function and emotional stability. Research shows that sleep and mental health are intertwined. On the one hand, sleep disturbances can contribute to the onset and progression of mental health issues, but on the other hand, mental health issues can also contribute to sleep disturbances.

Sleep affects your weight by controlling hunger hor-

mones. These hormones include ghrelin, which increases appetite, and leptin, which increases the feeling of being full after eating. sleep, ghrelin During decreases because you’re using less energy than when you’re awake. Lack of sleep, however, elevates ghrelin and suppresses leptin. This imbalance makes you hungrier, which may increase the risk of eating more calories and gaining weight.

Recent research shows that chronic sleep deprivation, even as few as five consecutive nights of short sleep, may be associated with increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes. Insulin is a hormone that helps your cells use glucose, or sugar, for

energy. But in insulin resistance, your cells don’t respond properly to insulin.

This can lead to high blood glucose levels and, eventually, type 2 diabetes. Sleep may protect against insulin resistance. It keeps your cells healthy so they can easily take up glucose. The brain also uses less glucose during sleep, which helps the body regulate overall blood glucose.

What happens if you don’t get enough sleep?

Without enough sleep, your body has a hard time functioning properly. Sleep deficiency is linked to chronic health problems affecting the heart, kidneys, blood, brain, and mental health.

Lack of sleep is also associated with an increased risk of injury for both adults and children. In older adults, poor sleep is associated with an increased risk of falls and broken bones. Specific consequences can include mood changes, anxiety, depression, poor memory, poor focus and concentration, fatigue, weakened immune system, weight gain, high blood pressure, chronic diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, increased risk of early death.

Diabetes patients may witness improved health by use of mobile health apps A recent study has found that mobile health applications could benefit diabetes patients and that the use of health apps by diabetes patients could improve health outcomes and lower medicine costs. Emerging smart mobile health or mHealth technologies are changing the way patients track information related to diagnosed conditions. This study examined the health and economic impacts of mHealth technologies on the outcomes of diabetes patients in Asia.

The study concluded that compared to patients who did not use mHealth applications, patients who used the apps had better health outcomes and were able to regulate their health behaviour more effectively.

The study was conducted by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and New York University (NYU). The relatively new area of mHealth includes mobile computing, medical sensor, and communications technologies used for health care services, for example, managing chronic diseases.

Mobile health applications can operate on smartphones, tablets, sensors, and cloud-based computing systems, all of which collect health data on individuals.

The global mHealth market

was estimated to have reached $ 49 billion by the end of 2020. The researchers measured compliance by looking at detailed patient activities like daily walking steps, exercise time, sleeping pattern, food intake as measured by the app.

The researchers partnered with a top mHealth firm that provides one of the largest mobile health platforms in Asia specializing in diabetes care. The study randomly assigned 1,070 adult patients to different groups for three months: Some patients used the mHealth app, some did not, and some used a web-based version of the app. Researchers interviewed all participants before the study began and five months after it ended.

Among the questions asked were those about demographics, medication and medical history, blood glucose and hemoglobin levels, frequency of hospital visits,

and medical costs.

The study found that patients who used the mHealth app reduced their blood glucose and hemoglobin levels, even after controlling for individuallevel fixed effects.

Patients who used the app also exercised more, slept more, and ate healthier food.

And they had fewer hospital visits and lower medical expenses. The authors suggested that patients' adoption of and use of the mHealth app was associated with significant behavioral modifications toward a healthier diet and lifestyle.

In this way, users became more autonomously selfregulated with their health behavior, and this increasing intrinsic motivation helped them become more engaged, persistent, and stable in their behavior, which led to improved health outcomes.

The mHealth platform also facilitated an increased usage of telemedicine, which in turn led to reduced hospital visits and medical expenses for the patients.

The study also found that the mHealth platform was more effective in improving patients' health outcomes than a web-based

(PC) version of the same app. And non-personalized text messages tended to be more effective in changing patients' behavior than personalized messages, possibly because personalized messages can be viewed as intrusive, coercive, and annoying.

Drinking raisins water everyday is beneficial

Raisins or kishmish is one of the most loved dry fruits. We commonly use it in the preparation of traditional desserts.

Or, we like to munch on this dry fruit just for its amazing taste. But do you know this dry fruit is healthy too? Eating raisins or drinking raisin water is a great way of fueling your body with its amazing benefits. From improving your heart health to boosting your immunity, raisin water has some amazing health benefits.

Raisin water helps you keep a lot of health problems at bay. Drinking raisin water is an ageold remedy that is used for treating health and liverrelated problems. Scientists and sports experts believe that raisins may serve as a good substitute for energy bars. Raisins contain a large amount of fiber and micronutrients and have no added sugar or artificial flavours, unlike many energy bars which makes them a perfect healthy snack.

Raisin water taken in the morning will fill you up with energy for the whole day, or you could also try taking it before a vigorous workout. Raisins are highly rich in fiber, potassium, phytonutrients, and antioxidants compared to other common snacks. People who regularly eat raisins have lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to those who eat minimal amounts of this dried fruit. What’s more, eating raisins lowers the level of oxidized low-density cholesterol which significantly reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and also helps in treating anaemia by providing you with the daily recommended intake of the mineral.

The polyphenolic phytonutrients in raisins help get rid of the free radicals that harm the vision and cause degeneration of the eye muscles, thus improving the vision and overall health of the eyesight.

If you struggle with joint pains or have weak bones, raisins are the way to go. They contain calcium which helps in strengthening the bones. Eating raisins help increase bone density and also help reduce the risk of arthritis and gout.

Studies and people’s experiences of regularly eating raisins prove it’s a real super food with a lot of health benefits. Remember, however, that even though raisin water can serve as a good food additive to your healthy diet, it is not a substitute for medication.

10 ways to channel your inner peace every morning As the world around us goes array, there are a million things going in our head at the same time. As one feels exhausted, drained amid the daily hustle, having a peaceful mind is the only way to keep one's sanity intact. Kickstarting your day with a cup of hot brew and multiple stress-inducing thoughts may seem like the norm these days, however, in this article we will share a few tips on how to launch your Monday morning with a sense of peace and calm.

1) Start your day with yoga or meditation. Right? This will help you channelise your energy, help you introspect, and calm you down.

2) Get 6-8 hours of restful sleep.

3) Let it go. Listen to Elsa for once, and let things slide. One of the basic human tendencies is to hold on to things and pick at it. Choose happiness. Every morning, when you wake up, choose happiness.

4) Keep some time for yourself every day.

It could be 15 minutes or an hour. Do what you love, or even better, do nothing at all.

5) Increase your tolerance towards others. Not everything is about you, try and not take things personally.

6) Garden! Even if you do not have a

green thumb, try reaching out to Mother Nature. Start small, with an indoor plant may be. They are low maintenance and brightens up any room.

7) Dump that baggage. Let go of any grudges you may be holding and see how fast you feel lighter and more appreciative towards life.

8) Self-reflect.

9) Start with a list of To-Do things every morning. Tick of chores you completed and you soon enough, you won't feel burdened by the prospect of endless work every day.

10) Count to 10. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, anxious, angry, count to 10 and take a deep breath. Everything will be alright.

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Pat for Alia after release of 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' teaser Congratulations poured in for Alia Bhatt after the release of a teaser of 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' , in which she plays the lead. Taking to Twitter, global star Priyanka Chopra Jones appreciated the 'Student of the Year' actor and wrote, "Alia!!!! I'm so proud of you my friend for stepping into complexity fearlessly. I hope you always keep shining. PresentingGangubai Kathiawadi! Congratulations Sanjay sir and team."

Looking forward to the intriguing movie, superstar Akshay Kumar also sent his best wishes to the team and wrote, "#GangubaiKathiawadi...had found the title itself very intriguing from the day I'd heard it...the teaser only adds to it! @aliaa08 along with #SanjayLeelaBhansali sir bring their A-game again, so looking forward to it," using a clapping hands emoticon.

Ace filmmaker Karan Johar also appreciated the team efforts on the enthralling movie and wrote, "With @aliaa08 and #SanjayLeelaBhansali working together, it's bound to be magical.... What a brilliant teaser! Super super proud of you baby girl! Can't

Akshay Kumar bows out of Mudassar Aziz’s next 'Bellbottom'. In November 2019, the celebrity had signed this movie, which as per reports is a light-hearted entertainer, similar to Mudassar’s latest works like 'Blissful Bhag Jayegi' (2016), 'Blissful Phirr Bhag Jayegi' (2018) and 'Pati Patni Aur Woh '(2019). A

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is at present filming for 'Bachchan Pandey' and has already begun placing a line-up for the following two years. Since he has decided to take up only three to four movies in a year and devote his other time to a number other tasks. Since he’s one of many prime stars, he will get inundated with scripts and therefore he has to let go a few of them.

One such venture that he needed to sadly choose out is director Mudassar Aziz’s subsequent. It’s produced by Jackky and Vashu Bhagnani, who’re additionally producing his Might 28 theatrical launch

report said, “As a result of conflicting schedules, Akshay has determined to maneuver out of this movie.

With Akshay out of the movie, the makers have roped in Rajkummar Rao. Additionally, Shraddha Kapoor has bagged the feminine lead. In the meantime, Rajkummar’s instant launch is 'Roohi', which additionally belongs to the identical universe as 'Stree and Munjha'. Co-starring Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Sharma, the Hardik Mehta-horror comedy releases on March 11.

wait to see this on the big screen! Fire @bhansaliProductions #GangubaiKathiawadi," using a fire emoticon. Veteran film actor Neetu Kapoor and Varun Dhawan also sent best wishes to the team. The film based on one of the chapters of noted author S Hussain Zaidi's book, 'Mafia Queens of Mumbai' also stars Ajay Devgun in a special appearance.

Hrithik Roshan records statement in fake email case Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan recorded his statement with the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai crime branch in connection with his 2016 complaint about

him was emailing actress Kangana Ranaut from a bogus email id.

Meanwhile, Kangana took to Twitter with an update on Hrithik appearing

fake e-mails in his name to actress Kangana Ranaut. A large contingent of media persons and cameramen was present outside the commissioner's office.

The actor’s statement was recorded by a team of CIU officials headed by an assistant police inspector, he said. The actor was summoned by the CIU to record his statement in a complaint filed by him in 2016 alleging that someone impersonating

before the CIU and quoted tweeted “World has changed so much but my silly ex is still stuck in the same time, which will never come back”. It was in December 2020 that Hrithik’s lawyer approached the Mumbai police commissioner regarding the probe which was still pending.

Following this, the case was transferred to the Crime Branch Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU).

Ismail Darbar reunites with Bhansali for 'Heera Mandi' Remember the lilting songs of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 'Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam' and 'Devdas'?

Those minty melodies days are coming back. Ismail Darbar, whose music was absent in the recent films of Bhansali, is all set to compose the epic music of Bhansali’s first OTT project 'Heera Mandi.'

The tale of a kotha filled with beautiful women, dance, music and songs will have Ismail Durbar compose nearly 25 songs to be used in several episodes. A source close

to the development said, “After 'Saawariya' which had music by Monty Sharma, Bhansali did all the music in his films himself. Now he has signed his friend Ismail once again to do music for 'Heera Mandi' while Bhansali will focus on the post-production work of 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'.”

This is bound to be an epic comeback.

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Kareena and Saif welcome baby boy

Actors Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan welcomed a baby boy last week. Both the baby and the actress are "safe and healthy," Saif, 50, said in a statement. "We have been blessed with a baby boy. Mom and baby are safe and healthy.

Thank you to our wellwishers for their love and support," the 'Tandav' actor said in a statement. Kareena was admitted to Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on Feb 21 and her baby was born around 9 am, her father, veteran actor Randhir Kapoor,said." Kareena Kapoor's sister Karisma expressed her happiness of becoming a maasi again on social media by sharing a throwback photo and a note that read: "That's my sis when she was a newborn and now she's a mama once again! And I'm a maasi again, so excited. #goodwishes #congratulations #onlylove."

The new parents received congratulatory messages on social media from many celebs like actresses Neha Dhupia, Dia Mirza, Neetu Kapoor, Amrita Arora and designer Manish Malhotra.

Genre: Mystery Thriller Film Duration: 120 minutes Streaming On: Netflix

The Girl on the Train This is Bollywood’s take on the classic film The Girl on the Train that released in 2016 based on the book with the same name.

Where the lead character passes a house everyday on the train where she encounters a couple that seem like they have the perfect life until one day she believes she sees the woman having an affair and this leads to a whole new situation in itself.

Deepika gets mobbed, struggles to secure her bag Deepika Padukone was caught in the middle of a mob as she stepped outside an eatery in Mumbai. Fans obviously went crazy to see her and wanted to grab her attention. But in an unsavoury turn of events, a woman tried to pull Deepika’s handbag in an attempt to sell her tissues. The actress’s security team had to come to her aid. However, she remained calm

throughout and left the location with a smile. The video capturing this incident has gone viral on the Internet.

Deepika looked calm and composed throughout the incident and always had a smile on her face. She looked concerned once she realised

that someone was trying to pull her bag. However, even in the midst of all the commotion, the actress’s security team managed to come to her rescue and rush her into her car. She stepped out in Mumbai to have dinner with her husband Ranveer Singh after completing a shoot. She wore a pair of distressed black denims, a white crop top and an off-shoulder jacket. She completed her look with a stylish red handbag.

In terms of work, Deepika will next be seen sharing screen space with her husband in '83'. The sports drama was slated to release in April 2020, however, it got delayed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The new release date of the film is June 4.

The actress recently wrapped up shooting for the yet-to-be-titled Shakun Batra film. Currently, Deepika is shooting for Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Pathan'. The actress also has 'Fighter' with Hrithik Roshan and an untitled project with Prabhas in the pipeline.

Parineeti Chopra plays the role of Mira, a lawyer who has the perfect life with her husband, although he insists she gives up taking on some of the cases she carries on doing what she sees as her job and helps put away a Punjabi man. This is until one day when Mira and her husband are involved

Nick reveals most songs in 'Spaceman' album are love letters to wife Priyanka American pop icon Nick Jonas' new album 'Spaceman' is a collection of love letters that he has written for his wife Priyanka Chopra. Nick has been teasing the album for quite some time and only recently revealed the titles of the songs and released the title track 'Spaceman'.

Taking to his social media account, Nick wrote about the album, "So excited to start this journey with all of you. I made this album while doing what most of us have been doing this past year, sitting at home and hoping for better days ahead. There are four themes we will explore on the album... Distance. Indulgence.

Euphoria. Commitment. Music has always connected the world and helped us to heal. I hope this music helps you on your journey through space and time."

In a recent interview, Nick told Apple Music that the album's songs are

inspired by his love for Priyanka. Nick said, "Most of the songs

are pretty much just love letters, which, when I can't articulate the way I feel with my words with no music, I go to the studio. And I'm grateful to have that because it makes her happy, and that's most important." Priyanka herself shared the motion poster of the album after the release of the title track and wrote, "So proud of all the work you’ve put into this song and album @nickjonas."

Nick also received support from his brother Joe Jonas.

Explaining the album furthermore, Nick said, "So Spaceman came into my mind because I was thinking, 'What's the one thing that all of us have felt during this time?' It's just completely disconnected from the world.

We've gotten so accustomed to looking at a screen instead of human interaction, and I think the thing that keeps us all encouraged and hopeful is just the idea of knowing that there will be a tomorrow when this isn't our reality, and I think the body of work as a whole tracks that."

in a car accident where she loses her baby. This is when her life spirals out of control.

Mira suffers from Amnesia and has a severe drinking problem where she drinks until she is unconscious as it’s the only way she can sleep. She is now divorced from her husband who was having an affair post the accident and felt embarrassed by Mira’s drinking problem and on her daily commute she focuses her attention to a couple, Nusrat and Anand, that seem to have the perfect life she once had.

Nusrat then goes missing and Mira is spotted nearby therefore sparking a conclusion that she has killed her. A police officer finds evidence to frame Mira and later we find out the reason why.

Will lawyer Mira be able to find out the truth and clear her name?

If you love crime and thriller films then this is the film for you. It will keep you baffled as to how and why Mira becomes the main suspect and what the truth really is.

Although the base of the story is similar to the 2016 film the conclusion of the film is very different. The 2016 Hollywood version concludes with Rachel’s husband Tom being the killer and Rachel killing Tom but, in this version, it is very different.

Join the most talked about film coming out of Bollywood this March by watching The Girl on the Train.

You can get in touch with Vallisa: djvallisa@gmail.com

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Amala Paul opens up about problems faced during her divorce Actress Amala Paul who made her mark playing a young rural girl who loves her childhood sweetheart to no end in 'Mynaa' made it big after that in Kollywood. She has since starred opposite most of the top heroes in Tamil including Vijay, Suriya, Vikram. Dhanush,Arya, Jayam Ravi and Vishnu Vishal in mostly super-hit films.

Of late Amala has gravitated towards female-centric films and has received critical acclaim for her performances in 'Amma Kanakku' and 'Aadai'. Her recent Telugu project 'Pitta Kathalu' streaming on

Netflix has her as a young novelist trapped in an abusive marriage with a much older man who hits back in her own creative way.

In a promotional interview, Amala has opened up about her divorce with director A L Vijay. She has reportedly stated '"Nobody supported me during my separation. They tried to scare me. Nobody cared about my happiness and mental health," The talented actress added that she had to go through that difficult phase even though she is a successful actor.

Bigg Boss Tamil 5 to start from June 2021 end Bigg Boss Tamil is one of the most popular reality shows in the Tamil TV industry. The last four seasons of the show had garnered popularity, all thanks to the concept and host Kamal Haasan.

The last season of BB Tamil had broken all TRP records. Ever since it went off-air, fans are excited to know more about season 5. And guess what, a latest report published in a leading portal has interesting news for Bigg Boss Tamil fans.

The report suggests that Bigg Boss Tamil 5 is expected to start from June 2021 end.

Reportedly, the paperwork for the same

has already begun, and makers are likely to commence the work of the new house soon. Well, the theme and concept are not yet revealed, but

we can expect something big to happen in the fifth season. However, there is no official confirmation about the same. Talking about Bigg Boss Tamil 4, the Kamal Haasan show was won by Aari Arjuna.

The four finalists were Balaji Murugadoss, Rio Raj, Ramya Pandian and Som Shekar. The show was aired on Star Vijay.

Kamal Haasan has been hosting the show for four years, and audiences want the Ulaganayagan to host the next season as well.

Suriya-starrer 'Soorarai Pottru' The release date of Prabhas' 'Salaar' in Oscar race!

Suriya-starrer 'Soorarai Pottru', directed by Sudha Kongara has joined the Oscar race. Ever since the news came out, fans have been rejoicing. And now, it's officially confirmed that the Suriya-starrer is one of the 366 films that are eligible for the Best Picture nomination at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Rajsekar Pandian of 2D Entertainment shared the big news by retweeting a news article, in which all 366 films are mentioned.

The voting lines of The Academy will be open from March 5 to March 10, and the final list of nominations will be announced on March 15, 2021. Well, fans are very excited to know which film will join the final list of nominations. After all, Indians have high hopes from 'Soorarai Pottru', as the film indeed surprised the audience with its solid content and extraordinary performances by the lead actors.

Apart from being in the Best Picture category, the actors Suriya and Aparna

Balamurali are also nominated for the Best Actor and Best Actress category of the prestigious awards. Produced by Suriya and Guneet Monga under 2D Entertainment and Sikhya Entertainment respectively, Soorarai Pottru is partially inspired by the events from the life of Simplifly Deccan (formerly known as Air Deccan) founder GR Gopinath. The film was released on November 12, 2020, on Amazon Prime Video, and it also stars Paresh Rawal, Mohan Babu, Urvashi, Karunas, Vivek Prasanna, Krishnakumar and others in key roles.

Prabhas after the massive success of S.S. Rajamouli's 'Baahubali' and its sequel is now one of the highest paid actors in Indian cinema and his films have come to be expected by audiences all over the country and abroad.

Prabhas's upcoming movie 'Salaar' has a lot riding on it as it is directed by Prashanth Neel who has delivered the blockbuster hit 'KGF' and is awaiting the release of its sequel also starring Yash. it has now been officially announced that the film will be released worldwide on April 14th, 2022.

'Salaar' has Shruti Haasan as the leading lady of Prabhas with Ravi Basrur handling the music. Bhuvan Gowda handles the camera and produced on a grand budget by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner Hombole Films.

21:00 PINJARA KHUBSOORTI KA

21:30 BAWARA DIL

TV Listing

22:00 NAMAK ISSK KA

SATURDAY 6 MAR

18:30 DESI BEAT RESET

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 8 MAR FRI 12 MAR 2021 14:30 NRI HAADSA

16:00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN

19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI

20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 BEST OF DESI BEAT 21:30 DANCE DEEWANE 3

19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2

SUNDAY 7 MAR

20:00 SHAKTI

21:00 BEST OF DESI BEAT

19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:30 MOLKKI

20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:30 DANCE DEEWANE 3

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 8 MAR FRI 12 MAR 2021 8:30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 13:30 RSWC Highlights - BAN vs ENG 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18:30 DIL KA RISHTA 19:00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20:00 DIL SE DIL TAK 20:30 BARRISTER BABU 21:00 BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE

SATURDAY 6 MAR 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 13:30 RSWC Highlights - BAN vs WI 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20:00 DIL SE DIL TAK 20:30 DESI BEAT RESET 21:00 BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE SUNDAY 7 MAR 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 13:30 RSWC Highlights - SA vs IND 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20:00 DIL SE DIL TAK 20:30 DESI BEAT RESET 21:00 BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE

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India crush England in two days Axar Patel along with Ravichandran Ashwin ran through the English batting unit as India wrapped up the Third Test at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad within 2 days.

The victory also meant India going up 2-1 against England in the four-match Test series. With spinners wreaking havoc, the visitors could only manage 81 on the scoreboard after being bundled out for 112 in their first innings. India too faced a batting collapse thanks to Joe Root’s maiden fifer but with only a 49 target set by England, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill finished the business well within the second day of the Pink ball Test.

This is the 22nd instance that a test match did not last for even two full days. Cricket lovers in Ahmedabad are very happy with the outcome that put India 2-1 ahead in the four test series, but the cricket lovers are not happy with England- the way they concede defeat. Now, the fans are expecting some fight back from English players in the fourth test, which will be played at the same venue.

England are now out of contention for a place in the final of the ICC World Test Championship. On a pitch that won’t be forgotten in a hurry and will certainly be up for debate if it needs to be rated poor, or points need to be docked, the pink ball did things that England would have never prepared themselves for. The pitch behaved in such a way that nobody could predict how the ball would move after the delivery. Nothing else can probably sum-up the massacre that took place on the brown,

dusty patch here, except that Axar Patel and R Ashwin bowled at the stumps for most of the 30 overs between them. Seven of the 10 dismissals were either bowled or leg-before. England used every single resource available to them. They sought the DRS, stared at the track in dismay, took deep breaths and perhaps even prayed. Clearly, nothing worked.

From Day One, the soil near the crease was always showing signs of disintegrating, thanks to the dryness and an uneven patch next to the bowler’s landing area. However, on Day Two, groundsmen had to twice walk out on the field to even out the patch as it became increasingly loose. The stage was just about perfect for India to start with spinners from both ends.

A dart from Axar got to Zac Crawley’s stumps even before he could come in line of the ball.

Bairstow looked for turn from a delivery travelling at 92 kmph, when there was none and got bowled. Root survived a clear leg-before but didn’t last long to a similar one a few deliveries later, giving Patel his 10th wicket. Ashwin polished off Stokes, Pope and Archer as they froze at the awkward bounce and length. And it was Patel again who got Foakes leg-before, the latter hoping against hope that he had edged the ball.

England fell like nine-pins for 81 and turned red even as the red-ball remained fresh pink. By the time India walked out to bat, with the target set at 49, the pitch - quite mysteriously looked nothing like what it had appeared to be just an hour ago.

India won by 10 wickets and captain Virat Kohli said, after

RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN SCALES YET ANOTHER PEAK

the game, it was a ‘good pitch’ but the batsmen from both teams weren’t up to it on both days. This second Test here at the newly refurbished stadium in Ahmedabad is now officially the shortest game since World War II. Wrapped up in just over five sessions and 140.2 overs, Thursday’s proceedings didn’t just see England suffer. India, who started the day at 99-3, in their first innings, lost their next seven wickets for just 36 runs, and for the first time it appeared that the Test wouldn’t move into Day Three. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma were the only batsmen to get to double figures as the landmine that masqueraded as a pitch showed that it was impossible to play a proper innings on it.

Simon Hughes, the editor of the The Cricketer Magazine, said that there has been much carping about pitches as well as castigation of English batting techniques, much of it from the previous generation, over looking the fact that the India batsmen also struggled (145 all out in Ahmedabad, making the majority of those runs on the first day). What these criticisms also ignore is that, because of

the Decision Review System (DRS), the stumps are effectively 37 per cent larger than they were a few years ago. This development is manageable when pitches favour the bat, but a major issue when they favour the ball, especially the spinning one. Twenty of the 30 dismissals in Ahmedabad were bowled or lbw (all to spinners.) Before the advent of Hawk-Eye and then DRS, batsmen would routinely prop forward to spinners with bat and pad close together, of ten leading with the pad. When the pad was struck and the bowler appealed, umpires would routinely conclude that the batsman “had got a good stride in” or that the ball was “going down” (missing leg stump).

Alastair Cook in his comment said that he himself asked what he would have done in the circumstances, especially facing Axar Patel. He reminds me of another left-arm spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, who dismissed me six times in the 2016 series.

As a left-hander, my approach to Patel, as it was against Jadeja, would be based on playing him outside off stump, turning the ball to leg at the right moments, judicious use of the sweep and backing my defensive technique.

Ahmedabad among one of the six cities to host IPL Ahmedabad is one of the six cities shortlisted to conduct this year's Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2021 tournament. BCCI's initial plan to host the IPL between Mumbai and Pune and part of the playoffs and final in Ahmedabad.

Now Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, and Delhi have been shortlisted to host this year’s IPL. Delhi, it is learnt, was included in the list later, after the board was convinced that they could not include Hyderabad for reasons concerning the local cricket association.

The Maharashtra government, which has been at loggerheads with the centre on a variety of issues, has given the go-ahead for matches at the Wankhede Stadium. However, there won’t be crowds, just like the three ODIS vs England in Pune, which will now be played behind closed doors due to a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra.

The IPL, which is scheduled to begin in the second week of April (tentatively 11th) and conclude in the opening week of June (tentatively 6th), may not

find spectators being allowed at some centres while other centres may allow fans up to only 50% of the stadium’s capacity. While the BCCI has zeroed in on the decision, it hasn’t had any word with the IPL franchises yet. Franchises, who have learnt about this decision unofficially, are blowing hot and cold. While some are willing to wait and see how BCCI goes about organising the tournament across six cities and prepare bio-secure bubbles across these venues for the smooth conduct of the tournament, there are some franchises who are not happy.

“Obviously, it’s scary. The earlier idea of hosting it in one or two cities sounded far better.

After all, the 2020 edition was conducted between three venues and it went well,” a franchise representative said.

Teams and team owners, nevertheless, are waiting to see how the BCCI goes about organising this edition. The Board has proposed that the eight franchises should be divided in groups and matches should be conducted venuewise, where all teams that are

in brief

part of one group play their home and away games between them before moving to another group at another venue, so on and so forth.

“The format of the tournament will not change. It’s the same home-and-away format, with each team hosting seven and travelling for the other seven. That’ll mean a total of 60 matches, like it is conducted every year. The grouping of teams is only to ensure that preparing bio-secure bubbles becomes easier and there’s less confusion,” say those

in the know.

The decision on whether to club the teams into groups or not is still being debated. What’s relatively clearer is BCCI’s intent to host it across multiple cities with the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

“Franchises had started preparing, thinking it was only going to be between Mumbai and Pune, with the playoffs in Ahmedabad. Those plans change now. Obviously, they’ll want to know more and that will happen soon,” say sources tracking developments.

Nine years and 110 days after he made his debut against the West Indies back in 2011, Ravichandran Ashwin reached the landmark with Jofra Archer’s wicket in the 24th over on Day Two of the fourth Test match at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday last. In doing so, he is currently the 16th highest wicket-taker in the game and has a long way to go before he’s done. The last 12 months have been phenomenal for the Tamil Nadu spinner as he went about picking 39 wickets in just seven Test matches, 13 of those coming on the tour of New Zealand last year and 26 between the tour of Australia and the series against England taking place now. “It feels amazing actually (to reach 400 Test wickets). The entire stadium stood up and clapped for me. Pleased it happened in the winning cause. I can’t really get a grip of what has happened in the last 2-3 months. It has been a dreamy run and a fairy-tale,” he said.

Such has been the pace at which he’s gone about getting to the coveted milestone, that when India’s Test series in Australia started in December last year, Nathan Lyon was on 390 wickets and Ashwin on 365 - both in the race to 400. Lyon is currently at 399 while Ashwin has already zoomed past the mark. For a bowler perennially under the spotlight, especially given the debate on the skewed ratio between his wickets at home and abroad, Ashwin certainly took it upon himself to silence them all. It’s been a long way off since that South African sojourn, where he had gone wicketless for more than 35 overs and the then familiar shadow of doubt would painfully loom every now and then, especially when India played outside Asia.

The fastest to reach 250, 300 and 350 wickets in Test cricket, Ashwin was showered with praise by his teammates and the opposition after the Test in Ahmedabad. “He’s among India’s greatest match-winners ever and this is a tremendous achievement,” opener Rohit Sharma said while England captain Joe Root too applauded the offspinner for reaching the landmark. Skipper Kohli urged the cricketing fraternity to take notice of the off-spinner’s achievements, calling him a modern day legend.

INDIA GO ON TOP OF THE ICC WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS TABLE Team India have gone on top of the ICC World Test Championship points table after beating England by 10 wickets in the third Test match of the four-match series. The Indian Cricket Team beat England by 10 wickets in the third Test which was played at Ahmedabad as the batsmen from both ends failed to make a mark.

In what turned out to be one of the deadliest tracks in the modern-day game, the English and Indian batsmen found it dangerous to play on the spin tracks. Axar Patel was the star performer for the home team as he picked a total of 11 wickets in the game. Ravichandran Ashwin also picked 8 wickets in the match.

Now, the home team just need to draw the final Test match in order to qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship.England have now been eliminated out of the ICC World Test Championship after losing out to the men in blue away from home. They had to win at least a couple of Test matches in order to stay in contention for the final of the ICC World Test Championship. Australia can also qualify for the final of the WTC if England manage to win the final Test of the tour, which is scheduled to take place from March 4 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The final of the ICC World Test Championship will take place from June 18 at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground in England. New Zealand have already become the first team to qualify for the final of the tournament, after having completed all their Test series in the ICC World Test Championship.