AV 07th November 2020

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

inside: Anita Anand’s book shortlisted for the prestigious history-literary prize SEE PAGE - 14

Atcha- the new kind of 7 - 13 NOVEMBER 2020 - VOL 49 ISSUE 28 Indian R

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

SEE PAGE - 16

WE WANT JUSTICE Indian Labour members stand in solidarity with Jewish friends as they hope for a similar review on anti-Indian racism and discrimination

HDFC bank boss Aditya Puri retires to join global private equity major SEE PAGE - 18

New Zealand elects its firstever Indianorigin minister SEE PAGE - 22

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Jeremy Corbyn ousted now Priyanka Mehta

On 29th October, Jeremy Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party for insisting that anti-Semitism has been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”. Corbyn’s remarks appeared after the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report concluded that there were “significant number of complaints relating to anti-Semitism that were not investigated at all”. Standing in solidarity with their Jewish friends, some Indian members of the Labour Party have sounded alarm bells around how they are “systematically driven out of or overlooked within the Party”. They hope that a similar review will hold Labour accountable for the “anti-Indian racism and discrimination” that is Continued on page 6 prevalent within the Party.

PM Narendra Modi paying floral tribute to Sardar Patel's Statue of Unity

“130 crore countrymen together are building a nation” - PM Narendra Modi On October 31, 2020, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the Ekta Diwas Celebrations to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of “Loh Purush” Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at Kevadia, Gujarat. National Unity Day or Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is celebrated in India on 31 October. It was introduced by the Government of India in 2014 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

Continued on page 26

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7 - 13 November 2020

Supreme Court wants to “boost diversity”

11-year-old needs stem cell donor

Lady Black of Derwent is slated to retire over Christmas which would mean that the UK’s Supreme Court will only have one woman and no BAME representation. According to The Telegraph the country’s top court is now seeking a minority justice to “boost diversity of decision makers”. According to the court, the selection will be based on merit but the selection commission will also consider “increasing diversity within the court”. The applicants are required to hold a high judicial office for at least two years, or have been a qualifying practitioner for at least 15 years.

A report on the diversity of the judiciary by the ministry of justice earlier this year found that women were underrepresented in the courts, accounting only for 32 per cent of judges and 26 per cent of High Court roles or higher. Currently

An 11-year-old daughter of a consultant general and laparoscopic surgeon at Lister is in need a lifesaving stem cell transplant to cure her aplastic anaemia.

Arya Lloyd, lives in Cambridge and was diagnosed of aplastic anaemia, a serious condition which occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells. She will go through the immunosuppressant treatment as her immune system isn't working properly and therefore, has put her at a greater risk of infections. Diagnosed earlier this year, she is presently receiving treatment at St Mary's Hospital, London and urgently needs a stem cell donor. Butit is difficult to find a perfect match for Arya, who is half Indian, with mixed ethnicity.

Helped by blood cancer charity Antony Nolan, Arya

Supreme Court Justices

just 4 percent of senior judges appointed to the High Court or above are from a black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. Shortlisting for the role is due to take place next month, the report noted as it said, “The selection commission welcomes applications from the widest range of applicants eligible to apply, and particularly encourages applications from those who would increase the diversity of the court”.

Lady Black, 66, is retiring after 21 years as a judge and Lady Arden will be the only woman left on the

Supreme Court, the other ten are all white men. In 2017, Lady Justice Black became the second female judge of the Supreme Court after Lady Hale who served as president until her retirement in January this year.

Court judges from BAME backgrounds only represent 8 per cent of court judges, rising only one per cent since 2019.

Last month, Lord Reed had also raised similar concerns stating the lack of diversity among the 12 Supreme Court justices was a situation "which cannot be allowed to become shameful if it persists".

Ofcom fines Islam Channel for serious broadcasting breaches On 3rd November Tuesday, Ofcom imposed a £20,000 fine on Islam Channel for serious broadcasting breaches. Ofcom imposed a financial penalty on Islam Channel Ltd for serious breaches of our broadcasting rules.

Islam Channel is an English-language satellite TV station airing religious instruction programmes, current affairs, documentaries and entertainment programmes from an Islamic perspective.

Investigation found an episode of The Rightly Guided Khalifas, a religious education series on the history of the Qur’an, contained antisemitic hate speech and highly offensive content.

They announced, “In our Decision published on 7 October 2019 in Ofcom found that the programme

contained antisemitic hate speech in breach of Rules 2.3, 3.2 and 3.3 of the Broadcasting Code. Ofcom has imposed a sanction on the Licensee of a financial penalty of £20,000, a direction to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings on a date and in a form to be determined by Ofcom and a direction not to repeat the programme. We concluded that this was a serious breach of our rules which warranted the imposition of statutory sanctions”.

Traumatised man wins human rights fight A 30-year-old man with special abilities has won his four-year-long legal fight against breach of his human rights it has emerged.

Aamir Mazhar was "traumatised" after being removed from his home against his will in the middle of the night in 2016 and was taken to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital following a High Court order.He is reportedly suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is on a ventilator.

The Birmingham Mail reported that the computer science graduatelaunched legal action after the incident - which saw him removed from his home by two police officers and three paramedics.In making the emergency application in 2016, bosses at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust said a "care package" provided to Mr Mazhar at his home had "broken down” which Aamir was not informed of.

In 2017, judges ruled against him at the High Court, but a ruling handed down by three judges at the Court of Appeal, noted the order amounted to a "flagrant denial of justice" and a "clear breach" of Mr Mazhar's rights.The ruling included part of a witness statement by Aamir, in which he said he felt "traumatised" by the experience.

He said, "The trust's actions made me feel undignified, worthless and irrelevant, like a small person."I have never had any

involvement with the police before and the presence of the police officers made me feel like a criminal in my own home.I was in shock at being torn away from my family and home in this way.I could not believe what was happening to me, an educated person and a university graduate. I felt worthless."

Aamir said he pleaded with police to let him stay at home and felt "distraught, disorientated and frightened". Aamir had made a separate claim for damages against the trust, which was settled for £10,000 out of court.He continued his legal fight for a declaration that his human rights had been breached.

recalls, “They said it would be hard to find a donor for me because of my ethnicity but it isn't impossible.

There is hope.”

The best possible match for Arya is most likely to have the same background or mix of ethnicities.

Currently, people with mixed Asian or other minority backgrounds have a 20% chance of finding a match from an unrelated donor, compared with nearly 70% for people with white, north European heritage.

Speaking about Arya's her mum condition, Brundhasaid,“Arya has always been fit and healthy, but life changed very quickly; all of a sudden we were talking to doctors about aplastic anaemia and Arya has had to stop many of the things she liked doing because her platelets, the

Arya Llyod

tiny blood cells that help your body form clots, were low.

“Because Arya is of mixed race, it was always unlikely we would find a match quickly. We have therefore started this appeal because we don't want to give up hope. It's a waiting game, but there could be someone out there who is a match. We also understand that younger people make better matches, so we would like to do all we can to make this more widely known.”

Charged with fundraising for IS On Thursday 29th October, a 27-year-old man from Leicestershire appeared before the court following allegations of being part of the Islamic State (IS) and accusations of sending money abroad to allow captured militants to escape prison camps in Syria, it has emerged.

Leicester Mercury reported that Hisham Chaudhary faced seven counts of terror charges, including four counts of disseminating a terrorist publication titled The Wholesome Fruit In The Virtues And Etiquettes Of Jihad in October and

November last year.

He is also charged with the membership of a proscribed organisation, and two counts of entering a funding arrangement.He is believed to have accepted that he was member of the terror group, which was banned under UK law in 2014, who acted as part of a wide network to support the organisation. He is accused

of gathering funds and transferring the money abroad using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin to allow captured ISIS militants to escape Kurd-controlled prison camps in northern Syria.Charges state he distributed the video on a Twitter account and using the encrypted messaging service Telegram.He gave no indication of pleas to the seven charges during the brief hearing on Thursday.

He was arrested after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East, Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands and Leicestershire Police.

Security feared racism for scrutinising Manchester bomber On 29th October, Thursday, in a latest wrong and being development of the public inquiry into branded a racist if I got Manchester bombing attack, it emerged that it wrong and would a security guard reportedly had a "bad feelhave got into trouble. ing" about the suicide bomber but he apparIt made me hesitant.I ently did not approach Salman Abedi for the wanted to get it right fear of being called racist, an inquiry has and not mess it up by heard. over-reacting or judging someone by their Kyle Lawler told the police he was conrace." flicted because he thought something was The public inquiry Salman Abedi wrong but could not put his finger on it. In continues.

2017, Abedi detonated a bomb packed with 3,000 nuts and bolts.

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7 - 13 November 2020

The taste of betrayal The report by EHRC on antisemitism was published last week and it exposed the hurt that was felt by the Jewish community, which was as real as it could get. 29 October was a grim day. Jeremy Corbyn’s party membership was suspended. Sir Keir Starmer apologised from the Labour party and promised to implement the report’s recommendations. He needs to be applauded for his effort, he was passionate in his speech, as a leader should be and made it clear that there was no place in his party for people who believed anti-semitism was blown out of proportion.

Jeremy Corbyn failed as a leader. He did not agree with the findings, he did not stand by the victims either. His statement was not an apology. The Jewish community in the UK must be congratulated for being united on this and taking the matter to EHRC to fight a bias so strong. But this also shows the failure of British politics. Race, religion and class have always divided society. But this country has believed in equality and have set examples through its tolerance and impartiality in judgement. This whole episode of a political party being dragged to Human Rights Commission is an absolute disgrace. Jeremy Corbyn’s actions were a part of a trend. He defended an antisemitic mural. Attended a wreath ceremony for terrorists – a trend that took Labour party to the brink of oblivion in the 2019 general election. What is more shameful, when guaranteed Labour seats were lost to the Toriesto those incompetent MPs who have dragged the NHS and the country’s people to an absolute mess by the way they have handled this pandemic. However, if we focus back on the Labour party, while the Jewish community have finally received their fair share of justice, the Indians and Hindus are still waiting.

Lord Field of Birkenhead, a Labour MP till 2019 from 1979 in a letter in The Times said, “What is the Labour going to do about those members who were driven out by the failure of NEC to

protect them?” A million-pound question!

The Indian community is a living example of the bridges burnt. The community was a natural supporter of the Labour party. They believed much of the independence movement of India was supported by the party- who did not want enslavement of workers in the Commonwealth. That role is debatable, but of course the Indian community brought over to work in this country supported the party’s ideology of fair treatment of all.

Over the years the community has evolved and slowly isolated on sheer number of voters. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s watch Kashmir became a point of debate, Indian embassy got attacked in London and many voices were raised against Article 370. Mr Corbyn himself wanted to stop Prime Minister of India from visiting the UK. His politics was beyond principles.

Sir Kier Starmer has of course said that India-Pakistan bilateral issues such as Kashmir is not for the party to vote or comment on. It is India’s internal matter. But the aftertaste of betrayal has stayed behind. Hindus still don’t have a voice in the party. They are still not sure if their membership and opinion count in the Labour party.The Jewish community has had strong representation in the UK- whether in business or politics.

And it took them so long to win against discrimination. Much of the Indian community is scarred by their treatment in East Africa. They know the importance of having a voice in politics.

But they are not sure of a fair treatment- something the party should think about.

Dear Sir Keir Starmer, sometimes apology is not enough. It needs more commitment than that. And the Indian community is looking forward to more encouragement and engagement with you. Hope you are listening.

Freedom of expression? Religion?

The line between freedom of expression and religion is often blurry at best and invisible at worst. That line further pronounces the divide between the “first world developed” countries with their intellectual appetite for atheist jokes and “third world developing” countries where religion is the supreme command. The recent push and pull between France and Turkey is only a new chapter to the oldest debate in literary history. In 1989 following the publication of Satanic Verses in the UK, Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa against author Salman Rushdie ordering Muslims to kill him. Renowned British author Hanif Kureishi had called the fatwa "one of the most significant events in postwar literary history". A copy of the book was burnt in Bradford as the community then thought the author made blasphemous references to Muhammed.

Now, Muslims across the world have arisen in their protest against the French President. They planned demonstrations outside French embassies, burnt effigies, ripped apart Emmanuel Macron’s posters and stamped on the French flag all the while chanting “we are soldiers of Prophet Mohammed”.

Leave aside the brewing tensions between France and Islamic countries, some who have called for a ban on French products while the French ambassador was recalled from Turkey. All the brouhaha for what? A bunch of cartoons on a satirical magazine mocking Turkish President Erdogan and Prophet Muhammed.

Freedom of expression does not ascertain that individuals have a scot-free ride at defamation or insult. But it does enable them to express their creative views without their intention of a targeted attack on any religion. And it is this freedom of expression that the French President is protecting even as he acknowledges

and understands why Muslims are up and in-arms against his decision to stand by Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Insisting that violence is no justification for the published cartoons, he said, "I understand the sentiments being expressed and I respect them. But you must understand my role right now, it's to do two things: to promote calm and also to protect these rights.” That was the French President’s dual attack against the beheading of Samuel Paty in Paris and another stabbing of two people near the former offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine which was the centre point of the IS attack. Samuel Paty was beheaded after he showed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to some of his students. And these cartoons that led to the teacher’s death were the same drawings that were at the center of a deadly 2015 extremist attack on Charlie Hebdo’s staff.

But Turkey’s outrage over these cartoons is just a smokescreen.

The French-Turkish diplomatic channels have rusted over the last few months in light of Turkey’s folly in Syria, and Libya.

While countries and leaders stand in solidarity with France in her defence of freedom of expression. Perhaps, they may take stock of some of the expressions they have used to target one community including some stating that Muslim women dressed in Burqas appeared similar to bank robbers and letterboxes. On the other hand, first world countries have elected leaders who have asked Muslims to go back to their “homes”. In 2015 Donald Trump had announced a complete and total shutdown of Muslims from entering the United States, claiming, “The children of Muslim American parents, they’re responsible for a growing number for whatever reason a growing number of terrorist attacks.”

A crisis that demands unity The requirement of joining the forces together to fight the invisible enemy - the enemy of incorrect ideology is more important than it ever was. Europe has witnessed a series of terror attacks in the past few weeks including shooting at Vienna and France witnessed the beheading of a middle school teacher and a knife attack at a church.

Parallely, according to a report, the link between Covid-19 and racism is being brushed under the carpet, by citing reasons such as: “ethnicity should no longer be used as a focal point in this conversation.” This also dilutes the larger narrative around the “experiences of racism” and a historical lack of trust between patients and the NHS due to prior culturally insensitive interactions were among them. “The word “racism” featured 24 times in the 69-page document,” The Guardian reported.

At a global level, using AI and automation, Facebook has removed 6.3 million pieces of terrorist content, with a proactive detection rate of 99 percent in just the first three months of 2020.

In 2019, the US and India announced their intent to prevent terrorists from obtaining access to weapons of mass destruction.

India is also a member of the FATF and the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terorrism (EAG) and APG. The credit of instilling the idea of unity in diversity in India goes to Iron Man - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. His endeavour was his ability to understand and combine a diverse country in terms of geography, languages, cultures and traditions. Due to his staunch belief and practice of equality, standing up for women empowerment, self-sufficiency he was also known as the ‘Iron Man of India’. Last weekend, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Statue of Unity to celebrate his 145th birthday. He also launched the website of the Statue of Unity. In order to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, the Punjab Police took a pledge for the spirit of unification

of the country on Saturday. India is a land of unity in diversity where people of diverse religion, tradition, culture, languages and heritage live together in a single country. India is also called the land of unity in diversity because the different groups of people cooperate with each other to live in a single society. Unity in diversity has also become the strength of India.

Thus, to maintain the nation's unity and to acknowledge Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's efforts in uniting the nation, National Unity Day or Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is celebrated every year. The message of unity cannot come at a better time than now.

Sardar Patel once said, “Take to the path of dharma - the path of truth and justice. Don't misuse your valour. Remain united.

March forward in all humility, but fully awake to the situation you face, demanding your rights and firmness."

PM Modi expressed tremendous gratitude towards men in uniform, said, “Today, all countries of the world need to unite against terrorism. No one can benefit from terrorism and violence. India has always fought against terrorism.”

India’s Foreign Secretary in the same light Harsh Vardhan Shringhala who is visiting the UK spoke about fighting terrorism together in Germany. To resonate with the same spirit, Sardar Patel Memorial Society UK, organised Ekta Divas which was joined by High Commissioner HE Ms Gaitri Kumar talked about the commitment of Sardar Patel towards national integration. She spoke about his foresight and unyielding conviction in united India and the formidable political and spiritual evolution he brought as one of the most influential architects of modern India.

The key speakers included Lord Rami Ranger, Bhuvan Lall, Krishna Pujara and CB Patel. The HC’s address was a reminder of the fact that the pandemic is not over, yet and many countries, including the UK are preparing to combat a second or a third wave, including another lockdown.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

– Chinese Proverb

Alpesh Patel

Will Anything Change in the White House?

At the time I write this I don’t know if friend of Indian PM Modi, Donald Trump will be President or half-Indian, Kamala will be Vice President.

Whoever is in the White House, there is major issue still unresolved.

Doing the early morning BBC TV newspaper review allowed me a few years ago to vent some anger which has been boiling up for 20 years. The story I was asked to comment on was the fury of Obama at BP for the oil spill. Now I can imagine the President, pacing in the Oval office, the most powerful man in the world, with the largest nuclear arsenal, heading a country which has since its creation in 1776 never known a decade without war outside its borders, yet unable to put a boot on the throat of BP. Now I don’t have a problem with the President’s anger, and indeed welcome it on issues of the environment. But I only wish the Americans could have given half a damn when it came to 3,000 dead Indians in Bhopal due to an American company and a chemical spill.

You see with BP – no one has died. Okay some Louisiana fisherman are suicidal, but with Bhopal mothers witnessed their children die. Dead. 3000.

But it doesn’t count. Doesn’t count because poor Indians do not count. The lovely Louisiana coastline and the livelihood of one bloated American living in the world’s richest country counts more than 3,000 dead poor Indians.

Anyway why should America care about Bhopal when the Indian Government itself didn’t want to put a boot, or sandal, on the throat of Union Carbide? Your citizens are worth what your Government is willing to do for them. I guess prices of citizens is based on supply and demand and India has an oversupply of people.

So when Indians celebrate the Indo-Phile Trump or Kamala’s roots, I hope they remind the President that the US should reciprocate when it comes to moral indignation – because the thing about moral indignation is that it should be moral.

Annoyingly the Louisiana Governor at the time was Indian – Bobby Jindal. Oh, he converted from his Indian religion in the US to be sure – but I bet he won’t stand up for the country of his ancestors either – how soon they forget. So don’t expect any such favours, only sweet words, from the White House.

I remember once being at the British High Commission in Delhi and the bantering with the High Commissioner he pointed out I was British.

And I told him – he is right I am. But the blood coursing through these veins is that of my ancestors. I am a British Indian. Sadly Kamala I suspect is all American – she’s drunk the coolade as they say.

It should be said of Indians you can take the Indian out of India but not India out of the Indian – wish it was true. How I wish the Kamala had not converted.

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PROFILE OF THE WEEK

Muslims protest outside the French Embassy On 30th October Muslim protestors gathered outside the French embassy in London in their protest against Emmanuel Macron as they demanded “respect for the Prophet”.

Hundreds of demonstrators held signs against the French government illustrating their anger both towards the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and President Emmanuel Macron with some insisting, “Insult is not freedom of

speech”. While Muslim countries have banned French goods over Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons over Prophet Mohammed, Macron has defended the magazine’s freedom of expression.

In a statement to Daily Mail, a spokesperson forthe Metropolitan Police said,“Officers engaged and encouraged those protesting to disperse, the majority left without issue. Those who didn't comply were dealt

with by enforcement.

Officers made a total of three arrests. Two people for Covid-19 breaches and

one for possession of pyrotechnics.13 people have also reported for consideration of a fixed penalty notice.”

The French Embassy in London tweeted their statement, “France is the target of terrorist attacks against our freedom of expression, to believe or not to believe, to live in the Fraternity. We will remain what we are, a free, tolerant country, proud of its humanist values of democracy.

Sikh Nurse received Points of Light award The Founder of British Sikh Nurses has been awarded with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's daily Points of Light award.

Rohit Sagoo, first British-born, Asian male children’s nurse in the UK, founded ‘British Sikh Nurses’ in 2015 to bridge the gap between the NHS and people from South Asian Originally backgrounds. from London, Rohit has been encouraging better mental and physical health in both Sikh, and wider BAME communities. He has been championing issues around organ donation, gender abuse and the impact

of diabetes. He has encouraged over 10,000 new stem cell donors from South Asian backgrounds, visiting gurdwaras around the country to increase awareness about the urgent need for new donors from within BAME communities.

In a personal letter to Rohit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “Congratulations on the success of ‘British Sikh Nurses’ and your extraordinary effort to encourage thousands of new stem cell donors. At a time when our NHS faces enormous pressures, you are engaging your members to look after their

physical and mental wellbeing. You have also fantastically supported the NHS with initiatives to increase stem cell donors and organ donors.”

Rohit said, “As the founder of Rohit Sagoo ‘British Sikh Nurses’, I am overwhelmed to have been considered for a Points of Light Award by the Prime Minister. I have worked hard to bridge the gap between the NHS and the South Asian Community by promoting and raising awareness of health and

wellbeing issues that affect the South Asian Community and it is a privilege, as a nurse, to care for the needs of the South Asian community. I cannot thank the Prime Minister enough for the recognition of my services to nursing.”

Labour MP charged with housing fraud On Thursday 29th November it emerged that a Labour MP was charged with housing fraud and is being investigated over how she obtained her own flat.

30-year-old Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse, has been hit with three counts of fraud including: her failure to disclose information in order to make gains for herself or

Apsana Begum

another, or expose another to a loss with the offences dated between January 2013 and March 2016, Sky News reported.

She has however contested that these charges are "malicious and false" and will be vigorously fighting these allegations. According to a court official, the charges allege that she failed to tell the Labour-run

Tower Hamlets Council that she was "no longer living in overcrowded conditions".Ms Begum is due to appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on 10 December.

The MP, of the Isle of Dogs in east London, voted in favour of Labour's motion to extend free school meals over holiday time until Easter 2021.

Home Secretary imposes restrictions on protests On Tuesday 3rd November, The Times reported that the Home Secretary has reportedly prohibited all protests involving more than two people during the lockdown.

According to the newspaper, PritiPatel has briefed chief constables stating that they would be expected to enforce the rules even as some senior police officers are believed to be concerned of the“draconian” measures.

This however, means that all

demonstrations which were allowed to go forward under certain conditions despite the pandemic, would now be removed.There were complaints from some members of the public during the first lockdown that they had been prevented from seeing their families while thousands of people were allowed to march on the streets together especially in light of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a statement to The Times, a Home Office spokesman said, “The right to peaceful protest is one of the cornerstones of our democracy.

In these unprecedented circumstances, any gathering risks spreading the disease, leading to more deaths, so it is vital we all play our part in controlling the virus. People must follow the rules on meeting with others, which apply to all gatherings and

Priti Patel

therefore protests too.”

Mother pays tribute to daughter A mother has paid tribute to her 23-year-old daughter who was killed in car crash in Chalfont St Peter. Simran Johal, from Sloughwas one of the five people in a blue Volkswagen Golf which mounted a roundabout and rolled onto its roof resulting in her unfortunate and untimely death.

Detectives closed the A413 between A40 Oxford Road and The Greyhound Inn for over 10 hours as they investigated the accident.

Speaking to Slough Observer, Simi’s mother Anita said, “Simi was my whole world and my everything.Even though you have been taken away from me

Simran Johal

too early, you will always be my Baby Girl.Simi worshipped her grandparents and would often help her grandad on many occasions.”

Early reports indicate the car was being driven south on the A413 Amersham Road, before losing control at the roundabout junction with Kingsway.

KRISHNA PUJARA: FIGHTING FOR GENDER PARITY She is the Chairperson of Women Economic Forum UK and the Chairperson of the Enfield Domestic Abuse Operational Forum. She is the President of Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WICCI)UK and the Chairperson of All Ladies League UK and, Justice and KRISHNA PUJARA Equality Chairperson of Ladies of All Nations International and Chairperson of Women’s Wing of the LohanaMahaparishad. And now, she is part of The India League which was established in 1916.

Krishna Pujara has uncountable laurels to her name.

And with these laurels, is a greater level of responsibility and accountability that rests on her humble shoulders. Those which stand in solidarity with every woman fighting the regressive views and cultural practices of the community.

Krishna Pujara has become a support system for those Indian women who do not have the strength to speak up for their rights. But how did Krishna embark on her journey into community service in the UK and why did it become so important for her? It was when she was studying, that she grew aware of the challenges that students faced in balancing their academic life and caring for elderly relatives with physical disabilities. Speaking about her campaign, she said, “I decided to do something about the challenges that these students faced, and over the next four years, a group of us helped campaign for the carers support in Brent. When carers' support developed and was recognised by the council, we began to tackle the problems for young school students who were looking after parents with disabilities. Our campaign for young carers was so successful that HRH Princess Anne decided to offer the Carers Support her name, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers – Brent Carers Centre.”

While she was pursuing her post-graduation, Krishna found herself growing more passionate about social issues. She says, “I worked with the Carers Centre, which helped me discover deep-seated problems that women faced including domestic abuse, which people hardly talked about in those days. Refuge centres for women who were experiencing domestic abuse were few and far in-between, so not many women could be accommodated. That is when I was headhunted to help in developing the Women’s Aid Refuge. They especially needed my expertise on how to help women rebuild their lives in a culturally sensitive space.”

Krishna was keen to take up the technology industry by its horns with a blueprint in her head designed to pivot the male-dominated industry. But her daughter had just turned eleven years old, and she wanted to be there for her. Thus, she relinquished her high-profile corporate job to support her daughter and family. Gradually, supporting women with her charitable projects became more important to her and she grew further away from the glamour of the corporate world. Embedding her values and ideas around women empowerment, Krishna Pujara is now the CEO of Saheli.

Over the course, however, Krishna has collected several other accolades by lending her imagination and voluntary services to several organisations.

“I joined Women’s Aid Harrow on their Executive Council as a volunteer and was appointed the Chairperson Elect in 1996 to support the Refuge Manager going through a transition to housing Association. I felt a sense of self-satisfaction by giving something back to the community. I joined Brent Indian Association on their Executive Committee and have served in various roles from Executive Committee member Secretary-General from 1997-2011.

“Being inspired by Sardar Patel’s life, I was delighted when I was asked to join the Sardar Patel Memorial Society in 2009 as the Secretary-General. I continue to provide my services to society to propagate the values of Sardar in the Spirit of Unity. In 2011, I was invited to join the Executive Committee of the National Congress of Gujarati Organisations (NCGO)UK. As a Gujarati, I was delighted to be asked and accepted the honour. NCGO UK is an umbrella organisation for Gujarati Organisations in the UK and campaigns for the needs of Gujaratis in the UK. Since then I have been giving my voluntary time and have served in various roles as Secretary-General, Treasurer & at present the Public Relations Officer. I joined Lions Club in 2007 and have been an active member in London Central Host Lions Club. I have also been recognised by the top honour of Melvyn Jones Fellowship Award for Humanitarian & Charitable work in the community.”

Discussing the challenges that women often face while navigating through the patriarchal world she said, “We know that women are better at dealing with crisis and can juggle work alongside domestic chores. But what I have learned is that while your work may be appreciated but you will never be good enough to take on the role of the Chairman, especially within these male dominated organisations. The positions don’t make a difference to me as long as I know I have made some sort of difference in society. But my fight for gender parity continues.”

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6 UK

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CIIr Ketan Sheth

WE WANT JUSTICE Continued from page 1

Confident in Sir Starmer’s engagement “But the discrimination against with the Indian diaspora Indian Labour members is not as grave “There is an anti-Indian bigotry and pronounced as against the Jewish Supporting Sir Starmer’s decision and racism that is prevalent within the members and thus, we had an EHRC of Corbyn’s suspension, Navin said, Labour Party,” says Sundip Meghani, a investigation into Labour’s anti“Labour is committed to taking on Leicester-based Lawyer who is currentSemitism. I am hopeful that board the recommendations of ly working for the Independent Office similar review of the a the EHRC report and its findfor Police Conduct (IOPC).

Party’s alienation of its ings. I fully support the Indian members will strong and immediate Leicester’s 28% population Indian but also be conducted. But I actions taken by the no Indian Labour MP don’t see anything hapLeader of the party Rt Nearly two months ago on 15th pening even with a Honorable Sir Keir August, India’s Independence Day, change in the leadership Starmer.

And, this Sundip announced his resignation with Sir Keir Starmer includes the suspension of from the Labour Party following 20 now in charge.”

Jeremy Corbyn for a simple years of service citing “anti-Indian, Jas Athwal reason that no individual is bigantisemitic and anti-worker sentiment Corbyn’s suspension is misger than the cause. of recent years”. Considering his track leading, Party machinery should be “Unfortunately, it is also true that record of representing Leicester as a reformed Indian members with demonstrable track former city councillor for Beaumont record have been overlooked by the In the meantime, there are emergLeys, and a Leicester Police Authority Party. At a personal level I have had two ing reports that claim Corbyn’s allies member, he was keen to stand as setbacks - Harrow East and Leicester within Labour considered quitting the Labour’s parliamentary candidate for East parliamentary selections where party over his suspension resulting in Leicester East in the 2019 General the party failed to follow due process speculation over the disintegration of Election. But apparently his applishowed no accountability. Under Labour Party. and the cation was not even answered the new leadership I expect things to Speaking about how by party officials. Sundip change for the better and I have confiCorbyn should not alone be was not the only Indian dence that our new leader will sincerely blamed for the emergence candidate in the Labour work towards forging better relationof a “radicalised” Labour, Party contesting for ships with the Indian diaspora.”

Sundip said, “The suspennominations to the sion of Jeremy Corbyn is a seat. Sources estimate Islamophobia inquiry in the vain attempt at trying to that there were nearly a Conservative Party? pivot Labour from its neodozen other British Marxist and radicalised ideWhile Labour is embroiled in Indian candidates includology. His suspension is merely repeated investigations on antiing an Assembly Member Navin Shah “smoke and mirrors”. To blame Semitism, the Conservatives have for Brent and Harrow, a single individual of what is also been accused of refusing to take Navin Shah who had filed their applicaessentially a Party problem is misleadcomplaints about Islamophobia in its tions but not even acknowledged by ing. They may suspend him for a while ranks seriously and dropped plans of Party officials. According to Census but he would most likely be reany inquiry into the issue. A 2011, 28% of the 329,839 people in in the Party in due admitted dossier of more than 300 alleLeicester are of Indian heritage but it is course. But the Labour gations of Islamophobia by noteworthy that not a single sitting Party, a union of Tory party members was Labour MP is a representative from the 550,000 members needs submitted to the EHRC Indian community. to reform its Party by the Muslim Council of machinery.”

Britain (MCB). Incidents Decreasing Indian members at parliaSikh and Hindu included party members mentary and council positions in Labour members have calling for Muslims to be Labour expressed concerns for thrown off bridges and to Speaking about how deserved being mocked of their relibe forcibly sterilized. An Indian candidates within the Labour Sundip Meghani gion, being excluded from inquiry into the discriminaParty are overlooked, Sundip says, Party meetings and not tion was earlier being led by “There are decreasing number of being allowed to participate in key polProfessor Swaran Singh of Warwick British Indian politicians in the Labour icy making sessions. Jas Athwal, was University.

Party not just at Parliamentary posithe main opponent to Sam Tarry In Insisting that Conservatives tions but also at local council tiers now.

Ilford South, who ran Corbyn’s 2016 should set their own house in order And this is indicative of the fact that Labour party leadership campaign and before criticising Labour, Navin Shah British Indians are systematically being it was widely reported that Jas’s lastsaid, “For the last 45 years I have been driven out of the Party. Meanwhile, the minute suspension could be blamed on at the forefront of fighting all forms MPs who are still in the Party, continue him. Assembly Member for Harrow of racism and believe in stamping it to have their own set of challenges. and Brent has also consistently raised out no matter where it occurs. Shame Some are deliberately blocked or overred flags about Labour’s marginalisathat Islamophobia in Conservative looked in favour of left leaning white tion of Indian members warning the Party is not getting attention in the candidates. This prevents Indian repreParty to not take the Indian communiway it should do and the Tories need sentatives from acquiring a position of ty for granted as they would likely gravto put their house in order before influence to properly represent the itate towards the Conservatives. criticising us.” interests of their community.

Lord Loomba raises questions on train services and commonwealth soldiers Speaking at the House of Lords about the need for better train services, as key to achieving the levellingup agenda, Lord Loomba said that the public needs good, reliable and fast services. Commentating on the amount of pollution and congestion on the roads, Lord Loomba asked, what assessment have the Government taken on increasing train timetable options for passengers from Lincoln, with a view to ensuring greater usage.

Showing his concern for Commonwealth military personnel, Lord Loomba raised a question on access to the NHS after

Lord Loomba

military service. Lord Loomba wanted to know what the cost was, if any, for personnel when needing health care once they had left the military.

On new Pension

Protection Fund [PPF] regulations, he said that these regulations are necessary to ensure that the Payment Protection Fund can engage fully in a proactive and meaningful way in the conversations and decisionmaking processes when a company finds itself in difficulty.

Earlier in October Lord Loomba, pointed out that as a country, we were slow to adopt the wearing of face coverings.

Speaking on pension scamming he wanted to know what the government was doing to stop bogus companies being set

up to carry out scams. He said, “The scale of loss is staggering, as bogus companies can set up to instigate the frauds and are often closed quickly to avoid. What are the Government doing to strengthen checks on company registration so that only genuine companies are able to trade?”

On the topic of pensions, Lord Loomba praised the government for sticking to its triple lock policy by introducing a pensions uprating bill. The Bill he said, is important as it gives support to some of the most vulnerable in our society: those relying on state pensions to survive.

Chair, Brent Council Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

Healthy heighbourhoods Brent Healthy Neighbourhoods have been making headlines and indeed these were debated at a special Full Council meeting a few days ago.

So what are these “emergency” Covid road closures and “low-traffic neighbourhoods” all about? Well these are a group of residential streets where vehicle traffic, which is not local to the area, is either discouraged or removed. These areas are commonly referred to as lowtraffic neighbourhoods. Brent plans to roll out a series of these initiatives between August 2020 and February 2021, in partnership with Transport for London and the Department for Transport. So, how can we make this innovative initiative better and benefit all?

I love where I live. It is rich in the elements that make for a vibrant, connected community. There is a bus stop near my home, there are nearby parks, I visit with my two young sons, and neighbours who represent a wide range of ethnicities, ages, and incomes.

These are all elements of healthy neighbourhoods.

Brent aims to create neighbourhoods, and communities that better support residents’ physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. A lot of living happens between buildings and we are starting to realise that reactive healthcare is not sustainable. We need to move to a more proactive mind-set and break down the silos between planners, healthcare, and governments. Then we can develop environments that improve health outcomes and help alleviate the burden of treating chronic conditions at a macroeconomic level.

This involves working with our communities and various stakeholders. At the individual and community levels, the more attention policy makers, planners, and developers pay to these principles, the more likely it is that we will all be able to proclaim our love for our neighbourhoods — and the healthy, supported, and connected lives they enable us to lead.

We know that stress plays a vital role in undermining health and wellness — whether it is caused by commuting, isolation, congestion, lack of exercise, or estrangement from nature — so it is not surprising that stress reduction and connecting residents, both young and old, with their streets is at the heart of healthy neighbourhoods’ initiative.

It is all about making Brent: Better and Best. We have an opportunity to de-stress Brent: let’s take that forward.

Runnymede Trust sues government On Monday 2nd November, the Runnymede Trust and Good Law Project announced that they have launched legal proceedings against Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock.

The Tory ministers are being sued for lack of proper selection process and appointment of individuals who are connected to the Conservative Party – without advertising these roles allowing others, possibly more suited, to apply for the position. They argue that the government is reportedly ignoring its public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 by allegedly filling senior public sector roles with their friends. A fundraiser has already raised £40,000 off the targeted £100,000.

The fundraiser titled ‘It's time for an end to cronyism’ has challenged the appointment of Dido Harding, as well as a string of other appointments which were made with seemingly no advertisement or fair recruitment process. The organisations have also claimed that the

Halima Begum

Government’s approach discriminates against those born without a silver spoon in their mouth. It’s unfair to those who don’t rub shoulders with high-ranking Ministers. And it’s unfair to groups who the data shows are shut out of public life.

The judicial review raises two legal arguments: Recruitment without open competition is indirect discrimination on grounds of, in particular, race and disability, contrary to the Equality Act 2010; and Government appears to have breached its public sector equality duty in s. 149 of the Equality Act 2010 in filling senior public sector roles without paying due regard to the impact of its recruitment approach on those with protected characteristics.

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8 COMMUNITY

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Virtual Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations On Saturday 31st October, the Sardar Patel Memorial Society UK celebrated Unity Day and the 145th Birth Anniversary of the iron man of India. The virtual celebrations, first of its kind, were hosted to recognise and honour the contributions of India’s first Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel and laud his efforts effort in integrating the then Princely states into the country.

The Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations were attended by the High Commissioner of India to the UK, Her Excellency Gaitri Kumar, Lord Rami Ranger, Conservative MP for Harrow East Bob Blackman, Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow Navin Shah besides other dignitaries. The High Commissioner administered the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas pledge virtually to officers

Rohit Vadhwana

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas

and staff of India House as they dedicated themselves

to the unity, integrity and security of the country.

Brent Council awarded council of the year On Wednesday 28th October, Brent Council announced that it was awarded with the “council of the year” award.

Five other local authorities – Bristol, Hull, Aberdeen, Calderdale, and Adur and Worthing were competing for the coveted honour at the Local Government Chronicle Awards. But Brent Council bagged the prize for “lifting up the whole borough” with its commitment to celebrating diversity which according to the judging panelis “an antidote to today’s fractured society”.

Highlighting the coun-

cil’s various development initiatives, the awards recognised Brent councillors commitment to building new council homes, street cleaning initiatives, its best ever Ofsted rating, and working with partners to reduce homelessness and violent crime.

Receiving the award on behalf of the council, Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council since 2012, said, “This is brilliant recognition for all the hard work officers and councillors put in day in, day out to serve the residents of Brent.

“The challenge of working in local government is

Councillor Muhammed Butt

ever changing as we respond to crises, central Government funding cuts and the fast-changing world around us. Councils are not just here to pick up the bins, we know and love our communities and provide not just a safety net but also a spring board and opportunities for residents to improve

their own lives. As a Brent boy born and bred, I am hugely proud of how far we have come as a council but there is more to do.

“Brent is the most diverse borough in the most diverse city on earth and this award will only increase our desire to continue improving and Build a Better Brent.

Recognising the efforts of Brent Council, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan tweeted, “Congratulations to Councillor Butt and Carolyn Downs and every member of the staff. Well deserved recognition for your commitment to the local community.”

Maharani Jindan Kaur's rare jewellery auctioned On 26th October, Monday it emerged that Maharani Jindan Kaur’s Jewels were auctioned off at £62,500at Bonhams Islamic and Indian Art Sale in London.

The Jewels of the last wife of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Punjab were inherited by her granddaughter Princess Bamba Sutherland and were the key highlights of the auction. The only surviving widow of Ranjit Singh, Jindan Kaur (1817-1863) led the resistance to the encroachment of the British into the Punjab, but was eventually forced to surrender.

More than 600 pieces of her jewellery from the legendary treasury of Lahore were confiscated, and she was imprisoned before escaping to Nepal in 1848.

The jewellery in the sale

Maharani Jindan Kaur

included the gem-set gold forehead pendant (chand-tikka), gemset gold mirrored roundel and a pearl-mounted gold pendant are estimated at £60,000-80,000. All these prized possessions were most certainly within the casket of jewels handed back to Maharani Jindan Kaur by the British authorities when she agreed to live in London. She stayed with her son, Duleep Singh, with whom she was reunited in Calcutta in

with faith communities remain a problem as the pandemic endures.

Harun Khan, Secretary General of the MCB, said, “A new national lockdown will have ramifications for us all.

We must continue to work together to find the most effective ways to keep everyone safe, support our NHS and saves lives. It is disappointing the Prime Minister did not mention the impact on places of worship, leaving Muslims and other faith communities with inadequate guidance. Clarity must be provided as a matter of urgency.

“Imams, mosques, Islamic associations, charities and the army of volun-

During the last lockdown, which was first of its kind of an experience for almost each one of us, we have learnt survival skills, with bare minimum support. One of the issues that almost all of us might have faced was getting a haircut. Hairdressers were closed during the lockdown. For almost three months, people didn't get a haircut. What happened?

How did they manage? Each one will have their own story.

Ladies may not have felt the pinch as much as men did, unless they have been sporting shorter hair. But without being sexist, I can say the dishevelled look conveniently targeted men, more than women. Children, with longer hair, might have looked even cuter. But what happened to men who needed to have a monthly haircut to appear sane and civil?

Some men got their wives or children to experiment with scissors. Some permitted natural growth of their hair, exhibiting hermit like appearances. Did it make them spiritual? After all, for hair to grow is natural. It is human intervention to cut them short, in specific styles.

But did the growing hair make them feel they were close to nature? I don't know. I didn't grow my hair during lockdown.

Well, to share with you all, I went bald. I shaved my head, like a Buddhist monk! It didn't add more spirituality in to nature, but it was so convenient till the time my hair grew again. There was a moment, when I was tempted to remain bald forever. But that decision is not my prerogative. My wife has the decision-making power in terms of my hairstyle! Married men would not be surprised. I wonder, if she is losing her power, with my receding hairline.

My hair grew back and I had regular monthly haircuts. But it was just before the announcement of lockdown by PM Boris Johnson - effective from 5th November to 2nd December - that I have got my haircut.

Details are yet to be announced whether hairdressers will remain open or not, but I am fully prepared to handle this lockdown period of one month with a new haircut.

Now, this haircut topic reminds me of haircut in terms of finances as well. Be prepared to cut down costs.

Currently you might or might not have been affected financially. But it is almost a year that the world economy has been affected adversely. So, it is going to hit everyone in one way or another. Be mindful of your growing expenses. Having a timely haircut will be useful.

1861.Although Prince Duleep Singh eventually returned to Lahore, his eldest daughter Princess Bamba remained Jewels of Maharani Jindan Kaur (Expressed opinions are personal) auctioned in England, where gold and she had been born and raised, (the Attariwala, Sikh commander and mirrored brooch was, according to Princess attended Oxford general, once owned by the Princess Bamba, formerly part of University and medical school in Marquess of Dalhousie, GovernorMaharajah Duleep Singh's horse America). Eventually the Princess General of India by Colesworthy harness.

They represent a remarkalso settled permanently in Lahore Grant (1813-1880); A portrait of able link back to one of the richest towards the end of her life, preViscount Hardinge of Lahore, treasuries in the world." senting the jewels to her friend, Governor-General of India, accomOther prized possessions Mrs Dora Crowe. panied by his two sons and his included: A rare 19th century Oliver White of Bonhams aide-de-camp Colonel Wood, on panoramic watercolour view of the Head of Islamic and Indian Art the battlefield after the victory at Golden Temple and the city of said, "These are wonderful jewels Ferozeshah during the first AngloAmritsar, attributed to Cyril in their own right, made more speSikh war by Sir Francis Grant Herbert (1847-1882; A portrait, cial still by their rich and fascinat(1803-78). dated 1853 of Rajah Shere Singh ing history – the circular stoned

Muslims call for review of restrictions on places of worship On Sunday 1st November, UK largest representative body of Muslims has called for an urgent review of new lockdown restrictions on places of worship.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is reportedly in co-ordination with Mosques, Muslim charities, and Councils of Mosques across the UK after the Government unexpectedly announced a second national lockdown across England.

This is in addition to the current restrictions in Wales and Northern Ireland, and regional tier system in Scotland. The MCB has highlighted that the government’s inadequate consultation and poor engagement

Have you got a haircut?

teers that support them have played – and are continuing to play – a crucial role in filling the gap by providing spiritual, social and welfare support for all communities.” The new restrictions indicate that places of worship in England must close for congregational worship, but can remain open for ‘individual prayer’.

The status of supplementary schools (madrasas) is still unclear. The distinction around individual worship is not straightforward or practical for many mosques, compared to other faith communities.

The MCB and partner organisations are writing to the Government to outline

Harun Khan

these concerns and call for an urgent evidence-based re-assessment of the status of places of worship, taking into account the societal harms closing them poses.

Willesden Mandir wishes all devotes Happy Diwali and New Year Shree Swaminarayan Temple Willesden is conscience of the safety of their visitors.

Therefore, the Temple has decided to remain close for the New Year on Sunday 15th November 2020 to all the public.

Daily live Darshan, Kalichaudas (Hanuman Pujan), Diwali (Laxmipujan) and New Year’s Ankut Darshan will be available to observe online on www.sstw.org.uk Donations are accepted online or by telephone.

The Temple has decided

to implement these preventative measures for the protection of Satsangis, in particular the elderly and the vulnerable. A spokesperson for the Mandir said, “We request the elderly, most vulnerable and those with underlying health conditions to not enter the Temple premises, for their own health. We will continue to monitor the situation and issue updates on our website and social media channels.

We thank you for your ongoing understanding and cooperation.”

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Will Coronavirus fundamentally change the economy as we know it?

Nitin Mehta Coronavirus has had an unprecedented impact on the very fabric of society.Tens of thousands of people have been impacted financially and lost their jobs.

Disruption in international travel, tourism has hit restaurants, hotels and the whole hospitality industry. Jobs are lost. The High Street retail shops reeling under online competition will suffer further slump as the purchasing power of people goes down. The rent and rates will make it impossible for many to survive. There is a likelihood of deserted High Streets with empty buildings. Property prices could see a huge drop. The buy to let market could experience negative equity. This will be a big blow to a huge number of people. It will be very difficult to shed the property portfolio as the market experiences a collapse.

An unexpected result of the virus is that working from home has become a norm. According to Kevin Ellis, chairman of PwC, which has a staff of 22,000 employees, the shift of working from home has bashed away “presenteeism” forever. If there were any doubts of its efficacy they have been removed by the arrival of Zoom and otherapps. It is no longer necessary to travel for

meetings within the country or abroad. This will result in a massive change for the City.

Companies will downsize and, in many cases, do away with office space.

The landlords of these properties will face huge challenges. We may see huge skyscrapers sitting empty. As the flow of commuters to the city slows down the hundreds of thousands of businesses depending on them will find it difficult to survive. The City could turn into a ghost town. Post coronavirus the tourist industry may revive but it will be seasonal and not enough to keep businesses afloat.One possibility would be to turn the office space into flats.

The once unthinkable living accommodation in prime London locations could be available at a fraction of the price. If this happens then the City will see a revival and businesses will make a comeback on hugely reduced rent and rates.

Railways could also be severely impacted due to the work from home phenomenon. It has dawned on people that they could be saving as much as £2000 a year on train fares. Trains as well the Underground System will run half

empty. Their financial liability will become an issue jeopardising a huge number of jobs. Fares will have to come down to encourage more people to travel. The whole HS2 project which is a high-speed link connecting London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds could fail with the work from home and Zoom arrival.

Estimated to cost £106 billion it could turn out to be an expensive initiative with trains running empty. London transport buses are running empty too and it may not be long before routes are cut and jobs lost.

The entire aviation industry, universities, airports, education, healthcare all could be impacted due to the new working methods.

It could be the harbinger of a more equal economic order in the long run.

Mayor of London rescues TfL On Sunday 1st November, the Mayor of London was successful in securing a £1.8bn for Transport for London to keep bus and Tube services in the capital running until March 2021.

The agreed deal between prime minister Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan appears following weeks of back and forth with Transport secretary Grant Shapps who reportedly threatened to take direct control of TfL unless Mr Khan conceded to the Tory government demands. The financial agreement will save the TfL from collapsing until next year March when London Mayoral elections are scheduled. But it has fallen short of the Mayor’s demand for a £4.9bn settlement for the next 18 months to keep tube and bus services going after revenues and passenger numbers collapsed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

City Hall said current passenger revenue projections meant the bailout was worth about £1.8bn in grants and borrowing. TfL is to carry out cost savings to make up a remaining £160m “gap” based on its forecasts. Most importantly he has agreed that in future TfL will pay itself for concession fares for under-18s and pensioners, which are not given elsewhere in the country.

In the meantime, Sadiq Khan has also warned Londoners that their council tax bills could have to rise because of the "draconian" conditions attached to the government

bailout. The decision on whether to increase the TfL element of the Greater London Authority’s “council tax precept” must be made by January 2021, when Mr Khan will also present a plan for the longterm financial sustainability of TfL. He was also warned about plunging the TfL into a form of public-sector insolvency called “section 114”.

TfL is heavily reliant on passen-

ger footfall to balance its books and the number of people riding the Tube fell to as low as 5 per cent of normal levels during the lockdown earlier this year.It has since slowlygone upwards to just over 30 per cent, while buses have been running at about 60 per cent of normal numbers but renewed national lockdown restrictions will be a new blow for the transport system. The new package will provide TfL with an extraordinary support grant of £905m as well as incremental borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board of £95m. But that £1bn figure is predicated on passenger numbers at 65 per cent of their precrisis levels.

10 READERS' VOICE

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Transport for London Earlier this week, we saw the campaigning efforts of City Hall, charities, business leaders and Londoners pay off.

As part of a last-minute emergency funding deal with TfL, the Government dropped the worst of its proposed conditions, including the removal of travel concessions for under 18s and older people and the extension of the congestion charge zone to the North and South Circulars.

However, the Government still fell far short of providing the long-term and sustainable financial package that TfL asked for. This is despite the fact the first lockdown caused their fare revenue to drop by 90%.

During the recent negotiations, the Government commissioned KPMG to deliver a review of TfL’s finances. So far, this has been kept hidden, even from the TfL Commissioner himself. If Ministers are intent upon interfering in how the transport system in our capital should be run, they need to be transparent with Londoners and publish the findings of the report as soon as possible. What we do know is that before the Covid-19 outbreak, Sadiq Khan had reduced the operating deficit at TfL, that he had inherited from Boris Johnson, by 71%, whilst boosting TfL’s cash balance by 13%.

Navin Shah AM London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow

Corruption: A Way of Life Kapil Dudakia’s article “Corruption: A Way of Life” in AV dated 31 Oct – 6 Nov 2020 shows the stark reality of the current situation in India.

Prime Minister Modi and his team are trying their best to reduce corruption from day to day life of the general public. To some extent, Kapil is right that it has for many become a way of life. PM and the team have introduced many measures to combat this by introducing transparency through technology like depositing money directly into the beneficiary’s account so human interaction is reduced which will eventually be helpful in controlling corruption.

There is no easy way or quick fix because it requires a change of mindset of common people as well as a paradigm shift in the attitude and mentality of government officials.

Government staff should understand and appreciate that their positions are to serve the citizens of India and not just to command and control the public.

Nowadays the government officials are getting a very good salary, perks, holidays and other benefits which can provide them with a decent lifestyle without resorting to illicit ways of earning money.

Some of the ways to reduce corruption are to praise publicly those people who are honest and going “extra mile” to help the general public. They should be given awards and recognition, so they become role models for other people.

On the other hand, there should be strict punishment/jail terms for those who have been making money by hook or by crook. There should be more fast track courts with limited rights of appeal so that officers refrain from taking money.

Hitesh Hingu London

Celebrating Diwali under Covid 19 restrictions I am sure no one has experienced such a scenario brought up on us by Coronavirus, unenvious import from China! It is difficult to confine oneself indoors at best of times. It will be even more difficult during our dark, cold and damp winter months, when many elderlies go to India for warmth and sunshine. It will especially affect family members, including grand children who normally brighten up Diwali and such other holidays for grandparents who live alone.

I am sure our Swaminarayan and Hare Krishna temples will put plans to accommodate few members of our community under strict restrictions, an online lottery but it will not help OAPs and people of advanced age who are not in good health, are immobile and many confined to wheel-chair.

Our Councils, government and community, including temples are doing their best under the most difficult circumstances when virus are spreading like wild fire, over one million people world-wide have already perished, yet worse dreaded months will be November to March when virus is expected to multiply tenfold, with more than five hundred daily casualties in UK alone.

Now that government has made up its mind to impose lockdown for four weeks until 2 December, perhaps all plans for Diwali celebrations, including Ankot, with food galore may be in doubt, as well as limited lottery admission to Hare Krishna temple in Watford. But hopefully it will save our Christmas, the most important religious occasion in this mainly Christian country we all celebrate!

Let us hope and pray that by the time we celebrate 2021 Diwali, these viruses will be a thing of the past with vaccine doing its job, although returning to normality that we enjoyed before the virus struck may never happen!

Kumudini Valambia By email

Responsible behaviour from children Every year on Halloween we put decorations on our front porch and give candies to children as Trick or Treat who come calling wearing different costumes, many braving the cold, wind, rain and sometimes snow.

We know this year they missed it and we also missed treating them. Our house is located near public school and as schools are open here in Markham, City schools’ children pass by watching our masked pumpkins. We thank their parents for teaching them that ahead of opening of schools, the importance of wearing mask to stay safe and healthy during Covid-19 pandemic.

My older daughter is a teacher at Markham Public School and one week after school opened, she came to our place. She said she was impressed to see the good behaviour of small children at school. They wear mask all the times, sanitize their desk before they sit down, wash their hands when they go to washrooms, sanitize their hands after that, take off mask for few minutes when they eat lunch on their desk and again sanitize their desk.

When they go out to play, they enter school by putting their masks back on and sanitize again. When they go home, they keep their mask on until they reach home while many so-called adults in the name of freedom are partying and going to parks and beaches totally ignoring all safety rules. Hence the dramatic increase in positive coronavirus cases and second lockdown in England.

As Diwali is around the corner, we wish Happy Diwali to all, including Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar staff and their loved ones.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel Markham, Canada

Police: Two sides of the same coin Since the shooting of the innocent black civilians in US, police everywhere are in the limelight, their every action scrutinized in minor details. The job of policemen is difficult at best of time. Although the vast majority of them are honest, dedicated and joined police force to serve ordinary people, to the best of their ability, however in is inevitable that there may be one bad apple in the barrel.

When I first came to this country in sixties, I was working for a firm of charted accountant. Driving a Triumph banger, I was so often stopped by a policeman while driving through Piccadilly Circus, Marble Arch and other such posh areas. It was due to my banger rather than the colour of my skin.

When they saw a well-dressed person in suit and tie and my explanation that I was visiting a client for audit, with all papers like MOT, driving licence, insurance certificate in order, police would apologise. This became a routine and I came to know most policemen by face if not by name! There was never an exchange of harsh words between us. It was polite and friendly, me accepting that they were just doing their duty to keep roads safe!

Another encounter I had with police when our front garden was vandalised by school children whom we caught picking flowers and plants in our front garden. After tolerating this harassment for few weeks, we contacted police who came and took the video to show the head teacher of the local school.

Some of the parents came and apologized to us and we never had any such problems since then. These incidents occurred a long time ago, so I am not in touch with the present circumstances. But I am sure it could not have changed drastically. Respect is a two-way street and my moto is “What you sow, so you reap!”

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Control inflation in onion costs

KHICHADI Labour - Guilty as Charged Kapil’s

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

Kapil Dudakia Kapil’s Khichadi proven to be correct yet again. The inquiry by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), has found that Labour broke equalities law and there were serious failings in Labour leadership.

They will now try and lay all the blame on Jeremy Corbyn and Momentum, but don’t be fooled. The racists in the Labour Party came from all factions. They had conducted their racism covertly for years, it became more open when Jeremy Corbyn took over, and the floodgates opened. Also remember the silence of the shadow front bench whilst Labour Jewish MPs and members were abused.

Even whilst the EHRC were investigating, the wokes on the left conspired on social media to undermine the EHRC. In fact, the Labour Party went as far as suspending Sir Trevor Phillips for daring to expose the true underbelly of the Party.

Astonishingly, whilst our Jewish friends were being abused by Labour members, there were many Labour Indians who remained silent. Their slave like appeasement to a racist party will become their epitaph.

This matters to ALL Indians, irrespective of their faith or cultural background. The Labour Party has become an anti-India party. Some deluded Indians will tell you that things have changed since Keir Starmer took over. Rubbish. Within days of taking over, do remember Keir ignored the Hindu community when he set up his COVID 19 review group. He later said one thing in response to the letter from the Hindu Forum of Britain, but again within days did a U-turn when he took the knee to the Pakistani community.

This is the same Labour Party that allowed its front bench to attack the Rt Hon Priti Patel, because Priti was not black enough for them! It’s the same Labour Party whose leading lights hosted the Pakistani extremists to support their Kashmir agenda. At every turn, the Labour Party has shown that it has a core of hatred for India and Indians. There are many from our community, too silly or too enslaved, to read the writing on the wall. They chant the Labour mantra whilst the party disrespects them, their heritage, and their ancestral land.

It is only a matter of time before Hindus within Labour will finally grow a spine and do what the Jewish community did, take the matter to the EHRC. However, I can’t hold my breath that long, so it falls on me to expose this party for what it is.

Labour has gone out of its way to undermine India and openly support Pakistan. How much more must they do before the Indian community wake up? If Indians want respect, then they must first have some for themselves and do the right thing.

Going back to the report, well the way Jeremy Corbyn responded meant Keir had no choice but to suspend him, just to save a bit of integrity. However, within hours the hard left started a petition to get Corbyn reinstated. The Unions have flexed their muscle as well in his support. So will Keir fold? Or is it time for a full civil war to clear the mess and save Labour? It’s do or die time for Labour.

I leave you with one final thought, in 2016 Shami Chakrabarti released her report into antisemitism in the Labour Party. The first eight words said, ‘The Labour Party is not overrun by antisemitism’. And Jeremy Corbyn gave her a peerage. No wonder there is now a petition to remove her from the Lords: http://chng.it/xqNCC582 You should all sign it as well.

Onion, ubiquitous in Indian cooking is widely seen as the poor man's vegetable. It is the staple food of the common man and has seen a steep rise in the country in the last few weeks.

This is because of hoarding and sale in black. The price-rise has resulted in kitchen grievances for majority of the households, as the price is too high for most of the middle-class families to afford.

Onions are needed daily for cooking. It is also needed for making salads and 'kanda bhajis'. Without onions, we are unable to cook our daily meals.

The government must control inflation and must do something to bring down the onion price so as to provide relief to the common man.

The price of onions- Rs 80 (equivalent to £1) a kilo is bringing tears to our eyes much before we cut them.

The onion is a staple vegetable for the poor, indispensable to many Indian cuisines and recipes, from spicy curries (Britain’s favourite dish) to tangy relishes.

Libyan leader Gadaffi indeed warned the leaders of the West and had said that if you guys invade my country, my people will come to haunt you guys. That is what exactly is happening in EU and other parts of the world, since the illegal invasion of Iraq and regime changes.

Now because of the incompetent Trump administration and others, millions of innocent people have lost their lives and livelihoods across the globe especially because of the Covid-19 conspiracy theory.

Yet the US and its cronies still have not stopped-abusing the power and creating a very toxic environment in home and across the globe.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai, India

Yam Gurung (rtd) First Gulf war veteran, UK

Toxic environment

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Mayuri Kamlesh: Rising in the World of Production Sunetra Senior Mayuri is a young production Coordinator and Manager in television and film who has risen quickly through the ranks. Her impressive array of projects over six short years include Shesh Theke Shuru with the biggest star in Bengoli Film, Bollywood’s Baar Baar Dekho, Amazon Prime’s TV series, The Family Man 2, and Patients of a Saint, English horror film which “laid the foundation” for Mayuri’s career as it is today. “After being a production coordinator for this, I was asked to reprise that same role for my first big Bollywood film: Judgemental Hai kya. I was handling whole projects, from organising cars, cameras, equipment, general transportation, hospitality and the locations to effectively running a large crew. I continued to do very well.”

During the time of Covid-19, Mayuri has also been part of the first film set to successfully wrap production without anyone on the team testing positive for the ubiquitous virus. Working as a production co-ordinator for the new Bollywood film, Bell Bottom which was shot in scenic Scotland, the hardworking professional elaborated: “we hired out an entire hotel for the cast & crew throughout the filming to keep everyone especially protected. There were over 100 individuals involved in this movie. The team that came across from India were tested immediately, and their temperatures regularly checked.

Everyone behind the cameras wore face masks and food was ordered in by the crew for the duration. Every bit of equipment was also sanitised before use.”

Setting a stellar example for wider society, such extra costly precaution comes despite the film business being one of the sectors to be the hardest hit.

However, here Mayuri went on to emphasise the importance of emotional

starting out in the field do not get paid and rely on the reasonable exchange of favours as ‘payment in kind’ to earn their way. “Actually, it is better to work with the same people in the industry as filming can be complex and it is easier to rehire familiar, experienced talent for smoother process overall. Having a good work ethic and being attuned to various different problems, from the needs of the team to the many demands of that particular film make the best productions. I am always on the go, responding to queries about hiring and catering, the needs of actors, and everything requiring management.”

Currently working on the upcoming Netflix series, Matilda, Mayuri finally shared her favourite type of projects, having worked extensively behind the scenes. “I love stories where you can

relate to the main character, and empathise with them.” According to the soon-to-be producer, the imaginary or elaborate world of fiction is not the only mode for achieving this: “good documentaries can help you inhabit another’s mindset just as well. In fact, one of my goals for the future is to be able to write and actually produce my own film, looking into the underrepresented world of newly married Indian brides. I’d like to be able to portray their struggle e.g. moving in immediately with the husband, having to say goodbye to family and the pressure of having children. There is so much expectation and a little or no channel to be able to express that distress. So often women are judged for even feeling a conflict.

It would be great to help to something about that.”

And so, the medium of art itself a powerful reality, Mayuri demonstrates how good production reflects the formula for thriving at life: adapting, keeping focussed and communicative, and being able to deliver no matter what.

You started out by wanting to be an actress. Tell us a bit more on that?

I actually have a BTECH in the performing arts and started out in dance.

After joining Shiamak Davar’s Dance School, I was selected to be part of their Advance group where I was training to be a professional and perform on stage. This included dancing behind Bollywood Actors such as Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma for Hero Honda held in O2 Arena. I also appeared as a background artist for Bollywood Films, such as Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and Veer to get experience of how films are made.

However, eventually I turned to the world of production as this was a more

Mayuri with Anupam Kher from the film: The Accidental Prime Minister (2019)

realistic goal. I also have training in accounting which has served me in this field.

What grabs you emotionally about the world of production?

You get to know everybody and everything around a particular film: you are the core of the project. Another aspect is being able to be constantly active from the time I wake up to when I go to sleep. As you’re completing a project, you don’t necessarily know what is going on in the outer world of the movie, entirely immersed in its inner workings. Every day you will learn something new, from financing to the

"Having a good work ethic and being attuned to various different problems, from the needs of the team to the many demands of that particular film make the best productions"

Mayuri Kamlesh

intelligence alongside the practical smarts in skilful production. As well as being adept at budgeting and administration, she commented that “one must know how to work well with other people. Being honest, speaking well, and appreciating those around you is fundamental. You should never treat someone differently just because of their status. I have financed people on my team when they needed it, promoting a fair dynamic of give and take. You need to be gracious and be good at compromise – both when arranging the production and building a relationship with the crew. There are so many horror stories of people getting scammed and shamelessly exploited.” Indeed, many

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exclusive insights being shared within the industry. There are so many variables. You learn both what and what not to do. It’s very complete.

Finally, what have been some highlight moments?

Firstly, I think meeting famous people and being able to work closely with them. You don’t forget meeting Kareena Kapoor! I’ve also had the pleasure of knowing Irfan Khan. Being on the set of Akshay Kumar’s Bell Bottom recently was a dream come true.

Secondly, being able to grow so much after having been challenged. Working in big production can be overwhelming.

You need to learn how to negotiate and yourself socially and manage relationships that can be very intimidating. Especially as a young person who is starting out.

Government’s longterm balancing act Subhash V Thakrar Former Chairman, London Chamber of Commerce We have now gone through the first wave of Covid-19. Towards the end of the first quarter toMarch 2020, the economy was brought down to standstill and towards the end of second quarter toJune, there was some opening of the economy. In May, June and July we started seeing economicgrowth of up to 6%.Andnow we are in to a semi lockdown.

There is a lot of uncertainty about job losses incertain sectors, especially the hospitality sector.

We should not lose sight of the fact that the likesof supermarkets, NHS, logistics companies have all been recruiting. There are new jobs createdthat never existed. All the staff involved in Covid-19 testing and tracing are all new positions.

Homedelivery activity is on the up with more people employed to deliver products and ready meals tohomes.

In the brief controlled relaxation that started in July and August, we had a snippet of the behaviourof the consumers. We have witnessed growth in various sectors. The holiday sector started to pickup fast with people starting to travel. The restaurants and pubs started to get full.

RishiSunak’s idea of Eat Out scheme gave this the much-needed boost.The food sector has done well too. Fresh fruit companies who distributed to hotels saw their salescollapse but they got their business replaced by sales of fruits to Mayor’s schemes and homedeliveries. One distributor of fresh flowers that I talked to has seen sales increase by 40%.

I was talking to my nephews who run a successful second-hand car business in Bedfordshire. They had torecall all their staff from furlough as their business was 20% more than year before. Clearly, peopleare using their furlough money savings resulting from low routine outgoings to buy a car. Similarpattern has been experienced with white goods and other capital expenditure.

So, it is not bad everywhere. Many businesses are quietly doing well.Thetravel sector has suffered.

The redundancies and unemploymentwill emerge in the winter months as furlough will stop. The Chancellor’s latest economic supportinitiatives like the job support scheme will now focus the minds of employers to plan ahead. Thescheme is innovative as it enables the non-viable jobs to be ended and helps businesses to slowlygrow as consumer demand starts increasing.

The brief relaxation of the economy showed that as soon the brakes are off, demand goes up.During the economic crisis of 2008/09, the UK government injected a fiscal stimulus of £70 bn.

Bycomparison during this Covid crisis the stimulus is now around £350 bn for 2020. This is five timesthat of 2008! All this money has to work its way through the economy.

When we look at the ratio of public debt over GDP (Gross Domestic Product), UK stands ataround 86%. The US is 106% and Japan 234%.

These are ratios before Covid-19. Back in 1946 postWorld War II, this ratio for UK had reached 150%. So, we have plenty of headroom to go.

Thismeans the current jump in government debt is controllable and not going to bankrupt our economy.

Further benefit to the government is that all this extra national debt is at near zero interest rate. So.the capital repayment will be faster as the economy gets to a new normal Questions are being asked about how and when will all this fiscal injection be repaid.

Ultimately thegovernment has to recover from tax revenue and reduction in spending. I feel that the economy willnot be ready for large tax increases nor another austerity period. This is evident with the latestdecision to postpone the autumn budget. I see therefore that the government will play a balancinglong-term act by not increasing taxes quickly nor bring in austerity but allow the recovery processto take place over a longer period.

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“Women need men as allies” - Saima Mir Shefali Saxena To be a woman is to be unapologetically resilient in the face of life. - H.H. The life and choices of the award-winning journalist and writer Saima Mir are a reflection of the above saying.

Patiently braving all technical glitches, over a 90 minute long conversation, we managed to speak to Saima about women, journalism, body-shaming and the institution of marriage.

Saima has been a journalist for almost 20 years. She shared, “I was just 27 when I became a journalist. I had just got divorced for the second time. I was raised in a family where you always go to the university and get your education to be ultimately raised to be someone’s

wife. The only career anyone was really pursuing was medicine. So when I found myself divorced for the second time, I got tired of feeling sorry for myself and realised that I could not feel bad any longer. I always wanted to write. My nana (maternal grandfather) was a journalist in Iran and he died when he was in his 40s”.

After finishing her engineering, Saima started writing for a local paper called Voice of the Youth. After spending two days in the newsroom, she felt like she had found her home – “I felt like I could leave all the cultural rubbish behind. It didn’t feel like work”. Saima was immensely keen to write for The Guardian, so she sent them her CV and at the bottom she made a section called “Future Awards” where she mentioned a Pulitzer,

Saima Mir

among other prizes. She shared, “I used to apply for every single BBC job there ever was. I didn’t care what it was going to be like.

I just wanted to work for the BBC!” After reading the book Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead But Gutsy Girls Do by Kate White, she realised that “if you want something, you just have to go get it.”

Safety, parenthood and body-shaming Saima believes that we need to find ways to allow women around parenthood and pay as well. She also touched upon the issue of safety of journalists “When I was a young journalist, I never thought about the issue of safety for women journalists.

I never realised that I was a thin little brown woman reaching out to a racist house to ask a few questions. I was never really given much safety training. I think we need more of that.”

She added, “We need diversity in journalism and women’s voices, because the things that we see are different from the things that men do. As women we have such a short amount of time to build our careers and if you want to have babies men don’t have that.”

Speaking of women presenters being body shamed by colleagues and society, Saima said, “A man can be unattractive and it’s okay. As women, we are constantly defined by our sizes and beauty, especially in South Asia. My body has produced people, it is healthy, it helps me eat and work. I have a brain and I’m cleverer than most people I know, and I don’t mean that in an arrogant way. I have fought for my life and I am measured in

beauty? Everybody finds different things attractive, why don’t we just embrace that?”

Values can come through any religion, race or background We delved into a more sensitive topic that is still a taboo for South Asians remarrying after divorce - “One of the hardest things about divorce for me was that I had told all these secrets to this person and he was no longer obligated to keep them. I had to navigate. How do I say enough for it to be obviously what happened without revealing things that are too personal”. thinks Saima that there isn’t much acceptance for interreligious marriages within the Asian community – “We inherit the biases, the trauma. In places like London, if you’re a Pakistani or a Pakistani Muslim, there’s a lot in common between them and a Hindu from India because we grew up watching the same films. A lot of British South Asians learned Hindi and Urdu from cinema, and by watching Amitabh Bachchan”.

Saima is in her third mar-

riage. She’s 45. She told us, “When I was 20, I always thought and I wanted to marry a Muslim. I thought this would make for a very strong founda-

tion for a relationship. Of course, it didn’t work out. My husband now is of the same background. He is not religious and I’m still quite spiritual as a Muslim woman. I think values can come through any religion, race or background. All we want is to find somebody who is kind to us and wants to work it through”.

Raising three boys Saima Mir is raising her three sons to be better men, who will build a safe environ-

ment for women of the future “I feel that we raise our women to be strong, but we need to raise our men right”. She added, “I believe in teaching them to talk about when they are hurt, be vulnerable and just respect women, treat them as equals and not somebody who is less than them.”.

In her words - “Women need men as allies because when I was fighting for my own equality, I thought I could do anything and women don’t need a man. Then I came to realise that we share the planet with men and they have a lot of power in decision making. If we are going to change things in this world, we need each other so I treat men to be allies for women”.

Talking about her writing, Saima said, “I write the stories I want to read - stories on how a woman would handle that situation differently instead of a man”. Her novel The Khan is being published by Point Blank and is due in January 2021. The Khan has been optioned by BBC Studios.

Anita Anand’s book shortlisted for the prestigious history-literary prize British Indian journalist and author Anita Anand's book which is based on the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar has been shortlisted for a prestigious history-literary prize in the UK. The Patient Assassin, A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj is a 2019 book based on the life of Indian revolutionary Udham Singh. Authored by Anita Anand, it was published by Simon and Schuster UK in April 2019 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar, India. Anand’s book will compete with six others for the PEN

Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2020, awarded annually for a non-fiction book of specifically historical content.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Anita said, “I am delighted by the news and honoured to be in such company. The ugly side of the Raj has often been covered by the avalanche of Kiplingesque, rose tinted representations in cinema and literature. I’m glad to present the reality which faced Indians at the time.”

Others in the running for the 2,000 pounds prize include Julia Blackburn for 'Time Song: Searching for Doggerland';

Hazel Carby for 'Imperial Intimacies: A Tale of Two Islands'; Toby Green for 'A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution'; Caroline Moorhead for 'A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism'; Thomas Penn for 'The Brothers York: An English Tragedy'; and Roel Sterckx, 'Chinese Thought: From Confucius to Cook Ding'.

The winner of this year's prize will be announced in the memory of Marjorie HessellTiltman who was a member of PEN during the 1960s-70s on

November 26. Tiltman had

Anita Anand

bequeathed 100,000 pounds to the PEN Literary Foundation to found a prize in her name.

in brief REPRESENTATION OF ETHNIC MINORITIES AND WOMEN IN THE U.K. MUSIC INDUSTRY HAS IMPROVED

In a report published on October 19, 2020, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Endometriosis has found that those with endometriosis are waiting an average of 8 years for a diagnosis, despite over 58% visiting their GP 10 or more times with symptoms, 53% visiting A&E with symptoms, and 21% seeing doctors in hospital 10 or more times with symptoms. The APPG survey received over 10,000 responses from those with a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis living in the UK, and found the diagnosis time the same as it was a decade ago – an average of 8 years. Delays in diagnosing and managing endometriosis can affect quality of life and result in disease progression1. As well as impacting on physical health, 81% said endometriosis has impacted their mental health negatively or very negatively, and 90% would have liked access to psychological support but were not offered this. Only 19% knew if they had been seen in an endometriosis specialist centre, yet 84% of respondents reported bowel symptoms due to endometriosis Over 60% of respondents may be being seen in hospital settings where there is not necessarily the expertise to operate on or treat them effectively. The full report is available on https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/.

ENDOMETRIOSIS IN THE UK

In a report published on October 19, 2020, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Endometriosis has found that those with endometriosis are waiting an average of 8 years for a diagnosis, despite over 58% visiting their GP 10 or more times with symptoms, 53% visiting A&E with symptoms, and 21% seeing doctors in hospital 10 or more times with symptoms. The APPG survey received over 10,000 responses from those with a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis living in the UK, and found the diagnosis time the same as it was a decade ago – an average of 8 years. Delays in diagnosing and managing endometriosis can affect quality of life and result in disease progression1. As well as impacting on physical health, 81% said endometriosis has impacted their mental health negatively or very negatively, and 90% would have liked access to psychological support but were not offered this. Only 19% knew if they had been seen in an endometriosis specialist centre, yet 84% of respondents reported bowel symptoms due to endometriosis Over 60% of respondents may be being seen in hospital settings where there is not necessarily the expertise to operate on or treat them effectively. The full report is available on https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/.

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in brief PRINCE WILLIAM CONTRACTED CORONAVIRUS IN APRIL On Monday 2nd November, it emerged that Prince William, had contracted coronavirus in April at a similar time to his father, the heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles. According to The Sun, the Duke of Cambridge was diagnosed shortly after his father, heirto-the-throne Prince Charles, Prince William announced he had caught the virus in late March but did not make the diagnosis doctors and followed government guidelines by isolating at his family’s home Anmer Hall, in Norfolk in eastern England.

“There were important things going on and I didn’t want to worry anyone,” William was quoted by the newspaper as having told an observer at an engagement.

An unnamed source told The Sun, “William was hit pretty hard by the virus - it really knocked him for six. At one stage he was struggling to breathe, so obviously everyone around him was pretty panicked.”

BUSINESS SECRETARY QUESTIONED OVER STAFF SAFETY On Tuesday 3rd November, the union health and safety inspection have raised their concerns over social distancing arrangements in Business Secretary’s private offices.

The Guardian reported that an employee tested positive of coronavirus in Alok Sharma’s Alok Sharma private office while other members of staff in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) were forced to isolate. According to the daily, Alok Sharma however, went on a trip to South Korea where he continued meeting foreign dignitaries despite being informed of his colleague’s positive test result.

“We should not apologise for our past but learn from it": Gavin Williamson On Monday 2nd November, the Education Secretary said that the UK “should not apologise for our past but learn lessons from it” as he answered questions about including colonial history in the British curriculum.

The British curriculum dedicates plenty of attention to the violence of others – in Nazi Germany or during the American Civil War – and goes into great detail on a few events in medieval and pre-Victorian English history, like the Plague, the Great Fire of London, and the reign of Henry VIII. But a British school curriculum hardly teaches anything about the brutality of British colonialism including lessons around East India Company, or how Winston Churchill’s administration allowed Bengal famine. At present, it is not compulsory for primary or secondary school students to be educated on The Empire's role in colonisation, or the transatlantic slave trade. For long campaigners and activists have urged the government for compulsory education on these subjects with a certain petition accumulating nearly 250,000 signatures. Yet, the govern-

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Gavin Williamson

ment has not taken any decisive measures.

Responding to a question at a Webinar hosted by the Conservative Friends of India Gavin Williamson said, “There is a constant debate about what consti-

tutes British history. But the histories of these countries are already taught in some form. There is both good and bad elements in the British history but it is also about using appropriate resources, books and records to be able to teach everything accurately.

“We should not be apologising about our past but should learn something from it. And that is already embedded in the British curriculum. We are trying to provide better resources to teach every aspect of the UK’s history - good or bad.”

The webinar was moder-

ated by Councillor Ameet Jogia and Councillor Reena Ranger.

In the meantime, the education secretary was reportedly in a scuffle with Chancellor Rishi Sunak on the extension of free school meals. It had earlier emerged that Gavin Willamson had sought extra funding for these schools.

But in a statement to the Financial Times, sources close to the Chancellor denied these reports stating, “There has been no new proposal from the Department for Education about releasing cash for this half-term.”

London’s Mayoralty moves to Royal Docks On 3rd November Tuesday, the Mayor of London confirmed that the mayoralty and devolved assembly are to move from their current base near Tower Bridge to the Crystal building in the Royal Docks in the east of the city as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

Sadiq Khan believes that the move would save £126m over 10 years, and help make up a shortfall in funding due to Covid-19. The proposal was first propped up in June especially considering how the Kuwaiti site near the Tower Bridge is expected to witness a £9.6mn increase in its annual rent. The lease has a break clause in December 2021, with formal notice needed to be given this year.

In a statement, Sadiq Khan said, “Given

City Hall

our huge budget shortfall, and without the support we should be getting from the government, I simply cannot justify remaining at our current expensive office when I could be investing that money into public transport, the Met police and the London fire brigade.”

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Atcha- the new kind of Indian Rupanjana Dutta The national lockdown starting from 5 November 2020 means the diaspora will be celebrating Diwali under strict rules. It means some people will be stuck alone at home and meeting loved ones only virtually.

There will also be the yearning to eat homestyle Indian food on a festival day, but without the pressure of cooking it yourself and keeping it healthy!

Atcha, London’s first healthy Indian takeaway, has spotted the gap in the highstreet for regional, home-style Indian cooking and have pivoted to deliveries during the pandemic to bring innovative Indianinspired healthy but delectable food direct to homes and workplaces.

Londoner Aadit Shankar, the Founder of Atcha, after studying PPE at the University of Oxford went into banking for four and a half years. He quit thereafter to start Atcha.

“I had this idea of healthy Indian food in the lunchtime market in London,” Aadit told Asian Voice.

“Although Indian food is arguably the most popular cuisine in the UK, we have never managed to break into kind of mainstream ‘grab-and-go’ kind of lunch time in

the UK High Street. Indian food is probably the best cuisine in the whole world for managing a healthy and tasty balance. We can actually cook salads and sandwiches and healthy rice bowls. But because we use traditional recipes, the food has a lot more flavour than usual high street salad and sandwich shop. We are trying to show that Indian food is one of the best options, if you want to eat healthy.”

Mum, his inspiration While his father is from Bangalore, Aadit’s mother, who is Punjabi, has been instrumental to the growth of the business and creating Atcha’s first menu. It was infact a marriage between his mother’s homestyle Indian food, old family recipes from India and contemporary UK grab-and-go.

Aadit said, “Six-seven years ago, I used to have a diary where I would literally write down every single delicious Indian dish I ate anywhere. Slowly I created a shortlist, and then saw what was possible to add in the menu – based on practicality, nutritional principles, and what I thought was unique and interesting. It involved a lot of research of several years to develop a menu and then testing out. To start, and to test, we used to deliver free lunches to my friends’ office in

bulk for them to try out and see what worked.”

Although Aadit’s plan was to mainly deliver to offices and open up kiosk or shops (may be like an Indian Leon) in the City, the focus has now shifted to home delivery. This includes people who are working from home, often ordering on company budgets.

“We obviously had to slightly change our product.

We have added more combos to the menu, a new rice bowl Aadit Shankar and even ice cream! But we still definitely keeping true to the principle of fresh cooked everyday healthy Indian food,” he said.

Helping people During the first wave, Atcha donated over 2500 meals to key workers at hospitals and also to food-banks. They are now looking to do more work with one of London’s poorest boroughs, Tower Hamlets, where their East London kitchen is based, to deliver surplus food to food banks and hospices.

With the second lockdown in the horizon and no hopes of offices opening for

another three to six months, Atcha plans to continue to focus on home delivery, with lots of new products launched soon. Aadit told the newsweekly with a smile, “We are keen to start producing more chilled, reheatable options and this is something we would love to do at national scale, as well as in collaboration with retailers like delis, supermarkets, and co-working spaces. We are always on the lookout for our first physical site – this could be a kiosk or something bigger, and there are lots of interesting sites coming up now.”

Finance Ministers Sunak and India’s Foreign Secretary visits Sitharaman hold landmark dialogue UK for the first time The UK and India made agreements on - A fresh mandate for the industry-led financial services, infrastructure and susIndia-UK Financial Partnership to tainable finance on last Wednesday, helping explore closer financial ties in areas to boost jobs and investments in both counincluding FinTech. tries.

- Creating a new Financial Markets Dialogue to remove regulatory and marThe landmark tenth Economic and ket access barriers for UK and Indian Financial Dialogue (EFD) between the UK firms. and India saw the UK Chancellor Rishi - Joint investment by UK Research and Sunak and Finance Minister Nirmala Innovation and India’s Department of Sitharaman meeting to build further ecoBiotechnology in research collaborations nomic ties. worth up to £8 million to understand the The UK and India have a strong investment relationship, with UK and Indian investments supporting over half a million jobs in each other’s economies.

Since the first EFD with India in 2007, UK bilateral trade with India has more than doubled to nearly £24 billion in 2019.

The Chancellor and Finance Minister discussed the importance of continuing to work together to deal with the global economic impact of Chancellor Rishi Sunak speaking to India's Coronavirus – which the UK Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and India are already leading impact of Covid in South Asian populaas co-authors of the G20 Action Plan – and tions in the UK and India. tackling climate change through sustainable During the talks, the Chancellor champifinance. oned UK markets as a source for Indian comChancellor Sunak, said, “The UK’s ecopanies to raise international capital and welnomic and financial relationship with India comed the decision to allow Indian compahas never been more important with the nies to list on the London Stock Exchange – global challenges we face. Today we set out the UK being one of only seven jurisdictions our ambition for even stronger ties, with an permitted. Ministers also agreed to explore agreement that will increase investment and ways to boost investment in insurance create and secure jobs. We are also committhrough an increase in India’s foreign investted to working together to lead the global ment limit. economic recovery as we build back better The UK and India have built a strong after the pandemic.”

Agreements included: partnership on FinTech, and the Ministers agreed to collaborate on facilitating the flow - A new strategic partnership to accelerate of faster and cheaper UK-India remittances. the development of Gujarat They further committed to leading the International Finance Tec (GIFT) City as world’s economic recovery by working closean international financial centre – ly together through the UK’s G7 and COP including regulatory capacity building Presidencies and India’s G20 Presidency in support for the new International 2022.

Financial Services Centre Authority.

Alongside the EFD, the Chancellor - A new UK-India Partnership on addressed industry leaders at the UK-India Infrastructure Policy and Financing to Investing for Growth Forum hosted virtually support the Indian National by the City of London Corporation and the Infrastructure Pipeline with UK comFederation of Indian Chambers of mercial expertise and financing.

Commerce and Industry. The Chancellor - Strengthening cooperation on mobilishighlighted the enormous potential for the ing private capital into green investment, UK and India to work together to drive green including through a new UK-India sustainable finance flows and generate even Sustainable Finance Forum, and greenstronger bilateral investment. ing the financial system.

Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India’s Foreign with Alice Guitton, France’s France's Secretary is visiting UK on 3 and 4 November Director-General of International Relations 2020 after his successful trip to France and and Strategy (DGRIS), during which they Germany. discussed Indo-Pacific region and maritime On Tuesday he spoke at the Policy Exchange on India’s vision of the IndoPacific. On Wednesday after his scheduled bilateral meetings, the Minister will join India Inc's Manoj Ladwa in a conversation titled ‘Global India, Resilient IndiaOpportunities in New World Order’.

In Germany, the Foreign Secretary highlighted common interest between India and Germany to combat ter- Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in London with HE Ms Gaitri Issar Kumar, Indian High Commissioner rorism and welcomed Berlin’s strategy on the Indosecurity, defence partnership and regional Pacific. He met with Dr Jan Hecker, Foreign security cooperation. and Security Policy Advisor to the German The Indian Embassy in France tweeted, Chancellor, Niels Annen, Minister of State, "Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla German Foreign Office and interacted with had a productive meeting with Ms. Alice diplomats and think tanks. He also discussed Guitton, Director General, DGRIS with disthe ‘immense’ scope for collaboration cussions on Indo-Pacific region & maritime between India and Germany in tech-driven security, defence partnership & regional sectors including AI. security cooperation."

In France he held a productive meeting

Alok Sharma steps in Prime Minister’s shoes at CBI conference Business Secretary Alok Sharma stepped into his boss Boris Johnson’s shoes to address the business community on Monday. This is the second time in history, the Prime Minister did not show up for the keynote address.

Mr Sharma delivered a long speech covering many aspects, promising to support and involve businesses to rebuild a more robust, greener and high-skilled economy over the next one decade.

In answer to outgoing CBI boss Dame Carolyn Fairbairn's comments that mass unemployment is the greatest threat the economy

is facing, Mr Sharma spoke about the success and extension of the furlough scheme.

Known to be a Remainer himself, he also touched upon the subject of Brexit. He said, "...Whether we trade on the same Rt Hon Alok Sharma terms as Canada or He also added that use Australia, I know we will of rapid coronavirus tests make it a success for British could provide a way out of businesses and for the whole the crisis as he acknowlcountry. Because Brexit was edged a fully functioning always about a better future. vaccine “may never materiAbout having the freedom alise”. to chart our own course.

Labour leader Sir Keir And in doing so, bringing Starmer, who took to the much-needed opportunities stage later criticised the way as we pursue our destiny as the government has handled an independent nation.” the pandemic.

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UK to partner with HDFC bank boss Aditya Puri retires India for developing to join global private equity major GIFT City The UK is all set to partner with India to develop India’s fledgling international financial services centre GIFT City - Gujarat International Finance TecCity.

As a part of this deal, the UK has agreed to set up a new Fund of Funds to be managed by the State Bank of India group in order to route UK's future capital investments into India.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have also signed off on a new infrastructure finance and policy partnership to help India execute its National Infrastructure Pipeline that predicts investments worth $1.4 trillion, at the tenth Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said, “As we seek to recover from the profound impact of Covid-19, we can only do so in partnership and cooperation. Our two countries can work together to be a force for good, building back better, tackling cli-

mate change and creating jobs and prosperity. That’s been our focus today.”

“We have been able to announce a series of ambitious initiatives across trade, infrastructure, sustainable finance and research. This includes a new strategic partnership to develop the GIFT city, a tremendous opportunity to drive international capital flow from the city of London to India,” he added.

India is now the secondlargest project investment source for the UK. A joint statement signed

by Sitharaman and Sunak read: “We establish a new UK-India strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), India’s first International Financial Services Centre, and promote greater links between GIFT City and the UK financial services ecosystem by bringing together both governments, regulators and business to share experiences and expertise.”

OakNorth ranked 4th at Tech List

Anne Boden

Rishi Khosla

On 28th October Rishi Khosla CEO and founder of OakNorth was declared as the UK’s fourth technology start-up billionaire and first British Asian to be ranked in The Telegraph’s Tech Hot 100 ranking.

Starling Bank was also featured in the list after accruing more than 1.4 million users across business and current accounts.

Headed up by ex-Allied Irish Bank's chief operating officer Anne Boden, the company has played a crucial role in the battle for digital banking customers. The Tech Hot 100 ranking revealed that the total wealth of Britain's most successful start-up chiefs rose from £4.5bn last year to £8.5bn. Half of the 10 richest start-up founders in the UK were born abroad.

OakNorth provides loans of between £500,000 and £45m for medium size businesses. The five-year old start-up, is valued at around £2.2bn, and provides an AI system that helps other lenders decide if they should extend credit to a given SME.

Eat Out to Help Out led to increased Covid-19 infections The Eat Out to Help Out scheme has reportedly accelerated the UK’s coronavirus second wave and damaged the hospitality sector in the long term, a latest report has suggested.

According to Sky News, a University of Warwick study has found that between 8 per cent and 17 per cent of newly detected clusters could be linked to Eat Out to Help Out.The scheme involved

the Government paying up to £10 per person on restaurant bills between MondayWednesday during the month of August, with more than 64 million meals bought as part of the scheme.But it has now emerged that areas where the scheme was most popular saw a decline in new cases after it ended. No. 11 has reportedly rebuffed these numbers and the study.

Aditya Puri, who had been with HDFC since its inception in 1994, retired on October 26 last month. Puri previously worked with Citi bank in Malaysia, and came back to India to join HDFC that year while most banks in India were state owned.

When privatisation began with the hope to curb corruption, the head of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), Deepak Parekh recruited Puri at less than half his compensation at Citi, partial credit of which goes to Puri’s wife Anita who convinced him to take the offer. Puri’s style of working was often laughed off because of his working hours. He’d often have lunch with his wife at home and left office at 5:30 pm sharp which is touted as the secret to his success.

HDFC is now the

world’s 10th largest bank, leaving behind Citi and HSBC. Headquartered in Mumbai, HDFC in Indian and branches all over the country from metropolitan cities to rural backwaters. “It serves consumers and firms and eschews the wilder reaches of investment banking and foreign adventures.

This unlikely formula has produced spectacular results,” The Economist wrote in an article titled, ‘The world’s best banker?’

According to a comparative study by the publication, Aditya Puri has delivered cumulative returns exceeding 16,000% over the quarter century since HDFC went public. This figure beats the likes of Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase. This not only places Puri in the top two, but also makes one ponder that such returns were almost impossible to imagine back in 1994.

The success of Puri’s tenure is marked by his ability to retain talent, bluntness, clear vision, strategic discipline and his approach to technology. Interestingly, Puri is famous for Aditya Puri not owning a mobile phone and conducting meetings without a computer system on the table. Yet, HDFC invested heavily in technology and loan approvals reduced from days to seconds.

Puri’s legacy was almost in safe hands until 2018 with his CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan. But Jagdishan quit despite being the most likely successor of Puri.

Aditya Puri will be guiding global Carlyle on investment opportunities across Asia as a senior advisor, the global private equity major.

Puri said Carlyle is known

for its ability to transform businesses, working closely in partnership with management teams and other key stakeholders to drive sustainable long-term growth.

Carlyle deploys private capital across four business Corporate segments: Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. It has $230 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2020 and employs more than 1,800 people in 30 offices across six continents.

BoJo reinforces financial help for self-employed in November Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the government will boost the level of financial support for self-employed workers in November during the second COVID-19 lockdown in England.

He said the selfemployed income support scheme (SEISS) would be increased from 40 per cent of average profits to 80 per cent in November. People who qualify, will be able to apply from the end of the month, to help provide support faster as the clock ticks on the second shutdown.

Rishi Sunak

The new update comes shortly after BoJo took a massive U-turn to extend the furlough scheme for employees at the weekend

hours right before it was due to close.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the increase in help for the self-employed would be to the tune of 55 per cent of trading profits over the wider period from November to January. The maximum grant available would increase to £5,160. Taking to Twitter, he said the fourth update to the support package would offer £4.5bn worth

of help to self-employed workers in these three months. Sunak said, “The rapidly changing health picture has meant we have had to act in order to protect people’s lives and I know this is an incredibly worrying time for the selfemployed. That is why we have increased the generosity of the third grant, ensuring those who cannot trade or are facing decreased demand are able to get through the months ahead.” The government has further extended the deadline for businesses to January 31.

Pramod Mittal bailed by his son On 29th October it was reported that British billionaire Pramod Mittal, the man who spent an equivalent of Rs 505 crore on his daughter's wedding, and subsequently declared bankrupt

by London's Insolvency and Companies Court, was rescued by his son and can now apply to get his bankruptcy quashed. Pramod was declared bankrupt on the application of Moorgate Industries.

According to reports, creditors of Lakshmi Mittal's brother have approved a proposed indi-

vidual voluntary arrangement (IVA), wherein he is offering to repay £4.4 million, after costs, of the £2.5billion he owes them.

The settlement is being facilitated by a contribution of £4.7mn by Pramod’s son Divyesh.

He owes 20 unsecured creditors £2,549,470,406 including over £1bn of Direct Investments in the British Virgin Islands.

The Times of India reported that he owes his creditors -- including his nephew Amit Lohia£1.7mn, son Divyesh£2.4mn, father

Mohan Lal £170 mnand his wife Sangeeta over £1 mn.

The former billionaire reportedly has no personal income of his own. IVA is a legally binding agreement that constitutes a complete or partial repayment of debt to creditors. It is a formal alternative for individuals wishing to avoid bankruptcy.According to him, his wife and family are meeting these expenditures. His elder brother -- one of the world's richest man -Lakshmi has refused to come to his aid.

Pramod said that his

Pramod Mittal

proposed IVA would give his creditors significantly higher returns than bankruptcy.

He has promised to repay 0.19 pence to each creditor for every pound he owes them.Moorgate Industries, however, voted against the IVA in the creditors' meeting, but the majority carried out the decision.

Brace yourselves for a “bleak mid-winter”, says CBI DG Fairbairn Chief of the UK's biggest lobby group, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Carolyn Fairbairn has warned companies of a “bleak mid-winter” as high-street retailers, pub chains, and airlines warn of a devastating impact of the second Covid-

19 lockdown in England.

Director General of the CBI, Fairbairn said the latest lockdown was in some ways worse than the first one that began in March.

The brand new restrictions in England announced on Saturday mean non-essential shops

and all pubs and restaurants will be forced to close from Thursday until at least December 2. Domestic and international travel will be banned, except for work, education, or other legally permitted reasons.

Speaking at the CBI's annual conference, Fairbairn

said, “I've got to be really honest, there are ways in which this lockdown is also much worse. Gas tanks are depleted, factories run down in so many businesses across the country, in retail, in hospitality. Our aviation sector is absolutely on its knees.”

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US Presidential Elections 2020 On the most anticipated and foreseeably an unforgettable day in the history of US elections, Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden visited his childhood hometown of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Biden signed one of the living room walls in his childhood home, writing, "From this house to the White House with the grace of God. Joe Biden 11-3-2020". But nothing could deter President Donald Trump’s confidence. In a telephonic interview to Fox News he said, “We feel very good.” Trump also stated that “Joe Biden is not prime time.” “I think we'll have victory, but only when there's victory," he added.

Trump vs Biden: Internet trends and preparations According to Google search trends on November 3, 2020, Donald Trump was leading over Joe Biden in internet search as US votes in the presidential election were still on. Facebook pledged real-time monitoring of Election Day misinformation and manipulation efforts as voters began in-person balloting across the United States. Along with other social platforms, the company promised to stem misinformation around the election, including premature claims of victory, seeking to avoid a repeat of 2016 manipulation efforts. "Our Election Operations Center will continue monitoring a range of issues in real time -- including reports of voter suppression content," said a Facebook statement posted on Twitter.

U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Christopher Krebs told the Associated Press that there was "some early indication of system disruption,”

but he did not divulge further information. Online reports claimed that the Wall Street's main indexes were set to jump at the open as investors bet on a Joe Biden victory followed by a swift deal on more fiscal stimulus after one of the most divisive presidential races in U.S. history.

What about voters who are Donald Trump and Joe Biden infected?

According to the US equality, and opportunity are possible.

Centers for Disease Control and Because they are.” In another tweet Prevention (CDC), the patients should she said, “When @JoeBiden and I are let the election officials know about in the White House we’ll listen to scitheir diagnosis and wear a mask. They entists, promote masks to save lives, should also stay 1.8m away from other implement nationwide testing and voters and officials and wash hands tracing, and ensure vaccines are free before and after voting. According to to all.”

CNN, more than 2.5 million mail-in In support of Biden and Harris, on and absentee votes have been November 3rd, former US President returned, Pennsylvania Secretary of Barack Obama tweeted: “On Tuesday, State Kathy Boockvar announced. you can choose change. You can Final sentiment on social media choose a better America. You can elect Joe Biden tweeted: “In 2008 and @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. I am 2012, you placed your trust in me to fired up to be back in Florida – let’s help lead this country alongside bring this home.”

Barack Obama. Today, I’m asking for Donald Trump’s social media your trust once again — this time, in account was rather low in frequency Kamala and me. We can heal the soul of posts. He tweeted: “To all of our of this nation — I promise we won’t supporters: thank you from the botlet you down.We can overcome these tom of my heart. You have been there crises. We can take our country back. from the beginning, and I will never We can win the battle for the soul of let you down. Your hopes are my the nation. It all begins today. hopes, your dreams are my dreams, Confirm your polling place at and your future is what I am fighting http://iwillvote.com/locate and go for every single day! vote. Let’s do this — together.”

All 435 seats in the US House are US Vice President candidate up for election as they are every two Kamala Harris tweeted: “Today we years. By the end of 2020, Joe Biden must vote like our lives depend on it. will either live by what he wished and Because they do. We must vote like wrote on the wall, or else White our democracy depends on it. Because House will still be home to Donald it does. And we must vote like justice, Trump.

UK judge finds India’s evidence on Nirav Modi ‘admissible’ The extradition case of fugitive Nirav Modi has entered its final stages in a UK court on Tuesday 3 November. The 49-year-old diamantaire is fighting extradition in the estimated £1.3bn Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. He appeared at the Westminster Magistrates Court via video link from Wandsworth Prison in his grey track suit with a face full of beard.

District Judge Samuel Goozee heard the defence team's arguments against the admissibility of evidence that were provided by the Central

Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to establish a case against Mr Modi.

He however ruled that the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities against Nirav Modi is ‘broadly’ admissible. He also said that he was "bound" by the previous extradition court rulings for Vijay Mallya. But how much weight some of these evidencesdivided into 8 categories will carry, will be decided later.

Judge Goozee has adjourned the case till 7-8 January 2021, when he will

hear the final submissions. On 1 December Mr Modi will appear for his usual remand hearing.

Judge’s ruling would determine whether the case can be sent to Home Secretary Priti Patel to order Mr Modi's extradition to India. This is expected by next year, possibly a few weeks after the final hearing, unless he appeals in a higher court.

In the meantime Mr Modi remains in prison. He tried for bail last month on new grounds, which was denied for the seventh time.

Auction Trick or Treat

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

This week I thought I would share some tips on finding a deal in auction.

Look out for misplaced lots What I mean by this is sometimes vendors pass on properties to auction houses based on their relationship with them. However, they may not be the best auctioneers for the lot. For example, if a property is in Central London and is put into a small auction on the outskirts of London, this is an example of a misplaced lot. I have made money, for clients, simply by exchanging with a property in one auction and placing it straight into a relevant one, without even visiting the property.

Look for unknown variables The auctions are crowded with first time buyers, novice investors and the like. They don’t like unknown variables; for example, an unknown tenancy can make a property potentially go for half the price it should sell at ordinarily.

At times the person from whom the property has been repossessed will not pass on the details to the receiver. This may mean the property will be sold with an unknown tenancy.

This doesn’t not mean purchase carelessly. Variables can be found out through proper channels.

Beware Given the huge popularity of auctions, there are many on the other side of the fence who use the auction rooms as a dumping ground.

Here are a couple of interesting stories I have come across. One regarding a property which had been ‘sold’ multiple times, where the purchaser time and time again failed to complete.

Why? The property was a flat in W2, impulsive buyers in the auction bid for the property, in the hope they were bagging a deal, as nothing sells for less than £300,000 in W2. So, when the hammer fell and they had bought a property for £200,000 they were elated. They paid the 10% and then went to see the property (not having viewed it prior to auction). To their amazement it was the size of a cupboard. It had the utilities connected as promised. The miniscule size would make it impossible to rent and therefore they decided not to complete and chose to forgo the 10% they had already paid. The owner then released it again for the next mug at the auction. This is how the owner continually makes money from this property!

Another story is of a quick conversion. A builder regularly purchases property and then does a 24 hour conversion into two flats. Now this time it doesn’t matter if you go and view the property, as it has the kitchen, the bathroom units etc. However, they are not plugged into the mains!!! The units have just been placed in the property to give the appearance of two flats, hence increasing the value and the potential rental income.

Bidders too eager to grab a bargain see two flats going for cheaper than market price. Time and time again this has been done and sold at the auctions, netting the traders a good sum of money.

These examples illustrate the need for due diligence.

Small mistakes can become very costly.

A grandson remembers Sikh Genocide of 1984 Two people killed in Vienna terror attacks

In November 1984, in perhaps one of the most unfortunate and horrendous events in the past 36 years, a decade long Sikh Genocide started. Sikh women were raped, many men and women were set alive on fire, including properties across towns and streets in India. These series of events followed right after the assassination of Indian PM Indira Gandhi.

Mrs Gandhi had been responsible for Operation Bluestar, which saw a number of separatists, agitating for a separate state they call ‘Khalistan’, killed in a standoff with the Indian military. Following Indira Gandhi’s assassination on 31 October 1984 – by her Sikh bodyguards – mobs sought and murdered Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere in India.

Remembering the Genocide, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh tweeted: “I’d like to share a personal story. I’m the grandson of survivors from the 1984 #SikhGenocide. 36 year ago, my family and people that looked just like me

Image source: Inkquisitive

were targeted by the Indian state in a campaign of genocide. I felt alone but this is a story many Canadians share.So many people from around the world fleeing genocide, violence, and persecution were given refuge by Canada and the first people of this

land. For that, I am forever grateful.

To honour the lives lost, I light this candle to represent a light to challenge the darkness. We have an opportunity to build a Canada. Where we lift each other up. So that we all rise. #neverforget1984”

At least 14 were injured and two people were killed in the Vienna terror attacks on November 2, 2020.

Reportedly, some gunmen attacked six locations in Vienna.

They started outside the city’s main synagogue and then entered the capital city of Austria. Police shot dead one of the attackers.

Austria’s interior minister Karl Nehammer said.

Speaking at a news conference Nehammer further said, “It’s the hardest day for Austria in many years. We’re dealing with a terror attack the severity of which, thank God, we’ve not experienced in Austria in many years.”

Reacting to the attacks, UK Home Secretary Priti

Patel said, "The British public should be alert but not alarmed." In the light of this terror attack, in a statement to the press, Imam Qari Asim, MBE said, “With a national lockdown coming, it is imperative that we show those who would stand between us that they have not succeeded. We must continue to work together across all faiths and communities to support one another. As an Imam, I am urging everyone to demonstrate tolerance and reject those who may exploit this tragic situation.

Let us challenge deceitful narratives to not fan the flames of Islamophobia, because terrorism has no place in Islam.”

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Diwali – a wonderful time to consider organ donation a

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Organ don nation o ains your ch c oice To find out more visit organdonation.nhs.uk

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Posters of Indian PM Narendra Modi and Wing Commander Abhinandan go viral in Pakistan Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently said that India would have attacked “that night at 10pm” if Pakistan hadn’t released Wing Commander Abhinandan. This left Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in a rather perspiring state.

Amid this development, posters featuring Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman came up in parts of Lahore on Saturday.

The posters dubbed him as

a “traitor” and did rounds of social media after a former National Assembly speaker spotted it.

Reacting to Sadiq’s remarks, Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri told

PTI that “There was no pressure on Pakistan at all regarding the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan. The Government of Pakistan took the decision as a gesture of peace, which was appreciated by the international

community.”

Post this viral poster, BJP chief JP Nadda targeted Rahul Gandhi and tweeted: “Congress’ princeling does not believe anything Indian, be it our Army, our Government, our Citizens. So, here is something from his ‘Most Trusted Nation’, Pakistan.

Hopefully now he sees some light…Congress Party premised it’s entire campaign around keeping our armed forces weak.

They mocked our armed forces, questioned their valour and tried every trick to ensure India doesn’t get latest Rafale Planes.

The people India rejected such and punished politics Congress.”

President Museveni, Humans may not be able UN discuss situation to hear ‘Covid cough’ in DR Congo, Burundi

An artificial-intelligence (AI) algorithm was built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) lab suggests that ‘Covid cough’ could be inaudible to humans.

To discuss the political, peace and security matters affecting the Great Lakes countries, President Yoweri Museveni recently held a meeting with Bintou Keita, the United Nation’s Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Peacekeeping Operations in Africa.

The meeting was also attended by the Speaker of the Parliament Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa. The agenda was to discuss the problems of instability in the Eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo, that has now stretched over to Mozambique,

yet the area is occupied by UN forces. The UN Refugee Agency had duly warned that during the pandemic thousands of people have been displaced which could lead to terrible consequences for the country due to violence in eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

UN’s policy of involving community policing and contingency of a UN force was a good stand on the part of the UN according to Mr Museveni.

The UN Envoy Bintou Keita lauded the government of Uganda for its contribution towards peace and stability in the region in the capacity of a UN member state.

According to MIT scientist Brian Subirana, who coauthored the paper, published in the IEEE Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, the way you produce sound changes when you have Covid, even if you're asymptomatic.

The report suggested that "Practical use cases could be for daily screening of students, workers and public, as schools, jobs, and transport reopen, or for pool testing to quickly alert of outbreaks in groups.”

Several organisations, including Cambridge University, Carnegie Mellon University and UK health start-up Novoic, have

been working on similar projects.

“In July, Cambridge's Covid19 Sounds project reported an 80% success rate in identifying positive coronavirus cases based on a combination of breath and cough sounds. By August, it had 459 cough and breath sample sounds submitted by 378 members of the public. But the MIT lab has collected about 70,000 audio samples each containing a number of coughs.

Of those, 2,500 are from people with confirmed cases of coronavirus,” the BBC reported.

In tests, it has said to have achieved a 98.5% success rate among people who had received an official positive coronavirus test result, rising to 100% in those who had no other symptoms. The researchers require a regulatory approval to develop it into an app.

New Zealand elects its first-ever Indian-origin minister New Zealand has elected its first-ever Indianorigin minister, Priyanca Radhakrishnan.

Last Monday, Radhakrishnan became New Zealand's first-ever Indian-origin minister after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern inducted five new ministers into her executive.

Priyanca Radhakrishnan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She is the daughter of Paravoor Madavanaparambu Raman Radhakrishnan and Usha.Even though she has her roots in Paravoor, most of her relatives are based in Chennai - where she was born. She grew up in Singapore before moving to New Zealand. She attended Victoria University of Wellington and graduated with a master's degree in Development Studies. After graduating

Radhakrishnan worked as a social worker amongst the Indian community in Auckland.

Her great grandfather was very active in left wing progressive politics in India and played an instrumental role in the formation of the state of Kerala. She joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 2006 and has worked on the internal party policy development process and has been active in both local and regional party organisation. At the 2014 election, Radhakrishnan was ranked number 23 on the Labour Party list, the highest newcomer, but narrowly missed out on election due to a drop in Labour's party vote that year.In October 2016, Radhakrishnan was selected as Labour's candidate for the electorate of Maungakiekie for the 2017

election.

She was also ranked number 12 on Labour's list, making her the highestranked Labour member not already an MP and a significant increase Priyanca Radhakrishnan from her ranking three years earlier. On 2 November 2020, Radhakrishnan was appointed as Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment.

in brief WHO CHIEF TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

The World Health Organization chief and 55year-old former Ethiopian minister of health and foreign affairs, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tested positive for Covid-19 late on Sunday (Nov 1) but stressed because he had no symptoms."I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19," he tweeted. "I am well and without symptoms but will selfquarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home," he added. Tedros also said on Twitter that "it is critically important that we all comply with health guidance. This is how we will break chains of #COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems."

MAN LYNCHED IN BANGLADESH FOR ALLEGEDLY DESECRATING THE QURAN Hundreds of people in Bangladesh lynched a man last Thursday. The man who was lynched had allegedly desecrated the Quran.

According to WION news, two men were accused of stepping on the Muslim holy book in the main mosque of the town of Burimari, near the frontier with India. One was beaten to death, and the second man escaped with injuries. Post that, the Police took these two men into protective custody after worshippers alleged the desecration of the Quran at the Burimari Jame Masjid mosque. Reports say that more than 1,000 people stormed the council office and police fired 17 live shotgun rounds to control the mob. The incident came right after comments about Islam made by France's President Emmanuel Macron.

THE THIRD AMERICAN WAVE OF CORONAVIRUS IS BREAKING ALL RECORDS According to reports, daily cases are at peak levels and rising in 24 states in the US. Many other US states stand at 90% of their peaks.

91, 530 new cases were reported in the country last Thursday in the middle of the most anticipated and pivotal presidential election. Deaths started breaching the 1,000 mark again and crossed this mark three days in a row. Meanwhile, the global Covid-19 cases crossed 500,000 for the first time, standing at 545,936. American surge was the biggest contributor to this number, followed

by Italy.

FRENCH LEADER MARINE LE PEN CALLS FOR BAN ON PAKISTAN IMMIGRATION Amidst critical comments by Pakistan leaders on France, French leader Marine Le Pen urged to impose a ban on Pakistani immigration.

Touting it as a threat Marine Le Pen to the country, she tweeted (in French which roughly translates to): "In view of the new ultra-violent demonstrations today in #Bangladesh (demonstrators who called to behead our ambassador), and #Pakistan, I call for an immediate moratorium on immigration from these countries, in the name of national security. MLP."

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in brief

“AatmaNirbhar Bharat is not to make India look inwards, stop imports”: Nirmala Sitharaman During a five day entrepreneurship event with TechSparks - Your Story, veterans from the business and tech world shared their perspective on the power of storytelling.

"The intention of AatmaNirbhar Bharat is not to make India look inwards, stop imports, or shut the country down. Whilst India has to strive to become a part of the global value chain, we cannot allow the strengths of India to be eroded.

The best time to do something new is today. Don't hold back; tell us what you want India to do for you. Nothing should hold

Nirmala Sitharaman

Ratan Tata

us back from doing what we want to do,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the virtual event.

Speaking about the progress of MSMEs, she said, “I kept

giving data to private and public sector banks, which are reaching out to MSMEs. In this, banks will not be the choosers.

They will blanket call all customers, send them SMSs; the

right to refusal for this will be with customers, and not with banks."

Mr Ratan Tata said, “We must ask ourselves, can we make a difference? Can we be innovative and creative and not just look at the money value of what we've done but the contribution it has made to our humanity and our human population in India? So we should be humble, at the same time, attentive to the needs, looking for opportunities. So, it’s a very mixed and complex set of innovations -- some very small but very successful; others big, calling for large amounts of capital.”

Indians may be more immune to Covid-19 A new research by Indian scientists suggests that poor hygiene, lack of access to clean drinking water, and unhygienic conditions may have actually saved many lives in the country from Coronavirus.

A joint study by the WHO and the United Nations' children's agency, UNICEF found that nearly three billion people - some 40% of the global population and living almost entirely in developing nations lack "basic hand washing facilities". This was enough to spark concerns that the coronavirus would tear through their populations, and lead to millions of deaths in countries such as India.

However, a recent report suggests that the poor and downtrodden may have defeated the virus after-all

because they have developed immunity against various pathogens from childhood due to inhabitable living conditions in places like slums and growing up around areas polluted with human waste and excreta. This immunity has helped them as a protective shield against Covid19.

This hypothesis is still under review, but it is indeed an unfortunate yet surprising discovery if it stands true some

day.

"Typically access to healthcare facilities, hygiene and sanitation is poorer in these countries and is often believed to be the contributing factor of higher incidence of communicable diseases there. It was not unexpected that Covid-19 would have catastrophic consequences in the low and low-middle income countries," Dr Shekhar Mande, director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) told the BBC. The same report also claimed that scientists found more people had died of Covid19 in high income countries.

Praveen Kumar and Bal Chander

from Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College looked at data from 122 countries, including 80 high and upper middle-income ones.

They suggest that Covid-19 deaths are lower in countries which have a higher population exposed to a diverse range of microbes, particularly of what is called "gram-negative bacteria".

These bacteria typically are responsible for severe pneumonia, blood and urinary tract and skin infections. But they also are believed to produce an antiviral cytokine - molecules which help fight pathogens called interferon which protects cells against the coronavirus.

Smita Iyer, an immunologist at the University of California, Davis, believes the "hygiene hypothesis" in Covid-19 "does fly in the face of our understanding of antiviral immune responses".

India, world's largest consumer of sugar According to industry body ISMA, India’s sugar production is estimated to increase by 13 per cent to 31 million tonnes in the 2020-21 marketing season starting this month, on likely higher availability of sugarcane.

India exported a record 5.65 million tons in 2019-20, with the help of these subsidies, which are opposed by Australia, Brazil and Guatemala. Despite the fact that obesity is on the rise during the Covid-19 pandemic and consumption of sugar may trigger the insulin levels of diabetic patients anyway, India continues to persuade its citizens to consume more sugar.

In the 2019-20 season (October-September), sugar production remained lower at 27.42 million tonnes and diversion to ethanol was about 0.8 million tonnes. Since higher production is pegged for the 2020-21 season, ISMA said that India will need to continue to export about 6 million tonne of surplus sugar this season.

Releasing initial estimates, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said: “After accounting for the reduction in sugar production due to diversion of

cane juice and B-molasses to ethanol, ISMA estimates sugar production in 2020-21 at around 31 million tonnes of sugar.”

"Sugar is the most preferred source of the body's fuel for brain power, muscle energy and every natural process that goes into proper functioning of our body cells," the Indian Sugar Mills Association said, adding that the calories in sugar are the same as calories from any other food, and it's only when calories are not burnt adequately or too many are consumed, that body weight increases.

Consumption in India has stagnated at 19 kilograms per

capita per year compared with a global average of 23 kilograms as social media campaigns saying the canebased sweetener is unhealthy discourage people from eating it, according to the association.

Per capita consumption growth between 2000 and 2016 was among the lowest in the world, it said.

India, also the world's second-biggest producer, exported a record 5.65 million tons in 2019-20, with the help of

these subsidies, which are opposed by Australia, Brazil and Guatemala. Mills are aiming to ship 6 million tons in 2020-21 with production expected to rise 13% after good rains boosted planting.

India condemns Pakistan’s intentions about ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ In its intention to camouflage the illegal occupation of the so-called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ and give it a provincial status, Pakistan was slammed by India on account of this act.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “I reiterate that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the area of so-called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’, are an integral part

of India by virtue of the legal, complete and irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947.” He touted this as a “grave violation of human rights” by Pakistanoccupied territories.

“Instead of seeking to alter the status of these Indian territories, we call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation,” he added.

DOCTOR GETS DUPED AFTER BUYING ‘ALADDIN’S LAMP’ FOR £70,000

Two men were recently arrested in India over £70,000 'Aladdin's lamp' con. Laeek Khan alleged that he was duped by two men who pretended to conjure up a genie from a lamp similar to Aladdin’s lamp. Khan, a doctor, was duped into purchasing the lamp after he bought the fake genie angle in the con-story.

The imposters have been arrested in India.

Laeek Khan reached out to Uttar Pradesh police after he found that the lamp didn’t have any magical powers after-all. He believed in the fact that the lamp would produce a genie. Amit Rai, a senior officer, told AFP that, “The cheats had struck a deal for much more but the doctor had paid about 7m rupees (£72,000). The wife of one of these men was also involved in the fraud. She is on the run.” When Khan asked the two men if he could touch the genie or take the lamp home, they refused, saying it might cause him harm, the complaint stated. They eventually sold the lamp to him, promising it would bring health, wealth and good fortune. Khan realised later that the “genie” was actually just one of the men in disguise. “The men have also cheated other families using the same modus operandi. The total amount of money involved runs into several million rupees,” Rai added.

INDIA GETS THREE NEW RAFALE JETS FROM FRANCE Indian Air Force received three Rafale fighter jets on November 4 which flew nonstop from France. After this, the IAF will have a total of eight Rafale jets out of the 36 Rafale jets in service. They were accompanied by French Air Force mid-air refuelling aircraft and will have three tanks in total. The first batch of five Rafale jets were formally inducted into the No.17 ‘Golden Arrows’ squadron of the IAF on September 10 at the Ambala Air Force station. They arrived in India in July with a stopover at the Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The five jets were flown in by Commanding Officer of No. 17 squadron Group Captain Harkirat Singh.

They consist of three single seat and two twin-seater trainers. The Indian Embassy in France had reportedly announced that all 36 aircrafts will be delivered as per schedule by 2021-end. The second squadron would be based at Hasimara in West Bengal. India has contracted 36 Rafale omni-role fighter jets from France in fly-away condition with 13 India Specific Enhancements (ISE) under a €7.87-billion Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in September 2016.

TCS DOUBLES ITS CLOUD BUSINESS Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has strategically decided to double its cloud business into five strategic units. As India’s largest software service exporter, Cloud practice has been split into five units Amazon Web Services, Google, Azure, TCS’ private cloud arm and a cloud consulting unit. All these businesses will have their own business units and P&L. Covid-19 has created room for opportunity for high tech IT services providers and most organisations are moving to the Cloud form. According to analysts, each cloud services unit could generate a few billion dollars in revenue over the next five years.

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The writer is a Socio-political Historian - E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com Dr. Hari Desai

Portuguese Goa becomes part of India • Despite US sided with Lisbon, Nehru sent army to liberate • Krishna Menon and General PN Thapar must get due credit ndian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru fulfilled the dream of his Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel eleven years after his death by sending defence forces to liberate Goa following failure of diplomatic attempts. The military operation was set to be conducted from 18 December 1961. Taking the Portuguese by force, the 'armed action', code named 'Operation Vijay' (meaning 'Victory') involved strikes by Indian Navy, Airforce, and Army for over 36 hours. In 1961, the Indian army invaded the state after the Portuguese fired at Indian fishing boats, killing one fisherman. After 36 hours of air, sea and land strikes by the army, General Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva, governor-general of Goa, signed the “instrument of surrender”, handing over Goa territory to India. Today Goans remember and offer tribute to even Dipaji Rane as one of the very first freedom fighter who revolted against the Portuguese on 26 January 1852.

I

While India gained independence on August 15, 1947, Goa was still mouldering under 450 years of the Portuguese rule. The Portuguese were among the first ones to colonise parts of India and refused to give up their hold over Goa, Daman, and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli even post Indian independence.

Although the liberation movement began early in the 20th century itself, it gained momentum in the 1940s, drawing inspiration from the Indian independence movement. Following an array of unsuccessful talks and diplomatic attempts with the Portuguese, military intervention was considered to be the only option by the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Libia Lobo Sardesai, who ran an underground radio service called Indian troops reclaimed the Goan territory with "Voz De Liberadade", meaning Voice of Freedom little to no resistance and forced General Manuel results, and he decided to free Goa by force. On 16 Antonio Vassalo e Silva to sign the certificate of August 1962, United Nations issues official surrender, thus ending 451 years of the exploitative notification that Goa, Daman & Diu had become part rule of the Portuguese over the territory on 19 of India.

December 1961. While Indians celebrated their victory, Of course, these days controversies are also raised the move received a mixed response from the about why Goa liberation was delayed. “Prime international communities. Though many praised the Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's ‘wrong’ policies not only move and stood by India, many others, including led to prolonging of the vexed Jammu and Kashmir Portugal condemned the 'invasion' of Goa by the problem, but also delayed the liberation of Goa from Indian troops. 19 December, commemorates the Portuguese yoke”, the present Chief Minister of freeing of Goa from Portuguese rule by the Indian Madhya Pradesh and a BJP leader Shivraj Singh Armed Forces and the complete independence of the Chouhan claimed while campaigning for his party in Indian subcontinent. It is termed as 'Goa Liberation Goa. Even Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, a Day'. young BJP leader, unlike his late predecessor Manohar Libia Lobo Sardesai, a 90 plus lawyer, tells Supriya Parrikar, sparked a controversy after he blamed India’s Vohra, an independent journalist based first Prime Minister Nehru for in Goa:“After India got independence having delayed Goa’s liberation in 1947, I joined the Goan Youth which resulted in the state being League. I always had a fire for Goa's freed from the Portuguese rule 14 freedom in me. After 1955, due to the years after the rest of the country. economic blockade, Goans had no But Gurunath Kelekar, a freedom access to any outside news or fighter, retorts the claims. He says: information. It became imperative to “It’s half-truth that Goa liberation expose Portuguese propaganda got delayed due to Nehru. Nehru through a clandestine method which did not favour armed action to took the shape of an underground liberate Goa. He was trying to radio programme (like Usha Mehta’s persuade USA. But when USA 1942 Radio). Vaman Sardesai (to whom sided with Portugal, he sent army she later married) and I started the to liberate Goa.” station, broadcasting every morning Even Damodar Mauzo, a welland evening in Portuguese and known writer who as one of the Konkani (the local language). The Voice witnesses to see the Indian Army of Freedom station was run from marching through Margoa’s forests bordering Goa between streets, says, “CM’s immature November 1955 and December 1961. It PM Jawaharlal Nehru defied President Kennedy’s statement needs to be condemned advice and sent army to liberate Goa boosted the morale of Goan people.” by all. The Sangh Parivar has always “It was not an easy life for us, but we were been degrading Nehru.” According to the Indian Navy committed to our cause. We did not know how long website, on 19 December 1961, the Indian Armed we would have to go on - all we knew was that we must Forces, liberated the state from the Portuguese and the keep giving Goans information and inspiration. The deposed Governor General of Portugal in India, Portuguese army was not happy, and they tried to Manuel Antonio Vassalo e-Silva surrendered to the track us down. Thankfully, they couldn't. On 15 then Chief of Army Staff General Pran Nath Thapar.

December 1961, India's then defence minister, Krishna Incidentally, both Krishna Menon and General Thapar Menon, used our programme to send a message to the are blamed for the 1962 Chinese debacle but hardly are Portuguese army to negotiate. We mentioned as heroes who liberated Next Column repeated the message every hour Goa from Portuguese to make it part throughout the next day. The Indian Junagadh back to India of India! army entered Goa when they received and the New Year Day Mrudula Sinha, a BJP leader who as no response from the Portuguese.”

Goa Governor had sent a beautiful A series of events during Goa liberation movement message on Goa Liberation Day in 2018: “Goa being a made India to take a violent stand. From 1954, peaceful land of unique scenic beauty is well known for its Satyagrahis attempts from outside Goa at forcing the tourist attractions. It is therefore, no wonder that Portuguese to leave Goa were brutally suppressed by tourist from all walks of life flock in lakhs every year to Portuguese forces. Many revolts were quelled by the this tiny but picturesque land. Although it is one of the use of force and leaders eliminated or jailed, innocent smallest states in India, Goa offers an abundance of villagers were also openly fired by the Portuguese places to visit as per each ones need. Goa offers a forces. As a result, India broke off diplomatic relations variety of beaches to suit any holiday style, temples, with Portugal, closed its Consulate-General in Panjim. churches and historical places etc. Whether the India also imposed an economic embargo against the priority is relaxation, partying or experiencing culture, territories of Portuguese Goa. The Indian Government Goa has everything that is needed to satisfy all its had taken the issues to global forums but Portuguese visitors all round the year. Goa is located in the was refuted to abide any international resolutions. The western region of India. It is traditionally known as a then PM Nehru found the policy of patience and tourist paradise for its natural scenery, unique beaches adherence to international ethics had not yielded and cultural diversity.”

Indian coupled trolled for intimate postwedding photoshoot A young Indian couple has been savagely trolled on social media for posting their intimate post-wedding photoshoot.

The photographs of Lekshmi and Hrushi Karthik show them laughing, cuddling and chasing each other in greenery. The duo is wrapped in white silk. After postponing their lavishly planned wedding in April 2020, they were married in September in a private ceremony and wanted to make it memorable by marking the occasion with the photoshoot since the marriage ceremony was rather small in scale due to the pandemic.

"Ours was an arranged-cumlove marriage," Lekshmi told the BBC. "Our families introduced us last year and then we dated and

fell in love," she said. Hrushi works in a telecom company and Lekshmi has just completed her degree in electrical and electronic engineering. The couple didn’t expect that the photographs taken by Akhil Karthikeyan would create such an uproar online for them. They were described as ugly, vulgar and shameful once Akhil uploaded them on Facebook. However, this incident hasn’t demotivated the couple, and they do not plan to take down the photos.

Pubg Mobile, Lite version finally non-functional In India Starting last Friday, PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite announced that their product will no longer work for gamers in the country.

In a Facebook post, Tencent Games, which owns the mobile game, said, "deeply regrets this outcome" and thanked PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite fans for their support in India.

The company has cited that their aim was to protect user data as the top priority and that it has always abided by the rules applicable to data protection laws and regulations in India.

“All users' gameplay information is processed in a transparent manner as disclosed in our privacy policy,” the company said.

This announcement came after the Indian government's decision to ban PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite on September 2.

The game was banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

Besides withdrawing its partnership with Tencent, PUBG Corporation also stated that they will work with the Indian government to look for a quick resolution. PUBG game has more than 600 million downloads and 50 million active players globally, and has nearly 33 million users in India. It had the highest number of downloads in India which ranks at the top with 175 million installs as people stayed home owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Additionally, the Indian gaming company nCore announced indigenous multiplayer action game FAU-G to fill the void of PUBG Mobile.

FAU-G is slated to launch next month.

Indian troops kill top rebel commander in Kashmir Anti-India protests disrupted the valley when the Indian government forces a top rebel commander was killed by Indian government forces in Indianadministered Kashmir’s main city.

Reports stated that the dead commander, Saifullah Mir, was the chief of operations of the region’s largest rebel group, Hizbul Mujahideen. Acting on the intelligence after being informed about Mir’s presence in Srinagar, Kashmir Inspector-

General of Police Vijay Kumar said that security forces launched an operation on Sunday.

A gun battle followed, during which the commander was killed and his suspected associate was captured. Soon after that, anti-India protests broke out in the neighbourhood.

Police had to fire tear gas and shotgun pellets to stop stone pelting. The protesters chanted “We want freedom” and “Go India, go back”.

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PM Modi inaugurates to and fro Seaplane Service in Ahmedabad Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Water Aerodrome at Kevadia and the Seaplane Service connecting Statue of Unity in Kevadia with Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad on October 31, 202. The inauguration strategically took place on the 145th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

The Statue of Unity is dedicated to him. It is the world's tallest statue with a height of 182 metres (597 feet). It is located on the Narmada River in the Kevadiya colony, facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the city of Vadodara and 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Surat.

According to the Press Information Bureau of India, these are part of a series of Water Aerodromes being planned to

bring the last mile connectivity.

Seaplanes have the ability to land and take-off from water thus offering access to areas that do not have landing strips or runways. Thus it can help in connecting the geographies/ regions that have challenges owing to its topography and bring the remotest parts of India into the mainstream aviation network without the high cost of building airports and runways. These

smaller fixed wing airplanes can land on water bodies like lakes, backwaters and dams, gravel and grass, thus offering easy access to numerous tourist spots as well.

The 30-minute flights will operate its through subsidiary Spice Shuttle and start from 1,500 rupees (£15.40) one-way.

SpiceJet will be using Twin Otter 300 seaplanes, built by planemaker de Havilland Canada.

They can seat up to 19 people, including passengers and crew. "The Twin Otter is very popular among smaller operators, and is frequently used as a seaplane, most notably in the Maldives," said Greg Waldron at FlightGlobal magazine. SpiceJet

Indian brands are more vulnerable to hate now than ever In the past few weeks, India has seen a new wave of hate against brands. Hate speech reached its obnoxious peak with the media trials and witch hunt against actress Rhea Chakraborty who was hounded by journalists and social media hate mongers for allegedly consuming drugs and being party to her late boyfriend and actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide.

After spending 28 days in judicial custody, Mumbai HC granted bail to Chakraborty & observed that Section 27A of the NDPS Act was not applicable in the case. Her lawyer Satish Manishinde said, “We wish to do whatever is required into the law to fight the illegal, malicious campaign that was carried against her by various channels, various media houses, and various scums in the media world.

Her sentiments are much stronger than mine. She’s a fighter. She’s a tigress. She’s a Bengali tigress

and she will fight for it.”

Indian CEO Rajiv Bajaj made headlines after he declared that he would no longer advertise with media outlets who practice hate mongering and toxicity. A few days later, India’s biggest biscuit brand Parle-G took the same stand against news channels for advertising policies. India as a nation has always reeled under the yoke of pressing issues like poverty, food shortage, housing inequalities and caste politics.

The media has only started taking a stand, that too in minimum capacity against hate mongering or global human rights issues, because the larger news agenda is more tedious and inevitably caters more to third world problems.

Last month, when India’s premium gold and jewellery brand Tanishq released an ad that showed a baby shower organised for the Hindu bride by her Muslim in-laws, social

A still from the Tanishq ad on Ekatvam

Rhea Chakraborty

media went berserk against it, and accused the brand of promoting “Love Jihad”. At the same time, the 43 second long ad also got support from ad associations who cited the need to protect and strengthen fundamental rights to expression. Calling it an unprogrammed and organic concept its maker Amit Akali told a publication, ”The love on social media has been more than the hate.” The concept of the ad was not to spread or trigger communal disharmony and rather focused on Ekatvam

(Unity). Yet, veteran journalists and industry men from the ad world have demanded that tycoons like Ratan Tata (Tanishq is a Tata enterprise) and news channels should take a deeper look at their advertising policies with a fine tooth comb. Brands need more strategic policies now more than ever, not just to make it to top trends and convert business leads, but also a contingency plan to combat social media hate speech in case their ads go viral due to difference in perspectives.

chairman Ajay Singh said the seaplanes would help improve regional connectivity - an initiative being encouraged by the Indian government - "without the high cost of building airports and runways", thanks to the planes being able to take-off and land both on small water bodies and short airstrips.

According to the BBC, SpiceJet started conducting seaplane trials in India in 2017 in Nagpur, Guwahati and Mumbai.

It has been exploring air connectivity through water bodies such as rivers or inland waterways. During national lockdowns in India, SpiceJet remained active flying repatriation flights for more than 1m Indians.

20-Riyal-note distorts external and regional borders of India

India is angry at Saudi Arabia for releasing a 20riyal note. According to Hindustan Times, New Delhi has informed Riyadh that it feels “serious concern” about the emergence of the Jammu and Kashmir region separate from India on a map on a new Saudi 20-riyal note.

Through its spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “We have communicated our serious concern to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding this gross distortion of the external regional borders of India in an official and legal bank paper for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

“We have requested the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to take urgent corrective steps in this regard,” he added. This banknote was issued on October 24th to celebrate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia organizing the Group of 20 (G20) summit on November 20-21.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Continued from page 1

He offered floral tributes at the Statue of Unity, administered the Ekta Pledge and witnessed the Ekta Diwas Parade. The Prime Minister also inaugurated projects on the integrated development of Kevadia which will help in boosting tourism in the region. He also said that tourists will now have the option to visit the ‘Statue of Unity’ made in the honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s through a sea-plane service as well.

The Prime Minister also witnessed a colorful parade of police forces of Gujarat State, the Central Reserve Armed Force, Border Security Force, IndoTibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Forces and National Security Guards. The parade also included a Rifle drill by the female officers of CRPF. The Jaguars of the Indian Air Force also performed a fly-past to mark the occasion. The Prime Minister

witnessed a cultural event showcasing the tribal heritage of India on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta diwas. PM Modi also remarked that Valmiki Jayanti coincides with Ekta Diwas.

Addressing the nation, the PM said, “You see, when we had participated in the Ekta Run on this day last year, nobody had imagined that the entire humankind of the world would have to face this pandemic. This disaster came all of a sudden. It has affected human life all over the world and our progress.

But the way the 130 crore countrymen have proved their collective strength and the will in the face of this epidemic is unprecedented. There is no precedent of this in history.”

New dimensions of Unity The Prime Minister said now Kashmir has moved on a new path of development, leaving behind the obstacles that were coming in the development of Kashmir. He said,

“The country has also seen the spread of the yagya that was started

by Sardar Patel to restore India’s cultural glory through the reconstruction of Somnath in Ayodhya. Today, the country has become witness to the Supreme Court verdict on Ram Temple and is witnessing the construction of the majestic Ram Temple as well.”

AatmaNirbhar Bharat The Prime Minister acknowledged that 130 crore countrymen together are building a nation that is both strong and capable, in which there should be equality and there are also opportunities. He said only a selfsufficient country can be confident of its progress as well as its security.

Unity against Terrorism Addressing the issue that some people have come out in support of terrorism is a matter of global concern today, he said, “Nobody can benefit from terrorism and violence. India has been a victim of

PM Narendra Modi praying to Sardar Patel's Statue of Unity

terrorism for the last several decades. India has lost thousands of its brave soldiers, thousands of its innocent citizens, many mothers have lost their sons and many sisters have lost their brothers.

India fully understands the pain of terrorism. India has always responded to terrorism with unity and strong will. Today, the entire world has to defeat each of those powers which are with terrorism and which encourage terrorism collectively.”

Pulwama attack The Prime Minister said he was

reminded of Pulwama attack while watching the parade of paramilitary forces during the event. He further stated that, “I will make a special request to these people and political parties in front of this giant statue of this great man that please don’t do such politics, desist from it in the interest of the country’s security and the morale of our security forces. You will not be able to do any good to the country or to your party by playing into the hands of anti-national forces for your selfishness knowingly or unknowingly.”

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ART & CULTURE

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7 - 13 November 2020

in brief RIZ AHMED TO PERFORM ONLINE FOR ‘THE LONG GOODBYE’

Musician, storyteller, actor and activist Riz Ahmed has announced a one-off livestream performance of The Long Goodbye which will take place on 19 December 2020. It will be presented in binaural sound as an online companion to the live stage show which has been commissioned by Manchester International Festival (MIF) and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). It was due to premiere in the city during March 2020, but due to the pandemic it has been postponed until 2021. Mark Ball, Creative Director at Manchester International Festival & The Factory said, “This online companion performance will be a very different experience to The Long Goodbye live stage show which we are planning to bring to Manchester next year, but the energy, emotions and themes of Riz Ahmed’s words are ever resonant with these times, and we’re delighted to be able to continue our journey with this extraordinary performer.” The online performance of The Long Goodbye will be livestreamed on Saturday 19 December 2020 (time TBA) presented by WeTransfer.

Tickets will go on sale via mif.co.uk on Tuesday 1 December.

I AM BELMAYA

'Stop idealising Gurus' By: Shefali Saxena

Ash Mukherjee

“F

or every wonderful Guru and teacher out there, (and yes there are some shining examples of kind and impeccable gurus) there is an abusive Guru hiding amongst them. Stop idealising Gurus. Respect the craft but make sure that the safety of your child is also respected. And it starts with you as the parent,” said Ash Mukherjee, South Asian dancer, choreographer, actor and founder of Ash Dance Theatre. Ash exclusively spoke to Asian Voice about the recent upsurge in cases of sexual assault against gurus and instructors in the field of art and culture, and what should be the immediate course of action to safeguard students.

When asked what his immediate concern and idea of combatting this issue in order to safeguard students is, “My concern is the mindset that grants a Guru almost god-like status that allows them to get away with anything. It allows them to not be held accountable for their actions. Yes, revere art by all means, but the guru is ultimately a teacher that is coming in contact with your child or vulnerable person.

Respect the craft but make sure that the safety of your child is also respected. And it starts with you as the parent. A child expresses anxiety and lack of trust by saying that they have a stomach ache or their head is paining etc. Do not ignore these signs.

Do not leave your children alone unsupervised without another adult present.

Always accompany them if there are overnight trips planned. Take the safety of your child seriously. It is your number one responsibility as a parent to support your child’s creative as well as safety requirements. You must balance the two.

Otherwise you are failing them.”

Ash also emphasised the fact that we need to understand the vast difference between discipline and abuse. He said, “Discipline is holding a student accountable in a safe and loving way about their progress and commitment. Abuse is taking away the humanity of a being. It comes in many forms.

It can be loud, obvious and physical and it can also come in the form of microaggressions, making fun, bullying, silent treatment, making inappropriate remarks, creating a toxic and hostile work environment. You and your child’s safe space is non negotiable. You wouldn’t have your child dance on a slippery and unsafe dance floor where they could have an accident and physically harm themselves. Why would you then send your child or ward somewhere where their mental health is not being respected? The sad reality is that abuse is insidious, endemic and enmeshed subtly through intergenerational trauma in the world of dance and music. Just like the art form has heritage, the trauma and abuse also has a heritage.

It can be passed down unknowingly from a teacher to student. It only damages

and hurts people who damage and hurt other people. I believe that we are only scratching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to trauma and abuse in the dance world.”

Unfortunately, Ash too has had some similar experiences in his career. Sharing them, he said, “I have had three notably adverse and traumatic experiences in my journey as a dancer. For the purpose of brevity I shall share an early years experience here.

It was with my first Bharatanatyam dance teacher, who shall remain nameless.

He was brilliant and talented and I worshipped and loved him like my own father.

He was also a narcissistic abuser who played mind games, physically and verbally abused me and controlled me via masterful manipulative tactics. My parents only saw his talent, and forced me to stay in that very toxic, very hostile situation because they wanted me to be successful. Even though they were well meaning, they were not trauma informed and therefore my safety and mental health was severely compromised as a child because of it. As an adult, Ash suffers from profound depression and PTSD which is a direct result of what happened with this teacher.

What can be done to make sure more students speak up if they go through this?

Ash said, “Talk to each other. Do not keep secrets. Do not add to the hostile environment that benefits from the suffering of individuals.

Report what you see to trusted and responsible adults. If you don’t have that resource, get in touch directly with GEN NEXT on Facebook or Instagram, who are committed to creating a safer environment for artists.”

Encouragement, Endurance & Entertainment

Sue is an independent filmmaker who has recently completed a feature documentary based on Belmaya and her life struggles. I am Belmaya is a tale of rebellion, hope and love in patriarchal Nepal. Silenced and subjugated all her life, uneducated Belmaya takes up the movie camera to change her story. The film is just finished, but as with so many of the arts this year, has been set back by the Covid-19 crisis, with cancelled or limited festivals and theatrical releases. Belmaya has also been personally suffering since March. Now a single mother, she’s been unable to work or earn enough for her rent and food; she has a thyroid disorder, causing lethargy, and has had limited access to medical care; and her 8 year old daughter has been unable to go to school. I have been supporting her, but she is desperate to be independent again. Sue, a British documentary maker who has been involved in Nepal and women's rights for 20 years, is now fundraising for a public release of I Am Belmaya in 2021, to bring the film to a wider audience, to raise funds from screenings to channel back to Belmaya and her daughter, and empower more women in Nepal to tell their stories, Our GoFundMe campaign: www.gofundme.com/f/i-ambelmaya-film-fund

It’s been more than six months since the world went into a lockdown, economies crumbled, and so did jobs. What the pandemic couldn’t shake are the faith and passion among artists to keep going, and helping the community in navigating through Covid-19.

Asian Voice reached out to South Asian Arts (SAA-UK) to know how its activities took shape during the past six months in the pandemic to entertain and comfort people with the beauty of art and entertainment.

Barbara Cardone, Marketing and Audience Development Officer, said that the past six months have been a challenging time. Cardone said, “But as it is often the case, challenge brought us to re-invent ourselves and find new ways to continue supporting people during this period of uncertainty.” She also acknowledged that as a charity committed to delivering a public service, it was disappointing in mid-March having to suspend their regular performance programme and weekly classes across the city of Leeds, and any upcoming live project.

“However, in just a couple of weeks we were ready to launch our digital series of live performances in Indian classical music and dance – Baithak LIVE. This new format, inspired by the tradition of intimate concerts usually held in a person's private home with an audience of around 10-30 people, aspires to be a practical alternative to live performances in venues, providing artists with a digital space where they can give talks, perform as a soloist or as a group, all from their own living room,” she added.

Like many other members and businesses in the arts community who turned to digital medium during the pandemic, SAA-UK almost immediately switched to online classes, which according to Cardone, allowed 130 students to keep learning together and their music and dance

explained that this conversation added to the many more events that SAA-UK had in the past few months, and has also allowed the organisation to reflect on the many things that this new situation enabled it to do and that would have never been possible otherwise. She said, “For instance, at the ninth edition of our annual all-night Summer Solstice Festival, we were able to present 10 Indian classical musicians, performing live from 3 different countries, to a world-wide audience.”

tutors to continue sharing their art forms and thrive in the face of adversity.

She said, “Especially during the first few weeks of lockdown, we thought it was very important to communicate that social distancing shouldn't lead to social disconnection, we encouraged our students to practice their dance steps around the house, to Written by behavioural and data scientist, Dr Pragya Agarwal, play their instruments Wish We Knew What to Say will help all parents, carers and and sing with their educators give children the tools and vocabulary to talk about differences and families, and in people's similarities in an open, nongeneral discover what the “new normal” judgemental, curious way, and help them address any looked like for them. unfairness they might see or This is something that encounter. we continue to discuss Wish We Knew What to Say with students, artists is a timely and urgent book that and audiences in gives scenarios, questions, various settings: for thought starters, resources and example, on the 21st advice in an accessible manner of October we on how to tackle tricky presented a Navratri conversations around race and event, which was live racism with confidence and streamed on YouTube awareness. it brings in the and was introduced by science of how children perceive a talk about dancers’ race and form racial identity, experiences in combining it with personal stories and experiences to create lockdown.”

C a r d o n e a handy guide that every parent would refer to again and again.

Book Recommendation

Wish We Knew What to Say by Dr Pragya Agarwal

28 HEALTH

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7 - 13 November 2020

50+ Public health directors and sector experts write letter to Rishi Sunak

In the light of the ‘End Child Food Poverty’ campaign, more than 50 public health directors, sector experts and healthcare professionals today sent a letter to Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock calling on the Government to allocate additional funding to the Healthy Start scheme which supports low-income families.

letter urges the The government to increase the value of the voucher to £4.25 a week.

The letter came right after Tesco announced that they are going to offer free fruit and vegetables to 500,00 families this Winter who are eligible for the Healthy Start scheme.

This letter takes one of the three key recommendations from the National Food Strategy and footballer Marcus Rashford’s #EndChildFoodPoverty campaign, account, alongside into expansion of Free School Meals and holiday food provision. More than 1 million people have signed

it to date. The Healthy Start scheme provides pregnant women and low-income families in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with children under 4 with free vitamins and food vouchers to purchase vegetables, fruit, pulses and milk.

The letter is sent just days after Tesco announced a pledge to top up Healthy Start vouchers by £1 over winter, following Iceland’s announcement in September to add £1 of frozen veg to each voucher redeemed in store. The letter urges the government to act as well as businesses.

British health regulator initiates accelerated review of AstraZeneca Plc vaccine candidate British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc reveals Britain's health regulator had started an accelerated review of its potential coronavirus vaccine.

A spokesman said, “We confirm the MHRA's (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) rolling review of our potential COVID-19 vaccine.”

The approach is designed to speed up evaluations of promis-

ing drugs or vaccines during a public health emergency.

In rolling reviews, regulators are able to see clinical data in real time

and have a dialogue with drug makers on manufacturing processes and trials to accelerate the approval process.

AstraZeneca's COVID-19

vaccine is being developed along with the University of Oxford.

The drug maker said last week that its COVID-19 experimental vaccine produces an immune response in both old and young adults. It said the vaccine also triggers lower adverse responses among the elderly.

Oxford began work on the vaccine candidate in January. Called AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus.

UK vaccine chief warns of vaccine imperfection Chair of the UK Vaccines Taskforce, Kate Bingham believes a fully effective vaccine might never be developed, and that early versions that do get approved might not work on all people.

Writing in an article published in The Lancet, she said, “However, we do not know that we will ever have a vaccine at all. It is important to guard against complacency and over-optimism.”

She added, “The first generation of vaccines is likely to be imperfect, and we should be prepared that they might not prevent infection but rather reduce symptoms, and even then, might not work for everyone or for long.”

Bingham wrote the taskforce recognised “many and possibly all of these vaccines could fail.” She said the focus has been on jabs that are expected to elicit immune responses in those over 65.

Bingham also cautioned that the global manufacturing capacity for vaccines was vastly inadequate for the billions of doses that were needed, and that Britain's manufacturing capability to date had been “equally scarce”.

Bharat Biotech may launch vaccine candidate in second quarter of 2021 If media reports are to be believed, Bharat Biotech is all set to launch its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the second quarter of 2021 depending on approval from Indian regulatory authorities.

The company said it plans to conduct recruitment and dosage for the Phase 3 trials in November.

Bharat Biotech had received

initial approval from Drugs Controller General of India to conduct late-stage trials for its vaccine candidate COVAXIN.

The company's Executive Director Sai Prasad was quoted as saying the trial will be conducted in 25 sites in 10-12 states and will provide two doses each for the vaccine and placebo recipients.

Hyderabad - based, the company is developing the vaccine in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Eating healthy home cooked food rather than eating out would be beneficial

Dr Ravi Misra

Shefali Saxena We're less than a week away from Diwali, about 45 days away from Christmas, and closer to another lockdown. The last time the world went into stringent lockdown limitations, the biggest concern was not only Coronavirus, but also existing underlying diseases. Many stayed home for months with a complete 360 degree change in lifestyle, temper, mental health and food habits.

This lockdown, as we all gear up to consume more festive food, and get back to an inevitable sedentary lifestyle with more vulnerability towards obesity and triggering underlying health issues, Asian Voice reached out to Dr Ravi Misra, consultant gastroenterologist and endoscopist to talk about the challenges of this development, especially related to digestive health. Dr Misra specialises in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), reflux, diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy.

What do you think has been the biggest learning about digestion and digestive health during the pandemic, especially for the Asian community that follows a certain traditional culture of eating and cooking?

The pandemic has changed people’s lifestyle and with that their eating habits. It is too early to say what the result of these changes will have on health. One would assume eating healthy home cooked food rather than eating out would be beneficial.

With the inevitable sedentary lifestyle in the given circumstances, how does one's digestive health get affected?

A number of my patients have experienced weight gain due to reduced commuting and increased access to food at home.

Gut bacteria are crucial in the digestion of food. Physical exercise impacts gut bacteria by increasing the presence of beneficial bacteria. In contrast, a prolonged sedentary lifestyle is associated with reduced beneficial bacteria and increased risk of chronic diseases. A sedentary lifestyle will also increase risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Have patients in your understanding been able to consult doctors during the pandemic who were suffering from existing underlying health conditions?

There has been a significant change in practice with telephone rather than face to face appointments but the opportunity to consult with your doctor should always be available. I think there was a misconception that GP surgeries and hospitals were not treating other medical conditions. We encourage patients to consult their doctors if they have any concerns and attend hospital if they feel unwell. Managing underlying health conditions appropriately is important to prevent complications. We noticed the number of patients being diagnosed with bowel cancer dropped significantly during the first lockdown as people were not presenting to their doctor. This is something we wish to avoid.

With the advent of fad diets and various home remedies for digestion, how much do you think one's digestion gets affected? Is it a good way to go?

Social media enables the proliferation of fad diets which quickly become popular despite limited evidence. There is a huge variation between individuals in the way we react to the same foods and often a ‘one size fits all’ approach is unlikely to be effective. I would advise against extreme or oversimplified diets which may actually worsen your condition. Scientific experiments have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric. Natural products which are free of preservatives are generally good for digestion. The tried and tested advice of a varied diet with fruit, vegetables, drinking plenty of water and avoiding processed foods is probably the best way to go.

What precautions can one take to avoid irritable bowel movement, inflammation and heartburn? Is food the end and the be all of triggering them or there are other causes?

Food is an important trigger in irritable bowel syndrome.

Patients often describe bloating related to specific foods however there is wide variation in which foods cause symptoms.

General advice would be to trial avoiding dairy and gluten products to see if there is any benefit but patients should keep a food diary to see which specific foods trigger their symptoms. Stress is certainly an important factor as well and identifying coping strategies that work for you is helpful. Inflammatory bowel disease is influenced by genetics, environment, lifestyle as well as food. There is extensive research examining the role of food in triggering inflammation. Heartburn is an extremely common symptom which can be exacerbated by alcohol, smoking, caffeine and food.

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7 - 13 November 2020

Jonas Brothers' new Single hits the right chords with Priyanka Actor Priyanka Chopra is “obsessed” with The Jonas Brothers' brand new single titled 'I need You Christmas'. Spreading a little holiday cheer, the song turned out to be quite the hit within hours of its release, and it also received Pri and Sophie stamp of Turner's approval. Married to Nick Jonas, the 'Sky is Pink' actress shared the song on her Instagram Stories and wrote, “You guys are going to love this one. I'm

obsessed! #Holidays Swipe up to listen.”

Joe Jonas' wife, Sophie, meanwhile wrote, “YES UGH YES I'M NOT CRYING B***H – YOU ARE.” The Jonas Brothers shared a series of throwback family pictures from holiday celebrations and announced their new song. Their Instagram post read, “With having such a crazy year, we all really need something to look forward to... the Holidays is a time that brings us

together and is something that brings us joy in the darkest of times.”

It added, “For us, this song stirs up memories of childhood snowball fights and finding the nearest hill to sled. It brings us back to spending time with family setting up the Christmas tree. Hopefully it can bring you guys the same feelings of warmth and happiness that creating it has brought us.

We love you guys very much!.”

11 years of 'London Dreams', Salman filmed crucial scenes between dogs' funerals As 'London Dreams' completed 11 years of its release, director Vipul Amrutlal Shah shared the most unforgettable moments from the film shoot. The filmmaker recalled how lead actor Salman Khan continued to shoot crucial concert scenes of the movie even after losing his dogs – MySon and MyJaan.

Vipul said, “As per the schedule, we had two days of shooting sequences of musical concerts, one month apart from each other and both the times, Salman lost his dogs. In spite of losing the dogs, who were so dear to him, he continued to shoot and after pack up at 6 or 7 in the morning, he went from Karjat to Mumbai, picked up his dog, completed the funeral procedure at his farmhouse and reported back to the shoot at 4 pm in the

evening and again continued shooting.”

“Since we were shooting concerts and they were very expensive shooting days, Salman didn’t want those days to get cancelled. I was amazed at his professional and human approach that Salman had for those days, forgetting his own pain and looking at all the hard work that the unit was putting in and reporting back on the sets and shooting non-stop without sleeping for 48 hours,” he added.

Talking about working with two superstars – Khan, and Ajay Devgn in the film, Vipul said he was warned of ego clashes, however, the original experience went on to be rather smooth. “To my surprise, the shoot was like a picnic. I don’t think I have laughed so much on any set as I have laughed on the

sets of London Dreams because Salman used to crack jokes all the time, and at the same time, Ajay had this tremendous knack of pulling pranks out of nowhere. The experience of working with these two superstars will always be special because they made me feel at home from day one, gave me my complete freedom and worked with me on my vision on how I wanted to shoot the film and create it,” Vipul said.

'London Dreams' tells the story of childhood friends Arjun (Devgn) and Mannu (Khan), and features Asin in a leading role. The movie also marked the Bollywood debut of Aditya Roy Kapur.

Fatima Sana Shaikh says she was molested at the age of 3 Actress Fatima Sana Shaikh, who rose to fame with Aamir Khan's 'Dangal', revealed in a recent interview that she faced multiple rejections in her career before she hit the jackpot. She spoke about how she was not considered worthy of becoming a film heroine because she didn't look like Deepika Padukone or Aishwarya Rai. She said, “I was told many times that 'you would never be a heroine'. You don't look like Deepika, you don't look like Aishwarya.

How will you be a heroine? That's the standard of beauty they subscribe to. That one should look exactly like this or that to become a heroine. And I clearly don't fall in that bracket, I fall into a different bracket.

But there are opportunities now, there are films being made for people like me, who

don't look like supermodels, who look normal, average.”

Fatima also talked about sexism within the industry, opening up about an incident when she was just three years old. “I have faced people telling me that the only way to get a job is through sex. So that has also happened to me. I have lost jobs to someone else for whatever reason. But I feel that there are a lot of struggles that a lot of people are facing apart from this industry and sexism is very much relevant and it exists in every industry. I was molested when I was five years old. No! I was three years old. So you understand how deep sexism goes. It’s a battle we fight on an everyday basis. Every woman, every minority fights every day. And I hope our future is better.”

'Mirzapur 2' is all girl power, says Sheeba Chadha The much-awaited Amazon Original Series 'Mirzapur' is back with an action-packed 10-part season 2. There's guns, there's violence, and there is the promise of revenge. A show completely focused on the crime and lawlessness in Mirzapur, it is in fact, the women who shine through this season.

Sheeba Chaddha, who plays Guddu's mother in the show, believes viewers should pay more attention to the women this time around. She said, “The women have completely stood out, and it's for

variou reasons. Be it the internal violence, harshness or emotions, there's not one factor that I can point out. But their presence has played a part in expanding the universe. It's like a separate kingdom in a kingdom. Women are very powerful players in Mirzapur. They may not be overt but they stand in their own right and separate light.”

Produced by Farhan Akhtar's Excel Media and Entertainment, the series is created by Puneet Krishna, and directed by Gurmmeet Singh and Mihir Desai.

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Kajal Aggarwal ties the knot with beau Gautam Kitchlu Actress Kajal Aggarwal tied the knot with entrepreneur Gautam Kitchlu last Friday, in a private ceremony attended by family and close friends. The actor had made the announcement about her marriage only earlier this month. The actress has been sharing pictures from her pre-wedding festivities, including her haldi and mehendi ceremonies.

Aggarwal had earlier shared on social media, “It gives me immense joy to share that I am getting married to Gautam Kitchlu, on October 30, 2020, in

Mumbai, in a small, private ceremony surrounded by our immediate families. This pandemic has certainly shed a sobering light on our joy, but we are thrilled to start our lives together and know that all of you will be cheering us on in spirit. I thank you for all the love you have showered upon me over the years and we seek your blessings as we embark upon this incredible new journey. I will still continue doing what I cherish the most – entertaining my audience – now, with a whole new purpose and meaning. Thank you for your unending support.”

Shah Rukh Khan to make 'Love Hostel', feature Bobby Deol, Vikrant Massey, Sanya Malhotra Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan is all set to produce a new film titled 'Love Hostel', featuring Bobby Deol, Vikrant Massey, and Sanya Malhotra. To be produced by Red Chillies in association with Dhrishyam Films, the movie will be written and directed by Shanker Raman. The crime thriller will circle around a young couple on the run, being hunted by a mercenary.

Talking about the movie, Shanker said, “I have always been interested in questions of the hearts and minds.

And I would say this, no matter what the question, violence is not the answer. I am happy to have found the perfect partners in Vikrant and Sanya and the formidable Bobby Deol. 'Love Hostel' as a film not only questions what our society has become but also the paths we take to solve our problems.”

This is the second collaboration between Red Chillies Entertainment and Drishyam Films. 'Love Hostel' is slated to go on floors early next year and will release in the same year.

Duration: 2 Seasons Genre: American TV Game Show

A fun American game show that will you keep you entertained Minute to Win it is a game show presented by Apolo Ohno where contestants are given a minute per challenge to try and get past the levels. There are 10 challenges in total with a top cash prize of $1,000,000.

If you are a fan of The Cube you will love this American game show. The show uses household items as the bases of the challenges. The contestants are made up of teams of 2 and are shown a blueprint of the challenge and they are then given a minute to take on that challenge. If they are successful, they go onto the next challenge and if they are not, they have 3 lives total to try again.

The challenges go up in difficulty as the prizes become bigger, there are also milestone prizes and when you reach this level you are guaranteed this amount.

The challenges are very interesting for example there is a one trial where there are cups lined up on a table and you have to use the eraser on the back on a pencil to help bounce the pencil into the cups. Another challenge is to use chopsticks to balance chapsticks on top of each other without them falling over.

As the nation goes back into lockdown, we will all be looking for new programmes to watch and keep us busy and this is definitely one of them. It is one of those pro-

Nawazuddin “wept bitterly” after Kamal Haasan removed him from 'Hey Ram' Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui walked down memory lane recently and recalled the time he was cut off from Kamal Haasan's 'Hey Ram'. Talking about the time when his roles were removed from projects, Siddiqui said 'Hey Ram' hurt the most because of how much he respected Kamal. Talking in an interview, he said, “There were many incidents when I did small roles and then the role was edited out. But the one incident that stays with me involves one of my idols Kamal Haasan.”

He added, “I was his Hindi dialogue coach on his film 'Hey Ram' (2000) which he directed and also played the lead. When Kamalji offered me a small role in 'Hey Ram' I was as excited as a

child. He is one of my idols alongside Dilip Kumar, Naseeruddin Shah, Anthony Hopkins and Denzel Washington. I’ve seen each and every film of theirs repeatedly.”

But then, his role failed to make the final cut, and Nawaz said he “wept bitterly”, and remembers Shruti Haasan consoled him. Before making a name for himself with Anurag Kashyap's 'Gangs of Wasseypur', Nawazuddin appeared in small roles in Aamir Khan's 'Sarfarosh', and Sanjay Dutt's 'Munna Bhai MBBS'.

On the work front, he has appeared in the long-delayed 'Ghoomketu', Honey Trehan's murder mystery 'Raat Akeli Hai', and Sudhir Mishra's 'Serious Men'.

grammes where is becomes very addictive but also a light watch where you can have it on in the background as you get other things done.

It is really fun to see the contestants try and beat the clock and it is adrenaline pumping when they succeed right at the last second with Ohno’s tag line being ‘Every second counts. ’ As the episodes go on you also notice new challenges being introduced by the team therefore you do not get bored of watching it and find yourself binge watching the extensive amount of episodes in each season.

The show is currently being aired on Netflix so check it out and have fun trying some of the tasks at home with your household items, especially considering we will be in lockdown it will keep you and the whole family entertained.

You can get in touch with Vallisa: djvallisa@gmail.com

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7 - 13 November 2020

in brief

AMIR KHAN EXCITED BY HISTORIC PLANS FOR THE WBC MIDDLE EAST

TEAM KKR WISHES SRK A ‘HAPPY 55TH’

Kolkata Knight Riders who won over Rajasthan Royals on Sunday has come together to wish Shah Rukh Khan, the co-owner of their team a happy 55th on 2 November in a very cool Shah Rukh Khan video.

The video posted on social media, Kolkata Knight Riders stars, including captain Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins and Dinesh Karthik, recalled their first meeting with Shah Rukh Khan and wished their coowner.

England's World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan in the video said, "Everybody described him as the Tom Cruise of India. He is actually more exciting than Tom Crusie.”

Dinesh Karthik remembered a holiday in Bali where his 'Tuk Tuk' driver identified India with Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta. Andre Russell described when they met for the first time he was pleasantly surprised by how unpretentious and level-headed the Indian cinema icon was.

RON KALIFA OBE JOINS ECB

Two-Time World Champion Amir Khan, the President of the newly formed World Boxing Council (WBC) Middle East Boxing Council, has laid the foundation to set up the first ever structured boxing governing body in the region and has pledged his commitment to developing the sport for future generations.

The WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán announced last month that Khan and Senior Vice President Tahir (Taz), will spearhead the groundbreaking development of boxing throughout the region under the WBC Middle East Continental Federation that will see flexible and tailored development projects in the individual affiliated countries.

Amir has a long-term, strategic vision for the evolution and advancement of the sport there and believes his considerable experience in every facet of boxing, places him in a unique position as he oversees the implementation of the revolutionary plan and to drive it through with his unwavering verve.

The 33-year-old has experienced everything in his 20 plus years in boxing from the amateur code, where he captured an Olympic Silver Medal in 2004 at just 17, through to the pros where he won a multitude of titles including the WBC Silver and International belts - and two World titles, while facing the best pound-for-pound fighters of his generation.

In addition to his ring legacy, Amir has acquired a stellar resume outside of the ring from heading his own promotional organisation; experience in negotiating big fights with top promoters; securing agreements with international TV broadcasters, to liaising with governing bodies, managers and fighters.

Not to mention his outstanding philanthropy work through the Amir Khan Foundation to help improve the lives of millions of disadvantaged children around the world.

To see boxing established in the Middle East has long been an ambition for Amir which he believes is a major market with untapped potential to establish

boxing and to stage major Championship title fights and events that will draw international tourism and a huge benefit to the economies of the countries in the region.

It will not solely be focused on just the big fights though. Through the hugely successful worldwide WBC Cares initiative that enables boxing to give back to society, countries will be benefit from the Amir Khan with WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán experience and East Boxing Council by resources to enhance health and Mauricio and the WBC to head fitness, school and education; up this incredible and historic women’s boxing and tackling project to establish and develop major issues health issues such boxing in the region. as obesity.

“It has long been a dream of The 33-year-old will further mine and Maurcio’s father José, commit to the long-term who I consider a dear friend, project when he moves with his and I’m delighted to bring our family from his native home in vision to reality with the aim of Bolton, England, to relocate to producing great and proud the Middle East where he will Champions from the region, but oversee the work of his team as to also return back to the they embark on the landmark community with health, project. welfare, education, through the Amir said, “I’m absolutely excellent humanitarian work by thrilled to be appointed as the the WBC Cares programme."

President of the WBC Middle

Birmingham 2022 begins search for Hometown Heroes The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is searching for Hometown Heroes - inspirational local stars of community sport in the West Midlands – to be the faces of an upcoming advertising campaign.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced that Ron Kalifa OBE will join the ECB Board as an Independent NonExecutive Director.

Ron is a renowned strategic and operational leader in the field of digital and financial services, serving as Chair of Network International, a FTSE company, and of FutureLearn.

Organisers are asking people to nominate those who deserve to be recognised for making a difference to their communities by dedicating their lives to grassroots sport.

Nominees could be an inspiring coach, dedicated volunteer, courageous player or diehard supporter, or anyone who’s had a real impact on their sport club, team or facility.

The campaign aims to celebrate and represent the rich

diversity of the West Midlands by recognising people who go above and beyond to encourage participation in sport and exercise in the region.

Hometown Heroes can be anyone who lives and works in the West Midlands and can be

connected to any sport, not just those included in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games programme.

Ricardo D’Alva is a coach at City of Birmingham Rockets Basketball Club in Nechells,

where he coaches beginners and elite players aged from 8 to 18, has become the first Hometown Hero to kick off the campaign.

Nigel Huddleston, Minister for Sport, Heritage and Culture, is backing the campaign. He said, “The West Midlands has a wealth of inspirational people at all levels of sport, so I’m delighted that this campaign will highlight many of them. I would strongly encourage anyone who knows an unsung hero at their club to nominate them to be one of the faces of the Games.”

To nominate someone to be a Hometown Hero, please visit www.birmingham2022.com/ho metownheroes by 6 Nov 2020.

FA launches new Football Leadership Diversity Code The FA has launched the Football Leadership Diversity Code, a new initiative to drive diversity and inclusion across English football.

The Code, which has been developed alongside Kick It Out and others in the game, aims to ensure that the support structures off the pitch better reflect the diversity we see on it. With over 40 clubs already signed up across both the men’s and women’s games, the Code sets a clear direction for promoting inclusivity within the game.

Kick It Out is encouraging fans and sponsors to ask their clubs to sign up to the Code and supporting its development as it expands more broadly over time.

They have been campaigning for greater diversity in football for

over 27 years and are excited to see how this new Code will tackle the inequality seen across senior leadership positions, broader team operations and coaching roles.

On the launch of the Code, Sanjay Bhandari, Kick It Out Chair, said, "We welcome the Football Leadership Diversity Code, published today by The FA. It shows what football can achieve when we work as a team.

“I applaud all the clubs and individuals who participated in this massive joint effort over the last three months and those who have immediately signed up to the Code.

“The Code is a clear signal of intent and sets the future direction for building a more inclusive game.

It has the potential to transform the

way that people get in, stay in and get on in the football industry, so that it is more representative of the people who play and watch the game. “Together we can rewrite the book on how people succeed in coaching and leadership in the game. However, the Code only represents the end of Chapter One of that book. There is more work to be done. “At Kick It Out, we will be asking fans and sponsors to encourage their clubs to sign up to the Code. We will be seeking to provide the reporting transparency that tracks how football is progressing against these targets in the coming years. We will also work with the industry to ensure that the diverse pipeline of talent is better connected to opportunities. We

know that talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. We need to correct that imbalance."

The Code comes at a time when the football community has come together to challenge injustices in society. This includes their recent Take A Stand campaign, which is challenging everyone across the football community to take an action or make a public pledge in the fight against discrimination.

Find out more about Take A Stand, https://www.kickitout.org /news/take-a-stand or join the conversation on social media with #TakeAStand.

Kick It Out and the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) have

also jointly launched the Fans For Diversity campaign, supported by the Premier League’s fans fund, to help make football a more inclusive place for all fans regardless of background.

Fans For Diversity aims to target a number of fan initiatives and events to promote diversity and inclusion across the professional and non-league game.

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7 - 13 November 2020

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