AV 14th August 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE 49 Years Later – Remembering the Expulsion of Ugandan Asians SEE PAGE - 6

India, China pull back troops from Gogra in Eastern Ladakh SEE PAGE - 25

Representation starts at a young age SEE PAGE - 28

PM Modi chairs India-led UNSC meet; snubs China SEE PAGE - 26

R

inside

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

14 - 20 AUGUST 2021 - VOL 50 ISSUE 15

Asian Achievers Awards enters new era in partnership between ABPL and EPG

Indian Independence Day 2021 Special

SEE PAGE - 12

SEE PAGE - 13-18

Neeraj Chopra earns India's first athletics gold in Olympics SEE PAGE - 32

MOVING FORWARD, TOGETHER! 75 years later, it’s time for ‘reconciliation’.

Shefali Saxena When 23-year-old Indian track and field athlete Subedar Neeraj Chopra took his final steps to throw the javelin at the Olympics, he ended India’s 100-year-long wait to win a gold medal. Chopra turned around instead of looking at the trajectory of the throw, raised his hands in the air as he already knew he had won. Leaving every Indian in goosebumps, Chopra took a victory bow with the Indian National Flag wrapped around him, sang the national anthem, came back and folded the tricolour with the utmost respect and kept it in his bag.

Continued on page 12

2 UK

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

AsianVoiceNews

www.asian-voice.com

14 - 20 August 2021

with Keith Vaz

Deadly Dementia killed more women than Covid-19

Chandni Modha CEO of CJM Publicity Chandni Modha was born in Leicester, England to Jagdish and Ranju Modha.

Chandni’s early schooling years we’re spent at Our Lady’s Convent School in Loughborough. She was a very high achiever from a young age, winning various Awards of Excellence. Chandni then went on to complete a foundation course at Leicester College of the Arts where she was Awarded Student of Year for her performance and talent as the no.1 student in the college. She then went on to study an honours degree at the prestigious Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London.

Chandni continued her professional career and secured a job with luxury Fashion House Dolce&Gabbana heading up the Celebrity dressing and Press department, it was here that Chandni found her calling and was headhunted by Global PR agency Starworks, she joined the fast-paced team as head of VIP & Partnerships.

In 2016 Chandni started up her own luxury Brand Partnership and VIP agency CJM Publicity. Chandni continues to work with high profile brands luxury brands and celebrities such as Helen Mirren, Sonam Kapoor to Beyonce and travels the world attending Film Festivals, Red Carpet events and film sets.

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

I live, work and breath in London, however my hometown is Leicester. One of the most ethically and culturally diverse cities in the UK. The energy, the people, food, fashion, and entrepreneurship are what makes Leicester a thriving city! I am a proud British Asian female with strong family roots and business acumen that originated from the family business Anokhi House of Sarees; founded in 1967 by my grandfather the late Gokaldas Modha in Leicester.

My grandfather a pioneer was one of the first Indians to migrate from East Africa to Leicester in the sixties. Starting from humble beginnings, he built a global empire. His work ethic and unconditional love for his family was an abode to his success and certainly runs in my DNA. 2 What are your proudest achievements?

I am lucky enough to have achieved a few milestones in my lifetime, both personally and professionally. One of my earliest and most special achievements that started my career was when I was accepted at the world-renowned Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London – an enviable alumni of master creatives include Alexander Mc Queen, Albert Elbaz, Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney. Starting my business as a young female entrepreneur, undeniably is my proudest achievement. CEO of CJM Publicity has opened a world of challenges, life lessons and unforgettable experiences. Here I will continue to grow and achieve greater heights.

3 What inspires you?

Different things inspire different people in different ways. There are copious amounts of inspiration in the world, and I strongly believe one must be open and accepting of the world we live in.

Recently, I have been inspired by South Asian Art. In particular Artists such as Rana Begum, Ali Kazim to Raja Ravi Varma. I am fascinated by their journey as young up-coming artists to the lengths they have now reached and the value that is put on their precious pieces of Artwork.

Incredible women such as Mala Yousafzai. She is a beacon of inspiration. Mala survived a Taliban assignation attempt as retaliation for her activism for girls’ education and went onto to be the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. At the age of 20 she was

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already changing the world with her words and work.

4 What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Finding that work life balance.

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

My mentor Salvo Nicosia he was the first person to take a risk and give me an internship at Dolce&Gabbana. He took a chance on me, and I hope that to this date I have never let him down. He is the first person I call when I need advice on clients or a job role. I will forever be grateful for his leadership, insight, and guidance.

6 What is the best aspect about your current role?

The freedom to create my own job role 7 And the worst?

Having too much freedom!

8 What are your long-term goals?

My long term business global is to create a global accessible platform that bridges luxury western brands, celebrities and entertainment experiences with talent across South Asia. A one stop PR agency that represents South Asian Talent that can partner with globally recognised personalities in fashion film, music and the arts. We have a long history with India and the UK, so opening that line of communication and building a stronger creative bridge for talent and brand to work together in unison would be my ultimate goal.

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

Reverse Brexit 10 If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why.

Cleopatra (69-30 BC) the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra sought to defend Egypt from the expanding Roman Empire. In doing so, she formed relationships with two of Rome’s most powerful leaders Marc Anthony and Julia Caesar. She came to represent, as did no other woman of antiquity, the prototype of the romantic femme fatale and was the greatest beauty of her time. She was highly intelligent and well educated. I would ask her what it was like to be the only female woman head of state during her lifetime and if she would my become my mentor!

According to the official figures, every day 125 women are dying due to dementia and caused more female deaths last year than Covid-19.

In England and Wales last year, Covid-19 was the leading cause of death, with 73,766 fatalities recorded with an underlying cause of coronavirus, according to the ONS. This accounted for 12.1 per cent of all deaths.

But the death toll from dementia and Alzheimer’s was only marginally lower than for Covid-19.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s caused 70,047 deaths — 11.5 per cent of the total.

Dementia killed 45,922 women in 12 months, and was the cause of 15.3 per cent of all female deaths, taking the lives of five women per hour.

A global effort to beat dementia similar to the drive to tackle coronavirus was ‘vital’, said David Thomas, head of policy at

Universities still want to continue online classes Despite the government’s permission to lift restrictions, renowned universities have refused to start face-to-face teaching in the autumn and will continue to hold many classes and lectures online.

Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London said that lockdowns and other restrictive measures were unlikely to be needed again. Of the leading 24 Russell Group universities, 20 said that a proportion of undergraduate learning will continue to be held online.

Lord Baker of Dorking, the former Conservative education secretary, said the universities stand was “outrageous”, and that they should come back to normal as a matter of urgency this autumn. “Pubs, cinemas, theatres and football matches have all opened without restrictions,” he said. “What’s different about universities?”

University College London, the London School of Economics,

Muslim police officer hailed for her bravery has links with Jehadis UK police officer Ruby Begum, 26, belonging to the Muslim community was hailed as brave and inspirational by her senior colleagues for confronting anti-lockdown protestors.

Ruby now faces an urgent investigation after her contacts with suspected female Jihadi in Syria were revealed. Not only that, she has been tweeting racist messages from her Twitter account named Ruby Bees since 2012. She

Alzheimer’s Research UK, said.

A study into dementia, which afflicts 850,000 in the UK, have been postponed or paused due to pandemic. One in three people born in the UK today will develop the condition.

There is no treatment for dementia but the US regulators gave provisional approval for the use of aducanumab, which targets proteins in the brain. The UK and Europe are set to give rulings in the autumn.

Thomas added aducanumab might be a “tipping point” to fight against the disease.

has also frequently used terms of ‘Kuffar’ for nonbelievers.

The Scotland Yard now

faces questions on how her rants were missed during vetting.

The Met has launched an investigation and referred the matter to an Independent officer for police conduct. Miss Begum has now been placed on ‘restricted duties’ following the investigation against her.

Imperial College, Cardiff and Leeds all said that lectures would continue to be held online.

Warwick, Nottingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh said they would offer

“blended learning” which means online and face-to-face teaching for classes, seminars and lectures jointly, but were unable to promise how much in-person teaching students would receive.

Nottingham said it might restart full face-to-face teaching next year, but subject to the pandemic.

Cambridge said most learning would be in person, but that some would be online, with details to be confirmed. Oxford said it planned most learning in-person “enhanced by online teaching” and said some exams would continue to be held online next year.

Students at Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool have already launched petitions calling for a full return to face to face teaching and demanding fee refunds.

While in Manchester, where some of the strictest lockdowns took place, nearly 10,000 have signed. Many students are still waiting to know how their degree courses will be taught when the term starts next month.

Baker said the government was right to be looking later this year at cutting the £9,250 yearly tuition fee to £7,500, one of the most expensive in the world.

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AsianVoiceNewsweekly

14 - 20 August 2021

Boris’ politics, a child’s play?

We have all seen children in a playground where cliques or groupism are common. There is one leader of the pack- the most popular in the group, and absolute allegiance and fan following is expected against an opportunity to be included in the most sought-after playgroup. Failing to promise blind loyalty leads to a collapse in a friendship.

This is the exact political scenario in 21st century Britain.

Let’s rewind to 2019. Boris Johnson had just won a huge majority. His Cabinet was a place to be. Sajid Javid was going to be the Chancellor. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary. Then came his dear friend Dominic Cummings, who dictated terms, and a failing to do abide by ‘his laws’- a guaranteed elimination or demotion.

One fine day Mr Cummings decided that Rishi Sunak was better suited for the role of a Chancellor and the rest is history.

Today Rishi is the most sought after Tory leader, with more popularity than Boris Johnson himself. Once the formidable duo.

Now a recent disagreement over a letter has allegedly prompted Boris to think of demoting Rishi to teach him a lesson.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Johnson was so angry about Mr Sunak’s letter over travel restrictions that he suggested demoting Mr Sunak to the role of Health Secretary. But those on the call were not sure if he was joking! While No 10 and the Treasury have played down these comments, Mr Johnson is said to be treating the leak of details of the meeting as a betrayal.

Let’s look at Rishi Sunak’s credentials to lead the nation as a Chancellor or a Tory leader. Mr Sunak was educated in Lincoln College, Oxford University and later gained a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Stanford University, where he met Akshata Murthy, his now-wife.

Akshata, a venture capitalist is the daughter of one of India’s richest businessmen and IT industry pioneers- N R Narayana Murthy. It is believed Akshata is richer than Her Majesty The Queen. Before joining politics, Mr Sunak worked in finance as an investment banker and then in Hedge Fund. A publication recently mentioned while Mr Sunak’s worth is £200mn, his wife has a £430mn stake in Infosys, her father’s company. Even if you take away politics and power from Mr Sunak, he is still worth much more than his £79,000 salary as the Chancellor. Boris Johnson’s estimated value is around £4 million only.

Mr Sunak was born to parents who immigrated from East Africa. His father was a GP and mother a pharmacist. Mr Sunak, even if demoted to become the Health Secretary will know exactly what the department needs.

There are six issues that the Prime Minister and Chancellor disagree on. As The Guardian pointed out, the first issue is that of net zero. No 10 wants Boris to deal with climate emergency, which

is crucial but that comes with a price tag. The Guardian said the Chancellor is signed up to the principle of net zero but the whole government’s strategy has been held up over arguments about how it will be paid for. Mr Sunak, who is instinctively fiscally more conservative, is now examining how to reduce the costs for lower earners.

Second, when Mr Johnson came to power, he said he would solve the social care situation. Two years on, there is still a matter of money to do so. Treasury wants to increase the national insurance to do so but that would break the manifesto to not raise tax.

So, there is a possibility of backlash, that clearly both can avoid.

Third, the Prime Minister, a hardcore Brexiter is committed to his level up strategy to rebalance economy, outside London to achieve growth and productivity. But that is only possible if there is money. Treasury has of course pumped in money but has been criticised for lacking ambitions in some quarters.

Fourth, the end of austerity. Mr Johnson would like big spending to deliver priorities, some since his manifesto, but after Covid19, Mr Sunak is far more aware that the purse strings need to be tightened and tax raised.

Fifth, Mr Sunak’s personal popularity may be affecting the Prime Minister’s insecurity. Believed to be enjoying positive ratings two years in a row, unlike any leader in the last 10 years, the Chancellor is thought to be the next possible and Britain’s firstever, non -white “Prime Minister”, - representing a country that once ruled the Indian subcontinent for nearly 300 years.

Last but not the least is Covid restrictions. As the country has relaxed rules, Mr Sunak has insisted on easing travel restrictions for businesses to resume. India, that Britain wants to forge a better relationship with, has only been removed from the red list.

The Prime Minister also needs to consider the sentiments of the UK’s largest diaspora. If Mr Sunak is demoted over a petty disagreement, how will they feel? Has Mr Johnson read about Indians' pride?

The 1.5mn people who have mostly voted for the Tory party has faith in Mr Johnson’s leadership and his diverse Cabinet. The Prime Minister surely did not appoint Ms Patel, Mr Javid, Mr Sunak or Mr Sharma for lip service? Their capability as leaders, professionals and clear visions have helped Mr Johnson’s decisions, or have they not?

The PM must not forget that today, the Labour party has no support from the Indian diaspora because of a failed leadership. If Mr Johnson wants the same fate to follow, for himself or the Tory party, he should not act on whims. It is always wise to choose someone of your own size to pick a fight with- especially when it is entirely based on one's own ego.

India becomes an object of envy among developing nations India has gone from being a poor, slow-growing country to the fastest-growing major economy in the world since independence.

Once an object of pity, India has become an object of envy among developing countries; it is often called a potential superpower.

The Union government has announced a 75-week programme to mark the 75th independence day celebration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi identified five agendas for the celebration.

“Freedom Struggle, Ideas at 75, Achievements at 75, Actions at 75 and Resolve at 75 - we have to move forward with these five aspects. All these should include the ideas and feelings of the people of the country,” said PM Modi.

India is not China where problems can be suppressed and whatever the government wants can be implemented. But since India is a democratic nation, there are bound to be problems, disputes etc. In democracy, solutions to the problems can be found through negotiations and not from the barrel of the gun. Recently there was a boundary dispute between Assam and Mizoram which was resolved through talks between the two state governments. The central government facilitated a ground for the warring states to sit at the negotiating table and resolve the problem.

That is the beauty of democracy. The performance of India at the Olympics is noteworthy. Though China became a superpower in the field of sports, India's performance is also not bad. For the first time an Indian athlete has won a gold medal in the javelin throw. Compared to China, India's performance is insignificant because India cannot afford to spend as much as China's spending behind their athletes.

Since independence, India has several achievements to its credit. It has built a modern economy (second fastest growing economy), remained a democracy, lifted millions out of poverty, has become a space and nuclear power and developed a robust foreign policy. From the very first day after Independence, India gave every adult the right to vote. In the US, the right to vote for every individual was given about 150 years after their independence. Indian railways is now one of the world’s largest railway networks comprising 119,630 km of tracks and 7,216 stations.

India hosted the first-ever Asian Games in the year 1951 in New Delhi. India designed and built Asia’s first nuclear reactor Apsara nuclear reactor on August 4, 1956. The Green Revolution in India in 1960 saw an increase in food grain production, with development of high-yielding varieties of wheat and pulses. In 1970, India saw the White Revolution (Operation Flood) - the world’s biggest dairy development programme. It transformed India from a milk deficient nation into the world’s largest milk producer.

India conducted its first nuclear test, code named “Smiling Buddha”, in 1974. With this, India broke into the list of five nuclear-powered nations. India designed the first space satellite in

1975, named it after astronomer Aryabhata. India conducted a series of five nuclear bomb tests at Pokhran, Rajasthan, in May 1998 under the codename “Operation Shakti”. It led to India becoming a full-fledged nuclear state. India launched ‘Operation Vijay’ after Pakistani forces infiltrated inside LoC. The war ended in July, with India successfully recapturing Tiger Hill. In 2001, the Vajpayee government launched the Golden Quadrilateral, the largest highway project in India connecting four major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. India successfully launched Chandrayaan in October 2008 to explore the moon.

One of the greatest achievements of Chandrayaan was the discovery of water molecules in the lunar soil.

PM Modi has promoted serious engagement with the Indian diaspora to develop mutually beneficial linkages. He is known for his enthusiasm in expanding those efforts. PM Modi's vigour in this arena has been evident since the day he took office in May 2014, and it begins with his public pronouncements. In foreign trips and outreach activities with India’s expatriate communities, he persuades them to “contribute to India’s growth story.” The BJP in its 2014 election manifesto made it clear that it will work with NRIs and PIOs by adopting a proactive diplomacy strategy, to develop what it referred to as “Brand India”. It stated that “the NRIs, PIOs and professionals settled abroad are a vast reservoir to articulate the national interests and affairs globally. This resource will be harnessed for strengthening Brand India.” The diaspora see PM Modi as a man of action, someone who can bring about change in corruption-ridden, bureaucratic India; the same India they left many years ago. It is clear that Modi sees tremendous potential in the diaspora, and is eager to see them contribute to India’s growth story. At the 2017 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Bengaluru, Modi announced that India is moving from “brain drain to brain gain”, making his vision clear - that “there is only one dream (within all of us): Bharatiyata”. In the many Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) that have been organised since he became PM, Modi has been keen on wooing the diaspora.

There are many problems that India faces even after 75 years of freedom. Violence against women has become another pandemic in India. There are many laws to prevent crimes against women but they are not implemented strictly. Unemployment, poverty, and illiteracy are some other problems India has to tackle urgently. Due to Covid-19, the schooling system in India has moved from a classroom setup to an online one. The digital divide is pushing a large number of students. The pandemic has played a major blow to the growth of our economy. Now that the severity of the pandemic has reduced to a large extent and the economy is opening up, let us hope that India will gain much progress in a short period of time.

Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement. – Nelson Mandela

Alpesh Patel

India’s 75th Anniversary As India Celebrates Its 75th Year of Independence - Here are Some Popular Songs, Books, Quotes and Movies That Define the Republic. Which are yours? Write in to the paper.

As the new President of the India League, it’s an honour to write this.

On August the 15th, India celebrates the 75th year of its Independence from the British Raj. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give his speech at Delhi's Red Fort, where the Indian flag will be raised to celebrate the day.

Meanwhile, all across the country, citizens will celebrate their forefathers struggle for freedom.

In recognition of this joyous day, here are some popular songs, books, quotes, and movies that define the Republic.

Remember Us Once in a While: Letters of Martyrs This is a poignant book an the title says it all. These were the letters of freedom fighters before they were hung by the British for sedition.

Fiction: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie Salman Rushdie, one of the worlds most celebrated novelists, wrote this Booker Prize-winning novel in 1981. The book's protagonist, Salman Sinai, is born at midnight of the day India gained its independence. The book vividly depicts India's transformation from British rule.

Of course there is Vande Mataram but my absolute favourite is Aao Baccho Tume Dikhaya from the film Jagrtiti. Look up the video on YouTube. Show your kids.

Yours too may be Ye Tiranga Kashmir Par Lahrayega, Ye Mere Pyare Watan.

Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera (Swades, 2004) Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera is a beautiful song from the movie Swades. It captures the dilemma that many successful Indian emigrants face: stay and be comfortable, or return to help the people of your country. Swades excellently represents the deep, unbreakable bond between a person and their country.

'Kar Chale Hum Fida' ('Haqeeqat', 1964) Kar Chale Hum Fida is a beautiful song that takes its lyrics from a poem written by Kaifi Azim. It's a passionate and patriotic song about the soldiers that fight to save our lives. In the verses, the poet compares India to a bride and the soldiers to the groom, extolling the virtues of duty and protecting the country and its values.

'Mere Desh Ki Dharti' (Upkar, 1967) Not many songs manage to capture the love of the motherland in the way that Mere Desh Ki Dharti does.

Upkar, the movie that this song comes from, was director Manoj Kumar's way of reminding the Indian people about their deep history and warning them of the dangers of Westernization to their way of life. It's nostalgic, passionate, proud and nationalistic, celebrating India's rich history and traditional values.

Laagan (2001) There's nothing like an epic feel-good underdog movie to give a sense of national pride. Set in 1893 during the British Raj, the film revolves around a cricket match between the citizens of a small village and the British Army. Struggling because of years of drought, the villagers agree to the game in exchange for relief from taxes for three years. It's an engaging, big-budget masterpiece.

Rang De Basanti (Rang De Basanti, 2006) Patriotic songs don't get any more upbeat than Rang De Basanti. The song is from the 2006 film of the same name, which follows a British film student who travels to India to document five freedom fighters battling the corruption of their government. The song is a classic and catchy patriotic declaration.

To end, here is a quote from Bhagat Singh that sums up the revolutionary spirit and sacrifices that made independence possible.

"It is easy to kill individuals, but you cannot kill the Ideas. Great empires crumbled, while the ideas survived."

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No. 10 downplays tensions between Johnson and Sunak No. 10 Downing Street has refuted claims of a rift between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, saying that the Prime Minister has “full confidence” in the chancellor.

Reports of tension between the pair have been boiling on the political front, especially following the leak of a letter from Sunak to Johnson calling for the easing of Covid19 travel restrictions.

A report by the Sunday Times states Johnson was

so angry that the letter was leaked without his knowledge that he suggested Sunak be demoted to the health secretary and that he could “do a very good job there.”

Johnson’s official

spokesperson said, “The Prime Minister and Chancellor have always enjoyed a close and effective working relationship and will continue to do so. I’m not going to get into internal meetings but I would just say that I think you can see, particularly during this pandemic, they’ve worked closely together in lockstep throughout the incredibly challenging period.”

Doctors concerned about ‘worrying’ numbers of pregnant women in Covid ICUs Doctors in the UK have expressed concern over the rising figures of pregnant women in Covid ICUs, citing vaccine hesitancy as the major contributing factor.

Last month, according to figures released by the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC), 66 pregnant women ended up in intensive care in July, the highest number since the pandemic began and three times as many as April last year. A total of 46 recently pregnant women were also admitted to critical care.

Doctors have, therefore, urged them to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The number of pregnant women in Britain has risen from 17 in March to 22 in June, where the average age of expectant mothers is 32.

The Guardian quoted Dr Edward Morris, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, saying: “The number of pregnant women being admitted to ICU is worrying and reflects the rising prevalence of the virus in the UK that we saw in July.

“We have data of nearly 200,000 pregnant women receiving the vaccine with no safety concerns … We recommend that all pregnant women should get vaccinated against Covid-19, as the best way to protect themselves and their babies against severe illness and premature birth.”

The Royal College of Midwives has gone on record to say that, “Pregnant women are at greater risk of serious illness if they get Covid … Getting the vaccine is the best way to keep you and your baby safe.”

Apsana Begum found not guilty of fraudulent housing claims Apsana Begum, 31, was accused of three counts of making false applications for council homes to Tower Hamlets council. Apsana represents the constituency of Poplar and Limehouse.

She told Snaresbrook Crown Court her "controlling" husband was looking after her finances and she was "stunned" to realize that the paperwork was in her name.

Ms Begum said the accusations had been "driven by

malicious intent".

In a statement, Ms Begum told the trial "caused 24 hour helpline e

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me great distress and damaged my reputation. It was extremely difficult for me as a survivor of domestic abuse facing these vexatious charges, the last 18 months of false accusations, online sexist, racist and Islamophobic abuse, and threats to my safety."

She told the court, "I'm shocked to see these records," Jurors found Ms Begum not guilty of all charges after the judge gave a majority direction.

NHS chief urges students to join health service as thousands collect results A major drive to boost the NHS workforce is underway this week as students receive their exam results.

The head of the NHS today called on students considering their options to take up one of the thousands of places available at university for more than 900 NHS-related courses.

Speaking at a hospital in Milton Keynes earlier today, Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, encouraged students to “make the best and most rewarding decision” and sign up for a career in the health service.

Thousands of healthcare placements for nursing and other clinical and medical roles are set to be boosted by a £15 million package to bring in 5,000 more healthcare support workers for those considering leaving full-time education.

Requiring no formal health background, healthcare support workers assist nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals to carry out health checks, update patient records, help patients wash, dress and move around, and care for women and families in maternity services.

While many A-level students have already chosen nursing careers to start this September, others will be reconsidering options and the NHS is calling on students to consider a nursing healthcare-related or degree, with thousands of places available through clearing.

The call comes alongside record numbers of doctors and nurses working in the NHS with the number increasing by over 16,000 in the last year.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, said: “With record numbers of acceptances on nursing, midwifery, medicine and dentistry university courses, the dedication healthcare professionals have shown during the pandemic has clearly inspired the next generation in our health service.

“I’d like to congratulate the thousands of students who have achieved the ALevel results needed to kickstart their careers in the health and social care sector.

“As we build a better NHS and work to bust the backlog, these students are going to be the future of our

greatest institution.”

The £15 million programme will mean new joiners will receive a fast track induction and training programme to help them hit the ground running as well as receiving pastoral support as they get to grips with working on the front line of the NHS. All those considering the NHS for their future career are asked to search 'NHS Careers’ to find out more.

And those who choose to attend university will benefit from financial support during their degrees, with a learning support fund available of between £5,000 and £8,000.

Students will also leave as some of the most employable graduates in the UK, with 94% of those who study nursing securing a job within six months.

BAME members of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Trust told to use “western names” In a shocking and unfortunate development, the BAME staff Blahospital staff at the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Trust have been recently told to use western names while on duty, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said.

The CQC termed it "not acceptable”, while The University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Trust said that there was "no management instruction". In a letter to the trust, the CQC said: "We were concerned to hear from staff that they have been told by line managers to adopt a 'Western work name' as the pronouncing of their name was too difficult.

"This is not acceptable. Individuals can only truly thrive in a work environment

Bristol man sentenced for 13 years after being convicted for double rape 48-year-old Ghulam Mustapha who lives in Bristol’s Fishponds underwent a trial at British Crown Court, where he was convicted for rape in October. He has reportedly been sentenced to jail for 13 years.

A woman who was recovering from a major operation was put to his own sexual desires by Ghulam, while he was aware of the woman recovering from the operation. The woman has described it as excruciatingly painful and she required hospital treatment post the incident.

The woman who has described that Ghulam has destroyed her life and she suffered flashbacks, has shown commendable courage throughout the investigation.

His Honour Judge Ambrose who sentenced Mustapha has remarked that the victim was left with terrible repercussions from the attacks.

where they feel safe as themselves and belong, rather than having to 'fit in'."

The trust's chief executive Robert Woolley went on record to say, "Just to make absolutely clear, there is no management instruction around that - those are isolated reports the CQC were informed about by staff themselves. We've been back to ask the CQC if they can give us more information about where that is happening. For confidentiality reasons, they are unable to do so.

But we have been looking in detail at this.

We are putting additional training together.

Our equality, diversity and inclusion manager is looking to launch that training and awareness in August, and we will send that trust-wide.”

Wealthy London areas pay 20 times lesser tax as compared to deprived areas PM Johnson had set out a levelling-up vision last month. A think tank warning last December says that pandemic has given rise to new regional inequalities and deepened the existing ones.

As per a recent analysis people living in deprived areas in the North of England are paying as much as 20 times more council tax as compared to those living in rich London boroughs, when the calculation is made according to the price of the property.

People living in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea pay about 0.1% of the value of their property as tax to the council. This is drastically low as compared to 2% paid by residents in Lancashire suburbs Burnley and Hyndburn.

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Family Food Stories

Neil and Sean’s Healthy TTaste aste of Back Home We know the last year has been challenging. With changes to our routines and more time at home, lots of us have picked up the odd unhealthy habit. But whether you want to eat better or lose weight, now is a great e time to get started.

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The brothers learnt to cook from their mother from an early age. “She taught us that spices act as the foundation of all South Asian cooking,” says Neil.

As adults, they spent time in India and learnt how to cook traditional recipes.

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Experimenting with dishes and E e encouraging each other to eat healthier d during lockdown has helped the brothers b bond.

“It’s been such a wholesome e experience and we hope to continue c cooking together for many years, as we w want to keep as healthy as possible!”

Ingredient list:

Dietitian Azmina Govindji says: “If you’re D overweight, making small, simple changes o tto your food could help cut your risk of becoming seriously ill from conditions b ssuch as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and ssome cancers. This doesn’t mean you have tto give up the recipes you love that form part of our culture and tradition. It’’s p s about ssimple, gradual changes that can make tthese dishes healthierr,, like swapping white rrice with brown or adding extra vegetables tto make dishes go furtherr.” .”

࠮ 1½ tbsp olive oil ࠮ ½ tsp cumin seeds ࠮ 2 cardamom pods, opened ࠮ ¼ cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces ࠮ 1 medium green chilli, halved or chopped ࠮ 2 medium tomatoes, chopped ࠮ TLKP\T ZPaLK JH\SPÅV^LY JOVWWLK PU[V bite-sized pieces ࠮ 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks ࠮ 1 tsp turmeric ࠮ 1 tsp cumin powder ࠮ 1 tsp garam masala ࠮ 2 garlic cloves, crushed ࠮ 475ml water ࠮ ½ tsp salt (optional) ࠮ 150 g frozen garden peas ࠮ 1 medium capsicum pepperr, thinly sliced

What to do: 1. /LH[ [OL VPS PU H ^VR VY SHYNL ZH\JLWHU VU a medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes.

2. Add the cumin seeds, cardamom pods and broken cinnamon sticks to the oil and stirr.

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2. T Try ry healthier snacks Try T ry a handful of roasted r channa or whole almonds.

3. Swap to betterr-for -forr-you carbs Swap white rice with bro own and use coarse wholemeal atta for chapatis instead of ^OP[L ÅV\Y Y

Free help and support If you want to eat better or lose weight, making small, simple changes can make all the KPɈLYLUJL )L[[LY /LHS[O OHZ SV[Z VM MYLL PKLHZ [V OLSW Search ‘Better Health’ or visit nhs.uk/betterhealth for free tools and support.

3. Mix in the chilli and cook for 1 ½ minutes over a low heat.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.

5. (KK PU [OL JH\SPÅV^LY Z[PYY [OLU HKK [OL sweet potato.

6. Add the turmeric, cumin powderr,, garam masala and crushed garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

7. Add 475ml water and the salt (if using).

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

8. Add the peas and sliced pepperr,, and simmer for about 3 minutes until tenderr.

5

6 UK

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14 - 20 August 2021

Darshan Singh Tatla who contributed substantially to the Sikh diaspora, no more Darshan Singh Tatla was internationally renowned as an expert in the field of studying and documenting the Punjabi and Sikh diaspora. He came to the UK in 1974 to study. In 1994 his thesis ‘The Sikh Diaspora: The Search of Statehood’ was published.

Darshan who travelled between UK and Punjab held positions in Punjabi University, Patiala, Coventry University and

the University of Birmingham. He also a lifetime received

achievement award in 2017 for his contributions to the Sikh Diaspora.

The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee had appointed him as the founding director of a Sikh Diaspora Museum and Archives at the Tohra Institute of Advanced Studies near Patiala. He is survived by his wife, three children, six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

Food blogger calls ‘curry’ a racist word California based 27 year old food blogger Chaheti Bansal has called upon people to cancel the word ‘curry’ because of its ties to British colonialism.

In her video that has already received 3.6 million views, she says that the term ‘curry’ was actually popularized by white people who used this umbrella term not wanting to bother to learn the actual names of the dishes. She has cited the popular saying for India that

the food in India changes every 100 km and said to drop calling all these different food items with an umbrella name ’curry’.

She has said that people think of curry when they think of South Asian food. But, infact, there are a whole variety of different cuisines every 100 km in the country. There are many different explanations for the word curry, but, the most popular is it was invented by British when they misheard the

Tamil word ‘kari’ which means ‘sauce’.

UK military general calls removal of troops from Afghanistan a strategic mistake A former military commander of UK joint forces command, Richard Barrons has called upon the withdrawal of western troops from Afghanistan.

The statement comes from Barrons as three more regional capitals in Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, with armed militants swept into Kunduz city close to the Tajikistan border, bringing the number to five since last Friday.

He has said the move of withdrawal will run the

risk of terrorist entities reestablishing in Afghanistan posing a risk to Europe and elsewhere.

A military veteran Ellwood has called for the retention of coalition assistance of a force of

5000 to give the Afghan army the edge over the Taliban.

The government spokesperson has called the escalating violence in Afghanistan extremely disturbing.

NHS may struggle to tackle Covid in coming times Hospitals in many parts of the UK have been struggling with a large number of people seeking A&E. The NHS has so far fought an enormous battle against Covid, soaring cases and an exhausted workforce may create a crisis with continued pressure.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Treasury are trying to bring the massive state spending to tackle various aspects of the pandemic back under control.

While NHS chief executive Chris Hopson says ‘There’s a real danger of the large gap between the NHS and the Treasury’. He feels that the May settlement that was never as generous as some pretended; a set of expensive new manifesto commitments; a social

care crisis that must now be solved; a massive care backlog to recover; and ongoing Covid costs are the factors that have created problems.

The main hope for health officials is that political interest kicks in.

The prospect of an election in 2024 at the latest may be the main advantage for those pushing for a more generous settlement.

49 Years Later – Remembering the Expulsion of Ugandan Asians LORD DOLAR POPAT Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda, Rwanda and DRC

T

his week marked the 49th anniversary of between the UK and Uganda. the expulsion of over 60,000 Ugandan The UK is already the largest cumulative Asians from Uganda by the brutal dictator investor in Uganda and I’ve been amazed at how Idi Amin. 49 years later, in the many companies and individumidst of a global pandemic and als have approached me over an ever-changing world where the last few years wanting to sadly immigration continues to trade in Uganda, many of them dominate the headlines for the Ugandan Asians. There’s a real wrong reasons, it is ironic that acknowledgement that post this expulsion narrative is rele- Lord Dolar and Lady Sandhya Popat at Brexit and post Covid-19, vant now more than ever before. the Ugandan State House with President Africa is a continent of great It was on 4th August 1972, Museveni and Mayur Madhvani and the potential, and with the right set of circumstances – including when Amin declared that President’s Senior Advisor. the support of UK Export Britain would need to take on responsibility for British subjects of Asian origin, Finance being doubled, Britain – and British accusing them of "sabotaging Uganda's economy Indians – can play a huge part in developing and encouraging corruption". As thousands of Africa’s prosperity.

Ugandan Asians will remember, Amin gave all President Museveni – who was re-elected British subjects just 90 days - up to 8th earlier this year – has transformed Uganda from November - to uproot and leave the country the ruins of Amin. Pre Covid, Uganda was one where they were born and considof the fastest developing ered their home. economies in Africa. In 1997, On 9th August 1972, Amin whilst commemorating the expanded his policy to include 25th anniversary of the expulcitizens of India, Pakistan and sion, Museveni travelled to Bangladesh. The position of the London to address thousands 23,000 Asians who had been of Uganda Asians at the BAPS granted Ugandan citizenship (and Former Ugandan refugee Lord Popat, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. now as UK Prime Minister’s Trade in particular those who held no Here he apologised for Amin’s Envoy to Uganda with President other citizenship) was less clear. forthcomings and claimed it Museveni of Uganda.

Not originally included, on 19th pushed back Uganda’s ecoAugust, they were seemingly added to the list, nomic standing by a generation. He invited before being re-exempted three days later fol- Ugandan Asians back and promised to support lowing international protest. Many chose to families reclaim and restart their businesses. leave rather than endure further intimidation, Many of the Ugandan Asians in Britain have with only 4,000 known to have stayed. retained a great affection for Uganda, myself Till this day, there are varying claims included. Some have even returned to start – or amongst historians on what triggered Amin to in some cases re-start – businesses there, and expel Ugandan Asians in the first place, ranging some estimates suggest that these businesses from an estranged dream or in retaliation to make up around half of Uganda’s economy.

Britain’s treatment of Africa. However, it still Families like the Madhvani’s and the Mehta’s remains one of the rare times in history where are once again providing tremendous wealth the actions of one single man, effected the liveli- and opportunities in East Africa. hoods of so many.

I am pleased to report that the UK’s trade Those with British, Indian or other non- with Uganda – of which Ugandan Asians play a Ugandan passports were forced to leave behind key role – has doubled five times over in the last everything, taking with them just the clothes on few years. Just last month, I was proud to overtheir backs. Responsibility for them became a see the signing of a historic £1.9bn deal between global game of political football. In England, UK company McDermott and Uganda over the advertisements in Leicester warned Ugandans building of a new oil pipeline in the region. The not to go there as there was no housing and no deal represented the largest monetary deal with jobs. People ended up as far afield as Canada, Uganda in history. The deal will be crucial in India, Australia and the US. Uganda’s economic recovery post Covid.

Here in the UK, Edward Heath’s However, it is not just trading that Ugandan Conservative government gave its firm commit- Asians have a vested interest in. In the recent, ment that it was Britain’s duty to help. Other devasting second wave of the coronavirus panworld leaders simply refused to help. But Uganda demic, Ugandan Asians have been at the fore– and India’s – loss has been Britain’s gain. front of supporting Uganda’s Covid relief effort.

The rest as they say is history. The tale of Hundreds have donated funds, PPEs and vital Ugandan Asians in Britain is one that makes me medicines to help Uganda face this new wave. proud, particularly when I see how much the In the run up to the 50th anniversary of the new generation of British Indians of Ugandan expulsion, many members and community origin have excelled. In 49 years, we have come groups have already started to come together to far, and I hope that our community continues to commemorate this historic anniversary. Not pay Britain back for what she has given us. only is it a key milestone, but perhaps one of the Former Prime Minister David Cameron referred last, as sadly many of the first and second gento us as, “one of the most successful groups of eration Ugandan Asians are passing away. It is immigrants to any country anywhere in history.” therefore imperative, that for the benefit of the We became the model immigrant community, new generation of British born Indians, we preused as an example of how immigration can be serve those memories and empower them with successful. the importance of the shared values of hard In a short space of time, many of those who had to flee Uganda have seen amazing levels of work, family, education and integration which success, from family-run businesses becoming got us so far. It will help act as reference point major global trading companies and dominating for other communities in Britain and abroad the Rich Lists in the UK, to the boardrooms of who face similar challenges.

So, as you enjoy early August under these FTSE 100 firms, the Ugandan Asians have woven themselves into the fabric of British life. Notable unprecedented times, spare a thought for the Ugandan Asians in key posts include Tushar 28,000 who came here 49 years ago. Many now Morzaria (Group Finance Director at Barclays), have pictures of Idi Amin on their walls; Baroness Shriti Vadera (Chair, Santander), Nitin because without him, we would never have Ganatra (Actor) and of course our Home been able to move here and achieve the success Secretary Priti Patel. Our Parliament has effec- we did.

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar have tively become Uganda’s second chamber, with been preparing a special Uganda Magazine to eight Parliamentarians of Ugandan origin.

What has particularly helped is that a lot of commemorate but due to the Covid crisis, the those who were expelled from Uganda were publication is delayed.

Lord Dolar Popat, as the Chairman of the entrepreneurs; they understood business and Editorial Board, is executing this project very its risks and that has allowed them to prosper elsewhere. What I have found in my role as the well. In the coming months, this special magaPrime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda is that zine will be published and will be launched those same entrepreneurial skills are now play- through proper celebratory events in UK, ing a vital role in developing trade links Uganda and in India.

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Weeks before terrorist was freed, Scotland Yard marked him as most dangerous Sudesh Amman was imprisoned for being a lone terrorist. However, going into prison he represented higher risk as he build relationships with other terrorism act offenders inside.

Because of reports of demonstrating extremist mindset throughout his time in prison, he was moved to Belmarsh. His cell was also found with a six page note in Arabic which appeared to be an invocation of victory over the unbelievers.

Weeks before Amman was released, terrorism offender manage-

ment unit of Scotland Yard's counterterrorism command had given a report that Amman was one of the most dangerous individuals they have investigated. The report represented the collective view of the senior investigating officer, investigation team and all partner agencies. The details were given to an inquest at the Royal courts of justice in Central London.

However, the 20 year old was released on January 23 last year after serving half of a sentence of three years.

Days after his release, on February 2, he snatched a knife from a shop and stabbed two people in Streatham High Road, south London. He was killed by covert armed surveillance officers in 62 seconds, before he could hurt more people.

Migrant health Aya Hachem murder case: Seven men imprisoned for life professionals helping An innocent lay student, Aya Hachem, 19, was on her way to a supermarket to buy food during Ramadan when she was murdered in the street in Blackburn, Lancashire, on May 17 last year.

A bullet was fired by Zamir Raja, 33, that hit her in the shoulder, passed through her body and embedded itself in a telegraph pole.

Satia’s brother Uthman, 32, and Kashif Manzoor, 26, were also involved in the plot.

All seven were convicted of murder by a jury at Preston crown court last Tuesday. Raja was jailed for lives with a minimum of 34 years while his driver Ennis of 33 years. Hussain, Abubakr Satia, Uthman Satia and Manzoor were imprisoned for minimum terms of

the NHS

32 years, 28 years, 28 years and 27 years respectively. Judy Chapman, 26, the girlfriend of Uthman Satia, will be sentenced in October after being convicted of manslaughter.

A special group of doctors who also happen to be refugees have boosted the NHS levels.

As a part of £15m NHS England scheme that helps international medical graduates living in the UK to pass the exams required to register with the GMC, special doctors are taken on as Medical Support Workers (MSW).

The MSW role is appropriate for those who possess a medical qualification but have been out of clinical practice for over a year and need to work under clinical supervision. There are more than thousand refugees on the scheme in different hospitals and trusts across the country.

The Royal London Hospital has about 50 MSWs, fulfilling a humanitarian objective in getting people into jobs they have the right skills for.

Mohammad Saoud trained to be a medical professional in Syria before coming to the UK, where he is now a medical support worker at the Royal London Hospital.

Wolves global collaboration puts the city on the international map The University of Wolverhampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (Wolves) hosted an online event in partnership with one of its key partners based in India - putting the City of Wolverhampton firmly on the map and showcasing the talents of international business students.

Councillor Greg Brackenridge, Mayor of Wolverhampton, joined Honorary University Graduate and former Wolves player, Steve Bull, alongside staff and students from Podar World College based in Mumbai, India to hold the ‘Working in Partnership’ event which was hosted on Zoom and was open to applicants, enquirers, school counsellors and Transnational Education (TNE) partners across the globe.

Podar World College (PWC) is part of the Podar Education Trust, which has offered educational opportunities for over 90 years and works with the University of Wolverhampton to offer local students Business Management Undergraduate and Business Administration Master’s degrees.

More than 80 students studying for Business degrees at PWC were given a Marketing Consultancy brief by the University to develop a Wolves branded apparel range, that would appeal to a Gen Z Indian consumer.

The students benefited from a guest lecture by the Marketing Manager at Wolves, took part in workshops and engaged with industry experts and brainstormed ideas. 13 groups of students pitched their ideas to an academic panel with 3 winning groups chosen coming first was Trench, second was Goal Diggers’ and third, Poshak.

Dr Gurmak Singh, Head of International Partnerships at the University, said: “The students produced excellent marketing projects promoting the Wolves brand in India.

The students demonstrated all the attributes expected from business management students studying with us at the University of Wolverhampton. We are looking at plans to extend the project to other international partners and other UK-based organisations.”

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KHICHADI

READERS' VOICE Olympic, Sports and Politics The tradition of holding Olympics, as sporting event, was started in ancient Greece some 3000 years ago, to celebrate, honour and provide entertainment to restless people where entertainment was in short supply.

It was partly religious, in honour of Zeus, “King of Gods”. There were no medals but winners were presented with a ring of leaves and flowers. They were heroes; winners were treated as noble men.

Five rings were introduced in 1913 representing five Continents, namely Asia, Africa, Europe America and Oceania, representing Australia, New Zealand and surrounding islands.

Although modern Olympic Games bear no similarities to this ancient event, it is still dominated by few nations like US, China and EU who could change, impose and omit any game that may not be in their interest.

I am sure everyone must have noticed that at the beginning when water sports, like swimming, diving and sailing were involved, it was practically dominated by Western nations, with China, South Korea and Japan breaking European monopoly. It was repeat prescription when equestrian events were on display.

Asian, especially African nations came into prominence when it came to athletics, although some Western countries were present in most events, represented mainly by their black citizens, as most Western nations have mixed population, unlike China, South Korea and Japan who maintains their population authenticity!

Although India gained seven medals, including one gold; their best performance, India is still ranked among ten bottom nations, measuring per population. When Modi became PM, he promised to improve, following into China’s foot-steps but so far he has failed to ignite the nation on sporting front.

Best way forward is to follow America, the most successful nation. Every American University has Olympic size swimming pool, track and field facilities, indoor facilities for boxing, weight-lifting, judo, karate and such sports, while armed forces provide boxers, weight-lifters, archers, shooting and similar sports associated with serving personalities.

These facilities hardly exist in Indian Universities or armed forces. It is time to rectify and put India on the world sporting map!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi

A-level results show a whopping jump in A* and A grades The A-level results in Britain were declared earlier this week, where almost 44% of grades were at A* and A this year, as compared to the 25% registered when exams were last held in 2019. UCAS has recorded 396,000 students whose admissions have been confirmed in their first choice course - up 8% from last year.

“This second year of replacement results after exams were cancelled, has seen even higher results than last year when 38.5% achieved top grades. Heads' leader Geoff Barton said it was "comparing apples with oranges" to compare these results with other years. More than 200,000 students are also getting vocational BTec results. In Scotland, the pass rates for Highers and Nationals dropped slightly but scores were still well above pre-pandemic levels,” BBC reported.

Interestingly, Nandos, Pizza Express and Taco Bell are offering free food to A-level students to celebrate their grades.

Dr Shungu Hilda M'gadzah, lead consultant psychologist at Inclusion Psychologists: "It's tough not getting the results you were hoping for and in the immediate aftermath it can even feel devastating. What we don't see are the opportunities that are yet to be revealed to us. Take some time to feel the disappointment but then it's important to be positive and work out what your options are. Talk to someone who can guide and advise you. There are many paths we can take and when one closes another one invariably opens up. There will be many more opportunities to come so believe in yourself."

Note: If your child has performed outstandingly in their A-level exams and you’d like to publish their name and photograph along with a short bio, please write to shefali.saxena@abplgroup.com by Sunday, August 15, 2021.

Asian Voice would be happy to publish it.

• Girls got more top grades, 46.9%, than boys 42.1% • A* and A grades in Northern Ireland, 50.8%, Wales 48.3%, England 44.3%

• Independent schools: 70.1% A* and A grades • Comprehensive schools: 39% A* and A grades • London 47.9% A* and A grades, north east of England 39.2%

Kapil’s

'Religion in India, Segregation and Tolerance' A major survey by Pew Research Trust on India has published a report, 'Religion in India, Segregation and Tolerance'.

It is written in a very seemingly unbiased way, but a closer study shows it is trying to highlight what it calls the Hindu Nationalist position. It claims BJP is driven by this agenda.

1 It claims that 64% of Hindus believe that to be truly Indian you should be Hindu.

2 It claims that 80% Hindus also believe that it is very important to speak Hindi to be truly Indian. (This is obviously a ruse to create the North/South divide.)

3 Hindus who believe that you cannot be Hindu if you ate meat are also linked to Hindu Nationalists!

4 People in the South differ from the people of the North on religion, politics and identity.

5 People in the South are less religious! Something no one believes!

6 Religion is not the only fault line in India. Caste is a big issue because of the Hindu practice of untouchability!

7 Conversion is NOT of major significance as Hindus make up 82% of India!

8 Hindu mobs demolished a mosque in Ayodhya in 1992.

9 Most Hindus do not want inter caste marriages!

So inside this very long survey which tries to convey the message that it is a non-biased scientific research, the above statements are cleverly placed. So, who are the people running the Pew Research Centre? Well, it based in Washington, US. The word Pew means those long benches that people sit on in the Church. Pew is partly funded by the Templeton Foundation whose founder Sir John Templeton was a Presbyterian Christian. It gave its first religious award to Mother Teresa, a prize money of $85000. Templeton Foundation has been criticised for undertaking Christian oriented research.

Nitin Mehta

Is the tide changing?

We read your page 1 story (AV 7 August) and agree with the fact that South Asian parents are still hesitant to send their children into sports as their first choice of career. In India the story is different. Often politics within organisations, class and even caste-based differences in the society stops real talents from contesting.

And what happens once they win a medal? They are left alone, fight with poverty, sometimes a meagre job that barely pays for anything- unless you are a cricket star!

I think seeing what we have seen in places like India for years, it is difficult for us to perceive of anything other than white collar job as a struggle. To change how we think of sports here within the diaspora, we need to change how we look at sports in India and subcontinent.

Dev Parmar London

BIJA meets Indian High Commissioner A delegation from the British Indian Jewish Association visited India House and were received by the Indian High Commissioner to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar.

The visit was part of the High Commission’s community engagement strategy.

The discussions covered education, hate crime and the potential for the two communities to work together.

The High Commissioner was briefed on BIJA’s latest initiatives including raising over £120,000 for Covid relief in India and also the series of Bagel and Samosas webinars with high-profile guest speakers.

BIJA exists to foster the friendship between the British Indian and British Jewish communities.

Zaki Cooper, Co-Chair of BIJA said: “We were so grateful for the hospitality shown by the High Commissioner. She shared some wonderful memories of her visit to Israel, when she worked for the President of India, and described being moved by the spirit of Israel. It was an opportunity to tell her about the work we have been doing, and discuss future ideas for collaboration.”

Dr Peter Chadha, Co-Chair of BIJA said: “We know that relations between Indians and Jews in the UK are strong, and this was an opportunity to showcase that. The High Commissioner commented on the energy in the room, and we look forward to building on the relationship with the Indian High Commission to build deeper and wider ties between our two communities.”

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

Is India a nation of Zeros?

Kapil Dudakia Most of you reading the headline will get upset, and some might exhibit uncontrollable anger. After all, how dare I have the nerve to challenge India and its Government when it comes to the Olympics and poor performances. So let me say this, control your anger, passion, and pride. All of that will not change or affect the medal winning chances for India, now or in the future. What is required is for someone to call it as it is, and as you know, that is one thing I am good at. India is a failure when it comes to international sporting achievements. Oh please, don’t lecture me about Cricket.

Tokyo 2020 showed us that China, a nation not too dissimilar to India, collected 38 Gold, 32 Silver, 18 Bronze and finished 2nd. Contrast this with India, 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze and finishing 48th.

We have a world class champion like Neeraj who walked into the arena like a lion, declaring he was there to win. And win he did. The whole nation celebrated, and as usual everyone got onto the bandwagon lest they got left out.

We then heard excuses that India is still developing and in time it will surely succeed. That no stone will be left unturned in the pursuit of excellence and world class achievements. Humbug I say humbug. This utter nonsense has been peddled for more than three decades. Yet in that time China has gone on to become a top five nation.

I have heard people say that there is insufficient incentive for Indian competitors to do well. Really! Well let me put the matter straight. India gives INR 75 Lakh per Gold Medal, INR 40 Lakh for Silver and INR 25 Lakh for Bronze.

Contrast this with what the US that gives $37,500, $22,500, and $15,000 for winning gold, silver and bronze respectively. That means India gives more than 2.5 times than the US, and still India ends up as losers! Why? There is one major difference between nations that win huge, and those that lose heavily. Investment. Investment, Investment.

India spends only 1/3rd of what we spend on sports in the UK. Contrast the difference in the size of the two nations and you realise that the little India spends lacks focus and all too often is spread thinly. Add to that the elephant in the room, corruption. I wonder how much of that 1/3rd goes to the competitors who really need the help?

So sometimes it is better to hold the mirror to a nation that talks big but delivers zeros where it matters. In a nation of 1.3 billion people, if it cannot find 200 sports people of world class quality, what message is it sending out?

It is good to see PM Modi tweeting his support to the competitors. My message to PM Modiji, you are the custodian of the very future of Bharat. You have taken some very bold action to remedy the ills of the past, for example, A370, Citizenship Act, Demonetization, Ram Mandir and bringing in the use of technology at the grassroots. It’s time India considers international events that can enhance and empower every Indian. It’s time to do a total revamp of sports and how it is supported in India. It’s time to increase the budget by a factor of 10. In the next 20 years, let the target be for India to finish in the top 5 in the world.

And with your zeal and focus, let’s make it happen. India cannot continue as a nation of zeros.

Cop26 president Alok, travelled to 30 countries without self isolating As per a report, Alok Sharma, who is appointed as president of Cop26, is in charge for this year’s UN climate change conference in Glasgow.

According to the Daily Mail, he had visited 30 countries including Brazil, Indonesia and Kenya in the past seven months.

He visited India in March, as well as Costa Rica, Qatar and the UAE. April saw trips to the Far East, before he travelled to Bangladesh in June. Most of his trips were in the winter and spring months when international travel was mostly restricted. Sharma did not have to isolate after visiting any of the countries as he was exempt as a “crown servant”.

However, travel to and from all the destinations, Sharma’s visit would stretch to 200,000 miles that means eight times around the Earth. The aviation industry produced 915m tonnes of CO2 in 2019, equivalent to 2% of all human-made CO2 emissions.

Last month, in an interview, Sharma said “we all need to play our part” in take necessary steps to stop the climate crisis, and encouraged small changes which could make a difference.

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Double jabs needed to travel ‘forever more’ - Grant Shapps The transport secretary, Grant Shapps warned last week that vaccination will be necessary to travel “forevermore” and young ones will not be able to leave the country without getting jabbed.

Shapps said probably all countries would permanently require travellers to get double vaccinated before entering the country.

It comes after ministers announced that jabbed tourists to France, Dubai and India will no longer be required to quarantine on their return to the UK. At the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Shapps said: “I believe fully vaccinated, is going to be the new aspect forevermore and probably all countries, will require full vaccination to enter the country.”

He further added that the young populace who think they do not require the jab as the virus will not affect them were mistaken because they will not be allowed to travel.

The government is continuously working to increase the vaccination rates among younger age groups. Ministers warned that the unvaccinated will be barred from certain aspects of society, including nightclubs, which will require proof of vaccination from October. Shapps said the government had brought in a more “simplified system” for travel by removing additional restrictions on France and moving more countries onto the green and amber lists.

France will be formally taken off the amber-plus list, which requires all travellers to quarantine for ten days on their return to the UK. The government has opted against putting Spain on an amber watchlist despite concerns about the number of cases there.

Ministers are instead advising people to take a PCR test rather than a cheaper lateral flow test before they fly back to the UK. As per the amended travel rules, the UAE, Qatar India and Bahrain will no more

be included in the red list. Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Romania and Norway will enter the green list so that no one arriving from there has to quarantine regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.

Mexico, Georgia and the French overseas territories of Réunion and Mayotte will be put on the red list. Boris Johnson said that he wants a balanced approach to travel as holidays were important to people.

“People think about them, they save up for them, people yearn to go abroad this year — I totally get that,” he said. “We’ve got a balanced policy but clearly we have the benefit now of the double-jab system.”

Females lost to sex selection is a global timebomb A paper published in the journal BNK Global Health holds the cultural likings for men responsible for causing uneven ratios and projected a 'conservative' deficit of 4.7million female births by 2030 Males will considerably outnumber women within decades because of 'cultural preferences' for boys and prenatal sex selection.

Researchers also said prenatal sex selection has accounted to half of the latest female shortfall, creating skewed ratios at birth in countries across Southeast Europe to South and East Asia since the 1970s.

The total number of missing female births between 1970 and 2017 was estimated at 45million - 95 per cent. Most of them were missing from China or India, countries with the highest number of annual births across the globe.

Researchers also warned that over onethird of the world's population would be left with long-term sex imbalances as a result, with

unknown social and economic impacts.

According to a Lead author Dr Fengqing Chao: 'Fewer than expected females in a population could result in elevated levels of antisocial behaviour and violence, and may ultimately affect long-term stability and social sustainable development.'

A male-biased sex ratio could also result in a marriage squeeze - where many men do not marry as there is a female deficit.

The main challenge, the paper said, is to understand whether birth masculinity will stay indefinitely skewed in countries affected by sex-selective abortions and whether new countries may be affected in the future.

Sex selection is one of the most harmful practices defined by the United Nations and targeted under the Sustainable Development Goals. The results were projected in a global sex ratio model using over three billion birth records from 1970 to 2020 from 204 countries.

Judge dismissed top lawyer’s harassment claim Nirosha Sithirapathy, 31, a £100,000-ayear worked as a legal counsel PSI CRO UK Ltd, filed 42 discrimination and harassment complaints, was told at the hearing that her case did not cross the line and amount to unlawful harassment.

Employment judge Emma Jane Hawksworth told her comments made to her by her boss did not amount to harassment.

The court heard manager Martin Schmidt asked Ms Sithirapathy why she was unwilling to move to another country by stating 'you are not married, you don't have children and you do not have a boyfriend'.

The board was told the executive

then went on to tell her staff in the abroad office he was suggesting she relocate to were 'tolerant' of lesbians.

But it acknowledged the comments were 'awkwardly put', it dismissed Miss Sithirapathy's harassment claim. Her sexuality was not disclosed but she is understood to be married to a man.

Miss Sithirapathy left the company and started with PSI CRO AG in the Swiss town in September 2017 but she was sacked a month later.

Miss Sithirapathy tried to get her old job back but the position was filled up.

She also claimed that she was forced out of the job but it was ruled that her employment was ended mutually.

Miss Sithirapathy filed discrimination allegations, sexual harassment, harassment relating to age and/or sexual orientation and victimisation claims to an employment tribunal.

But the panel dismissed them, saying: 'The comments were unfortunate and awkward and did not cross the line such that they amounted to unlawful harassment. We have therefore concluded that those complaints fail and are dismissed.'

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SCRUTATOR’S SCRUTATOR’S India builds world's highest road in Ladakh The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed the world's highest road in eastern Ladakh at an altitude of 19,300 feet. The road has been constructed at an altitude higher than the Mount Everest base camps - the south base camp in Nepal is at an altitude of 17,598 feet, while the north base camp in Tibet is at 16,900 feet. "The road at Umlingla Pass betters previous record of a road in Bolivia at 18,953 ft. Umlingla Pass is now connected with a black top road to enhance socio-economic condition and promote tourism in Ladakh," the government said. Infrastructure development in such harsh and tough terrain is extremely challenging. In winter, the temperature falls to - 40 degree Celsius and the oxygen level at this altitude is almost 50 per cent less than at normal places. "The BRO achieved the feat due to the grit and resilience of its personnel who work in treacherous terrain and extreme weather conditions," the government said. The road now connects the important towns in Chumar sector of eastern Ladakh. "It will prove to be a boon to the local population as it offers an alternate direct route connecting Chisumle and Demchok from Leh. (Agency) SC pulls up HC judge for offending comments

DEO, however, insist that she has to furnish some document about the children's father or her divorce. (The Times of India) Jaipur man dies as headphone explodes

was 'just believe in yourself... we will back soon'. The last words of my father were 'beta, himmat rakhna' (stay strong, my child)," she added. Now she lets words flow in place of her tears, funneling her angst and sadness into a poem. In her poem she assures her father - - "I'll be a strong girl, daddy, without you..." Vanisha and her brother now live with their maternal uncle. (Agency) IAF airlifts MP minister from flood-hit area

The Supreme Court has expunged “offending comments” by an Uttarakhand high court judge against a lawyer saying that the remarks were “unnecessary”, showed that “restraint and sobriety” were missing and seemed to be based on “personal perception” of the judge. “While it is of fundamental importance in the realm of administration of justice to allow the judges to discharge their functions freely and fearlessly and without interference by anyone, it is equally important for the judges to be exercising restraint and avoid unnecessary remarks on the conduct of the counsel, ” the SC bench said. Neeraj Garg has been practising law for 17 years. He had approached the apex court saying that the HC judge’s “adverse” remarks about his conduct on four occasions could “undermine (his) professional reputation”.

The judge had called him a “seasonal advocate”, said Garg was responsible for “brutal assassination of time” and making arguments “for the visitor’s gallery”. The judge had also accused Garg of trying to “mislead the court” with “uncalled for” and irrelevant documents. (Agency) Archaic law comes in the way of single mother Single mother Sneh Gupta gained admission to her twin sons through the Right to Education (RTE) Act in a private school. The mother who has raised her twin sons single-handedly was asked to fill a column that required their father’s name or face cancellation. “I have raised my sons alone without anyone’s support. Every document of my children has only my name as a parent,” said Gupta after she was apprised about the ‘norm’ in the district education office (DEO). “Why should I be forced to give their father’s name? He doesn’t stay with us and has no role in bringing up my children,” Gupta, mother of two six-year-old boys, said.

Sneh had walked out of her marriage in 2013 and soon after came in contact with a friend of hers. They got into a relationship and in October 2014 she got pregnant. Her friend refused to take responsibility if she delivered the babies. Sneh decided to abandon him rather than her unborn twins. “Since 2015, I have been playing the role of both father and mother for my kids and have not added the name of their biological father in any document.” The

A 28-year-old man died when his Bluetooth headphone device exploded in his ears while he was using them for his studies, police said. The incident occurred in Udaipuria village in Jaipur district's Chomu town when Rakesh Kumar Nagar was preparing for a competitive examination at his residence, police said.

"He was using his Bluetooth headphone device while it was plugged into an electrical outlet," police said. All of a sudden the device exploded in his ear leaving him unconscious. He was taken to a private hospital where he died during treatment, they said, adding that both his ears had suffered serious injuries. The man probably died of a cardiac arrest, the doctor said. According to police, Rakesh Nagar got married in February this year and was the eldest of his siblings. (Agency) Bhopal topper's ode to parents who died of Covid

Vanisha Pathak of Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal scored 100 per cent in her English, Sanskrit, Science and Social Science Class X CBSE exams, and 97 per cent in Mathematics - an incredible achievement for a 16-year-old girl who lost her parents to Covid-19 in May. Two months ago, with the exams around the corner, her entire world plunged into darkness - her parents died in hospital within days of each other.

Suddenly, it was just she and Vivan, her 10-year-old brother. She realised she was the only family her brother had. "(The memory of) my parents obviously kept me motivated and will motivate me throughout my life (but) he (the brother) is the biggest source of motivation right now... I am all he has and that keeps me going. I need to do something," Vanisha said. "The last thing my mother said to me

Madhya Pradesh home minister Dr Narottam Mishra was airlifted when he got stranded in his home district Datia, where he had gone to take stock of the flood situation. He was rescued by an Air Force helicopter. Like other parts of the state, several villages in Datia were marooned in water due to very heavy rainfall and floods. On getting information about floods in the rural areas and some people stranded on a rooftop, Mishra left for a Kotra village when a tree fell on his boat, and it stopped moving. As a result, Mishra was himself stranded in the water. Due to floods, some people were stuck on the rooftop of a house in Kotra village. Mishra sent an SOS to government officials for help. An IAF helicopter was then dispatched to the spot to rescue the minister and nine other stranded villagers. In a video of the rescue, Mishra was seen instructing the officials to rescue the villagers first. Congress state president Kamal Nath’s media coordinator Narendra Saluja has praised the minister and said, “If it is the opposition’s duty to blame government’s mistakes, then they should also be praised for good work.

Salute to the spirit and courage of home minister Narottam Mishra.” (Agency) Azani, India's first electric super car

Mean Metal Motors (MMM) is all set to introduce India's first electric car called the Azani. According to reports, Azani will be capable of rivalling the electric supercars from the west with a 0-100 kmph sprint in under two seconds and a top speed of 350 kmph. The Indian startup promises about 986 bhp from the electric motors, while the range will be about 550-700 km on a single charge. The first engineered prototype is expected to arrive in the second half of 2022. The makers aim to change the way electric vehicles will be produced globally. The new project aims to bridge the technological gap between the western electric ecosystem and the Indian electric vehicle development market. The company aims to set up micro-facilities to manufacture its product via a modular platform at less than one fifth the cost of a traditional automobile manufacturing facility. Sarthak Paul - CEO of MMM said, "Since the auto industry is being given a big EV push, it is time for MMM to show its prowess. The current backdrop of switching over to electric vehicles in the country seems far away given the lack of infrastructure, though from a company perspective we feel that full electrification is just a couple of years away. Our sole purpose is just not to develop an electric supercar but to create an ecosystem that helps increase electrification at a faster rate." (Agency) Sleeping pods at Ahmedabad airport

The domestic terminal at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport have made arrangements for the tired passengers to have some rest comfortably.

Earlier you have to stretch out uncomfortably on a chair or check out the sleeping pods. Now a more comfortable alternative have been arranged at the terminal. These small and self-contained capsules where weary passengers can lay back and catch some rest are being installed at the airport by city start-up Urban Nap. “Sleeping pods is a new addition at the airport. Right now, it is in the testing phase. Based on passenger response, we will add more such pods in days to come and may even turn it into a pay-as-you-go sleeping space,” said a source at the airport. The pods have been installed at security hold in domestic departure area. (The Times of India)

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Olympics and Us

Ruchi Ghanashyam Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK. With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including South Africa, Ghana, before arriving in the UK. She was only the second woman High Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she witnessed a number of significant developments in the UK-India relations. @RuchiGhanashyam

Once again, the Olympics have come and gone. The hopes and prayers of millions of people in India and many Indians abroad were yet again placed in the hands of our sportspersons. Despite its best performance, with 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze, India’s medal tally at the Tokyo Olympic Games remained low for a country of India’s size and strength. This time though, the disappointment is touched with a new hope that things may finally be turning around.

As we begin to recount the signs of hope, there are a few achievements that immediately rush to one's mind. Neeraj

Chopra, whose gold medal in the javelin was the first for India in track and field and second individual gold medal after Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal for shooting in 2008. Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian javelin thrower to even qualify for the final in this sport. His achievement made every Indian proud.

PV Sindhu got back-to-back medals when she won the bronze medal in badminton this time, following up on her medal in the last Olympics. Her hard work and struggle paid off and she kept alive India’s romance with badminton.

Indian hockey finally showed a revival with the men’s team winning the bronze medal after a long time. The women’s team came out to be the surprise gift as they came in the fourth position after a hard-fought game for the bronze medal.

At 23 years, Ravi Dahiya became the second wrestler after Sushil Kumar to qualify for the finals in wrestling. His silver medal has assured him glory for many years to come.

Mirabai Chanu’s silver medal in women’s 49 kg weightlifting and Lovlina Borgohain’s bronze medal in women’s welterweight boxing added to our joy in the performance of our athletes. Bajrang Punia, one of India’s best wrestlers who has won a number of gold medals for India at several events, added to the tally by winning a bronze medal for India in the 65 kg wrestling.

India’s shooting and archery teams may not have succeeded this time, they showed enough spark to kindle hopes for the future. There were also boxers and wrestlers who underperformed this time.

There are others whose performances will be remembered with credit. Kamalpreet Kaur for discus throw, equestrian Fouaad

24K GOLD BULLION BARS prove to be a better investment Rupali Shinde When it comes to investment, gold ranks first compared to other precious metals.

Many invest in gold as it is considered as a safe investment across countries. The primary reason people prefer gold over any other commodity is for its resale value.

While investing, some specifically opt for gold coins or bars because of its low making charges and premium. Gold Bank, which is one of the UK's leading investment gold companies, specialises in buying and selling of 24k gold as well as 24k silver bars and coins.

Their journey began in 1970 when they first started their door-to-door sale.

After a decade, they started market trading and in the year 2000, they set up a shop in London. By 2010, Gold Bank was a roaring success. Today, they are not only offering UK investors the opportunity to buy gold and silver bullion bars and coins at the best price possible but are also creating awareness about 24k gold and silver bullion bars amongst buyers.

Currently, Gold Bank London has two branches, one in east London and the other in west London.

Ashpreet Kaur, Manager at Gold Bank London, said, “We buy gold in any form for the best price compare to the market, but we only sell 24k gold bullion bars and coins. We really want people to become more aware of gold investments. If you are looking for making profit in the long

run, invest in 24k gold bullion bars as it gives more returns than 22k gold.It has negligible making charges and is easy to sell,” Considering the pandemic scenario, Gold Bank, has made online purchase easier for their customers’ convenience.

Customers now will be able to avail three types of payment methods. They are: v Free fully insured special delivery within 2-5 workingdays. v Next Day delivery option available at £10. Delivery is received by 4:00PMnext day. v VIP delivery option available at £100 (only applicable to orders made within London and surrounding areas). To be eligible for direct same day delivery the order must be made and paid in full by 12:00 PM. For more information, please visit: www.gold-bank.co.uk GOLD BANK LONDON 215 The Broadway, Southall, UB1 1NB

Mirza, fencer CA Bhavani Devi and Manika Batra for table tennis gave impressive performances.

In our overall joy at the success of Neeraj Chopra on the penultimate day of the Games, most people forgot that this was 38-year-old Mary Kom’s last Olympics that have an age cap of 40 years.

The record six-time boxing champion went down fighting in the flyweight quarterfinals and was beaten for the bronze medal by a razor-thin margin.

In a reminder of the last Olympics, India’s daughters showed their mettle yet again. A question that is now being asked frequently is why are Indian women performing so well at the Olympics. Given Indian society’s well-known preference for boys, girls have to battle many constraints to stand out. Boys get automatic preference over girls in families with limited means, be it education or even nourishment. Girls that emerge out of this limiting circumstance are often hardier, more determined and plain gutsy.

Fortunately, these Olympics have given us both heroes and heroines.

The overall medals tally in these Olympics may not leave us ecstatic, but there’s much that we can take satisfaction from. Funding for Indian sports has gone up. Not only is the government providing

enhanced budgetary support to sport in India, a National Sports Development Fund set up with a small corpus in 1998-99 has grown enormously, with 38 percent of the fund coming from private sources, especially government owned companies. The government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme has been a major funding support to the training of champion athletes. The Odisha government’s sponsorship of the Indian hockey, both men’s and women’s teams, is largely credited with the upturn in the performances of both the teams.

The role of the private sector has come in for appreciation too. Even as national badminton coach, Pullela Gopichand, has worked on our badminton stars, efforts of private initiatives like Go Sports Foundation, JSW Sports and Olympic Gold Quest are being appreciated. It is hoped that a flourishing society, gaining in economic prosperity and strength, will bring a positive perception change towards sports and sportspersons in India.

These Olympics brought home to us the inspiring stories of many of the legends created by these games. From the captain of the Indian women’s hockey team, Rani Rampal, whose family could not even afford the daily 5 litres of milk required for her training, to Vandana Kataria, the first Indian woman to score an Olympic hat trick in hockey, and from Mirabai Chanu to Lovlina Borgohain, all of them have overcome enormous challenges. We can only hope that the doors they have opened will be stormed through by others in the next Olympics.

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ASIAN ACHIEVERS AWARDS enters new era in partnership between ABPL and EPG ABPL, the leading South Asian publishers in the UK, have commenced a partnership for the prestigious Asian Achievers Awards with consulting firm EPG. The move will retain ABPL’s unique community connect with the diaspora and utilise EPG’s expertise in large-scale events to grow the Awards to recognise and celebrate excellence in the community. The next edition of the Awards will take place in Autumn 2022, and nominations are open now.

Faced with unprecedented adversity during the pandemic, South Asian leaders across the UK have shown resilience, innovation and foresight in tackling the new economic and societal challenges Covid-19 has brought.

South Asians in the UK today occupy leadership positions across a range of fields, including politics, business and civil society. The Asian Achievers Awards recognise the outstanding work of these individuals within the community.

Established in 2000 and held annually since then, the Awards will return following the pandemic.

CB Patel, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of ABPL, said, “The AAA are consistently recognised by the community as the most prestigious and highly respected Awards in the calendar. In nearly half a century of campaigning and media publishing, we've built an intimate trust with our readers and advertisers. This new partnership with EPG will build the history and help the Awards reach new heights.”

Smita Patel, Director of EPG, said, “Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar harbour a special place in the community, documenting our growth and

Pratik Dattani

contribution to life in the UK over decades. We are proud to be part of such a legacy. EPG works with entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders globally through our offices in the UK, India and Uganda. We see our collaboration with AAA as an exciting opportunity for growth.”

Amitabh Shah, Founder of charity Yuva Unstoppable, said, “Being Charity Partner for the AAA in 2019 helped our charity raise more than £200,000 directly and over £2m indirectly. This enabled access to education, sanitation, drinking water, scholarships and more for thousands more underprivileged children across India.

We are sure the Awards will go from strength to strength and support our community’s growth.”

Anita Goyal MBE, a judge at the 2019 edition, said: “As a Judge in the last edition of the Awards, I saw first-hand the breadth and depth of talent within the Asian community. It is important to track, promote and celebrate the growth of such diverse voices that contribute to making Britain a better place. I am delighted the AAA is returning and look forward to being actively engaged.”

EPG will be hosting a launch event to celebrate this new partnership in the coming weeks in London.

MOVING FORWARD, TOGETHER! Continued from page 1 His victory and journey are rather symbolic of the unfathomable amount of hard work, obstacles, unmatched resilience, and confidence of never looking back, that India as a country has nurtured and achieved since becoming an independent nation.

After losing almost half a million citizens to Covid-19, the country is slowly getting back on its feet irrespective of the fear, challenges and adversities faced by the country.

This fight against Covid wouldn’t have been possible without the unconditional support of the British Asian Trust which launched a massive donation drive along with the supply of oxygen concentrators and equipment that India needed to fight the worst of times amid the pandemic. Doctors of Indian origin in the UK spent sleepless nights supporting their colleagues in India to learn and adapt to the perpetually changing variants of the virus via telemedicine.

From Swaminarayan Temple to Gurudwaras and mosques across the UK, every single community organisation, centre and faith came forward to fight the battle against Covid-19. Hitan Mehta from British Asian Trust told us that he himself took his vaccine at a mosque. It cannot be emphasised enough how despite all odds, the entire community stood together in this fight, whether it was giving ration, free food, medicines, ambulance services or moral support.

The partnership between the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India to produce the Coronavirus vaccines will be remembered in the history of pandemics for centuries. The

The Asian Achievers Awards - A national treasure

key was to move forward and move together.

Leading from the frontline, NHS Chief People Office Prerana Issar told the newsweekly, “The NHS’s relationship with the Indian diaspora spans more than 70 years, throughout which our colleagues and partners who come from or have links with India have contributed immeasurably. But the past year has brought a poignancy to this partnership that we could never have anticipated.”

In our special coverage for India’s 75th Independence Day, Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department told Asian Voice, “I was proud to see the UK being the first country to deliver life-saving medical equipment to India, a testament to the continued strength of the relationship between our two countries.”

Speaking to Asian Voice in an High exclusive interview, Commissioner HE Gaitri Issar Kumar said, “Through a once in a generation integrated review, the UK has identified India for enhanced engagement in a number of key areas where both countries have common interests and convergences. Changing dynamics in the global order and the shift of the global centre of gravity and focus to Asia has brought the spotlight on the Indo-Pacific region where India is a net contributor of security.”

Dialogue Partner ASEAN Foreign Ministers, in a virtual ceremony with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, welcomed the UK as an ASEAN “Dialogue Partner” early in August 2021. As a part of its foreign policy, the UK has joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This comes after the Comprehensive and Progressive

Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This brings the UK closer in proximity to the Indo-pacific region where India is a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of the ASIAN economic bloc.

Furthering the dialogue on the UK-India partnership, Lord Karan Bilimoria writes in his column for the newsweekly, “2021 has been a watershed year for the UK, with Brexit over and the UK’s worldleading vaccination programme proceeding at pace, our economy is set to fully reopen this summer.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreeing to an enhanced trade partnership with a 10-year road map between the UK and India could not have come at a better time, our bilateral trade relationship will help lock in our promising economic trajectories.”

At the centre of this ambition is an economic relationship, which is an enhanced trade partnership, which is aiming for a doubling of bilateral trade by 2030 and features a determination to negotiate a comprehensive and balanced free trade agreement that would involve an interim trade deal by mid-2022.

India stands at a pivotal position in matters of Afghanistan, especially when US and UK troops have withdrawn from the war-torn country, where it has spent close to $1 billion – and possibly more – to fund schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure.

With that said, one cannot forget the contribution of the diaspora across the world, especially the UK, where businessmen like Gopi Hinduja – one of the richest in the UK, according to Sunday Time Rich List continue to be an integral part of the UK-India ties.

Meanwhile, Indian companies

Since they started in 2000, the Asian Achievers Awards (AAA) have occupied a special place in the Asian community, documenting our growth and contribution to life in the UK over several decades.

Life was so different back then. The year 2000 saw the third and final season of Goodness Gracious Me on British television, the first time an Asian series was given primetime billing. The multi awardwinning comedy-drama film directed by Mira Nair Monsoon Wedding was still months away from release. Rishi Sunak was still in the second year of university at Oxford. Priti Patel actually left employment from the Conservative Party to work at communications firm Weber Shandwick. Actor Dev Patel was in primary school, cricketer Isa Guha was in secondary school. Sachin Tendulkar resigned and Saurav Ganguly took over as Indian cricket captain.

Today, glass ceilings have been shattered. Indian diaspora occupy two of the great political offices of the land, the Mayor of London is the son of a Pakistani bus driver, the richest person in the country is Indian and the two richest people in the whole of Asia – even ahead of visionary Jack Ma – are Indian.

Past award-winners are indicative of just how rapid this growth in the South Asian contribution to the economic, social and cultural fabric of Britain has been. Hafsa Qureshi, won the Uniformed, Civil and Public Services award, as a Muslim woman, LGBTQ+, disabled woman.

AC Neil Basu was head of the UK’s counter terrorism policing, the first officer of Asian heritage to hold the post. Cricketer Moeen Ali and music star Naughty Boy were trailblazers in their fields. Successful business leaders like Rishi Khosla (co-founder of Acorn OakNorth), Jasminder Singh Chairman & CEO Edwardian Hotels London, Lord Rami Ranger CBE Founder of Sun Mark, Lord Rumi Verjee (former owner of Watford FC) and others created thousands of jobs across the country.

Through this journey, Asian Voice, Gujarat Samachar and the AAA have stood side-by-side with successive generations of British Asians to facilitate their growth.

The first time I attended the Awards was about a decade ago. At that time, as is the case today, I remain in awe with what our community has achieved. It is a privilege to meet and interact with behemoths in the community and unsung heroes.

As my firm EPG develops a new partnership with ABPL to continue hosting the AAA after a pause during the pandemic, to grow their reach and influence, I see a real opportunity for our community. I use the word ‘community’ deliberately – the grassroots love and support CB Patel, Chairman ABPL Group and his team show me that his vision was very much, for the community, by the community.

And I hope to be able to continue this with my colleagues at EPG. We have offices in London, Bangalore and Uganda. Our clients range from tech entrepreneurs and manufacturing businesses, to think tanks and governments, to HNWs setting up new charitable foundations. We help companies grow internationally through bespoke advisory services, strategic communications and government affairs work.

I see the next 20 years bringing even more success for the South Asian diaspora. I would like to see the AAA be the platform to identify, recognise and support the innovators, visionaries and community giants that will build Britain and make the world a better place.

Sir Isaac Newton said, if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Those that have gone before us have helped us make the progress we take for granted today. And so I urge everyone reading this article to get in touch. Let’s identify the next generation of winners. Let’s put our community even more on the map. I look forward to seeing each and every one of you along the journey.

(Pratik Dattani is Managing Director of EPG, a global advisory firm with offices in London, Bangalore and Uganda). continue to create jobs in the UK. According to Grant Thornton’s annual research into Indian business in the UK has found that there are now 850 Indian companies operating in the UK – rising by eight from its 2020 benchmark. As well as growing in number, they are also significantly boosting their economic contribution to the UK too. The latest research conducted by Money.co.uk has revealed that India is the 10th best country in the world for unicorn start-ups.

A new future awaits After India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar met Priti Patel and signed the Migration and Mobility Partnership, it was also reported that over 3000 individuals from India will be able to avail employment opportunities in the UK. COP26 will bring Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi under one roof again later this year and

the UK’s efforts to keep the warmth alive with India showed last week when India was moved to the amber list from the red list after much criticism.

In our special coverage for India’s 75th Independence Day, we bring you messages for the community from the UK’s cabinet ministers, MPs, and councillors.

Lord Karan Bilimoria and Deputy Mayor of London for Business, Rajesh Agrawal write about the changing economy of the UK-India partnership amid the pandemic.

There are exclusive interviews with High Commissioner HE Gaitri Issar Kumar, Executive Director British Asian Trust, Hitan Mehta, Lady Kishwar Desai about the upcoming museum in Delhi, actor Kabir Bedi speaks to us on the evolution of Indian cinema and Netflix tells us exclusively about their expanding slate of South Indian movies.

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INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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14 - 20 August 2021

Diaspora to commemorate 100th year of Kolkata Derby in London on India’s 75th Independence Day by: Rupanjana Dutta

Heartfelt gratitude to everyone within the NHS who is from the South Asian diaspora

by : Prerana Issar, Chief People Officer, NHS

Kolkata Maidan’s (an iconic ground similar to London’s Hyde Park) century-old legacy of the friendly enmity between the SC East Bengal and Mohun Bagan AC symbolises the essence of being a true Bengali, even amongst the diaspora. Therefore, the football-crazy community, to mark India’s Independence Day as well as commemorate the 100th year of Kolkata Derby, is planning to recreate a similar excitement with a unique football tournament viz.

Indian Fans Alliance (IFA) Shield UK at the Arbour Park Stadium in Slough.

The IFA Shield 2021 will have teams named after the famous Kolkata clubs and has a theme song sung by renowned Bollywood singer Shaan, with music by upcoming Bollywood Music Director Sunjoy Bose and lyrics by Abhra Malakar from Kent, UK. Anirban A brainchild of Mukhopadhyay, a die-hard East Bengal fan, the idea was conceived to revive the traditional football rivalry between the two clubs on the banks of Thames.

This year, the organiser Heritage

IFA Shield UK 2021 launch

Bengal Global (an all-women not-for-profit organisation in the UK) under the presidentship of Milly Basu, has specifically decided to hold the event on 15 August, to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day. This is the first time, the organisation will have women’s teams participating in the tournament.

The alumni business group of South Point School (a famous school in Kolkata) viz. Pointers Business Forum has partnered with the organisers to offer free stalls at the venue, especially to promote small and medium businesses in the UK.

The NHS’s relationship with the Indian diaspora spans more than 70 years, throughout which our colleagues and partners who come from or have links with India have contributed immeasurably. But the past year has brought a poignancy to this partnership that we could never have anticipated.

Over the pandemic, we have all lived and worked through unprecedented challenges. Many of the thousands of our Indian colleagues have continued to care selflessly for NHS patients or perform a range of vital roles despite having experienced unbearable loss as a result of the pandemic or while waiting for news about its impact on their friends and family. I am one of them.

As a proud British Indian woman, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone within the NHS who is from the South Asian diaspora to those who have extended support and solidarity to colleagues from India, and of course, those whose expertise, innovation and compassion were part of the relief effort to support India.

Our relationship has never been stronger, or more crucial.

To everyone celebrating - on behalf of all our NHS people a happy independence day.

Old Delhi still flies Kites on Independence Day While the custom of kite-flying or is associated with different festivals across India and the world, in old Delhi and parts of North India, it is an intrinsic part of Independence Day celebrations.

While in Gujarat and Rajasthan, the kite-flying is a festival of Makar Sankranti, in Bengal kites are eagerly flown during events like Vishwakarma Puja, Akshay Tritiya and others, apart from Makar Sankranti. In Punjab, they form a vital aspect of the Basant Panchami festival that marks the arrival of spring.

Kite has historically also been more than just a sport. On 15 August, the Indian Independence Day, kites soar high in the sky, symbolising a free nation that

India became on this day. But apart from being just a symbolical form of celebration, the flying of kites also has a historical significance.

During the 1920s, ‘Go Back Simon’, was the message used in protest against the S i m o n Commission in India.

During that period, Indians used kites as a medium of protest. Kites

with the slogan ‘Go Back Simon’ were written on it and flown. Since then, kite flying has become a tradition for Indians on Independence Day to spread an expression of freedom, joy and patriotism.

The sky is filled with tiny colourful kites and people from their terraces shout “Aayi-bokaate” (I got you) when they attempt to bring down or cut the another person’s kite by their thread.

Old Delhi still has a kite spotted sky on Independence Day, as it has hardly lost its old charm.

Bhaskar Bhattacharyya, who has been instrumental in getting the Football Association (FA) accreditation said, “The FA accreditation gives us a different status and set of rules to follow, as a tournament- we are thankful to FA to recognise our efforts."

Speaking at the launch event on 1 August which coincided with the foundation day of East Bengal and commemorating the 100th year of Kolkata Derby, Anirban reiterated the basic objective of organising this event. “During the unprecedented Covid pandemic for last one and half years, everybody has gone through difficult times and this event is basically a symbol of surviving against all odds and getting back to life in a healthy way.”

Incidentally, the launch event also paid tribute to the Mohun Bagan Day, (which is on 29 August) to celebrate the 1911 victory of the club over the Yorkshire regiment.

This year’s star attraction will be football legend Chima Okerie and will be joined

by Virendra Sharma MP and Dr Partha Kar OBE.

‘Proud to see the UK being the first country to deliver life-saving medical equipment’

by : Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department

I would like to wish the Indian community both here in the UK, as well as those in other countries around the world and of course in India, a very happy Indian Independence Day. Since gaining its independence in 1947, India has emerged as one of the world’s most dynamic countries and from agriculture to finance, it has become a major economic player and is projected to be the world’s second-largest economy by 2037.

It is owing to the strength of the Indian people that this has become a reality, and through the spirit of its people and the power of its global vision, India is shaping today’s new world in ways that we can be so proud of.

We have all witnessed the heart-breaking scenes in India over the past few months, and here in the UK, we stand side by side with India as a friend and partner in the fight against Covid-19, sending our solidarity and condolences to the Indian people at this difficult time. I was proud to see the UK being the first country to deliver life-saving medical equipment to India, a testament to the continued strength of the relationship between our two countries.

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

14 INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL

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14 - 20 August 2021

EVENTS: WHAT’S ON

“Only the sky, as they say, is the limit”

SOUTH ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH UK EVENTS

In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, the High Commissioner spoke about 75 years of Independent India, multiculturalism, the future of film shoots amid the pandemic, relief work and opportunities for the diaspora.

Shefali Saxena Ever since her appointment in June 2020, High Commissioner HE Gaitri Issar Kumar has been instrumental in strengthening the UK and India’s unique and historic relationship, along with promoting recognition of Indian territorial claims in the UK. Throughout the pandemic, not only has she been actively involved in supporting the partnership, facilitating smooth procedures in Covid aid, but also never missed an opportunity to engage with the diaspora, whether it is via virtual events, or as the UK reopens, by her physical presence, the most recent one being the Annual Summer Party organised by Indian Journalists' Association on World Press Freedom Day 2021 in London. . In the 75 years of Independent India, what do you think has changed for the better between the UK and India, where both countries have truly embraced each other, keeping aside the memories of the colonial past?

India and the UK share a unique and historic relationship. This year we will celebrate 75 years of our bilateral relations.

Indeed, the past year has been a point of departure as we have engaged with a Britain that has exited from the European Union and is forging its independent foreign and trade policy. Through a once in a generation integrated review, the UK has identified India for enhanced engagement in a number of key areas where both countries have common interests and convergences. Changing dynamics in the global order and the shift of the global centre of gravity and focus to Asia has brought the spotlight on the Indo-Pacific region where India is a net contributor of security. Given our many complementarities, we find ourselves to be natural partners in a range of human activities for the bilateral benefit and for the good of the world – from healthcare, science and technology to defence, security and trade, we have been part of the solutions to challenges faced by our respective peoples and the world.

The Roadmap to 2030 launched by the Hon’ble Prime Ministers of the UK and India in May 2021 will anchor our work and the timelines to be achieved together.

The manufacture of vaccines by Wockhardt and Serum Institute of India are examples of successful collaborations that will show the way for similar initiatives in the future.

India’s membership of the UNSC and the UK’s Presidency of COP26 makes this a significant year for cooperation on global issues. In the International Solar Alliance and CDRI, both initiatives of our Government, the UK is a key partner; and India has much to contribute to the success of the UK’s Presidency of COP26. As we proceed to build trust and mutual understanding and to realise the full potential of our bilateral relationship, only the sky, as they say, is the limit. . How has Indian culture made its mark in UK’s multicultural society?

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London is often described as the cultural capital of the world. In Britain, 1.6 million people of Indian origin retain a strong connect with their Indian traditions and cherished heritage. Their celebration of events and special occasions has largely included friends and members of the larger community here in the United Kingdom. The Rt Hon Prime Minister Boris Johnson has often, over the last year, sent his personal greetings on festive occasions celebrated by Indian communities of different faiths. Every community association that I have met in the UK across the nations - seems to be flourishing and actively promoting its cultural and educational traditions in its own way.

A unique development this week is the launch of clinical trials to test the efficacy of Ashwagandha in post-Covid recovery.

This signifies a turning point in collaboration – bringing together British schools of medicine and Indian experts in the ancient science of Ayurveda.

The Nehru Centre, as the cultural wing of the High Commission, has, over the last year, exponentially expanded its audience as its events turned virtual last year.

Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan is the largest centre for classical Indian arts and culture outside India, and by regularly conducting classes of Indian dance, music, languages and art, ensures that the rich artistic and cultural traditions of our country are shared with the younger Indian diaspora and even those from the UK. A large variety of Indian arts, crafts and architecture are exhibited in the museums of United Kingdom. In fact, the collections from South and South-East Asia comprise nearly 60,000 objects, including about 10,000 textiles and 6,000 paintings covering the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

Many museums have permanent South Asia collections and entire departments devoted to this region- for example the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Ashmolean in Oxford, and museums and galleries that curate temporary exhibitions from India.

In 2015-16, a year-long ‘Festival of India’ was celebrated in the UK wherein about 100 events were organized in various parts of the United Kingdom.

Innumerable elements that are intrinsically Indian are, today, woven into the fabric of the UK's contemporary society – from our cuisine to textiles and designs, performing arts and literature - the list is long and colourful and includes many examples of non-tangible heritage. . Since so many Hindi films are shot in the UK, how do you think the film visa regulations evolve in the coming times keeping the pandemic and red list in mind?

The film industry has, like many others, has been impacted by the pandemic,

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High Commissioner HE Gaitri Issar Kumar and has suffered an estimated revenue loss of $7 billion by March 2020. Visa regulations and restrictions have made it difficult for producers and crews to travel to the UK. It is hard, given the current uncertainties, to make a prognosis on the relaunching of Indian film shooting activity in the UK. Despite the current uncertainties, there is optimism that this activity will regain its previous momentum.

India and the UK have a bilateral treaty on film co-production between our governments since 2005. . What kind of help and opportunities does the High Commission provide to British Indians, especially women and students?

The High Commission of India in London and its Consulates in Birmingham and Edinburgh are nodal points for our diaspora - where we render a variety of services - ranging from passport/OCI/consular services, registration of Indians for the special Vande Bharat Mission repatriation flights, providing assistance to vulnerable women or victims of domestic abuse via our dedicated Distressed Women's Cell, etc.

We also have a special Education Wing that provides students a wealth of information including forms and information about current scholarship opportunities, advisories, and education briefs. . How busy have you been during UKIndia's fight during Covid 19 to facilitate help from both sides?

In April 2021, a wave of infections came like Tsunami, overwhelming our healthcare infrastructure and supply chains. Under the instructions from our Government, we at the High Commission in London sought the urgent assistance of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in sourcing vendors and manufacturers of 4 critical items of critical care equipment.

It was heart-warming to see the immediate and positive response from the FCDO, and learn that the first consignment of supplies had arrived from London Heathrow!

At the Mission, our Economic and Trade Wing worked around the clock to liaise between all concerned in India and the UK industry, to reach life-saving critical care equipment to India. The response from British industry was substantial, swift and sensitive- and this resulted in a huge quantity of donations in a very short time. Our efforts were further strengthened by the senior-most leadership of the Confederation of British Industry, British Asian Trust, UKIBC and the FICCI who helped us by donating expertise, resources and time during these crucial days.

Lord Bilimoria who is the President of the CBI and Lord Gadhia, the Chair of the BAT gave our High Commission invaluable guidance - which went a long way in securing life-saving resources for India at a very challenging moment.

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TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION: LET’S TALK ABOUT OUR COLONIAL PAST’ The South Asian Heritage Month UK will be hosting an important discussion entitled ‘Forgotten Indian Stories’, hosted by Kiran Sahota on August 14th at 11 am. The next day, 15th August 2021, between 2-3 pm, SAHM UK will host a session on ‘Truth and Reconciliation: let’s talk about our colonial past’.

OPEN-AIR MOVIE SCREENING On August 16, 2021, SAHM UK will have an open-air screening of Ayan Mukerji’s directorial Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani which stars Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in the lead. The screening will take place from 6 pm to 9 pm. The venue will be IQL Stratford.

LEARNING ABOUT PARTITION Timing: 4pm to 5pm Date: August 17, 2021 *More details about the above events can be found on the SAHM UK website.

FANCY DRESS, DRAWING AND SINGING CELEBRATION FOR KIDS Mangalam is holding an event on Saturday, 14th August from 6 pm to 8 pm for kids to participate in the Independence Day Celebration. The activities will include: - Patriotic singing /Poem /Speech ( Adult / Kids ) - Kids Fancy Dress - Kids National Anthem / Chorus singing - Kids Drawing Competition

UK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL UK Asian Film Festival is back at Wembley Park for Summer Screenings on Sunday 15th August at 4 pm.

It will include dance performances, and a dance workshop by Kspark Entertainments Limited at 5 pm, followed by a screening of the Other Side of the River at 6 pm.

This is a free outdoor event that you can attend with your family & friends!

The screening is not ticketed and deckchairs are first come, first serve. If all the deckchairs are taken, you are still able to view the film.

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AsianVoiceNews

INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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14 - 20 August 2021

2021: The start of a new era of an IndoBritish partnership Lord Karan Bilimoria, President of the CBI and Chancellor of the University of Birmingham 2021 has been a watershed year for the UK, with Brexit over and the UK’s world-leading vaccination programme proceeding at pace, our economy is set to fully reopen this summer. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreeing to an enhanced trade partnership with a 10year road map between the UK and India could not have come at a better time, our bilateral trade relationship will help lock in our promising economic trajectories.

The IMF’s recent report “A Proposal to End the Covid-19 Pandemic” recommended, what is required is a £42 billion investment to rapidly manufacture and distribute 11 billion doses of covid vaccines, to meet the global demand. India, as the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, is playing and will continue to play a key role in this.

And as a home to the finest universities in the world, a collaboration between UKIndia institutions is instrumental as witnessed by the success of the Oxford University/Astra-Zeneca vaccine in partnership with Serum Institute in India, the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world.

Today India and the UK are the fifth and the sixth-largest economies in the world, for the past few decades India has been emerging as a global economic superpower. The centuries-old UK-India relationship took a quantum leap earlier this year with the signing of the enhanced trade partnership - with a 10-year roadmap, which included an ambition to double bilateral trade to £50 billion by 2030. The enhanced trade partnership will lay the foundations for an ambitious free trade agreement between the two countries. It is hoped that progress will be made over the coming months, especially in regard to further liberalisation of the Indian market.

India has an enormous and growing consumer market, and in areas such as EdTech and FinTech, of which UK firms will be looking to participate in.

It is also encouraging that India is about to announce the allowing of foreign universities to operate in India, details will be announced soon and this will be a huge opportunity for British universities, including the University of Birmingham, where I am proud to be Chancellor.

On the UK side, the new points-based immigration system should allow more Indian professionals and skilled workers to come to the UK. 1st July was a landmark, where the new two-year post-graduation work visa programme has been reintroduced in the UK, now called the Graduate Visa. I personally spearheaded the introduction of this in Parliament in 2007 and it was introduced in 2008, it was removed in 2012 and thankfully it is back again. I am proud to be President of UKISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs) and the CoChair of the APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group) for International Students, covering all 550,000 international students, with Indian students as the second-highest—the re-introduction of this fantastic initiative will see Indian student numbers rocket over

the coming years.

Aside from improving international mobility, a closer alignment between UK and India at the multilateral and national level will help tackle the climate crisis and achieve more sustainable economies of the future.

UK goods and services are perfectly placed to support India’s ambitions to establish a low-carbon economy. India has growing global expertise in renewable energy, especially solar as the world transitions towards a greener economy. The UK’s world-leading expertise in areas such as wind power, heat and hydrogen offer enormous potential for the UK and India to collaborate on projects such as green hydrogen, electric vehicles and battery technologies. I recently made the suggestion that the UK and Indian governments should fund research into climate change and biodiversity, focusing on joint projects between UK and Indian academics and universities over the coming years using the highly successful UKIERI (UK-India Education and Research Initiative) model.

India faced an awful and tragic second wave of the Covid pandemic in May and I was proud as President to lead the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) in its efforts to help India—the response was phenomenal, immediate and inspirational.

The true test of leadership is in times of adversity and the UK and India have stood side by side and we will stand side by side as we build forward better together. I am hugely optimistic about the potential; it is well beyond business. The UK has recently released an Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy and it said right up front that now there will be a tilt towards the Indo-Pacific with India playing a key role as an ally, particularly as the UK looks to join the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) worth £110 billion of trade to the UK. Bilateral trade between the UK and India is continuing to grow, data from Grant Thornton shows there are 850 Indian companies in the UK with combined revenues of £50.8 billion and growth rates of 40%. Together, these companies employed 116,046 people and paid £459.2 million in corporation tax. They also show 572 UK companies in India, directly employing 416,121 people. These companies had growth rates of 26% a combined turnover of around INR 3,390 billion that yielded tax payments of around INR 173 billion. The potential is huge both ways, including in India’s enormous and growing consumer market.

So, let us seize the opportunities emerging across trade, climate, innovation and health and work together collaboratively across government and business, to truly build partnerships that will deliver prosperity, security and sustainability across both our nations and economies.

This is the moment to turn up the gear and propel this historic bilateral relationship to new heights and together create the economies we envisage for the future. 2021 is the start of a new era of the Indo-British partnership.

British Indian diaspora will be key to strengthening bilateral links

by: Lord Dolar Popat

The Covid-19 pandemic has tested us all and changed the way we lived. One thing that remains unchanged, is the unbreakable bond between the world’s largest democracy and the world’s oldest democracy. The pandemic has brought out the best

CFI hopes to play a key role in strengthening the UK-India relationship

by : Councillor Ameet Jogia and Councillor Reena Ranger OBE Co-Chairs, Conservative Friends of India

It gives us great pleasure in extending our warmest congratulations to all Asian Voice readers who are celebrating India’s Independence Day this year.

of humanity as India demonstrated how it is the world’s pharmacy being home to the Serum Institute. Similarly, when India’s deadly second wave earlier this year, the UK was the first to provide assistance.

Despite the pandemic, we have made tremendous progress through Prime Minister Johnson’s 2030 Roadmap which highlights the way forward. Working together will be crucial for our economic recovery post-Brexit and post Covid-19.

The Roadmap paves the way for the British and Indian governments to negotiate a free trade agreement.

The 1.7m strong British Indian diaspora will be key to strengthening bilateral links, which is sustained very well by Asian Voice and its team. As we mark India’s Independence Day, I hope and pray that the bond between our two great countries continues to grow in strength and prosperity.

Long may this special relationship continue.

As Co-Chairs of Conservative Friends of India, we hope we can continue to play a key role in strengthening bilateral relations between the UK and India. Despite the pandemic, we have made enormous progress with Prime Minister Johnson and Prime Minister Modi announcing an ambitious “2030 Roadmap” for greater collaboration in health, climate, trade, education, science and technology and defence.

The 1.7 million-strong British Indian diasporas are key in nurturing this special relationship and we hope that we can continue to play a crucial role in serving the diaspora. Post-Brexit and post Covid-19, we hope that we can work together in enhancing our economic recovery and maintaining our place on the changing world stage.

We hope and pray that the bond between our two great countries continues to grow in strength and prosperity.

We For India: Bollywood stars to raise funds for Covid relief in India On India’s 75th Independence Day, Bollywood stars will be joined by global musicians Ed Sheeran and Mick Jagger to raise funds for Covid relief in the country.

Academy Award-winning musician AR Rahman and American guitarist Nile Rodgers will perform at the event.

In a three-long-hour event, titled We For India: Saving Lives, Protecting Livelihoods, the celebrities hope to raise as much as £2.5mn on 15th August 2021.

The event will be hosted by actor Rajkummar Rao, the star of the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated film The White Tiger. It will be livestreamed on Facebook.

According to a press release: “All the donations will be allocated to post Covid-19 pandemic missions and provide vital pre-

includes about 100 celebrities from the film, music, comedy, and sports industries.

The popular list of attendees also includes actor Farhan Akhtar, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza, award-winning storyteller Jay Shetty, and filmmaker Karan Johar. ventative measures against future waves.”

The funds will also provide “critical facilities such as oxygen concentrators, cylinders, ventilators, and essential medicines as well as ICU units.”

The donations will also be mobilised to support “long-term public recovery” and “rebuild livelihoods such as those thrust into poverty due to a decline in earnings and complete loss of income.”

“Humanitarian efforts in the form of meal and ration kits will be provided to the rural and urban families hit financially by the pandemic, and cash relief will be provided to families who have lost an immediate member,” the press release stated.

The line-up of attendees

'We For India' is produced by Reliance Entertainment, the leading media and entertainment company, in partnership with The World We Want, a purpose-driven enterprise, and is supported by GiveIndia, India’s largest and most trusted giving platform. The exclusive streaming partner for this fundraiser is Facebook India. Watch this global event live on 15th August at 7.30 PM IST, 3:00 PM BST, 10:00 AM EST & 7:00 AM PST.

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When the community stood united

Build back better

Shefali Saxena When the first wave of Covid-19 hit India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, the British Asian Trust raised an appeal to see how it could support people, focused largely on migrant workers in India. The trust tried to figure out logistics in order to provide ration bags, direct cash transfers through its NGO partners on the ground.

Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice over a Zoom call, Hitan Mehta, Executive Director of British Asian Trust told us that towards the end of April 2020, suddenly there was so much going on in their India team. He said, “We were basically starting to say, listen, this is getting pretty horrific. And

by Wednesday or Thursday of that week, we were looking for data trying to understand what's going on on the ground, speaking to our NGO partners getting over you from people that we knew on the ground, we were starting to see people dropping out of meetings as Hitan Mehta well.”

Because the first wave was at its peak, there was something going on at home or some issue happening here and there with everyone.

Fateful Friday Hitan further added, “Suddenly, we were starting to think, this is becoming a bit more of a problem. And then by the Friday, it was pretty obvious that this had become a real issue. We spent that weekend Saturday and Sunday gearing up for an appeal. Our team in India basically started to look for partners on the ground. One we understood the issue was around oxygen. The one thing that started to become apparent was that the Indian government had reached out to the UK Government and said, here's our list of requirements.

“By that Friday, the Indian government did sort of release a list of things that they required, but the NGO sector was also crying out for oxygen concentrators. And so we decided to partner with an organization called Was, based in India, recommended by other partners. Over that weekend, we rapidly did due diligence on the organization so that we were comfortable.

“We knew that the money would be used well, and we were starting to understand where the money was going to go with our price point for large concentrators, small concentrators, and we're very clear in our message here in the UK to the UK public that the British Asian trust had launched an emergency appeal for oxygen and became known as the India oxygen appeal, essentially.

“And we had very clearly identified that this is what we were going to do.”

Support from the Royals Mentioning the stupendous and immediate support that the British Asian Trust received, Mehta told us, “As soon as we launched our Royal founding patron, His Royal Highness, Prince Wales put out a message for the people of India made his own contribution to the appeal to the trust himself. And then we found ourselves in a position that we would literally, you know, with images coming out of India, of people queuing at hospitals and everything else. The UK public started wanting to, you know, going listen, what can we do?”

Mehta mentioned that it wasn’t just the diaspora that came forward to help, and said that we all have “underestimated the power of the UK public.”

He and his colleagues did over 70-80 media interviews and started receiving calls from the UK public. Hitan said, “People that

by : Lord Jitesh Gadhia

we'd never heard of, had seen the appeal on the media. And suddenly, they wanted to give some money. We then also had other media partners who suddenly also came out as well.”

Free Radio and TV advert slots The managing director of Sunrise Radio rang him up and said that he could have 100 spots a day on the radio for free.

Manish Tiwari who runs a company here called Here and Now helped in getting advert slots on TV 24. “He created a video advert for us at their own cost. And then they started playing that as well. So suddenly, I don't know where all these things were starting to happen. And people just coming together, and it didn't matter,” Hitan told the newsweekly.

Donations from non-Asian UK public; children donated pocket money It was also the period of Ramadan. People raised money for the trust from mosques, temples and gurudwaras.

Interestingly, the Indian Cricket Supporters Union, essentially a fan base outside of India, is called the pirate army. They rang up Mehta and offered to help in raising money.

The most heartfelt contribution came from children. Mehta said, “Suddenly, we had children sending their pocket money, we had pensioners giving their pension funds. We had one chap from Scotland an English gentleman, a Scottish gentleman rang up and he spoke to us and he said, Listen, I nearly died of Covid here in the UK. I want to do something to help people there. I'm sending you 60,000 pounds. Right? I mean, you know, this has come from, like we didn't go out looking for these people. And then JK Rowling’s The Volant Trust got in touch and they made a six-figure contribution as well.

So suddenly, you know, the one thing that we shouldn't underestimate is the generosity of the UK public.

Special mention for the High Commissions Mehta also appreciated the collaboration between the two high commissioners between the United Kingdom and India. The British High Commissioner to Delhi, Alex Ellis, and Gaitri Issar Kumar, the High Commissioner at the London got together on a call.

Hitan said, “They got all the corporates, all the leaders from the community together on a call. I happened to be invited as well.

There was this endorsement of the trust that if anyone was looking to find a way of donating their money, they could feel free to get in touch with the trust. They will help facilitate that.”

Companies like Accenture, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, a lot of companies with Indian employees, both here in the UK and in India came forward to help.

Cutting through the worldwide shortage and search for concentrators, the British Asian Trust partnered with someone in India who already had concentrators coming into the country.

“At the end of all of this, we raised 5 million. We deployed it successfully 4835 concentrators, I think, is a total figure. We also

India marks its 75th Independence Day at a moment when the whole world is yearning for a sustainable route out of the Covid pandemic.

In our collective quest to “build back better”, India has a key role to play in shaping the new world order. I am confident that the power and ingenuity of 1.3 billion Indians can rise to meeting this challenge in the same spirit of self-determination and resilience which its freedom movement demonstrated in the run-up to 15 August 1947. Indeed, as the pace of vaccination gathers pace, India can look forward to a

Humbling to see the support of the Indian diaspora community

by : Cllr Krupesh Hirani AM, London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow

built a couple of oxygen plants. Nick Kotecha based here in the UK, decided to build an oxygen plant for one of the hospitals.

“Every Indian in the United Kingdom knew one person, if it wasn't a family member, it was a friend, if it wasn't a friend, it was a friend of a friend, like you knew someone who had suffered as a result of all of this,” Mehta added.

A very humble and modest Mehta didn’t hesitate in mentioning that it wasn't just British Asian trust. He said that several international VIPs, a whole number of other organisations raised funds from here and deployed them successfully.

Undeterred help despite personal losses The trust has teams in Mumbai and in Delhi. Mehta told us that unfortunately, during the crisis, Salim, who's their India director, lost his father during the crisis. “Saleem went around Mumbai, drove around for three-four places, but couldn't find oxygen canister to bring home, and unfortunately lost his father during the crisis. Even though they've had challenges at home, each one of them knew that there's a crisis in the country, how am I supposed to be helping at this stage? Let's not worry too much about the family. Let's get on with our job over here.”

The power of community A gutted Mehta concluded that “People really did come together. And here in the UK, we have seen it from all levels, right. So whether it's politicians, whether it's business people, whether it's individual community members, grassroots Indians, you know, even Pakistani people ringing up, because, again, our work has been everywhere, people ringing up saying, Listen, I want to make a contribution, I want to help with drums on units a month where I should be giving already give some of my funds.

period of recovery and renewal ahead.

Through the pandemic, Britain and India have also been drawn closer together, whether on vaccine collaboration or the mutual support between diaspora communities. As a Trustee of the British Asian Trust, I am incredibly proud that we were able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with India during its hour of need. Through the generous support of British Indians, and the wider public, we raised over £6 million to help address India’s oxygen emergency, supplying 5000 oxygen concentrators and saving many more lives. As we look to the future, and the next 75 years, I hope this bond between Britain and India is enhanced through further partnership on global issues, most notably our responsibility for protecting Mother Earth against climate change and the loss of biodiversity.

As Indians around the world raise the tricolour in celebration and remembrance of Independence, we stand united with the world’s largest democracy in the pursuit of a healthier and more sustainable planet, underpinned by our shared values, and committed to enduring peace and prosperity for the whole of mankind.

I’d like to wish India and the Indian diaspora in the UK and around the world a very happy India Independence Day. Since achieving Independence we have seen India thrive as a nation and emerge in more recent years as one of the major economies in the world.

The last 18 months have been difficult with Coronavirus impacting society in ways that we couldn’t have imagined before the pandemic. It has been humbling to see the Indian diaspora community in Brent and Harrow giving their all and supporting the wider community to get us through these tough times. India will play an integral role in the global recovery from the pandemic and I am in no doubt that the Indian diaspora in the UK will also play a crucial role in the UK’s recovery as we move forward.

“It's been very heartening to see we also had lots of faith communities as well. So the Indian Jewish Association, which CB Patel actually is on was one of the founding members of they came together, they raised money “I know of mandir vaccination centres where people of all communities, all faiths have turned up and got their vaccination.

“I went to a mosque to get mine. At the end of the day, I don't think over here, anyone cares. Everyone's like, listen, we just want to do this together and get out the other side.”

Despite all the efforts, Mehta thinks there is still much to be done.

He said, “These are the psychological scars left behind by all of these children who've been left without parents. We have children who are now trapped at home, you know, schools haven't been open for 18 months, where what are children doing?

What is the long term range effect of all of this? And then livelihoods? How do people get back into economics? How do you get them back into a job? Because without that, you know, what are they supposed to do? So, again, I think those issues have not gone away in the very short term like I remember waking up every day going Listen, you know, I like to hear the report out of India in the morning you know, and I'm I get more and more depressed You know, when we cross 400,000 a day and remain there for a couple of days I was like, listen, this is mad. You know, there is no coming back from this right like and the biggest fear I think many of us were feeling from over here was if this goes into rural communities, it can rip rural communities apart within days.

“People came together, there is no doubt.”

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INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL

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14 - 20 August 2021

Celebrate those who have left their homeland and settled in the United Kingdom

by : Bob Blackman MP

On this historic day, let us remember the thousands who laid down their lives to protect the dignity of the flag of India. At a time where there is much uncertainty in the world due to the terrible pandemic that is Covid-19, we must take the opportunity to celebrate those who have left their homeland and settled in the United Kingdom and who have become pillars of society.

My constituency Harrow East is one of the most diverse constituencies in the country and I am proud to represent a high percentage of people who have left India to begin a new life in the UK. In Harrow East, the Indian community are always prominent in local events and are the first to help. I was greatly touched by the number of volunteers from the Indian diaspora that immediately offered their help during the height of the pandemic to offer resources such as food, drinks, PPE and medicine to those in need. In my opinion, this embodies the kind and sympathetic nature of the Indian people who have always been most welcoming when I have had the pleasure to visit community events.

Sadly, the pandemic has cost too many lives in the local Indian community. It is vital that we establish why so many people were afflicted with this dreadful virus and also why so many have died.

On this day, it is important to celebrate the spirit of freedom today and enjoy the independence which was hardwon. Happy Independence Day! Jai Hind

Keeping history alive With a ticket that costs five times less than that of Taj Mahal, Lady Kishwar Desai is not only keeping the Parition Museum in Amritsar alive but also all set to open another one in Delhi.

For an Indian, a ticket to the Taj Mahal A new museum in Delhi costs about INR 50 (approximately 50p).

Lady Desai told us that somebody liked When the world reopens, and all Covid it so much that they decided that there restrictions are lifted, the economy of one would be a similar Museum in Delhi, which of the seven wonders of the world will also because Delhi was completely hopefully be back on track sooner or later. impacted by the partition and many of the colonies and so on today in Delhi didn't But if you take a moment and pause, even exist that time. the cost of a single entry ticket to the She told Asian Voice that Partition Museum in Amritsar is there was a huge migration of INR 10 (10p). Unlike the Taj, over 20 refugee camps all over which has umpteen the city, in which migrants international bodies and the would come and take shelter, government to its economic then they will be put on trains, rescue, what is the fate and and then people would come challenges of maintaining a from either Bengal or Punjab memorial and a museum which and then they would be kept commemorates the people of here.

India and Pakistan, who “Housing was a mammoth suffered during partition? We Lady Kishwar Desai task that the administration had find out in an exclusive at that time, but was also very conversation with Lady Kishwar terrific, because then the description of the Desai about the Partition Museum in camps at that time, which we are putting Amritsar and a new upcoming museum in both in the Amritsar museum as well as the Delhi.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Lady Kishwar Delhi Museum, people who were in the Desai said, “There is no other space in the camps and what they remember, it's really world, anywhere in the world, that very horrific what they went through, even commemorates the people who went after the migration was over. So, it was not through so much during partition. So this an easy thing. So, they really completely was a very important moment in history, to changed and that is why we are now setting be able to capture this and to present the narrative of what actually happened.”

Over the years, the museum has attracted a lot of attention from all over the world. Last year, the British Guild of Travel Writers nominated it as the best tourism project in the world, reacting to which, Lady Desai said, “We were so astonished because we're a very small organisation. We are really a tiny NGO, and we live on donations. We require a constant infusion of funds and also look out for people who have oral histories. We work with anybody Dara Shikoh Library Building in old Delhi in their family who was affected by the partition, we would love to have and up this petition Museum at the Dara capture their oral histories and narratives Shikoh Library,” she told the newsweekly. and also put whatever is available with Further describing it, Lady Desai said, them from that time, from 1947 in the “This library space is a building which is in museum, so that it remains as a permanent Old Delhi near Kashmiri gate, is a very good reminder how much people lost, but also sight for that because it was there. Of give inspirational stories of how sometimes course, it is named after the son of entire families had been destroyed.”

Shahjahan, Dara Shikoh, who was the

We must carry forward this community spirit RAJESH AGRAWAL Deputy Mayor of London for Business A very happy 75th Indian Independence Day to Indians across London and around the world. This Independence Day, I want to pay tribute to the great sacrifices and contributions that members of the BritishIndian community, especially our NHS heroes and dedicated key workers, have made throughout this pandemic.

There is no doubt that the past year and a half has been one of the most difficult periods in our lifetimes and I know that many members of the British-Indian community have suffered greatly.

Research shows that BAME people are disproportionately affected by Covid-19, especially with so many of our heroic key workers fighting on the frontlines of our battle against this virus and putting themselves in grave danger to help others.

Covid-19 has also hit businesses hard, with many Asian businesses struggling to stay afloat. As a result, a higher proportion of our families have fallen into financial hardship.

And we have all had to make sacrifices, such as not being able to see our loved ones.

This has been especially difficult during times of celebration and community, like Diwali.

On top of this, we are also seeing the devastating impact that Covid-19 is having on India. I know that many of us are concerned about our friends and family, especially our elderly relatives, who are still in India. And the fact that we are not able to see them makes matters even harder.

Despite these huge challenges, our community spirit has remained strong throughout the pandemic. I want to thank

Town Hall in Amritsar

favourite Prince of Shahjahan. We have the last remnants of his palace, within in the Delhi palace within this complex, but now mostly a colonial structure because of one of the Delhi residents.”

Resources and support during the pandemic Maintaining a museum during the pandemic, especially when it can be expensive to find researchers, especially when the museum’s findings are exceptional, has not been an easy task. Lady Desai said that she receives a minimum of two work applications a week because there are patrons who want to be a part of the museum in some capacity or the other.

She mentioned the contribution and support of the then Chief Minister, Prakash Singh Badal and now, Captain Amarinder Singh.

She said, “But we had no money, we didn't even have a collection when we talked about first talked about the museum. But this was where the media has been extremely helpful and very good for us. Because through them, we were able to talk about that we want people to come forward and tell us their stories, as well as the families if they have anything.

“Since last year, for almost 12 months

you all for the amazing resilience, humility, and compassion you have shown this past year and a half.

I also want to pay tribute to our incredible key workers - our doctors, nurses, carers, shopkeepers, police and everyone else who has played a vital role in fighting Covid19. Your remarkable dedication and heroism is a credit to yourselves and to our community.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated, fundraised, and prayed for our brothers and sisters in India and supported them during one of the darkest times in our history.

We must carry forward this community spirit as we look towards our recovery from Covid-19. Please continue to look after each other and do your bit to stop the spread of this virus.

If you can help members of your community - whether it’s delivering food to a neighbour who is self-isolating or donating to help hospitals in India - please do so.

If you have not got your vaccines yet then please make sure you do.

Unfortunately, members of our community have been targeted by fake news about the vaccine but I assure you: it is safe and is our best defence against Covid-19.

I also urge you to encourage your friends and family - especially elderly relatives - both in the UK and India to get vaccinated. They might be hesitant to get their vaccines but your encouragement could help to protect them.

Thank you all for playing your part in our fight against Covid-19. I wish you a very safe and happy 75th Independence Day! the museum has been shut, so even though we have to continue paying salaries and continue maintaining and looking after and sanitising the museum supplemental.

Can I pull up higher? No. Even though that was coming in, no donation came in, because all the donations went off to Covid. So all of it became a big challenge. However, it is now reopened in Amritsar. And we are very happy to report that even given all the difficulties and the fact the flights are not working, greens are not working properly.

Hardly anyone is going to be even today it is getting to between 250 to 300 visitors, which is quite good. Because earlier we were getting in 1000s.”

“That is how we're also developing a whole generation of a new generation of curators, and they actually work on the job, you know, they're not just being told by someone. This is theoretically in a class case. They actually do it physically. So they understand the issues, they understand how a museum is created, and all the hard work that goes into it. That’s how we are now working. It's a huge amount of work.

And please remember, we always have a very short deadline, I don't know what happens to us. But even in Amritsar, at the time, when we needed to set up the museum, we had only six months. And so all the people could very energetically come in and work hard. I'm sure within the next two, three months as if the third wave doesn't happen, we should be in a position to complete the museum, the one in numbers in Delhi, by then,” Lady Desai signed off.

18 INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL

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access to the best of cinema and TV and miniseries long-form series, at the push of a button, they're not going to accept what's been dished out to them in a closed market by a closed group of people.

So there isn't a globalisation film that's happening, which is absolutely fantastic. And I think the most exciting time to film is going to come out Kabir Bedi on life, cinema and the institution of marriage of this confluence of cinema television, long-form and short-form television series that the OTT platforms are creating. It's a very exciting time Shefali Saxena because you know, the OTT platforms Actor Kabir Bedi turned 75 this year. A lot like have suddenly given work to many Amitabh Bachchan, or you could argue even good directors that couldn't finance better, his baritone, charming physique and their films earlier. features, along with his captivating personaliSo it's a real revolution that we are ty have been instrumental to Kabir’s massive watching. This is a time of revolution universal appeal, at least in the west. His in cinema, and television, and all the career spans over three continents (North audiovisual arts all at once.

America, Europe and Asia) in films, TV and ou've fallen in love multiple times. theatre in London.

What would you tell millennials Little do people know that he was the first about the institution of marriage and Indian journalist (at All India Radio, which companionship? infamously rejected Bachchan's voice) to Let me say there's nothing wrong interview The Beatles, the recording of which with being single. There's nothing was overwritten by AIR due to shortage of wrong with being married and leading tapes, not knowing what Bedi had achieved by a married life. There's nothing wrong managing to interview the band. with choosing to have relationships as At 75, Kabir has released his memoir and when they come up. There are no Stories I Must Tell which encompasses his absolutes on this, you know, we're life’s journey from being a 21-year-old journaltalking about human beings, each of ist to being friends with the Gandhis, and his their needs, each with their aspiratryst with relationships, not once, but multiple tions, each, each having different times. emotions, each being different emoIn an exclusive interview with Asian Voice tional beings that are trying to find over an hour-long Zoom call, Bedi answered happiness. Ultimately, I was trying to find happiness. So rather some interesting questions for our readers. Here are some than think of, oh, I don't want to make a commitment. I don't excerpts: want to get married, think about not what's popular, what your hat makes you immensely popular in the west, Kabir? peers are saying. Think about what you really like, and set your mind on it. Because what happens sometimes is that, you know, Well, thank you for that. I mean, my career has spanned you make a decision. And then the execution of that once you three continents and Hollywood, Bollywood, Europe. And I've say, ‘Okay, I want to get married’, then you marry the first perdone a lot of work in all three industries. So a lot of people know son. me. No one has seen all my work because different people see That's not the way to do it. The most important decision you different things. In India to see more of my Bollywood films in can take in life is who is going to be the mother or father of your Europe, the C model my Italian series in America see my children. In other words, who would be the best companion for American series of big soap operas like the bold and beautiful you? And secondly, how do you plan to make a living? And does and the bond, film, etc, which got me a lot of international fans. it resonate for you? You know, sometimes it's better to settle for But I think today, there's a lot of actors making major waves like less money, even if you get sadder if you get more satisfaction Priyanka Chopra certainly comes to mind as one who has because ultimately, it's your life is not all about making the fatbecome very popular and very successful. And I adore her, I'm test paycheck. It's not all about getting the most beautiful girl, so proud of the success because it's, it's something that makes woman or man. It's about finding the right companion and findIndia proud. And she, she launched my book. So I have a lot of ing the right job. reasons today. Thanks for the presentation, been a wonderful If you sort these out, more than 50% of your problems will friend. And I'm proud of our success. disappear. We have to find the people who can share that jours an artist over the years, what do you think is the major shift ney with us. And I believe in sharing a journey. Which is why I've that you see in cinema now? got married so many times. Because I think it's wonderful to be Well Shefali, obviously, cinema has evolved since the 60sable to share your life with somebody who you love.

70s. And it has evolved in many ways technologically for one, in hat would you tell the diaspora kids to watch to know Indian terms of speed to the stars for to in terms of the breadth of subcinema better? jects you're covering today in terms of the budgets given to I'm really not good at making lists. But if you see the films films. So a lot of obvious changes are there. But I think what's like the wonderful epics of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rakesh happened in Hollywood is that because they're playing to word Omprakash Mehra, Zoya’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and all audiences, they have doubled down on their franchises, and these young not so young now but new generation directors that really want to make films that are proven successes over and are making films that reflect contemporary India while giving over again. Right, so that's the Hollywood model. you Bollywood entertainment. Don't waste your time researchThe Bollywood model has also evolved, we still have the ing every film that's ever made. Go to the lists, go to IMDb see importance of song and dance in Indian film as an art form that the rating and chose the film you see carefully. we have created in our commercial cinema is nothing to be I think people should explore India not just through cinema, laughed at or sneeze data look down on we do it better than anybut also through books. If you want to know more about body in the world. And we've really taken that to another level mythology and do it in a fun way, as always, I'm used to partying altogether. with Ashwin Sanghi used to write these wonderful books.

India has been doing MTV videos long before MTV even There's Amitav Gosh whose writing is very elegant. existed, you know, so the content, but what's happened here is So I'm saying, cinema is not the only way of exploring India. that there's a whole generation of young directors that come We have some wonderful artists, we have some wonderful peralong that are doing more realistic films, films that are touching formances in terms of our classical dance and music as well. things in a very humane.

Those are the true roots, and the true beauty of India.

I think the most exciting development, certainly in the cenI feel today in a world where everyone is very time-chaltury, has been the rise of streaming platforms because they bring lenged, that they need to know what is going on by discovering, together cinema and television in a way that no platform has but they also need to know how we all got here. This is why my ever brought them together. They cut through the need for peobook, the dedication, my book is to all young professionals like ple going to cinemas, they bring the screen into your home.

They cut through geographies, you can see worldwide television my son's enough because these young people need to know what series in a binge-watch. So the nature of watching films, and the it was like to be alive in the 60s with the most exciting decade of opportunity to watch different films, has suddenly increased the last century. And all the 60s connotes the flower power of exponentially. And therefore, it is going to affect all filmmakers the counterculture movements. I hope we can all meet up somein Bollywood, Hollywood or Europe. Because when people have day when travel is easier. And happier time brings us together.

This is a time of revolution in

CINEMA

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Not regional, not South, it’s pan-Indian cinema Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada cinema are no more stereotypically referred to as South Indian cinema. In fact, with the emergence of OTT/streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, Zee5 and MX Player, southern cinema/regional cinema has become pan-Indian cinema. If you’re a movie geek who follows film critics in India, you must have noticed a paradigm shift in reviewing, that’s to say that mainstream Hindi film critics are now thriving on movies produced down South. From Anupama Chopra to Mayank Shekhar, Raja Sen and Shubhra Gupta, every film critic is now not missing out on any south release, so much so that the internet trends for YouTube creators also seem to be reflecting a rise in views on review videos for southern cinema as compared to mainstream Bollywood films.

Content in the Malayalam industry was always considered to be top-notch by many Bollywood stars even before the onset of OTT which opened floodgates of an exceptional amount of variety with subtitles across platforms when it comes to south Indian films. With the Bahubalis and Jallikattus of the world, mainstream commercial Bollywood filmmakers are in for a tough fight with the rising popularity of South Indian content, which is now being touted as pan-Indian.

Not to forget, filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery's Alia Bhatt as Sita in RRR Jallikattu, was India's official entry in the Best International Feature category at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Filmmakers like Karan Johar have collaborated with actors like Vijay Deverakonda, and filmmaker Puri Jaganandh for Liger. Actors like Alia Bhatt are now starring in Telugu-language period action drama films directed by S. S. Rajamouli. Umpteen superhits from the south are now in the pipeline to be remade in Bollywood. In fact, interestingly, Lokesh Kanagraj’s Master (2021) film was the first blockbuster amid the pandemic that was released at the theatres, which surpasses the laurels of the Hindi film industry.

In a recent move, while Prime Video continues to enjoy the success and popularity of films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, Netflix India has opened up a separate social media handle to give impetus to its slate of South Indian films.

A Netflix spokesperson exclusively told Asian Voice, "At Netflix, we are fans of entertainment just like our members. They engage with our stories, storytellers and stars in fun, interactive and meaningful ways through the Netflix India social channels. As we expand our film slate to have amazing original and licensed films from South India, we heard from many of our members and fans that they would like to engage with us more on these films. This is why, while our existing channels will continue to be a place for conversations on South Indian language films, our new Twitter handle, Netflix India South (@Netflix_INSouth), will be a dedicated space to engage more deeply with audiences."

In an article published by LiveMint, journalist Lata Jha reported, “It is an early sign that the pandemic has the potential to leave behind a very different cinema landscape than the one that existed in India at the start of 2020. With regional language filmmakers seemingly more willing to take risky bets and innovate, Bollywood’s dominance may get cut down to size.” She also went on to say that “quicker recovery, compared to Bollywood, is evident not just with south Indian films. This August, drama thriller Detective became the first Bengali language film to skip a theatrical release and premiere digitally on video-on-demand platform Hoichoi.”

It’s not regional anymore? Is it? It’s pan-Indian cinema.

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14 - 20 August 2021

UK High Court allows Nirav Modi to appeal against extradition to India A High Court judge in London on Monday granted fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi permission to appeal against a magistrates’ court order in favour of extradition to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering before the Indian courts on mental health and human rights grounds.

Justice Martin Chamberlain delivered his verdict remotely under Covid-19 rules to conclude that the arguments presented by the 50-year-old diamond merchant’s legal team concerning his “severe depression" and “high risk of suicide" were arguable at a substantial hearing.

He also noted that the adequacy of the measures capable of preventing “successful suicide attempts" at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Nirav Modi is to be detained upon extradition, also fall within the arguable ambit. “At this stage, the question for me is simply whether the appellant’s case on these grounds is reasonably arguable. In my judgment, it is. I will grant permission to appeal on Grounds 3 and 4," Justice Chamberlain’s ruling notes.

Grounds 3 and 4 relate to Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), or the right to life, liberty and security, and Section 91 of the UK’s Criminal Justice Act 2003 related to fitness to plead.

The judge noted that the arguments made under both grounds overlap in this case as they both rely principally on the appellant, Nirav Modi's mental ill health.

“I will not restrict the basis on which those grounds can be argued, though it seems to me that there should be a particular focus on whether the judge was wrong to reach the conclusion he did, given the evidence as to the severity of

Nirav Modi

the appellant’s [Nirav Modi’s] depression, the high risk of suicide and the adequacy of any measures capable of preventing successful suicide attempts in Arthur Road prison," the ruling notes.

Permission to appeal on all other grounds was declined and the case will now proceed for a substantive hearing before the High Court in London under Grounds 3 and 4. The diamond merchant, wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, meanwhile, remains at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London.

Nirav Modi is the subject of two sets of criminal proceedings, with the CBI case relating to a large-scale fraud upon PNB through fraudulently obtaining of letters of undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.

He also faces two additional charges of "causing the disappearance of evidence" and intimidating witnesses or “criminal intimidation to cause death", which were added to the CBI case.

India is a designated Part 2 country by virtue of the Extradition Act 2003, which means it is the UK Cabinet minister who has the authority to order a requested person’s extradition after all legal issues are dealt with in the courts.

Vodafone to reintroduce roaming charges for UK customers Vodafone will reintroduce roaming charges for UK customers who travel in mainland Europe from next year. New and upgrading customers will have to pay up to £2 a day to use their monthly allowance of data, calls and text messages.

Travellers from the UK had been able to escape roaming charges thanks to a ban on the fees throughout the European Union since 2017. But the trade deal brokered between the bloc and the UK did not allow for Britons to keep this advantage. Despite this, the four main networks - EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone - had said there were no plans to reintroduce roaming fees.

But EE, which is owned by BT, became the first to change its mind in June. Vodafone said that customers travelling to the Republic of Ireland will be exempt from the charges. Also, existing customers will not be affected while they remain on their current phone plan and, while terms and conditions for new and upgrading customers will change from 11 August, the roaming charges will apply from 6 January next year.

Ahmed Essam, Vodafone's chief executive in the UK, said: "The majority of our customers are not regular roamers.

"Indeed, fewer than half our customers roamed beyond the Republic of Ireland in 2019.

UK recovery unsteady; marred by employment shortage A report by professional services group BDO reveals that despite July relaxation of lockdown rules, staff shortages caused by the pandemic and Brexit may still undermine economic recovery. The agency’s recent most business trends report found that the jobs market strengthened last month, as bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen without capacity limits.

However, BDO said that several firms reported labour shortages, partly due to the pandemic, and

with the NHS asking workers to self-isolate. The BDO’s employment index rose by 1.57 points, from 106.05 in June to 107.62 in July, showing the strongest pickup in hiring yet. BDO reported that pressure on global supply chains, and problems of importing goods and materials due to the UK’s exit from the EU, both pushed up costs, long with rising wages as employers paid more to attract and retain talent.

Last week, the Bank of England predicted that unemployment has peaked,

with a tight labour market leaving some employers struggling to hire staff. The BoE also forecast that inflation would hit a 10year high of four per cent by the end of the year.

Kaley Crossthwaite, partner at BDO LLP, said, “The surge in employment is a timely boost and shows how quickly the relaxation of restrictions has impacted the economy. It now appears that one of the biggest problems faced by employers will be filling roles as both the pandemic and Brexit give rise to staff

shortages.

Meanwhile, a survey from accountancy firm Azets found that twothirds of UK's small businesses felt positive the economic about outlook over the next 12 months. It also found a regional split, with 71 per cent of London and southeast small firms feeling positive about the UK’s economic outlook, in comparison with 60 per cent in Scotland and 59 per cent in the north-east, north-west, and Yorkshire and Humberside.

Britain imposes trade sanctions on Belarus Britain has imposed sanctions on potash and petroleum product exports for Belarus in a bid to put pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko who remains unfazed and said London should “choke” on the new measures.

The British sanctions prohibit the purchase of transferable securities and money-market instruments issued by the Belarusian state and its state-owned banks.

This is the latest on sanctions imposed by the West over Lukashenko’s crackdown.

Lukashenko’s fleet of luxury aircraft.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, sanctions “These demonstrate that the UK will not accept Lukashenko’s action since the fraudulent The Alexander Lukashenko election.

Lukashenko regime Britain’s sanctions also continues to crush include measures to prevent democracy and violate Belarusian air carriers from human rights in Belarus. The overflying or landing in the products of Lukashenko’s United Kingdom and a state-owned industries will prohibition on the provision not be sold in the UK, and of technical assistance to our aerospace companies will

not touch his fleet of luxury aircraft.”

The British foreign ministry said, “These measures represent a significant additional step in bringing pressure to bear on the Lukashenko regime.

They are carefully targeted to build pressure on Lukashenko, state institutions and those around him to change while behaviour, minimising, as far as possible, any unintended consequences on the wider population in Belarus.”

Cameron made £7mn from Greensill Capital Former prime minister David Cameron made approximately £7mn from the now-collapsed Greensill Capital according to reports published by the BBC. Panorama reportedly obtained documents revealing Cameron received the amount from cashing in shares he held in the company worth £3.3m in 2019, in addition to an annual salary of £720,000.

Cameron’s spokesperson refuted the report, saying he did not “receive anything like the figures quoted” and insisted that what he was paid was a “private matter”.

This is the first time a figure has been revealed, and comes after he told a government-commissioned inquiry set up to investigate his dealings with senior politicians and Whitehall

officials that he was paid “a good amount of money.”

Panorama said it had seen papers showing Cameron had accepted the terms of his payment by Greensill, with a £504,000 bonus to top up his salary paid out in 2019, summing up the total amount to £1.3mn for two-and-a-half years’ worth of part-time work.

Cameron’s spokesperson said he “acted in good faith at all times” and there was “no wrongdoing in any of the actions he took”. They added that he had “no idea” until December 2020 that Greensill was in danger of failing.

The spokesperson said he lobbied the government “not just because he thought it would benefit the company, but because he

sincerely believed there would be a material benefit for UK businesses at a challenging time.”

They said Panorama’s report tried to “define a role for Cameron at Greensill that is totally at odds with the facts” and that he was a part-time adviser to the company with no executive or board responsibilities.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner called the amount “utterly ludicrous”.

She said, “It’s created the wild west where the Conservatives think it’s one rule for them and another for everyone else. The system causes more harm than good by giving a veil of legitimacy to the rampant cronyism, sleaze and dodge

David Cameron

lobbying that is polluting our democracy under Boris Johnson and the Conservatives.”

She added that the Labour Party would ban former prime ministers from ever taking on lobbying jobs once they leave office and create an integrity and ethics commission to “stamp out sleaze”. Greensill collapsed earlier this year, and remains marred with controversies since.

Sporting events boost consumer spending in July Surveys reveal sporting events and summer holidays paired with lifting of Covid19 restrictions prompted a massive increase in British consumer spending in July.

Payment card provider Barclaycard said consumer spending was up 11.6 per cent compared with its prepandemic level of July 2019, marked by the first growth in the entertainment sector since the first Covid-19 lockdown.

Supermarkets and other food and drink retailers saw an increase in trade as

people gathered to watch sporting events, including the second half of the Euro 2020 men’s soccer tournament, Wimbledon, and the Olympic Games.

Head of consumer products at Barclaycard, Raheel Ahmed said, “July’s major

sports fixtures… kept the nation in good spirits, providing more reasons to celebrate together, and giving the entertainment industry its longawaited boost back into growth.”

Ahmed added, “While some sectors took a small step back as the postlockdown ‘honeymoon’ period cooled, July was a positive month overall.

However, with inflation expected to rise, it will be interesting to see how this

impacts consumer spending behaviour over the coming months.”

Another survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed spending in shops increased by 6.4 per cent in July compared with a year previously. Chief executive at the BRC, Helen Dickinson said, “July continued to see strong sales, although growth has started to slow.” She added that online sales remained strong as unseasonably wet weather last month pushed customers away from stores.

20 FINANCE & REAL ESTATE

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India offers Cairn $1-bn refund after scrapping retro tax India expects to refund $1 billion to UK-based Cairn Energy after it moved to scrap a retrospective tax law that unleashed bitter fights with prominent foreign investors, reports said. The lower house of parliament last week approved a draft law introduced the previous day, cancelling a 2012 policy that enabled New Delhi to tax some foreign investments retrospectively. The upper house is expected to approve the law as early as next week.

New Delhi would also drop $13.5 billion in outstanding claims against multinationals such as telecoms group Vodafone, phar-

maceuticals company Sanofi and brewer SABMiller, now owned by AB InBev, as part of efforts to repair its damaged reputation as an investment destination, the report said.

Analysts say the legal initiative would allow New Delhi to resolve a bitter international tax battle with Cairn that has grown

increasingly embarrassing for India. The UK energy group has sought in recent months to seize some of the government's estimated $70bn worth of overseas assets.

"It's a settlement offer masquerading as a law," said one foreign business analyst, who requested anonymity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government hopes the resolution of the dispute can bolster its reputation among foreign companies as it seeks new investment to revive India's Covid-battered economy.

"We want to give a mes-

sage to the investors that the country believes in the stability and certainty of taxation," Tarun Bajaj, revenue secretary, told media.

"Taxation is a sovereign right and can't be taken away. But we should use it sparingly, judiciously." Bajaj said about $1.2 billion collected from companies under the soon to be scrapped tax provision would be refunded if the companies agreed to drop outstanding litigation, including claims for interest and penalties. About $1 billion of this would go to Cairn and $270 million to other groups including Vodafone, he added, as per the report.

Setback for Ambani, SC stalls Reliance-Future Retail deal In a setback to Mukesh Ambani, the Supreme Court stalled the proposed £2.47 billion Future-Reliance deal and ruled that Singapore’s Emergency Arbitrator (EA) award restraining Future Retail Ltd (FRL) from going ahead with its merger with Reliance Retail is valid and enforceable and allowed the plea of multinational ecommerce giant Amazon.

A bench of Justices R F Nariman and B R Gavai quashed the order passed by a division bench of the Delhi high court, which had virtually allowed Kishore Biyani’s Future group to go ahead with the deal by staying single bench order which had directed the

group to maintain status quo in view of Singapore’s EA award. The SC bench also ruled that the order passed by the single bench of the HC for the enforcement of the Singapore arbitration award could not have been challenged.

The bench framed two questions - first whether an award of Emergency Arbitrator under the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre can be deemed to be an order under the Arbitration Act, and second, whether an order passed for enforcement of the award by a single judge of the HC can be appealed. The SC passed

verdict in favour of Amazon on both counts.

“We, therefore, answer the Mukesh Ambani first question by ticipating in an Emergency declaring that full party Award proceeding, is bound autonomy is given by the by the award and cannot be Arbitration Act to have a allowed to ignore the award dispute decided in accorby stating that it is a nullity. dance with institutional Interpreting the provisions rules which can include of Arbitration Act, the Emergency Arbitrators bench said Section 17, as delivering interim orders, construed in the light of the described as ‘awards’. Such other provisions of the Act, orders are an important step leads to the clear conclusion in aid of decongesting the that such emergency award civil courts and affording is made under the proviexpeditious interim relief to sions of Section 17 (1) and the parties,” the bench said. can be enforced under the The bench said that a provisions of Section 17(2). party, after having agreed to institutional rules and par-

PM Modi urges businessmen, envoys to boost India's exports Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the exporters, businesses, states and Indian ambassadors to boost India's exports to $400 billion this year while addressing an event. He said that the decision to drop the provision of retrospective taxation from the statute demonstrated the Centre’s commitment to provide stability of investment climate and also signalled policy consistency. The statement came hours after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill meant to end tax disputes with 17 companies, including high profile ones such as Vodafone and Cairn Plc. PM Modi said, “it sends a clear message to all investors that not only does India offer new opportunities, but a decisive government has the will to fulfil its promise,” Modi said while talking about the legislation. He also said that the Centre was working closely with states to minimise the regulatory burden. While promising all possible support from the government to boost exports, exhorted every stakeholder

Narendra Modi

to play their role, with states governments and Indian missions advised to work together in identifying new product segments and markets.

Modi said there were positive signs in the economy. “Today, we are not just seeing signs of recovery, but there are positive signs on high growth too. Many large economies are also recovering rapidly. So, this is a good time to set high targets for exports and seek to achieve them.” The $400 billion goal is seen to be ambitious as the government is looking to boost exports by around 37% over last year’s level. While seeking to corner a larger share of the global pie, the PM said that there were four key focus areas to provide a thrust - stepping up manu-

facturing, removing logistical and transport-related challenges, working closely with exporters and getting international markets for Indian products.

He identified quality and reliability as key attributes and urged businesses and the central and state governments to focus on them, citing how honey exports had received a fillip due to stringent testing, which improved quality. During the meeting, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that the global environment is favourable and India should look at leveraging comparative and competitive advantages with respect to other countries for increasing our exports.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar said that while the theme was local goes global, the Indian missions needed to be “globally local” to help connect Indian producers with the demand in specific countries. Modi said,

“Given the size of our economy, potential, and our manufacturing and services base, there is a massive scope for to increase exports. When the country has embarked on the path of Atmanirbhar Bharat, one key focus is to increase India’s share in exports and global supply chain many times.”

The Brown Pound Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

A property in the Auction, which I had my eye on for a client, went for a tidy sum of £331K. It was a site in Harrow Wealdstone, with planning permission in place for a commercial on the ground floor and two residential flats in the above two floors.

There exists a direct comparable for about £675K; therefore, you take off your expenses, build cost being the largest, and you’re left with your profit margin plus the price you will pay. We had a builder visit the site and give us a rough quote of £300-350K. Without even considering stamp duty, cost of funds, and professional fees etc., it is difficult to see how the price paid can be justified.

This site is not just the plot of land for the proposed building, but also attached is a crescent shaped piece of land which sits on a parallel road to the building. There may be planning opportunity on this piece of land too, but this is speculative.

In order to scarper this sale, the neighbour (who also, it transpired, wanted to purchase this plot, but for dirt cheap) tried to disrupt the sale by claiming they had a right of way on the land. There are legal documents in the auction pack alluding to this.

After speaking to the seller’s solicitor and another one just for good measure it was obvious there was no substance to this claim, and it should not pose a problem going forward.

As part of our due diligence involved in this potential transaction, I spoke to the architect who drew up the scheme, the lawyer, and attempted to speak to the planner.

Due diligence is a little like being a detective, one needs to build up a picture as to who the current sellers are, why they are selling, what was the reason they bought this site 18 years ago yet didn’t do anything with it.

This then alerts one if there are any issues which raise alarm bells. No alarm bells were raised, the picture made sense in my mind, hence we decided to bid.

So, the question arises, why did someone seemingly over pay for this? Is it that we had missed an angle?

Perhaps in relation to the crescent part to the rear?

Perhaps the buyer was a builder, and simply wanted to keep his builders busy; as if you do not you lose them.

Harrow has the highest concentration of Gujaratis in the UK. Many like to purchase in their locality simply because they live there. Perhaps this was the likely motivation for the buyer.

This would not be the first time this has occurred.

Back in late 2018, we sourced a site in Harrow on the Hill, on behalf of a client. The price paid was £705K. Our target was a lot lower than this price, and in truth if we were bidding on behalf of the client we would not have paid this much for the property. However, the client (who is a seasoned investor) attended the auction by himself. He was a Gujarati and the chances are he was bidding against other Gujjus, and therefore the price ended up being over inflated. There is a saying ‘one should grow your flowers where you can water them’ but this is taking it to the extreme; it doesn’t mean you must only invest on your doorstep.

In this instance we managed to find a planning angle which has now been obtained, despite being in a conservation area, and despite local opposition.

We will be keeping an eye on the Harrow Wealdstone site purely for R&D purposes.

Govt considers spectrum payment moratorium for telcos The government is considering a lifeline for telecom companies through a moratorium on the mandated spectrum payments as part of a fresh set of measures to bolster the health of telcos. This comes at a time when Vodafone Idea, which is facing acute financial stress, has sent an SoS to the government, citing possible impact on its 270 million subscribers.

The telecom department’s move, if it goes through, will be an extension to the already running moratorium that was originally extended in November 2019 for fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22.

The bailout, if approved, will be for all telecom players and not just restricted to

ailing Vodafone Idea, where key shareholder Kumar Mangalam Birla has appealed for a government intervention to ensure that the company remains a going concern. This would mean that any support will also be extended to other players such as Bharti Airtel and market leader Reliance Jio, and would be millions of rupees.

Birla steps down as Voda Idea chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has stepped down as non-executive chairman and a director from the board of Vodafone Idea as the company battles for survival amid severe financial strain. Birla, who recently sought an urgent government package for bailing out the debt-laden company, will be replaced by trusted hand and telecom industry veteran Himanshu Kapania, who has been appointed as the non-executive chairman. Kapania comes in as a nominee of the Aditya Birla Group that has around 27% stake in the company.

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in brief SIMONS FOUNDATION HOUNOURS 3 INDIAN AMERICAN SCIENTISTS The Simons Foundation recently named its group of investigators for mathematics and physical sciences, with three Indian Americans among the 16-member list.

Among the group were Surjeet Rajendran, L. Mahadevan and Amit Sahai. Rajendran graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2004 with a degree in mathematics and subsequently pursued a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University, graduating in 2009. Mahadevan, of Harvard University, was named in theoretical physics and life sciences. Sahai, of UCLA, was named in theoretical computer science.

Each year, the Simons Foundation seeks nominations from a targeted list of institutions in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland for the Simons Investigator programs.

JAPAN ‘NAMES AND SHAMES’ QUARANTINE RULE-BREAKERS Japan has carried out a threat to publicly shame people not complying with coronavirus border control measures, releasing the names of three people who broke quarantine rules after returning from overseas. The health ministry said that the three Japanese nationals named had clearly acted to avoid contact with authorities after recently returning from abroad. The announcement, the first of its kind, sparked a flurry of speculation among Twitter users about the details of those identified, such as their jobs and locations. Japan is asking all travellers from overseas, including its own citizens, to self-quarantine for two weeks, during which they were asked to use a location tracking phone app.

FLYER TAPED TO SEAT FOR UNRULY BEHAVIOUR A Frontier Airlines passenger assaulted three flight attendants, punching one and groping the breasts of two others, on a weekend flight from Philadelphia to Miami, prompting one crew member to tape him to his seat until the plane landed, the authorities said. Part of the altercation was caught on video by other passengers, who jeered as the man was restrained for the remainder of the 2 hours and 37 minutes flight. Frontier Airlines said in an initial statement that the flight attendants would be “relieved of flying” while it investigated, which drew a sharp criticism. Later, the airline said that paid leave was in line with “an event of this nature.” In one video, the man, who police said had been drinking, cursed at other flyers and at the crew. The police identified him as Maxwell Berry, 22, of Ohio, and has been charged with 3 misdemeanor counts of battery.

2 MYANMAR MEN HELD IN US FOR PLOT TO KILL UN ENVOY Two Myanmar citizens have been arrested in New York state for plotting with an arms dealer in Thailand - who sells weapons to the Myanmar military - to kill or injure Myanmar’s ambassador to the UN, US authorities said. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who represents Myanmar’s elected civilian government, was fired by the junta in February. He remains the country’s envoy because the UN has not acknowledged the junta. According to court documents, the arms dealer hired Phyo Hein Htut, 28, and Ye Hein Zaw, 20, to hurt Kyaw Moe to try to force him to step down. If that didn’t work, the ambassador was to be killed, authorities said. If convicted, Htut and Zaw could each serve up to five years in prison.

Taliban capture three more Afghan provincial capitals KABUL: The Taliban tightened the noose around northern Afghanistan, capturing three more provincial capitals as they take their fight to the cities after seizing much of the countryside in recent months. The insurgents have snatched up five provincial capitals in Afghanistan since Friday in a lightning offensive that appears to have overwhelmed government forces. Kunduz, Sar-e-Pul and Taloqan in the north fell within hours of each other on Sunday, lawmakers, security sources and residents in the cities confirmed.

In Kunduz, one resident described the city as being enveloped in “total chaos”. “After some fierce fighting, the mujahideen, with the grace of God, captured the capital of Kunduz,” the Taliban said in a statement. “The mujahideen also captured Sar-e-Pul city, the gov-

ernment buildings and all the installations there.” The insurgents said on Twitter that they had also taken Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province.

Kunduz is the most significant Taliban gain since the insurgents launched an offensive in May as foreign forces began the final stages of their withdrawal. The ministry of defence said government forces were fighting to retake key installations. “The commando forces have launched a clearing operation. Some areas, including the national radio and TV buildings, have been cleared of the terrorist Taliban,” it said. Kabul’s ability to hold the north may prove crucial to the government’s survival.

Northern Afghanistan has long been considered an anti-Taliban stronghold. The region remains home to several militias and is also a fertile recruiting ground for the armed forces.

US, UK citizens told to leave The United States and Britain have asked all their nationals in Afghanistan to leave the war-torn country immediately due to the “worsening security situation” as fighting intensifies. “The US urges its citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options. Given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the embassy’s ability to assist US citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited even within Kabul,” the US embassy in Kabul said in a statement. The UK foreign, commonwealth and development office also issued a similar statement Top govt officer killed Taliban militants assassinated the Afghan government’s top media officer in Kabul, dealing a high-profile blow to the Western-backed administration.

The killing comes just days after

an assassination attempt on Afghanistan’s acting defence minister. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the insurgents killed Dawa Khan Menapal, the chief of the Afghan government’s press operations for local and foreign media.

Bid to attack India-built dam thwarted Afghan forces thwarted Taliban’s attack on India built Salma Dam in Herat province, said the Afghan government, adding that the terror group has “suffered heavy casualties and fled the area as a result of counter-attacks”. In a tweet, Afghan defence ministry spokesperson Fawad Aman said Taliban terrorists attempted an attack on Salma Dama, popularly known as the India-Afghanistan friendship dam.

50 people held, over 150 booked in Pak for attack on Hindu temple LAHORE: Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies last week arrested over 50 people, including the main suspects, allegedly involved in an attack on a Hindu temple in a remote town of the country’s Punjab province, a day after the Supreme Court admonished the authorities for their failure to protect the shrine.

They also booked 150 people in connection with the attack earlier. A mob attacked the temple at Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district of the province, some 590 kms from Lahore, in protest against the release of an eight-year-old Hindu boy, who was arrested for allegedly urinating in a local seminary. “We will make sure that no such incident happens (in the future). Besides, the restoration work of the temple is underway in full speed,” Punjab CM Usman Buzdar tweeted. District police officer Asad Sarfraz said that all “main suspects” in the attack case have been arrested. An FIR has been registered under sections of ter-

rorism against over 150 people, he said.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court earlie pulled up authorities for failing to stop the attack and ordered the arrest of the culprits. Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed said the attack had brought shame to the country as police acted like silent spectators. He wondered at the arrest of the eight-year-old boy and asked whether police were incapable of understanding the mental capacity of minors. The hearing in the case has been adjourned till August 13.

India on Thursday summoned the Pakistani charge d’affaires in New Delhi and lodged a protest, expressing con-

cerns at the incident and the attacks on freedom of religion of minority communities and their places of worship in the country.

Hundreds of people, carrying sticks, stones and bricks attacked the temple, burning parts of it and damaging the idols. The social media reaction prompted the Pakistan government to take immediate remedial measures to ensure that the incident does not lead to communal violence. The swift government action may have been prompted due to the fact that Rahimyar Khan borders Sindh province, which has the largest concentration of the Hindu population in Pakistan.

The prime minister, Imran Khan, condemned the attack on Twitter, saying he has ordered the provincial police chief to take action against any officers whose negligence may have contributed to it. Khan promised the government would restore

the temple. A Punjab police official, Asif Raza, said troops were now guarding the temple and that security had been provided to members of the Hindu community.

In Delhi, India’s foreign ministry summoned a Pakistani diplomat to protest against the attack and demand protection for Hindus living in the predominantly Muslim Pakistan. The marauding mob damaged statues, burned down the temple’s main door and briefly blocked a nearby road. India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, said such “incidents are occurring at an alarming rate while the state and security institutions in Pakistan have stood by idly and completely failed in preventing these attacks”. Muslims and Hindus have mostly lived peacefully in Pakistan, but there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years. Most of Pakistan’s minority Hindus migrated to India in 1947 when India was divided by Britain.

SA president Ramaphosa to testify against Zuma PRETORIA: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is poised to testify against his former counterpart Jacob in the ongoing case against state capture that is slated to resume on August 11. “On August 11 and 12, the president will first complete his evidence relating to the ANC in his capacity as the current president and former deputy president of the party, and thereafter give evidence and be questioned in his capacity as the current president and former deputy president of the country,” said commission secretary Prof Itumeleng Mosala.

Ramaphosa is expected to testify as the former Deputy President and also as the current leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

According to the statement by

the commission, Ramaphosa will testify on matters relating to his tenure as the Deputy President.

"The President will first complete his evidence relating to the ANC in his capacity as the current president and former deputy president, and thereafter give evidence and be questioned in his capacity as the current President and former Deputy President of the country," said the commission.

This will be the second time Ramaphosa is appearing before the commission after he first appeared in April this year.

During his first appearance, Ramaphosa said members of the ANC had engaged in acts of state capture and corruption for a number of years. The 79-yearold faces 16 charges of fraud,

graft and racketeering related to the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and equipment from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.

Zuma to be allowed out of prison Meanwhile, Zuma will be allowed out of the prison to appear in person before the commission of inquiry at a Pietermaritzburg court. In the order, Judge Piet Koen said the hearing will be conducted “in open court at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg”.

Zuma’s lawyers were adamant about his personal presence at the hearing. After hearing the arguments, the judge changed his earlier ruling that the inquiry could be done virtually since no evidence was to be presented.

Later the judge relented and

allowed Zuma to be taken the High Court in Pietermaritzburg for the hearing.

Zuma is currently serving a 15-month sentence for defying an order from the Constitutional Court, the country's highest court, that he should testify at the commission of inquiry probing allegations of corruption during his term as president from 2009 to 2018. The start of Zuma's imprisonment on July 8 sparked off protests which quickly escalated into violent riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces that lasted a week.

The death toll in the unrest has risen to 337, and police are investigating 213 of those for murder, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, acting minister in the presidency, said.

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Biden asks Americans to stand up against hate, bigotry WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden, during his meeting with with leaders from the AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander community at the White House, called upon Americans to stand up against hate and bigotry, while standing for the freedom of individuals to practice their faith without fear or danger.

The president noted it was the ninth anniversary of the shooting of ten worshipers at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

Seven people lost their lives in "a hateful act of bigotry at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin," he said. "Today, we honor everyone impacted by this tragedy. And we think about all the pain during this pandemic, with the rise of hate

Joe Biden

crimes, harassment, bullying, and other forms of bias against Asian Americans. It seems not to stop," President Biden asserted.

Referring to the shooting at the Oak Creek Gurudwara on Aug. 5, 2012, the executive director of the Sikh Coalition, Satjeet Kaur, said that "it's the

ninth anniversary of the shooting at the Oak Creek Gurudwara and all these years, there is a rise of hate crimes in this country against many communities."

Kaur, who was present for the meeting with Biden at the White House, said, "We are here to talk about it and undertake steps that could reduce these numbers of crime."

Dr Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said, "We are thankful to President Biden for his compassion and a strong stand against hate and violence.

The Sikh community was shaken by this tragedy and our community is still concerned about the hate-filled rhetoric being condoned by some political interest groups."

Wisconsin’s governor also released a statement of remembrance in a tweet as well.

Nine years ago on Aug. 5, a gunman identified as a white supremacist, walked into the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and opened fire, killing six people, wounding many, and terrorized an entire community before turning the gun on himself. The temple in Oak Creek, one of two large Sikh congregations in the Milwaukee area, was founded in 1997 and has over 400 members.

There are close to 650,000 Sikhs in America.

Indian American girl in ‘world’s brightest’ list NEW YORK: Indian-American schoolgirl Natasha Peri, 11, has been named in the world’s “brightest” students list based on results of above-grade-level testing of 19,000 students across 84 countries, according to Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth (CTY), a part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

“Peri, a student at Thelma L. Sandmeier Elementary School, was honoured for exceptional performance on the SAT, ACT, or similar assessment taken as part of the CTY Talent Search,” said a statement from Johns Hopkins CTY. “CTY uses above-grade-level testing to

identify advanced students from around the world and provide a clear picture of their true academic abilities.”

Peri took the Johns Hopkins Talent Search test in Spring 2021, when she was in Grade 5.

Her results in the verbal and quantitative sections levelled with the 90th percentile of advanced Grade 8 performance.

“This motivates me to do more,” she said, adding that doodling and reading JRR Tolkien’s novels may have worked for her. As part of Johns Hopkins policy, granular information is not broken down by age or race. Likewise, it is left to the guardian to

disclose the prodigy’s name.

Within the US, awardees come from all 50 US states.

“We are thrilled to celebrate these students,” said Virginia Roach, Natasha Peri CTY’s executive director. “In a year that was anything but ordinary, their love of learning shined through, and we are excited to help cultivate their growth as scholars and citizens throughout high school, college, and beyond.”

The quantitative section of

the Johns Hopkins CTY test measures the ability to see relationships between quantities expressed in mathematical terms, the verbal section measures understanding of the meaning of words and the relationships between them.

Australians living abroad 100,000 Indians may be denied US green card may be banned from leaving if they return S Y D N E Y : Australians living abroad could be banned from leaving if they return following the country’s decision to tighten border rules without notice as part of its Covid strategy. The new restriction brings Australians living overseas into line with the policy. The new rule comes into force from August 11 but critics are warning the change could deter citizens from returning home and punish families.

However, the government says it will reduce the risk of Covid cases from entering the country, which already has a weekly limit on incoming travellers.

It also bans foreigners from entering the country unless they have an exemption. The number of permitted arrivals were halved last month due to outbreaks of the Delta variant.

The closed-border policy has been mostly supported by people living in Australia, according to reports, but it has

its critics who say it is punishing families. There have reportedly been cases in the past year of Australians unable to leave to care for sick or dying friends or family members, or retrieve children from relatives.

Some legal experts have raised doubts over the new restriction, claiming constitutional rights are being breached by preventing citizens from being able to return. The Australian government says it will not re-open its borders until four in five of its population has received the vaccine - the figure currently stands at just 19 per cent. The outbreak of the Delta variant has seen more than half of Australia's 26 million population in lockdown.

Sydney has recorded over 4,300 cases alone.

WASHINGTON: About 100,000 employment-based Green Cards are at the risk of being wasted in less than two months as the federal agency responsible for their issuance faces huge backlog owing to Covid-19. This has caused widespread resentment among Indian IT professionals whose wait for legal permanent residency now runs into decades. A Green Card, called the Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently in the US. This year’s quota for employment-based immigrants is 261,500, far higher than the usual 140,000, said reports. If these visas are not issued by September 30, they will go waste, according to sources.

The current pace of processing by US Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS suggests they will waste more than 100,000 Green Cards. This has also been confirmed by the Department of State officer in charge of determining visa usage. If the USCIS or the Biden administration doesn’t take any steps, the extra 100,000 Green

Cards that are available this year will be wasted.

The White House is yet to respond to the issue.

Meanwhile, a group of 125 Indian and Chinese nationals living in the US filed a lawsuit to prevent the administration from wasting the Green Cards.

There are hundreds of thousands of gainfully employed legal immigrants in the US who would benefit from these Green Cards. Many have been waiting for a decade or more to adjust to permanent resident status but have been unable to do so due to a lack of available visa numbers.

In an article in The Washington Post, David J Bier, a research fellow at the Cato Institute, alleged the Biden administration is responsible for this waste of Green Cards.

Last week, US announced that it has processed Green Card applications at such a slow pace that it will come at least 100,000 slots short of using up the annual limit.“Without drastic revisions in the glacial processing times, President Biden will have presided over one of the largest cuts to legal immigration in US history - and almost no one is talking about it,” he had said.

in brief 2 ROCKETS FROM LEBANON HIT ISRAEL, DRAWING RETALIATION Two rockets launched from Lebanon struck Israel, which responded with artillery fire, amid heightened regional tensions over an alleged Iranian attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf last week. Israel’s Magen David Adom national ambulance service said there were no casualties on the Israeli side of the frontier, where the rockets ignited a brush fire. There was no claim of responsibility for the rocket strike, launched from an area of south Lebanon under the sway of Iranian- backed Hezbollah guerrillas. In a statement, Israel’s military said three rockets were launched from Lebanon, with one falling short of the Israeli border and the others striking inside Israel. Witnesses in Lebanon also reported that several rockets were fired at Israel.

“In response, (Israeli) artillery forces attacked Lebanese territory,” the military said. Some two hours after the initial shelling, the military said its artillery had fired again at targets, which it did not identify, along the frontier.

4 OFFICERS WHO RESPONDED TO CAPITOL ATTACK DIE BY SUICIDE The district of Columbia’s police said two more police officers who responded to the January 6 riot at the US Capitol have died by suicide, bringing to four the number of known suicides by officers who guarded the building that day.

Metropolitan police officer Gunther Hashida was found dead in his home last week. Another MPD officer, Kyle DeFreytag, was found dead on July 10. DeFreytag’s cause of death was also suicide. MPD officer Jeffrey Smith and Capitol police officer Howard Liebengood also later died by suicide. Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the building on January 6 to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s poll win. During emotional testimony last week, four police officers told a House of Representatives special committee that they were beaten, threatened, taunted with racial insults, and thought they might die as they struggled to defend against the mob.

MANDELA’S JOZI HOME BEING TURNED INTO LUXURY HOTEL The once-glamorous but later abandoned home of Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg is getting a major makeover. To be renamed the Sanctuary Mandela, the house located in Houghton, a suburb of Johannesburg (Jozi), the house will from this August be accessed by the public as a residential space and not a museum as has been the case. The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Motsamayi Tourism Group will see the Mandela home is transformed into a luxury tourist hotel. The Sanctuary Mandela Hotel is expected to be a destination with a personal connection to the private life of Mandela. The house was abandoned by Mandela’s three grandchildren, sons to the late Makgatho Mandela, a son by his first wife Evelyne. They lived here until 2020, and left following family wrangles. The once-glamorous premises remained unattended since then.

HIJACK BID ONBOARD SHIP IN GULF OF OMAN ENDS A British maritime security agency has said the the boarders of a vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah region in the Gulf of Oman have left, and an incident that was initially regarded as a “potential hijack” was now over. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on its Twitter account that the vessel was “safe” and the “incident complete”, without providing further detail. The bitumen tanker was seized recently heading into the congested approach to the Strait of Hormuz. It is not clear who seized the ship, but analysts suspected Iranian forces. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards dismissed the reports as a pretext for “hostile action” against Tehran. The men who boarded the MV Asphalt Princess were reportedly armed and are said to have ordered it to sail to Iran.

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Assam, Mizoram sign pact to ease Bombay HC rejects Kundra plea; to stay in jail tension at the border Assam and Mizoram inked an agreement last week to keep their police and forest guards away from the troubled inter-state border as the first tangible step towards easing tension in the area and maintaining continuity of talks to end their decades-old territory dispute. As decided by the Union home ministry, neutral forces will remain in charge of the disputed zone straddling the three Barak Valley districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi, and Mamit and Kolasib in Mizoram.

The ice-breaker in Aizawl, involving two cabinet ministers from either state, also saw Mizoram officially condoling the death of six Assam cops in the July 26 firing at Cachar

district's Lailapur. In a reciprocal gesture, Assam revoked its July 29 advisory asking people from the state not to travel to Mizoram and telling those already there for work to “exercise utmost caution”.

Hundreds of trucks carrying essentials and medical supplies have been stranded along the NH 306

in the Barak Valley since the border flareup, triggering allegations by Mizoram of an unofficial economic blockade against it.

Soon after the meeting, the Mizoram CM's office tweeted, “Govt. of Assam & Govt. of Mizoram successfully signed a joint statement today after deliberations at Aizawl.

Both governments agree to take forward the ministry of home affairs’ initiatives to remove prevailing tensions and to find lasting solutions through discussions.” The dialogue followed several telephonic discussions between Mizoram CM Zoramthanga and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Assam border development minister Atul Bora, who led his state's delegation said, “This is the beginning. With meaningful dialogue, we can bring permanent peace, but it will take time.” He blamed Congress, which was in government in both Assam and Mizoram for several terms, for the border dispute remaining unresolved.

Cong challenges Twitter over Rahul Gandhi's locked account The Congress dared Twitter India to lock its accounts, a day after the social media company locked party leader Rahul Gandhi's handle over a post of his meeting the family of a nine-year-old Dalit girl, who died after an alleged sexual assault. "@TwitterIndia lock our accounts, we challenge you. Nothing will stop us from fighting for justice & exposing the truth," the opposition party posted along with hashtag #मैं_भी_Rahul or I am Rahul.

The opposition party also tweeted the photograph of Rahul Gandhi meeting the family of the nine-year-old Dalit girl, who died after being raped by a priest and three other men at a crematorium near Delhi Cantonment. On Saturday, the Congress said that Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account was "temporarily locked" after the social media company denied the party's earlier

Rahul Gandhi

claim that the leader’s account was “temporarily suspended”.

"Shri @RahulGandhi's Twitter account has been temporarily suspended & due process is being followed for its restoration.

Until then, he will stay connected with you all through his other SM platforms & continue to raise his voice for our people & fight for their cause. Jai Hind!" the Congress posted on its official Twitter handle. Tagging its previous tweet, the Congress later tweeted, "The account has been tem-

porarily locked."

Before this, Twitter took down a controversial post of Rahul Gandhi with the photograph of him meeting the family of the girl earlier this week. The social media company said that Rahul Gandhi's account violated its rules against posting private information. People familiar with the matter said that some features of Gandhi's account have been temporarily limited. He could browse Twitter and send direct messages to his followers but he won't be able to tweets, retweet, follow,

LS passes bill to scrap retrospective tax The Lok Sabha last week cleared the Bill to drop the controversial clause allowing retrospective levy of capital gains tax on transactions involving underlying assets in India.

The Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 2021, which was introduced earlier, was cleared amid protest from opposition lawmakers over the three farm laws and Pegasus snooping.

When the House reconvened around noon, chairman Rajendra Agrawal allowed finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to make a brief submission on the Bill. Industry bodies

Nirmala Sitharaman

and experts have welcomed the move, arguing that it will help address a long pending concern.

Former finance minister P Chidambaram too supported the decision.

“On the withdrawal of the retrospective tax

(Vodafone), I am glad that we have put an end to an issue that has been troubling us for 8 years,” he tweeted. The law was changed by Pranab Mukherjee who succeeded Chidambaram as FM in the UPA government.

fleet or like, they said. They added that Twitter has communicated that all the features of the account could be restored in 12 hours once the tweet violating its rules is deleted by him. Rahul Gandhi met the girl's family members last week and assured them of justice. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asked the Delhi Police and Twitter to take action over Gandhi over the post, saying it violates the Juvenile Justice Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

Raj Kundra

A plea by businessman Raj Kundra seeking his immediate release from judicial custody in a porn film case was refused by the Bombay High Court. Arrested last month, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty's husband had challenged a remand order issued against him by a magistrate's court saying he had not been notified or issued summons before arrest as was required under the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The High Court's order said there was nothing wrong with the magistrate court's order when it remanded Kundra to police custody on July 20. Rejecting his plea, Justice AS Gadkari said his remand and subsequent judicial custody were within the conformity of law and did not require interference.

Earlier, the police had said that a notice was issued prior to his arrest but Kundra had refused to accept it. The police argued that the refusal "implies the petitioner refused to co-operate". The businessman, along with an associate and employee Ryan Thorpe, was arrested on July 19 for involvement in the production of pornography. He, however, has argued that the content in question was not pornography and that similar material was available on OTT platforms. The courts have till now denied him bail despite applying several times since his arrest. Kundra and Thorpe are in judicial custody now. The police have claimed that the duo deleted messages from a WhatsApp group while a police search was on in connection with the case. This amounted to destroying evidence, they have said. They also said that they had found a WhatsApp group on Kundra's mobile phone that contained chats with other accused and a PowerPoint presentation with marketing strategies and projections for Hotshots, the mobile app via which the businessman is accused of distributing the videos.

Kundra’s offence detrimental to society Earlier, rejecting Kundra’s bail pleathe magistrate court said the alleged offence is detrimental to the health of our society. It said under such circumstances, societal interest in the prosecution of a crime, which has a wider social dimension, cannot be overlooked.

The court said since there are allegations that Kundra in connivance with Thorpe deleted some incriminating data, there is every possibility the accused could tamper with the evidence if released on bail. It also pointed out that investigators had gathered a lot of data and the process of analysis was still going on.

“Investigation is in progress. At this stage, release of the accused will definitely hamper investigation.

India urged to renegotiate Indus water treaty with Pak In a significant recommendation, a parliamentary panel urged the Indian government to renegotiate the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, noting that pressing issues such as climate change, global warming and environmental impact assessment are missing from the pact that divides the Indus waters.

The standing committee on water resources said, the treaty was framed on the basis of knowledge and technology existing in 1960 when the perspective of both nations was merely confined to river management and usage of water through construction of dams, barrages, canals and hydropower generation.

Any suggestion of “renogotiating” the IWT is seen in political light and is unlikely to be welcomed in Pakistan. Though India has not moved to alter it, PM Narendra Modi had okayed proposals to further develop use of India’s share following

border tensions with Pakistan early in his first tenure as PM. The panel recommended that the government examine the feasibility of making maximum use of the provisions of the treaty in terms of “full utilisation of all accessible water of the eastern rivers and maximum utilisation of the irrigation and hydropower potential of western rivers, including permissible water storage as per the provisions”.

“There is a need to renegotiate the treaty to establish

an institutional structure or legislative framework to address the impact of climate change on water availability and other challenges which are not covered under the Treaty,” said panel, headed by BJP Lok Sabha member Sanjay Jaiswal. The committee submitted its report on flood management in the country through multiple measures including international water treaties and agreements with Pakistan, China and Bhutan.

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SOUTH INDIA

29 ministers inducted into Karnataka CM Bommai's cabinet BENGALURU: A week after taking over as Karnataka chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai last week expanded his cabinet by inducting 29 ministers. He retained 23 ministers from the 33member Yediyurappa cabinet including the lone woman minister - while bringing in six new faces.

The ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy by governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at Raj Bhavan. The sanctioned strength of the state cabinet is 34; the current strength is 30. Bommai later allocated portfolios to the new ministers.

The much-awaited expansion bears the stamp of former CM BS Yediyurappa as many of those inducted are closely associated with him, including the 10 legislators who joined BJP after quitting the Congress-JD(S) coalition in 2019 and helped the saffron party form the government.

However, contrary to speculation, Yediyurappa's son and BJP vice-president BY

Vijayendra failed to make it to the ministry.

"The party's central leaders, including party president JP Nadda and BJP in-charge for Karnataka Arun Singh, have spoken to Yediyurappa and Vijayendra. I can only say his name (Vijayendra's) is not on the list," Bommai told reporters ahead of the oath-taking ceremony. While two of three former deputy CMs - Govind M Karjol and CN Ashwath Narayana - are part of the new cabinet, the party has decided to do away with the post in what is being seen as a move to strengthen Bommai's hands and curb new power centres.

After the oath-taking ceremony, Bommai held a cabinet meeting and reiterated that the focus is on tackling Covid-19 as a potential third wave looms large in the state. The cabinet decided to revamp the state's Covid task force with some new members. It was led by Ashwath Narayana.

"The new cabinet will respond to the needs of the people, earn their trust and deliver good governance," Bommai said. Asked about four ministerial berths being vacant, he said cabinet expansion will happen in states and regions left unrepresented will get priority subsequently.

He dismissed the brewing dissent in the party unit, saying BJP is a "national party with a strong leadership". On senior ministers from the previous cabinet being dropped, he said the high command has decided to rope in those with organisational experience for party work.

Prominent omissions from the previous cabinet include Laxman Savadi, S Sureshkumar, Aravind Limbavali, CP Yogeeshwara and Shrimanth Patil. While the cabinet composition appears to balance political and caste equations, regional representation remains badly skewed. The ministry includes 9 Lingayats (including the CM), 7 Vokkaligas, 3 Kurubas, 3 ministers from scheduled castes, 2 each from Brahmin, Billava communities and one from scheduled tribes.

In this make-up, 14 of the 31 districts of the state remain unrepresented, while Bengaluru claims the lion's share of seven ministers. In Yediyurappa's cabinet too, there were seven ministers from Bengaluru.

PUNJAB

Punjab to name roads, schools after Olympic medal winners CHANDIGARH: Punjab School Education and Public Works Department Minister Vijay Inder Singla said the state government has decided to name roads and schools after Olympic medal winning players. Congratulating the Indian men's hockey team for clinching an Olympic (bronze) medal after 41 years, he said these players have made the country proud, and naming roads and schools after them would be a small token of appreciation.

In an official statement, Singla said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has given his approval to the proposal and officials have been directed to initiate the process at the earliest. He said the road connecting the residence and school of the area of the respective medal-winning player

will be named after them to inspire the youngsters.

Singla said there was a golden contribution of Punjab in the field of Indian sports. The state has sent a contingent of 20 sports persons to this Olympics, he said. In the men's hockey squad, 11 players were from Punjab which included skipper Manpreet Singh and his deputy Harmanpreet Singh.

The women's team has also performed well in the Olympics, he said.

Big rewards awaiting them Haryana and Punjab governments announced cash awards for Olympic medallists, including members of the men’s hockey team and wrestler Ravi Dahiya. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar praised Dahiya for his effort after he became only the second Indian

wrestler to win a silver medal at the Olympics. Dahiya, who hails from Sonipat lost the men’s freestyle 57kg title clash 4-7 to reigning world champion Zavur Uguev. “Our wrestler Ravi Dahiya put up a great performance in a keenly contested bout. I congratulate him for winning a silver medal,” Khattar said. He will get £400,000 award money as per state government’s policy for silver winning Olympic medalists, he said.

“As per our policy, we will give him Class one job. A piece of plot of land of Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran at concessional rates will also be given to him,” Khattar said.

Neighbouring Punjab government announced that it will give a cash award of £100,000 to each of the hockey players from the state. Punjab Sports

Vijay Inder Singla

Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi made the announcement after India beat Germany 5-4 in the bronze play-off. “On this historic day for #IndianHockey I am delighted to announce a cash award of £100,000 each to players 4m#Punjab We await ur return to celebrate the much deserving medal in #Olympics,” Sodhi tweeted.

Punjab had eight players, including skipper Manpreet Singh, in the Indian men’s hockey team.

The others are Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Hardik Singh, Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh and Mandeep Singh.

WEST BENGAL

Flood situation in Bengal grim; three rivers on spate in Malda NEW DELHI: The flood situation in south Bengal continued to remain grim with water just marginally receding from some of the inundated areas, an official said. In the northern part of the state, three rivers in Malda district - Ganga, Fulhar and Mahananda - are in spate following heavy rain in the catchment areas, he said. At least 23 people died in the flood and millions have been rendered homeless in the state.

The Army and NDRF personnel distributed food, medicines and other relief materials in the flood-hit areas of Hooghly, according to the official. Several districts in south Bengal, including Hooghly,

Purba Medinipur, Howrah, South 24 Parganas - have been reeling under flood woes following heavy rain and discharge of water from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) dams. The DVC, which has been blamed by the Mamata Banerjee government for the crisis in the southern districts, said in a statement that it

released 29,000 cusec water which caused the flood.

"There is no report of any new casualty.

We are trying hard to ensure that there is adequate supply of food, medicines and clothes for people at the relief camps. Water level has just marginally receded in some areas and the situation is expected to improve if there is no fresh rainfall now. Also, once the DVC stops discharging water, water will retreat from the floodaffected areas," the official said.

Hooghly district magistrate P Deepap Priya said that a large number of villagers have taken

shelter at relief camps as their homes and fields lay inundated.

The district administration has distributed drinking water pouches, dry food, medicine and ORS to the affected people, Priya said. Most places in Khanakul, one of the worst-affected areas, are facing power outages, the DM said.

Helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) had earlier rescued 31 people from Khanakul as Army personnel carried out relief and rescue operations during the last weekend. "An infantry column consisting of approximately 45 jawans is involved in the relief and rescue operations in the affected areas of Hooghly," a defence spokesperson said.

in brief HC NOTICE TO YEDIYURAPPA, SON IN CORRUPTION CASE The Karnataka High Court issued notice to former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, his son and BJP state vice president BY Vijayendra, their family members, former minister ST Somashekar and an IAS officer in a case alleging corruption in a housing project. The single bench of Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav directed issuing notices to them on a petition filed by an activist TJ Abraham, who challenged the special courts order on July 8 this year. The special court had dismissed the case for want of sanction to prosecute Yediyurappa and Somashekar, who were Chief Minister and Minister respectively at the time.

The case pertains to allegedly receiving kickbacks from a contractor for a housing project of the Bangalore Development Authority.

KERALA REPORTS 19,948 NEW COVID CASES, 187 MORE DEATHS Kerala reported 19,948 fresh Covid cases pushing the total infection caseload to 35,13,551, with the number of people who have died due to the virus rising to 17,515 after 187 more deaths. As many as 19,480 people have been cured of the infection since last week, taking the total recoveries to 33,17,314 and the number of active cases in the state to 1,78,204, a state government release said. In the last 24 hours, 1,51,892 samples were tested and the TPR was found to be 13.13 per cent. So far, 2,82,27,419 samples have been tested, it said.

Of the new cases, 81 are health workers, 97 had come from outside the state and 18,744 were infected through contact with the source of contact being not clear in 996 cases, the release said. There are currently 4,87,492 people under surveillance in various districts of the state. Of these, 4,58,397 are in home or institutional quarantine and 29,095 in hospitals.

SGPC SHELVES PLAN TO DEMOLISH OLDEST INN The standoff between Sikh activists and the SGPC has come to an end after the latter withdrew its plan to raze the oldest inn located in the Golden Temple complex and agreed to preserve the century-old structure that was discovered during the excavation process. Activists under the banner of the Sikh Sadbhawna Dal were up in arms against the SGPC projects for the past four days.

After the intervention of administrative officials, a meeting was scheduled between the three representatives of the Dal led by Baldev Singh Wadala and SGPC representatives led by chief secretary HS Dhami. Following the meeting, the activists lifted the morcha from Heritage Street. Dhami said 90-year-old Guru Ram Das Niwas in the Golden Temple was in poor shape. “We have withheld the proposal for the time being. A sub-committee has been constituted to monitor the situation. Anything will be done only on the basis of their report.”

BODIES OF 2 BJP WORKERS FOUND DEAD IN BENGAL The bodies of two BJP workers were found in different parts of West Bengal, with the saffron party claiming that they were killed

by Trinamool Congress supporters. The TMC, however, rubbished the allegation levelled by BJP. Police said BJP worker Indrajit Sutradhar was found hanging from the ceiling of a room with hands tied from behind in an abandoned building at Khoirasol in Birbhum district. The body of another BJP worker, Tapan Khatua (45), was fished out from a pond at Egra in Purbo Medinipur district earlier in the day, the officer said. The BJP and the family of Khatua blamed the ruling party for his death, but the TMC leadership has rubbished the charges.

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India, China pull back troops from Gogra in Eastern Ladakh India and China disengaged troops from Gogra area of Eastern Ladakh following an agreement at the 12th round of Corps Commander talks, the Army said. This is the second friction area from which troops have been withdrawn after Pangong Tso (lake) in February as part of efforts of overall disengagement and de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh to end the standoff that began in May last year.

“As per the agreement, both sides have ceased forward deployments in this area in a phased, coordinated and verified manner.

The disengagement process was carried out over two days, August 4 and 5. The troops of both sides are now in their respective permanent bases,” the Army statement added.

Dismantling of structures All temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created

in the area by both sides have been dismantled and mutually verified, the Army said. “The landform in the area has been restored by both sides to pre-stand-off period.” This agreement ensures that the LAC in this area would be strictly observed and respected by both sides, and that there was no unilateral change in status quo, the Army said.

With this development, the focus of further talks would be on

disengagement at PP15 in Hot Springs, according to a defence official. Some progress had been made but some issues remain, he observed. On the 12th round of Corps Commander talks which went on for nine hours, the Army said the two sides had a “candid and in-depth exchange of views on resolution of the remaining areas” related to disengagement along the LAC in the Western Sector of border areas.

“As an outcome of the meeting, both sides agreed on disengagement in the area of Gogra. The troops in this area have been in a face-off situation since May last year,” it pointed out. With this, one more sensitive area of face-off had been resolved, the Army noted.

Both sides have expressed commitment to take the talks forward and resolve the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector, it added.

An official said that significant progress had been made for disengagement from Gogra and Hot Springs and an agreement was expected to be concluded. In Eastern Ladakh, India and China

have two mutually agreed disputed areas, Trig Heights and Demchok, and 10 areas of differing perception. Officials said that since the stand-off last year, additional five friction points have emerged.

These are Km 120 in Galwan area, Patrolling Point (PP) 15 and PP17 and Rechin La and Rezang La on the south bank of the Pangong Tso, another official said.

Khel Ratna renamed after Dhyan Chand J&J's single dose Covid vax Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India’s highest sporting award will be renamed after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, a change which effectively removes “Rajiv Gandhi” prefix to the Khel Ratna. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, launched in 1991-92, comprising a medallion, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 25,00,000, will now be known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. Chess legend Viswanathan Anand was its first recipient.

The announcement sparked a discussion over the “political overtones” of the decision though Modi tweeted that he had been getting many requests from citizens across the country to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand. “Respecting their sentiment, the Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award,” the PM said and shared a picture paying

gets emergency nod

floral tributes to Major Dhyan Chand.

The PM, who has been interacting with the Indian contingent participating in the Tokyo Olympics and had also urged the nation to keep encouraging the Indian players, said the exceptional performance of the men’s and women’s hockey teams has captured the imagination of the entire nation. “There is a renewed inter-

est towards hockey that is emerging across the length and breadth of India. This is a very positive sign for the coming times,” he added.

BJP hailed the announcement made by PM Modi with home minister Amit Shah calling it a “true tribute to one of India’s greatest sportspersons”. Defence minister Rajnath Singh said Dhyan Chand is a symbol of inspiration and pride for Indian sportspersons.

Johnson & Johnson’s singledose Covid-19 vaccine has received emergency use approval in India, making it the fifth jab against coronavirus to be authorised in the country.

However, there is uncertainty over starting of supplies as issues around indemnity against legal liabilities in case of severe adverse events are yet to be resolved.

“As of now, the government is not inclined to give indemnity to foreign manufacturers. We have our own manufacturers and vaccines, there is no reason why we should be arm-twisted,” a senior official said. The government is

Taliban restores Nishan sahib at Afghan gurdwara, claim activists The outcry and condemnation led to the Taliban restoring the Nishan Sahib on the roof of the Gurdwara Thala Sahib in Paktia which its local commanders had got removed a day earlier, according to reports quoting Singh Chandhok, president of the Indian World Puneet Forum.

Chandok said he was personally informed by the local caretaker Rahman Chamkani that the Nishan Sahib has been restored “with its proper dignity’’ at the roof of the gurdwara, said the reports.

Taliban officials, including their commanders, visited Thala Sahib “and conveyed their assent for functioning of the Gurdwara as per its customs and also directed that the Nishan Sahib be restored immediately in their presence,” he said.

“I and the diaspora deeply appreciate the efforts of the Government of India and the International Community for ensuring that the rights of minorities are well protected in the Islamic Republic of

Afghanistan,’’ said Chandok.

“There is a lot of fear and uncertainty in Afghanistan and the caretaker was intimidated by a Taliban announcement about flags. He removed the Nishan Sahib himself as he feared retribution from the Taliban,” claimed Gurvinder Singh of United Sikhs.

But Charan Singh, a local resident, had claimed the Taliban fighters had initially threatened the caretaker and later forced him to take it down from its rightful

place. The armed men, he said, forced the caretaker to remove the Nishan Sahib from its assigned place and tied it to a tree so that it cannot be viewed as a distinct symbol from afar.

The Gurdwara, located in Chamkani area of Paktia, was once visited by Guru Nanak. It has Guru Sahib’s Prakash and is maintained by a dozen Sikhs families that remain in the region.

The Gurdwara was in the news in July when Nidan Singh Sachdeva,

a leader of the Hindu and Sikh community in Afghanistan, was abducted from its premises. The wider region called “Loya Paktia” has been a Mujahideen and then Taliban\Haqqani Group stronghold since the early 1980s.

India had then blamed the Haqqani Group and the Lashkare-Toiba for the massacre.

India had condemned the forcible removal of the Nishan Sahib atop the roof of Gurdwara Thala Sahib and hoped that “Afghanistan’s future must be one where interest of all sections of Afghan society including minorities and women are protected”. Sachdeva’s kidnapping had followed a massacre of 30 Sikhs in Gurdwara Guru Har Rai in Kabul in May last year. At that time, India had offered all possible assistance to the affected families of the Hindu and Sikh community of Afghanistan. The frequent targeting of the Sikh community has seen the 10,000 strong Sikh and Hindu community reduced to just a few thousands.

hopeful that ongoing talks with foreign manufacturers of Covid jabs will lead to fruitful resolution soon. J&J, Pfizer and Moderna may want to open a market in India. The government expects supplies to start from around September if negotiations go through with the company, the official said. The initial supplies could be 30 to 50 million doses a month.

J&J will supply the vaccine here through an agreement with Indian vaccine maker Biological E. However, the American firm said it is too early to indicate a timeline for supplies. “While we look forward to meeting our delivery commitments, it is premature for us to speculate on the timing of our vaccine deliveries,” J&J said in a statement.

“At this time, the company is only negotiating with government bodies and supranational organizations (e.g., European Commission, African Union, Gavi/COVAX) at a central level for vaccine procurement or purchase. We are not working with or through third parties for vaccine access during the current emergency pandemic period,” it said.

Currently, no individuals or private companies are authorised to offer, advertise, distribute or sell the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine on behalf of Johnson & Johnson, either directly or indirectly, the company said. Sources said Biological E can start local manufacturing and supply of J&J’s vaccine in India only if the American company agrees to follow the legal compensation norms of the country.

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PM Modi chairs India-led UNSC meet; snubs China Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the first-ever independent discussion on maritime security in the United Nations Security Council on Monday, its first major activity during India’s month of presidency of the global body. The session highlighted the primacy of the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) which “sets out the legal framework applicable to activities in the oceans, including countering illicit activities at sea”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken represented his country, even though the US permanent representative is a cabinet-level person, indicating the importance of the issue and the growing convergences with India. China,

Narendra Modi

however, showed its displeasure by sending its deputy permanent representative Dai Bing to the meeting. Significantly, Russian President Vladimir Putin was also present.

China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and East China Sea, island building and bullying of countries by its fishing militia have been a source of international concern. Even though the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) under UNCLOS ruled in 2016 that China’s activities in the South China Sea are illegal, Beijing has continued undeterred, leading to growing tensions. On Monday, however, China submitted diplomatically to asserting the primacy of UNCLOS severe international under

pressure.

In his remarks, Modi pointed to India’s own record of abiding by the decision of the PCA and settling its maritime boundary dispute with Bangladesh in conformity with international arbitration.

The session had its tense moments, with the Chinese official lashing out at Japan for emptying Fukushima waters into the Pacific as it asked the ASEAN countries to work out a code of conduct. It was left to Blinken to criticise China’s actions in the South China Sea. Sources said although it's the tradition to adopt the presidential statement unanimously, “the process was not smooth, with one P-5 country holding out till the

very end on language related to UNCLOS”. India, according to sources, persisted in finding a way out in drafting the statement using language that was acceptable to all, but retained the reference to UNCLOS. While China objected to its inclusion, all other P-5 members insisted on highlighting the law.

Diplomats said India’s actions “reaffirm its bridging role in the UNSC”. Held under the agenda item “Maintenance of International Peace & Security”, the meeting was attended by two presidents (Russia and Kenya), two PMs (India and Vietnam), and 10 ministers, seven of them being foreign ministers. It was one of the highest levels of participation in the UNSC of late.

Why are Covid cases not coming down in Kerala?

Experts are currently assessing why Covid-19 case load in Kerala has been far greater than any other state in India. The average number of daily new cases reached a low of 11,000 around the last week of June, 2021, and it has since been rising, albeit slowly. At the same time, the number of cases elsewhere in the country has been falling after a major second-wave peak in the first week of May. The average daily new cases in the country is at about 39,000 and Kerala currently accounts for close to 50% of all active cases. So, the dominant narrative in the public discourse is that Kerala has failed to contain its Covid epidemic. But is this narrative true? Let us take a look into the official Covid data of Kerala and of India. It’s important to understand that the number of reported infections on any day depends on the effectiveness of surveillance, through tracking, tracing and testing. As there is a huge variability in these factors across different states, it would be unfair to make a straightforward comparison of reported cases in each state, or that of Kerala,

against India.

One way to assess the extent of infection spread is to check for the presence of antibodies against the virus through seroprevalence surveys. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has thus far performed four nationwide seroprevalence surveys at different intervals. The preliminary results from the fourth round of the survey indicate that the seroprevalence for all of India is 67.6% while that of Kerala is 42.7% – a difference of 25 percentage points. In fact, one can see that the seroprevalence has consistently been far lower in Kerala compared to the national average over all four surveys.

Since the survey sample included both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons, some of these antibody prevalence could also be attributed to vaccine induced antibodies. In fact, at the national level, the seroprevalence only among the unvaccinated was estimated at 62.3%. At the time of completion of the survey in May 20201, about 12% population at the national level and 20% population

in Kerala had received at least a single dose of vaccine.

Assuming that the sero prevalence survey reasonably approximates the true extent of the spread of cases in a given population, we can compare the estimated cases against the actual reported cases for both Kerala and India. We can see that the testing strategy Kerala has used was able to detect one in every six cases while the same at the national level was one in 33 cases.

However, using the third ICMR survey results (there were no vaccinations at the time) the under-counting factor was 5.4 and 28 for Kerala and India, respectively. So it is reasonable to say that Kerala’s tracking and tracing system along with its testing strategy has been able to identify at least one out of every six cases – while at the national level, only about one in 30 cases were detected. Clearly, a better rate of detection of cases is a result of better and more efficient surveillance.

It is understood that testing after better tracing and tracking

would make the process more effective. Targeted testing may result in a higher test positivity rate (TPR), but it is also cost-effective use of testing infrastructure. Kerala has not only conducted more than double the number of tests per million as the national average, it also has a much better case detection rate.

Thus far, Kerala’s tests have detected 9.2% of its population as being Covid positive, while India did 2.3%. The total testing per million population in Kerala so far has been 2.2-times the national average. It may be also noted that only about 35% of the total tests done in Kerala thus far has been RT-PCR, while the same number is about 48% in India.

Irrespective of the test type used, however, it is evident that Kerala’s testing strategy has so far been more effective compared to the national average in detecting a higher proportion of cases. The

state has also fully vaccinated 16% of its population while India has vaccinated 6.8%.

Then why are Covid case numbers in Kerala still not falling?

The simple answer is that: Kerala still has a larger fraction of population that is unexposed to the virus, compared to all of India.

While Kerala has about 50% of its population still susceptible to the novel coronavirus, the same is only about 30% in India. Clearly, the vulnerable population as a percentage of the total population is much higher in Kerala. This is despite the fact that the very first Covid case in India was reported from Kerala.

Holy month of Shravan begins with prayers and fasts A body smeared with ash, a crescent moon, a tiger skin, a snake around the neck, the third eye, matted hair, river Ganga flowing from the hair, a trident in one hand, a dumroo in the other. Along with this, there are 1008 names to describe Lord Shiva.

As per the Hindu mythology, the month of Shravan is auspicious to seek blessings from Lord Shiva.

An entire month of fasting and offering prayers is what Shravan month is all about. The devotees visit Shiva temples across the country and chant the Maha Mrutyunjay Mantra, “-ॐ Tryambakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam.

Urvarukamiv bandhanan Mrityormukshiyya Mamritat,” Meaning, “we worship the three-eyed One, who is fragrant and who nourishes all. Like the fruit falls off from the bondage of the stem, may we be liberated from death, from mortality.”

It is believed that in the month of Shravan the whole atmosphere is charged with Shiva tattvas (elements) that purify the mind,

senses, body and soul.

The historic Samudra Manthan, the churning of the ocean milk, was done in Shravan month. And while Gods and Demons were churning the ocean to obtain the nectar, along with 14 pious things, Halahal, the lethal poison, came out of the ocean. And since the poison had the ability to destroy everything, Lord Shiva stored the poison in his throat, which turned his throat blue, that’s how he received the name Neelkanth. And in a bid to tame the strong impact of poison and soothe Shiva’s pain, Gods offered him the holy water from the Ganges. It is believed that by offering water to Shiv lingam, the impact of poison is tamed. That is why offering water to Shiva Lingam in Shravan is considered pious.

A Jyotirlinga is a shrine where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam. There are exactly 12 jyotirling spread across the country at various locations.

Originally there were 64 Jyotirlingas, but only 12 are considered holy and auspicious.

1) Somnath - upajyotirlinga, Antakeshwar, Bharuch.

2) Mallikarjun- upajyotirlinga, Rudreshwar, Himalayas.

3) Mahakal - upajyotirlinga, Dugdheshwar, Banks of Narmada.

4) Om Mamleshwar -upjyotirlinga, Karmeshwar, Bindu Sarovar.

5) Kedareshwar - upjyotirlinga, Bhuteshwar, Himalayas.

6) Bhimshankar- upjyotirlinga, Bhimeshwar, near Pune.

7) Vishwanath – upjyotirlinga, Avimukteshwar, Kashi.

8) Trimbakeshwar – upjyortilinga, Bileshwar, Barda Dungar.

9) Vaidyanath – upjyotirlinga, Mahabaleshwar, Gaukarna Tirth.

10) Nageshwar – upajyortilinga, Bhuteshwar, near Ujjain.

11) Rameshwar – upajyortilinga, Gupteswar, near Pushkar.

12) Dhushmeshwar – upjyotirlinga, Vyagheshwar, in the Himalayas

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14 - 20 August 2021

Five teas to control bloating It is not uncommon to wake up feeling puffed up like a hot air balloon. Not only does it dampen one’s spirits, it feels like a permanent partner in your life. While there are several ways to reduce bloating, there is nothing that can beat the effects of a freshly brewed cup of your favourite tea.

Bloating is the accumulation of water and gas normally due to high sodium content in the body. Not to forget, indigestion can play a major role in making things worse.

Here’s five green teas that can take your bloating from 10 to zero in a matter of minutes.

Fennel Tea Fennel has often been used to treat gas, acidity and bloating. To make fennel tea, simply crush a tablespoon of fennel seeds, boil them in water for 10 minutes and let it come down to lukewarm temperature. Strain and sip. You can also add a dash of honey if you prefer it on the sweeter side.

Ginger Tea Ginger is one of the most flavourful foods that can keep your gut health in check. If you have a tendency to bloat, ginger tea should be your go-to. Grate ginger in some water and let it boil for 5-10 minutes.

Bring it down to drinkable temperature, add a teaspoon of honey and enjoy!

Lemon Tea One of the most common misconceptions spread by the fitness world is that a little bit of lemon water will work on cutting down your fat. In fact, lemon reduces bloating before anything. A few drops in hot water will help you tame that puffed up tummy.

Chamomile Tea One of the very few drinks with multiple benefits. Chamomile tea is great for digestive issues and will

Steps to feel better when you feel you can’t Psychologist Mamta Saha even induce sound sleep.

Peppermint Tea The cool and refreshing properties of mint cuts down severe bloating, and causes gut-wrenching acidity. Mint soothes the bloating and digestive issues as quickly as one can, and helps you tame the mess.

Just drop a few sprigs in boiling water and let it steep for a couple of minutes. Add honey to sweeten.

Can Covid cause a “drop in intelligence”?

Here’s what scientists have to say Research has suggested that Covid-19 can cause a “substantial” drop in intelligence in people recovering from the virus. The Great British Intelligence Test examined the IQ of 81,337 people across the UK from January to December last year. Of the people surveyed, 13,000 had contracted the novel coronavirus and were found to have the largest drop off in intelligence.

It was found that people recovering from Covid had difficulties with problem solving, planning, and reasoning as compared to people who were never infected.

Data also suggested that virus survivors who had spent time on a ventilator in

hospital lost the equivalent of seven IQ points.

The study has sparked fears the disease could have long-term cognitive impacts, in a similar way to the lasting effects strokes or micro bleeds have on the brain.

The Covid research by scientists from Britain and

the US was published in Lancetowned journal, E C l i n i c a l Medicine. They asked respondents to take on a series of questions to test their mental capacities.

Researchers found people who had Covid had a lower cognitive score than they were modelled to have if they have not been infected, based on their age, sex, occupation, and other factors. The writers wrote, “These results accord with reports of longCovid, where brain fog, trouble concentrating and difficulty finding the correct

words are common.”

The authors wrote, “Previous studies in hospitalised patients with respiratory disease not only demonstrate objective and subjective cognitive deficits but suggest these remain for some at five-year followup.” They warned the study could provide conclusive evidence that a person's long term IQ can be damaged by Covid with brain imaging data.

This is not the first time researchers have looked into Covid and cognitive impairments. A previous research

by Imperial College, London showed Covid could have real “chronic cognitive consequences.”

Plant-based diet protects heart health Incorporating more fresh whole foods into one’s diet is something medical professionals often promote. Eating natural foods rather than highly processed foods can have a plethora of health benefits. Two new observational studies looked at the benefits of plant-centered diets. Both studies followed participants for more than a decade to track health and food choice trends.

USDA nutrition recommendations The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been setting forth dietary guidelines for more than 100 years. While the guidelines have changed over time, the USDA has long focused on eating foods that provide the nutrients needed to maintain good health.

The USDA presently recommends an individual’s diet consist of the following: Fruit, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy. Based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet, the USDA suggests people eat 2 cups of fruit, 2.5 cups of vegetables, 6 ounces (oz) of grains, 5.5 oz of protein foods, and 3 cups of dairy.

It also suggests that people vary their protein sources and explore eating meatless meals every so often.

Young adulthood diet study The first new study, called “Plant-centered diet and risk of incident cardiovascular disease during young to middle adulthood,” appears in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The researchers in this study tracked almost 5,000 young adults who were aged 18–30 years when the study began. The study lasted for 32 years. None of the participants had heart problems when the study started. At checkups over the years, doctors evaluated the participants’ health, asked about the foods they ate, and assigned them a diet quality score. By the end of the study, nearly 300 people developed cardiovascular disease. Moreover, after adjusting for various factors, including race, sex, and educational attainment, the researchers also found that people with the most plantbased diets and a higher diet quality score were 52% less likely to develop heart issues than those following the least plant-based diets.

“A nutritionally rich plant-centered diet is beneficial for cardiovascular health.

A plant-centered diet is not necessarily vegetarian,” says Dr. Yuni Choi, one of the

authors of the young adult study. Dr. Choi is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis. “People can choose among plant foods that are as close to natural as possible, not highly processed. We think that individuals can include animal products in moderation from time to time, such as nonfried poultry, non-fried fish, eggs, and low fat dairy,” Dr.

Choi says.

Kristin Kirkpatrick, a nutritionist with a master’s degree in health management and the founder of KAK Consulting, said, “The data presented in this study is consistent with previous studies on plant-based diets and longevity and metabolic health. I’m not surprised at the findings,” she said, “and perhaps the takeaway here is it’s never too late or too early to start a plant-based diet.”

Almost all of us have had traumatic experiences in our life that have an impact on how we feel. Some that we remember and are conscious of and others we may have forgotten. Trauma lives in the body and can be understood as anxiety, stress, and low feelings or mood. These feelings inhibit us and hold us back from being our best in everyday situations. Trauma can leave you struggling with heavy emotions, memories, and anxiety that just won’t shift. You may also feel numb, disconnected, and unable to trust others.

Repeat x 10 times ‘I deserve inner peace’ When we experience emotional trauma, oftentimes, we’re told to focus on ourselves— but that can be much easier said than done. When it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, it’s challenging to even find the strength to lift yourself or push yourself out of bed or even carry out your daily routine tasks. In fact, finding strength to heal from heavy emotions can be exhausting.

However, it’s one of the most important things you can do for your holistic well-being. Here are three micro-steps to help get you started: Surrender to your healing The desire to feel better can be your best ally on the road to recovery. The reactions you experience because of trauma are only responses— they are not who you are. In order to heal, you’ll need to resolve the unpleasant feelings and memories you’ve long avoided, learn to recognise and have compassion your strong emotions.

Accept support from people you trust It’s important to connect with people you trust regularly and avoid isolating yourself. It takes a village to raise a child, and it also takes a village to heal a person. There is no shame in asking for help. Surrounding yourself with those who support, love and respect you will be invaluable on your path to healing. If you struggle to find this community reach out to support groups in your area or online. Psychologists have found that being a part of a group can serve to provide compassion and support that cannot be gathered any other way.

Ground Yourself If you don’t feel like yourself grounding techniques work like magic. The purpose is to connect using your senses with what is real. For example, lying down on the earth, feeling the grass and cold soil under your body supports you to with nature. Listening to mother earths calming sounds, touching a plant, and smelling a flower also reinforces the environment around you, making you root and disconnect from upsetting memories or emotions.

It may be hard to believe this now, but you must remember the heart does heal. Love yourself enough to believe that you deserve refuge from pain and suffering.

With faith and willingness to take the right steps, you will experience new levels of joy, appreciation, and vitality once you have healed.

If you are interested in attending my 2 hours online Emotionally Stronger Masterclass, email me mentioning Asian Voice for a 50% discount. To go deeper download your free e-book from www.mamtasaha.com. Follow me on IG: saha_mamta and FB: Mamta Saha. Reach out and share your thoughts, feelings, and questions to: mamta@mamtasaha.com.

Sleepless nights linked to accelerated ageing in mothers A study conducted by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers reveal that sleepless nights faced by new mothers may just be taking years off their life.

The research, published in the journal Sleep Health, studied 33 mothers during their pregnancies and the first year of their babies’ lives, analysing the women’s DNA from blood samples to determine their “biological age”, which can differ from chronological age.

Scientists found that a year after giving birth, the biological age of mothers who left less than seven hours a night at the six-month mark was three to seven years older than those who logged seven hours or more. Mothers who slept less than seven hours also

had shorter telomeres in their white blood cells. These small pieces of DNA at the ends of chromosomes act as protective caps, like the plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces. Shortened telomeres have been linked to a higher risk of cancers, cardiovascular and other diseases, and earlier death.

UCLA’s George F. Solomon, Professor of Psychobiology, said, “The early months of postpartum sleep deprivation could have a lasting effect on physical health. We know from a large body of research that sleeping less than seven hours a night is detrimental to health and increases the risk of agerelated diseases.”

The researchers reported that while participants’ nightly sleep ranged

from five to nine hours, more than half of the participants were getting less than seven hours - both six months and one year after giving birth. Carroll, a member of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA's Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, said, “We found that with every hour of additional sleep, the mother’s biological age was younger. I, and many other sleep scientists, consider sleep health to be just as vital to overall health as diet and exercise.”

She urged new mothers to take advantage of opportunities to get a little extra sleep, like taking naps during the day when their baby is asleep, accepting offers of assistance from family and friends, and when possible, asking their partner to help with the baby.

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ART & CULTURE

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UK’s leading South Asian Literary Festival - Desiblitz Literature Festival 2021 starts on September 18 and will go on until October 1. Amidst a list of renowned South Asian writers, successful self-published author Preethi Nair will also host a talk on how to get published called “Being Published - Traditional or Indie. The pros and cons.” In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, she spoke about her work, diversity and more.

- How challenging is self-publishing and what are some key steps to follow?

Would you recommend that over traditional publishing?

Self-publishing today is certainly a lot easier than it was twenty years ago when I

first published Gypsy Masala. Technology has been a great enabler and there are many platforms that make this process simpler ( Amazon’s KDP, Apple Books, INGRAM SPARK, KOBO etc). A great place to start for anyone considering the self-publishing route is the Alliance of Independent Authors (Ali).

Key steps are no different to what happens in a publishing house which is to make sure that that the work is the best that it can be. Get it professionally edited, copy edited, proofread, formatted, work with a designer to get the cover done and work on a marketing plan. Only then, press the button to publish. You have to have an entrepreneurial spirit and resilience as there are so many things that can and do go wrong!

I don’t recommend one over the other because it is a very personal choice and very much depends on personal circumstances.

For example, I self-published my first novel Gypsy Masala because, in spite of it being rejected by most publishers, I believed in it enough to work on it for two years to get it out. I then subsequently signed a three-book deal with HarperCollins and have three books with them. Having gone the traditional route, I have just turned down my fourth book deal with HarperCollins to self publish my next novel, Sari: The Whole Five Yards (released March 2022). The reasons are many but I get to control the editorial, choose the cover when/how it is released.

There is a lot more author control in selfpublishing and the thing I most value is independence.

- When you write a book on women and their lives, what goes on in your head?

Not a lot except the character’s voice!

Yes, I want to tell their story but more importantly I want to find a universal truth that connects me to the character and the character to the reader so that we all go on a journey and are in some way transformed by that journey.

- What according to you is the essence and impetus of diversity today?

Essence - That everyone has a voice that is heard; that there are many diverse voices and that we are richer as a society for sharing and listening to each other.

- In a world where people from ethnic minorities still struggle under the yoke of racial abuse and structural racism, what aspects or stories do you wish to consider while planning your future?

I wish I was a planner but I am not.

Stories find me. A lot of my life happens by accident. I am currently working on a series of children’s books, “Monster Life Lessons".

The first one “Anjali’s Story: My Magical Lip Balm Adventure" is released in conjunction with the DesiBlitz festival (23rd September) and this is the only time I have planned to create something that might affect a little change. Most times, I write because I have a story that doesn’t seem to leave me but the Monster Life Lessons series is a little different and they have been planned - all the main characters are diverse.

It came about because in Lockdown, I was homeschooling my daughter (10) she was having trouble with maths and I thought I would start a business with her and teach her about maths in a fun way. I wrote a fictionalised story about our adventure in the hope that it might inspire children to think differently about things they don’t necessarily enjoy but then I began thinking about representation for children.

My daughter is of mixed heritage and I thought, how many children are the lead characters in books and are on front covers?

I think it is about 6%. I remember being my daughter’s age and desperately wishing I was blonde - what subliminal messages do our children still get? Representation starts at a young age and I think every child should see themselves as heroes of a story and not necessarily possess a superpower apart from being themselves so this is the first time I consciously set out in creating a diversity series and yes, I am publishing under my own imprint.

Essex Indians (EI) organised 44 online quality shows during the pandemic to rejuvenate the mind and souls of millions.

The latest one was a global tribute to the pioneer of method acting - Dilip Saab via Facebook and YouTube social media, who created his own genre over a period of five decades ( 1944-1996) and whom we all sadly lost a few weeks ago at the age of 98. He was the winner of 8 Filmfare awards for best actor.

The event was hosted by Dr Anirban Mandal, Plastic Surgeon and Trustee of EI, and coordinated by Dr Arpita Ray, Gynaecologist and IVF specialist and Trustee of EI. The global artists were Tannishtha Biswas ( sham e Guam ke kasam, Footpath) ,

Jhinuk Basu( suhana safar, Madhumati) , Dr Queene Aditya ( Ude jab jab julphe, Naya Daur) Dr Arnab Gupta, Sharmistha Gupta ( Maang je saath tumhara, Naya Daur) and Chandrajit ( koi sagar based on Raag Kalavati, Dil diya dard liya) from India; Dipa Kuila ( Dil tadap tadap, Madhumati) from USA and Narayanan ( toote hue khwabo, Madhumati ) Nabarupa Mukherjee ( Choti so panchi, Sagina Mahato), Moumita Hajra ( Aaja re Pardeshi, Madhumati ), Dr. Molly Gupta ( Teri Husn ka, Leader), Ujjwal Ghosh, ( Nain lad jai he,

Ganga Jamuna), Ratna Parikh ( Ae watan tere liye, Karma)and Anashmita Saha ( dancing tribute with pyar kiya to Darna Keya, Mughal- E-Azaam).

Dr Mandal discussed the acting logistics of the legend with the artists and the importance of revisiting his films to make the generation next aware of such a genius.

Essex Indians charity is restarting live concert on 21st August with their signature event - Uttorsuri at West Langdon Hall. The trustees would like to invite everyone in London, Essex and beyond.

Representation starts at a young age

Preethi Nair

Shefali Saxena

Q

Q

Q

Q A tribute to Dilip Kumar by Essex Indians

Barbican Art Gallery to present first major London solo exhibition for Asian artist Opening autumn 2021, Barbican Art Gallery will present the first major London solo exhibition by Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta. One of South Asia’s most critically acclaimed artists working today, Gupta’s multidisciplinary practice encompasses a wide range of media and processes, from text, sculpture, video, photography, and sound which poetically explores physical and ideological boundaries and how, as individuals, we come to feel a sense of isolation or belonging. Shilpa Gupta’s new commission opens in The Curve on Thursday 7 October 2021.

For the Barbican’s 34th commission for The Curve, Gupta will present and build on her acclaimed project For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit (2017–18) – an immersive multichannel installation that comprises 100 microphones suspended above 100 metal spikes, each piercing a page inscribed with a fragmented verse of poetry by a poet

incarcerated for their work, writings, or beliefs.

Including poetry from the 8th to the 21st centuries such as by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Samuel Bamford, Irina Ratushinskaya, and the 14th century Azerbaijani poet Nesimi – whose writing inspired the title of the installation – the soundscape alternates between languages including Arabic, Azeri, Chinese, English, Hindi and Spanish where

each microphone utters verses of poetry echoed by a chorus of its ninety-nine counterparts as if standing together in solidarity. Through each poem, Gupta draws attention to the wider stories and experiences of global histories, and by giving a voice to those who had been silenced, Gupta’s haunting installation highlights the fragility and vulnerability of one’s right to personal expression whilst raising urgent questions of free expression, censorship, confinement, and resistance.

Shilpa Gupta said: “When I first walked into the cavernous space of The Curve, it reminded me of a snaking back alley and perhaps even a spine of a curled-up creature.

The curator’s proposition to show the sound installation, For, In Your Tongue I Cannot Fit, made sense - to infuse The Curve – with voices and sounds that hover, take risk and persist through the being of our societies.”

in brief BRITISH-BANGLADESHI ARTIST ON THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF COMMUNITY ARTS As a part of the South Asian Heritage Month, British-Bangladeshi artist, Nilupa Yasmin has been working on the important role of community arts in the lives of older people.

Nilupa, whose work has been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and bought by the Government Art Collection this year. She has the experience of getting creative with a group of over-65s throughout lockdown and give her views on how community arts have an important role to play in keeping older members of society connected even as freedom returns. In her latest project, ‘তেরা Tera – A Star’, Nilupa has been sharing her passion for weaving with members of Midlands Art Centre’s senior citizens’ circle ‘Culture Club’. The participants have been creating their own pieces of art, weaving together strips of photographs from their past while also experimenting with a large selection of fabric offcuts from market stalls and saris, provided

by Nilupa.

SIBLING RIVALRY WITH AUTHORS AMBREEN & UZMA HAMEED

Uzma and Ambreen Hameed are two sisters who have recently completed their two-book novel series, UNDYING. They are very experienced interviewees and are wellknown in theatre and television production respectively. It isn’t often that two sisters manage to write a book together – let alone one about a vicious rivalry between two sisters! Surprisingly, the project actually brought Uzma and Ambreen closer together.

UNDYING is a black comedy about two rival sisters in a British Muslim family who fight for love and against the rising tide of global politics. While Ambreen is a television producer and journalist, Uzma has directed for Kali Theatre, led projects at the National Theatre Studio and given talks and workshops for a variety of organisations including The Royal College of Art, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Edinburgh International Festival and Playwrights Studio Scotland.

Both Ambreen and Uzma Hameed live in the London area.

A REFLECTION ON MUMBAI’S PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

A digital exhibition explores Mumbai through the lens of its first residents, The Kolis, and launches on World’s Indigenous People’s Day - 9 August 2021. The exhibition will display archival photographs from the 1950s-2000s, highlighting the physical, socio-cultural and ecological transformations that the community has witnessed over the years. A community map of Versova Creek documenting archival stories from the Koli community will complement the exhibition alongside archival imagery.

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Alia offers peek into minimalistic home during yoga session

Best decision to make at the time: Sara on parents’ divorce Sara Ali Khan believes that it was a good decision for her parents to divorce at that time.

Actors Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh divorced in 2004, shocking the industry at the time. Saif has even described it as the “worst thing ever” considering the way his children Sara and son Ibrahim Ali Khan.

In an upcoming episode of 'Boot Original Feet Up With The Stars Season 3', Sara spoke about how living separately gave Saif and Amrita more fulfilling lives. She said, “It’s very simple. If you see there are two options. Either live in the same house where no one is happy or live separately, where everyone is happy with their own lives, and you also get a different kind of love and warmth every time you meet.”

Talking about why they decided to divorce at the time, she said, “I don’t think they were happy together ultimately, so I guess to separate was the best decision to make at the time.” She shared that she lives with her mother, who is also her “best friend” and means everything to her. “I have a father too who is always available on the phone, and I can meet him whenever I want.” Saif is now married to Kareena Kapoor Khan and shares two sons - Taimur and Jeh with her.

On the work front, Sara will be next seen in Aanand L Rai’s ‘Atrangi Re’ co-starring Akshay Kumar and Dhanush.

Alia Bhatt’s yoga instructor Anshuka Parwani shared a picture on Instagram, offering a glimpse into her minimalistic home in the background. The photo features Alia in a pink tank top with magenta tights, her hair tied in a top knot.

Anshuka captioned the pot, “Twist & Glow @aliabhatt. #aliabhatt #ardhamatsyendra #yogatwist #spinetwist #detox #yogamumbai #mumbaiyogis #anshukayoga”.

However, eagle-eyed fans were more interested in the sneak peek of her home. The wall in the background was accented with rectangular panels to frame a clock and lamp.

There was a large yellow sofa with a wooden coffee table in front of it and two contrasting navy blue ottomans to the right. A view of the greenery outside could be seen from the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Alia shared the image on her Instagram Stories and captioned it, “Yoga and sunshine.” Her friends posted compliments in the comment section. Celebrity stylist Tanya Ghavri commented, “She looks amazing.” While stylist Anita Shroff Adajania wrote, “Gorgeous glow.”

On the work front, Alia just wrapped up the shoot of a dark comedy titled ‘Darlings’, her maiden production venture. The movie also stars Shefali Shah and Roshan Matthew. She will next be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’. Her line-up of movies include ‘Brahmastra’, ‘RRR’, ‘Rocky Our Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ and ‘Takht’.

Shooting in Prayagraj will bring back memories: Ayushmann Actor Ayushmann Khurrana who will be filming the next schedule of his upcoming movie ‘Doctor G’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj will take him on the trip down memory lane. Directed by Anubhuti Kashyap, the campus comedy-drama will see the 36 year old actor play Dr Uday Gupta. Khurrana, who had visited the city during his time on reality show ‘Roadies’, said he was amazed by the “history, heritage and architecture” of the city.

He said in a statement, “I still remember getting mesmerized by its history, heritage and architecture. Prayagraj sees the confluence of three river - Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. I will be shooting again in this beautiful city and I can’t wait to go back.” He said he would like to revisit the places where he had shot for ‘Roadies’. He added, “It will bring back a deluge of emotions and nostalgia for me. I will try and find some time to visit the places that I had shot for Roadies just to relive my days of struggle and self-belief. It will be amazing to shoot in the city that carved my fortune at the start of my career.”

Written by Sumit Saxena, Vishal Wagh, Saurabh Bharat, along with Kashyap, ‘Doctor G’ will be produced by Junglee Pictures and also stars Rakul Preet Singh and Shefali Shah.

‘Mary Kom’ director defends Priyanka’s casting in the movie The spotlight has once again fallen on actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ culturally inauthentic casting in the sports biopic ‘Mary Kom.’ Filmmaker Omung Kumar defended the decision by citing historical examples and claiming that he has “promoted Manipur the way no one else has.”

The movie features the Jamshedpur-born Priyanka playing the Manipuri boxer, while her husband is played

by Haryana-born Darshan Kumaar. Speaking in an interview, Omung said, “An actor can mould themselves into any character and that’s what Priyanka Chopra did beautifully. That’s why the film was so effective. I have promoted Manipur the way no one else has, and I am proud of it. I gave a lot of Manipuri actors inroads to Bollywood through the film.”

He added, “The film’s reach also has to be considered while casting. We did look at a lot of Northeastern actors for the parts played by Priyanka and Darshan Kumaar too but no one suited the role. People think Darshan, who hails from Haryana, was from Manipur. So, if they suit the part, an actor can play any role. Amitabh Bachchan played Anthony Gonsalves without being Christian. If there is a South Indian character in the film, there’s no hard and fast rule that states we have to cast a South Indian actor only in the role.”

The biopic came into the limelight after the recent Olympics triumph of Mirabai Chanu and comments made by ‘Mary Kom’ actor Lin Laishram. Speaking to a journal, she said, “I admire Priyanka for her hard work, she really put in a lot of hours in order to look like Mary Kom but I always felt that casting is an important step in film.”

“I believe in authenticity and inclusivity, so a girl from Manipur or the North East could have been surely cast to represent us… When it comes to playing an achiever from the Northeast a non-North Eastern person is chosen as seen in Mary Kom. On the other hand, why not cast people from Northeast also as normal Indians in all walks of life which we are.”

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Nushrratt Bharuccha Shah Rukh offered ‘Chak De 2’ rushed to the hospital from film sets Actor Nushrratt Bharuccha was rushed to the hospital directly from the sets of Luv Ranjan’s movie set. Media reports reveal the actress was keeping unwell for the past few days. However, her health deteriorated while shooting. The actress opened up about her health in a recent interview and said, “I was staying in a hotel while shooting this film.

The hotel was close to the set. In today’s times, I felt that this would be good as it would save the time I would take to reach the set from my house. One day, after about three weeks of shooting, I felt very weak and I excused myself from the shoot.”

“I thought I would be okay in a day or so but the next day was equally bad. I reported on the set but a few minutes later, it all went spiralling downward. I could not do anything. They decided to rush me to Hinduja Hospital (Mumbai) and when I reached there, I was still worse. I needed a wheelchair to be taken upstairs. My blood pressure by then had dropped to 65/55,” she added.

Last seen in Netflix’s ‘Ajeeb Daastaans’, she is currently working on Akshay Kumar and Jacqueline Fernandez starrer ‘Ram Setu’.

Sonam Kapoor ridiculed by filmmaker for her outfit Actress Sonam Kapoor is known to be quite the fashionista. Daughter of actor Anil Kapoor, she comes from one of the biggest Bollywood families. The actress has, however, faced her share of ups and downs in the past. During a Clubhouse session to celebrate 11 years of her film ‘Aisha’, Sonam’s sister Rhea Kapoor recalled a snarky comment made by a filmmaker at a party once.

The movie featured Sonam as a wealthy girl in love with fashion and haute couture, with a tendency to meddle in her friends’ love lives.

The movie marked Rhea’s debut as a producer. Reminiscing about an incident that occurred shortly after the release of ‘Aisha’, Rhea said, “There was a time when people laughed and mocked us after the film’s release. I remember this incident, where we were at a party, and an emerging director then, who is well established now, looked at Sonam’s outfit and said, "Where is Sonam Kapoor going in this outfit?”

The movie has faced a lot of criticism, including from actor Abhay Deol who was cast opposite Sonam. He said in 2010, “The movie had nothing to do with Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ as it was reported. When I was shooting, I realized that the film was more about clothes than actual acting. I even read reviews of the movie that praised the clothes.

I would like to say today that I will never ever be part of a film like ‘Aisha’ in my lifetime. It’s not the kind of film I’d like to do.”

On the work front, Sonam will be next seen in ‘Blind’, a remake of a 2011 South Korean thriller.

Manoj Bajpayee recalls hiding in women's washroom as he was too shy Manoj Bajpayee and his Dial 100 co-star Sakshi Tanwar recalled the time when he was her acting instructor when she was a college student in New Delhi. Manoj said that he always knew that she had it in her to succeed in the field, and had been silently admiring her progress over the years.

In an interview, Sakshi recalled how she was spared his anger, and Manoj Bajpayee spoke about his awkwardness at going to a women's college. He told journalist Puja Talwar, "I remember her from there, and I remember telling her, 'You should take this very seriously because you are so good.' And she made me so proud, from a distance. We've never kind of conversed on the phone when she landed from there till now, but I have been quietly very, very proud of what she has made of herself. She's really proved me right about giving her the main role."

Reminiscing about the time, Manoj continued, "I'll tell you another thing, I felt very awkward about going to LSR. It was a girls college, and I am a very shy person. I would be very shy in front of girls. So I would ask a couple of girls to wait for me by the gate.

One day, they didn't show up, so I went across the street and killed time at a dhaba... One day, I entered a women's loo there.

And while I was in there, a few girls came in and wouldn't leave. So I had to hide there for the coast to clear.”

Manoj has had a busy year, filled with streaming releases.

He first appeared in the ZEE5 film 'Silence... Can You Hear It'? and then in the hotly-anticipated second season of the Amazon Prime Video series 'The Family Man'. A week later, he was seen in director Abhishek Chaubey's 'Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa', from the Netflix anthology 'Ray'. Dial 100 is his second ZEE5 film this year.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan was offered a part 2 of his 2007 film ‘Chak De India’, by none other than Sjoerd Marijne, coach of the India women’s hockey team. Taking to Twitter, Sjoerd wrote, “Thank you @srk for all the love ! It’s great to have support from the best in Bollywood. It’s time for Chak De part 2, what say?” While Sjoerd shared the tweet for Shah Rukh, he tagged a different handle.

The tweet came hours after Shah Rukh said, “Heartbreak!!! But all reasons to hold our heads high. Well played Indian Women’s Hockey Team. You all inspired everyone in India. That itself is a victory.” The team couldn’t win the bronze medal as they lost the match to Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics.

Shah Rukh is currently shooting for ‘Pathan’, which also features Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. He was last seen in the 2018 film ‘Zero’.

We need to encourage people who tell their story: Arjun Kapoor Actor Arjun Kapoor feels decisions by global sporting stars, such as Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Ben Stokes to prioritize their mental health and well-being has initiated a necessary conversation for today’s generation.

“We have to encourage and laud people who come out to tell their story. We live in an era where we are constantly being watched and monitored. It is not easy to not have any down time. So, when people like Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Ben Stokes speak up, we have to listen patiently because what they are going through is reflective of what our generation is feeling.”

Arjun has tackled mental health issues while fighting obesity in his formative years and being brutally shamed for the same, has experienced being dismissed by people who called him fat. He said he is grateful to these sporting stars for paving the way for this generation to look after themselves and be caring to one another.

Arjun said, “These guys are all legends who successfully deal with immense pressure every single day and if they are sparking a conversation to prioritise mental health, we should listen very, very carefully. When I was battling obesity, it was brushed aside as I’m just a fat guy who is privileged and he must be eating and having a good time. No one bothered about what I was going through mentally.”

He feels that it is important to normalize these important questions in society so that the youth of the country knows that it is absolutely okay to not be okay. “These are very important conversations that people must have with their families and friends. We must normalize these conversations in society. In a digital world, we are being pushed to be constantly on. We are surrounded by cameras and we have to put up the best things for likes and comments. We hardly have time to connect with ourselves and our close ones without the presence of our phones. Plus, now, we have the pandemic which has made us all too boxed up.”

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Poster for Sunny Leone’s ‘Shero’ shows her in never-before-seen avatar will be released in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. Sunny had shared on Instagram that she had wrapped up the film.

Posting a picture of herself with director Sreejith, Sunny wrote, “It’s Wrap for #Shero !!! Loved shooting with this amazing Team.” Sharing the same photo on his Instagram handle, Sreejith had showered praise on his lead star, writing, “Thanks to @sunnyleone for making my dream come true..you made this project into another level..Sarah Mike ,my shero @ikigai_motion_pictures @shero_movie_official.”

‘Shero' has been produced by Ikigai Motion Pictures. The release date of the film is yet to be announced.

Bollywood’s Sunny Leone dropped the first look of her first Tamil movie ‘Shero’ and it shows her in a never-been-seen avatar of the actress. She captioned the picture, “Survival is my Revenge !!

Showcasing the first look of my first Tamil movie #SHERO #SunnyLeone #Shero #Sheromovie #Firstlook #poster #tamil #hindi #telugu #malayalam #kannada I can’t wait for you guys to watch it!!!”

The movie is written and directed by Sreejith Vijayan, who has previously helmed movies like ‘Kuttanadan Marpappa’ and 'Margam Kali’. ‘Shero’

Ajith completes 30 years in the film industry, shares special message for fans Tamil actor Ajith shared a special message for fans and detractors as he completed 30 years in the film industry. His publicist Suresh Chandra shared the actor’s message on Twitter. It read, “Fans, Haters & Neutrals are 3 sides of the same coin. I graciously accept the Love from fans, the hate from the haters & the unbiased views of the Neutrals. Live & Let Live! Unconditional Love Always!!”

The message was circulated by a lot of his fans. Twitter handle @TrendsAjith wrote, “He is always a great inspiration to us. Love you #Ajithkumar sir, keep inspiring us forever.” Another handle @ThalaFansOnline wrote on Twitter.

“Whenever We Need A Motivation And Need A Distraction From Problems You Are The ONLY SOLUTION! We Will ALWAYS Stand With You In Both Good And Tough Times… Heartfully Praying For Your GOOD Health And Peaceful LIFE. #WeLoveYouTHALA.” On the work front, Ajith will be next seen in 'Valimai', an H Vinoth directorial. The movie also features Huma Qureshi, K Arthikeya, Bani, Sumithra, Achyunth Kumar, Yogi Babu, Raj Ayyapa and Pugazh.

Mammootty clocks 50 years in the film industry Malayalam superstar Mammootty finished 50 years in the film industry. His family members and colleagues took to social media to congratulate him on the anniversary. One of the first celebrities to wish him was his close friend and contemporary Mohanlal. Sharing a heartwarming picture where he is seen kissing the actor.

Mohanlal recalled that they have worked in 55 films. He also said that he was looking forward to working with him on many more projects. He tweeted, “Today, my brother completes 50 glorious years in the film industry. I feel so proud to have shared the screen with him in 55 memorable films and looking forward to many more. Congratulations Ichakka!”

Mammootty’s son Dulquer Salmaan also penned a long note highlighting his many qualities. The actor mentioned that while his father may dislike celebrating his career milestones, “50 years of the most illustrious and glorious of careers is no small accomplishment.” He added, “Every

day I count my blessings. Cause I get to see tough and hold the man outside of celluloid. And witness his life. Live under his greatness. His light. Experience the warmth and love people have for you.

Hear your stories from the people whose lives you’ve touched. I could write a book on you. But for now I’ll stop at this.”

Other celebrities to wish the veteran actor included Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nivin Pauly, and Aju Varghese among others. Prithviraj wrote, “50 years of absolute commitment to the craft and medium! Half a century of one of world cinema’s greats! @mammuka.”

Meanwhile, Nivin tweeted, “An actor par excellence and an inspiration for many across the country. Five decades of sheer brilliance. @mammukka, we love you, Your ardent fan!”

On the work front, Mammootty was last seen in the political thriller ‘One’. He has ‘Agent’ and ‘Bheeshma Parvam’ in the pipeline.

TV Listing * Schedule is subject to change

MON 16 AUG FRI 20 AUG 2021 6.00 DADA HO DIKRI 13.00 MAHAVIR HANUMAN 14.00 RASOI SHOW 15.30 JAI SHRI KRISHNA 16.00 SAU DAHDA SASUNA 18.30 ABHILASHA - EK ASTITVANI 19.00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR 19.30 MANMILAP.COM 20.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI

20.30 SHANI 21.00 PREM NI BHAVAI SATURDAY 14 AUG 6.00 TENSION THAI GAYU 13.00 MAHAVIR HANUMAN 14.00 RASOI SHOW 15.30 JAI SHRI KRISHNA 16.00 SAU DAHDA SASUNA 18.30 ABHILASHA - EK ASTITVANI 19.00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR 19.30 MANMILAP.COM 20.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI 20.30 SHANI 21.00 PREM NI BHAVAI SUNDAY 15 AUG 15.00 Raakh Na Ramakda 18.00 RASOI SHOW 19.00 Wrong Side Raju 22.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI

Samantha switches up her workout routine Actress Samantha left her fans in awe with the latest video of her gym session.

Captioned the video, “Switch it up. My Thursday routine with @brahmin_bull.”

In the clip Samantha can be seen doing the barbell back squat, barbell hip thrust, single-leg reverse lunge and standing heel raises.

The actress wrote it is her Thursday routine. The video has received more than 900,000 likes in just a few hours of posting.

Samantha was in the news recently as she removed her husband’s surname from her name on her social media handle. She removed ‘Akkineni’ from her name.

This move led to a lot of rumours about her

relationship with her husband.

She has refrained from responding.

Samantha was recently seen in the Amazon Prime Video’s web series ‘The Family Man 2’. She is currently busy shooting for her upcoming mythological drama ‘Shaakuntalam’.

22.00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 3

SATURDAY 14 AUG

16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS

17.30

DESI BEAT (SEASON 3)

18.00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 16 AUG - FRI 20 AUG 2021 8.30

BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN

17.30

CHHUTA CHHEDA

16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS 18.00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18.30 DIL KA RISHTA

19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA

19.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 20.00 DIL SE DIL TAK

20.30 BARRISTER BABU 21.00 BALIKA VADHU 2

21.30 EK SHRINGAAR SWABHIMAAN

19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA

19.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 20.00 DIL SE DIL TAK

20.30 DESI BEAT RESET

21.00 FEET UP WITH THE STARS (SEASON 1)

21.30 EK SHRINGAAR SWABHIMAAN

SUNDAY 15 AUG

16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS 17.30DESI BEAT (SEASON 3)

18.00 BOLLYWOOD KI SHAAM

BLOCKBUSTER KE NAAM NASTIK

21.30 DESI BEAT RESET

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Neeraj Chopra earns India's first athletics gold in Olympics Neeraj Chopra on Saturday not only won gold for India, but also helped it surpass the previous best haul of six medals achieved in the 2012 London Games. With his gold in men's javelin throw, India's medal tally has gone up to 7 - highest so far in any Olympics.

India now have one gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

The 23-year-old javelin thrower created history with his gold as he became the first to win a medal in athletics since the country started taking part in the Games in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium. Among the athletes who have bagged medals in this season for India are Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Lovlina Borgohain, PV Sindhu, Bajrang Punia and Men's Hockey Team.

For India, first medal came in weightlifting, in which Mirabai Chanu won Silver. On the 7th day of the quadrennial event, Lovlina Borgohain secured the second medal for the country in boxing. She won Bronze. Ace shutter PV Sindhu, too, won bronze by defeating Bing Jiao of China.

Silver - Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting: Women's 49kg )

Gold - Neeraj Chopra (Men's Javelin Throw) This time, there were several notable firsts in terms of participation at Tokyo Olympics. For the first time in its history, a fencer from India (Bhavani Devi) had qualified for the Olympic Games. Bhavani won the first match 15/3 against Nadia Azizi of Tunisia and became the first Indian fencing player to win a match at Olympics.

After 41 years, a podium finish for Indian hockey India had just quelled a valiant challenge from Germany to emerge 5-4 victors, a win which will be savoured by a country deprived of an Olympic medal in hockey for 41 agonising years. While the match was won on the strength and ability of the team, one man who withstood unrelenting pressure to see India through was PR Sreejesh. With 6.8 seconds left on the clock, the 35-yearold goalkeeper came up with the save of his career to deny the Germans an equaliser which could have taken the match to the shootout.

The last minute was full of drama. One can only imagine the pressure the team was under to deliver. With prayer on their lips, belief in their minds, backed by fitness and resolve, India took the field for their date with history. The Indian charge was dealt an early blow when a goalmouth melee led to Timur Orus connecting Florian Fuchs’ pass past Sreejesh in the second minute. With their backs to the wall and a one-goal deficit, India began the second quarter with intent and purpose and three minutes into it, Germany paid the price for going full press.

On the counter, Nilakanta Sharma dribbled swiftly before relaying a through pass to Simranjeet Singh, who made no mistake in finding India’s equaliser.

Germany forged ahead yet again in the 24th minute. Barely had India recovered from the

goal when the Germans dispossessed Surender Kumar in the circle for Benedikt Furk to find the mark.

Germany failed to hold on to the lead for more than two minutes as India levelled, with injector Hardik Singh (27th minute) and Harmanpreet Singh (29th) putting their team back in the game. A minute into the third quarter (31st), Rupinder Pal Singh converted a penalty stroke but the drama was only unfolding. Simranjeet handed India a 5-3 advantage when Gurjant Singh blazed through the right flank and sent the ball to the striker, who scored from a close range.

India entered the final quarter with a 5-3 advantage. The Germans played rough and their skipper Tobias Hauke was sent out with a yellow card. But Lukas Windfeder put a fresh wind in the German sail, converting a penalty corner in the 48th minute. India then withstood repeated attacks up until the last few seconds.

Silver - Ravi Kumar Dahiya (Wrestling: Men's 57kg freestyle)

Bronze - Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing: Women's Welterweight)

Bronze - PV Sindhu (Badminton: Women's singles)

Bronze - Bajrang Punia (Wrestling: Men's 65kg freestyle)

Bronze - Men's Hockey Team

But in the second match, she lost 7/15 against world top 3 player Manon Brunet of France.

Nethra Kumanan was the first ever female Sailor from India to qualify for an Olympic Games. Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj were the first Swimmers from India to qualify for an Olympic Games by

achieving the ‘A’ Qualification Standard in Swimming.

While boxing was also expected to bring more than a single bronze medal, there were also a few near misses - the women's hockey team, Aditi Ashok in women's golf and Deepak Punia in men's freestyle 86kg wrestling finished fourth to miss out.

Particularly satisfying were their exploits in a game they once dominated with clinical ruthlessness - hockey.

The women's team were lauded as superstars with their fourth spot while a euphoric India celebrated the country's first hockey medal in 41 years, hoping the hardearned men's bronze would help them to regain their past glory.

The most successful hockey nation in Olympic history, with eight men's titles, India had not won a medal since the 1980 Moscow Games when they topped the podium. Chopra's gold ensured that all was not lost for the Olympians, who are dwarfed by the country's cricket stars when it comes to sponsorship and popularity.

Brave Indian girls go down fighting After the star performance of the Indian women's hockey team in Tokyo Olympics, the Indian women’s hockey team has emerged from the shadows of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Chak De! India.’ The likes of Rani Rampal and others from the courageous group marshalled by Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne are now household names.

In only their third appearance on the world’s biggest sporting stage, the team went from also-rans to being among the top four.

A historic medal was within grasp but sadly not in the bag. A resurgent Great Britain pulled off a great escape with a 4-3 victory in the playoff for the bronze medal on Friday.

Britain have commanding credentials.

Champions in 2016 and ranked No. 5 in the world, they were ahead in experience, exposure and skill. And yet, for the most part, it didn’t count for much against the Indians. Much like the rest of the competition, it was a roller coaster ride for the Indian team. They were trailing by two goals when six magical minutes sent their hopes and expectations soaring. India scored three times with Gurjit Kaur and Vandana Katariya powering them ahead. They led 3-2 at half-time.

The fire was stoked but Britain had enough in their armoury to douse it. Their inspirational skipper Hollie Pearne-Webb ensured her team found parity in the 35th minute. And with 12 minutes to go, Grace Balsdon’s powerful drag-flick sealed the deal for Britain.

For the better part of the 60-minute contest, though, there was little to choose

between the teams. If anything, India’s midfield was slightly off-key, failing to execute passes and losing possession.

Perhaps big-match composure will come with time. India fired the first salvo when Navneet Kaur forayed into the striking circle after latching on to a pass from Rani in the second minute. But her shot at the goal was cleared by the British defenders. Once Britain settled in, they launched a blitz. It took an outstanding effort from goalkeeper Savita Punia to keep the sheet clean at the end of the first quarter.

Then followed the Indian fightback.

They played to their strengths of forcing penalty corners and Gurjit (25th and 26th minute) struck twice in as many minutes.

India’s strikers were then guilty of some profligacy with Navneet Kaur missing a rebound off Sushila Chanu but Vandana made amends and found the back of the net.

However, Britain piled on the pressure and the Indians picked up cards at crucial junctures, leaving them vulnerable. The Indian women may have lost the match but they were not vanquished as they leave Tokyo with heads held high.

Over £18,000 raised at the #PrideviewCricket Cup ’21 Nilesh Patel With all the Covid-19 uncertainty in the lead up to this year’s event, we were not be able to offer an open invite to our clients, friends, fellow professionals and their families, and that uncertainty continued right up to the morning of the event thanks to a rather ominous weather forecast.

Thunder, lightening and violent rain-storms were predicted to last the whole day, but miraculously, the heavens smiled down on everyone that kindly supported us.

This year’s format was simple – a one off T20 spectacle to be contested by our two most successful teams over the years: Jade Pharmacy and Axiom

DWFM! To add a bit of spice, we introduced playing England cricketers Tom Westley and Sajid

Mahmood into the mix, providing a truly memorable experience for those that played

and some real fireworks for those that watched!

Add to that hilarious commentary and jazzy music played whenever a boundary was hit or a wicket taken (by our very own in-house DJ Sejal Kamani), it soon turned into a match that could rival some of the best in the T20 Annals. Having been set 153 off 20 overs, Jade Pharmacy went about blazing down the score until their final pair came to bat a nervy final 4 overs with only a handful of runs required. Five wickets later (and minus 20 runs!) they ended up requiring 5 to win of the last over – and just about got there with 2 balls to spare!

The trophy was presented by

the ever-charming Mark Ramprakash MBE, star cricketer and patron of One Kind Act. Food and drinks were served all day, culminating in an elegant sitdown dinner in the OMT clubhouse for sponsors and clients.

The amount raised will be used to sponsor the higher education of a number of underpriviled teenagers in India, supporting Indian Covid-19 orphans and also tackling food poverty in UK – it will make a huge difference in time when help is needed more than ever.

The event was held on 24th July at Merchant Tailor School in Northwood, London