AV 23rd January 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE Mayor concerned about food and digital poverty SEE PAGE - 6

31 years of Kashmiri Hindu exodus

R

SEE PAGE - 15

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

23 - 29 JANUARY 2021 - VOL 49 ISSUE 37

OUR HAUNTING LONELINESS Covid-19 has left singles in the community without love and companionship

inside: 191,000 get shots as India begins largest vaccination drive SEE PAGE - 25

India's historic win at Gabba SEE PAGE - 32

Government's apathy costing BAME communities their lives

Priyanka Mehta

January is often recognised as the loneliest month of the year as the festive season winds to an end and bleak winter days continue. And Covid-19 induced isolation has only added to the troubles of young people this year. While the work-life balance may have improved for some “working from home”. It has also meant that young people have found themselves lonelier, more depressed and with higher anxiety indices.

Such is the gravity of the situation that the latest annual survey of young people’s happiness and confidence by Prince’s Trust returned the worst findings in its 12-year history. It noted that young people are in danger of giving up on their futures and on themselves, with a quarter saying they feel unable to cope with life.

Continued on page 6

Rupanjana Dutta In 2020, when the first wave of coronavirus ripped through Britain, the vulnerability of the Black Asian Minority and Ethnic (BAME) communities and their susceptibility to contract and die of coronavirus were highlighted in several independent reports.

Many studies pointed at the existing institutional racism that have led to poor tackling of the pandemic, causing deaths.

But as 2021 begins and third lockdown cripples Britain, nothing out of the ordinary has been done to disseminate culturally tailored facts and information in the community. On top of that, misinformation, conspiracy theories and fake news are rife and absolutely no effort is being made by the government to combat them.

Continued on page 16

2 UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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23 - 29 January 2021

with Keith Vaz

Boohoo records 40% percent rise in sales despite poor working conditions controversy

Firdaus Nagree Firdaus Nagree is the CEO of FCI London, a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, father, husband and passionate scuba diver who has founded or funded numerous successful companies since 1999. After beginning his career as a strategic consultant with Accenture, Firdaus quickly became involved in the London property scene, trading properties from the age of 21. He began investing in equities in the late 90's; Google and Apple being some of his early investments.

He is the founder of FCI London, a multi-award-winning interiors and lifestyle house with offices and showrooms in the UK, UAE, Nigeria & India. He was lead investor at YourWelcome, Onlicar, serves as a special advisor to RLC Ventures and Bridge Invest, and is an active early-stage investor in startups including AllPlants, Stirr, Path 81, Vidorra, Healthunlocked, Abacus Insights, F45 and many more.

Firdaus studied at UMIST in Manchester and London Business School and spends most of his time in London, Dubai and Mumbai. He is an expert scuba diver, scrambled egg maker and piggyback provider. Firdaus enjoys science fiction and practices meditation and bio-hacking.

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

London, which is where I grew up and live. Bombay, where I was born and spent my early years. Dubai where we often go with the kids to relax and unwind.

What are your proudest achievements?

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I don't have one. Nothing in my life is complete - everything is a work in progress.

This is true of my professional and personal relationships, my businesses, my investments, my passions and interests. Many things make me happy but nothing I have done is any big achievement. Yet. What inspires you?

3

When people genuinely give up their time (or life) in the service of others, especially underprivileged children. Acts of kindness towards those less fortunate than ourselves. When I witness these things, it fills me with emotion and completely inspires me. Sounds cheesy but it's 100% how I feel.

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

The financial crisis that started in 2008 was pretty brutal. I had never been through anything like that before, my first child was born during the middle of the crisis and we were on the edge of bankruptcy several times each week! It was difficult managing multiple businesses and responsibilities and keeping sane and motivated.

Working 7 days a week for months on end with no hope in sight was difficult. The biggest obstacle during this period was the constant, crippling fear of failure that I carried with me every minute of the day.

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

Difficult. An organisation rather than one person - EO (Entrepreneurs Organisation) is a global network of leaders. We share connections, experiences and collaborate to help one another learn and grow. Joining EO had a massive positive

4

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impact on my businesses, my personal life and my world view.

What is the best aspect about your current role?

The team and resources to experiment.

We come up with new ideas all the time and have the ability to build these out and test them quickly and fluidly. Some work, some don't, but there is always great learning in every scenario.

And the worst?

6 7

As our teams (and ventures) grow, it is impossible to have real personal relationships with all the new team members. This makes me a little sad as I love interacting with people. It also makes it harder to make sure that our core values are being shared in exactly the way I hope they will be - I have to let go and trust that our values are properly instilled in the existing team and that they will spread through to new team members in the way that we have envisaged.

What are your long-term goals?

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To create a home that my children will want to keep coming back to once they have their own families. To create an organisation that can grow and thrive without me & contribute to causes that help children. To have more time for my charity work, my hobbies and my family.

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

I’d take a long hard look at the education system and focus on redesigning it from scratch. It's easy to point fingers and complain from the outside but the current system is just not fit for purpose any longer.

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

Arthur C Clarke is a futurist, mathematician, physicist and science fiction writer. He's written some of my favourite books and has a wonderful imagination. I could learn a lot from him.

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On Thursday 14th June, fashion giant Boohoo reported a record 40 per cent increase in its strong sales during the Covid-19 restrictions despite the organisation being entangled in repeated controversies around poor working conditions of their labour workforce.

The online fashion retailer has revealed group revenues jumped to £660.8 million on the back of strong Christmas and Black Friday sales. The company expects to deliver revenue growth of between 36 per cent and 38 per cent for the financial year to February.

As a result of the strong UK growth, the company is expected to expand its warehouse capacity with a new site for its Nasty Gal, Karen Millen, Coast, Oasis and Warehouse brands. The fashion giant is reportedly also making progress with its plans to open it’s own “huge” new factory in Thurmaston Lane, Leicester, due to open in April, which will create up to 1,000 new jobs.

This news emerges after the Leicester City Council announced the establishment of a £300,000 training academy in the heart of Leicester’s troubled textile industry. Leicester Fashion Technology Academy

(LFTA) will be set up in Spinney Hills where the council is working with training provider Fashion Enter Ltd and clothing company Ethically Sourced Products Ltd on the scheme.

The sector has been in the spotlight over the last year over concerns about worker exploitation by some textile bosses and the Government and city council have been involved in a war of words blaming each other for issues.

Last month Boohoo executives told MPs they had cut ties with 64 of their suppliers in Leicester over concerns staff were being underpaid and overworked in poor conditions. The company reportedly expects to deliver an earnings margin of around 10 per cent despite increased costs in the face of the pandemic.

Boohoo said it is making “excellent progress” to put in pace recommendations following Alison Levitt QC’s report on the scandal, which stated the company was aware of the factory failings in Leicester.

Mahmud Kamani, founder and group executive chairman, said:,“I’m

Mahmud Kamani

pleased to publish Sir Brian Leveson’s first report today.

“I’m immensely proud of the speed with which our team has worked to effect change during such a challenging period for the group, and it’s encouraging to see our progress acknowledged in the report.”

John Lyttle, chief executive of Boohoo, said: “I’m delighted with the group’s performance over the peak trading period.

“Our team worked exceptionally hard in 2020 as we navigated the many challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the successful acquisition and integration of Oasis and Warehouse. Growth has been strong across our multi-brand platform and we have continued to grow our market share across all geographies. The group is in an excellent position entering 2021, which we expect to be another year of progress towards our goal of leading the fashion e-commerce market globally.”

Charged for assaulting prison officers The BBC reported that the Manchester Arena and Parsons Green bombers have together been charged with assaulting a prison officer.

23-year-old Hashem Abedi and 21-year-old Ahmed Hassan, are reportedly accused of assaulting an officer in HMP Belmarsh, south London. In the meantime, another man who is awaiting sentencing for terror offences is also charged with assaulting the same person. Three of these suspects are due to appear at Bromley Magistrates' Court on 7 April. 22-year-old Muhammed Saeed from

Hashem Abedi

Ahmed Hussain

Manchester, is the third person charged. Last year, he admitted possessing terrorist documents.

Abedi, who was jailed in August for murdering the 22 victims of the May 2017 Manchester Arena attack, is

also charged with assaulting a second prison officer during the same incident on 11 May. Hassan, whose Parsons Green tube bomb injured 51 people in September 2017, was jailed for attempted murder the following year.

Woman fined nearly £1000 in hit-and-run A 54-year-old woman who ignored the red light in a hit-and-run case has been fined with nearly £1000 after she struck a woman on a pedestrian crossing and carried on without stopping to see if the victim was doing well.

Rukshana Varudi ignored a red light before she hit the woman near Leicester city centre, with her mother, Leicester Mercury reported. Varudi drove on without stopping and was reportedly being

followed by a van driver who had witnessed the collision. Rukshana appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court to plead guilty to driving without due care and failing to stop at a collision.

Prosecutor Robert Carr told the court, “A witness says he was stopped at the crossing. The lights were red and he could see two pedestrians waiting to cross. They began to cross as the car driven by Mrs Varudi approached. She

narrowly missed the other.

She failed to stop and the witness followed her car in

his van and got in front of it. The pedestrian who was hit was with her mother.”

Appearing in the court without legal representation, she said, "I just want to plead guilty." She was banned from driving for six months and fined £945. She was also ordered to pay the victim surcharge of £95 and prosecution costs of £85.

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23 - 29 January 2021

India deserves a higher seat at the G7 table The political extravaganza of the G7 nations will reach the rugged shores of Cornwall in June 2021. After being stalled by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the little resort village of Carbis Bay can prepare to be turned upside down by the arrival of at least 10 world leaders, each followed by their personal advisers, security personnel and journalists.

The G7 is made up of seven countries - UK, US, Germany, France, Canada, Italy and Japan. This year Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited EU, India, Australia and South Korea to join the bandwagon. Climate change, coronavirus and world debt recovery will be some key topics discussed.

Much of the attention is on Joe Biden’s first trip to the UK as the President of the United States. Questions have arisen about his take on a post-Brexit Britain. The President-elect has said that Britain’s withdrawal from the EU is a huge geopolitical blunder.

That has not pleased the hard Brexiteers among Mr Johnson’s supporters in the Parliament.

Mr Johnson, as ever optimistic as he is, believes that 2021 is a “hugely important year for global Britain”, as he tries to divert the attention from bitter criticism and scepticism of Brexit and coronavirus pandemic to hosting of both the G7 and UN COP26 climate change summit. But, as the Financial Times has pointed out, this diversion will not be easy. While inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Mr Johnson promised to visit India as the Chief Guest to attend New Delhi’s Republic Day parade. But given the national lockdown mess created by this government, the Prime Minister quickly spoke to PM Modi on 5 January to express his deepest regrets about his visit, postponing it. But he ensured to underline their effort in a shared commitment to the bilateral relationship, and to continue the close collaboration between UK and India, including response to this pandemic.

Even as the UK and India appear to be resetting their relations post-Brexit, a major think tank has a polite warning for the British government. Chatham House in its “Global Britain, Global Broker: A blueprint for the UK’s future international role” report published on 11 January, has termed India, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia as the “Difficult Four” for a post-Brexit UK. The report by Robin Niblett, the director general of Britain’s leading foreign policy thinktank Chatham House, coincides with the 75th anniversary of the first meeting of the UN general assembly in London.It said, “While giving India the attention it deserves, the UK government needs to accept that gaining direct national benefit from the relationship, whether economically or diplomatically, will be difficult.” The report also questions whether UK, despite its inherent strengths, would be able to avoid losing influence in the world. It therefore advises to build more realistic goals for fostering deeper ties with India.

In this light and given India’s position as the world’s epicentre for pharmaceutical and Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing, it deserves much more than just an invitation to attend the summit.

Indian pharmaceutical industry is expected to export medicines and other goods worth over 25 billion USD in the current financial year, up from 20.5 billion USD in 2019-20.

The Chatham House report also noted that India will very soon become the largest country in terms of population and will have the third-largest economy and defence budget in a decade’s time. Things to be noted. Hillary Clinton once called India "not just a regional power, but a global power”. It is about time Mr Johnson lobbies to include India as a superpower and expand the membership to G8. Not only will this add to his vote bank, but also benefit him to ‘build back a better and stronger Britain,’ in the post-Brexit era.

First of many. Many more to come The appointment of at least 20 Indian Americans, including 13 women, at key positions in the Joe Biden administration itself, is a cause for celebration for the 1.2 million Indian Americans.

While the Indian diaspora in the USA may constitute only one per cent of the country's population, the 17 heavyweights who would form part of the White House have demonstrated the strength of the Diaspora. From electing their first-ever woman, Black Vice President in the form of Indian-origin Kamala Harris, it is also for the first time that Indian Americans are forming the core presidential team. There has been much brouhaha around Neera Tanden, who has been nominated as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and Dr. Vivek Murthy, nominated as the US Surgeon General. Biden’s top confidante for the year Vinay Reddy has been named as Director Speechwriting.

Other key names include Vanita Gupta who has been nominated as Associate Attorney General Department of Justice, and Uzra Zeya, a former foreign service official as the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. Meanwhile, Mala Adiga has been appointed as Policy Director to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Garima Verma is slated to be the Digital Director of the Office of the First Lady, while Sabrina Singh has been named as her Deputy Press Secretary. In another first two Indian American personnel have their roots in Kashmir.

Aisha Shah has been named as Partnership Manager at the White House Office of Digital Strategy, and Sameera Fazili, who would occupy the key position of Deputy Director at the US National Economic Council (NEC) in the White House. This perhaps is Joe Biden setting his tone for the Kashmir policy.

White House National Economic Council also has another Indian American, Bharat Ramamurti, as Deputy Director.

Gautam Raghavan, who served at the White House in the previ-

ous Obama Administration returns to the White House as Deputy Director in Office of Presidential Personnel. The victory of the Indian-Americans in the Senate and House of Republicans is already well documented.

Dr. Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi, Jay Chaudhuri are comfortably re-elected despite the high-stakes election drama. But in another first: Kesha Ram became the first woman of colour elected to the Vermont State Senate, Nikil Saval is the first Indian American elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Jenifer Rajkumar is the first South Asian woman elected to the New York state office and Niraj Antani is the first Indian American elected to the Ohio Senate. While Amish Shah has been elected to the Arizona State House, Ranjeev Puri to the Michigan State House, and Ash Kalra has been re-elected to the California State Assembly for the third consecutive term. Ravi Sandill has also won the District Court Judge polls in Texas.

If the last few parliamentary elections across the UK, Canada, USA, and New Zealand have demonstrated anything? It is the sheer strength and ever-increasing influence of the Indian diaspora across the world in re-shaping the global political narrative in favour of India and potentially steering alliances away from China. At a time when diplomats remain sceptical of China, Pakistan and North Korea who threaten to play the dual lethal politics around nuclear war and cybercrime, India will be crucial in bringing together the “first-world” countries to combat the nuisance creators. And leading Indian politicians, bureaucrats, diplomats and policy analysts will be tasked with ensuring the success of non-formal coalitions such as AIJA (Australia-IndiaJapan-America). AIJA and the appointment of the large number of Indian personnel in the Biden administration may be a first.

But certainly not the last.

A positive start to India's vaccination drive January 16 was a big day in India when the country began its vaccination drive with two locally made vaccines - one by the Serum Institute and the other by Bharat Biotech. Since India is the leading producer of pharma items in the world, poor countries now look up to Delhi to meet their needs at affordable price. Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier said that the vaccines produced in the country will be made available to other countries at the earliest. The country is expected to start supply of vaccines to other countries later this month itself.

Though the US and other countries have stockpiled hundreds of millions of doses, the pace of vaccinations has been challenged by unexpected glitches and logistical problems. India's rollout is one of the earliest and most ambitious in Asia, where many nations are taking a slower approach in vaccinating their populations.

India’s vaccination drive was a far cry from the panic and unpreparedness that propelled India into a prolonged nationwide lockdown ten months ago. Tremendous capacity expansion in public health, and the sustained dip in infections since September without a feared second wave, have instilled a measure of assuredness in India’s approach to the disease.

The Central government has booked 16.5 million doses from Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech, with SII reportedly stocking 40 to 50 million doses, India appears comfortably placed. India began its vaccination first with healthcare workers and public servants. India has developed the Co-WIN digital platform to control supply of the vaccine to different beneficiaries. At the current rate of vaccination, it takes nearly three months to com-

plete the current booking order. The target of 5,000 vaccination sites with 100 people inoculated daily will scale this to 500,000 daily shots. Given India’s massive population, Centre, states and vaccine companies face an unenviable task. Delivering the vaccines free and fast will have greater effect than a financial stimulus at this moment. The psychological effect of rapid mass vaccination could prompt citizens to resume travel, eat and shop outdoors more, send children to school and restart activities that revive the service sector, which accounts for 54% of India’s GDP. Despite positive vibes and the inspired idea to begin with health workers that boosts confidence among the masses, the Covaxin rollout without efficacy data has stirred unease. Given the comfortable Covishield stock position, inordinate hurry to approve Covaxin has clouded the stupendous Bharat BiotechICMR-NIV effort to develop an indigenous vaccine in quick time.

Choice on vaccines will ease this simmering scepticism. Though authorities were relieved that adverse reactions were few so far, they must be on guard as social media driven misinformation can distort this reality, rapidly and imperceptibly.

India’s ambitious drive to vaccinate millions of healthcare workers against Covid-19 was been hit by an IT glitch and deepening suspicion of a homegrown vaccine just days after the campaign was launched. Co-WIN digital platform glitches that forced Maharashtra to suspend vaccination for two days.

Undoubtedly, Co-WIN’s facilities like text messages alerting registered recipients of vaccination due date and confirmation of inoculation are handy tools. But the priority is to vaccinate fast and this cannot be delayed by ancillary technological failures.

Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.

– Theodore Roosevelt

Alpesh Patel

Pakistan’s Forbidden Love Affair I have come to the conclusion, based on my Twitter feed, that someone has a secret crush, a stalking love affair. And they have, not on me, but on India. And it’s not who you think it is. No, it’s not Imran Khan either, although India lives rent free in his Indian mind. He got the India-fever good and proper. Ain’t no vaccine for it.

No it’s not Mr Imran Khan Niazi, (that’s not a typo – it’s his clan – you know the one same as General Niazi – Google it and have a giggle).

No the stalker is the Pakistani High Commission in London. Every other Tweet seems to be about India. Then it hit me. In a moment of uncharacteristic eloquence, I hit reply, and posted back at them (no one else seems to ever reply to their Tweets, so I felt obliged), “You’re trying to justify your existence as a nation, and provide a distraction for your people to excuse your economic failings from the self same starting point as your neighbour. Your birth was proven unjustified, your peoples have been denied the justice of opportunity.”

I admit it was around midnight when I saw the Tweet. To be fair, I think the Pakistani Mission to the UN was Tweeting to Pakistan’s High Commission in London and back and forth. The rest of the world shrugged and said, ‘meh’.

Anyway, the moment of clarity hit me. They are trying to justify their existence. They were claiming Indian media is controlled by the RSSBJP conspiracy to rule the universe through Hindutva or some such like rant – to be honest my Urdu is rusty. Anyway, my reply was what you read above.

I get it. Pakistan is trying to justify its existence. Afterall if all was okay with India and you could leave her alone, then what need for a Pakistan.

And then the other shoe fell and it occurred that both countries started with the self same economic point. Yet one rocketed ahead. Surely it’s not the bloodline. Nope. The key difference?

Other than military dictatorships didn’t work out so well for Pakistan. Let me tell you. The key difference is that one is a theocracy.

I don’t like theocracies. Religion in politics is a toxic mix. The West removed religion from politics in the 1800s largely and accelerated ahead.

I’ve nothing against God, or priests, but once they get their hands on laws – you’re in trouble.

Pakistan has many problems. India isn’t one of them. But as Pakistan realises it, it is the solution.

India can solve Pakistan’s problems by giving it a distraction and a justification for existence. It just needs some lies and exaggeration fed to its people and we know from Trump – you can do that. It works. (Mostly).

Anyway, I wanted to share my epiphany. I know, I know, you’d all worked all of this out well before me. Sorry, I’m late to the party.

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Lord Loomba questions ministers on the roll-out of the vaccine Lord Loomba, participating virtually in the House of Lords, questioned Ministers on free school meals, vaccine roll-out and implementation of the 2013 Defamation Act in Northern Ireland.

Noting the public outcry over the meagre content of free school meal parcels for children who would normally receive free school meals if schools were open, he asked what steps the Government is taking to stop this happening again.

Acknowledging that some schools prefer to use their own caterers to provide the parcels Lord Loomba also wanted to know if the Government would consider re-starting the voucher scheme again.

He praised the Government’s action plan for the rollout of the vaccine. Noting that in an effort not to waste the vaccine, which has a short shelf life, administrators are finding as many people in close proximity as possible to give the unused doses to, Lord Loomba queried that while not wasting valuable doses is admirable, does the Minister agree that some back-up system should be in place to ensure that those who need it most are able to get it first. He also queried if parliamentarians in both Houses should be on a pri-

ority list for vaccination.

Challenging the Government record of clawing back wrongly claimed coronavirus business support Lord Loomba asked what steps are being taken to ensure business inappropriately claiming financial assistance pay it back. On the implementation of the 2013 Defamation Act, Lord Loomba asked, "My Lords, it is now eight years since the defamation law was changed in England and Wales. And it is nearly five years since the Stormont Executive commissioned a report recommending bringing Northern Ireland into line with England and Wales. Does the Minister agree that making the Northern Ireland legislation consistent is long overdue, and that not applying the serious harm test there is benefiting claimants over respondents and breaching the rule of law?”

Have you been a victim of the post office scandal? Share your experiences with us Dozens of sub-postmasters are preparing to launch lawsuits for malicious prosecution against the Post Office.

This lawsuit emerges after the Post Office had accused hundreds of postmasters of theft over charges of missing money when it was the failure of the Horizon computer and IT system. They were accused of theft as they were considered to be the only authority with control of their Horizon account. Hundreds of them were fired, terminated, or wrongfully convicted. Some were even imprisoned while others died of suicide.

Have you been a victim of the post office scandal? Are you preparing to launch a lawsuit against the Post Office?

Share your experiences with us. You can write to priyanka.mehta@abplgroup.com

27-year-old arrested for stabbing On Saturday 16th January, police charged a 27-year-old man with attempted murder over the incident in Tyseley, Birmingham.

Asim Hussain of Broadstone Road, Birmingham, allegedly struck a 77-year-old pensioner as he visited shops on Tynedale Road. He was remanded in custody after appearing at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court earlier. Mr Hussain, who is also charged with possessing a knife in public, is next due to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 15 February. Describing the events a "random attack", West Midlands Police said the victim remained in a critical condition in hospital.

The Genesis of the anti-India Rhetoric in Britain Nitin Mehta At the outset I would like to say that the vast majority of British people have great respect and admiration for India and Indian people. It is the people controlling the media and politicians with vested interests that have relentlessly targeted India ever since it got independence.

There were doubting Thomases who did not expect India as a nation to last long. How they wondered, a poverty ridden country(we shan't say how they became poor) so vast and so diverse could last even a few years. How they wondered would India's democracy last with so many religions, languages and political ideologies. There were regional parties with their own agendas and there was a fully fledged communist regime in power in Bengal. The Bengal comrades would read a quote from Chairman Mao before starting their poliburo meeting!

In the USA, the bedrock of democracy, the McCartthists hunted down any known communists and in Britain the 'Reds' were kept under a very watchful eye by the state.

Indian democracy believing in true diversity let the communists in Bengal run the show and they were eventually kicked out by the people.India confounded all the India experts in USA and Britain.

As the cold war raged between the West and the Soviet Union in the 50's,India along with some other countries championed the non-aligned policy. It refused to take sides.

This enraged both the USA and Britain. How can a poverty ridden India have the audacity to remain neutral? Following the dictum of if you are not with us you're against us, India became a state which needed to be put in its place. Ever since then India's enemies were propped up and the media intensified its propaganda campaign.

In this propaganda war the British media found unexpected allies and they were Indian's themselves!

Let me introduce you to Nirad Chaudhary.

He was a Bengali and an enormous anglophile. A product of Bengali intelligentsia he had thoroughly absorbed British culture. In 1970 he settled in Oxford. In his various books he expressed regret that the British left India. All that was good he claimed was made, shaped and quickened by British rule.

Hindus according to him were insular, inward-looking xenophobic creatures. This guy did not pull any punches in his dislike of Indian's. On Nirad Chaudhry's 100th birthday celebrated in Oxford he received messages from the Queen and, wait for it, the president of India!

Let me introduce you to VS Naipaul. He was of Indian heritage born in Trinidad. A Booker prize winner he wrote books like, 'An area of Darkness, A million Mutinies, and India a wounded civilisation. He said he hated Indian's. He said India was a wretched country, full of pompous mediocrity with no future. In his later years Naipaul changed his views of India but it was too little too late. He had his Booker prize! There are other Booker prize winners who have obliged the British media.Namely Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy. Over the last 50 years I haven't come across a single Indian academic, writer or the many Indian members of the House of Lords who have spoken up for India with any conviction. On the other hand most of them criticise India at every opportunity. This is something very peculiar as I do not know of any other nationality that writes so negatively of their mother country. India needs to research as to what is lacking in its education system that some of their greatest minds abroad develop such an antipathy for their motherland.

Let me introduce you to Mark Tully. A man Indian's have made an honorary Indian. A correspondent for the BBC in India. He is proud that the world listens to the BBC for impartial news! Being in India he is perhaps unaware of the depth of surreal shenanigans the BBC finds itself in. Here are

some of his views: As a Christian he believes that Christianity more than any other religion is a sanctuary of the disenfranchised. He is worried about the persecution of Christian and other minorities under the Modi government. Evangelical Christians are claiming persecution in India not because they are persecuted but because their targeting of Hindus for conversion is coming under scrutiny. The sources of their funding which runs into hundreds of millions of rupees is being questioned.

Mark says India does not necessarily have to be a great power. It can be a great example! He believes it demeans India to go on blaming Pakistan. It needs to resolve its disputes with Pakistan with 'generosity'. He feels Hinduism's biggest festival the Kumbh Mela feeds superstition and ends up with different religious gurus claiming superiority over others. No one seems to challenge Mark in India!

Let me introduce Wiliam Dalrymple. This Scottish man living in Delhi does not know the history of India beyond the Mughals. In fact he says there was no India before the British came. India he says may be ancient but its unity is rare and recent! He says Modi is an embarrassment. Again William has hardly any challenges to his pronouncements on India.

Last week British parliamentarians got together to condemn India on its Kashmir policy,on the persecution of the minorities and the farmers protest! Padma Shri awardee Barry Gardiner MP for Harrow spoke up for India.It was however well choreographed. He agreed there was persecution of minorities in India. He pointed out he was a Christian. A few years ago Barry voted for the Caste legislation in the UK despite a huge opposition from the Hindu community.

India is a country which has welcomed many persecuted minorities to its shores.The Zorostarians, Bahai and Tibetan Buddhists have all found a safe home in India. The Jewish people acknowledge that India is one of the few countries where they have never faced any persecution. They have been in India for two thousand years.

During the debate on India one MP suggested that along with,'our European colleagues pressure should be applied on India'! Brexit seems to have flown over the head of this MP! Another MP wanted a fact finding mission to India. Fact finding missions are one of the biggest perks for the members of parliament. Nothing much ever comes out of it. Yet another MP wanted a trade embargo with India. Post Brexit UK is looking to do huge trade deals with India whcih has a market of 1.3 billion people. These MPs know that nothing will come out from their debates but it will keep their vote bank secure.

For the first time the Indian High Commission in London responded to debates in the parliament. However, it was too defensive and not robust enough.

Where does the fault lie?

Despite India being a world economic and military power it cannot shake off the perception that it is weak and easily pushed around. Let us look at China. The Covid pandemic started in China but no one dare blame it. The world has busied itself in fighting Covid. Millions have died and life as we know it has been disrupted. Now if Covid had started in India the very fabric of Indian society would have been condemned. That is the difference between the strong and those perceived to be weak. In the Ramayan when the time comes for Hanuman to fly to Lanka he is engulfed with doubts. He had to be reminded who he was and what he was capable of. India too needs to be reminded to shake off the weak image.

While a huge number of countries are engulfed in civil wars,India is a robust democracy where all the minorities go about their lives with full freedom. One myth that needs to be bust is that a majority is always in the wrong simply because it is a majority. Minorities can also be awkward and confrontational. It is obvious that those who scream of persecution of minorities cannot tolerate the Hindu majority rightly reclaiming its ancient heritage.

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6 UK

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Mayor concerned about food and digital poverty Priyanka Mehta The Mayor of London has expressed his concern over increasing food and digital poverty that is particularly rampant in Asian-dominated boroughs of the city including Tower Hamlets, Brent and Southwark.

Such has been the depraved state of affairs in the UK that the Unicef recently announced it would be giving £25,000 to the Food School Matters project based in Southwark, providing more than 18,000 breakfasts over the Christmas and February halfterm holidays to 25 schools in the area. And Sadiq Khan has been increasingly concerned about both food and digital poverty adversely affecting families from black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

Speaking exclusively with Asian Voice, he said, “I am concerned about vulnerable children in London including those in Tower Hamlets. Many children have not gone to school since March or have attended classes for a very short time. They don’t have laptops and are sharing one phone or computer with other children. I have been lobbying the government to roll out laptops which can be recycled and used by these children whose families cannot afford a computer.”

Children going hungry in the fifth richest country in the world is a disgrace Last week in a rather disgraceful fiasco for the Tory Party, an angry mum Going by the Twitter handle @RoadsideMum, shared a photo of a delivery which she estimated cost £5.22, rather than the £30 vouchers she is entitled to.

The image had been shared more than 15,000 times on Twitter including by footballer Marcus Rashford and Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner. The photo shows items including bread, cheese, two carrots and a tin of baked beans which was supposed to be “sufficient” and to last the child for 10 days.

Speaking about the “absolutely disgraceful situation”, the Mayor said, “They were given inadequate supplies of food that wouldn’t last a day leave aside a week. It is a victory for all those parents and children that the government has now decided to give food vouchers instead particularly during these holidays. This allows parents and families to buy the food they need and children won’t go hungry. Children going hungry in the fifth richest country in the world is a disgrace.”

But this is not the only point of contention for the Mayor. He has also been at the forefront of ensuring that Londoners are vaccinated at the earliest for the early recovery of the businesses and city centre. However, fake news around the ingredients of the jab is likely to be causing some people from the UK's South Asian communities to reject the Covid-19 vaccine. Doctors have warned about the series of fake news messages widely circulated on social media including WhatsApp and Twitter which falsely claim the vaccines contain animal produce eating pork goes against the religious beliefs of Muslims, as does eating beef for Hindus.

Covid-19 vaccine does not contain meat or pork Speaking from the recently

opened mass vaccination centre at Brent, Wembley, Mr. Mayor said, “Many Asian Londoners and people of Asian origin in the country are seeing some of this misinformation and fake news.

Some are unfortunately believing it. I wouldn’t have gone to the mass vaccination centres if I did not believe in the vaccine.

Many Hindu and Muslim doctors and healthcare workers are themselves receiving this vaccine and advising the community to take it.

“I know some people are fed this lie that the vaccine contains meat products which many Hindus may not find acceptable.

There is also this misinformation that it contains pork which many Muslims may not like. The good news that I can confirm is that the vaccine does not contain meat or pork products. There is no reason why your religion should be compromised for the sake of public health.”

But while the Mayor may be keen on getting London back on its feet, he is confronted with the biggest financial crisis in keeping the TfL running. While he may have secured a temporary bailout of £1.8 bn for the Transport for London, Tory ministers such as Paul Scully have taken the occasion to ask if “London was truly open then why does Sadiq Khan want to charge an entry tax?”

Not increasing entry charges Responding to Mr. Scully’s claims, Sadiq Khan, said, “I am not increasing the entry charges.

What Paul Scully should be doing is questioning his government as to why they are anti-London? His government is forcing Londoners

Sadiq Khan

to have strings attached to the money the government gives to the City. The Conservative government asked me to remove free transportation for children and for over 60s. I refused. They asked me to extend the congestion charge upto the North Circle club and South circle club and I refused. It is also the Conservative government that charges road tax to Londoners. We pay £500mn in Vehicle Excise Duty and it takes all of that money from London and does not give any of it back.

“My basic argument with the government is that during this pandemic, fewer passengers are using the TfL services. TfL is selfsufficient and contributes an additional amount to the functioning of the City of London.

But now, we have less money coming in. If you aren’t willing to support us during this short time to pay for this service. Then how, else do we keep paying for these services? Unless the government provides the financial support the TfL requires in the short to medium term, I worry about the ability of the businesses in London to contribute to the country’s coffers. The govern-

ment mustn't cut its nose despite its face.”

In the meantime, Mayor has hailed the first-of-its-kind Met Scheme where police force will start recording the ethnicity of people stopped in their cars in a move aimed at stopping the alleged targeting of people for “driving while black”.

Speaking about the pilot which was a key commitment in his Action Plan to improve trust and confidence in the Met police, he said, “We’ve listened and responded to the continued frustrations of Black Londoners, who are concerned that they are six times more likely to be stopped in a car than a white person, and this pilot will help us to begin to assess and address concerns about racial profiling and disproportionality in our city.

"Road Traffic Stops are an important tool the police have to keep Londoners safe but they can have a huge impact on community relations and deserve the same level of scrutiny as any other kind of police stop-and-search power.

For many Londoners, that interaction is their defining experience of the police and that is why we are committed to carefully scrutinising the outcome of the pilot and acting on its findings. I have also written to the Home Secretary to ask her to make it compulsory for the police to collect and publish data on ethnicity for Road Traffic Stops."

OUR HAUNTING LONELINESS Continued from page 1 Sneha Patel (named changed upon request) was slated to get married earlier last year. Due to government restrictions and changing lockdown rules her wedding kept getting delayed until the couple called it quits earlier this month.

The 31-year-old London resident who is originally from Manchester speaks about the riot of “emotional turmoil” that she battles through every day whilst living in isolation.

A broken marriage and living in isolation Commenting on the adverse impact that her broken relationship has had on her emotional well-being she said, “I know that there are far worse things that have happened with people and I am grateful that I have a job, money to pay my mortgage and that my parents are doing well. But I didn’t expect to be welcoming 2021 with a broken relationship and alone in my apartment. I tried asking him what had happened and I think we both tried making amends considering our families were involved as well.

“Eventually, we called it off and ever since I have been trying to figure out what went wrong. The first few days were difficult with work and not being able to go out because I don’t want to break the lockdown rules. The daily walks, conversations with parents and lit-

kept dragging on. There is only so tle things like meditation helped. much you can do on your own.

But it still feels surreal and I supDuring summer, I managed a coupose only time can be a healing facple of socially distor.” tanced park dates, Sneha is one of the where despite the many who have strugsunshine, we gled to live on their managed to get own without much rained on. human contact during Meetings were the pandemic. Earlier awkward. Do we last month, a Clinical hug? Do we not? If Oncology Consultant you did hug, it was in the NHS had taken this awkward to his social media Dr. Gagan Bhatnagar uncomfortable account to share his nervous pat where neither side experience of living in lockdown. knew if it was allowed and looked Dr. Gagan Bhatnagar tweeted, over your shoulder to see if you'd “Being single during this pandemic gotten away with it. Most often has been downright dreadful. I am there wasn't anywhere to pick up a not taking away from the seriousbeverage (alcoholic or otherwise). ness of the pandemic but it has I'm not a big drinker, but social been extremely hard when you lubrication when meeting a simply don't have anyone to share stranger for the first time in an time with. The national rules are already awkward and unpreceso strongly geared towards couples dented situation goes a long way to and families and really leave single breaking the ice. people in no man's land, fending for themselves. No one is forming “That's not to say I haven't a bubble with a guy they met in a tried video dating. But the pitfalls park that one time just so they can are the same, developing a connecget to know each other. Effectively tion and intimacy is awkward, and I and probably others have been even after a few video dates with penalised for an entire year where the same person, moving to the it has been nigh impossible to start real world is taxing. It is now such or develop any new relationships. a laborious effort to meet someone During the first few months, it was in person that many just give up ok. I told myself it was self-reflecbefore they've even begun. When tion time. Time to improve on you add this to the mix of what is myself. already a dating scene where every “But month after month, it contestant is disposable with a left

unable to shake off the symptoms or right swipe of one's finger, it weeks or months after the infecmakes for a disheartening story. tion. We should also not forget While professionally my life has the impact of lockdown/quarancontinued progressing, on a pertine itself on people’s mental sonal level this year has been one health. And there is also an addiof stagnation and even regression tional impact of the financial as the already slim chances of downturn that may be associated developing a connection become with the pandemic.” vanishingly more thin.”

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder There is a range of charities and post-viral fatigue that one can reach out to while feeling distressed including The While the Princes Trust survey Samaritans, Mind and The Heera does not particularly quantify the Foundation. For South Asian chilimpact of the pandemic on indidren Barnardo’s have launched a viduals from Black, Asian and specialist helpline particularly for Minority Ethnic (community). But Black, Asian and psychiatrists and Minority Ethnic mental health BAME families who experts believe have been hit hardest that the disproporby the coronavirus tionate impact of pandemic. Named Covid-19 will have Boloh, the helpline a domino effect on offers children and their mental and families advice and emotional health support from trained as well. specialist advisers Speaking who speak a range of about the conseDr. Subodh Dave languages and are quences of mental from a diverse set of health on young cultural backgrounds. It also propeople, the recently appointed vides therapeutic support as well Dean of Royal College of as a live webchat facility. Advisers Psychiatrists, Dr. Subodh Dave support children calling with worsaid, “My main concern is about ries about the future due to school the post-pandemic period. We are disruption, mental health and already beginning to see the wellbeing problems, coping with impact of Covid-19 with post ICU, sickness and bereavement as well Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as financial concerns due to syndromes, post-viral fatigue and unemployment. long Covid where people are

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8 COMMUNITY

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Medics and Police appeal to the public to Stay At Home The new, highly contagious Covid-19 variant is spreading fast - 50% to 70% faster than the variant in 2020 - leading to increased pressure on a strained NHS and more deaths. The R-number has risen to 1.3 in many parts of the country, compared to 0.9 at last year’s peak, placing the country into a health emergency.

Medics and the Police are calling on the public to not be complacent and to stop the spread by sticking to the rules which are ‘crucial’ if the country is to successfully ease pressure on the NHS and minimise the number of Covid-19 deaths.

Any deviation of the rules could be fatal to others.

With a third of people having no symptoms when carrying the virus, the message is clear from the front-

line workers - we all must act like we have the virus and understand that bending the rules leads to the virus spreading, which puts a huge amount of pressure on an already stretched NHS. A new short infographic film has been developed with NERVTAG data and released to demonstrate how quickly the new Covid-19 variant spreads. The film demonstrates how in some parts of the country 1 in 30 people are infected with the virus, so bending the rules could be fatal. The film is narrated by TV and NHS medic Dr Ranj Singh and will run across PR and social media in England from this weekend.

As a plea to the nation, Dr Ranj said, “Please don’t risk contracting or passing on the virus and stay home

as much as possible. I know it is tough and we are bored with the guidelines, but on behalf of my colleagues in the NHS, please stay at home. I can see it in my hospital, staff are struggling to cope with the amount of care needed to be given to more and more patients suffering from this terribly debilitating virus.

“If you are going out to exercise, please do so as locally as possible, never exercise with more than one person from another household and always keep 2 metres distance. If you have to go to the shops, go alone, wear a face mask when indoors and washing your hands before and afterwards.

We all need to be vigilant meeting someone in your supermarket who’s pushed the same trolley or held the

Dr Ranj Singh

same basket could well have coronavirus.”

Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Martin Hewitt, said, “Whilst the vast majority of us follow the rules and stay at home, police officers will be visible in communities tackling those who are not playing their part. We will not hesitate to issue fines to those deliberately breaching the regulations with no regard for the safety of others.”

Visit gov.uk/coronavirus for more information.

“India needs its nurses as well. We have to develop our talent domestically” - Priti Patel In a virtual event with the Conservative Friends of India, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel categorically addressed the concerns about the vaccine and said, “There is a reluctance in some of our ethnic communities to take the vaccine. All sorts of disinformation is out there. Go out there and get the vaccine. Because if we lead this and step up to give others the reassurance of the vaccine, and that it is not conflicting with our religious beliefs of that nature, we will save lives in our community. It's in our mosques, in our mandirs, in our gurudwaras, please relay this message in our commu-

Priti Patel

nity.”

When asked when she’d be visiting India and how she would describe her relationship with India, the Home Secretary said, “India is personal to me. Also because of my personal relationship with Prime Minister Modi, he’s a fellow Gujarati, and he’s incredible in terms of his own achievements. He’s a fantastic leader and that

speaks to our relationship and we saw that when PM Modi came over when we all worked together and made the Wembley event happen.

So that speaks very much not just from a macro level but also from a personal level.” Patel revealed that PM Modi has been invited to the UK to attend the G7 in the summer.

“I’m very keen to go to India after we ease our lockdown and when there are better days ahead for all of us. I’ll definitely be going to India. My counterpart, Amitbhai (Amit Shah, Home Minister of India) is one of us basically in every sense of the word. For me it’s a mar-

riage completely made in heaven,” she added.

Patel said, “We have changed our immigration system fundamentally. I have in fact in the last four months delivered a points based immigration system.

Now that’s not a slogan, that is a brand new immigration system with the underpinned technology that has a tier based visa system approach.”

Raising a firm need to train the people of the UK in the healthcare sector, she said that sourcing nurses from India may not be the right approach when “India needs its nurses as well. We have to develop our talent

Listen to that call Rohit Vadhwana Shyam was attending a new year party hosted by one of his friends. The place was full of people, over a hundred may be. He knew some of them and interacted with them, wishing happy new year.

He saw a man of his age, nicely dressed in a blue suit.

Shyam felt he has seen the person somewhere or has some past connection with him. He thought for a moment whether to approach him. While he was in a dilemma, a colleague interrupted his thoughts. Shyam got busy in interacting with colleague and other friends and lost the man in the crowd. But later, the host happen to introduce him to that stranger in blue suit. It turned out that they were classmates in their early years of schooling in India, and then both families had moved to different places and countries. They had never got in touch for over thirty years. Shyam found a wonderful friend in him for the rest of his life. If by chance the host had not introduced them and Shyam had not approached the man on his intuition, he would have never found a good friend back.

Have you ever come across a situation in a gathering where you feel some connection with an unknown person? It happens many times we attend a party or meeting and see someone first time, but immediately deep in our heart we know there is some connection. Extrovert people take action immediately and approach that stranger, but introvert people miss such a chance. It is not about being extrovert or introvert, but the question is about hearing the bell. When a bell rings on seeing someone in a crowd.

The person may be a childhood friend, whom you had seen two decades ago. Or maybe old neighbour whose face features have changed over the period of time. Such connections are to be valued and treasured for life, especially if people re-surface in your life by chance. But it can happen only if we take the call when it rings.

Another possibility is that the connection has no past relation but is potentially strong relationship for future.

Many best friends and partnerships have emerged out of such occasional conversations. Not necessarily it is love at first sight, but it may be friendship, business relationship or creative partnership which can turn out to be a very successful venture. Therefore, it is important that we listen to the call, bang coming from heart when we see a stranger. Sometimes it is past connection or a call for making a relation in the future. Have you ever missed such call.

(Expressed opinions are personal.) domestically,” she added, “There’s a lot going on in the immigration front. People can come and work in our

country. That has not happened in the last 47 years,” she said, citing this as a revolutionary development.

Constituents outraged at MPs for debating India’s internal matters On Tuesday 12th January, Labour MP for Brent North took to the floor of Commons to highlight that members of the British Indian diaspora were outraged at the Parliamentarians debating India’s internal matters.

Addressing the debate, India: Persecution of Minority Groups, Barry Gardiner spoke about the many constituents—British

citizens whose families were originally from India—who had written letters to him, “outraged” by these debates.

Reading one such letter, he said, “It is a very difficult time in the UK due to the severe impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It is surprising to know that elected British Members of Parliament are debating subjects attacking the Government of India, rather

than focusing on UK priorities.”

He further added, “Imagine that there had been debates in the Indian Parliament all through the troubles in Northern Ireland, accusing the British Government of persecuting the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland. I am a Christian and I therefore have an interest to prevent the persecution of my fellow

Christians; but, then, I am also a human being and I have never understood how anyone can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation, let alone the persecution, of a fellow being. I am also the founding chair of Labour Friends of India, and as one of India’s longeststanding friends in the UK Parliament, I am keen to see that the true nature of Indian democracy is properly repre-

Barry Gardiner

sented and not distorted.

“Add to that the fact that

the UK is the former colonial power, whose influence in what is now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh was not entirely beneficent, and certainly not above pitting one religious or ethnic group against the other. In this light, it is not beyond ordinary powers of imagination to conceive that people in India might not regard our intervention as either wholly welcome or appropriate.”

Chinese descent MP stirs Kashmir controversy On 13th January, a Labour MP stirred another controversy as she led a debate on the “Political situation in Kashmir” on the floor of the House of Commons.

Sarah Owen, the first British Chinese MP from Luton North spoke about how the situation in Kashmir was felt across the world and in communities “such as mine in Luton North” ever since the pandemic. Ms Owens, who is

also the chair of the group “Chinese for Labour”, noted the government’s response to the ongoing persecution of Uighurs, and called on the government to take a similar stance on Kashmir.

She said, “The lockdown of 2019 shut off entire communities and their communications to the outside world.

Around 7 million people have been silenced and cut off.

Students studying in Luton

were unable to get fees paid by parents in Kashmir, as banking ceased. There are curfews to control people lives, not a virus—a lockdown enforced by half a million soldiers.

“I have attended numerous meetings with people living in Luton and internationally—those who live in Jammu and Kashmir, those who have loved ones there and people who just care about human rights. A person does not and

should not have to be Kashmiri to care about their struggle for self-determination—their struggle to live safely and freely. What happens in Kashmir is felt across the communities such as mine in Luton North.” On the following day, India raised the subject of “false assertions” and unsubstantiated allegations propagated by a “third country”, an allusion to Pakistan. In their statement,

the Indian High Commission said, “Regarding the reference to ‘Kashmir’ in the title: the need is felt to differentiate between the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India, and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (when the erstwhile princely state of Kashmir legally acceded to India in October 1947, this part was forcibly and illegally occupied by Pakistan). “It was also noted that references

to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, despite the volumes of authentic information available in the public domain— based on up to date and visible facts on the ground—ignored current ground reality and, instead chose to reflect false assertions of the kind promoted by a third country, such as unsubstantiated allegations of ‘genocide’, ‘rampant violence’ and ‘torture’.”

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10 READERS' VOICE

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Farming laws are meant for Indians

Time to upgrade NHS

“Farming laws are meant for Indians” is an important as well as thought-provoking article in terms of how a protest held in India is being presented, interpreted and taken advantage of in the UK (AV dated 16-22 January 2021).

The government of India has made these proposed changes after taking into consideration various aspects in the field of agriculture. These are not random thoughts of a few people. The Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi himself has clarified during interviews and discussions about the implications of these changes but still politically motivated people having support from the oppositions and possibly from other foreign bodies have continued to create disturbances.

The UK should refrain from interfering into the internal matters of India especially when the UK is looking forward to having a better economic relationship with India after Brexit. As reported in the Asian Voice, more than 100 MPs have signed a letter to the Prime Minister Mr. Boris Johnson to raise the concern. Most of the MPs who have signed the letter may have nothing to do with India or have very little knowledge about India or connection with the country. The Supreme Court of India has appointed a committee to look into the proposed laws and suspended its implementation temporarily. Some people in the UK have used children to propagate against the farm laws which is absolutely objectionable because they are just dragging them into this controversy without having any or very little knowledge about the laws and their implications.

I think the MPs of the UK should pay more attention towards the domestic issues like rising Covid19 cases, shrinking economy, Brexit, how to support local businesses and people of their own constituencies instead of meddling into the affairs of a democratically elected government’s functioning. If the MPs of the UK or other people who are really concerned, they should give donations to legitimate charitable organisations for improvement in the areas like sanitation, health & safety and rural education. That will be much appreciated instead of provocative words and letters.

Hitesh Hingu London

Both, British people and our politicians are set in their ways, with deeply rooted culture that makes it difficult to introduce change, adopt new ways and bring the country in line with modern world. Our NHS is one such institute that needs upgrading so that we can avoid annual winter crisis, often made worse by unexpected epidemics like swine flu and now Covid-19. As a result, routine operations like hip replacement, bypass, cancer treatment and many more are put on ice, waiting list ballooning from just over 1500 in March to now standing well over 190K, thus leaving many elderly patients in pain and some cancer patients losing their lives.

While there is chronic shortage of beds in NHS, sending many London patients hundreds of miles outside, there are many empty beds in private hospitals that NHS can use for non-urgent cases. In many countries NHS and private sector work hand in hand, side by side, NHS funds the private treatment up to NHS cost, even 10% below and private patients paying the difference. For example, if Hip replacement cost NHS £10K, while private cost is £12K, NHS may fund 100%, even 90% of NHS cost that is £9K and the patient paying the difference of two to three thousand pounds. Thus both, NHS and patients are in a win, win situation, reducing the long waiting list and sufferings of OAPs waiting for heap replacement.

Most OAPs are better off financially, having lived a simple life, saving for rainy days. So why they should be denied a few years in comfort and pain-free if they are willing to go private! It is not jumping the queue but reducing, shortening NHS waiting list as well.

Kumudini Valambia London

Chinese food habits Although Chinese eat all kind of meats, slaughtering live animals in markets, their food habits vary, depending on regions of their cultural heritage. Chinese delicacies, food consumption, include cats, dogs, monkeys, turtles, mice, snakes, worms, bats, pigeons, frogs, cicadas, penis of animals, horseshoe, crabs, eggs with duck embryos. They eat pangolin which feeds mainly on insects such as termites and ants. They also operate mice and animal farms for their food dishes.

China has also brought death and destruction in wild-life national parks. They have bribed their way into making poachers kill rhinos for their horns, tigers for their bones and rare and exotic endangered species.

Chinese food habits are putting the entire world in danger. To counter these evil and fatal trends, WHO must act to safeguard human lives.

Ramesh Nehru UK

Gurkhas make us proud A team of Sherpas has accomplished one of the most coveted achievements in mountaineering. They have climbed K2, the world’s second tallest mountain, for the first time in winter. It is the only one of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 metres high that has never been climbed during the winter season.

Ten Sherpas, along with Nirmal Purja, a former Gurkha and UK special forces member who had previously climbed all 14 other 8000 metres peaks in just over six months, finally captured K2 on Saturday 16 January. What a delight! Purja reported from the summit with his teammates Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Nirmal Purja, Pun Magar, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Kilu Pemba Sherpa, DawaTenjing Sherpa and Sona Sherpa.

Nirmal Purja was born and bred in Nepal. He joined the Brigade of Gurkhas in 2003 and the Special Boat Service in 2009. He later served in the elite special forces as a cold-weather warfare specialist. Cold-weather warfare, also known as Arctic warfare or winter warfare, encompasses military operations affected by snow, ice, thawing conditions or cold, both on land and at sea. He quit the military in 2018 as a Lance Corporal to focus on his mountaineering career.

He made his first major climb in 2012, reaching the summit of Lobuche East without any previous experience as a mountaineer. On May 13, 2016, Purja summited Mount Everest his second eight-thousander.

On May 15, 2017, Purja led the Gurkha Expedition "G200E", which summited Everest together with 13 Gurkhas to commemorate 200 years of Gurkha service to the British Army. On June 9, 2018, he was honoured with an MBE by the Queen, for his outstanding work in high altitude mountaineering.

Shiv Gurung Bletchley

Robbing public in masks With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has realised the worth of doctors who are in the frontline in the war against the deadly disease. And now, amid the Coronavirus pandemic, our healthcare workers, doctors, nurses and support staff who risk becoming infected themselves, are making extraordinary sacrifices to take care for the rest of us.They do so, most infuriatingly, even as they have been put at a greater risk than necessary by the avoidable shortage of masks, face shields and other personal protective equipment. No doubt, they even risk their lives for saving the lives of hundreds and thousands of people all over the country and the world. It is true that they need the government’s encouragement and proper facilities to work with zeal and zest in their everyday duties in their respective hospitals.Also, since masks are mandatory to avoid getting infected with Coronavirus, some masked men are enjoying the liberty to rob the public even in broad daylight. The police must keep an eye on such anti-social elements.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai

UK’s ‘forgotten’ healthcare staff UK’s healthcare staff Indonesia has rolled out a mass free Covid-19 vaccination programme to stop the spread of coronavirus and get the economy going. But the country has decided to vaccinate younger working people after frontliners. The BBC reported that Professor Amin Soebandrio, who is on a board that has advised the government on its "youth first" strategy, argues that it makes sense to prioritise immunising working people - those "who go out of the house and all over the place and then at night come back home to their families".

UK is the only country where frontliners have not been prioritised. Even in India, the first to get the vaccine has been the frontline staff.

In the UK on Monday 38000 people were infected and 600 died. Television channels are showing how doctors and healthcare staff are struggling in hospitals like Royal London.

A new patient is coming in hospitals one in every 30 secs.

As at March 2019, over 1.2 million people were employed by the NHS. Of NHS staff whose ethnicity was known, 4 out of 5 (79.2%) were White (including White ethnic minorities), and 1 in 5 (20.7%) were from all other ethnic groups. There was a higher percentage of staff in medical roles (working as doctors in hospitals and community health services) from the Asian, Chinese, Mixed and Other ethnic groups than in nonmedical roles.

Among the non-medical workforce, staff from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups made up a smaller number of those at senior grades (bands 8a to 9) and the ‘very senior manager’ grade than at the support (bands 1 to 4) and middle grades (bands 5 to 7). A higher percentage of junior doctors were from the Black, Chinese, Mixed and Other groups than senior doctors In 2020 so much was said about the vulnerability of the BAME community. Around 37% of the NHS staff (besides GPs, dentists etc) are of Asian or Black origin. Asian people made up a higher percentage of medical staff (29.7%) than non-medical staff (8.0%). Yet in very senior roles we see 92% to be of white background. 31% of senior doctors are Asian.

We have heard about Covid risks among Asian community.

Yet doctors are being vaccinated with residue vaccine and never prioritised.

Mukund Sharma Birmingham

KHICHADI Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG Kapil’s

Do Pakistani Grooming Gangs Exist?

Kapil Dudakia I ask the question since it seems there are some people who either believe they don’t, or they seek to give rise to doubt by using a creative alternative narrative. Let me be blunt, it is my genuine belief that such grooming gangs of Pakistani origin men do exist. That does not mean all Pakistani men indulge in such behaviour.

The then Home Secretary, Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP commissioned a review into the characteristics of grooming gangs back in 2018, saying that they should leave “no stone unturned”. The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP finally managed to get it released after a huge public outcry. She had to fight off the civil servants who wanted to hide the report, the same civil servants who did not like her, a Person of Colour, tell them how to do their job in the interest of the nation!

The report was inconclusive, not because grooming gangs don’t exist, but because the data collected by the police was done badly.

There are many in the Labour Party who are still struggling to come to terms with Pakistani grooming gangs. The best they can do is use the term ‘Asian’ and malign everyone who falls within this broad description. I applaud Sarah Champion who was a lone voice within Labour and talked openly about Pakistani grooming gangs. Interestingly she said, ‘There are almost 100 people in jail now for grooming in and around Rotherham. Nationally there are between 500 and 1,000 people in jail for these offences. That’s quite a decent sample size, isn’t it? Why doesn’t the Home Office simply sit down with those offenders, interview them, and create an offenders’ profile from that?’

Let’s remember what Jack Straw said, he suggested some men of Pakistani origin see white girls as "easy meat", that "there is a specific problem which involves Pakistani heritage men... who target vulnerable young white girls".

Even the pro-Islamic Lady Sayeeda Warsi said: "There is a small minority of Pakistani men who believe that white girls are fair game. And we have to be prepared to say that.

You can only start solving a problem if you acknowledge it first. This small minority who see women as second class citizens, and white women probably as third class citizens, are to be spoken out against.”

So, if there is to be any debate in Parliament about grooming gangs, let me seek to lend a helping hand. Why not call it what it is, that many of these gangs are composed of Pakistani men? It is said that some of these men believe that their religious text gives them a right to violate nonMuslim women. We have seen evidence of this same justification used by ISIS in their brutal attack on Yazidi women. It seems, anyone and everyone is fair game if you are classified as a ‘kaffir’. One cannot excuse away religiously motivated crimes.

If there is to be a debate, then let our MPs do so without appeasing to religious extremists whose only wish is to hide their crimes.

If our politicians don’t deal with the real problem, then there is a danger that the far-right groups will seize on this and the people who suffer will not only be the Pakistani community, but all of us. It’s the nation that pays the price.

I have said it before, and I do so now, for me it’s human rights first, before religious rights. Any faith that diminishes God’s creation, cannot be the faith of God. No true God would allow such bigotry.

India’s Republic Day The Republic Day celebration is nearing, and India does not have a Chief Guest after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed off. In the future, Prime Minister Modi should invite two guests to avoid such mishaps. With UK’s coronavirus conditions, it will be a while that Mr Johnson can make it to India.

India’s Republic Day is celebrated with the hoisting of the national flag, recitation of our national anthem, singing patriotic songs and organising social and cultural events.

On January 26 this year, we will celebrate India's 71st Republic Day. In the year 1950 on this day, the Constitution of India came into force and our country was announced as a Sovereign, Democratic Republic.

The Constitution is the supreme document that governs our country.

Mala Singhvi Cardiff We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit. Please keep contributing as always. If you are new, then write to Rupanjana at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com - AV

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23 - 29 January 2021

Former Redbridge Councillor lied about his address On Tuesday 19th January, a former Labour Redbridge councillor who lied about his address in order to run for office was jailed for 68 weeks and pleaded guilty to three counts of causing or permitting a false statement to appear on a nomination form and one charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

51-year-old Chaudhary Mohammed Iqbal, pretended to live at a rental property in Ilford even as he lived in Barking, the Southwark Crown Court heard. He successfully won the Loxford seat on Redbridge Council in 2018 and reportedly lied about his address to police and encouraged a tenant at the Ilford home to join in the deceit. He is believed to have claimed more than £18,000 in expenses and allowances from the local authority, and continued to attend council meetings even after falling under police investigation. He denied the existence of a tenancy agreement for the property, claiming the tenants were his family friends.

Judge Sally Cahill QC sentenced him to nine months in prison for the

Chaudhary Mohammed Iqbal

electoral offences and a further eight months behind bars for the lies he told to police. She ordered him to pay £10,422.54 of prosecution costs and £28,368 in compensation to Redbridge Council for the allowances he claimed and the cost of running a by-election to replace him.

"This is a significant sentence for this type of offence. It reflects the seriousness with which the court viewed the wrongdoing in an electoral setting”, said Detective Chief Inspector Sarah McConnell, of the Met's Central Specialist Crime Command.

Iqbal is now banned from running for elected office for the next five years.

Covid-19 vaccination starts in India Ruchi Ghanashyam This weekend, on Saturday 16 January, PM Modi inaugurated the vaccination drive against Covid-19 in India over video conferencing.

The pan-India launch was joined by over 3000 sites from all states and union territories of India.

It is the world’s largest vaccination drive. It may seem ambitious and beyond the capacity of a developing country but India has enormous experience of undertaking large vaccination programmes, with the largest vaccination programme already in existence in India. It is through this extensive nationwide drive that India managed to eradicate the dreaded polio disease a few years ago. The drive started off with India vaccinating the largest number of people on day one, larger than the US, the UK or France on day one.

The vaccination drive against Covid-19 will be a mammoth exercise for India. To prepare for this, dry runs were carried out in various parts of the country with some mock drills followed by a nationwide dry run in all the districts across India. The country’s systems were already armed with this preparation, when the first consignment of vaccines rolled out from the Pune based Serum Institute of India and Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech. PM Modi has assured the country that those who need it most will get the vaccine first. All Indians can take pride that we have two made in India vaccines that will help our country come out of this pandemic.

India now has to undertake the world’s largest vaccination drive efficiently and speedily. Not only that, we have to come forward and share our vaccines with others too.

There is a lot of worry and concern about the vaccine.

Social media, especially WhatsApp groups are abuzz with reports and opinions on the subject. Every case of side effect and adverse reaction creates panic amongst people who are filled with anxiety over this issue. There are many who make repeated declarations of their intention to not get the vaccine. Others support the hard work of the world’s scientists and express

faith in the system. Dr Guleria, Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi has repeatedly reassured people of the country that the vaccine is safe and efficacious and that we must have faith in our researchers, scientists and regulatory authorities.

These are some of the challenges that have emerged as the vaccination drive moves forwards. Personally, I am in favour of vaccination.

To start with, we have to take into account the risk of not taking the vaccine. With coronavirus continuing its threatening impact, I feel that it is better to take the risk of some side effects rather than face the risk of getting Covid-19, a risk that is not going away at least in the near future. More importantly, it is necessary to see beyond the headlines. In a lot of the extreme cases of side effects, there are some complicating factors that are revealed only in the detailed report. Most people do not read the entire story and form their impression on the basis of the headline. This can often be misleading.

One is also reminded of the old cliche that ‘good news is no news’.

People in the media often say that if a dog bites a human being, it’s not news, the reverse would make headlines! So let us not be in a hurry to make adverse judgements about whether or not to have faith in the vaccine. Let us make a reasoned study of the subject before we doubt the hard work and sincerity of those who have made these vaccines possible in the shortest possible time imaginable. In the absence of a known cure for Covid-19, vaccines remain our sole hope of emerging from this pandemic. So far, this virus has already claimed over 2 million lives. The graph in India has been steadily coming down. With the start of the vaccination drive, we can hope that the beginning of the end has started in India. The UK’s steep increase in new cases in the winter was explained by the identification of a new variant by scientists in the UK. The early alert by the UK of this new, more contagious variant led to the closing of air corridors, thus hopefully helping contain this variant. Vaccination drive is now on in the UK too and we hope to see a better situation by the spring.

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12 MEDIA WATCH

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SCRUTATOR’S Major portion of Dal Lake freezes A major portion of Kashmir's famous Dal Lake and several other water bodies froze last week as the cold wave in the valley continued with Srinagar recording the coldest night in 30 years. Srinagar recorded a low of minus 8.4 degrees Celsius, which was the coldest temperature recorded in the city in 30 years. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Srinagar was minus 14.4 degrees Celsius in 1893. The rest of the valley was also reeling under intense cold. Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 11.1 degrees Celsius. The resort was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir. The minimum temperature in Gulmarg tourist resort settled at minus 7 degrees Celsius. Qazigund – the gateway town to the valley – recorded a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius compared to minus 1.4 degrees Celsius a day earlier. Kupwara, in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.7 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag, in south, minus 10.3 degrees Celsius. Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' - the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies. (Agency) Cross-border tunnel unearthed in Jammu & Kashmir

The BSF recently unearthed a 150m-long tunnel along the international border in Kathua district’s Hiranagar sector of Jammu and Kashmir to facilitate the infiltration of terrorists into India from Pakistan. This is the third such tunnel found in Jammu over the past six months.

“On specific intelligence inputs, alert BSF troops detected the tunnel near Bobiya border outpost area in Hiranagar. The tunnel has an opening of about two-three feet, is around 20-30ft deep and 150m-long from the opening point with its origin towards Pakistani territory,” BSF IG who visited the spot, said. On the opposite side is Pakistan’s Shakergarh, which is notorious for having launch pads and bases for terrorists. “With a spate in inputs regarding tunnelling activities by Pakistani elements, BSF carried out an antitunnelling exercise all along the international border to thwart infiltration bids,” the IG said.

Sandbags with Pakistani markings found in the tunnel indicated the involvement of the Pakistani establishment in its construction, akin to the previously detected tunnels which also had such sandbags, he added. (Agency) Hunt for ‘gold, silver coins’ on MP riverbed

Hundreds of men women and children are digging up the

dry Parvati riverbed following rumours that some people had found gold and silver coins in its sands. The administration says it’s a rumour, but locals insist that the find is real.

Villagers of Shivpura and Ganupura in Rajgarh, about 65km from Bhopal, are flocking to the riverside with spades and shovels in the hope of finding treasure. There’s a legend in these parts that a Mughal army once blocked the Parvati river at this point and sacks full of coins were either buried here or fell into the water. The myth kicked back to life around a week back when rumours started that ancient coins were turning up on the riverbed. Villagers claim six more silver coins have been found and they are searching for the 'hidden treasure' day and night. In a viral video, a man shows off a coin, with what looks like Urdu or Persian inscription. “It is a rumour. Rajgarh collector Neeraj Singh said that our teams went there and inquired about it, but nothing was found. (Agency) Stealing laptops of medicos for a revenge A Tamil Nadu man has decided to steal laptops of students studying medicine across India as a revenge for cyberbullying of his girlfriend by some medical students in Chennai five years ago. The bullying incident had left him so bitter that he decided to target the most indispensible gadget of students- laptops. Recently, the Jamnagar police were also amused when they arrested the 24-year-old laptop thief Tamilselvan Kannan as he confessed to having stolen at least 500 laptops from several medical college hostels across the country, mostly south India, since 2015. Jamnagar police was on his trail after six laptops were stolen from a room in the girls hostel of MP Shah Medical College on December 26 last year. “In 2015, some medical students in Chennai had clandestinely recorded an objectionable video of his girlfriend and made it viral. This filled him with bitter grudge against the medical

students,” said KL Gadhe, police inspector. (The Times of India) Baby selling racket busted, 8 nabbed Mumbai police busted a baby-selling racket with the arrest of eight people, including a lab technician. Accordingly to the police, the accused would approach new mothers from economically weaker sections and offer to facilitate their ‘adoption’ of their babies for a price - Rs 60,000 for a baby girl, and Rs150,000 for a boy.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the gang has sold four babies in the last six months, but the police suspect the number could be much higher. Police arrested eight people, including Arti Singh, a pathology lab technician, who played a middleman’s role in the racket. Police have also seized eight mobile phones containing pictures of new born babies, WhatsApp chats which police believe could help them understand the number of babies sold and trace families in Mumbai and Pune. Police have also called for the Call Detail Record (CDR) of all the accused.

The racket came to light after police sub inspector Yogesh Chavan and Manisha Pawar of unit 1 got a tip off that a woman staying in Bandra east was indulging in child selling. (The Times of India) Lab technician plays midwife on moving train Sunil Prajapati, a physically challenged man working as a lab technician in Delhi, helped a 30year-old woman deliver a baby on Jabalpur-bound Madhya Pradesh Sampark Kranti Covid train, using a thread string taken from a shawl, a blade from a shaving kit and taking instructions over a video call with an eye surgeon. It all happened in the B3 coach of the train while it was passing through UP’s Mathura district.

The 33-year-old technician said, “The train had just crossed Faridabad when I heard a woman in the next coupe crying. She was travelling with her brother and a minor daughter to Damoh to her in-law’s place. The woman, identified as Kiran said she was due for delivery on January 20. I offered to help her and asked whether she needs medical assistant at any station, but she

wasn’t sure if she was going under labour pain or abdomen twinge. Since there was no woman passenger in the coach, I preferred not to take chance and informed my superior Dr Suparna Sen. About half an hour later, Kiran again screamed in pain and this time her blanket was wet with her blood indicating that she was about to deliver. I immediately asked the TTE for a first-aid kit and took Dr Sen on video call. I followed her instructions carefully.

Fortunately, I managed to arrange fresh unused blade from a passenger, with which I cut the umbilical cord,” Sunil said. After the delivery, RPF personnel took the woman and her new-born to Mathura district hospital. (The Times of India)

mother, are also part of the AIIMS nursing and sanitation staff," he said. His colleague, Shaukat Ali, 37, said: "I was initially hesitant, but inspired by his courage, I also got vaccinated". (Agency)

Sanitation worker is first to get vaccine shot

Family banned from filing RTI pleas In a controversial decision, the chief information commissioner of Gujarat has banned three family members from filing any RTI application before any designated public information officer for five years. The order of SCIC, D P Thakar, strangely does not mention under what section of the RTI Act were the citizens banned from filing the applications. “There is no such section under the present Act that bans citizens. The SCIC has clearly gone beyond the law in

Manish Kumar, a 33-year-old sanitation worker at Delhi's AIIMS, on Saturday became the first Indian to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Healthcare worker Dhawal Dwivedi was the second person to be inoculated, followed by AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria and NITI Aayog's senior member, Dr VK Paul. "I had a very nice experience. I was not reluctant to get the vaccine shot...people need not be worried. Now I don't have any doubts regarding the vaccine.

Everyone must get inoculated," Kumar was quoted as saying.

"Many people were scared about getting vaccinated but I volunteered for it. I told officials that I want to be the first to take the jab...I did not experience any side effects," Kumar said. Kumar has been working at AIIMS for eight years. He said the last few months has been difficult because of the coronavirus pandemic but he reported to work every day. "Several of my family members, including my

this order. Such orders will have widespread repercussions and many PIOs will begin discouraging citizens to file RTIs. The Act was to secure the rights of citizens by empowering them with information and ensure participatory democracy,” says Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pehel (MAGP) executive secretary Pankti Jog. According to Thakar’s order, the complainant Dilhari Makwana, a class III employee of Bhavnagar district health department, her husband Chintan, and motherin-law Bharti Makwana had shot off more than 1,000 emails and 21RTIs to various offices to protect them from eviction from their allotted class II government quarters. The quarter occupied by them was allotted to a class II officer. The family questioned the move and filed several RTIs. Thakar has taken refuge in Article 19(2)(2) of the Indian Constitution to ban the family from seeking any further information under RTI. (The Times of India)

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T

here is perhaps, not a better time than now for one to pursue an apprenticeship programme at BAE Systems.

The UK’s largest defence and security company is hiring more than 1,250 new trainees into their early careers programmes in 2021 - the highest number they have ever recruited in a single year. More than 850 apprenticeships and 400 graduate roles are available across the UK despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

No student debt and gaining practical work experience Ammaarah Patel is in the third year of her Chartered Management Apprenticeship with BAE Systems. Speaking about the advantages of pursuing an apprenticeship, particularly in light of the economic challenges posed by Covid-19, she said, “I was planning to go to university after completing my A levels and had received several offers as well. But I was not optimistic about the idea of taking on large sums of student loans and consequently accruing a significant debt after attaining my university degree. I was not even certain if I would get a job of my choice at the end of my degree because I would require a certain amount of experience.

“So, I decided to take a gap year and took a job that provided hands-on practical training. Gradually, I started looking into several other options and came across the Chartered Management Apprenticeship which allowed me to carry on working, gain much-required work experience across multiple disciplines and receive a degree at the end of the programme.”

Research studies note that young and aspiring students are presently more uncertain than ever about enrolling themselves for a full-time degree amidst uncertainties around a crippled job market. Thus, many are choosing to take a gap year, scouting for alternative part-time jobs and considering apprenticeship programmes. At BAE Systems around 75% of apprenticeships and more than 50% of graduate roles are based in the North of England – providing critical employment and education opportunities in areas reliant on long-term job creation.

Recruits will have the chance to be involved in some of the UK’s most exciting and technologically advanced programmes including Tempest, a future combat air system for the Royal Air Force and Dreadnought, a new generation of submarines for the Royal Navy.

Developing and honing skills across multiple industries Touching upon the invaluable work experience that Ammaarah has gained during her programme across multiple industries, she said, “As part of the four-year programme we transition across different areas of Shared Services and undertake different projects with teams. My first placement was within Finance Services where I was tasked to look at how we use technology in this area. I moved to HR Services next, where I chose to work with the Graduate Apprentice Recruitment Team because I wanted to understand the recruitment process, and also implement my ideas to bring improvements to the process. The next placement

BAE Systems hires a record number of trainees despite the pandemic

was in the IT department where I was part of a contract re-negotiation with a major IT supplier that created a significant cost saving and service improvement. My next placement was within Early Careers where I was a part of the Transformation Team working to review and enhance the Company’s Early Careers offering. I am working in the Education Partnership team where I am working with young people in our community and helping them gain employment, pursue STEM subjects and apprenticeships.

It is a challenging yet wonderful opportunity especially with the impact of Covid-19.

Not only have I gained varied experience from moving across different departments, I have been given many exciting enrichment opportunities such as, supporting the Movement to Work programme and hosting the BAE Systems Apprentice Awards.”

The apprenticeship programmes at BAE Systems aren’t just for school or college leavers; almost 10% of their apprentices are over 25 and for those facing uncertainty in the current climate, they provide a wide range of opportunities to retrain. They have doubled the type of apprenticeship programmes they offer to more than 50, including options to study up to degree and masters levels. Opportunities are available in a variety of roles including accountancy, human resources, electronic systems design, software development, joinery and mechanical fitting.

“Getting people back to work and creating high-quality jobs is a national priority.

So, it’s more important than ever that those of us who are in a position to do so continue our investment in the UK workforce. We’re fortunate that our business is based on longterm critical defence programmes, giving us the confidence to increase our apprentice and graduate recruitment to create a strong talent pipeline, which enables us to continue delivering cutting-edge technologies, whilst playing a role in supporting the UK’s economic recovery,” said Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive.

According to the government data available as of February 2020, the number of people starting an apprenticeship in England fell to 125,800 between August and October, down 4.7% from 132,000 in the same quarter a year earlier (that number was up by 15.4% year-on-year). This year, however, the number is expected to go up with a series of apprenticeship schemes that the Chancellor unveiled six months ago in his efforts of helping young people get back to work.

Lauding BAE Systems for helping young people develop and hone their skills, Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson said, “Apprenticeships are a great way to learn the skills needed to get ahead in a range of exciting industries including cyber security, maritime engineering and project management.

As we build back better, apprenticeships will play a vital role in helping to rebuild our economy after the pandemic. It’s fantastic to see BAE Systems continuing to innovate and invest in apprenticeships giving more people of all ages and backgrounds the chance to

progress. I encourage businesses of all sizes to follow their lead, recruiting more apprentices to help take their business to the next level.”

Speaking about how her parents and colleagues at BAE Systems have helped her progress through the programme despite the obstacles of the coronavirus pandemic, Ammaarah said, “My family was extremely supportive of me pursuing an apprenticeship at BAE Systems because it is an amazing opportunity and it opens up several avenues for me going forward.

“My colleagues have supported me in my tasks and projects throughout the pandemic.

I have never found myself excluded within the company. At BAE Systems, diversity and inclusion is part of our DNA and I have never felt that my race, gender or religion has been a barrier to my progress. If anything, my ethnicity brings in a diversity of thought to the organisation.”

“

I was not optimistic about the idea of taking on large sums of student loans and consequently accruing a significant debt after attaining my university degree.

Gradually, I started looking into several other options and came across the Chartered Management Apprenticeship which allowed me to carry on working, gain much-required work experience across multiple disciplines and receive a degree at the end of the programme.”

”

The apprenticeship programmes at BAE Systems are externally recognised and rated Ofsted Outstanding. They are part of the Department for Education’s list of Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers and in November, they won the Macro Employer of the Year award in the National Apprenticeship Awards.

For more information about the roles available and to apply, please visit: https://www.baesystems.com/en/careers/car eers-in-the-uk/early-careers

14 WOMEN'S VOICE

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How Sudha Murty beat boys as the only girl in an engineering college Shefali Saxena The Nehru Centre, The High Commission of India, London organised a conversation with Sudha Murty, philanthropist, author and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. The virtual session was moderated by author Amish Tripathi and actor, singer, mindfulness speaker & author, Raageshwari Loomba.

Sudha Murty was the only girl student in her class of engineering students. She never asked for special treatment and always came on top of the class.

While talking about her time at engineering college, she laughed and called it “how to beat boys!”

She is an Indian engineering teacher, Kannada, Marathi and English author as well as a Social worker. She is also the Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. She is married to co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murthy.

The first female engineer Sudha Murthy became the first female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO).

She joined the company as a Development Engineer in Pune and then worked in Mumbai & Jamshedpur as well. She had written a postcard to the company's Chairman JRD Tata, complaining of the "men only" gender bias at TELCO. As a result, she was granted a special interview and hired immediately.

The interview committee was apprehensive about hiring her initially because she was a woman who had to deal with men, to which Murty said that if women won’t be given opportunities, the potential for their growth will be paralysed.

“I decided that I will do engineering, which was unheard of in those days, I’m talking of the year 1968,” she smiled and added, “a bomb exploded in the family because no one in our family had studied engineering and my father himself was a doc-

tor.” Her grandmother who came from a small brahmin community, was worried that if she pursued engineering, no boy from her community would marry Sudha. “She never knew that across the river, there was Narayan Murty,” Sudha chuckled. Her bua (father’s sister) raised objections and declared that if she went ahead with pursuing engineering, she wouldn’t attend Sudha’s wedding because she’ll definitely marry outside the community.

New animal in the zoo “Lot of people thought that there was something wrong with me and that my thinking method was wrong,” she said.

Some of the teachers at the college assumed that she would speak to boys, not attend the classes, or even drop out in between and that engineering was not a woman’s cup of tea.

The principal of the college called up her father and said that she’d have to abide by three rules: she’d have to wear a saree, she’d not eat in the college canteen and she’d not speak to boys.

Sudha abided by the first two rules, and went on to rebel against the last one. Talking to boys helped her in building confidence. During those days, the larger societal sentiment was that good girls do not talk to boys, but for Sudha, it was about learning how boys think.

However, she said, “When I went to college, they were wondering, who is this new animal which has come to the zoo!

Because they were not used to seeing a girl in the class.”

The first bench in the classroom was kept vacant for her to sit. Notorious boys would spill blue ink on it but Sudha would patiently wipe that with a paper and sit without ever complaining. They’d throw paper arrows at her, put flower sticks in her hair from behind but she never complained because she knew if she did, she knew she’d be told that ‘we told you to not join’.

She never took a single day off during those four years because firstly no one would give her their notes, secondly, she felt she was a better student so her own notes would be the best in the class.

No ladies rest room “The worst case was that there was no ladies rest room, because they never imagined that a girl would come to college and she’d require a restroom and they never intended to make a restroom because they thought what if she leaves in between, why waste money!,” Sudha Murty said. She walked home to use a washroom after the first half for about one to two kilometers and she said, “It made me emotionally autonomous,” and quoted the Bhagavad Gita where Lord Krishna says, “atmaiva hy atmano bandhur atmaiva ripur atmanah”. She translated it and said, “Who is your best friend in life, you, yourself.”

She also spoke about her work with the Devadasis who were vulnerable to AIDS and

needed help. Murty set up the Infosys Foundation where she gave up her western appearance (she used to wear jeans and a tshirt), wore a 100 rupee saree, hair tied up in a ponytail and started working closely with them to uplift their and their children via better education.

The devadasis in turn gave her a gift which made her very emotional, because those 3000 women she had helped, gave her a quilt with 3000 stitches, on which Murty also wrote a book later.

Art of detachment In an extremely moving session, she also told that she left her most favourite task - shopping for sarees while taking a dip in the holy Ganga in Kashi (Varanasi) because she felt she needed to give up the thing she loved the most while praying.

She decided to buy things only if she needed them the most. “I’m very happy because I learnt the art of detachment from it (giving up shopping)”, Sudha said as she also told that she didn’t buy a saree for her children’s wedding.

Sudha also spoke about her book, “How I taught my grandmother to read” which is based on her own grandmother’s life who couldn’t read without someone's help. She decided to teach her grandmother and gave her an enormous amount of homework. She took about three months to learn. Her grandmother even touched her feet during Saraswati puja (traditionally elders never touch the feet of youngers in Indian culture) citing Sudha as her guru.

Lastly, she concluded on a solem note by saying that daana (donation) and said wealthy people need to create opportunities for poor people. This virtue can only be taught by parents because children do what they see, not what they are told. If the money one has is not put to good use and helping people, that money will be destroyed by the children and inturn, it’ll destroy the parents.

500,000 individuals celebrate South-Asian women in the diaspora via NotYourWife NotYourWife is a new media company centred around amplifying the voices of South Asian women and discussing the experiences of diasporic South Asians.

Through a combination of articles, events, workshops and social media platforms, they are committed to sharing the untold stories of South Asian women and ‘third culture kids’ growing up in the diaspora. In just eight months, our fast-growing platform has gained a following of over 28,000 individuals on social media reaching half a million individuals on a weekly basis and has over 70 individuals within its contributor community (www.not-yourwife.com).

Asian Voice spoke to the founders of the company that was founded in March 2020, after British-Asian co-founders, Kiran Hothi and Sonam Kaur, found themselves struggling to find a relatable online space. Hosted Zoom workshops (with 50+ attendees) and social media discussions on topics including: patriarchy in the South Asian community, navigating interracial relationships and other cultural pressures, colourism and career trajectory.

Kiran Hothi and Sonam Kaur

The South Asian diaspora is estimated to be around 24 million, however continues to be an under-represented and underexplored space. NotYourWife seeks to openly and honestly discuss the complexities and unique experiences faced by South Asians growing up in the diaspora, whilst celebrating cultural diversity. “We work towards dismantling and disrupting stereotypes

through creating a safe space to explore and discuss ‘generationally inaccessible’ or stigmatised topics including identity, relationships, patriarchy, mental health and lifestyle,” the founders told Asian Voice.

“We created NotYourWife initially as a 'passion project', as it was a platform we genuinely wish had existed whilst we were growing up and as we navigate our twenties and thirties, as first and second generation British-Asian women. The platform's growth and the feedback we receive daily indicates to us how necessary this platform was for us, but also for our community,” they added.

The name of the platform is a 'tongue in cheek' reference to the cultural stereotype attached to South Asian women.

What is that one major contributing factor/obstacle that keeps South Asian women from being empowered? Kiran and Sonam said, “The lack of representation of South Asian women in mainstream media is a major contributing factor that keeps South Asian women from being empowered and celebrated to their true potential.

Historically there has also been an unwillingness to have honest and open dialogues

in brief BLACK WOMEN IN THE UK ARE FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE IN PREGNANCY OR CHILDBIRTH

According to a new report, Black women in the UK are four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth. Maternal suicide is the second largest cause of direct maternal deaths occurring during or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy and remains the leading cause of direct deaths occurring within a year after the end of pregnancy.

There remains a five-fold difference in maternal mortality rates amongst women from Black ethnic backgrounds and an almost two-fold difference amongst women from Asian ethnic backgrounds compared to white women, emphasising the need for a continued focus on actions to address these disparities. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said it would continue working to address inequality through the Race Equality Taskforce. Its president, Dr Edward Morris, also urged the government to commit to a target of a 50% reduction in maternal mortality for black, Asian and minority ethnic women over the next five years.

FREIDA PINTO TO STAR IN THE SPY PRINCESS

Freida Pinto

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto is all set to star in the Spy Princess. She will also produce this limited series which is based on Shrabani Basu’s Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan, the definitive biography of Noor’s life, from writer Olivia Hetreed (Girl With a Pearl Earring) and Red Room Films.

Noor was the first female wireless operator sent into occupied France in 1943 – a role with a life expectancy of just six weeks. “She was a fierce and amazing woman, the most unlikely heroine of World War 2,” Pinto said. around the South Asian experience, often due to many topics being deemed too taboo or generationally inaccessible. Since the launch of NotYourWife, we have had the opportunity to interact and engage with thousands of women who have shared similar experiences, but have previously struggled to find a platform to share their voice.”

These are two of our major mission statements at NotYourWife that they are currently working on to Increase representation in mainstream media and create an open dialogue for South Asian women to be able to share their stories.

www.asian-voice.com

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TLIGHT

Sumaira Inayat Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League (GBGFL) Sunetra Senior Sumaira is the co-founder of the first-ever women’s football league in Northern Pakistan. Currently Lahore-based, the young talent created the organisation in 2018 with her sister to introduce better sporting opportunity to their rural community. Hailing from the beautiful, mountainous region of Shimshal, the girls had noticed a general lack of football, and especially for women from less urbanised parts of the country.

“Cricket is very popular but not so much other sports.

Additionally, there are cultural barriers to have our gender play football e.g., among a few stereotypical taboos, people believe that a woman will lose her virginity if she does so and that her place is in the home. I have played from the age of 16, and locals have complained that I’m not covered up etc.” In order to foster a safe yet freeing space then, the Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League was born!

The aim has been to provide participants a transformative experience, giving them a proper education that would continually expand. Cultivating the football results in a social “certificate of achievement” that garners scholarships. Even if the next step isn’t necessarily physically active, GBGFL’s girls have their doors opened to education.

“Another key point about the league is that it covers all the costs (travel, accommodation, food, kits etc). The idea is to give girls a platform where they can play without any financial barriers.” Indeed, Sumaira herself has risen this way, receiving a full sports scholarship for her undergraduate degree at University of the Punjab in Lahore and going on to work as an assistant coach with Atletico Madrid Football Academy in the same major city. The passionate pioneer was also one of the first girls from Shimshal “to play football, representing Pakistan in the nation’s public games (Jubilee Games 2016)”. Sumaira emphasised this as a highlight: “the finals were held in Dubai internationally and we won the silver medal in the community tournament!”

The Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League has been running strongly for two years now, allowing teams from different areas of the rocky Hunza terrain, including the valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan, to compete amongst each other and showcase their hidden gifts: “we hope not only to help players reach the heights that they

deserve, but also to elevate Pakistan through the expansion of women’s football. It is also a dream to one day be able to have our girls play professionally and abroad. One of my favourite female players is Marta from Brazil who is incredible in every way! It would be wonderful if we could have her mentor and inspire the girls...” Indeed, aptly, the chosen football ‘stadium’ of the GBGFL has been at the foot of Mount Tupopdon: a grand yellow structure that towers over the Passu Valley, captured brightly by the social enterprise, Goal Click (pictured). As well as “being easily accessible during the league’s second season,” Sumaira stated that the location had “incredible natural grandeur, elevating the mindset of courage into ambition.”

She concluded by applauding the special appeal of football itself: “I always refer to it as a life-changing gadget.

Since I started, I’ve gone from being a shy girl to an impactful leader. The sport has given me the motivation to work hard and focus as well as championing the idea of respect.

Football teaches us as much about friendship: working with others. I’ve certainly felt bonded with my girls, and you can make friends from all over the world, regardless of background.” Indeed, the qualities of healthy discipline, efficiency, flexibility, and collaboration are widely ascribed to the

game. Finally, not only does Sumaira and her philanthropic project demonstrate the pure power of football but moreover that of the deep human resolve. Clean confidence is the foundation for greater success. "The pictures with Goal Click really capture the positive dimension of women's football in the country. As opposed to a one-dimensional concept, they depict the independent, mighty image of our girls."

W: www.goal-click.com/pakistan-gilgitbaltistan I: @play.gbgfl, @_SumairaInayat, @gbgfl F: Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League

“

We hope not only to help players reach the heights that they deserve, but also to elevate Pakistan through the expansion of women’s football.

”

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Sumaira and Karishma Inayat

31 years of Kashmiri Hindu exodus Shefali Saxena According to accounts published by many eminent Kashmiri Pandits, on the night of January 19, 1990, threatening slogans were heard over loudspeakers from mosques, and on the streets.

Manu Khajuria

While some say around 1,00,000 of them had left the valley, others suggest figures as high as 1,50,000 to 1,90,000. A report by the Jammu and Kashmir government said that as many as 219 people from this community were killed in the region between 1989 and 2004. The Kashmiri Pandit community decided to leave. On January 20, the first stream began leaving the Valley with hastily packed belongings in whatever transport they could find. A second, larger wave left in March and April, after more Pandits were killed.

According to some estimates, notably by the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), of 75,343 Kashmiri Pandit families in January 1990, more than 70,000 fled between 1990 and 1992. The flight continued until 2000. The KPSS has placed the number of Kashmiri Pandits killed by militants from 1990 to 2011 at 399, the majority during 1989-90. Some 800 families have remained in the Valley through these three decades.

Asian Voice reached out to Vinod Tikoo, a Kashmiri Hindu, born and brought up in Kashmir, to learn more about his lived experience of the exodus and how he wishes to observe this year’s anniversary. Vinod represents the Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre, UK and is also associated with the Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society, UK. Tikoo gave a very visual depiction of that day and said, “19.01.1990: Kashmir Pandits Ethnic Extermination, 31 Years and counting: Walking around today’s cosmopolitan Berlin, it is hard to believe that it was only 80 plus years ago that Adolf Hitler transformed a democratic germany into a totalitarian dictatorship overnight, paving the way for a war that would claim an estimated 75 million lives, including the systematic murder of 6 million Jews and 5 million other ethnic minorities.”

“During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, up to one million people perished and

as many as 250,000 women were raped, leaving the country’s population traumatized, its infrastructure decimated, and sending shock waves through the international community.

In the years following the genocide, more than

Vinod Tikoo

120,000 people were detained and accused of bearing criminal responsibility for their participation in the killings. To deal with such an overwhelming number of perpetrators, a judicial response was pursued on three levels: the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the national court system of Rwanda, and the Gacaca courts.”

“Contrast this to the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, the ab-original residents of Kashmir, the Kashmiri Pandits (KP’s) were ethnically exterminated from the valley in 1990, in the name of Jihad, and we are now entering the 31st year of being exiled from our own ancestral land, and yet there is no sign of justice, truth or reconciliation. Not a single perpetrator of the heinous crime against the KP community has been tried in court or punished for mass murder, rape and cultural vandalism. As we wait another year, the hope to return stays as alive as it has always been and a promise to keep the flame burning so the world recognises that although we are a minority, but we should not be forgotten,” he added.

Manu Khajuria is a Dogra Hindu from Jammu and Kashmir. Sharing her sentiment on the exodus with Asian Voice, she said, “Kashmiri Hindu Exodus Days is a painful remembrance, and a reminder that injustices that happened with the minority Hindu communities of JK, remain unresolved. The perpetrators of the most heinous crimes against Hindus in the Kashmir Valley, still walk free. 31 years and the Kashmiri Hindus have not returned. There are also many lesser known massacres like that of Prankote and Champnari, Chawalkote that occurred in Kishtwar, Doda, Reasi, Poonch & Rajouri of Jammu Region which also lead to the forced migration in the Jammu hills.

All this can be traced back to the bloodiest, and total annihilation of Hindus and Sikhs of POJK in 1947. So many stories. So much pain. Still no justice.”

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Around 7 in 10 South Asian adults are motivated to get healthier in 2021 due to Covid-19 A recent England-wide survey revealed over 90% of South Asian adults have made the decision to make healthy changes in 2021, with 7 in 10 (68%) saying that they are motivated to make these changes due to coronavirus.

In addition the survey found that 34% of those surveyed said they wanted to adopt a healthier lifestyle for their children/grandchildren, whilst 34% wanted to improve their health for their partner. The data also revealed the most common things people want to do differently in the new year are exercising more (52%) and eating more healthily (51%).

Currently over 56% of Asian adults are overweight or obese, putting them at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from diseases including cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Despite the latest coronavirus restrictions, there are still lots of ways for people to make these healthier choices and Public Health England’s Better Health campaign encourages and supports adults in taking small steps towards a healthier lifestyle – whether it’s losing weight or getting more active.

The Better Health website offers a wide range of free NHS approved tools and tips to manage weight loss such as the NHS Weight Loss Plan, BMI Calculator, Easy Meals App, or to get more active such as Active 10

and the Couch to 5k programme.

The Better Health campaign also works in partnership with a number of weight management and physical activity partners who are providing both free and exclusive discounted offers.

Professor Kevin Fenton, London Regional Director at Public Health England, said, “In spite of the stresses and challenges we are facing as a result of Covid-19, it’s especially heartening to see that more people than ever are motivated to make positive changes and adopt a healthier lifestyle this new year.

“The Better Health website has plenty of healthy eating and physical activity tools, ranging from the NHS 12 Week Weight Loss Plan to the Couch to 5k programme, which helps users set achievable goals to improve their overall health and wellbeing.”

Professor Wasim Hanif, Professor of Diabetes & Endocrinology, Consultant Physician and Clinical Director in diabetes at University Hospital of Birmingham said, “As a community, we are more susceptible to certain diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Being overweight or obese can significantly increase the chances of becoming seriously ill with those diseases.

“The new year gives us the perfect opportunity to make small, healthy changes

with the support of the Better Health campaign. I would highly recommend members of the South Asian community to use some of the practical and easy tools available on the Better Health website. If you can, get your family or loved ones involved. It can be a lot easier to make change when you have others supporting you.”

Vidya, 46, from Manchester, said, “When the previous lockdown was announced, the uncertainty around my restaurant business and not being able to do exercise as easily resulted in me putting on weight. I would like to change this, and be able to start running more in 2021. At the moment I go for brisk walking; I have never done a 5k, so this will be a big challenge for me this year – I am looking forward to keeping myself on a healthy path.”

PHE are working with (South Asian) healthcare professionals and other experts to ensure the campaign guidance and tools are culturally compatible with members of the community, as findings also revealed around 42% of South Asian adults said finding relevant information and tools to help guide better physical health is a big challenge.

Search ‘Better Health’ or visit nhs.uk/betterhealth for free tools and support to start leading a healthier lifestyle today.

Don't refuse your vaccine Mahendra G Patel PhD FRPharmS FHEA, Alumni Fellow NICE and Honorary Visiting Professor, University of Bradford It has been widely and regularly publicised that Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities have disproportionately suffered from Covid-19 and seen a higher rate of deaths. Also, for some time now, we have been witnessing regular mutterings and a range of reporting that BAME communities are less likely to take up a Covid-19 vaccination.

Is the BAME community now becoming less of an urgency and priority in terms of ensuring effective and appropriate messaging and understanding regarding their safety and protection against Covid-19?

This is not surprising judging by the amount of misinformation, myths, and untruths about the vaccine that have been, and continue to be, banded around so freely within our communities, particularly via a host of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp to name but a few. Equally worrying is how many people, as recipients or even as conveyors of such information, do actually stop to think and question the origin of it all.

- How reliable is the information?

- Is it from a tried and trusted source, such as government or health organisations, peer-reviewed scientific journals etc.?

- Is it simply hearsay from various parts of the world as well as the UK, which has been passed round millions of times hailing high a few meaningless straplines?

No doubt many of you like me may be regular and daily recipients of an array of misleading and non-evidenced based Covid-19 information, and I strongly urge everyone to think twice what Covid-19 health messages are shared and how reliable, factual and trustworthy they all are. This can be hugely damaging in the wider scheme of the health of the public, and even lead to impeding the progress and speed at which we are able to curb this pandemic. We are all now aware of the unpredictability of Covid-19, made more apparent with the new variants now permeating at pace through the country with increased rates of transmission of the virus. It is therefore crucial to emphasise and understand more about the Covid-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford Astra Zeneca, and Moderna).

The vaccines have been proven worldwide to be highly effective, having been rigorously tested in tens of thousands of people and now well on the way to giving everyone real hope and genuine belief of restoring life to some normality very soon. In the UK they have been approved by one of the world’s gold standard regulatory authorities, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). There is no room for cutting corners or compromising any standards and regulatory processes in the licensing of these vaccines. A collection of robust evidence from clinical trials together with indepth advice and analyses from some of the world’s leading scientists, have all culminated in ensuring the approved vaccines are: Safe, High quality and Effective.

The MHRA’s role and responsibility is to protect and improve public health through scientific research and development.

Whilst the vaccine has brought the brightest of illuminations at the end of this long Covid-19 tunnel, it is by no means the silver bullet – on its own! In the large majority of cases it will help protect people from getting the virus. However, to add further safety assurance it is still important to continue wearing masks (where possible), keeping distance, and washing hands regularly with soap and water, testing and isolating where necessary. There is no outright evidence to indicate that those vaccinated cannot pass on to others if ever infected with the virus.

Crucially, it is important to understand that the vaccines themselves do not contain any live virus. This means one cannot get Covid-19 from the vaccine itself.

The UK’s biggest vaccine roll–out in history is now well on its way, and very soon through many community pharmacies and your turn to be vaccinated will come! Don’t refuse it!

Government's apathy costing BAME communities their lives Continued from page - 1

in a particular vaccine being perceived as appropriate and safe, and concerns that Readers told Asian Voice, how social media immunisation research is not ethnically hetchannels have been filled with fake news, erogenous.” some religiously targeted. While many elaboPakistani, Bangladeshi and Eastern rate on the ill-effects of the Covid jab includEuropean groups also said they were unwilling infertility, others spread rumours about ing to take the Covid jab and women, meat and pork traces or mind controlling younger people and those with lower levels of microchips in the Covid vaccines. education were also more hesitant than othSatish D, speaking to Asian Voice said, ers.

“Recently 23 people died in Norway after takEven among the medics, six in ten (58%) ing the vaccine. How do I know I will not be Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic psychiaone? Is this vaccine even safe?” trists have faced overt or covert racism at Dr Harpreet Sood, who is leading an NHS work, but only 29% of these incidents were anti-disinformation drive, told the BBC it reported according to new research from the was "a big concern" and officials were workRoyal College of Psychiatrists. More ing "to correct so much fake news". He than half (55%) say that reporting a said language and cultural barriers racist incident resulted in no played a role in the false informachange. The data is based on a tion. recent Royal College of 'Structural and institutional Psychiatrists survey of 233 racism and discrimination' respondents from a BAME backBut in a recent report by ground across the UK. To tackle SAGE, the Government's scientific the problem the College is now advisory committee, reportedly blamed 'structural and institutional Dr Harpreet Sood calling for mandatory training that specifically covers the impact of racism and discrimination' causing the unconscious bias on decision making and vaccine scepticism among the BAME comstructural inequalities for all mental health munity. staff.

Though the study, which was conducted BAME community needs more care in November 2020 with 12,000 respondents, Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, GP, found overall 82% of the population willingProject Surgery, Newham said, “It is time to ness to be vaccinated, 72% of Black populawork out what the fears are within the comtion said they were unlikely or very unlikely munity. There is one fear about how the vacto take the Covid jab. cine was developed so quickly but then there The SAGE report concluded, “Trust is are more specific fears like this vaccine would also undermined by structural and institucause infertility. If we can educate people tional racism and discrimination. Minority with evidence that BAME people were part of ethnic groups have historically been underthe vaccine trial or help with role modelling, represented within health research, includshowing trusted cases, through faith leaders ing vaccines trials, which can influence trust

Covid safe and infrastructure to help the and community groups, this will rebuild the vaccination programme.” trust and fight the fear among the communiImams in mosques across the UK on ty.”

Friday reassured worshippers about the When asked if enough is being done to safety and legitimacy of Covid-19 vaccinaget the message across the community better, tions and reminding them of the Islamic she added, “Many BAME people are dying. injunction to save lives.

The new variants are not protecting the Qari Asim, the chair of Minab and an BAME community. 25% more people are in imam in Leeds told The Guardian, hospital now than March 2020. BAME com“Scepticism is driven by two things. First, munity should be made aware that they are there are legitimate questions about more at risk than ever, they are more suscepwhether the vaccines are halal, which we tible, and vaccine are our only hope. They do have looked into and both vaccines in use in prevent serious complications and deaths.

“I am not political. But I believe, messagthe UK are perfectly permissible. ing about many things regarding Covid has “Second are the rumours, myths, concome across a little bit confused and spiracy theories and fake news, which has added to the misinformation. I we have debunked. Misinformation still have people telling me that could cost lives and must be chalCovid is just like a flu. There is lenged.” still need for awareness about While community and relihow dangerous Covid can be. gious organisations have their Much more should be done roles to play, people in different whether at temples, mosques or communities in the UK, often through media advertising and engage with the right information engagement, because we know through their choice of media. that BAME people are at higher Dr Farzana Hussain Reuters Institute for the Study of risks.” Trupti Patel, President of the Hindu Journalism at the University of Oxford colForum of Britain told Asian Voice, “We are lected data on how people navigated news doing everything to get the messaging right and information during the coronavirus among the Hindu community about the pandemic, fielded by YouGov. In one of the importance of the Covid vaccine and removpoints highlighted in the findings of the suring any misinformation that they have. We vey in August said, “A majority (56%) [of peoare in touch with Nadhim Zahawi, the ple] say that the news media have helped Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for them understand the pandemic, and 61% Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment. We have told that the news media has helped explain him that we will work with local authorities what they can do in response to it…” (governments) where our temples are happy Therefore, it is imperative government to let their premises for vaccination. As temincreases visibility of right messaging ples are already struggling, they need to prothrough media, especially among the BAME vide adequate resources to make temples community.

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Why Swami Vivekananda was a rockstar Shefali Saxena On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, The Nehru Centre held a virtual conversation with author, historian and journalist Hindol Sengupta as he talked to the Director of The Nehru Centre, Amish Tripathi about “The Universal Appeal of Swami Vivekananda”.

Hindol Sengupta (born 1979 in Jamshedpur) is an Indian historian and journalist. Sengupta lives in Delhi and is Editorat-Large at Fortune India where he writes a weekly column. He is also a columnist for Aspen Italia. He was educated in South Asian history and politics at Worcester College, Oxford, as a

Chevening Scholar, in business and finance as a KnightBagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and in journalism and film-making at Jamia Millia Islamia and Delhi University. In 2018, he became the only Indian to win the Wilbur Award given by the Religion Communicators Council of America for his book "Being Hindu". His books have been reviewed over multiple media outlets. In 2017, he was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Speaking about Swami Vivekananda, he said, “My family has been associated with the Ramkrishna Mission for three generations now. I myself got diksha, at the age of ten.” He went on to describe Swami Vivekananda’s legacy which traces back to him being a disciple of Ramkrishna Paramhansa. was an Indian Hindu mystic, saint, and religious leader in 19th century Bengal. Sri Ramakrishna experienced spiritual ecstasies from a young age, and was influenced by several religious traditions, including devotion toward the Goddess Kali, Tantra, Bhakti and Advaita Vedanta.

“Before Swami Vivekanada, there was nobody who really went out and told the civilisational message of India,” Sengupta said. He also remembered about the famous lecture of Vivekananda which increased his global appeal when he took the spiritual route instead and introduced Hinduism to the world in 1893 as he spoke at the World's Parliament of Religion.

Hindol said, “He was able to bring together the entire civilisational context and message of India and make it palatable, helping the west understand what India’s civilisation was all about. The universal appeal of Swami Vivekananda comes from the fact that he did not allow colonialism to restrict him. He broke the shackles of colonialism.”

Stating the uniqueness of Swami Vivekananda’s vision, he also said that unlike other monks and priests who were known to renounce and give up their personal lives to tread on the path of dharma, Swami Ji made a modern statement by highlighting that one doesn’t need to leave his or her life behind to spread the message of India in the world. Swami Ji wasn’t secluded. We can also be human while reaching out to the divine. He could marry his education with the most in depth philosophies of Hinduism and bring together a message that was modern, progressive and forward looking. This is how he made his global appeal and relevance bigger, not to forget that one of his biggest disciples, sister Nivedita was not Indian.

He embedded and embodied the essence of east and the west to reach the divine.

Hindol Sengupta also spoke about how Swami Ji showed his brethren and followers the power of “detached ownership management style” which is why the Ramakrishna Mission has never allowed any one person to become the lodestone of the mission after Swami’s death. Sengupta also said that he likes to tell his younger friends that, “Swami Vivekananda was a rockstar,” and how he travelled from east to west. “In order to remain a legend, you have to die young,” said Sengupta as he spoke about Swami Ji’s secret to being a rockstar. “What Swami Vivekanand achieved at 39, most human beings don’t achieve in many many lifetimes,” he added.

During his last days, Swami Ji also said, “If I stay, all your journeys will be blocked,” as his disciples pleaded to him to not give up on life. Sengupta beautifully summed up Swami Ji’s relevance in today’s times during Covid that India has continued to help the world in sending medicines, and producing the vaccine with Oxford, which is in a way a reflection of supreme detachment from any material thing, which was after-all what Swami Ji wanted.

Subhas Chandra Bose: India’s unforgettable hero T

he Government of India has decided to celebrate the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, on 23rd January, as 'Parakram Diwas' every year. This announcement came from the Ministry of Culture on tJanuary 19, four days ahead of Netaji’s 124th birth anniversary.

Early life Revered and addressed as Netaji, Subhas Chandra Bose, was born on January 23, 1897, Cuttack, Orissa [now Odisha], India. Netaji led the Indian revolutionary movement in the independence movement against British rule of India. He also led an Indian national force from abroad against the Western powers during World War II. He was a contemporary of Mohandas K. Gandhi, at times an ally and at other times an adversary. Bose was known in particular for his militant approach to independence and for his push for socialist policies.

Education Subhas Chandra Bose studied in Calcutta (Kolkata) at the Presidency College and the Scottish Churches College. His parents then sent him to the University of Cambridge in England to prepare for the Indian Civil Service. He passed the civil service examination but resigned his candidacy and returned to India after hearing of nationalist turmoil there.

Netaji’s non-cooperation movement Bose joined the non-cooperation movement started

by Mohandas K. Gandhi, who had made the Indian National Congress a powerful nonviolent organization.

Bose was advised by Gandhi to work under Chitta Ranjan Das, a politician in Bengal. There Bose became a youth educator, journalist, and commandant of the Bengal Congress volunteers.

Rash Behari Bose Rash Behari Bose escaped from India in 1915 and lived in Japan as an escapee. In 1943, he handed over the charge of Azad Hind Fauj to Subhas Chandra Bose. A revolutionary leader, who contributed a great deal in India's fight for independence from the clutches of the Britishers, Rash Behari Bose was born on May 25, 1886, and died on January 21, in the year 1945. He was Rash Behari Bose with one of the key Subhas Chandra Bose organisers of Gadar revolution that aimed to attack the British army from the inside. It helped in activating an uprising in India. He also played a crucial role in organising the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj).

Bose’s Ireland connection Anuj Dhar, Author of “Conundrum: Subhas Bose’s Life after Death” and “Your Prime Minister is Dead” has been vocal about his stance and reverence towards Bose on social media and various other occasions. “Without a national holiday like on October 2, it would mean nothing. Netaji freed India, not a state sanctioned hoax of ahimsa. Learn to honour your liberator,” he tweeted recently.

Also critiquing the erstwhile government, he posted, “"Some kind of an intelligent guess by some reporter" -Explanation by Prime Minister #JawaharlalNehru on the charge that the details about #SubhasChandraBose death inquiry were deliberately leaked to media.”

Dhar and Chandrachud Ghose, Coauthor of ‘Conundrum: Subhas Bose’s Life After Death’.

History, economics, politics.

Founder member-MissionNetaji held a virtual event where they discussed the enigma of Bose for over two hours from Ireland.

Ghose is working on Netaji’s biography.

Between 1933 and 1936, Netaji S u b h a s Chandra Bose

spent a lot of time in Europe. “His Irish experiences during this time haven’t received as much attention as they perhaps should have, given that they significantly influenced his later career. He visited many cities in Europe in those three years, the stated purpose being ‘medical treatment’,” The Wire reported. It is said that Bose drew a lot of inspiration from the Irish experience and came to believe that only Irish style militant action would secure India its freedom. This led to the founding of the Indian National Army.

Mysterious death Subhas Chandra Bose reportedly died in a Japanese hospital in Taiwan from burn injuries on August 18, 1945, as a result of a plane crash while fleeing Southeast Asia, days after World War II ended with the surrender of Japan (which had been supporting Bose and his liberation army).

Netaji's daughter Anita Bose Pfaff with former President of India, Late. Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Modi’s promise and a daughter’s appeal PM Narendra Modi kept his promise to Netaji’s Family and all files on Subhas Chandra Bose were declassified. The Government of India had decided to declassify the files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and make them accessible to the public. The first lot of 33 files which were declassified were handed over by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to National Archives of India on 4 December 2015. Placed now with the national custodian, are all records relating to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the Azad Hind Fauj.

In 2018, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s daughter Anita Bose-Pfaff appealed to the governments of India and Japan for bringing her father’s mortal remains back home.

According to her, Netaji died in an air crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945 and his remains have been preserved at Tokyo’s Renkoji temple since September 1945. “On the 73rd anniversary of my father’s passing away, I renew my appeal to the governments of India and Japan to facilitate a transfer of his mortal remains from Japan to India for a final disposal,” she had said.

“It was my father’s ambition to return to a free India.

This was unfortunately not fulfilled. Therefore, it would be appropriate if at least his remains touch the soil of Independent India. My father was a devout Hindu.

Thus, it is perhaps befitting as per custom to immerse at least part of his remains in the river Ganga,” she added.

Netaji’s Grandnephew, Chandra Kumar Bose said that "NDA govt under the leadership of Narendra Modi made the commitment to the nation that he would declassify all the files pertaining to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and he would unravel the mystery of his disappearance on 18 August 1945. So today the people of the nation and family members of Netaji want closure because there is a controversy whether he died in the air crash or he survived the air crash."

"The Congress government has always suppressed the truth, my father Amiya Nath Bose who was in Lok Sabha had taken up the issue with Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi for releasing all the papers but no one bothered.

For the first time, Narendra Modi responded positively and he started the process of declassification. We are happy about releasing all the files by the NDA govt but not satisfied because there is no closure.” "I am hopeful because PM Modi is very committed but the entire government machinery has to be on the very same page otherwise it is not possible. We want all the ministers, be it Culture, Defence all have to coordinate properly and reach to the closure," said Chandra Kumar Bose.

The Overseas Centre of Cost Accountants in London, UK in its virtual inauguration event on Saturday, 23rd January 2021 from 11 am to 1 pm GMT, will celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose. The event will be attended by Prof Lord Kamlesh Patel, OBE, Baron of Bradford, Mr Kavin McCole, MD, UKIBC, Mr Nick Low, British Deputy High Commissioner at Kolkata and other dignitaries in UK and India as well as the President, Vice President and Secretary of the Institute.

18 FINANCE - UK

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Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel The US Federal Reserve, their central bank, issued some amazing data this week, published by Bloomberg. I know, I know, you’re thinking, ‘when doesn’t the US Central Bank issue amazing data Alpesh?’

But wait. This showed that the wealth gap in the US is getting wide between the rich and poor and that the top 20% of earners own nearly all the stocks held

by US households.

Now that tells me something. Rich people buy stocks. It’s a loop. They get rich buying stocks, they buy stocks to get rich. Not me, the data.

So what do poor people do. Well three things on social media told me this.

Twitter: Martin Lewis – the MoneySavingExpert (probably the most arrogant obnoxious man I’ve ever met, I mean out did me, which takes some doing) replied to my comment on Twitter that investing is irresponsible. He rightly wants you to cut expenses, but doesn’t want you to invest. Hmmm…if you invest, and get into the top 20%, you may no longer need his website I guess, you know the business that got investors into it to make him a guzzillionaire – oh turns out he understands shares after all.

LinkedIn: Some old dear said I only mentioned ‘risk’ in sentence eight highlighting my upcoming free webinar explaining the Stock Market in under 20 minutes. Now, she actually counted the sentences. If you think it is risky investing, then try taking no risks in your life and see how risky that works out for you.

TikTok – yes, I am on it. Don’t know what it is?

Don’t worry, go back to sleep. The number of numpties in their twenties (you can be in your 20s and not be a numpty – I am told) who post about trading options and getting rich on the stock market. Now that is not investing. In fact if you get your ideas off TikTok (other than fitness motivation for 40-somethings which is why I am on it) you deserve to lose all your money.

So three lessons from social media. First, it’s not just about cutting expenses, it is about increasing income. Second, yes investing can be risky – doh!

Third, beware where you get your know-how.

I am on a mission to educate people about investing based on my Financial Times best-selling books.

I’ve converted them into free videos and tutorials – bitesize and simple. I want to educate 1m people worldwide – so we close that wealth gap with the biggest earners. The 80% is where I am focussed.

UK to fine firms that hide Chinese imports from Uighur labour Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said UK will fine companies if they cover up imports from the Xinjiang region of China, where international observers have accused Beijing of overseeing forced labor by Uighur Muslims. All companies with an annual turnover of more than 36 million pounds ($49 million) will be obliged to publish a supply chain transparency report or face fines, Raab told Parliament. Public sector procurement will also be banned from the region and there will be tougher export controls.

“This package will help make sure that no British organizations, government or private sector, deliberately or inadvertently profit from or contribute to the human rights violations against the Uighurs or other minorities in Xinjiang.” Raab said. “We will continue to speak up for what is right.” The measures are designed to be a precise and preemptive tool to tackle abuses in the region, Raab’s office said, though it added there is no way of quantifying how many imports come to the UK direct from the region. China was the UK’s third-biggest trading partner in 2019, after the US and Germany.

Conservative MP and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat said “dirty goods” are one issue but “dirty money” is another problem, citing Chinese funding at British universities.

In December, the US-based Center for Global Policy published a report alleging new evidence from Chinese government documents and media reports of hundreds of thousands of Uighurs in Xinjiang being forced to pick cotton by hand through coercive state-mandated labour.

Prime Minister and Chancellor launch new Business Council Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair the first meeting of the new Business Council established to work with government to fuel Covid-19 economic recovery and future growth plans. The Council was launched by Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak. The Build Back Better Council will bring together a broad range of business leaders to work in partnership with the government to unlock investment, boost job creation, promote Global Britain and level up the whole of the UK. The Council will have 30 members representing industries from retail and hospitality, to finance, science and technology. It will be co-chaired by the Prime Minister and Chancellor, with the Business Secretary as a standing member, and other Cabinet Ministers

attending as required – the Trade Secretary will join the first meeting.

At the first meeting, which will take place virtually, the Prime Minister will update leaders on the current Covid-19 situation, including the vaccine rollout, as well as plans to rebuild the economy after the crisis has passed. Council members will share their views on the economy, provide a commercial perspective on policy and highlight obstacles and solutions to economic recovery.

Whilst recognising that the short term will be difficult, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are committed to making sure that we will be ready to kickstart our economy as soon as we can, so vital work continues across government on supporting job creation, improving skills, opening up new

investment, cementing the UK’s position as a science superpower, delivering a once in a generation investment programme in infrastructure, launching a green industrial revBoris Johnson olution and enabling Better and level up opportuour entrepreneurs to scale nity for people and businesstheir businesses. es across the UK. This Prime Minister Boris Council will ensure that govJohnson said: We know the ernment and businesses conbest way to rebuild our econtinue to work closely togethomy is to beat Covid which is er. It will provide an imporwhy we have invested biltant forum for frank feedlions in new vaccines and a back on our recovery plans national testing operation so and will help ensure the that we can reopen the econsteps we are taking are the omy safely as soon as possiright ones. The Council will ble in the future. But despite meet quarterly, but with furthis we – like many other ther meetings agreed with countries – face a huge ecothe Prime Minister and nomic challenge. And as we Chancellor if required. Each recover from this crisis it member is appointed to the won’t be enough to just go Council for a term of 12 back to normal – our months. promise will be to Build Back

Sunak may continue with Covid-19 support in his budget The 2021 Budget will be presented on 3 March 2021 – almost a year after the last Budget of 11 March 2020.

The planned autumn Budget was cancelled in September. Last year’s Budget was dubbed ‘the coronavirus budget’, as the emerging pandemic took prominence over the agenda the Conservatives promoted on the 2019 campaign trail.

With Covid-19 still spreading rapidly, expect a coronavirus focus again this year. There are speculations about what Rishi Sunak will include in his new budget.

One thing is certain that the pandemic’s second wave is causing untold damage to the UK, so Covid-19 support is likely to be in store this year too.

Tax rises (or no tax rises) Throughout 2020, questions were raised as to how the Treasury would pay for its record borrowing to fund

coronavirus support measures. The leading rumour was that this would be done through tax rises. Measures such as increasing Class 4 National Insurance, raising fuel duty, cutting pension tax relief and changing capital gains tax were all rumoured at various points, though so far nothing official has materialised. There were reports saying Sunak may opt for raising corporation tax in March’s Budget as the first step to reducing the deficit. Further down the line, perhaps at a later Budget, he may seek to replace council tax and stamp duty with a new property tax, according to reports. According to another report, this is not the right time to mope up revenue. Perhaps this reflects that the Treasury hasn’t yet decided exactly what the Budget will include.

Stamp duty holiday extension Many in the housing

sector are calling for the sixmonth stamp duty holiday to be extended beyond its current 31 March expiry date, though the Treasury has not hinted at this so far.

The assumption is that the Chancellor set that deadline without anticipating strict lockdown measures would return, meaning the tax cut could still be needed to stimulate the market.

Pressure is mounting on the government to help leaseholders who are struggling with sky-high bills to pay for dangerous cladding to be removed.

Furlough scheme extension Throughout the pandemic, the Chancellor has repeatedly announced end dates to the coronavirus job retention scheme, only to extend it before it expires.

Currently, it’s due to end in April, but if he’s planning to extend it again, the Budget is the perfect time to do it.

In last year’s Budget, the

Rishi Sunak

government pledged to protect access to cash through new legislation. The legislation hasn’t been passed since then, so perhaps this year’s budget will update on its progress. Chancellors often announce something surprising at the end of a budget, known colloquially as the ‘rabbit in the hat’ moment. At the end of Sunak’s summer statement, for example, he announced the 'Eat Out to Help Out scheme', which offered discounts to encourage visiting restaurants in person. There could be another ‘rabbit’ on its way this year too.

UK home buyers to face unexpected tax bill as stamp duty deadline nears Property website Rightmove has cautioned home buyers of an unexpected tax bill of up to £15,000 each if the stamp duty holiday ends as planned on March 31. The property website said some sellers who had put their property on the market during the last few weeks were hoping to tempt buyers with a competitive price in an attempt to squeeze in a sale before the deadline arrives.

Rightmove said its latest analysis showed that it was taking 126 days from the time an offer was accepted

until legal completion. The website estimates that 613,000 property sales agreed in 2020 are “stuck in the processing logjam”. Out of these, it estimates that about 100,000 buyers will miss out on their stamp duty saving, and find themselves to have to pay thousands of pounds worth of tax bill in case the cut-off date remains in place.

Rightmove's director of property data, Tim Bannister, said the challenge of processing so many house sales in less than three months “is made even

tougher by the new lockdown restrictions, Covid-19 sickness and home schooling further reducing capacity in conveyancing, legal searches and mortgage lending”.

The report is expected to renew calls for the government to extend the stamp duty holiday which allows buyers of homes of a value up to £500,000 in England, and Northern Ireland to pay no stamp duty or a reduced rate.

Reports reveal Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been urged to take action as he prepares to present the budget on March 3. A

Treasury spokesperson said, “The temporary stamp duty cut is helping to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs which rely on the property market by stimulating economic activity. Its timelimited nature is what has encouraged people to take advantage of the scheme.”

Just last week, home moving website Reallymoving said that if the March 31 deadline remained in place, sellers should prepare for an increase in “gazundering” where buyers reduce their offer just before exchange.

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REAL ESTATE VOICE & INDIA FINANCE 19 23 - 29 January 2021

Indian tech cos winning large deals in Europe Indian IT firms are winning large deals in Europe, helped by the greater investments they are making in that geography, and the rising propensity of European players to outsource more of their technology work. TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Mindtree have all reported positive growth in the last 5-6 quarters on constant currency even as growth was flat or negative in the main North American market.

Continental Europe still represents a small pie in the revenue, but analysts expect it to go up in the coming days.

“It is the fastest growing geography and Indian players have gained a fair bit of market share from European vendors. Few

factors that have accelerated this are the propensity among European companies to outsource increasing, and Indian players building up near-shore centres leading to higher localisation,” Apurva Prasad of HDFC Securities, said.

TCS’s business in the region grew at 3.6% in Q3 compared to the previous year, significantly higher than in the US. Infosys and Wipro do not break up revenue between the UK and continental Europe, but they have maintained a positive growth in the region at a time when the UK has remained weak due to Brexit.

“In Europe, traditionally, a lot of companies were a little bit suspicious or careful with public cloud adoption,

and therefore, were going a little slower on cloud transformation. I believe with the pandemic, they’ve realised the necessity to accelerate,” Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte said last week after the company’s results.

The last few months have seen some major billion-dollar deals emerging from the region. These include the one between Infosys and Daimler, and between Wipro and Metro AG. Analysts say that as the EU and the UK move into a post-Covid world, many of their large firms face the necessity to both cut costs and modernise their IT and business process services.

“The Indian heritage firms are fairing particularly well as they have lower operating costs and are also leveraging their balance sheets aggressively to win these large transactions.

Firms such as TCS, HCL, Infosys and Wipro have been patiently investing in putting in place large and talented European operations and are now in the position to be rewarded for these investments,” Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of Everest Group, said.

TCS, Infosys, HCL and Wipro to hire 91,000 freshers Indian IT firms have lined up robust hiring plans for 2021-22. The top four IT firms - TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro collectively plan to hire 91,000 from campuses, a little higher than last year.

Most of the ongoing financial year’s campus hiring would have been concluded before businesses were hit by the pandemic.

Companies generally have honoured those offers, though some with a lag. TCS executive VP and global HR head Milind Lakkad said in recent media interactions that the company expects to hire the same number of freshers for the next year as it did this year (about 40,000). Infosys said it will hire 24,000 college

graduates in India in the next financial year, up from the 15,000 that it had planned for current one.

HCL Technologies chief HR officer Apparao V V said there are multiple reasons why the hiring momentum is picking up. “We are doing 33% more than what we had targeted and we see a fair bit of acceleration in Q3 and Q4. The visa environment,

compensation revisions and countries looking inwards have put a cap in terms of talent the available in those countries.

If customers scale up their engagement, they have to go where the skills are. Last year, 70% of our increase in manpower was in India and 30% outside India. This year, it was almost 90-10. We see huge ramp-ups in India,” he said. HCL plans to hire 15,000 freshers in India and between 1,500-2,000 people onsite in the 2022 fiscal.

James Friedman of Susquehanna Financial Group (SFG) said demand is generally infrastructure-

related. That’s where the “big deals” are, often with some digital wrapper, he said. “India mindshare seems once again on the rise,” he said. Infosys won the largest deal ever in its history from German automotive major Daimler that sources said is estimated at $3.2 billion.

TCS won a large deal from Prudential Financial. Wipro signed a big one with German retailer Metro.

London-based IT advisory Omdia’s principal analyst Hansa Iyengar said enterprises are accelerating digital agendas and investments as the world looks at a post-pandemic recovery.

“Campus recruitment is a good tool to bolster digital portfolios and delivery,” she said.

Retail inflation in India eases to 15-month low in Dec India's retail inflation eased to a 15-month low in December on the back of moderating prices of some food items, including vegetables, and came within the Reserve Bank of India’s target but economists said the central bank would wait and watch before moving on interest rates.

Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, rose an annual 4.6% in December, slower than the 6.9% in the previous month and well below the 7.4% in December 2019. Rural inflation was at 4.1%, while urban at 5.2%. Inflation in the food segment eased to a 16-month low of 3.9% compared to 8.8% in November 2020. The easing was largely led by a decline of 10.4% in vegetable prices during the month. However, several food items, such as meat, fish and eggs, oils and

fats, pulses and products remained in double digits.

The sharp easing of retail inflation comes as a huge relief as persistent inflationary pressures had prompted RBI to pause its interest rate cutting cycle. It had remained above the central bank’s target for eight months in a row and economists said the average between April and December was at 6.6%. Core inflation (excluding food and fuel) eased to 5.7% in December compared to 5.8% in the previous month.

“Inflation is cooling, finally edging closer to the 4% target average pursued by the Reserve Bank of India.

The December consumer price index is cause for relief for the bank’s monetary policy at a time when manufacturing and business investment are highly reliant on an accommodative repo rate. Dramatic cooling in food prices was essential to this result; slower price appreciation in the rural

economy, after the reverse was true for much of 2020, is providing some relief to the growing ranks of the rural poor,” Moody’s Analytics said in a note.

Separate data showed industrial output contracted by 1.9% in November after festival demand driven expansion in the past two months. NSO data showed the October number was revised upwards to 4.2% from the previously estimated 3.6% growth.

Between April and November the contraction was at 15.5% compared to a growth of 0.3% during the same period earlier year. The manufacturing sector

contracted 1.7% compared to a growth of 3% in November 2019.

Economists expect the recovery to be gradual and uneven but the arrival of vaccines is expected to help boost sentiment and expansion. “A combination of loss of working days in a festivity heavy month along with a negative base are likely to have weighed on manufacturing activity. In addition, the initial pent up demand post easing of lockdown, along with festive seasonality support, IIP is likely to have taken a breather in November,” analytics firm QuantEco said in a note.

Auction Undercurrents

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

The art world has a reputation of being under handed.

There is no regulation in this market, the price of a picture is not even quoted. The artists and dealers protect themselves by saying this allows the viewing to be totally about the art and not the price. In theory, and sometimes in practice, dealers will quote a different price depending on who they are speaking to.

Why would they do this? Because, where the piece ends up will affect the future of the artist. In certain galleries the artist will gather repute, and in the home of a private collector who perhaps does not even know what he’s buying, the sale will have little impact.

Given this is only one thread of how the art market works, it is refreshing when there is an auction, as anyone who qualifies for a paddle can come in and bid.

The auction room offers transparency. OR does it?

Auctioneers often have a habit of, what they call in the art market, chandelier bidding. The term for the property market is bidding against the wall, as you don’t always have a chandelier in the humble rooms used. Here, the auctioneer starts the bidding below the reserve price, and if there are no bids in the room they pretend there are bids coming in until they hit the reserve price. Not exactly transparent.

In the property market, unlike the art market, there is transparency in terms of pricing. One can see within minutes what all the other properties in the block or street have sold for, and when the sale occurred. You can also see the ownership details, and whether they have a mortgage and with whom. This is arguably perhaps a little too much information. This is the issue of the property market, there is too much information and therefore the margin is very tight; meaning everyone knows the construction cost, and the resale values.

The property auction market may look transparent and on the whole is; however, those who know the rules also know how to bend them. With the influx of retail investors, many auctions instead of being the realm for dealers, have now become a dumping ground for traders. With the idea being to dupe the unsuspecting buyer, whilst complying with the letter of the law but not the spirit.

We have seen several cases of buyers ending up with lemons from the auctions. However, auctions can also be a great place to pick up opportunities, and you do have the security of actually getting the deal done.

One just needs to exercise a healthy dose of caution when tackling them.

INDIA'S EXPORTS GROW 11% IN FIRST HALF OF JANUARY India’s exports rose around 11% to $11.8 billion during the first fortnight of 2021, while imports went up about 6.6% to $18 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of over $6 billion. Exports climbed 5.6% during the second week of January after an over 16% rise during the previous seven-day period, led by a jump of more than 20% in the shipments of drugs, pharma and engineering goods - two traditional strong points for the country. In fact, engineering goods contributed over 82% of the increase during the second week, led by a surge in exports to the US and the UK. But a large chunk of the rise was offset by a fall in export of petroleum products, which fell 91% due to lower demand from the UAE and the Netherlands. During the second week, imports grew 12.3% or by $1 billion due to a surge in gold consignments, which shot up by 144%, partly due to higher prices. The yellow metal contributed to 44% of the increase.

INDIA TOOK DECISIVE STEPS TO DEAL WITH COVID: IMF India has taken very decisive action to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic consequences, the IMF chief has said, indicating that the agency’s World Economic Outlook update would show a better picture for the country’s economic performance. The IMF will release the update to its World Economic Outlook on January 26. In its previous estimate it had estimated the economy to shrink by 10.3% in the current fiscal year that ends in March and rebound strongly next year. The Indian economy has been hit hard by the lockdown imposed to ward off the spread of Covid-19 infection and GDP had shrunk by 23.9% in the June quarter.

Since the lifting of the lockdown several economic indicators have shown a sharp recovery and official estimates peg GDP to contract 7.7%, much less than previously estimated.

Economists expect growth to return to the positive territory in the third or fourth quarter.

20

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US retains Lashkar’s terror tag, casts a shadow over Pak’s chances at FATF Washington: The US State Department decision to continue treating the Lashkar-eTayyiba as a terror organisation suggests that it is as potent as ever despite cosmetic steps taken by Islamabad, an Indian official said. The US administration has reviewed and retained the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) designation for the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba along with seven other groups including the Pakistan-based Lashkari-Jhangvi, a US State Department statement has said.

The Lashkar-e-Tayyiba was first notified as a terror group by the United States in December 2001.

The US State Department order comes ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting next month that will assess the progress made by Pakistan to curb terror financing. The global watchdog didn’t seem to agree with Islamabad’s

pitch that it was taking concrete steps to fix gaps in its laws to check terror financing and should be taken off the grey list.

At the end of the last review in October, FATF president Marcus Pleyer cautioned that Pakistan could not take forever to deliver on its commitments and repeated failure to deliver would result in the country being put in the blacklist.

Pakistan was put in FATF’s grey list in 2018 after the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog pointed out failing to control terror financing and money laundering. But Islamabad is yet to take any concrete action and the Pakistani deep state continues to support terrorist activities in India and Afghanistan. Over the last month, however, Pakistan has gone on an overdrive to impress the FATF. Last week, a Pakistani court sentenced Lashkar-e-Tayyiba

commander Zaki-urRehman Lakhvi to 15 years jail in a terror-financing case. Another judge issued arrest warrants for Jaish-eMohammed chief Masood Azhar, who Pakistan has claimed for years was not in Pakistan. New Delhi has, however, pointed out that neither of the two designated terrorists had been charged for terrorist acts.

Pakistan’s “farcical actions” appeared to be aimed at an upcoming review by the FATF of the country’s efforts to counter terror financing, India’s external affairs ministry Anurag Srivastava said in response, pressing for “credible action” against Pakistan against terror groups.

FTO and Specially Designated Global Terrorists designations seek to deny these terrorist organisations the resources to plan and carry out

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi

terrorist attacks. Among other consequences of designations, all of the groups’ property and interests that are within the United States or that come within the United States or that come within the possession or control of US persons, are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them. In addition, as designated FTOs, it is a federal crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to them, the statement said.

Two Afghan female judges shot dead in Kabul ambush KABUL: Two female judges have been killed by unknown gunmen in an ambush last week in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.

The attack on the Supreme Court judges took place as they were driving to work, Ahmad Fahim Qaweem, a court spokesman, said. Kabul police confirmed the attack.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and spokesman for the Taliban armed group Zabihullah Mujahid said the group was not responsible. Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months despite ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and government – especially in Kabul where a new trend of targeted killings aimed at high-pro-

file figures has sown fear in the city.

The latest attack comes two days after the Pentagon announced it cut American troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500, the lowest in nearly two decades. More than 200 female

China imposes temporary travel ban on Pak passengers KARACHI: China has imposed a temporary travel ban on Pakistani passengers after 10 of them tested positive for Covid-19. According to Geo News, China has also stopped operating flights from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for three weeks.

PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez confirmed that the national carrier has temporarily halted the flights after the development. Pakistani passengers, who travelled to China with a negative coronavirus test report, later tested positive upon arrival, said the spokesperson.

China reported 144 Covid infections, the highest number of cases in over 10 months, due to a severe outbreak in the northeast that has put over 28 million people under lockdown. North China’s Hebei Province reported 90 locally transmitted infections and nine asymptomatic cases last week.

By the end of Thursday last, there were 553 locally transmitted cases and two imported cases being treated in hospitals in Hebei, Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, Pakistan on Friday recorded 2,417 new infections and 45 deaths, reported ARY News.

The total Covid caseload in Pakistan stands at 514,338, along with 10,863 deaths.

judges work for the country’s top court.

Afghanistan’s Supreme Court was a target in February 2017 when a suicide bomb in its car park killed at least 20 court employees and wounded 41.

In recent months, several

prominent Afghans – including politicians, journalists, activists, doctors and prosecutors – have been assassinated in often brazen daytime attacks in Kabul and other cities. Afghan officials have blamed the Taliban for the attacks, a charge the militia has denied. Some of these killings have been claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.

Earlier this month, the US military for the first time directly accused the Taliban of orchestrating the attacks. “The Taliban’s campaign of unclaimed attacks and targeted killings of government officials, civil society leaders & journalists must … cease for peace to succeed,” Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, said on Twitter.

Pak artist seeks Rs 500 mn compensation from actor Ali Zafar ISLAMABAD: Pakistani artist and activist Leena Ghani has sought a compensations of Rs 500 million from actor Ali Zafar on grounds of alleged sexual harassment and defamation. As recompense for the "injurious grief and mental agony" she suffered, Ghani has claimed Rs 500 mn.

In November 2018, Zafar charged Ghani and eight others, including actor and singer Meesha Shafi with a civil defamation lawsuit, alleging a smear campaign against him. Citing "character assassination," the accused were booked under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 " a law that is focused partly on protecting Ali Zafar women from online harassment. Their charges carry a jail sentence of up to three years.

This is one of Pakistan's most high-profile #MeToo cases. It began in April 2018 when Shafi tweeted about her own experiences of sexual harassment, alleging Zafar had subjected her to harassment of "a physical nature". Over time, more women came forward on social media, alleging harassment by the actor. Zafar has denied all of

Shafi's claims and as a result of his 2018 lawsuit, the court placed a gag order on Shafi that still prevents her from publicly discussing these allegations.

In July 2018, Shafi started legal proceedings to take Zafar to court for sexual harassment in the workplace, but her case was dismissed on technical grounds.

The incident allegedly occurred when she and Zafar were rehearsing for an event where they had to perform, but the complaint was rejected by the ombudsperson on the grounds that the petitioner was not an employee and therefore not covered under Pakistan's Protection against Harassment of Women at the Work Place Act 2010. Two days ago, the Supreme Court admitted Shafi's petition for regular hearing.

Since Ali's 2018 defamation case, the accused started facing severe online harassment, including rape and death threats, and claim they were targeted by Pakistani media.

On 15 December 2020, the accused were declared "guilty" for running a social media vilification campaign against Zafar and court proceedings began.

in brief COVID CASES SURGE TO 10-MONTH HIGH IN CHINA China reported the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases in more than 10 months, official data showed, due to a severe outbreak in the northeast that has put more than 28 million people under lockdown. A total of 144 new Covid-19 cases were reported on January 14, the National Health Commission said in a statement, up from 138 cases a day earlier and marking the highest daily increase since 202 cases were reported on March 1. To date, China has reported 87,988 confirmed cases with 4,635 deaths. The commission also said that over 1,000 people nationwide were being treated for Covid-19, a day after the country reported its first virus death since May. Twenty-six of them are in serious condition.

IRAN TEST-FIRES LONG-RANGE MISSILES Iran’s Revolutionary Guards last week fired long-range ballistic missiles into the Indian Ocean on the second day of a military exercise, state media reported. The drill followed previous day's testing of surface-tosurface ballistic missiles and locally manufactured new drones. Guards commander Major General Hossein Salami said with these missiles, which have a range of 1,800km, “we can now strike moving targets in the ocean”, instead of the usual low-speed cruise missiles.

Chief of staff General Mohammad Baqeri said while Iran had “no offensive intentions”, it would now be able to “respond to any hostile act.” Meanwhile, the US imposed sanctions on companies in Iran, China and the UAE for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over arms proliferation.

N KOREA UNVEILS SUBLAUNCHED BALLISTIC MISSILE A month before the US election, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, held a military parade that featured what appeared to be the country’s largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile. This week, just days before Presidentelect Joe Biden’s inauguration, the North Korean dictator held another parade, showing off a new submarine-launched ballistic missile.

The timing has drawn attention to the diplomatic freeze between the two nations.

This week’s parade came at the end of the eight-day congress held by North Korea’s Workers’ Party. The new type of submarinelaunched missiles was larger than the ones previously tested. The North also displayed a variety of solid-fuel weapons designed to be fired from mobile land launchers, which potentially expand its capability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including US bases there.

DUTCH PM RESIGNS, BUT IN STYLE Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte cycled over to the Royal Palace of Amsterdam on January 15 to offer the king his cabinet’s resignation, after investigations revealed thousands of child-welfare recipients had been wrongly accused of fraud. In a televised speech, Rutte told Dutch citizens that his government had failed the parents affected. “The rule of law must protect citizens from an all-powerful government, and that has gone horribly wrong here,” Rutte said. “At all levels, throughout the political-administrative-legal system, mistakes have been made that have resulted in great injustice to thousands of parents. But the political responsibility ultimately rests with the incumbent cabinet and nowhere else.” Rutte said the government’s priority would be financial compensation to the affected parents, and an overhaul of the country’s welfare systems. The prime minister said his government would continue in a “caretaker” role until elections take place in mid-March.

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in brief POPE FRANCIS, FORMER POPE GET COVID-19 VACCINE Both Pope Francis and former Pope Benedict have received the first dose of a vaccine against coronavirus, the Vatican said. The 84-year-old pope and the 93-year-old former pope, got their jabs as part of a Vatican vaccination programme that began last week. Both are vulnerable because of their age.

Francis is perhaps more at risk because part of one of his lungs was removed following an illness when he was a young man. Pope Francis said at the weekend that everyone should get a jab.

“It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others.”

BIBI REMOVES PIC WITH TRUMP FROM TWITTER BANNER Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu dropped US President Trump from the banner photo of his Twitter account in an apparent break with a political ally. A photo of Netanyahu sitting next to Trump at a White House meeting had long taken pride of place on the official @netanyahu account, testimony to the conservative leader’s close ties with Trump. Last week, another photo showing Netanyahu being injected with the Covid vaccine, topped the page, along with the slogan for Israel’s inoculation campaign: “Citizens... we’re returning to life”. Netanyahu had kept the photo of his meeting with Trump on the site even after his defeat in the US election. No explanation was given on Netanyahu’s site for Trump’s disappearance.

KUWAIT’S GOVT QUITS EN MASSE, EMIR FACES 1ST BIG CHALLENGE Kuwaiti ministers handed in their resignations to the PM last week, days after lawmakers submitted a motion asking to question the premier over issues including the makeup of the cabinet. PM Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid alSabah must submit the resignations to the OPEC member state’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah, for approval. The resignation of the cabinet, formed on December 14, is the first political challenge for the new emir.

In a parliament motion on January 5, MPs had questioned the PM on issues such as formation of a cabinet “not reflective” of poll results and allegations of government “interference” in electing the speaker and members of parliamentary committees.

GORILLAS AT US ZOO TEST COVID +VE As many as eight gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are presumed to have contracted Covid-19 from a human handler after one of the animals tested positive, marking the first known transmission of the virus to apes, zoo officials said. Three among the band of critically endangered western lowland gorillas at the sprawling wildlife park have shown symptoms of the respiratory virus, such as coughing, though none appears severely ill, and all are expected to fully recover.

Previously, the virus has shown up in lions and pet dogs and cats.

Uganda's Museveni wins sixth term, rival alleges fraud KAMPALA: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has scored a decisive election victory to win a sixth term, the country’s election commission said, but his main rival Bobi Wine denounced the results as fraudulent and urged citizens to reject them. The 76year-old Museveni, in power since 1986 and one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, dismissed the allegations of fraud in an address to the nation, saying last week's election may turn out to be the “most cheating free” in Uganda’s history.

The Electoral Commission said final counts showed Museveni won 5.85 million votes, or 58.6%, while Wine had 3.48 million votes (34.8%). The campaign was marked by a deadly crackdown by security forces on Wine, other opposition candidates and their supporters. In the run-up to the vote local civil society groups and foreign governments questioned its credibility and transparency, after

scores of requests for accreditation to monitor the election were denied.

The United States and an African election monitoring group complained of election irregularities. Britain said it was concerned by a national internet shutdown that began the day before the vote, and that it said constrained freedoms and “clearly limited the transparency of the elections”. In a statement, British Minister for Africa James Duddridge also called for concerns about the election process to be investigated.

Wine, a 38-year-old singerturned-lawmaker who had rallied young Ugandans behind his call for political change, called the results a “complete fraud”.

“It’s an election that was taken over by the military and the police,” he said in a phone interview from inside his home in the capital, Kampala, which was surrounded by soldiers who he said had forbidden him from leaving.

“It further exposes how dic-

tatorial the Museveni regime is,” added Wine, who campaigned to end what he called widespread corruption. “It’s a mockery of democracy.” Army deputy spokesman Deo Akiiki said that security officers at Wine’s house were assessing threats he could face: “So they might be preventing him in the interest of his own safety.”

Museveni argued in the campaign that his long experience makes him a good leader and promised to keep delivering sta-

bility and progress. Museveni criticised “the elite” for problems with the national education and health systems and noted that Uganda has surplus supplies of sugar, milk and maize. Reprising a familiar refrain, he said he is not in government to enjoy a good life, which he has as a farmer, but rather to address historical challenges. The government banned all social media and messaging apps and later ordered the internet shut off and has not yet restored it.

Many Indian Americans named to Forbes ‘30 under 30’ list for 2021 CALIFORNIA: Numerous enterprising Indian Americans were recently recognized

by Forbes in its 10th annual ‘30 Under 30’ list for 2021 in various categories. In the Energy category, Vikhyat Chaudhry and Aashna Mehra were among the individuals named by Forbes. Chaudhry, 27, the co-founder of Buzz Solutions, was named alongside his fellow co-founder Kaitlyn Albertoli. Mehra, 27, is an investment associate at New Energy Capital Partners, a private equity fund that invests in small and mid-sized clean energy infrastructure projects and companies.

In the Social Media category, Indian American TikToker Avani Gregg and growth strategist at TikTok Gauri Rangrass were among 30 individuals named by Forbes in the category. Gregg, 18, the daughter of Indian and African American parents, now a Los Angeles resident, originally started on social media after a back injury ended her training as a gymnast, according to her profile by Forbes.

She's now famous for her vlogs and makeup TikToks, which have attracted more 26 million followers, it said.

Rangrass, of Los Angeles, is a growth strategy specialist at TikTok. Forbes said, “If you've ever laughed out loud at a TikTok, Rangrass may've been responsible for its existence.” In her role at TikTok, the Northwestern University graduate helps creators within the Meme and Food categories grow their followers and brands, including creators Brittany Broski and Tabitha Brown, it said. She is now developing TikTok's 2020 live streaming strategy, the profile notes.

In the Media category, Indian American Hersh Patel, the founder of Hindsight, was included in the Forbes 2021 list. The 29-yearold Patel, of Weehawken, New Jersey, cofounded Hindsight in 2017 to help publications figure out how to effectively place ads as cookie-tracking is phased out by the major internet browsers, his profile said. The company’s software is used by sites like FOCO and FanDuel to place ads based on the content of the article, rather than the reader's data history. With the New York University graduate Patel as CEO, Hindsight has raised $1 million, Forbes noted. Prior to launching Hindsight, Patel held roles at The News Project, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Group and Russell Investments, his bio notes.

The 600 young entrepreneurs, activists, scientists and entertainers featured in Forbes 10th annual Forbes “30 Under 30” list give everyone reason to hope, the magazine said.

Some are defying the odds and building busi-

nesses despite Covid-19; others are helping to fight the illness, serving on hospital frontlines or working with A.I. to discover new drugs. They are proof positive that ambition and innovation can’t be quarantined.

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Biden ropes in 20 Indian-Americans in his administration, 17 at key positions WASHINGTON: US Presidentelect Joe Biden has either nominated or named at least 20 Indian Americans, including 13 women, to key positions in his administration, a new record in itself for this small ethnic community that constitutes one per cent of the country’s population. As many as 17 of them would be part of the powerful White House complex.

The January 20th inauguration, the 59th in all, wherein Biden would be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States is already historic in the making as for the first time ever a woman Kamala Harris would be sworn as the vice president of the country.

Harris, 56, is also the first ever Indian-origin and African American to be sworn in as the vice president of the United States.

It is also for the first time ever that so many IndianAmericans have been roped into a presidential administration ever before the inauguration.

Biden is still quite far away from filling all the positions in his administration.

Topping the list is Neera who has been Tanden, nominated as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and Dr Vivek Murthy, who has been nominated as the US Surgeon General. Vanita Gupta has been nominated as Associate Attorney General Department of

Joe Biden

Justice, and on Saturday, Biden nominated a former foreign service official Uzra Zeya as the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

“The dedication that the Indian-American community has shown to public service over the years has been recognised in a big way at the very start of this administration! I am particularly pleased that the overwhelming majority are women. Our community has truly arrived in serving the nation,” Indiaspora founder M R Rangaswami said.

Mala Adiga has been appointed as Policy Director to the future First Lady Dr Jill Biden and Garima Verma would be the Digital Director of the Office of the First Lady, while Sabrina Singh has been named as her Deputy Press Secretary.

For the first time ever among the Indian-Americans include two who trace their roots to Kashmir: Aisha Shah, who has been named as Partnership Manager at the White House Office of Digital Strategy, and Sameera Fazili, who would

occupy the key position of Deputy Director at the US National Economic Council (NEC) in the White House.

White House National Economic Council also has another Indian American, Bharat Ramamurti, as Deputy Director. Gautam Raghavan, who served at the White House in the previous Obama Administration returns to the White House as Deputy Director in Office of Presidential Personnel.

Among Biden’s inner circle is his top confident for year Vinay Reddy, who has been named as Director Speechwriting. Young Vedant Patel all set to occupy a seat in the White House lower press, behind the briefing room, as Assistant Press Secretary to the President. He is only the thirdever Indian American to be part of the White House press shop.

Three Indian-Americans have made their way to the National Security crucial Council of the White House, thus leaving a permanent imprint on the country’s foreign policy and national security.

They are Tarun Chhabra: Senior Director for Technology and National Security, Sumona Guha, Senior Director for South Asia, Shanthi Kalathil: Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights.

Sonia Aggarwal has been named Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Innovation in the Office of the Domestic

Judge upholds Indian American father Wesley Mathews’ life sentence

California: Wesley Mathews, who was convicted of fatally injuring his adopted daughter Sherin Mathews and is currently serving a life sentence, will continue to do so, a judge has ruled. It was reported that the judge Richardson has upheld the murder conviction and life sentence.

After Mathews pleaded guilty to the Oct 7, 2017 murder of 3-year-old Sherin, a jury sentenced him to life in prison in 2019. In September 2019, he was denied a new trial.

The Indian American father admitted that he watched Sherin choke on her milk at about 3 am that morning. After determining she had died, he placed her body in a garbage bag and hid it in a culvert about a half mile away from the Mathews' Texas home. Mathews did not wake his sleeping wife Sini, a nurse, nor did he call 911 immediately after he determined his young daughter had died. After disposing of Sherin’s body, Mathews waited until 8 am that morning to call police and claim his daughter was missing. He initially

told police that he had put the little girl outside the family home late night as a punishment for not drinking her milk, and opined that wolves might have taken away his daughter.

After a massive two-week search by multiple agencies, Sherin’s body was found in the culvert. Both the Mathews were initially charged and sent to jail, but charges against Sini were later dropped. In the appeal, Mathews raised four points challenging the admission of certain evidence. In his remaining two issues, “he argues that his life sentence violates the Eighth Amendment and that the trial court denied his common law right to allocution,” according to the ruling.

All points were denied. “I believe the 5th Court has accurately talked about most of the facts in the record.

I did not see anything that jumped out at me as a factually wrong statement.” reports quoted Mike Casillas, Mathews’ appellate attorney, as saying. The case may still be appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in the form of a petition for discretionary review. But Casillas said has a less than 10 per cent chance.

Climate Policy at the White House and Vidur Sharma has been appointed as Policy Advisor for Testing for the White House Covid-19 Response Team. Two Indian American women have been appointed to the Office of the White House Counsel: Neha Gupta as Associate Counsel and Reema Shah as Deputy Associate Counsel.

Also, for the first time in any administration, the White House would have three other South Asians in key positions.

Pakistani-American Ali Zaidi as Deputy National Climate Advisor White House; Sri Lankan American Rohini Kosoglu as Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President and Bangladeshi-American Zayn Siddique: Senior Advisor to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff. During the campaign, Biden had indicated that he would rope in a large number of Indian Americans. constituents in “My Delaware, my staff in the Senate, the Obama Biden administration, which had more Indian Americans than any other administration in the history of this country and this with Indian campaign Americans at senior levels, which of course includes the top of the heap, our dear friend (Kamala Harris) who will be the first Indian American vice president in the history of the United States of America,” Biden said in his video address.

Indian origin man lived inside US airport for 3 months California: A California man who police said claimed to be too afraid to fly due to Covid-19 lived inside a secured area of O’Hare International Airport for three months until his arrest last week, prosecutors said.

Aditya Singh, 36, is charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport. Singh arrived at Aditya Singh O’Hare on a flight from Los Angeles on Oct. 19 and allegedly has lived in the airport’s security zone ever since, without detection.

Last week two United Airlines employees approached Singh and asked to see his identification. Assistant State’s Attorney Kathleen Hagerty said Singh showed them an airport ID badge that he was wearing around his neck.

The badge actually belonged to an operations manager who had reported it missing Oct. 26. The employees called 911. Police took Singh into custody. Hagerty said Singh reportedly found the badge in the airport and was “scared to go home due to Covid.” She told the judge other passengers were giving him food.

Singh lives with roommates in Orange, Calif., southeast of Los Angeles, and does not have a criminal background, according to Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood. She said he has a master’s degree in hospitality and is unemployed. As a condition of bail, the judge barred Singh from stepping foot in the airport again if he is able to post the $1,000 he needs for his release. He is due back in court Jan. 27.

in brief US IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON UKRAINIANS The United States last week imposed sanctions on several Ukrainian individuals and entities, accusing them of US election interference and associating with a pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker linked to efforts by President Donald Trump's allies to dig up dirt on President-elect Joe Biden and his son. "Russian disinformation campaigns targeting American citizens are a threat to our democracy," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, an ally of Trump who last week condemned the violence at the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, said in a statement. The US Treasury Department accused the seven individuals and four entities of involvement in a Russia-linked foreign influence network associated with Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach. The pro-Russian lawmaker was hit with sanctions by the US government in September over accusations he tried to interfere in the 2020 US election won by Biden.

US EXECUTES FIRST FEMALE INMATE IN SEVEN DECADES The United States last week executed a woman in nearly seven decades, as Lisa Montgomery was administered a lethal injection in Terre Haute, Indiana. She is the eleventh person to die after President Donald Trump restarted federal executions after 17 years. Montgomery was found guilty of killing a pregnant woman. In 2004, Montgomery killed Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who was 23 at the time and eight months pregnant with her first baby. The victim was a dog breeder whom Montgomery befriended online and expressed interest in buying one. Montgomery tole people that she was pregnant, a false claim since she had sterilized after giving birth to her fourth child. Montgomery strangled Stinnett with a rope following which the latter bled to death. Later, she cut the baby girl from the womb with a kitchen knife and took her away. When questioned by cops, she said that the newborn was hers but later admitted to the heinous crime. Fortunately, the baby survived, turning 16 last month.

EMERGENCY DECLARED IN 7 JAPANESE PREFECTURES Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in seven additional prefectures, including Osaka and Aichi, due to the spike in coronavirus infection in the country. Along with Tokyo, which came under a state of emergency last week, a total of 11 prefectures covering more than half of the country's population and around 60 per cent of its economy will remain under the measure through February 7. At the meeting of the government's coronavirus task force, Suga said he felt a "strong sense of crisis" and that outbreaks in urban areas must be contained and prevented from spreading to other parts of the country. Japan will take additional measures at the border to prevent imported infections, PM Suga said. However, people are urged to stay at home as much as possible.

RUSSIAN COURT ORDERS 30-DAY JAIL FOR NAVALNY A judge ordered Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be jailed for 30 days, pending a trial, after a rushed court hearing inside a police station, in an extraordinary move by Russian authorities. A lawyer for Navalny, Vadim Kobzev, said he was notified of the hearing minutes before it started. According to a letter he posted online, the hearing was to take place not in a courtroom but at the police station in Khimki, where Navalny had been held since his arrest at a Moscow airport on his arrival. Several hours after the hearing began, Kobzev said that Navalny had been ordered jailed until February 15, pending trial on charges of violating the terms of an earlier suspended prison sentence.

Russia’s prison service said he had violated the terms of a six-year-old suspended sentence while he was recuperating in Germany.

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Statue of Unity gets railway connectivity to 8 destinations Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off eight trains from major destinations across India connecting Statue of Unity (SoU), giving another transport alternative for the world's tallest statue. Trains will chug between SoU and Kevadiya from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Varanasi, Chennai, New Delhi (Hazrat Nizamuddin), Mumbai (Dadar station) and Rewa in Madhya Pradesh.

“This is probably for the first time in the history of railways that so many trains from different destinations in the country were flagged off simultaneously," Modi said after the virtual flagging off. Modi also inaugurated other key infrastructure projects that included broad guage-converted DabhoiChandod and ChandodKevadiya sections, newly electrified PratapnagarKevadiya section and the new railway station buildings of Dabhoi, Chandod and Kevadiya.

Tourists inflow The Statue of Unity (SoU) is expected to witness a massive inflow of tourists following starting of trains.

“Kevadiya has now become a global tourist destination and it is getting more visitors than the Statue of Liberty in the US. With more connectivity now, nearly 1,00,000 people will visit Kevadiya in the coming days,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his address after virtually flagging off trains. Close to 50,00,000 people have visited SoU after it was inaugu-

rated by the PM in 2018.

Modi said nearly 200 rooms have been identified in the tribal villages in Kevadia to give the tourists an experience of homestay while bringing a transformation in the lives of the tribals. "New avenues of jobs and self-employment will open up for the adivasis. The railway line will provide connection to religious places like Karnali, Poicha and Garudeshwar on the Narmada River," he added.

Kevadiya, which has been developed as India’s first green railway station, will also have a tribal art gallery and viewing gallery.

Tourists will be able to view the SoU from this viewing gallery.

Without naming the previous Congress-led UPA government, Modi said, “The dedicated freight corridor (DFC) as an example of change in approach from earlier times. This project was under progress and between 2006-2014 work was done only on paper with not even a single km of track laid. Now, a total of 1,100 km are about to be completed in the next few days.”

Stating that "aatmanirbharta" (self-reliance) in rail-

way-related manufacturing and technology has yielding good results, PM called for the need for skilled and specialist manpower to for transformation of railways.

The distance between Vadodara and Kevadia is 86 km and from Ahmedabad to Kevadia is 197 km.

Metro Rail Project Phase-II Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II and Surat Metro Rail Project via video conferencing on Monday, Prime Minister Modi said that Ahmedabad and Surat will strengthen the country’s goal of becoming selfreliant and the government is striving to provide best urban infrastructure across the country.

The PM said the metro projects will further strengthen the connectivity in the two major business centres of the country, adding the government is developing an integrated urban transport system.

“There was a time when there was no modern thinking and policy on metro in our country. The result was that there was a different type of metro in each city,” Modi said.

PITRUVANDANA: A TRIBUTE TO OUR LATE FATHERS

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar organises virtual event to pay homage to our lost loved ones and remember them together After the spectacular success of our virtual programme ‘Sanskarvahini‐Charani Loksahitya’, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar are planning to organise another heart‐warming online event –‘Pitruvandana’ on Sunday 14 February 2021 from 3‐ 5PM. Pitruvandana is our modest effort to remember and celebrate the lives of our late fathers and pay homage to them.

This pandemic has stolen many of our loved ones from us before their time.

The pain of losing a dear one perhaps never heals. So through our forthcoming effort, we are trying to remember those moments we have spent with our loved ones and cherish the wonderful memories we have built together.

To mark the occasion, Shri Pradeepbhai Dhamecha, Director of Dhamecha Cash & Carry and his family will join us as the Chief guests. Pujya Deviprasadji Mahant of Anandbava Ashram, Jamnagar will also participate in this event to pay homage on the first death anniversary of Late Shri Khodidasbhai Dhamecha who was the mainstay of the Dhamecha Family.

This will be hosted by Brighton‐based Dhirubhai Gadhvi and Gujarat Samachar's Managing Editor Kokilaben Patel. Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice in association with Brighton Gujarati Cultural Society will also feature beautiful hymns and Gujarati / Hindi songs, sung by local and Gujarat based artists.

If you are interested to attend or want more details please email: Kokila Patel: kokila.patel@abplgroup.com Dhirubhai Gadhvi: dnlamba@yahoo.co.uk

Top Indian news anchor duped to reveal her personal data A leading Indian television news journalist Nidhi Razdan said that she has been the victim of an elaborate phishing scam, after she was led to believe she had received a job offer to teach at Harvard University. The award-winning journalist had already quit after 21 years working as a news anchor at NDTV, one of India's top news channels, in June last year, announcing in a Twitter post that she was taking up a job at Harvard as an associate professor in journalism.

Razdan took to social media again recently to announce that after she was made to believe that she would be joining the University in September 2020, the job offer turned out to be bogus. “Alarmed at the scale of this attack, I have filed a complaint with police and provided them with all the relevant documentary evidence,” said the journalist.

Razdan said she had believed emails that said her date of joining was being pushed back due to the ongoing pandemic, and

Nidhi Razdan

she was told that the classes would commence in January 2021. “Along with these delays, I began noticing a number of administrative anomalies in the process being described to me,” she said.

She said she initially dismissed the anomalies, putting it down to the new normal in pandemic-hit nations struggling to cope.

It was only after she reached out to Harvard University that she discovered she had been scammed.

“The perpetrators of this attack used clever forgeries and misrepresentations to obtain access to

my personal data and communications and may have also gained access to my devices and my email/social media accounts,” she said. Razdan said she has written to the university, urging them to take the matter seriously. A police complaint has been filed in the matter.

Razdan has received the International Press Institute (IPI) India award for her reportage on the Kathua rape and murder case in Jammu and Kashmir. She is also the author of the book 'Left, Right and Centre: The Idea of India', published in July 2017.

World of Gujarati film and theatre loses a pioneer

Deepakbhai Raval, a for‐ mer head of department for Gujarati at M S University, Vadodara believes N C Patel was the ‘Father of Gujarati Theatre’.

Natubhai Chaturbhai Patel died at the age of 94 in London on 13 January 2021.

His loss will not only be mourned by the family, as well as by theGujarati the‐ atre fraternity.

Natubhai who kept Gujarati the‐ atre alive across three continents (he worked in India, Uganda and the UK), is survived by four children‐ Deepakbhai, Minuben, Renuben, and Jayeshbhai.

Natubhai was born in Dashrath, a village near Vadodara, Gujarat on 18 May 1927 and studied in Mumbai.

From childhood, he had a keen inter‐ est in literature, music, and art. His father had a cotton ginnery in Uganda and a business of financing and rent‐ ingfilms. Many film celebrities were their regular guests and it sparked Natubhai’s love for theatre. In 1947, he married Lilaben and in 1966, he relocated to London from Uganda along with his family. However, he frequented Vadodara, as he continued to have an electronics business there.

In 1977, Natubhai became a per‐ manent resident in London. Being active at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in

London, he started a Gujarati drama depart‐ ment. He was an executive committee member for 10 years where he per‐ formed in11 plays, there‐ after becoming active at the Federation of Patidar Samaj in Wembley.

At the Federation, Natubhaiwas involved in various theatrical activi‐ ties and offered roles to many new artists. He also initiated classes of Bharatnatyam and Kathak to encourage new faces. He invited famous dancers and theatre artists around the world and organised as well as performed at many shows in the UK. The dancedrama "Meera" was filmed and featured in Channel 4.It was directed by his daughter Minuben, while the role of ‘Meera’ was played by Renuben.

Natubhai also started a branch of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Portugal.

Till today, his famous film "Kalapi" is considered as a masterpieceby the Gujarati film industry. Natubhai’s con‐ tributions in the field of theatre, dance and films are fondly remembered across the world. A self‐made man, he struggled immensely to achieve his dreams and make a difference to the creative world. He will be sorely missed.

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Sasikala's release from jail may shake up AIADMK CHENNAI: VK Sasikala, sacked AIADMK chief and a close aide of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, is likely to be released from a jail in Bengaluru on January 27. A reply under Right to Information by the prison gives this as the probable date of her release if she pays the fine. If she doesn't, she will be released on February 27, 2022, they say.

But Sasikala's lawyer Rajasenthur Pandian is confident that she will be released as early as the 27th of this month. "On good behaviour every prisoner is eligible for three days of remission for every month and this way, for the 43 months she has served so far, her term would be reduced by 129 days. There is no reason to deny her that," he said. He added that police chiefs could also pardon 30 or 60 days based on the

V.K. Sasikala

prisoner's track record, if twothirds of the jail term has been served.

Sasikala, 69, was sent to jail for four years in 2017 in a corruption case in which Jayalalithaa - who died in 2016 was the accused No 1. She has to pay a fine of £1.01 million, according to a court order, which Pandian says is ready.

If her lawyer is to be

believed, Sasikala will be freed just before the Tamil Nadu election this year and may therefore become a key political factor in the polls.

Having been convicted, she cannot contest elections for two more years. In the months after the death of Jayalalithaa in office, Sasikala took charge of the ruling AIADMK and even made attempts to take over as Chief Minister until she was sentenced to jail.

Before she went to prison, Sasikala handpicked her thenloyalist E Palanisamy or EPS as Chief Minister, unseating O Panneerselvam (OPS), who had taken over after Jayalalithaa's death. She also established her nephew TTV Dhinakaran as number 2 in the party.

Over the past four years, a

lot has changed. EPS and OPS patched up and threw Sasikala out of the party. OPS settled for Deputy Chief Minister and became the coordinator of the party, with EPS as joint coordinator in a new collective leadership model. Though EPS is firmly settled in the top post, his former mentor Sasikala's return could shake up the ruling party if any of her loyalists - be it ministers or MLAs - were to cross sides.

Certain functionaries of the AIADMK, while speaking privately, do not rule out the possibility of “disgruntled elements” in the party rallying behind Sasikala, as and when she leaves jail. A veteran office-bearer said the leadership has to ponder over whether it will be beneficial to the party to align itself with her, when the controversy regarding Jayalalithaa’s death has not yet been laid to rest.

PUNJAB

Municipal, nagar panchayt elections in Punjab on February 14 CHANDIGARH: Elections to the eight municipal corporations and 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Punjab will be held on February 14, the state election office said. The counting of votes would take place on February 17, according to state elections commissioner, Jagpal Singh Sandhu.

With the announcement of the poll schedule, the model code of conduct has come into force with immediate effect within the municipal areas of the municipalities where elections will be held, said Sandhu. The code of conduct would be in force till the completion of the electoral process, he further added.

The process for filing nominations would commence on January 30 and the last date

for the same would be February 3. The nominations would be scrutinised on February 4 while the date of withdrawal of nominations is February 5, which would also be the date of allotting the election symbols to the candidates, Sandhu said.

Election campaigning will end at 5 pm on February 12.

The voting would be held on February 14 from 8 am to 4 pm.

The counting of votes would take place on February 17, he said. A total of 145 returning

officers and 145assistant returning officers would be appointed for conducting the elections. A total of 30 IAS and Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officers would be appointed as election observers and six IPS officers would be appointed police observers to ensure peaceful, free and fair conduct of polls, he said. Sandhu said 400 members would be elected for eight municipal corporations and 1,902 members would be elected for109 municipal councils/nagar panchayats in the state.

Fifty per cent reservation has been given for women in municipal elections as per the Punjab government instructions, said the release.

There are 20,49,777 male, 18,65,354 female and 149 transgender voters, totalling

39,15,280 registered voters in Punjab for these elections.

Sandhu said 4,102 polling booths would be established and 18,000 personnel will be put on election duty. Around 7,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been arranged for the polling.

The State Election Commission further said that the expenditure limit for a candidate of municipal corporation has been fixed as Rs 300,000, for candidate of Municipal Council Class-I, Rs 270,000, Class-II Rs 170,000, Class-III Rs 145,000 and candidates for nagar panchayats at Rs 105,000.

For taking preventive measures for Covid -19, £165,000 has been allocated to provide masks, sanitisers, and gloves to be used by the staff deployed for election duty, he said.

WEST BENGAL

War of words intensifies between BJP's Suvendu Adhikari and Mamata Banerjee KOLKATA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari asserted that he will defeat West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the state assembly election or quit politics. The remark came hours after CM Mamata sprang a surprise and declared she will contest the West Bengal assembly election from Nandigram, the seat held by political heavyweight Adhikari.

"Let Mamata Banerjee contest from Nandigram.

Whoever contests from BJP, but I am giving it in writing, if I fail to defeat Mamata Banerjee by 50,000 votes, I will quit politics," stated Adhikari, the former Trinamool Congress leader. He further added, "She goes to

Nandigram once in five years.

She visits only during elections.

On December 15, 2015, she visited Nandigram, she had announced my name as the candidate. I want to ask you?

What have you done for the people of Nandigram? Those who were suffering, what have you done for them? Class 8 book mentions Singur but the mass killing of Nandigram finds no mention in books."

The TMC turncoat, however, said the final decision to field candidates will be taken by the BJP leadership after thorough discussion and not in an arbitrary way like in the ruling TMC. "If I am fielded by my party from Nandigram, I will defeat her by a margin of at least 50,000 votes or I will quit

politics," he asserted.

Adhikari, however, said unlike the TMC, which is run "autocratically" by Mamata and her nephew Abhishek, in BJP the candidates have decided after discussion and it was for the party to take a call on his candidature. "I don't know Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari from where I will be fielded, leaders, don't worry, these guys whether I will be fielded," he were not there when the said, addressing BJP workers Trinamool Congress was after a three-km roadshow. formed. It is good some people Earlier, while addressing a have left," she said. rally at the assembly Expressing her support for constituency, Mamata expressed farmers she said the BJP wants to her desire to contest the election rob the farmers. "Nandigram from Nandigram seat. Taking a showed the way, today farmers dig at Suvendu Adhikari, in Punjab are agitating [against Mamata said it was "good some the farm laws]. We are with the people have left the party. Some farmers...BJP must withdraw the are moving from here to there. three farm laws," she said.

They will be fought by our local

in brief FREE TO JOIN OTHER PARTIES: TEAM RAJINIKANTH Days after Rajinikanth opted out of politics citing his health, his team has said members of his Rajini Makkal Mandram are free to resign and join other parties. The statement comes after some district chiefs of the megastar's outfit joined DMK. The assertion was read by many as a sign that the BJP can no longer count on Rajinikanth's support, tacitly or otherwise, in the Tamil Nadu election due by May. Some in the BJP, which has an alliance with the state's ruling AIADMK, had hoped the superstar would support the party even after bowing out of active politics. Rajinikanth, 70, on the brink of launching his political party, announced last month that he would not join politics after all.

KARNATAKA CM INDUCTS 7 MINISTERS INTO HIS CABINET Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa last week inducted seven ministers into his cabinet, including two defectors. After nightlong suspense over the names, the new entrants to the 17-month-old cabinet are MLAs Umesh V Katti (Hukkeri), Arvind Limbavali (Mahadevapura), S Angara (Sullia) and Murugesh Nirani (Bilgi); and MLCs R Shankar, MTB Nagaraj and CP Yogeshwar.

Resentment erupted after Yediyurappa announced the names of seven ministers earlier in the day. A dozen miffed party legislators expressed severe reservations about MLCs being made ministers, lack of representation to some regions and “seniority or sacrifice” being disregarded.

Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office to the ministers at a simple ceremony with limited guests, owing to Covid-19 protocol in place.

SGPC SEEKS SAFETY OF SIKH NEWS ANCHOR IN PAK The SGPC has sought the immediate intervention of the Pakistan government to ensure the safety of Sikh television anchor Harmeet Singh. SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur also sensitised the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee over the issue.

Harmeet had claimed that he had received a threat call from the Central Jail in Mardan, Peshawar, where the killers of his brother Parvendar Singh were lodged. Being from a minority community, he felt helpless as the authorities were sheltering the accused.

Parvendar (25) was shot dead by contract killers hired by his fiancée Prem Kumari on January 4 last year. Kaur said the way a Sikh youth was being harassed mentally by threatening calls could never be ignored. It is the duty of the SGPC to take care of Sikhs, whichever part of the world they live in, Kaur said.

TMC DISSUADES ‘DISSENTER’ SATABDI FROM VISITING DELHI Actor and Trinamool Congress MP Satabdi Roy, whose Facebook post about feeling let down by some colleagues, has been persuaded from visiting Delhi for her much speculated meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah. The decision came following a meeting with fellow MP Abhishek Banerjee at his office. “I told Abhishek about my grievances. I am not going to Delhi as planned. I joined Trinamool because Mamata Banerjee wanted me in the party. This is the time to stay together and put up a fight," Satabdi said, setting at rest speculation about her joining BJP. The Bengal BJP brass, however, believes the last hasn't been heard of Satabdi's dissent.

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INDIA

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23 - 29 January 2021

191,000 get shots as India begins largest vaccination drive Sanitation worker Manish Kumar became the first person in India to be vaccinated against Covid-19 on Saturday, January 16, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the country's giant vaccination drive, paying tribute to frontline workers and scientists and warned citizens against falling for propaganda or rumours over vaccines. Kumar received his shot at Delhi's premier All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), just one of the over 3,000 vaccination centres established around the country. On the first day of the immunisation campaign, the government said it aimed to vaccinate over 300,000 people. By the end of the day 191,000 had been inoculated, it said.

Government sources said there was considerable hesitation among people about getting the vaccines, explaining the shortfall in numbers. Officials stressed that the drive was successful, there were no post-vaccine hospitalisations and the only glitches involved the "CoWin" software platform. "Many of them (staff) were scared. So, I went to my seniors and said I should be given the vaccine first. I wanted to prove to my colleagues that there

is no need to be scared. My wife even asked me not to take the vaccine. I told her it is just an injection. After taking the dose, I asked my mother to tell my wife that I am safe," Kumar said.

Giving India a new motto "Dawai bhi, Kadai bhi (yes to Vaccine, yes to discipline)" - PM Modi also cautioned that even after vaccination, citizens must stay vigilant and maintain all precautions against the virus, including masks and distancing.

India's drive is one of the world's biggest vaccination programmes, aimed at inoculating 30 million health and other frontline workers to start with.

Two shots manufactured in India, the Covishield developed by Oxford University and

AstraZeneca, and Covaxin produced by Bharat Biotech, are being used. The drive was remote launched by the Prime Minister with the chanting of a Sanskrit shloka that meant ''let all be happy, let all be healthy''.

With the highest number of coronavirus infections after the United States, India plans to vaccinate around 300 million people with two doses in the first six to eight months of the year.

Frontline workers will be followed by about 270 million people older than 50 or deemed high-risk because of pre-existing medical conditions.

The Prime Minister stressed that people should not fall for propaganda over vaccines, amid controversy over Bharat Biotech's

Covaxin, which has been cleared for emergency use while still in clinical trial. "Our scientists and experts were assured about the safety and efficacy of the two Made-in-India vaccines, only then did they allow the emergency use authorization. So stay away from propaganda, rumours, or misinformation," PM Modi said.

Looking back at the time when the pandemic broke out early last year, PM Modi spoke of heartwrenching moments when many could not even perform last rites for their loved ones and virusinfected people were isolated or separated from their families.

India, PM Modi said, showed alacrity and took right decisions at the right time. "Two weeks before

the first case, which was detected on January 30, 2020, India had formed a High-Level Committee.

India had started proper surveillance exactly one year ago from today. On 17th January 2020, India issued its first advisory and India was among the first nations to start the screening of passengers at the airports."

The Janata curfew in March prepared the country psychologically for the lockdown, which, the PM said, was not an easy decision. "The morale of the country was kept high with campaigns like clanging thalis and lighting of diyas," he said. He also pointed out that at a time many countries left their citizens stranded in China, India evacuated

Norway reports 29 vax deaths Norway has registered 29 deaths among people over the age of 75 who’ve had their first Covid-19 vaccination shot, raising questions over which groups to target in national inoculation programmes. The latest figure adds six to the number of known fatalities in Norway. Pfizer/Bio-NTech was the only vaccine available in Norway, and “all deaths are thus linked to this vaccine,” the Norwegian Medicines Agency said. “There are 13 deaths that have been assessed, and we are aware of another 16 deaths that are currently being assessed,” the agency said. All the reported deaths related to “elderly people with serious basic disorders,” it said.

“Most people have experienced the expected side effects of the vaccine, such as nausea and vomiting, fever, local reactions at the injection site, and worsening of their underlying condition.”

Bastar man marries 2 women on same President donates Rs 5,00,100 day, wives say they are ‘very happy’ for Ram temple in Ayodhya A Bastar man fell in love with two women. He then married both women- on the same day, at the same ceremony in front of friends, well wishers and with some music to go with the celebrations.

The marriage ceremony, which took place on January 5, was attended by about 500 people. The wedding video and invitation card of Chandu Maurya’s marriage function has gone viral on social media.

It all started three years ago, when 24-year-old Chandu Maurya, a marginal farmer and labourer of a remote village of Maoistaffected Bastar district, went to install electricity poles in Tokapal area. There the man met 21-year-old tribal girl Sundari Kashyap and both fell in love. They then kept in touch over phone calls and planned to marry. A year later, 20-yearold Haseena Baghel reached Chandu’s village Tikralohnga to attend a relative’s marriage. Chandu fell in love with her too.

When Haseena expressed her love, Chandu confessed that he was already in a relationship but Haseena insisted that they keep in touch over the phone. “Both Haseena and Sundari came to know about each other and agreed to have a relationship with me. We were in touch over the phone but one day Haseena landed at my home to live with me. When Sundari came to know that

Haseena is here, she also came to me. And since then, we started living in the same house like a family,” Chandu, who lives with his parents and two siblings, said.

A few months later, the villagers and the family member started questioning the live-in relationship of Chandu with the two women and it was then that he decided to marry both of them. “Fed-up with the

questions, I decided to marry both of them because they both loved me. I can’t betray them.

They agreed they both will live with me forever,” said Chandu.

The family members of Haseena came to attend the marriage ceremony but Sundari’s family skipped the function, said Chandu.

Sudari, however, has expressed hope that her parents will come around.

“They (parents) are not happy with me today but things will change. Both Haseena and me are very happy with Chandu and his family and will live with him forever,” said Sundari.

President Ram Nath Kovind donated Rs. 500,100 towards the grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya as the Trust set up to oversee the construction launched a nationwide donation drive.

Leaders of various political and quasi-political outfits joined the bandwagon, flagging off regional drives that will continue till February 27. On behalf of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, its copresident Govind Dev Giriji Maharaj, met President Kovind. He was joined by VHP working president Alok Kumar and temple construction committee's chief Nripendra Mishra, and RSS leader Kulbhushan Ahuja. "He is the first citizen of the country so we went to

Boundary talks after map issue is sorted, India tells Nepal India is unlikely to hold boundary talks with Nepal until it amends the Oli government’s unilateral step of changing the country’s map to include areas which India claims as its own. This was the message given to Nepalese foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali during his meetings with the Indian government last week.

“Nepal wants the bilateral relationship to go on as if nothing has happened. That cannot happen,” said government sources.

India would engage Nepal on development, connectivity, trade and other issues, but it would not be business as usual, they said.

However, Gyawali’s visit was an indication that the bilateral relationship was back on track after last year’s turmoil. India took a much more accommodative stance on Covid vaccines, promising to send the first lot in a matter of weeks.

Unusually, Gyawali left without a call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though defence minister Rajnath Singh met him on Saturday. While the official reason given was Modi’s preoccupation with the vaccine rollout, the Indian leadership did not want to be seen taking sides at a time of political uncertainty and internal dissensions in Nepal which could have the unfortunate effect of drawing India into its domestic situation. The Indian snub is important because Nepalese PM K P Sharma Oli had made the boundary talks the prime reason for the Gyawali visit. Gyawali stressed the importance of resolving the boundary issue twice - in a public address and in a breakfast interaction with journalists. Refuting the charge of unilateralism, he said the Nepal action came after India issued its political map in November 2019.

him to initiate this drive. He donated a sum of Rs. 5,00,100," VHP's Kumar said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan handed over a cheque of Rs 100,000 towards the fund.. "One brick from my family shall also be placed in the construction of Lord Ram's Temple. This is not a Ram Temple really, is a national temple," he said in a Hindi tweet he posted along with photos.

In Patna, launching the Samarpan Nidhi Sangraha Abhiyan, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said, "I hope every Hindu family in Bihar contributes towards the building of the beautiful temple. I'm sure that whatever fund is required for the temple, we will get it out of people's cooperation."

Asked if followers of other religions can contribute, too, Modi said: "Why not? But the thing is if it is a mosque, it is expected that Muslims will be at the forefront. So, it is the Hindu community's responsibility that they come forward for Lord Ram's temple. We will certainly take cooperation from the followers of other religions too."

Volunteers of various organisations will seek Rs 10, 00, or 1,000 - the three types of coupons available against contribution - from Hindu households towards the construction. The Trust has decided against using any government fund, money from abroad, or

corporate donations.

November 2019, the Supreme Court of India brought the curtains down on the long-standing religious dispute over the site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, saying it belonged to Lord Ram. The five-judge constitution bench ruled that a "prominent site" in the same holy town will be allotted for a new mosque, in place of the one unlawfully razed down by Hindu activists in 1992. It ordered the Central government to set up a Trust to manage and oversee the construction of the temple.

After donation, Akshay Kumar asks fans to contribute Actor Akshay Kumar on Sunday urged his fans to contribute towards the construction of Ram Temple.

Kumar took to Twitter and shared a video, writing that he has donated his share for the construction. "It is a matter of great pleasure that the construction of our grand temple of Shri Ram has begun in Ayodhya... Now it is our turn to contribute. I have started, hope you will join too. Jai Siyaram," the actor wrote.In the video, the 53year-old actor said people should contribute what they feel comfortable with and take part in building the "historic, grand temple." "I have started, now I am sure you will join me too. So that the coming generations keep getting inspired to follow the life, path and message of lord Ram," he added.

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23 - 29 January 2021

Government asks unions for 'alternative' for repeal of agri laws Hardening the government’s stance ahead of the next round of talks, India's agriculture minister N S Tomar called on farm unions to come up with an “alternative” to their demand for repeal of the new agri laws, saying most farmers, experts, scientists and other stakeholders are in favour of the legislations.

“There’s no point in being adamant (on demanding repeal of laws) when the Supreme Court has already stayed their implementation. We expect farmers to discuss the laws clause-by-clause and give us other options. If the unions’ objections are found to be valid, the government may consider them and go ahead with amendments,” Tomar said. Meanwhile, the talks between the union and the government has been postponed to Wednesday.

Farm representatives, however, said Singh’s comment indicated the Centre was not willing to talk on their core demands. They also condemned the National Investigation Agency (NIA) serving notices to people who they said were supporting the protests. The unions said the umbrella body Samyukta Kisan Morcha would legally challenge the NIA actions.

Centre has suggested amendments Maintaining that the Centre had suggested amendments, Tomar said, “The farmer unions are not willing to move even a

bit and are constantly asking to repeal the laws. When the government enacts any law, it is meant for the whole country. Most farmers, scientists, experts and other stakeholders working in the farm sector agree with these laws.

Yudhvir Singh, general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union, while addressing a joint press conference at Singhu border, said, “It seems the minister, by deliberately making such remarks, wants to convey that the government does not want to talk on our core demands. The government thinks that we won’t take part in talks after hearing his remarks. But we will definitely go for talks to get the reply on our demands.”

Clause-by-clause talks The Centre earlier told farm unions that the talks will need to take up a clause-byclause discussion to zero in on areas where

India clears purchase of 83 ‘Tejas’ jets for IAF at £4.7 bn deal The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) recently cleared the purchase of 83 Light Combat Aircraft Tejas from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The deal, worth £4.8 billion, will be the biggest ever in the indigenous military aviation sector.

The approval by the CCS, which is headed

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comes 10 months after the Defence Acquisition Council in March 2020 okayed the procurement of 83 more advanced Mark 1A version of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh confirmed the development, saying "the largest indigenous defence procurement deal worth about £4.8 billion" will strengthen the IAF’s fleet of homegrown fighter jet 'LCA-Tejas'. "This deal will be a game changer for self reliance in the Indian defense manufacturing," he added in a tweet. "The LCA-Tejas is going to be the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet in years to come," said Singh. "The indigenous content of LCA-Tejas is 50% in Mk1A variant which

will be enhanced to 60%." Singh added HAL has already set up second line manufacturing facilities at its Nasik and Bengaluru divisions. The purchase is in addition to an earlier deal to buy 40 of the combat aircraft and the locally-made jets are set to join the Indian Air Force fleet over the course of the next six to seven years.

India had invited bids for the purchase of the 114 jets in 2018, which attracted offers from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Saab AB of Sweden worth $15 billion. This comes as a sign that the country seeks to abandon expensive defence purchases from abroad. According to an earlier statement

by Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, the move is aimed at replacing the ageing fleet of the Indian Air Force and will be a milestone in India's bid to start using locally-made weapons. In addition to the jets, artillery guns, air defence systems and radars will be indigenously produced as well, he had said.

Proud ‘son of Vakaner’ left a message for the society

On Saturday 16 January 2021 the founder of well‐ known Devdaya Charitable Trust, Dr Ramnikbhai Mehta passed away. His sudden death has left his friends and family in a shock. One of his very close friends, Vijaybhai Patel compared Ramnikbhai and his wife Bhanuben to Lord Ram and Sita.

Ramnikbhai and his charity made immense con‐ tributions to revive N R Doshi eye hospital in Wankaner, near Rajkot city. It was made popular by Ramnikbhai’s relentless work. Therefore he was (D.O.B : 21‑2‑1942 named “Bhaiji” of Wankaner by the residents of the Demise : 16‑01‑2021) town.

Though resident of the UK for five decades, his efforts towards his native land were noteworthy, leaving a strong message for the community. “Giving is Living” was one of the motos of his life, a lesson he learnt from his mother.

Our deepest condolences to the family and prayer for the parted soul.

Contact: 01277 219 265

changes can be made rather than taking up the blanket demand that the three legislations be scrapped.

Tomar told the unions that it is incorrect to say that the Centre had not budged on the demands put forward by farm organisations, pointing to proposed amendments that had been sent to the protesting outfits. He added that on the other hand, the unions kept insisting on repeal of all the three laws without discussing specific objections.

Though the government had previously sought a clause-by-clause discussion, Tomar was much more insistent, indicating that the talks could not progress unless this was done, said an official source.

SC-appointed panel to meet farmers The Supreme Court-appointed committee on the three new farm laws will hold its first meeting with farmers on January 21, said panel member Anil Ghanwat.

During a press conference, Ghanwat said the biggest challenge before the committee is to convince the agitating farmers to discuss the matter.

"It has been decided that the first meeting with farmers will be held on January 21. The physical meeting will be held with those organisations who want to meet us in person. Video conferencing will be held with those who can't come to us," Ghanwat said.

"If the government wants to come and speak with us, we welcome it. We will hear

the Government side, too. The biggest challenge is to convince the agitating farmers to come and speak with us, we will try our level best," he added.

On January 12, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Centre's three farm laws and asked the committee formed by it, concerning the laws, to submit its report within two months. The committee has been directed to hold a dialogue with farmers and submit its recommendations pertaining to the farm laws within two months from the date of its first sitting.

After the press conference, the other two members of the committee said they will remain neutral and resolve the impasse between the government and the farmers. "'When we get this kind of responsibility, we have to work impartially. Will work fairly.

We do not have to give our views. We have to present the views of the farmer unions before the Supreme Court," Dr PK Joshi, member of the committee said. Another member of the committee, agriculture economist Ashok Gulati said, "We will talk to all the stakeholders. We will talk to those who are opposing and supporting the farm laws. We will put the farmer unions views before the apex court, if they will tell us about their opinions to us. We will also talk to state governments."

The committee consisted of Bhartiya Kisan Union President Bhupinder Singh Mann, Shetkari Sanghatana president Anil Ghanwat, and agri-economists Ashok Gulati and Pramod Kumar Joshi. However, shortly after it was formed, Bhupinder Singh recused himself from the committee and said "I will always stand with my farmers and Punjab".

Virtual event on Charan tribe’s culture and literature praised

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar along with Brighton Gujarati Cultural Society (GCS) organised a Zoom event Charni Tribe’s culture and liter‐ ature which was extremely well received by worldwide audience.

Viewers spanning from the UK, Uganda, India, America and Canada participated in this virtual event.

Welcoming everyone, Gujarat Samachar’s Managing Editor, Kokila Patel said, "Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar newspapers are not the only means to make money. The main aim of these newspapers is to provide good knowledge and ser‐ vices to all our readers.”

The event started with a video clip of a child from the tribe, playing in the dense forests among lions.

The keynote speakers on the day included Maheshbhai Gadhvi and Dhruv Gadhvi among others.

Rambhai Gadhvi, who participated from the US, gave a short introduc‐

Gir's shepherd child Rajvir

Charan children Raviraj and Vijay

tion to the Charan tribe and its con‐ tribution to the literary field.

Vraj (Vajubhai) Pankhania, Director of Westcombe Group was the special guest for the event. He joined from a hotel in Dubai and per‐ formed a beautiful hymn. At the end of the programme, Pratapbhai Gadhvi sang Mataji's hymns and Dhirubhai Gadhvi thanked everyone by presenting Zaverchand Meghani's famous composition "Raj mane lagyo kasumbino rang". Maheshbhai and Neetu Gadhvi presented songs "Tari Ankh no Afini" and "Vaishnav a Jan Toh" followed by a Hindi film song "Ek Pyaar Ka Nagma".

Charan artist Rajbha Gadhvi

Vraj (Vajubhai) Pankhania

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HEALTH

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23 - 29 January 2021

World on the brink of a 'catastrophic moral failure': WHO The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that we are on the brink of a “catastrophic moral failure” because of the unequal distribution of Covid vaccines.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was not fair for younger, healthy people in rich nations to get the vaccination before vulnerable people in poorer states. He said over 39 million vaccine doses had been given in 49 richer states, as compared to just 25 doses in one low-income country.

Countries like China, India, Russia, the UK, and the US, have all developed Covid vaccines with others being made by multinational teams. Almost all of these nations have prioritised distribution to their own populations. Speaking at a WHO executive board session, Dr Tedros said, “I need to be blunt. The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral

failure, and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world's poorest countries.”

He said a “me first” approach would be self-defeating because it would push up prices and encourage hoarding. “Ultimately, these actions will only prolong the pandemic, the restrictions needed to contain it, and human and economic suffering,” he added.

Dr Tedros called for a full commitment to the vaccine-sharing global scheme Covax, which is set to start rolling out next month. “My challenge to all

member states is to ensure that by the time World Health Day arrives on the 7 April, Covid-19 vaccines are being administered in every country, as a symbol of hope for overcoming both the pandemic and the inequalities that lie at the root of so many global health challenges,” he said. Over 180 countries have signed up to the Covax initiative so far. It aims to unite countries into one bloc so they have more power to negotiate with drug companies. “We have secured two billion doses from five producers, with options of more than one

billion more doses, and we aim to start deliveries in February,” he said.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock reacted to the warning by saying, “The UK is the world's biggest supporter, financial supporter, of the global programme to ensure access to vaccines in all countries of the world.” He said the country had “put the most financial support in these international efforts to ensure everybody has access to vaccines.”

Vaccine hoarding has become a real problem. Last month, The People's Vaccine Alliance coalition of campaigning bodies said that rich countries were hoarding doses of the Covid vaccines, setting a stage for people living in poor countries to miss out. Canada is the biggest receiver of the criticism, with the coalition saying the country had ordered enough vaccine doses to protect each Canadian five times.

Metabolism possibly linked to depression: Study A recent study conducted by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine suggests certain metabolites may be predictive indicators for persons at risk for recurrent major depressive disorder. The findings were published in the online issue of Translational Psychiatry.

Senior author Robert K Naviaux, MD, PhD, said, “This is evidence for a mitochondrial nexus at the heart of depression. It's a small study, but it is the first to show the potential of using metabolic markers as predictive clinical indicators of patients at greatest risk – and lower risk – for recurring bouts of major depressive symptoms.”

Naviaux and colleagues in The Netherlands for their study, recruited 68 subjects with rMDD who were in antidepressant-free remission and 59 age and gendermatched controls. After col-

could be a new tool for predicting which patients are most vulnerable to a recurrence of depressive symptoms.”

One drink a day can raise heart rate abnormally: Study lecting blood from patients who were in remission, the patients were followed prospectively for two-and-ahalf years. Results showed that a metabolic signature found when patients were well could predict which patients were most likely to relapse up to two-and-a-half years in the future. The accuracy of this prediction was more than 90 per cent.

The researchers found that in subjects with rMDD, changes in specific metabo-

lites in six identified metabolic pathways resulted in fundamental alterations of important cellular activities. Naviaux said, “The findings revealed an underlying biochemical signature in remitted rMDD that set diagnosed patients apart from healthy controls.

These differences are not visible through ordinary clinical assessment, but suggest that the use of metabolomics - the biological study of metabolites -

A report published by the European Heart Journal reveals people who consumed 12g of ethanol a day were 16 per cent more likely to develop “atrial fibrillation”. What does this mean?

It means consuming just one glass of your favorite drink can increase the risk of an irregular heartbeat or heart rate. 12g ethanol is equivalent to a 120ml of wine, 330ml beer, or 40mls of spirits.

The report states that atrial fibrillation is a condition characterised by an

irregular and often rapid heart rate, which can cause dizziness and palpitations. It can also make people more susceptible to strokes.

The study revealed the risk of atrial fibrillation increased steadily with the amount of participants drank, from 16 per cent for those who had one small drink a day, to even 28 per cent for up to two drinks, and 47 per cent for those who drank more than four drinks.

A media report quoted

The basics of Intermittent Fasting: Is it the right eating pattern for you?

Diets, and dietary patterns were the talk of the town last year throughout the lockdown and Intermittent Fasting or IF was one reigning queen. IF is an eating pattern in which one has timely meals within an eating window and fast at other times. Unlike other dietary patterns, it does not put any restrictions on what one can eat.

So how exactly does IF work?

The basic principle of IF is to give the body time to digest food, and in the process, burn out excess body fat and hence, detox. It is considered more attuned to the body's circadian rhythm, and therefore, beneficial. The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) states that IF could work wonders for those with obesity, diabetes, and

cardiovascular diseases.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reported in NEJM, “… intermittent-fasting interventions

ameliorate obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia (abnormal amount of lipids), hypertension, and inflammation. Intermittent fasting seems to confer health ben-

efits to a greater extent than can be attributed just to a reduction in caloric intake.”

There are three most widely studied intermittent fasting regimen. These formats include 1) 5:2 formula – the fasting for two days each week, and daily time-restricted eating, having food within a period of six-eight hours and fasting for the rest of the day and night. 2) Fasting on alternative days. 3) The 16:8 format where you allow the body to fast for 16 hours to eliminate toxins, cleanse, and repair the systems, and only eat for eight hours in a day.

Eat your last meal before 8 pm, and resume eating at noon the next day. Drink only plain water, and avoid caffeine.

Professor Renate Schnabel, a consultant cardiologist and co-author of the study at the University Heart and Vascular Center in Hamburg-Eppendorf as saying the “risk of developing an irregular heartbeat for those consuming a small glass of alcohol a day was small” but that people should “still be aware”.

“The take-home message is that in contrast to other cardiovascular diseases, even low and moderate alcohol consumption leads to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation. One of the bad things about atrial fibrillation is that it’s asymptomatic and can lead to other problems such as stroke. In many people, a stroke is the first manifestation of the disease,” she was quoted as saying.

28 ART & CULTURE

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23 - 29 January 2021

Death in Bollywood

If you run a search on Jiah Khan on BBC Two, it reads: “Actor Jiah Khan was found dead in her flat. Police concluded it was suicide, but her British family believe that the truth has not yet surfaced.”

In a three episode documentary titled ‘Death in Bollywood’, the BBC explores the mysterious death of late actress Jiah Khan who allegedly died allegedly by suicide in 2013. The series is currently available only in the UK. The first episode summary talks about how Jiah Khan died. For her British family, the truth about her death still hasn’t come out. Jiah Khan was a young actor who had starred in a number of Bollywood films, before being found dead in her Mumbai flat.

Police concluded her death was suicide, but her family believe the truth has not yet surfaced. According to her family, various questions about the night of Jiah’s death still remain unanswered.

They soon concluded that Jiah had been driven to suicide by her boyfriend.

In Indian law, this is a crime, abetment of suicide, which carries a jail sentence of up to ten years. He denies the charge. Jiah’s mother Rabia hired a private forensic investigator, who raised questions about the forensic evidence and suggested that the police may have been too quick to conclude this was suicide.

In the second episode of the series, Khan’s sister Karishma made statements of sexual harassment of the late actor by filmmaker Sajid Khan. Jiah was the sixth women from the film industry to have accused Sajid Khan of sexual harassment in the wake of the Me Too movement that took the country by storm in 2018. Jiah was one of the actors to feature in Sajid Khan’s Housefull movie.

“When she was asked by Sajid Khan to take her top off, she came home and cried. She told me that I have a contract if I leave they can sue me and slander my name and if I stay I will be sexually harassed. So it’s a lose-lose situation. So she did the film,” Karishma said.

“I remember going to Sajid Khan’s house with my sister. I remember being around at Kitchen’s table, I was only 16 at that time. I was wearing a strappy top.

He leaned on me, and started staring at me. Then he said, ‘Ohh she wants to have sex’. My sister Jiah immediately came in to my defence saying, ‘no what are you talking about’, and he said, ‘Look at the way she’s sitting’. My sister said no she said no she is innocent, she is young, it’s not what she wants. And then we left shortly after that. But I was feeling really cheap and shocked,” Karishma said.

When this clip went viral on social media, actor Kangana Ranaut tweeted:

“They killed Jiah they killed Sushant and they tried to kill me, but they roam free have full support of the mafia, growing stronger and successful every year. Know the world is not ideal you are either the prey or the predator. No one will save you you have to save yourself.”

Sooraj appeared in the second episode of the documentary series, in which he repeated that he is innocent.

According to Metro, he said that he was with Jiah only for five months, and that she had confided in him about her history with depression. "I'm just telling the court, please find out who the murderer is, and acquit us from this abetment to suicide (charge)," Sooraj's father, Aditya Pancholi, said in a trailer for the series. "According to her, this is not a suicide at all, so this is our case."

The last episode talks about judges who granted Rabia Khan two new investigations, first by the Mumbai Police, then by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Both concluded Jiah had died by suicide and was driven to it by her boyfriend.

Jiah’s family commissioned a legal case review from a British law firm. It concluded there were faults with the investigations from the night she died onwards. Vital evidence might have been missed. The police and CBI declined to take part in the series or to respond to allegations.

Remembering Sushant Singh Rajput: The Bihar boy who loved astronomy Sushant’s penchant for science garnered more spotlight once the actor passed away on June 14, 2020. “Photon is a double slit” his bio read, which is rare of an actor in the film industry because most bios are aimed at marketing their personalities. Sushant was different. Despite dropping out of engineering college in Delhi (after securing an all India rank 7 in the AIEEE examinations), Sushant never stopped chasing his passion for space science. He visited NASA in 2018 to train for his film Chanda Mama Door Ke. However, the film was never released. Little do people know that he was also a member of the International Lunar Land Registry (ILLR) for three years before being a piece of land on the far side of the moon which is called the ‘Mare Moscoviense’ or the dark side of the moon. He also bought a Meade 14” LX600 telescope in the year 2019.

Sushant is also said to have had long discussions with black hole astrophysicist and LIGO scientist Dr Karan Jani.

In a tweet shared by Dr Jani June 14, he wrote, “He (Sushant) took it as his mission to educate his fans about all the big discoveries. Our 2017 discovery of the neutron star collision was the closest to him. It was his dream to one day, visit the LIGO observatories in the US.” Referring to Sushant’s never ending interest in celestial happenings, Jani further had written, “Sushant took his telescope (LX600) to Chambal during the shoot of Sonchiriya, so he could better observe the nebulae.” In 2018, he had bought an expensive, Boeing 737 Fixed Base Flight Simulator too. January 21, 2021 would have been Sushant’s 35th birthday. As we await the final verdict on his death case, we hope he rests in peace where he is in the universe, where he belonged among the stars.

Art for introvert An online animation course on the “History of Anime: from manga to Miyazaki” “Art for Introvert” is one of the biggest educational projects in Europe. Our main goal is to make art, psychology, and science understandable and accessible to everyone.

What does it take to make a responsible film on caste issues?

Shefali Saxena On January4, Richa Chadda’s upcoming film titled ‘Madame Chief Minister’ which is loosely based on Mayawati’s life, caused controversy due to its tagline being ‘poorly-worded’ and a ‘Savarna’, ‘upper-class’ woman playing the role of a Dalit. A fresh debate began over the use of the word ‘untouchable’.

There was an online uproar on the usage of this word and the poster was heavily critiqued in the light of the general sentiment among the masses that films show dalits and minorities as “weak” members of the society.

Maadathy is one film that addresses caste based atrocities. Puthirai vannaar is a Dalit caste group, and lives in southern part of Tamil Nadu state in India. Their forced-occupation is to wash clothes of other Dalits, the dead and the menstruating women. The sight of Puthirai vannaars, as per caste norms, could pollute the so-called upper caste groups. Puthirvannars were forced to live in shrubs so they could remain unseeable to others. Maadathy is their deity. This film is a tale about a young girl who grew up in Puthirai vannaar caste group and how she came to be immortalised as their local deity, Maadathy. Asian Voice reached out to the director of Maadathy, Leena Manimekalai and asked: "What is the process and the kind of responsibilities

Leena Manimekalai

that a filmmaker needs to shoulder while making films on issues related to caste and gender?”

Leena said, “My films are people participatory and my art practice is more process oriented. In my first feature Sengadal, the DeadSea that spoke about the lives and struggles of fishermen and refugees in the Indo Lankan bordershore Dhanushkodi, it is the community who were actors in the film. It is cinema verite and the community not only were actors but participated in the script, dialogues and production. My second feature Maadathy, an unfairy tale, though being a pure fiction, was entirely acted out by very own community whose story was told. We could realise it by rigorous workshops, dialogue training, series of rehearsals before going for actual shoot. This enables the process

to become a sort of social sampling, an anthropological experiment where there is immense interaction and exchange between film crew and the community. I always use location recording so that the language is carefully represented and through the workshops the script is constantly improvised with the inputs of the community.

Even the mis en scene evolves in the rehearsals and I think that's where my films become the true expression of solidarity with the stories of people I intend to portray.

I refuse to be called the voice of the voiceless as I think I am only spreading myself as a canvas for my people to paint their own stories.”

The filmmaker also said, “I want my audience to self reflect and empathise and also actively participate in the stories I say. I keep people as my primary concern than anything in my art practice and they are not mere subjects but co-creators.”

“I despise and fiercely resist transporting the stories of the oppressed to some hero vehicle, making the gaze external and voyeuristic, resorting to violence as the fabric to manipulate the emotions of the audience,” she added.

You will learn how Japanese animation was born thanks to black and white comic books and political agitation and has become wildly popular. We will immerse ourselves in this enormous anime industry and find what directors have brought anime such fame. You can listen to all the lectures one by one to get a full picture. But, of course, you can also start from the part that interests you most. You can watch the course at your own pace. You have perpetual access to the entire course – and can return to it anytime.

Who is this course for?

• Everyone interested in anime • Students and creative professionals • Everyone in the movie industry What is the format of the course?

• Full HD video format • High-quality sound • 10 hours of the most useful information • Real emotions and charismatic lecturers • Presentation with detailed description and illustrations • Tests for self-assessment after each lecture What will you learn?

MODULE 1: What is Anime? | 45 minutes MODULE 2: The Birth of Anime | 45 minutes MODULE 3: The Success of the 50s and 60s | 45 minutes MODULE 4: The Classics of the 70s and 80s | 45 minutes MODULE 5: Global Fame | 45 minutes BONUS LECTURES: Anime. The Art of Japanese Animation | 2 hours Hayao Miyazaki, the Gloomy Fairy-Tale Writer | 2 hours

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Janhvi Kapoor recalls 'scary date' while in Los Angeles Actor Janhvi Kapoor recently made revelations in an interview, explaining why she hasn't gone out on a proper date since her student years in Los Angeles. Speaking in an interview also featuring her best friend Tanisha Santoshi, daughter of filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi, Janhvi said, “I don't date. I don't go out on dates. I think the last time I did that was when I was studying in LA. It was wrong. It's a wrong story. He proposed something wrong, and I

said 'check please, time to bounce'.”

Tanisha added, “She actually hasn't had too many boyfriends. The people that she's been with, most of them I've known from before. The one that I knew, I really liked. And the one that I didn't know, and have gotten to know, I'm friends with.”

This isn't the first time Janhvi has opened up about her dating life.

Previously, in an interview with Kareena Kapoor Khan on her chat show 'What Women Want', Janhvi

had revealed that she has never been the one to initiate things. “But I am very sly. I will drop my hints but I won't make it too obvious till I know the other person is for sure interested. But mazaa aata hai na thoda sa aise eyelash bat karne mein, mazaaki banne mein (it is fun to bat eyelashes and have a fun banter). I enjoy the attention. I have never made the first move. I am a little bit of a phattu (coward) like that.”

Dulquer roped in as the protagonist for R Balki’s upcoming thriller R Balki’s films have always managed to leave us smiling. The director has sort of taken up 'slice of life' films as his forte and now, he’s more than willing to expand his horizons. All set to make a thriller next, Balki has locked in Dulquer Salmaan to be his lead actor for this film. With movies like 'Cheeni Kum', 'Ki & Ka', 'Paa', 'Pad Man', 'Shamitabh', this time, Balki is planning to surprise his viewers with this thriller that is bound to keep one on the edge of their seat.

Balki had

been planning to make a thriller for a long time now and had the time to work on this idea during the lockdown. What started as an idea, soon developed into a screenplay and the way the script has turned out, Balki feels Dulquer Salmaan is the best choice for the role. Dulquer had made his Hindi debut with Irrfan Khan and Mithila Palkar starrer 'Karwaan', then moved on to 'The Zoya Factor' opposite Sonam Kapoor Ahuja. The Malayalam actor fits the bills for this role and the film will go on floors in the next couple of months.

With Balki being the producer as well, a studio is expected to come on board to coproduce. The makers are still on the lookout for the lead actress and the official announcement will take place soon.

If not stopped, cyber bullying Rajkummar Rao calls 'The 'may soon seep into real White Tiger' co-star Priyanka spaces': Zoya Akhtar Chopra 'phenomenal' Jaipur Literature Festival, she said the most devastating of all the negative comments are the ones that threaten either physical or sexual violence.

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar has once again spoken out against the menace of cyber bullying, stating that if culprits are not identified and held accountable, the abuse may reach reality. In talks with author Mihir Sharma during a joint session titled 'Cyber Bullies: Anonymity and Accountability' organised by the Population Foundation of India and

She said, “Social media gives people anonymity while bullying and abusing just about anyone and there is no accountability. The fact that social media platforms enable the abusers of women by not identifying them or holding them accountable is a recipe for disaster because it is just a matter of time before the virtual abuse seeps into real spaces.” She said she left Facebook entirely due to a few bad experiences.

Zoya said she is reluctant to sign into the negative energy on Twitter due to the extreme levels of trolling and abuse she has faced, and has even had to switch off the comments on her Instagram accounts.

The filmmaker called for a sisterhood to rise against abuse when actor Rhea Chakraborty was hounded by the paps last year in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

Actor Rajkummar Rao and Priyanka Chopra await the OTT release of their upcoming 'The White Tiger'.

The actors star as supporting actors to Adarsh Gourav in the Ramin Bahrani directorial based on Aravind Adiga's Man Booker Prize-winning novel by the same name. All praises for PeeCee, Rao called her “phenomenal”. He said the actress never made the crew feel like she was the biggest star on the sets.

He said, “ Priyanka is phenomenal. She is a very chilled out person, a global star who never made us feel that she was the biggest star on our set. I have always been a big admirer of her work. It's fun to work with great actors as it enhances your performance and Priyanka did just that to me. She even helped me out in my scenes.

I look forward to working with her more and hopefully, it will happen soon.”

Talking about the movie, he said,

“TWT’s story is universal and people will relate to the characters. I knew the story

pretty well, so my reference was always the script once I was signed for the film. It’s very detailed and all the characters are very well etched out. I have my own process of building a character which I apply in most of my films.”

'The White Tiger' has already been released in select theatres in the US, and is set to stream on Netflix from January 22.

The film revolves around an ambitious driver for a rich Indian family, who uses his wit and cunning to escape from poverty and become an entrepreneur.

30 BOLLYWOOD

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23 - 29 January 2021

Sara talks about work during pandemic, been praying to be back on sets Film shoots are back in full swing, as actors like Sara Ali Khan return to sets.

Currently shooting for 'Atrangi Re' alongside Akshay Kumar and Dhanush, Sara reveals she was “praying” to be Talking back. about her experience getting back at work, the actress said, “The truth is, of course there are physical restrictions, everybody has to sanitise regularly, get checks, wear masks, that's the obvious answer. What I want to tell is that two days before the lockdown in March 2020, I was in Varanasi shooting with Aanand Ji. Every moment of that lockdown, I was only praying to go back on set!”

The 25 year old added, “While of

course there are physical changes, considering the times that we are in, the passion, positivity, enthusiasm with which my Director of Photography, actors, director, Ads, spotboye, all are just back. Shiddat hai, longing thi.

Maheenon ghar pe band reh kar. I think that doesn't change that passion. Which is the only thing which stands the test of Covid, big screen, small screen. It doesn't matter beyond a point! We make movies to have fun.”

When asked if there is a piece of advice she follows, Sara mentioned her mother and veteran actor Amrita Singh.

“Everything I do comes from my mother, whether it's styling or films. I bounce everything to her, but the irony of that statement is she has told me, 'Listen as your mother, I can tell you what I think, but ultimately the only thing you have to rely on is conviction. If you don't feel it, don't do it, whether it's the colour of your nail paint, the shot you are giving or films. All has to come from an honest space', and that's the mantra to life, I feel.”

'Tandav' controversy; police stationed outside Saif's home Police personnel were spotted outside actor Saif Ali Khan's house as Ali Abbas Zafar's 'Tandav' garnered a fresh bout of controversy. Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have called for a ban on the Amazon Prime Video series for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments. Party MLA Ram Kadam in Maharashtra lodged a complaint against the makers of the web series at Ghatkopar police station in Mumbai.

Kadam demanded the removal of the part mocking Lord Shiva, and an apology from actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub. He tweeted.

“Tandava will be boycotted until necessary changes are made. #BanTandavNow.” He added, “Just as

Wonder Woman 1984 The Wonder Woman saga continues with the new Wonder Woman 1984 based in the year 1984 where Diana works for the Smithsonian Institute but also performs heroic acts secretly.

The film starts with Young Diana taking part in an athletic event against older Amazons. She is at the top of her game and is miles ahead of the others until she gets knocked off her horse. She then decides to take a short cut which she is later reprimanded for. This sets a life lesson for Diana later in life.

An older Diana is now based in Washington DC where a timid quiet Barbara joins the museum and Diana becomes friends with her, in turn Barbara is in awe of Diana. Wonder Woman stops a robbery in which the FBI ask the museum to name the artifacts.

One of these happens to be a Dreamstone with a

there is a system of censors for reviewing films and serials, a similar arrangement should be made to review series on the OTT platform. Writing to @PrakashJavadekar ji.” BJP leader Kapil Mishra has called the series “anti Dalit and full of communal hatred against Hindus.”

Meanwhile, Saif seems to have been given additional security as the controversy catches rage. Multiple members of their staff were also seen moving household articles such as carpets and toys out of the old house and into the new one on Sunday.

Directed by Zafar, 'Tandav' stars Sunil Grover, Dimple Kapadia, Gauahar Khan, Kritika Kamra and others.

Kangana wraps up shoot for 'Thalaivi' Actor Kangana Ranaut has finally wrapped up the shoot of her upcoming film 'Thalaivi'. She made the announcement along with two side-by-side pictures of herself and one the late actorturned politician. Sharing the picture, she wrote, “And it's a wrap, today we successfully completed the filming of our most ambitious project 'Thalaivi'- the revolutionary leader, rarely an actor finds a character that comes alive in flesh and blood and I fall in love so hard but now suddenly it's time to say bye, mixed feelings.”

She added, “Opportunity of a lifetime thank you team @vishinduri @ShaaileshRSingh @BrindaPrasad1 @neeta_lulla @rajatsaroraa , Vijendra Parsad ji @ballusaluja @gvprakash @thearvindswami and director

Genre: Superhero Film Duration: 151 minutes

A. L. Vijay sir, each and every member of my wonderful crew, thank you thank you thank you.”

The autobiographical film features the actress in the role of J Jayalalithaa in 'Thalaivi'.

Kangana had earlier this month remembered the late politician on her death anniversary by tweeting a few stills from the film. She wrote, “On the death anniversary of Jaya Amma, sharing some working stills from our film Thalaivi- the revolutionary leader.” She went on to thank the team of the film including the director AL Vijay for “working like a super human” to complete the film.

'Thalaivi' is written by 'Baahubali' and 'Manikarnika' writer KV Vijayendra Prasad and Rajat Arora of 'The Dirty Picture' fame.

Latin inscription that says anyone that holds it is granted one wish. Diana without realising asks for her lover to return and when Diana saves Barbara from an attack on the streets she wishes to be like Diana, she has no idea what this entails.

A businessman is failing in his work and he attends a gala at Smithsonian hoping to get his hands on the stone, which he does thanks to Barbara. His wish is to become the stone.

Will Wonder Woman be able to save the day or will Max take over the world and cause chaos.

Wonder Woman 1984 is exactly what we needed at the moment. We are all stuck at home and are looking for something new and exciting to watch and Wonder Woman 1984 does not disappoint in that department.

There is action, drama and fantasy with heroism exactly what we expect from any DC film. Gal Gadot looks absolutely stunning in the film and she makes all the spins, runs and slides look impeccable and easy. The storyline is interesting and intriguing leaving you wondering what is going to happen next and where this Dreamstone is going to take you.

With cinemas closed in the UK, fans can catch Wonder Woman 1984 streaming online in the comfort of their own homes.

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

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Sai Sreenivas to finally make Bollywood debut Telugu actor Sai Sreenivas is all set to make his Bollywood debut with the Hindi remake of SS Rajamouli's 'Chatrapathi'. In a recent interview, he was asked why he only chose to enter the Hindi film industry now, to which he replied that “nothing excited him until now.”

Sreenivas said, “Actually, I had been getting a couple of Hindi film

opportunities for some time now.

People in Delhi and Mumbai also recognise my work. Nothing excited me to be honest, but when I was offered the Hindi remake of Chatrapathi, a SS Rajamouli film it was bang on. I didn’t think too much about it and decided to just explore.” Language was never an issue, he says. “My schooling has been from Hyderabad, so that

wasn’t a big issue for me.

With Hindi cinema, I can reach out to a wider audience, and that’s what matters to me at the end of the day,” Sreenivas said.

The actor continued, saying he believed in making “beautiful memories” rather than looking at box-office potential.

Prakash Raj joins Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan' Actor Prakash Raj has joined the cast of Mani Ratnam's upcoming period magnum opus 'Ponniyin Selvan'. He took to Twitter to share that he has started shooting for the film and that it has been a 25 year long journey with the filmmaker. He wrote, “On the sets of #Maniratnam s #PonniyinSelvan. A journey with the master which started 25 years back from #Iruvar continues. The joy of unlearning, finding new horizons. Bliss n blessed.”

Shoot of the project resumed after a long gap in a specially erected set in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. The entire cast and crew reportedly got tested for Covid-19 before joining the sets. It was after everybody tested negative that the team went ahead with the plan of resuming shoot. The film went on the floors in December 2019 in Thailand, where the first schedule was filmed for over 90 days. Actors Karthi, Jayam Ravi and Aishwarya Lekshmi participated in the first schedule, later suspending the rest of the schedules due to the pandemic.

Raj first collaborated with Mani Ratnam in 1997 Tamil political drama 'Iruvar'. He is the latest addition to the cast which already features Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Ashwin Kakumanu, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and Mohan Babu along with others.

Music for the film will be rendered by AR Rahman, while Ravi Varman will handle cinematography. The movie is being jointly produced by Mani Ratnam and Lyca Productions.

TV Listing

Vijay Sethupathi apologises for cutting birthday cake with a sword Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi turned 43 over the weekend, and his social media was flooded with wishes. However, it was a photo from his birthday celebration with the team of his upcoming movie that garnered the most attention. The picture featured Vijay cutting his birthday cake with a sword. People criticised the action, stating it would set the wrong precedent.

The 'Master' actor released a statement, apologising for the move. He wrote. “I thank all

celebrities and fans who wished me on my birthday. Three days ago, a picture taken at my office has led to a debate. I am currently acting in a movie directed by Pon Ram sir. The sword is an important part of the movie and hence I cut the cake with that alongside the crew members. Many of them told me that this will set a wrong precedent. Henceforth, I will be more cautious about these things. If the act has hurt anyone, I apologize for that.”

Vijay's 'Master' grosses over £5 mn on first day Actor Vijay's latest release 'Master' has registered a phenomenal opening at the box-office worldwide with over £5 million earnings on the very first day. The movie fared exceptionally at international markets despite Covid-19 restrictions. 'Master' collected a whopping £2.54 million from the first day in Tamil Nadu, grossing a total of £5.25 million worldwide.

Box-office tracking portal Cinetrak added that $1.4 million came from overseas markets.

The report also said that the best numbers come from the Gulf where the movie collected $625K, while Singapore collected $224K and Australia collected $200K. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, 'Master' released across the country with 50 per cent occupancy in theatres. The movie features Vijay in the role of an alcoholic college

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 18 JAN FRI 22 JAN 2021 16:00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 16:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 18:30 NAMAK ISSK KA 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 SHAKTI 20:30 MOLKKI 21:00 PINJARA KHUBSOORTI KA

professor who is sent to a correctional facility to work with young criminals controlled by

* Schedule is subject to change

antagonist Bhavani, played by Vijay Sethupathi.

MON 18 JAN FRI 22 JAN 2021 8:30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18:30 DIL KA RISHTA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 21:00 BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE 22:30 MERE HUMRAHI

21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) 23:00 NAMAK ISSK KA SATURDAY 16 JAN 18:30 DESI BEAT RESET 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 BEST OF DESI BEAT 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR SUNDAY 17 JAN 16:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 18:00 CHOTI SARDARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 BEST OF DESI BEAT 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR

SATURDAY 16 JAN 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) 20:30 BARRISTER BABU 21:00 BALIKA VADHU SUNDAY 17 JAN 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 21:00 BALIKA VADHU

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India's historic win at Gabba India have pulled off a record run-chase in a thrilling final session to hand Australia their first defeat at Brisbane’s Gabba ground since 1988 and clinch the four-Test series 2-1 to win the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant starred with a swashbuckling 89 not out as the injury-depleted visitors overhauled the 328-run target with three overs to go, winning by three wickets on the last day of the series on Tuesday.

Australia had not been beaten at the Gabba since falling to Viv Richards’ all-conquering West Indies side by nine wickets in November 1988. India’s 329 for seven also smashed the 69year-old record for the biggest run-chase at the Gabba, set by Australia who scored 236 for seven to beat the West Indies in 1951. After never winning a Test series on Australian soil until 2018-19, India has now done it twice on consecutive tours Down Under. The four-Test series had been tied 1-1, meaning India needed only a draw to retain the trophy. The series win is a remarkable achievement considering India were bowled

out for their lowest score of 36 to lose the first Test in Adelaide, before bouncing back to win the second in Melbourne.

The visitors, ravaged by injuries and captain Virat Kohli’s absence for paternity leave, then batted throughout the final day to draw the third Test in Sydney.

“WHAT A WIN,” Kohli tweeted.

Man-of-the-match Pant, who played a similar innings in the drawn Sydney Test, blasted his 89 from 138 balls with nine fours and a six. His innings followed an equally impressive knock from 21-year-old Shubman Gill, who made 91 at the top of the order earlier in the day.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s 56 was also vital, the gritty number three hit 10 times by Australia’s quicks, taking blows to the fingers, arm, ribs and head as he was subjected to a searching examination by Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Cummins with 4-55 was easily the pick of the Australian attack, sending down 24 overs of pace and hostility, but the rest of the bowlers looked fatigued after bowling all day in Sydney just eight days ago.

Despite Australia’s fearsome record at the Gabba, the Indian batsmen did not look interested in playing for a draw, even after losing the wickets of Pujara and Mayank Agarwal after tea. Pant took advantage of any loose ball, but also played some outrageous strokes, showing the influence T20 cricket has had on Tests.

India started the morning on four for no loss after bowling Australia out for 294 just before rain stopped play late on the fourth day. Australia’s hopes of a series-clinching victory were raised early when Cummins drew Rohit Sharma forward to a ball that caught the outside edge, Tim Paine taking a fine diving catch in front of first slip.

But as India have shown since

their capitulation in Adelaide, when they were bowled out for 36, they are never out of the contest. Their effort in the fourth Test is even more admirable considering the high injury toll during the tour.

India’s bowling attack was led by Mohammed Siraj, who debuted in Melbourne, supported by Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar, who had just two Tests between them heading into Brisbane.

The tourists were without the services of frontline seamers Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, and regular spin bowlers Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Kohli, Ishant and Hardik back for England Tests Captain Virat Kohli, speedster Ishant Sharma, middle-order batsman Hardik Pandya and left-arm spinner Axar Patel have been recalled to India’s squad for the first two Tests against England, starting in Chennai on February 5. The selection meeting was planned for Wednesday, but the BCCI, in a late development on Monday night, rescheduled it for Tuesday morning, and the committee headed by Chetan Sharma picked the 18-member squad via videoconferencing.

Kohli, who left Australia after the first Test for the birth of his first child, is set to return to action. Ishant, who suffered a side strain during the IPL, has proven his matchfitness during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and will lead the pace attack with Jasprit Bumrah.

Hardik, selected purely as a batsman, replaces the injured Hanuma Vihari while Axar Patel comes in for Ravindra Jadeja. The fitness status of Jadeja, Vihari, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav will be reassessed

The schedule:

• Tests: Feb. 5-9, Chennai; Feb. 13-17,

before the final two Tests.

Natarajan misses out Opener Prithvi Shaw has been left out while Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar have been retained. Left-armer T. Natarajan misses out as well. Given the need to maintain the sanctity of the biosecure bubble, the selectors have also shortlisted five stand-bys and five net bowlers. Openers K.L. Rahul (in the squad) and Priyank Panchal (stand-by) will have to prove their fitness at the NCA in Bengaluru before joining the squad in Chennai.

Chennai, both 9.30 a.m. starts.

• Day-Night Test: Feb. 24-28, Ahmedabad, 2.30 p.m.

• March 4-8, Ahmedabad, 9.30 a.m.

• T20Is: March 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20, all at Ahmedabad, 7 p.m.

• ODIs: March 23, 26 and 28, all at Pune, 1.30 p.m.

• The Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shubhman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel.

• Stand-bys: K.S. Bharat (w.k.), Abhimanya Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar, Priyank Panchal (subject to proving fitness).

• Net bowlers: Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, K. Gowtham, Saurabh Kumar.

Future women's cricket team!

Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan took to Twitter to share a viral message, with interesting observation about the Indian cricket team. In the post shared by the legendary Bollywood actor, there was a list of Indian cricketers who have been blessed with daughters, jokingly mentioning that they are forming their own women's team. While captioning the post, Amitabh asked his fans whether former India captain MS Dhoni's daughter be the captain of this team.

The viral post Bachchan shared is doing the rounds on social media since India captain Virat Kohli announced that he and his wife Anushka Sharma have been blessed with a baby girl earlier this week. While fans are pouring in love on social media for Virat and Anushka, the couple requested the paparazzi to not click pictures of their child and respect their privacy.

The duo wrote a note to the media, urging

them not to click photos of their child and expressed their gratitude, saying they are thankful for all the love being showered on them. "As parents, we have a simple request to make to you. We want to protect the privacy of our child and we need your help and support," the couple said in the statement. They further assured paparazzi they will share the "content" at the right time.

Raina - Daughter Gambhir - Daughter Rohit - Daughter Shami - Daughter Ashwin - Daughter Rahane - Daughter Jadeja - Daughter Pujara - Daughter Saha - Daughter Bhajji - Daughter Natarjan - Daughter Umesh Yadav - Daughter And now Virat Kohli also blessed with a Daughter.

Future ki Women's Cricket Team ban rahi hai

in brief KERALA CRICKETER HONURED FOR SCORING 37-BALL TON Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has decided to reward opening batsman Mohammed Azharuddeen after he scored a 37-ball century against Mumbai in the Mohammed Azharuddeen Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The young batsman will receive a total sum of Rs 1,37,000 for the unbeaten 137 runs he scored which helped Kerala beat Mumbai by eight wickets in their Elite E match at the Wankhede Stadium.

Its a great moment for Kerala cricket. We have acknowledged the stellar performance of Azharuddeen and we decided to immediately gift him an amount of 1,37,000 at a rate of 1000 rupees per run for his 137 not out," Sreejith V Nair, KCA secretary said. "Former BCCI secretary, SK Nair, former MP Panniyan Raveendran and others have also praised our deed," he added. Azharuddeen's knock of 137 comprised of 11 sixes and 9 fours in 54 balls.

He hit his century in 37 balls, the third fastest in T20 cricket by an Indian batsman after Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma, both national team players. This is the first instance of a Kerala batsman hitting a century in Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. "This is a great initiative by the Kerala Cricket Association. The names of Azharuddeen's coaches Bijumon, Mazar Moidu and Philip, have to be remembered at this moment and the hard work of these coaches is giving results and Kerala cricket is indeed going places," said Biju George, former Indian woman's team fielding coach and fielding coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. Azharuddeen, who became the first Kerala player to score a century in the tournament, scored the runs at an amazing strike rate of 253.70, thanks to nine boundaries and 11 sixes. West Indies’s Chris Gayle holds the record of the fastest T20 century, which he scored off only 30 balls during his smashing 175 not out off 66 balls for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Pune Warriors India in the 2013 IPL. Pant scored his hundred off 32 balls for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in Delhi in 2018. Rohit Sharma's 35-ball century against Sri Lanka in a T20 International is the second fastest among Indians. Azharuddeen's 37-ball ton equalled Yusuf Pathan's century for Rajasthan Royals against the Mumbai Indians in the 2010 IPL.

PANDYA BROTHERS LOSE FATHER TO HEART ATTACK India all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya lost their father, Himanshu, last week.

The senior Pandya suffered a heart attack. He was 71. Krunal, who was leading Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, had to leave the bio-bubble in Vadodara created for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, to be with the family and perform the last rites, the Baroda Cricket Association said. India captain Virat Kohli took to twitter to offer condolences.

"Heartbroken to hear about the demise of Hardik and Krunal's dad. Spoke to him a couple of times, looked a joyful and full of life person. May his soul rest in peace. Stay strong you two," wrote Kohli on twitter. Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan, who had also captained Baroda, also tweeted his condolences.

"Remember meeting uncle for the first time at motibagh. He was so keen for his sons to play good cricket. My condolences to You and family. May god give you strength to pass through this difficult time @krunalpandya24 @hardikpandya7," wrote Pathan.