FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE Prince Charles calls vaccination hesitation among British Asians a ’tragedy’
Compensation for those living with Long Covid SEE PAGE - 4
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SEVA Trust UK launches ‘Adopt a Student’ project to help Indian students
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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side
Sikhs encouraged not to identify themselves as “Indian” SEE PAGE - 8
27 FEBRUARY - 5 MARCH 2021 - VOL 49 ISSUE 42
England all out for 112 on day one
BACK TO ‘WAR’ WITHOUT A VACCINE Teachers become the new frontline workers; concerned about a third wave and lobby for a phased re-opening of schools
Indian spinners shot England out for just 112 in 48.4 overs with Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel sharing the spoils after pacer Ishant Sharma opened the floodgates in his milestone 100th match on the opening day of the daynight third Test at the Narendra Modi stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Axar took 6 wickets, while Aswin grabbed three. Openers Rohit Sharma (5 batting) and Shubman Gill (0 batting) negotiated five overs to take India to five for no loss at the dinner break. (Details on page 32)
India, China talks fail to break deadlock on ‘friction points’
Priyanka Mehta
Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s roadmap of lifting the UK out of the national lockdown, all schools in England will reopen to all pupils on 8th March. While, the gradual re-opening of the country is a relief for working parents who are mentally, emotionally and physically burnt out from home-schooling their children, teachers have raised red flags over the possibility of a third coronavirus wave. Some are wary of the government’s plans to mass test secondary pupils, warning that it will delay the reopening of schools and fail to catch asymptomatic carriers of Covid. Others believe it risks spreading “a false sense of security” among children and their parents. Mrs Sarada Sarkar teaches in a grammar school in Kent. She told Asian Voice, “I have mixed feelings with the latest announcement. We
all want to go back to normal life. But, considering the transmissibility of the mutated virus and the extent of devastation it has caused, I am worried for a third wave. “I have not been vaccinated and neither have my colleagues received the vaccination yet. It is quite an irony that we are the frontline workers now. And yet, we have not been prioritised as we should have been considering the safety element of children as well. If we had the vaccinations, then it would be much safer for our families too. Teachers are even more vulnerable than any frontline workers as we need to speak all the time and can’t really wear PPE. In autumn term, schools were provided with the bubble areas and sanitisers, among other safety gear, but it clearly did not stop the second wave. I am worried to go back to school without being vaccinated. It’s like going to war without weapons.” Continued on page 6
There was no concrete breakthrough in the marathon military talks between India and China in de-escalating the remaining ‘friction points’ at Gogra, Hot Springs, Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh, but the two reiterated their commitment to work for a mutually-acceptable resolution through further dialogue. “The two sides will push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” said a joint statement issued after the 10th round of corps commander-level talks. It said the two sides “agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, and stabilise and control the situation on the ground”. Continued on page 26