AV 28th November 2020

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

inside: Diwali celebrations in the UK SEE PAGE - 16 - 18

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

28 NOV - 4 DEC 2020 - VOL 49 ISSUE 30

PROUD OF MY INDIAN HERITAGE Chancellor tells Asian Voice, he wanted everyone to see him celebrating Diwali at 11 Downing Street

Canada to return statue of Hindu goddess stolen over 100 years ago from India SEE PAGE - 23

PM Modi: “In this decade, in just the oil and gas sector, there will be millions of investments” SEE PAGE - 26

EXCLUSIVE

photo: twitter

“NO BETTER ALLY THAN THE UK”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak outside his home at 11 Downing Street lighting diyas to celebrate Diwali

Rupanjana Dutta UK is awaiting Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement on Spending Review on Wednesday, as we go to press. It will talk us through how we can actually tackle the economy. As people fear spending freeze, pay cuts, job losses, cuts on foreign aids and increasing taxes, with Diwali just gone and Christmas cheer in the air, all is not doom and gloom.

Chancellor, who is one of the most powerful politicians in the UK, has remained an inspiration for British Indians, especially with his recent

homage to his culture as he saluted his community saying, “I stand on the shoulders of all of you and hope to make you proud.”

Mr Sunak met Conservative Friends of India members and guests at a zoom Diwali celebration last week. Chaired by Cllr Reena Ranger and Cllr Ameet Jogia, the event was attended by 450+ people, many of whom were given an opportunity to ask questions. Under these young leaders the group has lately been found to be more interactive and engaging.

Continued on page 6

Kash Patel

Priyanka Mehta Recently appointed Indian-American Chief of Staff to Acting Defence Secretary speaks about 9/11, Kashmir, safeguarding regional security in the Indian Ocean through the Quad and the UK-USA special relationship.

The Pentagon named Indian-American Kash Patel as the Chief of Staff to the Acting US Defence Secretary Chris Miller earlier this month. His appointment appears after President Donald Trump fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper and designated the National Counter Terrorism Centre Director, Chris Miller, as the Acting Defence Secretary. Now, Miller has appointed Kash Patel as his Chief of Staff, one of the very few Indian-Americans to execute Mr. Trump’s directives and crucially at a time when America carves its way through a potential change in the administration. But for the next 70 days, Mr. Patel is “full steam ahead” in executing directives from the White House.

Continued on page 4

2 UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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28 Nov - 4 Dec 2020

with Keith Vaz

Scholarship in honour of nurse who passed away due to Covid-19

Parul Chauhan Parul Chauhan, was born in Kenya, her family moved to UK in 1970 when she was 2 years old. Her father and mother, Purshottam and Lilawati Sachdev, started a business in 1972 called Ashton-Sweet-Mart. A small, sweet shop, selling Indian groceries. Parul’s Mum made delicious savouries and desserts.

Her brothers joined the business and she worked there from age of 6. As time progressed, they moved to a premises known as ASM Cash & Carry. Everyone worked united as a family, a tradition installed in them as children.

Her nephew wished to open a restaurant, hence Lily’s Vegetarian Indian cuisine. Her dad lovingly called her mother Lily, the name represents the loving legacy she left behind.

They have won several awards and recently opened their new Lily’s Deli in Chorlton. She has also started a Freedom Formula coaching business to help those who are living in fear, help them see they have a voice and can speak up.

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

I feel most at home in Manchester, as I have grown up, studied and lived here since the age of 2. It has everything, it is a vibrant city that I love.

What are your proudest achievements?

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One of my proudest achievements is the birth of my 3 daughters (the eldest is my favourite). Another is the pride I take in the awards we have worked hard to achieve for Lily’s, such as Best Vegetarian Restaurant in the North West.

What inspires you?

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I am inspired by life. There is so much that we can do and we can achieve anything we want. Having experienced difficult times where I thought this wasn’t possible, I am now inspired to help others as I have found my own freedom and voice.

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

At times, others did not support or have faith in my ideas, and this was a limitation for a long time. Luckily now I am stronger and am following my dreams.

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

The biggest influence has been both of my parents. Together they were a high

4 5

driving force in the family and business and provided strong teachings for the family to learn from.

What is the best aspect about your current role?

In Lily’s as a manager and in my coaching business, I get to meet lots of lovely people with lots of different stories to tell.

And the worst?

6 7

On 18th November, a scholarship was launched in honour of a Walsall nurse who passed away during the first wave of coronavirus.

36-year-old Areema Nasreen mother of two children was placed on ventilator and passed away in April this year. Now, Walsall NHS Trust, where Areema was working in the medical unit, wants to honour her memory of the selfless front-line worker by helping others in achieving their healthcare career goal.

The trust is reportedly working with their professional development unit, HR and the Well Wishers charity to establish a scholarship in Areema's name which will financially benefit those disadvantaged yet

aspiring.

Areema had wanted to be a nurse since she was a teenager. She joined Walsall Healthcare in 2003 before working to gain her nursing qualification in January 2019 as a housekeeper.

The scholarship is aimed at those who live within the Walsall borough who may be struggling with their financial or family situation or have other obstacles they need to overcome to achieve their dream of a healthcare career.

It will offer a fully-funded BSc in Nursing with HCSW salary whilst training, leading to a band 5 Staff Nurse post upon successful completion of the full-time three-year degree programme.

Areema Nasreen

The application process is now open and runs until Monday 14 December and we’re asking people to tell us why they think they deserve this additional support. A member of Areema’s family will join the panel that considers all applications next month.

There is no such thing as ‘worst’, because even with contrast we can always learn new things.

What are your long-term goals?

Leicester council addresses race inequalities

To have Lily’s branches all across the country. In my coaching, to help countless women find their freedom and voice, to build them up and provide a support system for them.

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

I will decide that when I get there!

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

I would love to spend time with Shirdi Sai Baba, as his teachings of faith, patience and humanity refer to the basics of what it is to be a kind human. They provide valuable insight to the lives we live.

On Saturday, 21st November, Leicester Council stepped up in its efforts to combat racial inequalities in the county and has thus, announced a job vacancy for a Race Equality Officer.

The Council seeks to address inequalities and disadvantage “particularly for Leicester's Black, Black British, Caribbean, African and dual-heritage communities”. The announcement of the 18-month job position titled “Race Equality Officer

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Lisa Nandy intent on re-setting Labour's Foreign Policy narrative On Tuesday 17th November, Shadow not align with the Foreign Secretary explained that the vision of the British Labour Party needed to reset and repeople then that think on their Foreign Policy narrative creates a problem. considering the dual challenges that Do we share a comthe Party faces both from its elecmon understandtorate and membership. ing with extremely different British In an event hosted by the British electorates? These Foreign Policy Group, Lisa Nandy MP are the same issues Lisa Nandy for Wigan shed light into how the that the Labour is approaching the developConservatives are grappling with. ment of its own foreign policy agenda.

“But we have lost almost our She expressed her hope to be able to entire Labour base restore trust and confidence in every region of in her plan for an open and the nation and thus, inclusive foreign policy both shaping an inclusive from the electorate as well and open narrative as stem out the divisions around foreign policurrently marring the Party. cy is one of my Speaking about equally biggest priorities. I balancing all electorates believe that Foreign concerns regardless of their Policy and the role nationalities, she said, “This Sunny Hundal that we play in the is the million-dollar quesworld has to be routed in consent with tion. Although foreign policy can help the British people.” Her comments win political parties win elections, but appear after continuous warnings it can also cost them to lose these elecfrom some members within the tions if they don’t get it right. At the Labour Party who have frequently end of the day what you do overseas is flagged their concerns around divisive based on the values you want to porpolicy framework. tray, defend and advance. Foreign polSpeaking at a webinar titled ‘Is the icy is a reflection of your vision for the Left losing the British Indians’, Sunny whole country and if that vision does

Hundal said, “It is a bad state of affairs. What the Labour has done is essentially sending this message that ‘we will work with the Muslims and the Sikhs’. In the meantime, the Conservatives have done more outreach work with Hindus and Jews. Both political parties have drawn minorities into neat piles and targeted specific communities for them. It is noteworthy that a considerable proportion of Sikhs were angry with the Labour leadership after Jas Athwal’s temporary suspension from the Party in 2019 elections. But there was no major downslide in Sikh vote share for the Labour as the Party continued its engagement with the Sikh community. “But the left has essentially taken the Gujaratis and the Hindu vote for granted. In Leicester East, Labour should have chosen a local candidate and instead they parachuted someone who was a Corbyn loyalist. The same thing happened in Ilford East with Jas Athwal. It is not shocking because both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have essentially done the same. Labour has a factionalism problem and it needs to address it at the earliest.”

(Black Lives Matter)” appears following the Black Lives Matter protests.

The job vacancy notes, "Leicester has consisted of communities from all over the world for decades and we are proud of and actively celebrate our city’s diversity.

However, we know that there is still much to do locally as well as nationally in tackling race equality.

"The City Mayor and Council have pledged to continue to fight racism and discrimination in all its forms in our city. This role is at the heart of supporting

that."

Those applying for the position can expect to work closely with the city mayor, Executive Councillors for Equalities and Black Lives Matter and senior managers. They will be developing, co-ordinating and implementing a plan to “tackle race inequality, disadvantage and promote inclusion”. Candidates are expected to have experience of working with communities or organisations and have a “strong knowledge and understanding of racial inequality”.

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COMMENTS

3

28 Nov - 4 Dec 2020

Labour’s existential crisis In-fighting within the Party continues. Some political pundits would perhaps argue that Labour is confronted with a mess of its own making as members continue to leave the “fractured” Party in effect deepening the existing fault lines. As Sir Keir Starmer attempts to steer the Party away from what some would contest a “woke left” and a radicalised Machinery, to a Centrist ideology, his biggest challenge is keeping the Party from crumbling into non-existence.

Official figures published by Labour recorded that the Party had over 550,000 members eligible to vote in its leadership election in April. That figure has, however, plummeted to below 500,000 in the National Executive Committee (NEC) elections conducted two weeks ago. And if The Times report is to be taken into account then the supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are practically leading an “exodus” from the Party with the number of members falling by just under 57,000 people, or 10%, in the past seven months. A very minuscule proportion of these 57,000 people also includes Indian members who have either resigned from the Party citing anti-Indian racism, anti-Hindu bigotry, bullying and discrimination. Or they have stepped down disappointed with being overlooked for senior positions despite their eligibility.

These members are age-old Labour loyalists including members like Sundip Meghani and more recently Lord Meghnad Desai who has decided to now sit in the House of Lords as an independent Peer.

Political analyst and a Labour member Sunny Hundal on a recent webinar organised by the Henry Jackson Society had brought forward crucial factors as to why the Labour was losing its foothold despite a more level-headed leadership. He had highlighted that in recent years and perhaps, more pronounced under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the Party Machinery pitted one community against another regardless of the meritocracy of the candidate resulting in a populism contest. Where the Conservative

Party had deserted the Muslim voters, Labour courted the said diaspora in perhaps, what was seen as the most polarised Parliamentary Elections of 2019. Religion and communities became greater factors for division and consequently, Labour started engaging lesser with the Indian diaspora. The fruits of which are believed to be enjoyed by the Tories especially in constituencies such as Harrow East which could have earlier been labelled as a swing state.

But beyond religion, some political experts also throw caution to the wind on deeper engagement and interference in global diplomatic issues especially if their diasporas construct the Party.

Labour’s policy-making on issues as Palestine, Kashmir and more recently Syria and Yemen have divided the Party. As opposed to a neutral policy framework, the Party is seen to be an advocate for “human rights violations” when border issues are either to be resolved through bilateral talks between the said countries or at the UN. Yet, Labour has picked up the cause of other countries at the stake of its own survival in what is now often termed as a “misplaced agenda” to further its cause.

But Labour’s survival is not just important for the hopeful left-liberals. It is also imperative as an institutional structure required to challenge the opposition. Any democracy, particularly, a two-Party Parliamentary democracy without an effective opposition is as good as an autocracy. While some would argue that the principles and ethics of Liberal Democrats raise their prospects of an ideal second major national political party. The bitter truth is that the public perception about them remains that they are a “third wheel”, effective only in a coalition. Yet, younger Britons have not forgotten the debacle of Nick Clegg and David Cameron’s government when they hiked up the university fees by three times. And if their performance in the 2019 elections is to be considered, they have certainly not forgiven them. Making it more important than ever for Labour to put its house in order.

Britons need to take a long and hard look at who Priti Patel is The community is yet again divided- some believe that accusations against Home Secretary Priti Patel should be considered carefully. The other believes Ms Patel is a victim of those who cannot accept an Asian woman as their boss. The atmosphere in Home Office is famously not a bed of roses. Historically it has undermined ministers, intentionally or not. Amber Rudd had resigned, and the job was handed over to UK’s first ever Asian MP to become the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid. It started with the Windrush scandal. Of course, we all know what happened to Mr Javid in the long run.

Ms Patel has been known to this newspaper since beginning of her career as a politician. In interviews with this paper, she had revealed how difficult it was to be a woman in politics. With increasing number of stories on racism out in the public and reading about a department that does not want staff to be judged by performance targets, it is rather hard to pinpoint who really is at fault.

It is known fact; women require extra effort to be heard across a board room- often fear is the only tool available to be taken seriously. Of course, bullying is non-negotiable and unacceptable, but the question remains, in a country with 14.4% of minority population, when institutional racism remains still rife in 2020, can one vilify a coloured woman for her reaction?

Even today, UK has only 22.7% female representation in board rooms. 32% of UK’s total MPs are women. Out of which Asian women will be no more than 2%. To top it all, pretty much like Margaret Thatcher, Ms Patel comes from a humble background. Her parents Sushil and Anjana ran a chain of

newsagents in the UK after migrating from Uganda. With sheer hard work she has reached her success, and it is not difficult to imagine of her parents’ heartbreak to see this ‘witch-hunt’.

UK is at a very crucial juncture. On one cannot and should not waste time. There is coronavirus tearing the country apart with same vigour, even after one year. Brexit is a month away.

Relationship with countries like India hold pivotal role in Britain’s upcoming trade deals. Mr Jonhson’s decision to stand

by Ms Patel has been correct- practical and tactical.

But one fears, if she would lose her job in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle, as fingers are ’suddenly' pointed towards her ‘incompetence’ over ‘bullying'. It is believed she will be demoted to become the Tory Chairman. Policing minister Kit Malthouse, who is a confidant of the PM, is apparently the favourite to take over. Michael Gove and Dominic Raab are also understood to be in the frame.

Civil Service in any country exist to offer impartial advice. It is meant to be an apolitical voice and practise. But as The Daily Telegraph says, ultimately, the minister is the elected representative and Whitehall is there to implement their decisions.

That’s how our democracy is supposed to work.

Ms Patel’s university background and failure to submit an ‘enviable’ thesis in the past is no one’s business today. It does not tell us who she is- but tells us how far she has come with sheer hard work. Teachers are meant to hold our hands till we learn to stand and shine, not turn around and gossip about a student’s report card. This actually says more about Britain’s people, than it does about the Minister herself.

Vote of confidence vs vote of crisis The checks and balances of power and might are under a spotlight right now, bringing about a total paradigm shift, where masses have been distracted by leaders from the ongoing pandemic to political issues.

Nitish Kumar led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swore in for the fourth consecutive term in Bihar during the pandemic.

But that’s just the beginning. India’s list of upcoming state assembly elections that are scheduled to take place between May 2020 to April 2021 includes key states: West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leaving no stone unturned in preparing for a strategic mobilisation of vote banks in these states in order to win the upcoming elections.

In a clever move, the BJP reached out to Sourav Ganguly to join the party with the aim to attract more votes via his legacy in Bengal, who declined the proposal due to his commitments at the BCCI. While Ganguly hasn’t shown allegiance towards BJP, he has also not been in the good books of Mamata Banerjee this year, who lashed at him due to lack of intimation about the cancelled match at Eden Gardens in March this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But there’s a larger battle to be fought between the BJP and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.

It’s Shah versus Banerjee. Since the Bihar elections are done and dusted, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited West Bengal and had two lunches, one at an Adivasi household, another at a Matua (scheduled caste) home. While there are no official figures to support the claim, it is now widely believed that the OBC community forms the majority among the Hindus in Bengal. Shah was quoted saying that the “death knell had been rung for the Mamata Banerjee government”.

Reacting to this move, CM Mamata Banerjee called it a “show-off”. BJP’s caste politics may or may not result in a victory next year, but Banerjee doesn’t want to allow Gujarat to run Bengal. She felt that Bengal can take care of itself.

This formula has challenged all other parties as BJP enjoys a serious lack of strong opposition leaders in other states outside Bengal. BJP intends to continue its political alliance with AIADMK in the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, while hitting at the expected release of VK Sasikala (former aide of late chief minister J Jayalalitha), the overtures by MK Alagiri (estranged brother of DMK Chief MK Stalin) and also eyeing Superstar Rajinikanth’s role in the vote-bank politics.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy recently warned the Modi government that on India affairs, Biden will go by Kamala Harris and she is ideologically against 'Hindu nationalism', which decoded means BJP. Harris belongs to Tamil Nadu, a state in which BJP did not win a single seat in last year’s national parliamentary elections. She is also critical of India’s policies for Kashmir and wants to put human rights at the centre of her approach to India.Yet we stand as a nation that is reeling under the yoke of an unprecedented pandemic, economic crisis, border tensions, unemployment. While vaccines will largely be a matter handled by state governments, despite all the criticism and challenges, in all likelihood, the central government will emerge largely unscathed. This is also because throughout the Covid-19 period so far, the Opposition, led by the Congress at the national level, has lacked any constructive agenda and concrete accountability-seeking from the government. A lot will depend on India’s response to the Covid crisis. Whoever manages to save lives and jobs will most likely win the vote of confidence.

It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.

– Babe Ruth

Alpesh Patel

Dear “Dishy” Rishi Dear Chancellor, Well, well, my word. You would have ever thunk it!

Going by my Instagram, you’ve got people (women) interested in politics who would never care. And I don’t think it’s the fact you’re ‘hey big spender’.

There are middle aged English ladies swooning – talk about ‘A Passage to India’. You’re more popular than any Chancellor. I mean Dennis Healey’s eyebrows, Gordon Brown’s eyebrows, Normal Lamont’s eyebrows – what is it about Chancellors and eyebrows – you don’t have any competition.

Let’s talk numbers. You’ve got a degree in Economics so you know you need loose monetary and fiscal policies at times of economic contraction.

Simple. Trust me. A lot of people don’t get that.

What about debt? You’re saddling my son into slavery, cry people.

Well, as Warren Buffett said, debt is not important if the ability to finance it due to low interest charges is there. Of course most people like saying ‘national debt bad’. It’s a mantra – you like that ‘mantra’ – all Indians together.

You also know that if you borrow to invest then that will provide future returns. So please focus on that. And you’ve been clever to know that return on investment should not be based on the old Treasure formula which basically always meant money to London and the South.

You’re worked out that the returns can be greater, because the potential is greater and the costs lower, in investing up north. How do you know this. Well your constituency is in Yorkshire, not Surrey.

I know, I know. Where have you been all our lives?

But no. Some Conservatives will complain you’re spending too much and national debt thing and State becoming too large. And Socialists will say, spend more. Just be careful in your spending and making the State bigger that you are passive investing and not controlling everything. Be like a private equity investor. Oh wait, you know what that actually means. Like me, you are one. Good having someone who ‘gets it’.

And whilst we are at it, technology – that’s the huge revolutionary area. Do you know about tech – hang on, who’s your father in law? No worries, you get the future.

What about spending more as the socialists want? Well, I think a spending Conservative is someone who knows these things wont pay for themselves. So, now the tax part. I hope you know massive hikes wont work. Give your spending time to give back tax revenues, then think about rises.

But, I don’t think you need my advice on anything. I think you get it all. As Cameron once said, at Wembley, in front of PM Modi, “we will in my lifetime see an Indian PM of Britain”.

Tell you what, at least your spending British money as an Indian, a lot better than a Briton, Warren Hastings did, of Indian money.

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“NO BETTER ALLY THAN THE UK�

Continued from page 1 In an exclusive interview with the Asian Voice, he stressed, “The current administration serves until 20th January and we are full steam ahead on all the priorities and policy objectives of President Trump. Whatever happens after that is for the voters, the law and the courts to decide. But until then we are not dialling down on our strategies and continuing with our work and efforts as directed by the White House.�

Fleeing Idi Amin’s dictatorship 39-year-old Kash Patel is born to immigrant parents Anjanaben from Tanzania and Pramodbhai from Uganda. His grandfather, Rameshbhai was originally from Bhadran in Gujarat who spent his entire working life in Jinja, Uganda, and died in the 1970s after suffering from a fatal cardiac arrest. Escaping Idi Amin’s brutal administration, the Patel family entered America through Canada and eventually settled in Queens, in New York, famous as “little India�.

Speaking about growing up in New York, Mr. Patel said, “My father had to go through the difficult journey of escaping Idi Amin’s dictatorship in Uganda before eventually settling down in America. I was raised in New York and was fortunate that my parents focused on my education.

My mum did not want me to be a Navy even as I thought serving in the Navy would have been a great career as well. Instead, she ensured that I went to college and law school and gradually pursued a career in counterterrorism.�

Influence of 9/11 attacks He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond before returning to New York to earn his law degree, along with a Certificate in International Law from University College London Faculty of Laws in the United Kingdom. He began his career in Florida where he practised as a public defender for four years, trying scores of complex cases ranging from murder to narco-trafficking, to complex financial crimes in jury trials in state and federal courts. He moved to Washington DC as a terrorism prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DoJ).

It was during his time at the

DoJ, that he explains, he had a series of interactions with the then Chief of CounterTerrorism and gradually went on to serve as the Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior for Director Counterterrorism (CT) at the National Security Council (NSC) in 2019. A long-standing Trump loyalist, he oversaw several operations including eliminating ISIS and Al Qaeda leadership Abu al-Baghdadi and Qasem al-Rimi. He also executed the safe repatriation of about 55 Americans either held hostage or illegally detained from over 20 countries including Syria, Kenya and Uganda.

Discussing the “massive influence� that the 9/11 attacks has had on his career pathway, he said, “I was a junior in college in Queens, Long Island and I remember my sister was working in Downtown Manhattan within blocks of the World Trade Centre when 9/11 happened. My hometown in Garden City had the most casualties in both towers during 9/11 and that tragedy has hugely impacted most Americans including me. I knew then that nothing is more important than serving the country’s national interest and I gradually found myself entering the realm of national security.�

Quad an extremely important partnership President Trump has been determined in pulling out American troops from the Middle-East in an attempt to shift his focus to combat the rise of China.

From imposing tariffs on Chinese imports which resulted in a global trade war to the formation of the Quad, President Trump is relying on rigorous naval and military drills with India, Japan and Australia to combat the Dragon’s naval expansion in the South China Sea. While the Chinese premiership has been quick to dismiss any anxieties around project Malabar, Mr. Patel believes that the partnership is “extremely important� to ensure regional security in the area.

He said, “The Quad is an extremely important partnership between the nations involved as has been demonstrated by the exercises in the Indian Ocean in the past few weeks. It is a critical part of the world in South East Asia which we rely on and

these exercises are invaluable in providing regional security.�

Kashmir, Pakistan and extradition of Hafiz Saeed China’s expansion has been multi-pronged and Pakistan’s partnership in its Belt and Road Initiative has concerned India especially with regards to interference in Kashmir. President Trump has on previous occasions offered to intervene in the Kashmir deadlock, Mr. Patel has towed with caution in stating that Kashmir is a “bilateral issue� that needs to be resolved “peacefully� between India and Pakistan. In the meantime, New Delhi has made repeated requests with Islamabad to handover UNdesignated terrorist and mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai attacks Hafiz Saeed with no success. Recently, Pakistani courts sentenced the Founder of terrorist organisation Lashkar-eTaiba to ten years of a jail sentence. Yet, Intelligence Experts in New Delhi are hawkish of the “smokescreen� judgment considering Pakistan’s track record on terrorism.

Emphasising how the US will continue to support India in her combat of terrorism, Mr. Patel said, “We will continue our partnership with the Indian government and if they wish to request for us to assist them in such matters including hunting down international terrorists and or finding evidence for assisting in prosecution, we will take them as they come. We have always

been willing and able to help our allies especially close countries such as India.�

No better ally than the UK But to balance the scales against China, America also understands that it would need to strengthen existing relationships with the UK. There has been increasing speculation in the media that the signing of the UKUSA Free Trade Agreement is no easy feat at a time when the UK has chosen to divorce from the EU. But Mr. Patel believes that the UK-USA “special relationship will never change� regardless of the changing world order.

He said, “I don’t think that the UK-USA relationship will never change. Half of my family is in the UK. I can assure you that we don’t have a better partner in the world than in the UK. I don’t see that relationship changing in any form irrespective of how the UK handles their domestic matters such as Brexit and their negotiations with the EU will not and should not negatively impact the UK-USA relations.�

Regardless of whoever occupies POTUS after January 20th, there will be a significant focus on cementing diplomatic and bilateral channels when the UK Army Chief has already cautioned that the world is headed towards a “war-like� situation.

His sister Nisha and aunt Meenakshiben live in the UK with respective families.

Gujarat Hindu Society - Radhakrishna temple, Preston has celebrated New Year keeping within Covid guidelines.

In Preston devotees were able to do private prayers on the most auspicious day of New Year. The management had put a system in place to ensure safe environment was provided to all devotees.

On arrival everyone had their temperature check and names, and addresses were recorded for track and trace purpose. At any one time no more than 5 people were allowed to pray. Other devotees had to wait in main Hall.

With Marshalls on hand, there was a steady stream throughout the day. Annkut was displayed for the whole day and Prasad this time was ordered from RK dining to avoid any food contamination. Boxes were packed by volunteers and devotees were given a box each.

Family bids to raffle off their north Derbyshire home Sree Balachandran, 37, and his wife Surya, 28, who have lived at the home on Houfton Road for five years, have been trying to sell up since June so they can move to Staveley where two-yearold daughter Malavika will attend a nursery. “However due to the pandemic, we struggled to

sell through an estate agent despite a number of interests. People weren't able to simply afford the deposit despite the stamp duty holiday. I reduced the house price by £14,000 , still was unable to sell,� he said.

He then decided to raffle it via Raffle website but to make it a featured advert it

required a further 9K upfront and we were unable

to afford that.

The first prize is a 3 Bedroom semi detached house and 15K, and the second prize is 10K (If 60,000 tickets are all sold). “I am also donating 5K to homeless charities in Chesterfield if the full allocation of tickets are sold,�

Sree added.

Transport for London funding controversy Navin Shah AM Transport of London (TfL) is responsible for managing transport services across the capital and this includes buses, Underground, Docklands Light Railway, London Overground and London Trams. It also runs London River Services, Victoria Coach Station and the congestion charge scheme. TfL is also responsible for a network of main roads; London's traffic lights and it regulates taxis and the private hire trade. Other than keeping London moving, it is no exaggeration to say TfL plays a major role as the engine of London and the UK’s economy.

Fares income generates almost three quarters of the funding needed to run all of these services. The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in an unprecedented loss in TfL’s income, leading to a 90% drop in fares revenue during the first lockdown, requiring the Government to step in and offer its support. Unfortunately, the Government has used the funding negotiations to punish Londoners for doing the right thing by staying at home during Covid and has demanded unacceptable conditions in return of funding.

This month, we successfully fought off the worst conditions that the Government’s tried to peg onto its emergency funding settlement with TfL. Before the pandemic, due to the efforts of the Mayor and TfL’s financial position was getting stronger year by year. It’s operating deficit had been reduced by 71% and its cash balances had been boosted by 13%.

This all changed with the pandemic and the first lockdown, where TfL’s fares revenue plummeted by 90%. For obvious reasons, tube and bus ridership have struggled to recover since.

This is particularly problematic for TfL, which is mostly reliant upon fares for its income after the Government irresponsibly took away its ÂŁ700m a year grant in 2018.

As a result, TfL have needed Ministers to step in and provide emergency grants to stop transport services from grinding to a halt.

However, it has been frustrating to see the Government use this crisis as an opportunity to propose punitive conditions as part of the funding negotiations.

This includes the extension of the congestion charge to the North and South circulars and the removal of free travel for under 18s and older people in the capital.

However, our campaigning supported by charities, business leaders and ordinary Londoners forced the Government to take these damaging proposals off the table.

The latest funding deal will run out in March 2021 meaning the fight is not over. These conditions are likely to come up during negotiations again, unless we continue to place further pressure on Ministers over the coming months.

At a time when Londoners and businesses are already suffering due to the pandemic, expanding the congestion charge and taking away travel concessions would be nonsensical.

The Government now needs to provide TfL and Londoners with a long-term and sustainable funding deal, that will not punish ordinary people and protect jobs and key infrastructure projects.

I will continue working and campaigning with Age UK in order to try and protect free travel for older Londoners. Sadly, the Government has already stripped free travel from over 60s before 9am which has had a significantly negative impact. Alongside Age UK, I also commend the work of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) for robustly defending the right of children and young adults to free travel in London.

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PROUD OF MY INDIAN HERITAGE Continued from page 1 enormous part of who I am. We should have more of the Pfizer one, than the not shy away from our identity and Moderna.

Saluting parents and in-laws background and to able to do that in “Moderna one is slightly easier to Mr Sunak who is an inspiration for my new home, it was important to me. distribute as it does not require as the aspiring politicians, especially from And I hope it made all of you a little bit deeply cold storage on its journey. the Indian diaspora, said he took up proud of our culture and heritage.

Moderna trial was specifically very politics to give back to the socigood at ety, exactly as his parents or parenrolling a ents-in-law did. “My parents are huge number the reason I went into politics. of ethnic My father is a GP and my is a minorities. pharmacist. I worked in my They also mother’s pharmacy, as a dispenwanted to sary assistant, I delivered preenrol more of scription. They did the same older and vulthing at the same place for 30 nerable people years- and impacted so manty to show that people’s lives. And I wanted to do the vaccine the same. But in my own way, by worked in difbeing a good local MP. ferent high-risk “I am fortunate to have extra groups. That inspiration from my in-laws, in Rishi Sunak with wife Akshata Murthy and their children during 2017 Christmas (photo: Facebook) data is not fully different ways. My father-in-law released yet, from nothing created a global “My kids certainly had a lot of fun. but the early signs are promising. best in class business and put India on We did sparklers, they painted their “But the big one yet to come is the a global map when it came to software Rangoli, which is still at our doorstep.

Oxford University vaccine. Hopefully and IT. My mother-in-law has been We did all of that on Saturday evening, that’s coming soon. The great advanable to make differences to millions of with Bollywood music in the backtage of that vaccine over all the others people’s lives in India. What they ground, with the Police officers at is, it’s far cheaper, it does not require achieved, made me realise that if you Downing street looking puzzled about cold storage and it requires only one succeed in life, you can have impact in what is going on. It was a real joy; it is shot. Both the other vaccines require that massive scale and that was my our home, and this is what we do on two shots, two weeks apart.” other motivation to succeed in poliDiwali and that should not change.”

However, it is believed that Mr tics,” he said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson just Sunak has refused to comment to the Mr Sunak is married to Akshata before the Festival of Light spoke UK newspapers, whether he will profit Murthy, who is the daughter of Indian from an increase in the share price of about the increasing importance of billionaire and co-founder of Infosys, Moderna, which is one of the biggest the meaning of Diwali in today’s Narayana Murthy and social worker investments held by the hedge fund he world.

Sudha Murthy. had co-founded before becoming a While the Covid-19 vaccine is perAs Coronavirus figures hit the MP. haps regarded as the victory of light highest death marks since May on AstraZeneca on Monday said its over darkness that Diwali celebrates, Tuesday evening, Mr Sunak and Boris vaccine could be around 90% effective Mr Sunak elaborated how it’s a Johnson have believed to cut on forwithout any serious side effects. It will promising news for the world. “There eign aids to ensure Britain has enough have 200mn doses by end of 2020 and are two vaccines that have shown at this trying times. Britain is legally 700mn doses globally ready by first enormous efficacies. Both of those, are bound to spend at least 0.7% of output quarter of 2021. based on the same technology. We on foreign aids but on Tuesday Downing Street reportedly said that the law allows the pledge to be suspended in extreme situations.

People from Asian backgrounds are 1.5 times more Speaking about forging a better likely to become infected with the virus compared relationship with India in the postto White individuals, according to researchers at the Brexit world, especially when it comes Universities of Leicester and Nottingham, supportto a Free Trade Agreement and in ed by the National Institute for Health Research absence of an UK-India Trade envoy, (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre. The Mr Sunak said, “One of the great findings were published in EClinical Medicine by opportunities of Brexit is to reassert The Lancet on Thursday 12 November 2020. But it our country’s place as outward lookhas been found by National Institute for Health ing, keen to engage with countries all Research that only 4.3% of the volunteers for vaccine around the world. The global economy trial has been from the Asian background. is in a good place. There are record Divya Chadha Manek Researchers have called on more volunteers number of poorer countries who had from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to approach the IMF for emergency and the over 65s to participate in vital Covid-19 clinical studies to ensure that funding, and we are one of the lead any vaccines developed will work for as many people as possible. Ethnic countries, helping those countries to minorities are currently underrepresented in vaccine clinical trials taking place get through difficult times. I have across the UK, with only 11,000 volunteers from Asian and British Asian backspent quite a lot of time, talking with grounds while 1,200 are Black, African, Caribbean or Black British. other finance ministers, the IMF, the Divya Chadha Manek, Head of Business Development for the NIHR World Bank to help some of those Clinical Research Network and Clinical Trials Workstream Lead at UK countries to help with their debts.

Vaccines Taskforce said, “NIHR-supported research has clearly demonstrated “We have to use our opportunity to evidence that people from Black and Asian ethnic groups are disproportionatebroaden our horizon. We have an ecoly affected by Covid-19. It is imperative that more people from Black, Asian and nomic and financial dialogue; we have different groups sign up to the NHS Registry as soon as possible, so we can just concluded one with India and it ensure Covid-19 vaccines are effective for as many people as possible. was a huge success. Lot of specific "We need people from all our communities to play their part by taking measures came out of that- gift city i.e., part in Covid-19 vaccine research. Essentially, we need to help ourselves by where we are going connect the City of addressing the challenge of the pandemic through research."

London with infrastructural investMinister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch, who is volunteering for Covid-19 ment in India. We are improving tradvaccine trials being conducted by US biotechnology company Novavax at ing, bonds and shares between the two Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, said, “The UK is leadcountries and we are taking forward ing the world in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine. At home, we have to some other initiatives as well.” ensure every community trusts a future vaccine to be safe and that it works across the entire population.

Bollywood music, rangoli and mithai “But with less than half a per cent of people on the NHS Vaccine Registry at 11 Downing Street from a Black background, we have a lot more work to do.

Chancellor Sunak was seen last “That is why I am urging more people from the ethnic minority backweek lighting a diya outside his resigrounds to join me in signing up to the NHS Vaccine Registry and taking dence at 11 Downing Street, the first in part in a trial. Together we can be part of the national effort to end this panBritish history, to celebrate Diwali. He demic for good.” said, he believed it was important for Business Secretary Alok Sharma said, “Coronavirus can affect anyone everyone to see that. regardless of their background, age or race. To ensure we can find a safe and “This is our home, and it is our effective vaccine that works for everyone, we all need to get involved. front door. I knew it was important for “That’s why we are urging more people to support our incredible scieneveryone in my family and I wanted tists and join the 270,000 people who have already signed-up so we can people to see that. I am very proud speed up efforts to find a vaccine to defeat this virus once and for all.” where I come from. It always be an

Urging Asians to participate in clinical trials

Five important targets Rohit Vadhwana This is the first article of the new year, after Diwali, so first of all, happy new year to all readers. I pray that the new year will bring happiness, prosperity, health and peace in your lives. What will you do in the coming year? Everyone has many desires and aspirations from life. People also strive to accomplish them. Some attempts succeed and some remain incomplete. As our time and energy are limited, it is an art to use them in a way so to get maximum results. To live a balanced life, it is necessary to co-develop four important pillars of life and these four pillars are: health, career, family and spirituality.

These four aspects I call pillars because none of them should be neglected. If you want to set five important targets in the new year, you need to think about the following things: Thirty-minute walk People do different types of exercise according to their age. But walking is an exercise that people of all ages can do. Half an hour of daily open-air walk not only enhances physical fitness but also improves conceptual and mental richness. Why? Because by walking in the open sphere, we see trees, birds and the open sky and they make our mind happy. Our thoughts become positive when we see refreshing scenes. So walking in the open fields improves physical and mental health.

Reading one book a month Nowadays, people spend a lot of time on TV and mobile so it may not be possible to read one book a week but reading one book a month will also allow you to read a dozen books throughout the year. This target is said to be very small but completing it is also an achievement. If you haven't read a single book in the last two months, this target is right for you. And if you have read two books in the last two months, you can aim to read two books a month instead of one. Choose books from different fields. One can decide to read four or five novels, one or two short storybooks, three or four books on society, politics or science and one or two autobiographies or biographies.

Call a friend or relative on their birthday Wish personal friends and relatives by calling them on their birthday. In the age of copy-paste messages, we are wishing everyone on Facebook and WhatsApp. If you have time, call for five minutes and try to convey greetings to your loved ones. It may not be convenient for a person to receive your call at midnight, so call at a time when s/he is comfortable. If possible, you can call a day in advance so that you do not interrupt the birthday planning. Remember not to make the call longer than five minutes.

Skip a meal once a week We are not suffering from malnutrition but from obesity and over-eating. In the age of fast and junk food, we have almost forgotten about nutritious food. So the nutritionist's advice is to skip one meal at least once a week and allow the body to relax. That is why all religions have given importance to fasting at least once a week. It is better to give the body some relief from the task of digesting food three times a day. and sometimes even more.

Take out time to rest It has become our daily routine to keep running, to work and not to rest the body and mind at all. It exhausts both body and mind. Give some time every day when we are not doing any physical activity, TV, mobile or any other activity. Close your eyes, spread your legs and sit in a comfortable chair. One of the purposes of meditation is to calm the body and mind, but nowadays people take meditation also as a task!

Therefore, it is better to give rest to the body and brain for some time. So these five activities are so simple that one can ask the question as to why we need to plan them?. But when did you last do any of these five activities? The answer is clear.

(Expressed opinions are personal)

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PRO RODUCED IN ASSOCIA ATI TION WITH UK GO OVERNMENT V VERNMENT

Wha att all tra ad ders with the EU nee eed to do now: • Make sure you have a GB B Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) numberr.. Y Yo ou will need this to complete customss declarations. If you do not ha av ve one, register for free e at govuk/ ov v.. /eo eori.

• Decide ho ow w you will mak ake customs declarations.

Customs agents, freight forwarders and express operators can help you with declarations and ensure you provide the necessarry information.

Signalling the future: Preparation for the end of the transition period is underway

IS YO YOUR BUS SINESS READ DY? You needn n’t ’t worry w about your business after the UK lea av ves the custom ms union as there’s ’s plenty of experience to dr dra aw o on – but ut you y need to act now ow.

B

usinesses that export to or import from the EU have v just j a few weeks lleft to prepare for the end of the transiti transition period on December 31.

From January 1, 2021, they will need to be ready ffor or new systems and processes, as the UK will no longer be part of the single market or the customs union.

The good news, says Alan Williams, global sales and marketing director at Davies Turner, one of the UK’s largest freight companies, is that there is enough time to get ready – if you act now. The steps businesses need to take ahead of the end of the transition period are clear.

“W We know what w the process will be,” he saays. ys. “We “W know about the customs procedures and the fforms orms that need to be completed.

And we’re actually very used to this process because it is similar when you export to or import from the US or

China, say.”

Williams’ aad dvi vice to businesses worri orried about how to prepare is remarkably straightffor orward.

“T Talk to an expert, such as a freight for forwarding companyy, who can tell you what the exact procedures will be,” he says. y “Then decide whether you haave ve the skills and resources to manage these procedures yourself, or whether you need to pay someone to manage the process on your behalf.”

Many businesses will take the view that the benefit of working with a customs agent or a freight for orwarder such as Davi avies Turner, which has hubs and offices throughout England, Scotland and Wales, outweighs the costs – particularly since getting processes wrong at the end of the transition period may lead to delayys and financial penalties. But the decision is an individual one – for for

example, larger businesses maay be happy to in invest in their own capabilities. p Either way, the key to successful end of the transition period is preparation, sayys Jill Henry, founder of Scottish cl clothing brand Meander Apparel.

“For us, it has been all about getting the paperwork in place, so we’re prepared for diff ffer erent situations,” she sayys. Henry cites examples such as ensuring she has an Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number, and the right tariff, customs and commodity codes – as well as ensuring necessary amendments to her product labels have v been made.

“We have v had to make sure we are complying with new garment labelling regulations,” she explains, “such as adding the country of origin and CE markings, which show that our manufacturers

Bernie de Le Cuona

“Belgians are keen on pretty much h ev verythin ng, from pout to o wrasse – but ut not dogfish.” ogfish.””

meet EU health and saffety etyy regulations.”

Even in industries wheree there has been a great deall of debate about the future,, businesses are getting g g ready. r y.

At Plymouth-based fishing company Sole of Discretion, founder Caroline Car Bennett sayys she has already found found a customs agent to help clear goods through international borders.

Bennett sells around 20 per cent of her catch to Belgium, where customers prize her ethically sourced fish – and where there’s no longer a small-scale fishing fleet at all – and expects to continue doing so after the end of the transition period.

“Belgians are keen on pretty much everything, from pout to wrasse – but not dogfish.”

Bernie de Le Cuona, founder of W Windsor-based textiles firm de Le Cuona, advises businesses still worried about the end of the transition period to get help. “I got the support of some of our suppliers who pointed me in the right direction,” she sayys. “We’ve looked at everything, but I think our local chamber of commerce, and then subsequently taking on a consultant, were the best resources we ffound.” ound.”

Help is available, in other words. Time may be running short, but with the right support, businesses can be ready for for JJanuary 1, 2021.

• Check wh whether your imported goods are eligible for staged controls. Most traders with a good compliance record will be able to defe er import declarations on most goods for up to six month hs after 1 January 2021.

• Decide ho ow w you will account for import VA AT T whe en you make a customs decllaration.

• From 1 JJan anuary 2021, bu usinesses will be able to use postponed VA AT T accountin ng to account for import VA AT T on their VA AT T returns for good ds imported from an nyw ywhere in the world.

• Check if import VA AT T is due at the borderr.. Import VA AT T will not be due if goods in na consignment do not exce eed £135 in val value. The only exceptions will be excise go oods and gifts.

• Check the Controlled Go oods list to see if you need to complete declarations from January Jan y.. If your goods are not on the list, you can opt to dela ay y import declarations until July 2021.

• Check the government’s tariff tables and consider how your trade will be affected d.

• From 1 JJan anuary 2021, the ere will be new rates of Customs Duty for imports, known as the UK Global Tariff.

• Use gov v..uk/transition to find out more abou utt each of th hese action points.

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Marina Wheeler revisits her roots in her latest book Professionally known as the Queen’s Counsel in London, Marina Wheeler has penned her memories of her father Charles Wheeler was British, her mother Kuldip ‘Dip’ Singh an émigré from Sargodha to New Delhi in her latest book, ‘The Lost Homestead: My Mother, Partition and the Punjab’.

Wheeler, who was formerly married to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been resilient and vocal about her battle with cancer, her mother’s demise and her divorce with the PM. It is interesting to note that after so years, many Wheeler had to acquire visas to travel to her roots in the subcontinent. According to a report published in the Dawn, her father Charles was the BBC’s correspondent in New Delhi when he met Dip on the rebound after her failed marriage to Daljit Singh (the

younger brother of the novelist Khushwant Singh). They married in 1962. From India they moved to Germany, the United States and finally to Garden Cottage in Sussex, where he died and she lived until February 2020, her back turned on India.

On 3 June 1947, as British India descended into chaos, its division into two states was announced.

For months the violence and civil unrest escalated. With millions of others, Marina Wheeler's mother Dip Singh and her Sikh family were forced to flee their home in the Punjab, never to return.

Marina Wheeler’s book ‘The Lost Homestead’ touches on global themes that strongly resonate today: political change, religious extremism, migration, minorities, nationhood, identity and belonging. But above all it is about coming to terms with the past, and about the stories we choose to tell about

Marina Wheeler

ourselves.

Sharing his thoughts on Wheeler’s book, Shashi Tharoor, author of Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India said, “This book is more than a family memoir - it is an insightful glimpse into the way small worlds are forever changed by the impersonal currents of history.”

Dr Shruti Kapila, Lecturer in Modern History, University of Cambridge called her book, “a wonderful memoir, gripping, elegant, warm and insightful - a triumph.”

Marina Wheeler’s book was released on November 12, 2020 and is available on Amazon.

Lord Nazir Ahmed quits An ex-Labour party Lord, who allegedly exploited vulnerable women has been found at breach of code of conduct has resigned.

This is the first time the House of Lords has made a recommendation for such an expulsion after findings by a conduct committee.

Lord Ahmed reportedly said, "I am extremely disappointed by the report of the conduct committee which is based on a flawed and unfair investigation process.

"I have always said, and maintain, that the allegations contained in the report are not true.

"Given this I am now going to continue pursuing my appeal to

the ECHR to remedy this injustice."

Lord Ahmed appealed against the findings and the severity of the sanction. But the conduct committee, chaired by former Supreme Court justice Lord Mance, dismissed the appeal and recommended his expulsion. The report was sent to the House for approval on last Thursday.

Lord Ahmed, a property developer had joined the Labour Party in his teens. But resigned in 2013 after he was suspended by the party. He has been one of the key anti-India voices during protests in the UK, especially during Prime

Lord Nazir Ahmed

Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.

On another note, Lord Meghnad Desai has left Labour party after 49 years due to the party’s failure to effectively tackle antisemitic racism within its ranks. (See column).

Boris Johnson tells ministers and secretaries to be respectful UK Prime Minister has told all his ministers and permanent secretaries to be respectful and constructive towards each other, just days after Home Secretary Priti Patel was accused of bullying by the government's Priti Patel MP ministerial standards

adviser, Sir Alex Allen.

While Sir Alex found her behaviour had not met the ministerial code's standards after a nine-monthprobe, the Prime

NHS frontline staff to get automatic visa extension The Government has announced that thousands of NHS doctors, nurses and paramedics will be allowed to get their visas extended so they can "focus on fighting coronavirus".

The extension will apply to around 2,800 medics with UK work visas due to expire before October 1, the

Home Office said in a statement on Tuesday, as the Indian community wrapped up Diwali celebrations.

They are believed to get renewed automatically for a year free of charge, so they can remain working in the country. The changes will also apply to their family members.

Minister overruled him. As the ultimate arbiter of the code, Mr Johnson said there had been no breach.

The letter released last week by the Prime Minister emphasised that the need for better relations between ministers and civil servants is crucial and he personally loathes bullying.

UK universities urged to undergo racial awareness A report has suggested that UK universities “perpetuate institutional racism” and vicechancellors should undergo training to improve racial literacy as part of a sectorwide crackdown, according to a report.

The Guardian reported that Universities UK (UUK), which represents 140 institutions in the whole of UK calls on senior leaders to admit where there are problems of racism at their institutions and to improve understanding and awareness among staff and students of racism, racial micro-aggressions, white privilege and white allyship.

Why I Left Labour Lord Meghnad Desai I arrived in London in September 1965 to take up a Lectureship at the London School of Economics. I had been in the US before then to take my Ph.D. at University of Pennsylvania and work in the University of California, Berkeley, California. While at Berkeley, I had witnessed the Students movement which wanted free speech and right to demonstrate off campus to fight for civil rights for Black Americans. I had joined demonstrations though on an immigrant visa. I had joined protests against Vietnam War. So, let us say I did not behave like a young student from India who keeps to his studies and to his fellow Indian friends. I was radicalised and politically on the Left. When I came to LSE with its reputation for radicalism, I felt comfortable and joined in the social life. Early on I organised a teach-in against Enoch Powell’s racist speech and got threatened by the British National Party. Students made me Honorary President of the Students Union and I backed their occupation of LSE in October 1968.

Given this background it was no surprise that I joined the Labour Party in September 1971 in my local branch of Holloway ward of Islington. I was active in the Party canvassing at elections, attending meetings both at the ward and the constituency levels. I became Chair of the Ward and then Chair of the Party in 1986. When I retired in 1992 from being Chair, they made me Lifetime President of the Islington South and Finsbury Constituency Labour Party.

I have always been warmly treated in the Party. I have been active and in 1991 the Party nominated me for a Peerage. I was the first ‘Asian’ Labour Peer. Being a Labour Peer was an honour and a duty. I began under Neil Kinnock and worked very closely with John Smith who died so young. Tony Blair brought us the rare experience of success and three election victories.

In the forty-nine years of my membership, the Party has spent 18 years in office and 31 years in opposition. It is when we are in opposition that we get into trouble and Left Right differences get sharp; especially when extreme left - Trotskyists - who do not share our values of democratic socialism infiltrate the party.

This happened during the Seventies and Eighties when Militant tendency launched their entryist strategy and captured a lot of parties such as Liverpool, Lambeth where they brought the Party in disrepute.

Neil Kinnock showed great leadership and the Party got rid of the militants.

But after our defeat in 2010 and 2015, the infiltration recurred.

Edward Miliband had introduced the £3 membership but that led to large infiltration by a new movement called Momentum. Some of the same leaders thrown out in the Eighties returned.

Unlike in the earlier Militant period, the Momentum infiltrators brought with them a virulent antisemitic Ideology. The Labour Party has always had a prominent and respectable place for Jewish Members since its founding. The Zionist Movement was a radical Jewish Movement for the working people and friend of the Labour Party. The antisemitic tendency was used by members to hound Jewish members, especially Jewish MPs and even more so women Jewish MPs. Zionism was used like a dirty word and a dangerous tendency.

I felt uneasy about this and somewhat ashamed that a democratic socialist. Movement was being tainted by racism. I did mention my views within the Labour Peers Group. Not only I against any form of racism, but also through my life I have benefited from teaching by Professors who were Jewish as well as many friends both in America and UK. I had a Jewish Professor even in Mumbai when I was studying there.

It was during the week of 16 November and especially on 17/18 November that my mind was made up. The decision by a committee of the NEC to readmitted Jeremy Corbyn just 19 days after his suspension meant that the Party headquarters were ambivalent about eradicating antisemitic behaviour. It was that ambivalence which the Equality and Human Rights Commission had criticised. The decision to deny the Party Whip, albeit for three months at the present for Jeremy Corbyn added insult to injury. It is well known that Jeremy Corbyn ever took his duties towards the whip seriously. So, the ‘punishment’ was meaningless.

When I expressed my views, many friends in the Labour Peers group tried to persuade me to stay and fight antisemitism. They were of the view that the new leadership will deliver on the promise to fight the scourge. But what I saw on the first moves did not reassure me. I could see that the Party would get entangled in procedural details which will delay any action, I had to escape the shame of belonging to a racist party.

In leaving the Labour Party I am not rejecting its values nor demeaning my experience in it. I just want to remember the Party as it was in its good days when I first joined. If I am mistaken and the Party does eliminate antisemitism, no one would be happier than I. But in the meanwhile, I will stay out.

[I have described some of these experiences in greater detail in my autobiography Rebellious Lord published this month by Amazon India under the Westland label.]

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An ode to Father Valles

The pros and cons of PAN and Aadhaar

We are saddened to learn of the demise of Father Valles in Gujarat Samachar, so on behalf of all Gujaraties living in Toronto, Canada and many parts of the world we pray to the almighty lord to grant eternal peace to his departed soul in heaven. Father Valles by birth and mother tongue was Spanish but by his good deeds and actions was more than Gujaraties and an icon of Gujarati literatures and language lived in Gujarat Indian an adopted country like Lord Krishna’s adopted mother Ma Jasoda. To learn Gujarati language he went to Vallabh Vidyanagar - Gujarat and University township and lived with students in hostels that was his real commitment to master Gujarati language. When I was in Gujarat some 49 years ago I used to read his articles on different topics in Gujarati monthly magazine Jankalyan which also helped me to mold my future life in North America. More than 3 decades ago he was invited by University of Waterloo, Canada as a visiting professor in summer time. At that time Gujarati Samaj of Toronto was holding Gujarati classes in different parts of Toronto so that second generation Gujarati children can learn to write and speak Gujarati language and at the same time know about our Hindu festivals and religion . This has become possible by many selfless and dedicated volunteers by putting so many hours in busy western life. At the end of school year Samaj was holding a yearly stage performance program where children taking part in Gujarati language and present short play, folk dances, Ras garbas , speeches on religious festivals and also published yearly books in Gujarati on various topics of interest . At that time Late Father was invited as chief guest and at the end of the program he gave a speech in very simple Gujarati so children can understand life learning messages to become good human beings besides getting good education to pursue your dreams and never ever forget sacrifices given by their parents in strange land of Canada. Everybody was overwhelmed by his speech especially children surprised to see a while man talking in Gujarati. Next day Father Valles was invited by only the Jain temple of Toronto and there he gave a speech on Jain religion and it’s principles to put into practice in our day to day lives to lead a good life and help others . He said forgivenessKshma Yachna to give forgiveness or ask for forgiveness for any misunderstandings, crack in relationship, not in speaking terms for any reasons with our family members, relatives , friends happened and start a new relationship to free our minds from animosity and vengeance . Being himself Christians his knowledge of other world religions gives an important message to our different sects- not to know and stay only your sect but also to respect and learn about other sects by keeping a broad mind.

Jan Seva - to serve human being was his life message like Mahatma Gandhi once said his life is message so does Father Valles’s life. God bless his soul.

It is a very good step taken by the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman to instruct the banks to link PAN and Aadhaar number with the bank accounts (As reported in AV dated 14-20 Nov. 2020). It has got many farreaching implications for India in terms of transparency and good governance.

All the monetary benefits will go directly to the intended individuals without wasting money or resources. It will also help reduce corruption and increase the speed of transactions. People will be more accountable and ultimately will improve revenue generation in the government departments. Linking Aadhaar and PAN will be helpful in crime detection and culprits can be caught speedily. People who want to do fraudulent practices or hawala transactions will think twice before committing such crimes.

Having looked at the benefits above, there are some downsides as well which need to be carefully considered and addressed before full implementation of the scheme.

Main issue is the safety of data. There should be strict rules like we have in the UK, something similar to GDPR 2018 or the Data Protection Act 1998 (replaced by GDPR 2018).

Hacking of computers or deliberating issuing malware are major threats to digital transactions.

I am sure the government will do everything possible in terms of passing legislations to minimise hardships to the common people but the general public should be cautious to prevent leakage of vital information or passwords.

People should take reasonable precautions by not sharing passwords, not using public computers for financial transactions, not to use mobile banking unnecessarily in a crowded place or while travelling in public transport unless it is extremely urgent. Precautionary measures backed by legislative support will definitely make it possible to successfully implement the scheme.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel.

Markham, Canada

Mayor’s new policing action plan

Hitesh Hingu London

Make America Great Again We are loudly hearing the above slogan since the election season of 2015 in the USA (America). Was it ever great? Let us look at the facts since 1607 when the first shipload of persecuted Europeans landed at Jamestown, Virginia. Since that moment onward hordes of outside people have flowed in that land. Initially they flourished with some help from the Native people. Then their greed for land and resources drove them to massacre the Natives in tens of thousands and similar numbers were killed by the imported diseases. This process of new immigrants and killing continued until the last massacre of Shoshone people in 1911. Today, the Natives survive in some 326 reservations as the museum exhibits.

In 1684, the first shipload of slaves from Africa arrived in America. Since then millions were captured from their land in Africa and shipped to America. In the process of capturing and transporting millions of them died. In America that process of killing has continued and people all over the world witnessed the brutal killing of George Floyd in May this year.

In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued “Executive Order” which allowed the removal of innocent Japanese immigrants and Americans of Japanese heritage from their homes to be imprisoned in internment camps throughout the country. This immoral and illegal process claimed immature death for hundreds of people. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Koreans were killed in their lands by Americans as they differed in their way of governance. In the 21st century, thousands of Afghan and Iraqi citizens are killed and being killed in their lands even though none of their citizens were involved in the 9/11 attack.

America owns several territories (colonies?) where living standards are much lower than main land. The military of the United States is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with more than 160,000 of its active-duty personnel permanently assigned outside the United States and its territories excluding Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Why? Is it to preserve the empire? Presently, the world is witnessing the working of their complicated democracy where lies are proudly promoted as facts by the top public office holders.

When was America great? Never.

Narsibhai Patel New Malden

Dear Editor, The Mayor and the London Assembly is committed to tackling all forms of crime, and as Londoners, we all must play our part in this. Underpinning this is the fact that the police must have the trust and confidence of the communities they serve to protect.

A continuing key concern revolves around the disproportionate use of policing powers against BAME Londoners. Increasingly, where some powers have been used, it has been found that no crime had been committed.

Stop and search is an important tool in the fight against violent crime, but it needs to be carried out properly and appropriately if it’s to be effective.

Our police officers work extremely hard and put themselves in the face of danger every day to keep Londoners safe. Sometimes the police do things wrongly and need to be held to account when this happens.

It has been encouraging to see the Mayor recently publish an Action Plan which seeks to comprehensively address these issues. Central to the Plan is a new target to ensure 40% of new recruits to the force are from BAME backgrounds by 2022, backed by increased investment in officer training. Communities across London will also be given a more significant role in working alongside the Met in examining the use of police powers and tactics.

Over the coming months, I will continue to monitor the Metropolitan Police’s progress on implementing this plan.

I am writing to express my delight in reading Mr. Dudakia's column, "Kapil's Khichadi" in Asian Voice. I find that his commentary so far on various issues from politics to religion impacting the Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom and in the United States has been insightful, pragmatic, and accurate. He is also correct in that the elections in the United States are not yet final as the electoral votes have not been cast until 14 December 2020, that then confirms the results of the election and who will be the next president of the United States. I wanted to take this time and let Mr. Dudakia I look forward to reading his columns in Asian Voice.

Navin Shah AM London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow

Visvas Patel By email

Letter of appreciation for "Kapil's Khichadi"

KHICHADI Kapil’s

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

2020 Cancelled!

Kapil Dudakia At this time last year, post Diwali 2019, life was moving forward as per normal. Politicians politicking, protestors protesting for something or other, pupils attending schools looking forward to their Christmas holidays, businesses operating on a regular basis, workers travelling to work and back, and all us able to get into a supermarket without queuing.

The nation was also in the middle of General Election 2019. By the 12th of December PM Johnson made history by giving the Labour Party a devasting defeat. And Brexit was soon to become a distant memory.

We went into Christmas with all guns blazing.

Little did we know that the Chinese dragon was about to unleash a virus that would plunge the world into a global meltdown. Tens of thousands of loved ones lost, millions suffered or still suffering, businesses brought to their knees, schools closed, leisure and entertainment closed, and restaurants and pubs closed. It affected every aspect of our lives. Making millions, prisoners in their own homes.

Every major religious festival cancelled or curtailed. Even if you wanted to go to a place of worship for that divine inspiration, that was not possible either. The world has been taught a tough lesson by nature. Play with the building blocks of life at your peril. Many believe that this man-made virus, like many others in Laboratories around the world, was left to the incompetence of the Chinese, the same country that gave us SARS and H7N9.

So has the world learned any lessons. The simple answer is NO. Some nations will continue their stealth programmes to create viruses, many believe that some rogue nations are experimenting with viruses that will attack people with specific characteristics. Humanity has now reached a stage whereby they have the capability to create a virus to kill people of colour, or people within a certain gene pool, or people with certain disabilities. Man-made viruses unleashed knowingly, or in error, are a greater danger to humanity than all the nukes in the world.

Next time we see a global pandemic, it will be on a scale ten times greater than what we have seen so far.

It’s time for humanity to take a step back. Playing God is not easy, unless you are God. This week the Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities throughout the world celebrated Diwali. Its significance being different for each community, but each community united that Diwali represents for humanity an opportunity to understand and appreciate nature. That the darkness of human errors can be overcome with the light of our common humanity.

That the evil perpetrated in the name of superiority can be overcome by seeing the divine in everyone.

Our Indic civilisation with its Vedic roots gave us a simple mantra: Om Asatoma Sadgamaya Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya Mrityoma Amritamgamaya Om Shanti Shanti Shanti-hi Each line has a meaning that is relevant for every era of human existence. Today as we celebrate Diwali, let the message to the world be that of Namaste. One simple word, yet with the most profound meaning that has resonated for thousands of years. People understand the meaning of Namaste differently. The dictionary believes it just a simple greeting, the Yoga students associates it with the Chakras, for me the following meaning made more sense.

Namaste: The divine light in me bows to the divine light within you When humanity move on from differentiating by colour, language, sexuality, creed, and recognises this one simple word, Namaste, that will begin the era of our greatest achievement on this planet.

From me to you: Nutun Varsh Abhinandan

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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Non-white judges still experience racial discrimination In 2006, the Labour party created an independent Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), which had a statutory duty to appoint candidates, purely on the basis of merit. This decision came after the secretary of the state, Lord Falconer of Thoroton took steps to end the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tap on the shoulderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; practice of appointments during Tony Blairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government.

Yet, about 32 percent of the women are judges in the court and only 8 percent come from ethnic backgrounds. This figure further dips to 4 percent in circuit High Court judges and 3 percent for Court of Appeal. According to figures reported

by The Times, this diversity has improved since the commission came into existence. Women, now comprise about 35 percent of applicants and 38 per cent of recommendations, as compared to 16 percent and 22 per cent respectively before its launch.

The commission is also said to have introduced education and support schemes to attract

candidates from diverse ethnic backgrounds, including nonwhite people and women. But the progress is slow.

In August, the employment tribunal dismissed a claim against the Ministry of Justice and two judges brought by Nawal Kumrai, a district judge, who claimed that he suffered racial discrimination during the handling of his complaint.

However, a spokesman for the judiciary said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is fundamental to the ethos of all judges to treat everyone equally and with respect. The judiciary is committed to ensuring that the environment in which judicial officeholders work is free from racism, harassment, victimisation and bullying of any kind.â&#x20AC;?

Jerry Rawlings of Ghana passes away Ruchi Ghanashyam Former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings passed away on 12 November 2020 at the age of 73. He was Ghanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longest serving Head of State. Shortly after a military coup in 1979, he handed over power to Dr Hilla Limann, President of the 3rd Ghanaian Republic.

After another coup on 31 December 1981, Rawlings took over as Chairman of the Provincial National Defence Council (PNDC) and ruled Ghana in that capacity till January 1993.

In 1992, Rawlings resigned from the military as Fight Lieutenant, founded the National Democratic Congress Party, and was elected President of Ghana in democratic elections held under a new Constitution, of the 4th Republic of Ghana. The new Constitution provides for two 4-year terms for the President of Ghana. He served twice as the elected President from January 1993 to January 2001, then handed over power to John Agyekum Kufuor, who led the opposition New Patriot Party to victory. Since then, Ghana has seen democratic change of power every four years. Smooth transfer of power from one political party to the other is now an unquestioned way of life in Ghana.

I first met Jerry Rawlings in February 2009 at a national day reception when I was serving as Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Envoy to Ghana. The inauguration of a new President, his former Vice President and chosen successor, Prof John Atta Mills had taken place a few weeks earlier. Rawlings surprised me with an impromptu military salute when I walked up to him and introduced myself. Seeing my surprise, he said charmingly that he had to honour the representative of the great country, India, that I was representing. We agreed to an early meeting. I was keen to meet him as several members of the affluent Indian community were apprehensive of the policies and measures that the new government would follow. The community felt that Rawlingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; regime had been harsh on the middle class and his policies had often been unsupportive of private enterprise.

I met him a week later. Rawlings was accompanied by some of his aides, including his former Foreign Minister.

He welcomed me warmly, then talked without pause for almost 45 minutes, moving from one end of the sofa to the other. As soon as he stopped, the former Foreign Minister took the baton, smoothly passing it back to Rawlings. I almost gave up but found a way to interject and speak to him about apprehensions of the Indian community. In that meeting, I was able to get some reassurance for the apprehensive Indian community. Perhaps it was facing up to the full force of his personality that opened the door, but we became friends after that meeting. Rawlings drove to my farewell reception at India House from his village in eastern Ghana, close to Togo border, saying that he wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have missed it for anything in the world. That was our last meeting.

Rawlings has left behind a controversial legacy. While he was dearly loved by many poor Ghanaians, there were others who suffered intensely under his rule. Rawlingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; regime was marked by accusations of human rights abuses, including the killing of former heads of state and army generals, as well as the execution of Supreme Court judges.

Ghanaians migrated in large numbers to other countries in Africa, Europe and North America. During these hard times, many Ghanaians had conspicuous collar bones caused by hunger and undernourishment. With their wry sense of humour, Ghanaians, called them â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rawlingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Necklaceâ&#x20AC;?.

I will remember Rawlings as a fascinating personality of modern times. Perhaps the only military leader in the world to have successfully led two military coups, following an unsuccessful one and then get democratically elected twice as the President of his country, before peacefully handing over power. After his retirement from active politics, he remained a credible political force in Ghanaian polity and retained significant personal following and popularity.

(Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK. With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including Ghana, before arriving in the UK. She was only the second woman High Commissioner to the UK since Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s independence and during her tenure, she witnessed a number of significant developments in the UK-India relations).

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Utkal Sanskruti features Odisha’s Art and Heritage A brilliant tapestry of Mayurbhanj Chhau, Gotipua, and Odissi classical dances, traditional Pattachitra painting, unique handlooms of Ikat, Kotpad & Pasappali, Rangabati, Thia Puchi Naranga and the cuisine of Odisha has made the recent Utkal Sanskruti program radiant, enriching and engaging. Organised by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence in association with Jagannath Temple Trust UK, the program lasted for over two hours captivating intercontinental audiences.

Mayurbhanj Chhau presented by Rakesh Sai Babu

The virtual session began with an invocation by Dr. Bhagyashree Singh.

Opening words were rendered by Amish Tripathi-Director of Nehru Centre and Minister (Culture), High Commission of India. Honorable Minister for Culture Shri Jyoti Panigrahi attended the event briefly. Dr. M. Nandakumara, Executive Director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and Soumendra Mahapatra, Second Secretary (Visa) at the High Commission of India have also spoken on the occasion, congratulating the organisers. Dr. Sahadev Swain spoke on Sanskruti Centre and its Founder Ragasudha Vinjamuri.

Shilpi Guru Padma Vibhushan Dr. Raghunath Mohapatra, who is also nominated Rajya Sabha MP, spoke on Pattachitra art. Guru Satyapira Palai spoke on Gotipua dance tradition accompanied by a demonstration by his young students.

Award-winning dancer Rakesh Sai Babu’s Mayurbhanj Chhau, Dr. Rout’s Odissi Natalie presentation and Sand Sculpture artiste Narayan Sahu’s sand art presentation were very impressive. Dr. Rosalin Patasani Mishra spoke on weavers’ challenges and summarised different types of handlooms.

Dr. Jayashree Nanda presented unique

Natalie Rout presenting Odissi

Odisha cuisine.

Thia Puchi Naranga was introduced

by Hrusikesh & Sudipta Panigrahi, and Rangabati dance by Pragyan Devi, Reena Khuntia, and Reena Meher were presented. Dr. Prakash Dey outlined the vision and objectives of Jagannath Temple Trust UK. Vote of Thanks was given by Ragasudha Vinjamuri. Sushil Rapatwar and Sukant Sahu provided support and coordination.

Grand opening of Bright Little Stars Nursery in Barnet In such challenging times, it is heartwarming to have a something positive to celebrate in the local community. On Wednesday 4 November 2020, prior to the second lockdown commencing, Bright Little Stars Nursery officially opened the doors to their newest, purpose-built nursery in Barnet in the presence of a very special guest The Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP. CEO Amol Devani said, “This has been an extremely challenging year however I am proud of the Bright Little Stars team who have worked tirelessly to open our largest nursery to date. It is situated very close to High Barnet station and provides the highest quality nursery places to the local community.”

Bright Little Stars Barnet is the newest addition to the BLS family. Founded in 2012, the privately-run nursery group has branches in Mill Hill, Watford, Harrow and Stanmore aims to provide exceptional care and learning whilst supporting each child to reach their own individual potential in a happy, healthy and safe learning environment. The unique Bright Little Stars Learning Programme inclusive of extra-curricular clubs, purpose-built modern facilities, generous outdoor

Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP at the opening ceremony

provisions and on-site freshly prepared food makes this nursery group one of the most renowned in North West London.

Nursery Manager, Bernadette Mealy said, “Having been a local Barnet resident for so many years, we are incredibly excited to be in a position to offer outstanding care and education to the local community. Our focus is to ensure that all our children fulfil their potential by providing a strong foundation.”

The gated nursery in Barnet is situated on the quiet residential Leicester Road, opposite the beautiful green space of Highland Gardens, has been designed to a

high specification. There are four modern learning rooms each specifically tailored to different age groups which also feature direct access to their own outdoor sheltered areas. Large, wonderful outdoor gardens take all areas of learning into consideration and comprise of a tranquil sensory garden, reading area for quiet reflection and custom-made playground activity centre for climbing, creative and imaginative play.

Bright Little Stars Nursery will be creating 30 jobs for people in the local community and is open 8:00am to 6:00pm for babies and young children aged between 6 months to 5 years old, 50 weeks a year, providing a valuable option for care for working parents. Participating in both 15 and 30 hours free entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds and accepting TaxFree Childcare payments for any age this opening will provide high quality nursery places.

For more information about Bright Little Stars Barnet, or to register for a viewing please visit: www.BrightLittleStars.com/Barnet

CIIr Ketan Sheth

Cllr Ketan Sheth Chair, Brent Council Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

Brent’s Poverty Commission Brent’s Poverty Commission is a timely description and analysis of where we are at in addressing inequality and poverty. It provides us with a pathway to change the quality of life and life chances of many of our residents.

Improving the flow of information and resources within and between public, social and economic organisations has a crucial role to play in driving up quality of life. If every organisation in our local economy were able and willing to work collaboratively to design services that optimise impact, it could lead to major improvements in outcomes.

The importance of collaboration is increasingly recognised by leaders and policymakers throughout the UK. Where we are able to match capacity and demand and enable better, truly joined-up thinking, there have been impressive results. Our aim in Brent is to provide leaders and improvement teams in our local economies with activities, methods, approaches and skills that can help to make these improvements.

The Poverty Commission describes the steps that policy formers, makers and practioners need to create an environment that is conducive to change.

This means the coordination of all processes, systems and resources, across an entire local economy, to deliver effective, efficient, communitycentred outcomes in the right setting at the right time and by the right agency.

If we are to tackle poverty, we should also look at how to eliminate the ‘failure demand’ – demand arising from failure to provide a service or to provide it in a timely and effective fashion – that leads to people missing out. This means a structured approach that delivers for our communities and encompasses five key areas of work: 1. Creating a space for partners to come together, build relationships, develop a sense of shared purpose and deliver co-designed solutions.

2. Understanding ‘the current state’ by enabling providers and users to work together to map the processes and identify non-value adding activities.

3. Collecting and analysing data with a view to understanding the root causes of problems and identifying potential solutions that can then be tested.

4. Developing a high level ‘future Brent’ plan underpinned by simple guiding rules that local teams have the flexibility to adapt to fit their own context.

5. Implementing solutions in which all parts of our communities have a shared stake and responsibility and providing opportunities for collaborative reflection and further refinement as outcomes emerge.

Finally, there needs to be a closer configuration between our practice of improvement – where the emphasis is on discovering a way towards a tailored-solutions. Doing so has the potential to greatly improve the quality of life for many in Brent to make their experiences an altogether better one.

FCRA Amendment Bill hits British Indians on charitable donations to India During a recent meeting with the Indian Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla during his official visit to London, Lord Dolar Popat raised an issue of major concern to the British Indian community regarding the recent FCRA Amendment Act 2020 regarding the transfer and use of foreign charitable donations to India.

The Indian community in the UK send huge amounts each year to India, currently £3bn in remittances and approximately £1bn for charitable causes and other initiatives. Many British Indian donors and charities would be hit hard by this new Act, such

as GMSP Foundation who donate in excess of £500,000 a year for

good causes in India.

While recognising

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla with Lord Dolar Popat

the

virtuous motivations for passing the Act, Lord Popat advised the Foreign Minister to look into the adverse impacts for British Indian donors to ensure India does not lose out from lost charitable donations from the UK. The Minister agreed to raise this with the relevant department.

One of the stumbling blocks highlighted at the meeting was the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), which restricts Indian firms from borrowing money at low interest rates from the UK. Lord Popat mentioned to the Foreign Minister that it is important to allow firms to access foreign

capital and allow inexpensive capital to come to India, through low interest rates, compared to the current interest rate in India at 7-8%.

Sherry Madera, Chief Industry and Government Affairs Officer at Refinitiv also stressed the negative impact that the Foreign Exchange Management Act was having on India’s financial services market.

With the UK being one of the largest financial markets in the world, Sherry works to increase the efficiency of capital between the UK and India, allowing companies in India to borrow money from the UK at much lower rates.

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14 WOMEN’S VOICE

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Myna Mahila Health Tracker to compete for Global Citizen Prize 2020 Shefali Saxena Suhani Jalota, Founder & CEO of the Mumbai based women's health & employment organization Myna Mahila Foundation has been nominated for the prestigious Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award 2020 as the only Indian Finalist in the top 3!

David Beckham, Akshay Kumar, Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle along with the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, The Royal Family, Industrialists Anand Mahindra, Harsh Goenka, Actor Suniel Shetty, Sharman Joshi, Rohit Bose Roy, ex Cricketer Rahul Sanghavi and others are all supporting the nomination as the only Indian organization to be chosen at this level for the Global Citizen prize. The event will be hosted

by John Legend at one of the largest concerts in the world in December.

The prestigious award honors an individual aged 18-30 who has contributed meaningfully towards the goal of ending extreme poverty. Founder & CEO of Myna Mahila Foundation, Suhani has previously represented India on a global scale when she was presented with the Queen’s Young Leaders award by Queen Elizabeth II for her outstanding contribution to social issues related to women’s health.

In 2016, Suhani’s fellow Duke alumni and American philanthropist Melinda Gates also appreciated her work in empowering women and fighting poverty in India. “The Global Citizen prize would help us directly reach 250,000 girls, which is more important than ever during and after this pandemic. We need more scaled up programs helping millions of girls, which Myna Launchpad, our program for scale, is really equipped to do”-Suhani. Myna Mahila Foundation, backed by Meghan Markle, is a globally

Suhani with the Queen of England

recognized women’s health and employment organization that operates on three pillars: improve menstrual health, generate employment for women, and build trusted networks for women.

Their ongoing campaign, “Pledge a Period” was launched in July this year to provide underprivileged girls with access to sanitary & menstrual health essentials amidst a countrywide lockdown due to COVID. It has garnered support from various Bollywood actors including Tabu, Shilpa Shetty, R. Madhavan, Rohit Bose Roy; ace badminton player Saina Nehwal; entrepreneur Poorna Patel and numerous other influencers. Upon winning The Global Citizen Prize: CISCO Youth Leadership Award, Myna Mahila Foundation would receive a $250,000 cash prize that will significantly accelerate their mission of ending period inequality and supporting 2 million girls & women across India by 2025.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Suhani Jalota said that the mission of the organisation is to bring conversations of women’s menstrual and sexual health to the doorstep around these taboo topics. She said, “The Global Citizen Prize is a platform which really helps us amplify our voice to leverage a lot of amazing net-

Suhani Jalota

works as well as funding for scaling up.”

“The only way to scalability is to compliment our physical structures and create a platform that women can use to track their own health and progress,” she added. In a new project

They can procure them by using QR codes and if they do not have smartphones, a public toilet caretaker can help them in accessing the same. “This way they will have direct access to pads and napkins without the involvement of a male shopkeeper,” Jalota said. The B stands for Bus which will essentially connect the centres and C stands for Chemist shop that’ll have all the brand products. D stands for Door Step delivery of products and information which the organisation is pitching to the Global Citizen platform this year in a comprehensive manner.

Myna Mahila Foundation is a globally recognized women’s health and employment organization founded by young entrepreneur Suhani Jalota, and a group of slum community leaders based in Mumbai's

Suhani at Myna

called Myna Launchpad, which has taken Jalota to the Global Citizen Forum this year, has an ABCD model of access, where A stands for : the mobile application that Myna has launched, called the Myna Mahila Health Tracker which will enable women to know information about their menstrual cycles, enter information and track their periods. It has information to buy sanitary napkins and talk to a health provider to watch videos around topics related to women’s health. The A also stands for ATM, which is a pad and face mask vending machine.

time that services, including rule of law, health and shelters, are being diverted to address the pandemic,” stated the UN Secretary-General's report, “Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of Covid-19".

According to The Guardian, the same day also sees the publication in the UK of a

in brief in brief FAILURES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF SERIOUS MEDICAL ISSUES DURING PRIVATE BABY SCANS The UK has many “failures in the diagnosis of serious medical issues during private baby scans”, a BBC investigation said. The UK has over 200 studios that sell ultrasound scans.

This number runs in thousands every year.

According to the BBC investigation, many women are not being told about the seriousness of their conditions and abnormalities. Despite citing this as a “growing concern”, the Care Quality Commission believed that there is good quality care in the industry.

The private baby scanning studios provide packages like a “reassurance scan” to expecting mothers and have become a part of the gender reveal party of babies in the contemporary pop culture. The investigation included stories of mothers whose babies didn’t have a head, or cases where the babies had limited chances of survival. Some of those staffers weren’t even registered with the Health Care Professions Council.

Some of these studios do not diagnose problems but only detect a heartbeat for gender reveal parties. Many studios term this scan as “recreational” rather than reassuring.

In a statement, the government said: "We are committed to appropriate regulations for all health and care professions so patients can feel confident their care has been placed in safe and qualified hands."

RAPEFREEINDIA UK RAISES OVER £2000 IN AN ONLINE CAMPAIGN slums. They operate on three pillars which are, they employ women, improve menstrual health and build trusted networks for women. They organize a variety of activities under each pillar with the goal of developing women leaders who are financially stable, confident and have more agency in the household and community to make decisions. Since 2015, they have directly impacted over 5,00,000 women at their doorstep in some of the most vulnerable slum communities and schools in Mumbai and aim to reach 21 Lakh women by 2025.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women November 25 is observed as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This year, it will see the start of 16 days of activism against global gender violence. The UN System’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence activities, from 25 November to 10 December, will take place under our 2020 global theme: "Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!"

The 16 Days of Activism against GenderBased Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. It was started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. It is used as an organising strategy by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

“Accompanying the crisis has been a spike in domestic violence reporting, at exactly the

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groundbreaking report, Femicide Census, which, for the first time in Britain, analyses the shocking killings of women and girls, from the age of 14 to 100, at the hands of men, over a 10-year period, 2009-2018. The census defines “femicide’” as “men’s fatal violence against women”, and reveals that, on average, a woman was murdered every three days – a horrifying statistic, unchanged over the decade. This is in spite of greater public awareness, increased research, changes in the law and improved training for the police. “Patterns of male violence are persistent and enduring,” the report states.

The subheading of the Femicide Census is, “If I’m Not In On Friday, I Might Be Dead”.

The Femicide Census concludes with a series of recommendations, including the thorough collection of sex-desegregated data, ratification of the Istanbul Convention, and improved funding. Domestic abuse costs society over £66bn a year. A report last year calculated that £393m a year is needed to provide safety and support, yet funding is a fraction of that. In lockdown, femicide has escalated.

RapeFreeIndia UK, a group that stands for non-political and inclusion of women of Indian origin has raised over £2000 from a crowdfunded online campaign. The group includes working professionals from civil service, IT and medicine to raise money and address the rising rape cases in India. The campaign started on November 16 and will run until December 13 with the support of a group called White Ribbon UK that works to end male violence against women. Londonbased Roohi Ghouse, a medic and member of the organisation, said: “Seeing the issue highlighted on international platforms may put pressure on India to tackle rape crimes, review strategies and put in place a robust system that helps victims get their cases processed quickly, beginning from the medical examination, all the way up to the judiciary, and provide protection to the families when under threat.” The billboards have been put up in Regent’s Park, Chalk Farm and Kennington stations, Hindustan Times reported.

Leena, an IT professional and part of the campaign told HT : “We are deeply disturbed by the increasing incidents of rape, and gruesome rape in India. We are not happy for India to be seen as an unsafe country for women or a rape capital. India has so much to offer and we do not want to end up with this title”.

THE FIRST WOMAN TO HEAD NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE FOR THE US Avril Haines has been selected by the US President elect Joe Biden as his director of national intelligence. The 51 year old previously served under Barack Obama and led the Biden transitions national security and foreign policy team. She was the White House deputy national security adviser and deputy director of the CIA. She was the first woman to hold both the positions. After the recent appointment, she will be the first woman to head national intelligence. She will be overseeing the National Intelligence Program, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council and she will also advice the president.

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Oxford University teacher stands up for minority students who missed Diwali Rupanjana Dutta An Oxford University Teaching Associate and medic, Dr Soham Bandyopadhyay, has stepped up for ethnic minority students, who have missed Diwali celebrations this season. Diwali, a festival celebrated pan-India and by the diaspora in the UK, holds a special place in the hearts of Indians. In an article he has written for The Lancet, he has criticised the UK Government for not considering the mental health condition of students from Indian background, who have had to miss Diwali, so that Christmas could be celebrated. The Lancet is world's oldest and best-known weekly general medical journals founded in 1823.

While Christmas is a time celebrated with family and friends, for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, Diwali represents a similar significance and is also a festival celebrated with friends and family.

The current national lockdown in the UK means a large section of ethnic minority students including Indians are forbidden from returning home so that Christmas is not affected.

In The Lancet article, Dr Bandyopadhyay, who has interest in neurosurgery and global health wrote, “This seems to have been done without much thought about the impact this would have on an already marginalised community. The worst thing about this is that it was entirely avoidable. The government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies advised a 2-week circuit break in early October 2020 and warned of the impact on minority ethnic communities if this advice was ignored. Their advice, of course, went unheeded.”

Research shows that family and friends are crucial to maintain the well-being and mental health of university students especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, with the government not looking beyond interests of the universities, students have come forward and formed mental health support groups, standing by each other in these trying times.

Soham further went on to say that this exact same policy of a culturally deaf government has blamed BAME communities for not taking the pandemic seriously

and accused the community of spreading Covid-19, especially due to the existing multigenerational structures within their households.

Speaking to Asian Voice, 24year-old Dr Bandyopadhyay said, “It seems a bit odd that the ethnic communities are being overlooked. Mental health is equally important for students. Eid was cancelled the night before and then Diwali was cancelled 'to make Christmas happen’. With mental health cases rising, the government should have allowed this cultural festival to happen.

Students should have been allowed a two-week isolation period and permitted to go back home, rather than clamp them down under national lockdown.

“I am not saying that Diwali should have happened as normal this year. Students, who are not coping too well with the new surroundings, since this is a culturally important festival and since they are used to being around family on these important days, disconnecting such a marginalised and already at-risk group does not seem well thought. It is specifically affecting

one minority community than any others, which is a form of institutional racism.”

Dr Bandyopadhyay is demanding for a more culturally aware and sensitive policy than the one currently championed by the government. He is advocating for universities to build timetables that Dr Soham Bandyopadhyay enable students to visit home and self-isolate as resentatives before taking such a required. He thinks universities decision. “The Hindu community should have advocated an online is fully engaged with the governeducation this term. ment at various levels and have However, his article after produced guidelines to worship being quoted by a national newswith safety, health and well-being paper in the UK has evoked interof everyone working and visiting est and sparked debate among the temples," she said. "Individual wider Bengali community. While worships were allowed, and many some have supported and weltemples were open during Diwali. comed his criticism of the governEntry was allowed on pre-booked ment’s policy towards its minority basis. students, others have sneered “In fact, one devotee in a temupon his comment calling it ple said that there would always ‘unrequired and divisive’. be some festival in some faith or Trupti Patel, President of The the other all year around. An earHindu Forum of Britain, an lier lockdown is better as the umbrella body for Hindu organicolder months will get tougher. sations in the UK said the governSome argue that this action was ment consulted community repneeded even sooner.”

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16 DIWALI SPECIAL

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Hindu Forum of Britain celebrates virtual Diwali at the House of Commons The Hindu Forum of Britain [HFB] celebrated its 19th Diwali event at the House of Commons on the 11 November 2020. For the first time in history, because of the Covid-19 lockdown, the celebrations took place virtually with more than 94 celebrants in the webinar platform. Over 250 more watched the event on Facebook live turning it into a vibrant and colourful virtual space, full of light and colour, a wonderful manifestation of the spirit of Diwali. This year’s Parliamentary hosts were Rt Hon Bob Blackman MP and Lord Dholakia OBE. Dr Ramesh Pattni OBE, Vice President London and South and Trustee of the Chinmaya Mission UK welcomed guests on this great occasion and invited the spiritual commissioners to light the lamps to begin the festival. Visakha Dasi ji, President of the Bhakti Vedanta Manor, ISKCON Temple, Swami Surya Prabha Didi, Head of Brahmrishi Mission and Brahmacharini Shripriya ji Chaitanya, Spiritual head of Chinmaya Mission UK lit the lamps and chanted prayers to welcome festival congregation.

The President of HFB and Trustee of the HFB Charity, Trupti Patel, in her opening address to virtual guests warmly welcomed everyone and spoke about the importance and significance of Diwali to the Hindu

Community and how the profound principles that reflect this important festival was the basis on which the community responded to the Covid crisis in the UK, with a tremendous amount of sewa being given in all aspects of life in lockdown. She spoke about the formation of the Hindu Emergency, Response Action Team consisting of all the national organisations and temples in the UK coming together to deliver this service. The HFB Diwali at the HoC is one of the most important Interfaith events as participant from all faiths joined hands to dispel darkness and welcome light in their communities and beyond.

Bob Blackman, as the Chair of the British Hindus APPG, holder of Bharat Ratna, MP and Lord Navnit Dholakia, OBE DL also Patron of the HFB both wished everyone a safe, happy and Shubh Diwali. Bob Blackman conveyed the Diwali message from the Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson MP and also launched the official E-Diwali Brochure.

Rt Hon. Priti Patel, MP the first Hindu Home Secretary spoke on virtues of the Diwali and how we have exercised them in the current situation.

Rt Hon. Rishi Sunak, the first Hindu Chancellor of the Exchequer mentioned how challenging this year has been for all but it’s because of the love and

support we have from all our families makes this a very special occasion and encouraged everyone to celebrate Diwali safely by using technology.

Rt Hon. Alok Sharma MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was delighted to be on HFB virtual event and gave a clear message to all communities to keep on working closely with each other to stand tall.

The Rt Hon. Keir Starmer MP, Leader of the official opposition conveyed “Lighting a lamp on Diwali symbolises hope which dispels the darkness of despair.” He appreciated the ‘Sewa’ given by Hindu Communities.

Dr. Shashank Vikram, Consul General of India, Birmingham congratulated all for safely celebrating this Diwali and expressed his heartfelt tribute to all the

frontline workers.

First Minister of Wales, Rt Hon. Mark Drakeford MS, and First Minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill paid tribute to all those in Indian community across the world for their selfless contributions during this difficult times Covid-19 and congratulating HFB for the spectacular virtual event.

Lord Rami Ranger, Lord Jitesh Gadhia and Lord Dolar Popat applauded all volunteers and frontlines workers for their neverending services during this crisis along with commendable work of temples and community organisations, who have taken a lead in supporting the elderly and vulnerable.

Rt Hon. Theresa Villiers MP, Vice Chair of the APPG British Hindus, thanked Hindu Forum of

Britain for organising a tremendously inspiring, thought provoking and happy virtual Diwali event.

There were congratulations and felicitations from many Parliamentarians and Political leaders.

Dr Tribhuvan Jotangia from Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK, Dhirajbhai Shah, HSS UK and Rajnish Kashyap, Hindu Council UK appreciated HFB for organising a lively and elegant virtual celebration.

Puneet Dwivedi, Vice President Scottish Chapter wished everyone Happy Diwali and invited Patrons of HFB, Shashi Vekaria, Rickie Sehgal and C B Patel to give their blessings.

A beautiful bhajan was presented by Jahanvi Harrison MPA, a mesmerising prayer dances were performed by artists from Abhinandana Dance AcademyNrithya Ram Mohan and Janaki Mehta.

A vote of Thanks was rendered

by Velji Vekaria, Chair for this year’s Diwali Committee of HFB and President of the SKLP. The Team HFB especially thanked Cllr Reena Ranger for conducting the event. Harsha Shukla MBE, Vice President North and President of Hindu Council of North recited a beautiful mantra from Upanishad and the evening concluded with a melodious Dhun by Yog Foundation.

Thousands went online globally to celebrate Digital Diwali by the Welsh government

Harrow resident makes beautiful Rangoli inspired

by Gujarati handicrafts

The Welsh Government in collaboration with the Indian Consulate in Wales hosted Digital Diwali which ended in a climax last night to celebrate the Hindu festival of Lights.

The annual religious festival has become a popular event over the past few years for all Welsh people and not just Hindus, and the Senedd decided to create an online forum to share events and activities across the week.

The online festival was free to attend and ran for five days and celebrated one of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, which symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and

Harrow resident Reshma Shah created a beautiful rangoli at home on Diwali, inspired by Gujarati handicrafts from Kutch area.

Speaking about the purpose behind her handmade Rangoli, Reshma said, “The purpose of rangoli is to feel strength, generosity, and it is thought to bring good luck.

Design depictions may also vary as they reflect traditions,

Indian cookery by RAF

knowledge over ignorance.

It is estimated that there are at least 20,000 people or Indian descent living in Wales and in the past few years there were major celebrations of Diwali in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, and north Wales.

A dance performance

This year there were online messages from the new Indian High Commissioner Gaitri Issar Kumar, the First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford and Indian Honorary Consul for Wales, Raj Aggarwal, as well as Indian cricket coach Ravi Shastri.

The festival included online seminars and activities on trade, inward investment, export, education, culture, and Indian community in Wales.

There were dance performances and ‘cook-a-long’ demonstrations.

Students at the multi-cultural Fitzalan High School, in Cardiff were filmed taking part in Diwali celebrations.

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said, “Diwali is such an

incredible celebration in Wales, it’s been getting more and more popular over the past few years and I had a great experience at the event in Cardiff last year.

Clearly, we could not meet in public this year but the Welsh Government made great efforts to make sure that people could join online to

Speech by Honorary Consul for Wales, Raj Aggarwal

celebrate this amazing festival, and also to celebrate the amazing contribution that the Indian diaspora make to Wales.”

Indian diplomat Raj Aggarwal said, "It was a wonderful event, we had to be creative, but we really brought people together online at this difficult time. We would like to thank the First Minister and the Welsh Government for making this Digital Diwali possible so that were able to share this important festival with thousands of people across Wales and the world.'

Reshma Shah at her creation

The finished rangoli

(mirrorwork), bandhani (tie and dye), toran (door hangers) etc. Mirrorwork is auspicious as a tool for warding off the evil eye and evil spirits away from the wearer.

“This Rangoli was drawn by hands, with the help of small funnels made for intricate work. I had got my rangoli colours from Kenya which were made from sand and the glitters were bought locally.”

folklore, and practices that are unique to each area. I was inspired by all those Indian clothes lying unused in the wardrobe this year. I went through my clothes and designed my own rangoli with a theme.

“Kutch & western Gujarat, India's embroidery has intricate work of colourful handicraft which includes abhla Colours from Kenya and locally sourced glitters used to create the rangoli

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18 DIWALI SPECIAL

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Hindu and Jain communities spread light through Diwali arts competition T

o celebrate Diwali and raise awareness of organ donation, Jain and Hindu Organ Donation Steering Group (JHOD) and NHS Blood & Transplant (NHSBT) joined forces to introduce a national arts competition promoting organ donation as part of the festivities.

The competition was launched to let people know about the recent law change and encourage more people from BAME communities, and specifically those from

Asian backgrounds, to register their organ donation decision.

Currently, 1,408 people from BAME backgrounds are actively waiting for a transplant, almost one third of all patients waiting in total and for many, particularly for those waiting for kidneys, the best match is likely to come from a person of the same ethnicity.

Seventy-seven entries were submitted to the competition which comprised three age categories.

The winning entries were: - Prisha Jain aged 11 (5-11 category) - Saanvi Haria aged 12 (12-18 category) - Demi Ladwa (18+ category) Kirit Modi, Chair of JHOD said, “I have been delighted by the success of our ambitious campaign this Diwali and we have all been reminded of the importance of supporting each other during this difficult and testing time. Diwali will be celebrated very differently this year due to the pandemic. My fellow Hindu and Jain leaders are today asking everyone to think about organ donation during Diwali celebrations. Let us brighten up Diwali this year by thinking about those waiting for an organ transplant and help save

Lord Jitesh Gadhia

themes. I spent several evenings working on it over about three weeks - but it was well worth it for such a great cause. Talking about organ donation still seems such a taboo subject - especially amongst the Indian community but we really need to talk about it. To find out I’d won was a real bonus!"

Community reaction Altaf Kazi, Head of Faith and Belief Engagement at NHS Blood and Transplant, said, “Diwali is a time of kindness and reflection where we acknowledge the good deeds done for others. We have been thrilled by the support shown for organ donation from Hindu and Jain communities. The response to the competition has been overwhelming and it is fantastic to see such a variety of creative excellence from people of all ages.

Every day across the UK someone dies waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant and people from BAME backgrounds wait longer than white patients for transplants. Often the best match comes from a person of the same ethnicity so I would encourage everyone this Diwali to consider organ donation and speak to their families about their decision to be a donor.”

Figures from NHS Blood and Transplant’s annual report into organ donation and transplantation in Asian communities, reveal promising increases in consent rates and an increase in those from BAME backgrounds being eligible to donate.

Family refusal continues to be the biggest obstacle to organ donation amongst the communities. Around half as many BAME families approached about organ donation agree to go ahead, this is significantly lower compared to families from other backgrounds.

There is hope that the introduction of Max and Keira’s Law – the new law relating to organ and tissue donation in England – which came into effect on 20th May, will lead to an increase Sir Keir Starmer spoke at the in the number of donors of Labour Friends of India on all ethnicities. However, fam- Friday 13 November to celeilies will still be consulted brate the Indian festival of before donation goes ahead Diwali. so it remains essential to Leader of Her Majesty's raise awareness, challenge Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, misinformation and encour- spoke at the Labour Friends of India on Friday 13 November to celebrate Diwali. In an event that included a cookery show, a Sadiq Khan, Mayor of dance performance and London, said, “Even when speeches from a dazzling line its doors are closed, Tate of senior Labour Party politiBritain is able to make a cians, Sir Keir Starmer powerful cultural impact thanked the Labour Friends on our capital with this of India for their support bold new work. Chila’s since he was elected as the colourful tribute to her leader of the Labour Party.

Punjabi and English herSir Keir said “I want to itage is a great way to wish those in Britain, India mark Diwali’s celebration and around the world a very of light over darkness and Happy Diwali. The auspiwill be a symbol of hope cious occasion of Diwali sigduring these difficult nifies the victory of good times.” over evil, knowledge over Alex Farquharson, ignorance and light over Director of Tate Britain, darkness. Lighting a lamp on said, "Although our museums and galDiwali symbolises hope leries remain closed, I’m delighted that which dispels the darkness of we are still able to unveil Chila Kumari despair. This year, we will be Singh Burman’s new commission. I missing many traditional hope this spectacular transformation Diwali celebrations due to social distancing. Many of of Tate Britain’s façade can act as a you may not be able to see beacon of light and hope during dark your friends and family in lockdown days and bring joy to all person. But as you light the those who live or work nearby.”

lives.”

What did the winners say?

11-year-old Prisha Jain, from Sutton, Greater London, depicted the spirit of Diwali in her winning drawing.

“I'm overwhelmed and very proud that my quotes through art were chosen in first place! Diwali is a festival of lights and this has inspired me a lot in bringing light to my art. I hope my art reaches many people and they think of donating their organs which will bring light and colours in the life of the ones really in need of. We’ve been learning about organ donation recently at school. My inspiration for this, is that ‘we should if we could.’”

Saanvi Haria, from near Harrow and Hillingdon, London, drew on her god Ganesh to create her thoughtprovoking artwork. When she heard about the competition, through Shri Chandana Vidyapeeth Jain (SCVP) school, she was excited to get involved. The 12-year-old explained, “The first thing that came to mind when I thought about Diwali was God, so I decided to include Ganesh in it. I scrutinised the picture of Ganesh until I got an idea of how to include organ donation within this. Each hand of the God holds something powerful in it – so what better way to combine Diwali and organ donation than by placing an organ upon each of Ganesh’s hands! It is an honour to have won and a privilege to have taken part in such a good cause that could potentially save many lives.

For me Diwali is a time for giving; donate an organ; become a lamp; light a life."

Demi Ladwa, from Amesbury in Wiltshire, was delighted to win in the over 18s category. Her incredible crocheted piece of art really impressed the judges.

"It was an honour to get involved as I am really passionate about promoting organ donation. I’m a volunteer at my local hospice so I see incredible work going on every day. I was also touched when a young woman tragically passed away from a brain haemorrhage and her husband wanted to donate her organs." said Mrs Ladwa. "I'd heard about the competition through my sister-in-law and quickly set about creating a rangoli, based on the idea of an NHS blanket featuring Diwali

Tate Britain celebrates Diwali Chila Kumari Singh Burman has created a stunning technicolour installation for Tate Britain’s iconic facade. The commission references mythology, Bollywood, radical feminism, political activism and family memories, bound up in a celebration of neon light and swirling colour. This is the fourth in Tate Britain’s series of outdoor commissions to mark the winter season, following works by Alan Kane in 2017, Monster Chetwynd in 2018 and Anne Hardy in 2019.

Born in Liverpool, Burman’s practice is often inspired by her childhood.

In this new commission Indian myths and customs are combined with memories of family visits to the Blackpool Illuminations and her parents’ ice cream van. The façade is resplendent with neon sculptures including Hindu deities such as Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and purity, and Ganesh, the god of prosperity. Hanuman the monkey god and several illuminated animals, including a life size tiger and a pea-

cock, are juxtaposed with luscious lips eating an ice cream cornet and winter snowflakes.

The installation also includes the figure of Rani (queen) of Jhansi, a fierce warrior and symbol of Indian resistance after she led a battle against the British in 1857. The figure of Britannia is also fused with the neon image of Kali, the Hindu goddess of liberation and power, and in the centre of the installation is a depiction of the third eye, suggesting the route to higher consciousness.

The opening of the Winter Commission coincided with Diwali.

Remembering a brave new world draws inspiration from personal, social and mythological histories, while offering a sense of hope for the future.

age those supportive of organ donation to talk with their families.

Lord Jitesh Gadhia supports the work done to encourage Hindus and Jains to find out more about organ donation, make and share their decision with their families.

He said, “I am delighted to have chaired the judging panel for such a collaborative and innovative visual arts competition.

During this pandemic, we have seen multiple examples of Hindus, Jains and Sikhs practising the noblest of our shared values, sewa, or selfless service, supporting the most vulnerable around them. So, I urge you to take some time to discuss organ donation with your loved ones and make a positive decision to save lives.”

Sadhu Yogvivekdas, Head Sadhu, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden, London said, "Diwali is a time to be grateful for what we have as well as a special opportunity to express our love and care for those less fortunate. This Diwali, please take a moment to remember all those who may be waiting for an organ transplant. And if you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to sign up to the organ donor register. Your selfless seva could save many lives!"

Anil Bhanot OBE, Hindu Council UK said, “If our organs can be used to prolong another life it is the final donation (daan in Sanskrit) we are able to do if we pledge for it now. Bhagwan Krishna says to Arjuna in the Gita, 'You, the Atma, discards the body as discarding old worn clothes'. Ultimately our organs will go back to the five elements from whence they came: earth, water, fire, air and atmosphere Akash, the difference being they will help the well-being of God's (Ishwar’s) creation along the way, and thus accrue good karma to you in the celestial world. So, celebrate this Diwali, by registering for your pledge for organ-donation.”

Ajaybhai Jobanputra, Governor, Shri Vallabh Nidhi UK Wembley said, “Shri Vallabh Nidhi UK Wembley Temple promotes Sanatan Dharma, Sanatan means eternal and Dharma means duty. Organ donation is selfless giving, an eternal duty of all Hindus. Let us save lives of others.”

Find out more and register your decision by visiting NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk and share your decision with your family.

Leader of the Labour Party celebrates Diwali with Labour Friends of India lamp and pray for good health, happiness and prosperity for all, know that we are all in this together.”

Rajesh Agrawal, co-Chair of Labour Friends of India and Deputy Mayor of London said, ‘I wish all our members and the entire Indian community a very Happy Diwali. At our event, alongside celebrating Diwali, we also launched our local government network and I welcome all Labour councillors to join and get involved’.

In a full on line up of speakers, there were also speeches from, Labour Party’s Deputy Leader & Chair Angela Rayner MP, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and many members of the shadow cabinet and MPs including Rachel Reeves MP, Stephen Kinnock MP, Steve Reed MP, Janet Daby MP, Virendra Sharma MP, James Murray MP, Barry Gardiner MP, Dawn Butler MP, Navendu Mishra MP, Preet Kaur Gill MP, Tan Dhesi MP, Gareth Thomas MP and Darren Jones MP. The event also included a speech from Minister Vishwesh Negi from the Indian High Commission.

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Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel It looks like Trump is finally going to concede. And there is definitely several vaccines for Covid19. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hope the Chinese wet markets donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come up with a variant.

Our community has a lot of business owners. Business owners should make good investors.

After all they understand financials and business. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take that approach to investing in the US in light of the election vaccine hopes. All this against a backdrop of IMF projections of UK GDP growth in 2021 of 4% and the US of 4.7% - some of the highest post-war levels. â&#x20AC;&#x153;US Stocks hit new record after Moderna vaccine dataâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;European stocks close higher on hopes of an effective Covid-19 vaccineâ&#x20AC;?

These are just some of the headlines which followed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rallying US markets set to stall as election drags on.â&#x20AC;?The market seems to be over the US election and very much focused on the vaccine. But what does Biden mean for stocks, especially as more vaccines are being created?Being an asset manager, but previously a columnist on investing for the Financial Times and presenter for Bloomberg TV, I know not to gamble around news. And business owners should know short term news is no reason to make long term investments.

So I will caution against buying healthcare stocks in the belief Biden will expand Obamacare. Or into solar companies because of the belief he will spend billions on clean energy.

Business owners may know about Altman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they should if they do not. As wiki puts it â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Z-score formula for predicting bankruptcy was published in 1968 by Edward I. Altman, who was, at the time, an Assistant Professor of Finance at New York University. The formula may be used to predict the probability that a firm will go into bankruptcy within two years.â&#x20AC;?CROCI business owners are less likely to know. It was invented by Deutsche Bank and used by Goldman Sachs Asset Management to pick stocks for its wealthy clients.

This is a measure of cash flow. Again wiki puts it this way: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cash return on capital invested (CROCI) is an advanced measure of corporate profitability, originally developed by Deutsche Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s equity research department in 1996 (it now sits within DWS Group).This measure compares a post-tax, pre-interest cash flow to the gross level of capital invested and is a useful measure of a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to generate cash returns on its investments.â&#x20AC;?

So which companies stand out in the US for me?

HP â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the computer company. Up 36% in the past 6 months. You can ex post facto rationalise this. But I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a common investor error. Better to go by the factors I mentioned already of valuation, cash flow, performance.

Accenture â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the consultancy firm. Up 33% in the past 6 months.

Intuit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the software company. Up 25% in the past 6 months.

Ross Stores - is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California. Up 30% in the past 6 months.

Colgate â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Palmolive â&#x20AC;&#x201C; up 24% in the past 6 months.

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Britain, Canada sign rollover trade deal In a positive sign for British trade, Britain and Canada arrived on a rollover trade deal on Saturday to protect the ÂŁ20.32 billion worth goods and services post Brexit.

Both sides also vowed to initiate talks on a bespoke agreement next year. A lot of questions on Britain postBrexit have been raised as it reaches the final lag of negotiation talks for its transition out of the European Union (EU). The government has negotiated multiple rollover bilateral deals to maintain trade, with several replacing the terms the bloc had already agreed.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau along with their

Small Business, Export Promotion and Trade International Mary Ng said the transitional agreement â&#x20AC;&#x153;largely replicatesâ&#x20AC;? the EU deal on tariff Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau reductions and provisions for labour and environment. She trade ministers on a virtual said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do want an call to mark the deal. UK ambitious, high level International Trade comprehensive trade Secretary Liz Truss released a agreement with the UK.â&#x20AC;? The statement saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today's deal needs to be approved by agreement underpins 20 the Canadian Parliament to billion pounds worth of trade come into effect. and locks in certainty for Britain has agreed trade thousands of jobs.â&#x20AC;? The deal deals with 53 countries in less paves way for a tailor-made than two years, making up agreement covering more for ÂŁ164 billion of British areas such as digital trade, bilateral trade. It is Canada's small business, women's fifth largest trading partner economic empowerment and after the United States, the environment.

China, Mexico, and Japan.

Canada's Minister of

UK set to launch infrastructure bank to boost investment in key projects The British government has announced the launch of a national infrastructure bank to help drive investment in key infrastructure projects. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Infrastructure investment will be a key driver for the UK to build back better and greener from the pandemic.â&#x20AC;? He is scheduled to roll out the launch next week as part of the National Infrastructure Strategy at spending review The Treasury released a statement saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The new bank will play a key role in delivering on the UK's Net Zero commitments and levelling up across the

country by co-investing alongside the private sector in vital infrastructure projects, like transport, renewable energy and digital connectivity.â&#x20AC;? Sunak will announce tens of billions of pounds of infrastructure investment next week, keeping in lieu with the Boris Johnson-led government's promise to address imbalances between different regions.

The bank is expected to help deliver the government's commitment to invest over ÂŁ600 billion over the next five years. Almost half of Britain's future infrastructure projects are forecast to be privately financed.

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Gautam Adani declared as the biggest wealth creator for 2020 The chairman of Adani Groups, Gautam Adani is leading the list of highest wealth addition among all the richest Indians this year.

He has even pipped the chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani.

Adani’s wealth rose to $30.4 billion being the 40th richest person in the world whereas Ambani is soaring at 10th position with $75 billion

Gautam Adani

wealth. As per the data from Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Gautam Adani’s wealth grew by $19.1 billion this year which indirectly shows an increase of 449 crores every

day keeping behind Bill Gates in wealth addition for this year.

Meanwhile.

Elon Musk of Tesla has seen the highest addition to his wealth from $92 billion to $120 billion so far in 2020 and Jeff Bezos (of Amazon) has increased their wealth by $68 billion.

This surge in Adani’s wealth was possible with the

increase in share prices of Adani Green, Adani Enterprises, Adani Gas, Adani Ports and Adani Transmission as it had an amazing jump to 551% rise in 2020.

Gautam Shantilal Adani is an Ahmedabad-based industrialist who once initiated as a commodity trader in 1988 and later on expanded his business to agriculture, energy, aerospace and even defence.

Raghuram Rajan and Viral Acharya denounce RBI's new banking proposal The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) proposal to allow large corporate houses to set up banks is a "bombshell", former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and exdeputy governor Viral Acharya wrote in a joint article on Monday.

Emphasising on the need of corporate involvement in banking, the duo said that the recent proposal is "best left on the shelf".

The article posted on Rajan's LinkedIn profile noted that the RBI's internal working group (IWG) has suggested significant amendments to the Banking Regulation Act of 1949, aimed at increasing the RBI's powers, before allowing corporate houses into banking.

According to them, there are two reasons for not allowing industrial houses into banking. Firstly, they questioned how can banks make good loans when they are owned by borrowers themselves.

"The history of such connected lending is invariably disastrous – how can the bank make good loans when it is owned by the borrower? Even an independent committed regulator, with all the information in the world, finds it difficult to be in every nook and corner of the financial system to stop poor lending.

Information on loan performance is rarely timely or accurate," the article read.

They further noted that RBI's group exposure norms which limits the amount of exposure the banking system can have on specific industrial houses were also recently relaxed.

"Moreover, as the WGI suggests, it is always difficult to discern the connections that make a borrowing entity part of an industrial house. Some favoured ones are expanding merrily, financing asset purchases with yet more borrowing, imposing greater risks on the system," it said.

Secondly, they opined that the entry of private

Raghuram Rajan and Viral Acharya

players into banking needs to be prohibited as it will further exacerbate the concentration of economic (and political) power in certain business houses.

"Even if banking licenses are allotted fairly, it will give undue advantage to large business houses that already have the initial capital that has to be put up.

Moreover, highly indebted and politically connected business houses will have the greatest incentive and ability to push for licenses," they noted.

Last week, a RBI panel had proposed that large cor-

porates may be permitted to promote banks, as well as raising the cap on promoters' stake in private sector banks to 26 per cent, from 15 per cent at present.

The RBI panel had recommended that corporates should be allowed to control banks after necessary amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to prevent connected lending and exposures between the banks and other financial and nonfinancial group entities. In addition, the group also proposed strengthening of the supervisory mechanism

for large conglomerates.

Both said that as in many parts of the world, banks in India are rarely allowed to fail –the recent rescue of Yes Bank and of Lakshmi Vilas Bank are examples. For this reason, depositors in scheduled banks know their money is safe, which then makes it easy for banks to access a large volume of depositor funds.

"Yet if sound regulation and supervision were only a matter of legislation, India would not have an NPA problem. It is hard not to see these proposed amendments as a subtle way for the IWG to undercut a recommendation it may have had little power over.

In sum, many of the technical rationalisations proposed by the IWG are worth adopting, while its main recommendation – to allow Indian corporate houses into banking – is best left on the shelf,” they stated.

New UK spending row as Rishi Sunak puts squeeze on public sector salaries Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to announce a renewed squeeze on public sector pay in next week’s government spending review in response to the economic shock of the pandemic.

Government sources said an announcement on pay restraint would be part of the mini-budget on Wednesday, as part of plans to launch a Whitehall savings drive to tackle record levels of government borrowing incurred during the crisis.

The fresh round of belt-tightening for public servants – many of whom were at the forefront of the government’s response to the pandemic – is likely to contrast sharply with Boris Johnson’s generous four-year settlement for the armed forces.

The prime minister told the Commons he wanted the UK to be Europe’s leading naval power, and said the budget increase would help to equip the Ministry of Defence with swarms of drones, and “directed energy weapons”.

At the same time, Johnson also repeatedly declined to confirm whether the government would abide by its manifesto commitment to maintain overseas aid spending on the world’s poorest people at 0.7% of national income.

Leaders of nearly 200 charities have written to the prime minister, urging him to ditch a plan to cut the target to 0.5%.

With the prime minister committed to spending in key areas including defence and green technology, Sunak has been scouring the budget for potential savings.

In an argument reminiscent of the austerity-era wage freezes imposed by the conservatives after the 2008 crisis, Sunak is expected to argue that public sector earnings should move into line with the private sector, where pay has come under severe pressure as the British economy battles through the deepest recession in history.

It is understood that NHS staff, including doctors and nurses, will be exempt from the renewed period of restraint to avoid triggering an angry public backlash as a result of the frontline role played by healthcare workers during the pandemic.

However, unions warned a renewed pay freeze elsewhere would still come as a kick in the teeth for staff after Boris Johnson had promised to bring austerity to an end before the 2019 election, and as millions of key workers continue to keep the country going through the health emergency.

Cutting to the bone

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Currently, we are looking to refurbish a block of flats we have in NW London. The cheapest quote I got was from a builder who could do the whole lot for £180K. There are 6 flats which were formerly one bedrooms, and are now being converted to 2 bedders, which places them below the national guidelines. This is not an issue for the council who is looking to take the properties on once refurbished, or for renting them out on the open market.

It becomes an issue when you wish to sell, and the buyer needs a mortgage on the property; this is where things will fall apart. Unless, you simply add a dining table instead of a bed and call it a one bedroom flat, this will get you past this issue, but the values then may not stack up.

Anyhow, we were prepared to press the button on the build. The builder, however, got distracted with other jobs and became too busy to start the contract.

In the interim, I got talking to a property developer who develops up North. He continually does refurbs for what seems like pennies to me. He has been brought up on building sites from a very young age. He knows how long it would take, and how much it would cost to plaster a wall.

He gets involved with the build, personally appointing each of the contractors separately, and overseeing them.

This got me thinking about our little job. How could I take off all the fat the builder normally takes and still get the job done properly? This is a refurb project and doesn’t involve any major structural changes, only the chimney removals.

In order to resolve this issue I thought it prudent to consult a project manager. He can then appoint each of the tradesmen to ensure the work is done in the right sequence and in a timely manner.

This will plug the potential holes in the project and ensure a smooth delivery without any compromise.

Using this method we managed to get the build cost down to £100K, 55% of the original cost.

This represents a substantial saving from the original contract price, however, I was hoping to drive down the price even further, but I kept hitting a brick wall and so left the price where it is; at the end of the day I don’t want them to walk off site.

The build cost, low as it is, will mostly be covered by the council, as they have kindly offered £65K of the cost of building as a grant towards the works, in return for renting the units back to council tenants.

I, all of a sudden, like council tenants. The great thing is next year when the chickens come home to roost they won’t lose their jobs, and be unable to pay their rents as they never had one in the first place.

So, in short, the build cost will come in at a figure of £35-40K net to refurbish 6 flats.

This helps to take the edge of the slightly expensive bridge we have on the property.

Indian Banks accused of fraudulent transactions Multiple illegal transactions by top-level Indian banks have been identified as ‘Susp¬icious Activity Reports’ or SARs by the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Banks are accused of involvement in black money transactions, drug financing, terror financing and other monetary frauds.

As per a report by Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ), as many as 18,153 redflagged transactions, summing up to $35 billion have taken place between 1999 and 2017 by these banks.

The banks, which include public, private as

well as international ones, had reported the suspicious transactions to RBI and other similar authorities, who reported the same to FinCEN. ICIJ has identified a total of 406 exchange transactions had taken place during the period.

These include an incoming of $482,181,226 in the country and an outgoing of $406,278,962.

The list of fraudulent transactions by Indian banks is quite an alarming one. However, it must be noted that not all the reported transactions are backed by evidence. These are just the suspected transactions. The involved banks are doing their bit by reporting their suspicions to the authorities.

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Indians shining in the US ILLINOIS: Illinois-based Mala Adiga has been appointed as First Lady Jill Biden's policy advisor by the newly elected President, Joe Biden. Ms. Adiga has several feathers in her hat and this is another one.

Mala Adiga has graduated from Grinnell College, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and the University of Chicago Law School. She went on to work as a clerk in a federal and then in a law firm post her graduation.

In 2008, Ms. Adiga joined Obama administration as a counsel to the associate attorney general. During the rule of Obama, she was served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Academic Programs at

Mala Adiga

the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in the Secretary of State's Office of Global Women's Issues as chief of staff and senior advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large, as well as

director for human rights on the National Security Staff.

Ms. Mala Adiga has previously served as a senior advisor to Jill Biden and a senior policy advisor on the Biden-Kamala Harris campaign. She was also the director for Higher Education and Military Families at the Biden Foundation. Currently, she has been appointed as the policy director for Jill Biden, the First Lady.

Apart from Mala Adiga, three other members have been appointed by Joe Biden as the White House senior staff.

Cathy Russell, Vice-Chair of the Biden-Harris campaign, has been appointed as the director

of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.

Carlos Elizondo, a Special Assistant to the President and Social Secretary to VicePresident and Dr Jill Biden for all eight years of the ObamaBiden administration, was appointed as the White House Social Secretary.

Louisa Terrell, who currently looks after legislative affairs for the Biden-Harris transition team, will now render services as the director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs in Biden administration.

While announcing the new additions, Joe Biden praised their dedication and said that they will help the States evolve as a more just nation.

Indian-American doctor identifies possible Covid-19 treatment TENNESSEE: Research coming from Dr Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti's lab identified the drugs after discovering that the hyperinflammatory immune response associated with Covid19 leads to tissue damage and multi-organ failure in mice by triggering inflammatory cell death pathways.

An Indian-American scientist has discovered a strong strategy to prevent life-threatening inflammation, lung damage and organ failure in patients diagnosed with Covid-19.

Published online in the journal Cell, an Indian-born researcher Dr Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, working at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee, identified the drugs after discovering that the hyper inflammatory immune response associated with COVID-19 leads to tissue damage and multiorgan failure in mice by triggering inflammatory cell death pathways. The researchers detailed how the inflammatory cell death signaling pathway worked, which led to potential therapies to disrupt the process.

“Understanding the pathways and mechanism

driving this inflammation is critical to develop effective treatment strategies,” said Kanneganti, vice chair of the St Jude Department of Immunology.

Kanneganti was born and raised in Telangana. She pursued her undergraduate degree at Kakatiya University in Warangal, where she majored in Chemistry, Zoology, and Botany. She then received her M.Sc. and Ph.D from Osmania University in India. She joined St. Jude, in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, in 2007.

“This research provides that understanding.

We also identified the specific cytokines that activate inflammatory cell death pathways and have considerable potential for treatment of Covid-19 and other

highly fatal diseases, including sepsis,” she said.

Covid-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The infection has killed more than 1.2 million people in less than one year and sickened millions more. The infection is marked by increased blood levels of multiple cytokines. These small proteins are secreted primarily by immune cells to ensure a rapid response to restrict the virus. Some cytokines also trigger inflammation.

The phrase cytokine storm has been used to describe the dramatically elevated cytokine levels in the blood and other immune changes that have also been observed in Covid-19, sepsis and inflammatory disorders such as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), St Jude’s said in a statement.

But the specific pathways that initiate the cytokine storm and the subsequent inflammation, lung damage and organ failure in COVID-19 and the other disorders were unclear.

The cellular and molecular

mechanisms that define comprehensively cytokine storm was also lacking.

Kanneganti’s team focused on a select set of the most elevated cytokines in Covid-19 patients.

The scientists showed that no single cytokine induced cell death in innate immune cells, it said.

“The findings link inflammatory cell death induced

by TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma to Covid-19,” Kanneganti said.

“The results also suggest that therapies that target this cytokine combination are candidates for rapid clinical trials for treatment of not only Covid-19, but several other often fatal disorders associated with cytokine storm,” she said.

“We were excited to connect these dots to understand how TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma trigger PANoptosis,” said cofirst author Rajendra Karki, a scientist in the Kanneganti laboratory.

“Indeed, understanding how PANoptosis contributes to disease and mortality is critical for identifying therapies,” added co-first author Bhesh Raj Sharma, a scientist in the Kanneganti laboratory.

8 feared dead as barrage of rockets hit residential areas of Kabul KABUL: At least 8 dead as barrage of rockets hit residential areas of Kabul. The attack happened in a residential area of Afghanistan’s capital – Kabul during the morning rush hour wherein at least eight deaths were reported and 31 were wounded. Most rockets landed inside the houses of embassies and international firms.

The Iranian embassy said on Twitter that its main building had been hit by rocket fragments after one landed on the premises. No one in the compound, located just outside the Green Zone, was wounded.

Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian blamed the Taliban,

saying "terrorists" had fired a total of 23 rockets. Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz confirmed the same tolls and details. The Taliban denied responsibility, saying they "do not blindly fire on public places".

At least one rocket landed in an office inside the Green Zone but did not explode. A number of buildings sustained damage to walls and windows, including a large Sana Medical Complex.

Mariam Rahimi, a nurse at the facility, said she had been thrown off her feet when a rocket struck the hospital. "The impact broke windows and tables and damaged some parts of a wall. I screamed for help and called other staff members to

evacuate the children who were admitted at the hospital," Rahimi told AFP. I am scared and have a headache from the shock of the attack. These attackers must die, they don't even spare hospitals."

The regional IS operating in the country and has been behind recent attacks in Kabul, which includes the two assaults on educational institutions that killed nearly 50 people in recent weeks. In a statement earlier, the Taliban had denied involvement saying they "do not blindly fire on public places".

"The rocket attack in Kabul city has nothing to do with the

Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, using the insurgents' name for Afghanistan.

The Taliban denied responsibility and have pledged not to attack urban areas under the terms of a US withdrawal deal signed in February.

in brief TALENTED JOURNALIST FUNDED

BY BILLIONAIRE SUDHIR RUPARELIA

UGANDA: Ugandan billionaire Sudhir Ruparelia has offered to fund journalist Ivan Okuda’s further education in the United Kingdom.The funding will enable Okuda to pursue a Masters in Law (Corporate & Commercial Law) from the University of London.

Okuda tweeted on Wednesday: “Profoundly humbled and immensely gratified for a generous contribution by Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia this afternoon for funding that will enable me pursue a Master of Laws (Corporate & Commercial Law) from the University of London. Grateful for and moved by his generosity,” The talented young journalist and lawyer, has just returned from South Africa where he was a 2019 KAS Media Africa Scholar at the University of the Witwatersrand, a former Daily Monitor journalist and currently a Legal Associate of Anguria & Co. Advocates.

If he completes his masters in laws, Okuda will be one of the most read Ugandan journalist\lawyer of his age opening his life to bright future.

GREAT-GRANDSON OF MAHATMA GANDHI SUCCUMBS TO COVID19 IN SOUTH AFRICA

Satish Dhupelia

DURBAN, SA: Satish Dhupelia, the greatgrandson of Mahatma Gandhi, has succumbed to Covid-19 related complications here in South Africa, three days after his 66th birthday, a family member said.

“My beloved brother has passed on after a month of illness with pneumonia, a superbug contracted in hospital and then Covid-19 also contracted while he was being treated. He suffered a major cardiac arrest this evening,” Uma said in a social media post.

Besides Uma, Dhupelia leaves behind another sister, Kirti Menon, who lives in Johannesburg, where she is active in various projects honouring the memory of Gandhi. The three siblings are descendants of Manilal Gandhi, who Mahatma left behind in South Africa to continue his work in India after spending two decades in the country.

Dhupelia, who spent most of his life in media, especially as a videographer and photographer, was also very active in assisting the Gandhi Development Trust to continue the work started by the Mahatma at the Phoenix Settlement near Durban.

On the day, in one of his last Facebook posts, Dhupelia, who was known for his humour, wrote: “Let us also not forget that we still need to stand together to achieve our final goals of equality for all and an eradication of poverty”.

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Canada to return statue of Hindu goddess stolen over 100 years ago from India REGINA: A Canadian university returned a unique statue of Hindu goddess Annapoorna to India that was stolen from a shrine in Varanasi over a century ago and found its way to the university's art gallery, in an attempt to "right historical wrongs" and help overcome the "damaging legacy of colonialism".

The statue is part of the University of Regina’s collection at the MacKenzie Art Gallery. The statue was part of the original 1936 bequest by Norman MacKenzie, the gallery’s namesake.

The university said in a statement on Thursday: Artist Divya Mehra brought attention to the fact that the statue had been wrongfully taken over a century ago while going through MacKenzie’s permanent collec-

tion and preparing for her exhibition.

The statue began its journey home following a virtual repatriation ceremony which was held on November 19. University’s Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Dr Thomas Chase virtually met with High Commissioner of India to

Canada Ajay Bisaria to officially repatriate the statue, it said.

Representatives from the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Global Affairs Canada, and Canada Border Services Agency also attended the ceremony.

“We are delighted that this unique statue of Annapoorna is on

her way home. I am grateful to the University of Regina for their proactive engagement for the return of this cultural icon to India,”. “The move to voluntarily repatriate such cultural treasures shows the maturity and depth of India-Canada relations,” Bisaria said When Mehra researched the story behind the statue, she found that MacKenzie had noticed the statue while on a trip to India in 1913. A stranger had overheard MacKenzie’s desire to have the statue, and stole it for him from It’s original location — a shrine at stone steps on the riverbank of the Ganges at Varanasi, India, the varsity said.

Dr Siddhartha V Shah, Curator of Indian and South Asian Art identified the statue as the Hindu goddess Annapoorna. As she holds

a bowl of kheer (rice pudding) in one hand and a spoon in the other. These are items associated with Annapoorna, who is the goddess of food and the queen of the city of Varanasi.

When the current administration at the University and the MacKenzie Art Gallery were alerted to the documentation which revealed the statue as an object of culture theft, both institutions committed to taking appropriate action, the university said.

“Repatriating this statue does not atone for the wrong that was done a century ago, but it is an appropriate and important act today. I am thankful to the MacKenzie Art Gallery, the Indian High Commission, and the Department of Canadian Heritage for their roles in making it possible,” the Vice-Chancellor said.

BoU vindictive battle against Barack Obama compares Ruparelia group harmful for Rahul Gandhi to eager student Uganda economy lacking aptitude, mastery UGANDA: One of the online news, CEO magazine carried a big headline: “BoU purported liquidation of Crane bank is illegal,” read the heading. This is not the first time Bank of Uganda (BoU) is seen battling the Ugandan investors.

There are a number of other cases including, HCCS 493/2017 and civil appeal 252/19 both filed by BoU to influence the illegal liquidation of defunct Crane bank which is an asset of Ruparelia group. It seems like BoU officials are disguising under the Financial Institutions Act 2004 to abuse their offices and torment local investors. This vice cannot be left to flourish by the youths of Uganda yet we always look up to investors to get employment.

After President Museveni took over power

in 1986, among other things instituted The Departed Asians Property Custodian Board (DAPCB) with the purpose of returning stolen Asian properties by late President Amin in 1972, this portrayed to the investors around the world that we respect and protect the rights of investors.

According to what is happening currently at BoU is more likely to run down the drain the achievements of this country. Even despite other Accountability bodies including, The Auditor General and COSASE faulting their actions, they have gone ahead to prove to the whole world that they are

above the law.

One of the significant challenges of our country is unemployment. According to AfDB report 2014, out of the unemployed people in Uganda, 83% are youths, which calls for urgent attention by government agencies like BoU to work towards reducing unemployment. To the contrary, the aforesaid is seen to be acting in bad faith. As young people; we get concerned when we see bad people with selfish interest use their powers to torment investors who are our lifeline hence taking away their precious time to think and establish other projects to employ more Ugandans.

We, therefore, plead with the line minister of finance to continue to remove the bad apples in BoU in order to save the situation before the tax payers money is put to waste.

US: Former US president Barack Obama in his memoir has likened Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to a hapless student, in biting commentary on the dynastic scion who twice led his party to crushing election defeats.

In the book, A Promised Land, Obama writes that Gandhi has “a nervous, unformed quality about him, as if he were a student who’d done the coursework and was eager to impress the teacher but deep down lacked either the aptitude or the passion to master the subject,” according to a review in The New York Times. Rahul led the Congress in the 2014 and 2019 general elections, both of which resulted in decisive victories by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

Rahul, has long struggled to combat perceptions that

Rahul Gandhi and Barack Obama

he is not interested in becoming prime minister, a position held by his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi, both of whom were assassinated.

He spent his younger years studying and working in the United States and Britain before returning to India with expectations of guiding the Congress, the party that has led India through most of its years since Independence.

Rahul has aggressively attacked Modi’s government

but commentators have often described him as not being a natural politician.

Rahul is not the only international figure on the receiving end of colourful prose by Obama, according to the review. Obama has also alluded to PM Modi in a separate piece of writing – a short 2015 profile that appeared in the Time “Prime Minister Modi recognises that more than 1 billion Indians living and succeeding together can be an inspiring model for the world.”

Joe Biden declared Georgia winner after recount GEORGIA: Biden wins its 16 electoral college votes as part of a victory by 306-232. The Associated Press called the race on Thursday following the recount, which election officials said reaffirmed Biden’s victory more than two weeks after the Election Day. The first Democrat to take the state since Bill Clinton in 1992.

The recount resulted in officials in four counties discovering a total of about 5,800 votes.

Trump has inched about 1,400 votes closer to Biden as a result, but remains the loser.

The Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, said that the discount was due to human error, and there was no

evidence of rigging or widespread fraud. “Georgia’s historic first state wide audit reaffirmed that the state’s new secure paper ballot voting system accurately counted and reported results. This is a credit to the hard work of our county and local elections officials who moved quickly to undertake and complete such a momentous task in a short period of time.”

“We are grateful to the election officials, volunteers and workers for working overtime and under unprecedented circumstances to complete this recount, as the utmost form of public service.” ,” said Jaclyn Rothenberg, the Biden campaign spokeswoman in an email.

Donald Trump has refused to concede the race, contesting and questioning results in states including Georgia and pursuing recounts or delays in certification while making wild and unfounded accusations of electoral fraud. The president continued to do so on Thursday, with specific reference to Georgia, before the result was confirmed.

But the hand recount of about 5m votes was not held in response to any suspected problems with results in Georgia or any official recount request.

Gabriel Sterling, the official who oversaw implementation of the new Georgia voting system, said before the recount result was announced that previously

Joe Biden

uncounted ballots in four counties would reduce Biden’s margin of victory from around 14,000 to about 12,800. The recount would be done using scanners and would be paid for

by the counties.

Voter turnout in the 2020 election was the highest in more than a century, according to data from the Associated Press and the US Elections Project.

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28 Nov - 4 Dec 2020

Sikhs for Justice challenges the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India US: A US based and secessionist association, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has of late, stepped up its anti-India activities – of challenging the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India by espousing the agenda of “Khalistan”. It has expanded its modus-operandi to gain wider publicity and traction through social media and web-portals for propaganda, registration drives for a Referendum in 2020 (R2020), recruitment of volunteers and engagement of “international experts” to oversee R-2020 etc.

SFJ’s Background Sikhs for justice (SFJ) was established on 14 October 2007 in US with headquarters at Empire Estate building of New York by pro-Khalistan elements Kuldeep Singh Kangewal, Sukhdarshan Singh, Boota Singh, Gurdev Singh Kang, And Ravinder Kaur Malhi.

Its activities and objectives directly challenge the territorial integrity of India by espousing an agenda for creation of 'Khalistan' - a separate country for Sikh community, through violent and violence instigating actions.

Their main objective is radicalisation of Sikh youth for recruitment in terror related activities. SFJ is a front for radicalising Sikh youth and subsequently recruiting them as 'foot-soldiers' for affiliate terrorist groups. These youth, radicalised by SFJ, are later exploited by the terror groups for carrying out violent actions in

Punjab and elsewhere in India.

SFJ was declared an unlawful association by the government of India on July 10, 2019 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Structure The information on its organisational structure and membership of the SFJ is scarce.

It has so called additional centres for its secessionist campaign 'R2020' in Vancouver and London.

Furthermore, there is no known source of income and fund raising. SFJ's chief proponent is a New York based Attorney, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

However, more incriminating is the association of SFJ with fugitive terrorists. 'R-2020' is being spearheaded by terrorists like Paramjit Singh Pamma in the UK, Ranjit Singh Neeta In Pakistan, among others. All of them are wanted in India for involvement in terror-related offences and are designated terrorists (except Shastri) under UA(P)A, 1967.

Links with Pakistan Pakistan based anti-India element Gopal Singh Chawla who is known to be close to Pakistani establishment and also the designated terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, headed SJF's Pakistan chapter. However, during bilateral negotiations on the opening of Shree Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, India's strong objections compelled Pakistan to somewhat disassociate with SFJ. Till October 2018, websites of SFJ

were created, maintained and hosted (at a domain https://snip.pk) by a Pakistan based company. They were discontinued only after exposure in the media.

Violent actions and criminal activities There are about 25 criminal cases registered and under various stages of investigations against SFJ by India’s Central Security Agencies and State Police forces of Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand. Incidents like that of violence and intimidation for hours by a mob of SFJ supporters and Pak diaspora at the Independence Day (August 15) celebrations at Indian High Commission, London in 2019 are examples. Officials and Punjab police personnel have been threatened with physical violence to deter them from acting against the outfit.

Recent activities to destabilize Punjab SFJ also tried to exploit and manipulate the distress emanating from the current Covid-19 pandemic by instigating Sikh soldiers and police personnel. SFJ persistently makes seditious calls to Sikh soldiers.

During recent tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the Indo-China border, SFJ called on Sikh soldiers to desert the Indian Army incentivising them with Rs.5000/- in addition to their existing salary. By targeting the fight against pandemic, SFJ also called for 'Punjab bandh' on

August 31 to celebrate the killing of a sitting Chief Minister of Punjab, who was killed in a ghastly terror attack in 1995.

Fake news and threats From peddling fake news to incite and mislead people to attacking communal harmony SFJ's recent propaganda also focuses on instigation of Sikhs to choose between Khanda (Sikh religious symbol) and Tiranga (Indian national flag), implying that the two cannot coexist peacefully. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun threatened other communities to force them to leave the Indian state of Haryana (neighbouring Punjab) citing that it would soon be a part of a nation state of the Sikhs , 'Khalistan'.

Unlawful activities They further allured different sections of population to commit unlawful activities and reportedly started offering monetary incentives to people in Punjab to carry out unlawful activities, while leveraging agitating farmers in Punjab to raise “Khalistani” flags and to initiate anti India slogan/graffiti writing on their walls. SFJ is claiming that “BJP is committing 'economic genocide' like the Indian National Congress committed Sikh genocide”. Since March 2020 SFJ has given multiple seditious calls to Indian Muslims to seek 'Urduistan', a separate country for Muslims. It has also instigated the people of Tamil Nadu to secede from India.

French radio’s technical error kills off the Queen FRANCE: France’s RFI public radio apologised on Monday for mistakenly publishing the obituaries for a number of celebrities still very much alive.

The celebrities included Queen Elizabeth, Pele, Clint Eastwood and Ayatollah Khamenei. We are mobilising to rectify this major bug,' said the Twitter account of RFI. In the case of the obituary mistakenly published about Queen Elizabeth, the website pub-lished its tribute under the headline: 'England loses its Queen: Elizabeth II left her

mark on the imagination'. The obituary said that 'as tradition dictates, it is from the Palace of Saint James in London that a

member of the British Court announced the death of Queen Eliza-beth II, a historical figure in international life'. In a statement on its website, RFI explained that as with most large media organisations, it prepares profiles of celebrities that are ready to be used in the event of their death. This means it 'able to quickly offer readers all the information they need to know about their journey,' the station wrote. Hundreds of these pre-prepared obituaries were published by mistake on the website, as well as its several partner platforms - including

Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Flipboard - which aggregate news.

The technical problem occurred as the station was in the middle of migrating to a new con-tent management system (CMS) - a tool used by websites to manage and publish content. The technical fault resulted in the articles - saved as drafts in its system - being published 'without any editorial intervention' it said.

An internal investigation is being carried out to determine the causes of this regrettable incident,' it added.

Leaders call for urgent release of Bobi Wine UGANDA: Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine has been arraigned before the Chief Magistrates Court in Iganga. Bobi Wine was arrested on Wednesday as he tried to hold a campaign rally to spread infectious diseases in Luuka district. Since then, the Kyadondo East legislator has been in detention at Nalufenya Prison in Jinja. He is being charged under section 171 of the Penal Code Act. Religious leaders under their umbrella body- Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) have called for the immediate release of Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine and others who were arrested.

While addressing the media, IRCU chairperson Mufti Sheikh

Shaban Ramathan Mubajje said that Bobi Wine and his supporters should be presented to the courts of law as the law stipulates, if indeed they committed any offences.“It is an incumbent upon us to express our concern in the current political injustices in the country and to provide guidance especially in such critical period in our country. We are deeply concerned about the violent events that occurred in our country yesterday where the whole word witnessed brutal arrests of political candidates; Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi and Hon.Amuriat Oboi.

“We call upon the electoral commission and the various security organs to adhere to the human rights principles

enshrined in the national objectives and practices while being law abiding and following our national constitution. We noted with concern that the police were in breach of the Covid-19 SOPs and of Article 21(3) that stipulates that the police shall be patriotic, professional, disciplined, competent and productive.”

The council also accused the army of breaching Article 209 that states that the army will cooperate with civilian authority in emergency situations and in cases of natural disaster like Covid-19. “While we imagine the dilemma faced by the security agencies, we call for actions that honour the rights and dignity of all Ugandans irrespective of their political affiliations. We

urge all men and women in uniform to uphold the Ugandan constitution and all relevant laws and ought to treat all citizens of Uganda fairly and equally irrespective of their political affiliation.

“We call for the immediate release of all people who were arrested yesterday. In the event that they committed crimes, they should be presented to the courts of law as the law stipulates. Article 61 of the constitution mandates the electoral commission to ensure free and fair elections. As religious leaders, we expect the EC to take charge of the electoral process including the security arrangements of all political candidates and ensure an enabling environment.”

RESURGENCE OF ANTI-SHIA SENTIMENT IN PAKISTAN PAKISTAN: In the past couple of months, there has been a resurgence of anti-Shia sentiment in Pakistan. The salient features of the resurgent anti-Shia sentiment in Pakistan are: Hitherto unseen unity amongst the Sunni sects and political groups and a convergence of their anti-Shia rhetoric (expanded beyond Deobandis to include Hanafis and Salafis); Demands that Shia be declared non-Muslims are increasing – ‘Takfiri Demands’ (Takfiri logic was applied to declare Ahmadiya community as non-Muslims); Increasing political space of Sunni extremist/hardline groups (Pakistan government has been conspicuously silent about massive demonstrations in major cities). While on the one hand Pakistan is trying to project itself as a leader of Muslim Ummah and has been raising the issue of Islamophobia, on the other hand the Shias in Pakistan are being increasingly persecuted.

A compilation of targeted violence and killings of Shia Muslims in Pakistan over the past few months is as follows: Massive anti-Shia rallies have been held in major cities including Karachi (estimated attendance of over 30,000), Peshawar, Islamabad in September 2020. Banned groups such Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), extremist groups like Tehreek-e-Labbaik, and leaders of banned groups addressed or shared the stage at these rallies and even encouraged followers to bomb Shias.

On 4 September 2020, several Sunni organizations created a coalition demanding the arrest of Shias for Blasphemy; Over 150 FIRs alleging blasphemy against Shias including prominent leaders and clerics have been registered in September 2020. A number of Shia Ulema have also been detained by the police. Pakistani media have reported that over 22,000 Shias have been killed since 1968 for their faith. Two Shiites have been gunned down in the past month alone for religious reasons. A case was registered against a three-year-old Shia child under 16 Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) for allegedly organising a majlis at his residence. Reportedly, a total, 33 people have been wounded, and seven others lost their lives in August 2020 in targeted attacks in Pakistan. Attacks take the form of bombings within districts with dense populations of Shia presence and armed shootings of individuals recognized as Shia Muslims. On the 9th August, unidentified shooters targeted Syed Mukhtar Hussain Shah, 52, a caretaker of the Imambargah Chah Roshan Shah Malana, a congregation hall for Shia commemorations, as he returned home from the market. Shah lost his life at the hospital.

A day later, a bomb on a motorbike detonated in Chaman’s border city, resulting in the death of 6 and the injury of 20 others.

Local law enforcement noted a high prevalence of extremist violence that target Shia communities in the province.

The city of Quetta is another location in Pakistan with a high volume of anti-Shia violence. On the 13th of August, anti-Shia instigators threw a grenade in a market place wounding and killing nine civilians. Among those killed was a child. There was also a case of brutal death of Qaiser Imran in Kohat, an attack on a procession in Okara, and the desecration of an Imambargah in the Lines Area. In addition to direct violence, Shia Muslims in Pakistan face derogatory language and labeling. In Karachi, homes of Shia Muslims have been marked with words translating to “Shia Infidel.” Some in Pakistan have labeled the Coronavirus as “Shia Virus,” scapegoating the population for the country's pandemic. During the recent antiShia Rally in Karachi, affiliates of Sipah-eSahaba and Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan waved flags and shout derogatory slurs against Shia Muslims, calling them “infidels” and damaging not only identified Shia property but also the city’s public infrastructures. In July 2020, Punjab legislature passed a bill (Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam Bill) prohibiting printing and publication of objectionable material. This was largely seen as targeting Shia.

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Indian comedian Bharti Singh India to receive broadband in NCB custody? via space NCB's latest raid has been at Bharti Singh and Harsh Limachiyaa's residence as well as their production house. Bharti Singh, a wellknown comedian, is currently working with Kapil Sharma on his show.

The couple together hosts a dance reality show, named India's Best Dancer, which is aired on Sony TV.

The untimely death of actor, Sushant Singh Rajput, has revealed the drug-addict side of Bollywood. His Rhea girlfriend, Chakraborty, went through a series of interrogations by the NCB and was finally put in custody for two weeks. To join pieces of the puzzle regarding the suspected drug angle of Bollywood, other biggies like Sara Ali Khan, Rakulpreet Singh,

OneWeb, in association with Sunil Mittal and the UK Government is currently working on a project which will enable better telecom connectivity throughout the world.

Harsh Limachiyaa and Bharti Singh

Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Firoz Nadiadwala were also summoned for questioning.

NCB's latest raid has been at Bharti Singh and Harsh Limachiyaa's residence as well as their production house. Bharti a well-known Singh, comedian, is currently

working with Kapil Sharma on his show. The couple together hosts a dance reality show, named India's Best Dancer, which is aired on Sony TV. After 6 hours of interrogation, Bharti Singh revealed that she has been consuming drugs and is hence, put in custody for two weeks.

Both Bharti Global and the UK Government are equal stakeholders, holding 42.5% of the shares.

The project plan includes installation of 648 new space-based satellites in India, UK and Europe.

These will reach rural areas, mountainous regions as well as navy and airforce establishments. OneWeb also plans to collaborate with ISRO for better results.

With Sunil Mittal's son, Shravin, taking the lead on the project, the testing in India is expected to begin by

YouTuber opposes defamation notice by actor Akshay Kumar YouTuber Rashid Siddiquee has opposed the defamation notice issued against him by actor Akshay Kumar on 17 NovemberR, for making “false and baseless allegations” in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput death case and refused to pay Rs 500 crore (£50.44mn) damages sought

by Akshay Kumar, claiming there was nothing defamatory in his videos.

Siddiquee has also forced Akshay Kumar to withdraw the notice, failing which he would initiate “appropriate legal proceedings” against the actor. Kumar, in the notice sent through law firm I C Legal, said Siddiquee in his YouTube channel FF News has published several “defamatory, libellous and derogatory” videos.

Siddiquee, in his reply

Akshay Kumar

sent through his advocate J P Jayswal on Friday, reportedly said the allegations made by Akshay Kumar were “false, vexatious and oppressive and is raised with an intent to harass him”.

It added that following the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, several independent reporters, including Siddiquee, covered the news as many influential people were involved and other prominent media channels were not providing correct information. The reply

further claimed that every Indian citizen has the fundamental right to freedom of speech.

“The news reported by Siddiquee was already in the public domain and he (Siddiquee) has placed reliance on other news channels as sources,” the reply said.

It further questioned the delay in the defamation notice sent and said the videos were uploaded in August 2020. “The damages of Rs 500 crore are absurd and unwarranted and are made with the intent to pressurise Siddiquee,” the reply added.

The YouTuber from Bihar has further claimed that the actor was selectively targeting him. “Akshay

Kumar faced severe backlash interviewing an after influential politician, whereby thousands of people have made personal remarks against him on various YouTube videos and websites.

Surprisingly, Kumar has not taken any action on the same, however, he has selectively chosen Siddiquee to saddle the blame of defamation,” the reply said.

The Mumbai police have also filed a case against Siddiquee on charges of defamation, public mischief and intentional insult for his posts against Mumbai police, the Maharashtra government and minister Aaditya Thackeray.

On 3 November, Siddiquee was granted anticipatory bail by a local court here, which directed him to cooperate in the probe.

October 2021 with five to seven hours of availability each day. By October 2022, entire is India expected to be covered.

The UK Government and Bharti Global have made a combined investment of $1 billion via the installation of 650 LEO satellites. OneWeb will further invest $2-2.5billion for the launch, as around $3.5 billion had been spent on the previously pending ones.

OneWeb is currently occupied in permission from Indian seeking authorities for landing

rights, especially in the remote regions.

The company promising exclaims that they are excited to launch the satellites in India as they can foresee Indians relishing the connectivity. Mittal adds that they are looking forward to working with those who are equally intrigued and passionate about space-based technologies.

14-year-old from Hyderabad claims to be the youngest graduate Agastya Jaiswal, a 14year-old from Hyderabad has claimed to be the youngest boy to have graduated in India. Agastya has recently completed B.A in Mass Communication and Journalism from Osmania University. He further plans to take up MBBS and become a doctor.

Jaiswal has always been a very bright student, say his parents. According to Ashwini Kumar Jaiswal, Agastya's father, every child has a special quality and if that is paid attention to, the child can create history. His mother, Bhagyalaxmi reveals that they always asked Agastya to understand the subjects, rather than mug up answers. This made him a

Agastya Jaiswal

curious child. He would ask several questions and would get practical answers from his parents.

Interestingly, Agastya passed the intermediate exam at the age of 11 years.

Again, being India's first. I can type A to Z alphabet in just 1.72 seconds. I can tell multiplication tables up to 100. I can write with both hands. I am an international motivational speaker too," Agastya added

India to get Covid-19 India summons Pakistan official vaccine by January 2021 regarding terrorist encounter in Nagrota

PM Modi, in his latest tweet, claimed that a meeting was held to discuss the progress of the muchawaited vaccine.

The meeting was conducted to discuss the issues related to the vaccine development, including its progress, how will it be launched, how will it be used and by whom as well as the finances involved.

The anticipated good news is finally here! The corona virus vaccine has almost reached the stage of launch. The trials are in the final phase and the vaccine is expected to be launched in January 2021.

Adar Poonawala from The Serum Institute of

Pune is the head manufacturer of the vaccine and has revealed that the institute is awaiting the third phase trial results from their partner in UK. Therefore, the vaccine may be available from January.

Interestingly, the to-belaunched vaccine is India's first two dose shot. The saviour will be available only for healthcare workers initially. However, Serum Institute has promised to manufacture as many as 100 million shots overall, which will be available for commoners in early 2021.

Until then, Indians have their hopes high as they've finally seen a ray of hope to combat the virus.

Four terrorists were killed by the Indian Army on Thursday morning in Nagrota, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The dead were suspected to represent Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The terrorists were found hiding in a truck. Four of them were killed in a three-hour encounter. Two policemen were also killed, however, the truck driver managed to escape. After the death of the terrorists, some really hazardous weapons, including 11 AK-47 rifles, three pistols and 29 grenades were recovered from them.

This meant that they were probably planning a major attack in the Kashmir Valley,

where elections are due in the end of the month.

India, this, summoned Charge d'Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission to discuss the danger. Also, the Foreign Ministry has put tremendous pressure on Pakistan to stop terror funding, terror support and

to dismantle terror infrastructure. This is the second time in a week that the Pakistan officials were summoned. Earlier during the week, the summoning was done with regard to the heavy shelling at the Line of Control, which killed minimum 9 people.

New Delhi has reminded Islamabad that according to international obligations, Pakistan are not permitted to use any part of their territory for terrorism against India.

PM Narendra Modi held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and other ministers to discuss the same. PM Modi went on to tweet, "Our security forces have once again displayed utmost bravery and professionalism. Thanks to their alertness, they have defeated a nefarious plot to target grassroots level democratic exercises in Jammu and Kashmir."

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PM Modi: “In this decade, in just the oil and gas sector, there will be millions of investments” Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the 8th convocation ceremony of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) – Gandhinagar via video conference said efforts were on to double India’s oil refining capacity in the next five years and multiply the usage of natural gas by four folds in this decade. The country is also moving forward to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 to 35 per cent. About 2,600 students received their respective degrees / diplomas in this convocation.

During his address, Modi recalled his experience of battling “pre-conceived notions” as the former chief minister of Gujarat. He told the students how he had helped to separate feeders supplying electricity to domestic and agriculture consumers, and thus ensured round-theclock and efficient power supply in the state.

“You (students) all know of today’s fashion to create a ruckus and find fault in small matters. I used to face a lot of problems then (as Gujarat CM). The issue came before me about power producers selling at (thermal power) Rs 2-3 per unit and (solar power) Rs 12-13 per unit. I was confronted with a moment where I had to worry about my reputation or worry about

my future generations. I knew that this type of decision will be blown up by the media and will invite charges of corruption. But I had a clean heart. I genuinely believed that we had to do something to change our lifestyles. Finally, we decided to go for solar energy. And we made this decision with honesty, did it for a bright future with a vision. Solar plants began in Gujarat and in large numbers,” Modi said.

PM added, the solar energy has now become “a movement in the country” and the cost of solar power has “dropped below Rs 2 per unit”. “Keeping in mind our energy needs, it is our endeavour to increase the proportion of natural gas by four times in this decade alone. In the next five years, efforts are being made to double the country’s oil refining capacity,” Modi said.

Modi told the graduating students that they were entering the energy sector at an “opportune time”.

“Today, there are unlimited

opportunities in the energy sector in India.

You (students) all have reached this sector at the right time. In this decade, in just the oil and gas sector, there will be crores of investment. There are ample opportunities, from research to manufacturing,” the PM said.

During his virtual address, the PM also insisted students to focus more on “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. “Today’s India is passing through a big phase of transition.

Think about what a golden period you are in,” he said.

in brief 400 ICU BEDS ADDED IN DELHI, MORE COMING UP, SAYS SATYENDAR JAIN Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said over 400 ICU beds have been added for Covid-19 patients in the Satyendar Jain city, with Delhi witnessing a third wave of coronavirus infection in the last few days.

He also said the number will be increased further in the coming days as these 400 beds are part of a total of 1,650 ICU beds being set up in the city –250 in private hospitals, 650 in Delhi government facilities and 750 in those run by the Centre, PTI reported.

With 44,3486 active cases of coronavirus recorded on Sunday, new cases exceeded recoveries for the second time in three days, leading to a rise in active cases. So far, more than 9.14mn people have been found infected with the disease so far.

TAMIL NADU BRACES FOR CYCLONE NIVAR

Shree Krishna Hospital, lending a helping hand during pandemic The Charutar Arogya Mandal was set up in 1972 by the late Dr H M Patel, India’s former Finance and Home Minister, to create an example of how the healthcare needs of the rural community can be met. Today, our institution is equipped with health-care facilities and infrastructure that match with the best of those available to their urban counterparts and a network of educational institutions that graduate hundreds of health-care professionals.

Our 39-year-old Shree Krishna Hospital located at Karamsad in Gujarat is a 900-bed NABH accredited multi-specialty hospital with a Cardiac Centre, Cancer Centre with Bone Marrow Transplant facility, over 150 ICU beds, 21-bed Dialysis Centre, 20 Operation Theatres, NABL labs, NABH accredited Blood bank and a round-theclock Pharmacy, all within a 100-acre lush green campus.

Our motto is: “Solace to the suffering”.

We do not turn away a single patient due to their inability to afford treatment. Our Ashirwad services aim at treating needy patients almost free. They pay only for pharmacy. Implementation of government health care schemes supplements our efforts. Annually we provide assistance to the tune of INR 330 million.

We could reach here mainly due to the generous and consistent support of Trusts, Foundations and Donors who backed the institution at every stage due to its sound governance.

The nearly 2-month lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic was a big challenge for us. Conscious of our social responsibility, we continued to run our Trauma, Critical Care, Cancer and dialysis centres. Despite risk to doctors and staff we treated everyone who walked through our doors. Even those without the means to afford it.

Being one of the large Hospitals in the region, Shree Krishna Hospital was identified as a 'Dedicated Covid-19 District

Hospital' by the Govt. of Gujarat for treatment of Covid-19 cases. Our 102-bed Waymade Critical Care Centre was dedicated for the purpose. By end September 2020, we had treated 1270 patients, 620 of them positive. Assistance from several donors and philanthropic organisations helped us to cope with the requirement of consumables and enabled us to adequately protect our patients and Care givers.

Our multi-specialty status enabled us to cope with the clinical requirements of Covid patients with co-morbid conditions.

Our Deluxe Rooms & Privilege Centre facilities provided isolation and care. Our Home Care service to asymptomatic patients supplemented these measures. As our caregivers relentlessly fought the Covid pandemic, the large number of corona survivors as well as donor support inspired us to forge ahead.

Normalisation of the Hospital operations would take some more time, as the focus still revolves around Covid. As infections peaked in July, the 102 ICU beds dedicated for Covid-19 fell short. We began augmenting our infrastructure to finally add another 100 ICU beds for critical Covid patients as also critical equipment such as

Ventilators, Multipara Monitors, High flow Oxygen therapy units etc. with donor support.

All along, one major constraint we faced was the testing of samples from patients suspected of having Covid-19 infection. Considering that the pandemic was there to stay for long time till a vaccine is in place, creating our own testing facility was a logical conclusion.

This would provide us an edge in effectively dealing with positive cases in a timely manner, thereby saving lives.

Thanks to Infosys Foundation, the lab was set up by October on a war footing. This would prove to be extremely beneficial & convenient to local patients and doctors.

There has been a heavy drain of resources, as all major income sources had dried up for a considerable time. On the fiscal front, we are limping back to normal very slowly. In this moment of crisis, all help and support we receive is invaluable, be it for poor patients’ treatment, equipment or infrastructure.

You could help us through our Charities in US and UK while availing local tax benefits. a. To donate through our Charity in US: Draw a Cheque in favour of Charutar Health Foundation Corp and send it to: Charutar Health Foundation Corp, 5113, Piper Station Dr., Suite 300, Charlotte NC 28277.

Contact: 704-364-6008 (Attn: Chandra Patel/Ravi Patel) b. To donate through our Charity in UK: Draw a Cheque in favour of 'Charutar Health Foundation' and send it along with 'Gift Aid' to: Charutar Health Foundation, Unit 3, Devonshire Business Park, Chester Road, Borehamwood WD6 1NA, UK c. For assistance, email us at helpus@charutarhealth.org

Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka are bracing for a cyclone, to hit on Wednesday. On Monday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the system had intensified into a depression and lay 630kms south-southeast of Chennai.

The weather department has also warned of squally winds over Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and north-east Sri Lanka as the system approaches the east coast, in the coming few hours.

Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal remain on ‘red’ alert with the possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall forecast on November 25 whereas an ‘orange’ alert prevails for Rayalaseema, Telangana, south interior Karnataka and coastal Andhra Pradesh where heavy rain is forecast.

WHY CAN’T INDIA, PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH COME TOGETHER? Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik on Sunday said that his party - the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - will welcome the BJP's move "if it creates one country by merging India, Pakistan and Bangladesh".

"The way Devendra ji has said that time will come Karachi will be the part of India. We have been saying that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should be merged. If the Berlin wall can be demolished then why not India, Pakistan and Bangladesh can come together? If BJP wishes to merge these three countries and make a single country, we will welcome it definitely," Mr Malik told ANI, when asked comment on the former Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis's remark on Karachi.

Mr Malik said that the NCP wants to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections along with Shiv Sena and Congress which are part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.

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200-metre tunnel used by Jaish terrorists to sneak into India The Border Security Force (BSF) found clinching evidence that the four Jaishe-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists killed in the November 19 Nagrota encounter had indeed travelled to Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan with the discovery of a 200-metre-long and almost 8-metre-deep professionally engineered underground tunnel on the international border early on Sunday.

The location of the tunnel, with a diameter of 12-14 inches at the Indian end, was nearly 160 metres long from the international border and estimated to be around 40 metres long on the Pakistani side. The tunnel, according to top security officials, had been newly dug and appeared to have been used for the first time by the four Jaish suicide attackers. “ It appears that proper engineering effort has gone into construction of the tunnel and the hand of the establishment is quite evident,” a senior counter-terrorism official said on condition of anonymity.

With the help of a Taiwan-made, hand-held eTrex 20X Garmin global positioning system (GPS) device carried by the terrorists, Indian security agencies and the BSF were able to track the

exact route the jihadists followed after entering India through the tunnel and boarding a truck 12 kilometres away from the border. Data was recovered from the GPS device despite the terrorists trying their best to destroy it before getting killed by security forces. While the location of the tunnel exit in India, the entry point in Pakistan is near three Ranger outposts called Chak Bura, Rajab Sahid and Asif Sahid. The tunnel was detected by a team of seven BSF personnel led by Deepak Rana of 48 batallion who conducted search between 5.40 am and 7.50 am on Sunday morning.

The underground tunnel was difficult to locate as its mouth had been carefully concealed and meticulously covered with soil and wild growth with Pakistani Engro Urea Fertilizer sand bags used to strengthen and reinforce

the infiltration route for the Jaish terrorists.

Data collected from the GPS indicates that the terrorists entered India just next to the 189 boundary pillar and close to BSF border outpost Regal, which is located near pillar 193. The first way-point on the GPS is nearly a kilometre from the border. The terrorists then walked approximately 12 kilometres to national highway number 44 after bypassing an Army camp and a railway track, and boarded the truck around midnight on November 19.

Security agencies have been able to plot the exact route with all the waypoints to Jatwal village next to the highway. The truck then took them towards Nagrota where the four were gunned down in an intelligence-led operation. Repeated attempts to capture one of the terrorists came to naught as the Jaish killers had been commando-trained.While intelligence agencies are now trying to decipher the recovered mobiles from the terrorists, security agencies have now foolproof evidence to nail Pakistan and the handlers of the Jaish attackers. India will also lodge a strong protest with Pakistani Rangers, who allowed the infiltration under their watch.

No conspiracy, foreign funding in inter-faith marriages Eleven of 14 inter-faith marriages in Kanpur and Uttar Pradesh, involved criminality, but there is no evidence of conspiracy or foreign funding, the Kanpur police have said, contradicting claims about the socalled "love jihad". Over the past months, Chief Ministers of several states have promised to bring laws to combat "love jihad" - a term defined by right wing groups claiming that Muslim men enter into relationships with nonMuslim women to forcibly convert them.

Karnataka, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh are amongst them that promised laws against love jihad, despite BJP-led government said in February that the term is not defined under existing laws and no such case has been reported.

In Uttar Pradesh, where

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued warnings about "last rites" to practitioners of "Love Jihad", 14 cases were under scanner in Kanpur in last two years.

The police's latest version appears to contradict on record statements just three weeks ago by the head of the Special Investigation Team probing the cases.

Half the cases had collapsed, and a final closure report was being filed.

"We compiled the cases of past two years in Kanpur.

In some cases, a final report has been filed. Out of 14, there are only seven in which

Obituary SAD DEMISE Late Mr Satishbhai Dhupelia came all the way from South Africa to spread message of Mahatma Gandhi's message of Peace, Harmony, Ahimsa , Simplicity, brotherhood and unveil the statue of Mahatma Gandhiji in Cardiff.

He made special place in the Hearts of our community in Cardiff. He often said that Cardiff community is his extended family; he was overwhelmed by love from Cardiff.

Big loss to Cardiff and community in Wales.

Aum Shanti.

we are still investigating," Vikas Pandey, the officer in charge of the cases. "In those (seven closed cases) we saw there was nothing. The girls knew them. On that basis, final reports have been filed," he added.

Kanpur Inspector General of Police, Mohit Agarwal, told the media that the SIT had found evidence of crime in 11 of the 14 cases they probed and 11 people have been jailed. In three cases, the SIT found the girls were above 18 and said they exercised their free will. In these cases, no action is being taken," Mr Agarwal told the media in Kanpur.

Mr Agarwal said in other three cases that the men had "given false names to coax the girls and the girls say they found out later these men are from a different religion". There were also cases where the girls were minor, the police said."Four men of the 11 are such who used to speak with each other and they had relations with girls from another religion but so far there is no angle of foreign funding. So far in the SIT inquiry we have found no proof of a conspiracy.Two weeks ago, media closely scrutinised three of the 14 cases. In two cases, the women said they were not coerced by their Muslim partners into marriage or conversion. In another case, the neighbours claimed that the boy and girl were in a relationship, before it turned sour.

MP Police to book Netflix officials for ‘A Suitable Boy’ Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra has informed that he had instructed police officials to examine the allegations against Netflix officials that they had hurt religious sentiments by shooting intimate kissing scenes in their series ‘A Suitable Boy’ inside a Hindu temple with religious prayers in the background.

Following the order, it has been found that the series has indeed violated Hindu sentiments. The complaint was filed

by BJP leader Gaurav Tiwari and lodge an FIR at Reva. He further stated that the police has been asked to book Netflix officials Monica Shergill and Ambika Khurana under section 295 A at the Civil Lines police station in Reva, MP as per Tiwari’s complaint.

Mishra also said on November 22 that the Madhya Pradesh Police have been asked to scan Mira Nair’s web series to check if kissing scenes in it were indeed shot in a temple.In a tweet Mishra said, “A film titled ‘A Suitable Boy’ has been released on an OTT platform. It depicts extremely objectionable scenes that hurt the feelings of a particular religion. I have directed police officials to look into it.” In a subsequent Tweet, Mishra also asked police officials to inform what legal action can be taken against the producer and director of the show for “hurting religious sentiments”.

Meanwhile, Reva SP has said that once they receive the footage of the series from Netflix, the police would investigate and take required action in the matter. He also confirmed that based on Gaurav Tiwari’s complaint an FIR has been registered in the matter.

College teacher compares women wearing Mangalsutra to chained dogs A woman named Shilpa Singh who works as an Assistant Professor at a law college in Goa has been booked for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by posting derogatory comments against women wearing Mangalsutra on Facebook.

According to reports, an FIR was lodged against Shilpa Singh on the complaint of Rajiv Jha, a resident of Ponda.

Jha had filed complaint with the cyber cell of Goa stating that Shilpa Singh, who teaches political science at VM Salgaocar College of Law, Panaji, should be booked for “passing derogatory comments on social media mocking Hindu religion, traditions, faith and belief”.

Before that, a complaint was filed by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to VM Salgaocar College of Law on October 9 seeking Singh’s termination stating that she was promoting hateful thoughts against a particular religion during her online lectures. The college refused to act on ABVP’s complaint stating that it did not have the locus standi to raise objections against her teaching.

It also refused to issue a termination order against Singh. Responding to ABVP’s complaint, Singh had told the college that the complaint was an attempt to tarnish her academic credentials. Singh has also filed a complaint with the police after she allegedly received abusive

and threatening messages after Jha’s abusive social media post.

Two FIRs have been registered by police on the basis of complaints filed by Rajiv Jha and Shilpa Singh.

“Shilpa Singh has been booked under IPC section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings).

Rajiv Jha, a resident of Ponda has been booked under IPC sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke break of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insulting modesty of

woman)”, told SP (North Goa) Utkrisht Prasoon.

Defending her views, Shilpa Singh termed the FIR a conspiracy to defame, humiliate, and break her down. Calling herself an “intellectual”, Singh posted an apology on Facebook on 8 November regarding her post on Mangalsutra.

However, she said that she would continue to “fight” and raise her voice against patriarchy and women’s oppression and would continue her fight for women’s equality and freedom.

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in brief in brief

So long, Apu Shefali Saxena Soumitra Chatterjee, one of India’s greatest legends in cinema had many gifts. He was an actor, director, playwright, writer and a poet. He had tested positive for the Coronavirus on October 6 in Kolkata and breathed his last due to Covid complications on November 15. His funeral took place at Keoratala Crematorium in Kolkata on Sunday evening with complete police honours. Chatterjee was honoured with gun salute by the Kolkata Police. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was also at the hospital this morning to be with the actor's family after his death, attended the funeral.

Also known as the ‘Mahanayak’ in Bengali, he was famous for working with the Oscar Award winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2012 and Padma Bhushan in 2004 and was also recipient who was also honoured with the Legion d'Honneur (2018) in France for his contribution to world cinema. He also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Italy.

Chatterjee was born on January 19, 1935 in Mirjapur Street (now Surya Sen Street) near Sealdah railway station, in Calcutta, before India became independent of the British Raj. Soumitra Chatterjee spent his early years in Krishnanagar, West Bengal, a town heavily influenced by playwright Dwijendralal Ray who had a promising career in theatre. Chatterjee’s grandfather followed suit and later, his father also spent some time as an amateur actor. He studied from Howrah Zila School and Calcutta, and graduated from City College, Kolkata with an honours in Bengali literature from the University of Calcutta. Chatterjee’s mentor in acting was noted actor-director of Bengali theatre, Ahindra Choudhury.

However, renowned theatre director and the doyen of Bengali theatre, Sisir Bhaduri played a pivotal role in steering Chatterjee’s inclination towards pursuing acting as a career.

Subsequently, Chatterjee started working in All India Radio as an announcer and later came in touch with Ray when he was casting for his film Aparajito (1956).

According to Ray, who was looking for fresh faces, Soumitra Chatterjee (who was 20 years old) was too old for the role of an adolescent Apu in Apur Sansar (The World of Apu). Ray did not forget Chatterjee. He gave him the role of adult Apu two years later in his world famous Apu trilogy.

Chatterjee and Ray did fourteen films together. Ray also believed that a bearded Soumitra, resembled Rabindranath Tagore.

He also lived in Ray’s old apartment at 3lake temple road for a few years. In a career spanning over 300 films, he worked with stalwarts like Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Atanu Ghosh, Suman Ghosh, Partha Chakraborty, Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee, and Utpal Dutt.

Before paving the way for his legacy as Bangla’s Grand Old Man, he also worked with John Hurt and Hugh Grant in the film, The Bengali Night, which was set in

Soumitra Chatterjee

Kolkata. His twilight filmography includes: “Bela Sheshe” (2015), short film “Ahalya” (2015), “Samantaral” (2017), National Award winning “Mayurakshi” (2017), “Sanjhbati” (2019), among several others.

Tripathi, Amish Director, The Nehru Centre told Asian Voice, "Soumitra Chatterjee was a doyen of Indian cinema and a national treasure. From when he burst into the Amish Tripathi national and international consciousness with Apur Sansar, he has kept all of us transfixed with his awe-inspiring talent. He didn't just appeal to art lovers of Bengal, but also of all of India, and indeed the world. The Nehru Centre remembers this great actor, director, playwright, writer and poet, and we intend to host an online homage to him soon."

Speaking to Asian Voice, Dr Debanjan Chakrabarti, Director British Council, East and Northeast India, said: “Soumitra Chattopadhyay was Bengal’s éminence grise Debanjan Chakrbarti in culture, a protean talent who combined the worlds of film, theatre, literature, publishing and art in his tall presence. British Council India is privileged to partner Indian High Commission, Nehru Centre and Bengal Heritage Foundation in this programme commemorating Soumitra Chattopadhyay.

On stage, his performance in the title role of Raja Lear, directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay, was possibly one of the finest renderings of Shakespeare’s King Lear on stage in any language. He launched Nemai Ghosh and Andrew Robinson’s landmark book, Satyajit Ray: A Vision of Cinema, at an unforgettable event at British Council Library. His iconic cultural presence will be missed in India and the UK, especially those who follow film, theatre and literature closely.”

“No one represented the quintessential Bengali gentleman better than Soumitra Chatterjee intellectual, selfconfident, sensitive, charming with diverse Sourav Niyogi interests. Soumitra’s work with Ray put Bengali and Indian cinema on the global map - like nothing else

before or since. What attracts me to Soumitra is his versatile talent from acting both on stage and films to his poetry and elocution to the playwright and writer he was. For the global Bengali diaspora, Soumitra was the link that connected one to the roots.

We at Bengal Heritage Foundation are coming together with Indian High Commission, London, British Council India, Nehru Centre London and Kolkata Literary Meet to Reminisce Soumitra on Sunday 29th November | 3 pm with luminaries from Indian and Bengali cinema and theatre.

This will be the third chapter of our Think Tank series. The session will reflect on his early collaboration with Ray, his work on stage, his impact on the next generation and his lasting legacy,” Sourav Niyogi, President, Bengal Heritage Foundation told Asian Voice.

Soumitra Chatterjee (Left) with actor Hugh Grant (Right)

In her homage to the actor, West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee tweeted, “Feluda’ is no more. ‘Apu’ said goodbye.

Farewell, Soumitra (Da) Chatterjee. He has been a legend in his lifetime. International, Indian and Bengali cinema has lost a giant.

We will miss him dearly. The film world in Bengal has been orphaned.”

His Apur Sansar co-star and friend Sharmila Tagore told PTI, “I was 13 and he was 10 years elder to me when we started working in ‘Apur Sansar.’ I really respected and admired him for what he stood for. He was one of my oldest friends, after Tiger (husband) and Shashi Kapoor. He has been such a loyal and fun friend. But I know he will live forever in our memories because his legacy is so immense. It encompasses so much. He wasn’t only an actor. He would paint, sing, was well read, had immense knowledge of theatre, he would write poetries and short stories for his grandchildren. His interests were vast.”

Amitava Nag, the author of the biography of Chatterjee once said that he was “the thinking man’s hero. He was an intellectual and a poet.” Nag once asked Chatterjee if he felt burdened by the duty to entertain his audience, to which Soumitra replied, “Very seldom. This is my job.” His audience today and forever will feel the irreplaceable void that he has left in Indian cinema. His intense acting skills, warmth and persona shall be truly missed.

So long, Apu.

‘Mara Ghat Ma X Joy to the World’ supports Covid patients Fusing devotional music from different faiths using gospel and bhajan musicians during Covid-19 Mara Ghat Ma X Joy to the World is a fusion cover that brings together spiritual music from the Hindu and Christian faiths. UK-based Drupti Vaja has been singing since the age of 6.

Her repertoire includes Indian classical, devotional and folk music. Drupti is a full time senior nurse at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham - where

she most recently was in the thick of it supporting patients suffering from Covid. She is complemented on vocals by Nathaniel Morrison - a professional actor, dancer, gospel singer and songwriter, as well as the founder and Artistic Director of The West End Gospel Choir. Speaking to Asian Voice, Raj Mistry revealed more details about the idea behind the song and the rather unusual but melodious fusion. He said, “We continue to observe religion

being used to divide communities all over the world, and during this pandemic where people need hope and positive vibes more than ever before we wanted to create music that could promote harmony. As a result, we had the idea of fusing devotional music from different faiths using gospel and bhajan musicians based in the UK.” Commenting on how has Covid-19 changed or impacted his sensibility as an artist, Raj Mistry said, “Covid-19 has

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Raj Mistry

fostered a sense of gratitude, for those that have been unable to perform on stage in front of a large audience and enjoy the buzz of that experience – 2020 has created a new-found sense of fragile and yet how important the work of a musician is.”

BHF TO PAY TRIBUTE TO SOUMITRA CHATTERJEE

As a part of the Bengal Heritage Foundation’s third chapter of the the ‘Think Tank’ series, the foundation will pay a tribute to the legendary actor, director, playwright, writer and poet – Late Soumitra Chatterjee who left a mark on Indian and global audience with his stellar body of work on celluloid. This webinar is structured in three parts: Chatterjee’s early days: Theatre, Film, Culture and the ‘making’ of Soumitra Chatterjee, Soumitra, Ray and Bengali cinema’s ‘golden age’– his work with Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and others, Influence on Next Generation, Bengali Diaspora, and His legacy.

It will be held on November 29, at 3 pm UK Time | 830 pm India in Zoom webinar in partnership with the High Commission of India, British Council, Nehru Centre and Kolkata Literary. The key speakers will include Gaitri Issar Kumar (High Commissioner of India), Barbara Wickham (Director, British Council), Amish Tripathi (Director, Nehru Centre) and Malavika Banerjee (Director, KALAM). Panellists include eminent names like Sharmila Tagore (Actor | First heroine of Soumitra), National Award-Winning actors Rituparna Sengupta, Parambrata Chatterjee, Riddhi Sen, Srijato (Bengali Poet and Lyricist), Naman Ramachandran (South Asian Movie Reviewer for BFI | Journalist | Author), Koushik Chatterjee (Independent Actor | BHF Panellist). The webinar will be moderated by Debanjan Chakrabarti (DC) (Director, British Council, Kolkata) and Suman Ghosh (SG) (UK) (Professor Film Studies, Bath Spa University).

COMMUNAL HARMONY WEEK The Nehru Centre and The High Commission of India celebrated the ‘Communal Harmony Week’ through dance on November 23. The event was organised to raise funds to support activities of the National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Home Affairs established in 1992. The Foundation provides care, education and training to children who have become destitute in communal, caste, ethnic or terrorist violence. The event was attended by artists from Ankh Dance Group, and celebrated artists like Arunima Kumar and Suhani Dhanki. Ankh- 'Ankh dance is a company set up by renowned Kathak exponent & guru Gauri Sharma Tripathi.

Arunima Kumar is one of Britain's most celebrated, award winning Kuchipudi dancers, teachers, choreographers, producers and strong advocates for Diversity and Inclusion in Arts & culture, she is the Founder/Artistic Director of Britain's largest Kuchipudi institution with over 150 students across 5 countries . Suhani Dhanki Mody has completed her Masters in Dance Bharatanatyam with a Gold Medal from the Bharata College of Fine Arts & Culture, is a recipient of the National Scholarship to Young Artists awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. Suhani also works as an Actor and has featured on prime-time Indian television shows and theatricals in the lead role.

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Richa Chadha receives Bharat Ratna Ambedkar Award Actor Richa Chadha has been awarded the Bharat Ratna Ambedkar award. She took to Instagram to express her happiness. She wrote, “Thrilled to be among the recipients of the Bharat Ratna Ambedkar award, conferred upon me by the H'ble Governor of Maharashtra. I woke up to the greatness of the giant that was Babasaheb very late in life, perhaps due to my caste privilege!”

She added, “To not understand the caste system, is to not understand India. The awardees

included people that cared for the plight of others during Covid as well ! Jai Bhim! Jai Hind! Thank you.” The actor shared two pictures, one of her receiving the award, and one where she is lighting candles in front of pictures of Lord Buddha and Babasaheb Ambedkar. Celebrities wishes poured in on the post. Konkona Sen Sharma wrote, “Congratulations! That's wonderful!!!” While Zoya Akhtar dropped a bunch of appreciative emojis in the comments section.

Imran Khan quits acting, F-I-L says “his personal decision” 'Katti Batti' actor Imran Khan has quit Bollywood, as confirmed by his friend and actor Akshay Oberoi. Khan's fatherin-law Ranjev Malik confirmed the news with a media source, adding he may pursue direction in the future. Malik said it was Imran's decision to give up acting. He was quoted by media reports as saying, “Honestly, it's Imran's personal decision and it's not my domain either. But yes, Imran was always inclined towards direction right from the days he went to a film school. Well, he's working on it and will make it happen.”

Malik said his daughter, Khan's estranged wife Avantika wanted him to focus on acting because “Imran was

Spreading Colors of joy this festive season Virgin Media’s Asian Mela Pack subscribers can now watch Colors HD at no additional cost As part of its strategy to improve the quality of entertainment it presents to its viewers, IndiaCast is set to bring its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel, Colors, for Virgin Media subscribers in UK in ‘High Definition (HD) format’.

Starting 26 November 2020, Colors will be available as a HD channel to Virgin Media’s Asian Mela Pack subscribers at no additional cost and will automatically replace the current SD feed on Virgin’s Channel no. 826.

Govind Shahi, Executive Vice President, IndiaCast International Business, said, “Over the past 10 years, Colors has been providing quality entertainment to its viewers in the UK and our constant endeavor is to not only appoint new viewers but also enhance the overall viewing experience for our existing audience. Virgin Media have always catered to a significant amount of our audience and it is about time we give back to the audience a wholistic TV viewing experience. With Bigg Boss gaining momentum and new shows being launched during this festive season, our aim is to continue being the topof-mind entertainment destination for our viewers.”

David Bouchier, Chief TV & Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said, “By bringing Colors in HD to Virgin TV, our Asian programming line-up has just become even stronger. Asian Mela subscribers can

now enjoy even more great programmes, from Bollywood blockbusters to exciting entertainment shows, in high definition and

at no extra cost.”

‘Colors’ is Viacom18’s flagship brand in the entertainment space in India. A combination of ‘emotions’ and ‘variety’, Colors, launched on 21st July 2008, offers an entire spectrum of emotions to its viewers.

From Fiction Shows to Format shows to Reality shows to Blockbuster Movies – the basket contains all ‘Jazbaat Ke Rang’.

‘Colors’ is dedicated to promoting ‘Cohesive viewing’, through shows like Choti Sarrdaarni, Shakti…Astitva Ke Ehsaas Kii, Ishq Mein Marjawaan, Naagin, Barrister Babu, Pavitra Bhagya, Shubharambh, Bigg Boss, Rising Star, Dance Deewane and Khatron Ke Khiladi amongst others.

Colors HD will broadcast in widescreen, along with Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 audio, on Virgin Channel No. 826, starting 26 November, 2020.

doing well.” When asked if both, Imran and Avantika will ever get back together, Ranjev said it was their decision to make.

Last week, Oberoi told media source, “My best friend in Bollywood is Imran Khan, who is no longer an actor because he has quit acting.

Imran Khan has left acting at the moment. As far as I know, there is a better writer and director inside Imran, I do not know when he will direct his film himself, I am not going to put any pressure, but as a friend, I think he will direct his film soon. Also, when Imran directs, I know he will make a wonderful film because his sensibility and understanding of cinema is very high.”

Sara Ali Khan shares memory of when she got money for dancing on the streets Actor Sara Ali Khan's love for the performing arts is no secret. Time and again, she has shared throwback pictures of herself all dressed up as a kid.

The actor recently shared a childhood story, about when she started dancing on the street during an overseas vacation and passers-by showered her with money. Sara was on a vacation as a child, with her parents Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh, and baby brother Ibrahim Ali Khan.

“They had gone into a shop for something. I was outside with my brother, who was in a pram, and we were with our help. IT was the three of us outside. I started dancing. People stopped to give money because they thought I was begging. I kept it. I realised, 'Paise mil rahe hai, kuch bhi kar lo, karte raho (We are getting money, so let’s continue doing whatever we are doing).’ I started dancing more and more.”

When Saif and Amrita returned from the shop, their help happily said that passers-by found Sara so “cute”, they gave her money. To which, Amrita responded, “They did not find her cute, they thought she was a beggar, which is why they gave her money.”

On the work front, Sara is set to be seen opposite Varun Dhawan in David Dhawan's 'Coolie No 1'. The film is all set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on December 25. She has also bagged Aanand L Rai's 'Atrangi Re' in her kitty, along with Akshay Kumar and Dhanush.

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Sonakshi Sinha feels like “sort of a misfit in films” Actor Sonakshi Sinha grew up under the limelight, what with her father being Shatrughan Sinha and whatnot. While she is no stranger to media attention, the actress believes there are still parts that she is just not used to. In a recent interview, when asked what the toughest part about being a celebrity, or a public figure is, she said it is to “inspire people in the right way”.

Sinha said, “You want to be the correct role model for people.

Honestly, for me that's not really difficult but something that is constantly at the back of my mind.”

The 33 year old said she wants to inspire young women to be comfortable with who they are. “I want them to establish themselves, not to be dependent on anyone. These are the values and things that I want to project.”

“Other than that, for me, what's been really difficult for me is that I have been a very low key person. I feel I don't enjoy being the centre of attention, which is what sometimes makes me feel like I am such a misfit here, because I would rather just go, do my work which is shoot, and come back home. I don't want to be like the main, sole focus of every place I end up in. I am a low key person, and like to have my privacy which is very difficult to keep in this industry.”

Genre: Christmas Romantic Comedy Duration: 98 minutes

The Princesses are back and this time in a triple role Two years on and Stacy is married to Edward and is the Princess of Belgravia and Margaret is getting ready to be crowned Queen of Montenaro. But as always there is a twist in the plot and the two must switch places to try give Margaret a chance to live the life of a commoner for a day.

Saif Ali Khan may be cancelling his autobiography Actor Saif Ali Khan reveals he is contemplating “chickening out” of his book deal. In August, Saif had announced he was quite excited about writing his autobiography, set to arrive next year. However, in a recent appearance on Jacqueline Fernandez and Amanda Cerny's new podcast, the actor said he was considering walking out.

He said, “Someone asked me to do a book, and I might chicken out, because it's too much work to do it properly, and then you have to be very honest as well, which properly, and then you have to be very honest as well, which probably will disturb quite a few people. Honestly, I don't know if I am prepared to put myself through the 100 per cent abuse that's going to come my way.”

Saif added, “I’m really sorry to say it, I’m

going to say it, I don’t think the general audience -- and not just general -- but there will be a section of the audience that’s so negative in India that I don’t want to share my life and talk about things...” Previously, Saif's wife Kareena Kapoor Khan revealed she was worried about the book, for the exact same reasons. She said she told him to be politically correct in the book.

On the work front, Saif and Jacqueline are currently in Dharamshala, filming for horror comedy 'Bhoot Police'.

Internet lashes out at Kangana Ranaut, calls her “most toxic” Actor Kangana Ranaut is a firehouse of power, however, she does find herself in the middle of controversies a tad too regularly these days. She was recently caught up in a Twitter war with a 22 year old artiste named Priyanka Paul. The actress began her morning by tweeting against IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil who was in their own little spat with Twitter handle True Indology over the origin of firecrackers.

When Twitter suspended True Indology's account, Kangana chirped for its return and began bashing Moudgil online. She wrote, “Side effects of reservations, when unworthy and undeserving gets the power they don't heal they only hurt, I don't know anything about her personal life but I guarantee that her frustration is stemming out of her incompetence.”

Priyanka, in return, tweeted against Kangana. She wrote, “Honestly starting to think it was better when there were less 'outsiders' in bollywood (they’re all bland savarnas anyway whats the difference) atleast the others aren’t spewing garbage like this crackpot here.” While Kangana did not reply to this tweet, she did pounce on another where Priyanka talked about the challenges of mental health, suicidal thoughts, self harm, and public melt-

downs.

Kangana chose to respond by writing, “Apni halat dekho kuch lete kyun nahin? Self admittedly Suicidal ho, toxic ho, creepy looking bhi, aisi kaun si kami hai jo aap mein nahin? Mujhe gyan mat do mujhse gyan lo (See the state of yourself. Why don’t you do something about it? You admit to being suicidal, are toxic and look creepy as well. What faults do you not have? Don’t give me advices, take one from me), change that hairstyle asap and learn to meditate.”

When Priyanka told her off by writing ‘Go f**k yourself’, Kangana responded, “No no no I am hot and sexy I don’t do it myself.”

Twitteratti was extremely disappointed with the actress, with several of them calling her “toxic”.

One of them wrote, “@KanganaTeam mocks and derides someone who has acknowledged they have contemplated suicide and self-harm. She makes fun of her looks and tells her to meditate. Anyone who ridicules the suffering of others is themselves in dire need of help. Hope she gets it soon.”

In the original The Princess Switch we saw bakers Stacey and Kevin head to Belgravia to enter a baking competition that was being judged by Lady Margaret who ironically is her doppelganger, the two switch places so Margaret can live the life of a commoner for a day before she married Prince Edward. During the time they switch Stacey falls in love with Edward and Margaret falls in love with Kevin.

In the sequel to the original Stacey is now married to Princess Edward and living a great life however Kevin and Margaret have split up due to the fact that Margaret is about to become Queen. Stacey, Kevin, Edward and Kevin’s daughter Olivia travel to Montenero for the crowning ceremony. It is obvious there are still sparks flying between her and Kevin and the two dance together at the ball. This is interrupted by Margaret’s cousin Fiona’s entrance and she looks remarkably like Maragret aswell.

Fiona has spent all her money and an idea has struck her and her two dopey aids. She wants to pose as Margaret, move up the crowing ceremony and steal a small fortune for herself before anyone notices the switch and then flee.

On the day of the kidnapping Fiona and her aids are unaware that Margaret and Stacey have switched places so that Margaret could spend some time with Kevin and see if they were still in love. Stacey in kidnapped and when Edward and Margaret realise they rush to save her.

In The Princess Switch: Switched Again we see the amazing actress Vanessa Hudgens take on a triple role as she plays Stacey, Margaret and Fiona. The film is set around Christmas much like the last one and it really gets you into that festive spirit. There are some really funny scenes in the film especially with Fiona’s aids one of which is played by Fatboy from Eastenders and with Christmas not so far away and being stuck in lockdown at the moment this will get you feeling all Christmassy and happy.

There are no good Bollywood films out at the moment but I am going to try and watch that animation film Bombay Rose for next week and see if it is any good.

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

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Samantha Akkineni wishes Nayanthara on her birthday, salutes her for her strength Actor Samantha Akkineni took to Twitter recently to wish friend, and colleague Nayanthara on her birthday. Samantha thanked Nayan for inspiring everyone to fight and saluted her for her strength and silent determination. She wrote, “Happy birthday to the one and only Nayanthara. Keep shining brighter and brighter and inspiring us to fight for what is ours. More power to you sister. Salute your strength and silent determination.”

The actress celebrated her birthday last week, and was showered with wishes and blessings from celebrities and fans alike. On the occasion of her birthday, makers of her upcoming movie

Dhanush set to begin filming for Karthick Naren's upcoming Actor Dhanush is reportedly all set to begin shooting for his yet-untitled Tamil film with director Karthick Naren from December onwards. The project, which stars Malavika Mohanan in the female lead, is tipped to be a crime thriller. To be bankrolled by Sathya Jyothi films, the movie is expected to go on the floors from next month in Chennai.

Media reports the movie will see Dhanush playing the role of a journalist and Malavika as his love interest. This will be Malavika's third Tamil outing, the previous two being, Rajinikanth's 'Petta', and Vijay's 'Master'.

On the work front, Dhanush currently awaits the release of Karthik Subbaraj's 'Jagame Thandiram'. On completion of the project, the actor tweeted, “That's a wrap for D 40. One of the quickest films I have done. It was a pleasure to work with such a quirky, sensible and visionary filmmaker like Karthik Subbaraj. This one is going to be special.”

Mahesh Babu is all praises for Suriya's 'Soorarai Pottru' To say actor Mahesh Babu is impressed by Suriya's latest release would be an understatement. The latter's 'Soorarai Pottru' had its world premiere on Amazon Prime last week.

Mahesh called the film inspiring and that it showcases Suriya in top form. Directed by Sudha Kongara, 'Soorarai Pottru' is the story based on the life of Captain GR Gopinath, the founder of budget airline Air Deccan.

Mahesh tweeted, “#SooraraiPottru What an inspiring film!

Brilliantly directed with amazing performances. @Suriya_offl in top form. Shine on brother.

Congrats to the entire team.” Babu is however, not the only one to be bowled out by the film.

Praises have been coming in for the film from all quarters ever since it started streaming.

Actor Vijay Deverakonda took to Twitter recently to share how much he loved the film. Last week, Captain Gopinath took to Twitter to congratulate Sudha Kongara, Suriya and the entire team for making the film.

'Netrikann' unveiled the movie teaser. It shows her playing the role of a visually challenged character who is after a serial killer. Directed by Milind Rau, and produced by Vignesh Shivn, the film is set to hit the screens this December.

An official remake of Korean thriller 'Blind', Nayan plays a cadet at a police academy but her career ends after a freak road accident. On the work front, Nayan also has a yet-untitled Telugu project with Nandamuri Balakrishna. She also has a project with her boyfriend Vignesh Shivn in the pipeline. 'Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal' will also stars Samantha Akkineni and Vijay Sethupathi.

Keerthy Suresh is a battered woman in the first look of 'Saani Kaayidham' The first-look poster of Keerthy Suresh's 'Saani Kaayidham' was unveiled over the weekend, and going by the poster, one can assume the film is raw and violent. Actor, producer Dhanush released the poster on Twitter. It shows a bloodied Keerthy, and Selvaraghavan squatting on the ground with some weapons in front of them on display.

Written and directed

by Arun Matheswaran,

the movie is slated to go on the floors soon. Music for the movie will be rendered by Yuvan Shankar Raja. On the work front, Keerthy has two Telugu projects in her kitty. She has an upcoming Telugu release alongside Nithiin, 'Rang De' scheduled for release next year, and Mahesh Babu's 'Sarkaru Vaari Paata' in the pipeline. She will be seen playing Rajinikanth's sister in Tamil film 'Annaatthe'.

TV Listing

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 30 NOV FRI 4 DEC 2020 6:30 INTERNET WALA LOVE 14:30 KASAM 16:00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 16:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 18:30 SHAKTI 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 SHAKTI 20:30 MOLKKI 21:00 PINJARA KHUBSOORTI KA

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 30 NOV FRI 4 DEC 2020 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) SATURDAY 28 NOV 18:30 NAMASTE BREAKFAST 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 DESI BEAT RESET 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR SUNDAY 29 NOV 13:00 FORCE 2 16:30 DESI BEAT RESET 17:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 19:00 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 DESI BEAT RESET 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR

SATURDAY 28 NOV 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 29 NOV 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

32 HEALTH

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

AsianVoiceNews

www.asian-voice.com

28 Nov - 4 Dec 2020

New short film released by the Government shows how coronavirus lingers in enclosed spaces The Power of Affirmations and how to keep your home ventilated Why we all need to pay attention to what we are thinking

A new public information campaign launched by the Government to highlight how letting fresh air into indoor spaces can reduce the risk of infection from coronavirus by over 70%.

1. People have visitors (when permitted) or tradespeople in their home, for example for construction or emergencies.

2. Someone from a support bubble is meeting with another household indoors.

3. A care worker is seeing a patient The campaign, which forms part of wider ‘Hands. Face. Space’ guidindoors; or 4. If someone in the household has ance, sees the release of a new short film created with scientists and an the virus, as this can help prevent engineer at Leeds University. transmission to other household The film illustrates how coronmembers avirus lingers in the air in spaces with Professor Catherine Noakes, from no fresh air, increasing the risk of peoLeeds University who advised on the ple breathing in infected parfilm, said, “When a room does ticles, and how the risk not have any fresh air, and • Research shows can be reduced signifiwhere people are generatthat being in a room cantly by regularly ing large amounts of with fresh air can reduce ventilating enclosed aerosol through activities risk of infection from areas. such as singing and loud particles by over 70%.

As we spend speech, that is when • The film is part of the Hands. more time indoors, transmission of coronFace. Space. campaign which experts are recomavirus is most likely. urges public to adopt simple mending that the Fresh air must come health behaviours to help public open windows from outdoors - recircureduce the risk of the for short, sharp bursts lating air just means the virus spreading. of 10 -15 minutes regularaerosols containing the virus ly throughout the day, or move around the same room leave windows open a small amount rather than being extracted outdoors. continuously, to remove any infected Coronavirus is spread through the particles lingering in the room. air by droplets and smaller particles Additionally, it is advised that any (known as aerosols) that are exhaled household systems that use outdoor from the nose and mouth of an infectair, including kitchen or bathroom ed person as they breathe, speak or extractor fans, are used correctly and cough. They behave in a similar way regularly as an additional method to to smoke but are invisible. The majorremove infected particles. ity of virus transmissions happen Airing indoor spaces is particularindoors. Being indoors, with no fresh ly important when: air, the particles can remain suspend-

ed in the air for hours and build up over time.

The longer people spend in the same room as these particles, the more likely they are to become infected.

GP, Dr Amir Khan said, “As we approach winter, and inevitably spend more time indoors, fresh air is extremely beneficial. For COVID-19, it is important to ventilate indoor spaces if someone in your home has the virus as this can help prevent transmission to other household members.

“You should also let fresh air into your home when you have any visitors and just after they leave in case, they are infected. Remember, opening windows alongside washing your hands, covering your face and making space is also essential in reducing your risk of Covid-19.”

Ventilation to provide fresh air in enclosed spaces is just as important as the other actions, so remember this as well as Hands, Face, Space. These are the most effective ways we can all control the spread of the virus. Visit gov.uk/coronavirus for more information.

The public are encouraged to continue to be vigilant of coronavirus symptoms which include a new continuous cough, high temperature, or a loss or change in your sense of taste or smell. If you or someone you know, displays any symptoms please get a free test by calling 119 or visiting NHS.uk.

Oxford vaccine could be up to 90% effective British drugmaker AstraZeneca has announced its Covid-19 vaccine is 70 per cent effective in pivotal trials, and could be up to 90 per cent effective in the global fight against the ongoing pandemic. It said it will have as many as 200 million doses by the end of 2020, over four times as many as America's Pfizer Inc. Director of the Oxford University vaccine group, which developed the candidate along with AstraZeneca, Andrew Pollard said, “This means we have a vaccine for the world.”

The vaccine prevented 70 per cent of Covid-19 cases in late-stage trials in Britain and Brazil. The success rate rose to 90 per cent in a group of trial participants who accidentally received a half dose followed by a full dose.

The efficacy was 62 per cent if the full dose was given twice, as it was for most study participants. Shares of the pharmaceutical company fell almost four per cent as investors remained unimpressed with its efficacy data as compared with Pfizer and Moderna which reported their vaccines as 95per cent effective.

The AstraZeneca vaccine however, has several perks.

Primarily, its cost to the government pegged at just a

couple of dollars a shot, a fraction of the price of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

It can be transported and

stored at normal fridge temperatures, which proponents say would make it easier to distribute,

especially in poor countries.

Speaking in the parliament on Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “Vaccines are now edging ever closer to liberating us from the virus, demonstrating emphatically that this is not a pandemic without end.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the bulk of the vaccine rollout will take place January-March. Britain has pre-ordered 100 million doses for its 67 million people. He said, “We hope that sometime after Easter things will be able to start to get back to normal.”

UK's 'Test and Trace' system to cost additional £7bn The British government has announced a £7 billion increase in funding for its Covid-19 testing and contact tracing system as part of an expanded programme of mass testing and plans to test frontline staff more regularly. Despite being extremely criticised for the system, the government banks on enhanced testing programmes as an important prong of its strategy to ease the economic burden of lockdowns and restrictions.

The Boris Johnson-led government said, “This strategy is backed by an additional 7 billion pounds for NHS Test and Trace to increase testing and continue to improve contact tracing, taking the overall funding provided for Test and Trace this financial

year to 22 billion pounds.”

Labour Party's finance policy chief Anneliese Dodds has urged the government to get a grip on the crisis and to end what she described as poor financial management during the pandemic. He was quoted in a news report as saying, “We're not talking about small amounts of public money here, 12 billion pounds has been spent on test and trace and it's still not working in the UK effectively.”

Psychologist Mamta Saha Dearest Readers, I have missed you and the good news is that I am back. This week we are talking about the power of our mind and what we tell ourselves.

To be specific, Affirmations.

‘I am’ statements that empower and strengthen your mind and soul.

Affirmations have been used for many years and were bought into the spotlight when pioneer Louise Hay showed how by practicing them, she changed her life and the life of many others. Affirming helps one to develop mental agility, emotional resilience, clarity and grounding which equips you with the ability to manage levels of anxiety, stress or self-doubt in moments where we really need anchoring.

Examples of Affirmations I am peace, I choose my narrative, we are all connected, I inhale love and I exhale peace.

As the world becomes more uncertain, affirmations give us the ability to ground within ourself despite the uncertainty. Pre-pandemic life felt chaotic and this hasn’t stopped. The more mindful we become on building our emotional resilience the more we can strengthen our ability to face change and challenges with confidence, inner peace and resilience.

Affirmations can combat and counteract negative thought patterns and our inner narrative in order to retrain our brains. This is a process known as neuroplasticity. By focusing on positive, empowering and enabling thoughts we train our mind to say, hear, and see the good meaning we are less likely to miss opportunities that come our way.

Affirming has also been found to: 1. Reduce increased cortisol levels (our bodies leading stress hormone) and epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) 2. Enhance problem solving skills 3. Boost academic achievement 4. Increase creativity 5. Reduce our defensiveness 6. Improve our psychological resilience to stressful situations When we give our mind the direction it is longing for, we conquer what we once felt was impossible. If we choose not to, our mind and narrative decide for itself. Anchor in a way that fulfils your potential and notice how you have the power to turn your life around.

Download your free e-book ‘Just in time’ from www.mamtasaha.com, tune into Saha Mindset podcast on Spotify and follow me on Instagram: saha_mamta.

Feel free to email too: mamta@mamtasaha.com.

Govt seeks to reduce selfisolation period The British government looks for a way to reduce the selfisolation period for people who come into contact with a Covid-19 positive patient. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said they are using a new testing regime to bring down the self-isolation days from 14.

Speaking in an interview, he said, “We're piloting a process, using these new tests that we have, to allow people to take a test every single day instead of having to isolate for that period so that it picks-up if you're positive even before you have symptoms.

Hancock revealed he was being piloted this week and if successful would be rolled out among health and social care staff, and eventually more broadly in the new year.