Asian Lite UK - Sep II edition 2019 by beneeksiraj

VOL XII ISSUE X SEPTEMBER II EDITION, 2019 9

THE SUCCESS SAGA OF DR RAMI RANGER CBE

PP33

ORDER, ORDER P2

ASIAN ACHIEVERS

HONOURED

P37

2 NEWS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

SPEAKER SLAMS BORIS PROROGATION MOVE Parliament Speaker John Bercow said the prime minister’s move is an offence against the democratic process …. Writes Kaliph Anaz

ritain heading for the major constitutional crisis in its history as Parliament Speaker John Bercow opposed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to prorogate the Parliament on September 14 to get his no-deal Brexit plan. “Shutting down Parliament would be an oﬀence against the democratic process and the rights of Parliamentarians as the people’s elected representatives,” Speaker Bercow said in a statement. “Surely at this early stage in his premiership, the prime minister should be seeking to establish rather than undermine his democratic credentials and indeed his commitment to Parliamentary democracy.” “I have had no contact from the government, but if the reports that it is seeking to prorogue Parliament are conﬁrmed, this move represents a constitutional outrage,” added Bercow responding to the letter written by the prime minister on

the issue. “However it is dressed up, it is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop Parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping a course for the country.” BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said the precedent was for Parliament to be suspended before a Queen’s Speech, and it would be “impossible” for the Queen to reject the government’s request to do so now. He said that convention lifted the pressure off the Queen and to some degree, in some people’s eyes, depoliticises it. “The fundamental is the Queen acts on the advice of her ministers - in particular, on the advice of her prime minister,” he added. Boris has confirmed that he has asked the Queen for permission to suspend parliament for five weeks from early September. The prime minister claimed MPs would have “ample time” to

debate Brexit, as he wrote to MPs on Wednesday, saying he had spoken to the Queen and asked her to suspend parliament from “the second sitting week in September”. MPs will then return to Westminster on 14 October, when he said there would be a new Queen’s speech, setting out what he called a “bold and ambitious domestic legislative agenda for the renewal of our country after Brexit”. The eﬀect of the decision will be to curtail dramatically the time MPs have to introduce legislation or other measures aimed at preventing a nodeal Brexit. Parliament is expected to sit for little more than a week from 3 September. But asked if he was denying opposition MPs the time to stop a no-deal Brexit, the prime minister told Sky News: “No, that is completely untrue. We are bringing forward a new legislative programme on crime, hospitals, making sure we have the education funding we need.” SNP MP Joanna Cherry tells

Radio 5 Live that it is “disingenuous” of the PM to claim the prorogation is because he wants to push through his domestic agenda. “This is about a prime minister who knows that a majority of MPs are opposed to the terrible economic damage that would be caused by a no-deal Brexit,” she says. “He’s basically trying to ﬁnd a way to stop Parliament sitting so that those MPs can’t take action. “He saw how well the cross-party talks went yesterday, he is aware that I and d others have raised action in the

Scottish courts to try and stop him from suspending Parliament and he’s trying to rush this through now - but I don’t think he’ll get away with it.” Tory backbencher Dominic Grieve called the move “an outrageous act”. He warned it could lead to a vote of no conﬁdence in Mr Johnson, adding: “This government will come down.” Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said MPs must come together to stop the plan next week, or “today will go down in history as a democracy”. dark one indeed for UK democracy

MAYHEM AT MOTHER OF ALL PARLIAMENTS The parliamentarians let the British electorate down. We never voted to leave EU without a deal in 2016. The procrastination of the Opposition and the self-serving personal agenda of the Boris and his cronies are undermining the opportunities of the future generation. They are the one going to bear the brunt of these shambles.... writes Kaliph Anaz

houting sorties, scuﬄes, Labour team singing the Red Flag, SNP on Flower of Scotland and Welsh group on Bread and Roses…. Welcome to British Parliament – The Mother of All parliaments. The democracy at stake as a British prime minister without a proper mandate and his unscrupulous advisor who hates parliament blocking everything to pave the way for their Brexit juggernaut to roll on. British electorate was duped with fake news and fake data besides scaremongering sensational posters. Instead of debates and fair discussions, the dark arts of social media were employed to sway the opinion of the British electorate. The poor will be poorer if the Brexit took place on October 31 without a deal. The rich have something to fall back on. Boris and his friends at high places like Jacob Rees-Mogg are not telling the truth and that is reﬂecting in their hesitation to reveal the Yellow Hammer Papers, the government’s contingency plan for a nodeal Brexit. The Operation Yellowhammer reveals the probable consequences of the UK leaving the EU without deal on 31 October. The no-deal Brexit will disrupt the British system in all sectors. The report predicts: Up to 85 per cent

of lorries travelling across the Channel may not be ready for French customs; EU likely to have increased immigration checks at border posts. This may lead to passenger delays at St Pancras, Cheriton and Dover; the disruption will aﬀect the supply of medicines unless there is mitigation via other sources; the supply of certain types of fresh food will decrease. Critical elements of the food supply chain (such as ingredients, chemicals and packaging) may be in short supply. In combination, these two factors will not cause an overall shortage of food in the UK but will reduce availability and choice and increase the price, which will aﬀect vulnerable groups. Communities which already relying on food banks for survival will crumple. Besides all these issues, the government is

del protests fearing a poll tax model across the country. Protests and counter-protests will take place across the UK, using up police resources. There may also be er a rise in public disorder ns. and community tensions. eak up with How can you break lus years without a your partner of 40 plus ut Boris and his team want deal? Is it too rude? But l. His brother Jo Johnson to leave without a deal. and cabinet colleaguee Amber Rudd quit over the secrecy shrouded around the strategy. There is not enough inclination to get a deal when leaving the ties we started in 1973. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he wanted to head to the polls next month to break the political deadlock and he is accusing the opposition of making “outrageous excuses” to delay the process. Former Tony Blair termed it as an elephant trap and Corbyn heed the advise. Labour and other opposition MPs refused to back the snap election bid - which needed a twothirds majority in the Commons - while the risk of a no-deal remained. In all, 293 MPs voted for the prime minister’s motion for an early election,

fa far short th of the third two thirds th needed. Now the ciall Parliament has oﬃcially been suspended for ﬁve weeks, with MPs not due back until 14 October. Amid unprecedented scenes in the Commons, some MPs protested against the suspension with signs saying “silenced” while shouting: “Shame on you.” The parliamentarians let the British electorate down. We never voted to leave EU without a deal in 2016. The procrastination of the Opposition and the self-serving personal agenda of the Boris and his cronies are undermining the opportunities of the future generation. They are the one going to bear the brunt of these shambles. Full story in www.asianlite.com

fb.com/asian fb.com/asianlite nlite @asianlitemedia @asian a liteme edia

NEWS 3

SEPTEMBER IIII 2019 Website: www.a www.asianlite.com w...a w.a w as siia sia ian nli nl lliitte te. e..c e co com om om E Em Ema Email: mail: newsdesk@asianlite.com ma

LORD RAMI RANGER Refugee Boy To Become A Lord In Britain

r Raminder Ranger aka Dr Rami Ranger ANGER CBE, Chairman of Conservative Friends of India and founder of Sun Mark Ltd, has been nominated to House of Lords, the Upper House of British Parliament. Dr Ranger, one of the most prominent members of Indian community in Britain, started his business with just £2 pounds in pocket and a second hand typewriter. Dr Ranger was born in July 1947 in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan). He has seven brothers and a sisters. Since the family had migrated to Patiala in the Punjab state of India during India’s partition, Ranger was given admission to the Modern School in Patiala. After the completion of his school education, he went to Mohindra College, and then obtained a BA degree from the Govt. College Chandigarh.[citation needed] Ranger ceased his studies after reaching the UK where he had gone to study Bar at Law in May 1971. Ranger started his ﬁrst business in 1987 with just £2 capital, from a shed, shipping cargo by sea, air and land. Today, the Sun Mark group has operations in over 120 countries. Dr Ranger is also the chairman of the British Sikh Association. This was set up to stop the extremist Sikh organisations from representing the Sikh point of view in Britain. He has vigorously argued with these extremist organisations that the Sikhs were created to defend the unity, integrity and the basic human rights of every Indian and not to break her up. When Sikh Gurus never claimed a separate kingdom

Dr Ranger with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former prime minister David Cameron

for themselves, then why should their followers demand a kingdom for themselves? Dr Ranger was appointed the joint chairman of the Conservative Friends of India in 2018, with Zac Goldsmith MP, a group aﬃliated to the Conservative Party which aims to build stronger links between the Party, the British Indian community and India.

India to tighten screws on Sikh radicals in the UK A copy of the letter was also delivered to an address at Canary Wharf. Asian Lite enquiries revealed that the address belongs to a Regus business centre…. Reports Kaliph Anaz

ndia government has issued public notices through prominent newspapers in the UK to ask Sikh For Justice oﬃce bearers to appear in court in Delhi on September 20, 2019 regarding the government decision to ban the organisation on 10th July, 2019. A copy of the letter was also delivered to an address at Canary Wharf. Asian Lite enquiries revealed that the address belongs to Regus business centre. India on July 10 declared Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The decision was taken at a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The oﬃcial move against the Sikh radical forum will make Britain to take action against SFJ activities in the UK. SFJ organised a rally in 2018 to promote their 2020

referendum campaign. The fringe group is run by a few radical Sikhs with foreign nationalities in the US, Canada and the UK SFJ regularly associated with other diaspora-based pro-Khalistan elements, Kashmiri separatists and pro-Pakistan groups to carry out antiIndia activities in countries like the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia. India is investigating 11 criminal cases against the group and its leadership on various charges. Formed in 2007 with Avtar Singh Pannun as its President along with Gurpatwant Pannun, the SFJ is running its secessionist campaign for the last three years in the garb of so-called unoﬃcial Referendum 2020 for the “self-determination of Sikhs” which it plans to hold in November 2020 in India and in countries where the Sikh diaspora exists. The main promoter of the SFJ is Gurpatwant Pannun, a New York-based attorney who practices as

a lawyer for asylum seekers in the US. Wanted terrorists in India – Hardeep Singh Nijjer and Paramjit Singh Pamma – are the principal proponents of the outfit and ‘Referendum 2020’ in Canada and the UK, respectively. “A Gazette Notification No. S.O. 2856(E) dated 7th August, 2019 [published in the Gazette of India: Extraordinary Part II, Section 3 (ii)], in exercise of powers under subsection (1) of Section 5 of the Act, the Central Government has constituted a Tribunal comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice D. N. Patel, Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi, for adjudicating as to whether there is sufficient cause for declaring Sikhs For Justice (‘SFJ’) as an “Unlawful Association” as required by sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the said Act,” the advert appeared in the paper said. “Now there for, a notice is hereby given under sub-section (2) of Section 4 of the Act and you are hereby called upon to show cause, within 30

days from the date of service of notice, as to why your Association, declared as unlawful, be not adjudicated to be so and why an order confirming such declaration be not made under Section 4(3) of the Act. “The objections/ reply affidavits, if any, may be filed/ delivered, before the next date of hearing of the Tribunal, to the undersigned at his office in Room No.

104, First Floor, ‘A’ Block, Delhi High Court, Sher Shah Road, New Delhi – 110503. “You may appear through a duly authorized person before the Tribunal on 20.09.2019 at 9:30 a.m. in Court Room No. 01, “A” Block, Second Floor, Delhi High Court, Sher Shah Road, New Delhi-110503 for further proceedings.”

4 NEWS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

GANDHIGIRI ARRIVES IN LONDON

mulate Gandhi when the going gets tough. The top most diplomat in the UK took broom and cleaning liquids to clear up the mess created by unruly Pakistani protesters in Central London. High Commissioner Ruchi Ghanashyam led a team of volunteers from the Indian community and her subordinate staﬀ to clean the egg shells, tomato stains, smoke bomb marks on the historic building at Aldwych. She was supported by Deputy High Commissioner Charanjeet Singh and other top diplomats. Despite repeated requests, the Metropolitan Police failed to provide adequate security to the Indian mission and its staﬀ. There are just four arrests on August 15 and two arrests on Sept. 3. The police refused to disclose the charges or the status of the arrested protesters. The Pakistani protesters arrived in sponsored coaches from all over England with stones, smoke bombs, bottles, eggs and tomatoes for a PEACEFUL PROTEST against New Delhi’s decision to revoke a special status to Kashmir. There are videos

showing metropolitan police standing idle protesters throwing smoke bombs at the Indian mission and smashing antique window-pans of Grade II listed building. Regarding the protests in London, the Met police instructions clearly said: In accordance with the Vienna Convention we have a duty to protect London’s embassies and diplomatic missions as well. In situations like this, we’ll sometimes install temporary barriers. This is either to control the ﬂow of people passing by or to prevent vehicles from stopping. Metropolitan Police and London

Mayor Sadiq Khan draw ﬂak for their failure to protect India House from Pakistan sponsored protesters in London. They were accused of hiding behind the outdated right to protest rules to justify their action. Most of the major protesters are now taking place at Trafalgar Square. Recently the Square witnessed a major protest against the Communist state’s intervention in Hong Kong. Hundreds of Pakistanis arrived in central London in sponsored coaches on a working day to stage a major protest against India’s decision on Kashmir. The protest was called by

the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and was supported by all Kashmiri and Pakistani groups in Britain, including the British chapters of the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JI). This is the second attack on London’s Indian High Commission building in less than a month. Pakistani protesters had attacked the building on August 15 as well. Celebrity Londoner Katie Hopkins, meanwhile condemns the attack on India House by Pakistani protesters. “There are eggs on the front door,” Hopkins said in the viral

video. “Eggs and tomato stains all over the embassy building. Windows here were broken and damaged. This is happening in our capital city. What I can’t understand is that the embassy building of one of our closest allies looking in this state.” India House is one among the historic building in the location. Others in the row are Bush House, Marconi House, Australia House, London School of Economics and King’s College London. Proposed in 1925 by the Indian High Commissioner Sir Atul Chatterjee, the building was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and completed in 1930. It was formally inaugurated on 8 July 1930 by the King-Emperor George V.

Celebrity Londoner Raps Attack on Indian House

Send your news, pics & comments to newsdesk@asianlite.com www.asianlite.com

elebrity Londoner Katie Hopkins condemns the attack on India House at London by Pakistani protesters on September 3. India House, headquarter of Indian mission in the UK, located at a busy spot in Aldwych, is a Grade II listed building. Despite repeated requests, the Metropolitan Police failed to provide adequate security to the Indian mission and its staﬀ on August 15 and September 3. There are just six arrests and the police refused to disclose the charges or the status of the arrested protesters. The Pakistani protesters arrive in sponsored coaches from all over England with stones, smoke bombs, bottles, eggs and tomatoes for a PEACEFUL PROTEST. The metropolitan police failed to act when protesters smashed antique window pans. India House is one among the historic building in the location. Others in the row are

Bush House, Marconi House, Australia House, London School of Economics and King’s College London. Proposed in 1925 by the Indian High Commissioner Sir Atul Chatterjee, the building was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and completed in 1930. It was formally inaugurated on 8 July 1930 by the KingEmperor George V. Metropolitan Police and London Mayor Sadiq Khan draw ﬂak for their failure to protect India House from Pakistan sponsored protesters in London. They were accused

of hiding behind the outdated right to protest rules to justify their action. Most of the major protesters are now taking place at Trafalgar Square. Recently the Square witnessed a major protest against the Communist state’s intervention in Hong Kong. Hundreds of Pakistanis arrived in central London in sponsored coaches on a working day to stage a major protest against India’s decision on Kashmir. The protest was called by the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and was supported by all Kashmiri and Pakistani groups in Britain, including the British chapters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the Jamaat-eIslami Pakistan (JI). This is the second attack on London’s Indian High Commission building in less than a month. Pakistani protesters had attacked the building on August 15 as well.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

NEWS 5

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

Cameron Turns Heat on Priti & Team Et tu, Brute? Bard is right. Political scenarios will repeat in social cycles. Cameron’s latest revelations in his memoir is creating a 55BC Rome at No 10 Downing Street in London in the 21 st century. The leader was ousted from power by over ambitious colleagues who got their own axes to grind…. Writes Kaliph Anaz

ndia’s former diaspora champion in a soup as her political mentor accused her of misleading the public over the impact of Brexit. Former prime minister David Cameron, who appointed Priti Patel as his Indian Diaspora champion and give her the first post in the front benches as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in 2014. She remained in that post till 2015. After the general elections, Priti was promoted to Minister of State in Department for Works and Pensions. Political sources close to Mr Cameron told Asian Lite that Priti Patel was expecting a senior cabinet post than a junior minister post in the new Conservative government in 2015. She was expecting the same treatment extended to Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who attended the cabinet as a minister without portfolio. Despite her continuous allegiance to Cameron as a Minister of State, Priti jumped the ship and joined ranks with Boris Johnson and Michael Gove to campaign for Brexit. Even a week before the announcement of the referendum date, Priti was saying that all stories about her Breixt allegiance were mere “speculations.” Daily Mail predicted Priti will become the poster girl of Bexit campaign and that become true within days. Mr Cameron called the referendum on June 23, 2016 to fulfil his manifesto promise. He campaigned for Remain, but lost the vote by 52% to 48%, and resigned as prime minister shortly after. Despite providing a majority to the party in a tough fight, his leadership was undermined

by over-ambitious colleagues. During the campaign, Cameron told BBC that he won’t seek a third term. The revelation and his closeness with Chancellor George Osborne created an impression that Mr Osborne will be the successor to the throne. All the prominent Brexiteers got axes to grind. The referendum was an opportunity to remove Cameron team from No 10 and they succeeded. In the memoir titled “For The Record”, Cameron says that Priti’s behaviour shocked him the most. “She used every announcement, interview and speech to hammer the government on immigration, even though she was part of that government,” Cameron wrote in the book. “I was stuck though: unable to fire her, because that would make her a Brexit martyr.” In an interview with The Times, Cameron accuses Priti of not telling the truth about immigration. “I remember her (Ms Patel) attack that wealthy people didn’t understand the problems of immigration,” Cameron told Andrew Billen of The Times. “It felt very like she was put on point to do some attacking of the government and its record. I suppose some people would say all is fair inlove and war and political campaigns I thought there were places Conservatives wouldn’t go against each other. And they did.” Cameron is also very critical of Mr Johnson, an old Etonian, and his “family friend” Michael Gove. He said with the £350 million every week for the NHS poster on the campaign bus, both Boris and Michael left the truth at home. He is also accusing Boris of putting his career bfore the national interests. “Boris Johnson did not believe in Brexit during the referendum campaign and backed Leave “because it would help his political career,” Cameron told the Sunday Times. He also refers Michael Gove as “a foam-flecked Faragist”. “Gove, the liberal-minded, carefully-considered Conservative intellectual, had become a foam-flecked Faragist warning that the entire Turkish population was about to come to Britain.” During the run-up to the EU referendum, Mr Gove claimed Turkey and four

other countries could join the EU by 2020, increasing the UK’s population by up to 5.23 million by 2030. He criticises Mr Johnson’s use of the Vote Leave campaign bus emblazoned by the much-criticised claim that leaving would mean £350m a week extra for the NHS. “Boris rode the bus round the country, he left the truth at home,” writes the former prime minister. The pair were “ambassadors for the expert-trashing, truth-twisting age of populism”, Mr Cameron writes in the book. Cameron also accuses Mr Gove of being disloyal to himself and Mr Johnson. “One quality shone through: disloyalty. Disloyalty to me - and, later, disloyalty to Boris,” said Cameron. He also refers Gove as mendacious in the book. BEST FOR BORIS Mr Cameron writes that when deciding whether to back Leave or Remain in the campaign, Mr Johnson was concerned what the “best outcome” would be for him.

“Whichever senior Tory politician took the lead on the Brexit side - so loaded with images of patriotism, independence and romance - would become the darling of the party,” he says. “He [Mr Johnson] didn’t want to risk allowing someone else with a high proﬁle - Michael Gove in particular - to win that crown.” The former Tory leader adds: “The conclusion I am left with is that he [Boris Johnson] risked an outcome he didn’t believe in because it would help his political career.” He also says during the Leave campaign Mr Johnson, who has repeatedly said the UK must exit the EU on 31 October, privately raised the possibility of holding another referendum after fresh negotiations with the EU. REFERENDUM INEVITABLE Cameron told The Times that he recognized some people will never forgive him for holding a referendum, but he thinks a referendum was “inevitable”. evitable . “This issue needed to be addressed and I thought a referendum was coming, so better to try to get some reforms w wee needed and have a referendum. “Having a referendum was not a decision I took in any way lightly,” Cameron told The Times. “I get very frustrated when I read- which I do frequently – that a referendum was held because of

the results of the 2014 European election. It’s not simply true. The referendum was announced a year beforehand in 2013.” “It seemed to me that there was a genuine problem between Britain and the EU with the Eurozone crisis and the development of the euro that needed ﬁxing.” “But I accept that eﬀort failed. I do understand some people are very angry because they didn’t want to leave the EU. Neither did I,” he added. Cameron admitted that he thinks about the referendum every single day. “I worry desperately about what is going to happen next. I think we can get to a situation where we leave but we are friends, neighbours and partners. We can get there, but I would love to fast-forward to that moment because it’s painful for the country and it’s painful to watch,” he added. (For the Record by David Cameron is published by William Collins, £25. Buy from Waterstones - http:// bit.ly/2lUbKsI)

6 NEWS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

Boris Breaks the Rules to Prorogue Parliament Who is screaming for a no-deal Brexit? Boris and the ilk of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel. Can we trust them? Jo Johnson and Amber Rudd already shared their verdict on Team Boris when they were leaving the cabinet…. Writes Dr Kailash Chand

cotland’s highest civil court has ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suspension of the UK Parliament is unlawful. The judges said the PM was attempting to prevent Parliament holding the government to account ahead of Brexit. Boris and his wealthy cohort are planning a non-deal Brexit to fulfill their personal agenda. If it happens on October 31, the country will face food, fuel and drugs shortages, and disarray in the NHS. Who is screaming for a no-deal Brexit? Boris and the ilk of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel. Can we trust them? Jo Johnson and Amber Rudd already shared their verdict on Team Boris when leaving the cabinet. Trump & Boris alliance want a no-deal Brexit. S they can carve up chunks of the UK economy for their rich friends. Since June 2016, when the United Kingdom voted by a slender majority to leave the EU, the country’s political class has been unable to form a consensus on how to leave the EU. The next few weeks the nation remains on cliff edge. Prime Minister Johnson justified the proroguing of the UK Parliament

for over a month by claiming it is “normal procedure”. Most of the country says, it is not. The most that Johnson — a prime minister who was selected by a section of the Conservative Party (0.1%) and who hasn’t faced a general election — can claim is that he has not technically broken the law. In fact, by asking the Queen to suspend the House of Commons till just 10-12 days before the October 31 Brexit deadline,

Johnson has shown complete disdain for the British people, the forum in which their representatives make their voice heard, and for Westminster-style democracy itself. Ironically, among the issues that Johnson and other “leavers” had cited as reasons for Britain leaving the European Union three years ago was that the EU curtailed the powers of the country’s parliament and the will of the British people!

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is spot on when he told Sky news, “ﬁrst we must come together to stop no deal. This week could be our last chance. We are working with other parties to do everything necessary to pull our country back from the brink. Then we need a general election. When a government ﬁnds itself without a majority the solution is not to undermine democracy. The solution is to let the people decide, and call a

general election.” If Johnson wishes to suggest that the mandate for his version of Brexit is greater than the voice of all the MPs that oppose it, he need to revoke the Article 50, and then seek a general election. By circumventing parliament on Brexit, the prime minister has shown disdain for democratic institutions. Does he realise, chaos a ‘no deal’ Brexit, and the disintegration of local as well as national health services becomes an ever more real prospect. From medicine shortages to the loss of highly skilled doctors, the Government’s preparations to deal with what could be a potentially catastrophic fallout have been far from reassuring. Boris wants a general election about Brexit. He is hoping the UK media will help him to achieve that goal. Boris wants zero mention of food banks, zero hours, fuel poverty, NHS, rail fares, crèche fees, tax evasion. Well guess what? We won’t let him get away with it. This general election will be about common issues aﬀecting the British public and not about the elites in London. The general public will teach Boris and his cronies about the values of Parliamentary democratic system.

Healthcare sector major contributor to CLIMATE CRISIS

f the global healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet, a new report by Health Care Without Harm in collaboration with Arup said. Establishing the first-ever estimate of healthcare’s global climate footprint, the report finds healthcare’s footprint is equivalent to 4.4 per cent of global net emissions (two gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent). Fossil fuel combustion makes up well over half of health care’s global climate footprint, said the report titled ‘Health care’s climate footprint: How the health sector contributes to the global climate crisis and opportunities for action’. Overall, healthcare emissions are equivalent to the annual greenhouse gases produced by 514 coal-fired power plants. The report, released simultaneously at events in London and Medellin in Colombia, makes the case for a transformation of the healthcare sector that aligns it with the Paris Agreement goal of

limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius. “Not only are doctors, nurses and health facilities all ﬁrst responders to the impacts of climate change, but hospitals and healthcare systems paradoxically make a major contribution to the climate crisis,” said Josh Karliner, International Director of Program and Strategy for Health Care Without Harm and one of the authors of the report. “The health sector needs to transition to clean, renewable energy and deploy other primary prevention strategies to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Healthcare has to step up and do its part to avoid catastrophic climate change, which would be devastating to human health worldwide.” Hospitals, health systems and their supply chains in the US, China, and collectively the countries of the European Union, comprise more than half of healthcare’s worldwide emissions. And while vastly diﬀering in scale, every nation’s health sector directly and indirectly releases greenhouse gases as it delivers care.

Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) President Dr. Srinath Reddy said: “As human health and even survival are threatened as never before by climate change, the health sector has not only to be the conscience keeper but also the pacesetter for mitigation and adaptation.” “By adopting green technologies, reducing emissions and moving to green procurement practices, the health sector

can support mitigation.” Added Poornima Prabhakaran, Deputy Director with the Centre for Environmental Health, Public Health Foundation of India: “The green paper on Healthcare’s Global Climate footprint highlights the need for decoupling development in the healthcare sector from greenhouse gas emissions across the lifecycle of healthcare operations.”

IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING

PRODUCT RECALL

To check you will need your serial and model numbers, which are located here: MODEL NUMBER

TD1234 (UK)

S/N

123456789

307000000000

SERIAL NUMBER

DO YOU OWN A TUMBLE DRYER FROM ONE OF THESE BRANDS?

CHECK YOUR DRYER NOW. CALL US ON: 0800 151 0905 OR VISIT: WWW.WHIRLPOOL.CO.UK/DRYERRECALL If your dryer was made before September 2015 and you have not had it modifiedby the manufacturer, it may pose a risk of fire. Your safety is our top priority. If your dryer is affected by this warning, you must unplug it immediatelyand stop using it until it has been made safe. Please contact us to choose from a variety of free replacement or repair options that are available to you.

OUR CALL CENTRE IS OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

8 NEWS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

Kishan Selected to Win Historic Safe Seat Mr Kishan Devani FRSA, one of the rising stars from the British-Asian community, has been selected to win back a safe Lib Dem seat in Wales from Tories…. Reports Asian Lite News

he Liberal Democrats have chosen their Parliamentary candidate for Montgomeryshire in anticipation of a general election. At the biggest meeting of Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats for many years, Kishan Devani has been chosen as the candidate. Former Conservative Mr Devani joined the Liberal Democrats due to the Conservatives move to the right. He is a former teacher and the son of Ugandan Asian refugees. Speaking after the meeting in Welshpool Town Hall Mr Devani said: “I am delighted and honoured that Montgomeryshire Lib Dem members have placed their trust in me. “I am determined that we will bring Montgomeryshire home to its liberal roots. There is no longer

a place in the Conservatives for compassionate, moderate people who do not share the hard-right Conservative obsession with the UK crashing out of the European Union with no deal. A destructive move

that will do huge damage to rural communities like Montgomeryshire.” Richard Church, the Chair of Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats added: “Kishan will bring huge energy and enthusiasm to the

campaign. After Jane Dodds fantastic win in Brecon and Radnorshire just a month ago we will be targeting Montgomeryshire to bring it back to the Liberal Democrats.” Conservative Glyn Davies

captured the seat from Lib Dems in 2010 with a margin of just 1000 plus votes. He gradually increased that to 9,285 in the last election. The Brexit has changed the political landscape in Wales. Davies is not contesting in the next election and the Lib Dems strong Remain stand will attract more to the Lib Dem fold.

JO SWINSON: Our Future Prime Minister Jo’s passion, love & care for the world we live in exuberated throughout her speech and touch the hearts of thousands across our country. That is why within hours of Jo’s speech the Liberal Democrats had 1000’s of new members! But what was much more striking for me was that Jo is not only a phenomenal Leader for my party – she also is the only credible option for Prime Minister in our country. Her courage to call out Trump so openly shows she is not scared to take on the ilk of Boris and Corbyn ….writes Kishan Devani

o Swinson, the next prime minister of Britain. Many ask me how this could happen, I simply say have you met Jo Swinson? Integrity, passion, humility, courage, intelligence and many other virtues ooze from her presence. I was privileged to witness history being made a few days ago when I saw the ﬁrst female leader of my party being declared, and what a moment it was. But what was more exhilarating was the speech our new Leader the Rt Hon. Jo Swinson MP gave to those that were present. Even thinking about the speech currently gives me goosebumps! When she said: “President Trump’s attack last week on four members of Congress, all women of colour, started with him deploying the textbook racist ‘go home’ message. By the end of the week, we saw thousands of people whipped into fervour at a rally, chanting “Send her back”. “Simply sickening, chilling. Echoes of history we must not repeat. Ilhan Omar is a strong woman. She will not be cowed. But my heart breaks: for every immigrant who feels less safe, for every little girl of colour who feels afraid, for every

person who feels less welcome in their own country.” It was evident to me and all those present we were not looking at the leader of a UK political party, but in fact, we were witnessing the making of an international leader who can take on world issues and still care for the injustices felt by people domestically. Her courage to call out Trump so openly shows that she is not scared to take on the ilk of Boris and Corbyn. Jo’s passion, love and care for the world we live in exuberated throughout her speech and touch the hearts of thousands across our country. That is why within hours of Jo’s speech the Liberal Democrats had 1000’s of new members! But what was much more striking for me was that Jo is not only a phenomenal Leader for my party – she also is the only credible option for Prime Minister in our country. Whether it is darling of the right Boris Johnson or the mascot of the Marxists Jeremy Corbyn – Jo stands out for her love not hate approach. Her values and immense care for all can be seen from her vision and actions throughout her political life. In her ﬁrst speech as Leader of the party she pointed

out her commitment to championing freedom, valuing openness & cherishing equality. She proudly said: “We champion freedom – but Brexit will mean the next generation is less free to live, work and love across Europe. We value openness – but Britain is in retreat, pulling up the drawbridge. We cherish equality, so that every individual can thrive: whoever they are, whatever their background, however they worship. But this is threatened too – that shocking picture of those gay women, bloodied, attacked on a bus. And the rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, in

the heart of British politics.” Looking at the most recent YouGov poll which is their first Westminster voting intention since Boris Johnson was confirmed to have won the Tory leadership contest. Con – 25% Lib Dem – 23% Lab -19% Brexit Party – 17% Green – 9% It is evident that Jo can very much be our next Prime Minister. In her acceptance speech, Jo made a convincing pitch for swing voters — repeatedly lumping Johnson with Nigel Farage and Donald Trump. Jo’s passionate, bold and strong vision takes on the weak and feeble outlooks of both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn. Taking them both on directly and unashamedly; Jo said: “I rage when Boris Johnson is more interested in sucking up to Donald Trump, than standing up for British values of decency, equality, and respect. Tomorrow, we expect Boris Johnson will take the keys to Number 10 – but he has shown time and time again that he isn’t fit to be Prime Minister. Boris Johnson has only ever cared about Boris Johnson. Just ask Sir Kim Darroch or Naza-

nin Zaghari-Ratcliﬀe. Whether it is throwing people under the bus or writing a lie on the side of one: Britain deserves better than Boris Johnson.” “And as for Corbyn’s Labour, I’ll make this quick. Any party that can’t decide where it stands on the biggest issue facing our country in generations, doesn’t deserve my time, and doesn’t deserve your vote.” We as a country need a Prime Minister who will rise to the challenges we face, not hide away from them. Someone who has no limit to their ambition not only for the Liberal Democrats but for every individual in our country. Jo has the ability to lead a party of government, she is able speak to the whole country, no matter how people voted three years ago. She can reach to communities from Norfolk to Newport, St Ives to Shetland, Gloucester to Gateshead. (Kishan Devani FRSA, LLB (Hons), PgCe, PgDip, is VicePresident Liberal Democrats Campaign for Race Equality; Treasurer’s Envoy for the Liberal Democrat Party and Vice-Chairman of Lib Dems in Business) More politcal news on www.asianlite.com

10 NEWS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

‘Go Niazi Go Back’ Protests Mar Imran’s Jalsa

akistan Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi suffers humiliation at Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as he was greeted with Go Niazi Go Back and “Kashmir Banega Hindustan” slogans. Imran and hi top team were in Muzzafarabad on Friday to address Kashmir “solidarity” rally to highlight the “plight” of Kashmiris and to send a message to the world community about clampdown in the Valley. The so called Jalsa become a big flop as locals turned away from the much publicised event. The government used army machinery to transport hundreds of people from Abbatobad and Rawalpindi. The flop “Jalsa” at Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pak Occupied Kashmir, indicate the public mood on the government stance. The poor attendance prove that except the prime minister, his cabinet and the army top brass, the general public want to go on with their normal life. Nearly half of the Pakistan population are living below the poverty line and the people are now aware about the tactics of the military and the ruling elite to dupe them to fulfil their personal agendas.

Addressing a much-touted ‘Jalsa’ at Muzaﬀarabad, Mr Khan called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘Hitler’ and ‘fascist’. He challenged the ‘fascist’ Indian regime to lift the curfew in Jammu and Kashmir and then see the reaction of the people of the Valley. “Modi and his party (Bharatiya Janata Party) are following what Hitler and his Nazi regime did in Germany and failed. This man (Modi) was a member of the extremist RSS since childhood and believes that India is only for Hindus,” said Khan, according to ARY News. He claimed that the Modi government’s “brutalities and fascist tactics” will only harm India in the long run. “My message to Modi is clear, ‘you cannot beat Kashmiris’, while my message to the world is that they should stop this new Hitler, Modi, before he harms the world peace any further,” Khan said. He also made it clear that Pakistan will leave no stone unturned to help the “oppressed people” of Kashmir. But a viral video shows the poor attendance at the event. The government used army machinery to bring people from Sindh and Punjab to swell the crowd. The Army’s appeal

to make Kashmir a major internal issue to fuel support for Imran is also falling on deaf ears. “How can they talk about human rights when our Balochi brothers and Pakthuns suﬀering from the army atrocities,” Amjad Ayub Mirza, a PoK local living in Geneva, was quoted as saying in the video. “How can they forget the atrocities they committed at Gilgit-Baltistan. “Is there any justiﬁcation for the annexation of Gilgit-Baltistan and changing the status of North-West Frontier Province? Thousands of people along with their leaders are in illegal detention and the Pakistan government is talking about that issue,” he added. “In the pretext of clearing Taliban, the army unleashed atrocities on poor Pakthuns.”

Khan, whose government has failed to get the international community to censure India over the revocation of special status to Kashmir. He alleged that many Muslims, who were being driven towards wextremism due to Modi’s Kashmir policy, “will stand up against Hindustan”. According to him, “all Muslims are looking towards Kashmir” and were prepared to take up the gun for its sake. “What Modi is doing in Kashmir is pushing Muslims towards extremism,” he claimed. Khan said that “Islam is for peace and we are peace loving people, but when we see this zulm (atrocity) and the world watches quietly, then it drives people to react violently”. Referring to the February 14 Pulwama incident in which a Jaish militant killed 40 CRPF personnel in a suicide attack, he said that India blamed Pakistan for it. “They blamed us and sent in their jet. Our air force then brought down their jets and captured their pilot. We returned him because we wanted to solve issues through dialogue. “They (India) said that we returned him because we got scared. Believers do not fear death, we did not return the pilot because we are

scared of you,” Khan said, according to Dawn. “They have started to paint this narrative again that Pakistan is sending militants. I have said this before... we will answer every brick with a stone. I urge the international community to stop this Indian Hitler,” Khan said. After India scrapped its Constitution’s Articles 370 and 35A, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and divided the state into two union territories, Islamabad has been crying foul over New Delhi’s move and continuously trying to highlight the issue on a global level. NOT AN UMMAH ISSUE In a major embarrassment for the Imran Khan government, his Interior Minister Brigadier (Retd) Ijaz Ahmed Shah has acknowledged that Islamabad has “failed” to get the backing of the international community on Kashmir, as they “don’t believe us and rather believe India”. In an interview on Hum News, Shah said, referring to Kashmir: “We say that they (India) has clamped curfew, that there is no medicine, but people (world) don’t believe us, and rather believe India”. More politcal news on www.asianlite.com

ARCHER UNVEILS ‘NOTHING VENTURED’ Indian market is now signiϔicant for established western writers like Lord Jeffrey Archer. “While in England I regularly draw crowds of 500, in Jaipur I felt like a rockstar when I walked on stage to be greeted by 7,500 enthusiastic and passionate readers. I will remember it for the rest of my life,” …. Lord Archer meets Siddhi Jain

effrey Archer has sold at least 330 million copies of his books including bestselling novels like “Kane and Abel” (1979) and “The Fourth Estate (1996). On September 5, Archer launched his latest work, “Nothing Ventured” inspired by his multinovel series “The Clifton Chronicles. Archer, 79, shares some details about his new book and his India connection. EXCERPTS: Do you remember your first India tour 30 years ago? How much has India changed since then? I remember my first tour well. It began in Calcutta (as it was called back then) and ended in Bombay (not Mumbai back then). I learned how kind the Indian people were and how awful your traffic was! The Indian people remain kind, and your traffic problem has gotten worse. You have spoken about the Indian market being significant to you. How did the country come to acquire a lion’s share of the sales and readership of your books? This remains a mystery both to

me and my publishers. Though we suspect it’s partly because the Indians enjoy aspirational stories. You’ve been part of literary festivals here, especially the Jaipur Literature Festival. Your thoughts on them. Literary festivals are a wonderful way not just to allow readers to meet their favourite authors, but also give a platform to new writers. The Jaipur (Literature) Festival is the most incredible event I have ever addressed. While in England I regularly draw crowds of 500, in Jaipur I felt like a

rockstar when I walked on stage to be greeted by 7,500 enthusiastic and passionate readers. I will remember it for the rest of my life. A little known fact about you. I’ve always wanted to captain the England cricket team. Just a pity I can’t bat, bowl or field. Your opinion on the new crop of Indian writers. I have long admired Indian culture and its devotion to great writers such as R.K. Narayan, and I’m delighted that women writers are at last coming through to take their place in the literary world. Any trends in the publishing industry have you observed of late? Readers across the world have benefitted from having so many outlets to reach their favourite authors. Though ebooks and audio-books now play a very important part in keeping the tradition of reading alive, for me, books will always remain my first choice.

Brick-and-mortar stores around India and the world have taken a hit given our growing obsession with the digital world. As an author, is this a concern? I love bookshops. There’s nothing better than roaming around the shelves, sharing the experience with so many different people whose sole interest is reading. I love opening new bookshops too, and shed a tear when one closes. Do you think there’s enough reading now? After my most recent trip to India when I visited several schools, I came away delighted to discover how many of the young are still reading. Your advice to young writers? If you want to be a writer, read the classics, but don’t miss out on great storytellers like Alexandre Dumas, Charles Dickens, Stefan Zweig and R.K. Narayan. You actively follow Indian cricket. Any favourite Indian crick-

eters? My favourite cricketers over the years have been Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Kapil Dev, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli. What’s keeping you busy apart from this new series? 2019 is the 40th anniversary of Kane and Abel, a book that is in its 123rd reprint, and has been read by over 100 million people around the world. There will be a special limited edition available in November. And between September and December, I will be attending several charity functions in London and conducting their fundraising auctions. Auctioneering too is one of my hobbies. How did Nothing Ventured come to be planned? Several fans had written to me saying they wanted to know more about William Warwick, the eponymous hero of Harry Clifton’s books in The Clifton Chronicles. Book one, Nothing Ventured is the story of William Warwick, a young detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. I am currently working on book two.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

NEWS 11

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

Priti Revokes May Rule On Post-Study Visa UK announces 2-year post-study work visa for international students. “The new Graduate Route will mean talented international students, whether in science and maths or technology and engineering, can study in the UK and then gain valuable work experience as they go on to build successful careers,” said Home Secretary Priti Patel

n a major boost for Indian and other international students, the British government has announced a new two-year post-study work visa, expanding opportunities for talented international students to build successful careers in the UK. The new ‘Graduate’ route will be open to all international students – including those from India – who have valid UK immigration status as a student and have successfully completed a course of study in any subject at undergraduate level or above at an approved UK Higher Education Provider. The visa will allow eligible students to work, or look for work, in any career or position of their choice, for two years after completing their studies. This builds on UK government action to help re-

cruit and retain the best and brightest global talent, as well as opening up opportunities for future breakthroughs in science, technology and research and other world-leading work that international talent brings

to the UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the change would see students “unlock their potential” and begin careers in the UK. “The new Graduate Route will mean talented international students, whether in science and maths or technology and engineering, can study in the UK and then gain valuable work experience as they go on to build successful careers,” said Home Secretary Priti Patel. “It demonstrates our global outlook and will ensure that we continue to attract the best and brightest.” The change will apply to international students in the UK – there were around

450,000 last year – who start courses at undergraduate level or above from next year onwards. They must be studying at an institution with a track record in upholding immigration checks. Under the proposals, there is no restriction on the kinds of jobs students would have to seek and no cap on numbers. “This is fantastic news for Indian students, who will now be able to spend more time in the UK after completing their degree, allowing them to gain further skills and experience,” said Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India. Full story in www.asianlite.com

THE KNOW INDIA PROGRAMME (KIP) has become one of the important initiatives of the Government of India to promote India’s engagement with Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) across the globe. Since 2004, the KIP has had 53 editions with almost 2000 participants. To make it more dynamic and interactive, something that PIO youth would aspire for, the Government of India has decided to have a logo designed for the KIP. In this regard, it has been decided to hold a global contest for designing the KIP Logo with participation for the India diaspora. We look for a logo that is creative, innovative, professional and expresses sentiments behind the KIP initiative. The contest will be open to all PIOs, irrespective of their age, nationality, gender, generation etc. THE WINNER WILL BE SELECTED BY THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND WILL BE AWARDED WITH THE GRAND PRIZE OF 25 DAYS FULLY SPONSORED TOUR TO INDIA.

Logo Design Contest

KNOW INDIA PROGRAMME

GUIDELINES LOGO REQUIREMENT: PROFESSIONAL: This logo will be featured on Ministry’s website, social media platforms and other mediums( stationary, pamphlets, t-shirts etc). As a result, the logo should be eye-catching and legible. THEME: Logo must promote the Know India Programme scheme of the Government of India which aims- “To connect the Indian diaspora youth of the age group 18 to 30 years with their Indian roots.” COLOR: There are no limitations and any colors may be used. The logo may be created using pencils, crayons, markers and paint. Also, the logo may be created with a computer drawing program. INTEGRITY: Logos cannot contain copyrighted material. There should be no watermarks on design entries. Logos must have been created and edited by the contestant(s). It may not include images or licensed images that have been previously published.

All the interested contestants are requested to login on the KIP portal www.kip.gov.in and on www.mea.gov.in for more information. The contestants are also requested to send their entries to the High Commission of India, London at

hindi.london@mea.gov.in For further query, please contact Mr Tarun Kumar, Attache (Hindi and Culture), Tel : 02076323058

CONTEST DETAILS Contestants agree that the Ministry may publish their logo and name(s) and may use both for advertising campaigns and/ or marketing materials in the future. Contestants assign all ownership rights, including all intellectual property rights of the logo, to Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Additionally, the Ministry may alter, modify or revise the logo. The Ministry also reserves the right to not select a winner if, in its sole discretion, no suitable entries are received. The contest begins on September 01, 2019. Submissions will be accepted through October 15, 2019. Winner will be announced via the website of the Ministry, social media websites and by direct contact to the winner’s email account. All entries must be: Submitted directly to the High Commission of India, London at hindi.london@mea.gov.in Submitted in their original source file. Submitted as a high resolution pdf with 300 dpi or higher.

12 NEWS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

ARCHBISHOP SAYS SORRY For Jallianwala Bagh massacre Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Portal Welby expressed grief and prayed for healing of agony, loss and anger on his visit to the Jallianwala Bagh, a remembrance of the British era massacre.

“

I feel a deep sense of grief, humility and profound shame having visited the site of the horrific #JallianwalaBagh massacre in Amritsar today. Here, a great number of Sikhs — as well as Hindus, Muslims and Christians — were shot dead by British troops in 1919,” he tweeted. In his another tweet, he said his first response is to pray to god for healing for those still suffering grief, loss and anger. “And prayer means I must also commit to actions that bridge divides of culture and religion — that together we can root out hatred and seek the common good.” Accompanied by wife Caroline, the Archbishop reached the city also known for the Harmandir Sahib, the holiest of Sikh shrines popularly known as Golden Temple, on Monday in his last leg of a 10-day tour. In a message for the book of condolences at the memorial, the Archbishop wrote: “It

is deeply humbling and provokes feelings of profound shame for me as British Christian to visit this place that witnessed such an atrocity over a hundred years ago.” The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is testimony to the brutal killings of innocent and reminds the younger generation of the supreme sacriﬁces made during India’s freedom movement. In a Facebook post, the Archbishop wrote: “I feel a deep sense of grief having visited the site of the horriﬁc Jallianwala Bagh massacre today in Amritsar, where a great number of Sikhs, as well as Hindus, Muslims and Christians, were shot dead by British troops in 1919. “I have no status to apologise on behalf of the UK, its government or its history. But I am personally very sorry for this terrible atrocity. “Coming here arouses a sense of profound shame at what happened in this place. It is one

of a number of deep stains on British history. The pain and grief that has transcended the generations since must never be dismissed or denied.” Learning of what happened, the Archbishop said, “I recognise the sins of my British colonial history, the ideology that too often subjugated and dehumanised other races and cultures. Jesus Christ calls us to turn away from sin and to turn to Him as Lord,” At his visit to the Jallianwala Bagh on February 20, 2013, British Prime Minister David Cameron described the massacre as “a deeply shameful event in British history”. “This was a deeply shameful act in British history. One that Winston Churchill rightly described at that time as monstrous. We must never forget what happened here and we must ensure that the UK stands up for the right of peaceful protests,” Cameron wrote in the visitors’ book of the memorial.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

NEWS 13

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

DOVAL: LIFTING RESTRICTIONS Depend on Pakistan’s Behaviour National Security Advisor Ajit Doval says 92.5 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir is free from restrictions. “Out of 199 police stations in Jammu and Kashmir, only 10 continue to have restrictions and ease of the clampdown in the erstwhile state is completely dependent on Pakistan’s behaviour”….A special reportby Asian Lite News

ational Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Saturday said out of 199 police stations in Jammu and Kashmir, only 10 continue to have restrictions and ease of the clampdown in the erstwhile state is completely dependent on Pakistan’s behaviour. The NSA, who has been in the state for the last two weeks to monitor security and intelligence issues, said the government has intercepted signals from the communication towers just 20 km off the border. “We want all the restrictions to go, but it depends on how Pakistan behaves. It’s a stimulant and response situation. “If Pakistan starts behaving, terrorists don’t intimidate and infiltrate; if Pakistan stops sending signals through its towers to operatives, then we can lift restrictions,” Doval said. He also added that 92.5 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir is free from restrictions. The terrorists used code words for weapons and other logistics from their handlers. “In one of the intercepts they said ‘how many apple trucks are moving, can’t you stop them? Should we send you bangles,” Doval said. The NSA has also asked the administration to move the girl to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for treatment. As per police officers the terrorists are carrying out such attacks to instill fear in the minds of the people. “We are determined to protect the lives of Kashmiris from Pakistani terrorists even if we have to impose restrictions. Terror is the only instrument Pakistan has to create unrest,” said Doval. Around 230 Pakistani terrorists were spotted, while some of them have infiltrated, some have been arrested.

Internet and phone lines remained aﬀected in some parts of the Kashmir Valley but communication lines are open in Jammu region and Ladakh. Doval also went on to say that there was no question of army atrocities as it was only the state police and paramilitary which are responsible for dealing with public orders. “The Army’s job is to only ﬁght the terrorists. I am totally convinced that majority of Kashmiris support the abrogation of Article 370. They see greater opportunities, future, economic progress and employment. Only a few miscreants are opposing it,” said Ajit Doval. The National Security Advisor has travelled across Jammu and Kashmir extensively in the weeks after its special status was scrapped, meeting people and analysing the ground situation. In some photos released by the government amid the restrictions, he was seen sharing a meal of traditional Kashmiri food served on the streets by a handful of residents in Shopian, with shuttered shops in the background and a ban on large gatherings in place. 85 Schemes for J&K Implementation of Centre’s 85 schemes, including PM-KISAN, PM-KISAN-Pension, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Stand-

Up India, as well as steps being taken to return normalcy to the Valley was discussed in a key inter-ministerial meeting in the Home Ministry. A total of 15 secretaries of various Central government departments participated in the meeting chaired by newly appointed Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla. In around two-hour long meeting, the Home Secretary discussed over implementation of 85 people-oriented schemes that also include those related to education, health, skill development, agriculture and employment. “Meeting held with various departments to assess the implementation of central schemes in J&K and initiatives to be taken to expedite return of normalcy,” said a Home Ministry official. Sources said it was discussed to implement PM-KISAN, PM-KISAN-Pension, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Stand-Up India schemes in Jammu and Kashmir as the government aims to achieve 100 percent coverage of these schemes, which come under 21 ministries, within one month (by September 30). A slew of insurances schemes, including the Atal Pension Yojana, has also been introduced in the newly carved Union Territory and the government plans to provide electricity to all the Jammu and Kashmir households. It was also discussed to implement Prime Minister’s special initiatives, like LPG connection to the poor household and direct benefit transfer (DBT) for LPG and kerosene, focussing to empower women especially in rural areas, in Jammu and Kashmir. While the PM-KISAN and the PM-KISANPension schemes come under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and the Stand-Up India scheme come under the Ministry of Finance. The source said the Centre might soon announce opening of government jobs, asking even the paramililtary and army to recruit local people. The meeting also stressed on the need to expedited rolling out schemes ahead of winter. As the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the last few decades have been suffering problems due to separatist propaganda and cross-border terrorism, a Home Ministry official said, the government wants to take them out from atmosphere of fear and terror and also impeded socio-economic development in the state. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s feedback on the Jammu and Kashmir situation was also discussed at the meeting, said the source. Doval had shared a feedback with the Home Ministry after visiting the Kashmir Valley. On the basis of Doval’s feedback and following the visit of a Central team to Jammu and Kashmir, it was decided in he meeting that few more teams will be sent in the region soon

on different occasions before October 31, when two newly-created Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir with an Assembly and Ladakh without one -- will come into existence. Intelligence Bureau Director Arvind Kumar and some officers have also visited Jammu and Kashmir last week. It is learnt that allocation of funds, a timebound approach to complete the task and a proper division of works among government officers to be given new responsibilities were discussed in the meeting that started Tuesday afternoon. Cadre division in Jammu and Kashmir was also part of discussion for the IAS and IPS officers, said a source in know of the facts. As there are around 5 lakh Jammu and Kashmir government employees in the region, the meeting decided to chalk out a plan how work will be allocated to these officials and how many Central employees will be shifted there. As key subjects such as law and order will be with the Centre in both the Union Territories, the Home Secretary has asked to scrutinize the aspects and take steps accordingly. The Home Secretary also took stock of the situation in the Jammu and Kashmir after the scraping of Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He focussed on expediting works to return back the normalcy in the region which has been facing restrictions since early August 5. After assuming charge as Home Secretary, this was Bhalla’s first formal meeting on Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was attended by Additional Secretary (J&K Division) Gyanesh Kumar, whose department deals with matters of policy and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Kumar apprised the Home Secretary about the plan and implementation of schemes in both Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Union Territories.

14 EDIT

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

TIES WITH NEIGHBOURS

egular interaction with neighbours helps to keep relations harmonious. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankars visit to Bangladesh and Nepal completed the round of visits to South Asian neighbours for the NDA government in its new term. The minister’s visit came immediately after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s successful visit to Bhutan. Modi had earlier visited Maldives and Sri Lanka to attend the inaugural of Maldives President Ibrahim Mohammad Solih. India is keeping up its regular interaction with the neighbours even as China has increased its influence in the region. China has tried to woo the South Asian countries with large infrastructure projects under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)in the past few years. Jaishankar’s low-key visit had an added significance following the abrogation of Article 370 and scrapping of special status to Kashmir. It provided the opportunity for the Indian government to convey its position to its friends and neighbours. While Bangladesh had supported the Indian government action, Nepal made no official comment and its initial response was that it was watching the situation. Later, Nepali Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said that Nepal favoured dialogue and peaceful resolution of India-Pakistan disputes including the Kashmir issue. The Indian leadership was capable of resolving any issue peacefully, he added. Bangladesh held that it was an internal issue of India. Bangladesh Foreign Minister, Dr A.K. Abdul Momen said that Bangladesh has always advocated, as a matter of principle, that maintaining region peace, stability and development should be a priority for all countries. India-Bangladesh relations have bloomed in the past five years but there are some niggling issues that need to be resolved. The issue of the Teesta River waters has been hanging fire for some time. Jaishankar reiterated Modi’s assurance that the issue would be resolved during his tenure. The Rohingya issue is exercising the Bangladesh government which had made plans to repatriate about 300 Rohingya families to their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine province. However, on the date of departure, all the families cleared by the Myanmar government, refused to board the buses provided for their return by the Bangladeshi government. When the Rohingya influx into Bangladesh took place in 2017, India’s response had faltered, seeming to back the Myanmar position as against acknowledging the problems faced by Bangladesh. India later made amends by providing generous quantities of relief material and provisions for the refugee camps. It also constructed prefabricated housing for the return of Rohingya families to Myanmar. However, Dhaka would like New Delhi to persuade Myanmar to hasten the repatriation process. The issue of “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” in Assam has also caused concern in Bangladesh but Dhaka has been careful in not mentioning it in public. India has maintained that detection of illegal immigrants was an internal matter. But the question of what will happen with those declared as illegal immigrants in Assam has not been revealed as yet, and the issue continues to cause concern in Bangladesh, despite the Indian government’s assurances. Some of these issues will be taken up during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s planned visit to Delhi in October. Jaishankar’s Nepal visit was to participate in the fifth meeting of the IndiaNepal Joint Commission with his Nepali counterpart, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali; he called on Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Nepal’s President Bidya Devi. He also met former prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress and Nepal Bhattarai whose Unified Communist Party later merged with the Maoist party to form the ruling Nepal Communist party. Jaishankar had last visited Kathmandu in September 2015 when he was Foreign Secretary; his visit had taken place just before the new Nepali Constitution was adopted by the Legislative Assembly. An agitation was brewing in the Terai region as the demands of the Madhesi parties were ignored. BY SHUBHA SINGH

CHAIRMAN Haji M Abdul Azeez Ravuther CONSULTING EDITOR VP Ramachandran GENERAL MANAGER Iqbal Azeez iqbal@asianlite.com EDITOR Anasudhin Azeez 07877360663 azeez@asianlite.com MANAGING EDITOR Taha Coburn-Kutay 07841654502 taha@asianlite.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rahul Laud rahul@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

9/11: The Evolution of New Age Terrorism Complex socio-cultural milieu and political developments in different countries of the sub-continent will continue to provide fertile ground for terror and violence …. writes Rana Banerji

errorism can be defined as acts of destruction of people or property resorted to by individuals or a group of people, not acting on behalf of an established government but wanting to redress real or imaginary injustices attributed to the State. Though ideological and material motivations of terrorism can be seen to be global, they have impacted after 9/11, and more recently, after the spread of Islamic States (IS) ideology, in certain specific local & regional conditions. Conventional root causes contributing to growth of terrorism included unemployment, poverty, growing disenchantment with feudal structures and an abysmal failure of grievance redressal mechanisms to deliver justice. A changing perception of Islamic history led to the growing attractiveness of the Pan Islamic idea, consequent belief in recreation of a Caliphate or ‘oneness of the Ummah’, where better delivery of justice, even by rough and ready methods of local Shariah courts, could be an option. Wahabi/Salafi and Ahle Hadis Islamic tenets influenced traditional Deobandi/ Barelvi/ Sufi variants of islam. The concept of ‘jehad’ underwent a change. Traditional interpretations of Jehad relied on the Arabic word “Jahad”, which means fighting against unbelievers and striving to advance divine causes. War was justified only if authorised by the Ruler and could only be used against external enemies. Under new interpretations, islamophobes treat Jehad as a purely military concept, where “Bellum Justum” stands for justifiable violence instead of violence in self-defence. This makes combating injustice through violence and use of violence against civilians justifiable. This newer interpretation of Islam seemed to be founded on a visceral hated of the West, and more specifically, the United States and Israel. The globalisation of jihadi terrorism can be traced to the formation of the International Islamic Front (IIF) by Osama bin Laden in February, 1998. It was initialled at first by five signatories, at least two of whom, Fazlur Rehman Khalil of the Harkat ul Mujahideen (HuM — later Harkat ul jihad e Islami-HUJI) and Mir Hamza, of the Ulema Society were Pakistani. Very soon thereafter, two other Pakistani radical outfits, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) joined it (May, 1998). The

DEPUTY EDITOR NEWS Rafeek Ravuther newsdesk@asianlite.com DEPUTY EDITORS UK Dr Sekhar Vemuri sekhar@asianlite.com Ragasudha Vinjamuri ragasudha@asianlite.com DEPUTY EDITOR LIFE & STYLE Soniya Kirpalani info@asianlite.com BUSINESS EDITOR Sharon Jandu sharon@asianlite.com ADVISORS Kiran Mehta (Finance) Shankar Devarashe y (Accounts) Dr. Geetha Upadhyaya (Health & Culture) Nazir Afsal (Legal)

FEATURES EDITOR Sudi Jindal DESIGNER / WEB DEVELOPER Beneek Sirajudeen

Jamiat-e-Ulema-i-Pakistan (JuP) also became a signatory. Repressive regimes in the region often used Islam to justify illegal usurpation of power and subvert democratic processes and institutions. In the process, they invested disproportionate clout to street power of Islamists to serve vested interests. This led, in time, to State sponsorship of terror, with use of non-State actors as asymmetric force multipliers becoming justifiable, to serve perceived geo-strategic objectives. Abbottabad struck Al Qaeda’s death knell in May, 2011. Ayman Zawahiri was not charismatic enough. On the run now and believed to be in Iran, he recently went public on his spat with the Pakistani military establishment. Hamza bin Laden’s reported death is a further setback. In this backdrop, the impact of Baghdadi’s spectacular rise and gain of territory in Iraq offered a new type of attraction for radicalised muslim youth in the sub-continent. Islamic State (IS) started attracting adherents, especially among youth. A Caliphate — synchronous with territory but also capable of providing a vehicle for salvation of all Muslims through allegiance or ‘bayaa’ by muslims and ‘non-muslims’ was possible on fee payment, though no ‘surrenders’ were admissible as ‘return’ — ‘returnees’ or ‘drop outs’ was deemed not possible for ‘soldiers of Islam’. Daesh philosophy had several other interesting features — it rejected peace, it denied any recognition of borders between nation states; it stressed that genocide was acceptable as a recognised means used under medieval, traditional Islamic methods of war — beheadings, slavery, crucifixion were justified and valid; belief in ‘takfir’ reflected Salafist influence on IS. Belief in Apocalypse — a harbinger of the end of the world — with the idea of the Mahdi leading Muslims to victory (or to death) against the ‘anti-Messiah’ in Jerusalem, also had an almost fatal lure for disillusioned youth, not only in advanced western civil society. IS was anti-US but there seemed to be no obsession to resort to extra-territorial terror action. This was its major difference from Al Qaeda. The appeal of ‘Apocalypse’ was different from Al Qaeda’s unmitigated hostility to the West. As IS retreated in defeat from Iraq and Syria, its tactics underwent a change.

ADVERTS/CIRCULATION 0787 7360 663 020 3290 1853 0161 209 3358 LONDON

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Adiya Siyad

Oﬃce Gold, Building 3, Chiswick Park, London W4 5YA

NEWSDESK Aravind Rajeev aravind@asianlite.com

Asian Lite Peter House, Oxford Street Manchester M1 5AN

INDIA BUREAU Asian Lite Aa ukara, Ansar Lane Alwaye, Kochi-683101 0091-984-7920104

Asian Lite Media FZE PO Box 6727, Dubai, UAE info@asianlite.com

US BUREAU Tausif Malik

MANCHESTER

DUBAI

Published By: SAAZ DigiTech UK Ltd Asian Lite, Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stra ord, London EN15 1NT

We adhere to the Standards Code adopted by IMPRESS. If you’d like to make a complaint please visit: h ps://asianlite.com/ contact-us/

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

OPǧEDIT 15

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

BAJWA: The Retained One to Lead the Best Fauj The dream of defeating India militarily gladdens the patriotic hearts and titillates the average Pakistani who will now be reassured that the right man for ‘crushing’ India will remain at the helm of the ‘world’s best fauj’ for a period long enough to complete the ‘ϔinal, decisive’ war the Railway Minister Rashid Ahmad has spoken of …. Writes Dr Sakariya Kareem

akistan Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has surprised his acolytes with the prediction that by October-November India will be facing a ‘final, decisive’ war, which, will see it wiped out and Pakistan surviving with not a scratch. He might well have added for effect that Allah has chosen General Qamar Javed Bajwa to lead that Dooms Day attack and that is why it had become necessary to give him another three-year term as Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan. Bajwa had many ‘qualifications’ which assured him an extension as Pakistan’s most powerful man. From his daily dose of bravado it can be surmised that he thinks he is the right man who can bleed India to death. That is one of the two tasks before him; the other is to see that a Pakistanbacked regime takes over in Kabul so that all vestiges of Indian influence in that war ravaged land locked country are removed. Recently when Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Washington for talks with President Donald Trump he was discreetly chaperoned by Bajwa who held his own round of talks with US officials. Imran is not trusted enough by his military leaders to negotiate a favourable deal with the Americans. Moreover, after asking the proxy Taliban leaders to work out a peace deal with the Americans, Bajwa has to make sure that any agreement does not allow continuation of Indian footprint in Afghanistan. Why the General could not wait for ninety days more to herald the ‘extension’ decision remains a Sudoku? Clearly he feared losing clout after the Kabul deal was in place since the Taliban is already distancing itself from the GHQ’s core concerns namely Kashmir theatre. This reality check made him to push Prime Minister Imran Khan to announce his second term a little early in the day without following the ‘due process of law’ in such appointments. As the latest US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report also contends Khan owes his position to the Army, especially Bajwa who has overseen a successful drive against Opposition leaders particularly former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who, along with former President Asif Zardari, is now cooling his heels in jail. The charges of corruption against them were upheld by the courts with the doctrine of necessity at play. No surprise Imran Khan is called a ‘selected’ prime minister; the ‘selection’ having been made by Bajwa. A ‘selected’ prime minister has little role

to play in the selection of army chief or deciding on extending the latter’s tenure. Yet, Imran Khan keeps asserting, as if for the record, that for the first time after many years, he and his government are on the ‘same page’ with the Army on most matters. The truth is that Imran has understood that straying from the script prepared for him by the Army will cost him his job and a possible jail term or, maybe, exile. Bajwa’s predecessor, Gen Raheel Sharif, had become the first four-star General not to have been given an extension when he retired. But if that was because some differences had cropped up between him and the civilian government of the day, headed by the now jailed Nawaz Sharif, he was quickly able to cock a snook at the civilians by taking over as the chief of an army raised by the Royals of Sunni Saudi government with allies as a means to counter threat from the Shia Iranians. Raheel had not sought permission from the government before joining a new force in Riyadh. His move was an embarrassment for the Pakistani

government because it threatened to breach the delicate balancing act Pakistan has to perform in dealing with two Islamic ‘brothers’—Saudi Arabia and Iran. That balance is bit of a hoax because Pakistan has been heavily dependent on the Saudis for its cash needs which include money for buying arms. Bajwa’s extension, however, serves to ‘balance’ something else. An exasperated Pakistan and its Prime Minister have been ﬁnding it hard to ‘balance’ their defence forces between the eastern border with India and the western border with Afghanistan. Pakistan’s dream of establishing hegemony in the region has seen a worsening of its relations with its two neighbours. Defeating India is the dream of all Pakistani Generals and politicians, but the western border cannot be left unguarded. The dream of defeating India militarily gladdens the patriotic hearts and titillates the average Pakistani who will now be reassured that the right man for ‘crushing’ India will remain at the helm of the ‘world’s best fauj’ for a period long enough to complete the ‘ﬁnal, decisive’ war the Railway Minister Rashid Ahmad has spoken of. Bajwa is described as an ‘expert’ on Kashmir by virtue of his experience as a commander of Pakistani forces in PoK. His credentials have looked better as he stepped up threats to India after New Delhi decided to delete Article 370, a provision of the Indian Constitution that gave temporarily special status to Jammu and Kashmir seventy years ago. Belligerence

UN MOOTS BILATERAL

n a statement that will be construed as a huge boost for the Narendra Modi government, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres appealed both India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue via bilateral dialogue. Guterres’ comments thwart Pakistan’s eﬀorts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, ﬁrst at the UN Security Council recently, then again at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday. The UN chief met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 Summit last month in Biarritz, France, and has also spoken to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. On September 9, Guterres also met Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, after a request came from her for a meeting. “His message to all of them has

been the same, both publicly and privately, that he remains very concerned about any potential escalation between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir situation. He appeals to both sides to deal with the issue through dialogue,” said UN chief’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. He further added, “You know, our position on mediation has, as a matter of principle, always remained the same.” India’s stated policy has been that the Kashmir issue is an internal matter and there is no need for a third-party mediation. The UN chief’s appeal for dialogue between the two countries to solve the contentious Kashmir issue only emboldens India’s stand, even as Pakistan is trying to raise the matter at the 42nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

towards India comes naturally to all Pakistanis, the Generals in particular, but Bajwa has been louder than many of his predecessors. That is a bit surprising because when he was appointed as the chief many in Pakistan said he was a ‘moderate’. There were also reports that he had informally sounded India for talks some two years ago. Bajwa had superseded two or three Lt-Generals to become the COAS. His tenure saw punishment to almost 400 people of different ranks on charges that range from espionage to corruption. Two Generals were court martialed and sentenced for diverting Pakistan Rupees 4.3 bn of army- run National Logistic Cell (NCL) into stock market. A retired LieutenantGeneral was awarded 14 years of rigorous imprisonment and two others handed death penalty after trial under the Pakistan Army Act as well as the Official Secrets Act by Field General Court Martial. Expectedly, the Bajwa extension has created rumblings in the Army as the promotion prospects of many hopefuls stand marred. Both the GHQ and the Prime Minister’s office are seized of the threat that borders on an open rebellion. The army has some

177 generals in its fighting arms. Two are four- star generals, some 27 threestar generals, of whom corps commanders and principal staff officers are the key advisors to the chief. Based on seniority, some of these able three-star generals were poised to take over as COAS and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC). Another 148 are two-star major generals, some of whom would have moved up a notch if the chief had retired on time. There is heartburning in their ranks as some 43 major generals have already been superseded, and they have to go home. At least twentythree three-star generals also are now set to go home before the chief’s new term ends. Against this harsh reality, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed was made to head the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to ward off any trouble; he had previously managed the opposition parties for Imran Khan during the general election. However, from what is in public domain, Hameed was unable to sell the idea to the stakeholders within army, and as the time of Bajwa’s retirement neared, the push-back from below got severe. Full story in www.asianlite.com

16 OPǧEDIT

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

UK Supports India’s Claims Over Gilgit-Baltistan A motion was passed by the British parliamentarians on March 23, 2017 announcing that Gilgit-Baltistan as a legal and constitutional part of Jammu and Kashmir which has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947. The motion was tabled by Bob Blackman MP. The veteran British parliamentarian was alleging that Pakistan is attempting to annex an area that did not belong to it.... reports Asian Lite News

hat a deceit! Britain is now shoring up the Pak claim over Kashmir. But just four months back they were on the rival camp. As Pakistan trying to ratchet up the volume on Jammu and Kashmir at various international forums, it is pertinent to note that the Janus faced rogue nation has to share the burden of truth and facts with the countries that it is lobbying currently. In March 2017, the British Parliament passed a resolution conﬁrming Gilgit-Baltistan as a part of J&K, India, and condemning Pakistan for making it a province and changing the demography of the region. A motion was passed by the British parliamentarians announcing Gilgit-Baltistan as a legal and constitutional part of Jammu and Kashmir which has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947. The motion was tabled in the British Parliament on March 23, 2017 by Bob Blackman of the Conservative Party. It said that Pakistan was attempting to annex an area that did not belong to it. The British Parliament motion ead: “Gilgit-Baltistan read: iss a legal and constitutional part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, ndia, India, which iss illegally occupied by Pakistan since 947, 1947, and where people are denied their fundamental ights including rights the he right of freedom of expression.” The British

parliamentarians accused Pakistan of adopting a policy to change the demography of the Gilgit-Baltistan region in violation of State Subject Ordinance. They also termed the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as illegal. “The ‘forced and illegal construction’ of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has interfered with the disputed territory,” the motion said. The Gilgit-Baltistan area is under Pakistan’s control since it invaded Jammu and Kashmir soon after the Partition of India. It forms the northernmost administrative territory under Pakistan’s control just beyond the Kashmir region -- a part of which is illegally occupied by Islamabad. Curiously, in 1935, the administrative and defence responsibilities of this northern frontier had been transferred by the Maharaja of Kashmir to the British government of India under a 60-year lease. As the result of the civil war in China became uncertain, the Viceroy prevailed upon Maharaja Hari Singh to do so in the interests of the security of the British Empire. was Gilgit w as administered by the political department from Delhi in the same wayy as Malakand or Khyber in the NorthWest Frontier Province (NWFP), with political oﬃcers reporting to the Viceroy through Peshawar. A carefully chosen force capable of rapid movement in the mountainous territory controlled by British oﬃcers, the Gilgit Scouts, provided the muscle to the administration. On August 1, 1947, tthee Gi th G lgit lease w a as Gilgit was

receded by Delhi to the Maharaja of J&K and Lt. Col. Roger Bacon, the British political agent, handed over the area to Brig. Ghansara Singh, the state’s new Governor. According to V.P. Menon, secretary of state and Sardar Patel’s pointsman in the integration of states, Kashmir did not have the resources, including financial, to hold Gilgit which was cut off from Srinagar during winters. In view of the lapse of paramountcy, the retrocession was probably inevitable, but the fact remains that no sooner was Gilgit handed over to the Maharaja that it came under the mercy of Pakistan. The British officers of Gilgit Scouts -- Major William Alexander Brown and Capt. A.S. Mathieson -- still served Hari Singh as contract officers, though they continued to receive instructions from the political agent for Khyber based in Peshawar which is now Pakistan. Brown and Mathieson had to swear an oath of allegiance to the Maharaja on the “holy book”. According to author Alistair Lamb: “In fact, they knew as the story has it that the book which they held in their th hhand, while swearing was actually the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, S ssuitably wrapped in an opaque cloth.” As the new Governor occupied hhis official residence in the grandeur oof impotence, it was Brown and Mathieson who held the keys to M ppower in Gilgit. Lt. Col. Bacon, on transfer from Gilgit, was given the Khyber post. G This ensured perfect coordination T bbetween the Gilgit Scouts and Peshawar. According to the bulletin P oof the Military Historical Society oof Great Britain, the broad postPartition plan had been discussed by P Brown and Bacon in June 1947. And B aafter Mathieson arrived in Gilgit, aas second in command, the two B British officers refined contingency m measures, should the Maharaja take hhis state over to India. In such a situation, whatever the ffate of the rest of J&K, delivering Gilgit to Pakistan was fairly straightforward. This was accomplished on the night of October 31, 1947. As soon as Maharaja Hari Singh acceded to India, Brown got the Gilgit Scouts to surround the residency and, after a short gun battle, he imprisoned Governor Ghansara Singh. Brown then informed Peshawar about the accession of

Gilgit to Pakistan. On November 2, the major raised the Pakistani ﬂag at his headquarters and informed the force that they now served the government in Karachi. Brown and

Mathieson had surreptitiously opted for service in Pakistan in a brazen volte face when the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession in favour of India.

STATUS QUO: Bories Replies to Blackman Letter on Kashmir

rime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the UK is monitoring the situation in Kashmir closely and wants India and Pakistan to find a “lasting political solution to the situation in Kashmir, in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people.” In a letter dated September 6 in reply to a letter by Conservative MP Bob Blackman who has spoken in favour of revocation of Article 370 in Kashmir, Johnson said both India and Pakistan are important partners for Britain. Johnson said his government has been in touch with both India and Pakistan over Kashmir, and that he has spoken to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan on the issue. The letter to Blackman read: “Thank you for your letter of 9 August regarding current events in Kashmir. “The government’s long standing position remains that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political solution to the situation in Kashmir, in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. “Both India and Pakistan are important partners to the UK. Our respective bilateral relationships continue to flourish. This is demonstrated by our cooperation with both countries on a range of issues, as well as the vibrancy of our people-to-people links bolstered by large and active Indian and Pakistani diasporas here in the UK. “The government is monitoring the situation in Kashmir closely and there has been regular contact with both the Indian and Pakistani governments. On 7 August, I spoke to Prime Minister Khan and the Foreign Secretary discussed the situation with his Indian counterpart Dr Jaishankar. I also spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India on 20 August. Throughout, we have urged for calm and restraint from all. “Thank you once again for writing.” The Ministry of External Affairs, when asked about the British PM’s statement, told IANS that it has noted that the UK was for the Kashmir issue to be resolved bilaterally between the two nations. “We note that the UK is for India and Pakistan to resolve the issue bilaterally,” the MEA source told IANS.

Full story in www.asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

OPǧEDIT 17

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

India’s Role in Asian Supercontinent India’s could be the voice that others follow, one that holds up values that attract, a global power with intellect and experience to match, one that understands the nuances of the developing world, the shades of grey that ripple between the polarising black and white preferred by America and, increasingly so, by China…. Writes Humphrey Hawksley

ike an unstoppable juggernaut, Asia is laying down foundations to be the ‘supercontinent’ of the 21st Century. Concrete pours into new ports, airports and cities. Rules of international engagement are being re-written. Institutions that brought the world to where it is today creak at the seams, crying out for a renewal which Asia seems set to deliver. It is a process forged by technology, trade and new political thinking. At its two ends stand the United States and China, fists pummelling the air like prize fighters preparing for combat. Watching nervously, are smaller countries with less muscle and money, praying hard that they will not have to choose sides. Right now there are trade wars and territorial disputes, but rivalry is already being framed as a values battle between democracy and dictatorship even though many know that life in the poorer world is not that straight forward. At the heart of this massive global regeneration lies India, the world’s biggest democracy, fiercely non-aligned and big and confident enough to stake its own ground as a friend to most and servant of none. India’s could be the voice that others follow, one that holds up values that attract, a global power with intellect and experience to match, one that understands the nuances of the developing world, the shades of grey that ripple between the polarising black and white preferred by America and, increasingly so, by China. Why, then, is India so quiet? Why is its projection so weak? Why does it so often lose control of its own narrative? Why does it repeatedly scratch bad history? Like vampires in badly-built coffins, old sores keep

rising up to bleed again. They hijack news cycles and over-excited chat shows and thus propel the political agenda. India needs to claim a pivotal role in the creation of the Asian supercontinent, but to do so effectively, it needs to drive and not react, to tell its own story in its own way. The world watches in hope. So far, it has only seen flickers. India’s foreign policy ambitions stand at three levels. There is its global role in areas such as climate change, trade and United Nations and other international institutional reform; its regional role throughout Asia which draws in strengthening relations with Japan, the U.S. and governments keen to balance the influence of China. And there is its sub-regional role of which hostilities with Pakistan are centrepiece, unresolved and eating up the bandwidth of voter concentration. The Pakistan issue, more than any other, has held India back and is now set to dominate with Delhi’s decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomous status which included shutting down communications, arresting political leaders and deploying tens of thousands of troops. In one stroke, India’s international reputation has been catapulted, not forward as part of Asia’s glittering future, but back to an old, stale and

ﬂawed colonial legacy that over seventy years it has failed to resolve. The predominant image of India now is likely to be troops on civilian streets amid allegations of atrocities when it would be far better to have it as the navy patrolling the Indian Ocean in order to protect democracy and keep shipping lanes open. Focusing on Kashmir gives more muscle to the already powerful Pakistan military and draws in China who over the decades has propped up and exploited Pakistan in order to weaken India. Files in Western intelligence agencies as well as India’s own Research and Analysis Wing contain case after case of China at work against India both using Pakistan and insurgencies in its vulnerable north-east region. Over the decades, despite its undisputed role as South Asian leader,

India has failed to win the trust of its neighbours or design a regional road map to advance all their interests. Beijing has taken advantage of that vulnerability and now a Chinesecontrolled umbrella is threatening to ring India’s land borders. The negative strategic impact of this strand of India’s foreign policy cannot be over-estimated. Nepal, a traditional buffer state once firmly within India’s arc of influence, openly courts Beijing and with little surprise. China’s inward investment to Nepal now dwarfs India’s by ten to one and Nepal needs money. India has allowed China’s tentacles to embed themselves in the tiny kingdom of Bhutan as well as in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and through its maritime string of pearls across the Indian Ocean. Delhi is at a point where it needs to forge policies that either balance, contain or accommodate the rise of China. In another ten or twenty years, it may be too late. If it dithers, it may have to accept China’s primacy and a second-tier position which in diplomatic circles is referred to as a quasi-vassal state. Alternatively, it could take a lead in partnering Beijing to create the supercontinent. To do this, India would need to strengthen even more its relations with Japan and, therefore, the U.S., and that would need the taking of two fundamental decisions. The first is to what extent it would be willing to forfeit its muchcherished non-aligned status to team up strategically with Japan, the U.S. and its allies. The answer so far is that India is at best a reluctant ally. In military terms, certainly within the Pentagon, India cannot be relied upon should the chips come down. The second is to what extent is India willing to fix its domestic challenges such as corruption, poverty, forced labour and the growing perception that Hindu nationalism is going too far.

“The government will have to accelerate economic reforms, strengthen institutions and protect internal cohesion.” argues Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The limitations of India’s foreign policy are linked intimately to its weaknesses at home.” Within this challenge sits Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, one of the first world leaders to be elected on a political wave that has become known as populism, in effect appealing to a grass-roots nationalist base in order to increase a vote bank. Populist leaders in Britain, swathes of mainland Europe, the Philippines and the U.S. face a similar conundrum. Hindu nationalism has delivered Modi strong government, but the more he allows it to flourish, the more nervousness he will create among India’s Muslim community which will feed into the sore of Pakistan thus drawing attention away from India’s wider global role, in other words, its real tryst with destiny. As of now, Modi has three advantages. He has a huge electoral mandate at home. India’s relationship with Japan and other like-minded regional relations continues to strengthen. And, Beijing knows if it is to succeed in Asia, India must feel safe and retain its dignity. Therefore, Modi has enough cards to pull his country away from its festering historical wounds and point it towards opportunities of the future. But to achieve that, India needs to find a new voice, one that will reflect its modern values and capture the world’s imagination. (Humphrey Hawksley is a former BBC Asia Correspondent. His latest book is Asian Waters: The Struggle over the Asia-Pacific and the Strategy of Chinese Expansion.)

18 ASIA

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

Keralites Celebrate ONAM With 26-DISH ‘SADHYA’ Irrespective of caste, creed or religion, practically every household in Kerala, rich or poor, the one common thing would be the traditional vegetarian 26-dish Onam lunch, more popularly called ‘Onam sadhya’ on the occasion of Onam festival being celebrated across the state.

nam, is the traditional harvest festival of Kerala. Even though most households go for the vegetarian lunch on the first second and third Onam, Thiru Onam, the second day verily is the mother of all vegetarian meals in the state. The only way that the sadhya becomes complete is when it’s eaten from the plantain leaf, with hands and it’s a perfect 10 out of 10 if its eaten seated on the floor, which, has now become a rarity. Incidentally, old-timers are very particular that the 26-dish lunch is served on the leaf in a very strict order and there is an order for serving the curries poured on to the rice, too. The mouth-watering lunch includes chips, pappads, various preparation of vegetables, a good number of pickles both sweet and sour, the traditional aviyal, sambar, dal served along with a small quantity of ghee, rasam, two different preparations of buttermilk, a chutney powder prepared from grated coconut and not to mention a series of payasams eaten either straight or mixed with a ripe small plantain.

Onam also brings out sartorial changes to practically every Keralite and eating the lunch in it, is another feature of the day. While the ladies prefer to wear the traditional set, mundu, it almost looks like the sa-

ree, which is a single-piece dress, the younger ones are mostly spotted in the now rarely seen, the traditional skirt (pavada) and blouse. And not to be left out, most men prefer to wear the mundu (dhoti). But according to old-timers, the biggest change in all this, while in yesteryears, preparation for Onam in most households begins a month before, when practically special vegetables that are to be used for the sadhya, are identified from the homesteads besides pickles are all prepared well in advance. “Those times have all disappeared into oblivion and I don’t think anyone has the time for all this now. In today’s fast world, everything is available on fingertips and just a phone call will see you the Onam sadhya delivered at your doorstep in a matter of 30 minutes,” said 82-year retired teacher Geetha Nampoothiri. On the flip side, when the entire state is busy

with Onam, 350 residents in five flats at Maradu n e a r Kochi are on a daylong hunger strike in front of the Maradu municipality to protest the Supreme Court directive which has ordered for the razing down of these flats before September 20. At Pala, where a crucial assembly by-election is slated for September 23, candidates of the three political fronts have no holiday and are busy with their campaign. “We are serving lunch at an old age home in our constituency and the response is very good and we are going to win,” said ruling Left front, NCP’s candidate Mani C. Kappen.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

WOMAN ASIA

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

FATF: PANEL TO REVIEW PAK ACTION ON TERROR FUNDING Asia Paciϔic Group (APG), as per the FATF’s procedures, would present its report in the FATF Plenary and Working Group meetings scheduled for October 13-18 in Paris. The session will conclude if Pakistan has sufϔiciently delivered on its 10-point action plan committed to ϔight money laundering and terror ϔinancing in order to qualify exit from the ‘Grey List’ or be given some more time to make further progress…. Writes Rifan Ahmed Khan

he Asia-Pacific Group (APG) next month will submit its assessment of Pakistan’s progress on strengthening of its systems against money laundering and terror financing, a media report said. “The Pakistan delegation effectively presented Pakistan’s progress on each of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan items and provided additional information/ clarification to the AP-Joint Group,”

a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance said after two-day face-toface meetings with the APG, a regional aﬃliate of the FATF, in Bangkok. It said the APG, as per the FATF’s procedures, would present its report in the FATF Plenary and Working Group meetings scheduled for October 13-18 in Paris, France, Dawn news reported. The FATF plenary will conclude if Pakistan has suﬃciently delivered on its 10-point action plan commit-

ted at the highest level in June 2018 to ﬁght money laundering and terror ﬁnancing in order to qualify exit from the ‘Grey List’ or be given some

more time to make further progress. A 15-member Pakistan delegation, led by Minister for Economic Affairs Division Mohammad Hammad Azhar, attended the two-day meetings with the APG to discuss progress on the FATF action plan. The development comes after the APG on August 23 place Pakistan under its enhanced monitoring mechanism after it failed to comply with 11 recommendations out of 40. During the last FATF Working Groups and Plenary meeting

at Orlando in June decided to keep Pakistan in the “Grey List”. The meeting expressed concerns over the progress of Pakistan on the Action Plan items and set deadlines in January and May 2019. It further urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its Action Plan by September 2019 when the last set of deadlines are slated to expire and noted that if there is insuﬃcient progress, it would decide the “Next Step” in the October 2019 FATF Plenary. Full story in www.asianlite.com

HOW CAN YOU TRUST TALIBAN? India declares Saeed, Azhar, A huge set-back for Taliban and its masters as President Trump cancels ‘secret’ peace talks with the terror outϔit….reports Asian Lite News

S President Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of a “secret” meeting with the Taliban and his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani planned for this weekend, and also called off peace talks with the militant group entirely. The cancellation comes after a Taliban suicide attack on Thursday in Kabul killed at least 12 people, including an American soldier, reports Efe news. “Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders and, separately, the President of Afghanistan, were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sunday,” Trump tweeted on Saturday, referring to the presidential country retreat in Maryland, just outside of Washington. Trump added that “unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great great soldiers, and 11 other people. I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations”. “If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway. How many more decades are they willing to fight?” Meanwhile, the Afghan government also dropped the peace talks with Taliban. “No peace talks in Afghanistan would yield desired result amid continued Taliban violence,” a statement from the Presidential Palace said. “The obstacle for achieving peace in Afghanistan is the continued Taliban-led war and violence,” Xin-

hua news agency quoted the statement as saying. “Real peace won’t return to Afghanistan unless and until the Taliban halts Afghan killing, accepts ceasefire and initiate direct talks with Afghan government,” the statement added. The Taliban has insisted that the troop withdrawal is a fundamental issue in reaching an agreement during the nine rounds of talks held in Doha so far. The Taliban has refused to meet the Afghan government until a pact with Washington was formalized. The war in Afghanistan is the longest-running conflict in which the US has been immersed. US troops have been in the country for 18 years. Nearly 3,500 members of the international coalition forces have died in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion, more than 2,300 of them American. The figures for Afghan civilians, militants and government forces are more difficult to quantify. In a February 2019 report, the UN said that more than 32,000 civilians had died.

INDIA’S STANCE Meanehile, India said it supports all peace initiatives that focus on providing a stable political situation as well as guarantee of peace with stability. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said India supports all peace initiatives and that it has been a part of all of them. If India initially has not been part of any such initiative, it has been supportive of them in later stages, he added. “Our issue has been what would have been a post-settlement situation.” In this regard, the Foreign Secretary said “our position is very clear and we prefer a system which has constitutional legitimacy, a political mandate, ensured stability, which does not leave ungoverned space for the terrorists and for the proxies to take advantage of”. On Russia and India’s engagement on peace in the war-torn nation, Gokhale said: “As far as India and Russia are concerned, New Delhi and Moscow shares a common ground in Afghanistan.” He said both India and Russia believe that at the end of the process - whatever is the outcome of the discussion between Taliban and US - they want to see a stable political situation where there is order and a guarantee that the peace agreement will be honoured. “India has been supporting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled national peace and reconciliation process in the war-torn country.” In early August, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Khalilzad and discussed the ongoing peace efforts.

Dawood, Lakhvi terrorists

ndia declared Lashkare-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, LeT’s supreme commander of operations in Kashmir Zaki-urRehman Lakhvi and fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, all based in Pakistan, as terrorists under the amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The declaration, made through a gazette notification issued on Sept. 4, comes nearly a month after the Parliament approved a crucial amendment to the UAPA law. According to the amendment, individuals could also be declared as terrorists. Earlier, only groups or organisations could be declared as terrorists. The notification was issued based on clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act which empowers the Central government to notify the name of an individual in the fourth schedule to the Act, if it believes that the individual is involved in terrorism. The Central government believes that Saeed, Azhar, Lakhvi and Dawood are involved in terrorism and are to be notified as terrorists under the UAPA, said the notification. “Maulana Masood Azhar alias Maulana Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi alias Vali Adam Issa, having date of birth on July 10, 1968, son of Allah Baksh Sabir, is founder, chief and key leader of proscribed terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is listed as a terrorist organisation under the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. “Azhar has been designated as a global terrorist by the United Na-

tions under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 on May 1 this year and was declared as a proclaimed offender by the Special Judge (POTA), New Delhi,” the notification said. It mentioned that the JeM under the patronage of Masood Azhar, extensively undertakes recruitment drives for terrorist activities and his preaching wings regularly organise events in order to urge people to promote terrorism and support their actions against India. Azhar has been charged with involvement in various terrorist attacks in India, which include the terror attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly complex in Srinagar on October 1, 2001 wherein 38 people were killed, the terror attack on the Parliament on December 13, 2001 wherein six security force personnel, two parliament security service personnel and a civilian were killed, the terror attack on January 2, 2016 at Pathankot air base in Punjab by militants coming from Pakistan, wherein seven security force personnel were killed and 37 were injured. His outfit was also involved in terror attacks on Border Security Force (BSF) camp at Humhama in Srinagar (October, 2017), on the CRPF camp at Lethpora, Pulwama (December, 2017) and on the army camp, Sunjwan, Jammu (February, 2018), said the notification. Azhar had also been instrumental in Pulwama terror attack on February 14 this year wherein 40 paramilitary troopers were killed. He was accused in various cases registered and being investigated by the National Investigation Agency and a charge sheet had been filed against him in the Pathankot air base attack case.

20 ASIA

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

UAE ambassador on UK tour in a cycle

r Mansoor Abdullah Abulhoul,: “I want to explore some of the wide variety of links between Britain and the UAE. Along my route, I hope to meet up with companies exporting to the UAE, or which would like to do so. I hope to call on some of the universities and institutes of higher education that have welcomed Emirati students. And I look forward to meeting people who have spent part of their lives working in the UAE, such as veteran oﬃcers of the old Trucial Oman Scouts, from half a century ago, or those who have worked in the Emirates in more recent years Envoy of one of the richest countries in the world adopt an eco-model to explore Great Britain. Mr Mansoor Abdullah Abulhoul, the UAE Ambassador to the United Kingdom, sets out on a cycling tour that will see him travel, in stages, from the northeast tip of Scotland, at the town of John O’Groats, to Land’s End in Cornwall, at the south-western tip of England. It will take him across the length and breadth of Great Britain.

In the first leg of the journey, Abulhoul will travel to the city of Inverness, the unofficial capital of the Scottish Highlands. Later stages will see him travel through Scotland to its capital, Edinburgh, and then across the border into England. Abulhoul, who spent part of his youth at school in the United Kingdom, is an avid cyclist and told the Emirates News Agency, WAM, that he looks forward to refreshing childhood memories as well as learning more about the country. “At the same time,” he said, “I want to explore some of the wide variety of links between Britain and the UAE. Along my route, I hope to meet up with companies exporting to the UAE, or which would like to do so. I hope to call on some of the universities and institutes of higher education that have welcomed Emirati students. And I look forward to meeting people who have spent part of their lives working in the UAE, such as veteran officers of the old Trucial Oman Scouts, from half a century ago, or those who have worked in the Emirates in more re-

cent years.” “The UAE’s relationship with the United Kingdom is longstanding and deep-rooted. All of these people, places, and companies have played their part over the years in building the friendship that exists,” the ambassador told WAM. During his ride, which he hopes to complete in stages during his term as Ambassador to the UK, Abulhoul will also be raising funds for London’s worldfamous Great Ormond Street Hospi-

tal, where his sister once worked as a doctor. In collaboration with University College London, Great Ormond Street Hospital, popularly known as GOSH, recently completed a new Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children. The Centre, inaugurated last month, (July), by H.H. Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was partly funded by a 60 million sterling donation from H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint

Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation. “Over the last few decades, GOSH has provided world-class healthcare for hundreds of children from the Emirates,” Abulhoul said. “I am delighted and proud to be able to dedicate my ride to support this magniﬁcent institution.”

BRITAIN JOINS US TO POLICE GULF WATERS

ritain joined the United States in a maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect merchant vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran seized a Britishflagged vessel. British officials stressed that there was no change to London’s policy on Iran but joining the United States is the most significant non-Brexit foreign policy move to date of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 12-day-old government, Reuters reported on Monday. No other nations are yet involved in the US mission. “It is vital to secure the freedom for all international shipping to navigate the Strait of Hormuz without delay, given the increased threat,” said British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. “The deployment of Royal Navy assets is a sign of our commitment to our UK flagged vessels and we look forward to working alongside the US and others to find an international solution to the problems in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. Tanker traffic through the Strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes - has become the focus for a

standoff between Iran and the United States, which has beefed up its military presence in the Gulf since May. Last month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a British tanker, Stena Impero, near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine violations. That came two weeks after Britain seized an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar, accusing it of violating sanctions on Syria. Britain has repeatedly ruled out any exchange. “Our approach to Iran hasn’t changed,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. “We remain committed to working with Iran and our international partners to de-escalate the situation and maintain the nuclear deal,” he said. Britain has deployed a destroyer HMS Duncan and a frigate HMS Montrose to the Gulf to accompany UK-flagged vessels through the strait. So far, 47 ships have been accompanied by the naval vessels, British officials said. Later this year, another Type 23 Frigate, HMS Kent, will take over from HMS Duncan, while HMS Montrose completes planned maintenance. HMS Montrose will remain stationed in the Middle East until 2022.

ADRIAN DARYA-1 ISSUE The Iranian oil tanker, which was released by Gibraltar after it was detained in July over claims that it was being used to ship oil to Syria, has been sailing just oﬀ the Syrian coast, satellite images showed. The Adrian Darya-1, formally known as Grace 1, with its cargo of 2.1 million barrels of oil was seized by Gibraltar in July with the aid of British forces over fears that it was bound for Syria, violating EU sanctions. It was eventually released after

assurances were given that it would not head for the war-ravaged country. But images released on Saturday seemed to show it two nautical miles oﬀshore, media reports said. The images -- from US company Maxar Technologies -- appeared to place the tanker very close to the Syrian port of Tartus on September 6. US National Security Adviser John Bolton tweeted that anyone who believed the ship was no longer headed for Syria was “in denial”. “Tehran thinks it’s more important to fund the murderous Assad

regime than provide for its own people,” he said, alongside another satellite picture. “We can talk, but #Iran’s not getting any sanctions relief until it stops lying and spreading terror!” There is however no confirmation that the ship was unloading its cargo of 2.1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil. Neither Iran nor Syria commented, the BBC reported. The seizure of the ship off the British territory had caused a major diplomatic spat between Washington and Tehran. British marines had helped Gibraltar authorities detain the vessel, partly drawing the UK into the row. Later, the US made an official request to seize the ship in August, but the courts in Gibraltar denied it. The Gibraltar authorities freed the vessel on August 15 after receiving assurances from Iran that it would not discharge its cargo in Syria. The US has been seeking to seize the tanker since it was released by Gibraltar. It issued a warrant and blacklisted the vessel, threatening sanctions on any country which offered it aid. The ship has since been sailing east across the Mediterranean.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

WOMAN ASIA

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

SHEIKH NAHYAN ATTENDS SURI RECEPTION

H Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, attended a reception hosted this evening by the outgoing Indian Ambassador, Navdeep Singh Suri, to mark the end of his tenure. The reception was also attended by Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Dr. Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State, Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant UnderSecretary for Foreign Trade Aﬀairs at the Ministry of Economy, diplomats, businessmen and members of the Indian community. Sheikh Nahyan praised UAE’s deeprooted ties with India, the foundation of which was laid by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and sustained by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He lauded Ambassador Suri’s contributions to deepening relations between the UAE and India and wished him success in his future assignment.

The outgoing Indian ambassador applauded the historic ties between the UAE and India, which are founded on mutual respect and common interests. He thanked H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Aﬀairs and International Cooperation, and the Ministry’s oﬃcials for the support extended to him during his tenure.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS LINKS

India With Global Routes

tihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is preparing to celebrate 15 years of service to its largest and busiest market, India. The airline’s milestone coincides with the third visit to the UAE of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, highlighting the importance of the partnership between the two countries. Etihad launched daily flights between the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, and the Indian city of Mumbai in September 2004, within the airline’s first year of operation. Three months later, flights were also launched between Abu Dhabi and New Delhi. Today, Etihad operates 159 return flights per week between Abu Dhabi and 10 key Indian gateways - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram - and through its Abu Dhabi hub, the airline connects each of these gateways to international destinations throughout the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Since launching operations to the sub-continent, Etihad has carried more than 16.5 million passengers on its Indian routes. Etihad Airways Group CEO Tony Douglas said: “India and the United Arab Emirates share a long and strong economic, cultural and diplomatic relationship, and Etihad Airways connects these nations to each other, and beyond. We serve more destinations in India than any other country in our network, and connect India to the world via Abu Dhabi. Globally, we employ more than 4,800 Indian nationals, almost 25 per cent of our workforce. We contribute strongly to both economies, and last year spent US $151 million with 480 companies in India. Our commitment is significant, and will continue to grow.”

Emirates Post Mark Gandhi Jayanthi@150

Etihad’s offering in the India market continues to evolve. The airline is continually increasing flights and adding newer, larger aircraft, including its latest addition, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which serves cities including Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad. Etihad Guest, the airline’s loyalty programme, recently partnered with SBI Card, one of India’s largest credit card providers, to offer a unique travelspecific Visa credit card to Indian travellers. And for guests flying Etihad from India to the United States, the Customs and Border Protection facility at Abu Dhabi Airport, enables US immigration, customs and agriculture formalities to be completed in Abu Dhabi before departure. India is an important strategic source market for Etihad Cargo. In addition to belly space cargo capacity on the 159 weekly passenger aircraft between Abu Dhabi and India, Etihad Cargo operate dedicated freighter flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. In the past decade, Etihad has carried more than 560,000 tonnes of cargo to and from

India, from general cargo to key Indian exports including garments, perishable products, pharmaceuticals and electronics. Etihad also continues to support India through a range of corporate social responsibility initiatives, including its Global Education Project to provide or raise funds for new education facilities and supplies. The airline also runs workshops to develop skills and support the empowerment of women, and provides aid to assist after natural disasters such as ﬂoods in Kerala, where it provided fresh water, clothes, blankets, kitchen utensils and hygiene kits to more than 1,000 people located at a relief camp in the state. As a minority shareholder in and key partner of Jet Airways, Etihad was able to improve international connectivity with India, via Abu Dhabi. Even after Jet’s ﬂights were suspended earlier this year, Etihad worked consistently and constructively to help revive the Indian carrier, and continues to explore opportunities to collaborate with other local partners to help serve this rapidly-expanding market.

o mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October, Emirates Post has issued a commemorative stamp to honour the life and times of India’s most influential leader. Gandhi played a crucial role in the development of India and notably led the country to independence through non-violent protest. Commonly referred to as the ‘Father of India’, Gandhi is revered by many for his efforts to unite people, regardless of race or religion. “As we approach the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, Emirates Post is issuing a stamp as a celebration of the values Gandhi embodied and upheld during his lifetime,” said Acting Group CEO of Emirates Post Group Abdulla Alashram. “The stamp serves as a reminder of his significant contribution to human development, and his teachings of tolerance and respect are of universal relevance,” he noted, adding, “seventy years after his passing, Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy can still be felt the world over, and his impact on humanity still lives on.” Alashram went on to say that the stamp, designed to celebrate an inspirational historical figure, also demonstrates the strong ties the UAE has with India, as well as the contributions Indian expats have played in the development of UAE communities. Six thousand stamps will be issued and will be available at Emirates Post Central Happiness Centres.

22 BUSINESS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

India has been ‘poster child’ for IMF “We are a major player, and a founder member of the Fund. And we bring in a lot of credibility,” says V. Srinivas, Additional Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG). In his book, “India’s Relations with IMF: 25 Years In Perspective - 1991-2016”, the author has detailed many of the interactions between India and the IMF. A special report by Ranjana Narayan

ndia has been a “poster child” for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as all of the three IMF programmes in India were seamlessly implemented, and the moneys were repaid on time, says a new book on Indias relations with the Bretton Woods institution. “We are a major player, and a founder member of the Fund. And we bring in a lot of credibility,” says V. Srinivas, Additional Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG). In his book, “India’s Relations with IMF: 25 Years In Perspective - 19912016”, the author has detailed many of the interactions between India and the IMF. Srinivas, who served as Advisor to Executive Director in the IMF from 2003 to 2006 and represented India on the IMF Executive Board in 500 meetings, says: “The IMF is the world’s lender of last resort, its approach is multilateral, multicultural, multi-ethnic and above all highly professional - the collective intellectual ﬁrepower of macroeconomists the IMF carries is unmatched by any organisation in the world”. India is an original member of the IMF. In 1944, India was represented at the Bretton Woods Conference by a six-member team led by Finance Min-

ister Sir Jeremy Raisman, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Sir C.D. Deshmukh, and A.D. Shroff. “It was felt that India should lend its support to an institution, which was intended to put an end to the disastrous practices of competitive depreciation of currencies by establishing exchange rates. India’s quota was the 5th largest in 1945,” says Srinivas. The author has highlighted the role of IMF as the world’s lender of last resort, formulating policies to enable crisis-ridden countries to regain macroeconomic stability. The book deals with nine major global financial crisis, from the Great Depression to the Great Recession, including the Suez Crisis, the International Debt Crisis, the East Asian Economic Crisis, the Russian Economic Crisis, among others. India has availed of three fund programmes -- in 1966, 1981 and 1991. “We have had excellent relations with IMF for a nation in South Asia, considering that its relations with Southeast Asian nations like Malaysia and Thailand were extremely bitter. Post the 1997 Asian financial crisis, these nations felt the fund was extremely tough on them in pushing reforms. They felt the hardships put on their citizens was extremely hard,” Srinivas told IANS. “During all three programmes we’ve had cordial and

constructive relations with the Fund, except in the first one when the aid took some time to materialise. “In the current context, we are a donor country to IMF, we have the eighth largest quota. Our financial integration with the world is quite rapid in that we have one of the largest financial sectors of the world, and it needs to open up some more,” he adds. Following the 2008-10 global crisis, which the Fund never saw coming, it has now strengthened its ability to predict a financial crisis. “It has strengthened its surveillance tool kit by enhancing multilateral surveillances, enhancing their spill-over reports, it has started addressing issues for international global collaboration through increased financial sector oversight,”

he added. “The subject of my book is that multilateralism is very much relevant, and India is a key player in enhancing global multilateralism. And we need a lender of the last resort, at a time of competitive exchange rates. The IMF should strengthen its surveillance practices to predict prices better and improve its tool kit so that the Fund’s conditionality should not cause enormous suffering and social sector dislocation. “There is also a full chapter on how China has risen. Earlier, China was voting slightly more than us. We were voting 2.11, and they were voting 2.38 - according to the terms of quota. Now they are voting at over 6 per cent, they are the third largest, that is a significant jump. The rise of China in the global economy is a significant

change,” the author said. “India would continue to play a very critical role, and continue to be a voice for developing countries of the world from emerging market economies, and as a democracy with a very vibrant financial sector and significant economy,” Srinivas added. India has the unique distinction of a number of staff exchanges with the IMF. Several Chief Economic Advisors of India have been IMF staffers, among them are Ashok Lahiri, Raghuram Rajan, Arvind Subramanyam. “One of the major reasons for the seamless implementation of the 1991 program was the synergy between India’s top bureaucracy and the IMF staff. There was an intellectual convergence of ideas on structural reforms and Fund conditionality,” he added. Other Indians who reached high positions in the IMF include Shailendra Anjaria, Anoop Singh, Sidharth Tiwary, Kalpana Kochar, Ratna Sahay and several others. In the Independent Evaluation Office, Montek Singh Ahluwalia served as Director. A few of the Indians returned to serve in the Ministry of Finance. The book, published by the Indian Council of World Affairs and Vij Books, has a foreword by Y.V. Reddy, former RBI Governor and Chairman of the 14th Finance Commission. The book was released by present RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

Amazon’s largest global campus in Hyderabad

uilt with over 2.5 times more steel than the Eiffel Tower, a built-up area spanning about 65 football fields, a helipad and 49 elevators which move one floor per second, ecommerce giant Amazon’s largest campus building in the world is the latest landmark in Hyderabad. Built in the Financial District, a key IT cluster, this campus with 1.8 million square feet office space is Amazon’s first owned office building outside the US and its single largest building globally. Spread over 9.5 acres, this 282-feet tall building can house more than 15,000 employees. The massive campus, built amid the gleaming towers of various corporate giants, is equipped with 49 elevators, which can move a floor per second. Built on three million square feet of construction area, it is also Amazon’s single largest building in the world in terms of area. Amazon officials say the total built-up area, when spread out, will

span over 68 acres or approximately 65 football ﬁelds. Out of total built-up space, 1.2 million square feet is earmarked for recreation and parking. “The campus contains over 2.5 times more steel than the Eiﬀel Tower, measured by weight,” revealed Amazon Vice President and Global Real Estate and Facilities Director

John Schoettler at the inauguration of the facility recently. Interfaith prayer rooms, a mother’s room, quiet rooms, showers, helipad and an all-day open cafeteria are some of the key features of the campus, built in a short span of three years. The company officials say the structure is designed to facilitate inclusion and diversity. It also features casual, collaborative workspaces, as well as private areas for concentration and confidentiality. “Every detail is aimed at improving well-being and efficiency, from Destination Control Systems to manage elevators that can move 972 people simultaneously, to 290 conference rooms and 3 scrum areas per floor to foster collaboration,” the company said. As many as 2,000 persons were on site every day for 39 months to construct the building, spending 18 million man-hours. Last year, the construction was awarded the Golden Trophy and Cer-

tificate from National Safety Council for safe construction process. The building meets stringent safety standards, with 110 km of fire protection system conduits. The campus has one conference room seat for every 3.25 workstations, higher than the global ration of 1:5. With sustainability at its core, the campus has more than 300 trees dotting its grounds with three specimen trees aged over 200 years. It also has a 850,000 litre water recycling plant. The company officials declined to divulge the investment made in this campus but said hundreds of millions of dollars were spent to create the facility. Stating that the facility reaffirms their long-term commitment to India, they pointed out that Amazon already announced $5 billion investment in the country and another 500 million dollar in food retail. Amazon already houses its largest India fulfillment centre in Hyderabad.

Spread over four lakh square feet, the centre is located near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. The company last month announced that it will be expanded to 5.8 lakh square feet. Hyderabad is already home to giants like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, Deloitte, Accenture, TCS, Wipro and Infosys. After Apple Inc opened its development centre in 2016, IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao had declared that Hyderabad became home to four of the top ﬁve most valued tech companies to have their largest oﬃces outside the US. Software giant Microsoft already has largest presence in Hyderabad outside their headquarters in the US. Search giant Google also plans to build its biggest campus outside its US headquarters. Coming up on 7.2 acres in the Financial District, it is expected to house 13,000 employees. An agreement for this was signed between Google and the Telangana government in 2015.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

BUSINESS 23

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

Delhi to front-load infra spending to revive economy

ndian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shrugged off questions on the GDP growth declining to 5 per cent in Q1, saying a dip in growth is part of the process and the government will front-load infra spending as much possible to revive demand and consumption in the economy. Sitharaman said a dip in the GDP is part of the growth cycle and the government is conscious that it has to respond. “It’s not that government is not responding with measures to boost GDP. A dip in GDP is part of growth. Our full focus is now on how GDP can rise in the next quarter,” she said while addressing media on the actions and decisions of her ministry in 100 days of Modi 2.0. “We will try to front-load infra spending as much as possible,” she added, adding: “We are taking steps to increase consumer confidence in market.” The government recently set up a task force, headed by the Economic Affairs Secretary, to draw up a ‘National Infrastructure Pipeline’ of Rs

100 lakh crore. In the July Budget, the government had announced Rs 100 lakh crore investment in infra sector for the next 5 years. According to her, the task force is in the process of identifying the infrastructure projects to be funded, as well as expedited, and the Central government will start funding infrastructure projects once it submits its report. Sitharaman also said the government is working on a few steps for the auto industry. “Government is conscious on the need to respond to the slowdown in the auto sector,” she said. The auto industry is a big job creating industry and reported a 23 per cent drop in sales, lowest since 199798 is in the grip of a severe slowdown has evoked a lot of concern. Responding to a query over GST rate cut for auto industry, Sitharaman said it is a matter to be decided by the GST council. She said the government is conscious on the need to respond to check the auto slowdown. “Decisions on rate cuts are only privy to GST Council,” she added.

The minister also expressed worry over the low GST revenue collections. The gross GST collection in August 2019 stood at Rs 98,202 crore, up 4.51 per cent from Rs 93,960 crore in the same month last year. The GST collection, although higher on yearon-year basis, is still lower than government’s expectations of Rs 1 trillion. “GST revenue collections need attention and government needs to widen the GST revenue collections need attention and government needs to widen the basket,” she said. Sitharaman also said that the government will respond to home buyers’ problems soon, adding that there was

CHINA’S BELT & ROAD Project dominates EAE BY RITURAJ BARUAH

he inaugural day of the seventh edition of the Euro-Asian Economic Forum at Xi’an was dominated by talks on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Belt and Road Initiative is a mega project taken up by China through which it aims to revive the old ‘Silk Route’ connecting several countries in Asia and Europe. Delegates from several countries in the region attended the inaugural session, including Pakistan. However, no Indian delegate was present. Although China has been insistent on India joining the BRI, India has been averse to the idea over concerns of growing prowess of its northern neighbour. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), V.I. Norov said: “The comprehensive interaction within the framework of the large-scale initiative of the President of China Xi Jinping, ‘One Belt, One Road’, is called upon to unite the eﬀorts of the states of the continents in ensuring stable and sustainable development. “I think the joint construction of multi-modal transport and logistics centers and the formation of a network of industrial clusters along the transport arteries of the SCO member states within the framework of the BRI will expand the economic opportunities of the region and give a signiﬁcant impetus to other related areas of interaction,” he added. Other speakers, including from Moldova and

Pakistan, also stressed the BRI and its beneﬁts for the economic growth of the countries involved. China is also building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under the initiative. Although China and the Pakistan government promise of prosperity once the the corridor is completed, there are concerns in some quarters in Pakistan over the country’s indebtedness towards China. Fu Ying, the Director of Tsinghua University, Centre for Strategic and Security Studies said that China is a large consumer of energy and oil and gas reserves of Eurasian countries can be “helpful for both sides”. She also noted that China can help the countries on the industrial and mechanical side, as it has expertise on that front.

a need to work with other ministries for resolution of their problems. Home buyers and builders both are suffering due to slowdown as buyers are suffering due to unfinished projects because of NBFC crisis which stopped liquidity to the builders while the builders are too hit by a large inventory as consumption has touched a very low patch. “Government’s response on home buyers will be sooner than later,” she said. On the spate of PSU bank mergers announced by her government that converted 10 PSU banks into four, Sitharaman said that the effective dates of bank mergers to be decided by the individual bank boards. Each bank board will announce PSU merger dates individually, the Minister added. “Banks are grappling with low credit offtake recently and we are taking steps to boost consumer confidence in the market. “The idea to merge the banks was so that all banks can benefit from each other,” she said, adding that she is not aware of any unhappiness yet among

the bank employees about the mergers. She said the government has provided eight crore gas connections to people in rural areas under the PM Ujjwala Yojana, created a code on wages for equal employment opportunities for women and will soon come out with decisions on realty sector. On the Bimal Jalan panel’s suggestions of Rs 1.76 lakh crore surplus transfer from the RBI to the government, she said that the RBI’s transfer to the government have been checked by committees earlier too. On the spiralling gold prices, the Minister said that it is not easy for government to control gold prices. On the financial development of Jammu and Kashmir, she said: “J&K wont suffer any financial loss due to removal of Article 370”. The steps taken so far from government are: Giving in to the demands of overseas investors, the government rolled back the enhanced surcharge on foreign portfolio investors levied in the Budget. Data showed FPIs have pulled out Rs 23,000 crore from domestic equities in July and August.

Report traces pathway TO ENERGY TRANSITION

he World Economic Forum’s new report laid out the implications of a gradual versus a rapid energy transition, and identified the signposts to help understand which path the world is following. Co-authored by BloombergNEF, Carbon Tracker and Rocky Mountain Institute, the Speed of the Energy Transition report’s gradual narrative outlines an energy world of tomorrow that looks roughly the same as that of today, implying that the global energy system has an inertia incompatible with the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. The rapid narrative is that current and new clean energy technologies are rapidly supplying all the growth in energy demand. Together with new policies they will reshape markets, business models and patterns of consumption, leading to a peak in fossil fuel demand in the 2020s. Businesses across the energy spectrum will be impacted significantly depending on whether the world will follow a path of a gradual or rapid transition. The rapid transition will bring new opportunities, but the need to adapt to change faster will be greater. “The two different narratives set expectations for the future, and this in itself is important because it determines how governments, companies and individuals allocate their resources,” Rocky Mountain Institute CEO and report co-author Jules Kortenhorst said. The report describes how the two narratives -- gradual and rapid -- are distinguished by four main features and how views on these issues largely determine conclusions on where the energy markets are heading. The features are: At what point do renewables become mainstream enough to impact the incumbency? Is growth in new energy technologies linear or exponential? Will policy change be static, as policymakers remain cautious, or dynamic, as new technologies open up new opportunities for better market design? And fourth, Will emerging markets follow the fossil fuel path taken by developed markets or will they leapfrog to new energy technologies? “It is important for policymakers and energy incumbents to understand whether the energy transition will be gradual or rapid. This report sets out the key issues to watch over the course of the next decade to see which narrative will prevail,” said Kingsmill Bond, Energy Strategist at Carbon Tracker and co-author of the report.

24 FEATURE

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

Why Digital Transformations Fail? ‘Digital transformation a $1.7 tn industry but 70% attempts fail’ …. Vishnu Makhijani talks to Tony Saldanha, author of just released book “Why Digital Transformations Fail”

igital transformation - an essential element of the Fourth Industrial Revolution - is a $1.7 trillion industry but 70 per cent of all such attempts fail due to “lack of discipline” in setting the right goals, says a veteran with three decades of experience in the field who has suggested a five-stage process to get it right. It’s due to “a lack of discipline in setting the goal correctly for sustained digital transformation and insufficient rigour in executing the change across the enterprise,” said Goa-born Tony Saldanha, who led major digital changes at P&G. “Part of the issue is terminology. These days the term ‘digital transformation’ is used as a buzzword to describe most things IT. Worse, since the end state of digital transformation is poorly defined, the process to execute it becomes highly subjective, leading to the 70 per cent failure rate,” added Saldanha, author of the just released book “Why Digital Transformations Fail” (Berrett-Koehler Publishers/pp 218/$26.06 on Amazon). The first issue of confusing terminology around ‘digital’ is easy to understand, he said. “We have had watches, the Internet, the Cloud, as well as IT automation projects being called digital. If anything related to IT is called digital, then business leaders confuse digital strategy with automation. Therefore, moving your data to the cloud, using software robots or upgrading your email system can be called digital. “True digital transformation is defined as requiring people, processes

and systems in order to win in the next Industrial Revolution. Therefore confusing digital goals with automation is the ﬁrst reason why digital transformations fail,” Saldanha, who hails from Saligao, a village in North Goa, said. Thus, if leaders don’t set a clear goal of digital transformation as rewriting entire work systems, then the eﬀort to reinvent the entire company is compromised. The second issue is in the programme/project management methodologies in digital transformations. “Those tend to be regular IT project management processes. The best thinking on digital transformation combines traditional IT project management with venture capitalist-inspired risk and portfolio management processes, along with creative design thinking and ecosystem approaches. “However, most companies don’t have these right tools. As a result,

business leaders don’t set the right goals to reinvent themselves and their execution doesn’t use the right processes in execution. Both items drive the failure rate,” Saldanha elaborated. Using dozens of case studies and his own considerable experience, Saldanha in his book, subtitled “The Surprising Disciplines Of How To Take Time Off And Stay Ahead”, lays down how digital transformation can be made routinely successful. Instead of representing an existential threat, it will become the opportunity of a lifetime. The key to success being that a person must disrupt before they are disrupted. What then are the five stages of digital transformation? * STAGE 1 is titled Foundation: The automation (or digitisation) of process. It delivers enterprise value by using technology to do work more efficiently and builds the foundation for further transformation. What are the causes of failure at this stage? Teams lose sight of the intended business value being targeted or they execute poorly. What are the disciplines required to address risks? Committed ownership of the strategy at the highest levels and interactive execution to avoid major implementation failures. * STAGE 2 is titled Siloed; it’s the organic development of major digitally-based processes and products, but only in parts of the organisation. Individual leaders have recognised the threat of digital disruption and started creating new digital business models. Siloed transformations

are a microcosm of what will hopefully become higher stages of digital transformation. What are the causes of failure at this stage? Common mistakes include underpowering change leaders and making incorrect choices in what to transform. What are the disciplines required to address risks? Digital transformation is a hard change. Underinvesting in empowering the transformation leaders is a mistake that often derails progress. Then, there is the need for digital leverage points. These are essentially your strategic strengths and opportunities that best leverage digital. You identify these using a deep understanding of your organisation’s business opportunities and strategies. * STAGE 3 is titled Partially Synchronised: The partial completion of an enterprise-wise strategy for digital transformation. The term ‘partially’ is reﬂective of part businessoutcome delivery, not part synchronisation of eﬀorts. What are the causes of failure at this stage?

An ineffective change management strategy or insufficient amount of transformation projects to adequately transform the core organisation. What are the disciplines required to address risks? Change management model for effectively transforming the core organisation coupled with strategy sufficiency in terms of the portfolio of initiatives needed to drive a complete transformation. * STAGE 4 is titled Fully Synchronised: the point where an enterprise-wide digital platform or new business model has fully taken root. However, this is a one-time transformation. It is still just one technology (or business model) change away from being disrupted. What are the causes of failure at this stage? Inability to complete the one-time digital transformation due to either organisation structure issues or digital literary issues. What are the disciplines required to address risks? Digital reorganisation to reboot technical capabilities both in the IT functions and the rest of the enterprise, besides staying current on the rapidly evolving technology landscape, both for completion of the onetime transformation and its successful ongoing operation. * STAGE 5 is titled Living DNA: the stage of perpetual transformation. Constant reinvention and a highly agile culture become second nature to the organisation. The enterprise becomes a disciplined market leader. What are the causes of failure at this stage? A loss of the edge that previously delivered a Stage 4 transformation, either due to an insufficiently agile culture or a lack of discipline to constantly sense and respond to new business disruption risks. What are the disciplines required to address risks? Agile culture to support constant evolution of the business and organisation, coupled with routinely sensing risk to the enterprise and reacting in a disciplined manner. At the bottom line, says Saldanah, are the ‘Exponential Five’ technologies that leaders cannot afford to lose track of: AI, smart process automation, Blockchain, robotics and drones and special function technologies (virtual reality, 3D printing, Internet of Things, nanotech, energy storage, biotechnology and advanced materials et al). “The rest is up to you”, Saldanah concludes.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

WOMAN 25 ASIAN LITE HEALTH

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

WHO Seeks Efforts to Stem Cervical Cancer by 2030

he World Health Organization (WHO) urged South-East Asian countries to accelerate eﬀorts to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030. “Countries need to expand vaccination, screening, detection and treatment services for everyone, everywhere to address the growing problem of cervical cancer,” said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia at the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee in Delhi. Cervical cancer is a signiﬁcant

public health problem in the region. In 2018, an estimated 158,000 new cases and 95,766 deaths were reported due to cervical cancer, which is the third most common type of cancer. Addressing cancer risk factors and reducing its prevalence has been a regional ﬂagship priority since 2014, and all countries in the region are taking measures for screening and treatment of pre-cancers, WHO said Poonam Khetrapal Singh in a statement. According to the WHO, four - have introduced HPV vaccines countries in the Region - Bhutan, nationally. “We need to scale up both our Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand

capacities and quality for screening, treatment services and palliative care,” Singh said. Vaccination against human papillomavirus, screening and treatment of pre-cancer, early detection and prompt treatment of early invasive cancers and palliative care are proven eﬀective strategies to address cervical cancer. Member countries are working towards interim global targets - of achieving 90 per cent girls fully vaccinated with the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine by 15 years of age; having 70 per cent women

screened with a high-precision test at 35 and 45 years of age: and of 90 per cent women identiﬁed with the cervical disease receiving treatment and care by 2030. The WHO South-East Asia Regional Director said there is a need to strengthen national cervical cancer control plans, including appropriate strategies and guidelines for immunisation, screening, treatment and care, including palliative care. WHO is prioritising cervical cancer elimination as worldwide cervical cancer remains one of the gravest threats to women’s lives.

Why women get heart attacks later than men?

lthough women develop coronary artery disease (CAD) almost 10 years later than men as scientists have attributed this decade-long delay to the protective effects of sex hormones, the heart disease finally catches up with women owing to the presence of “fat-absorbing” XX hormones. There is a lot of evidence that hormones like estrogen and progesterone protect the heart, but scientists had little data on the influence of the genetic component -- the X chromosome -- on the heart. New research at the University of Kentucky has confirmed that the presence of XX sex chromosomes increases the amount of fat circulating in the blood, which leads to narrowing of the arteries and ultimately a higher risk of heart attacks and coronary artery disease. The team looked at lipids absorbed from the diet and made in the liver. “We looked at how our X sex

chromosomes were influencing the levels of lipids in the blood and in the arteries,” said Lisa Cassis, a researcher in the UK College of Medicine, in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications. What they found is that an XX sex chromosome combination promotes efficient use of fat. Women need fat to bear and feed babies, Cassis explained. “We’re set up, potentially through our XX sex chromosomes, so that we can effectively absorb that lipid from the diet and put it into our fat cells and maybe even make it in the liver.” Cassis’s team studied chromosome effects in mice, and for this most recent discovery they were able to zero in on XX chromosomes by removing hormones. According to Yasir Al-Siraj, a post-doctoral scholar and the paper’s first author, if the levels of circulating lipids transported by the blood are too high, they will start to accumulate in and on the artery wall, leading to plaque buildup.

These plaques harden and narrow the artery, reducing blood flow to the vital organs. Everything is fine until women hit menopause and the protective effects of hormones disappear, leaving women with, what Cassis calls, “that XX thrifty, fat-absorbing kind of genotype.” The team is looking at genes that are changed in the liver and in the intestine to find novel targets for drug development. If they can find target genes that influence atherosclerosis, scientists can then explore the effects of existing drugs or develop new ones. “We don’t know if our findings are due to the presence of two X chromosomes or due to the absence of the Y chromosome,” said Al-Siraj. These findings may also drive choice of diet for post-menopausal women. “For example, if they’re very effective fat absorbers, obviously, once they get post-menopausal, they need to be careful about the fat content,” added Cassis.

BLOOD PRESSURE ISSUES?

TRY HOT YOGA TODAY

esearchers have found that taking hot yoga classes lowered the blood pressure of adults with elevated or stage 1 hypertension. While there is evidence of regular, room-temperature yoga’s positive effect on blood pressure, little is known about hot yoga’s potential impact on blood pressure, said researchers who presented the study at Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions in the US. “The results of our study start the conversation that hot yoga could be feasible and effective in terms of reducing blood pressure without medication,” said study author Stacy Hunter, Assistant Professor at Texas State University. Hot yoga is a modern practice, typically offered in a hot, humid atmosphere, with room temperatures around 105 degrees Fahrenheit. For the study, the research team recruited 10 men and women, between ages 20-65 years. Participants had either elevated blood pressure (systolic blood pressure between 120 mmHg to 129 mmHg and diastolic pressure less than 80 mmHg) or stage 1 hypertension (130 mmHg to 139 mmHg systolic and 80 mmHg to 89 mmHg diastolic pressure.) The research team randomly assigned five participants to take 12 weeks of three times-weekly hour-long hot yoga classes and they assigned the other five to a control group of no yoga classes. They compared the average blood pressures of the two groups after the 12 weeks. The researchers looked at average 24-hour blood pressure readings, as well as perceived stress and vascular function of participants in both groups. They found systolic blood pressure dropped from an average 126 mmHg at the study’s start to 121 mmHg after 12 weeks of hot yoga. Average diastolic pressure also decreased from 82 mmHg to 79 mmHg in the hot yoga group. According to the study, average blood pressure did not change among the five adults in the control group, those who did not take hot yoga classes. Perceived stress levels fell among those in the hot yoga group but not in the non-yoga group, the research said.

26 ASIAN LITE BOOKS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

RUSHDIE BACK ON BOOKER SHORTLIST

ushdie’s ‘Quichote’ shortlisted for 2019 Booker Prize. The winner of the Booker Prize will be announced on October 14… reports Asian Lite News. Commenting on the nomination, Rushdie said: “It has been 19 years since ‘The Moor’s Last Sigh’ made it to the shortlist, so I’m obviously delighted. I’m also happy to be chosen, alongside such terriﬁc writers, to be part of an interesting, strong list.” Award-winning and internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdies new novel “Quichotte” is in the race to win this years 50,000 pound Booker Prize for Fiction. The news of the shortlist broke on Tuesday afternoon with an announcement from the organisers of one of the leading literary awards in the English-speaking world. “Quichotte” is published in India by Penguin Random House India, making it the only nominee by an Indian publisher in this year’s shortlist. This book is published under the Hamish Hamilton imprint in India, and was simultaneously released in the UK and India on August 29. Inspired by the classic “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes, “Quichotte” is one of the most anticipated books of the year and opened to exceptional reviews from the media. It is the 14th novel from the prize-winning author, the story of an ageing travelling salesman who falls in love with a TV star and sets oﬀ to drive across America on a quest to prove himself

worthy of her hand. The tragicomic tale is one of our deranged times, and deals, along the way, with father-son relationships, sibling quarrels, racism, cyber-spies, and the end of the world. Commenting on the nomination, Rushdie said: “It has been 19 years since ‘The Moor’s Last Sigh’ made it to the shortlist, so I’m obviously delighted. I’m also happy to be chosen, alongside such terriﬁc writers, to be part of an interesting, strong list.” Meru Gokhale, publisher of Penguin Press, Penguin Random House India, said: “In ‘Quichotte’, Salman Rushdie has again caught the zeitgeist by writing a novel that engages hilariously and meaningfully with the absurdities of the contemporary world, taking in pop culture, TV soaps, America’s opioid

crisis, giants of world literature, and much more besides. “‘Quichotte’ oﬀers moments of pure pleasure for every reader. We are delighted to be Salman Rushdie’s publisher, and not surprised that he is once more in line for the Booker Prize for Fiction.” Rushdie is the author of 14 novels including “Midnight’s Children”, for which he won the Man Booker Prize, the Booker of Bookers Prize, and the Best of the Booker Prize. He has also published one collection of short stories and four works of non-ﬁction, including the internationally acclaimed bestseller, “Joseph Anton”, and has co-edited two anthologies. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. A former

president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature. His books have been translated into over forty languages. The other books on the shortlist: * Margaret Atwood (Canada), “The Testaments” (Vintage, Chatto & Windus) *Lucy Ellmann (US/UK), “Ducks, Newburyport” (Galley Beggar Press) *Bernardine Evaristo (UK), “Girl, Woman, Other” (Hamish Hamilton) *Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria), “An Orchestra of Minorities” (Little Brown) *Elif Shafak (UK/Turkey), “10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World” (Viking) The judges’ panel was chaired by Peter Florence, director of the Hay Festival, and consisted of former ﬁction publisher and editor Liz Calder; novelist and ﬁlmmaker Xiaolu Guo; writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch; and pianist and composer Joanna MacGregor. The winner of the Booker Prize will be announced on October 14.

Murugan, Zacharia in JCB Prize longlist

oted Tamil writer Perumal Murugan’s twin novels, “Trial by Silence” and “Lonely Harvest” (Penguin Random House) and Malayalam author Paul Zacharia’s maiden work in English “A Secret History of Compassion” (Westland) are among the 10 authors who feature in the longlist of the Rs 25 lakh JCB Prize for Literature 2019, India’s richest, it was announced. “We on the jury had a wonderful time discussing these books together. The longlist we have chosen is varied, but all these books do what great fiction should: they take risks, they make arguments - and they touch a magic chord, one that keeps thrumming in your head and heart long after you’ve put the book away. It’s impossible to generalise about these ten books,” noted filmmaker Pradip Krishen, the jury chair, said. “Indian fiction today is a richly bewildering category, and this longlist is correspondingly varied and complex. These are novels about working-class struggles and upperclass unease, historical evocations and contemporary conflicts, each written in an absolutely distinctive voice,” he added. Noting that the jury was struck by the quantity of historical fiction

currently being written, he said: “Indian history is now, like never before, the inspiration for novels that address the concerns of the present - painful memories of colonialism, the costs of nation building, the divisiveness of caste and religion, and the need to see the world through the eyes of women. As readers, we wondered what this said about the current zeitgeist.” According to Krishen, it seemed that the very best of today’s novelists are impatient with the old political pieties. “The problems of contemporary Indian life are often too stark and

amoral to be resolved in such simple ways. Many of the books we selected for the longlist expressed powerful hopelessness, irrevocable damage. Characters are constantly trying to resist a malevolent reality of which, nonetheless, they are fully a part. It is fascinating that in three of these novels, for instance, narrators get college admissions not on merit but thanks to family members pulling strings,” he explained. Krishen also regretted that several ﬁne novels written in other languages were let down by poor translations. “As a jury, it was sad for us to have to reject novels for this reason.”

THE OTHER BOOKS ON THE 2019 LONGLIST ARE: * Ib’s Endless Search for Satisfaction by Roshan Ali (Penguin Random House India, 2019) * There’s Gunpowder in the Air by Manoranjan Byapari, translated from the Bengali by Arunava Sinha (Westland Publications, 2018) * The City and the Sea by Rajkamal Jha (Penguin Random House India, 2019) * Milk Teeth by Amrita Mahale (Westland Publications, 2018) * The Queen of Jasmine Country by Sharanya Manivannan (HarperCollins India, 2018) * A Patchwork Family by Mukta Sathe (Speaking Tiger Publishing Private Limited, 2018) * My Father’s Garden by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar (Speaking Tiger Publishing Private Limited, 2018) * The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay (HarperCollins India, 2019) The novels by Roshan Ali, Amrita Mahale, Mukta Sathe and Madhuri Vijay are all debuts. The jury will announce the shortlist of ﬁve titles on October 4. The winner will be announced at the awards dinner on November 2. If the winning work is a translation, the translator will receive an additional

Rs 10 lakh. Each of the 5 shortlisted authors will receive Rs 1 lakh; if a shortlisted work is a translation, the translator will receive Rs 50,000. “It has been fascinating to watch the ﬁve members of the jury read and discuss the very large and varied body of entries we had for the 2019 Prize. All of them have demanding expectations of contemporary literature, and they debated with enormous passion,” JCB Prize Literary Director Rana Dasgupta said. “Their search for literary excellence has produced an extremely varied list, which takes us to very diﬀerent aspects of the contemporary Indian experience. There are many treasures in this list, and I encourage everyone who wishes to understand what 2019 means to spend time exploring it,” he added. The other members of the jury were author and critic Anjum Hasan; authors K.R. Meera and Parvati Sharma; and former Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian government Arvind Subramanian. The longlist was chosen from a vast range of submissions by writers in fourteen states writing in six languages (Bengali, English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu) published between August 1, 2018 and July 31, 2019.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

CINEMA 27

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

BENGAL REMEMBERS RITUPARNO GHOSH

minent personalities of Bengal remembered National award-winning filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh on his 56th birth anniversary. Ghosh, who started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency, is hailed as one of the most versatile filmmakers postSatyajit Ray generation. He won more than 12 National Film Awards in India and accolades at international film festivals. “This date, synonymous with him, forever,” National award-winning director Atanu Ghosh of ‘Mayurakshi’ fame wrote on Twitter. Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee who had worked with the eminent filmmaker in films like ‘Dosar’ and ‘Chokher Bali’ penned an emotional note in his memory. “I miss you everyday. Your innumerable memories are still present in my residence. On your birthday, I am missing you a lot. Take care Ritu,” Chatterjee wrote in Bengali. Actress Rituparna Sengputa also shared a very cordial relation with the friendly director. Sharing a line of a popular song on Lord Krishna, Sengupta wrote: “Bonomali tumi poro jonome hoyo Radha...Happy Birthday Rituda”(Krishna, in your next birth, come as Radhaa). Ghosh was one of the few celebrities to

courageously reveal his sexual orientation and became an LGBT icon. Prasing Ghosh for his immortal works, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote, “Rituparno (Ghosh) is no longer with us. But his works will be immortal. Today is his birth anniversary. We miss you, Ritu”. Born on August 31,1963, Rituparno Ghosh passed away on May 30, 2013. TRIBUTE FILM A tribute ﬁlm to the late Rituparno Ghosh has evinced interest of the United Nations. Under their campaign “Free & Equal”, the UN has announced its decision to collaborate with the Indian feature ﬁlm, “A Tribute To Rituparno Ghosh: Season’s Greeting”, in order to spread awareness about the cause of LGBTQIA. Directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, “A Tribute to Rituparno Ghosh: Season’s Greet-

ings” stars actresses Celina Jaitly Haag and Lillete Dubey in the lead. “I am extremely proud of the fact that the United Nations has agreed to be the (film’s) Social Cause partner under their ‘Free & Equal’ campaign. The film’s release comes at a historic moment for India’s lesbian, gay, bi and trans population, following the decision of the country’s Supreme Court to strike down a colonial-era ban on consensual samesex relationships and previous court judgements affirming the rights of transgender people,” said Celina. Director Ram Kamal Mukherjee expressed: “This was unexpected and yet a pleasant surprise. I was overwhelmed with the UN’s detailed feedback on the film. I am sure Ritu da would have been the happiest today.” “Films like this can play a critical role in starting and sustaining those conversations. We look forward to help raise awareness of some of the issues the film touches upon -from acceptance of same-sex relationships, to the lives of LGBTQIA people in India,” said Rikke Hennum, United Nations Free & Equal Campaign Manager. “A Tribute to Rituparno Ghosh: Season’s Greetings” deals with a mother and daughter relationship that ends with an unexpected twist in the tale.

I’m happy with my career but not satisfied: Ali Fazal BY DURGA CHAKRAVARTY

aving worked with the best of bests in Hollywood and Bollywood, Ali Fazal, who has completed a decade’s run as an actor, is happy with the way his career has shaped up but not satisfied with it. “As an actor? (One is) Never satisfied. You can ask anybody. I am very happy with where I am in my career but of course there are miles and miles to go,” said Ali. The actor ventured into the world of acting with a cameo in the Aamir Khan-starrer “3 Idiots” in 2009. He was later seen in films as “Always Kabhi Kabhi”, “Fukrey”, “Happy Bhag Jayegi”, “Fukrey Returns” and “Milan Talkies”. “I completed a decade this year. If I had to describe it then it has been generously demo-

cratic. I started with a cameo in ‘3 Idiots’ and then did ensemble and leading roles. Now, of course, there has been a lot of growth as an actor. I think I needed that. It was important and I am happy... I am on world stage and nice to be a part of that,” he said. Later in his career, Ali managed to feature in international movies such as “Furious 7” and “Victoria & Abdul”. The 32-year-old actor says the work culture be it Bollywood or Hollywood is defined by the “team you are working with”. “Sometimes there are great teams that I have worked with in Bollywood, who just take utmost care and who are out there doing the right amount of pre production, and it shows -- because content driven cinema is on the rise. But in Hollywood, it has been an old practice because there is so much more at stake there. The money is more -- their lowbudget films come close to our highbudget films,” he said. Ali says he always looks forward to bridge these gaps. “I just have to balance it and that’s sometimes kind of takes a toll,” he said. Is their any movie Ali would like to remove from his career trajectory? “There are two films but it will be unfair to name those films because there are other people involved. It would be unfair. I know there are two films I would happily remove,”

Every medium has its own pluses

ritically acclaimed actor Kay Kay Menon has done feature films, short films, TV shows and web series too. He feels comparison between different mediums is not possible as all of them have some or the other plus point. “Every medium has its own pluses. I can’t compare. This (short film) medium allows, especially new directors and writers to show their skills,” Kay Kay told IANS. “At the end of it, it is about storytelling. Platforms might be different, but ultimately it is storytelling.” Kay Kay just featured in Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films’ short “The Last Chapter”, helmed by Raj Singh Chaudhary. The movie delves deep into the painful and complicated relationship between a father and his newly discovered biological daughter. “I loved the way the short film was written. Also, Raj is a friend of mine,” he said about his former “Black Friday” co-star. Having a former co-star direct him was easy.”He is a friend,” Kay Kay said.

BRUISED BOND

quipped the actor, who will be co-hosting the IIFA ROCKS segment for the 20th International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) edition in Mumbai. The actor says he is excited to co-host the event with actress Radhika Apte. “It sounds like ‘Spiderman’ and that’s why I love it. Homecoming of IIFA. I think it’s really cool and it is happening for the ﬁrst time in Bombay and I have been associate with IIFA with Radhika. It is a new high... I am looking forward to hosting IIFA Rocks,” he said.

ctor Daniel Craig has already started the Italy schedule of James Bond’s 25th outing. And now a lot of pictures from the set are doing the rounds on the Internet. In the latest viral images, Daniel is seen sporting a blood-splattered face, hinting old mate Bond is still getting himself into the wars, reports metro. co.uk. Donning a blue shirt with face covered with blood, Daniel was accompanied by a stunt double, who wore an identical suit. The ﬁlm also stars Rami Malek, Ana De Armas, Lashana Lynch, David Dencik, Billy Magnussen, Dali Benssalah, Lea Seydoux, Jeﬀrey Wright, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes.

28 CINEMA

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

ASHAJI@86: A Living Legend S BY ARUNDHUTI BANERJEE

he is a living legend with an active career of six decades and she needs no introduction. Padma Vibhushanhonoured Asha Bhosle turned 86 last week and, in between celebrations with close friends and family in Dubai, she took out time for a quick tete-a-tete with IANS over the phone. Bhosle, who celebrated her birthday after 11 years, says she was surprised to see so many people turn up to wish her on her special day at her Dubai restaurant, Asha’s. “I celebrated my birthday here at the restaurant and so many people came to wish me. I really wasn’t expecting so many to turn up. In fact, the restaurant got crowded. I felt overwhelmed, really. People’s love is something that cannot be achieved in any other ways. I feel fortunate. You know it is after 11 years that I celebrated a birthday.” Life otherwise, she insists, has not changed over the years. “Every morning I wake up to music even today, I do my riyaaz for an hour every day. Riyaaz is not a task for me, it is my lifestyle. I carry an electric tanpura even when I travel, and for one hour, wherever I am, I have to do my riyaaz. That is my way of starting my day, there is no other way for me. If God has gifted me a voice, I should keep nurturing it. Regular riyaaz beautiﬁes and maintains the voice. Iska koi shortcut nahin hai.” Bhosle said. Why did she decide to celebrate her birthday away from her very own city Mumbai this time? “Every time I come to Dubai I get so much love from fans. Every year on my

birthday, people from here make video calls to wish me. They come to my restaurant here and look for me. So, I thought why not celebrate my birthday here this time? For me, it was more about meeting fans at my restaurant, arranging food that I specially curate for our menu, and also have a good time,” she said. Since the late 1940s till Bhosle has sung numerous blockbuster hits including “Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko”, “Parde mein rehne do”, “Piya tu ab toh aa ja”, “Dum maro dum”, “Yeh mera dil”, “Mera kuchh samaan”, “Dil cheez kya hai aap meri jaan lijiye”, among others. This time, the icnoc singer shared her passion for food. “I designed the menu which is a combination of veg and nonveg cuisine. I love cooking and feeding people, and I really take special care of what should be on the menu. For instance, in the biryani section, I specially included ﬁsh biryani and kesar biryani. Sultani kebab is one of the recipes I got from Lucknow. It is prepared in an old style of cooking,” she said. Among Hindus, there is the tradition of avoiding onions and garlic, and also fasting, during festival months. Bhosle kept this in mind while designing her menu. “During our Hindu festivals, when people in Dubai are fasting, they can come and eat food here. I have instructed the kitchen to cook food separately without touching onion or garlic. I oldschool about these things.” Born in 1933 on September 8 into the musical family of Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, Bhosle learnt music since childhood and, as a kid she not only gathered inspiration

How Vaani Tames fear of failures?

from her father, but also her elder sister, the Nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar. Bhosle has many special memories of past birthdays. She recalled one for us: “This one time, many fans had come to wish me all through the day. I was with my children Varsha and Anand. As all of us were exhausted, so we decided to dine out. Anand said he wanted Chinese but Varsha was in the mood to eat Indian food. They started arguing in the car, and I said, ‘eat whatever you children want, just don’t ﬁght!’ Finally, we made our way into a hotel, and inside a dark room. Then, suddenly the lights came on, and I ﬁnd myself in a room studded with my loved ones -- there was (late husband) RD Burman, Lata (Mangeshkar) didi, my mother, (younger sisters) Usha and Meena, (brother) Hridaynath, besides industry colleagues including Hariharan, Shailender Singh, Nitin

Mukesh among many others. I was so surprised! We sang and chatted all through that memorable evening. Since that birthday, this year’s has to be the special one. I am celebrating with my fans this time.” The singer last lent her voice for the 2017 Bollywood film “Begum Jaan”, with the song ‘Prem mein tohre’, which was picturised on Vidya Balan. Bhosle, the first-ever Indian artiste to be nominated for a Grammy Award, said that although she sings these days, she missed the golden old days when she worked with iconic music directors such as OP Nayyar, RD Burman, Khayyam and Madan Mohan among many others. “I still record songs, but for me, things are not as glorious as they used to be. Those days, those peoplee” she trailed off, into a flood of sweet nostalgia.

BY DURGA CHAKRAVARTY B

t’s been six years since her muchappreciated debut performance in “Shudh Desi Romance”, but Vaani Kapoor’s career has not really soared in this period. She has had just so one release in between -- the dud “Beon kre” opposite Ranveer Singh in 2016 fik -- and is now all set to return on the Bollywood screen with “War”, opposite actor lyw Hrithik Roshan. The Yash Raj Films-proH duced biggie also stars Tiger Shroff. du Despite only sporadically appearing on the Bollywood screen in all time, Vaani ssays a the fear of being forgotten never her. ggripped r “If that (the fear of being forgotten) had cr crept into me, you would have seen me doing five to six films by now. I never ggive in in to pressure. Honestly, in life you should tak take situations day by day. You never know what comes your way. I just like to go wh alo along with my instincts and be a part of the ki kind of work I like,” said Vaani. Of course, she wants to do more work.

“I want to do a lot more, with a many more filmmakers, people and co-actors. There is so much happening. Such good projects are coming out. I just want to be a part of something exciting, that’s all,” said Vaani. The actress explained in order to sign a film, she needs to be “deeply passionate” about the project. “If I am not deeply passionate about a certain project then I will let it be. I am just happy with the kind of work I got to do in ‘War’, and also in (the upcoming) ‘Shamshera’. I am grateful to just be a part of such quality films,” said the 31-year-old actress. “War”, directed by Siddharth Anand, is an action drama. “There was a lot of fun in store for me,” she recalls her experience shooting for the film, adding: “I am so happy and grateful to Siddharth Anand that he actually considered me for a film like this, and just the fact that I got to work with such brilliant amazing talents.” She tags co-star Hrithik as an “absolute treat to work with”, and adds: “He is a brilliant actor and a just a phenomenal person.”

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

CINEMA 29

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

‘ANGRY BIRDS’ SPIN-OFF WOULD BE FUN’ BY SUGANDHA RAWAL

“

The Angry Birds Movie” franchise breathes life into the story of the popular game of the same name, and the makers feel that there are a lot of stories from the universe waiting to be told. John Cohen, producer of the 2016’s “The Angry Birds Movie” and upcoming sequel “The Angry Birds Movie 2”, says expanding the universe with spin-offs would be “super fun”. “I love these characters. It is so much fun getting to work with them. They all feel like they are the actors in a movie, instead of characters. It would be fun to do a spin-off,” said Cohen. At the moment, he is enjoying developing on the story of the franchise. “It is super fun to do these movies with all these characters as well. We are working on some short and fun pieces. They are fun to do. We have done about 21 minute extra animation outside of the movie,” added Cohen, who also produced “Despicable Me”. Taking the basic structure of Rovio Entertainment’s mobile game of the same name, the film brings the story of Red and his friends onto the silver screen in a hilarious manner. There’s angry Red, superfast Chuck, volatile Bomb, chirpy yet calm Matilda and

mighty Eagle -- together they make ï¿½Angry Birds’. In the first part, the cute little birds took a vow to seek revenge from pigs who stole their eggs, and save their world -- a plot embedded with comedy, action, emotion and drama. “For us, the first movie was an opportunity to expand the game into a story and a movie world. A lot of time when a movie is a success, you have a sequel to the movie, two years or three years later. We are happy that we have established it as a movie franchise now. The first movie was our chance to bring the game to life and honour those things for the fans. The sequel was our chance to further expand the movie beyond the game and tell a new story,” he said. With “The Angry Birds Movie 2”, the gang will be back with a new

adventure. This time, the sequel is moving away from basic premise and expanding the story’s narrative by uniting the birds and pigs to save their islands from evil Zeta. It is backed by starry vocal talents including Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones, Josh Gad, Rachel Bloom, Danny McBride, Peter Dinklage, Maya Rudolph, Nicki Minaj and Awkwafina. The kids of Nicole Kidman, Viola Davis and Gal Gadot also have minor speaking roles as the cute hatchlings. Sony Pictures Entertainment India will release “The Angry Birds Movie 2” on August 23 in India in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Reflecting upon the challenges of making a follow-up movie, Cohen said: “There are a lot of challenges and is something that we spent a lot of time thinking about and debated. Though we wanted to bring back the characters that the audience really enjoyed the most in the first movie, we also wanted to introduce some new characters and new places for the characters to go. “We stopped for a minute to think ï¿½what will the audience expect from ï¿½Angry Birds 2’. One of the things that we felt that the audience would expect more battles between birds and pigs. So, we thought, ï¿½let’s give them something different. Let’s give them what they are not expecting and force them to team up’.”

THE CURSE OF CHILDHOOD STARDOM IN HOLLYWOOD BY SUGANDHA RAWAL

e it Drew Barrymore, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber, they entered the world of Hollywood as small wonders and went on to make big splashes. But stardom came as a curse to them instead of a blessing. Growing up in showbiz is never easy -- some call it a recipe for disaster, some dub it as a traumatic experience and some never want to live through it again. “Growing up in showbiz is never always easy. But I will say I am lucky that I have a really great family that supports me and takes care of me. I also try to take my time and grow at my pace... Something what happens in the industry is that they (child actors) try to grow up too quickly,” said Zendaya, who was thrust into the limelight as a hip-hop dancing star in the TV series “Shake It Up” when she was six. Bieber’s recent emotional meltdown on Instagram on his struggle with fame and drug abuse, has once again g took the spotlight p g to the trappings of achieving fame at a young ng age. “I went from a 13-year-old boy from om a small town to being praised left and right by the world d with millions saying how much they loved me and how ow great I was... By 20 I made every bad decision you could uld have thought of and went from one of the most loved and adored people in the world to the most ridiculed, judged, ged, and hated person in the world! I started doing pretty ty heavy drugs at 19 and abused all of my relationships. I became resentful, disrespectful to women, and angry,” wrote Bieber, adding that childhood stardom made him suicidal. Several aspects of Bieber’s story holds true for many, whether it is Lovato, Aaron Carter, Macaulay

Culkin, Barrymore or Selena Gomez. Actor Zac Efron, who found popularity as Troy Bolton in “High School Musical”, struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism. Actress Natalie Portman, who made her debut at the age of 13 in 1994 with “The Professional”, has been vocal about how she was sexualised as a teenager. No one can forget the public meltdowns of Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes and Britney Spears. Or the tragic end of promising Brittany Murphy, Corey Haim and River Phoenix. They all got noticed young, found fame but couldn’t find time to process it. How do they deal with it? Some binge away the pressure with the high of drugs, some had mental breakdowns, some had to go for multiple stints at rehab, some struggled with body image issues and some ended up getting on the wrong side of the law. “Starting out at the industry at a very young age was something that I think I look back at, and I wouldn’t start that young if I could do it over again. I don’t regret anything, but it was difficult transitioning from child star to transforming into a mainstream artist,” Lovato had admitted to YouTube’s head he of original programming Susanne that is very challenging, and you Daniels in 2017. “It’s something someth have to find your identity,” ssaid Lovato, who shot to stardom with “Camp Rock” and struggl struggled with drug abuse and bulimia. Cyrus, who became a teen idol with “Hannah Montana”, had also opened up about abou how early fame had a negative influence. “I think now that I’m older now, I realise that’s a lot to put on a kid. To have them have to get their make-up done and also balance school. I think what was hard for me was balancing everything,” Cyrus told hellomagazine.com. For the world, they lead a glitzy and glamourous life. But it is far away from their grittier reality.

No, I’m not playing

AMRITA PRITAM

aapsee Pannu has denied she is playing Amrita Pritam in a new biopic. Some sections of the entertainment media, mistook Taapsee Pannu’s social media post quoting legendary author-poet Amrita Pritam to rashly assume that the actress is set to play Pritam in Anubhav Sinha’s underproduction “Thappad”. It now turns out Tapsee is not playing Amrita Pritam. “It’s sad that the majority don’t bother to read and interpret my Tweet efficiently enough. Nor connect it with what I posted just a day before the post on Amrita Pritam. It’s sad that I have to spell it out so obviously to you,” the actress exclusively told this journalist. Taapsee, who recently signed a film where she plays a Gujarati sprinter, feels she would be far more open in admitting it if she were to really play Amrita Pritam. “It’s sad that people think I will write such a cryptic post if I am portraying that magnificent character on screen. So, sadly but honestly, the truth is Amrita is the name of my character in Anubhav Sinha’s film Thappad and since her name has a certain connect with Amrita Pritam I used a quote that’s written by her but reflects in my character Amrita’s life in Anubhav Sir’s film,” she cleared the air.

NO TIME TO MAKE MUSIC

inger Rihanna has apologised to her fans, saying she won’t be able to release a new album any time soon because she is focusing on her fashion and cosmetics business. In an interview to “The List”, Rihanna, who hasn’t released an album since 2016, said that her fans, nicknamed the Navy, will have to wait for a bit, reports “dailymail.co.uk”. “Whatever I do is gonna be conﬁdent whether it’s the album, perfume, lingerie, make-up, or fashion. Y’all gonna have to wait. Navy, I’m so sorry,” she said. Rihanna’s fashion, lingerie and cosmetics empire is estimated around 486 million pounds. The star made it clear that music is in the pipeline. “I still got an album to ﬁnish. You gonna ask me about Super Bowl? My fans about to have my neck,” she told Entertainment Weekly.

30 COMMUNITY

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

Seva Trust Honours Top Diplomat Indian High Commission’s Minister of Co-ordination Mr Manmeet Singh Narang meets Community & Charity Leaders in Bedford

EVA Trust UK organised a community meeting involving Minister of Coordination Mr Manmeet Singh Narang (Indian High Commission, London) that was held at Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Bedford. It was attended by community & business leaders, representatives s from Gurdwaras, Temples, Indian & Punjabi Women group reps and reps from leading charity and voluntary groups. The meeting was coordinated by Cllr Charan Sekhon, Chairman of SEVA Trust UK. Minister of Coordination Mr Narang updated the community reps re the services offered by HCI, listened to their concerns and feedback. Many members raised issues re complex OCI application process and OCI renewals and other issues faced re lengthy & very complex application processes. Members also discussed how to involve wider communities in the forthcoming Birth Anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. On behalf of SEVA Trust UK and other reps present Mr Sekhon raised the issue of lack of direct flights from London to Punjab and requested the Minister to raise this issue on behalf of all Indian and Punjabi diaspora with Govt of India and the aviation authorities. There is huge demand for direct flights to Punjab and this demand has been constantly ignored for many years. Mr Narang assured the representatives to look into all the issues raised and discussed and he thanked all the reps for their contributions. He also thanked the Bandhan Group and SEVA Trust UK and all Bedford Indian groups & charities for their huge input for organising Indian Independence Day celebrations in Bedford on 15 August. Gurdwara President Mr Darshan Singh Garcha thanked

Mr Narang and all the attendees and said it was really fruitful meeting. Such interactions should be done regularly so that local communities can raise issues direct with HCI. Bedfordshire Asian Business Association Chair Mr Kuldeep Singh Rupra OBE, Dr Balbir Singh Gabri Ramgarhia Sikh Society, Mr Darshan Singh Garcha, President Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Mr Jaswinder Nighah (President Siri Guru Ravidass Sabha), Mr Prithvi Randhawa (SGRS), Mr Vishal Somal, Mr Venu Somal (Bedford Hindu Society and Maratha Group), SEVA Trust UK reps, Senior members and Trustees and many others members from the local community attended the meeting.

RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

ITO UK hosted a conference and networking event at EKTA Centre Stanmore titled “Rise of AI, Artiﬁcial Intelligence.” Over 100 people attended the event to listen to distinguished and amazing speakers. Experts in AI included a top four consultancy director to business leaders using AI in their company or startup. After a delicious lunch and lively networking session, the afternoon launched into the hottest topic in Computing – AI. Panel Chair was Ritesh Jain, COO & CTO, Global Head of Digital Technology, HSBC. The speakers include: Rohit Singh, AI Expert, Director big4 consulting ﬁrm, Kishor Sankla, CEO of S4H successfully applying innovation and AI in the health industry, Manish Shah, Founder of Yuvah. com, a leading platform for managing loan book valuations using AI, Kesh Sankla, AI and innovation lead at S4H (Solutions4Health) and Pooja Jain, Co-founder and CEO of CogniHealth, a start-up based in Scotland. The ideas underpinning AI have

been around for long time in various guises and the early versions were either as simple programming languages or simple examples in games. What has changed dramatically is the cost of processing and ability to access vast data storage has dropped to a fraction of the cost of 10 and 20 years ago. Now, aspects of AI components are used very widely – examples in-

clude Chess & Go programs able to beat the best humans, self-driving cars, protocols to identify fraud possibilities at banks very quickly and even medical analysis and diagnosis directly with patients or using patient data such as x-rays and scans to spot minor but relevant changes. The programs that drive AI are more open to variations in input (within bounds)

and able to make decisions (again, within bounds). Artificial intelligence today is classified as “narrow AI” (or “weak AI”), in that it is designed to perform a narrow task (e.g. only facial recognition or only internet searches or only driving a car). Almost 95% of AI in use today is narrow AI. Narrow AI over time will outperform humans at any given specific task e.g. playing chess or solving equations. Big technology companies and small start-ups alike are pushing the boundaries of “General or “strong AI”. General AI is expected to outperform humans at nearly every cognitive task and therefore likely to have

far-reaching and much wider impact on our civilisation AI is here to stay and thrive, and everyone should have a reasonable grasp of the ﬁeld, especially those currently in education. There are many free online courses and resources, and JITO UK is planning to arrange a workshop on building AI skills in future. NEXT EVENT JITO UK EVENT: Entrepreneurship Boot Camp, 21-22 September 2019, Hotel Mercure London Paddington, London W2 1HU Link to register: https://www. jitouk.org/jitoeventsept2019/ www.jitouk.org

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

WOMAN 31 FASHION

‘Youth should keep alive the craft of fine muslin’ Top design-historian and author Sonia Ashmore said the young generation of Indians should understand the legacy of the country’s rich heritage in textiles and rise to protect the dying traditions and once again try to keep alive and revive the fabled craft of ϔine muslin which is gradually getting lost and is mostly done through instinct, eye and experience

ndia’s young generation should understand the legacy of the country’s rich heritage in textiles and endeavour to keep alive the fabled craft of ﬁne muslin which is gradually getting lost, top design-historian and author Sonia Ashmore said. Ashmore, who specialises in the traditional craft of weaving, said that lack of high-quality yarn, the danger of losing traditional skills and the role of intermediaries are k’illing muslim making. “The young generation of Indians should understand the legacy of the country’s rich heritage in textiles and rise to protect the dying traditions which is gradually getting lost and and once again try to keep alive and is mostly done through instinct, eye revive the fabled craft of ﬁne muslin and experience,” said Ashmore while

addressing the students of textile science, clothing and fashion studies at the J.D. Birla Institute (JDBI). Ashmore said that not much has changed in muslin making tradition in Bengal and Bangladesh. “One must appreciate the amount of human eﬀort and skill required to manufacture a Jamdani saree. It takes two men 30 weeks to complete a saree,” said the author of the seminal book ‘Muslin’. Ashmore’s tryst with muslin began with opening drawers at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, considered to be the world’s largest museum of applied and decorative She got valuable material for rearts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million ob- search on muslin from the “dusty old documents” at the Indian section of jects.

‘The Sky Is Pink’ A ctress-producer Priyanka Chopra is excited about her first Hindi production, “The Sky Is Pink”, and hopes people find a reason to revisit the film for many years to come. Priyanka, who stars in the film along with Farhan Akhtar, expressed her views when she received the IMDb “Fan Favorite” STARmeter Award in Toronto. The award recognises fan favourites based on IMDbPro data on the page views of more than 200 million monthly visitors. Previous recipients of the award include names such as Olivia Wilde, Miles Teller, Brie Larson and Felicity Jones. “Whenever I get an award, I get an opportunity to tell you that you are all the best and thank you for always having my back and for always being my friends, and with this bond our journey continues,” Priyanka said. “So thank you guys. My first IMDb credit was my first film, it was a Tamil movie called ‘Thamizhan’. I have had a bunch of movies in my life which have given a lot to me, there’s ‘Fashion’, there’s ‘Aitraaz’, there’s ‘Barfi’. I would love for people to revisit ‘The Sky Is Pink’, all the time because it is my first credit as a producer/actor,” she added.

“The Sky Is Pink” is a love story of a couple, who lose their daughter to pulmonary ﬁbrosis, a serious immune disease. It also stars Zaira Wasim. Directed by Shonali Bose, “The Sky Is Pink” will release on October 11.

the British Library. She has also extensively toured across Asia and Europe, meeting artisans, weavers and personal collectors of muslin. “Indians have stopped wearing traditional dress. Also, lack of highquality yarn and the danger of losing traditional skills and the role of intermediaries are killing this traditional craft of muslin. “If an average muslin worker has to work 10 hours a day for producing fabric materials, how can one expect the next generation to take up this profession at an early age,” she said. Ashmore was participating in an interactive session, “In Search of Woven Air: Following the Threads of Muslin”, jointly organised by JDBI and Weaver’s Studio.

32 NEWS & PICS

Models present creations from the Blancore Spring/Summer 2020 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York, the United States

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

Actress Malaika Arora walks the ramp to showcase designer Diya Rajvir’s creations at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2019 in Mumbai

Reliance Foundation Chairperson and Founder Nita Ambani with her daughter Isha Ambani at the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations organised at Reliance Industries Ltd. Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

Actress Soha Ali Khan walks the ramp for designer Kavita Agarwal at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2019 in Mumbai

Actress Sonakshi Sinha

A model presents a creation from the Dirty Pineapple Spring/Summer 2020 collection during the New York Fashion Week in New York, the United States

Actress Deepika Padukone showcases a creation of fashion designer Abu JaniSandeep Khosla during a fashion show in Mumbai

Actress Kangana Ranaut’s love for saris is well known. Recently, she made a public appearance wearing a plain cotton sari that cost Rs 600 only.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

WOMAN NEWS & PICS 33

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

Actors Sonam Kapoor and Dulquer Salmaan during a press conference regarding upcoming ﬁlm “The Zoya Factor” in New Delhi

A model presents a creation from the Dirty Pineapple Spring/Summer 2020 collection during the New York Fashion Week in New York, the United States

Designer Gaurav Gupta, Mandira Lamba and Anaita Shroﬀ Adajania during a personal styling session with FICCI FLO, in New Delhi

Actress and fashionista Sonam K. Ahuja has scored a following of 20 million on social media platform Instagram, and celebrated it with a love-ﬁlled message for her fans, “Thank you so much to all 20 million of you, you ﬁll my heart with so much love. Thank you Tribe,” Sonam posted on her social media accounts

Ace designer J.J. Valaya has launched his 2019 annual couture collection titled ‘Tabriz’.

Actress Mouni Roy at the launch of a fashion collection in Kolkata

Actors Madhuri Dixit and Aamir Khan at Reliance Industries Ltd. Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai

A model presents a creation from Taoray Taoray Spring/Summer 2020 collection during the New York Fashion Week in New York

34 WOMEN

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

‘Women under pressure TO LOOK BEAUTIFUL’ Actress Nandita Das, who is known to speak her heart out about societal imbalances, feels that women are constantly under pressure to look beautiful, which shouldnt be the case.

andita was interacting with the media at the launch of ﬂagship store, Shades of India, along with Gul Panag and Tisca Chopra in Mumbai. Nandita Das’ 2013 campaign, Dark Is Beautiful, gained a lot of momentum as it brought forward the issue of colour discrimination that men and women face in society. She has always insisted on celebrating the beauty in all skin colour and in the same attempt, Das recently shot a two-minute anthem surrounding the same topic. Titled as India’s Got Colour, the song features Ali Fazal, Radhika Apte, Konkona Sensharma, Gul Panag, Divya Dutta, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Tillotama Shome, Sayani Gupta and Suchitra Pillai amongst others. Talking about it, Nandita said, “Dark is beautiful campaign was started by someone but I was supporting it. Now it has completed 10 years so, I felt that we should reinvent that campaign as we refer fair people as lovely and all that.

I feel that women are under constant pressure to look beautiful which shouldn’t be the case. Apart from their looks, women are intelligent, they have skills and talent so, they can do a lot of things. So, we thought that we should give it new name as ‘India’s Got Colour’ because it’s a time where we should celebrate diversity. We were also thinking to name this campaign as Shades of India because its represents true spirit of our country similarly, ‘India’s Got Colour’ is not about only one colour.” Gul Panag who was the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Chandigarh for 2014 Indian general election talked about water logging issue in Mumbai around monsoon period, she said: “It’s a topic which we can discuss for hours and hours. I feel that it is our responsibility to keep our city clean. If we don’t keep our city clean then our drainage system will get clogged. It is not a problem of someone else. I do believe that BMC has to play big role in it but we should also do something

about it. I don’t want to abdicate citizens from their responsibilities.” Adding to Gul’s statement, Nandita said: “I think it is our responsibility to take care of this environment. We have seen so much of rain in this monsoon season. I feel we should look at this climate change seriously. We should think about how can we consume less and reuse things. I feel it is not just my own responsibility, everybody should think and do something about it.” Extending her support to #SaveAarey Campaign like many other Bollywood celebrities, Nandita said: “If you are cutting around 3000 tress which are in the middle of city and it is also known as green lung of this city so, obviously we should talk against it. We do realize that there is urban planning involved and there are many demands of a city but we should ﬁnd a solution where we will not have to abuse the nature. There are a lot of examples of such strategies around the world so, we should also adopt that.”

‘REMAINING FIT IS SIMPLER THAN IT SEEMS’ BY SIDDHI JAIN

oga instructor and author Ira Trivedi, whose tryst with the practice began not in India but in the US, feels that yoga has had a powerful comeback in the past few years in India, and remaining ﬁt is simpler than it seems. Trivedi, 31, says that even though yoga has been in the Indian culture and it originated from the country, it had a dip in its popularity. It, however, bounced back just about 5-6 years ago -- owing to the governmental push and also as a greater public resistance against lifestyle problems. “Problems like stress, anxiety, high or low blood pressure and diabetes come up because of the modern lifestyle, which is why yoga has become popular recently,” said Trivedi. The instructor-writer claims that sitting is the new smoking, and it is simple to stay ﬁt. “Prolonged sitting can lead to spine and mental problems. People

can stay fit in simple ways: Eating correctly, moving with their spine, doing gentle spinal movements and walking. It’s very simple to stay fit, it just requires a habit and some amount of initial discipline.” Trivedi’s personal journey with yoga began almost 15 years ago when she was a student at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. “I was exposed to yoga more there because I saw so many celebrities doing it. I remember I walked into a yoga studio, but it was so expensive that I could not afford it as a young student. Then when I came back to India, I became curious.” In her quest to develop an authentic yoga practice, Trivedi landed up at the doors of the Sivananda Ashram in Thiruvananthapuram, and has since let the art of yoga give her life a 360-degree twist -physically and emotionally.

“I feel like a better and more compassionate person, a more mindful person who cares about the world, people, environment a lot more,” shares Trivedi, who has yoga programmes on Doordarshan to her credit. Among her books, Trivedi has authored “India in Love: Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st Century” -- a 2014 book which explores the mating habits of young Indians, the changing face of Indian pornography and prostitution, India’s gay revolution and understands how the nation that gave the world the Kama Sutra could have a high rate of rape and violence against women. Having worked hard on her ﬂair for writing, she now balances both careers. For the Lucknow-born yoga acharya, it’s all about the right techniques and interesting ways of teaching.

“I personally swear by the Shirshasana -- the head stand. It’s one of the best and is achievable by most people. It looks diﬃcult, but with the correct technique, becomes easy.” Trivedi is the founder of Namami Yoga -- an organization that brings yoga to a wide swathe of people. She also has a mobile application called Ira Yoga, which has bite-sized yoga and meditation modules for learners, especially those from the busy corporate world. However, Trivedi feels that the sooner one adopts yoga in their life the better. “Kids’ bodies are so ﬂexible and capable of doing so much. But if you make them remain still in an ‘aasana’ for two minutes, an 8-year-old cannot do that. The West is actually innovating on yoga for children and making it exciting. “If yoga was taught to children in the correct way, where it was looked upon at that age as more of a sport, it would be more exciting,” she added.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

WOMEN 35

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

Kerala Braveheart Bags Neerja Bhanot Award

young braveheart from Kerala, Sifiya Haneef, was conferred with the Neerja Bhanot Award in a solemn ceremony in Chandigarh. The award was presented to her by Wendy Sue Knecht, who also worked with the Pan American World Airways in the ‘80s and had trained Neerja Bhanot in 1986. Knecht specially came here from Los Angeles for the award function. The award consists of Rs 1.50 lakh, a citation and a trophy. The award was instituted in 1990 in memory of Neerja Bhanot, who saved hundreds of lives while sacrificing her own when a Pan Am flight from Mumbai to New York was hijacked at the Karachi airport on September 5, 1986. A specially constituted jury comprising three Rotarians -- Sneh

Popli, Manjit Kaur and Anu Dhingra -- selected Siﬁya for the honour after she met the criteria laid down by the Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust, which stipulates that the awardee has to be an Indian woman who when faced

with social injustice, overcomes it with guts and grit. Akhil Bhanot, managing trustee at Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust, said: “Siﬁya got married when she was 16 and her studies were stopped.

Unfortunately, her husband died when she was 20. She had two children by then. Siﬁya wished to continue her studies, but did not get any support. Not willing to give up, she took on a part-time job and resumed her studies. “After a lot of struggle and realising that life was very tough not only for her, but also for other widows as well, she started spending her salary on helping widows.” Siﬁya started a Facebook page called ‘Chithal’ where she wrote about the issues facing widows. She also met a lot of sick mothers, kids, elderly people and cancer patients, among others. She would update her page on the problems these people were facing and get public support to

solve their issues. Today, she is helping more than 300 families by providing them shelters, constructing toilets in colonies, distributing medicines and giving them pension, Bhanot said. An emotional Knecht said: “Though a lifetime has passed, Neerja’s generosity, her humanity and her sacriﬁce will never be forgotten.” “By ﬁghting for justice, Neerja proved that you can rewrite your story from being called a ‘victim’ to a ‘hero’. The message that Neerja imparted upon the world was ‘do the right thing, come what may’. This is what all of us must do. I too have been inspired to follow Neerja’s path,” she added.

PREETI SHENOY Shares Her Secrets

Discipline, perseverance, an afϔinity for solitude, empathy and observation skills top the checklist to become a good writer. The author of several best-selling books, Preet Shenoy meets Siddhi Jain and shares some tips on good writing and promotion of reading

s the author of several b e s t selling books like “Life Is What You Make It” and its sequel “Wake Up, Life Is Calling”, Preeti Shenoy has carved a niche for herself. She is on the Forbes longlist of the most inﬂuential celebrities in India. Though she has been writing for as long as she can remember, the 47-year-old author says growing up she had never imagined herself as an author. “When I was little, I’d write in journals and diaries. I’d also write for college magazines. It really just started as something I loved to do. It allowed me to express myself in a way I wouldn’t be able to otherwise. I had absolutely no clue that one day I’d be in the position I am in today,” she said.

The bestselling author also claims that all her books to be slightly autobiographical in some ways. “There is a little bit of me in every book of mine. And I think this is true for all writers,” she added. In what is perhaps her most popular novel, “Life Is What You Make It”, Shenoy explored the diﬀerent dimensions of the bipolar disorder

through the story of Ankita - interwoven into narratives of love and loss. She said the book was inspired by a UK exhibition in which people suffering from bipolar disorder created works of art. “I spoke to many of them and their families whose lives had been affected. I also travelled to the NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences, Bengaluru) to research on the subject,” the Bengaluru-based author told IANS Life in an email interview. A fan of Anita Nair and Shinie Antony among Indian women authors, Shenoy, however, feels there are hardly any women in the best selling league. “If you see the HT Nielsen list of Indian bestsellers, which is published every Saturday, you will find only male writers. So I don’t think much sale is happening,” she explained. Discipline, perseverance, an affinity for solitude, empathy and observation skills top

her checklist to become a good writer. An avid reader herself, Shenoy makes it a point to buy books worth at least Rs 1,000-2,000 whenever she goes into any bookstore. Tongue ﬁrmly in cheek, she suggests “conﬁscating all the mobile phones and throwing them into the sea” to increase interest in books.

36 EVENTS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

ASIAN ACHIEVERS HONOURED IN LONDON

he 19thannual Asian Achievers Awards were revealed at a mega ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, on Park Lane. This year’s winners include BBC News Economics Editor, Faisal Islam for Achievement in Media, Arts & Culture; Woman of the Year, Neeta Patel, CEO of New Entrepreneurs Foundation; and Harjit Singh Bhania, head coach of the men’s GB wheelchair basketball team for Sports Personality of the Year. The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award went to philanthropist business tycoon, Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources, while London Deputy Mayor, Rajesh Agrawal received the Editor’s Award for Public Services. The Asian Achievers Awards recognises the outstanding work of

individuals from across all businesses and professions. The Asian Achievers Awards is hosted by Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL), the publishers of Asian Voice (English) and Gujarat Samachar (Gujarati), the premier newsweeklies for British Asians. Hosts, actor Nitin Ganatra and Nisha Parmar, semi-ﬁnalist of BBC’s Masterchef UK, were joined by business tycoons, entrepreneurs and dignitaries, including Jeﬀery Archer, whose skilful auctioneering helped to raise a staggering £150,000 for this year’s chosen charity Yuva Unstoppable, a youth movement in India that works towards educating underprivileged children. “This year our theme is inclusivity,” said Mr. CB Patel, Publisher/Editor, ABPL Group. “As you know inclusivity is not just about

diversity, but about being inclusive of everyone. That’s why we have so many shortlisted candidates this year from the LGBTQ community. Today historically, it also completes one year of decriminalisation of homosexuality in India - a step in the right direction under the leadership of our Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Societal exclusion, identity seclusion and isolation from the society are still the stark realities faced by many individuals, and for Asians it’s even harder. So, our job as always, is to set an example, not only through our publications of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, but especially through today’s Asian Achievers Awards - campaigning for individual liberation and rewarding people for striving so hard against any odds.

Dr Nilesh U Patel receiving the Editor’s Choice Award for Contribution to Thoracic Surgery from CB Patel (L most) and Air Chief Marshall Michael Wigston of the Royal Air Force (L)

Faisal Islam, winner of the Media, Arts and Culture category receiving the award from Suresh Vagjiani of Sow and Reap (L) and Seema Malhotra MP (R)

“And in our eﬀort to do so, I must thank the inputs from all our readers and supporters for nominating such outstanding candidates and our independent panel of judges who did their job so brilliantly. I would like to congratulate all the winners of our 19thannual Asian Achievers Awards. Their remarkable contributions to society and community have had a profound impact and I take great pride in highlighting their accomplishments.” The Asian Achievers Awards sponsors include EY, Starling Bank and Edwardian Hotels, with Colors TV on board as Media Partner. THE WINNERS ARE: • Onkardeep Singh, Achievement in Community Services • Faisal Islam, Achievement in Media, Arts & Culture

• Vipul Vadera, Businessperson of the Year • Kush Kanodia, Entrepreneur of the Year • Krishna Omkar, Professional of the Year • Harjit Singh Bhania, Sports Personality of the Year • Hafsa Qureshi, Uniformed, Civil and Public Services • Neeta Patel, Women of the Year • Anil Agarwal, Lifetime Achievement Award • Rajesh Agrawal, London Deputy Mayor, Editor’s Award for Public Services • Dr. Nilesh U Patel MD, Editor’s Award for Contribution to Thoracic Surgery • Pradip Dhamecha Editor’s Choice Award for Community Service, Philanthropy and Entrepreneurship

Pradip Dhamecha receiving the Editor’s Choice Award for Community service, Philanthropy and Entrepreneurship from CB (left most), Subhash Thakrar (L) and GP Hinduja (R)

Neeta Patel, winner of Woman of the Year category with Dr Rami Ranger CBE (L) and Pragnesh Modhwadia, Axiom Stone Solicitors (R)

Krishna Omkar, winner of the Professional of the Year Award with Atul Pathak (L) OBE and Chief Supt of Met Police, Raj Kohli (R)

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

EVENTS 37

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

Lifetime Achievement Award winner Anil Agarwal with CB Patel (Left most), GP Hinduja (L), Lord Navnit Dholakia (R) and Major-General Sharon Nesmith (R most)

Kush Kanodia, receiving the Entrepreneur of the Year award from Craig McGinlay (L), Rachael Pollard of Starling Bank (R) and compere Nisha Parmar (far R)

Raj, sister of Harjit Singh Bhania OBE receiving the Sports Personality of the Year Award from Melanie Ulyatt MBE (L most) Loknath Mishra, ICICI Bank (L) and compere Nisha Parmar (R).

Nitin Ganatra and Nisha Parmar

Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Deputy Mayor for Business Rajesh Agrawal receiving Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice Award for Public Service from CB Patel (L most) and Dr Rami Ranger CBE (L)

Sangeeta Waldron receiving the award on behalf of Hafsa Qureshi, winner of the Uniformed, Civil and Public Services category from Navin Shah AM (L) and Lord Ranbir Suri (R)

Vipul Vadera, winner of the Business Person of the Year Award with Jean-Bernard Fernandez Versini (L) and Zishan Nurmohammed, EY (R)

38 EVENTS

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits remembered Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society has organised an event at the House of Commons recently hosted by Bob Blackman MP- Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group on Hindus …. Reports Ragasudha Vinjamuri

book titled “Resilience” was released on the occasion which has compilation of 20 moving stories of Kashmiri Pandits inﬂicted by the extermination attempts meted out to them in the valley in 1990’s. An interesting documentary made by two youngsters, Arjun Verma and Ramon Menon was shown on forced removal and murder of Kashmiri Hindus by radical elements ideologically different from them. Lord Popat and Bob Blackman MP were thanked for their continuous support on the Kashmiri Pandits’ cause. They both spoke ﬁrmly on the era of violence and eradication of Kashmiri Pandits. Virendra MP acknowledged the mass exodus of KPs out of their own homes was saddening and moving. Sonal Sher, representing KPCS,

says ‘Our story is a story of Loss but it is also a story of Resilience. We are in a position to eﬀect change; ask questions, demand answers and restitution. We demand that acknowledgement of our genocide takes place, that our desecrated temples are restored, and a way is paved forward to return to our rightful home.’ Anupama Handoo, who provided the foreword to the book says ‘Kashmiri Hindus have been accused of lying and exaggerating the atrocities committed on them. We are often called cowardly and selﬁsh because we chose to take education seriously and rebuild our lives instead of seeking revenge. RESILIENCE30 YEARS IN EXILE is an attempt to remember the real accounts of real people and tell the world that victim shaming and Holocaust denial will not be accepted.

We survived despite all odds because of our grit, determination and Sanatan values’. Excerpts from the stories incorporated in the book were read by young persons of the community. Dr Shafalica, UK Coordinator for Global Kashmiri Pandits Diaspora says ‘KPCS(UK) works closely

with Global Kashmiri Pandits Diaspora (GKPD) and we have volunteers across the world. Our aim is to share the stories of our genocide and exodus with the world so that the suﬀerings we had to face as a community, no other community should have to face. Loss of one’s homeland of generations is a very painful loss.

We want the world to recognise our genocide and help us restore our homeland’. The event concluded with Q&A, during which Vinod Tikoo, Amar Trivedi, Dr Vivek Kaul, Sandeep Lahori, Lakshmi Kaul, Trupti Patel etc gave their inputs, along with members from the audience.

fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia

SPORT 39

SEPTEMBER II 2019 Website: www.asianlite.com Email: newsdesk@asianlite.com

2020 WOMEN’S U-17 WORLD CUP IN INDIA

he 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by India, will be held from November 2 to 21, football’s governing body has confirmed. The host cities for the tournament are yet to be approved with FIFA inspecting five potential venues thus far. The dates for the tournament was one of several issues discussed in a meeting of the Organising Committee (OC) for FIFA Competitions that was held in Zurich on Friday. “The OC confirmed that the competition

will take place from 2 to 21 November 2020. The host cities will be conﬁrmed in due course,” said FIFA on its website. Tournament director Roma Khanna had told reporters on Friday that Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Goa and Navi Mumbai are the ﬁve venues that were inspected by the FIFA team for the tournament. She added that there are several other cities that have expressed interest. Khanna said there will be a second round of assessment that will be done at the end of this year.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino had announced in March that India will be the host of the 2020 U-17 Women’s World Cup. The country had previously hosted the men’s U-17 World Cup in 2017. SCHOOL PROGRAMME Phillip Zimmerman, technical development services programme manager, and Roma Khanna, tournament director, FIFA U-17 Womens World Cup that will be held in India in 2020, attended the MGCM Chava League at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Municipal School here to initiate the FIFA Football for

Schools Programme in India. FIFA Football for Schools Programme aims to make the sport more accessible to children around the world by incorporating football activities into the physical education curriculum (or as an extracurricular pursuit), thereby contributing to the education, development and empowerment of children. “The programme is using football for development and teaching essential life skills as well. Footballs will be distributed all around the world, but we will distribute them in a way

that the biggest country gets the most quantity of balls. We’re already looking at over 2.2 million balls coming to India. Maharashtra being a bigger state will get a large amount,” said Zimmerman. “We will work on a structure on how we phase the programme. We also know that interaction with local authorities is needed. We will work closely with the state governments and sports and education departments to ensure that we provide these footballs where they’re most needed,” said Khanna.

Ready for international cricket: Abhimanyu BY DEBAYAN MUKHERJEE

bagful of runs to show for in ﬁrst-class cricket, opener Abhimanyu Easwaran is ready to move to the next level but is not losing sleep over an India call-up ahead of the South Africa home Test series starting next month. Easwaran helped India Red win the Duleep Trophy by an innings and 38 runs in Bengaluru last week as he cracked a copybook 153 from 300 balls in the ﬁrst innings to lay the foundation for the massive triumph. Easwaran, who turned 24 a few days ago and was also appointed the captain of the Bengal team for all three formats, is a India ï¿½A’ regular and has been in good form for quite some time. The Dehradun-born city boy had a blockbuster season in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy, amassing 861 runs, the fourth highest from the Elite Group teams, with an average of 95.66 and studded with three centuries. And with K.L. Rahul struggling to get runs, Easwaran is considered as the ‘dark-horse’ to break into the squad. “I am not thinking about selection. I am not thinking about things I can’t control. I am only thinking about the South Africa ï¿½A’ series coming up from September 17. I have

to prepare well for that,” Easwaran told IANS on Thursday. Asked whether he feels he is ready for the grind of international cricket, Easwaran said: “Yes I am.” Besides Shubman Gill, who is leading the India ï¿½A’ side in the ﬁrst unoﬃcial Test against South Africa ï¿½A’ in Thiruvananthapuram,

the focus will also be on openers Easwaran and Priyank Panchal who will feature only in the second match, to be played in Mysuru from September 17. “It will be a good challenge for me against quality South African bowlers. If you do well, your conﬁdence always grows,” Easwaran said

on his upcoming assignment. The recent West Indies tour where he played against their ï¿½A’ side, was a learning curve for Easwaran, although he did not get many runs. “I learnt a lot from that tour. Playing with the Dukes ball in those conditions. I played for the ﬁrst time

under lights with the red ball. That was also a challenge. It’s diﬃcult as an opener to play with the new ball under lights. I had to adjust to the wickets there.” Most of Easwaran’s time at India ï¿½A’ was spent under the tutelage of Rahul Dravid although the legendary former India captain stepped down from that role due to his National Cricket Academy commitments. “Rahul sir has been an idol since I started playing cricket. He is an inspiration. Sharing the dressing room with him has been a dream come true. I learnt quite a bit from him. he has been very open to us,” Easwaran said. On the added pressure of leading Bengal, he said: “I think it’s an honour for me to lead Bengal. If I can bat the way I have been batting, it will be really helpful for my team. The management has shown faith in me. When it comes to team selection and decision making, I have a little added responsibility. But I would like to enjoy it and take it as a challenge.” Although he has never had the chance to speak to Indian captain Virat Kohli, Easwaran -- who made his ﬁrst class debut in 2013, concluded by saying he loves the way Kohli approaches the game. “I really enjoy the way Virat Kohli plays his cricket and the passion he has for the game. I love watching him bat.”

OCTOBER 27

2019

SPECIAL EDITION

sian Lite is producing a special edition to celebrate Diwali 2019. The edition will focus on the Success Sagas of the British Asians in diďŹ&#x20AC;erent ďŹ elds including culture, business, politics & sport.

The special edition will carry several informative articles besides proďŹ les and interviews with several prominent members from the community. Asian Lite Special Diwali Edition with a long shelf-life is ideal to promote your product and services. For more details, please write to info@asianlite.com

LONDON OFFICE: Broadman House Broadway, Stratford, L ondon E14 1NT DUBAI OFFICE: &DVFDGH 2á&#x201A;&#x2C6;FH 48 Burj Gate Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai