Cult current, may 207

COVER STORY

#POSITIVE INDIA

WONDER BOY A 5-year-old with 4 national records!

W Varad Malkhandale Varad genius first made it to the news when he unbelievably recognized and named not one or two, but 55 different models of 12 car companies, within a minute!

hat is the similarity between Chacha Choudhary and 5-year-old Varad Malkhandale? Both have unbelievable memory retention and a brain that works faster than a computer. You think we’re joking?

Well, Chacha Chaudhary was a comic book icon of the 90s but the little Varad; he definitely lives up to his moniker ‘Memory Master’. Hailing from Nagpur, the little one was just three and half years old, when the feat made it into The India Book of Records in 2015. Also known as the Wonder boy of Nagpur, he has bagged four national-level awards by the World Records India or WRI in March, setting new records. WRI gives away awards each year to recognise those with extraordinary talents and skills in India. Varad is now the youngest person in India who can recite the ABCs in reverse order, that too within a span of 3.39 seconds. He has also correctly recognized 96 car models in 1 minute and a total of 107 car models belonging to 22 car companies in 1 minute and 9 seconds. He has also set the record for being the youngest to identify the 30 states of India and even arrange miniature maps of these states to form the map of the country within 39 seconds, and 2 minutes and 12 seconds respectively.l

3 |MAY-2017|

EDITORIAL

WE ARE

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Prof. Pradeep K Mathur

EDITOR Rajesh Srivastava

OPINION EDITOR Sanjay Srivastava

CORPORATE EDITOR Gagan Batra

CO-ORDINATING EDITOR Dhirendra N. Srivastava

NATIONAL EDITOR Dr. Raja Ram Tripathi METRO EDITOR Manoj Bisaria

DIGITAL EDITOR Jalaj Srivastava

MANAGING EDITOR Tillan Richhariya

POLITICAL EDITOR Ram Shiromani Shukla

FOREIGN EDITOR Rosy Kashyap

SPORT EDITOR Vishwajeet Kumar

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lokesh Sharma

COPY EDITOR l Arun Patel l Sandeep Kumar

REPORTING Art

CORRESPONDENT l Jaya Verma, l Sandeep Singh l Anirudha Singh

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT l Vikas Kumar l Satish Mukhiya l Kamlesh Jha

CHIEFS OF BUREAU (INTERNATIONAL)

Art Editor Anwar-ul- Huque

CHIEFS OF BUREAU (NATIONAL)

l Akul Batra (USA)

l Sanjay Kumar (Lucknow)

l C. Sieuwratan (Netherland)

l Sandeep Kumar (Patna)

l G. Verma (London, UK)

l Vijay K. Pandey (Kolkata)

l Dr. Md. Faheem Akbar (Pakistan)

l Bharat P Yadav (Raipur)

PHOTOGRAPHER Ravi Singh WEB & IT ADMIN Anuj Singh PRODUCTION K KVerma

l A. Asgarzadeh (Iran)

l Kamal Mansoor (Bhopal)

l Dr. Nic Sheri (Malaysia)

l Anirudha Yadav (Guwahati)

l A. Abraham Sharjah (UAE)

l Shatrughna Prasad (Mumbai)

MARKETING GENERAL MANAGER R P Chauhan

Inaugural Issue

Manager (Operation) Rajesh Kumar

GENERAL MANEGER Uma Shankar Singh

EXECUTIVE OFFICER

EXECUTIVE OFFICER TejendraJha, PriyanshuPandey

l Om Prakash Dubey

DELENG19447

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Vol.: 01, Issue : 02, May-2017

Editorial/Business office

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URJAS MEDIA VENTURE India Office : G-84, 3rd Floor, East Vinod Nagar, New Delhi- 110091, INDIA, Tel: +91-11-2277-0485 USA Office: 14601, Belaire Blvd, Houston, Texas 77083, USA, Tel: +1 (832) 644-0054 E-mail: editor@cultcurrent.com, info@urjasmedia.com, Web:www.cultcurrent.com, www.urjasmedia.com Owned, published, and printed by Rajesh Srivastava at G-84, 3rd Floor, East Vinod Nagar, New Delhi- 110091, and printed at Royal offset, D 492 Patpargunj Industrial Area, New Delhi- 110092.

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4 |MAY-2017|

24

COVER STORY

DECIDING THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY

CURRENCY WAR NO MANIPULATION CHARGE BUT CHINA ON U.S. WATCH LIST

16

22

YOUNG FRENCH VOTERS FOR PROTECTIONIST LE PEN

34

U.P. to Gujarat

MODI REMAINS UNCHALLENGED

STREETS OF DHAKA : EVERYTHING FARMGATE!

14

INTERNET WILL DRIVE US TO AN AMAZING FUTURE!

38

URGENT NEED TO EASE KATHMANDU’S AIR TRAFFIC CONGESTION

44

RUSSIA’S NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY : RUSSIA OUTSMARTS U.S. IN GLOBAL NUCLEAR MARKET

46

INDIA LIKELY TO INVEST IN TRINCO OIL TANK FARM FOR SURVIVAL KALANKAR LAKE HOPES FOR A MIRACLE SYRIAN AIR STRIKES GARNER WIDE SUPPORT FOR HARDLINER TRUMP

48 50 52

AS NEXT PRESIDET OF INDIA : BIG B: WILL COME ON THE ISLAND OF POLITICS!

54

PHIR EK BAAR MODI SARKAR

58

REINHOLD MESSNER ON HOW TO CLIMB MOUNT EVEREST

60

5 |MAY-2017|

CONTENT

20

LIFE TERM FOR COW SLAUGHTER IN GUJARAT

64

YES ‘BEGUM JAAN’ IS MY MANDI : SRIJIT

FROM HERE AND THERE

DRINKING SODA? MAY BE POOR FOR YOUR MEMORY

ISRO NOW PLANS TO DIG MOON DUST BY 2030

PRIYANKA DRAGGED INTO CONTROVERSY Priyanka Chopra now finds herself embroiled in the ongoing Sonu Nigam azaan controversy. An old video of PeeCee, where she is talking about the call of prayer, has gone viral on social media. The clip, which was shot during the Bhopal schedule of Prakash Jha's Jai Gangaajal (2016), has her saying, "When the film's shoot wrapped up for the day, I would always wait for the azaan in the evening.

I would prefer sitting on the terrace during sunset.

It is soothing and relaxing to hear the azaan and, luckily, I get to hear it from six nearby mosques." She adds, "I really like those five minutes. It's a strange, peaceful time to hear azaan on the microphone.

It's my favourite time of the day." We think Sonu would beg to differ. l

With the ever growing energy requirements on earth, scientists are looking for new avenues for energy in other parts of the universe. And now they have gone as far as the moon to find an alternate source of energy. An ISRO scientist has stated that India is working to use natural resources on the moon to power the country’s energy requirements by 2030. said Dr Sivathanu Pillai, an ISRO scientist who earlier worked as the chief of the Indo-Russian venture, BrahMos Aer--ospace. l

OUR ANCESTORS HAD POWERFUL NIGHT-TIME VISION New genetic evidence confirms a long-held hypothesis that our earliest mammalian ancestors indeed had powerful night-time vision. The findings published in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that adapting to life in the dark helped the early mammals find food and avoid reptilian predators that hunted by day.

The research team examined genes involved in night vision in animals throughout the evolutionary tree, looking for places where those genes became enhanced. l

If you thought switching to diet soda can help you avoid the ill effects associated with sugary soft drinks, think again! Researchers have found that while drinking sugary beverages frequently may lead to poorer memory, daily intake of diet soda may increase the risk of stroke and dementia.Both sugary and diet drinks correlated with accelerated brain ageing, according to the findings published in two separate studies. l

NEW 2017 SWIFT DZIRE LAUNCH ON 25TH MAY Maruti Suzuki will launch the new 2017 Swift DZire in India on 25th May as confirmed by a source close to the launch process.

Dealers have already started accepting booking for the upcoming sedan at a token amount of Rs 5,000. Maruti Suzuki, however, hasn't officially confirmed any launch date yet. The changes made to the Swift DZire will be cosmetic as well as the inclusion of new features in the cabin. The exterior will receive a revised front fascia along with a redesigned bumper and wider front grille finished in chrome. The rear of the car will feature a new bumper, a newly designed tailgate and tail lamps. l

HARRY POTTER IS COMING TO THE PROMS The music of Harry Potter will feature at this year's Proms, as part of a concert celebrating the 85th birthday of film composer John Williams. Themes from Star Wars, Jaws and Indiana Jones will also be played at the concert, on 20 July. "Will people come dressed as Star Wars characters? I'd be really disappointed if they don't," said Proms director David Pickard. He went on to praise the musician's "wonderful, varied" scores. l

6 |MAY-2017|

BUZZ & TRIBUTE

LAL KRISHNA ADVANI

THEY SAID IT...

FORMER DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER The BJP Party veteran Lal Krishna Advani is now out of the race to become the country’s next President. That is immediate fallout of the Supreme Court’s directive on April 19, 2017. The buzz was that Narendra Modi may want to give him presidentship by way of “gurudakshina” to his erstwhile mentor. l

SUNIL MITTAL CHAIRMAN, BHARTI ENTERPRISES Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal, who is also the chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), underscored the global business organisation's pledge to promote the UN's sustainable development goals.

Mittal underlined the ICC's commitment during his meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York on 20th April. l

Donald Trump

Narendra Modi

President, USA

Prime Minister, India

I call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria, and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types.

New India is not a government scheme or a matter of politics. It manifests the strength and skills of 125 crore Indians, who will create a Bhavya and Divya Bharat.

THE TRIBUTE

R

abindranath Tagore was the policies in India. With his translations of youngest son of Debendranath some of his poems he became rapidly Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo known in the West. In fact his fame attained Samaj, which was a new religious a luminous height, taking him across consect in nineteenth-century Bengal and tinents on lecture tours and tours of friendwhich attempted a revival of the ultimate ship. Although Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, he was first of all a poet. monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in Among his fifty and odd volumes of poetry the Upanishads. He was educated at home; are Manasi (1890), Sonar Tari (1894), Gitanand although at seventeen he was sent to jali (1910), Gitimalya (1914), and Balaka England for formal schooling, he did not (1916) . The English renderings of his pofinish his studies there. In his mature years, etry, which include The Gardener (1913), in addition to his many-sided literary activFruit-Gathering (1916), and many more Beities, he managed the family estates, a projRABINDRA NATH TAGORE sides these, he wrote musical dramas, dance ect which brought him into close touch May7,1861 - August 7, 1941 dramas, essays of all types, travel diaries, with common humanity and increased his and two autobiographies, one in his middle interest in social reforms. He also started an years and the other shortly before his death in 1941. Interexperimental school at Shantiniketan where he tried his Upnationally, Gitanjali is Tagore's best-known collection of poanishadic ideals of education. Gandhi, the political father of etry, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913. modern India, was his devoted friend. Tagore was knighted Tagore was the first person (excepting Roosevelt) outside by the ruling British Government in 1915, but within a few Europe to get the Nobel Prize. l years he resigned the honour as a protest against British

7 |MAY-2017|

NATIONAL

COW POLITICS

MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW

CENTRE PLANS ‘PROJECT COW’

STRIKE DOWN TRIPLE TALAQ

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he Centre plans to start “Project Cow”, similar to its Project Tiger, to protect the animal from slaughter, Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj G Ahir said. The minister told The Indian Express that cow sanctuaries will be set up under such a scheme.

“We have been considering a proposal and have been working on it for some time now. We need to stop cow slaughter, but the biggest stumbling block is who will take care of these cows,” he told the daily. Ahir believes that setting up sanctuaries for the animals and providing fodder will stop farmers from selling old cows for slaughter. “I have discussed the matter with the Environment Ministry, and we plan to expedite this proposal,” said the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Chandrapur, Maharashtra.

Despite Ahir’s statement, details of the actual plan and what it proposes are unavailable. His remarks come at a time when there are a growing number of reports of so-called gau rakshaks using violence to demand a ban on cow slaughter and beef. l

INTEND

SC ASK TO CENTRE

GOVERNMENT MAY HOW IS AADHAAR MANDATORY ASK DOCTORS TO DESPITE OUR ORDER PRESCRIBE MEDICINES he Supreme Court questioned the Centre for making Aadhaar UNDER GENERIC mandatory for procuring PAN cards.

NAMES. IS IT PRACTICAL? Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, ap-

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W

hile inaugurating a charity hospital in Surat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government intended to move a law to ensure that doctors prescribe medicines by their generic names only.

The proposal has generated a heated conversation in the media and in the pharma industry. Generics are medicines on which patents have expired. They are sold either as branded products or as unbranded products under their generic names. l

pearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by justice A.K. Sikri that they have found that people were giving details of PAN cards that have been procured on the basis of fake documents. Rohatgi said there were instances that one person was having a number of PAN cards and these fake cards were being used to divert funds to shell companies. To this, the bench asked the attorney general, “Is this the remedy that you need to have Aadhaar for having PAN? Why has it been made mandatory?” l

CHARITIES

INDIA JOINS SOUTH AFRICAN ‘BLANKETS FOR MADIBA’ INITIATIVE

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F

rom May 11 onwards, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court is slated to hear a petition seeking major changes in Muslim personal law.

Shayara Bano has filed a PIL challenging the practice of triple talaq and polygamy as unconstitutional discriminatory towards women. t is an important case, in which several organisations have intervened, notably the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the activists of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA). Chief among the issues that arise is whether any personal law is amenable to a constitutional challenge. The governing legislation is a law of 1937, the Muslim Personal Law Application Act, 1937,which tautologically refers disputes relating to Muslim personal law to the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat). l

ndia will join the UK and the US to spread out thousands of blankets, knitted in memory of Nelson Mandela, in major South African cities this week as part of a global initiative to help needy and disadvantaged people. The blankets will be distributed to charities after being spread out as part of the ’67 blankets for Madiba’ project initiated by South African philanthropist Carolyn Steyn in 2014. In India, the project is being spearheaded by Rani Thomas at St Theresa’s College in Cochin. Thomas is the proud holder of a Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Crochet Blanket. She is also the Indian ambassador for the ’67 blankets for Madiba’. Steyn took up the challenge of knitting 67 blankets on Nelson Mandela Day, never expecting that the project would become an international venture where 27,000 blankets were distributed to those in need. l

8 |MAY-2017|

CLAIMS REPORT

ACTIVISTS OBJECT

GOVERNMENT’S GUIDELINES

95% ENGINEERS IN HOME MINISTRY LINKING NIYAMGIRI INDIA UNFIT FOR SOFT- HILLS STRUGGLE TO MAOISTS\ WARE DEVELOPMENT nvironmental activists from across India have written to the

RESTAURANTS CANNOT FORCE CUSTOMERS TO PAY SERVICE CHARGE

E

T

alent shortage is acute in the IT and data science ecosystem in India with a survey claiming that 95% of engineers in the country are not fit to take up software development jobs. According to a study by employability assessment company Aspiring Minds, only 4.77% candidates can write the correct logic for a programme -- a minimum requirement for any programming job. Over 36,000 engineering students form IT related branches of over 500 colleges took Automata a Machine Learning based assessment of software development skills - and over 2/3 could not even write code that compiles. The study further noted that while more than 60% candidates cannot even write code that compiles, only 1.4% can write functionally correct and efficient code. l

president and prime minister condemning the Union home ministry’s decision to link the Odisha-based Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS) to Maoists. The ministry in its latest annual report wrote, “In Niyamgiri Hills area (Districts Rayagada and Kalahandi, Odisha), the outfit [the Maoists] continued to guide the activities of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti”. However, environmental activists from across the country say the charges are baseless. NSS is a collective of tribes that has been opposing bauxite mining

by Vedanta in Niyamgiri hills since 2003. Niyamgiri hills are home to about 8,000 Dongaria Kondh tribes living in 160 villages. “Ministry’s report is a lie, we strongly condemn it,” said Lingraj Azad, organiser of NSS. “The Samiti has been fighting for the protection of rights of Niyamgiri tribals much before Maoists activities started occurring in the region? Under the pressure of the corporates, the governments are labelling us as Maoists to weaken us”. “The continued targeting of the Dongria Kondh community in reports like these (and in continued state actions on the ground) raises serious doubts: Is this being purposely done to break their continued resolve to oppose the mining of the Niyamgiri hills, and fragment their movement?” the letter to the president and prime minister said. l

HEALTH FACTOR

WHY INDIA SHOULD USE PRIVATE PHARMACIES IN ITS WAR ON TB

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estaurants cannot force customers to pay a service charge and customers have the right to decide if they should pay extra, the Centre has said in a fresh set of guidelines for state governments. Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the guidelines, cleared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office, were being sent to the state government for enforcement.

Mr Paswan announced the centre's move in a series of tweets on Thursday. "Service charge is totally voluntary and not mandatory now," the minister said. l

ndia has over 850,000 private pharmacies or chemists nationwide; yet, only 9% of them–not enough to have a larger publichealth impact–have been engaged in efforts to control tuberculosis (TB), according to a January 2017 paper published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Practice and Policy. The paper, Engagement of the private pharmaceutical sector for TB control: rhetoric or reality?, reviewed public-private mix interventions to fight TB and analysed global-level documents from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop TB Partnership in five phases from 2003 to 2015. This is especially important since India has set 2025 as the deadline for eliminating tuberculosis, which would require 95% reduction in new cases, as FactChecker reported in March 2017. The number of tuberculosis deaths doubled–from 220,000 in 2014 to 480,000 to 2015–due to notifications from providers in the private sector, as IndiaSpend reported in October 2016. l

9 |MAY-2017|

INTERNATIONAL

PAKISTAN

GOODBYE

SHARIF AWAITS 'PANAMA PAPERS' VERDICT

CUBA GOODING SR FOUND DEAD IN LA

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akistan's Supreme Court is due to issue a verdict on corruption allegations against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif based on the "Panama Papers" leaks that could see him disqualified from office.

The allegations focus on Sharif's previous two terms in office in the 1990s, with opposition politician Imran Khan and others alleging the prime minister and his family illegally profited from his position. Security was tight around the capital Islamabad on Thursday morning with the verdict due to be announced by a five-member bench of the court . In 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) leaked 11.5 million documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca. Included in those documents were letters showing that three of Sharif's children - Maryam, Hassan and Hussain - were listed as beneficiaries for three companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. The documents showed these companies were involved in a 2007 loan of $13.8m, made using high-value Sharif-owned properties in the United Kingdom as collateral, and a separate 2007 transaction amounting to $11.2m. Owning off-shore companies is not illegal in Pakistan, but Sharif's political opponents allege that this $25m was gained through corruption during his previous two terms in office as prime minister in the 1990s.l

IRAQ

THE BATTLE AGAINST ISIL

I

t has been almost three years since the war on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was announced.

The US-led offensive has changed realities on the ground, altering the trajectory of the civil war in Syria and shifting the balance of power in Iraq. After the Islamic State of Iraq, an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, announced its extension into the Levant in March 2013, the group swiftly expanded its territory in eastern Syria. In early 2014 it took over the Syrian city of Raqqa, which was made into its capital and a few months later conquered the Iraqi city of Mosul, where its leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi declared a caliphate in June 2014. l

C

uba Gooding Sr, the lead singer of 70s soul group Main Ingredient and father of actor Cuba Gooding Jr, has died at the age of 72. The star was found dead in his car on 20th April in Woodland Hills, California. His body was slumped over the wheel of his

MEXICO

FOURTH JOURNALIST MURDERED IN MEXICO SINCE MARCH A veteran reporter covering the police beat has been shot dead in northeastern Mexico, his employers said, becoming the fourth journalist to be murdered in the country in six weeks. Maximino Rodriguez Palacios "was shot and killed" outside a store in La Paz on the Baja California peninsula as he arrived in his car at around noon on 21 April with his wife, the Colectivo Pericu news website said. She was unharmed. The state prosecutor's office confirmed the 71-year-old's murder "from gunshot wounds", adding that investigators had obtained shell casings that would be analysed in a lab. l

M PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM MALAWI

'LIVING IN FEAR'

Jaguar, but there was no suspicion of foul play. Anonymous sources told the LA Times that drug paraphernalia and alcohol containers were found in the car.Born in Harlem, New York, the star received his unusual forename from his father, Dudley MacDonald Gooding. "He told my mother that he would name his first born son Cuba because he once lived in Cuba and had positive feelings about the country," the musician told the North Dallas Gazette in 2015. l

alawi's refusal to push forward with prosecuting suspects accused of attacking and killing people with albinism has left a persecuted minority on the edge, according to the Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi (APAM). Boniface Massah, national coordinator of APAM, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the government's failure to conclude cases demonstrates that "security has not improved", leaving the estimated 10,000strong community vulnerable and anxious. "We face a high risk of attack and we have seen government commitment in words, but not in action," Massah said. Albinism is a genetically inherited condition. It often results in the lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. Since late 2014, human rights organisations noted a rise in attacks on persons with albinism in Malawi. l

10 |MAY-2017|

WIKILEAKS

INDONESIA

DEATH PENALTY

JULIAN ASSANGE'S ARREST A 'PRIORITY'

JAKARTA GOVERNOR AHOK HEADING FOR ELECTION LOSS

ARKANSAS EXECUTES LEDELL LEE IN FIRST DEATH PENALTY USE IN 12 YEARS

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he arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a US "priority", Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said, as media reports indicated his office was preparing charges against the leaker."We are going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks," Sessions said at a news conference on Thursday in response to a reporter's question about a US priority to arrest Assange.The justice department chief said a rash of leaks of sensitive secrets appeared unprecedented."This is a matter that's gone beyond anything I'm aware of. We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious," he said. l

ECONOMIC CRISIS

VENEZUELA SEIZES GM PLANT AS CRISIS ESCALATES

nofficial results show that a former Indonesian education minister has beaten the incumbent Christian governor of the Indonesian capital Jakarta in the race to become the city's new governor. So-called quick counts by 10 research companies on Wednesday showed Anies Baswedan, a former cabinet minister, winning between 55 and 60 percent of votes in the head-to-head vote, with about 80 percent of ballots counted. This follows a campaign that opened religious and racial divides in the world's most populous Muslim nation. Incumbent Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, is on trial for blasphemy.

In recent months, hundreds of thousands of Indonesians have protested against him in Jakarta, deriding his Chinese ancestry and calling for him to be imprisoned or killed. Prosecutors will make their sentencing demand in Purnama's trial. Blasphemy is a criminal offence in Indonesia and punishable by up to five years in prison.Baswedan, a highly educated Muslim politician, capitalised on the backlash against Ahok by courting the support of conservative religious leaders and figures on the radical fringe who opposed electing a non-Muslim.The polarising campaign has given Indonesia's conservative Muslim groups a national stage.Purnama won the first round in February but not by a big enough margin to avoid a runoff. l Venezuela's seizure of a General Motors factory marks a step in the country's economic crisis that boosts risks to the remaining operations of other U.S. and multinational companies. Amid turmoil punctuated by skyrocketing prices, unemployment, low oil prices and failed economic policies, the government seizure put an abrupt end to GM's operations -- a fate that other companies have faced."GM is not the first and they’re not going to be the last because the government of Venezuela is desperate for any assets they can take," said Peter Quinter, Miami-based chair of law firm Gray Robinson's Customs and International Trade Law Group. The Venezuelan government has previously seized assets belonging to U.S. companies, including those of cleaning products maker Clorox in 2014, glassmaker Owens-Illinois in 2010 and nationalized a rice mill operated by Cargill. GM denounced the South American country's actions as an "illegal judicial seizure of its assets" and vowed a legal battle, but the company's protections are minimal in a country with a dubious commitment to the law. l

11 |MAY-2017|

A

rkansas has executed Ledell Lee in the US state's first use of the death penalty in 12 years.It came after the US Supreme Court rejected a challenge arguing Arkansas was unfairly rushing several executions before its supply of a lethal injection drug expires at the end of April. On 20th april the state's Supreme Court overturned a ruling blocking the use of a different drug. Lee was convicted of murder and recently told the BBC he was innocent. His third request to stay the execution was denied.

He was pronounced dead at the state's death chamber in its Cummins Unit prison, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. His death warrant was due to expire at midnight. Lee did not make a final statement. Instead of a last meal, he asked to receive communion, an official said.

He had been on death row for more than 20 years after he was convicted of beating Debra Reese to death with a tyre iron in 1993. Her family "had waited 24 years to see justice done", Arkansas Attorney General Deborah Rutledge said in a statement.l

FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK

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he Dalai Lama’s other recent engagements have been far less reassuring for some, rubbing them up the wrong way. When Dalai Lama was on a trip to Tawang on April 7 last, then Beijing's sleep was gone. Tawang - a small district on the western flank of what India calls its Arunachal Pradesh state in its northeast and China claims as its own South Tibet territory. This sleepy 2,000 sq km Himalayan district with less than 50,000 people has become the newest flashpoint between China and India, sparking a fresh round of jousting over their disputed border and the Dalai Lama.

SRIRAJESH, Editor

INDIA, CHINA AND DALAI LAMA

IT’S TIME TO REFRESH BUTTON Relations between China and India have become strained of late. India complains China is preventing it from bringing to book Pakistan-sheltered terrorists, blocking its entry into an elite group of nuclear suppliers and pushing ahead with infrastructure projects in Pakistan that threaten its security interests.

Relations between China and India have become strained of late. India complains China is preventing it from bringing to book Pakistan-sheltered terrorists, blocking its entry into an elite group of nuclear suppliers and pushing ahead with infrastructure projects in Pakistan that threaten its security interests. China is wary of India’s active courting of the United States and its eagerness to involve itself in distant disputes such as the South China Sea. The Dalai Lama is inextricably linked with the border dispute between the two Asian giants. The Tawang monastery’s historical ties to Tibetan Buddhism are an important basis of China’s claim to the 90,000 sq km India-administered Arunachal Pradesh, which lies to the south of the so-called McMahon Line drawn up by the British.

It is treated as the de facto border between China and India in what is known as the eastern sector of their border. The McMahon Line was agreed to by Britain and Tibet in a secret deal in 1914 and never recognised by China, giving Beijing the legal basis to deny it recognition even while accepting the status quo.

The Indian side sought to emphasize on three factors. For starters, increasing China-India interactions in multilateral forums will improve the bilateral ties and this should guide the future of their relationship. Second, just like China, India is extremely sensitive about its core issues and expects China to understand and respect them. And finally, India also made it clear that it remains determined to continue its efforts in addressing various issues in China-India relations. India's reactions also need to be understood from the larger perspective of the unending Kashmir crisis and India's perception of the close friendship between Islamabad and Beijing.

Again, the Dalai Lama comes on the episode, with the war of words escalating between India and China over Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, both New Delhi and Beijing need to take a step back and analyze the consequences of their actions. China has

12 |MAY-2017|

even gone so far as to state that the Dalai’s tour severely affects New Delhi-Beijing ties. This is totally unnecessary. Beijing gains nothing by turning the Dalai visit into a prestige issue. Besides, let’s be realistic that Tibet is going nowhere.

It has become an integral part of China and nothing will change this fact in the foreseeable future.

That the Dalai Lama himself doesn’t want Tibet’s independence from China but just meaningful autonomy shows that no one is challenging the territorial integrity of China here. Hence, China doesn’t need to get worked up to the extent of actually putting the New Delhi-Beijing relationship on the line. At the same time, the Indian government would have known that having Union minister of state Kiren Rijiju accompany the Dalai Lama to Arunachal would have riled up China. This again was unnecessary and the Dalai Lama could have done the tour on his own.

The reason I say this is because both New Delhi and Beijing need to ask themselves what is the end game here. Will confrontation or a freeze in diplomatic ties help either side? China today is trying to make a difficult economic transition from a manufacturing-driven economy to an innovation-driven consumption economy. And India is a sizeable market for both Chinese investments and goods. Hence, downgrading relations with India doesn’t help Chinese interests.

Similarly, India too is at a critical juncture in its economic journey. It needs to create 10 million new jobs every year for its youth or risk being stuck with a demographic time bomb. And as far as India’s neighborhood is concerned, New Delhi already has to deal with a difficult Pakistan. Thus, issues with China are best contained amicably.

It is quite possible that Beijing’s recent tirade against New Delhi is a product of Chinese internal politics. After all an important Communist Party of China National Congress is slated to be held later in the year with various party factions jostling for vital posts in the party-state architecture. If Beijing’s outburst is linked to this, then the Chinese leadership should also understand that India too has its own compulsions. Is it really willing to risk the entire gamut of India-China ties over an 81-year-old spiritual leader’s visit to Arunachal?

The active profile of the Dalai Lama and his followers in exile keeps Tibet alive as a political issue that can be used by India or US for their own strategic purpose.

For China, a border dispute with India is a matter of strategic interest, but Tibet is about nationalist intransigence. This is a battle for public diplomacy and internal order, as well as a flexing of geopolitical muscle. l

Whatsapp your views with your name and topic to +91 8178 10 7120

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@srirajesh

editor@cultcurrent.com

13 |MAY-2017|

BANGLADESH: STREETS OF DHAKA

STREETS OF DHAKA

EVERYTHING FARMGATE! BY : M H Haider

14 |MAY-2017|

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hey are of the same height, and yet Ibrahim always looks taller than Ali. Is it because of his confident demeanour in contrast of Ali's softspoken nature, chubby face and innocent smile? Despite their many differences, the sixth graders are best friends, and often their classmates refer to them together: Ibrahim-Ali, as if they are one person. They are inseparable.

They live in Farmgate. Their school is near Farmgate, too.

The park, food stalls, the shops and bazaars -- Farmgate is their world. After school, in the afternoons, they lean on the railing of the footbridge and observe people with deep curiosity: men and women rushing through, a blind beggar, the pedlar selling perfumes,fruit vendors offering seasonal delicacies...they notice everybody, but nobody notices them. Because at Farmgate, people are busy and in hurryfor making a little more cash or for arriving someplace 5 minutes earlier.

Under the bridge, numerous buses run in all directions - a tireless exercise. "Dosto, all roads meet here," Ibrahim tells his friend about Farmgate. Ibrahim is well-versed about everything in life, and although unfortunately it does not translate into good grades at school, Ali has full faith in his friend's wisdom.

"Dosto, long time ago, when the British ruled over this city, they built an agricultural centre here," Ibrahim had once told him. "From the Farm's gate, came the name Farmgate."

Ali believes in his friend, and his friend believes in him too. Their English teacher once asked them to write an essay on “My aim in life”. Ali wrote that he wanted to be a magician when he grew up. "A magician! Such childishness! You

Ibrahim, headstrong and talented, is always the captain. As the sun gets weary, they cross the street for snacks -- mushrooms, fried chicken, and pineapple served on a stick with spices sprinkled all over and sugarcane juice made fresh out of the machine, pitha with bhortas of all sorts.

will grow out of it," his father had said.

But Ibrahim always takes his side. He has observed how mesmerised his friend gets when they see street magic in a corner adjoining Ananda Cinema Hall; when the maestro miraculously picks up the right card from the deck of cards, or when he makes things disappear into thin air and reappear. "Dosto, grow up a little. I will talk to the magician and make you his apprentice," Ibrahim has promised. In the afternoons, the duo plays cricket on the park with other boys. Ibrahim, headstrong and talented, is always the captain. As the sun gets weary, they cross the street for snacks -- mushrooms, fried chicken, and pineapple served on a stick with spices sprinkled all over and sugarcane juice made fresh out of the machine, pitha with bhortas of all sorts. The choices are endless. It's good food and it's cheap. Close to Farmgate is The Church of the Holy Rosary, which is the oldest surviving one in Dhaka, established in 1677.

They look in awe and wonder at several very old tombstones which are now affixed on the walls, some with “strange” writings -- Latin, Armenian, Portuguese.

Sometimes they look at the rows of crosses in the cemetery and wonder what lies beyond Farmgate, beyond this world. No one knows Farmgate better than Ibrahim and Ali. Everybody comes to Farmgate, and yet most people find it rather ordinary; important perhaps, but not worthy of second thought. Sometimes, it takes one to stop and see things through the eyes of children to understand its beauty. It is as true for Farmgate as it for any other place as it is for life at large.

But, we rush. As Ibrahim puts it, "Dosto, everybody in Farmgate is in a hurry." l

15 |MAY-2017|

CHINA: CURRENCY WARS

Robert Kahn

CURRENCY WAR NO MANIPULATION CHARGE BUT CHINA ON U.S. WATCH LIST 16 |MAY-2017|

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he U.S. Treasury released its semiannual exchange rate report on Friday, and as signaled by President Trump it did not cite China (or any other country) as an exchange manipulator. There had been earlier speculation, and some concern, that Treasury would substantially rewrite the criteria to meet the President’s pre-election pledge, but the report plays it straight down

after countries seeking an unfair advantage, and for that law Treasury has measured countries by three criteria: (1) a significant bilateral trade surplus with the United States (at least $20 billion); (2) a material current account surplus (at least 3 percent of GDP); and (3) persistent, one-sided intervention to weaken one’s currency (repeated net purchases of foreign currency of at least 2 percent of an economy’s GDP over a 12 month period. The table below, from the Treasury report, shows that no country violates (shown in red) all three criteria.

Here there is little change from past reports. While China arguably met this test from 2005 to 2012, and perhaps later, since the middle of 2015 the country has spent large amounts of international reserves to resist a rapid and disruptive depreciation. So the Treasury report rightly resists calling that manipulation, and instead calls on China to “demonstrate that its lack of intervention to resist appreciation over the last three years represents a durable policy shift by letting the RMB rise with market forces once appreciation pressures resume.”

Where there does seem to be a toughening is in how it discusses countries on the watch list. This includes China (which

the middle. No country meets all three existing criteria for manipulation of their exchange rate for competitive gain, though six countries—China, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Switzerland—are placed on a watch list. At the same time, one can read in the report’s analysis a toughening of exchange rate policy, at least prospectively, in its calls for an ambitious set of reforms in the monitored countries, and its commitment to “aggressively and vigilantly monitoring and combating unfair currency practices”. On balance, the report reaffirms that, while trade and not exchange rates is likely to be the primary battleground for U.S. economic relations in the future, exchange rates remain a flash point.

As noted in the report, and discussed at length by Brad Setser, Treasury has a twotiered approach for assessing the exchange rate policies of our major trading partners.

The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 set the standard for determining currency manipulation, but the remedies under that law have long been seen as ineffective.

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 provided new weapons to go

now meets only one of the three criteria but is included because of the size of its bilateral surplus with the United States) and five countries that met two of the three criteria at least once in the last two reports. Here, in addition to strengthened language on the commitment to remedy these imbalances, many of the policies that the Treasury would like to see addressed—such as market access policies in China, labor market reforms in Japan, and stronger demand growth in Germany—are unlikely to resolve by the next report.

Coupled with the ongoing review of trade policies now underway, and underscored by Commerce Secretary Ross’ sharp response to legitimate concerns from the IMF about the risk of rising protectionism—trade rather than exchange rates is likely to be the primary battleground for the United States going forward. Further, some toughening of language could pay off–after all, the report is part of a signalling effort that aims to achieve better results in trade than have been the case over the last decade. Currency policy will remain front and center in the months and years ahead. l Robert Kahn is Steven A. Tananbaum Senior Fellow for International Economics

17 |MAY-2017|

AFGHANISTAN

ational Security Adviser H.R. McMaster will head to Afghanistan, and reportedly Pakistan and India as well, this weekend. In the wake of Thursday’s Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb drop in Afghanistan, targeting Islamic State cave-and-tunnel hideouts on the border with Pakistan, McMaster will have much to discuss with his Afghan interlocutors on the security front.

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gin to the Taliban just weeks ago, underscore the need for a reassessment. The presence in Pakistan of internationally-proscribed terrorist groups like the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network undermine efforts to secure Afghanistan. Challenges to political stability, governance, and economic growth make it harder for Afghanistan to deliver opportunities for its citizens.

The country could use assistance from all its partners on its economic growth and prosperity agenda.

The Donald J. Trump administration will need to reach a decision soon about the size of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Worrying trends in Afghanistan, like the fall of San-

Once he arrives in New Delhi, McMaster should have indepth discussions with his Indian interlocutors on regional stability. He will likely find that Indian officials view the situation

18 |MAY-2017|

Alyssa Ayres

HOW INDIA CAN HELP IN AFGHANISTAN very similarly to American officials, but may have different prescriptions due to their regional position and difficulties with neighbor Pakistan. He should use the opportunity to discuss how India—the fifth-largest bilateral donor to Afghanistan, and a power with deep expertise on governance, development, infrastructure, and commerce—could be a larger part of the international efforts to assist Afghanistan.

I have argued previously that India can bring to the table some special strengths in addition to the infrastructure work it has carried out in Afghanistan. India could play a more active diplomatic role with the politically-delicate Afghan government—a unity government that the International Crisis Group has called “shaky.” International observers worry that the possible collapse of the Afghan government could risk its progress on security and development. New Delhi has an opportunity to use its good offices and ties with both President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to help.

As the region’s economic vortex, India and its successful private sector companies can continue to assist Afghan en-

terprises with markets for their goods and training to manage their businesses. India’s chambers of commerce have been active on this front for years. Last summer’s Made in Afghanistan trade fair in New Delhi marks just one example. Of course, enabling trade across the South Asian region would bring a commercial boon to Afghan producers, and here Pakistan has a chance to take advantage of its location and enable region-wide trade, not block it as it has continued to do.

India’s expertise in the arena of civilian security has been largely overlooked, but the country has capabilities—especially in training and skill development—which could be helpful to Afghanistan. Greater budget support for the Afghan National Security Forces would be welcome. In addition, the kind of training capacity on issues like countering improvised explosive devices, or security support functions like literacy training, logistics and supply-chain management, or military medicine, to name just a few, present possibilities for Indian expertise to help the Afghan security forces.

For a more detailed description of how India could help Afghanistan in the civilian security areas, take a look at my Policy Innovation Memorandum on the subject, published in 2015 but (sadly) still relevant to the region today.l

19 |MAY-2017|

COW-PROTECTION LAWS

LIFE TERM FOR COW SLAUGHTER IN GUJARAT BY : Alison Saldanha

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n March 31, 2017, the Gujarat state assembly amended the state’s cow protection laws to extend the maximum sentence for cow slaughter from seven years to a life term and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.

The amendment made offences under the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act of 1954, which criminalises cow slaughter as well as transportation of cows for slaughter and possession of beef, non-bailable. After these amendments, Gujarat holds the mantle of the state with the strictest laws in the country to protect cows, bullocks, bulls and their progeny.

20 |MAY-2017|

In 12 states, cow slaughter can lead to a prison term ranging from two to 14 years. Prior to Gujarat’s recent amendment, the Muslim-dominated state of J&K had the most stringent punishment for cow slaughter.

IN AN ANALYSIS OF COW PROTECTION LAWS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INDIASPEND FOUND THAT

Cow-Protection Laws, By State

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Source: India Spend analysis of laws enacted by states & union territories.

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As of March 2017, cow slaughter has been prohibited in 84% of India’s states and union territories (UTs), which account for 99.38% of the country’s population.

Laws banning cow slaughter in nearly half of these states are roughly 50 years old, enacted during the tenure of the Indian National Congress. The oldest bans on cow slaughter have been in place in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Manipur, promulgated by their former rulers in 1932 and 1936, respectively, prior to Indian Independence and the annexation of states.

After the Congress split in 1969, over 80% of the states that enacted new laws prohibiting cow slaughter did so under a Janata Party or a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. Cow protection laws enacted or amended over the last 23 years in 10 of 11 states are especially more stringent.

In 77% or 24 states and UTs that prohibit cow slaughter, the offence is cognisable, and in more than half of these (13), it is non-bailable. Under India’s criminal procedure code, cognisable offences are serious crimes such as murder, rape, dowry deaths and kidnapping. In such cases, the police can make an arrest without a warrant and start investigation without a magistrate’s permission.

INDIA’S COW PROTECTION LAWS, IN EBBS AND FLOWS Cow protection has a long history in Indian politics, dating back to pre-Independence times when it found support from mass organisations such as the Arya Samaj and a personage no less than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. 1950-1968: Post-Independence and after India became a republic in 1950, cow protection enthusiasts were reigned in and a ban on cow slaughter was only included as a Directive Principle of State Policy, and not as a fundamental right as its supporters had demanded. Nevertheless, Congress governments enacted laws prohibiting cow slaughter in 15 states and UTs, until just before the 1969 Congress party split.

The offence was made punishable with a prison term ranging from six months to two years. Madhya Pradesh, with a prison term of three years and a fine of Rs 5,000, had the strictest law of its time, after J&K. 1977-1979: After a gap of eight years, the enactment of cow protection laws saw a resurgence when the Janata Party, with its Hindu nationalist elements from the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (which later formed the BJP), came to power in 1977 and served a two-year tenure at the country’s helm. Laws came into force in the UTs of Goa and Daman & Diu and the state of Himachal Pradesh under a Janata Party government and Andhra Pradesh under Congress rule. Maharashtra, also under a Congress government, strengthened its cow protection law, replacing the Bombay Animal Preservation Act 1954 in force till then. 1994 to present: Coinciding with a spike in communal conflict across the country in the early 1990s, the promulgation of cow protection laws restarted in 1994, with the introduction of the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act. The law made cow slaughter punishable with a five-year prison term and a fine of Rs 10,000–the strictest of its time after J&K. Since then, cow protection laws have been enacted and amended in 11 states and UTs, prescribing stricter punishment in 10 of these barring Sikkim (where restrictions and punishment are among the mildest). Nine of these states were ruled by the BJP at the time of enactment or amendment.

Saldanha is an assistant editor with India Spend.

21 |MAY-2017|

FRENCH ELECTIONS 2017

Shafik Mandhai

YOUNG FRENCH VOTERS FOR PROTECTIONIST LE PEN Experts say far-Right has increased its appeal amid economic decline.

22 |MAY-2017|

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lumes of darkened smoke rose from burning tyres early on a March morning in the northern French city of Calais last year. French gendarmes struggled to contain a rowdy crowd of around 50 protesters carrying banners demanding the closure of a nearby refugee camp and the deportation of all its residents. Police eventually arrested 14 people, all of them from a far-right group called Generation Identitaire (GI), which organised the protest. As the far-right National Front's (FN) Marine Le Pen contests this year's presidential candidate as a serious candidate with a realistic shot at winning, groups like GI have attracted considerable attention from foreign media outlets. GI's membership only numbers only a few thousand across France, but its views sit closely to the far-right National Front's traditional base. In an interview with the UK's Channel 4 news, one of the group's leaders predicted civil war within "five to 10 years" if France did not reverse its immigration policies. Composed mainly of youths in their 20s and 30s, the group represents the extreme fringe of the far right in France, demanding not just the deportation of refugees, such as those in Calais, but also the repatriation of French nationals of nonEuropean ethnic origin. After the ascent of Marine Le Pen to the leadership of National Front in 2011, the party has sought to distance itself from the overt racism of groups like GI. Such groups, however, continue to be drawn towards National Front and those with similar views continue to form an important constituency for the the party, according to University of Bath academic Aurelien Mondon.

He told: "While the official policy within the party is to exclude anyone uttering openly racist comments, the reality is that while the most prominent cases are dealt with publicly and decisively, many members of these openly racist groups remain closely linked to the party."

Mondon explained that tacit inclusion of such groups, allows FN to acknowledge its tradition-

23 |MAY-2017|

FRENCH ELECTIONS 2017

ally hardline base, while continuing to attract more moderate voters through its process of normalisation.

"While their presence goes against the strategy of normalisation, and needs to be kept quiet, it remains essential for the FN, as it allows the party to send signals to the most extreme part of its electorate.

"While Marine Le Pen may be breaking records [in the polls], we should not forget that the party established itself as a serious political contender under her father (Jean-Marie Le Pen) and his much less nuanced politics."

While GI's membership numbers are relatively low, support for Le Pen is considerable. Polling for the first round of the presidential election puts Le Pen on around a quarter of the vote, which would be enough to get her into the runoff, where she currently polls at around 40 percent. Notably, the largest demographic for National Front support comes from voters aged between 18 and 24, where Le Pen polls at 40 percent. That number stands in stark contrast to other European countries, including the UK, where the centre-left Labour party was the most popular among the age group at around 43 percent and the anti-immigration UKIP polled at just eight percent. According to Professor Jim Shields of Aston University a lot of the support among French youth

24 |MAY-2017|

for Le Pen comes down to ideological sympathies, but there is a clear "economic dimension" to FN's success. "In France, polls show the desire for 'change' to be a key factor in youth support for Le Pen, a view of Le Pen as the candidate most likely to shake things up," Shields said.

"Polls show that she draws much of her youth support from modest households: working class, lower-middle class," he added. Years of economic mismanagement had resulted in high levels of youth unemployment, little security for those in employment, and reduced social mobility, Shields explained, further drawing a comparison between France and its neighbours to highlight the scale of the issue. The rate of youth unemployment in France is just under a quarter, in Germany it is under seven percent and in the UK it is 12 percent, according to data collated by the website, Trading Economics. "Le Pen is managing to harness a sense that 50 years of right and left have resulted in relentlessly high unemployment." But FN has not only struck a chord by promising to tackle these economic woes, it is also benefitting from a lack of memory among young people of its more hardline past. "Another reason for FN support among the young is that they've no memory of the FN as a pariah party bringing together some of the most radical elements of the French extreme right," Shields said. "The version of the FN they know is the 'Republican' one that Marine Le Pen has been sanitising since she became leader in 2011: when an 18-year-old today would have been just 12 years of age."

While political, economic, and cultural create the anxieties that allow the far right to thrive, FN has effectively used its youth apparatus to gain as many sympathisers as possible. Academic Nina Wardleworth, who specialises in French studies at the University of Leeds, noted several sources from which FN's youth vote derived. These included political allegiances inherited from families and the successful courting of the religious Catholic vote, but most significantly a deliberate strategy of courting the youth vote.

"I think the most important reason is the enormous time and effort that the FN has devoted to recruiting the youth vote since Marine Le Pen took over from her father in 2011," Wardleworth told. "They have established various collectifs or small groups within the party machine to highlight specific issues, often of interest to younger people. "One of this is Banlieues Patriotes, a group that aims to win votes for the FN amongst the populations of France's most deprived housing estates and communities, areas which have a much higher percentage of younger people than the national average." According to Shields, Le Pen's message to the youth is bolstered by the composition of its leadership.

"Marine Le Pen is relatively young for a major political leader and two of the most prominent figures in the party, David Rachline and Marion Marechal-Le Pen, are in their 20s," he said adding: "The official face of the FN is a very young one".

UNLIKELY SUPPORTERS Wardleworth also noted that in its official campaigning FN's promises applied equally to French nationals of all ethnic origins and it appears at least some support for Le Pen is coming from unlikely quarters.

An article by Politico in January described how Muslim youth were considering voting Le Pen. According to Rim-Sarah Alouane, a researcher at Univesity of Tolouse 1 Capitole, a fringe within the North African community had become "seduced" by FN. "They used to vote for the Left, but are now leaning toward Le Pen as an act of rebellion: for them, the Left and the Right have failed them and supporting Le Pen is a last-ditch effort to appeal for inclusion," she said. While Le Pen currently seems likely to be defeated in a second round runoff, if the scale of her support among the youth grows or even remains consistent, future elections will be more difficult to call. l

25 |MAY-2017|

COVER STORY

DECIDING THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY BY : Madhumita Murgia

Now Scientists can edit your DNA to cure what ails you.. unless you live in America

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ayla Richards was a bouncy 7 pound, 10 ounce baby with downy dark hair and plump cheeks when she was born in a London hospital in June 2014.

But 12 weeks later, Layla, who had been settling in at home in North London, suddenly stopped drinking milk and began to fuss and cry constantly. Because she had been a sunny, happy infant until then, her parents took her to see the doctor. He suspected a stomach bug, but just to be sure he took a blood test. The results

that came a few days later were a shock: Layla had an acute, deadly form of leukemia that she couldn’t survive without immediate treatment. She was just 14 weeks old.

When the diagnosis came in, an ambulance rushed the family from their home to intensive care at the Great Ormond Street (GOS) Hospital, the world-famous pediatric center in Bloomsbury. Her doctors described her cancer as "one of the most aggressive forms of the disease” they had ever seen. For the next few weeks, she en-

26 |MAY-2017|

dured several rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a full bone marrow transplant to replace her damaged blood cells. This sort of aggressive therapy can often be successful in babies, but none of Layla’s treatments, even the experimental ones, worked. Medically, she was out of options.

Only one choice remained—admitting her to an end-of-life care facility to make her final weeks more comfortable.

Just a few doors down from the leukemia ward at Great Ormond Street Hospital is the office of Dr. Waseem Qasim,

A view outside the new Francis Crick Institute building in central London on September 1, 2016. The new £650 million Francis Crick Institute will be the biggest biomedical research institute under one roof in Europe.

a bearded, genial immunologist who specializes in immune system disorders in children, including cancers. For several months, Qasim had been working on a new type of leukemia treatment in which an anonymous donor’s white blood cells are engineered to recognize cancer cells, by tweaking their genes. White blood cells are the body’s soldiers; they fight infectious disease and foreign invaders. The engineered cells form an arsenal of targeted cancer-killer cells that can be injected into anyone. There was one problem: The pro-

cedure had only been tested in mice.

Qasim’s lab is based in the University College London GOS Institute of Child Health, which is connected by a single corridor to Great Ormond Street. “We move effortlessly between the two. There are no other physical or intellectual barriers, so it leads to serendipitous events,” Qasim says, as we stroll through a set of double doors from his lab into the hospital. Qasim heard about Layla’s case from her transplant surgeon. “He asked as a sort of joke, ‘I might be out of my mind but could [your cells] be

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useful here?’” Qasim recalls.

Because the therapy had never before been tested in humans, there was the obvious danger of things going badly wrong, but Layla’s parents and doctors knew she would die without a miracle. After the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency granted an emergency license, Layla became the first person in the world to receive a single vial of gene-edited cellsfrom a stranger to attack her cancer.

What followed after Qasim’s experimental gene treatment, a new technique

COVER STORY

using custom-designed molecular scissors to cut, edit and delete DNA, was described by Layla’s doctors as “miraculous” and “staggering.” She went into remission within four weeks and successfully survived a second bone marrow transplant. Now, nearly two years on, she remains healthy and cancer-free.

Little Layla was a pioneer, the first person saved by gene editing; and without the favorable environment created by British scientists and regulators over the past decade, Qasim’s experimental treatment, which gives special properties to cells, would never have been allowed.

With recent advances in gene editing and governmental approvals, the U.K. is set to become the unlikely pioneer in one of the most controversial, yet astonishing spheres of human knowledge: the manipulation of our genetic code. While research labs around the world are working on genetic cures to childhood and adult diseases, most have been wary of interfering with the DNA of a human embryo, fearful of unintended consequences for future generations.

Yet the U.K. achieved a double first in 2016: It became the first country to legally permit replacing part of an embryo with a third person’s genes, and the first to allow genetic modification in humans from the embryo stage.

Opponents of the techniques, including the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as bioethicists and religious leaders, believe they herald a dystopian future of “designer babies”— a world where parents will “play God” by opting to edit their unborn child’s genes to make it stronger, taller and healthier. Molecular biologist and ethicist David King, the founder of British watchdog group Human Genetics Alert, believes that embryo manipulation opens up “for the first time in human history, the possibility of consciously designing human beings, in a myriad of different ways.” A recent report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in London found that gene editing—particularly in embryos—demanded further scrutiny. Ethical opposition has arisen especially where, it said, the "scope for unforeseen consequences is considered to be great or editing is regarded as irreversible.”

All humans have a unique “genome” sequence, the more than 3 billion molecule pairs known as DNA that define who we are, from our physical appearance to biological characteristics and even our personality. Our hair color, our

Dr. Waseem Qasim in the Institute for Child Health in central London on November 15, 2016.

Dr. Qasim is at the forefront of an exciting new treatment being pioneered at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) called immunotherapy. Immunotherapy harnesses the patient’s own immune system to improve treatment for children with lifethreatening conditions.

28 |MAY-2017|

Louise Brown, shown on July 25, 1978, was born at Oldham Hospital near Manchester, England. She was the first "test tube baby" born as a result of in vitro fertilization.

preference for certain kinds of food even our ability to make deadlines—it’s all rooted in our DNA. Mutations or mistakes in this genetic code can result in disease, such as diabetes or leukemia. Gene editing means we can now find and correct genetic errors in a lab. Once honed, the tools could be used to fix maladies like sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis and even fight cancer.

The promise of gene editing goes beyond curing adult disease—it could even be used to modify human embryos and delete egregious genetic defects before birth. That would prevent the transmission of debilitating illnesses from parent to child, and could signal the end of devastating inherited disabilities.

The British government’s recent endorsement of gene editing research thrust the

country to the forefront of the next revolution in health and science, whether the rest of the world is ready for it or not.

Nearly four decades before Layla Richards was born, another baby girl made history in Britain. In July 1978, Louise Brown was born by Caesarean section to very eager parents. There was nothing particu-

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larly unusual about the birth of this healthy, 5-pound-12-ounce baby—and yet her arrival into the world helped two British scientists win a Nobel Prize. The reason: Louise was conceived in a petri dish, the world’s first baby created through the process of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Back then, Louise was called the first “test-tube baby,” an indication of how bizarre the now-standard procedure was considered at the time. In 1981, The New York Times wrote that the procedure was considered “equivalent to abortion in the eyes of some opponents.”

Louise’s immaculate-lab conception is part of the U.K.’s long history of developing groundbreaking biotech. That legacy began at the University of Cambridge in 1953, when doctoral students Francis Crick and James Watson cracked

COVER STORY

DNA’s double-helix structure, forever reshaping our understanding of human biology.

The simple two-strand configuration—drawn by hand by Crick’s wife Odile in their original Nature paper— gave rise to the entire field of modern molecular biology, and it spawned cutting-edge techniques from cloning to gene editing. British researchers have pioneered clinical techniques in reproductive biology, including IVF, the discovery of embryonic stem cells in mice (1981) and the first cloning of a mammal, Dolly the sheep (1996).

Read more: GMO scientists could save the world from hunger, if we let them With each of these milestones, scientists around the world faced a moral dilemma concerning the definition of human life. When does a ball of cells become a fetus? Does an artificially created life form have rights? Should physical impairments like deafness be culled from our population? After the birth of Louise Brown, the British government convened an ethical committee headed by philosopher Mary Warnock to investigate the implications of creating and modifying human life in a lab. The resulting report, published in 1987, led to a nationwide consensus on the obvious social benefits of IVF. The report also led to the establishment of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the first independent legislative body in the world to regulate human embryo research and IVF treatment. It is overseen by an independent board rather than government ministers, but is sponsored by the British Department of Health, whose head appoints the board. Members include geneticists, philosophers, former civil servants and finance and business professionals.

The chair, Sally Cheshire, reports directly to the U.K.’s minister for health. The HFEA is a symbol of Britain’s commitment to innovation in medical science—unique in its progressive nature, compared to other advanced nations like the U.S. and Germany, where religion and politics often hold back research.

HFEA recently granted two controver-

sial licenses: In February 2015, the British government approved a pioneering gene technology to prevent potentially fatal mitochondrial disease from passing from mother to child. By placing a donor’s healthy genes in an IVF embryo, the researchers say the resulting baby could avoid severe symptoms such as deafness, muscle withering, liver or kidney failure and brain damage. But critics worry that when these babies pass on the new genetic code to their children, grandchildren and every subsequent generation, there

and Drug Administration warned that the evidence does not yet support the safe use of mitochondrial transfer in humans.

In February 2016, geneticist Kathy Niakan of the U.K.’s Francis Crick Institute became the first scientist in the world to receive a license to edit healthy human embryos for research. (The embryos cannot be implanted into a human.) Her goal is to better understand the process of early human development, not redesign babies.

Even so, some lawmakers were determined to prevent this sort of research in Britain. In

will be as-yet-unknown consequences.

Despite vocal opposition from a smattering of members of Parliament, as well as challenges from the Church of England and the Catholic clergy, the British House of Commons voted by an overwhelming majority to allow this mitochondrial donation.

And although the process has the U.K. government’s stamp of approval, it is not approved as safe and effective by the U.S. or Chinese authorities. In a review of the technology earlier this year, the U.S. Food

a parliamentary debate about the license, Conservative Party parliamentarian Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “In a country nervous about genetically modified crops, we are making the foolhardy move to genetically modified babies.”

Key figures at the U.S. National Institutes of Health have similar concerns. At a gathering of scientific experts who convened in July to discuss the implications of gene editing, NIH Director Francis Collins underlined his agency’s reluctance to fund

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research into modification of human embryos because of ethical concerns.

Collins has acknowledged that his religious beliefs prevent him from backing gene modification in human embryos. “I do believe that humans are in a special way individuals and a species with a special relationship to God, and that requires of a great deal of humility about whether we are possessed of enough love and intelligence and wisdom to start manipulating our own species,” he said in a recent interview with Buzzfeed News.

The U.S. bans the use of federal funding for any human embryo research. The law, which was passed by Congress in 1995, says federal funding would not be available for any “research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero.”

“It’s very difficult to have a real debate about any issues to do with artificial conception technology or gene manipulation

there because everyone is scared the argument will become about abortion, which they don’t want to raise up against,” says professor Robin Lovell-Badge, a scientific adviser to HFEA and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences on issues of gene editing.

“The debate is dominated by political and religious groups. It creates a nervousness [in the U.S.] which in the U.K. we don’t have, because we know exactly where the barriers are; they are set out by law and detailed regulations.”

Despite its qualms about embryo research, the U.S. federal government does permit IVF treatments. “Ironically, [the NIH] supports IVF, which relies on human embryo research to keep it current, so they are relying on research done in other countries but won’t support it themselves,” Niakan tells Newsweek. “It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”

Niakan, along with Lovell-Badge, became the first cohort of scientists at the newly opened Francis Crick Institute in London—named in honor of the renowned Briton, and the very first research hub to be granted an HFEA license to edit seven-dayold living human embryos. Their work will focus on helping improve the success rates of IVF, the technique successfully demonstrated just some 200 miles north, when Louise Brown was born in 1978.

Headed by Nobel Prize–winning biologist Sir Paul Nurse, Francis Crick’s eponymous research institution opened in September. It’s an imposing edifice with glass atria and a distinctive vaulted roof, mirroring the nearby St. Pancras International train station. With an investment of about $805 million and known to insiders as Sir Paul’s Cathedral, the building will house 1,250 scientists in four interconnected blocks, making it the largest biomedical research institute in Europe. Within its corridors, British scientists will be the first people ever to glimpse the molecular mysteries that result in the conception of human life.

The woman at the vanguard of this effort is 38-year-old Niakan, petite and darkhaired, with a birdlike face. When she greets me in May in her temporary lab in

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the Mill Hill neighborhood of north London she could easily be mistaken for an undergraduate in her leggings and knitted jumper.

As she describes what an early human embryo—or blastocyst—looks like on Day Five of its existence, she grabs a scrap of paper and begins to sketch. Every so often, she punctuates the illustration with circled numbers to show the low survival rate of IVF embryos: Only 40 percent of fertilized embryos become blastocysts, of which only 50 percent will implant in a woman’s uterus. Another 50 percent, she says, fail to make it past three months of development.

Right now, we have little idea why embryos fail so often. When I point out that, statistically, it seems miraculous that humans have been reproducing successfully for centuries, she exclaims, “I know, right?”

The daughter of Iranian immigrants, Niakan grew up in the small town of Silverdale, Washington, where her father was a practicing neurologist. She became interested in genetics as a first-year student at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she begged to be allowed to wash dishes in a lab that studied congenital diseases in large families; the lab allowed her to assist researchers studying human genetics, and she eventually discovered the gene responsible for a type of thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder. “I remember being in a genetics class and there was the textbook view of all the different DNA bands, and then I was in the lab, physically, I was literally reading out, ‘That’s an A. That’s a T. That’s a G, C.’ I just loved it,” Niakan says, recalling her earliest experiences of DNA sequencing. “I was hooked, and since then I haven’t stopped.”

Niakan has studied developmental biology at the University of California, Harvard University and the University of Cambridge in the U.K., where she moved in 2009 as a postdoctoral fellow. “I really love trying to understand how you go from a single-celled organism to this really complicated set of three distinct cell types that are very set in their ways. That’s in fact the same question I’m still asking many years later,” she says. “The U.K. has very proactive

COVER STORY

ways of approaching reproductive health and medicine—it’s brilliant and it’s the reason why I’ve stayed for so long.”

Niakan’s goal is to understand the earliest stages of a human life, when we are nothing but a ball of 200 cells. She knows her work could ultimately help women to conceive and genetic diseases to be defeated, but that is not what drives her. Her real motivation is cracking the scientific mystery of human reproduction. “It has the potential to really revolutionize our understanding of human biology in a petri dish,” she says. “That’s fascinating to me.” Using a gene-editing tool called CRISPR-Cas 9 (pronounced “crisper”) that can cut and edit DNA very precisely, she wants to isolate genes thought to be important for fetal development; only then can we figure out exactly what role each plays. “This basic biological question—Which genes are critically required?—is important because it can help us understand which blastocysts will go on to develop, implant and thrive.”

Today, when a woman comes in to a clinic for IVF treatment, experts score her embryo quality based on physical shape, size and other visible features, rather than genetic features. Although embryos can be screened for chromosomal abnormalities, little is known about human developmental genetics at this early stage.

“There are very few molecular tools used to identify those embryos. We know there’s a 50 percent drop-off rate, so I think there’s room to determine the key signatures that embryos need to successfully implant,” Niakan says. “It could increase the chances [of pregnancy], or it could help to choose those embryos that will likely go on to develop successfully into a healthy baby.”

Eventually, the knowledge could help us fathom causes of reproductive defects or even infertility.

The HFEA spent three years investigating Niakan’s request to use the CRISPRCas9 scissors, conducting a series of

detailed inspections of her lab work, including whether embryos were handled respectfully and carefully in the lab, and if donors were counseled and updated appropriately. Niakan was notified of their decision in late January. The overwhelming feeling wasn’t excitement or even elation, she says; she had just been afraid that irrationality and fear of the unknown would win out over science.

The decision was celebrated by scientists, patient groups with genetic diseases and mothers who had struggled to conceive. Emma Benjamin, a 34-year-old woman who miscarried four times spoke widely to the press of her support. “I found it frustrating I never had answers as to why

I kept miscarrying,” she said. “If this research had come earlier and could have helped me provide answers then I guess, you know, it could have maybe saved a lot of heartache.”

Despite Niakan’s momentous victory, it remains illegal in the U.K. to implant genetically modified embryos into a womb for the purpose of giving birth. That ensures that modified genes are not passed onto future generations; Niakan’s lab must destroy every embryo after the seven-day mark.

Although Niakan insists this research has no bearing on actual babies (for now), many in the scientific community are considering the possibility that a modified em-

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bryo could result in a living child. In December 2015, several hundred scientists from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C., for the first ever international summit on gene editing. At its close, the event chair and Nobel Prize–winning biologist David Baltimore, of the California Institute of Technology, issued its conclusions, saying, “As scientific knowledge advances and societal views evolve, the clinical use of germline [embryo] editing should be revisited on a regular basis.”

The scientists have reason to be anxious: Some of their brethren have raced ahead already. In April 2015, researchers in Guangzhou, China, announced they had conducted a CRISPR gene-modification experiment on defective human embryos, to edit the gene responsible for beta-thalassaemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder.

It was a resounding failure, because the CRISPR method accidentally edited the wrong genes, which ended up irreversibly scrambling the embryo’s DNA. That research sparked a hot global debate in the academic fraternity about whether to declare a moratorium on embryo modification until ethical laws and regulations could catch up with science. In response, scientists from the United States, Britain and China at the Washington summit called for a temporary freeze on altering human embryos destined for birth, calling it “irresponsible” and potentially dangerous. The quick decision to cooperate internationally speaks to the transnational nature of this research; this is a strand of science that could change what it means to be human.

Even gene editing’s strongest proponents acknowledge that there could be catastrophic mistakes. For instance, CRISPR could edit genes inaccurately, causing unintended mutations and disfigurations.

There’s also the very real risk of rogue editing by malicious parties— wealthy people paying for genetic enhancements, which could become a form of social discrimina-

tion and could introduce novel genetic sequences into the species—a sort of genetic cosmetic surgery. Until these safety and ethical issues have been resolved, the scientific community proposed holding back, and re-assessing current research on a constant basis. Rumors of several other Chinese experiments on human embryos in academic circles sparked worries of an unregulated black market of clinical research.

In a parallel case, the U.S. has no laws governing private research on embryos despite federal funding sanctions, meaning embryos end up being traded like contraband. “There’s a billion-dollar IVF enterprise in private clinics, many of whom are using techniques that are dubious to say the least,” Lovell-Badge says. “There are strict rules against implanting more than two embryos in a woman. Yet there are famous cases in the U.S. like the ‘Octomom’ who had eight babies, where they clearly couldn’t have followed any regulations at all.”

While most scientists acknowledge that editing embryos will probably be a clinical option one day, some remain staunchly opposed. King, of Human Genetics Alert, refers to gene editing as the “new techno-eugenics.”

Lovell-Badge believes frank discussion and public trust in the HFEA is the key to a safe clinical transition. “It is illegal in the U.K. to transfer any gene-edited embryo into a woman,” he says. “Given the experience with the way the HFEA regulates [this research], and if the law were to be changed, I expect the public could also be reassured that any applications would be restricted to important clinical uses.”

Niakan agrees, pointing to U.K. regulators’ ability to separate church and state in the matter of controversial scientific research such as hers. “The UK’s pioneering role in advancing reproductive medicine and health, especially IVF, has a lot has to do with the regulatory framework, where people are willing to engage in frank dis-

cussions about these complex issues,” Niakan says. “In other countries the message gets muddled up with politics and religion.” Although embryo editing remains firmly confined to laboratories, scientists at Newcastle University in the north of England are taking the next step into the future by genetically modifying IVF embryos to create healthy babies.

In September, the world’s first baby with three people’s genes was born in Mexico, to Jordanian parents who had lost two children and had four miscarriages due to mitochondrial disease. The genetic illness is caused by dysfunctional mitochondria, the cellular units that are responsible for generating energy. In the case of this baby, the malfunction was caused by mu-

tations, or errors, in the mitochondrial DNA. The procedure was performed by a team of doctors from New York City, although details on how it was done are scant. The only country with any legal or regulatory framework for the technology is the U.K, where— as of December 2016—an embryo can legally be modified, and implanted into a woman’s uterus. Until Rachel Steel turned 20, she knew almost nothing about IVF regulations and cared even less. She competed as a gymnast as a child, studied pediatric nursing at Northumbria University in Newcastle and taught gym to kids in her neighborhood. She wanted to have chil-

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dren before she was 30, but was in no hurry. The only health problems she’d ever encountered were ear infections—which caused a slight difficulty in hearing—she often had them growing up and tended to compensate by lipreading. Doctors could never quite pinpoint the cause of her ear problems. But five years ago, Steel learned she had a genetic mutation in her mitochondrial DNA. Doctors at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where Steel, 26, works as a nurse, first suspected something odd when her mother was brought in for a pancreatic transplant, following a kidney transplant some years before. “They realized that all of her five siblings had diabetes and some mild deafness and found it strange,” she says. When they did a genetic test, they found Steel’s mother had mitochondrial disease. Since mitochondria are passed on exclusively from mother to child, her daughters had inherited her mutation.

The vast majority of your 20,000 genes are found in the nucleus of each of your cells, which contains DNA from both your parents, but mitochondria have their own genome, which carries only about 37 genes and is inherited from your mother alone. The severity of mitochondrial disease depends on the fraction of mutations in the 37 genes inherited; in Steel’s case, the news was not good. She had inherited 80 percent of her mother’s mutations.

Steel remains mostly healthy so far, but her disease could progress to anything from diabetes to full-blown hearing loss, or extreme muscle deterioration.

If Qasim’s therapy is approved for general use, it could be the first of thousands of similar treatments. “Layla has a purpose—to help other people. She was nearly at death’s door. You don’t normally hear a happy story with cancer,” her father said during the appeal. “One day there will be a cure for cancer. Who knows? Maybe in 40 years’ time Layla may have helped to make the first step towards that.” l Madhumita Murgia is the European technology correspondent at the Financial Times

GUJARAT ELECTIONS

U.P. to Gujarat Prof. Rajesh Sisodia

MODI REMAINS UNCHALLENGED Assembly Elections in Gujarat are likely to cement Modi’s position as the most successful and popular PM of India. And Gujaratis will felicitate him with gift of more seats than before

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ongress, In Gujarat, is not in a good shape. While I am writing this story, there are inside information that about 15 to 20 MLAs of congress may switch to BJP before assembly elections 2017.

Local congress leaders are helpless. As of now, Rahul Gandhi has not set any specific goal or agenda for the party leaders or workers. Problem with Rahul Gandhi is that he himself is trying to re-invent. Entire UP Election campaign was such an exercise where he tried to reposition himself as a big brother to Akhilesh and to other regional parties. If his last few speeches are something to go by, he has been unabashed in his criticism of the Modi government. But UP experiment has forced him to play in defensive mode. This is clear in all respects in Gujarat. Congress can’t stand Modi wave! Few political pundits claim this as ‘It’s a sad thing for democracy. There is no opponent’, but this is the truth on ground today. It has been more than two decades since Congress has been out of power in Gujarat. The party, which has been facing intense factionalism, claims that its making efforts to wrest power from BJP, but truth is different, there is almost ZERO impact on ground !

Uttar Pradesh election results have shocked not only Akhilesh or Mayawati but many political pundits and most of the analysts. Similarly in 2016, speculations were being made that BJP is losing ground and Modi & Shah are no more in the controlling chairs. Let us analyse few factors here. While writing this report, when I asked about challenges in Assembly Elections for this year in Gujarat, a very senior BJP leader who also

BJP has been in power in Gujarat since March 1998. During this period, it has maintained a strong lead over Congress (over ten per cent vote share gap) and at no point has the Congress been in the race to capture power from the BJP. Under CM Modi's rule from October 2001 to May 2014, the BJP further strengthened its position and increased its vote share from 45 per cent to almost 50 percent. holds a powerful position in the organization replies “None, ab sab badal gaya hai. Surat mein Modi sahib ki Rally dekhi aapne iss hafte. Surat se Somnath, pora Gujarat, Party ke saath hai.”

The same leader has raised alarm in June-July 2016. His confidential report to the party decision makers was something like this, "The feedback from Gujarat is very worrying. Even the most-optimistic projections by our people in Gujarat indicate that if things remain the same, it will be tough to remain in power during the Assembly polls in 2017. It won't be just an electoral setback. PM Narendra Modi is from Gujarat and it would give everyone a weapon to attack PM Modi. Gujarat just can't be lost. We need immediate action."

After big routs in 2015 having, lost both the Delhi and Bihar state elections, the BJP had a cooler year in 2016. Out of four states, which went to polls in 2016 - Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal - the BJP could manage only Assam. It was a huge win but Assam again was not that important from the point of view of national politics, considering that it sends only 14 MPs to the parliament. The BJP has been in power in Gujarat uninterruptedly for the past 18 years (never forget almost 13 years under CM Modi).

Last year, Congress was very much hopeful in Gujarat. The results in the Gujarat municipal polls in which the BJP retained the urban municipal corporations while the Congress managed to win the panchayats, had brought to the forefront the question if the Congress can capture power or come close to it in Gujarat! Last year, BJP was also under pressure due to mishandling of Hardik Patel and Patidar Andolan by Former CM Anandi Ben patel. BJP retained all the six municipal corporations (maha nagar palikas) of Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Rajkot,

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GUJARAT ELECTIONS

Surat and Vadodra. Out of the 56 municipalities (nagar palikas), the BJP won 40, Congress 08, others 03 and five of them were hung. Thus the BJP managed to retain its urban dominance. But BJP received a big blow in rural Gujarat. It could win only eight out of the 31 zila panchayats while the Congress won 23. The Congress gained 21 seats, snatching 14 from the BJP and seven from others. Most of patidars voted against party.

Only Ahmed Patel, who kept himself confined to Delhi for over a decade, has been visiting the state more frequently in the last few months. But in front of PM Modi, Amit Shah, CM Vijay Rupani and the well oiled machinery of BJP-RSS workers, Ahmed Patel’s efforts are not even mention worthy. Congress needs a strong local leader, a dedicated youth wing with hardworking workers and an agenda. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other seniors should have been here to campaign.

Just feel the aspirations of PM Modi and Amit Shah. Just after the last phase of voting in UP, PM Modi started campaigning in Gujarat. Amit Shah took several meetings cum workshops of leaders. BJP is holding rallies and political events on regular intervals since last six months in the state. And this is showing result on ground too. ABVP, BJP, RSS workers are energised and are hopeful to win more seats compared to last assembly elections! Hardik Patel is not an issue today. He is having a very tough time as most of his close friends, supporters are switching to BJP camp.

We all agree, since it has always been a prestige state for the party – the Gujarat model of economic development was the USP of Modi’s campaign in 2014. This will be politically contingent for the BJP to win it back. After UP win, this will establish BJP as the most powerful party in India in its political history.

Today BJP is the largest party in terms of control of states in India, while its national rival, Congress still commands the good number of votes polled in all states. However, while the saffron party is on a definite upswing, the latter will have to do something really impactful to re-energise itself to stem its continuing decline. Again, Aam Admi Party is also trying hard to capitalise on Patidar Andolan and Hardik Patel. But after recent loss in Punjab and Goa, series of controversies are hurting Kejriwals aspirations. Earlier people, who used to assemble in the AAP camps, have already switched to BJP.

BJP has been in power in Gujarat since March 1998. During this period, it has maintained a strong lead over Congress (over ten per cent vote share gap) and at no point has the Congress been in the race to capture power from the BJP. Under CM

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voters of other states. Modi could still convince people based on this emotional pitch and he is doing that successfully in recent rallies in Gujarat.

Today BJP is the largest party in terms of control of states in India, while its national rival, Congress still commands the good number of votes polled in all states. However, while the saffron party is on a definite upswing, the latter will have to do something really impactful to re-energise itself to stem its continuing decline.

A huge win in Asam, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and retaining states like Goa has created a perception is that majority of people in the country are supporting Modi and his efforts to do something different. This has generated a sense of positive atmosphere. Gujarati people identify themselves perfectly with PM Modi and to support him, they will go to any extent.

Modi's rule from October 2001 to May 2014, the BJP further strengthened its position and increased its vote share from 45 per cent to almost 50 percent. This time, BJP is targeting to capture anything between 65 to 70 percent of votes and maximum number of assembly seats to create a record in the political history of the state.

Shri Narendra Modi became the prime minister riding on the development work done in Gujarat. His Gujarat model of development has earned global praise while also attracting

On the contrary, Congress still does not have a strong local leader here who could inspire both the party workers and the voters. Amongst the central leaders, there is no one who can claim a leadership position or that he is well connected with the local machinery. Till date its not clear that what Congress would offer the majority urban voters without whom it is unlikely to win Gujarat.

To conclude, we can say that from Varanasi (Modi’s constituency) to Somnath, Modi wave is working. Gujarat win will further project him as the most popular leader of Indian politics till date after Pandit Nehru, certainly you can debate on that ! l Media Educator & Political Analyst, Ahmedabad

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SPECIAL STORY : FUTURE OF INTERNET & YOUTH

INTERNET WILL DRIVE US TO AN AMAZING FUTURE! BY : Prof. Rajesh Sisodia

Internet based technology and Artificial Intelligence will shape & rule our future. The next wave of change will impact our business, jobs, life and the way we behave. Tech experts and researchers are excited to map the upcoming trends.

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eens are thinking of their future in a different way. Certainly their big dream or thinking is totally different when we were kids 20 years back! But no one can guess exactly the future of internet driven gen next. So, for our Newsletter, we tried to go through all the latest researches and insights by reputed tech gurus, social scientists and experts who are already trying to map the future trends.

How many of us can say, with certainty, what jobs we would choose if we were kids today? The pace of technological change what we have seen during last ten years, is only a small bit of what we will see over the next 15 to 20 years. This next wave of change will fundamentally reshape all of our behaviour, careers, my own included. It’s estimated that some 65% to 75 % of children entering primary schools across different countries today will likely work in roles that don’t currently exist. Is not it amazing?

You can expect the pace of change in the job market to start to accelerate by 2021. Office and administrative functions, along with manufacturing and production roles, will see dramatic declines accounting for over sixty lacs roles over the next four years. Conversely, business and financial operations along with computer and mathematical functions will see steep rises.

Yes, there is a central driver for many of these transformations, and it is internet based technology and artificial intelligence. Experts believe that artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing, resource-efficient sustainable production and robotics will factor into the ways we currently make, manage and mend products and deliver various services. The latter two have the potential to create jobs in the architectural and engineering sectors, following high demand for advanced automated production systems.

Recently World Economic Forum surveyed global HR decision-makers, some 44% pointed to new technologies

Futurologists have christened this internet based technology advancement as ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and say that this will enable disruptive business models to decentralise our economies as we move from value systems based on ownership to ones enabling access.

enabling remote working, co-working space and teleconferencing as the principal driver of change. Concurrently, advances in mobile and cloud technology allowing remote and instant access were singled out as the most important technological driver of change, enabling the rapid spread of internet-based service models. Now, it’s worth reflecting on how we could imagine a changed world like this. Internet and Technology will change our social as well as personal behaviour; it’s not a guess but only the upcoming truth.

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SPECIAL STORY : FUTURE OF INTERNET & YOUTH

First let us talk about the concept of office or we can say our physical presence at work place. Our future place of work might not be an open plan office, but interconnected workspaces not tied to one place, but many. They will be underpinned by virtual conferencing, complete and constant connection and portability. Our working day will be fundamentally different. Leveraging big data, like real-time traffic information, could cut journey times, making the school run easier, and the morning commute more manageable specially in crowded cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and mega cities across globe. That is, if you have to commute: home-working will no longer be defined as a Friday luxury, but a more efficient way to work enabled by technology, taking the physical strain from megacities and regionalising work locations.

Futurologists have christened this internet based technology advancement as ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and say that this will enable disruptive business models to decentralise our economies as we move from value systems based on ownership to ones enabling access. Personally owned assets, from cars to spare bedrooms, will expand entrepreneurship, diversi-

fying revenue streams. When we are predicting these changes, there is no space for doubt. Live examples are here, within three years of trading, home-sharing platform Airbnb offers more rooms than some of the biggest hotel chains in the world.

Stayzilla and OYO is trying to do that in India!

Thus, Experts predict that disruptive business models will fundamentally reshape how we do business, both individually and as companies. For example, digitally enabling smallholder farmers can allow them to operate as a collective, transferring knowledge and sharing vital learning with each other from proper crop irrigation technology to water efficiency. Cloudbased analytics hosted on BT’s Expedite platform can assist in radically transforming such supply chains. Some researchers trust that these very technologies might help us unlock the solutions to some of the biggest societal challenges we currently struggle with. Similarly, Technology will reshape the way we manage ourselves and family or home. Relationships will turn into either very strong bonds between two individuals or no bond at all. Relationships could be ‘managed’ with artificial intelligence!

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Climate and environment will be gainers. Connected homes, factories and farms leveraging smart energy management systems could mean dramatically lower energy use, which would contribute to the decarbonisation of our economies. Experts warn us that we must be vigilant. Not of technological change; we have the power and innovation to harness and use its power as we see fit. But of access to the connectivity and opportunity it brings. What will be absolutely decisive is how we equip our children, our present students and our colleagues to harness the power of this technology to transform our world for the better.

That means ensuring the ICT (Information & Communication Technology) skills of current college leavers are fit for the future.

It means providing incentives for lifelong learning as the pace of technological advancement quickens.

Thus it simply means reinventing the HR functions, equipping it to continually assess and provide for the training needs of future employees. We have the potential to revolutionise the way we live, behave and work. We can do things in a way that avoids the vicissitudes of previous industrial revolutions, creating new economic opportunities that, even as children, we would not have before imagined. Tech gurus advise us that we must use every tool within our armoury to ensure the current and future generations are not left behind in the global digital skills race.

Upcoming Trends: 90 % of all data in the world created in last two years!

Recently world economic forum has released some data on internet users across globe and tried to map the trends of future use and users. At the heart of the internet is data – massive amounts of it. Volumes of data are growing at a rate of 40% per year and will increase 50 times by 2020. A measure of the speed of growth is the estimate from Singapore-based Aureus Analytics that 90% of all data in the world was created in the last two years. Experts believe that as mobile usage goes up, so do personal data volumes. Over half (51%) of all internet users worldwide are in Asia: China has 1.3 billion mobile subscriptions out of a population of 1.36 billion, while India has 0.91 billion mobile subscriptions out of a 1.25 billion population.

On the other hands, the amount of industrial data is growing even faster. Today researchers estimate there are about 4.9 billion connected devices covering products from cars, homes, appliances and industrial equipment. This will reach 25 billion by 2020, driven by initiatives that introduce smart meters and more efficient street lighting. Tech gurus warn us that this wave of data will bring new challenges and new opportunities, as we grapple with the best ways to govern, process and analyse it properly.

Business Transformation: The internet is reshaping public and private sector structures, creating new markets for business.

But organizations will also need to strengthen the security of their customers’ data. Many of the digital benefits to date have come through efficiency gains as businesses use data to tailor what they offer to customers. versal affordable internet access in its Global Goals, which collectively aim to reduce poverty, advance health and education and improve the environment. The goals recognize that the internet can aid global development by connecting neglected and underserved communities around the world. Business Transformation: The internet is reshaping public and private sector structures, creating new markets for business.

But organizations will also need to strengthen the security of their customers’ data. Many of the digital benefits to date have come through efficiency gains as businesses use data to tailor what they offer to customers. Other opportunity and challenge is to find new sources of income and value from digital transformation. New propositions such as city car-hire schemes are creating new partnerships, business models and platforms for bringing buyers and sellers together.Regulation is a challenge: With technology evolving at breakneck speed, regulatory frameworks often lag behind. The rules that govern the use of all forms of data on the internet need to be relevant and appropriate to the pace of technological change.

India and developing nations are still far behind in updating regulations or digital governance. As the internet becomes more pervasive, so do the tensions between national interests and global inter-operability. The rules governing the cyber world are being tested on a daily basis as governments and individuals raise concerns about data security and privacy.

The innovative potential unleashed by digital technologies is also raising questions about rules and ethics, as well as societal benefits and costs. Thus AI is going to be the most influential factor in our lives in future and in fact might impact or control more than half of our activities we perform at work place, at home or with family or in society at large. AI will rule the future and us! l

NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Development of neglected communities: There are still more people offline than on. The United Nations has included uni-

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LEBANON

HOW ROLA SLEIMAN BECAME THE FIRST ARAB FEMALE PASTOR BY : Nada Homsi

In 2017, Rola Sleiman began her role as an officially ordained pastor in Tripoli, Lebanon.

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o anyone's knowledge, Rola Sleiman is the first female pastor in the entirety of the Arab Christian world. It's a straightforward tale: a young churchgoing girl decides to study theology in university, and upon graduation returns to the church of her youth in Tripoli, Lebanon. The only twist is that she is the first woman to reach such a vocation. "I didn't really have it in my head to become a pastor," says Sleiman as she sat in Tripoli's National Evangelist Presbyterian Church. And yet, she became an officially ordained pastor on February 26, 2017 - a historic appointment for a role which had previously been restricted to men. It's evident that Pastor Sleiman's direct demeanour and good humour helped pave her path to the pulpit.

She stands at the podium, making sure her pants are hidden while she jokes with the church's organ player. "I'm getting photographed in my jeans - it's going to scandalise our congregation!" she laughs.

Explaining how she fell into the role of the first fe-

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male pastor, she recalls the initial circumstances which brought her to this point. "The way everything turned out, looking back, I think it was God's will to make this statement."

She says this tentatively, processing the enormity of her ordainment. Sleiman didn't come from exceptionally devout roots: Her parents were Evangelist Presbyterian churchgoers, but not more religious than the average household. She attributes her theological path to a teenage phase, when, like many her age, she began questioning: She wanted answers, so she read. "I read the Bible, the Quran, the Old Testament ‌ and I was convinced with my faith. I'm not saying it's the 'Truth' for everyone, but to me, this is where I felt convinced." Her path was clear at an age where most teenagers struggle with their purpose. When Sleiman was 17, she applied to be adopted by the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, the denominational umbrella which forms the Evangelical Presbyterian federations throughout the Levant. The Synod adopted

her and subsequently sponsored her degree in Theology and Christian Education. Upon graduation, she had the option to serve in several of the Synod's churches around Lebanon, including in her hometown of Tripoli. Sleiman was drawn to Tripoli and the church she had grown up attending. "I felt there was something that I had to do here, in my hometown ‌ I just felt that I had to go."

It was a gut feeling which proved accurate. In 2006, George Bitar, the pastor of the church which Sleiman grew up attending, left the country to travel. Having formal theological training qualified Sleiman to take on the task of leading Sunday services on a temporary basis.

However, as the 2006 July War with Israel erupted in Lebanon, Bitar was unable to book a flight home, and Sleiman ended up conducting services for six months. When Pastor Bitar returned, it was brief. He had attained a visa to the United States, and in 2008 moved there with his family for good. In the absence of an appointed pastor for the church, Sleiman continued as interim minister, building a relationship with her congregation as time passed. "This is my church and I wasn't going to leave it," she says with conviction. Still, as Reverend Sleiman was not an officially ordained pastor, difficulties man-

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ifested. She was unable to perform sacraments or baptisms without supervision from an ordained cleric in the Synod - male supervision. Additionally, the Synod's committees, a collection of elders and pastors from across Syria and Lebanon, could not vote on a number of issues without the presence of an ordained representative from Tripoli. Tripoli's National Evangelist Presbyterian Church needed a pastor. It was time for the Synod to officially appoint a representative so decisions could be made. When the church was asked who they wanted to represent the congregation, the answer was obvious. After years of being interim minister, "My church was used to me. They didn't think of me in terms of gender, as a woman or a man. I served them, doing visitations, preaching well, and I convinced them through my service," says Sleiman. Ultimately, the vote to ordain Reverend Sleiman passed in the Synod 23 to one, with remarkably little resistance. The city of Tripoli, known as "the second capital of Lebanon", has been heavily affected by the neighbouring civil war in Syria, with sectarian fighting and car bombs making news headlines. Furthermore, in 2014, assailants set fire to Tripoli's Christian-owned Saeh Library and torched up to two-thirds of the library's 80,000 books and manuscripts in what was reported as a religiously motivated attack. But mainstream media has depicted her beloved city in a skewed light, insists Sleiman, by focusing on distorted sectarian divisions and a small number of youth that join organisations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). While Lebanon's delicate confessional system has historically suffered due to sectarian divisions and civil strife, Sleiman believes in representing her denomination peacefully. "To me, it was about pastoring our small group, in order to take care of it and ensure [our] continuity," she says. Tripoli is a historically diverse city, but its Christian population dwindled during Lebanon's 15-yearlong civil war, that began in 1975.

Heavy economic burdens intermingled with religious tension, leading many to immigrate. Christians now make up an estimated six percent of the population in Tripoli. Evangelical Presbyterians are a tiny denomination spread across Lebanon and Syria, and representing their presence is a significant factor in Pastor Sleiman's decision to lead and foster her congregation in its current location, which consists of approximately 33 families. Pastor Sleiman's strides are not lost upon her.

"Alhamdulillah," she says, using the Arabic word which both Christians and Muslims use to denote "Thank God". l

NEPAL

F

URGENT NEED TO EASE KATHMANDU’S AIR TRAFFIC CONGESTION

lying in and out of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) has become increasingly frustrating. Nepal’s sole international airport has been strained to capacity due to infrastructure bottlenecks and the inability of authorities to manage flights. Besides being notorious for being one of the worst airports in the world in terms of comfort, cleanliness and customer service, the TIA has also reached a saturation point. Its infrastructure is ill-equipped to deal with the growth of airlines. For example, the international terminal, which was designed to process 1,340 passengers per hour, has been handling twice that number. The situation becomes more challenging during the peak tourist season.

Things are not any better in the domestic terminal.

Nepal’s domestic air passenger movement increased by 28.85 percent to a record 1.75 million last year. The growth

BY : Rama N Kumar

44 |MAY-2017|

in passenger demand, due partly to the sorry state of our national highways, drove almost all airlines to place orders for new aircraft, apparently unconcerned that there is little space to park them.

The result is that flight delays as well as queues of aircraft circling the skies awaiting landing permission have been common. Such state of affairs can try the patience of even the calmest passenger. It also raises concerns about air safety. Although a holding pattern is a fairly easy manoeuvre compared to other tasks in instrument flying, it is a source of confusion and apprehension for exhausted pilots and passengers. It is also detrimental to the environment due to additional emissions.

The situation will likely get worse before it might get better. This year, airlines are adding about 15 aircraft—and relatively bigger sized—in order to expand operations. Once functional as international airports in a few years, the Lumbini and Pokhara airports will help reduce air traffic in Kathmandu. There has been a plan since 2012 to construct a domestic airport in Kavre. But until these developments take place, the TIA will face more pressure due to the airline expansion drive.

It is good that the TIA on Tuesday announced a plan to construct at least eight aerobridges after expanding the international terminal to ease air traffic congestion. The same day, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Dilnath Giri issued a 12-point declaration directing the Civil Aviation Authority to start the process of constructing the airport in Kavre. These plans need urgent and efficient implementation if air travel in the country is to be pleasant and safe. l

45 |MAY-2017|

RUSSIA

Varun Sivaram

Russia’s Nuclear Diplomacy RUSSIA OUTSMARTS U.S. IN GLOBAL NUCLEAR MARKET 46 |MAY-2017|

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ast week, Westinghouse Electric Company, the firm that once marked America’s dominance in nuclear power, filed for bankruptcy. Over the decades, the United States has since been reduced to a minor player in the global nuclear market it created. And although some of the world’s largest developed economies like Germany and Japan have taken a step back from nuclear power, in rapidly emerging economies keen on securing clean, reliable, and affordable power, nuclear is poised for growth. In Foreign Affairs, I explain how Russia is benefiting geopolitically in America’s absence.

Although emerging economies may want to deploy nuclear power to meet a variety of goals from meeting their climate targets under the Paris Agreement to powering their growing economies, Russia has been aggressively exporting nuclear technologies as a matter of foreign policy. Putin himself has travelled internationally to sign deals to construct nuclear reactors on nearly every continent. As a result, Russia already dominates the global market, and it is poised to increase its market share. Moscow already uses its favorable market position to exact political gains like support within the European Union from Hungary. If this trend continues, Russia could find itself with more allies in the decades to come, and the United States fewer.

In the essay, I write: Russia stands to benefit most from the developing world’s increasing appetite for nuclear power. Rosatom currently has export orders valued at more than $300 billion—60 percent of the overall market—for 34 plants in 13 countries. Russia’s share of the global nuclear export market will increase as long as the Kremlin considers it a matter of state policy. Putin’s visit to Hungary was only one stop in an international tour to sign nuclear power deals that resulted in broad agreements on nuclear power with 13 nations on nearly every continent.

Rosatom’s dominance is explained, in part, by its business model. The firm operates on a Build, Own, and

47 |MAY-2017|

Russia stands to benefit most from the developing world’s increasing appetite for nuclear power.

Rosatom currently has export orders valued at more than $300 billion—60 percent of the overall market—for 34 plants in 13 countries.

Operate scheme–that is, Rosatom constructs the reactor, retains ownership of it, and offers the full range of services from initial financing to fuel disposal. And, in part, because of generous state funding, Rosatom is able to offer cheap financing and sell reactors at far lower costs than its international competitors. In 2010, for example, the development and construction cost of a nuclear plant in Russia was 20 to 50 percent less than Western equivalents. At the same time, Russia is racing ahead with plans to deploy the world’s first two Generation IV reactors domestically by 2025. In the absence of serious rival suppliers, the combination of favorable financing and advanced technology will sustain Russia’s competitive edge for decades to come.

Unfortunately, even as it increases its nuclear exports, Russia would do little to address the emerging security challenges that would accompany the spread of fissile materials. To avoid a more dangerous future in which the United States loses economic and diplomatic leverage, I urge the United States to compete with Russia by revitalizing its civil nuclear industry with sensible, bipartisan policies including cutting regulation, lowering borrowing costs, and investing in science and innovation.l Varun Sivaram is Douglas Dillon Fellow and Acting Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change.

SRILANKA

INDIA LIKELY TO INVEST IN TRINCO OIL TANK FARM Kelum Bandara

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efore contrasting and competing views within the government on the Hambantota Port deal are reconciled, the stage is being set for yet another debate. This is involving the move to develop the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm with an Indian company under a joint venture. The Hambantota Port, to be developed in partnership with a Chinese company, entails a great deal of engagement in Sino-Lanka relations. So does the Trinco project in Indo-Lanka relations. Both go beyond their commercial relevance, as the countries concerned look at geopolitical connotations lying beneath commercial interests. The then United National Party (UNP) led government signed a tripartite agreement in 2003 to develop the oil tank farm with India. The government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), Lanka IOC Pvt. Ltd. (LIOC) and

The government of Sri Lanka, had in 2002, invited LIOC for development of the oil tank farm. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), is the parent company of LIOC - it is in fact, India’s largest commercial enterprise with a sales turnover of $ 61 billion (Sri Lanka’s GDP is around $ 80 billion). IOC is listed in the prestigious Fortune ‘Global 500’ list, first among Indian enterprises.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who undertook an official visit to Sri Lanka soon after the formation of the new government in 2015 mentioned the proposal for the development of Trincomalee as a petroleum hub.

Now, the government has initiated talks with the Indian authorities on the establishment of a joint venture between LIOC and the CPC. The Indian Prime Minister is slated to visit Sri Lanka in view of the UN Vesak Day celebrations next month. On the sidelines of the event, he is expected to have bilateral discussions with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. This is going to be featured during talks. Besides, ahead of Mr. Modi’s visit, Mr. Wickremesinghe will head for New Delhi for some talks. The government of Sri Lanka, had in 2002, invited LIOC for development of the oil tank farm. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), is the parent company of LIOC it is in fact, India’s largest commercial enterprise with a sales turnover of $ 61 billion (Sri Lanka’s GDP is around $ 80 billion).

IOC is listed in the prestigious Fortune ‘Global 500’ list, first among Indian enterprises. According to sources, since taking over the facilities at Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm in 2003, LIOC has invested heavily in refurbishment of tankages, pipelines& jetty and creating new facilities including additional storage tank, lube blending facilities etc. On overall basis, since the past 14 years, LIOC has spent approx LKR 7000 million in the country on its various facilities, invested almost LKR 4400 million in the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal Limited (CPSTL) and is spending almost LKR 100 million each year on maintenance of its assets.

One –fourths of the shareholding of LIOC has been paying the rental of US$ 100,000 to Government of Sri Lanka per annum for the facility, since 2003. For the last financial year (2015.2016), LIOC’s turnover stood at Rs.71billion. It spent 24billion in terms of taxes. Even in 2016-17, out of the turnover of approximately Rs. 80 billion, Rs. 30 billion has been paid as taxes. l

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) signed the tripartite agreement with regard to the China Bay Installation (Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm) in February 2003 As per the lease agreement, the oil tank farm with 99 tanks was to be handed over to the LIOC for use for a period of 35 years. Accordingly, they started using 14 tanks in the lower farm area. The remaining 84 tanks in the upper tank area remain disused. In 2004, the UNP government was unseated at a snap general election. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that succeeded the UNP was not keen on the implementation of the provisions of the agreement since then. As such, the agreement remained only in letter for most parts. After 14 years, the UNP is back in power as the core of a ruling coalition commonly called the national unity government. It is apparent that the 2003 lease agreement is now revisited for implementation. In fact, Indian

49 |MAY-2017|

PAKISTAN

Abdul Haleem Soomro

FOR SURVIVAL KALANKAR LAKE HOPES FOR A MIRACLE

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remember the moment I was sitting on a partially-broken wooden batila(small boat) at Sindh’s Kalankar lake earlier this year. Local fisherman and boat captain Mir Hassan Mallah pointed toward the sand dunes surrounding the lake. Taking the last puff of his cigarette, he commented, “This lake is as thirsty as us villagers.” The beautiful lake is spread over both Sanghar and Umerkot districts. It starts from Sanghar near Ghulam Nabi Shah town where barrage and desert lands meet and ends at Umerkot district. To reach Kalankar, I embarked on a one-hour journey from my hometown Umerkot to Dhoronaro, a rural town 30 kilometres away. I met two locals who happily agreed to guide me to the lake, which was another eight kilometres away in Haji Khamiso Rajar village.

Kalankar lake connects seven other lakes: Modhakar, Kharor, Loon Khann, Ghurjee, Bando, Sunahro, and Bhorurr. It receives water from two sources: either the used water from adjoining farms owned by big landlords or through rainfall. Since freshwater has become scarce over the years, the water in the lake has become brackish and salty, which is not conducive for the fish population to grow. With tearful eyes, Mir Hassan told me how the lake needs freshwater so that there can be more fish.

The amount of fish caught from the lake is too little for the fishermen to make a decent living.

At most, they earn Rs 200 a day by selling their catch in the market. There is a freshwater canal nearby that can feed the lake, but the government has yet to pay heed and connect the canal to the lake. The villagers’ plights doesn’t end here. I could see the sadness in Mir Hassan’s eyes when he told me that drinking water is also scarce. The underground water used for drinking has become brackish as well. People have no choice but to drink stagnant and contaminated water. A hand pump was installed by an NGO but it's not enough and installing more pumps is too expensive for the villagers. Two decades ago, life at Kalankar was thriving, not just due to the vast availability of fish, but also because of access to sweet drinking water from wells (locally known as tuss).

Today, around 120 families have moved out from the surrounding villages. More and more villagers are thinking of leaving their ancestral lands, but they don’t know where to go. One of the villagers, Ghulam Nabi Mallah, told me that the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities in Sindh visited earlier this year to look into the potential site in the village to create a tourist point.

If tourist infrastructure is developed, influx of visitors could contribute to improving the dwindling fortunes of the villages that depend on Kalankar lake. But instead of making provisions for the service economy, the government should instead focus on rehabilitating the lake, for it’s an integral part of the area’s ecology and a more sustainable source of livelihood for the people. And above all, if the lake loses its charm, what good will a tourist spot do? l

51 |MAY-2017|

UNITED STATES

Andrew Mitrovica

SYRIAN AIR STRIKES GARNER WIDE SUPPORT FOR HARDLINER TRUMP 52 |MAY-2017|

Eventually, the truth reveals itself.

And so it was after President Donald Trump - a still surreal phrase to put to paper - elected to bomb a mostly vacant Syrian airstrip in supposed response to the slow, suffocating murder of children by Bashar al-Assad's murderous regime. The Pentagon-supplied images of Tomahawk cruise missiles bursting into the night sky triggered a near orgasmic reaction among the same band of US cable TV network-approved geopolitical "experts" and journalists-inname-tag-only who gush with unbridled excitement each time flashy weapons go bang in the night. You'll recall that not too long ago, this giddy, easily impressed lot, joined by rancorous Democrats on Capitol Hill, were universally repulsed by the same dangerous demagogue they recently applauded on Twitter, TV and elsewhere as a bona fide "commander-in-chief".

Channeling the 'world's conscience' For an instructive moment, all the hyperbolic chatter about impeachment and treason evaporated as the unlikely coalition of "liberal" and neocon card-carrying members of La Resistance rallied around the flag, yellow-ribbon-imbued patriotism and a racist boor who just happens to be president of the United States. On cue, much of that so-called resistance in Washington and beyond heaped gooey praise on Trump, insisting the missile strike was the defining act of a statesman who had finally, if belatedly, grasped the profundity of his duties and responsibilities and of the office he shockingly holds. All Trump had to do to win their saccharine-laced rhetorical approval was to do what his predecessors have done with often calamitous regularity - issue the order to kill. The attendant result: Trump had instantly morphed from illiterate foreign policy nincompoop to oh-so-serious president who was, remarkably, channeling the "world's conscience" to boot. Forgotten in this hysterical revisionism, of course, was Trump's tough-guy pledge to look war-ravaged Syrian kids and their families in the eye and tell the would-be "terrorists": you can't come here.

A presidential Groundhog Day In any event, it turns out Trump gave his mentor, Vladimir Putin and, by extension, Bashar al-Assad - a heads-up that his "well, I'll teach you" volley of cruise missiles was on its vaguely destructive way so the fleet of fighter jets sheltered at the base could safely take off the following day - presumably to kill and maim more Syrians.

Ah and reportedly it wasn't his or indeed the "world's conscience" that prompted Trump to respond to images of children contorted in sarin gas-induced suffering, but rather a little word in his tin ear from his daughter, Ivanka, the corporate media-manufactured White House conscience-in-residence.

As I said, the truth eventually emerges.

Like the roster of telegenic presidents who preceded him, Trump fashioned a made-for-TV moment of perspicacity to announce that he could also bomb and kill in the same places that the US has been bombing and killing people for decades. There Trump was, sum-

moning all the faux solemnity that he could muster while reading from a teleprompter like a stuttering schoolboy to invoke God and America's equally sacred "national interest" as justification for yet another demonstration of his nation's singular military "resolve". The world has seen and heard this pantomime on display so many times over so many years that this vacuous, formulaic ritual could rightly be dubbed the presidential equivalent of Groundhog Day. From John F Kennedy to Trump and every other Democrat or Republican president inbetween, arguably, the job's principal prerequisite is satiating America's insatiable addiction to war.

Each of these presidents has taken their now familiar turn behind a desk in the Oval Office or at a lectern adorned with the presidential seal, to invade, threaten to invade or carpet bomb - legally or illegally - some new spot on the map and the innocent people who inhabit it.

A fix of 'shock and awe' Last week's predictable spasm of state-sanctioned violence was simply the latest evidence of the US political, military and media establishment's need - or perhaps more accurately, the institutional demand - for a satisfying fix of "shock and awe" delivered, as always, in the parochial, amorphous name of "national security". The immediate political dividends a succession of presidents has derived from these choreographed shows of America's might and "sacrifice" are not only keenly established, but are an undeniable part of the calculation to recapture - when and if necessary - much of the public's support and admiration.

The American experience has shown that a well-timed war or news of a "triumphant" special forces encounter with a terrorist "mastermind" can be a useful tonic for a faltering presidency - young or old. By now, it should also be clear to anyone with a functioning synapse that if you throw a dart at a globe, chances are it will land on a country - from Vietnam to Iraq - permanently scarred by America's long, irresistible compulsion to wage war. Invariably, the clumsily crafted rationales once offered up with such conviction and certitude to warrant the death and destruction have proven to be a lie after lie, consigned to a convenient, pan-political denomination memory hole.

Though discredited, every president inevitably recycles the standard lines in defence of more war, confident that most journalists and voters won't remember the not-so-distant past in the patriotic rush to defend America's apparently precarious future. Nor do they remember, it seems, the human toll their costly addiction has exacted on millions of children, women and men who did not seek or require America to "liberate" them.

From Mai Lai to Mosul, the indelible pictures of the countless casualties of America's wars exist as a true and lasting testament to the incalculable pain they have caused. We know Donald Trump won't pay a moment's heed to that appalling history, but don't kid yourself, neither will the next US president. l Andrew Mitrovica is an award-winning investigative reporter and journalism instructor.

53 |MAY-2017|

SPECIAL STORY

AS NEXT PRESIDET OF INDIA

BIG B: WILL COME ON THE ISLAND OF POLITICS! After a very serious thought and considering all aspects I am making a very serious suggestion which I am afraid may not find approval of most of my friends and may be taken none seriously by others. My suggestion is that in the given circumstances the best candidate for the next president of India will be MR AMITABH BACHCHAN. No political party or social group will have any serious objection to his candidature. Moreover he will be enthusiastically backed by young people who comprise 35+ per cent of our total electorate.

He will bring dignity, culture and social cohesion to the high office.

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ven when the ‘world has become flat’, as Thomas L. Friedman claimed, professional groups tend to function like well-guarded islands of an unexplored world. Therefore, whenever a resident of one island wants to come to the other the tendency is to see the person with suspicion, disbelief and ridicule, something immortalised in the famous Bollywood song “Hamare angane mei thumara kya kaam hai”. It is only when the “invader“ succeeds he is accepted that too grudgingly.

If the ‘real estate tycoon’ Donald Trump faced this in the past two years in his run up to the race for the white house his old time predecessor movie star Ronald Reagan faced it 30 years ago. Closer home in Indian movies all-time great super star Amitabh Bachchan underwent a similar experience in his home town of Allahabad more than three decades ago. However, destiny may see him back on a revisit to the island of politics as India prepares to look around for a new President of Rashtrapati Bhavan whose present occupant is due to leave soon.

At present any suggestion to root for Amitabh Bachchan for President invites ridicule. However, it may not be so after a few weeks as we find that search for a candidate who can enlist wide support and a smooth election becomes extremely difficult. Though a President in India is only a constitutional head with no real power, neither the ruling BJP nor parties determined to unseat it from power in the coming Lok Sabha elections two years from now would like to risk an unfriendly occupant in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Amitabh Bachchan’s candidature can have the widest popular support. With a Sikh mother, a Bengali wife, a south Indian daughter-in-law and a Punjabi sonin-law he is a person with a pan India identity. Though a devout Hindu, his secular credentials are beyond doubt. His candidature will be happily endorsed by minorities –Muslims, Christians and Sikhs . No major polit-

Amitabh Bachchan’s candidature of the President of India can have the widest popular support. With a Sikh mother, a Bengali wife, a south Indian daughter-in-law and a Punjabi son-in-law he is a person with a pan India identity. Though a devout Hindu, his secular credentials are beyond doubt. His candidature will be happily endorsed by minorities –Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. No major political party –ruling BJP, Opposition Congress or Communists will have any serious objection to his candidature.

55 |MAY-2017|

SPECIAL STORY

ical party –ruling BJP, Opposition Congress or Communists will have any serious objection to his candidature.

Despite age, hostile propaganda from several quarters and charges of money making Amitabh continues to enjoy immense popularity among the masses, especially youth and large semiurban sections of our society. His silver screen image of an average lower middle class Indian, a victim and fighter against an oppressive system, still holds appeal for a big number of people globally.

About 33 years ago, with no experience and no preparation, Amitabh made a wild card entry into Indian politics at the insistence of his childhood friend Rajiv Gandhi. In the Lok Sabha elections fought in 1984 the backdrop of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination; he convincingly defeated the redoubtable H.N. Bahuguna in his home constituency of Alla-

habad. Though he held no official position his impressive victory, immense popularity among the masses and close friendship with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made him India’s second most powerful man after the Prime Minister. And that was the reason for his undoing.

Interviewing him in the late 1985 for The Pioneer which I then edited I asked him what was the single biggest factor behind his unprecedented success in life, Amitabh said when he does a job he does it not with 100 per cent sincerity but with 200 per cent sincerity. He plunged into politics with his characteristic sincerity. Secure in the belief that with Allahabad electorate firmly behind him and the Prime Minister a close friend he need to bother only about his new found responsibilities as member of Parliament , Amitabh started working in right earnest with a dedicated band of young followers and a big number of sup-

56 |MAY-2017|

porters. What he did not know was that sincerity and hard work did not necessarily pay in the dirty game of politics and intrigue has s been an essential part of power politics since time immemorial.

Opposition to Amitabh started even before he landed in Allahabad to file his nomination papers. And this opposition was not from Opposition parties but from ambitious leaders of his own party who saw in him as a challenge to their political ambitions. Raja Vishwanath Pratap Singh, who was to backstab Rajiv Gandhi to become the Prime Minister later, commented: “ Now dancers and singers will run the country.” Banners put up in the city by unknown people said ,“ Amitabh ji is welcome but he should not bring Rekha with him “ indirectly suggested to the traditional voters of Allahabad that Amitabh had an extra marital affair.

What happened between January 1985 and July 1987 when Amitabh resigned his Allahabad seat and said good bye to politics is a story which has never been told. But everybody knows the end of it. Rajiv and Amitabh were implicated in Bofors gun scandal case ; differences were created between the two childhood friends and their families ; after Amitabh left politics his enemies turned on Rajiv Gandhi and once darling of Indian

masses and the Congress leader , who had the highest ever majority in the Lok sabha , had to spend the remaining two years of his prime ministership in political disgrace in the shadow of Bofors scandal ;, a dirty campaign against Sonia Gandhi for being a foreign lady was launched ; Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress failed to get a majority in 1989 Lok Sabha elections ; though still the leader of the biggest party in Parliament he refused to head a coalition to become the prime Minister ; V.P. Singh fulfilled his lifelong ambition to be the prime Minister though he had to leave the job soon after in disgrace of the anti-Mandal agitation and Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991 when he was on the comeback trail.

The only party to gain in this political confusion was the BJP whose bench strength went from two in 1984 elections to 86 after the 1989 elections. Its vitriolic campaign against Rajiv, Sonia Gandhi and everyone and everything that had to do with Nehru legacy , brought it to the centre stage of Indian politics and today it rules at the Centre and in 15 states and the once powerful Congress is nowhere . What had been the shape of Indian politics had there been no Bofors, Amitabh Bachchan had stated in politics and Rajiv Gandhi had not been assassinated is difficult to presume today. But then politics is always a game of probabilities and uncertainties.

It is typical of Indian politics that if Amitabh Bachchan is to run for the President , as looks unlikely today, his biggest support , nay sponsorship will come from the BJP. And this will not be because like V.P. Singh and Arun Nehru he backstabbed Rajiv Gandhi. Amitabh stood with Rajiv as long as he could but when he could not he left politics saying that it was not his cup of tea.

He never said anything against Rajiv though his wife Jaya and mother Taeji always felt that Rajiv did not do enough to defend Amitabh in the Bofors case. If BJP supports Amitabh for president it will be to broaden its support base and to get into the traditional backdrop of Indian politics, sans Gandhi and Nehru , which emerged during the freedom struggle and is still important for bonding with historical continuity which BJP so desperately seeks.

Even if BJP were to decide on fielding Amitabh the big question is will Amitabh agree? Those of us who have seen a bit of Amitabh in public life think that he will be highly reluctant but could be open to persuasion – not because of the glamour of the high office but because he will take it as his final vindication from all the political sins that he never committed.

“Success is a dirty word in this country”, a bitter Amitabh told some of us during the height of Bofors scandal campaign and the media trial on it by V.P. Singh and his many friends in the media. If he enters the portals of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan he may have to revise his opinion. l (Prof. Mathur is the Editorial Director of CULT CURRENT)

57 |MAY-2017|

POLITICS

We Would Be Hearing Soon

PHIR EK BAAR MODI SARKAR BY : Nirmalendu

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By conquering the BJP, it proved that our moral nature is as advanced, the higher our direct experience and determination, the more our desire power and the consolidation power increase. The truth is that it was impossible to

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win such a huge victory without strong will power. When PM Modi speaks that we have to do and show, then his voice shows a power, a resolution, a truth, sincerity, an emotion looks, a passion is seen.

JP’s performance in the recent assembly elections in five states has indeed transforms India’s political landscape. BJP’s dominance is now a fact of India’s political life that everyone has to get used to. The party, with the means at its disposal, looks incapable of losing any state in the Hindi heartland. That should assure its hold on power for the foreseeable future.

In March, BJP won big in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand assembly elections. The extent of its victory was not expected by pollsters or even by BJP itself. In these two states BJP won 381 of the 473 seats, or over 80 per cent of the total. It wasn’t all good news for BJP. However, the win in UP alone was far bigger than losses in smaller states. After all, when it comes to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, gargantuan UP has 80 Lok Sabha seats, nearly five times the number of seats of Punjab (13), Goa (2) and Manipur (2) put together.

The current victory sets the stage for a huge BJP advantage in 2019. It builds Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image as an effective leader. In 2014 Modi represented change, something voters craved. In 2017, Modi’s victory means they are happy with the change they made. In that sense, the 2017 victory is a bigger deal for Modi than even 2014. In 2014, Modi came in with so many expectations that he was bound to disappoint. However, that didn’t happen. His popularity, at least in the states that matter for Lok Sabha elections, stays intact. People like his workaholic nature, the constant attempt to announce radical schemes, his vision and his attempts to restore Indian pride in the eyes of the world.

Hence, with a strong Modi, a weak Congress and regional parties becoming irrelevant in key Lok Sabha states, Modi’s victory in 2019 seems like a pushover. Of course, we still have two more years to go until elections. However, given the pace of reform in Congress and the lack of new ideas from regional parties, it doesn’t look like much will happen until then. In fact, Modi is likely to become stronger. With the current win, Modi government will soon have majority in the Rajya Sabha as well as the Lok Sabha. The government can enact several legislations that can help it win 2019. At some point, voters may also seek far more accountability on what Modi’s policies have actually achieved. However, that stage is unlikely to come before 2019.

That is more likely to be a 2024 issue. Hence, some risks aside, 2019 seems to be a done deal for Modi. Looks like the slogan we would all be hearing soon will be, "Phir Ek Baar, Modi Sarkaar".

Yes, PM Modi has filled the colors in his hand. Indeed, untiring work is superior to knowledge and even simple. No person can live without work even for a moment. Being constrained by the natural qualities of nature, each has to do some or more work. It is impossible to avoid karma while living. We all know that a handful of resolute people, who have strong faith in their goals, can change the stream of history. Resolved, and showed up by. Modi also changed the stream of history.l

Nirmalendu is Executive Editor of Daily Rashtriya Ujala

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INTERVIEW

REINHOLD MESSNER ON HOW TO CLIMB MOUNT EVEREST BY : Saransh Sehgal

For a look into the future of climbing on Mount Everest, I spoke with Reinhold Messner, the legendary climber and one of the world’s foremost experts in climbing without supplementary oxygen. In 1978 the South Tyrolean, together with Austria’s Peter Habeler, became the first person in the world to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen. Just to prove he wasn’t lucky, he did it again two years later with supplementary oxygen in the first solo attempt on Everest. The climb was defined as one of the most astounding feats in mountaineering history. Messner is also the first person to climb all 14 of the world’s highest peaks above 8,000 meters. Below is an excerpt from an exclusive interview with Messner recently in Vienna, Austria, with the famous climber sharing his concern over the future of climbing on Everest. It has been edited for clarity.

As summer is soon approaching, climbers are gearing up to make their way to Base Camp. Do you think that the incidents in last three years (the avalanches, earthquake, and the increasing number of deaths) has changed climbing on Everest?

Even though the last year was okay, there will also be deaths this year.

It’s logical that if 500 people are going there, some of them will die.

Around 10 will die; that’s the number [I would guess]. Climbing has totally changed. Today, climbing is a global issue. This year maybe 200 Indians will go to Everest on the piste [a track of firm snow] and since it is possible that Everest is prepared from the base to the summit, many people can go there. But this is not alpinism, this is tourism. People are buying the possibility to go up the piste on Everest. Everything is prepared: the doctors are there, the guides are there, the icefall doctors are there, and they go up. It’s not every year that they prepare them and if the Sherpas or local guides do not prepare the mountains, nobody goes up. Two years

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ago when Everest was closed after the avalanche and the Nepalese [government] allowed the Sherpas to prepare Manaslu. So immediately 200 people changed from [climbing] Everest to Manaslu because they had a piste built up there. They [climbers] did not go to Kanchenjunga where nobody had prepared anything.

Sherpas were following me and they had the ropes. But I went ahead. If I would say, “Now I’m tired, you go ahead,” They would say, “No, we follow on the fixed ropes.”And, now it’s exactly the opposite. All this is done by the Sherpas. They are very good climbers and they can guide like the alpine guides. The best guides in the Himalayas are Sherpas today. And these organizers need the Sherpas to guide their clients up to the summit.

The Sherpas have a lot of experience, they know where things are dangerous and how to behave.

So climbing on Everest has drastically changed over the past two decades. In your own words: “Now, anyone with enough money can pay a commercial guide service to take them to the top. This isn’t true alpinism.” What’s your take on that?

What is your message or advice to climbers wishing to summit Mount Everest in 2017 given the season is soon approaching?

Climbing Everest is becoming more like a business. But I think a commercial guide is not enough; you need a piste. Most of the commercial guides will not be able to go on Everest without a piste. [When I climbed Everest,] I could not start at midnight because then there was nothing but snow — no trail, nothing. A head lamp does not help because you won’t see anything and at the least one might end up finishing on the south face or the east face of the Everest. Now there is a piste and you can start during midnight and follow the footsteps.

I think they have to be careful. We do not know what is happening and how the Sherpas will make the rope line. But I think now they are climbing again in the center of the icefall. When they had this big avalanche when 16 people died, they were too much on the left side. I was at the base camp and I told them that you’re too much on the left side, because if ice breaks, you’re under it. And this is what happened afterwards.

Staying on the left and right side is dangerous. There are deep crevasses which can open and a ladder can break; many other things are possible. Any special message is not helpful. People are not listening; they only listen if they die there – and then it’s too late. They have the feeling that nothing can happen, but still it’s dangerous. I would say that some non-climbers are starting to climb without some infrastructure. All these people are not able to climb Mount Blanc; they are blindly following this line and they do not know what is happening up there. Often when I give a lecture some young managers come to me and say, “Mr. Messner, I would also like to go to Mount Everest. How do I have to prepare?” I ask them, “Which mountains have you have already climbed up to now?” And they say none of them, and I tell them it’s better to start learning about climbing and start with smaller mountains. And all of a sudden they’re saying, “But my secretary did it last year so I would also like to do it.” (big laugh).l

Sherpa climbers face various issues and resentment among Sherpas is increasing each year.

What do you think is the real problem and what do you suggest to resolve this?

I think there are two problems regarding the Sherpas. The Sherpas know that they are the key figures for success for their clients and the young Sherpas are beginning to wonder why they [climbers] are coming with foreign organizers. They [foreign organizers] make a lot of money because they sell Everest climbs for up to $90,000 to $100,000. The sherpas do it now for about $30,000, all inclusive. They would like to have the market in their own hands and I think slowly they will be able to do it. Before it was not a business for the Sherpa people. On my expedition, no Sherpa was able to go out in front one meter; he followed. We went, we put the ladders in, and we did some fixed ropes and they followed, prepared the food, put up the tent, and went back again. I remember very well I did the whole Lhotse face when preparing for our expedition.

Only one of the Austrians helped me and partly I was alone. The

Saransh Sehgal writes about Tibet and geopolitics in the Himalayan region.

He is based in Vienna, Austria.

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COFFEE WITH CULT CURRENT

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COFFEE WITH CULT CURRENT

A

n evening of 12th April, 2017 Urjas Media Ventures Flagship brand Cult Current was organized an event ‘Coffee with Cult Current’. In this evening the country's policy makers, journalists, Intellectuals not only discussed the country’s issue but also the contemporary issues of the world and presented their idea for solutions. In this symposium, the inaugural issue of Cult Current Monthly Magazine was also released. While releasing the magazine, MP Sharad Tripathi said that India is facing new challenges in an era when the distinction between the domestic and the international is increasingly blurred. At the same time, the publication of the magazine makes it easy. Parliamentarian Shri Tripathi hoped that Cult Current will make a significant contribution to the analysis of foreign policy and international affairs from an Indian perspective and underlining the importance of India’s global business engagement as a growing source of our national prosperity. The Government is committed to respond to those challenges and prepare the nation for the road ahead. This is why the Government is embarking on a new agenda to boost national competitiveness and productivity.

CEO of Urjas Media Ventures and Editor of Cult Current Srirajesh told that we will continue to use our strengths to advance our interests on the global stage with active foreign and trade policy.

We are trying to provide readers with a composite unbiased picture of the world around them through analysis, opinions. We are irreverent in the good old tradition of independent journalism, curious, and questioning. We don’t believe in giving clean chits to governments. Although, some governments and the ruling establishment are doing far better, but we do make a serious effort to inform you the news on the ground, the reality of the poor, marginalized India and of policies that impact our masses. We are sensitive and compassionate, but also bold and aggressive. We work hard to ensure that the underprivileged, victimized, harassed sections of society find a voice through Cult Current, and that injustice is not buried but spoken of loudly. Senior Journalist Kumar Raajesh, Ex secretary of Press Club of India Pushpendra, Tillan Richhariya and Ashok Srivastava, Lokesh Sharma also address the gathering. l

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ENTERTAINMENT

YES ‘BEGUM JAAN’ IS MY MANDI : SRIJIT Srijit Mukherji, who won the National Award for Best Director recently for his film ‘Chatushkone’, On April 14, his film ‘Begum Jaan’ has been released. Actor Vidya Balan is in the lead role in her film. This movie is based on a Bengali drama 'Rajkahini'. In this interview, Mukherji takes stock of his future plan. Excerpts: 64 |MAY-2017|

Is Begum Jaan your Mandi?

It is my Mandi meets Mirch Masala meets Tamas meets Garam Hawa. It’s a big meeting point. And unconsciously when I watch Begum Jaan, I so thank these makers Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihlani, MS Sathyu and Ketan Mehta. What masters!

And I’m so proud that I have grown up watching their films and I’m so proud when people ask me is this your Mandi? I feel so proud that I have inherited the DNA’s of such masters in some humble way. This is a film which is the segmentation of my growing up years, watching classics which I mention, reading Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Joy Chatterjee, Suveer Kaul, Urvashi Butalia. So all these movies and books came together inside me and created Begum Jaan.

How was your experience shooting with Vidya Balan?

We shot it in Punjab, Jharkhand and Delhi. Very disastrous weather, snakes on the set. I caught couple of snakes. I love snakes actually. I took them to Vidya to make them say hi to her but for some reason she locked herself in the makeup van and didn’t come out for two hours. It was a lot of fun but it was war like scenario for a specific reason also because when we use to go to the set, we use to look at the horizons like Lagaan farmers that cloud kahan hai (Laughs). So forty five minute if no rains then we will do scene A. When the rain comes we will do scene B. when rain goes away we will do scene C.

Are you nervous because you are going to be judged again on the box-office?

And if it goes wrong it will affect your Bangla market as well…

Yes, it can affect my Bangla market. I don’t know about the box-office but that’s happening since Autograph. I’m a statistician. I’m an economist. I have run regression models. I have predicted price strategies for MNC’s. I have even done statistical modelling on cinema and revenue and box-office revenue predictive modelling. I know

you cannot have a full proof regression equation.

You can’t. No one knows anything. Let’s face it. You can only make sure the story you are telling it honestly. Who knew Autograph will be a success. I thought it will run for seven days and I will go back to do my corporate stuff. But it ran for eighteen to nineteen weeks. It’s true that out of my nine films seven has been super hit.

Who are the makers in Bangla who you think should come into Hindi films?

I am tired of telling Shibu (Shiboprosad Mukherjee) and Kaushik da (Kaushik Ganguly) to make a Hindi film. I think they will make a great transition to Mumbai. They have right sensibilities; they know how to turn around a film in a particular budget. l

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LAST WORD

GUARDIAN ANGEL AT KOLKATA BOOK FAIR

H

ave you ever been in a bookshop looking for a title and ended up buying a different one? Or does it ever happen to you when you visit your favourite library that some books in particular stacked in open shelves placed at the far corners hidden from your immediate visual range silently beckon you to pick them up and carry them home and cohabit with them for a few weeks? Or, for that matter, you visit a book fair with an ardent love for books—that have sustained you through a rather difficult time—having no idea what to expect?

I went to this year’s Kolkata book fair (2017) at Milan Mela ground on the penultimate day for a few hours and had absolutely no plan to visit any particular stall. With no map in hand I just let myself go. As I entered the fairground I surrendered myself to the reigning spirit of the place and let it guide me through the maze of public not all of whom were aware of the power of a good book to turn one’s life around.

I found the arrangement of stalls this year somewhat different. A large number of both Bengali and English book stalls were put indoors in covered exhibition space in the spacious halls, while in the open paved area there were not as many, some of which catered to a different taste and interests of the public, for instance the quiz contest, or the one featuring themes like how long it takes for a man to wear a saree, the baul singing, space reserved for budding painters etc.

The first stall indoors I was made to stop at belonged to Isha Foundation. Of all the living tech-savvy mystics, one’s been influenced by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev more than any other. Over the years I have had my share of woes and been drawn to the spiritual world. I once dreamt having a conversation over the phone with Sadhguru who could always impart a soul-lifting response to any question pertaining to both physical and metaphysical world. It’s a delight to listen to him replying to a question on the spot with candour and authority as if always plugged into cosmic consciousness. The lady at the stall, with the video of Sadhguru’s speech running by her side, stood up from her seat and for a while talked animatedly about their Foundation as I bought a copy of Sadhguru’s latest book: The Inner Engineering.

I came out of one hall and got into another. It was sheer by chance I found Westland Books indoors and Rupa outdoors— my publishers. I could not help sneaking a peek at my books People Who Meet People at Westland and Rusty And I at Rupa.

They’re not really under the pile. They’re not on the top shelf either. I didn’t take them out of their given nook and put them on a spot at the eye level. I just let them be where they were be-

BY : Swapan K Banerjee

fore leaving for other pastures. Along the way I bought a collection of Short Stories published by Book Club.

At this point what intrigued me was that no matter which hall I entered, whether it was Neil O’Brien or Umberto Eco, and visited a number of stalls, I ended up getting back at the place I started from, where the Halls of Bangladesh and Costarica were situated! Instead of being pissed off, I looked for another opening in the outdoor area. As I was about to make a move in a different direction, a stall selling jute bags caught my eyes. There were all sorts with different price tags. I opted for the hardiest one costing Rs200/- lying under the heap because the fanciful and the cheaper ones were making brisk sales. Little did I realise then that I’d need this bag in particular a little while later.

My few hours stint was coming to a close and I started moving slowly towards the Sub-Way to go to the other side of the road and catch a Howrah-bound bus when the blow-up image of Paramhansa Yogananda at the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India stall celebrating one hundred years of its existence appeared just around the corner. His Autobiography of a Yogi I had read years ago and was profoundly impressed by it. What has endeared him to millions of people around the world is that his words unfailingly appear from a depth where lie the still waters, so that whenever you come in contact with them, you invariably enter into the realm of serenity. I just gravitated towards the hall.

There was a scanty presence of people inside this neat and tidy stall with sections earmarked for different topics / subjects under the head of Religion and Spirituality. The vibes here was quite different from the other stalls. The lure of commerce was absent. As if guided by an unseen hand, I chose a volume titled Journey to Self-Realisation. A gentleman then appeared by my side and politely suggested if I was interested in getting the complete works Of Paramhansa Yogananda having three volumes: Man’s Eternal Quest, The Divine Romance, and the one in my hand. How to carry these three fat volumes in an overcrowded bus, I wondered. Just for a second, the just-bought jute bag slipped out of my mind. The books fitted perfectly inside the bag.

Over the years I have learnt how not to plan too much for the future. Things have a way of their own. They don’t pan out the way you expect them to. It was only in hindsight, when I got back home, it dawned on me how, unguided by any map, I could come across a few, just a few, bookstalls of my choice among innumerable stalls scattered over a very large area and buy the soul-stuff for the journey ahead, unknown and uncharted.l

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RNI TITLE CODE : DELENG19447