First India-Ahmedabad Edition-17 October 2020

AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

PM MODI IS IN MY HEART MUCH LIKE HANUMAN’S DEVOTION FOR RAM, IF YOU CUT OPEN MY HEART YOU WILL FIND ONLY MODI-JI —Chirag Paswan, LJP leader OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD 28°C - 37°C

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 322

CHIRAG HAS CHOSEN A SEPARATE PATH IN BIHAR, HE IS TRYING TO MISLEAD PEOPLE BY TAKING NAMES OF BJP LEADERS —Prakash Javadekar, BJP leader and I&B Minister

FULL REPORT P5

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MURLI BREAKS SILENCE ON ROW OVER BIOPIC ‘800’ Decision on min WAR AGAINST SMOG ‘Is it my mistake that I was SC appoints one-man panel marriage age for born a Sri Lankan Tamil?’ to monitor stubble burning girls soon: Modi New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday appointed retired judge Justice Madan B Lokur to monitor stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh amid rising pollution in Delhi and its surrounding areas.

“We are only concerned about the citizens of Delhi-NCR being able to breathe in fresh clean air,” the top court said. The Supreme Court also declined to accept the centre’s request to reconsider the appointment of the oneman committee of Justice (retd) Lokur. The next hearing on the case has been scheduled on October 26.

“The concerned state governments will provide secretarial, security and financial facilities to this committee.

The National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme and Bharat Scouts will also be deployed Turn to P6

CHIEF SECYs, EPCA TO ASSIST The bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde directed the court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and chief secretaries of Haryana, Punjab and UP to assist the Lokur panel during physical surveillance of fields where stubble is burnt.

SATELLITE VIEW NASA’s satellite imagery shows a large cluster of farm fires near Amritsar, Patiala, Tarn Taran, and Firozpur in Punjab, and Ambala and Rajpura in Haryana.

 Punjab reported 3,517 farm fires this season as compared to 1,217 last year.  Haryana reported 1,710 stubble burning incidents against 1,072 during same period last year.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the government will soon take a decision on revising the minimum age of marriage for girls after it receives report from the committee set up for this.

The prime minister said the girls’ gross enrolment ratio in education has turned higher than that of boys for the first time in the country because of several efforts taken by the government in the last six years.

Modi was addressing a video conference after releasing a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination on the 75th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

“There is an important deliberation going on to decide what should be the ideal age of marriage for daughters,” Modi said.

The prime minister said he has been receiving letters from women

 Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan on Friday issued a statement amid growing opposition against Vijay Sethupathi playing him in upcoming movie ‘800’

 He stated that he was no stranger to controversies. “I was hesitant at first when the producers approached to make a movie on my life. But, later, I thought the movie would be the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of my parents, teachers, coaches and co-players in my success,” he said

I want to assure that the government will soon take its decision after the submission of the report

 Muralitharan claimed that when the civil war first broke out, it was Malayaga Tamils, with Indian-lineage, who were the first ones to be affected. “We lived amid a war for over 30 years. And how I managed to join the cricket team and tasted success is what 800 is all about,” he added

—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister from across the country, asking about the report of the committee and when the government will take a decision on it.

In his Independence Day speech, the prime minister had announced that the government was deliberating on what should be the minimum age of marriage for women and has set up a committee to look into the matter. Currently, the minimum age of marriage is 18 years for women and 21 for men.

I am perceived wrongly just because I was part of Sri Lankan cricket team. If I had born in India, I would have tried to be part of the Indian cricket team.

Is it my mistake that I was born a Sri Lankan Tamil?

—Muttiah Muralitharan, Fromer Sri Lankan cricketer

THE ISSUE Vijay Sethupathi (in pic) agreeing to play the Sri Lankan spin legend has caused a political uproar in Tamil Nadu. It is because Muttiah Muralitharan is largely seen as a supporter of then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was at the helm during nearly 30 years of civil war that rocked the island nation  Muralitharan also rubbished the claims that he doesn’t know Tamil. “I felt inferior due to my minority status in the country. That’s a fact and it’s natural, given that my parents also shared the same mentality,” he said

Mathura court admits appeal seeking removal of mosque from ‘Lord Krishna birthplace’

DE KOCK

Mathura: A Mathura court in Uttar Pradesh on Friday admitted an appeal against an order dismissing a suit filed to remove a mosque situated adjacent to the Lord Krishna temple complex in the city, LiveLaw reported.

The case first came to light on September 26, when a group of devotees and the minor deity moved a civil court, seeking the removal of Idgah mosque, which they alleged was built after a part of a Hindu shrine was razed on orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the

UPROOTS KKR Mumbai Indians (MI) riding on opener Quinton de Kock’s (78 of 44) blistering inning defeat Kolkata Knight Riders comprehensively by 8 wickets during Indian Premier League (IPL) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

17th century.

In the suit filed before the Civil Judge, Mathura, the plaintiffs said that “every inch of land”, measuring 13.37 acres, “of Katra Keshav Dev (as the place is known historically) is sacred for devotees of Lord Shree Krishna and (the) Hindu

community”.

The petitioners had sought the “removal of encroachment and superstructure illegally raised” on it “by Committee of Management of alleged Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah with the consent of Sunni Central Board of Waqf”. Turn to P6

‘China relations “profoundly disturbed” after border clashes’ New Delhi: The violent clashes on the IndiaChina border in June had a very deep public and political impact and has left the relationship “profoundly disturbed”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

Tensions had escalated manifold between India and China after the Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in action. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army also suffered an unspecified number of casualties.

Turn to P6

State may be in danger of earning the ‘U-turn government’ tag After Navratri prasad, the decision on aartis was revised on Friday when housing societies were allowed to organize them without permission Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: A nickname was earned by former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha during his tenure between 1998 and 2002. He was called the ‘Roll back FM’ as he had to reverse many of his budget announcements. Similarly, the Gujarat government has revised several of its

decisions, of late.

On Friday, the state decided to go back on its resolution of the aarti (worship ritual) and allowed housing societies and residential flats to organize them without prior police permission. Now, only aartis organized in public places or on roads will mandatorily require approval from the police or local authorities.

The government

30 DAYS FOR REDEVELOPMENT OBJECTION If any resident of a housing society or residential colony going for redevelopment has any objection to it, they may file their protestations to the secretary of Urban Development and Urban Housing Department within 30 days.

—FILE PHOTO

An aarti taking place at a residential society.

had asked all organizers to acquire prior permission to hold Navratri aarti on

Thursday. Similarly, earlier this week, the state had a turnabout regarding the distri-

bution of the Navratri prasad (offerings). At first, it banned the dispensation alto-

gether but then revised its decision and allowed packaged prasad to be distrib-

uted post aartis.

Taking a jibe at the state government’s unstable decision-making policy, Congress chief spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “The government will soon be known as the ‘U-turn government’. This is the result of handing control to babus over the administration, where elected representatives have little or no power at all.”

Citing a few recent examples of the govern-

ment going back on its own decisions, Doshi pointed out the self-financed schools fee exemption issue, COVID-19 testing policy, crops damage compensation issue. At first, the government had said that farmers would receive compensation only after crop survey, but later changed its stance and said that it was not required in 123 talukas, where the damage was unmistakable.

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AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020

02

THE SETTING SUN For the first time in living memory, the festival of Navratri will not be celebrated due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As per Gujarat government guidelines, no public garba events will be organized, save for the aarti (worship ritual) of Goddess Jagdamba, in housing societies or residential colonies.

Keeping with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), people have been advised to limit festivities to their homes. A garba enthusiast was captured by First India lensman Hanif Sindhi, as he proceeded home after a garba rehearsal at the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad on Friday. Several garba groups have been practicing their moves in the hope that Navratri events may be given the nod by the government, despite the ban on commercial garba gatherings.

DESPITE RELIEF PKG, ONLY 10L FARMERS TURN UP

 Lack of adequate remuneration, good net connectivity prime reasons for low numbers First India Bureau

Gandhinagar: Even after announcing a compensation package for damaged crops, the state government has received only 10 lakh farmer registrations till date. Earlier, the government had admitted that over 30 to 40% crops across 20 districts had been affected this year.

According to sources from the agriculture department, while the highest number of applications have come in from the Amreli dis-

Over 30-40% crops in 123 talukas were damaged this year.

trict (1,21,969 farmers), the lowest have been reported from Navsari (427 farmers).

Furthermore, the districts that had farmers crying foul about maximum damage, have not reported high online application numbers for compensation.

For instance, the districts of Porbandar (22,101 applications), Gir Somnath (48,437 applications) and Juna-

gadh (62,145 applications) reported numbers lower than the total number of farmers in the region.

This worrying state of affairs comes after the state government had resolved to relax field survey norms that would have evaluated the compensation released to farmers in 123 talukas.

Even the amount had been increased to Rs13,500 per hectare for irrigated

land and Rs10,000 per hectare for non-irrigated land, covering a maximum of two hectares of land.

With 102.76% bumper sowing on 87,24,231 hectares of land reported this year, around 30-40% was affected by monsoon, drought. In order to come to the rescue of farmers, the government had announced the Rs3,700 crore package.

Talking about the lack of online registrations, Shamalji Mori, a farmer from Gir Somnath district said, “It does not mean that farmers have not suffered losses. The farmers are not convinced that even after accepting that 30-40% crops in 123 talukas have suffered damage, the government wants farmers to file compensation forms online. It is a good reason to demoti-

vate farmers.”

According to Mori, the second reason why the farmers have not opted for online registrations is the compensation amount being offered to them. “The farmers have suffered damage to the tune of Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 per hectare purely on input. And the state is not even offering 50% of that amount. It is not very encouraging for them to go to e-gram offices and submit forms,” he said.

“And if these reasons are not good enough, the non-cooperation farmers’ encounter while dealing with village talatis or village computer entrepreneurs and lack of good internet connectivity make filing forms difficult for us,” said Ram Jadeja, a farmer from the Porbandar district.

Limbdi may be tough turf for Cong, as equations change First India Bureau Gandhinagar: It does not seem like it will be smooth sailing for the Congress candidate from Limbdi constituency, this by-election. In rebellion against the announcement of Chetan Khachar’s nomination for the bypolls by the party, a candidate from the Koli community named Gopal Makwana has also filed his candidature.

It is a move that may potentially sabotage Khachar’s prospects in the by-election.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released a list of 30 ‘star campaigners’ that includes political big-wigs of the state.

Congress had announced the name of its Limbdi candidate Chetan Khachar on Thursday evening. The next day, he submitted his nomination forms to the state electoral officer, albeit combating a few

Congress leaders participated in a meeting held for Limbdi party candidate Chetan Khachar on Friday.

technical difficulties.

When Khachar learned that Makwana had filed his candidature, he told the media that party leaders will persuade Makwana to withdraw in his favour.

In the 2017 general elections, Congress candidate Soma Patel had won the seat with a margin of 14,651 votes defeating BJP candidate Kiritsinh Rana. The candidate nominated by the party then was a Koli community leader, but this time the fight will be between Rana and Khachar, who belong to the Rajput and Kathi communities respectively.

The ruling party has

released a list of 30 ‘star campaigners’ that includes Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy CM Nitin Patel, state unit president CR Patil, union ministers Mansukh Mandaviya, Parshottam Rupala and other state-level leaders.

Interestingly, former state unit president Jitu Vaghani’s name is suspiciously missing from the list. OBC leader Alpesh Thakor is included in the list, but his name features at the bottom.

According to sources, excluding a few senior leaders, not all star campaigners will be campaigning for all the eight state assembly seats up for bypolls.

NOT TAKING IT LYING DOWN

Hardik Patel issues defamation notice to defector Kishor Chikhalia  The Cong working prez has asked the Morbi leader to submit a written apology First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader and Congress party working president Hardik Patel on Friday issued a defamation legal notice to Morbi district pan-

chayat president Kishor Chikhalia.

The former Congress leader joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday.

The notice issued by Patel through his advocate Anand Yajnik states, “Hardik Patel has given ten days’

time to Kishor Chikhalia to back up his allegations against him by presenting evidence. If he fails to do so, then he should apologize to Patel in writing. A public written apology through the electronic and print media must be made. If Chikhalia does not comply, then Patel reserves the right to file criminal defamation charges against the Morbi leader, for which he alone will be

Congress working president Hardik Patel

responsible.”

Advocate Yajnik also mentioned the allegations levied against Patel in the notice. “Till the last moment my name was final as the candidate from Congress for the Morbi constituency. It was only after all the financial deals were over that Hardik Patel and Lalit Kagathra assured the leaders that politically I

would lose importance. I am unhappy and disappointed with these two and so I am quitting,” Chikhalia was quoted saying.

Patel’s advocate also stated that when the media questioned Chikhalia regarding the allegations, he had brushed them off by saying, “A lot of things have been proved brother, and there is nothing to prove here.”

Yajnik went on to make the argument that the statement made by Chikhalia clearly proves that the assertions were made without any evidence against Patel. “Instead of presenting corroborating evidence, you made baseless allegations against Patel. You (Chikhalia) have publicly defamed my client, which is a criminal and civil offence,” mentioned the notice.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020

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ATS and Jamnagar police nab 8 more Jayesh Patel land mafia gang members

03

Police assuages demolition fears of Anand Vihar Soc.

BJP CORPORATOR, POLICE OFFICER AMONG ACCUSED TO BE CHARGED UNDER THE GCTOC ACT Jayesh Patel had hatched a conspiracy with his associates to form an organized syndicate, by threatening violence and occupying land parcels in Jamnagar city and rural areas. They were also extorting money from real estate developers.

First India Bureau Jamnagar: The state Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) with assistance from Jamnagar police arrested eight more key members of builder and land mafia Jayesh Patel’s gang on Friday. It includes BJP’s sitting councillor, a police officer, among others.

Over 13 accused will be charged under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Act. Deputy Inspector General Sandeep Singh and Jamnagar Superintendent of Police Deepan Bhadran told media persons that builder Nilesh Tolia, BJP corporator Atul Bhanderi, po-

Land mafia Jayesh Patel’s associates Anwar alias Aniyo Gatkai and Ejaza alias Ejaza mama were arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) two days ago.

lice personnel Vashram Aahir, newspaper owner Pravin Chovatiya, Praful Popat and Mukesh Abhangi, Jigar alias Jimmy Adatiya and Anil Parmar. Earlier, the police had appre-

hended five other associates of Jayesh Patel that included an arms supplier from Madhya Pradesh.

Speaking about the case, DIG Sandeep Singh said, “Ever since the

GCTOC Act has been implemented in the state, this is the first case that has been registered against so many accused in the district.

If anyone is proven guilty under the Act,

—Sandeep Singh,

Deputy Inspector General of Police

he/she can receive a term of 10 years to lifeimprisonment. One of the accused Mahendrasinh Jadeja is currently serving a sentence for another crime. The gang leader Jayesh Patel is

still at large but the police will soon nab him too.” He added, “Jayesh Patel had hatched a conspiracy with his associates to form an organized syndicate, by threatening violence and occupying land parcels in Jamnagar city and rural areas. They were also extorting money from real estate developers.”

This land mafia issue was raised by Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani and he had criticized the police of protecting a few goons at the behest of some politicians. Nathwani had stated that it had facilitated the rise of land mafia in Jamnagar district.

1,000 nCoV CASES EVERY FOUR DAYS SINCE JULY FOR SURAT First India Bureau Gandhinagar: According to the data released by Surat, the COVID-19 situation in the district is nowhere close to being on the path of recovery. It recorded the first 1,000 cases in a span of two months, the next 1K cases in 22 days. But since the

second week of July, it has reported 1,000 cases every four days.

Now, three months later, the situation has remained unchanged with the infection rate still high and the total number of cases in the district standing at 33,450.

In the past 24 hours, the state conducted 52,657 tests, of which

The high infection rate has not abated in the diamond district.

QUITE THE SPREAD!

Hundreds of different types of delicacies (pakwan) were offered to Lord Ranchhodji as ‘annakut’ marking the end of the ‘Adhik maas (month)’ at the Ranchhodji Temple in Sarangpur area of Ahmedabad city on Friday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

AUTO DRIVERS DEMAND LOANS, SCHOOL FEE WAIVER RELIEF First India Bureau Ahmedabad: More than 50 autorickshaw drivers staged protests in the city on Friday demanding the waiver of the school fees of their children and the disbursal of Atma Nirbhar loans to them.

The protesting autorickshaw drivers, affiliated to the Ahmedabad Rickshaw Drivers’ Ekta Union, staged a protest at the Usmanpura garden.

Autorickshaw drivers were badly affected because of the nationwide lockdown, and they were left to fend for themselves in the absence of any relief from the government.

“We had made a representation to the dis-

Autorickshaw drivers at the protest in Ahmedabad.

trict collector on October 8 seeking measures to provide relief to autorickshaw drivers, majority of whom, have been without any work for the last several months. However, no relief has been announced for us, forcing us to take to protests,” said Vijay Makwana of the Union.

“We demand that the

CNG rate be reduced by lowering the VAT rate on it. Adequate number of rickshaw stands must be set up at proper locations so that autorickshaw drivers can get enough business. Moreover, the unnecessary harassment that we have to face at the hands of traffic police and police should be stopped,”

he added.

The autorickshaw drivers were joined by a few members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at the protest.

The Union said that they would support AAP in the upcoming municipal elections since the party has lent a sympathetic ear to them and also supported their demands.

1,191 results came back positive. Over 92 patients are on ventilator support but 11 patients succumbed to the virus in Ahmedabad and Surat (three each) and Banaskantha, Gandhinagar, Panchmahal, Rajkot and Vadodara (1 each).

The highest number of cases emerged from Surat (268) fol-

lowed by Ahmedabad (189), Vadodara (125), Rajkot (111), Jamnagar (74), Gandhinagar (47), Mehsana (37), Patan (27), Amreli (25) and Banaskantha (21).

Meanwhile, the state government has extended the deadline to deposit taxes of contract carriage buses till October 25.

The JCB machine parked on the road opposite the society, which led to the clash.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: A tense situation arose on Thursday night after residents of Anand Vihar society in Keshavbaug allegedly pelted stones on JCB excavators.

These JCB machines were parked in front of the society in Satellite area since Thursday night, according to police sources. Later, police intervened and assured the society’s residents that no demolition was going to take place on Friday.

According to a resident, the Shivalik builders are forcing residents to vacate the society even though the consent of at least 75% residents is needed. Residents of the society are against redevelopment, yet the builders have been badgering the residents, he added. Another resi-

dent alleged that officers from the Gujarat Housing Board and private builders were colluding to redevelop the residential society.

The residents are opposed to the redevelopment plan as they feel that they are not financially capable of paying the maintenance for high-rise buildings.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Premshukh Delu, informed the local residents that the JCB was brought to the location to resurface the road outside the society, adding that it had nothing to do with the society’s redevelopment.

He even clarified to the media that the alleged stone pelting was a result of a misunderstanding. Now, the residents have calmed down and the situation is under control after police intervention, he said.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020

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04

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH BRIG VETERAN ANIL GUPTA

The author is a Jammu based veteran, political commentator, columnist, security and strategic analyst

P

Farooq seems to be enamoured by a revisionist and expansionist China, which has challenged India’s sovereignty in Ladakh. Dr Farooq’s recent statements show his newly developed love for China. The motive and implications of the statements will be discussed subsequently because through these statements he has definitely crossed the Laxman Rekha

oliticians are known to give weird statements and get away but there is always a limit to it. One such politician is Dr Farooq Abdullah, a sitting member of the Lok Sabha representing Srinagar Parliamentary constituency which he won with just 7% voter turnout in 2019. He is the hereditary president of the National Conference founded by his father late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who brilliantly manoeuvred the exile of the last ruler of the Dogra Dynasty with the full support of then prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. Sheikh wanted the Abdullah dynasty to rule the state thereafter. But for his overriding personal ambition, he had almost succeeded in doing that. He was jailed on the orders of his most trusted ally in New Delhi Pandit Nehru for anti-national activities. Once invincible Sheikh remained in jail for 11 years. Soon after his arrest, his successor Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad said this in a radio broadcast, “A fraud was being committed on the interests of the country. The slogan of independence was dangerous. Under the control of an imperialist power an independent Kashmir would have been a serious danger for the people of India.”

67 years later his heir Farooq Abdullah is also treading on the same path only the players have changed. Farooq seems to be enamoured by a revisionist and expansionist China, which has challenged India’s sovereignty in Ladakh. Dr Farooq’s recent statements show his newly developed love for China. The motive and implications of the statements will be discussed subsequently because through these statements he has definitely crossed the Laxman Rekha.

Such anti-national rants from the ‘sharp-witted’ politician are not new. Even in the past he had made many such statements and got away because he was considered indispensable by the powers

then. Sometimes his remarks were ignored on the plea that they were made at the heat of the moment during election campaigns and sometimes attributing them to being a loudmouth. In all fairness, readers would need a revision of such rants from Dr Abdullah.

He was the Chief Minister of J&K when the state was slipping into militancy. He as Chief Minister and Home Minister had turned a Nelson’s eye to ongoing arms smuggling and to and for movement of youth across the LoC for arms training. 70 hardcore terrorists were released by Farooq Abdullah as reported by India Today between July and December 1989. The detention of several of them was confirmed by the Chief Justice of J&K High Court. And yet he released them. He set the trend for releasing terrorists and later tried to become a preacher on the ill effects of releasing terrorists when Mufti Mohammad Syed’s daughter was kidnapped and also during the release of terrorists during the Kandhar Hijacking. Incidentally, one of the released terrorists Daud Khan belonged to Ganderbal, Farooq’s constituency, who became a Deputy Commander of Al-Badr and organised a force of 2500 Kashmiri youth. Prior to that he had visited POJK and shared a platform with Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a pro-azadi terrorist outfit. He had also allowed Khalistan terrorist groups to train in Jammu.

Farooq was the CM when Kashmiri Pandits were being mercilessly targeted and being forced to leave the Valley.

He made no effort to save them. People were forced to set their watches to Pakistan Standard Time, buildings, offices, shops, and government establishments were coloured green as a sign of Islamist rule under the watch of his government. Open letters, posters, and threats from mosques to the minority communities to quit Kashmir had become daily happenings. “This land is only for Muslims and is the land of Allah. Sikhs and Hindus cannot stay here.” The streets and mosques verberated with slogans like “Zalimo, O Kafiro, Kashmir hamara

chhod do”, “Kashmir mein agar rehna hai, Allah-o-Akbar kahna hai”, “Peoples League ka kya paigam, Fateh, Azadi aur Islam”, “Kashir banawon Pakistan, Bataw varaie, Batneiw saan” (Will turn Kashmir into Pakistan along with Kashmiri Pandit women, but without their men folk). Farooq’s government seemed not only ineffective but with the Muslim extremists. He finally resigned and left Kashmir when it was burning. He left for London. His anti-national mindset can be gauged from his statement published in Times of India dated February 7, 1991, “I directed my party men to lie low, go across for arms handling, do anything but do not get caught.”

Farooq’s true colours were evident during the campaign for the 2014 elections but were ignored as electoral outbursts. After the North-South experiment of running a coalition government in J&K failed with Mehbooba Mufti proving more loyal to the antinational forces than the nation, Modi government lost no time in showing their proper place to the “mainstream politicians” led by Abdullahs and Muftis. They initially tried their usual tricks of browbeating the central government considering themselves to be a power to be reckoned with in Kashmir. In return, they received nothing but a cold response which led to their open hatred for Delhi.

Senior Abdullah tried to strengthen his base in Kashmir through pro-Pak statements and anti-India rants.

FAROOQ CROSSED THE RUBICON RECENTLY WHEN WITHIN THE SPAN OF A FEW DAYS HE MADE TWO PROCHINESE STATEMENTS THAT WERE BLATANTLY ANTI-NATIONAL. THESE TWO STATEMENTS WERE NOT ONLY ANTINATIONAL BUT TO AN EXTENT AMOUNTED TO LEGITIMISING CHINESE AGGRESSION IN LADAKH

His speeches turned blatantly communal. He created an image for himself of a rare politician who is politically incorrect, who never hides but he feels, does not mince words, and says it like it is. This helped him get away with many statements that could be termed as bordering against the nation’s interests.

In order to struggle back from two withering electoral defeats, Farooq regularly began to talk about Azadi. His speeches and media bites became belligerent and hostile.

The two back to back electoral defeats became nightmares for the aging Abdullah and he did not want to be recognised in history as the ones responsible for the extinction of the Abdullah Dynasty.

This made him belligerent and desperate. On December 6, 2016, while addressing the media at the mausoleum of his late father he did not wink an eyelid while he spoke of Azadi and offered support to the Hurriyat. “We will never

be free until we are united (against India) and I am asking NC workers not to stay away from the movement,” urging the Hurriyat further he added, “We are part of the movement: don’t take us your adversaries, we are a part of you. We have fought the jihad.

Be united, take this movement forward. Go ahead, we are with you.” He got away with it except for a few condemnations. His party MLA and now a colleague in Lok Sabha shouted “Pakistan Zindabad” on the floor of J&K assembly but he refused to take any action against him. Four years later he has forged unity among five ideologically different political parties, foes till yesterday, in the form of Gupkar Declaration 2020, a new incarnation of defunct Hurriyat.

While campaigning for his parliamentary seat in open defence of militants he said, “If our children are offering sacrifices today, they do not want to become MLAs or MPs or ministers. They offer sacrifices for their ‘rights’: this is our land we are its owners.

A new ‘nation’ has been born, which does not fear guns.”

His open support for “azadi” was ignored. He even raised questions about the deadly Pulwama attack killing 40 brave hearts of CRPF by saying, “Forty CRPF personnel were martyred in Pulwama. I have doubts about that and I am telling you the truth”, thus giving a clean chit to Pakistan. He even questioned the veracity of Balakot airstrikes.

His outbursts like “POK

How has Covid-19 changed the way the world reads?

D

uring times of crisis, people find themselves faced with lifestyle changes.

One of the earliest and most noticeable changes seen during the Covid-19 lockdown was how we consume media – and especially how we read.

People tend to find comfort in certain books and reading habits and genre preferences can change during periods of stress.

This helps to explain why much genre fiction has roots in times of significant social, political or economic upheaval. Gothic literature is, in part, a British Protestant response to the French Revolution (1789-99).

Science fiction, which emerged as a genre around the fin de siècle, was galvanised by both the industrial revolution and the theo

ries of Charles Darwin.

The hard-boiled detective story, which appeared in the 1930s, takes its cues from the privations of the great depression.

While it is still relatively early to see the influence of the coronavirus and the lockdown on creative industries, there were some striking patterns in media consumption in the early part of the pandemic. Books about (literal and metaphorical) isolation, like Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Gabriel García Marquez’s novels One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera were among those that saw a big rise in sales. (Beyond books, horror flourished.

In particular, films about global pandemics such as 28 Days Later, Contagion and Outbreak were among the highest rentals on

among the United Kingdom public. We were particularly interested in the following questions about the effects of the pandemic: z How much people have

been reading

z What type and genre of

texts people have been reading z To what extent people have been returning to previously read books.

As many as 860 participants took part in our online survey, which was advertised through social media. Our findings show that the Covid-19 lockdown changed not only how people read during times of stress, but also what people turn to for comfort or distraction. streaming services.)

In view of these patterns of changing reading habits during times of upheaval

and signs that such changes were happening during Covid-19, our team decided to research reading habits

READING FREQUENCY Respondents generally reported that they were reading more than usual. This

was largely due to having more free time (due to being furloughed, or not having a commute, or the usual social obligations or leisure activities).

This increased reading volume was complicated for those with caring responsibilities. Many people with children reported that their reading time had increased generally because of their shared reading with children, but had less time than normal for personal reading.

Reading frequency was further complicated by a quality vs quantity snag.

People spent more time reading and seeking escape, but an inability to concentrate meant they made less progress than usual. In short, people spent more time reading but the volume they read was less.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

tumhare baap ka nahi”, “I ask them, first you raise the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. They can’t even do that here and they are talking about POK.” He displayed his pro-Pakistan mindset when Dineshwar Sharma was appointed as the interlocutor and he suggested that he should hold talks with Pakistan as well. Isn’t it surprising that since 2002, many political workers of the NC were targeted by the terrorists but not any leader of the party?

Just before the abrogation of 370 in August 2019, Farooq in a threatening statement said, “Kashmir’s relation with India will no longer exist if its special status were to be withdrawn.” Soon after this and after the historic announcements of August 5, 2019, he along with other so-called mainstream politicians was put under house arrest.

Farooq crossed the Rubicon recently when within the span of a few days he made two pro-Chinese statements which were blatantly antinational. These two statements were not only anti-national but to an extent amounted to legitimising Chinese aggression in Ladakh. His invitation to China to help in reversing the abrogation of 370 amounts to sedition and should be construed as an invitation to an enemy nation to intervene in the internal affairs of our country. Recall how his father was treated by Nehru despite being the best of friends.

Why should his son be treated differently by a nationalist government firmly in the saddle in New Delhi?

With release of Mehbooba Mufti and their frequent interactions the situation in Kashmir is likely to worsen.

The Hurriyat is being replaced by the “Gupkaris” (signatories of Gupkar Declarations) with Farooq aiming to replace SAS Gilani and Mehbooba filling the vacuum of Ayesha Andrabi. Any delay or miscalculation by the authorities may have severe consequences on the return of peace in Kashmir. Hurriyat was backed by Pakistan alone but the “Gupkaris” are seeking Chinese assistance as well. Enough is enough, act now or repent later.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank @DrRPNishank Jan Andolan for #COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour. It is mandatory to wear a mask when stepping outside. Wearing a mask can reduce the spread of #coronavirus substantially, hence ensuring everyone’s safety & wellbeing. #Unite2FightCorona Smriti Z Irani @smritiirani PM @narendramodiJi released commemorative coin to mark 75 years of the Food & Agriculture Organisation @ FAO and also dedicated 17 biofortified developed varieties of 8 crops to the Nation that will aid in combatting malnutrition. #SahiPoshanDeshRoshan

Spiritual SPEAK

Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.

—Buddha

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‘India providing free ration to about 80 Cr poor’ PM DEDICATED TO NATION 17 RECENTLY DEVELOPED BIOFORTIFIED VARIETIES OF 8 CROPS ON WORLD FOOD DAY New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India has been providing free ration to about 80 crore poor for the last seven to eight months amid COVID-19 pandemic.

“During the coronavirus crisis, many kinds of discussions are going on around the world about starvation and malnutrition.

India has been providing free ration to about 80 crore poor for the last 7-8 months. During this time, India distributed foodgrains worth

about Rs. 1.5 lakh crores to the poor,” Prime Minister Modi said during an event to release a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination to mark the 75th Anniversary of India’s long-standing relation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

“Another important work is being done to tackle malnutrition.

Now such crops are being promoted in the country, which are having nutritious substances like protein, iron and

India US 2+2 dialogue likely to take place on October 26-27: Sources

zinc in high quantity.

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to the World Food Program is a big achievement. India is happy that our contribution and association with it has been historic,” he added. “I congratulate those who are continuously working to eradicate malnutrition from the world. Farmers of India, our agricultural scientists, Anganwadi and Asha workers, are the strong fort of the movement against malnutrition,” he said. —ANI

Narendra Modi @narendramodi Birthday greetings to Odisha CM Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji. Praying for his long and healthy life. @Naveen_Odisha

BJP HITS OUT AT FORMER NDA ALLY

Chirag misleading people by using BJP leaders’ names: Javadekar LJP will only be reduced to role of a party of vote cutter, he said

New Delhi: The IndiaUS 2+2 dialogue between the foreign ministers and defence ministers of the two countries is likely to take place later this month in New Delhi.

The talks between the defence and foreign ministers of India and the United States are expected to take place on October 26 and 27 in New Delhi. An official announcement is yet to be made in this regard.

High powered dialogue between India and the United States is going to take place in the backdrop of ongoing border tensions between India and China. New Delhi and Beijing have held seven rounds of military talks and multiple rounds of diplomatic level talks which have

remained inconclusive and tensions between the two Asian giants along Line of Actual Control (LAC) still persist.

A key focus of 2+2 dialogue will be peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. Highlevel strategic defence cooperation, trade, connectivity, counter-terrorism and dialogue on the regional issue including Doha peace talks vis a vis Afghanistan may also come on the table, said sources.

The two countries may also exchange notes on cooperation in COVID-19 response and related vaccine and strengthening of partnership at UN where India will assume office as a non-permanent member at UN Security Council. —ANI

New Delhi: BJP has put its top leadership on the job to ensure that Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan will not ‘mislead’ the people of poll-bound Bihar by invoking names of its top leadership. While senior leaders of the party have been clarifying almost every day that Paswan is not part of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state, central leadership too has got down to task to ensure LJP isn’t seen as it’s B-Team to rein in JDU in the state.

“Chirag Paswan has decided his own path in Bihar and is contesting elections separately. He is trying to mislead people by taking names of BJP senior leaders. We don’t have any A, B, C or D team in Bihar. We only have one team with BJP, JDU, Hindustani Awam Morcha and Vikasheel Insan Party in the alliance,” said Javadekar.

He said Chirag’s LJP will only be reduced to the role of a party of vote cutter. —ANI

After 2014, political culture of country changed due to PM Modi: Nadda Banka: BJP national president JP Nadda on Friday said that the political culture in the country has changed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, adding that now leaders have to show their work report card instead of engaging on casteism.

Speaking during an election rally here, he

JP Nadda

said, “Before 2014 elections, political leaders used to accuse each

other of inciting hatred, casteism and breaking society, in their speeches. But after the election of PM Modi, the political culture has changed. Now leaders have to show their work report card,” said Nadda. He said ahead of the Bihar assembly election slated to commence on October 28.—ANI

LJP IS ‘VOTE KATWA PARTY’, SAYS SUSHIL MODI

PM LIVES IN MY HEART: CHIRAG PASWAN

Patna: Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said that the LJP left the NDA as it wanted more seats than what the BJP was willing to give.He also said, “LJP is a vote katwa (divider of votes) party, they don’t want a BJP government in Bihar.” “LJP was asking for more seats than what we wanted to give, so the matter broke down.

Nowadays, some leaders of LJP are spreading rumours & asking why did PM & Amit Shah not stop LJP from leaving NDA,” he said.—ANI

New Delhi: LJP president Chirag Paswan described himself as ‘Hanuman’ of PM Modi. “I don’t need photos of PM Modi. He is in my heart. Much like Hanuman’s devotion for Ram, if you cut open my heart you will find only Modi-ji,” Chirag Paswan, said.

On BJP’s accusations of him seeking votes in name of PM, Paswan said, “I don’t need to use PM Modi’s photos for campaigning. He lives in my heart, I am his Hanuman. If needed, I will tear open my chest and show it.”

PM’s 12 RALLIES IN BIHAR

‘PM Modi’s leadership helping Odisha come out of Corona turmoil’ New Delhi: Asserting that the sensitive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is helping Odisha come out of COVID-19 disruptions, Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel on Friday outlined over Rs 22,000 crore help extended to the state.

Pradhan, addressing a press conference on the Modi government’s COVID-19 stimulus and support package for Odisha, outlined various support extended to Odisha during the COVID-19 pandemic by the Government of India.

Calling PM Modi’s leadership as ‘sensitive’ and ‘responsive’, he said the PM Modi-led government has helped the people of Odisha to come out of the disruptions arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown and in resuming the lives and economic activities thereafter.

He said the PM Modiled government is committed to the welfare of the people of Odisha and to boost its economy. He also outlined the support of over Rs 22,000 crore extended by

Dharmendra Pradhan

MINISTER SPEAK

the Government of India to the people of Odisha, which included support under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana covering PM Kisan, free refills under PM Ujjwala Yojana, transfer to Jan Dhan accounts, senior citizens, Divyangs and other beneficiaries. He spoke about GST compensation allocated to Odisha. —ANI

IN THE COURTYARD

SC rejects PIL for prez rule, removal of Thackeray govt AG’s view to be sought on bail condition for sex crime offenders A bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, refused to entertain the plea filed by Delhi residents Vikram Gehlot, Rishab Jain and Gautam Sharma.

“As a civilian you are at liberty to approach the President, don’t come here. You are say-

ing because some Bollywood actor has died, the Constitution is not being

SCORPIAN REMARK DEFAMATION CASE

HC stays proceedings against Tharoor New Delhi: The Delhi High Court stayed the proceedings against Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor in connection with a defamation case pertaining to his alleged “scorpion sitting on Shivling” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A single-judge bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait on Friday, while staying the trial court proceeding, also

Shashi Tharoor

issued notice to the complainant Delhi BJP leader Rajiv Babbar and slated the matter for December 9 for further

hearing in the matter.

The plea, filed through advocate Gaurav Gupta and argued by senior advocates Kapil Sibbal and Vikas Pahwa, sought to quash the summon trial order dated April 27, 2019, passed by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rouse Avenue District Courts.

The plea also sought to quash main complaint dated Nov 2, 2018, filed in the matter.

followed in Maharashtra. Every incident you are talking about is from Mumbai, do you know how big Maharashtra is? We are not entertaining it. Dismiss,” the bench said while dismissing the plea.

The petition had submitted that the state machinery is being “mis-

used” by political parties in power not only to shield criminals but also to encourage criminal activity being regularly and wontonly indulged in by the cadre.

Affairs of the state are not being carried out as per legal requirements for citizens’ welfare, it added.—ANI

AGUSTAWESTLAND CASE

RETURN PASSPORT OF RAJIV SAXENA: HC TO AUTHORITIES New Delhi: Delhi High Court has directed the concerned authorities to return the passport of Rajiv Saxena, whose passport was impounded in view of the seriousness of the charges and the likelihood of him fleeing from the process of the court and to a third country. Saxena is an accused turned approver in the AgustaWestland case.

Justice Navin Chaw-

Saxena is an accused turned approver in Agusta case.

la said that any observation made in this order shall not prejudice the respondents from proceeding further.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought Attorney General KK Venugopal’s view on a plea about courts imposing bail conditions for sex crime offenders which end up further harassing and objectifying their victims.

A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar issued a notice to the office of Attorney General and sought his assistance in the matter while posting the matter for hearing on November 2.

The apex court also asked the petitioner to serve a copy of the petition to the Attorney General’s office.

Nine women lawyers have approached the top court against the backdrop of a Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order which directed a man accused of sexual assault to visit his vic-

—FILE PHOTO

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking directions to remove the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackerayled government from Maharashtra and impose President’s rule in the state claiming the “failure of the constitutional machinery”.

Women lawyers at the Supreme Court premises in New Delhi.

tim at home on Rakshabandhan and “allow” her to tie a rakhi on him as a condition of bail.

During the hearing, senior advocate Sanjay Parikh told the Bench that this petition was filed under an extraordinary situation. Such condition for bail is against CrPC, it trivialises the offence, he argued.

Parikh added, “Courts should not impose such weird condi-

tions for bail... a direction needs to be issued to High Courts and trial courts.” “We are not on the bail condition but the observations such as this trivialise the offences against women in sexual assault cases,” he further contended.

Approaching the top court, the women lawyers, led by advocate Aparna Bhat, said the High Court’s order was a “trivialisation of victim’s trauma.” —ANI

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Central teams deputed to Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Raj, WB Return of ‘mafia

‘EXPERTS TO MONITOR COVID-19’ New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has deputed high level Central teams to Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal as these states have been reporting a surge in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the recent days.

According to a statement by MoHFW on Friday, each team comprises a Joint Secretary, public health expert to look after the public health aspects, clinician to look after infection prevention practices to ensure clinical management protocol being followed by the state.

The teams will support the state efforts towards strengthening containment, surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control measures and efficient clinical management of the positive cases. The Central teams shall also

Govt lifts ban on alcohol sanitizers with dispensers

Corona warriors, representational image.

guide in effectively managing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow up.

The total cases in Kerala are 317,929, which form 4.3 per cent of the total cases. Karnataka has reported 7,43,848 cases, accounting for 10.1 per cent of the national figure. Further, Rajasthan has registered 1,67,279 cases while West Bengal reported 3,09,417 cases whereas Chhattisgarh has 1,53,515 cases.—ANI

Hathras victim’s family wants case to be shifted to Delhi Hathras: The family of the Hathras incident victim wants the case to be shifted to Delhi, adding that they themselves want to move to the national capital.

The victim’s Brother on Friday told that the family wants to be safe wherever they are. “The family wants the case to be shifted to Delhi, we also want to shift there.

The government should help us in this regard, we are dependent on them. We just want to be safe wherever we are,” Brother of the Hathras

Hathras victim’s family.

victim said. This comes after a team of CBI, which is investigating the Hathras incident, had questioned the family members of the accused in the alleged gang-rape of a woman who died last month.—ANI

STF to probe conspiracy to incite riots

SIT likely to submit report soon: Sources

Lucknow: STF team will investigate the conspiracy to incite ethnic, communal riots in UP on Hathras incident, the state government said on Friday. The state said that special unit was set up to expose the conspiracies after the international efforts to discredit Yogi government came to light. —ANI

Hathras: The SIT, constituted by UP CM Yogi to investigate the Hathras case, has completed its probe and will submit its report soon, said sources on Friday. “The SIT could submit its report to government by evening today,” a source said.

SIT was supposed to submit its report earlier on October 7.—ANI

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the export of alcoholbased hand sanitizers in containers with dispenser pumps or in any form of packaging will be free, with immediate effect.

Ghulam Nabi Azad @ghulamnazad I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am in home quarantine.

Those who came in contact with me in last few days may kindly follow the protocol.

India has one of lowest Covid-19 deaths per million population globally : Govt New Delhi : India continues to report one of the lowest deaths per million population which stands at 81 on Friday.

Less than 1,100 deaths have been reported continuously since October 2, said Union Health Ministry. Results boosted by 22

Shaurya Chakra awardee, who fought terrorism, shot dead

Amritsar: Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district on Friday, police said.

The motorcycleborne miscreants attacked Singh when he was at his office, adjoining his home, in the district’s Bhikhiwind village, the police said, adding that the accused then fled the spot.

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered a Special Investigation Team to look into the murder. Singh, 62, had fought against terrorism in the State for years and was attacked by terrorists many times in the past.

Singh’s security cover was withdrawn by State government a year ago on the recommendation of police.

Ministry of Defence in 1993 awarded him the Shaurya Chakra. .—ANI

States/Union Territories which demonstrated better performance and are reporting even lower deaths per million compared to the national average. The case fatality rate has been on downslide. At the current figure of 1.52 per cent, it’s lowest since

22nd March 2020, according to the Health Ministry.

According to an official release, there has been sharp focus of Centre to reduce deaths and to save lives by providing quality clinical care to the critical covid patients.—ANI

raj’ with Shivraj in MP: Kamal Bhopal: Former CM of MP Kamal Nath on Friday slammed CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan after the death of 14 people in a hooch tragedy in Ujjain and the abduction of a minor boy in Jabalpur.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Kamal Nath said, “With the return of the Shivraj government in the state, liquor mafia, kidnapping mafia, crime mafia, land mafia, drug mafia, all types of mafia have become active again.”

He said, “After taking the lives of 14 people by the liquor mafia in Ujjain, a 12-year-old boy has been kidnapped in Jabalpur. Now the kidnapping mafia is also active.”

He claimed that the entire government was engaged in electioneering and campaigns. —Agencies

SHAH LAUDS NSG ON 36TH RAISING DAY

‘Their capabilities to handle odds makes them respected’ New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday greeted the National Security Guard (NSG) on its 36th Raising Day and said their unparalleled capabilities to handle all odds makes them a distinguished force in the world.“Greetings to National Security Guard on their 36th Raising

Day. Their unparalleled capabilities to handle all odds makes them a distinguished force in

world,” Shah tweeted.

He further said that the NSG is an elite force, which has always protected the nation with its bravery, courage and dedication. “They always protected the nation with their bravery, courage and dedication. India is proud of our elite force,” he added. —ANI

TRP is not a scientific method to measure TV viewership: Experts New Delhi: The TRP system is “manipulatable”, has become “outdated” and not a scientific method to measure television viewership, representatives from the I&B Ministry, Prasar Bharati and PCI told the parliamentary panel on IT. “Representatives from all the three agencies, which included Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, were unanimous in their views that TRP is not a robust system,” an MP, who is a member of IT panel, said on condition of anonymity.

POWER Gallery TWO IAS OFFICERS SHIFTED AT EC’S BEHEST IN BIHAR

Two IAS officers working in the field: K Senthil Kumar and Chandrashekhar Jha have been attached to General Administration Department (GAD) at the behest of Election Commission of India in Bihar.

JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY RECOMMENDED AS PERMANENT JUDGE OF GAUHATI HC

The SC Collegium has approved the proposal for appointment of an Additional Judge Justice Manish Choudhury of Gauhati High Court as Permanent Judge.

SENIOR IAS OFFICERS RESHUFFLED IN J&K

The Government of J&K has issued orders for posting of senior IAS officers. Accordingly, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon has been appointed as Principal Secretary, Skill Development, while Abdul Majid Bhat was posted as Administrative Secretary, ARI and Trainings Department. Similarly, B K Singh is posted as Administrative Secretary, School Education Department and Sarita Chauhan, Commissioner/ Secretary, Department of Forest, shall hold the additional charge of Chairman, J&K Special Tribunal.

DIGAMBAR SAHAI APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR (PROD), BVFCL

Digambar Sahai, DGM, BVFCL, has been appointed as Director (Production), Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation (BVFCL). The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment to the post.

SEVEN DANICS OFFICERS PROMOTED TO SELECTION GRADE

The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued orders for the promotion of seven Entry Grade DANICS officers to Selection Grade of the Service. The officers are: Akhil Kumar, Shingare Ramachandra Mahadev, Prashant Kumar, Amit Kumar, Ramesh Chander Meena, Shubhankar Ghosh and R P Aggarwal.

MANASA PRASAD MISHRA APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR (PROJ), NALCO

Manasa Prasad Mishra, ED, NALCO, has been appointed as Director (Projects & Technical) in NALCO. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment to the post.

ABHAY CHOUDHARY APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR (PROJ), PGCIL

Abhay Choudhary, ED, PGCIL, has been appointed as Director (Projects), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.

KASHI NATH TRIPATHI PROMOTED AS IG, CISF

Kashi Nath Tripati has been promoted to the grade of Inspector General in CISF. DHIRAJ SINGH PROMOTED TO SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE GRADE

Dhiraj Singh has been promoted to the Senior Administrative Grade. He is an officer of IIS. MS RENUKA GERA APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR (IS&P) ON BHEL BOARD

Ms Renuka Gera, Executive Director, BHEL, has been appointed as Director (Industrial Systems & Products), BHEL. The Committee on IT, headed by MP Shashi Tharoor, met on Thursday to hear the views of the three agencies.

However, there was nothing concrete on it.

“The concern is mainly regarding English news

channels, where the audience is small compared to Hindi channels. Carrying random sampling of 44,000 households’ viewership to come up with ratings is deceptive,” said a member.

N RAMESH APPOINTED AS DMD, EXIM BANK

N Ramesh ED, NAFED, has been appointed as Deputy Managing Director (DMD) in Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on deputation basis.

By arrangement with: http:// whispersinthecorridors.com

FROM PG 1 War against... for assisting the panel.

The committee will submit its report to the Supreme Court in 15 days,” said the bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, which also comprised Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

“EPCA has been entrusted with the responsibility in this matter.

“Every year, the problem of pollution in Delhi remains big in winter. We are working to reduce pollution. We are strictly adhering to the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) rules. Action being taken against violators. 50 teams have been sent

for on field inspection,” Meena said.

The national capital has seen a spike in air pollution after stubble burning incidents from these three states that border Delhi; the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s PM2.5 concentration was six per cent on Thursday, according to a central government agency. The Punjab government said that they are not the cause of pollution in Delhi.

On Thursday, Union Environment Minister Javadekar had said that stubble burning only contributes four per cent to Delhi-NCR pollution with the rest caused by local factors,

drawing a strong reaction from Delhi CM Kejriwal.

Mathura court...

The plaintiff, described as Bhagwan SriKrishna Virjman at Katra Keshav Dev Khewat, Mauja Mathura Bazaar City, had moved the civil suit through Ranjana Agnihotri and six other devotees of Lord Shri Krishna. Lawyers Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Jain had filed the petition.

However, on October 2, the civil court in Mathura had dismissed the suit. The order was passed by Additional District Judge Chhaaya Sharma. The court re-

fused to entertain the plea citing the bar on admitting the case under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

According to the petition, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who ruled over India from July 31, 1658, to March 3, 1707 AD, “had issued orders for the demolition of a large number of Hindu religious places and temples.”

“This was including the temple standing at the birthplace of Lord Shree Krishna at Katra Keshav Dev, Mathura in the year 1669-70 (Sixteen Sixty Nine- Seventy) AD. The army of Aurangzeb partly suc-

06

ceeded to demolish Keshav Dev Temple and construction was forcibly raised showing the might of power and said construction was named as Idgah Mosque,” the petition read.

The suit gains significance as the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, enacted in September 1991 at the height of the Ayodhya temple movement when the P V Narasimha Rao government was in power, had said that barring the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, which was already in court, the religious character of a place of worship as it

existed on August 15, 1947 will continue to be the same.

China relations...

Jaishankar, speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Asia Society, said that India has built the relationship with China over the course of last 30 years “and a basis for building that relationship has been peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control.”

He said there are multiple agreements, starting from 1993, which created the framework for that peace and tranquillity, which limited the military forces that

came to the border areas, how to manage the border, how border troops behave when they approach each other.

“So, from the conceptual level down to the behavioural level, there was an entire sort of framework out there. The massing of large amount of Chinese forces on the border was clearly contrary to all of this. And when you had friction point which was large number of troops at different points very close to each other, then something tragic like what happened on 15th of June happened,” he said.

Rahul to interact with Raj tribals First India Bureau Jaipur. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi held a video dialogue with tribal sarpanch enlisted in the fifth schedule of the constitution. He asked for their problems, enquired about status of their Panchayat functioning also spoke about various laws and acts related to the tribal people. RaGa discussed core ethos of tribals; Jal, Jungle aur Jameen. Roop Lal, Vira Ram Garasiya interacted with him & Amit Poonia called the initiative novel.

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020

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WORLD ECONOMY HAS RISEN FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE INITIAL PANDEMIC PLUNGE. BUT THE RECOVERY HAS BEEN TEPID, UNEVEN, AND FRAGILE – AND IS LIKELY TO REMAIN SO FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE

S

tart with the good news. World merchandise trade has rebounded strongly, consistent with indications of a revival in household demand for goods in many economies, even as public-health restrictions and consumer concerns continue to hobble demand for services.

Moreover, financial markets have held up surprisingly well, with stock markets in many countries regaining or even exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Despite near-zero interest rates, banking and financial systems seem largely stable. And consumer and industrial demand has buoyed commodity prices, with even oil prices having recovered somewhat.

But as the latest Brookings-Financial Times Tracking Indexes for the Global Economic Recovery (TIGER) update shows, many economies are experiencing essentially no growth, or are even contracting. With private-sector confidence depleted, and the struggle to contain the virus far from over, the risks of substantial and long-lasting economic scarring are on the rise.

This is true even in the economies that have returned to growth, such as the United States. In some ways, the US seems to have turned the corner.

Industrial activity and the labor market have regained some lost ground.

The unemployment rate is falling, and employment levels are up.

But unemployment remains significantly higher, and employment significantly lower, than before the pandemic. The increase in long-term unemployment, together with ongoing service-sector disruptions, portends a difficult path to a more robust and sustained recovery.

It doesn’t help that fiscal-stimulus measures have largely lapsed, and negotiations on a new relief package have repeatedly broken down. As household disposable income has declined, private consumption growth has weakened. Similarly, business investment continues to contract – a trend that does not augur well for sustained growth.

Even stock markets, which experienced a sharp rebound earlier in the year, seem to be taking a breather. This may reflect concerns about the virus-containment strategy (or lack thereof) being pursued by US President Donald Trump’s administration.

In any case, as next month’s presidential election approaches, heightened political and policy uncertainty is likely to keep consumer and business confidence muted.

The eurozone is in even worse shape. Not only has the pandemic decimated short-term growth; deflation is now setting in, raising the risk of a deep and prolonged contraction. While manufacturing in Germany and elsewhere has rebounded, the positive effects are more than offset by the enduring services slump, reinforced by ongoing publichealth restrictions.

The United Kingdom’s services sector, by contrast, has experienced a revival. Yet the combination of erratic lockdown

DON’T OVERESTIMATE

THE COVID-19

RECOVERY

policies and far-reaching uncertainties surrounding Brexit are contributing to a continued economic contraction. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Japan is also in serious economic peril, though it has so far avoided sliding back into deflation.

Most emerging-market economies have not fared well, either. India is experiencing a sharp slowdown in economic activity, which could be exacerbated by a devastating acceleration in COVID-19 cases, fueled by the easing of lockdown measures. The government has pushed through some agricultural and labor-

market reforms, but a banking system hobbled by bad loans remains a powerful constraint on growth.

Brazil and Russia have fared little better. Both have experienced substantial economic contractions, and have few policy levers available to revive growth.

The one country experiencing a strong recovery is China, where, thanks largely to the country’s apparent success in bringing the virus under control, both industrial production and services have rebounded. Retail sales and manufacturing-sector investment have also bounced

back. By many indicators, the country’s economic performance is now even stronger than it was before the pandemic.

Yet, unlike in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, China’s strong performance is not likely to do much to buttress the rest of the world economy, not least because of the growing push toward deglobalization. China’s recently unveiled “dual-circulation strategy” – whereby the country will increasingly depend on the domestic cycle of production, distribution, and consumption for its long-term development – will reinforce this trend.

Making matters worse, central banks now have far less firepower than they did after the 2008 crisis. To be sure, the major central banks have pulled out all the policy stops since the COVID-19 crisis began, pursuing unprecedented monetary expansion in order to support economic activity and, in some cases, to fend off deflation. Some – most notably, the US Federal Reserve – have even adjusted their policy frameworks to signal tolerance of higher inflation.

The central banks of some smaller advanced economies, such as Australia and New Zealand, and emerg-

ing economies, such as India, have also resorted to unconventional measures.

But the limits of monetary policy for boosting growth are becoming increasingly apparent.

Meanwhile, large-scale purchases of corporate and government bonds, together with the direct financing of firms, are generating serious risks – not least to central-bank independence.

Against this background, governments have only one good option: further aggressive fiscal stimulus, ideally in the form of well-targeted government expenditure that could

SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE

spur private investment.

Whatever risks the increase in public debt may generate, they do not compare – especially in today’s low-interest-rate environment – to the long-term economic pain that countries will face without such stimulus.

To be effective, however, fiscal measures must be complemented by coherent virus-containment strategies, which credibly enable safe economic reopening. Without such strategies, demand and confidence will remain subdued, and global growth will continue to falter well into the future.

CONCEPT: MONI SHARMA

DESIGN: CP SHARMA

If you want to be happy, depend only on yourself. Your happiness is too fragile a flower to give to anyone.

Choose whom to gift this power which controls the most precious of gifts- your happiness!

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020

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COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

INDIA

GUJARAT

11,06,396 3,94,31,459 1,13,002 74,29,233 3,620 1,57,474 DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 41,502 DEATHS 15,76,062 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 10,532 DEATHS 6,79,191 CASES

DEATHS

KARNATAKA 10,356 DEATHS 7,51,390 CASES

CONFIRMED CASES

PIL SAYS 4 CITIES ALONE HAVE 413 FIRE DEPT VACANCIES, BUT MANY MORE ACROSS THE STATE —FILE PHOTO

Haresh Jhala

A PIL in Gujarat High Court alleges that the Gujarat Government is not serious about fire safety.

He pointed out that there were as many as 413 vacancies in 4 major cities alone, leave alone many more across Gujarat.

The government last week filed its reply in the High Court that matters were under control and effective measures

were being taken for fire safety. It had claimed that process was being initiated to fill 400 vacancies in the State.

Reeling out details, Panchal stated that the State Fire Prevention Services had a director but without staff, a Deputy Direc-

tor (administration) but no Deputy Director (Technical). He went on to assert that there were 32 divisional fire officers but on paper not on the ground. Panchal wondered that the government was citing its Fire Training Institu-

DEATHS

DELHI 5,946 DEATHS 3,24,459 CASES

SERIOUS GUJARAT HIDING TRUE CHARGE FIRE SAFETY PICTURE

Ahmedabad: Tearing into the State Government’s submissions about fire safety measures, the petitioner in a public interest litigation (PIL) has asserted that the State is misleading the Gujarat High Court.

Advocate Amit Panchal had filed an overarching PIL expressing concerns over the State Government’s apathy over fire safety soon after the August 6 Shrey Hospital fire that left 8 Covid-19 patients dead.

Responding to the State Government’s all-is-under-control response to his petition, Panchal in his counter-affidavit alleged that the government was not giving correct information to the court.

VACANCIES GALORE

tion, “But it is not operational and no fire training is being imparted.”

In 4 major cities, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat, 6 posts of Deputy Chief Fire Officers, 6 of divisional officers, 13 Station Officers, 53 Sub officers, 35 Lead officers, are vacant. These cities don’t even have 173 driverscum tender operators and 127 firemen, aggregating 413 vacancies.

The PIL pleaded that the court should direct the government to fill all

vacancies across Gujarat on an urgent basis.

Along with this, the petitioner has also raised serious issues related to the fire department’s shortcomings in terms of woefully inadequate infrastructure to handle major incidents.

The PIL had demanded that the State should submit a report of which commercial, residential or other buildings possess valid No Objection Certificate and how many buildings did not have it.

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 1,723 DEATHS 1,69,289 CASES

Labour dept warns against fraudulent recruitment ad First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Labour and Employment Department has warned the people against a fraudulent recruitment advertisement that was published in newspapers on Thursday.

The advertisement, issued in the name of one “Gujarat Employment Services”, invited applications from interested candidates for posts such as business development officer, customer service officer, district officer, computer operator, data entry operator and writer, on contractual work from home arrangement.

The advertisement offered a monthly salary of Rs 8,500 to Rs 25,500. It asked the applicants to make an online payment of Rs 300 for the application.

Surat 1st to start online Hundreds pedal to work on approvals for ‘disturbed areas’ appeal by Rajkot civic chief First India Bureau

Surat: Surat has become the first city in Gujarat to make online applications available to seek the District Collector’s permission before selling or buying properties under the Disturbed Areas Act. The law restricts sale or purchase of properties in ‘communally-sensitive’ areas without the permission of the District Collector.

Areas like Rander, Old Court area, Gorat, Katargam and Adajan come under the purview of the Disturbed Areas Act. On an average 35 to 40 people would be seen queueing at the Collectorate

First India Bureau

for the permissions.

Given this issue, District Collector Dhaval Patel has launched this online applications system to prevent crowding at the government offices. Surat is the first in the State to start this. This was implemented from Thursday.

The law was also im-

Rajkot: Supporting Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Udit Agarwal’s call to use bicycles for work one day every week, a large number of employees of private organisations, malls, banks and a private hos—FILE PHOTO pital, along with the Rajkot Municipal Corpoposed in some parts of ration staff, pedalled to the Limbayat area ear- office on Friday. lier this year, followThe concept was ining a strong represen- troduced last Friday by tation by local MLA Agarwal with his staff Sangeeta Patil after and in a week it has beseveral incidents of come a veritable campolitical clashes there. paign.

She said the imposi“Around 50 staff tion of the Act was to members used bicycles reduce communal dis- and public transport to putes. reach the mall. Those

Scores of employees of not only this mall, but also a host of other organisations pedalled to office in Rajkot on Friday.

who didn’t have bicycles, borrowed it and came for work to support Rajkot in becoming cycle-friendly.

Around 10 came walking. They were all honoured with a token of appreciation,” beamed Vishal Suchak, Assistant Store Manager of

Big Bazaar, Rajkot.

Crystal Mall manager Sameer Visani said, “We were asked to be a part of this RMC campaign on Thursday. We are happy that at such a short notice at least 10% of our employees came by bicycles, public transport or walking.

We have appealed to our employees to continue this practice every Friday and we are sure more people will join.”

Around 50% of the RMC staff out of 3,000 have already adapted the concept. Staff from Reliance Mall, Landmark Honda and Aan Group of companies, 50% staff of Amruta hospital and 20% of Rajkot Nagarik Sahakari Bank joined on Friday.

This initiative has been taken by RMC under “India Cycles for Change Challenge” to make Rajkot bicyclefriendly and solve problems of pollution, traffic and help people maintain good health.

INGENIOUS IDEA!

How about ushering in garba in PPE suits? Ask these students Fashion design students in Surat have curated garba wear from PPE kits First India Bureau Surat: The dreaded coronavirus has forced Gujarat to ban garba events during this Navratri, the nine-day longest dance festival in the world, but Gujaratis have the penchant to work around the rules. A group of fashion design students in Surat have come up with festive-perfect PPE suits for the occasion.

The protective gear

08

has all the accessories like traditional belts and dupattas for their unique performance. The garba costumes in white are covered from head to toe, but it has unique traditional motifs on the fulllength skirts. The costumes for men have colourful images of ‘Dandiya Raas’. The dupattas with sparkling mirror work add cheer to the PPE garba costumes.

Traditionally, women

Surat’s fashion design students have created unique garba wear from PPE kits.

dancers wear colourful costumes while performing garba and dandiyaraas. Along with ‘Chaniya choli’, a three-piece dress with a blouse, long skirt and dupatta, they also wear heavy jewellery. Men wear designer ‘kurta pyjamas’ with a ‘ghagra’ or a short round kurta above the knees with colourfil ‘pagri’ or turban.

It is another that the traditional pomp and grandeur associated with Navratri will still be missing. The Gujarat Government has issued

a set of strict Covid-related guidelines, given that the festival usually sees large gatherings and could lead to a spike in the Covid-19 infections. The number has already crossed 1.60 lakh with an average more than 1,100 new cases being reported everyday from the State.

Garba comes from the Sanskrit word ‘garbha’ meaning the ‘womb’.

The traditional garba dances are performed around centrally lit lamps or an idol of the Goddess Durga.

The Labour & Employment Dept & Cyber Police posted the fake ad on social media to create awareness According to the Labour and Employment department, no Gujarat Government department or any government agency has invited applications for any of these posts. “The name ‘Gujarat Employment Services’ and nomenclature of the posts are clearly aimed at trapping unsuspecting applicants. We have initiated legal action against this so-called recruitment agency.”

The department would soon lodge a police complaint against the said agency, while it has urged the people who may have fallen prey to it to contact the nearest police station.

9 arrested for gambling in Ahmedabad’s Navrangpura

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The State monitoring cell of Gujarat police on Friday morning raided a commercial complex in Navrangpura and arrested 9 persons gambling. Police have seized 161 tokens and other material of Rs 1.73 lakh, including cash, and mobile phones.

Police raided the complex following a tip-off and found the 9 people playing with a token and one of them kept the cash.

The office space was rented for Rs 2,000 a month and Naresh Ahuja used to pay. He was also arrested for facilitating the gamblers.

Gambling activity was going on here for 2 to 3 weeks. Sources also said people referring others to the place were paid Rs 100 per person.

An old time gambler Rajesh Vaniyo was said to be sending gamblers to this place.

Police seized 11 mobile phones, Rs 67,000 cash and Rs 37,000 worth tokens and 4 vehicles.

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09

AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY OCTOBER 17, 2020

Who is Ma Durga?

The beautiful idol you worship for 9 days and immerse in the holy Ganga finally?

The female deity who rescued gods from the ravages of demons? Is she the one with 8 arms, fierce eyes and long red tongue who came into existence in the reign of terror? The Divine Ma is all of this and much beyond!

DEEPAK

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

O

ne is able to comprehend the profound spiritual significance of worshiping Ma Durga only if one is constantly striving to awaken the inner primordial cosmic energy. Durga is synonymous to Shakti, who is personification of strength, beauty, creativity, wisdom, mystery, anger, compassion, fear, power and profundity in this universe. These qualities are reflected in each individual, in different events and in this universe as a whole. Other attributes associated with Ma are sword (power of discretion), bow (intellect), arrow (wisdom), conch (sound of bliss), rosary (the thread that binds all in prayerfulness), mace (truth) and the lion (fearlessness).

The Divine Mother has three major forms: Durga, the Goddess of defence; Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth; Saraswati the Goddess of knowledge. During the 9 nights and 10 days of Navratri, these three forms are invoked. Navratri celebrates and honors the 9 different aspects of Mother Divine, also known as Nav Durga: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kaalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidyatri. The Navratri which falls in the month of Ashada and Magha is called Gupt Navratri. The Navratri that falls in the

JAI MATA RANI !

Ashwin month of autumn is called Shardiya Navratri and those that fall in the spring is called Chaitra Navratri.

It is the time when you withdraw yourself from all sensory activities (eating, talking, watching, touching, listening, smelling) and rest in yourself- which is the actual source of bliss, joy and enthusiasm in life.

Sri- means the Ma, Mother Goddess, whose refuge you can seek. Such a Devi can only be invoked from the purest recesses of your consciousness.

Sri Vidya- is the knowledge of invoking that Supreme Being. Ma Durga alone assumes the role of Brahma and creates, She assumes the form of Vishnu and sustains, and She

is capable of being a Mahesh to destroy all. She becomes the total Ishwar and with complete annihilation cleanses all. Then, Ma alone restores grace to revive life, These are her 5 powers of Shakti- THE ALL. This energy is lying dormant within each one of us. It is upto our devotion to seek, to awaken the Divinity. We have to dig deep within us to cleanse our outer Asuras. These demons are nothing but our own inherent weaknesses.

MADHU-KAITABH

the Sweet and the Bitter. These are the two most fundamental elements in every human being. Right from birth the child develops the taste of the tongue and has likes and dislikes for food. The tongue also conveys emotions- lullabies, the tone of words, fondling, cuddling. It is innate. On the journey to self realisation, the first hurdle for every person is to rise above this duality of sweet and bitter. No force works. Wisdom and foresight is all that sustains. Vishnu is predominant at this stage. We learn to differentiate between acceptance and rejection.

Once you go beyond taste and sound the next challenge awaits us.

Turn to P10

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AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020

10

FROM PG 9

JAI MATA RANI !

MAHISHASUR

The Buffalo/Bull: symbolic of laziness, lethargy, inertia and rage. We need to channelize our whole energy. Our inner Shakti alone can handle this demon. It cannot be killed. It can only be transformed.

These traits impede our spiritual and material progress. It calls for willpower and determination of the highest order. Devi Ma comes to our rescue with her positivity & energy to dissolve this Asur.

DHUMRA-LOCHAN

Smoke & Eyesight. As we see things we are tempted. Our lust, greed, desire to possess, completely clouds our vision & sense of good and bad.

Since we gather information through our eyes, illusions distract us all the time. The mirage of life entices us. We SEE what we ‘want’ to see. Regardless of how intellectual, profound, smart one is, these challenges will have to be tackled directly.

Ma Durga personifies myriad personalities to slay each demon.

That is why we worship and invoke the nine forms of Shakti. In DURGA SAPTASHATI we have 6 demons, each corresponding to the 6 Chakras (7th being Sahastrar) in our body. Each is symbolic of human weakness and frailties.

CHUND-MUND

Chund literally means passion, cruelty, violence. Mund is head, intelligence, wisdom, inner conflicts.

By the death of the 3 previous Asuras, we have conquered our taste,

FA CE OF TH ED AY

Shumba is none other than sense of ‘I’ or ‘Me’, whereas Nishumba represents the sense of ‘Mine’, or the attachment to things that the false self clings to through identification with other objects. Shumba and Nishumba follow each other closely.

Shumba also means, doubting oneself and Nishumba means, doubting others. When the mind is clogged with doubt about oneself or others, neither peace nor progress is possible. That is why they are the Kings of the Demons, the highest in the order of negative influences. Such demeaning forces come up only due to our own doubts, regret,

words, speech, sloth, inertia, lust, greed, anger and clouded vision.

We have managed to harness that energy, but we still do not know how to channelize it. Passions completely possess us. Even a good passion can make us egoistic, triumphant and vain. Every passion, as much as, inner conflicts is a distraction. We are overpowered by doubts, regret, guilt, repentance and lose all clarity. Only by slaying Chund and Mund can we overpower these conflicts.

RAKTBEEJ

poses the greatest challenge of all. It is a demon with a special boon. With every drop of blood that falls on the battlefield, an identical originallike demon would come alive, soon multiplying into a countless army. Never ending, evergrowing. How can one possibly combat such a force? Raktbeej is none other than our desire. You fulfill one, hundreds sprout up.

It’s an unending cycle. Literally unstoppable, beyond control.

Desires are just desires- there can be no good or bad desire.

To vanquish this demon we need aggression in the form of highest discipline.

Having overpowered all these weaknesses within ourselves, we are still one step away...

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

guilt and fear. When we are full of positivity and enthusiasm none of these Asuras can harm us. Ma is ever-present. We just have to seek her with faith & trust. The battle between the demons and the Goddess is compared to Maha Yagya, because it represents the greatest purification process.

Now, we are ready for the ultimate reward. After the 6 demons are slayed, out come SURATH & SAMADHI for blessings. Surath is the chariot, vehicle of life- empowering us with insight, wisdom, knowledge. We rise above every duality.

Samadhi is Oneness. The Ultimate Bliss. Union with the Divine Self. It is totally liberating. It is Kundalini Shakti alive within us.

DURGA SAPTASHATI is our constant striving to reach this ultimate. The Awakening of inner primordial cosmic energy within us.

The DIVINE MA SHAKTI!

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Get ready to exert hard for business purposes on everyday business. No matter how much someone tries to provoke, refrain from choosing the wrong side. Do not forget that if your terms get spoiled with someone because of your fault, then it will never get better.

You don’t have to really worry about someone else’s intentions as far as they can cause no harm.

You will take someone else’s responsibility in your hand. The moment is here to start something that you have been planning since so long. Take care of what you eat.

Dealing with complex situations related to office may take up a lot of your time but hopefully its worth all your time. On academic front some of you may be thinking about joining some other online coaching classes. Today you may get an invitation to your dream job.

You work towards a plan and fully dedicate yourself and you very well know how to smartly turn any situation in your favour and in the end you always win. Things are perfect on both professional and personal front. Academically someone will boost your confidence.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

To keep up with others and have same standards, you will have to start exerting more and you should start right away. Something that you are hoping for to happen will turn out well for you. Your mental presence is very important while having conversation with someone close.

Take initiatives and put in extra efforts as it will only add up to your professional reputation. If you are asked to manage a project and do all the needful for it to turn out successful than do not allow anyone to intervene in your way of working.

Don’t fall in love.

For you to earn more you need to do experiment with your choices and creativity.

Do not form opinions about someone who seems to be unhappy as your judgement may not be correct. Your negligence can lead to your mental sickness, something from which you have suffered from.

Today might not be the best day for you in terms of profit but a huge profit coming in the future will compensate for even today. Anyone who is extremely loving and friendly on outside may have an ill motive inside and the best you can do is to no let anyone peek inside your heart.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You must develop a proactive approach to deal with any situation arising due to pressure from office .

All the work that you have been neglecting for some time needs to be addressed on priority. Avoid taking extra responsibilities like helping others.

Love you self and embrace yourself as there is no one like you. It’s very important for you to win the trust of all those who matters in your life and you will successfully gain it. You will feel financially very strong from all the returns in property affairs. Keep yourself focused academically.

Just believe in your cause and do whatever it takes to make it a success. It is not the right time to declare what your inner aspirations are, as people may not understand you. You may continue to walk on the path chosen by you. Professionally, you may be a bit more tied up today.

Someone from your dream firm may approach you for work, if you have applied for it in the past. Just get involved and think through problems by serious deliberation ,if you want error free performance in your work.

Only a little push on the academic front will bring you to success.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

ANMOL BHAT, Model

SHUMBA- NISHUMBA

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020

11

NICKI MINAJ

finally reveals

PAW

PATROL K

im Kardashian has been cast in the upcoming animated “PAW Patrol” movie based on the popular children’s program, her rep confirmed to Fox News.

“Paw Patrol’s” tech-savvy Ryder and his CGI-animated team of pups are heading to the movies -- and Kim Kardashian West is coming along for the ride.

Kardashian joins the all-star voice cast for Nickelodeon and Paramount’s featurelength film.

The star has a handful of acting credits to her name, including appearances on shows like “Drop Dead Diva” and “Beyond the Break.” She’s also appeared as herself in projects like “Last Man Standing” and “30 Rock”. The movie is set for an Aug. 20, 2021, release.

—ANI

Nicki Minaj

R

enowned rapper Nicki Minaj recently welcomed her first child with husband Kenneth Petty much to the excitement of her fans.

The 37-year old singer had earlier announced her pregnancy in July 2020 amidst the COVID-19 crisis. According

to media reports, the baby was born on September 30. However, the gender of the child was not revealed immediately. Well, the Starships singer finally decided to reveal the same on social media about being a mom to a son.

It’s a baby boy!

—Agency

NIALL HORAN congratulates Zayn!

Kim Kardashian Zayn and Niall

‘Master of capturing human emotions’

KGF Chapter 2

A

B

ollywood actor Vaani Kapoor, who is all set to start shooting for her next film with Ayushmann Khurrana, has termed her director Abhishek Kapoor a “master in capturing human emotions.”

“Abhishek is a master when it comes to capturing human emotions. He has done it brilliantly in films like Rock On!! , Kai Po Che , Kedarnath among others,” she said. “I was awed by the way he depicted the story of three friends in ‘Kai Po Che.’ It was real, it was simple but complicated and it was h e a r t breaking but beautiful. I cannot wait to work with him because I feel I will learn a lot on the sets of this pro g ressive love story,” she added. —ANI

Vaani Kapoor

... her post

‘KEY’ TO HAPPY MARRIAGE

A

s she completed eight years of marriage with her superstar husband Saif Ali Khan, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan on Friday marked the day with a special Instagram post and revealed the “key” to her happy marriage. “Once upon a time there was a girl named Beboo and a boy named Saifu.

They both loved sphagetti and wine... and lived happily ever after,” she wrote in the caption. “Now you guys know the key to a happy marriage On that note, happy anniversary SAKP... here’s to eternity and beyond,” she added.

—ANI

lmost two months after he took a short break from work citing health reasons, actor Sanjay Dutt on Friday said he is gearing up for working in his much-awaited flick ‘KGF Chapter 2.’

Dutt took to Instagram to share a set of three pictures of himself dressed in a black coloured T-shirt and fawn-coloured cargo pants.

“Gearing up for #Adheera! # K G F Chapter2,” he wrote in the caption.

—ANI

I

t has been almost a month since Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid welcomed their little one. The couple took to their respective social media handles and shared the happy news with fans.

Following the news, One Dir e c t i o n m e m b e r, Niall Hor a n wished the exband-

CARDI B & OFFSET RECONCILE

Sanjay Dutt

S

Kareena Kapoor Khan

THE FIRST LOOK

S

haring a few stills from her upcoming film ‘The White Tiger,’ actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Friday introduced her character.

“In #TheWhiteTiger, I play the role of Pinky madam, who is a first generation immigrant in the US. She is in India with her husband, who is travelling for business. And then... life changes!

Pinky madam is such a specific character, to play her unravelling in the story was such a joy,” she wrote. —ANI

mate, Zayn. Niall revealed that soon after the news of baby ZiGi broke, he messaged Zayn. While he did not reveal the details about the text, he said that it’s an amazing thing, referring to the baby.

Of the OG One Direction members, three members have already embraced fatherhood. Except for Harry Styles and Niall, the other three are now proud dads.

—Agency

Priyanka’s post Cardi B

inger Cardi B recently revealed that she’s back with ex-husband Offset. After being seen getting cosy with her on-again, off-again ex during her birthday weekend bash in Las Vegas, as well as revealing she was in bed with him when she accidentally uploaded a risque photo on social media, she confirmed that she’s a “crazy bitch” who can’t make up her mind.

She went on to explain in a video that it’s hard not to talk to your best friend. adding that there were sexual reasons, too.

—Agency

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2020

12

RANDEEP’S LEOPARD

SAFARI

BJP state vice-president Ajay Pal Singh celebrated his birthday with simplicity on 16 October, Friday. He took part in a havan at Arya Samaj Mandir and went to the Raja Park Gurudwara to seek the blessings of Guru Granth Sahib, accompanied by his wife Gurvinder Kaur.

Many BJP leaders and party workers wished him on his birthday.

TOSHI VIJAY

T

he second round of auditions for one of the grand beauty pageants of Rajasthan, ‘Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020’ is all set to begin in Udaipur today. On-spot registrations are available for aspiring girls to take part in this zerocost beauty pageant.

The girls will have to present their talents on front of a panel of distinguished judges at Hotel Yois, located in Sagar, Udaipur. The judges will evaluate the girls on their confidence, attitude, catwalk, selfpresentation, communication skills, and talent among other factors. Three finalists will be chosen from the city who will get an exclusive opportunity to take part in the Jaipur auditions later this year.

The director of Elite

Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda was spotted at the Jhalana Leopard Safari Park on Friday morning, where he captured wildlife on his camera, escorted by Sumit Juneja. After a long wait, he was able to sight a Leopard and shot a lot of photos of the flora and fauna during the safari.

—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

SECOND ROUND

MANAGING NEW PARADIGMS Mental Health IN TECHNOLOGY

OF GLAMOUR A Team of ‘Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020’

Miss Rajasthan, Udaipur, Ajay Nayar will be judging the skills of the participants. The esteemed panel of judges will also include supermodel Mona Gautam, actress Akanksha Bhal-

la, the second runner-up of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2019 – Shivani Parihar, and Miss Crystal Angel International 2019 – Jaya Meena. The chief guests of the event will be Arjun Lal Meena – the Lok

Sabha member from Udaipur constituency and Saurav Paliwal – the director of Archana Group. Along with them, Shiv Shankar Meena will also attend the program as an esteemed guest.

CELEBRATING ART!

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Randeep Hooda

s a part of Teamwork Fine Art Society’s ongoing advocacy and a fundraising initiative for artists, #ArtMatters produced a fundraising gala by the artists, for the artists, called I Believe #ArtMatters, to help raise resources and provide the much-needed support for India’s artists and artisans. #ArtMatters, brought together over 450 artists from music, theatre, dance, film, stand-up and more,

had been viewed by over 100,000 people and raised approximately INR 4.8 million on the 4th October broadcast.

On high demand from the audience, the star-studded celebration will be live-streamed again on 18th October 2020. The celebratory gala will again showcase the much-appreciated performances by all the artists, by highlighting their stories with an appeal to donate. Featuring 70 performances,

the gala will run on Teamwork Arts’ Facebook Page starting from 5.30 pm.

While hosting at the gala, celebrated Indian actress Shabana Azmi said that she thinks artists are central, not peripheral to our lives and must support the artists and artisans in their time of need.

—Ciy First

session on Managing Mental Health during COVID -19 was organised by CII-Young Indians (Yi) Kota Chapter on a virtual platform. Nida Mehdi Khan, Health Therapist & Counselor, USA said that it’s utmost important to keep the normal routine as much as possible during COVID period when it comes to sleep, nutrition and exercise, particularly in people with existing mental health problems. It will help in reducing stress and mental health problems. Saurabh Shourie, Chair, CII- Yi, Kota Chapter highlighted the importance of the subject and said that only half of those affected receive treatment, often because of the stigma attached to mental health. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

CITY FIRST

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press conference had organized on Thursday at ICFAI University, Jaipur. In this conference, the president of the University Prof.

Rajesh Kothari, and Dean of IcfaiTech Arun Kumar Saini discussed the important achievements of the University last year in detail, including the launching of new courses as mandates by changing time like AI,

CITY FIRST

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ormer Advisor & Co-author with Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Founder & CEO, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre, Srijan Pal Singh addressed a live webinar on ‘New Paradigms in Technology’ held on the occasion of World Students Day and 89th Birth Anniversary a tribute to Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The webinar was held on the Facebook page of the IAS Literary Society, Rajasthan on

Thursday. He was in conversation with Secretary, IAS Literary Society, Rajasthan, Mugdha Sinha. Srijan Pal said that Former President of India, Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam personified humility and boundless curiosity. Despite his immense success, he made a conscious effort to be rooted and remain connected with the people.

Teaching was his passion and he was always a teacher. He believed that the mind of the youth is the strongest and this strength needs to be cultured.

VARIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS DATA Science & IoT. Various courses are being offered at extremely affordable fees.

They talked about career options in the field of AI, Data Science, and IoT in the coming years. Further, they

also discussed the possibilities of career options in the field of smart city, robotics, and automation in detail. In the press conference, Prof. Rajesh Kothari talked about the drastic increase in last year’s placements of

the students in various companies. It is a matter of pride to report that IcfaiTech has been awarded and also about the rankings given to the University by Silicon India Magazine, GHRDC and India Today. He mentioned that University got the 4th ranking by the Silicon India Magazine, 1st ranking in promising engineering university by the GHRDC, and good rank in north India by India Today.

WHAT’S HAPPENING! RAJASTHAN: Congress Youth leader Sagar Sharma visited the Gram Panchayats of Meeno ka Nayagaon, Sadara, and gram panchayat Bharai in Kekri assembly area to congratulate the newly elected panchs and sarpanchs and also give the message of ‘NO MASK NO ENTRY’ to one and all.

A Sarpanch Samman Samaroh was organised.

GUJARAT: On the occasion of World Food Day, members of non-profit organization Anjuman-e-Saifi of the Dawoodi Bohra community distributed fruits to the homeless near Ellis Bridge in Ahmedabad on Friday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

RAJASTHAN: FICCI Ladies Organization, Jaipur Chapter has determined to provide growth opportunities to entrepreneurs and will launch their first Virtual Exhibition Traveling Trucks from 17 October to 19 October 2020. It is an online shopping platform bringing exhibitors from all over the world on one platform. Exclusive 75 brands have been chosen to showcase their unique collections.

GUJARAT: People performing puja of Lord Purshottam ji on the ending of Adhik month in Ahmedabad on Friday.

—PHOTO

BY HANIF SINDHI

GUJARAT: A drum shop owner was seen without customers in Ahmedabad on Friday, as people in the state are not celebrating Navratri like every other year this time, due to the Corona pandemic.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

HAPPY B’DAY!

RAJASTHAN: Ration was distributed under the ‘Happy Diwali Basket’ program of the Creature Foundation, with Rotary Club Jaipur North. The main purpose behind organising this event was to provide food and other necessities to the families impacted during the Corona pandemic and make Diwali a joyous occasion for them.

IAS Himanshu Gupta celebrated his birthday on 16 October, Friday. We wish him all the best!