Bhubaneswar - The Pioneer

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hree women Maoist cadres
T
were reportedly killed in an
alleged encounter with securi-
he Odisha Government on Saturday
announced a 6 per cent increase in the dearness allowance (DA) for its employees. With this
latest hike, the employees’ DA has now reached
125 per cent on their basic salaries.
The hiked DA rate =^fc^cP[bPc
would come into effect
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with retrospective
effect from January 1
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this year, informed C%&%(Ra^aT
Finance Minister
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Pradeep Amat here.
“The DA hike has been approved by Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik. The State Government
employees, who are presently getting 119 per cent
DA will be getting 125 per cent DA from January
2016,” Amat told mediapersons. The decision
would benefit four lakh Government employees and three lakh pensioners in the State.
And the DA hike would cost the State exchequer an additional C676.90 crore annually.
Earlier in October last year, the State
Government had hiked the DA by 6 per cent,
taking it to 119 per cent.
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he State Assembly was adjourned
T
at least for three times as
Opposition Congress and BJP members kept demanding ouster of
Justice Madam Mohan Das as the
chit fund probe panel head for the
second consecutive day on Saturday.
However, normalcy restored
only after the Government assured
to return money to the duped chit
fund investors.
When the House met at 10.30
am for the day, Opposition Chief
Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati stood
at his seat and demanded Justice Das
be removed from the judicial commission for joining a meeting hosted by the ruling and giving a clean
chit to the Government on the chit
fund scam issue and stating that people invested in chit funds out of their
greed.
When Speaker Niranjan Pujari
didn’t listen to Bahinipati’s demand
and called Food and Supplies
Minister Sanjay Dasburma to answer
a question, both Congress and BJP
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members rushed into the Well of the
House and shouted slogans in support of their demand.
Pujari adjourned the House at
10.33 am till 11.30 am. As the situation remained unaltered, he also
adjourned the House two times further till 3 pm.
Opposition members only
joined the proceedings at 3 am
when Government Chief Whip
Anant Das said the Government
would return money to all duped chit
fund investors and requested them
to participate in a demand discussion
of the Revenue and Disaster
Management Department.
During discussion, Opposition
members charged the Government
had done little to increase crop production in the State.
“Large chunks of fertile cultivable lands have been converted for
other purposes. The Government
has not taken any step to preserve
land for crops,” said Congress MLA
Bhujabal Majhi, initiating the discussion.
After
discussion,
the
Department’s Vote-on-Account of
C5070,94,000 was passed. The House
was adjourned till Monday morning.
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into the VVIP
Ionnvestigations
chopper scam picked up pace
Saturday as the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
examined former deputy chief
of the Indian Air Force (IAF)
JS Gujral, who was one of the
many senior officials who were
part of the meeting where a
decision to alter the required
specifications to favour
AgustaWestland was taken
in 2005.
The CBI will question former IAF chief SP Tyagi on
Monday. Both Gujral, against
whom the agency has so far not
levelled any allegation and
Tyagi were questioned in 2013
also.
In the meantime, the BJP
suggested that it was Congress
president Sonia Gandhi who
was behind relaxations given to
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AgustaWestland over “field trials” despite the then Defence
Minister AK Antony’s objections.
For its part, the Congress
rubbished BJP chief Amit
Shah’s charges against Sonia
and posed counter-questions
to him as to why permission
was
granted
to
AgustaWestland to participate
in ‘Make in India’ programme
and Aero India exhibition
besides for a sub-contract in a
Defence project.
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The CBI has so far examined more than 100 people in
connection with its probe into
the deal including former
National Security Adviser
(NSA) MK Narayanan and
former SPG chief BV Wanchoo
among others.
Apart from Gujral and
Tyagi, other suspects in the
case will be called soon. Tyagi’s
cousins will also be subjected
to a fresh round of questioning
in wake of the Milan Court of
Appeals’ order.
ty personnel at Ampani in
Kalahandi district bordering
Nabarangpur on Saturday
evening.
“An exchange of fire took
place between the SOG jawans
and the Maoists at Ampani at
around 6 pm. According to preliminary reports, three women
Maoists were killed. Three 303
rifles and IEDs were recovered
from the spot,” said Deputy
Inspector General (South
Western Range) S Saini.
Sources said the exchange
of fire ensued between the
SOG jawans and the ultras
while the security personnel
were conducting a combing
operation.
Three 303 rifle and a 9 mm
pistol were recovered from the
spot, said the police officer.
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hundershowers in Bhubaneswar
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and many other parts of coastal
Odisha brought relief to people from the
earlier heat wave.
Temperature declined to below 40
degree Celsius in most parts of the State
except Sonepur (44), Sundargarh (41),
Talcher (40.8) and Bhawanipatna (40.5)
on Saturday.
Twin cities Bhubaneswar and
Cuttack recorded 39.9 and 38 degree
Celsius, respectively. Titilagarh record-
ed 39.5 degree. According to an IMD
bulletin, rain and thundershowers are
likely to occur at one or two places over
coastal Odisha in next 24 hours.
Local Meteorological Centre
Director Sarat Chandra Sahu said an
intense heat wave would prevail across
the State on May 2. The temperature
may rise to 45 to 46 degree in the State
capital on May 2, he added.
Coastal belts of the State would
experience rain and thundershowers
again on May 4, for which temperature
may decline, Sahu predicted.
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he Election Commission
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on Saturday ordered filing
of an FIR against Trinamool
Congress MLA Sonali Guha
after she was caught on camera allegedly ordering party
workers to beat up CPI(M)
polling agents.
This comes even as State
Urban Development Minister
Firhad Hakim was in line of
BJP’s fire for his ‘miniPakistan’
remarks.
Nevertheless, the fifth phase of
polling West Bengal remained
“relatively peaceful” with a
voter
turnout
of
78.25 per cent.
FIRs were registered
against two Presiding Officers
for allegedly helping a particular party and a TMC candidate for alleged intimidation of
voters.
The fifth round of the
high-voltage Bengal elections
for 53 seats spread across
Kolkata, Hooghly and South
24 Parganas were marked by
sporadic violence, but the
Election Commission did
some commendable job by
managing to contain booth
capturing to a great extent.
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ajor forest fires raged on
M
Saturday in Uttar Pradesh
and Uttarakhand even as three
teams of NDRF were deployed
in Almora, Gauchar and Pauri
and one team of SDRF in
Nainital to extinguish the
flames. While the death toll in
Uttarakhand forest fires have
gone to six, a sudden blaze in
Keetham wildlife sanctuary in
Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district
destroyed about five hectares of
forest and killed birds, reptiles
and rodents, a forest officer said
on Saturday.
Since the beginning of forest fire incidents in
Uttarakhand in early February
this year, 922 incidents have
occurred so far killing six people including three women
and a child, in separate incidents, injuring seven and
blighting 1890.79 hectares of
green cover, Principal
5XaTUXVWcTabcahX]Vc^R^]ca^[PUXaTX]b[d\PaTPX];dRZ]^f^]BPcdaSPh
Conser vator of Forest
(Research) BP Gupta said.
Rudraprayag forest division is
taking the Army’s help for firefighting operations especially
along the highways, Gupta
said. Chamoli, Pauri,
Rudraprayag, Tehri, Uttarkashi,
Pithoragarh, Almora and
Nainital are the worst-affected
districts, he said.
?C8
The Keetham Wildlife
Sanctuary fire was put out in a
“couple of hours”, said Deputy
Conservator of Forests (DFO)
Anil Patel who suspected sparking from an electrical line to be
the cause of the fire which was.
With an area of about four sq
km, Keetham or Soor Sarovar
wildlife sanctuary is home to
local and migratory birds, rep-
tiles, jackal, mongoose and
hare. It’s located along the
Agra-Delhi national highway.
Local villagers joined the fire
fighting operations. Patel said
there will be an investigation as
to what caused the fire.
Keetham lake, which gives
the wildlife sanctuary its name,
is a vital source of water for the
Mathura oil refinery. The sanctuary acts as a green buffer
between the refinery and the
world famous Taj Mahal. It’s a
haven of reptiles, especially
pythons. A bear rescue centre
and an elephant rescue centre
are also located within the
sanctuary. There have been
about 10 devastating fires in
Keetham in the last five years.
Me a nw h i l e , re a c t i n g
sharply to the devastating
fires,
the
Un i o n
Government on Saturday
assured the Uttarakhand
Government all assistance
to douse the inferno and
those affected by it.
Ua^\c^SPhB2PbbTacb
01A070<C7><0BQ =4F34;78
eginning Sunday, only
B
CNG cabs and taxis can
operate in the Capital. The
Supreme Court, which held a
special sitting on a Saturday,
stuck to its deadline of April 30
as the last opportunity for private taxis and cab aggregators
like Ola and Uber to switch to
CNG. There are about 60,000
taxis registered in Delhi and
of them, 27,000 run on diesel.
Given that around 2,000
diesel-run taxis have only
converted into CNG mode in
the last two months, there
will be a considerable shortfall of CNG-run cabs and
taxis from May 1 in the
Capital.
The SC order is not
applicable on diesel-run cabs
having All India Permits and
entering Delhi from other
States. However, all cabs
which have such permit but
ply only on local routes in the
Capital will be barred. Delhi
Transport Minister Gopal Rai
has directed the enforcement
wing of the Transport department to launch a crackdown
on diesel-run cabs plying on
locals routes in the Capital.
Besides its decision on the
diesel-run cabs, the apex court
also made it clear to the Delhi
Police, which sought permission to purchase 190 SUVs
meant for VVIP movement
and transportation of undertrial prisoners and ammunition among others, that it will
have to shell out 30 per cent of
the vehicle cost as green cess,
known as Environment
Compensation Charge (ECC).
This cess will be paid to the
Transport Department at the
time of registration.
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rinivasa Ramanujan was just 32 when he
fell tragically to tuberculosis, after a rigourfilled, prolonged ship journey back from
England to Madras as the first native royal fellow
at an ivy league college of Imperial Britain.
The ultimate Mathematics wizard, a genius
of prime numbers, an original thinking mind
quite away from the perceived hub of all
knowledge, a man who knew infinity as a gift
of God himself, Ramanujan took on everything
— be it the mathematical stereotype, the racist
and highly prejudiced Faculty at Trinity College
of London, or the perception that Indian
“natives” were a mindless tribe of idiocy
meant only to serve their White masters. But,
in the hope of getting published more formally
than on the temple floors back home,
Ramanujan took on all this and much more in
a painful journey against all odds. A vegetarian
in England was hopelessness personified; a
brown man even more so; to top it, a challenger
of mathematical theory considered the domain
of the imperial Whites, it was a huge, debilitating
endeavour which got him at last.
Dev Patel excellently captures all this
pain, this trauma and this fatal persistence of
“proof ” of the genius of Ramanujan with a
seasoned dose of histrionics which virtually
merge into the character to lend weight to this
gripping biopic.
Where the film goes wrong is in its prime
subject — the Maths. In building up the genius,
the director sidesteps his genius — the adding
up of numbers. There is very little of the subject
on the blackboard. No equations solved, or
explained or even pondered upon for long.
Maybe, playing to the gallery for the good
of the film took a toll on algebraic jargon but
there should have been a little more of a subject
S
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hat’s the rating for Tiger Shroff,
not the film so much. He has
done all that’s impossible in this
second film of his. For one, and most
importantly, the chikna chamela has
managed to grow a stubble; then, he has
mastered the art of ultimate fluidity. His
body is a jerkless spring which throws
up smooth, graceful and incredible
antics — like the film’s signature scene
in which he is introduced as an icon of
kalaripayattu, a martial artist standing
upside down on one finger and a
thumb. He looks amazing, almost
unreal, all muscle rippling and a form
of body art that we would all pay money
to fawn over. He also fights with an
agility that comes naturally only to a
spinning cheetah. The fitness of his
being, the absolutely chiselled frame,
and the action sequences that he and his
second-time director Sabbir Khan
conjure up, hold much of this film in
good stead.
Yes, Tiger Shroff is an amazing gym
athlete, a peep into which he gives you
with this high-intensity action drama
pivoting as much on his timelessly
spinning body as his relatively lean love
story. The only thing static about Tiger
T
are his emotions or, should we say,
ability to emote. He tries hard but, I
guess, it is easier for him to design his
muscles and his body action more than
tune up for the rigours of emoting.
But then, the film needs very little
acting skills, so high on action it is, the
second half almost constantly speaking
through his muscle standing up alone
and untiringly against all other
musclemen of the world, incidentally
cooped up in a 27-storey building in
Bangkok.
While there is poetry in Tiger’s
rippling body, it gets to be a tad boring
to see him constantly spinning on his
feet and fighting the baddies, mostly in
a perpendicular stance.
Premised on the kidnapping of his
estranged girlfriend by her fighting fit
stalker, a murder most foul by an
unscrupulous son, a betrayal engineered
by the girl’s greedy father and a crosscountry rescue operation triggered by
a goodwill gesture for a voiceless kid
whose origins we do not know anything
about, the film is in actuality a showcase
for Tiger Shroff ’s extreme zone fitness
sessions which few will rival and many
will marvel.
Go for the body worship if nothing
else, not Sunil (Gutthi) Grover who is
too mean and wasted, not Shraddha
Kapoor who is a side bar and not even
south star Sudheer Babu whose villainy
gives few moments to the film.
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high-drama climax and happy
ending will mark telly’s VFX
magnum opus Naagin all set to fold
up on May 14, only to return with a hiss
for a second season “sometime soon”.
Grapevine has it that Naagin, hogging
limelight as a scientific fantasy thriller, will
see Shivanya (Mouni Roy) getting
pregnant after having lost all her snake
powers after consummating her marriage
with Ritik (Arjun Bijlani). Shivanya will
hold a Kali Puja to regain her powers, take
the avatar of kaali and kill her fake motherin-law Yamini (Sudha Chandran). Though
the baby’s birth with supernatural powers
will unfold in the next season, this climax
will leave you asking for more.
“Naagin has sustained on the top from
the start with a high rating between 4.2 to
5.8 and it pulled the Colors channel on the
No 1 slot. I’m thankful to Ekta ma’am who
thought I was capable to play Shivanya.
We've worked for this day in and day out.
After the show goes off air, I am going to
host So You Think You Can Dance and take
a much-needed break before returning
with a bang,” Mouni Roy tells you.
Arjun Bijlani, meanwhile, says that the
concept of a man getting married to a
woman who turns out to be a naagin, was
gripping enought to catch viewers.
“If you come to know your wife is a
naagin, what would your reaction be?
That’s what fascinated the viewers. Being
a part of the show has been amazing. It
got me love and popularity. We have got
emotionally attached to it. The good part
is that the show is ending on a high note.
It has been a short & sweet journey. Naagin
has created history and given producers
a different take on finite series,” Bijlani says.
For Arjun, whose claim to fame was
through his performance in Left Right Left,
Miley Jab Hum Tum and Meri Ashiqui
Tumse Hi, Naagin was the most difficult.
“In comparison to other daily shows,
Naagin was 10 to 15 times tougher in
execution. When you have such high
drama, shooting in croma for the first time
becomes tricky. A lot of scenes have been
recreated with computer graphics. The
learning was constant,” Arjun says.
The actors went out of their comfort
zone for this show and their hard work
paid off with a huge fan following. “There
was a scene where to save myself from the
naagin’s bite, I jump off a cliff and hang
precariously from a tree. This was shot on
A
croma and I was on the harness for eight
hours, swinging up and down. When you
see it in one-hour episode, everything
seems easy and quick but it took us two
days to shoot that sequence. My thighs and
shoulders got bruised and pained a lot,”
Bijlani says.
Mouni, too, had to undergo many
challenges. “I had to wear a lycra costume
every day and shoot at Film City which
is so hot. I shot a sequence at Mud Island
under scorching heat and then I was
stationed under water for 10 hours to
shoot another sequence. That got me 103
degree fever. Sometimes I was hung on a
rope in the jungle and had to even climb
a tree,” Roy reveals.
It was director Santaram Varma, the
man behind Ekta Kapoor’s Jodha Akbar,
who made it easier for the actors’ with his
clear approach and guidance.
“Santaram is one of the best directors
in television. He is technically strong and
a good guide. Actors are also directors in
some ways but, he used to change many
scenes. We often wondered whether that
was a gross digression from the script. But
we just believed in him and when we saw
it on the screen, we found it amazing,”
Bijlani tells you.
that consumed the subject of this film —
Ramanujan himself.
Besides Dev Patel’s wizardry on the screen
and the tantalising, on-edge relationship he
shares with his atheist and often rough mentor
Professor Hardy (played brilliantly by Jeremy
Irons), the film also lives through the very
Indian relationship he has with his wife, and the
politics that his mother plays with the two of
them.
It is an arresting saga of a lightening,
unexplained genius whose mastery of numbers
even he thought was a celestial gift. It makes
you applaud an Indian achiever, it makes you
cry over his plight, it makes you angry about
the way Indians, howsoever more intelligent and
arrived than the sahebs, are treated. But finally,
it makes you salute the man who knew infinity
— and ask God why he had short-shrifted the
number of years he bestowed on this
unprecedented genius in the league of Newton
and Einstein.
A moving, meaningful and powerful
biopic, this one has its maths right in many ways
and wrong in some.
*ULSSHURI
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s thrillers go, this one is a genius of the
genre — different and refreshing, on-theedge and extremely gripping, it flowers
in a very confined space of an underground
cellar.
Kidnapped after a car accident and kept
holed up in a basement bunker with enough
supplies to suffice for a lifetime, a young girl
(Mary Elizabeth Winstead) goes through a
plethora of emotions — from fear to hostility
to resentment to finally reconciliation with her
situation. Her capturer (John Goodman) is hard
to figure out as his psychotic intentions seem
to be pretty well-balanced with his almost genial
demeanour. He is no crazed killer, maybe just
a lonely man who needs company and gets it
by holding two hostages which he thinks is in
all good faith — to save them from impending
doomsday. Conjured up and balanced
beautifully by star director JJ Abrams, the guy
who moulded biggies like the Star Wars, Mission
Impossible III and The Force Awakens, the film
takes off like a rocket despite being fixated on
a bunker. He has put all his cinematic genius
in this one with a difference, giving it a thrill
to kill experience of a never-before kind.
It is low on publicity but the one to go to
for some fast-paced suspense action.
A
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or a film that has a groovy, goosepimply
subject of motherhood on the plate and
a sterling star cast of none less than
America’s sweethearts Julia Roberts, Jennifer
Aniston and Kate Hudson to play moms of
all hues; some teary-eyed, some out-of-thebox, some life-changing daily life situations
to peck on, this one should have been a
runaway bride.
But, no! It gets going rather slowly. The
introductory stories — that of a divorced
mom, a mom married to an “Indian” on the
sly to escape her racist Texan mom, a
daughter-mom with mom abandonment
issues, a single dad who’s still crying over the
loss of his children’s mom, a gay mom, not
to mention a teen mom who gives up her
child to emerge as the leading lady of
television commercials on “Mother’s Day”
jewellery — there were too many of these
moms in the marinade.
And, despite all these heart-strung tales,
why is it that the viewer couldn’t think beyond
the horrible, atrocious, out of place and totally
artificial orange coloured bob cut wig that
Julia Roberts is made to wear? I mean, all I
could think of in the film is this piece of
oddity that kept threatening to topple off the
lady’s head every given moment.
With the stories too contrived, the
situations unmoving and the events in the
film going back and forth around all the
families, Mother’s Day is a film that fails to
get over the mumbo-jumbo of contrived
emotionality.
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fter being in the
limelight as Mahadev,
Mohit Raina has now
stepped in to play Ashok in
Chakravartin Ashok Samrat,
earlier played by Siddharth
Nigam. The 10-year leap in
the show, starting May 2 at
9 pm on Colors, forays into
a new chapter in the life of
Ashok who has become
merciless, cold and
powerful. It unfolds the
journey of the rise of a true
warrior and the Emperor of
the Mauryan Dynasty, and
how love blossoms in his life,
changing him and making
him a different person
altogether.
For Mohit Raina,
playing Ashoka was his
long-awaited dream that has
finally come true. “Ever
since
Devon
Ke
Dev...Mahadev went off air,
I was looking for a role
which is extraordinary and
larger than life. At the same
time, Ashok’s pre-production
work had started and I
wanted to be a part of this
show since that time. My
family is a big fan of the
serial. I was praying for the
leap to happen so that I
could step in,” Raina tells
you.
Even the makers had
Raina in mind. “Mohit was
A
my first choice. Ashok is
a multi-dimensional
character and I’m sure
he will live up to the
expectations because he
has that spark in him
and can play the role of
such a dynamic figure
with aplomb. As far as
whether he will be able
to break his image as
Mahadev is concerned,
all good actors break
their image and make a
new one with the same
lasting impression on
the viewers. I don’t
think you get typecast
in the audiences’ mind.
They have evolved
beyond that now. Mohit
is definitely somebody
who has the capacity
and capability of
breaking
the
stereotype,” Abhimanyu
Singh, CEO, Contiloe,
says.
Raina, on the other
hand, is sure and
confident that he’ll be
able to create that same
magic and win over the
hearts of the audiences.
“As an actor, you can
only play a character
with full conviction, do
justice to it and move
on. The popularity of
the character not only
depends upon how
convincingly one is
portraying it but how
well it has been
written. I will do
whatever is required to
be as close to Ashok as
I can. Siddharth, who
played the younger
Ashok, has done a
great job so far. It is a
very difficult role to
play hereafter. I hope
I’ll carry forward the
role with same
popularity and hope to
make Ashok as
popular as Mahadev,”
Raina says.
Talking about
what he has perceived
of the show he says:
“The Ashok Samraj
was a very big empire
in 200 BC. Ashok is
therefore
an
immensely popular
and successful king in
the minds of the
people in our country.
I’m still in the process
of understanding what
kind of person he was.
Ashok carried a heavy
baggage from the past
and had different
layers
to
his
personality. It will take
some time for me to
get into the skin of the
character as we have just
started shooting for the
show. But I don’t think it
should be too much of a
difficulty portraying Ashok.
I’m working on my
physique, learning horse
riding, sword fighting etc.
I’m following the director’s
vision of the serial and
trying to keep the
benchmark high,” Raina
says.
The show will also have
Somya Seth playing
Kaurwaki (Ashok’s love
interest), Ankit Arora as
Sushim, Kajol Shrivastav as
Devi and Dakssh Ajit Singh
as Radhagupta.
It’s not just the starcast
but the set, costumes and
advanced VFX that have
also gone through a
transformation. “For the
first time you’ll see two
stalwart set designers,
Omung Kumar and Nitin
Desai, coming together to
built the throne, kingdom
and the entire set. Omung
has given the design whereas
Nitin has put that out for all
to see. We are going to use
state of the art visuals to give
new effects. Our VFX team
has not had the required
time needed but they have
still done a fabulous job,”
Singh says.
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he State procures all essential commodities, excepting
rice, to meet people’s requirement every year. The data for
the last seven years (from 200910 to 2015-16) furnished by
Food Supplies and Consumer
Welfare Minister Sanjay
Dasburma
in
the
State Assembly on Saturday
revealed this.
T
In response to a question of
Congress MLA Naba Das, the
Minister said the State’s annual requirement of essential
commodities was based on the
National Sample Survey (NSS)
and National Census data while
production was assessed by
the Agriculture Department.
As per the 61th, 66th and
68th rounds of the NSS report,
while the State remained selfsufficient in rice production,
excepting in the year 2011-12,
it produced meagre portions of
potato and wheat and wheatrelated products vis-à-vis
requirement. But there was no
production in pulses, edible oil,
sugar and onion in any year
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he State Government has
admitted that quite a large
T
number of teaching posts in the
Biju Patnaik University of
Technology (BPUT) Rourkela
and Veer Surendra Sai
University of Technology
(VSSUT), Bulra are lying vacant
and assured to fill them by end
of 2016. To a question of BJP
MLA Dilip Ray in this connection, Skill Development and
Technical Education Minister
Sanjay Dasburma informed that
in the BPUT of the 55 sanctioned posts of Professors, 50 are
vacant, of 144 sanctioned posts
of Associate Professors, 107
posts are vacant and of 257
Assistant Professors, 109 posts
are vacant.
Similarly, in the VSSUT, 24
posts of Professors are vacant of
54 sanctioned posts, 50 posts of
Associate Professors are vacant
of 95 sanctioned posts and 50
posts of Assistant Professors are
vacant of 164 sanctioned posts.
Dasburma also informed
that in the Skill Development
and Technical Education
Department, there are two universities such as BPUT and
VSSUT, while under the BPUT
there are five affiliated technical colleges. The Minister said
that only VSSUT has got the
NAAC accreditation, while both
BPUT and VSSUT are not in the
list of the best 100 universities
in India recently graded by the
Centre.
He further informed that
there are 32 Government polytechnic and engineering schools
and as many as 44 Government
ITIs in the State. The Minister
also stated that in the Indira
Gandhi Institute of Technology
(IGIT), Sarang in Dhenkanal
district, there are 152 sanctioned teaching posts, while 70
of them are lying vacant.
Similarly, 13 non teaching posts
are vacant in the IGIT.
from 2009-10 to 2015-16.
In 2009-10, the State
required 62 lakh metric tonnes
of rice against which the production was 72.55 lakh MT. To
meet wheat and wheat related
products, the State imported
3.19 lakh MT against the
requirement of 3.62 lakh MT.
As there was no production of
pulses, edible oil, sugar and
onion in the year, the State pro-
cured 2.59 lakh MT of pulses,
1.5 lakh MT of edible oil, 1.86
lakh MT of sugar and 2.19 lakh
MT of onion from outside to
meet the requirement. A whopping 6.11 lakh MT of potato
were procured against the
requirement of 8.9 lakh MT.
The requirement and production of these items kept
changing in the subsequent
years. However, there was
shortfall in rice production in
2011-12. The State had to procure 5.85 lakh MT of rice
against requirement of 64.8
lakh MT.
The 68th of the NSS report
stated that the State procured
5.41 lakh MT of wheat and
wheat related products, 2.86
lakh MT of pulses, 1.66 lakh
MT of edible oil, 2.06 lakh
tonne of sugar, 12.02 lakh
tonne of potato and 3.88 lakh
tonne of onion to meet
requirements in the year 201516.
The Minister said that the
essential commodities were
commonly sold in the open
market. But during shortage
periods, the Government sold
concerned commodities
through Government retail
counters without profit.
The Government had to
supply potato, onion and dal in
the last two years, 2014-15
and 2015-16.
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ith Panchayat elections in
W
the State due early next
year, Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik
on
Saturday
announced a series of sops for
construction and other unorganised workers.
Patnaik made a series of
announcements, including pension to construction workers
and scholarships to their children, in the State Assembly here.
Under this new initiative,
construction workers registered under the Odisha
Building
and
Other
Construction Workers’ Welfare
Board would reap the benefits.
The construction workers
above 60 would get a pension
at par with the Madhu Babu
Pension Yojana (MBPY).
Similarly, the CM also
announced an annual scholarship for the children of construction workers studying in
Classes-VI to X.
“Annual scholarships of
C2,000 will be given to children
of construction worker families
studying in Class-VIII, C3,000
for Class-IX and C4,000 for
Class-X students. A onetime
cash award of C10,000 will be
given to meritorious Class-X
students who pass with more
than 90 per cent marks. Girl
students of construction worker families studying in ClassesVI and VII will be given cash
incentive of C2,000 per year,”
Patnaik said.
Besides, a cash incentive to
pregnant and nursing mothers
of construction worker families
would be enhanced from
C8,000 to C10,000 over and
above the assistance given
under the Mamata Yojana.
The Government also
announced an increase in the
assistance under the Nirman
Shramik Pucca Ghar Yojana by
C20,000 over and above the
MGNREGS and Swachha
Bharat Abhiyan Incentive,
thereby enhancing the cost of
construction of each house to
C1.50 lakh.
As for health facility to
them, the Government also
announced a medical assistance up to C3 lakh for treatment of nervous disorders, cardiovascular diseases, kidney
problems, cancer and
orthopaedic disorders provided they are registered for at least
one year with the Construction
Workers’ Welfare Board.
Besides, a provision of
funds for C5 crore has been
made for implementation of
programmes under the
Unorganised Workers’ Social
Security Act, the CM added.
C81B549C@ED51719>
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he Khandagiri police on
Saturday registered anothT
er cheating case against three
directors of the Air Odisha
Aviation Private Limited
(AOAPL), a charter air company, for allegedly duping a
city-based jeweller of C1.5 crore.
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The Khandagiri police,
which had earlier reportedly
refuse to receive the complaint, registered the case after
the jeweller Mitesh Khimiji had
moved the Bhubaneswar SDJM
Court recently. He has alleged
that the airliner cheated him
after promising to give 40 per
cent of its shares in return to his
investment of C1.5 crore.
He has named Air Odisha
CMD Radhakanta Pani and its
two other directors Ashutosh
Pani and Santosh Pani as
accused in the case.
Acting on the petition, the
court had directed the
Khandagiri police to register a
case against the company and
its directors under Sections
406, 417 and 420, 506 and 120
(B) (conspiracy) of IPC and
investigate the matter, sources
said.
On March 25 too, BJP
MLA Dilip Ray’s son Sandip
Ray had lodged a complaint at
the Khandagiri police against
the Air Odisha accusing it of
embezzling his investment of
C40 lakh.
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inally ending all suspense,
NIT, Rourkela (NITR)
Director Prof Sunil Kumar
Sarangi tendered his resignation to the Union Ministry of
Human Resource Development
(MHRD) on Saturday through
e-mail following a direction of
the Ministry after a high-level
meeting held on April 22.
According to Sarangi, he
would be sending the hard
copy of his resignation letter on
Monday and the remaining
formalities would be processed
by the Ministry.
Sources said the resignation would first be accepted by
7ZRDSSRLQWHG
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?=BQ 1A07<0?DA
he appointment of two
senior doctors in the post
T
of Chief District Medical Office
(CDMO) for Gajam has raised
eyebrows here, especially when
there is acute shortage of doctors in various medicals of the
district.
Additional
Director
(Health) DR Manoj Kumar
Behera has been appointed as
CDMO of the District
Headquarters
Hospital,
Ganjam. But Joint Director
(Health) Dr Saroj Kumar
Nayak, who is in the CDMO
cadre, has also been appointed
as CDMO. Sources said such
anomalies have also been
found in Bhadrak and
Nabarangpur district as well.
The intellectuals here have
decried the appointment of
two doctors in a single post.
the Ministry and then sent for
assent of the President of India.
Hence, it might take a minimum of seven more days.
It may be mentioned that
the selection process for a new
NITR Director will begin from
May 7. Since last one year, the
differences between Prof
Sarangi and Board of
Governors Chairperson
Vasantha Ramaswamy have
been continuing. Due to this,
many development works of
NIT Rourkela are affected and
the =Ministry has cut down the
sanction amount.
Considering the dignity of
the institution, the MHRD
called the April 22 high-level
meeting and finally asked both
the Director and Board
Chairperson to quit voluntarily within a week. Now, all eyes
are on the MHRD’s next course
of action.
?=BQ 0C7060A7
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he carcasses of about five
fter achieving the mileT
monkeys were found in Astone of highest cargo hanthe Narasinghpur jungle on dling in the history of the
Friday.
When some villagers went
inside the jungle to pick up
mangoes, they had putrefying
smell. On search, they found
the carcasses. They informed
forest officers about this.
The officers said the simians died due to thirst as there
is acute scarcity of water in the
prevailing heat wave conditions.
Paradip Port in the last financial year, the Paradip Port
Trust (PPT) has created two
all-time records in the first
month (April) of the current
financial year.
The highest quantity of
4,64,500 MT of cargo was handled in a single day on April 29,
surpassing the highest of
4,20,189 MT of cargo handled
earlier on March 30, 2016.
Similarly a record quantity of 27,236 MT cargo of
chrome concentrate was loaded
in a single day on April 29 in
the vessel MV Eagle Strait at
the EQ-2 berth, surpassing
the previous highest record of
26,500 MT of same cargo of
chrome concentrate in the vessel MV Glovis Master on
March 14, 2014.
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dharna staged by IOCL
land oustees under the
A
banner of the Jamihara
Krushak Ekta Manch here
since April 25 last demanding
employment has entered into
the 6th day on Saturday.
Anti-Posco leader Abhaya
Sahoo spearheading the movement was on Tuesday arrested
along with his supporters and
they all are now in jail. Many
displaced villagers had
launched an indefinite hunger
strike in front of the office of
the oil refinery on February 2
on the eve of the visit of the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to Paradip to inaugurate the
IOCL plant. But they called off
their strike after the officials
assured them to provide job.
The Paradip IOCL refinery
had acquired 3,300 hectares
(ha) of land for its oil refinery
project in 17 villages under
Kujang tehsil of Jagatsinghpur
district. About 1,752 families
were affected by the project. At
least Rs 49 crore was given to
the families as compensation
against the land acquired.
However, they have also been
demanding training for the
unemployed youths and
peripheral development. The
agitators said they are determined to intensify the agitation.
ASP Madhab Charan Sahu
said four platoons of police
personnel have been deployed
around the refinery to maintain
law and order.
However, in a Press release,
Paradip IOCL refinery management clarified that the compensation amount was deposited by the IOCL to the State
Government towards land
acquired by the latter. Since
beginning of construction
activities in 2009, all possible
efforts were made by the IOCL
for engagement of maximum
of locals (displaced, land losers
and other local unemployed
youths) by providing adequate
safeguards in the contracts.
Around 60 per cent workers
engaged in construction activities were locals including the
displaced and the land losers.
The land losers have also been
engaged in various maintenance, housekeeping and support services inside and outside the refinery.
The IOCL has complied
with the provisions of the
R&R Policy 2002 for resettlement and rehabilitation of
project displaced persons. The
policy does not cover the land
losers. Further, the IOCL management relaxed educational
qualification and experience in
selection of Junior Engineering
Assistants in 2014 and 2015,
with a view to provide opportunities to local candidates of
Odisha and have maximum
local representation in regular
categories of employees.
Additionally, opportunities
were provided to local candidates having Diploma qualifications in Chemical, Electrical
and Mechanical Engineering
as well as ITI (Fitter) qualification without experience for
engagement as apprentices
under Apprentices Act.
Also the Paradip refinery
sponsored 65 candidates
belonging to displaced families
for skill development in ITI
Cuttack in 2005. Last year,
IOCL sponsored 30 candidates belonging to land loser
families for skill development
training on Plastics Processing
Machine Operation at CIPET,
Bhubaneswar.
Considering placement
assurances for majority of the
candidates, action is in hand
for sponsoring another batch
of 50 candidates belonging to
land loser families at CIPET,
Bhubaneswar.
While 80 per cent of the
workforce engaged the PP project are locals, land losers were
considered for engagement in
the ongoing PP project jobs in
the categories of rod fitter, carpenter, welder, mason and
helper. The requirement of
manpower in the PP project
jobs will go up in future, providing further opportunities
for engagement of land losers.
The IOCL refinery further
added that it remains committed to development of
Odisha and welfare of the
local people. However, for
smooth operation of the refinery and execution of ongoing
project jobs, industrial harmony is of utmost importance.
Meanwhile, the IOCL
management appealed to the
agitators to withdraw their
protest.
9,06$5MXQLRUPHGLFRV¶
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ealth services at the Veer
Surendra Sai Medical
H
Science and Research (VIMSAR), Burla would be adversely hit from Sunday as the
Junior Doctors’ Association
(JDA) of west Odisha’s premier
medical institute decided to go
on a cease-work agitation for
an indefinite period for fulfilment of their longstanding
demands.
The VIMSAR authorities
have suspended the leave applications of senior and other doc-
tors and asked them to join
duty.
Association president
Shankar Ramchandani said
they are forced to resort to agitation again as the Government
has failed to address their genuine demands.
“We called off our proposed cease-work stir from
April 1 after the Government
assured us to fulfil our
demands by April 30. But nothing tangible has happened as
yet,” rued Ramachandi, adding
that only one demand, shifting
of female medicine ward to the
new building, has been met.
Demands like installation
of a Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) machine, delegation of financial and admin-
istrative power to the VIMSAR
authorities, strengthening of
security at the hospital premises, round-the-clock water and
electricity supply to operation
theatres, labour room, Special
Newborn Care Unit, ICU, medicine wards and hostels, hike in
library fund and increase in
library staff, filling up of vacant
teaching and nonteaching
posts, making the Regional
Diagnostic Centre (RDC) functional round the clock and
establishing a good canteen for
doctors still remain unheard,
he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Dr Braja
Mohan Mishra was appointed
as the new VIMSAR
Superintendent. He took
charge on Saturday.
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emuna police arrested a
youth in a rape and murder
case which occurred six days
ago. The accused was identified
as Muna Das, a resident of
Hathiagand village under
Remuna Police Station limits.
The police said the
accused, originally a native of
Basudevpur block under
Bhadrak district, was residing
in Remuna in his relative’s
house.
After committing the
crime, the accused had
absconded and taken shelter at
another relative’s house in
Nilgiri.
He was forwarded to court
after being booked under the
45=1>46?B:?2
R
various Sections of IPC.
He killed the deceased after
she told that she would reveal
about the rape. He dumped the
body inside bamboo bushes,
said police.
The decreased was not
traced since Sunday afternoon.
Next day her body with injury
marks was recovered.
Preliminary investigation suggested that she was raped and
later murdered.
It may be noted after the
incident came to light the
enraged villagers picketed on
the village main road by burning tyres and demanded arrest
of the culprit, besides compensation for the bereaved
family.
The situation was pacified
with the intervention of the
administration. The issue was
even raked up by the political
parties.
“The accused was in our
suspect list. After interrogation
he confessed to the crime. He
was forwarded to court on
Saturday,” said Remuna Police
Station IIC Surendra Nayak.
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ransport Minister Ramesh
T
Chandra Majhi on
Saturday told the State
Assembly that the Government
would certainly consider a
proposal, if given by any interested bus owner, to run private
town
buses
in
the
Bhubaneswar-Cuttack twin
city.
He said this in response to
question of BJD member Amar
Prasad Satpathy, who had
wanted to know whether the
Government would take
appropriate steps to run the
required number of town buses
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in the two cities.
The Minister too informed
that approximately 32,800
auto-rickshaws have so far
been registered in the twin city.
Apart from this, many town
buses are running thought the
BPTCL. The Government
would consider a proposal to
run private town buses in the
two cities.
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ontinuing its protests
against the controversial
C
statements by Justice MM Das,
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he demand of Justice
T
Madan Mohan Das’
removal from the chit fund
judicial inquiry commission
continued across the State on
Saturday.
A group of civil society
leaders and activists met
Governor SC Jamir here and
submitted a memorandum
highlighting Justice Das’ highly- questionable statements
against the duped chit fund
investors and argued for his
removal as the head of the
commission.
“The statement of Justice
MM Das has shocked people,
particularly the duped
investors. The remarks are
regrettable. How could a judicial commission make
unfavourable statements
against the depositors before
submitting his report? How can
remarks of a judicial commission be personal when the
probe is incomplete,” questioned RTI activists Pradip
Pradhan, who led the delegation to the Governor.
“We sought intervention of
the Governor and demanded
ouster of Justice Das,” Pradhan
added.
While addressing a gathering of the BJD Lawyers’
Forum on April 28, Justice
Das had wondered why the
State Government should take
the responsibility of returning
the investors’ money as they
had invested in the chit fund
companies out of sheer greed.
The remarks have sparked a
widespread controversy.
head of the single-man Judicial
Commission of Enquiry into
the chit fund scam, the
Congress on Saturday submitted a memorandum to the
Governor demanding his
removal from the panel forthwith.
A delegation of the party
led by its Cuttack city president
Md Moqim submitted the
memorandum through the
district Collector here. The
party had also staged a dharna in front of the commission’s
office here on Friday in which
hundreds of investors, who
have been duped by the chit
fund companies, participated.
“Since Justice Das was
appointed by the State
Government to conduct a judicial inquiry into the scam and
find out the roles of influential
persons in it, he should have
not attended a political party
meeting and aired his opinions
on the scam before completion
173&FKLHIVWUHVVHVRQ
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TPC Limited CMD
N
Gurdeep Singh made his
maiden visit to the Talcher
gested for massive plantation
inside the plant campus and its
periphery areas and also called
upon the employees to focus on
low cost power generation and
low emission. “Power station
efficiency and adhering to safety standards should be the
focus. In the coming years,
power generation from renewable resources will take a big
leap,” he stressed.
Later, the CMD visited the
A8E;F6aP\PA^iVPaBTePZ
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?=BQ 2DCC02:
igilance officials on Friday
arrested contractual Gram
V
Rozgar Sevak Dhaneswar Dash
of Gop block in Puri district for
demanding and accepting bribe
of C10,000 from Trilochan
Swain of Desunthi village.
The complainant had
alleged that earth work of the
road from Bahabala Sarangi
Sahi to Nayahat RD Road
with an estimated cost of
C3,00,000 was executed by
him and some villagers. After
completion of the work, they
received C2,30,000. When
Swain requested the accused
to release rest C70,000, the latter demanded the bribe. Swain
later reported the matter to
the Vigilance, following which
a trap was laid and Das was
caught red-handed.
Similarly, VLW-cumExecutive
Officer
(Contractual) Ranjan Patra
of Boulanga gram panchayat
of the inquiry,” the memorandum said.
The Congress particualrly condemned Justice Das’
observations that the chit fund
business had assumed the
shape of cottage industry and
people invested in it due to
their greed. The party also
denounced Jusice Das’ alleged
attempt to give a clean chit to
the Government even before
the inquiry is over.
The Congress threatened
to continue its agitation in
more a vigorous way if its
demands are not paid heed
soon.
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Kaniha plant on Friday and
Saturday.
Singh, who took over the
charge of NTPC CMD on April
29, was welcomed by Kaniha
Executive Director NK Kothari
and other senior officials and
representatives of various
unions and associations.
Addressing a large gathering of the employees, Singh said
it’s a matter of great pride to be
associated with the dedicated
team of the NTPC. He hoped
that the NTPC Kaniha would
rank number one power station
in the whole country in the
next three years. Singh sug-
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in the district was caught redhanded by Vigilance officers
for demanding and accepting
bribe of C2,000. He had
demanded the bribe from
Sibaram Pradhan of Banahara
village for releasing bill
amounting to C10,000 in the
latter’s favour for construction
of an IAY house.
In YET another case in
Dhenkanal district, Revenue
Inspector Trilochan Pradhan
of Kualu Circle and his private
person Antaryami Samal of
Bangura village under the
Kamakhya Nagar police station were arrested by
Vigilance officers for demanding and accepting C1,000 bribe
from Kailash Nayak of
Saranga village for preparation
of trace map for his land.
Nayak later reported the matter to Vigilance. A trap was
laid and Samal was caught
red-handed while receiving
the bribe under Pradhan’s
direction,
Stage-II control room and
model room and had an interaction with the senior officials
and reviewed the station’s performance.
NTPL RED (ER- II)
Arvind Kumar said “The eastern region has been declared as
the best performing region in
terms of plant load factor (PLF)
due to the good performances
by Talcher Thermal and
Talcher Kaniha power station”.
The State Government on
Saturday inducted 1,370 constables into the newly-raised
Odisha Industrial Security
Force (OISF) that has been
formed to protect industrial
undertakings of the State
Government.
Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik inaugurated the
insignia of the OISF and distributed appointment letters
to the new recruits. The OISF
started functioning from
Saturday. The recruits will be
given nine months of training
in the line of the Central
Industrial Security Force
(CISF). They will be responsible for protection and security
of industrial undertakings of
the state Government and
other establishments as well as
strategic and vital installations.
The officers of the special
force will be deputed from the
Odisha police.
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he Odisha Jan Morcha
T
(OJM) district presidents’
meet was held here on Friday
with the party’s president and
MP Pyarimohan Mohapatra
advising the party workers to
remain in touch with the people at the grassroots and fight
for their cause.
Addressing the meeting,
Mohapatra laid stress on the
administration reaching out
to the people in villages and
trying to sort out their basic
problems.
He demanded that each
village be made a panchayat
and there should be five elected leaders to have one year
term of Sarpanch each.
Mohapatra said this would
lessen corruption.
Mohapatra also emphasized the need for local employ-
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he Keonjhar Special
T
Vigilance Judge on
Saturday awarded three years of
Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to
Baleswar Assistant Labour
Officer Satrughna Patra for
demanding and accepting bribe
of Rs 3,000 during his tenure as
the Assistant Labour Officer of
Keonjhar.
The judge also imposed a
fine of Rs 30,000 on Patra, who
would undergo RI for one year
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ommemorating the AntiC
Child Labour Day, a human
chain involving a hundred
activists was organised here on
Saturday.
Holding placards, the
activists demanded creation of
more if he fails to pay the fine.
The Judge further sentenced him to undergo RI for
one year and a fine of Rs
10,000, in default of which
Patra would spend six months
more in jail. Both the sentences
would run concurrently.
Patra had demanded the
bribe from Senior Office
Manager Suresh Chandra Sethi
of the MMTC Ltd, Barbil for
renewal of labour registration
certificate of the company for
a year.
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he State Government has so
far initiated actions against
T
251 families which obtained
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avratna CPSE National
Aluminium Company
N
Limited (Nalco) on Saturday
released the 4th edition of its
Sustainable Development
Report based on the latest
guidelines (GRI G4) of the
internationally acclaimed
Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI). Headquartered in
Amsterdam, the GRI has
developed an elaborate and
c r it i c a l f r am e wor k for
reporting on socioeconomic
and environmental aspects of
an organisation. It is an independent body that collaborates with the United Nations
Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the United
Nations Global Compact.
Presently, about 7,500 organisations across the globe are
using the GRI guidelines.
Nalco CMD Dr Tapan
Ku m ar
C h an d
s ai d ,
“Sustainability reporting has
emerged as an excellent
management practice adopted by progressive organisations world over. Nalco is one
of the few such organisations in India which has successfully undergone content
index service assessment by
GRI.”
“We have comprehensively addressed the sustainability issues from organisational point of view like
socioeconomic, environmental, ethical and governance,
which greatly impact the
society,” Dr Chand added.
The report will also be hosted on public domain.
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a child labour-free Odisha, quality education for all children,
proper identification of child
labour practices and convergence among line departments
to combat child labour. A street
play was later held at Lower
PMG Square here to make the
public and Government officials
aware on the issue. The human
chain and the street play were
jointly organised by the Child
rights forum Campaign Against
Child labour (CACL), the
Centre for Child And Women
Development (CCWD), the
Sakar and the Ruchika.
ment in industries and proposed setting up of small scale
industries for protection of
livelihood of the people. He
also laid stress on steps to stop
distress sale of paddy and other
farm produces and bridging the
gap between the rich and the
poor.
Mohapatra urged his party
men to increase the number of
members and strengthen the
party’s organizational base.
He felicitated Dhauli
Sarpanch Rabi Maharana, the
president of OJM Bhubaneswar
unit, who got the best Sarpanch
award from Prime Minister
Narendra Modi at the
Jameshedpur meeting on the
Panchayati Raj Day.
Among others, Jangeswar
Babu, Bibhuti Bhusan Mishra,
Santosh Mohapatra, Nakul
Nayak and Birakishore Parida
were present.
CACL convenor Sudhir
Sabat said the Government
should take necessary measures to identify child labourer practices in different districts. Besides, massive awareness is highly necessary to
combat child labour, he added.
Later, a five-member team
submitted a 10-charter point of
demands to the Governor in
this regard.Among others,
CCWD member Sadasiv Swain,
Ranjit Pattanayak, Rameswar
Prasad Dwibedi and D
Swaruparani spoke on this
occasion.
ration cards under the National
Food Security Act (NFSA)
fraudulently.
Food Supplies and
Consumer Welfare Minister
Sanjay Dasburma said this in
the Assembly on Saturday in
response to a question of
Congress MLA Tara Prasad
Bahinipati.
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He said a total of 88,178
families have voluntarily
returned ration cards taken by
them producing false information. However, he said that
the Government has no information if any of the undeserving cardholders belonged to the
ruling party.
In a response to a related
question of BJP MLA Dilip Ray,
the Minister said a total of
3,16,67,410 persons belonging
to 84,40,545 families have been
included in the NFSA against
the target of 326.418 lakh people. Only economically week
families, based on Government
guidelines, are being given
NFSA cards, he said.
The Government has
urged the oil companies to
open non-PDS kerosene outlet
in all districts and provide
kerosene the families who have
been deprived of getting
kerosene after implementation
of the NFSA , Dasburma said
in response to a question of
BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap
Swain.
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he demand for use of Odia
as the official language in
T
the State Governance has
gained momentum in Gajapati
district’s headquarters here with
Odia lovers launching an indefinite movement on Saturday to
press for the demand.
The movement was
launched at the Samadhi Peetha
of Parala Maharaja Krushna
Chandra Gajapati.
As part of the movement,
people from various walks of
life would take out a silent procession from the Samadhi
Peetha holding black flags.
They would move across the
town and gather near the statue of the Parala Maharaja at
Bazaar Square to stage silent
demonstration to press for the
demand.
On the first day, educationist Gourachandra Panda,
engineer Meenaketan Das,
social activist Bharatbhusan
Mohanty, farmer leader Surya
Narayan Pattnaik led by noted
social worker Purnachandra
Mohapatra took out a silent
march from the Maharaja
Samadhi Peetha and later
staged a demonstration before
his statue. Many intellectuals
and residents welcomed the
drive and demanded use of
Odia as the official language.
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he CBI on Saturday questioned former deputy chief
of Indian Air Force JS Gujral
in connection with alleged
irregularities in the now
scrapped C3,600 crore VVIP
chopper
deal
with
AgustaWestland.
The agency has also summoned former IAF Chief SP
Tyagi for questioning on
Monday. Tyagi’s cousins will
also be subjected to a fresh
round of questioning in the
wake of the Milan Court of
Appeals order.
Air Marshal (Retd) Gujral
arrived at the CBI headquarters
here in the morning and
appeared before the investigation team probing the case
and was questioned for several hours. Gujral was one of the
many senior officials who were
part of the meeting in August
2005 when a decision to alter
the required specifications of
the choppers was taken.
Both were questioned at
length in 2013 but the fresh
round of questioning was neces-
T
Ac`SVe`T]VRc
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efence Minister Manohar
Parrikar on Saturday said
D
investigations will make it
clear how much in kickbacks
was paid and to whom but the
manner in which the deal was
inked and efforts were made to
favour a particular company
will have to be explained by
those in power at the time.
“The moot question is
who took the money in Agusta
deal. Those who were at the
helm at the time when the deal
was struck owe an explanation.
The Italian court has clearly
said that an amount of C125
crore was paid. It has even disclosed some names. The
Government of that day needs
to answer,” he told reporters on
the sidelines of foundation
laying ceremony here.
However, he said he would
not speak much on the issue as
the matter is to be sorted out
in Parliament.
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sitated after the April 7 order of
an Italian court in which Tyagi’s
name and several other Indian
politicians and bureaucrats
appeared as the beneficiary of
the VVIP chopper deal.
CBI has so far maintained
that Gujral was questioned as
a witness but remained tight
lipped if he will still retain the
same status. Maintaining that
Gujral was cooperating during
the questioning on Saturday,
agency sources said he will be
called again soon.
The agency had registered
a case against former IAF
Chief Tyagi along with 13
others including his cousins
and European middlemen in
the case.
Tyagi has, however, denied
the allegations saying he was
not the sole authority to take
any final decision.
The allegation against the
former Air Chief was that he
had reduced operational ceiling
of the helicopter from the
required altitude of 6,000 m to
4,500 m (15,000ft) so that
AgustaWestland was included
in the bidding process.
However, the decision was
taken in consultation with the
officials of SPG (BV Wanchoo)
and the Prime Minister’s Office
including then NSA MK
Narayanan. The CBI had earlier questioned them in connection with its probe into the
case and may question them
afresh in the light of the recent
developments, sources said.
The sources said the decision
could have been vetted at multiple levels to evade prosecution.
CBI has alleged that reduction of the service ceiling —
maximum altitude at which a
helicopter can operate —
allowed the UK-based firm to
get into the fray as, otherwise, its
helicopters were not even qualified for submission of the bids.
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ontinuing its attack
C
against Sonia Gandhi, the
BJP claimed the then Defence
Minister AK Antony had
objected to relaxations extended to AgustaWestland regarding field trials but was “overridden”, and suggested that the
C ongress president was
behind it.
“AK Antony had questioned the proposal to have
the field trial abroad. This is
what the CAG report also
cites. This is what Anotny had
stated, What is the guarantee
that credibility of this trial will
remain above board if they do
not take place in this country.
He had recorded on file that
this cannot be allowed. The
Defence Minister wants RFP
(request for proposals) conditions to be imposed. Who in
the UPA Government or who
in the Congress other than
Sonia Gandhi and her adviser has the authority to override Antony, his objections.
Only one who could tell him
to keep quiet, who could
silence him was S onia
Gandhi,” BJP spokesperson
GVL Narsimha Rao told
media persons.
There is so much circumstantial evidence to show that
the role of Congress bigwigs
was there in the approval of
contract and its operationalisation, Rao said.
Antony had questioned
the rationale behind allowing
the firm to conduct the field
trial of choppers in its premises and not in India, an initial
condition in the RFP, asking
what is the guarantee it will
remain above board.
He also said the benchmark price decided for a
chopper by the UPA
Government was much higher than the price offered by
AgustaWestland, allowing no
room for negotiation and
added that CAG too had
pointed it out. He said the real
size of the scam is much bigger that what has been reported so far, which is just the tip
of the iceberg.
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Amit Shah trying to create smokescreen CWThRa^bbTgP\X]TS
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with bundle of lies, says Congress
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he Congress on Saturday
rubbished BJP chief Amit
T
Shah’s allegations against party
president Sonia Gandhi and
also dared Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to take “strong”
action against “bribe givers
and
takers”
in
the
AgustaWestland chopper deal.
It termed all charges as
“deliberate lies” and demanded
that Amit Shah apologise for his
“politics of deceit” and attempts
to create a smokescreen to
“befool the people”. The party
also asked the Prime Minister to
tell what connection, if any, his
Government has with former
Air Force Chief SP Tyagi, an
accused in the chopper deal case.
Congress has been facing
the heat over the chopper deal
that has put party’s top leadership in the ‘dock’ and generated much heat inside and out-
side the Parliament.
Hitting back at BJP for targeting Congress in the case, former Defence Minister AK
Antony dared the Narendra
Modi Government to take
“strong” action against “bribe
givers and takers”. Asserting that
no names were revealed in the
Italian court which convicted
former
employees
of
AgustaWestland for giving bribes
in the deal, Antony said, “At
every stage in the Italian court,
our lawyer represented the case.
“They cross examined all
witnesses. At no stage, names
were revealed. My question is
now — CBI is with present
Government, ED (Enforcement
Directorate) is with present
Government. Why delay, if
there is evidence?” Antony said
at Thiruvananthpuram.
Addressing a Press conference at AICC headquarters,
party’s chief spokesman
Randeep Surjewala posed a
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number of questions to Shah
who
has
dubbed
AgustaWestland and its parent
company Finmecanica a ‘bogus
company’.
He asked the BJP chief
whether he would ask Modi
Government as to why it has
been “protecting” the same
“bogus company” for last
two years as CBI and ED
investigations have “reached
no conclusion”.
“Will Amit Shah and BJP
answer the people as to why the
same ‘fraud company’ was permitted to be part of Prime
Minister’s ‘Make-in-India’ programme and participate in
‘Aero India Exhibition’?”, he
said while releasing purportedly related documents.
Besides, he asked Shah to
also answer as to why the same
“fraud company” was being
given permission by Foreign
Investment Promotion Board
of Modi Government as recently as on October 8, 2015.
“Will Shah also answer as
to why the same ‘fraud company’ was given permission to
participate in defence contract
as a ‘sub-contractor’ as also
‘supplier to a contracting party’
with Government of India by
order dated 22.08.2014 of
Ministry of Defence?”, he asked.
Surjewala dismissed as a
“bundle of lies” Shah’s claim
that the bank guarantee of the
defaulting
company
AgustaWestland was not
encashed by the previous
Congress Government.
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he NDA-Congress battle
over the AgustaWestland
T
chopper deal was taken to the
Kerala Assembly poll scene on
Saturday with Union Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley terming
as a figment of imagination the
theory that the company was
blacklisted during the UPA
rule and this was lifted by the
NDA regime and former
Defence Minister AK Antony
daring the Narendra Modi
Government to take action
against the givers and takers of
bribe if there was evidence.
Targeting Antony for his
statement that the former UPA
Government had blacklisted
AgustaWestland-Finmeccanica
after the issue of bribe in the
chopper deal came out, Jaitley
said while talking to newsmen
after releasing the Vision
Document of the Kerala NDA
for the Assembly poll that the
statement was incorrect.
“This is a figment of some-
body’s imagination,” Jaitley said
alleging that the decision to
award the contract was influenced by bribery. “The buck
stops with those who took the
decision (to award the contract)
and the decision was influ-
enced by bribery. There is this
fact that bribery was unquestionably there,” the Union
Minister said.
Stating that there was a
transaction in which the bribegiver was being convicted,
Jaitley said, “We are only struggling to find out the taker of the
bribe… Strangers do not get
bribes. Obviously, the bribetaker has to be among those
who influenced to award the
contract,” Jaitley said.
Antony, who was in
Thiruvananthapuram to campaign for the Congress-led ruling UDF, sought to hit back at
Jaitley and the BJP by reiterat-
ing that the bribe-giver — the
company — was part of the
Make in India campaign of the
NDA Government and daring
the Centre to take “strong”
action against the bribe-givers
and bribe-takers if there was
any evidence.
“Why delay if there is evidence? The Italian court has
convicted the bribe-giver.
Please take action against the
bribe-taker. The CBI, the
Enforcement Directorate are all
with them (NDA),” the
Congress Working Committee
member said asserting that no
names had been revealed in the
Italian court at any stage.
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he Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) on Saturday asked
T
the Government to come clean
on allegations that former Air
Chief SP Tyagi had links with
Vivekananda Foundation, a
Delhi based think tank, once
headed by National Security
Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
AAP wondered whether this
was the reason behind the
probe agencies going “slow” in
the investigation.
The party which in power
in Delhi, also said both the
Congress and BJP have “blackened” their hands in the
AgustaWestland chopper deal
and demanded action against
those involved. The party has
called to gherao the residences
of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Congress President
Sonia Gandhi on May 7.
“This deal started during
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure. It
was completed by the
Manmohan Singh Government
and (it) cancelled the deal. It
appears that since Congress
and the BJP have both blackened their hands, this is why
the Modi Government is not
taking any action against Sonia
Gandhi,” AAP leader Sanjay
Singh said.
“If the intentions of Modi
Government is to combat corruption, then it should arrest
those involved in it, right from
Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel to
SP Tyagi and many other officers
and politicians...Whose name in
involved in the AgustaWestland
chopper deal. Even some journalists are believed to have been
involved,” he said.
The party also posed six
questions to the Government
over the investigations in the
deal. “What progress has the
Government done in the
AgustaWestland chopper deal
case and what is its outcome? If
the Government of Italy can
send the culprits to jail then
why was the Government sleeping over it for the last two years.
“When the name of Sonia
Gandhi and Ahmed Patel
cropped up in the Appellate
court in Italy the Modi
Government was pretending to
remain active. Had the
Government been actually active
in the last two years, then their
name would have come in the
probe done by the ED and the
CBI. And why did it have to wait
for Appellate Court’s order,”
AAP leader Ashutosh said.
“It is evident that SP Tyagi
has taken bribe. What is the
connection of SP Tyagi with
Vivekananda Foundation. NSA
Ajit Doval and Prime Minister’s
Principal Secretary Nripendra
Misra, both believed to be very
powerful bureaucrats linked
to Vivekananda Foundation.
“So what is the link of the
two with SP Tyagi. Why is he
still not being sent to jail. Why
should not this be believed that
there is friendship between
Ajit Doval and SP Tyagi and
this is why the probe is not getting over,” Ashutosh added.
Strongly refuting the allegations, the Government
termed attempts to link Doval
and Misra to one of the accused
as “totally baseless assertion and
indicative of malicious intent”.
Ashutosh also questioned
the Government for not interrogating Sonia Gandhi in the
case. “Amit Shah has asked
Sonia Gandhi to name bribetakers. Have they admitted the
fact that CBI and ED are unable
to find the truth which is why
they are asking the Congress to
reveal the names of the bribetakers. The Congress party has
challenged to investigate the
matter in two months. If the
culprits are challenging the
Government, then does the
government accept the challenge and complete the probe
and send them to jail by July 30,
2016,” he said.
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Patna: Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar on Saturday
questioned the seriousness of
NDA Government in probing
the AgustaWestland helicopter
deal and said an “impartial”
investigation should be held so
that the guilty are punished.
“Why so much time is
being taken for the inquiry into
the deal of AgustaWestland
chopper? Why has not the
Centre completed the probe
into the deal so far?” Kumar
told reporters while replying to
a query on the chopper deal.
“The present Government
is not serious regarding probe
into the chopper deal...They
are only looking for excuses
for making speeches on the
issue,” the JD(U) President
said, virtually echoing the
stand of the Congress which
is facing heat in Parliament
over the matter.
Earlier, senior BJP leader
Sushil Kumar Modi had questioned Kumar’s “silence” over
the chopper deal in which
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi
is under attack from ruling
party.
PTI
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he Telecom Commission
on Saturday favoured
T
putting all available spectrum
for auction at price suggested by
sectoral regulator Trai, which
could fetch the exchequer
around C5.36 lakh crore.
“TC is of the view that all
available spectrum should be
put for auction at Trai-recommended price in the upcoming
auction. It will be send to the
Cabinet for final approval,” a
source said. The auction is to be
held in July and would include
sale of most premium 700 Mhz
band at a price of C11,485 crore
per Mhz. The cost of delivering
mobile services in this band is
estimated to be around 70 per
cent lower than 2100 Mhz band,
used for providing 3G services.
As per the rule approved by
the inter-ministerial panel
chaired by Telecom Secretary JS
Deepak, a company interested
in buying spectrum in 700 Mhz
band will need to shell out a
minimum of C57,425 crore for
a block of 5Mhz on pan-India
basis. This band alone has the
potential to fetch bids of over C4
lakh crore.
The total potential revenue
of C5.36 lakh crore from the
spectrum sale is more than
double of telecom services
industry gross revenue of C2.54
lakh crore reported in 2014-15
financial year. Leading operators
have requested to defer sale of
700 MHz spectrum, saying that
ecosystem for providing services
in this band was not developed
and sale would lead to underutilisation of the spectrum for
several years and block industry's fund.
As per global body industry body GSMA, the total recommended reserve price for the
auction is almost double the cost
of all spectrum investment to
date in India and more than 20
times the annual free cash flow
of the entire mobile industry.
The Government expects a
revenue of C98,995 crore from
the sector in 2016-17, which
includes proceeds from spectrum auction and other fees
levied by the DoT. The panel has
also suggested stringent payment conditions compared to
liberal method suggested by
Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India.
The panel has favoured that
companies winning spectrum in
higher frequency bands -- above
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1Ghz like 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz,
2300 Mhz -should make 50 per
cent upfront payment and rest
in 10 years after a 2-year moratorium. In earlier auctions,
companies were given option to
make 33 per cent upfront payment. For spectrum below 1Ghz
band such as 700 Mhz, 800
Mhz, 900 Mhz, companies will
require to pay 25 per cent
upfront and rest in 10 years after
Ac`SZ_XRXV_TZVdYRgVRSZ]Zej
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mid controversy over
A
alleged corruption in
C3,600-crore AgustaWestland
VVIP chopper deal, Minister of
State for Finance Jayant Sinha
on Saturday said investigators
have the ability to find the
money trail and the
Government will pursue the
matter for citizens' benefit.
“These are investigations
that our agencies are undertaking and they are very capable,” Sinha said in response to
a question on how confident
the Government is in proving
the money trail to Sonia Gandhi
or if it is just a political aggression.
“They (investigative agencies) have the ability to be able
to track down and find out
what the money trail is. Of
course, we will pursue the matter for the benefit of citizens of
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the country, wherever the investigation, wherever the evidence
may take us,” he said on the
sidelines of the Enforcement
Directorate Day here. The ruling BJP has been making allegations of involvement of top
leaders of the Congress in the
chopper deal.
The VVIP chopper deal
relates to a 2010 decision of the
the UPA Government to buy 12
ETQi;_dQ[*2Q^[ccX_e\T
V_Sec_^bUS_fUbY^WTeUc
NEW DELHI: Banks should
focus on recovery rather than
‘going after borrowers’, eminent
banker Uday Kotak said on
Saturday, a day after embattled
tycoon Vijay Mallya remarked that
arresting him will not help banks
recover any money.
“In banking, crucial to focus
on recovery of money lent as
Arjuna's eye. In going after borrowers are banks and system losing this key point?,” the CEO of
Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a
tweet. Mallya promoted companies, including the now defunct
Kingfisher Airlines owe over
C9,000 crores to a consortium of
17 banks led by the SBI. The consortium alleged in the Supreme
Court that the industrialist was not
cooperating in probing of cases
lodged against him and was averse
to disclosing his foreign assets. In
an interview to Financial Times,
Mallya said he was in a ‘forced exile’
and disclosed no immediate plans
to return to India where things are
flying at him ‘fast and furious’.
Mallya, whose passport was
revoked this month, said he
wants a ‘reasonable’ settlement
with creditor banks for his
defunct airline, but they ‘are not
getting any money’ by taking his
passport or arresting him. PTI
helicopters from Italian manufacturer, Finmeccanica, a unit of
AgustaWestland.
CBI, in 2013, had registered
a case in connection with
alleged bribes paid by the firm
to Indians to clinch the deal for
12 helicopters to ferry VVIPs,
including the President and
the Prime Minister.
With regard to the C9,000crore loan default case involving Vijay Mallya, Sinha said
these are commercial matters
and banks are pursuing these
cases. “It is obviously for them
as well as as investigative agencies that are pursuing cases
against Mallya. We have a very
robust as well as a very independent process both on the
commercial side as well as on
the investigative side,” he said.
Asked if Mallya would be
deported to India for prosecution, Sinha replied, “These are
government to Government
matters that have to resolved
taking into account laws of
both the countries. We have
made filing with respect to
Mallya and we have to proceed
as per the law.”
Earlier this week, India
asked the UK to deport Mallya,
whose Kingfisher Airlines has
been accused of loan default, citing the revocation of his passport and a non-bailable warrant
against him. Sinha stressed on
the need for sharing of intelligence among various agencies
and use of big data analytics for
efficient investigation.
“The one area that I think
we need to do in the directorate and across other
Government investigative
agencies is in big data analytics, particularly in being able to
access data across different
Government investigative
agencies,” he said in his address
at the Enforcement Day event.
?ZddR_cVTR]]d$)^_
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3PccPcaThPST]XTb]^SXUUTaT]RTb
fXcW5X]<X]^eTa4?5X]cTaTbcaPcT
TOKYO: Nissan has said it
will recall more than 3.8 million
vehicles, mostly in North
America, because the passenger-side airbag may not deploy
in a crash due to a defect in the
seat sensor. The Japanese
automaker said the global recall
would cover 2013-2017 including some Nissan Altima, Leaf,
Maxima, Murano, Pathfinder,
Sentra and Rogue models.
“This recall will affect
approximately 3.5 million
Nissan vehicles and approximately 381,000 Infiniti vehicles
globally,” the company said in a
statement, adding that more
than 80 per cent of them were
sold in North America. PTI
PRASAR BHARATI
DIRECTORATE GENERAL: DOORDARSHAN
PURCHASE DIRECTORATE (ENGG.)
DOORDARSHAN BHAWAN
NEW DELHI-110001
F.No: 19(2)2016-17E1(P)TV
Date:25.04.2016
Notice inviting Global e-tender (NIT-02/2016-17)
E-tenders are invited for and on behalf of Prasar Bharati, Doordarshan under two bid systems for Supply/SITC/SETC/Services of following Equipment/spares from firms Registered with DGS&D/NSIC and from reputed manufacturers/authorized agents and stockiest dealing with the equipment as detailed below:
e-tender
notice no.
14(1)2016-17EI(P)TV
Brief Description
Qty
Estimated
Value (Rs.)
Date of
opening
JAMMU: Making a strong
pitch for creating linkages of
finance in Jammu and
Kashmir, RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan on Saturday
expressed hope that this will
help integrate the state with the
rest of the country and empower young local entrepreneurs.
“We are taking measurable
short-term initiatives. I think
J&K is in a better position in
making the state easy for financing, which can be a model for the
rest of the country to emulate,”
the Governor added.
Speaking at a luncheon
meeting with Rajan on Saturday,
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti
called on premier banking institutions to reach out to the state's
young and budding entrepreneurs by helping them establish
viable business units.
Several other issues related to
banking operations in the state
came up during the meeting. The
discussions also dwelt on a 12point plan aimed at putting together a stronger financing structure in
the state that goes beyond conventional banking.
PTI
Cost of
tender
document
(Rs./US$)
23.06.2016 Rs. 4000/At 12:00
US$85
Hrs
Earnest
Money
(Rs./US$)
Delivery
Period
Leasing of call centre
1 Set
3,08,00,000/Rs. 6,16,000/10 weeks
service for Conditional
+ Telecom
US$ 9085
Access System
charges for
implementation at DTH
two years as
Earth Station TODAPUR,
per actual
New Delhi
Pre bid conference for tenders 14(1)2016-17 EI(P)TV will be held on 25.05.2016 at 15:00 Hrs in Conference room, 6th floor, Phase1, Doordarshan Bhawan, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi-110001.
Note:1. The bid forms, General Instructions to Bidders and other details including amendments/changes can be viewed/downloaded from website www.tenderwizard.com/PB.
2. Tender notice is also available on Doordarshan website www.ddindia.gov.in using the link tender notice (engineering) or fromeprocure.gov.in/cppp.
Assistant Engineer
davp 22501/11/0003/1617
For Director General, Doordarshan
HYDERABAD: Union Labour
Minister Bandaru Dattatreya on
Saturday denied having any differences with the Finance
Ministry over the EPF interest
rate. “There is no dispute between
the Ministry of Labour and and
the Ministry of Finance. The
Finance Ministry advises us and
send a circular or note. In turn,
our ministry interacts with them.
This is the general process,”
Dattatreya said answering a
reporter's question here.
The Government on Friday
reversed its decision to lower
interest rate on the provident
fund deposits to 8.7 per cent for
2015-16 and agreed to fix it at 8.8
per cent, making it the third EPFrelated rollback since March.
“Definitely we are all one. We
take decisions for the
Government of India. The
Labour Ministry is also part and
parcel of the Government of
India. Till now, I have not issued
any notification (on EPF rate).
After consultations with the
Finance Ministry, now we are
issuing notification immediately.
So where is the dispute?” he
said. “When interest rates are
coming down, if you provide 8.70
per cent interest rate your cushion will be greater. Your resources
will be more. Your reserves will
be more,” the Minister said. PTI
*R\DO8-$/$WREH
LPSOHPHQWHGDFURVV
FRXQWU\E\
BHOPAL: The Centre’s ambitious
National LED programme Unnat
Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All
(UJALA) will be implemented
across the country by 2019,
Minister for Power and Coal,
Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.
“Since the UJALA scheme
was launched a year ago on May
1, a total of 9 crore LED bulbs were
sold in the country, which means
people will get the benefit of
C5,500 crore in their electricity
bills. It will be implemented across
the country by 2019,” Goyal said
here while launching the scheme
in Madhya Pradesh.
“Nearly 77 crore incandescent bulbs will be replaced till
2019 in the country which will
ensure an annual benefit of
C40,000 crore to the people in
their electricity bills and this will
lead the country to fulfil its need
of energy security, which is very
vital for the nation as it will reduce
dependability on coal.”
PTI
a 2-year moratorium. It is in line
with practice of earlier auctions
but differs from Trai suggestion.
Trai had recommended that
the Government should charge
only 10 per cent of bids received
for spectrum, and the balance
payment should be made over
a period of 18 years in equal
instalments with interest. The
panel however deferred decision
on contentious issue of spectrum usage charge (SUC) from
telecom operators annually.
Reliance Jio Infocomm and
some leading operators have
locked horns on this issue.
According to a source, technical committee at Department
of Telecom has suggested to levy
4.5 per cent SUC uniformly on
all operators as it is not possible to ensure their earning from
any particular spectrum band.
The TC has decided to take legal
opinion on the issue and discuss
it along with the technical committee report in next meeting.
SUC was earlier linked to
quantum of spectrum holding
of an operator in the range of 38 per cent of their adjusted gross
revenue. After evaluating the
impact on the exchequer, government in January 2014 decided to cap SUC at 5 per cent on
spectrum that were to be procured in future auction. The
SUC collection was at 4.8 per
cent level that time.
Telecom operators at that
time were asked to pay the
weighted average of their existing SUC (on old rate of 3-8 per
cent), and 5 per cent if they
acquire new spectrum. Trai
has recommended to charge
SUC at uniform rate of 3 per
cent across the industry.
Reliance Jio has contested this
view as it pays only 1 per cent
SUC on its spectrum in 2300
Mhz band and proposal to
levy 3 per cent would put extra
burden on the company.
The DoT is also in discussion with Defence Ministry to
get 15 Mhz of 3G spectrum
freed for the upcoming auction.
Trai has recommended panIndia base price of Rs 3,746
crore per Mhz for this band.
The TC is learnt to have
approved C2,873 crore per
Mhz for pan-India 1800 Mhz
band, C817 crore per Mhz for
2500 Mhz and 2300 Mhz and
C5,829 crore for 800 Mhz.
Trai has recommended base
price for 900 Mhz spectrum in six circles which the
panel has approved.
:UDSXSSUREHVHDUO\LPSURYH
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?=BQ =4F34;78
oncerned over ‘very poor’ 43fP]cbb_TRXP[PVT]RhU^a
conviction rate in moneyC
laundering cases, Revenue
Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on
Saturday asked the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) to step up and
complete probes as early as possible.
“While the investigation has
resulted in prosecution complaints being filed, the actual conviction rate is very, very poor. In
the entire life of PMLA, just
examine how many people have
so far been convicted,” he said at
the Enforcement Day event here.
“It is important not only to
finish the investigation, but to take
it to the prosecution level and follow it up with courts and see to
it that people are convicted. So,
conviction is the final result of
your entire effort and I am going
to monitor it regularly.” Echoing
Adhia’s point, ED Director
Karnail Singh said ‘it is true that
not a single conviction has happened in the PMLA (Prevention
of Money Laundering Act) cases.”
bWPaX]VX]U^c^Tg_TSXcTRPbTb
NEW DELHI: ED on Saturday
batted for creation of a National
Coordination Agency in order
to ensure sharing of information between various investigative and intelligence agencies in the country to help expedite inquiries.
ED Director Karnal Singh,
who fielded criticism over delay
in probes and low-conviction
rate, said the ‘interventions’
need to be kept in mind as the
accused in various money laundering and foreign exchange
cases are ‘very influential and
powerful’ and ‘approach courts
at the drop of a hat’ to obtain
relief. Addressing the annual
'Enforcement Day' conference
here, he said the agency has
attached assets worth C2,000
crore in the year gone by and
has initiated prosecution in 76
cases under the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act
(PMLA).
Similarly, under the Foreign
Exchange Management Act
(FEMA), the agency has issued
show cause notices worth
C7,826 crore after conducting
final investigations during the
same time period.
PNS
He maintained that there is
not a single acquittal though,
adding that ‘the cases are pending
in courts actually. We are trying
our best’. The revenue secretary
also expressed concern over inordinate delay in investigations.
“Over a period, I have
found that amount of delay in
finishing the investigation is
inordinate. We must do something about it. So many cases
are open. At some stage, cases
have to be closed,” he said.
G2EdeReVeRi`WWV_TVddY`f]UReecRTeA>=2TYRcXVd+D:E
NEW DELHI: Violation of state tax laws like
VAT should be made a predicate offence attracting action under anti-money laundering laws by
agencies like ED which will act as a deterrent
against economic crimes, the Vice Chairman of
SIT on black money said on Saturday. The
Government, only last year, has widened the
category of predicate offences and included offshore tax evasion as a criminal offence based
on which the ED has been empowered to slap
the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering
Act (PMLA) against offenders.
PNS
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oung batsman Karun Nair and
debutant Sam Billings batted
with lot of responsibility before
their bowlers came good as Delhi
Daredevils displaced Kolkata Knight
Riders from the second spot with a
comfortable 27-run win in their IPL
match, here on Saturday.
The hosts overcame loss of two
wickets in the first over to post a challenging 186 for eight after being invited to bat and skittled out the visitors for
159 with nine balls to spare at the Feroz
Shah Kotla ground.
Thanks to fighting half-centuries by
Nair (68 off 50 balls) and Billings (54 off
34 balls) combined with Carlos
Brathwaite's (34 off 11) finishing touches, Daredevils' innings shaped well as they
registered their best total against KKR.
Brathwaite also took three wickets
when Daredevils bowled as the West
Indian broke the KKR middle order.
It was first defeat for KKR in this
tournament while chasing as except
opener Robin Uthappa (72 off 52) no
other batsman showed resistance.
Both Nair and Billings impressed
with their batting as they desisted
from swinging the bat wildly, playing
proper cricketing shots. Braithwaite
played true to his big-hitting reputation
by smashing 34 with three sixes and as
many fours to ensure that the hosts end
with a bang.
KKR had packed their attack with
three spinners but they could not make
an impression. Only Brad Hogg completed his quota of four overs and combined with Sunil Narine and Piyush
Chawla, the trio conceded 85 runs in
nine over.
Andre Russell was the most impressive KKR bowler with figures of 4-0-263 while Umesh Yadav (3\33) also picked
three wickets.
Y
3T[WX3PaTSTeX[bQPcb\P]:Pad]=PXaaPXbTWXbQPcPUcTaUXUchPbBP\1X[[X]Vb[^^Zb^]PVPX]bc:^[ZPcP:]XVWcAXSTabPc5Ta^iBWPW:^c[P^]BPcdaSPh
Zaheer Khan did exactly what he
was expected to do after not-so-great
performance in the previous matches by
bowling with a lot of venom and taking two early wickets.
He had rival skipper Gautam
Gambhir (6) caught off a leading edge
at covers and trapped Piyush Chawla
(8), who was promoted up the order.
The wickets had an effect on KKR's
run-rate as they managed 43 in the six
power-play overs. In the sixth over a dog
sneaked into the ground and struggled
to find his way out, much to the
amusement of players and fans.
Opener Robin Uthappa was keeping one end tight but Yusuf Pathan (10)
started his walk back to dug out when
he handed an easy catch to Amit
Mishra off Braithwaite.
In came Suryakumar Yadav and
with Uthappa he took KKR to 88 for
three in 10 overs with team requiring
99 more in last 10 overs.
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Suryakumar's knock ended when
he failed to connect one from
Brathwaite and was taken splendidly by
Shreyas Iyer.
Uthappa got to his fifty with a six
off Mishra but had lost R Sathish by
then. He hit another four off Mishra as
KKR now needed 60 off last five overs.
Required run-rate was mounting
and when Uthappa was sent back by
Chris Morris it was all lover for KKR.
Earlier, Russell rattled the host camp
by removing both the Delhi openers —
Shreyas Iyer (0) and Quinton De Kock
(1) — in the first over of the match.
It was now left to Nair and Sanju
Samson to build the innings. Both the
young batsman showed good composure,
playing brilliantly with straight bat.
Their shots were proper cricketing
strokes. They drove effortlessly and were
elegant when played through the leg side.
KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir
brought in Narine and the West Indies
spinner sent back Samson (15), bringing debutant Billings on the crease.
Nair kept going strong, flicking
Russell for a four when bowled up and
reverse swept Narine.
Nair consistently rotated the stroke
and found odd boundaries as the hosts
managed 70 runs on the board at halfway stage.
As Billings grew in confidence, he
too started to play his shots.
Karun swept Narine to square leg
boundary to complete his half-century.
His fifty came off 39 balls and followed
it up with another shot to the ropes.
Billings too pressed the accelerator
button, hitting Holder for the first six
of the innings. It was pitched outside off
but Billings went down and picked and
swept it over square leg.
Nair lofted Umesh Yadav elegantly for a six over long-off but was
trapped by the paceman in the next ball.
It brought Chris Morris to the
crease but the South African could not
repeat his last-match heroics and was
bowled for a duck by Yadav.
In his usual attacking way,
Braithwaite treated the home fans with
a flurry of boundaries. He lofted Hogg
for a six after finding consecutive
boundaries off Yadav.
Billings found his fifty with a six off
Hogg but was dismissed by Yadav, castled on a slower full toss. However he
had the done job for his side by then.
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ith Delhi Daredevils surprising one and
all with their consistent show in IPL-9,
West Indies all-rounder Carlos
Brathwaite on Saturday said they now have a "fun
dressing room" and it is helping them play well
this year.
Brathwaite made a good comeback to the side
after missing two games, scoring crucial 34 off 11
balls and taking three wickets.
"I won't talk about past since I was not there
but this year there is lot of stress on processes and
solid preparations. It's a fun dressing room.
Then players are good friends off the field and that
unites them on the field under pressure," the West
Indies batsman said.
Brathwaite also stressed that he was not
dropped from the side in previous games.
"It's horses for courses. Imran Tahir did not
play today but it's not that he was dropped. I was
not dropped. Only thing is that only four foreign
players can play but still the one who is missing
out gives same support to the team."
Brathwaite also said that Feroz Shah Kotla
track's changed nature suited his batting style.
"Then pitch was true. But Karun Nair and Sam
W
Billings allowed me to bat where I wanted to bat.
They laid the foundation," he said of their 105-run
stand for the fourth wicket which helped them post
186-8 after being 32-3 in 5 overs.
He also said he does not put himself under
pressure and it was not possible to get big shots
everytime he comes to the crease.
"It does not happen everyday," he said when
reminded of his breathtaking 10-ball 34 that helped
West Indies win the World T20.
ence.
From 32-3 in 5 overs, Delhi posted a challenging 186-8 and Uthappa said his side let the
Daredevils post a formidable score on board.
"With little more discipline, we could have
restricted them to less than 160. We took our foot
off pedal after getting the first three wickets and
bowled some rank bad balls," he said.
Asked if Daredevils captain Zaheer still had
the same zip that he had before retirement,
Uthappa who faced him while opening the KKR
innings replied in affirmative.
"Zak bowled as well as he has always done. He
is a very cunning bowler. He does not give you
much. It's tough to go on offensive against him.
He still has that zip but surely that pace has
dropped. But it still came nicely on to bat," he said.
Uthappa also defended team's decision to send
Piyush Chawla at number three, saying "He is not
dud with the bat. He has done well in first class
cricket. Since Manish Pandey is not there, it gives
us this luxury of trying these things."
Uthappa said death bowling was a concern for
them but they will take lot of positives from the
game. He stressed that winning the away game
against Royal Challengers Bangalore will give them
momentum going back to Eden Gardens.
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With their spinners leaking 85 runs in nine
overs on a good batting track, Kolkata Knight
Riders opener Robin Uthappa on Saturday conceded that they misread the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch,
which usually is slower.
KKR fielded Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and
Brad Hogg but they could not make any impression against Delhi Daredevils batsmen.
"Kotla generally has a tag of slow track, but it
was a really good track. Flat and hard. The ball
skidded off and nicely came on to bat. Our spinners were nullified today. But spinners are our
strength and the idea was to back our strength,"
Uthappa, who was top scorer for KKR with his 72run knock, said at the post match press confer-
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laiming to have resolved all
outstanding issues, the BCCI on
C
Saturday announced the resumption
CB chairman Shaharyar Khan on Saturday
n a downward spiral after
said that the West Indies cricket board has
suffering their fifth loss of the
P
O
agreed to play a day and night Test in the 'home'
season, debutants Rising Pune
of bilateral cricket ties with the West
Indies starting with a four-Test
series in July-August.
"The Board of Control for
Cricket in India and the West Indies
Cricket Board have resolved outstanding issues arising out of the
abandonment of the tour of the West
Indies team to India in 2014," the
BCCI said in a statement.
With this understanding, a proposed bilateral series as part of the
Future Tours Programme will be
resumed with the Indian cricket
team touring the West Indies in JulyAugust, for a Test series.
BCCI Secretary Anurag
Thakur (in pic.) said the upcoming
tour will add to the renewed bonhomie in the ties. "BCCI is happy to
resume their bilateral ties with
WICB. We recognise that West
Indies has a huge role to play in the
development of cricket and we are
happy to support their endeavours.
This tour will further strengthen the
bond between the Indian and the
West Indian fans, who have over the
years patronised this glorious game
of cricket," he said.
Dave Cameron, President of the
West Indies Cricket Board said: "We
are extremely delighted that concerns which arose due to the incom-
series planned in the UAE in SeptemberOctober.
"I haven't seen their letter as yet but yes
apparently they have said yes to playing one
day and night test with the pink ball in the
UAE," he said.
It would be the first day and night test for
Pakistan and West Indies. The PCB had proposed that one of two
Tests to be played as a
day-night
affair.
Besides the Tests, the
West Indies are set to
play five One-Day
Internationals and two
Twenty20s against
Pakistan in the United
Arab Emirates in
October.
The PCB also said
that there are hurdles
in the way of tainted
cricketers, Salman Butt, Muhammad Aamir
and Muhammad Asif getting visas to tour
England with the Pakistan team this summer.
Shaharyar Khan told the media in Lahore
that they had got indications that while the UK
authorities might adopt a soft stance on giving Aamir a visa to visit England he could not
say the same about Butt and Asif.
The three players all served five-year bans
from the ICC for spot fixing which expired last
September.
plete tour have been addressed and
would like to thank BCCI for reviving our ties. West Indies cricket
appreciates the support of BCCI and
the cricket loving fans of the islands
keenly look forward to witness
some exciting contests between the
two teams."
Earlier, BCCI president
Shashank Manohar had announced
that board has decided to waive off
the financial penalty of $41.97 million that was imposed on the WICB
for pulling out midway during their
2014 series against India. Manohar
has also said that the remaining part
of that series will be played in 2017.
In October 2014, when West
Indies captain Dwayne Bravo led the
players' revolt over payment issues,
the team had returned home after
the fourth ODI against India.
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able-toppers Gujarat Lions will look to consolidate their position when they take on laggards
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Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match
here on Sunday.
Punjab are lying at the bottom of the table with
only two points from six matches, while Lions have
managed to perch themselves at the top of the IPL
standings with 12 points in seven matches.
Their confidence has been further bolstered by
a three-wicket win over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's
Rising Pune Supergiants on Friday night. The Lions
chased down a steep 195-run target to romp home.
New Zealand swashbuckler Brendon McCullum
and West Indian Dwayne Smith have been key to
Lions' success as they have given superb starts at the
top of the order.
They gave an electrifying start to the Lions by
putting on 93 runs in less then 10 overs. McCullum
has made 218 runs in seven matches while Smith has
made 148 in three games including Friday's 37-ball
61 for which he was adjudged man of the match.
Punjab have
only two points
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and skipper David Miller have failed miserably so far.
Miller has managed to score only 76 runs in 6
matches, while Maxwell has a mere 95 from six games
to show for.
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Struggling IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab on
Saturday replaced out-of-form captain David Miller
with Murali Vijay after losing five of their six games
in the tournament so far.
"Kings XI Punjab announces M Vijay as the captain for Kings XI Punjab for the remaining part of
the IPL 2016 tournament. David Miller continues to
be an integral part of the team and is a very strong
player of the squad," the team said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab will host their
remaining three matches in home-ground Mohali.
"We are pleased/delighted to announce that Kings
XI Punjab will be playing our last three home matches in Mohali on May 7, 9 and 15, 2016 respectively.
We look forward to the support of our fans in the
catchment area as we move ahead in the tournament
this year," the team said in a statement.
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Supergiants would look to plug
the holes in bowling to get their
campaign back on track when
they face title-holders Mumbai
Indians in an Indian Premier
League match, here on Sunday.
Led by the talismanic
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rising
Pune Supergiants did not have
the best of starts in their debut
season, losing five of the seven
matches they played so far.
The Pune outfit is presently
languishing at the sixth spot in
the eight-team standings with
just four points, while their
opponents for Sunday's game,
Mumbai Indians, are lying third
with eight points.
With the business end of
tournament nearing, time is
running out fast for Pune to get
a series of wins and return to the
top four reckoning.
Come Sunday, Rising would
fancy their chances against
Mumbai Indians having comfortably defeated them by nine wickets in the opening match.
But it would be easier said
than done as Dhoni faces the
uphill task of selecting a balanced
bowling combination which
would deliver results for him.
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The absence of its two main
players in Faf du Plessis and
Kevin Pietersen, who have been
ruled out due to injuries, notwithstanding Pune's batting unit has
lived upto its reputation with
Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith
and Dhoni himself delivering
the goods for the side. Pune's batting would also be bolstered by
the inclusion of Australian
Usman Khwaja, who replaced
Du Plessis in the squad.
On the other hand,
Mumbai Indians are on a
high with back-to-back victories over Kings XI Punjab and
Kolkata Knight Riders in their
last two games.
After a jittery start, the Rohit
Sharma-led defending champions
got their act together to move to
the top half of the points table.
Rohit himself has shouldered
the responsibility with steady
knocks in the company of Ambati
Rayudu. But it is big-hitting
Kieron Pollard, who has been the
star for Mumbai in the last couple of matches.
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he transformative power of good
education is something we all
know about. However, living in
large cities, one forgets just how a
good school education can make a
difference. The best way is to see it in action
in a part of India where good schools were
non-existent. The Dayanand Arya Vidyalaya
(DAV) International School in Lanjigarh
and its students are a prime example of the
transformative power of education.
The 900-odd students in this school may
not seem like much compared to the thousands of students in some large urban schools.
But many of these students come from the
surrounding villages of this impoverished
town, and a large majority of them belong to
scheduled tribes and scheduled castes. And
for many of them, this is the first time a member of these families has been exposed to
proper formal education. If indeed the task of
any Government is to expose those previously
left behind to proper education, this is where
one experiences it first hand.
The problem is that the Naxals that
operate in and around this area hate education, with schools being destroyed, and students — and not just in Odisha — brutally
murdered. We will not name the students
to protect their families from retribution
from Naxals, but speaking to a few children, it is impressive to hear about their
dreams and ambitions.
In a hospital close to the school, 150
patients come daily; 250 during the peak
monsoon season. From hundreds of malaria deaths annually, which was the leading
cause of mortality in an area where the
average life expectancy was barely 50, now
there are no malarial deaths.
But how did we reach here? How did
we reach Lanjigarh? It is rather remarkable
how the red dust and rock at one end
of the Vedanta Resources facility in Lanjigarh emerge as a
fine white powder a few hundred metres away. But this
decade-old plant is far from
running at its full capacity.
Indeed, it is just running at
a quarter of its commissioned amount.
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The reason is not that the white powder
produced by the plant, a substance called
alumina, is not in demand. Despite the
crash in commodity prices across the
world, prices of the finished product that
emerges from alumina — the shiny metal
aluminium — has seen a recovery over the
past few months. Additionally, in a growing
economy like India, demand for aluminium
has been steadily increasing.
Yet, the plant stutters. That is because
the reason this huge refinery is placed in
Lanjigarh — the middle of almost nowhere,
six hours by road from either
Visakhapatnam or Bhubaneswar, the largest
cities closest to it — is home to some of the
world’s highest quality bauxite. Bauxite, the
mineral from which alumina is refined, is
usually 40 per cent aluminium along with
some iron, vandantium and titanium.
The Niyamgiri hills that rise a few hundred feet from the main entrance of the
plant have some of the world’s best bauxite.
Yet, thanks to a mix of evangelical NGOs
supported by the Naxals and a misguided
United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
Government, the mining project is stalled
and the conveyor belts meant to bring in
the bauxite lie rusting. And that is a pity,
not only for the staff that works at the
plant, but also for the villagers and
tribals impacted by it.
Lanjigarh is also one of the Blocks in
Kalahandi district of Odisha, which unfortunately became a byword for poverty,
deprivation, and underdevelopment in
India, and has struggled to shake that tag
off. In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi famously visited
the district to shed crocodile tears over starvation deaths which had forced mothers to
sell their children so as to make some
money to eat. And along with Rayagada and
Koraput in south-western Odisha, this led
to the rise of Naxalism in this part of India.
Kalahandi was one of the few districts in
the mineral-rich Chota Nagpur Plateau to
have never had a major factory until Vedanta
Resources started work in 2006. The rich
bauxite resources attracted Anil Agarwal,
Chairman of Vedanta Resources, here. It also
attracted evangelical organisations desperate to “harvest souls” as well as some
environmental and humanitarian
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NGOs desperate to stop the factory.
The ostensible reason the factory was
to be stopped was because it would
“destroy” the Niyamgiri mountains, home
to the Dongria Kondh tribe, a foraging
hill tribe that still lives on slash-and-burn
farming. The Dongria Kondh’s god, the
Niyam Raja, lives in these hills, and the
NGOs, some of them well-meaning, managed to convince the tribals that the home
of the Raja would be destroyed by the
“big, bad” Vedanta Resources.
A well-orchestrated campaign with
protests in London, where Vedanta is listed, followed, and it caught the attention of
the publicity-hungry Congress leadership,
desperate to be seen as saviours of India.
So despite the UPA Government giving
environmental clearance to the plant,
some 30 years after his father lamented the
state of Indian development at Lanjigarh,
Rahul Gandhi and his lackeys followed
suit hoping to stitch up the tribal vote. But
to little avail, as the Congress in Odisha —
like in most of the rest of India — was
wiped off the electoral map.
The massive attention and case that followed in the Supreme Court, convincing
arguments were given for why Vedanta
should not be allowed to mine bauxite.
Incidentally, Vedanta does not own the
mines but the Odisha State Mining
Company does. Impassioned pleas were
made towards the livelihood of the hill
tribes. And the 12 villages that live on the
hills were allowed to have a vote to decide
the outcome of the plant. Trained by the
NGOs and terrorised by the Naxals, the
outcome was a given. Yet, visiting Lanjigarh
one wonders whether Vedanta is so bad.
This is a part of India where despite the
occasional political visit, the State has not
really arrived. There is little sign of the
Government. Opportunities are limited, and
while the railway are in an impeccable state,
that is because there are trains hauling coal
and iron ore every half hour, with passenger
trains few and far between.
One of the first things Vedanta did
was to establish the DAV International
School, with the DAV Foundation.
The principal, Shukla Chakrovarty,
came from Bhubaneswar to this
backwater to establish a school with
just three students. Over the years,
the school has grown and now has an
annual intake of 90 students. While
plant employees’ children get admission, the lack of growth at the plant
has meant that most of the annual
intake is of children from the neighbouring towns and villages. These
children are a great testament to the
power of education.
One boy in Class 10 spoke about
his ambition to join the Army. Another
girl from Class 9 spoke about her
dream to become an administrator,
and another boy wanted to become a
journalist. These are hopes and ambitions that these children have to travel
the world and whose parents never
even left the district, some who live in
hovels without electricity.
“I feel that we have made a difference to the lives of these children in a
way that few other schools can. I
came here because I wanted a challenge, and I believe that these children will be my greatest legacy,”
Chakrovarty says.
We are not naming the children
for fear of them or their families
being attacked by Naxals; the SP of
Rayagada spoke of a college student
who was murdered by the Naxals
recently because he questioned them.
//a#
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avid Bowie had met
John Lennon when
they were introduced
in Los Angeles, at a
party thrown by
Elizabeth Taylor. “We went on to
a great relationship over the years,”
David said of Lennon. “Terrific guy,
very, very funny guy.”
Back in Manhattan, John called
David and asked if he could bring
May Pang, with whom he was then
having a romantic interlude, and
Linda and Paul McCartney over to
see David. According to Ava
Cherry, who was there, the meeting between David and Linda did
not go well.
At that point, David made the
unwise move of playing tracks
from Young Americans (the soulinfluenced album that he would
ultimately release in 1975) to his
guests, not only once, but twice,
whereupon Paul McCartney asked
for another album to be put on
instead. David ignored him but
John Lennon intervened and gently asked him to play another
album. May Pang diplomatically
did what John asked, and David
left the room.
That same evening, David
called John and the two of them
talked for quite a while. Afterward,
John confided to May that David
had been really hurt when he’d
asked him to change the album, but
that he had managed to mollify
him to such an extent that he and
David had become friends.
According to Tony Visconti,
David’s friendship with John developed to such a degree that the three
of them often spent a night on the
town together. “We stayed up with
John Lennon until 10:30 am. We did
mountains of cocaine, it looked like
the Matterhorn, obscenely big, and
four open bottles of cognac,” Tony
recalled, adding of David, “During
the making of Young Americans, he
was taking so much cocaine it
would have killed a horse.”
John and David bonded over
drugs, music, and a shared quirky
British sense of humor. And when
David made a speech to the Berklee
College of Music’s class of 1999, he
told of a time when he and John
were in Hong Kong together:
“During one of our expeditions, on
the back street a kid comes running
up to him and said, Are you John
Lennon?’ And he [John] said, ‘No,
but I wish I had his money,’”
David recalled, before going on,
“Which I promptly stole for myself.
[Imitating a fan] Are you David
Bowie?’ ‘No, but I wish I had his
money.’ It was such a wonderful
thing to say. The kid said, ‘Oh,
sorry. Of course you aren’t,’ and ran
off. I thought, this is the most effective device I’ve heard.
“I was back in New York a
couple of months later in SoHo,
downtown, and a voice pipes up in
my ear, ‘Are you David Bowie?’
And I said, ‘No, but I wish I had his
money.’ ‘You lying bastard. You
wish you had my money.’ It was
John Lennon,” David said.
However, going back to
January 1975, when David cowrote and recorded Fame (which
would be added to Young
Americans at the eleventh hour)
with John, he played the first cut
for Maggie Abbott, and she
remembered, “The track was really great, John and him singing.
When it was released, I noticed that
John’s voice was less prominent. I
guess David just wanted to downplay John in favour of himself.”
From the time that David first
met John, John warned him about
Tony Defries.
Years later, looking back, David
D
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kin cancer is the most common
form of cancer. More than 3.5
million skin cancers in over
two million people are diagnosed
annually all over the world.
Melanoma is the most common
form of skin cancer caused by sun’s
ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Skin cancer develops primarily
on areas of sun-exposed skin, including the scalp, face, lips, ears, neck,
chest, arms and hands, and on the
legs in women. Melanoma occurs in
people with dark skin tones, and is
more likely to occur in areas not normally exposed to the sun.
Melanoma can develop anywhere on your body, in otherwise
normal skin or in an existing mole
that becomes cancerous. Most often,
it appears on the head or neck of
affected men.
In women, this type of cancer
most often develops on the lower
legs. In both men and women,
melanoma can even occur on skin
that hasn’t been exposed to the sun.
It can affect people of any skin tone.
S
said, “I always thought there was
somebody better at doing this
kind of thing [managing me]. It
wasn’t until Lennon pointed it out
to me that I realised maybe the
artist is as good at managing
somebody as anybody else.
“It was John that sorted me
out all the way down the line. He
took me to one side, sat me down,
and told me what it was all about,
and I realised I was very naive. I
still thought you had to have
somebody who dealt with these
things called contracts, but now I
have a better understanding of
show-business business.”
Ever since he signed his deal
with Tony Defries, he had refused
to examine his contract closely.
“None of us bothered to check
our contracts in those days,”
Dana Gillespie confirmed, but
David, of course, was less likely
to do so than any of them. His
father had always managed every
aspect of his finances, paying his
bills, his taxes, his insurance, so
that David had been eager to
relinquish control of his finances
to another father figure, without
checking his contract.
Now, though, in the midst of all
his cocaine-fueled haze, toward the
end of his Diamond Dogs tour
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David was forced to confront reality. Continually short of money,
he was now so broke that he had
been forced to cancel the standing order by which the bank paid
his mother £50 a month.
Labeling him “a terrible hypocrite,” Peggy lambasted David
for neglecting her and the family. Outraged, David struck back:
“He warned her, ‘If you ever
speak to the papers again you
won’t see me, your grandson, or
any of my money ever again’.”
By the time the Diamond
Dogs tour hit Manhattan, the fact
that David was truly short of
money while Tony Defries was living the high life at his expense had
hit him hard and he was ready to
do battle with Defries. But money
wasn’t the sole bugbear between
David and Tony Defries. “David felt
Defries had abandoned him,” Tony
Zanetta said, “David had only
been a vehicle for Defries to get
where he wanted to go...but David
expected him to revolve around
him a hundred percent. But now he
was no longer the most important
client in Tony’s life and we were no
longer a family.”
Finally, when dawn broke over
Manhattan and David began to
think more clearly, he was compelled to confront reality: Tony
Defries, the man in whom he had
put all his trust, at whose disposal he had put all his talents, had
used and abused him. It was too
much for David to bear.
Although he’d spend the next
few months attempting to extract
from Defries’s web, he refused to
be diverted from the only things
that truly mattered to him: His
music, his career, and his future.
4SXcTSTgRTa_cUa^\FT]Sh;TXVW´b
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„A large brownish spot with
darker speckles.
„A mole that changes colour, size or
that bleeds.
„A small lesion with an irregular
border and portions that appear red,
white, blue or blue-black.
„Dark lesions on your palms, soles,
fingertips or toes, or on mucous
membranes lining your mouth, nose,
vagina or anus, under breasts
and under arms in women.
„Visible sores that don’t heal
within three months.
G8?µC1DB9C;/
„People who have excessive exposure to UV light, usually from the
sun, but also from tanning lamps and
booths.
„People who smoke, have blond,
red or light brown hair, and blue, grey
or green eyes.
„People with fair skin or freckles,
or whose skin burns easily. People
with a personal or family history
of skin cancer.
„People with weak immune system.
„People who have had organ
transplants and who take immunosuppressive drugs.
„People who are exposed to ionising radiation or pesticides.
„People who have several moles on
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their bodies, especially since birth,
or who have unusual moles.
„People who have one or more large
pigmented spots.
First of all self-assessment test is
very important because you will be
the first person to know about the
appearance of such moles/skin tags
on your body. You can reduce the
risk of skin cancer by limiting or
avoiding exposure to UV radiation.
Checking your skin for suspicious
changes can help detect skin cancer
at its earliest stages. Early detection
of skin cancer gives you the greatest
chance for successful treatment.
D9@CD?B5=5=25B*
„Avoid sun exposure between 10 am
and 4 pm.
„Always wear sunscreen with UVB
and UVA exposure protective chemicals and with SPF 30 or higher, even
on cloudy days.
„Wear sunglasses treated to absorb
UV radiation; use a lip balm with an
SPF of at least 15, and wear tightweave clothing with long sleeves and
a wide-brimmed hat.
„Check your body every month.
„Have a routine whole-body skin
check by a healthcare professional
once a year.
3853;C;9>96I?E>?D935
„A sore that doesn’t heal.
„Change in the border of that
spot, small or large.
„Itchiness and bleeding.
„Pain in the mole.
Make an appointment with an
oncologist or cancer expert if you
notice any change in your skin that
worries you. Not all skin changes are
caused by skin cancer. Your doctor
will investigate your skin changes to
determine the cause.
CWTfaXcTaXbBT]X^a2^]bd[cP]c>]R^[^VXbc
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nd it is the same story a few
kilometres away in the hospital too. Lanjigarh was a
malaria-infested zone. Today, the
area — despite the inhospitable
monsoons — has seen no malaria
related death in three years. Yet,
the villagers in the hills still see
their kith and kin die as the Naxals
prevent them from accessing the
school or hospital.
Indeed, some of the Naxals
and village leaders have chosen to
sacrifice their own children to disease rather than to accept aid.
Lives are being lost because the
narrative of “Vedanta is evil” has
to be maintained.
“Education and healthcare are
the enemies of the Naxals. In their
misguided quest to rid the world
of social inequality, they need to
realise that integration with the
State will do more for these people than burning the provisions
that we give the villagers”, says
K Siva Subramani, the
Superintendent of Police,
Rayagada district, where a part of
the Niyamgiri range falls.
Vedanta officials admit that
the refinery, despite being the
cleanest alumina refinery in the
world and a zero-emission and
zero-discharge facility, will pollute a small amount. However,
A
the plant head, Bimalendu
Senapati, says that they are constantly improving themselves.
“We are now reprocessing the
vanadium and selling it to sulphuric acid manufacturers. We
reuse all our caustic liquid, we
make bricks from the ash and are
figuring out how to refine other
materials from the ‘red mud’
waste, which includes titanium.”
Yet, the bauxite is not from the
Niyamgiri mountains but from as
far away as Gujarat and even
Papua New Guinea. “Our costs are
double of what we should incur if
we had local bauxite,” says
Senapati. “This might be the most
advanced plant in the world but
with the commodity price crash,
we are making a massive loss.”
With an investment of C8,500
crore, this plant ought to be a
shining example of India’s industrialisation, yet some parts of this
massive refinery lie rusting away.
The plant, despite running at a
quarter of its capacity, provides
direct employment to over 2,000
people and also supports the local
economy. The employed include
75 workers whose land was taken
to build the plant and who live in
a resettlement colony called
Niyamgiri Vedanta Vihar.
Speaking to a roomful of
2PdVWcQTcfTT]STeT[^_\T]cP]S_aTbTaeX]VcaPSXcX^])0]X[0VPafP[[TUcP]ScWT3^]VaXP:^]SWcaXQP[b
these workers, many of them tribals from the plains, often relatives
of the tribals in the hills admit
that it hurt to leave their old villages. But now, earning an average
of C25,000 per month, some of
them have cars, refrigerators, and
flat-screen televisions. “We have
health insurance. I don’t need to
worry about family members
dying every time we get a fever.
My children are studying in the
DAV School and they will go to
C743>=6A80:>=37
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Delhi or Mumbai. I can operate
machinery and use a computer
now. My life has changed,” says
Bhuma Harijan.
Others from the villages and
surrounding towns like
Muniguda, the closest railhead,
talk of how the plant is giving
opportunities to the local youths.
Parimita, from the district headquarters of Bhawanipatna and a
science graduate, talks of how the
plant has given jobs to educated
women from the area. “Earlier we
all had to travel to South India for
jobs. Who wants to move away
from home for opportunities?” she
says, adding that almost 80 per
cent of the plant’s workforce are
locals from surrounding districts.
“Earlier Kalahandi was famous
for all the wrong reasons; this
plant is a good reason to be proud
of Kalahandi, but the world still
thinks that it is evil because they
have not witnessed how this plant
has positively impacted our lives.”
And the local economy has
also benefitted; youths previously
unemployed and with little to look
forward to are being trained in
various skills at the Yuva Pragati
Kendra. The managers at the facility are particularly proud of the 10
youths who recently acquired jobs
at retail shops in Bhubaneswar.
In the small village of
Lanjigarh, about a 10-minute
drive from the plant, the
Sakhi Self-Help Group has
been helping local women with
loans. Several run provision
stores and do odd jobs like
tailoring. The women realise
“Bauxite nahin toh kuchh
nahin”, and say that they have
actually been in touch with the
local legislators for bauxite.
Basanti Sain talks of the bene-
fits that the plant has brought but
is scared about what will happen if
the plant goes away. “We had
nothing 10 years ago; today we all
have brick houses and can look
forward to a better life for ourselves and our children.”
Indeed, plant officials talk of
how the Odisha Government is
assuring them of bauxite supplies.
Employees and villagers alike
want the plant to succeed, and
talk of those scuppering the plant
in negative tones, with Rahul
Gandhi being a particular object
of derision. “He talks of women
empowerment; this plant has
actually empowered women and
he wants us to fail,” a local woman
strongly points out.
Unsurprisingly, the Congress
is almost non-existent in this part
of Odisha. Plant officials also want
the world to know that mining
will not destroy the hills; indeed
they feel that the Dongria Kondh
tribe has to be brought into Indian
society. They need to progress,
they need education and healthcare. Yes, they should preserve
their traditions, but how can one
justify short life expectancies, how
can one justify young people
dying of malaria, and illiteracy in
the 21st century? This is a story
that needs to be told.
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ontemporary Indian historians who treat it as a discipline and not a pulpit, or
basis for poetic licence, are
few and far between. There
is the erudite, Bengaluru-based
Ramachandra Guha, chronicling mainly
the saga of the Nehru-Gandhis. There is
the NCR resident Scotsman with Indian
sensibilities, William Dalrymple, writing
sympathetic, pointedly non-imperial
accounts of the Moghuls.
And now, joining the ranks of this
select set, a self-effacing journalisthistorian, still working hard for the
The Times of India, Akshaya Mukul.
Mukul has written an admirable and
even-handed book based on painstaking research here. It will doubtlessly
prove to be a seminal reference book
on the role of the Hindu consciousness, and its effect both on the formation of modern nationalism, and
indeed, the idea of one India.
The Gita Press and its publications,
books, pamphlets, magazines in Hindi
and English, have influenced and
informed generations of Indians and
admirers of India, at home and abroad,
for nearly a century.
It continues to do so, in a lesser
key, though its primary salience is
much diminished in the age of globalisation, the Internet, 24x7 satellite TV
and an evolving national identity shedding its post-colonial skin to become
one of the leading nations of the contemporary world.
However, the Gita Press made its
greatest contribution to an unstated
mission — that of assisting Indians to
believe in their own ancient culture in
the face of fierce imperial propaganda,
as a fuel for the yearning for independence. Independence came in 1947,
after less than three decades of the Gita
Press and its yeoman work. But yet, it
had also come after almost a century of
steady effort, following the abortive
First Battle for Independence, or what
the British Raj liked to label The Great
Indian Mutiny of 1857.
By the Forties, Gita Press succeeded
in providing a template, as much for
acceptance and formation of a somewhat majoritarian national identity, as a
trampoline for rejection of several of its
suggestions and implications, in favour
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of what was thought to be a superior —
egalitarian, secular, and a distinctly
socialist vision of India. It has also sold
72 million copies of the Gita amongst
other scriptural texts from Tulsidas, the
Puranas, the Upanishads, also running
into sales of millions of copies.
But through it all, Gita Press, an
essentially private effort, a publishing
house, run by its long-time Marwari
Hindu owner, and based in the smallish
town of Gorakhpur in today’s Uttar
Pradesh, enjoyed a kind of cultural centrality in Indian life. This particularly
amongst Hindi and English-speaking
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ditya Wig’s debut King’s
Fall is a fine amalgamation of fantasy which
brings together the two polar
worlds of Jambu and
Dandakaranya, enmeshing in
themselves the lives of its characters. Majorly revolving around
the protagonist brothers, Arjuna
and Karna, the novel weaves
together the lives of normal
people with those of supernatural/semi-human ones. Wig’s
work is an interesting tale of
warring kingdoms and warlords
sprinkled with the sudden
appearances (as well as disappearances) of sorcerers and sorceresses who indulge in both
good and evil.
The narrative moves deftly
between the two worlds of the
‘real’ Jambu and the ‘mystical’
Dandakaranya temples.
Whereas the former houses
numerous kingdoms with their
own individual rulers who
come to loggerheads at irregular intervals; the latter is the
abode of men and women possessing powers whereby they
become involved in the life of
Jambu. Wig creates a life-like
geographical world made up of
the kingdoms of Morya and
Magadha, among a few others.
The relationships between
these kingdoms is fraught with
complexities ranging from
attacking each other’s territories as well as forbidden marital
relationships among their
younger generations.
Three hundred years in to
the Kali Yuga, the emperors of
these kingdoms come together
to shield their land Jambu from
the invincible warlord of
Yavanna, Sikander. The novel
thus unfolds the acquaintances
formed and disrupted between
different royal households as
they strategise and implement
ways of securing peace in their
kingdoms. As an interesting
narrative mode, the author
allows us a sneak-peak into the
hearts and minds of the characters. Even though on the outside
they speak in perfect accordance with their particular positions in life, what goes on silently in their minds make them
real and relatable. Wig brings to
life both the aspects of his char-
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C>A4;868>=703C74B0<40CC8CD34
0B=47ADC>F0A3B68C0?A4BB
people from all parts of India and the
diaspora via its Hindi language Kalyan
magazine, and its English counterpart
Kalyana-Kalpataru.
Many prominent Indians in public
life, famous Indian writers such as
Munshi Premchand, and illustrators like
Satyendranath Bannerjee, recommended
in turn by the likes of clergyman CF
Andrews, then located in Shantiniketan,
wrote/painted/drew for Gita Press. Other
foreigners and indophiles, such as painter
Nicholas Roerich, also contributed
towards its spiritualist world-view.
Its tireless editor-cum-managing
director Hanuman Prasad Poddar,
roped in most of the luminaries
from various fields over his long
stewardship both of the Press and
its various publications.
MK Gandhi certainly wrote articles
for Gita Press’s Kalyan magazine, even
if Nehru resolutely did not. Nehru did
not even deign to send Kalyan a short
message of good wishes. Other marked
socialists with their antipathy to religion had the same attitude as Nehru
towards Gita Press.
But Kalyan magazine’s contributors
also included others in the Centrist
space of public life, such as Annie
Besant, C Rajagopalachari, S
Radhakrishnan, Lal Bahadur Shashtri,
Rajendra Prasad, among many others.
The Right was prominently featured,
with Poddar ignoring the rivalries of
organisations such as The Arya Samaj
and the Sanatan Dharma Sabha in terms
of his contributors and writers.
MS Golwalkar of the RSS sent in
several articles. As did Shyama Prasad
Mookerjee, the founder of the Bharatiya
Jan Sangh. And many sadhus with a
political bent of mind also contributed,
such as the once well-known Swami
Karpatri Maharaj.
5HDOLW\DQGIDQWDV\
5^aPSTQdcQ^^Z0SXchPFXV\P]PVTbc^RaTPcTPUX]TQP[P]RTQTcfTT]fWPc
XbaTP[P]SX[[dbX^]PahATe^[eX]VPa^d]SSXUUTaT]cf^a[Sb:X]Vb5P[[ XbP]
X]cTaTbcX]VcP[TfXcWePaX^dbd]X`dTRWPaPRcTabfaXcTb0BC709>B78
acters: The outer personalities
as well as the inner turmoil of a
usual human. Of the many
human and supernatural entities
of the novel, the two which
stand on the threshold of both
worlds are those of Karna and
Meera. The former is the
younger brother of the king of
Morya, Arjuna. The latter,
Meera, is the princess of
Magadha whose grandfather
had been the cause of Karna’s
parents’ untimely and brutal
end. Despite this implicit hostility between the two empires,
Karna and Meera spend years
together at the Dandakaranya
Temple to be adept in magic.
Living in the temple under
the guidance of Lord Kashi and
Janki who tutor them in the arts
of the other world, the two
become close friends and learn
more than just magic. Their
sudden transfer from the secure
world of the temple into the
active life of their respective
kingdoms unfolds the tale in all
its fullness. Whereas Karna is
called upon to serve in the
name of his elder brother
Arjuna who goes off to war;
princess Meera is forced to a
svayamvar much against her
wishes. The novel gives the
readers a look from close quarters at the life of royalty at the
same time bringing forth the
extremely mundane and regular
elements of lives of the royal
houses. Meera and Karna are
guided in their journey of adulthood by the sorcerer Lord Kashi
who easily enters and exits their
minds at various moments of
conflict. The character of Lord
Kashi in certain ways is the
meeting point of the magical
<:?8¶D72==
25:EJ2H:8
AV_XfZ_C#**
and the mundane. His presence
close to his students acts as protective shadow when the latter
find themselves in the midst of
complicated personal, familial
and political issues.
Evil and virtuous are juxtaposed not only in the physical
world of Jambu but also in the
supernatural realm. Whereas
the two centuries old Kashi and
three centuries old Janaki guide
Karna and Meera in the ethical
use of what Arjuna calls ‘mystical mumbo jumbo’, there are
also evil spirits like sorceress
Chandra and her evil brother
sorcerer Kautilya who seem hell
bent on creating havoc in the
lives of the Jambu inhabitants.
Whereas the aged Kashi and
Janki take upon themselves to
deal with the evil siblings, the
young friends Karna and Meera
try hard to make sense of and
take control till a certain extent
of the course their respective
lives take. Karna is forced to
take on the kingly duties in the
absence of his elder brother and
finds himself caught between
his suppressed feelings for
princess Meera, the pain of having lost his parents and trying to
fathom the intricate workings of
the kingdoms.
The princess on the other
hand fails to initially make sense
of the hurried arrangements of
her swayamvar and then to her
dismay finds out that even her
marriage is a political step taken
by her father to further consolidate his kingdom. It becomes
obvious to a level that the lives
of the yet innocent Meera and
Karna get enmeshed in the politics of the royal life much
against their liking. Their feel-
ings for each other, to which at
times even they both seem
oblivious form an interesting
backdrop to their otherwise
seeming struggle of making
sense of the rapidly changing
mystical and physical environment. But it is not only in the
characters of Meera and Karna
that we find a heart touching
sensitivity. We find the great
warrior Arjuna feeling dejected
even after emerging victorious
in the bloody battle. His talk
with the Buddhist monk
towards the end of the novel
reflects his need to find peace
within himself and outside
beneath all the rubble and massacre of the war.
The war seems not to have
ended still as Arjuna imagines
Bharam and Vakush still
defending parts of Morya from
the ever approaching Yavanna
force. And even after sorceress
Chandra offers Arjuna to join
forces to rule the entire world,
he refuses her as better sense
prevails over him and he finds
himself still in the middle of the
war ground. To say that even
though having tasted victory in
war, Arjuna rightfully understands the futility of bloodshed
but finds no way out from such
a grim scenario. Refusing to join
forces with Chandra to earn
complete control of the world,
he seems to emerge with a better sensibility and a clearer
understanding of the world.
Even in his first piece, Wig
well manages to create a fine
balance between the real and
the illusionary making King’s
Fall an interesting tale.
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ecently, while sorting some
old papers in my study, I
came across a clipping from
The Statesman dating back to
1989. It was a report I had filed
from Punjab while touring the
State on assignment. The fraying
piece of newsprint went into the
wastepaper bin, but it brought
back a rush of memories of a particularly dark period in our recent
history. India, more so Punjab,
had to pay a terrible price on
account of the Khalistani separatist movement during the 1980s
and 1990s; countless human lives
were lost, innumerable families
were devastated and young minds
were scarred forever.
The genesis of those years of
blood-letting was the cynical ploy
of the Congress to promote a
preacher of hate, Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale, as a countervailing
force to the Akali Dal. Rajiv Gandhi, as a callow politician being
groomed for the ‘big’ job by Indira
Gandhi, much like his son, Rahul,
is being groomed today by Sonia
Gandhi, had famously described
Bhindranwale, responsible for the
slaughter of innocent men, women
and children, many of them Sikhs,
as a “man of religion”.
We know the tragic consequences of that initial blunder by
the Congress — Operation Blue
Star was Indira Gandhi’s desperate
attempt to put an end to a strategy
that had gone horribly wrong; it
didn’t quite serve that purpose. In
the end, this Frankenstein’s monster, as in the story, devoured its
creator, triggering the horrendous
pogrom that saw Congress lynch
mobs massacring 4,733 Sikhs,
most of them in the streets
of Delhi.
But the blood-soaked Khalistan story did not end in 1984.
Next year, ‘Emperor Kanishka’, Air
India’s Flight 181/182 from Toronto to Mumbai via Montreal, London and Delhi, was blown up off
the Irish coast, killing all 329 people on board. Peace continued to
elude Punjab where casualties had
ceased to matter. Pakistan’s terrorsponsoring agency, Inter-Services
Intelligence, by then in command
of the Khalistanis, kept the fire of
separatism alive, fuelling it with
money, Kalashnikovs and explosives. It took the combined efforts
of a determined Chief Minister,
Beant Singh, and a tough police
chief, KPS Gill, to douse the blaze.
Beant Singh’s assassination was
perhaps the last act of terrorism
before the guns began to fall
silent. With the Khalistanis routed, there was jubilation in Punjab
and across India. I recall spending
a week travelling across Punjab,
marvelling at the peace that had
descended on the troubled land.
Accompanied by my wife and my
elder daughter, who was then a
child, we travelled at night on
roads that till a few months ago
were known as ‘death zones’.
Gurdwaras that had been
taken over by extremists now wore
a festive look. Our most moving
encounter was with a young
granthi who had deserted the
Army after Operation Blue Star to
join Babbar Khalsa, but later
R
repented his decision and surrendered to the police. Dedicating his
life to the Panth was his way of
seeking forgiveness; it was his act
of repentance. But many others
like him were not so lucky — they
either fell to police bullets or just
disappeared, leaving behind families burdened with memories.
Strangely, those who played Dr
Faust to Pakistan’s ISI and instigated young men to pick up AK-47s
have never been brought to justice. They continue to be
ensconced in their plush homes in
the US, Canada and Britain, and
still dream of Khalistan. Gurmit
Singh Aulakh, ‘President’ of the
‘Council of Khalistan’ with offices
in Washington, DC, has access to
huge ‘private funds’ and continues
to lobby with American politicians
to press his case, though without
any success.
Among those who once actively backed Aulakh were Edolphus
Towns, then member of the House
of Representatives from New York
who wanted the US to declare
India a “terrorist state”, former
Senator Jesse Helms and, across
the Atlantic, Lord Avebury in
Britain. Aulakh’s website was
indicative of his faith in terrorism,
yet the US Administration chose
not to touch him. When I met him
in Washington in the fall of 1990,
Aulakh spent more than an hour
lecturing me about the “atrocities
being committed by India against
Sikhs” in the “occupied nation of
Khalistan”. After listening to his
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jaundiced version of events, I
retorted that he was talking gibberish. The Indian American who
had set up the meeting was horrified by my feisty response; Aulakh
looked at me witheringly; and the
tea never came. Twenty-two years
later, he is older but not wiser. Or
else he would not still dream of
Khalistan.
Jagjit Singh Chauhan, who
described himself as the ‘President
of Khalistan’, was more welcoming
when we met in London at a common friend’s house in Islington.
Having served as Finance Minister
and Deputy Speaker of the Punjab
Assembly, Chauhan continued to
maintain a vast network of contacts in the State even after moving to Britain in 1971. There was
no dearth of funds and he even
had ‘Republic of Khalistan’ passports, currency and postage
stamps printed that he would provide in exchange of British pounds
and American and Canadian dollars. If I remember correctly, one
Khalistani ‘dollar’ was valued at
one American dollar. I was tempted to purchase a Khalistani passport as a keepsake, but better
sense prevailed.
By 2001, Chauhan was a
decrepit man, resigned to the fact
that he would not live to see Khalistan. He struck a deal with the
Government of India and returned
to his hometown, Tanda, in
Hoshiarpur district. His Khalsa
Raj Party remained a letterhead
organisation and the man who
had once hoisted the ‘Flag of
Khalistan’ at Anandpur Sahib died
a broken man. But there are many
wealthy Sikhs in Britain who continue to subscribe to Chauhan’s
separatist ideology and ardently
believe that Amritsar shall be the
capital of Khalistan. Funds continue to be collected; it is anybody’s
guess as to how the money
is spent.
If we were to look for the real
instigators trying to rekindle the
flames of Khalistani terror, we
would find them in Canada, more
specifically in British Columbia.
To a certain extent, American and
European authorities have realised
the folly of not cracking down on
Khalistanis during the 1980s and
1990s. But in Canada, the Government continues to remain as
indulgent as it was in 1985 when
‘Emperor Kanishka’ was bombed
over the Atlantic.
Just how indulgent the Canadian Government is can be gauged
from the fact that neither Ripudaman Singh Malik nor Ajaib
Singh Bagri, who plotted the
bombing of ‘Emperor Kanishka’,
has had to pay for his sins. They
were declared ‘not guilty’ by a
judge who refused to accept overwhelming evidence against them
as being conclusive enough to
convict them. Both went on to
claim damages running into millions of dollars. They were never
shamed or shunned.
(The writer is a current affairs
analyst based in NCR)
5 4 4 3 1 0 2 :
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Reader response to
Swapan Dasgupta’s column,
Usual Suspects, published on
April 24:
Ban cars: The Delhi
Government’s second phase
of odd-even scheme has not
been a success. Owning
more than one car has
become a status symbol for
the capital’s elite.
The only solution to
combat air pollution in the
national capital is by restricting the number of cars on
the roads by banning the sale
and purchase of cars in totality for say at least five years.
Mahesh Kapsi
Limited transport: I live in
Washington, DC. The town
has an elaborate metro system and is convenient.
Thousands living near their
offices and those far-off, avail
the services of the metro.
Parking facilities too are
available. However, life does
not revolve around the
metro. Social activities do
not happen in the metro.
Cabs are too expensive and,
therefore, unaffordable.
Sohan
People’s effort: Until and
unless the public cooperates,
no programme, not even the
odd-even formula, will be
successful. If people prefer to
live in a polluted environment over bearing a small
inconvenience, no
Government policy can help.
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal must
encourage people to work
from home. With technological advancement, there is no
need to attend office everyday. The Government can
also encourage companies to
roll out shuttle bus facilities
for their employees. A holistic approach is needed.
Jitendra
Policy failure: The odd-even
car rationing scheme may
succeed in small coastal
countries where population
is less, but it is bound to fail
in a land-lock city like Delhi.
If congestion is not the priority, then pollution is not
going to be reduced either.
People have so many
alternatives: Number plates
can be changed, people can
drive in and out of their
office during hours when the
scheme is not applicable.
Well, people of Delhi can
still wait for a new fatwa.
The Chief Minister may even
provide a free transport system just like he gave free
water and free electricity —
albeit without any result.
Premolal
1dE^UcS_9^TYQf_dUcd_
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Reader response to
Kanchan Gupta’s column,
Coffee Break, published on
April 24:
Deal with caution: India
should be careful. Islamists
and their supports, who
want to wipe away Jewish
history, will eventually want
to wipe away Indian Hindu
history as well. Whatever
starts with the Jews, never
ends with the Jews.
Elise
Drawing parallels: As the
author has said, “Much later,
during Umayyad rule, two
Islamic structures were superimposed on the Temple
Mount: The Al Aqsa Mosque
and the Dome of the Rock,
the first seeking to establish
the supremacy of Islam over
non-Islamic land, the second
appropriating the ‘rock’ where
the first of the Abrahamic
faiths, Judaism, was born.”
Is there a parallel here to
the Babri Masjid, which was,
“super-imposed on the temple” of Ram, this time first
destroying the temple
(because the ‘faithfuls’ were
making the rules this time),
and second, “appropriating
the ‘rock’ where the first of
“the Indian faiths, Hinduism,
was born?
Abhi
Citizens first: The Union
Government is for its citizens
and not for Israel. It will do
what is right without any bias.
Indians are not here to please
Israel either.
Muinuddin Kazi
Power hungry: At this rate,
the Modi Government is
going the AB Vajpayee way.
Ignore your constituency, beg
to be recognised as ‘secular’,
that is, appease minorities,
and finally perish in the next
election — your enemies will
be laughing all the way to
their vote-banks.
M Kapil
Foolish babus: The Indian
bureaucracy is too naive/foolish to distinguish between a
friend and a foe. Even after
1,500 years of continuous
Islamic assault on Indian territory, religion and culture, we
don’t align with fellow sufferers of Islamic persecution.
Hemantgarach
Bad vote: What a shame!
While patriotic Indians and
Israelis are working hard to
get closer, Jews and Hindus
are strengthening their ageold friendship, the
Government of India votes
in favour of jihadi nations.
Bintan
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he BJP’s going all out against
the Congress would only
cause more friction in
Parliament. This because
managers of the Government
are gearing up to present the GST Bill in
Parliament, but it would be almost
impossible to get it passed if direct confrontation with the Congress continues.
Some say that by raising the Ishrat
Jahan and AgustaWestland deal issues,
the BJP has put the Congress on the back
foot. Anurag Thakur raised the Ishrat
issue, while Meenakshi Lekhi sought an
answer on the Augusta deal. It must be
noted that the court of Italy has criticised
the erstwhile UPA Government over the
helicopter deal.
This offensive mood of the
Government could be a big impediment in
the way of the GST Bill. The Congress is
opposing this Bill and it can alone stop it.
Since it is a Constitution Amendment Bill,
it will require two-third majority, which is
not possible without the Congress.
A Congress General Secretary recently
said in Parliament that the BJP is using the
same pressure tactics it usually applies for
kshatrapas to get their support. But they
say this will not work on the Congress.
This means the party will not bow down
under the pressure of either the CBI or ED
or any other investigation agency.
T
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he politics of the country, knowingly
or unknowingly, has once again
returned to the controversial track. The
Congress is digging up controversies
against the BJP, just as issues related to
Hindu terror during UPA Government’s
10-year tenure are resurfacing.
The interesting aspect is that while
the Congress is raising these issues, many
leaders feel it will only harm the party.
They also believe that under a special
strategy, it’s the BJP that has compelled
the Congress to raise these issues as it will
go in the former’s favour.
The Congress claims that soon after
Narendra Modi took command at the
Centre, the accused in the Ishrat Jahan
encounter case are being released one by
one, and the officers who have not yet
retired are getting plum postings. The
party also points out that witnesses of
Malegaon and Samjhauta Express blasts
are taking a U-turn one by one, and this
has led to weakening of the case against
the accused of so-called Hindu terror.
On the other hand, the BJP is saying that all this is a part of the judicial
process. Its leaders say the judiciary
had sent DG Vanzara to jail and the
same judiciary has given him bail and
granted him permission to return to
Gujarat. They argue that as far as the
U-turn of witnesses is concerned, NIA
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is investigating the case, which was set
up by the UPA. Sharad Kumar is the
NIA Director-General; he was appointed by the Congress, which is now
demanding he be sacked.
Next year, many Assembly Elections
are scheduled and many issues related to
Hinduism are being highlighted. This has
made the Congress nervous since it thinks
the BJP is benefiting from all this.
7>>30´B<>D=C8=6 F>4B
Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra
Singonia
and Bhupinder Singh Hooda are sailin the same boat. Justice SN Dhingra
Commission’s investigations into the land
deals may prove problematic for both, but
it seems that the Congress is trying to corner the former CM of Haryana. The
Hooda family was already worried about
the Surjewala family’s growing proximity
to Rahul Gandhi, and now the merger of
Kuldeep Bishnoi’s HJC with the Congress
is bound to increase Hooda’s problems.
If sources are to be believed,
Hooda was not kept in the loop before
the merger. When he got to know of
this development, he tried to contact
Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, but none
of them paid any attention to him. A
close associate of Hooda then called
up Kanishka Singh to confirm the
news, but he too didn’t respond.
That is why there are speculations
that like all old kshatrapas of the
Congress, Hooda may also form a new
party. A Haryana Congress leader says if
Hooda forms a new party, it will not harm
the Congress. He says that Hooda will
damage Om Prakash Chautala’s prospects,
and the Congress will manage Jat votes
with the help of Bishnoi, and Dalit votes
with the help of Ashok Tanwar and Selja
Kumari. Randeep Surjewala and Kiran
Chaudhary will be presented as Jat faces.
=>2>=B4=BDB8= =2?
ll is not well in Sharad Pawar’s party,
NCP, as there is no consensus on the
new leadership. It is being said that Pawar
wants to resign from the post of the
party’s National President. Sources close
to Pawar say he has started his positioning so that a consensus can be reached on
his name either for the President or VicePresident of the country. And for this, he
wants to separate himself from the routine work of the party.
In a sense, he wants to leave active
politics so that there won’t be any problem
in reaching consensus among the parties.
But before that, he has to sort out the
leadership problem within his own party,
which seems to be a tall order.
It is said that he wants to give his
throne to daughter Supriya Sule and had
sought advice from party leaders. But
most of them advised him not to do so.
Leaders close to Pawar feel that if Supriya
is given the command, there may be a
revolt in the party. Most of the leaders
don’t want the reins to go to Ajit Pawar
either as his working style is different.
Chhagan Bhujbal, senior leader of
NCP, is in jail, while senior leader RR
Patil is no more, and this has created a
vacuum of senior leaders in the party.
Leaders are also not in favour of
Maratha-only politics as it may harm the
prospects of the party. So, there is need to
A
push forward Dalit and backward leadership. Obviously, there are many views
within the party and that is the reason
why Pawar has deferred the decision on
change of leadership. Pawar will continue
to be the President of the party.
Party leaders are hopeful that Pawar
will get the top constitutional post.
They feel he shares a good rapport with
Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Arun
Jaitley, and hence consensus for the
Vice-President’s post will be easy. But
this will be possible only when Pawar
leaves the hand of the Congress, which
doesn’t seem like a possibility in the
present scenario.
03E8245>A B>=80A07D;
and Rahul have made personal
Stheonia
attacks on Mamata Banerjee during
recent West Bengal election campaign, and this has made some Congress
leaders uncomfortable. They recently sent
a letter to them and their word of advice
for the mother-son duo was: Desist from
attacking leaders who have formed their
own parties after leaving the Congress.
The reason is that they might either
return to the party fold or form an
alliance with the Congress. So, Sonia and
Rahul have been advised to spare leaders
like Mamata, YS Jaganmohan Reddy,
Sharad Pawar, and GK Vasan.
It must be noted that Mamata has
always shown sympathy towards the
Gandhi family. When summons were
issued against Sonia in the National
Herald case, Mamata was the only leader
who went to meet her and extended her
support. Even Sonia and Rahul did not
make personal attacks on Mamata in the
past. But after two phases of polling, they
have launched a tirade against her,
including levelling corruption charges.
2;0<>DA 5>A AB B40CB
he Congress easily handled the first
T
phase of biennial elections of Rajya
Sabha scheduled for this year. In the first
phase, elections were held in Punjab,
Assam and Kerala where the party didn’t
face much problem because it was to get
the same number of seats as it was to lose.
But in June-July, elections will be held for
approximately 60 seats.
That is why the Congress is facing
problems in selection of candidates.
Also, almost all veterans of the party
had lost the Lok Sabha Elections and are
now staking their claim for Rajya Sabha
seats from some or the other State.
There are almost half a dozen leaders
whose re-election seems impossible.
Amid this hustle and bustle, a new
candidate puts forward his claim almost
daily. Name of two former Governors and
two former Central Ministers, Shivraj Patil
and Sushilkumar Shinde, have suddenly
come to the fore. Both are said to be lobbying with the Congress high command.
In the same manner, former CM of
Chhattisgarh, Ajit Jogi, has also started
staking his claim for a Rajya Sabha seat
from the State. Mohsina Kidwai is going
to retire from this seat, but Shobha Oza
has also put forward her claim.
Among the veterans, Kapil Sibal,
Jairam Ramesh, P Chidambaram and
Mani Shankar Aiyar are also hopeful of
making it to the Rajya Sabha.
>2<:?8E96H@C<A=246>@C6:?4=FD:G6
here is a growing trend that
we are witnessing today to
promote inclusivity and
integrate the specially-abled into
the mainstream functioning,
thanks to the continuous efforts
made by various non-profit
organisations and Government
bodies. While all energies are
aimed to enable people with disabilities to gain universal access,
equal opportunities for development, independent living and
participation in all aspects of life,
the pertinent question corporates
and businesses need to ask is: Is
inclusion merely a social responsibility initiative, or have we
moved beyond social trends to
looking at hiring them from a
business perspective? Time to
change our lenses, perhaps?
A recent UN report also
revealed that India is home to
over 100 million disabled citizens, however, only 1,00,000 are
successful in obtaining employment within the industry in
India. Moreover, the industry at
present continues to fight high
attrition, scarcity of qualified talent and a disengaged workforce.
To tackle this, several companies are now actively sourcing
and hiring non-conventional talent, such as persons with disabilities, who are more loyal and
committed towards the organisation. They are open to investing
in these individuals by providing
training and creating employment opportunities for them.
Corporates need to understand the various benefits of hiring differently-abled employees
in order to find a large pool of
untapped talent. Listed below are
key attributes that differently-
T
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abled professionals would bring
to the workplace:
„A sense of loyalty: In today’s
economy, people are moving
from one job to another like
never before. Hence, hiring decisions made by the employers
have to be absolutely right. This
is because each hire brings along
with it investment in terms of
time, training and energy. A bad
hire can cost a business and the
replacement task can be quite
troublesome. This has led to
many businesses to look deeper
into diversity hiring.
Companies agree that differently-abled workers are far more
loyal, less distracted, more
focused and do not resort to
absenteeism compared to other
workers. They are proud to do
meaningful work and gain a
sense of belongingness to the
place and people around them.
„A sense of understanding:
Having faced a great extent of
alienation and separation from
the mainstream, people with disabilities inherently have an empathetic attitude towards others.
Their sensitive side helps them
understand their peers, their
clientele and organisation better.
It is this reason that helps them
fit easily in roles in the hospitality
industry, IT and customer relationship management.
„Positive energy: Interestingly,
when differently-abled workers
are appreciated and valued for
their good work, it creates a
positive pressure on them to
perform better and go out of
their way. This not only boosts
their confidence, but creates an
optimistic environment which
is extremely conducive for the
growth of an organisation and
its employees. In addition to
this, people with disabilities are
found to have a positive outlook and attitude towards life
since they already have triumphed over their hardships.
This also motivates other
employees to push themselves
to their fullest potential and
appreciate the unique value
they bring to the table.
„Creating a compassionate
workplace: The biggest benefit of
bringing the differently abled into
the fold is that it creates an integrated workplace, thereby ensuring a sense of equality among all.
It instills a sense of compassion
and empathy among people, thus
fostering an environment of caring and sharing.
„Bringing a different outlook:
Considering that more and more
companies are committed to be
an equal-opportunity employer,
the differently abled are no
longer seen as a deterrent or a
constraint to any workplace. In
fact, since they have faced discrimination at some point in
their lives, they are optimistic
about their surroundings and
have an outlook which is
extremely different from their
counterparts.
Creating an inclusive work
environment requires both
diversity training skills and an
effective mechanism that supports the differently-abled
workforce. A holistic environment is the one that focuses on
developing employees’ cultural
competence. It provides them
with a set of skills, a set of attitudes, and behaviours that deal
effectively with diversity at
workplaces and enables them to
empathise and work best in
cross-cultural situations.
In the true sense of the term,
an inclusive workplace is the one
that promotes values of fairness,
respect, equality, dignity and
integrates into the organisation’s
everyday goals and actions.
While we understand that
there is a great amount of time
and cost that goes behind training these employees, there is
nothing that stops corporates
and firms from translating this
possibility into a reality. With
technology as a backbone, there
is hope of change in society,
towards creating a fairer, more
inclusive and humane work culture. A world where every person deserves a chance to reach
his or her full potential and
become an asset in the true
sense of the term.
Lastly, it is important to note
that diversity is a business imperative and not a social responsibility. Hence, there should be clear
business objectives for an organisation to hire differently-abled
people. Most of these people have
been marginalised and kept out
of the workforce, hence it is necessary to break the myth that
they might not perform on par
with the others. Differently-abled
people come with diverse ideas,
and nurturing them is the way to
go for a strong foundation.
0BD224BBBC>AH
A pioneer in water purification
systems and leading health and
hygiene company, Eureka Forbes,
in 2011 conceptualised the
world’s largest customer care call
center, EuroAble, managed by
physically challenged individuals.
Having products which require
great maintenance and care, the
company required a dedicated
workforce to look after the call
management function. In addition to the physically challenged
individuals, the aim of this call
centre now is to include the visually challenged into becoming
competent executives. The vision
is to achieve a five-fold increase
in employees, going from 107 to
500 plus, in two years from now.
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This fortnight at the Tribeca Film
Festival, thousands of artistes also
physically gathered in New York City.
Ironically, it was virtual reality that
made a big splash at this year’s
Festival. Including virtual reality as an
integral element of a film is an enormous development. It completely
changes the way films tell us a story.
The viewer can see and move where he
wants to in a scene, in fact the viewer
is the hero, the sidekick, the villain.
Film audiences had dismissed the
impact of virtual reality because it
reminded them of the disaster that
was Google Glass or they still associated virtual reality with gaming. But
the Tribeca Film Festival clearly beat
the perception. This was mostly possi-
ble because New York in general has
stronger ties to the global digital arts
community than cities hosting other
film festivals.
It was also a sweet homecoming in
New York this fortnight for the frontrunners in the US Presidential race,
who each have deep ties to the city.
Republican Donald Trump is a
Queens native and Manhattanite
whose last name is featured on real
estate properties around the city.
Democrat Hillary Clinton was a New
York Senator for eight years, owns a
home in Chappaqua and her campaign headquarters is in Brooklyn.
Both candidates were physically present to campaign in the city —
Clinton rode the subway, drank bubble tea and ate dumplings in Brooklyn.
Trump visited his polling station
where he cast a ballot for himself for
the first time. Both scored victories in
New York, thus moving closer to
becoming their respective parties’
Presidential nominees.
Mega cities are territorial nodes
that physically connect a large number
of transnational communities. This
fortnight, New York simultaneously
has thus bridged across a global community of individuals fighting the battle against climate change; the city separately gathered an international community of digital artistes; and it also
pulled in the physical presence of two
opposing US Presidential candidates.
Incredible subjectivities arise from
these physical encounters of people
from all around the world. Today’s
mega cities are a physical meeting site
for a range of new types of operations,
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amke Janssen has blamed her
failure to be cast in the new XMen movie on Hollywood’s sexist agenda towards older women. The
Dutch actor, who starred as psychic
mutant Jean Grey in three X-Men
movies and has had cameos in several
others, said she could not understand
why Ian McKellen and Patrick
Stewart had been given key roles as
older versions of series stalwarts
Magneto and Professor X in recent
instalments of the superhero saga,
while she had not.
The 2014 X-Men film, Days of
Future Past, featured different versions
of the warring mutants in alternate
timelines, with Michael Fassbender and
James McAvoy playing the younger
iterations in a 1970s setting. However,
the film’s sequel, the 1980s-set X-Men:
Apocalypse, features Game of Thrones
actor Sophie Turner, 20, as a young
Jean Grey. Janssen was not cast.
“Women, it’s interesting because
they’re replaced, and the older versions are never to be seen again,”
Janssen told Entertainment Weekly.
F
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lobalisation of economic
activity seems to suggest
that place — particularly
place represented by mega
cities — no longer matters. Development of sophisticated
information technologies would have
us believe that firms and workers can
remain connected no matter where
they are located. Looking through
such a lens of the urban economy in a
global digital age, we should proclaim
the end of mega cities. Given this generalised trend toward dispersal, how
can one at the same time explain the
growth of territorial power centres?
In the 1980s, when new information technologies were being introduced on a large scale, there was a
simultaneous sharp growth also of
people physically working in the central business districts of leading cities
and international business centres of
the world — New York, London,
Tokyo, Frankfurt, São Paulo, Hong
Kong, Sydney, Toronto, among others.
Let’s take the recent example of
New York alone. On April 22, 2016,
more than 170 Governments — that
included 60 Presidents and Prime
Ministers — physically gathered in
New York City to sign the landmark
agreement to renew vows to fight climate change. There were members
from leading corporations and civil
society, all present in person to move
further on the promise made in Paris
last December of limiting global
warming to 1.5-2°C. The outpouring
of support was the largest ever singleday physical turnout in a city for a
signing ceremony.
EJPANJ=PEKJ=H
some pertaining to business and others to political, cultural, and other
subjective domains. As a result, some
of the most novel trends of the century hit the ground first in mega cities.
This is perhaps because these
cities have an enormous capacity to
bridge over global communities that
connect strong networks of individuals together. I feel that the separation
of workplace, residence and family
groups causes a large number of
inhabitants of mega cities to develop
secondary weak ties with multiple
community groups. High rates of
change in residential mobility further
dilute the quality of these ties with
different communities.
For example, while living in New
York, London, and Paris, I found that
these cities are spaces of the global,
and they engage directly with issues
and communities of global relevance,
often bypassing the national. These
engagements are often spatially
defined, further weakening or ending
when the individual leaves the city.
When I later moved to live in New
Delhi, I was equally amazed at the
density of weak social ties amongst
inhabitants in this mega city. There is
a well-recognised perennial superficiality to social encounters in Delhi —
you air-kiss at cocktails and build status by a fat social (media) capital.
While strong ties are necessary for
providing for our primary needs, such
as food and shelter, such weak ties
built in mega cities are extremely
important as they can bring together
elements of different cultural and economic landscapes in solving problems
that would benefit a great number of
individuals. But then why can every
mega city not gather a global community of, say, game changers in virtual
reality? Or host an institution that
physically brings together leaders battling climate change? Why is New
York winning the game? The annual
art fair in Delhi draws the largest footfall in the world and yet has not produced any novel trend.
I feel that much of the hierarchy in
the ability amongst cities to create a novelty lies in the degree of prosperity as well
as productive purpose that is embedded
in the weak ties that bridge across the
communities of people they bring together. Purpose here is in the sense of objective driving the personal resolve or determination in people’s interactions to produce something useful.
A central productive purpose in a
community, just as in an individual,
establishes the hierarchy of its/his own
values and priorities. A community
without a clear productive or creative
purpose is lost in the megacity syndrome of networks of urban chaos
precipitated by sheer population size,
urban sprawl, and competitive social
projection. This is a new type of
interurban inequality.
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“Whereas the men are allowed to be
both ages. Sexism. I think that I
should be back along with my younger
version and the way that we’ve seen it
with Magneto and Professor X.”
Janssen, 51, said she had tried to
discuss a return for the older Grey
with producers but had not received a
response. “I have not heard any feedback on that, other than total radio
silence,” she said.
8a^]<P] e`RaaVRcZ_B_XSTa<P]
obert Downey Jr will star as
Iron Man in Spider-Man:
Homecoming, the masked wallcrawler’s debut solo outing in the
Marvel cinematic universe, according
to the Hollywood Reporter.
Spider-Man, as played by Britain’s
19-year-old Tom Holland, will first be
seen in the upcoming Captain America:
Civil War. Downey Jr’s Iron Man plays
a key role in introducing the young
Spider-Man into the wider world of
Marvel superheroes in the Russo brothers’ critically acclaimed film, leaving the
door open for him to continue as a
mentor figure in Homecoming.
Jon Watts’s Spider-Man project has
already cast Marisa Tomei as a
younger-than-usual Aunt May — the
Oscar-winner also appears in Civil War
— and pop star Zendaya in a key supporting role, as well as The Grand
Budapest Hotel’s Tony Revolori as one
of Spidey’s fellow high-school students.
But according to Deadline, Birdman’s
Michael Keaton will not be taking the
part of a villain, as had been expected.
Homecoming is due in cinemas in
R
July 2017, so Watts and Marvel will
be looking to complete their cast
imminently. Downey Jr is also signed
on for two further Avengers film:
Infinity War, parts one and two. The
actor also told ShortList that a third
Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock
Holmes movie would go into production during 2016. “We’re talking
about it right now,” he said. “We can
do some preliminary stuff.”
C`jR]dZ_W`ceYT`^Z_XBcPaFPab
rinces William and Harry are to
appear as stormtroopers in the
next Star Wars movie, according
to the Mail on Sunday. The royals visited the Pinewood Studios set of Star
Wars: Episode VIII last week, where
they met director Rian Johnson, stars
Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley and
crew members, and were photographed duelling with lightsabers.
They reportedly also filmed minor
roles in the new instalment.
“The princes dressed up in full
stormtrooper gear and filmed a scene
P
in which Rey and Finn infiltrate a
secret base,” a source told the newspaper. “The rebel characters are in a lift
with Benicio del Toro’s character when
a group of stormtroopers enter — two
of whom are William and Harry.”
They will not be the first wellknown figures to appear incognito as
masked stormtroopers. Daniel Craig
was a First Order grunt in The Force
Awakens. The current James Bond, who
was filming Spectre at Pinewood during
the shoot for JJ Abrams’ movie, had initially denied reports of a cameo.
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President Barack Obama. UK company My 1st Years, which specialises in personalised baby
gifts, shared the photo of the
two-year-old Prince
meeting Obama and
expressed disbelief
as the $39 robe
quickly sold out.
“We can’t believe
Prince George wore our robe
to meet President Obama!
Doesn’t he look adorable?!”
the company wrote. “You guys
have gone crazy for it and it’s
already sold out.”
Following its overnight success, the company opened a
round of pre-orders for the item
known as Prince’s Personalised
Gingham Robe, which features
gingham trim and can be personalised with up to 12 characters of embroidery for free.
Bermuda Triangle in his “hydropod” last
Sunday. It was the second failed attempt
for Reza Baluchi, an Iranian-born man
who lives in Pompano
Beach. His planned
five-month trip
started last Friday in
Pompano Beach.
The Coast Guard had warned
Baluchi, 44, he was “not authorised
to depart” on his journey because his
vessel and water conditions were
unsafe. The penalty was a seven-year
confinement and a $40,000 fine.
In October 2014, his GPS
device fell into the ocean about 70
miles off St Augustine. The Coast
Guard began monitoring his
movements and rescued him from
the ocean. That trip cost more than
$140,000, Coast Guard officials said.
In a letter dated April 15 to
Baluchi, Capt AJ Gould wrote, “Any
future voyages not cleared through me
will be terminated as manifestly unsafe.”
robe worn by England’s Prince
he US Coast Guard retrieved an
A
George sold out in minutes after he Tendurance runner after he ended his
was photographed in it while meeting
aquatic voyage from South Florida to the
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The bubble has 36
buoyancy balls on each
side and Baluchi was equipped
with a life vest containing a
water filter, a GPS tracking
device and shark repellent.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t
want to fight with the Coast Guard. I
want peace. I’m a lover, not a fighter. I
want to find a lawyer to help me,” he
said. According to his website, Baluchi
planned to follow the 3,500-mile
Bermuda triangle, which would also
take him to Puerto Rico.
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he owners of Vincent, a rescued 60pound English bulldog, aren’t quite
T
sure how old he is. All they know is that
their young pup is now a pageant king,
having won the 37th annual Beautiful
Bulldog contest at Drake University.
The tongue-in-cheek contest is the
opening event of the Drake Relays, a
prestigious track and field meet at
Drake Stadium. Vincent, a brown-andwhite pup who lives just up the road
from the stadium, will serve as the
meet’s mascot. The runnersup were Meatball, whose
biggest fears are garbage
bags and limes, and a oneyear-old pup named
Daffodil. Meatball and
Daffodil will serve as alternates for the
Drake Relays if for some reason Vincent
can’t fulfill his duties — which will
mostly entail photo shoots and an introduction during the opening ceremony.
“It popped up and we were like,
‘Let’s give it a try!” Vincent’s owner,
Meredith Green of Des Moines, said.
His owners, who think Vincent is about
three years old, said he likes car rides
and running up the stairs. They’ll find
out next weekend if he’s also a fan of
track and field.
ated as 50-year-old Lynnette Beedle
and 49-year-old Stephen Klejka
wed last Sunday in Canton.
The Hudson couple married in their running
attire and matching
blue ‘Team Klejka’
sweatshirts, with Beedle
donning a short white
veil in her hair and Klejka
strapping on a bow tie. After
expressing their love for one
another, they high-fived,
kissed and set off for their
13.1-mile jog.
They were among about
3,000 runners who participated in the marathon, halfmarathon or relay.
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at the starting line before running the
event’s half-marathon.
The Repository newspaper reports
marathon co-founder David Beck offici-
approved as kosher for
Passover — medical marijuana. Rabbi Chaim
Kanievsky, a Belarusian
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his year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame
n ultra-Orthodox rabbi
Marathon in Ohio will be a race to
announced an addition to
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remember for one couple who married
the list of substances
rabbi living in Bnei Brak, Israel,
responded to a question from promarijuana group Siach with a confirmation that medical marijuana is kosher to be
smoked or eaten
during the eightday Passover festival, which has its own
set of dietary rules.
Kanievsky is widely
considered to be the current
leading authority on ultraOrthodox Halakha, or
Jewish law.
A video posted to
YouTube by the pro-marijuana group Cannabis Israel
shows Kanievsky and Rabbi
Yitzchak Zilberstein declaring
some marijuana leaves to have
a “healing smell” and saying a
blessing over the plant.
Rabbi Efraim Zalmanovich
of Mazkeret Batya, Israel, said
in 2013 that smoking medicinal marijuana is kosher, but
recreational use of the plant
is not allowed.
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0
ijay Mallya is a name the whole country seems
to be familiar with. Particularly after the news
that he has defaulted on bank loans and left the
country. These issues, however, are subject to scrutiny
and investigation. But for our purpose, Mallya is not
just a name. He is not just a person also. He is a symbol — symbol of all that has gone wrong in the present
times, from banking to economy, from philosophy to
psychology. He is also a symptom. Symptom of a deeper malaise called materialism.
As the so-called global economy, if there is one,
continues to reel under recession and we try to put a
brave front by quoting statistics of high growth rate,
anxieties mount. Anxieties about the future of economy, if not economics. These anxieties as of now are
affecting anybody who is somebody. But will subsequently effect everybody if not contained soon.
The question is how? Certainly not by changing
economic policies, though they are the root cause. This
is a million dollar question, the answer to which lies in
philosophy. Philosophy of society that has contaminated the thought processes of the individuals. The philosophy is rather old and is called the School of
Materialism or Charvaka Philosophy.
This school of Indian philosophy can be found
mentioned in the epics and even early Buddhist literature. While its origin may be attributed to many reasons, its practice is based on just one concept: “Eat,
drink and be merry’’. Though this is purely materialist
doctrine to life did not find much favour as a metaphysic in the Indian scheme of things in the past, it is
unfortunate that the present society is seemingly
enamoured with the idea. The result is our obsession
with ourselves and our craving for sensual pleasure.
While doubts may be raised on the veracity of this
claim, the fact that there is rampant hankering for the
so-called good things in life cannot be refuted. This is
the reason why the entire value system of the Indian
society seems to stand on its head. The Indian society
never approved of living beyond means. In fact, simple
living and high thinking was the norm.
What has happened today? Lavish living without
thinking. Debt or loans that were never approved in
the Indian society in the past have become the ‘in’
thing. The society that maintained that “only he is
happy who does not owe anything to anybody” is
now exhorting people to take loans. People are enjoying life by taking loans and banks are enjoying profits by giving loans.
This enjoyment, however, is a perceived state and
mythical. The reality is that both the people as well as
the banks are unhappy. And this is what Mallya symbolises. This is the symptom of the ailment that has
inflicted society due to vulgar materialism.
To understand the idea of this vulgar materialism,
it is important to understand the basic tenets of
Charvaka Philosophy as given in Sarva-DarshanSangrah. It says that there is no heaven, no final liberation, nor any soul in the other world... As long as life
is there, let a man live happily, let him feed on ghee
even if he needs to take a debt for that. Now if everyone starts thinking like this there can be no other
outcome but chaos. And that is where we are heading
to. Thanks to materialism. It is wrong philosophy that
leads to bad economics.
V
BhP\P]cPZPVT\^U:aXbW]P³bTaPXb]³cbX\X[Pac^cWT:^WX]^^abPhb3A0B706>BF0<8
y assertion is
with regard to
such issue
being raised
quite recently
by exclaiming that Kohinoor
gem be identified with the
Syamantaka gem of Shri
Krishna’s times, since earliest
reference of Kohinoor may
be traced back to 3,000 years
or so. On this ground, it may
be linked with Shri Krishna’s
times and be recognised as
representing the replica or a
reminiscence of Syamantaka
gem or the same as the gem,
which in the Puranas is said
to have been always
remained in possession of
Akrura till the end of
Krishnayuga, as in the whole
clan of the Vrishnis, he was
considered the only deserving person to possess it.
In this context I am constrained to point out that in
the light of the Puranic evidence regarding peculiarities
of this gem, the same can in
no way be considered even
similar to the present day
Kohinoor. It is interesting to
note that reference to this
peculiar gem Syamantaka is
made in the various episodes
of the puranic Krishna saga.
One such reference
regarding this gem shows it
playing a major role in vindicating the personality of Shri
Krishna, who had to bear a
false scandal of theft of this
precious Syamantaka gem on
account of Satrajit, the real
owner of the gem who had
also blamed him of killing his
brother Prasenajit and
snatching the gem from him.
It is further narrated that
after the whole matter was
sorted out, to appease Shri
Krishna, Satrajit had offered
his most beautiful daughter
named Satyabhama to him.
It is also believed that
M
Krishna had married
Satyabhama on the same day
along with Jambavati,
daughter of Jambavan, who
also like Satyabhama was
given in marriage to Shri
Krishna by her father along
with the Syamantaka gem as
a token of goodwill after
being defeated in a dual
fight which lasted 28 days.
According to a popular
folk belief, a person who
recites the puranic chronicle
of Shri Krishna’s encounter
with the Syamantaka gem is
never affected with false
accusations. The version
goes that Syamantaka gem’s
real owner was Satrajit, one
of the senior members of
the Vrishni family, to which
also belonged Shri Krishna.
Satrajit happened to receive
the gem at the seashore as
an award for his great
devotion to the sun God,
who is also stated to have
personally granted the same
gem to Satrajit.
Satrajit also used to share
this gem with his younger
brother Prasenajit. However,
Shri Krishna wanted that
Satrajit should present this
gem to Ugrasena who was the
head of the Vrishnis and
Yadavas and a befitting person to possess the same. But
in spite of Krishna’s best
efforts, the gem remained
with Satrajit who next passed
it on to his brother Prasenajit
who was wearing the gem just
to show off the great opulence
of his clan. When he went for
a horse ride into the forest, he
was killed by a lion, and further this lion with the gem
was killed by Jambavan, the
leader of the people with bear
totem who took it away and
gave the same to his children
to play with.
At Dwaraka, when
Prasenajit did not return, his
here was a well-known preacher.
Every Sunday, he used to draw a large
crowd of listeners. He was very good
in singing as well. Before he started to
preach, he used to sing very melodiously.
The assembled persons used to join, majority of them. On the stage, he used to sit;
musicians also sat, giving him company.
The whole atmosphere in the neighbourhood used to become electric.
Once he started to preach, most of
those present used to be very attentive
because he used to involve them; he used
to give them 10 questions, which they
were supposed to answer after the preaching ended. The verses of the Bhagavad
Gita on which he preached on any particular Sunday were already announced on
the previous Sunday. People used to note
the questions. This practice ensured that
many became regulars; they made sure to
find time to attend the preaching sessions.
This was all very fine except the
preacher began to become attracted to a
pretty girl who prepared well and
answered most of the questions given.
This infatuation grew over the months
and the preacher started to devise plans
to see her more often. Then, one day, suddenly, some persons descended on the
venue and began to abuse the preacher.
They broke the musical instruments,
threw away the mike, etc and warned the
preacher never to return.
T
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brother Satrajit spread the
rumour that Krishna had
taken the jewel after killing
Prasenajit. Krishna did not
accept that scandal and in
order to satisfy the public, he
proceeded to investigate the
matter. Some important persons of Dwaraka, including
his elder brother Balarama,
also sided with him.
While searching he found
the body of Prasenajit and
identifying the marks which
finally merged into the foot
prints of Jambavan led
Krishna into a great cave
where he found the gem in
the hands of the nurse of
Jambavan’s children. Seeing
Krishna, they cried for help
and Jambavan came and challenged Krishna for a fight.
Although Krishna was
busy defeating Jambavan in
the cave, the people of
Dwaraka having waited outside the cave for long thinking that something undesirable might have happened to
Krishna returned. While all
at Dwaraka were worried
about Krishna, he defeating
Jambavan returned with the
gem in the company with
Jambavati. Krishna then gave
the gem to Satrajit, who
being afraid of Krishna as he
had spread against him the
false scandal of snatching the
gem, returned it to him.
But according to the
characteristics of this gem,
neither Shri Krishna nor his
brother Balarama were qualified to possess it since they
lacked in some qualities
which were mandatory for
the persons deserving this
jewel’s possession.
As Krishna had many
wives, he was not qualified to
have the gem, and similarly
Balarama was very much
addicted to wine and pleasure of senses, so he was also
not fit to possess it. Hence in
the long run finally the gem
came in possession of Akrura
since in the whole clan
except him all lacked some
qualities which were mandatory for the persons deserving the jewel’s possession. He
was also asked to always
remain in Dwaraka so that
the prosperity of the region
may be ensured.
Besides this narrative, the
characteristics of the
Syamantaka gem as given in
the sources also are suggestive of the fact that it cannot
be the same as the present
day Kohinoor. For, according
to the historical evidence, the
Syamantaka gem was so efficacious that daily it used to
yield large quantity of gold
which could be counted as
equal to 170 pounds.
Besides this, another
peculiarity of the gem was
that in whatever part of the
earth this jewel was kept
there was no possibility of
any inauspicious occurrence
such as pestilence, disease,
attack by wild beasts, fire,
drought, and famine. Its
other characteristics were
that it was the source of prosperity to the virtuous persons
but if worn by ignoble person
it could cause his death.
Thus on the basis of this
data material regarding the
Syamantaka gem of Shri
Krishna’s era, it does not
sound appropriate to consider it in any manner similar to
the present day Kohinoor.
I would like to make an
appeal to the specialists in
the field of gemology to
probe further and investigate
tracing out such kind of gem
called Syamantaka for the
prosperity of subsequent eras
of the Krishnayuga also.
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Thus ended the preaching career of
this man. He was heartbroken for more
reason than one. Now what was he to do?
He chose to translate the Bhagavad Gita.
He was well versed in the Sanskrit language and he did an excellent job. He
knew in his heart that what he had
achieved was a masterpiece. God must
have been instrumental as he probably
was in wrecking his preaching programme. This man approached a wellknown institution, which had been print-
ing the Gita for decades. They saw his
manuscript and were highly impressed by
it. After a lot of consultations between the
trustees, his manuscript was adopted for
further printing of their Gita.
This retired man, who could easily
support himself, was over the moon due
to this development. Now he realised that
God had a hand in this. Once you are
linked with God, you should give up all
attachments. Otherwise also all attachments give pain only. God takes over the
lives of his devotees and does the very
best possible for them and even protects
them from the likely troubles they may be
getting into as this man was getting into
with that girl. Not only devotees of God
but everyone should avoid getting
attached with results having done what
best could have been done under the circumstances, and should wait for results to
see what form they take and when they
come. From the example of this man, we
can learn that he gained what he could
CWTfaXcTaXbP_a^UTbb^a^U\P]PVT\T]cP]S_dQ[XR
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never have imagined and escaped getting
in serious trouble over his growing infatuation with the girl.
There are many benefits if one can
avoid attachments. A person having this
quality will be able to focus on his duties
since he will not be worried about the
fruits of action. (2.48) This quality is helpful in being able to maintain equanimity in
all circumstances. (2.48) Such a person
progressively achieves the supreme state.
(3.18-3.19) Detachment towards fruits of
action brings satisfaction and avoids
entanglement in mundane activities. (4.20)
It delivers one from sufferings. (6.23)
By the strong weapon of detachment, it
becomes easier to understand the true
nature of this material world. (15.3-15.4)
Not being attached to fruits of action, a
person avoids bondage of action. (18.17)
By shunning attachment, a person
becomes peaceful and deserving of
Brahman realisation. (18.51) A person
becomes decisive; confusion disappears.
Such a person is generally respected since
he or she does not try to exploit others in
his or her selfish interest. (3.18) Then,
what are we waiting for? The Bhagavad
Gita has all the information about how to
become detached from results. Why not
learn it and reap all the benefits mentioned therein and more!
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regular reader of this column
has come up with the following
feedback on the piece titled
‘Know true-self to be at your best’:
“The language used in your article was
so difficult that I could not fully
understand the inlaid message. I will
appreciate if you kindly use simple
language hereafter, which a common
man could easily grasp.”
Well, appreciating your concern,
when I revisited the said piece, it
appeared that the problem is not in the
language. It could be with some of the
technical words and phrases forming
part of the opening paragraph, if they are
seen in exclusivity. Remember, my pieces
often relate to serious issues having psychological and behavioural imperatives,
sometimes calling for use of specially
coined words and phrases.
If, however, you would have looked at
the piece as one whole, and paid attention
to the explanations offered in the paragraphs that followed, you would not have
had any difficulty. Let me now deliberate
upon those words and phrases afresh to
make things clear.
All actions on our part are steered
through by mind. As any act is first ideated, wished, willed, and articulated how to
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go about in the mind before being put to
motion. It is in this sense that the mind is
said to define and then drive through the
functional mandate of a being.
Be it known that the mind does not
get going by itself. It is set into motion
primarily by in-store desires that are
nothing but reflection of karmic accruals
carried over from the past birth, as a
sequel to cause-effect chain driving our
life. Evidently, this varies from person to
person, according to the different sets of
experiences one would have gone
through in the previous life, making
each being unique.
The karmic accruals, in fact, precondition the mind one way or the other in
terms of desire and thought trends, habits
and attitudes, prejudices and obsessions,
virtues and attributes, which come into
play involuntarily. It is in this sense that
each mind is said to be inherently framed
one way or the other.
Mind, thus, comes under limitation,
allowing restricted vision within the
scope of its preset terms. This is what
allowing limited window-frame means.
The question now is: Are we to remain
slave to the preconditions laid down by
the mind or could we go beyond and get
better empowered?
If mind be mandated to act as a sovereign, it will be really difficult to transgress its limits. On the contrary, if it be
sub-ordinate to some higher power,
there remains scope to align with the
latter and overcome the limitations
imposed by the mind.
It may not be out of place to mention here that the living order owes its
dynamic existence to the all-pervading
force of consciousness. So long it is
available in a being, the person remains
alive, and with mind and all functional
organisms in operative mode. Once it
becomes unavailable, the mind
becomes dysfunctional, and the person
becomes a dead matter.
It implies that the mind gets empowered to act by the force of consciousness.
So, the mind has a dependent status. In
fact, going by Indian philosophic perception, force of consciousness projects mind
as its instrument, which serving as former’s carrier holds the key to all aspects
of human dynamism. So, the obvious
choice before us is either to play second
fiddle to the mind, an instrument, or
become its master by aligning with the
prime-driver, the force of consciousness.
But it is easier said than done. For,
though mind has a secondary status, as it
works on borrowed strength, it simulta-
neously also enjoys certain level of operational independence. Given the power
of free will, the mind offers us freedom
to make choices, carrying equal probability of its use and misuse. That makes it
imperative upon us to own up the consequences of the choices made, and the
implications thereof.
Often our ego unmindfully identifies
itself with the indwelling tendencies of
mind, and then passionately pursues
them. Also, our impressionable mind gets
drawn towards tempting influences of the
glare and glitters of the seeming. That
further compounds our problem. Our
mind, thus, gets so entrenched in its own
wanderings that it does not leave much of
scope to explore beyond.
Here again, applying our free will
option, we could very well will to go
beyond the limitations of mind, and align
with the force of consciousness.
Following which, its wholesome and
omniscient power shall be at our disposal,
enabling us to unfold our full mental
potential when one would know no limits.
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