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tuesday, july 26, 2016

www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 6 No. 177 CITY EDITION 20 Pages Rs. 8.00 ●

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Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubballi, Mohali, Allahabad, Malappuram and Mumbai

SC issues notice to Mallya as banks fail to locate his wealth

SC ruling on Arunachal raises more questions, says Ram Madhav

Poll shows Donald Trump enjoys lead over Hillary Clinton

Ashwin thrilled with his feat outside the sub-continent

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BRIEFLY Verizon to buy Yahoo’s core assets for $4.83 bn NEW YORK: Verizon Communications Inc. said on Monday that it would buy Yahoo Inc’s core Internet assets for $4.83 billion in cash to expand its digital advertising and media business. This ends a lengthy sale process for the fading Web pioneer. BUSINESS | PAGE 15

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Submarine to join search for An-32 CHENNAI: The search for the

missing IAF transport aircraft An-32 is likely to get a boost on Tuesday when the Navy will send a submarine to join the operations. NATION | PAGE 9

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Privilege notice against Jairam Ramesh, Renuka NEW DELHI: The Shiromani Akali

Dal (SAD) on Monday gave notice for a privilege motion in the Rajya Sabha against Congress members Jairam Ramesh and Renuka Chowdhury for allegedly misbehaving with Union Minister Harsimrat Badal. NEWS | PAGE 12

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I was asked to keep off Punjab, says Sidhu NEW DELHI: Cricketer-turned-

politician Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Monday that he had resigned from the Rajya Sabha because he was being constantly asked to stay away from Punjab. NEWS | PAGE 12

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SC allows rape victim to abort 24-week-old foetus tal or physical handicap. But Mr. Rohatgi pointed to Section 5 of the same Act, which overrides Section 3. Section 5 holds that none of the restrictions mentioned in Section 3 would apply if “termination of pregnancy is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.”

Cap on MTP won’t apply when life of woman is in danger: Centre LEGAL CORRESPONDENT DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a rape victim based in Mumbai to abort her 24-week-old abnormal foetus after the Centre clarified that a 20-week cap on termination of pregnancy is not applicable if the pregnant woman’s life is found to be in grave danger. At the hearing, a Bench of Justices J.S. Khehar and Arun Mishra perused a confidential medical report on the condition of the woman, identified as only ‘Ms. X’, filed by a team of doctors at the K.E.M. Hospital. NEW

Medical report Justice Khehar read out the findings in the report to Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, who was summoned to assist the court in the case. The doctors had concluded that the pregnancy was 23 to 24 weeks old. It said that continuance of the pregnancy would involve “grave danger” to the life of the pregnant woman.

Mr. Rohatgi clarified that though The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 mandates against abortion after pregnancy crosses the 20-week threshold, there are exceptions. No time limit “If the mother is in danger, there is no time limit for conducting an abortion. If you have to save life, you need to cross the limit of 20 weeks,”

Mr. Rohatgi submitted. The victim had challenged Section 3 (2) (b) of the 1971 Act, which allowed abortion only if pregnancy was under 20 weeks old and done on the advice of at least two registered medical practitioners, who should certify that the pregnant woman was risking “grave injury to her physical and mental health” or there was a danger of the child being born with a severe men-

HC acquits Salman in two poaching cases

Diplomatic staf can’t take kids along to Pak.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

JAIPUR: In a major relief to Bollywood actor Salman Khan who fought a legal battle for 18 years, the Rajasthan High Court on Monday acquitted him in two cases of poaching of chinkaras on the outskirts of Jodhpur in 1998. The High Court allowed his appeal against the lower court’s judgment convicting him in 2006. Acquitting Mr. Khan of all charges, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur at the High Court’s principal seat in Jodhpur ruled that the evidence on record implicating him in the cases was “grossly inadequate.” The Chief Judicial Magistrate had sentenced him to imprisonment of one year and five years, respectively, in the two cases and imposed a fine of Rs.25,000 on him. Two separate cases were registered against Salman Khan under Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection

NEW DELHI: India on Monday

Salman Khan Act for hunting of two chinkaras in Bhawad village on September 26-27, 1998 and another chinkara in Mathania on September 28-29, 1998. He was in Jodhpur for shooting of the Hindi movie Hum Saath Saath Hain. The sessions court dismissed his appeal in the Mathania case and transferred the appeal in the Bhawad case to the High Court in 2007.

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confirmed Pakistani newspaper reports that the Ministry of External Afairs (MEA) has termed Islamabad a “non-school” posting for Indian diplomats. “It is a normal practice for all countries to review staing and related policies for their diplomatic missions, including in view of prevailing circumstances at those stations. With efect from this academic session, oicials posted in the High Commission of India in Islamabad have been advised to make arrangements for education of their wards outside Pakistan, till further notice,” Vikas Swarup, Oicial Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Afairs told the media. The spokesperson emphasised that the safety

To save mother “It is life (of a foetus) versus life (of a pregnant woman) here...” Justice Mishra observed. “The 20-week cap is meant to prevent female foeticide, which is a big problem,” Mr. Rohatgi said. The Bench, in a short order, expressed its satisfaction with the medical report and said termination of the pregnancy in this case was permissible under Section 5 of the 1971 Act. Cap unreasonable The woman, who claims to have been raped by her fiance on the promise of marriage, had challenged the 20-week cap as a violation of the right to a dignified life. The petition contended that the ceiling was unreasonable, arbitrary, harsh, discriminatory and violative of the right to life and equality.

AAP to move High Court to ‘expose’ Delhi Police STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A day after two Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Amanatullah Khan and Naresh Yadav were arrested, the party has decided to approach the High Court to “expose” the Delhi Police. AAP’s Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey said on Monday that the series of arrests of his party MLAs “was a conspiracy and the Delhi Police would be exposed.” Giving details of the future plan of action, the AAP leader said all complaints and petitions against their MLAs would be clubbed and they would soon approach the High Court. “Already the Punjab Police is arresting our MLAs. Now ask Gujarat and Goa police to visit Delhi,” Mr Pandey said. On Sunday, Mr Khan and Mr Yadav were arrested by the Delhi and Punjab police respectively in two diferent cases.

Amanatullah Khan In a little over 17 months since the AAP formed the government in Delhi by winning a record 67 seats out of 70, 11 of its MLAs have been sent to jail for diferent crimes. Seemapuri MLA Rajendra Pal Gautam said there was a pattern in the cases filed against his party MLAs. “We are looking at the cases registered against our MLAs very minutely. And from what we have gathered, it can be said this is a conspiracy,” he said. He said in the case of Mr Khan, where a woman has alleged that the MLA threatened

to kill her, the complainant had changed her statement thrice. He said the party had released a video in which she is purportedly seen being tutored by a police oicial. “The police rather than going after rapists are busy arresting our MLAs in false cases,” Mr Gautam said. “Crimes against women are on the rise but we don’t see any steps on the part of the Delhi Police to address the issue of security of women,” Mr Pandey added. He said the party’s women MLAs and members of the women and youth wing would march to Rajnath Singh’s residence on Tuesday morning. “Our women MLAs, the women and youth wing will try to meet the Home Minister to raise pertinent points. If he doesn’t meet it will expose his seriousness regarding the issue,” Mr Pandey.

쐍 COURT EXTENDS REMAND PAGE 4

Auto, taxi strike from today STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Autorickshaw and taxi unions in the Capital have threatened to go an indefinite strike from Tuesday against app-based taxi services. Kishan Verma, president of the All Delhi Auto-Taxi

Transport Congress Union (ADATTCU), said drivers of yellow-black taxis and autorickshaws had been asked to remove their vehicles from the airport, railway stations, ISBTs and metro stations in Delhi from Monday midnight. There are about 85,000 autorickshaws and 15,000

yellow-black taxis that ply in the city Rajender Soni, general secretary of Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union, said there was “no room” for talks with the Delhi government from the unions’ side. CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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Concerns about the security of the Indian High Commission have been growing, says source measure was a follow-up decision to a June 2015 oicial plan. A diplomatic source in Islamabad told The Hindu that over the last few days concerns about the security of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad have been growing. Soft targets “Starting with the school attack in Peshawar of December 16, 2014, children have often been perceived as soft targets. So precautionary measures were under consideration for sometime,” the oicial said over phone.

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Doping row over Narsingh turns murkier We are fully behind Narsingh, we believe in his innocence, says WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

UTHRA GANESAN NEW DELHI: The doping contro-

versy around Rio Olympicsbound wrestler Narsingh Yadav is getting murkier. On Monday, Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh threw his lot behind the beleaguered wrestler, adding to claims of conspiracy and even indicting a senior SAI oicial. “We are fully behind Narsingh, we believe in his innocence and we will go to any extent to support him in his fight for justice and try and get him on the plane to Rio,” Mr. Singh said at a hurriedly convened press conference here. He also said there had been attempts to contaminate Narsingh’s food. The wrestler himself has sought a CBI inquiry into the issue, even as his A and B samples have returned positive. SAI oicials have hit back, saying there may or may not be a conspiracy, but that its own staf was above reCM YK

ON THE MAT: A file photo of Narsingh Yadav (right) at the training camp at the SAI Centre in Sonepat. — PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA proach. Sports Minister Vijay Goel too remained noncommittal. “The NADA is an autonomous body to promote clean sports and check doping. In Narsingh’s case, we will ensure that the WADA Code is implemented... Both of Narsingh’s A and B samples have tested positive. He has been placed under provisional suspension,” he said, refusing to comment any further.

There were reports of Singh meeting even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but sources close to the WFI president denied any knowledge of it, saying Singh had only returned from his constituency late on Sunday night. The 26-year old Yadav’s Rio dreams are all but over unless he can prove that there has been sabotage and contamination of his food without his knowledge,

thereby proving the conspiracy theory. Under WADA rules, “Where the anti-doping rule violation involves a Specified Substance, and the Athlete or other Person can establish No Significant Fault or Negligence, then the period of Ineligibility shall be, at a minimum, a reprimand and no period of Ineligibility, and at a maximum, two years of Ineligibility, depending on the Athlete’s or other Person’s degree of Fault (Art 10.5..1.1).” If he fails, a replacement is unlikely under IOC rules (July 18 was the final date and after that, replacements are only allowed for medical causes).

쐍 WFI THROWS ITS WEIGHT

BEHIND NARSINGH | PAGE 17 ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Metro to revamp online card recharge system

Ola tells HC it will not indulge in “surge pricing”

Nearly all smart card users of the Delhi Metro still recharge their cards by standing in long queues Page 4

On Monday, app-based taxi service provider Ola told the Delhi High Court that it would not engage in surge pricing Page 5

Photo shop all set to get an update Mahatta & Co shut retail operations; to carry on wedding photography, catering to corporates

DU admission portal blocks, unblocks applicants

SIDHARTHA ROY

Those wanting to switch course, college were blocked from doing so

NEW DELHI: “It was covered for

STAFF REPORTER

over 65 years. Removing the dust alone took a lot of time,” said 57-year-old Pavan Mehta pointing to the tall windows overlooking L block of Connaught Place. This , as the Monday afternoon sun streams in and lights up the curtain, benches and machinery inside the huge space that once served as the darkroom for Mahatta & Co.

NEW DELHI: Undergraduate

applicants who have already got admission in Delhi University but wanted to change their choice of course or college were on Monday blocked from doing so on the university’s admission portal. Vacant seats Individual colleges had released their list of vacant seats, which students could apply for on the portal in the morning. However, students who had already signed up for a course at a college were unable to apply for these vacant seats without cancelling their existing seat. Alka Yadav, an undergraduate applicant, said although she had

Mehta to Mahatta The studio first started in Kashmir, where Mehta was forced to become anglicised as Mahatta since the British couldn’t pronounce the surname correctly. The photo studio, which completed its centenary last year, came to New Delhi from Srinagar in 1948 and has remained a landmark since. The sale of negatives stopped once digitisation kicked in, followed by camera phones afecting the sale of point-and-shoot cameras. Selfie generation Taking and posting pictures on social media by the selfie generation is a matter of seconds. It is a place where old world photo studios don’t really fit in. Even as many wellknown photo studios in Connaught Place like Rangoon Studio and Shimla Studio shut shop due to absence of patrons, Mahatta & Co is still fighting and trying to move ahead with the times. Drop in sales A drop in sales and buyer interest has forced the studio to shut its retail operations, but it will carry on its professional work, the bulk of which involves wedding photography, and camera sales for corporate bulk buyers. “The photo studio will remain. All our professional services will remain. We are going deeper into the

secured admission, she wanted to try for a more recognised college ailiated to DU. “I logged on to the admission portal, but my attempt was blocked. However, there was a notice on the site asking us to be patient and stating that the university would resolve the issue by lunchtime.” Issue resolved Later in the day, the undergraduate admission advisory committee decided to unblock such applicants. “The committee decided to continue with the process being followed earlier — when multiple lists came out and students were allowed to switch admissions from one college to another,” said a

DU spokesperson. Student activist met Dean of Students’ Welfare J. M. Khurana to sort out the issue after hundreds of anxious parents and aspirants gathered at North Campus in the morning. They were assured that all those who had registered earlier would be allowed to apply for vacant seats after 3 p.m. DU notice Advising students to ensure that their name figured in the merit list of a college with vacant seats before cancelling their existing admission, DU stated in a notice that it would not be responsible if a student was not able to get admission in another college for any reason after cancelling his/her current admission.

Museum matters THE BIG PICTURE: Over a 100 years after Mahatta & Co set up shop in Kashmir and then in New Delhi’s Connaught Place in 1948, Pankaj (left) and Pawan Mehta said it was time to take their services to another level. — PHOTOS: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Mehta was forced to become anglicised as Mahatta since the British could not pronounce it correctly not just thousands of negatives, but also antique cameras and other collectibles. An exhibition showcasing the prints and a book came out last year and the Mehta’s are planning more such exhibitions. fine art segment, apart from catering to corporates,” said 53-year-old Pankaj Mehta. “After 100 years, we need to take our services to another level. We are gearing up for another 100 years. A 100 years is a long time during which the character of society changes and we

have to keep up with the times,” eh added with a confident smile. While changing with the times, the Mehtas are acutely aware of their legacy. Antique cameras From 1915 to 2016, the studio is a treasure trove of

Shopping experience The Mehtas added that the front studio showroom hadn’t changed in character ever since it opened in Connaught Place. The present generation is not used to such a shopping experience, particularly when it comes to gadgets, they said. Add to this is the on-

slaught of e-commerce. “Customers come in and show us on their mobiles how the same camera is available for discounted prices online,” said Mr. Pavan Mehta. Keeping the showroom open for just a handful of buyers in a prime commercial area like Connaught Place does not seem viable anymore. The showroom might now don the avatar of a different shop or even a restaurant. The first floor office and the dark room — in the process of being turned into a state-of-theart photo studio — are where all the action will shift to. “We are in talks with people,” Mr. Pavan Mehta said, adding that the iconic Mahatta & Co board would remain as it does now.

5 MRI, 10 CT scan machines for Delhi govt hospitals STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: City doctors have welcomed the Delhi Health Department’s initiative to procure five MRI and 10 CT scan machines. Responding to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet, “Tenders done for 5 MRI n 10 CT Scan. They’ll come in 4 mnths. It’ll take smetime to correct decades of misgovernance [sic],” doctors said the move would greatly improve the services being ofered to poor patients. According to a senior Delhi government oicial, the new machines will be installed at 10 hospitals under the public-private partnership model. There are 34 government hospitals in Delhi, but only one — Lok Nayak Hospital — has an MRI machine, forcing patients seeking MRI scans to wait for prolonged periods, said sources in the Delhi government. An MRI scan, that costs up to Rs.5,000 at a private facility, is done for free at government hospitals.

NEW PHASE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating phase II of the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari at the President's Estate on Monday. The event marked the President’s four years in office. — PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY (REPORT ON PAGE 13)

‘Amend Act to promote e-pharmacy’ BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN NEW DELHI: “With the advent of

e-pharmacy, there is a need to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, as it does not diferentiate between offline and online pharmacies. The government is seized of the issue and is working towards amending the existing law to develop a framework where consumers are benefitted,” K. B. Aggarwal, the Additional Secretary (Food and Drugs), Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said here on Monday. Easy availability Mr. Aggarwal was speaking during the launch of a report at a session on “E-pharmacy in India — Last Mile Access of Medicines,” organised by FICCI. He added that e-pharmacy would allow easy availability

of drugs at all hours. However, there were concerns with respect to legitimacy of epharmacies, patients’ safety and privacy, misuse of epharmacies and its adverse efect on retailers’ business. Guidelines Mr. Aggarwal added that there was need to create epharmacy guidelines to allow proper tracking and monitoring of sale of drugs, authenticity of online pharmacists and prescriptions, and details of patients, thereby helping in reducing drug abuse and counterfeiting. “Also, linking a person’s Aadhar number with e-pharmacies will ensure correctness of person seeking medicines.” He said deliberations were taking place for ensuring privacy and confidentiality of information, and that these

suggestions will soon be put up for further discussion among stakeholders. Stating that the government was working towards developing its online platform, he said the system should be stable by the end of December. Priority sector S. Eswara Reddy, the Joint Drugs Controller, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, said the government was working towards drafting a new drugs and cosmetics Act to meet current regulatory requirements related to safety, eicacy and quality of drugs. “For the government, pharmaceuticals are a priority sector. Therefore, it is critical to ensure that its regulations are strengthened. There should be a standard format of prescriptions,” Dr. Reddy added.

CINEMA

HINDI:

Karkardooma), Movie Time (Raja Garden, Pitampura), DT (Saket, Shalimar Bagh, Vasant Kunj), Satyam (Patel Nagar, Janakpuri, Nehru Place), BIG (Odeon, Vaishali, Kaushambi, Noida), Wave (Raja Garden, Noida, Kaushambi), Spice (Noida), SRS Cinemas, M4U, JAM Shipra, Movie Palace, Movie Magic, Galaxie, Star X (Vaishali), Chaudhary (Ghaziabad), Movie World and Silver City Ghaziabad) Inox (Faridabad).

MADAARI (New Release: Irrfan Khan, Jimmy Shergill): Amba, Vishal, Abhishek Cineplex, Eros One, Cinemax, G3S (Rohini), Batra Reel, PVR (Plaza, Rivoli, Priya, Saket, City Walk, Naraina, Vikaspuri, Prashant Vihar, EDM, Mahagun, Opulent), M2K (Rohini, Pitampura), FUN (Moti Nagar, Pitampura, Laxmi Nagar,

KABALI (New Release: Rajinikanth, Radhika Apte): Delite Diamond, Vishal, Amba, Liberty, Samrat, PVR (Priya, Saket, Naraina, Anupam, Vikaspuri, City Walk, Prashant Vihar, Mahagun, EDM), DT (Saket, Shalimar Bagh, Vasant Kunj), Movie Time (Raja Garden, Pitampura), Wave (Raja Garden, Kaushambi, Noida), Satyam

ENGLISH: STAR TREK BEYOND: PVR (Rivoli, Anupam, City Walk, 3C’s, Mahagun, Naraina, Sangam, Mahagun, EDM), DT (Shalimar Bagh, Saket, Vasant Kunj, Noida), Movie Time (Raja Garden), Wave (Raja Garden, Noida), Satya (Patel Nagar, Janakpuri, Nehru Place), Spice (Noida).

CM YK

(Patel Nagar, Nehru Place, Janakpuri), BIG (Odeon, Vaishali, Noida), M2K (Rohini, Pitampura), Spice (Noida). GREAT GRAND MASTI (Ritesh Deshmukh,Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani): PVR (Plaza, Rivoli, Priya, Saket, City Walk, Naraina, Vikaspuri, Prashant Vihar, EDM, Mahagun, Opulent), M2K (Rohini, Pitampura), FUN (Moti Nagar, Pitampura, Laxmi Nagar, Karkardooma), DT (Saket, Shalimar Bagh, Vasant Kunj), Satyam (Patel Nagar, Janakpuri, Nehru Place), BIG (Vaishali, Kaushambi, Noida), Wave (Raja Garden, Noida, Kaushambi), Spice (Noida), Movie Palace, Movie Magic, Galaxie, Star X (Vaishali), Chaudhary (Ghaziabad), Movie World and Silver City (Ghaziabad) Inox (Faridabad).

SULTAN (Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma): Delite, Shiela, Batra Reel, Cinemax, G3S (Rohini), Eros One, PVR (Plaza, Priya, Rivoli, Saket, City Walk, Naraina, Vikaspuri, Prashant Vihar, EDM), M2K (Rohini, Pitampura), FUN (Moti Nagar, Pitampura, Laxmi Nagar, Karkardooma), Movie Time (Raja Garden, Pitampura), DT (Saket, Shalimar Bagh, Vasant Kunj), Wave (Raja Garden, Noida, Kaushambi), Satyam (Patel Nagar, Janakpuri, Nehru Place), M4U, JAM Shipra, Movie Palace, Movie Magic, Galaxie, Star X (Vaishali), Chaudhary (Ghaziabad). (BOOKING ENQUIRIES: PVR 51513391; Spice Gold 012043890000; Satyam Cinemasss 25797385; Delite 23272903; Wave 51832222) ND-ND

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CRIME CAPITAL

Now, 4-year-old raped in Delhi STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A four-year-old girl

was rushed to hospital with severe injuries after she was allegedly raped by a neighbour in Outer Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy on Sunday. The accused, 30-year-old rickshaw puller Mohammad Junaid, was reportedly caught red-handed by the victim’s mother. He was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Ofences (POCSO) Act and sent to jail after being produced before a magistrate. The police said the accused was in an inebriated condition when he commit-

Looking for her, I walked into an isolated area near our slum. I found Junaid with my daughter who was bleeding

UNDER ARREST: The accused, 30-year-old rickshaw puller Mohammad Junaid, was reportedly caught red-handed by the victim’s mother in Outer Delhi. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT ted the crime. The girl’s father is a mason while her mother does odd jobs. It was around 3 p.m., when the parents were away, that the girl came out to play with her friends. An hour later, after the other children had gone home, Junaid approached the girl while she was playing on a swing. He lured her by ofering

snacks. “Junaid knows that my daughter likes soft drinks and Kurkure,” the victim’s mother said. Missing When the mother returned home around 5 p.m., she found her daughter missing. “While looking for her, I walked into an isolated area near our slum. I found Junaid with my daughter who was

bleeding and covered in mud,” the mother alleged. Though she tried to restrain him, Junaid pushed her away. The woman then raised an alarm after which locals nabbed him. He was thrashed and handed over to the police. The girl was rushed to Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini where her injuries had to be stitched up. She was not in a condition to speak, said her mother. Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal, who visited the victim at the hospital, said the girl had to be given anaesthesia for the pain. “There were scratch marks all over her body, which speak of her ordeal. She was in shock when I met her,” said Ms. Maliwal. The injuries, however, are not life-threatening, doctors said. The victim’s mother said: “The incident will leave a scar on her. If my daughter is not safe outside her own home, where can I expect her to be safe.”

DCW chief slams Centre for rising crime STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Swati Maliwal, chief

Swati Maliwal visited the rape victim at the hospital. FILE PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

of the Delhi Commission for Women, slammed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday for the rise in crime against women in the city. Ms. Maliwal said that despite repeated requests and letters to the Home Ministry, asking for a special committee to be constituted to look into crime against women, nothing had been done. The DCW had asked for a special committee, which was

She said that it was high time that the Central government took note of the issue to be headed by the Union Home Minister and include the Lieutenant-Governor, Chief Minister of Delhi and DCW members. It was to coordinate with the Delhi Police, which reports to the Union Home Ministry, and analyse the pattern of crime in order to

come up with effective measures. “Met 4 year old rape victim. Marks over her body tell her brutal ordeal. In deep pain n trauma. Totally inhuman. When will Delhi b rape free? [sic]” Ms. Maliwal tweeted. Last year, the DCW had asked the Delhi Police for details about cases pertaining to crime against women registered in the past five years. The Commission wanted to study the cases to come up with measures. However, DCW officials said no details were shared with them.

Woman, daughter SPG constable kills self A native of Andhra found dead in Gurgaon Pradesh, the STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: A 34-year-old con-

STAFF REPORTER GURGAON: A 22-year-old wom-

an was found hanging from a fan at her residence while her one-year-old daughter was found drowned in a bucket of water in Pataudi here on Monday. Though the husband of the deceased, Neeru, has claimed that the woman killed their daughter before committing suicide, the woman’s parents have accused the husband and his parents of murdering the mother-daughter duo. Husband booked The police have registered a case against the husband, Govind, and his parents under sections 304-B (dowry death), 302 (murder), 498-A (dowry harassment) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the basis of a complaint filed by the parents of the deceased. Neeru, a native of Tada village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, married Govind, a resident of Daulatbad Kuni village in Pataudi, two years ago. The couple had a daughter, Sakshi. Govind, who works with a

The woman’s parents have accused her husband and his parents of murdering the duo private company, told the police that he was on night duty and that he returned at 5 a.m. to find his wife and daughter dead. The matter came to light when Govind called the police saying his wife had committed suicide after murdering their daughter. Neeru’s father Mukesh Kumar has alleged that Govind and his parents had been harassing his daughter for Rs. 50,000. The father also alleged that Neeru had been murdered for his failure to give her in-laws the money. He also accused Govind of having an extra-marital afair. The bodies were handed over to the family after the post-mortem. “A case of murder and dowry death has been registered based on the complaint of the woman’s father. Further investigation is on,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Hawa Singh, who is spokesperson of the Gurgaon Police.

stable allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his accommodation in the SPG Complex in South-West Delhi’s Dwarka on Sunday morning. Domestic troubles While no suicide note was recovered, the police said that he was disturbed due to domestic issues. The deceased, P. Somshekhar, was part of the Border Security Force before he joined the Special Protection Group (SPG) as a constable in 2011. The suicide was discovered around 8.30 a.m. when a colleague of the deceased knocked at his door to call him for duty.

deceased is survived by his wife and two children When repeated knocks on Somshekhar’s door went unanswered, the colleague raised an alarm. The door was broken open to find Somshekhar hanging from a fan. No foul play The deceased was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. The police said that prima facie there appeared to be no indication of foul play. A native of Andhra Pradesh, the deceased is survived by his wife and two children.

Fake ‘Aggarwal packers and movers’ held STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police

Crime Branch on Monday claimed to have busted a gang that duped people by the using the name of a major logistics company and then overcharging on the consignment obtained fraudulently. It is alleged that the four arrested members of the gang used the name of M/s Aggarwal Packers & Movers Ltd. to get orders and later overcharged on the pretext of a transportation tax, Octroi. Undelivered articles worth several lakhs were also purportedly seized during the raids, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav. The police received a complaint through which they learnt that the name of the company was being used to bag transportation orders. As part of the probe, two oicials of Aggarwal Aggarwal Packers & Movers posed as customers for the

FALSE REPRESENTATION: The gang used the name of M/s Aggarwal Packers & Movers Ltd. to get orders and overcharged on the pretext of a tax. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT impostors, who went by the name Aggarwal Goods Packers & Movers. “The word ‘Goods’ is hardly visible on a red strip used in the logo,” said Mr. Yadav. Mr. Yadav said that initially Sandhya and Prabhat Gupta, senior oicials of M/s Aggarwal Packers & Movers, contacted the gang members through one of

the mobile numbers that popped up on Google, according to which they introduced themselves as Aggarwal Packers and Movers Ltd. “Sandhya requested for transportation of household goods and two cars from Delhi to Bangalore. On July 11, one Deepak visited the pickup address and posed as a surveyor of M/s Aggarwal

Packers and Movers Ltd. The deal for packing and transportation of goods was fixed for Rs. 95,000. He demanded Rs. 11,000 as token money, which he was given. The date for packing and transportation was fixed for three days later,” said Mr. Yadav. The follow-up procedure was similar to what the original company adheres to. This included filling up a quotation letter and charging an advance. “On the scheduled pick-up date, nobody from the said company turned up. The mobile number was found switched of. It was alleged that such nonexisting entities have not only cheated Sandhya, but several other customers by false representation. The same day a raid was conducted in Gurgaon and the four accused persons, including the mastermind Amit Kumar, were arrested,” said Mr. Yadav.

Three nabbed for drugs smuggling

Fifth arrest made in Rohtak gang-rape

STAFF REPORTER

ROHTAK: With the arrest of a

fifth person in the alleged gang-rape of a Dalit student here earlier this month, the police have claimed that the complainant had gone to a hotel with the accused of her own will and stayed there for several hours. The person arrested is not among the five named in the FIR. The fifth person, Pramod, is a friend of Sandeep

NEW DELHI: The Narcotics

Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday arrested three men, including a Nigerian, in the Capital for their alleged involvement in supplying drugs to Punjab. The trio was arrested on Sunday when two of them — both from Punjab — were receiving 25 grams of heroin near Mata Roop Rani Maggo hospital in Uttam Nagar. Nigerian held “The Nigerian, Ifeanyi Okafor, took us to his residence in Uttam Nagar from where we recovered 180 gm of heroin and 620 gm of amphetamine. He revealed that he had been dealing in drugs since four years, which is when he came to India. He was staying in a rented accommodation and dealt in all kinds of drugs,” said Rohit Sharma, Zonal Director, NCB Delhi Zone. The Nigerian, 36, was in Delhi on a business visa, which expired in May. His claims of the visa being renewed are being verified. Of the other two men, Rimpu is a resident of Muktsar in Punjab while the other is a labourer who has been into substance abuse since 15 years, said Mr. Sharma.

STAFF REPORTER

The trio was arrested on Sunday when two of them — both from Punjab — were receiving 25 grams of heroin in Uttam Nagar. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

“Rimpu said that he was a drug addict and was not getting high quality drugs at affordable rates in Punjab. In Delhi, the drugs were cheaper and of better quality. He had been coming to Delhi to buy drugs from Nigerians for the last five months. Rimpu runs a mobile and laptop repairing shop in Muktsar. He got hooked to drugs during his adolescence,” Mr. Sharma added. Mr. Sharma also said that there had reports about indigenous heroin, manufactured in Uttar Pradesh, being smuggled into Delhi, from where it was sent to Punjab.

Hotel records Kumar, who was arrested on Saturday. Sandeep Kumar had reportedly told the police that the complainant called him on July 13 asking him to come to Mansarovar Park, where he went with Pramod. He then introduced the complainant to Pramod, after which the two went away in a car. Sandeep Kumar runs a sports goods shop near Sheela by-pass in Rohtak. Thirty-year-old Pramod, who was arrested on Sunday night, told the police that he went to a hotel with the complainant and checked in. “According to Pramod, the two had a few drinks inside the hotel room and had consensual sex. This is yet to be verified by the complainant. Pramod then called Sandeep to the hotel around 3.30 p.m. and the two dropped the woman, who was in an inebriated state, near Sukhpura

The fifth person, Pramod, is a friend of Sandeep Kumar, who was arrested on Saturday Chowk,” Rohtak SP Rakesh Arya, told The Hindu over the phone. Mr. Arya said that a questioning of the hotel staf matched Pramod’s statement. “The entry register bears the signature of Pramod. He submitted his identity card and even paid Rs. 500 as room charges,” said Mr. Arya. The police are in the process of procuring CCTV footage in and around hotel as evidence. Pramod, a resident of Kishanpura in Rohtak, is married. He works as a multi-purpose health worker at the oice of the Chief Medical Oicer, Rohtak. He was produced before a local court on Monday and sent to two days in police custody. Four persons have already been arrested in this matter. These include Amit, Jagmohan, Sandeep and Sandeep Kumar. Apart from Sandeep, the others have been named in the FIR. However, they have furnished evidence in the form of mobile phone locations, CCTV footage and eye-witness accounts to prove that they were not present at the scene of crime.

DELHI TODAY Talk: Book discussion on “Safeguarding India: Essays in Governance and Security” by N.N. Vohra. Opening remarks by Shri N.N. Vohra, Hon’ble Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Discussants: Dr. C. Raja Mohan, Director, Carnegie India; Prakash Singh, IPS (Retd); and Shyam Saran, Chairman, Research and Information System for Developing Countries. Moderator: Cmdre C. Uday Bhaskar, at Seminar Rooms II & III, Kamaladevi Complex, India International Centre (IIC), 6:30 p.m. Talk: Women and Society: “The Dalit Women's Movement: Status, Struggle and Achievements” by Asha Kowtal, General Secretary, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM), at Conference Room - I, Main Building, India International Centre (IIC), 6:30 p.m. Music: An evening on Purab Ang, Thumri & Dadra by Mausumi Kundu. Accompanists: Durjay Bhawmik – Tabla, Paromita Mukherjee – Harmonium, at Habitat World, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7 p.m. Dance: India International Rural Cultural Centre (IRCEN) presents Bharatanatyam dance recital by

Shreyasi Gopinath in Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, No.1, Keshav Puram, 9 a.m., and Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, No.2, Keshav Puram, 11 a.m. Art: “A Whimsical Fantasy”, a group art show at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Exhibition: “Fragrance of Nature”, solo show of paintings by Amit Bera at Convention Centre Foyer, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Exhibition: “The Play of Light: Le Corbusier in India”, a photographic tribute on his 50th death anniversary by Ajay Bhatia. Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Francaise De Delhi, 72, Lodhi Estate, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Exhibition: “A Surreal Narrative”, a group show of artworks by seven eminent artists, at Chawla Art Gallery, Square One Mall, Saket, 11 a.m. 7 p.m. Screening: “Buongiorno Papa (Out Of The Blue)”, Italian film screening, at Habitat World, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7 p.m. (Mail your listings for this column at [email protected])

Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

CM YK

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Police say they need to recover two-wheeler allegedly used in an attempt to kill the complainant

Metro to revamp online card recharge system

NIRNIMESH KUMAR

Most passengers are still topping up their cards at metro stations

Court extends police remand of Khan NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on

Monday extended the police remand of AAP MLA from Okhla, Amanatullah Khan, by one day. The legislator was arrested for allegedly threatening a woman with rape and murder after she visited his residence to complain about power cuts in her locality. Metropolitan Magistrate Sheetal Chaudhary sent him to police custody till July 26. ‘Attmpted murder’ Earlier, seeking two days’ police remand of the MLA, counsel for the Delhi Police submitted that his custody was required to recover a twowheeler, which was allegedly used in an attempt to kill the complainant, and arrest other accused in the case. The woman has alleged that a man on a motorcycle tried to kill her when she was going to the Magistrate’s office to record her statement. This was a few days after she had visited MLA Amanatullah Khan’s house. The court had on Sunday

Since June last year, several AAP MLAs have been to jail on diferent charges

MLA’s counsel says non-bailable charge of attempt-to-murder was added to FIR after woman's statement to the FIR later on the basis of the woman’s statement so that he could not get bail easily. Earlier, the charges against the MLA were bailable, Mr. Phoolka added.

remanded the MLA to oneday police custody. He was produced before it on Monday on expiry of his remand. Hundreds of supporters of the MLA, who had gathered

outside the Saket Courts Complex, were heard raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that the arrest was a political vendetta.

Counsels for the accused, H.S. Phoolka and Madan Lal, opposed the police plea submitting that the non-bailable charge of attempt-to-commit culpable homicide was added

The incident The woman, who was earlier reportedly associated with the AAP, said in her complaint that she had called up the MLA on his mobile phone on July 10 to complain about power failure in her area. When her complaints were not addressed, she visited the MLA’s house in Jamia Nagar, which she found locked. She was about to go back when a young man opened the gates, hailed her and threatened to get her sexually assaulted and burnt alive. He added that he was just conveying the threats of the MLA, the woman has alleged.

BJP presents ‘citizens charge sheet’ against Kejriwal of Mr. Kejriwal, women’s security was the most hyped but once in power, the Kejriwalled government has just ignored it and no concrete programme has been launched,” Mr. Upadhyay said.

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: State BJP chief Sat-

ish Upadhyay on Monday presented a ‘citizens charge sheet’ against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanding his resignation over issues ranging from holding dual posts to turning a blind eye to ‘atrocities on women’. Alleging that Mr. Kejriwal had failed both as a CM and as a party president, Mr. Upadhyay accused him of not adhering to “even the basic principal of democracy” by occupying both posts. Demands for resignation Mr. Upadhyay also presented a five-point charge sheet against Mr. Kejriwal, alleging

FIERY ISSUE: Delhi BJP members hold a protest against the Kejriwal government on Monday. PHOTO: PTI that the people of Delhi were fed up with him and were in “no mood to tolerate him any further” and it was time that he resigned. The main charges against

Mr. Kejriwal, Mr. Upadhyay said, were atrocities on women, making false promises, misgovernance, stoking religious frenzy and corruption. “Out of the 70 poll promises

Allegations Alleging that Mr. Kejriwal had made false promises, Mr. Upadhyay said that his claim in February 2016 of waiving old undue water bills of 11 lakh consumers turned out to be false when an RTI reply from the Delhi Jal Board revealed that the benefit “reached only 2,28,000 consumers”. “The administrative work of those who spoke for good governance has come to a standstill, the government

claims that it has insuicient oicers while a RTI reply shows that the Delhi government has more oicials than the sanctioned strength,” Mr. Upadhyay said. The BJP leader said that Mr. Kejriwal came to power “levelling major charges of corruption” against the then Sheila Dikshit government, “but once in power”, the Kejriwal government had “chosen to ride the graft plane”. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP municipal councillors and senior party workers led by Mr. Upadhyay held a protest march against Mr. Kejriwal’s “total failure as an administrator” and in curbing “the misdeeds of his MLAs and other party leaders.”

SWETA GOSWAMI NEW DELHI: A mammoth 70 per

cent of Delhi Metro commuters are smart card users, but when it comes to recharging their cards, almost all of them still get it done by standing in long queues at metro stations. Clearly, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) existing online recharge facility has failed to penetrate into the daily usage of a commuter. In view of the cold response, the mass rapid transporter has now decided to revamp its smart card online recharge system by emphasising on ‘incentives’. Poor response In one year, the DMRC has witnessed only 1.71 lakh online smart card transactions against the 1.5 crore smart cards that are currently in circulation in the Delhi Metro network. Despite launching several ways in which a commuter can recharge a smart card through cashless transactions, none of the modes seem to have actually worked for the corporation. “At present people can topup or recharge through mobile wallet Paytm or through our website where one can directly use net-banking or debit, credit cards. However, most people continue to recharge at the stations itself which often results in long queues during peak hours,” said a metro oicial. The Delhi Metro has a daily ridership of over 26 lakh out of which almost 69 per cent are smart card users.

complete the recharge process. “Another reason is that as of now we have limited platforms through which people can perform online recharges. Besides, many people are unaware of the facility itself,” the oicial added.

Major drawback The biggest reason for the lukewarm response towards the cashless system is that even after making the online payment, one still has to swipe the smart card on an Automatic Vending Machine (AVM) at a metro station to

New project Under its new project, the DMRC plans to create an online payment ecosystem to motivate smart card users to do high value online recharges through third party websites and mobile apps. “The vendor will have to

In one year, the Delhi Metro has witnessed only 1.71 lakh online smart card transactions

Cong protests ‘anomalies’ in delimitation of wards

Kanwariya movement slows down morning oice traic in Gurgaon

STAFF REPORTER

ASHOK KUMAR

NEW DELHI: Ramping up their

GURGAON: Motorists travelling

opposition to the way the State Election Commission is delimiting municipal wards, the Delhi Congress held a protest outside the commission’s oice on Monday. The Congress had last week alleged that the delimitation process was rife with anomalies, which would be used by other parties to move court in order to have the 2017 municipal polls delayed. Delhi Congress head Ajay Maken had alleged that the delimitation was being conducted by State Election Commissioner Rakesh Mehta as a “one-man” committee, instead of a three-member panel as per rules. The Congress also raised objections to the fact that councillors had not been included as associate members, as was done last time. On Monday, the Congress carried out a demonstration and presented a memorandum to Mr. Mehta asking him to rectify the discrepancies in the process. Speaking to the crowd, Mr.

along the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and other roads connecting the Capital and the Millennium City were caught in heavy traic on Monday morning because of the movement of Kanwariyas. Long rows of vehicles could be seen on several routes. The two-km stretch from Sirhaul Toll Plaza to IFFCO Chowk and internal roads connecting to NH-8 in particular were chock-a-block. Even with a major portion of the service lanes having been dedicated for the use of Kanwariyas, many were seen walking on the main road. “The temporary camps set up for them at several points along the service lanes also slowed down the traic,” said Sandeep Kundu, a resident of Sector 30. “We received some complaints regarding slow movement of traic on the expressway. But the oicers concerned were directed to clear the jams,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Ha-

RAISING VOICE: Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken holding a protest against the way the State Election Commission is delimiting municipal wards. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Maken said: “The BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party want to delay the elections. The anomalies are intentional, so that someone can move a PIL and delay the polls.” He added that the Congress’ result in the recent by-polls to 13 municipal wards had the others parties worried. Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Mr. Mehta initiated a round of consultations with councillors of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation. The

Leader of the Opposition of the SDMC, Farhad Suri, said that the notification of the delimitation itself was flawed. “Last time, in 2007, the Lieutenant-Governor’s notification asked the State Election Commissioner to ‘assist’ him in the task of delimitation. This time, the notification ‘assigns’ the work,” said Mr. Suri. He said that since the notification itself was “wrong”, the delimitation would be incorrect.

DEVOTIONAL WALK: Kanwariyas at Shastri Park, in New Delhi, on Monday. PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR wa Singh, who is also the Gurgaon Police spokesperson. The arrival of the Kanwariyas being an annual ritual, the Gurgaon Police and the local administration have already put in place arrangements to ensure smooth flow of traic

across the city and on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. “We have put up jersey barriers to demarcate a corridor for pilgrims on the service lanes along the expressway to prevent accidents and jams. Also, 200 additional police

personnel have been deployed to manage the movement of Kanwariyas and the traic,” said Mr. Singh. Haryana DGP K.P. Singh had reviewed the arrangements for the Kanwariyas on Sunday.

incentivise users by doing marketing campaign so as to motivate them to do high value online recharges. The new system will also have to be connected with the AVM server so that a person does not have to physically swipe a card on an AVM to complete the recharge process,” said another oicial. A tender has already been floated where the bidder has been asked to come up with a dedicated website and a mobile application system to facilitate the cashless transaction process. The DMRC also plans to install additional 700 AVMs covering existing and new stations coming up under Phase-III for quick recharges. Presently, there are approximately 300 AVMs at various Phase-I and II stations.

‘Is video of House, worse than letting ISI into air base?’ NEW DELHI: Backing his party MP Bhagwant Mann over the Parliament video issue, AAP leader Ashutosh on Monday said he wanted to “expose” the lucky draw system of choosing questions in the House and asked if the act involved bigger security breach than Prime Minister Narendra Modi “inviting ISI to Pathankot air base”. “ISI organised every terrorist attack including on Parliament. Modi invites ISI to visit Pathankot Air base. This is not security breach?” Ashutosh tweeted. Earlier, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said Mann’s videography of the Parliament House complex had put its security “in peril” and asked him not to attend the House till a decision has been taken on the matter while setting up a nine-member panel to probe the issue. The panel, chaired by BJP member Kirit Somaiya, has been asked to submit its report by August 3, while Mann has time till July 28 to submit his explanation to the committee.

Centre’s new method to select participants for No need for guidelines on return of awards, Global IT challenge for youth with disabilities Centre tells HC; 38 awards given back so far AKANKSHA JAIN NEW DELHI: Denying allegations of unfairness in process of selection of participants for the 2015 Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities, the Centre on Monday told the Delhi High Court that it has devised a mechanism for a national-level competition before sending nominations for the global event this year. The Department of Empowerment of persons with disabilities, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, told a bench headed by Chief Justice G. Rohini that it is mulling inviting nominations from all States and Union Territories for a national-level competition to select candidates for the event aimed at promoting IT

CM YK

A national-level competition will be held before sending nominations for the global event education among persons with visual, hearing, locomotive and physical disabilities. The event is being organised by the Korean Society for rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, the government of Korea in collaboration with UNESCAP in all Asian countries, and is held in all member countries on a rotational basis. The event is being held since 1992. This year, the event is to be held in China. The ministry was replying to allegations made in a pet-

ition filed by the National Platform for the rights of the Disabled through advocate Subhash Chandran K.R. The petitioner contended that there has been no transparency in the selection process and for the 2015 event all four candidates were recommended by a Delhi-based NGO. The 2015 event was held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Four youth in diferent categories — one each of visual, hearing, physical and developmental disability in the agegroup of 15 to 24 years — participated from India. The ministry denied the allegations and said that it was only in 2012 that Indian youth with disabilities participated in such events. While the participation is

always through the Ministry, in 2015, India received the invitation late and due to short period of time for finalisation of nominations, the Ministry picked all participants recommended by Amar Jyoti, a NGO working for the welfare of disabled persons. It also stated that two of them won the super challenge award. It said from now onward, all State and UTs have been requested to nominate two participants in each category by March 31, 2016. They have been advised to conduct State-level competitions before sending nominations. After receiving nominations, the department will hold a national-level competition to finalise its selection for the competition.

none of them had returned the award money. A Bench headed by Chief Justice G. Rohini was hearing a petition filed by Haji Mohammad Majid Qureshi, an advocate practicing in Madhya Pradesh, who contended that the returning of awards tarnished India’s image.

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday told the Delhi High Court that 38 awardees have returned their Sahitya Akademi awards in protest of alleged intolerance and the killing of author M.M. Kalburgi, but maintained that there was no need to frame guidelines with regard to return of the awards. “The constitution of the Akademi does not provide for taking back any award. It is denied that there is any need to reframe the subsisting guidelines with regard to the return of the Sahitya Akademi Awards. The issue has been considered by the executive board of the Akademi,” it said. The court had in May

Hindi writer Uday Prakash was the first to return the Sahitya Akademi award. FILE PHOTO

asked the Centre about the number of awardees who had returned the award conferred by Sahitya Akademi functioning under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. While furnishing the names, the Centre said that

‘Return royalties too’ The petitioner’s counsel Raghav Awasthi said, “The government must formulate guidelines to ensure that if any awardee in the future is inclined to return the Sahitya Akademi award owing to dissatisfaction against the government of the day, he or she should be made to forego at least a portion of royalties or other earnings, which might have accrued to him post

award.” It has also said that the plea was to ensure that strong punitive action is taken against those who return such awards as Sahitya Akademi Puraskar, which is a “solemn token of appreciation conferred on deserving writers on behalf of Indian public and not a largesse to be doled out by any incumbent government”. The Akademi has said in its reply that, “the executive board of the Akaedmi hopes that all momentary diferences notwithstandinng, all writers of the country including the writers who have returned their awards would be able to work together to further realise the spirit of establishing the Sahitya Akademi.” ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

U.P. police begin probe against Akhlaq’s family MOHAMMAD ALI MEERUT: The Uttar Pradesh police have started a probe into the cow slaughter case against the family of Mohammad Akhlaq, who was lynched in his village in Dadri last year for allegedly storing beef at home. The Jarcha police on Monday recorded the statement of the main complainant, Surajpal Singh, and also took a video. Senior police oicials told The Hindu the police would now visit the spot where Akhlaq was lynched and from where the meat sample was seized. “The police will try to find out who was where at the crime scene at what time,” Superintendent of Police (Rural), Greater Noida, Abhishek Yadav said.

Cow slaughter case Earlier this month, a local court in Surajpur had directed the Greater Noida police to register a case of cow slaughter against Akhlaq’s family under the UP Cow Protection Act, 1955. The police registered a case against Akhlaq’s wife Ikraman, mother Asghari, brother Jaan Mohammad, daughter Shaishta and son Danish.

Will not indulge in surge pricing: Ola tells High Court Delhi asked to mull committee for deciding operation of app-based cabs AKANKSHA JAIN NEW DELHI: Customers in the Capital who hire app-based radio taxis might end up getting cheaper deals now. On Monday, app-based taxi service provider Ola told the Delhi High Court that it would not engage in surge pricing. The court was hearing a plea filed by the Radio Taxi Association which had accused Ola, Uber and other taxi providers of charging customers more than the standard fares decided by the Delhi government. ANI Technologies, which runs Ola, however, told a Bench of Justice Manmohan that it would not indulge in such a practice. The court also asked the Delhi government to come back with its decision on constituting a committee to decide issues pertaining to the operation of app-based cabs and the City Taxi Scheme. The court was informed that while in Delhi Ola, Uber, etc. claim they are not

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FACING FLAK: App-based taxi service providers in the Capital have been accused of overcharging customers. FILE PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA covered under the City Taxi Scheme, they have been submitting themselves to similar rules in Bangalore. Lapse in service The Radio Taxi Association had also accused appbased cab services of not having an integrated GPS as “only a smart phone is doubled as a GPS in these cabs”.

According to the prescribed rates, fares for all types of taxi services are Rs. 12.50 per km for Economy Radio Taxis, while Rs .14 per km and Rs. 16 per km would be charged by non-AC and AC black and yellow top taxis, respectively. Notified fares The notified fare of Radio

Taxi cabs (distinguished by an LCD board on rooftop displaying “Radio Taxi”) is Rs. 23 per km. Additional night charges (25 per cent of the fare) are applicable between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. The amended Radio Taxi Scheme, 2006, makes CNG fuel, prefixed calibrated meters, GPS, etc. mandatory.

Order on Kumar’s bail plea today NIRNIMESH KUMAR NEW DELHI: A Delhi court

on Monday postponed to Tuesday the pronouncement of order on the bail application of suspended Delhi government Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar in a corruption case, saying that the order was not ready. Special Judge Arvind Kumar had last week reserved the order for Monday on conclusion of arguments by counsel for the CBI and the accused. Meanwhile, the court issued notice to the investigating agency on a fresh bail application filed by another accused in the case. It asked the probe agency to file a reply to the bail plea of Dinesh Kumar Gupta, a director of private company Endeavour Systems Private Limited (ESPL), by July 27. Tenders obtained CBI alleged that Mr. Kumar had promoted ESPL and by misusing his oicial position helped it in getting tenders of Rs.

IN THE DOCK: Rajendra Kumar is facing charges in a corruption case. PHOTO: PTI 9.5 crore through Intelligent Communication Systems India Limited (ICSIL), a public sector company. Three more accused, Ashok Kumar and R.S. Kaushik, a private person and a former managing director of ICSIL, respectively, and Tarun Sharma, a Deputy Secretary in Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s oice, have moved the court for bail. The accused persons had entered into a conspiracy to award works to ESPL by designing prequalification criteria or without calling a tender, the CBI alleged.

Civic body to help start-ups STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Twenty new startups will get assistance from the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), as the civic body on Monday cleared a proposal to set up business incubation centres. According to a statement, the NDMC will be partnering with the Software Technology Parks of India to set up Atal Incubation Centres under the Atal Innovation Mission to help the start-ups. The centres will have 100 work stations spread over an area of 10,000 square feet, reliable internet connectivity, conference rooms, and libraries. The centres will also have spaces for events with audio-visual facilities. The Council also cleared a proposal to start skill development courses in its Women Technical Institute. The courses will include general duty assistant, home health aid, medical laboratory technician, etc. The NDMC will also start courses to train dental technicians, assistants and oral hygienists at its dental clinic on Dharam Marg. The Council also cleared the setting up of 12 sewage treatment plants and sanctioned Rs.5 lakh as ex-gratia to the family of NDMC stafers who die while discharging their duty.

Rough ride

LOSING CONTROL: A DTC bus rammed a divider at New Usmanpur in Delhi on Monday. PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

40 dengue cases in a week; total touches 90 STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: In the past week, Delhi recorded 40 new cases of dengue, taking the total for 2016 to 90, according to data released by the municipal corporations on Monday. This month, till July 23, the number of confirmed cases of the vector-borne disease was 62, much more than the number of cases in all of July 2015 when 40 cases had been recorded. Last year had seen the worst dengue crisis in at least 20 years, with a whopping 15,867 cases and 60 deaths from the disease. The municipal corporations, which are tasked with the control of vector-borne diseases, however, claim that the numbers are not as alarming as they seem. “In most of the cases patients contracted the disease from outside Delhi,” said a senior South

Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) oicial. Of the 90 cases in 2016, 38 were patients who got the disease in Delhi, while the remaining 52 were those who contracted dengue in other States. Taking precautions The corporations are carrying out awareness campaigns about the precautions needed to avoid the disease. Students of SDMC schools had been asked to wear fullsleeved clothes to prevent mosquito bites. The corporations have also ramped up prosecutions against those who have mosquito breeding in and around their homes. From January 1 till July 23, the three municipalities had found mosquitoes breeding at 47,888 houses, and issued 47,825 legal notices for the same. A total of 2,200 prosecutions were also launched.

Four held for shooting STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Four men have

been arrested for shooting two employees of a diamond trading firm based in Central Delhi’s Karol Bagh late last month. The police said three of the accused persons were hired by a UP resident to rob the employees of diamonds worth Rs. 60 lakh. The robbers, however, had failed to snatch the bag containing the diamonds. The incident had taken place on June 29 when the CM YK

two employees were carrying the diamonds in a briefcase from a nearby locker to their oice. As they were about to enter their oice, they were intercepted by two men who opened fire on them. The employees were hit, but they managed to prevent the snatching of the briefcase. “Meanwhile, hearing the sound of gunshots, local traders had surrounded the assailants who were then forced to flee,” said Parmaditya, DCP (Central Delhi). ND-ND

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MINOR MOTHER

HC asks AIIMS to assess plea to abort 27-week-old foetus EDUCATIONAL

AKANKSHA JAIN NEW DELHI: On a day when the Supreme Court allowed a rape survivor to abort her 24-week-old ‘abnormal’ foetus, the Delhi High Court directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to constitute a medical board to look into a similar plea filed by a minor victim who is 27-week pregnant. Justice A.K. Pathak has asked AIIMS to constitute a board, comprising three gynaecologists and a psychiatrist, to see if the life of the girl, who is just 16and-a-half-year-old, is in danger because of physical and mental stress caused by rape, illegal confinement and the pregnancy so caused.

Illegal custody The girl was kept in illegal custody and raped by the accused, father of a child, for two years. She was released by the accused in March this year. The girl and her family discovered

the pregnancy only in June after her health deteriorated. After the girl moved the High Court last Thursday with her abortion plea, the police swung into action and caught the accused on Sunday. The man allegedly confessed to the police that he took the girl with him thinking she was an orphan. Additional Standing Counsel for the Delhi government, Nandita Rao, said the court has included a psychiatrist in the medical board so that the mental condition of the girl could also be assessed. “The girl is in a very disturbed state,” Ms. Rao said. The high court has relied on a Supreme Court judgment of 2015, as per which termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks can be allowed only if the life of the mother or the victim is under threat. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act bars termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks. However, Section 5 of the MTP Act provides that a preg-

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nancy over 27 weeks can be terminated by a registered medical practitioner in a case where he is of opinion, formed in good faith, that the termination is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. The Gujarat High Court had recently expanded the scope of Section 5 of the MTP Act to also include threat to life of the pregnant woman due to mental distress caused by rape and the consequent pregnancy. Another case In the case before the Gujarat High Court, the girl had attempted suicide by consuming acid days after being raped. The doctors in that case had reported that continuance of pregnancy involves grave injury to the mother’s mental health. Advocate Rao, who is also a human rights activist, said: “In India, the courts are very progressive and the MTP Act has been interpreted to protect the mother and not the child.”

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Lawyers threaten strike to protest Yadav’s arrest NEW DELHI: Lawyers of Dwarka

Court Bar Association (DCBA) have threatened to go on a strike on Tuesday to protest against the arrest of AAP MLA Naresh Yadav in connection with the alleged Malerkotla sacrilege incident on June 24. In a letter to DCP SouthWest, the lawyers’ body said the arrest was “arbitrary” and “highly condemnable”. “The Punjab Police arrested our member in a false Quran desecration case though he has joined the investigation thrice... This act of police who were working under the dictate of the Punjab government is highly condemnable,” DCBA president B.S. Jakhar said in the letter. Mr. Yadav was arrested on Sunday after one of the accused arrested in connection with the incident claimed he had committed the crime at the behest of the MLA. -PTI

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LEGAL NOTICE

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BANK NOTICE I VIRENDER vij S/o Sh. Madan mohan.owner of plot no C 358 A gali no 4 majlish park delhi do hereby solemnly affirm and declare that document of above said plot original sale deeds dated 03/03/ 1956 executed by M/s Cheap housing Co. in favor of M/s pyare lal kapahi & sons and original sale deed dated 22/08/1963 executed by M/s pyare lal kapahi & sons through its partner Amaranth kaphai in favour of Mr jaswant Rai duggal has been lost / misplaced anywhere. Founders are request to return us within 10 days from the date of publication Ct: 9996750123

CM YK

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PERSONAL LOST & FOUND

It is notified that I have Lost my Secondary School Final Certificate Roll No. 5145872, Session 2009−11 issued by CBSE. Sharanya Menon, 264−C/C, Mayur Vihar, PH.II, DELHI− 110091. Mob. 9871762542 ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

BJP faces internal barbs over Aligarh tension

Mayawati questions PM’s silence

MOHAMMAD ALI

NEW DELHI: The issue of atroci-

MEERUT: BJP’s Minority Morcha chief in Aligarh, Rashid Pehalwan, on Monday blamed party MP Satish Gautam and Mayor Shakuntala Bharti for “creating a rift between Hindus and Muslims” in the city. He said they were “communalising an eve-teasing incident in which the accused was arrested a long ago.” Mr. Rashid said Ms. Bharti and Mr. Gautam were “blowing up a simple incident of a motorcycle bumping into a girl, who happened to be Hindu, into one of molestation by Muslim youths.”

Many feel ‘unsafe’ Tension has been brewing for some time in the Babri Mandi area of Aligarh where both Muslim and Hindu families have said they felt “unsafe.” Members of both sides have declared their intention to leave the area. Last week, members of the two communities clashed following the alleged eveteasing incident. Ms. Bharti and Mr. Gautam termed it an instance of “Muslim atrocity on Hindus” and alleged that Hindus were unsafe in Aligarh. Ms. Bharti took four Hindu residents of the area to the Aligarh Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Avdhesh Tiwari. The residents told him that they wanted to sell their houses. Among them was Vinay Varshney, a local BJP youth morcha leader. Mr. Gautam refused to comment on Mr. Rashid’s allegations. He, however, told the media that he would raise the “Hindu exodus” from Aligarh in Parliament.

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ties against Dalits continued to resonate inside and outside Parliament, with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue. Speaking outside Parliament, she said atrocities against Dalits were going up “day by day”, mentioning the Una incident in Gujarat and another in Maharashtra where two Dalit boys were beaten up after they overtook another vehicle. “In Uttar Pradesh, this is going on a bigger scale. Such incidents are happening all over the country after the BJP came to power,” she said. “When these are occurring on a regular basis across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not keep silent. In BJP-ruled States, it is happening on a bigger scale. But the Prime Minister is silent,” she said. “It seems that he has no concern over the incidents. We were expecting that Mr.

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Modi would definitely say something on the Gujarat incident, but he did not,” she said. Ally seeks CBI probe In the Lok Sabha, Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, an ally of the ruling NDA, spoke about two Dalit youths who were allegedly

thrashed and urinated upon in Bihar’s Muzafarpur district. Alleging that the State government failed to act on a series of atrocities against Dalits in Darbhanga and Kishanganj, Mr. Paswan demanded a CBI investigation into the cases. He said there were 20 crore Dalits in the country,

Non-bailable warrant against Dayashankar LUCKNOW: A local court on Monday issued a nonbailable warrant against suspended BJP leader Dayashankar Singh on the application of the district police over his derogatory remarks against BSP supremo Mayawati. “The district police had approached the local court for NBW against Dayashankar. It has been issued today[Monday],”

IG Law and Order Hariram Sharma told reporters here. When asked about Dayashankar’s wife Swati’s request to lodge FIR under POCSO Act against BSP leaders for derogatory comments against her daughter, the oicer said, “The CD of the protest was demanded from the district administration. — PTI

but very few people were willing to come to their rescue at times of crisis. Pappu Yadav (RJD) accused the U.P. government of trying to create a rift among diferent castes. Meenakshi Lekhi (BJP) said there had been a lot of politics over atrocities on Dalits, and pointed out that as a lawyer she had filed a case against the derogatory use of names indicative of caste such as Bhangi, Chooda and Chamaar, which was against the dignity of communities. “As I do not understand any south Indian language, I would like States to discourage such caste names that outrage the dignity of communities,” she said. M. Ramchandran (Cong.) raised the issue of the arrest of two sisters on an alleged complaint of a CPI(M) worker in Kerala and claimed that, as they were daughters of a Dalit leader, they were harassed by the police at the instance of the Left activists. His remarks drew loud protests from Left members present in the House.

NIA files charge sheet against youth for IS links SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge sheet against a Kashmiri man and a former IM operative along with another accused for alleged links with the Islamic State. The three men were deported from the UAE in January after the UAE authorities alerted India about their online activities in spreading the IS propaganda. The accused have been identified as Sheikh Azhar ul Islam (24), a resident of Ganderbal in J&K, Adnan Hassan Damoodi (36), resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka and Mohammad Farhan Shaikh (25), resident of Mumbra, Maharashtra. “The accused were promoting the ideology of IS, inciting others to become members of IS and indulging in terrorist and antinational activities through various Internet platforms like Orkut, Nimbuzz, Google Talk, Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, Vkontakte, Kik, Twit-

ter, Snapchat, Youtube, Viber, Telegram, Wickr, Surespot, Google drive and telegram,” said an NIA spokesperson. Seizure The electronic devices seized from their possession at the time of their arrest included Four laptops, two tablets, seven mobile phones and two pen-drives were seized from them. “Investigation conducted has brought on record evidence of their incriminating chats, posts, videos, images and comments on Facebook, Whatsapp, Kik, VKontakte and Twitter shared and circulated in groups and channels on various social networking sites, during 2014-15. Investigation also established their association with IS operatives from various countries including India, Australia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Phi-

lippines, Qatar, Serbia, Sudan, Srilanka, Saudi Arabia, UAE and United Kingdom, who were actively propagating, promoting and inciting people online to join the terrorist outfit,” said the NIA oicial. Fund flow The accused persons in connivance with their associates based in UAE and other countries were also actively involved in receiving, collecting and distributing funds to persons interested to go to Syria to further the activities of the IS using banking channels including and Western Union. These funds were transferred by the accused persons from the UAE to the recipients from Tunisia, Philippines and India. Damoodi had also funded three men from Hyderabad who had attempted twice to flee from India to go to Syria, first from Kolkata in 2014 via Bangladesh and Afghanistan and then from Nagpur to Srinagar, J&K in 2015.

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Conspiracy theory Ms. Bharti rubbished Mr. Rashid’s claims and alleged that it was “an organised conspiracy against the Hindus in the area.” The ADM, Mr. Tiwari, said the situation was “under control” and rejected the claims of a Hindu exodus. “Only eight people had approached us declaring that they wished to sell their property because they felt unsafe. This was intended to garner publicity in a situation which had more to do with law and order. We will ensure that no family, Hindu or Muslim, leaves the place,” he said. Reconciliation Mr. Tiwari said attempts were being made to bring about a reconciliation between the two communities through peace meetings.

Two arrested for rape of Israeli woman in Manali SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SHIMLA: The Director General of Police in Himachal Pradesh has confirmed that on the basis of a written complaint by an Israeli woman tourist that she had been raped by some people who had given her a lift in their car early on Sunday, the Manali Police have registered a case under Sections 363, 366, 376 D and 506 of the IPC.

Car recovered The car has been recovered, and Akshay Rana and Pankaj Sharma of Shatri Nagar, Kullu, have been arrested. Search is on to nab four others, said the DGP’s oice. The tourist said the car had five occupants, two of whom raped her while the others did not help her. She said she tried her best to save herself, she said, but it was pitch dark and there was nobody around to help. She was taken to the regional hospital in Kullu, where the rape was confirmed. The police have informed the Israeli Embassy of the incident. An American woman was raped a few years ago by some Nepalese truckers when she had taken a lift in the late hours of the night. Notoriety The tourist resort is earning notoriety for misbehaviour with woman foreign tourists, especially by transporters. CM YK

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Kerala High Court bans agitations on its premises SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KOCHI: A Division Bench of

the High Court on Monday directed the Kerala government and the police chief to ensure that no demonstration or agitation or assembly or collective expression of opinions took place on the High Court premises and on the roads and streets surrounding them. The Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Anu Sivaraman issued the directive in suo motu proceedings. Public interest The court pointed out that “this is a suo motu proceedings initiated under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, taking note of the immense public importance and public interest, having regard to the needs of the people to have the functioning of judicial institutions including the High Court of Kerala to be carried in the manner in which it is envisaged under the Constitution of India.” The High Court and other

courts were paralysed in Kerala for two days following the boycott of courts by lawyers, in the wake of clashes between media persons and lawyers. Curbs on announcements The court observed that the restriction, a reasonable one in terms of the Constitution, had been imposed balancing the larger need of the people to use the judicial institution. The Bench made it clear that there would be curbs on the use of announcement systems. The restrictions would apply to all roads within the 200-metre radius, from roads around the High Court building. The court said: “Access to justice is an indefeasible component of collective existence of any society. This can, in no manner, be belittled by any act, individually or collectively.” The Bench observed that the police had a constitutional and statutory duty to ensure that there was no impairment of the smooth conduct of court proceedings.

Police cordon off villages; Opposition leaders held while trying to sneak in to support land oustees R. AVADHANI GAJWEL (MEDAK): Gajwel, the constituency represented by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, witnessed tension since Monday morning, with large number of police putting up check posts to arrest Opposition leaders scheduled to visit Erravalli and Vemulaghat — two villages that are likely to be submerged by the Mallannasagar reservoir — and Opposition leaders sneaking in. On Sunday, as villagers of Vemulghat attempted to block roads, they were stopped by the police. Later, residents of Erravelli began their journey saying they would stage a dharna on the highway. As some villagers started throwing stones, the police resorted to lathi charge and fired in the air. About 20 persons, including women, were injured. Almost all routes leading to the villages were cordoned of by police on Monday. They did not allow outsiders without ascertaining

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KSRTC staf injured On Monday, as bus stands wore a deserted look, passengers, who had shown up at the major drop-of points such as Madiwala, Mysuru Road and Majestic, were milling about in confusion. “We have been travelling for two days and were not aware that there would be no buses. Now, they are telling us to use the metro to reach our house,” said Ramesh, who reached the city on Monday morning. Roads were choked during peak traic hours in the city and half-hour commutes

CM YK

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Mallannasagar: Bandh evokes good response

Buses go of roads in Karnataka BENGALURU: With the Karnataka government and the road transport corporation employees’ unions sticking to their stance, commuters, who faced a day of chaos on Monday thanks to the transport strike, may have to face a similar situation on Tuesday. The unions of the four Karnataka road transport corporations refused to stand down from their call for an indefinite strike as the State government categorically refused to consider their demand for a 35 per cent salary hike.

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ACTION-PACKED DAY: Police took TDP MLA Revanth Reddy in custody at Gajwel to prevent him from reaching the protest site near Mallannasagar project. — PHOTO: K.V.S. GIRI the identity and purpose of the visit — even the media was not exempted. The bandh call given by Opposition parties — the TDP, the Congress, the CPI (M), the CPI and the BJP — got a good response with buses going of the roads till 11 a.m. and shops and establishments closed till afternoon. Even the surrounding areas of Gaj-

wel witnessed a partial bandh. At Siddipet, TRS and Opposition activists clashed with one another over the bandh. Police arrested Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) chairman M. Kodandaram at Ontimamadi near Mulugu. After taking him to three or four police stations, police detained him at IDA

Bollaram afternoon.

station

till

TDP leader gives the slip Police planned to arrest Telangana Telugu Desam Party (TTDP) working president A. Revanth Reddy but he slipped the police dragnet and reached Gajwel by bus. He was arrested along with BJP leader M. Raghunandan

Choice of adviser for Kerala Case registered in EAMCET CM raises eyebrows paper leak

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

AT A STANDSTILL: Buses coming in from various districts to Bengaluru were damaged on Monday. — PHOTO: V. SREENIVASA MURTHY

Road transport employees strike work as govt. refuses to consider demand for salary hike stretched beyond an hour, as most public transport users took out their private vehicles. Inter-State passengers were afected as they had to depend only on private buses. Some private buses hiked fares considerably. Stone-pelting, resulting in damage to over 100 buses,

was reported from diferent parts of the State. In Kalaburagi, three KSRTC staf members were injured as striking employees stormed into their oice. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who reviewed the situation, declared that invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to curb the strike was “not an option now”. However, sources said if the strike did not end on Tuesday, the government might consider various options, including invoking ESMA.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The choice of Harvard University professor Gita Gopinath as Kerala Chief Minister’s economic adviser has raised eyebrows, particularly in the Left circles, as she is seen as a person committed to the neoliberal economic agenda. Questions are being raised from the flanks of the Left on the appropriateness of the choice as Prof. Gopinath is widely seen as an ardent supporter of the neoliberal economic reforms attempted by the United Progressive Alliance government and the economic agenda of the present Narendra Modi government. In the past, she had gone public with her support for the deregulation of petroleum product pricing and implementation of the Land Reforms Bill that the CPI(M) had opposed strongly in Parliament and outside.

Roots in Kerala Prof. Gopinath, who has her familial roots in Kerala, has distinguished herself by becoming the third woman

Gita Gopinath is seen as an ardent supporter of neoliberal economic reforms and the first Indian after Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen to become tenured professor of the economics department at Harvard University. She had done her bachelors in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, and masters from the Delhi School of Economics before moving to the U.S. to do her Ph.D at Harvard University. She was assistant professor at the University of Chicago for three years. Economic perspective The questions being raised, though in a subdued manner for now, are how her economic perspective would gel with that of the Left and what contribution a person like her, who has been focussed mostly on monetary issues, can make in tackling the developmental challenges of Kerala.

MARRI RAMU HYDERABAD: After four days

of preliminary inquiry into the alleged leakage of EAMCET paper-II, Telangana Crime Investigation Department oicials on Monday registered a criminal case. The fresh evidence stumbled upon by CID officials suggests that most part of the question paper was leaked to at least five to eight candidates. It was confirmed that a good number of these candidates hailed from Bhupalpally of Warangal district and parts of Khammam. A few weeks before the exam, these students went to an academy in neighbouring State where “experts charging Rs. 1,000 a day” took classes. “Some of these students disappeared from the academy four to eight days before the exam. Eventually, these candidates got better ranks vis-à-vis their previous performance and this aroused suspicion,” investigators said.

Rao and shifted to Dundigal police station where he was detained till the evening. Congress leaders C. Damodar Rajanarasimha, V. Suntiha Laksma Reddy, A. Dayakar and others were arrested at Gajwel, followed by Ponnam Prabahkar at Siddipet. Revolutionary singer Vimalakka was arrested at Kukunoorpally and shifted to the Jagadevpur police station. Despite heavy checking, CPI (M) leader Tammineni Veerabhadram, CPI leader Pasya Padma and retired judge Chandra Kumar reached Vemulaghat and extended their support to the ongoing agitation. Even after being beaten up by police on Sunday, a large number of women participated in a relay fast on the 51st day of Vemulaghat agitation. They held a rally and burnt the eigies of Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao and Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao and raised slogans against them. It seemed as if the police cane charge on Sunday had brought the land oustees closer.

Kerala CPI(M) leader’s ‘payback’ call kicks up a row SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KANNUR: Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s reported call for ‘payback’ while addressing a public meeting at Payyannur has kicked up a row, with political rivals terming it an open call for “vengeance and violence.” Payyannur witnessed the murder of a CPI(M) worker and a retaliatory killing of a BJP worker two weeks ago. Mr. Balakrishnan’s remarks drew sharp response from the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran and BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan. While Mr. Sudheeran said the CPI(M) leader was calling for unleashing violence, the BJP leader demanded that Mr. Balakrishnan be booked for incitement of violence. Mr. Balakrishnan reportedly said that though his party favoured peace, it would not remain passive when the BJP and the RSS workers attacked CPI(M) workers.

Writer attacked over book title SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT PALAKKAD: Upcoming Malaya-

lam short story writer P. Jimshar was assaulted by a group of alleged Islamic fundamentalists on Sunday at Koonamuchi junction near Koottanad here.

The attackers allegedly told the writer that the book title Padachonte Chitrapradarshanam misinterpreted the basic tenets of Islam. The police have registered a case of attempt to murder against four unidentified assailants.

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Flood situation grim in Bihar, govt. on alert Two lakh people affected; water levels in Kosi, Ganga rise

INVADING WATERS: An inundated village in Supaul district of Bihar on Monday.— PHOTO: PTI AMARNATH TEWARY PATNA: Following heavy rains

in Nepal, the flood situation in four districts of Bihar has turned grim, afecting two lakh people and forcing the government to put oicials on alert. On Monday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met oicials of the Water Resources and Disaster Management Departments and directed them to undertake an aerial survey of the afected areas to plan relief and rescue.

Dalit youth dies during police raid in Surat; cop booked SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT AHMEDABAD: A Dalit youth died during a police raid on a gambling and liquor den in Surat, following which a sub-inspector was booked for murder and atrocity. The incident has sparked a backlash among Dalits, who are already up in arms against the State government following the public flogging of a group of Dalits for skinning a dead cow in a village near Una in Saurashtra. On Sunday, local police had raided the den and reportedly beaten up the youth, 25-yearold Mahendra Makwana, who died soon after. Sub-Inspector N.S. Patel, who led the raid, said the youth died of “epileptic seizure” while fleeing the place after spotting the cops.

“Due to continuous rains in the catchments of Nepal, the districts of Kishanganj, Purnia, Saharsha and Supaul are facing floods in larger areas. The government has opened 65 relief camps, and teams of the NDRF and the SDRF have been sent there,” said Vyasji, Principal Secretary of the Disaster Management Department. The Kishanganj district administration has appealed to the people to move to safer places. The level in the Kosi, Gandak, Bagmati and Ganga

has risen, threatening to maroon more villages. Floodwater has also surrounded some areas of Araria, Madhepura and West Champaran, forcing the people to take shelter on highways. Reports said 12 persons had died so far. The train traic on the Saharsha-Mansi route has been halted. Water Resources Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh said all barrages and embankments in the affected areas were safe, and oicials were mounting vigil.

Seven children killed as school van hits train OMAR RASHID LUCKNOW: Seven children were

killed on Monday after a school van collided with a train at an unmanned level crossing in Bhadohi district of Uttar Pradesh. Seven others, including the driver, were grievously injured. The van carrying the children hit the engine of the Manduadih-Allahabad City Passenger Train between Katka and Madhosingh stations in Bhadohi at 7.35 a.m., a Railway spokesperson said. The victims were aged between 6 and 14, a police spokesperson said. The driver, identified as Rashid Khan, and six injured children were admitted to nearby hospitals. The children studied at the Tender Heart English school. Preliminary reports suggested the “accident took place because of the care-

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Van driver was allegedly using headphones; six students and driver critically injured lessness of the driver,” a government of India statement said. Local reports said the driver was allegedly using headphones while driving. The guard at the crossing tried hard to stop the van, however, the driver ignored it, the statement said. Ex gratia announced Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced an ex gratia of Rs. 2 lakh to the families of the victims. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu also announced Rs. 2 lakh to the victims’ families and Rs. 1 lakh to those injured grievously.

7 get life term in post-Godhra riots case SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT AHMEDABAD: In a post-Godhra 2002 riots case in which three persons belonging to the minority community were killed in Viramgam town of Ahmedabad district, the Gujarat High Court on Monday sentenced seven persons to life imprisonment. Of the seven found guilty of murder and other ofences by the High Court, three had been acquitted by a trial court while four others had been convicted for lesser offences but not murder. However, the Division Bench of the court comprising Justices Harsha Devani and Biresn Vaishnav held them guilty of murder and awarded life imprisonment to them while confirming life imprisonment to two other accused. Of the total 10 accused, nine have been awarded lifer by the court for brutal murder of three persons during the 2002 riots in the State. The incident had happened on February 28 when a mob was demolishing a local shrine. When the minority community members tried to stop the demolition, the mob attacked and killed two persons on the spot while one more died of injuries at a hospital in Ahmedabad.

Leaked ‘NEET-II paper’ was not original: CBSE SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: A day after reports said the NEET-II question paper for admission to medical and dental courses had been “leaked” in Uttarakhand, the CBSE said on Monday that the leaked paper was diferent from the actual question paper. “The material seized by the Uttarakhand police from the persons involved in cheating were provided to the CBSE and the same was matched by the Board with the original question paper. “The seized material is entirely diferent from the original question paper of NEETII. This was an attempt made by some unscrupulous elements to cheat the candidates on false promises,” according to a release from the CBSE.

Diicult moment for us: IAF chief ‘Officers are in constant touch with kin of missing An-32 personnel’

with the family members of the missing personnel and they were being regularly updated about the eforts being made to trace them.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

‘Painful reminder’ “Events like these are painful reminders of the inherent risks which our brave personnel face in our daily missions,” he said, adding that an inquiry would be

NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Monday said no eforts would be spared to locate the missing transport aircraft with 29 persons on board, even as the government stepped up the search three days after the tragedy. “Radar contact with the aircraft was lost when the aircraft was east of Chennai at an approximate distance of 270 km. Since then, there has been no contact with the aircraft,” Air Chief Marshal Raha said in a statement. He said the An-32 aircraft was on a scheduled courier sortie from Tambaram, Chennai to Port Blair. The aircraft had departed Tambaram at 8.30 a.m. on July 22 with 6 crew and 23 personnel, the IAF chief said. “It is very unfortunate that we have not been able to trace the missing aircraft and the personnel on board. It is a very diicult moment for all of us and we share the concerns of distraught family members,” he said. The IAF chief said his oicers were in constant touch

conducted into the incident. “Our prayers and thoughts are there with the missing personnel and their families and no efort will be spared to locate them,” he said. Saying that the IAF remains committed to providing the best possible equipment and training to its personnel, he said An-32 transport aircraft was inducted into the IAF between

1984 and 1991. “In the last three decades of its operations, we have exploited the capabilities of this aircraft as the workhorse of the IAF. Because of its excellent operational performance, An-32 has been landing at Daulat Beg Oldie, which is the highest landing ground in the world,” he said, in an efort to dispel any doubt over the aircraft and its crew.

Submarine to join operations SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHENNAI: The search for the

missing IAF transport aircraft An-32 will get a boost on Tuesday with the addition of a Navy submarine to the operation. The Coast Guard, meanwhile, raised questions over the eicacy of the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) that has not sent out any signals from the plane. “As of now we have not been able to locate any debris or any survivors,” Coast Guard Commander (East) Inspector-General Rajan Bargotra told a press conference on

Monday. Search teams came across a number of floating items including a wooden box, but none of these were from the aircraft. The IAF aircraft was carrying 29 persons when it went disappeared from radar on June 22. The oicer expressed concern about the nonfunctioning of the ELT in such crash incidents over sea. “It has happened in the last couple of aircraft accidents over sea. In none of them the ELT operated,” he said. Transmitter failure Mr. Bargotra said the issue had been taken up with the manufacturer. “Even in the CG Dornier

accident last year, the ELT did not operate. Prior to that, there was another Dornier accident. It is a fact that in more than one case, the ELT has not operated,” he said. The IG said weather conditions had improved on Monday making the search easier. But, the depth of the sea in the search area was about 3,400 metres, making the underwater search challenging despite the deployment of a submarine. A National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) vessel could join the operation in the next few days. The vessel was on its way from Mauritius.

SC issues contempt notice to Vijay Mallya KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL NEW DELHI: Over four months after the Supreme Court ordered businessman Vijay Mallya to reveal all his assets to banks for recovery of a total loan of over Rs. 6000 crore, the apex court on

Monday stepped in once again on behalf of a consortium of 13 banks, who have been unable to get even a whif of the whereabouts of the liquor baron’s wealth. A Bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton F. Nariman served a notice of con-

tempt of court to Mr. Mallya, believed to be in the U.K. The court reaction came on the banks’ submission that a disclosure statement of assets submitted by Mr. Mallya to the SC does not contain a “whisper” about the details of his assets. “The

disclosure is vague... it is not possible for any person other than the alleged contemnor (Mallya) to identify the location of the properties,” Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the consortium along with advocate Robin Ratnakar David, said.

Forgive past errors of youth, says SC LEGAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: In a relief to India’s young who engage in agitations against the establishment, the Supreme Court held that employers may forgive youngsters who suppress or submit false information in their job verification forms if their criminal past involves only a “trivial” ofence like “shouting slogans at a young age or stealing bread.” “McCarthyism is antithesis to constitutional goal, chance of reformation has to be aforded to young ofenders in suitable cases,” a threejudge Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Arun Mishra and P.C. Pant observed in a recent judgment. The Bench was settling the law on how far and when an employer should ignore suppression of information or submitting false information in a job verification form. To explain its dictum that “mere involvement in some petty kind of case would not render a person unsuitable for a job”, the Bench referred to a 1983 case law — State of Madhya Pradesh versus Ramashanker Raghuvanshi — which concerned a municipal school teacher who was terminated on the basis of a police report that he had participated in “RSS and Jan

CM YK

‘Suppressing trivial cases during job verification should not be considered a grave matter’ Sangh activities”, and thus not fit for government service. The apex court had overturned his dismissal. “... Most students and most young men take part in political activities, and if they do get involved in some form of agitation or the other, is it to be to their ever lasting discredit? Sometimes they feel strongly on injustice and resist. They are sometimes pushed into the forefront by elderly persons who lead and mislead them. Should all these young men be debarred from public employment? Is government service such a heaven that only angels should seek entry into it?” Justice Mishra, who authored the verdict, quoted from the 1983 case law. The judgment refers to the character Jean Valjean, who was branded a thief for his whole life for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his hungry family, in Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables. “The modern approach should be to reform a person instead of branding him a criminal all his life,” the court held. ND-ND

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10 |

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Flawed premise, misplaced prescription The policy framework of inflation targeting suggested by the Urjit Patel panel is drawn from a foreign context. The RBI must weave in trade and capital flows into the proposed policy fabric T U E S D AY , J U LY 2 6 , 2 0 1 6

PARTHA SEN

Islamic State in Afghanistan

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aturday’s twin blasts in Kabul, in which at least 80 people died and over 260 were injured, is a clear escalation of the Afghan conflict by the Islamic State. Over the past two years, the IS has built some presence in eastern Afghanistan, operating largely from the chaotic Nangarhar province. But by carrying out one of the worst mass attacks in Kabul in 15 years, it has flaunted its growing footprint. It has sent a message that it is now a force to reckon with in Afghanistan. In turn, the attack once again exposes the chinks in the country’s security armour. Despite support from U.S. troops and its superior air cover, the Afghan military hasn’t been able to do much to prevent Taliban attacks in recent months. Now, with the IS also joining the fray, the security situation could become much worse. For the IS, Afghanistan is a potential area of expansion. It is under increasing pressure in Iraq and Syria in the wake of sustained attacks by, variously, the U.S., Kurdish groups and the Iraqi and Syrian national armies. Over the past year it has lost territory and thousands of fighters, forcing the leadership to look for other countries, especially Libya and Afghanistan. Groups such as the IS are most comfortable amidst chaos. The IS has exploited the post-war chaos in Iraq and the civil war uncertainty in Syria. Afghanistan falls into the same category. The civil war has substantially weakened post-Taliban state-building in Afghanistan, leaving several regions, particularly the mountainous areas along the Pakistan border, beyond the control of the government. Unsurprisingly, it is in one such district that the IS has found a foothold. The Kabul attack also fits into the IS’s sectarian narrative. The targets of the blasts were the Hazaras, the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, which is mainly Shia. In both Iraq and Syria the IS has exploited the Shia-Sunni rivalry to win the support of Sunnis, particularly disafected youth from the community. By directly attacking the Hazaras, the IS is clearly trying to whip up sectarian passions. This is a dangerous game that even the Taliban has largely stayed away from in Afghanistan. Though the Hazaras were persecuted under the Taliban in the 1990s, the Afghan civil war did not turn sectarian like the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. The IS is trying to change this equation, because only then can it hope to spread its Sunni fundamentalist ideology to the Afghans. The question is how the Afghan government and the international coalition will respond to these twin challenges. If they indeed let the IS gain ground, as happened with the Taliban in the 1990s, the consequences will be far more disastrous.

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Indians have been described as argumentative. In everyday usage, it means they argue for the sake of arguing. And there is more than just a grain of truth in it. Look at the criticism of the current dispensation at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). There was a lot of debate about the membership of the Monetary Policy Committee to be set up. Who will appoint the members? Will the RBI Governor have the final say, etc…? Then there was the red herring about the green card (pun intended). These issues could be potentially important. But nothing could be as important as the present regime at the RBI foisting an inflation-targeting framework for the conduct of monetary policy without much debate (though some academics had written on it when it was first submitted). In my opinion, the Urjit Patel Committee Report (referred to as the report below) that suggested this framework is an example of copyand-paste from foreign policy sources. Even this is done inconsistently. I focus attention on the report, as the new regime in the RBI readies to implement it. Goals of monetary policy Let us start at the beginning. What should the goals of the monetary authorities be? Some obvious desirable candidates are full employment (or a high growth path), low inflation, financial stability, budget balance and external balance (what used to be called equilibrium in the balance of payments). And inevitably there are serious trade-ofs between these objectives. High growth can come accompanied by stress in the banking system (as happened in the U.S. in the runup to the financial crisis), or with a huge current account (of the balance of payments) deficit (this implies growth is funded by international borrowing). In the advanced capitalist countries, the professional consensus has moved towards inflation targeting as the objective of monetary policy (after the Lehman Brothers crisis of 2008, the importance of financial stability is not debated). The broad argument in favour of inflation targeting runs as follows (also repeated in the report): monetary policy cannot significantly alter the level of employment (or not for any length of time) — this is determined by “real factors” such as productivity, labour market rigidities, and possibly the fiscal stance of the government.

Not addressing external constraint is a shortcoming… Nominal income targeting has been shown to be superior in handling supply shocks such as a failed monsoon Monetary policy should target nominal variables, such as rate of inflation. Targeting inflation comes from a belief that policy should be simple and transparent, so that the private sector can factor this into their decision-making. The question that this poses is: are there more “complicated” policies which are better? I just note that one such policy is called “nominal income targeting”. But it is more complicated and the private sector is deemed to be intellectually challenged. An engineer building a bridge picks the best plan and not the one that motorists find easy to comprehend. But let that be. Inflation targeting and India In these countries, inflation targeting could be the desirable policy because there is no restriction on the movement of (financial) capital; the issue of balance of payments needing policy intervention is not even on the menu. Their interest rates equal the in-

terest rate in the rest of the world (interest parity holds) and the country concerned can borrow abroad to finance the deficit — for example, the U.K. has been running a current account deficit close to 8 per cent of GDP that no developing country could get away with. But more relevant here is that there is no pressure on the Bank of England to intervene to correct this. As a matter of fact, the macroeconomic distinction between a developed and a developing economy is that the latter needs to settle its debt in an internationally accepted currency. Being in possession of real estate or natural resources is not enough, since foreign lenders will not accept rupees. Thus, at the very least, a developing economy also needs to have some notion of external balance. On the external front, the report says the RBI should intervene to smooth exchange rate volatility. It also discusses what the RBI should do in the face of large foreign capital inflows and outflows. To insure against outflows, it says, India needs a war chest of foreign exchange reserves. And this is generated by intervening in foreign exchange markets during periods of foreign inflows, via something called “sterilised intervention”. But the takeaway from the report is that the external sector needs attention in emergencies, not on an ongoing basis. So is India like a developed country that can disregard the external constraint? India is a fairly open economy, reliant on foreign capital flows. Gone are the days when we could think of ourselves as a closed economy not really worried about foreign trade and payments. I note, en passant, that even when this was true (before liberalisation), we had two major balance of payments crises that altered the subsequent trajectory of the economy — the first one contributing to the “socialism” of Indira Gandhi, and the second one leading to liberalisation. Thus, trade and capital flows have to be woven into the proposed policy fabric. Sterilised intervention To go back to the report, I note here that the very discussion of sterilised intervention implies that India’s financial markets are not integrated with world markets (for that I say, “thank god”!). So what is sterilised intervention? When capital inflows occur, the RBI could do nothing and let the rupee appreciate. If it chooses to intervene, it could buy foreign exchange. This would increase the supply of money, and possibly cause inflation. So it may buy back the rupees by ofering government bonds. This is “sterilised in-

CARTOONSCAPE

Adding injury to insult

he quality of a country’s democracy is reflected not only in the robustness of its institutions but also from the texture of its political discourse. The tasteless and indefensible remarks by a Bharatiya Janata Party leader about Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, which provoked similar vulgarity from herself and her partymen, paint a particularly depressing picture of India’s democracy today. Dayashankar Singh, vice-president of the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit, employed a coarse analogy with prostitution that smacked of a deep-seated sexist bias, ostensibly to highlight Ms. Mayawati’s alleged practice of allotting the party ticket to the highest bidder. The unpardonable slur was bereft of nuance and had no place in civilised political discourse. The BJP moved quickly to take action against Mr. Dayashankar, but this firmness seemed borne in large measure of the desire to curb the political fallout in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous State that goes to the polls next year, and which has a sizeable Dalit vote. The expelled party functionary’s remarks were made at a time when the BJP is already on the back foot in Gujarat where it is battling protests and popular outrage following the brutal assault of four Dalits by self-styled cow protection activists. For her part, Ms. Mayawati would have done well had she stopped with defending her party’s fundraising policies and drawing attention to Mr. Dayashankar’s prejudice against women politicians. Regrettably, in trying to pay her detractor in the same coin, she justified the use of sexist and highly derogatory remarks by BSP men directed at the wife and minor daughter of Mr. Dayashankar, who went into hiding fearing a physical attack on himself. As a result, the opportunity to seize the high moral ground was squandered; more importantly, so was the chance to highlight the need for a reasoned debate on maintaining a certain decorum even in the heat of political combat. Like the BJP’s disapproval of Mr. Dayashankar, it is possible that Ms. Mayawati’s aggressive response, a clear overreaction, is tied to narrow electoral considerations and the need to extract whatever political capital was possible from the situation. The irony is that it is unlikely that any of this ugly theatrics will sway voters. As a strong woman politician, Ms. Mayawati will carry memories of many slurs she has borne as she emerged to take over the reins of the BSP and attain the political stature she has. She has the power and the ability to alter the very lexicon of politics in the Hindi heartland. This is something she should recognise rather than fritter away in a torrent of angry words.

Not factoring in supply shocks Not addressing the external constraint is the biggest shortcoming of the report. There are also other examples of cut-and-paste. In an economy like India’s, why does monetary policy have nothing to say directly on supply shocks, for example, a failure of the monsoon or a rise in oil prices? A narrow focus on consumer price index targeting means that adverse output shock like El Nino is relevant only if and when it feeds into inflationary expectations. And what will inflation targeting do? After a failed monsoon, and high food prices that have led people to expect high prices, policy would increase interest rates and have a prolonged period of demand compression from a one-of monsoon failure. I note, though without further discussion, that nominal income targeting has been shown to be vastly superior in dealing with this kind of a shock. Similarly, if oil prices were to rise, one way of minimising the inflationary impact of that is to let the exchange rate appreciate. If you were half-conscious of the external balance, it is obvious you do so at your peril (because then the pressure on the current account is being compounded). Another example of cut-and-paste is the box item on the so-called New Keynesian Phillips Curve. Whatever its usefulness in industrialised countries, to lift this and use it to illustrate one’s preferred policy set-up in India is a bit rich. The example in the report assumes no supply shocks. Also, is the price stickiness assumed there at all a decent representation of how goods prices are determined in the Indian economy? The RBI is about to embark on a new policy framework based on poor economics. It reminds me of an episode of The Two Ronnies programme, where little Ronnie (Corbett) is doing a crossword. The clue was: “What is red and picked in a garden? It is a four-letter word ending with SE?” Big Ronnie (Barker) says, “It is obvious — Rose.” Little Ronnie suggests the appropriate answer is “Nose”. Now the latter answer is not incorrect but possibly a little of! Partha Sen is a retired Professor from the Delhi School of Economics.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

‘Cease terror’ It is understandable why Pakistan is restless as it knows that Jammu and Kashmir will never become a part of Pakistan (“Stop terror in J&K, Rajnath tells Pak.”, July 25). Therefore, it has been trying every method possible to try to achieve an impossible aim. After responsible leaders in Pakistan have indicated that Pakistan will persist in this move, one can make the conjecture that Islamabad is intent on fanning trouble in Kashmir. Even after Pakistan didn’t make much progress on this at a forum like the UN, it is shameful that it has still not learnt its lessons. It should also be made clear to our neighbour that any political solution to the Kashmir issue has to be within the framework of the Indian Constitution. K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad

Continuing atrocities Growing atrocities against the minorities, Dalits in particular, only highlight increasing intra-religious tensions (“The charge of the cow brigade”, July 25). As the writer has said, the political Opposition has to stop looking at such incidents as stray ones and instead realise that there is a pattern to them. The rise of vigilante justice has to be curbed. Shivam Dwivedi, Lucknow

CM YK

tervention” — sterilised because the policy leaves money supply unchanged. But since this policy increases the supply of government bonds, the yield on them must rise in order to make the public hold them. And this is possible only if the domestic interest rate can difer from the international one. The whole notion of having adequate foreign exchange reserves, and acquiring them via sterilised intervention, means that we must pay attention to the details of the external sector. How much foreign exchange to buy? How much sterilisation? Similarly for an outflow, the choice involves a depreciation of the currency versus loss of reserves. But the nature of the external constraint is not just what I mentioned. You may get the details of the intervention right, you may be a good boy with inflation and budget deficits under control, and yet face chaos. This is what happened to Latin America after Russia defaulted in 1998. There was a reversal of capital flows that left the more open economies stranded. To not even consider such an eventuality in the design of the architecture of monetary policy is surely being foolhardy. Other developing economies that have adopted inflation targeting often say “inflation-targeting plus” — the “plus” suggesting that there are possible complications. Finally, I note that East Asia has grown out of poverty by using the exchange rate as a tool to generate demand for domestic goods. The RBI Governor has said that today there is no space for such a strategy. But India’s trade balance has been in deficit (around 8 per cent of GDP till recently); a depreciated exchange rate could surely claw back some of this demand by making Indian products slightly more competitive in world markets.

Last year, the lynching in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh of a 50-year-old man for his alleged involvement in storing and consuming ‘beef’ brought to light a disturbing pattern of intolerance and polarisation in the country. Instead of following an egalitarian approach to handling the issue of banning cow slaughter, the right wing began invoking religious sentiments and channelling them into political propaganda. The brutal incident near Una in Gujarat involving four Dalit men only reinforces the need to prevent emotive religious matters from growing into larger acts of majoritarian lawlessness and violence. It is unfortunate that legislation on cow slaughter and protection is being misused by some fringe groups with impunity as a tool to harass and intimidate minorities. Our society is increasingly being coerced into conforming to an intolerant and hate-filled interpretation of faith. The issue of faith and its practices should be debated in a manner which is both politically correct and theologically permissible. Shreyans Jain, New Delhi

It would appear that our democracy is under siege from vigilante groups who in turn are spreading terror in the name of protecting culture. The series of incidents involving atrocities against Dalits spring from

a common source — cultural intolerance. It also makes one wonder why the Centre has done nothing for the well-being of the minorities. In his speech translated from Hindi at the Central Hall of Parliament on May 20, 2014, Mr. Modi had said: “A government is one which thinks about the poor, listens to the poor and which exists for the poor….” In the wake of growing atrocities, how true is this statement? Sukumaran C.V., Palakkad

For a ‘Nutrition Mission’ It is a fact that over the generations, the nutritional status of the population has become poor, leading to sub-standard health outcomes (“We need a Nutrition Mission”, July 22). This can be largely attributed to the lack of attention paid to the well-being of the girl child right from infancy through adolescence and then marriage and pregnancy. To end this vicious cycle, the education of the girl child, her mother and even mother-in-law is necessary so that they are empowered to ensure their own nutrition and well-being. Prepregnancy nutritional status can be improved by delaying the age of marriage and a woman’s first pregnancy. Lalitha Ramaswamy, Coimbatore

The dismal ranking of India on all health indicators is a reflection of two evils that continue to afect our country — high income inequality and corruption. The three key schemes pointed out by the writer, i.e. MDM, ICDS and PDS, to deal with poor health standards have also been felled by these evils. ICDS workers are paid a meagre salary and quite irregularly, which afects their ability to deliver the goods. Even though it covers about 120 million children, the MDM scheme is mired in corruption which afects the quality of food served to children. The PDS scheme does not seem to reach those it is meant for as I wonder how many people below the poverty line have proof of address. These hard facts are bound to defeat the very objectives of the schemes. A review of their functioning is called for. Kanika Garg, New Delhi

The entire discourse on development and ‘India Shining’ could be in peril if our human capital is not empowered and able enough to ensure further development of our country. The abysmal situation of malnutrition needs to be addressed more efectively with greater focus on rural India. It is strange that there are pockets of prosperity amid a sea of poverty and it is these pockets that are dictating

the course of policies. The government needs to carry out a social audit of nutrition schemes while making the bureaucrat more accountable and vigilant. Gagan Pratap Singh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh

The article reminded me how many adolescent girls start their careers as nurses in Kerala and appear to be underweight and anaemic during screening procedures. Most are excellent in their work. Perhaps the health indices need modification to make them more appropriate to regional variations in body morphology and a better understanding of anaemia. Dr. Mathew K. Jose, Kochi

It is disappointing to see that India ranks low in terms of basic nutritional indicators. We appear to be lulled into complacency when the developed world cites our overall growth rate. The fact is that we still do not have any solutions for deeprooted factors like malnutrition and social discrimination which are dragging us down. A close read of the article suggests that adolescent girls, women and children are in the red zone despite nutrition missions. The lack of efective implementation of these schemes seems to be the problem. Vijay Singh, Rewari, Haryana ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

BOOK EXTRACT

Age of the middleman Ironically, the true age of the middleman dawned in the wake of India’s economic reforms in the early 1990s, even if the system was perfected during the licence raj that preceded it. Before liberalisation, India was a socialist state that practised import substitution and state monopoly. That old India had its own monsters, chief among which was the creation of a JOSY complex web of state controls in every walk of life. To buy a JOSEPH vehicle or to start a business, perhaps even to dream or breathe fresh air, you needed state permission. Bureaucrats and political leaders became immensely powerful — and extremely corrupt. Economic growth averaged just about 3.5 per cent annually, the state and a few families dominated most areas of economic and industrial activities, and the consumer had very limited choices. Middle-class Indians smuggled aerated drinks and television sets into the country. With bankruptcy and international shame staring it in the face, India was forced to liberalise its economy in 1991. Overnight, a new vigour was palpable. The one constant In 1991, I too was suddenly an adult, out of the safe confines of a military public school, thrown into the civilian realities of India. In many ways, India’s journey as a liberal economy paralleled my own discovery of life, work, love, failures and values. Along with most of India, my generation migrated from typewriters to touch screens, from villages to metropolises, from a socialist economy to a thriving market economy — all in a matter of two decades. The one constant in our lives was the middleman, who got us what government owed us: birth certificates, driving licences, registration, appointment, name change, passports, etc. As the wave of economic liberalisation swept India, entrepreneurs began to dream big; bold investments and wild proposals were the order of the day. In a few years, India beThe one constant in our lives came the fastest growing major was the middleman, who got economy after China. Global investors began to celebrate India, us what government owed and world leaders queued up to us: birth certificates, driving visit New Delhi even in the oplicences, registration, etc. pressive summer heat. The teacher who forced me to use the index finger of my right hand — I was born a leftie — on the loose silica sand of our village in the 1970s had retired. I traced the Malayalam equivalent of the vowel ‘A’, and the rest of the letters on the ground, seated in a temporary shed with a thatched roof that was my first school. That is what set me on my educational journey. In the kindergartens of my village, English is now the preferred language. The government elementary school where I studied up to class four is only a pale shadow of its former self. Along the tarred road in front of its small compound, private buses ferry children to private schools. Only the poorest still troop to the old school. The government hospital that my three-year-old sister was rushed to early one Christmas morning, because she had sufered a severe seizure from high fever, is no longer the preferred health facility in our town. Private hospitals have mushroomed in recent years. The government hospital, however, continues to be in good shape — a rarity in India. The sparkling white silica-sand mounds have but all disappeared. A broken road and a lonely telephone line snaked their ways through those mounds to reach our home by the backwaters. We ploughed through the loose sand as we walked to the local school. But many people in my village and those in neighbouring areas have been engaged in rampant and irresponsible mining of silica sand. The surreal white village I remember has been replaced by the dullness of concrete houses and shallow pits that often fill up with rain water. The rapacious, mostly illegal, mining of natural resources is not the story of my village alone. If anything, it is one of the defining characteristics of India’s liberalised economy. Across central India, where tribal communities coexisted peacefully with their environs in what are some of the most crucial biodiversity hot spots of the country, businessmen, with active support from the administration, are mining coal, iron ore and other minerals. An armed left-wing insurgency has taken root against this uninvited intrusion and the Indian state’s failures. The tribal people are trapped, while the insurgents, agents of an insensitive state machinery and a new ruthless entrepreneurial class play out their games and ambitions. These insurgencies are equally a response to the growing disparities in the country. Unrest and disafection have been an integral part of India’s evolution as an independent nation. Many of the world’s oldest armed conflicts rage here, and hundreds of thousands of people — security men, insurgents, kidnappers, hooligans, informants, as well as people who were not directly involved in the conflict — have been killed. Some of the insurgencies in the country’s north-east are almost as old as independent India, and Kashmir has been burning for over three decades. In central India, leftwing extremists have been fighting security forces for decades now. Evasive discourse Instead of dealing with the grievances that fuel these insurgencies, politicians, the mainstream media and security analysts have worked to create an ill-informed, often abusive and intolerant discourse around them. With no one to hold them accountable, the security establishment and its many arms rampantly abuse human rights. The establishment conveniently blames all the drawbacks of the Indian democracy on Pakistan, China, the US and other external forces. As this book was being completed in 2015, the government in New Delhi had just rediscovered an old ghost — NGOs — accusing them of organising a grand international conspiracy to pull down the Indian economy and the government. (Extracted, with permission, from the forthcoming A Feast of Vultures: The Hidden Business of Democracy in India, HarperCollins India.) Josy Joseph is National Security Editor of The Hindu.

FROM THE ARCHIVES (dated July 26, 1966)

Unprecedented disorder in Parliament Parliament opened its monsoon session to-day [July 25, New Delhi] on a stormy note. An obstructionist Opposition threw both Houses into pandemonium for most part of the day’s sitting in an unsuccessful bid to raise a discussion on the U.P. strike

situation. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for brief periods. Four members in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha were expelled after they had been suspended for varying periods for unruly behaviour. The scenes of disorder witnessed in the Lok Sabha to-day [July 25] were the worst seen in 18 years, according to the Speaker, Mr. Hukam Singh.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS >>In the report, “Afghan Army chief coming to India with revised wish list” (July 25, 2016), the name of the Afghanistan Army chief was wrongly given as General Sher Mohammad Karimi. It should have been General Qadam Shah Shahim. >>In “Rewriting Nigeria” (Sunday Magazine, Literary Review, July 24, 2016), the title of Chigozie Obioma’s book that was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize last year was erroneously given as The Fisherman. It should have been The Fishermen. It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers’ Editor’s oice can be contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday); E-mail:[email protected] The Terms of Reference for the Readers’ Editor are on www.thehindu.com CM YK

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PERSPECTIVE

NOIDA/DELHI

It never trickles down The state has become exclusively concerned with the interests of globalised capital and the domestic corporate-financial oligarchy aligned with it. The income squeeze on peasants is one consequence PRABHAT PATNAIK

Central to the “reforms” introduced in 1991 was not a “retreat of the state” in favour of the “market” as is commonly supposed, but a change in the nature of the state. This change was not necessarily a conscious decision; it was more a “spontaneous” outcome of the introduction of the “reforms” themselves. Since the “reforms” entailed the opening of the economy to freer crossborder flows of goods and capital, including of finance which is highly mobile and whose sudden outflow can precipitate a financial crisis, the state under a “reform regime” necessarily has to ensure that the “confidence” of the international financiers in the economy remains intact. State policy therefore must always be to their liking. This means that instead of a state that apparently stands above all classes even while promoting capitalist development, and that protects traditional petty producers, including the peasantry and the workers, against encroachments by capital, despite being a bourgeois state, as was the case earlier, the “reform regime” creates a state that becomes exclusively concerned with the interests of globalised capital, and the domestic corporate-financial oligarchy aligned with it. Withdrawal of state support A fallout of this is the withdrawal of support by the state from traditional petty production, and hence the unleashing of a crisis in this sector, including in peasant agriculture. The increase in the prices of agricultural inputs because of reduced subsidies (as the government, to placate finance capital, has to keep down the fiscal deficit while not raising taxes on the rich); the withdrawal of government price support for several crops by ending the market-intervention role of the Commodity Boards; allowing even nationalised banks to renege on providing agricultural credit, so that the peasantry is forced to rely increasingly on a new class of private moneylenders charging exorbitantly high interest rates; the winding up of public extension services; the removal of the insulation from world market price fluctuations that had been provided earlier to the agrarian economy through tarifs and quantitative restrictions; the cuts in public investment in agriculture and irrigation; the running down of agricultural research and development in public institutions; the permission to agribusiness to enter the countryside for a direct, unmediated and unregulated relationship with the

CRISIS: “For large sections of the peasantry, even reproduction of their economy has become impossible, causing peasant suicides.” File photo of the family of a farmer who committed suicide in H.D. Kote, Mysuru district. — PHOTO: V. SREENIVASA MURTHY

Joblessness does not announce itself as such. The employment rationing it entails takes diverse forms peasantry; and the retreat of the government from providing essential services like quality education and health care are some of the obvious ways in which state support has been withdrawn from this sector. This has adversely afected the income flow of the peasantry, impaired the profitability of peasant agriculture, reduced its rate of growth, and brought acute distress to the countryside. For large sections of the peasantry, even simple reproduction of their economy has become impossible, causing a spate of peasant suicides. What is true of

25 YEARS OF REFORMS peasants is also true of traditional petty producers in general: fishermen, artisans, craftsmen, weavers and others. A simple calculation some years ago showed that if the statutory minimum daily wage was imputed to Kerala’s traditional fishermen, then their entire economy would be in deficit. The income squeeze on the peasants has been accompanied by a taking over of their land for “infrastructure” and “industrial” projects, often at throwaway prices and against their wishes. When consent has been obtained, not everyone dependent on the land has been consulted. “Primitive accumulation of capital”, to use Karl Marx’s phrase, is rampant not only in “flow” terms (income squeeze) but also in “stock” terms (asset dispossession). The latter is set to gather further momentum with the “Smart City” project

of this government. All this need not make one shed tears if the peasants and petty producers, who are either dispossessed or unable to cope with the income squeeze and therefore migrate to cities, could find proper employment there. But the scale of job creation has been minuscule despite high GDP growth. A weakened workforce Joblessness does not announce itself as such. The employment rationing it entails takes diverse forms: casual employment, intermittent employment, part-time employment, and disguised unemployment (camouflaged often as “petty entrepreneurship”). These give a misleading picture of the unemployment scenario. But if we take what the National Sample Survey calls “usual status employment”, then between 2004-05 and 2009-10, a period of high GDP growth, such employment grew at 0.8 per cent per annum. This was below the natural rate of growth of the workforce itself, even if we ignore the jobseeking displaced peasants. This has led to a proliferation of precarious and insecure employment, a burgeoning lumpenproletariat, an immense weakening of the bargaining position even of the unionised workers, and hence to a compression of the per capita real income of the “working people” as a whole, consisting of agricultural labourers, traditional petty producers, and non-white-collar workers. A simple statistic confirms this. The percentage of the rural population with food intake below 2,200 calories per person per day (the benchmark for defining rural poverty) was 58.5 in 1993-94; it increased to 68 in 2011-12. Likewise the percentage of the urban population below 2,100 calories per person per day (the benchmark for defining urban poverty) was 57 in 1993-94; it increased to 65

in 2011-12. It is often claimed that growing calorie deprivation does not indicate worsening economic status, since it could arise for other reasons, such as changing tastes, greater health consciousness, reduced physical work efort, or greater emphasis on children’s education and health care. But if reduced calorie intake occurred for these reasons even when real incomes of the working people were (for argument’s sake) rising, then it would be diicult to explain an increase in calorie intake when real incomes were also rising, such as between 2009-10 (a poor crop year) and 2011-12 (a good crop year). Indeed, one invariably finds a positive association between the two variables. The more reasonable explanation for declining calorie intake therefore is a decline in real income of the working people — that is, money income deflated by a price index that takes into account the efect of privatisation of essential services (which the usual price indices do not). Middle class the beneficiary What the “reforms” have brought therefore is a process of “primitive accumulation of capital” without the creation of adequate employment opportunities to absorb those who are displaced by it. This has caused a worsening of the conditions of the “working people” as a whole. There is, however, another side to “reforms”: the growth of the financial sector, or what is called “financialisation”; and the location domestically of certain service-sector activities outsourced from developed countries owing to the comparatively lower wages prevalent here. These have benefited an emerging middle class, not so much through an expansion in its relative numbers as through an increase in its relative incomes. This class has emerged as a votary of the “development” paradigm of the “reform regime” and thrown its weight behind the corporate-financial oligarchy whose share of wealth and income has increased phenomenally under this regime. But the world capitalist crisis, which is nowhere near ending, is likely to bring disappointment to the middle class. This class will then provide support for an alternative development strategy which would be in the interests of the working people and transcend “neo-liberal” capitalism, though attempts to prevent such a denouement through the formation of a corporate”communal” alliance that seeks to divide the people will also gather momentum. Prabhat Patnaik is Professor Emeritus, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, JNU, New Delhi.

No substitute to accountability Any decision on mob-dispersal techniques to replace pellets needs to be carefully thought through

R.K. RAGHAVAN

D. SIVANANDHAN

Ever since the evolution of the police as an organised apparatus of the modern state, one fundamental issue has come to be intertwined with their field operations: how much force can they use to serve the ends of public order? Associated with this are other questions: is it possible to define limits to the police’s overall authority and, if yes, how do we ensure that the exercise of such authority does not transgress the set boundaries? Unfortunately, these are subjective issues and hence diicult to resolve. What we are now witnessing in the Kashmir Valley is a part of this debate on how to oversee the police so that they are conscious of the risk of overstepping their powers and committing human rights violations. Misgivings about the police are not about whether they can use force while discharging duties; there is near consensus that they can and should use suicient force to make sure that law-abiding citizens are not obstructed from going about their daily tasks. What, however, divides opinion is whether the techniques of such force should be so regulated that they achieve the objective of maintaining public order without transgressing human rights. It is in this context that the use of pellets to disperse mobs in Kashmir has triggered protests as well as demands for the withdrawal of this mode of handling violent mobs. This is not just a routine human rights discussion; it has unmistakably assumed some political overtones too. The use of pellets Pellets as ammunition were introduced recently in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in reaction to complaints of excesses in 2010 by the security forces, who were using rubber bullets to disperse stone-pelting mobs. Contrary to popular belief, even the rubber bullets caused a few deaths, and so began the current experiment with pellets. It was hoped that pellets, which are

LETHAL: “Pellets penetrate skin tissues and cause serious injuries.” A Kashmiri doctor removes pellets from a man's back in Srinagar. — PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD lead balls resembling ball bearings, would be less lethal than rubber bullets and conventional bullets but would carry no less deterrence to anti-social elements. The truth, unfortunately, is that while pellets may not kill the person they hit, they penetrate skin tissues and cause serious injuries. Further, they travel from the cartridge at high speed and disperse in unpredictable trajectories. The complaint from J&K is that pellets have not only caused bodily harm, but have also injured the eyes of many demonstrators, leading to loss of sight. Also, according to some specialists who had examined the eyes of the injured persons, the pellets used in the State by security forces were not all round. Some were irregular and sharp-edged, capable of causing serious injuries. Having said this, it is also important to examine the credibility of the complaint before taking any decision to give up pellets in favour of less injurious ammunition. Any abrupt discontinuance of pellets has serious implications for the efectiveness of law enforcement in handling mobs. The Home Ministry has responded swiftly to these complaints by rushing eye specialists to J&K. This gesture needs to be applauded. The Home Min-

The objective should be to find out whether there is any other non-lethal method to handle demonstrations ister also visited Srinagar a few days ago and reportedly advised against excesses while dispersing mobs. A committee, he said, would be set up to examine other non-lethal alternatives to pellets. Assessing police action There are two important aspects to this controversy, which have relevance to the criminal justice system. First, since it is diicult to quantify the amount of force that the police can legitimately employ when order is threatened, the state has a huge responsibility to quickly assess police action and punish policemen in cases of wanton violence. Many governments fight shy of this duty and invite odium upon themselves. Such failure to fix responsibility is invariably attributed to the need to preserve police morale. We have seen this happening over and over again in J&K. This is why opposition to the use of

pellets is symbolic of the overall dislike of the police in the Valley. Second, any action to whittle down the operational autonomy of the police in disturbed areas should be taken only after great deliberation on the likely impact on police efectiveness and the morale of the forces. Otherwise there could be problems that may adversely afect the image of the government itself. No government can aford to be soft on lawbreakers nor can it permit arbitrary police conduct in the field. Criminal justice scholars across the world, especially in U.S. universities, have conducted serious research in this area. Their broad conclusions converge on the inevitability of the police resorting to force and the need to simultaneously bridle police hands so that there are no excesses. In the U.S., the police have also been accused in the recent past of biases while using force. While it is fortunate that in J&K there are only mild overtones of prejudice, a controversy over pellet use could always degenerate into accusations of prejudice and political motivation. This is why we need serious introspection and quick corrective action. The objective should be to find out whether there is any other non-lethal method to handle demonstrations. Indian police use tear gas, lathis, and sometimes water cannons before resorting to the use of firearms to break up violent crowds. Police firing was a rare occurrence until about two decades ago, but with growing violence in India it has become distressingly frequent. Judicial probes into such action have seldom ended in adverse findings against the police. The administrative response to mob violence will need to blend firmness with moderation. A trained force under professional police leadership combined with an understanding ruling class can do a lot to steer through the dilemma. This is possible only if our polity succeeds in insulating the police from constant political pressures. As things stand now, this seems a pipe dream. R.K. Raghavan is a former CBI Director and D. Sivanandhan is a former Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, and a former DGP of Maharashtra. ND-ND

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HC acquits Salman in two poaching cases

The AAP member has been advised not to attend sittings of the House until a decision is taken in the matter NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker

Pellets recovered from vehicle did not match ones recovered from actor’s room: Court sion Bench or the Supreme Court. However, Mr. Khan’s counsel Hastimal Saraswat said the court had rendered justice to “an innocent man.” However, Mr. Khan is facing trial in another case of poaching of endangered blackbuck in Kankani village and possession of illegal arms, which is yet to be concluded. The co-accused in this case are actors Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam, who had accompanied Mr. Khan in the film’s shooting.

Mission staf to pull out kids from Pak. schools The oicial also drew attention to continued threats that several Pakistan political parties have made in recent weeks about staging a march to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Following the threats to the High Commission, India had reminded Pakistan about its obligation to protect its diplomats and their families. Western countries had declared Pakistan a nonfamily posting for several years due to the high threat perception. However, India had avoided taking a similar decision, till now. Not to reciprocate Pakistan diplomatic sources pointed out that there is not yet any plan of reciprocity on this issue and they do not in-

Western countries declared Pakistan a non-family posting for many years due to threat perception tend to withdraw family members from India as of now. Informal arrangement “This is an informal internal, administrative arrangement we were informed of two months back. No other considerations were communicated to us,” Nafees Zakaria, Spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Afairs told The Hindu. However, government sources cautioned against highlighting the Pakistani report and suggested it could “create the spectre of tension and India-Pak conflict.”

Sumitra Mahajan constituted a nine-member committee of parliamentarians on Monday to probe whether or not Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann’s videography of the Parliament House complex, including the room where parliamentary questions were being sorted, had jeopardised its security. The panel has been asked to submit a report by August 3. “The member’s audio-visual recording of Parliament and posting it on the social media puts the security of Parliament in peril,” the Speaker said. Several members had ex-

Notice for privilege motion against Jairam SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday gave notice for a privilege motion in the Rajya Sabha against Congress MPs Jairam Ramesh and Renuka Chowdhury for allegedly misbehaving with Union Minister Harsimrat Badal. SAD MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa alleged that the Congress MPs misbehaved with Ms. Badal last Friday when she was trying to raise the issue of security after AAP MP Bhagwant Mann uploaded a video of the Parliament premises on the Internet. Refuting the allegation, Mr. Ramesh, said he only had an argument with the Minister and no one had misbehaved with her. “Only three things were said… Minister is expected to behave, action is for the Speaker to take and that this is a deliberate attempt to scuttle the bill on A.P.,” said Mr. Ramesh. Ms. Chowdhury said her name was being unnecessarily dragged into the issue.

pressed concern on Friday last. The member “is advised not to attend the sittings of the House” until a decision was taken in the matter, Ms. Mahajan said. Mr. Mann was not present in the House. Seeks time The committee, headed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, began its work on Monday evening itself. The other members are Meenakshi Lekhi and Satyapal Singh of the BJP; Anandrao Adsul of the Shiv Sena; Thota Narasimham of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP); P. Venugopal of the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK); Ratna Nag of the Trinamool

He, however, said in case the Delhi government wanted to talk to them, it could send its representative to the New Delhi railway station where the drivers would stage a dharna on Tuesday. “Uber and Ola don’t have permits to run their taxis in Delhi. Despite that, the government is allowing them to take away our livelihoods. The government has assured us on several occasions it will take action against these services but it has not fulfilled its commitment so far,” said Mr. Soni. The Delhi government termed the strike politically-motivated and said banning app-based cab services came under the Centre’s ambit. “The operations of Ola

and Uber are illegal in Delhi as they don’t have a permit from the Delhi Transport Department to ply their taxis. We have already written to the Centre to block the server of Uber but the Union government said it could not do so as its main server was in the US,” said a senior Delhi government oicial. During the second phase of odd-even, the oicial said, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also threatened to take action against app-based cab services over complaints of surge pricing. Several concerns raised by auto and taxi unions – including a hike in fares for the former -- had been worked out in addition to being vetted by Mr. Kejriwal in late March.

Bhagwant Mann Congress (TMC); Bhratruhari Mahtab of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and K.C. Venugopal of the Congress. No member from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the AAP’s rival in Punjab, has been included in the committee. Members told The Hindu

that Mr. Mann had sought three days time to depose before the committee and explain his actions. “We took a look at the video itself, and our enquiries will mostly look at whether the rule book, which disallows any premature viewing of parliamentary notices, was violated and also violation of rule 354 that forbids videography of Parliament without proper permission,” said a member. To meet daily Sources said Speaker Mahajan, by setting up the committee, had indicated that Mr. Mann’s expulsion or loss of membership of the House would be the last possible punishment.

NEW DELHI: BJP general secre-

tary Ram Madhav, in charge of the north-eastern States and Jammu and Kashmir, where the party has seen some reversal of fortune lately, said the “story of Arunachal Pradesh is not over yet” even after the restoration of a Congress government in the State, while criticising the Supreme Court’s judgment in that case as one “that raises more questions than it answers.” Speaking exclusively to The Hindu, Mr. Madhav, who has till now maintained silence on both his charges, was combative in his comments when it came to the party’s position in the two States. “Whether it was Kalikho CM YK

Pul or Pema Khandu, this was purely an internal problem of the Congress. When Kalikho Pul stood up and said the majority of the MLAs do not have faith in the leadership of Nabam Tuki, the Congress should have taken steps to save its government. If the Congress feels that it was the BJP’s responsibility to save its government, it doesn’t work that way in politics,” he said. ‘Internal matter of Cong.’ “When Kalikho Pul wanted to bring down the Tuki government, our party legislators did what any Opposition would have done. What did the Congress expect? That we would rescue the Tuki government? It was an internal matter of the Congress. It went to the Supreme

Members said it was decided that the committee would meet every day till the report was ready. “We have asked some oicials of the Parliament’s security staf to depose before us on Tuesday and we shall be calling Delhi police oicials to weigh in on the matter,” said a source. “The inquiry committee shall inquire into the serious security implications and related aspects, suggest suitable remedial measures to

“It is my ruling that the Bill will not be taken up today [Monday] for discussion,” Mr. Kurien said. Congress members repeatedly trooped into the well of the House shouting “Andhra wants justice,” forcing Mr. Kurien to adjourn the House twice briefly before finally adjourning it for the day after 3 p.m.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Congress forced an adjournment in the Rajya Sabha on Monday as it pressed for taking up of a private member’s Bill for grant of special status to Andhra Pradesh and a special package for the State. The Bill could not be discussed last week following protests in the House by BJP and Akali Dal members over AamAadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann’s alleged breach of security of Parliament after he posted a video on Facebook. Congress members threatened to not allow government business till their demand was met and said they would not cooperate with the government on any legislative business. The House could not function after lunch as Congress members created an uproar and trooped into the well of the House. The Bill was to be moved by Congress member K.V.P. Ramchandra Rao last Friday. The party had even issued a whip to its Rajya Sabha members, asking them to be present in the House when the Bill was expected to

Congress MP Anand Sharma attacks the government on the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh, in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. — PHOTO: PTI / TV GRAB come up for debate. Deputy Leader of the Congress, Anand Sharma, led his party’s charge saying “grave injustice” was done when the ruling party and its Ministers disrupted the House on Friday as a result of which the private member’s Bill could not be taken up. “What happened on Friday was by design. It was planned by the government to disrupt the proceedings,” he said. He made it clear that his party did not want anything

else discussed until the Andhra Bill was taken up. Slamming the government for its silence over the demand, he said: “That day [Friday] they were shouting vociferously. Today they have lost their voice. We cannot allow government business to be taken up [unless the private member’s Bill is taken up].” Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien said the Bill would be taken up only on August 5 as, according to practice, private Bills and resolutions are taken up on alternate Fridays.

CPI(M), SP back Cong. The Congress was supported by the CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury and the Samajwadi Party’s Naresh Aggarwal, who wanted the Andhra Bill to be taken up for discussion. Mr. Kurien wanted the Compensatory Aforestation Fund Bill, 2016, to be taken up as was decided on Thursday but because of the uproar, it could not be done. Bhupender Yadav of the BJP accused the Congress of being anti-Adivasis saying it was stalling an important Bill which would help tribal people of the country. Outside the House, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told the media that all parties, including the Telugu Desam Party (an NDA ally), were in favour of the Bill.

avoid recurrence of such incidents in future and recommend appropriate action in the matter,” Ms. Mahajan said, reading out her ruling on Monday morning. ‘Encroachment on rights’ Mr. Mann was a little taken aback at the turn of events. “With this decision, it means that I cannot raise issues of public interest till August 3. They could have told me to appear before the committee and allowed me to attend the House... Attending the Session in Parliament is my right. They have encroached upon the rights of lakhs of people.” The AAP MP said he would obey the “orders” of the Speaker.

U.K. Foreign Secretary to visit India SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: United Kingdom is

confident of rediscovering ties with India and other “partner countries” under the leadership of Prime Minister Theresa May who took over on July 13 following the Brexit referendum. The special ties will be “further strengthened” with the visit of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who is likely to come to India later this year, announced Alok Sharma, U.K.’s Minister of AsiaPacific Afairs, the first British Minister to visit India since Brexit. “Despite Brexit, we will have the strongest possible ties with the European Union (EU) while exploring ways to further strengthen our ties with partner countries like India. “The U.K. is open and welcoming for partners like India,” Mr. Sharma said, addressing a gathering at the residence of the British High Commissioner here. Indian companies will not leave U.K. for other European countries, he said.

I quit because I was asked U.S., India may Lawyers lay siege to Madras High Court to keep of Punjab: Sidhu sign logistics pact SURESHKUMAR

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Taking forward the

lence, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Monday said that he had resigned from the Rajya Sabha because he was being constantly asked to stay away from Punjab. “For me no ‘dharma’ is bigger than Punjab… I won’t betray the people of my State,” he told journalists outside the Commonwealth Games Village here. Without taking any names, Mr. Sidhu took a dig at the BJP and alleged that he was being asked “not to head” towards Punjab. State comes first “How can I stay away from my motherland for their selfish gains...? If I have to choose between my party and my State, I’ll always stand with Punjab to serve its interests,” he said. “I had won four elections, but during the last parlia-

Navjot Sidhu addressing the media in New Delhi on Monday. — PHOTO : R. V. MOORTHY mentary elections, when the wave was in favour of Modiji, they [the BJP] along with the Opposition drowned me as well.” He was told that he could not fight from Amritsar and was asked to contest from Kurukshetra or West Delhi. “I said no to them. I did not leave my roots then. Neither did I care about profit and loss. For me, the interest of the people of Punjab, and Amritsar in particular, is top priority,” he said.

India-U.S. defence dialogue, senior U.S. defence oicials are visiting India on Tuesday during which the logistics pact, the text for which has already been finalised, is in focus in addition to high technology cooperation. U.S. Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Frank Kendall will be in India on a three-day visit beginning on Tuesday, oicials told The Hindu. While the focus will be on the evolving high technology and co-development projects under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Understanding (LEMOA), a logistics agreement facilitating the exchange of fuel and supplies at each other’s facilities, could be signed. “The text has already been agreed. Signing it is just a formality,” a senior oicial said.

CHENNAI: Despite the unprecedented crackdown by the Bar Council of India, which suspended 126 Tamil Nadu lawyers, more than 3,000 advocates from across the State thronged the city on Monday to lay siege to the Madras High Court, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the recent amendments to the statutory rules of the court that empower judges to debar errant lawyers from continuing practice. The protest by the lawyers threw traic out of gear in and around the commercial hub of Broadway and Anna Salai. The police had a tough time preventing lawyers from jumping over barricades outside the High Court complex. Late in the night, the police detained hundreds of lawyers and freed them, even as those spearheading the protests warned that the agitation would be intensified. Speaking to The Hindu, advocate P. Thirumalairajan, chief coordinator of the Joint Action Committee, said: “Today’s

Arunachal story is not over yet, says Ram Madhav NISTULA HEBBAR

The Speaker has asked the 9-member committee to submit its report by August 3

Ruckus in RS over private Bill on A.P.

NEW DELHI: Breaking his si-

Auto, taxi strike today

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

LS panel to look into Mann’s videography SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mr. Khan challenged the decision through a criminal revision petition in the High Court. In its two separate judgments, the High Court said the pellets recovered from the vehicle, in which Mr. Khan was said to be travelling, did not match the ones recovered from his room. In any case, the recovered pellets could be used only for hunting of small animals like a rabbit or a bird. Besides, there was no recovery of the carcass, no post-mortem and no medical evidence regarding the cause of death. The court also observed that Harish Dulani, the vehicle driver on whose complaint the case against Mr. Khan and his co-stars shooting for the film was registered, did not make himself available for crossexamination by defence counsel. It expressed doubts on whether Mr. Dulani was an eyewitness to the hunting at all. State Law Minister Rajendra Rathore said the State government would study the judgment before deciding whether the appeal against it should be filed in the High Court’s Divi-

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Ram Madhav Court, which gave a judgment that raises more questions than it answers. Anyway, those questions will have to be left for posterity, to be answered by the same Supreme Court at a later date. “Politically, we have been proved right by the fact that the Congress had to remove Nabam Tuki as the legislative party leader, and bring in

Pema Khandu, the point of the whole rebellion within the Congress,” he said. “When Pema Khandu sought a vote of confidence, we opposed him, as any Opposition party should.” “Seeing the things there, however, I feel that the story in Arunachal is not over yet fully,” he said. Asked to elaborate on why he felt so, he said, “because I’m again hearing that there are internal problems in the Congress party there.” He did not elaborate on the nature of these problems, just that he “was hearing many things.” On Kashmir On Kashmir, Mr. Madhav said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MP Muzafar Baig’s speech in the Lok Sabha telling of the Central gov-

‘When Pul said most MLAs do not have faith in Tuki, Cong. must have acted to save its govt.’ ernment for killing rather than arresting Burhan Wani who he described as being “no Bin Laden” and constantly under the gaze of the security agencies, had nought to do with the BJP-PDP government in Srinagar. “What does one statement have to do with the alliance?” he asked. “Look, one thing you must understand. There was an operation against a group of terrorists. How to handle the situation when bullets are flying is best understood by people who are on the spot. There was an encounter in

which three terrorists were engaged with security forces. Burhan Wani got killed in that encounter along with the two other terrorists. On the spot whatever the people engaged in the operation were trained to do, they did,” he said. Asked why the State government did not anticipate the backlash of this incident, and the violent protests that followed, he said: “The State government will look into the issues, whether there were lapses in dealing with the situation, but we must compliment them for bringing the situation back to normal in 10-12 days.” According to him, pellet guns had been in use since the 2010 stonepelting incidents. “If there is a review of this situation… we welcome it,” he said.

protest against the draconian law is a great success, as the Chief Justice himself has closed down all the gates of the High Court. We will continue our protest and court boycotts until the new rules are withdrawn.”

New provisions For nearly two months, the advocates have been protesting against the amendments made to the 46-year-old statutory Rules of the High Court. The new provisions included to Rule 14 empower judges to debar advocates who browbeat or abuse judges, lay siege to court halls, tamper with court records, appear in court under the influence of liquor, spread unsubstantiated allegations against judges or accept money either in the name of a judge or on the pretext of influencing him. So far, a court could debar advocates only on the grounds of contempt of court. But the recent amendment empowers the High Court and the Principal District Judges (PDJ) in every district to debar lawyers indulging in

misconduct, such as sending representations to superior courts with unfounded allegations against judges. After a series of protests by the advocates and representations, Chief Justice S.K. Kaul assured the lawyers that no precipitate action would be taken against them under the new rules. The Chief Justice then constituted a five-judge committee to look into the issue and called upon the protesting lawyers to withdraw court boycotts and attend deliberations with the committee. Rejecting his suggestions, the advocates demanded the immediate withdrawal of the rules and abstained from court proceedings, due to which almost all subordinate court proceedings were stalled for over a month. In a bid to intensify their struggle, various Bar associations, including the High Court associations, gave a call to lay siege to the High Court. In view of this, the entire High Court was turned into a fortress, and entry was restricted even for advocates.

SC seeks government, RBI response on Panama papers LEGAL CORRESPONDENT DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and the RBI to file their response in four weeks to a plea seeking a CBI inquiry against Indian ofshore

NEW

bank account holders named in the Panama papers. The government informed a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U.U. Lalit that a group of agencies was looking into disclosures made in the list.

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CRPF to continue using pellet guns Director-General says the force is studying available models to identify less lethal options SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: A day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh concluded his two-day Kashmir visit, the chief of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which is the largest force deployed in civilian areas for controlling law and order, said that though he felt “sorry” for injuries caused to people by use of pellet guns the force would continue to use it in the Valley. K. Durga Prasad, CRPF DG told a press conference here on Monday they were studying the versions of pellet guns available worldwide to identify the less lethal options. Mr. Prasad said: “We feel sorry for the pellet injuries in Kashmir. CRPF personnel have been asked to aim below the knee level. We are ex-

PROTESTS REACH DELHI: Independent MLA Engineer Rashid courting arrest at Kashmir House in New Delhi on Monday during a protest against the action of security forces against civilians to contain the current strife in Kashmir. — PHOTO: V. SUDERSHAN amining versions for pellet guns available worldwide to identify less lethal options.” The oicer said pellet guns were used after all op-

tions were exhausted. “We use pellet guns when the situation is going out of control and where loss of life [of jawans] is imminent. We use

‘Pellet-hit’ images of leaders and stars go viral in Valley “We request everyone to tweet the Kashmir pellet wound posters to the respective celebrities. Push them to speak,” Mr. Nasir tweeted.

PEERZADA ASHIQ SRINAGAR: The morphed imag-

es created by a Pakistani lawyer showing leading Indian figures as hit by pellet guns have gone viral in the Valley, with separatists and their supporters in Kashmir actively sharing them on social media. The brain behind an emotional online campaign launched after the Peshawar school carnage in Pakistan, Mohammed Jibran Nasir, with artists Batool Aqeel and Murtaza Abbas, has morphed photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Kajol and Aishwarya Rai and cricketer Virat Kohli. The portraits, in black and

CM YK

A morphed image of Shah Rukh Khan. white, resemble the pellet victims in the Valley. Each figure has a letter attached to it and addressed either by a pellet victim or a doctor treating such victims, to evoke a mass reaction in Pakistan and the Valley.

Zuckerberg attacked Pakistan artists especially attacked Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, accusing the portal of taking down more than 3,000 posts, including provocative images on Kashmir. “We are sorry we let you down. We tried to post your interviews and pictures of your injuries on Facebook to get the word out, but Facebook keeps on taking them down citing their ‘Community Standards’,” reads a sarcastic letter to the Facebook founder. The images have become instant hit in the turmoil-hit Valley.

them only in extreme situations,” said Mr. Prasad. The oicer informed that during the ongoing Kashmir unrest, which spiralled after

Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani was gunned down in an encounter on July 8, CRPF personnel fired 2223 times from the pellet guns. The guns have been in use in the Valley since 2010 and are manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factory in Ishapore, West Bengal. The CRPF also fired 136 stun grenades to control the people who were pelting stones at the forces. “This is not all. We fired 892 tear smoke grenades, 1048 rubber bullets, 103 multi button shells and 1614 plastic pellets before firing from pellet guns; 4821 smoke shells were also fired to disperse the stone-pelters,” said Mr. Prasad. The oicer said the CRPF would be compensating the 1051 jawans injured in stonepelting incidents.

Geelani, Mirwaiz held; march foiled SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SRINAGAR: The police detained

the separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani on Monday to foil a protest march towards Anantnag district, the epicentre of street violence of the unrest in Kashmir. Mr. Farooq and Mr. Geelani, who remain under house arrest, were detained outside their Srinagar residences when the tried to participate in the march. “People’s right to peaceful assembly and protest should be restored forthwith. The forces should be withdrawn and leadership and people be allowed to visit the families of the martyrs. By adopting an intransigent and rigid approach, New Delhi was just prolonging the crisis and its

They were detained outside their houses as they tried to take out a rally to Anantnag district military and iron fist approach cannot suppress the voice of the people,” the Mirwaiz said. The march call resulted in major clashes in Anantnag, Pulwama and Srinagar districts. “Curfew remains imposed in 12 police stations of Srinagar and towns of Awantipora, Kulgam, Baramulla, Pattan and Anantnag,” said a police spokesman. Seventeen days of curfew have brought the daily life to a grinding halt in the Valley. “Stray stone pelting were reported,” said the police spokesman.

Pranab da held my finger and guided me, says Modi NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi heaped praises on President Pranab Mukherjee, who completed four years in oice on Monday, calling him a “guardian and mentor” who held his finger and guided him on various subjects when he took over as Prime Minister two years ago. “I was new to the world of Delhi. The atmosphere was new to me. On many subjects, the President, like a guardian, a mentor, held my finger and guided me. Very few people are as privileged as I am,” he said while inaugurating the second phase of the Rashtrapati Bhavan museum. Lauding the initiatives tak-

Prime Minister lauds initiatives taken to preserve history at Rashtrapati Bhavan and its restoration en to preserve history at Rashtrapati Bhavan and also its restoration, Mr. Modi said Mr. Mukherjee had given a lot to the nation in his long public life and also to the historic building during his four-year tenure. He said Mr. Mukherjee made Rashtrapati Bhavan a converging point between a common man and the highest seat of power. “Important thing is my political background is difer-

ent, President’s political background is diferent but we can feel every moment in his company how people with diferent political upbringing can work shoulder to shoulder to in democracy,” he said. Mr. Modi said an efort was made that almost all the schemes of his government were implemented in President’s Estate even when some State governments hesitated to announce them. “If there is government of a person of diferent political party yet the schemes of that government becoming schemes of Rashtrapati Bhavan, this greatness can only be shown by Pranab da,” he said. — PTI

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WORLD

Chinese media slams India’s ‘suspicious mind’

Half-brother of Obama to vote for Trump

BEIJING: India’s decision to expel three Chinese journalists has evoked a strong response in China, led by an editorial in the state-run Global Times that warned of “serious consequences” in case New Delhi’s decision was driven by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) issue. The editorial titled, “India’s expulsion of reporters is petty act,” noted that the act of not renewing visas to the three journalists from the Xinhua News Agency “has sent negative messages, and media communications between China and India will inevitably be negatively impacted”. The three journalists whose visas were are not being renewed when they expire on July 31 are: Wu Qiang, Xinhua bureau chief in Delhi; Tang Lu, chief correspondent at the Mumbai bureau; and She Yonggang, the agency’s reporter in Mumbai. The write-up criticised In-

DENIED VISA EXTENSION: She Yonggang, Wu Qiang, and Lu Tang, the expelled Xinhua journalists. — PHOTOS: FACEBOOK dia for having a “suspicious mind”. “No matter whether Chinese reporters apply for a long-term or a temporary journalist visa, they will come across many troubles.” “Complaints about diiculties of acquiring an Indian visa have also been heard from other Chinese who deal with India. In contrast, it’s much easier for Indians to get a Chinese visa.” The editorial also observed that “speculation is swirling that India is taking revenge against China for the

latter’s opposition to India joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)”. “If New Delhi is really taking revenge due to the NSG membership issue, there will be serious consequences.” Negative shadow Some analysts say there is a perception in India that China blocked New Delhi’s entry into the NSG, even though countries including Brazil and Switzerland were also not persuaded about India’s case.

In a conversation with The Hindu, Long Xingchun, Associate Professor at the China West Normal University, pointed out that “till now, we do not know what is the reason for this action, but this casts a negative shadow on India-China relations”. The Global Times observed that by opposing India’s NSG membership, “China is not being disrespectful to India because it obeys the rule that all NSG members are required to be signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty”. While proposing that Beijing “should stick to a friendly strategy toward India”, the daily nevertheless proposed that on “the visa issue, we should take actions to display our reaction. We at least should make a few Indians feel Chinese visas are also not easy to get”. But Professor Long strongly disagreed with the suggestion that China adopt a tit-for-tat approach by expelling Indian journalists from its territory in retaliation against the move.

2 killed in shooting outside Florida club ing up, police, witnesses and the club said. “As the club was closing and parents were picking their children up ... that’s when all this happened,” Club Blu said in a statement.

MIAMI: Two youths were killed and as many as 16 other people injured early on Monday in a shooting outside a Florida nightclub as parents were picking up their children from a “teen night” event. Police in Fort Myers, Florida identified the dead as 14year-old Sean Archilles and 18-year-old Ste’fan Strawder, who was described by local media as a star high school basketball player. A “person of interest” has been detained and two other individuals were being held

for questioning over the shooting at Club Blu, police said.

Turkey targets media in fresh crackdown

‘IS suicide attack’ near German music festival venue injures 15

ANKARA: Turkish authorities on Monday issued arrest warrants for over 40 journalists in a new phase of a crackdown after the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. With Mr. Erdogan seeking to rally national cross-party support for his rule, he hosted two top Opposition leaders for an unprecedented meeting at his presidential palace. Istanbul anti-terror prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 42 journalists as part of the coup investigation, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. Among those targeted were prominent journalist Nazli Ilicak who was fired from the pro-government Sabah daily in 2013 for criticising Ministers caught up in a corruption scandal, it added. Five people have been detained so far although 11 of the suspects are believed to already be outside the country, the Dogan agency said. Other prominent journalists hit with warrants include the news editor of Fox TV in Turkey, Ercan Gun. — AFP

ANSBACH (GERMANY): A Syrian

CM YK

Not an act of terror The motive was not immediately known, but police said in a statement “this incident was not an act of terror”. It came just six weeks after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, the worst massacre on U.S. soil since 9/11. Gunfire erupted at around 12:30 am (0430 GMT) in the club parking lot as a “Swimsuit Glow Party” was break-

asylum seeker who blew himself up outside a German music festival had made a video pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group, authorities said on Monday, in the second attack claimed by the jihadists in Germany in a week. The 27-year-old assailant wounded 15 people, four of them seriously, near a cafe in the southern city of Ansbach on Sunday night when he set of a bomb in his rucksack, killing himself. “A video made by the assailant was found on his mobile phone in which he threatened an attack,” Bavarian State Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told reporters. “After that he announced in the name of Allah that he pledged allegiance to [IS chief] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the well-known Islamist leader, and announced an act of revenge against Germans because they were standing in the way of Islam.” IS later said via the jihadist-linked Amaq news agency that the attacker “was a

14-16 people injured “We are deeply sorry for all involved. We tried to give the teens what we thought was a safe place to have a good time,” it said, adding that there was armed security inside and outside the club. Police said “at least 14-16”

people sustained minor to life-threatening wounds during the episode. A nearby home and vehicles were also shot at, resulting in one minor injury, police said. The area has been deemed safe, but multiple streets were closed. An attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12 left 49 dead in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Police killed the gunman, Omar Mateen, a 29year-old U.S. citizen of Afghan origin, after a threehour standof. — AFP

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

E-mail disclosures cast shadow over Democratic unity VARGHESE K. GEORGE WASHINGTON: The Democratic

Warns of “serious consequences” for the expulsion of three journalists ATUL ANEJA

NOIDA/DELHI

Malik Obama, half-brother of President Barack Obama. NAIROBI: U.S. President Barack Obama’s half-brother, Malik Obama, says he will vote for Republican nominee Donald Trump in the U.S. election in November because he likes the candidate and he is unhappy with his brother’s leadership. Mr. Malik Obama, who is in his 50s, told Reuters by phone from Mr. Obama’s ancestral home of Kogelo in western Kenya that he supports Mr. Trump’s policies, especially his focus on security. “He appeals to me and also I think that he is down to earth and he speaks from the heart and he is not trying to be politically correct. He’s just straight-forward,” he said.

Critical of President Mr. Malik Obama, a U.S. citizen, has lived in Washington since 1985 where he worked with various firms before becoming an independent financial consultant. Mr. Trump’s stance against Muslims coming in to the United States was understandable even to Muslims like himself, he said. “I’m a Muslim, of course, but you can’t have people going around just shooting people and killing people just in the name of Islam,” he said. He criticised President Obama’s record in the White House saying he had not done much for the Americans and his extended family despite the high expectations that accompanied his election in 2008, both in the U.S. and in Kenya. — Reuters

National Convention (DNC) that began on on Monday was meant to be a show of unity between presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. But the grand show could be blighted by recently disclosed emails that suggest that the party leadership had sought to undermine Mr. Sanders’s campaign during the primaries and a CNN opinion poll that showed Ms. Clinton’s popularity at the lowest level. The four-day convention will conclude the nomination process and Ms. Clinton is scheduled to make her acceptance speech on Thursday. President Barack Obama is likely to address the convention on Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump leads Ms. Clinton by three percentage points — 48 to 45 — in two-way matchup in the CNN poll. More disturbing for the Clinton campaign is the finding that her unavoidability rating is going up while Mr. Trump’s favourability rating is heading north. DNC favoured Hillary However, Ms. Clinton’s immediate concern is with regard to the e-mail exchanges between DNC stafers that were leaked last week. The e-mails validate a concern Mr. Sanders had raised throughout the primaries — that the DNC leadership had favoured Ms. Clinton. As Sanders supporters erupted in protest following the disclosures, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned from her post, but not before President Barack Obama nudged her to call it a day on Sunday. There are conflicting reports on whether she would be speaking at the convention, but if she does, there will be some unpleasant moments.

STRONGER TOGETHER: Supporters of Hillary Clinton at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, in June; (below) Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. — PHOTOS: NYT, AFP

CNN opinion poll shows Republican candidate Donald Trump leading Hillary by 3% big businesses — has already strained the fragile peace between Mr. Sanders and Ms. Clinton.

Mr. Sanders, who has endorsed Ms. Schultz’s challenger in the congressional primaries, welcomed her decision to quit, and reiterated his support for Ms. Clinton. In the opening evening of the convention, he is expected to talk about a “new direction” for the party. First Lady Michelle Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren are likely to be the other prime-time speakers on day one. Though Mr. Sanders — increasingly concerned by the rise of Mr. Trump — is expected to ofer Ms. Clinton a full-throated endorsement, the frayed tempers of his supporters may not be easily soothed. Ms. Clinton’s decision to pick Virginia Senator Tim Kaine — a supporter of free trade and connected to

United against Trump The Democratic convention may thus end up being a mirror image of the Republican Convention last week, wherein the enemy is the only unifying factor at an otherwise fractious gathering. The Clinton campaign has blamed Russian hackers for the e-mail leak, and suggested that it might be an attempt to help Mr. Trump. Smelling blood, Mr. Trump has moved in to provoke the supporters of Mr. Sanders. “The Democrats are in a total meltdown but the biased media will say how great they are doing!” he said on Twitter. “E-mails say the rigged system is alive & well!” As questions about the “gifts” received by Mr. Kaine from business houses surface, Mr. Trump has nicknamed him “corrupt Kaine”, repeating a tactic that paid of during the primary campaign.

ACT OF TERROR? Special police officers arrive at the scene of the explosion in Ansbach, Germany, on Monday. — PHOTO: AP soldier of the Islamic State” who had acted “in response to calls to target nations in the coalition fighting” the extremists. Germany was already reeling after four passengers and a passer-by were wounded in an axe attack on a train in Wuerzburg on July 18 which IS also claimed. Then on Friday, nine people were killed in a shopping centre shooting spree in Munich by a German-Iranian teenager. Police said the Syrian man

intended to target the openair festival attended by 2,500 people but was turned away as he did not have a ticket, and detonated the device outside a nearby cafe. The attacker, who came to Germany two years ago but had his asylum claim rejected after a year, had tried to kill himself twice in the past and had spent time in a psychiatric clinic. He was already known to police, having been linked to a drug-related ofence. — AFP ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

The smartphone explosion will usher in a new era in digital payments in India Alpesh Shah, MD, Boston Consulting Group

BRIEFLY G20 growth promise keeps world shares near 9-month high LONDON: World shares held near

nine-month highs on Monday after G20 finance chiefs said over the weekend they would use “all policy tools” to lift global growth. The signals helped European stocks climb over 0.5 per cent as takeover activity also continued in the U.K. gambling sector and talk of record profits at Ryanair helped dispel some of the recent gloom surrounding airlines. Backsliding oil prices held back commodity firms and some emerging markets, however, meaning MSCI's All World index failed to get over the peaks it scaled last week. — Reuters

Sovereign gold bonds: NSE gets bids worth Rs.106 crore NEW DELHI: Leading bourse

National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday said it had received about 341 kg worth of subscription bids valuing over Rs.106 crore for the fourth tranche of the sovereign gold bond scheme. Bids for the bonds issued by RBI on behalf of the Central government were received during the 5-day window that ended on July 22. “An initial estimate shows that the total collection stands at 341.6 kg and is worth Rs 106.5 crore. The numbers are subject to verification by RBI and other authorities,” NSE said in a statement. — PTI

Govt. invites merchant bankers to manage NBCC share sale NEW DELHI: The Centre has kick

started the process to sell 15 per cent stake in NBCC and has invited merchant bankers to manage the share sale. The government will appoint up to three merchant bankers for the share issue, which could fetch about Rs. 2,200 crore to the ex-chequer at the current market price. The government is also considering allotting shares to eligible NBCC employees at a discount of 5 per cent to the issue price up to a maximum of 0.75 per cent of the OFS size. The employees will be eligible to apply for shares up to Rs. 2 lakh. — PTI

Exchange Rates Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m on July 25

Currencies U.S. Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Jap Yen (100 Units) Chinese Yuan Swiss Franc Singapore Dollar Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swedish Kroner Danish Kroner New Zealand Dollar Hongkong Dollar Malaysian Ringgit Kuwaiti Dinar UAE Dirham Bahraini Dinar Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal Omani Riyal

TT TT Buying Selling 67.15 67.47 73.74 74.09 88.11 88.54 63.21 63.51 10.05 10.10 68.05 68.38 49.32 49.57 50.23 50.47 50.96 51.21 7.75 7.79 9.91 9.96 46.93 47.15 8.66 8.70 16.50 16.58 220.51 223.02 18.28 18.37 177.82 178.90 18.49 18.50 17.96 17.97 174.37 175.27

Source: Indian Bank

Bullion Rates July 25 rates in rupees with previous rates in brackets

Chennai Bar Silver (1 kg) Retail (1 g) 24 ct gold (10 g) 22 ct gold (1 g) Delhi Silver Standard gold Sovereign

47,195 50.50 31,185 2,916

(47,420) (50.70) (31,300) (2,927)

45,880 30,680 23,400

(46,125) (30,750) (23,500)

SENSEX

GOLD

RUPEE

25-07-2016 28,096 22-07-2016 27,803

25-07-2016 30,680 23-07-2016 30,750

25-07-2016 67.35 22-07-2016 67.08

293 points

Verizon to acquire Yahoo’s core business The $4.83 bn deal will help Verizon add to media business NEW YORK: Verizon Communi-

cations Inc. said on Monday it would buy Yahoo Inc.’s core Internet properties for $4.83 billion in cash to expand its digital advertising and media business, ending a lengthy sale process for the fading Web pioneer. The purchase will boost Verizon’s AOL Internet business, which it bought last year for $4.4 billion, as it gains access to Yahoo’s ad technology tools, BrightRoll and Flurry, and search, mail and messenger assets. “Yahoo gives us scale that is what is most critical here,” Marni Walden, who is head of product innovation and new business at Verizon told CNBC, adding that the company’s audience would go from the millions to the billions. “We want to compete and that is the place we need to be.” CEO to stay? In a Tumblr blog post, Yahoo Chief Executive Oicer Marissa Mayer said she planned to stay at Yahoo, but Mr. Walden, who will head the combined company, told CNBC that the new leadership team was yet to be determined. “It’s a decade of mismanagement that has finally ended for Yahoo,” said Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner. “It’s the continuation of an extension of Verizon’s strategy toward becoming a wireless internet player and a move away from (telecom) regulation for Verizon into an unregulated growth industry.” The deal, expected to close in early 2017, marks the end of Yahoo as an operating

GAME-CHANGER: With this deal, Verizon gains access to Yahoo’s ad tools, search, mail and messenger assets. — PHOTO: REUTERS company, leaving it with a 15 per cent stake in Chinese ecommerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and a 35.5 per cent interest in Yahoo Japan Corp. Verizon, the No. 1 U.S. wireless operator, has in recent years looked to mobile video and advertising for new sources of revenue in an oversaturated wireless market. It has also scaled back on its Fios TV and Internet service. Verizon could combine data from AOL and Yahoo users in addition to its more than 100 million wireless customers to create data to help advertisers specifically target users based on online behaviour and preferences. Yahoo will continue as an independent company until the deal receives shareholder and regulatory approvals, the companies said. The sale does not include Yahoo’s cash, its shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., shares in Yahoo Japan, Ya-

hoo’s convertible notes, certain minority investments or Yahoo’s non-core patents. The Alibaba and Yahoo Japan investments are worth about $40 billion in terms of their market capitalisations, while Yahoo had a market value of about $37.4 billion as of Friday’s close. Verizon prevailed over rival bidders for Yahoo, including AT&T Inc.; a group led by Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert and backed by billionaire Warren Buffett; private equity firm TPG Capital Management LP; and a consortium of buyout firms Vector Capital and Sycamore Partners. Price tag Analysts at Mizuhou said the deal’s price tag was largely in line with expectations at $5 billion. Under pressure from activist investor Starboard Value LP, Yahoo launched an auction of its core business after shelving plans to spin of its stake in Alibaba. — Reuters

Telecom panel fixes minimum spectrum usage charge at 3% SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Telecom Com-

mission on Monday stuck to its position in favour of using a weighted average formula to calculate the annual fee that telecom companies pay for using airwaves. However, it has decided to fix a minimum rate of three per cent of a company’s adjusted gross revenue as spectrum usage charge (SUC), in

a bid to move towards a uniform rate for all players. Cabinet approval The Cabinet approval on the decision will be sought next week, a senior telecom ministry oicial said post the meeting. The Telecom Commission had earlier approved the use of the weighted average formula for calculating the SUC based on total spectrum

Measures to curb call drops satisfactory: Minister SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Telecom operators have set up 48,000 new base transceiver stations (BTS) in the last 45 days as part of eforts to curb call drops, according to Manoj Sinha, Minister for Communications (Independent Charge). While progress made by telecom service providers in improving the quality of service was satisfactory, the improvement had to be felt by customers as well, the Minister said on Monday following his first meeting with

telecom operators. “Telecom was a success story… but has been marred by black spots. We want to make telecom a success story again. “The progress on targets given to telecos is satisfactory but this should also be felt by the consumers,” he said. He said initiatives to improve customer experience should encompass data services also. “We are not anywhere close to the experience required for the success of the Digital India initiative,” he said.

holding of the operator. To protect government revenues, of about Rs.7,500 crore from SUC, it was also decided the operators will have to pay as SUC a minimum floor price, which would be the latest charges paid by the company. It was also decided that for the auctions to be held later this year, the SUC will be imposed at three per cent. With the weighted average, the usage charges in percentage terms would come down for spectrum in the 2300 MHz band, bought in the 2010 auctions. Airtel's SUC will fall from 4.9 per cent to 3.8 per cent. Reliance Jio will pay about 3 per cent instead of about 5 per cent. The Union Cabinet had last month decided to refer back the issue of SUC to TRAI for its recommendations. The regulator had said that the weighted average formula, as suggested by the telecom department, for calculating the annual charge that operators pay to use airwaves “is at best a temporary solution”, and had proposed its own formula to calculate the SUC. TRAI has been pitching for a flat SUC. However, the telecom department was unable to make any changes towards a flat SUC after objections from the Auditor-General.

U.S. asks India to remove duties, ‘barriers’ on ICT items SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The U.S. has asked

India to eliminate customs duties on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) items, a top oicial said. “We are asking India to eliminate customs duties on ICT products,” said Ambassador Robert Holleyman, Deputy US Trade Representative. He was speaking at an event organised by the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank. The demand comes ahead of the bilateral Strategic and Commercial Dialogue slated for next month. The U.S. also urged India CM YK

The demand comes ahead of the bilateral Strategic and Commercial Dialogue to do away with the requirement that ICT products — including those imported — must be “tested” at Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-approved labs and later obtain a registration number from the BIS before they can be sold in India. Trade pact Ambassador Holleyman said the U.S. was also working with India on the imple-

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BUSINESS

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mentation of the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on goods “to ensure free flow of ICT products.” The TFA on goods aims to ease customs norms to expedite the flow of global merchandise trade. Ambassador Holleyman said another ICT issue the U.S. “cares most about” was India’s order on Compulsory Registration (CR) of ICT products. Though the ICT products, including those from the U.S., conform to all the international norms, he said under CR, they must be re-tested at Indian laboratories (BIS-approved). “We are en-

couraging India to eliminate these requirements,” he said. Improving potential The U.S.-India ‘Strategic and Commercial Dialogue’ is a forum to discuss bilateral issues with an aim to boost economic growth, generate jobs and improve the investment climate in both countries. Ambassador Holleyman suggested that India should capitalise on an export-led growth strategy as it can improve the country’s potential in the ICT sector. He said though India’s domestic market is worth about $65 billion it is still small compared to the global ICT market worth $2 trillion.

70

₨/10 gms

BRENT OIL 0.27 ₨/$

25-07-2016 45.23 22-07-2016 45.62

0.39 $/bbl

Essar Ports to expand Hazira terminal capacity

‘GST Bill to be moved only after finance ministers meet’

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI: Essar Ports has announced plans to expand the capacity of its bulk terminal at Hazira, Gujarat, with an investment of Rs.750 crore. The berth at this terminal is being expanded by a further 1,100 metres to accommodate the steady growth in cargo throughput at the port, the company said. With the expansion, the capacity of the Hazira terminal will increase from the existing 30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 50 MTPA. After the expansion, the port will be able to simultaneously handle 7 vessels. Capt. S. Das, Chief Executive Oicer, Essar Bulk Terminal, said: “The expanded terminal, besides meeting the enhanced requirements of Essar Steel will also cater to our growing volumes of third-party cargo.”

NEW DELHI: The Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST Bill) will be taken up in Parliament only after a meeting between the Union Finance Minister and his State counterparts scheduled for Tuesday, said Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Finance. “We have full confidence that the GST Bill will be passed,” Mr. Meghwal told the media during a seminar on Income Declaration Scheme organised by the PHD Chambers. “The State Finance Ministers are meeting the (Union) Finance Minister and after the meeting it will be put in front of Parliament,” he said. On the Income Declaration Scheme, Rani Singh Nair, Member, Central Board of Direct Taxes, said the assertion that the 45 per cent rate in the scheme was too high was incorrect.“If honest

Arjun Ram Meghwal taxpayers are paying 35 per cent and then if the government charges those who have not so far disclosed their incomes a rate lower than this, then what is the incentive for people to be honest?” Ms. Nair asked. One of the biggest fears in the scheme is that the government will target those who come forward, something various oicials in the gov-

ernment vehemently denied time and again. “While the government might say that it will not disclose the information, what is the guarantee that it won’t come out anyway in a leak to the media, for example?” asked Ajay Bahl, Partner, AZB & Partners.“We do not want to create an environment of fear. We used to say it orally that we won’t share the information disclosed in the scheme and that we won’t harass those declaring. Now we have given it in writing as well,” said Mr. Meghwal. “I don’t think in the history of the Income Tax Department has tax collection been stretched out over two years and that too, without interest,” Ms.Nair said, referring to the recently-announced new deadlines for the Scheme which pushes the final date for payment of the tax and fine to September 2017.

ITC appoints Sanjiv Puri as new COO KOLKATA: The board of ITC

Mr. Puri joined ITC in 1986 quitting the erstwhile Telco where he was a trainee.

Ltd. has re-designated Executive Director Sanjiv Puri as the Chief Operating Oicer of the company with immediate efect. The 53-year old Mr. Puri was brought on ITC’s Board in December 2015 in a move that was seen as part of Chairman Y. C. Deveshwar’s succession- planning. Mr. Deveshwar is stepping down as Executive Chairman of ITC in February next year, after an over two-decade stint as Chairman. He will continue as Non-Executive Chairman for at least three years thereafter. However, although last

Led FMCG Prior to his appointment as Director, he was President of the FMCG businesses since December 2014. In addition, he has been closely involved with the tobacco division, ITC Infotech, and ITA Surya Nepal with which he was associated for five years. Company sources said that Mr. Puri became Divisional Chief Executive of the Tobacco Division in 2009, handling additionally the charge of ITC’s Trade Marketing and Distribution function. He led ITC Infotech India Ltd., a wholly

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

RBI slaps Rs.27 cr. penalty on 13 banks MANOJIT SAHA MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs.27 crore on 13 banks, including HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank, for violating several norms such as those for know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML), top central banking sources told The Hindu. Some of the lenders have informed the stock exchanges about the central bank’s decision. HDFC Bank – the second largest private sector lender in the country – said RBI had carried out a scrutiny of the transactions related to advance import remittances and had issued a show-cause notice. HDFC Bank was fined Rs.2 crore. Action plan “The bank has implemented a comprehensive corrective action plan, to strengthen internal controls and mechanisms so as to ensure such incidents do not recur,” HDFC Bank said. Bank of Baroda faced a penalty of Rs.5 crore after RBI found irregularities related to a Rs.6,100-crore scam that was unearthed last year in some of the bank’s branches in New Delhi. “Pursuant to the internal audit of the Bank of Baroda, RBI and investigative agencies in October 2015 were advised by the Bank of certain irregularities observed,” Bank of Baroda said. “The RBI carried out the investigation and noted the deficiencies which were reflective of weaknesses and failures in internal control mechanisms in respect of certain AML provisions such as monitoring of transactions, timely reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit and assigning of Unique Customer Identification Code to customers,” the bank added. Another public sector lender Delhi-based Punjab National Bank was fined Rs.3 crore. Though the amount of penalty is not material to the size of the bank, reporting is done in terms of SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015, PNB said.

Sanjiv Puri week’s AGM was Mr. Deveshwar’s last as Executive Chairman, he did not make a mention about top-level appointments at the time. The company announced Mr. Puri’s appointment in a stock exchange filing on Monday. An IIT Kanpur alumnus,

owned subsidiary, as its Managing Director between May 2006 and August 2009. He was responsible for diversifying ITC’s operations into apparel retail and exports. Mr. Puri is poised to take charge at a time when there is increased regulatory pressure on cigarettes. FMCG sales have recovered during the first quarter although hotel and paper business have disappointed. Analyst firms declined comment on this announcement at this juncture even as ITC shares gained 0.7 per cent on the BSE to close at Rs.251.30 and rose 0.8 per cent on the NSE to close at Rs.252.

INTERVIEW  D. SUBBARAO

Do not bureaucratise selection of RBI governor Former RBI governor D. Subbarao, whose tellall memoir ‘Who moved my interest rate?’ was recently released spoke to Manojit Saha. Edited Excerpts:

framework, about which you had had reservations as a governor…

• What is your view on a committee, headed by the cabinet secretary, being set up for identifying the RBI Governor? Certainly, it is good to have a committee process to identify and shortlist candidates for the position of the Governor. However, to treat the Governor simply as a regulator would be inappropriate because RBI is also the monetary authority. It is okay to appoint a search panel with eminent experts to shortlist candidates, for the finance minister and the prime minister to decide. I don’t think it is advisable to bureaucratise the selection of the governor and treat him just like a regulator because the Governor is more than a regulator. We cannot leave it to the bureaucracy to identify candidates for the RBI Governor.

• You wrote about the uneasy relationship with finance ministers in the book. Have you felt that the government was trying to undermine the autonomy of the RBI? Yes, that was the feeling I had, especially, as I wrote in the book, the activities of the financial services department of the finance ministry, trespassing on regulatory turf, that was certainly undermining RBI. To some extent that uneasy relationship between the government and the central bank is inherent in the growth – inflation dynamics; that the government always focusses on growth while the central

bank always focusses on long-term price sustainability. What is important in our context is how the tensions are managed.

• Should the current Governor Raghuram Rajan have been given a five-year term? Certainly yes, he has done very well. He has enhanced the credibility of RBI.

• Do you think the setting up of a Monetary Policy Committee can ease the tension? It can go both ways. In some sense it can reduce the tension, because RBI can always push back against pressures saying we have to deliver on the target. Therefore, it gives some additional leeway for RBI to ascertain its point of view. On the other hand, RBI with a single-minded focus on delivering on inflation targets can hurt growth prospects. Therefore it needs a balanced and mature approach. I believe the monetary policy committee is a good institutional arrangement, that you shift the decision-making from the governor as an individual to the committee.

• RBI has moved towards an inflation-targeting

Some of the facts that were behind my reservations have changed. For example, we now have single CPI index today for the country, which acts as an anchor for the monetary policy. Administered interestrate regime has now come down because interest rates on small savings are now anchored to the yields on government securities. The government is showing commitment to fiscal consolidation. But I continue to believe that delivering on inflation targets will be a challenge for the RBI.

• Will the new governor face pressure from the government, as you did, to cut interest rates? Quite possible. The new governor should keep an open mind, should listen to all stakeholders, including the government and make a professional decision which he believes is in the larger public interest.

• Why do you think autonomy for a central bank is important? Central bank autonomy is important because the primary mandate of the central bank is price stability. Price stability is a necessary condition for longterm, sustainable growth. But maintaining price stability requires sacrifice of growth for the shortterm. Politicians in a democracy, driven by democratic compulsions, may not agree to sacrificing growth. So you need a central bank that is autonomous and free of political compulsions and to take a long-term view in order to achieve macroeconomic stability.

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Re-imagining mental disorders Lack of a real understanding of the chemistry of mental illnesses invariably leads to misconceptions on how to deal with them BINDU MENON

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y friend S. has a problem. He sufers from depression and is on treatment, but that is not his real problem. His problem is dealing with well-meant advice from his circle of friends and family, including his wife. From yoga to naturopathy, from faith-healing to astrology, he has had to fend of umpteen unwanted suggestions. To top it all, he is looked down upon as a failure; a person who could not ‘keep it together’. Reactions have varied from genuine concern to condescension to downright mockery disguised as sympathy. Even his wife thinks he would be better of with some ‘counselling’. Someone who has Parkinson’s disease or has sufered a stroke is considered genuinely ill, while psychiatric illness is considered purely an imaginary ailment that somehow is brought upon oneself by the suferer. Why is it so diicult to consider mental illness as any other disease? There are many reasons for this. For one, psychiatry is a late admission to the ranks of medical specialities. Though psychiatry had its origins in neurology with Jean-Martin Charcot, Sigmund Freud and his seminal work on hysteria and the unconscious mind, they parted company almost immediately. The mind-brain dichotomy only added to the confusion. The mind was considered as the province of the philosopher, the theologian and now the psychologist, who did not have to be a specialist in medicine. Psychiatry suddenly became

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN

alien to the rest of medical science. Medical students are taught even today the extreme fallacy that psychiatric disorders are ‘functional’, for which no causative factors can be found in the body in terms of an altered physical structure or physiological state. But time and again, neurological and medical disorders as well as the efects of certain drugs that cause psychiatric symptoms have provided us tantalising clues about the origins of mental illness. It would be truer to say that psychiatric disorders are as yet incompletely understood subtle alterations in the brain, perhaps on a molecular level, which

result in behavioural symptoms, which we are unable to pick up by means of crude investigative tools. The second reason for the confusion is that anxiety, sadness and mood changes are all normally experienced by us. However, pathological anxiety and clinical depression are very different in qualitative and quantitative terms. They are just not more of the same. Normal means to tackle a low mood, like being with a friend or listening to one’s favourite music or a mental pep talk, may not really work. The suferer ends up feeling that he must be a really bad person because he is unable to take the advice of

loved ones and appreciate their attempts to make him feel better. Adding to all this is the anti-psychiatry lobby: it believes that the concept of psychiatric illness itself is a myth and that psychiatric illness is a label given to a non-conformist by an insensitive and intolerant society. Try telling that to the relative of the actively hallucinating schizophrenic! The most pernicious are those who propagate the notion that psychiatric illness can be treated without drugs. It is true that psychiatric medicines have side-efects and that sometimes only a partial control of symptoms is possible, but many have been able to

lead productive lives because of them. Psychiatry is still in its infancy and research is limited by the fact that we really have no animal models for psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia as many of the illness experiences are subjective. The fact is that like the universe, the human mind still remains uncharted territory. Psychiatry is only incompletely understood by other medical specialities and completely misunderstood by the layman, many of who still have some vague, distorted or watereddown notions about the unconscious mind. I have relatives of patients asking me to counsel and remove the bad hidden stuf to bring them back to normal. They see the illness as some kind of abscess to be lanced perhaps! The brain is now being understood as a dynamic and plastic organ that continues to modify itself in response to the internal (bodily) and external (social and psychological) environment. Though neurons or brain cells do not actively divide, they strengthen their connections by forming newer and newer connections with neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin being responsible for the cross-talk through these connections. It is when wrong connections are made that you get psychiatric illness. This is the hardware on which drugs and electroconvulsive therapy act. The software is the programming that goes into us from the social, family, educational and other life experiences including psychotherapy, or even a profound spiritual experience. [email protected]

To save the donkey The steep learning curve

Driving lessons alone cannot take you very far on the road; you will only drive people nuts

HABEEB AHAMED

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irth and merriment have a bad name among the sober folks, but so do ultra-sober people among the merry. Undeniably, people sometimes laugh in contempt, and enjoy the ridiculousness of ridiculous people because they themselves come of well by contrast. But to say that all humour is invidiously self-gratifying is to feed on too narrow a diet of examples. Many cases of amusement cannot be convincingly assimilated to the superiority model. We often make fun of people not out of joy over our superiority over them, but to include them in our social circle. When people meet they talk on their varied interests. It is the mark of garrulity to babble in vain and pointlessly and fruitlessly to waste time; it is a part of social meetings. But no one would wish to submit to the tyranny and tolerate nonsense of all kinds. During one such meeting I was asked why I am wearing the sweater. It was too silly of him to ask. Perhaps, he might have run out of subjects to initiate a conversation. But the proclamation was too cacophonous to bear. As though wearing a sweater is proscribed. Why does one wear it? Definitely not for the heck of it, either a dip in the barometer or a rise in the thermometer would have prompted that decision. Sense & nonsense By the way, anybody can talk common sense, but a few talk nonsense well. Common sense conversations on common-sense matters are gifts for anybody with any intellect at all – of any man not an idiot or not insane. Everybody is forever talking common sense and so it becomes familiar, just as everybody can talk cinema and poli-

tics, who can talk of nothing else. But skilful, graceful and elegant nonsense demands education, wit and wisdom. How a few can trifle gracefully! While talking, meandering is common. Sometimes people jump the subject and swoop directly to a personal attack. Someone said my foot resembles that of tribal people. Shockingly, I gaped at my foot, expecting my foot to have turned to my back. It was offensive. In fact, the tribal people are not witches to have their foot turned to their back with long dreaded nails and pelt like apes. They too are normal human being. Perhaps they may have squat, stout, long or elongated feet. I was flabbergasted to know what impelled him to pass the comment. Some people resort to very silly pranks and pounce at the poise of the other person. Distinguishing trait Yes, talking nonsense is the sole privilege mankind possesses over the organisms. Strictly speaking, it is a weakness. Many a times, people, in order to deal with their low self-esteem, install a superiority complex to counter their inferiority complex. They bask in the glory of the reflected light of their inflated knowledge. Defensively, it is a ‘magnified’ self-image of them to compensate for their low self-esteem. A strategic folly of such fickle minds is enough to drive sane people mad. Succumb not to them, mind you; they belong to the descendents of the sect of people who initiated the historical father-son duo to carry the donkey with its legs tied over a bridge and dropped in a lake. Be careful of them; pack your cards well on time and save the donkey. [email protected]

SAVITRI KRISHNAMURTY

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don’t believe people easily nowadays. My recent experiences have made me a sceptic. I took my friend’s advice when she said the solution to all my problems was to learn driving. My life was one of complete dependence: on my husband, the autorickshaw driver and the weather. She said I could break free if I learnt to drive. I believed her when she said it was a simple thing; it would take just a couple of days before I could zoom around on my own. I believed her. I also believed the driving instructor when he said driving was only a matter of spending 3000 rupees and 15 half-hour sessions at his school. Well, I don’t believe them or anyone else anymore. After 150 half-hour sessions and much more than 3000 rupees down the road, I still am not ‘fit’ to drive. Of course I drive; I drive people nuts as I negotiate the bends and curves and potholes on the road. The other day I had to go out to get some medicines. I mustered enough courage to back the car out of the garage (without hitting any person, place or thing) and drove out. So far, so good. But as I took a ‘U’ turn the car just jerked to a stop, casing a minor traic jam, a major cacophony of blaring horns and screeching brakes. I think (and I am not sure about this) I did not press the clutch suiciently as I slowed down for the turn. Today I ventured out a second time on my own. I realised as I parked in the marketplace that I had travelled a good 10 km with the handbrake on. It sent shivers down my spine. What ef-

Nobody tells you that road sense is a rare commodity and it deserts all drivers, the good, the bad and the learner, amid peak traffic

ILLUSTRATION: SREEJITH R. KUMAR

fect it had on the engine of my car will be known pretty soon. I have stuck an “L” sign wherever I can on my car, leaving just enough space to view the traic in the rearview mirror. I just have a queer feeling that whenever I go on the road the rest of the traic seems to disperse. I seem to evoke strong feelings of fear, rage, wariness and frustration among all my fellow-drivers on the road. When I enrolled in driving school, they never told me that the dual-control training cars are very diferent from real-life cars. When you sit in the

training car you feel you are in control. You cruise through the traic without a hitch and feel like a Lewis Hamilton at the end of it all. The real controller It was only when I sat in my own car that I discovered that the car controls you. You have to press the clutch with the right amount of force, otherwise the gear turns an obstinate mule and refuses to come to position. You realise that the accelerator is handin-glove with the clutch and betrays you at the right moment. It also demands that you handle it with care. There is, of course, the automatic version for fools like me. But it is a fuel-guzzler and it will take some convincing to get my husband to buy one of those modern wonders for me. I have to first prove I am worthy of it. My biggest grouse against driving: nobody tells you that road sense is a rare commodity and deserts all — the good, bad and learner — drivers at peak traic time. It deserted me when I stepped on the brake on seeing a truck quite a distance away and caused the motorcyclist at the back to fall and break a leg. I was advised to learn the diference between the accelerator and brake pedal before I ventured out again. Thankfully, this incident happened in a gentle neighborhood. Had it been in the glorious capital of our nation, I would have been a victim of (justified) road rage! I shall overcome some day and drive: this I know deep down in my heart. It is the efect of this solemn resolve on the general public that I am unaware of. My experience suggests it may not bode well for the public in general. Why drive myself nuts worrying about them?

The paths to safe driving A.R.S. MANI

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t was in Luanshya, a small and beautiful coppermining town in Zambia, that I took my first driving lesson of any sort. To know how to ride a bicycle would be the bare minimum, one might think. But not for me. During my school days I enjoyed the luxury of pillion-riding courtesy of my neighbour and my classmate. I had a friend who enjoyed a similar privilege and we ignored the snide remarks passed at us for not learning the simple task of riding a bicycle. We encouraged each other saying we would learn to drive a car by ourselves one day. I never imagined it would come true in a foreign land. I was driven around for a few days, after which the driver was withdrawn and I was told to drive by myself. Imagine my shock! Upon my confessing that I did not know driving, a Zambian colleague came forward to teach me. He was extremely nice and warm, as most Zambians are, and assured me that in a week’s time he would make me a good driver. He tossed the keys to me and asked me to take the driver’s seat, and he seated himself in the front seat. I asked him if there is an additional brake on his side, which I had seen in learners’ cars in India. But he goaded me to start the car and start moving. After fumbling with the key, brake, clutch and the accelerator for some time, I finally got going. Luanshya had very few roads and the Bombay airport’s bus tarmac would be busier than the Luanshya roads. I drove on the empty roads like the film heroines in the old black and white movies. I am a good singer too! In a week’s time I was ready for the test, or so thought my coach. On the appointed The lessons that day, with the traffic occupying this dutiful and inspector the front seat, I tough driving started my drive and inspector taught, went around the roads as per his were for life instructions without any hiccup. As I was negotiating a steep stretch, the inspector asked me to stop the vehicle balancing on the clutch and the accelerator and without using the hand-brake. I tried as hard as I could, but the car rolled back swiftly. As a kid, I had enjoyed sliding down on the slider backwards. He failed me and asked me to come again after more practice. The second time everything was fine until it came to reverse parking, arguably the toughest part of the driving test. Two drums were kept at a distance from each other, only a few inches wider than the width of the car. First I tried from the right-hand side and hit one of the drums, and then from the left-hand side I hit the other one. The inspector looked horrified. Immediately I knew something was wrong and asked him timidly if I was supposed to hit both the drums all at once. Staring at me, he got into the car and asked me to drive. He pointed to a parking lot at a distance and asked me to do parallel parking. I was hearing that term for the first time, but did not have the courage to ask him. I drove further up and parked adjacent to the car that was already parked and looked at him triumphantly. He was baffled and said, ‘You are blocking the road. Park properly’. Seeing no action, he got out and walked away. The art of parking I then spent another week learning the art of all kinds of parking. In my next round of testing, everything went off well and seeing a smile of approval on the face of the inspector, I said – third time lucky for me. “Maybe,” he said, “but it is not over yet. You still need to take a viva voce on traffic rules.” Fortunately I was well-prepared and finally cleared the toughest examination in my life. A few days later, after collecting my driving licence I asked the inspector why he had made it so difficult for me. He looked deep into my eyes and said, “Look Mani, if I give you the licence when you are not yet ready for it, I will put not only your life but also your family’s life at risk.” Profound words indeed! They ring loud in my ears whenever I read news items involving road accidents. Today, if I consider myself a safe driver, it is because of that dutiful and tough, yet affable, Zambian traffic inspector. [email protected]

[email protected]

Going ‘yellow collar’, and doing what your heart tells you to RASHMI RAMESH

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ccording to Forbes, 81 per cent of the people in the world today hate the jobs they are in. Which means only 19 per cent of them have made the right career choices. According to the All India Council for Technical Education, between 2012 and 2015 as much as 44 per cent to 47 per cent of engineering graduates across India were placed in jobs that were not necessarily jobs they loved. In India, almost half the population is today below the age of 21, which means that one day in the future some 60 crore of our youth would have made the wrong decision and ended up in the wrong career. Which would mean more and more people would hate their Mondays, and look forward only to the weekends. I was facing the same conundrum of whether or not to continue in my career as an Information Technology professional when I recently picked

Career choices ought to be about pursuing passions, so your life is built around those passions and a career is built around them up this book, I Love Mondays, by Mala Mary Martina. It talks about these new-age careers that people have taken up and pursued. The author calls them Yellow Collar Careers. She talks about doing what you love. Thus to avoid the Monday blues and instead turn them yellow by pursuing your own passion. As I read about a lot of celebrities and also ordinary people who are happy living their life of choice, a life that they built around pursuing their passion and successfully making it a career, I wanted to know more about these Yellow Collar Careers. Working on a yellow collar career, as the book told me, doesn’t mean that if I love

music and want to make it a career I have to become the next A.R. Rahman. In fact, there are so many careers surrounding music that I can get into, such as being a sound/acoustics engineer, a record producer or a folly engineer. These careers were never in my list of career possibilities. I had come to believe after years of conditioning that the engineering degree I got was meant to get me into an IT company that would pay me well but would provide me no real happiness. Since coding to me simply was a means to make money and not something I was happy doing. The choice The more I delved into the concept of yellow collar careers, the more it made sense to me. Instead of leading a life of complaining and whining, I could put my talents to good use while earning enough to support myself. If I wouldn’t want a doctor who didn’t want to be a doctor to treat me,

or let a tailor who hated his job to make a dress for me, then why should I be in a job I don’t want to be in? More reasons I went through the TEDx talk the author had given and discovered even more reasons why I should start doing what I love. The next generation of careers would need people who can be creative, instead of those who simply try to do what a machine can accomplish more quickly and with better accuracy. I did not want to be replaced by a computer. And hence I have decided to change the direction of my career and work on something that’ll use my communication skills. So go ahead and choose your own life to live like I am planning to. Or in the words of the author, “We anyways have to think, Why not think big? We anyways have to work, Why not do what we love?” [email protected]

Contributions to this page may be e-mailed to [email protected] to a length of up to 700 words. Please provide the postal address and a brief description of the writer. An e-mail id that is provided could be considered for publication. Certify in writing that it is original material; The Hindu views plagiarism as a serious issue. Also confirm that the submission is exclusive to this page. Taking into account the volume of material being received, we regret our inability to acknowledge receipt, or to entertain telephonic or other queries on the status of a submission. If a submission is not published within eight weeks, consider it to be out of the reckoning — in most cases owing to dearth of space. The publication of an article is not to be seen as The Hindu endorsing the viewpoint in any way.

CM YK

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SPORT

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Telecast schedule

New beginning

Sri Lanka vs Australia: 1st Test, TEN 3 & TEN 1 HD, 10 a.m. ProKabaddi League: STAR Sports 2, 3 & HD 2 & 3, 7.50 쑺 p.m. & 9 p.m.

The Wimbledon loss cannot overshadow the results that I’ve had in the past 15 months. Now, 쑺 it’s a new beginning — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic looks forward to a busy season which has both the Olympics and the US Open.

Seven Russian swimmers banned

On my terms This journey has been incredible. Being able to fall in love with the sport again is something that I’ve always wanted to do, and I did it on my terms — Michael Phelps, who will be competing in his fifth Olympics, on his comeback.

In the fall-out of the expose of Russia’s state-run 쑺 doping programme, swimming’s governing body, FINA, on Monday, banned seven Russians from competing at Rio.

Champion Indian shooters primed to come out firing With the gold standard set in 2008, a battery of classy marksmen and women will be eager to prove its class KAMESH SRINIVASAN

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ndian shooters are poised for a striking performance in Rio! Having won four medals in the last three Olympics, out of the 12 that Indian athletes have accounted for since Leander Paes’s tennis bronze in Atlanta in 1996, Indian shooting has in-

variably stood at the top of Indian sport in recent times. Anjali Bhagwat making the women’s air rifle final in Sydney in 2000, Abhinav Bindra taking baby steps then and launching himself decisively for the gold in Beijing, the path-breaking silver by Rajya-

vardhan Singh Rathore at Athens, the dark-horse performance by Vijay Kumar for the silver in London, and the fighting bronze by the much accomplished Gagan Narang, again in London in 2012, have projected a positive image of Indian shooting. Bindra and Narang will lead the challenge at Rio as they compete in their fifth and fourth Olympics respectively. Both have the will to conjure up a medal on their day, though their methods may vary. Jitu Rai, the army marksman of Nepalese origin, is the cynosure of all eyes. The Olympic medal is the only one missing from his rich collection as he is yet to compete at the Olympics. He has won the World Championship silver, Asian Games gold and Commonwealth Games gold, apart from two gold, three silver and a bronze in World Cups. Competing in air pistol and free pistol, he can strike a medal even if he slips in one. At least two medals possible Shooters qualify through stringent methods with world class performances. When 390 shooters assemble in Rio, to

CRACK SHOTS: Jitu Rai, who has been in top form in recent times, is a good bet to pick up a medal, while Heena Sidhu has it in her to return with some reward from Rio. — FILE PHOTOS fight for 45 medals, it is almost an average of a medal for every eight. Indian shooting should get at least two medals on an average. With the gold standard set in 2008, it needs to show the world again that it can strike the best. Heena Sidhu, the dentist from Patiala who is married to Ronak Pandit, a world class shooter and coach, still has the world record for final in air

pistol, she set on way to the gold in the World Cup Final in 2013. She is maturing into a world class shooter in sports pistol as well. Into her second Olympics, Heena has been shooting scores ranging from 382 to 389 in international competitions in air pistol over the last six years. The biggest loss for her has been coach Anatolii Piddubnyi, who had guided her and another young

Olympian Rahi Sarnobat to world standards. An Olympic medal would be an apt honour in his memory. In the absence of Vijay Kumar, who clinched the rapid fire pistol silver in London but narrowly missed qualification this time following a neck surgery, the onus will be on Gurpreet Singh, who has qualified in air pistol and shares Vijay’s coach, Pavel Smirnov.

If he strikes rhythm, as he did when he placed fourth in both air pistol and rapid fire pistol in the Munich World Cup last year, Gurpeet can spring a surprise. Apurvi Chandela and Ayonika Paul, the young air rifle shooters, have achieved impressive results in the international arena, including the World Cup Final silver by the former, which augurs well for

the rifle campaign. It is time for an Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal. From the three shotgun shooters, there can be a medal. World champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu has the credentials even though he failed to win an Olympic quota for his fourth Olympics. The six-time Asian champion, Asian Games silver medallist and two-time World Cup gold medallist, Manavjit, owes a medal to Sanjeev Rajput whose Olympic quota was traded for a berth in trap. Mairaj Ahmad Khan showed his class, even though he lost the gold in the shoot-of after a tie in skeet at the same range in Rio, during the World Cup this season. Coached by Atlanta Olympics champion Ennio Falco, Mairaj has the drive and the decisive guidance to reach for the sky in skeet, an event known for a high degree of accuracy and perfect scores. If some of the dozen shooters not named so far, like Prakash Nanjappa, Chain Singh or Kynan Chenai, spring up on their feet and make the world take notice, it would only prove the depth of Indian shooting.

The best is on its way: Bindra This Fischer ruled waters for long KAMESH SRINIVASAN

P.K. AJITH KUMAR

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t 33, Abhinav Bindra will be competing in his fifth Olympics. He has decided that it will be his last Olympics as a competitor. For one who aimed only at Olympic gold and won it in 2008, it has been a revelation that he could continue for eight more years. It is the love of the sport, not the results, that has driven him this far. Starting as the youngest shooter in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he missed the final by one point with a score of 590, to enduring a heart-break owing to a “bouncy wooden floor” that robbed him of a medal at Athens in 2004, when he was probably at his best, to being detached about the result and conquering the shock of a disastrous ‘sighter’ before the final in Beijing that led to the triumph, Bindra has seen it all. London 2012 had looked an afterthought as Bindra took the challenge forward to rise again after reaching the zenith. “It would have been easy for me to leave on a high,” said Bindra, who thrives on the challenge and did not take the option of an easy passage into oblivion.

Abhinav Bindra... primed for a golden repeat. — FILE PHOTO In 2014, Bindra won his maiden Commonwealth Games individual gold in Glasgow and the first individual bronze at the Incheon Asian Games. At every step, Bindra announced in advance that it was his last entry in those Games, the way he has done now before the Olympics. Was he not putting pressure on himself and possibly trying to intensify his focus towards peak performance. For, nobody knows how to tap pressure to advantage than Bindra. “Not really,” he says, as a matter of fact. The challenges have been

manifold in recent times, but Bindra has fought through them to step onto the biggest sporting stage one last time and possibly deliver his best. “There have been several challenges and I could have very easily given up. I am so proud of the fact that I have fought through hopeless situations to come to a point where I feel good,” he said from Germany, unmindful of the toughest and crucial phase of preparation. Bindra, who has done his bit for the Olympic movement in the country, feels that the best is on its way!

Dominant, spectacular, durable make it 13 golds from four Olympics. He found success at the World Championship too, proving to be one of the most durable champions of all time. He was also one of the select few to ever score a perfect 10 in a competition, according to a report in NYT of 1972.

P.K. AJITH KUMAR

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here is a grainy, blackand-white video on Youtube of Takashi Ono performing some astounding feats on the horizontal bar. The 45-second long video gives us a fair idea of how brilliant this Japanese gymnast must have been at one of the most spectacular and challenging of all sports. That footage is from the 1956 Olympics at Melbourne, where he won five medals, including the horizontal bar gold. He did even better four years later in Rome, winning six medals, out of a possible eight. Three of them were golds (horizontal bar, vault and team). That was the first of Japan’s five successive team golds at the Olympics. Ono was, indeed, one of the

Takashi Ono Takashi Ono. founders of the Japanese domination. His country was grateful. At the Tokyo Olympics of 1964, he was given the honour of taking the oath during the opening ceremony. About a fortnight later, at the age of 33, he added another team gold to his collection to

Country: Japan Sport: Gymnastics Medals: 13 Helsinki (1952): Bronze: Vault Melbourne (1956): Gold: Horizontal Bar. Silver:

Individual All-around, Pommel Horse, Team. Bronze: Parallel Bars Rome (1960): Gold:

Horizontal Bar, Vault, Team. Silver: Individual All-around. Bronze: Parallel Bars, Rings Tokyo (1964): Gold: Team

n 2003, a German television crew approached 41-yearold Birgit Fischer to shoot for a documentary. She had retired as a legendary canoeist with 10 medals in Olympics and 38 in World championships. The film required her to enact rowing. Before the shoot was over, she decided acting alone would not do. She wanted the real thing. So, a year later, she saw herself, along with her three German team-mates, trailing the Hungarians in the final of the women’s K-4 500m, with just metres away from the finishing line at the Hellinikon Olympic Canoe/Kayak Salome Centre. Powered by Fischer’s seemingly inexhaustible reserves of energy, Germany beat Hungary by 0.2 second. And she got her eighth Olympic gold.

She would have been decorated even more if she was not forced to miss the Los Angeles Olympics because of the Eastern Bloc countries (she was representing East Germany). Besides her dozen Olympic medals, she also won 38 World championship medals. She is undoubtedly one of the great sporting legends of our time.

Birgit Fischer WE DID IT! Birgit Fischer (left) and teammate Maike Nollen celebrate victory in the women's K-4 500m beating Hungary by 0.2 seconds at the 2004 Games in Athens. — PHOTO: AP It was for that one more gold that she trained so hard for about a year, after shooting for that documentary. And it was 24 years earlier that she had won her maiden Olympic gold, at Moscow, in the K-1 500m. If she had, at 18, become the

youngest to win an Olympic gold in canoeing in 1984, she became the oldest in Athens, at 42. That is one record that will take some beating. Between Moscow to Athens, she was quite in a class of her own.

Country: Germany Sport: Canoeing Medals: 12 Moscow (1980): Gold: K-1

500m Seoul (1988): Gold: K-2 500m, K-4 500m. Silver: K-1

500m. Barcelona (1992): Gold: K-1 500m. Silver: K-4 500m. Atlanta (1996): Gold: K-4 500m. Silver: K-2 500m. Sydney (2000): Gold: K-2 500m, K-4 500m. Athens (2004): Gold: K-4 500m. Silver: K-2 500m.

DID YOU KNOW? The Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the Modern Olympic Games, was a French champion in pistol. The creation of shooting federations in England, in 1859, and in the USA, in 1871, helped make the sport popular in English-speaking countries. ***** At Antwerp 1920, Swede Oscar Swahn became the oldest Olympic medallist in history — he was 72 when he won a silver in the running deer event. ***** In 1938, during an army training exercise, a grenade exploded in the right hand of Hungarian soldier Karoly Takacs. Ten years later, at London in 1948, he won the gold in the 25m rapid fire pistol. At Helsinki in 1952, Takacs returned to the top of the podium. A right-hander, he was forced to shoot with the left hand and still became Olympic champion twice!

I am so proud of the fact that I have fought through hopeless situations to come to a point where I feel good — Abhinav Bindra

Our athletes’ belief is higher now RAJYAVARDHAN SINGH RATHORE

I

ndian shooting is in a good position. But, I have not followed the individual shooters to know who is good and who is not! One thing I am pretty sure is that Indian shooting has raised the bar within India. Given the successes in the last three Olympics, there should be a medal this time as well. The same principle is also valid for disciplines like boxing and wrestling to a large extent. The success in some sports helps others grow as well. Self belief has increased. There is now a positive feeling in badminton. Tennis is aspiring and knocking on the doors. We have a gymnast who has qualified. We have a bright chance of landing a medal in Olympics in these sports. In the heightened stature of Indian environment, there is confidence in each person who represents the country. It raises the standard of whatev-

er you do. We are not a sporting nation as yet. The world will look out for India. This generates a sense of heightened expectation, and it is a perfect environment for any athlete to perform. For all these reasons, whoever has a very good chance of doing well, it will be a great opportunity in Rio. I belong to the school which believes that pressure is extremely critical for performance. If an athlete says “No pressure,” it only means “I have channelised the pressure.” The key is channelising the aggression, frustrations, obstacles, hardships, enthusiasm and excitement of the big stage. Indian shooters have won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal at the Olympics so far. Every day is a fresh day. You can’t carry your past performances, but you do carry your experience. (as told to Kamesh Srinvasan)

WFI throws its weight behind Narsingh but his Rio dreams are fading fast UTHRA GANESAN NEW DELHI: The doping controversy around Olympicsbound Narsingh Yadav is turning murkier with Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) not only backing the wrestler to the hilt but also reiterating the conspiracy angle and indicting senior oicials for the same. WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, in a hurriedlycalled interaction here on Monday, threw his weight behind the beleaguered wrestler and assured full support. “We are fully behind Narsingh, we believe in his innocence and we will go to any extent to support him in his fight for justice and try and get him on the plane to Rio,” Sharan said.

CM YK

Sharan also made some explosive revelations which, if confirmed, may well cause turmoil in an already bitterly divided Indian wrestling community. “On June 5, a person was caught trying to add something to his food at the Sonepat camp in the absence of the head cook. The matter was hushed up by camp oicials and that particular batch of food thrown away. All this clearly indicates that Narsingh was repeatedly targeted and this time they managed to succeed,” Sharan claimed. Narsingh, who was the first wrestler to earn a spot for the Olympics, qualified in the 74kg category. He also had to battle through a court case filed by double-Olympic medal-

list Sushil Kumar to confirm his participation at Rio. Now that looks doubtful. “Narsingh has already filed an oicial written complaint naming a senior lady SAI oicial and some other employees of the training centre in Sonepat in the conspiracy. He has already appeared before the NADA panel for a hearing and the final hearing will happen on Wednesday and reports of his food supplements testing will also come. By Thursday everything will be clear,” Sharan added. In his oicial complaint to WFI, a copy of which is with The Hindu, Narsingh has claimed that in the last one month alone he has been tested thrice — on June 2, June 25

and July 5 — and he has been available every time as an athlete under WADA’s dope testing pool and signatory to the whereabouts clause. Narsingh has also raised the

issue of his sparring partner and roommate Sandeep Tulsi Yadav also testing positive despite not preparing for any competition in the near future, something that the federation

‘IOA has no role’ CHENNAI: “The Wrestling

Federation of India will have to take up the Narsingh Yadav issue with either the Asian or the international body, which in turn will have to forward it to the International Olympic Committee. The Indian Olympics Association has

no role in it,” said a source close to the developments. While hinting that Narsingh’s hopes of making it to Rio are as good as over, the source said the chances of a substitution for the dopetainted wrestler, at this stage, appear negligible. — Special Correspondent

has also questioned. “We are in constant touch with the international federation (UWW) and giving them updates on the matter. We will try our best to make sure Narsingh goes to Rio. If that doesn’t happen, we will see whether we are allowed a replacement and who would that be. The chief coach’s recommendations will be considered,” Sharan added. Interestingly, SAI had offered Narsingh the option of training at his home base in Mumbai but the latter had refused. “SAI DG Injeti Srinivas had received a report from the Haryana CID that Narsingh was in danger and ofered him training at Kandivili. But Narsingh wanted to train with the

rest of his teammates. All the coaches and staf were also in Sonepat. “After we won the court case, we never expected something like this would happen. Narsingh never thought someone could go to this extent,” Sharan said, not naming anyone but ofering enough hints at who he considered responsible for the mess. Sources close to the wrestler claim there were enough indications that it was all a setup. “NADA doesn’t work on weekends but Narsingh got the mail asking him to appear before its panel on July 16, and that too without keeping the federation in the loop. The process of testing a sample

normally takes 30-35 days,” the sources said. But Dr. P.S.M. Chandran, A former NADA appeal panel member, said informing the athlete was paramount since the federation doesn’t have a role to play in the process. He clarified that testing of a sample could be done even within 48 hours in urgent cases, like during the Olympics. He also said that while he doesn’t remember NADA working on weekends, it was normal practice across the world for agencies to hear and decide cases throughout the week, round the clock. Narsingh’s June 25 samples had tested positive for Methadienone, an anabolic steroid that helps develop muscles. ND-ND

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SPORT

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Ashwin spins India to innings win

Going wicketless might have frustrated me but for Kumble, says Ashwin

CRICKET / Only Brathwaite and Bishoo offer resistance for the hosts

NORTH SOUND: India off-spinner R.

Ashwin, whose bowling masterclass of seven for 83 enabled the visitors to record an emphatic win against the West Indies, is happy that he has been finally able to break the deadlock of getting a coveted five-for outside the sub-continent. “It has taken me five years to repeat this feat (five wickets in an innings) outside the subcontinent; that is something I always wanted to break. Getting a five-wicket haul away from the subcontinent is something I have worked earnestly

NORTH SOUND (ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA): R. Ashwin’s magnificent

allround performance was instrumental in India's crushing innings-and-92-run victory inthe first Test against the West Indies which concluded here on Sunday. His haul of seven for 83 from 25 overs followed his third Test hundred — 113 — in India’s massive first innings total of 566 for eight declared at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Resuming at 21 for one, the West Indies was dismissed for 231 in another abject batting display, despite half-centuries by Marlon Samuels and Carlos Brathwaite and a ninth-wicket stand of 95 between Brathwaite and Devendra Bishoo (45).

towards and I am really pleased for myself,” he told bcci.tv. Having emulated Ian Botham, who scored a hundred and recorded a seven-wicket haul in a Test, the Tamil Nadu bowler said he would cherish the game for years to come. “It was a very memorable game. I shared a great partnership with Virat. Wonderful to get a hundred and also getting a five-wicket haul. It’s one of those games I will be cherishing for a very, very long time,” said the man, who now has 183 wickets and 1,317 runs from 33

games. Ashwin became the first Indian to score a century and pick up five wickets twice in Tests. He felt that the presence of head coach Anil Kumble has helped him to bowl longer spells. “In the first innings I went wicketless for 17 overs. In the past, that would have definitely troubled me as I am a bowler who likes to keep getting wickets. “I kept speaking to him (Kumble) about what I was doing right and what I wasn’t,” he said. — PTI

‘On the field I think like a batsman’ NORTH SOUND: India’s Test cap-

Historic win This result was India’s largest margin of victory in a Test outside Asia. “We were really eager to get going in this series,” said a delighted Indian captain Virat Kohli after the match. “Everything came together nicely, from the batting performance to dismissing the West Indies twice. We went with three seamers because of the amount of grass on the wicket and it worked for us.” Ashwin scythed through the heart of the home side’s batting in the afternoon session, with a five-wicket haul and finishing of the match with the last two wickets just after tea to give India a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. He was fortunate to claim his first wicket when opening batsman Rajendra Chandrika was adjudged caught at the wicket for a painstaking 31 in over three hours at the crease. But there was no doubt about the demolition thereaf-

THE HERO: R. Ashwin picked up seven wickets as India inflicted an innings defeat on the West Indies in the first Test. — PHOTO: AP ter, including dismissing Samuels for his first half-century in 12 Test innings, as six wickets tumbled for 44 runs. “Virat told me I needed to put in a good spell this afternoon and I’m glad I was able to deliver,” said Ashwin, reflecting on his superb performance with the ball. “I wasn’t getting the right sort of rhythm yesterday but

in as many Tests, but with just one wicket for 242 runs so far in his young career, his value as a frontline bowler remains highly questionable. “We obviously need to bowl a bit better,” said a downcast West Indies captain Jason Holder in the aftermath of the heavy defeat. “I’m not sure what we can expect from the pitch for the

today was very diferent.” Such was the speed of the collapse that India looked on course to complete the win well before the tea interval. However, Brathwaite and Bishoo ofered resistance, entertaining for the few home fans in the stands but more than a little irritating for Kohli. Brathwaite finished unbeaten on 51, his third half-century

England pulls level in four days

No clarity on who won

MANCHESTER: James Anderson

marked his return to international duty with three wickets as England beat Pakistan by a massive 330 runs to win the second Test at his Old Trafford home ground on Monday. Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali also took three wickets apiece. Pakistan, set a mammoth 565 for victory, was bowled out for 234 in its second innings after tea on the fourth day. This was England’s fifthbiggest Test win in terms of runs. But England’s joy in levelling the four-match series at 1-1 was tempered by the sight of all-rounder Ben Stokes going of injured in Monday’s second session. England’s Joe Root, who made a Test-best 254 in a mammoth first innings 589 for eight declared, was named

RAYAN ROZARIO COIMBATORE: The stewards at

the first leg of the FMSCI MRF Indian National Rally Championship, which concluded here on Sunday, declared P.G. Abilash of R3A PGA Motorsports the IRC winner after he appealed against Samir Thapar of JCT Rallying, who was announced to have finished first. Amittrajit Ghosh of Team Mahindra Adventure had bagged the INRC event. The INRC is for the two-wheel drive Indian vehicles while the IRC involves four-wheel drive foreign vehicles. The Supplementary Regulations (SR) clearly state that the fastest driver of the rally (IRC / INRC) will be declared winner, and in this case, it was Abilash — and not Amittrajit as announced earlier. “There has been some confusion with the SR but we can’t do much about it. Nobody is free from mistakes,” said Ashwin Pandit, the FMSCI Rally Commission chairman. Arindam Ghosh of Ramakrishna Race Performance Management, the event promoter, said there was no overall winner of the rally. “There is a winner of the INRC and a winner of the IRC. We have already written to the FMSCI to this effect about a month back,” he said.

앫 675 vs Aus, Brisbane, 1928 앫 354 vs Pak, Trent Bridge,

2010

앫 347 vs Aus, Lord’s, 2013 앫 338 vs Aus, Adelaide, 1933 앫 330 vs Pak, Old Trafford,

2016

Pirates edge a thriller

TABLE TENNIS

UTHRA GANESAN

RAKESH RAO

DELHI: Captain Meraj Sheykh’s phenomenal eforts went in vain as host Dabang Delhi lost by a single point to table-topper Patna Pirates here on Monday. The result all but confirmed Patna’s spot in the semifinals while Delhi's hopes sufered a big blow after the 31-32 loss. Tied on points 31-31 till the final few seconds, Kashiling Adake’s final raid saw him go for a desperate bonus point but was tackled successfully. Sheykh was the man responsible for keeping Delhi in the game all through. Often reduced to just two members and at times all alone, Sheykh earned raid points every time his team was in danger of being all out. Adake was equally inspirational, equalling Sheykh for points earned through bonuses, touch points and tackling. In the women’s match later in the day, Fire Birds relied on substitutes Gayatri and Rinju K to beat Ice Divas 22-13 in the qualifier and book a spot in the final against Storm Queens. The results: Patna Pirates 32 (Pardeep Narwal 9, Rajesh Mondal 7) bt Dabang Delhi 31 (Meraj Sheykh 11, Kashiling Adakae 11) Women: Fire Birds 22 (Gayatri 4, Rinju K 4, Payel Chowdhury 3) bt Ice Divas 13 (Sumitra Sharma 3, Sonali Shingate 3, Khushbu Narwal 3).

JAIPUR: Sometimes the outcome

NEW

GOT TO GO: Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez is consumed by Gary Ballance at short-leg off Moeen Ali. — PHOTO: STU FORSTER/GETTY IMAGES man-of-the-match. The first innings also saw England captain Alastair Cook make 105 — his 29th Test hundred. En-

gland’s two senior batsmen combined again in a secondinnings total of 173 for one declared. — AFP

SCOREBOARD England — 1st innings: 589 for

England’s biggest margin of wins

next Test in Jamaica. “It’s been a bit flat of late but we’ll have to see what our options are when we get there.” Apart from earning the West Indies a modicum of respect, the ninth-wicket pairing’s defiance also embarrassed the frontline batting which once again failed to cope with India’s pace-spin combination. — AFP

Woakes 35, Asad Shafiq lbw b Anderson 39, Sarfraz Ahmed c Bairstow b Woakes 7, Yasir Shah lbw b Moeen 10, Wahab Riaz c Cook b Root 19, Mohd. Amir c Broad b Woakes 29, Rahat Ali (not out) 8; Extras (b-2, lb-4, w-1, nb-1): 8; Total (for in 70.3 overs): 234. Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-25, 3-83, 4102, 5-145, 6-163, 7-167, 8-190, 9208. England bowling: Anderson 162-41-3, Broad 14-3-37-0, Stokes 5.20-21-0, Moeen 18.4-0-88-3, Woakes 15.3-2-41-3, Root 1-1-0-1. Man-of-the-match: Root. England won by 330 runs.

eight decl. Pakistan — 1st innings: 198. England — 2nd innings: A. Cook

(not out) 76, A. Hales c Sarfraz b Amir 24, J. Root (not out) 71; Extras (lb-2): 2; Total (for one wkt. decl. in 30 overs): 173. Fall of wicket: 1-68. Pakistan bowling: Amir 11-243-1, Rahat 8-0-54-0, Yasir 9-0-53-0, Azhar 2-0-21-0. Pakistan — 2nd innings: Mohd. Hafeez c Ballance b Moeen 42, Shan Masood c Cook b Anderson 1, Azhar Ali lbw b Anderson 8, Younis Khan c Hales b Moeen 28, Misbah-ul-Haq b

tain Virat Kohli says he thinks like a batsman even when he is leading the side in the field and that mindset helps him place fielders accordingly. A pertinent example of this working out of a batsman was when Kraigg Brathwaite was batting on 70-plus in the first innings of the first Test which India won comprehensively. The fact that the batsman was looking to play for time allowed the Indian skipper to optimise his fields, setting a tight leg-side cordon of five fielders within the circle, three of them in catching positions. With Umesh Yadav bowling short, the batsman was cramped for room and ended up edging a rising delivery instead of attempting to pull it. “The one thing that I try to do is think as a batsman, which is very important. You can read a batsman’s body language and figure out where he is trying to score his runs. “Unless a guy is playing shots all round the wicket, because then it is very diicult to set a field,” said Kohli. “But if someone is predominantly looking to set up, get in and score his runs one side of

It’s all about getting into the batsman’s head and creating that pressure to make him make that mistake. — Virat Kohli the wicket or not play a particular stroke then you pick up these things and set a field accordingly to make him do that. It’s all about getting into the batsman’s head and creating

that pressure to make him make that mistake,” he said further explaining his thinking about his field placements. There was a discernable difference in the field between the two sides. While the West Indies were lethargic India buttoned up the field tightly and put immense pressure on the West Indian batsmen. “That’s what Test cricket is all about,” said Kohli. “It’s not just about what’s happening with the bat or ball on the pitch, it’s about what’s happening in the head as well,” he added. — PTI

SCOREBOARD India — 1st innings: 566 for

eight decl. West Indies — 1st innings: 243. West Indies — 2nd innings: K.

Brathwaite lbw b Ishant 2 (5b), R. Chandrika c Saha b Ashwin 31 (108b, 5x4), D. Bravo c Rahane b Umesh 10 (43b, 2x4), M. Samuels b Ashwin 50 (86b, 11x4), J. Blackwood c Kohli b Ashwin 0 (6b), R. Chase c sub b Ashwin 8 (28b, 1x4), S. Dowrich lbw b Mishra 9 (14b, 1x4), J. Holder b Ashwin 16 (25b, 1x4, 1x6), C. Brathwaite (not out) 51 (82b, 3x4, 2x6), D. Bishoo c Pujara b Ashwin 45 (74b,

6x4, 1x6), S. Gabriel b Ashwin 4 (3b); Extras (nb-5): 5; Total (in 78 overs): 231. Fall of wickets: 1-2 (K. Brathwaite), 2-21 (Bravo), 3-88 (Chandrika), 4-92 (Blackwood), 5-101 (Samuels), 6-106 (Chase), 7-120 (Dowrich), 8-132 (Holder), 9-227 (Bishoo). India bowling: Ishant 11-2-27-1, Shami 10-3-26-0, Umesh 13-4-34-1, Ashwin 25-8-83-7, Mishra 19-3-61-1. Man-of-the-Match: Ashwin. India won by an innings and 92 runs.

Shapath on target

AAI to meet Petroleum does not reflect the closeness of the combat and the eventual winner has reason to feel relieved, rather than to rejoice. On Monday, in what was a repeat clash of last year’s women’s team final, Petroleum felt just that after overcoming Reserve Bank of India 3-1 in the semifinals of the All India inter-institutional table tennis championship here. In the final, Petroleum faces Airports Authority of India (AAI) which blanked Air India 3-0 after two close singles matches. Rio-bound Manika Batra won the first and fourth singles for Petroleum but, in between, RBI enjoyed its best moments. Pallabi upstaged Madhurika Patkar to make it 1-1 and Shruti Talnikar came close to surprising K. Shamini but the former National champion held her nerve to clinch the decider 11-9. Petroleum and AAI will also battle for the men’s title. AAI surprised last year’s runner-up Railways 3-2 with Anirban Ghosh pulling of a stunner against the seasoned Anirban Nandi in the key fourth singles. Expectedly, Petroleum raced past RBI. As a result, Petroleum and AAI qualified, in both sections, for the next National championship.

In the youth team finals, there was no change in the script with the Petroleum boys and the AAI girls retaining their titles after topping the four-team league. Petroleum boys had to bounce back from 0-2 to halt Air India 3-2. The results (Team championships): Men: Semifinals: Petroleum bt Reserve Bank of India 3-0 (G. Sathiyan bt Vighney Reddy 12-10, 11-2, 11-7; A. Amalraj bt Raj Mondal 11-8, 11-9, 11-7; Harmeet Desai bt Souvik Roy 11-5, 11-4, 11-6). Airports Authority of India bt Railways 3-2 (S. Sushmit lost to Anirban Nandi 5-11, 11-13, 7-11; Anirban Ghosh lost to Ravindra Kotiyan 11-13, 9-11, 11-1, 8-11 Sarthak Gandhi bt E. Prabhakaran 11-6, 11-3, 11-4; Ghosh bt Nandi 15-13, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6; Sushmit bt Ravindra 11-9, 13-11, 11-8). Women: Semifinals: Petroleum bt Reserve Bank of India 3-1 (Manika Batra bt Shweta Parte 11-4, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9; Madhurika Patkar lost to Pallabi Kundu 11-2, 9-11, 11-4, 6-11, 7-11; K. Shamini bt Shruti Talnikar 11-4, 11-3, 10-12, 4-11, 11-9; Manika bt Pallabi 11-5, 6-11, 11-7, 11-7). Airport Authority of India bt Air India 3-0 (Ayhika Mukherjee bt Devika Bhide 11-8, 12-10, 7-11, 4-11, 11-4; Archana Kamath bt Mallika Bhandarkar 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5; Sreeja Akula bt Shruti Amrute 11-9, 11-8, 11-6). Final standings: Youth boys: 1. Petroleum, Airports Authority of India, Railways and Air India. Youth girls: 1. Airports Authority of India, Railways, Petroleum and Air India.

Shapath Bharadwaj. PORPETTO (ITALY): Shapath Bha-

radwaj beat Eraldo Apolloni of Italy 27-25 for the double trap gold at the 13th International Grand Prix junior shotgun championship here. The results: Junior men: Trap: 1. Alessio Franquillo (Ita) 12 (13) 119; 2. Lakshay 11 (14) 116; 3. Josef Navratil (Cze) 11 (12) 115. Team: 1. Italy 344; 2. Italy-B 342; 3. Czech Republic 335; 5. India 334. Double trap: 1. Shapath Bharadwaj 27 (30) 139; 2. Eraldo Apolloni (Ita) 25 (27) 135; 3. Miki Ylonen (Fin) 29 (26) 134. Team: 1. India 403; 2. Great Britain 396; 3. Italy 395. Skeet: 1. Valerio Palmucci (Ita) 16 (14) 120; 2. Matteo Chiti (Ita) 15 (14) 120; 3. Eetu Kallioinen (Fin) 15 (13) 123. Team: 1. Italy 361; 2. Italy-B 360; 3. Finland 359; 6. India 349. Junior women: Trap: 1. Maria Lucia Palmitessa (Ita) 11 (13) 70; 2. Sarah Bindrich (Ger) 8 (11)2 (66); 3. Bettina Valdorf 11 (11)1 (65). Team: 1. Italy 199; 2. Germany 194; 3. Italy-B 193; 4. India 174. Skeet: 1. Francesca Del Prete (Ita) 14 (15) 69; 2. Giada longhi (Ita) 12 (12)4 (64); 3. Eva Tamara Reichert (Ger) 11 (11) 68. Team: 1. France 294; 2. Germany 196; 3. Italy 190; 4. India 182. — Sports Bureau

VARIETY THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11761 1

2

3

4

5

9

6

7

8

10

11

13

Buzzer

12

14

15

16

17 18

19

20

21 22

23

24

26

25

Down

27

28

29

Across

1 Recurring characters in comic turned right incoherent (5) 4 A TV series, controversially bold (9) 9 Put a new cover on book to return (7) 10 Current express charges (7) 11 Unlike Dracula saga in story lines ... (2,7) CM YK

over Northern Territory (9) 8 I saw pronouncedly ugly building (7) 14 Trendy event (9) 16 Wordbook has suture misspelled (9) 17 Being short-handed, ultimately firm was shot (8) 18 Musical piece with rousing section of trumpets, electrifying (7) 20 Navy chief engineer breaking rules for grant (7) 21 Picture no end to pleasant excursion (6) 23 Reject special pot of tea (5) 25 Representation of one million years (5)

in charge is furious (6) 22 Falsifies/assumes name to get rights to another's property (5) 24 Damage from driving out in rain (9) 26 Inputs altering litmus, acids essentially (7) 27 Managed to rebut judge's report (7) 28 Work's environment related therefore income mostly trifling (9) 29 Swayed by sound variety of leather (5)

12 ... because of love song at first (3,2) 13 After retirement I would be getting new fringe and a temporary tattoo (6) 15 Time to stop getting into additional loan (8) 18 Going around current favourite and individual port city (4,4) 19 Man caught

1 Weapon set to hold attention (7) 2 At heart grizzly bear, fantastic wild creature (5) 3 Expression of agreement from U SA? (3,4,2) 4 Warm painting hung outside study (6) 5 Donatism unlikely to get holy status (8) 6 Wandered like a group of animals heading southwards (5) 7 Travelling object in time seen

Solution to puzzle 11760 I F T C

S C A R F A C E

C O N S T I I M E

A P B I C L E E N T D A A I L E S T V S O K E I T O N T R E R AM I C P M A A MB I N A T I E H U R D Y L U A U E P L I C I T E K E

S N T A I L E G MO H A T H E C H E A R O P O D O N L O F A D H I A E D E Q U I R P

G E D M I R N I N S I C K N O T E

E K A Y

FAITH

SU | DO | KU

Infinite are His names Just as the Supreme Lord is beyond human thought and word so too are His names which defy any codification or counting. The list is always inexhaustible and is known to none, not even to a Garga or a Vasishta who chose the names for the Lord, said Nochur Sri Venkataraman in a discourse. The names Rama, Krishna and ‘Vaasudeva’ have always reverberated in the sacred scriptures long before the Lord’s incarnations. It just happened that Vasishta chose to name Dasaratha’s son as Rama. Sage Garga, the preceptor for the Yadava clan, was sent by Vasudeva to perform the naming ceremony for his two sons growing up in Nandagopa’s house. Out of fear of Kamsa who was mortally afraid of Krishna, Garga told Nandagopa that the naming ceremony had to be done in secret and without much fanfare and excitement as this event should not attract Kamsa’s attention. Sage Garga named the children Balarama and Krishna. He deliberately chose the name Krishna for its sheer simplicity since at a literal level it indicates the colour or hue of the child’s complexion. Krishna also means one who attracts all. In addition, Garga chose the name ‘Vaasudeva,’ with its plain meaning, the son of Vasudeva. But the epithet ‘Vaasudeva’ has a much deeper significance indicating the Supremacy and Omnipresence of the Supreme Brahman. In the Gita, Krishna says that at the end of many lives, the man of wisdom resorts to Him, knowing that Vasudeva the Supreme is all that is. He understands that ‘Vaasudeva’ is the lord of life that dwells in all. The entire universe is enlivened by His presence. He is the cause of all and He is everything and He truly is.

A mind game and a puzzle that you solve with reasoning and logic. Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. The solution to yesterday’s puzzle is at left. ND-ND

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SPORT

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Virdi storms into the lead

Australia opts for two-pronged spin attack

BENGALURU: Chandigarh’s Gur-

Mathews says Lanka would have to be at the top of its game to upset the world’s No. 1 Test side

meet Virdi (navigator Kirpal Singh Tung) stormed into the lead on the second day of the Force Gurkha Rainforest Challenge in Goa. Virdi, who was placed third after day one, surged to the front on Monday, handling Special Stages 7 to 12 with relative ease to finish with 987 points. The Force Motors teams of Merwyn Lim (Hamizan Bin Abdul Hamid) and Tan Eng Joo (Tan Choon Hong) were second and third respectively. The latter was top overnight, but faltered on Monday. After two days in the rain in Dona Paula, the event will now move to Quepem. The Force Gurkha RFC will conclude on July 29. The results (top five): 1. Gurmeet Virdi (Kirpal Singh Tung) 987 points; 2. Merwyn Lim (Hamizan Bin Abdul Hamid) 985; 3. Tan Eng Joo (Tan Choon Hong) 957; 4. Bijender Singh (Gajender Singh) 870; 5. Abinav Reddy Nukala (Laxmikanth Reddy Thota) 816. —Special Correspondent

Japan beats India NEW TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN (REPUBLIC OF CHINA): India lost to Japan 89-

70 in its second match in the 38th William Jones Cup International basketball tournament here. Japan started of the game on an 18-8 run, before India’s change in defensive strategy allowed the side to go on a counter 11-4 run. The first quarter ended with Japan leading 22-19. But the second was when the floodgates truly opened. Japan’s smaller and faster line-up hit three back-to-back threes to open up a 31-19 lead while India was unable to score in the first three minutes of the quarter. Earlier, India lost to USA 6260 on Saturday. USA was represented by a NCAA division 1 college team from California State University, Sacramento. India next plays hosts Republic of China-A (i.e. Chinese Taipei) on Tuesday. — Sports Bureau

CM YK

Murali mounts blistering attack on SLC COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s record-

PALLEKELE: Australian captain

Steve Smith named spin twins Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe in his line-up on Monday for the series opener against Sri Lanka as the newlycrowned kings of Test cricket look to cement their supremacy. On the day that Australia was presented with the mace as the World No. 1 side, Smith took the unusual move of naming his starting XI a day before the start of the first Test here. But after taking 10 wickets in a warm-up last week, O’Keefe has been picked to play only his third Test alongside the more experienced Nathan Lyon, his Sheield Shield teammate. Australia has hired local spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan as a consultant for the series, well aware of Sri Lanka’s reputation for producing turning pitches. Smith said that cracks had already appeared on the strip which should also benefit Sri Lanka’s premier spinner Rangana Herath. “The wicket will take spin for sure here. Not sure about the first innings, but it looks very dry and lots of cracks on it. It certainly will help spin bowlers,” Smith added. “They (Sri Lanka) have

NUMERO UNO: Australian skipper Steve Smith receiving the Test Championship mace from the ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson on the eve of the first Test against Sri Lanka. — PHOTO: AFP some quality spinners in their rank led by Rangana Herath. He has done really well in these conditions. The batters need to have some good plans against him at what he is going to bring at us.” Smith confirmed that vicecaptain David Warner will play after being sidelined for

TENNIS

six weeks with a broken left index finger. Before training, Smith was presented with the International Cricket Council Test Championship mace and $1 million in prize money after his team finished at the top of the ICC rankings by the April cut-of.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews acknowledged that his new-look side would have to be at the top of its game if it was to cause an upset. “It’s our home conditions but, as I always say, we have to play our best cricket to win against the number one team in the world,” said Mathews.

“They’ve performed in and out of Australia. They are a very consistent team and a strong unit.” Although Australia has a clear lead over its main challengers, India, England and Pakistan could all theoretically topple it from the top spot if Smith’s side loses against Sri Lanka and other results go against it. Mathews held back from naming his starting XI and was instead cursing a new round of injury woes to an already depleted squad. Fast bowler Suranga Lakmal complained of a stif hamstring after training on Sunday before the uncapped Dhananjaya de Silva hurt his finger during fielding drills, Mathews revealed. The teams: Australia: Steve Smith (capt.), David Warner, Joe Burns, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, Steve O’Keeffe, Mitchell Starc and Adam Voges. Sri Lanka (from): Angelo Mathews (capt.), Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan and Suranga Lakmal. — AFP

breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan launched a blistering attack on Monday on Sri Lanka Cricket after it complained about his behaviour in his new role as a mentor to Australia. After the officials said Muralitharan was damaging his legacy, the 44-year-old accused the board of setting him up as a fall guy if the host lost the series to the visiting Australians. Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in Test history, then accused the board president of knowing nothing about cricket and angrily denounced any suggestion of being “a traitor”. Political game “If Sri Lanka loses, they (the board) will say it is because of Murali,” he said in a recorded statement. “They have no right to accuse me of being a traitor. Have they done one hundredth of what I have contributed to cricket in Sri Lanka? “This is a political game to cover their shortcomings,” he added. “I am being used as a pawn to cover their failings.” His outburst was sparked by a complaint by the board that he had bullied groundsmen into letting the Australians practise on the pitch which hosts the opening

GENERAL

Stepanek beats Myneni Reforms in cricket set to change the game TORONTO: Saketh Myneni went

quarterfinals): Gianluca Acquaroli

down fighting against former World No. 8 Radek Stepanek 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4 in the second and final qualifying round of the $4,691,730 Rogers Cup ATP Tour event here. The results: $4,691,730 Rogers Cup ATP Tour, Toronto, Canada: Qualifying (second and final round): Radek Stepanek (Cze) bt Saketh Myneni 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4. $10,000 ITF men: Sharm El Sheikh: Qualifying (second round): Manish Sureshkumar bt Sagar Ahuja 6-2, 6-0; Gokul Suresh bt Luca Potenza (Ita) 6-4, 6-2. Telavi, Georgia: Qualifying (second round): Maciej Nowak (Pol) bt Aditya Deswal 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Pontedara, Italy: Doubles (pre-

& Filippo Borella (Ita) bt Francesco Cano (Ita) & Naesar Jewoor 6-2, 6-7 (5), 10-5. Xatvia, Spain: Qualifying (third and final round): Aitor Sanz Llopis

(Esp) bt Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Thu Dau Mot City, Vietnam: Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Xiao

Gong (Chn) & Seong Chan Hong (Kor) bt Zhao-Tai Li (Chn) & Rishab Agarwal 4-6, 6-3, [10-6]; WishayaTrongcharoenchaikul & Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (Tha) bt Mohit Mayur & Sasi Kumar 6-7(5), 7-6(7), [10-5]; Antoine Escoffier & Jonathan Kanar (Fra) bt Maciej Smola (Pol) & Jatin Dahiya 7-6(5), 6-3. — Sports Bureau

G. VISWANATH MUMBAI: While the understanding of some BCCI oicials is that Justice Lodha will ensure that the BCCI and the full members follow the timelines set by the Committee, many on the Board are surprised by the silence maintained by its top two functionaries. Neither president Anurag Thakur nor secretary Ajay Shrike has formally responded to the Supreme Court order. Their reaction should be interesting, for apart from get-

ting relief on the advertisingrelated matters during live broadcasts of international matches at home and distribution of subventions, the Supreme Court has agreed with the Committee’s recommendations. The powers of the president and secretary have been 앫 The BCCI and its member units will lose a high percentage of experienced office-bearers, and will have a new look from January 2017

clipped while making the CEO a very powerful oicial. Another matter most of the BCCI oicials are not ambiguous is about their position in the future administration, at the national and the State levels. They know their days are numbered, and after six months they can just about be passionate followers of the game if they wish to. “Our entire committee has completed nine years, so all of us will go out,” said a senior oicial of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. In short, the BCCI and its

member units will lose a high percentage of experienced office-bearers, and will have a new look from January 2017. Only Shirke, from among the incumbent set of four principal oice-bearers, will be eligible to contest the next elections. It is speculated that Thakur, who has been an oice bearer as joint secretary from 2011, will be ruled out because he will have to serve the cooling of period of three years. Everything will become clear on August 9 when the two BCCI oicials meet Justice Lodha.

Muttiah Muralitharan. — PHOTO: AFP

Test from Tuesday. Cricket Australia confirmed it had received a complaint about the incident at Pallekele Stadium, on the outskirts of Kandy, but said the issue had been resolved “after discussions between the two managements”. In lodging the complaint, board president Thilanga Sumathipala accused Muralitharan of insulting Sri Lanka team manager Charith Senanayake. Muralitharan’s decision to impart his local knowledge to the tourists has raised eyebrows, not least because he was once labelled a “chucker” by Australia’s then-prime minister John Howard. Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews was more conciliatory. “The Australians obviously saw value in his knowledge of the Sri Lankan conditions,” he said. — AFP

India loses again TEHRAN: After losing to defend-

ing champion China, India had another tough outing as it went down to Chinese Taipei 79-93 in the FIBA Asia under-18 men’s championship here on Sunday. India will meet Iraq in the penultimate round robin match on Tuesday and a win against Iraq will keep it in the race for a quarterfinals spot. The result: Chinese Taipei 93 (K. Kao 16, S. Ting 16) bt India 79 (H. Raghupathy 21, V. Gupta 20).

India posts win NAKOHON RATCHASIMA, THAILAND:

India defeated Iran 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 in the 18th Asian junior women’s (under-19) volleyball championship here on Monday.

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http://everexam.com/

LIFE

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NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016

Star Trek sends cash registers ringing

Coldplay cuts short Chicago gig

Malaria drug shows promise in cancer treatment

Star Trek Beyond boldly went to the top of the box office in its weekend debut, sending "The Secret Life of Pets" to the doghouse in the number two spot.

Severe weather forced English band Coldplay to cut short their gig in Chicago, Illinois. Thunderstorms forced the band’s two opening acts to be cancelled.

A readily and cheaply available malaria drug may help treat a wide range of cancers, including lung, bowel, brain, and head and neck cancer, researchers say.

STAR TREK Ben Affleck surprises fans

A

ctor Ben Affleck, who is all set to direct and star in next Batman movie, surprised his fans with a new trailer of Justice League at Comic-Con International in San Diego. The 43—year—old “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” star cheered the crowd by indulging in a nerdy moment and pulling out his phone to capture a photo, reported People. “I’ve never done this before, it’s kind of nerdy. It’s just not going to happen again, it’s kind of a cool moment for me,” Affleck said. The actor also talked about his new Batman movie. “I’m deeply honored and thrilled to get a chance to do it. Thank you for giving me the opportunity,” he said. Directed by Zack Snyder, Justice League will hit the theatres on November 17, 2017. — PTI

A case of mistaken identity

O

scar-winning actress Alicia Vikander has revealed she was mistaken for a tourist when she arrived in Las Vegas to shoot scenes for movie Jason Bourne. The 27-year-old Swedish star plays CIA agent Heather Lee in the action blockbuster opposite Matt Damon and the pair, along with the rest of the cast, had to go to Sin City to film an epic car chase. When Vikander got in a taxi to get to the location shoot the driver had no idea she was an Oscar-winning actress and told her if she was “lucky” she might get catch a glimpse of Damon on the Strip, which had been closed off for filming. During an appearance on American breakfast TV show, she said: “He thought that I probably just arrived in Las Vegas.” — PTI

Aniston gives an empowering speech

F

ormer Friends star Jennifer Aniston gave an empowering speech to young girls as she was honoured for her television and film career at the 46th Annual Giffoni Film Festival in Italy. The actress was the guest of honour at the Amalfi Coast event and she spoke to the attendees of the children’s festival to talk about her career in Hollywood. When Aniston was asked to suggest a solution for more female-centred stories to be told in Hollywood, the star encouraged the aspiring writers and filmmakers in the audience to step away from the obsession with social media and create projects grounded in the real world. — PTI

Solar plane nears end of trip It has travelled 42,000 km across four continents, two oceans and three seas

Prince Harry regrets not speaking about Princess Diana’s death

ABU DHABI: The Solar Impulse

2 was on Monday approaching the end of its epic bid to become the first sun-powered airplane to circle the globe without a drop of fuel to promote renewable energy. When the experimental aircraft touches down in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Tuesday it will cap a remarkable 42,000-km journey across four continents, two oceans and three seas. With Swiss explorer and project director Bertrand Piccard in the cockpit, the plane is due to land at Al-Bateen Executive Airport in the UAE capital where it launched its tour on March 9, 2015. By 1300 GMT on Monday, Solar Impulse 2 had travelled more than 2,200 km in nearly 38 hours on its final leg, flying over Qatar’s northern tip after crossing the vast Saudi desert. “Thanks to our lovely #sun, #Si2’s batteries are fully charged,” the Solar Impulse team said on Twitter. “After a turbulent night from extreme high temperatures, the sun rose above a desert of sand dunes above #SaudiArabia,” Mr. Piccard tweeted earlier. Dubbed the “paper plane,” the Solar Impulse 2 is circumnavigating the globe in stages, with 58-year-old Piccard and his compatriot Andre Borschberg taking turns at the controls of the single-seat aircraft.

LONDON: Britain’s Prince Harry has expressed regret that he did not speak about his mother Princess Diana’s death until years later. The 31-year-old fifth in line to Britain’s throne spoke out about the loss of his mother in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at an event he hosted at Kensington Palace in London last week for the mental health charity, Heads Together. “I really regret not ever talking about it. For the first 28 years of my life, I never talked about it,” he told former England captain Rio Ferdinand in a programme aired in the United Kingdom on Monday.

LONDON: Scientists have iden-

Final leg It took of from Cairo on its final leg early on Sunday, having previously crossed Asia, North America, Europe and North Africa. Mr. Borschberg, 63, smashed the record for the longest uninterrupted journey in aviation history with

tified a page of scribbles in a tiny notebook dating back to 1493 as the place where Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci first recorded the laws of friction. The detailed study of notes and sketches by da Vinci also shows that he went on to apply this knowledge repeatedly to mechani-

Lessons learnt Ferdinand, a father of three who lost his wife to cancer last year, said of the prince: “He’s gone through diferent stages in his life that my kids are going to be going towards. So to get some of his experiences is very rewarding for me and very educational in many ways.” Harry was just 12-year-old when Diana — Princess of Wales, died suddenly in the tragic accident, leading to an outpouring of public grief. On August 31, 1997, Diana was killed in a car crash in

Princess Diana (left) with Harry in 1995. — FILE PHOTO: AP Paris, which also caused the deaths of her companion Dodi Fayed and the driver. The royal told the BBC the charity event was an opportunity to highlight that anyone can sufer from mental health issues. “It is OK to sufer, but as long as you talk about it. It is not a weakness. Weakness is having a problem and not recognising it and not solving that problem,” he said. Prince Harry had formed Heads Together in May this year with his brother William, Duke of Cambridge, and sister-in-law Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, to bring together leading mental health charities. — PTI

Da Vinci recorded friction laws

the 8,924-km flight between Nagoya, Japan and Hawaii that lasted nearly 118 hours. “#Si2 is both the 1st airplane of unlimited endurance & the only experimental aircraft allowed to fly over

cities!” he tweeted on Monday. No heavier than a car but with the wingspan of a Boeing 747, the four-engine battery-powered aircraft relies on around 17,000 solar cells

embedded in its wings. Its broad wings and light weight make it particularly sensitive to turbulence. The plane has clocked an average speed of 80 km per hour. — AFP

cal problems for more than 20 years. The research by Ian Hutchings, professor at University of Cambridge in the U.K., is the first detailed chronological study of da Vinci’s work on friction, and has also shown how he continued to apply his knowledge of the subject to wider work on machines. — PTI

New direction

HARD AT WORK: New Delhi Municipal Council employees carry a road sign on Monday. — PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

Manatees to be repopulated in the Carribbean SINGAPORE: Singapore’s zoo said on Monday it would send two manatees to Guadeloupe as part of the world’s first repopulation programme for the animal, which became extinct on the French Caribbean island in the early 20th century. Males Kai, seven, and Junior, six, will be the first manatees — which are also known as sea cows — on the island since the species died out. Another 13 manatees of both genders from zoos around the world will follow the pair to the Grand Cul-deSac Marin, a 37,000 acre protected bay. Any ofspring from the group will be reintroduced into the wild. The species is listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. — AFP

CM YK

Finally, a dash of diversity at Comic-Con SAN DIEGO: Every summer, Hol-

lywood comes to Comic-Con International, the carnivallike pop culture convention here, to promote its coming mass-market movies. And the oferings usually have a numbing similarity. Macho directors — almost always white men — stride onto a stage and introduce footage of sparring superheroes, and then trot out cast members (again, mostly white) for some schmaltzy chitchat about loving their characters. Rinse and repeat. There was plenty of that kind of thing this year, too. But for the first time, studio presentations paid more than lip service to diversity. Marvel Studios started its Saturday session by bringing out Ryan Coogler, the director of the big-budget Black Panther, and his four black leads: Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan and Danai Gurira. “This is my first time here,” a beaming Boseman told the

For the first time, presentations by Hollwyood studios paid more than lip service to diversity crowd. “It feels amazing.” “You’re awesome!” a woman shouted from the audience. Black Panther, centered on a superhero from a fictional African nation, is scheduled for release in 2018. From there, Marvel moved on to Thor: Ragnarok, directed by the New Zealand film-maker Taika Waititi and featuring Idris Elba and Tessa Thompson (Creed, Dear White People) in major roles. The Disney-owned superhero factory, which plans to unleash Ragnarok in November 2017, ended by announcing that the Oscarwinning actress Brie Larson would play the lead in “Captain Marvel,” which is planned for 2019 and will be-

come the first Marvel movie anchored by a woman. The crowd (and, subsequently, Twitter) had an ecstatic meltdown. Earlier on Saturday, during a lavish two-and-a-half-hour presentation, Warner Bros. could also be seen working hard to bring diversity to its event movies. A centrepiece of the Warner session was Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot. A new trailer for that film, scheduled to arrive in theatres next summer, found Ms. Gadot charging into battle on horseback, using her shield to fend of military attacks and ensnaring bad guys with her magic lasso. Warner also pulled out all the stops for Suicide Squad, which arrives on August 5 and is expected to be a monster hit; services that track audience interest are predicting opening-weekend ticket sales exceeding $100 million. — New York Times News Service ND-ND