THE REALM

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**Mumbai/ Metro/ Navi Mumbai ** Vol. XVI **Price : Rs. 5.00 **6 Pages (Mumbai only0. Area specific pages in suppliment **www.facebook.com/therealm **www.twitter.com/therealm

Saturday, 20th July, 2019

‘TRUMP DITCHED IRAN DEAL TO SPITE SINDHU HAMMERS WORLD NUMBER 3

SC:Maratha quota can’t

OBAMA’ PG5 >TF Page

INDIA, US TRADE DELEGATIONS

be given retrospectively
DISCUSS TARIFFS, BILATERAL IS-
SUES
NEWDELHI: Indian and American officials agreed to continue their discussions for
MAHA ROW Apex Court refuses stay on quota for community; seeks state govt’s response held on Friday long discussions over achieving mutually beneficial outcomes
trade relations, the first of anticipated aimed at further growing the economic re-
BHADRA SINHA
RESERVATION FIGHT NOW IN SUPREME COURT
meetings meant to iron out differences lationship and addressing mutual trade
bhadra.sinha@therealm.com
that have snowballed into tit-fortat moves concerns,” the commerce ministry said in
to increase tariffs on each other’s imports. a statement.
GOVT’S NEW MOVE THE PETITIONS WHAT SC SAID
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court A team led by assistant US trade represen According to an official who asked not to
The Maharashtra government de- The Supreme Court was hearing The SC barred the government
barred the Maharashtra government tative (AUSTR) for South and Central Asia, be named, the meeting involved a detailed
cided to extend the benefit of the five petitions challenging the from giving retrospective effect
on Friday from giving retrospective Christopher Wilson, was in Delhi for the stock-taking of all issues.
Maratha quota to those who had Bombay high court (HC) order to the quota and issued it a no-
effect to a notification that grants meeting with senior officials of the com- Headway on any of the issues is likely
applied under it in 2014 that upheld the constitutional va- tice on an appeal challenging a
reservation to the Maratha commu- merce and industryministry. only when commerce minister Piyush
A government resolution (GR) is- lidity of the Maratha quota under Bombay high court order that
nity in college seats and jobs, and “Both sides discussed the broad contours Goyal visits Washington for a trip that is
sued by the CM-led General Ad- the Socially and Educationally upheld the reservation
issued notice to the state on an ap- of bilateral trade and commercial ties and yet to be scheduled, this person added.
ministration Department on Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, The SC, however, did not stay
peal challenging a Bombay high
Thursday stated that reservation 2018 the recent HC order upholding
court order that upheld the quota
will be applicable to those who The HC held that 16% reserva- the constitutional validity of the
policy.
had applied for it between July 9, tion was not justifiable and ruled quota
2014 and November 14, 2014, that quota should not exceed
A bench led by Chief Justice of
before the HC had stayed it then 12% in government jobs and
India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi told coun-
13% in educational institutions
sel for the appellants and the state
that the matter required a lengthy
hearing. It did not accept the peti- .Appeals have been filed against the HC order, HC agreed with the state that the latter was duty-bound
tioner’s plea to put the notification to take steps for the community’s progress. Although
which on June 27 upheld the constitutional validity
on hold.When it was pointed out the reservation was held to be valid, the court said the
of quotas for Marathas after accepting the govern-
that the state on Thursday night is- percentage of reservation was not valid and reduced it
ment’s stand that the community was socially and
sued a directive to implement from 16% to 12% and 13%, as recommended by the
educationally backward. HC held that the 50% cap
Maratha reservation retrospectively State Backward Classes Commission. While upholding
on total reservation imposed by the top court can
from 2014, the bench dictated its the quota, HC referred to the commission report to say
be exceeded in exceptional circumstances. The
order to stop the government from its suggestions were based on quantifiable and contem-
Maratha community accounts for roughly a third of
doing so. The court made the notice poraneous data
Maharashtra’s population and is politically domi-
returnable in two weeks.
nant in the state.

Toddler steps out to play, falls U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster (2R) talks with United States Trade Representative

in an open drain at Goregaon

(USTR) Assistant for South and Central Asia Christopher Wilson (R) and Deputy Assistant
USTR for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch (2L) prior to a meeting at the Parliament
house in New Delhi on July 12, 2019. - US and Indian trade teams started negotiations on July

BMC water plan:

MUMBAI: A one-and-a-half-yearold boy,
Divyansh Suraj Dhansi, fell into an over-
flowing open drain near Ambedkar Chowk
12 as tensions mount over protectionist measures taken by both sides. (Photo by Prakash
SINGH / AFP)(AFP photo
Not finding Divyansh home, his mother
looked for him, but found his slipper near
the nullah. The family then started to look

Pay more if you

in Goregaon (East) on Wednesday night. for the boy in the drain and the bigger nul-
More than 24 hours later, the boy was not lah, known as Piramal nullah, it connects
found, as rescue operations were on at to. Soon, the fire brigade was informed,
the time of going to press on Thursday. which reached the spot, and along with

exceed usage cap

According to police, Divyansh, who lived police and 70 BMC employees began the
in a slum near the 2-foot-deep drain, search.

SIDHU RE-
stepped out to play. By Thursday evening, 45 members of the
Footage from a CCTV camera at a nearby NDRF joined the operation. PS Rahang-

SIGNS FROM
shop shows the child walking towards the dale, chief fire officer, said both ends of
drain and disappearing within seconds. the nullah were being searched.

PUNJAB CAB- GOA CONGRESS MLAS OFFI- MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal

WATER FOR ALL

INET OVER CIALLY SWITCH TO BJP
Corporation (BMC) has proposed setting a
daily limit for how much water every
household uses, and citizens who exceed

NEW PORT-
Currently, non-slum areas get 150 litres of water
that limit will be charged more — a move per person per day, slums get 45 litres per per-
that would not only help save water, but son per day. These allotments, however, are not

FOLIO
NEW DELHI/PANAJI: Ten Goa lawmakers
who split from the Congress formally
joined the BJP in Delhi on Thursday, stok-
ing speculation about a cabinet reshuffle
SUKHDEEP KAUR
and ending the saffron party’s dependence
sukhdeep.kaur@therealm.com on allies and independents to run the gov-
ernment.
CHANDIGARH: More than a month after
The 10 legislators, who will not attract cen
sure under the anti-defection law because
they form two-thirds of the Congress party
in the state, were inducted into the BJP in
the presence of working president JP
Nadda, chief minister Pramod Sawant and
others. They are expected to meet Union
home minister before returning to Goa on
Friday.
also eliminate unequal distribution to Mum- limits, which means people consuming above it
bai homes. don’t pay extra. Now, the BMC plans to set
equal daily limits for all areas, and charge those
Currently, non-slum areas get 150 litres of citizens who exceed that cap
water per person per day, while slums get
a meagre 45 litres per person per day.
homes in Mumbai get the same amount of water,
These allotments, however, are not limits.
for the same amount of time and at the same
In 2016, several MLAs raised the issue of

Sugary drinks can raise can-

he was removed from the powerful local pressure. The report suggests water consumption
inequitable water distribution in different
bodies department, Punjab minister Navjot of every home be accounted for on a daily basis,
areas of the city. They pointed out how the
Singh Sidhu on Sunday posted his resig- to prevent wastage and disproportionate distribu-
island city gets more water supply even

cer risk, says new study

nation on social media, effectively closing
a chapter in his protracted battle with state
CM Amarinder Singh. Sidhu, who refused
to take charge of the power and renewable
energy portfolio that he was assigned to
on June 6, posted the handwritten, one-
line letter addressed to Rahul Gandhi as
Congress president, on his Twitter ac-
count. Sidhu later tweeted he would be
sending the letter to the CM as well.
Amarinder, who took a meeting of the
power department in Sidhu’s absence, is
likely to accept the resignation, according
to a close aide of the CM who wishes to
remain anonymous.
PARIS: Consumption of sugary drinks
such as soda and fruit juice is linked to a
higher risk of developing certain kinds of
cancer, researchers reported on Thursday.
A team of researchers in France wanted to
assess the associations between height-
ened consumption of sugar drinks and the
risks of overall cancer, as well as several
cancer types, including breast, prostate
and bowel cancers. They surveyed more
than 100,000 adults, with an average of
age of 42, 79% of whom were women.
They found that just a 100 ml increase per
day of sugary drinks was associated with
an 18% increased risk of cancer, and with
a 22% increase in breast cancer
tion.
though its population is far lower than the
eastern and extended western suburbs
“The BMC will propose volumetric rates attached
(between Goregaon and Dahisar). Chief
to each flat, instead of water metres for the entire
minister Devendra Fadnavis then asked
building,” said municipal commissioner Praveen
the BMC to form a committee to study
Pardeshi.
problems in water distribution across Mum-
bai and come up with ways to conserve
“This way, a higher rate will be applied to individ-
water.
ual flat-owners who are consuming water above
the limit.”
Two years on, the committee has filed its
report, ‘Towards Equitable and 24x7 Water
The report’s suggestions are on the premise that
Supply for Greater Mumbai’, which sug-
the city’s water demand will only keep increasing
with the growing population.
gests 21 measures, for the shortand-long-
term, to ensure all
02 |THEREALM THE REALM

TR METRO
SATURDAY, 20TH JULY, 2019

Baby-selling racket: 3 more Won’t ex-

amine blast

held from Antop Hill; 2 boys

witnesses
whose iden-

rescued
14 ARRESTED SO FAR Cops nab agent, 2 parents; biological parents of rescued kids yet
to be traced
Manish K Pathak
manish.pathak@therealm.com
MUMBAI: The city crime branch on
Sunday arrested three more persons
from Antop Hill for their alleged in-
volvement in a babyselling racket
busted earlier this month. Two boys,
aged four years and eight years, respec-
tively, were also rescued.
The accused arrested on Sunday are
Lahu Nivatkar, 52; Preeti Shitap, 42;
and Suraiya Khan, 37 — all Antop Hill
residents. The biological parents of both
the boys rescued have not been traced
yet. “We have been inquiring with the
accused, but they are not revealing the
addresses and names of the real par-
ents,” said Aparna Joshi, inspector,
unit-6 and the investigating officer.
Since July 1, officers of unit-6 have ar-
rested 14 people — including an all-
women gang, and a few parents — in
the case for allegedly buying, kidnap-
ping babies or selling them. The police
have so far rescued six boys — four
from the city and two from Delhi.
Police said the accused gang of women
used to keep a watch on poor, pregnant
women living in slums. If the women de-
livered boys, the accused used to con-
vince them to sell their babies to
childless couples or parents seeking a
son. “The accused used to tell the moth-
ers of the baby boys that a legal adop-
tion agreement would be made with the
parents; that they would be paid a huge
amount in exchange; and that they
could visit their babies when they
HOW THE RACKET UNFOLDED
A look at what we know so far
Suraiya’s name cropped up while the
police were questioning one of the ac-
cused, Zhuleumma Ismail Dalvi, 34,
who was recently taken into custody
from Byculla Jail, where she was lodged
since February for allegedly selling a
newborn baby to a Hyderabad couple.
Suraiya, an agent for egg donors, was in
touch with Zhuleumma, as well as with
hospitals and doctors, said an officer.
Nivatkar, a milkseller, was childless, and
came in touch with Suraiya, who prom-
ised him that she would arrange a boy
for him. Nivatkar then paid ₹2.5 lakh to
Suraiya for a baby boy in November
2014. On Sunday, the police rescued the
boy, now four years and six months old,
from Nivatkar’s residence and arrested
him, said the officer.During inquiry,
Suraiya said she had sold another boy
HOW COPS CRACKED THE CASE to Shitap in 2012 for ₹1.5 lakh.
An officer of unit-6, Chandrakant Dalvi received a tip-off that some women in-
The officers then searched Shitap’s res-
volved in surrogacy process, were in contact with hospitals and were taking
idence, rescued the eight-year-old boy
details of families looking for a boy child.Dalvi realised these women were act-
and arrested her. Police said Shitap has
ing as agents.After identifying a suspected agent, he laid a trap and caught
four daughters, but wanted a son, so she
her in the mist of a deal. On being interrogated, she revealed that she had
contacted Suraiya with Zhuleumma’s
sold a baby boy to a resident of Bhiwandi. Dalvi and his team traced the Bhi-
help.
MODUS OPERANDI
The accused’s modus operandi
was to keep a watch on poor, preg-
nant women in slums. If they deliv-
ered a boy, the accused convinced
them to sell their baby to childless
couples or couple wanting a son.
Some of the accused are con-
nected with private and government
hospitals or work as agents for egg
donors and surrogate mothers
WHAT OFFICERS SAID
We have been inquiring with the ac-
cused, but they are not revealing the
names of real parents.
APARNA JOSHI, inspector, unit-6
The accused told mothers of the ba-
bies they would be paid a huge
amount and they could visit them
anytime they wished to.
tities are
withheld:
NIA
MUMBAI: The National Investigation
Agency (NIA) on Monday stated be-
fore the Bombay high court (HC) that
it will not examine any of the 199
prosecution witnesses whose identi-
ties are withheld from the accused in
the 2008 Malegaon blast case be-
fore July 22, when the petition is
posted for further hearing.
The agency was responding to a pe-
tition filed by one of the accused in
the case – Lt Col Prasad Purohit.
The NIA said that while the other wit-
nesses are being examined, these
199 witnesses whose names, ad-
dresses and statements are trun-
cated will not be examined before
July 22.
Advocate Sandesh Patil, who ap-
peared for the NIA, informed the di-
vision bench of justice
IndrajitMahanty and justice AM
Badar that truncated statements of
the 199 prosecution witnesses have
been given to the accused persons
in the case.
The statement came after Purohit’s
lawyer, advocate Shrikant Shivade,
said the trial was happening on a
day-to-day basis and the defence
will find it difficult to seek adjourn-
ment for the crossexamination of
these witnesses, as not only are
their identities concealed, but most
of their statements are also trun-
cated.
Purohit approached the HC after the
trial court rejected his plea for clear,
non-truncated copies of these wit-
nesses last November. In his peti-
tions, Purohit had complained that
the decision to refuse them clear
copies was contrary to the principle
of fair trial. HTC

Bandra man molests

wished to. However, no agreement wandi family, who gave evasive answers about their son. The father of the
POLICE OFFICER
would finally be made,” said an officer. son, Desai, was arrested. Further interrogation then led the cops to the other
accused.

Bandra man molests 14-yr-old house help

14-yr-old house help

When he touched me inappropriately, I pushed him away. But he repeated the act and
threatened to harm me if I disclosed the incident
THE GIRL’S STATEMENT TO POLICE

MUMBAI: The Bandra police booked
a 55-year-old man on Sunday under
the Protection of Children from Sex-
ual Offences (POCSO) Act for al-
legedly molesting a 14-year-old girl
who was employed at his home as a
caretaker for his ailing mother.
According to the police, the incident
took place on Friday. The accused’s
wife had taken her mother to the doc-
tor, while the accused’s 80-year-old
mother, who is bedridden, was in her
bedroom.
“I finished my work and tried to leave
around 7.30pm, but he said his wife
was stuck in traffic and his mother
will be left unattended if I leave. He
then came towards me and touched
me inappropriately. I pushed him
away but he repeated the act. When I
began screaming, he threatened to
harm me if I disclosed the incident to
anyone,” read the girl’s statement to
the Bandra police.
The girl then went home and told her
parents that she will not go to the ac-
cused’s home from the next day and
revealed the incident to them. Her fa-
ther approached the police on Sun-
day,
where a first information report (FIR)
was filed under sections 354 (crimi-
nal force on a woman) and 506 (crim-
inal intimidation) of Indian Penal
Code (IPC) and section 8 (sexual as-
sault) of POCSO Act.
Girish Anavarkar, senior police in-
spector, Bandra police station, said,
“We have lodged an FIR and are
probing further. We will arrest the ac-
cused soon.”
The girl told the police that she lives
in a chawl in Bandra (West) with her
parents and was sent to work at the
accused’s home owing to her family’s
financial distress.
The accused’s wife had taken her
mother to the doctor, while the ac-
cused’s 80-year-old mother, who is
bedridden, was in her bedroom.
When he touched me inappropriately, I pushed him away. But he repeated the act and threat-
ened to harm me if I disclosed the incident
THE GIRL’S STATEMENT TO POLICE
MUMBAI: The Bandra police booked a 55-year-old man
on Sunday under the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly molesting a 14-year-
old girl who was employed at his home as a caretaker for
his ailing mother.
According to the police, the incident took place on Friday.
The accused’s wife had taken her mother to the doctor,
while the accused’s 80-year-old mother, who is bedrid-
den, was in her bedroom.
The girl then went home and told her parents that she will
not go to the accused’s home from the next day and re-
vealed the incident to them. Her father approached the
police on Sunday, where a first information report (FIR)
was filed under sections 354 (criminal force on a woman)
and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code (IPC)
and section 8 (sexual assault) of POCSO Act.
Girish Anavarkar, senior police inspector, Bandra police
station, said, “We have lodged an FIR and are probing
further. We will arrest the accused soon.”

4 cops suspended for inaction over

“I finished my work and tried to leave around 7.30pm, but
he said his wife was stuck in traffic and his mother will be The girl told the police that she lives in a chawl in Bandra
left unattended if I leave. He then came towards me and (West) with her parents and was sent to work at the ac-

dance bar norms

touched me inappropriately. I pushed him away but he re- cused’s home owing to her family’s financial distress.
peated the act. When I began screaming, he threatened
to harm me if I disclosed the incident to anyone,” read the
girl’s statement to the Bandra police.

MUMBAI: Four police personnel from Kasturba Marg po-
lice station in Borivli (East) were suspended on Monday
for allegedly failing to act against at least five dance
bars, which flouted the guidelines.
The suspension order of the four personnel — senior in-
spector Sanjeev Pimple, inspector Abantrao Hake, sub-
inspector Chetak Gange and head constable Shivaji
Chakne — reportedly came from the new additional
commissioner of north region, Dilip Sawant, who took
charge over a month ago. Deputy commissioner of po-
lice of zone 11, Vinay Rathod, confirmed the develop-
ment.
On Sunday night, a special team, acting on a tip-off re-
ceived by Sawant, raided a bar in Borivli and rescued
around 12 women, who were later sent to a shelter
home.
“As per the licensing rules, only four women are allowed
in a dance bar. But in this bar, 12 women were em-
ployed,” said the Mumbai Police officer.
The bar’s owner, manager, cashier and stewards were
booked for obscenity under various sections of the In-
dian Penal Code (IPC) and the Maharashtra Prohibition
of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar
Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working
therein) Act, 2016. The senior officers said despite warn-
ings to the police personnel, 12 women continued to
work in the dance bar.
A police officer from Mumbai Police said, “Dance bars
are allowed to operate only if they have a valid license
and follow the guidelines and rules. The police officers
from Kasturba Marg police station did not ensure that the
bars in their jurisdiction were following the rules.”
A police officer from the north region, who is privy to the
developments in the case, said, “The four were under
the scanner after the social service branch of the Mum-
bai crime branch raided a dance bar in their jurisdiction
which violated rules around 12 days ago. The personel
were given a warning by the additional commissioner
[Sawant] and were asked to conduct a crackdown on all
the dance bars in their jurisdiction which flouted the
norms.”
However, despite the warning, it was discovered that five
more dance bars were operating without following the
norms, added the officer.
Based on these two incidents which came to light in a
span of two weeks, Sawant initiated a departmental in-
quiry and suspended the four personnel for their failure
in cracking down on such dance bars.
Following the suspension, a senior police officer will con-
duct a departmental inquiry to find out the extent of the
negligence on the part of the police personnel and also
will investigate if the four derived any profits by allowing
the dance bars to operate
THE REALM
TR Entertainment
SUNDAY, 15TH JULY, 2018
Yami
says she
likes
multi-
tasking
This year has been a busy one for Yami Gautam. Her first film, Uri: The
Surgical Strike, got a lot of recognition by earning over ₹300 crores at
the box office. Post Uri, Yami started shooting for her next project, Bala,
with Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar. Yami will be seen por-
traying the role of a model in the film. They briefly shot for the film in
Mumbai followed by schedules in Kanpur and then in Lucknow. But
while shooting for the film, Yami signed two more interesting projects
and her slate for the year is now full. She is now multi-tasking between
her film shoots and brand endorsements.
A source close to the actor reveals, “Yami will soon begin shooting for
her next film with Diljit
Dosanjh and another romantic comedy with Vikrant Massey. Yami is
also a popular actor on television due to her brand endorsements. But
since she is shooting in Lucknow, she is shuttling between Mumbai and
Lucknow for her brand commitments. The shoot of Bala cannot be de-
layed and her brand endorsements are also time bound so she has
been travelling quite a bit.”
Talking about the same, Yami says that this is what she signed up for
when she became an actor. “I think I’m personally capable of multi-task-
ing. It keeps my interests up and keeps me going. So, as difficult as it
may seem, I like juggling things and projects. It’s what I had committed
to when I became an actor and I’m happy I get to live this life.”
Esha Gupta takes part in
clean-up drive
Esha Gupta has always been vocal about saving the environ-
ment and she recently decided to take the initiative a notch
higher. The actor participated in a mangrove clean-up drive in
Bandra on July 13, not just to clean certain areas, but also to
talk to people and educate them on the importance of keeping
their surroundings clean. She took up the task in association
with an NGO and was accompanied by a number of volunteers.
Esha Gupta
Esha says, “I have always felt very strongly about saving Mother
Earth and doing whatever I can to save it. I believe in not letting
anything damage the hygiene and beauty of our surroundings. I
hope that more and more people can be part of clean-up drives.
This is a small step for our environment. It’s still not too late to
protect and save our planet in every way possible.”
Recently, Esha also posted a picture of plants, talking about
their various species getting extinct. She had captioned the
photo, “Plants underpin all life on earth, they provide the oxygen
we breathe and the food we eat, as well as making up the back-
bone of the world’s ecosystems — so plant extinction is bad
news for all species (sic).”
TheRealm | 03
‘Theatre scene in the city is vibrant’
Says Shernaz Patel, who has
been active in the industry for
Each genre, each style has its dedicated au-
more than 30 years; adds that
dience. There are still people, who want to
now is the best time to be in the
go out on a weekend to watch live entertain-
industry
ment and I think that’s fantastic. SHERNAZ
Gayathri Menon PATEL, ACTOR
Known for films such as Black (2005), Guzaarish
(2010), Rockstar (2011) and many more, actor Sh-
ernaz Patel is also a wellknown name in the the-
keep the magic of theatres alive. “The theatre
scene in the city is vibrant, diverse and it’s driving.
We have got so many plays of different languages
atre circle as well. She is the artistic director of a happening simultaneously. There are small shows
theatre initiative, Aadyam, which has produced happening in small alternative venues as well
world-class plays including Twelve Angry Jurors along with big-budget shows. You have musicals
and The Hounds of Baskerville. nowadays and a lot of experimental plays with
younger groups too.
Talking about being on stage, Shernaz says that
the live medium keeps her going. “Theatre is a live People are experimenting with language, style,
medium. So, the joy of performing live is what genres and the best part is that audiences are
makes people take uptheatre. The experience is coming and watching these shows. Each genre,
always different which keeps it exciting all the time. each style has its dedicated audience. There are
Every show is new,” she adds. still people, who want to go out on a weekend to
watch live entertainment and I think that’s fantas-
Shernaz comes from a family of theatre actors and tic. Now is a great time to be in theatres for sure,”
hence, has seen a lot of changes in the theatre she concludes.
scene in the city throughout the years. She says
that the audiences, who come to watch a play,
‘We need commercial films on
Natalie
gay rights’
Portman
to play
From a virile sperm donor in Vicky Donor (2012) to a
first fe-
person suffering from erectile dysfunction in Shubh
Mangal Saavdhan (2017) and a blind musician in
male
Andhadhun (2018), Ayushmann Khurrana has proved
his range as an actor.
Thor
The actor is now all set to take his game to the next
level, and impress the audience playing a homosex-
ual man in the “It is important to make films based on gay rights in
the commercial sphere because that way you are not Academy-Award winning actor Natalie Portman is
upcoming film, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan. He preaching the converted,” says Ayushmann. all set to become the first female Thor in the fourth
says it is important that a film based on gay rights be film from the franchise.
made in the commercial mainstream space.
She has been associated with the series as she
has played Jane Foster in the first two films. Taika
Waititi, the film’s director, announced the same at
the Comic-Con panel in San Diego, USA, reported
Deadline.
“That storyline is incredible, is full of emotion, love
and thunder, and introduces for the first time, fe-
male Thor,” Waititi said.
While describing the fate of Thor after Avengers:
Endgame, Waititi said, “He’s heading to the 7-11
for a little Netflix subscription and at this point, he
might be on the couch, who knows.”
Actor Chris Hemsworth will also be back on board
THE PAPARAZZI COLLECTION
as the golden Asgardian warrior, who we last saw
jetting off into space with the Guardians of the
Galaxy at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
From airport looks to gym wear or even casuals, B-Town
stars never run out of trendy outfits. Hrithik Roshan, who
posed for the shutterbugs in a black sweatshirt, was
snapped in Juhu. Shahid Kapoor aced his gym look with a
casual tee and ripped joggers in the same area. Farah Khan
posed with her kids Anya Kunder, Czar Kunder and Diva
Kunder in the vicinity. Tiger Shroff, at his casual best, and
Disha Patani, in an all-blue outfit, were photographed in
Bandra. Raveena Tandon looked ravishing in a bottle green
jumpsuit in the vicinity. Looking bright in a yellow hoodie
was Yami Gautam, who was also clicked in Bandra. Arjun
Rampal along with girlfriend, Gabriella Demetriades, was
spotted with their newborn baby outside a hospital in
Mahim. The airport was also a hub for celebrity spotting.
Anil Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter, Tabu, Sonakshi Sinha and
Aparshakti Khurana were all snapped there.
04 | TheRealm THE REALM

TR Editorial
SATURDAY, 20TH JULY, 2019

What Is Indian-ness?
The point is that the climb fosters deeper
and deeper feelings of loving connected-
ness although only a few, rare saints can
reach the summit, expressed in the Upan-
brotherhood, occupies the last place in this
short list and, indeed, has become com-
pletely muted if not sidelined in contem-
porary discourse.
In our fascination with Western intellec-
ethic, justice, which is related to the issue
of power, of correcting skewed and unfair
power relations, a highlighting of Equality
in the three aspirations of the French rev-
olutionary slogan.
Given the march of exclusive nationalisms
all over the world in recent years, religious
nationalism in Turkey, Indonesia, India
and parts of the Islamic world, racial na-
tionalism in the United States, cultural

SUDHIR KAKAR
ishadic ideal of ‘he who sees all beings in tual gurus, we do not realise what a dispro- In an almost sacralised ethic of justice, ‘sons of the soil’ nationalism in most of
his own self and his own self in all beings’. portionate space the Western idea of the what matters is the outcome, not the path Europe, one would be tempted to say that
Most of us can consider ourselves fortu- role of power in social relations has come and there are eloquent voices that have de- a secular, inclusive nationalism was a lib-

By forgetting sympathy,
eral dream which has few takers today. But
perhaps what is needed is a vision of in-
clusive nationalism that is not of the ‘pro-

India is in danger of los-

gressive’ kind, which only pays homage to
man’s reason and conditions of material
life, but one that bases itself on the foster-

ing its highest civilisa-

ing of a consciousness irradiated by our
civilisational heritage of sympathy.

tional ideal
Every civilisation has its own view of the
world and man’s place in it, values that
leak into the psyche of its members. Sym-
pathy has been a dominant value in the
world view of our own civilisation.
Some of the greatest Indian icons – Bud-
dha in ancient India, Kabir, Nanak,
Tukaram, Basava in medieval India,
Tagore and Gandhi in modern India come
immediately to mind – have held that sym-
pathy is essential to how we connect (or
must connect) not only to human beings
but to all existence. Here Tagore and
Gandhi are in complete agreement.
“Brotherhood,” Gandhi writes in one let-
ter, “is just now a distant aspiration. To me
it is a test of true spirituality. All our
prayers, and observances are empty noth-
ings so long as we do not feel a live kin-
ship with all life.”
Sympathy, as i understand it, is the feeling
of kinship, a sense of ‘we’ that extends to
beyond what is our kin. And this feeling of
kinship is not limited to human beings but
extends to the natural world. One can com-
pare sympathy to a mountain climb with
many base camps marking its progress on
the way.
The first camp from which one cannot see
the summit – covered as it is by clouds,
though we know it is there – is tolerance,
defined minimally as giving the benefit of
the doubt to others. The second camp, a lit-
tle higher, can be said to be compassion,
while the third and the last camp from
where one climbs to the summit is empa-
thy, the ‘feeling into’ another person, al-
though of course, empathy can also
encompass a ‘feeling into’ nature.
nate if we can catch a glimpse of the peak
of sympathy from the base camps of toler-
ance, compassion and empathy.
Yet, today, one feels that the traditional In-
dian civilisational emphasis on sympathy,
love in its most elevated form, as indispen-
sable to social cohesion and solidarity, is
being eclipsed by other values, such as jus-
tice, the righting of wrongs. We are all fa-
miliar with the famous slogan of the
French revolution, now a universal aspira-
tion: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. It is in-
teresting to note that fraternity,
to occupy in the modern Indian mind.
Again, this is not to reject the value of the
role of power and the truth it contains, but
seek to assimilate this truth with our own
civilisational heritage on the importance of
sympathy.
For instance, social movements in service
of justice for the weak and the oppressed
are rapidly picking up pace in our country,
shaking traditional hierarchies and power
structures. This is a welcome develop-
ment. Some of these movements, however,
seem to operate on the basis of only one
fended violence in service of justice. In
such cases, should the ethic of sympathy,
compassion in this context, not temper the
quest for justice? In our quest to right a
wrong, bring the ethic of justice to the
forefront, are we in danger of losing sight
of what Gandhi and Tagore – and before
them our greatest icons – held was a defin-
ing characteristic of Indian civilisation …
sympathy? In Tagore’s words, “Creative
force needed for the true union in human
society is love; justice is only an accom-
paniment to it, like the beating of tom-tom
to song.”
What is needed is a revival of an ‘idea of
India’ that has deep roots in our civilisa-
tion and to which our greatest cultural
icons have borne witness, namely that
each one of us is deeply embedded with
other human beings as also connected to
animate and inanimate nature, a connect-
edness that demands a cultivation of sym-
pathy for all that is not self. At certain
historical times, this supreme value of our
civilisation may be temporarily super-
seded. But even when banished into un-
conscious depths at such times, sympathy
continues to claim its privileged position
in our psyche as a niggling feeling of
poorly understood disquiet that follows a

saturday sentiments Unprincipled power politics

KARAN THAPAR Karnataka should go for polls. Its citizens deserve better

Don’t Cage RTI

Government’s unfortunate move to amend
the Right to Infor mation Act will weaken
the signature legislation, that reverses the
opacity and bureaucratic disdain which
makes governance inaccessible for ordi-
nary citizens. The proposed amendment
whittles down security of tenure for infor-
mation commissioners from the existing
ter m of five years in office or upon reach-
ing the age of 65 to “such terms as may be
prescribed by the central gover nment”.
Salaries and allowances and other ter ms
and conditions of service of central (and
state chief) information commissioners,
now at par with election commissioners,
will instead be “such as may be prescribed
by the central government”.
In short, a move to undermine the status
of the central and state information com-
missions – and turn them into “caged par-
rots” as the Supreme Court chose to
describe the CBI – is afoot. Replacing a
fixed statutory term that offers security of
tenure with one where information com-
government and on terms set by it im-
pinges on institutional autonomy. The
Act’s provisions offering parity with elec-
tion commissioners had bestowed tremen-
dous prestige upon ICs. It was a signifier
of autonomy and to not be chary when is-
suing orders to all-powerful government
officers unwilling to share information
with citizens.
There is no cogent reason to reverse this
spirit of the RTI Act or grudge the quasi-
parity with constitutional authorities like
EC. Union minister Jitender Singh told
Parliament that the information commis-
sion was only a statutory body but
“clumsy” and “hasty” passage of the Act
had “given the IC the status of a Supreme
Court judge and at the same time left the
provision of appeal to the High Court”.
Without a trace of irony he also claimed
the amendment bill was intended to
streamline and strengthen the RTI Act.
Diluting such a popular law will hurt
mandate received in May. Weakening RTI
Act plays into bureaucracy’s hands. After
all, citizens had used RTI to combat red
tape. To actually strengthen RTI Act,
promptly filling IC vacancies and more
proactive mandatory disclosures of infor-
mation will help. In 2017-18, RTI applica-
tions to central government increased 35%
and first appeals against denial of informa-
tion shot up 22% from the preceding year.
Given these realities, any move to under-
mine information commissioners sends
wrong signals on anti-corruption and
transparency.
Thursday’s vote in the Karnataka assembly — when Chief
Minister (CM) HD Kumaraswamy has to prove his majority
— is a result of the desertion of 16 Members of the Leg-
islative Assembly (MLAs) from the ruling alliance. But,
fundamentally, it is an outcome of the instability in the
state ever since the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) al-
liance took office. The two parties had come together to
keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out.
But the alliance has been in trouble since its inception.
The Congress’ former CM, Siddaramaiah, who shares an
old rivalry with JD(S) supremo, HD Deve Gowda, was un-
happy at the junior partner getting leadership. Those who
did not become ministers turned dissenters. Mr Ku-
maraswamy has been unable to impose his authority.
The BJP leader, BS Yeddyurappa, who believes this is his
last shot at power, played on these internal contradictions,
wooing disgruntled MLAs with a range of inducements.
The Lok Sabha results, in which the BJP won 25 of the 28
seats in the state, energised the party even more. The
fact that the Congress, with Rahul Gandhi’s resignation, is
bereft of leadership, did not help. It is not a coincidence
‘Organic farming is worse than atom bomb …
does not suit Indian conditions, only adds to
that five weeks after the results of the general elections
were announced, the Karnataka alliance started coming
apart.
Irrespective of the outcome of the vote on Thursday, the
Karnataka episode must rank as one of the most dis-
graceful chapters in recent Indian democratic history. On
the one hand, there is a ruthless BJP, which believes in
getting to power at all costs. It has cynically exploited all
possibilities in this quest, irrespective of ideology or princi-
ples. On the other hand — and greater culpability rests
here — is the opportunism of the Congress-JD(S).
It was an alliance born in a shoddy compromise, in which
power was the only glue. It was unable to manage its own
internal differences. It has run an ineffective government.
The (admittedly fractured) mandate of 2018 has all but
been squandered and the solution perhaps lies in fresh
elections. Citizens deserve better.

greenhouse emissions’
missioners (ICs) serve at the pleasure of NDA’s credibility and can dent the huge

The resilience and NDA’s stated aim is to double farmers’ income by 2022. A so-
thing that they haven’t seen or aren’t used to. I can’t
spend my life thinking about others,” she said.
lution proposed in the Union Budget was a “back to basics”
heroism of Dutee In 2014, she was dropped from the Commonwealth approach through “zero budget” farming. Subhash Palekar ,

Chand
Games squad, with the Athletics Federation of India the founder of this approach, speaks to Shishir Arya about it:
(AFI) saying she could not compete as a female athlete During the 2014 elections
because of a hyperandrogenism rule (a testosterone Prime Minister Narendra
Dutee Chand is not one to be pulled down. This is no limit set by the world athletics body for women ath- Modi had promised to
platitude; Chand lives her truth. The 23-year-old letes). Chand challenged the ruling, and reversed it, set- double farmers’ income if
woman from Odisha doesn’t back down. The latest ex- ting a milestone for gender equality in sports. Her next his party came to power.
ample of this came in Napoli, where Chand ran 100m aim is to qualify for the World Championships in Doha He was hoping that Indian
in 11.32 seconds, becoming the first Indian woman ath- in September. For that, she has to achieve the qualify- Council for Agricultural
lete to win a gold medal at the World Universiade. It ing mark of 11.24 seconds, a timing lower than her per- Research (ICAR) would
was also the first time an Indian won a global 100m sonal best. To do that, Chand will have to compete at come up with some tech-
sprint event. Dutee’s pace was a bit slower than her na- international events. The trip to Napoli was sponsored nique by that time, but it
tional record of 11.26 seconds, but the forces she was by her university and not the government, which does did not happen. Niti Aayog
battling were bigger than her on-track competition. It not consider her performances as good enough for elite- then carried out a survey.
was her first major competition since she came out level funding. Yet another challenge for the star. The team concluded that
about being in a same-sex relationship and drawing the There’s a reason she tweeted “Pull me down, I will chemical-based farming is
public ire of her family. She took it in her stride. “As come back stronger!” after her latest triumph. of no use and organic
for the society, it will criticise any sort of change... any- farming has also not
yielded any results except
causing global warming
due to greenhouse emis-
sions that it leads to. They
finally got the answer in
Subhash Palekar Natural
Farming (SPNF).
What happened next?
A day-long meeting was
held in New Delhi in Feb-
ruary this year. It was at-
tended by Niti Aayog
vice-chairman Rajiv
Kumar, director general of
ICAR Trilochan Mohapa-
tra, senior bureaucrats and
agriculture secretaries of
states. Another meeting
was held 15 days before
the Budget. Narendra
Tomar had taken over as
the new agriculture minis-
ter by then. They accepted
my theory and gave feed-
back to the PM.
What exactly is zero
budget farming?
Let me clarify that it’s not
zero budget farming ex-
actly. The movement
began in 2000. Since it in-
volved nil cost, it was de-
cided to name it zero
budget natural farming.
However, the farmers still
have to spend towards
wages to farmhands,
power bills and water
charges. Since it was natu-
ral farming, many insisted
on renaming it SPNF. This
happened three months
ago. The core of SPNF is
Jeevamrut – a mixture
mainly involving cow
urine and dung apart from
pesticides made from
leaves. Can it totally re-
place chemical fertilis-
ers?Yes. This can happen
in the future though I can-
not predict when exactly. I
can show you grapes that
have grown purely on nat-
ural farming. The drought
in Vidarbha has dried
many orange orchards but
those grown under SPNF
have survived.
How does it work?
The soil is full of nutrients.
Plants also need it in
cooked form and this is
provided by the microor-
ganisms present in the soil.
Jeevamrut is the best
source of such microbes.
After intense trial and
error, I arrived at a conclu-
sion that dung and urine of
the local indigenous breed
of cow is the best suited
ingredient to make Jee-
vamrut. I tried with that of
other animals like buffalo,
bulls and even cows of for-
eign breeds, but none
could match that of the
local cow. With one cow,
enough Jeevamrut can be
produced for 30 acres of
land. Chemical farming
and even traditional ma-
nure utilise the carbon nat-
urally available in soil.
This leads to initial in-
crease in output which
falls as carbon level is de-
pleted. You have said that
SPNF has 50 lakh follow-
ers. But The Times of
India toured Vidarbha re-
gion and only a handful
could be found.That is be-
cause we have not opened
our network to the media.
What do you expect from
government?
I do not expect anything
from government. Chemi-
cal farming will certainly
continue. However what
happened in Andhra
Pradesh and Himachal
Pradesh is indeed a mira-
cle. IIn Himachal, the au-
thorities have decided to
convert every inch of land
into SPNF. I have got ac-
ceptance in Uttarakhand
too. Three new states, Kar-
nataka, Kerala and Chhat-
tisgarh, have shown
willingness.
breeds of cows.
 TheRealm | 05

TR World
THE REALM
SUNDAY, 15TH JULY, 2018

On moon landing day, another blast- Trump quit Iran deal to spite
Obama: UK envoy in leaked mail
off to space Armstrong died in 2012, leaving Aldrin, 89, and command module pilot
TF Correspondent

info.thefocus@gmail.com
From page 01 LONDON: US Presi-
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA: A moonstruck nation celebrated the 50th an- Michael Collins, 88, to mark the golden anniversary. Both astronauts and the dent Donald Trump abandoned the
niversary of humanity’s first footsteps on another world on Saturday, gathering Armstrong family met with Trump in the Oval Office on Friday, with Collins Iran nuclear deal in 2018 solely to
at races and other festivities to commemorate Apollo 11’s “giant leap” by Neil pushing for a direct mission to Mars and skipping the moon, and Aldrin ex- spite his predecessor Barack
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. pressing dismay at the past few decades of human space exploration. Obama, who had agreed to the deal,
according to a fresh leak of emails by
the British ambassador to the US
Kim Darroch, on Sunday.
AP FILE
US President Donald Trump with
predecessor Barack Obama.
Publication of the envoy’s views last
Sunday on the Trump administration
sparked a diplomatic row, besides
creating ripples between the two UK
prime ministerial candidates, Boris
Johnson and foreign secretary Je-
remy Hunt, in the ongoing election
for the next Conservative leader. Ac-
cording to the latest extracts pub-
lished in The Mail on Sunday,
Darroch described Trump pulling out
of the Iran deal in May 2018 as an
act of “diplomatic vandalism”, adding
On Saturday, Pence, Aldrin and Armstrong’s older son, Rick, visited the Apollo that the act appeared to be for “per-
Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon on July 20 1969 11 launch pad, now leased by SpaceX, and the building now named for Arm- sonality reasons”.
AP FILE strong where the astronauts suited up for liftoff on July 16, 1969. In New York
Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. City, organisers moved a moon-landing party from Times Square into a hotel The tabloid quoted Darroch as re-
At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Aldrin showed Vice President Mike Pence because of the heat wave. Youngsters joined former space shuttle astronaut porting to London: “The outcome il-
the launch pad where he flew to the moon in 1969. Halfway around the world, Winston Scott there, as a giant screen showed the Saturn V rocket lifting off in lustrated the paradox of this White
an American and two other astronauts blasted into space from Kazakhstan on 1969. In Kazakhstan, Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency House: you got exceptional access,
a Russian rocket. In Armstrong’s hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio, nearly Roscosmos, NASA’s Andrew Morgan and Luca Parmitano of the European seeing everyone short of the presi-
2,000 runners competed in “Run to the Moon” races. The Eagle lunar lander, Space Agency rocketed into the night to the International Space Station. Only dent; but on the substance, the ad-
carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, landed on the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, Skvortsov was alive at the time of Apollo 11. ministration is set upon an act of
1969. Armstrong was the first one out, proclaiming for the ages: “That’s one diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for
small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” ideological and personality reasons -
The three already living on the space station also were born long after the it was Obama’s deal”.
“Few moments in our American story spark more pride than the Apollo 11 mis- moon landings. The crew deliberately modelled the mission patch after Apollo
“Moreover, they can’t articulate any
‘day-after’ strategy; and contacts with
state department this morning sug-
gest no sort of plan for reaching out
to partners and allies, whether in Eu-
rope or the region.”
Darroch, who sent the emails when
Johnson was the foreign secretary,
has resigned in the wake of the row,
but will continue in the post until his
replacement is announced, possibly
by the new prime minister later this
month.
The tabloid published the emails de-
spite caution from Scotland Yard that
doing so may breach the Official Se-
crets Act, and that journalists and
newspaper organisations could also
face criminal prosecution.
However, the police walked back on
the caution amid protests on its po-
tential impact on freedom of the
press.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Times re-
ported that the suspect behind the
leak had been identified and the pos-
sibility of a computer hack by another
country had been ruled out, while
The Mail on Sunday said publishing
the leaks is in the public interest.

8 dead in bomb blast

sion,” President Donald Trump said in a Space Exploration Day message, reit- 11: no astronaut names included to show the universal nature of space flight.
eration the goal of sending astronauts back to the moon within five years and AGENCIES
taking “the next giant leap — sending Americans to Mars.”

near university gate

US wants to restart N-
talks despite N Korea’s
KABUL:At least eight people were
killed and dozens more wounded on Health ministry spokesman Wahidul-

warning
US state dept upbeat over commit-
ments made by Kim, Trump at last 2
summits
WASHINGTON/SEOUL: The US said
on Tuesday it hoped to hold denu-
clearisation talks with North Korea,
after Pyongyang warned that US-
South Korean military exercises could
affect their planned resumption.
AP
File photo showing South Korean and
US marines taking part in a joint mili-
tary exercise in Pohang, South Korea.
The North had earlier on Tuesday
hinted it could reconsider its morato-
rium on nuclear testing over next
month’s drills, which have been held
for years but were scaled down to
ease tensions with Pyongyang.
It was the North’s first statement on
the talks since US President Donald
Trump and North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un agreed to a resumption of di-
alogue at an impromptu meeting in
the Demilitarized Zone that divides
the two Koreas on June 30.
Responding to the North’s statement,
the US state department said it re-
mained upbeat over commitments
Friday when a bomb detonated near lah Mayar said the death toll had
a major university in Kabul while stu- reached eight, with another 33 in-
dents were waiting to take an exam, jured. The heavily militarised Afghan
officials said. capital remains one of the highest-
Vietnam,” US state department profile targets for both the Taliban
spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told AP and the so-called Islamic
reporters. “We look forward, of Security forces stand guard near the
course, to resuming those negotia- site of the blast. State group, with both regularly
tions and we hope to talk, always, so The blast comes amid an unending launching devastating attacks that
we can advance progress on these wave of violence across Afghanistan, often kill and maim civilians. Bahar
commitments.” where civilians are being killed every Mehr, the interior ministry official,
day in the country’s gruelling conflict, said five people had been killed in-
The South Korean government also now in its 18th year. cluding a traffic police officer.
said on Wednesday it expected the The blast had been caused by a
talks to go ahead and that it hoped The Taliban denied any involvement sticky bomb, he said.
they would result in “practical in Friday’s blast, which took place
progress”.There are close to 30,000 near the southern entrance to Kabul
US troops stationed in South Korea. University, an official with the interior
ministry’s media office told AFP.
Their annual drills with tens of thou-
sands of South Korean soldiers have
always infuriated the North - with Py-
ongyang condemning the manoeu-
vres as rehearsals for invasion.
RESOLVING S KOREA, JAPAN DIS-
PUTE
The US will “do what it can do” to help
defuse a worsening political and eco-
nomic dispute between South Korea
and Japan, a senior US diplomat said
on Wednesday, as South Korea
warned that the row would have
global repercussions.

INDIAN-ORI- New graft

made by Kim and Trump during their
June encounter and at a February The US has been hesitant to wade

GIN UK COP probe

summit in Vietnam. “From our per- into the feud between its allies, but
spective, we would hope that no one the dispute, which threatens global Security forces stand guard near the site of the blast.
would try to block, in their government supplies of memory chips and smart-

BOUGHT launched
or our government, the ability for
President Trump and Chairman Kim
phones, has overshadowed the visit
by David Stilwell, the top US diplomat

PORN WHILE against Sharif,

to make progress on the commit- for East Asia policy.
ments they made to each other in

ON DUTY
LONDON: A serving Indian-origin of-
ficer of Scotland Yard has pleaded
guilty to fraud after he purchased
pornography using a member of the
public’s cable television while he
was on duty in 2018, officials prob-
ing police conduct said. Constable
Avi Maharaj, 44, has pleaded guilty
at the Westminster Magistrates
Court to one count of fraud and will
be sentenced on August 6. He had
denied making the purchase during
the Independent Office for Public
Conduct’s probe.
daughter
LAHORE: Pakistan’s anti-corruption
body has initiated another investi-
gation against jailed former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif and his
daughter Maryam for their alleged
involvement in money laundering
and having income beyond means,
media reports said on Saturday.
PTI
B’desh ex-dictator Ershad dies
Suraj Pillai
suraj_pillai@tfco.com
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s former military
dictator HM Ershad, who had seized
power in a 1982 coup, has died. He
was 89.
Ershad had long been suffering from
multiple complications including infec-
tions in his lungs and kidneys, his
younger brother GM Quader said on
Sunday. He was admitted to the
Dhaka military hospital on June 26
and was kept in the intensive care which was then a part of Pakistan, in
unit.His condition later deteriorated 1948, after the end of British colonial
and was placed on life support. rule in the Indian subcontinent. Er-
shad was commissioned into the Pak-
Ershad ruled the country from 1982 to istan Army in 1952 from the Officers
1990. He was the leader of the oppo- Training School in Kohat, Pakistan.
sition in current Parliament. He as- He was an adjutant in the East Bengal
sumed power as the military chief in Regiment, the largest formation in the
1982 and declared himself president future Bangladesh Army.
the following year. He later floated his
own Jatiya Party and won a contro- After completing advanced courses
versial election in 1986. from the Command and Staff College
in Quetta, Pakistan in 1966, Ershad
Ershad was born in 1930 in Coochbe- returned to Bangladesh in 1973, two
har district of West Bengal state in years after his country won independ-
then British India. His parents mi- ence.
grated to present-day Bangladesh,
06| TheRealm THE REALM

TR Sports
SATURDAY, 20TH JULY, 2019

Sindhu hammers world No 3 Kohli aims to overcome ‘pressure

INDONESIA OPEN Ace shuttler beats China’s Chen Yufei to qualify
for her first final of the season
JAKARTA: Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu enjoyed
one of her finest hours of the season as she entered the
finals of the Indonesia Open BWF Tour Super 1000 tour-
nament with a straight-game win over All England Cham-
pion Chen Yufei of China here on Saturday. Sindhu, who
has been struggling a bit this season, showed her bril-
liance once again as she saw off world No 3 Chen 21-19,
21-10 to enter her first final of the season.
AP
PV Sindhu, who reached the semi-finals at Singapore
Open and India Open, will take on Japan’s Akane Yam-
aguchi on Sunday.
The world No 5 Indian, who reached the semi-finals at the
Singapore and India Open events this year, thus set up a
summit clash with Japan’s fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi.
Sindhu holds a 10-4 advantage over Yamaguchi, whom
she has beaten in the last four meetings.
Chen, who won at Australia, Swiss and All England this
year, has been the most prolific player this season and
looked good in the first game but a fighting Sindhu held
her own in the opening game and then completely domi-
nated the second to seal the final spot.
The match started with a long rally but soon Sindhu fell
behind at 4-7. The Indian then took five straight points
with Chen playing two bad shots. But a body smash
helped the Chinese to span the run of points as she
grabbed a slight 11-10 lead at the break. But the Indian
kept breathing down Chen’s neck.
Chen moved to 15-12 with a few good-looking smashes.
But Sindhu fought back and produced a precise return,
and then Chen went wide before finding the net as the In-
dian erased the deficit and made it 18-18.
In the second game, Chen zoomed to 4-0 lead early on
but Sindhu again clawed back with the Chinese going
long twice. Sindhu smashed hard and followed it with an-
other one to put pressure on the Chinese, who again went
long and Sindhu continued to gather points.
After seven straight points, Chen managed to push one at
the back court to break the rhythm.
A whopping smash to Chen’s serve gave another point to
Sindhu. After a couple of missed opportunities, Sindhu
managed to grab a three-point advantage at the interval
with a precise net return, which kissed the tape on the
way. Chen then crumbled under constant pressure from
Sindhu. The Chinese found the net and went wide to
allow the Indian double her lead to 16-8.
A fired up Sindhu dominated the proceedings after that
even as Chen suddenly looked clueless.
Another smash took Sindhu closer to victory and she
sealed the match point when Chen misjudged a shuttle.
YAMAGUCHI CRUSHES NO 1 TAI TZU-YING JAKARTA:
Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi soundly beat Taiwan’s world
No 1 Tai Tzu-ying at the Indonesia Open on Saturday to
reach the women’s final.
Yamaguchi, who is ranked No 2, defeated an out-of-sorts
Tai 21-9, 21-15 in a little over 30 minutes at Jakarta’s Is-
tora Senayan Stadium. “This is my first Indonesian Open
final—I’m very happy,” Yamaguchi said.
The 25-year-old Tai said she was not feeling well and was
unable to play at her best.
“I couldn’t play at my usual speed. So my performance
was hampered a little,” Tai said.
stat’ of chasing
THE PITCHES FOR THE KNOCKOUTS ARE FRESH MEANING THE IMBAL-
ANCE BETWEEN BATTING FIRST AND SECOND COULD BE MINIMUM
MANCHESTER: While this World
Cup has done its bit in giving bowlers
due recognition, it has also been
heavily skewed in terms of pre-
dictability. Of the 41 completed round
robin matches, 27 were won by
teams batting first. The most signifi-
cant reason behind this number is
how pitches have slowed down over
time, hindering stroke-play or even
plain old slogging. After India
slumped to their first World Cup loss
in Birmingham, to England, both
teams came out to say that the
pitches had become difficult for bat-
ting. MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav,
hence, weren’t entirely to blame for
that defeat.
With the focus shifting to the knock-
outs, there is a fair bit of anticipation
how the toss may play out more in
favour of one team. Of the 13
matches hosted by Old Trafford, Edg-
baston and Lord’s—venues of the
World Cup knockouts this time—11
have been won by teams batting first.
The two exceptions were courtesy
Pakistan’s exceptional batting effort
that saw them ace 237 on a tricky
Birmingham pitch against New
Zealand, days after Kane
Williamson’s industrious century an-
chored a brilliant chase to virtually
knock out South Africa from the
World Cup.
Interestingly, New Zealand have both
won—remember Carlos Brath-
waite?—and lost in a humdinger
against Pakistan— after setting tar
gets. Conditions however have often
been tricky, influencing results to a
large extent. So clearly, New Zealand
captain Williamson wasn’t speaking
only on behalf of his bowlers while
elaborating why dismissing batsmen
was getting laborious at times.
“I think we have seen conditions
change from first innings to second
on some occasions. That’s been
quite considerable. So, how guys
have had to operate in the start of
their innings and then moving into the
second half of the bowling innings
have had to be quite different,” he
said on Monday.
Despite the disparities, chasing
seems to be New Zealand’s forte,
with four out of their five wins coming
while batting second. The win against
South Africa was a match to remem-
ber but more draining for New
Zealand was when it eked out a
twowicket victory against
Bangladesh. Even if they bat second,
all may not be lost for New Zealand
then. Two days after pulling off a
rather easy 264-run chase against
Sri Lanka, India captain Virat Kohli
too feels it’s more in the mind than
about the pitch or the toss.
“It comes back to the same point,
handling pressure. You make two
bad decisions while you are chasing
and the game goes away from you,
too far to pull it back. So I assume
that that is going to be the case be-
cause having been in so many
chases, I understand that the pres-
sure can be very high if you don’t go
with the pace of the game, and then
understanding the magnitude of the
tournament like this you probably are
going to end up making a couple of
mistakes and the opposition is not
going to let you off after that,” he
said.
“So, we are not worried about the
toss. It is an uncontrollable. You can’t
predict what is going to happen at the
toss. We have to be prepared both
ways and we are quite open to do
that. And if it is a factor, it’s a factor,
so we can’t say if we lose the toss,
we have no hope because we should
believe enough in ourselves as a
side to overcome any kind of situa-
tion. So, I think all teams prepare in
that manner. It’s a stat which I think is
connected to pressure and not the
pitch, to be very honest.”
Thankfully, the pitches for the knock-
outs are fresh meaning the imbal-
ance between batting first and
second could be minimum. That
should not only ensure closer compe-
tition, but also a better display of
skills.

Sindhu caught the shuttle early and produced an acute
angled return near the nets to grab a one point lead. But
she went wide next and it was 19-19.
Another rally ended with Chen failing to clear the net and
it was advantage Sindhu. The Chinese then left one at the
backcourt, which landed in, to hand Sindhu the bragging
rights. Sindhu had grabbed seven of the last eight points
that mattered to pocket the opening game.
Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan was too strong for young Thai
shuttler Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the men’s singles,
beating him 21-19, 18-21, 21-16. Chou will play either
Wong Wing Ki Vincent of Hong Kong or Denmark’s An-
ders Antonsen in final. In the men’s doubles, Mohammad
Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan beat Japan’s Takuro Hoki
and Yugo Kobayashi 17-21, 21-19, 21-17, setting up an
all-Indonesian final with Marcus Gideon and Kevin Suka-
muljo.

NEYMAR SKIPS TRAINING, Panghal to lead

PSG TO TAKE ACTION India’s challenge
England, NZ sharing World Cup would have
at World C’ships,
been apt
PARIS:French champions Paris St Germain have said they will take
action against Neymar after the Brazilian forward failed to report for

Thapa out
training on Monday.
WHY SHOULD BOUNDARY HITS— SIXES AND FOURS— BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN,
The 27-year-old is a reported target for Barcelona, whose President
Josep Maria Bartomeu said last week that Neymar wanted to leave the SAY, SCORING THE SAME NUMBER OF RUNS THROUGH SINGLES AND TWOS? IN-
NEWDELHI: Manish Kaushik dealt a big
Ligue 1 side to return to Spain, but that PSG were reluctant to sell him. blow to Shiva Thapa’s hopes, beating him in
DEED, WHY SHOULD ONLY SCORING RUNS BE GIVEN MORE GRAVITAS THAN TAKING
the national selection trials to book a berth WICKETS, OR IN THE CASE OF LIMITEDOVERS CRICKET, BOWLING DOT BALLS?
“On Monday, July 8, Neymar was due to return to pre-season activities in the Indian squad for the World Boxing
with the Paris St Germain senior squad,” PSG said in a statement on Mr Bumble, immortalised in Charles Such complexities when they arise slur on all
Championships to be held in Ekaterinburg,
their website. Dickens’s Oliver Twist, would not cannot be buried in fine print that else that
Russia from September 7-21.
have taken kindly to the manner in fails to pass the test of credibility, transpires
“Paris St Germain notes that Neymar was not in attendance at the which the World Cup final was de- and also carries in it the seeds of ex- in a match.
Thapa had revived his career when he won
agreed time and place. This was without the club’s prior authorisation. cided. When told the law considered plosive controversy. It is only be-
bronze at the Asian Championships in April
The club regrets this situation and will therefore take appropriate ac- his wife to work under his direction, cause Kane Williamson is a This brings
for his fourth medal from the meet. If he
tion.” Bumble’s caustic response was, “If statesmanlike cricketer that the mat- me to the
thought he had settled his rivalry with
the law supposes that, then the law ter ended where it did. other im-
Kaushik when he defeated him in the final of
is a ass.” portant aspect that emerges from the
60kg at the India Open, it was not the case.
England were adjudged World Cup Let’s examine why cricketing merit in tumultuous final. Sharing the title is
The Commonwealth Games silver medallist
winners as they had a better bound- the rule that was applied has no heft. not a bad outcome at all in certain
bounced back to exact revenge in the 63kg
ary count than New Zealand in the To decide a winner on only one facet excruciating circumstances; in fact it
trials in Patiala, the 23-year-old Kaushik
final. The match and the ensuing of the game is not just thoughtless, may be the best way out.A tied
winning in a split decision.
Super Over had ended in a tie. but strikes at the very foundation of match, even in ODIs, is infrequent,
So too is the rule that made New the sport which sees all players, their probably one in several hundred.
Kaushik beat Thapa at the India Open last
Zealand losers in Sunday’s epic skills and attributes and everything The probability of a tied Super Over
year, but lost to him twice this year. Based
match at Lord’s, based on which that happens on the field, as equally to follow a tied match would run into
on their recent performances and rankings,
team had hit more boundaries. This important.Why should boundary one in a million. Perhaps even more;
the top two boxers from each category were
is an asinine regulation, lapsing in hits— sixes and fours—be more im- so, why not treat this situation as
eligible for the trials. Thapa and Kaushik
cricket logic and justice. It should be portant than, say, scoring the same dead heat instead of trying to con-
had to step up to 63kg because it is an
banished forthwith. True, the effort of number of runs through singles and trive a winner?
Olympic category.
all international sports bodies is to twos? Indeed, why should only scor-
ensure a result. Where cricket is con- ing runs be given more gravitas than There has never been such a beguil-
“I was under pressure because I had lost to
cerned, despair among fans over taking wickets, or in the case of lim- ing ODI contest as the 2019 World
Shiva at the trials before the Asian Champi-
draws in Tests led to the limited- ited-overs cricket, bowling dot balls? Cup final, fortune ebbing and flowing
onships and then at the India Open,”
overs formats—aimed at reaching a through the day and reaching a pul-
Kaushik said. “I worked hard on my game
decisive conclusion— coming into While every match has stellar mo- sating climax that had millions across
and my coach from Services, Narendra
existence.To take out an insurance ments, cricketing philosophy is nec- the world with jangled nerves, bog-
Rana, had devised a good strategy. I waited
against a tied final, ICC built in a essarily non-partisan. The outcome gled mind, guts knotted in tension
for Shiva to attack and played a counter
Super Over for the first time in the of a match is determined by the sum and excitement. Yet sadly, also with
game. I began well and after the first round I
World Cup. of all its parts: from a single pre- the feeling that the match did not
played freely,” he said.
vented or surrendered, catch taken have the ‘closure’ it merited.
So far so good, but it left itself open or dropped, boundaries hit or saved,
to an unseemly situation by limiting and so on. England cannot be grudged their tri-
Amit Panghal (52kg) did not have to take
the provision of deciding a winner in umph, of course. They were equal
part in the trials as he was given a place in
case of a tied Super Over to an Showcasing boundary hits as the participants in making this final the
the squad on account of winning gold at the
inanity.It taxes imagination severely sole determinant in such a situation greatest ODI ever bar none. But
Asian Championships. Kavinder Singh Bisht
to believe that the final would unravel in a way panders to the clamour from there was something amiss, and it
(57kg), Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg),
the way it did. Yet, that is precisely broadcasters, who see greater would have been as unedifying had
Ashish Kumar (75kg), Brijesh Yadav (81kg),
the job of rule-makers: to cover all viewer gratification in this; perhaps New Zealand, by some quirk of fate,
Sanjeet (91kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg)
bases, just in case. The argument justifiably where their interests are won and been declared World Cup
were the others who made it to the squad.
that all teams had agreed to the rule concerned. But for the administration winners.
also gets terribly weak legs on see- to peg the result of a match on a
ing the result. ‘highlights package’ as it were, is a