Friday | 25 September 2020 | Issue 124 | new delhi
3 4
Exclusive
500 terrorists waiting
in POK to cross over: IB
Intelligence Bureau report says that all terrorist camps and around 17 launch
pads in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir are at full capacity. Keran sector and
Poonch sector have become preferred areas for infiltration of terrorists.
Rakesh Singh
New Delhi
A
new Intelligence
Bureau (IB) report
states that about
500 terrorists in Pakistan-
Occupied-Kashmir (POK)
are ready to infiltrate the bor-
top of the day
Central govt
suspends fresh
IBC proceedings
till December
New Delhi: In a major relief
for stressed companies amid
the pandemic woes, the Centre
on Thursday announced the
suspension of fresh insol-
vency proceedings under the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
(IBC) by three more months till
December. In a gazette notifica-
tion, the Ministry of Corporate
Affairs (MCA) said that the
suspension on operation of Sec-
tion 7, 9 and 10 of the IBC has
been extended. “In exercise of
the powers conferred by section
10A of the Insolvency and Bank-
ruptcy Code, 2016, the Central
government has extended the
suspension of sections 7,9, 10
of the IBC for a further period
of three months,” Minister of
Finance and Corporate Affairs,
Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Sensex tumbles
1,100 points,
loses 2,292
points in 4 days
Mumbai: The stock market in
India witnessed a bloodbath on
Thursday, in line with the global
selloff, with the BSE Sensex los-
ing 1,100 points. Post Thursday’s
selloff, Sensex lost 2,292 points in
the last four sessions. This was
the sixth consecutive session of
loss for the Indian indices. This
was the biggest single day fall for
the BSE Sensex in four months
and the biggest losing streak (6
sessions) in seven months. The
Nifty50 on the National Stock
Exchange (NSE) fell well below
the psychological 11,000 mark.
The recent bear run has been
due to resurgence in coronavirus
cases across the world, largely in
Europe and anticipation of fresh
lockdown restrictions across
several countries in the continent
including the UK and France.
Brett Lee gave
Jones CPR after
he suffered
heart attack
Former Australia batsman Dean
Jones died on Thursday of a heart
attack at a hotel in Mumbai. As
per an NDTV report, his fellow-
commentator for the ongoing
Indian Premier League, Brett
Lee, was with him, and they had
breakfast together earlier. When
he suffered the cardiac arrest in
the lobby of the hotel, Lee tried to
resuscitate Jones by giving him
CPR, but was unable to save him.
Jones was 59 years old.
DRUG CASE:
DEEPIKA TO
APPEAR BEFORE
NCB ON SATURDAY
der using various launching
pads.
The IB has issued an alert
in this regard as Pakistan
Army’s SSG commandos
have been seen on some of
these launch pads provid-
ing cover for infiltration.
The Keran sector in the Val-
Punjab most affected
‘Bharat bandh’
today as farmers
gear up to protest
against farm bills
Correspondent
New Delhi
On the issue of the three farm
bills being passed by Parlia-
ment during the monsoon
session, many farmers’ bod-
ies have called for ‘Bharat
Bandh’ on Friday to protest
against the decision. Punjab’s
ruling party Congress along
with the Aam Aadmi Party
and the Shiromani Akali Dal
have also supported the call
and the bandh is likely to af-
fect Punjab the most. Mean-
while, the Samajwadi Party
in Uttar Pradesh and Harya-
na’s BKU have also extended
their support to the bandh.
Around 31 farmer organi-
sations have joined hands
for the ‘Punjab Bandh’ and
several organisations in the
neighbouring state of Hary-
ana, including the Bharatiya
Kisan Union (BKU) have also
extended support to the na-
tionwide strike. Punjab Chief
Minister Captain Amarinder
Singh said the state govern-
ment was fully with the
farmers in their fight against
the bills and no FIRs would
be registered for violation of
Section 144.
He also appealed to the
farmers to ensure that the
citizens were not incon-
venienced, no disturbances
Drop in platelet count
Covid-positive Sisodia infected with
dengue, shifted to Max Hospital
Correspondent
New Delhi
Delhi’s Deputy Chief Min-
ister Manish Sisodia, under
treatment at the Lok Nayak
Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP)
Hospital for Covid-19, is be-
ing shifted to the Max Hos-
pital in Saket after being
diagnosed with dengue on
ley and Poonch sector in the
Jammu region have become
preferred areas for infiltra-
tion of terrorists. The Daily
Guardian has the intelligence
agency report which states
the number of terrorists in
different regions across the
border.
in law and order situation
were made, and lives and
property of people were not
endangered due to the agita-
tion. Farmers started a three-
day rail blockade against the
bills and squatted on tracks
at many places in Punjab on
Thursday. The farmer outfits
have also decided to go for an
indefinite rail blockade from
1 October.
Meanwhile, Haryana’s
Home Minister Anil Vij held
a meeting with officers of
the home and police depart-
ments on Thursday to review
the situation, and directed
the DGP to ensure elaborate
police arrangements to pre-
vent any untoward situation.
Delhi Police are on high
alert and have made prepa-
rations to seal the border
with Haryana forestall any
attempt of protestors to
enter Delhi.  The Congress
also supported the ‹Bharat
Bandh› call given by farmer
organisations, saying mil-
lions of party workers stand
in solidarity with the farm-
ers› cause and will partici-
pate in their protests.
Party’s chief spokesperson
Randeep Sujewala said that
while farmers and farm la-
bourers fill the stomachs of
countrymen with their hard
P2
Thursday.
The latest health bulletin
from the state-run LNJP
Hospital said that Manish
Sisodia’s platelet count is
falling rapidly owing to den-
gue. He was admitted to the
facility on Wednesday after
he complained of fever.
“His Oxygen saturation
level and platelets count in
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
PLANS TO
CLOSE INDIA
MANUFACTURING
FACILITY
The IB report states that 31
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)/
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)/Hiz-
bul Mujahideen (HM) ter-
rorists were identified at the
Gurez sector. These terrorists
were waiting to use the Sonar
and Losar launch pad in POK
as well as the Sher Khan Top.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacting with India’s top fitness enthusiasts led by
Kiren Rijiju, Virat Kohli and Milind Soman during the Fit India Dialogue event on the occasion
of the first anniversary of the Fit India Movement, in New Delhi on Thursday. ANi
Picturesque journey
Air India to start ‘Flights
to Nowhere’ service soon
Arun Dhanta
New Delhi
India’s national carrier, Air
India, is all set to start its
‘Flights to Nowhere’ service,
which will take off and land
at the same airport taking
passengers on a picturesque
journey.
Air India sources told The
Daily Guardian that these
flights will take flyers on an
aerial tour of famous loca-
tions of the country with sce-
the blood is a little low, but
overall health is stable,” the
official told IANS.
Sisodia first tested positive
for Covid-19 on 14 September
and made the announce-
ment in a tweet. He also
informed the public about
his decision to opt for home
isolation.
“Had got my Covid-19 test
12
Furthermore, Machhil
sector, Keran sector, Tangd-
har sector and Naugam sec-
tor had indications of more
than 135 terrorists waiting
to cross using launch pads.
Most of them being from ei-
ther LeT, JeM or al-Badr ter-
rorist groups with the high-
A dialogue for Fit India
nic joy flights in low-flying
expeditions.
“The locations and spots for
the aerial tour will be decided
very soon. Pricing and other
modalities are also being dis-
cussed,” said an Air India
source, adding that a wide-
body like the Boeing-747 will
be used for the service.
Another Air India official
who is familiar with the mat-
ter said on condition of ano-
nymity that the idea came
P2
done after I had a mild fever.
The report has come posi-
tive. I have gone into self-
isolation. As of now, I have
no fever or any other issue.
I am fine. By your blessings,
I will recover fully and re-
turn to work soon,” Sisodia
had announced on Twitter
after testing positive with
P2
Sharpest kid on the block
CAPTAIN RAHUL’S
This is the initial
TON GUIDES KXIP
step in the path
TO A COLOSSAL
towards the
97-RUN VICTORY
country's finest
OVER RCB daily newspaper.
Ladakh standoff
China must refrain from
making any unilateral
changes at LAC: India
T. Brajesh
New Delhi
With seventh round of talks
at the level of Senior Com-
manders being planned to
end the Line of Actual Con-
to reporters’ queries, said,
“The way ahead will be to
refrain from making any at-
tempts to unilaterally change
the status quo, while the two
sides continue their discus-
sions to achieve complete
trol (LAC) standoff between
India and China, New Delhi
disengagement in all friction
areas and to ensure full res-
has, in no uncertain terms,
told Beijing that the way
toration of peace and tran-
quility in the border areas.”
est number being at Keran, ahead to resolve the situa- What the MEA spokes-
where 85 terrorists were said tion in eastern Ladakh is not man has said is actually be-
to be lodged. to unilaterally change the ing seen as India’s warning
Uri, Poonch, Krishna Ghati situation on the ground. to China against any possible
and Bhimber Gali had a fur- This categorical message aggressive behaviour along
ther 130-odd terrorists wait- was given by the External the LAC again, even as the
ing to do operations in For- Affairs Ministry on Thurs- talks to resolve the problems
ward Defended Localities of day. MEA spokesman Anu- are going on. The reaction
P2 rag Shrivastava, in response P2
No respite
Second Covid wave now
at peak in Delhi: Kejriwal
India’s tally crosses 57-lakh mark with spike of 86,508
new cases and 1,129 deaths in last 24 hours.
the death toll mounted to
Aishvarya Jain
navirus cases reported in
New Delhi  the last 24 hours, while the 5,366 as 67 more people suc-
death toll mounted to 5,123. cumbed to the disease. The
The Covid-19 case tally in Thirty-six fatalities due to number of active cases in the
India has crossed the 57- Covid-19 were recorded in state stands at 61,300, while
lakh mark with a spike of the last 24 hours. The infec- 3,17,611 patients were treated
86,508 new cases and 1,129 tion tally in the national cap- and discharged from differ-
deaths in the last 24 hours. ital now stood at 2,60,623. ent hospitals across the state.
The total case tally stands at The number of containment Gujarat recorded 1,408
5,732,519, including 9,66,382 zones in Delhi has crossed new coronavirus cases, 1,510
active cases, 46,74,988 the 2,000-mark. The total discharges and 14 deaths in
cured/discharged/migrated containment zones in the last 24 hours, taking total
and 91,149 deaths.  national capital now are cases to 1,28,949 includ-
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief 2059. ing 1,09,211 discharges and
Minister Arvind Kejriwal Maharashtra reported 3,384 deaths. The number of
said, “From July 1 to August 19,164 new coronavirus cas- active cases stands at 16,354.
17, cases were in control. We
noticed that cases increased
and it reached 4,500 new
es in the last 24 hours, taking
the state’s tally to 12,82,963.
The death toll in the state
Rajasthan reported its
highest single-day spike of
1,981 new Covid-19 cases in
Covid-19 cases on Septem- has surged to 34,345 with last 24 hours, pushing its
ber 17 and are now coming 459 new fatalities. Mean- infection tally to 1.23 lakh.
down. So, experts are believ- while, India’s financial capi- The death toll from the virus
ing that the second wave of tal Mumbai reported 2,163 has increased to 1,397 with
coronavirus which had hit fresh Covid-19 cases and 54 15 more fatalities reported
Delhi is now at peak and its deaths. The recovery rate of in last 24 hours. There are
intensity will be less in the the Mumbai district is now 18,993 active cases of the dis-
coming days.” at 81%. ease in the state.
Delhi’s infection tally Uttar Pradesh’s Covid-19 Odisha registered its high-
breached the 2.60-lakh tally climbed to 3,84,277 est single-day spike of 4,340
mark with 3,834 fresh coro- with 4,674 fresh cases, while P2
2 news t h e da i ly gua rdi a n
fri day | 25 s e p t e mbe r 2020
new de l h i

‘BIASED DEBATES’ Meeting held

Intervention plea filed in After 54 years, Haryana

to remove Punjab’s
SC in Sudarshan TV case the Zakat Foundation.  The Supreme Court was name from its acts
Ashish Sinha 
New Delhi  Speaking to The Daily hearing the case related to
Guardian Advocate Vishnu airing of a programme by to prepare a plan to name all and Haryana›s governance

K
ota Neelima and
Sangeeta Tyagi on
Thursday jointly
filed an intervention appli-
cation in the Supreme Court
in the Sudarshan TV case, to
assist the court on the larger
issue of “Hate Speech” by
TV anchors. Neelima is a re-
nowned author and the wife
of Congress leader Pawan
Khera and Sangeeta Tyagi
is the wife of late Congress
leader Rajiv Tyagi.
The petitioner suggested
that “a committee can be
constituted for the time be-
ing which will be aimed to
develop norms for manda-
tory discussions on chosen
topics that reflect the con-
cerns in the Constitution of
India in order to establish a
healthy atmosphere in the
country. It shall strive to de-
velop a mechanism which
will have a rating system for
Debates, so as to ensure that
News Debates are demo-
cratic and fair, and do not
pander to divisive agenda”.
During the day, Sudarshan
TV Editor-in-Chief Suresh
Vishnu Shankar Jain met the
Minister of State for Home
Affairs G. Kishan Reddy
and submitted a representa-
tion, thereby requesting him
to direct investigation in the
Shankar Jain said: “In the
meeting, we have briefed
the minister about the for-
eign funds received by Zakat
Foundation from Madina
Trust, Muslim Aid U.K.,
Zakat Foundation of Amer-
ica. We have also briefed the
Minister about the link of
Zakat Foundation with in-
ternational Islamic terrorist
organisations.”
On 23 September, Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta had
informed the top court that
the Centre, prima facie, finds
Sudarshan TV’s “Bindas Bol”
programme has violated the
Programme Code and that a
detailed show cause notice
has been issued to the chan-
nel to explain why action be
not taken against it.
The programme “Bindas
Bol” is related to Muslims
entering civil services which
the channel had likened to
Sudarshan News channel
which has been in contro-
versy.  After 54 long years, Hary-
Earlier, Editor-in-Chief
of the channel, Suresh
Chavhanke, had filed an ad-
ditional affidavit before the
Supreme Court saying that
it will strictly comply with
all the laws while airing the
remaining episodes of the
UPSC series in “Bindas Bol”.
He further stated in the af-
fidavit that it will abide and
comply by the programming
code and directions of the
Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting strictly.
Chavhanke, in his affida-
vit, highlighted two shows
aired by another channel
NDTV, one in September
2008 titled “Hindu Terror:
Myth or Fact”, and another
in 2010 titled “Is Saffron
Threat Real?” which he
submitted “pained” and
Ravinder Malik 
Chandigarh  the laws of the state instead
ana is going to remove the
name of Punjab from its
acts. For this, the legislature
and executive of Haryana
are planning together to do
away with 237 such acts in
Haryana operating in the
name of Punjab. In this re-
gard, on Thursday, Harya-
na Assembly Speaker Gian
Chand Gupta held a meet-
ing with the chief secretary
of the state Keshani Anand
Arora, legal remembrancer
in the department of law
Bimlesh Tanwar and Vid-
han Sabha under-secretary
Vishnu Dev.
At the meeting, the Leg-
islative Assembly speaker
directed the chief secretary
Hospital statement
of Punjab. For this, a com-
mittee will be constituted
soon under the chairman-
ship of legal remembrancer
in law and legislative depart-
ment. The speaker wants to
remove the word Punjab
from all the acts.
Haryana was formed in
1966, under the Punjab Re-
organisation Act, but the acts
which existed in Punjab then
remained in force till now.
The arrangement was that in
the next two years Haryana
would be able to make nec-
essary amendments as per
its needs. The Legislative
Assembly of the state has
also got the right to remove
unnecessary laws. The acts
that Haryana inherited
were all in Punjab›s name
system has been based on
them for the last 54 years.
Thus, the people and public
representatives of Haryana
have been demanding this
removal.
Gian Chand Gupta said
that Haryana has a glorious
history. After its establish-
ment in 1966, this state has
made a distinct identity in
the field of education and
culture. It has also witnessed
the rapid pace of economic
development. In spite of
this, all its old acts are in the
name of Punjab. Gupta said
that the addition of the word
Haryana to the major acts
will awaken a sense of self-
respect among the citizens
and public representatives,
which is necessary for any
growing state.

Balasubrahmanyam
the TV anchors and News Chavhanke and his advocate affairs of foreign funding of “infiltration” and “jihad”. “shocked” him.

extremely critical
Picturesque journey Punjab most affected ‘Gross interference’

Air India to start ‘Bharat bandh’ India slams Pakistan’s

‘Flights to Nowhere’
service soon
to them
after the Austral-
ian airline Qan-
tas announced
seven-hour-long flights, in
which passengers are able
to see tourist attractions
such as the Great Barrier
Reef and Sydney Harbour.
As per reports, Qantas an-
nounced that tickets for the
flights -- priced between
$575 and $2,765 depending
on the class -- were sold in 10
minutes. Apart from Qantas,
many other airlines were
found to be offering similar
sightseeing flights.
Drop in platelet count
 This will be an experience
like no other for Indians
if Air India’s ‹flights to no-
where› service starts in the
country. This is particularly
exciting as many people have
been sharing their views on
social media regarding how
they feel about not being
able to go on vacation or fly
out of their cities during the
pandemic of Covid-19. Sev-
eral people have also spoken
about how they miss flying
but cannot go to tourist desti-
nations, as tourism is affected
due to existing restrictions in
their countries.
today as farmers
gear up to protest
against farm bills
labour, the
Modi government
is attacking them
and their fields.
The Samajwadi Party will
also organise a state-wide
protest against the farm sec-
tor and labour reform bills as
well. «The party will protest
against the farm sector and
labour reform bills which
hurt the interest of farm-
ers and workers. During
the state-wide protests, a
memorandum will be sent
to the governor through re-
spective DMs», party chief
spokesperson Rajendra
Chowdhury said.
remarks on Kashmir
at meeting
Correspondent
New Delhi
India on Thursday took on
Pakistan for raising the Kash-
mir issue at a virtual meeting
of a multilateral grouping,
and advised Islamabad to
stop its “overt and covert”
support to cross-border ter-
rorism. The Ministry of Ex-
ternal Affairs said that Pa-
kistan has misused another
forum by continuing its “spu-
rious narrative” about India.
Pakistan raised the Kash-
mir issue at the ministerial
meeting of the Conference
on Interaction and Confi-
dence Building Measures in
Asia (CICA), an intergovern-
Jaishankar represented India
at the meeting.
The MEA said Pakistan has
no locus standi to comment
on internal affairs of India,
asserting that the Union ter-
ritories of Jammu and Kash-
mir and Ladakh have been
and will remain an integral
part of the country.
“Pakistan’s remarks today
constitute gross interference
in India’s internal affairs, sov-
ereignty and territorial in-
tegrity which is inconsistent
with the CICA Declaration
on the Principles Guiding
Relations between the CICA
Member States of Septem-
ber 1999,” the MEA said, in
response to remarks by Pa-
with life support
Correspondent
Chennai
Veteran singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam is in
a critical state after his health condition dete-
riorated on Thursday, a statement issued by
MGM hospital, where he is admitted, said.
Balasubrahmanyam has been hospitalised
since August, after testing Covid positive.
According to the statement issued by the
hospital, the veteran artiste is extremely
critical. “Thiru S P Balasubrahmanyam who
had been admitted at MGM Healthcare on
August 5th, remains on ECMO and other life
support measures. His condition in the last
24 hours has deteriorated further warranting
maximal life support and he is extremely crit-
ical. The team of experts at MGM Healthcare
are closely monitoring his health condition,”
the statement read.
On 22 September, his son S.P. Charan took
to Twitter to share an update regarding his
father’s health condition. He wrote, “Dad
Veteran singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam.
continue with oral intake of liquids. He’s
been eager to leave the hospital as early as
possible (sic).”
Balasubrahmanyam got admitted to the
hospital on 5 August after testing positive
for Covid-19. He released a video from the
hospital stating that he is alright and will be
discharged soon. However, his condition de-
teriorated on 13 August after which he was
put on ventilator and ECMO (Extracororeal
Membrane Oxygenation) support.
Several celebrities and fans prayed for his
speedy recovery. A.R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraaja,

Covid-positive Sisodia
mental forum of 27 countries. kistan Foreign Minister Shah continues the steady progress toward get- Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan organised a
External Affairs Minister S. Mahmood Qureshi. ting better. Ekmo/ventilator, physio therapy mass prayer meet for the veteran singer.

infected with dengue, No respite

shifted to Max Hospital
Covid-19.
It was on 23 Sep-
tember that he
was admitted to
LNJP Hospital as a precau-
tionary measure. A senior
doctor at LNJP Hospital had
said on the morning of 24
September that Sisodia has
been in ICU since Wednes-
day, but his condition is sta-
ble. The minister has been
put on oxygen support at the
dedicated Covid-19 facility in
LNJP, the doctor had added.
Responding to a question
about whether Sisodia had
any comorbidites, the doc-
tor had cited ‘hypertension’.
After Delhi’s health min-
ister Satyendra Jain, Sisodia
is the second minister in the
Delhi cabinet to test positive
for Covid-19. Jain had tested
positive for the disease in
June and later recovered.
In a public address on
Thursday, Delhi Chief Min-
ister Arvind Kejriwal said
that the national capital
has crossed the peak of the
second wave of Covid-19.
He went on to add that
this second wave started
around 15 August and Del-
hi saw a significant spike in
new cases of infection until
16 September.
With agency inputs
Second Covid wave now at peak in Delhi: Kejriwal
Covid-19
cases, which
raised the tally to
1,96,888, while
record 16 fatalities pushed
the death toll in the coastal
state to 752.
Haryana reported 1,698
fresh Covid-19 infections,
2,063 recoveries and 22
deaths in the last 24 hours.
The fresh infections pushed
the cumulative number
of cases to 1,18,554, while
98,410 people have recov-
ered from the virus. Now,
there are 18,889 active cases
in the state.
Himachal Pradesh record-
ed 61 new cases in the last 24
hours. Out of 13,110 patients
infected so far, 9,173 have
recovered, 3,771 active cases
persist and the death count
stands at 141.
West Bengal’s coronavi-
rus death toll has increased
to 4,606 with 62 fatali-
ties reported in the last 24
hours. The state reported
3,196 fresh cases which has
pushed the tally to 2,37,869.
Union Territory of Jammu
and Kashmir recorded 1,104
new Covid-19 cases, 22 more
deaths in the last 24 hours.
The infection tally rose to
68,614, and the death toll is
now 1,084. There are 19,451
active cases of the disease in
the state.
Tamil Nadu recorded
5,692 fresh Covid-19 cases
and 66 deaths, taking total
infection count to 5,63,591
and the count to 9,076. As
many as 5,470 people were
discharged from various
healthcare facilities after
getting cured, taking the
total number of recoveries
to 5,08,210. The number of
active cases stood at 46,405.
As many as 52 deaths and
7,855 new Covid-19 cases
have been reported from
Andhra Pradesh in the last
24 hours. With this, the total
number of cases in the state
stands at 6,54,385, includ-
ing 69,353 active cases and
5,79,474 recoveries. So far,
5,558 deaths have been re-
ported in the state.
Kerala reported 6,324 new
Covid-19 cases and 21 deaths
in the last 24 hours, taking
the total number of active
positive cases in the state to
45,919.

Exclusive Ladakh standoff

500 terrorists waiting in

China must refrain from making any
unilateral changes at LAC: India

POK to cross over: IB

the Indian
Army. This was
one of the main
groups that was
being supported by SSG as
well as BAT Commandos
(Pakiatsn’s guerrilla-trained
terrorists). These groups
were planning multiple at-
tacks including IED blasts
and attacks on personnel.
Rajouri, Naushera, Sunder-
bani, Kathua and Hiranagar
are the other sectors men-
tioned in the report. With
more than 115 terrorists in
these areas waiting to cross
the border, Indian agencies
have been on high alert as
these groups have been plan-
ning to pass on arms and am-
munitions to the Indian side.
This group has been tasked
with strengthening the local
modules to attack the Indian
forces on various fronts.
The proactive stance of
the Indian Army has led to
wiping out of most terror-
ists in the Kashmir valley.
This had led to the Pakistani
intelligence agency ISI and
the Pakistan Army become
extremely agitated, which
is why they have been try-
ing to send more terrorists
across the border. So far,
this year, more than 30 dif-
ferent terrorist commanders
and over 150 other terrorists
have been killed by Indian
security forces.
Security agencies are alert
to intelligence reports which
indicate the possibility of a
major threat in the run-up
to the festive season. A sen-
ior IB official told The Daily
Guardian that all the terrorist
camps and around 17 launch
pads in POK are at full capac-
ity. These terrorists are des-
perate to infiltrate with the
help of Pakistani Army.
Pakistan has consistently
been aiding and abetting
infiltration for more than 30
years now. There have been
several ceasefire violations
by Pakistan’s Army to sup-
port the infiltrating terror-
ists. Indian security agen-
cies have been on high alert
on the international border
and Line of Control.
of MEA
spokesman has
come days after
the sixth round of
discussions between senior
commanders of India and
China. In this meeting, both
the nations had resolved not
to send more troops to the
Ladakh frontline.    Underscoring India’s push
Sources said that despite
China being engaged in dia-
logues with India at military
and diplomatic levels, the
possibility of PLA troops
showing some sort of mis-
adventure cannot be ruled
out. That’s why India has
sounded a caution to China
on the same.
The repeated emphasis on
stability on ground came af-
ter the Chinese provocation
of 31 August, which took
place as ground command-
ers of the two sides were
engaged in discussions to
de-escalate the situation.   joint statement issued after
for the restoration of sta-
tus quo ante, the ministry
spokesman said disengage-
ment is a complex process
that requires “redeploy-
ment of troops by each side
towards their regular posts
on their respective sides of
the Line of Actual Control,”
and reciprocal action.
The reference to troops
needing to “refrain from
unilaterally changing the
situation in the ground and
avoid taking actions that
may complicate the situa-
tion” was also there in the
Monday’s talks between the
commanders.
The Chinese had engaged
in repeated provocations
last month in the middle of
the disengagement process,
which started after talks
between National Security
Advisor Ajit Doval and his
Chinese counterpart in July.
 the daily guardian
f riday | 25 s ep tember 2020
new delhi news 3
Investigation POLITICS

Drug case: Deepika to appear Is Chandrababu Naidu

batting for Hindu
before NCB on Saturday
Urvashi Khona
Shruti Modi, Sushant’s KWAN, a talent manage-
sentiments in Andhra
to impress BJP?
Mumbai business manager, was also ment agency, was under the
questioned by the agency. scanner after NCB ques-

B
ollywood actor Deep-
ika Padukone, who
was summoned by
the Narcotics Control Bu-
reau (NCB) on Wednesday,
will now join the investiga-
tion on Saturday.
Padukone’s name had
emerged in several What-
sApp chats found during
the agency’s investigation.
Padukone’s manager Kar-
ishma Prakash, an employ-
ee of the talent management
agency, KWAN will also
join the probe on Friday.
NCB who is investigating
ROW OVER REFORMS
Rakul Preet Singh, who
was supposed to join the
investigation today, showed
no response from her end as
per NCB. Deputy director
KPS Malhotra, NCB, said,
“Her summons were is-
sued and she was contacted
through various platforms,
including her phone. But
there has been no response
so far from her.” Also, Sara
Deepika’s name had emerged in several drug-related WhatsApp chats. Ali Khan and Shraddha Ka-
the drug angle in the Sush- also questioned designer Si- poor to whom notices were
ant Singh Rajput death case mone Khambatta for almost served on Wednesday have
where several A list actors four hours at Evelyn Guest been asked to join the probe
are under the scanner has House of NCB at Colaba. by Saturday.
tioned Rajput’s talent man-
ager Jaya Saha for the three
days, chief executive officer
Dhruv Chitgopekar for two
days. With them, it was also
Madhu Mantena who was
questioned on Wednesday.
Jaya Saha has spilled many
beans after which several
people related to Bollywood
are under the radar of NCB.
So far, NCB has arrested 19
accused, including Rhea
Chakraborty, her brother
Showik Chakraborty, SSR
domestic staff and various
drug peddlers.
Lokeswara Rao
Hyderabad
Is TDP supremo Chandrababu Nai-
du trying to mend fences with NDA
and, for that matter, the BJP? This is
the question dominating the politi-
cal circles in Andhra Pradesh, with
Naidu repeatedly targeting Chief
Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy over
incidents of vandalisation of places
belonging to Hindu religion.
Over the past few months, for-
mer Andhra Pradesh chief minister
Chandrababu Naidu has been mas-
sively critical of the Jagan govern- Naidu said Jagan is a Christian and
ment for “not being able to protect he does not have any respect for the
the religious places of Hindus”. He Hindu sentiments. He also asked his
never missed a chance to underline cadre to fight against the ruling YS-
the fact that ever since Jagan Reddy RCP on the temple issue.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh urges all parties

took over as CM, incidents of Hindu “If the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy
religious places being targeted have government was so concerned about
gone up. religious harmony and not hurting

to fight unitedly on the issue of Farm Bills

ANIL BHARDWAJ
Chandigarh
Punjab Chief Minister Cap-
tain Amarinder Singh on
Thursday appealed to all
political parties to come on
one platform to fight unit-
edly against the Agriculture
Bills.
Asserting his commit-
ment to protect the rights of
the farmers at all costs, the
Chief Minister said he was
ready to lead the political
fight against these Bills with
all his might.
“I will do what it takes to
save my farmers and my
state from these dangerous
new laws, whose imple-
mentation will cripple the
farming sector and also
destroy Punjab’s lifeline of
Agriculture,” he added.
The Chief Minister said
that the Congress had al-
ways stood with the farm-
ers and will fight with them,
shoulder to shoulder, to
scuttle the Centre’s plans to
ruin not just their own fami-
lies and the labourers, who
toil on the fields day and
night to feed the nation, but
the entire state of Punjab.
The BJP led Union Gov-
ernment has stooped to a
new low by bringing these
Bills, and that too in an un-
democratic and unparlia-
mentary manner, said Cap-
tain Amarinder, adding that
his government, supported
by the Punjab Congress,
will oppose the legislation
tooth and nail in the inter-
est of not just the farmers
and the state but the entire
country.
He said that Akalis are
trying to change the narra-
tive through their concerted
and deliberate efforts to
transform the `Punjab V/s
Centre’ fight into a local po-
litical clash for their vested
interests.
SAD president Sukhbir
Singh Badal’s assertion
that Akalis will not let any
corporate enter Punjab if
the people make an Akali
Dal government in the state
clearly showed that it was
all about power, and the en-
tire drama was being enact-
ed by their party to get into
the saddle, said the Chief
Minister.
Political observers also see the
similar remarks by Naidu attacking
the Jagan government as the TDP
chief seeking to befriend BJP. Ac-
cording to them, after tasting defeat
in assembly elections in Andhra
Pradesh, Naidu may be cozying up
to the saffron party with an objec-
tive of facing the ruling YSRCP in
the state.
Though Naidu’s party TDP has
aligned with the BJP in the past, it
wanted to prove itself as a secular
party for the minority vote bank in
the state. But this time, Chandraba-
bu’s strategy looks different.
In what buttresses this impression,
the sentiments of people following
any religion, why has he not acted
when a series of attacks happened
on temples?” asked Naidu. The
YSRCP also returned fire at Naidu
in a bid to counter his Hindu line.
Andhra Minister Kodali Nani said,
“How can Chandrababu Naidu
claim himself to be a true Hindu? He
climbed the Tirumala hills wearing
shoes, whereas Jagan climbed the
seven hills with bare feet. Who is the
real Hindu? Before the 2019 general
elections, TDP wanted to distance it-
self from BJP and described itself as
a secular party but now it is going in
the BJP route.”

Bureaucracy SEIZURE
Unlock4.0

TN govt allows students
from classes 10-12 to go
to schools from 1 October
chennai: Finally, Tamil Nadu Government
has given its go-ahead for reopening of
schools for Class 10 and Class 12 students
starting from 1st October 2020.
As per the official guidelines, students of
10th and 12th classes will be allowed to visit
their schools on alternate days for taking
guidance from teachers. In line with the
Unlock 4.0 guidelines, the schools allowed
to reopen have been permitted only to hold
doubt-solving sessions or guidance sessions
for the visiting students and regular classes
will remain suspended as of now.
While reopening of schools has been al-
lowed on a voluntary basis for class 10 and 12
students, online classes for the same would
continue for all students as was done previ-
ously. Releasing SOP, the School Education
Department has stated that from October
1st, students from class 10th to 12th can
come to schools “on a voluntary basis” for
guidance from the teachers.
The school education department has
stated that the school administrations can
call 50% of the teaching staff who take
classes, provide guidance and counselling to
the students who come to schools. As per the
SOP issued, schools are instructed to divide
the students of 10th-12th into two batches
and they should be allowed to schools only
on alternative days and teachers are also
directed to come on batches to help students.
However, the schools will remain closed
for other class students. Tamil Nadu school
education minister Senkottaiyan earlier this
week clarified that there is no possibility of
reopening schools across the state in the
current (pandemic) situation.
This decision comes at the time when
students are expressing the difficulties in
attending online classes and after the reports
of a few students ending their life allegedly
after they couldn’t cope up with the online
education. Rejecting this idea of asking
students to come to school “on voluntary
basis”, educationist Prince Gajendrababu
slams the decision saying, like a welfare
state like Tamil Nadu, this condition of asking
students to come voluntarily will not provide
an equal playing field and questions whether
the school education department is trying to
drive down the message of saying that physi-
cal classroom is not necessary anymore.
He expresses his doubt asking he is not
sure whether the government consulted the
Directorate of public education before mak-
ing a decision and it is unfair to ask students
to bring a letter of consent from the parents
to attend classes and the government must
ensure a safe environment for students
Mugilan Chandrakumar
New postings: Big aDMINISTRATIVE TN cops seize 74 antique idols
CHANGES ON THE CARDS IN HARYANA worth crores from house of
Ravinder Malik
Chandigarh
of the CM which makes
them the strong claimants
French national in Puducherry
for the above posts. It is Mugilan Chandrakumar
With the Haryana Chief learnt that the caste fac- Puducherry
Secretary Keshni Anand tor is also likely to play a
Arora retiring in the next crucial role for the above A 20-member team of the Tamil
few days, there will be ad- appointments. Nadu idol wing CID headed by Su-
ministrative changes in the The Chief Secretary Kes- perintendent of Police R Sakthivel on
state. hni Anand Arora and RK Thursday recovered 74 antique idols
Besides, Principal Secre- Khullar both come from from the house of a French national
tary to Chief Minister RK the Punjabi community. in Puducherry.
Khullar, a 1988 batch IAS The Chief Minister also Acting on a specific tipoff, Tamil
officer whose tenure will Haryana Chief Secretary Keshni Anand belongs to the same com- Nadu idol wing conducted searches
complete next month, has Principal Secretary to CM batch IAS emerged as the munity. The sources say in a house “Rue Romain Rolland”
been appointed as Execu- include not only advising strongest claimant for the that officials belonging to street in the presence of the owner
tive Director in the World the CM but also perform- post of the Chief Secretary. Punjabi community are Jean Paul Rajarathinam, and among
Bank for three years. ing many important roles. Among other claimants the strong claimants for them were 14 sculpted in stone and
A string of senior IAS of- Thus, officials performing are a 1986 batch IAS San- the posts in comparison to the remaining in metal worth several
ficers is in the fray for both on these posts are required jeev Kaushal, and 1987 the others. crores, said Sakthivel.
the posts. These posts are to be efficient and familiar batch IAS Rajeev Arora. Though the opposition The idols dating back to the Chola
prominent in the admin- with high-level administra- V Umashankar, a 1993 continues to take on the period are likely to have been stolen
istrative structure of any tive work. batch IAS and additional ruling party saying that the from temples across Tamil Nadu, he
government. Amid the ongoing specu- Principal Secretary to CM officials from a particular added further.
The Chief Secretary is the lation, it is evident that the is reported to be very close community are given pri- The Idol wing has seized all the 74 in connection with the seizure in Pu-
administrative head of the close ones are likely to be to the CM Manohar Lal ority for top posts, it can- statues. ducherry, said Sakthivel.
state government and acts appointed on these posts. Khattar. not be denied that these Rajarathinam told police that the It has been found that the owner of
as a secretary to the state Vijay Vardhan, Home Sec- One common thing be- officials have enough expe- idols were in possession of the fam- the house, John Paul RajaRathinam
cabinet. retary and ACS, disaster tween all these officials is rience of holding positions ily since the time of his grandfather. is a relative of an idol smuggling ac-
While the duties of the management and a 1985 that they are in good books in various departments. There has been no arrest of anyone cused.
BLAME GAME TOWARDS NORMALCY
Andhra BJP seeks minister Kodali Nani’s resignation
for his remarks against Hindu gods and PM Modi
RTC bus services resume
in Andhra Pradesh
Modi and Yogi Adityanath? Why
Lokeswara Rao
HYDERABAD did not file any cases against him
Lokeswara Rao
despite our complaints? He should HYDERABAD
km distance. APSRTC removed the
A political row has erupted in be sacked from the ministry. If he is physical distancing norms as per
Andhra Pradesh after the civil sup- not sacked, we deem it as a provoca- The Road Transport Corporation the state government guidelines.
plies minister Kodali Nani’s “ob- tion by the CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.” (RTC) of Andhra Pradesh has re- The corporation also started city bus
jectionable” comments on Hindu The opposition parties are also sumed its services in the state, ad- services last week in metro cities like
gods, PM Narendra Modi and Uttar slamming Kodali Nani for mak- vising the passengers to take care of Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.
Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. ing comments allegedly against the themselves from coronavirus. After 6 months of suspension of
When opposition questioned why faith declaration at Tirumala before The statewide operations started services in Hyderabad, the RTC re-
Andhra Pradesh Minister Kodali Nani.
Jagan Mohan Reddy did not go to entering. with “Whatever possible social dis- sumed services on the outskirts of
Lord Venkateswara Temple of Ti- versy in Andhra Pradesh, with BJP The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) tancing among passengers” warn- Hyderabad. The buses were seen on
rumala along with his wife, Kodali asking for resignation of Nani for also demanded his resignation. ing. the roads in The Greater Hyderabad
Nani had said, “The Prime Minister making such remarks against Hindu TDP’s former MLA Bonda Uma said, The RTC authorities pointed out Corporation (GHMC) limits.
goes alone to Ayodhya temple to lay gods, PM and UP CM. BJP leaders the CM cannot sit as a silent monk that it is going to follow norms in The city core services can be re-
the foundation stone and so does UP demanded the immediate dismissal when the attacks are taking place on Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kar- sumed after a week. The TSRTC is
chief minister. Why should Jagan of Kodali Nani from the ministry and Temples. nataka. The government permitted ready to resume 100% services in
bring his wife to the temple? an unconditional apology. Andhra He said, “Chief Minister YS Jagan- RTC buses to operate as per their the city but waiting for the nod of the
Drawing an ire from BJP, Nani had Police have house arrested a number mohan Reddy was deliberately not designated capacity at the time of government. TSRTC operates over
said, “First let them (BJP and Swami- of BJP leaders and activists. following the rules and regulations their registration with the state 3,000 buses on 1,400 routes in Hy-
jis) ask Modi to go to Ram temple BJP leader Vishnu Ministry Reddy, of the temple in utter disregard transport department. derabad, including the outskirts.
along with his wife to perform pu- who participated in the dharna, told for the sentiments of the devotees. The commuters are advised to Before Covid-19, these buses used
jas; then ask Jagan to do so. If I go The Daily Guardian, “How long Ja- When so many attacks were taking wear masks and sanitize their hands to make 43,000 trips, transporting
with some ten people and ask the gan Mohan Reddy will do vote bank place on temples, the Chief Minister to cut down the risk of Covid-19. over 30 lakh passengers every day.
Prime Minister to sack Amit Shah or politics? Minister Kodali Nani is was sitting like a ‘silent monk’ which The APSRTC has started its op- The RTC authorities have been si-
Kishan Reddy, will he sack them?” provoking the Hindus. Is he quali- is not in the best interests of all sec- erations around 4,600 services in lent on the Covid-19 guidelines being
These comments sparked contro- fied enough to make statements on tions of the people.’ this manner covering nearly 42 lakh implemented in the buses.
 4 news plus t h e da ily gua r dia n
fr iday | 2 5 se p t e m b er 2020
new de l h i

DIPLOMACY AT WORK

India readies to counter Xi Jinping’s UN

address aimed at China’s image makeover
Indian diplomats say that Beijing is facing widespread criticism across the world for its
aggressive and expansionist behaviour. Therefore, China’s leadership is using the UN
forum to try and impress the global community by talking about peaceful negotiations.
T. Brajesh
does. There is a sharp contrast General Assembly (UNGA) With China’s ties with both
New Delhi in what Beijing says and does,” session,” said Morgan. The India and US getting strained,
say officials. US spokesperson said, “Bei- Xi’s statement was taken by

C
hinese President Xi Jin-
ping may have said that
Beijing has no intention
to fight either a “Cold War” or
a “hot war” with any country,
but India looks askance at his
observations. New Delhi be-
lieves that Xi’s statement in his
UN address is only an “image
makeover” exercise.
Indian diplomats say that
Beijing is facing widespread
criticism across the world for
its aggression and expansionist
behaviour. Therefore, China’s
leadership is using the UN
forum to try to impress upon
the global community that he
believes in adopting the path
of peaceful negotiations, dip-
lomats add. “This is not what
China actually thinks and
Sources told The Daily Guard-
ian that External Affairs Minis-
ter S. Jaishankar has been given
a full transcript of Xi Jinping’s
speech in which he sought to
sound like a peace-loving and
honest leader. Sources also
said that the MEA is not buy-
ing what Xi has said, and has,
therefore, decided to pursue
the strategy of stalling China’s
diplomatic moves aimed at “im-
age makeover”. According to
sources, Indian embassies have
been given a briefing about
how to go about this. “Ambas-
sadors and High Commission-
ers have been asked to counter
China’s image-makeover exer-
cise,” said an official.
Indian diplomats got a boost
when US State Department
jing called for cooperation and
win-win solutions at UN75.
But in practice, Beijing uses
bullying tactics to advance its
goals, including illegal claims
in the South China Sea, border
disputes with India, and ma-
nipulating water flow in the
Mekong River.”
This is how the US official
took a potshot at Chinese Presi-
dent Xi Jinping’s statement in
which he had said, “We have
no intention to fight either a
cold war or a hot one with any
country. We will continue to
narrow differences and resolve
disputes with others through
Chinese President Xi Jinping addressing the United Nations. dialogue and negotiation. We
spokesperson Morgan Orta- ping’s speech at the UN. “While called for international coop- will now seek to develop only
gus came down heavily on China continues to use bullying eration and win-win solutions ourselves or engage in zero-
China just a day after Xi Jin- tactics to meet its goals, it has during the 75th United Nations sum game.”
both Washington and New
Delhi with a pinch of salt. It au-
gurs well for India’s diplomatic
mission that Washington has
stepped up its attack on Beijing
over a host of issues including
handling of the Covid-19 out-
break, trade war and so on.
What is more significant is that
Morgan also referred to China’s
misdeed along the LAC.
“When Xi, who is also the
General Secretary of the ruling
Communist Party of China and
the Commander-in-Chief of the
Chinese military, said his coun-
try will not pursue develop-
ment behind closed doors and
will not pursue an expansionist
agenda, it should reflect on the
ground. But nothing is there in
reality,” diplomats argue.

INTERVIEW
‘THE REWIRE’

‘Left supporters have made a tactical Harley-Davidson

shift towards BJP to fight Mamata’
Kunal Roy
New Delhi
Snigdhendu Bhattacha-
rya’s new book, Mission
Bengal: A Saffron Experi-
ment (HarperCollins, Rs
599), narrates how Mama-
ta Banerjee’s attempts to
reduce the Opposition to
insignificance in the state
backfired. In an interview
with The Daily Guardian, the
author shares how the saf-
fron camp’s push for Hin-
dutva and a tactical shift of
the Left’s supporters have
created a tough road ahead
for Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee.
Q: The book is about the rise of
the BJP in West Bengal. How is
the party making inroads into
the state?  go wholeheartedly against
A: The origin of Hindutva
can be traced back to the
second half of the nine-
teenth century in Bengal.
Some of the principal com-
ponents of Hindutva — the
concept of Bharat Mata, the
very coinage of Hindutva,
‘Bande Mataram’, the very
notion that Hindus were
facing the danger of exter-
mination — they were all
born in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth century
Bengal. It was a heartland
of nationalism and that na-
tionalist movement centred
on Kolkata was predomi-
nantly Hindu in nature. The
BJP and the RSS have been
trying to remind Bengal’s
people of exactly this.
Q: It was the RSS which de-
scribed Mamata as ‘Maa Dur-
ga’ for demolishing the Left in
the state. Now it’s the saffron
party versus Mamata. How
do you see this change?
A: Mamata Banerjee was
called ‘Maa Durga’ at an
RSS event in New Delhi
in 2003. At that time, her
party was in alliance with
the BJP. After breaking out
of the Congress in 1998,
she had seen the BJP as a
‘natural ally’ against the
Left because she thought
the Congress would never
the Left in Bengal due to
its national compulsion
of keeping the BJP out of
power. However, Mamata’s
policies took a left turn to-
wards the end of 2006. She
started distancing herself
from the BJP and, subse-
quently, snapped her ties
with the NDA. She started
proclaiming that she was
the true torchbearer of
leftist ideology. Besides,
she took to the overt ap-
peasement of Muslims in
her bid to wean them away
from the influence of the
Left. So, from a natural ally
they turned into principal
opponents.
Q: Bengal was the Left citadel.
From there to a scenario where
the BJP has become a force to
reckon with, how do you see the
state’s journey?
A: The Left mismanaged its
industrialisation drive in
2006-07 and could never
recover from the electoral
blows they received in the
2008 panchayat elections
and the 2009 Lok Sabha
elections. Possibly, having
been in power for three
decades had drained them
of their energy and abil-
ity to fight back, especially
after the loss of power in
2011. First, supporters and
grassroots-level organis-
ers and even some district-
level leaders left the Left
camp for the TMC. Then,
the TMC’s consistent ef-
Author Snigdhendu
Bhattacharya.
forts at weakening the Left
parties prompted a section
of Left supporters and or-
ganisers to switch to the
BJP after Narendra Modi
came to power. Some Left
leaders claimed that their
supporters made a ‘tactical
shift’ towards the BJP to
get shelter from the Cen-
tre’s ruling party against
the TMC’s highhanded-
ness. However, I have also
seen Left supporters who
joined the BJP primarily to
fight the TMC ultimately
transformed into Hindutva
warriors.
Q: You have said “Bengal has
become a political laboratory”.
Why?
A: It has become a political
laboratory, indeed. On the
one hand, the Sangh Parivar
is trying to popularise Hin-
dutva in the Hindu Bengali
society by adopting myriad
ways. After they managed
to influence a large number
of the Hindu population,
Mamata Banerjee started
changing her approach
towards communities.
Prashant Kishor’s team
is trying many innovative
ideas to weaken the strong
wave of anti-incumbency
that can be felt across ru-
ral Bengal. Both parties
are adopting policies for
particular segments — Dal-
its, tribals, migrants from
Bangladesh, the unem-
ployed youth and migrant
workers, for example. There
is an intense battle on social
media, including the mush-
rooming of fake news ped-
dlers masquerading as digi-
tal news platforms. Veteran
political analysts I spoke to
said they could not remem-
ber political campaigns at so
many layers.
plans to close India
manufacturing
facility
Q: The BJP lacks a prominent
Bengali face. How is it going to
tackle this challenge?
A: The BJP is preferring to
go to the elections seeking
votes in the name of PM
Modi for a number of rea-
sons. First, even though
Dilip Ghosh is doubtless-
ly the most popular BJP
leader in the state, a sec-
tion of the BJP and RSS
think tank believes Ghosh
would not be accepted by
the educated and cultured
middle-class, especially
the bhadralok community
that held influence over
Bengal’s public psyche for
decades. The second rea- The Sri Lankan officials
Correspondent
son is that Bengal BJP is New Delhi replied that Colombo’s ties
fraught with factionalism with Beijing have cemented
— from the state-level to During a visit to Sri Lanka further over the last four to
the districts. At the state- last Diwali, we found the five years and this, accord-
level, we, the journalists, markets of the island nation ing to them, is attributable to
get to hear of three groups glutted with Chinese goods. China funding their country
functioning in their own The largest road connecting immensely with the result
ways. By not announcing the two ends of the country that unprecedented develop-
a CM candidate, the BJP has been built by China. In ment has taken place in the
wants to turn the battle addition to this, the mainte- island nation. According to
into one between Mamata nance of a Sri Lankan port them, China not only pro-
and Modi on the one hand, is handled by Beijing. On vides Sri Lanka with loans
and on the other, keep all observing all this, we asked but also gets the work done
factions working towards officials there as to why Sri at a low cost. They further
the common goal of top- Lanka is handing over most said that India does not help
pling the TMC govern- of the infrastructure works them in the similar manner
ment. To my understand- to China despite the fact that and, therefore, Sri Lanka
ing, not announcing a CM India has done a lot of work cannot compromise the in-
candidate is the BJP’s best in the island nation. terests of its citizens.
choice at the present junc-
ture.

NEW FINDINGS

Some coronavirus patients are showing signs of

heart damage months later, says a new Study
Correspondent
New Delhi
Researchers in the US have found
that Covid-19 can leave some pa-
tients with signs of heart inflam-
mation and injury months after
they get sick with the virus, even
in non-severe cases.
The findings could help ex-
plain the symptoms of recovered
Covid-19 patients, some of whom
are struggling with such issues
as shortness of breath, chest pain
and heart palpitations, according
to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
“We basically die with the heart-
muscle cells we’re born with, so
anything that results in the death the coronavirus on heart-muscle sibility is that the heart becomes a paper that was posted in August
of heart muscle has the potential cells, and autopsying people who collateral damage in a patient’s on a preprint server, but it hasn’t
to irreversibly damage the heart’s died from the disease, as well as intense immune reaction to the been peer-reviewed yet.
mechanical ability and the heart’s looking at the hearts of patients virus. Earlier this month another
electrical function,” Charles Mur- who have recovered. The other suspicion is that the study presented at the European
ry, director of the University of The researchers said that the virus invades heart tissue, which Respiratory Society International
Washington’s Center for Cardio- findings are still preliminary, contains the molecular parts Congress, revealed that Covid-19
vascular Biology, was quoted as especially those gleaned from known as ACE2 receptors that patients can suffer long-term lung
saying to WSJ. testing in lab-grown cells. the virus uses to enter cells. and heart damage but, for many,
According to the study, heart “More research, including stud- The researchers found that the this tends to improve over time.
inflammation can follow cases ies in patients, needs to be done coronavirus could infect and rep- Globally, the coronavirus has
of seasonal flu or other respira- before scientists can reach any licate in lab-grown heart-muscle infected more than three crore
tory viruses and lead to irregular conclusions,” they wrote. cells, impairing their ability people and killed almost 10 lakh
heartbeats or even heart failure The research team suspected to contract and to conduct the people, according to Johns Hop-
in some cases. there are two ways the corona- electrical signals required for kins University. The number of
The mounting evidence of virus could cause heart inflam- regulating heartbeat, eventually worldwide recoveries is more
Covid-19’s toll on the heart stems mation and injure heart muscle. killing them. than 2.1 crore.
from studies probing the effect of According to the study, one pos- They reported their findings in With IANS inputs

Brand value
How succession can
make or break a party
A political party can survive the test of time only if its brand value stays intact—
which is dependent on whom popular leaders pass the baton to. The case of the
Shiv Sena is an example of how things can go wrong if poor choices are made.
opinion
Vishwas Pathak
T
he driving force be-
hind the success of
any sector in the pub-
lic domain is the dominant
perception of its respective
brands amongst recipients.
The better the perception, the
higher the acceptance! There
are numerous examples to
be analysed of how popular
brands had to bite the dust
only because their choice of
succession had been based on
impractical decisions. Look
at Nokia’s journey from being
the “king of the phone era”
to “struggling for survival”,
or that of the late Dhirubhai
Ambani, whose business
was divided between his two
sons, Mukesh and Anil Am-
bani. The economic scenarios
of the two, if compared, have
become case studies for un-
derstanding the importance
of succession.
Even politics has not es-
caped from being grappled
with this phenomenon of
brand perception. Shiv Sena
leader Sanjay Raut has made
an appeal recently to MNS
chief Raj Thackeray, request-
ing to step up his efforts and
play a vital role in preserving
the ‘Thackeray’ brand in Ma-
harashtra’s politics.
As far as the concept of
brands is concerned, one has
to understand that this par-
Education & jobs
Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Roadmap for making universities self-reliant
opinion
R.L. Raina
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi-led government start-
ed the Aatmanirbhar Bharat
initiative with a motive to ad-
dress the basic issue of abys-
mally low market demand
and economic slowdown
induced by the Covid-19
t h e da ily gua r dia n
fr iday   |   2 5 se p t e m b e r 2 0 2 0
ticular concept is a market-
driven phenomenon which
can be defined as a general
idea and an abstract mean-
ing that gives a certain con-
sistency to a brand and cre-
ates a distinctive identity in
the market and the minds of
consumers, or voters, in the
case of politics. This is also
built over the years.
In the case of the Shiv Sena,
which was established by the
late Balasaheb Thackeray
years ago, it became a widely
accepted brand in the Mum-
bai circles initially since its
ideological foundation was
based on regional chauvin-
ism. However, with changing
times, Balasaheb moved on to
the issue of Hindutva, which
later resulted in the party
extending its base across the
entire state of Maharashtra.
The brand of the Shiv Sena
was also associated with its
karyakartas, who worshipped
their party leader because
Balasaheb Thackeray’s
credibility and acceptance
had percolated through the
minds of his party workers.
However, when it came to
appointing his successor,
Balasaheb chose his son,
Uddhav, over the largely
accepted leadership of Raj
Thackeray who was seen as
the mirror image of Balasa-
heb. Raj, having learned the
basics of politics from Bala-
saheb himself, could natu-
rally dive into the nature of
the politics of the Shiv Sena.
However, with the choice of
a blood relation over a more
politically deserving person,
the late Shiv Sena supremo
certainly could not manage
and navigate through his
succession plan. As a result
of the choice not being done
pandemic. The main thrust
of the programme is towards
making India self-reliant
and resilient in both normal
and crisis times. During the
pandemic, the universities
had a single option of chang-
ing the study module to the
digital one. The educational
institutes started focusing
on thinking out of the box
to meet the challenges of the
digital revolution while em-
bracing entrepreneurship,
critical and problem-solving
skills as part of the academ-
ic experience, as well as
creating cultures where in-
novative thinking is inspired
n ew de l h i comment & analysis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray (right) with his son, ‎Aaditya Thackeray.
using the correct equations,
political perils were likely to
be encountered. And thence
commenced the devolution
of the “Thackeray” brand in
Maharashtra!
The situation now is such
that at a time when the Thac-
keray scion is none other
than the chief minister of
Maharashtra, his close con-
fidante has appealed to Raj
Thackeray to help save the
brand of Thackeray. What
can be understood from
here is that the devolution of
a brand, no matter how huge
it is, is inevitable if succes-
sion is based on emotion or
nepotism, rather than prag-
matism. Change is the only
constant in nature and those
who fail to adapt with the
changing times are bound
to fall.
The BJP is often regarded
as the party with a difference.
Currently, the BJP is a brand
which is much bigger than
all the political parties in the
country combined. However,
the party’s image is marked
by its choice of pragmatism
and not nepotism. While it
is a fact established beyond
doubt that the next successor
of the Congress will be some-
one among the Gandhis, or
and nurtured.
The challenge didn’t end
here. The universities are
also planning adequate steps
to prepare all students for a
rapidly changing job market
and to make them industry-
ready and self-reliant. They
must ensure that talent from
the diverse, global communi-
ty has access to opportunities
in the new era of digitisation.
Since Aatmanirbhar Bharat
has become a mantra for ev-
eryone, universities are urg-
ing students to showcase
their talent by developing
more Indian apps in differ-
ent categories under the “Aat-
manirbhar Bharat Innovate
Challenge”. Apart from this,
the following factors are also
playing a crucial role in mak-
ing Indian universities self-
reliant:
 
New dimension to
entrepreneurship
model
In the pre-Covid era, aca-
demic institutions put at-
that the successor to Uddhav
Thackeray and Raj Thacker-
ay will be Aaditya and Amit,
no one in the wildest of their
imaginations can name the
next BJP national president.
This is the difference be-
tween the brand of the BJP
and other political parties.
The BJP’s brand is based
not on one person’s capabil-
ity but on the ideologies de-
rived from the efforts made
by numerous generations.
Having said so, it should be
mentioned that the torch-
bearer of the same changes
from time to time in the most
democratic manner.
As far as the appointing of
a successor for the party is
concerned, the names of the
party’s leaders can point to
the fact that the decision is
based on merit. While there
was the era of Syama Prasad
Mukherjee and Deen Dayal
Upadhyay, there was also a
successful reign handled by
the combination of Atal Bi-
hari Vajpayee and L.K. Ad-
vani. Similarly, later choices
involved the likes of Pramod
Mahajan, Arun Jaitley, Nitin
Gadkari and Rajnath Singh.
Even now, when our lead-
ers are none other than
Prime Minister Narendra
tention on training their
students in skills that were
required in larger compa-
nies. But with Aatmanirb-
har Bharat, the initiative has
brought the country’s focus
back on MSME -- one of the
key driving forces towards
self-sufficiency. MSME con-
stitutes 80 percent of the
workforce in the Indian in-
dustry. Ignoring this sector
would be a lost opportunity.
In developing nations across
the world, MSMEs have
engaged with academia by
investing in research and in-
novation -- a relationship that
can benefit both institutions
and industry. Students need
to be trained accordingly for
the jobs that will be in de-
mand in future.
 
Innovation as the
major objective
Indian universities have
taken up the challenge of
finding innovative solutions
to the problems raised by Co-
vid-19. Though it has brought
Modi, Home Minister Amit
Shah and BJP president J.P.
Nadda, efficient leaders who
have the potential to lead the
party in the future are be-
ing nurtured and trained
from their nascent stages.
While thinking of the next
ten years, one also has to
bear in mind the thought
of who can hold the reins
for the ten years thereaf-
ter! Then one may think of
Devendra Fadnavis or Yogi
Adityanath. Tejasvi Surya, a
party worker who went on to
become a Member of Parlia-
ment, is also an example of
how the BJP believes in mak-
ing merit-based choices. This
practice can also be traced in
the RSS where every succes-
sor has set a paradigm to be
followed, while the organ-
isation evolves and grows
stronger.
The most important aspect
of the phenomenon of main-
taining a brand is to have a
strong foundation based on
principles and ideologies
which have to be impro-
vised with changing times.
While making these chang-
es, if the next successor who
is appointed is contrary to
the needs and requirements
of the brand, then decline
insurmountable suffering to
humankind, it has also pro-
pelled many to push their
creative boundaries for the
Indian universities
have taken up the
challenge of finding
innovative solutions
to the problems
raised by Covid-19.
betterment of the society.
With the help of advanced
artificial intelligence and In-
ternet of Things (IOT), many
universities are working hard
to transform a village into a
smart city so that the resi-
dents of the village can also
avail all the facilities that will
enable them to grow.
 
Making employment
sustainable
When the world is going
is inevitable. This is exactly
what has happened in the
Shiv Sena.
Ever since Uddhav Thac-
keray became the chief min-
ister and appointed his son
as a minister, disdain for the
brand of the Shiv Sena com-
menced. While the first dent
on the party brand appeared
due to its mismanagement
of the state’s governance,
the dent only grew deeper
with Uddhav Thackeray’s
inefficiency in handling the
Covid-19 situation. The last
nail in the coffin was struck
when the Shiv Sena lost the
battle of popular perception
amidst the Kangana Ranaut
versus BMC row. This inci-
dent caused the brand im-
age of the Shiv Sena to fall to
its lowest.
The situation could have
been entirely different had
the late Balasaheb Thac-
keray appointed the correct
successor. The case of the
Shiv Sena verily makes it
clear that taking a pragmat-
ic decision while deciding
on matters of succession is
ultimately the key to a last-
ing brand!
The writer is the media head of
BJP Maharashtra. The views
expressed are personal.
through such a phase, it is
inevitable for the industry
to rely on academia to access
and train the kind of talent
that is required to thrive in
the future workplace and to
ensure life-long learning. It
has been estimated that more
than 12 million Indians get
job-ready every year but the
sad part is that not everyone
is well acquainted with the
needs of the company. Our
educational institutes should
follow the “Experiential Uni-
versity” model, which might
be one of the answers to the
challenge of a highly devel-
oped education system.
 
Providing quality
education and
training
Through the provision of
quality education and train-
ing to its students, we can
make the students self-reli-
ant. It is important that uni-
versities pay much premium
on this because the more
educated and highly skilled
5
perspective
Dev Anand’s 97th birth anniversary
The evergreen
hero and India’s
first superstar
Without a doubt, Dev Anand was the first mega star of
Indian cinema, who over a period of time, influenced
the lifestyles of multiple generations. Although a part
of the troika comprising him, Dilip Kumar and Raj Ka-
poor, he had a fan following that was mind boggling. If
Raj Kapoor was considered as the greatest showman
and Dilip Kumar the tragedy king, Dev Anand was the
quintessential romantic hero. Girls would swoon over
him and boys copied his hair style or tried to dress like
him. Each and every movie starring Dev Anand would
be eagerly awaited and the black market of tickets for the
first day, first show was higher than any other contem-
porary star of his time. Even when Rajesh Khanna and
later Amitabh Bachchan attained a superstar status, it
was Dev Anand alone who survived their phenomenal
rise, and continued to have his box office appeal.
Having interviewed him on several occasions, one
could safely conclude that he was a power bank of en-
ergy and enthusiasm. He would always be on the lookout
for new scripts and new talent and was obsessed with
making films. Many of his critics during his last years,
wanted him to give up acting, but in his inimitable man-
ner, Dev Saheb, as he was addressed later, would shoot
back and ask, what was their problem when he was
spending his own money and time in doing what he
liked the most. Together with his brothers — Chetan and
Vijay — he had set up the Navketan films, under whose
banner, he acted in multiple blockbusters. His movies
were trend setters and many were even ahead of their
times. Guide, for instance, is regarded as probably his
most memorable movie, so far as his performance goes,
but his appeal always remained undiminished. Tere Mere
Sapne and Hare Rama, Hare Krishna were exceptional,
as were Taxi Driver, CID, Hum Dono and Jewel Thief. He
enthralled his fans by his performances in Johnny Mera
Naam and Gambler and innumerable films before that.
When Prakash Mehra decided to make Zanjeer, he made
Salim-Javed write the script keeping Dev Anand in mind.
However, the actor turned down the role and Amitabh
stepped in to make history. The principal reason why
Dev Saheb outlived his generation of actors in the sil-
ver screen was that he kept abreast with the times and
looked after his appearance. He told me once that since
childhood, he was administered Chyawanprash by his
mother and he continued to have it.
Dev Anand had a mind of his own and politically was
never afraid of taking a stand. He was one of the very few
stars who came out against Emergency in 1977. He was
romantically linked to many actresses of his time, Suraiya
and Madhubala in the early years and Zeenat Aman in
the later phase. However, he did not allow that to affect
his work. In an interview, he told me that he would tell
me about his heroines one day, but that opportunity
never arose. A product of Government College, Lahore,
where he was a batchmate of my father, Dev Anand
was specially invited by Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he
as the Prime Minister undertook his historic Bus Yatra
to Lahore. He became a hit, across the border as well.
For him, there was no singer who could sing ghazals
better than Mohammad Rafi and lighter songs better
than Kishore Kumar, both of whom were his favourite
playback voices. Most of the films produced by him had
music by Sachin Dev Burman, in whose abilities, he had
immense faith. However, many others also composed
hit songs for him in his various other starrers. When
he fell ill, he went to London for treatment since he did
not wish any of his fans to see him in the condition he
was in. It is not surprising that he breathed his last in the
British capital where his last rites were also performed.
While remembering him on his 97th birth anniversary on
Saturday, we must never forget that Dev Anand was the
man for all seasons of the Indian cinema. A phenomenon
who left an indelible imprint on the celluloid.
Pankaj Vohra
people are, the higher are the National Education
chances of a nation’s develop- Policy’s crucial
ment. It is for this reason that role
many developed countries
that are self-reliant don’t take
education for granted. Such
The policy lays special em-
phasis on the National Re-
search Foundation because
countries have a huge chunk innovation is important
of their population having for the country’s progress.
various degrees of quality Only when we strengthen
education and training. innovation and research,
  then our country will re-
Encouraging main competitive and move
students to take ahead. The more innova-
responsibilities tion is strengthened in the
Responsible students are country, the more progress
aware of their roles, duties, it will make in a competitive
tasks and schedules. This world. This will also enable
enables them to plan and citizens to become global
prepare for their days. They citizens and at the same
are committed to tasks from time making them know
start to finish. They will be and understand their roots.
taking corrective actions on The New Education Policy
their own. They will also also focuses on research and
persist in doing tasks even development to make India
if they are tedious or boring a key research and devel-
and will always be ready to opment destination for the
face the consequences of world.
their actions. Being respon-  The author is the Vice Chancel-
sible empowers students to lor, JK Lakshmipat University,
feel confident and in control Jaipur. The views expressed are
of their lives. personal.
6 legally speaking the daily guardian
f riday  |  25 s ep tember 2020
new delhi

analysis

Fifty one shades of speech consulting members of the so- ticular community. While markers of a civilisation’s Even if this choice has the dispensation’s positions. the Constitution (a.k.a con-
ciety to marshal some form of the Ministry of Informa- journey, depth and the inherent risk of surrender- In view of the above ra- stitutional morality), and
concrete evidence to base their tion and Broadcasting, and values it believes in. One ing one’s individual right at tionale, an organ, such as concluded as follows:

indic views positions on? Critically, in the

J. Sai Deepak
rights guaranteed by Part III
of the Constitution. The Judi-
ciary’s role is limited to exam-
ining the constitutional validity
of the claim made by the State
that the latter’s action is in the
interest of or furthers public
morality.
That said, what are the pa-
rameters that must be applied
to such an examination? In
other words, how does the State
demonstrate that its action rep-
context of a diverse society such
as Bharat, how can the State
hope to do justice to varying
and often conflicting positions
on public morality?...
Does this mean that the scope
of use of public morality by the
State as the basis for limiting
individual freedoms is limited
to public spaces? What is the
position of the Indian civiliza-
tion and the Constitution on the
spaces and contexts in which
public morality may be used
as a legitimate restriction on
individual rights? What consti-
tutes public morality within the
framework of the Indic civiliza-
tional worldview and what are
its sources?”
the Hon’ble Supreme Court,
are simultaneously, and
perhaps incongruously,
seized of the case, it may be
worthwhile to understand
the relationship between
speech, culture and public
morality. In the interest of
fair disclosure, this author
is appearing on behalf of
a few Intervenors in the
proceedings before the Su-
preme Court. Therefore, in
the interest of propriety, he
shall desist from comment-
ing on the specific merits of
the case. The focus of the
instant piece is the meta
nexus between speech and
civilizational ethos.
Language, while acting
could go even a step fur-
ther to make the point that
speech is perhaps the most
literal, visible, audible and
ubiquitous expression of
public morality. The lessons,
beliefs, achievements, trag-
edies, the objects of worship
and hatred of a people take
the shape of similes, idioms,
usages, proverbs and even
cuss words. Therefore, to
police speech, is to police
not just the ability to ex-
press thought, but thought
itself because policing the
formers chills and stifles
the latter, thereby killing
the idea at source.
Given the implications
of policing speech, society
the altar of a process which the Judiciary, whose recti- “As discussed above, moral di-
ruthlessly rewards the nu- tude is its hallmark and is versity yields numerous moral
merical majority, it still puts presumed to translate to benefits to individuals and to
faith in the deeper churn of impartiality and objectivity, the society that they constitute.
a society and its tendency to cannot, must not and is not To resist the proliferation of
see the light through trial designed to attempt to step moral diversity is to deny that
and error. Perhaps this is into the shoes of elected we are a pluralistic society. If
because of the unspoken organs. This is not only be- we are to remain true to our
belief in the existence of cause it violates the rules of liberal commitments, we must
a “society” which shares a “the” social contract, namely acknowledge—and accept—
common minimum pool the Constitution, but also that the world is full of matters
of values and aspirations, because it deprives the peo- on which people of reason and
notwithstanding differing ple of their say in the pro- good will are apt to disagree.
political perspectives and cess of laying down the law, A productive moral diversity
ideological persuasions. which partakes significant- then may flourish, to the bet-
More often than not, this ly, if not solely, from public terment of each of us and our
common minimum pool of morality. Critically, since society.
shared values and aspira- notions of public morality The law, however, has trod a
tions traces its origins to vary from society to soci- more dangerous road, threat-
the fundamental ethos of ety and even within society, ening to suppress diverse re-
a people or a civilization only the State, namely the sponses to moral issues through

I
n the previous piece,
this author had raised
the following questions
in the process of etching the
contours of public morality:
“The sum and substance of
these discussions is that under
the framework of the Indian
Constitution, it is the State,
meaning thereby the Executive
and the Legislature but not the
Judiciary, which has the power
to invoke public morality with-
in reasonable bounds for the
purposes of placing reasonable
restrictions on fundamental
resents public morality? What
kind of exercise must the State
undertake, if at all required
by the Constitution, to assess
public morality in relation
to a given right? Or does the
Constitution grant elected rep-
resentatives the unfettered right
as parens patriae i.e. parent of
the nation, to speak on behalf
of their constituents on every
issue merely because they have
been elected? Can members of
the State form an opinion on
public morality in relation to
a given issue or topic without
While the author’s origi-
nal intent was to address
these specific questions
in the present piece, a le-
gitimate and related di-
gression is warranted in
the current atmosphere to
give the discussion a much
more relevant and con-
crete peg. Over the last few
days, “hate speech” has be-
come the talk of the town
because some have taken
offense to the contents of a
certain programme which,
they believe, target a par-
as the vehicle for expres-
sion of thought, results in
speech. Therefore, speech
could be treated as but one
form of expression, and for
the purposes of the discus-
sion at hand, may be treated
as a broad representative of
varied forms of expression.
To reduce speech to merely
a collection of words is to
betray one’s ignorance and
superficial understanding
of human psychology, both
individual and collective.
Speech, in fact, contains the
is naturally expected to be
extremely cautious and se-
lective in handing the right
to police its speech and
thought to any particular
organ as part of its social
contract with the State. To
hedge against unilateralism
and authoritarianism, the
republican premise is that
it is safer, if not the safest, to
put faith in organs which
are vulnerable to and are
the product of the will of
the people, namely the Leg-
islature and the Executive.
i.e. the shared ethos which Legislature and the Execu- a homogenizing constitutional-
justify the reason for the ex- tive but not the Judiciary, is ism. If society is to retain the
istence as a single national/ competent to and mandat- social and personal benefits
civilizational, and hence ed to prescribe the red lines of moral diversity, society will
political unit. This demon- of free speech. need to be attentive to the points
strates that politics cannot In a brilliant paper titled at which the law impedes it, as
faithfully and fully reflect “Morality as a Legitimate well as to the opportunities in
the bonds that connect the Government Interest” pub- law for sustaining it.”
members of a society. It also lished in Penn State Law Why should the logic be
explains why as part of a so- Review in 2012, Daniel F. any different in the Indian
cial contract an individual Piar, then a Professor of context?
is assumed and expected Law at Yale Law School, ex- J. Sai Deepak is an Advocate
to submit to the dispensa- amined in detail the United practising as an arguing coun-
tion which the majority has States Supreme Court’s ten- sel before the Supreme Court
elected even if the individu- dency to homogenize moral of India and the High Court of
al is at loggerheads with the standards in the name of Delhi.

analysis

Know about farm bills that have been turned into law
mental intervention. It aims any kind of market fees mandis setup by the APMCs. dispute resolution. It saves ing upon the laws making Cooperative federalism,
to remove all the barriers charged by the state govern- The sole aim of these bills is a farmer a whole lot of mon- powers of the state. also known as marble-cake

opinion and restrictions imposed

on the trading autonomy
of a farmer. The new farm
bills are going to amplify
Shreyashkar & Shivam the magnitude of the fun-
damental right to trade of
Shantanu the farming community in
its fullest sense.
Art. 19 of our Constitu-
tween the farmer and the tion ensure the freedom to
ment subject to trade takes to recognize the individual
place outside the APMC autonomy of a farmer in
market. conducting trade of his
ey and time by keeping him
away from litigation. Now
a farmer could resolve his
Moreover, the concerned
farm bills do not crumble
upon the idea of coopera-
federalism, is a concept of
federalism in which federal,
state, and local govern-
Now a farmer will have ne- hardly grown produce. An- agricultural dispute in a tive federalism envisaged ments interact cooperative-
gotiating power as regards other big advantage of this speedy manner without by our constitution. The ly and collectively to solve
to price of his produce. He contract farming is going knocking the heavy doors above proposition can be common problems, rather
can bargain the amount to to be linkage of agreement of courts. well elucidated by the fol- than making policies sepa-
his benefit and not just set- with credit or insurance lowing stance: rately but more or less
tle at the amount manipu- schemes of central or state The power-sharing 1. Agricultural Produce equally. This step signifi-
lated by existing trader car- governments. Now the gauntlet Market Committee i.e. cantly bolsters the notion of

T
he farmer is the only
man in the economy
who buys at retail,
sells everything at whole-
sale, and pays the freight
both ways. This line by
John F. Kennedy reflects
the pain which a farmer
faces in conducting his
trade. The farm bills which
passed through Rajya Sab-
ha on Tuesday amidst great
opposition from various
parties and high voltage
drama in the Upper House
seeks to bring revolution-
ary changes in the trading
process of farm produces.
Farmers have showed up in
huge numbers on the roads
of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh and many other
states across the nation to
show their dissatisfaction
against these bills. Adding
flare to the agitation Union
Minister for Food Process-
ing Industries, Harsimrat
Kaur Badal resigned from
the Central Government
in solidarity with the
farmers. The big question
which arises is whether
the leaders of such farmer
groups which are up in
arms against the bills really
want to bring about change
in the lives of the farmer or
are just masquerading as
the farmers to get political
mileage. The bills which are
due to presidential assent
are The Farmers’ Produce
Trade and Commerce (Pro-
motion and Facilitation) Bill,
2020, the Farmers (Em-
powerment and Protection)
Agreement on Price Assur-
ance and Farm Services Bill
and The Essential Com-
modities (Amendment)
Bill, 2020. These bills aim
to channelize the trade of
farm produces directly be-
buyer leading to economic
welfare of the farmers. It is
a very historic moment in
the Indian agricultural sce-
nario which seems to bring
a revolutionary change just
like the 1991 liberalisation
and globalisation phase.
Farmers’ Autonomy
Terming the present three
bills which are due for as-
sent by the president of In-
dia, as “anti-farmer” bills is
a rhetoric completely made
in ignorance. These bills are
rather providing flesh and
blood to a farmer’s right to
trade, commerce and inter-
course as enshrined under
Article 19 of the Constitu-
tion and Article 301 of the
Constitution. The existing
framework was set up by
different state govern-
ments for the regulation of
trade and commerce of ag-
ricultural produce, which is
done through Agricultural
Produce Marketing Com-
mittees (APMCs). This
framework is hit by many
deficiencies such as cartel-
ization by APMC agents
which lead to a non-trans-
parent price fixation mech-
anism and paying variety
of tax and cess which leads
to up the total value of their
farming cost. Additionally
the existing framework cre-
ates a highly anti-compet-
itive market system where
there is rampant red tapism
through licencing of traders,
making it very difficult for a
new trader to join in.
The new farm bills seeks
to create an alternate trad-
ing atmosphere which will
be more conducive for the
farmers and based on the
principle of laissez faire at-
tracting minimal govern-
practise any profession, or
to carry on any occupation,
trade or business. Moreover,
Art. 301 ensures freedom of
trade, commerce and inter-
course throughout the terri-
tory of India. A conjunctive
reading of Article 19 and
Article 301 paints a greater
constitutional mandate
regarding an individual’s
freedom to trade by supple-
menting it with freedom to
trade inter-state or intra-
state both. The definition of
‘trade area’ as per Clause 2(m)
of the Farmers’ Produce Trade
and Commerce (Promotion
and Facilitation) Bill, 2020
specifically excludes “market
yards, sub-market yards and
market sub-yards managed
and run by the market commit-
tees formed under each state
APMC (Agricultural Produce
Market Committee) Act” and
“private market yards, private
market sub-yards,direct mar-
keting collection centres, and
private farmer-consumer mar-
ket yards managed by persons
holding licenses or any ware-
houses, silos, cold storages or
other structures notified as
markets or deemed markets
under each State APMC Act
in force in India”. In the ex-
isting framework due to
reasonable restrictions, a
farmer could only trade in
the mandis regulated by the
APMCs. But with coming
of these bills into force, the
farmers will have a choice
to trade inside their outside
that area with their free will
and without any unneces-
sary obligations. It also al-
lows farmers to freely trade
through electronic medium.
It aims to reduce the total
farming cost which a farm-
er incurred in the existing
framework by abolishing
tels. He can participate in an farmers will not be depen- Post-tabling the concerned APMCs are established by cooperative federalism in a
agricultural market which dent on local moneylenders farm bills, the Upper house a state government though way that, now, the farmers
is open to competition and for quick loans which led witnessed opposition ad- their respective state legis- will have two recourses,
not just controlled by a such farmers into a debt monishing the bills on the lations. APMCs are physi- i.e. either to sell their pro-
few big players. The Farm- trap and with this linkage account that it was a brazen cal market places where duce through the state es-
ers (Empowerment and there will be a huge risk attack on the federal struc- farmers are required to tablished APMC’s or do it
Protection) Agreement on mitigation in the favour of ture of our constitution. It bring their produce to the individually by virtue of
Price Assurance and Farm farmers. is hereby rebutted that the market if they have to sell Centre’s Farmers Produce
Services Bill, 2020 seeks to concerned bills do not in it there. Gradually, these Trade & Commerce (Pro-
provide the farming com- Dispute Resolution any case breach the consti- APMC’s have become de motion & Facilitation) Bill,
munity with a significant After introduction of these tutional limits. Moreover, facto monopolies because 2020. Thus, the concerned
role to play in the agricul- bills into the parliament they bolster the idea of co- of the fact that almost all bill seeks to establish the
tural market and not just there was a huge hue operative federalism. farmers used these mar- harmony between the cen-
be a raw material provider and cry across the nation The legislative power kets to sell their produce tre and state.
surrendered at the hands of against introduction of sharing between the cen- which resulted in no seri-
agents and traders. It seeks ‘contract farming’. It is be- tre and the state has been ous competitions. Concluding
to bind farmer and buyer in ing perceived that due to enunciated in seventh 2. Farmers Produce Trade Remarks
an agreement which takes unequal bargaining powers schedule of our constitu- & Commerce (Promotion The bills which are being
place prior to production between a corporation and tion. The seventh schedule & Facilitation) Bill, 2020 protested are not ‘anti-
and price fixation is done a small farmer, the agree- of the Indian constitution seeks to ameliorate the mis- farmer’ but those who are
with the consent of both ment may heavily favour has three lists. List I refers chief created by the state protesting these bills are
the parties. This is known the interest of corporations to the subjects under the APMCs. The concerned certainly ‘anti-farmer’,
as ‘Contract Farming’. Such and be detrimental for poor Centre or the Union, List bill allows intra-state and they are trying to impede
type of farming provides a and illiterate farmers. But II refers to the state list inter-state trade of farm- the positive change which
farmer with benefits like these doubts are really un- and List III refers to the ers produce outside: (i) the is going to boost the eco-
there is drastic reduction of called for because the bill concurrent list where the physical premises of mar- nomic condition of farm-
price related risk because already provides enough states and the Centre are ket yards run by market ers. The farm bills aim to
they have already the price safeguard through its pro- co-sharers of power and re- committees formed under enhance the scope and
to their benefit. Any volatile visions from Sections 3 to sponsibility. the state APMC Acts and freedom of farmers to
market situation will not af- 12. The biggest problem is Entry 33 of the Concur- (ii) other markets notified trade. The Government has
fect their pre-defined right when there are parties with rent List says that Centre under the state APMC Acts. introduced these bills to
to a certain amount of mon- unequal bargaining pow- and the States have pow- What can be construed further enlarge the individ-
ey. Many farmer groups ers, the party with the high ers to control production, is that Farmers Produce ual autonomy of farmers
are apprehensive that they bargaining power like cor- supply and distribution of Trade & Commerce (Pro- to trade as guaranteed un-
will not get the appropriate porations draft boilerplate products of any industry, motion & Facilitation) der Article 19(1)(g). India
amount for their produce. contracts and insert dispute including agriculture. Fur- Bill, 2020 will eliminate is witnessing the epitome
Their fear is also valid as it resolution clauses which ther, Entry 34 of the con- the restriction that used of co-operative federal-
seems to them that they will bends in their favour and current list deals with price to be imposed by the state ism wherein without any
not even receive the Mini- party with a lower bargain- control. Conjunctive read- APMC’s. It seeks to demol- kind of encroachment on
mum Support Price as big ing power is kept away from ing of Entry 33 and Entry ish the dens of monopolis- the State’s framework; the
corporations may use their justice. The Farmers (Em- 34 connotes that the centre tic power which throttle Centre has carved an alter-
influence to get the agree- powerment and Protection) has power to make laws the Indian farmer. The native method for the wel-
ment signed at a lower price. Agreement on Price Assur- on trade and commerce concerned bill creates a fare of farmers. Both the
But all these fears should not ance and Farm Services Bill, in production, supply and legal framework to set frameworks are mutually
exist as these bills are not here 2020, introduces a dispute distribution of products of up markets that will run exclusive of each other. The
to replace the already exist- resolution provision to cure agricultural industry and parallel to what the states Farm Bills are breaking
ing framework of APMCs but this mostly used method to further on fixation of the have established through the chains of cartelization
to give an alternative which deny access to justice to par- prices. Constitutional pro- APMCs. Thus, it in no way, and licencing away from
respects a farmer’s individual ty with a lower bargaining priety of Centre to make restricts the operation of the farmers which stood in
autonomy. If a farmer expe- power. It is a big step in the laws on agricultural prod- the state APMC’s. What is the path of their glory. The
riences that he is not able to direction of providing ac- ucts flows from the above does is that, it expands the economic boost which the
get a price worth of his pro- cess to justice to the farming mentioned entries of Con- horizons of options for the farmers will now experi-
duce then he has the option community by introducing current List. Thus, the cen- Indian farmers to sell their ence will never let a food
to conduct his trade at the conciliation as a method of tre in no way is encroach- produce. provider die of hunger.
 the daily guardian
f riday | 2 5 sep tem ber 2 02 0
new delhi defence 7
Analysis

Russia’s big CCP Problem

Russia can spoil Chinese Communist Party’s overland ambitions. But as long as the West keeps
Russia isolated, Moscow will be forced to deepen economic ties with Beijing.
sponse to that development. item that CCP bought, they know that if CCP comes up
Ashish Singh
New Delhi
The 3rd Crimean Referen- also soon became self-suf- victorious, the next territo-
dum was one such. And, as ficient in, jettisoning Rus- rial target for CCP is Russia.

K
adri Liik calls them
“the offended gen-
eration”: The gener-
ation of Russians who, post
the Soviet breakup, had
reposed faith in the West
and had great expectations
of fairness from the free
world. But starting with
the expansion of NATO and
then the EU, this generation
found that the realpolitik
of the West was almost al-
ways at a cost to fledgling
Russia. They are the rea-
son that Crimea happened,
and Crimea is central to the
story that Russia today has
a CCP (Chinese Communist
Party) problem.
On 19 February 1954,
the peninsular Province
of Crimea was transferred
from the Russian Republic
to the Ukrainian Republic,
for administrative conveni-
ence. In 1991 (along with
Ukraine’s Independence
Referendum), and then
again in another referen-
dum of 1994, Crimeans
voted to rejoin Russia, but
were not allowed to secede
from Ukraine. Less than 3
months after the Ukrain-
ian President Viktor Yanu-
kovych rejected an ongoing
negotiation for Ukraine to
enter the EU, and just one
day after Western Powers
had actually endorsed an
accord recognising his legit-
imacy as President, he was
ousted on 22 February 2014
by Ukranian Europhiles.
Many events followed in re-
a result, Crimea reverted
to Russia. Although the
West had eagerly backed
many other referendums
by States opting to leave
the Russian fold, they did
not recognise this reverse-
movement referendum. No
surprises there, but now
comes the twist in the tale.
Overtly, the Chinese Com-
munist Party (CCP) re-
mained neutral on Crimea
in the UN, but in one-on-
one meetings, CCP cov-
ertly expressed solidarity
with Ukraine against Rus-
sia. CCP used the divide
to bolster its own presence
in Ukrainian Business, but
didn’t stop there. Even in
the Sea of Azov, which has
traditionally been consid-
ered to be a Russian lake,
CCP waded into the Ukrain-
ian ports of Mariupol and
Berdyansk, offering dredg-
ing assistance. Russia has
not taken kindly to this at
all, which might explain
Moscow’s alignment in the
developing India-CCP bor-
der conflict.
More important for Mos-
cow, indications are now
also emerging that CCP had
actually stoked the West,
behind the scenes, even
as late as 2016, in painting
Russia as the Centre-Stage-
Villain of the World, using
Crimea. By getting Russia
and the West embroiled
in quasi-conflict these last
few years, CCP tied down
the attention of both. More
File photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
importantly, CCP got the
West to isolate Russia. CCP
couldn’t have asked for
more. As Matthew Dal San-
to puts it, ‘the West’s isola-
tion of Russia has caused
Moscow to acquiesce to an
expanded Chinese presence
it would once have resent-
ed’. And that is exactly why
CCP played the Crimea card
behind Russia’s back in eve-
ry Western capital. There is
increasing evidence that at
about the same time that
the UK became the loud-
est European mouthpiece
against Russia in Europe,
many of their political elite
were actually being remote-
controlled from Beijing. The
same suspicions surround
many prominent politicians
in the US, who were loud in
their criticism of Russia.
Crimea is not the first
time that CCP has exploited
fault-lines to draw benefit at
Russia’s expense. Here is a
short list of the top few.
In the rise of CCP, ‘Decep-
tion’ has always been in
unbroken flow. Embark-
ing on undeclared but fes-
tering border skirmishes
on the Amur River with
USSR, Beijing played its
masterstroke of a Soviet
Bogey which made US geo-
political emotion towards
CCP take a U-turn in 1968-
69, from outright hostil-
ity to golden amity: Nixon’s
1972 opening to Mao’s CCP
thereafter put Beijing on the
track to ascendency.
Much later, at the nadir
of Russian fortunes post-
break-up, when experts
in every field were jobless
overnight, CCP literally
sucked away all the brains
of Russia, and used them to
build up what is now a for-
midable military-industrial
base.
In the era immediately
after the Soviet break-up,
CCP worked assiduously to
replace Moscow’s influence
in every part of the globe.
Even though their success
rate at that stage is moot,
there are no doubts today
that they have been suc-
cessful in eating into what
had traditionally been the
Russian sphere of influence,
which is naturally unnerv-
ing Moscow.
Even in areas where bal-
ance of trade appears to fa-
vour Russia, matters are not
hunky dory. Russia had re-
mained CCP’s largest arms
supplier from the 1990s till
2018, but the range of prod-
ucts have steadily reduced,
till only niche items are
still being imported. Every
sian sources and partners
soon thereafter. CCP has
unashamedly copied Rus-
sian military hardware,
and today, CCP has sur-
passed Russia to become
the world’s second largest
arms producer. In nearly
every dimension, CCP
already towers over Rus-
sia. Russia can spoil CCP’s
overland ambitions, but as
long as the West keeps Rus-
sia isolated, Russia will be
forced to deepen economic
ties with CCP.
Till the Wuhan pandemic
struck, there was some
people-to-people goodwill
among Russians for the
Chinese, but that too seems
to be a thing of the past. In
February, over one third of
all Russians had become
anti-CCP in their outlook.
After Russia closed its land
borders with China, CCP
has not only had to protest
Russian ‘discriminatory
measures against ethnic
Chinese’ but they have also
faced huge losses for their
companies inside Russia.
Now, the Russians are as-
tute diplomats. And good
diplomats predict the fu-
ture with uncanny accura-
cy. If a military altercation
takes place — and the ‘if ’
seems ever more likely to
be a ‘when’, given that CCP
is messing with too many
nations — when a military
altercation takes place with
another country like Tai-
wan or Japan, the Russians
This is almost axiomatic
and Russia knows this: so
whatever be the next alter-
cation that CCP gets into,
they must not come out on
the top.
While the Russians are
astute diplomats, the CCP
seems to have lost the abil-
ity to engage diplomatical-
ly; but the world must re-
main true to the traditional
framework to give them an
ability to reverse direction.
And if they choose not to,
then we must be prepared
to work collectively to
respond. As Australian
MP, Dave Sharma says,
‘it is time to rehabilitate
Russia, and time for bold
statecraft led by the US but
supported by all Western
allies’. Indeed, Trump has
already invited Russia, In-
dia, Australia and South
Korea into the G7, despite
opposition from countries
such as Canada.
The future is often diffi-
cult to predict, but in this
case, it is certain that an
ascendant CCP will lead to
a bleak future for the rest
of the world, especially for
almost every one of CCP’s
neighbours - Russia includ-
ed. But will the West accept
that Crimea happened for
reasons of Russian insecu-
rity and not ambition? On
that could well depend the
future of the World. Rus-
sia’s CCP problem is actu-
ally a part of the world’s
CCP problem.

OCEAN SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is readied Boeing delivers

to fly to Vandenberg for launch SOCOM’s first
Ashish Singh
New Delhi next-gen Chinook
Airbus space engineers are preparing
the European ocean satellite “Coper-
nicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich” for
helicopter
its journey to the Vandenberg launch Ashish Singh
site in California. Next week, the satel- New Delhi
lite will be loaded into a cargo plane at
Munich Airport and flown to the US.
The Airbus-built satellite is scheduled Boeing is delivering new technologies and performance improve-
for launch on 10 November 2020. ments to US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) with the
The Copernicus Sentinel-6 will carry Block II Chinook helicopter. Boeing’s Philadelphia team recently
out high-precision measurements of delivered the first MH-47G Block II Chinook to SOCOM on time.
ocean surface topography. The satellite “This delivery marks a major step for the Chinook programme,”
will measure its distance to the ocean said Andy Builta, vice president and H-47 program manager. “The
surface with an accuracy of a few cen- new Chinook will give US Special Operations Forces significantly
timetres and use this data to map it, more capability for extremely challenging missions and will en-
repeating the cycle every 10 days, with able them to conduct those missions on the future battlefield.” He
the mission lasting up to seven years. It added. The company is on contract for 23 more MH-47G Block II
will document changes in sea-surface Chinooks, having signed a contract with SOCOM in July.
height, record and analyse variations Boeing has more than 4,600 employees in Pennsylvania sup-
in sea levels and observe ocean cur- porting Chinook, the V-22 Osprey, MH-139A Grey Wolf and a
rents. Exact observations of changes number of services and engineering efforts. Including suppliers
in sea-surface height provide insights and vendors, Boeing’s activities support an estimated 16,000 jobs
into global sea levels, ocean sea state, in Pennsylvania.
ocean wind speed, the speed and di- European Union Coper- precise satellite location data, altimetry
rection of ocean geostrophic currents, nicus Programme for measurements yield the height of the
and ocean heat storage. These meas- environment. This mis- sea surface.
urements are vital for modelling the sion comprises two sat- The satellites’ instrument package
oceans and monitoring/predicting ris- ellites and is being de- also includes an advanced micro-
es in sea levels. In addition, Sentinel-6 veloped under Airbus’s wave radiometer that accounts for
will provide measurements over large industrial leadership. the amount of water vapour in the
rivers and lakes in support of water While it is a European atmosphere, which affects the speed
management applications. mission, Sentinel-6 is of the altimeter’s radar pulses. The
The findings will enable governments a true example of in- satellite weighs approximately 1.5
and institutions to establish effective ternational coopera- tons. Starting with Sentinel-6 Michael
protection for coastal regions. The data tion: it has been jointly Freilich, in November 2020, the Sen-
will be invaluable not only for disaster deve l o p e d by E SA , tinel-6 satellites will collect satellite-
relief organisations, but also for au- NASA, EUMETSAT based measurements of the oceans’
thorities involved in urban planning, and NOAA, with sup- surfaces, continuing a task that first
securing buildings or commissioning port from CNES. Each began in 1992. The second Sentinel-6
dykes. Global sea levels are currently satellite carries a radar spacecraft is then expected to follow
rising by an average of 3.3 millimetres a altimeter, which works in 2025.
year as a result of global warming; this by measuring the time it In January 2020, the satellite was re-
could potentially have dramatic con- takes for radar pulses to named after Michael H. Freilich, who
sequences for countries with densely travel to the surface and led NASA´s work in Earth science for
populated coastal areas. back again to the satel- many years. Sadly Michael Freilich
The Sentinel-6 mission is part of the lite. Combined with passed away in August 2020.
8 policy & politics the daily guardian
f riday  |  25 s ep tember 2020
new delhi

analysis

Constitutional framework
during Covid-19
To fight against this pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown for
21 days from 25 March 2020 with only a few essential services running, all others like commercial,
industrial, religious and cultural activities were shut down. Residents were ordered to
self-quarantine themselves. A comprehensive look at its legal and statutory sides.
stitution, which is regulated Coronavirus outbreak as
‘Fundamental Rights”, and a “Notified Disaster”, thus,
the conditions under which bringing into play the pro-

opinion these rights can be abridged

Ritansha Laxmi
transmit it to people living
nearby them.
• Stage 3 – Community
Transmission
This includes those who
are not having direct con-
tact with an infected person
or not having any travel his-
tory to any affected coun-
tries yet he/she reports co-
rona positive thus affecting
many others around him/
her.
are also indicated in Part
III. Briefly stated, the con-
visions of the Disaster Man-
agement Act.
Chapter X of this act ex-
ditions are that they can be clusively talks about of-
abbreviated only by a law fences and penalties.
in the public interest or to Section 51 (b) of this act
achieve a public purpose. states that whoever, with-
out reasonable cause, re-
Issues fuses to comply with any
1. Tracing patients: Surveil- direction given by or on
lance vs Right to Privacy. behalf of the Central Gov-
The right to life and per- ernment or the State Gov-
sonal liberty is most basic ernment or the National
of all our rights and gives Executive Committee or the
meaning to our very exis- State Executive Committee
tence. Every person comes or the District Authority
into the world with a right under this Act. This provi-
to his person which has the sion has two facets- First-
freedom of moving and us- ly, it is for the persons who
ing it at his own will. This leave their homes for non-
Fundamental Right is guar- essential work. Secondly, it
anteed under Article 21 of is for the persons who are

T
he novel coronavi- • Stage 4 – Epidemic the Constitution of India, infected from the virus but
rus also known as This is the last and the which states run away from the isolation
COVID-19 said to be most fearsome stage as the “No person shall be deprived ward. Those will be pun-
originated in Wuhan, Chi- disease becomes an epidem- of his life or personal liberty ex- ished with imprisonment
na. Over a period of time, it ic in a country with large no cept according to a procedure of a term up to 1 year or fine
has been spread almost all of cases spreading across established by law.” Right to life as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India also or both and can be extend-
the other countries, includ- the country and the rising Right to life as guaran- ed to two years looking at
ing India, which observed number of deaths with no teed under article 21 of the includes the right to health and states being the duty bearer to protect the health the severity of the offence.
its very first case in Januaryclear stopping point. China Constitution of India also
this year. With the increas- is a perfect example of this includes the right to health
and wellbeing of its people. The right to health also has its reference in Article 38 — Law to impose a
ing number of cases, the situation. and states being the duty social order to promote the welfare of the people under the Constitution of India. penalty on people
World Health Organiza- bearer to protect the health spreading
tion (WHO) declared CO- Legal aspects: and wellbeing of its people. misinformation
VID-19 a “Global Public Constitutional The right to health also has Section 54 of this act in-
Health Emergency”. Gov- framework its reference in Article 38 – cludes punishment for
ernments across the globe As we know, The Consti- Social Order to promote the false warning. The section
have taken drastic mea- tution of India is supreme welfare of the people under is relevant in present condi-
sures to limit the virus’s and consider as a “skeleton the constitution of India. and that it does not amount monitoring their symptoms While dealing with an ment is recognized under tions as if a person create or
spread, including national to guide”. Every passed act It is also stated in Section to an unreasonable restric- and ensuring early detec- emergency by the outbreak Section 188 of the Indian forward fake news and in-
lockdowns, border closures, derives its validity from 2 of Epidemic Law that au- tion within. tion of being infected. of a dangerous viral disease, Penal Code, 1860. Indian formation about coronavi-
and ramped-up medical re- the Constitution itself. Any thorizes a state to inspect All citizens of India guar- And Epidemic Diseases the state may seek the sup- Penal Code,1860: rus with an intent to create
search. To fight against this provision or act which is in people and segregate sus- anteed with protection of Act, 1897 empowers the gov- port of its citizens to combat The relevant sections of chaos through social media
pandemic, Hon’ble Prime contravention with the ar- pected patients. Measures certain rights such as Fun- ernment to provide better coronavirus. If the desired IPC during this pandemic platforms will be punished
Minister Narendra Modi ticles mentioned in the con- and procedures for the damental rights “to move prevention of the spread of support is not forthcoming, are Section 188, section 269, with imprisonment of a
imposed a nation-wide stitution is considered to be check-up, vaccination, and freely throughout the ter- dangerous epidemic diseas- a regulation may be im- section 270, section 271. term up to 2 years and also
lockdown for 21 days in In- “void ab initio”.  vaccination of persons, in- ritory of India” and “to as- es. Any state government, posed. For example, Section i. Section 188 deals with with fine or both.
dia from 25th March 2020 But article 256 of the In- cluding their segregation in semble peaceably” which when satisfied the test of 144 (Cr.P.C.) empowers the disobedience to the direc-
with only a few essential dian constitution grants a hospital, temporary ac- guaranteed under 19(1) (d) reasonableness i.e., any part administration to enforce tions promulgated by a Conclusion
services running, all oth- powers, which deals with commodation, or otherwise and Article 19(1) (b), respec- of its territory is exposed to restrictions on the personal public servant, the kind of This coronavirus is said to
ers like commercial, indus- the duty of the state and can also be taken. tively. an outbreak like coronavi- liberties of individuals to noncompliance that is most have come to India from
trial, religious and cultural the union’s executive pow- “necessitas non habet legem” – Quarantine being a re- rus, may authorize all mea- prevent injury or danger likely to take place during foreign countries and it
activity were shut down. er and also extending the necessity knows no law. striction on free movement sures, including quarantine, to human life, health, and the time of the outbreak must be addressed jointly
Residents were ordered power of Union of giving In the time of Pandemic, and assembly of people to prevent its spread. This safety or disturbance of and emergency i.e., dis- by the whole nation with-
to self-quarantine them- required instructions to we should not lose vision prima facie violates funda- is the main legal defence of public peace. And section obedience which tends to out internal geographical
selves. This lockdown was the State as may appear to of the inventive capac- mental right mentioned in the government to combat 4 of the Epidemic Diseases cause danger to human life, restrictions and conflicts.
aimed at slowing down the the Indian Government to ity of the law to maintain Article 19 of the constitution this situation of crisis. Act includes a protection health or safety or causes As almost all the funda-
spread of the coronavirus be necessary for the pur- its significance. Necessity of India. However, Article “Desperate times breed desper- clause that gives state im- or tends to cause riot or dis- mental rights, right to free-
and breaking the chain to pose. And this lockdown for is a doctrine which ties the 19 (3) states “Nothing in sub- ate measures.” munity such that “no suit or turbance will be punished dom of movement, right to
combat corona. Instead of 21 days announced by the gap between what the law clause (b) of the said clause Quarantine, across the other legal proceeding can be with an imprisonment assemble peacefully right
obeying the lockdown or- prime minister is valid in allows the government to shall affect the operation of any world, is proving to be the brought against any person term up to 6 months or a to privacy and various oth-
der, people started panick- this manner as all these are do and the government’s existing law in so far as it im- best bet in the containment for anything done or in good fine up to 1,000 rupees or er fundamental rights were
ing and scrambling to stock done to protect whole India actual response at the time poses, or prevent the State from of Coronavirus disease and faith intended to be done under both. practically deferred during
daily essentials products from the deadly contagious of emergency. Restricting making any law imposing, in the same is prescribed by this Act.” ii. Section 269  covering nationwide lockdown. But
and thousands of labours, disease and same recog- the free movement of the the interests of the sovereignty WHO. It might be interfer- Failure to comply with negligent act likely to all these are done to protect
migrants, who fear dying nized by the government citizens of India and to as- and integrity of India or pub- ing with our liberty but such restrictions consti- spread infection of disease the public from the deadly
not from the deadly virus and prioritise the interests semble peacefully in the ter- lic order”. Likewise, Article such a reasonable restric- tutes a punishable violation dangerous to life, which virus and government rec-
but rather from hunger, of society at large and sus- ritory of India, guaranteed 19(5) offers the state power tion is even permissible under the following sec- will be punished with an ognized to prioritise the
have decided not to wait pending some of the rights under Article 19(1)(b) and to make such laws in the in- under our Constitution tions of the Indian Penal imprisonment extendable interests of society at large
and start moving to their re- of the individual for the (d) of the Constitution of In- terest of the general public. itself in the interest of gen- Code, 1860. up to 6 months or fine or and suspending some of the
spective state. Many of the benefits of the general pub- dia. The framework of the The UN Charter and In- eral public and order, it is There are these statutory both. rights of individual for the
fundamental rights of the lic. And it is a well-known said laws imposing restric- ternational law principles also our duty as a citizen to provisions which direct the iii. Section 270 covering benefits of the general pub-
people are suspended. fact that this pandemic is tions have been curtailed to also implied here as India cooperate with the govern- authority during this pan- malignant act likely to lic. If we look closely to the
affecting every country and maintain public order and being party to these which ment and help to break the demic namely, spread infection of disease need of the lockdown amid
Stages of India as a whole and the in the interest of the general states that “Member states chain of infecting coronavi- The Epidemic Diseases dangerous to life, which an outbreak of coronavirus,
transmission declaration of lockdown public. Limiting some of the have the sovereign right to rus by being at indoors. Act, 1897, will be punished with we can draw that there was
According to the Indian was to prevent the life of the rights of an individual for implement their health pol- The  Indian Penal Code, imprisonment extendable a legitimate aim of the state
Council of Medical Re- people. the legitimate aim to protect icies, even if this includes Statutory 1860. up to 2 years or fine or both. to impose the lockdown to
search (ICMR), there are Here the Union, the state them from this deadly virus the restriction of movement provisions involved The Disaster Management iv. Section 271  covering protect the general public
four stages of transmission and the citizens came along is itself a need of the nation of people. Article 3 of the In- It is clear that no single law Act, 2005 and disobedience of from the contagious virus
of the Novel Coronavirus: and decided to voluntarily right now. ternational Health Regula- can effectively control the Code of Criminal Proce- quarantine rule, which and protecting the nation
• Stage 1 – Imported Cases waive their right to move- tions (IHR), 2005 lay down present coronavirus out- dure, 1973. will be punished with from this outbreak. Differ-
(People with travel history). ment and restrict them- 2. Quarantine vs Right to rules for implementation of break. It is this reason that imprisonment extendable ence in steps taken by dif-
This includes cases usu- selves in certain bound- freedom of movement quarantine, ensuring it to there are various provi- The Epidemic up to 6 months or fine or ferent authorities created
ally from people who had aries to fight against this The consequence of law be respectful of the dignity, sions of Indian Penal Code Diseases Act, 1897 both. confusion and lawlessness
travel history to an already pandemic disease i.e. Coro- which curtailed individual human rights and funda- (IPC), Criminal Procedure Section 3 of this Act puts and cause panic among the
corona affected country. navirus together and it is freedoms guaranteed by mental freedoms of indi- Code (CrPC), the Epidemic light on the penalty that can The Disaster general public. I believe
• Stage 2 – Local Transmis- completely valid as it is for Article 19 would be re- viduals. Diseases Act and the Di- be given for potential viola- Management Act government measures of
sion (Transmit virus usu- the welfare of the society. quired to answer the tests Quarantine includes the saster Management Act tions of government order The purpose of this act was social distancing under the
ally to friends or family And in Smt Ujjaim bai vs state of reasonableness stated restriction of free move- (DMA) is being invoked of lockdown. As per this to bring to a situation such nation-wide lockdown to
member). of UP, it was held that Fun- in clauses 2 to 6 of Article ment of individuals, or sep- to govern the current out- provision, the punishment as an earthquake, flood or prevent the spread of the
This includes those cases damental Rights are invio- 19 and the State must satisfy aration from the rest of the break situation. is given when a person vio- fire rather than a disease contagious virus is appre-
from people who have lable except under certain that both the fundamental population, of healthy per- 3. Penal provisions needed lates any regulation or or- like COVID-19. However, ciable and the only way to
brought the virus from oth- conditions. The rights are rights are not infringed by sons who may have been in- for criminally negligent pa- der  made under the Act. the Home Ministry on combat the spread of coro-
er affected countries and placed in Part III of the Con- showing that there is a law fected, with the objective of tients and authorities The quantum of punish- 14th March declared the navirus.
 the daily guardian
fr iday | 25 s ep tember 2020
new delhi book beat 9
Literary life INTERVIEW

A novelist who never The Dalai Lama

and Mother Teresa

wanted a career in writing

Traversing through the realms of writing, publishing and bookselling,
helped me look at
world differently:
Tenzin Priyadarshi
Anuradha Roy has done them all. The celebrated author talks about keeping Kritika Dua

her distance from social media and the writings which have inspired her. The fascinating encoun-
ters and learnings from
Anurima Roy
human frailty and the devastat- We may categorise books into teachers, from His Holi-
ing loneliness of a boy.” several genres, but the truth re- ness Dalai Lama to former

A
writer, editor, publish-
er, bookstore manager,
storekeeper… you name
it and Anuradha Roy has done it
all. She has also inspired thou-
sands of others in the process
and reminded us that the qual-
ity of writing can never be com-
promised on. Each of her books
is not just amazing reads but
pieces of literary art, to be part of
a prized collection at home and
read again and again.
Anuradha Roy’s debut novel,
An Atlas of Impossible Longing,
has been translated into 18 lan-
guages. It was named one of the
‘60 Essential English Language
Works of Modern Indian Lit-
erature’ by World Literature
Today. Her second novel, The
Folded Earth, won the Econo-
mist Crossword Prize and has
been widely translated. Sleeping
on Jupiter, her third novel, won
the DSC Prize for South Asian
Literature and was nominated
for the Man Booker Prize too.
Her fourth novel, All the Lives We
Never Lived, won the Tata Book
of the Year Award for Fiction
2018 and was longlisted for the
Walter Scott Prize for Historical
Fiction 2018. It has now been
shortlisted for the International
Dublin Literary Award for 2020.
The International Dublin Lit-
erary Award shortlist is drawn
from a longlist of 156 novels sub-
mitted by library systems in 119
cities in 40 countries. The state-
ment from the judges says:
“Set in the 1930s, Anuradha
Roy’s new novel is like an In-
dian raga that continues to reso-
nate long after you have finished
the last chapter. Myshkin is the
nine year-old protagonist, and
the central event in his life is
revealed in the novel’s opening
sentence: ‘I was known as the
boy whose mother had run off
with an Englishman.’ The Eng-
lishman turned out to be Wal-
ter, a German, who had to leave
British India in a hurry, taking
Myshkin’s beloved mother with
him, triggering a memorable
saga of love, memory, kindness,
Despite being such a celebrated
writer, Anuradha Roy is not in
the social media or literature
festival race. It’s comforting
to see that there is still a breed
of writers who let their works
speak for themselves. “Prizes
are partly a matter of chance
and I feel honoured and lucky
when I do make it to shortlists
or win anything. The euphoria
lasts a day or two and then you
have to get back to the real grind
of revising and writing. Prizes
do end up influencing percep-
tion. I try and limit the number
of events and festivals because
I need quiet time at home to be
able to write. That way the whole
business of prizes and reviews
is kept at a distance. If you can’t
disconnect once a book is out, it
is crippling,” says Roy.
Writing is a habit that one cul-
tivates throughout their lives.
However, when it comes to pub-
lishing, some begin early while
some are late bloomers. Either
way, publishing a book is serious
business because a book stays
forever, and one is often judged
by the book written. Says Roy on
her career as a writer and pub-
lisher, “I’ve written stories from
my childhood but had never felt
the need to write a novel. I never
wanted a career in writing, only
wanted one in publishing. It was
only when we were struggling
to set up Permanent Black and
things were really tough that
somehow the space opened up
for a novel. And at that point it
was something I just had to do.
I wrote it over a period of two
or three years and by the time
it was published (which took
ages), I was forty.”
While Roy worked in book
publishing, she was the acquisi-
tions editor for literature at OUP,
and then in 2000, together with
her husband Rukun Advani,
started Permanent Black. “Once
I began writing fiction, I found
it hard to edit, difficult to carry
two or more books in my head
simultaneously, so I stopped and
focused on design, which is what
I still do for our press. I do all our
cover designs. I think working
with visuals rather than words
uses a totally different part of
the brain, that is how it feels,”
she says.
Book production and selling
have been a part of Anuradha’s
life. The iconic Ram Advani
Booksellers belonged to her
late father-in-law where she
did counter duty whenever she
was in town, and when she was
in college in Calcutta, she did a
summer job with an independ-
ent press, Stree, where she was
taught the ropes by her cousin,
Mandira Sen, who runs it still.
“The first thing she made me do
was an inventory of all the books
in the storeroom, just to show me
publishing wasn’t a glamour job
about meeting famous authors.
Much of it is drudge work, and
that was useful to know early
on,” Roy says.
Even though India is one
of the biggest markets in the
world, our reading population
for literary novels remains dis-
mally low. A big reason for that
could be the way our education
system has been, following Ma-
caulayism, where we read only
to answer questions. And it is
a fact that good readers are of-
ten able to become great writ-
ers. Anuradha Roy has been
inspired by many writings
that she has read throughout
her life. “The books I read as a
child are still with me: Suku-
mar Roy’s Nonsense Verse, Eloise
Jarvis McGraw’s The Golden Gob-
let, Gone with the Wind, books by
Nevil Shute, Dickens, Hardy
and Austen. Cheap translations
of Dostoevsky and Chekhov
used to be all over when I was
growing up, and their writing
had a huge impact on me. Later
in life, I came to know Pather
Panchali by Bibhuti Bhushan
Bandopadhaya, a book I first
read in translation and then
relearned the Bengali script in
order to read it in the original.
I love the enigmatic, beautiful
short stories of Alice Munro,
the mingling of fact and fiction
in the nonfiction of Ryszard Ka-
puscinski,” she adds.
mains that a majority of stories
are taken from personal expe-
riences and influences. In All
The Lives We Never Lived, there
are several historical charac-
ters, including Walter Spies,
Rabindranath, Percy Lancas-
ter, Beryl de Zoete and Begum
Akhtar. Anuradha says, “The
book began with a boy’s im-
mersion in paintings — and the
magical thing was how the his-
torical interconnections became
apparent to me during the re-
search. I started out with a boy;
then as I stood in a museum in
Bali before the paintings of Wal-
ter Spies, I discovered he died on
19th January, the very day my
beloved old dog had died, only a
few months earlier. I know this
sounds whimsical, but instantly
it felt as if my life, the novel and
one real life character were all
connected. Spies became the
painter who would enter the life
of the boy. Slowly, these ripples
of connectedness spread wider
— via Tagore, writer Maitreyi
Debi, Beryl de Zoete, who wrote
a book with Spies — and it be-
came even clearer that this world
which we think of as the past is
close to ours and very present
even in mundane ways: travel,
hopes and dreams, health, the
discovery of new countries, un-
likely friendships. Where there
is a striving for happiness in
hostile surroundings, and where
overwhelming forces of history
can sweep everything aside.”
With so much acclaim and
such brilliant works that are be-
ing read globally, one wonders
why there have been no transla-
tions of her writings into Indian
languages. Hopefully, with NEP
2020, the focus will be back on
creativity and overall skill de-
velopment, which will develop
our interest in the rich and vast
realm of Indian regional litera-
tures, besides reading and writ-
ing in English. We hope to see
this soon so that such a large and
diverse market does not remain
deprived of the best stories ever
written.
Archbishop of Cape Town
Desmond Tutu and Moth-
er Teresa, have been care-
fully preserved in the book,
Running Toward Mystery, by
venerable Tenzin Priyadar-
shi. Published by Penguin
India, this exemplary work
encompasses his views on
spiritual disillusionment,
science and technology,
meditation and the link be-
tween Buddhism and the modern world. In an exclusive interview,
Priyadarshi talks about his inspiration behind this book. Excerpts:
Q: What influenced you to write this extraordinary book with Buddhism and
spirituality at the core?
A: My students were asking me to write something for almost a decade
and initially, people were hoping for a straightforward memoir, but I
am too young for that. My work highlights my spiritual learnings from
various interactions with teachers.
Q: You have said that spirituality should be approached as a seeker and not as
a teacher. What has been the role of the powerful teachers in your life -- from
the Dalai Lama to Mother Teresa?
A: They helped me look at the world differently. What spiritual teach-
ers do at times is give you a different lens for looking at the situation
and the world around you. One of the learnings from my experience
is that they help us refine our questions so that we ask better and
more relevant questions about life and
the world. Observing Mother Teresa’s
day-to-day work in Kolkata and how
she balanced her spiritual life with the
ability to manifest a tremendous sense of
compassion, was a learning in itself. She
could make a slum in Kolkata or a room
filled with people suffering from diseas-
es a sacred place where people can learn
about compassion. She could transform
even the most ordinary of spaces into the
most sacred space. With His Holiness
Dalai Lama, the key learning was not to
take anything at faith. He would always,
and continues even to this day, encour-
age people to ask questions and enquire.
Q: How have you explored spiritual disillusionment in the book?
A: It includes disillusionment with the institutions sometimes that we
built around spirituality or religion; such systems can become con-
straining and confining. There are useful aspects to those systems but
we need to promote more in the sense of seeking and curiosity. And
not try to utilise building institutions to control how people think or
behave and so on. Another aspect of it is the disillusionment when
religious or spiritual systems polarise our behavioural patterns, where
we adhere to a certain sense of belonging and it poses a kind of ani-
mosity towards people who don’t think like us, or believe in the same
things and that does violence to our sense of thinking. I witness disil-
lusionment in the fact that everybody wants to be a teacher and nobody
wants to be a student; everybody wants to be a guru and not a disciple.
The sense that we are not exploring the spiritual world, sheer yearn-
ing to learn and grow, but with shallow desires of becoming gurus,
influencers or authoritative figures.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between Buddhism and

Books to look out for this week

Akkitham: A Pictorial Autobiography
Bhaskaramenon Krishnakumar
Rupa, Rs 2,500
This is perhaps the first-of-its-kind book
culled and created entirely from an au-
thor’s writings, interviews and private
conversations. The text has been trans-
lated into English by Bhaskaramenon
Krishnakumar, alias Atmaraman. It’s the
journey of a village boy who went on to
become a profound poet. His contribution
to literature is summed up beautifully in
the statement that was issued with the
Jnanpith award 2019: ‘Akkitham’s po-
etry reflects unfathomable compassion
and imprints of Indian philosophical and
moral values, delving deep into human
emotions in a fast changing social space.’
hy
ROYAL
Danielle Steel
Pan Macmillan UK, Rs 450
In this spellbinding tale from Danielle
Steel, a princess is sent away to safety
during World War II, where she falls
in love, and is lost forever. As the
war rages on in the summer of 1943,
causing massive destruction and
widespread fear, the King and Queen
choose to quietly send their young-
est daughter, Princess Charlotte, to
live with a trusted noble family in the
Yorkshire countryside. A fascinating
story of family and royalty, Royal is
an exhilarating work from Danielle
Steel, one of the world’s favourite
storytellers of our times.
The Science of Mind Management
Swami Mukundananda
Westland, Rs 350
The quality of our mind determines
the quality of the life we lead. It can
be our greatest ally or our worst ad-
versary. A mind that runs amok could
steal our inner peace and undermine
every productive endeavour. Yet,
with proper knowledge, training and
discipline, it is possible to unleash
the mind’s infinite potential. In The
Science of Mind Management, Swami
Mukundananda charts the four dif-
ferent aspects of the human mind and
lays down a clear path towards mas-
tering it. He gently guides readers on
the road to winning their inner battle.
The Art of Leading in a
Borderless World
C. Panduranga Bhatta
Bloomsbury India, Rs 699
The Art of Leading in a Borderless World
is a reflective journey on the significant
instances of leadership-when leaders
were considerate and conscientious
about heterogeneity through their
focus on what they exclude when
including, such that the excluded be-
came the vantage point of their focus.
An attempt is made here to retrace the
global instincts long before globalisa-
tion was coined as an economic func-
tionality. The combinations of texts,
philosophies and events are uncanny
and generate food for thought.
the modern world?
A: The modern world has progressed quite a bit in terms of its scien-
tific and material pursuits and so on. But if you look at how humanity
has evolved, then we have not overcome or evolved so much in our
emotional experience of the world; the emotions that we experience
are the similar kinds of emotions that our ancestors 10,000 years ago
experienced, including fear, greed, jealousy and envy. As long as we
are trying to regulate emotional states, Buddhism becomes highly rel-
evant as the tools that it provides hold relevance amidst the struggles
of the contemporary world. Also, I believe that as long as humans are
seeking a deeper sense of meaning, joy and happiness in their life Bud-
dhism will continue to help give them a kind of perspective on what is
invaluable. The tools, techniques and the lessons that were given 2,500
years ago have become much more relevant in today’s world. That’s
why you see resurgence in mindfulness and meditation techniques
in the last 10-15 years.
Q: What are the biographical elements in this book?
A: Such elements are throughout the book. However, the teachings are
not just abstract teachings but from encounters and first-hand interac-
tions with certain individuals. It comprises my struggles and journey
and is deeply biographical in that manner but I did not want it to be
about me. I wanted this comprehensive work to be about the spiritual
processes that one experiences. I have talked about how all humans
are contemplative by nature, whenever we ponder the meaning of life.

Also, whenever we ponder a greater sense of joy and a deeper sense of

y
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ip
tio ica

lit
ap

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fic tor

tua
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happiness, we are being contemplative. We don’t need to be religious

bio

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iri

ad
to

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or even spiritual to ponder such questions. Running Toward Mystery

Au

highlights that particular process of pondering, but it is also a process

of contemplating one’s journey while being open to the idea of lessons
learnt and unpredictable meetings with teachers.
Q: What are the core principles at the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Trans-
formative Values at MIT?
A: The centre was founded almost 10 years ago with the simple but
audacious idea of nurturing and promoting ethical imagination in our
world. Ethical imagination implies that we need more critical thinking
and tools to learn about ethics and compassion in our education sys-
tem, governance system and financial system. Therefore, much of our
work and programmes are directed towards this direction to recognise
the relevance of promoting such learnings and tools. We have been
focusing on developing innovative tools and innovative programmes
in promoting conversations around ethical learning.
10 royally speaking the daily guardian
f r iday | 2 5 sep tem ber 2 0 2 0
new delhi

Rajputana Collective

Riding the white elephant:

Huber’s odyssey with Safed Haathi
Robert Huber and Safed Haathi became synonymous with one another, unitedly forming a
cult of their own and became the sole chronologer for contemporary India’s nobility.
Devanagari script.  from the tide, and there are very array of vernaculars that spelt
Over the course of their 1,73,000 few rivals to artistic expression out Safed Haathi. In other words,
kilometres-long odyssey across that is unfettered by mercantile Robert took back hand-inscribed
Nepal, Burma & every Indian conventions. Robert’s rare gift of typographies by the numerous
state, Robert and Safed Haathi identifying potential destinations, indigenous communities that he
became synonymous with one sometimes even well before their interacted with and documented
another, unitedly forming a cult own custodians or archaeologists, from the three nations.
of their own. During this time, often translates his photographic He laments the absolute lack of
Safed Haathi rose to become the pilgrimage into an act of service to initiative on TATA’s part, but soon
sole chronologer for contempo- travellers, historians, archaeolo- with the help of his friend Pradip
Urvashi Singh rary India’s nobility, with a photo- gists, artists and explorers all over Singhji of Gamph, found himself
graphic documentation of portrai- the world.  sponsored by Mahindra. Just

I
f one pictures the dream-
ers who voyaged into India
through the hippie trail, the
last image to muster is that of an
erstwhile German noble rattling
across the Afghani frontiers on
a magic bus. But such were the
likes of Robert Huber, who made
an overland trip to India in 1978 in
solidarity with the flower power
revolution. An unassuming en-
trant into India’s kaleidoscope,
his distinct photographic style
enamoured many native aristo-
crats and over time, their fami-
lies embraced this free-spirited
wanderer as their own.  architecture at an unprecedented
One fine evening in Dalhousie,
a couple of neat pegs and tobacco
puffs triggered Robert into a ru-
mination of sorts.  As the owner of
a brand-new white TATA Sumo,
he pensively mediated the idea of
traversing through the magnifi-
cent subcontinent on this beast
like a wading white elephant.
And in that tiny moment of eu-
reka, Robert baptised his four-
wheeled cruiser as Safed Haathi.
The following day, he sought a
painter to anoint the name on
the vehicle’s front fender in the
ture, landscapes, ceremonies and
scale. His ongoing chronicling of
India’s nobility and North Eastern
tribes earns Robert Huber a leg-
endary status in his own right, and
I personally consider Safed Haathi
to be Rajputana’s very own Steve
McCurry.  menting renowned destinations of
Two reasons dominate my con-
viction.  into the remotest pockets of India
One, most of us would agree
that photography is increasingly
surpassing its conventional lim-
its, and that in present times, any-
one can call himself or herself a
photographer. In a world that is
saturated with photographers and
content creators, Safed Haathi’s dis-
tinction as an age-old chronicler of
royal Indian heritage gains para-
mountcy.  his artistic flare into each one of
Right from the very start, Robert
consciously averted the conven-
tional path of exclusively docu-
princely India. Instead, he delved
to unearth the bygone eras’ most
precious gems. His white elephant
had trampled over the dense
thickets of Madhya Pradesh, Ut-
tar Pradesh, Tripura and Odisha
well before the discerning travel-
ler could trace them on his/her
map. Moreover, not only did he
disavow the typical white man’s
Oriental fascination, but infused
his captured frames. Whether
one considers his older compo-
sitions or his more recent work,
they are all held together by a
timelessly captivating force that
renders modern-day montages
into ghastly pallor.  might never be able to exploit the
Two, Safed Haathi remained sub-
altern in its approach and style.
Which is to say that not only did
Robert shy away from commer-
cialising his documentation pur-
suits, but even after all these years,
the veteran confesses about being
constantly cash-strapped for the
better part of his journey. In his
own words, “The Safed Haathi pro-
ject was about travelling to every
state of India in the same car and
photographing this vehicle over
seven years at the most stunning
places of India. I am not a commer-
cial person by nature and thus, I
brand name fully. It’s more of a
passion cultivated into a hobby.”
His penchant to revisit a legacy
that Prussia had forsaken back
in 1918 caused him to stir away
The fated departure of Robert’s
TATA Sumo after 7.5 loyal years
of service took place due to a me-
chanical failure in Sayla en route to
Dungarpur. Soon after the palace
mechanic at Udai Bilas declared
the vehicle’s demise, a grieving
Robert placed it in Harshwardhan
Singhji’s iconic automobile muse-
um, the Dungarpur Mews. Even
today, one will find Robert’s dar-
ing expeditions with Safed Haathi
showcased, not through common
tropes or souvenirs, but on the
vehicle’s densely scribbled rear
fender. When seen from up close,
these scribbles made for a diverse
within a week, Safed Haathi was
resurrected as a Scorpio 4x4 SUV,
and the legacy was carried forth
by a changed machine that beats
with a near identical pulse as its
original incarnate. As its journey
with Robert continues, the duo
continues to produce spectacular
visual testimonies to the respec-
tive households that opened their
doors to them. 
Come the most advanced equip-
ment and techniques, it takes Rob-
ert’s offbeat approach to dare to
capture bygone glories in bejew-
elled canine portraitures, east-
ern martial arts and wide angle
personality shots of present-day
Rajputs. Most recently, he has
launched an aerial photography
project using a DJI Phantom 2 Vi-
sion + drone, which he affection-
ately refers to as the White Eagle.
I will let the aerial shots do their
talking while signing off with a fair
speculation that the day might not
be far when Steve McCurry finds
flattery in being titled South Asia’s
very own Safed Haathi!
The writer is an author, blogger and
editor-in-chief of Rajputana Collec-
tive.

Heritage Rare collection

Mayurbhanj Chhau: Revival of a dance The royal muse

form by those forbidden to practice it
Akshita M. Bhanj Deo
It is not uncommon to drive
by the east Indian country-
side with lush green fields
and hear the resounding
drumming beats of the Dhum-
sa, Dhol, Mandal, Chadchadi,
alongside the piercing lyri-
cal melodies of the Shahanai
and Vamsi. The intermingling
of these percussion and clar-
inet-esque instruments takes
one back to the cries of war
heard in battlefields. It would
therefore explain the forma-
tions and drills with clanging
swords and shields which one
witness accompanying this
music. Except for all these
‘soldiers’ in battle-ready
positions performing these
acrobatic stunts are women.
Long-held as a martial arts
folk dance which was only ac-
ceptable to train and groom
men in due to the physical
strength and endurance
training needed. Recent years
with a steady decline of will-
ing participants, lack of in-
frastructure and funds, and
a general brain drain from
villages to urban areas have
seen a sharp rise in girls rising
to the occasion in saving this
endangered dance form. Most
of the women come from
agrarian rural pockets of the
district of Mayurbhanj and
are first-generation students
Long-held as a martial arts folk dance, it was only acceptable to train men due to the physical strength. Photo: Carolina Prada
of the dance which for over
300 years had royal patron-
age from the erstwhile royal
family of the state taught only
to select families by Ustaads
and revered Gurus.
Mayurbhanj is the largest
district of Odisha and one of
its most populous situated in
the north of Odisha border-
ing Jharkhand and Bengal.
The district was ruled by the
Bhanja dynasty since 697 AD
and the family was known
amongst other things for its
keen interest in promoting art
and architecture with a sig-
nificant interest in develop-
ing and promoting the dance
form known as Chhau. It is
interesting to note, the em-
blem of the family and later
on the state continues to be
the graceful and rhythmic
peacock.  the martial arts background
There are three recognized
styles of Chhau: Seraikella
from the state of Jharkhand,
Purulia from West Ben-
gal, and Mayurbhanj from
Odisha. It is a semi-classical
Indian dance with martial,
tribal, and folk traditions,
with origins in one belt of
eastern India. The one stark
difference being that May-
urbhanj does not use the
elaborate masks adorned by
dances from Seraikella and
Purulia. The dance ranges
from celebrating martial
arts, acrobatics, and athletics
performed in festive themes
of folk dance, to a structured
dance with religious themes
found in Shaivism, Shaktism,
and Vaishnavism.  tion of nature, e.g. baagh chaali
Like most of India’s artistic
traditions, Chhau suffers from
a lack of documentation to
ascertain its roots and more
importantly to gauge how old
the dance is. Likewise, the
origin of the name “Chhau”
is also a subject of debate
among scholars. According to
some, the word “chhau” comes
from “chhauni”, meaning “the
cantonment”, which stresses
of the dance and its connec-
tions with the paikas — sol-
diers, who might have staged
dance performances to cele-
brate their victory on a bat-
tlefield. Some believe that it
comes from the word “chhai”
or “chhatak” while others de-
rive it from the word “chaya”
meaning “shadow”. Mayurb-
hanj Chhau is famous for its
martial art exercises known
as Parikhanda (“pari” meaning
shield and “khanda” meaning
sword), which are supposed
to prepare the body for the
actual dance.
The dance technique is
based on chaalis and top-
kas — stylised walks choreo-
graphed after a keen observa-
(tiger walk), mayoor chaali
(peacock walk), khel — vari-
ations of swordplay, and
ufli — thirty-six movements
describing everyday activi-
ties. Though Mayurbhanj
chhau has been a male-dom-
inated dance due to its mar-
tial arts roots, the royal fam-
ily including the Maharani’s
were greatly involved in the
overall development of May-
urbhanj chhau. They not only
took entire artist villages into
patronage but invited visiting
dignitaries for performances
and sent dancers to promi-
nent platforms to gain global
recognition for their talent. A
way to keep the tradition alive
apart was to dedicate a season
for it with an annual function
spread across Chaitra Parva
(April) but also of more inter-
est was the competition be-
tween two competing schools
by HH Maharaja Krushna
Chandra Bhanjdeo in the
1800s to develop a sense of
competition among the ar-
tistes, he named Uttar Sahi
as the Sahi of Maharani and
Dakhin Sahi as the Sahi of
Maharaja. It is for this reason
that the dance items of Uttar
Sahi are female-centric, like
Matrupuja , Mahisamardini,
Tamudia Krushna etc.
Each school was groomed
and their patronage was di-
rectly under the Queen or
King with mammoth-sized
performances held in the
Chhau Padia or field with the
entire state invited to watch in
the center of the capital town,
Baripada. In 1912 HH Maha-
raja Sriram Chandra Bhanja
Deo took a special interest
in promoting Mayurbhanj
Chhau. He and his brother
Routrai Saheb and cousin
Bada Lal Saheb created a war
dance with sixty-four dancers
as an homage to the Paika re-
bellion called the war dance.
This choreography was
presented in Calcutta in front
of the British King George V
and Queen Mary, a magnifi-
cent spectacle covered by the
visiting foreign press at the
time.
Mayurbhanj Chhau drew
women participants around
the 1950s and 60s with
women of aristocratic fami-
lies and from the families of
Guru’s themselves closing
the gender gap by playing the
female part. In more recent
years several global women
performers, Sharon Lowen
and Padmashree Ileana Cita-
risti among them managed to
create a niche for themselves
and become successful per-
formers of this dance form.
Mayurbhanj Chhau also drew
the attention of contemporary
dancers, such as Subhashree
Nayak who began the non-
profit organisation Project
Chhauni to promote this dy-
ing art form supported by the
present royal family.
It was only with the deter-
mination of a few of the train-
ing institutes and vision of the
old gurus that the art began to
take a grassroots level promi-
nence once again in the lush
green state of Mayurbhanj,
hence it was celebrated with
much pomp and splendour
with the beating of drums and
shrill echoes of the shahnahi
across the town and in The
Belgadia Palace when in 2010
the Chhau dance was finally
inscribed in the UNESCO’s
Representative List of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage
of Humanity.
Akshita M. Bhanj Deo is di-
rector of The Belgadia Palace,
and Communication Strategist
at Wadhwani Al.
Anshu Khanna
Poise, elegance and grace
define the royals of India and
The Daily Guardian presents a
rare collection of images that
were shot just before the pan-
Nawab Kazil Ali Khan.
demic in Hyderabad during a
Royal Fables exposition that
rekindle the Princely aura.
The heritage platform
joined hands with Kishandas
& Co, an acclaimed heritage
house of jewels, who amongst
all its accomplishments, was
historically the chosen jew-
eller to the Nizams. Tall and
handsome, Nawab Kazim Ali
Khan of Rampur, does poetic
justice to their rare Basra
string and emerald kantha,
which he wears over a stun-
ning achkan in petit point
by Mehraab. Meanwhile the
three beautiful princesses
look stunning in the un-
derstated saris by heritage
designer Juhi Shah and the
opulent, state of the art or-
naments by Kishandas.
While Princess Manjari
Mishra of Ayodhya and Prin-
cess Vaishnavi Kumari of Kis-
hangarh combine ruby red
saris with stunning jadaus
lined with emerald drops,
Princess Maanvi Kumari
of Jobat looks stunning in a
lavender saris by Juhi Shah.
Princesses Manjari
Mishra, Maanvi Kumari and
Vaishnavi Kumari.
A collective of Indian sil-
houettes that define opulence
and elegance, the shoot cel-
ebrates regal dressing with
a mélange of meticulous
craftsmanship and mes-
merising play of colours.
While Juhi is known for her
mastery over classic and
timeless pieces that spell
bridal bliss, Kishandas is
known to create royal, regal
jewels that bring the Nizam
era alive.
 t h e da i ly gua rdi a n
fri day | 25 s e p t e mbe r 2020
new de l h i entertainment 11
Bigg Boss 14: Akshay
visits
Gurdwara
‘Swagat nahi karoge’ Salman ka?  in UK, takes
break from
Priyanka Sharma
Mumbai
the opportunity to share tips that
might help Jaan deal with different
Speaking to Salman, the trio teased
that the first few days of ‘Bigg Boss
ants will get to experience pre-pan-
demic times inside the house. With ‘Bellbottom’
situations during his stay. Interest- 14’ are going to be very exciting as facilities such as spa, thea- Mumbai: Superstar Ak-

B
igg Boss, one of the biggest
reality shows of India,
is all set to return on our
television screens this October.
Amid skyrocketing expectations
and excitement around its theme
and probable contestants, the mak-
ers of the show treated its fans with
an online press conference on
Thursday, in which they not only
shared details of what will be differ-
ent this season but also revealed the
first contestant- Jaan Kumar Sanu.
The reality show will premiere on
3 October.
 Son of popular 90s singer Ku-
mar Sanu, Jaan made his entry
by singing Salman’s popular
song ‘Aankhon Ki Gustakhi-
yan.’ Jaan called himself a big
fan of Bigg Boss and said that he
is super excited for his stint on the
show. Post that, Salman gave ‘Bigg
Boss 13’ winner Siddharth Shukla
ingly, Siddharth along with ex-
contestants like Gauahar Khan and
Hina Khan will be playing a much
greater role than previous seasons.
the audiences are going to witness
something that they have never wit-
nessed before.
 It was also revealed the contest-
tres, shopping malls and shay Kumar on Thursday
restaurants at their avail, took out time from his
The reality show is going busy outdoor schedule
to be nothing short of a joy for ‘Bellbottom’ in the
ride. UK, to seek blessings at a
 Speaking about the safety gurdwara in the country.
precautions undertaken by Sharing a glimpse of his
the crew in view of Covid-19, visit, Akshay wrote: “Had
Manisha Sharma, Colors’ a rather blessed morn-
Chief Content Officer, said ing... spent ten minutes
that all the contestants would in this gurdwara today
be tested for Covid-19 and and counted my bless-
quarantined before their entry ings. I feel a sense of calm
inside the house, which will I haven’t in months,”
be followed by regular testing he wrote, tagging his
of the crew. In case the threat post with #Gratitude-
pertains, the shoot might IsTheBestAttitude and
be called off or contestants #IkOnkar. Akshay also
would be given cameras to posted a picture of him
capture themselves at home. praying at the gurdwara,
Only time will tell how different with his head covered
would ‘Bigg Boss 14’ be and wheth- with a white cloth.
er it will manage to beat last season’s  —Correspondent
popularity or not.

Yash is sweating it out to

Streaming on OTTs: prepare for his role in ‘KGF2’
binge on Bollywood Our Correspondent team has recently resumed
shooting. Yash is also all set to
shares a source close to Yash.
The source continues, “He

this festive season 

CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai
Superstar Akshay Kumar is leading the
pack and how. A slew of films are all
set to release on digital platforms dur-
ing the upcoming festive season, with
direct-to-OTT films emerging as top
trend .With cinema halls shut, the trend
New Delhi
South superstar Yash-star-
rer ‘KGF’ created quite a stir
star Michael Madsen of ‘Kill Bill’ and among the audience. People
‘Reservoir Dogs’ fame in a special role. are eagerly waiting for the
Directed by Hemanth Madhukar, the sequel of the blockbuster flm
film has been confirmed for a Gandhi but due to the pandemic the
Jayanti release on Amazon Prime Video. shooting had to be
put on hold.
GINNY WEDS SUNNY The
The romantic-
comedy, star-
get back to the sets and is cur-
rently undergoing intensive
training.
“Yash is going the extra mile
and has doubled up on his
workout routines while pre-
paring to get back on the sets
of ‘KGF2’. His daily workout
routine is broken down into
different sets of exercises,”
starts his day around 6 am
with half an hour of cardio. Fol-
lowing which he starts weight
training and ab workouts that
take up an hour and then an-
other cardio session. He also
works out in the evening with
different exercises and heavy-
weight training, he is also on a
very strict diet.”

Why Tom Hanks felt like a

of Bollywood stars and filmmakers re- ring Vikrant
leasing films on OTT continues. The fes- Massey and

‘total failure’
tive Fridays are around the corner and Yami Gautam,
every digital platform is stocking up on is about Gin-
fresh quota of films. ny, who gets
We have picked 10 binge-worthy set up with Los Angeles: Hollywood star Tom Hanks has
films which are slated to release on Sunny but the match is not that simple, shared that there was a time when he felt like a total
the streaming platforms in the coming and complications arise amid love, life, failure. He experienced this low phase in his per-
months. weddings and music. The film is slated sonal life. Hanks was married to Samantha Lewes
to release on Netflix on October 9. from 1978 to 1987 and had two children with her,
LAXMMI BOMB daughter Elizabeth and son Colin. During an ap-
T h e A k s h ay BHUJ: THE PRIDE OF INDIA pearance on ‘In Depth With Graham
Kumar-starring The war action Bensinger’, Hanks shared that
h o r r o r c o m- film, based on a he thought his children might
edy premieres true story, stars think he was “abandoning”
digitally on No- Ajay Devgn, San- them when he walked out
vember 9, on the jay Dutt, Sonak- on the marriage, reports
occasion of Di- shi Sinha, Ammy mirror.co.uk. The ‘For-

Gigi
wali. The film is Virk, and Sharad rest Gump’ star felt that
a remake of the Kelkar. It is set way when his parents

Hadid, Zayn Malikgirl

Tamil block- during the Indo- divorced, and didn’t want
buster ‘Muni 2: Kanchana’. Raghava Pak war of 1971. to “burden” his children
Lawrence, who had helmed the origi-
nal, also helms the Bollywood remake
The film will re-
lease on Disney+ Hotstar. blessed with baby ection with the same feeling. Host
Bensinger said, “At the time
ad id an d fo rmer One Dir
co-starring Kiara Advani, Tusshar
Supermod el Gigi H ild. Pop
their first ch
you were in therapy three
Kapoor, Sharad Kelkar, and Ashwini LUDO yn M al ik have welcomed h of their times a week. You said, ‘I was
Kalsekar. The film is slated to premiere Anurag Basu’s multi-starrer ‘Ludo’ fea-
singer Za
te d to co nfirm the birt sad, confused, emotionally crip-
superstar Zayn
tw ee , healthy and
on Disney+ Hotstar. tures Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkum- ay . “O ur baby girl is here w pled. I guess the house of cards
baby girl on Th
ur sd feeling right no
mar Rao, Fatima Sana Shaikh and try pu t in to words how I am r th is tiny has to fall in before you start to
beautiful. To ve I feel fo
KHAALI PEELI Sanya Malhotra. It is a dark comedy- an im po ss ible task. The lo fu l to kn ow figure things out.’ How so?”
would be tanding. Grate
Starring drama is about four people whose nd my unders the life we Hanks replied: “Well, I felt
Ishaan Khatter lives collide. The film will release on human is beyo r m in e, an d thankful for like I was a complete, abject,
ll he er on
her, proud to ca 27-year-old sing
a n d A n a ny a Netflix. er ,” wrote the s total failure and everything
P a n d ay, t h e will have togeth ac count, with fold ed ha nd
I thought was working was
d T w itt er ne w s
THE BIG BULL his verifie ared the
Maqbool Khan is. Gigi later sh actually not working. It’s a
and heart emoj te: “O ur girl joined
directorial is a The film stars Abhishek Bachchan. . She wro place that everybody comes to
on Instagram d she’s al-
romantic action Directed by Kookie Gulati, the film is is weekend an in their life for one reason or anoth-
us earth-side th . So in love.” 
our world
drama that is reportedly based on India’s securities ready changed er.” He also explained how he worked
nt
being touted as scam of 1992. It will release on Disney+ —Corresponde through that period of his life. “I’d go off and
a roller coaster Hotstar. talk to somebody and say, ‘What have I done
ride that kicks wrong?’ And they would say, ‘what do you
off when a boy meets a girl one night. TORBAAZ think you’ve done wrong?’ ‘Why am I so
It will launch on Zeeplex and Zee5 on Sanjay unhappy?’ ‘tell me about your unhap-
October 2. Dutt plays piness. And you work through that
a n a r my till you figure out, you have been an
SERIOUS MEN officer in idiot, but you’re no longer an idiot,”
Starring Nawa- the Girish said Hanks. 
z u d d i n S i d- Malik di- —Correspondent
diqui, Sudhir rectorial, which also stars Nargis Fakhri
Mishra’s latest and Rahul Dev. ‘Torbaaz’ is the story of
is an adapta- one man who rises above a personal
tion of Manu tragedy and decides to transform the
Joseph’s book of lives of refugee camp kids who are on
the same name. the path of destruction, through cricket.
The film is a The film will release on Netflix.
satire about an
underachiever, KAALI KHUHI
lower caste man who wants to project The film is about Shivangi, a 10-year-old
his boy as a boy genius. The film releases girl who must save her family’s village
on October 2, on Netflix. in Punjab from the restless ghosts of its
horrific past. The film stars Shabana
NISHABDHAM Azmi, Satyadeep Mishra, Sanjeeda
A highlight of the Anushka Shetty and R. Sheikh and Riva Arora. It is slated to
Madhavan horror thriller is Hollywood release on Netflix. With inputs from IANS
12 sports
IPL 2020
CAPTAIN Rahul’s ton GUIDES KXIP TO
A colossal 97-run VICTORY over RCB
Skipper K.L. Rahul’s unbeaten 132 off 69 balls helped Kings XI Punjab post a mammoth 206/3
in 20 overs. In reply, Royal Challengers Bangalore were bowled out for a paltry 109 in 17 overs.
Correspondent
Dubai
R
iding on a blister-
ing century skipper
KL Rahul, Kings XI
Punjab thrashed Royal Chal-
lengers Bangalore by 97 runs
in an IPL encounter at the
Dubai International Cricket
Stadium on Thursday.
Rahul’s unbeaten 132 off
69 balls helped KXIP post a
mammoth 206/3 in 20 overs.
In reply, RCB were bowled
out for 109 in 17 overs.
RCB needed big contribu-
tions from their star-studded
top order to stand a chance
in the mammoth chase. But
what ensued was far from
it, as RCB were reduced to
57/5 inside nine overs with
the young Devdutt Padikkal
(1), Aaron Finch (20), Josh
Philippe (0), captain Virat
Kohli (1) and AB de Villiers
(28) all back in the hut.
Mohammed Shami put
the early breaks on the RCB
innings, giving away just
14 runs in the three overs
he bowled and taking the
wicket of Philippe. Sheldon
Cottrell dismissed Padikkal
in the very first over of the
Preview
CSK look to regain winning momentum against Delhi
Correspondent
Dubai
After a lacklustre outing
against Rajasthan Royals,
three-time IPL champions
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
will take on Delhi Capitals
(DC) in a league encounter
at the Dubai International
Cricket stadium here on
Friday.
In their last game, the M.S.
Dhoni-led side suffered a
16-run defeat, and barring
Faf du Plessis most of the
CSK players failed in leav-
ing an impact. Moreover,
Dhoni’s decision to come
down the order backfired
and the charismatic captain
received a backlash from
not only fans but also many
cricketing greats like Sunil
Gavaskar, Gautam Gamb-
hir, and others. Dhoni later
clarified on his decision to
come lower down the or-
der. The captain himself
wasn’t happy with the
bowlers.
TRIBUTE
Dean Jones dies of cardiac arrest,
Sachin, Border, Smith pay homage
Correspondent
Barcelona
Former Australian cricketer
Dean Jones passed away in
Mumbai on Thursday after
suffering a cardiac arrest.
The 59-year-old was part of
the Star Sports commentary
panel for the ongoing Indian
Premier League (IPL) being
held in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
Tributes flowed on Twit-
ter for the former batsman
soon after news of his death
broke. “Absolutely heart-
breaking news about Dean
Jones passing away,” said
Indian batting great Sachin
Tendulkar. “A wonderful
soul taken away too soon.
Had the opportunity to
K.L. Rahul of Kings XI Punjab celebrates his ton. ani
innings before claiming the
all-important wicket of Kohli
in the third.
Finch and de Villiers then
put up 49 runs for the fourth
wicket, which was the only
meaningful partnership
that RCB managed to put
up on the night. Ravi Bish-
noi (20) ended the stand
with the wicket of Finch
Also, the decision to re-
place an unfit Ambati Ray-
udu with Ruturaj Gaikwad
didn’t click as the debutant
was back in the dugout
without troubling the scor-
ers. Moreover, CSK openers
failed in both games and
that is another cause of
concern for the team
management.
Sam Curran, who
has been promoted
up the order, played
a cameo in both
games but the
England all-
rounder
Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones dies in Mumbai on
Thursday. He was 59 years old.
play against him during my
first tour of Australia. May
his soul rest in peace and
my condolences to his loved
ones.”
“Awful to hear the news
of Dean Jones passing away
t h e da i ly gua rdi a n
fri day | 25 s e p t e mbe r 2020
new de l h i
Rahul went berserk, smashing 26 runs off Dale Steyn in the 19th
over before ending the 20th with a four and consecutive sixes.
in the eighth over. De Vil-
liers fell in the ninth over to
Murugan Ashwin to end any
slender chances of RCB put-
ting up a challenge. Bishnoi
and Ashwin ended the game
needs to spend some time in
the middle. Dhoni had hit
three maximums in the final
over against the Royals, but
that couldn’t win the game.
It will be interesting to see
how the CSK skipper will
now approach the game
against Delhi.
On the other hand,
Delhi were on the
verge of defeat
i n t h e i r fi r st
game against
Kings XI Punjab
b e f o r e Ma r c u s
Stoinis rescued his
side to push the
contest to
the Super
Over
decid-
er.
in Mumbai. He was a won-
derful player for Australia
and he will be missed. My
thoughts are with his fam-
ily. RIP Deano,” said talis-
manic Australian batsman
Steve Smith.
Sheldon Cottrell of Kings XI Punjab celebrates a wicket. ANI
with three wickets each.
It was an especially bad the
day in office for Kohli, who
apart from being dismissed
for just one run, was guilty
of dropping Rahul twice in
Later, it was Kagiso Raba-
da who showed his talent
with the ball and ensured
the night belonged to DC.
The DC top-order failed to
fire against Punjab while
Rishabh
Pant and
skipper
Shreyas
Iyer
showed
some
re-
Former Australia captain
Allan Border said that his
former teammate Dean
Jones “revolutionised the
game”
Border said that Jones was
“one of the greatest natural
cricketers I’ve ever seen,”
according to Foxsports.
com.au. “He revolutionised
the game and I loved him,”
he said
“Shocked to hear about
the tragic loss of Dean Jones.
Praying for strength and
courage to his family and
friends,” said India captain
Virat Kohli.
“Rest In Peace, Prof. The
cricketing world will miss
your entertaining lectures,”
said India batsman Rohit
Sharma.
the 17th and 18th over.
Rahul went berserk after
that, smashing 26 runs off
Dale Steyn in the 19th over
before ending the 20th with
a four and consecutive sixes.
sistance with the bat. But
they were unable to con-
vert their efforts into a big
innings. It was Stoinis, who
hammered 53 off 21 balls to
propel his side to a fighting
total.
The team management is
likely to stick with the same
combination on Friday, but
at the same time it will also
hope the top-order to pro-
vide an ideal start.
Meanwhile, the DC
bowlers had a satisfactory
outing against Punjab but
the major concern for the
Iyer-led team would be the
injury of ace spinner Ravi-
chandran Ashwin, who
picked a couple of
wickets in his very
first over, but had
to leave the field
later. Ashwin’s
recovery becomes
crucial here.
CSK have domi-
nated DC, win-
ning 15 of the 21
games.
FOOTBALL
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
tests positive for
coronavirus
MILAN: Veteran AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has
tested positive for Covid-19, the club confirmed in a statement
on Thursday. The 38-year-old will hence not be
available for Milan’s Europa League match
against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.
“Zlatan Ibrahimovic has tested positive
for Covid-19 following a second round of
swab tests ahead of tonight’s game against
Bodo/Glimt,” Milan said. “The Club has
informed the relevant authori-
ties and the player has been
promptly placed in quaran-
tine at home. All other team
members and staff have
tested negative.”
Ibrahimovic had before
the start of the season
extended his contract
with the 18-time Serie
A champions by a year.
batting GIANT
Ruthless
Rohit rules
the roost
PUSHPANG
NEW DELHI
Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma actually
cut the KKR’s bowlers down to size. As an opener,
Rohit Sharma not only smashed the highest per-
sonal score in this IPL but also contributed im-
mensely to help his team score the highest total
in power play.
Rohit is the skipper of the team which has won a
record four IPL titles. His performance has been
result-oriented in the last three years.
The average of his batting in the last three years
was not what it used to be in the eight years ini-
tially before that. His performance has dipped in
terms of average and strike rate but this has not
adversely affected the team. He has proved to be
a big asset for the team. Particularly, certain deci-
sions taken under his captaincy proved to be use-
ful for the team.
The latest of his decisions is to employ James Pat-
tinson and Trent Boult in the bowling attack in the
initial overs. Despite the presence of Jasprit Bum-
rah, putting these two bowlers into attack in the
initial overs turned out to be a masterstroke. Both
the openers were sent back to pavilion in the pow-
erplay itself -- first against Chennai Super Kings
His 132 is the highest score by
any Indian in the IPL and the
first century by any batsman
this season.
Brief scores: KXIP 206/3 in
20 overs (KL Rahul 132 not
out, Mayank Agarwal 26;
Shivam Dube 2/33) vs RCB
109 in 17 overs (Washington
Sundar 30, AB de Villiers 28;
Murugan Ashwin 3/21).
Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma.
Tod a y i n I P L Rohit surpassed both M.S. Dhoni
Chennai Super
and David Warner behind by
Match: Kings Vs being awarded Man of Match
Delhi Capitals
for the 18th time. Both the
Dubai
Venue: International players have won the man of the
Stadium
match award 17 times each.
Time: 7.30 pm
and then against Kolkata Knight Riders. Bumrah
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS also left a good impression with his tight bowling
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS in the second match.
Strength: If it were any other team it would have made
changes after losing the first match or psycho-
• Experienced players like logical impact of the defeat would be there on the
Faf du Plessis game. But Rohit remained unaffected and did not
• Defeated MI in their first go for any change in the team. Hence, Mumbai In-
match dians had two challenges while facing the KKR.
Weakness: First, it was smarting under the defeat in the first
• Batting line-up out of match. Second, playing at the stadium of Abu Dha-
rhythm bi where keeping run rate fast is a difficult task.
DELHI CAPITALS The square boundary of the stadium is also quite
Strength: big and hot and humid weather gives batsmen a
• Good Batting line up lot of trouble if they continue to play for 6-7 overs.
• Marcus Stoinis is in good In such a condition, Rohit not only batted bril-
all-round form liantly but also imparted solid base to the team,
Weakness: partnering with Suryakumar Yadav. Normally,
• Ashwin’s injury and weak Rohit is considered to be a master in pulling short
opening stand. balls. But in view of Rohit’s this skill, KKR skipper
Dinesh Karthik asked his bowlers to deliver balls
at short of good length. Rohit smashed such balls
brutally. On such balls, he played pull shots over
square off the wicket and midwicket. He smashed
two sixes off Sandeep Warrier over the cover.
In fact, it is a challenging job to open the innings
in Abu Dhabi because balls seam too much in the
first six overs. And these are the overs of power-
play where batsman happens to be under pressure
of accelerating run rate taking advantage of field
restrictions. The wickets fall in this attempt. In
such a situation, Rohit tore KKR pacers apart. His
experience and skill to handle the short and good
length balls in blazing fashion made his job easier.
Rohit surpassed both M.S. Dhoni and David
Warner behind by being awarded Man of Match
for the 18th time. Both the players have won the
man of the match award 17 times each. Rohit
has become the fourth player to have completed
200 sixes in IPL. He achieved this reputation by
smashing six sixes against KKR. Chris Gayle, A.B.
de Villiers and Dhoni have done it before him.
Rohit also has the responsibility of captaincy. He
knows that just one wrong decision can change
the entire picture of the match. This is perhaps
the reason why a decline has been noticed in his
personal performance especially in IPL. But win-
ning IPL twice in the last three years suggests that
he has become more result-oriented.
Now, Rohit has to face the bowling attack of Dale
Steyn, Navdeep Saini and Yuzvendra Chahal on
28 September. This combination makes playing
against RCB a more challenging task.