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hen India and China
W were preparing for talks
last week to defuse tension at
the border in Ladakh, the
People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) troops tried to breach
the Line of Actual Control
(LAC) in Sikkim leading to a
minor face-off when Indian
Army intercepted the Chinese.
Soldiers from both armies
were injured. The situation
was brought under control fol-
lowing the intervention of local
commanders.
China on Monday, howev-
er, denied that such an incident
ever took place. The Indian
Army, on the other hand, con-
firmed the incident and said,
“We have received several
queries regarding a face-off
between Indian Army and PLA
troops in the Sikkim sector. It
is clarified that there was a
minor face-off at the Naku La
area of North Sikkim on
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anyukt Kisan Morcha on
S Monday announced that
they will march towards
Parliament from different loca-
tions on February 1 when the
annual Union Budget is sched-
uled to be presented.
“We will march towards
Parliament on foot from dif-
ferent locations on the Budget
day on February 1. As far as
tomorrow’s tractor rally is con-
cerned, it will give the
Government an idea of our
strength and they will know the
agitation is not just limited to
Haryana or Punjab but it is an
agitation of the whole country,”
said Darshan Pal of the
Krantikari Kisan Union.
“The farmers who have
come for the tractor parade will
not go back now and will join
the protest. The agitation will
continue till our demands met.
Our stand remains the same,”
Pal told a press conference,
sharing the farmers’ plans to
intensify the protest.
The farmers’ unions also
claimed that around two lakh
tractors are expected to par-
ticipate in their tractor rally on
the Republic Day in Delhi.
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O pposition parties are like-
ly to meet on Thursday to
strategise plans to corner the
Government in the Budget
Session and force it to repeal
the farm laws. Sources said
leaders of various political par-
ties, including the erstwhile
NDA partner SAD, have got in
touch to make a joint effort to
repeal the three laws in the
forthcoming Budget Session
beginning on January 29.
The main aim of the
Opposition parties is to force
the Government to repeal the
law as it cannot be suspended
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January 20 and the same was
resolved by local commanders
as per established protocols.
Media is requested to refrain
from overplaying or exagger-
ating reports which are factu-
ally incorrect.”
Sources said the injuries
were insignificant and minor in
nature and roughly about 20
PLA soldiers and four Indians
were injured in the melee. The
fracas took place when the
Chinese patrol tried to enter
Indian territory, they added.
The Naku La is located at a
height of more than 13,000 feet.
The latest stand-off
took place at a time when the
Corps Commanders of the two
armies were getting ready for
the talks on Sunday. The talks
lasted more than 16 hours at
the Chushul-Moldo border
meeting point in Eastern
Ladakh. However, there was no
tangible breakthrough in the
parleys.
The joint statement
The rally is planned to be
moved into the city from the
Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur
borders.
Protesting farmer unions
opposing the three contentious
farm laws said their parade will
not enter central Delhi and it
will start only after the official
Republic Day parade con-
cludes.
“It will be big event in the
Indian democracy. We will cel-
ebrate Republic Day in its true
sense tomorrow. The way the
political leaders have played
with the Constitution by con-
stantly introducing amend-
ments that kept violating
human rights…we will con-
tinue to demand that they be
rectified. It is the same
Constitution in which they
have introduced these three
laws, which have created a
problem not just for the farm-
ers but also for the entire pop-
ulation of the country, against
?PfPa)5Pa\TabfX[[
STbca^hUPa\[Pfb
Mumbai: The Centre may
pass any law undermining
the Constitution and on the
back of its majority, but once
the common man and farm-
ers rise, they will not keep
quiet until the new farm
acts and the ruling party are
destroyed, NCP president
Sharad Pawar said on
Monday.
since the laws came into force
with the President of India’s
accent.
Sources in the Congress
and a couple of political parties
confirmed that the
Parliamentary floor leaders
will meet to deliberate upon a
strategy for the session on
Thursday. A bigger convention
of Opposition parties may also
take place thereafter.
The SAD walked out of
NDA in protest against the
farm laws and its Lok Sabha
MP Harsimrat Kaur resigned
from Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s Council of Ministers.
Continued on Page 2
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released here on Monday said
the two sides had a candid and
in-depth exchange of views on
disengagement along the LAC.
The two sides agreed that
the ninth round of meeting was
positive, practical and con-
structive, which further
enhanced mutual trust and
understanding. The two sides
agreed to push for an early dis-
engagement of the frontline
troops.
Talking about the latest
face-off, an official said, such an
which this protest has been
happening for two months
now. The agitation will con-
tinue until the government
repeals these laws,” Balbir Singh
Rajewal of Bharatiya Kisan
Union said.
To maintain vigil, around
6,000 security personnel have
0e^XSa^dcTb^U\PaRW)
3T[WXcaPUUXRPSeXb^ah
BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
n order to ensure smooth
Iacross
flow of traffic movement
Delhi on Republic Day,
the Delhi Traffic Police on
Monday issued an advisory
regarding farmers’ tractors
rally. Police asked commuters
to avoid routes where farmers
will conduct the parade.
According to Meenu
Chaudhar y, the Joint
Commissioner of Police, traf-
fic, the tractor rally will be
taken out on Tuesday from
three city borders and the traf-
fic will remain affected on
these routes and the roads
leading to these routes.
“The first rally will start
from Singhu Border to Sanjay
Gandhi Transport Nagar, DTU,
Shahabad Dairy, Barwala
Village, Pooth Khurd Village,
Kanjhawala T-Point,
?=BQ =4F34;78
utting the blame on “mis-
P information” for sluggish
vaccination drive that started
on January 16, the Centre has
asked the States to take penal
action against those engaged in
rumour-mongering.
In a communication to
Chief Secretaries of all States
and UTs, Union Home
Secretary Ajay Bhalla also
emphasised that the National
Regulatory Authority in the
country has found that the two
vaccines — Covishield, manu-
factured by the Serum Institute
of India, and Covaxin, devel-
oped and manufactured by the
Bharat Biotech Limited — were
safe and immunogenic.
H@C=5)
=4F34;78CD4B30H90=D0AH !%!!
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incident had also taken place
last year on May 9 at Naku La
when tension was building up
at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
Mountain pass is known as La
in the Tibetan language. Even
then, the troops from both
sides exchanged blows after
jostling each other. The inter-
vention of local commanders
prevented the situation from
escalating.
Chinese Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Zhao Lijian told a
daily briefing in Beijing on
been deployed by the Delhi
Police. Facial recognition sys-
tem of Delhi Police has also
been set up at vantage points
for suspect identification.
A five-layer security cover
comprising border pickets,
inner, middle and outer secu-
rity has been deployed.
Kanjhawala Chowk,
Kutubgarh, Auchandi Border
and Kharkhoda Toll Plaza.
Continued on Page 2
CaPRc^ab[X]TSd_^]cWT=PcX^]P[7XVWfPh##6CA^PSc^_PacXRX_PcTX]UPa\Tab´caPRc^aaP[[hPb_Pac^UcWTXa^]V^X]VPVXcPcX^]
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The Central Government,
in close collaboration with the
State Governments and UT
administrations, has launched
the inoculation drive of Covid-
19 vaccination from January 16
across the country with the two
vaccines.
“I would like to strongly
emphasise that the National
DA@CE"#
274;B40B02:
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Monday that he had “no infor-
mation to offer” on the reports
of clashes.
He also said the Chinese
troops are committed to main-
taining peace at the border and
urged India to meet China
halfway and refrain from any
unilateral actions that may
exacerbate the border situation.
The Chinese army mouth-
piece The Global Times termed
the incident as fake news and
said there is no record of this
incident in the Chinese PLA
front line patrol logs.
In recent days, the focus of
the military’s top leaders on
both sides has been on the
ninth round of Corps
Commander-level talks, not a
new border clash, and the two
sides have not been involved in
such clashes mentioned by the
Indian media, it said.
There have been minor
frictions between the frontline
forces of the two countries, but
if there had been friction
<RX7XEHFKDQQHOV
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esides Indian media, a large
B number of foreign media
has also lined up to cover the
“kisan parade” on January 26 in
the national Capital. A large
number of YouTube channels
from the UK, the USA, and
Canada are present to cover the
tractor rally.
Farmers’ protests have
drawn attention from across
the world and foreign media
has been highlighting the
protests which entered its 61st
Regulatory Authority in the
country has found both the
vaccines safe and immuno-
genic. However, it has been
reported that unfounded and
misleading rumours are circu-
lating on social and other
media, creating doubt about
the safety and efficacy of these
vaccines.
“Such kind of rumour
mongering, particularly by
vested interests, can create
unwarranted doubts among
people at large, and there is,
therefore, a need to check all
such kinds of unfounded scare
mongering relating to the safe-
ty and immunogenicity of the
vaccines,” the communication
said.
Continued on Page 2
involving casualties, it is impos-
sible for them not to be record-
ed in the Chinese patrol logs.
As regards the Corps
Commander-level dialogue,
the Indian delegation was
headed by 14 Corps chief Lt
General PK Menon while
Major General Liu Lin led the
Chinese team.
The statement said the two
countries also agreed to follow
the important consensus of
their state leaders, maintain the
good momentum of dialogue
and negotiation, and hold the
10th round of the Corps
Commander-level meeting at
an early date to jointly advance
de-escalation.
The two sides agreed to
continue their effective efforts
in ensuring the restraint of the
frontline troops, stabilise and
control the situation along the
LAC in the Western Sector of
the China-India border, and
jointly maintain peace and
tranquility.
day on Monday.
According to ground
reports, a large number of
international media, both print
and TV, has assembled at three
protests sites — Tikri Border,
Ghazipur Border and Singhu
Border — in the national
Capital to cover the tractor
rally. This is for the first time
since Independence the farm-
ers will march in a unique kisan
parade with National Flags.
As thousands of farmers have
started marching towards Delhi
borders to participate in the
tractor rally on Republic Day,
agriculture organisations have
decided to hold similar parades
at State and district headquar-
ters across the country.
Foreign media, including
BBC, Al Jazeera, Washington
?C8
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he national Capital is head-
T ling towards attaining herd
immunity against coronavirus
infection as per the outcome of
the fifth round of sero-survey
in the national Capital, sources
said on Monday.
One district in Delhi has
shown sero positivity of over 60
per cent, according to the 5th
sero survey.
Experts say herd immu-
nity is said to have been devel-
oped in a population segment
if 50-60 per cent of those are
found to have the presence of
antibodies in a sero-preva-
lence survey.
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olonel B Santosh Babu,
C who along with 19 other
Army personnel, was mar-
tyred in a brawl with the
Chinese troops in the Galwan
valley last year, will be award-
ed the Mahavir Chakra
posthumously on the occasion
of Republic Day this year.
This medal is the second high-
est wartime gallantry medal.
Veer Chakra, the third
highest wartime gallantry
Post, the New York Times,
Toronto Star, Reuters, the
Province, Hamilton Spectator,
CNN, CBC 24, Bloomberg,
the Guardian and the Sun,
were concentrated only on the
Singhu Border till date. Now
they have set up their crew at
Ghazipur and Tikri borders.
Farmers’ leaders have reported
to have approached a large
number of YouTube channels
based in Canada, the USA, and
the UK to cover their events.
Foreign media is covering
farmers’ protests in a promi-
nent way. Farmers’ protests
are making headlines across the
world. Recently, a Pakistani
singer Jawad Ahmed released
an anthem inspired by the
protests and dedicated to the
farmers in India. Titled Kisana,
the song which was released in
December 2020, has been
viewed thousands of times on
YouTube. Several reaction
videos on the song have also
been released. The lyrics of the
song say, “teri sohni dharti
maa, tu jag da palan har, hun
tu jeea hai (This beautiful
Earth belongs to you, you are
the patron of this Earth, rise
and live),” which roughly trans-
lates to peasants need to rise
and that they are the providers
of the world.
Last month, a group of
seven American lawmakers
had written to then US
Secretar y of State Mike
Pompeo to raise farmers’ issue
with his Indian counterpart.
Continued on Page 2
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he Centre is all set to
T impose “Green Tax” on
older vehicles in an effort to
reduce pollution by phasing out
unfit and polluting vehicles.
While commercial vehi-
cles older than eight years
could be charged Green Tax at
the time of renewal of fitness
certificate at the rate of 10 to 25
per cent of road tax, personal
vehicles may be charged Green
Tax at the time of renewal of
Registration Certification after
15 years. The proposal
approved by Union Minister
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medal, was conferred on five
other soldiers. All these sol-
diers had died with Babu, the
commanding officer of the
16 Bihar Regiment, in the
bloody clashes on June 15 in
Eastern Ladakh.
The Chinese used nailed
batons and iron rods to attack
the Indian Army team. More
than 35 Chinese soldiers were
also killed in the free for all.
However, China is yet to
announce the number of casu-
alties on its side.
The Veer Chakra awardees
include Naib Subedar
Nuduram Soren, Havaldar K
Palani, Havaldar Tejinder
Singh, Naik Deepak Singh
and Naik Gurtej Singh.
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for Road Transport and
Highways Nitin Gadkari will
now go to the States for con-
sultation before it is notified.
Hybrids, electric vehicles,
and those using cleaner fuels
like CNG, ethanol, LPG will be
exempted from green tax.
Similarly, vehicles used in farm-
ing, such as tractor, harvestor,
tiller too will be exempted.
Public transport vehicles
will be charged lower green tax,
and higher green tax (50% of
Road Tax) will be slapped on
vehicles registered in highly
polluted cities.
Continued on Page 2
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elhi Chief Minister Arvind
D Kejriwal commended the
contributions and
sacrifices made by the Corona
warriors during the Covid pan-
demic and its successive
lockdown.
Addressing the public on
72nd Republic Day celebrations
held at the Delhi secretariat, he
said that the people of Delhi
and the Government have col-
lectively strengthened the
3T[WX2WXTU<X]XbcTa0aeX]S:TYaXfP[X]PdVdaPcTbcWT0bW^ZP?X[[Pa^]cWTTeT^U&!]SAT_dQ[XR3PhRT[TQaPcX^]bPc3T[WX
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BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
hief Minister Ar vind
C Kejriwal on Monday
unveiled the Ashoka Pillar on
the eve of the 72nd Republic
Day celebrations inside the
premises of the Delhi
Assembly.
Marking the occasion of
the 72nd Republic Day,
Kejriwal congratulated the peo-
ple and said that the Ashoka
2SSSODQVWR
From Page 1
“We are in touch with lead-
ers of other political parties.
Our party chief (Sonia Gandhi)
has already mandated us to
force the government to repeal
the laws and continue express-
ing solidarity with the farmers
of the country. We will also try
to work a joint front with
other parties to take on the
Government,” said a Congress
MP of Rajya Sabha.
$OWKRXJKHYHU\SRVVLEOHFDUHDQGFDXWLRQKDVEHHQWDNHQWRDYRLGHUURUVRURPLVVLRQVWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQLVEHLQJVROGRQWKHFRQGLWLRQDQGXQGHUVWDQGLQJWKDWLQIRUPDWLRQJLYHQLQWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQLVPHUHO\IRUUHIHUHQFHDQGPXVWQRWEHWDNHQDVKDYLQJDXWKRULW\RIRUELQGLQJLQDQ\ZD\RQWKHZULWHUVHGLWRUVSXEOLVKHUVDQGSULQWHUVDQGVHOOHUVZKRGRQRWRZHDQ\UHVSRQVLELOLW\IRUDQ\
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health infrastructure which is
why Delhi's health system was
intact even after a severe
Corona outbreak unlike New
York where the health system
had collapsed completely dur-
ing the peak.
The Chief Minister said
that the Delhi Government's
dream initiative of providing
door-step delivery of ration will
be launched till March this year
which will be a revolutionary
step in changing the ration sys-
tem in Delhi.
Pillar, which is a symbol of
national integrity, has
been installed in the Vidhan
Sabha.
The Chief Minister said
that the Ashoka Chakra was
adopted in the form of the
national symbol of India on
26th January 1950.
"I want to congratulate you
all on the occasion of 72nd
Republic Day and Voter's Day,"
he said.
The Opposition parties
have so far maintained a dis-
tance from the protest to pre-
serve its apolitical character. A
senior Opposition leader said
parties will have to keep this
balance intact. At the same
time, we can’t be seen not
doing anything, he said. A joint
delegation of Opposition par-
ties has already met President
Ram Nath Kovind on the issue.
Left parties issued a joint
statement on the issue signed by
CPI(M) general secretary
“The Delhi Government is
working on providing flats to
people living in slums and the
slum dwellers will be able to
have their own pucca houses
soon. The Government is also
going to issue health cards,
under which all health records
of a person would be stored.
Every person in Delhi will
have an e-health card by the
end of this year under our
Health Information
Management Scheme (HIMS)
and the patients will also be
AP]YP]3X\aXk?X^]TTa
Delhi Assembly speaker
Ram Niwas Goyal said, "We
decided to establish the Ashoka
Chakra Pillar in the Vidhan
Sabha as it is our national
symbol. I am glad that our
dream has come true. I also
would like to welcome the
people who have come from
the village of Raja Nahar Singh
Ji for their setting up of Raja
Nahar Singh Ji's painting in the
Delhi Assembly.
Sitaram Yechury, CPI general
secretary D Raja, CPI(ML) gen-
eral secy Dipankar Bhattacharya,
All India Forward Bloc general
secretary Debabrata Biswas and
Revolutionary Socialist Party
general secretary Manoj
Bhattacharya urging the
Government to stop being
“obstinate” and called the
Government proposal to sus-
pend the laws for 18 months “a
farce”.
“Already the government
has conveyed its willingness to
Af_ZdYcf^`fc^`_XVcdWVRcYRd
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From Page 1
Urging the States and UTs
to put in place an appropriate
mechanism to check the spread
of such ill-informed rumours,
Bhalla asked the chief secre-
taries to direct all the State
authorities to take necessary
measures to counter the spread
of all such kind of “false infor-
mation” about Covid-19 vac-
able to schedule
telephonic/online appoint-
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group of people had gath-
A ered in central Delhi's
Connaught Place in support of
farmers agitating against the
Centre's new farm laws. Police
said that the protesters were
stopped near Shivaji Stadium
Metro Station and later dis-
persed peacefully.
According to a senior
police official, on Sunday at
3:15 PM around 20 to 25 peo-
ple gathered near the A and B
Block of Connaught
Place to protest in support of
farmers.
“The protestors were not
permitted there and were asked
to disperse peacefully, but they
wanted to go towards Bangla
Sahab Gurudwara via Baba
Kharag Singh Marg carrying
pamphlets in support of
farmers,” said the senior police
official.
“They were stopped near
Shivaji Stadium metro station,
BKS Road, Connaught Place.
They were briefed about the
law-and-order situation and
imposition of section 144 Code
of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)
in the area. They were dis-
persed peacefully,” the senior
police official added.
suspend these laws for 18
months. Acts that are legislat-
ed by Parliament, signed by the
President of India and notified
by the Gazette are law of the
land. They cannot be sus-
pended. Unless they are
repealed, they are enforceable,”
the statement said.
It is only reasonable for the
Government to hold discus-
sions with farmers and other
stakeholders, including State
governments, before bringing
in fresh bills, Left parties said.
cines as well as promptly dis-
seminate factual messages.
“Further, penal action may
be taken against the person/s or
organisation/s who is/ are
found to have indulged in such
activities, under the relevant
provisions of the Disaster
Management Act. 2005 and the
Indian Penal Code, 1860,” he
said.
ments to avoid queues,” he
said.
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eputy Chief Minister
D Manish Sisodia and US
Embassy Minister Counselor
for Public Affairs David H.
Kennedy jointly launched
English teaching programme
for 700 Pre -service teachers
from nine all women colleges
of Delhi in the presence of
senior officials of Education
department of Delhi
Government and dignitaries
from US Embassy.
The Regional English
Language Office (RELO) of the
US Embassy in New Delhi
which has been running virtu-
al teacher training courses suc-
cessfully for Delhi government
school educators, is the host of
this pre-service teachers.
The program will have
0e^XSa^dcTb^U
From Page 1
The traffic going towards
NH-44, GT Karnal Road will
be diverted from Singhu Shani
Mandir, Ashok Farm/Janti Tall,
Hamidpur, Sunderpur Majra,
Zindopur Mukhmelpur,
Kadipur, Kushak Colony,
Mukarba Chowk, GTK Depot,”
said the Joint CP.
“The traffic going towards
Bawana Road will be diverted
from Jail Road, KNK Marg,
G3S Mall, Madhuban Chowk,
Rohini East Metro Station,
Rithala Chowk, Pansali Chowk,
Helipad T-Point, Utsav Road,
DSIIDC Road Sector-4,
NarelaBawana Road, Chitra
Dharam Kanta, DSIIDC
Round about, Jhanda Chowk.
The traffic going towards
Kanjhawala Road will be
diverted from Karala,
Kanjhawala Village, Jaunti Toll,
Qutubgarh- Garhi Road,” said
the Joint CP.
“The second rally will start
from Tikri Border and pass
through Nangloi, Baprola
Village, Najafgarh excluding
Phirni Road, Jharoda Border,
Rohtak Bypass (Bahadurgarh)
and Asoda Toll Plaza. The
traffic will be diverted from dif-
ferent points. Traffic will not be
allowed to enter on Rohtak
road from Kirari Mor and will
be diverted towards Mangol
Puri. It will be diverted from
Ghevra mor towards
Khanjawala etc,” said the Joint
CP.
“The Ghazipur border rally
will reach to some portion of
NH-24 from where it will take
right turn to Road Number 56,
ISBT Anand Vihar, Apsara
Border, Hapur Road, Bhopura,
"Our Corona warriors did
a commendable job during the
pandemic. This pandemic
poses a lot of questions like the
implications of the infection, its
seriousness, and the conse-
quences it would have on our
families. Our Corona warriors
also had the same concerns, but
they put their lives at stake to
serve the people. To salute the
contributions of our Corona
warriors, the Delhi Govern-
ment launched a unique
scheme wherein, if a Corona
online courses on Teaching
English for 21st Century and
Content-Language Integrated
Learning Skills. Twenty U.S.
Department of State-funded
Virtual English Language
Fellows will lead the ten-week
online courses until April 12,
2021.
Minister Counselor for
Public Affairs David H.
Kennedy acknowledged long
association of US Embassy
with Delhi Government and
appreciated the efforts taken by
Deputy CM in ensuring that
teachers in Delhi learn from the
best.
The courses are designed
to address some of the objec-
tives outlined in India’s new
National Education Policy
(NEP) and will help teachers
teach English as well as teach
IMS College, Lal Kuan and
Ghazipur Border. No com-
mercial vehicles and buses will
be allowed on NH-24 and
DND from Ring Road. Traffic
on NH-24 from Nizamuddin
Khatta side will be diverted on
Pusta Road near Akshardham
and Mother Dairy Road. No
traffic will be allowed towards
NH-24 from paper market,”
said the Joint CP.
“No traffic towards Road
Number 56 from Hasanpur
Depot, Patparganj Industrial
Area, Ashoka Niketan,
Vivekanand Mahila College,
ITI College, Ram Mandir Vivek
Vihar. Arrangements have been
made to manage traffic on
these routes starting Monday
evening. Motorists are advised
to avoid the route of “kisan
tractor rally,” she said.
On Sunday, the farmers’
union and the Delhi Police
senior police officials in a
meeting finalised the tractor
rally routes. Police had said that
the rally will be conducted in
three parts -- first from Singhu
Border which have 62 km
route, then from Tikri Border
with around 60 km route and
Ghazipur Border with 46 km
route.
“There are approximately
12,000 to 13,000 tractors at var-
ious border -- around 7,000 to
8,000 at Tikri, around 5,000
at Singhu and around 1,000
at Ghazipur border which
is expected to go up in
coming days,” police
said.
Police said
that the rally
on Tuesday
will be con-
ducted amid
tight security
after the
Republic Day
celebrations
conclude. The
Republic Day
parade will
start at 9:50 am
from Vijay
Chowk. The
wreath-laying
function at
National War
Memorial will
take place at 9
am.
]PcX^]!
warrior, be it police,
doctors, sanitation workers,
loses their lives to Corona, the
Delhi Government will provide
their families with the financial
assistance of Rs 1 crore," he
added.
The Chief Minister said
despite drying up of tax rev-
enue due to the pandemic, the
AAP Government managed to
pay salaries to its employees
and continue its flagship
schemes, including free power
and electricity supply.
in English.
The courses will promote
reflective and learner-centered
pedagogy as mandated in the
NEP, and will enhance teach-
ers’ abilities to support the
development of students’
English language proficiency in
all subject areas, as well as crit-
ical thinking, creativity, col-
:RUOGPHGLDWR
From Page 1
Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau was the first for-
eign leader who supported the
farmers' cause and he raised the
issue on several occasions
despite India's warning.
Australian parliamentarians
Rob Mitchell and Russell
Wortley have joined several
world leaders to urge the
Indian Government to show
"restraint and compassion" to
protesting farmers.
8`ge@<¶d pollution level, and make the
From Page 1
There is also a provision for
differential tax, depending on
the fuel (petrol/diesel) and
type of vehicle, said a senior
Road Ministry official.
“Revenue collected from
the Green Tax will be kept in a
separate account and used for
tackling pollution, and for
States to set up state-of-art
facilities for emission moni-
toring” added the official.
Explaining the benefit of
the Green Tax, an official in the
Transport Ministry said this
could dissuade people from
using vehicles which damage
the environment and motivate
them to switch to newer, less
polluting vehicles.
“Green tax will reduce the
In the last billing cycle, 38
lakh households got zero power
bills, while 14 lakh domestic
consumers received zero bills
for water supply, he said at the
Delhi Government function,
where he also unfurled the
national flag.
Chief Minister Kejriwal
said the projects for cleaning of
the Yamuna river were also
running in time and the gov-
ernment would shift slum
dwellers in flats in coming
years.
laboration, and other 21st
Century skills. This new ini-
tiative will also incorporate
hands-on experience with new
classroom technologies, sup-
porting teachers in addressing
some of the pandemic-related
challenges they currently face.
Graduates will use the skills
they learn in the program to
benefit tens of thousands of
students over the course of
their careers.
Regional English Language
Office of US Embassy has
trained around 800 teachers
from Delhi government
schools since 2017. They have
worked on creating a pool of
master trainers who have sub-
sequently trained primary and
secondary school teachers on
innovative English teaching in
classrooms.
Earlier this month, as many
as 100 Britain MPs, across
party lines, have urged Prime
Minister Boris Johnson to take
up the issue of the ongoing
farmers' protest in India with
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. In a letter, the
MPs have asked Johnson to
press for a "speedy resolution of
the current deadlock
and the democratic human
right of citizens to peacefully
protest"
polluter pay for pollution,’
added the official.
Gadkari has also approved
the policy of deregistration
and scrapping of vehicles
owned by Government depart-
ment and PSU which are older
than15 years. It is to be notified
and will come into effect from
April 1, 2022.
It is estimated that com-
mercial vehicles, which consti-
tute about 5% of the total vehi-
cle fleet, contribute about 65-
70% of total vehicular pollu-
tion. The older fleet, typically
manufactured before the year
2000 constitutes less than 1 %
of the total fleet but contributes
around 15% of total vehicular
pollution. These older vehicles
pollute 10-25 times more than
modern vehicles.
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T he Centre on Monday
refuted the claim that the
portrait of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose unveiled by
President Ram Nath Kovind in
‘Rashtrapati Bhawan’ was “fake”
and that of Bengali actor
Prosenjit Chatterjee, who had
played the role of Bose in a
film.
This is yet another contro-
versy over which BJP and TMC
have clashed with each other as
the latter charged the former
with showing disrespect to
‘Netaji’.
Terming the debate as
“fake”, the C entral
Government clarified that the
portrait of Netaji in
‘Rashtrapati Bhavan’ is based
on an original photo of the
freedom fighter. “Shows how
the entire debate is fake and
based on poor research,” the
Government said.
President Kovind on
January 23 unveiled a portrait
of Bose at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan to mark the beginning
of celebrations to commemo-
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resident Ram Nath Kovind
P on Monday termed the suc-
cessful conduct of elections
during pandemic an extraor-
dinary achievement of our
democracy and said that the
right to vote must be respect-
ed, noting that people around
the world have struggled a lot
to earn this right.
Addressing through vir-
tual mode an event to celebrate
the 11th National Voters’ Day,
Kovind said even in America,
one of the leading democracies
in the world, people had to
undertake decades of struggle
to get this right. In Britain,
women got the right to vote
after a long fight, he said.
The condition was similar
in India before Independence.
rate the freedom fighter’s
125th birth anniversary.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra,
however, claimed on Twitter
that there was a mix-up and
that the portrait unveiled by
the President was not of Netaji
but of actor Prosenjit.
Actor Prosenjit played
Bose in a 2019 Bengali film
Gumnaami, which deals with
the freedom fighter’s death
mystery.
The ‘Gumnami Baba’, who
lived in an out-house of ‘Ram-
Bhawan” at Faizabad, UP,
since 1983, died in 1985,
without anyone, outside his
close followers, ever seeing
him.
It is claimed by some that
he was Netaji himself living in
anonymity. After his death,
bundles of The Pioneer daily,
besides other things, were
also reportedly recovered
from his mysterious dwelling.
The TMC MP not only
attacked the Central govern-
ment over the alleged faux pas
but also had a dig at the
President. The TMC MP
tweeted, “After donating C5
But after India earned its free-
dom, anyone of 21 years of age
and above were allowed to
vote which was later reduced to
18, he said. “We should always
respect the valuable right to
vote. The right to vote is not a
simple right. People around the
world have struggled a lot for
this. Since Independence, our
Constitution has given equal
voting rights to all citizens
without any discrimination on
the basis of merit, religion, race,
caste,” Kovind said.
For his part, Law Minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad defended
the Electronic Voting Machine,
describing it as an instrument
designed to empower the ordi-
nary Indian. “We can have
difference of opinion on the use
of electronic voting machine.
But can we deny that the EVM
lakh to the Ram temple the
President honours Netaji by
unveiling a portrait of
Prasenjit, the actor who played
him in biopic. God Save India
(because this government cer-
tainly can’t),” Moitra said.
According to an official
statement, the portrait of
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
was unveiled at the
‘Rashtrapati Bhavan’ to mark
the beginning of year-long
celebrations to commemorate
his 125th birth anniversary.
The Government has
decided to observe January 23
as “Parakram Divas” to com-
memorate the birth anniver-
sary of Bose, who was born on
this day in 1897.
BJP sources said the photo
was provided by Netaji’s fam-
ily to famous Padma Shri
award-winning artist Paresh
Maity, who painted the por-
trait. “The photo does not
resemble Prosenjit at all. It is
an unnecessary controversy,”
the sources said.
Chandra Kumar Bose,
Netaji’s grand-nephew and a
member of the BJP, also post-
ed on the micro-blogging site
that the portrait was based on
the leader’s original photo-
graph.
In fact, Prosenjit also him-
self tweeted to put the con-
troversy to rest: “Would like to
congratulate Paresh Maity for
the wonderful piece of art in
remembrance of our National
hero Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose. As an Actor, I’m elated
that people thought, that the
painting resembles my char-
acter in Gumnami.”
TMC MP Moitra has since
deleted her tweet.
is an instrument which has
given power to nearly all the
political formations of India in
different parts, in varying
degree,” he asked. Opposition
leaders including Jairam
Ramesh of Congress and Derek
O’Brien of the Trinamool
Congress were present when
Prasad made these remarks.
Some parties have on mul-
tiple occasions questioned the
reliability of the EVMs. The
Election Commission has all
along maintained that the
machines are tamper-proof.
Prasad also launched the e-
EPIC programme and distrib-
uted e-EPICs and Elector
Photo Identity Cards to five
new voters. Three publica-
tions were also launched by
Prasad.
The electronic version of
the voters’ photo identity card
can be stored on mobile phones
and downloaded on personal
computers.
Chief Election
Commissioner Sunil Arora said
that the mock trials for remote
voting facility for electors
would begin soon. A research
project on remote voting using
cutting-edge technology has
already begun, he revealed.
?C8Q =4F34;78
P resident Ram Nath Kovind
on Monday paid tributes to
farmers saying every Indian is
grateful to them for ensuring
food security in our vast and
populous country, and gave the
assurance that the Government
is devoted to farmers’ welfare.
“Every Indian salutes our
farmers, who have made our
vast and populous country
self-reliant in food-grains and
dairy products. Despite adver-
sities of nature, numerous other
challenges and the COVID-19
pandemic, our farmers sus-
tained the agricultural pro-
duction,” he said in his address
on the eve of the 72nd Republic
Day.
“A grateful nation is fully
committed to the welfare of our
farmers. Just as our hardwork-
ing farmers ensure food secu-
rity for the country, the brave
soldiers of the armed forces
ensure security of our nation-
al boundaries amid severest
conditions,” Kovind said.
The comments by the
President come against the
backdrop of the ongoing agi-
tation by farmers against three
new farm laws.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
he Congress on Monday
T lashed out at Prime Minister
Narendra Modi stating that his
alleged silence over the Chinese
encroachment in the country’s
border, was increasing the
enemy’s spirits.
Taking to Twitter, former
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi
stated that China is expanding
its occupation into the Indian
territory, while the Prime
Minister has not said the word
‘China’ for months. Slamming
PM Modi, the Congress leader
said, “Mr 56-inch,” who had
promised to never compromise
the border security, could start
by saying the word ‘China’.
Congress chief spokesper-
son Randeep Surjewala also
attacked the Prime Minister,
stating that his alleged silence
over the Chinese encroach-
ment in the country’s border,
was increasing the enemy’s spir-
its. He called on the government
to come to clear the situation
along the border and to take the
nation in confidence.
The President said the path
to reforms in the initial stages
may cause misapprehensions,
but the government is devoted
to farmers’ welfare.
“Economic reforms have
continued apace and have been
supplemented by long-pending
reforms in the areas of labour
and agriculture through legis-
lation. The path to reform at
the initial stages may cause
misapprehensions.
However, it is beyond
doubt that the government
remains singularly devoted to
farmers’ welfare,” he said.
Kovind said the country’s
farmers, soldiers and scientists
deserve special appreciation
and the entire nation is grate-
ful to them.
“From space to the farms,
from educational institutions to
hospitals, the community of
scientists has enriched our life
and work. Our scientists have
been working day and night for
decoding the Coronavirus and
they have succeeded in devel-
oping the vaccine in record
time. With this accomplish-
ment, our scientists have added
a glorious chapter of contribu-
tion to the well-being of
humanity.
% ((!)9PePSTZPa
^]AP\cT\_[T
New Delhi: Foreign invaders
chose Ram temple for demo-
lition because they knew that
the soul of India resides there,
said Union Minister Prakash
Javadekar on Sunday.
Speaking at a felicitation
event for donors of Shri Ram
Janam Bhoomi Mandir Nidhi
Samarpan Abhiyan in Delhi,
the Union Minister said that
a “historical mistake” was
corrected
December 6, 1992, with the
on
demolition of Babri Mosque
in Ayodhya.
When foreign invaders
like Babur came to India,
why did they choose the Ram
temple for demolition because
they knew that the soul of the
country resides in Ram tem-
ple.
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resident Ram Nath Kovind
P on Monday awarded
Padma Vibhushan awards to
seven eminent persons includ-
ing late singer SP
Balasubramanian and Japan’s
former Prime Minister Shinzo
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rime Minister Narendra
P Modi on Monday lauded
the contribution of children in
raising awareness about hand-
washing during the Covid-19
pandemic, and said that a pro-
gramme tastes success if they
become part of it. In an inter-
action with the ‘Pradhan
Mantri Rashtriya Bal
Puraskar’awardees via video
conferencing, Modi praised
the winners and said they
should never stop working and
stay humble all the time.
!&VTc_^[XRTQaPeTah\TSP[b'(?aTbXST]c´b
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RPF Assistant Sub
C Inspector (ASI) Mohan Lal
who “chased and fired” at an
explosives-laden car that
rammed into a force bus in
Pulwama killing him and 39
troops onboard in 2019 has
been decorated with the high-
est police medal for gallantry
on the eve of the Republic Day
on Monday. A total of 207
police bravery medals were
declared by the Government
apart from 89 President’s police
medals for distinguished ser-
vice and 650 police medals for
meritorious service, as per a list
published by the Union Home
Ministry.
Only two police personnel
have been decorated with the
top category President’s Police
Medal for Gallantry (PPMG)
this time, CRPF’s Lal and late
Jharkhand Police ASI Banua
Oraon. As many as 205 per-
sonnel have been decorated
with the second-highest police
medal for gallantry or the
PMG. 50-year-old ASI Lal was
the picket commander of the
CRPF road opening party
deployed on February 14, 2019
at milestone number 272 near
the BSNL Tower in Lethpora,
Pulwama on the Jammu-
Srinagar highway when the
dastardly terror attack was car-
ried out by the Jaish-e-
Mohammad terrorist outfit.
The attack car was being
driven by suicide bomber Adil
Ahmed Dar with about 200 kgs
of explosives inside. The CRPF
said Lal, after passing of few
vehicles of the cavalcade,
noticed this car “running
alongside the convoy and try-
ing to enter between the con-
voy vehicles.” The brave official
“signalled and chased the car to
stop but could not match its
speed”. “Ultimately, finding no
other option, he fired towards
the suspicious car to stop but
the car rammed into a nearby
running CRPF bus and a huge
blast took place,” the force
said. The massive blast killed a
total of 40 CRPF personnel, 39
Abe and noted archeologist
B.B.Lal who headed excavation
of Ayodhya. Others are famous
doctor BM Hegde, spiritual
leader Maulana Wahinduddin
Khan, artist Sudarshan Sahoo
and US based scientist late
Narinder Singh Kapany.
10 persons were awarded
Padma Bhushan including late
Chief Ministers of Gujarat and
Assam Keshubhai Patel and
Tarun Gogoi and former Union
Minister late Ram Vilas
Paswan. Former Lok Sabha
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and
Nripendra Misra, former
Principal Secretary of Prime
Minister. Other who got Padma
Bhushan are Tarlochan Singh,
]PcX^]#
Thirty-two children have
been chosen for the Pradhan
Mantri Bal Puraskar this year
for displaying valour, excep-
tional abilities and outstanding
accomplishments in various
fields, including arts, culture,
archery and swimming.
Modi asked them to work
for the country, urging them to
think of what they can do as the
nation approaches the 75th
year of its Independence. The
Prime Minister also asked them
to read biographies and said it
will keep inspiring them. Union
Minister Smriti Irani also inter-
on the bus and Lal, it said.
The Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF), the lead force for
anti-Naxal operations and
counter-terrorist operations in
Jammu and Kashmir, also led
the gallantry medals tally with
a total 69 medals (1 PPMG and
68 PMG) followed by 52
earned by the JK Police, 20 by
the Border Security Force, 17
by the Delhi Police and 13 by
Maharashtra Police and others.
Two personnel of the Indo-
Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
force, tasked to guard the Line
of Actual Control with China,
have also been given the police
medal for gallantry.
Deputy Commandant
Rajesh Kumar Luthra has been
decorated for displaying
courage and presence of mind
to defuse a faceoff with
Chinese troops at Ladakh in
July, 2019 while another offi-
cer of the border guarding
force, Assistant Commandant
Anurag Kumar Singh, has
been given a gallantry medal
for the second time for under-
taking a counter-terrorist
operation in Jammu and
Kashmir in 2017.
The other recipients from
ITBP include Inspector
General (IG) Deepam Seth,
awarded the meritorious ser-
vice medal, and Deputy IG
(veterinar y) Sudhakar
Natarajan who has been
bestowed the distinguished
service medal. Seth, a 1995-
batch Indian Police Service
officer of Uttarakhand cadre,
is heading the ITBP northwest
frontier formation based in
Ladakh since mid-2019.
Delhi Police officer
Mahesh Bhardwaj, deputed as
Senior Superintendent of
Police in the CBI to probe
extrajudicial killings in
Manipur, has been awarded
the President’ Police Medal for
Distinguished Service on the
occasion of Republic Day.
Bhardwaj, who joined Delhi
Police as Assistant
Commissioner in the year
1993, has worked extensively
with United Nations Police,
former Chairman of Minorties
Commission, spiritual leader
late Kalbe Sadiq, noted singer
K.S. Chitra, Chandrasekhar
Kambara, writer from
Karnataka and industrialist RD
Shroff.
102 persons are awarded
Padma Shri. “This year the
President has approved con-
ferment of 119 Padma Awards
including 1 duo case (in a duo
case, the Award is counted as
one) as per list below. The list
comprises 7 Padma
Vibhushan, 10 Padma
Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri
Awards. 29 of the awardees are
women and the list also
includes 10 persons from the
acted with the children.
Jyoti Kumari, 16, cycled to
her native place Darbhanga dis-
trict in Bihar from Gurgaon in
Haryana covering around 1,200
km with her father on the rear
carrier amid the nationwide
lockdown in May last year. She
has been awarded for her brav-
ery. “During the COVID-19
lockdown, she traversed 1,200
kms from Sikandarpur in
Haryana to Darbhanga in Bihar
to reach home,” the citation
issued for her by the Women
and Child Development
Ministry said.
Andaman Nicobar and
Mizoram police, National
Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) and the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
In February, 2018, he was
deputed in the CBI on the
direction of Supreme Court to
associate with the investigation
of alleged extra judicial killings
and human rights violations by
security forces in Manipur.
BSF’s Assistant
Commandant Gajender Singh,
ASI Braj Kishore Yadav,
Constables Amresh Kumar
and Abhijit Nandy were
awarded gallantry awards
posthumously. Gallantr y
awards were given to DIG
Surjeet Singh Guleria, DIG
Hari Lal and Assistant
Commandants Raman Gupta
and Prateek Vashishth. Medals
for distinguished service were
awarded to DIGs Umesh
Kumar Nayal, Surjit Singh,
Dharmendra Pareek, Ajit
Kumar Tete and Ranveer
Singh Shaktawat.
Officers and personnel of
National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF) have been
awarded with the prestigious
‘Police Medal for Meritorious
Service’ on the occasion of
Republic Day-2021. The Police
Medal for Meritorious Service
is awarded to the personnel of
Central police and security
organization who have com-
pleted a minimum service of 18
years. The medal is awarded to
personnel for their commend-
able work whether operational
or administrative. Love Kumar,
Second-in-Command,
Surendra Kumar, Assistant
Commandant, Inspector
Ramakant Singh and Assistant
Sub-Inspector Moenuddin
Khan have been awarded with
the ‘Police Medal for
Meritorious Service’ in recog-
nition to their outstanding ser-
vices. So far 10 NDRF
Officers/personnel have been
awarded with President’s Police
Medal for Distinguished Service
and 74 personnel with Police
Medal for Meritorious Service,
said NDRF in statement.
categor y of
Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 16
Posthumous awardees and 1
transgender awardee,” said
Government in a statement.
=4F34;78kCD4B30H k90=D0AH !%!! ]PcX^]$

?VeR[ZZ_df]eVU:hRdeVRdVU+>R^ReR BPbXZP[Pc^QTaT[TPbTSUa^\ >Qfi3_]]Q^TUbµc

_aXb^]^]9P]!&)3WX]PZPaP] TQeWXdUbQ]_^W%2Q\
B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :>;:0C0 to everyone … but what BJP “Will you invite me to your Ram slogans when her convoy would never be welcomed back, Chennai: Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala, CXQ[dYQgQbTgY^^Ubc

case and presently under treatment for coron- Vb_]=QXQbQcXdbQ

wo days after the Victoria
T Memorial incident when
Mamata Banerjee refused to
supporters did in a bid to tease
me in front of the Prime
Minister has not only insulted
me but also Netaji and Bengal.”
house for a dinner and then slap
me and turn me out … this is
what they did … They shouted
slogans --- which had no rela-
passed their areas during 2019
general elections.
Attacking the turncoats
who were quitting the
she said. serving a jail term in Bengaluru in a corruption
The BJP soon hit back at the
Chief Minister saying she always
failed to appreciate in her
avirus, will be released from prison on
Wednesday “according to all our expectations,”
C=A067D=0C70Q <D<108

deliver a speech after being
allegedly “teased” with Jai Shri
Ram slogans by BJP supporters
the Bengal Chief Minister on
Monday attacked the saffron
leadership for not only insulting
her but also Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose in whose remem-
brance the grand event was
organized by the Union
Government. The programme
was attended by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
Lashing out at the BJP
Banerjee said “Netaji stood for
communal unity … he belonged
Terming the BJP as Bharat
Jalao Party (Burn India Party)
Banerjee said that the BJP has
been continuously insulting the
icons of Bengal, Netaji being the
“latest addition to the list.” She
had earlier flayed the BJP
national president JP Nadda for
insulting Rabindranath Tagore
by wrongly quoting his place of
birth and the saffron workers for
vandalizing the statue of 19th
century reformer Ishwar
Chandra Vidya Sagar during a
2019 political rally of Home
Minister Amit Shah.
tion with Netaji’s anniversary -
-- only to tease me… I was
insulted in front of the Prime
Minister of the country… I
was invited to that programme
… This is their culture … but
this cannot be the culture of
Bengal or our country,” Banerjee
said adding she would have not
objected had the slogans been
raised hailing Netaji.
Major controversy was
sparked after Banerjee publicly
chased BJP supporters, --- and
threatened them with dire con-
sequences --- who raised Jai Shri
Trinamool Congress to join the
BJP, Banerjee said “these people
are leaving the party because
they know that they will not get
ticket from TMC… I want
more such people to quit the
party early so that our work
becomes easier.”
About a dozen TMC min-
isters, legislators and other func-
tionaries like Suvendu Adhikari,
Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Rajiv
Banerjee, Sunil Mandal, and
others have either quit the
Cabinet or the party in the past
one month. The “betrayers,”
urgency to play vote bank pol-
itics that Lord Rama had always
been an essential part of Indian
culture.
“She is known for her ear-
lier reactions to Lord Rama’s
name … His name is taken
whenever there is a festive occa-
sion … January 23 was a festive
occasion when we were cele-
brating Netaji … but she had to
appease a section of people for
vote bank politics and so this
controversy was created …she
could have ignored this,” BJP
leader Samik Bhattacharya said.
her nephew T T V Dhinakaran said on Monday.
With the former aide of late Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa recuperating in a
Bengaluru hospital, her discharge from the med-
ical facility will be made known later, he said in
a tweet.
“According all our expectations...
Chinnamma (Sasikala) will be released (from
prison) day after tomorrow, 27-01-2021,”
Dhinakaran said.
Independent legislator Dhinakaran, Sasikala's
nephew and founder of Amma Makkal
Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) said his aunt was
recuperating from coronavirus and that her dis-
charge from the hospital will be made known later
after consulting doctors. PTI
aamya Karthikeyan, the teenaged daughter of
K Indian Navy Commander S Karthikeyan and
Lavanya, is among the five children from
Maharashtra chosen for the Pradhan Mantri
Rashtriya Bal Shakti Puraskar (PMRBSP)-2021 on
the occasion of Republic Day.
She is the only girl among five children from
Maharashtra who have bagged the PMRBSP-2021
honour for their excellence in different fields. The
other award winners are: Shreenabh Muojesh
Agrawal, Kameshwar Jagannath Waghmare, Archit
Rahul Pani and Sonit Sisolekar. Thirteen-year-old
Kaamya is studying in Class VIII of the Navy
Children School here. She is awarded for her
unprecedented feats in mountaineering and this is
the highest award for citizens below 18 years.

2U^WQ\`_\\*<63_^W APYPbcWP]6^ecbcPUUcPZT^PcW 0a\hWT[XR^_cTaRaPbWX]9:^]T_X[^cSXTb <PWP6deWPbcX\TU^a:P]VP]P

S\Y^SXTUQ\V_b''cUQdc
?=B Q :>;:0C0
fter failing to clinch a seat-
A sharing deal in earlier
rounds of talks the Left Front
and Congress on Monday
arrived at an understanding
over 77 seats, senior Left leader
Biman Bose and his Congress
counterpart Pradip
Bhattacharya said.
“We have an understanding
on 77 seats for the coming
Assembly elections and will
hold talks on the remaining 217
seats on January 28,” the Left
leaders said adding by February
2 the seat-sharing talks would be
5Pa\TabR^d[SWPeTRW^bT]P]h^cWTaSPhX]bcTPS^U >eTa ($;WTP[cWRPaTf^aZTab
9P]dPah!%)=PaT]SaPBX]VWC^\Pa^]caPRc^aaP[[h ePRRX]PcTSPVPX]bc2^eXSb^UPa
New Delhi: Ahead of the tractor
rally, Union Agriculture Minister
Narendra Singh Tomar on
Monday termed the
Government's proposal to sus-
pend new farm laws for 1-1.5
years as the “best offer” and
hoped that the protesting farm-
ers' unions will soon reconsider
it and convey their decision. The
Minister also said that the agi-
tating farmers could have chosen
over.
The Left had won about 7.5
percent vote share while the
Congress little more than 5
percent in the 2019 general
elections. Meanwhile, the
Election Commission of India
sources said that 1000 compa-
nies of central forces would be
sent to Bengal for a peaceful
conduct of elections. In 2019
parliamentary polls 700 com-
panies of CPF were deployed.
According to sources the
ECI which had a full bench
visit of Bengal last week may
announces elections in the first
half of February.
some other day instead of January
26 for the tractor rally.
The talks between the gov-
ernment and 41 protesting farm
unions have remained inconclu-
sive even after 11 rounds of dis-
cussions.
During the 10th round of
talks, the government had
climbed down and offered a
proposal to keep the new laws in
abeyance for 1-1.5 years, but it
c^\PX]cPX]2^eXS\TPbdaTb Jammu: Qdc]^cU^aUPa\TabbPhb?PfPa
Indian Army's Advanced inside an Army camp in
Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv Lakhanpur.
Jaipur : On made a forced landing after it The district authorities said,
Monday, on the developed a technical snag in “The helicopter was on a routine C=A067D=0C70Q <D<108 ers-that-be who are out to destroy
occasion of Lakhanpur area of Kathua district reconnaissance sortie when it your lives, the Governor whom
National Voters' late Monday evening. Two pilots abruptly developed a technical aharashtra Governor Bhagat you are scheduled to meet after
D a
Commissioner
y , received injuries.
One of the two seriously
snag and made a forced landing
inside an army area in
M Singh Koshyari found him-
self at the receiving end of farm-
this rally has gone away to Goa.
Maharashtra has not had such a
Mahendra Soni injured pilots succumbed to his Lakhanpur”. ers’ protests in Mumbai on Governor as the current one in its
at the injuries in the Military Base The injured pilots were rushed Monday, as NCP chief Sharad history. He has time to meet
Information and Hospital in Pathankot late to the military base hospital in Pawar charged that the Governor Bollywood actress Kangana
Public Relations Headquarters at the Secretariat, said Monday evening while the con- Pathankot. Local media reports “has time to meet Bollywood Ranuat but has no time to meet
that all the officers and employees of the department dition of the other pilot continues claimed eyewitness reports sug- actress Kangana Ranaut but not our farmers''.
are fearless keeping the dignity of democratic tra- to be critical. gested soon after the helicopter our farmers” and the agitating “It was the Governor’s moral
ditions and keeping the dignity of free, fair and peace- Official sources said the took off it crash landed inside the farmers tore down copies of responsibility to meet the agitat-
ful elections intact. Sworn to exercise all his fran- other is struggling for life on the Army camp due to some techni- memorandum addressed Koshyari ing farmers and accept their mem-
chise without being influenced by class, caste, com- ventilator support. Meanwhile, cal snag. The Army authorities are demanding the repeal of three orandum. He was expected to
munity, language or any other inducement. district authorities in Kathua who expected to announce a formal controversial farm laws in protest come face to face with the farm-
Taking the oath, Covid-19 safety standards were rushed to the spot confirmed, the inquiry to ascertain the exact against his failure to meet ers (who have marched from var-
enforced collectively by all officers and Army helicopter made a forced reason behind the forced them. ious districts of the state to meet
employees. landing around 7.10-715 p.m landing. PNS Anger erupted among the agi- him). But he had no decency to
tating farmers gathered at the meet them. At least he should have
historic Azad maidan when they been staying put at Raj Bhavan to
heard from Pawar about the
unavailability of the Governor for
receive the farmers’ memoran-
dum,” Pawar said.
a meeting with their leaders.
During his address to the farm-
Ticked off by the “shocking”
absence of the Governor in
was rejected by the unions. In the New Delhi: On the tenth day of the nation- Union Health Ministry. ers, Pawar disclosed that Koshyari Mumbai at a time when they
11th round of discussion, the wide vaccination against Covid-19 was Final reports would be completed for the had left for Goa without bother- were go and meet him, the farmer
government asked unions to launched on January 16, as many as 3,34,679 day by late tonight, said an official from the ing to meet them and charged that and political leaders –led by All
reconsider the proposal and con- beneficiaries were given the anti-pathogen jab Ministry. On the tenth day, 348 AEFIs have the latter had neither “moral India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)
vey their final decision. “The gov- through 7,171 sessions till 7.10 pm on been reported till 7.10 pm following the vac- responsibility” or “decency” to President Dr. Ashok Dhawale and
ernment has given the best offer Monday. cination drive. live up as a person holding the Mumbai Congress’ new president
to farmers' unions. I am hopeful As a result, the cumulative number of Meanwhile, India’s active caseload has fall- gubernatorial office. Bjhai Jagtap – tore copies of mem-
that they will convey their deci- healthcare workers vaccinated against Covid- en to 1.84 lakh (1,84,182) on Monday. The Mincing no words in his attack orandum demanding the repeal of
sion to us after discussing it 19 has crossed 19.5 lakh till date. A total of share of active cases in the total positive cases against the Governor, Pawar told three farm bills, that they were car-
among themselves. Once they 19,50,183 beneficiaries (till 7.10 pm today) has further shrunk to 1.73 per cent. A bulk the famers’ gathering: “While I rying with them to submit to
communicate, we will take it for- were vaccinated through 35,785 sessions, as of the active cases is contributed by merely two appreciate you for your mammoth Koshyari in protest against the lat-
ward,” Tomar said. PNS per the provisional report available from the States. PNS show of strength against the pow- ter’s failure to meet them.
 =4F34;78kCD4B30H k90=D0AH !%!!

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LVDFFHQWXDWHGE\WDEOHDX[GLVSOD\LQJWKHULFKFXOWXUDOKHULWDJHGLYHUVLW\LWVYDOXHV Cad\_Xb\\PhQT^]cWTfP]TcWTaTQdcXcXbP[XeTP]SU[^daXbWX]VX]8]SXP
SULQFLSOHVWKH*RYHUQPHQW·VLQLWLDWLYHVDQGVFKHPHVPLOHVWRQHVDFKLHYHGDQGWKH ormer United States
URDGDKHDG+RZHYHUWKHQG5HSXEOLF'D\ZKLFKLVEHLQJFHOHEUDWHGLQWKHPLGVW
RIDUDJLQJSDQGHPLFZLOOQRWEHWKHVDPH,WZLOOEHDORZNH\DIIDLUPDUNHGE\VHY
HUDOILUVWVDQGPDQ\ILUVWWLPHPLVVHV)LUVWDQGIRUHPRVWWKHUHZLOOEHQRFKLHIJXHVW
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3ULPH0LQLVWHU%RULV-RKQVRQKDGEHHQLQYLWHGDV
F President Donald
Trump’s blatant disre-
gard for all norms of
civilised behaviour, his
overt racism combined with an
outsized ego and the propensi-
ty to lie — 21 per day during his
WKHFKLHIJXHVWEXWKHKDGWRFDQFHOKLVYLVLWLQWKH term as per The Washington Post
— are well known. Yet, despite
EDFNGURSRIWKHRXWEUHDNRIDQHZ&29,'VWUDLQDW this, or the 400,000 pandemic
KRPH%HIRUHWKLV,QGLDGLGQ·WKDYHDFKLHIJXHVW deaths directly attributable to his
IRUWKH5'D\SDUDGHLQDQGLQ lack of leadership, or his futile
6HFRQGGXHWR&29,'UHVWULFWLRQVWKHURXWHRIWKH and rather ludicrous attempts to
overturn the election results, he
SDUDGHZKLFKEHJLQVDWWKH5DVKWUDSDWL%KDYDQKDV still continues to enjoy the sup-
EHHQFXWVKRUWDQGLWZLOOWKLV\HDUFRQFOXGHDWWKH port of approximately 34 per
1DWLRQDO6WDGLXP,QGLD*DWHLQVWHDGRIWKH5HG)RUW cent of the population as per the
DVHYHU\\HDU7KHVROGLHUVPDUFKLQJGRZQ5DMSDWK latest Gallup Poll.
This is indeed intriguing, and
ZRXOGZHDUPDVNVDVZLOOWKHVSHFWDWRUV)XUWKHU while much of it can be attributed
WKHUHZLOOEHQRJUDYLW\GHI\LQJVWXQWVE\WKHPRWRU to racism, bigotry and illiteracy, it
F\FOHERUQHPHQDQGWKHVL]HRIWKHPDUFKLQJFRQWLQJHQWVKDVEHHQUHGXFHGIURP was his sophisticated use of the
WKHUHJXODUWR7KHYHWHUDQV·SDUDGHKDVDOVREHHQFDQFHOOHGWKLV\HDUGXH media, especially social media,
that was probably the game-
WRWKHSDQGHPLF$OOWKLVKDVEHHQGRQHWRHQVXUHWKDWWKHVRFLDOGLVWDQFLQJSURWR changer. Unfortunately, while his
FROLVDGKHUHGWR(YHQWKHQXPEHURIVSHFWDWRUVKDVEHHQEURXJKWGRZQWR brash and uncouth ways may have
IURPODNKODVW\HDU made him a laughing stock inter-
7KHWDEOHDXRIWKH8QLRQ7HUULWRU\RI/DGDNKZLOOSDUWLFLSDWHLQWKHSDUDGHIRUWKHILUVW nationally, it also made for a very
dangerous and unstable world, in
WLPHIHDWXULQJWKH,QGLDQ$VWURQRPLFDO2EVHUYDWRU\ORFDWHGDW+DQOHQHDU/HKRQHRI which America had abdicated its
WKHZRUOG·VKLJKHVWVLWHVIRURSWLFDOLQIUDUHGDQGJDPPDUD\WHOHVFRSHV$PRQJWKH role as the beacon of democratic
RWKHUILUVWVZLOOEHWKHSDUWLFLSDWLRQRIWKHFRXQWU\·VILUVWZRPDQILJKWHUSLORW)OLJKW/LHXWHQDQW norms and human decency.
%KDZDQD.DQWKDQGDIO\SDVWZLWKWKHQHZO\LQGXFWHG5DIDOHMHWVWKDWZLOOEHSDUWRI Worse, he became the poster boy
for a cohort of other tinpot dic-
GLIIHUHQWIRUPDWLRQVGXULQJWKHIO\SDVW,Q\HWDQRWKHUILUVWDWOHDVWVROGLHUVRIWKH tators and autocrats globally, sud-
%DQJODGHVK$UPHG)RUFHVZLOOWDNHSDUWLQWKH5'D\SDUDGH5HSRUWHGO\WKLVLVRQO\ denly free to do as they pleased,
WKHWKLUGWLPHVLQFH,QGHSHQGHQFHWKDWDIRUHLJQPLOLWDU\FRQWLQJHQWKDVEHHQLQYLWHGWR with little fear of retribution.
EHSDUWRIWKHQDWLRQDOSDUDGH7KHXSJUDGHG6FKLOLNDZHDSRQV\VWHPZLOOVKRZFDVH “If you tell a lie big enough
and keep repeating it, people will
,QGLD·VVWUHQJWKLQWKHSDUDGHOHGE\WKHRQO\ZRPDQFRQWLQJHQWFRPPDQGHUIURPWKH eventually come to believe it,” said
$UP\,QDQRWKHUILUVW8WWDU3UDGHVK·VWDEOHDXZLOOVKRZFDVHDUHSOLFDRIWKH5DP7HPSOH Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister
LQ$\RGK\D,WZLOODOVRGLVSOD\WKHFXOWXUHDQGWUDGLWLRQUHODWHGWRWKHDQFLHQWWHPSOHWRZQ for Propaganda. However, he did
2QWKHRWKHUKDQGWKH5HSXEOLF'D\³ZKLFKLVFHOHEUDWHGZLWKSDWULRWLVPDQGIHUYRXU add a caveat: “The lie can be main-
³ZLOOEHPDUUHGE\WKHIDUPHUV·WUDFWRUUDOO\RQUHVWULFWHGURXWHVLQVLGHWKH&DSLWDO
tained only for such time as the
State can shield the people from
the political, economic and/or
?82D1<;
military consequences of the lie.
It thus becomes vitally important
for the State to use all of its pow-
ers to repress dissent, for the truth
is the mortal enemy of the lie and
thus, by extension, the truth is the
greatest enemy of the State.” It’s
something every autocrat and dic-
tator instinctively understands.
While swatting flies with a
sledgehammer has its advan-
tages, there are those who have
understood and utilised the con-
cept of “Zohnerism” to their
benefit. The term, coined by jour-
nalist James Glassman, refers to
“the use of true facts to lead a sci-
entifically and mathematically
ignorant public to a false conclu-
sion”. It is derived from the
experiment conducted in 1997
by Nathan Zohner, a 14-year-
old student, who gathered
petitions to ban “DHMO”, or
Dihydrogen Monoxide, as the
basis of his science project,
titled “How Gullible Are We?”
The experiment involved call-
ing water by an unfamiliar sci-
entific name and listing some
of its effects in a particularly
alarming manner, such as
causing burns when in a
gaseous form, accelerating cor-
rosion and causing suffocation!
Incidentally, Zohner con-
vinced 86 per cent of his class-
mates to sign the petition call-
ing for its ban, which tells us
a lot about human nature.
Trump used this phenom-
enon to good effect. While
established media outlets may
not have fully played along,
the conservative and extreme
Right-wing media outlets, like
Fox News and One America
News Network, did broadcast
his lies and conspiracy theo-
ries with telling effect. The dig-
ital social media platforms too,
such as Facebook and Twitter,
were no less complicit in
spreading his message of hate
till they finally banned him for
inciting violence.
After what we have wit-
nessed during his presidency, it
would be fair to say that the
American democracy, despite
its deep roots stretching back
244 years, has survived a direct
assault on its very foundation
by Trump and his acolytes by
a hair’s breadth. Thanks, in no
small measure, to the strength
of its democratic institutions
and the upstanding character of
the people who run these. An
outstanding example, but not
the only one, being that of for-
mer Vice-President Mike
Pence, who did not let his
H4C7>?4B?A8=6B unswerving support and loyal-
ty to President Trump get in the
4C4A=0;05C4A way of doing the right thing,
0;;F470E49DBC despite intense pressure to sub-
vert the constitutional process.
F8C=4BB430 The other institution that
H>D=6D=C4BC43 deserves accolades, surviving
with its dignity and reputation
8=380=2A82:4C intact, was the judiciary. Trump
C40<A8B4;8:40
had expected that having
?7>4=8G5A><C74 appointed a total of 200 Federal
Judges with lifetime tenures,
0B74B>58CB including two to the Supreme
F>ABC34540C Court, they would remain
beholden to him and act in a
F4C>>B7>D;3 manner to support his agenda.
B7D=540A0=3 He was, therefore, understand-
ably shocked and disappointed
3>C74A867C when nearly all of his 60-plus
C78=6*C74A4BC challenges to the election results
were summarily rejected by the
F8;;5>;;>F courts, including two by the
Supreme Court.
While Trumpism may be
on the decline in America, it is
alive and flourishing here in
India. Make no mistake, the
current dispensation — while
more circumspect and less
colourful — has been just as
damaging for our democracy.
Our secular traditions are in tat-
ters, empathetic behaviour for-
gotten and democratic institu-
tions have all but crumbled,
lacking even a shred of credi-
bility. A vast majority of our
media have become willing
handmaidens of the
Government. The military is
being incrementally politicised
and even our final bulwark, the
judiciary, especially the apex
court, is perceived to be func-
tioning in tandem with the
Government. Worst of all, we
have no Opposition leadership
worth the name, debilitated by
the cancer of dynastic ambition.
Yet, hope springs eternal.
After all, we have just witnessed
a young untested Indian crick-
et team rise like a phoenix from
the ashes of its worst defeat.
Despite being deprived of its
charismatic leader, another
stepped up from the shadows,
doing the impossible and lead-
ing the team to victory.
Similarly, we too should shun
fear and do the right thing; the
rest will follow.
(The writer is a military
veteran, who is a consultant
with the Observer Research
Foundation and Senior Visiting
Fellow with The Peninsula
Foundation, Chennai. The
views expressed are personal.)

;4CC4AB C>C
C74438C>A SOUNDBITE
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Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is
playing dirty politics in West Bengal. The
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party and its leaders are trying to gain sym- ?Pach19?PccWT]PcX^]P[[TeT[Xb]^cWX]VQdc
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pathy of voters by portaying that they are PY^ZT _^[XcXRP[eT]STccP
the only ones who really respect the great =^fX]bcTPS^Uf^aZX]Vd_^]cWTT[TRc^aP[ 8P]S\h_PachR^[[TPVdTbPaT
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his ide- RWP[[T]VTb^UcWT0bbT\Q[h_^[[b^eTacWT]Tgc ]^cPUaPXS^UcWTX]`dXah
6ULVKWLEHFRPLQJWKH8WWDUDNKDQG&0IRUDGD\LVV\PEROLF ology. The visit of the BJP leaders to West
Bengal on the 125th birth anniversary of
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stunt with an eye on the forthcoming cX^]^UcWT_Pach³bf^aZTabcWTUTPa^U_PbcUPR
D\VDIWHU.DPDOD+DUULVDVVXPHGFKDUJHDVWKH8QLWHG6WDWHV9LFH3UHVLGHQW Assembly elections. The BJP is remind- cX^]P[Xb\X]cWT_Pach\PZTbcWT6P]SWXUP\ >]T^UcWTQT]TUXcb
ZLWKPDQ\ILUVWVWRKHUFUHGLW³WKHILUVWZRPDQILUVWFRORXUHGSHUVRQDQGWKH X[h P] TUUTRcXeT V[dT c^ QX]S ePaX^db UPRcX^]b ^UQTX]V%$XbcWPc
ed of such great leaders only at the time
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fool the people but the voters of West
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WKHVDOHRIWREDFFRSURGXFWVZLWKLQDPUDGLXV
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Bengal are wise enough not to fall into
their trap. The people have realised that
the BJP leaders can go up to any extent just
for the sake of winning the elections. The
State can even be plunged into widespread
violence for the sake of politics. The BJP
will gain votes by creating a law and order
situation. It is high time that the BJP con-
centrated on the real issues confronting the
State and its people rather than showing
off its bogus image. West Bengal is grap-
pling with poverty, unemployment, illit-
eracy and several other problems besides
COVID. Both the Centre and the State
Government must focus on the real issues
C
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B^]XP6P]SWXc^bTTWTab^]APWd[PaT[dRcP]c X]VPUaTTad]c^cWTad[X]V19?6^eTa]\T]cPc 8Z]^f_T^_[T[^eT
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that a decision to retreat after accepting the zones. It will take some more time for all PUXgTSST_^bXcfXcW\TP]S8WPeT
offer could prove costly for them eventu- the countries to recover from the unwel- c^_PhcWT\QPRZfXcWX]cTaTbc
ally. come guest’s impact. At this juncture, the
1^[[hf^^SPRc^a
An argument advanced against giv- decision to supply millions of COVID-19 ¯?P]ZPYCaX_PcWX
VDLG´+H$QLO.DSRRUZDVDUHHOOLIHQD\DN+HUH troubling the people and not on poll gim-
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micks.
WKLVSDWKE\HQWHULQJSROLWLFVDWVRPHVWDJHµ Bhagwan Thadani| Mumbai
2IFRXUVHWKHGHYHORSPHQWLVODUJHO\V\PEROLF
61B=5BC81F5>??@D9?>
DQGVHHPLQJO\DLPHGDWZRRLQJWKH6WDWH·VZRPHQ Sir — India is all set to witness a majestic
YRWHUV,WUHPLQGVRQHRIVHHNLQJWKHEOHVVLQJVRI march past at the Rajpath and a mammoth
YHU\\RXQJJLUOVWRPDUNWKHVLQJOHGD\RINDQ\DSXMDQ WRZDUGVWKHHQGRI1DYUDWUDV tractor rally by the farmers in Delhi on the
%XWZK\VWRSWKHGHLI\LQJDWRQO\RQHGD\":KDW·VUHDOO\QHHGHGLVWKDWZHDVD Republic Day. The farmers’ rally will
attract wide attention. The farmers have
SHRSOHWUHDWWKHIDLUJHQGHUIDLUO\DQGDVDQDEVROXWHHTXDO7KHVNHZHGJHQGHUUDWLR reiterated that repeal of the laws is the only
QHHGVWREHEDODQFHGDQGLPSURYHG:RPHQPD\EHHPSRZHUHGE\HGXFDWLQJWKHP acceptable proposition for withdrawal of
QRWH[SRVLQJWKHPWRGLVFULPLQDWLRQDQGKDUDVVPHQWDQGWUXVWLQJWKHPZLWKUHVSRQ the agitation. In fact, the offer of the
VLELOLWLHV*LYHWKHPZKDWWKH\GHVHUYHUDWKHUWKDQJLYLQJWKHPVRPHWKLQJLQFKDUL Government to put the laws on hold for
18 months itself is illogical as the Supreme
W\7KHUHDUHYDULHGZD\VWRHPSRZHUZRPHQRWKHUWKDQV\PEROLFDOO\PDNLQJWKHP Court has already stayed their implemen-
WKH&KLHI0LQLVWHU7KRXJKLWZDVGRQHLQDQREOHVSLULWWKHWUXVWHHVDUHQRWDXWKR tation until further orders. However, the
ULVHGWREHWKHRZQHUVRIDWUXVW3HRSOH·VUHSUHVHQWDWLYHVKDGEHWWHUZRUNIRUZKDW court can withdraw the stay soon, and the
laws will come into force immediately.
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Faced with such vagueness, farmers fear
*LPPLFNVGRQ·WZRUNDQ\PRUH2QO\SHUIRUPDQFHFRXQWV
ing legal status to the Minimum Support
Price (MSP) is that it would put a heavy
burden on the national exchequer. It runs
counter to the repeated assertions that
farmers are free to sell their produce any-
where in the country. Here, wouldn’t the
envisioned higher prices for agricultural
produce in the market — being ‘opened
up’ now — reduce the dependence on the
MSP and lessen the burden on the Budget?
Farmers have deciphered the intentions
and the arguments.
Haridasan Rajan | Kozhikode
D1;5D85:126?B85B49==E>9DI
Sir — In 2020, all the countries includ-
ing India faced an unprecedented chal-
lenge in the form of the COVID-19 pan-
demic. In some countries like the UK and
the US, Coronavirus is still rearing its ugly
head and hospitals are looking like war
vaccines free of cost from India to multi-
ple countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, CWTQTbc4]V[P]S
_[PhTabfX[[fP]cc^
Myanmar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Brazil,
Morocco and so on is really laudable. The _[PhPb\P]h
UK, Dominica, South Africa, Kenya, VP\TbPb_^bbXQ[T
Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are PVPX]bc8]SXPX]
some other countries interested in 8]SXP?XRZcWT\CWT]cWThV^
c^8?;P]STPa]TeTahcWX]VcWTh
COVID-19 vaccines from India as these
vaccines are safe and cost-effective with- STbTaeT
out compromising on safety standards. 5^a\Ta4]V[P]SRaXRZTcTa
India is clearly upstaging China in the ¯:TeX]?XTcTabT]
COVID vaccines’ supply. India is planning
to vaccinate its 300 million people, almost CWTaTXbPSTUTRc
the population of the US. Indians should X]cWT3=0^U
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dismiss all their apprehensions in taking
P]SbWTWPX[bUa^\
vaccine jabs. We must come forward to PST\^]Tbb
make the inoculation drive successful. Rd[cdaT=^ST\^]
V Nagendra Kumar | Hyderabad RP][^eT;^aSAP\1P]TaYTTXbP
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he Indian Constitution came into effect on
T January 26, 1950 and the Constituent
Assembly first met on December 9, 1946 to
draft it in the Constitution Hall, now known as the
Central Hall of the Parliament. The Constituent
Assembly firmly resolved to mould the dreams and
aspirations of Indians after the freedom struggle.
Historical background: Since the beginning,
the Constitution makers were transparent and knew
their purpose and direction. Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru while moving the Objectives Resolution in
the Constituent Assembly said: “Laws are made of
words but this Resolution is something higher than
the law.” He urged the members of the Assembly
to treat the Objectives Resolution as a declaration,
an undertaking and a pledge to achieve what they
promised the people of India and the yet unborn
citizens: A Constitution to call their own.
The Objective Resolution declared India as an
independent, sovereign, republic. Pandit Nehru said:
UHYDPSLQJWKH&RQJUHVV:RUNLQJ&RPPLWWHH&:&LQOLQHZLWK “India is bound to be sovereign, it is bound to be
WKHSDUW\·VFRQVWLWXWLRQ7KRXJK6RQLDPDQDJHGWRGRXVHWKH independent, and it is bound to be a republic.”
ILUHWKHQWKHGLVVHQWFRQWLQXHVDVZDVFRQILUPHGLQODVWZHHN·V Clearly, the Constituent Assembly’s intention was
&:&PHHWLQJZKHUHWKHUHZDVDSXEOLFVSDWEHWZHHQWKH¶ROG to end the monarchical system. The debates and
deliberations in the House led to the Objective
JXDUG·DQGWKH*DQGKLV7KHOHDGHUVUHDOLVHWKDWMXVW0RGLEDVK Resolution taking the form of the Preamble of the
LQJ RU WKH SDVW JORU\ RI WKH SDUW\ DUH QRW HQRXJK WR JHW WKH Constitution. However, the ‘Mountbatten plan’
&RQJUHVVEDFNLQSRZHU$GGHGWRWKDWDUHFRQFHUQVRYHUWDO divided India into two new dominions on June 3,
HQWHGOHDGHUVOHDYLQJWKHSDUW\IRUJUHHQHUSDVWXUHV)RULQVWDQFH 1947, causing political changes to the Constituent
D \RXQJ OHDGHU OLNH -\RWLUDGLW\D 6FLQGLD ZKR ZDV FORVH WR Assembly. Thus, the Resolution needed amendment
&RQJUHVVVFLRQ5DKXO*DQGKLOHIWWKHSDUW\WRMRLQWKH%-3 to factor in the changed political context.
On August 29, 1947, the Constituent Assembly
,IWKH&RQJUHVVLVVHULRXVDERXWUHYLYDOLWKDVWRLQWURVSHFW
formed the Drafting Committee, of which BR
:LWKWKHG\QDVWVXQDEOHWRJHWWKHSDUW\EDFNWRSRZHUIRUWZR Ambedkar was the convenor. The Drafting
FRQVHFXWLYHWHUPVWKHIDPLO\DQGFRQVHTXHQWO\WKHSDUW\KDV Committee rendered meaning and form to the
EHFRPHZHDN$VIRUWKHOHDGHUVKLSFULVLV6RQLDKDVKDGKHU Preamble and incorporated other matters in the
LQQLQJV5DKXOKDVIDLOHGWZLFHDQGWKH3UL\DQND*DQGKL9DGUD body of the Constitution. It took two years, 11
PDJLFKDVQRWZRUNHGLQ8WWDU3UDGHVK$ERYHDOOWKH*DQGKLV months and 17 days to complete the historic task
ZDQWWRFRQWLQXHLQSRZHUVRWKHUH·VQRSRVVLELOLW\RIIUHVKEORRG of drafting the Constitution of India.
OHDGLQJWKHJUDQGROGSDUW\ Preamble: Ambedkar’s new preamble defined
the essential features of the Indian State and its socio-
political objectives. While drafting the Constitution,
the makers imagined an egalitarian society built on
the values and the spirit embodied in the Resolution.
Pandit Thakur Das Bhargav, a member of the
Constituent Assembly, said: “The Preamble is the
most precious part of the Constitution. It is the soul
of the Constitution. It is the key to the Constitution.
It is a jewel set in the Constitution. It is a proper
yardstick with which one can measure the worth
of the Constitution.”
The trinity of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity:
6RLQRUGHUWRFXUHWKHVLFNQHVVLQWKH&RQJUHVVRQHKDV The egalitarian society the founding fathers
WR GLDJQRVH WKH URRW FDXVH ILUVW :KLOH WKH $. $QWRQ\ envisioned, rests on four pillars established in the
Preamble: The pillars of Justice, Liberty, Equality and
&RPPLWWHHZDVVHWXSLQIRUWKLVSXUSRVHWKHILQGLQJVRI
WKHUHSRUWZHUHQHYHUHYHQGLVFXVVHGLQWKHSDUW\$IWHULWVORVV Fraternity. However, the word ‘Fraternity’ is men-
tioned in the Constitution only once. Also
LQWKHSDUW\GLGQ·WHYHQERWKHUWRJRWKURXJKWKHPRWLRQV “Fraternity” and has not occupied much space in
RIVHWWLQJXSDFRPPLWWHH7KHQWKHUHLVWKHODFNRIDVPRRWK judicial discourse by the Supreme Court compared
JHQHUDWLRQDOFKDQJHLQWKHRUJDQLVDWLRQ:KLOH6RQLDZDVDEOH to Justice, Liberty and Equality. The French
WRLQVWDOOKHUVRQDVWKHSDUW\FKLHIDQGLQGXFWKHUGDXJKWHUDV Revolution inspired the Drafting Committee to
JHQHUDOVHFUHWDU\VKHFRXOGQRWFKHFNWKHSDUW\·VHURVLRQRU adopt the trinitarian concept of Liberty, Equality and
EXLOGWUXVWLQWKHDSSUHKHQVLYHROGJXDUG:KHQ5DKXOWRRNFRP Fraternity preceded by Justice. The French were the
SOHWHFKDUJHEHWZHHQDQGKLVHYLGHQWGLVFRPIRUW first to raise the slogan, “Liberty! Equality!
Fraternity!” against oppression by the State, to
ZLWKWKHVHQLRUVDQGWKHODWWHU·VDQLPRVLW\DJDLQVW¶7HDP5DKXO· demand political participation and to promote
ZDVYHU\HYLGHQW7KLVPXVWFKDQJH brotherhood. Of the three revolutionary slogans, fra-
3OXVWKHSDUW\PXVWJREDFNWRJUDVVURRWVSROLWLFVDQGSUH ternité, called for unity and solidarity, to be bound
SDUHWKHFDGUHZKLFKZLOOZRUNGXULQJWKHHOHFWLRQV7KLVLVYLWDO as citizens of one nation. In his concluding remarks
DVWKH&RQJUHVVKDVORVWFRQWDFWZLWKWKHSHRSOH$OVRWKHUHLV on November 25, 1949, Ambedkar said: “We must
DQHHGIRUGHFHQWUDOLVDWLRQRIDXWKRULW\LQRUGHUWRHPSRZHU6WDWH make our political democracy a social democracy
as well. Political democracy cannot last unless there
DQGGLVWULFWOHYHOOHDGHUVDQGJLYHXS'HOKLFHQWULFIXQFWLRQLQJ lies at the base of it social democracy. What does
7KHSDUW\PXVWDOVRGHYHORSVHFRQGUXQJOHDGHUV7KHUHZDV social democracy mean? It means a way of life which
DWLPHZKHQWKH6WDWHVKDGVWURQJ&KLHI0LQLVWHUVDQGWKHSUHV recognises liberty, equality and fraternity as the prin-
5A0C4A=8CH
<DBC14 a trinity and not as separate and
B44=8= mutually exclusive items. They must
C74;0FB0=3
be seen as enforcing elements that
4=02C<4=CB cannot be divorced from each other.
1H?0A;80<4=C He said: “They form a union of trin-
0=3C74 ity in the sense that to divorce one
;468B;0CDA4 from the other is to defeat the very
5A0C4A=8CH purpose of democracy. Liberty can-
<DBC?4A2>;0C4 not be divorced from equality, equal-
8=C>?4>?;4³B ity cannot be divorced from liberty.
;8E4BC>D?7>;3 Nor can liberty and equality be
0B4=B4>5 divorced from fraternity. Without
1A>C74A7>>3 equality, liberty would produce the
C70CC74 supremacy of the few over the many.
2>=BC8CDC8>= Equality without liberty would kill
<0:4AB individual initiative. Without frater-
4=E8B8>=43 nity, liberty would produce the
5>A8=380C74 supremacy of the few over the many.
Equality without liberty would kill
8340;B>5 individual initiative. Without frater-
;814ACH nity, liberty and equality could not
4@D0;8CH become a natural course of things. It
0=35A0C4A=8CH would require a constable to enforce
0A42>4G8BC4=C them.”
8=C4A34?4=34=C Ambedkar pointed to the exist-
0=38=B4?0A01;4
ing social and economic inequality
in Indian society and the significance
of the ideals of Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity to eliminate those inequal-
ities. On October 17, 1949, Acharya
Kripalani applauded the inclusion of
Fraternity in the Preamble. “Again I
come to the great doctrine of frater-
nity, which is allied with democra-
cy. It means that we are sons of the
same God, as the religious would say,
but as the mystic would say, that there
is one life pulsating through us all, or
as the Holy Bible says, ‘We are one of
another’. There can be no fraternity
without this.”
Courts on fraternity: The
Bombay High Court in the Indian
National Mines Overmen vs Western
The writer is Advocate,
Supreme Court of India, Coalfields Limited case, challenging
Minister’s National Relief Fund cited
the explanation given by Ambedkar
on Fraternity. The court said that
“fraternity means a sense of common
brotherhood of all Indians. In a coun-
try like ours with disruptive forces of
regionalism, communalism and lin-
guism, it is necessary to emphasise
and re-emphasise that the unity and
integrity of India can be preserved
only by a spirit of brotherhood. India
has one common citizenship and
every citizen should feel that s/he is
Indian first, irrespective of other
basis. In this view, any measure at
bringing about equality should be
welcome.” The court relied on
‘Fraternity’ in the Preamble and
Ambedkar’s speech on obligations
imposed under the Fundamental
Duties chapter, which do not other-
wise have any legal sanction.
In the Prathvi Raj Chauhan vs
Union of India case, addressing the
SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act, Justice Ravindra Bhat of the
Supreme Court said that fraternity
holds a crucial a place in the scheme
of our nation’s consciousness and
polity. However, he said that
‘Fraternity’ is one of the lesser
explored areas in the Constitutional
discourse of the judiciary. The court
observed that, “The Fraternity
assured by the Preamble is not a dec-
laration of a ritual handshake or cor-
diality between communities that are
diverse and have occupied different
spaces: It is far more.”
While evaluating the constitu-
tional validity of the appointment of
local tribals as special police officers
in Maoist-hit regions of Chhattisgarh
in the Nandini Sundar vs State of
Chhattisgarh case, the apex court
social, economic and political justice
for all who live in India, we would not
have achieved human dignity for our
citizens, nor would we be able to pro-
mote fraternity among groups of
them. Policies that run counter to that
essential truth destroy national unity
and integrity.” The court said that the
Constitution casts a positive obliga-
tion on the State to take necessary
steps to protect the fundamental
rights of all citizens. The State is oblig-
ed to secure conditions where digni-
ty of its citizens is protected to
enable all to live in conditions of fra-
ternity. Fraternity not only acts as the
binding element between unity and
equality, it gives birth to new rights
which facilitate the constitutional goal
of an egalitarian society. The right to
live with dignity and respect, free
from oppression and untouchabili-
ty. The fundamental rights granted
in the Constitution are structured on
the principles liberty, equality, and
fraternity. These ideals are inscribed
in the Constitution’s Preamble. The
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights,1948, which is contemporane-
ous with the Indian Constitution,
recognises inherent dignity and the
equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family. This
is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the world.
Thus, the Constitutional value of
‘Fraternity’ must be palpably seen in
the actions of the State and
Constitutional functionaries.
Fraternity must be seen in the laws
and enactments by Parliament and
the Legislature. Fraternity must per-
colate into people’s lives to uphold a
sense of brotherhood that the
Constitution makers envisioned for
LGHQWVRIYDULRXV3UDGHVK&RQJUHVV&RPPLWWHHV3&&VZLHOG ciples of life.” and partner, Dua the compulsory deduction of C50 stressed on the importance of frater- India. The ideals of Liberty, Equality
HGSRZHU,QVXFKDVLWXDWLRQLIWKHSDUW\ORVWLQDUHJLRQWKHQ Ambedkar asserted that the principles of Associates. The views from the salary/wages of its employ- nity. It said, “Our Constitution posits and Fraternity are coexistent, inter-
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are to be treated as expressed are personal. ees for transfer to the Prime that unless we secure ... conditions of dependent and inseparable.
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/LZNK-U\ZZX[R_YKKQYZUOT\UR\KVXO\GZKIGVOZGRZNK;TOUT([JMKZS[YZXKRG^[TXKGROYZOIVXOIKXKYZXOIZOUTYGTJTO^U[ZJGZKJX[RKY
ow when the Union
N Budget 2021-22 is
around the corner, in the
midst of one of the worst pub-
lic health emergencies faced by
humanity in recent memory, it
is high time for the healthcare
industry to articulate its con-
cerns and expectations. Only a
well-formulated and balanced
annual financial statement with
adequate allocation and focus
on all critical segments, as well
as on secondary aspects, can
prepare the country to improve
its health services and meet the
challenges of inoculating such a
large population as ours.
Need to address poor
spending on healthcare: There
is an urgent need to raise the
allocation on health as a propor-
tion of the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP). The gap is so
large and the population so
underserved that this would
have to be done for several years
in succession to alleviate the sit-
uation.
The forthcoming financial
7EB@B55D B0=37D statement should focus on sig-
nificantly higher allocations for
Research & Development
(R&D) in biotechnology, epi-
demiology and pharmaceuticals
including vaccines and in build-
ing healthcare infrastructure.
The ongoing pandemic reiter-
The writer is president,
ates the need for increased pub-
Council of Healthcare
and Pharma, lic spending on healthcare
and founder Reva which is still in the range of 1.3
Pharma. per cent of the GDP, far lower
The views expressed
are personal. than what has been stated and
promised.
More allocation must for
infrastructure and skill devel-
opment: It is another key area
that the Government should
prioritise. India has less than a
bed and a doctor per 1,000 pop-
ulation, far lower than the
World Health Organisation’s
(WHO’s) standards. We need to
invest in setting up an increased
number of medical colleges
with requisite infrastructure
while giving due importance to
key departments which play a
significant role in preventing
infections in hospital environ-
ments, apart from the operating
rooms and Intensive Care Units
(ICUs). There is also a pressing
need to contain the problem of
antibiotic and antimicrobial
resistance for getting the desired
improvement in overall out-
comes. If the Centre truly seeks
to involve private capital it must
relax unrealistic price restric-
tions and do away with outdat-
ed rules. One initiative that can
be taken is to ask the medical
and pharmaceutical companies
to direct their Corporate Social
Responsibility funds for devel-
opment of healthcare infra-
structure and capacity building.
Expansion of digital
healthcare must be the focus of
the Union Budget: The coun-
try needs connected health-
care — a digital ecosystem
where real-time data from top
Government and private hospi-
tals and diagnostic centres flows
into a data centre that tracks,
monitors and predicts changes
in disease patterns, so that time-
ly action can be initiated to obvi-
ate the expensive follow-on
treatment. In this context, the
National Digital Health Mission
is a step in the right direction.
It needs to be strengthened
and investments are required to
be made to create the infrastruc-
ture and capacity for collecting
and analysing data.
Need to expand the ambit
of medical insurance: The
annual financial statement 2021
also needs to ensure that med-
ical insurance is extended as
much as possible to drive the
idea of universal healthcare in
the country. Treatments like
dental procedures, mental
healthcare and homecare for the
sick need to be included as part
of health insurance policies.
Therefore, the Union
Budget must be a well-thought
out document from the health-
care sector’s perspective and the
allocation of 1.6 per cent of the
GDP in the previous Budget
must be improved under all cir-
cumstances.
FOREIGNEYE
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Washington: As the House prepares to do it” because he believes it would be Capitol and trying to overturn Joe Washington: President Joe Biden is set to issue an exec-
bring the impeachment charge against bad for the country and further inflame Biden's election. utive order to reverse a Pentagon policy that largely bars Washington:US President Joe Biden a way to proactively invest in American
Donald Trump to the Senate for trial, partisan divisions. The proceedings will also force transgender individuals from joining the military, dump- will sign a series of executive orders on industry so it can continue to lead in
a growing number of Republican sen- Trump is the first former president Democrats, who have a full sweep of ing a ban ordered by President Donald Trump in a tweet Monday to promote “Made in America” the global marketplace, the White
ators say they are opposed to the pro- to face impeachment trial, and it will test party control of the White House and during his first year in office, a person briefed on the deci- products and strengthen supply chains, House said.
ceeding, dimming the chances that his grip on the Republican Party as well Congress, to balance their promise to sion tells The Associated Press. senior officials said, asserting that the For the executive order, Made in
former president will be convicted on as the legacy of his tenure, which came hold the former president accountable Biden has been widely expected to overturn the new administration remains commit- America refers to domestic preferences
the charge that he incited a siege of the to a close as a mob of loyal supporters while also rushing to deliver on Biden's Trump policy in his early days in office. ted to working with partners and allies related to federal procurement, feder-
US Capitol. heeded his rally cry by storming the priorities. AP The White House could announce the move as early to modernise international trade rules. al grants, and other forms of federal
House Democrats will carry the sole as Monday, according to the person briefed on the deci- Prominent among the executive assistance. Buy American and Buy
impeachment charge of “incitement of
insurrection” across the Capitol late
Monday evening, a rare and ceremoni-
/DZPDNHUVWKUHDWHQHG sion who spoke on the condition of anonymity to dis-
cuss the order.
The move to reverse the policy has the support of
orders include a strict enforcement of
procuring products made inside the
country by federal agencies. This is very
America refers to the specific statutes
that go by those names, it said.
The executive order to be signed by
al walk to the Senate by the prosecutors
who will argue their case. They are hop-
ing that strong Republican denuncia-
DKHDGRILPSHDFKPHQWWULDO Biden's newly confirmed defense secretary, retired Army
Gen. Lloyd Austin, who spoke of the need to overturn
it during his Senate confirmation hearing last week.
significant given that contracting alone
accounts for nearly USD 600 billion in
federal spending.
Biden at the White House, directs agen-
cies to close current loopholes in how
domestic content is measured and
tions of Trump after the Jan. 6 riot will Washington: Federal law enforcement Washington as the Senate moves for- “I support the president's plan or plan to overturn Biden is taking action to reset the increase domestic content require-
translate into a conviction and a sepa- officials are examining a number of ward with plans for Trump's trial, the the ban,” Austin said. “If you're fit and you're qualified US government's longstanding ments and appoints a new senior
rate vote to bar Trump from holding threats aimed at members of Congress official said. to serve and you can maintain the standards, you should approach to domestic preferences to leader in the Executive Office of the
office again. as the second trial of former President The shocking insurrection at the be allowed to serve.” create an approach that will remain President in charge of the government's
But instead, GOP passions appear Donald Trump nears, including omi- Capitol by a pro-Trump mob prompt- The decision comes as Biden plans to turn his atten- durable for years to come and grow Made in America policy approach.
to have cooled since the insurrection. nous chatter about killing legislators or ed federal officials to rethink security tion to equity issues that he believes continue to shad- quality, union jobs, according to a This order creates a central review
Now that Trump's presidency is over, attacking them outside of the U.S. in and around its landmarks, resulting ow nearly all aspects of American life. Ahead of his inau- senior administration official. of agency waivers of 'Buy American'
Republican senators who will serve as Capitol, a U.S. Official told The in an unprecedented lockdown for guration, Biden's transition team circulated a memo from It is long overdue that the US gov- requirements, fulfilling the president's
jurors in the trial are rallying to his legal Associated Press. Biden's inauguration. Ron Klain, now the White House chief of staff, that ernment utilises the full force of cur- commitment to crack down on unnec-
defense, as they did during his first The threats, and concerns that Though the event went off with- sketched out Biden's plan to use his first full week as pres- rent domestic preferences to support essary waivers. It also directs the
impeachment trial last year. armed protesters could return to sack out any problems and armed protests ident “to advance equity and support communities of color America's workers and businesses, General Services Administration to
“I think the trial is stupid, I think the Capitol anew, have prompted the around the country did not material- and other underserved communities.” strengthening the economy, workers, publish relevant waivers on a publicly
it's counterproductive,” said Sen. Marco U.S. Capitol Police and other federal law ize, the threats to lawmakers ahead of The move to overturn the transgender ban is also the and communities across the country, available website.
Rubio, R-Fla.. He said that “the first enforcement to insist thousands of Trump's trial exemplified the contin- latest example of Biden using executive authority in his first the official said. President will continue to be a
chance I get to vote to end this trial, I'll National Guard troops remain in ued potential for danger. AP days as president to dismantle Trump's legacy. AP The President's Executive Order strong advocate for the Jones Act and
establishes the goals and standards nec- its mandate that only US-flag vessels
essary to use federal purchasing, and carry cargo between US ports, which
4DfTXVWbaTb_^]bT 'LVLQIRUPDWLRQEHLQJXVHG ?PZXbcP]XSXbbXST]c1P[^RWPRcXeXbc other forms of federal assistance with
domestic preference requirements, as
supports American production and
America's workers. PTI
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Islamabad: The body of Karima of protests by the Baloch national-
Brussels: European Union for- Baloch, a 37-year-old Pakistani dis- ists who cherished her as their
eign Ministers on Monday sident from the ethnic Baloch com- leader. Her supporters claimed on
debated the 27-nation bloc's ?C8Q D=8C43=0C8>=B disinformation rests on the complex munity and a prominent women's social media that the village was vir-
response to the arrest of interaction between data sets, algo- rights activist, who died in mysteri- tually sealed off so that people from
Russian opposition leader other areas could not attend the
Alexei Navalny and a weekend
police crackdown that saw
Icyndia has called on technology
companies to ensure transparen-
and a check on misinformation
rithms and information infra-
structure built by technology com-
panies. These algorithms govern
ous circumstances while in exile in
Canada, was brought home and
buried in her village in the restive
funeral.
In some videos, people are seen
thousands taken into custody on their platforms, cautioning that not just what information is avail- Balochistan province amid tight requesting security forces to allow
during protests in support of there is a growing tendency of for- able to different populations, but security, officials said on Monday. them to attend the funeral prayers.
President Vladimir Putin's eign interference in the internal also to whom, and with what fre- Karima, who was highly criti- Security sources said that the
most well-known critic. affairs of other countries through quency,” Naidu said. cal of Pakistan's security agencies and mobile phone services were sus-
“This wave of detention is disinformation campaigns. “As such, tech companies have campaigned extensively against dis- pended in the area to avoid any unto-
something that worries us a lot, Addressing the Arria-formu- the obligation to make sure that the appearances and human rights vio- ward incidents as militants often use
as well as the detention of Mr la meeting on media freedom in platforms they have deployed are lations in the troubled Balochistan it to carry out acts of sabotage.
Navalny,” EU foreign policy Belarus organised by the Estonian transparent and their users are not province, was found dead in Toronto Toronto police have not treated
chief Josep Borrell said as he Permanent Mission on Friday, misinformed,” he said. downtown waterfront on December her death as suspicious though there
arrived to chair the ministeri- India's Deputy Permanent Sounding a note of caution, 22. were allegations by her supporters
al meeting in Brussels. More Representative to the UN Naidu said there is also a “growing Officials said that her immedi- that she was killed.
than 3,500 people were report- Ambassador K. Nagaraj Naidu said tendency of foreign interference in ate family was present at the funer- Her family members are not
edly taken into custody during that the information revolution the internal affairs of other coun- al on Sunday in the Tump village of sure what happened. According to
the nationwide protests. AP has both benefited and weakened tries through use of disinformation the Keach area of the restive police in Toronto, her body was
media systems. campaigns to advance ulterior polit- province. found near Lake Ontario, but no fur-
“Today, the global economy of ical agendas.” Security was tight due to the fear ther details were given. PTI

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Washington: Joe Biden sought to mend and bol-
ster US' strained ties with France in his first phone
call as American President to his French coun-
terpart Emmanuel Macron, as the two leaders
pledged to work together on shared foreign pol-
icy priorities, including China, and fight the
Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.
Biden called Macron on Sunday and
expressed his desire to strengthen bilateral ties. He
also stressed his commitment to bolstering the
transatlantic relationship, including through
NATO and the United States' partnership with the
European Union, the White House said.
“The leaders agreed on the need for close
coordination, including through multilateral
organisations, in tackling common challenges such
as climate change, Covid-19 and the global eco-
nomic recovery,” it said in a statement. PTI

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Mexico City (Mexico): Mexican President
Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said that he
has tested positive for Covid-19 and that the
symptoms are mild.
Mexico's president, who has been criticised
for his handling of his country's pandemic and
for not setting an example of prevention in pub-
lic, said on his official Twitter account that he
is under medical treatment.
“I regret to inform you that I am infected
with Covid-19,” he tweeted. “The symptoms are
mild but I am already under medical
treatment. AP
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ountry’s largest software
C exporter Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) on Monday
surpassed Reliance Industries
Ltd to become the country’s
most valued firm by market
capitalisation.
In another milestone, TCS
also emerged as the most val-
ued IT company in the world
as its market valuation went
past that of Accenture.
During the close of trade,
the market valuation of TCS
was at C12,34,609.62 crore
while that of Reliance
Industries Ltd (RIL) stood at C
12,29,661.32 crore on the BSE.
TCS dipped 0.40 per cent
to close at C3,290.20 after gain-
ing 1.26 per cent to its one-year
day.
Shares of RIL declined 5.36
per cent to close at C1,939.70 on
the BSE after its earnings failed
to cheer investors.
In March last year also,
TCS had reclaimed the status
of the country’s most valued
firm by market valuation.
So far this month, TCS
shares have gained nearly 13
per cent on the BSE.
Multinational tech firm
Accenture’s market capitalisa-
tion was at USD 168.44 billion
as of Friday close on the NYSE.
As of Monday, TCS valuation
in dollar terms was at USD
169.26 billion. Tech giant SAP’s
market valuation was at USD
155.50 billion and that of IBM
was at USD 105.69 billion.
he Government may tweak
T customs duties in the
Budget next week on several
goods, including furniture raw
materials, copper scrap, certain
chemicals, telecom equipment
and rubber products, to pro-
mote domestic manufacturing
and exports, sources said.
They said that while
import duties could be tweaked
on over 20 products such as cut
and polished diamonds, rubber
goods, leather garments, tele-
com equipment and carpet, the
customs duties could be
removed on select raw materi-
als (like wood in rough, swan
wood and hard board) used for
furniture manufacturing and
copper concentrate.
he Reserve Bank of India
T (RBI) on Monday refuted
reports of withdrawal of old
series of C100, C10 and C5 cur-
rency notes.
“With regard to reports in
certain sections of media on
withdrawal of old series of
C100, C10 & C5 banknotes
from circulation in near future,
it is clarified that such reports
are incorrect,” the RBI said in
a tweet.
While announcing the
issuance of new C100 denom-
ination banknotes with base
colour Lavender in July 2018,
RBI had said banknotes in the
denomination of C100 issued
by it in the earlier series will
continue to be legal tender.
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he benchmark Sensex
T dived nearly 531 points to
close at 48,348 on Monday,
extending its losses to the third
straight session due to massive
selling in energy and IT stocks.
After swinging nearly
1,000 points during the session,
the BSE benchmark settled
with a loss of 530.95 points or
1.09 per cent at 48,347.59.
The 30-share index
opened over 375 points high-
er and hit the day’s high of
49,263.15 before succumbing to
selling pressure that took the
8]SXP0fPaSb
index to the session’s lowest
point at 48,274.92.
The broader NSE Nifty
plunged 133 points or 0.93 per
cent to end the session at
14,238.90.
Over the last three ses-
sions, the BSE Sensex has lost
1,444.53 points or 2.90 per cent
and the NSE Nifty has shed
405.80 points or 2.77 per cent.
“Domestic equities were
quite volatile today and gave up
all early hours’ gains.
Investors continued to
prefer in taking profits off the
table ahead of union budget
and F&O expiry.
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Mumbai:The rupee rose by
3 paise to settle at 72.94
against the US dollar on
Monday, extending its gains
for the fifth straight session
despite heavy selling in the
domestic equity market. At
the interbank forex market,
the rupee opened at 72.95
against the American cur-
rency, and hit an intra-day
high of 72.89 and a low of
72.96 in day trade.
B802X]cTaX\^aSTa
?C8Q =4F34;78
S online retail giant
U Amazon has moved Delhi
High Court to block partner
Future Group from selling
retail assets to Reliance
Industries that had received a
nod from market regulator
SEBI and stock exchanges.
The e-commerce giant is
seeking enforcement of the
Singapore arbitrator’s interim
order to stall C24,713-crore
Future-Reliance Industries Ltd
(RIL) deal.
The move comes just days
after the Future-RIL deal
received nod from market reg-
ulator SEBI and bourses.
In its latest petition,
Amazon has said the interim
injunctions granted by the
Emergency Arbitrator (EA)
are enforceable under the
Indian laws under the
Arbitration and Conciliation
Act as the order is deemed to
be an order of the Court and is
enforceable under the Code of
Civil Procedure.
New Delhi: With an aim to cel-
ebrate and encourage deserving
institutions to continue to
enhance outreach to the poor
by way of motivating manage-
ment and staff through recog-
nition to their painstaking
efforts and enhancing credi-
bility of the institution, the
Inclusive Finance India Awards
were constituted by ACCESS
Development Services in part-
nership with HSBC India
recently in Delhi. The winners
were felicitated by Union
Minister of State for Finance
Anurag Singh Thakur and
NABARD Chairman GR
Chintala.
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lmost one month into the New

A Year, it is high time to make a rou-

tine for your skin and make sure you
follow it. Morning is the best time to start
taking care of your skin. Your skin is fresh
from a goodnight’s sleep and you should
make sure to prepare it up before you begin
your day. Everyday our face faces a lot of
dust, sun rays, UV rays, pollution. hence,
having a proper skincare routine in the
morning is of utmost importance.
Here are a few tips to make your skin
glowing this year:
Cleanse with water: Cleansing your
face with water is the first and the foremost
step for the glowing skin. Our face needs
the right amount of water so that all the dry-
ness from the night is removed.
Use a toner: The next big step is to use
a toner. Toning your face is very important.
A good toner helps to remove any remain-
ing bits of oil and dirt left behind by a
ost of us tend to believe that not smoking a cigarette will cleanser. It also shrinks the pores. Toners
M insure us against lung cancer. Unfortunately, this is not true.
A growing number of non-smokers in India are reporting lung
prevent the skin from producing excess oil.
Serum: After you are done using a
cancer today. What’s worse is the fact that the disease in non- toner, get ready to use a serum. The serum
smokers shows more subtle symptoms that are often difficult to is specifically made to handle all your skin
diagnose initially. Non-smokers also tend to write off the pos- problems. Take a few drops of the serum
sibility of contracting this disease as they believe they do not run and warm it up by rubbing it in between
its risk. your palms. Apply the serum on the skin,
While it is true that smoking tobacco is the most significant he stress and anxiety relat- temic diseases: A lot of systemic Alteration in the quantity and com- starting from the nose, and work your way
risk factor for lung cancer, not all people who get the disease have
smoked. The American Cancer Society estimates that around 20
per cent of people who die from lung cancer in the US every year
have never consumed tobacco is any form. While we do not have
any such consolidated estimates for India, Oncologists are report-
T ed to the infection coupled
with the mental fatigue of
calibrating oneself to the
new normal, has made people
realise the importance of mental
diseases have oral manifestations.
These include diabetes, certain
infections, gastrointestinal problems
as well as nutritional deficiencies.
Entry to the digestive system:
C74>A0;20E8CH
8BC74?>AC0;C>
C743864BC8E4
position of saliva also leads to loss
or altered taste.
Mask mouth: Wearing mask
for prolonged duration results in
decreased salivation or dry mouth
outwards. Leave it on for two-three minutes
to absorb into the skin.
Always remove your makeup: It is very
important to remove the makeup, no mat-
ter where you are, before you go to bed, or
ing a clear trend of rising disease incidence among non-smok-
ers.
wellness. To add to these, news of
celebrities breathing their last
The oral cavity is the portal to the
digestive system. It is here that food
BHBC4<8C8B that results in cavities, gum disease
and sour breath.
if you have been wearing it for a very long
time. It is important that you give time to
Interestingly, it has been observed that lung cancers in smok- owing to mental illness, has put is tasted and enjoyed, masticated 74A4C70C5>>3 Loss of teeth in long haulers: your skin to breathe. Use a good water
ers and non-smokers are different on genetic and molecular lev- this issue in the limelight. As we with the teeth and mixed with sali- A phenomenon where idiopathic makeup cleanser, and remove all the layers.
els. In fact, a bulk of the non-smokers who report lung cancer browse along the myriad of dis- va to form a bolus — an ingestible 8BC0BC430=3 bone loss and falling out of teeth Skincare routines are incomplete
are women. A number of factors can trigger lung cancer in non-
smokers; these include expo-
courses on wellbeing, we quickly
can realise that dental health is not
and digestible form of food that
enters the oesophagus. It is also in
4=9>H43 have been reported by few people
who have been experiencing
without the use of a moisturiser:
Moisturise your skin with a dermatologist-
8cWPbQTT]^QbTaeTS sure to carcinogens in some considered as significant as men- the mouth that the food is mixed <0BC820C43F8C7 COVID-19 symptoms for a very recommended moisturiser as often as you
form or certain gene changes. tal health, in fact dental health is with digestible enzymes from the long time. Although a thorough can Based on your skin type.
cWPc[d]VRP]RTa Non-smoking lung cancer not a primary concern at all. saliva for easy digestion. C74C44C70=3 research and more evidence is Clean the makeup brushes regularly:
X]b\^ZTabP]S patients are also found to be rel- Oral cavity is one of the most Workplace grooming and hal-
<8G43F8C7 required to substantiate this phe- It is important to clean your makeup
]^]b\^ZTabXb atively younger. important parts of our bodies that itosis: We are supposed to meet a nomenon, it is speculated that the brushes to avoid a buildup of makeup
Lung cancers in smoking
SXUUTaT]c^]VT]TcXR and non-smoking individuals
dentists dedicate five years of their lot of people for work related mat- B0;8E0C>5>A< infection caused inflammation that residue and bacteria. Use a shampoo and
lives learning. The fact that they ters. These could be bosses, co- could attack the gums and mouth, conditioner to clean your brushes, as you
P]S\^[TRd[Pa[TeT[b not only get triggered different- spend most of their curricular time workers, clients, and other people. 01>;DB¯ 0= which might be able to trigger tooth do with your hair. Cleaning brushes helps
8]UPRcPQd[Z^U ly but also tend to develop dif- (even more by post-graduates), on It is expected that we are well
8=64BC81;40=3 loss.
As we can observe from the
to smooth and even apply makeup every
]^]b\^ZTabfW^ ferently. Lung adenocarcinomas such a small part of the body, itself, groomed and follow etiquettedur- time.
which are a type of non-small
aT_^ac[d]VRP]RTaPaT cell lung cancer are the most
makes it so significant. Sadly, this ing our meetings. One of the impor- 3864BC81;45>A< above, oral care plays a vital role in Apply sunscreen: Don’t forget to use
seems to be a trivial subject for tant aspects of this is oral hygiene. the overall health or a person. This sunscreen before you head out. Wear a good
f^\T]6T]TRWP]VTb common type of cancers found many. Maybe they feel that dentists It is not necessary that we must go >55>>3C70C has become crucial in the pandem- sunscreen with SPF of 40 or higher and try
^aTg_^bdaTc^ in non-smoking people. Most
commonly, adenocarcinomas
shall only talk about brushing twice
a day which is covered by a tooth-
for a celebrity level smile design,
however, it is pertinent that we do 4=C4ABC74 ic times. Dental treatments are
currently not covered in most
to avoid the sun as much as possible.
Lip moisturiser: Using a lip moisturis-
RPaRX]^VT]bRP] tend to grow in the outer paste as it is, so what’s more to it?? not show the food that’s stuck in our >4B>?706DB insurance programmes in the coun- er would be a good idea. During the win-
caXVVTa[d]VRP]RTaX] regions of the lungs unlike The relevance of dental health and teeth while we are talking or smil- try. Ergo, oral health needs to be an ter season, our lips tend to get really dry,
]^]b\^ZTab small cell cancers and squa- why it should be a part of workplace ing. Halitosis or bad breath is also verting enzyme 2) receptors, which important aspect of workplace well- because of which we sometimes develop the
mous cell cancers which grow wellbeing programme is what is dis- one of the concerns and a huge turn are used by SARS-CoV-2 virus to ness since education, awareness habit of licking our lips. This can lead to der-
near the airways. cussed in the article. off whileinteracting socially. enter epithelial cells. In addition, and early detection are key to good matitis around the mouth. In order to avoid
While most lung cancers are treated in a similar way, Some of the significant aspects Significance of oral health in SARS-CoV RNA can be detected in outcomes. As the famous saying this, even using a basic moisturizer like
Oncologists are now developing a deeper understanding of the of oral cavity and dental health are COVID-19 situation: saliva before lung lesions appear. goes, “Dentistry is not expensive, Vaseline would help.
genetic differences and triggers of different types of cancers. as follows: Nasopharynx and orophar- This may explain the presence of neglect is!”, we must ensure that we Take multivitamins and antioxidants:
Patients with genetic cancer triggers such as EGFR mutation and Functions of oral cavity: The ynx: The oral cavity is an entrance asymptomatic infections. Thus, the always maintain good oral hygiene. Not getting enough sun causes a dip in your
ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) gene rearrangements oral cavity and its components to the respiratory tract and main- potential infectivity of saliva alone In conclusion, we must provide Vitamin D levels, so adding Vitamin C and
respond better to a different line of treatment than chemother- have various functions like chewing taining good oral hygiene can pre- must not be ignored. equal attention to dental health as D to the supplements, in addition to
apy. Most commonly, these gene mutations are responsible for food, enabling us to pronounce vent COVID-19 infection. Xerostomia and dysgeusia: we provide to mental health in the omega fatty acid supplements. Avoid tak-
triggering cancers in non-smokers. words, and giving shape and form Saliva and oral mucosa: The The inflammation caused by the workplace. ing sugar and alcohol.
Never ignore these symptoms: As mentioned above lung to the face. oral mucosa and salivary glands are viral infection leads to reduced sali- CWTfaXcTaXb7TP[cWAXbZ<P]PVT\T]c CWTfaXcTaXb3Ta\Pc^[^VXbc0TbcWTcXR?WhbXRXP]P]S
cancers in non-smokers are often different as compare to the dis- Oral manifestations of sys- lined with ACE2 (angiotensin con- vary secretions and dry mouth. 2^]bd[cP]c0]eXcX8]bdaP]RT1a^ZTab cWT5^d]STa3XaTRc^a^U8;0<43
ease type in smokers. This is why sometimes, the disease man-

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ifests differently in these two sub categories of patients. People
who do not smoke may present with more subtle symptoms such
as shortness of breath, fatigue, pain in the back along with cough. 'DGL.D.HKQD
Sometimes, these symptoms may initially be taken for any other
condition, delaying the disease diagnosis and treatment. Motion sickness or infections
Whether you smoke or not, it is important not to take any
aberration in the respiratory health lightly. Always report to the can result in nausea. While
doctor if you experience the following symptoms: it is not painful, it is 6:$0,08.81'$1$1'$WHOOV\RXKRZEHKDYLRXUDOPRPHQWXP
Q A cough that lasts more than 2 weeks
Q Shortness of breath
definitely uncomfortable.
ROSHANI DEVI shares KHOSV\RXFKDQJH\RXUOLIHIRUWKHEHWWHU
Q Chronic fatigue or malaise accompanied by respiratory
distress remedies that can help ife presents us with an our human nature wants Interestingly, the same This explains why
Q Experiencing pain while breathing
Q Recurrent chest infections.
relieve it L array of choices. We
select our thoughts, pri-
quick fixes-excellence
without toil, and perfec-
phenomenon applies to
human behaviour as well.
the most difficult part of
any behavioural modifi-
ausea can happen Control your breath- orities, emotions, and tion without practice. But As you strive to improve cation is the initial phase.
:$50)22'6
274AAH) If one wants to go Due to their potent anti-
N because of several
reasons. If one has
taken pills on an empty
ing. Taking slow, deep
breaths can also help reduce
nausea.
behaviours. Regardless
of how good or bad we
may presently be, we can
life mastery and enlight-
enment are not cheap
bargains. They are
yourself, the velocity of
your self-transformation
keeps speeding up. The
It is when our brain is
breaking the neural path-
ways of old habits and
for both health and taste, inflammatory effects, cherries stomach, motion sickness Certain spices like fen- always choose to make achieved through sacri- reason is that any learned establishing circuitry for
then cherry is here to their may reduce symptoms of and infections are the most nel powder, cinnamon and our future better. fice, dedication, and per- behaviour becomes eas- new ones. Once the
rescue. They are high in arthritis and gout, a type of common triggers for cumin extract also helps Regrettably, we also have severance. ier with every repetition, behavioural momentum
antioxidants and anti- arthritis caused by a buildup of nausea. reducing nausea. the option of choosing to The good news is until it finally becomes a builds up, we reach the
inflammatory compounds, uric acid that can lead to Here are a Fennel powder make our future worse. that the level of difficul- habit. auto mode and enjoy the
which may reduce chronic extreme swelling, inflamma- few tips that may reduce Nowadays, there is ty does not remain the Slowly, the choices, ride, because progress in
disease risk and promote tion and pain in your joints. can help. menstrual no dearth of advertise- same throughout the which we keep repeating, life has almost reached
overall health. It can also That’s not all. Cherries While symptoms, ments promising you an journey. In fact, every begin pushing it. Initially, grow onto us and the automatic level.
help relieve exercise- contain melatonin, a substance eating ginger including annual income of two incremental step your every muscle gets become a part of us. That In his latest book, 7
induced muscle pain, that helps regulate your sleep- is synony- nausea, and crores, if you simply becomes easier than the exerted to overcome the is why it is said: “First we Divine Laws to Awaken
damage, and inflammation. wake cycle. mous to help women spend two hours daily on previous one. Social sci- vehicle’s static inertia. make choices and then Your Best Self, he discuss-
Increasing your intake of And last but not catching experience the internet; a weight entists have discovered a But slowly, the move- the choices make us.” es the most important
nutrient-dense fruits like cher- the least, cherries are cold, there is shorter periods loss of twenty kilos by concept called behav- ment begins and then Now, if our choices are divine laws of life. What
ries is a tasty also good for your lot more that Cinnamon wearing a special belt; ioural momentum. keeps picking speed. harmful, the momentum are these laws? How can
way to protect skin. So if you this herb can do. may reduce the and perfection in medi- We are familiar with When the driver sees the will build up in the our life be enriched by
your heart. want to have that Experts believe that severity of nausea that tation if you take initia- the momentum of solid car has gathered enough wrong direction and their knowledge and
Many studies glowing skin, compounds in ginger may women experience during tion in a particular objects. You may have momentum, she releases work to our detriment. application? This joyous
show that diets just grab a work in a similar way to menstruation. Cumin mantra. Surprisingly, had the experience of the clutch, to engage the But if we keep repeating journey is accomplished
rich in fruits bowl of anti-nausea medication. In extract may help improve people are willing to get pushing someone’s car. engine with a jerk and good choices, the impe- through the seven chap-
are associat- cherries. fact, several studies agree symptoms such as abdom- duped into believing When the engine does kick start it. tus will develop in the ters of the book.
ed with a that ginger is effective at inal pain, nausea, constipa- these alluring marketing not turn on with the This is an illustration beneficial direction and CWTfaXcTaXbV[^QP[b_XaXcdP[
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standing up while organisations such as natural phenomenon
Iconstruct
ritual designed to
the idea of
singing National
Anthem is a ritual.
tribe and nation. They
help bind people
but cultural myths,
i.e. people's truths. It
a nation-state. Just as Through rituals and together, grant pride is what humans do to
the flag is a modern- symbols were con- and identity to a peo- establish a commu-
day symbol and struct ideas that create ple. These are not a nity.
9RcZdY:jVc8RjCZXYed2TeZgZde+
he idea of republic another. We all define equality is the key for dict by the Supreme
T is basically an oath
to the Constitution,
equality in the ways
we perceive it. The
a society to perform
well and excel. It
Court, decriminalis-
ing Section 377, a lot
besides inconveniencing a large part of which strives to see all idea of equality too is might be different for changed and I think
M the regiments of the
Indian Army, Navy, Air
Force, Police and
Paramilitary forces, dis-
play of the Indian Defence prowess, lat-
est missiles, aircrafts, weapon systems,
the populace in the capital? Does it still
have some importance among the cit-
izens of India or is it merely a public
holiday for them? We might find the
tricolour at a roadside vendor’s shop
or children selling them at traffic sig-
of us as equals. The
truth is that we are dis-
tinct and completely
different from one
different for every-
body. Hence, this
Republic Day, it’s time
to remember that
various sections of the
society, including the
marginalised one.
After the historic ver-
now, the LGBTQIA+
community is very
much a part of the
Republic.
colourful tableaus showcasing the
beauty of different states of India — the
Republic Day parade in Delhi has
nals only to be trampled upon later.
We speak to experts from various
fields to know how the idea of Republic
>RjRDYRc^RBfVVc2TeZgZde+ 5c3YfgR_=R]]2feY`c+
always been a visual treat. But beyond Day has changed over the years and oday, the idea of Ambedkar. I feel, that over
appearances, what does the idea of cel-
ebrating this day holds out for people
what it means now. T Republic has translat-
ed, rather seeped, into our
the years, the meaning of
Republic also lost the
ordinary lives in an extra- powerful values enshrined
ordinarily historical way. in our Constitution. But
With a massive number of whatever be the odds,
people supporting and GST, VAW, CAA laws and
joining the Kisan Rally, it’s divisive politics — these
a proud, uplifting have brought people
moment. It’s like a dream together with compassion
finding feet. I, and sever- like never before. How
al others, incredible it is. What an
experience of freedom, s a biographer of Netaji Subhas
dissent, diversity, respect
and equity that our gener-
A Chandra Bose, over the years, I
have observed that the respect he
ation born post- gained from ordinary Indians, most of
bow to our daughters and Independence is experi- whom were born post-1947, is incred-
sons of the soil for this encing! ible. This Republic Day, we need to
emergence of a We, the people of remember that people like him and our
‘Republic’ that was India, this January 26, Armed Forces in difficult terrains and
conceived by our 2021, resolve to give to inhospitable weather conditions, con-
founding mothers ourselves the values of tinuously defending and standing up
and fathers and Constitution all over for the biggest democracy in the world.
Dr Bhim Rao again. Jai Hind!
=4F34;78kCD4B30H k90=D0AH !%!! b_^ac !

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game average of 1.67 is the
274;B40<0=064AB fourth-lowest of any perma-
?A4<84A;406D4 nent Chelsea manager in the

=R^aRcU
?>8=CB?4A60<4 Premier League.
Tuchel only became avail-
0eaP\6aP]c !" able a month ago when he left Leach and Sibley took four
PSG, less than five months wickets each to set up England’s
! 9^bT<^daX]W^ ! ( after taking them to the win.
" 0]c^]X^2^]cT ! # Champions League final, The hosts started their sec-
which they lost to Bayern ond innings early in the day
# 2Pa[^0]RT[^ccX !& Munich. with a lead of 37 but it all came
$ ;dXi5T[X_TBR^[PaX (% The 47-year-old German to an end in the afternoon ses-
won back-to-back league titles sion.
% 6ddb7XSSX]Z (# with PSG, but that was not Number 10 Embuldeniya
& <PdaXiX^BPaaX '# enough to satisfy the club’s top-scored with 40, after taking
Qatari owners, who replaced seven wickets with his left-arm
05?Q ;>=3>= Chelsea said in a statement. ' A^QTac^3X<PcT^ '" him with former Tottenham spin to end England’s first
“However, recent results ( 2[PdSX^AP]XTaX '! manager Mauricio Pochettino. innings on 344. He was the
helsea sacked manager and performances have not Prior to PSG, Tuchel only batsman to score more

C Frank L ampard on
Monday after 18
months in charge, with former
met the club’s expectations,
leaving the club mid-table
without any clear path to sus-
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&
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impressed at B orussia
Dortmund, having started his
managerial career with
than 20 as Sri Lanka collapsed
from 29 for one in their second
innings.
Paris Saint-Germain boss tained improvement.” Augsburg and then Mainz. Embuldeniya put up some
Thomas Tuchel reportedly set The club’s Russian owner French champions in Lampard is Chelsea’s resistance with a ninth-wicket
to replace him at Stamford Roman Abramovich said: December, is in line to take record goalscorer and won stand of 48 with Suranga
Bridge. “This was a very difficult over, reports said. three Premier League titles Lakmal, who made 11 not out,
Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup decision for the club, not Chelsea are struggling in during his glittering playing 9^TA^^cW^[SbfX]]Tab´ca^_WhPUcTa4]V[P]SQTPcBaX;P]ZPX]!]SCTbc /822
before Root took the final two
fourth-round win against least because I have an ninth place in the Premier career at Stamford Bridge, as wickets with his off-spin.
Championship side excellent personal League table, 11 points behind well as the Champions and 05?Q 60;;4 spinners Jack Leach and Dom Leach’s left-arm spin got
Luton was not relationship with leaders Manchester United. Europa Leagues and other Bess skittled out Sri Lanka for Kusal Perera trapped lbw for
enough to save Frank and I have They have lost five of domestic honours. om Sibley and Jos Buttler 126 in their second innings. 14, and off-spinner Bess sent
Lampard, whose
team have
the utmost respect
for him.
their past eight Premier
League matches after a good
His first managerial post-
ing was at Championship club
D anchored a run chase after
a jittery start as England beat
Left-arm spinner Lasith
Embuldeniya claimed three
back Oshada Fernando for
three in the first session. First-
slumped to ninth “He is a man start to the season. Derby. In his one season in Sri Lanka by six wickets on wickets that gave Sri Lanka innings centurion Angelo
place in the of great integri- Lampard signed a three- charge, they reached the Monday in the second Test to hope and helped him to his Test- Mathews was then bowled by
Premier League. ty and has the year deal in 2019 and despite Championship play-off final, sweep the series 2-0. best match figures of 10-200. Bess for five and Chandimal fell
Chelsea said highest of work a transfer ban, led them to the where they lost to Aston Villa. Sibley and Buttler put on Debutant spinner Ramesh to Leach, with James Anderson
it had been a e t h i c s . FA Cup final and a fourth- Lampard then became the an unbeaten 75-run stand as Mendis got the key wicket of taking a superb running catch.
“ver y difficult Howe ve r, place finish in his first man- 10th full-time manager England, who were struggling skipper Joe Root, who scored Earlier Dilruwan Perera
decision” to part under cur- agerial campaign at Stamford appointed by Abramovich at 89/4, got to their target of 164 11 after his 186 in England’s trapped overnight batsman
ways with the 42- rent circum- Bridge. since the billionaire bought in an extended final session on first innings total of 344, to add Leach lbw for one on just the
year-old, who stances we But a huge outlay of the club in 2003. the fourth day in Galle. to the scare given to the 11th ball of the day after
replaced Maurizio believe it is around £220 million on new “He is an important icon The result gave England a tourists. Embuldeniya took England resumed on 339 for
Sarri in July 2019. best to change players including Ben Chilwell of this great club and his sta- second successive Test white- Zak Crawley for 13 and then nine in Galle.
“We are grateful managers.” and German attackers Kai tus here remains undimin- wash in Sri Lanka after winning ended Jonny Bairstow’s stay England now head to India
to Frank for what he Former Havertz and Timo Werner ished,” said Abramovich. “He all three matches in the island after a quickfire 29, putting for a four-Test series starting
has achieved in his PSG boss Tuchel, has failed to translate into will always be warmly wel- nation in 2018. England’s nerves on edge, but February 5 in Chennai. The
time as head coach who was abruptly improved results. comed back at Stamford England were given a dead- Sibley calmly moved to his first two Tests will be played to
of the club,” sacked by the Lampard’s points-per- Bridge.” line to finish in the day after third Test half-century. empty stadiums.

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05?Q <03A83 Simeone after assisting Suarez

uis Suarez scored a bril-
L liant team goal as Atletico
Madrid came from behind to
beat Valencia 3-1 on Sunday
and move seven points clear
at the top of La Liga.
After Real Madrid
thrashed Alaves on Saturday,
Barca had earlier followed suit
with a scrappy victory over
Elche.
But Atletico were
undeterred in the cap-
ital, as their consider-
able advantage was
restored again, with a
game in hand.
“We don’t get car-
ried away or think too far
ahead, we think about getting
better,” said Atletico coach
Diego Simeone.
Suarez finished off a flow-
ing move that had started
almost on Atletico’s goal-line
before substitute Angel
Correa capped another slick
string of passes to end
Valencia’s resistance.
The visitors had taken an
early lead in stunning fashion,
Uros Racic curling into the
top corner from 35 yards but
Joao Felix equalised and
Atletico came back, in a way
that has begun to feel expect-
ed.
Felix was replaced by
Correa after an hour by
and scoring a goal for himself
that should send a message to
his coach, who has handed
the 21-year-old a spell on the
bench in recent weeks.
“It’s not written that foot-
ballers have to play 90 min-
utes,” said Simeone. “Joao
scored a goal, made an assist,
he came off and on came
Correa, who scored a goal
and was close to anoth-
er. The competition is
healthy.”
Simeone knows
the pressure will
mount as the La Liga
trophy comes more
into view, yet his team
are showing an assuredness
now that is offering little
encouragement for Barcelona
and Real Madrid.
Earlier, Frenkie de Jong
scored in the 39th and set up
Riqui Puig’s 89th-minute goal
to give Barcelona its fourth
league win in a row as Messi
served the second of his two-
game suspension for hitting
an opponent.
The Catalan club moved
a point in front of Sevilla,
which on Saturday beat Cádiz
3-0.
It was the first time
Barcelona won four consecu-
tive league matches this sea-
son, with all four victories
coming in away matches.

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New Delhi: The start of the inaugural World Test
Championship final has been pushed back by eight days and
will now begin at Lord’s on June 18, keeping in mind the
proximity with the next IPL’s summit showdown.
The final of the inaugural championship was tentative-
ly scheduled to begin on June 10 at the iconic venue in
London.
However, since the Indian Premier League final is also
expected to be played around the same dates, it could have
complicated the quarantine schedule of the participating play-
ers.
“The WTC Final will now be played from June 18-22
and June 23 will be the reserve day. As background we pushed
it back to allow for any quarantine that may be imposed, par-
ticularly given the close proximity to the end of the IPL and
the original dates) so driven by quarantine,” a BCCI source
said.
The IPL schedule has not been finalised as yet but it is
expected to conclude towards the end the May.
There is a close fight between India, Australia and New
Zealand to compete for the title. India are leading the table
with 430 points (PCT 71.7), followed by New Zealand (420,
PCT 70) and Australia (332, PCT 69.2). PTI