DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES SINCE 1932 `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Police were with the mob, left us with those Minaret of

Ayodhya
men, says woman who was stripped, raped mosque faces
demolition,
In the complaint, they said
SUKRITA BARUAH
GUWAHATI, JULY 20
that they fled to a forest for shel-
ter after their village in
matter in HC
Kangpokpi district was attacked
ADAYafteravideooftwowomen by a mob, and that they were
from the Kuki-Zomi community later rescued by Thoubal police.
being paraded naked and sexu- The complaint stated that
ally assaulted in Manipur sur- they were being taken to the po- Rescue on in Irshalwadi village of Raigad district. Narendra Vaskar
faced on social media, one of the licestation, but were stopped on
victims told The Indian Express the way by a mob and seized
that they had been “left to the
mob by the police”.
from police custody around 2
km from their destination.
At least 16 dead, over 100
In the video from May 4, two
women, one in her 20s and the
other in her 40s, can be seen be-
But the younger woman,
speakingoverthephonefromher
husband’s home, alleged:
feared trapped as landslide Masjid Khajoor Wali is said
to be built by Nawab Mehdi
ing made to walk naked down a
road by a mob of men. Some of
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 buries Maharashtra village Hasan Khan in 1750. Express

the men can be seen dragging
the two women towards a field
and groping them. In a police
complaint that was filed on May
18, the victims had also alleged
that the younger woman was
“brutally gang raped in broad
daylight”.
START OF MONSOON SESSION A WASHOUT
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
NAYONIKA BOSE
IRSHALWADI, JULY 20
NATION’SSHAME
Guilty should face full force of AT LEAST 16 people were killed
law, Chief Minister must go and over 100 feared trapped un-
A protest in Manipur’s Churachandpur, demanding action. PTI PAGE 10 der the debris of a massive land-
slide in Irshalwadi, a hilly tribal
village in Khalapur tehsil of
Maharashtra'sRaigaddistrict,on
BUSINESS AS USUAL Wednesday night. The district
pleresideinthevillage,of which
70wereunaffected.Twenty-one
people were rescued safely, of
which six injured have been ad-
mitted to the MGM hospital,”
Fadnavis told the Assembly on
Thursday.
ChiefMinisterEknathShinde,
who reached the spot early
Thursday morning and oversaw
rescue and relief operations
ASAD REHMAN
LUCKNOW, JULY 20
A MINARET of an 18th century
Shia community mosque in
Ayodhya is facing demolition
proceedingsbytheUttarPradesh
Public Works Department
(PWD) as it is coming in the way
of thewideningof anarterialsix-

Manipur:PMbreakssilence,Opp
has received heavy rainfall for
BY UNNY the last 48 hours.
Briefing the Assembly on the
incident, Deputy Chief Minister
throughout the day, announced lane road in the temple town.
acompensationof Rs5lakheach Governmentofficialssaidthe
to the families of the victims. minaret of the mosque, Masjid
Shindesaidthevillagewasnoton Khajoor Wali, located at Gudri

wantshisstatementinParliament
and Home Minister Devendra
Fadnavis said the incident oc-
curred at about 11 pm on
Wednesday. “A total of 228 peo-
the list of landslide-prone areas. Bazarof thetown,isencroaching
Thevillageislocatednearthe upon nearly 3 metres of the pro-
Irshalgad fort, which is a popular posedwideningof theroad,Ram
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Outrage over rape

video spreads;
Simply unacceptable… 4 held in a day ‘To build chip ecosystem, China took 30 years,
after FIR but still unsuccessful. We are trusted, resilient...’
CM under fire, act or we will: CJI-led gathered dust ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
announces action
bench warns Govt for 42 days
MUMBAI, JULY 20

FULL COVERAGE ONE OF the “toughest” parts in

LIZ MATHEW, MANOJ C G
& HARIKISHAN SHARMA
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
THE NATIONAL outrage over a
video of two women being pa-
raded naked and sexually as-
saulted in Manipur washed out
proceedings in Parliament on
the opening day of the monsoon
session Thursday as the
Opposition targeted the govern-
ment and the Supreme Court
warned that it would step in if
the government did not act.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi,breakinghissilenceonthe
ethnic violence in the state, ex-
pressed“sorrowandanger”over
the incident captured on video
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
ANANTHAKRISHNAN G
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
EXPRESSING “DEEP concern”
over the video of two women
beingparadednakedinManipur
and calling it “simply unaccept-
able” and“the grossestof consti-
tutional and human rights vio-
lations”, a Supreme Court bench
led by Chief Justice of India D Y
Chandrachud told the govern-
ment Thursday to act, and
warned “otherwise,wewilltake
actionif nothingishappeningon
the ground”.
As soon as the bench, also
comprisingJusticesPSNarasimha
and Manoj Misra, assembled in
the morning, CJI Chandrachud
Asks Union
Home Secy,
Manipur
Chief Secy to
file affidavits
turned to Attorney General R
Venkataramani and Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta — their
presence had been sought — and
said, “Why we asked you to be
present is because we are deeply
disturbed by the video which
emergedyesterdayabouttheway
those two women were paraded
in Manipur. We want to express
our very, very deep concern as a
court on what’s happening.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
convincing semiconductor gi-
SUKRITA BARUAH CONG SEEKS CM’S ants to set up shop in India is
& JIMMY LEIVON their scepticism over the coun-
GUWAHATI, IMPHAL, JULY 20 RESIGNATION, SAYS try’s inaction in the chips space
PM REMARK ‘TOO asit “repeatedly” missed the bus Chandrasekhar was guest at
IN THE 62 days between a com- LITTLE, TOO LATE’ in allowing the semiconductor Express Adda Wednesday
plaint being filed in connection PAGE 6 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
with the sexual assault of two
women in Manipur and a video
of the incident coming to light,
the FIR gathered dust at two po-
lice stations, even as the state
saw several high-level meetings
to discuss the security situation.
Infact,ittook overamonthfor
theFIRtobetransferredtotherel-
evant police station since the vic-
timshadfledtheirhomesandhad
approachedpoliceinanotherdis-
trict,TheIndianExpresshaslearnt.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

No question
of Uniform
Civil Code
modalities at
this stage: Govt
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 20

WITH OVER four years having

passed since the 21st Law
Commissionissuedaconsultation
paper on ‘reform of family law’,
the government Thursday said
views were being sought afresh
on the Uniform Civil Code by the
22nd Law Commission given its
relevance and importance.
“The21stLawCommissionof
India had issued a consultation
paper on ‘reform of family law’
on 31.08.2018, however, it had
not submitted any report. Since
more than four years of lapse
from the date of issuance of the
said consultation paper, the
22nd Law Commission decided
to solicit views and ideas of the
public at large and religious
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

No bighurry
for law panel
THE GOVERNMENT re-
ply seems to suggest the
law panel will have ex-
tensive consultations be-
fore wrapping up its de-
liberations. It has also not
specified any timeframe
for submitting its report.

THE WORLD
QURAN PROTESTS:
IRAQ EXPELS
SWEDEN ENVOY,
EMBASSY STORMED
PAGE 12
Lucknow
 2 THE SECOND PAGE
FROM PAGE ONE
Manipur: SC steps in, PM breaks silence
andsaidithadshamedthenation.
Speakingtothemediaoutside
ParliamentHousebeforethestart
of thesession,thePrimeMinister
said,“Today,asIstandamongyou
in the temple of democracy, my
heart is filled with sorrow and
anger over the incident in
Manipur.Thisincidentisashame-
fulactforanycivilisedsociety.The
perpetrators of this sin, the
wrongdoers, whoever they are,
the entire nation is feeling
ashamed. 140 crore citizens are
feeling embarrassed.”
“IappealtoallChief Ministers
to strengthen law and order in
theirstates,especiallytakingstrin-
gentstepstoensurethesafetyand
protectionofourmothersandsis-
ters. Whether the incident hap-
pensinRajasthan,Chhattisgarhor
Manipur,inanycornerofIndia,in
any state… rising above political
disputesandmaintainingthesig-
nificanceoftheruleoflawandthe
respect for women is crucial,”
Modi said. “I want to assure the
citizens of this country that no
wrongdoer will be spared. Every
step will be taken to enforce law
forcefully,withallitsmight.What
● 4 held in a day after FIR gathered dust for 62 days, meetings went on
Speakingadayafterthevideo
surfacedandledtocallsforhisres-
ignation, Chief Minister N Biren
Singhsoughttoexplainthedelay
in police action saying, “There
were over 6,000 FIRs even as the
violence continued. Police were
trying to identify the case when
thevideosurfaced.Assoonaswe
got hold of the video, we could
identify the culprits and action
was taken immediately and we
arrested two persons, including
the main culprit.”
Thewomenwerestrippedand
paradedonMay4inthevalleydis-
trictofThoubal,andapolicecom-
plaintwasfiledbythehusbandof
one of the victims on May 18. Yet,
itwasonlyafterthevideosurfaced
Wednesday that police took ac-
tion,arrestingfourofthemenseen
inthevideo.Whileoneofthefour
has been identified as Huirem
Herodas Meitei, 32, police are yet
tonametheothers.
While the investigation into
this case saw no movement, the
state witnessed a series of high-
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hashappenedtothedaughtersof
Manipur can never be forgiven,”
he said.
The PM’s remarks came min-
utes before the start of proceed-
ingsinbothHouseswhereseveral
Opposition members had given
notice, seeking adjournment of
proceedings to discuss the situa-
tioninManipur.Whilethegovern-
ment said it was ready to discuss
theManipurissueundertherules,
itsaidtheOppositionappearedto
have “made up their mind to not
let Parliament function”. The
Opposition, on the other hand,
blamed the treasury benches for
not allowing a discussion, which
they wanted to start with a state-
mentfromthePrimeMinister.
In Lok Sabha, before the start
of proceedings,SoniaGandhi,ac-
cordingtotheCongress,askedthe
Prime Minister to hold a discus-
sion on the Manipur situation
when he walked up to her to ex-
change pleasantries and inquire
about her health. In Rajya Sabha,
the government and the
Opposition differed over the for-
matofthediscussion,resultingin
adjournmentoftheHouse.Union
profilevisitsandhigh-levelmeet-
ings to discuss the violence:
■ May 27, Chief of Army Staff
Manoj Pande visited the state to
review the security situation.
■ May 29, Home Minister
Amit Shah arrived in Manipur on
afour-dayvisitduringwhichthere
wereseveralroundsofsecurityre-
view meetings as well as meet-
ings with multiple stakeholders.
■ June 4, the Centre consti-
tuted a Commission of Inquiry
headed by former Gauhati High
Court Chief Justice Ajai Lamba.
■ June 10, North East
Democratic Alliance head and
Assam Chief Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma visited Imphal and
met with CM Singh and other
stakeholders. He also met Kuki
stakeholders in Assam later.
■ June 24, an all-party meet-
ing called by Shah was held in
Delhi.
■ June26,PM NarendraModi
chaired a high-level meeting in
which Shah, Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman and
EXCLUSIVE
WEB
LIFETSYLE
MinisterandLeaderof theHouse
Piyush Goyal got up and said “on
behalf of thegovernment,weare
readyforadiscussiononManipur
and there is absolutely no prob-
lem in accepting this notice.”
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar
said “since the Leader of the
House has volunteered that the
government is keen for a discus-
sion on Manipur… I find the no-
tices in order.” He said under the
mandateoftheruleforashortdu-
ration discussion, he has to con-
sulttheLeaderof theHousetofix
atimeanddateforthediscussion.
Leader of the Opposition and
Congress president Mallikarjun
Khargeasked“how(can)aLeader
of theHousesuddenlygetupand
say we are ready because the
agendaisnotreadfully…Youhave
to suspend all other business and
take up this… not half an hour
(discussion).”Inhisnotice,Kharge
said the Centre and the state gov-
ernmentfailedtocontrolthe“rag-
ing violence and to restore peace
and normalcy in the state of
Manipur”resultinginkillingof142
people and displacement of over
54,000 people. His notice, made
Petroleum Minister Hardeep
Singh Puri were present, along
with senior officials.
CM Singh, DGP Rajiv Singh
and Manipur Unified Command
head Kuldiep Singh did not re-
spond to queries on whether this
particular case had been brought
totheirattentionatthestate-level
security review meetings.
When The Indian Express
askedhimwhyittookmorethan
two months for police to act,
ThoubalSuperintendentofPolice
Sachidananda said police “could
not take any action” so far due to
“lackofevidence”.“Weonlycame
to know about the video yester-
day. Now that we have evidence
in the form of the video, we have
swungintoactionandhavebegun
making arrests,” he said.
He also cited the victims not
beinginThoubalfollowingthein-
cident as a reason for the delay.
In the police complaint, it has
beenstatedthatthewomenwere
with police personnel from
Thoubal’sNongpokSekmaipolice
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
LLAMA 2 FROM META SIGNALS WORRY FOR CHATGPT: WHAT IS IT & HOW TO ACCESS
MetaandMicrosofthavepartneredtointroducetheLlama2largelanguagemodel.Here’swhatitmeansfor
thelikesofOpenAI’sChatGPTandGoogleBard.
SINGER HARIHARAN’S
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
‘Spontaneity makes live
performances truly
exhilarating’
public by the Congress, sought a
discussion on the “Prime
Minister’sshockingandunprece-
dented dereliction of duty and
abandonment of the state of
Manipur for over nearly 80 days
now… The Home Minister’s ab-
solutefailureinresolvingtheissue
athandandestablishingandfacil-
itatingpeaceprocessandeffortsin
the state despite his visit to the
state… and the complete failure
and criminal negligence of the
Chief Minister of Manipur and its
state government.” When Goyal
saidthegovernmentwasreadyfor
adiscussion,JairamRameshofthe
Congressdemandedthepresence
ofthePrimeMinisterintheHouse.
“Let the Prime Minister give a
statement… We will discuss,”
Khargesaid.
In Lok Sabha too, the
Opposition protested, saying “Let
PM come to the House”.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Pralhad Joshi warned the
Opposition that the nation was
watching them disrupt proceed-
ings even after the government
had said there could be a discus-
siononManipur. WITHDIVYAA
stationwhenamobseizedthem.
Asked how police personnel
did not, then, identify any of the
perpetrators, the SP said the po-
lice were not present at the site.
“That very day, the Nongpok
Sekmai police station was being
mobbed by people trying to loot
arms. Police were busy guarding
the police station,” he said.
Thisisincontrasttowhatone
of the women, who was also al-
legedlyrapedbythemob,toldThe
Indian Express: “The police were
therewiththemobwhichwasat-
tacking our village. The police
picked us up from near home,
took us a little away from the vil-
lage and left us on the road with
the mob. We were given to them
bythepolice.”Anotherdelaywas
inthetransferofthecasebetween
policestations.Thecomplaintwas
firstfiledatSaikulpolicestationin
Kangpokpi district, based on
which a zero FIR was registered.
But,itwasonJune21thatthecase
wastransferredtotherelevantpo-
lice station in Nongpok Sekmai.
● ‘To build chip ecosystem...We are trusted, resilient...’
industry to take off over the last
60-70 years, Union Minister of
State for Electronics and IT and
Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship Rajeev
Chandrasekhar said during the
Express Adda Wednesday.
“So, you have to make the
pitch to them (global chip giants)
thatmanythingshavechangedin
thelasteightyears,Indiahasavi-
brant electronics ecosystem, and
thebestfactoriesof theworldare
beingbuilthere…wehaveshown
themthefactoriesthathavebeen
built in places like Noida in 12
months which are among the
largest manufacturing plants for
mobilephones,”theministersaid.
Chandrasekharwasinconver-
sation with Anant Goenka,
ExecutiveDirector,IndianExpress
Group, and Anil Sasi, National
BusinessEditor,TheIndianExpress.
Toaquestionontherecentde-
cision of the Goods and Services
TaxCounciltoimpose28percent
tax on online gaming,
Chandrasekhar said once the IT
Ministryputstogethertheframe-
work for permissible online
games, it will approach the
Council to reconsider their deci-
sion on levying the tax on the full
face value of the bets placed on
such platforms.
Hesaidtherehavebeensome
“bad actors” in the gaming space
whose actions have conditioned
the view that various states took
in the GST Council. However, he
pointed out that depending on
how the tax finally gets inter-
● Police left us
“The police were there with the
mob which was attacking our
village. The police picked us up
from near our home, took us a
little away from the village and
leftusontheroadwiththemob.
We were given to them by the
police.”
In their complaint, the vic-
tims had said there were five of
them who were there together:
the two women seen in the
video, another woman in her
50s who was also allegedly
stripped, and the father and
brotherof theyoungestwoman,
who they alleged were killed by
the mob. “After the men were
killed, and the mob did what
they did, we were just left there
and we escaped,” she said.
She said that she and her
family have not been aware of
the existence of a video captur-
ing the incident, which has
sparked national outrage and
promptedthestategovernment
and police to take action two
months after the FIR was filed.
“There is no Internet here in
Manipur, we wouldn’t know,”
she said. She said that while
there were “too many” men
who were part of the mob, she
was able to recognise a few of
them, including one who she
said was a friend of her
brother’s.
In first remarks since the
video emerged, Chief Minister
N Biren Singh tweeted: “After
taking suo motu cognisance of
the incident immediately after
the videosurfaced, theManipur
Police swung to action and
made the first arrest this morn-
ing. A thorough investigation is
currentlyunderwayandwewill
ensure strict action is taken
against all the perpetrators, in-
cluding considering the possi-
bility of capital punishment. Let
it be known, there is absolutely
noplace forsuch heinousactsin
our society.”
Governor Anusuiya Uikey
sought to know why no action
wastakenonthewomen’scom-
plaint.
“I can’t believe this type of
incident happened in my state.
I want to know why no action
was taken on the complaint of
the women. I called the DGP of
my state today. Never in the fu-
ture should any person have the
courage to commit these types
of crimes against women,” she
said
preted, there is a chance that
“smaller start-ups could quickly
die and that is certainly not what
our policy objective is”.
He said the break-up of the
Vedanta and Foxconn joint ven-
ture to set up a fab in India is “not
a blow to India’s semiconductor
ambitions,” since there will now
be two proposals instead of one.
InDecember2021,theMinistryof
ElectronicsandIT(MeitY)hadan-
nounced a $10 billion semicon-
ductor manufacturing plan.
“Both Vedanta and Foxconn
have said they will send propos-
alstosetupfabsinIndia,sowewill
have two proposals when earlier
there was only one proposal. I
don’t think it is a blow, this is ac-
tually a good thing for the coun-
trywhereboththepartnerswant
topursuetheirchipstrategyinde-
pendently,” he said.
Highlighting the complexity
of putting together a viable chip
ecosystem, Chandrasekhar said,
“The Prime Minister’s vision is to
createasuccessfulchipecosystem
in India in the next ten years.
CountrieslikeChinatook30years
todothatandtheyarestillunsuc-
cessfuldespitehavingspent$200
billion on their ambitions… We
areatrustedpartnertotheworld,
weareresilient,andwerepresent
domesticdemandinourownam-
bitions of digitalisation.”
Chandrasekhar also said the
government is trying to build the
entire ecosystem around semi-
conductors,whichincludesstart-
upsthatcandesignthenext-gen-
UPSC SPECIALS
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● 16 dead, over 100 feared trapped
trekking destination during the
weekends. Most of the villagers
belongtotheThakurAdivasitribe
andarereportedtohavebeenliv-
ingintheareaforgenerations.
TeamsoftheNationalDisaster
ResponseForce(NDRF),“compris-
ing20-30personnel,arrivedinthe
areaintheearlyhoursofThursday
tocarryoutrescueoperations.The
search operation was called off at
about 5 pm, and is set to com-
menceearlyFridaymorning.“We
received a call about the incident
at1.45amandleftwithinhalf-an-
hour. We reached the foothills
around 4 am, and trekked up the
hilltocarryoutrescueoperations,”
● Minaret of Ayodhya mosque faces demolition
Path, that connects the
Shahadatganj area on the
Lucknow-Ayodhyahighwaywith
Naya Ghat in Ayodhya city. Time
hasbeengiventothemosqueau-
thorities to build a beam to keep
the mosque intact and then re-
movetheminaret,theyadded.
Meanwhile,themosquecom-
mittee has already filed a petition
in the Allahabad High Court
againstdemolitionnotices.Thepe-
tition was first heard on March 3,
when the court passed an order
seekingrepliesfromtheShiaWaqf
Board, Ayodhya District
Magistrate, and the PWD. The
matterwasheardbyabenchthat
fixed April 21 as the next date of
hearing.
AdvocateIntezarHussain,who
ispartofthemosquecommittee’s
legalteam,saidthattherepliesby
all parties have been filed in the
court.“Inthepetition,wetoldthe
courtthatthemosqueisahistori-
cal structure and a symbol for the
Shia community. We have asked
● No question of UCC modalities at this stage: Govt
organisations on 14.06.2023,
bearinginmindtherelevanceand
importanceof thesubjectmatter
and also various court orders on
thesubjectofuniformcivilcode,”
Union Minister of State for Law
and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal
saidinwrittenrepliestotheRajya
Sabha.
Responding to another ques-
tion on modalities of the UCC,
Meghwalsaidsincethelawpanel
wasintheprocessofholdingcon-
sultations,“thequestionofmodal-
itiesdoesnotaccrueatthisstage”.
eration chips. “The way technol-
ogy performance is being built, it
is no longer a unipolar approach
towards the next generation of
performance. Design innovation
is also creating performance en-
hancement,systemdesignisalso
adding to it, packaging is also an
important part going forward, as
wellasfabsandthelatestnodes,”
hesaid.“LookatNvidiawhichisa
fablesscompany,buttheyhavein-
tellectual property for the next
generation of GPUs. So, because
theworldisnowcreatingaspace
for design led performance, it is
the right time for India to be a
player in the semiconductor
space. Outside of North America,
we have the largest pool of semi-
conductortalent,closeto100,000
engineers are working for the
globalmajors.Iftheycanstartde-
velopingnextgenerationdevices,
thatiswhatwewantfromthem,”
he said.
TheMinistersaidthatthegov-
ernment is funding start-ups in
the design space through grants
and equity, and is also encourag-
ingthebigcompaniestoalsopart-
ner with Indian start-ups so that
Indiacanhaveco-ownedintellec-
tual property and devices in the
short term. He also said the in-
stances of corporate misgover-
nance at some Indian start-ups is
somethingthatconcernsthegov-
ernment. “The Indian start-up
ecosystem is being observed by
the whole world… for us it is an
assetthathastobeprotected,nur-
tured and expanded,” he said.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023
Express Investigation:
How patients were
scammed at a top
government hospital
3 Things discusses The Indian Express’ latest
investigation about how a senior doctor
and a nexus of middlemen duped patients
from poor families at one of India’s largest
medical institutes run by the Centre.
saidDeepakTiwari,aseniorNDRF
official.
Rescueoperationswereham-
pered due to heavy rainfall. The
narrowroadsleadinguptothehill,
muddy from the rainfall, made
movement of heavy machinery
difficult. So, the NDRF teams had
to dig through the debris manu-
ally. “Of the total 40 houses in the
village, 17 have been affected. We
havedeployedfourteamstocon-
ductrescueoperations.Thedebris
at some places is 10-29 feet deep.
It is difficult to bring heavy ma-
chinery to this place. It is a 2.8 km
trektoreachthespotandwehave
to remove the debris manually,
the court to direct the concerned
authorities to not demolish the
minaret. The case was last taken
up on March 3, after which it was
not heard due to paucity of time.
Wewillseekadatefromthecourt
soon,”saidHussain.
Mosque caretaker Parvez
HussainonThursdaysaidthatthe
administrationisputtingpressure
on the mosque management to
demolishaportionofthemosque,
which is registered with the UP
ShiaWaqfBoard.Accordingtothe
mosque committee officials, the
structure was built by Nawab
Mehdi Hasan Khan in 1750. “In
December last year, we wrote to
thetopauthorities,butreceivedno
response,” said Hussain, adding
that namaz is offered at the
mosquefivetimesaday.
In a letter to the Ayodhya
Divisional Commissioner in
December last year, the mosque
committeesaidthatthereissome
nazul (government) land to the
northofthemosque,whichcould
On the first day of the mon-
soonsession,theRajyaSabhasaw
four questions on the proposed
uniform civil code including one
from BJP MP from Karnataka
Iranna Kadadi. Marumalarchi
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s
Vaiko, CPI(M) MP Elamaram
Kareem and JD(U) MP Ramnath
Thakur also sought details on the
Commission’sinterventioninthe
UCC debate.
On June 14, the Commission
headedbyformerKarnatakaHigh
CourtChiefJusticeRiturajAwasthi
● Act or we will: CJI bench to Govt
“I think it’s time the govern-
ment really steps in and takes ac-
tion because this is simply unac-
ceptable. Using women as an
instrumentinanareaof commu-
nalstrifeforinflictinggendervio-
lenceisdeeply,deeplydisturbing
and simply unacceptable to the
court,” he said.
“It is the grossest of constitu-
tional and human rights viola-
tions… We will give a little time
to the government to act.
Otherwise, we will take action if
nothing is happening on the
ground. We are conscious of the
fact that the video which ap-
pearedyesterdayisfromMay,but
that makes no difference… It
doesn’t have to be a video of yes-
terday. It’s very, very deeply dis-
turbing,” the CJI said.
The bench sought to know
whathadbeendonesinceMayto
nab the culprits.
“What action has been taken
since May to bring the perpetra-
tors to book? And second, what
action has been taken to ensure
that this is not repeated? Who
knows it may be isolated, it may
not be isolated. It may be a pat-
tern.” “Across history and across
theworld,theuseofwomenasan
instrumenttoperpetrateviolence
in these situations has happened
but at least in a constitutional
democracy,thisisunacceptable,”
the CJI said.
The bench said it will take up
the matter along with pending
petitions on the Manipur issue.
“Wewilldictateashortorder.We
whichislikelytotakealotoftime.
We will continue our operations
tillweretrievethelastperson,”said
SBSingh,Commandantofthe5th
battalionof theNDRF.
Besides a team of the Thane
DisasterReliefForcecomprising15
personnel, several trekkers and
companieshavealsojoinedrescue
operations. “As more manpower
wasrequired,1,000workersalong
withmachineryweresentthrough
CIDCO.Theyhavereachedandare
working under the supervision of
NDRF.ThreeBobcatmachineshave
beenarrangedbytheMaharashtra
PollutionControlBoard,”Fadnavis
toldtheAssembly.
beusedforroadwideningsoasto
savetheminaretfromdemolition.
UP Shia Waqf Board chairper-
son Ali Zaidi confirmed that the
mosque is registered with the
Board. “The mosque committee
has approached the court. We
have also held talks with the dis-
trictadministration,”saidZaidi.
Ayodhya Additional District
Magistrate(ADMExecutive)Amit
Singh said that along with the
mosque, several other religious
structures have faced similar ac-
tion for widening of the road.
“During the survey, it was found
that 2,200 structures were com-
ing in the way of the 12.94-km
Ram Path… The structures in-
cluded30temples,ninemosques
and six other shrines. When the
work started, we held talks with
all stakeholders from November
last year till April. We gave com-
pensation for the structures to
ownersorcaretakers.Templeidols
and other shrines were shifted or
moved,”saidSingh.
invited public views on UCC in
four weeks. On June 27, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi made a
strongpitchfortheUCCwhilead-
dressing a rally in poll bound
Madhya Pradesh.
After receiving an over-
whelming response, the
CommissiononJuly14extended
the deadline by two weeks. The
Indian Express had reported that
the principles of gender, parity
andequalitybeforelawarelikely
toshapethecontoursof thepro-
posed UCC.
willtakeitupintheManipurmat-
ter,” it said.
“We have taken up the pro-
ceedings in the above petition by
requesting the Attorney General
and the Solicitor General to be
present at 10.30 am. The Court is
deeply disturbed by the visuals
which have appeared in the me-
dia since yesterday, depicting the
perpetrationofsexualassaultand
violence on women in Manipur.
What is portrayed in the media
would indicate gross constitu-
tionalviolationsandinfractionsof
human rights. Using women as
instrumentsforperpetratingvio-
lence is simply unacceptable in a
constitutionaldemocracy,”itsor-
der stated.
The “court must be apprised
of thestepswhichhavebeenand
shallbetakenbythegovernment
to (i) hold the perpetrators ac-
countable; and (ii) ensure that
such incidents are not repeated”.
“The Union Government and
theStateGovernmentaredirected
to take immediate steps – reme-
dial,rehabilitativeandpreventive
– and to apprise the Court of the
action which has been taken be-
fore the next date of listing on af-
fidavit.Theaffidavitsshallbefiled
bytheUnionHomeSecretaryand
theChiefSecretaryfortheStateof
Manipur,” it stated.
Solicitor General Mehta said
he shared the concern expressed
bytheCJI,addingthatthegovern-
ment is also seriously concerned.
He said such incidents are “com-
pletely unacceptable”.
Lucknow

3 UTTAR PRADESH
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023
CM DISTRIBUTES APPOINTMENT LETTERS TO 700 CANDIDATES
Casteism, corruption biggest hurdles: CM
Says unlike past there is now no casteism or nepotism in recruitment process
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
LUCKNOW,JULY20
DISTRIBUTING APPOINTMENT
letters to about 700 candidates
of different departments se-
lected by the Uttar Pradesh
Public Service Commission,
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
Thursdaysaidthatpreviousgov-
ernments had deployed corrupt
individuals everywhere, who
were making the entire system
hollow. Asking the newly ap-
pointed officials to go strict on
corruption, the chief minister
said casteism, corruption and
bias are the biggest hurdles in
the development.
Emphasising that there is
now no casteism or nepotism in
the recruitment process like it
usedtobeinthepast,Adityanath
said there are no considerations
for region, language, or caste in
giving appointments. “Only
those who qualify will be se-
lected,” he said.
The chief minister handed
over appointment letters to the
candidates selected as a part of
the Mission Rozgar at an event
held at Lok Bhawan here.
“You will havea periodof 30-
35 years to demonstrate your
ability and capability in front of
society. The complaints related
to the general public revolve
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hands over the appointment letter to one of the candidates
selected by the UP Public Service Commission, in Lucknow on Thursday. Vishal Srivastav
around these departments. Put
your ego aside and work for the
welfare of people,” Adityanath
said.
The chief minister also
warned officials that arrogance
of any kind in dealing with the
people would work against
them.
“Now,if youareadeputycol-
lector and you refuse to interact
with people, it would work
against you,” said Adityanath
adding: “In the last 1.5 years, this
is the 21st distribution of ap-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Three cops booked for
UP SKILL DEVELOPMENT MISSION
beating man in Lucknow
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
LUCKNOW, JULY 20
IPC sections 392 (robbery), 323
(voluntarily causing hurt),
504 (intentional insult with in-
169 applicants found
tent to provoke breach of the
A DAY after two police consta- peace) and 506 (criminal intim-
bles were suspended for al- idation), said police.
eligible to run training legedly beating up a 25-year-old
man, a civil service aspirant, in
Lucknow’s Manak Nagar, three
“A case has been registered
against Anmol Kumar and two
unidentifiedpersons.Thenames
programmes: Govt police officials were booked for
alleged assault, robbery and
other charges.
of the other two have not been
mentionedinthe complaint,but
the investigating officer will in-
the empanelled agencies and in- Vineet Singh (25) was al- cludethemintheprobe,”Manak
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE stitutions by the end of August, legedly beaten up by policemen Nagar SHO Subhash Chandra
LUCKNOW, JULY 20 andbytheendofSeptemberthey Mondaynighafterheintervened Saroj said.
willstartprovidingtrainingtothe whentheywereclearingtrafficat In his complaint, Singh al-
THE UP Skill Development youths by registering them, the Barabirwa intersection, where a leged that the policemen as-
Mission has found 169 Request government said in the release. cab driver had fallen asleep after saulted him, took away his gold
for Empanelment (RFE) appli- The government added that parking his vehicle on the road. chain and also threatened to im-
cant organisations eligible to be theUPSkillDevelopmentMission Head Constable Gajendra plicate him in a fake case of drug
registered or listed under the was running short-term skill Singh and Constable Anmol peddling.SinghhadWednesday
Start-UpTrainingProviderPolicy training programs related to var- Kumar were suspended said that it was only after his
torunskilltrainingprogrammes ious employable sectors for the Wednesday. The case was regis- friend,apoliceofficerinMadhya
in the state. youth.Skilltrainingprogramsare tered against Anmol Kumar and Pradesh,intervenedthethreepo-
The applications of the 169 conductedinthedistrictsthrough two unidentified persons under licemenstoppedassaultinghim.
agencies and institutions will be government and private training
submittedforapprovalintheup- providers.
coming State Executive Andra Vamsi, Mission
pointment letters. By complet- given to 39 deputy collectors, 93 Committee meeting, after which Director, UP Skill Development,
ing the appointment process in deputy superintendents of po- anMoUwillbesignedwiththese said the quality of training pro-
less than ten months, UP Public lice, 422 medical officers ones before August 21, the state vided by the empanelled agen-
Service Commission has set a (AYUSHDepartment),sevendis- government said in a release on ciesandinstitutionswillbeinac-
new standard of fairness, trans- trict food marketing officers / Thursday. cordance with the industrial
parency,andcleanliness.”“There district supply officers, 12 treas- Under the Start-Up Training demand, the benefit of which
are many officers whom no one urers / accounts officers, 10 ex- Provider Policy and under RFE, will be that more employment
recognises, but there are also ecutive officers of Urban 2023 provisions, the training-re- opportunitieswillbeavailableto
many officers who are remem- Development Department, 44 latedtargetswillbeallottedtoall trained youths.
bered by the public for long af- naib tehsildars, 53 technical as-
tertheirserviceisover.Thesame sistants/minesofficers/minesin-
will happen to you if you treat spectors, five officials at State
National Forensic Sciences University
An Institution of National lmportance
the entire state as your family,” Property Department and 15 of- (Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India)
he told the officers. ficials under Khadi and Village
Recruitment Advertisement
Appointment letters were Industries Board.
No. NFSU/RECRUIT/FAC/01/2023 & No.
NFSU/RECRUIT/SCI/01/2023
ICAR - CENTRAL INSTITUTE FOR National Forensic Sciences University invited applications from
RESEARCH ON COTTON TECHNOLOGY eligible and qualified candidates for the vacant posts of
(Indian Council of Agricultural Research) Associate Professor (Contractual), Assistant Professor
Adenwala Road, Matunga, Mumbai-40 0 019 (Contractual) & Scientific Staff (Contractual) in various Schools
Telephone : (022)-24127273; Fax No. : 24130835/24157239 and Centres for Gandhinagar campus.
Web site : www.circot.icar.gov.in; Mail : https://circot.icar.gov.in This recruitment is purely on contractual basis. For more details
Walk-in-Interview pertaining to required educational qualification, experience,
WALK-in-Interview for One (01) contractual post of Business other essential reqUirements, how to apply and terms & condi-
Manager under ‘RKVY- RAFTAAR Agri Business Incubator (R-ABI)’ will tions etc., please refer to our website www.nfsu.ac.in. Last date
be held on 04.08.2023 at 11.00 A.M. in ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai. For for submission of online application is 29/07/2023 along with Rs
detailed information on qualification, remuneration, age limit, date & 500 application fee. Separate application to be made for individ-
time of interview etc. for the above post, prospective candidates are
requested to log on to ICAR-CIRCOT web site : https://circot.icar.gov.in ual post.
Sd/- Date: 19/07/203 Campus Direct
Sr. Administrative Officer INF/867/23-24 Executive Registrar
Lucknow
 4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023

Regional Office : 117/H/-1/240, Pandu Nagar, Kanpur

Hkkjr ljdkj dk miØe A Government of India Undertaking
Head Office : 239, Vidhan Bhawan Marg, Nariman Point Mumbai
POSSESSION NOTICE (For Immovable Properties)
[Rule-8(1)]
Whereas The undersigned being the authorized officer of Union Bank of India, under the Securitisation and
Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement Security Interest Act. 2002 and in exercise of powers
conferred under Section 13 (12) read with rule 3 of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002 issued a
demand notice calling upon borrowers/guarantors/mortgagors of account to repay the amount mentioned in
the notice being of dues with contractual rate of interest within 60 days from the date of receipt of the said
notice.
The borrower/guarantor having failed to repay the amount in full, notice is hereby given to the
borrower/guarantor and public in general that the undersigned has taken possession of the property
described herein below in exercise of powers conferred on him u/s. 13(4) of the said Act read with rule 8 of
the said rules. The borrower/guarantor in particular and the public in general is hereby cautioned not to deal
with property and any dealing with the property will subject to the charge of Union Bank of India, for an
Amount and Interest thereon.
We also wish to draw kind attention of all concerned towards section 13(8) of the Act in respect of time
available to redeem the secured assets.
Sl. Name and Address of Borrower/Guarantor & Description of Mortgage Property
No. and O/S Amount as per Demand Notice/Demand & Possession Notice Date
1. Borrower : M/s Lodheshwar Mahadev Tea Trading Company, Proprietor : Shri Ramesh
Chandra Lodhi S/o Shri Bankey Lal Lodhi, Address : 128/11/155, Deoki Nagar, Kanpur Nagar,
Guarantor : Smt Madhuri Lodhi W/o Shri Ramesh Chandra Lodhi, R/o : 128/11/155, Deoki Nagar,
Kanpur Nagar, O/s Amount as per Demand Notice : Rs. 25,16,227.81 + Intt. + Others Charges
Demand Notice Date: 13-08-2021 • Date of Constructive Possession: 15.07.2023
Property (1) : Residential Open land on Plot situated over Part of Arazi No. 1934 (M), Mohalla
Ambedkar Vihar, Mauza Daheli Sujanpur, Kanpur Nagar. Owner of Property : Smt Madhuri Lodhi
W/o Shri Ramesh Chandra Lodhi, Area : 334.44 Sq. Mtr., Bounded -North : 7.62 Mtr. or 25 Ft. Wide
Road, South : Part of Arazi No. 1934 (M), East : Plot of Mr. Prakash Pal, West : Part of Arazi No.
1934 (M) Branch : Barra World Bank, Kanpur

IYf¹ffÊ»f¹f ³f¦fSX d³f¦f¸f, ¶fSXZ»feÜ Property (2) : Land and Building constructed on Part of Azrazi No. 1314, Mauza Daheli Sujanpur,
Distt. Kanpur Nagar. Owner of Property : Smt Madhuri Lodhi W/o Shri Ramesh Chandra Lodhi,
Area : 167.226 Sq. Mtr., Bounded -North : House of Sharma Ji on part of Arazi No. 1314, South : 25

A»´fIYf»fe³f BÊ-d³fd½fQf Af¸f³Âf¯f Àfc¨f³ff Ft. Wide Road, East : Part of Arazi No. 1314, West : Part of Arazi No. 1314
2. Borrower : Smt. Vandna Chaurasiya W/o Shri Sushil Chaurasiya & Shri Sushil Chaurasiya S/o
´fÂffÔIY :- 18/´f¹ffÊ0Ad·f0/NCAP/2023-24 dQ³ffÔIY :-20 ªfb»ffBÊ, 2023 Shri Rambabu Chaurasiya, Both R/o : H-655, World Bank Colony, Barra, Kanpur Nagar.
U³f EUÔ þ»fUf¹fb ´fdSU°fʳf ¸fÔÂff»f¹f, ·ffS°f ÀfSI fS õfSf ÀfÔ¨ffd»f°f ¶fSZ»fe VfWS d¨fd³W°f W` °f±ff ¶fSZ»fe VfWS I e ´fdSUZVfe¹f Uf¹fb ¦fb¯fUØff O/s Amount as per Demand Notice : Rs. 11,06,922.08 + Intt. + Others Charges Branch : Parmat
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Property : House constructed over Private Plot No. 8, Part of Arazi No. 551/1, Mauza Arra, Kanpur indianexpress.com
with Grill & Kerb stone in Nagar Nigam Bareilly) dI ¹fZ þf³fZ IZ I f¹fÊ WZ°fb BÊ-d³fdUQf Af¸fÔdÂf°f I e þf SWe W`Ü C¢°f BÊ- Nagar. Owner of Property : Smt. Vandna Chaurasiya W/o Shri Sushil Chaurasiya , Area : 50.12 Sq.
d³fdUQf CØfS ´fiQZVf I e BÊ-´fi¢¹fûS¸fZ¯M I e UZ¶fÀffBÊM http://etender.up.nic.in ´fS QZJf þf ÀfI °ff W` Ü VffÀf³ffQZVf Àfa£¹ff-4848/³fü- Mtr., Bounded -North : Plot No. 7, South : Plot No. 9, East : Plot No. 3, West : 18 Ft. Road.
5-2018-470 Àff/2018 ³f¦fS dUI fÀf A³fb·ff¦f-5 »fJ³fD dQ³ffÔI 10 dQÀf¸¶fS, 2018 IZ Ii ¸f ¸fZÔ d³fdUQf Vfb»I + GST Afg³f»ffBʳf 3. Borrower : Shri Jitendra Singh S/o Shri Rajendra Singh and Smt. Ramwati W/o Shri Rajendra
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dþÀfI e ÀI` ³f I fg´fe MZ¯MS A´f»fûO I S°fZ Àf¸f¹f A´f»fûO I S³fe Wû¦fe, A³¹f Vf°fZÊÔ EUÔ dUUS¯f d³f¸³fU°f Cö UZ¶fÀffBÊM ´fS QZJe þf ÀfI °fe Marg, Shuklaganj, Unnao. Branch : Parmat, Kanpur
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Sr. No. Critical dates and time Property : House No. 8, Jagatpuri, Constructed over Private Plot no. 8, Part of Arazi No. 190, Mauza
01 upload/publishing of the NIT Document date & time 21 July. 2023 (15:00 hrs) Kalyanpur Kalan, Kanpur. Owner of Property : Smt. Ramwati W/o Shri Rajendra Singh, Area : 126
Sq. Mtr., Bounded -North : Plot No. 13, South : 25 Ft. Road, East : Plot No. 9, West : Plot No. 7
02 BID starting date & time 21 July. 2023 (17:00 hrs) O/s Amount as per Demand Notice : Rs. 7,52,184.33 + Intt. + Others Charges
03 Pre BID meeting & Technical Presentation 24 July. 2023 (12:00 hrs)
Date : 21-07-2023 Place : Kanpur Authorised Officer, Union Bank of India
04 Bid Closing date & time 26 July. 2023 (15:00 hrs)
05 Technical Bid Opening date & time 26 July. 2023 (12:00 hrs)
06 Financial BID opening date & time after Technical Evaluation
I arrive at a conclusion
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The Indian Express.

For the Indian Intelligent.

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Sr. No. Critical dates and time
01 upload/publishing of the NIT Document date & time 21 July. 2023 (15:00 hrs)
02 BID starting date & time 21 July. 2023 (17:00 hrs)
03 Pre BID meeting & Technical Presentation 24 July. 2023 (12:00 hrs)
04 Bid Closing date & time 26 July. 2023 (15:00 hrs)
05 Technical Bid Opening date & time 26 July. 2023 (12:00 hrs)
06 Financial BID opening date & time after Technical Evaluation
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WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023 UTTAR PRADESH 5
2024 LOK SABHA ELECTIONS CJI conveys displeasure BRIEFLY
With Rajbhar, Dara Singh Chauhan in over Allahabad HC judge
seeking explanation from
2Banladeshi
nationalsheld

its fold, BJP firms up position in east

Having tie-ups with Apna Dal (S) & Nishad Party already in place, it hopes to reverse recent losses
Railways on train delay
AVISHEK G DASTIDAR
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
Lucknow:
Bangladeshi nationals
Two

LALMANI VERMA
LUCKNOW, JULY 20
THE FIRST area of focus for the
Uttar Pradesh BJP, as it begins
preparations for the 2024 Lok
Sabha polls, is the state's eastern
region, where it has faced a rela-
tive fall in number of seats in
both the 2019 Lok Sabha and the
2022 Assembly polls.
In its latest moves, the party
inducted OBC leader Dara Singh
Chauhan into the party, and
forged an alliance with OBC
leader Om Prakash Rajbhar and
his Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj
Party (SBSP). The development
came only a week after Prime
MinisterNarendraModi’svisitto
Gorakhpur and his own Lok
Sabha constituency, Varanasi.
On July 7, the PM flagged-off
two Vande Bharat Express trains
from Gorakhpur railway station.
He also addressed the closing
ceremony of the centenary cel-
ebrations of the Gita Press in the
city. The same day, he also inau-
gurated and laid the foundation
stones of a raft of developmen-
tal projects worth over Rs 12,100
crore in Varanasi, and interacted
with grassroots BJP workers in
both places.
Chauhan, a Samajwadi Party
(SP) MLA, resigned from his
Assembly membership on
Saturday to join the BJP on
Mondayattheparty'sstatehead-
quarters. The ceremony was or-
ganised in a grand hall in the BJP’S DIP IN EAST
presence of state president
BhupendraSinghChaudharyand 26 LOK SABHA SEATS
both deputy chief ministers,
2014
Keshav Prasad Maurya and
BJP 24
Brajesh Pathak. Chauhan’s sup-
porters were also invited to the Ally Apna Dal (S) 1
packed hall. SP 1 electoralreturnsfromtheregion
Votersof Chauhan,aNonia(a 2019
most backward caste or MBC), BJP 17
are spread across eastern UP in Ally Apna Dal (S) 2
Lok Sabha seats like Ghosi,
SP + BSP 9 (1+6)
Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Ballia,
Chandauli, as well as adjoining
regions of Bihar. 130 ASSEMBLY SEATS
In between on Sunday, SBSP 2017
presidentOPRajbharannounced BJP 90
hewasreturningtotheNDA.The Ally Apna Dal (S) 5
BJP had renewed contact with
Rajbhar almost a year ago, given
Ally SBSP
SP
4
14
their assessment that he wields
influenceovervariousOBCcastes
BSP
Nishad Party
14
1
in eastern UP and can help them
Cong 1
win at least a dozen Lok Sabha
Independent 1
seats there. Rajbhar, though,
claims there are 32 Lok Sabha 2022
seats in eastern UP where the BJP 68 + 11 (allies)
SBSPalonecan'twin,butitssup- SP 43 + 6 (allies)
port can carry bigger parties
across the finishing line. To un-
derline his point, he took out a Sonelal Patel, Union Home
month-long‘SavdhanRathYatra’ Minister Amit Shah, CM Yogi
through UP and Bihar last year. Adityanath, BJP state president
The BJP already has the Apna BhupendraSinghChaudharyand
Dal (S) and Nishad Party as allies overadozenstateCabinetminis-
inthearea,bothofwhichhavein- ters were present on stage in
fluenceoverdifferentOBCcastes. Lucknow.
On July 2, when Apna Dal (S) cel- Sonelal’s daughter Anupriya
ebrated the birth anniversary of Patel, who is the current presi-
founderandlateKurmileaderDr dent of Apna Dal (S), is the MP
from Mirzapur — a seat in east-
ern UP — and is also the Union
Minister of State for Commerce
and Industry.
Eastern UP is a cause of con-
cernfortheBJPasitseesthestate
as its launchpad for its national
ambitions, making its recent
a cause of concern.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elec-
tions, out of 26 Lok Sabha seats
in eastern UP, the BJP had won
24,whileitsallyApnaDal(S)had
wonone,leavingonlyAzamgarh
to the SP. But in the 2019 Lok
Sabhapolls,whentheSPandthe
BSP had come together, the BJP
couldwinonly17seats,withally
Apna Dal (S) winning two, leav-
ing them with 19 in total in the
region. Meanwhile, the BSP won
six seats in eastern UP, though
the SP again returned only one
seat — Azamgarh.
Meanwhile, in the state
Assembly polls, the BJP in 2017
won 90 out of the 130 assembly
segments in the region, with
Apna Dal returning five and the
SBSP, which was then an ally,
winning four — a total of 99.
Among the Opposition, both the
SP and the BSP had won 14 seats
each, whereas the Nishad Party
and the Congress had won one
each, with another seat going to
anIndependent.Butin2022,the
BJP-led alliance received a set-
back against the alliance led by
the SP with smaller OBC parties.
While Rajbhar's SBSP had struck
an alliance with the SP, other
OBC leaders like Chauhan and
Swami Prasad Maurya had
merged into the SP.
Although theBJP-ledalliance
still won a majority in the region
with 79 seats, its tally had come
down to 68, while the SP re-
turned a respectable 43 seats,
with its alliance winning 49 in
the region.
Acloserlookrevealsthatfrom
all five Assembly segments in
BastiLokSabhaconstituencythat
BJP had won in 2017, its tally had
comedowntojustonein2022.Of
the five Assembly segments un-
der the Ballia Lok Sabha seat, the
BJP had won four in 2017, with
then ally SBSP winning the re-
maining one. By 2022, BJP could
retainonlyoneoftheseseats,with
theSPwinningthreeanditsthen
ally, the SBSP winning another.
Similarly,inthefiveAssembly
segments under the Ghosi Lok
Sabha seat — where Chauhan
andRajbharareinfluential—the
BJP had won three in 2017 and
the BSP two. By 2022, the BJP
couldwinonlyoneseat,whileSP
won two and the SBSP one. The
Rasara seat went to the BSP — its
lone MLA in the 2022 UP
Assembly. Elsewhere in eastern
UP, the SP alliance had made a
clean sweep on the assembly
segments under the Lok Sabha
seats of Azamgarh, Lalganj,
Ambedkar Nagar and Ghazipur.
CHIEF JUSTICE of India D Y
Chandrachudhas expresseddis-
pleasure over an Allahabad High
Court judge seekingexplanation
from the Railways about late
running of a train in which the
judge, Justice Gautam
Chowdhary, travelled recently.
“Protocol'facilities'whichare
made available to Judges should
not be utilised to assert a claim
to privilege which sets them
apart from society or as a mani-
festation of power or authority,”
CJI Chandrachud wrote to Chief
Justice of Allahabad High Court
on Wednesday.
He wrote that the communi-
cation has given rise to “justifi-
able disquiet both within and
outside the judiciary”.
Moreover, CJI Chandrachud
pointed out, an HC judge does
notpossessdisciplinaryjurisdic-
tion over Railways personnel.
“Hence, there was no occasion
for an officerof theHighCourt to
call for an explanation from the
Railway personnel ‘to be placed
before His Lordship for kind pe-
rusal',” he wrote.
The CJI stated in the missive
that “self-reflection and coun-
selling within the judiciary is
necessary” and that protocol
made available to judges should
not be used in a manner that
brings criticism to the judiciary.
When contacted, Ashish
Srivastava, Registrar (Protocol),
AllahabadHighCourt,refusedto
Chief Justice
of India D Y
Chandrachud
comment on the issue and said
he did not know anything about
the CJI’s letter.
Justice Chowdhary, through
a letter issued by the Registrar
(Protocol) of the High Court, had
sought explanationfrom“erring
officials” of the Indian Railways
and others after Purushottam
Express ran late by more than
three hours on July 8.
Justice Chowdhary, who was
travelling in First AC coach of the
train, did not get “refreshments
despite repeated calls” and the
Government Railway Police also
did not attend to him, he noted
in the letter.
The letter, addressed to the
general manager of North
Central Railway, stated that the
incident“causedgreatinconven-
ience and displeasure to His
Lordship”.
In its own fact-finding
process, the Railways found that
the New Delhi-Prayagraj train
was delayed due to the rising
water level of the Yamuna in
Delhi and the resultant flood sit-
uation in the Capital. Moreover,
Justice Chowdhary, as per his
wishes, had been served
teawithoutsugar,vegetablecut-
lets, and bread with butter for
breakfast at 7.30 am, the
Railways noted.
werearrestedforallegedly
illegally residing in India
and carrying out anti-
country activities, police
said. The two —identified
asHabibullahMisbahand
Ahmadullah alias Abdul
Aval — were arrested by
the Uttar Pradesh Anti-
TerroristSquad(ATS)from
Deoband area of
Saharanpurdistrictaround
9.30 pm Wednesday,
Special DG (Law and
Order) Prashant Kumar
said in a statement issued
here.Duringinterrogation,
the two men told the po-
licethattheycametoIndia
after illegally crossing the
border and got their fake
documents made in West
Bengal, he said. PTI
Womanends
lifeoverdowry
Ballia: A 22-year-old
woman allegedly killed
herself following harass-
ment over dowry in the
PhephnaareaofBalliadis-
trict, police said on
Thursday. DSP (Sadar)
Ashok Mishra said Tara
Verma hanged herself at
her in-laws' home in
Sagarpali village on
Wednesday. Tara Verma
got married to Dhanji
Verma in February. It has
been alleged that she was
being harassed for dowry
since then, he said. PTI

SIX ELECTROCUTION DEATHS

Power dept employees

Pakistan resident Seema
Haider with her Indian
husband Sachin Meena. File
Case of
booked in Meerut
plaintlodgedbyfamilymembers
AMITSHARMA, ofthedeceasedatBhawanpurpo-
MEERUT,JULY20 licestation.Theemployeeswillbe
identifiedaftertheongoingprobe
UTTAR PRADESH Police has into the incident is over.”
booked Paschimanchal Vidyut
Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL)
A magisterial probe and a
high-level inquiry ordered by

woman from employeesinconnectionwiththe

death of six people, including
PVVNL Managing Director
Chaitra V are already underway

Pak: Central
three minors, who were electro- to find out the cause of electro-
cutedwhentheirvehiclecamein cution. The PVVNL MD has,
contactwithalow-lyingoverhead meanwhile, clarified that they
investigation high-tension live wire in Meerut
on the night of July 15.
did notfindanylapseonthepart
of the employees.
agencies The accident took place in
Bhawanpur’sRaliChauhanvillage
“Our preliminary inquiry re-
port doesn't find any of our offi-

meet UP team whenthevehiclewithkanwariyas

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
CENTRAL INVESTIGATION agen-
ciesThursdayheldameetingwith
the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror
Squad ATS to discuss the case of
Pakistan national Seema Haider.
Seema had crossed the bor-
der with her four children to al-
legedly be with Greater Noida
resident Sachin Meena (22),
whom she met online while
playing PUBG three years ago.
TheATShadquestionedthecou-
ple over the past two days.
A senior official said In-telli-
gence Bureau, among other cen-
tral investigation agencies,
Thursdaydiscussedthecaseinde-
tailwithseniorofficialsofUPATS,
which shared evidence gathered
so far. The agencies are trying to
verifyantecedentsofSeema,who
enteredillegallyinMay.
In the meantime, the
Ministry of External (MEA) also
responded to this case.
“We areaware of this matter.
They were produced in court.
After that, they are out on bail.
The matter is under investiga-
tion. We will give further infor-
mation if it comes. As of now,
this is all I can say,” said MEA
spokesperson Arindam Bagchi,
duringapressbriefingThursday.
According to a note from the
officeof theUPDirector-General
of Police, they recovered five
Pakistan-authorised passports,
an unused passport, and an ID
from Seema. On July 4, Seema,
Sachin Meena, and his father
werearrested.Theylatergotbail.
Two junior resident
doctors suspended
for hitting patients
Etawah:Twojuniorresidentdoc-
tors at a medical university in
Safai were suspended after
videos of them hitting patients
surfacedonsocialmedia,officials
said. Police have also lodged an
on board was returning from
cers or employees guilty. We
have formed a three-member
Haridwar. Several others sus- committee for an elaborated
tained injuries in the accident. probe,”saidChaitra,pointingout
Meerut SSP Rohit Singh that the UP government has
SajwanThursdaysaid,“Acasehas clearly stated that the kanwars
been registered against PVVNL witha heightof morethan2feet
employees based on the com- will not be allowed for the yatra.
BUSINESS
Classifieds BUSINESS OFFER
PERSONAL Earn extra income. housewife,
student, working, retired & other.
I Rochana Madhuri Rai T W /O No education / experience. usa
Arjun Singh R/O 591A/604 New mnc Ph. 9004334977
Baldev Vihar Telibagh Lucknow
226025 My Name Is Printed As 0050222662-5
Rochna Rai Singh On Some
Documents Which Is Incorrect
My Coreect Name Is Rochana
LOST & FOUND
Madhuri Rai T 0050222902-1
I, VIJENDRA SINGH GURJAR S/o
BUDHARAMArmyno-2999665Y
Rank-Hav.24 Rajput(RAJPUT
REGIMENT)Fatehgarh.R/o- vill-
BALAKHERAPost-BHILAPARA
Th.-NADOUTI,distt.-KARAULI
(RAJASTHAN.)PIN-322216,HAVE
CHANGEDMYDOUGHTERNAME
FROM-PRIYATO KUMARIPRIYA
0060105458-1
I, Sanjeev Singh,S/O Taluk Dar
Singh,R/O H.No 23,V.PO Viraon
Kot Teh Pindra PS
Baragaon,Varanasi-221201,
Have changed my name to
Sanjeev Kumar Singh
permanently 0040678267-3
I, Kamruddin Ansari R/o 205/10,
Prem Nagar Dachini, Sidhauli,
Sitapur. Uttar Pradesh-261303
have changed my minor son’s
name from Mohammad Saad
Ansari to Saad Kamruddin
Ansari for all purposes.
0040678260-2
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''IMPORTANT''
Be it known to all that my
Whilst care is taken prior to
name Seema Gupta D/o acceptance of advertising
copy, it is not possible to verify
Balaprashad R/o C-21 its contents. The Indian
Sector-H Aliganj Lucknow Express (P) Limited cannot be
held responsible for such
Uttar Pradesh is entered in contents, nor for any loss or
damage incurred as a result of
my Passport No.H9385424 transactions with companies,

FIRinthematter.Thevideospur- as Seema. Hence my correct associations or individuals

advertising in its newspapers
portedly showing the doctors name Seema Gupta should or Publications. We therefore
recommend that readers
hittingpatientsinthewardwere be written in my passport make necessary inquiries

allegedly recorded by another
patient on July 10 and 11. The
clips went viral on July 15. PTI
and in future I will be known before sending any monies or
entering into any agreements
as Seema Gupta in all with advertisers or otherwise
acting on an advertisement in
documents and records.
any manner whatsoever.

Lucknow

6 THE PARLIAMENT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023
BRS joins Opp
walkout over
Bill to replace
Delhi ordinance
MANOJ C G
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
IN A surprise move, the Bharat
Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Thursday
joined other Opposition MPs in
stagingawalkoutfromameeting
of the Business Advisory
Committee (BAC) of the Rajya
Sabhainprotestagainsttheinclu-
sionofaBilltoreplacethecontro-
versialDelhiordinanceintheoffi-
cial business of the House.
The meeting was called by
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep
Dhankhartoallocatetimeforleg-
islative and other businesses in
theHouse.Thegovernmentlisted
‘The Government of National
Capital Territory of Delhi
(Amendment) Bill’ to replace the
ordinanceonservicesinDelhi,al-
locating 2 hours for discussing it.
The AAP’s Sanjay Singh ob-
jected to the consideration of the
Bill, saying the matter was now
beforetheSupremeCourt.Hegot
support from Opposition mem-
bers, including Jairam Ramesh
and the Trinamool Congress’s
Derek O’Brien. K Keshava Rao of
the BRS too backed them. With
the government not budging,
Ramesh, O’Brien, Singh, Rao, the
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and the RJD’s
Manoj Kumar Jha walked out.
4 WOMEN MPs IN
V-Cs’ COMMITTEE
Rajya Sabha Chairman
Jagdeep Dhankhar has ap-
pointed four women MPs to
the panel of vice-chairper-
sonsintheUpperHouse.The
MPs are PT Usha, Phangnon
Konyak, Fauzia Khan and
Sulata Deo, all first-time
membersof theRajyaSabha.
Rule 176 vs Rule 267: What Govt agrees to, what Opp demands
MANOJCG
NEWDELHI,JULY20
THE OPENING day of the
Monsoon Session of Parliament
was disrupted on Thursday after
the government and the
Oppositiondifferedontheformat
of the discussion on the Manipur
situation. While the government
agreed for a short-duration dis-
cussion, the Opposition insisted
that the Prime Minister make a
suomotustatementfollowedbya
discussion, suspending all busi-
ness under Rule 267.
What is Rule 267,
and Rule 176
According to the Rules of
Procedure and Conduct of
Business in the Council of States,
NE CMs, leaders speak 4 arrested in May 4 case; CM says Opp CMs considering
up: ‘Whole region will move for capital punishment Manipur visit: Mamata
needs a solution... only
Centre can provide it’
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
GUWAHATI,AGARTALA,JULY20
PARTIESINtheNortheast,includ-
ing the BJP’s allies in the NDA,
Thursday stepped in to register
their condemnation over mo-
lestation of tribal women caught
on video in Manipur and urged
theNBirenSingh-ledgovernment
to take action against the perpe-
trators.
Mizoram Chief Minister
Zoramthanga,whobelongstothe
Mizo National Front, which is a
part of the NDA, called the video
“brutal,merciless,heinous,despi-
cable and completely inhuman”.
He added: “The whole region
needs a permanent solution for
thegreatproblemManipurishav-
ing,whichcanreallybesolvedonly
by the Central Govt. I re-quote --
'Manyliveshavebeenlost,blood-
shedallover,physicaltorture&the
victims are looking for refuge
wherever possible'. With no iota
ofdoubt,thosevictimsaremykith
andkin,myownbloodandshould
wequietenthesituationbyjustbe-
ing silent? I don't think so!" SI-
LENCEisnotanOPTION!”
Meghalaya CM Conrad
Sangma,whoseNationalPeople’s
Party (NPP) is also a part of the
NDA,saidhewas“extremelydis-
turbed by the recent incident in
Manipur”. “Stripping any human
of their dignity is the most de-
Opp demands PM statement; Cong says
‘too little, too late’, seeks CM resignation
MANOJ C G
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
A UNITED Opposition on
Thursday slammed the govern-
ment and disrupted proceedings
on the opening day of the
Monsoon Session of Parliament
ontheManipurvideoissue.They
demanded a statement by Prime
MinisterNarendraModi,followed
by a discussion.
Alleging that the PM abdi-
catedhisConstitutionalresponsi-
bility, Congress president
Mallikarjun Kharge demanded
immediate resignation of
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren
Singh and imposition of
President’s Rule in the state.
Senior party leader Rahul
Gandhi stated: “Prime Minister,
theissueisnotthatit’sashamefor
the country. The issue is the im-
mense pain and trauma inflicted
on the women of Manipur. Stop
the violence immediately.”
Congress leader P the House,” he said.
Chidambaramsaidthe“firstthing
thePMshoulddoistodismissthe
discredited government of Biren
Singh and impose President’s
Rule” in Manipur.
Leaders cut across party lines
in the Opposition camp to con-
demn the “barbaric act”. Floor
leadersofvariousOppositionpar-
ties met at Leader of Opposition
in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun
Kharge’s chamber earlier in the
dayanddecidednottobackdown
from their demand for a state-
ment by the PM in Parliament.
Targeting Modi, Kharge said
“Wewantadetaileddiscussionon
Manipur, and PM Modi should
make an elaborate statement in
Rule 267 relates to suspension of
rules. It says, “Any member, may,
withtheconsentoftheChairman,
move that any rule may be sus-
pendedinitsapplicationtoamo-
tion related to the business listed
beforetheCouncilofthatdayand
ifthemotioniscarried,therulein
question shall be suspended for
the time being: Provided further
thatthisruleshallnotapplywhere
specific provision already exists
for suspension of a rule under a
particular chapter of the Rules."
Short-durationdiscussion,on
the other hand, is a brief discus-
sion not exceeding two-and-a-
half hours under Rule 176.
It says that “any member de-
sirous of raising discussion on a
matter of urgent public impor-
tance may give notice in writing
to the Secretary-General specify-
meaning and inhumane act. I
strongly condemn such actions.
Guiltyshouldbegiventheharsh-
est punishment,” he said.
Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio of
the Nationalist Democratic
People’s Party, yet another NDA
partner, urged Biren Singh and
Home MinisterAmitShahto“act
without delay and take concrete
steps to restore the trust of the
people”.“TheincidentinManipur
is barbaric and shameful. I con-
demn the despicable act in the
strongesttermspossible.Tyranny
of the mob has no place in a civi-
lized society. We are deeply
pained by the series of incidents
that have been happening in
Manipur,” he said.
Outer Manipur MP R Lorho
Pfoze, who is from the BJP's
ManipuralliancepartnerNational
People’sFront,said,“Thestatema-
chinery has failed and he (Biren
Singh)shouldtakeresponsibility.
He should morally resign or he
should be sacked.”
In a video message, TIPRA
Motha founder Pradyot
Debbarma said, "I feel sick to my
stomach. I feel disgusted. All my
life, when our women were at-
tacked in mainland India or
abused, we have stood up. We
have always told the rest of India
that it's not like this in the North
East. But for the first time in my
life, I feel ashamed that this has
happened in our backyard".
MANIPUR ROCKS MONSOON SESSION DAY-1
Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge with other leaders of the newly formed
grouping, INDIA, at a meeting in his office on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Thursday. PTI
The Congress called Modi’s
statement “too little too late”.
Pointing out that the PM “finally
spoke”onManipurfor“asumto-
talof30seconds”after“morethan
1,800 hours of an incomprehen-
sible and unforgivable silence”,
Congress communications head
Jairam Ramesh said the PM tried
to divert attention from the
“colossalgovernancefailuresand
the humanitarian tragedy in
Manipur by equating crimes
againstwomeninotherstates,es-
pecially those governed by the
Opposition,whileignoringatroc-
ities on women in states like MP,
UP and Gujarat”.
Statingthatittook“15daysto
ingclearlyandpreciselythemat-
tertoberaised:Providedthatthe
notice shall be ac-
companiedbyanex-
planatory note stat-
ing reasons for
raisingdiscussionon
the matter in ques-
tion: Provided fur-
ther that the notice
shall be supported
by the signatures of at least two
other members."
OncetheChairmanadmitsthe
notice,therulessayhe,inconsul-
tation with the Leader of the
Council,willfixthedateonwhich
such matter may be taken up for
discussionandallowsuchtimefor
discussion,notexceedingtwoand
a half hours."
Itmeansthatashort-duration
discussion under Rule 176 can be
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
IMPHAL, JULY 20
FOURPEOPLEhavebeenarrested
inconnectionwiththeMay4in-
cident so far, and Manipur Chief
Minister N Biren Singh on
Thursday said the state govern-
ment will make efforts towards
ensuringcapitalpunishmentfor
those found guilty.
Calling the incident a “crime
againsthumanity”,Singhsaidthe
state government will “not re-
main silent on this heinous
crime”.
While the police complaint,
on the basis of which the FIR has
been registered, states that the
womenwerewithpoliceperson-
DIG-rank officers from Nagaland, Assam moved to Manipur
MAHENDER SINGH
MANRAL
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
TO HAVE “effective control and
proper supervision” on around
5,000CentralReservePoliceForce
(CRPF) personnel” deployed in
Manipur, operations jurisdiction
of ranges have been
redefined/modified and two
moreDIG-rankofficershavebeen
shiftedfromKohimainNagaland
and Silchar in Assam to Manipur,
where violence continues nearly
two months after ethnic clashes
first broke out in May.
The decision to redefine the
register an FIR against unknown
persons”, and today, “64 days
later”, the Manipur CM claimed
that arrests have been made,
Rameshsaid,“Thisistoolittletoo
late....ThePrimeMinisterandthe
HomeMinistercannotescapeac-
countability.The CM shouldstep
down immediately.”
TMCleaderDerekO’Briensaid
provisionsregardingRule267are
clear — that “any rule be sus-
pendedinitsapplicationtoamo-
tion to the business listed before
the Council of the day…the rule
inquestionshallbesuspendedfor
the time being”. He said that
means“nootherbusinesstill267
isdiscussedfirst…wheredoes176
come into this? There is no 176. It
taken up immediately, a few
hourslater,thenextdayorcanbe
fixed for a later date
andtime.Buttherule
saysthereshallbeno
formalmotionorvot-
ing under a short du-
ration discussion.
“The member who
has given notice may
make a short state-
mentandtheMinistershallreply
shortly," the rule says.
What experts say
Expertssayoppositionparties
had been mistakenly using Rule
267 as an equivalent to the ad-
journment motion in Lok Sabha.
In case of adjournment motion,
governed by Rules 56-63 of the
Rules of Procedure and Conduct
of Business in Lok Sabha, the dis-
CM N Biren Singh addresses
the media in Imphal. PTI
nel from Thoubal’s Nongpok
Sekmai police station when a
mob seized them, Singh denied
this allegation and called it false.
He said, “After the video sur-
faced, I had directed the Cyber
rangesandattachtwosenioroffi-
cerswastakenbyDG,CRPF,Sujoy
Lal Thaosen after discussing the
currentsituationinManipurwith
the Ministry of Home Affairs. “It
is an unprecedented situation
and before this, only six compa-
nies were deployed in Manipur.
Now, it has been increased to 57
andtheyaregoingtostaythereat
least for six months, so there
should be proper supervision of
them,” an official said.
An order issued on July 18 by
IG (Operations) Anshuman
Yadavstates,“Inviewof thepres-
entsecurityscenarioinManipur
and increased level of CRPF de-
ployment, supervision of senior
is on 267. We want a discussion
here on Manipur..."
Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin
stated, “Absolutely heartbroken
and appalled by the agonising vi-
olence unleashed on women in
Manipur. Where is our collective
conscience?” Delhi CM and AAP
chief Arvind Kejriwal said, “A
leader leads from the front.
Wheneveranycriticalissueaffects
our country, like Manipur now,
thePMisseentobesilentandab-
sent. This is a sign of a weak
leader...”
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said
the RSS’s “hate policy” and BJP's
vote-bankpoliticswereresponsi-
ble for the situation in
Manipur.
cussionisbasedonamotion.The
ruledefinesadjournmentmotion
as "a motion for an adjournment
of the business of the House for
the purpose of discussing a defi-
nite matter of urgent public im-
portance may be made with the
consent of the Speaker”.
And the rules say "not more
than one such motion shall be
made at the same sitting.
Former Lok Sabha secretary
general P D T Achari said: “Rule
267istosuspendaparticularrule
in relation to a business which is
listed in the agenda. For instance,
if a Bill is to be introduced...it
would be listed..but if a rule is
coming in the way...267 is aimed
atsuspendingtherule.Thatisthe
realpurposeofRule267.”Thisrule
is being “used wrongly” as a sub-
stitutetotheprovisionofadjourn-
Huirem
Herodas
Meitei , one
of four
arrested. ANI
Crime Department to check its
(video's) authenticity and in-
structedthemtoconductamass
combing operation at the sus-
pectedareastonabtheculprits.”
While Manipur police con-
firmed that four people were ar-
rested as of Thursday night, the
identity of only one — Huirem
Herodas Meitei, 32 — was con-
firmed. Singh said an operation
is on to book all others involved
in the crime.
officers of DIGs across strategic
places of the state has been felt
essentialandcrucial.Accordingly,
to have effective control and su-
pervision over the existing and
additional companies deployed
in Manipur, DIG (Ops) Kohima
andDIG(Range)Silchararetem-
porarily placed in Manipur with
immediateeffectbyestablishing
tactical headquarters.”
Currently,thereisImphalOps
Range and the jurisdiction/dis-
tricts are: Imphal West, Imphal
East, Tengnoupal, Thoubal,
Kakching, Churachandpur,
ChandelandBishnupur.Butnow,
they have redefined/modified
two more ops jurisdictions of
PRASAD QUESTIONS
‘TIMING’ OF VIDEO
Senior BJP leader Ravi
ShankarPrasadsaidtheparty
“condemns”theManipurin-
cidentandassertedthatstrict
action is being taken by the
stategovernment.Hesaidthe
surfacing of the incident's
video on social media just a
day ahead of Parliament's
Monsoon Session is “sur-
rounded by lot of mystery”.
“Howcome aMayfirst week
incidentcomeuponTwitter...
a day before the Parliament
session to begin,” he asked.
ment motion in Lok Sabha,” he
said. “Adjournment motion is to
takeupfordiscussionasubjectof
urgentnature...notjustdiscussion;
the adjournment motion has an
element of censure. That is the
privilegeof LokSabhabecauseLS
can bring down a government
which the RS cannot do..that is
whythereisnoadjournmentmo-
tion in Rajya Sabha. There is no
rule in Rajya Sabha which has an
element of censure...so the
Oppositionhasalwaysbeenusing
Rule 267...” he said.
"The practice of the
OppositionpartiesinRajyaSabha
forsometimehadbeentogiveno-
ticeunderRule267...butwhatrule
is to be suspended.... They have
been using it as an equivalent to
the adjournment motion that is
there in Lok Sabha,” he said.
SANTANU CHOWDHURY
KOLKATA, JULY 20
CONDEMNINGTHEManipurin-
cident, West Bengal Chief
Minister and Trinamool
Congresschief MamataBanerjee
onThursday saidtheOpposition
grouping of 26 parties — INDIA
— is considering sending chief
ministers of non-BJP
Opposition-governed states to
Manipur to take stock of the sit-
uation.
“We (INDIA grouping) are
talking to each other. Some chief
ministers want to visit Manipur,
if otherpartiesagree.Iwantedto
gothereand writealetter(tothe
Centre) seeking permission. But
I have notgotpermission as yet,"
ranges,OpsRangeKangpokpiand
Ops Range Jiribam.
“There are four
jurisdiction/districts, Kangpokpi,
Senapati, Ukhrul and Kamjong
under the Ops Range Kangpokpi
and four jurisdiction/districts,
Jiribam, Pherzawal, Noney and
Tamenglong, under the Ops
RangeJiribam.DIG(Kohima)will
take additional charge of Range
Kangpokpi by establishing a tac-
tical headquarters at Kangpokpi
and another new DIG will take
tactical headquarters at Jiribam,”
the order states.
Yadav further said,
“Consequently,theoperationsju-
risdiction of ranges in Manipur
PrimeMinisterNarendraModi speakstothemediaoutside
theParliamentHouse.Ministerof StateforExternalAffairs&
ParliamentaryAffairsVMuraleedharan iswithhim. Anil Sharma
Don’t compare us
to Manipur, Cong
CMs tell PM Modi
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
JAIPUR, JULY 20
IN ARGUABLY his first remarks
on the Manipur situation
Thursday, while condemning a
video of women being paraded
naked and molested, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi made a
reference to incidents in
Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Both are Congress-ruled
states headed soon for elections.
Reacting sharply, Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
tweeted: “Nothing is more im-
portant to us than the safety and
dignity of women. After the
gruesome gang rape in Jodhpur,
the three accused were arrested
in just two hours. Whereas BJP
took 77 days to nab just one ac-
cused in the shameful incident
of Manipur. Time to answer on
crime: Congress — two hours,
BJP — 77 days.”
Gehlot was referring to the
July 16 gang rape by three stu-
dents of a minor Dalit girl on the
campus of Jai Narain Vyas
University in Jodhpur. The ac-
cused, who allegedly held the
girl's male friend, also a minor,
captive while committing the
crime, were arrested by the po-
lice shortly after the incident.
Gehlot also said that it was
due to the “negligence” of the
BJP that 142 people were dead
in the Manipur violence. “It is
very sad that the violence in
Manipur is not stopping. The
whole country is worried about
this... Seeing Manipur, people in
Rajasthan are asking do BJP gov-
ernments not know how to run
law and order?” the CM
tweeted in Hindi.
Speaking with the media at
the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha
Thursday, CM Bhupesh Baghel
slammed the PM for dragging in
Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan
while speaking about Manipur.
she said.
Speaking to reporters later,
Banerjee said the video was
taken down from social media
platforms after being “forced by
the government”. But, she said,
the “fact is, so many people have
already witnessed the bar-
barism. What would the BJP
leaders say now,” she asked.
This came on a day a five-
member TMC delegation re-
turnedtoKolkataafteraone-day
visit to Manipur and called the
situation in the state "terrible".
"One of the most horrific killings
in post-Independent India is
happening and the BJP govern-
ment (in the state) has become
a mute spectator,'' TMC MP
Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who was
part of the team, said .
hasbeenredefined/modified.The
operations jurisdiction of all the
battalionheadquartersandcom-
panies, existing as well as addi-
tional, will remain with the DIGs
concernedunderwhosejurisdic-
tion they are deployed, as per the
new arrangement. All the re-
sources, including staff and vehi-
cles, for the functioning of these
tactical headquarters will be
shared from their original head-
quarters.”
InManipur,theMHAhassent
124companies—57ofCRPF,10of
RapidActionForce(RAF),48ofthe
BSF, four of Indo-Tibetan Border
Police(ITBP)andfiveof Sashastra
Seema Bal (SSB).
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
CMs Bhupesh Baghel and
Ashok Gehlot. Express File
"Manipur has been burning for
thepastthreemonths,butPrime
Ministerji did not speak about it
even once. For the first time he
spoke about the incident. He did
not speak about Manipur but in-
stead roped in Chhattisgarh and
Rajasthan.EvenwhenheorAmit
Shah came to Chhattisgarh, they
did not mention law and order
as an issue. But now he is com-
paringManipurtoRajasthanand
Chhattisgarh as elections are
nearing in these two states. He
did not speak a word on crimes
occurring on the premises of
Uttar Pradesh courts and hospi-
tals, nor on treatment of tribals
inMadhyaPradesh,"Baghelsaid.
The CM also asked why Modi
had not visited Manipur despite
the continuing violence. “He
went on foreign visits and cam-
paigned (for his party) in
Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, but
did not visit Manipur. He just
wants to deviate people from
the Manipur issue. He is com-
paring Manipur to a state which
is peaceful. He should stop lying
and throwing phrases," Baghel
said.
In his customary pre-
Parliament Session remarks, PM
Modi Thursday said he was
pained by the incidents of
Manipur, adding: “Be it
Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh,
Manipur or any part of the coun-
try, maintaining law and order
and respecting women should
be above politics.”
Twitter, social
media sites
asked to take
down video
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
THE CENTRE has asked Twitter
andothersocialmediaplatforms
to take down a video showing
two women from Kuki-Zomi
community in Manipur being
paraded naked by a mob of men
and being sexually assaulted.
Tweets of some accounts
that shared the video have been
withheld in India in response to
the government’s demand.
“Some links have been
shared with social media com-
panies to take down the video,
as it could further disrupt the
law and order situation in the
state,” a senior government of-
ficial said. The Centre has pow-
ers to issue content takedown
orders to social media compa-
nies under Section 69 (A) of
Information Technology Act,
2000. The orders are kept confi-
dential.
NHRC calls for report
from govt, police
Meanwhile, the National
Human Rights Commission
Thursday took cognizance and
issued notices to the Chief
SecretaryandtheDGPcallingfor
a detailed report in the matter
within 4 weeks. The
Commission has also enquired
about the steps taken or pro-
posed to be taken to safeguard
human rights of the citizens.
Lucknow
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023 7
SALUTE THE SOLDIER
IC-59276 late Lt Hari Singh Bist
On 21 Jul 2000, IC-59276 late Lt Hari Singh Bist of
3/11 GR had made supreme sacrifice during OP
Rakshak(J&K ) in Jul 1999

Colonel 11 GR &Sikkim Scouts and All Ranks

उत्ति प्रदेश गन्िा शोध पनिषद, शाहजहाँपुि।

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8 EXPRESS NETWORK
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023
India bans export of non-basmati white rice
Ban comes in light of depleting foodgrain stocks in Central pool, elevated cereal prices and threat of erratic monsoon
SHARIKISHAN SHARMA
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
INDIA ON Thursday banned the
exportof non-basmatiwhiterice
with “with immediate effect” by
amending the export policy of
the cereal variety from ‘free’ to
‘prohibited’.
According to a notification
issued by the Directorate
General of Foreign Trade
(DGFT), under the Department
of Commerce, the export policy
of non-basmati white rice
(semi-milled or wholly milled
rice, whether or not polished or
glazed) has been amended
from ‘free’ to ‘prohibited’.
India’s rice exports are
broadlycategorisedintobasmati
and non-basmati rice. The non-
basmati rice category includes 6
NIA arrests
AMU student
for alleged
ISIS links
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
THE NATIONAL Investigation
Agency has arrested a 19-year-
old student of the Aligarh
Muslim University (AMU) for al-
legedly being a member of
global terrorist group ISIS after
searches at his house in
Jharkhand and rented accom-
modation in Uttar Pradesh.
“The arrest of Faizan Ansari
followed an ongoing crackdown
againstISISmodulesoperatingin
the country after registration of
acasetothwartanyterrorattack.
ThesearchesatAnsari'shousein
Lohardaga district of Jharkhand
and rented room in Aligarh, UP
were conducted on July 16 and
17andseveralelectronicdevices
and incriminating material and
documentswereseized,”anNIA
spokesperson said.
The case was registered by
theNIAonJuly19underrelevant
sections of Indian Penal Code
and Unlawful Activities
(Prevention)Act,theofficialsaid,
adding the agency will be pro-
gressing with its investigations
to unravel all the facets of the in-
ternational conspiracy.
“Ansari had hatched a crimi-
nalconspiracy,alongwithhisas-
sociates and other unknown in-
dividuals to support ISIS
activities in India and dissemi-
natetheoutfit'spropagandaover
various social media platforms.
The conspiracy was aimed at
carrying out violent terror at-
tacks in India on behalf of ISIS,”
the spokesperson said.
According to the NIA, the in-
vestigations have revealed that
Ansari and his associates had
pledged their allegiance to ISIS,
also known as Islamic State.
Ansari was also active in the
process of enriching the cadre
base of ISIS in India, the official
said.“Hewasincontactwithfor-
eign based ISIS handlers, who
were guiding him on recruit-
ments to the banned outfit.
Along with other members of
ISIS, he was planning violent ac-
tionsandwascontemplatingdo-
ing ‘Hijrat' (migration) to a ISIS
conflict theatre abroad,” the
spokesperson said.
Chandrayaan-3 completes 4th orbit-raising manoeuvre Literature banned during Colonial-era
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
INDIA’S CHANDRAYAAN-3
spacecraft moved into a new,
higher,orbitaroundtheEarthon
Thursday after the successful
completion of the fourth orbit-
raising manoeuvre, the Indian
Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) said.
“India celebrates the
InternationalMoonDay2023by
propellingChandrayaan-3astep
closer to the moon. The fourth
orbit raising manoeuvre (Earth-
bound perigee firing) is per-
formed successfully from IS-
TRAC/ISRO (ISRO Telemetry,
Tracking and Command
Network), Bengaluru,” the ISRO
tweeted.
Chandrayaan-3, which is
slated to make a soft landing on
the Moon’s surface next month,
is currently going around the
Earth in elliptical orbits, sequen-
tially raising the heights of these
orbits.
subcategories— rice in husk of
seed quality, other rice in husk,
husked (brown) rice, rice par-
boiled, non-basmati white rice,
and broken rice.
The move to ban exports of
non-basmati white rice is signif-
icant as India is the biggest ex-
porter of riceintheworld.Asper
the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), India ac-
counted for about 40 per cent of
total rice exports (56 million
tonnes) in the world during the
calendar year 2022. The move is
the latest in the series of steps
takenbythegovernmentinview
of depleting public foodgrain
stocks in the Central pool, ele-
vated cereal prices, and the
threat of erratic monsoon to
paddy crops during the ongoing
kharif season.
Explainingthereasonsforthe
9 killed as car runs into crowd
at accident site in Ahmedabad
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JULY 20
NINEPERSONS,includingtwopo-
lice constables, a home guard
jawan and men aged between 18
years and 21 years, were killed
when a speeding Jaguar car hit
them at the site of an accident on
theISKCONflyoverinAhmedabad
after midnight on Wednesday,
draggingthemforabout120feet.
ThedriveroftheJaguar,Tathya
Patel (19), was beaten up by peo-
ple who had gathered on the
bridge. He was arrested late
Thursday along with his father
Pragnesh Patel (44), said Deputy
Commissioner of Police (Traffic,
West) Neetaben Desai.
Tathyawastravellingwithhis
friends whom the police are try-
ing to trace. The police closed a
part of the flyover for investiga-
tionsandconductedareconstruc-
tion of the crime scene late
evening with the father and son.
According to Sarkhej traffic
police,anaccidenthadtakenplace
between a dumper truck and a
MahindraTharcarwitha16-year-
old boy at the wheel on the
ISKCON flyover on S G Road be-
tween 12.30 am and 1 am. A
Jaguar, being driven at a speed of
over150kmph,ranintothecrowd
that had gathered at the accident
Chamoli electrocution: Officials face FIR, suspension
AVANEESH MISHRA
DEHRADUN, JULY 20
ADAYafter15peoplediedofelec-
trocution at a sewage treatment
plant (STP) under the Namami
Gange project in Uttarakhand’s
Chamoli district, police on
Thursday booked officials on
chargesof culpablehomicidenot
amounting to murder.
The 15 deaths took place on
Wednesday during a protest
againsttheearlierdeathofanop-
erator-cum-caretaker, who had
also been electrocuted.
Friday’s FIR was registered
against one Pawan Chamola, a
supervisor with the company
handling the operations and
Thespacecraftissupposedto
makefive suchorbit-raisingma-
noeuvres to continuously move
into higher and higher orbits be-
fore beginning to move directly
towards the moon. Once there,
it would do similar exercises to
slowly get into lower and lower
orbits around the moon before
eventuallyreachingacircularor-
bit about 100 km from the lunar
surface.Itisfromthiscircularor-
bit that the final descent to the
Moon’ssurfacewouldtakeplace
on August 23 or 24.
Indiaisthebiggestexporter
of riceintheworld. File
export ban, the Ministry of
ConsumerAffairs,FoodandPublic
Distribution said in a statement,
“To ensure adequate availability
of non-basmati white rice in the
Indianmarketandtoallaytherise
in prices in the domestic market,
thegovernmenthasamendedthe
export policy from ‘free with ex-
The Jagaur car after the accident, in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Nirmal Harindran
spot,killingnine—someofwhom
were students from Botad — and
injuring 13.
Those killed included
Krunalbhai Natwarbhai Kodiya
(20), Ronak Rajeshbhai Vihalpara
(19) from Botad district; Amir Ali
Kachhi(21)andArmaanAnilbhai
Vadhvaniya (19) from
Surendranagar as well as Akshar
Anilbhai Patel (22) and Niravbhai
Atmaram Ramanuj (22) from
ChandlodiyainAhmedabad.Head
constable Jashwantsinh Ranjeet-
sinh Chauhan (45) from Godhra,
head constable Dharmendrasinh
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at a
hospital in Chamoli on Thursday. PTI
maintenance of the plant, and
“otherofficialsresponsible”who
were not named. Action was
also taken against other officials,
includingadditionalassistanten-
gineer Hardev Lal, who was sus-
India celebrates the
International Moon
Day 2023 by propelling
Chandrayaan-3 astep
closer to the moon. The
fourth orbit raising
manoeuvre (Earth-bound
perigee firing) is
performed successfully...”
— ISRO
Chandrayaan-3 is taking a
circuitous route in its journey,
rather than travelling directly to
theMoon,in ordertoeconomise
the entire travel. A direct trip to
the Moon, which takes about
four days, would require much
heavier rockets, and huge
amounts of fuel, to leave the
spacefurtherintospace.Instead,
Chandrayaan-3 was taken to a
near Earth orbit, from where it
has been utilising the force of
gravity to gain momentum, and
then fire thrusters to accelerate
port duty of 20%’ to ‘prohibited’
with immediate effect.”
However, exports of this vari-
ety have increased even after the
imposition of 20 per cent export
duty. “In the current FY 2023-24
(April-June), about 15.54 lakh
metric tonnes (LMT) of this vari-
ety of rice was exported against
only 11.55 LMT during FY 2022-
23(April-June),i.e.anincreaseby
35%,” the statement said, ascrib-
ing the increase to high interna-
tional prices owing to the geopo-
liticalscenario,ElNinosentiments
and extreme climatic conditions
inotherriceproducingcountries.
There is no change in the ex-
port policy of non-basmati rice
(parboiled rice) and basmati
rice, which form the bulk of rice
exports.
In the financial year 2022-23
(April-June),Indiaexported177.86
Narsangbhai Parmar (35) from
Surendranagar and home guard
jawan Nilesh Mohan Khatik (38)
alsodiedintheincident.
ThepolicesaidPragnesh,areal
estate businessman, was booked
for gangrape in 2020. As per
Thursday’s FIR, Pragnesh came to
the accident site, “got into a con-
frontationwiththecrowdandran
awaywithhissonandtheothers”.
Tathya and Pragnesh were
booked under sections 304 (cul-
pablehomicidenotamountingto
murder), section 279 (rash driv-
ing) 337 ( rash and negligent act
pendedforallegednegligencein
the discharge of departmental
tasks and responsibilities.
Kundan Singh Rawat, junior en-
gineer-in-chargeattheElectricity
Distribution Division of
Lecturer targeted for critical to be displayed in Delhi library festival
post on ISRO moon mission DIVYA
A an official said.
NEW DELHI, JULY 19
SANATH PRASAD
BENGALURU, JULY 20
KANNADA LECTURER and Dalit
activistHulikunteMurthy'ssocial
media post allegedly mocking
‘Chandrayaan-3 Mission' has
landedhimintrouble,withheand
hisfamilyreceivingonlinethreats
and personal insults and politi-
cians seeking action against him.
Murthy, who is currently
teaching at Government PU
College, Malleswaram, allegedly
wrote in a Facebook post in
Kannadathat“Chandrayaan-3will
be a failure”. Using the ‘Tirupati
nama’ phrase, he indicated that
the moon mission will fail this
timeaswell.Hewascommenting
on a team of ISRO scientists offer-
ing prayers at the Tirupati temple
in Andhra Pradesh with a minia-
ture model of Chandrayaan-3
LMTofnon-basmatirice,ofwhich
63.98 LMT was non-basmati
white rice. Of this, 5.82 LMT was
exported to Benin, followed by
Madagascar (5.55 LMT), and
Kenya (5.46 LMT). Cote D’ Ivoire,
Mozambique, Vietnam, Angola,
TogoandNepalwereothercoun-
tries constituting India’s top 10
buyersof non-basmatiwhiterice.
India’snon-basmatiwhiterice
exportsstoodat52.19lakhmetric
tonnesin2021-22and42.34lakh
metric tonnes in 2020-21.
According to data from the
DepartmentofConsumerAffairs,
the all-India daily average retail
price of rice was recorded as Rs
40.89 per kg on July 20, 2023,
which is 11.42 per cent higher
compared to a year ago. The all-
India average daily wholesale
price of rice was Rs 3,587.34 per
quintal on July 20, which is 11.95
to endanger human life), 338,
(causing grievous hurt), 504 (in-
sulting someone intentionally to
provoke them) 506 (2) (criminal
intimidation) and 114 (abettor
present when offence commit-
ted)oftheIPC,besidesunderpro-
visions of the Motor Vehicles Act.
AnotherFIRwaslodgedagainst
the 16-year old driver of the Thar
involvedinthefirstaccident.
Chief Minister Bhupendra
Patel announced an ex-gratia of
Rs4lakheachforthenextofkinof
thosedeadandRs50,000eachfor
those injured.
Gopeshwar,wasalsosuspended.
OnWednesday,at9.30am,the
bodyoftheoperator,Ganesh,was
found. He was suspected to have
been electrocuted the previous
night. Around 11.35 am, when a
group of local residents were
protestingagainstGanesh’sdeath,
26people,includingpoliceandJal
Sansthanofficials,cameincontact
withachargedrailingofastaircase,
leading to the death of 15 people.
Two of those injured in the inci-
dent are said to be in serious con-
dition,whiletheothersarestable.
The FIR was registered after
Uttarakhand Power Corporation
Ltd(UPCL)claimedthatbeforethe
second incident, a lineman fixed
a jumper that was causing hin-
drance in the power supply, and
aheadof itslaunchlastFriday.
The flak that Murthy is facing
over his has left him “heartbro-
ken”. The 42-year-old said, “I am
really disturbed by the turn of
events. My wife is also disturbed.
Ihavetaughtaboutscientifictem-
perament.Thefactthattheminia-
turemodelofChandrayaan-3was
taken to a temple by ISRO scien-
tistsmademequestionthescien-
tific temperament of the people
behind the project. I metaphori-
cally questioned, 'what happens
if the mission fails even this time,
just like last year'. In hindsight, I
feel I should have worded my
thoughts differently.” “I have
never allowed my activism to in-
terfere with my professional
work...Iwillcontinuetoteach,co-
operatewiththedepartmentand
pursue my case legally,” he said.
FULL REPORT ON
www.indianexpress.com
per cent higher than a year ago.
In recent months, there has
been a steady increase in the in-
ternational prices of rice too.
“India’s price quotes rose about 9
percentfromearlyJune;however,
India remains the lowest priced
Asian exporter,” states Rice
Outlook: July 2023, a report pub-
lished by the Economic Research
Service of the USDA.
Consignments of non-bas-
mati rice will be allowed for ex-
port under certain conditions.
“Exports will be allowed on the
basisofpermissiongrantedbythe
Indiangovernmenttoothercoun-
tries to meet their food security
needsandbasedontherequestof
theirGovernment,”theDGFTno-
tificationsaid.Exportswillalsobe
permitted where loading of non-
basmatiriceontheshiphascom-
menced before this notification.
Four children of
a family drown
in Hardoi: Police
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
LUCKNOW, JULY 20
FOUR CHILDREN of a family
drowned in a pit dug up two
months ago for the Ganga
Expressway in Kurari village of
Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh
Thursday, said police.
Policesaidthattheyretrieved
thebodiesfromthe10-foot-deep
pit and sent them for autopsy.
No complaint was received
from the family of the deceased
till late evening, said police.
Panchdeora police station
SHOVidyaSagarPalsaidseniorof-
ficers visited the spot.
“While playing near the pit
filled with rainwater one of the
children fell into it and screamed
for help. While making an effort
torescuehim,threeotherchildren
drowned too,” the SHO said.
Policeidentifiedthedeceased
as Ajmat (11) Saddam (12),
Khushnuma (12) and Mustakim
(9) — all cousins.
“The pit was dug up around
two months ago for the Ganga
Expressway construction work
aftergettingpermissionfromthe
landowner, an uncle of the de-
ceasedchildren.Theyhavegiven
no complaint,” said a senior po-
lice officer.
The incident took place a day
afterfivechildrendrownedinapit
dug up by a brick kiln owner in
Rampur district Wednesday.
that they were not informed that
an accident had occurred at the
STP premises the previous day.
UPCL also claimed that the acci-
dent happened after the STP op-
eratorturnedonthemainswitch,
causingthecurrenttoflowaround
the tin shed.
However, talking to The
Indian Express, both supervisor
Pawan Chamola and Sanjay
Kumar Srivastava, executive en-
gineer of the Jal Sansthan in
Gopeshwar, rejected UPCL’s
claim that it was not informed
aboutthepreviousday’saccident
and said even though there was
nowrittenexchangeof informa-
tion with the corporation, the
linemanhadbeenworkinginthe
area where the body was lying.
LITERATUREBANNEDduringthe
Colonial era will be on display for
the first time in New Delhi next
month as part of a two-day
Festival of Libraries.
President Droupadi Murmu
willinauguratethetwo-dayfesti-
valatPragatiMaidanonAugust5.
Vice-PresidentJagdeepDhankhar
will preside over the concluding
session the following day.
The event was announced
Wednesday by Minister of State
for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal.
He said libraries preserve manu-
scriptsandbridgethegapbetween
historyandthefuture,addingthat
the country needs to maintain a
balancebetweenphysicalanddig-
itallibrariesandcreatespecialcor-
nersforseniorcitizensanddiffer-
ently abled people to enjoy the
experienceof reading.
During the freedom struggle,
At Irshalwadi village of Raigad district. Narendra Vaskar
LANDSLIDE FLATTENS MAHARASHTRA VILLAGE
Survivors left with no
roof, little hope of
finding loved ones alive
NAYONIKA BOSE
& SADAF MODAK
IRSHALWADI (RAIGAD), JULY 20
AT AROUND 10.30 pm on
Wednesday, residents of
Irshalwadi woke up to an explo-
sion-like sound. Before they re-
alised it was a landslide, houses
started collapsing and many got
buried under the debris. Even as
some managed to escape, they
were helpless and could only
watch that their family mem-
bers not make it.
Evenasrescueoperationsare
slatedtocontinue onFriday,sur-
vivors who saw the magnitude
of destruction said that they had
scant hopes of finding any fam-
ily members alive. Having lost
theirlovedonesandhouses,sur-
vivors could be seen breaking
down in the incessant rain.
All that remains of their vil-
lage is a flat surface.
Bhagwan Bhawar, 25, one of
the survivors who lived in
Irshalwadi, lost five of his other
family members, including his
wife, four-year-old son, brother,
brother’s wife and brother’s
child.
“Since it was raining
throughoutWednesday, most of
us were at home and slept early.
I heard a loud sound around
10.30-10.45pm. My wife woke
me up and we ran towards the
housedoorwhenahugerockfell
on her... I was thrown away... I
screamed for help and myfather
rushed to pull me out. We could
not save the others,” Bhagwan
said. He lived along with his
eight family members at
Riswadi, a nearby village for
Stalin to PM: Raise fishermen’s
issues with Lanka President
ARUN JANARDHANAN
CHENNAI, JULY 20
TAMIL NADU Chief Minister M K
Stalin wrote to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, asking him to
takeupkeyissueswith SriLanka
President Ranil
Wickremesinghe, including the
matter of Katchatheevu island,
the detention of Indian fisher-
men by Sri Lankan authorities,
and the aspirations of the Tamil-
speaking section of the island
nation’s populace.
The letter comes ahead of
Wickremesinghe’s upcoming
visit to New Delhi, scheduled to
start on Friday.
Citingthedemandtoretrieve
Katchatheevu, Stalin’s letter said
the island has historically been a
President Droupadi Murmu
will inaugurate the two-day
event on August 5
severalrevolutionarypiecesoflit-
erature were banned by the
British as the writings were con-
sidered“dangerous”totheirrule.
“These collections represent-
ing the feelings, aspirations and
resolves of our freedom fighters,
areavailableinvariousIndianlan-
guages, such as Bengali, Gujarati,
Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Odia,
Punjabi,Sindhi,Tamil,Teluguand
Urdu, and will be put up on dis-
playforthepublicfromthecollec-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
most of the year, with the adults
working as farmer labourers.
“As the harvesting was done,
they left for their homes just a
day ago on Tuesday. After he
reached, Bhagwan even sent me
videos of the rain from
Irshalwadi. We learnt of the in-
cident on the news and began
callingthemupbutcouldnotget
through to them,” said Sanket
Jadhav, on whose farm the
Bhawar family worked. Jadhav
visited MGM Hospital in Panvel
trying to find the family and fi-
nally located Bhagwan at the
health centre in Chouk.
Some survivors recalled that
theyfeltlikeahelicopterwasap-
proaching, while others claimed
thelandslidefeltlikeearthquake
or uprooting of a tree. “I don’t
know what happened, whether
it was the rain or the wind. We
heard sounds, it felt like some
helicopter was approaching,”
said Ragi Pardhi, whose family
had been engaged in farming in
Irshalwadi for generations.
“We cultivated Nachni and
Wari among other crops. Now,
I’velostmyhusband’sfamily,my
own family members, my
friends and my neighbours,”
added Ragi.
Survivors like Ragi are now
stranded with nowhere to go.
Another survivor Bharti Pardhi
said,“Welostourhomesandour
grains. We are sitting here now
at the others’ homes but how
long will we live like this for. We
have lost everything.” Pardhi
livedinajointfamilyof 10mem-
bers and was not even aware of
howmanypeoplefromherfam-
ily had been buried, until
Thursday afternoon.
part of India, and that fishermen
from Tamil Nadu have tradition-
ally fished in the waters around
this island.
“I urge the Union govern-
ment to initiate diplomatic ef-
forts to revisit the agreement
transferringKatchatheevuisland
and make all efforts to retrieve
Katchatheevu as it will only re-
establish the historical fishing
rights and provide permanent
relief to our fishermen. Untilthis
is accomplished, the Union gov-
ernment may take steps to re-
store at least the traditional fish-
ing rights of our fishermen,” the
letter added.
Stalinalsoexpressedconcern
about the frequent harassment
and detention of fishermen
from Tamil Nadu by the Sri
Lankan Navy.
tionofNationalArchivesofIndia,”
An exhibition on an ancient
encyclopaedia, highlighting how
surgeries have been a part of
Indian medicinal practice since
ages,willalsobeapartoftheevent.
Culture Secretary Govind
Mohan said the event will also
showcase iconic libraries from
across the world with an aim to
initiate a conversation on the
modernisationanddigitisationof
libraries in India. The festival will
haveexhibitionsandpaneldiscus-
sions and will introduce a special
ranking system for libraries.
Highlightsof the two-day fes-
tivalincludethelaunchofacrowd-
sourcedDirectoryofLibrariesand
the signing of a MoU between
threeprominentlibraries–Khuda
Bakhsh Oriental Public Library in
Patna, Rampur Raza Library, and
MaulanaAbulKalamAzadArabic
Persian Research Institute in
Rajasthan’s Tonk, for long-term
collaborativeevents.
Lucknow
 E EXPLAINED
9
On uniform civil code, the BJP, RSS position over the years
SHYAMLAL YADAV
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
THE GOVERNMENT told Parliament on
Thursday that the Law Commission had ini-
tiated fresh consultations on the Uniform
Civil Code (UCC) due to the “relevance and
importance”of the subjectandvariouscourt
orders on it.
While the UCC is seen as part of the core
agendaof the BJP, the party and its predeces-
sor, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), have not
always included it in their election mani-
festos. Here’s a look at the positions the BJP
and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have taken on
the UCC over the years.
The years after independence
When Jawaharlal Nehru’s government
brought in the Hindu Code Bill, the BJS
EXPLAINED GLOBAL
PUTINWON’TGOTOSOUTHAFRICAFOR
BRICSSUMMIT:HERE’STHEPROBLEM
KHADIJA KHAN
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
SOUTH AFRICA has said Russia’s Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin won’t attend a sum-
mit of the BRICS grouping (Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa) in
Johannesburg from August 22-24. The
decision has been taken by “mutual
agreement”, South Africa said.
What is the significance of this?
A difficult situation hasbeen resolved
for South Africa, which would have been
theoretically obligated to arrest Putin for
alleged war crimes if he had arrived in its
jurisdiction.
Why the obligation to arrest Putin?
On March 17, the International Crim-
inal Court (ICC) had issued “warrants of
arrestfortwoindividualsinthecontextof
the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir
Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria
Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova”. Lvova-
Belova is the “Commissioner for
Children’s Rights in the Office of the
President of the Russian Federation”.
TheICC,headquartered in TheHague,
Netherlands, is an independent judicial
body that began functioning on July 1,
2002, to prosecute the most heinous of-
fences where a country’s own legal ma-
chineryfailedtoact—likeinRwandaand
erstwhile Yugoslavia.
Unlike the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), which deals with countries
and inter-state disputes, the ICC prose-
cutes individuals — it “investigates and,
where warranted, tries individuals
charged with the gravest crimes of con-
cern to the international community:
genocide, war crimes, crimes against hu-
manity and the crime of aggression”.
South Africa has said it is neutral in
the war in Ukraine. But as a member of
the ICC, it is in theory obligated to exe-
cute the warrant for arrest.
What is Putin accused of?
Demerger of RIL’s financial arm: Reason, process, value for shareholders
Hitesh Vyas
THURSDAY (JULY 20) was the ‘record date’
for the demerger of Reliance Strategic
Investments Ltd (RSIL) from Reliance
Industries Ltd (RIL). Stock exchanges con-
ductedaspecialpre-openingsession(SPOS)
from9am to10 amon Thursday for the dis-
covery of the share price of RIL.
The record date is the cut-off date by
which an investor should own shares of a
companytobeeligibleforanycorporateac-
tion such as receiving a dividend, stock
splits, or bonus shares.
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023
passedaresolutiononApril15,1955,“deeply
deploring” the Bill which was “in defiance of
the public opinion without taking any man-
date from electorate”. The Central Working
Committee of the BJS said when the
Constitution “clearly enjoins the State to en-
act a Uniform Civil Code for all the citizens”,
the Hindu Code Bill “making discrimination
in respect of only one community is repug-
nant to the Constitution of India”.
In its 1957 election manifesto, the BJS
promised to repeal the Hindu Marriage Act
and the Hindu Succession Act if voted to
power. However, it was silent on the UCC.
From the 1960s to 1980
UCC did not find place in 1962 Lok Sabha
manifestoof theBJS.However,itagainprom-
ised to repeal the Hindu marriage and suc-
cession laws. Ahead of the 1967 Lok Sabha
elections, the BJS promised in its manifesto a
“uniform law for marriage, succession and
Putin has been accused of war
crimes by the ICC. AP
AccordingtoapressreleasebytheICC
at the time, Putin, 70, and Lvova-Belova,
38, are “allegedly responsible for the war
crime of unlawful deportation...and un-
lawful transfer” of children from occu-
pied areas of Ukraine to the Russian
Federation”, for which they have been
charged under “Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and
8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute”.
The Rome Statute, adopted in 1998, is
the international treaty that established
the ICC.
AccordingtotheICC,“thecrimeswere
allegedly committed in Ukrainian occu-
pied territory at least from 24 February
2022”, the day Russian forces invaded
Ukraine.
Does the ICC have the authority to
prosecute Putin?
Russia has repeatedly said it does not.
Russia is not one of the 123 States
Parties to the Rome Statute that recog-
nise the authority of the ICC. The United
States, China, and India too do not recog-
nise the ICC’s jurisdiction.
EvenUkraineisnotaStatePartytothe
Rome Statute. However, in 2014, it ac-
cepted “the jurisdiction of the Court over
allegedcrimescommittedonitsterritory
from 21 November 2013 to 22 February
2014” and then, in 2015, accepted the
ICC’s jurisdiction “from20 February2014
onwards, with no end date”.
Background of demerger
In October last year, RIL had said it
would demerge its financial services
undertaking into RSIL, which would
be renamed as Jio Financial Services
Ltd (JFSL). Earlier this month, RIL
received approval from the National
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for the de-
merger.
RSIL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
RIL, and is an RBI-registered non-Deposit
takingSystemicallyImportant(ND-SI)non-
banking financial company.
For RIL shareholders
The share ratio under the demerger
process is 1:1, which means all sharehold-
ers of RIL as on the record date (Thursday)
are eligible to receive one JFSL share for
every RIL share they own.
The demerger exercise will help unlock
value for 36.39 lakh shareholders (as of the
end of March 2023) of RIL.
EXPLAINED POLITICS
adoption for all citizens.”
The same promise was made in 1971, but code more forcefully.
it was missing in 1977 and 1980 (when the
BJS was subsumed in the Janata Party).
However, the BJS stressed time and again Shah Bano case, reminded the government
the need for a “national policy”
governing marriage, succession
and adoption. UNDERSTANDING in the Directive Principles of our
UCC
Shah Bano and after
The BJP was formed in April
1980, after nearly four months of A SERIES
the Lok Sabha elections of that
year were concluded. For the next election, in
1984, the BJP manifesto did not mention the “appoint a Commission to examine the vari-
UCC.TheBJPwononlytwoseatsinLokSabha ouspersonallawsinvogueinthecountry...and
in 1984. Struggling for a foothold in national toidentifythefairandequitableingredientsin
politics, in the mid-eighties, the BJP under L K these laws, prepare a draft with a view to
Advani zeroed in on three main issues — the evolve a consensus for a Uniform Civil Code.”
UCC, abrogation of Article 370, and construc-
tion of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
After the Shah Bano case, the BJP and the
The paradox of tomatonomics
The prices of tomato are sky-high, and yet the inflation rate of tomato prices is negative. Why? Also, costly
tomatoes are an annual complaint, and the Govt’s response is the same every year. What can be done?
UDIT MISRA
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
BEGINNING Thursday, the Centre has made
subsidised tomato available in Delhi-NCR
and some other cities at Rs 70 per kg —
cheaper than the Rs 80 for which it was be-
ing sold through NCCF and NAFED outlets.
The intention has been to make tomato
affordable for the common woman at a time
when,despiteafallingtrendoverthelastfew
days, the all-India average retail price re-
mains almost Rs 120 per kg.
At places in the country where the veg-
etable is the costliest, the price on
Wednesday was more than double the aver-
age price, according to data compiled by the
central government’s Department of
Consumer Affairs.
An interesting trend
Tomato prices have been spiralling out of
control for the better part of two months
now. Just within June, retail prices rose four-
fold to touch Rs 100 per kg in Delhi.
Commenting on the price of the kitchen
staple earlier this month, Minister for
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
DistributionPiyushGoyalsaidsomethingin-
teresting and revealing.
“If we compare with last year’s prices,
tomato’saveragerateisthesame,”Goyalsaid.
Equally interestingly, the inflation rate in
tomatopricesis negative.Inotherwords,the
inflation rate would suggest that the price of
tomato is falling, not rising.
Chart 1, sourced from the economic pol-
icy think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian
Economy(CMIE),showstheyear-on-yearin-
flation rate in tomato prices. The data in the
chart (and in Chart 2) are from the Union
Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation.
Note that tomato prices fell by a whop-
ping35%inJune(asagainstthepricesinJune
2022). In fact, tomato prices have been ex-
periencing “deflation” (the opposite of infla-
tion) since November 2022.
Perhaps the picture might change when
the data for July come in next month, but as
things stand, the question can legitimately
be posed: How can tomato prices be sky-
high and crashing at the same time?
The negative inflation
Why is the inflation rate negative?
Inflation rate is based on the value of an
index. For each commodity there is an index,
which works like a proxy of the market
Special opening session
RIL closed at Rs 2,841.85 a share on the
NSE on Wednesday (July 19), up 0.62 per
cent. RIL’s market capitalisation stood at Rs
19.21 lakh crore (around $233 billion).
Post the demerger, RIL’s market capital-
isation stood at Rs 17.75 lakh crore. At this
valuation, RIL continues to
remain the most valued
company in the country,
EXPLAINED
followed by HDFC Bank (at
Rs 12.70 lakh crore) in sec-
YOUR MONEY
ondposition,andTataConsultancyServices
(TCS) (at Rs 12.64 lakh crore) in third place.
On Thursday, shares of RIL opened at Rs
2,580 apiece on the NSE; Jio Financial
Services was thus assigned a price of Rs
261.85 per share on the NSE (difference be-
tween RIL’s price on Wednesday and its
price discovered during the SPOS).
On the BSE, which too conducted a spe-
cial pre-opening session, RIL opened at Rs
2,589 per share.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like
explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com
RSSstartedraisingthedemandforauniform manifestohadasimilarpromiseof lookingat a Uniform Civil Code based on the progres-
various laws “to evolve a Common Civil Law sive practices from all traditions.”
In its Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha for the whole country to give our citizens a However, after it came to power as part
(ABPS) in 1986, the RSS, in the light of the feeling of unity and brotherhood”. of the NDA coalition, it kept aside “contro-
BJPMPsraisedtheissuetimeandagainin versial issues” like Article 370, Ram Temple,
that“insteadof movingtowards Parliament — Sumitra Mahajan in 1993 andUCC.Thispositionlastedinthe 1999and
auniformcivilcodeasenvisaged tabled a resolution, and Bachi Singh Rawat 2004 elections.
in 1996 introduced a private member’s Bill,
After 2000, amid Modi wave
Constitution, the Bill (on Shah neither of which passed.
Bano) has put the country in a In 1995, the RSS passed a resolution urg- In 2009, when Advani was projected as
reverse gear by sealing off a sec- ing“allthemembersof Parliament,irrespec- the PM candidate, the BJP manifesto said it
tion of people from joining the tive of their party affiliations, to set the “will set up a Commission to draft a Uniform
national mainstream.” process of legislative machinery in motion Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions
In its 1989 manifesto, the BJP promised to for enacting the long-awaited” UCC. and harmonising them with the modern
In 1996, the BJP manifesto stated, “We times. The Commission will also study re-
will adopt a Uniform Civil Code which will forms towards gender equality in other
beapplicabletoeverycommunityandfoster countries, including Islamic countries”.
a commonBharatiya identity, apart fromen- In2014,themanifestosaid,“BJPreiterates
suring gender equality. Regressive personal its stand to draft a Uniform Civil Code, draw-
laws will cease to have legal validity.” ing upon the best traditions and harmonis-
After 1990: the coalition era In 1998, the BJP manifesto promised to ing them with the modern times.” The same
In the 1991 Lok Sabha polls, the party’s “entrust the Law Commission to formulate linewasrepeatedinitsSankalpPatrafor2019.
EXPLAINED ECONOMICS
IndianExpress,goingallthewaybackto2010.
Tomato prices and inflation, 2018-2023 ■ June 2, 2022: “The average retail price
of tomatoes in India has jumped 70% from a
month ago and 168% from a year earlier to
CHART 1: YEAR-ON-YEAR INFLATION RATE IN TOMATO PRICES 53.75rupeesakilogramasofTuesday,accord-
160 ing to data compiled by the food ministry.”
■ Year-on-year change ■June9,2020:“Asretailpricesof tomato
120 surged to Rs 60-70 per kg in almost all big
80 cities, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas
Paswan on Thursday said the price volatility
40
was due to lean production season and high
0 perishability of the commodity.”
-40 ■ July 30, 2017: “Tomato prices, which
have skyrocketed up to Rs 100/kg, are more
-80 likely to decline over the next fortnight as
Jun 2023
Jul 2018
Nov 2018
Mar 2019
Jul 2019
Nov 2019
Mar 2020
Jul 2020
Nov 2020
Mar 2021
Jul 2021
Nov 2021
Mar 2022
Jul 2022
Nov 2022
supplies from southern and other growing
states are expected to improve, said a senior
ICAR official.”
■ June 16, 2016: “Tomato prices which
CHART 2: INDEX VALUE OF TOMATO PRICES havesoaredtoRs80-100perkginretailmar-
kets across the country are likely to remain
320 elevatedforatleastnexttwomonthsasfresh
■ Index numbers
280 crop is expected to hit markets only by
240 August-end.”
■July 29, 2014: “Tomato prices continue
200 toremainhighatRs80perkginretailmarkets
160 of national capital region on short supplies.”
■November 7,2013:“Pricesof tomatoes
120 in retail market on Wednesday touched Rs
80 100 a kg and vegetable vendors have indi-
Jun 2023
Jul 2018
Nov 2018
Mar 2019
Jul 2019
Nov 2019
Mar 2020
Jul 2020
Nov 2020
Mar 2021
Jul 2021
Nov 2021
Mar 2022
Jul 2022
Nov 2022
cated that the prices are expected to come
down by next week.”
■July22,2010:“Thepricesof tomato,cur-
rently being sold at more than Rs 50 a kg in
the retail market here, are expected to fall in
Source: CMIE the next 10 days with fresh arrivals from
Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttaranchal.”
Every year the response of the govern-
ment, irrespective of which party or alliance
is in power, is broadly the same: That this is
a temporary problem and that prices will
come down when supply improves.
Thistimetoo,theresponsehasbeensim-
ilar: “Tomato is the only commodity whose
price has increased during the week. We all
knowthatduetounseasonalrains,theprices
prices. Sincemarket pricescan vary depend- 293). To be precise, it is 35% lower than the of tomatoes have increased and as soon as
ing on where one looks, it is always better to June 2022 index value. tomatoes start arriving from Himachal
go with the value of a pre-decided index. Goyal’s comment did not spell out what Pradesh and some places of Karnataka, the
Also, inflation rateis calculated on a year- the prices were in June last year. The fact is, prices will go down,” Goyal told ANI.
on-year basis in India. That means the June the tomato price index was so high in June Several things can be done to avoid such
inflation rate of a commodity will look at the 2022 that despite the spike in prices in June annualspikes.Themostimportantistoboost
index value for June 2023, and compare it this year, the inflation rate contracted. India’s ability to store its produce. The ability
with the value of the index in June 2022. to store excess produce will not only help
Chart 2 shows the index value of tomato A problem every year consumers during phases when supply
prices. India does have a problem with tomato slumps,butwillalsohelpfarmersearnmore.
It shows that while the index value has prices, and it strikes consumers every year That’s because a second set of reports — by
runupquitesignificantly in June(itisat 191), like clockwork. The Indian Express and other news organisa-
this value is much lower in comparison to Note the timing and the first paragraphs tions—relatestofarmersdumpingtheirpro-
the index value in June 2022 (when it was of the following assorted reports in The duce after a bumper harvest.
A special pre-opening session is con- At Rs 261.85 per share, Jio Financial has ence between the demerged company’s
ducted to discover the opening price of a been valued at around $20 billion, accord- closing price on ‘T minus 1’ day (where T is
company’s shares. It is applicable for the ing to a Reuters report. the ex-date) and the price derived during
first day of trading of initial public offering A report by Jefferies had put the value of the SPOS.
(IPO) securities, first day of recommence- JioFS in the range of Rs 90,000-1,50,000 “JFSL will be maintained in all the NSE
ment of trading of re-listed securities, and crore, with share price in the range of Rs and BSE indices at a constant price i.e., the
for stocks having derivatives contracts on 134-224 in RIL’s sum of the parts (SoTP). difference between the close price of RIL on
the ex-date of trading “We incorporate Rs 179 per share as base Wednesday (Rs 2,841.85 on the NSE), and
(which is generally two
days before the record
case valuation for JFS in our SoTP,” the
Jefferies report said.
open price of RIL discovered during the
SPOS on Thursday (Rs 2,580 on the NSE).
date)after undergoingcor-
porate restructuring, in-
According to Kotak Securities, the SoTP
method follows theprinciple of “divide and
This comes to Rs 261.8 per share,” Nuvama
Research said in a note.
cluding merger and demerger processes. unite”. The analysis first values each indi- JFSL will be the 51st constituent in
vidual business of a diversified company Nifty50 and 31st constituent in Sensex. It
Valuation of Jio FS and later, all businesses are clubbed to- will be dropped from all the NSE and BSE
In a research report, the brokerage gether to calculate the total value of the di- indices at the last traded price which is ef-
NuvamaInstitutionalEquitieshadestimated versified company. fective at the open of JFSL’s listing date plus
the value of Jio Financials at Rs 1 lakh crore. three business days.
The Australian financial services group JFSL constant price Thus, if JFSL lists on August 21, 2023,
Macquarie said in a recent note that after If anSPOSisconductedbytheexchange, then the stock will be compulsorily deleted
the demerger, Jio Financial Services could the demerged company is retained in the on August 24.
become the fifth-largest financial services index. The spun-off entityis included in the Thedate for listingof JFSLis yet to be an-
company in India in terms of net worth. indexataconstantprice,whichisthediffer- nounced by RIL.
Lucknow
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

10
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

WORDLY WISE
To keep the body in good health is a duty...
otherwise we shall not be able to keep our
mind strong and clear. — BUDDHA

FOUNDED BY
Who is accountable?
§

§
RAMNATH GOENKA
BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL
Only way to deliver justice to survivors of mob assault,
and to stabilise Manipur, is to ensure accountability

NATION’S SHAME Avinash Paliwal

It takes a video of sexual assault of women in Manipur for
“IFYOUDON’Ttakeoff yourclothes,we’llkill Naga-Meitei ties. It took strong condemna- of the few surreal tweets that emerged from
silences to break. Guilty should face full force of law, CM must go

I
you”, the Meitei mob shouted at two Kuki
T TOOK A horrific video of at least two women from the Kuki-Zomi community women in Kangpokpi on May 4. Forcibly pa-
being paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a mob in Manipur for Prime raded,publiclymolested,andallegedlygang-
raped, it’s hard to fathom what the survivors
Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence on the nearly three-month long eth-
of this deranged crime are going through.
nic violence in the state. On Thursday, PM Modi said “This incident is a shameful That women’s bodies become sites of male
act for any civilised society... the entire nation is feeling ashamed”. He promised that the violence, especially during communally
guilty would not be spared. The PM's strong words will now be tested by the action chargedconflicts,isalong-knowngrimglobal
taken on the ground. Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, also voiced “deep con- reality.ButwhatwewitnessedinManipuris
cern” and said “we will take action if nothing is happening on the ground”. The apex a social and political dislocation of a deeper
sort. India’s social contract is melting, and
court's intervention is welcome.
whileitmayseemgeographicallyperipheral,
The fire in Manipur was lit in early May, when violence between Meiteis and Kukis Manipur is right at the heart of it.
flared. Since then, over a hundred people have died and property, including a large num- Tounderstandwhatthismeltdownlooks
ber of churches, destroyed. Thousands have had to flee their homes and many continue like, one needs to focus on two aspects. One,
to live in relief camps. The state administration, perceived as biased towards Meiteis, has the systems of violence in and around
done little to address that perception. The incident in the video that has now raised a Manipur, and two, the structures of silence
storm dates back to May 4; a zero FIR was registered on May 18. It is appalling that no ar- aroundit.EversinceMay,whenthestateim-
ploded into civil strife, social cleavages be-
rest was made for more than two months — Chief Minister Biren Singh announced on
tweenMeiteiandZo-Kukicommunitieshave
Thursday noon that the police arrested the main culprit at 1.30 am. Quite simply, CM turnedintoadefactopartitionwithwellover
Singh and his government do not inspire confidence in this fraught moment, and look in- a hundred dead, thousands displaced, many
capableof leadership.HomeMinisterAmitShah, whohadtoured thestateinMay,should churches destroyed, properties burnt, and a
know this. Most Opposition parties that attended the all-party meeting convened by the no-man’s land between the hills and the
Valley secured by the army to boot.
Centre in Delhi on June 24 had also demanded that CM Singh be replaced.
Eventhestateadministrationstandspar-
Inhisremarks,CJIChandrachudalsosaidthat“usingwomenasaninstrumentinanarea
titioned. Meitei police officers don’t operate
of communal strife for inflicting gender violence is deeply, deeply, disturbing...”. It is well- in the hills, and Kuki-Zo officers don’t oper-
documentedthatwomenbearthebruntof violenceduringcommunalandethnicriotsand
ateintheValley.Toworsenmatters,6.32-lakh
that the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. In Manipur, violence against women bullets and around 4,537-arms, including
has been a particularly resonant issue ever since the remarkable grass roots movement lightandmediummachine-guns,arereport-
forcivilrights,MeiraPaibi,inthe1970s.Itwasthatradicalprotestby12Manipuriwomen, edly missing from the Manipur Police
Training Centre, 7th India Reserve Battalion,
who stripped and stood in protest at the Kangla Fort in Imphal, that forced the adminis-
and 8th Manipur Rifles in Imphal city. Of
trationtoaddresshumanrightsviolationsbythestateforcesduringthepeakof theinsur- theseweapons,about5.31percentaresaidto
gency. Irom Chanu Sharmila’s 16-year-long hunger strike for the repeal of AFSPA con- be in the Kuki-dominated hills, and the rest
tributed towards changing the discourse on insurgency in the state. Yet, even though in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley. The
women have led the political discourse on rights, they continue to be prime targets for fact that Meitei women’s groups scuttled an
mobs in times of conflict. Peace in Manipur will require the slow and arduous building of army operation and forced the release of 12
KangleiYawolKannaLupmilitants—withno
a new political imagination that is spacious and sensitive to the rights of women and all
follow-up action against either — brings into
ethnicgroups.Forthattohappen,thegovernmentneedstowinpublictrust,tosignalthat
sharp relief the complicated gender politics
it is on the side of the law, not the accused. And that in these divided times, the only side and inter-community balance-of-power in
it will take will be of the Constitution. For this process to begin, first the Chief Minister this conflict.
must go. He doesn’t inspire confidence, he suggests only complicity and incompetence. It is no secret that the hill administration
in southern Manipur is now being run from
New Delhi, with the N Biren Singh govern-
Such polarised politics is
driven by complex structures
of silence around it. The
silence that screams the
loudest is that of India’s
prime minister. He has
finally and belatedly spoken
on Manipur — as has the
Chief Justice of India — but
for a figure as dominant and
communicative as Narendra
Modi to not make a single
statement on Manipur’s
predicament so far, and the
inability of the powerful
home minister, Amit Shah,
to control the situation,
raises the question of where
exactly the ruling party
tion by civil society members as well as rad-
ical Meitei outfits such as the Arambai
Tenggol, to prevent a Meitei-Naga war in
north Manipur. Such a situation risks roping
Nagaland into the vortex, akin to the Meitei-
Kuki rupture in the south that has already
sucked Mizoram into the mix.
Hosting thousands of displaced Kuki-Zo
families, the Mizoram government is openly
supporting this community. Mizos feel the
need to protect their ethnic kin in Manipur
from Meitei majoritarianism. The last time
this happened was in the 1970s and 1980s,
when the Mizo National Front was an insur-
gent organisation seeking to unify all these
communities into greater Mizoram. Political
tensions between Mizoram, Assam and
Manipur, including over disputed bound-
aries, have become highly charged. Couple
this with massive infusion of drug profits
and products from Myanmar, and it is any-
one’s guess when and where the next fire
could be lit.
Essentially, we’re witnessing fresh parti-
tions and associated armed ethnic mobilisa-
tion in Northeast India with support from
states-within-the-Union.Suchsystemsof vi-
olence, themselves a by-product of India’s
majoritarian turn, are defined by competing
desiresfor regionalhegemony and demands
for access to resources and power within the
Union — not territorial separation. Socially
corrosive, such ecosystems are lubricated by
perverseelectorallogics(afterall,thesecom-
munities become vote-banks for whoever
advocates their cause, legitimate or other-
wise), and illicit, unaccounted cash-flows,
bothof whichareabundantintheNortheast.
Such polarised politics is driven by com-
plex structures of silence around it. The si-
lence that screams the loudest is that of
India’sprimeminister.He hasfinally and be-
latedlyspokenonManipur—ashastheChief
Justiceof India—butforafigureasdominant
andcommunicativeasNarendraModitonot
make a single statement on Manipur’s
predicament so far, and the inability of the
the prime minister’s digital canon after May
3wastocelebrateconnectivityprojectsinthe
Northeast. That spectres of ethnic and com-
munal partitions of this region surpass the
geo-economic drive for connectivity is left
unsaid, and unaddressed.
The other side of silence, to borrow the
phrasefromfeministscholarUrvashiButalia,
relates to systemic violence against women
inManipur.It’snotasif theallegedgang-rape
of the two Kuki women was unknown to au-
thorities – after all, Manipur police allegedly
handed the women over to the mob in the
first place. But it took a leaked video and as-
sociated public shock for Manipur police to
orderan investigation.Tillthen, therewassi-
lence. Unfortunately, if one goes by the
predicament of India’s wrestling champions
who’ve been fighting for justice against sex-
ual harassment by those in power, chances
of a fair investigation in Manipur’s case re-
main thin. There may be a spectacle around
arrests of certain identifiable individuals in
the video. But to expect this moment to
translateintoaturning-pointwherethestate
asserts itself and reinstates a modicum of
constitutional integrity to a strife-torn state
is delusional.
There’s been an expected outcry about
this incident, and its mis-handling is being
seen as a blot on India’s national conscience.
But let’s be clear, individuals have a con-
science,imaginedcollectivesdon’t.India’sso-
cial contract appears to be eroding not be-
cause there aren’t enough people who care
about it. After all, the list of those who care
and have sought prime ministerial interven-
tion in Manipur isn’t small. Neither is every-
one fooled by social-media driven poison.
India’s social contract seems to be weaken-
ing because wrongdoers in power aren’t be-
ingheldaccountable.Theonlywaytodeliver
justice to the two survivors of this mob as-
sault,andperhapstostabilisethesituationin
Manipur, is to ensure accountability. That’s
what India needs to fight for.

A HEALTH WARNING
ment’smandatereducedtotheImphalValley. powerful home minister, Amit Shah, to con- The writer teaches at SOAS University of
Even such limited writ came into question
figures on the complicit- trolthesituation,raisesthequestionof where London and is the author of My Enemy’s
with the recent murder of a Naga woman in incompetent spectrum exactly the ruling party figures on the com- Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the
Imphal East, which threatened to dislocate in Manipur. plicit-incompetentspectruminManipur.One Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal
Investigation in implementation of Ayushman Bharat points
to need to plug loopholes, give a human touch

T
HE STATED OBJECTIVE of the Ayushman Bharat scheme is to “reduce out of

THANKS TO APEX COURT

pocketexpendituresonhealthcare”.Oneof themainreasonsbehindthecon-
ceptualisation of the scheme was the recognition that medical emergencies
oftendrivefamiliestopoverty.Sincecomingintoeffectfiveyearsago,Ayushman
Bharat hasrecorded morethan5crorehospitalisations.Theshare of out-of-pocketexpen-
diture in the total health expenses incurred in the country has also fallen appreciably --
from 62 per cent in 2015 to about 47 per cent in 2020. But this progress should not detract In Teesta Setalvad bail matter, SC has upheld individual rights, and Constitution
fromtheloopholesinimplementationof AyushmanBharat.Aninvestigationbythisnews-
paperhasrevealedthatcritically-illpatientswerecheatedoutof availingthebenefitsof the
scheme by a neurosurgeon at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The doctor is now in judicial
Rekha Sharma
custodyandis beingprobedbytheCBI. Theracketheranfrom apremiergovernmenthos-
THE SUPREME COURT on Wednesday not seek further custody, and she was sent “I have seen that a journalist i.e., [the] appli-
pitalinthecapitalhasaggravatedthefinancialtroublesofhispatientsandtheirfamilies.This passed an order quashing the Gujarat High to judicial custody. Meanwhile, on cant has started her career as [a] journalist
defeats the very purpose of the government's flagship healthcare project. Court judgment dismissing the regular bail September22,2022,shewasgrantedinterim and prima facie it seems that by using victim
Inrecentmonths,thehealthministryhasuseddigitalaids,includingAI,tounearthcases application of Teesta Setalvad, and granted bailbytheSCandcontinuedtoremainonin- and witnesses as [a] ladder for her own ben-
of impersonation and non-genuine claims under Ayushman Bharat. But the Safdarjung her regular bail. The order comes as a relief terim bail till the Gujarat HC dismissed her efits the present applicant ultimately
Hospital fraud points to a deeper problem with the country's healthcare system. The doc- not only to Setalvad, but it also reassures cit- regularbailapplicationonJuly1,anddirected reached on to Padmashree to become
izens: The SC is there to protect them from her to surrender immediately. Though she Member of Planning Commission.”
torhasanear-divinestatusamongstalargesectionofpatients,especiallythosefromunder-
the tyranny of the state as well as that of ju- pleaded before the HC for suspension of her These observations can be said to point
privilegedsections.Medicalethicsrequirehealthcareproviderstocommunicatetothepa- dicialfunctionaries.Thelatter,attimes,man- surrender by 30 days to enable her to move to a bias against the accused. There is an at-
tientsthedetailsof theirailmentsandtreatmentprotocols.Butthisrarelyhappens,further ifests in the form of orders such as the one the SC, it was unmoved. tempttodiscreditherbyhintingthatshewas
skewing the asymmetrical relation between the two. Most hospitals are in any case not issued by the Gujarat HC. She had to rush to the SC on the same bestowed Padma Shri and became a mem-
veryassuringplacesforfamiliesof theseriouslyill,especiallyif theyarefinanciallystressed. Making laws is not enough to ensure the day. In a late-night sitting, the Court granted berof the Planning Commissionthrough her
Formedicalmigrantswhocanbeseensquattingorsleepingonthepavementsoutsidesev- dispensation of justice. While the “ruler” her interim protection, and while so doing, connections. This is tantamount to belittling
tends to tamper with the basic structure of one of the members of the three-judge the award and her membership of the
eral hospitals, the long wait for beds and critical care can mean temporary homelessness.
the rule of law, judges should be guided by bench, reportedly, observed that “heavens Planning Commission. One fails to under-
The Ayushman Bharat scheme offers a way out of this distressful situation. But when un- it and protect and enforce it without fear or won’t fall if the interim protection is stand the relevance of the observations to
scrupulous doctors — like the neurosurgeon at the Safdarjung Hospital — inform families The Gujarat HC rejected
favour.Theyshouldresistanyencroachment granted”. However, the Gujarat HC rejected the grant or rejection of bail.
of thegrievouslyillthatavailingbenefitsundertheschemecouldtaketwotothreemonths on their independence. Setalvad’s bail on the Setalvad’s bail on the unsustainable plea that In 1965, the conference of the
they have little recourse other than to take up the expensive alternative. Setalvad was arrested on June 25, 2022, unsustainable plea that since since she had neither challenged the FIR nor International Commission of Jurists in
The system could become more patient-friendly if patients at empanelled hospitals a day after the SC dismissed the plea of Zakia she had neither challenged the chargesheet, it was not permissible for Bangkok emphasised the importance of an
are counselled by a professional about the benefits under Ayushman Bharat. The scheme Jafri, wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri the FIR nor the chargesheet, her to say that a prima facie case was not independent judiciary in a free society.
who was killed in Gujarat riots, against the made out. The SC felt compelled to observe Unfortunately,theGujaratHC’sorderneither
needs a human touch. The Safdarjung Hospital case should be an eye-opener.
then Chief Minister and others over allega- it was not permissible for her that “if the reasoning of the learned judge is upheld its independence against the execu-
tions of conspiracy during the riots. The SC to say that a prima facie case to be accepted, no application for bail can be tivenorfaithfullyinterpretedthelawandthe
while dismissing Zakia’s plea also observed was not made out. The SC accepted” and that “the findings are totally fundamental principles that underline it. It

MAN AND DOG that “the proceedings were pursued to keep

the pot boiling for ulterior design, and that
all those involved in such abuse of process
need to be in the dock”. Taking a cue from
Timothy Shaddock survived three months stranded at sea. theseobservations,Setalvadwasarrestedthe
Bella may have had something to do with that next day for allegedly fabricating evidence
felt compelled to observe
that “if the reasoning of the
learned judge is to be
accepted, no application for
bail can be accepted” and
perverse”.
A perusal of the HC order reveals that it
has virtually copied and pasted the allega-
tions against Setalvad in the FIR and
chargesheet. It has based its order rejecting
the bail on those allegations, even when the
failed to protect the Constitution. It failed to
protect the rights of the individual. It failed
to perform its essential role.
Thank you, Supreme Court, for standing
by theindividual.Thankyou, for standingfor
the Constitution.

W
against the accused. She had fully cooper- accused has not had the opportunity to
HENJEAN-PAULSARTREsaid“hellisotherpeople”,heshouldperhaps ated while she was in police custody for that “the findings are counter them. Shockingly, the learned judge The writer is a former judge of the
have added a caveat. There is indeed no torture like a relationship seven days for interrogation. The police did totally perverse”. inparagraph11.24of thejudgmentobserves: Delhi High Court
soured, or having to endure the company of someone you truly de-
test. But, on the other hand, there is no tribulation greater than en-
forced solitude, no punishment greater than solitary confinement. The very depths of
despair, then, may not be a result of the people we hate but rather, loneliness. And, as the
tale of Timothy Shaddock shows, the best way to survive that hell — and many a trauma JULY 21, 1983, FORTY YEARS AGO
— might be with the help of a dog.
ShaddockwasrescuedlastweekbyafishingboatinthePacificOcean.Hehadsetsailfrom TEESTA RIVER SHARE for a new class of transport aircraft: Ilyushin programme of ousting her from power and
MexicoforFrenchPolynesiaona catamaran,whichgotdamaged.Strandedatseaforthree 76. Defence Minister R Venkataraman said weakening the country. She saw in the new
months,hesurvivedbyeatingrawtunaanddrinkingrainwater.Despitehistroubles,though, INDIA AND BANGLADESH agreed on ad hoc India decided to buy the Advanced Sea King trend emerging in the country following ag-
sharing of the Teesta waters. Under the new Mark 42B helicopters from Britain. The itation by the Akalis and activities of similar
the gaunt and bearded Australian did not seem to carry the weight of his ordeal as he gave
arrangements, Bangladesh will get 36 per Minister assured the committee that the ad- ‘'disruptive forces’’, a danger to the country’s
interviews. Perhaps that's because, unlike Tom Hanks’ character in Cast Away (2000), his cent and India 39 per cent of the flows while vanced version of MiG, which India was ac- integrity and unity and warned the people
companion wasn't an imaginary man named Wilson but a real canine named Bella. the remaining 25 per cent will remain unal- quiringfromtheUSSR,wasmorethanamatch against them.
Bella adopted Shaddock in Mexico — she was a stray who refused to leave his side. On located. The ad hoc shares and unallocated foranyothercomparableaircraftof thisclass.
aboat,withnothingbutundrinkablewateraroundandtheunforgivingsunabove,theun- portion will be subject to reallocation after
ZIA ON NUKE TREATY
conditional companionship and friendship that Bella gave must have made the ordeal scientificstudiesarecompleted.Thearrange-
ments will be valid till the end of 1985.
MRS GANDHI’S THREAT PAKISTANPRESIDENTZIAsaidthatwhilehis
justalittlemorebearable.Imagineif,instead,hewasstuckwithsomeonehehated,some-
PRIMEMINISTER INDIRAGandhistartedher country’srelationswithIndiaareimproving,
one who began competing for limited resources. Or, as many a thriller film has shown,
someonewhoseessurvivalasazero-sumgame.Inthatcase,thecatamaranwouldindeed USSR PLANE DEAL two-day tour of the Garhwal region with a
scathing attack on the opposition parties
Pakistan will not sign the Nuclear Non-pro-
liferation Treaty as long as “our neighbour to
have become hell. Luckily, though, Bella is likely a better person than most people. INDIAISNEGOTIATINGwiththeSovietUnion which she said were pursuing a one-point the east” does not follow suit.

Lucknow

11
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023
THE IDEAS PAGE
Philosophy as fiction
Milan Kundera’s goal was to lend new credibility to the genre by infusing it
with themes revolving around memory, nostalgia and humour
Emmanuel Lenain
BORN IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA, Milan
Kundera sought exile in France in 1975,
where he lived until his recent death at 94
years of age. He began his career writing po-
etry, placing the emotional experience at
the heart of his work and willingly moving
away from propagandistic works glorifying
the ideals of the Communist Party. His first
two books, The Joke (1967), and Laughable
Loves (1968), explore human relationships
and the difficulty of language. Written
shortly after the Soviet invasion or Prague
Spring, The Joke depicts a situation where
freedom of speech is muzzled, and his faith
in the Communist Party has started erod-
ing. His next novel, Life is Elsewhere (1969),
which deals with his communist past, went
on to receive the Prix Médicis as early as
1973 for its French translation.
In 1975, the political climate in central
Europe was such that he decided to leave
the erstwhile Czechoslovakia and seek ex-
ile in France. For the first time, he could
write freely, without fear of being censored.
He went on to obtain French nationality in
1981 (after being stripped of his Czech one
in 1979). He wrote his most famous novel,
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984)
Irom Chanu Sharmila
WHEN I SAW the video of the public, bru-
tal and utterly shameful assault on two
women in Manipur, I broke down. Nothing
can excuse or justify the sheer inhumanity
of what took place. The incident also brings
to the fore some deeper issues.
In Manipur, women have had an impor-
tant symbolic role in public life and protests
— whether it is the Imas of Ima Keithel (the
women’smarket)orMeiraPaibisoreventhe
women who led the Nupi Lal (Women’s
War) against the British. However, the lived
realityonthegroundisdifferent,andwomen
in the state are subject to deep oppression.
I can speak from my own experience. In
my 16-year long hunger strike, when I did
not even drink water, I was reduced to a
symbol. Despite my struggles, I felt that
people would view me as “just a woman’’.
I felt like the state’s (Manipur’s) property.
That is the kind of attitude people have to-
wards women.
With regards to my struggle, the only
concern seemed to be whether the Armed
Forces Special Powers Act be repealed or
not. In a conflict situation, women are al-
while living in Paris. It was an immediate
success and appealed to intellectual circles
and readers all over Europe and America,
and all the way to India. The opening lines
of the novel, discussing Nietzsche’s theory
of eternal return, are etched in the minds of
legions of teenagers, as are the adventures
of Franz and his libertine way of life.
Kundera’s goal was to lend new credibility
to the genre of fiction, by infusing it with
strong philosophical themes revolving
around one’s past, memory and amnesia,
nostalgia and self-ridicule.
It was not until 1993 that he started
writing exclusively in French, calling it his
“second mother tongue”. In doing so, he fol-
lowed in the footsteps of several European
writers who adopted French as their
tongue. One thinks of Irish writer Samuel
Beckett, celebrated author of Waiting for
Godot, Romanian playwright Eugène
Ionesco, Swiss author Agota Kristof, and
Spanish writer Jorge Semprún. Even today,
many of France’s celebrated authors took
to French only later in life: Lebanese-born
author Amin Maalouf, Moroccan author
Tahar Ben Jelloun, Russian writer Andreï
Makine, and even American author
Jonathan Littell come to mind.
What does it do to a writer when they
write in a language that is not their own?
Some detractors see in this a drying up of
language, while others argue it becomes
more limpid. Even before taking up French
as his exclusive language, Kundera used to
rewrite the translations of his works so that
they were as close as possible to what he
intended. The reason why he chose to write
in French was never explicitly explained,
I feel helpless when I see the news
The inhuman assault on women in Manipur brings deeper issues to the fore
ways targeted — I know this from my own
experience. And only a woman can under-
stand the suffering of another woman.
Since the violence began three months
ago, I have been following the news from
Manipur in Bengaluru, where I now live. I
was not surprised when I first heard of the
conflict. Manipur is a multi-ethnic, multi-
cultural society. The differences between the
various communities in the state have been
deep and have existed for a very long time.
I spoke to a Meitei friend in Manipur
and received one account of what is hap-
pening. Then I spoke to a Kuki friend in
Bengaluru and got a completely different
account. They both held polar opposite
views. I feel that one of the reasons we have
come to this point is the sheer neglect by
the Centre, not just now, but for decades,
of the Northeast in general, and Manipur
in particular.
Successive governments have ignored
the state and have never really tried to re-
solve the conflict in Manipur or between
the communities. The accusation about the
Kukis encroaching on the land and there
Throughout the 20th century,
France has attracted many
artists and intellectuals
looking for a climate of
freedom or creative
stimulation. While eminent
figures like Ernest
Hemingway, Henry Miller,
and James Baldwin are the
most cited, there are several
Indian artists who also called
Paris their home in the 1950s,
some even remaining there till
the end of their lives. Among
them was painter S H Raza,
the biggest retrospective on
whose work outside of India
was held at Centre Pompidou
earlier this year.
being a large number of illegal immigrants
from Myanmar is problematic. The immi-
grants are refugees and they came to
Manipur because they were fleeing oppres-
sion and violence in their own country. We
need to look at the issue far more sensi-
tively — the immigrants need to be treated
humanely. The central and state govern-
ments should have dealt with the immi-
grant issue much better.
The entire issue actually seems to re-
volve around land. But people need to re-
alise that when they die, they are not go-
ing to take their piece of land with them.
The central government also needs to deal
with the people of Manipur with parental
affection — like they are a part of their fam-
ily — and consult every community while
taking decisions. This is where both the
state government and the central govern-
ment have failed — it shows a lack of lead-
ership. The state government should have
consulted the leaders of the Kuki commu-
nity, instead of just imposing their deci-
sions on them.
My struggle against AFSPA was for all
C R Sasikumar
but it seems that he wanted to embrace
French culture fully. In total, Kundera pub-
lished four novels in French (in 1995, 1998,
2003 and 2014), and several essays. And de-
spite the fall of the communist regime, he
chose to stay on in France.
Throughout the 20th century, France at-
tracted many artists and intellectuals look-
ing for a climate of freedom or creative
stimulation. While eminent figures like
Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller, and James
Baldwin are the most cited, there are sev-
eral Indian artists who also called Paris their
home in the 1950s, some even remaining
there till the end of their lives. Among them
was painter S H Raza, the biggest retrospec-
tive on whose work outside of India was
held at Centre Pompidou earlier this year.
Would these two have met each other in in-
tellectual circles? One will never know.
Internationallyrecognised,translatedinto
more than 80 languages — including
Malayalam, and soon Tamil — Kundera
stopped giving interviews back in 1985. The
way he conceived Europe in his essays, par-
ticularly the considering of central Europe as
theheartofEuropeanculture,continuestobe
influential.
For readers interested in reading his
translated works, I am happy to announce
thattheFrenchInstituteinIndiaissettoopen
French corners in major bookstores in India,
starting with Kunzum in GK II on August 12.
There, readers will be able to access all ma-
jor French works in translation, including
classics,andacuratedcontemporarysection.
The writer is Ambassador
of France to India
the people of Manipur, all the communi-
ties in the state — Kukis, Nagas and Meiteis.
It wasn’t just for the Meiteis. After 2004,
when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh re-
moved AFSPA from Imphal city, the Chief
Minister at the time Okram Ibobi Singh had
come to meet me at JNIMS hospital where
I was kept as a prisoner, and requested me
to call off my hunger strike. Others, includ-
ing senior nurses, also put pressure on me
to give up my struggle. But I told them at
the time — what about the hills and the
tribal people? They will not receive the
benefit of AFSPA having been removed. I
told them I will continue my struggle till
the time AFSPA is removed from the entire
state.
I feel helpless when I see the news now.
With their act of humiliating others and
sexual assault, what were the perpetrators
trying to achieve?
(As told to Esha Roy)
Sharmila is an activist who was on a 16-year
hunger strike demanding the repeal of the
Armed Forces Special Powers Act
WHAT THE OTHERS SAY
“While the new alliance holds a lot of promise, especially for... communities
crushed by the Hindutva machine, the fact is that large, ideologically diverse
groupings can be notoriously unwieldy... it will take the combined political
wisdom of the INDIA parties to send BJP and its allies home.” —DAWN,PAKISTAN
INDIA, a name,
a big idea
It communicates complex concepts in a simple,
evocative way. With tagline Jeetega Bharat,
Opposition has a powerful campaign in the making
ZERO HOUR
by Derek O’Brien
I SPENT EIGHT happy years (1984-1991)
in my advertising career as a copywriter
(leave the fancy designations aside) in one
of the world’s most admired advertising
agencies — Ogilvy. The highlight of those
years was the four days spent working
with the original ad guru, David Ogilvy, in
Kolkata. I am an out and out Ogilvy bhakt.
Of all the insights to do with his craft, my
favourite saying of his is: “Unless your
communication contains a BIG IDEA, it
will pass like a ship in the night”.
The leaders of the political parties who
met earlier this week at the Bengaluru
summit were not just looking for a name.
They were looking for an idea. They were
looking for a BIG IDEA. They came up with
one.INDIA.IndianNationalDevelopmental
Inclusive Alliance. Add the tagline Jeetega
Bharatormoreandyouhave ablockbuster.
The name of the new alliance needed
to communicate multiple rational
thoughts like national, development, in-
clusive, democratic, patriotic and progres-
sive. This could have become very com-
plicated. The biggest challenge was to
come up with a BIG IDEA that communi-
cated all these seemingly “heavy con-
cepts” in a simple and evocative way.
Creative challenge: One of the great
challenges of creating powerful commu-
nication is to take “the creative leap”. In
other words, come up with an idea to
present a rational proposition in a way
that strikes an emotional chord. To look at
the familiar, in an unfamiliar manner. The
name INDIA does just that. Advertising
and marketing legend, Leo Burnett said,
“the secret of all effective originality in
communication is not the creation of new
and tricky words and pictures, but one of
putting familiar words and pictures into
new relationships”. That is precisely why
the new name, INDIA (Jeetega Bharat),
was unanimously adopted at the meeting
and has since then received such a rousing
reception. Looking at the familiar, through
an unfamiliar lens. Instantly connecting
with people.
Some of the best acronyms coined in
the last few decades succinctly illustrate
what they stand for. Some of my
favourites are: PETA stands for People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals, UNICEF
which stood for United Nations
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
COALITION GAMES
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘My
coalition vs yours’ (IE, July 20). It may
appear that the number 38 on the side
of the NDA is higher than the 26 on the
Opposition side, but most of the NDA
partners are insignificant as far as
their political strengths are concerned.
The catchy acronym INDIA has an in-
stant recall value. With the launch of
INDIA, the BJP has been compelled to
think of its old and practically forgot-
ten allies. That the Congress managed
to patch up with AAP is the kind of po-
litical maturity required at this time.
Political togetherness is a sine qua non
at this propitious juncture.
S S Paul, Nadia
WHEAT AS HOSTAGE
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘War
and wheat’ (IE, July 20). For a global
economy already struggling to pull it-
self out of the pandemic-induced in-
flation, Russia withdrawing security
guarantees to Ukrainian wheat ship-
ments on July 17 was a body blow.
Ukraine was the fifth-largest pre-war
exporter of wheat and the biggest ex-
porter of sunflower oil. However, if
this drags on, major grain-producing
nations could take drastic measures
like reducing or halting exports, com-
plicating the situation further. India
must do whatever it takes to keep the
ship steady. If the matter isn’t resolved
soon, it could become central to the
G20 summit India is scheduled to host
in a couple of months.
Khokan Das, Kolkata
CYBER SAFETY
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘A cyber-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
International Children's Emergency Fund
(now changed to United Nations
Children's Fund), and ASEAN, Association
of Southeast Asian Nations. There are so
many more examples where a powerful
acronym works wonders.
Not all acronyms work: Flashy
acronyms are frequently coined to make
headlines. Here are nine coined by the rul-
ing dispensation, one for each of its nine
years in power — NAMASTE, DARPAN,
HRIDAY, MISHTI, PRASAD, NIDHI, PRA-
GATI, SETU, PRANAM.
How many of these nine can you iden-
tify and what they stand for without the
help of Google search. Just to bore you,
here are the full forms — National Action
for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem,
Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office
for A New India, Heritage Development
and Augmentation Yojana, Mangrove
Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible
Incomes, Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and
Spirituality Augmentation Drive, National
Initiative for Developing and Harnessing
Innovations, Pro-Active Governance And
Timely Implementation, Self Employment
and Talent Utilisation, Promotion of
Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture
Management Yojana.
Why INDIA cuts the clutter: The name
INDIA (Jeetega Bharat) is energetic and
contemporary. It can be transformed into
seamless 360 degree communication --
from print to social media, from music to
audio-visuals, from public rallies to
Parliament and more. A powerful cam-
paign in the making. The tagline Jeetega
Bharat is easily translated into every sin-
gle language across the country. At this
stage, let this columnist not divulge too
much, lest the competition gets even a
whiff on the strategy and its execution.
And talking of the competition, the
first test of knowing whether one is onto
something special, is to see how the com-
petition reacts. In the last few days since
the new name has been in the public do-
main, you have seen how the BJP has re-
acted. First, they badmouth the idea. Then,
run down the name by forming corny
acronyms. React, react. You have got your
competitor exactly where you want him
to be.
In June, political parties met at the
Patna summit. In July, the Bengaluru sum-
mit. Before the third summit in Mumbai,
INDIA parties will continue to work as a
tight knit unit throughout the Monsoon
session of Parliament and beyond.
INDIA is more than just an acronym.
You will get to know this even better in
the weeks and months ahead.
The writer is Member of Parliament and
Leader, All India Trinamool Congress
Parliamentary Party (Rajya Sabha).
Additional research by Ayashman Dey
space more secure’ (IE, July 20). In the
ever-expanding realm of cyberspace,
where technology shapes both per-
sonal and professional spheres, pri-
vacy concerns have become a press-
ing issue. With cybercriminals using
sophisticated methods to exploit data
systems and extort individuals and or-
ganisations, the need for robust pri-
vacy laws is undeniable. While the
Digital Personal Data Protection Bill is
a significant step, its effectiveness re-
lies on coordination among stake-
holders and a delicate balance be-
tween data confidentiality, integrity,
and availability. With proper imple-
mentation and cooperation, we can
safeguard our digital privacy and se-
cure a safer cyber future.
Shaswat Jena, Ghaziabad
MORE THAN NUMBERS
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Politics,
not arithmetic’ (IE, July 20). Nor INDIA
nor NDA will not impress the elec-
torate with their numbers of 26 and
38. There are many parties whose
presence in democratic institutions is
insignificant. Both sides have to iron
out internal differences by shedding
their egos. Then they must pronounce
policy on internal matters like
poverty, employment, inflation, cor-
ruption, health, education etc. Each of
their stand on foreign issues will have
to be clarified as to how they plan to
further boost the prestige and image
of our country on the international
fora. Bashing each other is purpose-
less. The vibrant democracy has to
continue its march with vigour and
dynamism as exhibited by the pres-
ent regime in multiple directions.
Subhash Vaid, New Delhi
Lucknow

12 THE WORLD
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023
TOPOFTHE
WORLD
Alexei Navalny. AP file
RUSSIA
Govtseeks
20-yearprison
forPutin’sfoe
Tallinn: Russian prosecu-
tors asked a court to sen-
tence imprisoned oppo-
sition leader Alexei
Navalny to 20 years in
prison on extremism
charges, his ally Ivan
Zhdanov said. According
to Zhdanov, the trial
against Navalny, which
went on behind closed
doorsintheprisonwhere
the politician is serving
another lengthy sen-
tence, is scheduled to
conclude with a verdict
on August 4. Navalny, 47,
is President Vladimir
Putin’s fiercest foe who
exposed official corrup-
tion. He was arrested in
January 2021 upon re-
turning to Moscow from
Germany, after nerve
agent poisoning. AP
UNITED STATES
Forcedlabour:
Indian-origin
couplecharged
Washington: An Indian-
origin couple has been
charged in the US for al-
legedly subjecting an im-
migrant, who is their rel-
ative,toforcedlabourand
physical abuse at a con-
venience store they
owned. According to the
accusation, Harmanpreet
Singh, 30, and Kulbir
Kaur, 42, from Virginia
used “various coercive
means”,includingconfis-
cating the victim's immi-
gration documents and
subjecting him to physi-
cal abuse, threats of force
and other serious harm
and, at times, degrading
living conditions, to com-
pelhimtoworkextensive
hours for minimal pay
between March 2018 and
May 2021. AP
GERMANY
Museumtheft:
Policefind
meltedgold
Berlin: Investigators look-
ing into the theft of hun-
dredsofancientgoldcoins
from a German museum
have found lumps of gold
that appear to have re-
sulted from part of the
treasure being melted
down, but still hold out
hopeoffindingtherestin-
tact,officialssaid.Foursus-
pects were arrested on
Tuesday over the
November 22 break-in at
the Celtic and Roman
Museum in the Bavarian
town of Manching in
which483Celticcoinsdis-
coveredduringanarchae-
ological dig in 1999 were
stolen. The coins date to
100 BC. AP
CROATIA
Stormsweeps
theBalkans,
6 peoplekilled
Zagreb: A Croatian fire-
fighter has died during a
deadly storm that swept
the Balkans after a heat
wave, bringing the death
toll to six. Emergency
services in Slovenia,
Croatia,BosniaandSerbia
scrambledThursdaytore-
store electricity and clear
the debris left over after
Wednesday’s chaos.
Meteorologists said the
storm was powerful as it
was formed after a string
of very hot days. Experts
sayextremeweathercon-
ditionsarelikelyfueledby
climate change. AP
Protesters scale a wall at the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday. Angered by the planned burning of a copy of the
Quran, they stormed the embassy early Thursday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire. AP
Quran protesters storm Swedish
embassy in Iraq, envoy expelled
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, JULY 20
PROTESTERS ANGERED by the
burningof acopyof theQuranby
an Iraqi man in Sweden stormed
theSwedishEmbassyinBaghdad,
overrunningthediplomaticcom-
pound and starting a fire on
Thursday.
Hours later, Iraq's prime min-
ister cut diplomatic ties with
Sweden in protest over the dese-
cration of the Islamic holy book.
Protesters stormed the diplo-
matic post early Thursday, wav-
ingflagsandsignsshowingthein-
fluential Iraqi Shiite cleric and
Trump’s woes mount
as campaign calendar
and trial dates collide
CHARLIE SAVAGE
WASHINGTON, JULY 20
AS FORMER President Donald J.
Trump campaigns for the White
House while multiple criminal
prosecutionsagainsthimplayout,
at least one thing is clear: Under
the laws of physics, he cannot be
in two places at once.
Generally, criminal defen-
dants must be present in the
courtroomduringtheirtrials.Not
onlywillthatforceTrumptostep
away from the campaign trail,
possibly for weeks at a time, but
the judges overseeing his trials
mustalsojostleforpositioninse-
quencing dates. The collision
course is raising extraordinary —
and unprecedented — questions
about the logistical, legal and po-
litical challenges of various trials
unfoldingagainstthebackdropof
a presidential campaign.
Already,Trumpisfacingastate
trial on civil fraud accusations in
NewYorkinOctober.Anothertrial
on whether he defamed the
writerEJeanCarrollissettoopen
on January 15 — the same day as
theIowacaucuses.OnJanuary29,
a trial begins in yet another law-
suit, this one accusing Trump, his
companyandthreeofhischildren
ofusingthefamilynametoentice
vulnerable people to invest in
sham business opportunities.
Because those cases are civil,
Trumpcouldchoosenottoattend
TUNISIA HAS PUSHED AFRICAN MIGRANTS TO SCORCHING NO-MAN’S LANDS ALONG ITS BORDERS WITH LITTLE FOOD, WATER
Stranded in a strange land without food, and waiting for death
VIVIAN YEE
TUNIS, SFAX, JULY 20
FOR NEARLY three weeks now,
more than 1,000 men, women
and children from Africa have
beenclingingtosurvivalintheno-
man’s lands at Tunisia’s borders.
A few scrubby trees offer fitful
shade, videos taken by migrants
show, and border guards from
neighboring Libya and Tunisian
aid workers occasionally drop off
water and a bit of bread.
Otherwise, there is nothing.
Tunisian authorities dumped
the African migrants there after
rounding them up in the
political leader Muqtada al-Sadr,
and set a small fire.
The attack on the embassy
cameaheadofaplannedburning
of the Quran in Stockholm by an
Iraqi asylum-seeker who burned
a copy of the Islamic holy book
duringapreviousdemonstration
last month.
Following the incident, the
Swedish Embassy announced it
had closed to visitors.
Iraqi Prime Minister
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said
inastatementaftermeetingwith
securityofficialsthatIraqiauthor-
ities would prosecute those re-
sponsible for the arson as well as
referring “negligent security offi-
E
E X P L A I NE D
Another
poll tool for
● Trump?
TRUMP AND his allies
havesignaledthattheyin-
tendtotrytoturnhisover-
lapping legal woes into a
referendum on the crimi-
nal justice system, by
seeking to cast it as a po-
litically weaponised tool
of Democrats.
thetrials.Buthewillnothavethat
option in a criminal case on
chargesinNewYorkthathefalsi-
fied business records as part of
covering up a sex scandal shortly
before the 2016 election.
Theopeningdateforthattrial
isinlateMarch,aboutthreeweeks
after Super Tuesday, when over a
dozen states vote on March 5.
Jack Smith, the special coun-
sel leading two federal probes
into Trump, has asked the judge
overseeing the
sensitivedocumentsto setatrial
date for late 2023. NYT
MediterraneanportofSfax,hours
away, where growing numbers
have boarded boats to nearby
Europe this year. Many were
beatenbyofficers;afewhavedied
in the desert, where there is little
to no medical care, migrants and
rights groups say.
Overandover,theysentpleas
forhelpfromthedwindlingnum-
ber of phones they managed to
keepcharged:“Pleasehelpus.We
are dying,” one wrote to The New
YorkTimesonSaturday.“Wedon’t
haveanyfoodandwater,”begged
another. “We are stranded. If
there’s any way you can help us”
By Sunday, the text messages
had stopped.
cials” for investigation.
However, the statement also
saidthattheIraqigovernmenthad
informeditsSwedishcounterpart
on Wednesday that Iraq would
cutoffdiplomaticrelationsshould
the Quran burning go forward.
Hourslater,Sudaniannouncedhe
had ordered the expulsion of the
Swedish ambassador from Iraq
and the withdrawal of the Iraqi
charge d'affaires from Sweden.
The announcement came af-
ter two men held an anti-Islam
protest on a lawn about 100 me-
tres from the Iraqi Embassy in
Stockholm.Oneofthemhasbeen
identified by Swedish media as
Salwan Momika, an Iraqi of
KENYA ON THE BOIL
Supporters of Kenya’s Opposition leader Raila Odinga participate in an anti-government
protest against the imposition of tax hikes in Nairobi on Thursday. At least six people were
shot dead by police on Wednesday; 27 have been killed in such protests this year. Reuters
Pak court acquits PM & family
in 2020 money laundering case
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
LAHORE, JULY 20
AN ACCOUNTABILITY court in
PakistanacquittedPrimeMinister
Shehbaz Sharif and his family
membersonThursdayinamulti-
million-dollarmoneylaundering
case after the anti-corruption
agencyfailedtoprovideanysolid
evidence against them.
"An Accountability Court ac-
quitted Prime Minister Shehbaz,
Sudanese migrants at a park in Sfax, Tunisia, in May. The
Tunisian authorities have moved many African migrants to
the desert near the Libyan border. NYT
Christian origin who lives in
Sweden as a self-identified athe-
ist. Momika also stepped on and
kickedanIraqiflag,aswellaspho-
tographs of al-Sadr and of Iran's
supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
Following the protest and
Sudani'sannouncement,thehead
of Iraq’s Media and
Communications Commission
announced it had suspended the
license of Swedish communica-
tions company Ericsson to oper-
ate in Iraq.
The Ministry of
Communications later said it
would sever all its dealings with
Swedish companies.
his wife Nusrat, his son Hamza
and daughter Javaria in the PKR 7
billion money laundering case
filed by the National
Accountability Bureau (NAB) in
2020," a court official told PTI.
The official said the court ac-
quitted the premier and his fam-
ily members after the NAB failed
to provide any solid evidence
againstthesuspectsregardingthe
laundering of millions of dollars
abroad, especially to the United
Kingdom.
GREECE
FIRE NEAR ATHENS CONTAINED
Athens: Greece’s Fire Service intensified water drops west of Athens where a huge
blaze was contained overnight. Seven firefighting planes and nine helicopters were
operating in the area, including four planes sent from Italy and France. AP
WARSAW REDEPLOYS TROOPS
Wagnerlaunchesjoint
trainingwithBelarus
armynearPolishborder
UK imposes asset
freeze, travel bans
on 13 Wagner
mercenaries
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW, JULY 20
MERCENARIES FROM Russia's
military company Wagner on
Thursday launched joint drills
withtheBelarusianmilitarynear
theborderwithPolandfollowing
their relocation to Belarus after
theirshort-livedrebellion,amove
that prompted Warsaw to rede-
ploy its troops.
The Belarusian Defence
Ministry said that the weeklong
maneuverswillbeconductedata
firing range near the border city
of Brest and will involve
Belarusian special forces. The
ministry added that Wagner's
combat experience will help
modernise the Belarusian mili-
tary.AvideoreleasedWednesday
appearedtoshowWagner'schief
Yevgeny Prigozhin for the first
timesinceheledlastmonth’sre-
bellion.
The UK government on
Thursday imposed asset freezes
and travel bans on 13 Wagner
mercenariesoverallegedattacks
on civilians in Africa. Britain has
alreadysanctionedPrigozhinand
severalotherWagnercommand-
ers over Ukraine war.
WARRANT ISSUED
AGAINST DAUGHTER
THE COURT declared an-
other daughter of the PM ,
Rabia Imran, a proclaimed
offender and issued her an
arrest warrant. Rabia had
leftfortheUKsinceshewas
named in the case.Thecase
wasfiled in2020duringthe
tenure of Imran Khan.
With migration to Europe at
its highest level since 2016, the
Mediterranean route from North
Africa is once again posing a
dilemmaforEurope,whereburn-
inganti-migrationsentimenthas
played into ugly scenes of coast
guards setting some migrants
adrift while leaving hundreds of
others to drown.
Itisinlaunchpadcountrieslike
Tunisia, which has overtaken
Libya as the main crossing point
for Africans and others dreaming
of Europe, that European leaders
hope to contain the problem.
But critics of the deal say they
haveonlyoutsourcedtheugliness.
On Sunday, Italy, the
Emergency service personnel near a destroyed building
after a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on Thursday. AP
Russian strikes on
south Ukraine still on
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KYIV, JUL 20
A THIRD night of Russian air at-
tacks pounded Ukraine’s south-
ern cities, including Odesa,
where at least two people were
killed, Ukrainian officials said on
Thursday.
Russia’s attacks on southern
Ukraine have become more in-
tense this week, after President
Vladimir Putin pulled Russia out
of a wartime deal that allowed
Ukraine to send grain to coun-
tries facing the threat of hunger.
Xi gets nostalgic with
‘old friend’ Kissinger
REUTERS
BEIJING, JULY 20
CHINESE PRESIDENT Xi Jinping
told Henry Kissinger that “old
friends” like him will never be
forgotten, striking an easy tone
in their meeting in China’s capi-
tal on Thursday, amid efforts by
BeijingandWashingtontomend
frayed ties.
“Once again, China and the
US are at a crossroads of where
to go from here, and once again,
both sides need to make a
choice,” Xi told the former U.S.
diplomat.
Kissinger played a key diplo-
maticroleinnormalisingtiesbe-
tween Washington and Beijing
in the 1970s when he served as
secretary of state and national
security advisor in the adminis-
trations of Presidents Richard
Nixon and Gerald Ford.
NotingthatKissingerhasjust
celebrated his 100th birthday
and has visited China more than
100 times, Xi said his visit this
time is of “special significance.”
“The Chinese people never
forgettheiroldfriends,andSino-
US relations will always be
linked with the name of Henry
Kissinger," Xi told him at the
Diaoyutai State Guesthouse,
where foreign dignitaries are of-
ten received.
Kissinger, who is widely re-
spected in China and has paid
regularvisitssinceleavingoffice,
said he was grateful Beijing had
arranged the meeting in the
Netherlands and the European
Commission signed a deal with
Tunisia promising more than $1
billioninEuropeanUnionaidand
investment to stabilise the coun-
try’s crumbling economy and
strengthen border controls.
“We all heard that the prime
ministerofItalypaidtheTunisian
president a lot of money to keep
the Blacks away from the coun-
try,”Kelvin,a32-year-oldNigerian
migrant, said on Saturday from
Tunisia’s border with Libya.
Like other sub-Saharan
Africanmigrants,manyof whom
canenterTunisiawithoutvisas,he
had spent several months clean-
inghousesandworkingconstruc-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
The strikes came one day af-
teran intenseRussian bombard-
ment using drones and missiles
damagedcriticalportinfrastruc-
ture in Odesa, including grain
and oil terminals.
Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper
said Ukrainian air defenses de-
stroyed all of the 12 Iranian-
made Shahed drones and two
Kalibr missiles that targeted
Odesa. But he added that air de-
fence systems were unable to
shoot down some incoming
missiles, in particular the X-22
and Onyx types. He didn't say
how many missiles got through.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
(right) and Henry Kissinger,
ex-US secretary of state, in
Beijing on Thursday. Reuters
Yellen visits
Vietnam
Hanoi: The US considers
building strong economic
and security ties with
Vietnam a priority, US
Treasury Secretary Janet
Yellen said Thursday as she
met with Vietnamese offi-
cials in a visit aimed at for-
tifying America’s relations
across Asia.“The US consid
ers Vietnam a key partner
in advancing a free and
open Indo-Pacific,” Yellen
told Vietnamese PM Pham
Minh Chinh.
building where he had met with
Chinese leaders during his first
visit.
“The relationship between
our two countries is a matter of
world peace and the progress of
human society,” China’s official
news agency Xinhua cited
Kissinger as saying.
tioninSfax,scrapingtogetherthe
smuggler’s fee for a boat to
Europe.Then,hesaid,Tunisiansin
uniformsbrokethroughhisdoor,
beathimuntilhisanklefractured
andputhimonabustothedesert.
The E.U.-Tunisia deal went
aheadovertheobjectionsofsome
EU lawmakers and rights groups
whoaccuseEuropeofbuttressing
an autocrat in the making,
Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied.
Saied, who has a record of vilify-
ing migrants, has spent the last
two years dismantling Tunisia’s
democracy, the only one to
emerge from the Arab Spring
proteststhatconsumedtheregion
more than a decade ago. NYT
Lucknow
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

13 ECONOMY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023

GOLD USD RATE OIL SILVER

`60,800 `81.99 $80.81 `77,950
Note: Gold, silver rates at Delhi spot market, gold per 10g, silver per 1 kg; Crude oil (Indian basket) as of July 19

SENSEX: 67,571.90 ▲ 719.66 (1.40%) NIFTY: 19,979.15 ▲ 146 (0.74%) NIKKEI: 32,490.52 ▼ 405.51 HANG SENG: 18,928.02 ▼ 24.29 FTSE: 7,643.04 ▲ 54.84 DAX: 16,177.30 ▲ 68.37
International market data till 1900 IST

HUL Q1 profit up India’s reliance on imported crude

8% y-o-y, firm sees oil increases to 88.3% in April-June
gradual recovery FUEL CONSUMPTION UP, PRODUCTION DOWN
for FMCG sector
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
MUMBAI, JULY 20
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER Ltd
(HUL) has reported an 8% rise in
profit after tax for the June quar-
ter at Rs 2,472 crore as against Rs
2,289 crore in the same period a
year ago. Analysts, on average,
had expected a profit of Rs 2,597
crore, according to IBES data
from Refinitiv.
Expenses climbed 5.5% to Rs
11,931 crore. Total sales of the
fast-moving consumer goods
company at Rs 14,931 crore
grew by 7 per cent during the
quarterasagainstRs14,016crore
a year ago.
Rohit Jawa, Chief Executive
Officer and Managing Director,
said: “FMCG markets are recov-
ering gradually althoughthe op-
erating environment remains
challenging. In this context we
have delivered a resilient and
competitiveperformancewhilst
steppingupourEBITDA [operat-
ing] margin.”
In the near-term, the FMCG
industrywillcontinuetowitness
rebalancing of price-volume
growth equations and a gradual
recovery in consumer demand,
he said. “In this environment we
willcontinuetoprovidesuperior
medium to long term prospects
of the Indian FMCG sector and
HUL’s ability to deliver a consis-
tent, competitive, profitable and
responsible growth,” he said.
According toHUL,home care
delivered another quarter of
strong performance with 10%
revenue growth and mid-single
digit underlying value growth
(UVG). Both the fabric wash and
household care segments grew
double-digitledbyfocusedmar-
ket development actions and
premiumization, it said.
HUL said beauty & personal
care delivered 4% revenue
growth with mid-single digit
UVG. Skin care and colour cos-
metics grew double-digit on the
back of strong performance in
the premium portfolio. Further,
price reductions were taken in
thesoap portfolioin this quarter.
The oral care business delivered
strong double-digit growth led
by Closeup.
HUL announced the appoint-
mentofNeelamDhawan,63,asan
Independent Director with effect
from August 1 for five years.
Dhawan is currently a Non-
ExecutiveDirectoratICICIBank.It
announcedthereappointmentof
Leo Puri as Independent Director
for five years, from October 12 to
October11,2028.
SUKALP SHARMA
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
INDIA’S RELIANCE on imported
crude inched up to 88.3 per cent
inApril-Junefrom86.5percenta
year ago as consumption of fuels
and other petroleum products
rose while domestic oil produc-
tion declined slightly, as per data
released by the Petroleum
Planning&AnalysisCell(PPAC)of
the oil ministry. The reliance on
imported crude in the first quar-
ter (Q1) of the current financial
year (FY24) was also higher than
the previous fiscal’s 87.4 per cent
— the highest-ever for a full year.
Whilethegovernmentwants
toreduceIndia’shighdependency
on imported crude oil, sluggish
domestic oil output in the face of
continuallygrowingdomesticde-
mand has been a key obstacle. In
2015, the government had set a
targettoreducerelianceonoilim-
portsto67percentby2022from
77percentin2013-14,butthede-
pendencehasonlygrown.Heavy
reliance on imported crude oil
makes the Indian economy vul-
nerable to global oil price volatil-
ity,apartfromhavingabearingon
thecountry’sforeigntradedeficit,
foreignexchangereserves,rupee’s
exchange rate, and inflation.
Netflix ends
PE/VC investments down
password 23% in H1 this year
Domestic oil output (mt)
Petroleum product consumption (mt)
Oil imports (mt)
Oil import dependency (%)
Oil import bill ($ million)
Source: PPAC, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
At60.1 milliontonnes,thevol-
umeofIndia’soilimportsinApril-
June was a tad lower than 60.7
milliontonnesintheyear-agope-
riod. However, reliance on im-
portedcrudestillroseasthecoun-
try’s petroleum product exports
declined to 14.7 million tonnes
from 16.6 million tonnes in the
year-ago quarter. The computa-
tion of import dependency is
basedonthedomesticconsump-
tion of petroleum products and
excludes petroleum product ex-
portsasthosevolumesdonotrep-
resent India’s demand.
According to the PPAC, total
productionofpetroleumproducts
from domestic crude oil in April-
June was 6.8 million tonnes,
which translates to a self-suffi-
ciency of just 11.7 per cent. In the
correspondingquarteroflastyear,
Japan signs
chip pact
Q1 FY23 Q1 FY24
7.5 7.3
55.4 58.1
60.7 60.1
86.5 88.3
48.1 31.4
MT: million tonnes
petroleum product production
from indigenous crude was 7.5
million tonnes and self-suffi-
ciency stood at 13.5 per cent.
Withrefiningcapacityof over
250 million tonnes per annum,
India — the world’s third-largest
consumer of crude oil and also
one of its top importers — is a net
exporter of petroleum products.
Interestingly, even as the de-
pendencyonimportedoilrosein
Q1fromthecorrespondingperiod
of lastyear,theoilimportbillwas
nearly 35 per cent down, thanks
mainly to relatively lower prices
of crude oil in the international
market. Global oil prices had
surged a year ago to multi-year
highs in the aftermath of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, but have
cooled off significantly since.
India’s import of discounted
Russian oil in large quantities has
alsoplayedaroleinsavingsonoil
imports. Indian refiners started
snapping up Russian oil after the
warinUkrainebrokeout.Moscow
startedofferingdiscountstowill-
ing buyers as Western buyers
started shunning its oil following
its February 2022 invasion of
Ukraine.
InApril-Juneoflastyear,India’s
oilimportbillwas$48.1 billiondol-
lars,whileinQ1of thecurrentfis-
cal, it was $31.4 billion, according
to the PPAC data. The price of the
benchmarkBrentcrudeaveraged
at around $114 per barrel in Q1 of
FY23, while in the corresponding
quarter of the current financial
year, it averaged at around$78,as
per data from the US Energy
InformationAdministration.
Cuttingoilimportsisoneofthe
main objectives of the govern-
ment’s push for electric mobility
and other alternative fuels for
transportation and industries.
Over the past few years, the gov-
ernment has also intensified ef-
forts to raise domestic crude oil
outputbymakingexplorationand
production contracts more lucra-
tiveandopeningvastacreagesfor
exploration. Oil imports continue
togrow,mainlybecausedomestic
oil output has remained stagnant
whiledemandhasbeenrising.
Jio Fin valued
at $20 billion
share they hold.
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU “This shows people are quite
MUMBAI, JULY 20 confident about the future per-
formance of JFS with exposure
JIO FINANCIAL Services (JFS) has to Jio's mobile customer base. It
been valued at around $20 bil- also holds nearly Rs 1 trillion of
lion after its stock price was set Reliance'streasuryshares.These
ata muchhigher-than-expected factors have given lot of confi-
Rs 261.85 ($3.19) in its demerger dence to investors,” said G
from billionaire Mukesh Chokkalingam, founder and
Ambani’s Reliance Industries. head of research at Equinomics.
Shares of Reliance Industries JFSL will be the 51st con-
Ltd (RIL) opened at Rs 2,580 stituent in Nifty50 and 31st con-
apiece on the National Stock stituent in Sensex
Exchange (NSE) on Thursday af- Itwillbedroppedfromallthe
ter the demerger of Jio Financial NSE and BSE indices at the last
Services Ltd (JFSL) from it. traded price which is effective at
The discovered price for Jio theopenof JFSL’slistingdateplus
Financial Services on the NSE is threebusinessdays.Forexample,
Rs 261.85 per share. if JFSL lists on August 21, 2023
The NSE conducted a special then stock will compulsorily be
pre-opensession(SPOS)between deleted on August 24, 2023.
9-10amforthepricediscoveryof The date for listing of JFSL is
the oil-to-telecom major com- yet to be announced by RIL.
panyonaccountofthedemerger. Assuming a hypothetical sce-
RIL’s shares opened at Rs 2,589 nario, at Rs 261.8 per share, Nifty
per share on the BSE, which also 50Indexpassivetrackerscouldsell
conducted a special session. around90millionshareswhichis
On Wednesday, RIL shares equivalenttoapproximately$290
ended at Rs 2,841.85 apiece on million,Nuvamasaid.
the NSE. Sensex index trackers could
“JFSLwillbemaintainedinall sell 55 million shares which is
theNSEandBSEindicesatacon- equivalenttonearly$175million
stant price i.e., the difference be- The record date for the de-
tween the close price of RIL on merger of Reliance Strategic
Wednesday (Rs 2,841.85 on the Investments Ltd (RSIL), which
NSE), and open price of RIL dis- will be renamed later as Jio
covered during the SPOS on Financial Services (JFSL), from
Thursday (Rs 2,580 on the NSE).
This comes to Rs 261.8 per
RIL is today.
The share ratio under the de-

value to our consumers and in- Demand is yet to fully re-
vest behind our brands. We re-
main focused on driving our
boundinruralIndia.Analystsex-
pect consumer goods majors to sharing in
with India
share,” Nuvama Institutional merger process is 1:1, which
Private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) investments in
Equities said in a research note.
JFS's stock price is higher
means that all shareholders of
RIL as on the record date, are el-

long-term strategic priorities in-
cluding market development
and building distinctive capabil-
ities for the future,” Jawa said.
“I am confident of the
Infosys halves FY24
see margin benefits in the next
few quarters, with prices of
crude, palm, and packing mate-
rial easing.
-WITHREUTERSINPUTS
India
Indian entities fell by around 23% to $27.5 billion in the first NewDelhi:Japanhasbecomethe than analysts' estimate of Rs igible to receiveone shareof JFSL
half of 2023 from the same period last year, a report said. second Quad partner after the 160-190. Stockholders will get foreveryoneshareof RILowned.
United States to sign an agree- one JFS share for each Reliance -WITHREUTERSINPUTS
ValueofPE/VCInvestments ment with India for the joint de-
VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO velopmentof thesemiconductor
MUMBAI, JULY 20 $35.9
billion $27.5
ecosystem and maintain the re-
silienceof itsglobalsupplychain.
Sustained FII inflows, global
STREAMING MAJOR Netflix on
Thursday said it has begun
cracking down on password
$20.6
billion
billion The agreement was signed
between Union Minister for
Electronics and IT Ashwini
cues take markets to new highs
The Nifty rose 0.74 per cent,

revenue guidance
Jan-Jun Jul-Dec Jan-Jun
sharing outside households in 2022 2022 2023 Vaishnaw and Japan's Minister ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU or146points,toscaleanewhigh
India.Whiletherestrictionshave of Economy, Trade and Industry MUMBAI, JULY 20 of 19,979. Nifty also rose for the
been in place globally for some VolumeofPE/VCinvestments Yasutoshi Nishimura in the na- sixth consecutive session and

amid biz slowdown time now, India and a few other

SAMEER RANJAN BAKSHI
BENGALURU, JULY 20
THE COUNTRY'S second-largest
software service provider,
Infosys, on Thursday sharply cut
its revenue guidance for FY24 to
1.0-3.5% in constant currency
terms from 4-7% announced
earlier, taking note of the slow-
down in business amidst global
macroeconomic headwinds.
The company, however, re-
taineditsoperatingmarginguid-
ance of 20-22% for the current
fiscal. After the announcement,
the IT giant's American
Depository Receipts (ADRs)
opened 9.7% lower on Nasdaq.
Infosys' April-June quarter
earnings were muted, with net
profit up 3% sequentially at
`5,945 crore. This was below the
Bloomberg estimate of `6,245
crore. Consolidated revenue at
`37,933 crore was up 1.3% com-
pared to the preceding quarter
and almost in line with
Bloomberg estimate of `37,491
crore. In constant currency
terms, the revenue rose just 1%
on a sequential basis. The com-
pany's consolidated operating
Govt, other countries should form
global body on AI regulation: TRAI
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
NEW DELHI, JULY 20
THE UNION government should
collaborate with international
agencies and other countries to
form a global agency for the re-
sponsible use of artificial intelli-
gence (AI), the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) has recommended.
In a consultation paper titled
‘LeveragingArtificialIntelligence
and Big Data in
Telecommunication Sector,’ the
telecom regulator has also rec-
ommended setting up a domes-
tic statutory authority to regu-
late AI in India, through the lens
of a “risk-based framework”.
The TRAI’s recommendation
on forming an international
body for responsible AI echoes
sentiments of Sam Altman, the
founderof OpenAI,thecompany
behind the viral sensation
ChatGPT. Altman has called for
margin was at 20.8%, down 20
basis points sequentially.
During the quarter, the com-
pany bagged large deals worth
$2.3 billion, which was slightly
higher than $2.1 billion worth of
deals won in preceding quarter.
“We had a solid Q1 with a
growth of 4.2% and large deals of
$2.3 billion which helps us to set
a strong foundation for future
growth. Our generative AI capa-
bilities are expanding well, with
80 active client projects. Topaz,
our comprehensive AI offering,
is resonating well with clients.
Weseethisbeingtransformative
for clients and enhancing our
overall service portfolio,” Salil
Parekh, CEO and MD, said.
Hesaidthecompanyisseeing
clientseitherstoppingorslowing
transformationprogrammesand
discretionary programmes, par-
ticularinfinancialservices,mort-
gages,hi-tech,telecom,andretail.
Parekh said that deal signing and
startdateshavebeendelayed,and
alotoftherevenuefromthelarger
and mega deals will be seen only
towardsthelaterpartofthefinan-
cial year. It was due to these fac-
tors that the company slashed its
revenueguidancefortheyear. FE
aninternationalregulatorybody
for AI, akin to that governing nu-
clear power.
This comes at a time when AI
hasbecomeamongthemostim-
portanttalkingpointsfortechnol-
ogists and policymakers around
the world, for the potential im-
pact it can have on the future of
various industries, including en-
tertainment,journalism,andcore
jobs.TheITMinistryisalsowork-
ing on the draft Digital India Bill,
which is expected to regulate AI
from the lens of user harm.
Toensurethedevelopmentof
responsible AI in India, TRAI said
that there is an urgent need to
adoptaregulatoryframeworkby
the government that should be
applicable across sectors. “The
regulatoryframeworkshoulden-
surethatspecificAIusecasesare
regulatedonarisk-basedframe-
work where high risk use cases
that directly impact humans are
regulated through legally bind-
ing obligations,” it said.
markets such as Indonesia,
Croatia and Kenya were kept out
of it until now.
In a letter to shareholders
and a call with analysts on
Thursday following announce-
ment of its June quarter results,
Netflix said it will not offer the
“extra member” option in these
markets, since they had recently
cut prices in these countries.
Analysts see the move by
Netflix as a means to shore up
subscriber numbers in India,
whichisaprioritymarketforthe
US-based streaming major.
Netflix is estimated to have a
subscriber base of around 6 mil-
lion in India.
For the June quarter, Netflix
saw its global revenue increase
2.7% YoY to $8.19 billion while
operating income rose 16% YoY
to $1.8 billion. For the June quar-
ter, Netflix said that revenue and
paid memberships in the mar-
kets where a crackdown on
password sharing was intro-
duced was higher than before,
with new member sign-ups al-
ready exceeding cancellations.
Netflixadded5.9millionpaid
members in the second quarter
of 2023 as against losing nearly
one million members in the
same quarter last year. FE
An independent statutory
body, called the Artificial
Intelligence and Data Authority
of India (AIDAI), should be
formed for the development of
responsible AI and regulation of
use cases in India, TRAI said.
The AIDAI should oversee all
issuesrelatedtodatadigitisation,
data sharing, and data moneti-
sation in the country, define
principles of responsible AI and
theirapplicabilityonAIusecases
based on risk assessment, and
ensurethatprinciplesof respon-
sible AI are made applicable at
each phase of AI framework life-
cycle including design, develop-
ment, validation, deployment,
monitoring and refinement.
TRAI also recommended the
creation of a multi-stakeholder
bodytoactasanadvisoryagency
to the AIDAI and should include
members from multiple min-
istries and government depart-
ments along with legal and cy-
bersecurity experts.
427
Jan-Jun
Thisisadeclineof
44%comparedto
theyear-agoperiod
tional capital on Thursday.
"Japan and India have signed
a memorandum for semicon-
SUSTAINED FOREIGN fund in-
flows, good corporate earnings
and strong global cues helped
registered a new all-time highat
19,991 during intraday trading.
Marketsentimentremainsup-
2023 ductor design, manufacturing, the domestic equity bench- beatonrobustforeignflowsanda
16%sequentially equipment research, talent de- marks surge to fresh record healthy macroeconomic outlook.
velopment and to bring re- highs on Thursday. Expectations of end of the mone-
silience in the semiconductor Sensex finished at 67,571.9, tary tightening in US is also con-
supply chain," Vaishnaw said. with a gain of 474.46 points, or tributing towards higher foreign
■ ThePE/VCfundsraisedover raisedbyPE/VCfundsduringthe The nations will create an 0.71 per cent. The index contin- flowsintotheIndianbourses,said
$10.2billioninH1,thereportsaid. month,thereportadded. “implementation organisation”, ued to touch new highs for the HDFC Securities’ Head (retail re-
Vaishnaw said. PTI sixth trading session in a row. search)DevarshVakil.
■ Themonthlyreportsaidat ■ ThetopdealinJunewasBPEA
$3.1billion,Junewitnesseda EQTandChryscapital's$1.1billion
42percentdeclineininvestments, buyoutofHDFCCredilaFinancial
whilethefigurewas9percent Servicesandthe$297million
Patna Metro Rail Corporation Limited
lowerthanMay. majoritystakeacquisitionof
WatertecIndiabyWarburgPincus,
■ Themonthrecorded38exits thereportsaid. (A SPV of Govt. of India & Govt. of Bihar)
worth$2.1billioncomparedto$2
billionin18dealsintheyear-ago Source: Report by Indian Venture and
7th Floor, Indira Bhawan, Boring Canal Road, Patna
period.Atotalof$3.8billionwas Alternate Capital Association and EY; PTI
PATNA METRO RAIL CORPORATION LIMITED (PMRCL), (A 50:50 SPV of GOI & GOB), invites
application for the post of Company Secretary, purely on contractual basis for a period of one (01) year. However,
depending on requirement of PMRCL and decision of MD, PMRCL this period may be extended further.
Tender No: 91/2023-24/KWA/ PHC/TVLA
JJM - RWSS to Pallickal – Design Construction and Commissioning of 9m dia Intake
Well Cum Pump house, ,Raw water Pump sets,Transformer room ,Transformer and Conditions for Eligibility:
RW pumping main and allied works., EMD: Rs. 500000, Tender fee : Rs.19518,
Last Date for submitting Tender : 16-08-2023 02:00:pm, Phone : 04692600162,

Name of the Post – Company Secretary
Website : www.kwa.kerala.gov.in, www.etenders.kerala.gov.in
Superintending Engineer
No. of Post – 01
KWA-JB-GL-6-772-2023-24 PH Circle Pathanamthitta

Location – Patna

Educational Qualification:
Tender No: T No.42 &43/2023-24/SE/Q i) Active FCS/ACS membership from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.
AMRUT 2.0 Providing new water connections in old Municipal ii) Graduation Degree in Commerce from any recognized University.
area , Sakthikulangara and Thrikkadavoor area in Kollam Corporation,
EMD: Rs. 500000, Tender fee : Rs.16540+2978, Last Date for
Experience : Minimum 05 years of Post Qualification experience.
submitting Tender : 21-08-2023 02:00:pm, Phone : 04742745293,
Desired Qualification: Working experience of Government Companies / Metro Companies shall be an
Website : www.kwa.kerala.gov.in, www.etenders.kerala.gov.in
KWA-JB-GL-6-783-2023-24
Superintending Engineer
PH Circle Kollam

additional advantage.
Remuneration: 1,00,000/-




Age Limit – Candidate should have minimum 21 years of age and maximum age shall not exceed 55 years.
Roles & Responsibility:
- Ensure timely compliance of all applicable acts to PMRCL.
- Conducting various kinds of Meetings (viz – General Meeting / Board Meeting / Committee meetings).
- Maintenance of Statutory Registers / Records.
- Filing of various e-Forms.
- Ensuring proper communication with Government of India & Government of Bihar.
- Ensuring and Complying with Corporate Governance.
- Ensuring that the company complies with secretarial standards.
- Proficiency in computer and internet.

Procedure to apply:
- Eligible candidate may apply online by sending their CV & Relevant Certificate to
E-mail ID- recruitment.pmrcl@gmail.com
- Selected candidates will be interviewed.
- For further details visit website: state.bihar.gov.in/urban

Others:
- PMRCL reserves the right to terminate the contract at any time as per its discretion.
- No TA/DA is applicable for attending the interview.
Start date to apply : 21/07/2023
Last date to apply : 04/08/2023
Patna Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
Lucknow
 14 CALENDAR WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023

CROSSWORD 5109 OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry & T Lewis

DAY TODAY BY PETER VIDAL

ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)

You’re still in a
sensitive mood,
perhaps too
sensitive. If you
should begin to feel that your
imagination is running away
with you, come back to earth
and get stuck into one of your
more adventurous hobbies. It’s
definitely time to broaden
your horizons.
TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21)
There are people
around who are
prepared to create
CALVIN & HOBBES by Bill Watterson havoc if you let
them. The risks seem slight at
the moment but they
will grow, so the sensible thing
to do would be to deal
with causes of discontent,
now. On balance you’ll
ACROSS DOWN probably lose if you prevaricate
1 Venice’s variety shows (7) 1 Some drunken actors for too long.
4 Don’t take a vacancy (5) perform (5) GEMINI (May 22 - June 21)
7 Not in favour of a hard 2 Interferes and is taken out There’s a simple
worker taking one (4) (8) switch from the
3 Still is returned with a fast desire to compete,
8 Component parts
time (6) to the need to co-
assembled by steel men
operate. Others may be
(8) 4 Equip old man for battle in
confused by your changing
10 Precarious way to establish the last war (10)
opinions but, then, they often
a momentary contact 5 Is the possessor of topless are! Any travel arrangements
(5,3,2) dresses (4) require an extra check,
12 He is taken in by a bearded 6 Do some analytical especially if they’re mainly far
Indian desert chief (6)
13 The coming of the Christian
piecework? (7)
9 To greet thus will astound
MARVIN by Tom Armstrong away or overseas.
CANCER (June 22 - July 23)
faith (6) the workers (5,5) You’re really rather
15 Something to slip on, but 11 Consignment of French tenacious when you
not in bed (5,2,3) uniform (8) actually get going.
18 Set out to get a fiancee 12 Cross sailor gets over anger Once you have the
(8) (7) bit between your teeth you will
be impossible to shake off, as
19 Expensive address (4) 14 Cut over a quarter? That’s
other people will very soon
20 Sides and top cut off hedges serious (6)
discover. Pity the poor
(5) 16 Hesitantly stated a colour individual who tries to put one
21 Experienced happiness and was wrong (5) over on you! They will soon
when in dire need (7) 17 Animal with arms raised (4) regret their mistake.
Solutions Crossword5108:Across:1Measurement,9Polaris,10Saith,11Oath,12 LEO (July 24 - Aug 23)
Dear,dear,14Nabbed,16Asleep,18Maligned,19Skid,22Noose,23Stories,24Onone’s Recent events
kneesDown:2Eclat,3Serf,4Rested,5Mistress,6Naivete,7Appointment,8 hiropodist, should have
13Seagreen,15Balloon,17Census,20Knife,21Corn reminded you that it
is a waste of time
trying to do things in a
roundabout manner, even if
One thing you
should be doing this
week is building up
personal contacts,
so make all those phone calls
and send those letters
which you’ve been thinking
about for far too long. You
never know - perhaps
someone may be delighted to
hear from you.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23)
You know what you
want in your heart
of hearts. The Sun is
shortly to raise all
those deep emotional issues,
like who you can and can’t rely
on. Find unusual ways to put
your point across, and try a
little lateral thinking! The
answer is staring you in
the face.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 - Dec 22)
Can you turn the
clock back and grow
younger? As the
hours pass you will
become ever more youthful
and spontaneous in your
reactions. It will be important
to give others the benefit of the
doubt, for then they’ll be more
inclined to indulge
your whims.
CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20)
The general mood of
the times is still
reasonably sober,
which suits many of
your underlying serious
qualities. It would be very
useful indeed if you took the
initiative and got other people
to talk to each other for a
change. There is no substitute
for good communication.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21- Feb 19)
Nothing stays the
same for ever, least
of all your mood.
After a possibly
uncertain morning you will
become ever more confident.
There’s something about the

JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel1s

you are eager to spare others’
feelings. There is no substitute
changing astrological ‘weather’
that will make you happier to
SOLUTION SUDOKU 5264

Instructions for being utterly open and be assertive, independent and

Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, direct, and no excuse for in control.
therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget being lazy.
everydigitfrom1to9 PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
SUDOKU 5265

theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23) Change happens

Thecommanderinthefieldisalways__andtherearechelonis__,unlessprovedotherwise.- nineverticalcolumns,in You are liable to lose hourly, so try to
ColinPowell(5,.,5)
eachoftheninehorizontal interest in one keep up! Aim to
SYORR BIRTGH rowsandineachofthe particular person, or settle important
nineboxes. in a prospective personal tasks this
social gathering. On the other morning when you still seem
hand, your desires could to have the balance of cosmic
become much deeper and energy on your side.
TAINT SWINGE DifficultyLevel more intense, meaning By mid-afternoon you will
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; that you’ll be fussier about have to take other people
3s=Medium;4s=Hard; whom you mix with. Quite into account to a
unless proved otherwise. - Colin Powell 5s=VeryHard; right, too. greater degree.
Answer: The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, 6s=Genius
SOLUTION: SORRY, TITAN, BRIGHT, SEWING

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Commissioning of 66 kV Single Core XLPE (Copper) U/G Cable
ÀfSI fS õfSf ´fi£¹ffd´f°f ´fifdU²ff³ff³fbÀffS »fûI Àfb³fUfBÊ I e I f¹fÊUfWe dþ»ffd²fI fSe, Àfû³f·fQi õfSf ³ffd¸f°f along with accessories on Turnkey Basis for the works of Package
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onwards.
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Àf ´f°ff IYe d°fd±f d³f²ffÊdSX°f À±f»f at https://eproc.punjab.gov.in.
C463/23 26073/Pb
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Lucknow

15 SPORT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023
Sexual harassment cast: Bhushan gets bail after police don’t object
NIRBHAY THAKUR
NEWDELHI,JULY20
ADELHIcourtonThursdaygrantedbailtoBJP
MPandoutgoingWrestlingFederationofIndia
(WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who
has been accused by six women wrestlers of
sexual harassment, stalking and assault.
ThecourtofAdditionalChiefMetropolitan
Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal also granted
bailtoco-accusedVinod,theformerassistant
secretaryofWFI.Bothweredirectedtofurnish
bail bonds worth Rs 25,000 each, not to leave
the country without the court's prior permis-
sion, and not to offer any inducement to wit-
nesses in the case.
While Additional Public Prosecutor Atul
Kumar Srivastava initially opposed the bail
plea,helatertoldthecourtthathe“neitherop-
posedthebailnorsupportedit”,addingthatif
Trials&errors:HowIndianwrestling
hasnorealfixedselectioncriteria
Ad-hoc committee did anticipate legal cases, wanted court to take final call on exemption: Sources
AMIT KAMATH
MUMBAI,JULY20
ACLOUDofuncertaintyhangsovertheIndian
wrestling contingent which will travel to
Hangzhou to compete at the Asian Games.
WiththeIndianOlympicAssociation’sad-hoc
committee deciding to give Tokyo Olympics
bronze medallist Bajrang Punia and world
championship medallist Vinesh Phogat ex-
emptions from trials to select the team, many
wrestlers in the 65kg freestyle and women’s
53kgweightclasseswereunderstandablyleft
upset.
Twoofthewrestlers—AntimPanghaland
Sujeet Kalkal — knocked on the doors of the
Delhi HC this week, while supporters of the
duoturnedupoutsidetheIOAHQonThursday
to protest the “injustice”.
WhilehearingthepleaofAntimandSujeet,
the Delhi High Court has asked the ad-hoc
committee to explain what criteria was fol-
lowedwhiledecidingthatBajrangandVinesh
be given exemptions and what the ‘laurels’ of
the wrestlers were.
This comes at a time when the deadline
(July 23) to submit the names to the Olympic
CouncilofAsia(OCA)andtheHangzhou2022
organisersisperilouslycloseandboth
BajrangandVinesharetrainingabroad
(Bajrang is in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul
while Vinesh was to train in Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan for a week, then train at
Tata, Hungary).
As the controversy continues to
grow,here’sanexplaineronwhoBajrangand
Vinesh’s potential challengers are, and the
precedent for exemptions from trials.
WhatarethelaurelsearnedbyBajrangand
Vinesh and under what rule was the duo
granted exemptions?
According to IOA’s ad-hoc committee,
whichisinchargeofhandlingtheaffairsofthe
WrestlingFederationofIndia,bothVineshand
Bajranghavebeengivenexemptionsbasedon
the fact that they won medals at the 2022
WorldChampionships,asperthepre-existing
WFI policy. The policy states that grapplers
whohavewonmedalsatthelastOlympicsand
WorldChampionshipcanbedirectlyselected
for the Asian Games team. Given his silver
medalattheTokyoOlympics,RaviDahiya,too,
should have received an exemption.
A person familiar with the ad-hoc com-
mittee’s decisionmakingprocesshadearlier
told The Indian Express: “Ravi is eligible. His
name wasdiscussed. But coaches and mem-
bers of the committee felt since he has been
dealing with injuries, a trial was necessary
in his category.”
Besides the bronze medal at Tokyo,
Bajrang has a silver and three bronze medals
Women’s World Cup sees record crowd despite shooting rocking Auckland
REUTERS
JULY 20
CO-HOSTS AUSTRALIA and New Zealand
opened the ninth Women's World Cup with
wins and record crowds on Thursday, after
a shooting near the Norwegian team hotel
in Auckland that left three dead and six in-
jured. Police said the shooter was among
those killed and the danger from the inci-
dent was over, while New Zealand Prime
Minister Chris Hipkins said there was no risk
to national security.
After an opening ceremony celebrating
traditional Maori culture including the fa-
mous Haka war dance, a slick team goal fin-
ished off by Hannah Wilkinson at Eden
Park was the difference in New Zealand's
1-0 victory over Norway, their first ever at
a World Cup.
The crowd of 42,137 beat the host na-
tion's previous record for an international
soccer match.
"To get their first win at home while
they're hosting... it's a moment in history, for
women's football and for New Zealand
women's football," said Kirsten Johnson, a
bailwastobegiven,itmustbedoneunderthe
condition that Singh would not commit an-
other offence or try to approach the com-
plainants.
At an earlier hearing on July 18, Srivastava
had opposed the bail plea, sayingthe accused
may “influence the case”. The duo had then
been granted interim bail for two days.
The counsel for the complainants, Harsh
Bora,saidtheaccusedisaveryinfluentialper-
sonandstringentconditionsmustbeimposed
on his bail. Bora also alleged that the accused
had tried to reach out to the complainants.
WhentheJudgeaskedhimifthiswasreported
to the police, Bora said it wasn't.
Rajiv Mohan, representing the accused,
said the accused would comply with all the
conditionsimposed.HecitedaSupremeCourt
order from March this year, stating that ac-
cused who were not arrested during a probe
andcooperatedintheinvestigationshouldnot
The one-bout trial was mentioned by ad-hoc committee chairman Bhupender
Bajwa in a letter to the wrestlers on June 16. Reuters
at the world championships; an
Asian Games gold; and two golds
and one silver medal at the CWG.
Vinesh haswon two world champi-
onships bronze medals; a gold
medal and a bronze at the Asian
Games; and three CWG golds (the most by
any Indian woman wrestler).
Didn'tthead-hoccommitteeanticipate
thattheirdecisiontogivedirectentry
wouldgetchallengedincourt?
Therearethoseinwrestlingcircleswhosay
they did. While Bajrang and Vinesh’s world-
levelcredentialsandtemperamentatthesen-
iorlevelareobvious,whichwouldlogicallyex-
plain their direct entries, watchers couldn’t
help sense intrigue in the decision. A source
said:“Thead-hoccommitteeknewthatsome-
onewillgotocourtasaresultoftheannounce-
ment of direct entries. They ensured that the
courts decide on the matter, and are likely to
end up with the one-bout trial closer to the
Asian Games which was originally what they
wanted.”
The one-bout trial was mentioned by ad-
hoccommitteechairmanBhupenderBajwain
a letter to the wrestlers on June 16 where he
saidthetrialswilltakeplaceintwophases.As
pertheinitialplan,thewrestlerswhohadbeen
protesting against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
since the start of the year were to be given an
exemptionfromthefirstphase,whereallother
39-year-old New Zealand supporter from
the United States.
Authorities deployed extra police and se-
curity outside the stadium following the
shooting in New Zealand's largest city.
A statement from football's governing
body FIFA said it was supporting teams in
the vicinity of the incident.
A fan park in the city will remain closed
on Thursday, organisers said.
"Everyone woke up pretty quickly when
the helicopter hovered outside the hotel
window and a large number of emergency
vehicles arrived - at first we didn't know
what was going on, but eventually there
were updates on TV and the local media,"
Norway captain Maren Mjelde was quoted
as saying by newspaper Verdens Gang.
No Kerr no problem for Matidas
Australia's Matildas began their cam-
paign with a scrappy 1-0 win against Ireland
in front of a crowd of 75,784 fans at Stadium
Australia in Sydney – a record attendance
for a women's soccer match in the country.
"Itwasreallyentertainingmatch,fastpaced
and intense, it was great," said Australia sup-
porter Jacinta Hayde. "I think we've just got
Brij Bhushan Singh has been accused by six women wrestlers of sexual
harassment, stalking and assault. PTI
wrestlers would take part. The exempted
wrestlers would then grapple with the win-
ners of the first phase of trials in their respec-
tiveweightcategories.However,thisplanwas
dropped with Bajrang and Vinesh getting di-
rect entry into the Asiad squad instead.
Arewrestlersusuallygivenexemptions
fromtrials?
Therehasbeenaprocesslaiddownforex-
emptions from trials for many years now.
However, there have been times in the past
thattheapplicationoftheexemptionswasal-
most arbitrary. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
would hold a veto power on such matters.
For the Olympics, the guidelines laid
down by WFI gave the Brij Bhushan-led se-
lection committee ‘discretion to hold trials’.
Adding further ambiguity to the process, the
rule stated: “However, it will not be compul-
sory that all the quota earning wrestlers will
be asked to appear in trials. And if the trials
are held, the quota winner will not appear in
the initial trials in that particular category,
rather he/she will compete with the winner
of those trials. And if the quota-winner loses
the bout to the trials winner, he/she will be
given one more opportunity to keep the
quota through a second bout against the
same opponent.”
Lastyear, malewrestlers likeBajrang, Ravi
Dahiya, Deepak Punia and Naveen were
handedexemptionsfromcompetinginthese-
Australias Steph Catley (centre) celebrates after scoring against Ireland. Reuters
greatmomentumatthemoment,reallylook-
ing forward to seeing the rest."
They were dealt a blow before kick-off,
however, when talismanic striker Sam Kerr,
lection trials to pick the Indian team for the
world championships because they had re-
turnedfromtheBirminghamCommonwealth
Gameswithgoldmedals.However,India’sfe-
male gold medallists Vinesh and Sakshi were
told to compete in the selection trials. No rea-
son was provided for this decision. (Sakshi
pulled out of the trials later).
WhoisAntimPanghal?
Antim has been regarded as the next big
thinginIndianwrestling.TrainingattheBaba
Lal Das Wrestling Academy in Hisar in her
early years, she won a bronze medal at the
World Cadet Wrestling Championship in
Budapest before announcing herself by be-
coming the first female Indian wrestler to
win a gold medal at the Junior World
Championships last year.
Still a teenager, Antim won a silver at the
Asian Wrestling Championships in Astanain
Aprilearlierthisyear.Itwasaneventthatsig-
nalled both her promise and how much
scopetherewasforimprovementatthesen-
iorlevel—shereachedthefinaldroppingjust
one point but lost 0-10 to Japan's Akari
Fujinami in the final.
HaveVineshPhogatandAntimmetonthe
matbefore?
Lastyear,VineshandAntimmetintwotri-
als to make it to the Indian team, first for the
CommonwealthGamesandthenfortheworld
championships.
At the CWG trials, the final score was 3-3,
but Vinesh sealed the win and the quota by
virtue of scoring the last point at the trials.
Vinesh went on to win gold, her third at
the CWG.
At the trials for the world championships,
Vineshdefeatedher18-year-oldopponentby
a 7-0 margin.
WhoisSujeetKalkal?
Sujeet Kalkal is an U23 Asian champion
and an U20 World Championships bronze
medallist. He grappled with Bajrang at the
trials for picking the Indian team for the
Birmingham Commonwealth Games last
year. In those trials, where Bajrang had been
given a direct entry in the semis, Sujeet had
lost0-4toBajranginthepenultimateclashof
the 65kg weight class.
BesidesSujeet,whoelsecanchallenge
Bajrang?
Besides Sujeet, there’s also Vishal
Kaliraman, who was narrowly edged out (by
a1-2margin)byBajranginthefinalofthe65kg
trials to pick a team for the Birmingham 2022
CWG.Vishalhadreportedlyreactedtothatde-
feat by punching a hole in the wall of New
Delhi's KD Jadhav Stadium.
arguably the face of the tournament, was
ruled out of the first two games.
Kerr injured a calf muscle during prac-
tice on Wednesday but it wasn't confirmed
PLAYING TODAY
Ashes: England vs Australia 4th Test,
Day 3, 3.30pm, Sony Sports Network
India vs West Indies: 2nd Test, Day 2,
7.30pm, Jio Cinema & DD Sports
WhileAddtlPublicProsecutor
Srivastavainitiallyopposedthe
bailplea,helatertoldthecourt
thathe‘neitheropposedthebail
norsupportedit’.
betakenintocustodyonfilingof chargesheet.
Taking cognizance of a 1,500-page
chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police against
Singh for alleged sexual harassment, assault
andstalkingofsixwomenwrestlers,thecourt
had summoned him on July 7.
Police cited photo and video evidence to
corroborate the complaints. The chargesheet
againstSinghwasfiledunderIPCsections354
(assaultorcriminalforcetowomanwithintent
tooutragehermodesty),354A(sexualharass-
HC seeks WFI's stand in
plea against exemption
MALAVIKAPRASAD
NEWDELHI,JULY20
THE DELHI high court Thursday directed the
WrestlingFederationofIndiatofileastatusre-
port "today" in a plea by two wrestlers chal-
lenging the exemption granted to wrestlers
Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia from the
Asian Games selection trials.
A single judge bench of Justice
SubramoniumPrasadfurtherdirectedtheWFI
to file its status report/affidavit during the
course of the day and also file the "laurels of
PuniaandPhogat".Thematterisnowlistedfor
hearing on July 21.
AttheoutsetJusticePrasadaskedthecoun-
selappearingforthe "Ad-hocCommittee"run-
ningtheWFIaboutthebasisforselectingPunia
andPhogatandwhetheranyselectionprocess
hadbeencarriedout.Thepleahasbeenfiledby
wrestlersSujeetKalkalandAntimPanghal.The
Ad hoc committee was formed by the Indian
Olympic Association.
"Theentirecaseisthattherehastobesome
kindofatrial.Thepetitionersdonotdoubtthe
competenceorthemeritof thetwowrestlers
whomyouhaveselectedforrepresentingthe
country.Whattheyaresayingisthatpastper-
formancealonecannotbethebasisofsending
them," the HC orally observed.
ThecourtthereafteraskedtheWFItofilea
statusreporttodayinthematterobservingthat
it "cannot let matters drift". "If it (selection) is
just fair and reasonable then that is the end of
thematter," theHCsaid.AdvocateHrishikesh
Baruahappearingforthepetitionerwrestlers
said that he too will file certain documents.
Thepleaalsoseeksthatthedirectiveforthe
Asian Games trial with respect to the 65kg
(freestyle)and53kg(womenwrestling)cate-
goriesbequashed.Itfurtherseeksthattheex-
emption granted to Punia and Phogat be also
set aside and that the trial process be carried
outina"fairmannerunderthesupervisionof
WFI qualified referees, umpires and officials"
and the same be videographed.
The plea filed through advocate Akshay
Kumarstatesselectionof athletesforinterna-
Sakshi says she ‘wants fair trial’ for Asiad
New Delhi: Sakshi Malik on Thursday
posted a series of tweets from her official
Twitter handle and said that she wanted
a fair trial in the selection of wrestlers for
the Asian Games.
This comes after Vinesh Phogat and
Bajrang Punia were given direct entries
for the tournament by the Indian
Olympic Association's ad-hoc commit-
tee on Tuesday whileotherwrestlerswill
have to book their places in the Indian
squad through selection trials on July 22
and 23.
"We had asked for time for our Asian
Games trial from the government and
Australia's Matildas began their
campaign with a scrappy 1-0
win against Ireland in front of a
crowd of 75,784 fans at Stadium
Australia in Sydney – a record
attendance for a women's
football match in the country.
until Stadium Australia was almost full with
expectant fans.
“I wanted to share this with everyone so
there is no distraction from us doing what
we came here to achieve,” Kerr wrote in an
Instagram post distributed by the team. “Of
course I would have loved to have been out
there tonight but I can't wait to be a part of
this amazing journey which starts now.”
The team said Kerr's condition
would be assessed before the Matildas face
Olympic champion Canada on July 31. With
63 goals in 120 internationals, Kerr had been
one of the favorites to win the Golden Boot
at this World Cup.
She is considered one of the finest goal-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
ment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal in-
timidation)whereasTomarwaschargedwith
offences under sections 109 (abetment of any
offence,iftheactabettediscommittedincon-
sequence, and where no express provision is
madeforitspunishment),354,354Aand506.
InApril,sevenwrestlers,includingaminor,
hadfiledseparatecomplaintsofsexualharass-
mentandcriminalintimidationagainstSingh.
Intheircomplaints,theyalleged15incidentsof
sexualharassmentthatinclude10episodesof
inappropriate touching, several instances of
intimidation including stalking.
The minor and her father, who was the
complainantinthesecondFIR,hadlaterwith-
drawntheirallegationsagainstSinghinastate-
mentbeforeamagistrate,followingwhichthe
DelhiPolicealsofiledacancellationreportun-
der the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences(POCSO)Act.ThePatialaHousecourt
will hear that matter on August 1.
tional events without any trials by the selec-
tion committee goes against the "very defini-
tionof freeandfairselectionprocedureandis
completely discriminatory against other ath-
letes of the same event".
ThepetitionersareaggrievedbytheWFI's
“DirectiveforAsianGames2022Trials”which
categorically states that as per the "WFI
Regulations of Selection Trials, the Selection
Committee has already selected wrestlers in
65 Kg (Free Style) and 53 Kg (Women
Wrestling) for Asian Games". It further pro-
videsthatthetrialforthesaidtwoweightcat-
egorieswillbeheldandtheselectedwrestlers
will be kept on stand-by.
AccordingtoWFIguidelines,theselection
trials in all weight categories are mandatory
for Asian Games/Olympics/Commonwealth
Games.However,theselectioncommitteewill
havethediscretiontoselecttheiconicplayers
like medallists of the Olympics/World
Championships without trial provided it has
beenrecommendedbythechiefcoach/foreign
expert.
The plea claims that there are no foreign
expertsandthedecisiontoexemptPuniaand
Phogat has been taken without any recom-
mendations from the chief coaches and the
same is "arbitrary and unfair". The plea states
thatwhilethepetitionershave"beenworking
reallyhardtoclinchtheirposition",Phogatand
Punia have not participated in any competi-
tionthisyearandwerealsonotpartof thena-
tional camp.
On Tuesday the IOA's ad hoc committee
granted exemption to Punia and Phogat from
competing in the selection trials for the Asian
Games.TheselectiontrialsfortheAsianGames
will be held in Delhi on July 22 and 23, with
Greco-Romanandwomen’sboutsonthefirst
day and men’s freestyle on the next.
ThepleaalsoclaimsthatPuniaandPhogat
last competed in the Commonwealth Games
2022andWorldChampionships2022,adding
that a "fair opportunity should be granted to
the Petitioners and trial should be conducted
todecidetheselectionofAthletesforparticipa-
tion in the Asian Games" and no exemption
should be granted to any athlete.
asked them to take the trials after August
10. The government agreed and that is
why we came abroad for training. But in
the past 2-3 days, I have found out that
there were direct entries in 2 weight cat-
egories. I was also asked to mail and was
told that my application will be consid-
ered but I refused.
“I didn't want to go without giving a
trial as I have never gone to any tourna-
ment without a fair trial and neither will
I do that in future. I just want that every-
one gets justice and there's a fair selec-
tion," Malik said in a video uploaded on
her Twitter handle. ENS
scorers in the world and is an iconic figure
in Australia.
Demand Down Under
Players like Kerr are household names in
sport-mad Australia, with tickets for
matches involving the home nation selling
out months in advance. "I think that
Australians are really realising just how big
this event is," Prime Minister Anthony
Albanese said in a radio interview with state
broadcaster ABC on Thursday.
In New Zealand, whose sporting culture
is dominated by rugby union and its famous
All Blacks, demand has been lower, with
tickets remaining for many fixtures.
Fatma Samoura, FIFA's Secretary-General,
said tickets sold had already exceeded the to-
tal number sold for the last tournament in
France, but sales in New Zealand had lagged
its much larger neighbour. “We know that
Kiwisarelateticketpurchaserswhenitcomes
to tournaments that are played on their
shores,” she told a news conference in
Auckland on Wednesday.
TODAY'S MATCHES: Nigeria vs Canada, 8am;
PhilippinesvsSwitzerland,10.30pm;Spainvs
CostaRica,1pm(AllmatchesliveonFanCode)
Lucknow
 16 SPORT WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023

West Indies bounce

back after Gill, Rahane
fail to shine once again
TUSHARBHADURI
JULY 20

IT CAN be safely said now that the disparity

between the two teams in this series is con-
dition-agnostic, but the difference is more in
thedisciplineandexecutionof basicsneeded
at the top level, especially when it’s most
needed.Thehostscametothepartyasession
latewithfourwicketsbutbythenhadallowed
IndiatosetthetempoofthesecondTest.India
had slumped from 139 for no loss to 182/4 at
teabutthetouristshadalreadycrossedtheto-
talsthehometeamhadmanagedintheirfirst
two innings of the series. Rohit Sharma fell
short of his hundred by 20 runs and Yashavi Rohit Sharma (80) was bowled by out
Jaiswal hit a fifty to propel India, but the visi- by Jomel Warrican. AP
torswillfretabouttheformofAjinkyaRahane
and Shubman Gill as both fell cheaply.
IftheWestIndiesplayedrightintothevis- eries across Jaiswal and the 21-year-old de-
itors’handsbypreparingadryanddustypitch cided he had had enough of leaving the ball
in Dominica, the surface in Trinidad was ex- alone. After surviving some loose shots, he
pected to be more to the liking of their fast went for another drive away from the body
bowlers. Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and and found gully.
hoped that early life and movement in the Shubman Gill, who moved down to No.3
Queen’sParkOvaltrackwouldbringsomejoy, to accommodate Jaiswal at the top of the or-
but the length and line required for the pur-
pose was missing.
The first ball of the Test was a short and
der, began pushing at deliveries outside off-
stumpanditwasonlyamatterof timebefore
he edged one behind the wicket off Roach.
TESTS BEING REDEFINED AT HOME OF CRICKET
wide one from Kemar Roach, easy pickings All this while, Rohit at the other end was England’s Zak Crawley after scoring his century during the second day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. AP
fordebutcenturionYashasviJaiswalthrough notathisfluentbest,butsolidenoughtokeep
the offside. The sloppiness with which the thebowlersatbay.HeandfellowveteranVirat

300 103.85 7.12

hosts started the game was carried through-
outthefirstsession.Shortballswerefollowed
byhalf-volleys,withtheoddfulltossthrown
in. The lines were also too often too wide to
persuadethebatsmentoplay.Asaresult,the
early help in the track soon dissipated with-
out any reward.
Kohli, playing his 500th international game,
then decided that discretion was the better
part of valour and eschewed all risks.
But the skipper was undone on 80 by a
peach from Warrican, which spun past his
outside edge to rattle the off-stump.
Warrican’s name may not be included in the
Runs scored by England at the end of
52 overs. Before Zak Crawley and Joe
Root were involved in a 206-runs
partnership, England’s new No. 3 Moeen Ali had
scored a brisk 54 at a strike rate of 65.
The strike rate at which Zak
Crawley scored his
quickfire 189. He took 94
balls to reach his century and eventually reached the
189 mark in 182 balls.
Runs per over scored by England in the
second session. Between lunch and tea,
England scored 178. The one Australian
bowler Crawley and Root targeted was Mitchell
Marsh, who conceded over 6 runs per over.

Crawley, Root thrash Lyon-less Aus

Jaiswalwasgiventwolives,oneahighone
over a leaping gully off a fierce slash, and the
other a low regulation chance to Alick
AthanazeoffJasonHolderonthepenultimate
delivery before lunch.
Being bundled for 150 and 130 and losing
aTestathomeinthreedaysafterwinningthe
toss could have meant that the only way for
theWestIndiestogowasup.Butitdidn’tseem
tobethecase,judgingbythelackadaisicalap-
proach at the start of the 100th India-West
Indies Test.
Theoddballdidgopastthebatsof Jaiswal
and Rohit Sharma, but the good deliveries
were invariably followed by inaccurate stuff
that let the openers off the hook. Roach and
Alzarri Joseph were the main offenders,
promptingBrathwaitetobringonthereturn-
ing Shannon Gabriel pretty quickly. He didn’t
provide much improvement, and Jomel
Warrican,thesolespecialistspinnerintheXI,
was on after nine overs.
Theleft-armspinnerprovidedsomesem-
blance of control, but still the 50 came up in
just10.4overs,forcingBrathwaitetogoonthe
defensive pretty quickly.
Jaiswal was playing like a batsman com-
ing off a 171 in his previous innings, and was
intohisshotsprettyquickly.Thepitchwasnot
quick enough for the pacers to test the mid-
dle of the pitch, and one such delivery was
pulledwitheaseoverdeepmidwicketforsix,
andhewassoonadvancingdownthepitchto
the seamers.
Start of the fightback
Theleft-handerisnotthemostsecureout-
side off-stump, especially if the ball is angled
acrosshim,andtheWestIndianstriedtofeed
his urge to go for his shots in that area. That
ploy didn’t work in the first session as Jaiswal
reachedhisfiftyinonly49balls,withthepair
putting on their second successive century
stand in as many outings.
A total of 121 for no loss at lunch showed
that Brathwaite’s decision at the toss had not
worked out. The West Indies were much
better when they came out for the second
session, even though Gabriel overstepped
frequently. Holder continued to angle deliv-
listofthebestcontemporaryspinners,buthis
consistencymakeshimadependablebowler
forhiscaptain,andcangetgoodplayersoutif
he gets some purchase off the surface.
Rohit’s exit brought the under-pressure
AjinkyaRahanetothemiddle,withthematch
much more in the balance than it was at any
stage in Dominica. Rahane, probably playing
for his spot in the side, was understandably
circumspect,tryingtoplayouttherestof the
session along with Kohli. But it didn’t work
outfortheMumbaikarasGabrielcastledhim
with an in-dipper at the stroke of tea for just
8 runs. After managing only three in the pre-
vious game, Rahane will be hoping to get a
second innings in Trinidad to probably save
his Test career.
Kohli, who had been scratchy during his
innings of 70-odd in Dominica as well, en-
dured 20 dot balls before a straight drive off
Josephbroughthimhisfirstruns,followedby
avintagecoverdriveforaboundary.Itwasun-
deniablythebestsessionthehometeamhad
enjoyed thus far in the series, but they will
havetoshowamarkedimprovementintheir
batting if they are to remain in the contest.
SCORECARD
INDIA VS WEST INDIES
PORT OF SPAIN
Toss: West Indies chose to field
AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS
YJaiswalcKirkMcKenziebHolder 57(74b,
7x7,1x6)
RSharmabWarrican 80(143b,9x4,1x6)
SGillcJoshuaDaSilvabRoach 12(12b,2x4)
VKohlinotout 18(44b,2x4)
RahanebGabriel 8(36b)
■ Extras(lb4,nb5) 9 strategies were off by a long way.
■ Total(50.4Ov(RR:3.59) 182/4
■ Bowling:Roach10-1-41-1, Joseph10-0-43-
0,Gabriel9-0-43-0,Warrican12-2-26-1,
Holder9-2-22-1
■ Fow: 1-139(YashasviJaiswal,31.4ov),2-153
(ShubmanGill,35.4ov),3-155(RohitSharma,
38.5ov),4-182(AjinkyaRahane,50.4ov)
England looted 178 runs in 2nd session as Australians look rudderless in the absence of their ace spinner
VENKATA KRISHNA B
JULY 20
HOW MUCH did Australia miss Nathan Lyon
at the Old Trafford? Not since Glenn
McGrath’s injury at Edgbaston during the
iconic 2005 Ashes, has Australia missed a
bowler as badly as they did on Day 2 of the
fourth Test. In a series where all the talk has
beenconsumedbyBazball,Thursdaywasno
different, and the carnage unleashed by the
imperiousZakCrawley--firstinthecompany
of MoeenAliand thenwithJoeRoot–meant
England ended Day 2 at 384/4 off 72 overs as
theygavethemselvesanopportunitytobeat
the weather forecasts and force a result out
of this Test and keep the Ashes alive.
For thefirst time Australia looked shaken
as they did everything they could to surren-
der the 2-1 advantage they enjoyed. There
was a sort of “I don’t know what has hit me”
reaction written over Australian faces and
thatitself showedhowtheBazballhasstarted
to worry Pat Cummins & Co.
Before we get down to Crawley’s game-
changing–possiblyserieschanging–innings
of 189 off 182 deliveries, it is worth remind-
ing just how tactically off Australia were on
the field. Especially in the absence of Lyon,
the seamers had to be at their best but the
Crawley’s weakness lies in the 5th-6th
stump area where he just lets his arms go
without thefeetorafluentbatswing.Hisbat
comes down at an angle that isn’t conducive
for such deliveries. And yet Aussies, much to
the chagrin of their former captains Mark
Taylor and Ricky Ponting on air, were too
straightandtoofullathim.MoeenAlihashad
his problems against bouncers at his body,
but they didn’t try it until he reached his 50.
Joe Root had come up with a strategy to face
bouncers - take an open-faced almost-out-
side-leg-stump guard with a raised bat-face,
butAussieskepthurlingitshort-andnothigh
at that- and he ran away to a rapid start. At
times in the second session, when England
were hammering away at over 7 runs per
over,Australiaseemedsoconfused(perhaps
rattled), that they were constantly changing
fields- and never got the line of attack right.
And the home crowd were treated to ex-
hilarating batting from Crawley and co. For a
while now, his inconsistency has drawn at-
tacksfromformerEnglandbatsmen.Alastair
Cook and David Gower have labelled him
“frenetic at crease”, Mark Ramprakash has
saidtheyshouldpulltheplugonhim,Nasser
Hussain has questioned him, but Brendon
McCullum and Ben Stokes, the men who
matter, like him. It’s easy to see why on days
like this.
On an off-stump guard almost, he kept
whipping and on-driving balls on off and
middle through the on side. At times, he
would walk forward and across to fetch balls
from the off or even just outside off to the on
side.TherewereoccasionswhenMitchStarc,
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood found edges
whentheyhurleditwiderbutincrediblythey
never made it a consistent tactic. According
to CricViz data, Crawley’s century had 25 per
centfalseshots,butAustraliadidn’tquiteex-
ploit that line of attack.And Crawley kept
hammering them.
A few years back, Crawley was so con-
fused that he called up Rob Key, former
Englandplayer,andsaidhejustdoesn’tknow
what to do with his ‘trigger movement’, the
Joe Root scored 84 off 95 balls. Reuters
initial feet movements that batsmen do
aroundtheball-releasetime.Keyadvisedhim
to hit the nets and figure out for himself if he
even needs one. These days, Crawley stands
stillatthecrease,anddelivers,ashedidonan
unforgettable Ashes day.
Nasser Hussain would be moved to say
“OftenwhenyoulookdownontheAustralian
side historically, you know who the captain
is, whether it be Taylor, Border, Ponting,
Waugh.Youlookdowntodayandtherehave
been a lot of cricketers waving their arms
around trying to help their captain
Cummins.”
Andthat’swhatEnglanddidtoCummins,
whoconcededover6anover,droppedacatch,
failed to sight an opportunity offered by Ali,
andevenmisfieldedonacoupleof occasions.
The inspirational leader he has been, it was a
daythatonceagainhighlightedwhymoreand
more teams think twice before having a fast-
bowlerasacaptain.Atonestageinthesecond
session, Mitchell Starc was bowling with two
fielders behind the square on off-side and a
deep point. But bowling straight. When they
hadthreemendeeponthelegside,theywere
bowling it outside off. Bazballism can create
doubts in the best of captains, but this was
chaos. On a pitch where the odd ball climbed
awkwardly and a few kept low in the line of
the stumps, they seldom took advantage of it
as they sprayed all over.
And having taken lunch at 61/1, it was
the second session where England un-
leashed their beast, where they scored 178
runs in 25 overs.
“SometimesI'llhavestreaksof lowscores
because I'm taking a punt, but if I was more
consistent maybe I wouldn't have a day like
today. That's more my template. Definitely
fair I haven't been consistent, but I've shown
at my best I'm good enough for this level,”
Crawley told the broadcasters.
AccordingtotheCricVizdata,Englandhad
a strike-rate of over 100 for all the attacking
shots that they played: sweep (292), drives
(186), cuts (136), pulls (117).
If Crawley went with the flow, Joe Root
was even more daring. Coming in after Ali,
who himself played a couple of gorgeous
cover-drives that had shades of Saeed Anwar
in it, Root was disdainful from the start.
Pulling, reverse-lapping the pacers, and
throwing in glorious late-cuts off seamers.
Root was in total control and Crawley kept
taking the Aussies on as the second-wicket
partnership of 206 off 186 deliveries pro-
vided the most electrifying day of the
English summer.
Brief scores: Australia 317 (Labuschagne
51, Marsh 51, Woakes 5-62). England 384
for 4 (Crawley 189, Root 84, Moeen 54)

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Prannoy loses in 2nd League Soccer (MLS) was introduced to a

round at Korea Open
Yeosu (Korea): Indian badminton ace HS
PrannoymadeanearlyexitfromtheKorea
Open Super 500 tournament as he lost his
second round match to Lee Cheuk Yiu of
HongKonghereonThursday.Worldnum-
ber10Prannoy,seeded fifth in the tourna-
ment, lost 15-21 21-19 18-21 to his oppo-
nent ranked eight places below him in a
closely-contested match that lasted one
hourandsixminutes.Inanothermen'ssin-
glesmatch,PriyanshuRajawatgaveaspir-
ited fight against world number four and
top-seededKodaiNaraokaof Japanbefore
losing14-2121-1817-21inasecond-round
match that went on for one hour 22 min-
utes. Women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly
and Gayatri Gopichand was no match to
the second seeded South Koreans. PTI
packed stadium of adoring fans. The new
team mates of the Messi did not want to
miss the event either, and forward
Leonardo Campana turned to Inter's
WhatsApp group for spare passes.
REUTERS
Shubhankar makes
solid start at Hoylake
Liverpool: India's Shubhankar Sharma,
playing his third Open Championships in
a weekwhenhecelebrateshis27thbirth-
day, made a solid start with back-to-back
birdies and was 2-under through five
holesof thefirst roundhere.Sharma,who
was in the third last group, missed birdies
onthefirstandsecondwhenhisputtsjust
went past, finally holed them nicely on
the fourth and fifth holes. PTI
four spots being occupied by Chinese
shooters. Zhang Zhihao was at the top of
that pile with a score of 294. PTI
Imam-ul-Haq scored an unbeaten half century.
AP
Indian football team
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets in sub-100 rankings
Pakistan made it a difficult chase at times but the visitors completed a four-
NewDelhi:TheIndianmen'sfootballteam
on Thursday achieved sub-100 FIFA rank-
wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first cricket test on Thursday. Pakistan kept los-
ingwicketsatregularintervalsbutopeningbatsmanImam-ul-Haqscoredanun-
ingforthefirsttimesince2018asitmoved
up one spot to 99th after its SAFF
beaten half-century, his eighth in test cricket, to see the tourists through before Championshiptriumph.Indiahadbeaten
lunchonthefifthday.SriLankawonthetossandbatted,scoring312,andPakistan strong teams Lebanon and Kuwait on
replied with 461 in its first innings. The home side scored 279 runs in its second penalty shoot-out in the semifinal and fi-
at-bat, leaving Pakistan 131 runs to win. Pakistan didn't get off to a good start nal respectively in the SAFF
and limped to 48 for three at stumps on day four. Championships in Bengaluru earlier this
Brief scores: Pakistan 461 (Shakeel 208*, Salman 83, Ramesh 5-136, month. Lebanon also gained two places
Jayasuriya3-145)and133for6(Imam50*,Jayasuriya4-56)beatSriLanka312 to be just below India at 100th spot while
(Dhananjaya 122, Mathews 64, Abrar 3-68, Afridi 3-86) and 279 (Dhananjaya Kuwait moved up four places to be at
82, Madushka 52, Abrar 3-68, Noman 3-75) by four wickets 137th in the latest FIFA chart issued on
Thursday. PTI
Zhang retires in tears
after opponent’s antics
Budapest:China'sZhangShuairetiredfrom
her Hungarian Grand Prix match in tears
on Tuesday after her local opponent
Amarissa Toth erased a ball mark on the
clay court following a disputed line call.
Second seed Zhang hit a crosscourt fore-
hand that appeared to land on the line but
was called out by the line judge. The chair
umpirethensteppeddowntotakealookat
the mark and confirmed the ball had
landed outside the line. Zhang was in-
censedbythecallandaskedtospeakwith
the tournament supervisor. The match
continued for one more point but the dis-
agreement over the disputed call contin-
ued,beforeTothwalkeduptothemarkand
usedhershoestoeraseit. "Wait,wait,wait!
Keep the mark," Zhang yelled. REUTERS

VOL. XXII No.60 Registration No. DL-26003/2001 R.N.I. No. UPENG/2001/05674. Printed and published by R. C. Malhotra on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited. Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, C-26, Amousi Industrial Area, Lucknow and publishedat 1/8, Vivek Khand, Gomti
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