KOZHIKODE � THURSDAY � FEBRUARY 15, 2024 � `9.
00 � PAGES 16 � CITY EDITION
ALL-FORMAT CAPTAIN ROHIT SET
TO LEAD INDIA IN T20 WORLD CUP
Cricket board secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday
confirmed that Rohit Sharma will lead India in
the T20 World Cup in June this year
CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI
Third round of talks
with farmers today
Union leaders ask the protesters not to precipitate
matters till meeting with govt in the evening is over
H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh
LEADERS of the protesting
farmers on Wednesday agreed
to hold talks with the Centre
the next evening and decided
against any further escalation
till then. They advised partici-
pants of the Dilli Chalo protest
not to precipitate matters.
The day began with reports
of scuffle between some of the
protesters and the Haryana Po-
lice at the Shambhu and
Khanauri inter-state borders.
The police not only fired
tear gas shells, they also
used drones to drop the
gas canisters, which
became an contentious
inter-state issue.
On top of the talks
agenda is the demand for a
legal guarantee to the mini-
mum support price mechanism
for procurement of agricultur-
al produce.
After a meeting with senior
Punjab Police officials at a re-
sort near Rajpura in the
evening, Kisan Mazdoor Sang-
harsh Committee general sec-
retary Sarwan Singh Pandher
and Bharat Kisan Union (Ekta
Sidhupur) president Jagjit
Singh Dallewal said, “The third
round of talks will be held with
Farmers at the Shambhu border face tear gas lobbed by police to disperse them on Wednesday | PTI
Kejri gets 6th
ED summons
in excise case
U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi
THE Enforcement Directorate
(ED) asked Delhi Chief Minis-
ter Arvind Kejriwal to appear
before it on February 19 for the
sixth time for questioning in
connection with the excise pol-
icy case, official sources said on
Wednesday.
The latest sum-
mons comes
ahead of a local
court’s order to
Kejriwal to ap-
pear before it on
February 17, for
ignoring ED’s
earlier summonses. The ED ap-
proached the court last week
after Kejriwal did not turn up
for questioning. The court said
that Kejriwal was “legally
bound” to respond to ED’s sum-
mons in person and that he
“purportedly failed to so”,
which is prima facie an offence
under Section 174 of the IPC.
Union ministers Arjun Munda,
Piyush Goyal and Nityanand
Rai tomorrow evening at Chan-
digarh. Till the meeting, we re-
quest the youth and everyone
else to make the atmosphere
conducive.”
“It has been projected as if
we want to break into Haryana
and create lawlessness but it is
not true. We only want that the
farmers who are fighting for
their rights on MSP and other
issues are heard and it’s made
a law,” he said and added,
“We will continue to fight
for our rights in a non-
violent manner.”
Pandher requested
the government to re-
ciprocate by stopping
the use of tear gas
against the protesters to
create a cordial atmosphere.
The Punjab BKU (Ekta-Ugra-
han), the biggest farmer union
in the state, decided to disrupt
railway traffic at seven places
in Punjab between 12 noon and
4pm in protest against tear gas
shelling.
In Haryana, farmer leader
Gurnam Singh Charuni criti-
cised the police action against
the protesters and called a
meeting of his union on Thurs-
day to discuss the situation.
PROTESTS
AFTER AIDED SCHOOL HOLDS
RELIGIOUS RITUAL ON CAMPUS
General Edu Minister V Sivankutty seeks
report from department director in the
incident in which manager of Nadumannur
LP School near Kuttiadi in Kozhikode
organised ‘ganapathy homam’ on campus
on Tuesday evening | P4
4,641 Pocso cases registered in
2023 in state; T’Puram tops list
R A H U L R @Kollam
CASES OF sexual abuse of children re-
mained above the 4,500-mark in the state
for yet another year, highlighting the
need for better efficacy of preventive
laws and measures.
At 4,641, the number of cases regis-
tered across the state under the Protec-
tion of Children from Sexual Offences
Act, 2012 (Pocso Act) in 2023 was slightly
higher than the 4,582 cases registered in
2022, as per the data sourced from the
State Crime Records Bureau.
Among districts, capital Thiruvanan-
thapuram reported the most number of
Pocso cases (601), followed by Malap-
puram (507) and Ernakulam (484) in
2023.
Pathanamthitta district reported the
least number of cases (177). The overall
tally included 10 cases registered by the
railway police.
Kanal, an NGO working for children’s
welfare in Kerala, highlighted another
worrying fact. According to a study it
conducted in collaboration with the
Kerala gover nment in 2023, titled
June 2-29
ROHIT RETURNED TO T20I AFTER A YEAR IN JAN ‘AFTER HARDIK INJURY, HE’S CLEAR CHOICE’
Jay Shah said that after Hardik Pandya’s injury in the ODI WC, it
After India’s semifinal exit in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Rohit had not
featured in the shortest format for more than a year. Hardik Pandya had
■
became clear that Rohit Sharma will captain
been leading the side in T20Is whenever he was available. However, in ■ Shah said that Rohit was captaining (in all formats) and he came
January, Rohit and Virat Kohli played T20Is against Afghanistan. The BCCI back for the Afghanistan series. So BCCI would like to continue with SPAN OF THE WC. 55 MATCHES IN ALL
secretary said even head coach Rahul Dravid will continue him till the T20 World Cup to be held in USA and West Indies | P11 WILL BE PLAYED DURING THE PERIOD
1ST UAE TEMPLE SYMBOL
OF HARMONY, SAYS MODI
Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi
THE United Arab Emirates, which was hitherto known for its
high-tech buildings such as Burj Khalifa, is going to be famous for
its interfaith harmony and cultural identity, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said on Wednesday as he inaugurated Abu Dhabi’s
first Hindu temple. “A large number of devotees will come here...
This will also increase people-to-people connections,” he said.
CBSE Profusely thanking UAE President Sheikh Mohammad Zayed
advisory Al Nahyan for making the grand temple a reality, PM said the gra-
The CBSE cious gesture has won the hearts of 140 crore Indians.
advised “I am fortunate that last month I was able to witness the Ram
students in temple consecration in Ayodhya... I am fortunate to be in Abu
Delhi Dhabi to witness the inauguration of this temple,’’ he added.
appearing in Modi inscribed Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (World is one family)
their board in stone using hammer and chisel at the temple built by the Bo-
exams Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration of the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, UAE | PTI chasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha.
starting on
State wants Centre to rein in wildlife
Thursday to
Sonia files for
leave their
homes early
RS, buzz now
so as to
arrive at the
exam Union min’s jibe E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @T’Puram Centre should amend clauses, Saseendran said several
on Priyanka
centres in including 5(2), of the Act that human lives have been lost in
Reacting to the WITH the government facing allowed the chief wildlife the state as wild animals en-
time resolution, Union
heat over human-wildlife con- warden to delegate powers tered human habitats leading
Minister V flicts, one of which ended in a and duties with the govern- to conflict. “Wild boars and
Bharat Muraleedharan said
P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi farmer’s death in Wayanad ment’s nod. monkeys, considered wild
bandh the Kerala
last week, the assembly on “The Section 11(1)(a), which animals, have been breeding
The ENDING her 25-year-long in- government had Wednesday passed a resolu- gives powers to the chief wild- exponentially outside forest
Samyukt nings in the Lok Sabha, Con- made it a habit to tion urging the Centre to take life warden should be amend- areas, which has led to severe
Kisan gress leader Sonia Gandhi on blame the Centre to steps to rein in exponential ed to delegate the same to disturbances. Wildlife protec-
Morcha Wednesday filed nomination pa- hide its own lapses. breeding of wild animals. The chief forest conservators... tion acts, rules, procedures,
gave a call pers for the upcoming Rajya Sab- In a post on X, he resolution, presented by For- The Act should be amended criteria and advisories hav-
for Bharat ha polls from Rajasthan. termed this practice est Minister A K Saseendran, from time to time by includ- ing stringent conditions that
Bandh on The formal announcement of by CPM shameful also sought amendments to ing necessary practical provi- are not changed as per the
Friday and Sonia’s candidacy was made by and said the the Wild Life (Protection) Act, sions...to prevent wild ani- need of the hour are prevent-
a road roko the party after her arrival in resolution, blaming 1972, in accordance with mals from attacking humans,” ing authorities from killing
from noon Jaipur on Wednesday morning. GoI exposed fault changing times to prevent said the resolution, which and controlling wild animals
to 4pm on Accompanied by her children lines in the CPM’s such conflicts. also sought declaring wild encroaching into populated
that day in Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, governance. The resolution said the boars ‘vermin’. areas,” Saseendran said.
support of and some party leaders, Sonia
farmers’ filed the papers in the state as-
protests sembly building around noon.
She will be suc-
ceeding for mer
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh,
who is set to retire
in April this year.
Sources attributed
Gandhi’s decision
to shift to the Up-
per House to her ‘poor health’.
While contesting the 2019 LS
polls, she had said it would be
her last Lok Sabha election.
With her Rajya Sabha entry,
the 77-year-old will be vacating
Raebareli Lok Sabha seat in Ut-
tar Pradesh, which she repre-
sented four times in a row since
2004. The move also sparked
speculation of Priyanka Gan-
dhi’s Lok Sabha debut this year
from the family bastion, five
years after she entered active
politics in 2019.
BJP re-nominates Nadda,
Vaishnaw and L Murugan
The BJP on Wednesday
re-nominated the party’s national
president J P Nadda and Union
ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and
and L Murugan as Rajya Sabha
candidates from Gujarat, Odisha
and MP, respectively.
DISHONOUR T’Puram 601
ROLL
Malappuram 507
Dists with most
Pocso cases in 2023 Ernakulam 484
P’thitta reported Kozhikode 421
least no. of cases: 177
Kollam 375
Source: State Crime
Records Bureau Thrissur 369
‘Project X’, revealed that 28.3% of school
students in the state were unaware of
the existence of the Pocso Act, while
48.09% were unaware that the legal age
of consent is 18 years.
Child rights activists emphasised that
children aged between 7 and 12 were
most vulnerable to sexual abuse.
“Abusers prey on children from this
age group assuming that sexual inter-
course with them won’t lead to pregnan-
cy. Moreover, children of the age group
are easier to scare, intimidate and ma-
nipulate, and also less likely to fight
back than teenagers,” said Anson P D
Alexander, the director and founder
of Kanal. ● More on P4
 KOZHIKODE MIN MAX
MIN MAX Palakkad 250C 340C
25 C 36 C
0 0 Kannur 240C 360C
Kochi 250C 330C
WEATHER FORECAST
Mainly clear sky T’Puram 250C 350C

02 KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024 � � newindianexpress com

Realty market takes a hit as high CIAL to become world’s EXPRESS READ

first airport to establish Concrete slab falls on

transaction costs play spoilsport green hydrogen plant

two workers, die
Kozhikode : Two workers were
killed after an under-construction
house collapsed at Valayam in
State’s revenue from stamp and registration charges expected to decline to Rs 6,111.79 cr Nadapuram on Wednesday.
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Kochi According to local residents who
R A J E S H A B R A H A M @Kochi The stamp duty and registration charges were hiked at the wrong the banks, which are refraining helped in the rescue operation, a
time. Even if some transactions are happening, it’s only in the urban from lending in the state, as the THE Cochin International Air- concrete slab fell on the workers,
REFLECTING a sluggishness areas of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram — Mary George, economist main reason for the port Ltd (CIAL) on Wednesday crushing them to death. Three
in the real estate market, Kera- sluggishness. announced a strategic agree- other workers who sustained
la’s revenue from land transac- was revised at least five times. lying unoccupied in the state. “The levels to which credit- ment with the Bharat Petrole- severe injuries – one of them
tions show a declining trend Industry insiders said the fair “The housing sector is going deposit (CD) ratio has declined um Cor poration Limited critically – have been admitted to
despite a steep hike in stamp price for land has gone up by through a slowdown. Whatever for major banks such as SBI is (BPCL) to establish the world’s the Kozhikode Government
duty and registration charges 220% since 2010. Further, from demand we are seeing is only shocking. If you are buying first green hydrogen plant in Medical College Hospital. The
from April 1, 2023. April 1, 2023, the state was sup- for flats in cities. NRIs are in- some property or the other, you an airport. deceased are Alisserykkandy
In collaboration
A closer look at the budget posed to benefit from a 14% di- vesting in flats, but only if they would like to get some assist- In a strategic move to bolster Vishnu, 29, and Kodakkad
with BPCL
documents reveal that the state rect revenue from higher stamp are sure that it can be rented ance from the banks. But that’s its path-breaking green energy Navajith, 33, both natives of
government’s revenue from duty, registration fees, and GST out,” she said. not happening,” he reasoned. initiatives, CIAL, which is the BPCL will oversee the Kuttikkadu.
stamp and registration charges on real estate transactions State Planning Board mem- Ravi Raman’s argument is world’s first airport fully pow- establishment of the
is expected to decline to Rs (7+2+5) but this is not reflected ber K Ravi Raman admitted substantiated in the latest sta- ered by solar energy, has en- integrated green hydrogen
6,111.79 crore in the 2023-24 fis- in the numbers. that there has been a contrac- tistics. For instance, SBI’s CD tered into a Memorandum of plant and fuelling station at Mananthavady block
cal, down by Rs 104.92 crore “The stamp duty and regis- tion in land transactions this ratio is just 55% while Federal Understanding with BPCL for Kochi airport, providing panchayat annual
(around 1.7%) from Rs 6,216.71 tration charges were hiked at financial year, which has ex- Bank’s CD ratio is even lower at setting up a green hydrogen technology and managing the budget presented
crore in 2022-23. the wrong time. Even if some tended to the real estate sector 45%, even when the state aver- plant on the premises of the operations
In his 2022-23 budget, finance transactions are happening, in general. He, however, blamed age is nearly 64%. SBI and Fed- airport. Kalpetta: Mananthavady block
minister K N Balagopal had it’s only in the urban areas of eral Bank are the two leading “This collaborative effort, panchayat presented a budget
proposed a 25% increase in the Ko c h i a n d T h i r u v a n a n - STAMP DUTY AND banks in Kerala in terms of de- combining technological prow- ration with BPCL for setting up with emphasis on the health
property tax rate, effective from thapuram. The market is slug- posits. “Interestingly, the NRI ess and infrastructure, will re- a 1000 KW pilot project on the sector and housing. The budget
REGISTRATION REVENUE
April 1, 2023. The increase was gish,” said Mary George, econo- deposits are rising in the state sult in the world’s first green airport premises. was presented with an expected
in a phased manner, with a 5% mist and a former head of the Year Revenue (in cr) (growth) while banks are not putting the hydrogen plant and fuelling Under the agreement, BPCL revenue of J97.35 crore and an
hike in each of five successive state government’s public ex- 2020-21 4,070.47 money back into the economy,” station located within will oversee the estab- expenditure of J97.14 crore. A
years. The stamp duty was penditure review committee. he said. an airport setting,” lishment of the inte- total of J1.41 crore has been set
hiked from 5% to 7%, in addi- According to her, 11 lakh 2021-22 4,857.33 +19.33% According to Mary George, top of ficials said. grated green hydro- aside for Kanivu Cancer Home
tion to 2% re gistration houses -- most of them palatial land used to be the biggest asset Green hydrogen, pro- gen plant and fuelling Care, a mobile clinic, dialysis
2022-23 6,216.71 +27.99%
charges. buildings belonging to expatri- in Kerala but not anymore. duced from water us- station at Kochi air- centre and evening OP at the
“While most other states ate Keralites -- are 2023-24 6,111.79 -1.67% “The property prices appre- ing renewable energy This collaborative
port, providing tech- Primary Health Centres. A total
effort, combining of J3.40 crore for housing
have reduced the property ciated faster than gold prices. sources, is recognised technological nology and managing
transaction charges to 1% and Now, there is no such apprecia- as a future fuel and the operations. CIAL construction, J98 lakh for the
prowess and
2%, the registration charges tion,” she said. aligns with zero-car- infrastructure, will will contribute suita- dairy sector, J45 lakh for
are at 9% in Kerala (7% stamp Because of the higher stamp bon e n e r g y result in the world’s ble land, water, and promotion of paddy cultivation,
duty and 2% registration charg- duty and registration charges, strategies. first green hydrogen g r e e n energy J1.30 crore for social welfare and
es). Because of these high people hesitate to register prop- The agreement for plant and fuelling resources. J17 lakh for educational
transaction costs, those who erties, Sunil Kumar said. the green hydrogen station located The initial output activities have also been set
are planning to buy flats for “They will hold on to proper- plant was signed at a within an airport of the plant will be aside. A total of J98 lakh has
setting been earmarked for women’s
investment purposes are re- ties without registering it. function held at the utilised for powering
fraining from doing so,” Though transactions may be Legislative Complex, A top official vehicles within the welfare and J57 lakh for drinking
said Sunil Kumar V, founder happening, it won’t be result- T h i r u va n a n - airport. water sanitation projects.
and managing director of ing in ownership changes. Or thapuram, in the pres- “CIAL is happy to Mananthavady fest will be
Asset Homes, a leading people show lower prices and ence of Chief Minister Pi- start a ground-breaking jour- organised in November in
property developer. register,” he said. narayi Vijayan, who is also the ney with BPCL towards estab- connection with Pazhassiraja Day
Earlier, the government Terming the high transac- chairman of CIAL. lishing the world’s first green
had hiked the fair value of tion costs investor-unfriendly, CIAL, which has been re- hydrogen plant in an airport at
land by 20%, which too Sunil Kumar pointed out that nowned for its effective deploy- CIAL”, said CIAL managing di-
Strict action against
came into effect from April land registration rates in Gu- ment of green energy through rector S Suhas. overloaded goods
1 last year. The revenue jarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu the installation of big solar BPCL chairman & managing vehicles
from stamp duty and regis- or Mumbai are in the range of plants and a hydel station now director G Krishnakumar high-
tration had risen by 28% for 2-4%. “Someone will get better has a cumulative installed ca- lighted the collaboration as Kozhikode: Strict action will taken
the year ended March 2023 from appreciation for their in- pacity of 50 MW producing a pivotal moment in the jour- against overloaded goods
Rs 4,857.33 crore to Rs 6,216.71 vestment in real estate in 200,000 units of power a day. ney towards sustainable vehicles, said the district road
crore as people rushed to regis- Mumbai or Bengaluru Ever since the installation of solutions. safety secretary on Wednesday.
ter their properties before the compared to, say Kochi, at its first plant with a capacity of Industries Minister P Ra- The decision was taken during the
higher rate came into effect. lower transaction costs. Only 12 MW, it has been augmenting jeeve, Chief Secretary V Venu, Kozhikode District Road Safety
The fair price for the land, end users are buying an apart- its capabilities and now inked and other top officials were also Authority Council meeting at the
first implemented in 2010, ment now,” he added. an MoU for a strategic collabo- present during the event. District Collector’s Chamber.
According to the district road
safety secretary, lorries carrying

Reckless acts of a few bringing shame to theyyam: Experts

goods from quarries and crusher
units in the district besides the
lorries carrying goods like iron,
cement and marble, have been
found to be regularly exceeding
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE near Iritty after a boy chased by at a kavu in Thalassery where “For example, persons who people are discussing some un- the permitted weight. He said
@Kozhikode the theyyam fell to the ground two theyyams argued with each In bad light for have mastered martial arts will fortunate and isolated inci- that every month, several
and got injured. The irate mob other. One theyyam was seen limelight? be preferred for the Kathivan- dents,” he said. overloaded goods vehicles were
THEYYAM artists and re- tried to manhandle the theyyam moving menacingly towards According to experts, a few nur Veeran Theyyam,” she Kannan also attested the seized for violating the law, and
searchers have raised concerns performer, who was escorted to the other. The visuals of these theyyam artists have a said. view that there is a tendency to the licences of defaulting drivers
over the internationally-ac- safety by others. two incidents were widely cir- tendency to perform for social Lissy pointed out that people play to the gallery. were cancelled.
claimed ritual art form of Ker- But the temple committee culated on social media and media fame. The trend of now go to kavus to get a good “The Thottam of some
ala facing ignominy because of members and the theyyam art- some opined that “Theyyams performing the art for mobile photograph and the performers theyyams last for hours, but the
the reckless acts of a negligible ist dismissed suggestions of should behave properly or else phone cameras is increasing. are compelled to do things that practice now is to cut the Thot- 22 people injured in bus
minority of performers. They manhandling by the mob. They the public will handle them Some perform knowing their are adventurous. “The all-per- tam short to find time for other accident
believe heated social media de- told a press conference that properly”. act will appear on the internet vading social media makes programmes,” he said. Kozhikode: A total of 22 people,
bates ignited by a few recent only a small tussle happened in “It is true that some theyyam these performances viral,” she Prabhakaran Kovoor, one of including five policemen, were
incidents involving theyyam the initial stages of the per- artists behave immaturely. Un- said. the admins of the WhatsApp injured after a KSRTC bus collided
performers have portrayed the formance and the rituals con- fortunately, the tendency to form knowing that their acts Y V Kannan, a theyyam per- group ‘Theyyam/Thira Calen- with a private bus at Koduvally in
ritual in bad light. tinued without any hindrance. perform for mobile phone cam- will appear on social media in former and researcher, said so- dar’ that has more than 3,000 Kozhikode on Wednesday. The
Two incidents that happened The other incident happened eras is increasing. Some per- the form of reels,” said V Lissy cial media is celebrating inci- members, agreed that isolated incident occurred around 7.30am.
a few weeks ago in north Mala- Mathew, who has authored dents that have sensational cases are being highlighted on The injured were admitted to
bar became a point of discus- Theyyam artist Narayana Peruvannan has been awarded the Padma books on theyyam. value. social media. Kozhikode Government Medical
sion among theyyam enthusi- Shri this year, but people are discussing some unfortunate and She said there is pressure on “Theyyam artist Narayana “Only a minuscule minority College Hospital. Of the injured
asts. A group of people attacked isolated incidents theyyam performers to do what Peruvannan has been awarded is going for these kinds of mis- people, the condition of one
‘Kaitha Chamundi’ at a Kavu — Y V Kannan, a Theyyam performer attracts people. the Padma Shri this year, but adventures,” he said. passenger is critical.

ARIES TAURUS GEMINI CANCER LEO VIRGO LIBRA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES
(Mar 21 - Apr. 20) (Apr. 21 - May 21) (May 22 - June 21) (June 22 - July 23) (July 24 - Aug. 23) (Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) (Nov. 23 - Dec. 22) (Dec. 23 - Jan. 20) (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) (Feb. 20 - Mar 20)
Have other Once upon a Financial Everything that The Sun, which Mercury’s Why don’t you Your planetary You may still This week’s If you run The planets do
P E T E R V I DA L people been time many of muddles may happens to you, always has a current back your rulers, Mars and feel as if planetary into any not move
dragging their your ambitions only have added and most of your significant role motion brings instincts and Pluto, are you’re riding patterns, problems significantly, so
15TH February : I have been talking about the heels or simply giving seemed destined to to the general air of responses, should be seen in your life, is helping you various possibilities to hunches to the hilt? True, locking horns. This is a sign an emotional roller- notably the intense with a partner or loved don’t expect much change
Moon. We all think it has a pronounced effect you the runaround? remain distant dreams for confusion, yet there does as part of a larger pattern. develop certain of your the fore. One is the need other people will have that there is a great need coaster, although it now relationship between one, don’t blame the just yet. You will do your
Either way, you may ever. As the dust settles seem to be considerable Unlikely events may be more adventurous to develop your mind by useful things to say, but for compromise. You may seems as if recent Mars and Pluto, are of world at large or retreat best by continuing along
on human behaviour. It would be astonishing if have good cause to you’ll see that so much hope that matters are viewed as stepping stones aspirations. In short, it’s taking up new interests. looking at the next few be correct to stand your planetary storms are the kind that can rock behind a mask, giving your present path, dealing
it didn’t. However, a hundred scientific studies grumble. However, the more may now be about to improve. The to a brighter, happier, freer a superb time to organise Another concerns the days it becomes clear ground over matters of dying down. Why don’t the boat and make you the impression that you with commitments and
have failed to come up with decisive evidence. I question to be carefully attainable. The price of answer may lie in new future. You are still an overseas trip, or pleasure and stimulation that you will have to principle, but equally right you stand back and feel slightly nervous don’t care. Pretending responsibilities left over
think that’s probably because a lot of scientists considered is whether freedom is often high but, partnerships, perhaps with juggling a variety of explore ideas and beliefs you will receive from keep your own counsel. to be diplomatic over the attempt to take a critical about the future. that you don’t feel as from yesterday, or even
you should keep your as time passes, you will see people who are prepared possibilities, so understand which are very different foreign travel, or from Perhaps partners are just details. It could be in your and dispassionate look Don’t worry, though. you do could serve no from last year. The past
are biased – some in favour of a Lunar effect, complaints to yourself that recent tough decisions to back you rather than that complications are from those you’ve contacts with people not ready to hear what best interests to find some at your deeply-held Your trust has certainly purpose, so be honest may be almost over but
others against. It’s all most confusing! and be diplomatic. put you on the right course. find fault at every turn. inevitable. accepted in the past from distant places. you have to say. sort of amicable solution. attitudes and opinions? not been misplaced. about your desires. it’s not completely gone.

CROSS WORD JUMBLE UNSCRAMBLE THESE JUMBLES, ONE LETTER TO

EACH SQUARE, TO FORM FOUR ORDINARY WORDS.
BY DAVID L. HOYT
ACROSS DOWN AND JEFF KNUREK
1 This has no real bite (5,5) 2 A girl about ten, one feels (7)
8 Out of metal? (3,2) 3 Is climbing in a rough
9 A new notion for the mountainous area (5)
Merchant of Venice (7) 4 Missile making a
10 It’s true it will upset terrible crater (6)
the ingenue (7) 5 To argue can
11 Signal fear (5) cause o�ence (7)
Solutions to Yesterday’s puzzle

12 It takes the strain out 6 Layer on article turned

of brewing (3,3) to shade of red (5)
14 Sunny place to provide 7 Chief o�cer maintains
her tan? (6) authority over a worker (10)
17 Girl takes new road round 8 A retiring habit (10)
capital of Hawaii (5) 13 Article on a brain
19 You won’t remember disturbance in a horse (7)
su�ering from it (7) 15 Stew one has
21 Declining music for a song (7) to stir round perhaps (7)
22 Musical composition from 16 Ornament from Bengal (6)
more remote times (5) 18 Work with a
SU DO KU EVIL 23 For a change study twitch in the eye (5)
aninterpretation (10) 20 Identifies celebrities (5)
TEST YOUR NUMBER
CRUNCHING SKILL WITH OUR
UNIQUE PUZZLE YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS
Across: 1 Bigamy, 4 Does up, 9 Minutes, Down: 1 Bemuse, 2 Genoa, 3 Matthew,
� Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner 10 In tow, 11 Stash, 12 Regular, 5 Owing, 6 Set plan, 7 Powers, 8 Astronomers,
that every row, every column and every 3X3 box Yesterday’s
13 Flowing hand, 18 Forearm, 20 Calve, 14 Lariats, 15 Hackles, 16 Afraid,
accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. 22 Alack, 23 Reliant, 24 Dispel, 25 Estate. 17 Settle, 19 Ankle, 21 Lhasa.
 Thomas Isaac @drthomasisaac
TWEET Kerala well on the road to eliminate TB by 2025 .It has been awarded recognition for
OF THE the best tuberculosis elimination activities by Union Health Ministry.Kerala has co-
DAY ordinated National TB Elimination Programs activities in the private sector in the
best manner.#KeralaModel

03 KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024

� � newindianexpress com

City corp budget focuses on social Exclusive book

security, social justice, healthcare
J55cr set aside for developing central market and J45cr for renovating Mofussil bus stand
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@Kozhikode
THE annual budget of the
Kozhikode corporation for the
financial year 2024-25 focuses
on the overall development of
the city with an emphasis on
social security, social justice
and the healthcare system. The
expected revenue is
`1238,69,74,000 and an expendi-
ture of `1178,29,39,500. Deputy
mayor C P Musafar Ahamed
presented the budg et on
Wednesday.
A sum of `55 crore has been
set aside for developing the cen-
tral market and `45 crore for
renovating the Mofussil bus
stand. The deputy speaker also
announced a business park in
Elathur. The budget also has
plans to start the construction
works of the medical college
bus terminal.
The other major highlights
of the budget are the cultural
activities planned as part of
maintaining Kozhikode’s sta-
tus as the Literature City con-
ferred by UNESCO. The corpo-
ration plans to organise an
international literature festival
in January 2025. Apart from the
current film festival and folk
fest, the corporation will also
conduct musical shows in the
Strict action to be taken against
overloaded goods vehicles
EXPRESS READ
Deputy mayor Musafar Ahamed
presenting annual budget of Kozhikode
Corporation | EXPRESS
major cultural hubs in the
city.
During the budget presenta-
tion, Ahamed said that the con-
struction of 3,000 houses under
the LIFE Mission scheme has
been completed within the cor-
poration limit. The council also
plans to complete `432.70 crore-
worth projects under the AM-
RUTH II scheme. This includes
drinking water, sewage water
treatment, rejuvenation of wa-
ter bodies and parking facility
projects. The budget also high-
lighted the re-tendering of the
Kothi and Avikkalthodu Sew-
age Treatment Plant (STP)
projects.
Major projects proposed in
the health sector are a new di-
NITC strengthens ties with Dell
Kozhikode: The National Institute of
City of literature status
�Several cultural activities
have been planned as part of
maintaining Kozhikode’s
status as Literature City
conferred by UNESCO.
�The corporation has also
planned to organise an
international literature
festival in January 2025
alysis centre, a mobile medical
lab for bedridden patients, and
a welcome kit for newborn ba-
bies belonging to BPL families.
The corporation also plans to
open 25 new ‘Pakal Veedu’ care
homes for the welfare of the
elderly. The corporation will
also open a geriatric care cen-
tre at the Beach Hospital.
The corporation will take up
90 local roads this year as part
of upgrading common roads.
More than `65 crore will be
spent in this field, including a
loan of `25 crore from financial
institutions for the develop-
ment of theme roads, model
roads and other urban roads.
Ahamed said that the council
is committed to transforming
Kozhikode into an elderly-
friendly city with clean water
and air, and better transport fa-
cilities while maintaining the
splendour of the ethnic city.
Meanwhile, the Opposition
alleges that the budget is a copy
of the 2023-24 budget announce-
ments. The Opposition claims
that the council failed to take
constructive suggestions or
public welfare programmes
into account while preparing
the budget. “The deputy mayor
is exaggerating the figures. The
corporation has not even start-
ed the ‘parking plaza project’
announced last year. The park-
ing scheme on link road has ex-
pired. The much-vaunted
Azhaku scheme is already a
failure and it has turned all the
wards into a dumping yard,”
said Opposition leader K C
Shobitha.
“The Left administration
which has been ruling the city
for half a century is neglecting
the most important renovation
projects such as Meenchantha
bus stand, Central Market, Val-
iyangadi buildings and Mofus-
sil stand. Only nominal funds
are earmarked for these, while
the building tax is increased
every year and the development
works have failed accordingly,”
Shobitha said.
The surplus amount of the
budget in the financial year is
expected at `60,40,34,500.
Cow lifting machines
distributed
DISPLAY OF LOVE
Students of Kozhikode Government Engineering College reading the love letters
displayed on the campus as part of Valentine’s Day celebrations | E GOKUL
Indian Peace Keeping Force veterans
meet up in Kozhikode after 33 years
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@Kozhikode
VETERANS who served in the
Indian Peace Keeping Force in
Sri Lanka in 1989-90 came to-
g e t h e r a f t e r 3 3 ye a r s at
Kozhikode West Hill 122 Infan-
try Battalion Territorial Army
Madras, ‘Malabar Terriers’
headquarters. ‘Op Pawan War-
riors Meet 2024’ turned out to be
an extraordinary platform that
evoked intense memories of the
legendary warriors.
The then Commanding Offic-
er - later promoted Brigadier PV
Sahadeva AVSM, VIC,VSM who
led the battalion in a masterly
manner in the insurgency-af-
fected areas of Sri Lanka and
returned unhurt was the chief
Colonel Naveen Benjit, Commanding Officer of 122 Infantry Battalion, TA, Madras
Regiment, taking a selfie with Brigadier, rtd, P VSahadevan during the meet at
the West Hill barracks in Kozhikode on Wednesday.
event. As a symbol of respect
for the Sri Lankan peacekeep-
ing mission, he unveiled the
“Honour Stone” installed near
the unit entrance. Colonel
Naveen Banjit, son of the Major
on English
released
Kozhikode: The English club of
St Joseph’s Boys’ Higher
Secondary School, Kozhikode,
has released a book ‘Anglii’,
which is about the various
aspects of the English language
and its impact on the society. It
is an anthology consisting of 61
articles on the history and
characteristics of this unique
language which connects our
world beyond boundaries. “We
have been working on this
anthology for about 8 months,”
said Coleen Sofia Barboza, the
convenor of the English Club.
Wreaths were laid at the War
Memorial, which commemo-
rates the fallen brave soldiers.
Major General David Ivor Deva-
varam inaugurated the face-to-
face programme with the war-

Kozhikode: Strict action will taken against
overloaded goods vehicles, said the district road
safety secretary on Wednesday. The decision was
taken during the Kozhikode District Road Safety
Authority Council meeting at the District Collector’s
Chamber. According to the district road safety
secretary, lorries carrying goods from quarries and
crusher units in the district besides lorries carrying
goods like iron, cement and marble, have been found
to be regularly exceeding the permitted weight.
Technology Calicut (NITC) is set to infuse
industry perspectives into the academic
curriculum by partnering with Dell
Technologies. The move is to amalgamate
industry perspective with academic syllabi in
the fields of artificial intelligence, cyber
security and storage management. A
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
between the IT giant and NITC is expected to
formalise the strategic alliance between the
company and the institution. Experts from
Dell will review and revamp the syllabi to
meet the changing industry requirements.
The partnership will also offer a chance for
the students and faculty of NITC to attend
talks and workshops by industry experts from
Dell. According to Prasad Krishna, director of
NITC, industry inputs play a crucial role in
shaping well-rounded engineers.
Kozhikode: Omassery Gram
Panchayat 2023-24 provided cow
lift machines to the Govt
Veterinary Dispensary under the
Janakiyasutranam scheme. The
device to lift cows comes as a
relief to farmers as it can help
shift cows that have limited range
of motion due to illness or injury, .
Koodathai and Omassery Ksheera
Sanghs will be in charge of
controlling the cow lift machines.
planner of the meet up. On the
occasion of the reunion of the
warriors, he conducted ‘Op Pa-
wan Corner’ intended to impart
to the new generation the de-
tails of the unit’s previous for-
eign service mission.
Major General David Ivar
Devavaram SM, VSM, who led a
Madras Regiment battalion dur-
ing the battles in Sri Lanka and
later became Colonel of the Reg-
iment, was the chief guest at the
General and the current com-
manding officer who supervises
all the activities, Second in-
Command Lt Col S Viswanath-
an and others were present.
This is the first time that such
an exhibition gallery and plaque
will be established in Kerala to
commemorate the peacekeep-
ing mission in Sri Lanka.
The programme started with
a special pooja held at Unit Man-
dir on February 14 at 9 am.
riors by lighting the lamp.
Battalion Commanding Officer
Colonel Naveen Banjit extended
welcome. Retired deputy excise
commissioner- Subedar, K Karu-
nakaran delivered the introduc-
tory speech.
Major General David Ivar
Devavaram, Brigadier PV Sa-
hadeva, former Company Com-
manders Lt Col Aruchami and
Col JV Prasad narrated their
army experiences.

Logo of Hillsinai Civil Service Academy being jointly launched by former

DGP Dr Alexander Jacob and Dr Muhammad Abdul Hakkim Azhari,
managing director of Markaz Knowledge City
IAS academy launched at Markaz
Knowledge City
Knowledge City: A civil service academy was launched under
the Hillsinai Centre of Excellence at Markaz Knowledge City.
The institute will function in association with Vedhik
Academy, the prominent UPSC coaching academy. The logo
of the academy was launched by former DGP Dr Alexander
Jacob, Dean of Academics of Vedhik IAS, and Dr Muhammad
Abdul Hakkim Azhari, Managing Director of Markaz
Knowledge City. The event was presided over by Dr
Abdussalam Muhammad, CEO of Markaz Knowledge City. Dr
Babu Sebastian, the former Vice-Chancellor of Kannur
University and MG University, delivered the keynote address.
Cheriyan Philip, Senior Director of ilearning Engines, James
Mattam, CEO of Vedhik Academy and Muhammad Naushad
IFS felicitated the event. MLA Linto Joseph, Alex Thomas,
president of Kodenchery panchayat, Adv Thanveer Omar, Dr
Nizam Rahman, Boban Thomas, Dr C Abdussamad Pulikkad
and Sudhakaran S attended the function.
 Ramesh Chennithala @chennithala
TWEET Congress Parliamentary Party leader and former Congress President beloved Soniaji has
OF THE given nomination for RS from Rajasthan. Soniaji upholds the integrity and that we want
DAY to being back to India and its polity.

04 KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024

� �

E1.07 lakh cr loss since 2017 due to MANKULAM ISSUE: MINISTER

cut in borrowing limit: State in SC
Argues Centre lacks power to issue directives to the State under Article 293 of the Constitution
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Kochi
THE KERALA government’s
case, filed in the Supreme
Court, highlights that the lim-
its imposed by the Union Gov-
ernment on the state’s borrow-
ing powers have plunged the
state’s approved budget into a
severe crisis by withholding re-
sources amounting to Rs 1.07
lakh crore since 2017. The state
took its case to the apex court
in December, contending that
the actions of the Union Gov-
ernment were encroaching
upon the state’s capacity to
meet its fiscal obligations.
In the suit, Kerala asserts its
exclusive authority to regulate
its finances by preparing and
managing its budget and bor-
rowings. Kerala argued before
the apex court that the Union
Government lacks the constitu-
tional right or authority to is-
sue directives to the state gov-
ernment under Article 293 of
ASSERTS AUTHORITY
� In the suit, Kerala asserts its
exclusive authority to regulate its
finances by preparing and
managing budget and borrowings
� Highlights that the net
negative impact or loss sustained
by the State’s economy could
amount to as high as Rs 2 to 3
lakh crore, based on 2016-17 as
the base year
the Constitution that could un-
dermine the federal structure
by encroaching upon the state’s
exclusive financial domains. It
further contended that the Un-
ion Government under the
guise of ‘sound public financial
management’, infringes upon
or encroaches upon the com-
prehensive powers of the
states.
Kerala argues before the
court that it has suffered a sig-
nificant loss of Rs 91,617.59
crore from FY 2017 onwards
due to a new order implement-
ed in 2017 by the Union Govern-
ment, as outlined in the Fi-
nance Commission report. This
order introduced the practice
of deducting the balances in
the public account of Kerala
and other states from their Net
Borrowing Ceiling (NBC). Fur-
thermore, through another or-
der implemented in 2022, the
state has incurred an addition-
al borrowing entitlement loss
of Rs 15,895.50 crore. This sec-
ond order relates to deducting
the borrowings of state-owned
enterprises on the grounds that
they utilise budgetary support
of the state for repaying its li-
abilities. In total, Kerala has
experienced a cumulative ex-
penditure loss or resource defi-
ciency of Rs 1,07,513.09 crore
over fiscal years 2016-2023, as
stated in the affidavit.
Kerala stated that the actions
of the Union Government have
resulted in significant arrears
that the state owes in terms of
welfare schemes to its people,
especially the poor and vulner-
able, various beneficiary
groups, state government em-
ployees, pensioners, and dues
to its state-owned enterprises.
It highlighted that the net
negative impact or loss sus-
tained by the State’s economy
could amount to as high as Rs 2
to 3 lakh crore, based on 2016-17
as the base year. This repre-
sents 20-30% of the state’s cur-
rent GDP over a six-year
period.
Kerala argued that unless the
Net Borrowing Ceiling (NBC),
as fixed by the Kerala Fiscal Re-
sponsibility Act, 2003, the state
is legitimately apprehensive
that its treasury operations
will be halted or starkly cur-
tailed. The state added that
there is a dire situation loom-
ing ahead and the immediate
consequences to the state will
be catastrophic.
GIVES CLEAN CHIT TO POLICE
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ T’ Puram
FOREST MINISTER A K Sas-
eendran has given a clean
chit to the Kerala Police cit-
ing that they had given pro-
tection to the forest depart-
ment officials who went to
Mankulam on January 4 to
address the alleged encroach-
ment by the Mankulam block
panchayat.
The minister’s statement
came after the NCP-backed
Kerala Forest Staff Associa-
tion (KFSA), a ruling front-
backed association sought
CRPF cover for forest offi-
cials and a CBI probe into the
attack on forest officials in
Idukki’s Mankulam. He was
replying to questions raised
by UDF MLAs in the Assem-
bly on Wednesday.
TNIE had reported on Feb-
ruary 1 citing how the Manku-
lam incident had brought a
huge embarrassment to the
LDF government which also
saw the KFSA approaching
Issues like these are “The incident happened on
January 4 when the forest of-
prevalent wherever there
are instances of man - ficials went to Mankulam in
animal conflict and forest connection with an investiga-
land encroachment. The tion into the alleged en-
forest officials address croachment of forest land by
these issues in a the Mankulam block pancha-
competent manner
yat which saw the police in-
A K Saseendran, tervening in the issue and
forest minister giving protection to the forest
officials. Issues like these are
the Kerala High Court prevalent wherever there
seeking a directive on are instances of man -
the issue. The UDF animal conflict and
le gislators who forest land encroach-
raised questions in ment. The forest of-
the Assembly includ- ficials address these
ed C R Mahesh, K issues in a competent
Babu, K K Rema and manner and also show
Roji M John. restraint while dealing
Saseendran replied to them with such situations. The
that representatives of KFSA help of the police is also
had given a memorandum to sought when required and
the chief secretary on Janu- they provide help and secu-
ary 5, a day after the forest of- rity”, said Saseendran.
ficials faced attack. He also informed that he
The KFSA has since modi- had held discussions with the
fied its complaint and has forest officials and local lead-
given a fresh representation ers and recommendations
to the forest minister, Saseen- were provided to resolve the
dran told the assembly. issue.

Religious ritual in QUICK READ

Meal scheme: State govt directs

govt-aided school Supplyco to distribute rice

sparks protests
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Kozhikode
A GOVERNMENT-aided man-
agement school in Kozhikode
held a religious ritual on its
premises triggering protests
that ended in a scuffle between
local residents and the organ-
isers. The manager of the Na-
dumannur LP School near
Kuttiadi organised a ganapa-
thy homam on Tuesday
evening. The incident came to
light after local residents, no-
ticing vehicles inside the
school compound during the
night, entered the building.
The headmistress of the
school denied any knowledge
of the incident, and alleged
T’Puram: In a bid to address the crisis in the noon meal scheme in
schools, the government has directed Supplyco to urgently allocate
rice to schools. The directive was given following a meeting
between General Education Minister V Sivankutty and Food and
Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil. The scheme had landed in a crisis
after Supplyco failed to lift rice from Food Corporation of India
TURN OF EVENTS (FCI) godowns to be distributed in schools. The PSU had cited the
� The manager of arrears owed to it by the General Education Department. After the
Nadumannur LP School meeting between the ministers, Supplyco was directed to lift the
rice required for the fourth quarter meant for the meal scheme from
organised a ganapathy
homam on Tuesday FCI. Officials have been appointed from the Directorate of General
Education and Supplyco to coordinate the timely distribution of rice
� The incident came to light to schools that are facing shortages.
after residents, noticing
vehicles inside the
compound during night,
entered the building Justice Anu Sivaraman shifted
� General Education
Minister V Sivankutty on to Karnataka High Court
Wednesday sought a report Kochi: The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y
from the department
director on the incident FLOWER FOR A CHANGE Chandrachood has recommended the transfer of Justice Anu
Sivaraman from Kerala High Court to Karnataka High Court. She
Mahila Morcha workers under the West Hill area committee of BJP, who recently protested with brooms against public display of was transferred based on her request. On October 16, 2023, Justice
When I called the affection of couples at Konad Beach, hold lotus to greet youngsters on Valentine’s Day in the same area | E GOKUL Anu Sivaraman sought a transfer out of the state of Kerala. “The
manager and his son collegium accedes to the request and resolves to recommend that
following protests,
Justice Anu Sivaraman be transferred, in the interests of better

San Mateo deaths: Techie killed wife,

that the school manager mis- they said the pooja is almost
done. They said no pooja was administration of justice, to the High Court of Karnataka,” stated
led her to take the keys of her
held during the Nava Rathri and the order of the collegium. Justice Anu Sivaraman was sworn in as
office. General Education
this was part of the penance Additional Judge of the High Court of Kerala on April 10, 2015, and
Minister V Sivankutty on

kids before ending life, say US cops

Wednesday sought a report
from the department director
on the incident.
The incident occur red
around 7.30pm in Kayakkody
panchayat. School manager
Aruna and her son took the
initiative in holding the ritual.
Once the news spread, villag-
ers, including CPM workers,
gathered and protested against
the “illegal” conduct of a reli-
gious ceremony in an aided
school. When they contacted
headmistress Sajitha T K, she
denied any knowledge of the
incident.
“The manager asked for the
key to my office room to take
some stuff related to the con-
struction of the new building
and I gave it. When I called the
Sajitha T K, headmistress
the headmistress said. In a re-
port submitted to the deputy
director of education,
Kozhikode, the Kunnummal
assistant educational officer
said the religious ritual was
held at the school in violation
of the rules.
After the protests broke out,
police arrived on the scene
and took the organisers into
custody. They were released
later. The CPM alleged that the
school manager’s family has
BJP connections and the ritu-
al was conducted under the
leadership of saffron party
workers. Workers of DYFI and
SFI took out protest marches
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kollam
THE DEATH of a family of
Kerala origin in San Mateo in
the US is a case of suspected
suicide and homicide. Anand
Henry, 38, and his wife Alice
Priyanka, 37, who hails from
Kollam, along with their four-
year-old twins, Noah and Nath-
an, were found dead in their
house on Monday. As per CBS
news, Anand killed his twin
children and then shot his wife,
and later shot himself. The bod-
ies of the children were found
in the bedroom, while the bod-
ies of Alice and Anand were
found inside the bathroom.
The police stated that the in-
formation regarding the cause
of death of children will be
confirmed only after the post-
mortem examination.
‘’On Monday, based on the 911
call, the local police conducted
a search at the deceased’s home
and found the bodies. The po-
lice have found no signs of
forced entry into the home. The
husband filed for divorce in De-
cember 2016 but apparently did
not go through with it,’’ accord-
ing to CBS News.
The relatives of the de-
ceased’s family told TNIE that
there were family issues be-
tween the couple. However,
they refused to share more de-
tails. Anand and Alice were
alumni of TKM Engineering
College. Anand was a mechani-
cal engineering graduate, while
Alice was a civil engineering
graduate. The couple had been
residing in San Mateo County
for the past nine years and was
working for an IT company.
appointed as permanent judge with effect from April 5, 2017.
KU senate members nominated
by guv seek police protection
Kochi: Kerala High Court on Wednesday sought the view of the state
police on a petition filed by advocate V K Manju and six others, who
were nominated by the chancellor to the senate of the Kerala
University in different categories, seeking police protection to attend
the senate meeting of the varsity to be held on February 16. The
petitioners alleged that the CPM, DYFI and SFI leaders have declared
that they will not permit the petitioners to participate in the meeting.
The leaders also threatened them saying that they would face the
same fate as senate members of Calicut University. Though the
petitioners filed a complaint before the police, they are not taking any
steps to provide protection to the petitioners.

UDF meeting postponed, no third

manager and her son Rudhish to the school demanding ac- Gyanvapi
to stop the pooja after the local tion against the management. Masjid Imam
residents started protests, Meanwhile, BJP leader MT Abdul Batin

Lok Sabha seat for Muslim League

they said it’s almost done. Ramesh refuted the allega- Nomani
speaking
They said no pooja was held tions against the party and al-
at the
during the Nava Rathri and leged that the CPM was delib- conference
this was part of the penance,” erately creating an issue. organised
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE tive Assembly. A senior UDF War room set up at
by Jama’at- Cong’s state HQ
@ T’Puram leader told TNIE that there

‘Reporting of cases rose

e-Islami in
Kozhikode on were unofficial discussions T’Puram: Congress state Political
Tuesday THE UDF MEETING sched- with the IUML on and off dur- Affairs Committee (PAC) member
| EXPRESS uled for Wednesday was post- ing the course of the assembly M Liju has been appointed

due to better awareness’ No mention in history about

poned as the day’s Legislative session. “The IUML leader- chairman of the party’s ‘war
Assembly session has been ship has been aware from day room’, which has been set up at
prolonged. Though official- one that they are not going to its state headquarters at Indira
level bilateral talks get a third Lok Sabha
temple at mosque site: Imam
Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.
CONTINUED FROM P1 with the IUML were seat. They just want Established on the lines of the
not held on Wednes- to convince their AICC’s war room, the state unit
R A H U L R @Kollam day, it has been con- party workers that will coordinate eight important
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE ties of the temple were stored,” firmed that the Con- The IUML has been they are putting elections, including the upcoming
ADDING TO CONCERNS, conviction rate in Pocso cases in @Kozhikode he said. gress leadership had aware that they pressure on the Con- Lok Sabha polls. Congress leader
Kerala dropped to 15.14% in 2022 from 35.98% in 2018, with only In his inaugural speech, unof ficially con- are not going to gress leadership for Jaison Joseph and Manacaud
301 convictions compared to 1,465 acquittals. ALL THAT the Sangh Parivar Jama’at-e-Islami national amir firmed to them that get a third Lok an extra seat apart Suresh have been appointed
R S Vijay Mohan, special public prosecutor in the Thiru- have spread about the Gyan- Syed Sadathullah Hussaini said they would have to be Sabha seat. They from the existing
just want to co-chairmen. Former IAS officer
vananthapuram Pocso fast track court, pointed out that the rise vapi Mosque are fabricated the aggression on mosques in content with the ex- Malappuram and Sasikanth Senthil is the national
convince their
in elopements by those aged between 16 and 18 contributed to things, the imam of the mosque the country will destroy not isting two Lok Sabha party workers that Ponnani Lok Sabha chairman of the Congress war
the surge in Pocso cases. He attributed the rise in cases to in- -- Abdul Batin Nomani -- said in merely Muslims but the nation seats. they are putting seats,” said a senior room. KPCC has already
creased reporting of such incidents which itself showed height- Kozhikode on Wednesday. as a whole. “The chief minis- In the last UDF pressure on the UDF leader. appointed senior leaders as
ened awareness about sexual abuse. At the fraternity conference ters of the BJP-ruled states are meeting held on Feb- Congress Already, the UDF coordinators in all 20 Lok Sabha
“The reporting of incidents of sexual abuse against children organised by Jama’at-e-Islami, competing with one another in ruary 5, UDF conven- leadership has pro- constituencies. It has also decided
A senior UDF leader
has increased following awareness campaigns. However, in Nomani said nowhere in the spreading hate. There are thou- er M M Hassan had vided one seat each to appoint district-level
many cases, in which partners or close relatives were abusers, history of Varanasi could one sands of acres of land that have informed that ahead to the RSP and Kera- coordinators. Congress state
there is a tendency to settle the matter once a compromise is find mention about a temple been encroached but mosques of the next sitting on Wednes- la Congress (Joseph) faction. general secretary (organisation) T
reached between the accused and the victim’s family. This also that was situated at the place are being demolished at night day, they would hold a meeting Apart from the IUML’s two U Radhakrishnan said the main
affects the conviction rate,” Mohan said. One solution, he said, where the mosque now stands. alleging that they are built on with the IUML leadership. But seats, the Congress will be agenda of the war room is to
was integrating information about Pocso in the school curricu- “What is now propagated as encroached land,” he said. that did not happen as expect- contesting in 16 Lok Sabha coordinate party activities and
lum. “Already, schools are teaching young students about ‘good the area where pooja was per- The conference is a declara- ed where the UDF leadership seats. The new date of the next ensure its message reaches
touch’ and ‘bad touch.’ With higher awareness, reporting of formed is actually a place near tion that people are not ready to put the blame on the ongoing UDF meeting will be decided people.
such cases will also go up,” he said. the mosque where the proper- surrender, he said. budget session of the Legisla- later by the leadership.
 P Rajeev @PRajeevOfficial
TWEET
OF THE Kerala gears up for a monumental leap forward with the global AI Conclave in July,in collabora-
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05 KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024

� �

‘Centre cutting state’s borrowing cap to help corporates’

K N Balagopal says that the grant-in-aids for the state reduced
from I30,000 crore in 2021-22 to I11,000 crore in the current fiscal
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @T’Puram
THE Centre is helping corpo-
rates by slashing market bor-
rowings by governments, Fi-
nance Minister K N Balagopal
said during a general discus-
sion on the budget in the as-
sembly on Wednesday.
Balagopal said that one of
the reasons behind the Centre’s
decision to reduce the borrow-
ing limit was to facilitate more
credit availability for the cor-
porate sector.
“Union Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman had said
in the Budget speech that the
Union government would re-
duce its borrowings by `1 lakh
crore in the new financial year.
Now, this borrowing space will
be utilised by corporates,” he
said.
The minister said that his
government could increase ex-
penditure despite the financial
crisis. “The total expenditure
in the financial year ending
March 2021 was `1,38,000 crore.
It rose to `1,68,000 crore in 2023-
New announcements
at budget discussion
� Allocation for Civil Supplies
raised to I2,001 crore
� I5 crore for international
cultural complex
� I5 crore for science city
� I3 crore for cultural survey
� I10 crore for campus industrial
parks
� I5 crore for Malappuram KSRTC
bus stand
� I7 crore for 16 nursing colleges
24. There was an increase of
`30,000 crore,” he said. The
minister reiterated his claim
that the current crisis was due
to the centre’s decision to slash
the borrowing limit and a drop
in the central funds to the state.
He said that the grant-in-aids
for the state reduced from
`30,000 crore in 2021-22 to
`11,000 crore in the current
fiscal.
Participating in the discus-
sion, Leader of Opposition V D
Satheesan said the budget
lacked credibility. A perform-
ance audit of the budget an-
nouncements will expose the
lack of credibility of the two
consecutive governments led
by Pinarayi Vijayan, he said.
Satheesan said the fiscal in-
dicators disprove the finance
minister’s claim that the state
had a ‘sunrise economy’. “The
revenue deficit rose from 0.88%
of GSDP in 2022-23 to 2.09% in
2023-24. The deficit grew from
`9,226 crore to `24,555 crore.
The fiscal deficit increased
from 2.44 pc of GSDP in 2022-23
to 3.45% in 2023-24. It rose from
`25,554 crore to `40,661 crore.
Do these indicators suggest
that the state is having a sun-
rise economy?” he asked.
Law to protect gig workers in the making
T’Puram: Labour Minister V Sivankutty said that the government is State govt neglecting
agri sector: Satheesan
preparing the ‘Kerala State Platform-Based Gig Worker (Registration
and Welfare) Bill’ to protect the employment rights and welfare of gig
workers in the state. The Bill has provisions to set up a welfare fund
and a welfare board for the benefit of platform-based gig workers, he
informed the assembly on Wednesday. The Bill contains details about
the registration and duties of platform-based gig workers, aggregators E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @T’Puram mission has become dysfunc-
and primary employers, dispute resolution mechanism for platform- tional in the state. There are
based gig workers, welfare fund and cess, penalties for violation of HOLDING the government re- also arrears to the tune of `221
provisions of the Act and adjudication of offences. sponsible for the fall in prices crore related to debt relief. In
of agricultural products and the agricultural sector, more
the debt liability of farmers, and more farmlands are being
No separate probe Pinarayi declines the Opposition on Wednesday confiscated. Farmers are com-
needed in murder of to reveal names of staged a walkout protesting the mitting suicides. About 30 lakh
Dr Vandana Das: CM Keraleeyam sponsors
denial of permission for their people have been affected by
T’Puram: Expressing satisfaction T’Puram: Chief Minister Pinarayi adjournment motion man-wild animal con-
over the police probe in the Vijayan on Wednesday declined to on the subject. flicts,” Satheesan said.
murder of Dr Vandana Das, Chief divulge the names of sponsors of Leader of Opposition However, Agriculture
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the the Keraleeyam, saying details are V D Satheesan said that Minister P Prasad put
the LDF government is the blame on successive
assembly on Wednesday that not known yet. In addition, the
there was no need for a further government doesn’t have the neglecting the farmer’s Union governments.
investigation by a special squad. details of the fuel expenses issue and the agricul- “The policies of these
He dismissed the demand raised incurred by ministers’ vehicles ture sector. He also al- governments had al-
by MLA Mons Joseph for a during the Nava Kerala Sadas, he leged that the procure- ways created obstacles
separate probe, citing the High told the state assembly during ment of farm produce for the growth of the
Court verdict. “The court has Question Hour. Keraleeyam did had been hit for three years in agriculture sector. The fall in
refused the demand for a CBI not attract as many sponsors as the state while it is increasing the price of natural rubber and
probe after studying the expected, the chief minister said. in Tamil Nadu every year. other products was caused af-
chargesheet and finding nothing Earlier, the government had “The government should in- ter the free trade agreements
amiss in it,” he said. Pinarayi said claimed that the names of crease the procurement rate of and the formulation of export-
that the police gave the sponsors and other details would coconut from `35 per kg to `40. import policies. The free trade
chargesheet within 90 days of the be released within two weeks of The Farmer’s Debt Relief Com- agreements have destroyed the
crime. holding the event. mission had stopped receiving backbone of the agriculture
applications in 2020. The com- sector,” he said.

Party does Mission Belur Makhna postponed amid protest by Wayanad residents
remember EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Kerala-Karnataka border by the tranquilliser shots. The first made to tranquillise the Makhna elephant attack last Saturday. amala church.

Pushpan:
@Mananthavady
THE fourth day’s mission to cap-
Balagopal ture Belur Makhna failed as the
wild elephant moved deep into
the forests.
On Wednesday, the forest offi-
cials received the radio collar
signal of the jumbo, which had
moved to the Nagarahole tiger
reserve region around midnight
on Tuesday, and returned to the
morning.
The team led by North Waya-
nad DFO Martin Lowel, South
Wayanad DFO A Shajna, Waya-
nad Wildlife Warden P Dinesh,
Flying Squad DFO Kozhikode
Imthias A P and Social Forestry
ACF Harilal moved to the place
where the signal was received.
During the search, the elephant
was spotted twice and the veteri-
nary experts were ready to fire
attempt was unsuccessful as the
elephant quickly hid in the
forest. “We tried to shoot
the elephant for the sec-
ond time but it retreated
after the accompanying
elephant charged at the
mission team. The team
ended the mission at dusk.
The mission will continue on
Thursday,” North Wayanad DFO
informed. Several attempts were
by climbing on top of kumki el- After getting information, forest Following the incident, the lo-
ephants and on top of a tree guards reached the spot and cal residents lit torches in Pad-
but all efforts went in started a search. amala to protest against recur-
vain.
Meanwhile, tension
“While going to Padamala
Church, we saw the tiger. The ti-
r i n g w i l d l i f e at t a ck s. “A
torchlight protest was taken out
gripped the area when ger escaped when we shouted from Padamala Church to Ku-
local residents spotted a and cried for help,” said Lissy, rukkanmoola Junction. Despite
tiger near the St Alphon- the local resident who spotted informing the forest department
sa Church in Padamala at the animal. The footage of the that the human - wildlife con-
6.30 am on Wednesday in the tiger jumping across the road flicts have intensified, there was
vicinity of the house of Ajeesh when the woman screamed was no intervention,” said Muku-
Joseph, who was killed in a wild caught on the CCTV of the Pad- ndan, a local resident.

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE EXPRESS READ

@T’Puram
FINANCE Minister K N
Balagopal said on
Wednesday that his par-
ty, the CPM, does re-
member Pushpan, the
DYFI worker who was
paralysed in the 1994
police firing at
Koothuparamba while
protesting against
granting government
quota seats to college
managements.
He was replying to
some opposition mem-
bers’ question, in the
backdrop of the budget
proposal to welcome
foreign universities,
whether the party for-
got Pushpan. “We do re-
member Pushpan. We
all actively participated
in that a gitation,”
Balagopal said.
The minister said the
budget proposal called
for discussions on wel-
Spl court rejects bail
for 12 accused in
2008 blasts case
Considering arguments of the
prosecution that the accused
had committed a heinous
offence involving national
security and integrity, the
Special Court for NIA cases
declined to grant bail to the
12 accused involved in the
2008 Bengaluru serial blast.
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coming foreign univer-

sities. “A policy deci-
sion is yet to be taken.
Education sector needs
discussion and re-
forms,” the minister
said. He said his party
had opposed tractors
and computers 40 years
ago because there were
people who were at the
risk of losing their jobs.
“The situation has
changed now. Young-
sters are going abroad
for education. At least
`30 lakh is spent on a
student’s foreign educa-
tion. The budget pro-
posal is to prevent the
outflow of money,” he
said.
He reminded the op-
position that their late
leader, Oommen Chan-
dy, had inaugurated a
protest against compu-
terisation at the Calicut
University.

06
INDIAN EXPRESS IS NOT AN
INDUSTRY. IT IS A MISSION.
— Ramnath Goenka
PROFILE INDIA’S DISEASE
PREDISPOSITION FOR
EFFECTIVE HEALTHCARE
T
HE Defence Research and Development Organisation will
be signing a memorandum with the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences to prepare a unique weather-suscepti-
bility database. Such a database would be essential for
designing equipment for the armed forces for deployment
in varying weather conditions. While this exercise is defence-
specific, a larger, more challenging one to map a disease predis-
position profile of the entire Indian population is an urgent
need. Such profiling would go a long way in improving health-
care delivery through evolved protocols for a more effective
disease management. Disease predisposition mapping would
help in understanding which sections of the population in
which regions are more prone to what diseases. As a part of the
exercise, genetic studies would also reveal their likely predispo-
sition to cardiovascular diseases, cancers and diabetes.
This would allow for better planning to assign and distribute
the health apparatus for quicker treatment protocols. Comple-
mented by the telemedicine network—which developed after
the Indian Space Research Organisation deployed the first na-
tionwide satellite-based service in 2001 to take digital health-
care to all corners of the country—one can assess the future
improvement in healthcare services. While disease-specific
mapping among sections of the population has been done over
the years, a countrywide exercise to understand the degree of
predisposition to communicable and non-communicable dis-
eases has not been done.
Non-communicable diseases have emerged as the leading
cause of death in India. At least 60 percent of all deaths in the
country are caused by non-communicable diseases; among them,
80 percent are caused by just four—cancer, cardiovascular dis-
ease, chronic pulmonary disease and diabetes. A pre-Covid sur-
vey found that inactive lifestyles and questionable diet trends
had rendered up to 61 percent of Indian women and about 47
percent of Indian men unhealthy. A range of diseases—both
communicable and non-communicable—can be brought under
the scanner if people’s predisposition in various regions is pro-
filed by taking into consideration their genetics, immunity, life-
style, diet, water quality and exposure to air pollution. Health-
care of the people is as crucial as—if not more—the defence of
the land. The government’s vision for a Viksit Bharat cannot be
complete without it. A thorough disease predisposition scan
would be the first step towards it.
KARNATAKA NEEDS TO
PLUG REVENUE LEAKS
A
S Karnataka looks forward to Budget 2024-25—Chief Min-
ister Siddaramaiah’s record 15th budget—it can expect the
guarantee schemes to go into their second year. The guar-
antees cost the exchequer about `60,000 crore a year and
benefit approximately 1.30 crore families—at an average
payout of `4,000 a month. Fulfilling the promise is no mean task
and the government has been mopping up resources from all sec-
tors. It increased the excise and stamp duties and is looking at new
avenues to fuel its schemes. Property tax from Bengaluru citizens
is a big source and the Bengaluru Bruhat Mahanagara Palike
(BBMP) has been directed to ensure that all defaulters pay up,
along with arrears and interest. Having a tax collection target of
`4,412 crore for 2023-24, an increase of around 50 percent over last
year, BBMP began its collection drive last year. It has issued no-
tices for 46,318 properties since November 2023, sealed over 10,603
shops and commercial establishments in the past six months, fro-
zen bank accounts and is now impounding defaulters’ vehicles.
The drive has run into controversy, with citizens rushing to
the high court to protest against the tax demand notices and stop
drastic measures, complaining that the tax tabulations are ‘un-
scientific’ and high. The court has provided temporary relief,
ordering BBMP to de-seal properties and conduct a fresh inspec-
tion. The opposition BJP has seized the moment and warned of
a protest across Bengaluru if BBMP fails to stop harassment of
citizens. Under pressure, the government is mulling reducing
penalties and giving citizens more time to pay up. Such a tax
drive was much needed for the city: many citizens undervalue
their properties, paying lower taxes by registering their proper-
ties as residential units, but renting them for commercial use;
and they still expect world-class infrastructure.
In its first year in office, the government has implemented its
guarantee schemes with success, but has little to show by way
of development, which is suffering due to lack of funds. Already
handicapped with a central tourniquet on its fund flow, the Sid-
daramaiah government cannot afford to ignore development at
the cost of populist schemes, nor can it go back on its guaran-
tees. As a new fiscal year begins, it must look at plugging reve-
nue leaks, weeding out fake beneficiaries and reclaiming gov-
ernment properties to bulk up its kitty and keep its boat afloat.
Q U I C K TA K E
PROMOTE RESISTANT SEEDS
M
ETEOROLOGISTS have spelt out the trouble in store for
Indian farmers this year. El Niño, the disruptive weather
formation that brought us a warmer 2023, is expected to
continue till June 2024. This is likely to put India’s wheat crop
in peril. Many institutes under the Indian Council of Agricul-
tural Research, including the Institute of Wheat and Barley
Research at Karnal, have been producing seeds that can with-
stand weather’s vagaries. But their use has been patchy. It is time
for a nationwide exercise to promote the seeds of the future. Our
food security depends on it.
Kozhikode. Vol. 34, No.39. RNI Reg. No. 55101/1992. Phone: 0495-2381616, Fax: 0495-2381247. * Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act. Copyright: Express Publications (Madurai) Private Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024
� �
Y
EAR 2024 is important for In-
dia—the country is headed for
general elections. In the course
of 2024-29, the term of the new
government, India will cross the
GDP threshold of $5 trillion and
become the third largest econo-
my in the world. Indeed, India will ap-
proach a GDP of $7 trillion. This year, be-
ing roughly half-way between 2000 and
2047, is a convenient point to take stock
about the future trajectory.
By the time the new government’s term
ends, the world will also be approaching
the deadline for the Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals or SDGs. Most countries have
slipped from those the targets, though In-
dia has slipped less than others. Growth
is correlated with improvements in social
sector indicators. In the medium term,
what growth trajectory is India on? a)
5.5-6 percent; b) 6.5-7 percent; or c) 7.5-8
percent. The differences between a, b and
c blow up exponentially.
Any projection requires a set of as-
sumptions—real growth rate, inflation,
rate of population growth, total factor pro-
ductivity increases and the rupee-dollar
exchange rate. For instance, before Covid,
the Economic Survey for 2018-19 stated,
“Given 4 percent inflation, as the Mone-
tary Policy Framework specified by the
government for the Reserve Bank of In-
dia, this requires a real annual GDP
growth of 8 per cent.”
A more recent report by SBI Research
states, “The path taken since 2014 reveals
that India is likely to get the tag of the 3rd
largest economy in 2027 (or 2027-28)…. At
this rate, India is likely to add $0.75 trillion
every 2 years, implying that India is all set
to touch $20 trillion by 2047, at least on cur-
rent numbers. Behind this surge, India
needs to grow at a CAGR of 8.4 percent till
2027 (in dollar terms). This translates into
11.0-11.5 percent nominal GDP growth per
annum (in rupee terms), which is eminent-
ly achievable with a 6.5-7 percent growth
rate.” This doesn’t state the per capita in-
come in 2047 directly. But with a projected
population of 1.7 billion in 2047, one can
deduce that the per capita income would
be short of $12,000.
In contrast, there is a study done by
Ernst and Young in March 2023, which
states: “In the most preferred scenario, In-
dia is likely to cross the critical thresholds
of $5, $10 and $20 trillion in market ex-
change rate terms in 2027-28, 2035-36 and
2044-45, respectively…. India’s per capita
income in market exchange rate terms is
expected to cross $13,000 by 2044-45, putting
SOLUTIONS FOR A PROGRESSIVE
PRISON SYSTEM IN INDIA
F
OR a society built upon the prin-
ciples of justice and human
rights, the treatment of prison-
ers becomes a critical measure
of its commitment to these val-
ues. Like other human beings,
prisoners are also entitled to
rights, but their rights are frequently
infringed upon.
A recent Supreme Court intervention
addresses the substandard treatment of
prisoners, emphasising their entitle-
ment to the fundamental rights despite
incarceration. Prisoners, recognised as
humans with constitutional rights, retain
these entitlements even during confine-
ment, as established in State of Andhra
Pradesh vs Challa Ramkrishna Reddy.
The Supreme Court has underscored that
the prisoners, whether convicts, undertri-
als, or detainees, maintain their human-
ity and constitutional rights, including
the right to life, throughout their incar-
ceration. The prison system in India faces
multiple hindrances in ensuring these
rights are not infringed upon.
One of the issues is overcrowding. Prison
congestion, notably among undertrials, is a
significant issue in India. Data from 2021
shows a 9.5 percent drop in the number of
convicts housed in prisons, but a substantial
45.8 percent rise in the number of undertri-
als from 2016 to 2021. This is a cause for con-
cern. President Draupadi Murmu stressed
during her National Law Day address that
building more prisons isn’t a sustainable so-
lution. The Chief Justice of India also pro-
posed a one-time prisoner release for decon-
gestion and urged collaborative efforts
between the judiciary, government, and law
enforcement to reduce court backlogs and
adjournment practices.
While fast-track courts aim to expedite
proceedings, addressing the prevalent ad-
journment culture is vital for enhancing
efficiency of the criminal justice system. To
address the issue of overcrowding among
undertrials, another solution is the provi-
sion of anticipatory bail.
Another significant challenge is the short-
age of prison staff. Despite a sanctioned
staff strength of around 91,181, the current
strength stands around 63,578. This shortfall
complicates the task of effective manage-
ment, often resulting in the neglect of cru-
cial aspects like the mental health of prison-
ers and ensuring that they are housed under
humane conditions. The deaths of 1,995 pris-
oners in judicial custody during 2022, with
159 attributed to unnatural causes, high-
lights the need to increase the manpower.
Recommendations of the Mulla Commit-
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Chairman of the Board: Manoj Kumar Sonthalia Editor: Santwana Bhattacharya
Resident Editor (Kerala): Kiran Prakash* Printed and Published by R K Jhunjhunwala on behalf of Express Publications (Madurai) Private Limited at Express Press, East Hill Road, Kozhikode-673005.
While parsing through growth projections, we need to look
closer at a number of underlying factors. One of them is
the heterogeneous growth among our states
WHEN STATES
PROSPER, SO
DOES THE UNION
BIBEK DEBROY
it in the ranks of developed economies... As
per the most preferred scenario, India’s
real GDP is projected to grow in the 6-6.4
percent range over the period 2022-23 to
2047-48, although with a moderating dec-
adal growth profile... The projected GDP in
$ trillion terms shows an average annual
growth of close to 8.4 percent over the fore-
cast period (2022-23 to 2047-48).”
When thinking about such projections, it
is important to bear in mind an obvious
point. These terminal goals are in current
US dollars, not constant US dollars. In con-
stant US dollars, a goal may seem impossi-
ble. In current US dollars, it is achievable.
In principle, differences in projections
can arise from different assumptions
HASAN MOHAMMED
JINNAH
tee dating back to 1980, such as implement-
ing alternative sentencing like community
service and establishing a national prison
policy, remain unfulfilled.
Budget utilisation is another area of con-
cern. Prison authorities spend an average of
`10,474 per inmate annually, covering food,
clothing, medical expenses, education and
welfare. Despite a budget of `6,818 crore,
only `5,958 crore was spent in 2019-20 on
AFP
India’s prisons are overcrowded
and understaffed. Ensuring
prisoners’ rights and providing
them with a transformational
environment would require the
smart use of technology and
full use of the allocated budgets
prison services, leading to shortages of med-
ical staff, particularly mental health profes-
sionals. This underuse underscores the
pressing need for reforms. Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh have shown
a comparatively greater investment in pris-
oners’ welfare. This commitment has led to
the vocational training of inmates, resulting
in the production of goods to be sold in the
market. Tamil Nadu has reported the high-
est sales of goods made by inmates.
Furlough for prisoners aims to strengthen
family bonds and mitigate the negative im-
pacts of long-term incarceration. Despite the
absence of specific provisions in the Prisons
Act of 1894, Section 59 of the Act empowers
states to formulate rules for parole and re-
wards for good behaviour. However, superin-
tendents often fail to grant emergency leaves
for significant life events. The case of Me-
hraj vs the State of Tamil Nadu deliberated
on the provision of granting leave for emer-
gencies and conjugal rights. The court di-
He who can listen to the music
in the midst of noise can
achieve great things
Chairman, Economic Advisory Council
to the Prime Minister
SOURAV ROY
about the inflation rate, which is unlikely
since the RBI has a tolerance band of 4-6
percent. They can arise from differing ex-
change rate assumptions, factoring in
total productivity changes. They can
arise from differing assumptions about
population growth. But more often than
not, they arise from different projections
about the real rate of growth. A differ-
ence between 6 percent and 6.5 percent
may seem to be that of a mere half a per-
centage point, but that difference blows
up over time. As an economy grows, the
rate of growth slows over time.
India’s growth is an aggregate of growth
delivered by its states. The combined state
GDP or GSDP roughly accounts for 97 per-
Tamil Nadu State Public Prosecutor
rected the formation of a committee, which
proposed an amendment to Section 15 of the
Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982, recommending
the temporary release of detenus based on
humanitarian considerations.
Adoption of technology is also important.
Artificial intelligence start-ups employ fa-
cial biometrics to conduct tests on Indian
faces. The integration of this biometric iden-
tification system with criminal justice de-
partments aims to enhance efficiency and
coordination. The Supreme Court is setting
up an integrated criminal justice system that
will link the police, courts, and prisons on
one platform to facilitate real-time informa-
tion exchange, including FASTER (Fast and
Secure Transmission of Electronic Records),
a new electronic system to transfer e-authen-
ticated copies of bail orders to prisons to en-
able faster release of undertrials.
The Madras High Court has implemented
an E-Bail Module to expedite the bail process
from the application stage. The Indian gov-
ernment is also working to enhance the cohe-
sion of the criminal justice system through
the implementation of e-prison initiatives
under the Model Prison Act of 2023.
Healthcare is another area where the use
of technology can significantly enhance the
well-being of the incarcerated. Implement-
ing video-based telehealth consultations can
streamline healthcare services, cutting costs
by eliminating the requirement of a large
medical workforce while providing real-
time diagnoses by trained professionals.
AI can be used to monitor inmates. For
example, the Uttar Pradesh Police uses
JARVIS (Joint AI Research for Video In-
stances and Streams), an AI-powered audio
and video analytics platform, for monitor-
ing inmates. AI-based video analysis also
streamlines parole processes by analysing
prisoner conduct, potentially reducing over-
crowding. Electronic ankle tags can further
help monitor prisoner movements.
Correctional facilities must ensure the
growth and transformation of the prisoners
so that they can reintegrate smoothly into
the society once released. Providing ample
educational opportunities—as shown by
Tamil Nadu, where elementary and higher
education is offered to of inmates—is essen-
tial for preparing them for a successful reen-
try into society. (Views are personal)
Vikram
Sarabhai
cent of India’s GDP. No reliable estimates
exist for a state’s income, as opposed to
GSDP. This can make a difference in states
with substantial net out-migration. GSDP
growth rates can be volatile. Over time, they
need to be smoothened out and the results
are function of the time period.
Consider real GSDP growth rates for
2012-2022, where aggregate growth for In-
dia was 6 percent. The states fall in neat
buckets: 10 percent plus: Mizoram; 8 per-
cent plus: Gujarat; 7 percent plus: Tripura,
Karnataka; 6 percent plus: Haryana, Mad-
hya Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Andhra
Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Andaman &
Nicobar, Arunachal, Tamil Nadu; 5 per-
cent plus: Delhi, Himachal, Chhattisgarh,
Rajasthan, Puducherry, Uttarakhand, Ut-
tar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chandi-
garh, Punjab; 4 percent plus: Jammu &
Kashmir, Manipur, Maharashtra, Kerala,
West Bengal, Nagaland; 3 percent plus:
Goa; and 2 percent plus: Meghalaya.
Hence, to move from one growth trajec-
tory to another, the performance of many
states will have to improve. This is in terms
of growth rates. Since states vary in size,
all states are not equally important in con-
tributing to India’s GDP. In descending or-
der of importance, the major ones are Ma-
harashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh,
Karnataka and Gujarat. These five states
account for 47 percent of India’s GDP. Mi-
zoram, growing at 10 percent plus, has a
relatively low impact, compared to West
Bengal growing at 4 percent plus.
Heterogeneity among states comes
across in a host of other indicators. First,
in achieving the SDGs, there is a differ-
ence between Kerala and Himachal at
the top, and Jharkhand and Bihar at the
bottom. Second, states differ in multi-di-
mensional poverty and the extent to
which there has been a decline. Third,
the commerce ministry has a LEADS re-
port that measures logistics ease across
states. Fourth, the department for pro-
motion of industry and internal trade
gauges states on their business reform
action plans. Fifth, the NITI Aayog has
an export preparedness index for states.
Most exports originate in Gujarat, Ma-
harashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
UP. In rankings, the coastal states of
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka
and Gujarat do well. But among the larg-
er states, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhat-
tisgarh lag behind.
It only goes on to underline that India is
a Union of states. When they prosper, the
nation does. (Views are personal)
(bibek.debroy@gov.in)
Vexed vets
Ref: Odisha vet strike needs govt intervention
(Feb 14). The unavailability of doctors at
veterinary clinics in Odisha is concerning. In
the absence of medical care, 9,000 animals are
reported to have died and many more could
die. The government should take measures
to ensure that animals are given the care
they need even during the strike.
Sharon Junita, Bengaluru
Revive KSRTC
Ref: Promote public transport in Kerala for
equitable mobility (Feb 14). For long, Kerala
governments have ignored the Kerala State
Road Transport Corporation or KSRTC. There
have been protests by KSRTC staff over salary.
The buses are also in poor condition. The
government should take steps to revive
the service and increase its frequency at a
time when the number of private
vehicles is booming.
V K S Krishnan, Kumbakonam
Transport plan
Ref: Promote public transport in Kerala for
equitable mobility (Feb 14). The number
of private vehicles on Kerala’s roads is
high, leading to traffic snarls that eat into
productive working hours. There is also the
issue of pollution. The state government
must improve public transport services and
create awareness among the public regarding
the benefits of using it.
Dharmarajan A K, Thalassery
Farm politics
The Congress is backing the ‘Delhi Chalo’
march by farmer unions to gain votes.
If they are concerned about the plight of
farmers, they should implement measures
that support farmers in the states where
they are in power. The three farm laws that
were repealed in 2021 would have brought
enormous benefits to the farmers.
K R Venkata Narasimhan, Madurai
Soften stance
Unfortunately, the police in BJP-ruled Haryana
used tear gas and water cannons on protesting
farmers. With opposition unity in tatters, the
BJP is confident of keeping power. However,
such a brutal crackdown was unwarranted.
The government should soften its stance and
pursue another round of talks with farmers.
K S Sundaram, Coimbatore
Sorting seats
Ref: Just one seat, Cong doesn’t even deserve
it in Delhi: AAP (Feb 14). The INDIA bloc’s
unity has suffered yet another jolt with the
Aam Aadmi Party offering just one seat to
the Congress in Delhi. With only a couple of
months left for the Lok Sabha elections, the
Congress has its back against the wall.
S Sankaranarayanan, Chennai
 Jyotiraditya M Scindia @JM_Scindia
POSTS
In 2004, Dehradun was connected to only 3 cities, it
OF THE is 13 cities today. In 2014, there were 46 flights oper-
DAY ating from Dehradun, it is around 200 flights today.
Subramanian Swamy @Swamy39 Mahua Moitra @MahuaMoitra
Is Modi govt using drones against the protesting Taxpayers’ money spent on military-grade drone technology
Punjab farmers? If so then it will imply violation should be used to stop Chinese from coming into Galwan. Not
of UN Human Rights Charter. for domestic policing to stop our farmers coming to Delhi.

07 KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024

� �

No room for corruption in India: PM Umar Khalid withdraws bail

At World Governments’ Summit in UAE, Modi spoke about India’s transformative reforms
Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi
THE Indian government does
not discriminate against any-
one and has no room for cor-
ruption, Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi said in Abu Dhabi on
Wednesday.
The Prime Minister was de-
livering the keynote address at
the World Government’s Sum-
mit where he was invited as the
guest of honour.
Earlier, in 2018 too, Modi was
invited as a chief guest for the
same summit.
Crown prince of Dubai,
Sheikh Hamdan bin Moham-
med, warmly greeted the PM
upon his arrival.
“We extend a warm welcome
to the Republic of India and the
guest of honour of this year’s
World Governments Summit
(WGS), PM Modi. The strong
ties between our nations serve
as a model for international co-
operation. T he WGS has
evolved into one of the world’s
leading platforms for sharing
governance best practices, suc-
cess stories and initiatives and
envisioning the future of the
government. It is a pleasure to
have India as a distinguished
guest at this international
event, where it will showcase
its innovations, initiatives and
projects across diverse sectors
that are a model for accelerat-
ing development for govern-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum during a meeting in Dubai on Wednesday | PTI
ment service delivery,” Sheikh
Hamdan bin Mohammed said.
This time, the summit wit-
nessed participation of 20
world leaders, including ten
presidents and as many prime
ministers. Governments and
delegates from over 120 coun-
tries were represented at the
global gathering.
Modi spoke about India’s
transformative reforms based
on the mantra of ‘Minimum
Government, Maximum Gov-
ernance’. He shared how India
had leveraged digital technol-
o g y t o f u r t h e r we l f a r e,
inclusivity and sustainability.
Besides calling for a human-
centric approach to govern-
ance, the Prime Minister also
underlined India’s focus on
people’s participation, last-
mile-delivery and women-led
development to achieve an in-
clusive society.
He said that given the inter-
connected nature of the world,
governments must collaborate
and learn from each other to
address future challenges.
Earlier, Modi met Sheikh Mo-
hamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice-President, Prime Minister,
Defence Minister and the Ruler
of Dubai. The two leaders held
discussions on a wide range of
areas of bilateral cooperation,
including trade, investment,
technology and education.
‘Modi always
plea in SC, to move trial court
ensured safety of SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi
Indians abroad’
FORMER JNU scholar and ac-
tivist Umar Khalid, who is
jailed in connection with the
E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi February 2020 Northeast Delhi
riots case, withdrew his bail
PRIME Minister Narendra
Modi has always taken the ini-
plea application from the top
court on Wednesday.
tiative and spoken to leaders of A two-judge bench headed by
other countries to ensure the Justice Bela M Trivedi and also
safety of Indian nationals comprising of Pankaj Muthal
abroad, foreign secretary Vinay allowed him to withdraw the
Kwatra said on Wednesday. bail petition.
Responding to questions on Senior advocate Kapil Sibal,
the release of eight Indian appearing for Khalid, told the
Navy veterans, facing death top court that the petition is be-
row in Qatar, Kwatra said ing withdrawn due to an inevi-
whenever the Indian commu- table “change in
nity had faced problems, the circumstances”.
Prime Minister and his person- “We will try our luck in the
al initiatives ensured that they trial court now,” Sibal submit-
were brought back to India. ted to the court.
“This is direct evidence of Notably, even after around 15
the sensitive approach the adjournments in the case for
Prime Minister adopts to ad- several months, Khalid could
dress the problems faced by the not get relief from the Supreme
Indian community,” Kwatra Court. The social activist has
said during a briefing on the been in jail since his arrest by
PM’s visit to the UAE. the Delhi Police on September
The foreign secretary said 14, 2020.
that over the past 10 years, He was booked under the
whenever Indian nationals stringent UAPA (Unlawful Ac-
have faced problems, it was not tivities Prevention Act) for his
just a question of the Ministry alleged involvement in a larger
of External Affairs but the conspiracy behind the Delhi ri-
whole of government approach ots. However, Khalid has denied
has been adopted to ensure the charges and claimed inno-
their safety. cence in the case.
ALSO IN TOP COURT
SC: Check if Sterlite
plant can open again
The top court on Wednesday
enquired if a committee of
experts can be constituted to
inspect if Vedanta’s Sterlite
Copper plant at Thoothukudi
can be reopened with
stringent conditions in
place. The bench
said “a way
forward” must be
found so that the
country doesn’t
lose the “asset.”
Khalid had approached the
apex court challenging an Octo-
ber 2022 Delhi High Court ver-
dict that denied him bail.
The Delhi Police arrested
him in September 2020 for his
alleged role in the communal
violence in the national
capital.
The accused had initially, in
the Delhi High Court, sought
bail on the grounds that he nei-
ther had any “criminal role” in
the violence in the city’s north-
east area nor any “conspirato-
rial connection” with any other
accused in the case. The Delhi
police had opposed the bail plea
of Khalid in the high court.
SC Collegium
recommends
transfer of
three HC judges
SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi
THE Supreme Court collegium
has recommended the transfer
of three high court judges —
Calcutta HC’s Justice Moushu-
mi Bhattacharya, Kerala HC’s
Justice Anu Sivaraman and
Madhya Pradesh HC’s Justice
Sujoy Paul.
Justice Sivaraman had, on
October 16 last year, requested
a transfer out of Kerala. The
collegium accepted the request
and suggested her transfer to
the Karnataka High Court.
Justice Bhattacharya had
also sought a transfer citing
personal reasons. She was rec-
ommended to be transferred to
the Telangana High Court.
The collegium has also rec-
ommended transfer of Madhya
Pradesh HC judge Justice Su-
joy Paul to Telangana High
Court. Justice Paul had sought
a transfer on the ground that
his son is practicing in the High
Court of Madhya Pradesh.

Canada among 51 nations Nadda & Vaishnaw among 3 BJP MPs JD(U) fields Sanjay Jha,
to join 9-day Navy drill renominated for RS; rest set for LS polls NCP Praful Patel for
‘Milan’ beginning Feb 19 Feb 27 Rajya Sabha polls
R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi

THE BJP on Wednesday re-

M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi participate in the exercise. nominated its three prominent P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi sociate and former minister
Eastern Naval Command leaders — Union ministers Sanjay Jha’s candidature.
EVEN as India and Canada Chief of Staff Officer (Opera- Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Mu- WITH the deadline for filing The ruling BJD in Odisha an-
grapple with their deteriorat- tions) Rear Admiral Shantanu rugan and party chief JP nomination to the Rajya Sabha nounced its support to BJP’s
ing diplomatic relations, the Jha said the exercise will be Nadda, among 14 candidates, elections ending on February Ashwini Vaishnaw. On Tues-
Justin Trudeau government held in two phases involving for the Rajya Sabha polls. 15, most political parties are day, two BJD candidates De-
will send its naval delegation harbour and sea. The harbour Among the 14 party candi- preparing to announce the full bashish Samantaray and Sub-
headed by a commander for the phase will be conducted from dates for the biennial Rajya list of candidates. hasish Khuntia filed their
nine-day multination- February 19-23 and the Sabha elections, the prominent JP Nadda, Ashwini Vaishnaw, L Murugan, Govindbhai Dholakia As many as 56 members of nominations, while the party
al maritime exercise participants would ex- names are Vaishnaw (Odisha), the House from 15 states are re- had kept the third seat vacant.
‘Milan 2024’ to be held change expertise on Nadda (Gujarat), Murugan Dr L Murugan, Umesh Nath Himachal Pradesh but the BJP tiring in April and the elections Early this week, the Trina-
off the Visakhapat- subject matters. They (MP) and Ashok Chavan, who Mahraj, Maya Naroliya and had to re-nominate him from are scheduled to be held on Feb- mool Congress (TMC) an-
nam coast from Febru- will also witness the joined the saffron camp on Bansilal Gurjar were nominat- Gujarat because it did not have ruary 27. nounced 4 candidates, includ-
ary 19. The exercise will dee p submergence Tuesday, from Maharashtra The results will be announced
ed from Madhya Pradesh, sufficient number of votes in ing journalist Sagarika Ghose,
witness a series of
Indian Navy’s Depu- events, including
rescue vehicle demon- and Govindbhai Dholakia, where the saffron party re- Himachal. This would be his the same day. Sushmita Dev, former Lok
ty Chief Vice-Admiral an international stration and also hold who donated `11 crore to the tained power in the recent as- the third RS term in a row. While the Congress Sabha MP Mamata Bala
Tarun Sobti on maritime bilateral meetings. construction of the Ram Tem- sembly elections. Many senior BJP leaders, has named all ten can- Thakur and sitting Ra-
Wednesday said Milan exposition, a “The sea phase will ple in Ayodhya. Speculation was rife about whose names were expected in didates, including vet- jya Sabha MP Nadimul
2024 is a major endeav- maritime be held from February The biennial elections to fill the railway minister and the the list for Rajya Sabha polls, eran leader Sonia Gan- Haque.
our to get together technical 24-27 in the Bay Ben- 56 seats in Rajya Sabha will be BJP chief (whose RS terms missed it. Union ministers and dhi, from Rajasthan, On Tuesday, the SP
friendly foreign coun- exhibition, a city gal with participation held on February 27 and last will end this month and next) outgoing RS members Mansu- BJP has nominated 28 announced the candida-
tries from across the parade... of 35 warships and date for filing nominations is that they would be fielded for kh Mandaviya and Parshottam so far. ture of former MP Ram
globe for a major mar- Vice-Admiral Tarun submarines with 50 on February 15. Lok Sabha seats either from Rupala, both from Gujarat, In politically significant Ji Lal Suman, former bu-
itime activity. He said Sobti, Deputy Chief of aircraft,” Jha said. As per the second official Odisha and Himachal Pradesh, and Narayan Rane from Ma- Bihar, the RJD on Wednesday reaucrat Alok Ranjan, and
51 countries will par- Indian Navy The exercise holds party list, Nadda, who was ear- respectively. At present, Nadda h a r a s h t r a h ave n’ t b e e n named party’s national spokes- renominated actor Jaya Bach-
ticipate in the event. significance in the lier nominated to RS from his is a Rajya Sabha member from renominated. person Manoj Kumar Jha and chan from Uttar Pradesh for
While delegation- backdrop of major ge- home state Himachal Pradesh, Sanjay Yadav. the polls.
level participation is confirmed opolitical tensions along with Dholakia, Myankbhai Nayak A statement issued by the In Andhra Pradesh, YSR
from more than 30 countries, 15 drone attacks and hijack inci- and Dr Jashvantsinh Salam-
SHASTRI’S GRANDSON QUITS CONG, JOINS BJP party said that RJD chief Lalu Congress Party fielded YV Sub-
others are sending their war- dents in Red Sea. sinh Parmar from Gujarat, Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s grandson Vibhakar Prasad finalised the list of can- ba Reddy, G Babu Rao and M
ships for the exercise. The “The exercise will witness a and Ashok Chavan, Medha Shastri on Wednesday joined the BJP and announced leaving the didates. While Yadav will be Raghunadha Reddy.
French Navy will come with an series of events, including an Kulkarni and Dr Ajit Gopch- Congress. Vibhakar Shastri joined the BJP in Lucknow in the contesting for the first time, for The term for Rajya Sabha
aircraft, Sobti said. international maritime exposi- hade from Maharashtra have presence of party state president Bhupinder Singh and Deputy Jha, it will be his second con- MPs is six years and the Rajya
From the Indian side, nearly tion, a maritime technical exhi- been fielded. In the first list, Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak. Vibhakar Shastri had secutive term. Sabha has a total of 245 mem-
20 ships, including aircraft car- bition, a city parade, and inter- the BJP re-nominated unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha polls in the past from The JD(U) had earlier an- bers at present. Elections are
riers Vikrant and Vikramadit- actions with junior officers,” Vaishnaw with the support of Fatehpur Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. nounced the then Chief Minis- held after every two years for 33
ya, and nearly 50 aircraft will Sobti said. ruling BJD from Odisha while ter Nitish Kumar’s trusted as- per cent of the seats.

DoPT report says 10,732 cases pending in courts

Safe food at workplace: FSSAI certifies
FIRs in all cases re-registered by Central agency

Investigation of 1,025 CBI Manipur strife: NIA takes 500 hospitals as ‘Eat Right Campuses’
cases pending, shows data over probe into six cases
M U K E S H R A N JA N @ New Delhi
A TOTAL 1,025 cases — includ-
ing 943 FIRs and 82 Preliminary
Enquiries (PE) are pending
with the Central Bureau of In-
vestigation since periods rang-
ing from three months to more
than one year, the Department
of Personnel and Training
(DoPT) has revealed in its an-
nual report for 2022-23.
“Other than the 1,025 cases,
23 Lokpal references were also
pending by the end of the year.
Out of the 943 regular cases, 447
were pending under investiga-
tion for more than one year.
Similarly, out of 82 preliminary
enquiries, 60 were pending un-
der enquiry for more than three
months,” the report revealed.
The report has also stated
that in cases where the investi-
gation has been completed,
10,732 cases were pending un-
der trial in various courts by
the end of the year.
The DoPT, in its report, also
mentioned that during the year
2022, courts had delivered judge-
ments in 557 CBI cases. “Out of
Probing on directions
The CBI registered 946 cases in
2022. “Out of these, 107 cases
were taken up on the directions of
the constitutional courts and 30
cases on the requests of states
and Union Territories. Twenty
eight references came from
Lokpal,” the annual report of
DoPT stated.
these, 364 cases resulted in con-
viction, 111 in acquittal, 13
in discharge and 69 cases
were disposed of for oth-
er reasons. The convic-
SECURITY
MATTERS
tion rate was 74.59 per
cent,” it said.
The CBI registers crimi-
nal cases on the basis of refer-
ences received from govern-
ment departments, statutory
authorities, constitutional
courts and references received
from states, as well as its own
information.
However, the CBI is not the
first responder and has limited
resources. So, due care is taken
to ensure that only good cases
are registered, officials said.
K AV I TA BA J E L I - DAT T @ New Delhi UP tops the list Hospital in Darjeeling, West
Bengal, District Women’s Hos-
According to officials, Uttar
MHA M U K E S H R A N JA N @ New Delhi MORE than 500 hospitals and pital in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Pradesh has the highest number
issued medical colleges in the country, and more than 50 district hospi-
of certified hospitals at 162. It is
directions THE National Investigation Agency (NIA) has mostly private, have been certi- tals in the country. “This repre-
taken over six different cases of violence in fied as ‘Eat Right Campus’ by followed by Tamil Nadu at 75. The sents the commitment towards
The anti-terror other states are Maharashtra
the ethnic strife-torn Manipur following di- the Food Safety and Standards food safety across diverse geog-
probe agency (52), West Bengal (39) and
rections from the Union Ministry of Home Af- Authority of India (FSSAI). raphies,” the statement said.
has taken over Madhya Pradesh (35).
fairs last week. The initiative focuses on cre- FSSAI has established rigor-
investigation
The anti-terror probe agency has also re- ating safe, healthy and sustain- ous criteria and a comprehen-
into the six
registered as many FIRs under various sec- able food environments within hospitals. “This widespread sive evaluation process for the
cases following
tions of Indian Penal Code for further inves- various institutions and work- adoption of the “Eat Right ‘Eat Right Campus’ certifica-
directions from
tigation, officials said on Wednesday. places, including hospitals as Campus” initiative demon- tion programme under Eat
the Union
The cases include the assassination of part of FSSAI’s ‘Eat Right In- strates the collective commit- Right India movement, which
Ministry of
Moreh SDPO Chingtham Anandkumar on Oc- dia’ movement. ment of hospitals toward en- was started in 2019 as a large-
Home Affairs
tober 31, 2023 and the murder of four Meitei According to officials, Uttar hanced food safety and scale effort to transform the
last week
civilians by Kuki militants at Ningthoukhong Pradesh has the highest sustainable practices for the country’s food ecosystem to en-
Kha Khunou on January 18, 2024. number of certified hospitals well-being of their staff and sure safe, healthy and sustain-
Besides these two prominent cases, the NIA at 162. It is followed by Tamil visitors,” said officials. able food for all Indians.
Major
re-registered a case on the basis of an FIR reg- Nadu at 75. The other states are Leading the change Hospitals undergo
cases
istered at Moreh police station in connection Maharashtra (52), West Bengal are institutions like thorough audits to en-
probed
with an attack on the IRB post at Moreh and (39) and Madhya Pradesh (35). SNM Hospital Leh, sure compliance with
Two prominent at Moreh Bazar area on January 17, 2024 by According to officials, the Bangalore Baptist Hos- four key parameters,
cases are the heavily armed Kuki militants using bombs achievement signifies a para- pital, Mumbai’s Breach which include food
assassination and bullets. A policeman was killed and six digm shift within the health- Candy Hospital and safety measures, steps
of Moreh SDPO other security personnel had sustained inju- care industry, which is priori- Tata Memorial Hospital, to ensure the provision of
Chingtham ries in the incident, they said. tising not just medical care but which have embraced the ini- healthy food and efforts to raise
Anandkumar The other cases that were re-registered by also recognising the crucial tiative, the officials added. awareness among individuals.
on October 31, the NIA relate to the FIRs lodged at Porompat role of healthy food choices in In Delhi, hospitals like Fortis FSSAI, spearheading the na-
2023 and the police station and Imphal police station in promoting well-being of staff Hospital, BLK Max Hospital tionwide ‘Eat Right India’
murder of four connection with a firing incident and the al- and visitors. and Lok Nayak Hospital have movement, is making signifi-
Meitei civilians leged attack by unknown persons on the north Among these certified hospi- been certified. cant strides in promoting
on January 18, western gate of the First Manipur Rifles on tals and medical colleges, as The other hospitals that have healthy eating habits among
2024. November 1, 2023. many as 100 are government been certified are Kalimpong workplaces.
 INDIA Max Min Max Min

2
Ahmedabad 31 20 Mumbai 33 24
P L A N TAT I O N Bhopal 26 14 Panaji 33 23
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday Jaipur 26 13 Patna 24 16
Amritsar 21 07 Lucknow 23 12
said bamboo cultivation could help in tackling the Chennai 29 25 Port Blair 31 26
challenge of pollution and climate change, and appealed
TRIBALS
BEATEN UP IN SEPARATE Kolkata 28 19 Imphal 24 12
to farmers to form dedicated clusters. INCIDENTS IN MP Srinagar 08 -03 Chandigarh 22 10

08 KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024

� �

Mann govt objects to ‘intrusion,’ Khattar admin says cops acted when pelted with stones Congress expresses solidarity with protestors

Punjab, Haryana agree to Rahul dials injured farmer,

disagree on use of drones BJP says don’t be misled
H A R P R E E T BA J WA @ Chandigarh
A day after Haryana Police
used drones to rain down tear-
gas shells on protesting farm-
ers at Shambhu border, AAP-
led Punjab government has
objected to such measures,
raising jurisdictional issues.
In a letter to his Haryana
counterpart in Ambala, Patia-
la de puty commissioner
Showkat Ahmed Parray has
asked Shaleen to restrict such
measures within the Haryana
territory. Parray said the au-
thorities in the BJP-ruled Har-
yana fell in line after he took
up the matter, restricting the
drone movement along the bor-
der. Parry said he has conveyed
his objection to the Ambala
Senior Superintendent of Po-
lice as well. Sources said the
DC Amabla was analyzing the
Parray’s information.
Farmers claimed drones
dropped several teargas canis-
ters on them when they were
standing well inside the Pun-
jab territory. The Haryana Po-
lice maintains the measure
was taken after their person-
nel were pelted with stones by
the protestors.
Meanwhile, Haryana Home
Minister Anil Vij expressed his
surprise over Punjab’s notic.
“When farmers started mov-
ing from Amritsar, they (Pun-
jab cops) did not even try to
stop them. That means they
wanted the farmers to create
terror in Delhi. A DSP and 25
other police officers have been
injured in stone throwing,’’
said Vij. He said the area was a
state border and not an “inter-
national boundary.”
The Punjab Congress and
the Shiromani Akali Dal have
condemned the Haryana Police
action. Meanwhile, the Harya-
na government has extended
the ban on mobile internet
services, bulk SMSs and don-
gle services in seven districts
of Haryana till February 15
midnight. Earlier, mobile serv-
ices were suspended in Amba-
la, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind,
Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa till
February 13.
On Tuesday, farmers had
clashed with Haryana Police
personnel at two border points
between the states, facing tear-
gas shells and water cannons as
they tried to break the barri-
cades blocking their protest
march to Delhi.
After a face-off with
the police that lasted FARMERS
several hours on Tues- PROTEST
day, far mer leaders
called off the protest.
They resumed their march
from Shambhu border on
Wednesday. Thousands of
farmers, mainly from Punjab
and Haryana, are participating
in the ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation
to put pressure on the centrfor
their demands, including a law
on MSP.
RANCHI
PREETHA NAIR & HARPREET Sharing a video of the inter-
DIARY
BA J WA @ New Delhi/Chandigarh action on Facebook, Warring
said, “Havildar Rajinder MUKESH RANJAN
A day after Congress promised Singh, who served in the Army Our correspondent
Minimum Supporting Price for 17 years, talked about Ra- in Jharkhand
(MSP) for crops if the INDIA hul Gandhi. Rajinder ji ex- mukesh.r@newindianexpress.com
bloc comes to power, senior plained that he knows the dif-
leader Rahul Gandhi spoke to ference between a bullet
an injured farmer over the wound and a tear gas shell Scholarships for girl’s to
phone and extended support attack, he is saying that it is pursue technical edu
to the farmers in their fight a bullet wound. They are
The Jharkhand government will
for their rights. attacked with 12 bores,”
provide scholarship to girl students
Gurmeet Singh, an ex-serv- he said.
Cong rejects BJP claim to pursue technical education. The
iceman, was injured during Meanwhile, Union Agricul-
scholarship scheme has been
the police action in the protest ture Minister and BJP leader
Dismissing the BJP’s allegations introduced to encourage girls to opt
at the Shambhu border Arjun Munda today speaking
that the UPA government for technical education, as boys-girls
near Patiala. The phone con- to media in Delhi said “Farm-
rejected Swaminathan ratio in state in technical institutions
versation was facilitated by er organizations have to un-
Commission recommendations in is merely 6:1. Under the ‘Manki
Punjab Congress chief Ama- derstand that no decision re-
2010, Congress leader Pawan Munda’ Scholarship scheme, a girl
rinder Raja Warring who garding the law that is being
Khera said the government student will get a scholarship of
visited Singh at the hospital talked about can be taken in
accepted 175 out of the 201 `15,000 per annum for pursuing
in Rajpura. such a way that without think-
recommendations. Khera diploma courses, while `30,000
Rahul shared a post in Hindi ing about the situation for eve-
challenged the BJP to prove its annually for engineering courses.
on his WhatsApp channel ryone in the later days.”
claims on the issue. Nearly 3,000 girl students pursuing
and inquired about his “People should criticize at
diploma courses will be benefitted
health. “Talked on phone times. We should try to take
from the scheme in first year, while
to former soldier Gur- “It is completely wrong. We care of all its aspects. Farmers
1,200 students will get benefits of
meet Singh ji, who was are with you. Don’t worry. You will also have to take care that
the scheme in engineering courses.
seriously injured in po- are fighting for what is impor- common life should not be dis-
lice atrocities during the tant for the country. You ear- rupted, common life should
farmers’ movement. En- lier worked for the country not be disturbed in any way”,
quired about his health and and you are doing it now as he said. He appealed to the
expressed support to him for well. Well done. Best of luck,’’ farmers to come to speak on
their peaceful movement de- Rahul told the injured farmer. the issue instead of being mis-
manding their rights,” said The farmer leaders led by political parties. On
the former Congress chief. Ra- have claimed that 60 farmers Tuesday, Union minister An-
hul also flayed the “dictatorial were injured yesterday when urag Thakur also said that the
attitude” of the Modi govern- the Haryana Police used tear government is ready to speak
ment towards th farmers. gas shells. to farmer on MSP.

HEMANT SOREN
JMM to take out Sandeshkhali simmers, BJP Maha speculation over Champai Soren assures

Sharad Pawar’s NCP pucca house for everyone

‘Nyay Yatra’ to chief faints & taken to hosp

The newly elected Jharkhand Chief
Minister Champai Soren has assured

free jailed chief
M U K E S H R A N JA N @ Ranchi
THE Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
(JMM), in order to seek justice
for former Chief Minister He-
mant Soren, has decided to go on
a statewide ‘Nyay Yatra’ which
is to be launched on Thursday.
In order to reach out to each and
every household against BJP’s
conspiracy, the ‘Nyay Yatra’ will
be conducted in every nook and
corner of the state.
According to JMM, people
will be made aware about the
BJP conspiracy and explained
why and under what circum-
stances Soren was sent to jail.
The deep conspiracy behind
his arrest will also be exposed
during the ‘Nyay Yatra,’ they
said. District wise fasting has
also been planned near the stat-
ues of freedom fighters in
Ranchi, praying for the release
of their top leader. ‘Nyay Yatra’
will start from February 15 in
Ranchi, while other districts in
the state have been asked to fix
dates on or before February 20
as per their convenience.
JMM General Secretary and
Spokesperson Vinod Pandey.
yatra will try to convince peo-
ple how the BJP are targeting
the CMs and governments in
non-BJP ruled states.
P R A N A B M O N DA L @ Kolkata
STRIFE-hit Sandeshkhali wit-
nessed dramatic scenes on
Wednesday as BJP state chief
Sukanta Majumdar offered
prayer to goddess Saraswati on
the banks of Ichamati river in
Taki, North 24 Parganas, and
f ain ted dur ing a scuf fle
with police when he tried to
proceed and visit women who
accused the local leaders of the
ruling Trinamool Congress of
sexual abuse.
Majumdar was rushed to a
local hospital in unconscious
state from where he was
brought to a private hospital in
Kolkata.
A day after the Calcutta High
Court set aside the state gov-
ernment’s promulgation of
prohibitory order in Sand-
eshkhali, the district adminis-
tration again on Wednesday
clamped restrictions on move-
ment under Section 144 of CrPC
in 19 pockets of the area. Set-
ting aside the earlier order, the
high court, on Tuesday, men-
tioned it its order that the man-
ner in which the restrictions
were imposed was not right.
M a j u m d a r o n T u e s d ay
dodged the state administra-
tion’s effort to intercept him
and arrived Basirhat, where
BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar falls on the bonnet of a car amid protest | PTI
the trouble-hit area is located,
by boarding a local train. He
staged a sit-in-demonstration
in front of the office of the su-
perintendent of police demand-
ing release of BJP supporters
who were arrested during the
course of a skirmish with po-
lice. As the police did not re-
spond, Majumdar spent the
night in a local hotel.
The unrest in the TMC’s
stronghold in North 24 Parga-
nas stemmed from ongoing agi-
tation by women in Sand-
eshkhali, who accused TMC
strongman Shahjahan Sheikh
and his men of perpetrating
sexual abuse on them.
Sandeshkhali turned to be
the epicentre of Bengal politics
merging with Congress
S U D H I R S U RYAWA N S H I @ Mumbai
THE power corridors in Ma-
harashtra are abuzz with spec-
ulation about a merger of
former union minister Sharad
Pawar-led Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP) with the Congress
ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha
elections.
However, NCP Lok Sabha
member Supriya Sule denied
the rumour, saying their fac-
tion has no plans to merge
with any other political
party. “Sharad Pawar-
after three officers of the En- led NCP will continue
forcement Directorate (ED) participating in elec-
were bashed up and left bleed- tions as part of the
ing when they went to search Maha Vikas Aghadi
Shahjahan’s house Sheikh in a (MVA) alliance. Our fac-
foodgrain scam case on Janu- tion will not merge with
ary 5. On seeing the TMC lead- any political party,” Sule told
er and his men are at large the reporters later.
since the attack on the federal Speculations about Pawar’s
agency, homemakers of the NCP merging with Congress
area mustered up their courage started this morning and gath-
to protests against the sexual ered steam after Pawar’s meet-
abuse on them allegedly by the ing with the top NCP leaders,
ruling party’s satraps. including Anil Deshmukh,
Majumdar, accompanied by Rajesh Tope, Amol Kolhe, and
BJP’s one of the general secre- Shrinivas Patil in Pune.
taries Jagannath Chattopad- It was conveyed that the
hyay, left the hotel where spent meeting was for an upcoming
Tuesday night through the rear rally of the INDIA bloc and se-
entrance on Wednesday hood- lecting leaders to address these
winking guarding policemen. proposed rallies.
Dispelling the merger ru-
mours, Pune City NCP unit
president Prashant Jagtap said
his party will not be merged
with the Congress. The factions
will emerge with a new name
and symbol. He said the 2024
Lok Sabha and state assembly
elections fight for existence so
that they will fight with
vigour.
According to sources, the
merger talks are on, but no date
has been decided. “It’s a
long process, and a lot of
stake is also involved.
Besides, the roles of
every individual, in-
cluding Sharad Pawar,
Supriya Sule and other
leaders, must be defined
in the Congress. The talk is
whether the merger should
happen before the Lok Sabha
elections or after the state as-
sembly elections result.
The merger will boost both
parties. The cadre will get unit-
ed and motivated. Besides, both
have a similar ideology, so there
are not many hiccups in this
merger, but still, it is a long
process,” said a senior Con-
gress leader who requested an-
onymity. The NCP witnessed a
split after Deputy CM Ajit Pa-
war took over the party.
that everyone in Jharkhand will have
their own pucca house by the year
2027. No person will be forced to live
in a slum or a dilapidated house, he
said. Everyone will get a three-room
permanent house under Abua
Awaas Yojana launched by the
former Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
According to Champai, the state has
taken steps towards realising the
dream of 20 lakh poor, needy and
homeless people of having their own
pucca home. Champai also handed
over approval letters of Abua Awas
to several beneficiaries.
Cultivation of
thornless cactus
Thornless cactus will be cultivated
on barren lands of the state. It will
be started on an experimental basis
on 157 hectares of land all over the
state. Besides making the barren
land green, the scheme will also
become a source of income for the
locals. To make the barren land of
Jharkhand green, the state is taking
steps towards the cultivation of
thornless cactus. The scheme was
announced during a workshop on
the promotion of ‘Spineless Cactus
Plantation and Cultivation’
organized under the aegis of
Jharkhand State Watershed Mission
under Rural Development
Department. Objective behind this
scheme is sustainable development
of barren lands, watershed,
improvement of ecological balance.

Setback to Assam Cong Only 32 out of over 2 lakh educated Tribal tea seller thrashed
as 2 legislators join BJP unemployed youth got jobs in 2 yrs for refusing to pay bribe
us relentlessly from before,” wantsinh Rajput informed the other attacker about having
Gujarat’s listed
P R A SA N TA M A Z U M DA R @ Guwahati D I L I P S I N G H KS H AT R I YA A N U R A AG S I N G H @ Bhopal
Sarma told journalists. @Ahmedabad Assembly that Rajkot has 13,439 committed a murder in the
IN a setback to Congress ahead “The decision of Purka-
of Lok Sabha elections, two yastha and Das will strengthen A total of 2.38 lakh educated unemployment registered jobless individuals,
while Junagadh has 11,701,
THREE days after the incident
of a tribal youth being punched
past. Due to it, Parate didn’t tell
anyone about it.
MLAs of the party in Assam our government. Purkayastha people in Gujarat are unem- Panchmahal has 12,334, Suren- and kicked by a Bajrang Dal It was when the video went
decided to extend their support has resigned as Congress work- ployed and have registered dranagar has 12,435 and Dahod leader was reported in Betul viral on Tuesday that he finally
to the BJP govern- ing president. I re- themselves for employment has 11,095. But no one has a gov- district, an even more shocking admitted it to his elder brother,
ments in the state and spect the decision of with various departments, ac- ernment job. incident of another tribal man after which the matter was re-
21,633

at the centre. both MLAs. In the cording to government data. As per the data, in the last Ashish Parte being stripped ported to the local police.
Chief Minister coming days, we all Also, in the last two years, two years, 22 in Ahmedabad, 09 and brutally assaulted while A case has been lodged under
16,400

Himanta Biswa Sar- Respecting the MLAs and ministers only 32 youths could land gov- in Bhavnagar, and 1 in Gandhi- being hung upside down has IPC and SC/ST (Prevention of
18,732

ma paraded the duo – leadership, will strive to ernment jobs. Of these, 22 were nagar have secured govern- been reported from the Atrocities) Act sections.
Cong ress working Kamalakhya Dey ensure special devel- in Ahmedabad, 9 in Bhavnagar, ment jobs. same area. Earlier on Monday, the
president Kamala- Purkayastha and opment of (Purka- and one in Gandhinagar. Thus, a total of Thirty-two Though the incident Betul district police had
khya Dey Purkayastha Basanta Das have yastha’s) Karimganj In response to a question educated youths got employ- with the tribal tea-sell- lodged a case against a
and Basanta Das – on decided to support North and (Das’) Man- posed by Congress MLAs in the ment in the same period. state er happened in Novem- Bajrang Dal leader
Wednesday as he ad- the constructive galdoi constituen- Assembly on Tuesday, the state Congress Leader of ber 2023, it has been Chanchal Rajput and
work of Assam
dressed the media in cies,” Sarma added. government stated that 2,38,978 Opposition Amit Chavda reported to the local po- aides for assaulting a
and central
Guwahati to break the governments. Criticising Con- educated unemployed have said, “The recruitment calen- lice, after its video went tribal youth Raju Uike on
13,439

11,095
12,334
12,435
11,701

news. gress for allegedly not been registered in the last two dar of government jobs exists viral on Tuesday night. camera. A viral video of the
“ Re s p e c t i n g t h e Himanta Biswa allowing its MLAs to years in a total of 29 districts, solely on paper.” The victim in the November shocking incident showed Raju
leadership of Prime Sarma attend gover nment while 10,757 partially-educated However, the State Industries 2023 incident, Ashish Parte, being punched and kicked on
2,362

Minister Narendra meetings and pro- unemployed have been regis- Minister rejected the Opposi- said the attackers (two accused) various parts of the body and
Surendranagar

Modi, Kamalakhya Dey Purka- grammes and meet ministers, tered, taking the number of tion’s claim. State Industries stripped before tying him up to being forced to sit like a rooster,
Panchmahal
Ahmedabad
Vadodara

yastha and Basanta Das have he asked how their constituen- educated unemployed people to Minister Balwantsinh Rajput be hung upside down and then for working with a DJ player
Junagarh
Dwarka
Anand

Dahod
Rajkot

decided to support the con- cies will develop if they cannot 2,49,735. stated, “The state has over 46 beat him with sticks and belts, Gullu, who had recently as-
structive work of Assam and highlight the problems. According to the data, Anand e m p l oy m e n t o f f i c e s t h at to demand ‘cut money’ for run- saulted the Bajrang Dal leader.
central governments. Two oth- “No opposition party had has the highest number of un- arrange employment ning the tea-shop. The shop is State Congress chief Jitu
er Cong ress le gislators – such a stance earlier. Several employed — 21,633, followed by hoomi Dwarka is the lowest programmes. An app was also run by Ashish with father. Patwari said this suggests that
Sashikanta Das and Siddeque Congress MLAs are not happy Vadodara at 18,732, Ahmedabad with 2,362 unemployed people. developed to provide Parate said that one of the at- tribals are being intentionally
Ahmed – have been supporting with this,” the CM said. ranks third at 16,400, and Devb- State Industries Minister Bal- information.” tackers who held a gun told the targeted in the state.
 Beijing 9 -6 SNY Los Angeles 18 8 SNY

9
Syrian soldiers killed in Islamic State group attack on
GLOBAL
WEATHER
LR: Light Rain WI: Windy HR: Heavy Rain SN: Snow
Colombo
Dhaka
Dubai
Houston
Istanbul
32
27
27
23
8
23
16
16
16
7
TDS
SNY
SNY
LC
LR
Melbourne
Moscow
New York
Singapore
Toronto
22
-11
3
31
1
11
-11
1
25
-1
SNY
SN
LC
TDS
SN
military barracks this week, an oppn war monitor said TDS: Thundershower LC: Light Cloud SNY: Sunny London 16 11 SNY Washington 11 2 SNY

09 KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024

� �

HAMAS JOINS CAIRO TRUCE TALKS ON 2ND DAY
4 killed as Israel launches Lebanon strikes, stoking fears of an escalating conflict in the region Spain and Ireland have asked
the European Union to
“urgently” examine whether
Israel is complying with its
human rights obligations in
Gaza under an accord that links
rights to trade ties
Palestinians have begun
ISRAEL-GAZA: DAY 129 evacuating the main hospital in
Khan Yunis, according to videos
shared by medics on
Wednesday. Weeks of heavy
fighting had isolated the
WEST BANK medical facility and claimed the
Tel Aviv
Blasts hit gas
pipeline in Iran;
official calls it
act of sabotage
DUBAI
EXPLOSIONS struck a natural
gas pipeline in Iran early on
Wednesday, with an official
blaming the blasts on a ‘sabo-
tage and terrorist action’ in the
country as tensions remain
high in the Middle East amid
Israel’s war on Hamas in the

JORDAN
lives of several people inside it. Gaza Strip.
Details were scarce, though
Jerusalem the blasts hit a natural gas pipe-
ERDOGAN IN EGYPT
RAFAH
GA Z A line running from Iran’s west-
STRIP Turkish President Recep Tayyip ern Chaharmahal and Bakhti-
Erdogan arrived in the Egyptian ari province up north to cities
ISR A EL capital on Wednesday on his on the Caspian Sea. The rough-
first visit since 2012, sealing a ly 1,270-kilometer (790-mile)
A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the distance following Israeli bombardment on the southern Gaza Strip | (R) Activists from Amnesty GAZA TOLL SO FAR thaw in ties between the pipeline begins in Asaluyeh, a
International hold placards with statements made by civilians living in Rafah during a silent vigil outside the gates of Downing Steet in central London | PICS: AFP regional heavyweights. Erdogan hub for Iran’s offshore South

GAZA STRIP
NEGOTIATIONS to pause the
Israel-Hamas war headed into
a second day in Cairo on
Wednesday, as Israel launched
a series of deadly strikes on
Lebanon, stoking fears of an
escalating conflict in the
region.
Mediators in Egypt were rac-
ing to secure a ceasefire and
free the remaining hostages be-
fore Israel proceeds with a full-
scale ground incursion into the
Gaza Strip’s crowded far-south-
ern city of Rafah.
A Hamas source said a dele-
gation was headed to Cairo to
meet Egyptian and Qatari me-
diators, after Israeli negotia-
tors held talks with the media-
tors on Tuesday.
Palestinian president Mah-
mud Abbas urged Hamas to
“quickly complete a prisoner
deal, to spare our Palestinian
people from the calamity of an-
other catastrophic event”.
CIA Director William Burns
had joined Tuesday’s talks with
David Barnea, head of Israel’s
Mossad intelligence service,
which Egyptian media said had
been mostly “positive”.
US National Security Coun-
cil spokesperson John Kirby
described the negotiations as
“constructive and moving in
the right direction”.
With regional tensions high,
Israel launched strikes on Leb-
anon hours after fire from Leb-
anon wounded multiple people
in northern Israel, according to
medics.The strikes in south
Lebanon killed four civilians
including two children and
wounded nine other people, a
Lebanese security source said,
speaking on condition of
anonymity.
Since the outbreak of the Ha-
mas-Israel war on October 7,
more than 240 people have been
killed in Lebanon, most of
them Hezbollah fighters but
also including over 30
civilians.
Lebanese militant group Hez-
bollah has traded near-daily
fire with Israeli troops since
the outbreak of the war in
Gaza. AFP
28,576
had said he would discuss with Pars gas field.
Egyptian President Sisi efforts Saeed Aghli, the manager of
to halt the bloodshed Iran’s gas network control cen-
tre, told Iranian state television
that a ‘sabotage and terrorist’
WHO says Gaza hospitals action caused explosions along
several areas of the line.
are completely overwhelmed There are no known insur-
gent groups operating in that
province, home to the Bakhti-
GENEVA: The World Health Organization lamented on Wednesday that ari, a branch of Iran’s Lur eth-
fewer than half of its requested aid-delivery missions in Gaza have nic group. Aghli did not name
been approved by Israel, stressing the need to reach and any suspects in the blasts.
resupply devastated hospitals across the territory. “Hospitals are In the past, Arab separatists
completely overwhelmed and overflowing and undersupplied,” said Rik in southwestern Iran have
Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative for the occupied Palestinian claimed attacks against oil
territories. AFP pipelines. AP

EXPRESS READ
South Korea alleges
cyberattack by North
Seoul: South Korean
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s
office said that presumed
North Korean hackers
breached the personal emails
of one of his employees
ahead of Yoon’s Europe trip.
Yoon’s office said the cyber-
attack affected the staffer
who violated protocols. AP

10 KOZHIKODE
IRDAI issues
draft rules for
Bima Sugam
Regulator is trying to establish online
insurance marketplace in line with ONDC
M O N I K A YA DAV @ New Delhi
THE proposed insurance e-
marketplace will be jointly held
by all life, non-life and health
insurance companies, and offer
free services to consumers.
The Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority of
India (IRDAI) on Tuesday is-
sued the draft framework for
establishment of Bima Sugam,
an insurance e-marketplace.
With Bima Sugam, the regu-
lator is trying to replicate the
ONDC (Open Network Digital
Commerce). The aim is to cre-
ate a digital public infra-
structure to boost insur-
ance penetration in
India, and improve
availability, accessibil-
ity, and affordability of
insurance services.
“Bima Sugam platform
shall be a one-stop solution for
all insurance stakeholders vis-
a-vis customers, insurers, inter-
mediaries, and insurance agents
to promote transparency, effi-
ciency, collaboration across en-
tire insurance value chain, tech-
nological innovation in the
sector, universalise and democ-
ratise insurance and to achieve
the vision of ‘Insurance for all
by 2047’,”IRDAI said.
Key aspects of the proposed
framework include formation
of a not-for-profit company un-
der Section 8 of the Companies
Act, 2013, responsible for oper-
IEA would benefit when India plays
a bigger role in it: Narendra Modi
E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU @ New Delhi
PRIME Minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday said the Inter-
national Energy Agency (IEA)
would benefit when India plays
a bigger role in it. While ad-
dressing the Paris-based organ-
isation, the Prime Minister also
said India had exceeded all
of its Paris Agreement commit-
ments towards climate
change.
“Inclusivity boosts the cred-
ibility and capability of any in-
stitution. 1.4 billion Indians
bring talent, technology, and in-
novation to the table. We bring
scale and speed, quantity and
quality to every mission. I am
sure that the IEA will benefit
when India plays a bigger role
POWERGRID posts PAT of
L4,028 cr, total income
L11,820 cr for Q3FY24
New Delhi: Power Grid Corporation
of India Limited (POWERGRID), a
‘Maharatna’ Company under
Ministry of Power, GoI, has
announced unaudited financial
results for Q3FY24 and nine
months ended 31st December
2023. For Q3FY24, on standalone
basis company has reported PAT
of I3,970 crore and Total Income
of I11,468 crore registering a YoY
growth of 7% and 2% respectively.
On consolidated basis, company
has reported PAT of I4,028 crore
and Total Income of I11,820 crore
registering a YoY growth of 10%
and 3% respectively. For nine
months ended 31st December
2023, on standalone basis,
company posted PAT (including
discontinued operations) and
Total Income of I11,347 crore and
I33,562 crore respectively. On
consolidated basis, company
posted PAT and Total Income of
I11,407crore and I34,608 crore
respectively.
THURSDAY
ating and maintaining the mar-
ketplace. The shareholding of
the company will be diversified
among life, general, and health
insurers, ensuring no single en-
tity holds a controlling stake.
IRDAI will nominate two
members to the company’s
board, which will establish a
risk management panel to ad-
dress various risks. Other pro-
visions include a consent-based
service architecture, and no
charges for consumers availing
Bima Sugam services.
The stakeholders can submit
their feedback on the draft regu-
lations by March 4 ,2024.
With Bima Sugam, a gov-
ernment-backed insur-
ance marketplace, the
government aims to
achieve insurance for
all by 2047. Currently, life
Insurance penetration in
India at 3.2% (of GDP) and non-
life penetration at about 1%.
Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO,
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance,
said, “It’s an encouraging move
and a welcomed one for Indi-
ans, as they can get better ac-
cess to life insurance products
designed for their long-term
life goals.”
Venkatesh Naidu, CEO, Ba-
jajCapital Insurance Broking,
said, “Bima Sugam can bridge
the insurance gap, empower in-
formed choices, and pave the
way for a financially secure fu-
ture for millions.”
India’s commitment
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi said India is home to
17% of global population.
Yet, India’s carbon emissions
account for only 4% of
global total. He said India is
firmly committed to
combating climate change
in it. Let us harness this plat-
form to strengthen existing
partnerships and form new
ones. Let us build a cleaner,
greener, and inclusive world,”
said Modi.
In a recorded message at the
50th Ministerial Meeting of the
IEA, Modi said India had ex-
ISB&M’s Crescendo 2024: A Triumph of Talent,
Emotion, and Artistic Expression
In a display of creativity and diversity, ISB&M capped off its
three-day extravaganza, Crescendo 2024. The event set the stage
alight with its powerful theme, “Feel It, Rock It, Live It,”
showcasing a powerhouse of talent from colleges in and around
Pune such as TC College Baramati, Modern College, Raja Shiv
Prasad College, Jharia, NICMAR, ISB&M COC, ISB&M College, New
Law College, Chintan Jain, Christ University LAVASA, and
Symbiosis Institute of Technology. The inauguration ceremony
was graced by presence of Kajal Jain, Miss Diva Earth.
15 02 2024
� �
ED initiates probe against Paytm Payments Bank
E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi
IN a fresh trouble for Paytm, the
Enforcement Directorate (ED)
has initiated a preliminary in-
quiry against One97 Communi-
cations Ltd and its subsidiary
Paytm Payments Bank.
The agency has sought infor-
mation from the troubled fin-
tech firm regarding ‘customers’
who may have been involved in
dubious transactions.
Officials aware of the devel-
opment said the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI), which cracked
down on the payment bank arm
of Paytm over non-compliance
last month, has asked the ED to
RENEWABLES
Adani Green
starts 551 MW
solar plant in Guj
E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU @ New Delhi
ADANI Green Energy Limited
(AGEL), an Adani Group arm,
on Wednesday announced the
commencement of operations
for its 551-megawatt (MW) solar
power generation capacity at
Khavda in Gujarat.
The company said it achieved
this milestone within 12 months
of starting work on the Khavda
RE park. This involved develop-
ing basic infrastructure, in-
cluding roads and connectivity,
and creating a self-sustaining
social ecosystem.
“Adani Green Energy is cre-
ating one of the world’s most
extensive renewable energy
ecosystems for solar and wind,”
said Gautam Adani, Chairman
of the Adani Group.
“Through bold and innova-
tive projects like the Khavda
RE plant, AGEL continues to
set higher global benchmarks
and rewrite the world’s plan-
ning and execution standards
for gigawatt-scale renewable
energy projects.” This mile-
stone validates the Group’s
commitment in accelerating
equitable clean energy transi-
tion journey towards its goals
of 500 GW of renewable energy
capacity by 2030, he said.
ceeded its Paris Climate com-
mitments, ahead of the time-
line. He highlighted that India is
home to 17% of the global popu-
lation and runs some of the
world’s largest energy access
initiatives. Yet, India’s carbon
emissions account for only 4%
of the global total. He said the
country is firmly committed to
combating climate change.
“Ours is a collective and
proactive approach. India has
already led initiatives such as
the International Solar Alli-
ance. Our Mission LiFE focuses
on pro-planet lifestyle choices
for a collective impact. ‘Reduce,
Reuse, and Recycle’ is a part of
India’s traditional way of life.
India’s G20 Presidency saw sig-
nificant action on this front.”
Market 267.64
Watch 96.80
check for suspected breaches at
the fintech company.
One 97 Communications on
Wednesday accepted that its
subsidiaries and its associate,
Paytm Payments Bank Limited
have over time been receiving
notices and requisition for in-
formation, documents and ex-
planations from the authori-
ties, including ED, with respect
to the “customers that may
have done business with the re-
spective entities, and provided
the required information, doc-
uments and explanations to the
authorities”.
It added, “The company and
its associate have continued to
‘Founder, investors responsible for Byju’s crisis’
E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU @ Bengaluru
ONE rotten apple in India does
not darken the cloud, said
edtech firm UpGrad founder
Ronnie Screwvala, hinting at
Byju’s. According to him, this
should not affect the entire
edtech sector in the country.
He said at an event in Guru-
gram on Wednesday, “It is a
joint accountability of the
founder and 51 investors, who
felt it was more important in a
board meeting to ask, ‘When’s
SC suggests expert panel to look into
Sterlite Thoothukudi plant reopening
S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y
@ New Delhi
THE Supreme Court on
Wednesday asked the parties
whether a committee of ex-
perts can be constituted to in-
spect the viability of reopening
of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper
plant at Thoothukudi with
stringent conditions in place.
During the course of the
hearing on Wednesday, a three-
judge bench of the top court,
headed by Chief Justice of In-
dia (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yes-
hwant Chandrachud and also
comprising Justices JB Pardi-
wala and Manoj Mishra ob-
served that “a way forward”
must be found so that the “as-
set” is not lost by the country.
On the Supreme Court’s pro-
posal of a special committee to
prescribe safeguards for re-
suming operations at Vedanta’s
copper smelter plan in Tuti-
corin, the Tamil Nadu govern-
Muthoot Finance reports 23% increase in Q3 net
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Kochi
MUTHOOT Finance Ltd has re-
ported a 23% increase in its
consolidated profit after tax for
the quarter ended December
31, 2023, at `1,145 crore as
against Rs 934 crore in the same
quarter previous year.
During the quarter, consoli-
dated loan assets under man-
agement increased by `3,280
crore, i.e. an increase of 4%
QoQ, a release said here after
the NBFC’s board of directors
met on Wednesday to consider
Petronet LNG Limited
executes Long-term
contract for purchase of
7.5 MMTPA LNG with
Qatar Energy
Petronet LNG, India’s flagship
LNG terminal owning company,
has concluded and executedaLNG
sale & purchase agreement (LNG
SPA) for purchase of about 7.5
MMTPA LNG withQatarEnergy on
long-term basis. This is pursuant
to extension of an existing LNG
SPA forLNG supply of about 7.5
MMTPA LNG sale & purchase
agreement on FOB basis, signed
on 31st July 1999 for supplies till
2028. Under the agreement, LNG
supplies will be made on
delivered (DES) basis
commencing from 2028 till 2048.
Similar to earlier agreement of
1999, the LNG volumes under the
SPA shall be offtaken by GAIL
(India) (60%), Indian Oil (30%)
and Bharat Petroleum (10%)
after regasification primarily from
Dahej Terminal of PLL on
substantially back to back basis.
MARKET
Sensex 71,822.83 H680
Nifty 21,840.05 H600
provide such information, doc-
uments and explanations to the
Authorities as is being required
by them.” The company also
clarified that Paytm Payments
Bank does not undertake out-
your next secondary?’ versus ‘I
don’t see a CFO’ and so that one
single aspect I don’t think is go-
ing to hold the whole educa-
tion sector to ransom.”
He said the sector
needs change with fru-
gality. The serial entre-
preneur and investor
has been a vocal critic
of Byju’s. His comments
come at a time when the
firm’s major shareholders have
called for an extraordinary gen-
eral meeting (AGM) to reconsti-
ment opposed the move citing
repeated violations by Vedanta
The court also further pointed
out that there are only three-
four copper smelters in the
country and that fact can’t be
overlooked.
“State is a guardian for its res-
idents. Equally we can’t over-
look the national interest,” CJI
Chandrachud remarked. Vedan-
ta had filed a petition in the apex
court challenging the Madras
High Court’s decision against
Consolidated
loan assets
During the quarter,
consolidated loan assets under
management increased by
I3,280 crore, i.e. an
increase of 4% QoQ
and approve the unaudited
standalone and consolidated re-
sults for the quarter ended De-
cember 31, 2023.
Muthoot Finance’s consoli-
Mahindra has order
backlog of 2.26 lakh SUVs
E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU @ New Delhi
HOMEGROWN auto major Ma-
hindra & Mahindra (M&M) has
a pending order book of 2.26
lakh sports utility vehicles
(SUVs) as demand for its block-
buster products: Scorpio N,
XUV 700 and Thar remains at
an elevated level.
M&M, while announc-
ing its third quarter re-
sult (Q3FY24), said that
the order book for its
SUV has now come
down to 2.26 lakh open
orders as of February 1,
2024 as against 2.86 lakh
backlog it had at the beginning
of November 2023.
Among models, Scorpio N
(including Classic) has open
bookings for 101,000 units fol-
lowed by Thar (70,000 units)
and XUV 7OO (35,000 units.
Mahindra said that now it re-
ceives an average of 50,000
GOLD
24 carat (10 gm) H62,310 H1500
22 carat (10 gm) H57,150 H15
newindianexpress com
ward foreign remittance.
The clarification by Paytm
came amid reports that the ED
was probing if Paytm and the
payments bank were involved
in foreign exchange violations.
The fintech major had recently
denied rumours that neither
the company nor founder/CEO
Vijay Shekhar Sharma was be-
ing probed by the agency.
“We have consistently as-
sured that neither Paytm nor
any of its associates are under
investigation by any regulatory
agency” the company had said
recently.
In a big setback for SoftBank-
backed Paytm, the RBI recently
tute the board. Reacting to it in
a X post, he said, “Finally some-
one smelt the coffee!! Hope its
not a whiff and then whim-
per but they will stay the
course and get this done
- for the whole eco sys-
tem! For India as an in-
vestment destination!
For just credibility over-
all of an otherwise sun-
rise and sunshine sector.”
At the EGM to be held on Fri-
day, shareholders will discuss
the issues including a change in
Way must be found
so asset is not lost: SC
During the course of hearing on
Wednesday, a three-judge bench,
headed by Chief Justice of India
(CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant
Chandrachud and also comprising
Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj
Mishra observed that “a way
forward” must be found so
that the “asset” is not lost by
the country
the reopening of the plant.
The Wednesday’s argument
was inconclusive and would
continue on Friday.
The closure order was passed
after the plant had turned into
a protest site with citizens op-
posing expansion of the plant.
The order was supported by the
state government. The protest
took a violent turn, when po-
lice opened fire on the protest-
ers, leading to several people
losing their lives.
dated loan assets under man-
agement grew 27% YoY to
`82,773 crore as at nine months
ended December 31, 2023, as
against `65,085 crore in the
same period previous year.
The consolidated profit
after tax for the nine-
month period stood at
`3,285 crore as against
`2,661 crore the previous
year, an increase of 23%
YoY. George Jacob Muthoot,
chairman, The Muthoot Group,
said the company’s consolidat-
ed loan assets under manage-
bookings per month, and has
ramped up its delivery to about
40,000 units.
M&M said that the company
is on track to achieve the Q4F24
exit capacity of 49,000 units as
against the exit capacity of
39,000 units a year ago. The
company has ramp-down pro-
duction of the XUV 3OO
model as a facelift is all
set to hit the market
soon. The automaker
is confident that its
SUV portfolio will grow
in the mid-to-high teens
even as industry body
SIAM has projected the PV
industry to grow 3-4% and UVs
to grow 10-12% in FY2025.
Mahindra on Wednesday re-
ported that its standalone net
profit surged 60% YoY to `2,454
crore in Q3FY24. The compa-
ny’s revenue during the quar-
ter grew by 16% to `25,642.4
crore.
SILVER
1 kg H74,000
FOREX
Dollar 83.03
10 gm H740 Euro 88.96
barred its payments bank from
taking new or top-up deposits
in customer accounts, prepaid
instruments, wallets, etc. after
February 29, 2024, owing to
non-compliance. This, as per
analysts, will result in a reduc-
tion in revenue and more losses
for the already loss-making
company. Not to forget custom-
er exodus in large numbers.
The RBI has already ruled
out any review of its action
against the firm. “If you are ex-
pecting a review of the deci-
sion, let me very clearly say
there is (going to be) no review
of the decision,” RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das had said.
management. They might vote
for a revamp of the existing
board. Earlier, reacting to EGM,
Think & Learn, parent of Byju’s,
emphasised that the sharehold-
er’s agreement doesn’t give
them right to vote on CEO or
management change.
Akshay Munjal, CEO and
Founder, Hero Vired, said,
edtech platforms are undergo-
ing a significant transformation
with a focus on personalised
learning experiences driven by
AI and ML technologies.
EXPRESS READ
Sanjay Kumar Jain
new CMD of IRCTC
NEW DELHI: Railway PSU IRCTC
on Wednesday announced the
appointment of Sanjay Kumar
Jain as its Chairman and MD with
immediate effect. Prior to this
role, Jain was Principal Chief
Commercial Manager (PCCM) of
Northern Railway, Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism Corporation
Ltd (IRCTC) said in an exchange
filing. Jain has relinquished the
charge of PCCM/Northern Railway
on February 13. ENS
Vibhor Steel Tubes IPO
booked 101.30 times
NEW DELHI: The initial public
offer of steel pipes manufacturer
Vibhor Steel Tubes Ltd was
subscribed by a whopping 101.30
times on the second day of
bidding on Wednesday. The IPO
received bids for 36,39,20,733
shares against 35,92,445 shares
on offer, garnering a 101.30 times
subscription, as per NSE data. The
category for qualified institutional
buyers subscribed 8.52 times. ENS
ment crossed the milestone of
`80,000 crore and standalone
loan assets under management
crossed the milestone of
`70,000 crore. The contribution
of subsidiaries in the consoli-
dated profit after tax also in-
creased to 9% from 4% last
year, he said. George Alexan-
der Muthoot, managing direc-
tor, Muthoot Finance, said, “In
Q3 FY24, the standalone loan
AUM grew by `2,180 crore, pri-
marily driven by growth in gold
loan of `1,704 crore, reaching
`71,182 crore.
Shriram
Properties net
profit falls 17%
E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU @ Chennai
REAL estate developer Shr-
iram Properties posted a 17%
decline in the net for the third
quarter of FY24 with `18.5
crore against `22.4 crore in the
same period last year.
Total revenues stood at `241
crore, witnessing an 8% growth.
Sales for the nine month period
ended in December witnessed a
12% growth on a yearly basis,
though sales slowed to 6% in
the quarter. SPL hoped its en-
try into the Pune market and
project approvals would spur
growth in the current (Q4
FY24). It has signed a develop-
ment management agreement
for a residential project at Un-
dri, Pune, marking the entry
into a key market. The project
with sales value potential of
over `1,300 crore will be execut-
ed over the next 3- 4 years.

11 KOZHIKODE
G O M E S H S @ Rajkot
LET’S be honest. Before the
Hyderabad Test, many doubted
whether England would have
any success in India. And there
were merits to the argument.
India had lost only two home
Tests in the past decade. They
were and are a monster at
home in Test cricket. If anyone
had bet that India would lose
the first Test after taking a 190-
run lead, you’d have laughed
them off and rightly so.
Yet, they did and two Tests
on, both teams are at Rajkot
and the series reads 1-1. And
for the first time in 12 years, a
visiting team has a chance to
do something no one else could.
Win two matches against India
in a home Test series. And what
more, they perhaps have the
best venue to do it. The Sau-
rashtra Cricket Association
Stadium, which got a new name
after the former cricket admin-
istrator Niranjan Shah on
Thursday.
So, at the Niranjan Shah Sta-
dium, where the pitches have
been historically good for bat-
ting, England would fancy their
chances. That they have
brought in pacer Mark Wood in
place of Shoaib Bashir says
what England think of the sur-
face. “You look down the wicket
there are two cracks that sort
of bummed me but again only
time will tell if they actually
come into it but yeah, obvious-
ly you never want to go with
too many preconceived ideas
around wickets but you have to
sort of have some kind of idea
Time for captain to rise & lead from the front
G O M E S H S @ Rajkot
ROHIT Sharma is the third-
highest run-getter among Test
openers since he started on the
job against South Africa five
years ago. He has 2242 runs in
49 innings just below Dimuth
Karunaratne (2358 in 48 in-
nings) and David Warner (2328
in 58). His average, 48.73, is
third among openers with
more than 2000 runs in the
period.
At home, he averages a tinge
above 52 and has five centuries,
the last one being against Aus-
tralia in Nagpur. Which is why,
there have been questions
about his on-field tactics
against England in the first
two Tests and red-ball captain-
cy in general, but not about the
fact that Rohit has not crossed
the 40-run mark in eight in-
nings (13, 14, 39, 24, 16*, 39, 0, 5).
Or about how he hasn’t scored
a fifty in his last five Tests.
Truth be told, it is not that
Rohit has been entirely out of
form, or has a technical flaw.
He had one of the best white-
City, Real inch
closer to quarters
Manchester City closed in on the
Champions League quarterfinals
with a dominant
display while
Real Madrid
posted a 1-0
win away at RB Leipzig.
Talking points...
THREE-STAR SHOW BY CITY
Facing FC Copenhagen, Kevin De
Bruyne’s early opener was cancelled
out against the run of play by
Magnus Mattsson. Bernardo Silva
restored City’s lead before half-time,
but they had to wait until stoppage
time to add further punishment.
11 City have won 11 consecutive
games in all competitions as
they remain on course to repeat
last season’s treble.
Tuesday’s results (Last 16, first legs): In Leipzig: RB
Leipzig (GER) 0-1 Real Madrid (ESP); In Copenhagen:
FC Copenhagen (DEN) 1-3 Manchester City (ENG).
Prime time: Chennai Blitz face Ahmedabad Defenders in PVL opener
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai
WITH the third season of the
Prime Volleyball League set to
begin, all the captains of the
nine franchises came face to
face in a grand pre-season get-
together in Chennai on Wednes-
day at the Jawaharlal Nehru
indoor Stadium, Periyamet.
Defending champions
Ahmedabad Defenders will take
on hosts Chennai Blitz in the
opening clash on Thursday,
THURSDAY 15 02 2024
� �
Runs or ruins, Test begins
With India’s untested middle-order, visitors will fancy their chances in third Test
India’s Shubman Gill (R) during a practice session on Wednesday | PTI
which is obviously why you
ended up picking the XI that
you have done,” Stokes said
about the surface on
Wednesday.
As someone who has played
all his domestic first-class
cricket here, Ravindra Jadeja,
who’s returning from an inju-
ry, said that the nature of the
surfaces varies from time to
time. “Sometimes you get 36
wickets in three games. Some-
times it’s different. This one
looks hard. I think it will play
ball year ever as a captain and
opener in 2023, led India to the
final of the men’s ODI World
Cup as well as the World Test
Championship. It might seem
like he is just going through a
lean patch as any high-per-
formance athlete would.
However, context matters.
Eight innings with-
out getting to 40s is
one thing, but it is
not that he didn’t get
starts. Thrice he got
the starts and then
got out, and more
than the dismissals,
it is the way he has
gotten out. While he
has gotten a couple
of peaches from Kagiso Raba-
da and James Anderson, there
have been quite a few soft dis-
missals as well. In the first in-
nings of Centurion, he pulled
Rabada straight into the hands
of long leg fielder. In Hydera-
bad, with a massive lead in the
bank, he tried to go after Jack
Leach only to be caught by Ben
Stokes. In Visakhapatnam, he
flicked Shoaib Bashir straight
INFLUENTIAL DE BRUYNE
De Bruyne was sidelined for five months by a
hamstring tear suffered on the opening night of the
Premier League season in August. But since his return
last month, the 32-year-old has scored two goals and
Diaz provided seven assists in seven appearances.
DIAZ STEPS UP FOR REAL
In the other match, Leipzig were energetic but wasteful
early, while Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin made
many saves after the hosts controversially had a goal
disallowed for offside. The German club were made to
pay early in the second half when Brahim Diaz (L) opened
the scoring. Diaz danced past three Leipzig defenders
before curling an inch-perfect shot inside the far post.
while last season’s runners-up
Bengaluru Torpedoes will face
the Season 1 winners Kolkata
Thunderbolts.
Meanwhile, Chen-
nai captain Akhin GS
said his side will have
an advantage playing
in familiar condi-
tions and will rely on
the noise from the fans.
“Dakshinamoorthy sir, who
was the coach of the previous
season’s winners, has joined us
well at the start and probably
slowly start to break much lat-
er,” Jadeja noted.
The debate about the pitch
apart, India, despite the victory
in Visakhapatnam and the re-
turn of Ravindra Jadeja, have
more holes in their team than
the visiting side. They do not
have KL Rahul or Shreyas Iyer.
The middle-order is likely to be
Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan
and Jadeja. Throw in Dhruv
Jurel in the mix, should he play
in KS Bharat’s spot, that is one
into the hands of Ollie Pope.
Now, Rohit has always been the
kind of batter who takes on the
ball. When it comes to Test
cricket, it’s something that has
made for a debatable topic even
when he was a middle-order
batter. Like how he tried to go
after Nathan Lyon and got out
when he was set and
going well, multiple
pull shot dismissals
and so on. There’s al-
ways been an argu-
ment about risk ver-
sus reward. The
problem now is that
there is no Virat Kohli
or Chesteshwar Pu-
jara to carry on. There
is no Rishabh Pant to continue
the madness from where Rohit
had left.
In this Indian team, Rohit is
indispensable. In form or not,
he is the senior-most reliable
batter in the side. While young-
sters like Yashasvi Jaiswal
have piled on runs, and with
Shubman Gill set to get a long-
er rope for now, Rohit is the
name and player everyone
this season and this develop-
ment has been a major boost for
us in this championship. We
feel confident
that we are on
the right track
entering the
first game. We
also expect a lot
of support from
the home crowd and we expect
them to pack the stands in huge
numbers and make their voices
heard. Their support will help
B’luru Open: Ramkumar
upsets top seed Nardi
India Probable XI: Rohit, Jaiswal, Gill,
Patidar, Sarfaraz, Jurel, Jadeja, Ashwin,
Bumrah, Siraj, Kuldeep.
England Playing XI: Crawley, Duckett,
Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Foakes,
Wood, Rehan, Hartley, Anderson.
Test match between three mid-
dle-order players.
That is not just it. In the
bowling department, they have
Jadeja, R Ashwin and Jasprit
Bumrah, who reached Rajkot
but didn’t attend the training.
Apart from these three, who
will be the other two? Will In-
dia go with four spinners and a
lone pacer on what is expected
to hard surface? Does Moham-
med Siraj come back and one
of Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav
make way for Jadeja? The ques-
tions remain. The bigger ques-
tion, however, is whether India
will counter England’s ap-
proach better than they did in
Hyderabad. While Bumrah’s
brilliance came in handy in Vi-
zag, and he might just repeat it
again in Rajkot, it is not fair to
expect it from him every single
time. By and large, India would
want their spinners to step up
and do the job — something
one thought was a routine.
That even Jadeja expected Ash-
win to get to 500 Test wickets in
looks up to. He is the batter op-
ponents are wary of. For they
know what he can do if he bats
through a couple of sessions.
England players would not
have forgotten the century in
Chennai 2021. And that is why,
for a team that is in transition,
with Kohli not available
against a world-class opposi-
tion, Rohit, the batter, is as im-
portant as Rohit, the captain.
If not, more. Which begs the
question — is it time to talk
about Rohit’s batting?
In Rajkot, if India go on to
hand debut to two players,
their middle-order will have an
experience of one Test. The
other opener is still making a
name for himself and No. 3
just scored his first hundred in
that position. If there ever was
an occasion for Rohit to step up
and score big runs, this was it.
India need their captain, the
most experienced batter and
one of the top openers in the
world to just bat through a cou-
ple of sessions. That is all Ro-
hit needs to take the game
away from England. Can he?
Goa stunned by Mohun Bagan in ISL
A G E N C I E S @ Margao
MOHUN Bagan Super Giant
ended the 12-match-long un-
beaten streak of FC Goa in the
Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-
24 by inflicting a 1-0 loss upon
the Gaurs at the Fatorda Sta-
dium on Wednesday
A 75th-minute winner by
Dimitrios Petratos sealed the
deal for the Mariners as they
got a second consecutive victo-
ry under their belt and prevent-
ed Manolo Marquez & Co. from
bridging the gap between them
and league-leaders Odisha FC.
The home side teased the Mo-
hun Bagan Super Giant as their
personnel tested them from
both set-pieces and open play in
the first 20 minutes. Brandon
Fernandes was at the forefront
of it all, setting up deliveries
for Carlos Martinez and Noah
Sadaoui at different junctures.
Martinez was caught off side
us go a long way,” said Akhin.
Meanwhile, Ahmedabad skip-
per Muthusamy Appavu, dur-
ing the press briefing, made his
intentions clear that his team
will be gunning to make it two
titles in a row.
“There is always pressure
when you enter the tournament
as the defending champions. It
puts a target on your back. But
it also motivates the players in
equal measure and we are eager
to showcase our skills once
India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan fought back impressively after losing the
opening set to upset top seed Luca Nardi of Italy to reach the singles
quarterfinals of the Bengaluru Open 2024 being played at the Karnataka
State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) Stadium on Wednesday. Ramkumar
banked on his big serves to beat Nardi 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
the first Test itself tells what
the players expect of them-
selves. However, it hasn’t hap-
pened yet. And despite know-
ing and seeing the way England
have played, India had a slip up
in Hyderabad, and haven’t
done anything so far to sur-
prise them.
In Rajkot, Rohit would want
the spinners to not just do the
job, but also try and keep a
check on the run rate. Jadeja,
meanwhile, believes that Eng-
land just bats a little aggres-
sively and it all comes down to
how they adapt and move to-
wards plan B and C. “Their
style is such that they play ag-
gressive cricket. Sometimes
what happens is that when a
batter tries different things
sometimes it connects, some-
times it doesn’t. That is style
and they will continue to play
like that. For us, it is about
what is the plan B if they con-
tinue to play like that. Based on
that we would want to keep
field placements and bowl ac-
cordingly. As a bowling unit,
our plan is to do the opposite of
theirs and ensure that they are
not playing the same shots they
want to and keep scoring runs,”
said Jadeja.
Full story: newindianexpress.com
Lead in mind
With the series locked at 1-1,
both sides will keen on getting
ahead at Rajkot. A look...
WOOD WALKS IN
With the surface expected to be
much flatter than the previous two
Tests, England has named Mark
Wood in the playing XI for Shoaib
Bashir. He, along with James
Anderson, will be sharing the fast
bowling duties on a pitch where
the batters might flourish.
CENTURY FOR STOKES
Numbers apart, to have the impact
he has had for England as a player
and captain, it’s only fair to say
that Ben Stokes is one of the finest
all-rounders to have played for
the country. On Thursday, he will
scale another peak, walking onto
the field for the 100th time as a
Test player.
SPIN COMBINATION
With Ravindra Jadeja featuring,
the question moves to whether
India will play both Axar Patel and
Kuldeep Yadav along with Jasprit
Bumrah as the lone pacer. If not, it
might become a toss up between
Axar and Kuldeep.
India vs England, third Test, Rajkot
Live on Sports18 and JioCinema, 9.30AM
Mohun Bagan’s Dimitrios Petratos (L)
celebrates his goal vs FC Goa | ISL
from a promising position in
the fifth minute, and one of
Brandon’s own efforts from
long-range was on target but
couldn’t get past Vishal Kaith
soon afterwards.
Petratos quickly turned the
again. We have a new coach, the
vastly-experienced Dragan Mi-
hailovic sir and we have had a
tremendous pre-season. Now, it
is all about the execution of our
plans,” he said. All nine teams
will play against each other
once. By the end of the league
stage, the top-five teams with
the most points will enter the
Super 5’s stage. In the Super 5’s
stage, the five teams will play
against each other once. The
team with the most points by
Under Rohit, we will
win T20 WC: BCCI secy
G O M E S H S @ Rajkot
AFTER months of speculation
on who will captain India in the
upcoming T20 World Cup, the cat
is out of the bag. BCCI secretary
Jay Shah confirmed on Wednes-
day that Rohit Sharma will be at
the helm, leading India’s pursuit
to end the ICC trophy drought in
the United States and West
Indies.
“Rohit was captaining (in the
past and in other formats) and
he came back for the Afghani-
stan series, which means we
were going to let him continue
forward,” Shah told reporters
on the sidelines of an event at
the Niranjan Shah Stadium,
Rajkot. India head coach Rahul
Dravid, captain Rohit, chair-
man of the men’s senior selec-
tion committee Ajit Agarkar
attended the said event.
“When Hardik was injured
in the World Cup, who else can
we give the captaincy? In the
third T20I against Afghanistan,
India were 22/4 and the way he
took the team to 212/4, we can’t
Sakshi, Bajrang threaten
to recommence protest
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
A DAY after the United World
Wrestling (UWW) lifted the sus-
pension on the Wrestling Federa-
tion of India, Sakshi Malik and
Bajrang Punia accused the WFI
chief Sanjay Kumar Singh of
conniving with the world body to
get a decision in his favour. The
duo also threatened to restart
their agitation if Sanjay Singh-
led WFI is allowed to function.
“We came to know
yesterday that Sanjay
Singh had done some
setting with UWW to
get the suspension
lifted. Brij Bhushan
(Sharan Singh) and
Sanjay Singh have left
no stone unturned to Bajrang Punia
show that they are
above the law,” said Sakshi in a day-to-day affairs of the WFI, is
video posted on ‘X’.
Adding further she said, Roman wrestlers, two coaches
“Our protest has only been sus- and a physiotherapist to Baku,
pended. I might have retired Azerbaijan for a 20-day train-
from wrestling but I not will ing camp. The team is sched-
tolerate Brij Bhushan or his uled to leave on Thursday night.
people running the federation “The plan is on as the panel has
and harassing women. In the not been given any directives
next 2-4 days, we will contact after the UWW’s decision. The
the people associated with our camp has been sanctioned and
agitation and chalk out the fu- team is set to leave on Thurs-
ture course of action. I urge the day night,” said a source.
tables with a sharp turnaround
as he switched the ball on his
feet and attempted to curl in a
shot from distance in the 21st
minute. Thankfully for FC Goa,
goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh
stretched fully on his left to
keep the scores level.
Incidentally, the duo of Arsh-
deep and Petratos was at the
centre of attraction yet again,
in a move that decided the even-
tual fate of the game. The Mari-
ners broke on the counter and
a usually organised FC Goa
backline seemed out of place,
which Manvir Singh looked to
capitalise upon by putting the
ball past Arshdeep in the 74th
minute.
The goalkeeper, who had kept
the most clean sheets in the
league before this, made a hasty
clearance that Petratos pounced
upon and swirled over the cus-
todian to bag the eventual win-
ner of the contest.
the end of Super 5’s stage will
reach the final. The team that
finishes second and third in Su-
per 5’s stage will compete in the
Eliminator match. Winner of
Eliminator will be the second
team in the final.
Today’s matches: Ahmedabad
Defenders vs Chennai Blitz @ 6:30 PM;
Bengaluru Torpedoes vs Kolkata
Thunderbolts @ 8:30 PM.
Live on Sony Sports Network
newindianexpress com
question much about him,
right? He has the ability, as I
said, we won ten games in the
ODI World Cup. We didn’t win
the final, but it’s part and par-
cel of the game. Whoever plays
better, wins,” he added, con-
firming that Rahul Dravid will
be the head coach for the ICC
event.
After India’s semifinal exit in
the 2022 T20 World Cup, Rohit
had not featured in the shortest
format for more than a year.
Since then, Hardik Pandya had
been leading the side in T20Is
whenever he was available. It
was only after the loss to Aus-
tralia in the 2023 ODI World
Cup final, the speculations of
Rohit coming back in the short-
est format began.
In January 2024, Rohit, and
Virat Kohli, featured in the
three-match T20I series against
Afghanistan. In that series, Ro-
hit scored two ducks and a cen-
tury. India’s next international
assignment will be the 2024 T20
World Cup in the United States
and West Indies.
government (to ensure) that
Brij Bhushan or his group are
barred forever from (running)
the federation and some good
people are entrusted with the
task of doing the job.”
Bajrang echoed the senti-
ments and urged the govern-
ment not to force them to take
the streets again. “I request the
government to take a decision
in this regard. We, wrestlers,
will also speak to all organisa-
tions which supported us dur-
ing the previous pro-
test and take a
decision soon,” Punia
said.
Baku camp for GR
wrestlers?
Meanwhile, the ad-
hoc committee, which
has been managing
planning to send nine Greco-
EXPRESS READ
BATC: Sindhu & Co
shock China 3-2
SHAH ALAM (MALAYSIA): Two-
time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu
made a winning return from an
injury lay-off as India stunned
China 3-2 in the women’s
competition of the Badminton
Asia Team Championships. With
just two teams in Group W, India
were assured of a knock-out round
berth even before their opening
match. The men’s team posted a
4-1 win over Hong Kong to qualify
for the knock-out round.
India women go down
fighting vs Netherlands
ROURKELA: The Indian women’s
hockey team put up a much-
improved defensive show against
Netherlands but lack of sharpness
up front saw them lose the FIH
Pro League match 0-1 to the
World No 1 side here. This was the
home team’s fifth defeat in six
Pro League games so far and it
came about thanks to a superb
27th-minute field goal by Albers
Felice for the reigning Olympic,
world and Pro League champions.
Mooney to captain
Gujarat in WPL 2
NEW DELHI: Australia’s Beth
Mooney will captain Gujarat
Giants in the Women’s Premier
League beginning on February 23,
the franchise announced. Mooney
was named captain for the
inaugural season as well but got
injured after the first game and
could not take further part in the
competition. India all-rounder
Sneh Rana had led the side in her
absence. Rana has been named
vice-captain.
12 KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024
� �
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS newindianexpress com

MUKH MANTRI TEERTH YATRA

Sri Amritsar Sahib Sri Hazur Sahib Sri Patna Sahib Sri Anandpur Sahib

Mata Naina Devi Ji Sri Vrindavan Dham Mata Vaishno Devi Ji Mata Jwala Ji

Varanasi Mata Chintpurni Ji Sri Khatu Shyam Ji, Sri Salasar Dham Khwaja Ajmer Sharif Dargah

With the sincere efforts of

Son of Punjab
Bhagwant Singh Mann
Chief Minister

Over 20,000 devotees

made holy pilgrimage so far
NA/13/772/2023/32473

Bhagwant Singh Mann

Chief Minister, Punjab

Department of Transport, Punjab


KOZHIKODE
MUJAHID 10 STATE CONFERENCE
T
here was a time when
Kerala Muslims were
deeply entrenched in
superstitions and
blindly followed the
clerg y, lacking any
sense of reason or wis-
dom. In that era of absolute
darkness, it was the Islahi
Movement that led their way
toward light. Utilising all the
resources available for better-
ment of the community, the
Islahi Movement leaders
strived for reform for nearly a
century. Amid this, some fell
victim to the evil of disunity,
disputes, and the disastrous
import of Gulf Salafism.
The Islahi Movement's ef-
forts to oppose many practices
that were contrary to Tawheed
(monotheism) were glaringly
evident. The leaders of the
movement formed an organi-
sation and rose in revolt
against the contamination of
the religion. At the time of the
split of the Organisation in
2002, these honest leaders
stood by the side of the Marka-
zudawa faction.
However, this small group
faced a setback when, in 2016,
they failed to make significant
progress in reunifying the or-
ganisation into one. Soon,
however, the Organisation re-
gained its spirit and has been
working with the aim of mov-
ing forward with educational,
socio-cultural, and develop-
mental projects.
It has miles to go before it
sleeps. Embracing diversity
and touching all sectors, the
Organisation must utilise its
full potential. It is our prima-
ry duty to propagate the word
of Allah, the God. 'Tawheed',
which means there is no God
THURSDAY
but Allah, is the focal point of
our mission. Our fundamen-
tal goal is to propagate this
message. While the essence of
propagation remains consist-
ent, the means employed must
adapt to the changing times,
which necessitates the refine-
ment of the methodology of
propagation.
Efforts must be made to
bring life-like and logical pres-
entations with concepts such
as Rububiyyah, Uluhiyyah,
Asma, wa Sifat, Istighathah
and Tawassul to the forefront.
Cultural disintegration and
other decadences should be
addressed with discretion. It
is beneficial to bring forth
opinions and debates in schol-
arly discussions. Quranic
methodology should serve as
our model for explaining
Tawheed. A preacher must fol-
low a style that vividly ex-
plains the inevitability of
monotheistic beliefs by illus-
trating natural phenomena
and miracles of creation. The
message of Islam must be con-
veyed in the best and most
effective language, along
with personal purification
efforts, to effectively com-
municate the messages of
faith to those who engage
with us.
With changing times,
there must be changes in the
methods of the communica-
tion of the message as well. In
this era, everyone is adapting
to these changes and incorpo-
rating them by utilising new
methodologies. It is essential
to contemplate how to effec-
tively utilise these methods to
reach the hearts and minds of
people, which is the primary
goal of conveying the beauty
15 02 2024
� �
th
A CONCLAVE TO PROPAGATE TEACHINGS OF HOLY QURAN
Just like
worship, acts of
compassion must also
be treated with equal
importance. We must
remember that anyone
within our vicinity is our
brother, irrespective of
caste, creed or
gender
of Islam. Therefore, it is nec-
essary to consider discarding
old methods if they are no
longer effective. Every method
used should be tailored to-
Dr E K Ahmedkutty,
President, K N M Markazudawa
wards effective propagation.
Speeches, conferences, and
literary publications could
all be utilised for dissemi-
nation of ideas. However,
the fundamentals of Da-
wah should not change.
Tawheed remains the cor-
nerstone. Nonetheless,
the presentation methods
should be adapted to the
current times. Not all
methods and approaches
are suitable for all times and
people. New methods should
be devised, considering the
changing times and the people
attending those sessions. At
one time, debates were a pow-
erful method of propagation.
Today, scientific dialogues are
sought after for greater effi-
cacy in achieving the goals of
Dawah within the current so-
cial milieu.
From extravagant confer-
ences that require significant
financial investment to small-
er, budget-friendly gatherings,
the need to transition is press-
ing. Previously, conferences
used to last for four days, but
it is not necessary to extend
conferences for such a dura-
tion anymore. It is essential to
allocate resources wisely, con-
sidering both the time and fi-
nancial constraints. It would
be appropriate to focus on ac-
tivities that yield results with-
out exhausting time, resourc-
es and energy unnecessarily.
It is essential to prioritise the
duty of propagating the mes-
sage of the Quran. Such a re-
sponsibility was taken up by
The Divine Light For
Universal Humanity
MUJAHID
10th STATE
CONFERENCE
2024 February 15, 16, 17, 18
Karipur - Malappuram
bodies like the Quran Learn-
ing School (QLS). It should be
linked with projects like Veli-
cham that aim to spread the
Light of Quran. Apart from
this, the Organisation should
conduct classes in various
fields, not limiting itself to
just providing religious edu-
cation but should actively en-
g a g e in org anising pro-
grammes that promote human
values that are in tune with
Quranic ideals.
Accepting arts as a means
of education is worth consid-
ering. Besides lectures, con-
veying ideas through perform-
ances or creative productions
can be effective. Arts should
be utilised in diverse and crea-
tive ways. To gain more
achievements in the publish-
ing field, youth and children
should be encouraged to pur-
sue that path. Many scientific
works have come out from the
youth. Along with scientific
AN SMD INITIATIVE
works, there is a need for crea-
tive works. We need to bring
out stories, novels, dramas,
poetry, and other literary
works. Some scholars in the
community also dress up liter-
ary works with entertainment
and satire. Efforts should also
be made to publish good works
in Malayalam, Arabic and
English.
Urdu is a language often
overlooked by Kerala Mus-
lims. This language is charm-
ing and significant. In educa-
tional activities, Urdu holds
importance in our state as
well. In other states, Urdu and
Hindi are spoken more by la-
bourers. Therefore, Urdu, and
Hindi language pundits must
also be involved in news re-
porting and educational ac-
tivities among other working-
class communities. Urdu
expertise must be utilised to
facilitate educational activi-
ties in North Indian states.
We have plenty of educa-
tional activities and projects
like SAFE Campus, IHIR etc.
These institutions, along with
other Arabic colleges, should
be integrated to establish a
university and adopt a unified
system. Such an educational
system will be a significant
step forward for us. The neces-
sary reforms should be made
accordingly.
There is a system of educa-
tion in Madrasas that we can
be proud of. Textbooks need to
be revised and new teaching
methods should be imple-
mented. The CIER programme
has been a successful mode.
However, it also requires fur-
ther improvements in line
with the new times and
trends.
II KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024
� �
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

LEGACY OF MUJAHID CONFERENCES

MEANS FOR ISLAMIC EDUCATION AND REFORM
sections, with each group con- (2002), Wayanad (2008) and years was revised and the time
ducting the sixth, seventh, Edarikode (2014). According frame was changed to every

Dr Fukkar Ali
T
he role of conferences
is very significant
when it comes to the
growth of any organi-
sation, and it is more
decisive if the organisation
has been founded on the basis
of an ideology. The active in-
volvement of its members,
bringing together diverse ide-
as and perspectives and the
organisation's initiatives to
reach out to public forums,
complying with organisation-
al and legal regulations are all
served well in the context of a
conference. The conference's
dynamic and transformative
contribution towards the Mu-
jahid Organisation’s mission
of bringing about religious re-
form in Kerala is paramount.
This is evident from its en-
gagements in Kerala, where it
has played a non-negligible
role in empowering the mi-
nority Muslim community. Its
conferences have expedited
the dissemination of Islamic
ideas, accelerated the diversi-
ty of Islamic actions and nour-
ished the org anisation's
growth, thus avoiding stagna-
t i o n i n i t s g row t h a n d
journey.
The political and cultural
reforms envisioned by figures
like Sheikh Zainuddhin Ma-
khdum, Khadi Muhammad,
Veliyancode Umar Khadi and
others, along with the reli-
gious refinement and organi-
sational activities of leaders
like Makthi Thangal, Hamda-
ni Thangal, and Vakkom Mou-
lavi, contributed significantly
to the progress and uplift of
the Muslim community in
Kerala. The initiation of ac-
tivities in an organised form
began with the inception of
Aikya Sangham in 1923. Start-
ing with the significant event
held in Eriyaad, Kodungallur,
the Aikya Sangham conduct-
ed annual conferences from
the following year to make the
land fertile for reform.
Between 1923 and 1934, the
Aikya Sangham organised 12
annual conferences in places
like Eriyadu (1923), Aluva
(1924), Kozhikode (1925), Tali-
paramba (1926), Kannur (1927),
Tirur (1928), Er nakulam
(1929), Thiruvananthapuram
(1930), Malappuram district
(1931), Kasaragod (1932), Eriy-
adu (1933) and Kannur (1934).
The venue of the 12th annual
conference held in 1934 wit-
nessed the annual assembly
of the Kerala Muslim Majlis,
which was formed in 1931. It
was att his assembly that the
Aikya Sangham was officially
disbanded and merged with
Kerala Muslim Majlis. During
the second annual conference
of the Aikya Sangham held in
Aluva in 1924, a new organisa-
tion was formed under the
name Kerala Jamiyyathul Ul-
ama (KJU). It was the first
Muslim learned assembly in
Kerala. In 1947. The KJU de-
cided to establish a platform
that could function as a stage
for both scholars and the gen-
eral public, leading to the for-
mation of the K N M (Kerala
Nadvathul Mujahideen) in
1950.
Adopting the model set by
the Aikya Sangham, K N M
started organising annual
conferences from 1951 to 1968.
They were held in Kozhikode
(1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955),
Pa l a k k a d ( 1 9 5 6 ) , K a l p a -
kanchery (1957), Beypore
(1958), Kochi (1959), Randatha-
ni (1960), Kozhikode (1961,
1962, 1963, 1964), Edavanna
(1965), Thirunavaya (1966),
Palakkad (1967) and Kochi
(1968). These conferences, held
at various locations, signifi-
cantly contributed to strength-
ening the organisation.
From May 4 to 7, 1972, K. N.
M. organised the State Confer-
ence in Kozhikode Town Hall
and Mananchira, which con-
tinued under the name of Mu-
jahid State Conference from
1979. These conferences in-
cluded participants from all
sections of society such as
scholars, commoners, youths,
students, women and even
non-religious individuals.
The next five conferences
were held in Pulikkal (1979),
Feroke (1982), Kuttippuram
(1987), Palakkad (1992) and Pi-
lathara (1997). In 2002, the Mu-
jahid Organisation restruc-
tured itself, establishing itself
into two different organisa-
tions with their offices at the
Kozhikode Mujahid Centre/
CD Tower and at the Markazu
Da’wah, respectively. Opera-
tions were divided into two
and eighth State Conferences
on their own. The CD Tower
division organised events in
Ernakulam (2002), Changara-
mkulam (2007) and Kozhikode
(2012), while the Markazu
Da’wah division held State
Conferences in Kozhikode
C P UMER SULLAMI, General Secretary
M AHAMMED KUTTY MADANI, Treasurer
Prof A Abdul Hameed Madeeni, President,
Kerala Jamiyyatul Ulama
Dr Jamaludheen Farooque, General Secretary,
Kerala Jamiyyatul Ulama
Parappurath Bava Haji, Chairman, Organising Committee
to the decision made at the
2007 Wayanad-Panamaram
Conference, the Markazu
Da’wah faction decided to
hold State Conferences every
six years.
The decision to hold the
State Conferences every five
six years owing to the heavy
financial expenditure, expo-
nential increase in the number
of attendees, steps against
overcrowding imposed by the
authorities, lack of availabil-
ity of open space, difficulties
in transportation and other
such factors created signifi-
cant challenges for holding
similar gatherings. The deci-
sion had conceptual prece-
dence. It aligned with the his-
torical context of Mujahid
State Conferences and the pol-
icies the organisation had
adopted until then. The con-
ferences held annually were
changed to biennial ones and
then made triennial and later
to every five years.
From 2012, following the
Kozhikode Conference, the CD
Tower faction further split
into two. Those who left the
organisation formed a new or-
ganisation under the name of
the Wisdom Islamic Organisa-
tion and carried on with their
activities separately. The split
of CD Tower faction in 2012
laid bare the fundamental rea-
sons behind the split of the
Mujahid Organisation in 2002.
Under the g arb of Gulf
Salafism, some leaders paved
the way for the import and re-
instatement of certain super-
stitious beliefs, which the Mu-
j a h i d O r g a n i s at i o n h a d
struggled to eradicate from
the Muslim community in
Kerala. When some scholars
questioned these leaders, they
were accused of straying from
fundamentals of belief and
the youth wing of the organi-
sation which stood in support
of these scholars was disband-
ed. This led to the split in the
Mujahid Organisation in
2002.
After 2002, scholars of the
Markazudawa faction contin-
ued to vigorously oppose the
superstitions propagated by
some scholars of the CD Tow-
er faction, criticising them
openly and asserting the true
Mujahid ideology. However, a
section within the CD Tower
faction began to utilise the of-
ficial facilities and mecha-
nisms of the scholars' organi-
sation to promote these blind
beliefs that blatantly contra-
dicted the true Mujahid ideol-
ogy. It was this section of lead-
ers which, after the 2012
Kozhikode Conference, reor-
ganised themselves into a new
organisation splitting the CD
Tower faction.
After the 2012 split, the CD
Tower division, which had di-
verged significantly from the
Mujahid ideals since 2002, be-
came aware of the possibility
of working together with the
Markazudawa faction. In 2016,
both the factions became unit-
ed and jointly organised the
Unity Conference in
Kozhikode on December 20.
This continued and in Decem-
ber 2017,the Ninth Mujahid
State Conference was held in
Kooriyad. However, differenc-
es of opinion on topics like the
'sihr' evolved into fierce schol-
arly disputes leading to dis-
cords that eventually led to
another split.
Since 2018, both the factions
have been functioning sepa-
rately. In February 2019, K N
M Markazudawa held a Kerala
Re fo r m C o n f e re n c e i n
Kozhikode, which was a clear
demonstration of the organi-
sation’s adherence to the true
ideals of Islam and a manifest
statement of its firm princi-
ples. This marked the history
of Kerala Muslim Renais-
sance into two periods that
can be designated as ‘before’
and ‘after’ the Kerala Reform
Conference.
Conferences: An Evaluation
Critics argue that conferences
serve as an opportunity for
Muslim organisations to com-
pete by flaunting their com-
munity's wealth. Such discus-
sions go viral at the time of
Mujahid State Conferences.
However, it is worth noting
that it is from the realisation
that Mujahid Conferences sig-
nificantly contribute to
spreading Islamic ideology
and the growth of the organi-
sation that such criticism
came up in the wake of the
State Conferences. Knowing-
lyor unknowingly, the public
carries these baseless accusa-
tions forward.
Conferences that involve
heavy and competitive ex-
penditure and that instigate
rivalry among factions are not
justifiable at all. However, the
conferences, which were or-
ganised by making use of
state-of-the-art facilities of the
THE 10th STATE CONFERENCE
T
he Tenth Mujahid State
Conference being organ-
ised by the K N M. Marka-
zudawa in February 2024 is dis-
tinct from previous Mujahid
conferences. Held close to the
location of the first State Con-
ference held in Pulikkal in 1979,
the Tenth State Conference in
Karipur has 'Divine Light for
Universal Humanity' as its
theme. The venue of the Con-
ference is named 'The City of
Light'.
Though the major sessions of
the Conference will take place
from February 15 to 18, it has al-
ready taken off with minor pro-
grammes like Quran Study Plat-
form, which began on February
4. This programme, which con-
tinued till Wednesday(February
14), witnessed 60 paper presen-
tations based on the 30 Juz’
(Books) of the Quran. It is the
first time in the history of Mus-
lim conferences in Kerala that
the entire Quran is being dis-
In virtually every aspect,
the Tenth Mujahid State
Conference differs
significantly from all
previous State
Conferences. The
Conference is also noted
for its hygienic venue,
warm hospitality, green
protocol and dedicated
volunteers. Embracing
changes of the time and
incorporating state-of-
the-art scientific and
technological facilities,
this Conference is
creating new paths for
ideal conferences
time with the aim of ensuring
the comfort of participants of
the conference could not be re-
garded as extravagant affairs.
Conferences are not conduct-
ed for competition. Mujahid
Organisation conducts confer-
ences with the noble intention
of propagating the moral and
theological ideas of Islam,
community development and
social reform.
In this sense, each State
Conference staged in the past
was a milestone. It is this Or-
ganisation that has educated
the Kerala Muslim communi-
ty that conferences are a
means for Islamic education
and reform. Conferences have
helped the organisation ex-
plore new avenues for educa-
tional activities and acceler-
ate the reform movement. The
gathering of 20,000 partici-
pants at the first Mujahid
State Conference held in Pu-
likkal not only boosted the
confidence of the organisers,
but also garnered momentum
to go even further. It helped fa-
miliarise the organisation in
national and international
circles. Winning acceptance
in the public sphere and me-
dia platforms enabled the or-
ganisation to secure recogni-
tion as a Muslim refor m
movement.
The Feroke Conference
paved the way for a sudden ex-
pansion of the organisation
into numerous branches at re-
gional and district levels. This
conference stands out as a spe-
cial one since it pushed the
transition of State Conferenc-
es to once-in-six years format,
from the then triennial for-
mat, owing to the uncontrol-
lable inflow of attendees. An-
other milestone was the
Kuttipuram Conference as it
marked a significant expan-
sion in the network of branch-
es, especially with the estab-
lishment of Zakath Cells,
founding of Yuvatha, a publi-
cation house under ISM.
These were pivotal achieve-
ments of this State
Conference.
The Palakkad Conference
with its theme of 'Religion for
Human Solidarity' was held in
1992 amid tensions in the wake
of the Babri Masjid demoli-
tion. It conveyed a message of
solidarity and peace, reinforc-
ing Kerala's tradition of ca-
maraderie and cultural herit-
age. Similarly, the Kannur
Conference of 1997, which had
'Divine Light for Human
Brotherhood' as the theme,
contributed to the widespread
dissemination of promotional
activities emphasising the sig-
nificance of humanistic and
divine principles.
cussed at a single conference. the park set up in a 15,000 sq ft
‘The Message’ Science Exhibi- pavilion offers entertaining and
tion on Islam, which will be on educational attractions such as
till February 16, is the main at- expos, performances, artificial
traction of the conference. The intelligence competitions and
German Pavilion Spread over robotics for children.
25,000 sq ft is the venue of the In virtually every aspect, the
expo which includes exhibitions Tenth Conference differs signifi-
such as Astronomical Theatre, cantly from all previous State
DNA Lab, Oceanography, Medi- Conferences. The Conference is
cal Exhibition, Sightseeing, An- also noted for its hygienic ven-
ti-Drug Expo, Golden Era of Sci- ue, warm hospitality, green pro-
ence, Light of Vedas and the tocol and dedicated service of
Life of the Prophet etc. volunteers.
Modelled on the first annual The Conference takes pride in
conference of the Aikya Sang- its organising, design, ameni-
ham, this Conference features ties, diversity of programmes,
an Organic farming fair, Envi- content and participation. Em-
ronment and Health seminars bracing changes of the time and
and a Yuvatha Books Festival incorporating state-of-the-art
under the name ‘Bookstalgia’ scientific and technological fa-
from February 9 to attract more cilities, this Conference is creat-
attendees. ing new paths for ideal confer-
The Kidsport Adventure Park, ences. This small organisation
which would be on till l Febru- from Kerala aims to create new
ary 18, is another special feature models that are both replicable
of this Conference. Exclusively and adaptable, adhering to ide-
meant for children aged 5 to 12, als of religious values.
Social inclusivity was the tarianism' demonstrated re-
key element of this confer- markable vigour and enthusi-
ence as it witnessed mass par- asm. The energy it infused
ticipation by non-muslims. into the organisation and ac-
Re-vitalising the momentum tivists was immense, contrib-
from 2002, the sixth State Con- uting significantly to the State
ference held in Kozhikode was Conference's success. The
significant for the organisa- event, characterised by its
tion’s reestablishment of it- simplicity and environment-
self in the public sphere of friendly nature, set a new
Kerala. It propelled the Marka- standard in the field. The deci-
zudawa faction forward with sion to convene the State Con-
the reformative mission. This ference every five years in-
conference instilled confi- stead of every three years was
dence, transforming the oth- historic.
erwise small organisation The 2014 Edarikode Confer-
that lacked financial resourc- ence was notable for its organ-
es, infrastructure, or influ- ising, the diversity of the pro-
ence in any major institutions grammes and the participation
of the Mujahid common- of the public. This conference
wealth. The theme was 'To- differed significantly from
wards Creator, Towards previous Mujahid State Con-
Peace', emphasising the prin- ferences and Muslim confer-
ciples of Islam for Justice and ences in general, drawing at-
Goodness. tention from other
The seventh State Confer- organisations and the public.
ence held in Panamaram, The theme of the conference
Wayanad, in 2008, under the was 'Religion,Humanity and
theme 'Harmony for Humani- Reform'.
Dr E K Ahmedkutty,
President, K N M Markazudawa
The plight of the community is that there is a huge number of Muslim
youths, who receive religious education and training from a young age and
often face a distressing situation. They are influenced by issues such as
alcoholism, drugs, suicide, extremism, immodest sexuality, liberalism and
so on. Community leadership, especially youth leadership must take up
these issues with due concern. Strengthening a section that fights against
these and promoting righteousness should be a priority. Continuous efforts
to instil awareness of the consequences of such immoral actions will mo-
tivate us to be more proactive.
There is a section within the Muslim community that appears to lose its
composure at the mention of the word rational thinking. The Creator has
asked the question, 'don’t you think, don’t you contemplate' multiple times
in the Quran. Rational thinking must not be an unfamiliar path for Muslims.
We must provide leadership to promote rational thinking and scientific
temperament within Muslim society. We should not hesitate to expose ir-
rational attitudes and approaches among scholars and engage in open
discussions. We must correct the misconception that just because some-
thing is there in an old book, it must be true. We need to search for ways to
correct those who practise irrational actions despite the presence of old
books. It's time to promote a spirituality that nurtures reason.
Just like worship, acts of compassion must also be treated with equal
importance. We must remember that anyone within our vicinity is our
brother, irrespective of caste, creed, or gender. We must address our broth-
ers' problems and find solutions. We must take responsibility for addressing
the issues of the poor, homeless, orphans, destitute\ and the sick. Their
problems should be considered as our own, and we should actively work
towards finding solutions. It is necessary to establish small dispensaries
and palliative care clinics to cater to the needs of the needy. More attention
must always be given to humanitarian activities and social welfare initia-
tives. Special provisions need to be made for them.
Financial resources are crucial for everything, but we lag far behind in this
aspect. Generating financial resources is the key factor in making any or-
ganisation strong. Finding new means of income does not mean burdening
well-wishers of the community and activists and is the foremost path
forward.
Ours is a dynamic Organisation. Its leaders must change, at least every
three years. The Organisation and these individuals must grow together.
More democratic methods of organisation need to be adopted. We must
become aware of our social responsibilities and actively engage in promot-
ing them. Community unity is essential in the current scenario.
Whenever ideological disagreements arise, we must strive to find com-
mon ground and cooperate in finding solutions. Succumbing to narrow-
mindedness only serves to hinder progress. It is imperative for us to foster
friendly relations with all religious organisations.
We must always seek unity with organizations that prioritise the princi-
ples of Tawheed. It is also crucial to recognise the increasing acceptance of
traditional values with respect.
The Holy Quran serves as the foundation for the actions of believers. The
Mujahid Tenth State Conference aims to propagate the teachings of the
Holy Quran and implement significant projects to disseminate the princi-
ples of the Book. It is essential for everyone to participate in this Conference
and contribute to the discussions on human values that the Quran empha-
sises. We must actively participate in shaping history and contribute posi-
tively to the world.
III KOZHIKODE THURSDAY 15 02 2024
� �
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

MUSLIM RENAISSANCE AND MODERNITY

ences with North Indian and
Tamil Muslims, and the
In Kerala, Muslim Arabicization of folk arts
Dr Sufyan Abdul Sathar Renaissance leaders highlight the region's
actively participated unique cultural landscape.

T
The Kerala Muslim
he intricate interplay in the Independence Renaissance, with its
between tradition and struggle, aligning multifaceted initiatives, did
modernity has mould- with movements like not align with imperialism,
ed the intellectual but actively participated in
landscape of cultures the Khilafat the Freedom Struggle.
globally, yielding varied Movement, Indian However, challenges persist
impacts on religious and National Congress in resisting un-Islamic
community identities. traditions and navigating
Kerala's Muslim community, and Muslim League. sociological changes. The
like many others, has Significantly, their movement envisions Islam
undergone a transformative as a source of solace, shelter,
journey from traditionalism
obstinacy against and peace for humanity,
to modernism, navigating British rule did not offering a pathway to a
the complexities of global lead to the abandon- heavenly life in the afterlife.
changes in education, As Kerala's Muslim
healthcare and technology. ment of English community grapples with
This article attempts to language and the complexities of tradition
unravel the layers of this modern education. and modernity, the delicate
journey, examining the interplay between these
influences of modernism, The distinct identity forces continues to shape
Muslim Renaissance and of Kerala Muslims, the region's intellectual and
Islamic reformism in like Qassim Ameen, suc- and the broader Islamic aftermath of the Malabar pendence struggle, aligning cultural tapestry. The article
shaping the unique intellec-
linguistic differences cumbed to the impact of world, represents a local Struggle (1921) and the with movements like the highlights the need for an
tual landscape of Kerala. with North Indian Western modernisers by the manifestation within a influence of other Renais- Khilafat Movement, Indian inclusive dialogue that
Modernism, fuelled by and Tamil Muslims, late 19th century. pan-Islamic context. sance movements, such as National Congress and respects the diverse
scientific and technological Kerala witnessed a unique Vakkam Abdul Kadar Sree Narayana Guru's Muslim League. Significant- perspectives within this
advancements, ushered in and the Arabization strand of Islamic reformism Moulavi exemplifies the Ezhava movement, played ly, their obstinacy against dynamic community, as they
materialistic transformation of folk arts highlight with the emergence of the fusion of Ibn Abdul Wahab's significant roles in shaping British rule did not lead to navigate the intricate
that has been both a boon the region's unique Mujahid Movement in the thinking and Egyptian Kerala's Islamic reformism. the abandonment of English relationship between
and a bane. While contribut- 1950s. The movement, which reformist ideas, with a In Kerala, Muslim Renais- and modern education. The tradition, modernity, and
ing to progress and prosper- cultural landscape drew inspiration from notable affinity towards sance leaders actively distinct identity of Kerala the rich tapestry of Kerala's
ity, it is also blamed for various sources within India Egypt. The socio-political participated in the Inde- Muslims, linguistic differ- cultural heritage.
environmental crises and
the erosion of a healthy
ecosystem. The Renais-
sance, intertwined with
modernity, witnessed the
infusion of intellect and
secularism into the
restructuring of religious
and community identities.
However, the response
varied among religions,
with Hindu and Christian
faiths embracing secular
colonial modernism, while
the Muslim Renaissance
stood firm against Euro-
centric ideals.
At the core of Muslim
Renaissance lies the
aspiration to uplift the
community in religious,
educational and social
dimensions, anchored in
the fundamental tenets of
Islam. The term 'Islah,'
encompassing enlighten-
ment, renaissance, revival,
and reformation, reso-
nates with Quranic
references (2:11,110; 49:10;
11:88). However, post-mod-
ern critiques question the
origins of Muslim Renais-
sance, painting figures
like Mohammed Abdu and
Rasheed Riza as adherents
of imperialistic ideals
stemming from European
Enlightenment. A closer
look at the Egyptian
context reveals the
resistance of figures like
Mohammed Abdu, Rash-
eed Riza and Jam�l al-D�n
al-Afgh�n� to Euro-centric
influences. Despite their
initial opposition, some
Egyptian intellectuals,
IV KOZHIKODE
Dr Noufal P T
A
verse from the Holy
Quran (6:32) translates
to 'Life on Earth is not
just a game and amuse-
ment; it's much more
than that'. If we elabo-
rate on this, it suggests
that everything functions like
a game. Language, human
economic transactions and
more, all operate according to
such an analogy. However, the
term 'game' here signifies
something of significant re-
spect and depth.
Now, there's a theory called
'Game Theory'. If we simplify
it, Game Theory states that
everything operates like a
game. It is an idea that sug-
gests that human transac-
tions, including linguistic
and economic, can be per-
ceived as occurring within a
system akin to a game. In this
context, 'game' does not mean
something trivial but rather a
well-structured strategy of
operation grounded on mu-
tual agreement.
For example, let's consider
a football game. The players
adhere to the rules laid down
by the authorities governing
the game, such as referees.
W INCOMMENSURABILITY OF ISLAM
hile promoting Is-
lamic values in a
multicultural soci-
ety, other considerations
must also be taken into ac-
count. The renowned his-
torian of science, Thomas
Kuhn, in his book 'The
Structure of Scientific
Revolutions', introduces
the concept of 'paradigm
shift' to explain the pro-
gression of science. He
specifically refers to a con-
cept called 'paradigm' in a
scientific project with a
well-established legal sys-
tem and value system. He
describes what he observes
as a 'scientific revolution'
in human history as a
change from one paradigm
to another in a scientific
project. He also explains
that in the context of para-
digm shifts, the incom-
mensurability of para-
digms must also be
considered.
A paradigm is an ex-
planatory framework that
comprehensively elabo-
rates on a phenomenon or
subject. It encompasses all
the logical reasoning, as-
sumptions, definitions,
criteria, and instruments
that contribute to its un-
derstanding. It clarifies
what is correct and what is
incorrect within that para-
T THE NECESSITY OF
he process of social
refinement or Re-
form, whether in in-
dividuals or societies, is
an ongoing process. If re-
finement does not contin-
ue, then the individual or
society will regress to be-
ing underdeveloped. Ibn
Khaldun's observation in
his 'Muqaddimah' is that
societies reach their peak
and then decline through
four stages. Here, we can
consider 'peak' as the most
refined form or state of
development. A person
may undergo a lot of hard-
ship to acquire knowledge
and become refined. From
them, the refined values
A FEW REFLECTIONS ON
REFORM INTERVENTIONS
Those who participate in the
game, like players, have to
abide by the regulations and
decisions regarding aspects
like penalties, goals, fouls,
fair play etc. Only if everyone
digm. It also defines the
objectives and the final
goal and also elucidates
the path towards achiev-
ing it, thus forming a con-
ceptual structure of val-
ues. It is a complete system
comprising all the ele-
ments necessary for un-
derstanding. For example,
the geocentric and helio-
centric cosmological para-
digms are two such para-
digms. A scientific
revolution is a paradigm
shift, that is the change
from one paradigm to an-
other. It assesses the shift,
with detailed explana-
tions, from one paradigm
to another. In the geocen-
tric cosmological para-
digm, detailed explana-
tions were available for
every phenomenon in na-
ture. However, with time,
some explanations became
irrelevant, leading science
to shift to the heliocentric
cosmological paradigm.
This transition is what we
call a paradigm shift. Ay-
urveda, allopathy and ho-
moeopathy represent the
three paradigms. The de-
tailed explanation of
whether a health condi-
METHODOLOGY FOR REFORM
will be passed on to the
next generation, albeit
with some modifications,
as they progress to the
next stage. The cycle con-
tinues to the next stage
and so on. However, when
they reach the fourth
stage of passing on the
knowledge, the measure
of refinement of values
that get transferred be-
comes very meagre, and
they become closer to be-
ing unrefined. Here lies
THURSDAY 15 02 2024
� �
accepts and adheres to the
rules and regulations of the
game can the game proceed
smoothly.
Now, if someone does not
know the rules of the game,
tion is due to a physical ail-
ment or not distinguishes
these paradigms. A para-
digm's detailed explana-
tion is neither based on
logic nor definition but on
discourse. These differenc-
es create the diverse para-
digms that render these
explanatory frameworks
incommensurable.
Islam is a paradigm.
That is, Islam is an explan-
atory framework. It ex-
plains what human life is,
how to proceed forward,
what the goal of human
life is, what are the rights
and wrongs in it, and so
on. Islam provides detailed
explanations for all these
aspects. In order to elabo-
rate on this, Islam employs
certain criteria, standards
and logical reasoning.
Based on all of these, Is-
lam reaches certain val-
ues. If humans want to ad-
here to this value system
in their lives, they can
choose to accept it as their
philosophy of life - as their
religion. If they do not
want to, they hardly have
to accept Islam as their
philosophy of life, their
religion.
Each paradigm is sus-
tained by its own explana-
tory logic, and it uses cri-
teria for analysing and
describing things, as well
as its own terms and defi-
nitions. Therefore, it is not
possible to simply switch
from one paradigm to the
other, ( the Incommensu-
rability of Paradigms), as
Kuhn argues. Though it
may be possible to talk
about why one paradigm
changes and science ac-
cepts another paradigm
the necessity for the proc-
ess of reform to be a con-
tinuous process. The val-
ue an individual gained
in the initial stage should
be carried forward to each
subsequent stage with ut-
most respect. This is the
single solution to prevent
deterioration of refine-
ment in the process of re-
for m. T his could be
achieved through a com-
munity or society's ac-
ceptance of the process of
or if they do not agree with
the regulations in place, cha-
os may ensue. Even if they
claim the right to play accord-
ing to their own rules, it does
not necessarily mean it's a
when looking back after
many years, most para-
digms have a way of look-
ing at the matters which
do not allow for mutual
exchange.
Another thing to consid-
er here is that Islam is a
value system. There will
be other value systems in
the world like this, and
they will have a situation
that changes among them-
selves. When such changes
occur, the resulting crisis
is an attempt to adapt Is-
In the context of religion,
particularly Islam, human
life on earth can be seen
as a game. The victories
and defeats in this game,
as well as the formation
of the system of laws, are
determined by Allah, the
organiser of this game,
and not by humans.
Adhering to Allah's laws is
essential because without
it, chaos may prevail. If
anyone disregards or
opposes these laws, they
will disrupt the harmony
of this life/game and may
create disturbances
on earth
lam to the logic of other
paradigms, to other value
systems. In each era, there
will be 'popular' value sys-
tems that gain dominance
over other value systems.
Then, in order to survive,
particular value systems
will adjust their value-con-
cepts according to the val-
ue concept of 'popular'
value systems, or they will
reinterpret their concepts
in a way that fits them.
refor m as an ongoing
endeavour.
Consistently reinforc-
ing the values derived
from fundamental princi-
ples laid down by reli-
gious Scriptures in both
the social and spiritual
spheres is essential to en-
sure that the refinement
of values remains unbro-
ken. It is assumed that
continuous reinforcement
of these historically in-
herited values, based on
fair game because they are
unaware or refuse to acknowl-
edge the existing rules. Hence,
for the game to take place
properly, there needs to be an
impartial set of rules. Estab-
This is a process of value
negotiation.
Attempting to redefine
the value concept of Islam
in accordance with the val-
ue concept of other reli-
gions or 'popular' philoso-
phies of life is such an
attempt from a context like
this. What can be accepted
here is that Islam is a para-
digm, and it stands firmly
in the context of 'the in-
commensurability of 'par-
adigms,' which means it is
different from other para-
digms. Islam is uncompro-
mising because it is a clar-
ification system that
comes from God. There-
fore, it remains standing
without merging with the
value concepts that hu-
mans create in various
eras. It is not Islam's weak-
ness, but its
incommensurability.
The concept of enlight-
enment is often considered
as a counterpart of Re-
form. Renowned philoso-
pher Immanuel Kant in-
terprets enlightenment
as 'the emancipation of
man from his self-im-
posed tutelage', in his es-
say 'What is Enlighten-
ment?' Here, it's crucial to
note the term he employs:
'emancipation'. There's a
significant difference be-
tween 'emancipation' and
'rescue' or 'escape'. While
'emancipation' refers to
an individual freeing
themselves from a cer-
tain situation, 'rescue' or
'escape' involves someone
else intervening to help
them.
This concept could be
related to religion as well.
Enlightenment involves
the foundation laid by the
Scriptures, is what com-
munity leadership must
constantly engage in to
prevent the erosion of
values in the social and
religious aspects of Mus-
lim life.
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
lishing impartial rules that
all players agree upon is es-
sential. If referees, who are
the authorities of the game,
fail to enforce the rules, the
game might become biased or
self-driven change, wheth-
er in an individual or with-
in a society. If an individu-
al desires change, they
must strive for it them-
selves. They need to seek
change and attempt it on
their own. It's not about
someone from outside
guiding them; otherwise,
it wouldn't truly be an
emancipation. In such a
scenario, it's not about be-
ing rescued, but about self-
liberation, which is what
Kant elucidates as
enlightenment.
This is something to
bear in mind for those
working towards social re-
form and those attempting
to reform individuals. If
either an individual or a
society does not initiate
change themselves, no
amount of 'actions' will
lead to reform. It means
that when we see a lack of
progress despite various
unfair. Similarly, if players
themselves do not obey the
rules or adhere to them, cha-
os may arise on the ground.
Therefore, having a fair and
impartial set of rules is
essential.
Moreover, it's important to
note that adherence to rules
does not guarantee victory or
defeat in every game. Victo-
ries and defeats in games are
transient; they are not perma-
nent. It's only at the end of a
game that one can determine
who succeeded and who
failed.
If we consider ‘methodolo-
gy’ as a system that governs
how we perceive a matter,
then we can equate the rules
of a game to its methodology.
The responsibility to estab-
lish these rules lies not with
the players, but with the or-
ganiser of the game. It's the
duty of the organiser to en-
sure that the participants ad-
here to the established sys-
tem. Failure to do so may lead
to chaos.
Analogously, if we consider
in the context of religion, par-
ticularly Islam, human life on
earth can be seen as a game.
The victories and defeats in
this game, as well as the for-
mation of the system of laws,
are determined by Allah, the
organiser of this game, and
not by humans. Adhering to
Allah's laws is essential be-
cause without it, chaos may
prevail. If anyone disregards
or opposes these laws, they
will disrupt the harmony of
this life/game and may create
disturbances on earth.
out a methodology of in-
terpretation, it is impossi-
ble to define the accuracy
and objectives of religious
'efforts', it's important to beliefs.
recognise that it's not the For a religious belief to
failure of reform efforts, be truly effective, there
but rather a lack of inter- must be consistent social
est or commitment from reformative interventions
those at the receiving end. from the part of that reli-
Religion, to conclude, is gion. Since there are dif-
the framework that guides ferent philosophies of life
the perplexed man out of -- religions-- in a society,
his darkness. It has a strict and since religious sys-
methodology, for without a tems differ from other sys-
reasonable methodology, a tems in terms of spiritual-
religion invokes ambigui- ity, values and divine
ty, subjective interpreta- guidance, inte g rating
tions and potential doubts them into other systems
about the credibility of leads to conflict and confu-
spiritual interpretations. sion, hindering religious
It is Allah who sent the issues. It is in this context
Prophet to explain this that a public display of the
framework. However, if fundamentals of a religion
this framework is to be un- is necessary and relevant.
derstood in times when Conferences provide a
there is no Prophet, then great opportunity for such
the Scriptures that have public exhibitions of reli-
defined it must be under- gion, and let those who use
stood. That's where a meth- their reason, think and un-
odology of interpreting derstand from what they
the Scriptures of religion get to hear and see at such
becomes necessary. With- venues.