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CITY EDITION
22 Pages ₹ 12.00

Vol.13 앫 No.212

Printed at » Chennai » Coimbatore » Bengaluru » Hyderabad » Madurai » Noida » Visakhapatnam » Thiruvananthapuram » Kochi » Vijayawada » Mangaluru » Tiruchirapalli » Kolkata » Hubballi » Mohali » Malappuram » Mumbai » Tirupati » Lucknow » Cuttack » Patna

CM J ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU Wednesday, September 6, 2023
J2 Delhi

CM J ND-NDE
YK
 WEDNESDAY www.thehindu.com FOLLOW US
September 6, 2023 facebook.com/thehindu
twitter.com/the_hindu
DELHI
instagram.com/the_hindu
CITY EDITION
22 Pages ₹ 12.00

Vol.13 앫 No.212

Printed at » Chennai » Coimbatore » Bengaluru » Hyderabad » Madurai » Noida » Visakhapatnam » Thiruvananthapuram » Kochi » Vijayawada » Mangaluru » Tiruchirapalli » Kolkata » Hubballi » Mohali » Malappuram » Mumbai » Tirupati » Lucknow » Cuttack » Patna

SC Bench reserves
verdict in Article 370
‘Bharat’ replaces ‘India’ in KERALA HILL STATIONS

abrogation challenge
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
A Constitution Bench,
headed by Chief Justice of
India D.Y. Chandrachud,
on Tuesday reserved its
judgment on petitions
challenging the abrogation
of special status given to
Jammu and Kashmir under
Article 370 of the
Constitution.
The hearings, which
saw submissions made by
both petitioners and the
government on the consti­
tutionality of the proce­
dure adopted to repeal the
Article and the abolition of
Statehood of Jammu and
Kashmir, spanned 16 days.
The government, repre­
sented by Attorney­Gener­
al R. Venkataramani, Solic­
itor­General Tushar Mehta
and advocate Kanu Agra­
wal, had argued that the
abrogation was necessary
to completely integrate
Jammu and Kashmir into
Centre has said
abrogation necessary
to completely
integrate J&K into
the Union of India
the Union of India. The go­
vernment said the Valley
had prospered after the re­
peal of Article 370. It said
elections were due in J&K,
which would revert to full
Statehood again once the
situation on the ground re­
turned to normal.
Mr. Mehta said Jammu
and Kashmir became a Un­
ion Territory in an “ex­
traordinarily extreme sit­
uation”. He said terrorism,
infiltration, stone­throwing
and casualties among se­
curity personnel had re­
duced by 45.2%, 90.2%,
97.2% and 65.9%, respec­
tively, post the abrogation.
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 12
G­20 invite from President
Government sources deny plan to formalise only one name for country during Special Session of
Parliament; Opposition says BJP is afraid of INDIA; ruling party leaders welcome use of ‘Bharat’
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
nvitations sent by Pre­
I sident Droupadi Mur­
mu to the heads of
states and governments
and the Chief Ministers of
Indian States for an official
banquet on the occasion of
the G­20 Summit in New
Delhi created a flutter as
the word “India” was re­
placed with “Bharat”.
Instead of the usual
“President of India”, the
invitation cards said “Presi­
dent of Bharat”.
The Opposition ques­
tioned the reason for the
change, while Ministers
and leaders of the ruling
party welcomed the move.
Government sources
told The Hindu that the
word “Bharat” will be used
more and more in the com­
ing months for official
A view of the G­20 logo near the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi,
which is set to host the G­20 Summit. R.V. MOORTHY
communication.
BJP national secretary
Sambit Patra posted on X
(formerly Twitter) the cov­
er of Prime Minister Naren­
dra Modi’s function notes
for his two­day visit to In­
donesia to attend the
ASEAN­India Summit,
which refer to him as
HC moots
carrying
capacity
study
STATES » PAGE 6
told that all talk of a formal
action in the Special Ses­ INORDINATE DELAY
sion of Parliament to
change the name of India The case for
was “rubbish”.
“It is clearly stated in the
Constitution that ‘India,
polls in Jammu
and Kashmir
that is Bharat, is a Union of
states’ so where is there
any need for any change,” It can stem the
a senior Union Minister widespread alienation
said. “The INDIA bloc of
parties have tried to re­
EDITORIAL » PAGE 8
duce the identity of the
country to their alliance,
which is not good, and the­
refore the use of the name
‘Bharat’ both as a decolo­
“Prime Minister of Bharat”. nising nomenclature and
Opposition leaders al­ to bring the name of the
leged that the shift to the country out of this reduc­
name “Bharat”, instead of tive exercise was re­
India in communication, quired,” the Minister said. NO SURPRISES
was a way to prevent the
INDIA bloc from being
K.L. Rahul included in
CONTINUED ON
identified with the coun­ » PAGE 12 India’s World Cup squad
try’s name. ‘NAMES INTERCHANGEABLE’ SPORT » PAGE 17
Government sources » PAGE 13

Keeping at bay Lone affirms

he is a dutiful
citizen; govt.
faults affidavit
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI

Mohammad Akbar Lone,

MP from Jammu and Kash­
mir and one of the main pe­
titioners in the challenge to
the abrogation of Article
370, filed a single­page affi­
davit in the Supreme Court
on Tuesday saying he is a
“responsible and dutiful ci­
tizen of the Union of India”
who is exercising his right
to approach the top court.
Mr. Lone, in the affidavit
filed on an order by the Su­
preme Court, reiterated his
oath as an MP to protect the
Constitution and the territo­
rial integrity of India.

Practised hand: As paddy harvest progresses in Kashmir, a woman clangs a tin box to scare away birds CONTINUED ON
flying in for easy pickings from the sheaves in Ganderbal district on Tuesday. NISSAR AHMAD » PAGE 12

IN BRIEF
쑽 Byelections to 7 Assembly seats
Spell out agenda
of Special House
peaceful; results on September 8
Session: INDIA
The Hindu Bureau Bypolls were held in Assembly seat in Jharkhand
NEW DELHI NEW DELHI Uttar Pradesh, West was conducted peacefully,
Opposition’s INDIA bloc on Bengal, Jharkhand, according to Chief Electoral
Tuesday demanded that the Byelections to Assembly Officer K. Ravi Kumar. He
Kerala, Tripura and
Modi government maintain seats in Uttar Pradesh, West said till 5 p.m., 63.75% of
transparency on the agenda Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala, Uttarakhand 2.28 lakh voters exercised
for the special session of Tripura and Uttarakhand their franchise.
Parliament from September were held by and large stakes bypoll is the first The poll was necessitat­
18­22. » Page 12 peacefully on Tuesday. electoral contest in U.P. af­ ed after the death of Jhark­
Election Commission offi­ ter the formation of the Op­ hand Mukti Morcha MLA
cials said no major unto­ position Indian National De­ and former Education Mi­
‘Will block funds ward incidents were report­ velopmental, Inclusive nister Jagarnath Mahto.
if Governor keeps ed. The counting of votes is Alliance (INDIA) bloc. The The byelection in the
scheduled for Friday. BJP refuted the charges of Puthuppally Assembly con­
interfering’ The voting for the Ghosi the SP, adding the Opposi­ stituency in Kerala, where
Assembly seat in Uttar Pra­ tion had already accepted the United Democratic
KOLKATA desh ended amid allega­ defeat. Front (UDF) and the Left
West Bengal CM Mamata tions by the Samajwadi Par­ The bypoll was necessi­ Democratic Front (LDF) are
Banerjee on Tuesday ty (SP) of administrative tated following the resigna­ locked in a high­stakes bat­
threatened economic blockade machinery misuse by the tion of Dara Singh Chauhan, tle, registered a rather mod­
of higher educational ruling Bharatiya Janata Par­ who had won the seat in the erate voter turnout of
institutions if Governor C.V. ty (BJP). 2022 polls, from the Samaj­ 72.91%.
Ananda Bose continued to At 5 p.m., the Election wadi Party (SP) to join the
“interfere” with their Commission recorded more BJP recently. CONTINUED ON
functioning. » Page 14 than 49% polling. The high­ The byelection to Dumri » PAGE 12
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
2 Wednesday, September 6, 2023
City
Restrictions in just a small area,
don’t listen to rumours: police
Entire Delhi is open, curbs only in a part of New Delhi, the police clarify a day after announcing
G­20 security­linked advisory; traffic snarls reported from across the city due to carcade rehearsal
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
A
day after announc­
ing curbs on com­
mercial activities in
the New Delhi district in
view of the G­20 Summit,
the Delhi police urged peo­
ple not to pay attention to
rumours regarding the
restrictions.
The police had on Mon­
day said all commercial de­
livery services, except pos­
tal and medical deliveries,
will be barred in New Delhi,
which falls under New Delhi
Municipal Council (NDMC)
jurisdiction, from Septem­
ber 8 to 10. The G­20 Lead­
ers’ Summit will be held on
September 9­10 at the new­
ly built international con­
vention and exhibition
centre, Bharat Mandapam,
in Pragati Maidan.
In a post on X (formerly
‘Delhi now has more e­buses than any other city’
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri­
wal and Lieutenant­Gover­
nor V.K. Saxena flagged off
400 new e­buses on Tues­
day.
Speaking at a press con­
ference, Mr. Kejriwal said,
“We already had 400 e­
buses in the city. Now, the
number has gone up to
800, making Delhi the city
with the maximum num­
ber of e­buses in the coun­
CM
YK
The G­20 Leaders’ Summit will be held in Pragati Maidan’s newly
built convention centre, Bharat Mandapam. R.V. MOORTHY
Twitter) on Tuesday, the
police said, “The whole of
Delhi is open. Just a small
part of the NDMC area will
have restrictions... Don’t
believe in rumours.”
In another post, the pol­
ice said while commercial
activities will not be allowed
on September 8­10, all es­
sential services, including
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (left) and Lieutenant­Governor V.K.
Saxena flagged off 400 e­buses on Tuesday. SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
try.” Sharing details of the
e­bus scheme, the L­G, in a
milk booths, medical shops,
and hospitals, will remain
functional in the NDMC
area.
Hours-long jam
Meanwhile, commuters re­
ported being stuck in traffic
jams on various stretches in
central Delhi for several
hours during the day due to
post on X (formerly Twit­
ter), said the buses flagged
Delhi
the police’s carcade rehear­
sal.
Heavy congestion was re­
ported on various road
stretches, including Outer
Ring Road near Indrapras­
tha Park, C­Hexagon, Sar­
dar Patel Marg, Africa Ave­
nue Road, Bhairon Marg,
and Mathura Road.
Traffic snarls were also
reported in Sarita Vihar, Ka­
rol Bagh, Mahipalpur, Bhe­
ra Enclave underpass, Gole
Market, Panchkuian Road,
Jhandewalan temple, and
Azad Market.
Ankita Singh, travelling
from Noida to New Delhi,
said the traffic on the Outer
Ring Road stretch near In­
draprastha was heavier
than usual. She said it took
her around one hour to
reach her destination,
which usually takes around
half an hour.
(With inputs from PTI)
off on Tuesday were part of
the Centre’s FAME­II (Fas­
ter Adoption and Manufac­
turing of Electric and Hy­
brid vehicles) scheme,
through which the city will
get 1,500 e­buses.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s
Delhi unit accused the AAP
government of trying to
steal credit for the Centre’s
initiatives.
It also said the Delhi go­
vernment had “not been
able to buy a single bus in
the past eight years”.
M ND-NDE
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
THE HINDU
Delhi 3

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
4 Wednesday, September 6, 2023

States Delhi

A ‘spiritual strife’ between Swaminarayan

sect and other Hindu outfits in Gujarat
It’s Congress’s minority
appeasement vs Modi’s
sabka vikas: Shah in M.P.
Mahesh Langa
AHMEDABAD

The religious leaders at the

Shri Kashtbhanjan Dev Ha­
numanji mandir in Salang­
pur, Botad district, man­
The Union Home Minister was addressing a public rally while flagging off the BJP’s Jan Ashirwad
aged by the Swaminarayan Yatra, a mass­contact programme, in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla, a key tribal belt in Mahakoshal
sect’s Vadtal branch, on
Tuesday removed the con­
troversial murals of Lord Shubhomoy Sikdar leader Narendra Modiji
Hanuman kneeling before RAIPUR says the tribals and the
and praying with folded poor have a right to the
hands to the 19th century ttacking the Con­ country’s treasury,” he
seer Sahajanand Swami
(1781­1830), founder of the
sect, known by his follow­
The new mural (in pink) at the Sarangpur Hanuman temple on Tuesday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

tured on camera, smearing goddesses. Opposition Congress and

A gress in poll­bound
Madhya Pradesh,
Union Home Minister Amit
said.
The budget for tribal
welfare has been increased
ers as Lord Swaminarayan. a black pigment and hit­ A day before, on Sun­ the Aam Aadmi Party Shah on Tuesday said the to ₹1.19 lakh crore by the
However, the controver­ ting the murals with an day, a meeting was held in either. people would have to Modi government from
sy that erupted about a axe. He was arrested and Sanand, Ahmedabad dis­ “It is a battle of supe­ choose between the ideol­ ₹24,000 crore during the
week ago has become a released on bail on Mon­ trict, at which religious fi­ riority and seers of Swa­ ogy of minority appease­ Manmohan Singh govern­
larger dispute between the day. gures of various temples minarayan have been try­ ment versus the one that ment, he said.
Swaminarayan sect that Chief Minister Bhupen­ and other organisations ing to distort Hinduism worked for the tribal com­ Amit Shah with Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Mr. Shah also hailed Mr.
wields political and eco­ dra Patel held a meeting in decided to boycott the and its practices, and try­ munities, the backward launch of the BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra, in Mandla on Tuesday. PTI Modi and CM Shivraj Singh
nomic power and other Ahmedabad on Monday Swaminarayan sect. On the ing to show that he is classes, Dalits and the Chouhan for tribal welfare
Hindu outfits in Gujarat. with the leaders of Swa­ same day, at a similar above all,” said Bharti Ba­ poor. dra Modi and the previous ryone protested, but he initiatives. Tribals consti­
The panel had been in­ minarayan Vadtal, com­ meeting at the Salangpur pu, a prominent Hindu Inaugurating the third of United Progressive Al­ did not agree,” he said. tute 21% of the population
stalled in the temple munity leaders, and seers temple that saw RSS leader seer in Gujarat. the five ‘Jan Aashirwad Ya­ liance (UPA) government. Mr. Shah said the pre­ of Madhya Pradesh and 47
thronged by thousands of other Hindu organisa­ Ram Madhav’s presence, a The rise of the sect has tras’, a pre­election out­ “I have come to tell all vious Congress govern­ out of the 230 Assembly
daily, on the pedestal of a tions. A later meeting bet­ committee of seers was coincided with the rise of reach programme in Man­ the brothers and sisters ment indulged in minority seats are reserved for
54­foot­tall statue of Hanu­ ween the two factions was formed to talk to the diffe­ Hindutva forces and the dla – a key tribal belt within from the tribal society in appeasement but things them.
man during its inaugura­ followed by an announce­ rent stakeholders. BJP in the late 80s and ear­ the Mahakoshal region — Madhya Pradesh. There changed after 2014 when Mr. Shah was scheduled
tion in April by Union ment that the contentious So far, no formal state­ ly 90s. In the last Assembly Mr. Shah referred to a 17­ was a United Progressive Mr. Modi entered the to inaugurate another ya-
Home Minister Amit Shah. murals would be removed ment has been made by polls in 2022, for the first year­old speech by former Alliance government... scene. “On the one hand, tra in Sheopur later in the
It triggered widespread and that nobody from the any major faction of the time, a Swaminarayan Prime Minister Manmohan Manmohan Singh was the the Congress claims that evening but could not
protests by several Hindu Swaminarayan sect would Swaminarayan sect regard­ monk D.K. Swami won the Singh as he sought to draw PM, he made a statement… minorities have the right reach there because of
religious seers and priests. make any disparaging or ing the ongoing controver­ election from Jambusar a distinction between the he said that minorities over the country’s treasu­ weather conditions. He ad­
On Saturday, a local man, derogatory remarks sy. No statement has come constituency as a BJP can­ current dispensation led have the first claim on the ry, and on the other hand, dressed the event through
Harshad Gadhvi, was cap­ against the Hindu gods and from the ruling BJP or the didate. by Prime Minister Naren­ country’s treasury. Eve­ the country’s PM and BJP phone.

BJP plans to
INBRIEF
쑽
A Minister without portfolio Yatra attacked by
take out two
is a constitutional travesty, Cong. in M.P., claims yatras in
BJP; people’s ire: Oppn. Chhattisgarh
says Madras High Court
Press Trust of India Shubhomoy Sikdar
BHOPAL RAIPUR
Mohamed Imranullah S. perform the duties of a Mi­
CHENNAI nister effectively. “He is a The Madhya Pradesh Bha­ As part of its preparations
Minister for the name ratiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Assembly election
“A Minister without portfo­ sake... a Minister without claimed its ‘Jan Ashirwad due by the end of this year,
lio is a constitutional traves­ any work... ,” they said. Yatra’ was attacked in Nee­ the Bharatiya Janata Party
Slain poet Madhumita Shukla’s ty,” the Madras High Court It also said, “The present much district on Tuesday (BJP) will launch two ‘Pari­
observed on Tuesday. It case brings to the fore the evening and alleged vehi­ vartan Yatras’ (tours for
sister says threat from shooter said the continuation of V. erosion of high standards of cles, part of the march, change) in Congress­ruled
Senthilbalaji in the Cabinet, character and conduct de­ were vandalised by the Chhattisgarh, starting Sep­
Nidhi Shukla, sister of late Madhumita Shukla for Madhya Pradesh BJP president tember 12.
despite his being in judicial manded from the legisla­ Congress supporters.
whose murder former Uttar Pradesh Minister V.D. Sharma flagging off a Both the yatras will cov­
custody in a money laun­ V. Senthilbalaji being produced tors. The petitioners expect However, the Opposi­
Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani ‘Vikas Rath Yatra’ in Bhopal on er a distance of 2,989 km
dering case, “does not au­ in a special court in Chennai. and legitimately so high tion party sidestepped the
Tripathi were convicted, alleged on Tuesday that Tuesday. ANI across 87 Assembly consti­
gur well with the principles FILE PHOTO standards of moral conduct BJP’s allegations saying
she has received death threats from Santosh Rai, tuencies during which the
of constitutional ethos on by the persons in power. the attack reflected peo­
the shooter. Ms. Shukla sent a complaint letter to party will raise issues
goodness, good governance tody, nor did they envisage The Chief Minister is the re­ ple’s anger against the rul­ attacked the yatra, and
the police demanding action against the shooter against the Bhupesh Bagh­
and purity in that the Executive Head pository of the people’s ing party and the govern­ broke the vehicles which
alleging she received six phone calls. Rai is el government.
administration”. would reward an elected faith. Political compulsion ment headed by Chief were part of the convoy in
currently out of jail on parole. Tripathi, his wife, As has been the format
Chief Justice S.V. Ganga­ Member with the status of a cannot outweigh the public Minister Shivraj Singh a systematic manner.
Rai and two others were arrested in September of this outreach pro­
purwala and Justice P.D. Au­ Minister, though finding morality, requirements of Chouhan. However, State Con­
2003 in connection with the murder case and gramme in two other
dikesavalu expected Chief him not fit to discharge the good/clean governance and gress media department
sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2007. States – Rajasthan and
Minister M.K. Stalin to take responsibilities of a Minis­ the constitutional morality.” Launched on Monday chairman K.K. Mishra said
a call on the arrested Minis­ ter,” the Bench wrote. Authoring the verdict, This leg of ‘Jan Ashirwad angry people have started Madhya Pradesh – senior
ter’s continuation in the Ca­ The court made the ob­ the Chief Justice said, “The Yatra’ (March for People’s giving their “blessings” to national leaders will flag
binet purely on concerns servations while disposing CM is an executive head. It Blessings) was launched the ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’. off the event at Jashpur and
Scuffle breaks out among over constitutional and pu­ of a batch of three writ peti­ is the responsibility of an by Defence Minister and “V.D. Sharma is venting Dantewada, situated in the
blic morality, though a per­ tions filed by AIADMK form­ executive head to assign mi­ tribal belts of Sarguja and
Cong. supporters in Karnal son in judicial custody was er MP J. Jayavardhan, Desiya nisterial responsibilities to
senior BJP leader Rajnath
Singh on Monday from
out his personal frustra­
tion on the Congress. Such Bastar, while Prime Minis­
not barred, either under the Makkal Sakthi Katchi presi­ an elected representative. Neemuch. reaction from the public is ter Narendra Modi will ad­
A scuffle broke out among the Congress
Constitution or any statute, dent M.L. Ravi and one S. However, if he feels that a Alarmed by the massive coming due to the BJP’s dress a public event in Bi­
supporters in Karnal on Tuesday when some of
from continuing as a Ramachandran against Sen­ particular elected represen­ public support for the ya- own sin. The CM recently laspur in Central
them raised slogans outside the venue where the
Minister. thilbalaji’s continuation in tative cannot be assigned tra ahead of the Assembly distributed shoes to peo­ Chhattisgarh.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) and other
the Cabinet even after the the responsibility of a Minis­ polls, Congress supporters ple, who are now return­ BJP State president
party coordinators were having consultations
‘Corrosion of values’ Enforcement Directorate ter, there cannot be moral attacked the march in Nee­ ing them with love,” Mr. Arun Sao said the yatra
with the district­level leaders. The talks with the
“The founding fathers of arrested him as early as on or constitutional basis to re­ much district and vandal­ Mishra said. will start from Dantewada
party workers have been going on for the past
our Constitution may not June 14, 2023. tain such a Member of the ised vehicles, said State Former State Congress on September 12 and from
few days across Haryana seeking feedback on the
have comprehended corro­ The judges agreed with Legislative Assembly as a BJP president V.D. Shar­ president Arun Yadav said Jashpurnagar on Septem­
restructuring of the State Congress. In
sion of good and clean go­ senior counsel V. Raghava­ Minister without portfolio, ma. He said, “Strict legal protest against the yatra at ber 16. The first one will be
Yamunanagar too, workers from rival factions
vernance to an extent that a chari and advocates K. Sak­ which would be opposed to action will be taken Rawlikudi village under flagged off by Union Home
raised slogans while a party meeting was under
person would be retained thivel and S. Sheik Ismail the ethos, good governance against them.” Mr. Sharma the Manasa Assembly con­ Minister Amit Shah while
way. Party leader Om Prakash Saluja said he
as a Minister without port­ that a person in judicial cus­ and constitutional morality also alleged that the van­ stituency was a reflection the other will be flagged off
sustained bruises during the scuffle in Karnal. PTI
folio, that too, while in cus­ tody would not be able to or integrity.” dals hid behind trees and on the BJP’s 18­year rule. by J.P. Nadda.

‘Mayawati has to decide which side of history she wants to be on’ Court summons Delhi
CM’s wife for enrolling as
Congress will welcome everyone and anyone in the fight against the BJP, says party’s U.P. unit president on strategy for 2024 Lok Sabha election
voter in 2 constituencies
the party’s strategy for the by the party’s central lea­ targeted by the BJP govern­ Priyanka Gandhi's
INTERVIEW The Hindu Bureau Ms. Kejriwal was filed in
2024 polls, seat­sharing ar­ dership. We want to defeat ment. Incidents of atroci­ candidature from
rangements in U.P. and the the BJP at the Centre, and ties on Dalits are increasing Varanasi. Will both NEW DELHI April 2019 and the offence
Ajay Rai possibility of an alliance U.P. with 80 Lok Sabha by the day in U.P. It is up to Priyanka and Rahul attracts a maximum pun­
with the Bahujan Samaj seats would play a major Mayawatiji to decide which Gandhi contest from The Tis Hazari Court here ishment of imprisonment
Mayank Kumar Party (BSP). Excerpts: role in it. We, at the State side of history she wants to U.P.? issued summons to Sunita of two years. According to
level, are focused on re­ be on. We will welcome Kejriwal, the wife of Delhi the complainant, Ms. Kejri­
ewly appointed Ut­ How do you plan to gional and district issues as everyone and anyone in We have been continuous­ Chief Minister Arvind Kejri­ wal is registered as a voter

N tar Pradesh Con­

gress Committee
president Ajay Rai faces an
revive the Congress in
Uttar Pradesh?
U.P. is going through a
phase of anarchy and law­
lessness with the high and
the fight against the BJP.

What’s your stand on

ly demanding Priyanka
Gandhiji’s candidature
from Varanasi and will
wal, for allegedly violating
provisions of the Represen­
tation of the People Act,
in Sahibabad of Uttar Pra­
desh’s Ghaziabad and
Chandni Chowk in Delhi.
uphill task of reviving the Our single­point agenda is mighty going scot­free af­ caste census in view of work tirelessly to make 1951, by getting herself en­ Terming it a violation of
party’s fortunes in the pol­ struggle. Every challenge, ter heinous crimes and Samajwadi Party chief sure that she emerges vic­ rolled as a voter in two As­ Section 17 of the Represen­
itically crucial and most­ big or small, can be over­ U.P. Congress chief Ajay Rai poor people’s houses be­ Akhilesh Yadav torious. As far as Rahulji is sembly constituencies. tation of the People Act,
populous State. In an inter­ come only through strug­ faces an uphill task. ing bulldozed over minor demanding one in U.P.? concerned, the people of The summons to Ms. the complainant stated
view with The Hindu, the gle. We are ready to fight issues. Amethi want Rahul Gand­ Kejriwal was issued on Au­ that Ms. Kejriwal is liable to
former five­time MLA who against the atrocities com­ the Opposition’s INDIA Our stand is similar to that hi. I visited Amethi and pe­ gust 29 by Metropolitan be punished under Section
contested against Prime mitted every day by the bloc. What would be the What about alliance of our leader Rahul Gand­ ople are missing Rahulji. Magistrate Arjinder Kaur 31 of the Act, which deals
Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party seat­sharing formula in with the BSP? hi. He, too, demanded a They have vowed to rectify on a plea filed by Bharatiya with false declarations.
and lost, from Varanasi in government. U.P. in 2024? caste­based census. their mistake by electing Janata Party leader Harish Welcoming the court or­
the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sab­ The support base of the him in 2024 with a huge Khurana. der, Mr. Khurana said this
ha election, speaks about The Congress is part of That decision will be taken BSP is continuously being You pitched for margin. The complaint against an “unforgivable offence”.
Published by Nirmala Lakshman and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai­600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
Regd. DL(ND)­11/6110/2006­07­08 RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 ­ 751X
● ●

CM M ND-NDE
YK

Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Delhi
L­G returns Delhi Centre should remove 50% cap, raise quota by
govt. proposal to hike 15% to 16% to include more communities: Pawar
farmland circle rates
Another flashpoint between Saxena and AAP govt.; Raj Niwas official
says genuine clarifications sought; will respond to queries: Kejriwal
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
ieutenant­Governor
L Vinai Kumar Saxena
has returned with
queries a file on the Delhi
government’s decision to
increase the circle rates of
agricultural land, Chief Mi­
nister Arvind Kejriwal said
on Tuesday.
“Whatever his queries
are, we will reply to them,”
Mr. Kejriwal told reporters.
An official at Raj Niwas
said Mr. Saxena has “only
sought some genuine clari­
fications on the govern­
ment’s proposal”.
The Delhi government
had last month decided to
increase the circle rates of
agricultural land to ₹2.5­5
crore an acre from ₹53 lakh
per acre. The development
is the latest in a series of
confrontations between
the Aam Aadmi Party go­
vernment and the Centre­
appointed L­G. The power
tussle between the two has
Replace ‘service
charge’ with ‘staff
contribution’, says HC
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The Delhi High Court has
asked the members of a
hospitality industry body
to use the term ‘staff con­
tribution’ instead of ‘ser­
vice charge’ for the
amount they charge
patrons.
The direction on Tues­
day came while hearing
petitions against guidelines
prohibiting hotels and res­
taurants from automatical­
ly levying ‘service charge’
on food bills.
Justice Prathiba M.
Singh directed the Federa­
tion of Hotels and Restau­
rant Associations of India
(FHRAI) to clearly specify
this charge on menu cards,
adding that this amount
should not be over 10% of
the bill. “They (restau­
rants) will make it clear
ED summons to Nussrat bid
to tarnish our image: TMC
Press Trust of India
KOLKATA
The Trinamool Congress
has criticised the sum­
mons by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) to party
MP and actor Nussrat Ja­
han on Tuesday for ques­
tioning in a case related to
alleged fraud against se­
nior citizens.
Talking to reporters, Ms.
Jahan said she “would
cooperate with the probe”.
Her party has called it a
“vindictive” move to tar­
nish its image before the
upcoming Lok Sabha elec­
tions. The Bharatiya Janata
Party dismissed the allega­
tions as baseless and ques­
tioned the TMC over its
“panic”.
“This is vendetta polit­
ics by the BJP ahead of the
Lok Sabha polls. They are
using everything they can
to accuse us and other Op­
position parties. This sum­
mons is just another at­
tempt to tarnish our image
before polls,” TMC leader
and State Parliamentary
CM
YK
Delhi Lieutenant­Governor
Vinai Kumar Saxena.
delayed approvals for va­
rious government schemes
over the last few years.
While returning the file,
which was seen by The Hin-
du, Mr. Saxena noted that
the proposed rates are
based on a working group
report dated April 15, 2017,
and that a number of villag­
es have been urbanised
since then.
“It appears this has re­
sulted in the overlapping of
some villages in the catego­
ries of Urbanised and
Green Belt villages in South
West District,” the L­G
added.
He also said the file is
that it is not a levy by the
government,” she added.
The Central Consumer
Protection Authority
(CCPA) had on July 4, 2022,
banned restaurants and
hotels across the country
from adding ‘service
charge’ to food bills. The
National Restaurant Asso­
ciation of India (NRAI) and
the FHRAI subsequently
challenged the decision in
the High Court, which
stayed the CCPA order.
Justice Singh on Tues­
day said ‘staff contribu­
tion’ “shall not be more
than 10% excluding GST”,
adding that it was only an
interim order. However,
the NRAI said ‘service
charge’ was the accepted
terminology that cannot be
replaced. Taking note of
the submission, the court
listed the matter for hear­
ing on October 3.
Nussrat Jahan has been
summoned for questioning on
September 12. FILE PHOTO
Affairs Minister Sovandeb
Chattopadhyay said.
Leader of the Opposi­
tion in the West Bengal As­
sembly Suvendu Adhikari
dubbed the allegations of
vendetta politics as
baseless.
‘Why the fear?’
“Whenever the ED or CBI
summons TMC leaders,
they discuss vendetta polit­
ics. But in reality, the TMC
is neck deep in corruption,
and there is not a single
leader who doesn’t have
graft allegations against
THE HINDU
5
States
The Hindu Bureau
MUMBAI
communities.
Addressing a press con­
ference at Jalgaon, he said,
add 15­16% to it.” Mr. Pawar
added there should be no
difference between OBCs
nessing protests by the Ma­
ratha community, de­
manding reservations in
village on Dhule­Solapur
road in Ambad tehsil,
around 75 km from
Amid the renewed focus “Some people say that in­ and other communities. government jobs and edu­ Aurangabad.
on reservation for Marath­ cluding more beneficiaries In May 2021, the Su­ cational institutions. The On the drought­like sit­
as in Maharashtra, Nation­ is injustice to the poor peo­ preme Court had held the stir began afresh on August uation in the State, Mr. Pa­
alist Congress Party (NCP) ple already in the existing reservation for Marathas to 29 in Jalna district with Ma­ war said fodder for cattle,
patriarch Sharad Pawar on Other Backward Classes be unconstitutional as it noj Jarange, an activist, sit­ drinking water, economic
Tuesday asked the Centre (OBC) quota. This cannot violated the apex court or­ ting on a hunger strike. assistance to farmers and
“silent” on the rationale to remove the 50% cap on be ignored. The option is ders stating that reserva­ On September 1, the pol­ suspension of all types of
and the manner in which reservation in the country to make amendments by tion in any State should not ice used baton­charge and state levies are some of the
the villages had been clas­ and raise it by 15%­16% to the Centre in Parliament to exceed 50%. fired tear gas shells to dis­ measures that need to be
sified under various cate­ accommodate more the existing 50% cap and The State has been wit­ perse a violent mob at the taken by the government.
gories to differentiate bet­
ween rates.
‘Farmers’ demand’
Mr. Kejriwal had in August
said that the revision in cir­
cle rates has been a long­
standing demand by farm­
ers in the city. Revenue Mi­
nister Atishi had said that
since 2008, farmers have
been receiving compensa­
tion based on a circle rate
of ₹53 lakh per acre, which
is significantly less than the
prevailing market rate.
“Consequently, farmers
and the government have
both suffered losses. In
cases where farmers do
not receive equitable rates
for their land for govern­
ment projects, the situa­
tion often escalates into le­
gal disputes, leading to
protracted court battles
that can span years,” she
had said.
ED searches
premises of
Bhopal­based
business group
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
The Enforcement Directo­
rate (ED) on Tuesday said it
has conducted searches
against a Bhopal­based bu­
siness company and its
linked entities as part of a
money laundering probe,
which led to seizure of ₹8
lakh cash and some “in­
criminating” documents.
The agency said the tar­
gets included the Peoples
Group, its linked entities
such as Sarvajanik Janka­
lyan Parmarthik Nyas, Peo­
ples University, and Sarks
Metal Pvt. Ltd., as well as
their directors Rohit Pan­
dit, Mayank Vishnoi and
others.
An ED official said the
searches were launched on
Monday at multiple loca­
tions in the Madhya Pra­
desh capital.
them. If they have commit­
ted no wrong, why are they
afraid of ED or CBI sum­
mons,” he said.
Ms. Jahan has been
asked to depose before the
Central agency on Septem­
ber 12 here for questioning
in a case linked to the al­
leged duping of senior citi­
zens by promising them
flats in New Town on the ci­
ty’s eastern fringes, official
sources said on Tuesday.
The ED probe pertains
to a group of senior citi­
zens recently lodging a
complaint accusing a real
estate company of cheat­
ing by promising them flats
in New Town.
Ms. Jahan, 33, held a
press conference last
month and denied allega­
tions of being involved in
any fraudulent practice,
saying she had resigned
from the company’s direc­
torship in March 2017. The
TMC Lok Sabha MP from
Basirhat had said she had
taken a loan from the com­
pany and repaid it with in­
terest in May 2017.
M ND-NDE

6 Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Kerala HC seeks to explore carrying capacity of hill stations Bring back BJP to
The Hindu Bureau
KOCHI
The Kerala High Court on
Tuesday sought the views
of the Union government
in utilising the services of
the expert teams that as­
sessed the carrying capaci­
ty of Himalayan States for a
similar exercise in the hill
stations of Kerala when
Idukki District Collector
Sheeba George informed
the court that as many as
326 land encroachments
had been identified in
Munnar.
Heavy downpour Puthuppally registers 72.91%
floods Hyderabad voter turnout during bypoll
The Hindu Bureau
HYDERABAD
Stormwater rush following
an early­morning down­
pour created havoc in Hyd­
erabad city and surround­
ing areas causing a death,
severe inundation and traf­
fic chaos on Tuesday.
A four­year­old boy died
after accidentally falling in­
to a stormwater drain. His
body was fished out from a
lake.
As of 8.30 a.m. on Tues­
day, Miyapur recorded the
highest rainfall at 14.7 cm
followed by HMT Nagar in
Kukatpally at 14 cm, ac­
cording to the automatic
weather gauges of the Te­
langana State Develop­
ment Planning Society.
The India Meteorological
Department has issued an
‘orange’ alert for the city.
Serilingampally (13.8
cm), Rajendranagar (13.8
cm), Quthbullapur (12.1
cm), Shaikpet (12 cm),
Jumbo line-up
Dasara elephants receiving a ceremonial welcome at the palace in Mysuru on Tuesday. The group, which came from the jungle camps in the
Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, will be an integral part of the 10­day Dasara celebrations. M.A. SRIRAM
Prajwal Revanna
moves HC seeking
stay of verdict
The Hindu Bureau
BENGALURU
Prajwal Revanna, grand­
son of former Prime Minis­
ter and JD(S) national pre­
sident H.D. Deve Gowda,
on Tuesday moved the Kar­
nataka High Court seeking
a stay of its September 1
verdict that declared his
election to the Lok Sabha
null and void.
He made the request for
staying the verdict till he
filed an appeal before the
Supreme Court challeng­
ing the High Court order.
Justice K. Nataraja ad­
journed hearing on the ap­
plication till September 8
CM
YK
The Collector gave a pic­
ture of the encroachments
in the hill station before a
Division Bench on a peti­
tion filed by One Earth One
Life, a non­governmental
organisation.
The court also sought
the views of the State go­
vernment on a request of
the petitioner to appoint a
special officer to act
against the encroach­
ments. It also sought the
option of appointing a task
force to evict the encroach­
ers. However, the petition­
er pointed out that a task
Khairatabad, Malkajgiri
(10.9 cm), Secunderabad
(10.7 cm) were the other
areas which recorded
more than 10 cm rainfall
within a few hours. Rain
continued later too, but
with lesser intensity.
Stormwater drains
breached, streets were in­
undated and water entered
homes in several colonies
of Gajularamaram, Mani­
konda, Quthbullahpur, Sa­
nath Nagar, Balanagar and
Kukatpally.
Lightning kills three
Three persons, including
two women, were killed in
two separate incidents of
lighting strike in Jayashan­
kar Bhupalpally district of
Telangana on Tuesday. Ac­
cording to sources, two
women were killed when
they were struck by lightn­
ing in Chityal mandal. In
Kataram mandal, a farmer
was killed after being
struck by a thunderbolt.
Prajwal Revanna
while asking the petition­
ers who had questioned
the legality of his election,
to file their objections for
staying the verdict.
The court had set aside
Mr. Revanna’s election on
the grounds of corruption.
A file photo of Munnar. The Kerala High Court has sought the
possibility of assessing carrying capacity of regions like Munnar.
force of the Revenue De­
partment was functioning
to handle such cases.
Though seven candidates were in the fray, UDF and LDF were locked in a high­stakes battle; the
byelection was necessitated by the death of former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy
The Hindu Bureau
KOTTAYAM
he byelection in
T the Puthuppally
Assembly consti­
tuency of Kerala, where
the United Democratic
Front (UDF) and the Left
Democratic Front (LDF)
are locked in a high­stakes
battle, registered a rather
moderate voter turnout on
Tuesday.
As per the provisional
estimates released by the
district election authority,
the segment recorded a
polling percentage of 72.91.
Of the total 1,76,417 vo­
ters in the constituency,
1,28,624 voters exercised
their voting rights, of
which 64,084 were men
and 64,538 were women.
Kerala youth
hacks woman,
ends life
The Hindu Bureau
KOCHI
A 21­year­old native of Irin­
gol in Kerala reportedly
ended his life after hacking
a 19­year­old woman at her
house at Rayamangalam
on Tuesday.
Alka Anna Binu, a nurs­
ing student, sustained se­
rious injuries on her neck
and head, and was admit­
ted to a hospital. Her con­
dition remains critical, ac­
cording to the hospital
authorities.
The accused, Basil, re­
portedly attacked Binu for
allegedly ending her rela­
tionship with him.
(To overcome suicidal
thoughts, dial 104).
THE HINDU
States
The Collector informed
the court that surveys had
to be carried out in some
Braving intermittent showers that lashed the region, voters queued
up for hours to cast their votes in Puthuppally. VISHNU PRATHAP
The final polling figure, ho­
wever, will be released on­
ly later.
In the 2021 election, the
voter turnout was 74.9%
while it was 77.4% in 2016.
The polling on the day
began on a brisk note with
the first three hours re­
cording around 20% poll­
‘Fear of losing elections spurred Undeclared power
move for simultaneous polls’
The Hindu Bureau
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Kerala Chief Minister Pina­
rayi Vijayan on Tuesday
lent his voice to the grow­
ing chorus of protests
against the Central govern­
ment’s ‘one nation, one
election’ move.
Mr. Vijayan said on the X
social media platform:
“The moves for imposing
one nation, one election
reflect the Sangh Parivar’s
hideous agenda of sabotag­
ing our Constitutional va­
lues and democratic tradi­
tions to consolidate power.
We must unite to oppose
this vicious scheme and sa­
feguard our republic’s
foundational principles.”
cases to initiate action. In
other cases where surveys
were not required, deci­
sion would be taken in two
months after providing an
opportunity for the parties
concerned to be heard.
The court asked the offi­
cial whether there were
cases of construction activ­
ities progressing ignoring
the stop memo issued by
the authorities. A report on
such cases shall be filed
within a fortnight, the
Bench instructed the
official.
The Collector informed
ing. Although it witnessed
a lull around midday, the
momentum picked up
again in the afternoon as
voters braved the intermit­
tent showers to queue up
in front of polling booths.
All voters who reached
the polling station by 6
p.m. were allowed to exer­
Justice will be done to Gauri Lankesh when
her killers are convicted, says Siddaramaiah
The Hindu Bureau
BENGALURU
Justice will be done to Gau­
ri Lankesh when her killers
are convicted, Karnataka
Chief Minister Siddara­
maiah has said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah was
speaking at the Gauri Lan­
kesh memorial event to
mark the sixth anniversary
of her assassination, on
Tuesday. He expressed
confidence that given the
chargesheet filed in the
case was good and evi­
dence strong, the killers of
not just Gauri Lankesh, but
of M.M. Kalburgi, Naren­
dra Dabholkar and Govind
Pansare will also be con­
victed very soon.
The Chief Minister’s
statement comes amid dis­
satisfaction over prolonged
trial and demands for a
special fast track court. Ho­
cuts in force across
A.P.: State BJP chief
Pinarayi Vijayan
Mr. Vijayan said that by
aligning the Lok Sabha and
Assembly elections, the
Sangh Parivar also sought
to sabotage the political,
regional and linguistic di­
versity of the Rajya Sabha,
the Council of States. The
Sangh Parivar feared that it
would lose dismally in the
looming Assembly elec­
the Division Bench, con­
sisting of Justices A. Mu­
hamed Mustaque and Sho­
ba Annama Eapen, that
village officers had been in­
structed to strictly enforce
the stop memos.
The support of the Dis­
trict Police Chief was
sought for enforcing the
stop memo.
The Bench expressed its
displeasure at the state­
ments of some Communist
Party of India (Marxist)
leaders against the District
Collector and the amicus
curie in the case.
cise their franchise.
Among those who cast
the vote in the first few
hours include LDF candi­
date Jaick C. Thomas, UDF
candidate Chandy Oom­
men and Cooperation Mi­
nister V.N. Vasavan.
A native of Kaduthu­
ruthy, National Democratic
Alliance candidate G. Lijin
Lal did not have vote in
Puthuppally.
Barring a minor alterca­
tion between UDF and LDF
workers in front of a poll­
ing booth at Kooroppada,
the byelection was by and
large peaceful.
The byelection was ne­
cessitated due to the de­
mise of former Chief Minis­
ter Oommen Chandy on
July 18. A total of seven can­
didates were in the fray.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah during a programme organised by
Gauri Memorial Trust in Bengaluru on Tuesday. K. MURALI KUMAR
wever, he was silent on this
demand.
“Those who killed Gauri
Lankesh are of the same
persuasion as those who
killed Mahatma Gandhi.
Why did they kill them? Be­
cause they were fighting
for communal harmony in
the country,” Mr. Siddara­
maiah said, adding the
same forces were now
writing threat letters to
tions in five States. Hence,
it sought to transform the
country’s multi­tiered elec­
toral system into a central­
ised process to stack the
decks in favour of the cur­
rent disposition at the
Centre, he said.
Earlier, an amalgam of
national and regional par­
ties opposed to the BJP had
slammed the move as a fur­
therance of the Sangh Pari­
var’s majoritarian agenda,
which, they claimed, ab­
horred secularism and the
ethnic, linguistic, regional
and religious diversity and
the spirit of democratic
federalism that lay at the
core of the country’s par­
liamentary electoral
system.
change Rajasthan’s
future, urges Gadkari
The Hindu Bureau
JAIPUR
Union Road Transport and
Highways Minister Nitin
Gadkari on Tuesday called
upon the people of Rajas­
than to bring the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) to power
in the upcoming Assembly
election for ensuring a
“positive change” in the
State’s future. He said the
BJP would improve the
lives of farmers and labour­
ers, and create jobs for the
youths.
Mr. Gadkari flagged off
the BJP’s fourth Parivartan
Yatra from Gogamedi tem­
ple in Hanumanrgh dis­
trict’s Nohar block. The ya­
tra will cover 50 Assembly
constituencies in Bikaner
division and Jhunjhunu, Si­
kar and Alwar districts dur­
ing the next 18 days.
Addressing a public
meeting before the launch
of the yatra, Mr. Gadkari
said a “double engine go­
vernment” in Rajasthan
would construct roads,
supply water to farmers,
ensure remunerative pric­
es for agricultural pro­
duce, bring prosperity to
villages, formulate welfare
schemes for the poor and
open more schools and
hospitals.
“I request to you [the
public] to change the fu­
ture of the country and Ra­
jasthan with the dynamic
leadership of Prime Minis­
ter Narendra Modi and par­
ty President J.P. Nadda,” he
added.
Commenting on the dif­
ficulties faced by the farm­
ers because of fluctuating
prices and uncertain agri­
writers creating a sense of
fear and foreboding among
them, on which he has or­
dered a probe. “Whatever
be the political backing
they may have, we will not
spare anyone to create fear
among writers, activists or
do moral policing in the
State,” he said.
Recounting his associa­
tion with P. Lankesh and
Gauri Lankesh, he said
The Hindu Bureau
VIJAYAWADA
Andhra Pradesh BJP presi­
dent Daggubati Purandes­
wari said the power distri­
bution companies
(DISCOMs) had just a few
days ago announced ‘pow­
er cuts’ but later denied
that the supply was being
curtailed.
Addressing mediaper­
sons here on Tuesday, she
alleged that undeclared
power cuts were in force
across the State, especially
in rural areas. However,
the government was pre­
tending that the situation
was under control, to
Delhi
Nitin Gadkari and Vasundhara
Raje in Gogamedi,
Hanumangarh. @NITIN_GADKARI X
(FORMERLY TWITTER)
cultural output, Mr. Gadka­
ri said the diversification of
agriculture towards the
energy and power sectors
was the need of the coun­
try. An increased produc­
tion of ethanol from the
farm produces would ena­
ble the farmers to become
the “providers of energy”,
he said.
The senior BJP leader
said if the use of ethanol
was increased, the money
spent on the import of oil
would gradually reduce
and would shift to the de­
velopment of villages.
Ministry’s contribution
Highlighting his Ministry’s
contribution to Rajasthan
during the last nine years,
Mr. Gadkari said the roads
of the length of 6,300 km
had been constructed at a
cost of ₹50,000 crore,
while 2,531­km­long high­
ways were built at a cost of
₹35,000 crore. “There will
be no road work left in Ra­
jasthan by 2024,” he said.
Former CM Vasundhara
Raje, BJP State president
C.P. Joshi, Leader of Oppo­
sition Rajendra Rathore
and Deputy Leader of Op­
position Satish Poonia also
addressed the rally.
Gauri met him many times
when he was Chief Minis­
ter during his previous te­
nure, but never asked for
any personal favours. “She
always demanded govern­
ment intervention on be­
half of the voiceless,” he
said.
CPI(M) leader from Ker­
ala Shailaja Teacher
obliquely responded to the
controversy over Tamil Na­
du Minister Udayanidhi
Stalin’s remarks over Sana­
tana Dharma. She said if
Sanatana Dharma meant
“Varnashrama Dharma”,
which divided people into
a deeply hierarchical struc­
ture, then it could never be
accepted.
Gauri Lankesh’s family
members, farmer leader
Rakesh Tikait and Teesta
Setalwad, president of the
Gauri Memorial Trust,
were present at the event.
avoid public wrath. In real­
ity, there had been pro­
longed power outages and
the DISCOMs were forced
to impose restrictions on
industries. Farmers depen­
dent on borewells for irri­
gation bore the brunt of
such disruptions.
Thermal plants were
facing coal shortage, she
said .She alleged that the
government was not tap­
ping solar and wind energy
on one pretext or the oth­
er. The power crisis
showed no signs of easing,
she said and demanded
that the government re­
lease a White Paper on the
power supply position.
M ND-NDE

Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Delhi
What if INDIA ‘India vs Bharat’ row attempt to distort history: Mamata
alliance changes
name to Bharat,
says Kejriwal
AAP national convener says BJP is nervous
after the formation of the Opposition bloc
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
am Aadmi Party
A chief Arvind Kejri­
wal here on Tues­
day alleged that the BJP
wants to change the coun­
try’s name to ‘Bharat’ as it
is nervous after the forma­
tion of the Opposition’s IN­
DIA bloc and wants to pro­
tect its electoral interests.
Following a row over
G­20 Summit dinner in­
vites sent on behalf of the
“The President of Bharat”,
he asked if the ruling party
would change the name
Bharat too if the INDIA
bloc rechristens itself as
“Bharat”.
“The country belongs to
1.4 billion people. It
doesn’t belong to just one
party. If tomorrow INDIA
alliance changes its name
to ‘Bharat’, then will they
change name Bharat also?
Will they change Bharat to
the BJP? What a joke,” Mr.
Kejriwal said while ad­
dressing a press
conference.
The AAP chief alleged
that the BJP floated the
idea as it feels “anxious”
due to the formation of the
INDIA bloc.
“The BJP feels that their
votes may decrease, so
they want to change the
name (of the country) to
Bharat. This is a betrayal to
the nation,” he added.
On the controversy over
DMK leader Udhayanidhi
Stalin’s comments on “Sa­
natana Dharma”, Mr. Kejri­
wal said, “I am from Sana­
tana Dharma. Many of you
also belong to Sanatan
Dharma. We should res­
pect each other’s religion.
Speaking against others’
religion is not a good thing.
It is wrong.”
On Saturday, Mr. Stalin,
who is the Youth Welfare
and Sports Development
Minister in Tamil Nadu,
had likened Sanatana
AMU teachers
to protest over
demand for
regular V­C
The Hindu Bureau
LUCKNOW
Aligarh Muslim University
Teachers’ Association (AM­
UTA) on Tuesday gave a
call for a one­day dharna
(protest) demanding that a
panel be formed to appoint
a regular Vice­Chancellor.
The AMUTA said if the de­
mand for initiating the pro­
cess of selecting a regular
V­C is not taken seriously,
they may go on an indefi­
nite strike.
Nine members of the
Aligarh Muslim University
(AMU) Court, the supreme
governing body of the un­
iversity, also wrote a letter
to the Acting Vice­Chancel­
lor, Prof. Mohammad Gul­
rez, asking him to take im­
mediate steps to appoint a
regular Vice­Chancellor.
CM
YK
THE HINDU
7
States
Shiv Sahay Singh
KOLKATA
tioned the need to “sud­
denly use only Bharat”
while referring to India in
changing the name of ‘In­
dia’ exclusively to ‘Bharat’.
“We all say Bharat, what
this? The world knows us
as India. What happened
suddenly that the name of
ing changed but “history is
being rewritten in the
country”.
U.S. President Joe Biden,
are attending the event.
Union Minister Dhar­
Reacting to the controver­
sy over a G­20 dinner invite
in the name of ‘The Presi­
official communiques.
“India is Bharat and
Bharat is India,” the Trina­
is new in this? In English,
we say India and the ‘In­
dian Constitution; in Hin­
the country needs to be
changed?” the West Bengal
Chief Minister said.
The G­20 summit is be­
ing held in Delhi on Sep­
tember 9 and 10 under In­
mendra Pradhan shared
on X a G­20 dinner invita­
tion from President Drou­
dent of Bharat’, West Ben­
gal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee on Tuesday ques­
mool Congress chairper­
son asserted. She said that
there is now an attempt at
di, we say ‘Bharat ka Sam-
vidhan’. We all say
‘Bharat’, what is new in
The West Bengal Chief
Minister Banerjee alleged
that not only names are be­
dia’s presidency and
several heads of state from
across the world, including
padi Murmu which de­
scribed her position as
“The President of Bharat”.
The BJP feels
that their votes
may decrease, so they
want to change the
name to Bharat.
ARVIND KEJRIWAL
AAP national convener
Dharma to coronavirus,
malaria and dengue and
said such things should not
be opposed but
eliminated.
Meanwhile, AAP’s Rajya
Sabha MP Sanjay Singh al­
leged that the Narendra
Modi government wants to
remove the word 'India'
from the Constitution. He
alleged that the BJP and the
RSS always “spread
hatred”.
He claimed that “It was
started by RSS chief Mohan
Bhagwat. After removing
the word ‘India’, only the
word ‘Bharat’ will be used.
It is being speculated that
the Modi government will
now eliminate the word
‘India’ from the Constitu­
tion.”
‘Dream come true’
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief
Virendra Sachdeva said
changing the country’s
name to ‘Bharat’ will be a
dream come true for all
countrymen.
“Bharat is the ancient
name of our country and
India was affixed by the
British. All our scriptures
mention ‘Bharat Bhumi’ as
the country’s name, and
we raise the slogan of ‘Bha­
rat Mata ki Jai’ on all auspi­
cious occasions,” he said.
Timings
DELHI
WEDNESDAY, SEP. 06
RISE 06:02 SET 18:38
RISE 22:56
THURSDAY, SEP. 07
SET 12:31
RISE
RISE
06:02
23:45
SET 18:36
SET 13:33
FRIDAY, SEP. 08
RISE 06:03 SET 18:35
RISE 00:00 SET 14:29
0
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and make appropriate enquiries to satisfy
themselves about the veracity of an advertise­
ment before responding to any published in
this newspaper. THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., the
Publisher & Owner of this newspaper, does not
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ments in this newspaper.
M ND-NDE

8 Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Time to decide
Infrastructure development in the hills
cannot be the same as in the plains
T
he destruction wreaked by the floods in
north India in August has evoked con­
cern at the highest levels. Last month, a
Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chan­
drachud had suggested that an expert committee
conduct a “complete and comprehensive” study
on the carrying capacity of the Himalayan region.
Following this, the Centre has proposed setting
up a 13­member technical committee. “Carrying
capacity” is a concept derived from population­
biology and generally refers to the quantity of a
species that can thrive sustainably in a defined
ecosystem. Generally, population exceeding ca­
pacity will lead to a natural decline in numbers,
as witnessed when grasslands or overgrazed or
invasive species throttle existing biome. Applying
these ideas in the context of hill­stations and Hi­
malayan States — the challenge is between ba­
lancing rising population, infrastructural needs
and the precarious geography — is bound to be a
challenging enterprise. Going by recent history, it
is unlikely that a disinterested scientific opinion
will be palatable to every stakeholder in the Hi­
malayan States. Following the devastating floods
in Uttarakhand in 2013, the Supreme Court had
appointed a committee of experts to evaluate the
role of hydropower projects in the State. While
the committee’s reports did influence a reduc­
tion in the proposed hydro projects, they failed to
restrict road­widening projects and the carving
up of mountainsides in ways that were deemed
unsuitable for the topography.
The latest proposal by the Centre is not new;
as far back as 2020, it had circulated, among the
13 Himalayan States, guidelines to assess the car­
rying capacity of their hill stations, cities and eco­
sensitive zones. The Environment Ministry had in
May reminded all the States to undertake such a
study and submit them “as early as possible”.
The crisis of land subsidence experienced in
Joshimath, Uttarakhand, in January had also
sparked a debate on the conflict between infras­
tructural development and ecology, but in a mat­
ter of months, Himachal Pradesh saw an unex­
pected deluge washing away roads and highways
built on denuding mountains. More committees
and reports will not change the reality that infras­
tructure development in the hills cannot be exe­
cuted as in the plains. Either States must bear the
higher cost that comes from building more sus­
tainably and minimising the risk to denizens, or
designate regions as no­go zones. The latter has
for decades provided fertile ground for political
opportunism. As unequivocal scientific evidence
concludes, the option to kick the proverbial can
down the road no longer exists.
Coup in Gabon
African nations are facing pressure
from risk­taking generals
I
n July, when the pro­western regime of Presi­
dent Mohamed Bazoum was toppled in Nig­
er in a military coup, regional powers and
the West took a tough position against the put­
schists — an ultimatum to restore democracy in
the West African country. Several countries in
Africa, including Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso and
Guinea, have witnessed coups in recent months
and the ease with which the generals have seized
power in all these countries has set a dangerous
trend across the continent. But the new rulers of
Niger dismissed the western ultimatum. Within a
month, another regime in Africa was toppled —
this time, resource­rich Gabon. In the case of Ma­
li, Burkina Faso and Niger, all affected by Islamist
militancy, the military promised better security
and economic opportunities and managed to
consolidate power rather quickly. In Gabon, the
Republican Guard, a unit of the armed forces
whose job was to protect the President, moved to
seize power after the incumbent, Ali Bongo, was
declared the winner of a disputed election. Mr.
Bongo, who came to power in 2009, was a close
French ally like his father Omar Bongo, who
ruled the country for nearly 42 years. Ali Bongo’s
attempts to preserve the oil­rich country’s re­
serve forests, which cover 90% of Gabon, earned
him international applause, but at home, he nev­
er managed to fill his father’s shoes.
Gabon, an OPEC member, is one of the richest
countries of Africa in terms of per­capita income.
Yet, over a third of its 2.4 million people live in
poverty, and 40% of those between 15 and 24
years are unemployed, according to the World
Bank. When Omar Bongo was in power, the re­
gime got French protection in return for business
favours. But Ali Bongo’s regime came under sys­
temic pressure, with the Opposition demanding
free and fair elections and economic equity. The
military, probably emboldened by the successful
coups elsewhere in the continent, seized on pu­
blic resentment. Following the coup announce­
ment, thousands were in the streets of Libreville
celebrating. Whether the putschists had public
support or not, these coups speak of two major
trends in Africa. First, traditional regimes are
coming under increased pressure from within
and a generation of risk­taking generals are mak­
ing swift moves to grab power. This could turn
out to be a transborder threat to elections, re­
gime stability and order. Second, the coups also
reflect the continent’s changing geopolitical dy­
namics. All these countries were former French
colonies. In Mali and Burkina Faso, the Russians
have expanded their reach after the coup. Gabon
has already replaced France with China as its
most important trading partner. And the western
calls upon the putschists to go back to the bar­
racks have predictably fallen on deaf ears.
CM
YK
THE HINDU
Editorial
The case for elections in Jammu and Kashmir
T
he Narendra Modi administration’s
recent announcement of a committee
to look into simultaneous State and
Union elections indicates that Jammu
and Kashmir is unlikely to go to the polls anytime
soon, despite assurances that the administration
is ready whenever the Election Commission of
India (ECI) decides. Meanwhile, the ECI remains
bafflingly silent though Jammu and Kashmir’s
Chief Electoral Officer has stated that panchayat,
municipal and Lok Sabha elections will all be held
this ‘financial year’. If those elections can be
held, why not Assembly elections? The reason
cannot be security: panchayat elections have to
be conducted on a much larger scale as they
involve over 30,000 posts.
In March 2023, a delegation of 13 political
parties, led by Farooq Abdullah of the National
Conference, met ECI officials to urge that
Assembly election dates be fixed. Any further
delay, their memorandum said, ‘would amount to
denial of fundamental and democratic rights of
the people of Jammu and Kashmir and a breach
of constitutional obligations’. The delegation was
assured that its request would be considered, but
no action has been taken to date.
Distortions in representation
Jammu and Kashmir has not held legislative
elections for the past nine years. The last
Assembly election was in 2014, and the last
elected administration fell in June 2018. After
almost a year of President’s Rule, the Jammu and
Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 divided the
State into two Union Territories. Like the National
Capital Territory of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir is
entitled to an elected Assembly with curtailed
powers (for example, law and order remained
with the Union Home Ministry and security with
the Lieutenant­Governor); Ladakh is not.
The ostensible reason for the election delay
was the reorganisation Act’s requirement of a
fresh delimitation of constituencies following
their expansion to 114 from 107. Jammu and
Kashmir’s delimitation had earlier been frozen till
2026, in tandem with other Indian States. In
2019, it was added to four other States to be
delimited; the process was later postponed for
the four other States, leaving only Jammu and
Kashmir. The Delimitation Commission
submitted its final report in May 2022. Its
recommendations raised two concerns: it gave six
of seven new seats to Jammu and only one to the
Valley, derogating from the democratic principle
of equal representation. With 56.15% of the
erstwhile State’s population, the Valley was
allocated 47 seats as compared to Jammu’s 43
with 43.85% of the population. Former State
Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu likened the award
The implications of the expansion of BRICS
O
n August 24, the 15th BRICS summit in
Johannesburg announced that the
five­member grouping (Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa) had invited six
new members — Iran, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) from West Asia;
Egypt and Ethiopia from Africa, and Argentina
from Latin America. It was reported that 40
countries have shown interest in BRICS’
membership, with 22 having submitted formal
applications. From 2009, BRICS has met annually
at summit level, and is backed by several
ministerial and expert conclaves. It has spawned
two major institutions – the New Development
Bank (NBD) to provide development assistance
and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement that
supports countries facing short­term
balance­of­payments pressures. The NBD has
already financed 96 projects valued at $33 billion.
BRICS members have been united in their
dissatisfaction with the West­dominated
international institutions that had emerged after
the Second World War — the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, the United Nations
and its various bodies, particularly the Security
Council, and more recently, the World Trade
Organization. At Johannesburg, the UN Secretary
General António Guterres described them as
reflecting “yesterday’s world”. The United States
has led the western alliance in both the political
and economic areas.
BRICS challenges this West­led world order: it
promotes intra­BRICS economic and political
cooperation, builds institutions outside western
control, and agitates robustly for wide­ranging
reforms to accommodate the presence and
interests of emerging economies. The
Johannesburg Declaration categorically asserts
that the members’ “strategic partnership” will be
directed at achieving “a more representative,
fairer international order”. The recent expansion
of BRICS’s membership has shaped a grouping
that is aligned in terms of global perceptions and
interests, and collectively provides considerable
economic clout to the enlarged conclave. With
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Court order, ASI survey therein on the Places of
I write this letter as a senior Worship Act, 1991.
advocate in the Supreme The fundamental premise of
Court of India. The article, the article is that the Court
“Court’s order and the ASI gave a binding declaration
survey are flawed” (Editorial of the law in the Ram
page, September 4), argues Janmabhumi judgment
that the Supreme Court has with reference to the Places
gone against the “spirit” of of Worship Act, 1991.
its judgment in the Ram Another premise is that the
Janmabhumi case, Places of Worship Act, 1991
particularly the prohibits any inquiry to
observations rendered ascertain the religious
Delhi
to weighting Kashmir’s voter at 0.8 to Jammu’s 1. more ‘other backward classes’ (OBCs), including
The commission’s rearrangement of political West Pakistan refugees and Gorkhas. The
constituencies concentrated minority voters in
fewer districts or spread them across multiple
electoral impact of these two Bills will also be
mostly in Jammu, which has the largest number
districts, vitiating their vote share. In Jammu of Scheduled Castes and OBCs.
division, for example, Hindu­majority Padder At face value, there can be little objection to
Radha Kumar with a population of just over 50,000 was allotted these provisions. Effectively, it is another matter.
an Assembly seat, while thrice as numerous Pandit migrants have been elected without
is a writer and
policy analyst Muslim­majority Surankote was not. Former reservation for decades, even during the
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti called it a ‘tactical insurgency and after their exodus. They do not
process of rigging before the elections’. need reserved seats, they need security when
Changes in residency rules further skewed elected. Gujjars accept Pahari reservation if it
constituency balance. Prior to 2019, does not cut into their quota but have received no
non­permanent residents were not eligible to vote assurance of that. Long­term residents such as
in Assembly elections. After the reading down of refugees, Gurkhas and Valmikis should be
Article 370 and withdrawal of Article 35A, any entitled to vote, but does the former require a
person ‘ordinarily resident’ in the former State reserved seat? Given these gaps, the Bills risk
became eligible to vote, including any person entrenching caste­ and community­based voter
resident for more than 15 years; any person who polarisation in a region of many castes and
had studied there for more than seven years, and communities.
any person registered as a migrant by the Relief
and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants). As a Division versus confidence­building
result, a staggering 7.7 lakh new voters (net Successive reports from the ground suggest that
figures, after accounting for deletion of four lakh alienation has spread across the former State. In
voters) were added to the existing voter pool of Muslim­majority areas, people note that the
78.4 lakh. number of their representatives will shrink. In
Jammu, they suspect that fresh reservations are
Pitting one against the other directed towards creating new support for the
Proposed fresh reservations will further narrow Bharatiya Janata Party where the party is fading.
the number of seats available in the general In Kashmir, Home Minister Amit Shah’s repeated
category and/or expand competition within attacks on political leaders and repeated
reserved categories. Of four new Bills proposed assertions that ‘future legislators’ will emerge
by the Union Law Ministry, the first, the Jammu from panchayats, signal that the Union
and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, administration seeks supplicant legislators.
2023, reserves two seats for ‘Kashmiri migrants’ Despite their fears, most people now desire a
(one woman), and one for people displaced from speedy Assembly election. The unilateralism,
Pakistani­held territories of Jammu and Kashmir. nepotism and inaccessibility of Jammu and
All three seats are to be filled by nominees of the Kashmir’s centrally­directed administration has
Lieutenant­Governor. led to higher than ever unemployment and loss of
The second Bill, the Constitution ( Jammu and land and resource rights, leading even supporters
Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) of the August 2019 actions to believe they will do
Bill, 2023, includes the Pahari community and a better with elected representatives, especially
handful of small tribes in Jammu and Kashmir’s since Statehood will only he restored after
list of Scheduled Tribes. Paharis will now be able elections, according to Mr. Shah.
Holding an to contest reserved seats which were previously Meanwhile a welter of discontent is brewing in
dominated by Gujjars and Bakerwals. The most Ladakh, where the powers of the elected Hill
Assembly
affected area will be the Pir Panchal range along Councils have been whittled to puny by the
election soon the Line of Control with Pakistan, which includes Lieutenant­Governor’s office. Here too, the
can build Rajouri and Poonch, where Paharis are in a demand for Statehood is gaining ground.
confidence, as majority in seven out of eight Assembly Holding an Assembly election before the
prior segments. It has four seats reserved for year­end can build confidence, as prior
experience Scheduled Tribes. experience shows. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee
shows; it can The third Bill, the Constitution ( Jammu and administration held elections in 2002, at a time
Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) when insurgency had taken a heavy toll. But that
also stem the
Bill, 2023, includes the Valmiki community, election ushered in 12 years of peace­building,
alienation that earlier considered non­permanent residents, in with two free and fair elections. By contrast, the
has spread Jammu and Kashmir’s list of Scheduled Castes. attempt to rig the 1987 election led to over a
across the The fourth, the Jammu and Kashmir decade of armed conflict. The lesson is plain to
former State Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, adds 15 see for all but the intentionally blind.
the proposed expansion, BRICS will have 46% of and outreach to other developing countries.
world population, while its share of the global Thus, members have agreed to “encouraging the
GDP will go from 31.5% in PPP terms to 37%, far use of local currencies in internal trade and
ahead of the GDP of 30.7% of the G­7. The five financial transactions” between BRICS and other
core members account for 23% of global exports trading partners.
and 19% of global imports; with the new The Declaration also reflects the shared views
Talmiz Ahmad members, these figures will be boosted by 3.7% of its members on several political issues — the
is a former and 3%, respectively. The major impact will be on centrality of the United Nations; the problems in
Ambassador to Saudi the energy sector: out of global oil production of West Asia, i.e., Syria, Yemen, Palestine, the Arab
Arabia, Oman and the about 90 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2022, peace Initiative, and the Iran nuclear agreement;
United Arab Emirates the earlier five BRICS members had accounted for the war in Ukraine and global terror.
20% of global output; this will go to 42%.
Outlook for regional and global affairs
An addition of geo­strategic value The new BRICS members, particularly those from
The new BRICS members will bring considerable West Asia, naturally fit into this political and
geo­strategic value to the grouping. Those from economic framework. From 2020, both Saudi
West Asia are already closely tied to BRICS Arabia and the UAE have shrugged off the U.S.
members: 35% of Saudi oil production goes to yoke and shaped independent foreign policy
China and India; Russia, already a major oil paths for themselves. Saudi Arabia has pursued
supplier to China and India, is now looking at de­escalation and dialogue, ending the Qatar
Brazil as a market. Despite sanctions by the blockade in January 2021, engaging with Turkey,
United States, Iran has increased oil production and opening interactions with Iran from April
from a low of 400,000 barrels per day in the 2021. These regional engagements culminated in
Trump period to 2.2 mbd in August this year, the China­brokered accord with Iran in March
most of it going to China. Egypt and Ethiopia are this year.
an important presence in the strategically The UAE has also normalised ties with Iran and
important Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, while is focusing on expanding its maritime footprint
Argentina is the second largest economy in Latin across the Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and
America. the Horn of Africa. Iran’s entry into BRICS is
Rather than look at the issues being raised at propitious in that, besides its role in the energy
BRICS’ summits and other meetings, western sector, it opens up opportunities for accelerated
commentators have disparaged the grouping as regional economic cooperation, besides the
having no shared vision and being a “talk­shop” revival of the moribund north­south connectivity
with no worthwhile achievements. These projects through the Chabahar port with which
Apart from criticisms have little substance. BRICS leaders India is associated.
reflecting the have met over 15 years and every time have While western writers continue to harp on the
global overcome their internal divisions and emerging global binary divide and the “new cold
multipolar competitions to issue a consensual “Declaration”. war”, India and other BRICS members reject this
order, there is Over the years, the declarations have expanded short­sighted view and insist on asserting their
in content, focused on specific deliverables and strategic autonomy in a multipolar world order,
an alignment of
have steadily expanded their areas of interest. with member­nations demanding that their
global interests In the Johannesburg Declaration, while several voices be heard and their interests respected. It is
as well as paragraphs call for wide­ranging reforms in not surprising, then, that a recent media report
considerable international organisations, the bulk of the described the Johannesburg summit as a “turning
economic clout document focuses on intra­BRICS cooperation point in modern history”.
character of any place of occasion to go into this charitable endowments. adopted would endanger
public worship as the same question. As the article However, from the article, it other places of worship is
would amount to misconstrues the Court appears that select not warranted.
converting its religious judgment in Ram passages of the Ram C.S. Vaidyanathan,
character. Janmabhumi, it is Janmabhumi judgment are New Delhi
Both these premises are necessary to understand relied upon to demonstrate
slippery. First, the Ram what the judgment actually that permitting an ASI
Janmabhumi place of held with respect to the Survey would have the
worship was excluded from nature of a Hindu religious effect of converting the
the applicability of the structure. The judgment religious character of a Letters emailed to
provisions of the Places of merits close consideration place of public worship. letters@thehindu.
Worship Act, 1991 and, of the diverse issues relating The fear expressed that the co.in must carry the full postal
therefore, there was no to the law of religious and course which the Court has address.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 9
Delhi
Opinion

Decoding the Nyaya Sanhita Bill An arrow finding its mark

Y.S. Sharmila’s entry into the Congress could be a risk or an advantage

T
he government, by should be aimed at achieving the women and children) and Article
introducing in the Lok target of equal and uniform 51A(e) (renounce practices
Sabha three penal Bills application and should be derogatory to the dignity of once more may be unfounded
which is says “aim to structured in precise terms to women) that ‘Offences Against STATE OF PLAY since Mr. Rao is nurturing na­
decolonise the Indian justice impart maximum certainty. Women and Children’ has been tional ambitions and is not
system,” has rightly exercised its The idea of according justice or accorded first place in the R. Ravikanth Reddy moored to Telangana as such.
prerogative. Earlier governments nyaya may be the ultimate end, category of offences in Chapter V ravikanth.ramasayam@thehindu.co.in His party’s name too does not
B.B.Pande
dithered over this move for years. but every kind of criminalisation of the Bill. But we get a rude shock have ‘Telangana’ in it any

However, in matters of law­making
and reform, mere initiative may
not be sufficient.
In this case, we need to
particularly focus on three points.
The first is that penal law­making
and reform are serious issues
which require deep deliberation
and empirical validation. Second,
we must keep in mind the
diversity of considerations of
substantive and procedural laws,
and engage with the two sets
separately. Substantive laws
govern how people behave; they
define criminal offences and
specify punishment, whereas
procedural laws are aimed at
enforcement agencies that are to
provide safeguards and due
process even to the “worst”
offenders. Third, we need to
realise that penal laws are an
instrument for actualising and
propagating a wide variety of
interests as per the constitutional
vision and the dominant ideology.
Which interests need protection
and priority is a matter of
democratic process. In view of
these issues, let us analyse the
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill.
Participation from the people
The colonial penal law had to be
replaced not because it was
inherently flawed, but because it
lacked participation from the very
people for whom it was meant.
There is an imposition of foreign
ideas and values. Therefore, a
wide and diverse debate that
includes the participation of the
‘governed’ should be integral to
this exercise. Thomas Babington
Macaulay had said in the House of
Commons in 1833 that the basis of
a uniform code of laws for India
should be “uniformity when you
can have it, diversity where you
must have it, but in all cases
certainty.” The ensuing penal law
is means encroachment on liberties
formerly Professor of and decimation of freedoms. This
Law, Delhi task requires empirically analysing
University the shifts in the perceptions of
those types of behaviour that are
considered undesirable or
otherwise. We have recently
witnessed such a shift in respect to
attempted suicide, which, from an
offence under Section 309 of the
Indian Penal Code, is on the way
to becoming a mental problem
under Section 115(1) of the Mental
Health Care Act, 2017. Likewise, in
Joseph Shine v. Union of India, the
Supreme Court struck down
Section 497 (offence of adultery).
Therefore, there is a need to
conduct a wide­ranging social
audit of what constitutes
“undesirable” behaviour. Steven
Box wrote in Power, Crime and
Mystification, “For too long too
many of us have been socialised to
see crime and criminals through
the eyes of the state.” While not
everyone will agree with this, it
underscores the value of an
independent and impartial body
taking up the task of social audit of
what is undesirable behaviour.
Though there is an attempt to
impart brevity, the tendency of
retaining and adding new offences
tends to offset the advantages.
After the Indian Penal Code, many
special penal laws have been
enacted to deal with new and
emerging crimes, which could be
kept out of the Bharatiya Nyaya
Sanhita. Furthermore, serious
crimes such as organised crime
and terrorism could be located in
existing special laws, or a new
composite law, as suggested by the
Malimath Committee, could
handle them.
In matters of
law­making and Women and children
reform, mere It is in consonance with the
initiative may constitutional vision enshrined in
not be sufficient Article 15(3) (special provision for
when we realise that in the
proposed offence of rape under
Clause 63, sexual intercourse
between a man and his wife, if the
wife is above 18, is not rape. India
still seems to be guided by the
colonial mindset that is reflected
in Clause 359 of the Draft Penal
Code, 1837, which reads: “Sexual
intercourse by a man with his own
wife is in no case rape.” Likewise,
retaining Clauses 20 and 21 in
Chapter III (General Exceptions)
that relate to criminal liability in a
general penal law militates against
the philosophy of special law for
children that is explicitly laid
down in Section 1(4) of the
Juvenile Justice Act of 2015:
“Notwithstanding anything
contained in any other law for the
time being in force, the provisions
of this Act shall apply to all
matters concerning children in
need of care and protection and
children in conflict with law.”
The proposed penal law has
certain decisive departures from
the colonial chapter scheme that
tried to arrange offences as per the
priority of interests of the ruling
class and pushed the interests of
body and property below the
offences against the state and
other supportive institutions. But
the Bill has accorded precedence
to bodily interests by placing them
in Chapter VI, just before offences
against the state.
Is it possible to draw some
inferences from such a shift? The
acid test would lie in the
responses to the following
inquiries: First, will the reforms
fulfil the constitutional vision
enshrined in Article 13(2)
(prohibition on laws against
fundamental rights)? Second, will
the law uphold the principles of
autonomy and equality? Third,
will it further the fraternity
guaranteed by the Preamble?
I
n 2012, when her brother
Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy,
who is now the Chief Mi­
nister of Andhra Pradesh, was
in prison on corruption charg­
es, Y.S. Sharmila went on a pa­
dayatra in support of him. She
said then in what became a
popular slogan, “Nenu Jagan
vadilina baanam (an arrow re­
leased by brother Jagan).” In
2021, when she launched the
YSR Telangana Party, many
borrowed this slogan and
tweaked it to say, “BJP vadilina
baanam” as they perceived
the move to be as an attempt
by the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) to divide the Congress
vote bank. However, after two
years of leaving no significant
imprint on Telangana politics,
Ms. Sharmila seems to be
heading towards a new desti­
nation, the Congress.
The speculation that Ms.
Sharmila plans to merge the
YSR Telangana Party with the
Congress intensified when she
met senior Congress leaders
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gand­
hi recently in New Delhi.
Ms. Sharmila carries weight
in Telangana as she is the
daughter of former Chief Mi­
nister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy,
but she also comes with bag­
gage. The baggage is what per­
turbs some leaders of the Te­
langana Congress who believe
that her father was the party’s
biggest impediment to the for­
mation of Telangana.
However, another section
of the Congress does not hold
this view. Rajasekhara Reddy
had encouraged the formation
of a Telangana group when he
was chief of the Telangana
Pradesh Congress Committee
(TPCC) and leader of the Con­
gress Legislature Party in com­
bined Andhra Pradesh, to put
pressure on the ruling Telugu
Desam Party (TDP) in the Te­
langana region. Therefore,
this section insists that Raja­
sekhara Reddy was among the
first to acknowledge the senti­
ment for statehood.
Thus, there is both opposi­
tion and support for Ms. Shar­
mila’s entry into the Telanga­
na Congress. TPCC chief A.
Revanth Reddy said he would
welcome Ms. Sharmila “who­
leheartedly as the daughter of
YSR.” But, he added, “for her
to contest and campaign in Te­
langana is a political risk.” Mr.
Revanth Reddy explained that
the people of Telangana were
not ready to accept those with
roots in Andhra as their lead­
ers. His claim has some basis:
BRS cadres staunchly opposed
Ms. Sharmila’s padayatra after
the launch of her new party
and clashed with her cadres in
some constituencies too.
The fears of the Telangana
Congress are not unsubstan­
tiated. When the party joined
hands with Mr. Naidu in 2018,
Telangana Chief Minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao alleged
that Mr. Naidu was using the
“backdoor” to enter Telanga­
na and asked whether the
State needed leaders from
Andhra. The Congress and the
TDP lost the election badly.
However, much water has
flowed since then and the re­
gional sentiment is not as
strong as it was a few years
ago. Also, the concern that Mr.
Rao could exploit the alliance
more.
Ms. Sharmila’s supporters
in the Congress believe that
her entry could add some va­
lue to the party. They believe
that she can attract the sec­
tions that moved away from
the party earlier, such as the
people of the Rayalaseema
origin in Telangana and a large
chunk of the Christian vote
bank that had supported Raja­
sekhara Reddy in combined
Andhra Pradesh.
They believe that her lega­
cy could be of advantage. Ma­
ny voters continue to admire
Rajasekhara Reddy for the
welfare schemes he launched,
particularly free power to
farmers, Aarogyasri (a scheme
to ensure healthcare for all)
and the fee reimbursement
scheme. The huge population
of the Rayalaseema region in
and around Hyderabad too
may be influenced by her.
In the 2014 and 2018 As­
sembly elections, the Con­
gress shied away from ack­
nowledging Rajasekhara
Reddy’s contributions fearing
a backlash from the BRS
(which was then called the Te­
langana Rashtra Samiti). But
today, it is more aggressive un­
der Mr. Revanth Reddy in at­
tacking Mr. Rao. Only a mix of
factors can bring dividends to
the party and Ms. Sharmila
could be one of them.
The Congress is aware that
the Assembly elections will be
a litmus test for it. Admitting
Ms. Sharmila into the party
could be a risk or it could be a
big advantage.
Equally, this is a test for Ms.
Sharmila, the daughter of Ra­
jasekhara Reddy, whose politi­
cal fortunes have not been
bright so far.

This was no unexpected feat for India’s 4X400 m relay team F RO M T H E A RC HI V E S

The quartet that ran in Budapest has also been part of many record relay runs in the recent past
FIFTY YEARS AGO SEPTEMBER 6, 1973

metres relay runs by Asians com­ Study trips: Indian embassy

DATA POINT
Rebecca Rose Varghese
& Vignesh Radhakrishnan
pleted below the 3 minutes 2 se­
conds mark, in recognised compe­ not told of curbs on Americans
titions. Not only was the Budapest
heat one run a national record, but Washington, Sept. 5: Though the U.S.
it also broke the Asian record of 2 Government officials here share the

O
n August 26, four Indian
men, running the 4X400
metres relay in the World
Championships in Budapest, fin­
ished second in heat one (qualify­
ing rounds) and got into the final
round, turning the nation’s atten­
tion towards them. In an event
usually dominated by the U.S., Ja­
maica, and the U.K., and where In­
dians or even Asians have rarely
made a mark, the relay deservedly
became the talk of the town.
Though the four athletes did
not go on to win medals in the final
round, their run shattered many
records. Data also shows that this
was not an ‘out of the blue’ run,
but a culmination of years of con­
sistent work with members of this
quartet setting and breaking multi­
ple domestic records.
During heat one in Budapest,
the team comprising Muhammed
Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Mu­
hammed Ajmal Variyathodi, and
Rajesh Ramesh broke the Indian
national record by completing the
race in 2 minutes 59.05 seconds
(179.05 seconds) and finishing se­
cond behind the U.S.
Chart 1 shows all the 4X400
metres relay runs by Indians com­
pleted below 3 minutes and 15 se­
conds, in recognised international
and domestic competitions.
The 179.05 seconds run in heat
one broke the previously held In­
dian national record of 180.25 se­
conds set by Muhammed Anas Ya­
hiya, Amoj Jacob (part of the
Budapest team), Noah Nirmal
Tomm, and Arokia Rajiv in Tokyo
on August 6, 2021.
In the Budapest final, the run­
ners completed the race in 179.92
seconds, the second fastest for In­
dia now. Also, notably, the heat
one race was the first time that In­
dians managed to finish the relay
run in under three minutes.
Chart 2 shows all the 4x400
CM
YK
minutes 59.51 seconds (179.51 se­ unhappiness expressed by Ambassador
conds) previously set by Japan on Moynihan over the restrictions reportedly
July 24, 2022. placed by the Government of India on the entry
In Asia, apart from Indians, the of American scholars and students wishing to
Japanese have always dominated study in Indian institutions, they take the view
relay runs. Before Budapest, Japan that this is a matter purely between the Indian
was the only Asian country to have Government and members of the American
completed the race in under three academic community affected by the
minutes. In the past, of the 25 in­ restrictions. They disagree with the thrust of of a
stances in which Asian teams ran recent New York Times report from Delhi which
the 4X400 metres relay below the characterised it as a “slap” against the United
3 minutes 2 second mark, 15 were States. “We do not see how we come into the
by Japanese runners, while In­ picture,” a U.S. official said. But U.S. officials do
dians managed it seven times. feel that if such restrictions are in vogue now,
Runners from Sri Lanka and Qatar then they could have two side effects. It could
managed it just once each. alienate sections of the U.S. academic
Chart 3 shows all the 4X400 community which has been an important
metres relay runs by athletes from pro­Indian constituency in this country and it
all countries completed below the could lead to a loss of interest in India and
3 minutes 2 second mark. There Indian affairs. Enquiries here reveal that some of
have been 245 instances of teams the students and scholars who have been
managing to complete the race in affected by the Government of India’s
under three minutes. The U.S. has restrictions have been knocking on the doors of
done it 82 times (33%) followed by the Senators and Congressmen who have been
Jamaica (12%), and the U.K. always sympathetic to India and complaining to
(10.2%). After Budapest, India’s them about their being denied entry into India.
share stands at 0.82%. Some of them, it appears, have also been asking
Of the 245 instances, 55 (22%) the State Department to impose retaliatory
were from the 2020s and 79 (32%) restrictions on the Indian students who come
were from the 2010s, pointing to here each year.
an increasing number of times that
teams are completing the race be­
low three seconds in recent years. A HUNDRED YEARS AGO SEPTEMBER 6, 1923
However, the world record of
174.29 seconds was set back in Mysore floods distress
1993 by the U.S. In fact, of the top
10 global runs, five were set before Mysore, Sept. 4: The information that is being
the 2000s. received from the areas affected by the floods
Table 4 lists the 10 fastest points out that the official report is not
4x400 relay runs by Indian teams, exhaustive. The position at the places
excluding the two record­breaking mentioned below will show that the relief
races in Budapest. Muhammed offered by the Government is quite inadequate
Anas Yahiya was part of nine of and Government should lose no time in
those races and Amoj Jacob was affording further relief, and also loans to ryots
part of seven. Muhammed Ajmal who have been deprived of everything. At
Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh Krishnapur in T. Narsipur Taluk 30 houses were
were part of two races. completely, and 35 partially destroyed by the
As previously mentioned, the floods. A temple near that village of Srivenkata
achievements in Budapest were Ramanaswami was also washed away. The
not an isolated success but rather a Tunga and Bhadra rivers took the largest toll
continuation of previous accom­ washing away almost all the houses that stood
plishments. on their banks.
M ND-NDE

10
Text&Context
NEWS IN NUMBERS
Number of Indian
rural households with
tap water connections
13
in crore. The government’s Jal
Jeevan Mission aims to ensure
sustainable tap water supply to
all 19.23 crore rural households in India by
next year, of which 67.6% has been
covered. PTI
Laws governing forests of the Northeast
Why did the Mizoram Assembly pass a resolution against the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023? Why is the Forest (Conservation) Act not applicable in
Nagaland? What are the special constitutional provisions for Nagaland and Mizoram?
EXPLAINER
C.R. Bijoy
The story so far:
O
n August 22, the Mizoram
Assembly unanimously passed
a resolution opposing the
Forest (Conservation)
Amendment Act, 2023, “to protect the
rights and interest of the people of
Mizoram”. The amendment allows the
diversion of forest land for roads, railway
lines or “strategic linear projects of
national importance and concerning
national security” within 100 km of
India’s international borders or lines of
control, without a forest clearance under
the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA) 1980.
Most of India’s Northeast falls in this 100
km range. When it meets next week, the
Nagaland Assembly will also face strident
demands to pass a resolution against the
Amendment. Tripura, Mizoram, and
Sikkim — ruled by the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) or its allies — have also
opposed the 100­km exemption clause.
Is FCA applicable to the Northeast?
Special constitutional protections, such as
Article 371A for Nagaland and 371G for
Mizoram, prohibit the application of any
law enacted by Parliament that impinges
on Naga and Mizo customary law and
procedure, and ownership and transfer of
land and its resources. Such laws can be
extended to these States only if their
Legislative Assemblies decide thus in a
resolution.
In 1986, Nagaland extended the
application of the FCA “to government
forests and such other forests and Wildlife
Sanctuaries under the control of [the]
State Government”. Government forests
make up only 2.71% of the State’s
Recorded Forest Area. However, in
December 1997, the Home Ministry, in
consultation with the Ministry of Law and
Justice, confirmed to the Union
Environment Ministry that the FCA is
covered under the term “land resources”
and is not applicable to Nagaland, as its
Legislative Assembly had not adopted any
resolution to apply FCA to the State.
Later, in November 1998, the
Environment Ministry contradicted itself,
when it informed the Nagaland
government that FCA is indeed applicable
to the State as clarified by the Ministry of
Law and Justice. Nevertheless, since 1980,
the Environment Ministry has not granted
an FCA clearance to forests in Nagaland.
This is not so with Mizoram. In 1986,
the Union Territory became a State with
the 53rd amendment of the Constitution,
adding Article 371G to the Constitution. It
stipulated that all Central Acts in force
before 1986 are extended to the State,
including the FCA. Moreover, the powers
of the Autonomous District Councils in
the three Sixth Scheduled areas in
Mizoram don’t extend to reserved forests.
So, the FCA covers 84.53% of forest areas
that are notified forests, and 6,630 ha
have thus far received FCA clearance.
Moreover, the FCA is applicable in the
rest of the Northeast — in Meghalaya and
Tripura, the Sixth Schedule Areas within
these States, and in Arunachal Pradesh,
Sikkim, and Manipur. Arunachal Pradesh
ranked first among these States in FCA
clearance (21,786.45 ha), followed by
Tripura (9,051 ha), Assam (5,261 ha),
Manipur (3,604 ha), Sikkim (2,902 ha),
and Meghalaya (807 ha).
What is RFA?
Over a million hectares of forest have
been diverted nationwide under FCA
since 1980. FCA exists to deforest the
forest, under the Indian Forest Act 1927 or
its State versions. In 1996, the Supreme
CM
YK
Delhi www.thehindu.com Wednesday, September 6, 2023
● ●
0
Afghans without food A significant drop in
assistance from United Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution government stock
Nations this year levels since 2014
10
in million. Recently, the World
Food Programme cut down
food aid for an additional two
million Afghans. This implies that 1.4
million mothers and their children will not
receive meals to prevent malnutrition. AP
Follow us facebook.com/thehindu
A mandate to protect: An aerial view of the Dzukou Valley, in Nagaland. FILE PHOTO
Court expanded the term “forest land” in
the FCA in the Godavarman case to “not
only include ‘forest’ as understood in the
dictionary sense, but also any area
recorded as forest in the Government
record irrespective of the ownership”,
thus extending the FCA to unclassed
forests. These are recorded forests but not
notified as forests. More than half of the
Northeast is Recorded Forest Area (RFA).
Of this, 53% are unclassed forests
controlled by individuals, clans, village
councils or communities, and governed
by customary law and procedures. The
remainder is notified forest controlled by
State Forest Departments.
RFA ranges from 34.21% in Assam to
82.31% in Sikkim with Mizoram having
35.48%, Meghalaya 42.34%, Nagaland
53.01%, Arunachal Pradesh 61.55%,
Manipur 78.01% and Tripura 60.02%. Of
these, unclassed forests range from nil in
Sikkim to 97.29% in Nagaland, with 15.47%
in Mizoram, 33.43% in Assam, 42.96% in
Tripura, 75.67% in Manipur and 88.15% in
Meghalaya.
The apex court’s 1996 order brought
unclassed forests under the FCA’s
purview everywhere. There are also
forests outside RFA, neither recorded nor
surveyed — 38.5% of the forest in Assam;
29% in Nagaland; and 1.5% in Mizoram.
What is the FRA Act?
In the Scheduled Tribes and Other
Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition
of Forest Rights) Act (FRA) 2006, “forest
land” includes unclassified forests,
undemarcated forests, existing or deemed
forests, protected forests, reserved
forests, Sanctuaries and National Parks.
This complied with the 1996 Supreme
Onions from
released to markets
45
in percentage. Delhi’s
Environment Minister claimed
that Delhi’s pollution levels are
on a downward trend since 2014. Over the
last 9 years, PM10 levels have come down
by 42% and PM2.5 by 46%. PTI
twitter.com/the_hindu
Court redefinition.
While this benefits most northeastern
States, due to the sizeable unclassed
forests, the FRA also included a specific
provision in the list of rights: “rights
which are recognised under any state law
or laws of any autonomous district
council or autonomous regional council
or which are accepted as rights of tribal
under any traditional or customary law of
the concerned tribes of any State.”
Nothing prevents these States from taking
suo motu cognisance of these existing
rights and obtaining the concerned Gram
Sabha approvals for issuing titles. The
Ministry of Tribal Affairs can also issue
legally enforceable directions under
Section 12 of the FRA, paving the way for
this. It would add another layer of legal
security to traditional community tenurial
rights over forests.
However, none of the Northeast States
have implemented FRA except for Assam
and Tripura. The reasons include the FRA
being ‘irrelevant’ as communities, clans,
chiefs and individuals own most of the
land, that their rights are already being
enjoyed and a lack of forest­dwellers who
are totally forest dependent.
While the Mizoram Legislative
Assembly resolved on October 29, 2009,
under Article 371G, to extend the FRA and
its Rules with effect from December 31,
2009, it did a U­turn on November 19,
2019, declaring the FRA to not be relevant
to the State since no claims for rights were
forthcoming. It also referred to the
Ministry of Tribal Affairs declining to
sanction ₹10 lakh to implement the FRA.
The Nagaland Assembly, as required
under Article 371A, is yet to decide
whether it wants this law. A committee
An increase in the
number of space
start­ups in India
36,250 150
in An increase in number of
tonnes. space startups from only
The four in 2014 to more than
government has been obliged to sell 150 in 2023 has resulted in the space
onions from the buffer stock in the past economy to be valued at $8 billion. PTI
three weeks to control retail prices. PTI COMPILED BY THE HINDU DATA TEAM
instagram.com/the_hindu
THE GIST
쑽
On August 22, the Mizoram
Assembly unanimously passed
a resolution opposing the
Forest (Conservation)
Amendment Act, 2023, “to
protect the rights and interest
of the people of Mizoram”.
쑽
Special constitutional
protections, such as Article
371A for Nagaland and 371G
for Mizoram, prohibit the
application of any law enacted
by Parliament that impinges on
Naga and Mizo customary law
and procedure, and ownership
and transfer of land and its
resources.
쑽
In 1996, the Supreme Court
expanded the term “forest
land” in the FCA in the
Godavarman case to “not only
include ‘forest’ as understood
in the dictionary sense, but
also any area recorded as
forest in the Government
record irrespective of the
ownership”, thus extending the
FCA to unclassed forests.
has been looking into it for years now.
How can forests then be protected?
The Environment Ministry mandated FRA
implementation and prior informed
consent of the Gram Sabha in 2009 to
admit a forest diversion proposal. The
responsibility was delegated to the
District Collector, who ironically also
headed the District Committee that issues
FRA titles. The Collectors’ certificate of
FRA compliance in the in­principle Stage I
forest clearance was shifted to Stage II
final clearance.
But the Ministry’s 2022 Forest
Conservation Rules eliminated
compliance with the FRA before final
approval altogether. Instead, it said that
State governments “shall issue order for
diversion, assignment of lease or
dereservation as the case may be … after
fulfillment and compliance” with the FRA
“including ensuring settlement of rights”.
Taking this further, States can
formulate and take legal measures to
ensure mandatory fulfillment of the FRA
before recommending a forest diversion
proposal, and ensuring Gram Sabha
consent before handing over forest land.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs can also
issue legally enforceable directions under
the FRA, or even enact a separate law, to
recognise and settle forest rights when
forests are diverted for other purposes
and forest­dwellers are relocated, as
forest rights fall squarely within its
Business Rules. This way, the States and
the Tribal Affairs Ministry have a way to
provide tenurial security to
forest­dwellers and protect the forests.
C.R. Bijoy examines natural resource
conflicts and governance issues.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 11
Delhi
Text&Context
ABSTRACT

The various strategies of

“geopolitical interests and financial reality
by carefully deciding how many vaccines
it donates and/or sells and to which
countries.”

vaccine diplomacy
India’s vaccine diplomacy, however,
was interrupted by the second wave of
COVID­19, which hit India in early April
2021. Facing skyrocketing domestic
demand amid spiralling infection rates,
In this paper, the authors argue that during the COVID­19 pandemic, for the first time in history, three India banned all vaccine exports starting
non­Western powers — Russia, China and India — dominated international vaccine aid mid­April. This provided an opportunity
for Chinese manufacturers to step up and
fill the gap, the paper notes, concluding, FROM THE ARCHIVES
G. Sampath “India’s bitter experience highlights how
a surge of domestic demand can hamper
Suzuki, Mao & Yang, Shiming (2023),
‘Political Economy of vaccine diplomacy:
Explaining varying strategies of China,
a country’s ability to conduct vaccine
diplomacy.”
In this context, the paper details how
Know Your
India, and Russia’s COVID­19 vaccine
diplomacy’, Review of International
Political Economy, 30:3, 865­890. DOI:
governmental support for industry could
be a game­changer — both in enhancing
vaccine R&D capability and increasing
English
10.1080/09692290.2022.2074514 production capacity. Both Russian and
Chinese governments poured vast K. Subrahmanian
raditionally, Western powers resources into vaccine R&D, but the

T have been the major donors of

health aid while non­western
nations have been the
recipients. Aid of this kind has been a part
of a country’s diplomatic toolkit, to be
deployed judiciously in pursuit of
geopolitical goals. During the Cold War,
for instance, the two big powers, the U.S.
and the Soviet Union, both developed and
delivered vaccines against small pox and
polio, in what came to be known as
‘vaccine diplomacy’.
In this paper, the authors, Mao Suzuki
and Shiming Yang, argue that during the
COVID­19 pandemic, for the first time in
history, three non­Western powers —
Russia, China and India — dominated
international vaccine diplomacy. These
countries, which had long been recipients
of health aid, finally made their debut on
the world stage as vaccine inventors. Not
only were they more proactive than
Western powers in distributing vaccines
to emerging markets, they did so at a time
that was remarkable for two reasons —
one, many countries were in desperate
need of vaccines; and two, Western
nations were hoarding vaccines. This
provided an opening for non­Western
powers to step in. The paper details how,
for each of the three powers, their
geopolitical aims and political, economic
and technological constraints determined
the nature and scope of vaccine
diplomacy.
The authors profile the three powers
on their relative strengths along three
axes: vaccine R&D, manufacturing, and
delivery. They argue that “countries with
an advantage in vaccine R&D would be
more open to technology transfer;
countries with greater manufacturing
capability would be more likely to keep
vaccine production within their borders
than outsourcing it overseas; and
countries with expansive distribution
networks would prefer bilateral to
multilateral distribution.” The authors
demonstrate that Russia, India and China
fit these three different profiles
respectively.
Russia’s technology transfer
Russia, which is strong in vaccine R&D
and weak in production and distribution,
has relied on outsourcing vaccine
production with technology transfer. This
has two advantages. First, a country with
home­grown vaccines “can use
technology transfer to either promote
sales when its vaccines have low global
credibility or encourage offshore
production when the country has limited
domestic production capacity.” Second,
“because technology transfer is
welcomed by many developing countries
striving to secure vaccine supply and to
develop their pharmaceutical industry, it
can also be used to enhance soft power of
the giving country.”
Unlike emerging non­Western powers,
Western nations don’t need to use
THE DAILY QUIZ
A day after Teachers’ Day, here is a quiz on prominent teachers, educators and coaches
Race to aid: Myanmar receives its first batch of COVID­19 vaccines from India in January 2021.REUTERS
technology transfer as a bait to attract
foreign customers because “their
reputation in pharmaceutical R&D is
already established”. So, this was the
approach Russia took with its Sputnik­V
vaccine. Riding the rich experience of the
Soviet era, it was the first to develop a
vaccine for COVID­19. But with severely
limited production capacity, Russia
contracted out Sputnik­V production to
pharmaceutical manufacturers in Asia,
Latin America and Eastern Europe. This
included a 300 million­dose contract with
the Serum Institute of India (SII). The
authors also note that the geographical
coverage of Russia’s vaccine diplomacy
overlaps with its sphere of influence, with
the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) and the Balkan nations buying
Sputnik­V for mass inoculation. Central
Asia was its primary target for vaccines
sales as well as production outsourcing.
Given its limited production capacity,
Russia’s contribution to COVAX, the
worldwide platform for equitable vaccine
access, was miniscule, with the bulk of
Sputnik­V doses channelled into bilateral
deals. Russia’s vaccine got approved in 70
countries, but it chose to sell rather than
donate, aiming to “increase its presence
in the global scene of COVID­19
vaccination, but with no intention to give
away vaccines for free”.
India’s massive donations
As for India, the paper notes that the
country was producing 60% of the
world’s vaccines even before the
pandemic. So India’s vaccine diplomacy
was “characterised by mass­production of
Western­invented vaccines, prompt
bilateral donations, and large­scale sales
to bilateral buyers and multilateral COVAX
initiative.” The “Western­invented”
Covishield was the major currency of
India’s vaccine diplomacy, as it leveraged
the massive capacity of SII, the world’s
largest vaccine producer. As the SII had
already signed a deal to produce
AstraZeneca­Oxford vaccines back in
April 2020, when it was still under clinical
trials, it “had hundreds of millions of
doses ready to ship when governments
around the world began granting EUAS
for the vaccine in December 2020.”
India quickly rolled out large scale
bilateral programs called ‘Vacciner Maitri’
(Vaccine Friendship). With more than 90
countries swiftly approaching India,
neighbouring countries got priority
access to India’s donations, the paper
states. One of India’s largest donations
was to Nepal (1.1 million doses), “where
India and China are competing over
influence.” Myanmar, which also shares a
border with both India and China, was
another big beneficiary of India’s vaccine
diplomacy. The paper notes two broad
patterns in India’s vaccine diplomacy: a
‘neighbourhood first’ policy, and a
preference for a range of Caribbean and
African states with sizeable populations of
Indian diaspora.
But geopolitical interest was not India’s
only consideration. Also important was
the need to cover the cost of
manufacturing. So, the sales versus
donation conundrum was resolved thus:
“India concentrated donations on
countries with which it has strong
geopolitical and economic ties, but it sold
a much larger sum to relatively wealthy
countries beyond its geopolitical reach.”
Thus, even though India bilaterally
exported more than 46 million doses to
65 countries between January and April
2021, nearly 80% of these doses were sent
on a commercial basis. “Only Bangladesh
(3.3 million), Myanmar (1.1 million), and
Nepal (1.1 million) received a donation of
more than a 1 million doses”. At the same
time, India sold much larger volumes to
countries like Saudi Arabia (4.5 million)
and Morocco (7 million). India balanced
Indian government did not. Similarly,
though China’s vaccine manufacturing
capacity was initially moderate, “the
government poured in resources to help
vaccine developers expand production
and backed their marketing strategies
abroad”. In contrast, “In India, SII and
Bharat Biotech had to finance their own
production without support from the
Indian government.” It was only in April
2021, amid the Delta wave, that the Indian
government agreed to provide $600
million to these two companies to expand
production. The paper concludes: “the
slow and limited governmental support
made it unavoidable for India to delay its
promised vaccine delivery to COVAX and
bilateral buyers by half a year. This has
affected India’s reputation as a reliable
vaccine supplier.”
China’s costly investments
Coming to China, the paper points out
that “China’s vaccine diplomacy is the
costliest, with tremendous investments in
vaccine development, production, and
distribution”. Though it arranged its
clinical trials, sales and donations across
the developing world, it provided
preferential access only to African and
ASEAN countries — regions that are focus
areas of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
While its vaccine aid has been mostly
bilateral, the geopolitical rivalry between
China and India in South Asia meant that
Pakistan became “the first and largest
beneficiary of China’s vaccine aid”.
The paper also notes how the three
non­Western powers deployed vaccine
diplomacy for image­building objectives
as well. Russia, which neither gave away
vaccines for free nor considered the
developing world as its only market,
sought to project itself as a scientific
superpower. China’s ambition was to be
recognised as an “all­round vaccine
supplier in the global market”. India, with
less advanced R&D, sought to sustain the
image of a “humanitarian actor who
supplies advanced Western
pharmaceuticals at affordable prices — a
self­portrait that may have contributed to
India’s active engagement with COVAX.”
Case study of Brazil
The paper concludes with an interesting
observation about how the BRICS
countries “are intertwined in the complex
structure of vaccine enterprise”. For
instance, when Russia received a large
order from Brazil, it outsourced
production to China and India. China, on
its part, had conducted clinical trials in
Brazil, and Russia, while it also supplied
API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) to
Brazil, it had done the same for India for
Covishield production. And India has
exported Covishield to Brazil and South
Africa. Such interdependence, the
authors write, “can, at least in the
short­term, mitigate outright conflicts
between the rising powers.”
Please send in your answers to
dailyquiz@thehindu.co.in
“Sir, Mr. N. A. Vedi wants to know how to
use the word ‘gainsay’.”
“ ‘Gainsay’ means ‘to deny’,
‘contradict’. This is rarely used. When it is
used, it is used generally with a negative.
There is no gainsaying that he is an
idiot.
There is no gainsaying his honesty.
It is better not to use this word.”
“Sir, Ms. A. K. Dhar, Srinagar, wants to
know how to use the word ‘quite’.”
“ ‘Quite’ has several meanings. Let’s
discuss some of them. One meaning is
‘completely’, ‘entirely’.
You are quite right.
It is quite the reverse.
Are you quite sure?
It is also used when you express
appreciation or agree with someone.
Quite so, quite right. It is not an easy
thing to argue with him.
‘Quite’, ‘quite something’ means
‘unusual’, ‘surprising’.
It is quite something to get a Ph.D. at
the age of twenty­two.
‘Quite another’ means ‘completely
different’.
It is quite another version.
In certain contexts, ‘quite’ is used to
mean ‘to a certain extent’, ‘rather’, ‘more
or less’. It has this meaning when it is
used with gradable adjectives and
adverbs. A gradable word is that which
has several degrees, you can make
comparatives and superlatives from them.
Good, better, best, small, smaller,
smallest. Non­gradable words are those
which we cannot modify, we cannot make
comparatives and superlatives from them.
Such words are ‘perfect’, ‘unique’, ‘right’,
‘wrong’, etc. You can’t say something is
more right than another or more perfect
than another.
She is quite polite.
She is quite interesting.
In all these sentences, ‘quite’ means ‘to
a considerable extent degree, more or
less’ as the words following ‘quite’ are
gradable. ‘Quite’ doesn’t mean in these
sentences ‘completely, entirely’.
She quite likes him, but not enough to
marry him.
It is rarely used in this sense in
American English. Please note that ‘quite’
is different from ‘quiet’. ‘Quite’ rhymes
with ‘white’ and ‘quiet’ rhymes with
‘diet’.”
“Sir, Mr. T. Anjaneyulu of Gajwel wants
to know the meaning of ‘gulag’.”
“ ‘Gulag’ is a system of political prisons
and forced labour camps in the Soviet
Union.”
“Sir, Ms. R. Manu wants to know when
‘monies’ is used.”
“ ‘Moneys’ or ‘monies’ means ‘sums of
money’. It is now used only in law. There
was a time when it was used in ordinary
language also.
The judge wanted to know the moneys
that had been placed in the trust.”
“Do you know what ‘in the money’
means?”
“Wealthy?”
“Yes. It means ‘wealthy, prosperous,
successful’.
He is in the money.
He is in the money because he has
married money.
‘To marry money’ means ‘to marry
someone who is wealthy’.”
Published in The Hindu on April 11, 1989.

Srinivasan Ramani Grandmasters, including super GM R. Questions and Answers to the

Praggnanandhaa. Name the GM who previous day’s daily quiz: 1. The
X is now considered one of the finest wind­speed scale first developed in
QUESTION 1 chess coaches in the world. 1969 to assess the impact on
This physicist is renowned for his X low­cost housing of a storm affecting
lectures, one of which is termed, QUESTION 4 coastal parts of the U.S. Ans:
“There is plenty of room at the This person’s mode of teaching his Saffir­Simpson scale
bottom..”. Name him and what was students was through argumentative 2. In 2010, the scale was modified to
this particular lecture referring to? dialogue between them and by remove flooding, rainfall and this
X asking questions and answering from its calculation. Ans: Storm
QUESTION 2 them. He wrote no treatise but his surge
Some consider her India’s first views have survived through the 3. The basin in which a a storm has
headmistress. A fervent work of his students, one of whom never made landfall with the scale's
educationist, the city where she founded the Academy in 387 BC in highest rating. Ans: Eastern Pacific
worked in the mid­1800s, has Athens. Name the person. basin
renamed its key university after her X 4. The duration of the average the
in 2014. Name her. QUESTION 5 India Meteorological Department
X A school teacher who was called uses to categorise cyclonic storms.
QUESTION 3 “Masterda” by his students, would Ans: Three minutes
This chess coach became India’s later became the leader of an armed 5. The name a hurricane is called
10th Grandmaster in 2003, at the insurrectionist group in India’s X when it moves into the northwestern For feedback and suggestions for
age of 27. Half a decade later, he set freedom struggle. He was hung to Visual question: part of the ocean. Ans: Typhoon Text & Context, please write to
up a coaching institute in Chennai death by the British, for taking part in Name this coach, a former Indian Air Force recruit, who later became the Visual question: Name the typhoon. letters@thehindu.co.in
that has produced some of India's an armed uprising, in 1934. Name director of the Ludhiana Basketball Academy, which produced some of Ans: Super­typhoon Goni with the subject ‘Text & Context’
finest young talent and him. India’s best basketball players. Early Bird: Sumeet Parmar
CM M ND-NDE
YK

12
From Page One What is the agenda for Special
‘Bharat’ replaces ‘India’
in invite, sparks debate
Session, INDIA parties ask govt.
Sonia Gandhi to write to PM seeking a debate on the continuing violence in Manipur, price rise, unemployment and
Though taking a nuanced position that the names Chinese transgressions; floor leaders of INDIA parties meet at Kharge’s house to devise a joint strategy for five­day session
“India” and “Bharat” were both mentioned in the
Constitution, the Congress accused Prime Minis­
ter Narendra Modi of resorting to politics of “di­ Sandeep Phukan
vide”. “Mr. Modi can continue to distort history NEW DELHI
and divide India, that is Bharat, that is a Union of
States. But we will not be deterred,” Congress gen­ pposition parties
eral secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
BJP leaders hailed the change of name in offi­
cial communication. Assam Chief Minister Himan­
O belonging to the
Indian National
Developmental, Inclusive
ta Biswa Sarma posted on X: “REPUBLIC OF BHA­ Alliance (INDIA) on Tues­
RAT – happy and proud that our civilisation is day demanded that the
marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL.” Modi government spell out
the agenda for the Special
Session of Parliament even
as the Congress decided
SC reserves verdict on that parliamentary party
chief Sonia Gandhi will
petitions on Article 370 write to Prime Minister Na­
rendra Modi on the issues
that the principal Opposi­
The petitioners, represented by a battery of senior tion party wants to raise
lawyers including Kapil Sibal, Gopal Subramani­ during the session.
um, Rajeev Dhavan, Dushyant Dave and Gopal The Parliamentary Stra­
Sankaranarayanan, said the Union used brute ma­ tegy Group of the Con­
jority in Parliament and issued a series of execu­ gress, which met at Ms.
tive orders through the President to divide a full­ Gandhi’s 10 Janpath resi­
fledged State into the Union Territories of Jammu dence, decided that she
and Kashmir, and Ladakh. They called it an attack will ask the government to
on federalism and a fraud played on the have a debate on the conti­
Constitution. nuing violence in Manipur,
The petitioners had argued that Article 370 had price rise, unemployment,
assumed a permanent character as soon as the Chinese transgressions
J&K Constituent Assembly dissolved in 1957 after and other issues, during
the framing of the State Constitution. Mr. Sibal the five­day Special Session
said Article 368 (Parliament’s power to amend the of Parliament that begins
Constitution) did not apply to Article 370. on September 18.
The Constitution Bench, also comprising Justic­ Ms. Gandhi’s letter will
es S.K. Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai and Surya be on behalf of the 24 par­
Kant, said its focus would be on the series of ties that are part of the IN­
machinations that led to the dissolution of Article DIA bloc, which will take
370. The series of events which the Bench would part in the session.
look into would start with the dissolution of the The Congress meeting
Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly by was followed by a meeting
the Governor under Section 53(2) of the J&K Con­ of the floor leaders of the
stitution on November 21, 2018. INDIA parties at the official
residence of Congress pre­
J&K MP Lone affirms
he is a dutiful citizen Indo­Pacific, China
Solicitor­General Tushar Mehta, however, ex­
pressed unhappiness about the affidavit, saying it
map on agenda as
was not in line with what the court had wanted him
to swear by.
PM leaves for Jakarta
A Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of In­
dia D.Y. Chandrachud had asked him to file an affi­ Suhasini Haidar
davit after the government and others accused him NEW DELHI
of raising anti­national slogans in support of seces­
sionist forces, especially once in 2018 on the floor Future cooperation on the
of the J&K Assembly in 2018. Indo­Pacific, trade issues,
On Monday, the court asked him to “uncondi­ the situation in Myanmar,
tionally accept” in an affidavit that Jammu and and the recent controversy
Kashmir was an integral part of India and he owed over China’s map are likely
allegiance to the Constitution. Senior advocate Ka­ to be on the agenda as
pil Sibal, for Mr. Lone, had responded that his Prime Minister Narendra
client had already sworn his oath and allegiance to Modi leaves on Wednesday
the Constitution as an MP. for a two­day visit to Jakar­
Mr. Mehta said there was not a word in the affi­ ta to attend the annual
davit from Mr. Lone swearing against terrorism or ASEAN­India Summit and
separatism. the East Asia Summit host­
The Chief Justice said the court would analyse ed by Indonesian Presi­
the affidavit and address the issue in its judgment. dent Joko Widodo.
The visit is seen as a di­
plomatic gesture to Indo­
nesia, as Mr. Modi was ori­
Byelections in seven ginally reluctant to travel
just before the G­20 sum­
Assembly seats peaceful mit and the arrival of U.S.
President Joseph Biden to
Delhi, whom he is sche­
As per the provisional estimates released by the duled to meet on Friday, as
district election authority, the segment recorded a
polling percentage of 72.91. Of the total 1,76,417 vo­
ters in the constituency, 1,28,624 exercised their
well as other G­20 leaders.
However, after India con­
veyed its concerns, Indo­
voting rights; 64,084 were male and 64,538 female.
Among those who cast the vote in the first few
hours include LDF candidate Jaick C. Thomas, UDF
nesian officials resche­
duled both summits to be
convened back­to­back on
candidate Chandy Oommen and Cooperation Mi­ Thursday morning, with
nister V.N. Vasavan. A native of Kaduthuruthy, Na­ only a short break in
tional Democratic Alliance candidate G. Lijin Lal between.
did not have vote in Puthuppally. In the 2021 elec­ During the ASEAN­India
tion, the voter turnout was 74.9% while it was 77.4% summit, the first since the
in 2016. The byelection was necessitated by the de­ two sides upgraded their
mise of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on relationship to a compre­
July 18. hensive strategic partner­
More than 55% of the electorate cast their votes ship in 2022, Mr. Modi will
to seal the fate of five candidates in the fray for the review progress on issues
Bageshwar Assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand. Till 5 such as strategic coopera­
p.m., 55.42% voting was recorded, Bageshwar Dis­ tion and military exercises
trict Magistrate Anuradha Paul said. The BJP has as well as connectivity, in­
fielded Parvati Das against Congress candidate Ba­ cluding physical, digital
sant Kumar. Parvati Das is the wife of Chandan and people­to­people ties,
Ram Das whose death in April this year necessitat­ Saurabh Kumar, Secretary
ed the bypoll. He had won from the seat four times (East), External Affairs Mi­
since 2007. nister, said.
Around 76% of 2.6 lakh eligible voters exercised He said that while
their franchise in the byelection to the Dhupguri
Assembly seat in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal
till 5 p.m., an official said.
ASEAN­India trade ties
would be reviewed, plans
to revise the ASEAN­India
An average voter turnout of 76% was recorded in
the byelections to Dhanpur and Boxanagar As­
trade in goods agreement
would be taken up by the
sembly seats in Tripura, an official said. The police ministerial dialogue.
said six persons were injured when they were alleg­ Asked if the recent con­
edly attacked by some villagers at Mohanbhog in troversy over China’s pu­
Dhanpur Assembly constituency. The byelection to blication of a map that an­
the Boxanagar constituency was necessitated by gered India and several
the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque. Union Mi­ other neighbours could al­
nister Pratima Bhoumik’s resignation as the MLA of so come up, Mr. Kumar
Dhanpur necessitated the byelection. was non­committal.
(With inputs from PTI) “It is difficult to antici­
CM
YK
THE HINDU
News
Crucial talks: Mallikarjun Kharge holding a meeting with leaders of Opposition parties to discuss
strategy for the upcoming Special Session of Parliament, at his residence in New Delhi on Tuesday. ANI
sident Mallikarjun Kharge,
who is also the Leader of
the Opposition in the Rajya
Sabha, to formulate a com­
mon strategy for the
session.
“Modi Govt is convening
a Special Session of Parlia­
ment for the first time
without spelling out the
agenda. No one from any
Opposition party has been
consulted or informed.
This is not the way to run a
democracy,” Mr. Kharge
posted on social media
Narendra Modi
pate what will be discussed
when the leaders meet,
but issues which are of mu­
tual concern, regional and
international, would all
come up in their discus­
sion. Whether there would
be consensus, I cannot an­
ticipate,” he said.
Mr. Modi will begin the
day on Thursday with the
ASEAN­India Summit with
leaders of the 10 South East
Asian countries, of which
Vietnam, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Malaysia and
Brunei have all issued
statements conveying con­
cern over China’s depic­
tion of their territories in
its “Standard Map 2023” is­
sued last week, as India
had. He will then attend
the East Asian Summit
with leaders of the
ASEAN­10, U.S. Vice­Presi­
dent Kamala Harris, Chi­
nese Premier Li Qiang, and
Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov. He will re­
turn to Delhi the same day,
ahead of the arrivals for
G­20, many of whom will
fly from Jakarta.
While Russian President
Vladimir Putin, Chinese
President Xi Jinping and
Mexican President Andrés
Manuel López Obrador
have regretted their atten­
dance at the summit in Del­
hi on September 9 and 10,
various health concerns
threw uncertainty on
Tuesday over U.S. Presi­
dent Joe Biden, German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz,
Brazilian President Luiz In­
ácio Lula da Silva, all of
whom have confirmed
their participation.
platform X soon after the
meeting of floor leaders of
INDIA bloc got over.
“Every day, Modi Govt
plants a story in the media
of a prospective ‘agenda’,
thereby creating a smoke­
screen of diversion from
real issues burdening the
people...,” he added.
At the Congress strategy
meet, the issue of ‘one na­
tion one election’, the Re­
public of India being re­
ferred to “Republic of
Bharat” in a G­20 official
India rejects
UN experts’
report, calls it
‘unwarranted’
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
India on Tuesday rejected
the concerns of a team of
United Nations experts
about the current situation
in Manipur, saying the re­
port was “unwarranted,
presumptive and mislead­
ing”. The response came
hours after the team ex­
pressed “alarm” about re­
ports of human rights vio­
lations in Manipur. They
pointed out “inadequate
humanitarian response”
during the conflict.
The Indian response
questioned the domain of
the UN experts in address­
ing the human rights situa­
tion in India.
Editors’ Guild shocked by statements
of Manipur CM, seeks closure of cases
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The Editors’ Guild of India
on Tuesday urged the Ma­
nipur government to close
the cases registered by the
State police against its pre­
sident and the members of
a fact­finding team, stating
that its report on media
coverage of ethnic clashes
was aimed at enabling in­
trospection and reflection
on the media’s conduct in
Action sought against
Tamil Nadu Minister
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
Over 260 citizens, mostly
former judges and bureau­
crats, have written a letter
to Chief Justice D.Y. Chan­
drachud to initiate suo mo­
invite and DMK leader Ud­
hayanidhi Stalin’s com­
ment regarding Sanatana
Dharma were discussed.
Multiple issues
Former Union Minister P.
Chidambaram, Salman
Khurshid and Rajya Sabha
member Abhishek Singhvi
are learnt to have briefed
party colleagues on the le­
gal aspects on both the is­
sues: simultaneous polls
and the change of name.
On the issue of Sanata­
Restrictions imposed in
Imphal following rally call
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
Curfew­like restrictions
have been imposed in the
Imphal Valley amid a call
given by a Meitei civil so­
ciety group to march to­
wards the Bishnupur­Chu­
rachandpur boundary on
Wednesday to remove an
Army barricade.
The Coordinating Com­
mittee on Manipur Integri­
ty (COCOMI) had asked the
youth and local people to
come out in large numbers
on Monday to push the
barricade further to the
hill district of Churachand­
pur. The group said that
the failure of the State and
Central governments to re­
move the barricade by Au­
gust 30 was the reason be­
such a sensitive situation.
Stating that it was dis­
turbed by the registration
of first information reports
(FIR) against the EGI presi­
dent and the fact­finding
team members who had vi­
sited Manipur to study and
document media’s cover­
age of ethnic clashes in the
State, the Guild, in a state­
ment, said it was shocked
by the “intimidatory state­
ments made by Chief Mi­
nister of Manipur N. Biren
tu contempt proceedings
against Tamil Nadu for fail­
ing to take action against
Minister Udhayanidhi Sta­
lin for his remarks about
Sanatana Dharma, which
the signatories said
amounted to hate speech.
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
na Dharma, the Congress
decided to stick to its line
of sarva dharma sambhava
or respecting all religions,
said a source. Other issues
such as inflation and un­
employment, fresh charg­
es against the Adani
Group, communal vio­
lence in Nuh (Haryana),
CAG reports, and extensive
damage caused by the
floods in Himachal Pra­
desh and Northeast India
also came up as issues that
should be taken up in the
Special Session.
There could be a re­
newed demand for a joint
parliamentary committee
probe against the Adani
Group. Congress leader Jai­
ram Ramesh said the par­
liamentary bulletin that
lists out the agenda merely
mentioned “government
business” for all five days.
“We are not going to sit on­
ly for Modi chalisa
[prayer]. We will surely de­
mand from the govern­
ment and try and raise our
issues in every session,”
Mr. Ramesh told reporters
after the Congress meet­
ing. Trinamool Congress
MP Derek O’Brien said,
“Where is the agenda for
the session? Why is it being
kept secret? This is is not
how parliamentary de­
mocracies work.”
(With inputs from
Sobhana K. Nair)
A file photo of security forces
deployed in Bishnupur district.
hind the protest march.
The barricade at Phou­
gakchao Ikhai in Bishnu­
pur lies on the main high­
way connecting Imphal
and Churachandpur. CO­
COMI wants it removed
and placed at Torbung
Wangma instead.
This is the same area
where Kuki groups on Au­
gust 3 had planned the
mass burial of 35 people
from the community who
were killed in the ongoing
Singh in response to the
report”.
Several representations
The Guild said it had re­
ceived several representa­
tions from civil society as
well as the Indian Army
raising concerns that the
media in Manipur was
playing a partisan role in
the ongoing ethnic conflict
between the majority Mei­
tei community and the Ku­
ki­Chin minority.
Delhi
Coordination
committee of
INDIA to meet
on Sept. 13
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The first meeting of the 14­
member coordination
committee of the Indian
National Developmental,
Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)
will be held on September
13 at the residence of Na­
tionalist Congress Party
(NCP) leader Sharad Pawar
in Delhi.
The primary agenda on
the table is to fix deadlines
for seat sharing and pre­
senting a vision document
or common manifesto and
also to finalise the dates for
joint campaign rallies.
While the bloc has not
appointed any one as the
convener or chairperson of
the alliance, Mr. Pawar will
work as the de facto chair
of the committee.
The seat­sharing talks
will be the first point of
conflict. “Obviously, there
will be differences, but
there are only half­a­dozen
States which need to have
seat­sharing arrangement
— Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,
Punjab, West Bengal and
Delhi. Out of this, Bihar,
Maharashtra and Tamil Na­
du already have a frame­
work in place,” a senior
Opposition leader said.
There is a clear under­
standing among the consti­
tuents that the talks must
start at the State level.
The first meeting of the
campaign committee was
held here on Tuesday.
ethnic violence. The burial
was deferred following an
intervention by the Union
Home Ministry and the Ma­
nipur High Court.
Central security forces
and Army personnel are
deployed in the “buffer
zone”. On Tuesday, the
District Magistrate of Im­
phal West issued an order
for curfew relaxation on
Wednesday. Hours later,
the order was withdrawn.
‘Close contempt case’
The Manipur DGP has re­
quested the Manipur High
Court to close a contempt
case, in which the security
forces were accused of fail­
ing to implement an earlier
order to maintain status
quo at the proposed burial
site.
The People’s Union for
Civil Liberty (PUCL) has al­
so sought immediate with­
drawal of the FIRs filed by
the State police.
Stating that the move
was aimed at intimidating
the Guild and other repor­
ters, the PUCL said: “The
State government seems to
have facilitated the majori­
ty community’s anger
against the Kukis through
several seemingly partisan
statements.”
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 13
Delhi
News

Modi, Biden to hold

bilateral talks on
‘Xi Jinping skipping G­20 Summit Schedule
of up to 283

Friday: White House a deliberate signal to India, West’ train services

Sriram Lakshman
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and U.S. President
Joe Biden will hold bilater­
al talks on Friday in New
Delhi, U.S. National Securi­
ty Adviser Jake Sullivan
confirmed.
Mr. Biden, who is being
closely watched for symp­
toms of COVID­19, after
U.S. First Lady Jill Biden
tested positive on Monday,
tested negative on Wednes­
day and is still on track to
travel to India for the G­20
Summit, as per the White
House.
In New Delhi, the U.S.
will focus on “delivering
for developing countries,
making progress on key
priorities for the American
people from climate to
technology, and showing
our [its] commitment to
the G 20,” Mr. Sullivan told
reporters at Tuesday’s
White House press brief­
ing.
He said the U.S. wel­
comed the addition of the
African Union as a new
permanent member of the
G­20 and that scaling up
and reshaping develop­
ment banks and institu­
tions (the World Bank and
IMF) would also be a focus
of the discussions this wee­
kend. Mr. Biden will call on
the G­20 countries to pro­
vide debt relief for low­ and
middle­income countries,
and play a constructive
role in this, with “no ex­
ceptions”, Mr. Sullivan
said, presumably referring
to China’s role as the
world’s largest creditor.
Other global issues on
the agenda at the G­20, as
per Mr. Sullivan, include
the inclusive digital trans­
formation, the responsible
use of Artificial Intelligence
(AI), climate and digital
technology and infrastruc­
ture investment.
Mr. Biden will also call
for a “just and durable
peace” for Ukraine and res­
pect for the United Nations
Charter and international
law, following Russia’s on­
going invasion of Ukraine.
Joint statement
Mr. Sullivan acknowledged
that getting consensus on a
G­20 statement on Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine was go­
ing to be “challenging” be­
cause Russia is a part of the
G­20 (albeit not at the New
Delhi summit).
India’s G­20 “sherpa” or
top official , Amitabh Kant,
is still hopeful of a joint de­
claration, the Financial
Times reported earlier this
week, despite objections
by Beijing and Moscow on
language around Ukraine,
borrowed from last year’s
summit in Bali.
In July, however, Mr.
Kant had said that the Rus­
sia­Ukraine war was not a
priority for India’s G­20
Presidency, but it was
working instead on a Lead­
ers’ Declaration focused on
issues such as develop­
ment, multilateral institu­
tions and technological
transformation.
During Tuesday’s press
briefing, Mr. Sullivan as­
sured the U.S. press of ac­
cess during the G­20 after
he was asked if the press
travelling with Mr. Biden to
Asia (India and then Viet­
nam) should expect chal­
lenges such as threats and
restrictions.
The decision by the Chinese President conveys Beijing’s displeasure with the current state of bilateral ties with New Delhi
and with what it sees as the politicisation of G­20, which China believes should be limited to economic issues, say experts
Ananth Krishnan
ith Chinese Pre­
W sident Xi Jinp­
ing skipping a
G­20 Summit for the first
time, Beijing is sending
“deliberate signals” to In­
dia and the West by essen­
tially downgrading its in­
volvement in a key
international forum, ac­
cording to current and
former officials and people
familiar with Beijing’s
thinking.
Missing the summit,
they said, conveys China’s
displeasure both with the
current state of bilateral
ties with India — and New
Delhi’s stand that normal­
cy in broader ties is not
possible without a restora­
tion of peace on the Line of
Actual Control (LAC) — and
with what Beijing sees as a
“politicisation” of the
G­20, which it believes
should be limited to eco­
nomic issues and not in­
volve itself with issues such
as the war in Ukraine.
Beijing offered no rea­
son on Monday for Mr. Xi’s
decision to skip the sum­
mit. The Chinese Foreign
Ministry on Tuesday, asked
if tensions with India were
a factor behind the deci­
sion, suggested otherwise,
saying that Beijing “always
attaches high importance
to and actively participates
in relevant activities”.
“We support India in
hosting this year’s summit
and stand ready to work
with all parties to make the
G­20 Summit a success,”
Bilateral relations: A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting. PTI
spokesperson Mao Ning
said. “China­India relations
have been stable on the
whole and our two sides
have maintained dialogue
and communication at va­
rious levels,” Ms. Mao ad­
ded. “The continued im­
provement and growth of
China­India relations
serves the common inter­
ests of the two countries
and two peoples. We stand
ready to work with India to
further improve and ad­
vance bilateral relations.”
The decision, however,
was “surprising”, noted
former Indian Ambassador
to China Ashok Kantha,
considering Mr. Xi attend­
ed all previous G­20 Sum­
mits (he attended the 2021
Rome summit virtually)
and as recently as August
24 travelled to South Africa
for the BRICS Summit.
Health reasons also do not
appear to be a factor, with
Mr. Xi in the past week
meeting the visiting Presi­
dent of Benin in Beijing
and also addressing by vi­
deo a key conference on
trade in services.
‘Lack of comfort’
“So one presumes it is a de­
liberate signal both in the
bilateral context, where
there is unhappiness about
the present state of rela­
tions, and a second aspect
is a lack of comfort for Chi­
na with the G­20 as a plat­
form,” Mr. Kantha said.
“They are sending out sig­
nals that they see things
[with India] as not good
and that they are not going
to go the extra mile to re­
trieve the situation.”
Following an informal
conversation between Mr.
Modi and Mr. Xi in South
Africa, both sides put out
differing readouts over
what was said, and then
subsequently exchanged
sharp barbs over China’s is­
suing of a new “standard
map” for 2023 on August
28.
While the timing, five
days after the meeting bet­
ween the leaders, was like­
ly coincidental given the
release of the map during
what appeared to be a
long­planned “map aware­
ness publicity week” cam­
paign in China by the Mi­
nistry of Natural
Resources, it was seen by
New Delhi as further com­
plicating already sensitive
relations amid an unre­
solved border crisis.
Stark contrast
Skipping the summit also
reflects China’s unease
with the G­20 as a plat­
form, and a stark contrast
to its investing in other fora
such as BRICS and the
Shanghai Cooperation Or­
ganisation (SCO).
People familiar with
Beijing’s thinking suggest
Mr. Xi would have been
“very likely present in Del­
hi” if India hosted the SCO
Summit in person given
the importance accorded
by Beijing to the China and
Russia­backed grouping.
India decided to host the
summit virtually, although
it had initially planned for
a physical summit in New
Delhi.
“In BRICS, Xi was more
comfortable as China was
more in a position to in­
fluence the agenda and
outcomes,” Mr. Kantha ad­
ded. “At the G­20, there is
much greater pressure on
China, and [Russian Presi­
dent Vladimir] Putin being
absent means China will
come under pressure. The
Chinese feel they are more
in control at the BRICS and
SCO.”
Deviation from protocol
Second­ranked leader and
Premier Li Qiang will at­
tend the Delhi G­20 Sum­
mit. This is a deviation
from standard Chinese
protocol, with a clear divi­
sion of responsibility in the
Chinese system when it
comes to international
meetings.
The President as Head
of State (HoS) usually at­
tends the G­20 and APEC
Summit. Mr. Xi is expected
to travel to the U.S. in No­
vember for the latter. The
Premier usually attends
the East Asia Summit,
which Mr. Li is participat­
ing in this week in Indone­
sia before travelling to New
Delhi. Both attend the SCO
where there are separate
HoS and Head of Govern­
ment meetings.
“That practice is main­
tained very clearly and
they don’t ordinarily de­
viate from it,” Mr. Kantha
noted. “So this is not a rou­
tine decision, and it is
clearly well thought out.”
changed for
G­20 Summit
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The G­20 Summit in New
Delhi has led to the cancel­
lation, short­termination,
and rescheduling of up to
283 trains by Northern
Railway between Septem­
ber 8 and 11.
They include at least 155
passenger trains. On Sep­
tember 8, four trains will
be affected, while on Sep­
tember 9, at least 62 pas­
senger trains, originating
from or terminating at Del­
hi Sarai Rohilla, New Delhi,
Panipat, Bulandshahr­Haz­
rat Nizamuddin, Shakur­
basti, Rewari, Ghaziabad,
Shamli, Ambala, Jind, Sah­
aranpur, Kurukshetra, will
be hit.
Similarly, 70 trains will
be affected on September
10 along the same routes
and two on September 11.
Helpline 139
The Northern Railway has
informed passengers that
at least 17 trains will termi­
nate short of Delhi junc­
tion on September 9 and
10. In a circular, it said,
“Passengers are advised to
plan their journey after
checking train status in
passenger’s helpline no 139
­ RailMadad.”
Up to 40 mail or express
trains, including the Taj Ex­
press and trains to Amrit­
sar, Bareilly, Jalandhar,
Rohtak, Ambala, Bhatinda,
Haridwar, Pathankot, Kan­
pur, have been cancelled.
Along the same routes, 12
trains have a change of ter­
minal, while two trains
have been rescheduled.

2 senior GAIL
officials among
five arrested
for graft
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The Central Bureau of In­
vestigation has arrested
two officials of the Gas
Authority of India Limited
(GAIL), besides three priv­
ate individuals, on charges
of graft. The sum involved
is ₹50 lakh.
Among those named in
the FIR are GAIL executive
director Krishna Ballabh
Singh and chief general
manager Davinder Singh,
and director of Vadodara­
based Advance Infrastruc­
tures Private Limited Su­
rendra Kumar.
Sunil Kumar, a senior
manager of Mecon Limit­
ed; Harsh Yadav, a resident
of Delhi; and Suryavesh
from Haryana’s Jhajjar
have also been listed as
accused.
According to the agency,
the accused conspired to
extend undue favour in
‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ interchangeable, can
be used in official invite, say legal experts
Sandeep Phukan
NEW DELHI
An official invitation from Pre­
sident Droupadi Murmu to
G­20 guests in which she is de­
scribed as the “President of
Bharat” has triggered specula­
tion that the Narendra Modi
government could officially
change the name of “India” to
“Bharat” during the five­day­
long Special Session of Parlia­
ment that starts on September
18.
While the issue has predic­
tably sent political tempera­
tures soaring, there is ambiva­
lence within the legal
fraternity on whether a consti­
tutional amendment is re­
quired for a change of name.
“The fact is that the terms
Bharat and India can be used
interchangeably, especially in
view of the authorised Hindi
version of the Indian Constitu­
tion, but the government can­
not stipulate that everyone use
only one name: either is per­
missible and usable interchan­
geably,” senior Supreme Court
advocate and Congress mem­
ber Abhishek Singhvi told The
Hindu.
Mr. Singhvi, who is also a
former Chairman of the Parlia­
mentary Standing Committee
on Law and Justice, said an
amendment would be re­
quired only if the government
insisted on the use of any one
term or wanted to remove a
particular term.
Former Additional Solicitor­
General and senior Supreme
Court advocate Aman Lekhi
said it was officially the “Repu­
blic of India” and even the
G­20 Presidency was known as
the “Indian Presidency”. He
said that any change of name
would require a constitutional
amendment under Article
368.
“The change is possible but
Abhishek Singhvi
is it necessary? There are cer­
tain things that should be free
of controversy and the name
of the country should highest
in that list,” Mr. Lekhi said.
“Unless any intention to the
contrary is made explicit, the
terminology is only a question
of semantics. And at this stage,
there is no need to read anyth­
ing sinister,” former Law Mi­
nister Ashwani Kumar said.
Another top constitutional
expert, who did not wish to be
named, said there was nothing
wrong in sending an invitation
as the “President of Bharat”.
However, it should not be seen
as the first step towards doing
away with the use of English
language.
“Article 348(1) of the Consti­
tution states that all proceed­
ings in the Supreme Court and
in every High Court shall be in
English language until Parlia­
ment passes a law,” the expert
noted, adding,“If they want to
pass such a law, then that
would be a federal issue.”
The debate over the lan­
guage of government Bills start­
ed last month after Union
Home Minister Amit Shah in­
troduced the Bharatiya Nyaya
Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik
Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bha­
ratiya Sakshya Bill in the Lok
Sabha to replace the Indian Pe­
nal Code, the Code of Criminal
Procedure and the Evidence
Act, respectively.

How two CJIs, four years apart, had dealt

connection with the Sri­
kakulam Angul and Vijai­
pur Auraiya pipeline pro­

differently with pleas for the name ‘Bharat’

jects of GAIL.
As stated in the FIR, Ad­
vance Infrastructures has
been executing pipeline
laying work for the Srikak­
ulam Angul project. It is al­
so working as a sub­con­
tractor for JSC OGCC
KazStroy Service, a frontal
company of KSS Group
from Kazakhstan with a re­
gistered office in Guru­
gram, which was awarded
pipeline laying and asso­
ciated work in the Vijaipur
Auraiya project. Both the
projects were being super­
vised by the GAIL execu­
tive director.
As alleged, he extended
undue favours to Mr. Ku­
mar such as expeditious
processing of pending pay­
ments/bills in violation of
rules and procedures in
lieu of bribe.
CM
YK
Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
Four years apart, two Chief
Justices of India had reacted
differently to demands for the
name “Bharat” instead of
“India”.
While one CJI upheld the
right of the individual to
choose between the two
names, his successor, four
years down the line, suggested
nudging the government
about it.
These hearings in the Su­
preme Court happened years
before the 2023 G­20 dinner
invite described President
Droupadi Murmu as the “Pre­
sident of Bharat”, sparking a
row over whether the govern­
ment was planning to drop
“India” and keep just
“Bharat”.
In March 2016, Chief Justice
of India T.S. Thakur told acti­
vist Niranjan Bhatwal from
Maharshtra that the choice
was his, to call his country
“Bharat” or “India”. Nobody,
no authority, State or court,
had the power to dictate to ci­
tizens what they should call
their country.
Mr. Bhatwal had sought
clarity on the phraseology of
Article 1 of the Constitution,
which said: “India, that is Bha­
rat, shall be a Union of States.”
He argued that the word “In­
dia” was not a literal transla­
tion of the word “Bharata”. He
said history and the scriptures
knew the country as “Bhara­
ta”. The activist had contend­
ed that “India” was a name
coined by the British. Citizens
need to have an unambiguous
understanding of what they
should call their country.
The petition said the Consti­
tuent Assembly had debated
many names for the newborn
Republic, and some of them
were “Bharat, Hindustan,
Hind and Bharatbhumi or Bha­
ratvarsh and names of that
kind”. “India” was incorporat­
ed merely for the limited pur­
pose of recognition of the Re­
public by other countries.
Second petition
An identical petition again
came up before the top court,
this time before Chief Justice
S.A. Bobde, in June 2020. The
country at the time was grap­
pling with the pandemic. The
plea wanted “India” to be
struck off Article 1, saying
there should be “uniformity”
about the name of the nation.
Chief Justice Bobde res­
ponded by pointing out to the
petitioner, Namah, that “Bha­
rat and India are both names
given in the Constitution. India
is already called ‘Bharat’ in the
Constitution”. Though Chief
Justice Bobde did not enter­
tain the petition, he suggested
that it could be transformed
into a representation and for­
warded to the Central Minis­
tries, primarily the Union
Home Ministry.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
14 Wednesday, September 6, 2023

News Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 In second action by ISTRAC,
Aditya-L1 enters new orbit
The manoeuvre was performed in the early hours of Tuesday, and the new orbit attained was 282
km x 40,225 km; three more manoeuvres are scheduled, with the next fixed for September 10
The Hindu Bureau
BENGALURU
Bihar Governor slams he second earth­
Education Department
Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on
T bound manoeuvre
of the Aditya L­1
mission to study the sun
Tuesday slammed the Education Department in has been performed suc­
the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar cessfully by the ISRO Te­
during a Teachers’ Day programme in Patna. lemetry, Tracking and
Referring to the ongoing conflict with the Command Network (IS­
Education Department, without taking any TRAC), Bengaluru.
name, the Governor indirectly chastised K.K. “ISTRAC/ISRO’s ground
Pathak, Additional Chief Secretary of the stations at Mauritius, Ben­
Education Department. The officials were galuru and Port Blair
present on the dais at Patna University, where tracked the satellite during
the Wheeler Senate Hall was being inaugurated. this operation,” the space
His remark came amid friction between the agency said.
Education Department and the Raj Bhavan over The manoeuvre was
the past few weeks. performed in the early
hours of Tuesday and the
new orbit attained was 282
km x 40,225 km. Three
NMC brings digital signatures more manoeuvres are
scheduled, with the next
after an alert of fake letters scheduled for around 2.30
a.m. on September 10.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has After the final ma­
instructed all medical colleges that Letter of noeuvre on September 18,
Permission (LoP) and Continuation of Aditya­L1 will undergo a
Recognition (CoR) issued by the Board trans­Lagrangian1 inser­
concerned should be under the digital signature tion manoeuvre, marking
of the member/president concerned and that the beginning of its 110­day
only this should be treated as genuine. The trajectory to the destina­
notice comes following an alert where fake LoP tion around the L1 La­
and CoR have been issued to the medical colleges
in the name of the president/member of the
boards. It added that dean/principal will be
solely responsible for taking cognizance of
letter(s) in any other form.
Varsities, colleges will be President Murmu honours
U.P. court sentences 23 denied funds if they follow 75 teachers with national
accused in Bikru massacre
A special Gangster Act court in Kanpur Dehat on
Governor’s orders: Mamata awards on Teachers’ Day
Tuesday sentenced 23 people to 10 years’
imprisonment in connection with the 2020 The Hindu Bureau
massacre of eight Uttar Pradesh police personnel KOLKATA
in Bikru, led by Vikas Dubey, a gangster, who
later was killed in a police encounter. “After West Bengal Chief Minister
hearing of 30 accused persons, the court in Mati Mamata Banerjee on Tues­
in Kanpur Dehat district on September 5, 2023 day threatened an “eco­
gave its final judgement in which out of 30 nomic blockade” of higher
accused persons, 23 accused persons were educational institutions in
sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, and a the State if they followed
fine of ₹50,000 was imposed on each of them,” a the orders of Governor C.V.
statement by Prashant Kumar, the Special Ananda Bose.
Director­General (Law and Order), read. “If the Governor conti­
nues to interfere in the af­
fairs of college and univer­
sities and any university or
Activists cry foul over NIA college agrees to function
as per his will, then I will
searches in U.P. in Naxal case create economic blockade.
On this issue, there will be
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on tit for tat, no compromise.
Tuesday conducted searches at eight locations in Let us see in which college
five districts of Uttar Pradesh in connection with or university you [the Go­
its investigation into a Naxal case. The searches vernor] are able to pay sal­
are going on in Prayagraj, Varanasi, Chandauli, aries to the teachers,” Ms.
Azamgarh and Deoria districts of U.P. The sites Banerjee said.
included the residence of Seema Azad, national
secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties Ongoing tussle
(PUCL) and Bhagat Singh Student’s Morcha The remarks by the Chief
(BSM), leading to an uproar from activists who Minister come amid a tuss­
deemed it “criminalising of activism”. As per the le between the Raj Bhavan
anti­terror agency officials, the searches were and the State government
conducted early on Tuesday “in connection with over the appointment of
NIA Case no. RC­ 01/2023/NIA/LKW revival of interim Vice­Chancellors.
NRB of CPI (Maoist) case”. On Sunday evening, the
New chapter: Aditya L1, country’s first solar mission, successfully
performed the second earth­bound manoeuvre, on Tuesday. ISRO
grange point. Upon arrival
at the L1 point, another
manoeuvre will bind Adi­
tya­L1 to an orbit around
L1, a balanced gravitational
location between the earth
and the sun.
The satellite spends its
whole mission life orbiting
around L1 in an irregularly
shaped orbit in a plane
roughly perpendicular to
the line joining the earth
and the sun. Aditya­L1 will
be the first Indian space­
based observatory to study
the sun from a halo orbit
around first sun­earth La­
Stern warning: The remarks by the Chief Minister come amid a
tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the State government. PTI
Governor appointed inte­
rim Vice­Chancellors at 16
universities without any
consultation with the State
government.
The Chief Minister, who
was participating in an
event to mark the Teach­
ers’ Day celebrations in
Kolkata, said she found the
developments relating to
higher educational institu­
tions “heart wrenching”.
“I have told him [the Go­
vernor] a number of times
that please do not do this.
We will pay funds and
make policies and you will
interfere. Have you ever
grangian point (L1), which
is located roughly 1.5 mil­
lion km from earth.
The first earth­bound
manoeuvre was successful­
ly performed on Septem­
ber 3.
The ISRO’s Polar Satel­
lite Launch Vehicle (PSLV­
C57) successfully launched
the Aditya­L1 spacecraft
from the Second Launch
Pad of Satish Dhawan
Space Centre (SDSC), Sri­
harikota, on September 2.
After a flight duration of
63 minutes and 20 se­
conds, Aditya­L1 spacecraft
heard that in the middle of
the night, the Vice­Chan­
cellor of Jadavpur Universi­
ty was changed? This
means that a conspiracy is
going on so that the system
collapses. We will not al­
low this to continue,” Ms.
Banerjee said.
None of the 31 State­run
universities in West Bengal
have full­time Vice­Chan­
cellors, which has resulted
in an unprecedented crisis.
The Governor had appoint­
ed interim Vice­Chancel­
lors to administer these un­
iversities without any
consultation.
was successfully injected
into an elliptical orbit of
235 km x 19,500 km
around the earth.
According to the ISRO, a
satellite placed in the halo
orbit around the L1 point
has the major advantage of
continuously viewing the
sun without any occulta­
tion and eclipses.
This will provide a grea­
ter advantage of observing
the solar activities and its
effect on space weather in
real time.
Aditya­L1 carries seven
scientific payloads indige­
nously developed by the
ISRO and national research
laboratories, including the
Indian Institute of Astro­
physics (IIA), Bengaluru,
and the Inter­University
Centre for Astronomy and
Astrophysics (IUCAA),
Pune.
The payloads are to ob­
serve the photosphere,
chromosphere and the
outermost layers of the sun
(the corona) using electro­
magnetic and particle and
magnetic field detectors.
(With inputs from PTI)
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
President Droupadi Mur­
mu felicitated 75 teachers
in New Delhi on Teachers’
Day, September 5.
Each of the 50 school­
teachers, 13 teachers from
higher education institu­
tions and 12 from the Mi­
nistry of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship —
received a certificate of
merit, a cash award of
₹50,000 and a silver
medal.
Archana Nooguri from
Telangana, who works on
improving enrolment rates
and reducing dropouts,
was awarded for her efforts
at developing low­cost
teaching­learning material.
Chandan Mishra from
West Bengal was recog­
nised for his efforts at inte­
grating augmented and vir­
tual reality in his
teaching­learning
processes.
Similarly, Dwijendra Ku­
mar from Bihar took the in­
itiative to make his school a
Centre signs MoU
with Adobe to train
children in classroom
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The Union Education Mi­
nistry signed an agreement
with global software major
Adobe to help children de­
velop creative expression
in classrooms using the ap­
plication Adobe Express.
Training and certification
in creativity and digital lite­
racy will be provided to
about 20 million students
and five lakh teachers by
2027 using Adobe Express­
based curriculum. The
partnership was signed
here on Tuesday.
Union Education Minis­
ter Dharmendra Pradhan
said in the time of digitisa­
tion, new ideas, new inno­
vation and creativity, the
partnership will create a
new standard and bench­
mark for students. He con­
gratulated the education
ecosystem for having a col­
laborative MoU with an im­
portant multinational and
global company.
Adobe’s vice­president
and MD Prativa Mohapatra
said Adobe’s creativity and
digital skilling programs
have touched the lives of
millions of students across
Honour list: Award­winning teachers during the presentation of
national awards on the occasion of Teachers’ Day in New Delhi . PTI
Divyang model school. He
involved the community in
spreading awareness of
health and hygiene, child
marriage and dowry.
Mujib Rahman K.U.
from Kerala promotes
good reading habits
through various innovative
activities. M. Bhaskar Rao
from Andhra Pradesh con­
ducts awareness pro­
grammes and participato­
ry activities on issues such
as child labour, child mar­
riage and environment
protection.
Dinesh Babu J., Asso­
ciate Professor at the Inter­
Adobe will provide
schools across the
country with free
access to Adobe
Express Premium
India. “With ground­break­
ing generative AI at the
core of Express, we’re ex­
cited to empower India’s
classrooms with the latest
technology to revolution­
ise how students and edu­
cators can use creativity to
turn ideas into stunning
content,” she said.
Under the programme,
Adobe will provide schools
across the country with
free access to Adobe Ex­
press Premium and profes­
sional development of edu­
cators. “Curriculum,
training and certification
based on Adobe Express
tools and capabilities will
be rolled out to empower
students and educators
with topics covering crea­
tivity, generative AI, de­
sign, video, animation and
other emerging technolo­
gies,” a release said.
“5,00,000 Educators will
be up­skilled to use Ex­
press,” it added.
national Institute of Infor­
mation Technology in
Bengaluru, was awarded
for developing an innova­
tive UPSC virtual reality in­
terviewing platform.
Indranath Sengupta,
Professor of Mathematics
at the IIT­Gandhinagar,
was selected for his dedica­
tion and contribution to
higher education and en­
riching lives of his
students.
Union Education Minis­
ter Dharmendra Pradhan
launched the Malaviya Mis­
sion Teachers Training
Programme.

To solve this puzzle online,

SCAN TO PLAY
SUDOKU
13963 get across to our crossword site. 쑽
@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn
(set by Incognito)

15 Sailor on street in another country (6)

Across
8 Female spreads oil to make pastry dough (4)
9 Wandering, came across Catholic and Islamic holy city (5)
10 Flower carried back in Antonov aircraft (4)
11 Legendary lady from small European sea and America (6)
12 Speed up putting tepid mixture in river (8)
13 Aid car damaged in precipitation loaded with hydrogen ions
(4,4)
CM
YK
17 Increase soldiers after August and commencement of tension
(7) FAITH
19 Minor actress shakes rattles (7) 쑽
22 Dead bodies resulting from fight on board ship (6)
24 Start IIT eat­in cooking (8)
Purpose of Krishnavatara
26 Sorry, coir tent is dismantled (8)
It is natural for human beings to have a churning mind
28 Note: Departed and cleaned up (6)
that becomes agitated. However, in the Krishnavatara, the
30 Secret agent's pier (4)
residents of Brindavan were always happy. They forsook
31 Shoot young descendant of influential family (5)
butter (‘Nei unnom paal unnom,’ Andal says in Tiruppa­
32 Order followed by Yankee? Follow order! (4)
vai), preferring to leave it for Krishna, who stole it endless­
Down ly, and therein lies the secret of Krishna’s avatara, Sudha
1 Quarry owned by me (4) Sesshayyan said in a discourse.
2 Mound cur destroyed displays abrasive mineral (8) Krishna’s mischief with butter never ceased. Yashodha
3 Badly limp around an American animal (6) ties Him to a pillar so that He couldn’t steal butter. He is
4 Hides displays (7) scolded, repeatedly. And yet, His focus is always on butter
5 Facility producing LNG, perhaps, can make gals pant (3,5) and on cattle. At the age of seven, Krishna pesters Nanda­
6 Large snake? It may help you reach higher places! (6) gopal to let Him herd the cows.
7 Sprinter's putting egg into bacon, lettuce and tomato initially (4) What is the significance of this concern for cattle, and
Solution to previous puzzle Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
14 What the amorous lawyer did at his workplace? (5) Krishna’s penchant for butter? “He is hidden, like ghee in
16 Spy one decent guy (5) milk,” Saivite saint Tirunavukkararasar says. It’s a symbol­
18 Badly designed tin seats are most unpleasant (8) ic allusion in which milk is likened to our minds, where
20 Smallest unit of precipitation, perhaps, managed to cover one the ultimate truth lies, mingled with the materialistic
doctor having small operation (8) yearnings. To extract ghee, one must make butter by con­
21 Left European peninsular area for country in Africa (7) stant churning. Similarly, we have to extract the ultimate
23 Pop has stout with that lady (6) truth.
25 Where the camper gets desire? (6) By constantly turning our attention to butter, Krishna
27 Boy wearing spectacles has European musical instrument (4) shows us that in order to attain Him, we have to constantly
29 Sees from end of bridge? Correct! (4) experience His life events. Like the cows He herded in
Brindavan, Krishna guides us through our lives.
M ND-NDE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
4 ALL1
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Log on to crossword.thehindu.com for more puzzles
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12903
■ ACROSS
1 Improperly insist on
demonstrations (3­3)
4 Last name/Surname is used for
ID (8)
10 Denied daughter’s new visa’s
due (9)
11 Play doctor and a mom (5)
12 Glorify old bunch? That’s
retrograde (5)
13 Once again took over
vandalized depot after study
(9)
14 Scales rail to obtain a quiet
room perhaps (7)
16 Spare doctor again (4)
19 Road’s birds (4)
21 Some men toil to carry a
trophy (7)
24 Insurance company’s
directions to recognize some
specic permit holders (9)
25 Snake coils around man’s tea
(5)
26 Greek character takes help of
Indian poet (5)
27 Expert gets to unknown
information officer from the
You will never run out of intellectual challenges @ east regarding early life (9)
https://crossword.thehindu.com
28 Wanted suspended reed to be
redesigned (8)
29 Donkey’s rate (6)
CM
YK
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2020
(set by Sunnet)
■ DOWN
1 Fiddle duly ends and from out
of nowhere... (8)
2 Metro to try pushing ahead
with experimental container
(4,4)
3 New number by Dizzy Love (5)
5 Engineer admires a weapon (7)
6 Cable tuner’s weight (9)
7 Indian caves in a month to the
volunteer army (6)
8 He nally secures antelopes
(6)
9 Quantity we hand in to get a
keyboard (6)
15 Hazardous undertaking
manufacturing urea around
Germany’s empty (9)
17 Place a ruler on East­North­
East to cross North perhaps
(8)
18 Love stories of eternal city
with a church in two corners
(8)
20 Stiff on the French tower (7)
21 It brings good luck to men on
racetrack (6)
22 Quail’s Florida measure (6)
23 Energy of irradiated cation (6)
25 Works and schedules (5)
A
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 15
Delhi
World
TULKAREM WASHINGTON PARIS BEIJING
Israeli forces kill 21­year­old Joe Biden tests negative after U.S. French schools send back dozens Great Wall of shame: two held after
Palestinian in occupied West Bank First Lady contracts COVID­19 of girls wearing Muslim robe smashing hole in China landmark

REUTERS AFP AFP REUTERS

X X X X
Israeli forces shot dead a 21­year­old Palestinian in a raid on a West U.S. First Lady Jill Biden on Monday tested positive for COVID­19, French schools sent dozens of girls home for refusing to remove Two persons were detained after using an excavator to dig a hole in
Bank refugee camp, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on the White House said. President Joe Biden tested negative. The their abayas on the first day of the school year. Defying a ban on the the Great Wall of China. The police followed tracks made by
Tuesday, as violence in the occupied territory shows no let­up. The 72­year­old first lady is experiencing “only mild symptoms,” and will Muslim robe, nearly 300 girls showed up on Monday morning machinery used to dig a shortcut through a segment of the wall.
Islamic Jihad militant group identified him as a member of its remain in the couple's home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Jill wearing an abaya. Most agreed to change out of the robe, but 67 The suspects admitted under questioning that they had used a
armed wing, the Al­Quds Brigade. AFP Biden last tested positive for COVID a year ago. AFP refused and were sent home. AFP digger to create a shortcut in the wall to reduce local travel time. AFP

Partial win
for same­sex
groups in
Hong Kong
Agence France-Presse
HONG KONG
Hong Kong’s top court
ruled in favour of recognis­
ing same­sex partnerships
on Tuesday and gave the
government two years to
come up with a legal fra­
mework, but stopped
‘North Korea’s Kim Myanmar won’t be allowed to lead
may meet with Putin ASEAN in 2026, in blow to Generals
in Russia this month’ Associated Press
JAKARTA
cials were again barred
from attending this year’s
summit in Jakarta despite
Southeast Asian leaders suggestions by some mem­
Kremlin is trying to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine war, decided that Myanmar ber states that they be al­
says a U.S. official; earlier, Shoigu had travelled to Pyongyang for talks won’t take over the rotat­ lowed back because their
ing leadership of their re­ ejection had failed to re­
gional bloc as scheduled in solve the country’s crisis.
Associated Press 2026, Asian diplomats and Indonesian Foreign Mi­
WASHINGTON a leader said on Tuesday, nister Retno Marsudi said
in the latest blow to efforts ASEAN would stick with

short of granting full mar­
riage rights to the city’s
LGBTQ community.
The case brought by
jailed pro­democracy acti­
vist Jimmy Sham is the first
time Hong Kong’s Court of
Final Appeal has directly
addressed the issue of
same­sex marriage.
The court ruled that the
Hong Kong government
violated its “obligation... to
establish an alternative fra­
mework for legal recogni­
tion of same­sex partner­
ships”. It gave authorities
two years to comply with
the ruling.
The court stopped short
of full­throated support for
same­sex marriage, siding
instead with lower courts
in saying that “the consti­
tutional freedom of mar­
riage... is confined to oppo­
site­sex marriage”.
Activists said the “par­
tial” win could pave the
way for more protections
for same­sex couples but
remained wary of what
sort of framework would
emerge from Hong Kong’s
Beijing­approved
legislature.
A
U.S. official said on
Monday that North
Korean leader Kim
Jong­un may travel to Rus­
sia soon to meet with Presi­
dent Vladimir Putin as the
Kremlin tries to acquire
military equipment for use
in its war in Ukraine.
The official, who was
not authorised to address
the matter publicly and
spoke to The Associated
Press on condition of ano­
nymity, said the U.S. ex­
pects Mr. Kim will make
the trip within the month.
The official said the U.S.
isn’t sure exactly where or
when the meeting would
take place, but the Pacific
port city of Vladivostok
would be a likely possibili­
ty given its relative proxim­
ity to North Korea.
National Security Coun­
cil spokeswoman Adrienne
Watson noted on Monday
that Russian Defence Mi­
nister Sergei Shoigu tra­
velled to Pyongyang re­
cently and tried to
persuade North Korea to
sell artillery ammunition to
Russia.
Ms. Watson said, “We
Opportune relations: Kim Jong­un is expected to meet Vladimir
Putin in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok. FILE PHOTO
have information that Kim
Jong­un expects these dis­
cussions to continue, to in­
clude leader­level diplo­
matic engagement in
Russia.”
‘Stop arms talks’
She added that the U.S. is
urging North Korea “to
cease its arms negotiations
with Russia and abide by
the public commitments
that Pyongyang has made
to not provide or sell arms
to Russia”.
Mr. Shoigu said on Mon­
day the two countries may
hold joint war games.
The New York Times first
reported that Mr. Kim
planned to meet with Mr.
Putin in Russia this month.
The White House said
last week it had intelli­
gence indicating that Mr.
Putin and Mr. Kim
swapped letters following
Mr. Shoigu’s visit. National
Security Council spokes­
man John Kirby said the
letters were “more at the
surface level” but that Rus­
sian and North Korean
talks on a weapons sale
were advancing.
by its ruling Generals to
gain international recogni­
tion after violently seizing
power in 2021.
Western governments
led by the U.S. have con­
demned the Myanmar Ar­
my’s ouster of Aung San
Suu Kyi’s democratically
elected government in
2021 and have demanded
her immediate release
from years­long detention
along with other officials.
The Philippines agreed
to take over the regional
bloc’s chairmanship in
2026 at an ASEAN summit
hosted by Indonesia on
Tuesday, Philippine Presi­
dent Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
said in a statement, citing
what he told fellow leaders
in the closed­door
meetings.
Take the helm
“It is my pleasure to an­
nounce that the Philip­
pines is ready to take the
helm and chair ASEAN in
2026,” Mr. Marcos told his
ASEAN counterparts in Ja­
karta, the statement said.
Mr. Marcos did not ex­
plain why Myanmar lost
Vacant space: An empty seat for Myanmar’s delegate at the plenary
session of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday. REUTERS
the prestigious year­long
ASEAN chairmanship, but
two ASEAN diplomats said
it was related to the civil
strife in the country and
fears that the bloc’s rela­
tions with the U.S. and the
EU, among others, might
be undermined because of
their non­recognition of
the military­led govern­
ment in Myanmar.
The diplomats spoke on
condition of anonymity be­
cause they were not auth­
orised to discuss the deli­
cate issue publicly.
Continuing deadly civil
strife in Myanmar and new
flare­ups in long­simmer­
ing territorial disputes in
the South China Sea were
high in the agenda of the
10­nation bloc’s talks on
Tuesday. Thorny issues in­
cluding the U.S.­China riv­
alry in the region have set
off divisions within ASEAN,
and Indonesian President
Joko Widodo renewed his
call for unity.
“All of us are aware of
the magnitude of the
world’s challenges today,
where the main key to fac­
ing them is the unity and
centrality of ASEAN,” Mr.
Widodo told fellow
leaders.
Peace and stability
He likened the regional
group to a big ship carrying
Southeast Asia’s people.
“ASEAN leaders must en­
sure that this ship is able to
keep going, able to keep
sailing,” Mr. Widodo said.
“We must be captains of
our own ships to bring
about peace, to bring
about stability, to bring
about shared prosperity.”
In a punitive step for
their failure to comply with
a five­point domestic
peace plan crafted by
ASEAN leaders in 2021,
Myanmar’s top Generals
and their appointed offi­
the plan.
Myanmar security forc­
es have killed about 4,000
civilians and arrested
24,410 others since the ar­
my takeover, according to
the Assistance Association
for Political Prisoners, a
rights monitoring
organisation.
After their summit on
Tuesday, the regional
group’s leaders will meet
with Asian and Western
counterparts from Wed­
nesday to Thursday, in­
cluding U.S. Vice President
Kamala Harris, who is at­
tending in lieu of President
Joe Biden, Chinese Premier
Li Qiang, and Russian Fo­
reign Minister Sergey
Lavrov.
Japanese Prime Minister
Fumio Kishida said before
flying to Jakarta that he
plans to offer assurances of
the safety of the ongoing
release into the sea of treat­
ed radioactive wastewater
from the damaged Fukush­
ima nuclear power plant.
The release began on
August 24 and China im­
mediately imposed a ban
on all Japanese seafood.

Cuba uncovers
human trafficking
ring for Russia’s
war in Ukraine
Agence France-Presse
HAVANA
Cuba has identified an alleged human Tough spot: Eritrean asylum­seekers rally in Tel Aviv in protest
trafficking ring aimed at recruiting its ci­ against an event organised in support of Eritrea’s government. AFP
tizens to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine,
the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The government was working to dis­
mantle a “trafficking network that oper­ UN warns Israel that
ates from Russia to incorporate Cuban
citizens living there, and even some
from Cuba, into the military forces in­
expelling Eritreans
volved in military operations in Uk­
raine,” the Ministry said in a statement.
The Cuban government had initiated
en masse is unlawful
criminal proceedings against those car­
rying out the trafficking, it added. Agence France-Presse prevent the event from tak­
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodri­ GENEVA ing place in Tel Aviv.
guez said in a post on X, formerly Twit­ While stressing that it
ter, that the government was “acting The UN urged Israel on was “important to establish
with the full force of the law” against Tuesday to refrain from accountability” for the
trafficking operations. mass deportations of Eri­ events, William Spindler
“Cuba is not part of the war in Uk­ treans following weekend warned Israel against tak­
raine,” the Ministry said. There was no clashes involving asylum ing broad measures against
immediate reaction from Moscow. seekers, warning it would Eritreans in the country.
On Friday, Miami’s America TeVe “contravene international Collective punishment is
newspaper published what it described law” and could have dire banned under internation­
as testimonies from two teenagers who human consequences. al law, as is refoulment, or
said they had been tricked into working The UN refugee agency returning someone to a
alongside the Russian Army on con­ said it was “deeply con­ country where they could
struction sites in Ukraine. cerned” by the clashes that face torture, cruel, inhu­
In a video message posted on the erupted on Saturday when mane or degrading treat­
newspaper’s website, one of the teens a demonstration against an ment. His comments came
called for help getting out as quickly as Eritrean government event after Israeli Prime Minister
possible. America TeVe said the video turned violent, injuring ov­ Benjamin Netanyahu said
message was sent from a bus transport­ er 200 people. the country was consider­
ing the pair from Ukraine to the Russian The clashes began when ing deporting 1,000 Eri­
city Ryazan along with Russian hundreds of anti­govern­ treans who took part in the
servicemen. ment Eritreans came to clashes.
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
16 Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Business Delhi

INBRIEF August services PMI MARKETS

쑽 FM flags threats to 쑽

shows momentum MARKET WATCH

financial system from sustaining, tad slower

TUESDAY
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 65,780 ddddddddddddddddddddddd 0.23
US Dollar dddddddddddddddddddddddddd 83.04 dddddddddddddddddddddd ­0.39
Goldddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 60,300 dddddddddddddddddddddd ­0.24
Brent oildddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 90.95 ddddddddddddddddddddddd 2.23
% CHANGE

crypto, tax havens The Hindu Bureau NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE
NEW DELHI Adani Enter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2494.05. . . . . . . . . . 23.45

India’s G20 Presidency calls for a framework for handling issues relating Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 804.95. . . . . . . . . . . . 3.90
Growth in services sector Apollo Hosp. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4984.50. . . . . . . . 159.65

to crypto­assets; FM also urges fintech industry to guard against threats output, as measured by the
Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3223.30. . . . . . . . ­12.25
Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 981.45. . . . . . . . . . ­0.80

Sreeram Venkateswaran takes S&P Global India Services

charge as DICV President, CBO
Sreeram Venkateswaran assumed charge as
Purchasing Managers’ In­
Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4701.60. . . . . . . . . . 64.45
Bajaj Finserv . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1510.45. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.35
Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 7345.10. . . . . . . . . . 74.85
The Hindu Bureau dex (PMI), eased to 60.1 in Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 865.90. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.60
BPCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 350.20. . . . . . . . . . . . 5.50
MUMBAI August, from July’s 13­year Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4514.95. . . . . . . . . . . . 7.75
high of 62.3. Still, new ex­ Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1238.95. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.10

U
President & Chief Business Officer, Domestic nion Finance & Cor­ port orders rose the fastest Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 255.35. . . . . . . . . . . . 7.55
Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3642.30. . . . . . . . . . 12.95
Sales & Customer Service of Daimler India porate Affairs Mi­ in at least nine years. Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5578.90. . . . . . . . ­80.55
Commercial Vehicles (DICV) on September 1. He nister Nirmala Sith­ Despite sales waning Eicher Motors . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3403.45. . . . . . . . ­30.70
Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1853.80. . . . . . . . . . 12.75
replaces K. Rajaram, the company said. Mr. araman on Tuesday said slightly from July’s highs, spike in international de­ HCL Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1235.55. . . . . . . . . . . . 3.05
Venkateswaran will be overseeing go­to­market cryptocurrencies (crypto), demand remained robust mand supported one of the HDFC Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1574.90. . . . . . . . . . ­9.65
product strategies for BharatBenz and taking drug mafias, tax havens and firms raised prices at best sales performances re­ HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 640.95. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.90
Hero MotoCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2935.35. . . . . . . . . . ­7.50
customer and dealer engagements to the next and cyber intrusions posed the fastest pace in more corded over the past 13 Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 486.10. . . . . . . . . . ­0.55
level. He was a key member of the team that major threats to the global than six years, though in­ years, and acted as a cata­ Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2507.05. . . . . . . . . . . . 5.65
ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 968.40. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.05
created the BharatBenz brand, DICV added. financial ecosystem and a put cost pressures eased lyst for firms to expand IndusInd Bank. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1423.75. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.95
global collaborative effort from the previous month. their workforces as well as Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1478.90. . . . . . . . . . 13.80
ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 443.10. . . . . . . . . . . . 5.60
was needed to counter To cope with the addi­ output,” she added. Jio Financial Servic­
such challenges. tional workflow, firms es Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 255.05. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.60

Inflation to stay elevated over “We should be well

seized of the threats which
next few months: S&P Global are conventional warfare
or border threats and oth­
Inflation in India is likely to remain elevated in er threats such as cyber
the near term, but government policies will threats, crypto threats; as
prevent it from rising further, S&P Global Ratings far [as] it is an opportunity
Economist (Asia Pacific) Vishrut Rana said on it is [also] a threat. Also
Tuesday. In July, the consumer price index based threats of drug, drug wars
retail inflation spiked to a 15­month high of and drug mafias, tax ha­
7.44%, with specific food commodities mainly vens, round tripping of re­
driving the increase. Speaking at a webinar, Mr. sources and tax evasion;
Rana said the monsoon had been very patchy we need to work on all
and overall rain was about 11% below normal. PTI these so that we can ad­
dress them,” Ms. Sithara­
man said while addressing
delegates at the Global Fin­
tech Fest (GFF) 2023 which
Access Healthcare to recruit is underway in Mumbai.
1,500 people in two months She said understanding
these global challenges
Chennai­based Access Healthcare is planning to would help in building a re­
measures utilising ad­
vanced encryption and
other measures to protect
user data and financial
transactions. A secured
system is what will build
trust and therefore it is a
must for the financial eco­
system,” she said.
“India can lead in mak­
ing the financial ecosystem
inclusive, resilient and sus­
tainable. We have the tools
but we have to make it res­
ponsible. That is why we
need global cooperation,”
she added.
Emphasising that India’s
priority was to have an en­
hanced cross­border pay­
ment arrangement consi­
dering the volume of
On crypto, the Internation­
al Monetary Fund (IMF)
and the Financial Stability
Board (FSB) had released
their synthesis papers, the
minister added.
Underlining the impor­
tant role of the fintech in­
dustry in building a res­
ponsible financial
ecosystem, she said fin­
techs in India were driving
more inclusion and in­
fluencing India’s financial
ecosystem.
“Today, fintech has be­
come a robust and dynam­
ic financial inclusion tool.
According to a 2022 BCG
Matrix Report, in lending,
which is one of the core bu­
sinesses of the banks, fin­
ramped up hiring at the
strongest pace since No­
vember, by roping in a
blend of permanent and
temporary staff on both
part­time and full­time ba­
sis. Overall, positive senti­
ment among services busi­
nesses rose to the highest
level so far in 2023, with
firms expecting continued
growth in the coming year.
Participants in the sur­
vey attributed positive con­
sumer appetite and favour­
able market conditions for
the sustained demand, and
export order books rose
due to fresh contracts from
customers in the Asia Pac­
ific, Europe, North Ameri­
ca and the Middle East.
‘Price gains quicken’
“However, favourable de­
mand trends also led to the
joint­fastest increase in
prices charged for Indian
services in over six years,
which may prompt atten­
tion from policymakers
and potentially delay cuts
to the benchmark repo
rate,” she cautioned.
Taking manufacturing
and services activity to­
gether, S&P Global said
there was a mild slowdown
in private sector activity
growth across India during
August, with the Compo­
site PMI Output Index eas­
ing to 60.9, from July’s
61.9. However, this was still
among the sharpest expan­
JSW Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 815.95. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.15
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1771.05. . . . . . . . . . . . 8.85
L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2732.95. . . . . . . . . . 21.85
LTIMindtree Ltd. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5426.15. . . . . . . . . . 60.45
M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1571.15. . . . . . . . . . ­5.25
Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 10262.10. . . . . . ­100.35
NestleIndia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 21954.45. . . . . . . . 216.25
NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 234.60. . . . . . . . . . ­1.20
ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 183.10. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.15
PowerGrid Corp . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 254.30. . . . . . . . . . ­1.10
Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2423.60. . . . . . . . . . 12.90
SBI Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1309.45. . . . . . . . ­18.90
State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 573.00. . . . . . . . . . ­2.55
Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1131.90. . . . . . . . . . 23.00
TataConsumer
Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 846.30. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.25
Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 611.15. . . . . . . . . . . . 2.15
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 131.70. . . . . . . . . . ­0.05
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3429.35. . . . . . . . . . 10.85
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1254.55. . . . . . . . . . ­2.20
Titan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3136.15. . . . . . . . . . 35.85
UltraTech Cement . . . .. . . . . . . 8454.85. . . . . . ­127.70
UPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 608.05. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.60
Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 431.85. . . . . . . . . . ­2.25
EXCHANGE RATES
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4
p.m. on September 05

hire more than 1,500 people across the country silient financial ecosystem. remittances to the country, techs had 36% share of “Indian services compa­ sions in over 12 years. CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

during September and October. This surge, Urging the fintech in­ she said one of the priority new­to­credit customers nies achieved a remarkable “Manufacturers over­ US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 82.84. . . . . . . . . . 83.16
Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 89.01. . . . . . . . . . 89.36
representing approximately 6% of its workforce, dustry to guard against areas for the G20 under In­ versus the 22% share of milestone in August, as took service providers as British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 104.03. . . . . . . . 104.44
is attributed to acquiring new clients and these threats, the minister dia’s presidency was shar­ brick­and­mortar banks. they welcomed a series re­ the best performers. New Japanese Yen (100) . . . . . . .. . . . . 56.27. . . . . . . . . . 56.48
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 11.34. . . . . . . . . . 11.39
expanding several ongoing contracts. The hiring asked these firms to invest ing of information and Fintechs are reaching out cord surge in new export orders placed with private Swiss Franc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 93.23. . . . . . . . . . 93.60
will happen in Chennai, Coimbatore, Mumbai, heavily to counter cyber­ seeking cooperation. far more even in lending, business,” said Pollyanna sector companies rose Singapore Dollar . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 60.85. . . . . . . . . . 61.10
Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 60.70. . . . . . . . . . 60.94
Pune, Noida, and Thiruvananthapuram centres, threats. “We need to have She said consultative an area which is a conven­ De Lima, economics asso­ further, taking the current Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 17.75. . . . . . . . . . 17.84
the end­to­end healthcare revenue cycle and IT fintech companies invest papers were being dis­ tional bank function,” Ms. ciate director at S&P Global stretch of growth to just ov­ Australian Dollar . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 52.80. . . . . . . . . . 53.01

services provider said in a statement. heavily in robust security cussed on various issues. Sitharaman said. Market Intelligence. “This er two years,” it added. Source:Indian Bank

Capgemini ‘India credit market Pepperfry

showcases
DCX Foundry
The Hindu Bureau
BENGALURU
Rising expectations of end
customers are constantly
being reshaped based on
evolution of technology,
Capgemini said.
The French IT services
and consulting company
showcased its Digital Cus­
tomer Experience (DCX)
Foundry in Bengaluru to
the media on Tuesday.
The DCX Foundry ad­
dresses this dilemma of
evolving consumer expec­
tations, while enabling en­
terprises to be competitive
and sustainable, Capgemi­
ni said. The foundry would
ensure a collaborative and
dynamic environment for
ideation, innovation, and
fostering partnerships with
Capgemini’s clients and
partners, the firm added.
on course to grow to
$350 bn by year­end’
Press Trust of India
MUMBAI
Financial Services Secre­
tary Vivek Joshi on Tues­
day said the credit market,
led by the digital lending
segment, is on course to
grow to $350 billion (about
₹3 lakh crore) by the end of
the year.
The digital lending seg­
ment stood at $270 billion
at the end of 2022, Mr.
Joshi said on the opening
day of the fifth edition of
the global fintech festival
held here.
Threefold growth
The Financial Services Se­
cretary also said the coun­
try’s fintech market is slat­
ed to grow three times to
$150 billion by 2025­end
Vivek Joshi
The digital lending
segment stood at
$270 billion at the
end of 2022, said
Mr. Joshi.
from $50 billion in 2021.
About 800 speakers and
50,000 delegates are at­
tending the three­day glo­
bal fintech summit.
elevates Ashish
Shah as CEO,
raises $23 mn
The Hindu Bureau
MUMBAI
Pepperfry, an e­commerce
furniture and home goods
marketplace, has an­
nounced the elevation of
its co­founder Ashish Shah
as Chief Executive Officer.
“This appointment fol­
lows the untimely demise
of Ambareesh Murty, Pep­
perfry’s co­founder and
former CEO,” the company
said. The company also an­
nounced that it had raised
$23 million in funding from
existing shareholders.
The latest round of capi­
tal infusion would streng­
then Pepperfry’s ability to
cater to the evolving needs
of its more than 10 million
and increasing customer
base, the company said.

Swiss food firm bets FADA flags ‘alarming’

on India’s grain focus PV inventory levels
Mini Tejaswi Reuters
BENGALURU BENGALURU

Buhler, a Swiss food pro­ Inventory levels for pas­

cessing equipment manu­
facturer, on Tuesday said it
remained bullish on India
as the country increases its
focus on grain safety and
grain logistics.
“We are tripling our ma­
nufacturing capacity and
doubling our exports in In­
dia,” Johannes Wick, CEO­
Grain and Food, Buhler,
told The Hindu. “We are al­
so investing ₹200 crore in
the next two to three years
to scale up our operations
including strengthening
sales/marketing and hiring
more people,” he added.
Buhler India currently
employs more than 600
CM
YK
Johannes Wick
employees and has plans
to add 300 direct jobs in
the next three years.
“India’s growing popu­
lation, consolidation tak­
ing place in the flouring
and food processing sec­
tor, government’s push on
grain safety, grain logistics
and warehousing etc. are
the drivers of this indus­
try,” he added.
senger vehicles in India hit
an all­time high in August
ahead of the festive season,
an ‘alarming’ trend that
needs vigilant monitoring
by automakers, an indus­
try dealers’ body said.
The average passenger
vehicle (PV) inventory at
August end ranged from
58­63 days, up from 50­55
days in July and 30­35 days
in August 2022, the Federa­
tion of Automobile Dealers
Association (FADA) said.
Higher inventory days
indicate dealers are storing
vehicles for longer before
selling them.
“With anticipation of a
good festive season, deal­
ers may incur higher work­
ing­capital costs for main­
taining unsold vehicles,”
said Himanshu Singh, re­
search analyst at brokerage
Prabhudas Lilladher.
“If the festive demand
falls short of expectations,
we could see higher dis­
counting from both origi­
nal equipment manufac­
turers as well as dealers to
clear inventory.”
M ND-NDE

Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Delhi
CAPTAINSPEAK
‘When you try to fix something,
you might end up breaking it’
X X
Rohit Sharma prefers to speak in ‘Bambaiya’ lingo. Seldom does he
sound like a corporate leader, especially while addressing a press
conference. Tuesday was an exception. “When you are trying to fix
something, you might end up breaking it. You have to use resources
the best you can,” said Rohit about the bowling options.
Rahul finds a place in a squad of
no surprises and no off­spinners
The core of the Asia Cup contingent retained with the exception of Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson
who have been named as standbyes; three left­arm spinners — Jadeja, Kuldeep and Axar — make the cut
WORLD CUP
Amol Karhadkar
PALLEKELE
.L. Rahul, who
K hasn’t played a
competitive game
since May, has been includ­
ed in India’s World Cup
squad which hardly has
any surprise. It was an­
nounced here on Tuesday
by chief selector Ajit Agar­
kar, along with captain Ro­
hit Sharma.
“KL is looking good. We
feel this gives us the best
balance to try and do well.
With K.L., he was part of
the camp in Bengaluru, he
looked really good there,
has got over his niggle,”
Agarkar said after an­
nouncing the squad of 15
that will carry the burden
of expectation of 1.4 billion
Indians for the Men’s Crick­
et World Cup.
“He played a couple of
games over the last two
days. I think he kept for 50
overs and batted for
around 50 overs too, so he
looks good and we're hap­
py to have him.”
While Rahul, who ar­
rived in Colombo on Tues­
day after clearing a fitness
test in Bengaluru, and Ish­
an Kishan have been in­
cluded as the two wicket­
keeper­batters, the
selectors have persisted
with the core group of the
Asia Cup squad members.
The three members who
have travelled to Sri Lanka
and not have found a place
in the World Cup squad —
Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Var­
ma and Sanju Samson —
will be standbyes, accord­
Afghanistan falls agonisingly Gauff storms into semifinals; Zverev battles past
short, Sri Lanka through Sinner in a five­setter; Jabeur crashes out
Press Trust of India
LAHORE
Sri Lanka defeated Afghan­
istan by two runs to end
the latter’s hopes of quali­
fying for the Asia Cup Sup­
er Four stage here on
Tuesday.
Afghanistan, which
needed to chase a target of
292 in 37.1 overs, fought
hard but was bowled out
for 289 in 37.4 overs des­
pite fifties from Moham­
mad Nabi (65) and Hash­
matullah Shahidi (59).
Kasun Rajitha took four
wickets for Sri Lanka.
Stroke­filled knock
Earlier, Kusal Mendis
bossed star spinner Rashid
Khan in his stroke­filled 92
before Afghanistan fought
back to limit Sri Lanka to
291 for eight.
Unlike Sri Lanka’s open­
ing game, openers Pathum
Nissanka (41) and Dimuth
CM
YK
ing to Agarkar.
While Tuesday was the
last day of submitting the
squad to the International
Cricket Council, it can be
altered till Sept. 28 without
giving any reason. It gives
the selectors and the team
management ample time
Karunaratne (32) gave a
brisk start to the innings
before being dismissed by
medium­pacer Gulbadin
Naib.
Batting at No. 3, Mendis
then put Sri Lanka on
course for a 300­plus total
with a near flawless effort
comprising six boundaries
and three sixes.
The scores: Sri Lanka 291/8 in 50
overs (Pathum Nissanka 41,
Dimuth Karunaratne 32, Kusal
Mendis 92, Charith Asalanka 36,
Dunith Wellalage 33 n.o.,
Gulbadin Naib 4/60) bt
Afghanistan 289 in 37.4 overs
(Rahmat Shah 45, Hashmatullah
Shahidi 59, Mohammad Nabi 65,
Kasun Rajitha 4/79).
THE HINDU
Sport
IN THE ZONE
When we play, we don’t bother
about what’s said outside: Rohit
During India’s World Cup squad announcement in Pallekele on
Tuesday, a scribe asked Rohit Sharma about the pressure of facing
Pakistan. “When we are playing a tournament or on the ground, we
are in the zone and not bothered about what’s being said outside.
Don’t ask the same question during the World Cup,” said Rohit.
to assess the match­fitness hard done by. “Clearly
of Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and there will be discussions gi­
Jasprit Bumrah. ven we have both Ravindra
With Axar Patel pre­ Jadeja and Axar Patel who
ferred as the third spinner, spin the ball into left­han­
there was no room for an ders. Both give us depth in
off­spinner. As a result, batting,” Agarkar said.
both R. Ashwin and Wash­ Rohit was satisfied with
ington Sundar will feel the squad, which he said
US OPEN
Agence France­Presse
NEW YORK
Coco Gauff thrashed Jelena
Ostapenko in straight sets
to reach the semifinals of
the US Open for the first
time on Tuesday.
American sixth seed
Gauff dominated Latvia's
20th seed Ostapenko from
start to finish, winning 6­0,
6­2 in just 1hr 8min.
Carlos Alcaraz surged
into the last four on Mon­
day even as Ons Jabeur be­
came the latest highly
Nabi... a gallant show. AFP ranked player to go crash­
ing out.
Defending champion Al­
caraz, who has only
dropped one set on his
journey into the last eight,
produced a dominant dis­
play to overwhelm Italian
World No. 61 Matteo Arnal­
di, winning 6­3, 6­3, 6­4 in
PROTEAS’ LIST
Bavuma to lead South Africa in
50­over World Cup in India
X X
South Africa named its squad for the World Cup to be held in India.
The squad: Temba Bavuma (Capt.), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de
Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda
Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi,
Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, van der Dussen.
Focus was on eight
batters, six bowling
options for every game
Pragmatic approach: This is the best we can do with balance
and depth, says Rohit. AP
Amol Karhadkar
PALLEKELE
Balance is not something
you find, it is something
you create. That seems to
be the mantra of India’s
head coach Rahul Dravid
and captain Rohit Sharma
while planning for the
Men’s ODI Cricket World
Cup.
Their quest — with Ajit
Agarkar having joined in
the last stages — was visible
in India’s squad that will
hope to end the 12­year­old
drought for an ICC title, on
home soil in
October­November.
One may point out the
absence of an off­spinner
in the squad, despite two
able options in R. Ashwin
and Washington Sundar.
Similarly, the squad
doesn’t have a left­arm
pacer, with Arshdeep
Singh and Jaydev Unadkat
being in the mix for a bet­
ter part of the last 10
months.
Their omission is prima­
was in sync with the team rily due to the team man­
management’s vision after agement’s thrust on strik­
the last year’s T20 World ing the right balance of
Cup semifinal exit. “We are having at least six bowling
happy. This is the best we options and eight batters
can do with balance and for every game.
depth. We have three all­ As a result, Shardul Tha­
rounders in the team, four kur and Axar Patel have
bowlers and six batters,” been preferred over the
Breezy! Gauff, who needed little over an hour to get the better of Ostapenko, eased into her first
semifinal at Flushing Meadows. GETTY IMAGES
1hr 57min. Zverev, who is returning
Alcaraz will face 12th to his best form after a
seed Alexander Zverev in gruesome injury at the
Wednesday's quarterfinals French Open last year that
after the 2020 US Open fi­ forced a six­month layoff,
nalist from Germany de­ downed Sinner 6­4, 3­6,
feated Italian sixth seed 6­2, 4­6, 6­3 on the Arthur
Jannik Sinner in a five­set Ashe Stadium.
duel tinged with The 4hr 41min battle,
controversy. which wrapped at 1.39am
FINAL CHANCE
De Kock has unfinished business,
to retire after the World Cup
South Africa coach Rob Walter said on Tuesday that Quinton de
Kock has “unfinished business” after it was announced that he will
retire from ODIs after the World Cup. “Quinny has been a
magnificent player for South Africa in 50­over cricket,” said Walter in
backing de Kock, 30, to finish his ODI career in style.
rest. Shardul’s economy
rate and his batting ability
may be questionable. But
the Mumbai pacer has
been India’s trump card in
ODIs since the last World
Cup. Not only does he
strike with the ball against
all odds but also chips in
with vital runs when
required.
Similarly, Axar offers a
handy all­rounder’s op­
tion, despite his uncanny
similarity to Ravindra Jade­
ja in skillset. Add to it Kul­
deep Yadav’s ability to turn
the ball away from left­
handed batters and that
virtually shut the doors on
both the off­spinners.
The team manage­
ment’s thrust on a batting
option at No. 8 means the
pace trio of Jasprit Bum­
rah, Mohammed Shami
and Mohammed Siraj are
unlikely to feature together
regularly. One of the three
primary pace pack mem­
bers will have to make way
for either Shardul or Axar,
depending on the
conditions.
“That’s the best we
could do. We looked at eve­
rything and every possible
way of getting the players
in. There will be players
who miss out but that hap­
pens in every World Cup,”
Rohit said on Tuesday.
local time, saw an ugly inci­
dent in the fourth set when
Zverev complained of a
"Hitler phrase" being
shouted from the stands as
he prepared to serve.
A male fan was subse­
quently identified as the al­
leged culprit and ejected
from the arena before Zve­
17
No change in
Colombo as
venue in
Sri Lanka
Amol Karhadkar
PALLEKELE
Despite fears of inclement
weather, the remaining
Asia Cup games will be
played in Colombo as per
schedule.
A Sri Lanka Cricket
(SLC) official confirmed on
Tuesday that considering
the logistics and weather
involved, the R. Premadasa
will “continue to host the
Super Four and final
games”.
Due to the flooding in
parts of Colombo over the
last week, the tournament
broadcaster had requested
at least the Super Four
stage to be moved out of
Colombo.
The Asian Cricket Coun­
cil (ACC) — in consultation
with tournament host Pa­
kistan Cricket Board (PCB)
and SLC — had been con­
templating Hambantota as
a possible alternative since
Sunday.
However, with the
weather in Colombo hav­
ing cleared and Hambanto­
ta witnessing rain on Tues­
day, the tournament
authorities have decided to
stick with Colombo.
THE RESULTS
쑽
Women: Quarterfinals: 6­Gauff
(USA) bt 20­Ostapenko (Lat) 6­0,
6­2. Fourth round: 23­Zheng
(Chn) bt 5­Jabeur (Tun) 6­2, 6­4;
2­Sabalenka bt 13­Kasatkina 6­1,
6­3.
Men: Fourth round: 1­Alcaraz
(Esp) bt Arnaldi (Ita) 6­3, 6­3, 6­4;
8­Rublev bt Draper (GBr) 6­3, 3­6,
6­3, 6­4; 3­Medvedev bt 13­de
Minaur (Aus) 2­6, 6­4, 6­1, 6­2;
12­Zverev (Ger) bt 6­Sinner (Ita)
6­4, 3­6, 6­2, 4­6, 6­3.
rev went on to seal victory.
Jabeur, who has been
struggling with flu since ar­
riving in New York, finally
saw her luck run out after
scrapping her way to three­
set victories in her pre­
vious two games.
The Tunisian simply
had no answer to 23rd seed
Zheng Qinwen’s blend of
power and precision, with
the 20­year­old from Shi­
yan looking far sharper
than her weary opponent.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
18 Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Sport Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 Official outfits of the Indian contingent
unveiled at the send­off ceremony
Sports minister Thakur and IOA president Usha do the honours as athletes sport the kit designed with an emphasis on sustainability

casion and others, includ­ Under­20 World Cham­

ASIAN GAMES
Hima provisionally suspended Uthra Ganesan
NEW DELHI
for ‘whereabout failures’
he official ceremo­
Star sprinter Hima Das has been provisionally
suspended by the National Anti­Doping Agency
(NADA) for three ‘whereabout failures’ in 12
T nial and competi­
tion outfits of the
Indian contingent for the
months, according to sources. The 23­year­old upcoming Asian Games
Assam runner has not been named in the Hangzhou was unveiled here on Tues­
Asian Games team due to an injury she had day at the official send­off
sustained earlier this year. Hima faces a maximum ceremony with an empha­
two­year ban, which can be reduced to a minimum sis on sustainability and re­
of one year depending on the degree of her fault. cycling of resources.
Union Sports Minister
Anurag Singh Thakur, ac­
companied by Indian
Olympic Association presi­
Villarreal fires coach Setien, dent P.T. Usha, did the un­
Tena in on an interim basis veiling with Indian hockey
stars Savita Punia and P.R.
Villarreal fired coach Quique Setien on Tuesday Sreejesh donning the khaki
after the team lost three of its first four matches ceremonial kits on the oc­
in the Spanish league. The club made its decision
early in the two­week break for international
games, with director of football Miguel Angel
Tena taking over on an interim basis.
Gukesh on top with three others; Couldn’t have asked
Rachita Talwar enters Pragg in joint second place
the quarterfinals
Rachita Talwar overcame an indifferent start to TATA STEEL CHESS
defeat qualifier Pragati Solankar 0­6, 6­4, 6­2 in
the pre­quarterfinals of the ₹100,000 AITA P.K. Ajith Kumar
women’s tennis tournament at the Joygaon KOLKATA
Academy in Jhajjar on Tuesday.
Just when it seemed R.
The results: Pre­quarterfinals: Singles: Sahira Singh bt
Sreenidhi Amireddy 6­2, 6­4; Shefali Arora bt Shruti Gupta 6­4, Praggnanandhaa would
have another excellent day
6­0; Lakshmi Prabha bt Sowkhya Gaddam 6­0, 6­0; Vanshika
Choudhary bt Ishwari Matere 6­1, 6­4; Rachita Talwar bt on the chessboard — so­
Pragati Solankar 0­6, 6­4, 6­2; Kavya Khirwar bt Nemha mething he has got used to
Kispotta 6­3, 6­1; Sejal Bhutada bt Mirudhula Palanivel 7­6(3), over the last few months —
6­4; Kashish Bhatia bt Diya Malik 6­3, 6­1. Doubles: Likhitha Vincent Keymer made him
Landa & Eva Sah bt Isha Tomar & Sayaad Ahmad 6­2, 6­4; pause.
Tanushri Pandey & Kavya Kkhirwar bt Diiya Tyagi & Snigdha
In the third­round clash
Patibandla 6­2, 6­1; Divya Bhardwaj & Sahira Singh bt Sanika
Kambli & Pragati Solankar 6­2, 6­4; Omna Yadav & Sreenidhi
between the two hugely ta­
Amireddy bt Sylvie Pal & Mubashira Shaik 7­5, 7­5; Prathiba lented teenagers, in the
Narayan & Arthi Muniyan bt Mushrath Shaik & Siri Patil 6­2, Open rapid section of the
4­6, [10­6]; Gauri Mangaonkar & Diya Malik bt Breshna Khan & Tata Steel Chess India tour­
V. Vitula 6­4, 6­2. nament, the German pre­
vailed to move into the
joint lead at the end of the
first day at the National Li­
brary on Tuesday. He is
Amul to be official sponsor of sharing the top spot with
Asian Games contingent first seed Maxime Vachier­
Lagrave of France, Tei­
Amul will be the official sponsor of the Indian mour Radjabov of Azerbai­
contingent for the Hangzhou Asian Games. jan and D. Gukesh.
Announcing the association, Jayen Mehta, They have two points
in­charge managing director of Amul said, “Amul apiece, half­a­point more
has partnered with Indian sportspersons through than Praggnanandhaa,
the Indian Olympic Association since London Russian Alexander Gris­
chuk and Nodirbek Abdu­
2012 Olympics...we are pleased to further
strengthen our decade long relationship.” sattorov of Uzbekistan. Six
rounds remain.
LIVE TELECAST
Good start
쑽 Praggnanandhaa, playing
Asia Cup: Star Sports 1 (SD & HD) & Hotstar, 3 p.m. his first event in India after
US Open: Sony Sports Ten 2, 5 (SD & HD) & LIV, 9.30 p.m. & his stunning show at the
5.45 a.m. (Thursday) Chess World Cup in Baku,
ing shooter Manu Bhaker
and shotputter Tajinderpal
Singh Toor wearing the
competition and training
outfits.
“It is good to talk about
100 medals or more but ev­
ery athlete is selected on
merit. And the Prime Mi­
nister has said that when
you represent 140 crore
people of the country, you
have to give your best at all
times and medals and suc­
cess will come by itself,”
Thakur said, referring to
the official slogan Abki
baar 100 paar.
“India has achieved a lot
in the last six months in
sports and all of it has
made every Indian proud
— whether Antim Panghal’s
back­to­back gold at the
for a better team
Solid beginning: Gukesh scored a win and two draws to be in joint
lead. DEBASISH BHADURI
had begun with a win with
black pieces against Radja­
bov and then held Vachier­
Lagrave to a draw. There
are, of course, enough
rounds left for him to
bounce back.
Gukesh, also playing his
first tournament in India
after crossing a milestone
(he broke into the World
top 10 and replaced Viswa­
nathan Anand as the India
No. 1) defeated compatriot
Harikrishna and drew with
Abdusattorov and
Grischuk.
Arjun Erigaisi, who won
a title in both his previous
appearances here, must
have beenrelieved to end
the day with a victory over
Harikrishna, after losing
pionships in wrestling or
four gold medals in wo­
men’s boxing World Cham­
pionships or SAFF title in
football or the Junior Asia
Cup titles for both men and
women in hockey or the
men’s hockey Asian Cham­
pions Trophy or Aditi Swa­
mi’s archery title or the
most recent World Cup fi­
nal by R. Praggnanandha —
all of it has been hearten­
ing. But this is just the be­
ginning,” he added.
He also revealed that the
budget for Khelo India had
been increased by ₹675
crore for the next three
years along with the appro­
val for 250 more Khelo In­
dia centres in addition to
the 1000 targeted for this
year.
his first two games.
The results (third round,
Indians unless specified): Vidit
Gujrathi 1 lost to Maxime
Vachier­Lagrave (Fra); D. Gukesh 2
drew with Alexander Grischuk
(FIDE) 1.5; Arjun Erigaisi 1 bt P.
Harikrishna 0.5; Teimour
Radjabov (Aze) 2 bt Nodirbek
Abdusattorov (Uzb) 1.5; R.
Praggnanandhaa 1.5 lost to
Vincent Keymer (Ger) 2.
Second round: Vachier­Lagrave
drew with Praggnanandhaa;
Keymer lost to Radjabov;
Abdusattorov bt Arjun;
Harikrishna lost to Gukesh;
Grischuk drew with Gujrathi.
First round: Grischuk drew with
Vachier­Lagrave; Gujrathi drew
with Harikrishna; Gukesh drew
with Abdusattorov; Arjun lost to
Keymer; Radjabov lost to
Praggnanandhaa.
One for the album: Union sports minister Thakur, minister of State Pramanik, and IOC president Usha
with some members of the Indian contingent for the Asian Games. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
for Asiad: Anand
P.K. Ajith Kumar
KOLKATA
Viswanathan Anand is
mighty impressed with the
way Divya Deshmukh
clinched the women’s ra­
pid title at the Tata Steel
Chess India tournament
here a few days ago. The 17­
year­old from Nagpur got
to play only because R.
Vaishali pulled out at vir­
tually the last minute be­
cause of illness.
Divya had begun as the
lowest­rated player in a
strong field of 10, but
played superbly to record a
career­best performance,
pushing behind the likes of
World champion Ju Wen­
jun and former World ra­
pid champion Koneru
Humpy. During a media in­
teraction here on Tuesday,
Anand singled out Divya’s
win over Humpy in the fi­
nal round.
“Maybe what was most
impressive about Divya
was that after losing the
game in the eighth round
she had the strength to win
the ninth,” said the five­
time World champion,
who is a mentor of Divya at
the WestBridge Anand
Chess Academy.
Anand. DEBASISH BHADURI
“And it was a very beau­
tiful win too, with the ‘b’
pawn capturing the pawn
on the ‘a2’ square. To win
that game and clinch the
tournament was amazing.
After beginning well, she
hit a high gear and kept go­
ing. She scored lots and
lots of wins.”
About the forthcoming
Asian Games, where chess
is making a return after 13
years, Anand sounded
hopeful of India’s chances.
“We are fielding an
amazing team,” he said.
“There are other very good
teams. Uzbekistan is good.
Vietnam is good. China will
field a great contingent. So
we will have rivals, but you
can’t ask for a better team
than what we have.”
Washington 125 (305b, 8x4, 4x6).
TNCA XI
crashes out of
Buchi Babu
Sports Bureau
DINDIGUL
M.S. Washington Sundar’s
125 was the lone bright
spark for TNCA XI as it con­
ceded a huge first­innings
lead to Madhya Pradesh
and crashed out of the All
India Buchi Babu tourna­
ment on the final day of the
semifinals at the NPR Col­
lege Ground on Tuesday.
At Salem, Delhi bowled
out Chhattisgarh for 155 de­
fending 234.
Delhi and MP will meet
in the title clash in Coimba­
tore from September 8 to
11.
The scores: Delhi 340 & 80 bt
Chhattisgarh 187 & 155 in 56.1
overs (Rishabh Tiwari 48,
Shashank Singh 48). PoTM:
Pranshu Vijayran (Delhi).
Madhya Pradesh 536 & 48/1 dec.
in 23 overs drew wiith TNCA XI
301 in 113.5 overs (M.S.
Washington Sundar 125, A.
Badrinath 65). PoTM: Rishabh
Chouhan (MPCA).

India clubbed
with Egypt,
Switzerland
and Jamaica
in men’s
Hockey5s
World Cup
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
Reigning Asian champion
India has been clubbed
alongside Egypt, Switzer­
land, and Jamaica in Pool B
of the upcoming FIH Men’s
Hockey5s World Cup slated
from January 24 to 31, 2024
in Muscat.
Sixteen national teams
will compete in the inaugu­
ral edition and they have
been divided into four
groups of four teams each.
India earned its qualifi­
cation after defeating Pa­
kistan 4­4 (2­0 SO) in the
inaugural Men’s Hockey5s
Asia Cup at Salalah on
Saturday.
The groupings:
Pool A: Netherlands, Pakistan,
Poland, Nigeria; Pool B: India,
Egypt, Switzerland, Jamaica.
Pool C: Australia, New Zealand,
Trinidad & Tobago, Kenya; Pool
D: Oman, Malaysia, USA, Fiji.
CM
YK
SNAPSHOTS
쑽
Shubham third
in 61kg at
World weightlifting
RIYADH: Indian weightlifter
Shubham Todkar finished
third in Group D of the
men’s 61kg event in the
World Championships on
Tuesday. The 26­year­old
National champion lifted a
total of 269kg
(119kg+150kg) to finish
behind Malaysia’s Aznil
Muhamad 290kg
(129kg+161kg) and Korea’s
Rok Shin 280kg
(125kg+155kg) respectively.
As expected, former
World champion Mirabai
Chanu, who is saving her
best for the Asian Games,
withdrew after weighing­in
for the 49kg event, where
she was placed in Group
D.
Indian women
finish sixth in
Asian table tennis
PYEONGCHANG (SOUTH
KOREA): The Indian
women’s team lost to
Thailand 0­3 to finish sixth
in the playoff positions
(5­6) of the 26th ITTF
Asian table tennis
championships at on
Tuesday. Earlier in the
day, India edged out
Singapore 3­2 in the 5­8
positions.
Meanwhile, the two Indian
mixed doubles pairs lost in
the second round
(round­of­32).
G. Sathiyan and Manika
Batra went down 11­7,
10­12, 11­6, 8­11, 9­11 to the
Thai pair of Phakpoom
Sanguansin and Orawan
Paranang. Harmeet Desai
and Sreeja Akula followed
suit and lost to top seeds
Tomokazu Harimoto and
Hina Hayata of Japan 6­11,
7­11, 8­11.
The results: 5­6 positions:
Thailand bt India 3­0 (Suthasini
Sawettabut bt Sreeja Akula 11­6,
11­5, 11­6; Orawan Paramang bt
Manika Batra 11­4, 8­11, 11­4,
11­6; Wanwisa Auea Wiriyayothin
bt Diya Chitale 15­13, 8­11, 4­11,
11­9, 11­8).
5­8 positions: India bt
Singapore 3­2 (Manika bt Jingyi
Zhou 11­9, 11­3, 11­6; Sreeja lost
to Jiang Zeng 7­11, 6­11, 7­11;
Ayhika Mukherjee bt Xin Ru Wong
11­1, 11­9, 11­6; Manika lost to
Zeng 8­11, 6­11, 7­11; Sreeja bt
Zhou 12­10, 11­3, 9­11, 11­6).
Mixed doubles (round­of­32):
G. Sathiyan & Manika Batra lost to
Phakpoom Sanguansin & Orawan
Paranang (Tha) 11­7, 10­12, 11­6,
8­11, 9­11; Harmeet Desai & Sreeja
lost to Tomokazu Harimoto & Hina
Hayata (Jpn) 6­11, 7­11, 8­11.
Zeeshan keen to see the best
combos for doubles events
TENNIS
Kamesh Srinivasan
NEW DELHI
National coach and Davis
Cup team coach Zeeshan
Ali will have his hands full
when the team prepares
for the World Group­2 tie
against Morocco at the Mi­
ni Stadium in Gomti Nagar,
Lucknow, next week.
With both the men’s and
women’s Asian Games
teams also scheduled to
have a preparatory camp,
the coach will have a busy
time, especially in terms of
sorting the combinations
for doubles and mixed
doubles.
“Most of the players are
playing tournaments this
week. Playing matches is
the best preparation one
can have,” observed
Zeeshan.
“Players will be reach­
ing Lucknow by the 9th
and the camp starts on
10th. Having the Asian
Games camp along with
the Davis Cup camp is a ve­
ry good idea, especially
Zeeshan Ali.
when it comes to choosing
players for the doubles and
mixed doubles,” said
Zeeshan.
The Davis Cup tie is
scheduled on September
16 and 17.
Over a period of time,
most of the leading Indian
players have competed in
partnership with each oth­
er in the professional cir­
cuit. But Zeeshan pointed
out that playing mixed
doubles was a rarity for the
Indian players.
“Our players only get to
play mixed doubles with
each other during the
Asian Games. The last time
that happened was five
years ago. The camp will
give the players the chance
to identify their partners
and practice with each oth­
er,” he said.
As the men’s team
coach for the Asian Games,
Zeeshan felt that it would
be a chance for him to get a
good idea about the possi­
ble combinations.
“This will also give me a
chance to observe them
and the AITA to finalise
teams that have the best
chance of getting us me­
dals,” said Zeeshan.
The women players are
also scheduled to have
their camp from 10th itself,
on the freshly relaid
courts.
“We are looking forward
to playing on the newly
laid courts in the renovat­
ed stadium. From the pic­
tures I have seen, it looks
impressive,” Zeeshan
remarked.
Like the last home tie
against Denmark at the
Delhi Gymkhana Club, the
stands have apparently
been professionally de­
signed for a comfortable
and pleasant viewing expe­
rience for the fans.
Ankita enters the
second round
Sports Bureau
Ankita Raina beat Sofya
Lansere 6­3, 6­2 in the first
round of the $100,000 ITF
women’s tennis tourna­
ment in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The results (first round):
$130,000 Challenger,
Shanghai, China: Dane
Sweeney (Aus) bt Mukund
Sasikumar 6­3, 6­4.
€73,000 Challenger, Cassis,
France: Mattia Bellucci (Ita) bt
Ramkumar Ramanathan 6­2, 6­4.
$25,000 ITF men, Monastir,
Tunisia: Maxim Zhukov bt Neeraj
Yashpaul 6­1, 6­2.
$25,000 ITF men, Kigali,
Rwanda: Vadym Ursu (Ukr) bt
Parth Aggarwal 7­5, 6­2.
Doubles: Michael Sobhy (Egy) &
Rishi Reddy bt Dharmil Shah &
Tushar Ssharma 6­2, 6­4; Rishab
Agarwal & Nicholas Bybel (USA)
bt S.D. Prajwal Dev & Ishaque
Eqbal 3­6, 6­1, [10­5; Tushar
Madan & Atharva Sharma bt
Lohithaksha Bathrinath & Mattias
Southcombe (GBr) 6­2, 7­6(4);
Andriy Poritskyy & Vadym Ursu
(Ukr) bt Parth Aggarwal &
Darrshan Suresh (Mas) 6­1, 6­4;
Abraham Asaba (Gha) & Guy
Iradukunda (Bdi) bt Kabir Hans &
Dylan Salton (RSA) 6­4, 6­4;
Gueflo Balldowinetti (Ita) &
Raghav Jaisinghani bt Kevin
Cheruiyot (Ken) & Niyigena
Etienne (Rwa) 7­5, 6­2; Siddhant
Banthia & Sai Karteek Reddy bt
Junior Hakizumwami (Rwa) &
Takura Mhwandagara (Zim) 6­2,
6­2.
$15,000 ITF men, Nakhon Si
Thammarat, Thailand:
Siddharth Vishwakarma bt
Jimmy Yang (Ger) 6­1, 6­3; Wang
Chukang (Chn) bt Nitin Kumar
Sinha 3­6, 6­3, 6­4.
Doubles: Sidharth Rawat & Nitin
Kumar Sinha bt Geni Innoue &
Taiyo Yamanaka (Jpn) 6­3, 6­2.
$15,000 ITF, Monastir:
Doubles: Men: Samir Banerjee
(USA) & Chirag Duhan bt Cheraag
Bajwa & Luca Bluett (GBr) 6­1,
6­2. Women: Luisa Hrda &
Yasmine Wagner (Ger) bt Gala
Arangio (Ita) & Aaddi Gupta 7­5,
6­1.
$25,000 ITF women, Nakhon
Si Thammarat: Mananchaya
Sawangkaew (Tha) bt Vaidehi
Chaudhari 6­4, 6­4; Sahaja
Yamalapalli bt Polina Latcenko
6­2, 6­4.
Doubles: Adithya Karunaratne
(Hkg) & Sahaja Yamalapalli bt
Yatawee Chimcham & Pawinee
Ruamrak (Tha) 6­3, 6­3; Shrivalli
Bhamidipaty & Vaidehi Chaudhari
bt Patcharin Cheapchandej &
Thasaporn Naklo (Tha) 7­5,
7­6(1); Gao Xinyu & Wang Meiling
(Chn) bt Zeel Dessai & Wang Jiaqi
(Chn) 3­6, 7­5, [10­6].
M ND-NDE
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
THE HINDU
Delhi 19
EDUCATIONAL
GENERAL

DEATH
ANNIVERSARIES

EDUCATIONAL
GENERAL

VACANCIES

SITUATION VACANT PUBLIC NOTICE

GENERAL

TENDERS

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
20 Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Sport Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 A forgettable day ensues for Indian
shuttlers at the China Open
Prannoy and Lakshya make opening­round exits to Yong and Antonsen respectively while Priyanshu loses to Rhustavito;
the women’s doubles pair of Treesa and Gayari capitulate to the Chinese top­seeds Chen and Fan
BADMINTON
Gaurav Gill all set to Press Trust of India
CHANGZHOU
participate in WRC 2023
World Championship
Indian rally ace Gaurav Gill is all set to take part bronze medallist H.S. Pran­
in World Rally Championship (WRC) 2023 noy made an opening­
season, starting with the Acropolis Rally of round exit from the China
Greece, one of the toughest in the world and Open Super 1000 badmin­
scheduled from September 7 to 10. Widely hailed ton tournament after going
as the Rally of Gods, the event will cover a total down in three games to Ng
distance of 1,235km, including 15 special stages Tze Yong here on Tuesday.
stretching across 307km over four days. The only The World No. 6 toiled
Arjuna awardee in the motorsport category, Gill, hard for 66 minutes before
a JK Tyre prodigy, will compete in the 30­car losing 12­21, 21­13, 18­21 to
WRC 2 category in a specially­prepped Škoda the 22nd­ranked Malya­
Fabia R5 alongside French co­driver Florian sian. Reigning Common­
Barral. The rally will also be featuring previous wealth Games champion
Acropolis winner and current WRC 2 Lakshya Sen also crashed
championship leader Andreas Mikkelsen along out in the first round after
with title rivals Yohan Rossel and Sami Pajari. losing to Anders Antonsen
Prannoy. File photo: AP
of Denmark 21­23, 21­16, 9­
21 in 78 minutes.
When Priyanshu Raja­
wat went down 13­21, 24­26
Lakshya Sen. FILE PHOTO: AFP
to Indonesia’s Shesar Hi­
ren Rhustavito, the Indian
challenge ended in men’s
singles.
Priyanshu. FILE PHOTO: AFP
The women’s doubles
pair of Treesa Jolly and
Gayatri Gopichand lost to
top seeds Chen Qing Chen
and Jia Yi Fan of China 18­
21, 11­21.
A forgettable day for In­
dia was complete when the
men’s doubles pairing of
Dhruv Kapila and M.R. Ar­
jun lost to Japan’s Keiichiro
Matsui & Yoshinori Takeu­
chi 21­23, 19­21.
The results (first round): Men:
Ng Tze Yong (Mas) bt H.S. Prannoy
21­12, 13­21, 21­18; Anders
Antonsen (Den) bt Lakshya Sen
23­21, 16­21, 21­9; Shesar Hiren
Rhustavito (Ina) bt Priyanshu
Rajawat 21­13, 26­24.
Doubles: Keiichiro Matsui &
Yoshinori Takeuchi (Jpn) bt Dhruv
Kapila & M.R. Arjun 23­21, 2­19.
Women: Doubles: Chen Qing
Chen& Jia Yi Fan (Chn) bt Treesa
Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand 21­18,
21­11.
Artur Lucas
joins
Hockey India
as coach­cum­
video analyst
ANI
NEW DELHI
Hockey India on Tuesday
announced the appoint­
ment of Belgium’s Artur
Lucas as coach­cum­video
analyst for its senior and
junior sides. Lucas will
work with all four Indian
teams — senior men and
women and junior men
and women at the SAI
Centre in Bengaluru.
The Belgian previously
worked for the Royal Belgi­
um Hockey Association as
the performance analyst
for the u­18 national team
from 2018 to 2023. During
his tenure, he made signifi­
cant contributions to the
team's development and
success.

Three players who started with a bang but finished in their 20s
BETWEEN
WICKETS
Suresh Menon
Former Karnataka captain,
and briefly, India star Ka­
run Nair will be turning out
for Vidarbha in the new
season of the Ranji Trophy.
This is not unusual. Form­
er internationals have
made similar moves either
because they no longer fit
into the scheme of things
at home, or because they
see better chances away.
Yet, if fans feel a twinge at
the change, that is because
it is a reminder of the
cruelty of cricket.
Nair, still only 31, has
one of the most intriguing
records in Test cricket. An
average of 62.33 from six
Tests is boosted by a high­
est score of 303 not out
against England. I remem­
ber an English writer re­
calling how, after every
break, lunch, tea, close of
play, it looked like Nair was
still at the crease.
Brilliant knock
He batted 25 minutes short
of ten hours, needing just
75 deliveries for his third
hundred. He brought up
his double and triple in the
same session, the only
player to do so since Wally
Hammond. Anything short
was cut or pulled, anything
driveable was driven. The
English bowlers didn’t
know where to hide.
That triple came in only
Nair’s third Test. He had
just turned 25 then. A little
over three months later, it
was all over; he had played
his last Test.
His highest score out­
side of that mammoth in­
nings was 26. There was a
time in Indian cricket
when a century ensured a
long stay in the team; now,
such was the talent availa­
ble that even a triple was
no guarantee. A couple of
seasons earlier, Nair had
made the first triple in a
Ranji final in nearly seven
decades.
Andy Sandham, the En­
glish opener who made
Test cricket’s first triple
century, didn’t play Tests
again. But that was no con­
solation for Nair. Sandham
was past 40 at the time,
and in the next series, En­
gland had a new opening
pair, Hobbs and Sutcliffe.
In some ways, Nair is in
the company of two other
Indian players who en­
tered the scene with a
bang, but didn’t play into
their thirties.
Vinod Kambli and Na­
render Hirwani played 17
Tests each, and both pro­
mised far more than they
delivered. In his first seven
Tests Kambli made two
double centuries and two
others besides, and fin­
ished with an average of
54.20. He was 23 when he
played the last of his Tests,
only one of which was out­
side Asia.
Sorted out
Fast bowlers discovered
quickly that a well­placed
gully fielder reduced Kam­
bli’s effectiveness as he
couldn’t keep his cut down
often enough. There were
too murmurs of poor beha­
viour in contrast to his
school buddy Sachin Ten­
dulkar who was the epi­
tome of self­control.
More importantly, India
did not have a system of
mentoring players, espe­
cially talented ones who
sometimes lost their way in
the world of glamour and
lights.
Better handling might
have seen a better Kambli,
but the combination of
weaknesses, technical and
personal, was allowed to
decide his future.
Leg spinner Hirwani’s
entry was even more spec­
tacular, with 16 for 136 on
his Test debut against the
West Indies in Chennai.
The line­up included Viv
Richards, Richie Richard­
son, Desmond Haynes.
Some of those wickets
came off poor deliveries as
the batsmen panicked,
swung over the ball or con­
trived to get their pads in
the way. Hirwani was just
19, and his figures are still
the best by a bowler on de­
but (Australia’s Bob Massie
picked up 16 on debut too,
but conceded one run
more).
Richards was so furious
at what he thought, rightly,
was an underprepared
wicket that he sent out a
warning to India after the
match: “Come to the West
Indies, we’ll show you.”
West Indies won the four­
match series that followed
3­0, and Hirwani’s six wick­
ets cost him nearly 58 per
wicket.
It seemed both Kambli
and Hirwani needed the
comfort of home while the
former needed a minder
who could keep him on the
straight and narrow. Hir­
wani’s nine Tests outside
India fetched just 21 wick­
ets at nearly 60. With the
emergence of Anil Kumble,
Hirwani’s career fell away.
The two leg spinners
played four Tests together.
Hirwani played his last Test
at 27 in a sport where spin­
ners get better with age.
Nair, Kambli, Hirwani
might be footnotes in crick­
et history, but at their best
it was difficult to imagine
too many better.

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 I
Delhi
Sport

THE GIST
쑽
Bhavani took to fencing when
she was 11. She competed in
her first international
tournament in Turkey at the
age of 14. She got a black
card (disqualification) for
being three minutes late
쑽
She has short­period training
camps coming up in Georgia,
Turkey and Algeria
쑽
Bhavani will participate in the
Sabre World Cup in Algeria,
Grand Prix in France, Grand
Prix in Tunisia, Sabre World
Cup in Lima, Peru, Sabre
World Cup Sabre in Athens
and Sabre World Cup in
Belgium besides the Asian
Games in China

I think fencing is one sport where

we see so many nations taking part
despite it not being so popular. That
makes it very unique

have gotten it before but I am glad it’s

happening now.’ Finance is the basic
element of sport, especially one like
fencing. We, as athletes, are improving,
but to compete internationally, we need
to have opportunities like what I have
now to keep it going. And money is a

Bhavani’s Parisian dream

necessity there. Athletes should ideally
only think about their performance and
what they need to do to get better. I am
very grateful to the government for
being so solid since Tokyo especially; so
has the Tamil Nadu government, my
employer Tamil Nadu Electricity Board
The Indian, the first fencer to compete at the Olympics, hopes to make her presence felt in the 2024 Games; her confidence and Go Sports Foundation,” she said.
has soared with a training stint at the famous Bauer Academy where she has been kept motivated by top professionals
New season
September marks a new season for the
Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan results. She won the gold in the As one of India’s trailblazers in Worlds where she had to fight nerves fencer and the vision board will sport a
Commonwealth championships in the sport, Bhavani has found after being clubbed with some big lot of the old checklists, the entry in
ndian fencer C.A. Bhavani Devi London in August last year, beating names in the sport. bold being Olympic qualification.

I
herself in contrasting places
recently rang in her 30th Australian fencer Veronika Vasileva “The Commonwealth “The qualification phase (for Paris
throughout her career 2024) has started, and it ends in April. I
birthday. Birthdays for the 15­10 in the final to defend her women’s championships was tough because you
Olympian usually either mean senior individual sabre title (she had know you can win gold but you’re have to be in the top­2 in Asia or I have
being home with her parents and won in 2018 too). offensive or defensive movement). thinking harder about not doing to win the zonal qualification
getting pampered by a mother who She followed it up with a bronze in Bauer said I didn’t need to do that or anything wrong and missing the tournament in Asia to make it.
only gets a few days in a year with her the Asian fencing championship in stress my legs and hips so much. They chance. In Cairo, it was the World Currently, I am ranked third in Asia. I
daughter, or being on the road Wuxi, China, in June, India’s first medal changed my position according to my Championships (where she crashed out need to work on improving that
competing. at the continental tournament. En route body type. They also changed the in the round of 64). It is mentally position,” said Bhavani.
This year, it was a quiet affair in a podium finish, Bhavani beat the then sabre's positions — sometimes I would difficult because it is the last The Bauer Academy and some of its
Bhavani’s apartment in Orleans, reigning world champion Misaki Emura go too high or too low. So, we've competition of the season. It’s a very illustrious pupils, including two­time
France, where she is currently training. 15­10 in the quarterfinal before falling to worked on my arm position and important tournament for everyone, Olympic medallist Manon Brunet and
The solitude is not unfamiliar to the Uzbekistan’s Zaynab Dayibekova. posture. Then we worked on speed, particularly to accumulate points and three­time World champion Caroline
sabre fencer who has spent much of her Bauer has worked on everything technique and strategy. Basically, it's improve rankings. Of course, I am Queroli, among others, keep Bhavani
career as one of, or the only Indian, in from technique to posture and attack and defence but the way it's done disappointed, but that’s what sports is. I motivated. Bauer’s students welcome
the competition list. For years, Bhavani Bhavani’s opening chapter with the differs from coach to coach,” she adds. know I want to give my 100% every his rigorous and relentless pursuit for
carried the mantle of Indian fencing, a Bauer way of fencing was anything but The industrial rhythm of training time I compete and I have learnt to take perfection, even using that to have a
tireless effort which saw her become smooth. doesn’t allow Bhavani to spend time on everything in my stride and keep going healthy competition against each other
the first Indian ever to represent India “After Tokyo, I moved to France. The much else, something she cherished forward. That’s the hardest thing from time to time.
in the discipline at the Olympics, in training is different, the school of even when the results were not in her sometimes: to focus on the silver “Here in the academy for example,
Tokyo. Her ambition has taken her to thought, the positions and technique favour. She remembered demanding lining,” she said. we talk about the state of fencing in
Europe to train, first in Italy under are all very different from Italy where I more training time from coach Bauer Besides her match strategy and each other’s nations, any innovations
Nicola Zanetti and then in France, soon trained before. It’s easy to understand after a particularly hard­to­digest result training schedule, the only other thing seen in tournaments and inputs to
after, under Christian Bauer. but to implement it consistently in a year ago and said she eats, sleeps and Bhavani has had to break into a sweat improve our process. For fencers who
“Bauer is a very senior coach and is competitions is quite difficult. Initially, I breathes fencing. was in mastering her mother’s sambhar have had the resources to travel and
one of the best in the world,” Bhavani was losing by small margins and it was As one of India’s trailblazers in the recipe – a sharp contrast to life ahead of compete internationally, these are
told The Hindu from her apartment in hard, but the coach kept pushing me. sport, Bhavani has found herself in the Tokyo Olympics when funds were automatic, but I’ve had to cultivate
Orleans. “He is also my old coach The efforts seem to be coming together contrasting places throughout her also a source of anxiety for the fencer. them,” she said.
Zanetti’s senior... so we have immense now,” she explained. career. There are stages like the “Recently, the mother of Mariel Staying in the country of the next
respect for him and are a bit What separates the Italian way to the Commonwealth championship where Zaguni (two­time Olympic champion) Olympic Games — France — only pushes
intimidated too.” French are position and posture. she went in as the top seed and had to messaged me, wished me for my Bhavani more. “The idea is to do better
The season has just ended for “I used to squat more and stay lower guard against complacency; then there birthday and said, ‘I see the than what I managed in Tokyo. I want
Bhavani and the work rate Bauer is in the en garde position (the stationary were platforms like the Asian government is recognising your efforts the Paris Olympics to see some of my
putting her through is starting to show position before the fencers begin their championships, Asian Games and the and your achievements. You should best fencing.”

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
SPLASHY RUGBY
Fritz, Tiafoe and Shelton are putting
the ‘US’ on the US Open map
Associated Press
NEW YORK

Novak Djokovic gets why male tennis

players from the United States are
expected to win Grand Slam titles
today, the way they did when Pete
Sampras, Andre Agassi, John
McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were
around. And he gets — that’s not to
say he agrees with — why anything
less is not really acceptable to the
country’s fans.
“Of course, when you are used to
champions and No. 1s in the world,
Grand Slam winners, anything
except that is not a success, right?”
Djokovic said. Meadows next Sunday. That’s While Fritz was in the locker
“It’s a very high standard (and) because he’ll face No. 9 seed Taylor room on Sunday, waiting to take the
criteria for these guys to meet, that Fritz in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, court for his fourth­round match, he
you had players that were Top 10, while No. 10 Frances Tiafoe meets kept tabs on TV, while Tiafoe — a
like John Isner, after Andy Roddick. unseeded Ben Shelton in the other semifinalist in New York a year ago —
If (Isner) didn’t win a Slam, people match­up on the bottom half of the and Shelton were picking up their
think it’s kind of a failed career, bracket. victories.
X which is something I don’t agree Fritz, Tiafoe and Shelton give the “It motivated me more,” Fritz
Rugby is a particularly tough close­contact sport. But played on a slippery surface on a floating pitch, it becomes water rugby — the extra with. But again I understand, United States three American men in said, “because I didn’t want to be the
challenging sibling we didn’t know we needed! because America is such a big the final eight at the U.S. Open since one to not make it.” Fritz is a
Water Rugby Lausanne conducted an event over the weekend to commemorate 50 years of Lausanne University Rugby Club. More than 20 country in tennis.” 2005, when Andy Roddick, James 25­year­old from California, Tiafoe is
teams competed in this touch rugby on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. In this five­a­side tournament, players jump off the pitch and dive Djokovic is going to need to beat Blake and Robby Ginepri did it. a 25­year­old from Maryland and
straight into the lake to score a ‘try’. two men from the host country at Roddick’s title at the 2003 U.S. Shelton is a 20­year­old who won the
Water Rugby is slowly gaining popularity across the world, attracting spectators excited to see athletes try and find their footing on a the U.S. Open if he is to play in what Open was the last major singles 2022 NCAA title for the University of
buoyant pitch, navigate the delicate footing required and willingly dive in to the water.AFP would be his 10th final at Flushing championship for an American man. Florida.
CM S ND-NDE
YK

II
A truck drives along a dirt road in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, December 3, 2013. In a high­stakes case in Australia, a court is hearing whether Fortescue Metals Group should compensate the Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara for mining ore from land that the community holds
as a spiritual and cultural treasure. REUTERS
Criminalising wilful environmental
damage is harder than it sounds
While many countries are mulling incorporating ecocide into their respective legal frameworks, debate continues on how it can be criminalised, identifying the burden of proof,
and – especially in India – how it will sit with other laws that keep the door open for environmental harm on various grounds
Saumya Kalia
exico’s ‘Maya train’ project
M has acquired a contradicto­
ry reputation. Some de­
scribe it as a “Pharaonic
project”, with a route spanning 1,525
km, connecting tourists in the Caribbean
with historic Maya sites and costing $20
billion to build. It has also been de­
scribed as a “megaproject of death” be­
cause it imperils the Yucatán peninsula
and its rich wilderness, ancient cave sys­
tems, and Indigenous communities. The
Tribunal for the Rights of Nature in Au­
gust said the project caused “crimes of
ecocide and ethnocide”.
Ecocide, derived from Greek and La­
tin, translates to “killing one’s home” or
“environment”. Such ‘killing’ could in­
clude port expansion projects that des­
troy fragile marine life and local liveli­
hoods; deforestation; illegal
sand­mining; and polluting rivers with
untreated sewage. Mexico is one of sev­
eral countries mulling ecocide legisla­
tion. There is also a push to elevate eco­
cide to the ranks of an international
crime, warranting similar legal scrutiny
as genocide.
What is ecocide?
The biologist Arthur Galston in 1970 is
credited with first linking environmental
destruction with genocide, which is re­
cognised as an international crime,
when referring to the U.S. military’s use
of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.
Two years later, Sweden Prime Minister
Olof Palme used the term in a speech at
the U.N. British lawyer Polly Higgins be­
came the linchpin when in 2010 she
urged the International Criminal Court
(ICC) to recognise ecocide as an interna­
tional crime.
Today, the Rome Statute of the ICC
deals with four atrocities: genocide,
crimes against humanity, war crimes,
and the crime of aggression. The provi­
sion on war crimes is the only statute
that can hold a perpetrator responsible
for environmental damage, but only if it
is intentional and in wartime.
Ms. Higgins proposed that the Statute
should be amended to treat crimes
against nature on par with crimes
against people. She described ecocide
thus: “Extensive loss, damage to or des­
truction of ecosystems … such that the
peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants
has been or will be severely diminished.”
CM
YK
SCIENCE
Here, “inhabitants” applies to all living
creatures.
There is no accepted legal definition
of ecocide, but a panel of lawyers in June
2021 for the Stop Ecocide Foundation
prepared a 165­word articulation. Eco­
cide, they proposed, constitutes the “un­
lawful or wanton acts committed with
knowledge that there is a substantial like­
lihood of severe and either widespread
or long­term damage to the environment
being caused by those acts.”
Why should ecocide be a crime?
Ecocide is a crime in 11 countries, with 27
others considering laws to criminalise
environmental damage that is wilfully
caused and harms humans, animals, and
plants. The European Parliament voted
unanimously this year to enshrine eco­
cide in law. Most national definitions pe­
nalise “mass destruction of flora and fau­
na”, “poisoning the atmosphere or
water resources” or “deliberate actions
capable of causing an ecological disas­
ter.” The ICC and Ukraine’s public pro­
secutor are also investigating Russia’s
role in the collapse of the Nova Kakhov­
ka dam, which unleashed a flood that
drowned 40 regions, and released oils
and toxic fluids into the Black Sea.
On one level, ecocide laws are legal in­
struments to plug a loophole in environ­
mental protection. “None of the existing
international criminal laws protect the
environment as an end in itself, and
that’s what the crime of ecocide does,”
Philippe Sands, a professor of interna­
tional law at University College London
and co­chair of the panel that drafted the
definition, said in 2021.
The movement also responds to harsh
climate realities. Over a third of the
earth’s animal and plant species could
be extinct by 2050. Unprecedented heat
waves have broken records worldwide.
Changing rainfall schemes have disrupt­
ed flood and drought patterns. The Inter­
governmental Panel on Climate Change
reiterated in March 2023 that global cli­
mate action remains “insufficient”.
In this milieu, an amendment to the
Rome Statute could prompt countries
around the world to draft their own laws,
and individual countries that have incor­
porated ecocide in their laws could in
turn build pressure on the ICC.
Nabeela Siddiqui, an expert in envi­
ronmental constitutionalism, told The
Hindu that the purpose of ecocide laws is
to define the “significant harm” of envi­
ronmental damage, together with ac­
THE HINDU
Ecocide is a crime in 11 countries,
with 27 others considering laws to
criminalise environmental damage
that is wilfully caused and harms
humans, animals, and plants.
countability and liability. Deforestation
of the Amazon, deep­sea trawling or
even the catastrophic 1984 Bhopal gas
disaster could have been avoided with
ecocide laws in place, according to Stop
Ecocide International.
These laws could also hold individuals
at the helms of corporations accounta­
ble. “That something is morally ques­
tionable usually doesn’t hinder invest­
ment. Laws provide boundaries and
sanctions for investment, as no company
or organisation – such as the World Bank
– would want to invest in something po­
tentially criminal,” two scholars wrote in
a 2021 article.
Ecocide laws could also double up as
calls for justice for low­ and middle­in­
come countries disproportionately af­
fected by climate change. Small nation­
states like Vanuatu and Barbuda are al­
ready lobbying the ICC to declare crimes
against the environment to be violations
of international law.
Limitations to defining ecocide
There are also many arguments against
criminalising ecocide. Some experts
have called the 2021 definition ambigu­
ous and as setting a very low threshold to
implicating an entity. Words like “long­
term” or “widespread damage” are ab­
stract and leave room for misinterpreta­
tion, Prof. Siddiqui said. The definition
describes “wanton” as damage that is
“clearly excessive in relation to the social
and economic benefits anticipated.” But
this, she continued, constructs a deve­
lopment­versus­environment narrative –
one that others have argued could mean
that it is ‘okay’ to destroy the environ­
ment as long as it benefits humans.
The threshold to prove ‘ecocide’ may
also be too high. Countries like Belarus
and Moldova specify “intentional” or
“deliberate” destruction, but “environ­
mental disasters are not caused inten­
tionally or deliberately,” Bianca Cassan­
dro, an international law professor,
argued in an article. “This wording …
may have the effect of limiting, if not ex­
cluding, the liability of corporations’ top
managers’ and Governments’ officials’.”
The ICC also has limited legal powers
as well as an uneven track record of con­
verting prosecutions into convictions.
Specifically, the court’s power is limited
to “natural persons,” so without any sig­
nificant changes, the ICC will not be un­
able to hold corporate entities criminally
liable.
Moreover, Prof. Siddiqui asked, “even
if you’re able to define ecocide, how will
you define the idea of jurisdiction?” Ex­
perts have noted that most ‘crimes’ are
transnational in nature: corporations
have private or State­owned corpora­
tions in other countries (which are not
members of the Rome Statute) that are
responsible for polluting activities. For
example, Coca­Cola was accused of poi­
soning land in South India with waste
sludge and pushing thousands of farm­
ers out of work by draining the water
that fed their wells.
What has been India’s stance?
Some Indian judgments have affirmed
the legal personhood of nature by recog­
nising rivers as legal entities with the
right to maintain their spirit, identity,
and integrity.
More importantly, some others have
used the term ‘ecocide’ in passing but
the concept hasn’t fully materialised in
law. In Chandra CFS and Terminal Oper­
ators Pvt. Ltd. v. The Commissioner of
Customs and Ors (2015), the Madras
High Court noted: “the prohibitory activ­
ities of ecocide has been continuing un­
bridledly by certain section of people by
removing the valuable and precious
timbers”.
In an ongoing case, T.N. Godavarman
Thirumulpad vs Union Of India & Ors,
the Supreme Court called attention to an
“anthropogenic bias” and argued that
“environmental justice could be
achieved only if we drift away from the
principle of anthropocentric to ecocen­
tric” – echoing an argument advanced by
many activists, that criminalising eco­
cide could replace the anthropocentric
legal view with a value for nature as a
thing unto itself.
India’s legislative framework vis­à­vis
environmental and ecological gover­
nance includes the Environmental (Pro­
tection) Act 1986, the Wildlife (Protec­
tion) Act 1972, and the Compensatory
Afforestation Fund Act (CAMPA) 2016, as
well as separate Rules to prevent air and
water pollution. According to Prof. Siddi­
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Delhi
qui, these separate laws have to be con­
solidated into a unified code and institu­
tions have to be streamlined so that
debates like the one about ecocide and
rights of nature find “their proper way
through legal channels”.
Notably, the National Green Tribunal,
India’s apex environmental statutory bo­
dy, does not have the jurisdiction to hear
matters related to the Wildlife (Protec­
tion) Act 1972, the Indian Forest Act 1927,
and other State­enacted laws.
As a result, mining of sand on the
banks of the Chambal river or the Hima­
chal floods would qualify as being envi­
ronmental crimes under the current ar­
ticulation but, Prof. Siddiqui said, “how
would one go about addressing this, con­
sidering the institutions in the way?”
Indian laws are themselves in a state
of conflict: the Parliament passed the
controversial Forest Conservation
(Amendment) Bill 2023 and Biodiversity
(Amendment) Bill 2023, which experts
have said will dilute current legal protec­
tions and will lead to the loss of 20­25%
of forest area in the country and the at­
tendant biodiversity and ecosystem
issues.
She noted that one critical challenge
is to tackle problems of liability and com­
pensation – an example of the “friction
between committing to environmental
protection and actual action.” For exam­
ple, survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster
are still fighting for compensation. The
disaster’s aftermath has been character­
ised by an intergenerational impact on
health and widespread contamination of
soil and groundwater.
Several independent investigations
have also alleged that funds earmarked
for CAMPA have been misused and/or di­
verted for other purposes. But despite
the National Green Tribunal having
slapped fines worth Rs 28,180 crore on
seven States, there is little clarity on the
total fines collected and the way they
were used, according to a 2022 report by
Down to Earth.
“Even before ecocide laws come up
internationally, India needs to first bring
its [environmental] laws in tune with the
idea of ecocide,” Prof. Siddiqui said.
For feedback and suggestions
for ‘Science’, please write to
science@thehindu.co.in
with the subject ‘Daily page’
S ND-NDE