Kalala village in Barnala dis-trict, Punjab is reportedly to be in the grip of an outbreak of Hepatitis C virus infection. The term “outbreak” may imply that it is something of recent occurrence and that it can be adequately controlled. However, the discovery of high number of Hepatitis C cases in the district points to a

Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik fashioned India’s 58-run win over Zimbabwe in the second game of the five-match ODI series at the Harare Sports Club here on Friday. India now lead the series 2-0.Dhawan (116) and Karthik (69) bailed India out of trouble through their 167-run stand, taking the total to 294 for eight in 50 overs. Zimbabwe showed

Hipster refers to a subculture of young, urban middle-class adults and older teenagers that appeared in the 1990s. The sub-culture is associated with inde-pendent music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, progressive or independent po-litical views, alternative spiri-tuality or atheism/agnosticism, and alternative lifestyles.“Hipsters are a subculture of

Long before incubators were used outside poultry farms or hospitals, there was the ga-rage. Two gentlemen named Bill Hewlett and Dave Pack-ard started out with a princely sum of $538 in a garage and laid the foundations for to-day’s Silicon Valley by creat-ing HP. A few years down the line, a precocious 12-year old called Bill Hewlett and asked

An Indian Mujahideen (IM) op-erative was held guilty by a Delhi court in the 2008 Batla House shootout here, and the family of a killed police inspector as well as political leaders hailed the verdict while some groups and area resi-dents expressed their dismay.Finance Minister P. Chidam-baram, who earlier was the home minister, said he was glad that “police have been able to prove

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SUNDAY 28 JULY 2013 Weekly Newspaper

Royal Baby

Incumbent’s Folly

Arrives In Style........ Detailed Coverage on Page 12

4 ways in which UPA leaders angered the nation in the past week

Page 13

IM terrorist convicted in Batla House shootout

Page 4

Page 11

Page 2

Page 24

Page 23

Everything Begins in a Garage

SignS of HipSterS

Hepatitis Scare In Barnala District

Profile

Dhawan gives India 2-0 lead in Zimbabwe

Page 14

2 CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 2013OPINION

EDITORIAL DESK Manu Sharma

Bedlam over Batla

Hunger Games by Ruling MPs

L-18 Batla House, a little known lower middle class location is now a battleground of ideologies, cour-tesy an encounter in 2008 that saw Delhi Police shoot two terrorists dead and arrest two more. Sensing some political capital the Human Rights industry and fringe politi-cal actors tried to sully the supreme sacrifice of a decorated officer, In-spector MC Sharma of Delhi Po-lice. Calling the encounter staged and fake, passions of a certain com-munity were sought to be incited by a politicians of eminence.Excesses by police and paramili-

In a statement that is modern day equivalent of Marie Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake” remark that preceded the French revolution, Congress MPs Raj Babbar and Ra-sheed Masood have made astound-ing claims of being able to afford meals for Rs 12 and Rs 5 respec-tively. In another day and era one could have afforded a simple stew or curd rice for the said amount but rampant food inflation has put all of this beyond such a pricing.The cruelty of these statements lie in the fact the after years of rising living standards, Indian house-

tary forces are not unknown in In-dia however they are exceptions and not the norm. Therefore usage of individual incidents to malign all encounters in a blanket manner will not suit us as a nation. If one were to observe the unifying thread between the hounding of IB and the martyrs of Delhi Police by in-terested parties, one thing becomes clear, there is an ongoing concerted effort to undermine the credibility of national security apparatus by all means possible. Moving over there is also a need for consensus within the political class over the treatment

holds have had to revert to the ancient regime of curbing down protein and fresh vegetables from their diet. Contrary to government statements and assurances, the in-flation in food prices is being ac-companied by a decline in growth rates. The rage of the common man for having to pay more on a declin-ing or stagnant salary is beginning to accrete in significant propor-tion now. The ruling dispensation would do well to remedy its policy follies rather than stoke anger and passions.Food constitutes a basic neces-

of intelligence and national security cases. Without a unifying stand on such topics, the schisms within the polity will be exploited by the mo-tivated useful idiots of enemy enti-ties.The recent court ruling has rightly laid all conspiracy theories and in-nuendos to rest. We as a nation owe it to the martyrs of the various se-curity operations to evolve new dynamics of debate. India faces a terror threat that is all too real and the enemy is hell bent on fighting us on the streets and even the court rooms.

sity of existence, the UPA has ac-knowledged the importance of this by backing the Food Security Bill. However the act or ordinance as of now will not suffice. In an increas-ingly inter-connected policy para-digm, the government cannot get away by promises, legislative or otherwise. Indian currently needs truck loads of reforms and policy inputs to crank start the stalled eco-nomic engine. A stalling economy and rising inflation is a tinder box waiting to explode and ruling MPs are leaving no stone unturned to set it aflame.

LETTER TO THE EDITORLetters may be emailed to the editoruconnect@gmail.com ,with full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

Where Is Justice?

Mehak Bassi Protests, the most common and peaceful way of opposing some-thing, but they ‘rarely’ lead to any constructive reformations; and in India, the number of the ‘rare’ oc-casions is approaching to zero al-most at a velocity of light!May it be the 16th December, 2012 Rape Case or a female traf-ficking case, or a child sexual ha-rassment case, everything heats up the public, but eventually they have to cool down for the power-ful, will never let any reform take place, not in hundred years!We talk of Indian constitution that needs certain changes, some new laws that need to be implemented. The family bonds in the nation are so strong, that in a way, they mask the incest cases and sexual harassment which is happening inside the homes. Moreover even marital rape is a non-criminal ac-tivity, and then we ask, where is justice?Recently I read news about Dubai’s verdict over an allegation posed by a Norwegian woman, and the king pronounced that the woman can leave the country and go wherever she wants to! What kind of verdict is that? Instead of giving any conviction to the rap-ists, the king ‘freed’ the woman, naming it justice!In Dubai, they have a law that states that an intercourse will be considered rape, only if 4 male adults come forward as witness-es, otherwise it will be considered ‘sex-outside-marriage’ and in that case, a woman is the one who should be held responsible, and punished! What kind of rule is that? Does that provide security to the tourists or the women who come from other places to work in Dubai? Where is Justice?Few years ago, there was an Aus-tralian woman, who faced similar circumstances, but she wasn’t lucky enough to be ‘freed’ by the king under the name of ‘verdict’, rather she was subjected to 11 months imprisonment, and her passport was also confiscated.Even listening to such cases, I feel ‘lucky’ to be an Indian citi-zen. Not in the matter of security, but definitely in the matter of Jus-tice! Although we also don’t have any constructive measures which can provide a full-proof justice to the victims, but at least we don’t have such horrendous acts and laws that completely mask crimi-nals!This was the case of Dubai, if we

talk about South Africa, circum-stances are WORSE there. Not only female sexual harassment cases are on the heights, but even baby-rapes are so high in num-ber, and some cases are ‘soul-shakers’, which I don’t have the courage to discuss here. You yourself can imagine, that being a girl child and being born in South Africa, is the biggest punishment one can get. More than 65’000 cases were reported, and the cen-sus claims, because of family members greatly involved, this is just a ‘fraction’ of the actual number.How low can we fall? How can we forget our morale? I don’t un-derstand, what goes on the mind of men who commit such heinous crimes with their own daughters, so shamelessly! How will they react if the same thing happens with their own mothers or sisters?If such cases have doubled in India, the number has risen over four times in one of the most de-veloped nations, United States of America. America registers thousands of sexual harassment and rape cases every year, out of which 90% are against women and remaining against men. More than the severity of such cases, what shocks me the most is, that in USA 1 out of every 3 girls, is victimized at least once in her life. The number is so high, that living with such a horrible thing becomes a burden.It’s not a problem of our nation, but entire human-kind. If some-where, justice is denied, then somewhere, the number is so high and the laws are so weak, that instead of protecting the vic-tims, the laws are now cloaking the criminals!It’s an issue not to be solved at a city or state or national, or even world level but at a level of hu-manity. When a man will come to understand the pain a woman goes, in bearing a child, giving him birth, the pain that she under-goes in bringing a new life on this planet, and then also she is treat-ed as a commodity, the fear that she carries with herself wherever she goes, the fear of being viewed as a sex-object, the fear of being touched by a stranger, fear of be-ing molested and raped by a male who will satisfy his urge and leave the female with a never-ending trauma of a lifetime.It’s shameless, to why we ‘wor-ship’ so many female figures, when we can’t respect even a baby? It’s shameless, why men get married to a woman, with all sacred rites and rituals, when he can’t respect her in future? It’s shameless, why a man has the ability to impregnate a woman, when he can’t protect his daugh-ter, and rather become a monster in his lust? And every victim thinks, it’s shameless, why we even have ‘men’ on this planet?

Where is Justice…?

Hepatitis Scare In Barnala District

Kalala village in Barnala district, Punjab is reportedly to be in the grip of an outbreak of Hepatitis C virus in-fection. The term “outbreak” may im-ply that it is something of recent oc-currence and that it can be adequately controlled. However, the discovery of high number of Hepatitis C cases in the district points to a much larg-er problem, one that has been going on for a long time and not of recent origin and that it is not an isolated event. In 2010, villages of Badhnika-lan, Bagha Purana and Langeana had been reported to have a high number of people infected from Hepatitis C virus. Similarly, in the same year, villages Chhiniwal, Chananwal and Sehjra, all of which are close to Ka-lala, had reported an alarmingly high

number of people affected from the same virus. All this is hardly circumstantial and coincidental. All these villages are within 50 kilometres of each other and have had this problem detected in previous years too. Due to close prox-imity of these villages, it will not be strange to find other villages in the vi-cinity to similarly have a high number of people affected with Hepatitis C virus. Rather I can even say that this is most likely a fact but has not been discovered as hospitals are not close-by, health centres lack the expertise to detect these cases regularly, and blood donation camps have not been carried out in these villages. Hepatitis C virus, although infectious, is pres-ent only in man and chimpanzees; this makes it evident that the trans-mission of the virus is occurring from one person to the other. The disease is transmitted by blood, via use of in-fected needles, medical instruments or by transmission of infected blood. The chance that all these people had blood donation is rare, so it seems logical that infected needles and in-struments are to be blamed. Infected instruments being used by quacks and registered medical prac-

titioners or RMPs have been blamed in the past and recently by the gov-ernment authorities, but that can’t be the only reason for this. Drug abuse in Punjab is increasing and when you relate the fact that most of the people affected with Hepatitis C virus are in their 40s, it seems more plausible that it could be the reason for the spread of this virus. It is interesting to note that Punjab in Pakistan also has very high number of people infected with this same virus. Although it is likely that this is a mere coincidence, a theory that the two Punjabs share a common risk factor is very plausible and as of now impossible to decipher. Nonethe-less, unlike Hepatitis B, for which a vaccine is present, there is no vaccine for Hepatitis C and infection with this virus can usually lead to liver cancer or the person affected can have a liver failure. It is of utmost importance that action be taken to diagnose more and more people so that this spread of the virus can be adequately addressed. It is also necessary to pin-point the real reason or reasons for the spread of this virus, rather than presuming and guessing, on part of the government authorities.”

Dr Prabhjot SinghWashington, D.C.

My friend Sylvia missed a social oc-casion. She explained it was because she had to accompany her daughter to a super-tough “second round” inter-view by a panel of people in suits. I re-plied: “But your daughter’s two years old.” Yes, it was a multiple round in-terview for a toddler. It’s now harder to get into a kindergarten than a major investment bank, or so I deduce by the quality of staff at those places.I was shaking my head over that con-versation when a reader forwarded me a super-impressive resume sent to a school in China by the parents of a

very small boy. What next? “My fetus is studying trigonometry and will start jazz dance immediately after birth.” Or maybe immediately before birth? “Left leg kick, two, three, right leg kick, two three...”When this columnist adopted a baby, he and his wife were placed in chairs in a room and then presented with a five-month-old infant for 20 minutes to interview it. What to ask? “So, how would you describe your strengths and weaknesses?” His answers weren’t exactly textbook, since he basically just dribbled a bit and then fell asleep.

But we gave him a passing grade for general charm and for not pooping on us very much.How do you judge infants anyway? I once had to interview a large num-ber of randomly chosen mothers for a survey. It quickly became evident that every single mother had given birth to a child way above average intelli-gence. I realized that this could only work mathematically if there existed entire cities in which every individual was dumb as a rock. Having travelled a great deal in recent years, I can now confirm this is true.

Tailpiece

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 3

Derby fashion: Hat is the crowning glory

Are you a first timer at the derby and confused about your wardrobe? Put your best foot forward in a little black dress, high waisted pants or maxi-dresses, and accesso-rise it with oversized hats, pearls and a clutch, say designers.Derby is not just about horses; it is also about seeing and being seen in a high-end fashion-able wardrobe.“One of the most unique features of derbys is that they are like a sports party where horse power, fashion, and fun come together. Guests wear extremely glamorous clothes and designs,” said designer Pria Kataaria Puri.Indeed, the derby in India has come of age: from a handful of spectators and betting gamers, it has grown into a fashion fiesta.A case in point was the recent

Kingfisher Derby 2013 in Bangalore, where a crowd

of about 20,000 gathered, sashaying their ultra-chic

clothes and high-end designs.According to Samar Singh Sheikhawat,

senior vice president,

market-ing,

United Breweries

Ltd, “derby is as much a life-style event as it is a sporting event”.So, what are the key elements of derby fashion?“When it comes to dressing for the derby, the first and foremost fo-cus is on the hat,” Puri told IANS, adding: “There are no rules regard-ing hats. Hats can be just

simple or flam-boyant. Besides

their show-off value, they must

also protect you from the sun.”She suggested

that the hat should be such that once you put it on your

head, “you don’t fidget with it or it upsets your hair-

do”.“Secure the hat in place with hat pins. Try not to wear too wide-brim hats as they may make your neigh-bour uncomfortable. Men are ex-pected to remove their hats indoors and during the National Anthem, but women have no such rules to adhere to,” Puri added.Women are free to indulge in any trend as there is no fixed dress code for them, whereas their male coun-terparts are expected to be dressed in casual suits, accesorised of course with pocket squares or brooches and hats.“For women, there is no particu-lar style when it comes to dressing. Anything works - from minis to maxis and formal suits,” designer Rajat Tangri told IANS.“The only code is that the dress has to look beautiful and suit your per-sonality. Complement your clothes with an appropriate clutch,” he add-ed.Since the hat is the crowning glory, jewellery should be subtle and kept to a minimum - a string of pearls or a simple bracelet.“Pearls would look best as a derby is a day event. Diamonds and coloured gems broaches would also give a glam look, matched up with a solid coloured dress or top,” jewellery de-signer Renu Oberoi explained.Mind you, too much of everything is a fashion disaster.“So go simple on colours, prints or style of the garment or the accesso-ries,” Oberoi added.Dark glasses are another must wear, so go for good brands as they are style statements by themselves.After the dress and accessories, an-other vital element is footwear.“For footwear, choose from stilettos to flats. Go for something that you are comfortable in and something that suits your attire,” said Puri.Of course fashion at the derby has a subtle sense of beauty. Who can for-get Hollywood veteran Audrey Hep-burn’s look in 1964 film “My Fair Lady”? She mesmerised her fans when she appeared on the screen in

a gown crafted by British costume designer Cecil Beaton and teamed it up with an over-sized hat for the movie’s derby sequence.And Nicole Kidman recreated an al-most similar look at one of the der-bys last year where she came dressed in an elegant black-and-white lace dress and fashionable hat.Even our own desi babe, Sonam Kapoor, wore a white halter ruffled

dress in a derby scene in her 2010 film “Aisha”.So, in case you can’t access stylists, check out celebrities’ wardrobes they flash in the movies or at events.“Horse racing across the world has been glamorous with best dressed la-dies and sharply suited males attend-ing. Most of the other sporting events are very casual, but this is more for-mal,” Sheikhawat told IANS.

Bollywood actress Neha Dhupia at the designer Falguni Shane show at the Aamby Val-ley India Bridal Fashion Week (AVIBFW) 2013 in New Delhi

Dupattas are on way out: Shantanu-NikhilNew DelhiThere was a time when dupatta was a must. Then came an era when it got a makeover and was used as scarf, stole or a veil. Now, dupattas are be-ing replaced by layering by promi-nent designers.Designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra say they focus on trying new patterns, cuts and layering.“Dupattas are on a way out from the closet as contemporary young wom-en no longer want to carry such en-semble and irritate themselves by ty-ing it around their neck during party or events,” Nikhil told IANS.“Anarkalis in new shapes, structures and patterns are the new entrants in style file. Short and floor length jack-ets with anarkali underneath are also a big trend. Lot of layering is hap-pening nowadays,” he added.The designers, known to fuse east and west in their creations, show-cased a collection titled - To Die For - at the opening day of India Bridal Fashion Week, Tuesday. Their Collection was an ode to the woman of today.“’To Die For’ is more like a meta-phor that I used for my collection. Brides today are very clear and prac-

tical. They know what they want. My collection serves those brides. This collection focuses on the soft and beautiful bride, who embraces everything feminine and dotes on chic and contemporary fashion,” said Shantanu.Their show started with models sa-shaying down on the ramp in soft pristine white ensembles like gowns, lehengas, mermaid dresses, anarkalis in dull gold floral embroidery work especially at the hems and borders. Some of the pieces that grabbed the attention were the peplum tops over long skirts like lehengas in earthy

colours. Shantanu-Nikhil feels that it’s essen-tial to keep in mind the wearability factor even for important occasion like wedding or festivals and this is the reason why they always opt for “minimalist” designs.“Shanatnu and Nikhil clothes are for a person who is practical, comfort-able and clear about what he or she wants. Minimalism is very strong as-pect of our designs. The reference of India as a vintage feel, which is made contemporary, is something that we love to do,” said Nikhil.

IANSIANS

Pradeep Kumar went underground to evade arrest.Maruti Suzuki’s general manager for human resource Awanish Kumar Dev was burnt to death in the vio-lence in its Manesar plant July 18, 2012. Ninety-one workers were arrested under various charges -- including rioting, murder, attempt to murder, assault and trespass -- and sent for 14 days’ judicial custody by a local magistrate.Around 100 others were injured in the violence -- including several ex-ecutives, managers and supervisors -- after workers attacked them. The workers were allegedly insti-gated by casteist remarks that an of-ficial made against one worker, Jiya Lal.Jiya Lal later allegedly beat up the official who made the remarks. He was suspended for his act of indis-cipline, and workers protesting the suspension unleashed the violence.

NATIONAL NEWS CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 20134

IANS

IM terrorist convicted in Batla House shootout

New DelhiAn Indian Mujahideen (IM) opera-tive was held guilty by a Delhi court in the 2008 Batla House shootout here, and the family of a killed police inspector as well as political leaders hailed the verdict while some groups and area residents expressed their dismay.Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who earlier was the home minister, said he was glad that “police have been able to prove their case”, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stressed it was a boost to anti-terror forces.Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar Shastri convicted IM terror group’s operative Shahzad Ahmad for killing Inspector M.C. Sharma and fixed July 29 for arguments on sentencing.Ahmad, from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, was said to be present in a flat in Batla House neighbourhood in Jamia Nagar area in south Delhi when the shootout took place.The Sep 19, 2008, exchange of fire took place between a seven-member Delhi Police Special Cell team, led by Inspector Sharma, and suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists who were allegedly involved in the Sep 13, 2008, serial blasts in Delhi that killed 26 people.The court, during the arguments, questioned why Sharma was not

wearing a bullet-proof jacket when he knew that he was leading the team to catch terror suspects and why two police officers were not carrying arms.“It agitates my mind that the inci-dent in question was not a sudden confrontation between police and the assailants.”“Police had already information, re-ceiving which a raiding party was formed well in advance. Despite all this, Inspector M.C. Sharma did not wear any body protection device i.e. bullet-proof jacket. Moreover, at least two members of the raiding party were having no weapon with them, despite knowing the fact that they may face firing.”“It is not clear whether it was merely a misadventure or lack of profes-sionalism in Delhi Police or scarcity of weapons,” the judge said.Police filed the charge sheet against Ahmad April 28, 2010, and the pros-ecution examined around 70 wit-nesses, including six eye-witnesses who were part of the police raid team. Sharma’s family expressed satisfaction over the verdict.His octogenarian father, Naurottam Sharma, told IANS: “I am satisfied with the court’s decision, but await the final judgment. I am worried that the accused can move the higher court.”Jamia Teachers Solidarity Associa-

tion (JTSA) expressed their disap-pointment at the verdict, and said they would approach the higher court to seek justice for Ahmad.“It was a huge disappointment for us. We will definitely approach the higher court for justice,” said Mani-sha Sethi, president of JTSA.A section of people in the Batla House neighbourhood aired dissat-isfaction over the conviction, say-ing they knew the eventual outcome since their demand for a magisterial probe had been rejected.Chidambaram told a TV channel: “I am glad that the police have been able to prove their case.”Asked about comments made by his Congress party colleagues like Digvijaya Singh, who had feared the shootout was fake, he said: “They (leaders) meant well. They were reflecting the views of the affected families or the people who lived in the area.”“Earlier, the NHRC (National Hu-man Rights Commission) and the high court also held that there was no reason to doubt the genuineness of the encounter,” he said.The BJP said the conviction of Ah-mad will go a long way in boosting the morale of the security forces fighting terror.“There was a consistent campaign by several political parties, in-cluding the Congress, to declare it (shootout) fake... this verdict will go a long way in upholding the morale of those police officers fighting ter-ror,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shan-kar Prasad said.In a tweet, his party colleague Prakash Javedakar demanded Digvi-jaya Singh must apologise for his earlier remarks concerning the shootout.He alleged the Congress should also apologise as Digvijaya Singh speaks not “off the cuff”, but for Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Suspense continues over Andhra Pradesh’s futureNew Delhi/HyderabadThe suspense continues over future of Andhra Pradesh as the Congress core group meeting ended Friday without a decision on statehood to Telangana region.The core group, which met at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s official residence at 7, Race Course Road, discussed the issue but did not take any decision.“The consultation process is over. Now you should await the decision of the party and the UPA govern-ment,” was all Congress general sec-retary Digvijaya Singh told waiting reporters after the meeting Friday evening.It was also not clear when the Con-gress Working Committee (CWC) would meet to take a final call on the issue, festering for the past many years.After a day of hectic activity and intense speculations, which kept the state on the edge, the Congress core group meeting came out with nothing. Digvijaya Singh, however, added a new dimension by stating that the UPA government will take a decision. Digvijaya Singh, who is in charge of party affairs in the state, said in the afternoon that the process of consultation is over and the time has come for a decision.He was talking to reporters after holding separate meetings with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Red-dy, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana.Digvijaya Singh’s predecessor Gh-ulam Nabi Azad, who had dealt with party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, was also present at the meetings.The two central leaders held detailed discussions with the three state lead-ers who rushed to the national capital on summons from the party central leadership.The three state leaders earlier this month submitted their reports to the Congress core group. The leadership is believed to have summoned them again to get certain issues clarified.Earlier in the day, Congress leaders from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra regions) called on the chief minister and urged him to convey to

the leadership their strong opposition to the state’s division, party sources said.Seemandhra leaders, who made a beeline to the national capital in a last-ditch attempt to stall a possible decision to carve out Telangana state, held a meeting to chalk out their strategy. The meeting was attended by state and central ministers and Congress MPs from Seemandhra.S. Sailajanth, the state minister head-ing the group opposed to state’s divi-sion, told reporters after the meeting that they were confident the state would remain united. He termed as speculations the talk of a likely deci-sion to carve out Telangana state.“We have decided to exhaust all op-tions to ensure the state remains unit-ed,” he said.Hectic activity in Delhi began amid the continuing resignations of Seemandhra leaders to mount pres-sure on the central government.Two Congress legislators Friday submitted their resignations to the assembly speaker. As many as 16 legislators of the YSR Congress party and one of Congress Thursday announced their resignations.Congress MPs from Telangana also held a meeting at union minister S. Jaipal Reddy’s residence in New Delhi to chalk out their strategy to counter the lobbying by their coun-terparts from Seemandhra.Telugu television channels aired speculative stories throughout the day. Some reported that the Con-gress has taken a decision to carve out Telangana state while others said it would be Rayala-Telangana, com-prising Rayalaseema and Telangana. There were also reports that Hyder-abad will be a union territory for 10 years.There was mild tension in towns like Anantapur and Kadapa where sup-porters of united Andhra Pradesh came on to the streets to oppose the state’s division. Some trad-ers downed shutters while student groups called for a shutdown of edu-cational institutions on Saturday.Anticipating violent protests, addi-tional police and central paramili-tary forces were deployed in several towns in Seemandhra.

India, France to increase defence tiesNew DelhiIndia and France Friday agreed to increase their cooperation in high tech-nology areas in defence that involve joint re-search and development and transfer of technol-ogy.French Defence Minis-ter Jean-Yves Le Drian, whose three-day offi-cial visit ends Saturday, presented France’s new white paper on national security to Defence Minister A.K. Antony.According to a joint statement, Ant-ony and Le Drian had “detailed and useful” talks on regional and interna-tional security challenges of mutual interest. They noted that the range of defence exchanges was being steadily en-hanced taking account of respective security interests.The two ministers welcomed the up-coming bilateral exercise ‘Shakti’ in September 2013 in France between the armies of the two countries.The navies of both countries are working towards finalising the schedule for the conduct of exercise ‘Varuna’ off the coast of India and the next air force exercise ‘Garuda’

during the first half of 2014.The two ministers noted that defence cooperation was an important pillar of the strategic partnership between both countries and was mutually beneficial.The ministers tasked the High Com-mittee on Defence Cooperation (HCDC), which is scheduled to meet in France in October, to finalise prac-tical measures to expand and deepen the bilateral partnership in defence.The French minister also conveyed that on the 100th anniversary of World War I, France would pay trib-ute to Indian soldiers killed in France during the war.The ministers exchanged views on issues relating to UN peace keeping operations and maritime security.

ISI operative held in Lucknow with fake currencyLucknowA Nepali national, working for Paki-stani spy agency Inter-Services Intel-ligence (ISI), was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police’s Anti-Terror Squad Friday and fake Indian currency with face value of Rs.5 lakh seized from him, officials said.The operative, identified as Ahmed Teli, was nabbed by the ATS at the Qaiserbagh bus station when he was about to board a bus.Officials said Teli was a middle rung operative and was the conduit between the agency and the terror groups spread elsewhere. Additional Director General of Police Arun Kumar said when the opera-tive was arrested, he had Rs.5 lakh of fake Indian currency notes, wrapped in The Dawn newspaper published in Pakistan. ATS had been in pursuit of the ISI man for quite some time since after it intercepted conversations of fake cur-rency exchanges. Teli holds Nepali nationality, officials said, adding that he was being grilled to know further details of his network.During preliminary interrogation, he told ATS sleuths that he has so far pumped in several crores of fake In-dian currency since 2011.

One arrested for killing of Maruti Manesar plant GM

New DelhiA 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the murder of the general manager of Maruti Suzuki plant in Gurgaon district’s Manesar July last year, police said Friday.Pradeep Kumar, a resident of Hary-ana, was arrested from Delhi’s Shali-mar Bagh area Thursday.He disclosed that he was working in Maruti Suzuki Manesar plant as a welder for the last five years.“On July 18, 2012, his duty was in the ‘B’ shift. At around 3.30 p.m., the employees of ‘A’ shift assembled at the gate after their duty. He also joined them. They started shouting slogans against the management to protest against suspension of one Jiya Lal,” said the officer.“The mob became violent and he, along with others, damaged the properties and manhandled the man-agement staff. They also set the ad-ministrative office on fire,” added the officer.After the case was registered,

IANS

NATIONAL NEWSCHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 5

Modi and translation problems dog BJP chief in America

WashingtonHe came hoping to win over America and Indian Americans with his sim-ple ways, but the Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh found himself dogged by controversy ever since his arrival - over Gujarat strongman Narendra Modi and trans-lation problems.Dressed in his trademark white dhoti kurta with a striped dark blue Nehru jacket, he came to the National Press Club in Washington, just a couple of blocks away from the White House, Wednesday, to explain his mission US to the Indian media over break-fast.But even as Indian journalists, writ-ing for both Indian and American publications, offered to let himtalk in “Hindi or English, whatever you are comfortable with,” the first question after the customary intro-ductions inevitably focused on Modi.Choosing to speak in Hindi with jour-nalists hailing from Bihar to Kerala also making it a point to pose ques-tions in India’s national language, he tried hard to dispel the impression that he had “virtually anointed Modi as BJP’s prime ministerial candi-date” or that he had come to the US to get the Gujarat chief minister a US

visa.Reports that he had projected Modi as such during his first interaction with the media in New York Satur-day were just a creation of the me-dia, said Rajnath Singh denying that he had ever suggested that he would take up the issue of denial of US visa to Modi with US lawmakers. “This is a US administration issue, not our issue,” he said.And at times when he spoke about more ‘complex’ issues like BJP’s support for economic reforms or how its foreign policy would be dif-ferent from the current Congress led government if it came to power, he would touch party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on the arm say-ing “translate”.And sitting on his left, Trivedi dressed in a blue bandhgala would more embellish than translate his chief’s answers with examples from former pime mnister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s times to assert that BJP was pro-reform and its foreign pol-icy though not much different would have its own perpective.But all through Rajnath Singh insist-ed that he was not here to sell Modi or get him a visa and his mission sim-ply was to build “stronger economic

and strategic ties” with the US.Another object of the mission was to renew and re-establish a connec-tion with the Indian diaspora, said a lingering Overseas Friends of BJP convener Vijay Jolly as an old media friend complained to him in an aside: “Next time bring someone who knows English. This is America!”One is not privy to how the BJP chief went about his meetings with “US business leaders and policy formula-tors” at think tanks and lawmakers, but he seemed all at sea at a confer-ence on Afghanistan on the Capitol Hill, seat of US Congress, Tuesday.Trading his dhoti kurta for a bandh-gala and trousers, a stiff-looking, Ra-jnath Singh read out his keynote ad-dress in English in a monotonous flat voice as fellow panellist Ed Royce, Republican Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and a packed audience listened with little visible reaction.And when the time came for ques-tions, the organisers thought it fit to distribute lunch packets even as the BJP chief mumbled short answers to a couple of questions that were hardly audible over the din before he left for a luncheon appointment somewhere else.

Salman Khan to face grave charges in hit-and-run caseMumbaiIn a severe setback to Bollywood ac-tor Salman Khan, a Mumbai court Wednesday formally charged him with culpable homicide not amount-ing to murder in the 2002 hit-and-run accident case.If found guilty under the stringent Indian Penal Code Section 304(Part two), the actor could face a 10-year prison term.The trial is expected to start from Aug 16.However, Salman Khan, 47, today pleaded “not guilty” to this and other charges framed against him by Ses-sions Judge U.B. Hejib.The other charges have been slapped under IPC Section 279 (causing death by negligence), and Sections 337, 338, 427, and under the Motor Vehicles Act and the Bombay Prohi-bition Act.However, the court accepted an ap-plication moved by the actor seeking exemption from personal appearance during the trial and granted the re-quest.Sessions Judge Hejib directed Salman Khan to remain present be-fore the court whenever required and

read out the charges to him. On June 24, the sessions court up-held a magistrate’s order that an offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was made out against the actor and dismissed his appeal against the verdict.The magistrate had tried him under the lesser charge of causing death by negligence under IPC Section 304-A, which stipulates a maximum two-year jail sentence.Earlier Wednesday morning, Ses-sions Judge Hejib expressed inability to frame the charges against Salman Khan since he was transferred to a new assignment.

Public prosecutor Shankar Erande urged the court to frame the charges Wednesday itself since the accused actor was planning to travel abroad for two months and it could further delay the 11-year old case.On Sep 28, 2002, in the early hours, a Land Cruiser allegedly driven by Salman Khan, who was in an inebri-ated condition, climbed onto a pave-ment and crushed five, one of whom died, in suburban Bandra.Accepting a plea by the actor’s law-yer Shrikant Shivade, the court also directed the media to exercise re-straint in coverage of the trial and re-port the case proceedings accurately.

Court wants draft checks on junk food in schoolsNew DelhiThe Delhi High Court Wednesday given 10 days to the central gov-ernment to frame draft guidelines for regulating sale of junk food and aerated drinks in and around schools.A division bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru told the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that “no further extension will be given” and it must submit the draft guidelines within 10 days.The court said: “Earlier, this court had recorded that draft guidelines would be filed on July 24. Un-fortunately, the draft guidelines are not ready. Now, the counsel for the centre states that the draft guidelines would be ready within 10 days. Let it be filed within 10 days.” The court’s direction came after Additional Solicitor General Ra-jeeve Mehra told the court that draft guidelines were not ready yet and more time was needed.The court, posting the matter for Sep 4, said: “It is expected that par-ties shall adhere to this time line and no extension would be given by this court.”The judges also asked the central government to share the report with other stakeholders who will also give their suggestions or com-ments on the issue.The government earlier told the court that private firm AC Nielsen QRG-MARG Pvt Ltd was in the process of framing norms to regu-late availability of junk foods and carbonated drinks within 500 yards of schools.The court was hearing a petition filed by Rakesh Prabhakar, a law-yer for NGO Uday Foundation, seeking a direction banning sale of junk food and aerated drinks in and around schools.

One killed in Assam grenade attackGuwahatiOne person was killed and at least seven others were injured after the anti-talk faction of the ULFA mili-tants lobbed a grenade at a crowded place in Assam Wednesday evening, police said.Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) S.N. Singh confirmed the incident in Bokolia area in Karbi An-glong district and said an operation was on to arrest the culprits.Police said two militants came on a motorcycle and lobbed a grenade at a crowded place in Bokolia, a small township. “Eight persons were injured during the incident. One of them succumbed to his injuries before reaching a hos-pital,” police said.On Tuesday, cadres of the same militant outfit triggered two grenade blasts at Lakhimpur town, injuring five civilians. A grenade was recov-ered by police from another location, almost simultaneously.S.N. Singh said that cadres of the anti-talk faction of the United Lib-eration Front of Asom (ULFA), led by its commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, intensified the subversive activities ahead of the Independence Day celebrations.

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Three lakh teachers to boycott mid-day meal scheme in BiharPatnaThree lakh school teachers in Bihar have decided to boycott the mid-day meal scheme from July 25 to get rid of non-academic work.A week after the death of 23 chil-dren from eating a contaminated mid-day meal in Saran district, teachers are in no mood to assist the government in running the scheme.“It was unanimously decided at a meeting of the Bihar State Primary Teachers’ Association to boycott the scheme,” its president, Barajnandan Sharma, told.“We had repeatedly requested the government in writing to involve teachers in academic work only and employ some agency for the scheme, which was ignored. Teach-ers should not be burdened with all kinds of non-academic work,” he said.Teachers are blamed for anything that goes wrong with the scheme, Sharma said, adding: “It is giving a bad name to teachers due to ram-pant corruption.” He said that it is a well-known fact that teachers and headmasters have to invariably manage the mid-day meal scheme with third-grade food stuff and corruption at every lev-el. “Top to bottom, officials have information about it. But when something happens, a teacher or headmaster is solely blamed for it despite the fact that there are sev-eral officials involved in it,” he said.Refering to the Saran tragedy, Sharma said: “There may be some mismanagement. Even human er-ror cannot be ruled out. But putting the blame on teachers even before an inquiry has completed surprised us.”In the wake of teachers’ decision to boycott the scheme, Bihar Educa-tion Minister P.K. Shahi said it was difficult to arrange for an agency to run the scheme in 72,000 schools across the state.The poisonous substance, organo-phosphorus, in oil samples collect-ed from school was more than five times the commercial preparation available in the market, police said.Organophosphorus compounds are degradable organic compounds con-taining carbon-phosphorus bonds used primarily in pest control.

BSF seizes heroin on India-Pakistan borderNew DelhiThe Border Security Force (BSF) said Wednesday it had seized five kg of heroin valued at Rs.25 crore from the border with Pakistan in Punjab.The consignment was recovered dur-ing a search operation Tuesday at the Bhanian border outpost in Amritsar district, spokesperson Tirtha Acha-rya told IANS.“(We) recovered five packets of contraband suspected to be heroin weighing five kg from a cemented pipe, four feet long and 10 inch in di-ameter, near a diesel tube well inside Indian territory,” he said.“This is a new modus-operandi of some drug traffickers. They place such contraband inside the pipe, and it is then taken out by associates on the other side,” the official said.

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CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 20136 INTERNATIONAL

Ban rings wall street closing bell, welcomes NYstock exchange to UN initiativeSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon to-day welcomed the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to a United Na-tions initiative which seeks to sup-port responsible and sustainable in-vestments. There are few better places than this trading floor for appreciating the re-alities of globalization. Shocks here ripple across the world,” Mr. Ban said in his remarks just before ring-ing the closing bell on Wall Street to welcome NYSE Euronext to the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges initia-tive. The Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative explores how ex-changes can work together with in-vestors, regulators, and companies to enhance corporate transparency, and ultimately performance, on en-vironmental, social and corporate governance issues and encourage responsible long-term approaches to investment. Since its creation in 2009, eight ex-changes have joined, with nearly 13,000 listed companies in devel-oped and emerging markets. “The addition of the world’s largest stock exchange to this group is a sig-nificant forward step, signalling the importance and relevance of sustain-ability to the private sector around the world,” Mr. Ban said. “But we will need more exchanges, inves-tors and companies to join forces if

we are to achieve a more equitable, prosperous and sustainable future.” “The daily index of profit and loss is a measure of the hopes and plans of people from all walks of life – from the wealthiest investors to nurses and teachers looking forward to a com-fortable retirement,” the Secretary-General said. He stressed that the private sector plays a central role in creating solu-tions for the world’s most pressing needs, and added that responsible business is essential to rebuild trust in markets, particularly after seeing the consequences of the global finan-cial crisis. “Investment must be sustainable – delivering value not just financially, but also in social, environmental and developmental terms,” he said. Mr. Ban noted that investors are

increasingly realizing that devel-opment challenges such as climate change, poverty and inequality, are long-term risks that threaten stabil-ity and businesses, and are therefore embracing social, economic and en-vironmental sustainability. “That is why the UN-supported Prin-ciples for Responsible Investment now has more than 1,200 signatories who collectively manage over $34 trillion dollars in assets,” he said. “Each has committed to incorporate sustainability into their investment decision making, ownership practic-es and engagement with companies.” Mr. Ban, who will ring the NYSE bell today to close the markets, thanked NYSE Euronext for committing to the SSE initiative and urged stock exchanges around the world to fol-low its lead.

Security council extends mandate of monitoring group for Somalia and EritreaThe Security Council today extend-ed for 16 months the mandate of the United Nations expert panel moni-toring compliance with sanctions against Somalia and Eritrea, while further easing funding and equip-ment restrictions on the UN and Eu-ropean Union missions in the region. In a resolution adopted this morning, the Council asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to re-establish the eight-member Monitoring Group on Eritrea and Somalia until 25 Novem-ber 2014. The panel, which monitors com-pliance with the embargoes on the delivery of weapons and military equipment to Somalia and Eritrea, also investigates any seaport opera-tions in Somalia that could gener-ate revenue for the Islamist militant group known as Al-Shabaab that controls some Somali territory. The Security Council in 1992 im-posed an embargo on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Somalia. This past March, the Council partially lifted the weapons ban for one year to boost the Gov-ernment’s capacity to protect areas recovered from the militant group Al-Shabaab and defend against fresh attempts by such groups to destabi-lize the country. It decided that the arms embargo would not apply to arms or equip-ment sold or supplied solely for the development of the Government’s security forces, but it kept its restric-tions in place on heavy weapons, such as surface-to-air missiles. Today’s resolution reminds the Fed-eral Government of Somalia that it is required to notify the Council’s sanc-tions committee at least five days in advance of any such deliveries and provide details of the transactions. Alternately, Member States deliver-ing assistance could make the noti-fication after informing the Govern-

ment of its intentions in that regard. The text decides that until 6 March 2014, the arms embargo on Soma-lia would not apply to weapons, military equipment, training or ad-vice intended to develop Somalia’s security forces. Nor would it apply to military supplies and aid to the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNISOM), African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and its stra-tegic partners, the EU Training Mis-sion in Somalia (EUTM) or to Mem-ber States and organizations working to combat piracy off the coast of So-malia. The 15-member Council also ex-presses its “deep concern” at re-ports of continuing violations of the charcoal ban by Member States and stresses that it is willing to take ac-tion against those violate the ban. It also reiterates that a charcoal ex-port ban applies to all charcoal from Somalia, whether or not it origi-nated in the country, and requested AMISOM to support and assist So-mali authorities in preventing the

export of charcoal from the country. In addition, the resolution includes language renewing a humanitarian exemption until 25 October 2014. The exemption is for “payment of funds, other financial assets or eco-nomic resources necessary to ensure the timely deliver of urgently needed humanitarian assistance in Somalia” by the UN and its implementing part-ners. The text also encourages the Fed-eral Government to mitigate the risk of the petroleum sector becoming a “source of increased tension”. The Council also “expresses its seri-ous concern” at reports of misappro-priation so Somalia’s public resourc-es given President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s commitment to improve public financial management. Council members encouraged the Government “to address corruption and hold perpetrators accountable,” and reiterated their willingness to take action against individuals in-volved in misappropriation of public resources.

UN general assembly designates 19 november as world toilet dayIn a bid to make sanitation for all a global development priority, the United Nations General Assembly today designated 19 November as World Toilet Day, urging changes in both behaviour and policy on issues ranging from enhancing water man-agement to ending open-air defeca-tion. Adopting a new resolution, the As-sembly urged UN Member States and relevant stakeholders to encour-age behavioural change and the im-plementation of policies to increase access to sanitation among the poor, along with a call to end the prac-tice of open-air defecation, which it deemed “extremely harmful” to pub-lic health. “This new annual observance will go a long way toward raising awareness about the need for all human beings to have access to sanitation,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson in a statement issued im-mediately following the Assembly’s action. The resolution also recognizes the role that civil society and non-gov-ernmental organizations play in rais-ing awareness of this issue. It also calls on countries to approach sanita-tion in a much broader context that includes hygiene promotion, the pro-vision of basic sanitation services, and sewerage and wastewater treat-ment and reuse in the context of inte-grated water management. Of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones. However, only 4.5 billion have ac-cess to toilets or latrines – meaning that 2.5 billion people, mostly in ru-ral areas, do not have proper sanita-tion. In addition, 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open. The countries where open defeca-tion is most widely practiced are the

same countries with the highest num-bers of under-five child deaths, high levels of under-nutrition and poverty, and large wealth disparities. “Despite progress toward the Mil-lennium Development Goals, one in three people do not have a basic toilet,” Mr. Eliasson said. “Almost 2,000 children die every day from preventable diarrhoeal diseases. Poor sanitation and water supply re-sult in economic losses estimated at $260 billion annually in developing countries.” He added that sanitation is also a question of basic dignity, and un-derlined that women should not risk being victims of rape and abuse be-cause of lack of access to a toilet that offers privacy. “It is also unacceptable that many girls are pushed out of school for lack of basic sanitation facilities,” he said. “I urge every country to ac-celerate progress towards a world in which everyone enjoys this most ba-sic of rights.” World Toilet Day has previously been marked by international and civil society organizations all over the world. However, it was not for-mally recognized as an official UN day until today.

Snowden still stuck in Moscow airport transit zoneMoscowAmerican whistleblower Edward Snowden has not been granted ap-proval to leave the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, his lawyer said.Anatoly Kucherena said after meet-ing Snowden in the Terminal E of the airport that the Federal Migra-tion Service (FMS) had not yet granted the necessary certificate, Xinhua reported.“The issue is not resolved. This situ-ation is unique for Russia,” he said.Noting there had not been such cases or applications before, Kuch-erena said “Snowden has expressed his understanding of this”.Snowden would not contact media representatives in the near future for security reasons, he said.

“Of course, he intends to meet the press when the question of his sta-tus is finally clarified,” the lawyer said.Kucherena also did not rule out the possibility Snowden could receive approval for free movement in Rus-sia “any time”.The most important thing for Snowden was to wait for the FMS’s final decision, and he could appeal if the service rejected the applica-tion, he said.The former CIA contractor is learn-ing Russian, and could utter sim-ple phrases during their talks, the lawyer said, adding that Snowden wanted to find a job here.He also told Snowden a number of Russian girls had a crush on him. The latter responded with laughter.

Pakistan donates $1 mn to quake-hit ChinaBeijingChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi received a humanitarian donation of $1 million from the Pakistani gov-ernment during a meeting with Paki-stan’s Ambassador Masood Khalid.A 6.6-magnitude quake hit northwest Gansu province Monday, leaving 95 dead and over 1,000 injured.Calling Pakistan a devoted friend of China, Wang said: “A friend in need

is a friend indeed.”He recalled Pakistan’s donation of more than 20,000 tents to China during the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.Despite facing difficulties in its own economy, Pakistan is again provid-ing assistance to China, which dem-onstrates the brotherhood between the two countries, he said.

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CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 7INTERNATIONAL

Obama warns of growing inequality in USWashingtonPresident Barack Obama Wednesday warned of “growing inequality” in the US despite the fact that the coun-try has left behind the worst econom-ic crisis since the Great Depression.“(T)his growing inequality is not just morally wrong, it’s bad econom-ics,” Obama said in a much-heralded speech at Knox University in Gales-burg, Illinois.Reversing that trend “has to be Washington’s highest priority”, he said. “It’s certainly my highest prior-ity.”“Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, in particular, Washington hasn’t just ignored this problem, too often, Washington has made things worse,” the president said, pointing to what he characterized as obstruc-tionism by “a sizable group of Re-publican lawmakers”.“I care about one thing and one thing only, and that’s how to use every minute - the only thing I care about is how to use every minute of the re-maining 1,276 days of my term - to make this country work for working Americans again,” Obama said.“And it may seem hard today, but

if we’re willing to take a few bold steps - if Washington will just shake off its complacency and set aside the kind of slash-and-burn partisanship that we’ve just seen for way too long - if we just make some common-sense decisions, our economy will be stronger a year from now,” he said.He noted that over the last 40 months US firms have created 7.2 mil-lion new jobs and that this year the growth in private sector employment is the strongest since 1999.

Toll in Spain train crash rises MadridAt least 77 people have been killed and around 140 injured after a train derailed outside the city of Santiago de Compostela in the Galicia region of Spain.This is only a provisional figure and could rise further, a government spokesperson said. Families of the victims have arrived at the scene of the accident, waiting for further information.Theresia Marin, a psychologist, said she passed by the site in the evening when the derailment happened. After hearing about the accident, she of-fered psychological help to the in-jured and victims’ families at a tem-porary shelter.Rescue operations are underway at the site, she said. Earlier, the number of victims was estimated at under 50. “The priority is to help the injured and their families at the moment. We are working with enormous logisti-cal capacity, but we cannot sadly save the lives of those 45-47 people, which is the number of deaths we are currently working with,” said the president of the Galician regional government, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, on Spanish television hours after the accident.The train, which was travelling from Madrid to Ferrol and left the Cha-martin Station in the capital at 3 p.m., derailed on a bend shortly after coming out of a tunnel.At least 13 carriages came off the rails with several lying on the side of an embankment with several of them catching fire. Reports said that several of the carriages literally flew through the air.Huge numbers of emergency servic-es are at the scene in order to help the injured, along with a crane to help

free those trapped in the wreckage. Both of the train’s drivers have sur-vived the accident and will be able to help resolve the cause of the disaster. But for the moment, the cause of the crash is not known. Early indications are that it could be the result of human error, while some survivors have said the train appeared to be travelling at a high speed on a curve with a speed limit of just 80 km an hour. Investigators have indicated the train could have been travelling at 180 km per hour when it came off the rails. One of the drivers was reported to have confirmed the train took the curve prior to the accident at a speed of 200 km per hour. The bend where the accident hap-pened is reported to be the tightest between the cities of Ourense and Santiago and was described as a “difficult section” of the track by the ADIF, the company which admin-isters the infrastructure of Spain’s railways.There are also unconfirmed reports of an explosion on board, just as the

Pakistan presidential poll advanced to July 30IslamabadThe Pakistan Supreme Court Wednesday advanced the presiden-tial election by seven days, from Aug 6 to July 30, following the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party’s plea that some parliamentarians will be in Mecca during that time.The Supreme Court gave its rul-ing on the petition filed by PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, who sought a change in the poll date as many members of parliament would be in Mecca for religious rituals, the Geo News reported.The Pakistan government endorsed Haq’s plea before the apex court to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to reschedule the upcoming presidential election for July 30.During the hearing, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked Attorney General Munir A. Malik if there existed any consti-tutional hurdle for rescheduling the election. The attorney general replied that there was no constitutional bar in holding the presidential election July 30 and Public Representation Act placed no obstruction in the way of the presidential election.

train entered the curve. The Spanish minister of the interior has, however, ruled out a terrorist attack. There were 218 passengers plus crew aboard the train, which was es-pecially full because Thursday is the holiday of St. John in Santiago, the patron saint of the region of Galicia and the start of a four-day weekend in the region. The University Hospital at Santiago appealed for blood donors to help the victims of the crash and such was the response that all centres in the city were saturated with donors by 11.30 p.m. It is the worst train accident Spain has suffered in the past 40 years and the third worst in the country’s his-tory, with a higher number of victims than the head-on collision in Chin-cilla (Albacete), which claimed 19 lives in 2003. The country’s worst ever rail acci-dent happened in Jan 1944 on a train between Madrid and La Coruna with estimates of victims ranging from the official figure of 78 to over 500 dead.

Bo Xilai charged with bribery, embezzlement, power abuse

BeijingDisgraced politician Bo Xilai, who was once a rising star in the Com-munist Party, has been charged with bribery, embezzlement and power abuse, the authorities said Thursday.The indictment was delivered to the Jinan City Intermediate People’s Court Thursday, Xinhua reported, citing Jinan City People’s Procu-ratorate in east China’s Shandong province.Bo, as a civil servant, took advantage of his position to seek profits for oth-ers and accepted an “extremely large amount” of money and properties, the indictment said. He also embezzled a huge amount of public money and abused his power, seriously harming the interests of the state and people, the document added.

Bo had been informed of his legal rights and interviewed by prosecu-tors. His defending counsels also delivered their opinions, prosecutors said. China was last year rocked by a ma-jor scandal involving Bo, who was accused of taking advantage of his position to seek profits for others and received huge bribes personally or through his family. His position was utilised by his wife to seek profits for others, and the Bo family accepted a huge amount of money and property from others. He was also found to have violated organisational and per-sonnel disciplines and made errone-ous decisions in certain promotions, resulting in serious consequences, Xinhua had earlier reported.The CPC Central Committee an-nounced in April 2012 that it had decided to suspend Bo’s member-ship as he was suspected of being in-volved in serious violations of disci-pline. The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection also filed a case for investigation. Last September, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee de-cided to expel Bo from the CPC and his public office. The bureau also de-cided to transfer Bo’s suspected law violations and relevant evidence to judicial organs. Bo, 64, also formerly served as mayor of Dalian, governor of north-east China’s Liaoning Province and China’s minister of commerce.

Regmi refuses to step down as Nepal’s chief justiceKathmanduDespite pressure from opposition parties, Khil Raj Regmi, the head of Nepal’s interim government, has re-fused to resign as the chief justice of the Supreme Court.Regmi is holding the two posts since March 13. Some opposition parties want him to resign as the chief jus-tice to ensure a conducive environ-ment for Nov 19 parliamentary polls, Xinhua reported.A case has been filed in the Supreme Court demanding Regmi’s resigna-tion as chief justice.In a written reply in the Supreme Court Thursday, Regmi argued that there was a new provision in the con-stitution stating that the government would be headed by a sitting chief justice.“If I resign from the post of chief jus-tice, I will no longer remain the cabi-net chairman, which in turn could lead to new constitutional complexi-ties,” the reply stated. Opposition parties Madhesi Janadhi-kar Forum Nepal (MJF-N), Com-

munist Party of Nepal-Maoist (a splinter group of Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist) and the Fed-eral Socialist Party-Nepal (FSP-N) are demanding Regmi’s resignation as chief justice, saying that holding both posts by an individual will af-fect the principle of separation of powers.Regmi in his reply also cited prec-edents in Greece, Canada and Gha-na, arguing that sitting chief justices have assumed executive roles. The apex court had last month asked Regmi to explain why he was hold-ing the dual positions. The bench was responding to a pe-tition filed by one Bharat Jungum demanding Regmi’s resignation as the chief justice. Jungum had moved the court on May 27, arguing that Regmi holding the two positions was against the principle of separation of powers. Opposition parties say they will not take part in the election process if Regmi refuses to resign as chief jus-tice.

Four killed as ISI office attacked in SindhIslamabadAt least four people were killed and 35 injured when four suicide bombers stormed a regional head-quarters of the Inter-Services Intel-ligence (ISI) agency in a colony of Pakistan’s Sindh province Wednes-day, Geo News reported.The blasts that damaged several vehicles and buildings and left a deep crater near the ISI headquar-ters occurred in Sukkur district’s Barrage Colony.According to sources, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the gate of ISI headquarters while two others det-onated explosives rigged with their bodies inside the office. An alleged bomber was arrested following the explosions, they added.

Deputy Inspector General Javed Odho said the blasts targetted a compound containing offices of the DIG, commissioner and the ISI. The local ISI office might be the target of the attack, which left sev-eral people injured, the officer said, adding that a shootout took place between the security officials and terrorists following the explosions. Earlier, the Dawn reported that the blasts occurred where residences of several government officers and the intelligence agency offices were located. Provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon told a news chan-nel: “I can confirm at least four blasts hit the area, but I can’t con-firm at the moment if there were more.”

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CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 20138 POLITICS

Digvijaya Singh, Congress“We have nothing to do with it. It is up to the US government to issue visa to Modi.”

Sitaram Yechury,CPI-M leader “It is this very principle that leads us to strongly oppose and denounce any external interfer-ence into India’s inter-nal affairs undermining its sovereignty,”

Prakash Javadekar,BJP spokesperson “The denial by some MPs of having written to Obama shows that this is a clear conspir-acy of the dirty tricks department of the Con-gress. Some MPs have said their signatures were forged,”

Raj Babbar, Congress spokesperson “The issue has not been discussed in any forum of the party, nor of par-liament,”

Mohammed Adeeb, Rajya Sabha’s Independent member “I am shocked. I don’t believe that a person like Yechury is saying something like this. I have his signature. His name is ninth in the list. How can I paste it?,”

Rakesh Sinha, Political Analyst “The MP’s by doing so have repudiated the im-age of India at Interna-tional forum,”

QUOTE FIRE

New DelhiBJP MP Chandan Mitra’s demand to strip Nobel laureate Amartya Sen of the Bharat Ratna for his anti-Narendra Modi remarks has irked the Congress which Thurs-day called it an insult of the high-est civilian award and a reflection of fascist mentality.Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said noted economist Sen, 79, had a right to express his views.

“What kind of mentality is this. Either you are with us or against us. If you are against us, you are not entitled to Bharat Ratna,” he asked.Tewari said Bharat Ratna was bestowed on Sen by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gov-ernment of which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the major constituent.He said suggestions were also be-ing made that Amartya Sen, who is

based in the US, should return the Nobel prize.“What is it that Mr. Amartya Sen has done. In this country aren’t people entitled to their view. If this is not pure fascism what else is it,” Tewari said.Amartya Sen had said in a TV in-terview that he did not want Modi to be prime minister of the country in view of his “record” during the 2002 Gujarat riots.Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad

said every citizen had a right to ex-press his views.He said the demand to take back the honour bestowed upon Sen “was an insult of Bharat Ratna” and accused the BJP of displaying “height of intolerance”.“Amartya Sen doesn’t want Modi as PM, rates him below Nitish. For this sin, the BJP wants to strip his Bharat Ratna. Isn’t it height of in-tolerance? (sic),” Ahmad said in a tweet.

Congress slams BJP demand to strip Sen of Bharat Ratna

POLITICAL CAMP NEWSCAMP UPA

BhubaneswarBJP vice president Jual Oram Tues-day urged the government to hold gram sabhas (meetings) in all vil-lages in Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills to take a decision on the bauxite min-ing project in the region. The for-mer MP said he met Union Tribal Affairs Minister V. Kishore Chan-dra Deo in New Delhi Monday and sought his intervention into the is-sue.“The Odisha government has noti-

fied to hold grama sabhas only in 12 villages whereas more than 120 villages have Kondh (tribe) popu-lation in that specified area. I have requested the union minister to take steps for holding gram sabhas in all 120 villages,” Oram told.“It would be a mockery of the or-der of the apex court if the opinion of all the villagers is not taken into consideration,” Oram said.Oram said the governor of Odisha has special powers under the fifth

schedule of the constitution to pro-tect tribal interests in the scheduled districts of the state. “If the govern-ment does not take care of the tribal interest, the situation may get out of hand as the area is infested with Leftist extremism, who have been often exploiting tribals,” he said.Vedanta has set up a one million tonne per annum alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, about 600 km from here. However, it could never operate the plant at

full capacity due to shortage of bauxite, the key raw material used to produce alumina. Vedanta had entered into an arrangement with the state government for supply of bauxite through a state agency from nearby Niyamgiri hills, but the move was challenged by anti-displacement groups.The Supreme Court April 18 asked the state to go to gram sabhas to un-derstand the religious and cultural aspects of tribals in the region.

Involve Odisha villages in mining decision: BJPCAMP NDA

HyderabadA member of Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly belonging to the Congress Thursday an-nounced his resignation both from the party and the house to stall possible move by the central leadership to divide the state.With Congress Working Com-mittee (CWC) likely to meet Sunday to take a final decision on the demand for a separate

Telangana state, G. Veerashiva Reddy told reporters in Kadapa that he was sending resigna-tions to Speaker N. Manohar and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana.Reddy, who represents Kamala-puram constituency in YSR Kadapa district, showed resig-nation letters to media persons. He said all legislators from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra regions), irrespec-

tive of their party affiliations, should resign to put pressure on the central government to keep the state united. Reddy’s resig-nation came a day after minis-ters from Seemandhra met in Hyderabad and said they were ready to resign for keeping the state united.Earlier this month, six legisla-tors announced their resigna-tions over the Telangana issue. Four members of assembly and

two of the legislative council, all from the Rayalaseema re-gion, tendered their resigna-tions to protest reported plans by the central government to carve out a Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh.The legislators who announced their resignations included three from the Congress, two from the YSR Congress Party and one from the Telugu Desam Party.

Andhra Congress legislator quits over Telangana

KolkataAt a time when the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) has de-clared it will renew its demand for a separate Gorkhaland, West Ben-gal Chief Minister Mamata Ba-nerjee Tuesday said there was no apprehension of a division of the state.“The hills are smiling and so are the plains of Terrai and Dooars.

Today there is no bloodshed for a separate state, people are not ap-prehensive that the state would be divided,” Banerjee said during a party rally in Jalpaiguri district.Campaigning for her party candi-dates for the ongoing panchayat polls, she credited her government for establishing peace in the hill region and iterated that both plains and hills would continue to coexist

peacefully.With the Congress Working Com-mittee slated to decide on the creation of Telangana -- a sepa-rate state by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh,the GJM too has said it will renew its demand for Gorkha-land if Telangana was allowed.“If a decision can be taken for a separate state of Telangana, then the government should also create

a separate state of Gorkhaland as it has been demanded for the past 100 years,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri had said.The CWC is scheduled to meet July 29 and likely to take a call on Telangana. The dragging campaign for the separate state of Gorkha-land has led to the loss of many lives over the past two decades, besides hitting the economic main-

stays -- tea, timber and tourism of the northern hills of the state.On July 18, 2012, a tripartite agree-ment was signed between the GJM and the state and central govern-ments for setting up a new autono-mous, elected GTA -- a hill council armed with more powers than its predecessor, the Darjeeling Gork-ha Hill Council formed in the late 1980s.

No apprehension of Bengal getting divided: Mamata

Chetan Bhagat,Writer“The MP’s should not have written to the President of America, being themselves the law framers in India”

IANS

Narendra Modi US Visa Row/ Letter written by MPs to US President

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 9POLITICS

Two die in final phase of Bengal panchayat pollsKolkataThe fifth and final phase of the West Bengal panchayat polls claimed two lives Thursday.A CPI-M activist was killed in an at-tack allegedly by rival party goons, while an aged voter died of cardiac arrest due to excessive heat.Narendra Barman collapsed and died after standing for long in a queue un-der hot and humid conditions outside a polling booth in Jaleswar of Jal-paiguri district. His family members alleged that despite being ill and fee-ble, some party activists forced him to go to cast his vote.In Itahar of North Dinajpur district, Communist Party of India-Marxist worker Abdul Aziz was killed after he was attacked allegedly by goons patronised by the ruling Trinamool Congress.“Trinamool goons were trying to snatch ballot papers in a booth in Itahar when Aziz tried to confront

them. He was badly beaten up and later succumbed to injuries,” CPI-M leader Rabin Deb said.Deb claimed nearly 50 of his party activists and supporters were injured Thursday in attacks by Trinamool ac-tivists in the four districts of Cooch Behar, North and South Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri where polling is going on.The Trinamool too claimed attacks on its party activists by opposition-patronised goons.“At least 30-40 of our party activ-ists and supporters have been injured after being attacked by CPI-M and Congress goons,” Trinamool leader and North Bengal development min-ister Gautam Deb said.In the first four phases, 23 people have died in violence related to the five-phase polls which began July 11.The Congress has blamed the state government for the violence and loss of lives.

Sorry, not quitting, Chandy tells mediaThiruvananthapuramKerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, facing double onslaught and much pressure for his resignation over the solar panel scam, told the media here Wednesday: “Sorry, but I am not going to resign.”The double onslaught is from the electronic media and the Left oppo-sition.“I do have the highest regard for the judiciary and unlike some others, for me it’s same even when it does not favour me. Am sorry, it is you (the media) that wants my resignation, but am not going to resign,” said a stern Chandy.The Kerala government has ordered a probe into the dealings of Saritha S. Nair and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan, who are currently under arrest for having defrauded several investors on the promise of providing solar panels at subsidised rates. The telephone call records of Nair showed she was in frequent touch

with members of the chief minister’s personal staff.While one member of the chief min-ister’s staff has been arrested in this connection, two others have been sacked.Tuesday, both the Left opposition and the electronic media were up in arms, saying the only way out for Chandy is to quit. They referred to the state high court’s adverse remarks against him to substantiate their demand.“I have been told by the director gen-eral of prosecution, who was pres-ent in the court, that there has been no such remark. But you (media) have been airing that I was being held responsible by the court and it has passed adverse remarks,” said Chandy.When the media raised the same question again and again, Chandy got up and said, “See, I have a lot of work other than this, so I am leaving while you have only this work.”Meanwhile, the Left has begun in-definite protests at all the 13 district

headquarters and the state secretariat here, demanding his resignation.State Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan took potshots at the electronic media after they aired a news item that he has been called to meet the party high command in Delhi, later in the day.“I saw this news on the TV channels and I decided I am not going to Delhi at all, even though I had a meeting of the home ministry,” said Radhakrish-nan, also facing the heat of the elec-tronic media here.

Congress distances itself from Modi visa controversyNew DelhiThe Congress Wednesday distanced itself from the controversy over MPs writing to US President Barack Obama on the issue of visa to Gu-jarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying nothing was discussed in the party.“The issue has not been discussed in any forum of the party, nor of parlia-ment,” Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar told reporters who asked him about the MPs’ letter to Obama and the British prime minister.“The nation is bigger than politics,” he said.While Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury de-nied having signed any such letter, BJP MP from Jharkhand’s Loharda-ga Sudarshan Bhagat complained to Speaker Meira Kumar and demand-ed an investigation.“These are serious charges and amount to forgery. I have demanded

that the speaker order an impartial inquiry and action be taken against those responsible,” he said.“There is news circulating that I am a signatory to a petition to the US president asking for the denial of US visa for the Gujarat chief minister. I deny having signed any such letter,” Yechury said.Independent Rajya Sabha member Mohammed Adeeb said Tuesday that he has Sunday re-sent a letter writ-ten last year by many MPs to the US president. The letter sought to know if the US government, which in 2002 denied visa to Modi after the communal ri-ots in the state, had changed its poli-cy on the issue.The earlier letter was sent in 2012, said Adeeb, who added that BJP chief Rajnath Singh’s lobbying in the US for a visa to Modi has triggered the issue.

Jayalalithaa slams UPA on FDIChennaiTamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayala-lithaa Tuesday said the UPA govern-ment at the centre was acting at the behest of foreign interests in relaxing FDI.In a statement issued here, Jayala-lithhaa said: “Totally bereft of ideas, in a weak bid to show some pretence of a policy response to an adverse economic situation, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has recently approved the raising of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) caps in some sectors.”“These measures raise a number of serious concerns. Far from protect-ing the interests of workers and the common people of the country, the UPA government appears to be act-ing at the behest of foreign interests and some external rating agencies, which are frequently threatening to lower the sovereign rating to ‘junk status’ and thereby cowing down the weak UPA government at the centre, making it bend to its whims and fan-cies,” she said.Jayalalithaa said the decision also raises serious security and related concerns, which have been ignored.According to her, the rupee deprecia-tion against the US dollar is a direct reflection of the inept macro-eco-nomic management of the UPA gov-ernment over the past several years.Opposing the 100 percent FDI in the

telecom sector, Jayalalithaa said the decision has “security concerns since foreign companies will be able to control the entire telecom network. Data security and privacy issues will arise, which will be very difficult to regulate. This was also witnessed re-cently in the case of a private service provider who had laid more empha-sis on individual privacy rather than national security.”Jayalalithaa said the move will ben-efit foreign companies that have in-curred losses due to the apex court’s order in the 2G licence case.“Even advanced countries restrict foreign investment in the telecom sector for security reasons, whereas

the government of India seems to be oblivious of these concerns,” Jayala-lithaa said.On the FDI limit hike in the insur-ance sector, Jayalalithaa said the government was hoping the DMK would support it when the Insurance Law (Amendment) Bill, 2008, is moved in parliament for its passage.She termed the government’s an-nouncement that FDI in the defence sector would be allowed over 26 per-cent for state-of-the-art technology as opaque.Jayalalithaa also voiced her opposi-tion to the hike in FDI limits in the plantation and single brand retail sectors.

DMK to act against its MPs who signed letter to Obama

ChennaiDMK chief M. Karunani-dhi said the party would act against any of its par-liament members found to have signed a letter to US President Barack Obama seeking denial of US visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.In a statement issued here, Karunanidhi said: “The party does not accept the signing of such letters by its members of parliament (MP). Though the party MPs have said they have not signed any letter addressed to the US president, action will be taken against them if they have in-deed signed.”He said the DMK will not interfere in the central government’s foreign policy and its internal matters.Karunanidhi’s statement comes in the wake of news reports that the let-ter allegedly sent to the US president by several members of parliament in-cluded the signature of DMK’s K.P. Ramalingam. The letter urged US President Barack Obama to refuse Modi a visa to the

US, on account of his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.Interestingly, the DMK, which was part of the United Progressive Alli-ance (UPA) government at the cen-tre, pulled out from the coalition March last, voicing dismay over In-dia’s stance on Sri Lanka at the Unit-ed Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).Karunanidhi then said the UPA gov-ernment had not only refused to consider the DMK’s views on the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC, but had qui-etly watered it down.

Hopeful Jan Lokpal bill will be passed: Anna HazareLucknowSocial activist and anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare has said that he would continue to press for the passage of the Jan Lokpal (Citizen’s Ombuds-man) bill by parliament.In course of his ‘Jantantra Yatra’ (Walk for Democracy) at the Ramlila grounds in Moradabad, Hazare told his supporters that the need of the hour was to send good people to the Lok Sabha.“The country has suffered a lot at the hands of the corrupt system. The time has come to overthrow them and cleanse the system of the ills it is suffering from,” he said Tuesday.He pointed out that he had also not given up on his fight for the ‘Jan Lokpal’ bill. “I will fight for the bill

till my last breath” he said to cheers from his supporters.Hazare also said that he was hope-ful that the patriotism and the yearn-ing of change in the young Indians would usher in an era of honesty and good governance in the country.Hazare had embarked on his ‘Jan-tantra Yatra’ in Amritsar March 31 this year to rally support against the Congress-led United Progressive Al-liance Government in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.The ‘Lokpal’ bill was first introduced by Shanti Bhushan in 1968 and passed the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969. But before it could be passed by Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha was dissolved and the bill lapsed. Sub-sequent versions were re-introduced

but none of them were passed.In 2011, during parliament’s winter session, the Lok Sabha passed the ‘Lokpal’ bill but could not be passed by Rajya Sabha due to shortage of time in the winter session.

IANS

IANSIANS

IANS

CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 201310 REGION

A trip to Leh is an experience, not just a holidayLehOne would imagine that Leh, the hot-test holiday destination of the country this season, would be teeming with excited tourists. You would have to get past a lot of pushing and shoving to get a glimpse of the ‘must-sees’ of the place, and the shopowners of the trinkets’ stores would be screaming at passers-by for attention.Strangely, Leh in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir reveals a very different picture; the pictur-esque little town, cocooned amid the hills, is drowned in calmness. You can savour every little moment and enjoy your holiday in the true sense of the word. Leh, you realize, is not just a destination; it’s an experience.Leh, at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet, is blessed with nature’s bounty. Simple things like waking up to an azure blue sky and the sight of snow-capped mountains, or star-gaz-ing at night (you would have hardly seen so many stars in the night sky!) and wishing upon the scores of shooting stars leaves you with happy memories.Although it has an airport with di-rect flights from Delhi, Jammu, and Srinagar, most people prefer taking a road trip to Leh. One, because the journey through the changing land-scape, whether you go via Manali or through Srinagar, is in itself a lifetime experience. Plus, you get to drive past the ‘magnetic hill’ (from Kargil to Leh) when your car defies gravity to move a short distance of slight road elevation on its own! And second, as most travel experts would say, a road trip prepares you better in

the acclimatization process.Having said that, while it is only nat-ural for your body to take some time to get used to the low pressure and thin oxygen levels, help is always at hand in case of medical need. The Indian Army base hospital in Leh gets a lot of tourists who take tips on how best to fight altitude sickness. There is also an army medical unit in the snow-laden Chang La Pass - at 17,586 feet, the third highest pass in the world - as well as an army tea stall serving complimentary hot tea!From Leh, one has to cross the Chang La Pass to reach the breathtakingly beautiful Pangong lake, made more famous by the movie “3 Idiots”. The lake, 60 percent of which lies in Ti-bet, is striking amid the surrounding barren hills. One can count at least seven shades of blue in the water!The Nubra valley, at a distance of 150 km from Leh, is again a must-

visit. Famous for being a cold desert, when there, a ride on the double humped camel, also called the Bactrian camel, is worth expe-riencing.Driving on the world’s second highest motorable road at Khar-dung La, at an altitude of more than 18,000 feet, is again a must-do. It’s especially popular among bikers who make sure to get embroidered T-shirts back in Leh declaring their feat - a souvenir worth wearing back home.Another popular souvenir is a string of multi-coloured prayer flags, also available in small size.All said, Leh in itself has a lot for visitors to see. There is the magnifi-cent Shanti Stupa, the 400-year-old Jama Masjid, and the ancient Leh Palace which, unlike the bedecked royal palaces you see elsewhere like Rajasthan, is a humble multi- Azera Parveen Rahman

storeyed structure from whose bal-conies you get a bird’s eye view of the entire town.For those looking for adventure, there is much to do - river rafting, kayaking, trekking, and hiking - at close distance. For others looking for a quiet, relaxed time, Leh is best explored on foot.Shopping wise, a word of cau-tion: be ready to loosen your purse strings because things are generally priced high. Shops are laden with exquisite artefacts, woollen shawls and jackets, carpets, and jewellery in silver with different gemstones.Tenzin Wangchuk, one of the shopowners, tries to justify the high prices, saying: “The tourist season (between May-June and October) is the only time we can sell our wares. When winter sets in, it snows and we get cut off from the rest of the world. This is the

only time to earn some money.” Many of its escalating number of tourists (nearly 180,000 in 2012) are foreigners and Leh is therefore flood-ed with restaurants and small cafes serving all kinds of cuisine - Ger-man, Italian, et al. However, tucking into some momos, thentuk (noodles) and thukpa is highly recommended to complete the Leh experience.

How to get there:

• By air: There are direct flights from Delhi, Srinagar and Jam-mu.

• • By road: Approximate distance

from Chandigarh to Leh via Manali is 800 km.

• Approximate distance from Sri-nagar to Leh is 440 km. State transport buses also ply on the Srinagar-Leh route.

Accomodation:Leh, being a popular holiday desti-nation, has innumerable hotels, guest houses, and even youth hostels. In the peak tourist season, you can ex-pect the hotel room tariff to start any-where from Rs.1,500.

Precautions:Altitude sickness is a reality; so be prepared. You can consult a doctor beforehand about any medication to be carried. But even if you don’t, do not fret. It takes a day or two for your body to acclimatize. Drink plenty of fluids, and don’t forget to carry a good sunscreen!

Haryana gives Rs.2-6 as compensation for damaged cropsChandigarhHaryana ministers are known to spoil themselves with luxuries like the most-expensive SUVs but when it comes to doing something for the state’s farmers, the story is a little different. The self-proclaimed farm-er-friendly Haryana government has doled out cheques worth royal amounts ranging from Rs.2-6 to a number of farmers of Jhajjar district as compensation for their damaged crops.Moreover, adding insult to injury, the compensation has been paid after a wait of nearly two years.Water-logging and excessive rainfall had damaged the crops in 2011. A special survey, set up in 2011 to assess the damage, decided on these paltry amounts. Upset over the “cruel joke” played on them by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government, the farmers have decided not to accept the measly sum

of money.“This is a cruel joke on the hard-working farmers. The expense in-curred in encashing these cheques is more than the compensation given,” farmer Vijender said.Farmer Satyanarayan got a cheque of Rs.2 while another, Tek Chand, received Rs.3.Farmers allege that officials delib-erately miscalculated the loss to the crops by understating the damage in their survey.The Hooda government claims that it has been paying compensation of Rs.3,500 per acre for crop dam-age. Hooda himself defended the compensation saying that adequate amount had been given.“The Haryana government has re-leased a compensation of Rs.1.14 crore for the farmers affected by water-logging in Beri tehsil (admin-istrative division) area of Jhajjar dis-trict in 2011. This amount has been

distributed to the affected farmers at a rate of Rs.3,500 per acre for 3,365 acres of land, according to their share in khewat (the number of the owners’ holding),” an official spokesman said here Thursday.Clarifying on the low compensation, he said: “Some khewats have more share holders and the compensation was given as per their land share. In ‘Girdawari’ (record of land cultiva-tion), efforts were made to ensure compensation was given to every marginal farmer in the khewat.”The opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leaders accused the Hooda government “of making a mockery” of the compensation.“The farmers handed over the origi-nal cheques when we asked for pho-tocopies. They said photocopy will cost more than the compensation value,” INLD leader and legislator Abhay Chautala said.

Chautala’s interim bail extended till Aug 12New DelhiThe Delhi High Court Tuesday ex-tend till Aug 12 the interim bail of former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, who has been sen-tenced to 10 years in jail for irregu-larities in appointment of teachers in 2000.Justice Siddharth Mridul extended the interim bail of Chautala, 78, on medical grounds.Chief of Indian National Lok Dal, Chautala had moved a plea for ex-tension of his interim bail earlier granted till July 22.Filing the plea, Chautala had said that his pacemaker implant proce-dure was done June 3, and the doc-tor had advised regular check-ups for three months.“He continues to be in a fragile state of health, besides being severely handicapped by various disabilities. He requires constant extra care dur-ing the period of three months and regular follow-up. He also needs a

clean, stress-free environment,” the plea said.The former chief minister also sought the court’s permission to visit his native village.“It is prayed that the interim bail granted to appellant (Chautala) be suitably extended and he may be permitted to reside with his family at his native village Chautala in Sirsa district of Haryana after discharge from the hospital,” said Chautala’s application.Apart from the heart ailment, Chau-tala also suffers from other age-relat-ed problems.A trial court in the capital sentenced Chautala, his son Ajay and eight oth-ers to 10 years in jail. One convict was sentenced to five years in jail, while 45 others were each handed out four-year jail terms.Chautala and the other accused were found guilty of illegally recruiting 3,206 junior basic trained teachers in Haryana in 2000.

Haryana to set up helpline after 900 children take illThe Haryana government Wednes-day directed the setting up of a helpline to assist students who show any side-effects after being adminis-tered the iron-folic acid tablets dur-ing the state-wide campaign.“The National Rural Health Mis-sion, Haryana, will set up a helpline to guide those needing help in case of any side-effects, following the consumption of iron and folic acid tablets during the ongoing campaign in the state. The helpline number will be made functional from next Mon-day,” a government spokesman said.

A meeting, chaired by state Educa-tion Minister Geeta Bhukkal, was held here Wednesday after it was reported that nearly 900 children in government schools have shown side-effects after taking the tablets, and needed medical attention.Bhukkal directed the officers to edu-cate teachers that these tablets be given to the children after the mid-day meal. She said that iron folic acid tablets were being given to com-bat anaemia among children.NRHM director Rakesh Gupta said that about 16 lakh (1.6 mn) students

of classes VI to XII were adminis-tered the iron tablets during the pro-gramme.“There were some side-effects, but a majority of the students did not show the side effects,” he said. “The 100 mg tablets are being given weekly after consultation with the experts of the medical fraternity,” Gupta said.

Life limps back to normal in SrinagarSrinagarLife limped back to normal after four days Monday as public trans-port plied and businesses opened in this Jammu and Kashmir summer capital.Colleges, government offices, banks and post offices were also working.Dozens of vehicles carrying Ama-rnath Yatra pilgrims to the north Kashmir Baltal base camp and tour-ists to Sonmarg hill station started moving since early morning Mon-day.The presence of security forces is being gradually reduced at markets

and on the streets.Official restrictions and separat-ist protests, leading to shutdowns, had paralysed life after firing by the paramilitary Border Security Force claimed six lives in Gool town of Ramban district Thursday.Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has appealed to the people to resume normal activities. He has, however, called for peaceful pro-tests after afternoon prayers.He has also requested imams of var-ious mosques to offer “Fateha” af-ter congregational prayers for those killed.

IANSIANS

CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 2013 11LIFESTYLE

HIPSTER

Hipster refers to a subculture of young, urban middle-class adults and older teenagers that appeared in the 1990s. The subculture is associated with independent music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, progressive or independent politi-cal views, alternative spirituality or atheism/agnosticism, and alternative lifestyles.“Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20’s and 30’s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter.”Hipster culture has been described as a “mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior”. Christian Lorentzen of Time Out New York argues that “hipsterism fetishizes the authentic” elements of all of the “fringe movements of the postwar era—beat, hippie, punk, even grunge”, and draws on the “cul-tural stores of every unmelted ethnic-ity”, and “regurgitates it with a wink-ing inauthenticity.”

OriginsThe term itself was coined during the jazz age, when “hip” emerged as an adjective to describe aficiona-dos of the growing scene.Although the adjective’s exact origins are dis-puted, some say it was a derivative of “hop”, a slang term for opium, while others believe it comes from the West African word “hipi”, mean-ing “to open one’s eyes”.The essence of the definition of “hip”, attested as early as 1902, is “aware” or “in the know”. Conversely, the antonym un-hip connotes those who are unaware

of their surroundings, also including those who are opposed to hipness.The subculture rapidly expanded, and after World War II, a burgeoning literary scene grew up around it. Jack Kerouac described 1940s hipsters as “rising and roaming America, bum-ming and hitchhiking everywhere as characters of a special spirituality”.In early 2000, both the New York Times and Time Out New York ran profiles of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, without using the term hipster; the Times refers to “bohemians”and TONY to “arty East Village types”. By 2003, when The Hipster Hand-book was published by Williamsburg resident Robert Lanham, the term had come into widespread use in re-lation to Williamsburg and similar neighborhoods. The Hipster Hand-book described hipsters as young people with “mop-top haircuts, swinging retro pocketbooks, talking on cell phones, smoking European cigarettes... strutting in platform shoes with a biography of Che Gue-vara sticking out of their bags”.

Things all you need to look like ‘Hipster’

Hipster clothesPlaid shirtsScarvesVintage bootsTurntableAn old camera Fixed-gear bikeYour own gardenFountain PenAny Apple product always updatedInstagram

Every other subculture threw up on your wardrobeYou appreciate skateboard culture, so you got a Supreme five-panel. You dig Bob Marley, so you rock a mesh shirt underneath your rumpled ox-ford cloth button down—because your dad raised you on Brooks Brothers. You discovered The Ramones in high school and haven’t stopped rocking a Schott Perfecto ever since. If your closet was an album, it would be by Girl Talk. Your entire style is a mash-up; you throw whatever together and manage to look half-decent in it.

You know multiple ways to tie a scarfLook, there’s nothing wrong with scarves. Plenty of our favorite rappers wear them regularly. We suppose the hipster association came along when the keffiyeh became a trend, and everyone from Kanye West to Rachel Ray was rocking one. But screw that, you know that when it’s brick city outside, they’re just a practical accessory.

You and your girlfriend look like a lesbian coupleWhen people catch you in their peripheral vision, people often say “sorry miss.” Except you’re totally a dude. We understand, every other fucking guy has a side part now thanks to Don Draper and Jimmy Darmody, and you’ve been growing it out ever since. After all, now that the Biebs is opting for a shorter ‘do, the mop top is slowly on its way back as a rebellious coiff. Your girl doesn’t seem to mind, she actually kind of likes it.

You wear really nice clothes but have no actual jobEvery morning you suit up in a fresh sportcoat from Ralph Lauren, Engi-neered Garments, or Thom Browne. Underneath you slip on a crisp pair of Dior or Nudie jeans. But, you can’t decide if you wanna go with brogues, Jordans, or Margiela sneakers today. Deciding which shoes to wear actu-ally comprises 30 minutes of your morning routine. And then, when you’re finally suited and booted, you jet off to work—which is actually the coffee shop down the street.

It takes you longer to comb your beard than your hairWhatever your reasons for growing a beard, one universal truth is that facial hair can be an absolute difficult to maintain. If you’re the kind of dude that gets groomed at The Blind Barber or Freeman’s Sporting Club, chances are you moved on from the urban lumberjack trend years ago and now favor mixing up a little tailored gear with your rugged flannels and well-worn sel-vedge jeans. No one can pull off the “blazer with beat-up Red Wing boots” look in the same way you can.

SignS of HipSterS

CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 201312 COVER STORY

Kate gives birth to son, world congratulatesLondonCatherine, Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her and Prince Wil-liam’s first child, a boy, and every-one -- from her father-in-law Price Charles to others -- expressed happi-ness at the birth of the child, who will be third in line to the British throne.Ever since the child came into the world Monday 4.24 p.m., best wish-es from royals to politicians to actors have been pouring in.According to a spokesperson of the royals, the 31-year-old new moth-er and baby are doing fine. The baby, born in the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington here, weighed 3.8 kg. His father, Prince William, was born here in 1982, as well as his uncle Prince Harry. Prince William, 31, released a state-ment saying that he and his wife, whom he married at Westminster Abbey in April 2011, could not be happier following the birth of their son.Prince Charles and his wife Duchess Camilla are also excited to welcome their grandchild. “Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild. It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy,” he said in a statement.British Prime Minister David Cam-eron and US President Barack Obama, among others, congratulated the new parents.“It is wonderful news from St. Mary’s, Paddington, and I am sure that right across the country, and indeed right across the Common-wealth, people will be celebrating and wishing the royal couple well,” David Cameron said.“It is an important moment in the life

of our nation but, I suppose, above all it is a wonderful moment for a warm and loving couple who have got a brand new baby boy,” he added.Obama also released a statement on his and wife Michelle Obama’s be-half.“Michelle and I are so pleased to con-gratulate The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child. We wish

them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings,” he said.When the Duchess of Cambridge, maiden name Kate Middleton, went into labour, many celebrities took to Twitter to express their excitement. TV personality Kelly Osbourne: It’s all so exciting. The Royal Baby is on the way!Singer Melanie Brown: Whoop whoop the royal baby is coming.

Prince George Of CambridgeBaby Cambridge now has a name: George Alexander Louis.The name of Prince William and Kate’s son was announced Wednes-day by Kensington Palace, two days after he was born.Palace officials said the royals are “delighted to announce” their son’s name, adding that the baby, who is third-in-line to the throne, will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.Six previous British kings have been named George, and the name was a favorite of British bookmak-ers in the run-up to Wednesday’s announcement.The announcement from William and Kate -- just two days after the baby’s birth -- was quick, by roy-al standards. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh took a month before settling on the name Charles for the Prince of Wales. Princess Diana and Prince Charles took a week before settling on Wil-liam’s four names.For now, the baby is expected to

stay out of the spotlight after mak-ing his first “public appearance” in the arms of his parents outside of London’s St. Mary’s Hospital.On Wednesday, the couple intro-duced their son to great-grand-mother Queen Elizabeth II, who was keen to see the baby before she starts her annual summer va-cation in Scotland later this week. The 87-year-old monarch made a short trip from Buckingham Palace by chauffeur-driven Bentley and spent about half an hour visiting the baby. Palace officials said Prince Harry has also been to see his new nephew.That afternoon, the young fam-ily departed Kensington Palace and headed to see Kate’s parents at their home in the English village of Bucklebury, west of London.Now that Kate and William have chosen a name, they are expected to soon choose a photographer for the baby’s first official portrait. Ap-petite remains strong worldwide for pictures of the royal baby.

Kate and William’s prince could be known by an altogether different name when he is king

JUST because the royal baby has been named George, it doesn’t mean he’ll use that title when he takes the throne. So says historian, author and broadcaster Anne Whitelock.Whitelock pointed out that the only other Prince of Cambridge in history was also named George – and he was “notable for his loose living” and not a role model for a young baby.Not all Georges were rogues, though. Britain’s last king was the Queen’s father, George VI, who helped steady the monarchy following the sudden abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936.For now, the third in line to the throne is known as His Royal High-ness Prince George of Cambridge. His parents announced the decision quickly for royals, just two days after Prince George’s birth. The Queen, in contrast, took a month to announce the name of her first-born son, Charles, and when William was born in 1982 his parents waited a week before announcing his name.But the name itself is not surpris-ing. Bookmakers had George as their odds-on favourite for the new baby, closely followed by James, while Louis is also William’s middle name.

WILL it be George or James? Now that the world has got its first glimpse of the royal baby, the vexed issue of its name is obsessing the media.The Daily Telegraph points out that the royal family like to take their time when it comes to naming their offspring and “such delays have al-most become part of royal tradition”.The Daily Mirror points out that the royal couple can’t leave their son without a name too long. Its birth and name will need to be registered, in person, with Westminster register office in the next 41 days.The world finally got a glimpse

of Britain’s future king yesterday evening when Kate Middleton and Prince William walked through the doors of the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s hospital cradling their baby boy.After weeks of anticipation, the royal couple finally appeared in front of the world’s media at 7.10pm. Kate Middleton, wearing a pale blue dress, cradled her new baby as the white blanket in which it was swad-dled was lit up by hundreds of flash-light. As if on cue, the baby raised its arms obligingly as its proud father described the birth as “very emotion-al, very special.”

Royal baby: first picture of Kate Middleton and Prince William’s childThe world finally got a glimpse of Britain’s future king this afternoon when the Duke and Duchess of Cam-bridge walked through the doors of the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s hospital cradling their as-yet-unnamed baby boy.Kate Middleton, wearing a pale blue dress, cradled her new baby as the white blanket in which it was swad-dled was lit up by hundreds of flash-light. “He’s a big boy and he’s got a good set of lungs that’s for sure,” Prince William said. Asked if he and his wife had chosen a name for the third in line to the throne, Prince Wil-liam laughed and said, “we’re still working on a name”.The Duchess passed her baby to his father as the royal couple walked to the black Range Rover that took them to Kensington Palace where they will spend the next few weeks.Earlier today, the baby had been visited by Middleton’s parents, Mi-chael and Carole, who described their grandson as “absolutely beauti-ful”. The Middletons were followed into the Lindo Wing by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Corn-wall. As she emerged, the Duchess described the birth as “wonderful news” and an “uplifting moment for the country”.The royal birth was marked in Lon-don today by a 41-gun salute. The blanks were fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and the Honourable Artillery Company at 2pm in Green Park, adjacent to Buckingham Palace.There was more clamour in the capital after the bells of Westmin-ster Abbey rang for three hours this afternoon. Three of the team of ten ringers carried out the same duty when the Duke was born in 1982.Messages of congratulation are still flooding in for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But while world lead-ers and celebrities have been sending their best wishes to the couple, the British press has gone into some-thing close to meltdown.The Sun even changed its name to honour the new arrival, rebranding

for one day only as The Son. The Daily Mail devoted 20 pages to the birth, and The Times put out a sou-venir edition, featuring a wraparound image of William and Kate with the first 12 pages dedicated to news of the royal baby.Even The Guardian, which had been offering a royal-free front page on its website, led with the headline: “A birth, a boy, a prince, a king”. Only the steadfastly non-royalist Indepen-dent leads on other news, reporting on David Cameron’s crusade against pornography.But even Cameron seemed more concerned with the royal baby. He emerged from Downing Street last night to rejoice at the “wonderful news”.Other political and religious leaders also offered their congratulations, although the comment from London Mayor Boris Johnson was unusually abrupt. “Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their new arrival,” was all he said.Australian PM Kevin Rudd referred to the child as the “royal bub” and described Monday as “a day of great joy”.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 13COVER STORY

Folly 1: 5 Rupee Meals

Congress leader Rasheed Masood claims that “one can eat well” for Rs.5 in the national capital, close on the heels of Congress spokesper-son Raj Babbar who claimed that one can have a full meal for Rs.12 in Mumbai. The two leaders in their zealous defence of party have caused more damage to it than reinforce-ment. Indian economy is in throes of severe food price inflation and com-mon man is hard pressed to meet his needs. Sensing the trouble or perhaps in a bid to undertake some prophy-lactic action the party leaders have taken it upon themselves to deny the obvious. When a housewife is forced to cut the milk consumption of her kids the last thing she needs is an insensitive comment by a political worker hell bent on proving his loy-alty to the party.The genesis of this debate lies in the events of the recent past. The first one being the passage of a Food Se-curity Ordinance that seeks to put as vast majority of food insecure popu-lation under its ambit. On the other the Planning Commission claimed startling figures of poverty reduction in the country. The incongruency of the two difference kinds of policy stands provoked fierce debate and hence led to the overzealous action by ruling party’s leaders. The Plan-

ning Commission had said earlier in the week that poverty ratio in the country had declined to 21.9 per-cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 percent in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption. Using the Tendulkar methodology, the com-mission estimated the national pov-erty line for rural areas at Rs.816 per capita per month and for urban areas at Rs.1,000 per capita per month for 2011-12.Although the statements of Babbar and Masood have been described as personal and they have expressed some form of regret for the entire fi-asco the damage stands done. As in war so in politics, the tactics of the past often tend to lose their value. Hence the Congress cannot bank upon counter attacking or resorting to hyperbole when its governance track record is called into question. India today has a social media led public discourse that makes it tough to get away with a cloak and dagger style of public positioning. Unless one has a water tight case of factual defence, the extras will get shredded by the audience.An honest admission of mistakes and promises of improvement will be far more well received than arrogance, hyperbole and retraction of com-ments under fire.

Folly 2: Digvijay Singh and ‘Sau Taka Maal’

Digvijay Singh, 66, a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has in the past spun many a mini-tornado in the media. On one occasion, he referred to the slain Al-Queda ter-ror mastermind Osama bin Laden as “Osamaji”. He also accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of being part of the 26/11 Mumbai ter-ror strike, with the opposition called his charges outlandish and bizarre. Therefore if one is as controversial as Mr. Singh, it takes some doing to outdo the controversy meter’s scale once again. Yet it is precisely the same thing that he has managed pull off once again.Mr. Singh has landed in hot soup over terming Ms Meenakshi a close aide of Rahul Gandhi as ‘taka maal’, for those well versed with cow belt this is a pejorative term used in the cow belt to objectify women. The opposition BJP was quick to punce upon him and advised some rest or sabbatical for Mr Singh in view of his proclivity to get dragged into a series of controversies.As per news reports while address-ing a rally in Mandsaur he reportedly said “Gandhivadi hain, saral hain, imandar hain. Sabke paas jaati hain, gaon gaon jaati hain. Rajneetigyon ko thodi si baat me pata chal jaata hai ki kaun farzi hai, kaun sahi hai. Main purana jauhri hoon, ye sau taka maal

hai,” about Meenakshi Natrajan, an MP from Mandsaur. Refering to him-self as an old jeweller he described Ms Meenakshi as ‘Taka Maal’ (sexist remark).While Ms. Natrajan has come to the defence of his party colleague it still remains to be seen as to how the party high command will respond to his latest bout of utterances. Mr. Digvijay Singh should realize that he does have a good track record as an administrator and former CM of Madhya Pradesh hence he does not need to be so aggressive and blunt on issues that demand nuance and

Folly 3: Politicizing Batla Only to Bolster OppositionWith a Delhi court Thursday con-victing Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Shahzad Ahmad in the Batla House shootout case, the BJP demanded an apology from the Con-gress and party general Secretary Digvijaya Singh for having earlier raised questions about the genuine-ness of the gun battle. Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Prakash Javedakar said in tweeted that his party welcomed the court verdict, and Digvijaya Singh must apologise for his earlier remarks con-cerning the shootout of Sep 19, 2008. He said the Congress should also apologise as Digvijaya Singh speaks not “off the cuff”, but for Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.“We welcome court’s verdict in #Batla house encounter case. Now #Digvijay must apologize because he cast aspersions on MC Sharma’s martyrdom. By his (Digvijaya’s) ac-tions & words he has supported ter-ror suspects & demoralised security forces,” Javadekar tweeted. “Terror must be treated as terror and should not seen through the prism of religion Cong must apologize for politicising Batla encounter case as Digvijaya does not speak ‘off the cuff’. He speaks for #Sonia & #Ra-hul Gandhi,” Javadekar’s tweet read.BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said Digivijaya Singh should accept, as a civilised person, that his comments were wrong, and added that Con-gress leaders attempted to mislead people on every issue.Digvijaya Singh had earlier raised

questions about the shootout, re-marking that it was hard to under-stand how one person could have received five to six gunshot wounds in the head during a shootout. He had said that he was only expressing a personal opinion. Singh had also said that he had no doubt of the courage of Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who was killed in the shootout. The government, however, main-tained that the Batla House incident was a genuine gunbattle with terror-ists. The court Thursday convicted the lone accused in the case, Shahzad Ahmad, for killing Sharma in the shootout.Ahmad was one of the occupants of a flat that was raided by police in south Delhi’s Batla House neighbourhood in Jamia Nagar area Sep 19, 2008, six days after serial blasts in the city, the prosecution said.Ahmad, along with another man, Ju-naid, had jumped off the balcony and fled after firing at police, the pros-ecution said.The IM operatives were allegedly involved in the Sep 13, 2008, se-rial blasts at Karol Bagh, Connaught Place, Greater Kailash and India Gate in which 26 people were killed and 133 injured.With cases that are sub-judice and that involve dimensions of national security, political parties especially the ruling party should refrain from making comments. Invariably they may hand over strong points of criti-cism to their opponents.

Folly 4: Aditi Restaurant Mumbai AttackedIn 1970s Poland witnessed se-vere inflation but stagnant wages, quite like today’s India. Out of this emerged a broad spectrum of group-ings who took inspiration from Catholic Church and non-violence. They joined hands together to defeat arguably one of the mightiest of all regimes of the world ever, the Soviet Union. Against this backdrop the act of defiance by a small eatery owner of Parel, Mumbai is not only a warn-ing signal to the incumbents but also reflective of the power of idea.The Aditi eatery came out with a novel way of protesting the rise in taxes and the rampant corruption in the country by stating that while eat-ing of precious public resources was being let off by the UPA, eating of food was being taxed. Clearly such a statement left some Youth Con-gress workers unimpressed and they shut the eatery down using force and coercion. As if that was not enough the owner of the restaurant found himself booked under IPC 501 for writing or engraving defamatory material.Such usage of street and state force against an average eatery owner is not a sign of sure footed and re-sponsible government. In a matter of just two years, a sense of despon-dency seems to have set in India as opposed to the perception of rapid development that was the subject of public discourse during the first full term of the UPA.The normal ills associated with politics in India - such as corrup-tion, horse-trading, sectarian rivalry, poor governance, crime and lack of oversight of the general administra-tion - now seem to have engulfed India with a vigor after seven years of growth and development that was widely hailed as a success story and made it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

The people of India today enjoy wider eco-nomic and political awareness than they had before, therefore they are becoming more demanding of good governance. In order to point out la-cunae in government they will increasingly

understanding. In a recent blog he had to defend his stand on Hinduism and he stoutly presented his religious side to side-step attacks on him about being a reactionary leader. However it beggars introspection that how can Digvijay Singh’s reality, as claimed by him, be so far removed from his perception as a rabble rousing ora-tor? Every polity needs its plain talk-ers and such fearless souls should be in fact encouraged and helped along, however unsubstantiated comments that fly in face of reality do more harm to the orator than his oppo-nents.

choose new methods of protests and information dissemination. Hence getting angry and worked up over such matters of civil right to protest will only serve to tar the political party with a black brush of intoler-ance. Aditi restaurant made a state-ment on behalf of all Indians, this little establishment had the guts to put it bluntly and hence any action that is directed against the restau-rant is action against entire Indian people. Such follies are best avoided in a democracy!

CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 201314 CELEB

New Delhi’s the place for Westerners: Actor Armand Assante

Bappi’s gold gift for reality show contestant

Aniston-Theroux still lovey-dovey couple

Miley Cyrus doesn’t know One Direction?

Kareena, Karishma-Saif come together for film on nutrition

ences. The actor has also appeared in TV shows like “How to Survive a Marriage” and “The Doctors”. Asked whether he would like to take part in a reality show here, Assante said he is open to such offers. “I certainly don’t go around the world looking for work, but why not? I am open to doing a film or TV show here if I get a good opportunity. Though I don’t travel for work, I won’t mind work-ing with people here. I am fortunate that I have access to many things that many people don’t get,” said the ac-tor, looking dapper in a tuxedo. The actor comes from a family of art-ists and musicians but chartered his own path. Talking about his family background and life, Assante said: “My mother was a music teacher and my father a painter. My grandfather owned an Italian restaurant. They never encouraged me, but I have al-ways done what I am interested in. “I work because I have to support my family. Also, I am blessed that my neighbours supported me when I lived in New York. I have been sur-rounded with very talented people,” added the actor, who has two daugh-ters - Anya and Alessandra - with ex-wife Karen McArn. Also a part-time musician, Assante has even dabbled in documentaries on social issues. He said: “Also, being an actor, I am fortunate that I get to do that more often. I have also made documenta-ries for the (US) government.”

New DelhiIt’s Hollywood actor Armand As-sante’s first time in India. He’s still coming to grips with the country’s culture, people and lifestyle, but is confident that the Indian capital is the perfect place for tourists from the West.“New Delhi is amazing. It’s the place for Westerners. I am here till August 5. I also have plans to visit Mumbai and Taj Mahal in Agra,” As-sante told in an exclusive interview. He was here for the first anniversary celebrations of tony Italian restaurant and bar Ciro’s Pomodoro here run by a friend of his. The outlet will also be launching an Assante cigar brand.“Ciro Orsini and I are friends. It’s one of my favourite clubs. I am looking forward to launching my cigar brand - Ora Vivo - here,” As-sante said. The 63-year-old, who has been seen in films like director Niels Arden Oplev’s “Dead Man Down” (2013) and J. Stephen Maunder’s ac-tion thriller “Shadows in Paradise” (2010), said when he travels, he makes it a point to read extensively about the place he is visiting.“When I travel, I do a lot of docu-mentation. I like to understand the geo-political environment of that particular place. Also, it helps in self-discovery. I am passionate about travelling around the world. When I visit a country, I stay there, under-stand its culture and what it has gone through,” said the actor, who con-ducts workshops to share his experi-

MumbaiActors Kareena Kapoor, Karishma Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan are com-ing together for the first time for “The Indian Food Wisdom And The Art of Eating Right”, a film on nutri-tion. Mumbai-based celebrity nutri-tionist Rujuta Diwekar has directed the film. “I am super excited that Kareena, Karishma and Saif are all part of the film. It’s a casting coup of sorts,” Diwekar said in an statement.“What is more important is that we are sharing our common belief that eating right, eating local, sea-sonal, fresh and tasty food is inte-gral to looking good, feeling light and happy. And like Saif often says - happy people are most attractive, not skinny,” she added. Diwekar is a nutritionist who takes care of many celebrity clients. Richa Chadda and Anupam Kher are also part of the film

MumbaiThe ever-so-cheerful Bappi Lahiri turned teary-eyed on the sets of pop-ular music reality show “Indian Idol Junior” when a young contestant sang the number “Aao tumhe chand pe le”. He was so moved that he decided to gift young Sugandha a gold chain. The veteran composer-singer, known for his love for gold ornaments, was on the sets of the show for an evening dedicated to him. After some electrifying performances

from the contestants, Sugandha took to the stage and sang “Aao tumhe chand pe le”, which moved Bappi da so much that he could not hold back his tears. “I am so moved by your performance that I cannot express it in words. As a token of appreciation I will send you a gold chain during the next episode,” he said on the show, informed a source. Judges Vishal and Shekhar too became emotional, while Sugandha smiled ear to ear af-ter getting a positive response.

Los AngelesIt seems singer Miley Cyrus has had a black-out as she doesn’t re-member English-Irish pop boy band One Direction.It was back in January when Cyrus posted a picture of herself cuddled up with a lifesize cardboard cut-out of One Direction band member, Harry Style, but now the singer is unable to recall meeting any of the band members, reports.When asked if she was a fan of the group, the 20-year-old said: “I mean, don’t ask me to name a song

New York Actress Jennifer Aniston is still madly in love with actor-fiance Justin Theroux and wants to marry him by the end of the year.A source told US Weekly magazine that the actress and her 41-year-old fian-ce, who got engaged last August, are still madly in love and their wedding is on even though they are too busy to plan it, reports.The 44-year-old actress is cur-rently shooting for her new movie “Squirrels to the Nuts” here. The source added that Aniston has full support of her fiance and he has been a regular visitor on the set of her movie. “Justin hangs in Jen’s trailer while she shoots,” added the source.

or something because I can’t do that. I know what they look like.”According to Heat World, when the “We Can’t Stop” singer was asked if she had met them, she de-nied having any knowledge of the group.“I think so, I think I met Harry, I think, backstage, I don’t really re-member that much.“I just remember my sister was super excited. I don’t really know them that much, that’s like so bad but it’s like I listen to urban,” Cyrus replied.

IANS

IANS

IANS

It’s a girl for Penelope Cruz

Actress Penelope Cruz has given birth to her second child with hus-band Javier Bardem.According to people.com, the 39-year-old actress, who is married to Javier Bardem, gave birth to a baby girl Monday night. She was admitted to Ruber Interna-tional hospital in Madrid, Spain.Cruz and Bardem got married in July 2010 and have a two-year-old son, Leonardo.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 15CELEBSophie exudes bride-like radiance on ramp

Salman’s ‘Kick’ kickstarts in Glasgow July 27

‘Shuddh Desi Romance’ invited for Toronto film fest

Oops! Jennifer Aniston forgets innerwear

Awadhi culture represents unexplored heritage:Meera Ali

Anil to Sonam: Take success, failure in same spirit

DJ Avicii won’t work with Rihanna, Chris Brown

New DelhiSinger-actress Sophie Choudry’s face reflected the glow of a newly-married girl when she walked the ramp as a showstopper for designer Rina Dhaka on the second day of In-dia Bridal Fashion Week here.Sophie flaunted an orange and green bridal lehenga teamed with a strap-less multi-coloured blouse. The brid-al look was completed with a beige light dupatta draped over the head as a pallu. “I am in love with Rina’s designs and she makes every women look ravishing and elegant in her col-lection. This is the reason why I’m here to walk for her,” the 32-year-old told IANS after the show Wednesday night. Bollywood actors Prateik and Amyra Dastur, the lead couple of ro-mantic flick “Issaq”, also took to the ramp to flaunt a black velvet sher-wani and an ornate sharara respec-tively. Dhaka is best known for her theme collections and her forte re-mains western wear. But at the IBFW ramp, she presented creations which every bride would want in her closet.

MumbaiFilm producer Sajid Nadiadwala has refuted rumours that his Salman Khan-starrer directorial “Kick” is delayed because of the star’s hit-and-run case hearing. He says the movie is on schedule.“We were always supposed to start on July 27, and we’re starting on the 27th,” said Nadiadwala, who is turn-ing director with this high-voltage action movie. The first schedule of the movie begins in Glasgow, and

Los AngelesSwedish disc jockey and record pro-ducer Avicii says he wants to work with out-of-the-box people, and so, singers like Rihanna and Chris Brown are not on his wish list.The 23-year-old believes he would have to work under limitations with singers such as the Rihanna and Chris Brown. “I tend not to go for your Ri-hannas and Chris Browns. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s more fun when there’s no bound-aries. I try to go after the people who are a bit far-fetched and out-of-the-box, who could add something new,” he said. “I’ve got more access to re-ally talented people nowadays, like Nile Rodgers and Aloe, especially on my next record,” he added.

New Delhi Meera Ali, known for showcasing collections with a strong influence of the culture of Awadh, did no dif-ferent at the India Bridal Fashion Week here.The designer feels that Awadh, with a strong 100-year tra-dition of exotic clothing can offer a designer space to create something different each time. The designer showcased her latest bridal line ti-tled “Pearl of the Orient” under her label, House of Kotwara, a joint venture with husband and film-maker Muzaffar Ali.“We believe that whatever collection we pres-ent and design, it should be deep-rooted. The inspiration should come from the roots. So for us, Awadh is the place that surprises us with different things every time. No matter how much we explore, it doesn’t get depleted,” Meera told. “There is so much to explore in the rich dynasty of Awadh. There were 100 years of rule of nawaabs, who excelled in exotic clothing. So go-

ing through crafts that exist there, one can create different experi-ences every time,” she said. The collection comprised exotic bridal wear gently textured with pearls on oriental forms. From lehengas and shararas to saris and choghas, the clothing on display depicted, in microcosm, the glory of Awadh. The designer has used chiffons that blended well with velvets and bro-cades. The clothes were also em-bellished with zardozi and chikan techniques that added elegance to the entire range. The palate ranged from soft pastels to vibrant hues. Sharing the uniqueness of this col-lection, Meera told . “This time, we are focusing on lot of pearl and this is the first time that we have used pearls on our bridal line. All the clothes have pearls.” The pearls contributed a unique subtley to this range of clothing, enhancing the elegance of the Indian bride.

not in London. Glasgow is the cho-sen location for its rugged outdoors.“Sajid wanted the locations to be completely unexposed. He intends to film some unique action sequences in Glasgow. Lately Salman has avoided doing heavy-duty stunts because of his neurological condition. But this time, Salman would be performing all the stunts himself. Sajid has taken all precautions to ensure Salman’s safety,” said a source.

New Delhi Parineeti Chopra and Sushant Singh Rajput’s “Shuddh Desi Romance” is heading to ‘videshi’ shores for a Gala Red Carpet Premiere at the esteemed Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2013.The screening, to be held Sep 11, will be attended by director Maneesh Sharma and writer Jaideep Sahni, along with Sushant, Parineeti and debutant Vaani Kapoor. It will take place at the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.Officials at the Yash Raj Films (YRF) are delighted with the news, and hope it strikes the right chords with the audiences.“We believe the film is perfect for Toronto, as it is a film that is rooted in rustic India and the characters are

very contemporary in their thought, which will no doubt appeal to the di-aspora but also the more mainstream audiences,” Avtar Panesar, vice president (International Operations), YRF, said in a statement.“Shuddh Desi Romance” is said to

be a fresh narrative about love, at-traction and commitment. Its first trailer gave movie buffs a taste of the movie, which seems to have cap-tured the everyday relationship ad-ventures, woes and fears of today’s youth.

New YorkActress Jennifer Aniston was spot-ted moving around freely on the sets of her upcoming film “Squir-rels to the Nuts”, without her bras-siere.The 44-year-old was seen sporting a short brown wig for her role as a therapist in the film, re-ports thesun.co.uk. But perhaps during a break from a shot, she was seen strolling around in a pair of shorts, a casual t-shirt and sans the innerwear.Later, she got into a little black dress, and she teamed it up with flip flops on the sets here. The ac-tress was then joined on set by co-star Owen Wilson. “Squirrels to the Nuts” is about a married Broadway director who falls for a prostitute-turned-actress and works to help her advance her career.

MumbaiDoting father Anil Kapoor wants his daughter Sonam, who tasted suc-cess with two back-to-back films - “Raanjhanaa” and “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” - to take success and failure in the same spirit.“I just want her to keep on the same kind of energy, enthusiasm and hard work. Take success and failure in same spirit,” said the 54-year-old actor here at the success party of “Raanjhanaa” Wednesday.“Some films will work and some won’t and that’s’ part of show-biz. There is no actor in the entire world whose all films are hit or all are flop,” he added. Since her debut in 2007 unsuccessful film “Saa-wariya”, this is for the first time the 28-year-old has tasted success in a big a way.“Raanjhanaa”, which was also southern star Dhanush’s first Bollywood film, released June 21

while “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” with Farhan Akhtar in the lead hit the the-atres July 12 and both worked well at the box office. Sonam will next

be seen in a Yash Raj Films’ untitled project with Ayushmann Khurrana and 1980 “Khoobsurat” remake, be-ing produced by her father.

CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 201316 LEISURE

W E E K L Y H O R O S C O P EA few disappointments this week as some of the people you invited to spend your vacation time with you tells you they are unable to go. Even though you are disappointed why not

ask some long lost relatives? Listen to your dreams this week as they could be prophetic; may even tell you when and where the next earthquake will be!

The cat is out of the bag as a trusted con-fidant tells your loved one of the big night you spent out on the town with your friends when he/she was away. Don’t worry, you are

not likely to be the cheating kind and your spouse knows this so when it is laughed off, the friend will be in mild shock. Dreams are cloudy and not too informative.

Getting acclimated in a new area or on a new job will take some time so don’t expect miracles right off the bat. An em-ployee may be hav-ing some difficulties at this time and even

though you wish too help, you are only able to point this person to the right agencies that address the type of prob-lem he or she may be experiencing.

The family draws closer together in your time of sorrow and de-spair, with all the sup-portive people around you, you are not likely to stay in this depress-ing state of affairs for

very long. A ray of hope and sun-shine enters your life in the next few days. Your dreams will help you through this time as they are highly sensitive and prophetic

You who have spent a lifetime helping and caring for others find that you are the one in need of help this week but you are not the type that will ask for it. A very intuitive

friend sees your problem and puts forth the effort on your behalf that is necessary to solve it. Your dreams may be a little confusing this week so there is not much need in paying them any mind.

A scorpion may be able to eventually apologize but not before every-one around him or her has been battle scarred or otherwise wounded. Be careful how you verbalize your feelings

this week as others will be sensitive but not to your own particular per-sonal problems, and why add loss of friendships to your burden? Your dreams are clear and to the point

Getting a child taken care of, giftwise, has taken you out of the un-certainy of remember-ing (and forgetting!) at the last minute. This is a very satisfying activ-ity and you find that it serves to fill the empty

place in your life that you have been feeling. Dreams may also be pointing you in this direction so meditate on them for help.

A very busy week for you as you catch up the loose ends and get ready to prepare for your va-cation. Don’t let your-self become aggravated with someone this week because in your state of

tiredness and nerves you will not be able to control some harsh words that you will both regret. Midweek will find you slow-ing down a little and your nerves level-ing out.

ARIESMar 21-Apr 19

LEOJul 23 - Aug. 22 VIRGO

Aug. 23 - Sep 22TAURUSApr 20 - May 20

A quarrelsome, dis-agreeable person may not be simply a boor, he or she may have some deep seat-ed personal problems that they cannot talk out and this expresses

itself as frustrated anger at the world. Your dreams are not too clear on these points and would appear to be as entertainment only as even medita-tion does not clear them up.

Finishing up projects or chores one at a time in the evening may be the thing that keeps you out of hot water at home. Use your sensitivity and your intuition to help someone this week.

Time to clean up your act before the chick-ens come home to roost and you find your-self in divorce court. Your dreams can help you on this score as they can give you clues about things to expect and how to react.

At this late date, the issue of move, not move should be put on the shelf until after the final employment issue is decided; just to be sure the move will

not do you in financially. Your dreams could be prophetic this week and may even be global in nature. Meditate on them and you may just come up with a surprise.

This is not a good week for investments of any kind that in-volve risk taking in all of it’s forms. Keep informed about the progress of a child to whom you may have more than the usual

interest in, especially a handicapped one. Your dreams are not really clear this week so don’t expect help from that area.

GEMINIMay 21 - Jun 20

CANCERJun 21 - Jul 22

LIBRASep 23 - Oct 22

SCORPIOOct 23 - Nov 21

SAGITTARIUSNov 22 - Dec 21

CAPRICORNDec 22 - Jan 19

AQUARIUSJan 20 - Feb. 18

PISCESFeb 19 - Mar 20

Sudoku Solution 21 July, 2013

Sudoku 28 JULY, 2013

Crossword Solution 21 July, 2013

1A

2M

3M

4O

5T

6O

7A

8D

9S

10A

11W

12T E R N

13A N N E

14P I E

15E A S T

16E R E R R

17E N D

18O N O

19E R

20E C T S

21M

22E

23G

24S T

25A L E S T

26O D D

27S

28S E E S A

29W

30S

31M I N I

32E S S

33A T O P

34S T E R

35I L E

36Y O R E

37R E G A T

38T

39A

40R E D

41U R A N U S

43I D

44O

45T U T

46A T

47O N E M

48E

49N

50T

51A D O

52N I L E

53E V E N

54H E R

55A C E S

56N E W T

DOWN1. Curvy letter2. Supplement3. Block candy4. Menace5. Regret6. Slangy approval7. Sophia_____8. Poker opener9. Must have10. Poet _____ Sandburg11. Different17. Artist yoko19. Shopping aids21. Flower holder22. Over again23. Pull along24. Foolish26. San _____ Padres27. Respected28. Single29. Beer barrels32. Rather or Aykroyd36. French title37. Looks after38. Phila delphia time Zone39. Snoozes40. Verbal41. Bogeyman42. Grain45. Pension plan (abbr.)46. Filbert, e.g.48. Whichever one49. Jo _______ Messina

ACROSS1. Electric fish4. Make a stab at7. Jousting weapon12. Snow runner13. Shade14. Basketball’s Shaquille_______15. Min. Part16. News presenters18. Spanish cheer20. Sewing tool21. Fleutuation25. Jennifer_______of “Friends”26. School table30. Faction31. Bank roll33. Words of comprehension (2 wds)34. Flock females35. Identifying label (2 wds)37. Adolescents39. Rope loops43. Fawn’s mom44. South American Country47. Furious50. Wittled down51. Pirate’s drink52. Compass reading (abbr.)53. Toboggans54. Consumed55. Coloring fluid

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

18 19 20

21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29

30 31 32 33

34 35 36

37 38

39 40 41 42 43

44 45 56 47 48 49

50 51 52

53 54 55

Lack of exercise makes Indian bones weakerIndian bones are conventionally weaker, deformed and more osteopo-rosis-prone compared to Americans or Britons, say leading knee replace-ment surgeons who participated in a knowledge-sharing exercise here on replacement surgeries.The exercise also threw up insights about how Africa could also emerge as a major resource pool for tapping patients in India’s quest for medical

tourism.Speaking to on the sidelines of the event, Erik Zeegan, a leading Las Vegas-based orthopaedic surgeon, said that knee replacement surgeries in India tended to be a lot different from those in the US owing to the more deformities of the bones found in the sub-continent.“The deformities here are significant. The knees are more worn out. We do

not see such deformities in the US,” Zeegan said, adding that knee sizes of patients in the US also tended to be larger than those found here.One of the reasons for this, accord-ing to Ameya Velingker, a Goa-based specialist, is that Indian patients tend to take their osteo-arthritic knees to the very terminal stages before choosing the surgical option to over-come a bad knee situation.One of the reasons why over 700,000 knee replacement surgeries are con-ducted in the US every year as com-pared to 70,000 in India, is because the procedure is considered a natural extension of knee treatment there, Velingkar said.“In India, a lot of people still give it a lot of thought because of a few failed cases of knee replacement surger-ies which have happened because of bad medical advice,” Velingker said, adding that there were instances in the past when knee replacement sur-gery was relatively new and doctors in some cases recommended the sur-gery even when it was not required.He further said that a distinct lack of a physical regimen in India had largely contributed to the “bad bones” phenomenon here.“Indian bones are of poor quality, plus lack of exercise further deterio-rates their growth in most cases in India,” Velingker said, adding that the more the exercise the better the quality of bones.Obsession with fitness in Western

countries has resulted in better qual-ity and denser bones there, he said.“Most people hit the gym or go run-ning in the West which ensures that they have much better bones than most of us,” he said.Giving a practical example, Veling-kar said that while one surgical saw blade suffices for three to four knee replacement surgeries for Indian pa-tients, the scenario was much differ-ent when it comes to operating upon patients from Britain.“For UK patients I need to use one new saw every time,” he said.Velingker said that Europe and North America apart, Africa was emerging

as a great potential market to tap pa-tients for knee replacement surgeries.“There is a lot of potential to get pa-tients from countries like Nigeria and Kenya. The medical facilities avail-able there are poor and the govern-ments in these countries facilitate treatment abroad,” he said, adding that a bilateral approach with these African nations could help India’s medical tourism.He also pointed out that knee replace-ment surgery in India cost around Rs.2 lakh ($3,400) as compared to the Rs.9-10 lakh which is required for a similar surgery in the US.

Mayabhushan Nagvenkar

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 17REVIEW

Movies‘Luv U Soniyo’

trite and impassiveFilm” “Luv You Soniyo”; Cast: Tanuj Virwani, Neha Hinge, Bunty Garewal and Howard Rosameyer; Director: Joe Rajan; Rating: Not applicable

Uh-oh! She is engaged to marry a man who isn’t right for her. Mr. Right is right around corner, making his fidgety presence felt in nearly ev-ery frame of this launch pad for ac-tress Rati Agnihotri’s son Tanuj.It’s only a matter of time before the girl Soniyo, played by debutant Neha Hinge, throws off the wrong ring for the right zing.Zing is the element curiously unob-tainable in this feel-young story. So many youngsters dancing, singing and trying to tell us they’re having fun...but we remain unconvinced till the end.“Luv You Soniyo” isn’t telling us anything we haven’t seen in numer-ous films before, ranging from the iconic “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jay-enge” to the overrated “Rockstar”, girls in our films have somehow been constantly confused about which guy to marry.Maybe they should just read the credit titles more carefully.This film’s credits tell us the 1980s’ popular actress Rati Agnihotri’s son is the guy on top. Tanuj plays Mark, a full-of-beans collegian who doesn’t seem to have much to do except hang around with his friends in the cam-pus, or barge into one of their homes to get a dekko at the girl he adores.Blindfolded debutante Soniyo should have said, ‘I Do’ to Mark and spared us the long-winded, but unexciting process of what poets euphemisti-cally describe as “discovering love”.The journey here is absolutely bereft of drama, excitement, surprise and ultimate satisfaction. One doesn’t know if debutant director Joe Rajan

meant the central romance to be so linear, languorous and shockproof. But that’s the way it is.Nothing, absolutely nothing, seems to suggest any hindrance in the young couple’s passage to the final embrace. The Punjabi-Catholic alli-ance is mentioned only in passing. The hero’s Goan family is filled with as many stereotypical eccentrics as the heroine’s Punjabi family.Can we ever have a film about mi-nority communities where families

Book

Book: As Dear As Salt; Author: Rey-na Sequeira; Publisher: Goa, 1556; Price: Rs 400.

Salt has been an important produce of the coastal region of Goa on the west coast of India for centuries and has been exported from there to countries in Africa and the rest of Asia. But today, the traditional salt sector lies decimated and threatened by extinc-tion, says a new book on the subject.“Goa once was a hub of salt making. Salt was the currency that allowed Goans to import essential commodi-ties. Today, the very same occupation lies derelict, its spine truly broken by a century and more of official polices, governmental apathy, low social sta-tus...,” says the book “As Dear As Salt” authored by sociologist Reyna Sequeira.Sequeira, who did her PhD from Goa University on the salt-making com-munities of Goa and is an associate professor, says in the book that tra-ditional occupations must be remem-bered “not as a tapestry in a museum merely to be viewed, but as a living part of our society”.Her field work, spread over a couple

of decades involving both her master and doctorate on this often ignored subject, looks at salt makers in three villagers scattered across diverse pockets of coastal Goa - Agarvaddo (Pernem), Batim (Tisvadi) and Ar-pora (Bardez).Besides focusing on the salt making communities, she highlights the “ge-ography, history and politics” of salt in Goa. In the first two, one gets a hint of how the area of salt extraction has shrunk, particularly over recent decades and also since the late 19th century and the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty.In the “politics” of this section, Se-queira touches issues of the salt sector’s legal status. She quotes re-searchers like Dr Harishchandra T Nagvenkar who say that steps taken to promote salt production, market-ing and competitiveness could have made a huge difference to this sector in Goa.Salt has figured only rarely in the Goa legislative assembly, though a few politicians have realised its im-portance. Sequeira gives a detailed description of the salt making process in Goa. While it may seem to involve

a simple process, it has carefully evolved over the centuries as detailed drawings and photographs from the field suggest.Given her sociologist’s approach, Se-queira studies the salt-makers them-selves in detail - both from the Hindu and Catholic communities, and even migrants from neighbouring coastal Karnataka. She describes and con-trasts their festivals, language, reli-gion, marriage and other practices followed along different parts of the Goa coast.

The changing status of women - a reality in today’s Goa -- also throws up interesting issues. Family involve-ment in salt work, and social prob-lems, are also covered, as is the eco-nomic life of the villages studied.Sequeira notes age-old unsolved problems in transportation that the salt makers face. Likewise compe-tition, sometimes unfair, from the corporate world also comes up in the 256-page hard-bound book.In Batim, a village just off the Panaji-Margao highway, local salt farmers coexist with migrants. From here, a number of traditional marriage rituals are documented by the author. Inter-esting syncretic practices - which cut across the religious divide - are also studied.In Arpora village, close to the North Goa beach belt, says the author, the salt pans have come under immense pressure due to factors like tourism and the real-estate boom in the local-ity. At the time of commencement of her research, there were four opera-tional salt pans in the village, but now just one exists.Storage of salt and the hurdles to salt making are also studied in the book.

Sequeira approached a number of authorities under the Right to Infor-mation Act - from village panchayat upwards - whose answers suggest a poor understanding or serious lack of interest in salt making.Goa needs a deputy salt commission-er appointed for itself, and statistics on salt production should be system-atically maintained, says Sequeira. She also suggests a strict ban on the conversion of salt pans.cyberspace to an announcement of the book, Patrice Reimens, a Nether-lands-based cyber-campaigner who has long followed issues in Goa, com-mented: “In France, traditional salt makers in Bretagne and Camargue have managed to survive by ‘brand-ing’ their produce into a high class, hyped-up ‘must have’ - and pricey. Maybe some forces in Goa could push in that direction. Of course, this would need some serious investments and savvy marketing...”“Salt has played an important role across human history. No substance other than water has been used with such regularity as salt,” the book notes. Yet, in our times, it lies deval-ued and neglected.

Tears of salt

IANS

behave normally?Yes, there is the girl’s fiance (Bun-ty Garewal), a bloke who seems as menacing a hurdle to the protago-nists’ love as a pebble on Milkha Singh’s racetrack. If the truth were told, the best per-formance in this placid passion play comes from Rati Agnihotri.And yes, if you can brave it to the end, there is Remo D’Souza appear-ing on screen to croon the title song with delectable gusto.

Issaq

Cast : Prateik Babbar. Amyra Dastur, Ravi Kishan, Makarand Deshpande, Neena Gupta, Prashant Narayanan, Sudhir Pan-dey, Prashant Kumar, Amit Sial, Vineet Kumar, Yuri Suri, Malini Awasthy;Director : Manish Tiwary

Issaq a new 2013 Hindi Romance Movie directed by Manish Tiwari and produced by Dhaval Gada and Shailesh R. Singh. The film, written by Padmaja Thakore-Tiwari, Man-ish Tiwari and Pawan Sony, which released on July 26, 2013. The film features are Prateik Babbar, Rajesh-wari Sachdev,Ravi Kishan and Ma-karand Deshpande and as main char-acters. The story of Issaq revolves around the two lovers who are born to hate

each other as their families are arch rivals of each other. Progressing as how they eventually fall in love with each other, the plot is set in the back-ground of Varanasi as story on the banks of the Ganges and revered as holy in Hinduism. This story based on Shakespeare’s play Romeo- Ju-liet.Isaaq movie is a contemporary adap-tation of Romio and Juliet set in UP heartland in one of the oldest cities in the world. It is a complete movie with naxalism, sand mining mafia and of course the timeless love story.The looks of it, the movie is already garnering a lot of attention and is one to be watched out for. Directed by Manish Tiwari of Dil Dosti Etc fame and Produced by Shailesh Singh and Dhaval Gada, this modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 201318 SCIENCE AND TECH

NASA releases images of earth taken by distant spacecraftWashingtonColor and black-and-white images of Earth taken by two NASA inter-planetary spacecraft July 19 show our planet and its moon as bright beacons from millions of miles away in space.NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured the color images of Earth and the moon from its perch in the Saturn system nearly 900 million miles (1.5 billion kilometers) away. MESSEN-GER, the first probe to orbit Mer-cury, took a black-and-white image from a distance of 61 million miles (98 million kilometers) as part of a campaign to search for natural satel-lites of the planet.In the Cassini images Earth and the moon appear as mere dots -- Earth a pale blue and the moon a stark white, visible between Saturn’s rings. It was the first time Cassini’s highest- reso-lution camera captured Earth and its moon as two distinct objects.It also marked the first time people on Earth had advance notice their planet’s portrait was being taken from interplanetary distances. NASA invited the public to celebrate by finding Saturn in their part of the sky, waving at the ringed planet and shar-ing pictures over the Internet. More than 20,000 people around the world participated.“We can’t see individual continents or people in this portrait of Earth, but this pale blue dot is a succinct sum-mary of who we were on July 19,” said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. “Cassini’s picture reminds us how tiny our home planet is in the vast-ness of space, and also testifies to the ingenuity of the citizens of this tiny planet to send a robotic spacecraft so far away from home to study Saturn and take a look-back photo of Earth.”Pictures of Earth from the outer so-

lar system are rare because from that distance, Earth appears very close to our sun. A camera’s sensitive de-tectors can be damaged by looking directly at the sun, just as a human being can damage his or her retina by doing the same. Cassini was able to take this image because the sun had temporarily moved behind Saturn from the spacecraft’s point of view and most of the light was blocked.A wide-angle image of Earth will be-come part of a multi-image picture, or mosaic, of Saturn’s rings, which scientists are assembling. This im-age is not expect to be available for several weeks because of the time-consuming challenges involved in blending images taken in changing geometry and at vastly different light levels, with faint and extraordinarily bright targets side by side.“It thrills me to no end that people all over the world took a break from their normal activities to go outside and celebrate the interplanetary sa-lute between robot and maker that these images represent,” said Caro-lyn Porco, Cassini imaging team lead at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. “The whole event un-derscores for me our ‘coming of age’ as planetary explorers.”In the MESSENGER image, Earth and the moon are less than a pixel, but appear very large because they are overexposed. Long exposures

are required to capture as much light as possible from potentially dim ob-jects. Consequently, bright objects in the field of view become saturated and appear artificially large.“That images of our planet have been acquired on a single day from two distant solar system outposts reminds us of this nation’s stunning technical accomplishments in plan-etary exploration,” said MESSEN-GER principal investigator Sean Solomon of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observa-tory in Palisades, N.Y. “And because Mercury and Saturn are such differ-ent outcomes of planetary formation and evolution, these two images also highlight what is special about Earth. There’s no place like home.”The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cas-sini orbiter and its two onboard cam-eras. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., designed and built MESSENGER, a spacecraft devel-oped under NASA’s Discovery Pro-gram. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL and APL manage their respec-tive missions for NASA.

New Honda MPV to Make World Debut at the 21st Indonesia International Motor Show

Jakarta, IndonesiaP.T. Honda Prospect Motor (HPM) released the global premiere of the official sketch of the brand-new Honda MPV that will be making its world debut at the upcoming 21st Indonesia International Motor Show, scheduled for September 19-29, in Jakarta, Indonesia.The new Honda MPV was developed for the Asian market by Honda R&D Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. in Thailand and P.T. Honda R&D Indonesia. This model will be the first Honda prod-uct in Indonesia to be introduced to the entry level MPV segment, the biggest category in the Indonesian automobile market. In addition to offering seven seats in a 3-row con-figuration, the new Honda MPV fea-

tures an innovative design, spacious cabin, and advanced safety which is already a hallmark of every Honda product. The new Honda MPV will be powered by a 1.5L gasoline en-gine, which provides both sporty per-formance and good fuel efficiency.Comment by Tomoki Uchida, Presi-dent Director of P.T. Honda Pros-pect Motor,”The new Honda MPV has been developed especially for the needs of customers and road characteristics in Indonesia. This model will also be locally produced in Indonesia as the first product of its new Second Plant in Karawang, scheduled to begin operation in early 2014. This makes the new Honda MPV a very special product for Hon-da in Indonesia.”

India’s next two indigenous fast reactors will be lighterChennaiThe next two fast breeder reactors designed by the Indira Gandhi Cen-tre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) will be lighter in weight and would save a lot of money in material cost, a senior official said.“IGCAR plans to deliver the next two fast breeder reactors incorpo-rating the necessary design changes that reduce the material cost with-out compromising on performance, safety and other aspects,” its director P.R. Vasudeva Rao told.A fast-breeder reactor is one which breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes. It is the key to India’s three-stage nuclear power programme. IGCAR is tasked to design fast reactors and also carry out relevant research activities.The first fast reactor designed and developed by IGCAR - the Rs.5,677 crore 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR)- coming up at Kal-pakkam, around 70 km from here, is expected to go on stream next year.“The PFBR reactor has 850 tonnes of stainless steel. The total steel con-tent is around 1,300 tonnes. In the next two reactors, the metal content

will be 25 percent less. The changes will also reduce construction time,” P.Chellapandi, director of IGCAR’s Reactor Design Group, told IANS.“The design for next two units has been finalised and is being re-viewed,” he added.According to him, the reactor safety has been further enhanced by adding passive safety features.The PFBR and the two more reactors will be powered by a blend of pluto-mium and uranium oxide fuel, also called MOX fuel.“We have decided to limit MOX fuel reactors to three units. We may build metallic fuel reactors instead of two more MOX fuel reactors planned earlier,” Ratan Kumar Sinha, sec-retary of the department of atomic energy and chairman, Atomic En-ergy Commission, told IANS on the phone from Mumbai.Metallic fuel has a better breeding ratio as compared to MOX fuel.“The idea is to switch over to metal-lic fuel reactors at the earliest. After three fast breeder reactors, we may take stock of the situation and decide whether to go for metallic or MOX fuel reactors,” Rao added.

India’s first wireless traffic controller system unveiledNew DelhiIndia’s first wireless road traffic con-troller technology ‘WiTraC’ that runs on solar power was unveiled here Wednesday.The state-of-the-art technology de-veloped by the Centre for Devel-opment of Advanced Computing (CDAC) was handed over to private partners for production by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal here.“If we have wireless traffic control system, it will help us to collate data

and send traffic fast updates,” Sibal told reporters.Developed at a cost of Rs.14.75 crore, the system is power efficient and the installations run on solar panel designed with 72 hours power backup.It has been designed for pole mount-ing and does not require digging of roads.According to experts, the indigenous system is one-third the price of an imported system.

LondonDolphins have long been recognised as a smart animal. A new study by British researchers has found that bottlenose dolphins address each other by using signature whistles.Researchers at the University of St. Andrews conducted sound playback experiments with wild bottlenose dolphins on the east coast of Scot-land, Xinhua reported.Based on an earlier work that showed that dolphins often copy signature whistles of their close relatives and friends, this study tested whether animals that are addressed with cop-ies of their signature whistles really react to them.The researchers followed groups of wild dolphins and recorded the unique signature whistles using a novel signature identification meth-od. They then played back either a

computer version of an animal’s sig-nature whistle, or control whistles of either an unfamiliar animal or a fa-miliar animal from the same popula-tion.Each dolphin only reacted when hearing the computer version of its own signature whistle, but not to the other whistles played back to it.The researchers said this showed that dolphins can be addressed in this way, and it was the missing link to demonstrate that signature whistles function as names.“In experimental work, parrots are also good at learning novel sounds and using them to label objects,” said Stephanie King, who took part in the study.“Our results present the first case of naming in mammals, providing a clear parallel between dolphin and human communication.”

Dolphins call each other by signature whistles

North Korea halts work on long-range rocket site?WashingtonNorth Korea has halted construction at a long-range rocket launch facility in the country’s northeast region, a US think tank has said.According to a new analysis of re-cent satellite imagery, North Korea stopped construction on the launch pad, rocket assembly building and launch control centre at the Tonghae satellite launching ground, reported Xinhua citing a US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University report.Construction at the site gradually slowed and then stopped at the end of last year, though the reason for the stoppage remains unclear, the report said. The new facilities were intended to launch rockets larger than the Unha-3 space launch vehicle that put a North Korea satellite into orbit last December.However, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she needed to verify if Washington had engaged in an independent evalua-tion of the analysis.The US and some other countries believe that Pyongyang uses rocket launches as a cover for work on mis-siles.

IANS

IANS

Here we are giving your childan opportunity to enjoy our funny tongue twisters for kids and have fun trying to say some of the most difficult sentences . To get the full effect of a tongue twister you should try to repeat it several times, as quickly as possible, without stumbling.

• “The Sixth Sick Sheikhs Sixth Sheep Is Sick” .

• U r que tea, Love lee, Grey ate, On nest, At track thief, Cheer fool, Soup pub and u r my most Press Yes friend.

House dat!!

• Betty brought a bit of bitter but the butter was bitter so

she brought some more butter to more the bitter butter,

betty.

• Don”t pamper damp scamp tramps that camp under ramp

lamps.

• OMINOUS MEANING: showing or being a sign of menace or evil. EXAMPLE :There was an omi-nous thunder in the clouds sig-naling the coming of the storm.

• POKE MEANING: Generally with some-thing pointed and narrow, as a finger.EXAMPLE: I didn’t notice him in the crowd until he poked me from behind.

• RHETORIC MEANING:the study of speech and writing in terms of communication .EXAMPLE:She was doing a study in rhetoric at the university.

• SARCASTIC MEANING: Generally harsh, ironic and taunting. EXAMPLE :I am better off without your sarcastic comments

Put your puzzle solving skills to the test with our emotions

word scramble. Look carefully at the jumbled words and try unscrambling as many words

related to Sport RYBUG

EBALBASL INGGOGJ AKRTEA

OPLICYMSEARC

Answers to Word Scramble :RUGBY , BASEBALL , JOGGING ,

KARATE , OLYMPICS , RACE

Some dirt won’t hurt

How To Get Along With Your Parents?

Wash your hands!That familiar piece of advice helps prevent the spread of disease. Good old soap and water remove the bacte-ria, viruses and other germs that can make you sick. But is there any big advantage to soap laced with bacte-ria-killing chemicals? Should people sanitize computer keyboards, shop-ping cart handles and anything else that others have touched?Indeed, is it possible to be too clean?Actually, data show, it is. A grow-ing number of studies suggest that routing too many germs might actu-ally foster life-threatening allergies. If you find that hard to believe, it’s probably because you’ve been taught that germs are bad.

Do you feel like that you can-not connect with your parents? Are you always fighting with them about YOUR life? Has all the arguing and butting heads stressing you out? If so, follow these steps to find some solution. During your teen years, you may find that you are fighting with your parents about everything and anything. This is not unusual, because as a child, your parents did everything for you and that was okay. But now that you are a teenager, you can do a lot of things for yourself. As you develop, you begin to have your own opinions and ideas, and your parents are not ready to accept this as yet. It is a big shock for them to see a whole new person grow out of the child you once were and now often arguing with them.STEPS FOR BETTERMENT BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR PARENTS :1. Make a list of the things that you and your parents fight about the most.2. Identify what it is that gets you so upset or angry - are you mad that your parents disagree with you, or are

you upset that they can’t/won’t see your point of view?3. Decide on a FAIR compromise - a resolution that you can live with and that you think your parents’ will ac-cept. NOTE: A compromise means you give up some of your demands - it does not mean that you get your way.4. Write down your proposed com-promise and read it aloud at least three times to see how it sounds.5. Set up a time to talk to your par-ents, do not just bring it up over din-ner but make an actual appointment and tell them that you have an impor-tant proposal to make.6. Before talking to your parents, take a few deep breaths and have calming thoughts. Make a promise to yourself that you will not raise your voice or get angry even if your parents “turn up the volume.”7. When you have presented your case take another deep breath and let your parents talk. Really listen to what your parents have to say. Even if you do not like what they are say-ing hold back your anger and keep

your ears and mind open.8. Avoid shutting down or growing frustrated. Avoid interrupting them or jumping in with a rebuttal. Just listen and absorb what they say.9. If your parents reject your pro-posal, stay focused and avoid getting emotional. Thank them for their time and express your disappointment that you could not reach a compromise.10. If the outcome disappoints you, do not throw a fit. Go to your room and write your feelings in a journal or go outside and ride your bike or

punch a pillow to blow off steam.11. Whatever the outcome, be sure to do what your parents expect of you. By going along with their wishes you build trust and show your maturity which in turn may make them more willing to relax their stand at a future date.12. If the topic is a very sensitive one and you still can’t see eye to eye, ask your parents what they need from you in order for them to consider your proposal.

Some certainly do trigger serious dis-ease. The word germ probably sets off an alarm in the heads of most people. But the term refers to any microbe. And of the untold numbers of germ species in the world, the vast major-ity poses little or no harm to most people. Some are even beneficial. The problem: Antibacterial soaps and sanitizers can’t tell the differ-ence. They are as likely to evict good germs as bad. To stay healthy, then, people need to adopt habits that limit their exposure to bad germs even as they actively welcome others.Germs are usThink your body is covered just by skin cells? Think again. Human skin hosts about 10 microbes for ev-ery one skin cell. That means your

Tissue Paper Flowers Craft

Color Me......

Materials Required:Tissue PaperPile

These flowers are made from folded tissue paper (crepe paper). You can make an entire bouquet of them for a great gift or decoration. 1.Cut a few pieces (about 4-6) of tis-sue paper (crepe paper) about 8 x 10 inches (the exact size doesn’t mat-ter).2.Put the paper in a pile and fold it like an accordion.3.Tie the center of the folded paper with a green pipe cleaner (or twist tie).4.Gently pull each piece of paper towards the top center of the flower, separating each sheet of paper from the others (forming the petals of the flower).

body’s surface is more microbial than human. That same 10-to-1 ratio holds for the digestive tract, the lin-ing of your nose — even the inside of your belly button. Germs are far tinier than human cells. So although microbes have you outnumbered, they still account for only 1 percent to 3 percent of your body’s weight. You share your body with more than 10,000 species of germs. And overall, that’s a good thing.Without the microbes in your gut, you wouldn’t have any vitamin K. This little-known vitamin plays a vital role in clotting blood when you suffer a cut or nosebleed. Microbes also make B vitamins, which are needed for all kinds of reactions inside your cells. Still other microbes help you digest many nutritious foods.Even microbes that don’t nourish you play a role in keeping you healthy. They do so by crowding out poten-tial troublemakers. Germs that trig-ger disease — pathogens — sneak into our bodies all of the time. But if legions of harmless microbes are already there, a disease-causing one won’t find room to multiply enough to make you sick. (That’s the idea behind eating yogurts with “active” cultures, meaning live bacteria.)Moreover, many microbes educate your immune system. It needs to know which substances in the envi-ronment are harmless and which pose a threat. Without that training, the im-mune system can go into overdrive, triggering dangerous reactions when it shouldn’t.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 19KIDS

CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 201320 BUSINESS

Biden meets Indian business honchos to boost trade

MumbaiUS Vice President Joe Biden met top India Inc. leaders, including Ratan Tata and Azim Premji, as he discussed ways to enhance bilateral trade “exponentially over time” and address issues hindering trade.Biden, who is in India’s commer-cial capital on the second leg of his tour, met the Indian business leaders Wednesday afternoon, shortly after delivering a speech at the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai. Biden held discussions with Ratan Tata, former head of Tata Group, Azim Premji, chief of Wipro, Praty-ush Kumar, president of Boeing in India, and other business leaders at the Taj Mahal hotel here for nearly an hour.The talks were “full and frank”, Biden said later.“There was an honest discussion about how both governments - the Indian government as well as US - could be productive in reducing trade barriers that have an impact on trade and commerce,” the US vice president said. US businesses and members of Congress have voiced concern over the “buy India” man-date, which requires a percentage of technology goods in the country to be manufactured locally. The US has also voiced concerns over India’s intellectual property regime, which the US feels ham-pers India’s ability to attract foreign investment. These policies, the US feels, “distort” trade and investment and “discourage” innovation.After Wednesday’s meeting with

business heads, Biden said India and the United States are “not at odds on any strategic objective”, but need to find ways to take the Indo-US rela-tionship forward.“We mean what we say when we say that the relationship between India and the US has unlimited potential and there is no reason why trade, commerce and intercourse between our countries can’t increase expo-nentially over time,” he said.Biden emphasised that both sides share a common goal of empower-ing their middle classes. The US is focused on “reinforcing the middle class” with good jobs, better access to healthcare and opportunities for a dignified retirement, he said, while India hopes to “generate the largest middle class in the history of human-ity” to deal with poverty and raise standards of living.Earlier, in a speech on US-India Partnership at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Biden called for further expanding the growing economic cooperation with India and ex-pressed hope that, if the right choices are made, bilateral trade could grow five-fold.Lauding India as “a rising power”, Biden said trade between India and the US grew five-fold to touch $100 billion in the past 13 years.“We see tremendous opportunity and there is no reason that if our coun-tries make the right choices, the trade cannot grow five-fold or more,” Biden said.Welcoming the relaxation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in

certain sectors, Biden felt that a lot more was needed to be done to re-move trade barriers.“We have to do a lot of work on a wide range of issues like limits in FDI, inconsistent tax system, market access barriers, civil nuclear coop-eration, bilateral investment treaty and policies protecting innovations,” Biden said.The first US vice president to visit India in over three decades, Biden appreciated India’s regional role and welcomed its engagement and efforts to develop new trade and transporta-tion links by land and sea.He also acknowledged the role of the Indian community in America’s growth story, saying the US has benefitted due to the “Indian human capital”.Dwelling on American ties with Chi-na, Biden termed it as “a healthy mix of competition and co-operation”.He called for enhanced engagement between India, China and the US. “The cooperation between the three big nations will help grow the world economy,” he said.Biden, accompanied by his wife Jill Biden, their daughter Ashley and son-in-law Howard D. Crein, arrived in Mumbai early Wednesday on the second leg of his visit to India.On Thursday, Biden will visit the Indian Institute of Technology, Bom-bay (IIT-B), at Powai.The Bidens will also visit the new premises of the US Consulate at the Bandra-Kurla Complex and interact with the staff, an embassy spokes-person added.

CII, Assam government to form joint task force for developmentGuwahatiThe Confederation of Indian Indus-tries (CII) and the Assam govern-ment will constitute a joint task force to work on a five-point agenda for the development of the region.CII president and co-founder and executive vice chairman of Info-sys Limited S. Gopalakrishnan said while talking to the media here, and added that the five-point agenda in-cluded skill development and en-hancing the competitiveness of mi-cro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) through capacity building, boosting food processing, health ini-tiatives and supporting IT infrastruc-ture.The executive vice chairman of In-fosys was in Guwahati for a two-day programme that began Tuesday, when Gopalakrishnan also met As-sam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. “The region is at the threshold of an exciting transition. We can seize this opportunity for prosperity and development,” Gopalakrishnan said and added that the CII is partnering the Assam government for overall economic development of the state, to facilitate policies that will attract investment and improve the environ-ment for business.“To enhance the competitiveness of the MSME sector in Assam, CII through its Centre of Excellence for Competitiveness will work with the state government for cluster devel-opment programmes in the state,” he said.“This would be done for the com-

panies operating out of industrial estates in a phased manner,” he said. The CII would continue its focus on capacity building, skill based train-ing programmes and employability, he said. “In 2013-14, CII will set up four Skill Hubs across India, including one in Assam, at Digboi,” he said. “To support healthcare, CII will partner with the Assam government in setting up super specialty hospi-tals in the region. Building on the competencies of the region, CII has identified food processing as one of the major areas of collaboration,” Gopalakrishnan said.He also advocated the need for ag-gressively marketing the state as an IT destination and highlighting local success stories. CII is also actively working with the state government on implementation of the Goods and Services Tax and collaborating with the Reserve Bank of India for a one percent reduction in the interest rate on loans.

A model poses beside a vehicle at the 5th Huhhot International Auto Exhibition in Huhhot, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous

Region, July 19, 2013. Some 400 vehicles from more than 70 enterprises and brands were taken to the five-day exhibition

Hero MotoCorp first quarter net profit down 10.86 percentNew DelhiMore than 40 percent of the oil and oil products in India go into running vehicles, but no serious efforts to-wards a fuel saving roadmap for the sector are in sight, the Centre for Sci-ence and Environment (CSE) said.The report from the CSE says India is the only major vehicle producing country in the world without fuel saving standards for cars.“More than 40 percent of the oil and oil products in the country go into running vehicles. In fact, if this guzzling continues unabated, it can virtually wipe out the gains of fuel savings from all other steps, and undermine all efforts at reducing climate change risks,” said Sunita Narain, CSE director general.According to the analysis that the CSE presented, India will be im-porting 94 percent of its crude oil by 2030. However, the country is

making no serious efforts to prepare a fuel saving roadmap for all modes of transport.“Our oil import bill is already close to seven percent of GDP (Gross Do-mestic Product) and import depen-dence has made India vulnerable to oil price shocks,” she said.“At the same time, the environment ministry inventory shows that the transportation sector is the fourth largest emitter of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in India, while it remains the key emitter of toxics. Cities are becoming energy guzzlers and heat trappers,” she said.The CSE said that while the Indian government is dreaming big on en-ergy security, a nightmare scenario is unfolding, with the potential to shatter all visions of energy indepen-dence.“Estimates show that by delaying enforcement of standards, the coun-

try is losing enormous quantities of fuel,” the analysis said.The CSE said the flip-flop on car fuel conservation standards is delaying standards for other vehicle segments like buses.“The bus sector is already facing enormous fuel cost burden because of worsening fuel efficiency of bus-es. While CNG bus fuel efficiency in Delhi is stagnating, diesel bus fuel efficiency in other cities like Ben-galuru are worsening. Increased fuel prices are compounding the opera-tional costs,” the report said.

Moody’s forecasts 3.1 percent GDP growth in MexicoMexico CityMexico’s economy will gain strength in the second half of this year and fin-ish 2013 with gross domestic product growth of 3.1 percent, Moody’s In-vestors Service said.The forecast from the US credit-rat-ing agency is in line with the latest projections from Mexican officials, who said domestic and external fac-tors caused the economy to slow in the first half of this year.“The Mexican economy has deceler-ated recently, but the current softness is more a product of cyclical decel-eration and growth should resume to-ward the second half of this year and

will, in fact, be stronger next year,” Moody’s Investors Service said.Mexico’s GDP should grow 3.1 percent this year and 3.5 percent in 2014, Moody’s Investors Service assistant vice president Alonso San-chez said.“After the global economic crisis, many companies increased their cash reserves and extended maturities via refinancings,” Moody’s said.These moves should help companies easily cover short-term, long-term and operating funding needs with cash and lines of credit until the end of next year, Moody’s said.

IANS

IANS

IANS

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 21BUSINESSTo Be Taken Seriously, India First Needs to Fix ItselfDavid Karl

“It is not in the stars to hold our des-tiny but in ourselves.”Several developments related to India call to mind William Shake-speare’s famous line in Julius Caesar. The first are the tours of the United States that Finance Minister Pa-laniappan Chidambaram and Com-merce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma undertook a few weeks ago, aimed at drumming up foreign in-vestment. The second is the continu-ing hue and cry in New Delhi over Beijing’s energetic efforts to create a sphere of influence in the strategical-ly important Indian Ocean basin. In both cases, Indian leaders would be well advised to spend more of their energy getting their country’s act to-gether before looking abroad.An Economic PariahIndia’s fall from grace among glob-al investors has been striking. Just a few years ago, it was regarded, along with China, as an engine of the dawning Asian century. It was the darling of the Davos set as well as the inspiration for such fashion-able concepts as frugal innovation, economic “flatness” and the BRICs grouping. Leaders in New Delhi even spoke about the coming “In-dian Century,” and how the country would inevitably eclipse China as the center of gravity in Asia.But nowadays, India is something of an economic pariah. Foreign direct investment inflows were down by nearly a third in 2012, compared to the previous year, and some $7 bil-lion in portfolio investment fled the country last month alone. The flight of foreign capital is depressing the rupee’s value to record lows vis-à-vis the US dollar, and the rupee is now the worst performing currency in emerging Asia. India is experienc-ing the weakest economic growth in a decade, along with a record-setting current account deficit. International ratings agencies are threatening to downgrade the country’s sovereign credit rating to “junk” status. And further denting India’s image are an-nouncements by global steel giants ArcelorMittal and Posco that they

are abandoning high-profile steel projects due to the land-acquisition problems that derail many large-scale foreign investment plans in India.Against this background, one won-ders why Chidambaram and Sharma even thought to leave New Delhi. After all, how could they possibly hope to woo foreign investors when Indian business leaders increasingly disparage investment opportunities inside the country and Prime Min-ister Manmohan Singh is forced to plead with them to “keep the faith.” Moreover, on the eve of Chidam-baram’s departure, his cabinet col-leagues undermined the sales pitch by publicly rebuffing his proposals for relaxing rules on FDI in a num-ber of key sectors. As Reuters quoted a senior finance ministry official as saying, “the fall of the rupee and delay in policy reforms could affect our credibility.”* The US audiences the Indian tag team addressed did not come away very impressed.A year ago, Prime Minister Singh acknowledged that enacting the eco-nomic reforms the country desper-ately requires would entail “courage and some risks.” Chidambaram and Sharma would have done more good staying at home and pressing this point on their Congress Party com-patriots. And if they need to bolster their case, they can point to the blunt advice that the heads of the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-national Finance Corporation (the World Bank’s private-sector arm) recently directed New Delhi’s way.

Why India is Winning the Entrepreneurial Battle with ChinaChris Devonshire-Ellis

As China and India continue to show some of the world’s fastest GDP growth rates, both are also under-going huge demographic changes. In some ways, there are similarities between the two, yet in others, com-pletely opposite positions exist. Un-derstanding these subtleties is key to working out where future innovation, talent and growth will come from.In terms of similarities, it is interest-ing to note that 20 years ago, the av-erage age of a worker in China was 23. That is now the age of the aver-age worker in India today, while the average age of a worker in China has risen to 37. So India’s current young, dynamic, and maybe somewhat un-disciplined, workforce is at the same age and in similar numbers to China’s 20 years ago; the very same demo-graphics that propelled China from 11th position in global GDP rankings 20 years ago, to the 2nd spot today behind only the United States.While India may be 15 years behind China in its infrastructure develop-ment, it has now inherited that work-er demographic dividend. Given the

right set of policies, India should start to rise along similar growth curves that China has shown over the past two decades.Also 20 years ago, in China, over 60 percent of the country’s work-force was employed by massive state-owned enterprises (SOEs). At the time, many of these SOEs were unprofitable behemoths pouring out shoddy products with employees given little incentive to change un-der the iron rice bowl system. China

modified that system and relaxed la-bor laws, making it easier to offload working staff. Although labor laws were re-tightened a couple of years ago as China’s workforce aged and the state needed to protect pensions and employment, the effect was a reduction in the number of Chi-nese workers employed by SOEs to around 20 percent today. China, in ef-fect, has a huge latent entrepreneurial class.

WashingtonGlobal food prices dropped 2 percent between February and June, said the World Bank.The World Bank said Thursday in its Food Price Watch report that improved weather conditions and weaker demand resulted in the third consecutive quarterly decline of food prices, reported Xinhua.The World Bank’s Food Price Index showed international wheat prices fell 2 percent, sugar 6 percent, soy-bean oil 11 percent, and maize, or corn, 1 percent during the February-June period. Global maize production was ex-pected to reach a record high this year, according to the report. But the report also cautioned that uncertainty remains in international markets be-

cause recent unfavourable weather conditions in northern and central Europe and other risks may affect the prospects of world food production. The World Bank also noted that some countries with high poverty and weak safety nets are responding to the chronic volatility by scaling up food subsidy programs that are often

counter-productive. “Poorly designed food subsidy pro-grams that lack transparency and accountability in implementation do not benefit poor people,” said Jaime Saavedra, a World Bank vice presi-dent. “These programs can be very costly and prone to corruption and waste scarce fiscal resources.”

Global food prices continue to fall: World Bank

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest maker of smartphones, flat panels and TVs, posted a fresh re-cord quarterly high of operating prof-it in the second quarter due to robust demand for its high-end smartphones and TVs, a regulatory filing showed.Operating profit jumped 47.5 per-cent from a year earlier to 9.53 tril-lion won ($8.54 billion) in the three months ending June 30, according to the regulatory filing. The figure topped the previous record high of 8.84 trillion won tallied in the fourth quarter of last year, reported Xinhua.Sales increased 20.73 percent year-on-year to 57.46 trillion won in the second quarter, breaching the prior high of 56.06 trillion won registered in the fourth quarter of 2012. Net profit was 7.77 trillion won, up 49.69 percent from a year earlier and rising 8.65 percent from three months ago.

Samsung Electronics posts record profit

IANS

IANSFair Observer

Fair Observer

CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 201322 SPORTS

Hyderabad bags Saina for $120,000, Mumbai pays $135,000 for Lee Chong Wei and Young shuttlers thrilled about IBL windfallNew DelhiIndia’s top shuttler and Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal was sold to Hyderabad Hostshots for a whopping $120,000 while World No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia got the highest bid of $135,000 from Mumbai Masters at the inaugural players’ auction of the Indian Bad-minton League (IBL) here.India’s rising stars Parupalli Kashy-ap and P.V. Sindhu were sold to Banga Beats for $75,000 and Luc-know Warriors for $80,000. All he four icon players had a base price of $50,000. The remaining two icon players, Jawala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa, who are women’s doubles special-ists, were sold below their base price of $50,000 to Delhi Smashers and Pune Pistons.Since there are no women’s doubles matches in the IBL, the franchises re-quested the governing council of the tournament to halve the base price of the two players. Jawala went to Delhi for $31,000 and Ashwini was picked up by Pune for her reduced base price of $25,000.IBL officials, however, said that they would compensate the two players. They will pay Jwala $19,000 and $25,000 to Ashwini.The $1 million IBL will be con-ducted in six cities August 14-31. The richest badminton league in the world will feature almost all the top-50 players in the world.Young Indian shuttlers are thrilled

with the money they have got from the Indian Badminton League (IBL) players’ auction.Despite the controversies, many of the rising players got good deals at the auction which was held here on Monday.K. Srikanth, who was bagged by Awadh Warriors for $34,000, said Thursday, “This is unbelievable. I didn’t expect it (the bidding price). It felt extremely good to know that the franchisees were competing with each other to bid for me.”The 20-year-old who last month stunned Thai World No.4 Boonsak Ponsana in the Thailand Open Grand Prix final, added, “My parents are very happy that the sport is getting me financial rewards.”Another promising youngster, 18-year-old doubles player K. Ma-neesha, was picked up by Awadh Warriors for $26,000, six times more than her base price of $4,000.Maneesha, who won the Maldives In-ternational Challenge mixed doubles with K. Nandagopal in June and the 2010 Commonwealth Youth Games, said: “I am a junior player and never expected to get so much money. The credit goes to Saina (Nehwal), (Paru-palli) Kashyap, Ashwini (Ponnappa) for taking badminton to a height so that all the youngsters like me are also now reaping the benefits.”Pradnya Gadre, among the top-10 highest buys, feels lucky to be picked up by Hyderabad Hotshots

for $46,000. The 22-year-old dou-bles specialist said, “I am extremely happy to be part of the IBL and Hy-derabad Hotshots. It is a great oppor-tunity for the juniors to get to play with international stars. It will be wonderful to be in the same team as my idol Taufik Hidayat.”B. Sai Praneeth, 20, who stunned for-mer Olympic champion Taufik in the latter’s farewell match, was bagged by Delhi Smashers for $40,000. “It’s a huge motivation for a player like me. I was expecting around $20,000 but this was surprising,” he said.R.M.V. Gurusaidutt, 2008 Common-wealth Youth Games champion who was picked up by Awadh Warriors for $40,000, said, “It’s great to be a part of the league which will help badminton and the players to grow.”

Warner comes out in support of Watson

PretoriaAustralia batsman David Warner has quashed claims of disharmony be-tween him and Shane Watson, saying that he “can’t get enough” of him.“I get along with Shane very well. I thoroughly enjoy batting with him, I know what he does for the team and I know what a team player he is,” War-ner was quoted saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.Warner, who scored 193 runs for Australia A against South Africa A here Wednesday, has come out in support of Watson after his brother Steven Warner had hit out at the all-rounder on Twitter.“Not just on the field but in and around the group how he supports the guys. He’s fantastic. I just can’t get enough of him,” added Warner.Steven blasted Watson July 19 for wasting a review at Lord’s by tweet-ing: “F---ing selfish Watson sooner your out the side you great pretender the better.”“I had absolutely no idea. I got a call from Pat Howard, high performance chief, about it and I was dumbfound-ed because I hadn’t checked Twitter in ages. He’s had his opinion. I’ve had nothing to do with it, no idea about it at first. He’s deleted his ac-count,” Warner said.Warner defended his brother saying he was only having his say but was disappointed at his remark about Watson.“It was very disappointing. I’ve actu-ally had a good word to him and he was shattered. He obviously didn’t know that his opinion would be judged like that and he now knows that. He got a good kick up the bum by Mum and Dad as well,” he said.

Athletes welcome DAILY ALLOWANCE credit to bank accountsNew DelhiAthletes who have often suffered from administrative high-handed-ness in Indian sports have welcomed the government’s move to credit their daily allowances to their bank accounts.Sports Authority of India (SAI) Di-rector General Jiji Thomson has said that allowances for athletes going overseas for training and competi-tions will from now on be directly credited to their bank accounts in-stead of being routed through offi-cials of the federation concerned.“If this is true, it is great news for the athletes. Though I have been going overseas with the Indian team for a decade, only a couple of years ago I found out that we were entitled to

$25 per day on tours. Shockingly, we used to get paid $50 for the en-tire trip,” a top international archer told IANS, not wanting to be named.On their part, the federations say the SAI step doesn’t mean much to them.“It is good that the government will be directly paying the athletes. The money issue becomes totally their responsibility now,” Indian Boxing Federation president Abhishek Ma-toria told IANS.Dhanraj Choudhary, secretary gen-eral of the Table Tennis Federation of India, said: “The federation will not gain by cheating athletes by withholding their full entitlement of the DA money. In fact it makes our job easier that they will be paid

directly.”Athletes get $100 per day on Europe and America tours for their board, lodging and other incidental ex-penses. Twentyfive percent of this is actually pocket money. The entitle-ment is $75 for other countries.“Whenever we asked for our daily allowance, the federation official used to say that the money had not been received from SAI and we would get it later, adding that ‘why do you need anything when your food and stay are taken care of by us?’,” said the archer. By the time he became a senior in the team, the marksman saw the ju-niors getting similar treatment.“I have seen the officials giving Rs. 500 to juniors as pocket money for

the tour. Nobody dared to ask them anything.”Interestingly, the archer revealed that the contingent got the stipulated amount during his last two visits as the Archery Association of India (AAI) had no role to play.“I suppose this happened because the AAI is derecognised by the sports ministry and a SAI official travelled with the team,” the archer added. Dipika Pallikal, the first Indian squash player to break into the world’s top 10, said SAI’s decision is the right one.“Being a professional, I don’t have to deal with my federation. I make arrangements for all my WSA tour events. It is only for team events that

I travel with the national squad. I usually get the money, before or af-ter I come back. But for juniors and other guys who are dependent on the federation, it is great that they will not have to ask for their money as a right,” Pallikal told IANS.The 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist boxer, Akhil Kumar, however, said getting cash in hand may cut both ways: The athletes will get their full money and at the same time, the athletes can also blow it up.“I would like to believe that it is a good move. We will have to wait and see how it is implemented. In one way, it will improve transparency and on the other, the boys could do anything with the money,” said Akh-il Kumar.

Leading doubles player Pranav Jer-ry Chopra, who was picked up for $36,000 by Mumbai Masters, said: “I was shocked to be picked up for $36,000 by Mumbai Masters. But above all, I’m elated to be in the same team as Lee Chong Wei. It’s a huge boost to us ahead of the World Championships.”Commenting on the unprecedented benefits for talented young shuttlers, 32-year-old V. Diju, who became the first Indian mixed doubles pair along with Jwala Gutta to win a Grand Prix title in 2009, said, “The IBL is a great platform and opportunity for all the Indian badminton players to play with international players. Also, it will be a treat to watch Lee Chong Wei in action for all of us.”

IANS

IANS

Pakistan beat West Indies to win seriesBeausejour (St. Lucia)Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi scrambled a single off the penulti-mate ball to enable Pakistan win the fifth and final One Day International against the West indies by four wick-ets and clinch the series 3-1 at the Beausejour Cricket Ground here.Pakistan ended on 243 for six off 49.5 overs in reply to West Indies 242 for seven Wednesday.Opener Ahmed Shehzad led the way for Pakistan with a top score of 64, his second One Day International half century against the West Indies and third overall.Shehzad shared a third wicket stand of 59 with his captain Misbah-ul-Haq and 51 for the first wicket with Nasir Jamshed.Shehzad struck eight boundaries off 100 balls before falling to a running catch to long on by Dwayne Bravo as he attempted a pull off Tino Best.Man of the match and man of the series Misbah-ul-Haq was the one

to steer his team home with a 63-run knock.When he offered a catch to Dwayne Bravo at mid-wicket off Jason Hold-er, Pakistan needed just one run to win the match.The Pakistan captain struck five fours and a six in 93-ball effort.He featured in a crucial fifth wicket partnership of 66, with Umar Akmal.Akmal, who contributed 38, had sur-vived a review for caught behind off Tino Best.He was later caught at long-off by substitute fielder Kemar Roach off Best when rain interrupted the match, leaving Pakistan on 226 for five with 14 deliveries remaining.Best finished with three for 48 from 10 overs with a wicket each going to Holder and Darren Sammy.The West Indies managed to reach near 250 thanks mainly to a 53-run seventh-wicket partnership between Dwayne Bravo (48) and Sammy (29 not out ) and a third-wicket stand

of 54 between Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels.Bravo and Sammy’s effort proved to be the most crucial for the West In-dies when they came together at 170 for six after 44.1 overs.Bravo’s 48 came off 27 deliveries with five boundaries and three sixes while Sammy’s undefeated 29 was off 18 balls.Charles and Samuels were not at their fluent best. Samuels needed 89 balls for his 45 while Charles used

up 71 in getting 43 -- both falling to attempted swats in the deep off Mo-hammad Irfan.Other useful knocks came from Lendl Simmons (25) and Chris Gay-le who got 21 batting at number five, second successive time in the series.Junaid Khan with the wickets of Devon Smith (7), Darren Bravo (9) and Gayle finished with the best fig-ures of three for 48. Irfan had two for 34 from 10 overs and Saeed Ajmal two for 57, also from 10.

CHANDIGARH SUNDAY 28 July 2013 23 SPORTS

Government acts tough with money-minded playersNew DelhiTaking a strong note of Indian tennis players rebelling, the sports ministry Thursday asked the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and National Sports Federations (NSFs) to come down hard on players who prefer prize money tournaments over represent-ing the country.Sports secretary Pradip Deb didn’t specify if the directive was against any sports federation but admitted that what happened in Indian tennis earlier this year was unacceptable.“The directive is not against any spe-cific federation. But what happened in tennis (players’ rebellion) was ridiculous and unacceptable,” Deb told. The ministry in a statement said that of late it has been noticed that sport-spersons, belonging to various sports disciplines, prefer to play in prize money tournaments and avoid play-

ing in tournaments where India as a team participates for medals rather than cash awards. “Individual players will be able to avail grants given to NSFs by the ministry only if they undertake to play in the Indian team when called upon to do so without reservations. If there are specific exigencies because of which they are unable to play, this should be verified by the concerned NSF which thereupon can make an exception at their discretion,” the ministry said in a statement.Eleven top players, led by Somdev Devvarman, led a rebellion against the All India Tennis Association (AITA) over a charter of demands and made themselves unavailable for the Davis Cup tie against South Ko-rea in February this year.India had to field a completely new side, with Leander Paes being the only known face. India lost 1-4.

5,000 athletes for Southeast Asian Games

Motorsports: Sivashankar, Natarajan top Leg 1

YangonAbout 5,000 athletes are expected to take part in the 27th Southeast Asian Games to be held in Myan-mar in December.The 27th SEA Games -- with 11 countries from Southeast Asian re-gion taking part -- are scheduled to run from Dec 11 to 22 in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and Ngwe Saung Beach, reports Xinhua. According to the estimated lists sent from the participating nations,

A. Sivashankar and navigator G. Natarajan from Erode, with a pen-alty of 32 seconds, were placed overall first at the end of Leg 1 in the third Mahindra Monsoon Chal-lenge Rally here on Friday.The Sivashankar-Natarajan combo was a mere four seconds ahead of Umakanth Alva and Mohamed Musthafa while Abhijeet Pai and Chandramouli M. were lying third with a penalty of 39 seconds in the SUV Open category.In fact, just 20 seconds separated the top seven in the Open class while Subir Roy and Nirav Mehta led the SUV OE category with one minute, 19 seconds with Pratap and Adhitya Anthony (01:30) in second and Saurav Chatterjee and Ashoke Kumar Basu third (01:48).Last year’s overall winners, Karthick Maruthi and Sankar Anand were placed sixth with 51-second penalty while National TSD Rally champions Satish Go-palkrishnan and Savera D’Souza were placed seventh with 52 sec-onds.Wilson Padayattil and Kuriakose Elias Parel were ahead in the Car OE class with a penalty of one minute, 45 seconds, followed by Philip Baklin and David Sharon (01:46) and K Dinky Varghese and Balachandar R (02:20).The 36 competitors reached Man-galore in the evening after an early flag-off from Bangalore on Fri-day after traversing through rain-soaked but scenic countryside with some of the secondary roads of broken tarmac putting the driving

Para-athlete Devendra gives India historic goldNew DelhiBattling all odds, paralympian De-vendra Jhajharia scripted history for India as he gave the country its maiden gold medal in the World Paralympic Championships in the javelin throw (F-47 category) event in Lyon, France.According to information received here, the 32-year-old Devendra, whose left arm was amputated af-ter an accident, won the gold medal Sunday by hurling the javelin to 57.04 metres, his personal best per-formance.The Indian, a class-IV employee with the Railways, got some stiff competition from Iralian Mirshekari Abdolrasoul, who also bettered his personal mark of 51.34m pegging the spear at 52.62m for the silver. Egyptian Ismail Mahmoud got the bronze with a throw of 50.22m. An elated Paralympic Commit-tee of India (PCI) president Sultan Ahmed announced a cash award of Rs.5,00,000 for Devendra, who re-cently was adjudged with the Padma Shri.“I think Devendra’s gold medal will boost the paralympic athletes in the country. We have a huge wealth of talent in the country and we have to support them. We are thankful to the sports ministry and the Sports Asso-ciation of India (SAI) for all support they gave to the athletes for training purpose,” Ahmed, an MP from Trin-amool Congress, told IANS.Devendra, who hails from Rajas-than’s Churu district, which is the gateway to Thar desert, also has the world record in the F-46 category to

his name when he hurled the javelin to 62.15m in Athens Paralympics in 2004. Son of Ram Singh, a farmer, Deven-dra was passionate about sports from his school days and used to train in the searing Thar-desert heat. “Sport is where an entire life can be compressed into a few hours, where the emotions of a lifetime can be felt on an acre or two of ground, where a person can suffer and die and rise again on six miles of trails through a park,” said Devendra in a statement.It was in 1997 that Devendra was spotted by his coach Ripudaman Singh Aulak, a Dronacharya Award-ee in javelin, and he shifted to the nearby town of Kasab for better training facilities. From there he nev-er looked back and was soon training at National Institute of Sports (NIS) Patiala.“Sport is a theatre where sinner can turn saint and a common man can become an uncommon hero, where the past and the future mix with the present,” said Devendra.

Devendra thanks Indian Railways who allowed him to practise through-out the year, but is frustrated with the apathy of the corporate sector.“I asked for sponsorship 3-4 times but they weren’t responsive. So I left pursuing them. I think that the private sector has more money and resources to invest in sports unlike the state and central governments but unfortunately the former hardly re-ciprocates when we approach them,” he said.Devendra feels that para-athletes don’t get their due in India.“I am the sole gold medallist in jav-elin. But the status of this game has not improved yet. To me both the Olympics and the Paralympics share a similar status. But in case of nor-mal Olympics medallist the pension is of Rs.10,000 while the paralympic winners get just Rs.5,000. Moreover, there are 101 olympic winner who are supposed to get pension from the government but around 50 of them don’t get it at all,” he said.

Malaysia boasts the largest num-ber with 838 athletes, followed by hosts Myanmar with 828, Thailand with 827, Indonesia with 695, Viet-nam with 693, Singapore with 550, the Philippines with 446 and Laos with 388. In all, 33 sports events will be put in the list and 460 gold medals will be awarded. In the 26th SEA Games, Myanmar dis-patched 477 athletes and grabbed 80 medals, finishing seventh in the standings.

Dhawan gives India 2-0 lead in ZimbabweHarareShikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik fashioned India’s 58-run win over Zimbabwe in the second game of the five-match ODI series at the Harare Sports Club here on Friday. India now lead the series 2-0.Dhawan (116) and Karthik (69) bailed India out of trouble through their 167-run stand, taking the total to 294 for eight in 50 overs. Zimba-bwe showed promise initially in their run chase but a mid-innings collapse meant they ended at 236 for nine. Opener Vusi Sibanda’s 55 and an unbeaten 52 by Prosper Utseya were not enough to get the hosts over the line. Medium pacer Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the Indian bowlers, taking four for 41.Zimbabwe looked like pulling off an upset when Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza (34) took their side to 109 for one in 20 overs. But a col-lapse followed Sibanda’s departure, reducing them to 133 for six.Utseya tried his best with Elton Chigumbura (46) but it proved to be too much of a task.Earlier, the Zimbabwe pace attack troubled the famed Indian top-order and the conditions helped their cause.Rohit Sharma, playing his 100th ODI, chased a wide ball off Brian Vitori and edged it to second slip.Captain Virat Kohli (14), the last game’s centurion, perished while try-ing to hit one through mid-wicket off Kyle Jarvis, spooning it to Malcolm Waller at mid-on. A review was called for a clean catch but after inconclusive replays, the in-form batsman was given out. A distraught Kohli was seen ex-changing words with on-field um-pires Owen Chirombe and Bruce

Oxenford even after he was adjudged out.The visitors found themselves in fur-ther trouble with the fall of Ambati Rayudu (5) and Suresh Raina (4), making it 65 for four in 16.4 overs.That was when Dhawan and Karthik came to India’s rescue. Their 167-run stand off 154 balls changed the complexion of the game.Dhawan continued with his rich run

of form, scoring his third hundred in 17 ODIs. He charmed the crowd with his exquisite strokeplay, col-lecting 11 fours and two sixes. The luck was on his side too as he was dropped thrice during his 127 ball knock.Karthik looked solid and the fifty plus score was his second since mak-ing a comeback.

skills to acid test.After a night halt in Mangalore, the vehicles will proceed to Shimoga on Saturday for the second leg of the 1,200 Kms journey that con-cludes in Goa on Sunday.

Provisional classification (Leg 1):

SUV Open: A Sivashankar/G Natarajan 1 (32secs penalty); Umakanth Alva/Mohamed Must-hafa 2 (36secs); Abhijeet N Pai/Chandramouli M 3 (39secs).

SUV OE: Subir Roy/Nirav Mehta 1 (1min, 19secs); Pratap/Adhitya Anthony 2 (01:30); Saurav Chat-terjee/Ashoke Kumar Basu 3 (01:48).

Car OE: Wilson Padayattil/Kuriakose Elias Parel 1 (01:45); Philip Baklin/David Sharon 2 (01:46); K Dinky Varghese/Balachandar R 3 (02:20).

Corporate: Rajpal Navalkar/Sagar M 1 (03:09); Sudhindra Hebbar/Arjun SSB 2 (03:54); Su-darshan/ Gunasekaran 3 (10:01).

Amateur: Alfred Raymond A/Ram Kumar N 1 (03:54); Har-sha K Hiriyal/Prashanth BS 2 (55:22); RS Naresh Kumar/Shan-mugasundaram T 3 (1hr, 1min, 59 secs).

Couple: Garima Avtar/Dhi-raj Arora 1 (1:08). All Ladies: Cheshta Sood/Pratima 1 (23:14).

IANSIANS

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CHANDIGARHSUNDAY 28 July 201324

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FLATS AT SUNNY HEIGHTS AND NRI RETREATS

Long before incubators were used outside poultry farms or hospitals, there was the garage. Two gentlemen named Bill Hewlett and Dave Pack-ard started out with a princely sum of $538 in a garage and laid the foun-dations for today’s Silicon Valley by creating HP. A few years down the line, a precocious 12-year old called Bill Hewlett and asked for spare parts to build a frequency counter. Guess what? That kid was Steve Jobs. He started out in a garage too. Fast for-ward a few years and you have two geeks dropping out of Stanford to set up shop in a Menlo Park garage. Yes, you guessed right. We are talking about Sergey and Larry, the founders of Google.Today a different sort of character is creating something very different from a different sort of garage. With grease and engine oil, auto parts and paints, tires and cars, US Auto Repair Center is as real as a garage can get. And the entrepreneur is not writing software or creating a new computer or a new electric car. He is hell bent on disrupting the media. The Spanish newspaper El Mundo called him a character even by Silicon Valley stan-dards and, within a minute of meet-ing him, you will learn why.Ferociously passionate, Atul Singh was born on the naval base of Vasco da Gama and has roots in Varanasi, the oldest living city in the world. He has a history of causing trouble. He ran away from home at 17 and has survived three assassination at-tempts. When he was an officer, his resignation letter to the Presi-dent of India stated that he was fed up with the “corruption, inertia, and inefficiency” in the government. He left Washington DC because he felt suffocated in a “city of courtiers.” Searching for inspiration, he moved to Silicon Valley but made what he calls “schoolboy mistakes.” He ran out of money, and his car mechanic from Fiji gave him refuge. He is now

based in a garage with immigrants from Fiji and Mexico, all of them chasing the American Dream. Now, after years of trials and tribulations, he might finally just be on the verge of something big.Independent, non-partisan, and plu-ral, Fair Observer focuses on the deeper issues behind the news. Atul chafes against the noise that afflict media today. “Headlines and photos are the name of the game today. No one cares about issues anymore. How do you vote or make intelligent de-cisions if you are going make deci-sions based on zingers or soundbites? Social media is like a Roman circus on steroids, a distraction from real is-sues that face us today.” Atul’s goal is to focus on issues not events and get a citizens involved in that dialogue.

Taking inspiration from Gandhi, Atul believes the only goal of journal-ism ought to be service. He is turn-ing his organization into a non-profit because, for all its challenges, that is the best way forward. He has argued his case in an article titled, “Media Should Not Make Money.”Atul detests media bias. The domi-nant narrative is still imperial. It comes from elites in London or New York. Voices from Minnesota or Mali are never heard. Atul is convinced that in a more global era narratives long ignored have to be heard. There-fore, he has pioneered the “360° Analysis” of important issues. This includes a context piece that explains the background and relevance of the issue along with many analysis ar-ticles that come from a diverse group

of people all around the world. Atul believes that all of us have blind-sides but we come together we get a better approximation of the truth. Fair Observer already has more than 600 contributors from over 30 coun-tries, it has an audience in over 160 countries, and its editors live in six continents. The whole organization has been created through volunteers who have poured their heart and soul into the project. Now Fair Observer is aiming to further democratize the media by involving the audience in setting the editorial agenda. As Atul puts it, “someone in Zambia should be able to suggest that we should be analyzing the copper industry instead of some editor in New York deciding what is important in a country that may be unfamiliar even on a map.”

Everything Begins in a GarageA garage startup aims to transform media as we know it

Conventional wisdom on both coasts held that Atul should be based in Washington DC, New York, or Lon-don. He was told that the Valley cares only about technology. This was the wrong place for Atul to be based in. Yet, technology was precisely the reason Atul moved to the Valley. He believes that the Internet offers a unique opportunity to create a global discourse. Already, Twitter and Face-book have been used to mobilize the masses and cause revolutions in many Arab countries. According to Atul, there is no reason not to take this further. People think deeply about issues but do not know where to share their thoughts about war, taxation, or education. Atul tells me that in his journeys across America, everyone that he has met has talked about education. People complain about teachers’ unions, No Child Left Behind Act, college tuition in-flation, and much more. Where is the national discussion on education? A lot of countries are implementing innovative ideas in education. Why are we not asking them to share their thoughts? Fair Observer is meant to be a place where people from around the world come together to discuss is-sues that matter. Atul says, “Knowl-edge is power to the people. We are in the business of empowering the people.”On 15th August, the 66th anniver-sary of India’s freedom, Atul is kick-ing off the launch of Fair Observer’s Kickstarter campaign in the Belmont garage that is his global headquarters. Thereafter, he drives down to Los An-geles and then all the way across the country in a whistlestop tour to en-gage with ordinary Americans seek-ing a new form of media. Atul’s goal is to build a new bottom up platform through the support of citizens from all walks of life. Clearly, this man is a visionary. Fair Observer, the latest garage startup, might just be about to start a new trend in the Valley.

Helen Flanagan suffered a fall

LondonActress-model Helen Flanagan was on all fours after she took a tumble in her heels.The 22-year-old lost her footing as she left a restaurant. Flanagan landed on her hands and embarrassed by the mishap, she smiled sheepishly, reports.She was wearing a hot pink dress with a matching handbag when the accident happened.

Profile

Founder and Chief Editor of Fair Observer: Atul Singh