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VOL 7 ISSUE 04 ● DALLAS ● JANUARY 25 - 31, 2019 ● ENQUIRIES: 646-247-9458

E V E R T R U T H F U LWe Wish Readers a Happy Republic Day of India

Bharat Ratna for former President Pranab Mukherji, NanajiDeshmukh (posthumous), Bhupen Hazarika (posthumous)

Padma Vibhushan for 4; Padma Bhushan for 14; Padma Shri for 94

NEW DELHI (TIP): Bharat Ratna andthe Padma Awards for the year 2019 wereannounced here on Friday, January 25.

One of the highest civilian Awards ofthe country, the Padma awards areconferred in three categories, namely,Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan andPadma Shri. The awards are given invarious disciplines or fields of activities:social work, public affairs, science andengineering, trade and industry,medicine, literature and education,sports, civil service, etc.

contd on Page 20Bharat Ratna for Pranab Mukherji, Nanaji Deshmukh, Bhupen Hazarika

Dr. Raju honored for his four-decade crusade to eradicateavoidable blindness in India

Read full story on page 4

Vice-President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu honored Dr. V.K.Raju for his over 40 years work to eradicate avoidable blindnessin India during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Rangaraya

Medical College in Kakinada on Saturday, January 5.

Federal Government ShutdownEnds after a 35 -day Stand off Trump Signs Bill Reopening Government

for 3 Weeks through February 15

WASHINGTON (TIP): The House and Senate bothapproved a measure Friday, January 25 to temporarilyreopen the federal government with a short-termspending bill that does not include President Donald

contd on Page 38

President Trumpannouncing that "wehave reached a deal

to end theshutdown." He hassince signed a bill

which will keepgovernment open

through February 15

15th Edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Concludes page 2

India celebrates 70th Republic Day ● South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends as Chief Guest

● Impressive Parade and enthusiasm mark the celebration● PM lays a wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti and pays tribute to martyrs

NEW DELHI (TIP): Celebrations for the70th Republic Day began on Saturday, January26, with South African President CyrilRamaphosa in attendance as the chief guest,amid heavy security deployment in the city.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid histributes to the martyrs by laying a wreath atAmar Jawan Jyoti in the presence of DefenseMinister Nirmala Sitharaman and the threeservice chiefs. Later Modi, wearing histraditional kurta-pajama and trademarkNehru jacket, reached the Rajpath and receivedand greeted President Ram Nath Kovind andthe chief guest. contd on Page 20

Prime Minister Modi greets Chief Guest SouthAfrican President Cyril Ramaphosa at Rajpath

Photo / courtesy PIB

40 Universities honored MahamahopadhyayaSwami Bhadreshdasji in Lucknow

LUCKNOW (TIP): Babasaheb Bhimrao AmbedkarUniversity gathered more than 40 Universities at theAtal Bihari Vajpayee Scientific Convention Center,Lucknow on 16 January 2019 to felicitateMahamahopadhyaya Swami Bhadreshdasji, a sadhu andscholar of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. He washonored with two awards - 'Acharya Pravar' by UttarPradesh State and 'Excellence in Philosophy' byBabasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, for

authoring two unique contemporary Sanskrit texts: theSwaminarayan Bhashya and the Swaminarayan-Siddhant-Sudha.

Bhadreshdas Swamiji and his work is acknowledged bymany awards such as Mahamahopadhyay, VedantMartand, Darshan Kesari, Abhinav Bhashyakar andVidvat-Sarvabhauma.

Swami Bhadreshdasji addressed the audience on theinspiration force behind the creation of thePrasthantrayi bhashyas, his Guru, His HolinessPramukh Swami Maharaj. "All this work has only beenpossible due to the grace of Bhagwan Swaminarayan,Guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Guru Mahant SwamiMaharaj. I offer all the acclaims to their lotus feet," saidBhadreshdas Swamiji.

BAPS senior sadhu, Pujya Narayanmuni Swamiji gaveconcluding remarks in recognition of the event, "Thisceremony is historical as 40 universities and the DeputyChief Minister himself have gathered to felicitate Pu.Bhadreshdas Swami. This shows their love and respecttowards educational accomplishments. This historicalceremony celebrates the Akshar-Purushottam Darshanrevealed by Bhagwan Swaminarayan proclaiming thatone should become aksharrup and offer upasana toPurushottam"

2 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019PBD SPCEIAL

15th Edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Concludes President confers Pravasi Bharatiya awards on 28 overseas Indians and two organizations

Chandra Shekhar Mishra, Gita Gopinath, Gitesh Jayantilal, Prakash Madhavdas Heda from the US are among the Honorees

VARANASI (TIP): The three-day Pravasi Bharatiya DivasSammelan concluded here on January 23, with President RamNath Kovind delivering the valedictory address and conferringthe Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards on 28 eminentpersonalities and two organizations of the Indian diaspora fortheir contributions and achievements in various fields.

"Happy to have conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman on30 members of our diaspora. We value your committed effortsto promote India and to work for the welfare of Indiancommunity abroad. You are a living bridge between India andthe world," President said.

According to a list provided by the External AffairsMinistry, the awards were conferred in the fields of social,community and public service, business, businessmanagement, entrepreneurship, chartered accountancy,training and simulation, science, medical science,engineering, technology, architecture, academics, arts anddiplomacy.

Nihal Singh Agar, known for his services to the Hinducommunity in Australia, was conferred the award under thecategory of social service.

Two organizations - Indian Community Association ofEgypt and Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha - and SwamiSaradaprabhananda of the Ramakrishna Centre of SouthAfrica, got the award for community service.

Himanshu Gulati, a Member of Parliament in Norway, andShamim Parkar Khan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) werehonored for public service.

Under the business category, Ramesh Chotai of Canada,Amit Waikar of China, Bitthal Das Maheswari of Italy,Bhavdeep Singh Dhillon of New Zealand, Vinodan VeramballyThazhikuniyil of Oman and Girish Pand and Surender SinghKandhari of the UAE were honored.

While Banwarilal Satya Narayan Goenka was conferred theaward in the field of business management, Rajesh Chaplot ofUganda got it for chartered accountancy, Jagdeshwar RaoMaddukuri of Poland for entrepreneurship, and PurnenduChandra Tiwary of Qatar for training and simulation.

In the field of medical science, Guna Sekhar Muppuri ofJamaica, Prakash Madhavdas Heda of the US, and ZulekhaDaud of the UAE were honoured.

Rajendra Kumar Joshi of Switzerland and ChandrashekharMishra of the US were honoured for their contributions in thefield of science.

Rajinder Nath Khazanchi of Bhutan got the award for civilengineering, Gitesh Jayantilal Desai of the US for structuralengineering, P.V. Sambasiva Rao of Kenya for technology andRajpal Tyagi of Kuwait for architecture.

Malini Ranganathan of France and Gita Gopinath of the USwere honoured for their contributions in the fields of

academics and arts.Veteran South African diplomat Anil Sookal was conferred

the award in the field of diplomacy.Earlier, the PBD got off to a start on January 21, with the

External Affairs Minister inaugurating the Youth PBD.In her inaugural address, the External Affairs Minister said

India is a land of limitless opportunities, and PravasiBharatiyas are and will continue to be partners in progress ofour motherland. She emphasized that shared identity andshared commonness are the key features which bind ustogether which will grow manifold in years to come. TheMinister said that the story of Pravasi Bharatiyas is a tale ofcourage, determination and character and cited the examplesof Google CEO, Sunder Pichai, Microsoft COO Satya Nadella,IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath to name a few. Shethanked the diaspora for kindling a new wave for India abroad

Union Minister of State Information and Broadcasting(independent Charge) and Sports and Youth Affairs, Col.Rajyavardhan Rathore spoke about the unique and bindingforce of Indian identity and said Pravasi Bharatiyacommunity is India's best Ambassador. He urged them to joinin the building of a New India. The Minister lauded the role ofNRIs in preserving their cultural values and respect for themotherland. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanathsaid Uttar Pradesh looks up to the diaspora community for itsvalued contribution. 30-year-old Norwegian MP, HimanshuGulati recalled the journey of his parents from India toNorway 40 years ago. He said that natural resource are ourbiggest assets and youth must imbibe the values of MahatmaGandhi, 'Be the change you want to see'.

Guest of Honor, MP from New Zealand, Kanwaljeet SinghBakshi said Agriculture and Horticulture are key areas inwhich India and New Zealand can collaborate. The MP put upthe request for Dual citizenship and Nomination of NRIs toRajya Sabha for active participation in politics. He urgedpeople to take pride in their culture and heritage. YouthPravasi Bharatiya Divas has been organized with a view toshare the ideas for a New India among the NRI youth and the

generation next back homePrime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the PBD

Convention on January 22. The Convention deliberated on thetheme- Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India.

Observing that his government helped changed perceptionsregarding the country in the last four and half years, Modisaid, "Earlier, people used to say India cannot change… but wehave changed that perception and this mindset itself."Addressing the over 4,000 NRI delegates from about 85countries, he said that India is the fastest growing economy inthe world and also urged the Indian diaspora across the toparticipate in the building of new India.

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, the chiefguest this year, surprised the audience by speaking in Hindi.Addressing the audience yesterday, Prime Minister NarendraModi described NRIs as brand ambassadors of the country.While observing that people of Indian origin are in leadershiproles in many countries including Mauritius, Portugal andIreland, he said, "I consider NRIs to be India's brandambassadors. They are the symbols of our capacities andcapabilities."

The 15th edition of the PBD was organized by the ExternalAffairs Ministry in partnership with the government of UttarPradesh.

President Ram Nath Kovind presenting Pravasi Bharatiya Samman to an honoree

External Affairs Minister is speaking at the Youth PBD onJanuary 21. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is seen on left. A group of honorees with President Kovind

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ready to light a lamp toinaugurate the Convention in the presence of Prime Minister

of Mauritius, PravindJugnauth (extreme left). EAM SushmaSwaraj is seen on the right.

3THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 INDIANS ABROAD

Indian American Composer Named2019 United States Artists Fellow, Grand

Prize Winner by S&R FoundationLOS ANGELES (TIP): Indian American

Composer Reena Esmail is among the 45recipients of the 2019 United States ArtistsFellowship, a $50,000 unrestricted grant givenannually to artists and collectives workingacross a wide range of disciplines.

She has also been named 2019 S&RWashington Award Grand Prize winner byS&R Foundation, a non-profit organizationsupporting talented individuals with highaspirations in the arts, sciences and socialentrepreneurship.

Reena Esmail works between the worlds ofIndian and Western classical music andbrings communities together through thecreation of equitable musical spaces.

In recent seasons, Esmail has worked withthe Kronos Quartet, Albany Symphony, RiverOaks Chamber Orchestra, Salastina MusicSociety, SOLI, and American ComposersOrchestra. Her work is performed regularlythroughout the US and abroad, and has beenprogrammed at Carnegie Hall, the BarbicanCentre in London, Schloss Esterhazy inHungary, and throughout India. She hasserved as Composer in Residence for AlbanySymphony (2016-17), Street Symphony (2016-present) in downtown Los Angeles, Concerts

on the Slope (2015-16) in Brooklyn, NY and thePasadena Master Chorale (2014-16) inPasadena, CA.

Esmail received a 2011-12 Fulbright-Nehruto study Hindustani music in India, where shewas also a 2011 INK Fellow (in associationwith TED). In 2010, Esmail co-founded ofYale's Hindi a cappella group, Sur et Veritaal.Esmail's doctoral thesis, entitled FindingCommon Ground: Uniting Practices inHindustani and Western Art Musicians

explores the methods and challenges of thecollaborative process between Hindustanimusicians and Western composers. Herteachers include Srimati Lakshmi Shankarand Saili Oak.

Esmail was on the composition and theoryfaculty at Manhattan School of MusicPrecollege from 2006-2011. She taught themusic theory core curriculum at Yale Collegefrom 2012-14. Recently, Esmail has workedwith young composers through mentorshipprograms including Shastra's Arranging withHindustani Music, Pasadena Master Chorale'sListening to the Future. This season, she willmentor young women composers throughKaufmann Center's new program, The LunaLab.

In addition to her work as a composer,Esmail is the Co-Artistic Director of Shastra,a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music that connects the greatmusical traditions of India and the West. Sheis also the Composer-in-Residence with StreetSymphony, where she works withcommunities experiencing homelessness andincarceration in Los Angeles.

Esmail currently resides in Los Angeles,California.

Reena Esmail works between the worlds ofIndian and Western classical music

Two Indian Americans Renominatedby Trump for Federal Judgeship

WASHINGTON

(TIP): On January22, PresidentDonald Trump re-sent a list of 51judicial nomineesincluding twoIndian Americansfor federal postsafter they weren'tacted upon by theSenate at theclosing of the lastCongress.

P i t t s b u r g h -based attorney Nicholas Ranjan is to be nominated at a federal judgeship on theDistrict Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and Neomi Rao, who iscurrently the administrator for the Office of Information and RegulatoryAffairs, is the President's nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice BrettKavanaugh in his old seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The seat Nicholas Ranjan has been nominated for opened on June 3, 2016, withJudge Kim Gibson's move to senior status. While the seat opened in the ObamaAdministration, no nomination was put forward to fill the vacancy.

Ranjan applied to the bipartisan judicial selection committee set up byPennsylvania Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey in March 2017. Ranjaninterviewed with Toomey and Casey and was then recommended to the WhiteHouse. He was formally nominated on July 24, 2018.

Ranjan began his career with a fellowship in the Ohio Solicitor General'sOffice and a clerkship on the Sixth Circuit, but he's spent his entire legal careersince then at the Pittsburgh office of K&L Gates, handling commercial andappellate litigation.

Neomi Rao is a former professor of structural constitutional law,administrative law, and legislation and statutory interpretation at theAntonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Prior to joining theLaw School, Rao served in all three branches of government. She served asAssociate Counsel and Special Assistant to President George W. Bush.Administrator Rao also served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on theJudiciary, where she was responsible for judicial nominations andconstitutional law issues.

But Rao's nomination is sparkling controversy for her past writings in whichshe partly blamed women victims of date-rape, according to media reports. Areport from BuzzFeed News unearthed some troubling pieces that Rao wrotebetween 1994 and 1996-when she was a student at Yale and shortly afterward. Inan October 1994 column in the Yale Herald, she reportedly acknowledged thatmen who rape drunk women should face charges but added that "a good way toavoid a potential date rape is to stay reasonably sober."

Nicholas Ranjan and Neomi Rao

Indian American Engineerelected to the title of

Chartered Petroleum EngineerNEW YORK (TIP):

Indian AmericanChemical Engineer Dr.Raj Shah was recentlyconferred the covetedtitle of a CharteredPetroleum engineer .He is the first everIndian American toachieve thisdistinction, an honorwhich so far only half adozen Americans havebeen recognized with inthe life of this award.This honorary title isawarded by the Energyinstitute (EI), which isthe largest professionalmembership body thatbrings global energy expertise together. EnergyInstitute's ambition is that energy, and its critical rolein our world, is better understood, managed andvalued. The Energy Institute is a unique network withinsight spanning the world of energy, fromconventional oil and gas to the most innovativerenewable and energy efficient technologies andworking with the know-how of around 20,000members and 250 companies from 120 countries . Theglobal energy industry, the people working in it andwider society all benefit from the work done at theEnergy Institute.

The honor of being the first Indian AmericanChartered petroleum engineer in an association thathas 20000 plus members and spans over 120 countrieswas not lost to Dr. Shah who accepted this distinctionwith great humility thanking his colleagues andfamily for all their support

Dr. Shah is the also the only individual in thechemical industry worldwide who is an elected Fellowat all these international professional organizations :namely, STLE, NLGI, AIC, RSC and EI. He also holdsthe distinction of being the first person ever to holdsall 6 of these highly coveted certifications. (Read full

story on www.theindianpanorama.news)

Dr. Raj Shah is the firstIndian American to beconferred the title of aChartered Petroleum

engineer

Indian-American ActivistGurinder Singh KhalsaPresented with Rosa

Park Trailblazer Award

INDIANAPOLIS (TIP): Indian-American Entrepreneur Gurinder SinghKhalsa, founder and chairman ofSikhsPolitical Action Committee has beenhonoured with Rosa Park Trailblazer awardfor his campaign to persuade USauthorities to change policy towards Sikhheadgear.A large number of Sikhcommunity members from Indianaattended the function on January 17 atIndianapolis.

Gurinder Singh Khalsa, who hails fromAmbala (India), was not allowed to board anaeroplane in 2007 due to his refusal toremove the turban. Determined to stand upfor his faith and fight for justice, Khalsamobilized more than 67,000 peoplenationwide for petitions and took the issueall the way to the US Congress, compellingTransportation and SecurityAdministration (TSA) to change itsheadgear policy towards the Sikhcommunity. Sikhs can now wear theirturban through airport security in the US.

Indianapolis-based Khalsa, 45, waspresented Distinguished 2019 Champions ofDiversity -Rosa Parks Trailblazer Award forhis continued demonstration of courageand compassion by State Representative ofIndiana Robin Schackleford and RobertShegog, vice president and chief operatingofficer at the Indianapolis RecorderNewspaper and Indiana Minority BusinessMagazine. Khalsa dedicated the award tothe Sikh community.

Earlier this month Fishers Mayor ScottFadness on Jan 13 appointed GurinderSingh Khalsa as Board Member ofEconomic Development and PlanningCommission.

Indian AmericanSelected as Wisconsin

School of Business Dean

NEW YORK (TIP): Indian AmericanVallabh Sambamurthy, Eli Broad Professorand associate dean of the MBA andprofessional master's programs at theBroad College of Business at MichiganState University, has been selected as theAlbert O. Nicholas Dean of the WisconsinSchool of Business. (Read full story on

www.theindianpanorama.news)

India-born American Sikh Gurinder SinghKhalsa was presented the Rosa Parks

Trailblazer Award

Sambamurthy has previously served atbusiness schools at the University of

Maryland and Florida State University

4 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019US

Dr. Raju honoredfor his four-decade

crusade toeradicate avoidableblindness in India KAKINADA, AP (TIP): Dr. V.K. Raju,

an eminent ophthalmologist based inMorgantown, West Virginia, USA washonored for his over 40 years work toeradicate avoidable blindness in Indiaduring the Diamond Jubileecelebrations of Rangaraya MedicalCollege in Kakinada on Saturday,January 5. The award was presented tohim by the Vice President of Indi, MVenkaiah Naidu who was the chief guest.This award adds to a long list of awardsand honors conferred on Dr. Raju.

Dr. V.K. Raju is founder and presidentof the Eye Foundation of America, anearly 40-year-old not-for-profit engagedin the work of eradication of preventableblindness across the world.(www.eyefoundationofamerica.org)

Dr. V.K. Raju was on a visit to India toattend a couple of conferences and speakat some events. He was in Mumbai onDecember 28 to attend the AAPI-GAPIOSummit where he spoke on Diabetics &its Pandemic health consequences.

In Kolkata on January 1, Dr. Rajuspoke at Kolkata Rotary Club, which isthe oldest Rotary Club in India and whichwill be celebrating its centenary towardsthe end of 2019. Dr. Raju was the keynotespeaker on childhood blindness.

Addressing the Rotarians hecomplimented them for their tremendousachievement in "wiping out Polio in 28years. He exhorted them to evince thesame zeal in respect of preventingavoidable blindness from the face ofIndia.

"If Rotary puts in its effort for as manyyears, we can have a world withoutblindness, he said, reminding that "80%of our learning comes through vision". Itneeds only three wills- political will,professional will, and people's will toachieve the desired goal. He quoted USAmbassador Galbraith, the hypereducated economist of the world whounderscored the importance of educationwhen he said, "Education is the mosteffective equalizer".

While in Kolkata, he took theopportunity of spending 2 days at theAsiatic Library where he studied theoriginal Bowerman manuscripts dealingwith Yoga.

Dr. Raju delivered a lecture at AndhraMedical College at Vishakhapatnam onJanuary 2. He also attended a meeting atthe Eye Bank where he pointed out thatcorneal blindness which is rampant inIndia, is preventable. In fact, 70% of it canbe prevented through education andaffordable primary care in every village.

Next, in Kakinada on January 5, Dr.Raju attended the Diamond Jubileecelebrations of Rangaraya MedicalCollege where he was honored for hiswork by the Vice President of India.

However, the most absorbingengagement for Dr. Raju was lecturing tostaff and examining patients at the EyeFoundation of America supportedGoutami Eye Institute in Rajahmundry.Over a period of 5 days, Dr. Raju workedday and night with the Goutami EyeInstitute staff, examining hundreds ofpatients who have great faith in Dr. Rajuand Goutami Eye Institute.

AARP Celebrates Asian American & Pacific IslanderHero Award Winner Denny Chan of Justice in Aging

PASADENA, CA (TIP): AARP celebratedits Asian American and Pacific Islander HeroAward winner Denny Chan for his work usingthe power of the law to fight senior poverty atJustice in Aging on Wednesday, January 23 atthe AARP California Office in Pasadena, CA.

Facing language barriers and limitedresources, many older Asian American andPacific Islanders find themselves strugglingto gain access to the health care and otherservices they need and are entitled to by law.As a staff attorney at Justice in Aging, Chanadvocates for the needs of older adults,especially those with limited Englishproficiency.

Never far from Chan's mind is his maternalgrandmother who doesn't speak English andwhose journey mirrors those of theindividuals he helps.

"Older AAPI adults living in or at risk ofpoverty not only are one unexpected expenseaway from homelessness or one fall away froma hospital visit, but they also face a complexhealth care system made up of people whodon't necessarily speak their language," saidDenny Chan. "At Justice in Aging, we

advocate every day for laws and policies thatbetter protect older Americans, fighting forhealthcare, economic security, and access tothe courts, no matter what language theyspeak."

AARP's AAPI Hero Award is a nationwidecontest that celebrates unsung heroes -volunteer and staff members who workdiligently behind the scenes in nonprofitorganizations serving AAPI age 50 and older.

Indian Consulate, Chicago CelebratesSikh Gurus' Birth Anniversary

352nd Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji and 550th Birth Anniversaryof Guru Nanak Dev ji celebrated with fervor

CHICAGO (TIP): Consulate General ofIndia, Chicago in association with GurdwaraSahib of Chicago celebrated the 352nd BirthAnniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji and550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji on Sunday 20th January 2019 at theGurdwara Sahib of Chicago. This Gurdwarawas also celebrating its 25th Anniversary aswell on this occasion. This Gurdwara isknown to feeding the needy for free every dayfrom 7.00am to 9.00pm.

The program started with Shabad Kirtanfollowed by Keynote speech by Ms. NeetaBhushan, Consul General of India. She spokeon the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev ji and hismessage of one God, communal harmony andits relevance in today's world.

She mentioned that Guru Nanak Dev jivisited many places to spread his message of

tolerance and harmony. He denouncedritualism, superstition, ceremonialism andbelieved in simplicity and that God waspresent in each one of us. The lessons hetaught are relevant to this day.

About Guru Gobind Singh ji she mentionedthat apart from being an extraordinaryhuman being , he was an outstanding exampleof his love for his people and for helping theoppressed and protecting a person's right topractice the religion of his choice. Everyincident of his life revealed his love for

humanity andcourage to stand forwhat he believedwas right. GuruGobind Singh ji wasborn at Patna Sahibin Bihar which isnow among thesacred shrines ofnot just members ofSikh religion but forpeople from allreligion and walksof life.

The occasion wasalso graced by Congressman of 8thCongressional District Raja Krishnamoorthi,who also spoke about the relevance ofteachings of Guru Nanak Dev ji. The ConsulGeneral thanked all the people who attendedthe program and Mr. Balvinder Singh inorganizing this event at the Gurdwara. Theprogram was well attended and concludedwith a Langar.

(Photographs and Press release /Asian MediaUSA)

Ms. Neeta Bhushan, ConsulGeneral of India, Chicagoaddressing the audience

Ms. Neeta Bhushan, Consul General of India,Chicago and Congressman of 8th

Congressional District Raja Krishnamoorthijoined the celebrations

Langar for all.ConsulGeneral joins thesangat at langar

5THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 US

Indian AmericanAssembly member AshKalra named Chair of

Labor CommitteeSAN JOSE

(TIP): IndianA m e r i c a nAssembly memberAsh Kalra (D-SanJose), the firstIndian Americanelected to the StateLegislature, hasbeen named Chairof the AssemblyCommittee onLabor andE m p l o y m e n tCommittee for the2019-20 legislativesession byAssembly SpeakerAnthony Rendon(D-Lakewood). "I am grateful for thisleadership opportunity and would like tothank Speaker Rendon for appointing mechair of the Labor Committee," said Kalra."Having served on the Committee, I havebeen proud to author and supportlegislation that protect the health andsafety of workers, promote fair and timelywages, and combat income inequality. Asthe new chair, I look forward to continuingthese efforts and guiding the committee infostering innovation in the workplace andenvisioning the future of work in our state."

The committee's primary jurisdictionsare wages, hours, employmentdiscrimination, Cal-OSHA, employmentdevelopment, and public job programs.

Prior to being elected to the CaliforniaState Assembly, Assembly member Kalraserved two terms on the San Jose CityCouncil, where he championed protectionsfor City employees, including police andfirefighters, and was an outspoken voice insupport of maintaining San Jose's pensioncommitments to its workers. Assemblymember Kalra was previously Chair of theAging and Long Term Care Committee, ofwhich he remains a member, and continuesto serve on the Education, Judiciary, andWater, Parks, and Wildlife committees.

Trump associate RogerStone charged withobstruction, lying to

Congress and witnesstampering

WASHINGTON (TIP): Roger Stone, alongtime Donald Trump associate, wasindicted by a grand jury on charges brought byspecial counsel Robert Mueller. He appeared incourt in Florida, Friday, January 25. SpecialCounsel Mueller alleges that Stone soughtstolen emails from WikiLeaks that coulddamage Trump's opponents at the direction of"a senior Trump Campaign official."

The court filings shed some startling newlight on how President Donald Trump'scampaign allegedly eagerly tried to benefitfrom Russian meddling in real time.

Stone denies colluding with the Russiangovernment and said he plans to plead notguilty and fight the charges, which includeobstruction, lying to Congress and witnesstampering. Stone is the sixth Trump aide oradviser charged by Mueller and the 34thperson overall. The nearly two-year-old probehas exposed multiple contacts between Trumpassociates and Russia during the campaignand transition period and revealed efforts byseveral to conceal those communications.

Ash Kalra is the firstIndian American

elected to the StateLegislature

Khanna, Sanders IntroduceSweeping Plan in House and Senate

to Lower Drug Prices WASHINGTON (TIP): Indian American

Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), SenatorBernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. ElijahCummings (D-Md.) along with more than twodozen of their colleagues in the House andSenate introduced sweeping reforms earlierthis month that would dramatically reduceprescription drug prices in the United States.

The plan to reduce the skyrocketing costof prescription drugs includes three bills:1. The Prescription Drug Price Relief

Act, which would peg the price ofprescription drugs in the United Statesto the median price in five majorcountries: Canada, the UnitedKingdom, France, Germany and Japan;

2. The Medicare Drug Price NegotiationAct, which would direct the Secretaryof Health and Human Services (HHS)to negotiate lower prices forprescription drugs under MedicarePart D;

3. The Affordable and Safe PrescriptionDrug Importation Act, which wouldallow patients, pharmacists andwholesalers to import safe, affordablemedicine from Canada and other majorcountries.

The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act

would lower drug prices in the United Statesby 50 percent according to Dean Baker.Additionally, the U.S. government could saveclose to $360 billion over 10 years if Medicare

negotiated the same prices for drugs aspeople in Canada pay, according to theCenter for Economic and Policy Research.

"There is absolutely no reason for the bigpharmaceutical companies to makeAmericans pay higher prescription drugprices than they charge our friends inCanada, Germany, and the UK. Today we'resending big pharma a message: marketexclusivity is a privilege, and when youabuse that by price gouging the sick andaging, then you lose that privilege," Khannasaid. "This bill will bring down drug pricesby taking on monopolies and boostingprescription drug competition."

Meanwhile, in Canada and other majorcountries, the same medications,manufactured by the same companies, in thesame factories are available for a fraction ofthe price compared to the United States. In2017, Americans spent $1,208 per person onprescription drugs while Canadians spent$860 and people in the U.K. spent $476.

The measures introduced wereoverwhelmingly supported by the Americanpeople. Seventy-two percent of Americansfavor allowing the importation ofprescription drugs from Canada, and 92percent of the American people supportallowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

This bill will bring down drug prices, saysKhanna

An American who has alwaysbeen 'Bullish on India'named for

Padma BhushanNEW DELHI

(TIP): John ThomasChambers, Formerexecutive chairmanand CEO of CiscoSystems - theA m e r i c a nm u l t i n a t i o n a lc o n g l o m e r a t ecompany thatmanufactures andsells IT andtelecommunicationsn e t w o r k i n ghardware andsoftware, has beennamed for the

Padma Bhushan award - India's third-highest civilianhonor.

"It's a tremendous honor to receive the Padma Bhushanaward. I've always believed in India & it's been incredibleseeing the transition the country has made from slowfollower to fast innovator. I'm lucky to be part of thisincredible success story", John tweeted after theGovernment of India announced his name as PadmaBhushan awardee.

Chambers, who was in Ahmedabad to attend theVibrant Gujarat Summit 2019, earlier said that he hasalways been bullish on India but his mindset has changedexceptionally. "I've always been bullish on India, but thelast 5 years have been exceptional. India's startupecosystem is showing great signs of growth & largeenterprises will need to partner more with innovativestartups like JC2," he tweeted just one day before theannouncement.

Chambers is the founder and CEO of JC2 Ventureswherehe focuses on helping disruptive startups fromaround the world build and scale, while also promoting thebroader development of startup nations and a startupworld. He invests in companies across categories andgeographies that are leading market transitions.

John Thomas Chambers, Formerexecutive chairman and CEO of Cisco

Systems

Indian American SenatorKamala Harris Announces

Presidential RunWASHINGTON (TIP):

On Martin Luther King Jr.Day,Indian AmericanSenator Kamala Harrisannounced that she isrunning for the WhiteHouse in 2020. She willformally launch hercampaign at a rally in herbirthplace Oakland onJanuary 27. Elected in 2016,Harris is the first IndianAmerican and secondAfrican American womanin history to be elected tothe U.S. Senate, and the first African American and first woman to serve asAttorney General of the state of California.

As U.S. Senator, Kamala introduced or co-sponsored legislation to providesweeping tax cuts for the middle class, address the high cost of rent, raise theminimum wage to $15 an hour, make higher education tuition-free for the vastmajority of Americans, reform the cash bail system, protect the legal rights ofrefugees and immigrants, and expand access to affordable, quality health carewith Medicare for All.

Kamala has been a key voice in the fight to hold the Trump administrationaccountable, asking the tough questions on behalf of the American people. Sheserves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Homeland Security andGovernmental Affairs Committee, Select Committee On Intelligence, and theCommittee On Budget. Kamala served two terms as District Attorney of SanFrancisco. Defeating a two-term incumbent, she was first elected in 2003, andwas overwhelmingly re-elected to a second term in November 2007.

She began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office,where she specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases. In 1998, shejoined the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, where she led the CareerCriminal Unit. She also served as the head of the San Francisco City Attorney'sDivision on Children and Families.

Born to an Indian mother and Jamaican father, Kamala Harris is a graduateof Howard University. She earned her law degree from the University ofCalifornia, Hastings College of the Law.

Harris is the first Indian American and secondAfrican American woman in US history to be

elected to the Senate

NEW DELHI (TIP): The biggestdemocracy in the world is due to elect itsleader for the next five years in fewer than 100days. And the race has just become moreinteresting.

On Wednesday (January 23), the mainIndian opposition Congress party announcedthat Priyanka Gandhi - the younger sister ofparty leader Rahul Gandhi and one of theyoungest scions of the country's most fabledpolitical family - had officially enteredpolitics.The popular 47-year-old accepted asenior position and will be in charge of theparty's affairs in the key state of UttarPradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the 545-stronglower house of parliament and has producednine Indian prime ministers.

'Crowd-puller'Priyanka Gandhi's appointment is expected

to significantly help her brother in mountinga credible challenge to the dominance ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP.

In the last elections in 2014, Congress sawits seat count in the lower house of parliamentfall to just 44, while its vote share in UttarPradesh dropped to about eight percent.

Analysts said the party needed new ideasand new faces to revive their fortunes.

"This was in the offing," Said Naqvi, ajournalist and political analyst, told AlJazeera. "She (Priyanka Gandhi) is a definitea crowd-puller and this decision will certainlyweigh on the ruling BJP's gameplay now."

Political dynastyPriyanka Gandhi's family has long

dominated Indian politics. Her greatgrandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first

prime minister of independent India; hergrandmother, Indira, and father, Rajiv, werealso prime ministers, while her mother, Sonia,is a former Congress party president, whoheaded the party for nearly two decades, untilRahul took over in 2017.

Priyanka Gandhi herself is no stranger topolitics but had confined herself to Amethiand Raebareli, constituencies which arerepresented by her brother and motherrespectively.

She is married to businessman RobertVadra, who the BJP has accused of corruptionin his business dealings. The Congress partyhas dismissed the allegations as "politicallymotivated".

In recent months, Congress has been on anupward curve, wresting power from the BJPin December's regional elections in the keystates of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh andMadhya Pradesh.The results dealt Modi hisbiggest defeat since taking office in 2014,boosting the opposition before the nationalpolls, when more than 900 million eligiblevoters are expected to pick the country'smembers of parliament who, in turn, willelect the prime minister.

'Game-changer'So far, most opinion polls have the BJP

leading the race, with Modi's popularityremaining high.

The outcome, however, is not seen as aforegone conclusion.

This month, the leaders of the regionalSamajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan SamajParty (BSP) announced the creation of apotentially formidable coalition aiming tochallenge Modi. Meanwhile, in a show ofstrength, Mamata Banerjee, chief minister ofthe eastern state of West Bengal, a few days

ago organised a massive rally attended bymost of the parties opposing the BJP.

And now, Priyanka Gandhi's official forayinto the state's politics is expected to add morepressure on Modi and his ruling party.

"Priyanka's entry is a game-changer," JaiPrakash, a farmer from Amethi, told AlJazeera. "People see a reflection of IndiraGandhi in her. She is more charismatic thanRahul," he added. "She is Congress's trumpcard."

6 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019INDIA

SC notice to Centre on plea challengingpassport rules

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Supreme Courtsought Centre’s response Friday on a PILquestioning the government move to grant“automatic citizenship” to Hindus, Sikhs,Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians,who migrated to India from Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistan till 2014 end,owing to alleged religious persecution. Abench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoiissued notice to the Tripura government,MEAand Union MHA on a petition filed byNGO Tripura People’s Front throughadvocate Manish Goswami. It gave threeweeks to the authorities to respond.

CVC asks CBI to actagainst Alok Verma incorruption case

NEW DELHI (TIP): The CentralVigilance Commission (CVC) this monthasked the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) to take “necessary action” against itsex-director Alok Verma in a case involving abribe allegedly paid to him by Sana SatishBabu, and the Department of Personnel andTrading (DoPT) to initiate disciplinaryproceedings against him — both based on aCVC report submitted to the Supreme Courtin November, according to three officials inthe federal investigation agency and DoPTwho spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to the officials, a complaint islikely to be filed against Verma over anallegation that middleman Sana Satish Babupaid a Rs 2 crore bribe to him in the MoinQureshi case. DoPT will look into an incidentinvolving the exclusion of the name of a keysuspect Rakesh Saxena from a complaintregistered by CBI in the Indian RailwaysCatering and Tourist Corp (IRCTC) case,allegedly at Verma’s behest.

Priyanka Gandhi’s entry intopolitics: Is she Cong’s trump card?

I don’t hate Modi but will fight himto ensure he doesn't become

PM again, says RahulNEW DELHI (TIP): Congress president

Rahul Gandhi, who has been attacking PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on various issues,said on Friday that he doesn't "hate" him butonly had difference of views.

Gandhi, who had hugged the PrimeMinister in the Lok Sabha last year, said hefeels like giving Modi a "hug whenever heabuses me".

He said he will fight Modi and try to ensurethat he does not become the Prime Ministeragain after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

"We don't want a bureaucratic dictatorship.We want people's democratic state," Gandhisaid while addressing a town hall meetinghere. Attacking the BJP and the RSS, Gandhisaid the "abuses" he received from theseorganisations was the "best thing" that hadhappened to him as a politician and a humanbeing.

"I realise PM Modi disagrees with me and Idisagree with him. I will fight him and I willtry and make sure that he is not the primeminister but I don't hate him. I give him theright to have his opinion," he said whileaddressing 'The Odisha Dialogue' event inOdisha.

Gandhi has been singularly attacking Modiover various issues like Rafale fighter deal,demonetisation, GST, farmers' crisis.Yesterday, he even described Modi as "asymbol of hatred".

The Congress President said that unlike theBJP, the Congress party has a dynamicprocess which allows it to listen to the people.

"I am sorry to say that the Congress, ofcourse, has a chaotic conversation. We allowour leaders to talk to each other. Sometimes,

we even have disagreements. Believe me, Mr.Modi's entire cabinet is disagreeing with himbut none of them has the guts to open hismouth," he said.

"Ours is a dynamic process, we listen to thepeople. Not like Mr Narendra Modi whothinks he knows everything. There is no scopefor feedback. This is the basic differencebetween us and the BJP," Gandhi said.

He said India should be run by its 1.2 billionpeople but "RSS wants to penetrate into allother institutions and control them. One set ofpeople; one ideology should not run thecountry and that is the broad direction inwhich he would push."

He went on to add, "We have to do a lot ofrepair work because what has been done overthe last five years is actually devastating to thecountry. For the first time in history, theSupreme Court judges came out and said they

are not allowed to do our work. And this hasnever happened in Indian history. You can seethe imprint of RSS."

While targeting the Modi government,Gandhi said while there was a talk about higheconomic growth rate, nobody was talkingabout jobs.

"Today, if you listen to the conversation inIndia and read newspapers, the main thingpeople talk about is growth. If we have 9percent growth, we are doing well, if we arehaving 7 percent, we are not doing so well andif we are having 6 percent growth, we have areal problem. Nobody talks about jobs. Youcan grow at 9 percent and still don't have jobs,"he said.

While emphasizing the need fordecentralization power, he said there is aconnection between Modi and Odisha ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik.

7 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019INDIA

CBI registers new caseagainst Hooda in land scam; searchesheld at 30 locations

NEW DELHI (TIP):

The CBI on Fridayregistered a new caseagainst formerHaryana chiefminister BhupinderSingh Hooda andothers over allegedirregularities in landallocation and carried out searches at 30locations in Delhi-NCR, officials said.

A team of officials from the agencyarrived early morning at Hooda’sresidence in Rohtak, they said.

According to the officials, 30 locations inthe Delhi-NCR region are part of theprobe, the officials said.

The agency is tight-lipped about thedetails of the case as the search operationis under way.

The case is understood to be related toalleged irregularities in land allotment,sources said.

SC/ST Act: SC toconsider listing ofCentre’s review,petitions together

NEW DELHI (TIP): The SupremeCourt on Friday said it would considerlisting the Centre’s review and petitionschallenging the amendments to the SC/ STAct 2018, together before an appropriatebench. A bench headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi said it would consider anddo the needful. Attorney General KKVenugopal said a bench headed by JusticeAK Sikri had on Thursday passed an order,saying it would be appropriate to hear theCentre’s review and writ petitions againstthe AC/ST Act 2018 together.

The apex court had on Thursday refusedto stay the Scheduled Castes and theScheduled Tribes (Prevention ofAtrocities) Amendment Act, 2018, whichrestored the provision that no anticipatorybail be granted to the accused.

ISRO launches student-made satellite

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Indian SpaceResearch Organisation (ISRO) launchedits 46th flight of Polar Satellite LaunchVehicle (PSLV-C44) and put into spaceMicrosat-R, an imaging satellite andstudent-made Kalamsat, a communicationsatellite named after former PresidentAbdul Kalam, from the Satish DhawanSpace Centre in Sriharikota.

In PSLV-C44, the fourth stage (PS4) ofthe vehicle will be moved to a highercircular orbit so as to establish an orbitalplatform for carrying out experiments.

Kalamsat, a student payload, will be thefirst to use PS4 as orbital platform. PSLV-C44 will also carry Microsat-R, an imagingsatellite.

Supreme Court refuses to stay 10%quota for poor in jobs, education

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Supreme Court onFriday refused to stay the executive order ofthe Centre implementing the law providing for10 per cent quota for the poor in jobs andhigher education. A Supreme Court bench ledby Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi issuednotice to the Centre seeking response in fourweeks.

The Supreme Court also refused to passorders to the effect that whateverappointments they make under the newreservation policy would be subject to theoutcome of the case before it. “We areexamining the matter,” said the SupremeCourt bench.

The matter would be heard after thepleadings are complete. The court was hearinga public interest litigation (PIL) challengingthe recently enacted law to provide 10 per centreservation in government jobs and highereducation to economically weaker sectionsfrom unreserved, otherwise referred to asgeneral category. The petition challenging theConstitution (103rd) Amendment Act was filedby an NGO, Youth for Equality and it contendsthat the law alters the “basic structure” of theConstitution.

The legislation got Parliament’s approvalearlier this month amid Opposition partiesquestioning the Union government’s “haste”in pushing the bill through months ahead of2019 Lok Sabha elections and in the aftermathof the BJP’s defeat in the Hindi heartlandstates of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh.

The petition cites a Supreme Court order by

a nine-judge bench in 1992 Indra Sawhney casestating that economic backwardness cannotbe the basis of reservation in jobs andeducation. “Such an Amendment is hence,vulnerable and ought to be struck down as itmerely negates a binding judgement,” says thePIL.

The PIL further argues that the new quotalaw breaches the cap of 50 per cent totalreservation in jobs and education. Thisceiling was fixed by the top court in the MNagaraj case in 2006. Under the existingconstitutional arrangements, reservation injobs and education is available to themembers of the Scheduled Caste (SC),Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward

Classes (OBC) communities.The government has, however, maintained

that the amended law can withstand legalscrutiny. Speaking during the debate on theBill in the Lok Sabha, Finance MinisterArun Jaitley said, “The apex court hadstated that the rule of 50% [cap onreservations] applies only to reservation forbackward classes... This bill is for social andeconomic justice.”

The PIL has also challenged the new quotalaw on the ground that the amendmentprovides for reservation in private unaidededucational institutions, which has beenclearly barred by the top court through twoprevious judgments.

Militant-turned soldier awardedAshok Chakra posthumously

NEW DELHI (TIP): LanceNaik Nazir Ahmad Wani, asurrendered militant whobecame a soldier, will beposthumously awarded India’shighest peacetime gallantryaward, the Ashok Chakra, onRepublic Day for his courageduring a fierce encounter inwhich six terrorists were killedin Kashmir last November.

Wani belonged to an army unitraised 15 years ago withsurrendered militants as anexperiment to rewrite the rules ofcounter-terror operations inKashmir.

President Ram Nath Kovindwill present the award to Wani’swife, Mahajabeen Wani, at the70th Republic Day parade, thearmy said on Thursday. Wani,who was 38 when he died, will bethe first soldier from Kashmir tobe awarded the Ashok Chakra.Thus far, 88 individuals havebeen awarded the Ashok Chakra;of these 68 have been awardedposthumously.

Exactly two months ago, onNovember 25, 2018, the armyreceived intelligence on thepresence of six heavily-armedterrorists at Hirapur village insouth Kashmir’s Shopiandistrict. Wani and his squadwere asked to block the

terrorists’ most likely escaperoute, a standard drill duringsuch operations. The soldiersclosed in on the target house andpositioned themselves to engagethe terrorists at close range.

“Sensing danger, the terroristsattempted breaching the innercordon, firing indiscriminatelyand lobbing grenades.Undeterred by the situation,L/Nk Nazir held ground andeliminated one hard coreterrorist [a district commanderof LeT] in a fierce exchange atclose range,” said a notificationissued by the President’ssecretariat on Wednesday.

Nazir’s second kill followed afew minutes later when hefearlessly stormed into thehouse, amid bullets and grenadesflying around him.

“Seeing the foreign terroristescaping from the window, he[Wani] encountered him in ahand to hand combat situation.Despite being severely wounded,L/Nk Nazir eliminated theterrorist,” the notification added.

In the ensuing gun battle, Waniwas hit multiple times, and tooka shot to the head, army officialssaid. Bleeding heavily, the soldiercontinued to engage theremaining terrorists and injureda third one at close range. Hisaction helped his squad kill theremaining terrorists. Wani evenhelped evacuate his woundedcolleagues before succumbing tohis injuries.

This was not the first timeWani demonstrated courage incombat, according to armyofficials. He was twice decoratedwith the Sena Medal for gallantryin counter-terrorism operationsin 2007 and 2018.

He was a hero right from thebeginning, the army said in astatement, adding that heoperated with Rashtriya Riflesunits in Kashmir to fight theonslaught of Pakistan-supportedterror outfits. Wani joined theIndian Army’s 162 InfantryBattalion (Territorial Army),Jammu and Kashmir LightInfantry, in 2004.

Patna Sikh shrine torevamp gurdwaras in Bangladesh

PATNA (TIP): The managingcommittee of Takht Sri Patna Sahib isdrawing a roadmap for the renovationand beautification of gurdwaras inBangladesh. Patna Sahib shrine is thebirthplace of 10th Sikh master GuruGobind Singh and second biggestshrine of Sikhs in the country. It looksafter maintenance and development ofgurdwaras in the east and south India,besides those in Bangladesh.

At a crucial meeting held last week,the shrine management committeedecided to send a delegation toBangladesh to study the condition ofgurdwaras in the country and chalkout an effective plan to revamp them.

Committee’s general secretaryMahendra Pal Singh Dhillon, said,“We have learnt that the gurdwaras inBangladesh are in need of a revamp.One Dr Parmveer Singh, researcherand professor at Punjabi University,Patiala, has been given theresponsibility on behalf of the Takhtcommittee to travel to Bangladesh tostudy the prevailing condition of thehistorical gurdwaras in the countrywhere the founder of Sikhism GuruNanak and Guru Teg Bahadur hadvisited. Proofs of their footprints canbe found in those gurdwaras.”

He said Dr Singh will assess andsubmit a report on the work to be donefor bringing back the shrines to theiroriginal grandeur. Bangladesh till thelate sixties had in all 18 gurdwaras.

8 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019EDITORIAL

The fulcrum of geopolitical tension sits onCaracas, the capital of Venezuela. Anattempted coup on January 23 has failed.

The U.S. decided to recognize a member of theOpposition, Juan Guaidó, as the President ofVenezuela. U.S. officials called upon the militaryto rise up against the government of PresidentNicolás Maduro. This was against the charters ofthe United Nations and of the Organisation ofAmerican States (OAS). None of that mattered.The drumbeats sounded from Washington toCaracas. There was a minor drum playing frommany Latin American capitals, those whosegovernments had joined the Lima Group - set upin Peru in 2017 to overthrow the government ofVenezuela.

There is little respite for the country, wheretension sits heavily from one end to another.Thus far, the government of Mr. Maduro remainsin power, and the military has pledged its fealtyto the re-elected president. It is unlikely that theVenezuelan Opposition - controlled by the oldoligarchy - will be able to engineer a coup fromwithin the country. It tried such a politicalmaneuver in 2002, which failed. This time it hasfailed again.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza,45, has been understandably busy on the dayafter the attempted coup. The U.S. tried to isolatethe Maduro government. The OAS met inWashington DC, where the U.S. government triedto get it to unanimously vote against Mr. Maduro.Even that meeting could not go as scripted. Aveteran activist from Code Pink, MedeaBenjamin, sneaked into the room and chantedslogans against the attempted coup. Many LatinAmerican states, despite intense pressure fromthe U.S. government, either voted against theOAS motion or abstained. Mr. Arreaza watchedthese

When I asked him about the coup, he wentback to 2017, the last time that the oligarchy triedto wrest control of the government from thesocialists. The socialists, led by Hugo Chávez,came to power in 1999. After the U.S. attempted tooverthrow Chávez and the socialists in 2002,things calmed down. Oil prices rose and the U.S.was distracted by events in Iraq andAfghanistan. For a decade, Venezuela was able tolead a regional process of integration on an anti-imperialist foundation. But, when Chávez died in2013, the experiment began to unravel. Oil pricesfell dramatically, and the U.S. had already turnedits attention to Latin America. A coup in 2009overthrew the democratically electedgovernment of Honduras. The gunsights turnedtoward Venezuela. The oligarchy, backed fully bythe U.S., attempted to foment trouble in 2017.

Mr. Arreaza recalled one man, Orlando

Figuera, 21, who was going through anOpposition stronghold in May 2017. "He wasaccused of being a government supporter andbrutally beaten by masked protesters who thensoaked him in gasoline and set him on fire," Mr.Arreaza told me. He brought up this story to offeran illustration of the character of theOpposition. Mr. Arreaza called this a 'violentfascist movement'. He wanted to make it clearthat the coup attempt was a part of thatmovement - one that is less interested indemocracy and more interested in power andwealth.

Venezuela is in trouble. No one doubts that. Oilprices have fallen to half of what they were at thehighpoint of Chávez's government. Since thetreasury of Venezuela is almost entirelyreplenished by the incomes from oil sales, thecollapse of oil prices means the collapse ofVenezuela's public finances. Unable to borroweasily, the country faces serious economicdifficulties. Sanctions by the U.S. and the seizureof refining sites in the Caribbean put the countryinto a situation of great crisis. No wonder thatpeople are leaving the country, fleeing theirhomeland as it is suffocated for politicalpurposes by the U.S. and its Latin Americanallies in the Lima Group.

Colombia's Iván Duque and Brazil's JairBolsonaro are both right-wing politicians whocontrol the governments of Venezuela'sneighbors. They have committed themselves tothe overthrow of the Venezuelan government.

Mr. Arreaza and others in Venezuela told me thatMr. Duque, Mr. Bolsonaro and U.S. PresidentDonald Trump have overplayed their hands.After the attempted overthrow in 2017, theVenezuelan government tried to deepen publicparticipation by the formation of a ConstituentAssembly. It is true that the oligarchy hated thisidea and that the western press amplified itsviews about this being anti-democratic. But, asmany Venezuelans say, the ConstituentAssembly and the many elections for candidatesand referendums that came before 2017 havesharpened their political consciousness. It willbe hard to befuddle them with talk ofdictatorship.

The isolation of Venezuela is remarkable. Notlong ago, the country was the heartbeat of theleftist assertion in the hemisphere. Now, with theemergence of right-of-center governments inLatin America and with an explosive energy forregime change in Washington, matters are morecomplex. Mr. Arreaza said that Mr. Maduro hadinvited the UN High Commissioner for HumanRights, Michelle Bachelet, to visit Venezuela. Shehas not yet come. Mr. Maduro, he said, wantedthe UN to host a dialogue with the Opposition torestore some balance to the politics in thecountry. No such assistance has been provided. Ahand is outstretched from Caracas, Mr. Arreazasaid. It is waiting for someone to take hold of it.

(The author is Executive Director, Tricontinental:Institute for Social Research)

The State of the Indian

Republic

India is celebrating 70th Republic Day.What a day! Congratulations! Indianscelebrate the Constitution of India- the

most well written Constitution in theworld, it is said. There is a plethora ofrights and guarantees for all citizens of awonderful country, gifted with Nature'sbounty. God's own country, one may as wellsay. And Indians are legitimately proud ofthe work done by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkarand his colleagues in giving them awonderful Constitution.

India has a political system which hasweathered all kinds of storms. India has asystem of governance which can befunctional under any person and party.India is growing in numbers, in wealth, ininfluence in the world. India truly isprogressing. And Indians must be proud ofthe achievements India can boast of.

India has some of the world's wealthiestpeople. Indians have the best brains. Theymay not have opportunities in India. Butthey are all over the world. Some of themhead the largest companies in the world.Some are the top scientists. Some othersare the best-knownacademics. Name anyprofession, they are among the top.

But then how it is that India is hungry, 73years after independence, and 70 yearsafter becoming a Republic? When you havethe manpower, intellectual power, wealthand all kinds of means in your armor, howis it thatthere is so much poverty in India?In 2012, the Indian government stated 22%of its population is below its officialpoverty limit. The World Bank, in 2011based on 2005's PPPs InternationalComparison Program, estimated 23.6% ofIndian population, or about 276 millionpeople, lived below $1.25 per day onpurchasing power parity.

According to Global Wealth Report 2016compiled by Credit Suisse ResearchInstitute, India is the second most unequalcountry in the world with the top one percent of the population owning 58% of thetotal wealth. And this gap is widening, dayby day.

On this Republic Day, I will like ourpolitical and thought leaders to please puttheir heads together and find ways to endpoverty, and, next the unjust economicinequality, in the interest of the greatnation that India is and the equally greatpeople that Indians are.

THE INDIAN PANORAMA PPRREESSIIDDEENNTT//PPUUBBLLIISSHHEERR: Prof. Indrajit S. SalujaVVIICCEE PPRREESSIIDDEENNTT:: Chitagam SalujaCCHHIIEEFF EEDDIITTOORR:: Prof Indrajit S. SalujaAASSSSIISSTTAANNTT EEDDIITTOORR:: Bidisha RoyGGRRAAPPHHIICCSS DDIIRREECCTTOORR:: Om Parkash MalikDDIIRREECCTTOORR AADDMMIINNIISSTTRRAATTIIOONN:: Gauri BeriCCOONNTTRRIIBBUUTTIINNGG PPHHOOTTOOGGRRAAPPHHEERRSS:: Baldev Singh / BJ VideosGunjesh Desai / Masala JunctionJay Mandal, Mohammad Jaffer/ SnapsIndia

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By Vijay Prashad

AS I SEE IT

A failed coup in Venezuela The country was once the heartbeat of leftist assertion. But

with change in the Americas, matters are now complex

COMMENTProf I.S.Saluja

Thus far, the government of Mr. Maduro remains in power, and themilitary has pledged its fealty to the re-elected president. It is unlikelythat the Venezuelan Opposition - controlled by the old oligarchy - will

be able to engineer a coup from within the country. It tried such apolitical maneuver in 2002, which failed. This time it has failed again.

Readers Write Indian Flag Burning by SFJ on January 26,2019

"In America, given our cherished Bill ofRights, "Flag burning" by an American is both

emotionally offensive and legally protectedpolitical speech. Desecration, when devoid ofpolitical speech, however, is a crime. Indeed,being upon one's knee in NFL games is in thesame genre, albeit, less offensive.

What SFJ - an American-born & accredited

entity is seeking to do, however - is to burn theflag of another nation - and here is the criticalpart - as part of a campaign, allegedly, as anunregistered foreign agent engaging in terroristactivities in India. The First Amendment haslimits, and India's laws, no less implicated, about

flag-desecration, let alone terror and foreignagency, are the calculus of this calculated act toevoke, provoke and injure the sovereignty of acore American ally, India."

Ravi Batra ravi@ravibatralaw.com

9THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 PERSPECTIVE

By Asoke KumarMukerji

UN Peacekeeping: India’s Contributions

As an "original"founder-member ofthe United Nations,India has nothesitated to respondto the calls of the UNto contribute troopsfor maintaininginternational peaceand security. In 1950,soon after India'sindependence, the60 Parachute FieldAmbulance of theIndian Army was sentto provide medicalcover to U.S./R.O.K.and UN forcesengaged in theKorean War. The unitserved in Korea for atotal of three and ahalf years (November1950- May 1954), thelongest single tenureby any military unitunder the UN flag.

India's contributions to UN peacekeepingoperations (UNPKOs) have beenunderscored by the experience and

professionalism of India's armed forces.Speaking at the September 2015 Leaders'Summit in New York on UN Peacekeeping,Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had said:"The foundations of the United Nations werelaid by the brave soldiers on the battlefields ofthe Second World War. By 1945, they included2.5 million men of the Indian Army, thelargest volunteer force in history." India todayis the largest contributor of troops toUNPKOs. More than 200,000 Indian troopshave served in 49 of the 71 UNPKOs deployedso far.

As an "original" founder-member of theUnited Nations, India has not hesitated torespond to the calls of the UN to contributetroops for maintaining international peaceand security. In 1950, soon after India'sindependence, the 60 Parachute FieldAmbulance of the Indian Army was sent toprovide medical cover to U.S./R.O.K. and UNforces engaged in the Korean War. The unitserved in Korea for a total of three and a halfyears (November 1950- May 1954), the longestsingle tenure by any military unit under theUN flag.

From 15 November 1956 to 19 May 1967,eleven infantry battalions from India servedby rotation in the UN Emergency Force(UNEF 1) to ensure the withdrawal of France,U.K. and Israel from Egyptian territory and tosustain the peace between Israel and her Arabneighbors. 27 Indian UN peacekeepers losttheir lives in this operation.

In 1960, the Congo requested for deploymentof UN peacekeepers to counter secession andre-integrate the country after Belgian rule.Between 14 July 1960 and 30 June 1964, twoIndian brigades participated in ONUCUNPKO. The rules of engagement weremodified to cater for use of force in defense ofthe mandate, in carrying out humanitariantasks, and in countering mercenaries. 39Indian personnel lost their lives in theoperation. Captain Gurbachan Singh Salariabecame the only UN peacekeeper to receivethe Param Vir Chakra, India's highestmilitary award, for laying down his life indefense of the UN mandate in the Congo.

India's participation in the initial UNPKOsresulted in a growing pool of Indian military

officers seconded to the UN whoseprofessionalism and experience havecontributed to UN peacekeeping doctrine. Thecontribution of Major-General

I.J. Rikhye, appointed as the first MilitaryAdviser to the UN Secretary General between1960-1967, was seminal in this context. Thethree core principles of effective UNpeacekeeping were identified based on theexperience of UNPKOs on the ground. Theseare deployment with the consent of theparties, impartiality in operations, and non-use of force except in self-defense and defenseof the mandate.

Subsequent contributions to UNpeacekeeping doctrine by Indian militaryofficers have built on this, both at UNHeadquarters (where two Indian Generalshave served as Military Advisers in recentyears) and in the field (where 15 IndianGenerals have acted as Force Commanderswith distinction).

The end of the Cold War resulted in amushrooming of crises. More than 20 newUNPKOs were deployed between 1989-1994alone. India's contributions to these newoperations rose significantly. Three broadareas have emerged where India'scontributions have made a difference.

The first area is in making use of UNpeacekeeping across the world to ensure apolitical transition to peace. Such UNPKOsinclude UNPROFOR in the former Yugoslavia,whose first Force Commander was India's Lt.General Satish Nambiar; UNTAC inCambodia; ONUSAL in El Salvador;ONUMOZ in Mozambique; UNOSOM inSomalia; UNAVEM in Angola; UNAMSIL inSierra Leone; UNMEE in Ethiopia-Eritrea;and UNMIT in East Timor.

The second area is in augmentingpeacebuilding activities by encouraging andmentoring the strengthening of nationalgovernance institutions. UNTAG saw Indianpeacekeepers assist in the creation of theinstitutions of an independent Namibia.India became the first country to demonstratethe effectiveness of women as UNpeacekeepers in peacebuilding with thedeployment of the first all-female formedpolice unit (FFPU) to the UNPKO in Liberia(UNMIL) in 2007. When UNMIL was wound upin February 2018, President Sirleaf of Liberiacommented: "The contribution you have made

in inspiring Liberian women, imparting inthem the spirit of professionalism andencouraging them to join operations thatprotect the nation, for that we will always begrateful."

The third area is in leading the ground levelresponse to new challenges, while the UNSecurity Council remains ineffective inimplementing its decisions, due to reasons setout unanimously by world leaders at the 2005UN World Summit which mandated reformsof the Security Council. The protection ofcivilians caught in intra- state conflicts is oneissue where India's UN peacekeepers havemade a positive difference, especially incomplex UNPKOs like MONUSCO in theDemocratic Republic of Congo and UNMISSin South Sudan. Going beyond the call of duty,Indian UN peacekeepers have volunteeredmedical services, including veterinarysupport, and engineering services, in theseUNPKOs, which has contributed to sustainingthe livelihood of conflict-impacted localcommunities.

The challenges faced by India's troopscontributed to UNPKOs today includeterrorist threats to the UN by non-state actors.In UNDOF, deployed on the Golan Heights ofSyria, Indian UN military officers were thefirst to confront such challenges by the Jabhatal-Nusra terrorist group which took UNpeacekeepers hostage in 2014.

A bigger challenge for troop-contributingcountries like India is the denial by thepermanent members of the Security Councilto participate in "decisions of the SecurityCouncil" concerning the deployment of hertroops, as provided for in Article 44 of the UNCharter.

3802 troops from UN member-states havegiven their lives defending the UN Charterbetween 1948-2018. The highest number (164)are from India. India has launched a virtualwall of remembrance for her peacekeepers.The UN General Assembly has approvedconstructing a Memorial to all fallen UNpeacekeepers. As Prime Minister ShriNarendra Modi has emphasized: "It would bemost fitting if the proposed memorial wall tothe fallen peacekeepers is created quickly."

(The author, a retired diplomat, is a FormerPermanent Representative of India to the

United Nations)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Indian Peacekeepers who returned from South Sudan

10 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019WORLD

‘I have to stayalive’: GayBrazilianlawmaker

gives up seatamid threats

SAO PAULO (BRAZIL) (TIP): Anopenly gay federal lawmaker in Brazil whohas frequently clashed with the country’snew far-right president said January 25 thathe was giving up his seat because of deaththreats.

The lawmaker, Jean Wyllys, a fierceadvocate for gay rights who was due to besworn in for a third term in February, saidin an interview with newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that “this environment isn’t safe forme” after the assassination of a politicalally in March and violence that followed theelection of President Jair Bolsonaro inOctober.

“For the future of this cause,” Wyllyssaid, “I have to stay alive. I don’t want to bea martyr.” He added that he was currentlyon vacation abroad and did not plan toreturn to Brazil.

Wyllys called Bolsonaro, a formercolleague of his in the lower house ofCongress, “a president who always vilifiedme, who always openly insulted me, whowas always homophobic with me.”

In 2016, Wyllys responded by spitting atBolsonaro during the hearing to impeachPresident Dilma Rousseff. Bolsonaro,before reinventing himself as a fighter ofpolitical corruption and rampant violence,was best known for delivering verbalattacks on women, black people and gaypeople from the congressional floor.

Shortly after Wyllys’ interview waspublished, Bolsonaro, who was in Davos,Switzerland, for the World EconomicForum, tweeted “Great day!” and a thumbs-up emoticon. Supporters weighed in, manywith homophobic comments.

Wyllys has been the target of deaththreats for years, but he said those threatshad become more severe after MarielleFranco, a human rights advocate who washis friend and political ally, wasassassinated. (NYT)

Down to its last two villages in Syria, ISIS still fights back

BAGHDAD (TIP):Along two sharp curvesof the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria,the Islamic State is fighting to hold on to thelast speck of the vast territory it oncecontrolled.

At its height, the group enforced its brutalversion of Islamic rule over more than 60,000square miles in Syria and Iraq. It is nowsqueezed into two villages occupying 6 squaremiles. There, its foot soldiers have beenengaged in heavy clashes with the US-backedand Kurdish-led militia Syrian DemocraticForces who are battling to take back the turf,according to a spokesman for the militia andobservers in the area.

While some of the extremists are fighting tothe end, local officials say the militants havebeen surrendering by the dozens, repeating apattern observed in other cities shortly beforethe group was overrun.

Even with the end of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq withinview, Western officials caution that this is notthe end of the violent threat posed by thegroup. It has continued carrying outdevastating attacks as it reverts to itsinsurgent roots, including a suicide bombingthat killed four Americans in Manbij, Syria,last week. “I think this is the end of a phase,and the beginning of a subsequent fight,” saidCol. Sean Ryan, a Baghdad-based spokesmanfor the US-backed coalition fighting the group.“Now they will resume smaller attacks.Everyone needs to remain vigilant.”

The Islamic State’s ambitions have alwaysbeen global, and its affiliates in Afghanistan,West Africa, the Philippines, Yemen, Somaliaand elsewhere have been growing, experts say.And just inside Syria and Iraq, the group stillhas between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters,according to separate estimates by thePentagon inspector general, the UnitedNations and the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies.

While many fighters have been killed sincethose estimates were calculated late last year,analysts say that large numbers have simplymelted into the population.

The two villages still held by the group —Marashidah and Baghuz Fawqani —represent the final 0.01 percent of thecaliphate in Syria and Iraq. They sit insidethe hook created by two bends in theEuphrates. The terrain is lush near the riverand then increasingly desiccated farther out.

After months of grueling war that hasclaimed the lives of thousands of fighters inSyria, the Kurdish-led militia has recentlymade significant inroads. Some officials areoptimistically declaring that the last twovillages will fall in a matter of days. Othersestimate the final battles, which come as theUnited States prepares to withdraw 2,000troops in the coming months, could take aslong as three weeks.

“Yesterday, 60 fighters — among them 50foreigners — surrendered to our forces, andthe number was 30 fighters the day before,”Shervan Derwish, spokesman of the militarycouncil in Manbij, said Wednesday. “Theremaining Daesh fighters are split betweenthose who want to surrender and those whowant to fight until the end,” he said, using theArabic acronym for the Islamic State.

It’s not surprising that a majority of thosewho surrendered are foreign fighters. TheIslamic State, as it established its caliphate in2014, recruited from 100 countries and tens ofthousands of people flocked to its territory.

Unlike the local population, the foreignersoften do not speak Arabic fluently, and theirnon-Arab features mean that they cannotblend in with the local population. Thosehanding themselves over, including the wivesand children of foreign fighters, are bitterlycomplaining that their local counterpartswere able to slip away, leaving them to fend forthemselves. The leaders of the SyrianDemocratic Forces say a decision to alter theirbattle plan has allowed them to advance more

quickly on the Islamic State holdouts.During previous assaults, the militia

usually attacked from a single front. Thencame an aggressive counterattack by theIslamic State in October in the village ofSousa that inflicted heavy casualties on thecoalition and allowed the militants to regainareas lost days before.

“After that, the leadership took a decision tochange tactics, and moved us to attacking ontwo — or even three — axes so that the smallforce that ISIS has cannot counter,” said ZanaAmedi, a spokesman for the SyrianDemocratic Forces. “Right now, the operationis going on two axes — from the north, we areattacking the village of Marashidah, and fromthe south, the village of Baghuz.”

In recent days, the Islamic State has shownthat it is still a potent force by leading back-to-back attacks on U.S. forces.

The first was the suicide explosion at arestaurant in Manbij, which killed 15 people,including two U.S. service members, a DefenseDepartment civilian and a militarycontractor. The second was a strike on a U.S.convoy passing south of the town of Hasakah,which claimed no lives but was neverthelessworrying because of its targeted nature.

“If they are able to operate in Manbij,which is 300 kilometers away from where theyhold territory, you tell me, are they defeated?”asked Amedi, the Syrian Democratic Forcesspokesman. “ISIS has power, ISIS has sleepercells and ISIS has been preparing for this foryears,” he added. (New York Times)

Not aware of plans by Xi Jinping to visit India: Chinese Foreign Ministry

BEIJING (TIP): China’s Foreign Ministrysaid on January 25 that it was not aware aboutany plans of President Xi Jinping’s visit toIndia in the next two months for the secondinformal summit with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi as reported by a Japanesepublication.

Japanese publication Nikkei Asian Review

on Tuesday carried a report titled “Xi plansIndia visit, as diplomatic chess with USintensifies”.

The story said, “Xi intends to visit India asearly as February in a move seen atcountering Washington’s increasinglyantagonistic trade policy and aggressive Indo-Pacific diplomacy.”

When asked about the report, ChineseForeign Ministry spokesperson HuaChunying said, “You said this was reported byJapanese media. So it is quite interesting. I amnot aware of what you said.”

Hua said China and India are friendlyneighbours.

“We attach importance to maintain highlevel exchanges. And the leader of the boththe countries also maintain friendly

communication and exchange,” she said.When pointed out that the Russian media

also carried a similar report, Hua said,“Chinese media hasn’t reported it and I amnot aware of the information you mentioned”.

“But we attach importance to our relationswith India and we stand to maintain closecommunication at various levels,” she said.

Officials sources here on Wednesday toldPTI here that there was no proposal for Xi tovisit India for the second informal summitwith Prime Minister Modi.

Wuhan summit was the first such high-levelmeeting ever between Indian and Chineseleaders. It was conceived by both the sidesfollowing the 2017 military standoff atDoklam which ratcheted up tensions betweenthe two countries. The two-day summit at

Wuhan during which the two leaders closelyinteracted for hours on bilateral andinternational issues has paved the way for thetwo countries to normalise relations on allfronts putting behind the Doklam standoff.

Since then the two countries steadilynormalised relations with intensifieddialogue on various fronts, including themilitary and trade fronts.

Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan hasconcluded his two-day visit to China onTuesday after talks with Chinese ViceMinister of Commerce Wang Shouwen andZhang Jiwen, Chinese Vice Minister ofGeneral Administration of Customs of China(GACC), to enhance Indian exports to China toreduce the trade deficit of over USD 57 billion.(PTI)

11THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 SOUTH ASIA

Australia urges Chinato treat detained writer

fairlyCanberra (TIP): Australia’s foreign

minister has urged China to treat aChinese-Australian writer fairly and saysthere is no evidence that his detention ispart of a backlash against Canada’s arrestof a top Chinese telecommunicationsexecutive.

Spy novelist and online commentatorYang Hengjun was a Chinese diplomatbefore he became an Australian citizen.

Friends say the 53-year-old had beenliving in New York as a visiting scholar atColumbia University and had returned toChina last week with his wife and 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne saidAustralian Embassy officials had theirfirst meeting with Chinese officials inBeijing on Yang’s detention on Thursday.

Australia had requested urgentconsular accesses to him, an explanationfor his detention and of possible charges.(AP)

Scientist who editedbabies’ genes is likely to

face charges in China HONG KONG (TIP): A Chinese

scientist who claimed to have created theworld’s first genetically edited babies“seriously violated” state regulations,according to the results of an initialgovernment investigation reported onJanuary 19 by Chinese state media.

The investigators’ findings indicate thatthe scientist, He Jiankui, and hiscollaborators are likely to face criminalcharges.

He shocked the world in Novemberwhen he announced that he had usedCrispr, a powerful gene-editing technique,to alter the genes of human embryos. Heproduced some data but no definitive proofduring his presentation at aninternational conference in Hong Kong.

The investigation found that he and histeam had edited the genes of humanembryos and then implanted the embryosin female volunteers, as he claimed lastyear. One volunteer gave birth to twin girlsin November, and another volunteer isnow pregnant, according to Xinhua, theChinese state news agency.

He’s announcement raised ethicalconcerns about the long-term effects ofsuch genetic alterations, which ifsuccessful would be inherited by thechild’s progeny, and whether otherscientists would be emboldened to trytheir own gene-editing experiments.

Scientists inside and outside Chinacriticized He’s work, which highlightedfears that the country has overlookedethical issues in the pursuit of scientificachievement. Chinese authorities placedHe under investigation, during which timehe has been kept under guard at aguesthouse at the Southern University ofScience and Technology in the city ofShenzhen.

The university announced Monday thatit was rescinding He’s contract andcanceling all of his teaching and researchactivities there.

The investigation also found that He hadraised funds on his own “in pursuit ofpersonal fame and fortune.” Theallegations that he forged documents andfinanced his work independently couldshield from punishment his university,local authorities and the hospital wherethe trial was carried out. (New YorkTimes)

Venezuela military backs Maduro, asRussia warns US not to intervene

CARACAS (VENEZUELA) (TIP): Theleader of Venezuela’s armed forces declaredloyalty to President Nicolás Maduro onJanuary 24 and said the opposition’s effort toreplace him with a transitional governmentamounted to an attempted coup.

The pronouncement by the defenseminister, Vladimir Padrino López, came a dayafter an opposition lawmaker proclaimedhimself the country’s rightful leader duringnationwide protests and pleaded with thearmed forces to abandon Maduro.

The defense minister’s declaration was asetback for the opposition leader, JuanGuaidó, whose claim to legitimacy has beenbacked by a number of countries, includingthe United States. In a further blow to theopposition, Russia warned the United Stateson Thursday against meddling in Venezuela, alongtime Kremlin ally that has receivedbillions of dollars in Russian support.

President Vladimir Putin of Russiatelephoned Maduro and “emphasized thatdestructive external interference is a grossviolation of the fundamental norms ofinternational law,” according to a statementon Putin’s official website.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ignoredthe admonitions and intensified the Trumpadministration’s call for other countries toaccept Guaidó and renounce Maduro.

“His regime is morally bankrupt, it’seconomically incompetent, and it isprofoundly corrupt, and it is undemocratic tothe core,” Pompeo told a meeting of the 35-member Organization of American States inWashington.

The United States also offered $20 million inemergency aid to Guaidó’s side and requestedan emergency meeting of the U.N. SecurityCouncil on Saturday on the Venezuela crisis.Diplomats said Pompeo was expected toattend.

Taken together, the events escalated theconfusion and conflict over who is the rightfulpresident of Venezuela, the oil-rich andformerly prosperous country upended bypolitical repression and severe economichardship under Maduro.

An infuriated Maduro cut ties Wednesdaywith the United States and ordered alldiplomats to leave within 72 hours. Pompeosaid the United States would not comply.

But a senior U.S. official, speaking oncondition of anonymity, said the embassy inCaracas was evacuating all family members

and several diplomats, keeping a core team ofofficers in place. How long they might stayremained unclear.

Maduro, addressing Supreme Court judgesat an event Thursday afternoon, urged theUnited States to heed his call to withdraw alldiplomats by this weekend.

“If there is any sense and rationality, I sayto the State Department: You must follow theorder,” Maduro said.

He added that Venezuela’s diplomaticmissions in the United States, which includean embassy in Washington and consulates inFlorida and Texas, would be shut down bySaturday.

Opposition leaders had hoped key membersof the armed forces would break ranks withMaduro after large demonstrations across thecountry and international pledges of supportfor Guaidó, including the Trumpadministration’s repeated warnings that a“military option” is possible for restoringdemocracy in Venezuela.

But so far, senior military commandersappear to be siding with Maduro, even as theyexpress alarm over the possible consequencesof rival claims to power.

“We’re here to avoid a clash betweenVenezuelans,” Padrino, the defense minister,said in a televised address, flanked by high-ranking officers. “It’s not a civil war, a waramong brothers, that will resolveVenezuelans’ problems.”

Padrino called Guaidó’s claim to power“laughable” and described him as a pawn ofright-wing factions subservient to the United

States.“It makes you want to laugh,” he said. “But

I must alert the people of the danger thisrepresents.”

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile,Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru,Ecuador, Guatemala and the Organization ofAmerican States have also recognized Guaidóas the country’s leader. Others in the region,however, have not, including Mexico, as wellas Cuba and Bolivia, longtime allies ofMaduro.

Guaidó took an oath Wednesday to leadVenezuela until fair elections can be held. Hehas argued that as the president of theNational Assembly, an opposition-controlledlegislative body, he has the constitutionalauthority to assume power after Maduro tookoffice earlier this month following an electionwidely viewed as rigged.

The military’s pledge of support forMaduro raised the stakes of a standoff thatU.S. officials had hoped would be resolvedquickly.

Diplomats who back Guaidó hoped that keymembers of the armed forces would switchsides after an outpouring of support forGuaidó on the streets of Venezuela onWednesday, and pledges of support by severalnations in Latin America.

Military analysts and diplomats weresurprised that Padrino had remained largelysilent and invisible for hours after Guaidóproclaimed himself the country’s interimpresident. Some were looking for signs of riftswithin the armed forces. (NYT)

Queen sends a Brexit message to UKpoliticians: End your bickering

LONDON (TIP): Queen Elizabeth has sent adelicately coded message to Britain’s factiouspolitical class over Brexit, urging lawmakers toseek common ground and grasp the big pictureto resolve the crisis. With the clock ticking downto March 29, the date set in law for Britain toleave the European Union, the United Kingdomis in the deepest political crisis in half a centuryas it grapples with how, or even whether, to exitthe European project it joined in 1973.

While Elizabeth, 92, did not mention Brexitexplicitly in an annual speech to her localWomen’s Institute in Norfolk, the monarch saidevery generation faced “fresh challenges andopportunities.” “As we look for new answers inthe modern age, I for one prefer the tried andtested recipes, like speaking well of each otherand respecting different points of view; coming

together to seek out the common ground; andnever losing sight of the bigger picture,” thequeen said. Though steeped in the conventionallanguage the queen has made her hallmark, theremarks in the context of Britain’s crisis are asignal to politicians to sort out the turmoil thathas pushed the world’s fifth largest economy tothe brink. “She’s been a gold standard monarchfor very nearly 67 years now and this is aparticularly gilt-edged moment, I think it’s veryimportant what she said and how she said it,”historian Peter Hennessy said. BuckinghamPalace declined to comment though the Britishmedia was clear about the significance of herremarks. The Times’ headline read: “End Brexitfeud, Queen tells warring politicians”. As headof state, the queen remains neutral on politicsin public and is unable to vote, though ahead of

the 2014 referendum on Scottish independenceshe made a delicately crafted plea for Scots tothink carefully about their future.

The future of Brexit remains unpredictablewith options ranging from a disorderly exit thatwould spook investors across the world to a newreferendum that could reverse the process.Prime Minister Theresa May is engaged in alast-ditch bid to win support for a tweakeddivorce deal after parliament this monthcrushed the original plan in the biggest defeat inmodern British history.

Goldman Sachs will invest less in the UnitedKingdom if there is a difficult or hard Brexit,Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said.“Our headcount in the UK over the last couple ofyears has not gone down but it hasn’t gone upeither. (Reuters)

Actor Janhvi Kapoor was caught in anawkward moment whenphotographers decided to pull her leg

and call her ‘Sara Ji’ as she stepped out of hertrailer. When Janhvi hears it, she says, “Jaanbooch ke kar rahe hai (He is doing itintentionally).” She says it with a smile on herface, understanding that the photographerswere trying to tease her.

Janhvi was also trolled recently for anoutfit that she wore for the shoot of a popularmagazine. Instagram page Diet Sabya calledout the actor’s stylist and the designer forplagiarising Balmain’s design. She was alsotrolled for her wig, the dress and also fornepotism. Some even gave a shoutout to RheaKapoor and Sonam Kapoor, who had posted along note on why one of the Anamika Khannadesigns that Diet Sabya had featured in theirInstagram site was not a copy.

On the work front, Janhvi will be seen inthe biopic of Indian Air?Force officer GunjanSaxena, who was the first female Indian pilot.A picture of Jahnvi dressed in IAF?uniformwas leaked on the social media. Janhvi will

also be seen in Karan Johar’s big-budgetdirectorial Takht, which will also starRanveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kareena KapoorKhan, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar andothers.

Recently speaking of her late mother, actorSridevi, Janhvi had said, “I think, I was stillin that state of shock, to be very honest. Ithink I am still in shock. None of it has beenprocessed. Like, I have no memory of three orfour months.You know at the end of the day,we have the same blood in us. I don’tremember anything of those four months butI do remember that one day when we weresitting in Harsh (Harshvardhan Kapoor, AnilKapoor’s son and Janvhi’s cousin) bhaiya’sroom and Arjun bhaiya and Anshula didicame in, I think that was the one day when Ifelt like, ‘Ok maybe we might be okay.”

PEOPLE ARE WAITING FORME TO FAIL, SAYS KANGANA

BEING FAMOUS DOESN’T MAKE ANACTOR A STAR: KAJOL

Kajol, one of the most sought after namesof Hindi film industry, believes it hasbecome easier to get famous, but being

a star is not a cakewalk even today."The words star and fame cannot be put

together. There are lot of people who arefamous today but there are a very few stars. So,it is not synonymous anymore today whichused to be there earlier," Kajol told PTI. Theactor, who has been active in films for over 25years, said she stayed relevant as she decidedto grow with time both personally andprofessionally.

"I believe I am relevant today. I believe mypersonality has a lot to do with it. Mypersonality has grown on screen and offscreen with age. I am way smarter, cooler thanwhat I was at the age 16. I am more beautiful. Ithink I am bound to be relevant in a lot ofways," she said.

Kajol made her acting debut in 1992 withRahul Rawail's Bekhudi and went on to deliverhits like Baazigar, Yeh Dillagi, Karan Arjun,Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Gupt, KuchKuch Hota Hai, My Name is Khan, Fanaaamong others.

Kangana established herself byplaying characters dealing withemotional turmoil in her earlier

films like "Gangster", "Woh Lamhe" and"Fashion", before gaining stardom with"Queen" and subsequently headliningpowerful women-oriented movies.

Though she delivered hits and cementedher position, Kangana's crashing of recentprojects "Simran" and "Rangoon" were moretalked about.

"I do feel there are people waiting for meto fail," Kangana told PTI. "That there arepeople who are waiting to prove tothemselves that she's not a real deal, tomake themselves feel better. My failure isimportant to them," she added.

The 31-year-old actor, known to speak hermind, said while a certain section will lookat her in a particular light but her worldview is extremely positive and she wouldn'tchange that. "Even though I can realise orfeel, I can never be like them or feel throughthem. I understand their cynicism but I cannever be them. Personally, I've never waitedfor anyone to fail. That's why I think I coulddo what I did in my life. That inherentpositivity that I have in me. I praiseeveryone regardless of who they are orwhat they think of me is actually somethingI live by. I'm not a double-faced person. Whatothers feel I'm not concerned about that,"she added.

Kangana is currently gearing up for herambitious epic-drama "Manikarnika: TheQueen of Jhansi". The actor underwent arigorous and "exhaustive" physical andemotional exercise to tap into the characterof Rani Lakshmibai, one of the key leadersin the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Things changed, however, when she hadto also turn director after the originalhelmer, Krish, was not available to re-shoota chunk of the project. Kangana said shewas aware when the news dropped that shewill now helm the project, there waswidespread scepticism around her.

"When the studio is investing money, Imust've shown them some calibre becausenobody will put money on anyone. If theentire team, the writers who are India's bestare ready to work with me, it's beyond mewhy people get so touchy," she said.

Kangana added that most of it could be"deep-rooted sexism" which invited theamount of doubt on whether she coulddirect the film. "I'm just a new director on

the block, what's the big deal? I see there isa lot of sexism involved in this- a woman,doing an epic action film and directing it.That's something even Hollywood wasstruggling with.

The "Tanu Weds Manu" star is currently"neck deep" in the final stage of the filmfrom readying the print for internationaldelivery to fixing last-minute soundhiccups. Source: PTI

Photographers tease JanhviKapoor by calling her Sara Ali Khan

12 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019BOLLYWOOD

Janhvi was also trolledrecently for an outfit that she

wore for the shoot of apopular magazine

ANGELINA JOLIE FINDS LOVEIN TOM HIDDLESTON

NINA DOBREV ALMOSTKILLED BY LION DURING SAFARI

Actress Nina Dobrev almost became alion's meal during her trip to SouthAfrica.

'The Vampire Diaries' star was thrilled to seebig cats in the wild safari but getting up close toone lion gave the actress and her friends a bit ofa scare.

"I've always wanted to go to South Africa. Itwas fun and the safari part of it was the bestpart. There were elephants drinking out of ourpool, we saw leopards, and at one point a lionactually charged at us!" Dobrev told.

But the lion was no match for her guide, whocame to her rescue.

"The lion opened its mouth and tried to attackus, and our guide was like a real-life IndianaJones and roared back at him and scared thelion off (That is) the closest I've been to death sofar in my life, and I've done some crazy s**t," sheadded.

One year ago today, a tabloid falselyclaimed Angelina Jolie was datingTom Hiddleston after being

introduced to the actor by ChrisHemsworth. Gossip Cop debunked thephony romance rumors as soon as theyemerged. Time has proven the narrative tobe completely untrue.

On January 23, 2018, Woman’s Day NewZealand wrongly reported Jolie andHiddleston had been set up on a date byHemsworth, who sat next to the actress atthat year’s Golden Globes. According to themagazine, Jolie opened up about her lovelife to the Australian actor while they werehanging out at the ceremony. The actresssupposedly told Hemsworth “guys werescared of asking her out” following herdivorce from Brad Pitt, but the actormentioned that his Thor co-star Hiddleston“always had the hots for her, and Ange saidshe liked him too.”

From there, the magazine’s anonymousand untraceable “source” claimedHemsworth gave Hiddleston’s contactinformation to Jolie, which resulted in thetwo “texting and calling each other”nonstop. The magazine’s alleged insiderfurther maintained the actress was“longing to find love again,” which putHiddleston “in the right place at the righttime.”

Around the same time the tabloidpublished its story last year, Peoplemagazine reported Jolie was “single andnot interested in dating.” The reputablecelebrity news outlet further noted theactress wasn’t planning on dating “for avery long time” as she was instead “focusedon her children and their needs.” Naturally,we doubted the veracity of the Woman’sDay story, and those doubts were confirmedafter checking in with sources close to both

Jolie and Hiddleston, who dismissed theentire report as fiction.

Not only did the actress never embark ona romance with Hiddleston, but two monthslater, E! News once again confirmed thatJolie is “not dating” and is “very focused onher kids and doesn’t have a lot going onoutside of that.” As of January 2019, theactress has continued putting her love lifeon the back burner for the sake of herchildren.

Black Panther creates history,becomes first superhero film to

get best picture nodBlack Panther, the Marvel blockbuster fronted by

virtually an all-black cast, has created history bybecoming the first superhero film to get the Best

Picture nomination at the Oscars. The film, directed byRyan Coogler and featuring Chadwick Boseman in thetitular role, received total seven nominations for the 91stAcademy Awards.

Apart from the Best Picture category, the Marvel projecthas received nods for original song, original score, soundmixing, sound editing, costume design and productiondesign. In the Best Picture category, the film is pittedagainst The Favourite, Vice, Roma, Green Book, A Star IsBorn, BlacKkKlansman and Bohemian Rhapsody.

Black Panther, set in a fictional African country ofWakanda, became a massive hit earning USD 1.3 billionworldwide. The film, featuring Michael B Jordan, LupitaNyong’o, Forrest Whitaker, Angela Bassett and LetitiaWright among others, received praise from both the criticsand the audiences for its authentic portrayal of Africanculture.

The film has had a spectacular awards season, as itreceived nods at the Critics’ Choice Awards, SAG, BAFTAsand a history-making Golden Globe nomination. In the past,superhero films have been nominated and have also won afew Academy Awards, but mainly in the technicalcategories. Last year, James Mangold and Michael Greenhad a break through as they received the Best AdaptedScreenplay nomination for Hugh Jackman’s “Logan”.

Prior to that, Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar forBest Supporting Actor in 2009 for his portrayal of one of themost notorious DC villains, the Joker, in ChristopherNolan’s The Dark Knight. Nolan’s film had raked in eightnominations, but could not make it to the Best Picturecategory.

13 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019HOLLYWOOD

Rebecca Ferguson secretlymarried partner Rory

Rebecca Ferguson has revealed that she tied the knotwith her boyfriend, Rory in an intimate ceremony lastmonth. The 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' star and

Rory, whose last name is unknown, have been relationshipsince 2016.

"I think we both wanted to step over all thresholds. Also,I'm not very religious. I believe in love. It was more for us andour family. We rented a cottage with friends and family andWellington boots and big woolly socks and big ruggyjumpers" she told.

The Swedish actor, however, claims married life is'nothing' different.

"I wore a beautiful skirt, a wedding skirt, that I canshorten off, get some pockets in, and use in Greece for thesummer!" she added.

Ferguson said that her six-month-old daughter sleptthrough the ceremony, while the ring bearer was her 11-year-old son, Isaac, from her previous relationship with LudwigHallberg.

OSCAR NOMINATIONS 2019

14 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019SOUTH ASIA

Singapore toreduce militarytraining afteractor AloysiusPang’s death

SINGAPORE (TIP):

Singapore’s military saidJanuary 24 it will reduce thelength, intensity and frequency ofits training programs after anactor in the reserves died frominjuries he sustained overseas.

Aloysius Pang was on amilitary training exercise in NewZealand when a gun barrel waslowered on a large artillerydevice he was helping to repairSaturday. It crushed his abdomenand chest.

The defense ministry said Panghad been put on life supportfollowing surgeries to repair hisdamaged organs. Pang died atWaikato Hospital on Thursday.He was 28.

In a briefing, Chief of DefenceForce Melvyn Ong said theSingapore Armed Forces willmodify its training programs inthe weeks ahead.

“This reduction of trainingtempo … will be enforced for aslong as it takes for us to get itright. And we want to do it right,we want to do it safe for everyactivity, we want to do it rightevery time,” Ong said, accordingto The Straits Times newspaper.

Singapore mandates thatyoung men serve in its armedforces, police force or civildefense force. Most serve full timefor two years and then haveannual training obligations. Panghad completed his full-timeservice, and was an armamenttechnician whose rank wascorporal first class. (AP)

Clarify plans fortransitional

justice process,Nepal govt toldKATHMANDU (TIP): The

international community led bythe United Nations January 24sought a commitment from the KP Oli-led Nepal government toensure that the transitionaljustice process, bringing theMaoists and government togetherunder the Comprehensive PeaceAccord 12 years ago, is takenforward seriously.

The Nepal government wasasked to “clarify to the public itsplans to take the transitionaljustice process forward in theongoing year”, according to ajoint statement signed by theembassies of Australia ,Germany, Finland, France,Norway, Switzerland, Britain, US,and members of the EuropeanUnion and United Nations.

The joint statement comes inwake of the government’s moveto throttle investigations by twodesignated commissions by notgiving them adequate powers andjurisdiction ahead of the expiryof their four-year term onFebruary 1. (Indian express)

Pakistan Unveils Tax Cuts, Incentives To Boost Growth

ISLAMABAD (TIP): Pakistani FinanceMinister Asad Umar unveiled a package ofmeasures on January 23 to boost exports andinvestment and help Islamabad address a severebalance of payments squeeze that has forced it toturn to the International Monetary Fund forhelp.

Announcing measures to cut red tape, lowertaxes for small and medium-sized businessesand cutting taxes on imports of industrial rawmaterials, he said the government had toimprove conditions for local businesses to bringits public finances under control.

"Until there is investment, the country'seconomy cannot move forward," he toldparliament above the jeers of oppositionlawmakers. "This is not a budget, it is a reformpackage."

He said a full economic medium-term reformpackage would be presented next week. Withgrowth set to drop to around 4 percent this yearfrom 5.8 percent last year, a yawning currentaccount deficit and a fiscal deficit of almost 7percent of gross domestic product, Pakistanfaces heavy pressure to reform its economy.Since coming to power in August, much of thegovernment's effort has focused on staving off abalance of payments crisis that has seen itsforeign exchange reserves dwindle to cover onlytwo months of import payments.

Pakistan has opened talks with the IMF andalthough there has so far been no agreement onthe terms of what would be its 13th bailout sincethe 1980s, Prime Minister Imran Khan'sgovernment has pledged reforms to bring downits current account deficit, which the IMFexpects to reach 5.3 percent of GDP this year.

"We need to create an economy where this IMFprogramme will be Pakistan's last," Umar said.

Pakistan has invested great hopes in theChina Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of themammoth Belt and Road Initiative but it has hadto absorb the impact of high imports of capitalequipment the project has required. In addition,strong demand for consumer products andenergy costs in past years have pushed thecurrent account deficit wider, leaving thegovernment struggling to bring it back undercontrol.

Umar said taxes on imported luxury carswould be raised, while local manufacturers

would be helped by a cut in import duty onimported raw materials and on machineryimported into special economic zones.

Customs duty would also be cut on equipmentfor renewable energy generations for five years,in a bid to ease a chronic energy crisis that hasleft Pakistani businesses and householdssuffering repeated power outages and gas supplyinterruptions.

In addition, a series of tax measures would beintroduced to help the local stock market, with aremoval of withholding tax and measures toallow capital losses to be carried over from oneyear to the next. (NDTV)

Sri Lanka OppositionAttacks PM Wickremesinghe

Over New ConstitutionCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA (TIP): : Sri Lanka's Opposition leader

Mahinda Rajapaksa on January 23 slammed the efforts being made toformulate a new Constitution, saying Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe's government does not have political moral tointroduce it and should therefore hold fresh polls.

Mr Rajapaksa was speaking in parliament on the report of theexperts panel presented in the Constitutional assembly by MrWickremesinghe two weeks ago.

Sri Lanka's former strongman, who attempted to overthrowWickremesinghe with the help of President Maithripala Sirisena lastyear, critised the prime minister''s statements that the country willremain indivisible and united even after the new Constitution isenacted.

The new Constitution would weaken the parliament and"immeasurably strengthen provincial legislatures" Mr Rajapaksa said.

Since the presentation of the report, Mr Rajapaksa has been allegingthat the government is drafting a new Constitution to appease the mainTamil political party - Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and that the newConstitution would harm the Sinhala majority community"the turningpoint at which the unitary state becomes a federal state" Mr Rajapaksasaid.

Mr Rajapaksa is also critical of the devolved police powers forprovinces as advocated in the report.He told Parliament that Mr.Wickremesinghe's government lacked political moral to introduce anew Constitution and therefore they should hold a fresh parliamentarypoll.

It appears that the current constitutional process had run into thesame historical problems which stopped efforts by various governmentto address the Tamil demand for political recognition.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe maintains that there is no draftconstitution and the process was still open for all concerned to make ajoint effort to come up with a final draft.

The LTTE fought a bloody separatist war to create a separate Tamilhomeland in the north and east provinces.

With the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009, the main Tamil politicalparty has taken a much conciliatory attitude by shedding the demandfor a separate state. (NDTV)

Blast kills 2 civilians in AfganistanKABUL, AFGHANISTAN (TIP): At least two civilians were killed

and more than 20 others wounded when an improvised explosive device(IED) blasted in eastern Afghanistan on January 22, an officialconfirmed. Habib Shah, public health director in the Khost province,told Anadolu Agency that an IED attached to a motorcycle blew up in theKabul Adda area of provincial capital around 11 a.m. local time (0630GMT).

He confirmed that all victims of the blast are civilians who weregoing through everyday life when the blast ripped through the crowdedarea.

On Monday, another IED blast in the neighboring Paktika provincekilled six civilians.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is yet to issue

its annual report on the civilian casualties in the country. However, thequarterly report in October documented 8,050 civilian victims,including 2,798 deaths. (www.aa.com)

Police Complaint Filed After NepalSpiritual Leader's Followers Disappear

KATHMANDU (TIP): The Nepal police have launched a searchfor five missing followers of a Buddhist spiritual leader, popularlyknown as "Buddha Boy", after their families filed complaintsagainst the godman, officials said in Kathmandu on January 25.

Ram Bahadur Bomjon gained global media attention in 2005 afterhis devotees claimed that he meditated for months without food,water or sleeping.

Later, he got embroiled into controversies after several of hisfollowers and their relatives accused him of assaulting themsexually and physically. However, his aides rejected theaccusations.

According to the police, following complaints of the families offive of Bomjon's followers, they launched a search operation.

The families in their complaint claimed that the followers,including women, have gone missing from his ashram located inBara district. On Sunday, the family of a nun from Sarlahi, who hasbeen reportedly missing from the ashram for the past nine years,has asked the police to find her whereabouts.

Earlier, the families of four other followers, including a girl, hadfiled police complaints stating that they lost touch with them in theashram of the godman.(NDTV)

15THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 RD SPEICAL

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wasan eminent freedom activist and aninfluential political leader who

played a dominant role in India's struggle forindependence. Gandhi is known by differentnames, such as Mahatma (a great soul),Bapuji (endearment for father in Gujarati)and Father of the Nation. Every year, hisbirthday is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti, anational holiday in India, and also observedas the International Day of Nonviolence.Mahatma Gandhi, as he is most commonlyreferred to, was instrumental in liberatingIndia from the clutches of the British. Withhis unusual yet powerful political tools ofSatyagraha and non-violence, he inspiredseveral other political leaders all over theworld including the likes of Nelson Mandela,Martin Luther King Jr and Aung San SuuKyi. Gandhi, apart from helping Indiatriumph in its fight for independence againstthe English, also led a simple and righteouslife, for which he is often revered. Gandhi'searly life was pretty much ordinary, and hebecame a great man during the course of hislife. This is one of the main reasons whyGandhi is followed by millions, for he provedthat one can become a great soul during thecourse of one’s life, should they possess thewill to do so.

Gandhi in South AfricaAfter returning to India, Gandhi struggled

to find work as a lawyer. In 1893, DadaAbdullah, a merchant who owned a shippingbusiness in South Africa asked if he wouldbe interested to serve as his cousin’s lawyerin South Africa. Gandhi gladly accepted theoffer and left to South Africa, which wouldserve as a turning point in his politicalcareer.

In South Africa, he faced racialdiscrimination directed towards blacks andIndians. He faced humiliation on manyoccasions but made up his mind to fight forhis rights. This turned him into an activistand he took upon him many cases that wouldbenefit the Indians and other minoritiesliving in South Africa. Indians were notallowed to vote or walk on footpaths as thoseprivileges were limited strictly to theEuropeans. Gandhi questioned this unfairtreatment and eventually managed toestablish an organization named ‘NatalIndian Congress’ in 1894. After he cameacross an ancient Indian literature known as‘Tirukkural’, which was originally writtenin Tamil and later translated into manylanguages, Gandhi was influenced by theidea of Satyagraha (devotion to the truth)and implemented non-violent protestsaround 1906. After spending 21 years inSouth Africa, where he fought for civilrights, he had transformed into a new personand he returned to India in 1915.

Gandhi and the Indian National Congress

After his long stay in South Africa and hisactivism against the racist policy of theBritish, Gandhi had earned the reputation asa nationalist, theorist and organiser. GopalKrishna Gokhale, a senior leader of theIndian National Congress, invited Gandhi tojoin India’s struggle for independence againstthe British Rule. Gokhale thoroughly guidedMohandas Karamchand Gandhi about theprevailing political situation in India andalso the social issues of the time. He thenjoined the Indian National Congress andbefore taking over the leadership in 1920,headed many agitations which he namedSatyagraha.

Non-cooperation Movement Non-cooperation Movement was one of

Gandhi’s most important movements againstthe British. Gandhi’s urged his fellowcountrymen to stop co-operation with theBritish. He believed that the Britishsucceeded in India only because of the co-

operation of the Indians. He had cautionedthe British not to pass the Rowlatt Act, butthey did not pay any attention to his wordsand passed the Act. As announced, Gandhijiasked everyone to start civil disobedienceagainst the British. The British begansuppressing the civil disobedience movementby force and opened fire on a peaceful crowdin Delhi. The British asked Gandhiji to notenter Delhi which he defied as a result ofwhich he was arrested and this furtherenraged people and they rioted. He urgedpeople to show unity, non-violence and respectfor human life. But the British respondedaggressively to this and arrested manyprotesters.

On 13 April 1919, a British officer, Dyer,ordered his forces to open fire on a peacefulgathering, including women and children, inAmritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh. As a result ofthis, hundreds of innocent Hindu and Sikhcivilians were killed. The incident is known as‘Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’. But Gandhicriticized the protesters instead of blamingthe English and asked Indians to use lovewhile dealing with the hatred of British. Heurged the Indians to refrain from all kinds ofnon-violence and went on fast-to-death topressure Indians to stop their rioting.

Quit India MovementAs the World War II progressed, Mahatma

Gandhi intensified his protests for thecomplete independence of India. He drafted aresolution calling for the British to Quit India.The 'Quit India Movement' or the 'BharatChhodo Andolan' was the most aggressivemovement launched by the Indian nationalCongrees under the leadership of Mahatma

Gandhi. Gandhi was arrested on 9th August1942 and was held for two years in the AgaKhan Palace in Pune, where he lost hissecretary, Mahadev Desai and his wife,Kasturba. The Quit India Movement came toan end by the end of 1943, when the Britishgave hints that complete power would betransferred to the people of India. Gandhicalled off the movement which resulted in therelease of 100,000 political prisoners.

Freedom and Partition of IndiaThe independence cum partition proposal

offered by the British Cabinet Mission in 1946was accepted by the Congress, despite beingadvised otherwise by Mahatma Gandhi.Sardar Patel convinced Gandhi that it was theonly way to avoid civil war and he reluctantlygave his consent. After India's independence,Gandhi focused on peace and unity of Hindusand Muslims. He launched his last fast-unto-death in Delhi, and asked people to stopcommunal violence and emphasized that thepayment of Rs. 55 crores, as per the PartitionCouncil agreement, be made to Pakistan.Ultimately, all political leaders conceded to hiswishes and he broke his fast.

Assassination of Mahatma The inspiring life of Mahatma Gandhi

came to an end on 30th January 1948, when hewas shot by a fanatic, Nathuram Godse, atpoint-blank range. Nathuram was a Hinduradical, who held Gandhi responsible forweakening India by ensuring the partitionpayment to Pakistan. Godse and his co-conspirator, Narayan Apte, were later triedand convicted. They were executed on 15thNovember 1949.

MAHATMA GANDHI:FATHER OF THE NATION

FAST FACTSDate of Birth: October 2, 1869

Place of Birth: Porbandar, British India(now Gujarat)

Date of Death: January 30, 1948

Place of Death: Delhi, India

Cause of Death: Assassination

Professions: Lawyer, politician, activist,writer

Spouse: Kasturba Gandhi

Children: Harilal Gandhi, ManilalGandhi, Ramdas Gandhi and DevdasGandhi

Father: Karamchand UttamchandGandhi

Mother: Putlibai Gandhi

“Gandhi’s ideas have played a vital role inSouth Africa’s transformation and withthe help of Gandhi’s teaching, apartheidhas been overcome.” — Nelson Mandela

“I have the greatest admiration forMahatma Gandhi. He was a great humanbeing with a deep understanding ofhuman nature. His life has inspired me.”

— The Dalai Lama

“Christ gave us the goals and MahatmaGandhi the tactics.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.

“I believe that Gandhi’s views were themost enlightened of all the political menin our time.” —Albert Einstein

“Mahatma Gandhi came and stood at thedoor of India’s destitute millions…whoelse has so unreservedly accepted thevast masses of the Indian people as hisflesh and blood…Truth awakened Truth.”

— Rabindranath Tagore

“I and others may be revolutionaries butwe are disciples of Mahatma Gandhi,directly or indirectly, nothing morenothing less.” — Ho Chi Minh

“It is alarming and also nauseating to seeMr. Gandhi, a seditious middle templelawyer, now posing as a fakir of a typewell known in the east, striding half-naked up the steps of the viceregalpalace, while he is still organizing andconducting a defiant campaign of civildisobedience, to parley on equal termswith the representative of the king-emperor.” — Winston Churchill

Friends and Comrades, the light has goneout of our lives and there is darknesseverywhere. The light has gone out, I said,and yet I was wrong. For the light thatshone in this country was no ordinarylight. The light that has illumined thiscountry for these many years will illuminethis country for many more years, and athousand years later, that light will beseen in this country and the world will seeit and it will give solace to innumerablehearts.

—Jawaharlal Nehru, 1948 on the

death of Gandhiji

“He is a man among men, a hero amongheroes, a patriot among patriots and wemay well say that in him Indian humanityat the present time has really reached itshigh water-mark.”

— Gopal Krishna Gokhale

TRIBUTE TO GANDHI BYWORLD LEADERS

Mahatma’s death anniversary falls on January 30

COMFORT WITH A BREATH EASY MODEAs girls you are always ready to do anything

to make your man happy. After a long day’shard work when he returns back home half ofthe energy goes wasted because he looksextremely fatigued. This is perhaps one of thebest way to arouse his mood when you see himworn out. Just make sure that you act as ahelping hand in wiping out his tirednesseither through a hot/cold beverage, a homemade cuisine and at the most sacrificing yourfavorite channel by handing him over theremote as well! In the process ask him if thereis anything which he would like you to do forhim at the present moment. This will relievehim of his stress, and the relaxation thatwould take place thereafter will be the perfectbuzz for arousing his willingness.

GIVE HIM A BACK-RUB WITH WARM OILWell nothing seems more sensual than ever

before to offer your man a hot oil massage toget him back in his mood. I doubt if there’sany exceptional guy who would refuse thiscozy relaxation. Take him to a neat and cleanroom, turn on a soft romantic music as abackground score, open his clothes, gentlymake him laid down on a soft couch andslather him up with oils. As you run yourhands all through his body he will be arousinga passionate urge from within. If possible youtoo can remove your clothes halfway though,to heighten the ambience. Subsequent to hisoiling up for you, there’s no means he can turndown your lascivious mood.

OPT FOR A TITILLATING OUTFITMore than women men are no doubt very

perceptible. If he somehow sees you in a sexyoutfit, or rather a slickest work wear, or themost in a state of wildness and beauty hecannot take his eyes off you, and within noless time he will definitely bump into you. In

order to add an extra charm to the mood whydon’t you opt for a candlelight dinner, or offerhim his favorite drink and make him sip theglass with your own hands by wearing thesexy nightwear. When he will see yoursensuousness he too will be an activeparticipant to that wild mood as well.

WHISPER INTO HIS EARS YOUR DESIRESBe cozy with your partner and rest your

head on his shoulders. Look into his eyes andkiss him on his forehead. Then gently bringhim closer to you and in a hushed tonemurmur into his ears what exactly you wanthim to do for you in a private space. Thismoment is the perfect timing for arousing hismood, since he has already begun to visualizethe wild fantasies dropped down into hisears. As your breath increases so does hissensitive feelings to take you in his armsstraight away to the bedchamber and escalatethe seduction.

TURN ON A SENSUOUS MELODYAlways remember that ambience plays an

important role for heightening the crotchet.In order to execute things as planned by you,make sure that the room is a bitunilluminated, and somewhere in the cornerturn on a sexy music to make the situationmore sensuous. You can also tune in to themix tape of love songs which you hadpreviously dedicated to him either on yourfist date, or your first night with him. Let thesongs act as a nostalgic mode so that hereminisces about the cozy moment spentbetween you both, and relive the moment byfollowing the step to step flashback momentsonce again with you at the present moment.

No matter what your hair type is, you need to use a hairvitaliser to regain your mane's strength and quality.

Why is hair oiling crucial?Beautician Nishi Nanda says, "Similar to hair oil, a hair

vitaliser contains ayurvedic herbs that enhances the growth ofhair and also stimulates the scalp. However, to ensure that youget optimum results, it is always advisable to choose a vitaliserthat suits your hair type."

BhringrajThose who have oily scalp and experience dandruff issues, a

hair vitaliser that contains bhringraj is ideal for you. You canalso opt for one that has shikakai in it to boost hair growth andreduction of excess sebum from scalp.

ReethaThis vitaliser is ideal for those who have a normal hair type

- not too oily nor too dry. Apart from keeping your scalp clean,it also ensures that your hair does not lose out on its sheen.

Amla and lemonThis combination is good for those who have dry hair. Amla

keeps the hair and scalp moisturised, while lemon ensuresthat the scalp does not experience dandruff problems.

Starry pony-talesMove over Hollywood curls and wispy waves, because thehumble ponytail is having its day in the limelight. Here’s howyou can get a celeb-perfect variation:

Lusting after an Ariana Grande-style voluminous, half-up/half-down ponytail? The trick is to use hair extensions thatmake for a cascading, volume-high ponytail. In a social mediapost a few years back, Ariana had revealed that the ponytail isnot only her signature style, but it also helps her masqueradedamaged hair. Lusting after an Ariana Grande-stylevoluminous, half-up/half-down ponytail? The trick is to usehair extensions that make for a cascading, volume-highponytail. In a social media post a few years back, Ariana hadrevealed that the ponytail is not only her signature style, but italso helps her masquerade damaged hair. Whatever thereason, it’s safe to say that her fierce ponytail makes for quitean inspiration. Ariana hit beauty headlines again when herponytail peeped stylishly from her baseball cap too, during a

performance. Now that’s what you call commitment!

Slick and sleekThought ponytails have a casual edge to them? Go for

straightened hair tied into a pony, with a tightly pulled-backmane. Our very own Deepika Padukone has been rocking it,and so did many Hollywood beauties at the recently heldGolden Globes. Also it’ll give you a quick Croydon facelift —highlighting your jawline and helping your makeup pop.

Minimal stylingIf we’ve learned one thing from celeb pony-dome, it has to be

to keep it simple. Skip the hair ties and pins, keeping the lookminimal. This will put the focus off of your accessories andbring it straight to your neat ponytail and the way it has beenstyled. Of course, to keep that cascading pony intact, you’dneed a swirl of hair to hold it all together. A little trick here, afew hacks there, and you’ll be all set.

HERE’S WHY OILING YOURMANE IS IMPORTANT

EGG FRIED RICEIngredients

Basmati Rice - 2 cups, Eggs - 10, Onions - 2 Spring, Onions -1 bunch, Beans - 10, Carrot - 2, Capsicum - 2, Cabbage - 100 gms

Pepper Powder - 1/2 tblsp, Green Chillies - 2, Tomato Puree- 2 to 3 tblsp (or as required), Ajinomoto - 3 tsp (optional), SoySauce - 4 tblsp, Salt as per taste, Oil - 3 tblsp, Coriander Leaves- few, chopped

Method Pressure cook the rice until 1 whistle and remove. Chop all the vegetables finely and keep aside. Grind together the green chillies and mix well 2 tblsp

water. Heat oil in a pan. Saute the onions for a minute. Add the chopped vegetables one by one and cook for a

minute or two. Add the green chilli paste and tomato puree. Add salt and ajinomoto. Mix well and add soy sauce. Break the eggs into the pan and stir-fry for 3 to 4

minutes. Add the cooked rice and mix until all ingredients are

combined. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve.

FOOD CORNER

16 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019WOMEN

Sensuous ways to arouse your man

DR. SATISH AND GITANJLI ANAND DDRR.. SSAATTIISSHH AANNAANNDD

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FFoorrmmeerr PPrreessiiddeenntt,, IInnddiiaaAAssssoocciiaattiioonn ooff LLoonngg IIssllaanndd((IIAALLII))

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PPAAGGEE SSPPOONNSSOORREEDD BBYY

Fried chicken, fish linked toincreased risk of early death

Regularly eating fried chicken or fish is associated witha higher risk of death from any cause, specificallyheart-related mortality, according to a study on

postmenopausal women in the US.The study, published in the British Medical Journal,

suggests that reducing consumption of fried foods, especiallyfried chicken and fried fish/shellfish, could have a positivepublic health impact.

Up to a third of North American adults have fast-foodevery day, and previous studies have suggested that a greaterintake of fried food is associated with a higher risk of type 2diabetes and heart disease, researchers said.

The US researchers investigated the association of eatingfried food with death from any cause, and in particular heartand cancer-related death.

They used questionnaire data to assess the diets of 106,966women, aged 50 to 79, who enrolled in the Women's HealthInitiative (WHI) between 1993-1998 and who were followed upto February 2017.

During this time, 31,588 deaths occurred, including 9,320heart-related deaths 8,358 cancer deaths and 13,880 fromother causes.

The researchers looked at the women's total and specificconsumption of different fried foods, including: "friedchicken"; "fried fish, fish sandwich and fried shellfish(shrimp and oysters)"; and other fried foods, such as frenchfries, tortilla chips and tacos.

After taking account of potentially influential factors suchas lifestyle, overall diet quality, education level and income,the researchers found that regularly eating fried foods wasassociated with a heightened risk of death from any causeand, specifically, heart-related death.

Those who ate one or more servings a day had an eight percent higher risk compared with those who did not eat friedfood.

One or more servings of fried chicken a day was linked toa 13 per cent higher risk of death from any cause and a 12 percent higher risk of heart-related death compared with nofried food.

Similarly, one or more servings of fried fish/shellfish a daywas linked to a seven per cent higher risk of death from anycause and a 13 per cent higher risk of heart-related deathcompared with no fried food.

However, the researchers found no evidence that eatingfried food was associated with cancer-related death.

This is an observational study which only considerswomen in the US, so may not be applicable more widely, theresearchers said.

Source: PTI

WHAT LATEST DIETINGSTUDIES TELL US

Bacon and black coffee for breakfast, or oatmeal andbananas? If you’re planning to try to lose weight in 2019,you’re sure to find a fierce debate online and among

friends and family about how best to do it. It seems likeeveryone has an opinion, and new fads emerge every year.

Two major studies last year provided more fuel for aparticularly polarizing topic — the role carbs play in makingus fat. The studies gave scientists some clues, but, like othernutrition studies, they can’t say which diet — if any — is bestfor everyone.

That’s not going to satisfy people who want black-and-whiteanswers, but nutrition research is extremely difficult and eventhe most respected studies come with big caveats. People are sodifferent that it’s all but impossible to conduct studies thatshow what really works over long periods of time.

Before embarking on a weight loss plan for the new year,here’s a look at some of what was learned last year.

Fewer Carbs, Fewer Pounds?It’s no longer called the Atkins Diet, but the low-carb school

of dieting has been enjoying a comeback. The idea is that therefined carbohydrates in foods like white bread are quicklyconverted into sugar in our bodies, leading to energy swingsand hunger.

By cutting carbs, the claim is that weight loss will be easierbecause your body will instead burn fat for fuel while feelingless hungry. A recent study seems to offer more support forlow-carb proponents. But, like many studies, it tried tounderstand just one sliver of how the body works.

The study , co-led by an author of books promoting low-carbdiets, looked at whether varying carb levels might affect howthe body uses energy. Among 164 participants, it found thoseon low-carb diets burned more total calories than those onhigh-carb diets.

The study did not say people lost more weight on a low-carbdiet — and didn’t try to measure that. Meals and snacks weretightly controlled and continually adjusted so everyone’sweights stayed stable.

David Ludwig, a lead author of the paper and researcher atBoston Children’s Hospital, said it suggests limiting carbscould make it easier for people to keep weight off once they’velost it. He said the approach might work best for those withdiabetes or pre-diabetes.

Ludwig noted the study wasn’t intended to test long-termhealth effects or real-world scenarios where people make theirown food. The findings also need to be replicated to bevalidated, he said. Caroline Apovian of Boston University’s

School of Medicine said the findings are interesting fodder forthe scientific community, but that they shouldn’t be taken asadvice for the average person looking to lose weight.

Do I Avoid Fat To Be Skinny?For years people were advised to curb fats , which are found

in foods including meat, nuts, eggs, butter and oil. Cutting fatwas seen as a way to control weight, since a gram of fat hastwice as many calories than the same amount of carbs orprotein.

Many say the advice had the opposite effect by inadvertentlygiving us license to gobble up fat-free cookies, cakes and otherfoods that were instead full of the refined carbs and sugarsnow blamed for our wider waistlines.

Nutrition experts gradually moved away from blanketrecommendations to limit fats for weight loss. Fats arenecessary for absorbing important nutrients and can help usfeel full. That doesn’t mean you have to subsist on steakdrizzled in butter to be healthy.

Bruce Y. Lee, a professor of international health at JohnsHopkins, said the lessons learned from the anti-fat fad shouldbe applied to the anti-carb fad: don’t oversimplify advice.

17 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019HEALTH AND FITNESS

New smartphone app may help you quit smoking

Researchers say they have created asmartphone app that offers real-time monitoring of smoking-

induced ageing, and may help smokersquit the habit.

Smoking is one of the major life-shortening factors that leads toaccelerated ageing and premature death,said scientists from Roswell Park CancerInstitute in the US. Quitting smokingincreases lifespan and decreasesbiological age, as measured by DNAmethylation, they said. The researcherscreated the mobile app, Gero Healthspanthat offers real-time monitoring of bioagechanges in response to lifestyleinterventions. People can also use it toexplore how lifestyle changes such asdiets, activities and supplements affectyour predicted healthy life expectancy,researchers said.

The study, published in the journalAging, offers a way to track rejuvenatingeffect of smoking cessation in real time

through the analysis of wearable data.The bioage acceleration caused by

smoking can be detected through theanalysis of physical activity signalscollected from wearable devices.

A new AI algorithm trained to findcertain patterns in intra-day changes ofactivity level to estimate the biologicalage of a person has been developed.

The study demonstrates that the

smoking-induced ageing accelerationreverts back to normal after smokingcessation: the process can be tracked bywearable device. "It is fascinating that theprofound positive effect of lifestylechanges such as smoking cessation couldbe observed by analysing physicalactivity of a person," said Peter Fedichev,founder and Chief Science Officer ofGero.

LOW CARB? LOW FAT?

FACEBOOK TO PROACTIVELY SHUTDOWN FAKE PAGES, GROUPS

Facebook will proactively shut down fake Groups andPages, even if they were not found to be in violation ofits Community Guidelines, the company has

announced.In a blog post on Wednesday, the social media giant said

when a Page or Group is removed for violating policies, "wemay now also remove other Pages and Groups even if thatspecific Page or Group has not met the threshold to beunpublished on its own".

Facebook also listed other steps to handle Page contentthat goes against its policies.

"People who manage a Page will see a new tab that showswhen we remove certain content that goes against ourCommunity Standards and when we reduce the distributionof posts that have been rated false by a third-party fact-checker," said Facebook.

The tab includes two sections: content Facebook recentlyremoved for violating a subset of its Community Standardsand content recently rated "False," "Mixture" or "FalseHeadline" by third-party fact-checkers

"To start, we're including content removed for policies likehate speech, graphic violence, harassment and bullying, andregulated goods, nudity or sexual activity, and support orpraise of people and events that are not allowed to be onFacebook," said the post.

Body heat can be used to power 'smart garments'

Scientists say they have developed a fabric that canharvest body heat to power small wearable electronicdevices such as activity trackers.

Many wearable biosensors, data transmitters and similartech advances for personalised health monitoring have been"creatively miniaturised," said Trisha Andrew from theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst in the US.

However, they require a lot of energy, and power sourcescan be bulky and heavy, said Andrew.

The research, published in the journal Advanced MaterialsTechnologies, describes that in theory, body heat can producepower by taking advantage of the difference between bodytemperature and ambient cooler air, a "thermoelectric"effect.

Materials with high electrical conductivity and lowthermal conductivity can move electrical charge from awarm region towards a cooler one in this way.

Some studies has shown that small amounts of power canbe harvested from a human body over an eight-hour workday,but the special materials needed at present are either veryexpensive, toxic or inefficient, researchers said.

Twitter rolls out new interface for web-users

Micro-blogging site Twitter is rolling out a newinterface for web-users that comes with someshortcuts, an updated trending section and a newly-

designed emoji button."A new Twitter is coming. Some of you got an opt-in to try

it now. Check out the emoji button, quick keyboard shortcuts,upgraded trends, advanced search and more," the companytweeted early on Wednesday.

With this update, Twitter has kept in mind little aestheticupdates to make it easier to see who all are involved in aconversation.

"These changes, alongside the way Twitter's desktopversion has condensed from three columns into two, shouldmake it easier to both read and send tweets," The Vergereported.

The micro-blogging site is planning on releasing manynew updates to the app, including a battery-saving darkermode for the interface.

18 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019SCIENCE AND TECH

OVER 55% PC APPS RUNNINGOUT-OF-DATE SOFTWARE

GLOBALLY: REPORTMore than half (55 per cent) of

the personal computer (PC)applications installed

worldwide are obsolete, thus making theusers and their personal data vulnerableto security risks, a new research fromglobal cybersecurity company Avastsaid.

According to Avast's "PC TrendsReport 2019", users are makingthemselves vulnerable to hackers by notimplementing security patches andkeeping outdated versions of popularapplications on their PCs. Theapplications where updates are mostfrequently neglected include AdobeShockwave (96 per cent), VLC MediaPlayer (94 per cent) and Skype (94 percent).

"Most of us replace our smartphoneregularly, but the same cannot be saidfor our PCs. With the average age of a PCnow reaching six years, we need to bedoing more to ensure our devices are notputting us at unnecessary risk.

"With the right amount of care, suchas cleaning our hardware's insides usingcleaners, optimisation and securityproducts, PCs will be safe and reliablefor even longer," Ondrej Vlcek,

President, Avast, said in a statement.The report, which used anonymised

and aggregated data from 163 milliondevices across the globe, also found thatWindows 10 operating system (OS) isnow installed on 40 per cent of PCsglobally, which is fast approaching the 43per cent share held by Windows 7.

However, almost one in six (15 per

cent) of all Windows 7 users and one in10 (nine per cent) of all Windows 10users worldwide are running older andno longer supported versions of theirproduct.

Running out-of-date OS puts them atrisk from vulnerabilities and othersignificant security issues, noted theglobal cybersecurity firm. Source: IANS

Google adds Search, Map supportto its ‘My Business app

Google has released an updatedversion of its "My Business" appto allow users to share the service-

areas and information about theirbusiness via Maps and Search, increasingtheir chances to be discovered.

Google's "My Business" is a free tool forbusinesses and organisations, created tohelp them manage their online presenceacross Google.

"With this update, we hope to betterconnect you with potential customers inyour service areas so consumers get theservices they need and you find newcustomers," Tom Pritchard, ProductLead, My Business, Google wrote in a blogpost on Tuesday.

Since service areas vary from businessto business, to make informationaccurate, users could also configure theirservice areas by adding specific postalcodes or cities they cover.

"Taking into account the changes everybusiness goes through, these settings canbe adjusted as needed - so there's no needto worry about being locked into anyspecific area," Pritchard said. Thecompany will guide new users throughthe setup process with prompts for localservice area businesses and existing "MyBusiness" users would now be able to edittheir business information from the appdashboard.

"You'll notice that the 'service area' and'storefront address' can now be editedseparately and if an address isn'tapplicable to your business, you caneasily clear it," Pritchard added.

The app was first released in June 2014.

PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT YOU EVEN IF YOU AREN’T ON FACEBOOK

It does not matter if you are onFacebook or not - or have justdeleted your social media presence.

Your friends are constantly leakingyour privacy to others, reveals asignificant study.

The researchers from the Universityof Vermont in the US and University ofAdelaide in Australia found that if aperson leaves a social media platform -- or never joined -- the online posts andwords of their friends still provideabout 95 per cent of the "potentialpredictive accuracy", of a person'sfuture activities -- even without any ofthat person's data.

"Privacy on social media is like

second-hand smoke. It's controlled bythe people around you," theresearchers said in a paper publishedin the journal Nature HumanBehaviour.

To reach this conclusion, the team ofscientists gathered more than 30million public posts on Twitter from13,905 users.

With this data, they showed thatinformation within the Twittermessages from eight or nine of aperson's contacts make it possible topredict that person's later tweets asaccurately as if they were lookingdirectly at that person's own Twitterfeed.

WORLD’S 26 RICHEST OWNSAME AS POOREST HALF OFHUMANITY: REPORT

The world’s 26 richest people own the same wealth as thepoorest half of humanity, Oxfam said Monday, urginggovernments to hike taxes on the wealthy to fight

soaring inequality.A new report from the charity, published ahead of the

World Economic Forum in Davos, also found that billionairesaround the world saw their combined fortunes grow by $2.5billion each day in 2018.

The world’s richest man, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, saw hisfortune increase to $112 billion last year, Oxfam said,pointing out that just one percent of his wealth was theequivalent to the entire health budget of Ethiopia, a countryof 105 million people.

The 3.8 billion people at the bottom of the scale meanwhilesaw their wealth decline by 11 percent last year, Oxfam said,stressing that the growing gap between rich and poor wasundermining the fight against poverty, damaging economiesand fuelling public anger.

“People across the globe are angry and frustrated,” warnedOxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima in a statement.

The numbers are stark: Between 1980 and 2016, the pooresthalf of humanity pocketed just 12 cents on each dollar ofglobal income growth, compared with the 27 cents capturedby the top one percent, the report found.

India likely to surpass UK in world’slargest economy rankings: Report

India is likely to surpass the United Kingdom in theworld’s largest economy rankings in 2019, according to areport by global consultancy firm PwC.

As per the report, while the UK and France have regularlyswitched places owing to similar levels of development androughly equal populations, India’s climb up the rankings islikely to be permanent.

PwC’s Global Economy Watch report projects real GDPgrowth of 1.6 % for the UK, 1.7 per cent for France and 7.6 percent for India in 2019.

“India and France are likely to surpass the UK in theworld’s largest economy rankings in 2019, knocking it fromfifth to seventh place in the global table,” the report said.

According to World Bank data, India became the world’ssixth largest economy in 2017 surpassing France and waslikely to go past the UK which stood at the fifth position.PwC’s Global Economy Watch is a short publication thatlooks at the trends and issues affecting the global economyand details its latest projections for the world’s leadingeconomies.

“India should return to a healthy growth rate of 7.6 % in2019-20, if there are no major headwinds in the globaleconomy such as enhanced trade tensions or supply sideshocks in oil.

“The growth will be supported through further realisationof efficiency gains from the newly adopted GST and policyimpetus expected in the first year of a new government,” saidRanen Banerjee, Partner and Leader - Public Finance andEconomics, PwC India.

19 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019BIZ AND FINANCE

INDIA’S INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITYLIKELY TO REMAIN SUBDUED

IN NEAR TERM: REPORTNEW DELHI (TIP): India’s

industrial activity is expected to remainsubdued in the near term, owing tomuted domestic demand, weak globaleconomic outlook and uncertaintyamong businesses over the outcome ofLok Sabha elections, 2019, says a report.

According to D&B Economy Forecast,concerns about the governmentcurtailing its investment due tosignificant shortfall in tax collectionsagainst the target, are expected to keepthe industrial activity subdued in thenear term.

Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) expects Indexof Industrial Production (IIP) to havemoderated by 1.5-2 per cent duringDecember 2018.

As per data released by the CentralStatistics Office (CSO), industrial outputgrowth dropped to a 17-month low of 0.5per cent in November on account ofcontraction in manufacturing sector,particularly consumer and capitalgoods.

Factory output as measured in termsof the IIP had grown by 8.5 per cent inNovember 2017.

D&B Lead Economist Arun Singh saidthe likelihood of a robust economicgrowth during 2018-19 was dented byunfavourable developments andunexpected shocks that occurred duringthe year. “We believe that there are likely

to be some populist measuresannounced in the Budget, given it is theelection year, around the rural andMSME sectors and overall job creation,”Singh said adding that the initiativesaround labour and land laws, if taken,would be an added support.

He said the upcoming union budgetwill set the tone for the economy.

On rupee, the report said concerns

over widening trade deficit, rise inglobal crude oil prices, and uncertaintyover the general election outcome areexpected to drag down the domesticcurrency in the near term, even as alikely pause in the US Fed rate hike isexpected to support the local unit.

D&B expects the rupee to depreciateto around 70.6-70.8 per US dollar duringJanuary this year.

China’s economy slows to theweakest pace since 2009

China notched its slowestexpansion since the 2009 financialcrisis last quarter amid a debt

cleanup and trade woes, while signs ofstabilization in December suggestgovernment efforts to cushion thedeceleration are beginning to take hold.

Gross domestic product rose 6.4percent in the fourth quarter from a yearearlier compared with 6.5 percent in theprevious three-month period. InDecember, gauges of consumption andfactory output accelerated, whileinvestment held up.

The world’s second-largest economy ison a long-term slowing trajectory as itshifts from the investment-led model ofthe past while carrying a heavy debtload. The government’s response withtargeted stimulus measures is beingtested by the standoff with US presidentDonald Trump over trade at a time whenthe global expansion is already lookingshakier.

“Growth will improve from the secondquarter onwards,” said MorganStanley’s Chief China Economist RobinXing in an interview with BloombergTelevision in Hong Kong. “The greaterthe downward pressure on growth, thestronger the policy response will be.”

The data contributed to a continuedrally in Asian stocks. Shares in Tokyo,Hong Kong and Sydney climbed after theS&P 500 Index hit its highest since early

December on Friday.For the full year, the economy

expanded 6.6 percent, the slowest pacesince 1990 and in line with estimates.Although it has moderated significantlyfrom the years of double-digit growth,China is still one of the fastest growinglarge economies and its larger size nowmeans it remains the world’s growthengine.

A breakdown of the data indicatemodest signs that government stimulusmay be working, albeit slowly.Investment in infrastructure continuedits pickup from a nadir reached inSeptember. Industrial output data signalstronger activity in construction, withglass and cement output bothaccelerating.

The retail sales breakdown also wentsome way to counter fears of a slump inconsumer confidence, showing that thedecline in auto sales far outpaces anyweakening in other items. Sales ofhousehold electronics, furniture,clothing and food all accelerated.

“More crucial than the GDP figure forme was that retail sales didn’t see anyfurther deterioration,” said JamesLaurenceson, deputy director of theAustralia-China Relations Institute atthe University of Technology in Sydney.“As long as services and retail sales areholding up, generally speaking Chinacan get by. But if those remainingdrivers of growth start to tank, then thetrouble becomes very significantindeed.”

20 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019TURN PAGE

contd from page 1

India celebrates 70th Republic...

At the unfurling of the Tricolor, the band played thenational anthem with a 21-gun salute fired in the background.

Most of the ministers of the Modi government, includingHome Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj, former prime ministers Manmohan Singhand Deve Gowda, and Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azadwere among those present on the occasion.

The overall theme for the Republic Day celebrations thisyear is the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi andtableaux of many states, themed on the iconic freedom fighter,were lined up for the occasion. (Source: PTI)

Federal Government Shutdown...Trump's requested $5.7 billion for a border wall, CNN

reported.The measure -- a three-week stop-gap spending bill would

reopen shuttered parts of the government through February15 with President having signed the Bill.

Congressional approval of the measure came quickly afterthe President conceded earlier Friday to mounting pressureover the ongoing shutdown, agreeing to a temporary fundingmeasure that would allow federal employees to return to work.

"I will sign a bill to open our government for three weeks,"the President said in an address on Friday, saying that he wasannouncing that "we have reached a deal to end the shutdown."

Trump said that "a bipartisan conference committee ofHouse and Senate lawmakers and leaders" will work to "puttogether a homeland security package for me to shortly signinto law."

"Over the next 21 days, I expect that both Democrats andRepublicans will operate in good faith," the President said.

Democrats have insisted throughout the shutdown that thePresident should sign a measure to reopen the governmentbefore they proceed to a debate on border wall funding. Afterweeks of resistance, Trump agreed to just that on Friday,paving the way for congressional Democrats and Republicansto approve a stop-gap funding bill.

The action on Capitol Hill comes after weeks of negotiationslargely going nowhere. And it is not yet clear what kind of adeal can be struck between Democrats and Republicans in theweeks to come over border security.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer suggested at anews conference on Friday that the President's decision toaccept a stop-gap funding measure amounted to a validation ofthe position taken by Democrats during the shutdown fight.

"The President has agreed to our request to open thegovernment and then debate border security," Schumer said.

Schumer appeared optimistic that a resolution over bordersecurity can be reached once the government is reopened.

"We in Congress will roll up our sleeves and try to find someagreement on border security," Schumer said.

Democrats have maintained throughout the shutdown fightthat they support border security measures, but not newfunding for a border wall, a signature promise of Trump'scampaign for the White House.

"We don't agree on some of the specifics of border security.Democrats are firmly against the wall," Schumer said onFriday.

"But we agree on many things such as the need for druginspection technology, humanitarian aid, strengtheningsecurity at our ports of entry. And that bodes well for findingan eventual agreement," he added.

In his Rose Garden remarks, Trump did not appearconciliatory nor did he concede defeat. Instead, he continuedto paint the matter as a national security crisis and saidanother shutdown is possible if lawmakers cannot agree tonew border wall funding.

"As everyone knows I have a very powerful alternative but

I'm not going to use it at this time," Trump said after declaringhe'd struck a deal to reopen government. CNN reportedexclusively on Thursday that a national emergencyproclamation had been drafted that would allow for potentiallybillions of federal dollars to be put toward wall construction.

"If we don't get a fair deal from Congress, the governmentwill either shut down on February 15 again, or I will use thepowers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution ofthe United States to address this emergency," Trump said. "Wewill have great security."

Nearly his entire Cabinet and many of his senior advisershad assembled along the Rose Garden colonnade to listen toTrump speak. They offered enthusiastic applause during hisspeech, which Trump opened by saying he was "very proud toannounce today that we have reached a deal to end theshutdown and reopen the federal government."

"I will make sure that all employees receive their back payvery quickly or as soon as possible. It'll happen fast," Trumpsaid.

"When I say make America great again -- it could never bedone without you," Trump said, calling federal workers "greatpeople."

Bharat Ratna for former...The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and

distinguished service; the Padma Bhushan for distinguishedservice of high order and the Padma Shri for distinguishedservice in any field. The awards are announced on the occasionof Republic Day every year.

These awards are conferred by the President of India atceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawanusually around March or April every year. This year thePresident of India Ram Nath Kovind approved conferment of112 Padma Awards including one duo case (in a duo case, theAward is counted as one). The list comprises 4 PadmaVibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri Awards. 21of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 3Posthumous awardees and 1 transgender person.

Here is the full list of awardees:Padma Vibhushan● Ms. Teejan Bai (Art-Vocals-Folk)● Shri Ismail Omar Guelleh (Public Affairs) Djibouti● Shri Anilkumar Manibhai Naik (Trade & Industry-

Infrastructure)● Shri Balwant Moreshwar Purandare (Art-Acting-Theatre)

Padma Bhushan● Shri John Chambers (Trade & Industry-Technology)● Shri Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (Public Affairs)● Shri Pravin Gordhan (Foreigner) for Public Affairs● Shri Mahashay Dharam Pal Gulati (Trade & Industry-Food

Processing)● Shri Darshan Lal Jain (Social Work)● Shri Ashok LaxmanraoKukade (Medicine-Affordable

Healthcare)● Shri Kariya Munda (Public Affairs)● Shri Budhaditya Mukherjee (Art-Music-Sitar)● Shri Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair (Art-Acting-Film)● Shri S Nambi Narayan (Science & Engineering-Space)● Shri Kuldip Nayar (Posthumous) for Literature &

Education (Journalism)● Ms. Bachendri Pal (Sports-Mountaineering)● Shri V K Shunglu (Civil Service)● Shri Hukumdev Narayan Yadav (Public Affairs)

Padma Shri● Shri Rajeshwar Acharya (Art-Vocal-Hindustani)● Shri Bangaru Adigalar(Others-Spiritualism)● Shri Illias Ali (Medicine-Surgery)● Shri Manoj Bajpayee (Art-Acting-Films)● Shri Uddhab Kumar Bharali (Science & Engineering-

Grassroots Innovation)● Shri Omesh Kumar Bharti (Medicine-Rabies)● Shri Pritam Bhartwan (Art-Vocals-Folk)● Shri Jyoti Bhatt (Art-Painting)● Shri Dilip Chakravarty (Others-Archaeology)● Shri Mammen Chandy (Medicine-Hematology)● Shri Swapan Chaudhuri (Art-Music-Tabla)● Shri Kanwal Singh Chauhan● Shri Sunil Chhetri (Sports-Football)● Shri Dinyar Contractor (Art-Acting-Theatre)● Ms. Muktaben Pankajkumar Dagli (Social Work-Divyang

Welfare)● Shri Babulal Dahiya (Others-Agriculture)● Shri Thanga Darlong (Art-Music-Flute)● Shri Prabhu Deva (Art-Dance)● Ms. Rajkumari Devi (Others-Agriculture)

● Ms. Bhagirathi Devi (Public Affairs)● Shri Baldev Singh Dhillon (Science & Engineering-

Agriculture)● Ms. Harika Dronavalli (Sports-Chess)● Ms. Godawari Dutta (Art-Painting)● Shri Gautam Gambhir (Sports-Cricket)● Ms. Draupadi Ghimiray (Social Work-Divyang Welfare)● Ms. Rohini Godbole (Science & Engineering-Nuclear)● Shri Sandeep Guleria (Medicine-Surgery)● Shri Pratap Singh Hardia (Medicine- Ophthmology)● Shri Bulu Imam (Social Work-Culture)● Ms. Friederike Irina (Foreigner) (Social Work-Animal

Welfare)● Shri Joravarsinh Jadav (Art-Dance Folk)● Shri S Jaishankar (Civil Service)● Shri Narsingh Dev Jamwal (Literature & Education)● Shri Fayaz Ahmad Jan (Art-Craft-Papier Mache)● Shri K G Jayan (Art-Music-Bhakti)● Shri Subhash Kak (Foreigner) (Science & Engineering-

Technology)● Shri Sharath Kamal (Sports-Table Tennis)● Shri Rajani Kant (Social Work)● Shri Sudam Kate (Medicine-Sickle Cell)● Shri Waman Kendre (Art-Acting-Theatre)● Shri Kader Khan (Posthumous-Foreigner) (Art-Acting-

Films)● Shri Abdul Gafur Khatri (Art-Painting)● Shri Ravindra Kolhe and Ms. Smita Kolhe (Medicine-

Affordable Healthcare)● Ms. Bombayla Devi Laishram (Sports-Archery)● Shri Kailash Madbaiya (Literature & Education)● Shri Ramesh Babaji Maharaj (Social Work-Animal

Welfare)● Shri Vallabhbhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya (Others-

Agriculture)● Ms. Gita Mehta (Foreigner) (Literature & Education)● Shri Shadab Mohammad (Medicine-Dentistry)● Shri K Muhammed (Others-Archaeology)● Shri Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Medicine-Affordable

Healthcare)● Shri Daitari Naik (Social Work)● Shri Shankar Mahadevan Narayan (Art-Vocals-Films)● Shri Shantanu Narayen (Foreigner) (Trade & Industry-

Technology)● Nartaki Natraj (Art-Dance-Bharatnatyam)● Shri Tsering Norboo (Medicine-Surgery)● Shri Anup Ranjan Pandey (Art-Music)● Shri Jagdish Prasad Parikh (Others-Agriculture)● Shri Ganpatbhai Patel (Foreigner) (Literature &

Education)● Shri Bimal Patel (Others-Architecture)● Shri Hukumchand Patidar (Others-Agriculture)● Shri Harvinder Singh Phoolka (Public Affairs)● Ms. Madurai Chinna Pillai (Social Work-Microfinance)● Ms. Tao Porchon-Lynch (Foreigner) (Others-Yoga)● Ms. Kamala Pujhari (Others-Agriculture)● Shri Bajrang Punia (Sports-Wrestling)● Shri Jagat Ram (Medicine-Ophthalmology)● Shri R V Ramani (Medicine-Ophthalmology)● Shri Devarapalli Prakash Rao (Social Work-Affordable

Education)● Shri Anup Sah (Art-Photography)● Ms. Milena Salvini (Foreigner) (Art-Dance-Kathakali)● Shri Nagindas Sanghavi (Literature & Education-

Journalism)● Shri Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry (Art-Lyrics)● Shri Shabbir Sayyad (Social Work-Animal Welfare)● Shri Mahesh Sharma (Social Work-Tribal Welfare)● Shri Mohammad Hanif Khan Shastri (Literature &

Education)● Shri Brijesh Kumar Shukla (Literature & Education)● Shri Narendra Singh (Others-Animal Husbandry)● Ms. Prashanti Singh (Sports-Basketball)● Shri Sultan Singh (Others-Animal Husbandry)● Shri Jyoti Kumar Sinha (Social Work-Affordable

Education)● Shri Anandan Sivamani (Art-Music)● Ms. Sharada Srinivasan (Others-Archaeology)● Shri Devendra Swarup (Posthumous) (Literature &

Education-Journalism)● Shri Ajay Thakur (Sports-Kabaddi)● Shri Rajeev Tharanath (Art-Music-Sarod)● Ms. Saalumarada Thimmakka (Social Work-Environment)● Ms. Jamuna Tudu (Social Work-Environment)● Shri Bharat Bhushan Tyagi (Others-Agriculture)● Shri Ramaswami Venkataswami (Medicine-Surgery)● Shri Ram Saran Verma (Others-Agriculture)● Shri Swami Vishudhananda (Others-Spiritualism)● Shri Hiralal Yadav (Art-Vocals-Folk)● Shri Venkateswara Rao Yadlapalli (Others-Agriculture)

In a display of woman power, Lt. Ambika Sudhakaran leadsIndian Navy's marching regiment at Republic Day 2019 parade

Photo /courtesy PIB

Lord Shiva is one of the prominentHindu gods and one of the"trimurti"(holy trinity) of the Hindu

pantheon. Know about the different symbolsof Lord Shiva as symbolized by the variousthings associated with Him. Each of thesesignify a different aspect of his SupremeBeing. Read to know about them.

Unclad body smeared with ashesThis form of Lord Shiva symbolizes the

transcendental aspect of his nature andindicates that his presence is much higherthan this physical phenomenon. The ashes onthe Lord's body is cemetery ash, which pointsto the philosophy of the life and death andshows that death is the ultimate reality of thelife. Most things in the universe reduce toashes when burned and this aspect of natureis suggested by the ash-smeared appearance ofLord Shiva, who is held to be the God ofdestruction in Hindu mythology. The Lord isbeyond the cycle of birth and death.

Jata (Matted Hair)The flow of his matted hair represents

Shiva as the Lord of Wind or Vayu, who is thesubtle form of breath present in all livingbeings. It shows that Shiva is Pashupatinath,Lord Of All Living Beings.

Sacred GangaThe river Ganga (or Ganges) is the most

sacred river for pious Hindus. According to alegend, the river Ganga has its source in Shivaand flows from his matted hair. This issymbolically represented by depicting Gangaas a jet of water sprinkling out of the head ofthe Lord and falling on the ground. Legendhas it that the Lord allowed an outlet to thegreat river to traverse the earth and bringpurifying water to human being. Hence, LordShiva is often referred to as Gangadhara or"Bearer of the river Ganga". The river Gangaalso denotes fertility, one of the creativeaspects of the Rudra. It also indicates thatShiva is not only the Lord of destruction butalso the bestower of knowledge, purity andpeace on the devotees.

The Third EyeIn the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Lord

Shiva is depicted as a three-eyed God. Hence,he is often referred to as Tryambaka Deva,meaning "three-eyed Lord". The sun is said tobe his right eye, the moon the left eye whilefire is his third eye. While his other two eyesindicate his activity in the physical world, histhird eye in the center of his forehead looksbeyond the obvious. It stands for spiritualknowledge and power, and is thus called theeye of wisdom or knowledge. Like fire, thepowerful gaze of Shiva's third eye can searchevil from anywhere and annihilate itcompletely. This is the reason why evil-doersfear his third eye.

Half-Open EyesThe half-open eyes of Lord Shiva convey the

idea that the cycle of universe is in process.When the Lord opens His eyes a new cycle ofcreation begins and when He closes them itsignifies the destruction of the universe forcreation of the next cycle. The half-open eyessignify that creation is going through aneternal cyclic process, with no beginning andno end.

CrescentLord Shiva is typically pictured as wearing

a crescent-shaped ornament on one side of hishead. This is why he is often called'Chandrasekhara' meaning "Having the moonas his crest". The Crescent is actually the

moon in its fifth day phase and symbolizes thetime cycle through which creation evolvesfrom the beginning to the end. The moon is ameasure of time, and thus the Crescent onLord Shiva's head signifies his control overtime. The Lord is the Eternal Reality and He isbeyond time. Thus, the crescent moon is onlyone of His ornaments, and not an integralpart of Him.

The Snake around the neckLord Shiva is often shown with a snake

curled three times around His neck andlooking towards His right side. The three coilsof the snake symbolize the past, present andfuture - time in cycles. The snake looking inthe right direction of Lord Shiva signifies thatthe Lord's perpetual laws of reason andjustice preserve natural order in the universe.The snake is believed to be the Vasuki Naga, adeadly cobra. The Lord wearing the deadlysnake like an ornament signifies that He isindependent of time and death. It alsosuggests the dormant energy, called KundaliniShakti, that resides within him.

VibhutiThe three line of ashes drawn on the

forehead of the Lord is known as the Vibhuti.It signifies the Immortality of the Lord andhis manifested glory.

Tiger SkinHindu mythology states that the tiger is the

vehicle of Shakti, the Goddess of power andforce. Lord Shiva is often shown seated uponor wearing a tiger skin, which emphasizes thefact that he is the master of Shakti and isbeyond and above any kind of force. Tiger isalso the emblem of lust. The Lord's sitting onTiger skin indicates that he has conqueredlust. Tiger also represents energy. Lord Shivais the source of the creative energy thatremains in potential form during thedissolution state of the universe. He activatesthis energy using his own Divine Will toproject the universe in endless cycles.

The Elephant and Deer SkinThe Lord also wears elephant and deer

skins. Elephants stand in for pride while deerrepresent the flickering mind. Wearingelephant and deer skin shows that Lord Shivahas conquered both these vices.

Rudraksha NecklaceHe is almost always shown as wearing a

necklace having 108 beads made with seeds ofthe Rudraksha tree. The beads represent theelements used in the creation of the world.The Rudraksha necklace points to the ‘Rudra’aspect of the Lord, which is also His othername. The word 'Rudra' means "strict oruncompromising" and aksha means "eye." Itillustrates the fact that Lord Shiva is firmabout His cosmic laws and strictly maintainslaw and order in the universe.

Damaru (Drum)It is the small hourglass-shaped drum that

the Lord holds in one of his hands in a specificgesture called 'damaru-hasta'. The two sides ofthe drum separated from each other by a thinneck-like structure represents the two utterly

different states of existence, unmanifest andmanifest. When a damaru is shaken, itproduces Nada, the cosmic sound of AUM,which can be heard during deep meditation.According to Hindu scriptures, Nada is thesource of creation. This is one of theattributes of Shiva in his famous dancingrepresentation known as Nataraja.

Trishul (Trident)The trident, or the spear with three prongs,

is one of the accessories of the Lord andsymbolizes His three fundamental powersiccha(will), kriya(action) andjnana(knowledge). It also signifies His powerto destroy evil and ignorance. As His weaponand instrument of punishment the tridentrepresents Lord Shiva's manner of punishingthe evil doers on all the three planes -spiritual, subtle and physical.

KamandaluThe water pot (Kamandalu) often shown

adjacent to the Lord is another of hisaccessories. It is said to be made from a drypumpkin and containing amrit (nectar).Indian Yogis and sages are seen to carry theKamandalu as an item of basic necessity. Thecarrying of the Kamandalu shows the yogicnature of the Lord. But it has a deepersignificance. As a ripe pumpkin has beenplucked from a plant, its fruit removed andshell cleaned for containing the nectar, anindividual too must give up his attachment tothe physical world and clean his inner self ofegoistic desires to experience the bliss of theSelf, symbolized by the nectar in theKamandalu.

KundalasThe Kundalas refer to the two ear rings,

Alakshya (meaning "which cannot be shownby any sign") and Niranjan (meaning "whichcannot be seen by mortal eyes"), worn by theLord. The ornaments in the ears of the Lordsignify that He is beyond ordinary perception.It is noteworthy that the kundala in the leftear of the Lord is of the type used by womenand the one in His right ear is of the type usedby men. The dual type of Kundalas representthe Shiva and Shakti (male and female)principle of creation.

Mount Kailash Lord Shiva is most often shown to be seated

with the beautiful Himalayas serving as hisbackdrop. Mount Kailash in the Himalayas issaid to be His traditional abode. In Hindumythology, Mount Kailasha is said torepresent the center of the universe. Thisdenotes that Lord Shiva is 'Kailas' - thebestower of peace and also 'Kailashadhipati'meaning "Lord Of Mount Kailash".

SYMBOLS OF LORD SHIVA

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21 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019SPIRITUALITY

22 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019SPORTS

SUSPENSION SUSPENDED,HARDIK PANDYA IN SQUADFOR NEW ZEALAND SERIES

NEW DELHI (TIP): The suspension of Hardik Pandyaand KL Rahul was revoked on Thursday by the Committee ofAdministrators (CoA), two weeks after they were sent homefrom the tour of Australia following a furore over theirsexist comments on a TV show. The senior selectioncommittee has decided to include Pandya in the squad forthe series against New Zealand. Rahul will join the India Asquad for the last three One-day games against EnglandLions in Thiruvananthapuram.

However, the matter is far from closed as the duo has beenallowed to play pending an inquiry by a BCCI ombudsman,who will be appointed by the Supreme Court. The apex courthas listed the matter tentatively for February 5. “Thedecision has been taken with the concurrence of the learnedamicus curiae, PS Narasimha. The suspension order isimmediately lifted pending the appointment andadjudication of the allegations by the BCCI ombudsman,”read a statement from CoA.

Pandya’s and Rahul’s crass comments on Koffee withKaran, a chat show, came in for severe criticism and led to astorm on the social media. While CoA member Diana Eduljiwanted the BCCI office-bearers to be involved in decidingthe fate of the two cricketers, CoA chief Vinod Rai haddismissed the suggestion as it would have been in violationof the board constitution. CoA said the decision to suspendthe two was taken under “rule 46 of the approved BCCIConstitution”, which covers players’ conduct that can bringthe board into disrepute. Source: PTI

Kuldeep to Chahal: Miss youwhen you aren’t at the other end

NAPIER (TIP): Like pacers, spinners too hunt in pairs.Maybe that’s why Kuldeep Yadav feels the “pangs ofseparation” when spin twin Yuzvendra Chahal isn’toperating from the other end. The wrist-spinners have so farplayed 36 ODIs each and will be key to India’s chances in theupcoming World Cup. Of late, India have resisted thetemptation to field both of them together, with RavindraJadeja pairing up with either of them in Australia.

In the first ODI against New Zealand, they were reunited,and responded with six wickets between them. “When youdon’t play, I miss a lot of aspects,” Kuldeep told Chahalduring an interview for the fun segment of bcci.tv.

“We understand each other’s bowling and also the track.It’s not always that we are bowling in tandem. There aretimes when you bowl earlier and I come in later, but we talka lot about how the pitch is behaving and how the batsmanis playing,” said Yadav, who picked up four wickets in India’scomprehensive win in the first ODI.”

India beat NZ in first ODINAPIER (TIP): India's bowlers laid

the foundation before Shikhar Dhawananchored a straightforward chase tosecure comprehensive eight-wicketvictory over New Zealand in the firstODI here today. Opener Dhawan made 75not out and his 91-run stand withskipper Virat Kohli helped Indiaoverwhelm the revised 156-run targetwith 14.1 overs to spare -- theDuckworth-Lewis method employedafter the setting sun stopped the play fora while.

On a high after having just won Testand ODI series in Australia, India lookeddetermined to extend their dominationacross the Tasman Sea as they dismissedtheir hosts for 157 in 38 overs.

Shami strikesPaceman Mohammed Shami and

wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav andYuzvendra Chahal shared nine wicketsamong them as New Zealand failed topost a competitive total with only KaneWilliamson (64) offering some resistancewith the bat. "150-odd on that kind ofwicket was quite an easy total to chasedown and it all boils down to the effort ofthe bowlers," Kohli said.

"The pitch got slower in the secondhalf of the innings but in the first halfthe spinners cramped the batsmen reallywell, and got those crucialbreakthroughs in the middle overs forus."

Chasing 158 to win, India got off to asteady start before Doug Bracewelldismissed Rohit Sharma (11) to end the41-run opening stand. Kohli joinedDhawan in the middle before the playcame to a halt in extraordinarycircumstances as the rays from thesetting sun were beaming right into theeyes of the batsmen.

India were set a revised target of 156from 49 overs when play resumed andthe tourists made steady progress withDhawan and Kohli cruising in themiddle. Kohli, then on 37, was adjudgedlbw to Tim Southee but the India captainreviewed it and got the decisionoverturned after snickometer suggesteda faint edge.

Lockie Ferguson eventually dismissedhim for 45, a day after the India captain

swept the annual International CricketCouncil (ICC) awards.

Quick blowsEarlier, Williamson was left to rue his

decision to bat first in the first ODI ofthe five-match series at Napier's McLeanPark. Shami (3/19) made early inroads,dismissing Martin Guptill and ColinMunro in successive overs, bolsteringhis claim for a place in India's World Cupsquad later this year.

Williamson and Ross Taylor (24)embarked on rebuilding the innings butYadav (4/39) and Chahal (2-43) had otherideas. Williamson hit seven boundariesin his fluent 64 but wickets kepttumbling at the other end as thespinners struck at regular intervals.

At 107/5 at the mid-innings mark, thehosts' hopes of lasting their full quota of50 overs rested on Williamson battingthrough the innings but the Kiwiskipper perished at long-on, playing apremeditated shot against Yadav.

Shami fastest Indian toreach 100 ODI wickets

Mohammed Shami has just carried onthe good form in New Zealand andbecome the fastest Indian bowler tocomplete 100 wickets in one-dayinternationals.

Shami on Wednesday removed NewZealand opener Martin Guptill in the

very first over he bowled in the match toachieve the feat.

The Bengal pacer beat the Indianrecord which was previously held byleft-arm swing bowler Irfan Pathan.Shami got to the landmark in his 56thODI while Pathan had done it in 59matches.

Zaheer Khan (65 ODIs), Ajit Agarkar(67) and Javagal Srinath (68 ODIs)complete the top five fastest bowlersfrom India to complete 100 wickets.

Overall, Shami is tied with Kiwispeedster Trent Boult as the sixth fastestto the landmark in terms of matchesplayed. Afghanistan leg-spinner RashidKhan leads the list, having set the recordin 44 ODIs followed by Mitchell Starc (52ODIs), Saqlain Mushtaq (53 ODIs), ShaneBond (54 ODIs) and Brett Lee (55 ODIs).

Shami has been in terrific form forIndia ever since he made a comeback inthe one-day side in Australia earlier thismonth. He got just 5 wickets in the seriesin the three ODIs but was impressivewith the line and lengths he bowledthroughout the series.

Shami, after picking up the wicket ofGutpill in the ongoing ODI in Napier,removed the second Kiwi opener ColinMunro, with the third ball of his secondover for 8 to give India the perfect startafter Kane

Women team too hammers KiwisNAPIER (TIP): The in-form Smriti Mandhana and teen

sensation Jemimah Rodrigues hammered New Zealand’sclueless bowling attack to steer India to an emphatic nine-wicket triumph in the opening ODI of a three-match serieshere today. The 22-year-old Smriti (105) and the 18-year-oldJemimah (81 not out) put together a batting masterclass afterthe bowlers did the job for India by bundling out New Zealandfor a below-par 192.

Competing in their first series after the furore that followedthe team’s T20 World Cup exit in the semifinals last year, theIndians produced a thoroughly clinical performance to eke outa comfortable victory.

While Smriti, fresh from winning the ICC women’sCricketer of the Year award, slammed her fourth ODIhundred, Rodrigues notched up her maiden international half-century. “I think it’s great to start the series and wonderful tosee openers get an over 100-run partnership. I think a lot ofgirls do look up to Mandhana. She had a great 2018 and she iscontinuing and it gives a lot of confidence to the dressingroom,” said India captain Mithali Raj. “But easy catchesshould have been taken. We are definitely not overconfident,”she added, referring to the shortcomings she noticed.

Smriti and Jemimah stitched together the highest everopening-wicket stand against New Zealand — a 190-runpartnership that stood for 32.2 overs. Smriti’s 104-ball knock

included nine fours and three sixes, while Jemimah strucknine fours.

Earlier, put in to bat, New Zealand wasted a good start andcrumbled against the spin of Poonam Yadav and Ekta EktaBisht. Poonam and Ekta snared three wickets each to put thevisiting side on top. Ekta ripped through the White Ferns’middle-order, claiming the scalps of skipper AmySatterthwaite (31), Lauren Down (0) and Amelia Kerr (28).

Source: PTI

Pandya and Rahul have been allowed toplay pending an inquiry by a BCCIombudsman; Rahul to play againstEngland Lions in last 3 One-dayers

23THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 ASTROLOGY

W E E K LY H O R O S C O P EJANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3, 2019

Aries: Peace and calm now descend on you andyours. It had to come. There was nothingleft for Ganesha to give you, and He had amind to be generous. Work, strife,confrontations are all handled with thisnew mind - set and nothing can upset you.Success comes to you no matter what youturn to. A truly enviable state of being, andrichly deserved. Once again, what morecan I add?

Taurus: "All people matter to you now," as Kiplingsaid - and highly. Family, children, lovedones, spouse / partner, parents, in - laws,extended family, neighbors, colleagues -receive help, love, support in your new,caring avatar. New ventures, projects,proposals, partnerships (fine P's, all ofthem) take off smoothly and existing onesare revamped or speeded up, in turn, youyourself feel cherished, loved, cared for, asnever before.

Gemini: Power and glory, not only from your innerstrengths, but in this material world we livein - from money! And this trend will lastthrough the year and spill over into thisperiod as well. Joint - funds, loans, capital,trusts, family income, even domesticexpenses - you attend to all and seek toimprove and enhance them. Likewise,leases, legal matters and issues. If you areto reckon the profits, accruals, benefits,they are emotional as well as financial.Greater contentment, great spirituality,too.

Cancer: Contacts, communications, reaching out byall possible means and media - that's thetheme now. Opportunities for travel, too, inthis theme, naturally. If you work in thearts, the media, in publicity related fields,you now excel at what you're doing, andgain well - deserved plaudits, gloryrecognition. Ganesha's generosity knowsno bounds, does it?

Leo: It's back to money matters once again. Youreally need to swing back and forth, copingwith the cornucopia of plenty thatGanesha sends you! And that means hardwork, but you're not shy of that. Stocks,shares, mutual and marital funds, profits,capital formation - the possibilities areendless. So also, almost the rewards thatcome your way thick and fast. Esteem,respect, social standing and status, aboveall, your own greatly enhanced self -image. But some caution will be necessary,too.

Virgo: Once again, hard work and matchingrewards. So, says Ganesha, you really haveno cause to complain. Excitingpossibilities, equally exciting success inyour ventures. Once again, though,Ganesha advises caution, restraint, care innegotiations. Don't make rash or hastycommitments or investments. Read the fineprint, study the hidden clauses. You may beriding the crest of a wave, but you have toensure you don't come crashing down.

Libra: Accomplishments, targets, achievements,success by whatever name you choose tocall it. And lots of possessions,acquisitions, luxuries, assets that areobjects of beauty as well as wiseinvestments. The rewards come in allshapes, sizes, hues and textures. Thedetails I can only leave to yourimagination, and your individualhoroscope. All I can say is, you've workedhard for them.

Scorpio: Glory, growth, and of course, Ganesha.Nothing could be more awesome insplendor than these great G's. Your cup ofhappiness, fulfilment, joy, truly, runnethover, as it says in the Bible. Truly, the GoodBook has it all in terms of expression. Atleast for you, Scorpios, as you stand on thethreshold of this period.

Sagittarius: The vital role that relationships and goodcommunication play will be very obvious toyou now. Interactions in the family circle withfriends, and also with colleagues and superiorsmay see a few clashes/stand-offs, though theyare cordial and pleasant for the most part.Travel, for work/interviews/inspection ofsites or locations, too, adds Ganesha. Also, adesire to enhance yourskills/expertise/knowledge, acquire greaterlearning both as an asset and for the sheer joyand satisfaction of it!

Capricorn:-Targets and goals are what you will be focusedon, in a very big way, as you go into over-drive inthe work scenario. Some really hard work isforetold - it may be linked to a new or changedjob, a promotion, or even a more profitable lineof work. Property and home issues, too, alongwith loans, funds, enhancement of these two,and your other assets, on the financial scene, allcome together to keep you busy indeed. I canforesee your determination and dedication!

Aquarius:- In your own birth sign, you surge ahead in the2 D's I've mentioned last period, along with the3 D's of demands - that you make on yourself,and those that others make on you, so that youare more than ever aware of the need to earnmore, to provide more, to invest more. Thematerial plane is the all-important one now,and you gear up to face the challenges head-on,in true your sign bull-like fashion, saysGanesha.

Pisces:- The kind of flat-out slogging you've embarkedon since the new moon phase is difficult tosustain indefinitely, so you decide to relax,have a bit of fun. It's not complacency but asense of satisfaction that work is going verysmoothly - and it's going your way. Love andromance, parties, the social circuit, all theseand leisure pursuits/hobbies/recreation, too,acquire a touch of glamour and glitz. To roundit all off, Ganesha's luck at wins, windfalls,legacies, clever investments, too, comes yourway.

Shree Ganeshaya Namah

Bejan Daruwalla is world's most famousastrologertoday. He appears regularly onworld wide TV shows. Bejan who has been aprofessor in English, hasauthored a numberof books on astrology. India'sPrime MinisterNarendra Modi , on March 29, 2012,lunchedone of Bejan's books, '2012- End oftheWorld? Bejan contributes to a number ofjournals andnewspapers in many parts of theworld which includeBerkley Communications(London) Times of India(Delhi, Mumbai,Kolkata, Chennai) and The IndianPanorama (New York and Texas). Bejan'spredictionshave mostly been correct andpeople the world overrely on his predictions.

Bejan Daruwalla is available for astrological

consultations. He can be reached at

info@bejandaruwalla.com and on phone

011-91-8141234275www.bejandaruwalla.com

24 THE INDIAN PANORAMAFRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019ADVERTISEMENT