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MUMBAI,LATECITY
NOVEMBER22,2020
14PAGES,`5.00
DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA
G20: PM calls for a new global
index in post-pandemic world
PM Narendra Modi addresses the 15th G20 Summit via
video-conferencing, in New Delhi on Saturday. ANI
DDC polls: India tells Pak
ready for all steps on terror CHHATH AT THE TAJ
SHUBHAJIT ROY
& ARUN SHARMA
NEW DELHI, JAMMU,
NOVEMBER 21
EXPRESSING SERIOUS concern
over“continuedterrorattacks”by
Pakistan-based Jaish-e-
Mohammed, New Delhi warned
Islamabad Saturday that it is
“firmlyandresolutelycommitted
Whole nine yards: Berlin
to Mumbai, Salvi’s sari run
SHIVANI NAIK
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
HAVING FINISHED her
marathon, Kranti Salvi was
seated in the waiting lounge
Kranti Salvi competing in with Kenyan great Eliud
the 2018 Berlin Marathon Kipchoge as TV crews set up
SHUBHAJIT ROY
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21
THE COVID-19 pandemic is an
“important turning point” in the
history of humankind and the
“biggest challenge” since World
War II, Prime Minister Narendra
ModitoldG20leaders,ashecalled
for a new global index based on
transparency in governance and
the creation of a vast talent pool.
He also called for decisive action
to preserve the planet.
Modi, who attended the G20
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
to take all necessary measures to
safeguard its national security in
the fight against terrorism”.
The Ministry of External
Affairs, which summoned
Pakistan’s acting envoy, lodged a
protest after the latest Jaish bid
to carry out terror strikes in J&K
ahead of the District
Development Council elections.
It demanded that Pakistan
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
their camera rigs in the media
roomatBerlin.ItwasSeptember
of 2018 and Kipchoge, already
runningroyaltybythen,hadjust
set the marathon world record.
MumbairesidentSalvi,celebrat-
ing turning 50 that year, had de-
cided to run her milestone
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Chhath Puja against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal in Agra on Saturday. PTI
NCB arrests
comedian
Bharti Singh
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
THE NARCOTICS Control Bureau
(NCB) arrested comedian Bharti
Singh (36) on Saturday and
seized 86.5 grams of ganja from
the home and office in Andheri
West she shares with her hus-
band, the screenwriter Haarsh
Limbachiyaa (33).
The agency acted against the
duo after arresting a 21-year-old
drug peddler in Khar Danda
early on Saturday morning and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899
eye
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE
OPEN
CITY
Public life, as we knew
it, has come to an
unprecedented
standstill. A
historian, a social
scientist and an artist
reimagine form and
functionality in the
cities that nurture us
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM PAGES 11, 12, 13
ASSESSMENT OF RESPONSE
Fromlackofbeds
toriseinpoverty,
Housepanelflags
Covidconcerns
Points out lapses in surveillance and
management, recommends steps
KAUNAIN SHERIFF M
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21
KEY FINDINGS
UNEXPECTED SPENDING on
HEALTH EXPENSES may
have driven families
healthafterbeinghitbyCovid-19 below poverty line
may have pushed many families CLOSED OPDs during
below the poverty line, a lockdown hit women
CommitteeofParliamenthasob- and seriously ill worst,
served. Delivery of healthcare may have caused deaths
serviceswasseverelyimpactedaf-
ter outpatient departments DIGITAL divide may have
Farmers relent, trains set (OPDs)inhospitalswereshutdur-
ing the lockdown, and women
jeopardised the future of
millions of students;
concerns over long
to start in Punjab Monday
bore the brunt of the disruption,
confinement
E
the panel has said in its report.
The Parliamentary Standing SUICIDE RISK may have
Committee on Health and increased due to
E X P L A I NE D
KANCHAN VASDEV The high Family Welfare assessed the re- depression, loss of
CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 21 sponse of the government to livelihood, and economic
cost of a contain the novel coronavirus fallouts of lockdown
THE NEARLY two-month-long ● blockade CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
trainblockadeinPunjablooksset
to end, after farmer unions said THE TWO-MONTH-LONG
they would allow movement of
both passenger and goods trains
startingMondayevening,follow-
rail blockade has meant all
the thermal plants in the
state have been forced shut SUNDAY STORY
ingameetingwithChief Minister due to the lack of coal,
Amarinder Singh on Saturday. shortage of fertilisers even PAGE 8
However, they said they were as silos overflow with ‘IF I CAN’T STUDY,
suspending their agitation for grains, Rs 30,000 crore loss
only 15 days, and would resume to the Covid-hit Punjab in-
I CAN’T LIVE...’
if the Centre did not meet their dustry, Rs 2,200 crore loss to What college meant for
representatives regarding the the Railways, as well as an Aishwarya Reddy, and
new farm laws. impact on Army supplies. her cries for help
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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 2 THE SECOND PAGE
FROM PAGE ONE
PM attends G20
virtual summit hosted by Saudi
Arabia, posted on Twitter after-
ward: “Had a very fruitful dis-
cussion with G20 leaders.
Coordinated efforts by the
largest economies of the world
will surely lead to faster recov-
ery from this pandemic.”
The Prime Minister said
“Spirit of trusteeship towards
planet Earth will inspire us for a
healthy and holistic lifestyle.”
An official statement by the
Ministry of External Affairs said
Modicalled for a “new global in-
dex for the post-Corona world
that comprises four key ele-
ments — creation of a vast talent
pool; ensuring that technology
reaches all segments of the so-
ciety; transparency in systems
of governance;and dealingwith
Mother Earth with a spirit of
trusteeship”.
According to the MEA, the
PM said that while the empha-
sisoverthepastfewdecadeshas
been on capital and finance, the
timehascometofocusonmulti-
skilling and re-skilling. “This
wouldnotonlyenhancethedig-
nity of citizens but would make
our citizens more resilient to
face crises.”
According to the statement,
Modi said that dealing with the
environment and nature as
trustees rather than owners
would inspire us towards a ho-
listic and healthy lifestyle.
‘Work from Anywhere’ is a
new normal in the post-Covid
world, the PM said — and sug-
gested that as follow-up action,
a G20 virtual secretariat be cre-
atedasarepositoryof documen-
tation.“AttheG20Summit,Iput
forwardaneedtodevelopanew
global index based on talent,
technology, transparency and
trusteeship towards the planet,”
Modi tweeted.
He also said: “We offered
India's IT prowess to further de-
velop digital facilities for effi-
cient functioning of the G20.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping
said, “China will always be a
builder of global peace, a con-
tributor to global development
and a defender of international
order. On the basis of mutual re-
spect, equality and mutual ben-
efit, China stands ready to pur-
sue peaceful coexistence and
common development with all
countries.Wemaybridgediffer-
ences through dialogue, resolve
disputes through negotiation,
andmake a jointeffort forworld
peace and development.”
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman
bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who was
in the chair, said, “Although we
are optimistic about the
progress made in developing
vaccines, therapeutics and diag-
nostics tools for Covid-19, we
must work to create the condi-
tions for affordable and equi-
table access... At the same time,
we must prepare better for any
future pandemic. We must also
continue to support the global
economy and reopen our
economies and borders.”
The two-day G20 leaders’
summit brought together the
world’s largest economies that
make up 85 per cent of the
global GDP, and is expected to
lay the foundations of an inclu-
sive,resilient,andsustainablere-
covery from the Covid-19 crisis.
Heads of State/Government of
19 member countries, the EU,
and other invited countries and
international organisations, at-
tended the summit. United
States President Donald Trump
was one of the attendees.
The 15th summit of G20
leaderswillcontinueonSunday.
DDC polls
desistfromitspolicyof support-
ing terrorists and dismantle the
terror infrastructure on its terri-
tory.
The Pakistan Foreign
Ministry also summoned the
Indian chargé d'affaires in
Islamabad to reject what it
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called were allegations to “im-
plicate Pakistan in some alleged
planned attack in Nagrota”.
TheIndianwarningof taking
“all necessary measures to safe-
guarditsnationalsecurity”came
a day after Prime Minister
NarendraModipointedtocross-
border terror from Pakistan and
thanked security forces for hav-
ing “defeated a nefarious plot”
to target grassroots democracy
in J&K.
India carried out surgical
strikes on terror launch pads
along the Line of Control after
the Uri attack in September
2016, and air strikes in Balakot
after the Pulwama attack in
February 2019.
In a statement Saturday, the
MEA said, “A major terror attack
was foiled by Indian security
forces in Nagrota, Jammu and
Kashmir on 19 November 2020.
Initial reports indicate the at-
tackers to be members of
Pakistan based Jaish-e-
Mohammed (JeM), a terrorist
organization proscribed by the
United Nations and several
countries. The Government of
India expressed its serious con-
cernsatcontinuedterrorattacks
by JeM against India.”
“JeM has been partof several
attacks in India in the past, in-
cluding the Pulwama attack in
February 2019. The huge cache
of arms,ammunitionandexplo-
sive material indicate detailed
planning for a major attack to
destabilise peace andsecurity in
the UT of Jammu and Kashmir,
in particular, to derail the ongo-
ing democratic exercise of con-
duct of local District
Development Council elec-
tions,” it said.
“Pakistan Cd’A was sum-
moned by the Ministry of
External Affairs and a strong
protest was lodged at the at-
tempted attack, which was only
prevented from happening by
the alertness of the Indian secu-
rityforces.Itwasdemandedthat
Pakistan desist from its policy of
supporting terrorists and terror
groups operating from its terri-
toryanddismantle the terrorin-
frastructure operated by terror-
ist outfits to launch attacks in
other countries.”
“India reiterated its long
standing demand that Pakistan
fulfilitsinternationalobligations
and bilateral commitments to
not allow any territory under its
control to be used for terrorism
againstIndiainanymanner,”the
MEA said.
“The Government of India is
firmly and resolutely commit-
ted to take all necessary meas-
ures to safeguard its national se-
curity in the fight against
terrorism,” it said.
Meanwhile, an Army
Havildar was killed and another
soldier injured as Pakistani
troops resorted to unprovoked
mortar shelling and small arms
fire Saturday along the Line of
Control in Rajouri district of J&K.
Army spokesperson Lt
Colonel Devender Anand said
ceasefire violations from across
the LoC took place in the morn-
ing and again in the evening.
He said Havildar Patil
SangramShivajiof Kolhapurwas
killed in action in the Nowshera
sector. “He was a brave, highly
motivated and a sincere soldier.
The nation will always remain
indebted to him for his supreme
sacrifice and devotion to duty,”
Lt Colonel Anand said.
Officials said another soldier
sustained injuries and is under-
going treatment at a military
hospital.TheArmy,officialssaid,
retaliated effectively to silence
the Pakistani guns.
According to an ENS report
from Pune, 38-year-old Patil of
16MarathaLightInfantryhailed
from Nigave Khalsa village in
Karvir taluka of Kolhapur dis-
trict. He belonged to a family of
farmers. He was the second sol-
dier from Kolhapur district to be
killed in action along the LoC in
EXCLUSIVE
WEB
COVID-19
House panel flags gaps in pandemic response
pandemic and mitigate its im-
pact. The Committee has sub-
mitted its report, titled ‘The
Outbreak of Pandemic COVID-
19 and its management’, to
Rajya Sabha Chairman M
Venkaiah Naidu.
Thereportisamongthefirst
official assessments of the fall-
out of the pandemic. It takes a
look at almost every aspect of
the government’s handing of
the crisis, including hospitals,
the cost of treatment, surveil-
lance, and testing; issues of
frontlineworkers,school-going
children, women, and mental
health; and offers recommen-
dations to the government.
“The purpose of the report
is not to criticise the govern-
ment’scourseof action...butto
identify the implementation
gaps,” Prof Ram Gopal Yadav,
Chairman of the Department-
related Parliamentary
StandingCommitteeonHealth
& Family Welfare, has said in
the report.
HOSPITALS
The committee has noted
that the “number of
Government hospital beds...
was grossly inadequate keep-
ing in view the rising inci-
dence” of cases. “As the num-
bers...wereontherise,afrantic
searchfor vacant hospital beds
became quite harrowing.
Instances of patients being
turned away from overbur-
dened hospitals due to lack of
vacant beds became the new
normal,” it has said.
“The Committee is ag-
grieved at the poor state of
healthcare system and there-
fore, recommends the
Governmenttoincreasethein-
vestment in public health and
take appropriate steps to de-
centralize the healthcare serv-
ices/facilities in the country.”
The Committee has under-
lined that “the closure of OPD
services in government hospi-
tals... crippled the healthcare
deliverysysteminthecountry”
– and “non-Covid patients es-
pecially female patients and
the patients with chronic and
lethal diseases were the worst
sufferers”.
“The Committee notes that
disruption of medical services
for Non-Covid patients during
lockdown paralyzed the deliv-
ery of essential healthcare
services. Particularly, the diag-
nosis and treatment of other
services did take a backseat
which even led to many non-
Covid deaths,” it has said.
COST OF TREATMENT
The Committee has said it
“apprehends that amidst the
pandemic and the uncertainty
in the treatment protocol”,
out-of-pocket expenditure on
health “may have further
over a week's time.
Farmers relent
A government statement
said the farmers had acceded to
the CM's appeal to allow both
passenger and goods trains.
The farmer leaders said they
wouldcontinuewiththeirplans
to "lay siege to Delhi" on
November 26-27.
Arun Kumar, the Director
General of the Railway
Protection Force, told The
Sunday Express, “We are in
touch with the state govern-
ment. We are making arrange-
ments to run trains from
Monday. If we get the assurance
that everything will be fine, we
are ready to run (trains).”
A Railway Ministry
spokesperson said they had re-
ceived a communication from
Punjabthat"tracksarenowclear
for train operations". "The
Railwayswilltakestepstowards
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
CANDIDATE CORONA TO KING KONG: MANY SHADES OF KERALA’S LOCAL BODY POLLS
Threeweeksfromnow,Kerala’s2.71croreeligiblevoterswillheadtothepollingboothstoelecttheir
representativesto1,199self-governinglocalbodiesacrossthestate.Formany,itisadebutelection.Forpast
candidates,itisatestiftheywillincreaseorreducetheirpreviousmargins.
FINE FOR VIOLATIONS
Depending upon the
situation, state govts
increase and decrease
fines from time to time
driven many families to below
poverty line”.
According to the
Committee, “arriving at a sus-
tainable pricing model to treat
Covid patients could have
averted many deaths”. The
government “should have
strategized a better partner-
ship with the Private Hospitals
under PPP model.”
The Committee has said
that given the reports of “pri-
vate hospitals chargingexorbi-
tant medical fees” that were
beyond the reach of many,
“free Covid treatment under
PMJAY could provide a sigh of
relief to the entitled benefici-
aries and the economically
weakersectionsof thesociety”.
It has recommended to “the
Ministry to constantly make
efforts to minimise the out of
pocket expenditureof patients
due to Covid and update the
details of the beneficiaries on
the scheme's IT System”.
SURVEILLANCE
The Committee has noted
that “poor contact tracing and
slowtestingintheinitialphase
of pandemic led to the in-
creased number of infections”,
and that it was “constrained to
observe the failure of NCDC-
IDSP (National Centre for
Disease Control-Integrated
Disease Surveillance
Programme) in generating the
required response...”.
“The Committee feels that
NCDP-IDSP should have been
utilized in a more effective
manner especially when the
sole objective of IDSP is to re-
spondtooutbreaksinthe early
phase through trained Rapid
Response Teams,” it has said.
The Committee has said it
would like the Ministry to
launch IDSP in states other
than the nine in which it is in
place, and that “there is an ur-
gent need to assess the finan-
cial requirement”.
The Committee has said
while it “appreciates” meas-
ures like the janta curfew,
“there have been [a] few glar-
ing lapses... like shortage of
emergency supplies, red-
tapism, shortageandqualityof
testing kits, delay in domestic
production.”
TESTING
The Committee said it is
“worried at the use of less reli-
able diagnostic tests which in-
creasethechancesof falseneg-
atives”.Thegovernment“must
assess the veracity of Rapid
Antigen Test vis-à-vis RT-PCR
and other diagnostic tests... to
bring forth the true picture of
the testing capacity in the
country”. It has “strongly rec-
ommended” that testing facil-
ities are ramped up “for more
accurate tests”.
restoration of train services at
the earliest after undertaking
the necessary maintenance
checks and completing other
protocols."
Announcing the decision to
allow all trains, Bharti Kisan
Union(Rajewal)presidentBalbir
Singh Rajewal urged political
parties in Punjab to support
them in their fight against the
farm laws, and not let the issue
be politicised.
Thanking the farmers,
Amarinder Singh said he would
meet Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Union Home Minister
Amit Shah on their behalf. “Let
us together put pressure on the
Centre to see our point of view
and understand how these laws
would ruin Punjab,” he said, as-
serting that he was with the
farmers in their fight. “We all
have farmer blood in our veins."
Darshan Pal, state president
of the Krantikari Kisan Union,
TECH
Also, the Committee has
noted, “testing facility is only
limited to bigger districts and
cities”, and “lack of testing fa-
cilities in rural areas has also
resulted in underreporting of
cases”. The Primary Health
Centres and Community
Health Centres “are still largely
devoid of any testing facilities
and the required technical
workforce”, it has said, and
“strongly recommended” that
a “strong network” of Viral
Research & Diagnostic
Laboratories (VRDLs) be set up
in the country.
FRONTLINE WORKERS
The Committee has ex-
pressedanguishoverinstances
of mistreatment of Accredited
Social Health Activist (ASHA)
workers engaged in contact
tracing, and has said it is
“pained to note that commu-
nity health workers were de-
nied wages even though they
are the foot soldiers of the
healthcare system”.
“It is too much to expect
from the community health
workerstoaccomplishbigtask
withoutpropertraining,incen-
tives and support from the
healthsystem,”ithassaid.“The
Committee stronglyadvocates
for strengthening the network
of ASHAs, ANMs (Auxiliary
Nurse Widwives), and other
community health workers.”
The Committee has also
highlighted “large numbers of
vacancies in secondary and
tertiary public hospitals which
considerably increases the de-
pendence on private providers
and contractual workers”.
There is “urgent need for ca-
pacity building and maintain-
ingthepoolof healthresources
to fight against the outbreak of
the pandemic”, it has said.
WOMEN
The pandemic has not
“only adversely affected
women’s social and mental
well being but also disrupted
access to healthcare services
especially sexual and repro-
ductive healthcare services”,
the Committee has said.
“Access to contraceptives
or healthcare services became
difficultwhichledtomanyun-
wanted pregnancies and un-
safeabortions.TheCommittee,
therefore, strongly recom-
mends the Government to
chalk out specific course of ac-
tion for rescuing the women
out of mental trauma by re-
suming the sexual and repro-
ductive healthcare services
and allocating the resources to
improve women health serv-
ices.”
The Committee has ob-
served that “restrictive social
norms, gender stereotypes,
home quarantining and diver-
who was at the meeting with
the CM, said, “We have only
lifted the rail blockade. The rest
of the agitation will continue."
Hesaiditwouldtaketimefor
them to get the message across
to farmers' organisations sitting
in the precincts of railway sta-
tionsacrossthestate,andforthe
latter to collect their belongings
andleave,whichiswhytheyhad
given Monday evening as the
time to the government.
The farmers have been
claiming that they have not
blockedanytracks,andthatthey
would allow only goods trains
till their demands regarding
farm laws were met. The Centre,
however, maintained that it
wouldn't clear goods trains if
passenger trains weren't al-
lowed as well. The farmers saw
the Centre's stand, which has
hindered the supply of essential
supplies to Punjab and hit its in-
dustries, as a tactic to force their
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sion of resources to respond to
the Covid-19 pandemic can
limit women’s ability to access
health services which makes
them more susceptible to
health risks”.
Also, “violence against
women increased during the
lockdown period as the perpe-
trators of violence and suscep-
tible both stayed at home”, it
has said. “The Committee
strongly recommends the
Government to identify such
women who have been the
victims of sexual and domes-
tic violence during the pan-
demic and rehabilitate them.
The Committee would like the
Ministry to create specific hot-
lines, telemedicine services,
rapecrisiscentresforwomen.”
CHILDREN
The Committee has ex-
pressedconcernoverthe“con-
finement of the school-going
children due to prolonged clo-
sure of education institutions”
and, equally, at the “existing
digital divide in the country
which has jeopardised the fu-
ture of millions of students
from the weaker section of the
society”. It has observed that
“with the shift in education
method from classroom to on-
line medium, the education of
the students residing in areas
with poor connectivity has
been compromised”.
It has recommended that
the government should
“strengthen its network for
digital and online classes and
once the normal classes re-
sume, provision for extra spe-
cial classes should be made es-
pecially for students from the
economically and socially
weaker section”.
MENTAL HEALTH
There has been “a consid-
erable rise in mental health is-
suesduringthelockdown”,the
Committee has said. “Sudden
loss of employment and social
isolation aggravated the psy-
chological burden among the
masses, it has said.
“There is no denying the
fact that staying in touch with
friends or family is a typical
mechanism for coping with
stressbutduringthelockdown
in the absence of any coping
mechanism, working-age
adults, students etc who live
alone, were more prone to de-
pression.”
The Committee has specifi-
callyhighlightedthe“increased
risk of suicide during the pan-
demicwhichmaybeattributed
to social isolation, fear of the
pandemic,lossoflivelihoodand
othereconomicandhealthfall-
outs”, and “strongly urged” the
government to make suicide
preventionandmentalhealtha
priority.
hand.
The 'rail roko' movement
against the three Central farm
laws was started by the farmers
on September 24. After talks
with the state government, they
hadliftedtheblockadeforgoods
trainsonOctober21.Astategov-
ernment team including senior
ministers and later officers had
failed so far in getting them to
agree to passenger trains.
The Punjab government got
the farmers to relent by urging
them that the continuing block-
ade was leading to risingresent-
ment among the public. All the
thermal plants in the state have
been forced shut as they have
run out of coal, while the farm-
ers themselves are facing a se-
vere shortage of fertilisers, es-
pecially urea, which is
threatening their wheat crop.
Theindustry,justemergingfrom
the Covid setback, is estimated
to have suffered losses to the
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
The trouble with
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tune of Rs 30,000 crore in this
two-month period, with
Amarinder Singh claiming on
Saturday that six lakh migrant
workers had left due to units
shutting down. Over 13,500
containers carrying export ma-
terials alone are stranded at
Dhandari Dry Port in Ludhiana.
The blockade has also im-
pacted the supply of 40 lakh
metric tonnes of parboiled rice
from Punjab to Bihar and east-
ern Uttar Pradesh for PDS distri-
bution, with Punjab's silos full
with foodgrains.
Singh said the rail blockade
wasalsoimpactingurgentArmy
supplies to the Valley and Leh-
Ladakh.
Darshan Pal said they didn't
want to inconvenience anyone,
and were hence conceding on
the issue of trains while contin-
uing their agitation. “For now,
wehavethesupportof thecom-
mon people. But industrialists
are suffering due to disruption
in the supply of raw material,
labourers are losing jobs."
Atleastonefarmer organisa-
tion, the Kisan Mazdoor
Sangharsh Committee that is
protestingontheAmritsar-Delhi
tracks near Jandiala Guru,
Amritsar,however, saidit would
not backtrack. “We will not let
any passenger trains resume,"
said Sawarn Pandher, the leader
of the committee that had ear-
liertooboycottedmeetingswith
Central ministers and officers.
Since the Punjab deadlock
began, 2,352 passenger trains
havebeeneithercancelledordi-
verted,while3,850freighttrains
could not be loaded and 230
loaded freight trains remain
stranded outside the state. The
total loss to the Railways since
September 24 is estimated at Rs
2,220 crore.
Salvi’s sari run
marathon on Berlin's fast and
flatcourse.Butshefoundherself
exchanging small talk with
Kipchoge in that quiet lounge
becausesheranBerlinwearinga
sari, setting a Guinness record
for being the fastest to complete
a marathon in the nine yards.
German TV networks were
mighty keen to talk to her.
On Sunday, as a 21-km
'Pinkathon' in its ninth edition is
runremotelyacrossthecountry,
tocreateawarenessaboutbreast
cancer, 15 others from Mumbai
will hit the roads in saris and
sneakers, inspired by Salvi. A
veteran of 15 full-distance
marathons (42.195 km), includ-
ing Berlin (3 hours 57 mins) and
Boston (3:50), Salvi has decided
to participate in Mumbai pick-
ing out yet another Khandeshi
Silk.
"A bunch of us from Girgaon
will commemorate Rani
Laxmibai's birthday (November
19) belatedly by running 3 km,
10 km or 21 km in saris," she
says, stressing that what started
out as a sartorial statement at
Berlin is now simply a clarion
callinvitingwomentonotbede-
terred from running because of
what they wear. Shoes are
what's most important in run-
ning, she insists.
Salvi has fashioned a nine-
yarddrapethat ismostcomfort-
ably suited to running, and has
spoken of how women in rural
Maharashtra carry out just
about any task in the unfussy
nouvari effortlessly. "Berlin
Marathon organisers help you
record the run in a native cos-
tume.Ihadwatchedwomenrun
in Mumbai decked out in saris,
though over a short distance of
7 km. I decided to go the whole
hog at Berlin including wearing
the nathni (a traditional nose
ring)... And a lipstick. Why not?"
She matched her sari with a
breathable running vest fash-
ioned into a dressy blouse, and a
chokeraroundherneckandshin-
ing studs. To avoid any chance of
tripping, she tucked in the ends
of the sari into long socks. A cus-
tomisedpouchthatgoeswiththe
sari holds, apart from the usual
water bottle, a bunch of safety
pins for quick fixes and special
vaseline tubes to apply in case of
a rash due to the fabric rubbing
againsttheskin.Still,theinterest
Berlin media showed in her sur-
prised her, Salvi says.
On Sunday, the runners in
sari will choose their own
adornments.
Married to a Merchant Navy
captain, Salvi says running is her
entry into a world away from
home and its responsibilities.
"It's not easy, no matter your
family background."
Salvi's last run was the
LondonMarathoninSeptember,
organised remotely due to the
pandemic, along Marine Drive.
The 52-year-old ended up in-
spiring her pacer Abbas Shaikh
to finish the whole 42 km. "He's
a good pacer and initially I
thought he would help me ma-
noeuvre the Sunday evening
crowd, because it was a novelty
-- running a marathon in loops.
There were children playing on
the promenade, I didn't want to
bump off any of them!"
Herfondestmemorythough
remains finding herself face to
face with Kipchoge, the divinity
of marathons,thatSeptemberof
2018. "I think I told him, 'They
(TV reporters) don't actually
know me. It's just the sari'."
Focusing on hydration and
pacing ahead of Sunday's run,
likeallhermarathons,Salvisays,
"Any major marathon day is like
a wedding day for a runner. You
are completely zoned into the
runandfinishingarunisspecial.
There are a thousand worries
until you actually start to run,
and then that's my territory."
And when she is there, she
adds, it's easy to forget the sari.
Bharti Singh
seizing40gramsof ganja,15LSD
dots and Nitrazepam tablets, a
controlled medication used to
treatinsomniaandanxiety,from
his possession.
Followingthedrugpeddler's
questioning, NCB's Zonal
Director Sameer Wankhede led
searchesatSingh'shomeandof-
ficeafewhourslater.Theagency
seized a total of 86.5 grams of
ganja from both locations. "Both
Singhandherhusbandaccepted
the consumption of ganja," said
an NCB official.
The couple was served a
summons and arrived for ques-
tioning at the NCB's office in
Ballard Pier on Saturday after-
noon. Late on Saturday evening,
the agency announced that it
had placed Singh under arrest,
while continuing to examine
Limbachiya.
The agency registered two
fresh FIRs on Saturday, number
34/2020againstSinghandnum-
ber 35/2020 against the drug
peddler she is allegedly linked
to, said an agency official.
Singh, who has appeared in
several popular television com-
edy shows, currently hosts an-
other comedy show named
Khatra Khatra Khatra with her
husband.
She is the latest celebrity to
be arrested as part of the
agency's campaign "to uproot
the drug citadel in Mumbai, es-
pecially in Bollywood", which
was launched during its investi-
gation into allegations that actor
Rhea Chakraborty and her
brother Showik were part of a
drug cartel which had supplied
drugs to actor Sushant Singh
Rajput, who died by suicide on
June 14.
Since then, the agency has
examined actors Deepika
Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor
andSaraAliKhan, ArjunRampal
and his girlfriend Gabriella
Demetriades, film producer
Firoz Nadiadwala and arrested
filmproductionexecutiveKshitij
Prasad, Demetriades' brother
Agisilaos Demetriades and
Nadiadwala's wife Shabana
Saeed.
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

3 THE CITY
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

Father, son killed in road accident

on Western Express Highway
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
A MAN and his elderly father
were killed on the Western
Express Highway in Santacruz
East, on early Saturday morn-
ing, after their motorcycle col-
lided with a truck.
The deceased, Ravi Mali (31)
and Shrimani Mali (80), were
residents of Ram Pyare Yadav
Chawl in Malad East. They had
set out from their home early in
the morning to purchase flow-
ers at the market outside Dadar
railway station.
Policesaidthatasthevictims
wereridingonabridgeinVakola
in Santacruz East at 6 am, a
pickuptruckahead of themsud-
denly halted without warning.
Ravi, who was riding the motor-
cycle, could not apply brakes on
timeandrammedintothetruck.
The collision caused Ravi to
fall to the ground and hit his
head hard on the road, while his
father was sent flying by the im-
pact. He fell on the ground sev-
eral feet away and was run over
by a car. The duo was killed on
the spot, said an officer at
Kherwadi police station.
The police arrested the
driver of the pickup truck,
Mangeni Mallale (23) and the
vehicle's owner, Mahadev
Kolekar (50). Both men are na-
tives of Solapur district.
They were booked with
rash and negligent driving and
causing death due to negli-
gence under relevant sections
of the Indian Penal Code. Police
said that Mallale was not carry-
ing a driver's license.

TATA LITERATURE LIVE

Noam Chomsky-Vijay Prashad

online discussion cancelled
WORK IN PROGRESS SURBHI GUPTA
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21
Work under way on the Patripool road overbridge (ROB) in Kalyan on Saturday. Deepak Joshi
A DISCUSSION between linguist
and social critic Noam Chomsky
andhistorian-editorVijayPrashad,
BRACING FOR SECOND WAVE partoftheongoingweek-longTata
gers of nuclear war, climate
change,andtheerosionofdemoc-
racy, require debate and discus-
sion.” Among the topics they in-
tended to discuss at their session
were India’s Citizenship
(Amendment) Act and the role of
corporates, including the Tatas, in
In a statement late Saturday,
the Festival Director Anil Dharker
expressedrespectandadmiration
forChomsky,butsaidthedecision
to cancel the session "was neces-
sary to protect the integrity of the
festival". The Vijay Prashad-
Chomskydiscussiononthelatter's

State govt sanctions Covid-19

Literature Live! The Mumbai
LitFest,wascancelledhoursbefore
theeventonFriday,thetwosaidin
a joint statement. Scheduled to
takeplaceonFridayevening,over
the online platform Zoom, it was
violating environmental policies
andtherightsof adivasis.
TheUS-basedPrashad,whois
the executive director,
Tricontinental:InstituteforSocial
Research, and chief editor,
book "Internationalism or
Extinction", about the dangers
posed by climate change and nu-
clearproliferationm,wastobe"one
of the high points" of the festival,
Dharker said. On the morning of

drug supplies worth Rs 107 crore

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
GEARING UP for a second wave,
the Maharashtra government
has taken steps to ensure the
state’s medical colleges and
hospitals have sufficient supply
of emergency Covid-19 medi-
cines and equipment.
Based on the recommenda-
tions of the Directorate of
Medical Education and
Research (DMER), the
Maharashtra government has
approved fresh procurement of
“emergency medicines for
Covid-19” and surgicals to-
talling Rs 107.47 crore for state-
run hospitals and medical col-
leges.
Post Diwali, Maharashtra,
too, has been witnessing a
jump in cases and deaths.
Keen to check the resur-
gence of the infection, the state
has decided to take various
proactive steps, with strength-
ening of hospital infrastructure
and medicine supplies.
2 teenage boys
A health worker conducts Covid-19 tests at a vegetable market in Dadar, Saturday. Prashant Nadkar
The state Medical Education
Department on Friday issued
orders, permitting the direc-
torate to procure emergency
THANE
supply for hospitals and med-
ical colleges through the state-
run Haffkine institute.
Earlier on October 20, the
department had granted ad-
ministrative approval for pro-
curement worth Rs 54 crore,
but anticipating the number of
hospitalisations to go up again
in the coming days, it has now
doubled the sanctioned
amount, cancelling the previ-
ous order and granting fresh
approval.
The state has set aside Rs
300 crore in all for Covid-19 re-
lated medicine procurement
and supplies in the ongoing fis-
cal.
Further, the government
has also tasked the DMER to
ensure that the tendering
process for the procurement
was carried out in time. It has
also tasked it with the respon-
sibility of carrying out periodi-
cal reviews of available supplies
in government colleges and
hospitals. The state has also
asked hospitals and colleges to
ensure that the supplies are
duly used and that there is no
duplication in the procure-
ment.
On Friday, Maharashtra
added 5,640 new cases and 155
deaths, taking its overall tally to
17,68,685. Till Friday, the num-
ber of active cases was 78,272.
tobelive streamed on variousso-
cial-mediaplatforms.
The move follows the duo’s
decision to read a statement
against“corporationssuchasthe
Tatas, and the Tatas in particu-
lar”, responding to a joint appeal
by 50 activists and civil society
members, urging them to not
participate in an event spon-
sored by the company.
In their statement, the aca-
demicssaidthattheorganisersgot
in touch with them in September
to participate in a conversation
around Chomsky’s latest book,
Internationalism or Extinction
(2019,Routledge).SpeakingtoThe
IndianExpress,Prashadsaid,“Both
of us agreed to hold this dialogue
because we believe that the
themesinthebook,beitthedan-
Activist seeks 15% reservation for
minorities in new housing policy
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
MUMBAI,NOVEMBER21
ACTIVISTANDformervice-chair-
man of the Minorities
Commission, Dr Abraham
Mathai,onFridaywrotealetterto
Maharashtra Housing Minister
Jitendra Awhad, seeking 15 per
centreservationforminoritiesin
LeftWord Books, added that they
wereonlyinformedofthecancel-
lation on the day of the event,
withoutcitinganyreasonforit.
Following the cancellation,
Bengaluru-based writer Roshan
Ali,whohadasessionatthefesti-
valonSaturday,withdrewfromit.
A senior member of the festi-
val’s organising committee said,
“Thedifferentprogrammesatthe
festivalgiveaninsightintothekind
of diversity of views and subjects
being covered, which in the pres-
entpoliticalclimate,wouldbecon-
sideredabsolutelyanti-establish-
ment. (For instance,) One of our
sessions focusses on how India’s
democracyisindanger.However,
the idea of the festival is to have a
free exchange of ideas, and not a
freeexchangeofanyone'sagenda.”
government to integrate mi-
norities into the mainstream
society to prevent them from
falling prey to “peddlers of de-
structive ideologies”.
“More than quotas for jobs,
housing reservation should be
the top priority as the need of
the hour is to enhance cohe-
sion and integration at the
base of the Indian society. To
thesession,hesaid,theorganisers
came across public correspon-
dencementioningthatthesession
wouldalsobeusedbythetwodis-
cussants to make a statement
about corporations "such as the
Tatas,andtheTatasinparticular,in-
cluding airing the views of these
activists, which was never the in-
tendedpurposeof thesession".
The Tatas are the main spon-
sor of the festival. "The festival
which I founded and run with a
dedicated team, owes its success
to a free expression of ideas, not a
freeexpressionofsomeone’sspe-
cific agenda. The expression of
suchanagenda--whetheragainst
a specific organisation, a corpora-
tionoranindividual--istherefore
misplacedinthediscussionsatour
festival,"Dharkersaid.

Jupiter Hospital performs India’s first intestine transplant

detained for rape
Mumbai: Two teenage boys were
detained earlier this week for al-
legedlyrapingatoddler.
Police said that on November
12, the three-year-old girl was
playingoutsideherhome,andtwo
boys,aged11and12yearsrespec-
tively,wholiveinthesamelocality,
askedthegirltoplaywiththemin-
side an empty home. They al-
legedlyrapedherthere,policesaid.
After the girl complained of
stomach ache on November 14,
hermotherregisteredacomplaint
on November 16. The juveniles
were booked for rape under IPC
andthePOCSOActandsenttothe
children'shomeinDongri. ENS
BUILT IN 1990 IN ITALY
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
MUMBAI,NOVEMBER21
JUPITER HOSPITAL in Thane has
successfullyconductedIndia’sfirst
pediatriclivingdonorsmallintes-
tinal transplant on a Covid-19 pa-
tientwhoseintestinehadbeenaf-
fectedbytheviralinfection.
Thetransplantwasperformed
on nine-year-old Om after his in-
testineswerefoundtobeaffected
bythrombosisandgangrene.
Accordingtothehospitalman-
agement, the boy was referred to
Jupiter Hospital in Thane after re-
movalofhisintestine.Anantibod-
ies test and a bowel RT-PCR had
showed Covid infection in the re-
movedorgan.Thisbroughttolight
thefactthattheboyandhisfather
had tested positive for Covid-19
withmildsymptomsamonthago.
Omhadcomplainedofsevere
abdominal pain in August and
tests done at a local hospital had
revealedthrombosisandmassive
gangrene in his small intestine, a
conditioninwhichthebloodsup-
ply to the intestine is lost and the
intestine is dead. A surgery was
conductedtoremovetheorganto
avoidfurthercomplications.
“Thrombosisandbowelperfo-
ration is well known in severe
Covid-19,however,massivebowel
gangrene is very rare,” explained
infectious disease specialist Dr
RajivSomanfromJupiterHospital
in Pune. “Only one such case has
beenreportedinItalysofar,witha
fataloutcome.”
Doctorssaidthechildwasun-
able to eat anything and was put
on artificial nutrition. Dr Gaurav
Chaubal,chief multi-organtrans-
plant surgeon, Jupiter Hospital,
said,“Thechildwaslistedforaca-
daveric small intestinal trans-
plant and was on the waiting list
for three months... He was long-
ingtoeatandstarteddeveloping
complications. The waiting pe-
riod was extremely difficult.”
Withnocadavericorganoffer
insight,theneedofalivingdonor
small intestinal transplant was
discussed and the child's father
volunteered to donate a part of
his intestine. On November 5, a
team of surgeons led by Chaubal
performed the surgery, wherein
200cmof intestinewascarefully
harvestedandtransplantedfrom
the father to the child.
As per doctors, living donors
can safely donate 40 per cent of
theirintestine.Whilehisfatherhas
recovered completely, the child is
recoveringwellandbeganoralin-
takefromdayeightofthesurgery.
thestate’snewhousingpolicy. foster this, private developers
Mathai, president of the should also be roped in and
Harmony Foundation, said, “It given incentives to adopt and
should be noted that the coun- include the 15 per cent reser-
try today is on the edge of... los- vation for religious minori-
ing its secular character as well ties...,” Mathai wrote.
as its global standing of being
the world’s largest democracy.
The rapacious cancer of com-
munalism... and radicalism...
is devastating the fabric of na-
tionhood, which had kept
communities in harmony... for
decades.”
He said that as the state
government works towards
framing its new housing pol-
icy over the next three
months, it is incumbent on the
SOUTHERN RAILWAY
SALEM DIVISION
E-TENDER NOTICE No.
SA-TRD-2020-21-89
Dated: 20.11.2020

Luxury cruise liner MV Karnika

PUBLIC NOTICE
It is hereby notified to the General
Public and all concerned for and on
Divisional Electrical Engineer/Traction
and Distribution branch/Salem Division,
Salem 5. Invites ONLINE fenders for
fhe following works as per tender notice
given in our e-tender portal www.ireps.

reaches Alang for dismantling

AVINASH NAIR
AHMEDABAD, NOVEMBER 21
HAVING FAILED to restart oper-
ations after the Covid-19 lock-
down, MV Karnika, a dolphin
shaped, luxury cruise vessel —
which had its home port in
Mumbai—arrivedatAlangship-
breaking yard on Saturday
evening for being dismantled.
Shree Ram Group, the ship-
breaker which had bought air-
craft carrier INS Viraat, has
bought this 14-deck cruise liner
as scrap. “We have bought the
vessel. It will come to Alang in
the evening. This will be the
biggestpassengercruiselinerwe
will be breaking. We have bro-
ken passenger shipsthatarehalf
the size of this vessel,” Mukesh
Patel, chairman of Shree Ram
Group told The Indian Express.
“We got this passenger ship
from London-based firm NKD
Maritime Ltd which had partic-
ipated in an auction carried
through the Mumbai High
Court,” Patel said adding that he
bought it for USD 12.3 million.
MVKarnika,wasthemaiden
cruise ship acquired by Jalesh
Cruises,asistercompanyof Essel
Group.Havingacapacitytocarry
2014 passengers and 621 crew
members, it commenced oper-
ations in Mumbai on April 2019.
Initially it sailed between
MumbaiandGoaandlatertothe
middle-east.
The ship which underwent
five retrofits (last one was in
2018) has 837 staterooms, eight
dining venues which includes a
waterfront restaurant, two
swimming pools, a spa and fit-
ness complex on two decks, a
marquee theatre, wine room,
casino, bars, kids centre, jogging
tracks, volleyball and basketball
courts, and other facilities.
OperationsofMVKarnikahad
cometoastandstillaftercreditors
arrestedtheshipthroughanorder
of the Admiralty Court on March
17, 2020. Though attempts were
made to restart the vessel, the
company officially discontinued
operationsinOctoberthisyear.
The ship built in 1990 in Italy
iscurrently30yearsoldandhasa
gross tonnage of 70310. The 14-
decklargepremiumcruisevessel
first launched as “Crown
Princess”andwasownedbyP&O
Princess Cruises. It changed
hands a few times (it was re-
namedA’rosaBlu,AidaBlu,Ocean
VillageTwo,PacificJewel),before
the firm established by Essel
Group India bought the vessel.
The vessel was christened as
“Karnika” at a formal event in
MumbaiportonApril2019.
behalf of my clients Arvind Goyal
S/o Late Ishwar Prasad
Goyal and Mrs Meena Goyal
W/o Arvind Goyal R/o A-505
Mansara Apartments,
Vasundhara Enclave,
Delhi-110096 that they are no
more in control of their son Mukul
Goyal and Daughter-in-Law
Naina Surat Rawat as they do
not care for them at all and
misbehave with them, therefore they
hereby disown them from all their
movable and immovable properties
with immediate effect. Anybody
dealing with them shall do so at their
own risk and my clients will not be
responsible for their acts.
Naveen Sharma
Advocate-On-Record, Supreme
Court
Office: H-35, L.G.F. Jangpura
Extension, New Dellhi-14
gov.in. All the tenderers/Contractors
have to deposit full earnest money and
tender document cost as stipulated for
the tender, through online modes as
permitted in IREPS application through
multiple banks net banking, debit and
credit cards only.
Name of work: Modification to OHE in
connection with Proposed extension
of platform in NSG 6 category station
(5 nos. of station) (VRQ, MY, LP, PGN
& MPLM) in Salem Division; Approx.
value of the work: ` 48.40 lakh; Cost of
tender form: ` 3360; Amount of EMD:
` 96800; Completion period of work:
6 months; Tender closing date and time:
21.12.2020 at 14.30 hrs.; Complete
details of the above tenders are given
on the e-portal www.ireps.gov.in. For
Details of bid submission, please refer
website portal www.ireps.gov.in. The
online bids for tenders floated through
the above portal are required to be
digitally signed.
Divisional Electrical Engineer,
Traction Distribution, Salem.

4 MAHARASHTRA
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
Karachi
will one day
become part
of India, says
Fadnavis
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
FORMER CHIEF minister and
Opposition leader Devendra
Fadnavis on Saturday said the
partybelievesin“akhandBharat”
and that one day Karachi, the
largest city of Pakistan, will be-
come a part of India.
“We believe in ‘akhand
Bharat’ (undivided India). We
believe one day Karachi will be-
come a part of India,” he said.
Fadnavis made the remarks
while responding to a question
from the media on a Shiv Sena
leader’s objection to the name
‘Karachi Sweets’, a shop which
hasbeeninexistencefor60years
in Bandra. Earlier this week, the
Sena leader asked its owner to
drop ‘Karachi’ from its name.
Earlier, Sena MP and party
spokesmanSanjayRauthadsaid,
“We don’t subscribe to this de-
mand for name change. ‘Karachi
Sweets’hasbeeninexistencefor
60 years and is in Mumbai and
India.” Fadnavis also defended
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath’s initiative to
end the so-called “love jihad”.
Patole wants
Institute of
Parliamentary
Training
in Nagpur
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
STATE LEGISLATIVE Assembly
SpeakerNanaPatoleissettoraise
a proposal at the 80th All India
PresidingOfficers’Conferencere-
gardingsettingupof theInstitute
for Parliamentary Training at
Vidhan Bhawan in Nagpur. The
conferenceistobeheldinGujarat
on November 25 and 26.
Patole said the Vidhan
Bhawan in Nagpur remains un-
derutilised, as it hosts only one
winter session every year in
NovemberandDecember,despite
goodinfrastructure.Headdedthat
the institute will function well in
thesecondcapitalofMaharashtra.
Patole will raise the proposal
during the two-day conference,
which will be addressed by Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Prime
MinisterNarendraModi,andVice
President Venkaiah Naidu.
Cop drowns in
Pavana river
Pune: A cop attached to Pune
Rural Police, Amit Subhash
Khandekar (37), drowned in
Pavana river on Friday.
Police said Khandekar had
gone for a swim in the river wa-
ter on Friday morning, when he
drowned. Fire Brigade person-
nel could not find him on
Friday. ENS
SVAMITVA SCHEME
Over a month later, first property card holder in state waits for loan
ABHA GORADIA
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
ITHASbeenaround40dayssince
Vishwanath Mujumale (58) be-
came one of the first five farmers
inIndiatobegivenpropertycards
under the SVAMITVA (Survey of
Villages and Mapping with
ImprovisedTechnologyinVillage
Areas) scheme.
Mujumale, a resident of
Kondanpur village (where a ma-
jorityof residentsgobythesame
surname), located in Pune dis-
trict'sHavelitaluka,recallsfondly
how Prime Minister Narendra
Modihadcomplimentedhimfor
getting his sanad (deed) framed
just in time for the scheme’s vir-
tual launch on October 11.
The SVAMITVA scheme aims
to generate property cards to fa-
cilitate monetisation of rural
residential assets for credit and
other financial services. Led by
the Ministry of Panchayati Raj,
Congress minister says
no ‘love jihad’ law in
state, BJP corners Sena
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
SLAMMING THE BJP over the
law to check “love jihad”, senior
Maharashtra minister and
Congress leader Aslam Shaikh
on Saturday said there was no
question of such a law being im-
plemented in Maharashtra.
Shaikh, who is Mumbai’s
guardian minister, said, “To
bring a law for love jihad is fool-
ishness. In the Constitution, it is
written that a citizen can stay
anywhere, marry anyone and
adopt any religion and while
anything forcibly is done, then
there is already a provision in
the law to deal with it.”
Led by Rajasthan Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot, minis-
ters and ruling side politicians
from Opposition-ruled states
have criticised announcements
by three BJP-ruled states —
namely Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh and Haryana — regard-
ing the enactment of legisla-
tions to check what they say is
“love jihad.”
Incidentally, the Nationalist
Congress Party, which leads
the Home department in
Maharashtra’s three party rule,
is yet to comment on the issue.
Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray and senior Shiv Sena
leaders, too, have stayed away
from the debate so far. But Shiv
Sena’s MP Priyanka Chaturvedi
also criticised the law. In a sar-
castic tweet, she wrote, “Who
women marry will be decided
by law not for love. I learnt that
Indian women are incapable of
knowing who they love, trust,
how to safeguard their interests,
make a choice. Hence govern-
ment will make law to decide
for them. For marital rape gov-
ernment has no opinion still.”
Pune: Doctors at Sahyadri
hospital perform heart
transplant on 50 year old
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
PUNE, NOVEMBER 21
DOCTORS AT Sahyadri Super
Specialty Hospital Deccan per-
formed a heart transplant on a
50-year-old woman from
Ahmednagar district. The heart
was donated by a 35-year-old
autorickshaw driver who was
declared brain dead at another
hospital after sustaining injuries
inaroadaccident.Thisisthefifth
hearttransplantatSahyadrihos-
pitals and second since the be-
ginningof theCovid-19-induced
lockdown.
Dr Manoj Durairaj, pro-
grammedirectorforhearttrans-
After activists alert cops, illegal sand mining racket on riverbed busted
Pune: Pimpri-Chinchwad Police
has booked three persons on
charges of illegal sand mining on
the Aundh riverbed on Friday
night. Police were alerted about
the illegal mining by environ-
ment activists,
Activist Vaishali Patkar (47)
it aims at surveying rural inhab-
ited land parcels using drones,
and involving gram panchayats
to cover India’s 6.62 lakh villages
in four years. In Maharashtra, an
average of 25 villages are being
surveyed in Pune, Ahmednagar,
Aurangabad and Nagpur dis-
tricts each.
By the end of this month, vil-
lages in Thane, Nashik, Akola,
Nanded and Wardha will also
be covered, said Settlement
Commissioner S Chockalingam.
Whilefourdronesarebeingused
currently,fivemorewillbeadded
to expedite the process.
Varsha Mujumale (33), who
works at the gram panchayat of-
fice, is also set to receive a prop-
erty card in the coming days.
She said her reason for applying
was to avoid land disputes
among neighbours, and that the
card could prove to be useful as
a legal document.
Rajendra Gole, Pune district
superintendent of land records,
Targeting the three BJP-
ruled states, Shaikh said, “Those
governments that want to hide
their inadequacies and deviate
from the real issues are bring-
ing such laws. Such baseless is-
sues will never be brought up in
Maharashtra.” Earlier on Friday,
Gehlot had tweeted, “Love jihad
is a word manufactured by the
BJP to divide the nation and dis-
turb communal harmony.” In
another tweet on the issue,
Gehlot wrote, “Marriage is a
matter of personal liberty (and)
bringing a law to curb it is com-
pletely unconstitutional and it
will not stand in any court of
law.” Later in the day, dissent-
ing voices against the an-
nouncements of the three BJP-
ruled states also came from
ruling alliance leaders from
other Opposition states includ-
ing Punjab, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Delhi, Kerala and
West Bengal.
The BJP, meanwhile, at-
tempted to corner the Shiv Sena
over the issue. Questioning the
Shiv Sena’s silence on it, BJP’s
Mumbai MLA Ram Kadam said,
“Has the Shiv Sena forgotten
what Balasaheb Thackeray used
to say on the issue?” he asked,
while criticising Shaikh’s re-
marks. Jumping into the contro-
versy, party’s former MP Kirit
Somaiya, who has made a series
of allegations against the
Thackeray family in the last few
days, accused the former ally of
“changing colours” after win-
ning power. “The BJP will move
a proposal for bringing a simi-
lar law in Maharashtra in the
upcoming assembly session,”
he said. Later, BJP’s Mumbai
president and senior MLA
Mangalprabhat Lodha hinted at
plans to bring a private mem-
bers Bill on the issue in the
Maharashtra assembly.
plantation at the hospital, said
the woman was suffering from
dilated cardiomyopathy since
2014 and her heart function was
as low as 20 per cent. She also
had blood clots in her heart due
to the low pumping.
The team of surgeons re-
trieve the heart at 4.30 am on
Saturday and the surgery on the
recipient wascompletedby6.30
am. The patient is stable now,
said an official from the hospital.
Dr Durairaj said that in view
of the Covid-19 pandemic, spe-
cial precautions like donor and
recipient’s Covid testing was
donepriortosurgeryandalsoall
the team members followed
strictprecautionsasperprotocol.
has lodged the first information
report (FIR) in this case at the
Sangvi police station.
As per the complaint, Patkar
said around 11 pm on Friday, she
and the other activists received
information about illegal sand
mining on the river bed, at the
said, “This is the first time that
even the roads have been
mapped.Notasinglepieceofland
will be left unnumbered. Based
on data generated through city
surveys,itwillbeeasyforgovern-
ment departments to allot land
forcreationofnewpublicameni-
tiessuchhasprimaryhealthcare
centres and recreation centres,
among other things. It will save
landfromencroachmentanden-
hance tax collection.”
After the city survey, 24
open government lands have
been identified and marked in
Kondanpur alone. Villagers
have been quick to come up
with ideas on what they can be
developed for — these include
opening an English medium
school, playground, gym, and an
indoor stadium.
Vikas Mujumale, a wrestling
champion from the village, who
nowteachessportsandeconom-
ics in a Pune college, said,
“Children from our village barely
Manyschoolsinrural
areasofstatesetto
reopenonNovember23
ABHA GORADIA
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
WHILEMUMBAI,PuneandThane
havedecidedtokeepschoolsshut
till December 31, a majority of
schools in the state, especially in
rural areas, will re-open on
Monday, November 23.
“We are yet to have clarity on
theexactnumberof districtsthat
will allow reopening of schools,
but we know rural areas will see
a good number re-opening on
Monday. Urban areas may take
sometime,”anofficialofthestate
School Education Department.
Anticipatingasecondwaveof
Covid-19 in Mumbai, the
Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) on Friday de-
cidedtoshutallschoolsinthecity
till December 31. This move was
secondedbyPuneandThanecor-
porations. On November 6, the
Tribal schools in Maharashtra
to reopen from December 1
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
TRIBAL RESIDENTIAL schools in
Maharashtra will reopen on
December 1, as per orders from
the state’s Tribal Development
Department. While local bodies
are divided over the date of re-
opening of secondary schools,
run by the School Education
Department,separateorderswere
Comedian Bharti Singh and her husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa arrived at Narcotics Control
Bureau (NCB) office in Mumbai on Saturday. Ganesh Shirsekar
confluenceofRamnadiandMula
river in Aundh.
Patkar, along with environ-
ment activist Pushkar Kulkarni
and others, rushed to the spot.
TheysawPoclainmachinesbeing
used by some people for sand
mining,andinformedthepolice.
Vishwanath Majumale has
been trying to avail loan
using the property card to
renovate his hotel.
reachthedistrictlevel,astheyare
madetopracticetwodaysbefore
the event at the grounds in the
city. I was forced to shift to Pune
forpracticingwrestling.Formore
sportspersons to emerge from
ourvillage,weneedanopenplay-
ground and sports instructor.”
state government had said it was
planning to resume schools for
studentsofClassesXItoXII,start-
ing November 23.
Accordingtosourcesinthede-
partment,avirtualmeetingofdi-
visional deputy directors, princi-
pals and education officers was
held on Saturday with Minister
VarshaGaikwad.“Inthemeeting,
members of almost all districts
apprised the minister about pre-
paredness to start schools as per
directives given by the depart-
ment,” an official said. “A major-
ityofteachersinthestatehaveal-
ready undergone antigen or
RT-PCR tests for Covid-19.” He
added that Gaikwad said those
teachers who tested positive
should only join the school after
theycompletelyrecover,andthat
schoolsshouldbereopenedbased
on the local situation.
Meanwhile,BJPleaderAshish
Shelar on Saturday attacked the
issued for phased reopening of
tribalschools.
Morethan4.76lakhtribalstu-
dents are enrolled across1,234
Ashramshalas and residential
schools in Maharashtra’s tribal
belts. In the notification issued by
the department, operational
guidelines adopted earlier by the
School Education Department
havebeenreplicated.
Fornow,offlinelectureshave
been allowed only for students
When a team of
Chaturshringi police station
reached the spot, they found
threepeopleliftingsandfromthe
riverbedandfillingitintwotrac-
tors,whichdidn’thaveanynum-
ber plates.
On spotting the police, the
Chockalingam said that with
property cards, recognition of
rights will be instant, and people
should be able to avail loans.
“Property cards are just regular
cards that have been given in the
state for the last forty years. This
scheme is just to expedite the
process. There is no reason why
banksshouldnotgiveloansbased
on these cards. However, if there
is any confusion, we will issue a
clarification,” he said.
He added, “The potential of
this project to improve village
economy will need to be studied
over a period. In our discussions
with the Rural Development
Department, we have suggested
implementingatype-basedplan,
whichwouldmeanreservingcer-
tain plots for public amenities
based on the size of the popula-
tion and available infrastructure.
Somelandwouldalsoneedtobe
reservedkeepinginmindexpan-
sionof householdsinthecoming
years. The planning part of the
government’s handling of the is-
sue on Twitter. “In reopening of
schools, the local administration
is important, but as government,
will anything be done?” he
tweeted in Marathi. Dismissing
Shelar's tweets, an official from
thedepartmentsaidthatdepend-
ing on the requirements of each
school, provisions have been
made to disburse funds reserved
forthedistrictdevelopmentplan.
Apart from Zilla Parishad
schools,ashramshalas(tribalres-
idential schools run by the Tribal
DevelopmentDepartment)could
also start from the first week of
December, the official said. “For
ClassesXItoXII,wewillstartcall-
ingstudentstoresumeeducation.
Migration and nutrition are big
concerns — we want to avoid
cases of students migrating to
other areas, and neglecting their
nutritionalrequirements,”theof-
ficial added.
of Classes IX to XII, and only 50
per cent capacity of a class is be-
ing allowed to enter the school
in one batch.
SchoolEducationDepartment
had earlier allowed campuses to
reopen for senior classes on
November 23. However, antici-
patingasurgeincasesinthecom-
ing days, several districts, includ-
ing Mumbai, Thane and Pune,
have decided against reopening
schools as of now.
three men tried to flee, and two
of them managed to escape. One
person, identified as Vijaykumar
Chhakkam (22), was arrested.
Police said an investigation was
on to ascertain who else was in-
volved in illegal sand mining on
the riverbed in Aundh. ENS
project, in terms of deciding on
thepolicyontheseissues,istobe
worked upon.”
Duringhisinteractionwiththe
PM,Mujumalehadrequestedthat
extendingthebenefitofproperty
cardsbeconsideredforthoseset-
tledoutsidevillagelimits,inanex-
tended gaothan (open govern-
ment land) area. While the PM
had publicly agreed to inform
the state government about
Mujumale’srequest,officialsfrom
the department have said this
possibility is yet to be explored.
Over the next two and a half
years, all 42,000 villages in
Maharashtra can be covered us-
ing drone technology — this
wouldhavetakenfortyyearsoth-
erwise,Chockalingamsaid.Ama-
jorchallengeinpursuingthispace
istheshortageof inquiryofficers.
“We have proposed the cre-
ation of 422 temporary posts for
the state government’s active
consideration. While drones can
easilytakeimages,officersarere-
Missing for a week,
3 men found hanging
from tree in Thane
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
THE BODIES of three men, who
had gone missing on November
14, were found hanging from a
tree at a village in Shahapur
taluka of Thane on Friday morn-
ing.Thepoliceareyettodiscover
the reason behind the men al-
legedly taking their lives.
The deceased, Nitin Behere
(35),hisnephewMukeshGaiwat
(22) and their friend Mahendra
Dubele (30), allegedly hanged
themselvesusingsareesfromthe
same tree in the forest near
Chande village. Their decom-
posedbodieswerefoundbyalo-
cal cowherd on Friday morning
and no suicide note was recov-
ered, police said.
Gaiwat and Dubele lived
in Khardi village, which is lo-
cated two km away from
Chande, while Behere lived in
Shahapur town.
“There is no doubt that the
cause of death is suicide. We are
Major’s wife completes
training, set to join Army
two years after his death
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 21
OVER TWO years after Major
Kaustubh Rane (29) was killed in
Kashmir, his wife, Kanika
Kaustubh Rane, completed her
training at the Indian Army's
Officers Training Academy in
Chennai, and will now be joining
the Indian Army.
Rane, whose family lived on
Mira Road, was killed in August
2018 with three other Indian sol-
diers — rifleman Hameer Singh
(28), rifleman Mandeep Singh
(26),bothfromUttarakhand,and
Vikramjeet Singh (25) from
Haryana.Theydiedinanattempt
to foil an infiltration bid near the
Line of Control near Gurez Sector
in Bandipora district, about 125
km from Srinagar.
In a video shared by the
Defence PRO Mumbai on
Saturday,LieutenantKanikaRane
said, “I would not say it was an
easy choice...But I knew that had
our places been switched, he
would have also done the same
for me. I am here to fulfill his ob-
jectivesandthedreamshehasleft
behind by being in his place.”
Major Kaustubh Rane, who
wasearlierinGarhwalRifles,was
movedto36RashtriyaRifles,and
had completed six years of serv-
38-year-old Army soldier from
Kolhapur succumbs to injuries
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
PUNE, NOVEMBER 21
A38-YEAR-OLDArmysoldierfrom
Kolhapurdistrictwascriticallyin-
jured and later succumbed to his
injuries in unprovoked ceasefire
violation by the Pakistan Army, in
the form of mortar shelling and
quiredtocarryouttheprotocolof
issuing timely notices to villages
and resolving objections, among
other things,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mujumale said
hehadbeentryingtoavailaRs10
lakh loan since March, but had
not made any progress in the ab-
sence of documents required. “I
have been told that now, this
won’t be an issue,” he said. He,
alongwiththeothervillagers,are
hopeful this scheme will bring
them security.
However,Mujumalehastried
to initiate the process using his
propertycardatthenearestBank
of Baroda branch in Khanakpur,
but a breakthrough remains elu-
sive. “I’ve made at least four trips
tothebank,buteachtimeI'mtold
theyareyettoreceiveRBIinstruc-
tions on the acceptance of the
property card,” he said.
He requires the loan for the
renovationofhis200sq-ftrestau-
rant, Hotel Kondaneshwar, situ-
ated atop an isolated cliff in the
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
speaking to the families, neigh-
bours and friends to find out the
motive,” said Navnath Dhavale,
sub-divisional police officer in
Shahapur.
Police said that the trio, who
were childhood friends, went
missing from their homes on
November 14. However, their
families only registered missing
person complaints with the po-
lice on November 17 after being
unable to trace them. Dhavale
said that preliminary inquiries
didnotrevealthatthemenwere
troubled in any way.
Dhavale added that villagers
in Khardi had mentioned to the
police that the men had disap-
peared on November 14, a new
moonday,whenLaxmiPujawas
celebrated. Policesaidthatitwas
BeherewasknowninKhardivil-
lageasbeingextremelysupersti-
tious. “We have heard rumours
that the deceased may have
taken part in some ritual before
dying. We are investigating the
deaths from all angles and gath-
ering evidence,” Dhavale said.
Kanika Kaustubh Rane
ice in Army. He is survived by his
parents,hiswifeKanikaandtheir
young son Agastya. At an investi-
ture ceremony held earlier this
year in Udhampur, Kanika had
collectedagallantryawardonbe-
half of her husband.
Training,KanikaRanesaid,re-
quiredmorementalstrengththan
physical endurance. “If you have
mentalstrengthandstamina,you
can overcome anything. I had
neverevenrun100metresbefore
coming here, and now I am run-
ning 40 km...” she said.
Two hundred and thirty offi-
cer cadets — 181 men and 49
women — passed out from the
Officers Training Academy in
Chennai on Saturday.
small arms fire, along the Line of
Control (LoC) in Nowshera Sector
inJammuandKashmir,intheearly
hoursof Saturday.
“HavildarSangramShivajiPatil
wasabrave,highlymotivatedand
sincere soldier. The nation will al-
ways remain indebted to him for
hissupremesacrificeanddevotion
toduty,”theIndianArmystated.
premisesofthehistoricSinhagad
Fort.Hisvillageispopularamong
touristsforbeingtheclosesttothe
fort, which has been the site for
many battles, particularly the
1670 Battle of Sinhagad.
Several others from his vil-
lage have also applied for the
card, but are yet to get one.
While property card distribu-
tion events have taken place in
some villages, Mujumale’s vil-
lage is waiting for its turn.
While residents of
Kondanpur, have availed funds
through various cooperative so-
cieties in the past, this could be
the first time a person from the
villagewillavailaloanfromana-
tionalised bank, Mujumale says.
In a few days, nearly 140 private
propertycardswillbedistributed
to the rest of the villagers via
a public event. People of
Kondanpur are yet to figure the
variouswaysinwhichtheircards
could be put to use, but are look-
ing at it as a safety net.

5 EXPRESS NETWORK
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the convocation of Pandit
Deendayal Petroleum University on Saturday. Mukesh
Ambani (left), who is the president of Board of Governors of
the university, was also present. PTI
Bid to double oil
refining capacity,
quadruple natural
gas usage: PM
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
AHMEDABAD,NOVEMBER21
PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModi
said Saturday efforts were on to
double India’s oil refining capac-
ityinthenextfiveyearsandmul-
tiply the usage of natural gas by
four folds in this decade.
The Prime Minister, who was
addressing the 8th convocation
ceremonyof Gandhinagar-based
Pandit Deendayal Petroleum
University(PDPU)viavideo-con-
ference,saidthecountrywasalso
movingforwardtoreduceitscar-
bonfootprintby30to35percent.
A total of 2,600 students re-
ceived their degree certificates
duringtheconvocationceremony.
During his address, Modi re-
called his experience of battling
“pre-conceived notions” as the
former chief minister of Gujarat.
He told the students how he had
helpedtoseparatefeederssupply-
ing electricity to domestic and
agriculture consumers, and thus
ensuredround-the-clockandeffi-
cient power supply in the state.
“Thisexperimentchangedthe
mindset of all our officers at that
pointintime...If Ihadstucktothe
preconceivednotions,thiswould
not have become a possibility. I
had a clean slate and I used to
think in a new way,” he said.
Under him, the PM said, the
Gujarat government had “gam-
bled” with solar power and pur-
chaseditatRs12-13peruniteven
when thermal power was avail-
able at Rs 2.50 to Rs 3 per unit.
“You(students)allknowofto-
day’s fashion to create a ruckus
and find fault in small matters. I
usedtofacealotofproblemsthen
(as Gujarat CM). The issue came
before me about power produc-
TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE
264 CASES: RECOVERED: 84,78,124
DAYS SINCE
PANDEMIC
90,50,597 DEATHS: 1,32,726
BEGAN TESTS: 1,30,657,808 | DOUBLING RATE: 161.71**
KEYSTATES TOTAL
TOWATCH CASES
■ Maharashtra 17,68,695
5,51,669
■ Kerala
■ Delhi 5,17,238
■ West Bengal 4,49,131
■ Haryana 2,12,355
* Compounded Daily Growth Rate over last 7 days
CASE FATALITY RATIO POSITIVITY RATE
7 DAYS EARLIER: 7 DAYS EARLIER:
1.47 7.07
NOW: NOW:
1.47 6.93
Deaths as a ratio of Positives against
positive cases (in %); number tested
indicator of progress (in %); indicator of
in averting deaths the spread of disease
DataasonNovember20,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth,ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers
includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareindicative,notdefinitive
57 officer trainees test positive
at civil services academy
Dehradun:As many as 57 officer
trainees at Lal Bahadur Shastri
National Academy of
Administration (LBSNAA), the
traininginstituteforthecivilserv-
ices in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand,
have tested positive for Covid-19
since Friday. Twenty-four of the
cases were reported on Saturday,
the insitute said.
LBSNAAtweetedfromitsoffi-
cial handle that the affected offi-
cer trainees have been quaran-
tinedinadedicatedCovid-19care
ers selling at (thermal power) Rs
2-3 per unit and (solar power) Rs
12-13 per unit. I was confronted
with a moment where I had to
worry about my reputation or
worry about my future genera-
tions. I knew that this type of de-
cisionwillbeblownupbytheme-
dia and will invite charges of
corruption.ButIhadacleanheart.
I genuinely believed that we had
to do something to change our
lifestyles.Finally,wedecidedtogo
forsolarenergy.Andwemadethis
decision with honesty, did it for a
bright future with a vision. Solar
plants began in Gujarat and in
large numbers,” Modi said.
Solar energy, the PM added,
hasnowbecome“amovementin
the country” and the cost of solar
power has “dropped below Rs 2
per unit”. “Keeping in mind our
energy needs, it is our endeavour
toincreasetheproportionof nat-
ural gas by four times in this
decade alone. In the next five
years, efforts are being made to
double the country’s oil refining
capacity,” Modi said.
Modi told the graduating stu-
dentsthattheywereenteringthe
energy sector at an “opportune
time”.
“Today, there are unlimited
opportunities in the energy sec-
torinIndia.You(students)allhave
reached this sector at the right
time.In this decade, in just the oil
andgassector,therewillbecrores
of investment... there are ample
opportunities, from research to
manufacturing,” the PM said.
Duringhisvirtualaddress,the
PMalsourgedstudentstobecome
the soldiers of “Atmanirbhar
Bharat”. “Today’s India is passing
throughabigphaseoftransition...
Thinkaboutwhatagoldenperiod
you are in,” he said.
SURGEIN 7-DAYAVG DOUBLING
24HOURS GROWTH* TIME**
5,640 0.23% 312.84
6,018 1.01% 71.02
6,608 1.23% 58.56
3,626 0.80% 89.66
3,104 1.17% 61.73
** Calculated over 7-day growth
DAILY IN, DAILY OUT
DETECTED TODAY
46,232
RECOVERED TODAY:
49,715
Becoming sick vs
recovering; more
recoveries for 14 days
may signal the peak
centre.Italsosaidthatmorethan
162 RT-PCR tests have been con-
ducted since Friday. Institute
Director Sanjeev Chopra was not
available for comment despite
multipleattemptstocontacthim.
“Today on 21st Nov, 24 fresh
positivecaseshavebeenreported,
taking the total number of cases
to 57. All Covid related protocols
arebeingfollowedinthisregard,”
LBSNAAtweeted.Covid-19proto-
cols are being strictly followed, it
saidinanothertweet. ENS
MP: ‘Gau cabinet’ to discuss cow cess today
IRAM SIDDIQUE
BHOPAL, NOVEMBER 21
THE FIRST meeting of the gau
cabinet on Sunday is set to dis-
cuss the introduction of a cow
cess for promotion and conser-
vation of cows. The move is
aimed at providing adequate
funds for the maintenance of
the 1,200 odd gaushalas in the
state and facilitate the smooth
construction of at least another
2,400 gaushalas.
“With this (cow cess), the
government will be able to get
Tamil Nadu Deputy CM O Panneerselvam greets Home Minister Shah at an event in Chennai. PTI
Court urges Ramani and Akbar to
settle; little chance, says her lawyer
ANAND MOHAN J
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21
A DELHI court Saturday urged
lawyers of former Minister of
State for External Affairs M J
Akbar and journalist Priya
Ramani to consider settling the
defamation case he has filed
againsthersincetheoffencewas
compoundable in nature, with
Ramani's lawyer saying there
was little possibility of this.
This was the first hearing in
the case by Additional Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate
Ravindra Pandey, who took over
the case after the transfer of
ACMM Vishal Pahuja by the
Delhi High Court along with
over a hundred judges on
November 18.
The case before Pahuja was
in the last stages of hearing,
with both sides having com-
pleted their final arguments.
Akbar's lawyer, Senior
Advocate Geeta Luthra, was
about to complete her rebuttal
to the final argument when
TRIPURA
Violence over Bru resettlement,
protester killed in police firing
DEBRAJDEB
AGARTALA,NOVEMBER21
A HIGHWAY blockade in Tripura
against the resettlement of Bru
refugees Saturday spiralled into
arson and clashes between pro-
testors and the police, who then
opened fire on the gathering “in
self-defence”andkilledoneofthe
demonstrators.
At least 20 people—including
police and Fire Services person-
nel—suffered injuries in the
clashes at Panisagar of North
Tripura district.
The blockade of National
Highway 8 was the latest flash-
pointintheindefinitestrikecalled
Monday by the Joint Movement
Committee(JMC)—aforumof lo-
calethniccivilsocietiesincluding
Nagarik Surakhsa Mancha and
MizoConvention—inthedistrict's
Kanchanpur sub-division. The
joint body is against the decision
tosettleover5,000Brusoutofthe
total of 32,000 refugees in
Kanchanpur.
These refugees, who fled
Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei dis-
tricts of adjoining Mizoram in
1997,arebeingresettledinTripura
as part of an agreement among
sufficient amount for cow rear-
ing and everyone will partici-
pate in this ‘sacred work’,”
stated an official release from
the state government.
“A decision based on a pro-
posal prepared by the finance
department and animal hus-
bandry based on the experi-
ences in other states will be
taken soon,” said an official
from the state government.
A similar proposal was con-
sidered by Kamal Nath-led
Congress government in 2019.
With the formation of a cow
cabinet, including five ministers
Akbar had filed defamation
suit against Ramani
Pahuja was transferred.
At Saturday's hearing,
ACMM Pandey said, "The dis-
pute between the two parties is
compoundable in nature (a less
serious criminal case). You are
senior lawyers and have settled
disputes over the years. Is there
possibility of a settlement? I
don't know much about the
case. I don't know the level of
the dispute. Prima facie what I
understand is that it is com-
poundable in nature. Both sides
should decide, otherwise I will
keep this for final arguments."
Bhavook Chauhan, who ap-
peared on behalf of Ramani,
said, "I actually don't see any
possibility of compounding this
A vehicle in flames during
the protest at Panisagar in
North Tripura district. PTI
the two state governments, the
Centre and Bru migrants.
During the indefinite strike,
a water supply pump operator
had been severely assaulted and
around 20 families fled a village
in panic.
On Saturday morning, a large
group of people gathered on the
NH 8 at Panisagar and blocked it,
demandingthewithdrawalofthe
CM Chouhan will hold the
first meeting in Bhopal
and six departments, the state
government is working to set
complaint in particular. I believe
that the stakes are high... The ac-
cused has said that what all she
has said was the truth and in
public interest."
ACMM Pandey then asked
Luthra, "Is there possibility from
your side for a settlement?"
Luthra said, "I will have to check
that with the briefing counsel."
ACMM Pandey said, "Then I
am keeping it for arguments...
But if there is possibility of a set-
tlement... out of 100 per cent, if
there is even 0.5 per cent possi-
bility of a settlement, then
please both senior lawyers talk
among each other." The magis-
trate said both sides would have
to make efforts in this regard
and said he would "try to com-
plete the final arguments as
soon as possible".
Luthra told the court that
she wanted to start with her fi-
nal arguments at the Saturday
hearing itself, which was al-
lowed by the court provided it
was a brief introductory state-
ment. Following this, Luthra
told the court, "She (Ramani)
resettlement formula.
The group soon turned vio-
lent. After a clash, the police ba-
ton-charged and fired upon the
mob, killing 40-year-old
Srikanta Das, a carpenter who
joined the protests.
AdditionalDirectorGeneralof
Police Rajiv Singh told The Indian
Express that the police was com-
pelledtofireinself-defencesince
thecrowdhadturnedunrulyand
triedtosnatchweaponsfromlaw
enforcement personnel.
“The crowd obstructed the
National Highway since morn-
ing without permission. We
tried to dissuade them from the
move and after they became vi-
olent,wetriedmildlathi-charge,
blank firing but the crowd went
unruly and tried to snatch
weapons. Police fired in self-de-
fense,” he said.
Singh said one person was
killedinthepolicefiringandafew
others were wounded. He added
that least nine Tripura Police and
Fire Service personnel were in-
jured by the protesters.
JMC convenor Sushanta
Baruah claimed they were
protesting peacefully and that
the police opened fire without
provocation.
up a modern cow research cen-
tre at its cow sanctuary in
Salaria at Agar-Malwa. Chouhan
is expected to hold a meeting
with about 14 cow experts, be-
sides other members of the
gau-cabinet, in Bhopal and then
reach Salaria to address farmers
and conduct puja at the cow
sanctuary on Sunday.
According to officials from
Animal Husbandry depart-
ment, there is an annual re-
quirement of Rs 300 crore to
provide fodder and mainte-
nance of about 2.40 lakh
bovines that are housed in
Shah in Chennai, AIADMK says
alliance with BJP will ontinue
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
CHENNAI,NOVEMBER21
UNION HOME Minister and sen-
ior BJP leader Amit Shah on
Saturdaylaidfoundationstonefor
projects worth Rs 67,378 crore on
thefirstdayof histwo-dayvisitto
Chennai,withthevenueofhiskey
official event also witnessing the
first official announcement that
the AIADMK-BJP alliance is set to
continue for the upcoming Tamil
Nadu Assembly polls. The visit
comesdaysaftersignsoffissuresin
theallianceovertheBJP’sVelYatra.
Shah praised the AIADMK
government for the “best per-
formance” in fighting Covid
across the country and accused
the opposition DMK of dynasty
politics and corruption.
Shah sprang a surprise here
wrote an article in Vogue in
which she said a lot of such
things which are derogatory...
One year after this, she said that
what she said in that article in
2017 was on Mr Akbar." Luthra
said Akbar's reputation was tar-
nished because of this.
"She has said that her arti-
cle has one portion on Mr
Akbar and the other portion is
general. She has taken this de-
fence for the first time in court...
The law says that if you are al-
leging the truth, then the truth
should be whole... She says that
she is a journalist. I say that a
journalist has a greater respon-
sibility... They know that for a
person his reputation is more
important than their life,"
Luthra told the court.
Akbar has sued Ramani for
defamation over allegations of
sexual misconduct and harass-
ment. With several other
women coming forward with
similar allegations against the
former journalist, Akbar had re-
signed from the Council of
Ministers.
Man shot in
birthday party
at UP MLC’s
flat; four held
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
LUCKNOW, NOVEMBER 21
A 35-YEAR-OLD man was shot
undermysteriouscircumstances
during a birthday party at
Samajwadi Party MLC Amit
Yadav’s official residence under
the Hazratganj police station
limits in Lucknow on the inter-
vening night of Friday and
Saturday.
Flat caretaker Pankaj Singh,
Vinay Yadav, Gyanendra Kumar
and Aftab Alam have been ar-
rested under the murder charge
and the Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act. The men, in their
early 30s, were celebrating
Vinay’s birthday. According to
police, MLC Amit Yadav was not
part of the party.
Police said they are investi-
gating how victim Rakesh
Rawat, an accountant, was shot
with an unlicensed .32 bore pis-
tol allegedly belonging to the
caretaker. However, a prelimi-
nary interrogation revealed that
a bullet hit Rakesh while the pis-
tol was being handed over by
him to Vinay
1,200 gaushalas in the state.
With another 2,400 under con-
struction, the yearly mainte-
nance is expected to reach close
to Rs 600 crore.
If approved, Madhya
Pradesh will be the fifth state in
the country to implement a cess
for cow protection after Punjab,
Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and
Rajasthan. The percentage
varies across states.
UP imposed a 0.5 per cent
cess on excise items and 2 per
cent on Mandi Parishad and
other profitable corporations.
Punjab was the first state to im-
whenhegotoutofhisvehicleand
briefly walked on the busy GST
RoadoutsidetheChennaiairport
togreetpartyfunctionaries,min-
utes after he landed here around
2 pm. He received a rousing wel-
come from BJP and AIADMK
cadres outside the airport, with
Chief Minister Edappadi K
Palaniswami and Deputy CM O
Panneerselvam among those
who welcomed the minister on
the tarmac along with BJP lead-
ers.BJPnationalgeneralsecretary
C T Ravi and state president L
Murugan accompanied Shah on
the way to the hotel.
Late on Saturday, Shah was
scheduledtomeetseniorBJPfunc-
tionaries at the hotel where he is
staying. Palaniswami and
Panneerselvam also met Shah at
thehotelonSaturdaynight.Shah’s
reported meetings with actor
Agra dentist murdered
at her home, her two
children left injured
Police at the residence of the victim. Express
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21
A 38-YEAR-OLD dentist was on
Friday murdered at her home
in Agra, and her two children
left injured, by a man who en-
tered the house on the pretext
of repairing a TV set-top box,
the police said.
While the children escaped
with minor injuries, Dr Nisha
Singhal died during treatment
at a local hospital. The accused,
identified as Shubham Pathak,
26, was arrested past Friday
midnight and a bag of cash and
jewelry, which he had allegedly
robbed from the Singhal resi-
dence after the murder, was re-
covered from him, the police
said on Saturday.
Dr Nisha ran a dental home
clinic and was a private practi-
tioner. Her husband, Dr Ajay
Singhal, a plastic surgeon spe-
cialising in burns and trans-
plant, was not home at the time
of the crime, the police said.
SP (City), Agra, Botre Rohan
Pramod said: “We received in-
formation that a man had mur-
dered a doctor in her home in
Kaveri Kunj, Kamla Nagar. We
formed teams and carried out
surveillance. We received infor-
mation on his (accused) where-
abouts and traced his bike. Late
Friday night, he was arrested
after a brief encounter in which
he received an injury.”
Pramod said police suspect
the accused, Shubham, had
planned to rob the house, and
“it appears a resistance to the
robbery led to the crime”.
According to police,
Shubham comes from
Sitanagar in Agra and was
known to the victim's family for
the last more than a year. He ran
an electronics shop in the local-
ity, and the Singhals often called
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
pose a cow cess in 2016 with
varying slabs for -- Rs 1,000 on
purchase of a four-wheeler, Rs
200 on two-wheeler, Rs 1,000
on booking of an AC marriage
hall and Rs 500 on a non-AC
hall. It also has this cess on
items such as cement bags, oil
tankers and two paise per unit
of electricity.
The Vasundhara Raje-led
government in Rajasthan intro-
duced a 20 per cent cow cess on
liquor after increasing the
stamp duty charges from 10 per
cent to 20 in the name of cow
protection.
Rajinikanth and late DMK
supremo M Karunanidhi’s elder
son M K Alagiri were not con-
firmeduntilSaturdayevening.
In the evening, Shah reached
KalaivanarArangamtoinaugurate
aslewofgovernmentprojects,in-
cludingPhaseIIof ChennaiMetro
Rail project and Chennai’s fifth
reservoir, worth Rs 380 crore, at
ThervoyKandigai.Helaidfounda-
tionstonesforseveralprojects,in-
cludingtheelevatedhighwayproj-
ectinCoimbatore,waterirrigation
project for about 4,000 acres of
land in Thanjavur, Chennai Trade
Centre expansion, and three
IndianOilCorporationprojects.
At the event, Deputy CM O
Panneerselvamtoldtheaudience
thatthealliancewithBJPwillcon-
tinueintheAssemblypolls.
FULL REPORT ON
www.indianexpress.com
him to recharge their TV sets,
the police said.
Around 3.30 pm on Friday,
when Shubham came to their
house, as Ajay had asked for
some repair in the set-top box,
Nisha did not have any reason
for suspicion since he had come
there on multiple occasions
earlier, police said. Their two
children -- aged 4 and 8 -- were
in another bedroom, they said.
"During investigation, we
found Shubham had taken a
loan recently and was finding it
difficult to repay. It appears he
planned to rob the house (to re-
pay the loan). The accused does
not have a prior criminal his-
tory," SP Pramod said.
Shubham allegedly had an
argument with Nisha, as she
objected to giving him money,
after which he attacked her
with a knife, police said. He got
the kife from the house itself
and stabbed at Nisha's throat,
leading to excessive bleeding.
As the children had seen it,
Subham attacked them, too,
banging their heads against the
wall, the police said.
"The children showed pres-
ence of mind. When the ac-
cused tried to hurt them, they
lay on the ground, pretending
to be injured or dead. The ac-
cused spared them thinking
they had been incapacitated,"
Pramod said.
Shubham subsequently
emptied the cupboards for cash
and valuables and left in about
an hour, the police said.
According to the police,
Shubham was identified
through CCTV cameras in-
stalled on the staircase and op-
posite the Singhals' house.
CCTV images showed him pur-
portedly entering the house,
wearing a black helmet, and
leaving the area later on a mo-
torcycle, the police said.
 6 CALENDAR WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

BRIDGE YOUR WEEK AHEAD

Dealer:South,Vulnerable:Both
SUNDAY CROSSWORD 2296 If it’s your
NORTH
♠ Q83
QUICK CLUES
ACROSS
1. Thomas Hardy wrote "The Mayor
Birthday ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20)
Your principle
planetary patterns
LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
Marital matters
look light and
of ____ " (12) still focus on bright, but are
❤8542 10. Poisonous weed (7) money. There are heading for passion
♦ Q107 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 11. County town of Somerset (7) no indications of long-term towards the end of the week.
♣AQ107 IH 12. Italian lady (5) Sunday November22 changes so, if you’re And when that happens you
Pass 3H 3S 4H 13. Get or inherit ? (4,4) AstheMoonweavesamongtheother coping with major personal really can’t say whether the
SOUTH Pass Pass Pass 15. Poets or song-writers (10)
planets,youarelikelytochangeyour or professional simplest matters will work out
16. Inquires, requests (4)
♠ 42 18. Praise or extol (4) mind,andwhatseemedlikeawasteof complications, these are as planned. The Moon, which
❤AQ1097 almost certainly a hang-over heightens your emotions, is
20. Insectivorous African mammals of timewillonceagainlooklikeawelcome
from the past. heading straight for sensitive
♦ KJ4 hyena family (10) opportunity. regions of your chart.
22. Supreme master; D-Day operation
♣KJ4 (8)
TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21)
24. Muddle (5) Monday November23 At last you’re SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23)
Dummyshowsthatbiddinggamemaynothavebeenverywise. Westleads 26. Not vote (7) Mars is pounding its way, upping your coming out of your Positive financial
thekingofspadesandcontinuesthesuit. Eastwinsthesecondtrickwith 27. One who doubts (7) shell, and when news is on the way,
thejackandheleadstheace. Youhavetoruffthisbecauseifyoudonotruff, energylevelandlendingyouthatextrabitof your confidence is and you’ll soon hear
28. Item that may be kept on an office
thedefencewillcashthediamondace. Whatisyourhopehere,ifany?
desk (6,6)
oomph necessary if you are to succeed. It at its height, you may surprise the details. There
TheWestHand: S-K6 H-6 D-97652 C-98653
TheEastHand: S-AJ10975 H-KJ3D-A83 C-2 DOWN looks as if you’ll get your way with a friends by your willingness to might be a few surprises,
2. Social worker (7) minimumof opposition. take the lead. Your mood is although by and large, the
Making4Hisalongshotnow. Youhavetoruffthespadeandyoumustbe 3. Concerning the part of trunk generally lively and yet you are results should be as expected.
carefulaboutwhatyouruffwith. Ifyouruffwiththequeenanditwins,you between neck and abdomen still keeping your desires At work, though, you may
willbemissingthekingandjackandnomatterhowtheydivide,youwilllose (8)
Tuesday November24
at least one trump trick. Your only hope is that East has the king and jack. to yourself. have to wait another month
4. Dissolute fellow (4) You’re looking ahead, and it’s not just the for a decision on that
Ruffwiththeten.Youareluckytoday. Itwins.
5. Moving backward (10) timeofyearwhichencouragesyoutotakea GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) new responsibility.
Nowyouneedtogettodummytofinesseinhearts. Youshouldprobablylead 6. Low card (5) long-term point of view. It’s lunar You can afford to
adiamond,intendingtogotodummyoncewithadiamondforaheartfinesse, 7. Prolongs or enlarges take a fairly laid- SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)
and then to dummy with a club for another heart finesse. The reason for (7) alignments which suggest that you’re in a
back approach. After Those two tough
thisisthatEastmighthaveasingletonclubandyouwouldnotwanttogive 8. Trouble to be expected ? (3,5,2,3) 24. Lowdown on American family 21. Rigged a jury over article this freedom-lovingmood.
himaruffalongtheway. (5)
all, everything - or planets, Jupiter and
9. Variability (of opinion, month (7)
26. Italian film director tripped over on almost everything - is going Saturn, are pulling
Thisallworks,EasthavingtheKJ3ofhearts. performance) (13)
14. Disturb the order (10) an island near Norfolk Island
23. Might one stomach such a little tea, Wednesday November25 your way. You will soon have a you in two
POSTMORTEM: Would South have played East for the KJ3 of hearts if 17. Note well (4,4) (7)
ready for the picking (5) Delaysandmuddlescouldbeamusing,and spring in your step and a directions. So, you can’t really
East had played the ace and another diamond after winning the second 19. Kitchen vessel (7) 27. I enter engineers’ entrance in 25. There’s not a grain of it to wave mightevenworktoyouradvantage. Itcould winning way with words. be blamed if you feel stuck
spadetrick? WouldSouthhaveinferredthatEasthadbothhearthonours 21. Small naval vessel (7) Surrey town (7) around on a dish (4) save you from an even bigger catastrophe. You may, though, forget the between irreconcilable
and was afraid to lead a spade for fear that South would ruff with the nine 23. Smallest (5) 28. Plant in sight of the game facts, especially as options. Good, solid family
anddiscoverthatWestcouldnotoverruff? Somepsychologyatworkhere.
25. Scandinavian capital (4) (9,3) Solutions to 2295 Thursday November26 Friday approaches. relationships are a priority in
Dealer:South,Vulnerable:East-West CRYPTIC CLUES DOWN the meantime.
ACROSS 2. Nobleman - one the Queen wanted QUICKCLUESAcross: 1Allright,5 You’re in one of your romantic moods, CANCER (June 22 - July 23)
1. Remind fellow to be very before (7) Essays,9Pacifist,10Thrift,11Assorted, prepared to see the best in everyone. Your You have to lay CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20)
NORTH SOUTH knowlegeable (4,8) 3. Nothing to back in first stages in 12Ulster,14Likenesses,18 This week is almost
deep belief that the world can be a better down the law at
♠ 106 ♠ A92 10. Turn on to art in Italy (7) sequence (8) Shamefaced,22Excide,23Halfhour,
placewillinfluenceimportantrelationships. home, but you can’t perfect for leisure,
11. Relating to the sense of touch of the 4. Gas-light (4) 24Twitch,25Finished,26Stylet,27 pleasure and love.
❤ AK2 ❤95 current leading model 5. Inappropriate eviction order (3,2,5) Endeared.Down:1Appear,2Locust,3 actually make other
All you have to do
♦ Q73 ♦ AKJ95 (7) 6. Scotsman has gold in Chinese Inform,4Hysterical,6Schiller,7Acid
Friday November27 people obey your every word!
is clear your diary and
test,8Satirist,13Revelation,15 All you can do is rely on the
♣KQJ106 ♣ 942 12. Start to queen it as My Fair Lady territory (5)
Asbestos,16Sanctity,17Headache,19 If your mood changes from being quite power of persuasion — and make sure that you’re in the
(5) 7. American in action falling suddenly
13. Half the effort by you and me into water (7) Office,20Bother,21Eroded.CRYPTIC intense,secretiveandserioustoonewhich hope against hope that it right place at the right
CLUESAcross:1Rooftops,5Pincer,9 time. At home, there’s still a
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH (8) 8. It might get off the ground in a
Lifeline,10Advert,11Violence,12Scotia, is more freedom-loving, adventurous and succeeds. If you’re chasing a
15. March immediately in front of such small way (5,8) new job, a friend will point chance of a surprise party o
1D 14Elliptical,18Millwright,22Ursine,23 lively,thenyou’llbeintunewithyourstars.
easy marks! (5,5) 9. Blue kisses in old arms Lady-love,24Doddle,25Idletalk,26 you in the right direction. r a little extra colour
1S 2C Pass 2D 16. Fever universal in later life (13) Rapids,27AdamBede.Down:1Relive,2 and comfort.
Pass 2S Pass 2NT (4) 14. I oscillate when changing places Onfoot,3Taller,4Penicillin,6Indicate,7 Saturday November28 LEO (July 24 - Aug 23)
18. Go ahead like a Swiss cakemaker ? (10) Cuestick,8Rateable,13Highhanded,15 The current planetary set-up is passionate, You may press on AQUARIUS (Jan. 21- Feb. 19)
Pass 3NT Pass Pass (4) 17. The snipe gun made the birds Smoulder,16Closedup,17Swindled,19 with professional Nothing stays the
sociable, romantic and seductive. It pays to
Pass 20. It’s not good for a person’s image, scatter (8) Lyceum,20Todate,21Heckle.
actively go off in search of pleasure and to and other worldly same for ever. In
showing chopper on duty (7,3) 19. Allow fielder to accidentally reveal
ambitions and fact, you’re coming
Westleadsthequeenofhearts.Howmanytricksdoyouexpecttomake? 22. File behind a rodent (4-4) secret (3,4) makethemostof everything. up to rush hour in
don’t listen to people who
seem determined to the romantic department. But
undermine you. And if you why exactly are partners so
can get away from your usual impatient or irritable? Mars,
JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel3s environment for a few days, planet of war, is also stirring
SOLUTION SUDOKU 4299

you’ll do yourself a power up hidden feelings,

Instructions
of good. encouraging you to stand up
Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, for yourself.
therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23)
SUDOKU 4300

theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)

Sometimes you
Ibelievethatifonealwayslookedatthe___,onewouldendupwith___.-GustaveFlaubert nineverticalcolumns,in Hope springs
feel as if you’re in
(5,..,5) eternal. At least
eachoftheninehorizontal danger of being left
that’s what we’re
NSEII EILRGN rowsandineachofthe behind. You
told! But never
nineboxes. probably imagine that other
people are making all the forget that simple motto when
running, which doesn’t you feel weighed down by the
cares of the world, or just plain
AYSSS DEESKW DifficultyLevel seem particularly fair.
worn out. This is not an easy
However, you may actually
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; benefit by hanging moment for all you delicate
3s=Medium;4s=Hard; back and letting partners souls, but faith in the future
Gustave Flaubert 5s=VeryHard;6s= take the lead. will now definitely see
Answer: I believe that if one always looked at the skies, one would end up with wings. - Genius you through.
SOLUTION: NISEI, SASSY, LINGER, SKEWED

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER (Deemed to be University Under Section-3 of UGC Act 1956)
RURAL WORKS CIRCLE, KENDRAPARA- JAJPUR Elite Status & Centre of Excellence - Government of Maharashtra
No. Tender Online RCK-09/20 Letter No. 1692 Date: 16.11.2020
O-574 e-Procurement NOTICE MATUNGA, MUMBAI-400 019.
1. Name of the work : Infrastructure development of Derabis College & Olaver College under World Bank Assistance Programme OHPEE (Phase-
1) in the District of Kendrapara.
2. Class of Contractor : B & A Class as specified in the column 6 of the Annexure.
3. Time for Completion : As Specified in Column- 7 of Annexure.
4. Detail Projects : As per annexure attached
5. Other details :
Procurement Officer Bid Identification Availability of Tender on-line for bidding Last Date & Time of seeking Date & Time of opening of tender
No. From To tender clarification Technical Bid Financial Bid
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Superintending Engineer, Rural Works Tender Online 23.11.2020 11.12.2020 to 5.00 PM 10.12.2020 up to 5.00 PM 14.12.2020 at 12.00 21.12.2020 At
Circle, Kendrapara- Jajpur RCK-09/20 at 11.00 AM PM 12.00 PM
Further details can be seen from the website: www.tendersorissa.gov.in Sd/- Superintending Engineer,
Rural Works Circle, Kendrapara- Jajpur
OIPR-25129/11/0007/2021

STATE INDUSTRIES PROMOTION CORPORATION OF TAMILNADU LIMITED (SIPCOT)

19-A, RUKMANI LAKSHMIPATHY ROAD, EGMORE, CHENNAI-600 008.
INVITATION FOR BIDS
Tender Notice NIT.No.88/CW/DO/T.No 92/2020-21 Dt.19.11.2020
The Indian EXPRESS EDUCATION PROPERTY FOR SALE SOCIETY NOTICE Sealed tenders are invited from bidders under “Two Cover System” for Hiring of Water Tanker
Lorries for SIPCOT Industrial Parks/ Growth Centres at Irungattukottai, Oragadam, Pillaipakam,
Sriperumbudur and Vallam Vadagal. The details of the tender are as follows:
1BHK For Sale, 575 sq.ft.
TUITION/ TUTORS 2nd floor, Fully fur- NOTICE 1 Tender Inviting Authority The Managing Director, SIPCOT Ltd.,
19-A, Rukmani Lakshmipathy Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.

NALANDA Academy nished, Spacious, Airy, Mr. Narendra Chunilal 2 Name of work Hiring of Water Tanker Lorries of 9000 Litres and 6000 Litres Capacity
on Contract Basis for Three Years for SIPCOT Industrial Parks/ Growth
Quiet surroundings, Patel and Mrs. Jyoti Centres at Irungattukottai, Oragadam, Pillaipakam, Sriperumbudur
provide Home tuitions
near Kalpavruksha Narendra Patel have and Vallam Vadagal
offline/ online (8 to 12 3 Purchase of tender documents Tender document can be obtained from SE, SIPCOT Head Office,
VENCOBB Ex-Farm Garden, Dhokali, Thane, purchased flat no 103,
MATRIMONIAL Yesterday’s price in
std. PCMB/ all boards/
JEE/ NEET/ B.Com/ CA). 82 Lakhs, Negotiable. building no C-20 from
builder Shreeram Enterprise
Chennai-08 at free of cost from 22.11.2020 to 07.12.2020 upto 3.00
P.M. Tender documents will not be sent by Post.
Alternatively, the tender schedules can be downloaded from the
Pune Rs. 84/-. 9082283805/ 9987504565 Phone 9004358461/ Government website and SIPCOT website www.tenders.tn.gov.in at
9820640384 Owner: in the year 1996 are the
BRIDES WANTED Suggested Retail Science/ 9820649468 members of Lotus Shrishti 4 Earnest Money Deposit
free of cost.
Rs. 10,000 /- per vehicle in the form of Demand Draft drawn in favour
Price is Rs. 102/-. commerce. 0070721296-1 Santosh Gupte
0070714961-1 0050172062-1 Hills CHS Ltd., Jambul of SIPCOT Ltd., payable at Chennai (In the tenderer’s name only)
Road, Srishti Hills 5 Last date and time for 08.12.2020 upto 3.00 P.M. at the above mentioned address in Sl
KHATRIS/ARORAS
SERVICES
submission of bid documents No (1)
AMIR Broiler, Small: Rs. Ambernath (w) Mr. 6 Venue, Date and time of 08.12.2020 at 3.30 P.M. at the above mentioned address in Sl No (1)
SM4 Hindu Khatri Boy, 114/-, Big: Rs. 104/-. BUSINESS PREMISES Narendra Chunilal Patel opening of bids
Managing Director
Contact: Phone: +91- died on 6th April 2014 DIPR/ 4349 /TENDER/2020
PhD, Prob Offr Bank of ADVERTISEMENTS
8828895000/ 8080432388/ EXCELLENT Shop for sale without making any
Baroda, Smart, Fair,
1991/6’-2’’, Amritsar 022-25251901/ 022-
KEYON Publicity- Official
in Kalpita Enclave nomination Smt. Jyoti
Narendra Patel and
KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES COMMISSION
23860517. 0070706425-3 Society at Andheri East,
based family. Mob advertising agency all Near D’Mart, Nexa Jignesh Narendra Patel has DIRECTORATE OF MARKETING
9815805732, 7340788375. newspapers, Loksatta approached society as legal
Alibag Agro. Always Showroom, Rly Station, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
0040555445-1 available Fresh Chest accepts all kinds of heir of Mr. Narendra
advertising. Reasonable
Road Facing, Area 310 Govt. of India
and Leg Boneless, Sq.Ft. Owner: Chunilal Patel & amp;
rates. WhatsApp/ applied for transfer of shares Gramodaya, 3, Irla Road, Vile Parle (W), Mumbai- 400 056
GROOMS WANTED Whole Birds, Full Legs, 9322653387.
Wings, Curcus etc. Email- 9653683498/ & amp; interest of the Tel: 022-2671 6680, Email: mkting.kvic@gov.in
0070721600-1
Please contact on 9920992393/ 0222825307. deceased member in the Website: www.kvic.org.in
KSHATRIYA 9356217008. 0070717329-1 0070703019-3 capital/property of the
VAASTU GUIDANCE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)
society in her name. Society
Professionally qualified
match for Thakur
S. K. Patel Small: 116/-,
Big: 105/-. 8082040343/ PROPERTY FOR Happiness,
hereby invites claims or
objections from any other
Rajput beautiful slim 24460095/24459098. To ACCOMMODATION Prosperity, Home claimant or claimants /
girl 89, 5’-2”, M Sc - subscribe to paper rate AVAILABLE Contentment,
objector or objectors to the Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Ministry of
& purchase rate. transfer of the said shares & MSME, Govt. of India intends to operate its six Departmental
☛
Microbiologist, MNC Economic, Educational
Nesley Moga, pkg 7 9320460095/ 9930193010. THANE (West) amp; interest of the deceased
Progress, Married, Sales Outlets (Khadi Gramodyog Bhavans) located at premium
lakhs Well settled land- 0070717090-1 Panchpakhadi, member in the capital/
converted 2 BHK, 530 Family Life/ To Solve property of the society
lord family, Father
N.E.C.C suggested price carpet with furniture Problem Regarding within a period of 7 days
areas of Kolkata, Patna, Mumbai, Goa, Ernakulam & Bhopal
Sr.GM Upper Caste No
Bar Whatsap:
for 100 eggs in Mumbai for immediate sale, CC, Health, Etc. & Vaastu from the publication of this under Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode through bonafide
on 22/11/2020 Rs.524/- plan pass. 1.15Cr. (Nego.) Guidance For Your notice. If no claims
9814957586. 0050171316-1
(Five Hundred Twenty 9029838276. 0070721439-2 Living Home Without objections are received entities. It is expected that the private partner will source Khadi &
Four) only. NECC Any Sabotage. Contact- within the period prescribed Village Industry products for sale from the approved
BUSINESS 22834107. 0070720297-1
DADAR, Prabhadevi,
Shivaji Park, Worli,
9920018647/ 9769008647.
0070701065-2
above, the society shall be
free to deal with the shares & manufacturing institutions/units of KVIC and the sales to be
POULTRY
MEA Mumbai Eggs Matunga, Mahim, Sion, amp; interest of the deceased effected through the KIMIS software, using the existing
Association Suggested Parel, Bhyculla, Office, member in the
Selling Rate in Mumbai Shop, Flat, Godown
''IMPORTANT'' capital/property of the infrastructure. All expenses of operation, maintenance, services,
ZORABIAN Today’s Ex-
Rs. 510/- per 100 Eggs. Purchase/ Sell/ Rent. society in such manner as is rent etc to be borne by the partner, leaving a percentage of sales
Farm Live Broiler Rate Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of
Mobile: 9820057700/ Padmavati Estate- provided under the bye-laws
Rs. 82/- Retail Market advertising copy, it is not possible to verify its turnover to KVIC, supported with security deposit/bank
9820351822/ 7303390009. 9820553072/ 9322296555. of the society.
Rate Rs. 118/-. Mobile: contents. The Indian Express (P.) Limited
0070694753-1 0070721250-2
Place: Ambernath guarantee. Interested entities are requested to convey their terms
8879050887/ 9372663242. cannot be held responsible for such contents,
Date: 21-11-2020
Office: 022-26604937/ nor for any loss or damage incurred as a result For & amp; on behalf of and conditions, with a profile of existing business activities to us
38/ 39. 0070699423-1 To place your ad in Classifieds call: of transactions with companies, associations
or individuals advertising in its newspapers or Lotus Shrishti Hills and email the same to mkting.kvic@gov.in captioning 'EOI for
FRESH Chicken Trading Sanjeev : 9967552226 Co-op. Hsg. Soc. Ltd.
Publications. We therefore recommend that PPP operation of DSOs'. By considering the EOI points made, we
Big birds 93/-kg., Small Jitendra : 9930966193 readers make necessary inquiries before Hon.
birds 106/- kg., Turbhe Vinay Yadav : 8451957053 sending any monies or entering into any Chairman/Secretary. will finalise the Request For Proposal (RFP) for bid process. For
Naka, Navi Mumbai. agreements with advertisers or otherwise 0070721608-1-1 any clarification, please e-mail to us.
Harsh Dwivedi : 7021818976
Mobile: 9769468897. acting on an advertisement in any manner
0070708740-1
Shalvika : 8692939901 whatsoever. Dy. Director (Marketing)

7 ECONOMY
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
RESERVES AT $572.7 BILLION IN WEEK-ENDED NOVEMBER 13
In eight months, forex reserves
rise by more than $100 billion
E
SANDEEPSINGH
&SUNNYVERMA
NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER21
THOUGH THE Covid-19 pan-
demichashittheeconomyondif-
ferent fronts over the last eight
months,theforeignexchangere-
serveshaverisenbyover$100bil-
lion when the lockdown was an-
nounced in March-end. This
jumpof22percenthascomefol-
lowingasharpdeclineinimports
alongside strong foreign invest-
ment inflows in the second half
of the calendar year.
Whiletheforexreservesstood
at $469.9 billion in the week
endedMarch20,2020,ithasrisen
by$102.8billionsincethenandto
touch $572.7 billion in the week
ended November 13, 2020. RBI
data released on Friday shows
that reserves grew by $4.2 billion
intheweekendedNovember13.
BetweenAprilandNovember,
while foreign portfolio invest-
ments (FPI) amounted to Rs
1,40,295crore(nearly$19billion),
the net FDI between April and
September aggregated to $22.85
billion. Besides this, a sharp de-
cline in imports of crude oil, elec-
tronics and gold due to a lock-
down in many parts of the world
BRIEFLY
Punjab&Sind
Banktoraiseup
to`5,500cr
New Delhi: State-owned
Punjab & Sind Bank on
Saturday said its board has
approvedaproposaltoraise
up to Rs 5,500 crore by issu-
ing shares on a preferential
basis. The board approval is
inlinewiththegovernment
sanctiontoinfuseanamount
of Rs5,500croreinthebank
towards contribution of the
Centreinthepreferentialal-
lotmentofequitysharesdur-
ingFY2020-21. PTI
Mnuchindenies
tryingtolimit
Biden’soptions
Washington: US Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin
deniedonFridaythatheisat-
temptingtolimitPresident-
elect Joe Biden’s options for
revivingthepandemic-dam-
aged economy by ending
severalemergencyloanpro-
grams being run by the
FederalReserve. AP
ZurichInsurance
nearsdealfor
MetLifeunit
New York: Switzerland’s
Zurich Insurance Group AG
is in advanced talks to ac-
quireMetLifeInc’sUSprop-
erty and casualty (P&C) car
andhomeinsuranceunitfor
close to $4 billion (3.01 bil-
lion pounds), according to
people familiar with the
matter.ZurichInsuranceis-
sued a statement late on
Friday confirming it was in
discussions to acquire
MetLife’s US property and
casualty business and cau-
tioningthatnodealwascer-
tain. REUTERS
Decoding the drop in diesel consumption in Nov G20 determined to use all tools
KARUNJITSINGH
NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER21
DIESELCONSUMPTIONinthefirst
half of November fell 5 per cent
year-on-year, after growing in
Octoberforthefirsttimesincethe
Covid-19pandemic-relatedtravel
restrictions were imposed in
March. Diesel consumption is a
keyindicatorofeconomicactivity
sinceitisusednotonlyasatrans-
portation fuel but also for indus-
trialandagriculturalactivity.
Whathasthetrendof petrol
anddieselconsumptionbeen
sinceCovidanditsrelated
JUMP IN RESERVES SINCE LOCKDOWN
600
Forex Reserves (in $ billion)
500
469.90
400
Mar 20
Week ended
Source: RBI
between March and May, pre-
vented even normal drawdown
of reserves.
According to data available
withthePetroleumPlanningand
Analysis Cell under the Ministry
ofPetroleumandNaturalGas,the
net crude oil import declined
sharply between April and
September this year to $19.3 bil-
lion.Itwasashighas$83.2billion
for the full year 2019-20.
Similarly,thevalueofgoldim-
ports during April-October 2020
fell to $9.2 billion compared with
$17.6billioninthecorresponding
period last year according to data
PANDEMIC IMPACT
‘Economic consequences of
Covid on South Asia greater
than healthcare challenges’
The economic consequences of Covid pandemic on South
Asia are proving to be even greater than the healthcare
challenges in the region, according to a report compiled
by the Hudson Institute
WHATISTHISREPORT?
Titled“NineMonthsofCOVID-19:
TheImpactonSouthAsia”,the
reportreleasedbytheHudson
Institutethink-tank,isco-
authoredbyHusainHaqqani,
formerPakistanambassadorto
theUS,andAparnaPande
0FINDINGS:
■ Theeconomicconsequencesof
Adverse reaction in Covaxin participant ‘US to add 4 more
‘investigated’, unrelated to vaccine, says co Chinese firms to
Pentagon blacklist’
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER21
APARTICIPANTintheearlystages
ofBharatBiotech’strialforCovaxin
haddevelopedanadversereaction
reportedly leading to hospitalisa-
tion. However, the issue was “in-
vestigated thoroughly” and was
found not to be related to the
Covid-19 vaccine, the company
saidonSaturday.
The adverse event, reportedly
a case of the participant develop-
ing viral pneumonitis, was found
in the first phase of the trials and
the company claims it followed
the proper protocols of reporting
theissue.“Theadverseeventdur-
ing phase 1 clinical trials during
August 2020, was reported to the
CDSCO-DCGI (Central Drugs
Standard Control Organisation-
DROP IN CONSUMPTION
5%
■Dieselconsumptioninthe
firsthalf of Novemberfell5per
centyear-on-year,after
growinginOctoberforthefirst
timesincetheCovid-19-related
travelrestrictionswere
imposedinMarch.
lockdowns?
The consumption of both
diesel and petrol crashed when
the government imposed travel
572.7
560.5
Oct 23
Nov 13
obtained from the Ministry of
Commerce. The value of elec-
tronicgoodsimportstoodeclined
from$34.7billioninApril-October
2019to$28.6billionduringApril-
October 2020.
Rising foreign exchange re-
servesprovideforexternalsector
stability and also cover for im-
ports. Almost six months back
when reserves had risen to $487
billionintheweekendedMay15,
RBIGovernorShaktikantaDashad
noted they are “equivalent to 12
months of imports.”
Economistssayariseinforeign
exchangereservesincombination
COVID-19onSouthAsiaare
provingtobeevengreaterthanthe
healthcarechallengesintheregion
■ DifferentSouthAsiancountries
havedealtwiththepandemicin
variousways,buttheeconomic
costsoverallseemtobehigher
thanthehealthcareconsequences
WHYISTHISIMPORTANT?
Allthesecountrieshavepoor
TAKEONINDIA:
WhiletheIndia-USrelations
“remainonanupwardtrajectory”
The adverse event,
reportedly a case of the
participant developing
viral pneumonitis, was
found in the first phase
of the trials
Drug Controller General of India),
within 24 hours of its occurrence
and confirmation...As per the
guidelines,alladverseeventswere
reportedtothesiteethicscommit-
tee, CDSCO-DCGI, Data Safety
Monitoring Board (DSMB) and
Sponsor,” Bharat Biotech’s
spokesperson told The Sunday
Express in emailed responses
abouttheissue.
“Theadverseeventwasinves-
tigated thoroughly and deter-
restriction across the country on
March 25 to curb the spread of
Covid 19. Diesel and petrol con-
sumption crashed by 56 per cent
and 60 per cent, respectively, in
April. The sales of both petrol and
diesel recovered as lockdown re-
strictions were eased, with diesel
salesinJunefallingonly15percent
shortofdieselsalesintheyear-ago
period. However, increased curbs
on movement imposed by states
in July pushed back the recovery
in diesel consumption, which re-
mained 20 per cent below pre-
CovidlevelsinJulyandAugust.
Doesthefallindiesel
consumptioninNovember
E X P L A I NE D
Reserves
provide
● comfort
AS GDP growth remains
a concern for 2020-21,
rising forex reserves pro-
vide comfort to the gov-
ernment and the RBI. It
sufficiently covers the
import bill of the coun-
try. Reserves also pro-
vide confidence to mar-
kets that the country can
meet its external obliga-
tions and has reserves
for national disasters or
emergencies.
with benign oil prices and tepid
imports,hashelpedtheIndianru-
pee remain broadly stable since
mid-March2020.Therehas,how-
ever,beendeteriorationinnotjust
the growth prospects but some
other macro parameters such as
retail inflation and fiscal deficit.
Whiletherupeehitalowof 76.97
againstthedollaronApril21,2020,
ithasrecoveredoverthelasteight
monthsandclosedat74.16Friday.
Highreservesprovidethecen-
tral banks the ability to intervene
healthcareinfrastructureandare
hometolargenumbersofpeople
livingbelowthepovertyline,
settingthefoundationforuphill
battleswhentacklinghealthcrises
WAYOUT: Inordertoensurea
safereturntonormallifeanda
resumptionofeconomicactivity,
SouthAsiangovernmentswould
benefitfromfocusingmoreonthe
withaneconomythathasslowed
downdrastically,andaclamping
downondissentwithinthe
minedasnotvaccinerelated,”the
spokespersonadded.
BharatBiotechdidnotrespond
to queries about whether it had
halted the trials while it investi-
gated the issue. Queries sent to
DCGI Dr VG Somani and Indian
Council of Medical Research
Director General Dr Balram
Bhargava about this issue also re-
mainedunansweredbypresstime
onSaturday.
In the last three months, com-
panies like AstraZeneca and
Johnson & Johnson have an-
nouncedthattheyweretemporar-
ily halting recruitment and vacci-
nation in late-stage trials of their
vaccinecandidateswhiletheyex-
aminedunanticipatedseriousad-
verse events. The companies re-
sumedtrialsafteritwasconfirmed
the issue was not caused by their
vaccine. Other investigators who
indicateareversalof the
growthtrend?
Thefallindieselconsumption
inthefirsthalfofNovemberdoes-
n’tindicate areversalin the move
of diesel consumption to pre-
Covidlevels,accordingtoanalysts,
whonotedthatitmaybearesultof
an unusual pattern of diesel con-
sumption around the festive sea-
son.Expertsnotedthatthereisin-
creased consumption of diesel in
the weeks leading up to the festi-
val season, which then reduces
during the festive period itself —
which may have brought down
consumptionsforearlyNovember.
Full report on
www.indianexpress.com
in the currency markets if re-
quired to stabilise volatility in ru-
pee-dollarexchangerate,andalso
use it as a tool for inflation man-
agement. Withhigherforeign in-
vestment inflows, RBI has been
buying dollars from the market
and in doing so, it releases an
equal amount in rupees through
issuance of bonds and securities
and LAF operations, resulting in
higher liquidity.
“Accumulationofdollarsisen-
hancing liquidity in the banking
system, keeping bond yields in
check and supporting effective
transmission Onthebackof pur-
poseful dollar buying by RBI, rise
in gold reserves and foreign cur-
rency assets, India’s foreign ex-
change reserves stood high at
$560.53billionason23rdOctober,
2020, covering more than 13
months of imports,” the finance
ministry said in its October
monthly economic review.
India’s foreign exchange re-
servesstartedrisingsignificantly
fromSeptember2019.Whilethe
foreign exchange reserves stood
at$428billionintheweekended
September 20, 2019, it has risen
by $144 billion over the last 14
monthstohitahighof$572.7bil-
lion in the week-ended
November 13.
developmentofhumancapital
PAKISTAN hadmanagedto
curtailthespreadofCOVID-19
cases,butthecountryisonce
againfacingariseininfection
CURTAILMENTOF mediaand
Opposition,aneconomyincrisis,
andincreasingroleofthemilitary
beingseeninthelast9months
country,“India’sdemocratic
credentialsfacechallenges
SOURCE: HUDSON INSTITUTE/PTI
conducted first phase of the
Covaxintrialatdifferentsiteswere
not apprised of the issue, The
SundayExpresshaslearnt.
“Allsuchissuesarerequiredto
be reported to the DSMB and, ac-
cordingly, the DSMB has to take a
decision. It is not necessary that
everything should be reported to
every site,” said one of the princi-
palinvestigatorsinthephase1trial
of Covaxin. Another principal in-
vestigatortoldTheSundayExpress
the adverse event seems to have
occurred after most participants
for the phase 1 trial had been re-
cruited, considering it was re-
portedinAugust.Recruitmentand
vaccinations in first phase of this
trialbeganinmid-Julyandthesec-
ond shot for these was adminis-
teredbytheendof themonth,af-
ter DSMB approved safety data
collectedfromfirst50participants.
to contain pandemic, save jobs
REUTERS
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON,
NOVEMBER21
G20 NATIONS are determined to
continue doing everything possi-
ble to contain Covid, warning in a
draftcommuniquetheglobaleco-
nomicrecoveryremains“uneven,
highlyuncertain,andsubjecttoel-
evateddownsiderisks”.
Bringing the pandemic under
control is the key to supporting a
globaleconomicrecovery,theG20
leaderssaidinthedraft.
Crude Watch
OIL POSTS THIRD WEEK OF GAINS
New York: Oil prices rose about 1 per cent higher on Friday and posted
a third consecutive weekly rise, buoyed by successful Covid-19 vaccine
trials, while renewed lockdowns in several countries to limit the
spread of the coronavirus capped gains. REUTERS
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL
Tech policy groups, civil
societies seek wider
consultation from JPC
AASHISH ARYAN
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21
INANattempttoseekwidercon-
sultationsondataprotectionpol-
icyandrelatedissues,techpolicy
groups and civil societies are
planning to write to Meenakshi
Lekhi,thechairpersonof thejoint
parliamentary committee (JPC)
on the personal data protection
bill, according to sources.
While some groups such as
Software Freedom Law Centre
(SFLC)Indiahavewrittenaletter
to Lekhi urging the JPC to call
them and other tech policy
groups for consultations, others
are likely to send in their letter
over the next week.
Initsletter,SFLCIndiahassaid
thatwhilesocialmediainterme-
diaries,fintechcompanies,travel
aggregators had been called by
theJPCfororalconsultations,civil
societieshavenotbeengiventhe
chance to represent themselves
and share their ideas.
“Through this letter, we sin-
cerely hope that the Joint
ParliamentaryCommittee,under
yourchairpersonship,willinvite
civil society organisations that
defend rights of citizens in the
digital space for consultation on
Tamil Nadu bans online games,
gambling; joins AP, Telangana
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21
TAMIL NADU on Friday became
the third state to ban online
games and gambling after the
state’s governor promulgated
an Ordinance to restrict such
games from public to prevent
them from the “evils of online
gaming”.
“Due to online gaming, in-
nocent people mainly young-
sters are being cheated and
some people have committed
suicide,” the governor’s office
said in a statement promulgat-
ing the Ordinance.
According to the new laws,
any form of wager or online
bets using computers or any
other devices are banned
across the state. People who
will be found gaming online
REUTERS
WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 21
WASHINGTON IS poised to des-
ignatefourmoreChinesecompa-
niesasbackedbytheChinesemil-
itary, sources said, curbing their
access to US investors as the
Trump administration seeks to
cement itshawkish China legacy
in its waning days.
Thedesignations,whichhave
not been previously reported,
could be released by the
Department of Defense as soon
as Friday but may be unveiled
next week, said one US official
andonepersonfamiliarwiththe
matter who declined to
‘Family Photo’ for the annual G20 Summit World Leaders is
projected onto Salwa Palace in At-Turaif, one of Saudi
Arabia’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, in Diriyah. Reuters
SFLC INDIA WRITES TO CHAIRPERSON
■ While some groups such
as Software Freedom Law
Centre (SFLC) India have
written a letter to
Meenakshi Lekhi, the
chairperson of the joint
parliamentary committee
(JPC), urging it to call them
and other tech policy groups
for consultations, others are
likely to send in their letter
the draft Data Protection Bill,”
SFLC said in its letter to Lekhi.
The JPC on data protection
bill, however, is likely to move to
clause by clause consultation
and discussion from the next
meeting onward and may not
call any tech policy groups or
civil societies for consultations,
sources said.
“The committee wants to
wrapupconsultationsassoonas
possible and submit its recom-
mendations so that the bill is
given a final shape. It may not be
possible to invite more stake-
holders for face-to-face consul-
tations,”aseniorgovernmentof-
ficial said.
Over the last two months,
will be fined Rs 5,000 and be
punished with a six month sen-
tence, while those who open or
keep open online gaming
houses will be fined Rs 10,000
and be imprisoned for
two years.
Electronic transfer of funds
for placing bets, distributing
the winnings of games or any
other prize money related to
online games will also be pro-
hibited under the new
ordinance.
Apart from Tamil Nadu, its
neighbouring state of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana has al-
ready banned online gambling
and some of the card games
that can be played online. Tamil
Nadu neighbour on the other
side, Karnataka, is also mulling
a new law to ban online games
which involve gambling and
betting, according to reports.
The additions would
bring the number of
Chinese companies
affected to 35
be named.
The White House and the
Chinese embassyin Washington
did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Theadditionswouldbringthe
numberofChinesecompaniesaf-
fected to 35. They include giants
like Hikvision 002415.SZ China
TelecomCorp0728.HKandChina
Mobile 0941.HK, which were
added earlier this year.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
over the next week.
■ In its letter, SFLC India has
said while social media
intermediaries, fintech
firms, travel aggregators
had been called by the JPC
for oral consultations, civil
societies have not been
given the chance to
represent themselves and
share their ideas.
global internet conglomerate
Google, e-commerce giant
Amazon and payments sys-
tems aggregator PayTM’s rep-
resentatives have deposed be-
fore the JPC on personal data
protection bill.
Google’srepresentativeshad
intheirmeetingwiththeJPCsaid
India should avoid data localisa-
tion requirements, which had
irked the members of the com-
mittee, while Paytm had said
datageneratedinIndiashouldbe
parked in the country.
Cab aggregators, such as Ola
andUberwhoserepresentatives
hadalsoappearedbeforetheJPC
earlier this month, have sup-
ported data localisation norms.
Games that involve betting
of any kind and rely on luck of
the participants are mostly
banned in India, with some
states allowing some offline
versions such as lottery tickets
and scratch cards. While there
has been some debate on
whether online games are a
matter of pure luck or skill, the
arrival of money has further
complicated matters.
Most adversaries of online
games and gambling have said
that since there are no regula-
tions, most players end up
spending a lot of money for
buy-in in these games.
Critics have also said that
since these games are also
played by kids of all ages, the
lack of money to buy these add-
on puts different kinds of peer
pressure, leading to unpleasant
circumstances.
Petrol, diesel
price hiked
for 2nd day
in a row
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER21
PETROL PRICE on Saturday was
hiked by 15 paise per litre and
diesel by 20 paise, the second
straightdayofincreaseinratesaf-
ter firming international oil rates
broke nearly a two-month-long
hiatusinpricerevision.
ThepriceofpetrolinDelhiwas
hiked to Rs 81.38 per litre from Rs
81.23, according to a notification
fromoilmarketingcompanies.
Diesel rates went up from Rs
70.68toRs70.88perlitre.
On Friday, petrol price was
raised by 17 paise per litre and
dieselby22paise.
Thisisthefirstrevisioninpetrol
prices since September 22. Diesel
rates had not changed since
October2.
Public sector oil marketing
companies - Indian Oil
Corporation, Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Ltd and Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Ltd - re-
viseratesofpetrolanddieseldaily
based on benchmark interna-
tional oil price and foreign ex-
change rate.
They have, however, resorted
to calibrating the rates since the
pandemic broke out with a view
toavoidingvolatilityinretailprices.
The 58-day hiatus in petrol
pricerevisionandthe48-daysta-
tus quo on diesel rates were pre-
ceded by no change in rates be-
tweenJune30andAugust15and
a 85-day status quo between
March17andJune6. WITHPTI
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

8 SUNDAY STORY
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

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to my financial condition but somehow with college-level interventions, Delhi University

theencouragementgivenbymymentorsand mustalsorethinkthewayithastransitionedto
topursuemydream(IAS),(Iwas)admittedin the online mode.
Lady Shri Ram College for Women and now I “Studentshaveapproachedussayingthat
got into debt....” they are finding it hard to cope with the long
A month earlier, on August 6, Aishwarya hoursof onlineclassesbutwehaveexplained
hadreceivedaprovisionalofferletterfromthe tothemthatthereisnothingwecandoabout
On November 2, Aishwarya Reddy, a student of Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired that because there are a certain number of
Research’s (INSPIRE) Scholarship for Higher creditsweneedtocompleteovercertainhours
Delhi University’s LSR College, killed herself, citing Education (SHE), offered by the Department ofclasses.Theuniversityhassimplysoughtto
of Science and Technology (DST), but was un- transferwhateverwashappeningofflinetothe
financial troubles. SUKRITA BARUAH in New Delhi sure if she would receive the money. online mode,” the teacher said.
& RAHUL V PISHARODY in Hyderabad tell the story “I may be able to get SHE-scholarship by InSeptember,theLSRStudents’Unionhad
next year (processing and not sure), but I am raisedthestudents’concernsoverlongonline
of the 19-year-old —the front bencher for whom requesting you to help me through this diffi- classes by conducting a survey of over 1,400
culttimesothatIdon’thavetodropoutofcol- students.Aishwaryawasamongthe95.5%re-
the campus opened a world of possibilities — and Aishwarya’s father Srinivas, a motorcycle mechanic, had mortgaged their home lege,” she wrote in the email to Sood. spondents who said that the classes were af-
for Rs 2 lakh to support her education Attaching copies of bank statements and fecting their mental and physical health. The
her desperate cries for help other documentary proof, she further wrote: survey found 27.5% respondents without ac-
“IfyouarereallywillingtohelpIwillshowmy cesstolaptops,ofwhom91.6%respondedsay-

F
sincerity through my results.” ing college authorities had not reached out to
OR 19-YEAR-OLD Aishwarya he had already given most of what he had. on the hostel lawns. Most of the time, we just studentsgetaccommodation.Intheangerpro- Less than two months later, Aishwarya help with alternatives.
Reddy, the future glittered with chilledinmyroom,chatting,studying,watch- voked by Aishwarya’s suicide, the college au- killed herself. UniongeneralsecretaryUnnimayasaysthe
possibilities — her civil service ■ ■ ■ ing movies. In fact, we spent so much time thorities said they would consider hostel for Whileherdeathhasrekindledtheconver- collegedidn’tdoenoughtoreachouttostude-
dreams,ascholarshiptohername, there that we told each other that when we second-year students as well. sationaroundthedigitaldivideandhowonline nts. “LSR is structurally a very elite space and
and trips with friends to Old Delhi Inmanyways,Aishwaryawaspartofashift came back to Delhi, we must not waste more SumathisaysAishwaryahadhopedtofind learninghaswidenedexistingfaultlines,ithas studentsfromsociallyandeconomicallymar-
and the Taj Mahal. Yet, there was a looming takingplaceinsomeofthetopcollegesofDelhi timelikethisandmustexplorethecitybefore privateaccommodationalongwiththreeother also thrown into sharp focus the need for col- ginalised backgrounds feel alienated... I don’t
spectre, of financial distress, that she feared University,withtheirbalanceof studentpop- wegotbusywithpreparationsforcompetitive friends.“Anyprivateaccommodationoutside legestointrospectthelimitsoftheirstructures. knowhowtheadministrationcansaythatthey
would snuff out all else. ulation now heavily tilted towards students exam. We had been to the Mughal Gardens would have cost at least Rs 15,000 a month, While questions are being raised about weren’t aware that this student was having a
Over a year ago, she had catapulted from from outside Delhi, a significant number of and explored North Campus, but we also apartfromafewthousandrupeesforfoodand whether LSR did its bit to address the digital difficult time when student representatives
the one-bedroom home that she shared with themfromthesouthernstates,andmanyfrom wantedtoseeOldDelhiandmaybeevengoto travel. Besides, we would have had to make a gap and if it went too far in implementing its havebeenpointingouttothemthattherewere
hersisteranddaily-wagerparentsinTelangana families with first-generation college-goers. Agra to see the Taj Mahal,” says Varshini. depositofRs30,000,”shesays,addingthatthe hostelpolicygiventhesetimes,besideslarger certainissueswhichweredistressingstudents
tothered-brickcorridorsofacollegeinthena- “Whenshefirstmetmeandfoundoutthat For all the unevenness of the city and the family’s monthly earnings never crossed issues of how well, if at all, colleges are during the lockdown,” she asks.
tionalcapital,oneofthepre- I’mfromKerala,sheimmedi- world outside, the hostel, Varshini explains, Rs 10,000 even before the pandemic. equipped to handle structu-
mierinstitutionsinthecoun- “We were both new ately said, ‘Thank god I got was a safe, familiar space for the girls. OnSeptember14,Aishwaryaevenreached ral exclusivity, LSR authori- “LSR is a very elite ■ ■ ■
try.OnNovember2,shedied someone from South India!’ “ManyofusfromSouthIndiahavestudied out to actor Sonu Sood, after he launched an ties have been maintaining
by suicide at home, far away to Delhi. My Hindi She probably meant it as a instateeducationboardschools,andinourde- initiativeonTwittertosupportstudentsseek- thatAishwaryaneverappro- space... those from Aishwaryahadspental-
from Lady Shri Ram College was quite weak, joke...I’mnotsure,”saysHana partments and in college sometimes, we can ing financial assistance. ached her teachers, the col- weak backgrounds mostallofOctober,themon-
(LSR)forWomen. Fathima, Aishwarya’s room- sensethatweareconsiderednotgoodenough. “I never expected that a laptop is very im- lege counsellor, or the ad-
Inherfinalnote,shewro- Aishwarya’s was mateinthehostelatLSR. Peoplethinkstateboardsmarkliberally,which portantasofnow.Butduetoonlineclasses,the ministration for help. feel alienated... How th before her death, with
Varshini,wholivesinatown
te, “I am a burden for my fa- better if not great. It “We were both comple- iswhywegethighmarksinClass12.Butinthe laptop became extremely important to study Hostel warden Ujjayini can administration aroundfourhoursfromhers.
mily.Myeducationisaburd- tely new to Delhi. My Hindi hostel,therearegirlsfromeverywhereandnot 2-practical papers. I don’t have a laptop and I Ray says, “She did not in any “I spent nine days in her
en.IfIcan’tstudy,Ican’tlive.”
didn’t bother her, she was quite weak and I had justelitecityschools.Thoseof usfromsimilar am unable to do practical papers. I am afraid I way communicate... to the
say it wasn’t aware of house in October and then
Her family says she had was confident,” says trouble communicating. backgrounds formed a really tight group and may fail in these papers. Our family is com- hostel seeking an extension her issues,” says a we came to my house. She
beenstressedaboutanotice Aishwarya’s Hindi was bet- the hostel was a safe space for us,” she says. pletely in debt so there is no way to buy a lap- in dates for collecting her
from college asking her to
room-mate Hana ter than mine though not However in March, close to the end of her top... I am not sure whether I will be able to luggage, nor communicate
student union leader waswithustillNovember1.
WecelebratedDussehrato-
vacate her hostel room, and great. But that didn’t bother first year of college, as students returned to complete my graduation due to lack of finan- her financial problems... getherandspentthemonth
herfamilynotbeingabletoaffordalaptopfor her and she spoke with confidence,” she says. their homes because of the nationwide lock- cial support,” she wrote in an e-mail to Sood. Severalstudentshadappliedforanextension, ineachother’scompanysincewehadmetaf-
her to attend online classes. Aishwarya’sfriendstalkofherasthefront- downinresponsetoCovid-19,Aishwarya’slife She further said: “I did not apply for a stu- eachapplicationwasdiscussedandageneral tersomanymonths.Atnopointdidsheshare
Aishwarya’s family first realised the full bencher with a fierce focus on studies, but for upended completely. dent loan (in the bank) because studying in extension given till November 10. Even after thatshewassodistressed.Weevenhadaplan
breadth of her academic potential when she whom the campus and hostel had thrown DelhiUniversitywasnotmyplanfromfirstdue that, extensions have been given to students on how to vacate our hostel rooms — some of
stood first in her school in Class 10 with a 9.5 open a world of possibilities. ■ ■ ■ ongenuinegroundslikecancellationoftrains, us would rent a flat and keep our things there
CGPA. In recognition of her potential and the “Shewasabrilliantstudent.Weusedtosit illness, etc.” After Aishwarya’s death, the col- and since Aishwarya was having a hard time,
family’s financial constraints, she was offered in the first row in almost every class... All our Aishwarya was closest to her father Srini- legehasindefinitelypostponedthehostelva- she needn’t have paid the rent till her issues
freeschoolingattheseniorsecondarylevelby teachers knew her. In our first year, we had a vas.Yet,herlastfewmonthsathomehadbeen cating process. weresorted.Myuncleworksinabankandmy
a private institution in Shadnagar. In Class 12, mathsdepartmentfestivalandshewaspartof filledwitharguments,unspokenguiltandres- The Sunday Express reached out to LSR mother had said she would help her with an
shestoodsecondinthetownwith98.5%.With the organising committee,” says Indu, ignation. Just before the lockdown, Srinivas, Mathematics Department Teacher-in-Charge educationloan..AllthatI’mreadingandhear-
somepushfromherteachersandothersclose Aishwarya’s classmate and one of her closest who worked at a bike-mechanic shop in the MonikaSinghandanotherseniorteacher,Jyoti ing now feels so far removed, so distant, from
to the family, Aishwarya applied for a Bache- friends in college. town, had borrowed money to open his own Darbari, to ask about Aishwarya’s academic our last days together,” she says.
lor’sdegreeinDelhi,hopingthatitwouldbea “She was quite childish and even careless shop.ThelockdownmeantthatSrinivas’sbusi- performanceandwhetherthedepartmenthad On her last night in Varshini’s house, the
boost for her UPSC preparations. sometimes. I remember scolding her once — nessnevertookoff andhiswifeSumathi’stai- beentrackingifanyoftheirstudentshadbeen twogirlshadhadachatwithIndu—whowas
Herhighpercentagesecuredheraseatin we were in an auto in a crowded area and she
the B.Sc. (Honours) Mathematics program- hadher phone almosthanging out.Butwhen
loring work dried up too.
In August, Delhi University began its third
Systemicgaps falling behind with the shift to online mode. at her home in Andhra Pradesh.
However,neitherrespondedtothequeries. “Wehadspokenaboutourpracticalsbutit
meatLSR,thesecondhighest-rankedcollege itcametostudies,shewascompletelyfocused semesterinonlinemode,andAishwarya’scol- At the end of her first year, Aishwarya had was a very optimistic conversation. We had
in the country in 2020, according to the and tidy. She would study day and night dur- lege began conducting classes from morning AISHWARYA’S DEATH points to a CGPA of 7.91. spoken about how we weren’t alone in our
Central government’s National Institutional ing exam season,” says Hana. till 5 in the evening. As a science student, she larger systemic gaps in the univer- AmathematicsteacherinanotherDUcol- problems and that our teachers are under-
Ranking Framework. Even with her focus on studies, it was the also had online practical papers. sity and college set-up with respect legesaidwhilea7.91CGPAwouldnotbeatthe standing and wouldn’t force us with submis-
At the time of her admission, her father hostel which became the centre of her life. Sumathisaysthatoverthelastfewmonths, to students and their wellbeing. In top end of a competitive classroom, it would sions we couldn’t do,” says Indu.
Ganta Srinivas Reddy, a motorcycle mecha- Her friend Varshini recalls how they first Aishwaryahadbeenstressedaboutheronline the weeks and months before her still be considered “good, consistent score”. She now often wonders why Aishwarya
nic, mortgaged their home for Rs 2 lakh to met. She and her parents were in the college classes and not being able to submit her as- death, Aishwarya had sent out sev- Aishwarya’s friends said she appeared to gaveup;shewas,afterall,themostoptimistic
support her education. Today, he has to pay queueatthetimeofadmissionwhenAishwar- signments because she didn’t have a laptop. eral SOS — filled up a college survey, be “satisfied” with her scores. among her friends.
backtheloanwithaninterestof 24.54%atan ya’sfatherheardherfamilyspeakinginTelugu. Besides,shereceivedamessagefromthecolle- in which she was among 95.5% re- While the college has now announced “At the beginning of our first year, there
EMIof Rs4,904tillJuly2026.Aishwarya’s16- He walked over, introduced the two girls and ge hostel authorities asking her to vacate her spondents who said that online somestepstoofferrelief toitsstudents,inclu- weretimeswhenIwouldfeelreallylowbeca-
year-old sister Vaishnavi dropped out of asked Varshini to look after his daughter. Shy roombytheendofOctober.“Shewantedtogo classes were affecting their mental dingmakinghostelroomsavailabletosecond- use of how new everything was to me. But
school after Class 7 to let the family accom- andreticentatthestart,Aishwaryawentonto to Delhi. But we did not have money to afford and physical health, and even re- yearstudentsona‘need’basisandexpediting Aishwarya would be the one who would en-
modate her elder sister’s education. While spend almost all her time in Varshini’s room. her train ticket. How could we have got her a sponded to an offer of help by actor the process of disbursing income-based free- courage me... She would do her best at any-
Reddysayshewouldhavegonetoanyextent “Weusedtospendalotof timeinthehos- laptop?” Sumathi says. Sonu Sood. ship amounts, a teacher at LSR, not among thingshewaspartofandshewasstrong,brave
to support Aishwarya’s studies, the truth is tel. Sometimes we would hang out until late As per LSR hostel’s policy, only first-year Aishwarya’steachers,saidthatoverandabove and joyful.”
 9 OPINION
Across
THEAISLE
PCHIDAMBARAM
Website:pchidambaram.in
Twitter @Pchidambaram_IN
According to Dr Panagariya,
the champions were
P V Narasimha Rao and
A B Vajpayee, and
Mr Narendra Modi belongs
to that league of two while
Dr Manmohan Singh does
not. Most economists of
the world, including
Dr Panagariya’s mentor,
Prof Jagdish Bhagwati,
would be shocked by that
conclusion
inside
TRACK
COOMIKAPOOR
CURIOUS DELAY
THE CITIZENSHIP (Amendment) Act was
passed by Parliament in December last
year with much fanfare, and notified
shortly afterwards amidst protests.
Surprisingly, the government has yet to
frame rules under the Act, although these
have to be issued within six months or
else an extension has to be sought. In
August, the government applied for a
three-month extension, but the rules are
yet to be declared. There are two explana-
tions for the tardiness in implementing
what the ruling party proudly proclaims
as a landmark legislation. The BJP’s polit-
ical opponents fear that the government
wants to bring out the rules during the
WestBengalelectioncampaigntopolarise
the atmosphere. Another reason for drag-
gingfeetonafollow-upcouldbeconcerns
over antagonising friendly neighbour
Bangladesh President Sheikh Hasina. She
has voiced her disapproval of the contro-
versial law. In fact, three Bangladesh min-
isters had cancelled official visits to India
subsequent to the passage of the law.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is sched-
uled to visit Bangladesh on its 50th
anniversaryinMarchnextyearandwould
not want to sour the atmosphere before
his trip.
MISSING JAITLEY
JD(U) members are sorely missing Arun
Jaitley, a long-time supporter of Nitish
Kumar. The friendship of the two men,
along with Sushil Modi, dates back to
their years together in the JP Movement.
In fact, Nitish is the only politician to erect
a statue to commemorate the late
Finance Minister in Patna. The JD(U) reck-
ons that if Jaitley were alive, he would
never have permitted Chirag Paswan to
undercut Nitish so brazenly in order to
strengthen the BJP. Nitish may have been
sworn in as Chief Minister again, but the
vibes between the two allies are far from
amicable. Nitish demonstrated his defi-
ance by insisting on installing his old
friend Mewalal Choudhary as minister,
even though there were corruption cases
against him during his days as vice-chan-
cellor of Bihar Agriculture University.
Now an embarrassed Nitish has had to
suffer a rebuff and been forced to drop
Choudhary following Opposition noises.
If the BJP pushes Nitish too far, his going
the Maharashtra way and sewing up an
alliance with the RJD-led
Mahagathbandhan cannot be completely
ruled out.
‘I would like to play in a stadium full of supporters’
What precautions are you taking?
I am currently in a bio-secure bubble
with my club, Bengaluru FC, in Goa for
the football season. Every precaution
that one can imagine is being taken. We
get tested regularly and have zero con-
tact with anyone from outside the bub-
ble that we have created. We wear masks
at all times, and are doing all the small
and big things right.
Have you got yourself tested for
Covid-19?
Yes, we get tested every three or four
days.Itmightseemratherregular,butthat
isthelevelofprecautionthatisbeingtaken.
Have you had to isolate yourself?
Yes, through the lockdown, and the
pre-season.MywifeandIhavebeenisolat-
ing and taking every possible precaution.
What kind of mask do you use?
Nothing in particular. Just a regular
mask.
Reforms for what — growth or glory?
I WELCOME the manner in which
Professor Arvind Panagariya has joined
the debate on reforms and growth. In
answer to my column Reforms and
Growth (The Indian Express, October 18),
he has penned an article ‘Defending
Modi’s Reforms Record’. I am happy that
he has kept the debate at a scholarly and
civil level.
In my column, I had analysed the five
reformstrumpetedbyMrModi’ssupport-
ers.Ihadconcludedthat“theultimatetest
of a reform is whether it adds to or accel-
eratestherateofgrowthofGDP”.Iwasre-
minding Dr Panagariya of the gold stan-
dard of reforms; I had not “shifted the
goalpost”, as contended by him.
Having crossed that diversion, let me
turn to the meat of Dr Panagariya’s
argument: who delivered most re-
forms? Note the word “most”. According
to Dr Panagariya, the champions were
P V Narasimha Rao and A B Vajpayee,
and Mr Narendra Modi belongs to that
league of two while Dr Manmohan
Singh does not. Most economists of the
world, including Dr Panagariya’s men-
tor, Prof Jagdish Bhagwati, would be
LOSING MORE PERKS
There was a time when many senior
politicians pulled rank and felt they were
entitledtospecialprotocolwhileboarding
an aircraft. They did not stand in queues
for security checks or board the passen-
ger shuttle from the airport to the tarmac.
They were driven down in a separate ve-
hicle. But under the Modi dispensation,
suchspecialprivilegeshavevanished.The
new airport security rules state that even
former SPG protectees, except former
prime ministers, are not exempt. So the
Gandhis,wholostSPGcoverinNovember
last year after 35 years, are required to
stand in a queue and board the aircraft
along with the hoi polloi.
NOT OUT OF ACTION
Because Amit Shah did not campaign
inBiharforasingleday,rumoursabounded
of aserioushealthcondition. Anothersur-
mise was that he apprehended a dismal
outcome for the NDA. Both conjectures
turnedouttobeincorrect.ThetruthisShah
stayed away on doctors’ advice because of
lowimmunityafterthecoronavirusattack.
Shah has now bounced back and attends
the Home Ministry regularly besides su-
pervisingcampaignstrategiesfortheforth-
comingWestBengalandTamilNaduelec-
tions.AsectionoftheBJPwasmisledbythe
Biharexitpollsintoassumingthattheparty
waslosingandpartyspokespersonsatthe
briefing before the poll results were even
given talking points to make on television
incaseofadefeat.Theywereunawarethat
Shah, though not physically present, was
regularly in touch with general secretary
in-charge of Bihar Bhupender Yadav who
carried out his instructions.
LOST ENTHUSIASM
NRI businessman Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar
was missing during the US presidential
campaignthisyear,whereasin2016,Shalli
was a central figure who came to the res-
cue of the Indian government in opening
doors for Indian officials to connect with
the incoming Trump team. Then the MEA
was caught completely off guard as it had
expected Hillary Clinton to win. Kumar,
who formed the Republican Hindu
Coalition, and first came up with “Ab ki
baar Trump Sarkar” was, however, less in-
terested in Trump’s return this time. He
wantedafirmcommitmentfirstonissues
suchasresidencyrightsforgrown-upchil-
dren of long-pending green cardholders,
and over he CAA and Article 370. Shalli,
once the most visible Indian-origin sup-
porter of Trump, was also disillusioned
with the US President’s refusal to endorse
wearing of masks against Covid. In addi-
tion,Shalliseemstohavebeenignoredby
Modi. He was not a visible presence at the
Howdy,Modi!rallyinTexas.WhenTrump
failed to win the electoral college, Kumar
offered no commiserations.
A WEEKLY WINDOW INTO THE LIVES OF INDIA’S NEWSMAKERS AND THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON THEM
On Sunday, Bengaluru FC plays
its inaugural match of the
Indian Super League, which
kicked off on November 20 in
Goa. Through the lockdown
months, club captain SUNIL
CHHETRI, 36 — also captain of
the national football team and
India's all-time-highest goal
scorer — says he has has been
keeping up with training
INTERVIEW BY
AMITAVA CHAKRABORTY
shocked by that conclusion.
Be that as it may, since Dr Panagariya
has used the word “most” — a quanti-
tative measure — we have to list and
count the reforms under each prime
minister. I had already noted the five
reforms that Dr Panagariya attributed
to Mr Modi:
1. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
2. Farm Laws
3. Labour Reforms
4. Reforming Medical Education
5. Liberalising FDI
For some reason, Dr Panagariya
under-emphasised the botched-up GST
and hid the disastrous Demonetisation.
For the sake of completeness, we must
add the two to the five. So, that makes it
seven ‘reforms’.
I shall not, once again, get into the
argument whether ‘Reforming Medical
Education’ by constituting the National
Medical Commission is a ‘reform’ or
whether ‘Liberalising FDI’ can be attrib-
uted solely to Mr Modi as if he allowed
FDI for the first time. Remember, we are
doing a quantitative count, not a quali-
tative assessment. The score is seven.
She
SAID
ALAKA M BASU
alakabasu@gmail.com
IT IS becoming near impossible to parse
language these days. In the past, when
someoneusedaphraseorfigureof speech
that one did not quite understand, one
knew that it was usually one’s own igno-
ranceandnotsomeoneelse’sdeepercon-
spiracy to mislead.
Later,aslanguagebecamemorepoliti-
cised and more opaque, new or unfamil-
iar phrases and figures of speech became
easier to understand not with a diction-
ary, but by association. Thus anyone with
some knowledge of the US knows, for ex-
ample,thatbeing‘pro-life’isnotaboutbe-
ing against war. The term is instead a
shorthand expression used by conserva-
tives to describe their opposition to a
woman’s right to abortion. And ‘pro-
choice’istheself-descriptionof thosewho
believe that a woman has the right to de-
cide on her own reproductive trajectory.
Butwhatdowedonowthatsuchasso-
ciative meanings are no longer clear-cut
either?Whatdowedowhenanallegiance
to ‘democratic principles’ is affirmed by
thosewhobelievethatdemocracymeans
bowing to the will of the majority as well
as by those who believe that democracy
entailsprotectingtherightsof theminori-
ties? All that we can say is that the word
‘democracy’obviouslyhassomeinherent
positive connotation if such opposite po-
sitions want to claim its banner.
I was reminded of this co-opting of
morally or emotionally compelling lan-
guage a few weeks ago upon reading
about the official launch of something
called the ‘Geneva Consensus Declaration
on Promoting Women’s Health and
Strengthening the Family’. My immediate
reaction was a yawn; one more United
Nations Declaration — toothless, even if it
is signed on by most nations of the world,
and bound to be boring, longwinded and
politically correct on top of that.
Thisfirstconclusionwassupportedby
a glazed glance at the document — each
clause and paragraph began with one of a
handful of words over-used in UN
Declarations — reaffirm, emphasise, recog-
nise, ensure, improve and secure, build, ad-
vance, support, engage. What’s not to like
about the UN’s noble intentions and its
difficult, underlying task of usually get-
ting some 150 governments to sign on to
what it sets its mind to — human rights,
HIV and AIDS, universal health coverage,
rights of indigenous peoples, and so on.
But then the bells started to ring. Too
manythingsaboutthisdeclarationdidnot
seem quite right. First, its launch was co-
hosted by an avowed enemy of the UN —
the US government. After all the bad-
My ISOLATION
Illustration: Suvajit Dey
Let me now list and count the re-
forms under Dr Singh as prime minister
(2004-2014). Before you read the list,
here are several caveats. I have left out
reform measures that had run their
course, for example, the Banking Cash
Transaction Tax that had tracked large
withdrawals and deposits of cash. I have
also left out measures like the National
Manufacturing Competitiveness Council
and the Investment Commission that
were very person-centric. Some reform
measures were initiated by the UPA but
are now known by different names, and
they are included. I have followed the
tests of longevity and durability of the
reform measure.
I shall accept the growth rate num-
bers given by Dr Panagariya: Narasimha
Rao 5.1 per cent, Vajpayee 5.9, Dr Singh
7.7 and Mr Modi 6.8. Number-wise, the
record of Dr Singh’s two terms of five
years far exceeds the record of any prime
minister. (To be fair to Dr Singh, many of
the seminal reforms ushered in during
the tenure of Narasimha Rao should also
be attributed to Dr Singh who, as finance
minister, was the real author.)
Reading between the lines
as language is co-opted
mouthingandresource-cuttingof theUN
that President Trump has engaged in, it
seemed very odd that his government
would actually host the launch of a UN
declaration.Secondly,itwassignedbyjust
32 countries — one of the important rea-
sons for the blandness of many UN reso-
lutions is that these documents have to
be greatly watered down to arrive at a
consensus among its 193 member states.
But its most puzzling feature was its
title itself: Promoting Women’s Health
and Strengthening the Family! These —
Women, Health, Family — are all impor-
tant keywords that the UN would not
have any ostensible problems with, at
least at first glance. As a member of the
Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on
Reproductive and Sexual Health and
Rights, I have a special academic as well
as policy interest in these questions, and
so it soon seemed a duty to read this
Declaration more fully. And what an eye-
opener it is — it uses the progressive lan-
guage of the UN and of women’s rights
advocates to press for exactly the oppo-
site. In essence, this document is a call to
increase the restrictions on women’s re-
productive health, mainly on abortion,
and a call to reject any non-conventional
non-heterosexual rights to building and
belonging to a ‘family’.
These are its central propositions,
couched in the unimpeachable language
of human rights and human security and
the family as the ‘natural and fundamen-
tal group unit of society’. The document
alsousesthemoresociallyacceptablelan-
While interacting with people at
work, how do you ensure your safety?
There is a long list of safety protocols
that we follow. Football is a contact sport.
So, on the pitch, it isn’t possible to main-
tain distance like you can in an office job.
However, once off it, we wear our masks
all the time, space ourselves out at team
meals and meetings, and avoid being to-
gether in large numbers in small spaces.
What precautions do you take while
travelling?
I haven’t really travelled anywhere
since the lockdown was announced. I
made trips to Bellary and then Goa in the
team bus. We usually travel in one bus.
But this time, we chose to travel in two so
that we can maintain social distance
when seated.
How much time do you spend in front
of a screen?
I don’t have a number for that. But it’s
rather minimal. I don’t spend too much
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
Here is a severely limited list of
reforms during 2004-2014:
1. VAT, 2. MGNREGA, 3. Aadhaar, 4.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), 5. ‘No
frills’ or ‘Zero Balance’ bank account,
6. Consolidation of Regional Rural
Banks, 7. Right to Education Act,
8. National Rural Health Mission; ASHA,
9. National Urban Renewal Mission,
10. National Horticulture Mission,
11. Weather-based crop insurance,
12. Model law on APMC, 13. National
Skills Development Mission &
Corporation, 14. CENVAT on all goods
and services, 15. Long Term Capital
Gains on securities abolished,
16. Introduction of STT, 17. FDI in retail,
18. Private participation in coal mining,
19. Eliminating subsidies for Petrol &
Diesel, 20. Gender Budget,
21. Demutualisation of stock exchanges,
22. PFRDA Act, 23. Companies Act,
24. National Food Security Act, 25. Right
to Fair Compensation(LARR) Act,
26. Forest Rights Act.
“Ididreforms”isforself-glorification.
“My reforms brought growth” is for the
peopleandforposterity.Youbethejudge.
Illustration: Suvajit Dey
guage of ‘equal rights of men and women
to all civil and political rights’.
The central regressive slant of the
Declaration explains boththesmall num-
ber of its signatories and their question-
ablerecordof protectingthereproductive
rights of women or the human rights of
sexual minorities — in addition to the US,
the list includes Hungary, Brazil,
Indonesia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Uganda and Zambia. Poland recently fur-
ther tighteneditsalreadyrestrictiveabor-
tion laws. Within the US, President-elect
Joe Biden will have to press hard to sup-
press similar initiatives.
Other governments with very differ-
ent agendas can also feel more embold-
ened by such smart ‘moral’ messaging to
pushdifferentformsof intrusionsintothe
private lives of individuals. Using the lan-
guage of altruism, we already have wait-
ing parliamentary Billsabouttheneed for
‘population control’ in India, even as we
alsohavethe morenakedassertionbyex-
tra-parliamentary members that it is in
fact the reproductive rights of certain
groups that should be suppressed.
Bysprinklingtheirdocumentwiththe
words, phrases and sentences long con-
sidered the preserve of socially advanced
groups, the signatories of this Geneva
Declarationcannowclaimthemoralhigh
ground. For we are all human rightists
now. Haven’t we just said so?
The writer is Professor, Cornell University.
National Editor Shalini Langer curates
the fortnightly ‘She Said’ column
time on my phone, laptop or television.
However, I do occasionally watch
documentaries and shows on streaming
platforms.
How do you keep your mind off the
pandemic?
Training and resting takes up most of
my time. I like my fair share of board
games. I have also been catching up on a
lot of reading too.
What is the first thing you want to do
when the pandemic is past?
I would like to play in a stadium full of
supporters in Bengaluru or with the na-
tional team — whichever comes first.
Since the un-lockdown, what have
you been doing?
We were moving closer to the season.
I was spending most of the time training
hard and resting as much as I could.
Football and fitness aside, I have been
playing a lot of Ludo.
Fifth
COLUMN
TAVLEENSINGH
Twitter@tavleen_singh
Dangerous
dog whistles
WE HEARD two political dog whistles last
week. Both ugly and both dangerous but
the one from the Home Minister more so,
because he has the capacity to do more
harm than the former Chief Minister of
theformerstateof Jammu&Kashmir.The
first murmurings of political activity in
Kashmir since the revocation of Article
370 have just begun with district-level
elections. And, it is possible that this is
what provoked the dog whistles.
The first came from Amit Shah who
tooktoTwittertodeclarethatthe‘Gupkar
Gang’ was trying to invite foreign powers
to interfere in the Valley’s politics. What
hesaidwaswrongonseverallevels.Itwas
wrong for the Home Minister to describe
a coalition of Kashmiri political parties as
a ‘gang’. It was wrong for him to diminish
thehighofficehe holdsbyspeakingin the
language of a streetfighter. And, it was
wrong for him to indicate to his Hindutva
base that in the view of the Government
of India these Kashmiri political parties
were all acting against the interests of
India, thereby ‘anti-national’. Within
hours of his tweets, the BJP’s more ven-
omous spokesmen popped up on prime-
time talk shows to hurl invectives at the
‘Gupkar Gang’ and to charge them with
that ultimate term of Hindutva abuse,
‘Pakistani, Pakistani’.
Mehbooba Mufti’s dog whistle came
when she told the Kashmiri people about
a plot to settle ‘outsiders’ on land that be-
longed to Kashmiri nomads. It was a sig-
nal that since her release she has thrown
in her lot with the Islamic fundamental-
ists and the jihadi terrorists who have
collaborated to bring ruinous, religious
changes in the Valley in the past 30 years.
Mehbooba seems to have forgotten that
until just the other day she headed a gov-
ernment that was a coalition with the
BJP. Her political statements are all dog
whistles. After being released from 18
months of house arrest she said that the
Indian flag would only be allowed in
Kashmir when “we get our own flag
back”. What she has not noticed is that
it is exactly this kind of language that the
BJP’s Hindutva base wants to hear so that
they can make all political battles in India
about ‘nationalism’.
Speaking of which, I recently read
Shashi Tharoor’s new book, The Battle of
Belonging, and found that the most inter-
esting thing about it was the distinction
hemakesbetweenpatriotismandnation-
alism. And, how ‘nationalism’ is being
usedbytheBJPanditsHindutvafollowers
to make a distinction between those they
consider India’s real citizens and those
they consider lesser citizens because they
do not meet their definition of ‘national-
ism’. It is assumed that the decision to de-
cide someone’s ‘nationalism’ remains in
the hands of those who believe that ag-
gressiveHindutvaqualifiestheminstantly
to win their nationalism badge.
So when Anurag Thakur, a minister in
Modi’s government, uses an ugly slogan
that says ‘traitors should be shot’, he
passes his ‘nationalism’ test with flying
colours. But when at the same time
Muslim women, afraid of losing their
right to be Indian, gather for days with
the Constitution held high, to protest
against the amendment to the citizen-
ship law, they are labelled ‘traitors and
Pakistanis’. This happened, please re-
member, after a dog whistle from the
Home Minister. The minute he declared
that (Hindu) voters should push the but-
ton so hard on the EVM (electronic vot-
ing machine) that the ‘current’ would be
felt in Shaheen Bagh, his acolytes in the
media and his party spokesmen wasted
not a moment in declaring the women of
Shaheen Bagh ‘Pakistanis’.
Is it any wonder that in Modi’s India
dissidence is being seen as sedition? Is it
any wonder that journalists writing
against government policies are being la-
belled Congress party ‘durbaris’? Is it any
wonder that in the eyes of the world India
is now being seen as descending into illib-
eralism? Personally, I believe that we
have not got there yet but as someone
who remembers well the halcyon days
when we were a truly liberal democracy,
I can see how much things have changed,
and the changes are worrying. It is time
for Modi and his ‘gang’ to realise that it is
the patriotic duty of those who love India
to speak out when they see signs of illib-
eralism. It is the patriotic duty of judges
who are brave enough to speak the truth
to speak out about the pressures they in-
creasingly endure. It is the patriotic duty
of journalists to speak out against poli-
cies that they consider harmful to India.
The Prime Minister and his Home
Minister have recently declared that they
believe in a ‘free press’, so we have sanc-
tion from the top.
Truepatriotsalwaysshowthecourage
to speak out when they see something
wrong. As someone who considers my-
self a true patriot, I would like to end by
saying that I believethatourlevel of polit-
icaldiscourse hasdescendedto dogwhis-
tles that incite the worst emotions in the
worst people in India. When it comes to
dog whistles it is true to say that both
HinduandMuslim‘leaders’areguilty.But,
it is those who hold high office in Modi’s
government who have the highest plat-
forms and the loudest whistles, so they
need to show the highest responsibility.
Sadly this is what we do not see yet.

10 THE WORLD
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
TOPOFTHE
WORLD
Kyle Rittenhouse at
court. Reuters
USA
Teenchargedin
Kenoshashootings
releasedon
$2millionbond
KYLE RITTENHOUSE, the
teenager charged with fa-
tallyshootingtwomenand
wounding a third at a
demonstration in Kenosha,
Wisconsin,wasreleasedon
Fridayona$2millionbond,
a spokesman for the
Kenosha County Sheriff’s
Department said. The
teenagerwasfreedafterhis
attorneys posted the bond
for murder and other
chargesstemmingfromthe
Aug25shootings.Itwasun-
clear where the money
camefrombuthisattorneys
had led a drive to raise
money from donations.
Rittenhouse, 17, is accused
of shooting people at a
protest following the fatal
shooting of Jacob Blake by
policedaysearlier. REUTERS
USA
8injuredin
Wisconsin
mallshooting
POLICE SEARCHED Friday
eveningforthesuspectina
shooting at a suburban
Milwaukee mall that left
seven adults and a
teenager injured.
Wauwatosa Police Chief
Barry Weber gave no mo-
tive for the attack at the
Mayfair Mall. He said the
extentoftheeightvictims’
injurieswasunknown,but
all were alive. He added
that the shooter was “no
longeratthescene”when
authorities arrived.
“Preliminary statements
from witnesses indicate
that the shooter is a white
male in his 20s or 30s,”
Weber said. AP
LEBANON
5prisonersdie
following
massjailbreak
FIVE ESCAPING prisoners
died on Saturday when
their car hit a tree after
more than 60 detainees
broke out of a Lebanese
detention centre outside
the capital Beirut,
Lebanon’s Internal
SecurityForces(ISF)saidin
astatement.TheISFstate-
ment did not say how the
69 prisoners had escaped
from the facility, which a
security source said holds
pre-trial detainees and is
part of Baabda district
prisonnearBeirut.TheISF
said15prisonershadbeen
caught while four others
turnedthemselvesin.The
car crash in which the five
died was described as an
accident. REUTERS
THROUGH OVER 4 DOZEN BOOKS, SHE EXPLORED FOREIGN LANDS, HER OWN BRITAIN AND HER EXPERIENCE AS A TRANSGENDER WOMAN
Jan Morris, celebrated journalist, travel writer and historian, dies at 94
JONATHAN KANDELL
NOVEMBER 21
JAN MORRIS, the acclaimed
British journalist, travel writer
and historian who wrote about
history’s sweep and the details
of place with equal eloquence
andchronicledherlifeasatrans-
gender woman, died on Friday
in Wales. She was 94.
Her son Twm Morys said in
anemailthatshediedinahospi-
tal near the village of
Llanystumdwy, where she lived.
He did not give the cause.
As James Morris she was a
BRAZIL: VIOLENCE ERUPTS AFTER MAN KILLED AT STORE
Morethan 1,000demonstratorsattackedaCarrefourBrasilsupermarketinthesouthernBraziliancityof PortoAlegreonFriday
aftersecurityguardsbeattodeathaBlackmanatthestore.Thekilling,whichhas sparkedprotestsacrossBrazil,occurredlate on
Thursdaywhenastoreemployeecalledsecurityafterthemanthreatened toattackher,cable news channel GloboNewssaid,
citingtheRioGrandedoSulstatemilitarypolice. Amateurfootageof thefatalbeatingandtributestothe Blackvictimwere
publishedonsocialmedia.Hewasidentifiedinlocalmediabyhisfatheras40-year-oldJoaoAlbertoSilveiraFreitas. Reuters
Rockets hit Kabul, at least 8 killed, 31 injured
REUTERS
KABUL, NOVEMBER 21
SEVERAL ROCKETS hit residen-
tial areas in the early rush hour
in the Afghan capital Kabul on
Saturday, killing at least eight
civilians and wounding 31, po-
lice officials said.
Theexplosions,somecloseto
the diplomatic enclave, sent
warningsirensblaringfromem-
bassies and it comes two days
beforeamajordonorconference
for Afghanistan in Geneva.
TariqArian,spokesmanforthe
Ministry of Interior, said at least
eight civilians had been killed in
the attack and 31 wounded. A
Tibetan political leader Ethiopia rejects African
visits White House for mediation, pushes toward
first time in six decades rebel-held Tigray capital
REUTERS
SHANGHAI, NOVEMBER 21
THE HEAD of the Tibetan gov-
ernment in exile has visited the
USWhiteHouseforthefirsttime
in sixdecades,amovethatcould
further infuriate Beijing, which
has accused the United States of
trying to destabilise the region.
Lobsang Sangay, President of
the Central Tibetan
Administration (CTA), was in-
vitedtotheWhiteHousetomeet
the newlyappointed U.S. Special
Coordinator for Tibetan Issues,
RobertDestro,onFriday,theCTA
said in a press release.
“This unprecedented meet-
ingperhapswillsetanoptimistic
tone for CTA participation with
US officials and be more for-
malised in the coming years,”
said the CTA, which is based in
India’s Dharamshala.
Tibet has become one of the
areas of dispute between the
UnitedStatesandChina,withre-
lations between the world’s two
biggest economies at their low-
est point in decades.
US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo accused Beijing in July
of violating Tibetan human
rights andsaidWashingtonsup-
militaryofficerinoneof Britain’s
most renowned cavalry regi-
mentsandthenadaringjournal-
ist who climbed three-quarters
of the way up Mount Everest for
an exclusive series of dispatches
from the first conquest of that
mountain, the world’s highest.
Shecontinuedabrilliantwrit-
ing career with reports on wars
and revolutions from a score of
countries, and with much-ad-
mired books like Pax Britannica,
thefirstofathree-volumehistory
of the British Empire. Morris also
married and had five children.
But she became increasingly
despondent over the issue of
Afghan security personnel check a vehicle destroyed in the
rocket attack in Kabul on Saturday. AP
health ministry official said five
bodiesand21injuredweretaken
to the hospital from the incident.
Lobsang Sangay, President
of the Central Tibetan
Administration. Reuters file
ported “meaningful autonomy”
for the region.
Beijingofficialshavesinceac-
cused the United States of using
Tibet to try to promote “split-
tism” in China. Chinahas also re-
fused to engage with Destro.
China seized control over
Tibet in 1950 in what it de-
scribedasa“peacefulliberation”
that helped it throw off its “feu-
dalist past”, but critics led by the
exiled spiritual leader the Dalai
Lama say Beijing’s rule amounts
to “cultural genocide”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
saidinAugustthatChinaneeded
to build an “impregnable
fortress” in Tibet in order to pro-
tect national unity. REUTERS
gender identity. At age 46, she
underwent transition surgery,
explaining the reasoning in a
well-received 1974 memoir,
Conundrum, which was written
twoyearsaftertheoperationun-
der a new byline, Jan Morris.
“I was three or perhaps four
years old when I realised that I
had been born into the wrong
body,andshouldreallybeagirl,”
the book began, a riveting narra-
tive of being transgender, which
was misunderstood at the time
and rarely discussed.
“I thought of public success
itself, I suppose, as part of male-
ness, and I deliberately turned
Arian said “terrorists”
mounted 14 rockets in a small
truck and set them off, adding
REUTERS
NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA,
NOVEMBER 21
THEETHIOPIAN government re-
buffed an African effort to medi-
ateonSaturday,saying itstroops
had seized anothertown in their
march towards the rebel-held
capitalof northernTigrayregion.
More than two weeks into
PrimeMinisterAbiyAhmed’sof-
fensive, the government says
Tigrayan forces are bulldozing
roads and destroyed bridges to
hold up the advance on regional
capital Mekelle, home to about
Protests across France against Bill on police images
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS, NOVEMBER 21
RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS and
journalists organisations staged
street protests in Paris and other
FrenchcitiesonSaturdayagainst
a security Bill that they say
would be a violation of the free-
dom of information.
The proposed measure
would create a new criminal of-
my back on it, as I set my face
against manhood,” she wrote.
Inall,Morriswrotesomefour
dozen books. Among the best-
known early titles were The
Hashemite Kings (1959) and
that an investigation is going on
to find out how the vehiclecame
inside the city.
Some residents filmed the
rockets being fired and posted
them on social media. Several
pictures circulating on Facebook
showeddamagedcars,shattered
windows and holes in residen-
tial homes.
A picture of a young brother
and sister, whom officials said
were killed in their home, was
widely shared on Facebook.
One of the rockets landed in
the vicinity of the Iranian em-
bassy and several fragments hit
themainbuildingbuttherewere
no casualties among the staff,
the embassy said in a statement.
half a million people.
Hundreds,possiblythousands,
have died and more than 30,000
refugees have fled to Sudan since
theconflicteruptedonNov.4.The
fightinghasspreadbeyondTigray,
whoseforceshavefiredrocketsat
theneighbouringnationofEritrea,
spurringconcernof awiderwar.
On Friday, the African Union
blocappointedformerpresidents
ofMozambique,LiberiaandSouth
Africa as special envoys to seek a
ceasefireandmediationtalks.But
Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace
Prizelastyearforapeacepactwith
Eritrea, aims to capture Tigray
leadersbeforeholdingtalks.
fenseof publishingimagesof po-
lice officers with intent to cause
them harm.
The government has said it is
intendedtoprotectpoliceofficers
from online calls for violence.
Critics fear that, if enacted, the
measure would endanger jour-
nalistsandotherswhotakevideos
ofofficersatwork,especiallydur-
ing violent demonstrations.
Saturday’sprotestswerecalled
by Reporters without Borders,
Jan Morris
in Wales in
2018. NYT
Heaven’s Command: An Imperial
Progress (1973).
In a 1957 review of Islam
Inflamed: A Middle East Picture,
Phoebe-Lou Adams of The
Atlantic wrote that Morris’ “de-
Georgia,Michigandeliver
blowstoTrumpbidto
reverseelectionresults
Georgia is first contested state to certify Biden as winner;
Michigan GOP lawmakers say no reason to alter outcome
RICHARD FAUSSET,
NICK CORASANITI &
MAGGIE HABERMAN
ATLANTA, NOVEMBER 21
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s
attempt to undo the election re-
sults was undercut twice by fel-
low Republicans on Friday, as
Georgia became the first con-
tested state to certify Joe Biden’s
victory and Michigan lawmak-
ers — after meeting with the
president — said they would not
interveneintheirstate’selection
certification process.
After complaints by Trump
abouttheGeorgiavotecountand
a methodical hand recount,
Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad
Raffensperger, declared Friday, “I
live by the motto that numbers
don’tlie,”andmadeofficialthefi-
nal tally showing Biden had de-
feated Trump by 12,670 votes.
Hours later, a delegation of
seven Michigan Republicans,
who had met with Trump at the
White House at his request, said
they had no information “that
would change the outcome of
the election in Michigan.” Biden
beatTrumpinthestatebynearly
3 percentage points.
“We will follow the law and
followthenormalprocessregard-
ingMichigan’selectors,justaswe
have said throughout this elec-
tion,” the state’s top two
Republicanleaderssaidinastate-
mentissuedbythelegislature.
“Thecandidateswhowinthe
Twitter to hand
over @POTUS
account to Biden
on January 20
Los Angeles: Twitter will hand
control of the @POTUS account
to US president-elect Joe Biden
the moment he is sworn in on
January 20, even if President
Donald Trump has not con-
ceded, the company has said.
The @POTUS account is the
official account of the President
of the United States and is sepa-
ratefromthe@realDonaldTrump
accountthatTrumpusestotweet.
Biden, 78, will be the46th US
President when he is sworn in.
The handover requires no
sharing of information between
the outgoing Trump team and
the incoming Biden team,
Twitter said, adding that all ex-
isting tweets on those accounts
will be archived and Twitter will
transfer the accounts — reset to
zerotweets—totheBidenWhite
House that day. PTI
At a protest in Paris on
Saturday. Reuters
scriptions of cities and country-
sides are equally vivid” and that
her writing conveyed “the emo-
tional tone of a place as sharply
as its shape and colour”.
Venice (1960) won Britain’s
prestigiousHeinemannAwardfor
Literature.InTheNewYorkTimes
BookReview,Italian authorCarlo
Beuf called the book “one of the
most satisfactory and delightful
works on the City of the Lagoons
to appear in recent years.”
MorriswasbornonOctober2,
1926, in Clevedon, a town in
Somerset, England. Her father,
Walter, was gassed during World
War I and died when Morris was
During a recount of ballots in Atlanta, Georgia, last week. NYT
Latest bid running out of steam
WITHBALLOTrecounts
andlawsuitshavingso
farfailedtohelpTrump
reverseresultsinanyof
thecrucialstates,the
President’slatestplan,
accordingtoreports,istotryto
getRepublicanmembersof
boardsthatcertifyresultsin
statestostallthecertification,
sothateventuallythestateleg-
islaturewillhavetostepinand
appointtheirrepresentativesto
most votes win elections and
Michigan’s electoral votes,” the
statement said. Trump’s out-
reach to state Republicans amid
the ongoing vote certification
process was condemned by
Democratsasadangerousintru-
sion into the election process.
Though Trump has tried
mightilytostymietheprocess,his
failure to bend lawmakers in
Donald Trump Jr tests
positive for coronavirus
MAGGIE HABERMAN
NOVEMBER 21
DONALD TRUMP Jr, the US
President’s son, tested positive
forthecoronaviruslastweekand
hasbeenisolatingsinceMonday,
a spokesman said on Friday.
He added that Trump Jr has
shown no symptoms and is fol-
lowing virus protocols.
Trump Jr is the latest person
close to the President who has
tested positive for Covid-19.
Barron Trump, the President’s
youngestson,testedpositivelast
month. Melania Trump, the first
lady, also tested positive in
October. In July, Trump Jr’s girl-
friend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, had
tested positive for the virus.
President Trump tested posi-
tive for the virus in October and
washospitalisedashissymptoms
worsened. The President under-
AmnestyInternationalFrance,the
HumanRightsLeague,journalists’
unionsandothergroups.
The Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human
Rights and France’s human
rights ombudsman have also
voiced concerns this week over
risks that the measure would
undermine fundamental rights.
In response to the criticism,
Prime Minister Jean Castex an-
nounced Thursday an amend-
12.Hermother,EnidPayne,wasa
concert pianist.
After joining The Times of
London,shebecomearovingcor-
respondentinEurope,theMiddle
EastandtheUS.Butitwashercov-
erage of the first ascent of Mount
Everestin1953thatestablisheda
reputation as one of the shining
journalists of a generation.
The Times secured the exclu-
siverightstocovertheEverestex-
pedition, which was led by Sir
Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand
explorer, and Tenzing Norgay, a
Sherpa guide from Nepal, and
picked Morris to join the team.
Filing dispatches by using
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
theElectoralCollege.Key
statessuchas
Pennsylvania,Georgia,
MichiganandWisconsin
haveRepublican-con-
trolledlegislatures,so
Trumphopestheywouldselect
electorswhowouldbackhim.
Buthehasalreadyfacedset-
backstothisplan,withGeorgia
alreadycertifyingBiden’swin,
andMichiganlawmakerssay-
ingtheywillnotintervene.
Georgia and Michigan to his will
signalsavanishingpathforhisef-
forts to subvert the election sys-
tem. Georgia’s certification is the
leading edge of a series of battle-
grounds that over the next five
dayscouldofficiallydeclareBiden
the winner, with Michigan and
Pennsylvania facing a deadline of
MondayandNevadascheduledto
certify Tuesday. NYT
Donald Trump Jr
wentaseriesofinvasivetherapies
typically reserved for people se-
riously sick with Covid-19.
Afteranexposuretothevirus,
symptomscantakeupto14days
to appear, if they ever appear at
all. In that time, the virus can still
spread from person to person.
Inrecentmonths,TrumpJrhas
questionedtheseriousnessof the
pandemic,sayingthatsincedeaths
fromthevirushaddroppedto“al-
most nothing” the outbreak was
under control. That day deaths in
theUStopped1,000. NYT
ment to the measure in order to
specifythatit“won’timpedethe
freedom of information” and
that it would focus only on im-
ages broadcast with “clear” in-
tent to harm a police officer.
Offenders would face a max-
imum penalty of up to one year
inprisonanda45,000-eurofine.
Lawmakers are scheduled to
vote Tuesday on the Bill, which
alsoincludesothersecuritymeas-
ures. It will then go to the Senate.
guides as relays between the ex-
pedition’s overnight camps and
the city of Kathmandu in Nepal,
shewroteof deepsnowdragging
at the explorers’ feet, sweat trick-
ling down their backs, their faces
burning from cold, ice and wind.
But Morris stopped short of the
summit, allowing the expedition
leaders to claim the limelight.
“I think for sheer exuberance
thebestdayofmylifewasmylast
on Everest,” she wrote. “The
mountainhadbeenclimbed,and
Ihadalreadybegunmyracedown
the glacier toward Katmandu,
leaving the expedition to pack its
gear behind me.” NYT

THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT
Miracle Worker
Director Atanu Ghosh remembers the late actor
Soumitra Chatterjee and how he represented the
best in Bengali cinema
Break the Mould
Unlike many other megacities in
the world, in Delhi, one is
always a creature of habit and
limited imagination
Monica Narula
SOMETIMES, I go cycling with a 13-year-old. The roads are
uneven but empty these days, especially if we manage to get
out early enough. Will the scent of the shaitaan bloom be
able to pierce our masks? It’s coming to that time of the year.
The trees are green and we are able to feel the gentle slide of
the seasons. Our cycling path remains meandering as we
have no special place to head towards. Delhi, unlike other
cities, does not have a spot from which to soak in the pleni-
tude of life — unlike Istanbul, Kolkata or London with a sea to
look at or a bridge view to see a living river. You are always fi-
nite in Delhi. Probably the reason why people seem so trou-
bled by the monsoon, as, for those few days, the disruption
feels large and beyond our everyday.
EXPRESSARCHIVE
INFINITY IN MULTITUDES
Anti-CAA/NRC protest at Shaheen Bagh earlier this year
Delhi offers us modular living: moving between known
spaces and faces. It does not easily afford an encounter with a
stranger. For that alone, Mumbai is the best city. In Delhi, it is
withinourlattice-likestructureof livingthatwehavetobuild
oursecurity,andourexuberance.Doesthisformoflivinglimit
ourworldandhamperourimaginations?Doesitmakeusde-
pendonknownwaysof relatingandframingpeople,within-
culcated habits policing the borders of the social?
I have sensed an elated bewilderment in the eyes of my
young companion, twice. The first was when she entered the
NehrustadiumtoseetheUnder-17WorldCupfootballandthe
roar and friendly crowd brought out an understanding of the
unknown power of collective life. The second time was when
sheencounteredhundredsofwomensittinginShaheenBagh;
silentandlisteningtodistantspeakers,undertheveilof anen-
velopingyellowfog.Bothofthesemadethecitybreakitsworld,
andgatheraforceofpossiblefuturesoutofthecountoftheday.
I look up from my balcony at Venus, with its possible sign
oflife.Ilookbackatmycity:Delhineedstocelebrateitscrowds,
as an admission of infinitude within the finite count of living.
MonicaNarulaisco-founder,RaqsMediaCollective
eye
NOVEMBER 22, 2020 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 11
Open City
Public life, as we knew it, has come to an unprecedented standstill.
A historian, a social scientist and an artist reimagine form
and functionality in the cities that nurture us
Janaki Nair
P
UBLIC LIFE, as we knew it, has
come to an unprecedented
standstill, and private life has
been intensified to the point of
tyranny, due to the current
health emergency. Even the
lines that radically divided unpaid domestic
labour from “work for wages”, usually out-
side the home (though only for some
classes), have been dramatically redrawn.
Whatbettermomenttocriticallyre-examine
and reimagine private life and domesticity,
and also reassert the claims of women to
public space?
To start with, how do women navigate a
predominantly “man-made” environment,
both within and outside the home — itself
surprising, given that women architecture
students outnumber men in contemporary
India, though fewer women practise archi-
tecture. How can architects, planners and
environmental experts be made to collabo-
rate in ways that extend respect to the lived
experiences, and the challenges faced by
women, here not to be understood as a ho-
mogenous whole?
Perhaps, this is an appropriate moment
to engage in a reverie about new ways of liv-
ing in cities. Let’s begin by returning to the
dreams of 19th and early 20th century
utopian thinkers — bourgeois dreamers no
doubt —who reconceptualised domestic life
and space. The main aim was to reduce the
repetitive drudgeries of household labour:
whowishedtoproduceapproximately1,095
meals per year, in addition to planning and
cleaning up after that?
So the answer of some utopian planners
of the US, such as Marie Howland in the
1870s, and Alice Constance Austin in the
1890s, was to socialise domestic work, and
collectivise laundry, cooking, and childcare.
This involved the design of “kitchenless”
houses, though food consumption still re-
mained a privatised affair. Freeing women
for a more public life was only an implicit
goal,sincethedesignsdidnotnecessarilyre-
set gender relations, or assign a greater role
for men in domestic life. Women remained
principally housewives, though with fewer
A FINE
BALANCE
The claims of women
to public space
responsibilities. Some thinkers even ab-
horred those women who looked for a ca-
reer outside. Even the left-oriented Bauhaus
architects of the early 20th century aimed
for greater efficiency in housework, by de-
ploying the principles of scientific manage-
ment to increase the efficiency of the house-
hold through the use of more domestic
appliances, but only in order to free women
for their roles as spouses and mothers.
In other cases, women moved from be-
ing passive clients to active agents, though
in a low-key, understated way: “Vrouwen
Adviescomissies” (VACs) were begun in the
immediatepostwaryearsintheNetherlands
(in the 1940s and continue to the present
day) when there was a serious housing
shortage.Publicprovisioningof housingwas
not just for the working class or the urban
poor but for the middle class as well. The
VACs suggested changes to plans that were
not envisaged by (usually) male builders,
“walking” through plans, cutting up and re-
arrangingthemfrommorepracticalpointsof
use, to the elderly, the physically challenged,
the single woman. These, too, were largely
non-feministinterventions,asearchforprac-
tical conveniences within closely guarded
domestic spaces.
Utopianideals,meanwhile,changeddra-
matically as a result of the war and revolu-
tion, which brought huge numbers of hith-
erto closeted women out of their homes to
workinindustry/fields/munitionfactories,if
only temporarily. Ideas about collectivising
housework tookstronger rootonly in theso-
cialistworld,wherethe(statesupportfor)so-
cialisationof houseworkwastiedtotheeven-
tual“witheringaway”of thefamily,especially
in the 1920s. Collective kitchens and crèches
● Review of Arun Shourie’s Preparing For Death
● Review of John Zubryzcki’s The House of Jaipur: The
Inside Story of India’s Most Glamorous Royal Family
● Interview with Women’s Prize winner
were daring ideas in their time, and women
were fully a part of the workforce. But the
ZhenotdelorWomen’sBureau(thewomen’s
department of the Secretariat of the Central
Committee of the All-Russian Communist
Party) was abolished in 1930 when Joseph
Stalin declared that the women’s question
hadbeen“answered”(insomeaccounts,be-
causethepotatopeelerhadbeeninvented!).
In its place came an organisation of “activist
wives”, who now performed what was
largely an extension of housekeeping in the
public sphere: checking the cleanliness of
hostels, beautifying gardens, supervising
crèches. Women in Residents’ Welfare
AssociationsinIndiatodaylikewiseplayadis-
proportionate role as “social housekeepers”,
extending their skills at home to the life of
neighbourhoods,thoughwithinaframework
of enclaved democracy.
Housing design in the modern city is in-
creasinglybeinghomogenised,drivenexclu-
sively by real estate concerns, rather than by
aesthetics,socialjustice,orgainingequalpub-
licaccess,leavealonetheachievementof rel-
ativegenderequality.Housingneedsof single
women, childless couples, the elderly or the
homeworker(saythebeediroller)rarelyim-
pinge on planning imaginations, for whom
all solutions may be scaled as “BHKs”.
It is no indulgence, therefore, to return to
that earlier generation of dreamers who
were concerned about reducing the monot-
onyanddrudgeryof housework.Sometimes,
they proposed simple solutions, such as
round rooms (which had no dust-gathering
corners) or at least rounded room edges.
Given our entrenched inequalities, we will
have to look hard at spaces and temporali-
ties,wellbeyondtheprivate/daytime,togen-
eratea“goodcityform”.Theunfinishedproj-
ect, which took shape following the
nationwide outcry against the December
2012 gangrape and murder, and continues
to generate only the rather tame demand for
better-lit roads, must be revived. The water
pumps, the footpaths, the public toilets, the
street corners, in addition to parks, places of
worship and recreational spaces, must all be
part of the new reverie.
JanakiNairisretiredprofessor,history,Jawaharlal
NehruUniversity,NewDelhi
BOOKS
Maggie O’ Farrell
ILLUSTRATION:SUVAJITDEY
Room for Us All
A reimagination of cities will
require the collective
involvement of the people whose
needs it should represent
Manju Menon
INJULY2018,about100Delhiresidents—children,shopkeep-
ers, professionals, auto drivers, among them — stood on the
AfricaAvenuepavementeveryevening,protestingagainstthe
National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd and Urban
Ministry’s massive redevelopment project that would turn
seven green, residential areas into high-rise apartment and
commercial complexes. The project, spread over 570 acres,
originally intended to raze all existing buildings and over
16,000treestotheground.Onecommonconcernwaswhere
do we take our grievances about what the city is becoming.
MostIndiancitiesarebeingbroughtdowntorebuildthem.
Thewordsmostfrequentlyusedtodescribetoday’surbandy-
namicsarerestructuring,renewalandredevelopment.Ourcity
plansleaveouttheverypeoplewhomakethecity.Thepresent
systemof urbanplanninghasverylittletooffertothepoorest,
working-class city residents. Cities have also been acutely ex-
periencingtheeffectsofenvironmentalmal-governance.There
is a public environmental disaster for every season and cities
face them more frequently and for longer periods. So, how do
we engage with the remaking of our cities? Urbanisation can-
not be in denial of ecology and our social realities and hierar-
chies.This calls fornuance andacareful understanding of var-
ious experiences to collectively imagine whose needs a city
should cater to and what values it should reflect.
Unfortunately,oururban-planningprocessesoffernosuch
platforms.Itishypertechnical,meanttodisempoweranddis-
suade ordinary citizens from getting involved in the business
of“regulatinglanduse”.Thisisstrictlythedomainofthepow-
erful and privileged experts who approach urban space as an
economicresourceintheirhandstomonetiseatwill.Mostur-
banregulatorybodiesconstitutegovernmentdepartmentsor
agenciesthatapprovetheirownprojects.Theapprovalmech-
anismshavenoarticulationof thecity’srelationshiptonature.
There is little hope of any good outcomes until these bodies
are revamped to be more inclusive and transparent.
Theenvironmentallawsandregulationsthatapplytocities
are outmoded and complicit in creating urban forms that are
unliveable unless cities appropriate food, water sources and
leisure spaces or “second homes” further away to sustain life
incities.Environmentalapprovalstoreal-estateandconstruc-
tion companies come easy. Because of badly-planned, large
landscapeprojects,citiesareproducingquick-fixsolutionsthat
can be counterproductive to public health. The smog towers
and the “waste to energy” incineration plants came through
top-down environmental interventions, involving courts, as
solutions to air pollution and waste accumulation. Such reac-
tivemanagementcreatesabacklashagainstlawsmeanttopro-
tectpublicinterest.Thecollectiverebuildingof citiesneedsin-
clusive forums for decision-making. Urban regulatory bodies
willhavetoshedtheirauthoritariantop-downplanningmech-
anisms if cities have to be co-designed as habitats for all.
ManjuMenonisasocialscientistandwritesonurbanissuesand
environmentalpolicies
 EYE, THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER 22, 2020 S P O T L I G H T 12

DOWN IN
JUNGLELAND
RanjitLal
Ranjit Lal is an author,
environmentalist and
bird watcher

All Eggs in
One Basket
Dark or light, round or oval, every

CHASING LIGHT After months of relative isolation, a rejuvenating trek

bird egg serves a unique purpose

W
HILE WE’RE all sourced from eggs, some
moms in the animal kingdom prefer to
keep their eggs outside their bodies.
Which, I think, may be a really good idea.
Think of the advantages: you can lay as many as you wish;
if some get broken or are diseased, they can be replaced
in Uttarakhand’s mountains without affecting the mother’s health. Egg-laying moms
have a range, too: from the bindaas moms (in the insect
and piscine worlds) who lay thousands of eggs and forget
PHOTOS:SHYAMSARAN about them, to birds who assiduously incubate their eggs,
Shyam Saran fields of coarse grains, potatoes and mustard, vanced from sunrise to sunset, myriad hues keeping them at exactly the right temperature until they
with cattle and sheep grazing along hillsides. mantledtheChaukhamba—mountainoffour hatch, and insect moms (wasps), who lay their eggs on

A
Our first day’s trek was short but a steep pillars—whoseviewscommandedourcamp. anesthetised caterpillars or small arachnids so their ba-
FTER MONTHS of being hun- ascent. We moved from a zone of subtropi- Notfarfromthecampweregravesofnomadic bies have a stock of fresh meat to feed on after hatching.
kereddowninrelativeisolation cal vegetation to forests of golden oak and Gujjar shepherds marked by rough-hewn While some hip moms may not care for their eggs at all,
to escape COVID-19 infection, rhododendrons. This must be one of the few stones. This is where shepherds graze their others (crocodiles) guard their clutches ferociously.
there was an incipient stirring remainingstretchesof oakinthecountry.One flocks of sheep in the summers and migrate The great dinosaurs laid eggs, too, and from them
of life last month. I normally suspectsthatwithmoreroad-building,these to the lower valleys in winter. We met a flock came birds, to which our focus will shift now. All birds lay
head out into the mountains every autumn. pristine forests will inevitably be lost to the on its descent to greener pastures. eggs — whether just a single one every two years (wan-
So, the minute the trekking agency, whose imperativesof development.Wesetupcamp On our last morning at Matiya, we went dering albatross) or as many as 19 (grey partridge). The
services I often avail of, offered a brief trek in at a small clearing in the forest called the up a nearby ridge, Panwali Kantha, to get a tiny bee-hummingbird’s eggs weigh 0.5 gm, while the os-
the Garhwal Himalayas, I grabbed at it. The Gwan Manda, with lush greenery around its panoramic view of the entire range. The sun, trich’s is 1.5 kg (enough for a nine-person omelette!).
trek, of course, had an impressive list of safe- perimeter. Looking down into the valley in however, struck at an angle which put the Birds’ eggs have fascinated us for hundreds of years.
guardstoprotectagainstthevirus.Fromtem- the clear afternoon sun, we could see the vil- main peaks in a light haze. It was still a grand Collectors in the West back in the “bad old days”, engaged
perature,pulseandoxygensaturationchecks lages we had left behind. sight.Theridgehadseveral in cut-throat competition, collecting eggs from the nests
GO TELL IT ● ● ●
everymorningandeveningtodailysanitisa- The first day of walking smallshrines—visiblefrom of rare birds and then destroying them so others couldn’t
tion of trekking gear and a masked-and- ON THE hadleftustired.Dinnerwas ourcamp—constructedby get to them. It put many species in danger of extinction:
gloved crew. Our group of three braved the MOUNTAIN servedearlybut,despitethe These alpine villagers in the memory of mercifully the “hobby” has died a natural death, though
early-November winter to head towards cold, the view of the night their deceased elders. sadly, sometimes, bird photographers these days indulge
Matiya Bugyal in the north Tehri region.
(From top) Nanda
sky kept us from crawling meadows are framed We couldn’t leave in the same reprehensible behaviour.
These alpine meadows, at an altitude of Devi at sunrise; back into the tents. One of without having witnessed The bewildering, beautiful colours, shapes and pat-
3,500 m, are framed by an amphitheatre of Chaukhambha from thegreatdelightsofmoun- by the massive the sunrise over the Nanda terns of birds’ eggs are truly fascinating. The default ground
high snow-clad mountains, with the mas-
siveChaukhambaatoneendandthebreath-
Matiya Bugyal;
shepherds
tain treks is gazing up at a
sky studded with an in-
Chaukhamba at one Devi, so off we went up
Jagdi Top ridge, freezing in
colour is white (thanks to calcium, which gives it strength),
the eggs of many passerine (or perching) birds are blue or
taking Nanda Devi at the other. In the
November sunrise and sunset, the moun-
descending with credible density of twin-
kling stars, to see the Milky
end and the Nanda the cold. The peak was sil-
houetted against a flaming
green or beautiful shades in between. Many are speckled
and splotched in rich reds and browns. This patterning, ap-
their flocks
tainslookedmajestic.Thepleasant,sun-filled
bugyal (high-altitude meadow) was a most
GangotriandBadrinathbecameaccessibleby
road.Pandemicnotwithstanding,therewasa
Waystretchacrossthehori-
zon as a river of bright sil-
Devi at the other orange and then bathed in
golden light as the sun
parently, adds to rigidity when the calcium may be defi-

picturesque place to camp at. For two nights,
we made Matiya Bugyal our base, taking
shorter treks to some of the higher ridges,
where the views get more dramatic.
The road from Dehradun to Ghansali vil-
lageinupperTehrigoesalongthelakecreated
bytheTehridam—thehighestinthecountry
— before ascending towards Chamba. What
usedtobeasleepylittlevillagejustafewyears
ago when I last visited was now a substantial
town spilling over the adjoining ridges.
Ghansali, too, is an urban sprawl in the mak-
ing.Wespentthenightatasmallguesthouse
withmodernfacilities.Theserouteshaveben-
efitted from pilgrim traffic once the towns of
fair amount of traffic on the roads. We learnt ver, a sight which remains ● ● ● rose higher. It was an ethe-
that this year Gangotri, Badrinath and a distant dream in the pol- real sight.
Kedarnath were to remain open until luted cities we live in. The descent to our camp, next to the vil-
November 15 as the weather had been Our trek next day took us to our destina- lage of Gwan Malla where children were
warmer than usual. tion,theMatiyaBugyal,overagentler,less-in- playing cricket as curious villagers paid us
FromGhansali,weheadedoutnextmorn- clinedpath,threadingourwaythroughforests friendly visits, was uneventful. On our drive
ing to Gwan village, where the road ends and of oakandoccasionalpines.Thesnowmoun- back to Dehradun the next day, passing
ourtrekwouldcommencefrom.Itwasashort tains came into view, dominated by the through Dhanaulti near Mussoorie, we
two-hour drive. Our crew of guide, cook, Khatling, as we reached the open and rolling caughtalovelyviewof Bandarpoonchmoun-
helperandportersstoodwaitingalongwitha expanse of the Bugyal soon after noon. There tain,whichseemedtofloatagainstthedeep-
teamof fiveponiesandtheirminderstocarry isaroutetoTapovanandGaumukhacrossthe blue sky. With our spirits elevated, we were
our baggage. With the ponies loaded, off we Khatling glacier. The Khatling is followed by ready to face the troubled world again.
headedintothemountains.Thevillagehadto theBhriguPatthar,ThalaySagar,Chaukhamba,
becrossedbeforehittingthemountaintrail.It Neelkanth and, finally, rising above all like a ShyamSaranisaformerforeignsecretary
was a typical Garhwal village with terraced queen, the Nanda Devi peak. As the day ad- andanavidtrekker
RANJITLAL
EGGSQUISITE

The Miracle Worker

A decorated ostrich egg

cient in the mom’s diet, and has antimicrobial properties.

A director remembers the late actor Soumitra
Chatterjee, who epitomised the best in Bengali cinema
Atanu Ghosh
CINEMA, THEATRE, television — in his entire
life, Soumitra Chatterjee must have worked
with thousands of directors. I am just one of
them.Butmuchbeforethat,Iamaneternally
captivatedfan.ImusthavebeeninClassVIIor
VIII, when I saw him for the first time. I had
gone to buy medicines for my grandfather.
WhenIenteredthestore,hewasthererightin
front of me buying medicines. I saw people
gawk at him, but he remained nonchalant.
Pocketing his purchase, he left in his
Ambassador car. Many moons later, when I
cametoknowhimwell,Irecountedthisinci-
dent. He replied, “Do you remember what
medicine I bought that day? Must have been
for headache. That is often re-
quired in this field.”
Ever since I was bitten by
the filmmaking bug, I had just
one dream — once, just once, I
wantedtoworkwithSoumitra
Chatterjee.Lifewouldhadbeen
worthwhilewithjustonefilm,
butovertime,weendedupdo-
ingsix—fourfeaturefilmsand
twotelefilms.Intheinitialdays,
my hands would tremble
whilehandingoverthescreen-
plays to someone as scholarly
as him. My Bengali was rusty, I told him, my
rootswereinAllahabadmorethaninKolkata.
Careful not to embarrass me, he had a special
way — whatever he didn’t want to hear, he
would feign that he hadn’t heard it. No won-
der he kept saying that the entire film indus-
try knew that he was hard of hearing!
Mytrystwithhimstartedin2005,withthe
telefilm Asamapto. The shooting location was
a stone’s throw away from his residence in
south Kolkata. On the first day after lunch
break, the camera stopped working.
Immensely anxious, I was wondering how
long it would take for the replacement cam-
eratoarrivewhenthepowerwentoff,adding
tomywoes.Rightthen,hecalledforme.When
Iwenttohim,Isawthatthescenehadchanged.
Theunithadmovedintothebalconyandwere
seated around him and he was regaling them
withanecdotes,drenchedinsweatinthathot
summerafternoon.Iwasstandingatadistance
andwatchingthescene,marvellingathiszest
forlife,whenhebeckonedmeandsaid,“Listen,
suchhindrancesarenaturalwhileshooting.If
thedirectorgetsworkedup,itaffectshiswork.
Instead, listen to a PJ of mine, it will ease your
nerves. PJ maane jaane toh (You know what a
PJ is)? A poor joke!”
I had worked with him before, but some-
how,duringMayurakshi(2017),
I rediscovered him. Four days
before I was scheduled to nar-
ratethescripttohim,hisgrand-
sonmetwithaterribleaccident.
I was hesitant, but he insisted
onhearingthescriptonsched-
ule.Hehadapeculiarhabitdur-
ing script-reading sessions —
he’d sketch along, translating
his visceral perception of the
story on to paper. To my great
surprise, that sketch would re-
flect the theme of the film.
During both Angshumaner Chhobi (2009) and
RupkathaNoy(2013),hemadetwosuchlovely
pencil sketches. But during Mayurakshi, he
couldn’tdraw.Helistenedwithraptattention
andlatertoldme,“Thisisyourandyourfather’s
story. One day, tell me about your father in
great detail.” He took the time to hear about
myscientistfatherandhisinsatiablecuriosity
forthings.Iwasastoundedbythelengthanac-
torgoestotobringtolifehischaracter.Perhaps,
this is true only for an actor of his calibre.
FATHERS During the making of Mayurakshi, music
AND SONS directorDebojyotiMishraandIwantedhimto
singthesongBabachhelergaaninsteadof set-
(Above) Soumitra
tlingforaplayback.Herefusedpointblank.At
Chatterjee (right) hisage,hehasnosongleftinhim,hesaid,that
and Prosenjit hegoesoff-keyandoutofbreath,andthefilm
Chatterjee in a still would suffer because of his attempt. I urged
from the National Debudatosingthetrackforthemomentwhile
Award-winning Itriedconvincinghim.Debudawashesitant—
giventheintricacyof thecomposition,shoot-
film Mayurakshi
ingitinsomeoneelse’svoiceandthenhaving
(2017); director SoumitraKakusingoveritwouldmakeiteven
Atanu Ghosh more difficult for him, he said. But we had no
choice. Soumitra Kaku was happy to hear
Debuda’s playback and especially delighted
that he would get to do a song sequence after
years.IsawmychanceandtoldhimI’dretain
the song only if he sang it. He sank deep in
thoughts and remained silent. After a few
days,herangmeuptoenquirewhetherIhad
changed my mind. I had not and he agreed
eventually.Uncannily,hisrecordingwasaper-
fect fit for the shoot. It still surprises me how
quickly and effortlessly he accomplished the
difficulttask.Theworldknewhowdefthewas
at dubbing, but that he could create magic
with music as well, we hadn’t a clue.
Oflate,age,illnessandanxietywouldleave
COURTESYATANUGHOSH
him somewhat tired and sullen at times. But
when he was in the mood, he was ready to
meeteveryone’sdemand,shareendlessstock
of anecdotes, laughter and childlike exuber-
ance.Greatartistestieusininvisiblebondsof
affection,salveourwoundsandhopethatwe
giveequalregardtotheirlimitationsandpain
as we do to their talent and intellect.
WhereverMayurakshi hastravelled,audi-
enceshaven’tbeenabletodistinguishbetween
the real-life Soumitra and his onscreen char-
acterisation of Sushobhon. His character’s in-
comparable credibility has left many crying
profusely at screenings. He had once told me,
“Film acting is successful only when it creates
maximum effect using minimum strokes.”
Thisuniqueabilitytoestablishaspiritualrela-
tionshipwithone’scharacterwithatinystroke
of a brush will remain unforgettable forever.
In a scene from Mayurakshi, he draws a
windowinthecloudswithhishandsandsays
(toonscreensonProsenjitChatterjee),“If you
feeldistressed,docomeandsithere.You’llsee
me.” That window is mine. All my life I’ll look
upatthesky,atthatwindow,tofindhimthere.
AtanuGhoshisaNationalAward-winningfilmmaker
For more, visit www.indianexpress.com
Eggs of non-passerine birds are usually white, barring the
nesting ones on the ground (lapwings, etc.) whose eggs are
cryptically coloured to camouflage with the stony ground
they’re laid on, and, thus, easily trampled upon. Bigger eggs
laid by bigger birds have bigger yolks (no-brainer) — when
they hatch, the chicks are fairly chalta-phirta, able to run,
swim and feed themselves, and called nidifugous although
they need their moms only for protection.
While the yolk contains the nourishment for the em-
bryo, the albumen surrounding it serves as a cushion, pre-
venting harmful microbes from getting in. The eggshell is
dotted with thousands of tiny pores through which the
exchange of gases takes place. A typical chicken’s egg has
7,500 pores. The broad end of the egg contains the air sacs
and most of the pores are concentrated here. Reason why
there’s an empty space in this region, visible while peeling
a hard-boiled egg. The broad end is also where the major
parts of the embryo develops, its head and major organs,
the tail being left to the narrower end. The oval shape of
most eggs enables it to take up a naturally “heads up” pos-
ture and it is from here that the tiny chick breaks through
using its “egg tooth”, made of calcium.
Researchers have long argued about the shape and
colour of birds’ eggs. Birds laying in risky places like cliff
ledges lay eggs that are tapering and oval to prevent them
from rolling off, those that lay in holes and hollows like
owls and bee-eaters lay round eggs. But there’s more to
this than that. It’s been discovered that the shape of eggs
is highly dependent on its flight capabilities: if the bird is a
fast flyer — like a falcon — its eggs will be streamlined to fit
into its mom’s aerodynamic body shape perfectly.
Dark eggs absorb more sunlight, keep out ultraviolet
rays and so are expected to be found more among birds
living in colder climes. But dark eggs also have strong an-
timicrobial properties and hot and humid climes are
hotbeds for harmful microbes. Researchers have finally
concluded that dark eggs are better at thermo-regulation
— in keeping the temperature at an optimal level for the
development of the embryo and can be found in both hot
and cold climes. Light or white eggs are a signal for preda-
tors – but then many birds still lay them!
The speckling and splotching of some sea birds that
nest in colonies thousands strong are so specific that the
mother can recognise her own; and, with some victims
of brood parasitism, the mom keeps changing the pat-
terns of her eggs to keep one step ahead of the nasty,
waiting cuckoo.
 EYE, THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

13 B O O K S NOVEMBER 22, 2020

Palace Walk
A fascinating behind-the-scenes
account of the inner workings of
Jaipur’s Kachwaha dynasty
Coomi Kapoor

I
N THE twilight years of the Raj, Jaipur was the
country’s best known royal house, even if the ma-
haraja was accorded fewer gun salutes than several
other Indian princes. The kingdom’s fame was not
just because of the fairy-tale pink city or the family’s
claims to trace its ancestry back to Lord Rama through
his son Kush. The colourful dynasty remained in the
limelight because of its glamour, intrigue, romance,
scandals and disputes.
The star of the family was undoubtedly Gayatri
Devi, known to her friends as Ayesha, a pet name taken
from Rider Haggard’s book, She. Ayesha’s beauty and
elan were legendary. An international society magazine
wrote that she made even Jacqueline Kennedy look
frumpish. Her romance with the handsome, polo play-
ing Prince Sawai Man Singh II, Jai for short, was uncon-
ventional. She was 13 years old when she first met him,
WIKIMEDIACOMMONS
but a teenage infatuation developed into a full-blown

The Hawk Pulls its Shadow

crush. When she was only 15, Jai asked her mother
Indira, the Rajmata of Cooch Behar, for permission to
marry her. Indira responded sharply, “I never heard such
sentimental rubbish.’’
Jai already had two wives. He was married when he
was nine to the Maharaja of Jodhpur’s sister and niece in

From the World

what a relative described as “a package deal’’, with some
of Jodhpur’s famed polo horses thrown in. One wife was
13 years older than Jai, the other four years younger.
Both were kept in strict purdah. Besides, Jai, who spent
his summers playing polo in England and sipping cham-
pagne with the swish set, was a magnet for beautiful
foreigners. Ayesha’s brother, who had similar tastes,
warned his sister that she would be marrying a Krishna.
As a defeated rival, he had wit-
Arun Shourie’s latest book is both a Ramana Maharshi ever loses his cool is in his
nowutterdependenceonothersformostba-
theTibetanBookoftheDead.Forthepolitically
inclined,thereisanambivalentlyrevealingac-
nessed first-hand Jai successfully
pursuing Virginia Cherrill, the di- contemplation of and an anthology on death sic bodily functions. The problem of dying is
not that you cannot ignore the body; it is that
count of the Prime Minister’s visit to Shourie
while he was in the ICU. All throughout, the
vorced wife of actor Cary Grant. the body does not ignore you. bookislacedwithjudiciouslyselectedpoetry:
Cherrill even made a trip to Pratap Bhanu Mehta sectionofthebookisnotsomuchaboutdeath The second theme of the book is to take a the startling moment where Gandhi recites
Jaipur, where, curiously, she as the process of dying. He documents with sharpscalpeltofalsecomfortersofallreligions the Urdu couplet to Manu: Hai baha- e-bagh-

A
struck up a close and lasting detail, “great souls” experiencing the often and philosophies that promise the everlast- eduniyachandroz/Dekhloiskatamashachand
friendship with Jai’s second wife RUNSHOURIEisanunflinching painful dissolution of their own body — the ing soul, or the preservation of bodies only to roz, a register you might associate more with
Jo, who was pretty and modern. seeker. He has an exemplary Buddha, Ramkrishna Paramhansa, Ramana subject them to torment in hell. This meta- Guru Dutt than Gandhi. There is a lot of Kabir,
Despite all these, Ayesha mar- abilitytofacethetoughestques- Maharshi, Mahatma Gandhi, and Vinoba physical baggage makes dealing with death ofBashopoetryandhaikus.Onestunningone:
ried her Prince Charming. The tions.Afterabracingmeditation Bhave, and, as a cameo, Kasturba. All of them harder and is a total distraction. This section Circlinghigherandhigher/Atlastthehawkpulls
liberated outsider, educated in on the problem of suffering in givelietoSigmundFreud’sdictumthatnoone PREPARING FOR islessgenerousinitsinterpretivesympathies. its shadow/From the world.
European schools, surprisingly DoesHeKnowaMother’sHeart(2011),Shourie can contemplate their own death. But what DEATH The third theme of the book, interspersed in This haiku caught my attention because I
THE HOUSE OF ended up adjusting rather well in nowturnstoPreparingforDeath.Thereusedto emerges from these accounts is not so much BY ARUN various parts, is about the discipline of deal- happened to be reading a stunning essay by
JAIPUR: THE the conservative feudal court. be a joke that the purpose of literature is to the conclusion that they all faced death un- SHOURIE ing with your own body as it is in the process Arindam Chakrabarti at the same time,
INSIDE STORYOF She paved the way for mod- prepare you for the good life, while the pur- flinchingly;mostofthemhaveapremonition. Penguin Books of dying. The book impressively marshals a “Dream, Death and Death Within A Dream”,
INDIA’S MOST ernising the state, including pose of philosophy is to prepare you for the It is also not about capturing the moment varietyof sources,fromtheTibetanBookofthe in ImaginationsofDeathandtheBeyondinIndia
GLAMOROUS 519 pages
starting the Maharani Gayatri good death. But it is hard to understand our where the good death is leaving the world Dead,withitsincredibleimaginativeexercises and Europe (2018), a volume edited by Sudhir
ROYAL FAMILY Devi School, for the cloistered own extinction. Broadly speaking, two dia- calmly. It is rather what the suffering body
`799
thatmakeyoutakeinthewholeof existence, Kakar and Gunter Blamberger, that reads as a
BY JOHN girls of aristocratic families. After metrically opposite views are invoked to rec- does to consciousness, all the memories and toJainsourcesofSallekhana,andvariousmed- great philosophical complement to this one.
ZUBRYZCKI Independence, Ayesha made a oncile us to death. One is that we don’t really harddecisionsitforcesonus.Buttherelation- itativetechniquestoinculcateacertainkindof That volume has a powerful piece by another
Juggernaut successful foray into politics, die;insomeform,throughanincorporealsoul ship between the body and consciousness mindfulness. But mostly one gets the sense brilliantphilosopher,JonardanGaneri,onillu-
384 pages contesting from the Swatantra orsomething,wecontinuetoexist.Theother goesintwodifferentdirectionsatonce.Onthe thattheultimatepreparationfordeathissim- sions of immortality that deals with a source
`479 Party ticket and winning by huge unflinchinglyacceptsthatwejustareevanes- one hand this suffering is productive: con- ply love, something that can endow the Shourie cites at length: Pessoa. Chakrabarti’s
margins. centmatterandnothingelse.Bothapproaches sciousness works through this pain. On the evanescent moment with significance. essayendswiththeinsightofYogaVashishtha:
The author suggests that as prime minister, Indira address the question of dying by simply say- other hand, even the most exalted soul does Butthisisaseeker’sbook.Itisinpartspro- Tobebornistohavebeendeadonceandtobe
Gandhi targeted Ayesha not because of her politics ing“thereisnothingtoit.”Thereissomething notescapetheutterabjectionofthebody.The found probing, honest but not dogmatic. Its duetodieagain.Shourieisperhapsright:Can
alone, but because she envied her looks and her friend- to this strategy, but it cannot make sense of most poignant moment in this section is not SEEKING immense value comes from the fact that the we really unravel what it means for the hawk
ships with the international who’s who, including the the significance of life. It seems we can either the calm and plenitude with which these ex- WISDOM bookisbothabookandananthologyondeath, to pull its shadow from the world? Does the
Mountbattens. During the Emergency, the fairy-tale makesenseof lifeorof death,butnotof both. alted souls face death; it is the moments withextractsfromnotjustthewords ofthose shadow reappear if it flies lower?
princess was temporarily incarcerated in Tihar jail. Shourie’sbooktakesabrilliantlydifferent where even the most powerful souls are re- An artistic depiction experiencing the process of dying, but an as-
The author points out that Ayesha was actually far pathway.Thebookhasthreedistinctthemes. duced to abjection by the constraints of the of the Dipankara tonishing range of sources: from Fernando PratapBhanuMehtaiscontributingeditor,
more conventional that her mother, Indira, the daughter The first, the most powerful and meditative body. The only one rare occasion where Buddha Pessoa to Michel de Montaigne, from yoga to TheIndianExpress
of the Maharaja of Baroda, who had shocked the
princely world by writing directly to the powerful ruler
of Gwalior, breaking her engagement. He was after all 46
years old and already married. Instead, she wedded the
SHELF LIFE

And Now We Have Everything

charming and good-looking scion of a minor state,
Cooch Behar. Indira’s husband, who eventually as-
cended the throne, died prematurely at the age of 36, of
alcoholism — a malady which would afflict several in
Ayesha’s family, including her only son Jagat. As a
widow, Indira continued to live life on her terms, defying
the straightlaced conventions of the princely world.
The author has meticulously researched the fascinat-
ing background of the Kachwaha dynasty and the colonial
ruler’s hamhanded attempts to keep its princely wards in
control. He writes about the family’s experiences in poli-
tics, including that of Diya Kumari, a sitting BJP MP. But
the book is a riveting royal read largely because of the
scandals which keep popping up in each generation —
Diya’s elopement, defying Rajput traditions; Ayesha’s
stepson Pat allegedly trying to diddle her two grandchil-
dren, from Jai’s marriage with a Thai princess, of their
share of Ayesha’s property; convoluted lawsuits stretch-
ing over decades concerning the inheritance of the treas-
ures and estates of this dazzling royal house.
CoomiKapooriscontributingeditor,The Indian Express
FROMALINE-UPthatheadlineddiversitybyfea-
turing first novels, women writers and writers
ofcolour,amongothers,ShuggieBainbyScottish-
American writer Douglas Stuart has won this
year’sBookerPrize.Here’salookatthebookand
its debutant author:
■ AnautobiographicalnovelsetinGlasgowinthe
1980s,ShuggieBainfollowsthelifeofShuggie,an
impoverishedboystrugglingtolookafterhissin-
gle mother, Agnes, an alcoholic, even as he grap-
ples with his sexuality. Despite its grimness and
squalor,thebook—dedicatedtoStuart’smother,
whodiedwhenhewas16yearsold—brimswith
tenderness and filial affection. Stuart, 44, who
grewupinGlasgowundersimilarcircumstances,
hassaiditwaslove,hopeandhumourthathelped
him process his childhood trauma.
■ ThenovelisStuart’sfirstbook.Threeotherde-
butnovels—BurntSugarbyIndian-originwriter
A look at this year’s Booker prize-winning novel and its
debutant author, Douglas Stuart
Avni Doshi, The New Wilderness by
Diane Cook and Real Life by Brandon
Taylor — featured in the six-book
shortlist. Doshi’s and Cook’s novels
alsorevolvearoundthemesoffilialat-
tachments.InhisBookerPrizeaccept-
ance speech, Stuart said, “I’m ab-
solutelystunned...Firstof all,Iwilllike
tothankmymother...mymotherison
every page of this book — I’ve been
clear, without her I wouldn’t be here,
my work wouldn’t be here.”
■ Stuart’snovel,whichtookhimnearlyadecade
to write, was rejected by over 30 ed-
itors before it was accepted by pub-
lishers Picador in the UK and Grove
Atlantic in the US. After its publica-
tion, it drew fabulous reviews, that
included comparisons with James
Joyce and DH Lawrence. Besides the
prestigiousBookerPrize,ShuggieBain
was also in contention for two
American awards — the National
BookAwardforfictionandtheKirkus
Prize. Margaret Busby, chair of
judges, Booker Prize, described Stuart’s novel
as a book destined to be a classic — a moving,
immersive and nuanced portrait of a tight-knit
social world, its people and its values...”
■ Stuart came to writing late in life. After grad-
uating from the Royal College of Art in London,
he moved to the US to study fashion design in
New York. Forovertwo decades,hehasworked
with fashion houses such as Banana Republic,
Calvin Klein, Gap and Ralph Lauren. After the
award, he hopes to become a full-time writer.
■ Stuart is only the second Scotsman to win the
£50,000 Booker Prize. James Kelman won it in
1994forhisHowLateItWas,HowLate.Stuarthas
said that the book was a huge influence on him.
■ Attheawardceremony,Stuartrevealedthathis
second novel was already ready for publication.
Titled Loch Awe, the book is also set in Glasgow.
PAROMITA CHAKRABARTI

‘I have long thought that grief is

burial is one of the most moving sections This has been a year of living on the
of the novel. How difficult was it for you edge, of making sense of loss and
to imagine Agnes’s grief? bereavement. How do you reflect on the
I really enjoyed creating the character of ongoing pandemic?

the other side of love’

British writer Maggie O’Farrell, 48, winner of this year’s Women’s Prize, on a mother’s
grief, life in a post-pandemic world and reclaiming Shakespeare’s wife from obscurity
Paromita Chakrabarti
FROM HER debut novel After You’d Gone
(2009) to her memoir I Am, I Am, I Am (2017),
thefragilityof humanliveshaveoftenshaped
the narratives of British writer Maggie
O’Farrell’s work with intuitive dexterity. In
Hamnet,too,thehistoricalnovelthatwonher
the prestigious Women’s Prize this year,
O’Farrell reimagines the way the loss of the
11-year-oldsonof BritishplaywrightWilliam
Shakespeare cleaves those closest to him. In
thisinterview,O’Farrellspeaksof herfascina-
tion with Hamnet and what happens when
everyparent’sworstnightmarecomestopass.
Excerpts:
Did you come to the play Hamlet first or
to Hamnet?
IfirstheardabouttheexistenceofHamnet
when I was studying Hamlet at school. My
teacher mentioned in passing that
Shakespeare had a son called Hamnet, who
diedattheageof 11.Iwasimmediatelystruck
by the sad confluence of these names. What
did it mean for a father to call a play after his
dead son? And how might Hamnet’s mother
have felt about it? I remember looking down
at the cover of the play and covering the ‘L’ of
thetitlewithafinger.Howeasyitwastomake
Hamlet read ‘Hamnet’.
Why do you think Shakespeare’s
biographers tend to glide over his life
before London in their accounts?
There’saverystrongandvalidreasonwhy
biographers focus on Shakespeare’s life in
London—andthat’sbecauseofhiscareerand
his writing, which continues to shape us as
humanbeings.ThestageandLondoniswhere
the action is for scholars, but I’ve always
thought that the biggest drama of
Shakespeare’s life happened off-stage: the
deathofhisonlyson.I’vealwaysfeltHamnet’s
storyhasbeeneclipsed,hisshortliferelegated
to a literary footnote. He gets very little men-
tion in any of his father’s biographies.
What made you refrain from mentioning
Shakespeare by his name in your novel?
IalwaysknewthatShakespearewouldbe
alessercharacter;he’snotpresentinStratford
for most of the novel. There is a playbill that
proveshiscompanywastouringinKentwhen
Hamnet died, so it’s not known whether he
made it to the funeral. I avoided using his
COURTESY:HACHETTE
GRIEF, SHE WROTE
Maggie O’Farrell
namebecausetheword‘Shakespeare’proved
toodistractingforme,andIknewitwouldbe
thesameforreaders.Withthisnovel,I’mask-
ing readers to forget everything they think
they know about him and open themselves
uptoanewinterpretation.WhichiswhyIre-
fer to him as ‘the father’, ‘the Latin tutor’. ‘the
brother’, and so on.
Agnes preparing Hamnet’s body for
Hamnet’s mother. We are so accustomed to It has been a strange year for everyone —
calling her Anne Hathaway but her father’s and it’s far from over yet. Any person who
will clearly names her as Agnes. That was an has come through a severe illness will know
electrifying, defining moment in the writing thattheexperiencechanges youforever.You
of the book. In giving her what is emerge from your sickroom as
presumably her birth name, I’m onewhohaspassedthroughfire,
askingreaderstodiscardwhatwe recast, all too aware of your
thinkweknowaboutherandsee
her anew.
frailty.Inthesameway,apopula-
tion which goes through a wide-
If youasksomeonewhatthey spread disease will also be
know about Shakespeare’s wife, changed, and the coming gener-
you’ll probably receive one of ationswillinherit this sensibility.
two answers. Either, he hated We will emerge from this but we
her; or,she trickedhimintomar- will be different. We will never
riage. Historians, biographers be able to go back to a time be-
and critics have, for a long time, fore this pandemic, to a time of
inexplicablyvilifiedandcriticised security and confidence, when
her, creating a misogynistic ver-
HAMNET we thought we were inviolate,
sion of her. I wanted to persuade BY MAGGIE immune.
people to think again, to not rush O'FARRELL
to conclusions. Tinder Press What comes next?
I’ve long thought that grief is 384 pages; `699 At the moment, I’m writing a
theothersideof love,or,perhaps, picturebookforchildren,mysec-
agreaterpartofit.Ifyoulovesomeone,it’snot ond. Unbeknownst to me, my seven-year-
ahugeleaptoimaginewhatyourlifewouldbe old daughter was looking over my shoulder
likewithoutthem.Itriedtochannelthisthink- as I was going through the final version of
ing into those scenes and ask myself, what Hamnet, and she said: ‘I don’t like this book,
would it mean to lose a child? It is, of course, it’smuchtoosad.Iwantyoutowriteahappy
every parents’ worst fear. story next.’ So I’m doing as I’m told.
 14 SPORT
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 Chess societies have not been very kind to
women and girls over the years. Certainly
there needs to be a bit of a change in culture.
MAGNUS CARLSEN
WORLD CHESS CHAMPION

BRIEFLY SHASHANK NAIR

Rohit Sharma picked up a
hamstring injury during the IPL.
Hamstringfine,
claimsRohitSharma
RohitSharmasaidhealwaysknewthat
the hamstring injury he suffered was
notthatseriousandhewouldbeready
for the tour of Australia. "I don't know
what was going on, to be honest and
whatallwerepeopletalkingabout.But
let me put this on record, I was con-
stantly communicating with BCCI and
Mumbai Indians," Rohit said. "I told
them (Mumbai Indians) I can take the
fieldsinceitistheshortestformatandI
will be able to manage the situation
quitenicely.OnceImademymindclear,
it was all about focussing on what I
needed to do. Hamstring is feeling ab-
solutely fine. Just started the process of
getting it nice and strong. Before I play
the longer format, I absolutely needed
tobeclearinmindthatthereisnostone
thatisleftunturned,that'sprobablythe
reason,I'mattheNCA."
Sirajdecidestostay
backinAustralia
BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Saturday
saidthatpacerMohammedSiraj,who
has lost his father, was given the op-
tionof flyingbackhometobewithhis
grieving family but he decided to stay
back in Australia for "national duty".
Ghouse, who was suffering from a
lung ailment, died on Friday. He was
53. "The Board of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI) had a discussion with
Siraj and he was offered the option of
flying back and be with his family in
this hour of grief," Shah was quoted
assayinginaBCCImediarelease."The
fast bowler has decided to stay with
the Indian contingent and continue
performing his national duties. The
BCCI shares his grief and will be sup-
portive of Siraj in this extremely chal-
lenging phase," Shah added.
Ex-Mumbaiplayer
Chandorkarturns100
Former first-class cricketer
Raghunath Chandorkar on Saturday
turned hundred years old, becoming
onlythethirdIndiancricketertocom-
plete a century of birthdays.
Chandorkar played seven first class
games, representing Maharashtra
(1943-44 to 1946-47) and Bombay
(1950-51). The wicket-keeper bats-
man had scored 155 runs in seven
games. He also effected three catches
and two stumpings. Prof. DB Deodhar
(1892-1993) and Vasant Raiji (1920-
2020) are the only other Indian crick-
eters to celebrate 100 birthdays.
PTI
DESPITE HER ACHIEVEMENTS, HUMPY HAS BEEN
SUBJECTED TO DISCRIMINATION IN THE CHESS
WORLD AND BELIEVES UNIFIED TOURNAMENTS
ARE THE WAY TO GO
JUDIT POLGAR ON CHESS & WOMEN
ONNEEDINGTOCOMPETE
AGAINSTMEN
Playing only among women would not
have helped my development, as since I
was 13, I was the clear number one
among them. I needed to compete with
the other leading (male) Grandmasters of
my time.
ONWHYCOACHINGWOMEN
NEEDSFRESHPERSPECTIVE
Girls in chess are not treated the same
way as boys. Coaches and officials are
guided by potential successes in girls’
competitions, which are comparatively
easier to achieve. Parents tend to follow
what the experts advise.
participated in the ‘A’ category, she was
deemed to be not good enough and her GM
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21 rating was said to have been awarded
through some sleight of hand. If she partici-
KONERU HUMPY has yet to watch The pated in the National ‘B’ set-up, it was de-
Queen’s Gambit. She has been receiving nu- cried as her taking an easy way out. There
merous phone calls about the Netflix mini- wasnowinningthisbattleof perception,but
series,buthasnotgotaroundtohavingalook when Humpy finished second in the
at the show that has put forth questions on National ‘B’ set-up, by her own admission,
women’schessandthetreatmentmetedout shefeltlikethatquashedanydoubtsoverher
to it over the years. But despite not having qualifications.
watched the series, Humpy is all too famil- Humpy’s chess journey is replete with
iar with its premise – a young woman par- talesof menintentionally,orunintentionally,
ticipating in a male-dominated arena, start- providing a platform for disrespect. Some of
ing to change the power dynamics by the stories range from outrightly wanting to
winning, and the change in equations not defeat her (“Even though there were some
taken too kindly. weaker players than me comparatively, be-
The girl from Andhra Pradesh started her ing a woman, they tried harder to beat me”)
chess journey at the age of six and when she tounintentionallydisrespectingher(“OnceI
became the youngest woman Grandmaster playedaninternationaltournamentandhad
in the world (at that time) at the age of 15, a disastrous performance in the event.
she was marked for greatness. But by win- Afterwards, I got a ‘best women’s prize’). But
ning open tournaments and becoming a despitethelackof respect,if thereisoneopin-
force in chess,Humpyalsodisturbedthesta- ionof hersthathasshockvalue,it’sherbelief
tus quo which resulted in several insinua- that men simply are better than women at
tions on her credentials. chess.
“At 15, I became a GM ELO ratings seem to
but until then, the concept
of genderbarriersdidn’tre-
NUMBERS GAME suggest the same – espe-
cially when comparing the
ally occur to me. I became ■ According to FIDE, top male player in the
a GM on the European cir- there’s an 84-16 ratio of world (Magnus Carlsen:
cuit. In those days, we had male to female registered 2862) and the top female
very few international chess players. In total, player (Hou Yifan: 2658).
tournaments in India. To there are 1,683 GMs who Psychological journals and
get exposure, my father are men and 37 who are ex-players have attributed
tookmeonatriptoEurope women. it to many factors, chief
for a few months and I ■ The highest ELO rating among them being the dif-
would be playing continu- ever achieved by a ference in mindset be-
ously over there. I won a ti- woman is 2735 by Judit tween men and women.
tleandcamebacktoIndia,” Polgar. She was, at one When asked what she
Humpy told The Indian point, the eighth-best felt was the difference be-
Express as she recounted chess player in the world. tween how the two gen-
the beginning of a turbu- ders play the sport, the
lent phase in her career. ■ In 2002, Koneru reigning women’s world
It was only when she
started winning that the
Humpy became the
youngest woman GM at
rapid champion offered an
interesting take. “I have
critics came out of the
woodwork, and what they
the age of 15 years, one
month and 27 days.
seenmaleplayersdisplaya
wider repertoire of moves.
had to say was not very Current women’s world They shift between open-
charitable. “At that time, No. 1 Hou Yifan broke ings quite often and are
even though I was a GM, I that record in 2008. quite aggressive in their
wasn’t performingin a sta- styleofplay.Whenitcomes
ble manner. It’s quite nor- to women, there are many
mal at that age to have By winning open top players who have lim-
highs and lows. Some of tournaments and ited opening moves, but
mypeersstartedcriticising the preparation behind
me by saying that I didn’t becoming a force in those moves is deeper. A
have the standard of a GM chess, Humpy also game between a woman
because I hadn’t proven andawomanisverydiffer-
myself in India and that I
disturbed the status ent to a game between a
hadplayedinweakertour- quo, which resulted in manandawomanbecause
naments in Europe to be- several insinuations on psychologically men in-
come a GM,” said Humpy. tend to try to make a point
ComparisonswithJudit her credentials inthatmatch.So,thegame
Polgar seemed to always tends to become wilder.”
find their way into conver- For an across-the-
sationsandthewomen’schesscircuit,which boardraiseinELOratingsforwomen,the33-
has historically been seen as inferior to the year-oldbelievesthatchesstournamentsex-
men’s game, hoped that Humpy would clusively for women must cease to be a
bridge the gap between the two worlds. She regular fixture because separate tourna-
couldcopewiththepressure of thoseexpec- ments for both genders make it difficult for
tations. But she wasn’t prepared for the at- women to cope with the men’s circuit.
tack on her credentials. “There should only be open tournaments so
“This was a period when I was really that women have to play with men and im-
mentally disturbed. Being a sportsperson, prove their game.”
handling a win or a loss at a tournament was But Humpy acknowledges the problem
Illustration: Suvajit Dey quite normal from childhood. But this kind such a system will bring, as an already
of criticism was very new to me. It was a skewered monetary gap might become
tough phase. I was down in many tourna- even wider. “The prize money for men is
ments and suffered for six months to a year. quite higher. It’s tournaments like the
ONNIGELSHORT’SCOMMENTSON It was then that my father and I came to the World Championship and Candidates that
WOMEN’SCHESS’INFERIORITY conclusionthatIneededtoplayinIndiancir- help women professionals survive finan-
Short’sconclusiondoesnotstandupto cuit tournaments,” Humpy said, explaining cially. Once they take off these tourna-
scrutiny,andtheburdenof proof iswith her decision to take part in the National ‘B’ in ments, professionally it’ll be very difficult
him.Evenif womendothinkandcompete 2013 even though she could be a part of the to survive with the men’s circuit only. I
differently,we canattainthesameachieve- National‘A’inanattempttoquellany doubts think it makes sense for them to keep a spe-
mentsasmen:beitinscience,artorchess. about her deserving the GM status. cial financial prize for women even in open
As quoted by The Guardian This then led to further grumbling. If she tournaments.”

EPL musical chairs continues, A satisfying, humbling, enriching IPL campaign

Chelsea 7th team to go on top
REUTERS
NEWCASTLE, NOVEMBER 21
CHELSEA BECAME the seventh club to top
the Premier League standings this season af-
ter a 2-0 victory at Newcastle United on
Saturdaycourtesyof anowngoalbyFederico
Fernandez and Tammy Abraham's second-
half effort.
Frank Lampard's side dominated before
the break and took the lead in the 10th
minute when Fernandez, under pressure
from Ben Chilwell, turned in Mason Mount's
cross. Chelsea really should have been out of
sight with Timo Werner guilty of missing
some gilt-edged chances but Newcastle
came alive after the break.
Isaac Hayden squandered a great chance
to equalise on the hour but a few minutes
later Werner burst through on goal before
passingtoAbrahamtodoubleChelsea'slead.
Sean Longstaff came close for Newcastle
when his rising drive clipped the crossbar
but Chelsea could have scored more with
Werner having a goal ruled out for offside.
Chelsea's third successive league win
lifted them level on 18 points with Leicester
City but are top thanks to a better goal differ-
ence. Leicester face Liverpool on Sunday.
Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur could
both replace Chelsea at the top later on
Saturday.
After a huge investment in the squad,
Chelsea are beginning to show the consis-
tency for a title challenge after something of
NorthEast Utd stun
Mumbai City 1-0
Vasco: Ghanian forward Kwesi
Appiah's 49th minute penalty helped
underdogs NorthEast United stun a
star-studded Mumbai City in their
opening match of the Indian Super
League in Vasco, Goa, on Saturday.
Mumbai, who are among the tourna-
ment favourites, were the better side
in the first half but a red card to their
key player, Ahmed Jahouh, minutes
before the break turned the match in
NorthEast's favour. Soon after the
restart, Mumbai midfielder Rowllin
Borges was judged to have handed
the ball and Appiah sent goalkeeper
Amrinder Singh the wrong way to
give his side the lead. NorthEast con-
trolled rest the match against the 10-
man Mumbai. ENS
Playing tonight: FC Goa vs Bengaluru FC,
7.30pm, Live on Star Sports Network
a mixed start to the new campaign.
Saturday's win was more comfortable than
thescorelinesuggestswithNewcastlehaving
only one shot on target.
Playing tonight: Leeds United vs Arsenal, 10pm;
Liverpool vs Leicester City, 12.45am (Monday),
Live on Star Sports Network
Mohammad Kaif
“CAN YOU COME for the batting nets,
bhai?” It was Shikhar Dhawan on the
phone in July. It had become our Covid rou-
tine of sorts; by the time I would reach, he
would be ready, waiting.
It came tomy mind later when he started
to find touch midway during the IPL; every-
one prepares well and when it clicks as it did
for him, it feels good. Those stints were our
gentle re-entry into the game in these un-
usual times. I’m just glad that BCCI man-
aged to pull off one of the greatest compe-
titions of our times. It helped that our team
reached the final. In the first half, we were
the team to beat and though we slipped
later, we clawed our way back though we
eventually lost to a very professional unit
in Mumbai Indians.
“Bat first” and “There is no dew here”
were the ideas we would often discuss at
our meetings in the first half of the tourna-
ment. Many teams like to chase in T20s;
you know the target and dew make things
easier for batsmen. But without the dew,
the key advantages disappear and it comes
down to what suits the composition of the
team. With our unit, it was perhaps best to
let the young batsmen play freely and then
let our bowlers defend the score. We had
covered both pace and spin with great
quality from Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma
and Anrich Nortje to R Ashwin, Amit
Mishra and Axar Patel, with adequate back-
ups if needed.
Unsurprisingly, most teams chose to
chase, and it didn’t work for them. Even if
our batsmen scored par scores, we had the
bowling to defend those totals. (Head
coach) Ricky (Ponting) and I were always
trying to prepare for the what-ifs as much
as possible, and suddenly we were facing
them. Ishant got injured, so did Mishra,
Iyer is a young captain. He would
have loved more runs but the
way he came back in the final,
soaking up the pressure of early
wickets, showed his mettle
which upset our bowling balance. Still, we
had things under relative control.
Ponting was at his inspiring best. His
working style is simple: the support staff
would throw around ideas, have a chat in
the bus and at the hotel, and he would get
in captain Shreyas Iyer for the breakfast
meeting. Over food and coffee, Iyer would
be presented our views, we would hear his
views, have a healthy discussion – and
Ponting was clear that the captain should
have the final say.
Iyer is a young captain. He would have
loved more runs but the way he came back
in the final, soaking up the pressure of early
wickets, showed his mettle.
Right through the tournament, we were
toying with the idea of opening with
Marcus Stoinis but had Indian openers of
quality in Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane
to partner Dhawan. Once Shaw lost form,
Ponting chose the crunch game - the qual-
ifier against Sunrisers Hyderabad - to un-
leash Stoinis, who seized the moment. He
was our Hulk, starring with bat and ball in
the tournament, ready for any challenge.
Ashwin was marvellous in the
Powerplays. He was our leading strike
bowler, quite a statement with the incred-
ible Rabada there, but Ashwin was that
good with the new ball. He took out the top
guns: from Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma,
Nicholas Pooran to Virat Kohli. He is always
up for a challenge and has the skills and
self-confidence to back himself. Axar was
our unsung hero, showing enough cricket-
ing intelligence while bowling and a lot of
potential with the bat.
Another player who was a delight to
work with was Rabada. He is a true profes-
sional. KG landed in UAE just a week before
the tournament and I remember the inten-
sity in his training.
You could sense that he was very keen
to find his touch and rhythm quickly. Just
the second day itself, you could see he was
beginning to get things under control. He
has great clarity about what he wants to
do, what works for him and the willingness
to work hard for it.
A campaign can’t be successful without
selfless senior players. Who better than
Rahane? In our training sessions, he was
like a kid, wanting to be the best fielder out
there. Irrespective of whether he was play-
ing or not, he prepared passionately and
helped his team-mates. And in that must-
win game, he stood out in the way he
steadied the nerves and guided the chase.
It was a campaign from which we learnt
a lot; it was satisfying, humbling, enrich-
ing. We reached the final, hopefully we go
one step further next year.
The writer is the assistant coach
of Delhi Capitals, who finished
runners-up in the 2020 IPL. For full version,
log on to: www.indianexpress.com

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