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?=BQ =4F34;78
U nion Home Minister Amit
Shah on Saturday
informed the Lok Sabha that
Statehood will be given “at an
appropriate time” to Jammu &
Kashmir even as he reiterated
that the Centre’s commitment
is to bring peace and develop-
ment “first” in the Union
Territory.
J&K
Replying to the debate on
Re-organisation
(Amendment) Bill, which
includes the AGMUT cadre in
the Jammu & Kashmir, Shah
told the Lok Sabha that the
Modi Government’s top prior-
ity is nothing but the develop-
ment of the region.
“You people are asking me
what happened after scrap-
ping Article 370 in 17 months
while forgetting how three
families ruled the State for 70
years!” said the Home Minister
reiterating that the Statehood
will be given in “appropriate
time”.
“You people don’t read the
Bill properly. This is just about
AGMUT Cadre inclusion in
J&K and Ladakh. This Bill has
nothing to do with Statehood.
You people during debate just
talk on Article 370. It is gone.
It was only a temporary clause
which you people kept for 70
years and now asking me when
the Statehood will be given
back. I am telling you the
Statehood will be given on an
appropriate time. The
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he right to protest cannot
T be anytime and every-
where”, the Supreme Court
said as it dismissed a plea
seeking review of its verdict
passed last year in which it had
held the occupation of public
ways during the anti-CAA
protests at Shaheen Bagh here
was “not acceptable”
The top court said there
may be some spontaneous
protests but in case of pro-
longed dissent or protest, there
cannot be continued occupa-
tion of public place affecting
the rights of others.
A bench of Justices Sanjay
Kishan Kaul, Aniruddha Bose
and Kirshna Murari said, “We
have perused the review peti-
tion and record of the civil
appeal and are convinced that
the order of which review has
been sought, does not suffer
from any error apparent war-
ranting its reconsideration”.
The bench, which has
passed the order recently, said
it has considered the earlier
judicial pronouncements and
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Narendra Modi Government is
committed to bringing peace
and development in the region
first,” said Shah.
Slamming the Opposition
for objecting to the posting of
Hindu officer in Muslim-pop-
ulated region, Shah said, “I am
amazed that you people are
now talking about secularism
but what kind of secularism is
this?”
He was replying to the
objections against the Bill
raised by Opposition leaders
Adhir Ranjan Chaowdhury,
Assaduddin Owaisi, Manish
Tewari and NK
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?C8 Q =4F34;78
rotesting farmer unions on
P Saturday demanded a high-
level judicial enquiry into the
violence during the tractor
rally in Delhi on January 26
and the alleged “false” cases
slapped on the peasants.
Addressing a press confer-
ence at the Singhu border,
Samyukta Kisan Morcha lead-
ers asked farmers who are get-
ting police notices not to
appear before the force direct-
ly and instead approach the
legal cell constituted by the
unions for any assistance.
Kuldeep Singh, a member
of SKM’s legal cell, said that a
retired judge of the Supreme
Court or high court should
probe the incidents to unravel
the “conspiracy” behind the
January 26 violence and the
alleged “false cases” against
the farmers.
According to SKM leaders,
16 farmers who had partici-
pated in the tractor parade are
recorded its opinion that “the
Constitutional scheme comes
with a right to protest and
express dissent but with an
obligation to have certain
duties”.
“The right to protest can-
not be anytime and every-
where. There may be some
spontaneous protests but in
case of prolonged dissent or
protest, there cannot be con-
tinued occupation of public
place affecting rights of others”,
the bench said, while dismiss-
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Premachandran. The Rajya
Sabha has already passed the
Bill.
Taking a dig at Shah at one
point, Chowdhury said, “You
claim all development in
Jammu & Kashmir has been
done by Narendra Modi. Please
also claim Dal Lake was also
created by Modi,” said
Chowdhury.
The Home Minister also
slammed some Opposition
members for their claim that
the proposed law negates the
hopes of the region getting
back its erstwhile Statehood.
This legislation has nothing to
Day violence, over 500 police
personnel had been injured,
while a protester had died.
On January 26, thousands
of protesting farmers who
reached ITO from the
Ghazipur border clashed with
the police. Driving tractors,
many of them reached the Red
Fort and hoisted a religious flag
there.
At the press conference,
another leader Ravinder Singh
PRUHKHOGIRU 5V]YZA`]ZTVeR\Vd
-DQYLROHQFH 5VVaDZUYfe`CVU
New Delhi: Three more men
have been arrested in connec-
tion with the violence during
the farmers’ tractor parade in
north Delhi’s Burari area on
Republic day, police said on
Saturday. The accused —
Sukhmeet Singh (35), Gundeep
Singh (33) and Harvinder
Singh (32) — were identified
with the help of CCTV footage
and technical probe following
which raids were conducted.
ing a plea by one Shaheen Bagh
resident Kaniz Fatima and oth-
ers seeking review of last year’s
verdict of October 7.
The top court, which con-
sidered the matter in the judges’
chambers also rejected the
prayer for open court hearing
in the matter.
The apex court had on
October 7, last year held that
public spaces cannot be occu-
pied indefinitely and demon-
strations expressing dissent
have to be in designated places
alone.
It had said occupation of
public ways in the anti-CAA
protests at Shaheen Bagh local-
ity here was “not acceptable”.
Observing that democracy
and dissent “go hand in hand”,
the apex court had said con-
stitutional scheme comes with
the right to protest and express
dissent, but with an obligation
towards certain duties.
It had said the mode and
manner of dissent against colo-
nial rule during India’s freedom
struggle cannot be equated
with dissent in a self-ruled
democracy.
SD Telugu news papers
8=380B2>A4
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do with Statehood, and Jammu
& Kashmir will be accorded the
status at an appropriate time,
Shah reiterated.
He said the region’s Union
Territory status is temporary
and then took a swipe at the
Congress and other parties —
which had backed Article 370
of the Constitution that gave
special status to Jammu &
Kashmir — saying this was a
temporary provision but they
continued with it for over 70
years before the Modi
Government annulled it in
August 2019.
Jammu & Kashmir has
said that 122 farmers had so far
been arrested by Delhi
Police in connection with 14 of
the 44 FIRs, adding that SKM
will provide legal and
financial aid to all the arrested
farmers.
The SKAM leaders claimed
that “false” cases were being
slapped on farmers charging
them with serious offences like
dacoity and attempt to murder
to “harass” them.
7`cee`cVTcVReV
gR_UR]Zd^dTV_V
New Delhi: The Delhi Police’s
Crime Branch on Saturday
took actor-activist Deep Sidhu
and another accused Iqbal
Singh to Red Fort to recreate
the scene of events that unfold-
ed at the historic monument on
Republic Day during the
farmer’s tractor parade, a police
officer said.
&DUDFDOHQGDQJHUHGVSHFLHVQRZ
0A270=09H>C8Q =4F34;78
ha caracal, a medium size
T wild cat with long black
tufted ears, which is found in
some parts of Rajasthan and
Gujarat, has finally caught the
attention of the Government.
Fearing that this species might
not survive for long, the Union
Environment Ministry has now
brought it into the ambit of the
critically endangered species
programme for taking up its
conservation.
With the inclusion of this
species from the cat family,
now there are a total 22 wildlife
species, including snow leop-
ard, bustard (including flori-
cans), dolphin, hangul, nilgiri
tahr, marine turtles, dugongs to
name a few under recovery
programme for critically-
endangered species in the
country.
SD Telugu news papers
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been a top priority for the cur-
rent Government since it came
to power in 2014, he said.
Decentralisation and devolu-
tion of power have taken place
in the Union Territory follow-
ing the revocation of Article
370, Shah said, noting that
panchayat elections saw over 51
per cent voting. Panchayats
have been given administrative
and financial powers for local
development, something they
lacked earlier, he added.
Now people chosen by the
masses will rule J&K, not those
born to “kings and queens”, he
said, attacking dynastic parties
in the region. Even our rivals
could not allege any wrongdo-
ing in these polls which were
conducted fairly and peaceful-
ly, he said.
Work on two AIIMS in the
region has begun, and the
Kashmir valley will be con-
nected to the railways by 2022,
the Union Home Minister said.
He also gave assurance to the
people of Jammu & Kashmir
that “no one will lose their
land”. The Government has
sufficient land for develop-
ment works, Shah said.
The Bill seeks to replace the
Ordinance to merge the J&K
cadre of civil services officer
with the Arunachal Pradesh,
Goa, Mizoram Union Territory
(AGMUT) cadre. Shah said the
Government expects that
around 25,000 Government
jobs will be created in J&K by
2022.
?=BQ =4F34;78
ndia has one of the worst
Iworld
road safety records in the
with a total of 1,50,000
fatalities and 4,50,000 injuries
in road accidents every year,
resulting in social-economic
losses equivalent to a shocking
3.14 per cent of GDP every
year.
As per World Bank report
released by Union Minister
for Road Transport and
Highways Nitin Gadkari on
Saturday, India has one per cent
of the world’s vehicles, but it
accounts for 10 per cent of all
road crash victims.
And more alarming is the
fact that 70 per cent of the fatal-
ities are in the age group of 18
to 45 years.
With the National Road
Safety Month underway, the
World Bank in association with
the SaveLIFE Foundation, a
national non-Governmental
organisation focused on road
safety, released the compre-
hensive report on “Traffic
Crash Injuries and Disabilities:
The Burden on Indian Society.”
Though the International
Union for Conservation of
Nature (ICUN) has not listed
these species as endangered as
there is a huge population of
caracal cats present in the
African continent. In India,
their number has gotten very
low and hence they are con-
sidered endangered species.
They are a rare species of
the cat protected under
Schedule I of
Wi l d l i f e
(Protection) Act,
1972 found only
in Gujarat and
Rajasthan.
In fact, during
the 2018 tiger cen-
sus conducted by
9VZdSVT`^Z_X
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?=BQ =4F34;78
nion Finance Minister
U Nirmala Sitharaman on
Saturday said the Union Budget
2021-22 has set the pace for
aatmanirbhar India and hit
hard at Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi for his “hum do,
humare do” barb saying he is
becoming a “doomsday man”
for the country by constantly
insulting Constitutional func-
tionaries and creating fake nar-
ratives.
Replying to a debate on the
Union Budget in the Lok
Sabha, the Finance Minister
said the challenges of the Covid
pandemic did not deter the
Government from
undertaking reforms for main-
taining long-term goals of the
country.
“The reforms undertaken
will lay the path for India to
become one of those fastest-
growing economies in the
world, she said, adding the
Budget has set the pace for
India to become aatmanirbhar”,
she said.
The Finance Minister said
the Budget has laid emphasis
on increasing capital expendi-
The study, released by
Gadkari, reveals that more
than 75 per cent of poor house-
holds in India reported a
decline in their income as a
result of a road traffic crash.
The financial loss for the poor
amounted to more than seven
months’ household income,
while it was equivalent to less
than one month’s household
income for rich households.
As per the Road Accident
Report, 4,49,002 accidents took
place in the country during
2019, leading to 1,51,113 deaths
the National Tiger
Conser vation Authority
(NTCA) just one caracal was
photocaptured only in one
camera trap from out of 150
camera traps locations for the
entire session in Ranthambhore
in Rajasthan. The location is
situated in the north western
part of Ranthambhore, this
area is dominated with sparse
vegetation with thorny scrub,
said an official from the NTCA.
Similarly an incident of
caracals attacking a man in
Mirzapur has been docu-
mented by Bombay Natural
History Society in its book
“Wild Animals of India”
published in 2004.
The official said that
the National Board for
Wildlife (NBWL) in a meet-
ing in January approved
inclusion of the species in the
recovery programme which
will ensure the species to have
a separate conservation pro-
gramme.
“As per the
pro-
#!! *?064B'#C"
5X]P]RT<X]XbcTa=Xa\P[PBXcWPaP\P]b_TPZbX]cWT;^ZBPQWP^]BPcdaSPh
ture, raising allocation for
healthcare capacity building
and development of agriculture
infrastructure, among others,
which are expected to have a
multiplier effect on the econo-
my.
With regards to increasing
allocation for rural job guar-
antee scheme, Sitharaman said
the Government will allocate
more funds for Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee
(MGNREGA) scheme for
2021-22, if needed, as against
Budget estimate of C73,000
crore. Hitting out at the
Opposition, she said the
Government under
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
“works for common people
and not for crony capitalists.”
In her sharp riposte to
Rahul, she said the former
Congress chief was creating
fake narratives but does not
and 451,361 injuries. In per-
centage terms, the number of
accidents decreased by 3.86 per
cent in 2019 as compared to
2018, while accident-related
deaths decreased by 0.20 per
cent and those injured
decreased by 3.86 per cent.
The World Bank report
highlights the disproportionate
impact of a road crash on poor
households that pushes them
into a vicious cycle of poverty
and debt. It sheds light on the
links between road crashes,
poverty, inequality, and vul-
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gramme, a population estima-
tion will be done and a study
on their habitat so that con-
servation measures can be
taken accordingly,” he said.
The semi-arid region of
Kutch is one of only two homes
of this cat species in India.
According to a research report
“Historical and current extent
of occurrence of the Caracal in
India” by Dharmendra
Khandal and Ishan Dhar from
Tiger Watch and Goddilla
Viswanatha Reddy from
Rajasthan Forest Department,
the caracals’ presence has been
noted in only three States, with
just two possible viable popu-
lations. These are in the marshy
areas of Kutch district, the
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?C8
have patience to listen to replies
on allegations levelled against
the Government.
“We need to recognise
these two tendencies of the
Congress party... this makes it
clear that their belief in a
democratically elected
Parliamentary system is com-
pletely finished,” Sitharaman
said.
Responding to former
Congress president’s speech
on Thursday, during
which he spoke about farm
laws but not on the Budget, she
said, “He is probably becoming
a doomsday man for India.”
The Minister said that the
Congress leader laid the “foun-
dation” but did not speak about
the Budget during the discus-
sion on it.
“I wanted to know from
the Congress why it took a U-
turn on the farm laws but no
reply came,” she said.
nerable road users in India.
The study interviewed
around 2,500 respondents,
including 1,647 respondents
from low-income households,
432 from high-income house-
holds and 420 truck drivers in
the four selected States (Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar representing
Low-Capacity States and Tamil
Nadu and Maharashtra repre-
senting High-Capacity States)
across urban and rural areas.
The qualitative part of the
study included focus group
discussions with road crash
survivors and their family
members and in-depth inter-
views with adolescents aged 14-
18 years.
“We have taken a number
of positive initiatives to reduce
road crash deaths in India.
With the support of all stake-
holders in our society, I am
committed to reducing road
crash deaths by 50 per cent by
2025,” Gadkari said in his
address during the release of
the report in the presence of
Hartwig Schafer, World Bank
Vice-President for the South
Asia region.
higher areas closer to Kalo
Dungar with grassy scrubland;
and in Rajasthan’s Sawai
Madhopur, Karoli, and
Dholpur districts. In Gujarat 19
sightings were reported, all in
Kutch district, and nine of
these were authenticated by
photographs.
According to the earlier
reports, there were around 18
sub-species of caracals pre-
sent. But, as per the study by
Khandal and Dhar, there are
only 3 sub-species of caracals
present. Historically, the cara-
cal was reported in 13 Indian
States in nine out of 26 biotic
provinces. Since 2001, caracals
presence has been reported in
only three States and four biot-
ic provinces, with only two pos-
sible viable populations.
“It is possible that the cara-
cal might still be present but
underreported in States like
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh, and the eastern
parts of India. Targeted surveys
will be required to further ver-
ify and adjust the putative
reduction in range size estab-
lished by this study.
 SD Telugu news papers

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A SAD UNNECESSARY DEATH Yc]YccY^W

DBF2C65=@G6 of the few movies from a list
?VeW]Zi of hundreds that are ingrained
Z_X+>Zc`d]Rh3R\R in our minds and will remain
>ReVfdk3R_RdZf\ there forever.
2UcZR__R4Y]VSZT\R However not all is lost with
<ckjdke`W4kVTk`eH`[TZVTY Squared Love . It has all the
<R]RcfdE`^Rdk<Rc`]R\ ingredients of a love story; a EP[T]cX]T´b3PhPc?EA e^dRWTabU^aR^d_[TbP]S²?EA;^eT;TccTa³®P]
Casanova man, a pretty woman, ET]dT)?EA2X]T\PbPRa^bb &RXcXTbX]R[dSX]V Tg_aTbbX^]^U[^eT^]cWTQXVbRaTT]fXcWcWTXa
;RTV\<_Ra2__R the two meet and that’s it. 3T[WX=2A _Tab^]P[XiTS\TbbPVTP__TPaX]VSdaX]VcWTbW^f
D^`]`hZ\DVSRdeZR_ There is no spark, no chemistry FWT])CX[[5TQadPah '!! 5^aP]TgR[dbXeTRX]T\PcXRTg_TaXT]RT
DeR_\ZVhZTk between the lead. The story is CX\T) !]^^]c^'_\ Rdbc^\TabRP]Q^^Z?EA³b?aXePcTBRaTT]X]Vb
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C
cliched. The acting is nothing
t appears we will have yet to rave about. 0SSX]Vc^cWTVaP]STda?EAQaX]VbPb_TRXP[[h RaTPcTSQhRT[TQaXchRWTU_Tab^]P[XbTS^]bRaTT]

I another Valentine’s Day

where love is missing when
movies are concerned even on
the OTT platform. Extremely
sad and unfortunate given
that Hollywood has some of
the best love stories that makes
one’s heart do somersaults.
You have got Mail, Pretty
Woman, Casablanca are some
The only thing here that
will keep one’s interest are the
fancy cars and great locales, it
is a Polish rom-com. Another
plus is that it is in English. The
good part is that the cars and
locales will manage to hold
interest of both girls and boys.
Not a bad movie to watch on
Valentine’s Day. —BWP[X]XBPZbT]P
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Chod Aaye?
I play Uday Sahani, a Punjabi who
stays with his family in Lahore. He is a
passionate hockey player and is a
emotional person. He has grown up CWTaTPaTb^\T
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intelligent, but probably less confident than P]SU^a\TXcXb
Vashma, his childhood friend and
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into character’s boundary. Uday is
someone who doesn’t express \hQPQXTbP]S8
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understand all this and T`dP[[h
then cultivate a
character. I have taken
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sittings with the
director and the
writers. It took me a emotions on the basis of gender. So
lot of efforts to the characters which are expressive
understand his and have emotions interest me.
personality and get Q A role that comes close to your
hold on the way he heart.
converses with All the characters that I have
everyone. I had to played are close to my heart. I put
learn to play in a lot of hard work and efforts in
hockey as well. whatever role I play. I spend so
Q You are also much time with every character,
shooting for a hence they all are close to my heart.
music video. But to name one it will be Atharv
How are you Bapat in Tujhse Hai Raabta. There are
juggling between some roles that earn you recognition
both? and for me it is Atharv. But having said
Yes, I was shooting a music that all the characters that I have played
video for T-Series. It is always good to are my babies and I love them all equally.
work. I was shooting back to back Q You once told me that you would want
without sleeping for six days. We to see scripts that give enough exposure
travelled to Srinagar and shot there in to all the characters. Has anything
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what I wanted to do in my life. So I Yes, I like scripts where all the
should not complain and rather characters are given equal importance. I
enjoy what I am doing. doubt when only two actors — a male
Q What kind of roles attract you? and female protagonist — pulling the
I like to play characters which show and the story keeps on revolving
have a say and give you scope to around them. People should understand
perform. In my last show Shubh the actors who play antagonists are
Arambh, I played a character who was accomplished actors because they convince
stylish and had an attitude, but now people that they are bad. I don’t think that
I am playing a completely opposite the Indian audience has still understood
character. But having said that I make that negative characters are just actors
sure that my characters cry. It is not playing their part. But with that being
said, if the actors receive hate it means
too and we should not be judging that they are doing justice to their role.

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?=BQ 270=3860A7
day before the civic body
A polls in Punjab, the State
Election Commission said that
Moga and 109 municipal coun-
cils and nagar panchayats in the
state will be held on February
14 from 8 am till 4 pm.
A total of 9,222 candidates
and 160 respectively.
The spokesperson said it
has set up 4,102 polling stations
and out of which, 1,708 have
been declared as sensitive and
861 as hypersensitive, adding
that every voter who enters the
polling station before 4 pm will
have the right to vote. The
employees have also been
deputed. Around 19,000 police
personnel have been deputed to
conduct free and fair elections,
said the spokesperson.
There are 20,49,777 male,
18,65,354 female and 149 trans-
gender voters, totalling
39,15,280 registered voters in
ties had canvassed vigorously
during the campaigning for the
civic body elections in the state
which will see assembly polls
next year. Several Punjab min-
isters including Manpreet
Singh Badal and Balbir Singh
Sidhu had canvassed for the
Congress nominees. The SAD
candidates. The BJP leaders
and candidates had faced farm-
ers' protest during campaign-
ing with the saffron party
accusing the Congress of
unleashing “hooliganism” in
the guise of farmers. Several
senior AAP leaders including
Raghav Chadha had held road-
8=1A845B
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all arrangements are in place
for the elections on Sunday.
An official spokesperson of
the State Election Commission
said that voting for elections to
eight municipal corporations of
Abohar, Bathinda, Batala,
Kapurthala, Mohali,
Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and
are in the fray for 2,302 wards.
Out of the total candidates,
2,832 are contesting as inde-
pendents, 2,037 are of the rul-
ing Congress and 1,569 of the
Akali Dal. The number of can-
didates of the Bharatiya Janata
Party, the Aam Aadmi Party
and the BSP are 1,003, 1,606
counting of votes will take
place on February 17.
The State Election
Commission has also
announced February 14 and 17
as dry days. Around 7,000
Electronic Voting Machines
(EVMs) have been deployed for
voting. A total of 25,010
the state of Punjab for the civic
elections. A total of 30 IAS or
PCS officers have been deput-
ed as observers to conduct
free and fair elections, said the
spokesperson. In these elec-
tions, 50 per cent of seats have
been reserved for women.
All the main political par-
and the BJP are fighting these
elections separately after the
former walked out of the
National Democratic Alliance
over the farm laws issue last
year.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh
Badal and other party leaders
campaigned for their party
shows in several parts of the
state and had sought votes for
the nominees of the main
opposition party in Punjab.
The Opposition had accused
the Congress of “misusing”
the government machinery to
win these polls, a charge denied
by the ruling party.
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?=BQ 270=3860A7 7XbPa:Pa]P[A^WcPZP]S1WXfP]X^]BPcdaSPh\^a]X]V

aryana Chief Minister 1B5B7>>CB3403?0:8=CAD34A0;>=681

?=BQ 270=3860A7
our more people suc-
F cumbed to the coronavirus
in Punjab, bringing the death
toll to 5,694, while 261 fresh
cases pushed the infection
count to 176,064 on Saturday,
according to a medical bulletin.
Meanwhile, 57 health
workers were vaccinated sec-
ond dose on Saturday. A total
of 2372 health workers and
frontline workers were vacci-
nated on the day in the State,
said Health official, adding
that 1, 03, 725 health workers
and frontline workers have
H Manohar Lal Khattar on
Saturday said the present State
2WP]SXVPaW)0?PZXbcP]XX]cadSTafPbbW^cSTPSQhcWT1^aSTa
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Government is farmer friend- SXbcaXRcP]^UUXRXP[^UcWTU^aRTbPXS^]BPcdaSPh1B5ca^^_b]^cTS
ly and will always work in favor
of the farmers, adding that
bdb_XRX^dbPRcXeXch]TPacWTQ^aSTaUT]RTPcPa^d]S!)"P\BT]bX]V
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farmers are our brothers and as \^a]X]VP]ScWTQ^Sh^UP?PZXbcP]XX]cadSTafPbU^d]ScWT^UUXRXP[
aware citizens, they should bPXS5^dacTT]_PRZTcb^UWTa^X]^]T_Xbc^[\PVPiX]TbXga^d]SbP]S
study everything, if there is any cf^\^QX[T_W^]TbfTaTaTR^eTaTSUa^\]TPacWTQ^ShWTbPXS
shortcomings, then they should
come forward to discuss the 7?2<54;828C0C4B?4>?;4>=9D:0AD508A
same with the State BWX\[P)2WXTU<X]XbcTa9PXAP\CWPZdaUT[XRXcPcTS_T^_[T^UcWTBcPcT
Government. b_TRXP[[h_T^_[T^U?P]VX^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U9dZPadUPXaX]?P]VXeP[[Th
Addressing the gathering at ^USXbcaXRc2WP\QP7TbPXScWPcUPXaP]SUTbcXeP[PaTPbh\Q^[^U^da
the foundation stone laying Rd[cdaP[WTaXcPVTP]SbdRWTeT]cb_a^eXSTP]^__^acd]Xchc^RPaah
&=4F20B4B ceremony of Institute of
Business Management and
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340C78= Agripreneurship at Daultabad,
Gurugram district,
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been fascinated so far in the

State.
As per bulletin, there are
2335 active COVID-19 cases in
the state, as of now, the bulletin
said. SBS Nagar reported 82,
Ludhiana 30 cases, SAS Nagar
19, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur
18, Jalandhar and Amritsar 17
among fresh cases witnessed in
the State.
The recovery count rose to
1,68,035 as 221 more patients
were discharged after recover-
ing from the infection, the
bulletin said. Five critical
COVID-19 patients are on
ventilator support while 93 are
on oxygen support, it said. A
total of 47,09,119 samples have
been collected for testing so far
in the state, it said.
270=3860A7
Chandigarh: Chandigarh on
Saturday reported 17 new coro-
navirus cases on Saturday, tak-
ing the infection count to
21,220, according to a medical
bulletin. One Covid-19 related
death took place and the death
toll stands at 345. As per bul-
letin, there are 123 active cases
as of now. A total of 35 patients
were discharged after they
recovered from infection, tak-
ing the overall recoveries to
20,752, the bulletin said. A total
of 2,33,067 samples have been
taken for testing so far and of
them, 2,10,904 have tested neg-
ative while reports of 81 sam-
ples were awaited, it added.
SR
Chief Minister again reit-
erated that the MSP system will
remain unchanged. Taking a
dig at the opposition parties, he
said that the job of the oppo-
sition parties is always to crit-
icize the government's work,
but while criticizing they
should also know their limits.
He said that opposition
parties including Congress are
doing politics on the protest
being held on the three
Agriculture Laws. Congress
wanted to implement these
bills, as during their tenure,
they had also discussed these
laws. The Chief Minister said
that there are 17 lakh farmers
in Haryana and the State
Government has to formulate
schemes for all.
Speaking about the insti-
tute, the Chief Minister said
that this would be unique in
Haryana and through this
Institution, there will be ample
opportunities for sale and man-
agement of the agricultural
products.
“At present the cultivation
area is getting smaller and in
such a situation we have to look
for the ways to earn more
profit by adopting new tech-
nology or to do cultivation in
a scientific manner," he said.
Khattar said that plans are
being made as per the market
requirements and efforts are
being made by the State
Government to track every
farmer so that he receives seeds
and manure timely and at a
good price in the markets so
that he can become prosperous.
The Chief Minister said
that to meet the needs of Delhi
NCR, the farmer should
increase production of veg-
etables, fruits, flowers, milk,
fisheries, milk products etc. He
informed that ‘Haryana Kisan
Kalyan Pradhikaran’, has been
set up in the State so as to
ensure that the benefit of the
agriculture related schemes
being implemented through
different departments reaches
the farmers.
Agriculture and Farmers’
Welfare Minister, J.P Dalal said
that the Haryana Government
is working for the welfare of
farmers’ and this does not have
a parallel anywhere in the
country. Whether it is about
purchasing crops or giving fair
prices for crops, the state gov-
ernment is leaving no stone
unturned for the welfare of the
farmers'.
MLA, Badshahpur and
Chairman, Haryana Agro
Industries Corporation,
Gurugram, Rakesh
Daulatabad, Additional Chief
Secretary, Agriculture and
Farmers’ Welfare Department,
Devender Singh, Vice
Chancellor, Chaudhary Charan
Singh Haryana Agricultural
University, Professor Samar
Singh were present on the
occasion.
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?=BQ 270=3860A7

aryana Chief Minister

H Manohar Lal Khattar held
a pre-Budget meeting with the
MPs of the state at the resi-
dence of Ambala MP and
Union Minister of State for Jal
Shakti and Social Justice and
Empowerment, Rattan Lal
Kataria in New Delhi and said
like previous year, this year too,
the State Budget would be pre-
pared and presented after hold-
ing discussions and seeking
suggestions from public repre-
sentatives including MPs and
1aXSTc^QTcfTTcb
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?=BQ 270=3860A7
pset with the prospect of
U receiving her wedding
guests at her residence in a
water-logged area, a Faridabad
woman took to Twitter to
apprise Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar of her
predicament and the problem
disappeared in a jiffy.
The Social Media
Grievance Tracker (SMGT)
team of the Haryana govern-
ment immediately forwarded
the would-be bride’s tweet to
relevant authorities and the
problem was taken care of
immediately, days before her
scheduled marriage on
MLAs of the State.
Their suggestions and their
expectations regarding the
development of their areas
would be incorporated in the
State Budget, he said.
Addressing media persons
after the meeting, the chief
minister said that during the
pre-Budget meeting, various
discussions were held with the
MPs regarding their require-
ments and expectations for
the development of their
respective Constituencies.
The suggestions given by
the MPs would definitely be
³7ah3T_dch2<baTbXV]PcX^]fX[[]^cbTaeTP]h_da_^bT´
Chandigarh: Afraid of losing
the vote bank owing to the
much delay in resolving the issue
of those farmers protesting
against the Centre's three agri-
cultural laws, the BJP-led coali-
tion partner JJP's leader Ajay
Chautala on Saturday said that
withdrawing the Haryana gov-
ernment's support "will not
serve any purpose".
His reaction came after he
was asked whether Deputy Chief
Minister Dushyant Chautala
and other Ministers from the
Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) will
resign from the BJP
Government as the pressure
was mounting on withdrawing
the support of the farm laws.
"Dushyant's resignation is
lying in my pocket and I can give
it immediately if it serves any
purpose," he told the media.
incorporated in the upcoming
State Budget. Besides this,
discussions were also held with
MPs regarding increasing
Haryana's participation in the
Union Budget, informed the
Chief Minister.
Responding to queries
"The Centre has made these
legislations. Either the govern-
ment should resolve this issue or
all the 10 Lok Sabha MPs from
Haryana or all the 5 Rajya
Sabha members resign who
have endorsed these laws," he
said.
Without mincing words,
the senior Chautala, who is on
parole from Tihar Jail the teach-
ers' recruitment case, clarified, "I
had said this earlier too that I
would not take a minute."
Responding to the resigna-
tion of Indian National Lok Dal's
lone legislator and his elder
brother Abhay Singh Chautala's
resignation from the state
assembly in protest against the
farm laws, Ajay Chautala said,
"No purpose is served with his
resignation."
"I have been saying from
regarding the ongoing farmers'
agitation, Khattar said, “the
Central Government is clearly
of the view that the three
Agricultural laws are for the
benefit of the farmers and will
certainly boost the economic
prosperity of the agricultural
sector. Some people are protest-
ing just for the sake of protest
and it also shows their vested
political intent. However, if
through positive dialogue, any
amendment in these laws is
required, then the Central
Government is and will always
be ready for making the
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day one that the problem can be
resolved only by talks. Farmers
had started with certain issues
and clarifications have been
given by the Agriculture
Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has said that the government is
ready to resolve the issue. If peo-
ple are still not satisfied, then
what can be done. They should
go and hold discussions with the
government. There can be solu-
tions only when both sides bend
a little."
The JJP has been facing crit-
icism within the party for not
required amendments. I am
hopeful that soon the issue
would be resolved", he said.
The MPs who participated
in the meeting include Rattan
Lal Kataria, Union Minister of
State for Social Justice and
Empowerment Krishan Pal
Gurjar, Arvind Kumar Sharma,
Dharambir Singh, Ramesh
Chander Kaushik, Nayab Singh
Saini, Sanjay Bhatia, Brijendra
Singh and Sunita Duggal. Rajy
Sabha MPs, Lt Gen Dr DP Vats
(Retd.), Dushyant Gautam and
Ram Chander Jangra were also
present.
walking out of the alliance on the
farmers' issue and 'clinging to
power'.
In an alliance, the JJP
extended support to the BJP,
which had won 40 seats, six
short of the majority mark.
The JJP -- a defector of the
state's once prominent regional
outfit Indian National Lok Dal
(INLD), is primarily a rural Jat-
centric party with the farmers as
its core vote bank. The Jat, a
dominant farming community,
comprises 28 per cent of the
state's population.
The current strength of the
90-member Assembly is 88
members with the resignation of
INLD's Abhay Chautala and
disqualification of Congress'
Pradeep Chaudhary after he
was sentenced to three-year
imprisonment. IANS
acZ^VRTTfdVUYV]UWc`^5V]YZ
?=BQ 270=3860A7
ukhwinder, the main
S accused in the murder of
five people at a wrestling acad-
emy (akhara) in Haryana's
Rohtak was on Saturday arrest-
ed from Samaypur Badli by the
Delhi Police in a joint operation
with Haryana Police, officials
said.
"He would be produced in
court and then handed over to
the Haryana police," said a
senior police officer. The
Haryana Police were tailing the
accused, himself a wrestling
coach and there were inputs
that he was hiding in the
national Capital. The Delhi
Police, along with members of
the Haryana Police, succeeded
in identifying the location of
the accused and finally arrest-
ed him.
Coach Manoj Malik, his
wife Sakshi Malik and three
other wrestlers were allegedly
gunned down at an akhara on
Friday evening by wrestling
coach Sukhwinder in a fit of
rage over his suspension from
the job. Police said the pre-
liminary investigation indicat-
ed that Manoj had got
Sukhwinder terminated from
the job on a complaint.
The dead include Manoj, a
resident of Saragthala village in
Sonepat, his wife Sakshi, Pooja,
wrestling coach Satish Kumar
and Pradeep Malik. Sakshi's
three-year-old son and Amarjit
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were injured in the crime. Sharma said. However, the SP
Earlier the Haryana Police said he is not in a position to
had announced a reward of Rs
1 lakh for the prime suspect
tell the motive of the crime. “It
is a matter of investigation,” he
Sukhwinder and also consti-
tuted a Special Investigation
said, adding that no eyewitness
has come forward as of now.
Team. “As per the feedback we
Superintendent of Police got, there should be more eye-
Rahul Sharma earlier told the witnesses there,” he said. On
reporters in Rohtak that the
main accused, Sukhvinder, had
the number of bullets fired,
Sharma said, “The post-
been working as a wrestling mortem of the dead is going on.
coach at the college's gymna- Anything can be said about the
sium. After receiving some number of bullet injuries only
complaints, Manoj Malik had
terminated his services, said
after the post-mortem. Before
this, it will be very difficult to
Sharma. “Prima facie, because say how many shots were fired.”
of this grudge, he (Sukhvinder) Sharma said Sukhvinder, a
committed the crime,” said resident of Gohana, did not
Sharma. have any licensed weapon. It is
The SP said as per available being investigated by the col-
information as of now, there lege authorities whether
was only one accused but he Sukhvinder was given appoint-
also did not rule out the pos- ment in written or on contract.
sibility of the involvement of “We are collecting documents.
some other people. Police are Whether he was conveyed in
collecting evidence from the written about his termination
crime scene and the CCTV of services or was communi-
footage is also being collected, cated verbally,” the SP said.

7?6deaXSTb^]BWX\[P:P[ZPAPX[2Pa
February 16, an official state-
ment said on Saturday.
Khattar’s IT Consultant
Dhruv Majumdar said
Faridabad’s Parvatiya Colony ?=BQ B78<;0 informed the Governor about the his-
resident Kamini’s wedding was torical background of Barog station and
scheduled to be held on imachal Governor Bandaru also about Colonel Barog and British
February 16. But she was upset
with the prospect of receiving
H Dattatraya on Saturday enjoyed a
rail car journey from Shimla to Kalka
officer Harrington.
The Governor also enquired of the
her guests at her residence in a with family members. During the jour- Nails Token Instrument system, with
water-logged area and she ney, he also stayed for a short period at the help of which the train runs. He said
raised her concerns on Twitter Barog and visited the railway station and the Shimla-Kalka railway track was an
on Februar y 10, said received information about this his- international heritage and was truly a
Majumdar. In fact, she had spe- torical station. center of attraction. He expressed sat-
cially created an account on the Governor and Lady Governor isfaction over the cleanliness and main-
social networking site to tweet Vasantha Bandaru were welcomed at tenance of Barog railway station. He
in this regard, he added. Barog by Station Superintendent said that this station should be further
While speaking to media Dharam Dutt Upadhyay. The Governor developed and additional facilities
persons later, Kamini's moth- visited the office building and tunnel should be provided so that more and
er too expressed gratitude to andSDwith keen news
Telugu interest attained knowl-
papers more tourists could visit this place and
the chief minister for the quick edge regarding the same. This office which would also give a further boost
action. building was built in 1902. Upadhyay to the tourism activities in the State.

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he Delhi Police Crime
T Branch on Saturday took
actor-activist Deep Sidhu and
another accused Iqbal Singh
to Red Fort to recreate the
scene of events that unfolded
at the historic monument on
Republic Day during the
farmer's tractor parade.
Deep Sidhu, according to
police, was a prominent play-
er behind the January 26 vio-
lence and vandalism at the
Red Fort. He was arrested
from Karnal bypass in
Haryana on Monday night
by a team of Delhi Police's
Special Cell. On Tuesday,
Sidhu was sent to seven-day
police custody by a city court
in Delhi.
A senior police official
said Sidhu and another
accused arrested in the case
Iqbal Singh were taken to the
Red Fort by a crime branch
team to recreate the scene of
events that unfolded on
Republic Day at the monu-
ment.
The team probing the case
will inspect the spot to ascer-
tain and corroborate the route
taken by them, their activities
at the Red Fort and how
things unfolded at the monu-
ment on Republic Day when
the violence broke out, the
official added.
Iqbal Singh, who was car-
rying a reward of Rs 50,000 on
his arrest, was nabbed from
Hoshiarpur in Punjab on
Tuesday night by the northern
range of Delhi Police's Special
Cell. The Delhi police had
announced a cash reward of Rs
SD Telugu news papers
1 lakh for information that can
lead to the arrest of actor
Sidhu, Jugraj Singh, Gurjot
Singh and Gurjant Singh who
hoisted flags at the Red Fort or
were involved in the act.
A cash reward of Rs 50,000
each was also announced for
Buta Singh, Sukhdev Singh,
Jajbir Singh and Iqbal Singh
for allegedly instigating pro-
testers.
CWaTT\^aTWT[S
X]R^]]TRcX^]fXcW
A3PheX^[T]RT
BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
elhi Police have arrested
D three more men in con-
nection with the violence dur-
ing the farmers' tractor parade
in north Delhi's Burari area on
Republic day.
The accused, Sukhmeet
Singh (35), Gundeep Singh
(33) and Harvinder Singh
(32), were identified with the
help of CCTV footage and
technical investigation fol-
lowing which raids were con-
ducted to nab them, they said.
Police said that both Sukhmeet
and Gundeep are residents of
Hari Nagar in west Delhi while
Harvinder is a resident of
Libaspur area.
The Special Investigation
Team (SIT) of north district
arrested the three men for
their alleged role in the vio-
lence at Burari area on
Republic day, a senior police
officer said. With these arrest,
the police have arrested 14
people so far in connection
with the violence at Burari on
Republic day.
SD Telugu news papers
²BRW^[Pab\dbcaPXbT
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?=BQ 270=3860A7
he Punjab Arts Council
T organised an online
Trilingual National Kavi
Darbar dedicated to the 400th
Parkash Purb of the ninth
Guru Sri Tegh Bahadur Sahib.
Nine prominent poets recited
their poems and songs during
the Kavi Darbar in Hindi,
Punjabi and Urdu languages.
Renowned Punjabi poet and
Chairman of Punjab Arts
Council Dr. Surjit Patar inau-
gurated the event.
Speaking on the occasion
Dr. Patar said that the signif-
icance of teachings, sacrifice
and incomparable martyrdom
of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji
has increased even more in the
present era when the existence
of many religions is threatened
by divisions in the name of
religion. He said that some
politicians were spreading
hatred in the name of religion
for their petty political inter-
ests.
Dr. Patar said that Guru
Tegh Bahadur Ji known as
‘Hind Di Chadar’ sacrificed his
life to save all religions and
downtrodden people. He
called upon poets and schol-
ars to raise their voices against
hatred which is being spread
in the name of religion to
divide people and spread the
message of Sri Guru Tegh
Bahadur ji to respect all reli-
gions. He also recited his
poem ‘Jiss tegh de ghat guru
utre, uss ton khoon nahi
sukda’ on the occasion.
Punjabi Scholar Ninder
Ghungianvi introduced the
participant poets who recited
poems and songs on the life,
teachings and sacrifice of Guru
Tegh Bahadur.
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BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
he Economic Offences
al and it was renewed. The
bank statement was received
from the bank and it was
T Wing (EOW) of Delhi
Police has arrested a 32 year old
noticed that an amount of Rs.
530 was credited in the
man for allegedly swindling account from unknown and a
public money to the tune of Rs
6.5 crores in the National
fake email ID of complainant is
mentioned on the account
Capital. statement,” said the Joint CP.
The accused has been iden- “An email stating deduc-
tified as Arun Kumar Swami, a tion in the FD due to Sweep in
resident of Bikaner in facility was received from the
Rajasthan who surrendered bank and found that amount of
before police. approx. Rs. 6.5 Crore had been
According to Dr O P siphoned off and embezzled
Mishra, the Joint from the FDR without the
Commissioner of Police, EOW, knowledge or authorization of
complainant, Arjun Saigal
alleged that his company
the complainant in to the
account of a person Ram
Interocean Shipping Company
holds current account at Yes
Chander Vaishanav and com-
pany/firm Krishna Printers.
Bank and also holds 3 FDRs.
“One of the FDRs was
He also observed that the
requests for demographic
matured and therefore, a letter change bear his forged signa-
was sent on behalf of the com- tures and forged seal of the
plainant to Yes Bank for renew- company,” said the Joint CP.
$]_bU3_fYTTUQdXc("
VbUcXSQcUcY^8QbiQ^Q
?=BQ 270=3860A7
aryana on Saturday recorded 82 more coronavirus
H cases, taking the tally to 2,68,969, while there were
four more fatalities due to the pathogen on the day, the
Health Department said. Moreover, 325 health workers
were vaccinated second dose on Saturday. Health offi-
cial said that 2209 health workers and frontline work-
ers were vaccinated on the day. 2, 00, 672 health work-
ers and frontline workers were vaccinated so far in the
State, he added.
According to medical bulletin, there are 845 active
cases, while 2, 65, 085 people have recuperated, taking
the recovery rate to 98.56 per cent. Out of Four fatali-
ties, three were reported from Rohtak while one from
Hisar. The total number of fatalities stands at 3039, the
bulletin stated. The 82 new infections include 22 from
Gurugram, 15 from Yamunanagar, 10 from Panchkula and
eight from Karnaldistricts, taking the tally 2,68,969.

270=3860A7kBD=30H k541AD0AH #!!
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?=BQ =4F34;78
he parliamentary standing
T committee on defence
intends to visit the Galwan
Valley and the Pangong lake in
the eastern Ladakh region
which has been witness to a
violent stand-off between the
troops of India and China,
sources said.
However, it may seek the
permission of the Government
before visiting the strategical-
ly-located areas, they said.
The 30-member commit-
tee, chaired by senior BJP
leader and former Union
Minister Jual Oram and of
which Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi is a member, intends to
visit the eastern Ladakh region
in the last week of May or June,
the sources said on Friday.
The decision to visit these
areas was taken in the panel’’s
latest meeting, they said.
Gandhi did not attend it.
The panel’’s visit to the Line
of Actual Control (LAC)
depends on the approval from
the government, the sources
added.
After a nine-month stand-
''U^ac^QPRR^R^]ca^[[Pfbc^WPeT\^aTcTTcW)BcdSh 1RQHZ&RYLGGHDWKLQ6WDWHV87V
?=BQ =4F34;78
O ver 80 per cent of Indians
consider the consumption
of smokeless tobacco to be a very
serious problem and 88 per
cent strongly support the
strengthening of the current
tobacco control law to address
this menace, as per a recent
study conducted by Consumer
VOICE, an NGO engaged in
creating awareness on consumer
rights and laws.
The survey conducted on
tobacco use and its impact in 10
States in the country also found
that 72 per cent of people believe
passive smoking poses a serious
health hazard.
“The majority of the respon-
dents supported banning smok-
ing in all public places, elimi-
nating special smoking areas in
airports, hotels, and restaurants,
banning the sale of loose ciga-
rettes and bidis and advertising
tobacco products at selling
points,” said the survey which
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?=BQ =4F34;78
he first phase of Budget
T Session of Parliament,
which commenced with the
Address of the President of
India on January 29, conclud-
ed on Saturday. The overall
productivity of the Lok Sabha
remained at 99.5%, according
to Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla.
Birla, while interacting
with the media in Parliament
House said that the Budget
Session of Parliament ran
smoothly and transacted
important business even
beyond midnight.
The first part of the Budget
Session, 2021 has been highly
productive, the Speaker said.
The Speaker thanked the
Leader of the House the Prime
Minister, Leaders of all politi-
cal parties, Members of
Parliament, media and officers
and staff of the Lok Sabha
Secretariat for the smooth
conduct of the Lok Sabha.
Birla Said that during the
first part of the Budget Session
2021, Lok Sabha sat for 49
hours and 17 minutes against
the stipulated time of 50 hours.
The Discussion on the Motion
of Thanks on President’s
Address took place for 16
hours and 39 minutes and 130
Members participated in the
Discussion.
Lok Sabha Speaker also
informed that whereas 10
off, militaries of Indian and
China reached an agreement
on disengagement in the north
and south banks of Pangong
lake that mandates both sides
to cease forward deployment of
troops in a “phased, coordi-
nated and verifiable” manner.
On Thursday, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh made
a detailed statement in
Parliament on the disengage-
ment pact.
According to the agree-
ment, China has to pull back its
troops to east of Finger 8 areas
in the northern bank while the
Indian personnel will be based
at their permanent base at
Dhan Singh Thapa Post near
Finger 3 in the region.
Similar action will take
place on the south bank of the
lake as well, Singh said.
India has not “conceded”
any territory to China by firm-
ing up an agreement on the dis-
engagement process in
Pangong Tso in eastern
Ladakh, and other outstanding
“problems” including in
Depsang, Hot Springs ad Gogra
will be taken up at the upcom-
ing talks between military com-
was conducted in the backdrop
of Government’s proposal to
amend the tobacco control act.
The survey noted that a least
82 percent of the respondents
believe smokeless tobacco use is
a profoundly serious problem;
80 percent say so about smok-
ing cigarettes while 77 per cent
have the same notion on smok-
ing of bidis.
The study found that more
than nine in ten Indians are of
the opinion that the Centre
should strengthen the existing
tobacco law and ensure its strict
implementation across the
country.
Support for the law is high
across all demographic and geo-
graphic areas irrespective of
age-group and gender, with
hours was allocated for
General Discussion on Union
Budget 2021-2022, the House
debated for 14 hours and 40
minutes. As many as 117
Members took part in the
General Discussion on Union
Budget 2021-2022. 173
Members participated in Zero
Hour discussions. Several mat-
ters of urgent public impor-
tance were raised by the
Members during Zero Hour.
House lost an effective
time of 43 minutes due to dis-
ruptions.
49 women MPs partici-
pated in the discussion on
Motion of Thanks on
President’s Address and
Budget.
He said, despite the House
sitting late beyond midnight, a
large number of women
Members remained present and
participated in the proceed-
ings, raising many important
issues.
Responding to questions
regarding disruptions in the
House, Lok Sabha Speaker said
that the ultimate objective is to
strengthen democracy. So, it is
the responsibility of all
Members to ensure that demo-
cratic and ethical standards are
maintained in the House and
rules are followed scrupulous-
ly.
The Speaker said that the
time lost due to disruptions has
been compensated by the House
by sitting beyond schedule time.
manders of the two countries,
the defence ministry said on
Friday.
The statement by the min-
istry came hours after Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi alleged
that the Government has
“ceded” Indian territory to
China and raised questions
over the agreement on the dis-
engagement process.
The ministry also dubbed
as “categorically false” the asser-
tion that Indian territory is up
to Finger 4 in the Pangong Tso
area, adding the permanent
posts of both sides in the area
are “longstanding and well-
established”.
“India has not conceded
any territory as a result of this
agreement. On the contrary, it
has enforced observance and
respect for LAC and prevent-
ed any unilateral change in the
status quo,” the ministry said in
the strongly-worded statement.
The MEA also said the two
countries have agreed to con-
vene the 10th round of senior
commanders meeting within
48 hours after complete disen-
gagement in the Pangong Lake
area to address the remaining
issues, and added that no date
has been set for Working
Mechanism for Consultation
and Coordination (WMCC) on
India-China border affairs.
The agreement on disen-
gagement in the north and
south banks of Pangong lake
mandates both Chinese and
Indian sides to “cease” for-
ward deployment of troops in
a “phased, coordinated and
verifiable” manner.
even tobacco users supporting it.
The interview was con-
ducted in 10 languages (Hindi,
Gujarati, Punjabi, Oriya,
Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu,
Malayalam, and Kannada)
across the country.
“It is very encouraging to see
the overwhelming support from
people for strengthening the
current tobacco control law.
The Government has started the
amendment process of tobacco
control law COTPA 2003 which
is an important step towards
improving public health.
?=BQ =4F34;78
unjab has become the 13th
P State in the country to suc-
cessfully undertake “One
Nation One Ration Card sys-
tem” reform. The State has
become eligible to mobilise
additional financial resources of
C1,516 crore rupees through
Open Market Borrowings.
According to the Ministry of
Finance, permission for the
same was issued by the
Department of Expenditure.
The other 12 States which
have completed this reform are
Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat,
Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura
and Uttar Pradesh.
Till now, 17 States have car-
SD Telugu news papers
0ccPRZ^]2A?5R^]e^h) B2_P]T[[XZT[hc^aTPRW^dcc^_a^cTbcX]V
=80UX[TbRWPaVTbWTTc UPa\Tabc^cPZTcWTXaeXTfb^]UPa\[Pfb
PVPX]bc7<^_TaPcXeT A
filed chargesheet against six
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terror-
ists for their role in this
attack.
The accused Naveed
Mushtaq Shah alias Naveed
Babu is a former constable of
Jammu and Kashmir police.
?=BQ =4F34;78 He had decamped with arms
and ammunition in 2017,
he National Investigation when he was posted as a
T Agenc y (NIA) on
Saturday filed a supplemen-
guard in FCI, Budgam. After
deserting the force he had
tary chargesheet against Hizb- joined the terrorist group
ul-Mujahideen terrorist
Naveed Mushtaq Shah, alias
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and
became an active terrorist, the
Naveed Babu, before the NIA said.
Special NIA Court, Jammu “Investigation has estab-
under various Ranbir Penal lished that accused Naveed
Code sections and Explosive Mushtaq Shah was actively
Substances Act b esides involved in the planning and
Kashmir Public Property execution of the attack on the
(Prevention of Damage) Act CRPF convoy in Banihal
and Unlawful Activities along with other terrorists
(Prevention) Act. Riyaz Ahmed Naikoo, Rayees
The case relates to an Ahmed Khan and Dr.
attack on the CRPF convoy at Saifullah Mir who were sub-
Tethar, Banihal, Ramban dis- sequently killed in encounters
trict in Jammu and Kashmir with security forces,” it said.
by a terrorist who had explod- The deceased terrorists
ed an explosive-laden Santro Sahil Abdullah Bhat, Adil
car on March 30, 2019 with Bashir Sheikh and Zubair
the intention of killing secu- Ahmed Wani were actively
rity personnel and waging involved in preparation of
war against the Government the explosives that went into
of India. the making of the IED.
In this regard, a case FIR Charges have been abated
No 39/2019 dated March 30, against the deceased terrorists
2019 was registered at Police involved in the conspiracy.
Station Banihal, Ramban. The Charges have been
NIA re-registered the case as framed by the NIA Court
RC-3/2019/NIA/JMU on against the six accused
April 15, 2019 and took over chargesheeted earlier.
the investigation of the case. Further trial is continu-
The agency had earlier ing, it added.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Inotnandreported
a big relief, at least 17 States
Union Territories have
any new Covid-19
fatality, while 13 States and
UTs have reported between 1
and 5 new deaths due to the
infections in the last 24 hours on
Friday, indicating a significant
decline in the spread of the dis-
ease which has swept the worl-
dover for more than a year.
India’s total Covid-19 active
“It is looking to strengthen caseload currently stands at
the provisions for prohibiting 1.36 lakh (1,36,571) comprising
smoking in public places and a just 1.25 per cent of the total
ban on point-of-sale advertising infections while a total of
displays besides ban on sale of 1,06,00,625 people have recov-
loose cigarettes and have high- ered so far with 11,395 patients
er penalties,” said Ashim Sanyal, getting discharged in a day.
Chief Operating Officer, The Ministry said 81.93
Consumer VOICE. per cent of the new recovered
Tobacco use is the leading cases are observed to be con-
preventable cause of disease centrated in six states with
and premature deaths globally Kerala reporting the maximum
and in India more than 10 number of single-day recover-
Lakhs people are losing life ies, with 5,332 newly-recov-
every year due to tobacco relat- ered cases. A total o f2,422 peo-
ed diseases. ple recovered in Maharashtra in
ried out at least one of the four One Nation One Ration Card
stipulated reforms and have System ensures availability of
been granted reform linked ration to beneficiaries under
borrowing permissions. On National Food Security Act
completion of One Nation One and other welfare schemes at
Ration Card system reform, any Fair Price Shop across the
these 13 states have been grant- country.
ed additional borrowing per- The reform especially
mission of Rs 34,956 crore by empowers the migratory pop-
the Department of Expenditure. ulation who frequently change
Out of these, 13 states have their place of dwelling to be self-
implemented the one nation reliant in food security. One
one ration card system, 12 Nation One Ration Card
states have done ease of doing System is an important citizen-
business reforms, 6 states have centric reform. Its implemen-
done local body reforms and 2 tation ensures availability of
states have undertaken power ration to beneficiaries under
sector reforms. National Food Security Act
Total reform linked addi- (NFSA) and other welfare
tional borrowing permission schemes, especially the migrant
issued so far to the states
SD Telugu workers
stands news and their families, at
papers
at Rs 76,512 crore. any Fair Price Shop (FPS)
The implementation of across the country.
A094B7:D<0AQ =4F34;78
fter holding meetings with
a number of stakeholders
engaged in the agriculture sec-
tor including Amul, ITC and
Farmer Producer
Organisations (FPOs), the
Supreme Court-appointed
expert committee is likely to
reach out to protesting farmer
unions to take their viewpoints
over the three farm legislations.
Top sources said that the com-
mittee is expected to invite agi-
tating farmers for discussion
after next week. The protesting
farmers under the banner of
Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM)
- has refused to talk to the com-
mittee -continue to protest at
Delhi’s borders - Tikri, Singhu,
and Ghazipur for over 80 days.
On the other hand, BJP
MP Subramanian Swamy took
to Twitter on Saturday to crit-
icise the Centre’s treatment of
the farmers’ agitation saying the
farmers’ agitation may soon
become an international issue
as human rights groups plan to
approach the International
Labour Organisation of the
United Nations. He further
alleged that Chinese media are
distorting the farmers’ agita-
tion. “Our I&B Ministry should
see that it is effectively coun-
tered since Chinese media
influence in our neighbour-
hood is considerable now,” he
tweeted.
“The agitating farmers
groups have been given invita-
tions in the past but they
refused. Now, the committee
will again try to reach out the
agitating farmers to seek their
view points, “sources said. The
committee has held meeting
the past 24 hours, followed by
486 in Tamil Nadu.
A total 12,143 daily new
cases registered in a span of 24
hours, it said, adding that 86.01
per cent of the new cases are
from six states.
Kerala continues to report
the highest daily new cases at
5,397, followed by Maharashtra
with 3,670, while Tamil Nadu
reported 483 new cases.
Further, 103 deaths were
=^bTeTaT 2^]Vb[P\b5<´bS^^\bSPh
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ongress on Saturday Chowdhury said, “ We want
?=BQ =4F34;78
he Union Health Ministry
T on Saturday said that no
case of serious or severe
Adverse event following immu-
nization (AEFI) or death has
been attributable to vaccination
till date even as it said that the
second dose of the vaccination
have kicked off for the benefi-
ciaries who have completed 28
days after receiving the first
dose of vaccine.
Deaths reported so far in
cases where vaccination has
been conducted to date is 27.
There are 3 deaths reported in
the past 24 hours who had
taken vaccination at some point
in time in the recent past,
Health Ministry added.
On Saturday alone, 84,807
vaccinations (provisional fig-
ure) were completed till 6 pm.
Meanwhile, India has vac-
cinated close to 80 lakh bene-
ficiaries against COVID-19,
the ministry said. Till 8 AM on
Februar y 13, a total of
79,67,647 beneficiaries have
been administered shots under
the countrywide COVID-19
vaccination exercise.
Out of these, 5,909,136 are
healthcare workers and
2,058,511 are frontline workers.
A total of 1,64,781 sessions
have been conducted so far.
On day 28 (February 12) of
the vaccination drive, 4,62,637
beneficiaries (healthcare work-
ers- 94,160 and frontline work-
ers- 3,68,477) were vaccinated
across 10,411 sessions, the
ministry said.
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with 12 farmers’ unions and
Farm Produce Organisations’
(FPOs) and representatives of
18 State and Union Territories
of agriculture departments and
sought their feedback over the
farm legislations in the past two
days.
The three-member panel
has interacted with a large
number of farmer unions,
farmer producer organisations
(FPOs) as well as senior offi-
cials of state agriculture mar-
keting boards and private man-
dis to understand their points
of view on the contentious
farm laws. According to the
agriculture ministry, during
discussion, they not only gave
their frank views about the
recorded in a span of 24 hours.
Six states account for 80.58 per
cent of the new deaths.
Maharashtra saw the maximum
of 36 casualties. Kerala follows
with 18 daily deaths, while
Karnataka and Punjab report-
ed 8 deaths each.
For over two weeks, the
country has recorded less than
15,000 new infections daily.
Also, the daily Covid-19 death
toll has been below the 200-
?=BQ =4F34;78
the Congress are not baseless.
Quoting a report by Oxfam,
C slammed Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
over her remarks on former
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi,
describing him as a “dooms-
day man” for India. The party
said that she is an angry
Minister who has ruined the
economy.
Speaking to the media
after Sitharaman’s speech in
Lok Sabh, Congress leader in
Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan
Chowdhury said, “She is not
Finance Minister but is an
angry minister. She is dan-
gerous for the Indian econo-
my. She along with Prime
Minister (Narendra Modi)
has ruined the economy of the
country and their only motto
is ‘Hum do, hamare do’.
Lashing out at the Finance
Minister, Chowdhury said
that the allegations made by
08<?;1\^eTbB2PVPX]bc_[TP
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?C8Q =4F34;78
he All India Muslim
T Personal Law Board (AIM-
PLB) has moved the Supreme
Court against a plea seeking
“uniform grounds of divorce”
for all citizens of the country,
keeping with the spirit of the
Constitution and internation-
al conventions.
The AIMPLB has opposed
the plea filed by advocate and
BJP leader Ashwini Kumar
agrarian laws but also gave sug-
gestions to improve the imple-
mentation of the laws.
The Committee has held
nine rounds of deliberations
with stakeholders engaged
directly or indirectly in the
agriculture sector so far. The
three-member committee has
been holding consultations
with stakeholders, both online
and in person.
The SKM has planned six
mahapanchayats or mega gath-
erings of farmers over two
weeks as part of its efforts to
add more numbers to the
protest sites. On Friday, maha-
panchayats were held in
Moradabad in UP and
Bahadurgarh in Haryana.
Three mahapanchayats will be
organised in Sri Ganganagar,
Hanumangarh and Seeker in
Rajasthan on February 18, 19
and 23 respectively. Besides,
one mahapanchayat will be
organised in Sirsa in Haryana
on February 22 to decide the
further course of the agitation.
At present, the talks between
the Union Government and the
farmers’ unions have come to
a standstill.
mark for more than a month
now.
On February 9, India had
reported 9,110 new cases, the
lowest this year so far. Last year,
the lowest 9,633 cases were
recorded on June 3.
The recovery rate has
increased to 97.32 per cent,
while the fatality rate is down to
1.43 per cent. The ministry
also informed that 7,43,614
samples were tested on Friday.
to ask the Finance Minister
how does she explain that the
lockdown made India’s bil-
lionaires 35 per cent richer,
while 84 per cent of house-
holds income suffered a loss
and 1.7 lakh people lost their
jobs every hour in April, 2020
alone.”
“How does she explain
that income increase for
India’s top 100 billionaires
since March 2020, which was
enough to give each of the
13.8 crore poorest people a
cheque of over C94,000 each
Finance Minister’s misplaced
priorities include tax conces-
sion for corporates in finan-
cial year 2019-20 that
amounted to over C1.4 lakh
crores. Instead of creating
jobs, they used money for
trimming up their balance
sheets.”
Upadhyay seeking uniform
grounds of divorce on the basis
that personal laws cannot be
tested on the anvil of Articles
14, 15, 21 and 44 of the
Constitution.
“The applicant would like
to submit that the expression
and ‘Custom and Usage’ in
Article 13 of the Constitution
does not include faith of a reli-
gious denomination embedded
in personal laws,” the plea said
while seeking impleadment in
the petition filed by Upadhyay.

270=3860A7kBD=30H k541AD0AH #!!
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?C8Q F0B78=6C>=
onald Trump’s insurrec-
D
tion incitement charge is a
“monstrous lie” and the
impeachment proceedings
against the former president a
“politically motivated witch
hunt” by the Democrats, his
lawyers said as they presented
evidence in the US Senate.
Trump, a Republican, is
accused of inciting riots in the
US Capitol on January 6 which
left five people, including a
police officer, dead.
Trump’s lawyers Bruce
Castor, David Schoen and
Michael van der Veen each
took turns addressing the
Senate members on Friday,
day four of Trump’s impeach-
ment trial, to describe Trump
as a staunch supporter of law
and order, not someone
who incited the chaos at the
Capitol.
His attorneys had up to 16
hours over the course of two
days to push back on House
impeachment managers case
that Trump should be convict-
ed and barred from running for
future office for inciting the
attack on the Capitol to try to
stop Joe Biden’s presidential
election victory being certified.
0\DQPDUSURWHVWVLQQGZHHN 7fV]eR_\VcS]RdeTRfdVd^RddZgV
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0?Q H0=6>=
ass street demonstrations
M in Myanmar entered their
second week Saturday, with
neither protesters nor the mil-
itary government they seek to
unseat showing any signs of
backing down from con-
frontations.
Protesters in Yangon, the
country’s biggest city, again
congregated at Hleden inter-
section, a key crossroads from
which groups fanned out to
other points, including the
embassies of the United States
and China.
They marched despite an
order banning gatherings of
five or more people.
The U.S., especially after
President Joe Biden announced
sanctions against the military
regime, is regarded as an ally in
the protesters’ struggle against
the February 1 coup.
China is detested as an ally
of the ruling generals, whose
Dec`_XbfR\V
YZed;RaR_¶d
_`ceYVRdeT`Rde,
_`edf_R^ZR]Vce
Tokyo: A strong earthquake hit
off the coast of northeastern
Japan late Saturday, shaking
Fukushima, Miyagi and other
areas, but there was no threat
of a tsunami, officials said.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi
nuclear plant, which had melt-
downs following a massive quake
and tsunami 10 years ago, was
checking to see whether there
were any problems following the
magnitude 7.1 quake. There were
no immediate reports of irregu-
larities from other nuclear plants
in the area, such as Onagawa or
Fukushima Dai-ni, government
spokesperson Katsunobu Kato
told reporters. AP
There is a complete lack of
evidence on the article of
impeachment against Donald
Trump, his lawyers told the
United States Senate.
“We have a complete lack
of evidence for the article of
impeachment presented by the
House managers,” Trump’s
lawyer Castor said.
The impeachment by the
House, the case for which was
laid out by the House managers
in the Senate during the last
two days, was political.
“Their goal is to eliminate
a political opponent, to substi-
tute their judgment for the will
of the voters,” he said as he
showed clips of various
Democratic leaders.
Castor said that the critical
issue in this case is the very
narrow issue that is charged
against the 45th president.
“That issue is did the 45th pres-
ident engage in incitement of -
- they continue to say -- insur-
rection. Clearly there was no
insurrection,” he said.
Trump’s lawyer van der
Veen used his opening remarks
to dispute the Democrats’ case
that the former president had
incited violence during his
speech to supporters on
January 6.
0]cXR^d__a^cTbcTabW^[SPQP]]TafXcWP]X\PVT^UST_^bTS<hP]\Pa[TPSTa
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support is crucial to them
keeping their grip on power.
Demonstrations also
resumed in Myanmar’s sec-
ond-biggest city, Mandalay,
with lawyers making up one
large contingent.
The military ousted the
country’s leader, Aung San Suu
Kyi, and her government and
prevented recently elected law-
makers from opening a new
session of Parliament.
Suu Kyi and other senior
'UDJKLWDNHVKHOPLQ
,WDO\IRFXVHGRQ
SDQGHPLFUHFRYHU\DLG
0?Q A><4
ario Draghi, the man
M credited with largely sav-
ing the euro currency, on
Saturday formally took the
helm as Italy’s premier, after
crafting a government that bal-
ances economic experts and
other technocrats with career
politicians from across the
spectrum to guide the pan-
demic-devastated nation
toward recovery.
Ending weeks of political
crisis, Draghi and his Cabinet
ministers took their oaths of
office in a ceremony at the
Quirinal presidential palace in
Trump had made allega-
tions of voter fraud and urged
his supporters to converge at
the Capitol building a short
while before the riot broke out.
“To claim that the presi-
dent in any way wished, desired
or encouraged lawless or vio-
lent behaviour is a preposter-
ous and monstrous lie. In fact,
the first two messages the pres-
ident sent via Twitter once the
incursion at the Capitol began
were ‘Stay Peaceful’ and “No
violence because we are the
party of law and order,’” the
lawyer said.
“The article of impeach-
ment now before the Senate is
an unjust and blatantly uncon-
stitutional act of political
vengeance,” Trump attorney
van der Veen argued.
“Like every other politically
motivated witch hunt the left
has engaged in over the past
four years, this impeachment is
completely divorced from the
facts, the evidence and the
interests of the American peo-
ple,” he added.
Citing reports from the
FBI, the Department of Justice,
and several former and present
officials, Trump’s lawyers
argued that the riots were pre-
planned.
0?
members of her government
and party remain in detention.
The junta, led by Senior
Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, said it
was forced to act because Suu
Kyi’s government failed to
properly investigate allegations
of fraud in last year’s election,
which her National League for
Democracy party won in a
landslide.
The election commission
said there is no evidence to sup-
port the military’s claims.
front of President Sergio
Mattarella. It was Mattarella
who tasked Draghi, a former
chief of the European Central
Bank as well as of Italy’s central
bank, with trying to form a
government up to managing
the Covid-19 health, econom-
ic and social crises.
Perhaps in a sign of Draghi’s
intent to get quickly to work in
healing Italy, the swearing-in
ceremony began three minutes
early. In deference to coron-
avirus precautions, all partici-
pants in the ceremony were
masked, and a palace aide pro-
vided each minister with a fresh
pen to sign their oath.
SD Telugu news papers
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ost every senator has
M pledged to listen to the
evidence in Donald Trump’s
historic second impeachment
trial, but most minds were
likely made up before the trial
began. Democrats would need
a minimum of 17 Republicans
to vote with them to convict
Trump of incitement of insur-
rection, and that appears
unlikely.
Still, Democrats say they
are holding out hope they will
win over enough Republicans
to convict the former president
for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol
riot, in which five people died.
If Trump were convicted, the
Senate could take a second vote
to ban him from running for
office again. A final vote is like-
ly on Saturday.
A look at the Republicans
whom Democrats are eyeing as
they make final arguments in
0?Q 74A0C05670=8BC0=
fuel tanker exploded
A Saturday at the Islam Qala
crossing in Afghanistan’s west-
ern Herat province on the
Iranian border, injuring at least
seven people and causing a
massive fire that consumed
more than 500 trucks carrying
natural gas and fuel, according
to Afghan officials and Iranian
state media.
It wasn’t immediately clear
what caused the blast. Wahid
Qatali, Herat’s provincial gov-
ernor, said Afghan first respon-
ders did not have the means to
put out the fire and had
requested support from Iran in
3`^SVcUVe`_ReVd
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Mogadishu: Police say a sui-
cide bomber died and seven
civilians were wounded when
a vehicle exploded near a
checkpoint outside the presi-
dential palace in Somalia’s cap-
ital, Mogadishu. Police
spokesman Sadiq Ali Adan
says the driver defied orders to
stop on Saturday morning, and
police opened fire as passers-
by ran for their lives. He says
more than a dozen vehicles
were destroyed in the blast.
This latest bombing
occurred as Somali politicians
argue over how to hold a
national election. The vote had
been scheduled for February 8,
and some argue that President
Mohamed Abdullahi
Mohamed has overstayed his
mandate. He seeks a second
four-year term. More talks on
the election crisis are set for
Monday. The al-Qaida-linked
al-Shabab extremist group
based in Somalia often targets
high-profile areas of
Mogadishu. It has threatened to
attack the polls. AP
SD Telugu news papers
the case: THE FREQUENT
TRUMP CRITICS
Republican Sens. Lisa
Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse
of Nebraska, Mitt Romney of
Utah and Susan Collins of
Maine have been clear that
they believe Trump incited the
riot. While none of them is a
lock to vote for conviction,
they have joined with
Democrats twice to vote against
GOP efforts to dismiss the trial.
Collins said after the siege
that Trump does “bear respon-
sibility for working up the
crowd and inciting this mob.”
Murkowski called on Trump to
resign after the attack on the
Capitol, telling a local paper
three days later that “I want
him out. He has caused enough
damage.”
Romney tweeted on Jan. 6:
“What happened at the U.S.
Capitol today was an insurrec-
tion, incited by the President of
the United States.”
the form of fire fighting aircraft.
“For the time being, we
can’t even talk about the casu-
alties,” Qatali told The
Associated Press.
The intensity of the flames
meant ambulances were having
trouble reaching the wounded
or getting close to the site of the
blast, said Mohammad Rafiq
Shirzy, spokesman for the
Herat regional hospital.
Seven people injured by the
fire have been admitted
to the hospital in Herat so far,
he said.
The fire has forced
Afghanistan to shut down its
electrical supply from Iran,
leaving Herat in the dark, said
0?Q F0B78=6C>=
eldom has Mitch McConnell
signalled so little about such
a consequential vote.
Many expect the Senate’s
top Republican will back
acquitting former President
Donald Trump of a charge of
inciting rioters who assaulted
the Capitol last month, but no
one is really sure how
McConnell will vote.
The Washington political
universe and the world beyond
will hold their collective breath
when the Senate impeachment
trial roll call reaches the
Kentuckian’s name.
Over 36 years in the Senate,
the measured McConnell has
earned a reputation for inex-
pressiveness in the service of
caution.
This time, the suspense
over how he’ll vote under-
scores how much is at stake for
McConnell and his party,
though it seems extremely
unlikely that 17 GOP senators
will join all 50 Democrats to
convict Trump.
Wahidullah Tawhidi,
spokesman for the Ministry of
Power Supply.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news
agency reported that following
the request from Herat’s gov-
ernor, Iranian “rescue forces
and fire fighters are underway
to extinguish the fire inside
Afghanistan,” according to
Mohsen Nejat, director-gener-
al of crisis management in
Iran’s Khorasan Razavi
province.
Iran’s semi-official ISNA
news agency quoted truck dri-
vers as saying more than 500
trucks carr ying natural
gas and fuel have been burnt so
far.
f^a[S%
“The overwhelming num-
ber of Republican voters don’t
want Trump convicted, so that
means any political leader has
to tread carefully,” said John
Feehery, a former top congres-
sional GOP aide.
While Feehery noted that
McConnell was clearly out-
raged over the attack, he said
the senator is “trying to keep
his party together.”
McConnell is the cham-
ber’s most influential
Republican and the longest-
serving GOP leader ever, and
a vote to acquit would leave the
party locked in its struggle to
define itself in the post-Trump
presidency.
A guilty vote could do
more to roil GOP waters by sig-
naling an attempt to yank the
party away from a figure still
revered by most of its voters.
Either way, McConnell’s
decision could influence the
party’s short- and long-term
election prospects and affect
the political clout and legacy of
both Trump and the Senate
minority leader.
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?C8Q =4F34;78
he Ministr y of Skill
T Development and
Entrepreneurship on Saturday
said it is rolling out the
Mahatma Gandhi National
Fellowship (MGNF) pro-
gramme in all the districts of
the country.
So far the programme
was working across 69 districts,
and the ministry “is now
expanding MGNF to all
remaining districts in the
country,” the ministry said
in a statement.
Fellows under MGNF will
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addy procurement has
P increased 16 per cent so far
this kharif marketing season at
638.57 lakh tonne, valued at Rs
1,20,562 crore, amid ongoing
farmers’ protest at borders of
the national capital.
Kharif marketing year
starts from October. “In the
ongoing Kharif Marketing
Season (KMS) 2020-21,
Government continues to pro-
cure Kharif 2020-21 crops at
MSP from farmers as per exist-
ing MSP schemes, as was done
in previous seasons,” an official
statement said.
The government has pur-
chased 638.57 lakh tonne till
February 12, up 16.25 per cent
from 549.30 lakh tonne in the
corresponding period of the
previous marketing year.
“About 91.69 lakh farmers
have already been benefitted
>gU^aSD]XeTabXch[Pd]RWTb2^eXS (
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he University of Oxford
T has launched the first study
to assess the safety and immune
responses in children and
young adults of its coronavirus
vaccine.
The university said that
previous trials of its ChAdOx1
nCoV-19 jabs, which are being
produced by AstraZeneca and
also have a tie-up with the
Serum Institute of India, have
SD Telugu news papers
acquire academic expertise and
technical competency in
understanding the overall skill
ecosystem along with being
attached to District Skill
Committees, it added.
The ministry has also
partnered with Kerala Institute
of Local Administration to
conduct capacity building pro-
grammes for district officials
from Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
“Our partnerships going
forward will be more focused
on strengthening the overall
quality of skill training. With
the recent launch of Pradhan
from the ongoing KMS pro-
curement Operations with
MSP value of Rs 1,20,562.19
crore,” the statement said.
Out of the total purchase
of 638.57 lakh tonne, Punjab
has contributed 202.82 lakh
tonne. Procurement operations
of seed cotton (Kapas) under
MSP are going on smoothly
across many states. “Till
February 12, a quantity of
91,35,211 cotton bales valuing
Rs 26,643.55 crore has been
procured benefitting 18,90,736
farmers,” it said.
Thousands of farmers,
especially from Punjab,
Haryana and parts of Uttar
Pradesh, are protesting at
Delhi’s borders for over two
months seeking repeal of the
three new farm legislations,
introduced by the Centre last
year, saying those are pro-cor-
porate and can weaken the
mandi system.
shown that it is safe, produces
strong immune system
responses and has high effica-
cy in all adults.
From Friday, it would be
extending its trials to assess if
children and young adults aged
6-17 years also show a good
immune response to coron-
avirus from it.
“While most children are
relatively unaffected by coron-
avirus and are unlikely to
become unwell with the infec-
Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
3.0 and today’s academic part-
nerships with IIMs, IITs, GIZ-
IGVET, KILA under our
SANKALP scheme, together
we will empower the districts
ensuring demand-driven
skilling,” Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship Minister
Mahendra Nath Pandey said.
SANKALP (Skills
Acquisition and Knowledge
Awareness for Livelihood
Promotion) is a World
Bank loan assisted programme
to strengthen the district skill
administration and the District
Skill Committees (DSCs).
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Bhub aneswar : National
Aluminium Company Limited
(NALCO), the Navratna PSU,
under Ministry of Mines, Govt.
of India and country's leading
manufacturer and exporter of
alumina and aluminium,
clocked a net profit of C240 cr
for the 3rd quarter ended Dec
2020. The net profit has jumped
by 123% over the previous
quarter of current fiscal, which
was C107 cr.The net profit for
the nine months ended Dec
2020 has grown more than
ten-fold to C364 crore as against
C35 cr in corresponding period
of last year. The total income in
Q3 of FY21 witnessed sub-
stantial growth, clocking C2,415
cr compared to C2,137 cr in Q3
of FY20. On sales front, the net
sales of alumina hydrate for Q3
of FY21 was 3.44 lakh tonnes
compared to 3.33 lakh tonnes
achieved in the corresponding
period of last year.
tion, it is important to establish
the safety and immune
response to the vaccine in chil-
dren and young people as some
children may benefit from vac-
cination,” said Andrew Pollard,
Professor of Paediatric
Infection and Immunity, and
Chief Investigator on the
Oxford vaccine trial. “These
new trials will extend our
understanding of control of
SARS-CoV2 to younger age
groups,” he said.
\^]Th&
FDVHIURP,QGLD
?C8Q =4F34;78
acebook’s Oversight Board
F has taken up a new case
related to a user’s post that was
shared from a Punjabi-lan-
guage online platform and
contained insinuations against
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
While the post was initial-
ly taken down for violating
Facebook’s community guide-
lines, the social media compa-
ny later restored the content.
X]<d\QPXPb
aPcTWXZTSU^a
3T[WXeXP3TWaPSd] UXUcWSPhX]Pa^f
?C8Q <D<108
ir India’s regional sub-
A sidiary Alliance Air will
resume its flight services to
Pantnagar, in Uttarakhand
from Delhi via Dehradun from
February 16, the airline has
said.
The airline will be deploy-
ing its 70-seater ATR 72 aircraft
to operate the route, Alliance
Air said in a late night release
on Friday.
According to the airline, its
flight 9I-645 will depart Delhi
at 9.50 am and arrive in
Dehradun at 10.55 am, from
where it will depart for
Pantnagar at 11.45 am and
arrive there at 12.30 pm.
The return flight 9I-646
will depart Pantnagar at 1 pm
for Dehradun, where it will
arrive at 1.50 pm.
The Oversight Board is an
independent body set up by
Facebook last year to look into
hate speech and other unde-
sirable content on the platform.
Previously, the Oversight
Board had undertaken five
cases, including one from India
wherein a user had called for
violence against French
President Emmanuel Macron
over a cartoon of Prophet.
In that particular case, the
Board has overturned
Facebook’s decision to remove
the content.
New Delhi:Petrol price in
Mumbai neared record C95
per litre mark on Saturday as its
rate as well as diesel prices were
hiked for the fifth day in a row.
Petrol price was increased by 30
paise per litre and diesel by 36
paise a litre, according to a price
notification of state-owned fuel
retailers.This took petrol price
to an all-time high of C88.414
a litre in Delhi while diesel rate
climbed to C78.74.In Mumbai,
petrol price soared to C94.93
per litre and diesel price jumped
to record C85.70 a litre.In 5 days
this week, price has gone up by
C1.51 per litre for petrol while
diesel rate has risen by C1.56 a
litre.The relentless hike in prices
has been criticised by the oppo-
sition parties, including
Congress that has demanded an
immediate cut in taxes to ease
the burden on the common
man.
 SD Telugu news papers

270=3860A7kBD=30H k541AD0AH #!! b_^ac'

DEF5:65 8Uh^dfP]cc^bfTT_
h^dbfTT_)A^WXc
>2DE6C4=2DD
?C8Q 274==08

ndia opener Rohit

I Sharma is very clear
in his mind that even an
iota of doubt while play-

5RKLWVZHHSVRQ&KHSDXNWXUQHUDVKLVELJ ing the sweep shot on a

rank turner could lead to
inevitable trouble.
KXQGUHGOHDYHV(QJODQGSOD\LQJFDWFKXS With one of the best
exhibitions of sweep shots

GHVSLWHGLVPLVVLQJ.RKOLIRUGXFN
played at the Chepauk since
Sachin Tendulkar’s valiant 136
against Pakistan in 1999, Rohit has
put his team in a commanding posi-

NUMBER GAME
?C8Q 274==08 tion on a track that is deteriorating
pretty fast.
ohit Sharma oozed class with an aestheti- England know a tough task

R cally pleasing 161 on a challenging track,

helping India seize the initiative with a solid
opening day score of 300 for 6 against England in

A^WXcBWPa\PbCTbcPeTaPVT
X]8]SXP0\^]VcWT!"
QPcb\T]fW^WPeTbR^aTSPc
await them in the second Test,
which started here on Saturday.
“Before it’s too late, you start
A^WXcBWPa\P_[PhbbfTT_bW^cPVPX]bc4]V[P]SSdaX]VWXb % ad]X]]X]Vb
Indian batsmen in the past and for
1228CfXccTa
feet and cover the spin while reach-
the second Test here on Saturday. doing what you want to do and you Rohit, it was imperative that ing towards the ball.”
[TPbc $ad]bPcW^\T¯ ^][h^]TQPcb\P]3^]
Ajinkya Rahane looked equally attractive dur- can’t be tentative. If you want to England’s senior off-spinner need- In the case of left-arm spinner
1aPS\P]WPbS^]TQTccTaA^WXcWPbbTeT]Wd]SaTSb
ing his knock of 67 off 149 balls and the two sweep, you sweep it,” Rohit’s state- ed to be swept from the rough to Jack Leach, it was about presenting
X]!"X]]X]VbX]8]SXP^UfWXRWU^daWPeTQTT] $
Mumbaikars added 162 runs for the fourth wick- ment had a touch of Mexican ban- negate any chance of a leg before a straight bat.
_[dbbR^aTb>][h^]RTWPbWTQTT]SXb\XbbTSU^a
et, making it worth the effort for the 12,000 who dit Tuco Ramirez’s famous punch decision. “Leach was bowling stump-to-
[TbbcWP] $PUcTaWTWPb_PbbTS 


flocked the Chepauk as Indian cricket welcomed line — “When you have to shoot, “What helped me was prepara- stump, so it was important that I
its fans back in the stadium amid the Covid-19 7d]SaTSbU^aA^WXcX]X]cTa]PcX^]P[RaXRZTc shoot, don’t talk” from the tion I had before the game. play with the turn. It was important
pandemic. bX]RTcWTQTVX]]X]V^U! 'cWT\^bc Hollywood classic ‘The Good The Understanding the line that Moeen to play with a straight bat as the turn
A score of 350 plus in the first innings will be P\^]VP[[QPcb\T]EXaPc:^W[X 'P]S Bad The Ugly’. Ali was bowling. He was bowling was slightly angled. I was making
equivalent to 550 plus on any other track and 9^TA^^c "PaT]TgcX]cWT[XbcA^WXcWPbbcadRZ Having watched Joe Root slay into the rough, so there is a slight sure that I push the ball between
Rishabh Pant’s (33 batting) dangerous presence U^daWd]SaTSbX]CTbcb "X]>38bP]Scf^X]C!8b* the Indian spinners in the first Test, chance of getting leg before deci- cover and point and rotate the strike.
could also take India well beyond the magic fig- ]^^cWTaQPcb\P]WPbbcadRZ\d[cX_[TWd]SaTSbX] it was like a ready reckoner for sion,” he explained. “Once you rotate strike, its not
ure on this track. At stumps, he had debutant Axar TPRWU^a\PcX]cWXb_TaX^S Rohit, who had prepared well dur- “Also I saw the deep square leg easy for a bowler to bowl to a dif-


Patel (5) for company. CWT_Pac]TabWX_QTcfTT]BWPa\PP]S ing the last two training sessions. was pushed back, so even if I top- ferent batter every time. I wanted to
Rohit had scored six Test hundreds prior to 0YX]ZhPAPWP]T>][h^]RTWPb8]SXPb “We knew how the pitch was edged it wouldn’t carry and land in bat as long as possible since the pitch
this knock but he will be the first to admit that in U^dacWfXRZTc_PXaPSSTS\^aTad]bPc prepared and we knew that it would safe place. Those were my ideas and is going to show a lot of wear and
terms of conditions on offer and the quality of W^\TPVPX]bc4]V[P]S)<^WX]STa0\Pa]PcWP]S turn. So we had a good few train- thoughts.” tear from days two and three.”
attack he faced, the seventh one would be at the <^WP\\PS0iWPadSSX]_dcc^VTcWTa (P[b^X] ing sessions before today and According to Rohit, sweep is a The Hit-Man didn’t want to rate
top of the list. 2WT]]PXX] ('$ trained according to what were sup- percentage shot, which takes the any of his hundreds even though he

On a hot Saturday, Rohit did two things at one
go.
Firstly, he put India in a commanding posi-
tion on a track which was way more difficult for
batting than he made it look with 18 fours and two
sixes in his 231-ball knock.
Secondly, he put all the naysayers in their place
by scoring runs when it mattered the most.
Joe Root was marvellous with his sweep shot
during the first Test but Rohit was simply mag-
nificent with his execution on a doubly difficult
track on which he gave England spinner Moeen
Ali (26-3-112-3) a lesson in controlled aggression.
The way Rohit put a big front-foot stride out-
side the off-stump to sweep deliveries off both
Moeen and Jack Leach (26-2-78-2) will not be for-
gotten by all who were fortunate to witness the
innings.
Rohit’s defence was spectacularly solid and
offence as assured as a safe house.
Knowing fully well that the track would start
crumbling with the passage of play, Rohit attacked
at the first go, picking 80 runs in the first session,
something that will perhaps play the biggest role
in the final context of the game.
It started with a cover drive off Stuart Broad
and then there was a pulled six over mid-wicket
off Ben Stokes.
While skipper Virat Kohli (0) was done in by

3dRZbU^a:^W[XX]W^\TCTbcbP[[^UfWXRW posed to expect today,” he said. condition of the pitch out of the would know in his heart that this
WPeTR^\TX]WXb[Pbc! X]]X]Vb¯ WXbUXabc “When you play on turning equation. “Sweep shot is something would be the top most among his
SdRZPcW^\TfPbX]cWT! &CTbcPVPX]bc pitches where you have to be pro- that you know can frustrate a bowler seven three-figure marks.
0dbcaP[XPfWXRW8]SXP[^bc8]cWTbT! X]]X]Vb active and you can’t be reactive. if you are playing that very well. If “I am not going to rate any of
cW^dVW:^W[XPeTaPVTb&%##fXcWbXgRT]cdaXTb Getting on top of the bowler and you play that shot, there is not much my knocks because every knock
making sure you are ahead of him. that the bowler can do from there or comes under different kind of pres-
Little adjustment based on that. pitch can do from there. sure and this came under different
a classical off-spinner’s delivery from Moeen — “If it’s turning, then how much “It was a percentage shot to play circumstances.
flighted outside the off-stump and enticing him of it... Things like that before mak- as he was bowling outside off- “I am not the person to rate any
to go for a cover drive only to find his defence ing decisions on shot selection,” the stump and lbw doesn’t come to play. of my knocks. Little disappointed to
breached. white ball vice-captain said. Only an odd ball he was bowling on get out like that but happy that team
If Rohit played those sweeps in a regal man- Moeen Ali had troubled the the wicket where I wanted to use my is in a good position,” he said.
ner, Rahane was no less classy in his drives — the
front and back-foot punches off the pacers and
those lovely cut shots off the spinners were delight-
ful to watch.
Call it irony, Rahane chose a wrong delivery
from Moeen for playing the sweep and
was bowled in the process. "^TDUcd4Qi"
He hit nine boundaries in a half- <YfUVb_])*# Q]9CD
century that came after a barren run DE2CDA@CED"?6EH@C<
of seven innings. This was after he sur-
vived an umpiring howler from Anil Chaudhary.
But then, he was destined to be in Rohit’s
shadow on a day when determination became his
primary capital. 8]SXPP[[a^d]STa0gPa?PcT[aTRTXeTbWXbCTbcRP_Ua^\8]SXP]
It wasn’t the easiest of conditions but for bZX__TaEXaPc:^W[XQTU^aTcWTbcPac^UUXabcSPh_[Ph^U!]SCTbc
India’s Hit-Man, difficult has always been the QTcfTT]8]SXPP]S4]V[P]SPc<0 2WXSP\QPaP\bcPSXd\X] 5P]bRWTTaU^aCTP\8]SXPSdaX]VUXabcSPh_[Ph^U!]SCTbcQTcfTT]
easiest route. 2WT]]PX^]BPcdaSPh 822CfXccTa 8]SXPP]S4]V[P]SPc<0 2WXSP\QPaP\bcPSXd\X]2WT]]PX ?C8

µHYV_eVR^_VVUVUcf_d
“I thought the first 20-30
balls were important. Then
you get an idea on the pace
and the bounce, you’re never
was debutant Axar Patel on 5.
Rahane felt anything above
350 in the first innings on this
track will be a challenging

2[Z_\jRdY`hVUYZdT]Rdd¶
in on this wicket, so it was task for the opposition bats-
important to be positive,” he men.
added. “Another 50-60 runs from
At stumps, Rishabh Pant here will be good, Rishabh is
was batting on 33 and giving still there, another partnership
?C8Q 274==08 batsmen who are currently brightest among Indians with him company at the other end or two will be good,” he said.
batting (Rishabh) Pant and an effort of 161, which includ-
jinkya Rahane has always Axar (Patel), make as many ed some mesmerising stroke-
A made himself counted
when the team has been in
runs because already the
rough patches have been cre-
play.
The two added 162 runs
testing situation which is a tes- ated.” for the fourth wicket.
timony to his class as a bats- “We knew that it was
man, feels second Test centu- ‘GOOD FOOTWORK’ going to turn from day one,
rion Rohit Sharma. The strategy was to make obviously (it was) good to
Rohit and vice-captain England bowl to India’s win the toss. Rohit said it was
Rahane added 162 runs for the strengths, said home vice-cap- important to be positive on
fourth wickets as India scored tain Ajinkya Rahane on this wicket...I wanted to be
300 for 6 at stumps on the first Saturday, quite pleased that his positive, back myself on this
day of the second Test. and Rohit Sharma’s plan of wicket. The key was to use
“Ajinkya, he is one of our using the sweep shot to good good footwork,” Rahane said
top players. He has done effect worked out just as they after the opening day’s play.
extremely well and played had envisioned on day one of “We had the strategy (on
some crucial knocks (over the the second Test. the sweep), we did discuss the
years). He has time and again Having registered 1 and 0 game plan on this, and want-
shown that when the team in the series-opener, Rahane ed to make them bowl to our
needs a batsman to stand up, found form with a 67-run strengths, good that the plans
he has done that many times,” knock, while Rohit shone the came off.
Rohit was all praise for his fel-
low Mumbaikar, who scored
67 on the day.
No doubt their stand was
crucial in the context of the
match and Rohit acknowl-
edged that.
“Three wickets had fell
before lunch and at the time
he came to bat, it was crucial
for us to build a partnership.
We have seen many times,
when the team need runs, he
(Rahane) has shown his bats-
manship and made runs in
difficult times,” added Rohit.
Rohit was slightly annoyed
that there were even talks
about Rahane’s form since he
didn’t get runs in seven succes-
sive innings.
“I don’t understand why
these talks take place? But,
anyway, his knock was very
important for the team at that
point and our partnership
was also necessary for the
team and we took the team to
a comfortable position till tea,
because I believe 350 will be a
good score on this wicket,”
added Rohit.
Rohit expects Rishabh
Pant and Axar Patel to bat as
long as possible. SD Telugu news papers
“We still have four wick-
ets left and we hope that the
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217+,6 rom your living room to office, in
F your handbag and in the glovebox of
your car; and on every journey you
can remember — there has always
been an omnipresent companion —
your favourite snack.
Snacking has always been a part of our
culture. Those hunger pangs before lunch...
That little something with chai... And with
the passage of time, we have only added
more snacking occasions to our busy lives.
Can study or work be complete without a
pack by your side? And what fun is the latest
Netflix show if there isn’t something chatpata
to match the histrionics on screen!
To speak numbers, all of this translates
into a snacking industry that’s worth INR 1
Billion which continues to expand at scorch-
ing double digit growth rates.
The pandemic has only enhanced our
love for snacks. A recent survey by the
FMCG giant Mondelez revealed that 88% of
Indians were snacking more than before the
pandemic with a large majority of millennials
and those working extended hours from
home preferring snacking over meals. With
entertaining also becoming a home-bound
activity, snacks have also proved to be a con-
venient and hygienic replacement to a restau-
rant starter.
Our fascinating love for snacks has
prompted many surveys and the findings are
telling. When we see a snack, we don’t just
see a packet. We see comfort in that wrapper.
We see snack time as our break from the rou-
tine. A source of momentary happiness. We
also see snacks as a complement or substitute
for nourishment. These findings are direct or
obvious. And therefore, they are very signifi-
cant insights into the changing
nature of our lives. Evidently, we
expect a lot more from our snacks
than just flavour!
While our snacking habits may
seem like evolution, our snacking
choices are undergoing a revolution.
To someone born in the 80s, snack-
ing typically meant munching on
chips or namkeen — remember
that transparent plastic wrapper
filled with salted potato chips or
peanuts or a local mixture? If it was a
branded snack picked at a store, it would be
Pepsico Lays chips or Haldirams Bhujia.
My earliest recollection of the first inno-
vation in snacking as a consumer came along
with the launch of Kurkure back in 1999 — a
new flavour and a new form. Unfortunately,
very little has changed in offline retail today
as these legacy brands and products continue
to dominate shelf space. Retailers have also
made no effort at innovation or disruption
but have launched private labels with the
same legacy products.
For the mass-affluent and beyond, food is
more than just nutrition. It’s also a way of
enjoying life, a treat for the senses. But where
is that joy when you get served the same food
again and again?
It’s only thanks to brave entrepreneurs
who have chosen to tread the difficult path of
disrupting their industry enabled by e-com-
merce that we have seen our snack choices
really explode in the last few years.
I5849<=11>75=?B5
The evolution of snacking is oddly simi-
lar to the evolution of marriage. For the
longest time, marriage decisions were made
between a few choices. You made your peace
with that and made it work. But today, you
can swipe right and left, you can date and
flirt, you can cohabitate and then eventually
 
5 A > <
EYV4YZ_RWRTe`c
you can choose to settle down with your
choice. This is precisely how our approach to
snacking has also evolved. Today, we demand
and have access to far more choices than ever
before!
As Indians, we started travelling a lot
more in the last decade. And the more we
travelled, we exposed our taste buds to more
cuisines. India is home to 4,635 communities
spread across its geographical expanse and
each region has its own snacking culture and
taste profile. For example, the snacks in
Kerala have a distinct aroma of coconut oil,
those of Punjab and UP are more hearty, the
mixtures of the East have more jhal (spice)
while the Kathiyawadi style is intense in its
sweet-savoury combination. In comparison,
the snacks of the Chettinad are more mildly
flavoured.
Each of these microcultures also has its
own repertoire of snacks. For example, have
you tried the Kolhapuri Bhadang that is made
in Jaysinghpur of Maharashtra? Or the Sattur
Sev of Tamil Nadu? How about the kachoris
of Jamnagar? Or the Bhakarwadi of Pune?
That sense of adventure and that joy of tast-
ing and liking something new — all those
experiences added up to the fun of travelling
across the country. Today, thanks to e-com-
merce, all these unique local foods are avail-
able to us through a few brands and e-retail-
ers who are challenging the status quo foisted
upon us by big FMCG companies over the
years.
On a national level, Postcard
(www.thePostcard.in) helps in discovering
local flavours of snacks, sweets and pickles
across geographies with a promise of authen-
ticity, quality and service. There are region-
focussed options such as
Gujaratisnacks.in (Gujarat),
Pettikadai.in/Nativespecial (Tamil
Nadu),
Indorinamkeen.com/TasteofIndore etc
which bring out the specialities of their
respective regions.
Consumers too appear to enjoy
this journey of discovering new
foods. It’s not uncommon to hear
people in Gurgaon talk about how
they enjoy the Bihari thekua as a desi
cookie. Or consumers in the Guwahati who
are getting to try South Indian flavours like
Murukku, Thattai, etc. Local food discoveries
have become a conversation starter, a badge
of pride for the adventurous and a common
joy to share within the family.
;55@9D3<51>
Today, health and wellbeing are an
important consideration and this aspect is
being reflected in snacking choices too. We
see a wave of snack brands focused on super-
foods — from kale-based snacks by Green
Snack Co to the millet based Soulful and
Healthy Cravings Co. These brands use
superfoods as ingredients to create familiar
snacks and flavours with enhanced nutrient
profiles (such as higher fibre). Imagine how
comforting it would be to not feel any pang
of guilt while snacking! The challenge of
course lies in adoption of new ingredients by
the palate.
Trail Mixes of nuts and seeds are another
superfood-packed snack choice. A few
brands have tried to popularise these options
although they have faced headwinds in view
of the higher price points involved.
Besides superfoods, there is also a trend
of clean eating. For the longest time people
were unaware of the ingredients going into
their food choices. But today, we see a lot
more awareness and brands are doing their
SD Telugu news papers
CWTaT´b]^cWX]V[XZT
VTccX]Vh^dabT[UX]c^
RWPaPRcTaP]SbTTX]V
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aTP[[hfTPab^]h^da
eP]Xch
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C 7 4 8 = B 8 3 4
C`]V`W0bP]P ?aP]PhP\P
5^[[^fX]VcWTcf^_a^RTbbTbf^d[SWT[_
T]bdaTQ^Sh\X]SR^^aSX]PcX^]P_Pac
Ua^\c^]X]Vd_cWTQ^Sh\X]SP]S]TaeTb
best to
respond
to this need. For
example, there is an emphasis on
avoiding the use of colouring addi-
tives or preservatives as much as possible
even though these are permitted by law (with
the necessary safeguards, of course). Smaller
local brands such as Pure & Sure Phalada
have introduced snacks made with organic
ingredients!
D85G?>45B21B
Alongside the typical snack forms of
chips, namkeen and extruded snacks, we see
bars emerge as a snack of choice for the
2>=BD<4AB0A4 younger generations. The younger generation
4=9>H8=6C78B9>DA=4H that works odd hours or seeks convenience
>538B2>E4A8=6=4F prefer the range of energy bars while protein
5>>3B8C8B=>C bars are preferred by consumers who seek
targetted nutrition.
D=2><<>=C>740A Energy bars first made an appearance in
?4>?;48=6DA60>=C0;: the 1960s when the American FMCG giant
01>DC7>FC74H4=9>H Pillsbury introduced them as “Space Food
C741870A8C74:D0 0B0 Sticks” claiming that the bars had a balance
of all nutrients. It has taken the bar form 50
34B82>>:84>A years to reach its current popularity.
2>=BD<4AB8=C74 Bars have caught on in India over the last
6DF070C8F7>0A4 two to three years. There are a number of
64CC8=6C>CAHB>DC7 brands vying for this space with Yoga Bars
having the first mover advantage. Insurgent
8=380=5;0E>DAB;8:4 brands such as The Whole Truth are success-
<DAD::DC70CC084C2 fully disrupting this space with a disarmingly
;>20;5>>338B2>E4A84B honest approach to clean eating with a func-
tional focus.
70E4142><40
2>=E4AB0C8>=BC0AC4A0 <??;9>718514
10364>5?A8345>AC74 As the pandemic fear recedes and we
03E4=CDA>DB0=30 emerge into a new normal, it will be interest-
ing to see how our snack choices evolve with
2><<>=9>HC>B70A4 our lifestyle and the impact of these changes
F8C78=C7450<8;H on business. While I’m no soothsayer, here
are three ideas for the common good:
● It’s high time that retailers adopted a cus-
tomer-centric approach by understanding
their changing needs and aspirations. From
food preferences to food allergies, the Indian
SD Telugu news papers
cus-
tomer has
distinct needs
and these need to
reflect on the shop
shelf. For the consumer who
seeks diversity, the shelf must incor-
porate local flavours which change in sync
with the seasons. Similarly, the health food
section must have options for vegans, gluten-
allergies, calorie-conscious folks, elders, chil-
dren, office-goers etc. The one generic
“healthy” option would not cut it.
● With their scale and expertise, the legacy
FMCG companies have a responsibility to
adapt and assist the ecosystem. There are
many brands with unique food products that
emerge only to fade away due to the lack of
financial or operational muscle-power that is
critical to survive in the offline channel. Can
a partnership model evolve between the big
and small that is mutually beneficial?
While the benefits to the small brands are
obvious, big brands will also get an insight
into how smaller companies are able to do
more with less. We see this happen in the
personal care space. Take the example of the
Bombay Shaving Company, a homegrown
brand of mens personal care that has
received investment from global FMCG
majors Colgate Palmolive & Reckitt
Benckiser. It’s time that Indian FMCG brands
entered such partnerships so that new-age
companies have an option other than VC
investments.
● Fresh fruit is one of the most under-served
snack options. It is easily available on street
corners but hygiene is a concern. Can either
brands or retailers work on models that
transform the vending of cut fruit as nutri-
tious snacks? That would be a genuine
healthy clean snacking option that benefits
customers, retailers and farmers.
The beauty about the snacking industry
is that there is space for everyone.
Each of us have a few fixed slots for
snacks in our day. And there is a preference
of a kind of snack for each of those slots.
With multiple brands providing accessible
options for each of these preferences and
slots, we are spoilt for choice. A golden age of
choice has dawned.
The writer is an entrepreneur
in the Indian Food industry and
a local food enthusiast
 ce^TQi
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n 2005, India facilitated the his-
I toric Peace Agreement between
the Maoists and the Seven Party
Alliance in Nepal, ending a
decade-long war waged against
Nepal’s centuries-old monarchy. A
decade and a half later, Nepal and
India hit the lowest point despite the
two countries share close socio-cultur-
al, political, economic, and strategic
ties. Similarly, Karan Singh, who had
successfully convinced King
Gyanendra to accept the people’s
demand and pave the way for democ-
racy in 2006; visit by the Foreign
Secretary S. Jaishankar to Kathmandu
at the eleventh hour to convince the
Nepal Government to accommodate
the demands of Madhesis, was termed
as the ‘wrong advice.’ What led Nepal
to shift from ‘special relations’ with
India to ‘conditional relations’ and
forge strategic ties with China?
Many such questions seek an
answer as one begins to unfurl the
Roti-Beti relations between India and
Nepal amidst ongoing India-Nepal
fiasco.
The book entitled The Backfire in
Nepal: How India Lost Plot to China by
US-based Nepali journalist Sanjay
Upadhya helps find these answers. The
book provides a detailed account of
Nepal-India relations in the last fifteen
years. In his previous books, Nepal and
the Geo-Strategic Rivalry Between
China and India from Routledge in
2012, and The Raj Lives: India in Nepal
from Vitasta in 2008, Upadhya had
carried ground-breaking works on
India’s colonial past and its impact on
Nepal, and Nepal’s geo-strategic loca-
tion between two Asian giants. Unlike
his previous research works, The
Backfire in Nepal is a journalistic
account of Nepal-India relations focus-
ing on China’s diplomatic and strategic
success in Nepal in recent years.
Divided into seven chapters, the
book provides a timeline of events in
India-Nepal relations beginning with
the 2006 peace-building process in
Nepal which was officially overlooked
by the United Nations Mission in
Nepal to facilitate inclusion of the for-
mer Maoist fighters into the Nepal
Army, their arms surrender and peace-
ful conduct of first Constituent
Assembly elections in 2008. In the sec-
ond chapter Provisional Posturing, the
author has beautifully portrayed the
free-Tibet movement of 2008, which
got China worried as it hosted world
athletes for the Beijing Olympics. The
unconditional support from a new
Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamala
Dahal alias Prachanda in cracking
down on the protesters and arrest of
Tibetan refugees amidst global criti-
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D85389>1613D?B
cism was a beneficial ‘New Nepal’
China.
Between 2005 to 2020, Nepal has
forged new transit, trade, security and
strategic ties including Belt and Road
Initiative and first-ever Joint-Military
exercises with China. Chinese invest-
ment in Nepal accounts for more than
sixty per cent of the total Foreign
Direct Investment in Nepal, which was
once topped by India until 2014.
China’s annual aid to Nepal had also
reached USD 128 from a meagre USD
20-24 million in the past decade. The
number of high-level visits from China
to Nepal including President Xi’s in
October 2019 amidst border row
between India and Nepal over
Kalapani and Lipulekh, have provided
China with an ultra-edge in the politi-
cal and foreign affairs of Nepal. Most
importantly, the Chinese Ambassador
to Nepal has direct hotlines with the
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ani Basu’s Shwet Patharer Thala (A
B Plate of White Marble) has in its
three decades since publication got
deeply embedded within the Bengali
reader’s psyche. One would like to think
that books such as this, a story of the
young widow Bandana, in post-indepen-
against orthodoxy, where a son and a
lover play nuanced and memorable
roles, fortify the winds of liberalism
which are on retreat in our troubled
times.
So it is definitely good news that this
much-admired novel has now been
made available to readers in English in a
Guha. Many who would have been
introduced to this story through the
movie featuring a sterling performance
by Aparna Sen as the widowed Bandana,
book because the layers of the story with
its depths and nuances are not always
captured in the language of celluloid.
Bandana is married to the elder son
Abhimanyu of the well-to-do
Bhattacharjee family of Shyambazar in
north Kolkata but early in the plot the
husband dies of heart attack. It is inter-
esting to note that in the movie it is a car
accident which kills him and there are
other such departures from Basu’s origi-
death the weight of patriarchy, personi-
fied here by the father-in-law and the
acquiescing members of the joint family
of her in-laws, come to bear upon her.
austerity and abnegation where she has
to wear white saris, live like an ascetic
and have frugal meals on the floor from
a plate of white marble.
The customs of this prejudiced
household are revealed at the beginning
when the author writes, ‘The men of the
SD Telugu news papers
President, Prime Minister, and Chief of
the Nepal Army, allowing the former
to make public appearances in these
offices and advise on administrative
and political matters. Millions of mili-
tary assistance from China have helped
Beijing buy diplomatic immunity to its
citizens involved in scamming, phish-
ing, and trafficking in Nepal.
While previous administrations in
Nepal strike a balance between India
and China including Prachanda who
stood as a staunch critic of alleged
Indian ‘expansionism’ since 1950, KP
Oli has used India’s 2015 unofficial
border blockade to his advantage in
evoking ultra-nationalism based on
anti-India manoeuvrings. Oli also
holds India accountable for his ouster
in 2016 from the Government, and
with his present tenure, he continues
to be revengeful. Meanwhile, post-
December 13 dissolution of the
have to bother about any restriction.
They were reserved for the women and
women alone.’
The first knock on the edifice of
this stultifying tradition comes from
her son Abhiroop, still a child, who
suffers convulsions and the doctor
makes it clear that his mother’s sudden won’t be easy as with the kindly uncle’s
transformation into a white-sari clad
ascetic is the cause. Despite their reluc- new tensions begin to simmer which
tance, her in-laws have to relent and
make some concessions in allowing her develops her characters with love and a
to wear a coloured sari but soon new
situations bring the clash with ortho-
doxy out in the open.
In the carefully woven plot appear
other characters like Mili and Koli, two
sisters-in-law of which the former
SD Telugu news papers
becomes a conduit for the widow’s
oppression while Koli is more of a confi- heroine Kamal in Sesh Prosno (The Final
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dante who eventually raises her voice in
Bandana’s support. But there is no easy
resolution of Bandana’s woes at her in-
laws’ till the appearance of an uncle, the
nomad-like Somnath babu, who takes
her away from the Bhattacharjees.
Still, back at her own home, things
passing and Abhiroop’s coming of age,
might very well tear her apart. Bani Basu
kind of academic rigour which would
appeal to students of literature while
pleasing the seeker of a good story. It is
also not difficult to draw a line connect-
ing Tagore’s powerful protagonist Mrinal
of Streer Patra (A Wife’s Letter),
Saratchandra’s equally uncompromising
Parliament, Oli was seen taking a
moderate view of India. However, it
changed very soon after he reiterated
Kalapani, Lipulekh as Nepalese territo-
ries, and relocated Ayodhya in Nepal.
On the other hand, despite a tur-
bulent relationship, India’s humanitari-
an assistance to Nepal helps ease the
tensions. Noteworthy, India was the
first country to reach on the ground
after a major earthquake had hit Nepal
in 2015. India has also supplied a mil-
lion doses of Covid-19 vaccine and
other medical assistance including
medicines, ambulances, and medical
appliances. However, India continues
to misread Nepal’s political develop-
ments.
Prime Minister Modi’s 2014 visit
after seventeen years gap by an Indian
Prime Minister to Nepal helped India
“dispel many traditional Nepalese mis-
givings about India policy”, but the
Question) and the nonconformist
Bandana of this novel, and examine how
these portraits of liberated women
reflect each other across the corridors of
Bengali fiction.
Calcutta, from the decaying splen-
dour of the ‘north’ to a ‘south’ of
Hindustani classical music concerts and
busy flowing streets is also a character in
the background of this finely crafted
novel and often you want to linger and
enjoy the passing scenery — the passage
of time itself, as the river of the narrative
draws you along:
‘The concert came to an end after
the Bhairavi Thumri. It was past mid-
night. The roads were empty but well-Iit.
The sky above was full of stars. Bandana
had never seen Kolkata looking so beau-
tiful. The huge silhouette of the Victoria
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hidden push for a Hindu Rashtra in
Nepal backfired on India. India cannot
deny that its shortfalls are due to
short-sighted strategic interests and
lack of promised deliveries to Nepal.
For instance, in 2016, the Eminent
Persons Group (EPG) was formed to
revise the 1950 Treaty and smoothen
border management. Still, five years
since its formation, the final report of
the EPG continues to dust in the
Prime Minister’s Office. Nepal also
waits for India to exchange the demon-
etised Indian currency stuck with the
Nepal Rashtra Bank.
In contrast, the “Chinese have
acted purely on national interest”.
There has been no compromise on
China’s security concerns looming
from a critical border between Tibet
and Nepal. From cracking down the
2008 free-Tibet movement to the sign-
ing of Mutual Assistance Treaty in
Criminal Matters in 2019, and Nepal’s
unequivocal support to ‘One China
Policy’, China has shown an uncom-
promised bargain in Nepal. On the
other hand, India continues to misread
how Beijing sees Nepal — both in
terms of China’s visions of the past and
the future. This complicates the core
trilateral challenge: ensuring that
Nepal is not sucked deeper into the
Sino-Indian vortex, only to be scorned
for aggravating the Asian giants’
rivalry.
As the events unfold between India
and Nepal, the book could not have
been timelier. The book becomes a
must-read for policymakers, journal-
ists, researchers intending to know
recent developments in India-Nepal
relations as it covers history and the
most recent events. That said, the book
falls short on the analytical front. The
author has also avoided dealing with
dates which makes the reader seek dig-
ital support that breaks the rhythm.
Overall, unlike history books, the
books’ language keeps the momentum
for a reader until a few scattered pages
of the last chapter: All in Mind, often
repeating the arguments. The book is
pocket friendly and most recent
additions to the literature in India-
Nepal relations with a focus on China
factor.
The reviewer is ICSSR Doctoral
Fellow, School of International Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
2A=2E6@7H9:E6>2C3=6
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Memorial could be seen like some mys-
terious, celestial presence in the dis-
tance.’
But most of all you read this book to
marvel at the many roles a strong
woman like Bandana plays as she juggles
between mother, daughter-in-law,
oppressed widow, and finally an emo-
tional connect with her son’s art teacher
Sudipto Sarkar. Which of these will
redeem which will break her apart or is
it some totally new calling, a wider street
that will finally let her discover herself
behind many masks? This engaging
novel has some answers which speak to
our time as it did to the one it so bril-
liantly evokes.
The writer is the author of The
Butterfly Effect (Niyogi) and other works
of fiction and translation
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injiang has become an
X Achilles hill for China.
The indigenous Uighur people
of this western province, the
largest of the administrative
regions of the People’s Republic
of China (PRC), have had the
history of discord with the
authorities in Beijing as the
strategically located Xinjiang
borders with eight countries -
Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Afghanistan, Pakistan and
India.
Uighurs are the Turkic-
speaking Muslims and Islam is
an important part of their life
and identity. Importantly, they
regard themselves as cultural-
ly and ethnically closer to the
people of Central Asia than the
people of mainland China and
are one of largely persecuted
Muslim minorities in Xinjiang,
including Kazakhs, Uzbeks,
Kyrgyz, and Hui. Though
administratively, the region,
known as Xinjiang Uighur
Autonomous Region (XUAR),
is autonomous like the Tibet
Autonomous Region (TAR), its
administrative control is pure-
ly in the hands of the Central
Government. There are Uighur
minorities also in China’s
neighbouring countries such as
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Kazakhstan. And some of
Uighurs are living in Australia.
The historic ties between
Xinjiang and Beijing have been
troublesome since the begin-
ning of its accession to the
PRC. The region had inter-
mittent autonomy and occa-
sional independence before it
became an integral part of
China in 1949. However, an
East Turkistan State was
declared before 1949, but it
could not sustain and finally,
the region had to be merged
with the PRC, then under the
iron rule of legendary Mao
Zedong. But then a major fil-
lip to the separatist movement
came after the breakdown of
the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) in the 1990s.
Also, these movements
received an indirect support
from the rise of independent
Muslim States across the
Central Asian region. With
massive crackdown from the
Chinese State, the separatist
movement and its leaders could
hardly make an impact on the
status of the province.
Why the XUAR is again
turning into a boiling point for
China?
Today, the Chinese state is
all out to prevent the growth of
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Islamic terror in this restive
province. In the name of fight-
ing terror, the Communist
State is creating complete para-
noia among the locals. But
many say that the ethnic ten-
sion brewing in Xinjiang is due
to economic and cultural fac-
tors long aided by the author-
ities in the mainland.
The gargantuan develop-
ment projects propelled by
Beijing, both to eradicate
poverty and to attract huge for-
eign direct investment (FDI),
have brought a bunch of young
and technically qualified Han
migrants from eastern parts of
China to the XUAR. And the
central administrative author-
ities have specifically promot-
ed the Hans so as to attract
more of them to the Xinjiang
province. This has fast changed
the demographic scenario of
the region. At the same time,
the commercial and cultural
activities of the Uighurs have
been systematically curtailed by
the Chinese State. This has
fuelled tension between the
local Uighurs and the Han
migrants. Further the author-
ities have gradually increased
surveillance and control over
religious activities by imposing
draconian restrictions on
uslims’ political behav-
M iour varies across India. It
customarily consolidates itself
with the “secular” parties wher-
ever the political race is direct-
ly between the secular and
non-secular narratives.
However, in States with more
multifaceted political compe-
tition, they appear divided
among political parties for a
variety of local or class interests.
As far as the Muslims of
West Bengal are concerned,
instrumental and significant
role as voters. The Congress,
the Communist parties and the
TMC have always earned con-
siderable political and upright
support of Muslims.
Since Muslims’ condition
was quite backward economi-
cally, politically and educa-
tionally, they expected consid-
erable sustenance from the
establishment of all time.
According to the Sachar
Committee report in 2006 on
the social, economic and edu-
cational status of Muslims in
the country Bengal was placed
in the category of “worst” per-
forming States. Muslims are
largely deprived of the process
of economic development and
its benefits.
Furthermore, according to
the post-Sachar Evaluation
Committee Report, Muslims
are lagging behind the
Scheduled Castes and the
Islamic practices like fewer
mosques and religious schools.
Even the Government depart-
ments in Xinjiang have banned
the Muslim civil servants from
observing fasting during
Ramzan. A report published by
the Amnesty International stat-
ed that the authorities crimi-
nalised what they labelled “ille-
gal religious” and “separatist
activities” and clamped down
on “peaceful expressions of
cultural identity”.
This aptly demonstrates
how Beijing has come up with
severe measures both to control
the assertion of the Uighur
identity and to change the
demographic structure of the
province.
With the coming of Xi
Jinping to power in 2012, the
state agencies in connivance
with Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) officials are fast
making the province a fortress.
In this process, the central
government is making several
vocational training centres in
the name of maintaining skilled
workshops for the local
Uighurs. But many activists
across the globe say these are
like concentration camps for
torturing the Uighurs and pun-
ishing the erring elements.
Scheduled Tribes in all spheres
of developmental programmes.
In fact, both the
Communists and the TMC,
though hesitantly and mutely,
tried to work on the Muslim’s
upliftment to some extent so as
not to be accused of “Muslim
appeasement” from the
Opposition like the BJP, etc.
The minority upliftment pro-
grammes for the betterment of
SD Telugu news papers
And China, denies all such alle-
gations raised either by foreign
governments or prominent
human rights groups. China
has often blamed the East
Turkestan Islamic Movement
(ETIM) and its followers for all
sorts of violence and sepa-
ratist activities carried out both
in Xinjiang and in other parts
of China. In 2013, a car
ploughed into a crowd and
burst into flames in the historic
Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
Even incidents of mass stab-
bing in Kunming and Yunnan
Province in the past accompa-
nied by killing of dozens by
suspected Uighur separatists
and their agents have alerted
Beijing to spread a reign of ter-
ror over Xinjiang.
In fact, the separatists’
killing spree has spilled out of
Xinjiang today. And this has
fast becoming a serious con-
cern for both the CCP and the
Chinese state.
Therefore, this province
of China is on the top agenda
of both the domestic and for-
eign security agencies. The
reasons are: first, the constant
resistance coming from the
local Uighurs; second, Islamic
extremism that is gaining
ground around the region;
the minorities either in Bengal among themselves due to per-
or anywhere else in the coun- sonal and political interests
try, initiated by any ruling par- have resulted in creating an
ties, have been termed as atmosphere of fear among
Muslim appeasement.
For the deteriorated con- the political parties to treat
dition of Muslims not only in them as mere vote bank.
Bengal but also in other States
appears to be the lack of unity the proliferation of Muslim
and cohesion in its leadership. parties in Bengal politics is cer-
Furthermore, the SD Telugu news papers
personal
rivalry or disputes, division prone to be used as vote banks
third, stability in the region is
critical to the safe rolling out of
the signature project of Xi’s
prestigious Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI) or One Belt
One Road (OBOR); strategic
crossroad for trade and invest-
ment in Central and South
Asia, West Asia and further to
entire Europe.
However, much more than
all these, at the moment and
even for future, Xinjiang is sit-
uated on the border areas of
India’s Ladakh region. The
eastern part of Ladakh became
a disputed area between both
India and China since the
occupation of Aksai Chin in
1962 by the latter. And today,
India’s border conflict with
China that has been continu-
ing in eastern Ladakh almost
for a year has made the XUAR
more strategically important,
than the TAR, for Beijing.
So from this, it can safely
be said that the political boss-
es in the Communist Party may
tighten the security and mobil-
ity of people in Xinjiang more
than ever.
Interestingly, China has
been trying to impose strict
security control across
Xinjiang. Since 2016, Chen
Quanguo, the Party Secretary
Muslims that paved the way for
In the present scenario,
tainly going to make Muslims
for the XUAR, has dramatical-
ly enhanced the security appa-
ratus of the province.
There has been a wide-
ranging international cam-
paign against Beijing for mas-
sive violations of human rights
of the Uighur Muslims in this
western province. Washington
has officially declared that
China is committing genocide
and crime against humanity on
the Uighur Muslims.
Just before Joe Biden took
up the reins of the Presidential
office, then Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo said, “This geno-
cide is going on…and we are
witnessing the systematic
attempt to destroy Uighurs by
the Chinese Party State. Since
at least March 2017, the local
authorities dramatically esca-
lated their decades long cam-
paign of repression against
Uighur Muslims and mem-
bers of other ethnic and reli-
gious minority groups, includ-
ing ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic
Kyrgyz.”
The veracity and the scale
of these intensive atrocities
have confirmed as reported by
the locals and some of the
research organisations of glob-
al repute. In a report called
“Sterilizations, IUDs, and
once again as Asaduddin
Owaisi and prominent Bengali
Muslim leader Abbas Siddiqui
have established an under-
standing to go together in the
State elections.
It is noteworthy that the
Muslim vote bank played an
instrumental role in the land-
slide victor y of Mamata
Banerjee over the CPI(M)-led
Left Front.
KLEJEKJ
6URbeQbi!$" "!
Mandatory Birth Control: The
CCP’s Campaign to Suppress
Uighur Birth Rates in Xinjiang”
released by the Jamestown
Foundation, based in
Washington in June 2020, says,
“Natural population growth in
Xinjiang has declined dramat-
ically; growth rates fell by 84
per cent in the two largest CWT2WX]TbTbcPcTXb
Uighur prefectures between
2015 and 2018 and declined
QT]c^]_aTeT]cX]V
further in several minority cWTVa^fcW^U8b[P\XR
regions in 2019. In 2020, one
Uighur region set an unprece-
cTaa^aX]cWTaTbcXeT
dented near-zero birth-rate _a^eX]RT^UGX]YXP]V
target: a mere 1.05 per mile, 7^fTeTaX]cWT
compared to 19.66 per mile in
2018. This was intended to be ]P\T^UUXVWcX]VcWT
achieved through family plan- 8b[P\XRcTaa^acWT
ning work.”
It has been found that RT]caP[
intrauterine contraceptive PS\X]XbcaPcXeT
devices (IUD), sterilisations
and forced family separations PdcW^aXcXTbX]1TXYX]V
came into force since a sweep- WPeTX\_^bTSRdaQb
ing crackdown started in the
region in the later part of 2016. ^]8b[P\XR_aPRcXRTb
Thus, Xinjiang has become X]GX]YXP]V_a^eX]RT
a draconian police state. The
local witnesses account of P]SX]UX[caPcTS7P]b
intrusive state interference of X]^aSTac^RWP]VT
the state into the reproductive
autonomy of the Uighurs and cWTST\^VaP_Wh^U
other minority groups in the cWTaTVX^]
XUAR. And this kind of a prac-
tice has become ubiquitous
across the region. The Uighurs
feel that one fine day all will be
exterminated from their home-
land.
Recently, a legal opinion
has been published in Britain.
And it has also clearly claimed
that Beijing is carrying out the
crime of genocide against the
Uighur Muslim people. Thus
international pressure is
mounting against China today.
Will Xi regime listen to all <0:70=B
B08:80
these? Of course not, for now.
However, the best such con-
certed effort must come from
international organisations
such as the UN, top human
rights agencies and all the big
Western nations.
China’s growth is not detri-
mental to the global economy,
but it must be ensured that it
stays in the international arena
a law-abiding nation. The
Uighurs must be saved from
physical elimination at best by
the Chinese state. They all
have the right to live the way
they want. Their basic rights
and freedoms must be restored
and respected by Beijing. Else
more resistance will grow for
sure from the Uighur commu-
nity.
(The writer is an expert on
international affairs)
The entry of the damaging-
duo Owaisi and Abbas Siddiqui
reported after Independence.
The two-and-a-half crore
will surely create confusion
among Muslim voters who
Muslims of West Bengal, whose
ancestors happily rejected two
have significant influence on nations theory and chose to live
near about 100-110 seats
together in the State. Most
in India, have equally and
admirably contributed to
extensive districts are nation building.
Murshidabad, Malda, Birbhum,
24 Parganas, Dinajpur,
Therefore, it is the pru-
dential and democratic respon-
Bardawan and Nadia. sibility of every ruling party, be
This is worth noting that it in the State or at the Centre,
Nadia is the place chosen by the to ensure the safety and secu-
BJP to launch its Statewide rity of the Muslims of the
Rath Yatra to gather public sup- State, as they have been doing
port. They perhaps know the for so long. Owaisi’s foray, first
importance of the regions in Maharashtra, then Bihar
where minority votes can sub- and now in Bengal, has worried
stantially help Mamata’s TMC. the Opposition heavily as he
Muslims constitute 27 per paved the way for the BJP by
cent of the population in the dividing minority votes in
State and division of Muslim Maharashtra and Bihar.
votes will consequently help the On the other hand, quitting
BJP. On the other hand, the AIMIM to join the TMC,
AIMIM’s aggressive minority Sheik Abdul Kalam, former
politics will certainly suit the West Bengal acting president of
BJP’s aggressive Hindutva nar- AIMIM, shows the beginning
rative. This is why some so- of the confusions among
called secular parties accuse Muslims of Bengal.
Owaisi of being “agent of BJP” This is just the beginning.
and “vote katua”. The presence In fact, Bengal is most likely to
of the damaging-duo is more witness a fierce battle in the
likely to prove the political Assembly elections due in
strategist Prashant Kishore’s April-May 2021. Additionally,
anticipation wrong where he Muslim votes will certainly be
strongly emphasised to retrain decisive in the formation of
the BJP to less than three-digit Government in West Bengal.
numbers.
Bengal had been a very (The writer is a faculty
sensitive region for communal member of King Abdul Aziz
violence but no major com- University, Jeddah, Saudi
munal violence has been Arabia)
 ce^TQi SD Telugu news papers
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o long as the indwelling soul is holds the key to healthy living and brain, thus, vitalising its dynamism fur- process involves holding the breath for

S there, one is alive. And, when

withdrawn, the gross body turns
into a dead matter. Here again, mind
and the element of consciousness shall
not be outplaying in full strength, nor
would it be possible to effortlessly fol-
low the process.
Accordingly, it would, be desirable
to subject oneself to Yoga-asana, which
is a set of physical exercises set in tune
with breathing cycle, as laid down by
sage Patanjali. Following the process,
through regulated body movements
and increased supply of oxygen, the
joints remain supple, softness of mus-
cles is secured, bodily agility gets toned
up, and one remains physically fit. The
process, however, should not be pur-
sued unguided. For, only a trained
expert would know as to what exercises
would suit the individual, based on
one’s individualistic health vulnerabili-
ties. Unguided, it could have adverse
bearing on one’s health mechanism.
Next in line comes Pranayama,
preparatory to dhyana. Pranayama, in
apparent terms seems to be just a
breath regulating exercise, but actually
it is more than that. Our breath cycle
longevity. For, it does not simply bring
in fresh oxygen supply. At subtle level it
carries life forces (Prana as is termed in
ther.
It will not be out of place to men-
tion here that an elephant supposedly
a while (Kumbhaka as is termed in
Indian terminology) in between every
inhalation and exhalation. One is sup-
Indian context). So long as we are breathes 10 to 12 times a minute, and posed to dwell on space in between the
breathing, we are in receipt of life forces lives for around 100 years. A tortoise is inhalation and exhalation. For, this
that keep us alive, animate all our believed to breathe 3 to 4 times a space is at rest. Not simply that, one’s
dynamic functionalities, including our minute and survives up to 300 years. attention is straightaway on the element
body organs, which, when stops, the But a dog which keeps breathing briskly of consciousness available there. So,
gross body becomes a dead matter. The has an average life of around 12 years dwelling on this space, for a small
way we breathe defines the quality of only. So, as we slow down our breathing stretch of time though, but it virtually
our bodily and mental health as well as cycle, our aging process slows down, puts us in a state of meditation. As one
their agility, and hence the need for and lifespan would expand. progresses in the process, one has direct
correct breathing. Breathing cycle relates to our state realisation of the life forces driving us.
Pursuing Pranayama process, it of mind as well. It will be interesting to In this sense, pranayama can be said to
becomes possible to slow down the note here that a human being ordinarily be the beginning of meditation process.
breathing cycle. Consequently, in the breathes 18 counts per minute. But Following the above two processes
first place, the ageing process gets when in an agitated state, the breath — Asana and Pranayama — help
retarded. For, as many times the breath count goes up to somewhere between ensure body-mind coordination, apart
count comes down, the run of vital 30 and 36. So, by reducing our breath from toning up the body, mind, as well
internal organs do also get correspond- count, even the mental agitation gets as nerves. This is vital for proper func-
ingly get reduced, as they are tuned to calmed down. tioning of our internal communication
the breath cycle. This way the running Pranayama too, is a delicate mechanism. With this, the third and
time of the vital organs comes down, process, not difficult though. Therefore, fourth steps of eightfold path get cov-
and thereby their servicing abilities the process needs to be pursued under ered, and the ground is now laid down
increase in terms of time frame, with- guidance of a trained expert. The for pursuing the dhyana process proper.
out compromising with the oxygen process as such is not being discussed, CWTffaXcTaXXbPP]PPbca^[^VTaeePbcdRR^]bd[cP]c
intake level, vital to a healthy living. as it should be learnt from a trained P]Sbb_XaXcdP[RR^d]bT[[^a2 2^]]TRcf fXcWWWX\PPc
The beauty of the process is that it expert. But in a passing reference, it CT[)((  ((' '"&!&"('& "&!&!
helps augmenting oxygenation of the needs to be mentioned here that the 4\PX[)QQWPaPcQWdbWP]_PS\PST^/V\PX[R^\

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