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Monday, August 16, 2021
XCVII NO. 194
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Monday, August 16, 2021

PM spells out vision for

Independent India@100
HT Correspondent ‘TERRORISM AND
letters@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: In a speech that

EXPANSIONISM
began with an acknowledgment BEING FOUGHT
of the contribution of India’s
freedom fighters including Jaw- COURAGEOUSLY’
aharlal Nehru, outlined recent NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
steps India had taken to ensure Narendra Modi, in his Inde-
the “ease of living” and “ease of pendence Day speech on Sun-
doing business”, highlighted cur- day, said that India was fight-
rent governance challenges ing the challenges of terrorism
including the pandemic and the and expansionism “astutely”.
climate crisis, and laid out a “India is fighting these two
future vision for India at 100 in challenges and responding to
2047, Prime Minister Narendra them astutely and with great A Chinook helicopter evacuates staff members from the US embassy in Kabul as Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital. AP
Modi said that no obstacle could courage... India has given a

Ghani flees Afghanistan,

stop the country from achieving stern signal to its enemies by
its dreams in the 21st century conducting surgical and air
and declared that India now has strikes,” the Prime Minister
the political will to undertake said in a veiled reference to
major reforms. Importantly, he Pakistan sponsored terrorism

Taliban enter his palace

said everyone has to do their bit and China’s expansionist policy
to achieve all this, adding “sabka in Ladakh.
prayas” (everyone’s effort) to his →FULL REPORT ON P8
government’s slogan.
Addressing the nation from
the ramparts of the Red Fort on The Associated Press The Taliban took control of perately poor — who had left TENSE MOMENTS
India’s 75th Independence Day,
PM Modi unveiled a national
‘75 NEW VANDE letters@hindustantimes.com
the presidential palace, two sen-
ior Taliban commanders said
homes in the countryside for the
presumed safety of the capital — FOR AIR INDIA’S
blueprint with limited State BHARAT TRAINS KABUL: Afghanistan’s embattled after Ghani left the country. remained in their thousands in
EVACUATION
interference in the everyday life President left the country on The militants earlier moved parks and open spaces through-
of citizens; a focus on small WILL CONNECT ALL Sunday, joining his fellow citi- into a city gripped by panic, out the city.
FLIGHT TO KABUL
farmers and rural economy;
energy independence with the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspects a guard of honour at
Red Fort on Sunday. ANI
PARTS OF INDIA’ zens and foreigners in a stam-
pede fleeing the advancing Tali-
where helicopters raced over-
head throughout the day to evac-
Though the Taliban promised
a peaceful transition, the US Harinder Baweja
announcement of a National NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Nar- ban and signalling the end of a uate personnel from the US Embassy warned Americans late
Hydrogen Mission; a boost to India doesn’t need India’s east, endra Modi on Sunday 20-year Western experiment Embassy. Smoke rose near the in the day to shelter in place and letters@hindustantimes.com

manufacturing, technology, announced that 75 new Vande aimed at remaking Afghanistan. compound as staff destroyed not try to get to the airport, NEW DELHI: A scheduled Delhi-
infrastructure and start-ups; to be dependent on Northeast, Jammu Bharat Express trains will be The Taliban entered the capi- important documents, and the where it said there were reports Kabul Air India flight took off on
employment generation for the others for vaccines. and Kashmir, launched, “connecting every cor- tal early on Sunday and an offi- American flag was lowered. Sev- of gunfire. The embassy also sus- time from the Capital’s Indira
young with a ₹100 lakh crore PM ner of the country”, in the 75 cial in the militant group said it eral other Western missions also pended its own operations. Gandhi National airport a little
Gati Shakti master plan; equity Imagine what Ladakh, coastal weeks of the ongoing “Azadi ka would soon announce the prepared to pull their people out. US Secretary of State Antony after noon on Sunday but the
for women and vulnerable sec- would have areas, the tribal belt Amrit Mahotsav”. A Hyderabad- Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Afghans fearing that the Tali- Blinken rejected comparisons to reality on the ground in Afghani-
tions of society; and balanced based firm has been told to from the presidential palace — a ban could reimpose the kind of the US pullout from Vietnam, as stan changed dramatically
regional development with a happened if India will become the advance the production plan for return rich in symbolism to the brutal rule that all but elimi- many watched in disbelief at the before it could commence its
focus on Jammu and Kashmir,
didn’t have its own basis of India’s electrical systems for the trains name of the country under the nated women’s rights rushed to sight of helicopters landing in landing.
Ladakh and the Northeast. and roll out at least two proto- Taliban government ousted by leave the country as well, lining the embassy compound to take The two-hour-twenty-minute
In a reference to national vaccine? development... types by next March following US-led forces after the 9/11 up at cash machines to with- diplomats to a new outpost at flight had to hold in the air for
continued on →13 all trials, officials said. →P8 attacks. draw their life savings. The des- continued on →13 continued on →9

DELHI SCHOOLS
SET TO WELCOME Sorry state of House leads to
CLASS 10, 12 KIDS
FROM TODAY ambiguous laws, rues CJI
Kainat Sarfaraz Utkarsh Anand affairs...” justice Ramana said.
The Chief Justice’s comments
kainat.sarfaraz@htlive.com letters@hindustantimes.com
come even as the NDA govern-
NEW DELHI: A week after the NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India ment has been accused of push-
Delhi Disaster Management NV Ramana on Sunday rued the ing bills through Parliament
Authority allowed schools in the “sorry state of affairs” in Parlia- without having them vetted and
Capital to restart physical classes ment, where, he said, laws are reviewed by committees of law-
for students of classes 10 and 12, being passed without construct- makers. The CJI attributed the
most public and private schools ive debates, leading to legislation falling standards of parliamen-
in Delhi will begin in-person with “a lot of ambiguities”. CJI NV Ramana tary debate to the absence of
classes in a staggered manner for Speaking at the Independence intellectuals and professionals.
these students from this week — Day ceremony organised by the debated and deliberated upon. “We have seen how India’s
for the first time since April when Supreme Court Bar Association So, the burden of the courts in Independence struggle was led by
offline classes were suspended (SCBA), the CJI recounted the interpreting or implementing lawyers like Gandhi, Sardar Patel,
following the fourth wave of Cov- well-constructed debates that the laws used to be less. We had Nehru, Babu Rajendra Prasad...
id-19 in Delhi. used to take place during the ini- a clear picture (of) what the leg- This is what happens if intellectu-
The education department tial years after Independence. islature wanted to tell... Now als and professionals like lawyers
earlier directed schools to obtain “Different laws used to be (there is a) sorry state of are not there in the Houses.” →P7
written consent from parents of
all students who are willing to
visit the school, even as it allowed
continuation of online classes for
those who opt out of physical At least 724 dead in Haiti SABRINA LALL DIES
classes. Schools have been closed AFTER PROLONGED
since March last year, and
opened only briefly in January ILLNESS: FAMILY
and February this year for classes NEW DELHI: Sabrina Lall, who
9 to 12. But, with the Capital’s fought a long battle to bring the
Covid-19 caseload at a 16-month killers of her sister Jessica Lall
low, there were requests to to justice, died on Sunday even-
restart senior classes. →P4 ing after prolonged illness, her
family announced on Sunday.
Sabrina, in her 50s, was suf-
fering from cirrhosis of the
liver. “Yesterday, her condition
deteriorated at home and we
took her to hospital. Today, in
EYE MY EYE
the evening, she passed away,”
Presents her brother Ranjith Lall said.
in
P lay and Wwith Last year, Sabrina spoke about
her plans to start a foundation
Go to Page 3 and answer
People look for survivors under the debris of a house, in in the memory of her sister,
a simple question to Haiti’s Les Cayes, destroyed after an earthquake of 7.2 who was killed in 1999 at an
win cool prizes magnitude hit the Caribbean nation on Saturday. REUTERS upscale restaurant in Delhi. PTI
* T&Cs www.eyemyeye.com

{ GERMAN FOOTBALL LEGEND } 1946-2021

Gerd Müller, the original goal machine, dies at 75

BERLIN: Legendary German
striker Gerd Müller died in the
early hours of Sunday at the
age of 75, his former club Bay-
ern Munich confirmed, as
tributes were paid to the foot-
baller nicknamed “The
Bomber”.
“Today, the world of FC
Bayern stands still,” the Bun-
desliga giants wrote on their
website with the famous club
logo coloured black.
During a glittering career,
Müller scored a record 365
Gerd Müller goals for Bayern in the Bun-
desliga during the 1960s and
70s, as well as scoring 68
times for West Germany in 62
internationals.
“Today is a sad, black day
for FC Bayern and its fans,”
said Bayern president Herbert
Hainer.
“Gerd Müller was the great-
est striker there has ever been
– and a fine person, a person-
ality in world football.
“Without Gerd Müller, FC
Bayern would not be the club
we all love today.
“His name and the memory
of him will live on forever.”
Müller made 607 competi-
tive appearances for Bayern.
He was the league’s top-scorer
on seven occasions.
He was as important to
Bayern’s ascent to becoming
Germany’s powerhouse foot-
ball club as former teammates
Franz Beckenbauer and Uli
Hoeneß.
For the last few years,
Müller had been suffering
from dementia.
He leaves behind his wife
Uschi and a daughter. →P14
02 NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021

Page One Plus

{ MY INDIA } ANDHRA { MY DELHI } KHORI { MY INDIA } MILITANT KILLED IN ENCOUNTER { MY INDIA } DHANBAD CASE { MY INDIA } RANJIT SAGAR DAM LAKE

Woman stabbed by A village in a forest, Meghalaya home minister ₹5L reward for info Army chopper crash:
man harassing her now demolished resigns after protests on judge’s death: CBI Body of a pilot found

A third-year engineering student was stabbed
to death allegedly by a man who was harassing her in
Guntur city of Andhra Pradesh, triggering outrage
and criticism over law and order issues in the state,
police said on Sunday. State director general of police
DG Sawang said the accused, whose identity was not
disclosed, has been arrested. “The local people
provided crucial clues that led to the arrest of the
accused. Also, the CCTV camera footage helped us
identify the accused,” the DGP said. The student, a
Dalit woman, was walking on a road on Sunday
morning when a man allegedly approached her and
asked her to get on his bike. He stabbed her when
she refused, police said. The assailant then took out a
knife and stabbed her repeatedly on the neck and
the stomach, and fled the scene. The locals rushed to
the spot and immediately took her to a hospital,
where she succumbed to her injuries, they added. →P9
In the early 1980s, Mohammad Saleem Khan
found work at a bauxite mine in the forests of the
Aravalli hills in Faridabad. For a few months, he
commuted to the mining site from a local village but
later asked his contractor, a local strongman, for a hut
near the mine. He and some 2,000-odd labourers
gave away some ₹500-700, and set up a cluster of
huts nearby. Over the next three decades, this tiny
settlement transformed into a large village. Khori
vaulted into the news on June 7, when the Supreme
Court ordered all illegal encroachment on forest land
in the area to be cleared within six weeks. In June, the
government estimated around 5,100 houses and
10,000 residents lived in the village. Today, only a
handful of structures remain, and most residents
have relocated. →P5
Meghalaya home minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Sunday resigned
from his post amid vandalism and arson over the police encounter of a
top militant last week, and the state government announced a curfew in
Shillong and suspended internet services in at least four districts to
contain the situation. In his letter to chief minister Conrad Sangma,
Rymbui expressed shock over the protests and proposed a judicial
inquiry into the death of banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation
Council general secretary, Cherish Starfield Thangkhiew, who was killed
in a police encounter on August 13. “I hereby express shock at the
incident where (L) Chesterfield Thangkhiew was killed following the raid
of police at his residence exceeding the lawful tenets of the law.
Considering the gravity of the situation, I would request you to relieve
the Home (Police) Department from me with immediate effect,” he said.
Thangkhiew was suspected to be behind a spate of IED attacks. →P9
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has
announced a reward of ₹5 lakh for anyone sharing
“information of importance” on the death of
Dhanbad additional sessions judge Uttam Anand,
who was fatally run over by a three-wheeler on
July 28, people familiar with the development said
on Sunday. “If anyone has any information of
importance, it can be shared with the special crime
team of the CBI... in Dhanbad through phone
numbers 7827728856, 011-24368640 and 24368641.
Cash reward of ₹5 lakh will be given to the person
who will furnish worthwhile information relating to
the crime,” a notice issued by the central agency’s
Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the
case, read. “The name of the informant will be kept
secret,” it added. →P7
The body of one of the two pilots of an Army
helicopter that crashed into the Ranjit Sagar Dam
lake near Pathankot on August 3 was recovered from
the lake on Sunday evening, officials said. The search
for the remains of the second pilot continues. Kathua
district police chief, SSP Ramesh Chander Kotwal said,
“The body of the pilot, lieutenant colonel AS Baath,
was retrieved from the Ranjit Sagar lake around
6.30pm on Sunday. Searches for the co-pilot, are on.”
Defence spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said,
“Mortal remains of Lt Col AS Baath were retrieved
from a depth of 75.9m at 1819hrs from Ranjit Sagar
Lake. Efforts to retrieve mortal remains of the second
pilot continue.” The Rudra helicopter had crashed
into the Ranjit Sagar Dam lake near Pathankot on
August 3 around 10.43am. The helicopter was carrying
out a training sortie that involved low-level flying
over the lake on August 3 when it crashed. HTC

{ PARLIAMENT SESSION OVER }

After break, fuel
prices may begin
rising once again
Rajeev Jayaswal
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: State-run fuel retail-
ers have kept automobile fuel
rates frozen for almost a month
in a departure from the policy of
aligning petrol and diesel rates
daily by tactically using minor
gains of falling international oil
prices to offset the need for rais-
ing pump rates, three people
aware of the development said.
The strategy was to stop the
surging streak of fuel prices to
avoid the attention of the Oppo-
sition when Parliament was in
session, a government official
and two company executives
said, asking not to be named. As
the session is now over, the oil
marketing companies may grad-
ually resume the policy of daily
price revision, they added.
The monsoon session of Par-
liament started on July 19 and
ended two days ahead of sched-
ule on August 11. The companies,
however, stopped the daily align-
ing of pump prices of petrol and
diesel days ahead of the session.
First, the retail price of diesel
was frozen on July 15 at ₹89.87
per litre in Delhi and petrol fol-
lowed suit after two days, at
₹101.84 a litre.
Meanwhile, international oil
prices saw wide fluctuations in
the last one month. Benchmark
Brent crude, which was at $73.47
per barrel on July 15, first fell to
$68.62 on July 19 only to jump by
over 10.8% at $76.05 on July 29.
Oil prices slumped again in the
international market and Brent
fell to $69.04 a barrel, a drop of
over 9.2% from July 29. It, how-
ever, bounced back to above $70
mark last week and closed the
last trading session on Friday at
$70.59 a barrel with a fall of
about 1%.
Despite international oil pri-
ces being highly volatile in the
last one month, state-run retail-
ers neither cut nor raised pump
rates of petrol and diesel in the
country, even as the government
reiterated that they follow the
daily pricing policy.
In a written reply to the Rajya
Sabha on August 4, minister of
state for petroleum Rameswar
Teli said: “Effective June 16, 2017,
daily pricing of petrol and diesel
has been implemented in the
entire country... to bring more
transparency and efficiency in
{ JUSTIN TRUDEAU } PRIME MINISTER, CANADA
P ery plan for the $100 billion/year
We will be taking decisions
that will last not just for
the coming months
but for the coming
decades. Canadians
deserve their say.
That’s exactly
what we’re going
to give them.
On decision to call
DIESEL PRICE WAS
FROZEN ON JULY 15
AT ₹89.87/LR IN
DELHI AND PETROL
FOLLOWED SUIT
AFTER TWO DAYS,
AT ₹101.84 A LITRE
pricing to benefit consumers.”
Email queries on this matter
sent to the three state-run retail-
ers – Indian Oil Corporation
(IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corpo-
ration Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Ltd
(HPCL) – and the petroleum
ministry did not elicit any
response. The three companies
enjoy a monopoly in the domes-
tic fuel retail market with about
90% combined market share.
Domestic petrol and diesel
rates had been moving up since
May 4, a day after the results of
five assembly polls were
declared. The price rally saw pet-
rol becoming costlier by ₹11.44 a
litre and diesel by ₹9.14 since
May 4. Fuel rates jumped to a
historic high and petrol crossed
the ₹100 per litre mark in several
places for the first time. While
Indian Oil rates in Delhi are the
benchmark for the entire coun-
try, retail prices of the two fuels
differ from place to place
because of variations in state
taxes and local levies.
While international oil prices
impact pump rates of automo-
bile fuels because India imports
more than 80% of the crude oil it
processes, steep taxes are the
other reason for high rates of
petrol and diesel.
In Delhi, central levies
account for 32.3% of petrol’s
price and state taxes 23.07%,
according to official data of
August 1. On diesel, central taxes
are over 35.38% while state taxes
are about 14.62%. Through 2020,
as global crude prices fell, the
central government raised
excise duty on fuel to shore up
its finances.
States, too, followed suit as
revenues were hit on account of
the Covid-19 pandemic. Accord-
ing to official data, the petro-
leum sector contributed
₹3,71,726 crore central excise
revenue in 2020-21, and
₹2,02,937 crore state levies or
value-added tax or VAT.
Afghanistan: A country in strife
{ ALOK SHARMA } COP 26 PRESIDENT ON CLIMATE CRISIS
‘Can’t wait for years to take action’
NEW DELHI: The Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) last week warned in a key
report that the planet has only a
small window left to prevent
worsening effects of the climate
crisis. United Nations Climate
Change Conference (COP26)
president Alok Sharma, who will
chair the crucial meeting in
Glasgow later this year, spoke to
HT’s Jayashree Nandi about the
IPCC report, net-zero emission
targets, and the possibility of still
limiting global warming.
Sharma, who is set to visit India
this week, also said he expects
world leaders to finalise a deliv-
pledge for developing countries
before the COP26 meeting.
Excerpts:
The IPCC report indicates
it is possibly now inevitable
that we will breach the
1.5°C-goal. Do you think the
global community has done
so little and so late that we
have now reached a point
of no return?
The IPCC report is a real
wake-up call for the whole world
and what it does say is that the
door is still ajar. But it is likely to
close very fast unless we collec-
tively take more ambitious
action. The next decade is going
to be absolutely decisive in terms
need to take action right now.
The IPCC report says it is
critical that parties move
to net-zero emissions by
2050. Are you expecting
developing countries like
India to also commit to the
target?
I was in India some months
ago and I am coming again (this
week). The message that I deliv-
ered to ministers in Delhi is
entirely consistent with the mes-
sage I deliver to every govern-
ment — that we must do every-
thing we can to keep (warming
under) 1.5°C within reach. Part of
that is to come up with commit-
ments to cut emissions by 2030,
(then) there are 2030 NDCs
(nationally determined contribu-
tions), but also countries have to
commit to net zero by the middle
of the century. Now when we
(UK) took on the COP 26 presi-
dency, less than 30% of the
global economy was covered by
net-zero target, we are now at
ward. But we want every country
to set out plans to go net-zero by
the middle of the century.
India and other developing
countries believe that the
Paris agreement principles
of equity and common but
differentiated responsibili-
ties are undermined
because the promised
finance of $100 billion/year
hasn’t come through. How
will you gain their trust?
Delivering the $100 billion a
year from 2020 to 2025 is a mat-
ter of trust for developing coun-
tries and for me, this is a totemic
figure... the good news is that we
saw new money coming forward
from Germany, Japan and
Canada at the G7 leaders’ sum-
mit (in June) and also the UK... I
also held a ministerial meeting
where around 50 ministers came
together on July 25 and 26 in
London and one of the issues
that is being taken forward is a
clear delivery plan... I hope that
we can set out a delivery plan
before COP 26, so it will inject
confidence into the developing
countries.
In comparison to top emit-
ters, India’s per capita
emissions are far lower
than that of the US, China
and the EU. Do you think
I think the key issue here is
about clean growth. I have
always been very clear that we
cannot ask any developing coun-
try, which is growing its econ-
omy rapidly, to not grow.
What I think we can do is to
support a country to leapfrog the
dirty power (fossil fuels) and
move towards the clean energy
revolution. I am incredibly
impressed... from all the conver-
sations I had with friends and
ministers in India, there is this
real desire to push forward on
renewables and I think that is
what we need to see across all
countries.
COP26 is a make-or-break
conference. Do you have
any worries that some
countries may block
progress?
I have been very pleased with
the overall feedback that I get
from governments... that they
want to see COP 26 be success-
ful. But this is going to require
compromise on some of the out-
standing matters. I believe this is
our last best hope of ensuring
that we keep the 1.5°C (target)
within reach. The decisions that
this set of leaders take will
impact younger generations and
future generations... This is
about the future of humanity
and we need to do everything we
The fall of Kabul on Sunday hastened what seemed imminent: a
full control of Afghanistan by Taliban 20 years after they were
ousted by the US military. People fled from parts of the country,
with many rushing to Kabul airport that is now the last route out
of Afghanistan. Crowds also gathered at banks across cities while
armed militants roamed the streets in Herat and Kandahar,
captured in recent days. Although Taliban have projected a
moderate face, most Afghans fear the country will return to the
practices of Taliban’s previous rule, when women could not work
and public punishments were common. >Page 11 GETTY IMAGES/AP/AFP
New species of snake
with ‘bindi’ on body
discovered in Assam
Utpal Parashar
utpal.parashar@htlive.com
GUWAHATI: A team of scientists
from India, the United Kingdom,
and the United States have dis-
covered a new species of snake
in Assam – the first such find The new species has been
from the state in over a century – named ‘Rhabdophis bindi’
that is characterised by a red
mark that resembles a “bindi”. Barail Hill Range in Cachar dis-
News of the discovery by a trict of Assam.
team, which consisted of scien- In subsequent years, 10 other
tists from Wildlife Institute of individuals of the species, found
India (WII), Dehradun, Natural at low elevations of below 100m
History Museum, London and
University of Texas, Austin, has
from sea level, were collected
and studied.
been published in the animal “It took 14 years from the time
taxonomist journal Zootaxa, it was first seen till it was classi-
published from New Zealand. fied as a new species because we
The new species has been had to compare the new one
named ‘Rhabdophis bindi’ as it with all other closely related spe-
has “a distinct roughly rhom- cies found in different countries
boidal red-coloured nuchal spot/
blotch which is absent from all
and had to study many speci-
mens from across the world,”
other species” of the genus
Rhabdophis, which has 27 spe-
said Das.
The new species, around
cies found across south, east and
south-east Asia, scientists said.
60cm to 80cm in length, resem-
bles the Himalayan red-necked
“The species is named due to
its unique red marking on the
keelback distributed widely in
the North-east.
back of the neck reminiscent of
the ‘red beauty spot’ adorning
“Although majority of zoolog-
ical discoveries are from north-
foreheads of Indian women
called ‘bindi’,” said Abhijit Das of
eastern states of Arunachal Pra-
desh and Mizoram, the discov-
WII, a herpetologist associated ery of ‘Rhabdophis bindi’ from

A
snap polls on of taking action, so what we can-
September 20 not do is to wait two years, five
years, 10 years before every
country comes forward. We
70%. You have seen China set out it’s fair to ask countries can to avoid the catastrophe that with the discovery. Assam shows that more such
its plan for 2060; Brazil has with extremely low per- would otherwise engulf all of us It was Das who first found a undiscovered species may exist
come forward with 2050, so you capita emissions to switch if we don’t make progress at specimen of the species during a even in the well-explored parts
are seeing countries moving for- to net zero? Glasgow. 2007 snake survey in and around of the region,” said Das.
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
In I-Day speech, CM salutes
healthcare, frontline workers
Abhishek Dey
abhishek.dey@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday
announced the roll out of the
Deshbhakti (patriotism) curric-
ulum from September 27 in gov-
ernment-run schools in the city
and Yoga programme at public
parks and community halls on
October 2. These programmes
were mentioned in the Delhi
budget 2021-22 presented by the
Kejriwal government.
In his Independence Day
speech from the lawns of the
Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal fur-
ther elaborated on Delhi’s expe-
rience with Covid-19 pandemic
while appreciating the role of
healthcare and frontline work-
ers in fighting the pandemic. He
also highlighted the Aam
Aadmi Party’s (AAP) efforts to
enhance public welfare services
and act as a role model for other
states.
“For the last 1.5 years, people
are facing the brunt of the Cov-
id-19 pandemic and a large
number of doctors, paramedics
and frontline workers have lost
their lives. India has witnessed
two waves of Covid-19. Delhi has
witnessed four – in June 2020,
September 2020, November
2020 and April 2021. The April
wave in Delhi was the most dan-
gerous. There will hardly be any
family in Delhi which has not
seen infection among relatives.
So many of them lost their loved
ones. It was an emotional phase
for us. Our ministers, MLAs,
officers worked 24x7 to save
lives,” said Kejriwal in Sunday’s
speech.
At its peak, Delhi recorded
more than 28,300 new Covid-19
cases in 24-hours on April 20
and a positivity rate of more
than 36% on April 22. The Cov-
id-19 surge left the city’s health-
care system overburdened,
which was worsened by a severe
crisis of oxygen, resulting in a
high number of deaths.
The chief minister further
said, “I salute the doctors,
nurses and paramedics who
served us with utmost dedica-
tion. They are no less than a sol-
dier. There was an existing
Delhi government scheme to
help martyred soldiers’ kin with
₹1 crore in financial assistance.
We extended the same scheme
to healthcare and frontline
workers. Lives of people are
Focus on civic literacy, social
values in ‘Deshbhakti’ classes
Kainat Sarfaraz
kainat.sarfaraz@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: Love and respect for
the country, tolerance for differ-
ences, contribution towards
nation-building, and developing
value system by introspection
rather than coercion – these are
among the topics addressed by
the newly-launched Deshbhakti
Curriculum which will be
launched in government schools
in the Capital next month.
“Starting from September 27,
the birth anniversary of Shah-
eed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Desh-
bhakti Curriculum will be taught
daily for 45 minutes in govern-
ment schools to students from
nursery to Class 8. We will instil
a sense of pride and love towards
the country in our children
through the curriculum,” said
chief minister Arvind Kejriwal
on Sunday.
The curriculum, which has
been developed into different
stages for classes from nursery
to class 8, saw the involvement
of 41 mentor teachers, nine NGO
partners and experts who played
a significant role in the pilot run
conducted between June and
July.
Anju Rohilla, former mentor
teacher who was involved in the
pilot project, said, “After the
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal unfurled the national tricolour at Delhi Secretariat on Sunday.
priceless. This amount is the
minimum token of gratitude for
their service to the people of
Delhi. Delhi government stands
with the patients too.”
“The children who have been
orphaned are our children. We
can’t abandon them. We have
made a scheme for them too.
We have also made a scheme for
those who lost breadwinners,”
said Kejriwal – referring to
financial assistance schemes
under which children orphaned
by Covid-19 and households los-
ing their primary breadwinners
in Delhi are entitled to a
monthly financial assistance of
₹2,500.
Highlighting the AAP govern-
ment’s role in the education sec-
tor, the chief minister said: “In
74 years, in schools of our coun-
try, we have taught physics,
chemistry, maths, history but
not patriotism. We assumed
that students would learn that
themselves. I am happy to
announce such a curriculum in
Delhi’s schools to encourage
our students to take pride in the
nation. This will be a completely
activity-based programme to
pilot run, my students gave me
feedback that they had not
thought about patriotism in so
much detail before these classes.
They knew that they love the
country but through questions
like what do they love about the
country and its people, they
delved deeper into the concept of
patriotism. Through the course
of conversation, children started
introspecting why some people
in the country were fighting or
mocking each other if they
indeed were patriotic and loved
their people.”
According to the curriculum
framework released by the gov-
ernment on Saturday, a copy of
which is with HT, the curricu-
lum builds on interdisciplinary
themes of civic literacy, environ-
mental literacy, and global
awareness. “Several successful
education systems around the
world, including countries like
Singapore, Japan, Canada, and
Australia, have adapted curric-
ula aimed at instilling feelings of
pride and responsibility towards
the country, building an under-
standing of democratic values,
civic education and citizen
engagement and participation to
resolve current and future chal-
lenges,” it stated.
“Deshbhakti curriculum
actively seeks to build a sense of
P ber 27.
In 74 years, we
have taught
physics, chemistry,
maths, history but
not patriotism. We
assumed that
students will learn
that themselves.
ARVIND KEJRIWAL,
Delhi chief minister
make children understand their
roles and duties as a responsible
citizen. Every child will be pre-
pared to contribute to nation
building and sacrifice every-
thing for the nation. There is no
better day to start the pro-
gramme than Bhagat Singh’s
birth anniversary. He had sacri-
ficed his life for the nation at the
age of 23. I also urge parents to
discuss patriotism and respon-
sibilities with children when
they are home.” Bhagat Singh’s
birth anniversary is on Septem-
belongingness, ownership and
responsibility towards the
nation among students, which
would also inspire them to make
necessary sacrifices for the
country,” the document stated.
The curriculum would cover
three broad themes – knowledge
of constitutional values, history
of freedom struggle, Indian
achievements, social problems
and inequalities; values like hon-
esty, loyalty, love for the country,
sacrifice, and empathy; and
behaviour involving scientific
reasoning and mindset, standing
up against injustice, respect for
national symbols, and pluralism,
among others.
Like the previous two curric-
ula – Happiness and Entrepre-
neurship Mindset – introduced
by the Delhi government, there
will be no textbooks or formal
assessment system for the Desh-
bhakti Curriculum and teachers
will be given a handbook com-
prising the different themes and
a list of activities to be covered in
the classes.
The newly-launched curricu-
lum also shares several learning
outcomes – including problem-
solving, self-awareness, self-con-
fidence, and collaboration – like
the previous two curricula.
Arti Qanungo, who was
involved in the curriculum’s
My Delhi
Kejriwal said he was happy to
announce that the Delhi board
of school education has signed a
MoU (memorandum of agree-
ment) with the international
board to offer a much sought
after and internationally recog-
nised curriculum in the city
schools.
Kejriwal also claimed that
Delhi had become a good gov-
ernance laboratory under his
party’s rule. He said his govern-
ment recognised its responsibil-
ity to provide quality basic ser-
vices including education,
healthcare, water and electricity
to residents and the AAP gov-
ernment’s model was now being
adopted by other political out-
fits.
“We are doing experiments
on every aspect of governance.
Recently we made the regional
transport offices provide all ser-
vices online—no queue, no
crowd, no loss of working day,
no touts. If one does not know
how to use the internet, just call
1076. We started with the trans-
port department. Slowly, we
will provide all government ser-
content development team, said,
“We have included true stories
and incidents to help students
understand that helping some-
one needy, avoiding wastage of
water, not destroying monu-
ments, planting trees, is also
‘deshbhakti’.”
During the pilot runs, teach-
ers said they focused on instan-
ces like making videos of those
injured in a road accident as
prompts to initiate discussion in
class. “After describing the inci-
dent, we asked students if they
should help the injured or walk
away after sharing the video on
social media. This helps children
introspect. While talking about
wastage of food, we urge stu-
dents to think about where the
food comes from and think of
farmers who grow them. This
way we make them more mind-
ful of the contribution of farmers
towards nation-building,” Qan-
ungo said.
Poonam Batra, professor at
DU, said, “Ideas of patriotism are
embedded in our constitutional
values of democracy, fraternity,
liberty, equality and justice.
These can be taught to children
by ensuring that they have lived
experiences of these values in
schools and classrooms instead
of teaching them through defini-
tions and sermons.”
PTI
vices online. In recent years, we
launched the doorstep delivery
model – which has more than
150 services now. In schools we
launched a happiness class
aimed at meditation, positivity,
encouragement. We launched
entrepreneurship classes,” he
said, naming a few initiatives of
the government.
Highlighting the importance
of Yoga and meditation along
with Gandhian values, Kejriwal
said, “We have to make Yoga a
part of people’s life. This year
from October 2, the birth anni-
versary of Mahatma Gandhi, we
will launch a programme of
Yoga classes in parks and com-
munity centres. We are training
a large number of yoga instruct-
ors for the programme. If
groups of residents of any col-
ony ask us about instructors, we
will help them under the pro-
gramme.”
He further spoke of his ambi-
tions to bring Delhi’s per capita
income at par with Singapore’s
and bidding for the Olympics in
2048, promises made during the
budget session of the assembly
earlier this year.
FIVE HIGH-MAST
FLAGS UNFURLED
BY CM, MINISTERS
ACROSS CAPITAL
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arv-
ind Kejriwal marked the Inde-
pendence Day on Sunday by
unfurling the tricolour on a 115-
feet tall pole in East Kidwai
Nagar. Four more similar flags
were inaugurated by other Delhi
government ministers in Patpar-
ganj, Shakur Basti, Kalkaji and
Dwarka.
The national flags inaugu-
rated on Sunday are part of the
Delhi government’s project to set
up 500 flag poles across the city
by January 26 next year, for
which ₹45 crore was allocated in
the government’s 2021-22 bud-
get.
“Five tirangas (tricolours)
have been installed in Delhi. By
the upcoming Republic Day
(January 26), 500 tirangas will be
ready. The purpose of installing
the national flags in Delhi is to
instil a sense of patriotism
among people,” said Kejriwal,
addressing the Independence
Day event in East Kidwai Nagar.
After unfurling the flag in Pat-
parganj, deputy CM Manish Siso-
dia said, “While we are filled
with pride and patriotism seeing
the tricolour, in the real sense,
patriotism is when we work for
the progress of our society.”
The flat at Shakur Basti was
unfurled by health minister Saty-
endar Jain.
03
2 nabbed for threatening
violence on JNU campus
Kainat Sarfaraz
kainat.sarafarz@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has
said that it apprehended two peo-
A case has been registered
under Section 153A (promoting
enmity), 295A (insulting religious
beliefs), 505 and 506 (criminal
intimidation) of Indian Penal
their... hate speech towards Mus-
lims,” JNUSU wrote in their
police complaint.
In the purported videos, the
speaker calls for people to gather
ple accused of threatening to Code and an investigation is and enter JNU campus to hoist
cause violence in Jawaharlal underway. saffron flags in presence of “anti-
Nehru University (JNU) on Inde- The police have apprehended national” teachers and students.
pendence Day, following a com- Uttam Nagar resident Vikas Seh- “This man just threatened JNU
plaint by JNU students’ union on rawat, who was identified as the students. After the January 5 inci-
Sunday morning. person giving the call to violence dent, we should be aware of such
The complainant alleged that in the video and Raja Kumar, 19, videos and we need to report to
the threat was doled out in a owner of the phone which was the authorities as soon as possi-
video posted on the Facebook used to upload the video. ble,” said JNUSU president Aishe
page of ‘Mahakal Youth Brigade’, Sehrawat was earlier arrested Ghosh.
police said. on August 10 for making inflam- On January 5 last year, a group
Delhi police officials said they matory remarks against former of masked assailants entered JNU
also received several PCR calls in Delhi MLA Alka Lamba. He was campus and attacked 36 teachers
the matter. “After receiving the released on August 12. and students including Ghosh
PCR call, police personnel were The Facebook page of Mahakal who received head injuries in the
deployed in plain clothes at all Youth Brigade has been taken incident.
university gates. The caller came down. On Sunday, JNUSU office-
to police station and filed the Bringing attention to the two bearers requested the security
complaint, also JNUSU office videos posted on the Facebook branch of the varsity to take
bearers wrote similar complaint, page on August 9 and 14, JNUSU “immediate action to resist and
in which they alleged that the said it gave “an open call to stop any untoward incident
video promotes disharmony and gather and march” into JNU cam- which can disrupt the harmony
enmity between religions, using pus on August 15 between 2-6 pm within the campus and can pose
inflammatory language and also to hoist a saffron flag. “Addition- a threat to JNU community.”
openly issuing threats to [cause] ally, in both videos, there is an Despite repeated attempts, vice-
physical hurt,” said DCP (South- open call to violence against any chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar
west Delhi) Ingit Pratap Singh. student they encounter during did not respond.
MET PREDICTS
PARTLY CLOUDY
SKY TODAY
NEW DELHI: The national capital
recorded a maximum tempera-
ture of 37 degrees Celsius, three
notches above normal, on Sun-
day, the India Meteorological
Department said.
The minimum temperature
was recorded at 27 degrees Cel-
sius, and relative humidity was
63 per cent, it said.
The IMD predicted partly
cloudy skies on Monday. The
minimum and the maximum
temperatures are likely to settle
around 26 degrees Celsius and
37 degrees Celsius respectively.
The air quality was recorded
in the ‘moderate’ category (114)
at 6.05am, according to the Cen-
tral Pollution Control Board
data. An AQI between zero and
50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and
100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200
‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’,
301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401
and 500 ‘severe’. PTI
Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical
University for Women
(Established by Govt. of Delhi vide Act 09 of 2012)
Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110006
www.igdtuw.ac.in
Spot Round Admission to M.Tech. and
M.Plan (Urban Planning)
Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women invites
fresh applications w.e.f. 16.08.2021 for participation
in Spot Round for a few vacant seats in M.Tech. and
M.Plan (Urban Planning) Programmes for the Academic
Year 2021-2022. For participation in Spot Round and
Admission Brochure, please visit www.igdtuw.ac.in.
DIP/Shabdarth/0243/21-22 REGISTRAR, IGDTUW
04
Staggered sessions as schools
reopen for Class 10, 12 this week
Kainat Sarfaraz
kainat.sarfaraz@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: A week after the
Delhi Disaster Management
Authority (DDMA) allowed
schools in the Capital to restart
physical classes for students of
classes 10 and 12, most public
and private schools will begin
in-person classes in a staggered
manner for these students from
this week -- for the first time
since April when offline classes
were suspended following the
fourth wave of Covid-19 in Delhi.
The education department
had earlier directed schools to
obtain written consent from the
parents of all students who are
willing to visit the school, even
as it allowed continuation of
online classes for those who opt
out of physical classes.
Jyoti Arora, principal of
Mount Abu Public School in
Rohini and a member of an
action committee of over 400
private schools in the capital,
said that only 40% of the parents
have agreed to send their chil-
dren to school.
“We think that once classes
begin, gradually attendance will
pick up like it did earlier this
year. We have decided to go for a
blended mode of learning with
our online classes continuing till
noon in the first half. Our practi-
cals will continue from 12.30pm
to 2.30pm with each student
coming to school only twice or
thrice a week. At any given point,
there won’t be more than 12-13
students in each lab,” she said.
On August 9, the Directorate
Another year away from campus
for DU’s second-year UG students
Kainat Sarfaraz
kainat.sarfaraz@htlive.com
NEW DELHI : When Satyajit
Kumar, a resident of Bodh Gaya
in Bihar, got admission to the
undergraduate History course
in Delhi University’s St. Ste-
phen’s College last year, his
happiness knew no bounds.
One year later, the teenager is
yet to visit the campus. His sec-
ond-year lessons, like his first-
year, are slated to begin Mon-
day online.
“When I got admitted to the
college, I was looking forward
to visit the campus because it is
one of the best colleges in the
country. I was expecting some
exposure and development but
nothing like that has happened.
There has been no intellectual
growth since graduating
school. We have been hearing
that classes might resume in
offline mode soon in the uni-
versity. If that doesn’t happen,
another year will be wasted,”
BOMAN
IRANI’S
PLANSFOR
PARSINEW
YEAR
CHECK OUT
TODAY’S
EDITION
Schools in Delhi briefly opened in January and February this year but shut again after offline classes
were suspended in April.
of Education issued guidelines to
all schools, following
DDMA directives allowing stu-
dents of classes 10 to 12 to return
to school for admissions and
board exam-related activities.
While a few schools, includ-
ing Modern Public School in
Shalimar Bagh and ITL Public
School in Dwarka, reopened last
week, most private schools, like
Springdales School in Pusa
Road, Army Public School in
Shankar Vihar, Birla Vidya
Niketan, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya,
Delhi Public School in Mathura
Road and Ahlcon International
said Kumar, 18.
Several other DU students
that HT spoke to expressed
similar concerns.
Classes for second-year UG
students are set to begin from
Monday in online mode. Uni-
versities and colleges in the
capital have been closed since
March last year due to the Cov-
id-19 pandemic. Several stake-
holders, including teachers and
educationists have expressed
concerns over the learning def-
icits that will arise due to pro-
longed closure of colleges.
Harjeet Kaur Bhatia, former
head of department of educa-
tional studies at Jamia Millia
Islamia’s Faculty of Education,
said, “No doubt there will be
learning deficits along with
emotional and social gaps.
Many students do not have
access to online learning and
access does not just mean devi-
ces but also the ability to
understand the texts. Students
may be able to access certain
City
School in Mayur Vihar are
expected to reopen this week.
With the Capital’s Covid-19
caseload at a nearly 16-month
low, schools and parents had
been asking the government if
schools will reopen for senior
students soon. Schools in Delhi
have been closed since March
last year and briefly opened in
January and February this year
only for classes 9 to 12. Offline
classes were suspended in April
due to the rise in Covid-19 cases.
Many stakeholders had been
calling for reopening schools
mainly because of the two-term
texts but may not necessarily
understand it. A blended mode
of learning can be considered
for students under which a
small number of students could
be allowed to visit campus after
consulting all stakeholders and
connect with teachers and
peers.”
A few DU principals have
also held meetings with their
staff to discuss how to proceed
this academic year. Bijayalaxmi
Nanda, principal of Miranda
House, said, “During an aca-
demic committee meeting with
teachers, we decided that at
least partially vaccinated stu-
dents can come to college for
assistance and access the
library after taking due permis-
sion. We have also been con-
ducting tutorials in open-air
areas. If we have a sizeable
number of vaccinated students
ask for lab access, that too
might be arranged. Focus will
also be on peer mentoring, pro-
viding more detailed lesson
The uniform serves even after duty ends
Manoj Sharma
manoj.sharma@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: When Major Gen-
eral Ashim Kohli retired from
the Indian Army in 2019, he
had stacks of different kinds of
service uniforms. While he
wanted to keep a couple of
them as remembrance, he
wasn’t quite sure how he could
dispose of the rest with the dig-
nity they deserved. He talked to
several fellow army officers,
who retired before him and
most, he realized, had boxes
full of old uniforms with no
idea what to do with them.
On Republic Day this year,
Kohli set up a non-profit that
collects uniforms from defence
forces and upcycles them into a
range of products.
“Some soldiers like to keep
the uniforms intact along with
the medals. Others cut it or
burn it with a heavy heart to
avoid any misuse. Our organi-
zation now collects old uni-
forms from defence personnel
and produces masks, aprons,
school bags, blankets, and a
range of other products from
them, which are donated to
various army welfare organiza-
tions, and to the underprivi-
leged sections of the society,”
says Kohli, founder of Sewaj
Neesim Foundation, who runs
a website named ‘Vardi Ka
Samman’, the core cause it
espouses. In the past two
months, it has collected over
5,000 old uniforms mostly
from the retired and serving
defence personnel.
‘Sepoi’ -- a name from the
word ‘sipahi’ meaning sol-
dier--- is another such initia-
tive. Founded in 2019 by Mum-
ARVIND YADAV/HT PHOTO
board examination, introduced
by CBSE to prepare for an
“unprecedented situation” aris-
ing due to the pandemic, next
year. The first set of board exam-
inations for classes 10 and 12,
based on a bifurcated syllabus
and in the MCQ format, is set to
take place between November
and December this year.
Suman Aswal, who teaches
Biology at The Indian School in
Sheikh Sarai, said, “We will focus
on practicals as other guidance
can be given online as well... We
will also discuss what kind of
multiple choice questions stu-
plans for the semester so that
students know where they are
going in the courses, and even
greater internet support for
teachers on campus.”
Several teachers said that
adapting the second-year sylla-
bus for the online module
helped them prepare for this
session as well. Ashok (first
name), who teaches Physics at
Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma
college in south campus, said
students faced issues last year
while following science experi-
ments in virtual laboratories.
“We have been recording
videos of teachers performing
experiments in college labora-
tories and sharing with the stu-
dents. We had adapted the sec-
ond-year syllabus last year for
the then second-year students
and the same will be used this
year. There is only so much we
can do due to the limitation of
the online mode. Classroom
teaching cannot be replaced
with online learning,” he said.
A unit in Khanpur in south Delhi, where military uniforms are repurposed into different products
such as bags, masks, aprons, etc.
bai-based couple Siddharth and
Suchi Jaiswal, it turns old
defence uniforms into products
such as backpacks, tote bags,
and laptop bags. Siddharth says
the year 2016 marked a turning
point in their lives when they
read a news about how terror-
ists involved in the Pathankot
attack disguised themselves in
Army uniforms.
“That is when we realised
how old Army uniforms could
fall into wrong hands and be
used for illegal and even terror-
ist activities. When I did more
research on the subject, I real-
ized that a lot of old, worn-out
uniforms end up in the scrap
market,” says Siddharth. “I
thought if we could repurpose
them, we would not only pre-
My Delhi
dents can expect.”
Most government schools in
the Capital will start classes on
Monday and principals have
been asked to ensure vaccination
of staff on a priority basis.
Sukhbir Singh Yadav, princi-
pal of Sarvodaya Co-ed Vidyal-
aya in Rohini Phase 3 and presi-
dent of Vice and Principals’
Association of Delhi, said his
school started practicals for
Class 12 on Thursday and will
begin the same for Class 10 stu-
dents from Monday. “We will be
addressing their queries related
to theory and practical exams for
a maximum of three hours per
day. The paper pattern has also
changed this year so we need to
train our students accordingly.
Students slated to appear for
their compartment exams
between August and September
can also visit schools for gui-
dance,” he said.
Some schools will also focus
on counselling students to ease
their transition to offline classes.
Rakesh Semalty, principal of a
government school in West Jyoti
Nagar, said, “Counselling ses-
sions will be of one hour and in
small batches of 15-20 students.
All subject teachers have one
session with each batch in which
they will personally interact with
students and resolve their issues
related to online classes, time
management, syllabus splits,
examination methods of board,
practical classes, record keeping,
personal well-being and moving
forward with caution, concept
and confidence. Practicals and
projects will begin next week.”
MAN MURDERED
AT GHAZIABAD
DE-ADDICTION
CENTRE, 1 HELD
GHAZIABAD: The police have
arrested the operator of a drug
de-addiction centre for the
murder of a liquor addict, an
official said on Sunday.
The centre is being run at
the defence colony near Bho-
pura, where Bharat Bhushan,
also called Shanky, a resident
of Sadar Bazar in Delhi, was
admitted by his father Prem
Chand on July 18.
When Prem Chand went to
the centre to meet his son on
July 23, its operator Saurabh
Tyagi narrated a false story,
saying his son left without tell-
ing anybody.
SP (City-II) Gyanendra Singh
said his father lodged a report
in this regard at the Teela mode
police station.
Later, Tyagi told police dur-
ing the probe that Shanky was
demanding liquor and was
abusing them. “In a fit of
anger, my son and I battered
him with a wooden stick due
to which he sustained injuries
on his head and died,” Tyagi
said. PTI
vent their illegal use but also
reduce waste and provide
employment to many while
maintaining their dignity.”
The Indian Army officers use
about eight types of uniforms
for different occasions during
winter and summer, which
include general duty uniforms,
blue patrol, 6 Alpha/ 6 Bravo,
combat uniform, dungarees,
smocks. The veterans tell you
how their uniforms—with their
various insignia, accoutre-
ments, badges of rank, and lan-
yards of their regiments—rep-
resent pride, honour and their
very identity as soldiers.
The question of the disposal
of uniforms in a dignified man-
ner, they say, has bothered
them for decades. The Indian
Celebrating freedom
(Top) People fly kites in the Jama Masjid area to celebrate Independence Day on Sunday. (Above)
The Delhi assembly lit up in the tricolour theme.
Two die in fire at hotel in
Dwarka, 10 others rescued
HT Correspondent
htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Two people died of
suffocation on Sunday morning
in a fire reported from a hotel in
Dwarka Sector 8, police said.
Police and fire department offi-
cials rescued nearly 10 other
guests.
The deceased, a man and a
woman, died due to suspected
suffocation.Police said their bod-
ies were found on a staircase,
suggesting they tried to escape
but got trapped in the heavy
smoke that was billowing from
the ground floor. The victims
could not be identified immedi-
ately.
However, late Sunday even-
ing, the police arrested two peo-
ple Nisha Jha, one of the owners,
and Harshit Saini, the manager
of the hotel.
“We received information
regarding the blaze in the four-
storey hotel building at 7.40am,
and eight fire tenders were
rushed to the spot,” said Atul
Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Ser-
vice.
Another caller informed the
police control room about the
incident. “During immediate
enquiry after the PCR call, we
found that the hotel was regis-
tered in the name of Shri
Krishna Oyo Hotel, B – 260 Sec-
tor 8, Dwarka. When a police
team reached the site, the fire
SANJEEV VERMA/HT PHOTO
army spokesperson declined to
comment on whether the Army
has any internal mechanism
for disposal of old uniforms.
“I have 26 sets of uniforms,
which were like my second
skin, and I cannot express my
emotional attachment to them.
I cannot dispose them like
other old clothes. I feel recy-
cling them is a good solution,”
said Lieutenant General R S
Salaria, who retired from ser-
vice in March last year.
“Thousands of defence per-
sonnel retire every year and it
is up to them to decide what
they want to do with the uni-
forms. Even I had 24 uniforms,
which I had to shred and dis-
pose most of them. I felt bad
but did not have a choice,” said
SANJEEV VERMA AND SANCHIT KHANNA/HT PHOTO
Police probing the scene at Hotel Krishna, in Sector 8 Dwarka,
where a fire was reported on Sunday morning. VIPIN KUMAR/HT PHOTO
department officials were dous-
ing the blaze. No hotel staff was
present in the building,” said
Santosh Kumar Meena, DCP
(southwest).
Meena said they have found
an eyewitness, Lokesh Kumar,
21, who was staying in the hotel.
He told the police that there was
a short-circuit at midnight and
power returned only after half
an hour. “He said when he got
up at around 7am, he saw smoke
inside the hotel. He also said that
he saw a fire on the ground floor
and reception area. We are prob-
ing the incident and legal action
is being taken,” Meena said.
Forensic expert teams were
P Interestingly, the bags Sepoi
Our organisation
now collects old
uniforms from
defence personnel
and produces
masks, aprons,
school bags,
blankets, and a
range of other
products from
them.
MAJ GEN (R) ASHIM
KOHLI, founder of Sewaj
Neesim Foundation
Captain Anoop Vij, who retired
from the Indian Navy in 2019.
Kohli’s organisation out-
sources upcycling work to vari-
ous NGOs. “We are distributing
all the products made from
these uniforms to army-welfare
organizations, orphanages, old-
age homes, among others. The
idea is to give back to the army
and the society,” said Kohli.
Sepoi, Siddharth says, shares
up to 15% of its profits with var-
ious NGOs working for the wel-
fare of women. He sells hand-
crafted products, designed by
professional designers, through
Sepoi’s website and other
e-commerce platforms. “When
we started, we thought that
most of our customers would
be civilians. Today, 60% of our
products are being purchased
by those who are in the army or
have their relatives in the
army,” he said.
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
also called to the spot. “The fire
was doused by around 8.40am,
and two bodies were found on
the staircase of the ground floor
Both were taken to DDU hospital
but doctors declared them dead
on arrival,” he said.
DCP Meena said the building
is owned by Sidharth and Kar-
una from Ranchi, Jharkhand,
but the hotel was being run by
Sunil Gupta, who further sublet
it to Harshit Saini of Dashrath
Puri in Dwarka.
“The hotel will be prosecuted
under Delhi Police Act, and a
case under IPC Section 188 was
registered against them,” Meena
said.
makes has a card or a printed
piece of paper with a story
about the uniform and the sol-
dier who wore it. “We do not
collect old uniforms randomly,
but ones whose wearer can tell
his or her story. The idea is to
educate people about the val-
ues, valour and selfless service
by the veterans to our country
and to enhance the civilian-
military understanding,” said
Jaiswal.
Sepoi’s signature collection
combines cloth from old army
uniforms and fresh leather to
produce fashionable bags. “ I
add leather to ensure that our
products look premium and
competitive in the market.
They are high on patriotism
and style,” says Jaiswal.
Sachin (who uses only his
first name), a designer and pro-
duction head at Swatric--a Del-
hi-based firm that is currently
upcycling old defence uniforms
for Sewaj Neesim Foundation--
said the fabric used in the army
uniform has a twill weave con-
struction, which makes it very
sturdy and suitable for making
different products.
“But making flat fabric from
old defence uniform is quite a
challenge as these have several
tags, buttons, pockets on the
base fabric. After making the
flat fabric, we send it for wash-
ing,” said Sachin. “We can
make one school bag or 15
masks from a uniform. I cannot
explain the joy of turning these
old army uniforms into other
useful products. I feel I am
doing my bit in helping save
the environment and the dig-
nity of the old army uniforms, ”
said Sachin.
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021 My Delhi 05

Tales of settlement, displacement

from village that came up in forest EYE MY EYE
Presents

Shiv Sunny
shiv.sunny@hindustantimes.com
FARIDABAD: In the early 1980s,
Mohammad Saleem Khan
migrated from Gaya in Bihar to the
fledging edges of the national capi-
tal. A teenager, Khan found work
at a bauxite mine in the forests of
the Aravalli hills in Faridabad. For
a few months, he commuted to the
mining site from a local village but
later asked his contractor, a local
strongman, for a hut near the
mine.
“The contractor asked me to
return the next day with every
penny I had saved. When I
brought the money, he pointed to
a small cluster of huts and asked
me to set up my hut next to it. He
said I didn’t need to worry about
any other permission or docu-
ment,” said Khan, now in his early
60s.
He remembers giving away
some ₹500-700 at the time. Some
of the other 2,000-odd labourers at
the mine did the same. They had
no electricity connection but three
local wells served water to the resi-
dents there.
As the mine grew, more labou-
rers surrendered their life savings
to contractors in return for tiny
parcels of land and protection. The
local strongmen, who were paid
off, promised that they’d prevent
eviction.
Khan recalled how the contrac-
tors would demarcate land. “They
would simply throw a stone and
claim ownership of the land up to
the point where the stone fell,” he
said. At the time, most of these
Aravalli foothills was forestland.
Of course, without authorised
papers, no one could sell property
or land – not legally, anyway. “Till
the end, most sale deeds remained
primitive in nature and had no
legal standing. Property dealers
would make the sales on plain pie-
ces of paper, in front of their own
four local witnesses. The land sold
would be mentioned as a garbage
dump yard. People were getting
land for cheap, and everyone was
happy,” said a local resident who
didn’t want to be identified.
Over the next three decades,
this tiny cluster of huts trans-
formed into a large village com-
prising thousands of brick houses
perched on the Aravalli hills on
the southern fringes of Delhi.
Khori, a village of dusty narrow
streets, cramped houses in the
middle of a forest clearing, vaulted
into the news on June 7, when the
Supreme Court ordered all illegal
encroachment on forest land in
the area to be cleared within six
weeks.
Days later, 3,000 policemen
arrived at the village. By June 12,
electricity connections were cut
and water tankers stopped from
A view of the Khori village in the Aravalli foothills, two days before demolitions began on the Supreme Court orders.
entering the village. Demolitions
began on July 17.
In June, the government esti-
mated around 5,100 houses and
10,000 residents lived in Khori.
unofficial estimates put the num-
ber between 30,000 and 50,000.
Today, only a handful of structures
remain, and most residents have
relocated.
Prime location
Bauxite mining was first banned
in the Aravallis in 1992, according
to locals and activists. By then,
there were already around 200-
300 huts in the mines, and more
were on the way, courtesy the
proximity of the location to Delhi
and Uttar Pradesh.
Mining continued sporadically
till the Supreme Court issued a
blanket ban in 2009, but the
migrants – who were bringing
their relatives from the hinter-
lands of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar –
easily found other jobs.
“By 1998 or so, there were some
600 houses in this colony. It had
taken the shape of a proper kach-
chi (unauthorised) colony. No one
bothered to take action and the
strongmen and property dealers
had patronage of the politicians,”
said Jitender Bhadana, who runs
an NGO, Save Aravalli Trust, and
has been fighting to restore the
Aravalli forests.
In 1998, the Municipal Corpora-
tion of Faridabad moved to clear
the encroachment – the first time
since Khori came up in the early
1980s – but the demolitions
stopped after a few dozen houses,
said residents. “It was the first time
I feared that there was something
illegal in the land I had paid my life
savings for,” said Khan, a former
president of the Khori Residents
Welfare Association.
Months later, some residents of
the village, who were surviving on
stealing from power lines and
water tankers, got limited electric-
ity and water connections. “The
municipal corporation provided
legal electricity connection to
some 300 houses and permitted
the digging of six borewells”, said
Veer Shankar Singh, a resident.
Current MCF commissioner
Yashpal Yadav did not respond to
requests for a comment. His pre-
decessor, Garima Mittal, who was
in-charge during the demolition
drive, refused to comment saying
she has been transferred.
Seema Trikha, Bharatiya Janata
Party MLA from Badhkal, under
which Khori falls, blamed the
“mafia of old times” who were
“protected” by the (earlier) govern-
ments for allowing the illegal
occupancy of the forest land.
“We have neither been involved
in inviting buyers to this land, nor
in selling any land in the forest
area,” said Trikha.
Mahendra Pratap Singh, who
served as the MLA of the area (it
fell under Mewla Maharajpur con-
stituency until 2004) five times
between 1982 and 2014, said that it
was wrong to blame any one party
or government.
“But for the Supreme Court
order, the BJP too was allowing
the encroachment to continue. It is
just that the poor began living on
that land and none of the govern-
ments bothered to evict them,”
said the five-time MLA from the
Congress.
Rapid encroachment
By the early 2000s, Khori was
thriving and large chunks of the
forest on the hillocks had given
way to residential plots. Some fam-
ilies sold their ancestral properties
to buy land.
Mohammad Idris, a 65-year-old
tailor, said nine members of his
family moved to the village in 2001
after selling his property in UP’s
Badaun. “Seven immediate and
extended family members of mine
followed me over the next decade
to sell their ancestral properties
and buy land here,” said Idris.
Idris and others were told by
local touts that Khori, which was
technically in Haryana, fell on the
Delhi side of the border.
Adjacent to Khori is the Lal
Kuan village, which falls on the
Delhi side of the border. A rusting
iron fence marks the border, but
the demarcation is visible in only a
few stretches. “The builders took
advantage of this fact. They sold
land to the people saying the Delhi
government would eventually reg-
ularise the illegal colonies,” said
Ishita Chatterjee, a PhD scholar
studying the settlement. In the
2000s, the government in Delhi
did regularise several low-income
unauthorised colonies, giving
VIPIN KUMAR/HT PHOTO
hope to Khori residents.
Sube Singh, the spokesperson of
Faridabad Police, said property
dealers lured buyers. “To those
buying land near the Delhi border,
they sold the land saying it fell in
Delhi jurisdiction,” said Singh.
“The property dealers had strong
backing financially and politically,
As for the residents, they just fol-
lowed each other,” Singh added.
Some residents who refuse to
leave the now-demolished village
continue to believe that they are
Delhi residents. “I have been vot-
ing in Delhi all these years. My
children are enrolled in a school in
Delhi. What more evidence do you
want?” asked Rama Devi, a
woman who has set up a tent next
to the rubble of her home.
Buyers were assured that a
property in Delhi meant better
access to electricity and water. But
on the ground, electricity and
water connections were arranged
by a network of local strongmen
and touts who divided the village
among themselves.
“The mafia would get commer-
cial electricity metres installed in
private homes in Lal Kuan, and
then pull illegal connections from
there to our homes in Khori,” said
Singh.
Khori residents eventually
ended up paying as much as ₹14
per unit of electricity – the rate in
Delhi is between ₹2 and ₹8 and
Haryana ₹2 and ₹7 --- and a few
relied on stolen connections from
Haryana side.
Water was sold in tankers for
₹800-900 per 4,000 litres to those
who didn’t have access to the six
borewells, residents said.
A large number of Khori resi-
dents got documents made to
show they were residents of Delhi.
The power of attorney was not
only the preferred residential doc-
ument, but also the only choice.
“Residents did some ‘setting’. To
execute a power of attorney deal,
the property owner would find
someone from the village itself to
pass him off as the actual owner,”
said Singh.
Chatterjee said the power of
attorney documents wouldn’t
stand the scrutiny of courts.
Similarly, many residents went
on to procure voter identity, ration
cards, gas connections and even
Aadhaar cards -- most of them on
Khori addresses.
Chatterjee said this was facili-
tated by property dealers, which
included local residents.
Demolition worries
Between 1998 and 2021, the munic-
ipal corporation moved at least
five times to demolish houses but
since 2010, the Khori Residents
Welfare Association got judicial
relief. Assisting the petitioners was
Nirmal Gorana, general secretary
of Bandhua Mukti Morcha. “We
are not against the SC order. Our
fight is for the rehabilitation of
tens of thousands of people being
displaced,” said Gorana.
Residents believed that the gov-
ernment would never displace
thousands of people. Thus, buying
and selling of property continued
unabated. Until the SC order, a sin-
gle storey house constructed on a
50 square yard in Khori could cost
as high as ₹20 lakh.
When the court order came in
June, it sparked immediate pro-
tests. The police booked over 550
known and unknown persons and
arrested about 20 of them.
Chetan Agarwal, an independ-
ent forest analyst, said the forest
had a huge environmental value
for the national capital region, but
added that the human cost of the
demolition was also too high.
Many residents have been
forced to opt for rented accommo-
dation in the surrounding neigh-
bourhoods – Lakkarpur in Farida-
bad being the closest.
“I had to pay ₹4,000 as rent for a
room which usually costs ₹2,000
in Lakkarpur village. Tenants are
charging Khori residents double
and triple of the usual rates and
then treating us like beggars,” said
Mohammad Saleem, a painter.
A few have stayed back, pitch-
ing tents amid the rubble. “Who
do we trust now? All these years,
politicians and officials kept assur-
ing us that our homes were safe.
Now, we have lost everything,”
said Gendo Devi, a resident.
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Paucity of land hits
compensatory
afforestation plan
HT Correspondent OF 136 HECTARES
letters@hindustantimes.com OF NON-FOREST
NEW DELHI: With several large- LAND NEEDED FOR
scale development projects COMPENSATORY
requiring “diversion of deemed
forests”, the Delhi Development
AFFORESTATION IN
Authority (DDA) is finding it dif- THE LAST YR, DDA
ficult to make available non-for- HAS ONLY BEEN
est land for compensatory affor-
estation (CA) in the Capital and
ABLE TO PROVIDE
is currently exploring if such 116 HECTARES
land can be provided in neigh-
bouring states. pensatory afforestation norms
DDA officials said that for will ultimately lead to reduction
diversion of deemed forests -- in forest cover of Delhi which is
process by which the land is not desirable...,” as per the min-
reclassified for non-forest pur- utes of the meeting.
poses -- equivalent non-forest DDA officials said that they
land has to be provided for CA. are yet to get an official commu-
Of the requests for 136 hec- nication in this regard.
tares of non-forest land for CA in “Delhi is largely urbanised.
the past one year, DDA officials Most of the areas identified as
said they have only been able to recreational green under the
provide nearly 116 hectares. “The Master Plan have already been
green cover in Delhi is 23% and used either as parks or for plan-
most of the spaces earmarked as tation. So, availability of Master
green are saturated. It is difficult plan green areas for the purpose
to find large land parcels for of CA are now very limited,” said
CA,” said Rajeev Kumar Tiwari, an official, who did not wish to
principal commissioner, DDA. be named. Another DDA official
Due to paucity of land, the said the limited vacant land par-
land-owning agency is now cels available in Delhi also need
exploring if such land can be to be reserved for planning pub-
provided in neighbouring states lic utilities.
for proposed central govern- DDA’s plan has also been
ment projects in Delhi. opposed by many. “This is an
In May this year, the DDA ecologically flawed idea. The
wrote to the Union ministry of move, if allowed, will defeat the
environment, forest and climate purpose of compensatory affor-
change seeking clarity on the estation,” said Vijay Dhasmana,
issue, following which the minis- ecologist and curator of Aravalli
try’s forest advisory committee Biodiversity Park, Gurugram.
(FAC), which discussed the mat- A DDA official said that with
ter in June end, has asked Delhi Yamuna rejuvenation work
authorities to provide additional going on at a fast pace, “most of
information about their plan for the floodplain area has already
the Capital’s green cover. been committed to the compen-
“The FAC has been conscious satory plantation requirement of
that any relaxation in the com- various agencies”.

Winged guests make an MAN ON BIKE DIES

AFTER MANJHA
SLITS HIS THROAT
early entrance at Delhi zoo ON FLYOVER
HT Correspondent
htreporters@hindustantimes.com

Vatsala Shrangi NEW DELHI: A 23-year-old man

letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: This monsoon, the
Delhi zoo has an early winged
visitor which usually arrives
from eastern parts of the coun-
try around mid-August.
“This year, painted storks
were spotted here as early as on
August 6. The numbers have
been growing since... Usually
they are seen arriving from east-
ern parts of the country by mid
or late August. The zoo is one of
the few places in Delhi where
painted storks nest and breed,
which is one of the major fac-
tors for the zoo to be considered
a birding spot,” said Ramesh
Kumar Pandey, Delhi zoo
director.
Almost 140 painted storks
have already arrived, zoo offi-
cials said, adding that the water
bodies in the zoo are full of the
winged creatures with long, yel-
low beaks. “By the end of
August, the numbers may reach
more than 500,” said Pandey.
With the season for migra-
tory birds just beginning, the
zoo authorities plan to organise
guided birdwatching tours for
students and bird enthusiasts
over the coming weeks.
“We plan to organise the first
guided trip over the coming
week when there will be more
number of birds. It will be orga-
nised on a day when the zoo is
closed for visitors. Initially, we
plan to have a group of 20 bird
watchers. We will hand over a
pair of binoculars to the partici-
pants and lead the tour,” said
Pandey.
According to zoo officials,
August to October is the peak
breeding season for the painted
storks which stay here till
March before flying away with
Almost 140 painted storks have already arrived in the zoo. Officials expect the numbers to reach
more than 500 by the end of the month.
their chicks.
“A structured bird-watching
tour can be good learning for
bird enthusiasts as well as stu-
dents. The zoo does have a good
diversity of bird species and
could emerge as one of the
many birdwatching sites for
birders in Delhi,” said Pankaj
Gupta, a birder.
The zoo has at least 50 kinds
of free-ranging avian species
most part of the year including
herons, white-breasted king-
fisher, cormorants, parakeets,
yellow-footed green pigeon,
brown-headed barbet, black
ibis, grey hornbill, jungle bab-
bler and spot-billed ducks.
According to a research
paper titled “Breeding patterns
of painted storks at Delhi zoo”
authored by Abdul J Urfi, from
school of environmental scien-
ces, Jawaharlal Nehru Univer-
sity, the Delhi zoo has been an
important breeding site for the
painted stork since 1960. “Most
nesting occurred in mesquite
trees (Prosopis juliflora) on
islands in the ponds at the Zoo.
The breeding season begins in
late August. This zoo site may
be the only nesting colony site
for the painted stork in the
Delhi region,” it stated.
Birders said that though the
painted stork, a wetland bird, is
found in many marshes and
green patches in Delhi, they
have been found nesting only at
the Delhi zoo.
Close to Delhi’s border, the
Sultanpur National Park, essen-
PHOTO SHARED BY DELHI ZOO
tially a bird sanctuary on the
Gurugram-Jhajjar highway, is
also known for a huge nesting
colony of painted storks. “The
painted storks have been spot-
ted there as well,” said Gupta.
The Delhi zoo opened on
August 1, more than two
months after it was shut during
the second wave of the pan-
demic.
The Delhi zoo was shut for
visitors on March 18 last year, a
week before the nationwide
lockdown was imposed, and
was followed by the avian flu in
January this year.
The zoo had finally reopened
on April 1 this year, only to be
closed again on April 15, as the
second wave of the pandemic
struck the nation.
died after his throat was slit by
the banned glass-coated kite
string (manjha) when he was
going to a relative’s house on his
bike, police said on Sunday, add-
ing that the incident took place
when the victim was crossing
the Mangolpuri-Sultanpuri fly-
over on Friday evening.
A senior police officer identi-
fied the deceased as Saurabh
Dahiya, a resident of Najafgarh
area.
According to the police,
Dahiya was on his way to a rela-
tive’s house in Kanhaiya Nagar
area of northwest Delhi when
the incident took place. The offi-
cer said just as Dahiya climbed
the flyover, a kite string got
entangled in his throat, slitting
it.
Dahiya stopped the bike, and
was bleeding profusely. Bystand-
ers rushed him to the nearby
Saroj Hospital, where the doc-
tors declared him brought dead.
The officer said that a case has
been registered against
unknown persons and the police
were trying to trace who was
using the banned string that
killed Dahiya.
Like the past few years, this
time too, ahead of the Independ-
ence Day, the Delhi Police issued
an order under Section 144 of the
CrPC, 1973, banning the sale, use,
and purchase of Chinese kite
string.
The National Green Tribunal
in 2017 imposed a nationwide
ban on the use of Chinese glass-
coated string (manjha) for flying
kites.
The green tribunal said Chi-
nese manjha is made of syn-
thetic material/yarn in place of
cotton and has a coating of mate-
rial that can cut the skin of
humans and animals.
06 My Delhi
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021

Homage
Police: Jatheri
was diversifying Delhiwale
EXPERIENCE YOUR CITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE
Mayank
Austen Soofi

gang’s operations
Karn Pratap Singh
karn.singh@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Days after arresting
gangster Sandeep alias Kala
Jatheri, the Delhi Police team
interrogating the crime lord has
learned that his gang, which was
mostly involved in contract kill-
ings and extortions, was alleg-
edly diversifying their illegal
activities by teaming up with or
taking over authorised and
unauthorised liquor dealers and
those involved in illegal mining
in Haryana, Rajasthan and Pun-
jab to set up a bigger syndicate,
which at present has nearly 200
members in north India and
abroad.
Jatheri’s female associate,
Anuradha Chaudhary, who was
arrested along with him from
Saharanpur on July 30, was the
alleged brains behind the gang’s
diversification and was manag-
ing everything related to income,
expenditures and investments,
said Delhi Police special cell
ruary 2020, when Jatheri
escaped from the Haryana
Police’s custody in Faridabad,
after seven of his associates
stormed the prison van carrying
the gangster to Bhondsi Jail from
the Faridabad court.
The police said they were
aware that Jatheri’s syndicate
were primarily involved in con-
tract killings and extorting
money from businessmen after
firing “warning shots” at busi-
ness establishments or homes,
followed by extortion calls or
leaving threats on paper slips.
Though some of his associates
arrested in the recent past had
hinted that the gang members
had also joined hands with peo-
ple involved in liquor trade, ille-
gal mining and betting to estab-
lish more sources of money,
police did not have a full picture
till now.
“Interrogation of Jatheri and
his female partner has revealed
that they were working on ways
to control these businesses in

She’s out of the closet

sleuths interrogating the two.
Jatheri, who topped the list of
the most wanted criminals of
north India, was arrested on July
30 along with his female associ-
ate, Anuradha Chaudhary aka
Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab
either through intimidation or
by securing consent of the key
players of the businesses... The
two disclosed the names of their An author reveals her past with romances slight smile playing enigmatically on her lips. She
gang members and their busi- stayed loyal to the “Millsie” girls even while wading

{ }
“Revolver Rani”, by the counter ness partners, who may be asked How could any man be so mean? Could through Chaucers and Spensers in Delhi Univer-
intelligence team of the special to join the investigation,” said PRIVATE Kate really bear Adam long enough to sity’s Miranda House. Living with parents in

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cell at a dhaba near Sarsawa toll
plaza on the Saharanpur-Ya-
muna Nagar highway.
He carried a reward of ₹7 lakh
on his arrest, and was wanted in
nearly 40 cases of dacoity, rob-
bery, extortion and attempt to
murder. A total of 15 of these
cases were registered in Delhi,
and the rest in Haryana, Punjab
and Rajasthan.
The two are currently in
police custody and are being
interrogated to establish the
crimes they or their gang mem-
bers have committed since Feb-



PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES
another special cell officer,
requesting not to be named.
Police said the income that
the group has been earning
through extortion and other ille-
gal activities is also transferred
to Kala Rana, Goldy Brar and
Monty -- who are based in Bang-
kok, Canada and Dubai, respec-
tively -- to invest in their narcotic
drugs business. “Jatheri is not
directly involved in drug dealing
but the money sent is remunera-
tion for their assistance to his
gang from abroad,” added the
second officer.
discover the gentleness he apparently
CAPITAL possessed? More urgently, did Rakh-
shanda Jalil really care?
Turns out the highbrow Ms Jalil devoured
Adam’s Law with unadulterated pleasure. Now,
decades later, the acclaimed author of 30 books
outs herself as a devotee of Mills & Boon paper-
backs.
“Millsies were my escape into romance, travel,
and new places,” Ms Jalil, 58, gushes in a voice not
at all hoarse with passion, totally unlike the slushy
Mills & Boon heroines. Here she pauses, and mur-
murs more softly—“I haven’t read a Millsie for 30
years.”
This afternoon the writing room in her central
Delhi home is dignified with classics by Urdu and
English literary giants. Poet Ghalib’s portrait hangs
on the wall. The room’s heirloom bookrack origi-
nally belonged to her legendary grandfather—Pro-
fessor Aley Ahmad Suroor, poet and Urdu scholar
in Aligarh Muslim University.
And then there’s the elephant in the room—a
row of tatty MBs, each as slim as its female protag-
onist.
“I began reading the Millsies in my final year at
school and read them all through BA and MA,”
Ms Jalil discloses this side of her past with a
Nizamuddin East in the early 1980s, the young
“Rakshi” would daily walk to the neighbourhood
market to borrow a Mills & Boon from the Bawa
Lending Library. They charged 60 paise for each
novel, plus extra if not returned within 24 hours.
“So I would read each book at a gallop!” Subse-
quently she built a private collection of these
romances. Her present-day stack shows creased
covers bearing pretty damsels in a variety of situa-
tions—receiving a french kiss on one, getting
embraced by a shirtless dandy on another. In many
homes, such novels were hidden from mummy-
papa. In Ms Jalil’s case, the mother herself handed
her the first of the Mills & Boon. “Mummy rescued
me from being an awfully earnest person. She was
a librarian and thought it was important to read all
kinds of things.”
In time Ms Jalil grew out of these pulpy esca-
pades. But by then she had been affected enough to
w
READ:
For more
walk down the aisle with her own handpicked
TDH—the romance novel speak for a tall, dark,
handsome man.
stories by
Mayank
Recently, she culled her library collection by giv- Austen
ing away 500 books, but kept the romance stash. Soofi,
“Out of pure sentimental attachment,” Ms Jalil scan the
declares in coy defiance, her gaze possessively QR code
turning to the Millsies in her hands.

Homage
CHANGE OF NAME

I, JUHI Dhawan Daughter of Harish

Dhawan Wife of Pranav Aggarwal,
R/o: B 8/2, 2nd Floor, Vasant Vihar,
New Delhi, Delhi - 110057, have
changed my name from Juhi
Dhawan to Juhiie Aggarwal for all
purposes in future.

I, INDERJEET Singh Kohli S/o

Jaswant singh Kohli, 1/5737, gali no
16,old Balbir Nagar,Shahdara, North
East Delhi,Delhi-110032 have changed
my name to Inderjeet Singh, also my
father's correct name is Jaswant
Singh., which should be corrected.

I, NISHA Goel W/o Sh. Ankur Goel

R/o H. No.501, Rosebay tower,
Omaxe, RPS Green valley, sec-41-42,
Faridabad have changed my name
to Nisha Malhotra for all purposes.

I GURLEEN Kaur Bindra D/o,

Jitender Singh R/o 1182A Sector 23
Faridabad Haryana have changed
my name to Gurleen Kaur for all
purposes

LOST & FOUND

I, SUMEET KUMAR, Karta of Sumeet

Kumar HUF, at H.no.62 zone 4/5
Suvidha Kunj Pitampura Delhi-34
have lost payment receipts of
property CTB-332,Tower-B, DLF The
Crest,Sec-54, Gurugram viz. Receipt
No. TCR/CRB/00084/0615, TCR/CRB
/00045/0715, TCR/CRB/00047/1115,
TCR/CRB/00063/1115, TCR/CRB/
00064/0216, TCR/CRB/ 00065/0216
And TCR/CRB/ 00095/0216
Mob: 7678689586

LOST MY B.Tech (M.E) Original

Mark-Sheets issued by IMU for
Sem-4, 5, 6, & 7 under Reg No.
1558608163. If found please contact
Sumit Sur. Add- H.No. 126, Sector 23
Faridabad, HR, 121005.

EDUCATION/
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MEET THE
NEW HEART Thursday, April
08, 2021
n 6 P A G E S. f @ H TC I T Y t @ H T CI T Y i @ H TC I T Y y / U S E R /H T . ENTER TAIN
MEN T & PRO

P
M OT IO

I want to
surprise
N AL F E AT URES

myself and my
audience. I’ve
never slotted
myself into any
category. I’ve

OF YOUR CITY
movies
Kriti Sanon wishes
chosen very
to theatres different roles.
would get back RITUPARNA

‘HOPE
THINGS
ARE
City Delhi
Tuesday, April

An thony
Hopkins
PHOTO:
ALEXANDRE
MENEGHINI/AP
SENGUPTA,
13, 2021
Actor

HAPPY
BAISAKHI TO
n 8 P AGE S .
f @ HT C I T Y t @ H TC I T Y
i @ H T CI TY y / US E R / H T . E NTERT AINM
ENT & PRO
MOTIO N AL FE ATURE
S

NORMAL
ALL OUR
READERS
STOP PRESS
ILLUSTRATION:
SHUTTERSTOCK

SOON,
SOON,
Frances

FILMS
W AITING
PHOTO: JOE
SCARNICI/ AFP

d
McDormand

Priyanka
Chopra Jonas
and Nick Jonas
City Guru Randhawa

TO RELEASE’ I’m neede

Delhi
BAFTA’s
PHOTO: ALBERTO

George PEZZALI/AP

ia
Clooney and Julcket
Maybe emotional
ai now:
Ti
Roberts’ movie,
release in
To Paradise, willSeptember. tributes to Irrfan
in Mumb pta IN MY VILLAGE
Daler
t
US theatres nex rced couple
and Rishi
Mehndi

rna Sengu
Risha bh Suri
They play a divo
Kapoor
h tliv e.c om
ris ha bh .su ri@
eir
trying to stop th
and shooting

S Ritupa
hooting, travelling, all about
Sanon’s life is
again — Kriti of biggies such
as
repeating
that. With a host
daughter from ake.
D
Bhediya and irector Chloe Titas Cho wdhury
Bachchan Pandey, kitty, she is of
their mist has emerged Zhao’s Nomadland
nti mes .com
ry@hin dus ta
feel
Ganpath in herwas also recently mind now. I
as the big tit as .chowd hu
Guru Randhawa

The all-new HT city aims at bringing the best

this year’s BAFTA winner at a more open

I
And it 2021, bagging Film Awards want to keep churned out
course excited. she will join
Prabhas of content being
including Bestfour major trophies, that the kind today is revolu-
announced that in Adipurush.
and Saif Ali Khan in Covid cases and
Actress award Film. Even the Bestin the Hindi film industry Sengupta. The is missing the
was won by says Rituparna joy
feels
Frances McDormand, to
Despite the rise
its actor,
while Zhao tionary,” actor is all set
of celebrating
Juhi Chakraborty
reimposed, self walked Award-winning with Bansuri:

Pulkit Samrat
her-
several restrictions of theatres, away with Best
The Father won National
Director. Hindi film industry
virus on a daily
awaiting the
ju hi .chak r ab
return to the safe and follow basis, be
including shutting
ort y@ htl ive.
with it, she is

H
theat- the Best Actor
Baisakhi with
com
would prefer award for Anthony
The Flute. Along one of them ment protocol,” govern-
Sanon says she gory in which Hopkins, a cate- of other films,
e w anted to
for all her films.
cele- adds the
rical releases want the Gourav was Indian actor release of a couple Shabana Azmi. brate Baisakhi singer known
“Obviously, as
an actor you in Th e White
also nominated Aadarsh
with veteran actor Bengali film
indus- family in Punjab; big way this in a such as Lahore, for songs

the lockdown
OTT Tiger. The film for his name in the year High Rated
beyond just the great role
A prominent for with his family Gabru and Patola.
film to reach duced by Priyanka was in Bollywood in
audience. Of
course, they
are
everyone is hooked
on was also in attendanceChopra Jonas, pro- she is best remembered
try,
who Woh (2005).
Meri Patni Aur and meatier Daler Mehndi Gurdaspur,
singer Guru
Punjab, but He may not
be able to
platforms, and
as one of its at the
her role in Main, will Randhawa have the celebration

made him value

great presenters, along ceremony OTT space to understands wanted, but he
to it and the
platforms have want it
as an actor you don’t
husband, singer
Father also Nick Jonas.
with With the boom in the
she believes
now is the time in be at the Vaishno pandemic, little
that given the
can be fond memories
Randhawa has

in entertainment and lifestyle straight to your

content. But won the adapted The roles for women, projects. “Back done. ing the festival of celebrat-
the ones who roles in H indi
t o reach even platforms,” says in
play BAFTA.
The most emotional
screen-
explore varied
the day, I was
too busy. So,
I decided to concen-
doing films in
Devi shrine “Since the pandemic
started, most
“Baisakhi is as a child.
celebrated as
really go on these
harvest festival, a
whose film Mimi,
moment of the films. I was also of us have

I’M NOT MISSING

evening saw to when

work more
been celebrating
the 30-year-old, a surrogate mother,
tributes being trate on Bangla I would want farmers cut
and Kerala. But
Indian actors paid to late festivals at their crops.
Irrfan and Rishi now. A lot home. Considering And on this
which she plays for a release.
who passed
away in April Kapoor, Bangladesh on my Hindi film career rent situation, the cur- ind Singh laid
day Guru Gob-
film was made. this year too
is also waiting time since the
BAFTA’s memoriam 2020, in concentrate content is being I’ll mostly spend the founda-
It’s been some Ask what’s with actors segment, along- of unconventional now,” she says. Baisakhi tion of the Panth
Khalsa. As
needed in Mumbai
at home and
has been shot. Sean Connery
Maybe, I am she always wants visit kids, we’d enjoy
announced and Sanon says wick Boseman. and Chad- wara, if possible,” the gurd-

BIG BAISAKH
superstar says to surprise myself time with family spending
that front, and The Bengali he says,
happening on last The latter’s a nd go to
work on the film Ma Rainey’s new: “I want
adding, “Unfortunately, the gurdwara
wrapped up to reach the
Bottom was Black to do something myself into in Delhi and I’m to do seva.
she recently
as a film needs costume design
named a winner
in th e I’ve never slotted very differ- will definitely We’d also go
to the mela
and my audience.

I
it’s a miss being in
scene. “Mimi and make-up
category. I’ve
chosen the village the village. It’s in
based on surrogacy, categories. Riz

CELEBRATIONS
and hair during this time. a f estival
masses. It is and made in
a very enter- Boseman, had Ahmed, who along with any particular roles for myself.” “For every day, I’m But like that brings a
lot of happi-
unique subject that will Actor as well, been nominated and challenging
(Above)
ent Rishi an option for Sengupta? going to ness.”
It is something laugh, and for Best
to reach a global
remember God
taining manner. his film Sounddidn’t bag the award, but So, is
Kapoor OTT and thank Since Baisakhi
make you cry, and

doorstep and fingertips.

it’s a good opportunity Him for fulfilling vest festival, is a har-
touch your heart, BAFTAs in the of Metal bagged two direct-to-
PHOTO: TEJAS (right)
It should actors, Irrfan are demanding my the singer has
food for thought. editing and
audience. Audiences too are releas-
wishes.” a special message
leave you with more people who are gories.
NERURKAR
sound cate- PHOTOS: TWITTER/
for them.
now. Producers The 29-year-old “May God bless

THIS YEAR:
as they’re
be watched by watched,” digital releases urges the farmers
BAFTA
where OTT isn’t on digital platforms
stale if not
everyone to
be safe, follow as we eat because
ing their films
HTC
rooted in areas films might turn
protocols and
not indulge May this year of them.
worried their are turning
P
dates until in grand Baisakhi bring growth
she says. raining release OTT platforms she signs off. and prosperity,”
reach released on time.
want a film to
celebra- he says,
In fact, it was when the pandemic profitable for
all,” tions involving
huge gath- adding, “May
Waheguru
As an actor you OTT audience.... reach
MEHNDI
recently in Bollywood, many film out to be quite erings. “Covid bless everyone
ag ain and forced“We are everything, has impacted
and prosperity. with growth
reared its head the not just this
postponed again.
beyond just go on tival. We ne fes- Happy Bai-
releases to be The times sakhi to everyone.
who don’t really
ed to fight this
for Mimi to release. that and happy!” Stay safe
very excited
we are in, it’s important for a fil m like
are normal even the ones “H it aur flop
mein
I hope things hit an d flo p. deke
to get a release. so many films waiting to
are these platforms. hai. A ga r hit
kuc h nahi rakhaar loc kdo wn mein
marking the
time of har-
soon. There does too, soon, vest of winte
Sugandha Rawal betterment,
p
hoping Mimi bh i mai n ghar hi ukhad r crops. “I and the will
release. I am know toh main kya feel all festivals
Actor toge the r for others. Apne to help
mid 2021. I don’t should KRITI SANON,
ba itha hoo n,
sugand ha.r awa
parties in future,” sense of hope give us a liye to har aadmi
observes , before

M
sometime around
l@hi ndusta ntimes.com
It adds. he and courage. karta hai, lekin
are deciding. raha hun,” Samrat his de finition
of eeting friends sakhi motivates Bai- ke liye khada doosron ki madad
what the producers says Sanon. ily to celebrateand fam-
This year, the us, and humko
g oing on to explain
honsla deti hai hona chahiye.
brate the festival sin ger will cel e- are things etched
get what it deserves,” — that’s who you are jeene ka, no These
at the Vaishno matter in my mind,
h appin ess. t he da y, it is
about the essence of
Baisakhi.
Devi shrine
with his family.
—
farmer. We all a farmer, or a non-
with memories
“At the end of , and not attac hing However, singer
Mehndi isn’t
lucky that I’ll
be at the holy “I feel the support live and yearn Mehndi, knownof langar,” recalls
you be in g happy n ki ye h missing it this Daler Mata Vaishno cave of of the supreme for Bolo Ta Ra Ra, for hits such
as
to a c on ditio

to curb Covid
He asserts that year. Devi. I have power,” exp
Dardi Rab Rab,Tunak Tunak Tun,
that happin ess khush ho ja unga, ya formance at a per- lains the 5 3-year-old.
al the need of the social distancing is the pilgrimage Growing up Ho Jayegi Balle
S ug a n dh a Raw firs t day of Navratri, on the Balle, and Na
h oga toh main
hour, with the , he watched
jaunga . parents participate Na Na Na Na
main udas ho a g ood
ond wave of his

Night curfew
t im es .co m
Covid-19 here. sec- on Baisakhi,” which starts He feels the Re.
n ah i hua to h
a l@hi n du s tan in kirtans at
s ug a nd h a.r aw he says. gurdwa ras for
brate Baisakhi best place to cele-
of 2021, ed if you have “Being cautious The festival the festival has Baisakhi. For him,
You are bless up every m orn
- today will is especially is at home. “I

plans
Scan the code in ce the beginning
has been shoot-
ensure we get tant for farmers, impor- always be en (if we follow
all the protocolsthink
ulk it Samra t fa mily, you wake people you know r, ger of hope and as it is a harbin- bei ng grateful about properly) 2021-end

surge hits wedding

to read more ts, be what he plans for everything. It’s
fo r his projec in g, and all the e acto prosperity while tak Covid
we ll,” says th
ing nonstop on doing this ki beemari ko
about how or Agra. T he as well. “It’s
all about hope, year bhool jayenge naam
Mumbai, D elhi fo und a new are ali ve and g for the third love,
sa ys the singer, log,”
couples and who recently
r says wo rk has wh o is preppin rey franchise. out with his came
PHOTO: ARVIND
YADAV/HT wedding
vendors are
Why Isabelle Kaif
em ic. men t of th e Fuk
rat m ade his
television Plagiarism row: single, Ragda.

feel insignificantIt made me

pop-
trying to find Viran i in the
t as L akshya
a way out in Saas Bh i Kabhi
show, Kyunki STOP PRESS
He went o n t
o
the crisis
is now used to Ba u Thi, in 2006.
.
do fil ms such
ow
Fukr ey (2013),
a s Bittoo Boss
(2012) ,
B an g istan (2015),
powerless, says and PHOTO: VIRAL
BHAYANI

16), and Fukrey

being compared S anam Re (20 .
Return s (2 017) soon be seen as a
Nex t, he will
Sudhanshu
Delhi ” in
ky guy from
to sister Katrina ,
“happy go luc
t he film, Suswa
deed. “There
gatam Khushaama-
are othe r d iv
he adds.
erse role s

c o nsiders in th e pipel ine,”

n fac t, now, he from the concept of

ago’
o be detac hed
Ri shabh Suri play on me too much any-

a decade
more. About
expectations,
P Covid took off
r is hab h.s ur i@

seems like
htl ive.co m
some of

S
that pressure
he’s the sister from my
The date is so
first film, a s
wood’s biggestof one of Bolly- the circum-
stars, Katrina stances are so
yet she auditioned
It has allowed different.
near and venues
Kaif, I might

birthday
Scan th e code film. Isabelle for her first me to just ne xt birthday,
Kaif recently chats. Hopefully, e ven then, I’ll ensure

‘My 30th
enjoy the moment
to for his wedding acting debut made her
say they need as it and
job in Poland to read more with Time T unfolds,” says have a party certif-
venue in Suraj- “I had auditioned o Danc e. the their Covid vaccine
and booked a
Awaasthi
be on Saqib for a f ew films,Kavitaactor. everyone gets actor.
check availability
and this one
Sanchita Kalra changes will came through. the Rangbaaz
kund, Haryana, no chance of Thei@h icates,” quips from
tliv e.com
Saleem’s dancer as a I was a kavita.awaasth best piece of
kid , and dancing, and came to Mumbai
for day timings. tough. “Th ere’s Saleem, who
tlive.com
birthday plans advice Isabelle
sanchi ta .kalra@h
to tie th e even switching
is a b ig part of course,
ever Saleem has birthdayshis spe-
loves
ago, a dmits he
has

S
of Bollywood. aqib
ouples planning are in a postponing or for me. So I It’s a passion received was big parties on Delhi 10 years boy who

C
It will be diffi- thought it would given throws
often be my second a typic al Delhi
AKHIL NARANG, knot this month to day functions. lenging and be chal- to her by this
“But her will changed. “I was fights and rode my car
g the impo- who will attend fun,” she tells cial day.
elder sister.
spoiled by Covid-19,”
Sudhanshu Saria
bind followin cult for guests The 30-year-old, us. “[She loved to get into Sugandha I came to and (far left)
Businessman
curfew from all the way from who just wrapped birthday advised]in atorow and music. But since Rawal his 2015 film posters of the Actor Deepika
P
up t he shoot just turns 33 today be en
sition of night 8pm the we dding he says. NOTE TO for her second focus on my who
the actor, that he with blaring Delhi boy has upcoming web

S
Suswagatam brash ome show and (left)
in Delhi and Delhi or Noida,” months of Khushaamadeed, film, says
little heartbroken Mumbai, the time I’ve
Padukone on
10pm to 5am READERS: Some
but
P that Bollywood work, he is a
keep everyday.
back I w as money to hire
AKHIL NAR
NG

to stem my learning to ld by my
Planners feel
I am a bit irritated
admits admits replaced by one
friends. country that it my them, but you
to 7am in Mumbai, down the
of the coverage has been a big
ence in her growing influ- be able to meet
head down.
are strength,
toNational I ebe
xist, when want to. You
simply want don’t tweeted a statement
Monday

Scan the code

won’t
efforts have gone gone from strength
cities. on
what parties the At I g ot
Covid-19 in both the ing led to Anyone who he says. balise other’s to canni-
also looking at I don’t
that appears up years. “Danc- Film
Aanchal forgotten person,” Award. Two apologising
We’ve received de cided to seems a
our pages is acting. I watched “I have has or as alater,
weeks work. That’s the i ncid ent. for
While some have birthday party to take any acting ability people one “My
date again, others
drain. Mumbai-based
Wedding Soul, paid for by the
growing up,
and I’ve had Hindi films been in the film
ke. My 30th
liindustry on hisin min
of all?
d at
my industry
the most senior
I
okay,” he asserts. not “The uncanny
blance and similarity resem- announced she
Bagaria, of The I don’t want
queries from 33, is marriage On April 9,
postpone the
altern ate solu- who had three-day
affairs concerned larger picture. choosing a favourite.
(2007). Lagaan
a hard time
I love Jab We decade
gives
ago.
lar advice,” Butsimi-
toh aur birthdayso she mum asks me
nothing
aboutIshaadi
everyday.
pretends
do matters and ques- as if
this I’m invisi- to express his Saria took to Twitter
written off as cannot be
a mere coincidence... has resigned as
says, “Now it’s
want to take any toh
says ble and insignificant,”
couples for a
ar e weighing Me t Zinda rahe the ways to avoid anguish, claiming For this we apologise...
weddings being planned in April
brands. No many times (2001), I’ve
as a teenager,” watched so
actor,
risks. adding, is here with me,We am finding new Hope-
rues that the makers
the chairperson
tions, with day in My mum “I’m just Sudhanshu say never. director of the web series deleted the poster We’ve
“The moment a
it wrapped up sponsored starting
honge. now, bir yani. he feltnever
Saria reflecti copied the poster
all going to be tion. One should
risks. Zinda rahe pressure
What about she shares. ng from all our
brunch and touted as on e.
or thereyummy when he found “ridi on what of his movie. platforms,”
we received a lunch.” But content does
son with her the inevitable so many
will make some are
celebration at
home he concludes. dently, both Inci- the statement of MAMI Mumbai
one event with compari- types of films obvious”
fully sometime,” culously projects tackle However, Saria, read.
shall appear in
to was announced, sister? Is she similarities between
aur birthday honge.
the Punjabi, I want to do.a
will have quiet calls and ject of same-sex the sub -
they’re trying ve nue to move feeling the currently
call from the Mumbai’s Vishal any part of HT of expectations do an action normal of video
I’d love to poster of an
upcoming web the is wondering relationships. recuperating
Film Festival
day, but it We dding Filmer, know it. People already? “I with the new or a His Storyy, backed show, if the makers Saria unconvinced
from Covid-19,
fu nction to the founder, The without it being have been doing period film. Katrina lifted some scenes also is
owing to her work
keep gatherings
by the statement.
says Sau- things l ike this declared as such Actor years, and I’ve it for It’s just and his 2015 by Ekta Kapoor,
from hi s film, wishes the platform He
might be difficult,” says, “When SAQIB SALEEM, got used to it. the beginning, Kaif film Loev. which explores
is getting teach us to value It doesn’t
everything left there’s “I’m not looking the iss ue of homo- edged the authors “acknowl-
intimate. rabh Aswal, who 25. happen, they A wedding
to our valued
to do.”
PHOTO: VIRAL
money from to recover sexual rape.
“Those actors and claimed of the post
that “...this was er”
commitments.
what we have. them, or sue bly were shown
readers. proba-
married on AprilPateria, who to be a big party.” Padukone had
BHAYANI
, Creative just want them them. I a reference image decision, not a
to pose. So, everybody

and subscribe to
SHIVAN GUPTA For Abhishek doesn’t have NOTE T O READERS: nice and not to know that
it’s not over, Saria wants
an accident”.
More -
off from his sponsored c ontent Some of the coverage okay,” says a they were plagiarising,” knew that people to be
Farms
director, Amaara took two months does or shall that appears
appear in any on our pages
pointed Saria. d is ap-
ture are we in “What kind of a cul -
director, who says the
won the National
accountable
like I’m adding
for thei r actions. held replaced
part of H T wi is paid for by
thout it being the concerned
marketing meeting where you can Film Award
for best non-feature next time someone to the chain. “I feel Scan the code
filmmaker Kira
declared as such brands. No
to our valued
readers. body else’s idea?
have
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in 2019.

Hindustan Times now HTcity htcity www.hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021 07
My India
Lack of debate in House India rushes to secure
citizens in Afghanistan
causing gaps in laws: CJI Venkaiah Naidu
Rezaul H Laskar
letters@hindustantimes.com

Utkarsh Anand
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India
NV Ramana on Sunday rued the
“sorry state of affairs” in Parlia-
ment, where, he said, laws are
being passed without construct-
ive debates, leading to legislation
with “a lot of ambiguities”.
Speaking at the Independ-
ence Day ceremony organised
by the Supreme Court Bar Asso-
ciation (SCBA), the CJI
recounted the well-constructed
debates that used to take place
during the initial years after the
independence.
“Different laws used to be
debated and deliberated upon.
So, the burden of the courts in
interpreting or implementing
the laws used to be less. We had
a clear picture (of) what the leg-
islature wanted to tell...why they
were making such a legislation.
Now (there is a) sorry state of
affairs...” remarked justice Ram-
ana.
He added: “(Now) we see legis-
lation with a lot of gaps, a lot of
ambiguities in making laws.
There is no clarity in laws. We
don’t know for what purpose the
CBI declares ₹5L reward for info on judge’s death
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) has
announced a reward of ₹5 lakh
for anyone sharing “informa-
tion of importance” on the
death of Dhanbad additional
sessions judge Uttam Anand,
who was fatally knocked down
by a three-wheeler on July 28,
people familiar with the devel-
opment said on Sunday.
“If anyone has any informa-
tion of importance, it can be
shared with the special crime
CJI NV Ramana
law is made...which is creating
lots of litigation, inconvenience,
loss to the government and
inconvenience to the public.”
The Chief Justice’s comments
come even as the National Dem-
ocratic Alliance government has
been accused of pushing bills
through Parliament without
having them vetted and
reviewed by committees of law-
makers.
In the first term of this gov-
ernment, only 27% of the bills
introduced were sent to commit-
tees; thus far in the second term,
only 12% of the bills have been
sent to committees. Under
UPA-I, 60% of the bills were sent
to committees while 71% were
sent under UPA-II .
The CJI also said that one of
team of the CBI housed at the
CSIR Satkar guest house in
Dhanbad through phone num-
bers 7827728856, 011-24368640
and 24368641. Cash reward of
₹5 lakh will be given to the per-
son who will furnish worth-
while information relating to
the crime,” a notice issued by
the central agency’s Special
Investigation Team (SIT), which
is probing the case, read.
“The name of the informant
will be kept secret,” it added.
The Supreme Court as well as
the Jharkhand high court had
taken suo motu cognizance of
the chief reasons for the falling
standards of parliamentary
debates was the absence of intel-
lectuals and professionals like
lawyers in Parliament.
“We have seen how India’s
independence struggle was led
by lawyers like Gandhi, Sardar
Patel, Nehru, Babu Rajendra
Prasad...Unfortunately over a
period of time, you know what
has been happening in the Par-
liament...This is what happens if
intellectuals and professionals
like lawyers are not there in the
Houses,” regretted justice Ram-
ana. He urged the lawyers to par-
ticipate actively in social life and
public life. “Don’t confine your-
self to your profession, earning
money and living comfortably. I
hope and expect good days will
come to the country and you will
contribute your knowledge, wis-
dom and experience,” said the
CJI.
On Wednesday, a bench,
headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan
Kaul, too highlighted how the
Union government was not
assessing the working of a law,
its societal impact, manpower
and infrastructure required
before notifying a new legisla-
tion.
the hit-and-run incident after
CCTV footage showed the three-
wheeler deliberately swerving
on an empty road to knock
down the judge. The auto-rick-
shaw, which was allegedly sto-
len from Dhanbad, was later
recovered from the neighbour-
ing Giridih district that night.
Two persons who were driv-
ing the three-wheeler, identified
as driver Lakhan Verma and his
associate Rahul Verma, were
arrested by Jharkhand police
the next morning.
The apex court had directed
the central agency to file a sta-
While dealing with massive
vacancies in consumer courts
across the country, Justice Kaul
had pulled up the Centre for not
conducting a legislative impact
study before it notified a new
consumer protection law in July
2020 and rehauled the entire
legal regime, ranging from a
wider definition of “consumer,”
to enhancing the monetary juris-
diction of the consumer courts at
all levels. “Once the legislative
committee made these changes,
what impact will it have on liti-
gation is the study that should
have been carried out. This is the
irony of all legislation -- you
never do legislative impact
study,” the judge had com-
mented.
Meanwhile, in his brief
address, the CJI also com-
mended the role played by the
Supreme Court in protecting
rights of people. “The Supreme
Court has given more than what
the Constitution thought of. Not
only by interpreting the Consti-
tution but also by expanding the
scope and providing rights to the
people taking into consideration
problems of the citizenry. It has
taken an active role and I hope
we will contribute more.”
tus report on the matter every
week with the high court.
On Thursday, the CBI submit-
ted its first report with the
Jharkhand high court, sharing
details of the investigation car-
ried out so far, including recrea-
tion of the scene of crime and
the interrogation of the two
accused.
The CBI had taken over the
probe after the Supreme Court
said the incident had larger
ramifications for the independ-
ence of the judiciary. The state
government had also recom-
mended a CBI probe in the case.
UNION MINISTERS
MEET NAIDU, SEEK
ACTION AGAINST
OPPN MPS OVER
AUGUST 11 RUCKUS
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: A delegation of
seven ministers on Sunday
called on Rajya Sabha chairman
M Venkaiah Naidu and submit-
ted a memorandum to demand
action against some Opposition
members for their alleged
“unprecedented, extreme and
violent acts” in the Upper House,
in the final hours of the disrup-
tion-hit monsoon session on
August 11.
The delegation, consisting of
Union ministers Piyush Goyal,
Pralhad Joshi, Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi, Dharmendra Pradhan,
Bhupender Yadav, Arjun Ram
Meghwal and V Muraleedharan,
alleged that the marshals in the
House were prevented from dis-
charging their duties after furi-
ous Opposition leaders stormed
the Well and protested against
the passage of the general insur-
ance bill. The memorandum was
handed over to Naidu in the
presence of Rajya Sabha deputy
chairman Harivansh.
According to an official famil-
iar with the matter, Naidu told
the delegation that he will exam-
ine the matter for deciding on
the appropriate course of action.
As per a report by the Rajya
Sabha secretariat, opposition
MPs tore papers, obstructed
ministers from taking their
seats, choked and suffocated one
marshal, dragged and pushed
another, took videos and even
climbed on a LED TV stand dur-
ing the session on August 11.
The Opposition denied these
contentions, and blamed the
government for the unruly
scenes in the House.
NEW DELHI: As Taliban fighters
began entering Kabul on Sunday
following the collapse of Presi-
dent Ashraf Ghani’s govern-
ment, Indian authorities scram-
bled to pull out hundreds of dip-
lomats and citizens still in
Afghanistan.
The speed of the Taliban’s
advance into the capital again
took most countries by surprise,
though people familiar with
developments said the Indian
side was well prepared for all
contingencies. The Indian Air
Force’s heavy lift aircraft, espe-
cially the C-17 Globemasters,
have been on round-the-clock
standby for several days and
could be pressed into service at
short notice for an evacuation.
The Indian side had been
anticipating the Taliban advance
into Kabul would take a few
more days, and reports about the
entry of fighters into the city on
Sunday as Ghani and his close
aides reportedly fled to Tajikis-
tan triggered hectic consulta-
tions, the people cited above said
on condition of anonymity.
The government is closely
UP woman set afire by family of
molestation accused, 1 detained
HT Correspondent
letters@htlive.com
LUCKNOW : A 30-year-old
woman has sustained 90%
burn injuries after she was set
on fire allegedly by the family
members of a man she accused
of molestation, in Uttar Pra-
desh’s Mahoba district, police
said on Sunday. One person has
been detained in connection
with the case, an official added.
According to the superin-
tendent of police (Mahoba),
Sudha Singh, the woman
lodged an FIR of molestation
Passengers from Kabul arrive at the Indira Gandhi International
Airport on Sunday.
monitoring the rapidly evolving
situation in Afghanistan to
decide on the evacuation of dip-
lomatic personnel from Kabul,
the people said.
Specific plans for all contin-
gencies are already in place and
all steps will be taken to ensure
that the staff of the Indian
embassy in Kabul and Indian
nationals are not at any risk, the
people added.
Plans are also in place for the
destruction and retrieval of doc-
uments and computers at the
Indian embassy, which is the
against her neighbour on Sat-
urday. “On Saturday, she (the
victim) had registered a case
against her neighbour for beat-
ing and molesting her. The
accused was taken into cus-
tody.”
Angry over the registration
of the case against their son,
the accused’s parents allegedly
poured kerosene over the
woman and set her afire, Singh
added. “I spoke to the woman,
she has informed us that the
accused’s parents poured kero-
sene over her and set her afire
after finding her alone in a
SANJEEV VERMA/HT PHOTO
only functional mission in
Afghanistan following the with-
drawal of staff from the consu-
lates in Herat, Jalalabad, Mazar-
e-Sharif and Kandahar over the
past year. There was no official
word from the external affairs
ministry to the latest develop-
ments in Afghanistan. New Delhi
has consistently said it is
opposed to any attempt to forci-
bly capture power in Kabul.
Taliban fighters began enter-
ing Kabul from all sides without
facing any resistance by late on
Sunday afternoon.
field, where she went to relieve
herself on Sunday morning.”
Station House Officer of Kul-
pahad police station, Mahendra
Pratap Singh, too, said that the
woman has been taken to a
medical college in the adjoin-
ing Jhansi district. An FIR has
been filed in connection with
the case and police have taken
the accused’s mother into cus-
tody for questioning, while
efforts are on to arrest his
father, who is currently
absconding, he added.
With PTI inputs

SAFETY, CONVENIENCE & COMFORT

NEW AC BUSES ON DELHI’S ROADS

UNIQUE FEATURES

12 Meter Low Floor AC Bus GPS

Bus Kneeling with ramp for Panic Button

DIP/Shabdarth/D/0057/21-22

differently abled

Fire Detection CCTV

and Suppression System

Pink Seats for Ladies

LIVE
Live Video Streaming
in case of emergency

FLAG-OFF CEREMONY
Monday, 16 August 2021 at 11:30 am
Rajghat Cluster Bus Depot

Chief Guest
Kailash Gahlot
Transport Minister, Delhi

Transport Department, Government of NCT of Delhi

08
‘India fighting terror, expansionism’
Rahul Singh
rahul.singh@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: In his 88-minute
Independence Day address from
the Red Fort on Sunday, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi drew
the nation’s attention to the chal-
lenges India faces from terror-
ism and expansionism, in a
veiled reference to Pakistan-
sponsored terrorism and China‘s
expansionist policy in Ladakh
and its resolve to strengthen the
capabilities of the armed forces.
The PM said India was fight-
ing terrorism and expansionism
with courage, and the govern-
ment would take all steps to
strengthen the capabilities of the
armed forces. “Today, the world
is looking at India from a new
perspective and this vision has
two important aspects...One ter-
rorism and the other expansion-
ism. India is fighting these two
challenges and responding to
them astutely and with great
courage,” the PM said.
He said that the 2016 surgical
strikes and the 2019 air strikes
against terror pads in Pakistan
sent a strong message to the
country’s enemies about the
emergence of a ‘new India’ and
its resolve to take tough deci-
sions. “India has given a stern
signal to its enemies by conduct-
ing surgical and air strikes. This
tells us that India is changing
and can take the most difficult
decisions and isn’t reluctant to
implement them,” he said.
While the 2016 strikes against
terror pads in Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir were India’s first direct
military response to the suicide
attack on an army camp in Uri,
the air strikes against a Jaish-e-
Mohammed (JeM) terror facility
in Pakistan’s Balakot followed
the Pulwama attack.
The comments came a day
after the government announced
the country’s highest and sec-
ond-highest peacetime gallantry
awards — the Ashok Chakra and
Kirti Chakra — for two Jammu
and Kashmir personnel killed in
encounters with terrorists.
The reference to the fight
against expansionism assumes
significance in the backdrop of
the border row with China in
eastern Ladakh where the Indian
Army and the Chinese People’s
Liberation Army are in talks to
disengage their front-line troops
from flashpoints on the con-
tested Line of Actual Control.
The Army announced on
August 6 that the two armies
had pulled back their forward
deployed troops from Gogra or
Patrol Point-17A, which was one
of the friction points on LAC,
with the breakthrough coming
‘India only G20 nation
to meet climate goals’
Jayashree Nandi
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on Sunday
announced that India has
already installed 100 GW of
renewable energy, adding that
India is the only country among
G20 nations that is progressing
rapidly to meet its climate goals.
India has a target of achieving
40% of electric power installed
capacity from non-fossil fuel
sources by 2030 in its nationally
determined contribution under
the Paris Agreement. One of the
means to achieve the target is
installing 175 GW of renewable
energy by 2022.
“Today, India is the only coun-
try in the group of G20 countries,
which is moving fast towards
achieving its climate goals. India
has set a target of 450 GW of
renewable energy by the end of
this decade - 450 GW by 2030. Of
this, the target of 100 GW has
been achieved by India ahead of
schedule,” Modi said.
Under the Paris Agreement,
India has three quantifiable
nationally determined contribu-
tions (NDCs), which include low-
ering the emissions intensity of
its GDP by 33-35% compared to
2005 levels by 2030; increase
total cumulative electricity gen-
eration from fossil free energy
sources to 40% by 2030; create
additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3
billion tons through additional
forest and tree cover.
In its Biennial Update Report
to the United Nations Frame-
work Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) submitted in
February, India said it has pro-
gressively continued decoupling
of economic growth from green-
house gas emissions. India’s
emission intensity of gross
domestic product (GDP) has
Spotlight independence day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation from the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day in Delhi on Sunday.
‘NEP will help fight poverty’
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sunday
said that the new National
Education Policy (NEP) 2020
is a means to “fight poverty”
as it encourages teaching in
regional language and meets
the needs of the 21st century.
“Today the country also
has a new National Educa-
tion Policy to meet the needs
of the 21st century. Now our
children will neither stop due
to lack of skills nor will they
after the 12th round of military
talks held on July 31. Problems at
Hot Springs and Depsang are yet
to be resolved. India and China
are locked in a border row for
more than 15 months, a phase
that witnessed a deadly skirmish
in the Galwan Valley last year.
The PM made a mention of
aircraft carrier Vikrant, locally
made light combat aircraft and
submarines, underlining that the
projects highlighted India’s
indigenous manufacturing capa-
bility. India’s first indigenous
A farmer works near solar panels installed in the field to help
pump water for irrigation purposes, in Gujarat’s Dhundi.
reduced by 24% between 2005
and 2016. India is therefore on
track to meet its voluntary decla-
ration to reduce the emission
intensity of GDP by 20-25% from
2005 levels by 2020.
“India’s annual renewable
energy addition has been
exceeding that of coal based
thermal power since 2017 and in
the last six years, India’s
installed renewable energy
capacity has increased by two
and half times and the solar
energy capacity has increased by
13 times. We are likely to achieve
our second NDC well ahead of
schedule,” said an environment
ministry official.
The ministry of new and
renewable energy announced on
Thursday that the total installed
renewable energy capacity in
India, excluding large hydro, has
crossed the milestone of 100 GW.
“Another landmark day in the
history of the Indian Power Sec-
tor. Our installed Renewable
Energy capacity (excluding large
Hydro) has crossed 1,00,000
megawatts. Under the visionary
leadership of PM @narendra-
modi ji, we shall continue to be
global leaders in Energy Transi-
tion,” power minister RK Singh
be bound by language barri-
ers.This new National Educa-
tion Policy is also going to be
a great tool to fight against
poverty in a way. The basis of
winning the war against pov-
erty is also the education,
prestige and importance of
the vernacular language,” the
prime minister said.
The NEP was approved by
the Centre in July last year.
He said the NEP has a spe-
cial feature under which
sports have been made a part
of mainstream education
instead of extracurricular.
aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant, the
largest warship to be built in the
country, kicked off critical sea
trials on August 3 ahead of its
planned induction into the Navy
in less than a year.
The PM also underlined
India’s growing prowess in
defence manufacturing and the
government’s full commitment
to boost Atmanirbharta (self-re-
liance) in the defence sector.
He also said Sainik Schools
across the country would open
their doors to girl students.
AFP
tweeted on Thursday.
During his speech PM Modi
said Railways already has a tar-
get of becoming a net-zero emis-
sion sector by 2030. “We are giv-
ing equal emphasis to environ-
mental security as to national
security...,” PM Modi said. “We
should realise that India is not
energy independent. It spends
over ₹12 lakh crores on import-
ing energy. As we celebrate 75
years of Independence, we have
to ensure that India becomes
Atmanirbhar Bharat in energy
production too.”
PM Modi said green hydrogen
production and exports will lead
India towards a clean energy
transition. “Green Hydrogen is
the future of the world. Today, I
announce the setting up of the
National Hydrogen Mission. We
have to make India a global Hub
for green hydrogen production
and export…this will not only
help India to make a new
progress in the field of energy
self-reliance but will also
become a new inspiration for
clean energy transition all over
the world. New opportunities
from green growth to green Jobs
are opening up today for our
start-ups and youth,” he added.
Mahatma’s message
guided India: Biden
Press Trust of India
letters@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON : Guided by
Mahatma Gandhi’s message of
truth and non-violence, India
achieved its long journey
towards independence, US Presi-
dent Joe Biden said on the coun-
try’s 75th Independence Day,
asserting that the commitment
to respecting the will of the peo-
ple through democracy contin-
ues to inspire the world.
Greeting Indians on the 75th
Independence Day, Biden said in
this moment of great challenges
and opportunities, the partner-
ship between India and the
United States was more impor-
tant than ever.
“On this day, August 15, 1947,
India achieved its long journey
toward independence, guided by
Mahatma Gandhi’s message of
truth and non-violence,” Biden
said in a statement on Saturday.
“Today, that foundational
commitment to respecting the
will of the people through
democracy continues to inspire
the world and is the basis of the
A
l Master Plan — to create
Bhagwat warns
against ‘dependence
on Chinese items’
MUMBAI: If dependence on
China increases, we will
have to bow before it,
Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan
Bhagwat said on Sunday.
Speaking after hoisting
the national flag at a
Mumbai school on the 75th
Independence Day, the RSS
chief also said “swadeshi”
means doing business on
India’s terms. “We use the
internet and technology a
lot. Our country does not
have the original
technology. It comes from
outside... If the dependence
on China increases, then
(we) will have to bow
before China,” Bhagwat
said.
{ ‘AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV’ }
75 new Vande Bharat trains to connect all parts of India: PM
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sunday
announced that 75 new Vande
Bharat Express trains will be
launched to connect different
parts of the country in 75 weeks
to mark the ongoing ‘Azadi ka
Amrit Mahotsav.’
“...The country has resolved
that 75 Vande Bharat trains will
be connecting every corner of
the country in 75 weeks of Amrit
Mahotsav of Independence,” he
told the crowd during his Inde-
pendence Day speech from the
ramparts of the Red Fort.
The Indian Railways had
floated a revised tender in Sep-
tember last year for procuring
44 semi-high speed Vande Bha-
rat trains from companies regis-
tered only in India. The govern-
ment had earlier scrapped three
Joe Biden
special bond between our two
nations. Over the decades, the
ties between our people, includ-
ing a vibrant community of
more than four million Indian-
Americans, have sustained and
strengthened our partnership,”
he said.
Biden pointed out that in the
past one year, the two nations
have come together in new ways
as they tackle the Covid-19 pan-
demic, including working in
partnership with Japan and Aus-
tralia — through the Quad
grouping — to expand global
manufacturing of safe and effec-
tive Covid-19 vaccines and to
strengthen the last-mile coordi-
nation to reach people through-
out the Indo-Pacific.
Chhattisgarh to have
4 new districts, 18
new tehsils, says CM
RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh chief
minister Bhupesh Baghel
on Sunday announced the
creation of four new
districts in the state.
The CM also said that
steps taken to curb the
Maoist menace were
“showing encouraging
results”.“Taking the process
of decentralisation further,
four new districts will be
created - namely Mohla-
Manpur, Sakti, Sarangarh-
Bilaigarh and
Manendragarh, while 18
new tehsils will also be
formed,” Baghel said
addressing an
Independence Day function
at the police parade ground
here.
PM Narendra Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express at New Delhi
Railway Station on February 15, 2019.
global tenders for the ambitious
project.
Hyderabad-based engineering
firm Medha, which in February
secured the contract to supply
Bolster collective
power of small
farmers: Modi
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi in his Independence
Day speech said his govern-
ment’s agriculture policies were
pivoted to meet the needs of
small farmers, who must be
turned into “pride of the nation”.
Modi said that it was high
time the country needed to apply
“scientific research and sugges-
tions” to the agriculture sector to
provide food security to the
nation and to increase food pro-
duction. He also said that the
country must increase the col-
lective power of small farmers.
“Our mantra is ‘Chhota kisan
bane desh ki shaan’ (small farm-
ers must become the pride of the
nation) . It’s our dream. In years
to come, we’ve to further
HT PHOTO increase the collective strength
of small farmers of the country,
THEY SAY we will have to provide them
new facilities. ‘Kisan rail’ runs on
P more than 70 rail routes of the
Government is
country today.”
Small farmers have less than
two hectares of land. Addition-
committed to ally, farm holdings are getting
smaller and smaller in villages
ensure the with rise in population and divi-
dignified return of sion in families, he said during
his speech.
Kashmiri Pandit “Now, keeping these farmers
brothers. in mind, farm policies and
reforms are being made,” the PM
MANOJ SINHA, lieutenant said, adding that schemes like
governor, J&K PM-Kisan and Fasal Bima Yojana
will strengthen these cultivators.
Modi also announced that the
He (PM) announces government would fortify the
rice distributed to the poor
new schemes but through different schemes such
these are never
implemented or
seen on the ground.
He says a lot of
₹100L cr Gati Shakti
things but never
adheres to them.
plan to boost infra
Rajeev Jayaswal
MALLIKARJUN KHARGE ,
letters@hindustantimes.com
Senior Congress leader
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sunday said
On the 75th the government will unveil a
₹100 lakh crore “holistic and
Independence Day, integrated” approach in infra-
let us all come structure construction — Prime
Minister ‘Gati Shakti’ National
together to
strengthen our employment and make local
manufacturers globally com-
voices against all petitive. He also reiterated his
resolve to nurture startups as
forces that aim to emerging wealth creators.
stifle our freedom.
MAMATA BANERJEE,
West Bengal chief minister
“In the near future, we are
going to launch Prime Minister
‘Gati Shakti’ National Master
Plan,” the PM said in his Inde-
pendence Day speech from the
ramparts of the Red Fort.
After prolonged “Gati Shakti will lay the
foundation of holistic infra-
freedom struggle... structure and will lead to an
the country got integrated and holistic pathway
to our economy. Right now,
freedom... Our there is no coordination among
our means of transport. Gati
ancestors had Shakti will break the silos, and
sacrificed their will remove all these obsta-
cles.”
lives 75 years ago to Modi was referring to an
achieve the vision integrated approach to develop
modern railways, roadways,
of ‘Ek Bharat, waterways and airways.“This
Shrestha Bharat’. will reduce the travel time for
the common man and the pro-
YOGI ADITYANATH, ductivity of our industry will
Uttar Pradesh chief minister
lowing all trials.
The indigenous semi-high
speed train set, also known as
Train 18, is being given a boost
with the Railways gearing to roll
out at least 10 of them, linking
around 40 cities by August 2022,
according to officials aware of
the development.
The maiden run of a Vande
Bharat train was flagged off by
Modi on the New Delhi-Varanasi
route on February 15, 2019. The
second such train service
between New Delhi and Shri
Mata Vaishnodevi Katra was
flagged off by Union home min-
ister Amit Shah on October 3 in
the same year.
SANJEEV VERMA/HT PHOTO Besides this, the Prime Minis-
ter also talked about boosting
the electrical systems for the 44 rail connectivity in the northeast
trains, has now been told to region, saying it is significant for
advance its production plan so the entire country. “Today, we
that at least two prototypes can are in the process of writing a
be rolled out by next March fol- new history as far as connectiv-
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
A farmer plows his fields in
Sikroda village, Ghaziabad. HT
as midday meals to improve
nutritional outcomes.
“Malnutrition and lack of
micro-nutrients are affecting the
growth of poor children. Look-
ing at this, it has been decided to
fortify the rice given to the poor
via different government
schemes,” the PM said.
The PM’s focus on small farm-
ers during his I-Day speech
comes amid a nearly year-long
agitation by farmers, especially
from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh etc, against three agri-
cultural laws enacted last year in
September. Talks between the
central government and farmer
unions have stalled since they
last met on January 22; the two
sides have held 11 meetings thus
far. In the January 22 meeting,
the unions rejected the govern-
ment’s proposal to put the laws
on hold for up to 18 months. The
Centre has repeatedly stated it
won’t take back the reforms.
Modi also said his govern-
ment would launch an e-com-
merce platform for trading of the
products made by women self-
help groups (SHGs) in villages.
also increase,” he said adding
that it would also help in the
creation of future economic
zones. “In this decade, the
power of speed will form the
basis of India’s transforma-
tion,” he added.
The government considers
infrastructure development as
an engine of economic growth.
In December 2019, finance min-
ister Nirmala Sitharaman had
announced a Rs 111 lakh crore
National Infrastructure Pipe-
line (NIP) with 6,835 projects.
That has now expanded to
7,400 projects of which 217
worth ₹1.10 lakh crore have
already been completed. The
government is also setting up a
Development Finance Institu-
tion (DFI) to fund infrastruc-
ture sector projects.
The PM hailed startups as
new wealth creators.
India Inc responded posi-
tively to the PM’s speech. TV
Narendran, president, Confed-
eration of Indian Industry, said
it comprehensively outlined a
strategic economic vision. “The
proposed Pradhan Mantri Gati
Shakti programme of ₹100 lakh
crore promises to converge
infrastructure, manufacturing
and competitiveness to drive
India’s future growth and cre-
ate employment,” Narendran
said.
ity to the northeast is concerned.
This connectivity is both
between hearts and infrastruc-
ture. Very soon the job of con-
necting the capital cities of the
northeastern states by rail will
be completed,” Modi said.
As of today, except Sikkim, all
northeastern states are con-
nected to the rail network. The
capital cities of Assam, Tripura
and Arunachal Pradesh are
already connected, while the
work to link the capital cities of
Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland
and Meghalaya is underway.
Referring to the regional con-
nectivity scheme in the aviation
sector, Modi said it is unprece-
dented the way UDAN scheme
was connecting far-flung areas
of the country and the speed at
which new airports are being
built.
(With agency inputs)
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
EIU not sharing info on
democracy index: Govt
Anisha Dutta
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Union govern-
ment tried to engage with the
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
headquartered in London, follow-
ing the latter’s “Democracy
Index” ranking of India that cate-
gorised India as a “flawed democ-
racy”, according to documents
accessed by HT and officials
familiar with the development.
This admission was made in a
letter, reviewed by HT, written by
the Union law ministry to the
Rajya Sabha secretariat on July 15
seeking to disallow a question by
an MP on “Indian Position in
Democracy Index,” that was due
for answer on July 22. The minis-
try said the question was sensi-
tive in nature.
“The Rajya Sabha Secretariat is
requested to refer to the Provi-
sionally Admitted Question...
raised by Smt. Shanta Chhetri,
M.P., due for answer on 22 Jul,
2021 on “Indian Position in
Democracy Index... In this regard,
it is to state that question raised
by the Hon’ble Member is very
sensitive in nature. As per the
report of the Economic Intelli-
gence Unit, United Kingdom (the
publishing agency), the primary
cause of the democratic regres-
sion, inter alia, was an erosion of
civil liberties and the authorities
handling the coronavirus pan-
demic in the country,” the letter
said.
The letter also noted that the
methodology adopted by EIU to
deduce the rankings was not
shared and noted that the rank-
ings were arrived without con-
sulting any government agencies.
“This (law) ministry made efforts
to establish contacts with the said
publishing agency to know the
methodology adopted by it and
the sample size considered by it
to arrive the said rankings. How-
ever, the said agency is not will-
ing to divulge the required infor-
{ MILITANT KILLED IN ENCOUNTER } CURFEW IMPOSED
Home minister quits amid stir in Meghalaya
David Laitphlang
letters@hindustantimes.com
SHILLONG: Meghalaya home
minister Lahkmen Rymbui on
Sunday resigned from his post
amid vandalism and arson over
the police encounter of a top mil-
itant last week, even as the state
government announced a cur-
few in Shillong and suspended
internet services in at least four
districts to contain the situation.
In his letter to chief minister
Conrad Sangma, Rymbui
expressed shock over the pro-
tests and proposed a judicial
enquiry into the death of banned
Hynniewtrep National Libera-
tion Council general secretary,
Cherish Starfield Thangkhiew,
who was killed in a police
ENGG STUDENT Mumbai locals open to the fully vaccinated
STABBED TO DEATH
IN ANDHRA DISTT,
ACCUSED HELD
Press Trust of India
letters@hindustantimes.com
AMARAVATI: A third-year engi-
neering student was stabbed to
death in broad daylight by an
assailant in Guntur city of
Andhra Pradesh, causing a wide-
spread uproar.
State home minister M Sucha-
rita rushed to the Government
General Hospital, where the
girl’s body was taken, and
expressed shock over the inci-
dent.
Later in the night, state
Director General of Police D G
Sawang said the accused in the
case has been arrested.
“The local people provide cru-
cial clues that led to the arrest of
the accused. Also, the CCTV
camera footage helped us iden-
tify the accused,” the DGP said in
a release.
Chief Minister Y S Jagan
Mohan Reddy announced an ex
gratia payment of ₹10 lakh to the
kin of the victim. He directed the
officials concerned to take care
of her family.
TDP general secretary and
MLC Nara Lokesh deplored that
the dalit student’s murder took
place around the time when the
CM, in his Independence Day
address, was waxing eloquent
about women safety under his
rule. Jana Sena chief K Pawan
Kalyan said the murder of engi-
neering student was ‘sorrowful.’
A series of such attacks on girl
students and women reflected
the government’s failure in tak-
ing effective steps to curb them.
“This government lacks sin-
cerity in preventing attacks on
women. There is no point mak-
ing shallow laws,” Kalyan said,
referring to the Disha Bill that
the Centre rejected.
THE LATEST EIU
RANKINGS HAD
PUT INDIA ON THE
53RD SPOT AND
ALSO CLASSIFIED
IT AS A ‘FLAWED
DEMOCRACY’
mation. Further, these ranking
were arrived by independent
studies without consulting any
government agencies,” it noted.
“Hence, this ministry do not
have any information or data per-
taining to the to the said Index. As
such it is very difficult to this min-
istry to answer the said question
because it involves information
on trivial matters and raises mat-
ters not under the control of bod-
ies or persons not primarily
responsible to the Government of
India subject matter of the ques-
tion. Hence, in terms of the rule
47 (xv) and 47(xviii) of the Rules
of the Procedure and Conduct of
Business in the Council of States,
it appears this question is inad-
missible. The above facts may
please be placed before the
Hon’ble Chairman to decide the
admissibility of the question. This
Ministry has no objection to the
above facts being conveyed to the
Hon’ble Member,” it added.
HT reached out to EIU with a
detailed questionnaire but
received no response. HT also
reached out to the Union law
ministry but received no
response till the time of going to
print.
According to the Rajya Sabha
website, the admissibility of
notice given by members in
respect of questions in Rajya
Sabha is governed by Rules 47-50
of Rules and Procedure and Con-
duct of Council of States (Rajya
Sabha).
The aforementioned subsec-
tions mentioned by the ministry
DATA SERVICES
WERE SUSPENDED
FROM 6PM ON
SUNDAY FOR 48
HOURS IN AT LEAST
FOUR DISTRICTS
encounter on August 13.
“I hereby express shock at the
incident where (L) Chesterfield
Thangkhiew was killed follow-
ing the raid of police at his resi-
dence exceeding the lawful ten-
ets of the law. Considering the
gravity of the situation, I would
request you to relieve the Home
(Police) Department from me
with immediate effect,” he said.
Thangkhiew, who surren-
Mumbai local train services resume for fully vaccinated people on Sunday, after a gap of four
months. Passengers were restricted from commuting in local trains in the first week of April
after the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. “It will give relief to the people. People should
follow the SOPs and Covid protocols issued by the government,” Kishore, a commuter, told news
agency ANI.
EVACUATION FLIGHT
nearly an hour, according to
people aware of the matter. The
Taliban, which have swept the
war-torn country, reached the
outskirts of Kabul, and officials
at the city’s air traffic control
could not immediately give
clearance for landing to Air
India Flight 243.
The aircraft later landed with
about 40 people on board amid
tense moments and drama in the
high skies. The flight later
brought back diplomats and
security officials posted at the
Indian embassy in Kabul, carry-
ing 129 passengers, according to
officials.
An Air India official said there
My India 09
COVID TRACKER
state: “ (XV) it shall not ask for gium and Brazil.
Himanta Biswa Sarma
32,225,176
TOTAL COVID CASES
543,846,290 2,238,952
TOTAL DOSES ADMINISTERED ON SUNDAY
NEW CASES ON
information on trivial matters;
(XVIII) it shall not raise matters
The government’s move to
monitor indices, and work on
ON I-DAY, ASSAM 33,221 SUNDAY 303,736,505 People who have
got one dose 120,550,943 People who have
got both doses
under the control of bodies or
persons not primarily responsi-
improving rankings, however,
precedes the release of index. A
CM SARMA INVITES TOTAL COVID CASES (New cases on Sunday) TOTAL DOSES ADMINISTERED (Doses administered on Sunday)
ble to the Government of India. CoS (committee of secretaries) ULFA (I) CHIEF FOR
UT Ladakh Chandigarh Himachal Sikkim
HT on April 17 reported that
the law ministry’s legislative
meeting was held on 30 January,
2020 to discuss India’s ranking in PEACE DIALOGUE 20,445 (+9) 62,029(+1) Pradesh 28,706(+152)
department wrote to several min- the Global Competitive Indices 262,367(+7) 210,143 (+182)
istries and departments on April decided to measure and monitor
Press Trust of India 986,013(+8,083)
6,470,449(+6,659)
658,871(+0)
letters@hindustantimes.com
1 seeking details on the parame- India’s performance on various UT J&K
ters used in the rankings of the important parameters through GUWAHATI: Assam chief minis- 323,422(+97) Delhi Assam
Economist Intelligence Unit’s 32 internationally recognised ter Himanta Biswa Sarma on 1,437,091(+53) 579,899(+411)
Democracy Index, as part of a indices to improve performance Sunday appealed to ULFA (I) 7,135,159 (+18,105) Uttarakhand
11,520,061 14,020,457(+157,424)
larger exercise under the aegis of on these indices. chief Paresh Barua to come to (+4,110)
342,588 (+16)
Niti Aayog to monitor parame- The legislative department had the negotiating table. Sarma Punjab 7,226,298
ters used in key global indices been assigned to monitor India’s also expressed his gratitude to 599,942(+46) (+8,677) Meghalaya
including Ease of Doing Business, performance on the Democracy Covid warriors for their unre- 71,808(+420)
11,087,199(+165,954)
World Press Freedom, Human Index. Niti Aayog’s Development lenting fight against the pan- 1,226,476(+444)
Development, Global Innovation, Monitoring & Evaluation Office demic, and reaffirmed his gov- Uttar Pradesh
and Global Climate Risk. (DMEO) was tasked with moni- ernment’s commitment to the
Haryana
770,208(+22)
1,708,948(+30) Arunachal Pradesh
EIU’s index is based on 60 indi- toring all the indices and facilitat- war against drugs and human 57,438,830
13,757,258 51,348 (+48)
cators grouped in five different ing the measurement and moni- trafficking. (+12,775)
categories measuring pluralism, toring of India’s performance on He made 10 ‘requests’ to the
(+76,724) 901,547 (+834)
civil liberties and political cul- these indices through a single people of Assam, including tak-
ture. dashboard. ing care of aging parents and Rajasthan Nagaland
Bihar 29,151(+54)
In addition to a numeric score Niti Aayog is also collecting marrying off daughters not 953,943(+18) 725,483(+28)
and a ranking, the index catego- information on other indices. For before the age of 21, to mark the 37,556,974 30,126,979 807,502(+183)
rises each country into one of instance, in December 2020, it 75th Independence Day. (+47,592) (+123,913)
four regime types: full democra- also sought inputs from the home Speaking at the state function
cies, flawed democracies, hybrid ministry on the Global Peace organised on the occasion, the
regimes and authoritarian Index. chief minister said that Assam Gujarat
regimes. “The methodology used by the is celebrating Independence 825,182
The five fields that the govern- agencies like the V-Dem, Free- Day without any bandh called (+16)
ment is monitoring for the dom House, and EUI is already in by militant groups, including 40,200,268
Democracy Index are electoral the public domain. They arrive at ULFA, for the first time in dec- (+364,593)
process and pluralism, function- their final country rankings after ades.”
Manipur
ing of the government, political looking at several components On behalf of the people of
108,270 (+602)
participation, democratic politi- comprising multiple indicators. Assam, I appeal to Paresh Barua Dadra and 1,440,605(+395)
cal culture, and civil liberties, offi- Some of these elements can be to come forward for dialogue. Nagar Haveli Mizoram
cials aware of the matter said on gauzed by using publicly availa- Let no youth of our state be 10,655 (+0) 48,462 (+467)
condition of anonymity. ble survey data, and in other killed anymore,” he said. 878,165(+425)
689,501(+729)
This, senior officials familiar cases, they take the help of The ULFA (I), which had Jharkhand
with the matter said, was with the experts to rate a country on a par- been calling for Assam Bandh 347,558NA Tripura
view of improving India’s rank- ticular indicator. The only thing on Independence Day and Maharashtra 81,256(+142)
ings on global barometers, these agencies do not share, and Republic Day for several dec-
10,969,025
6,392,660 (+4,797) (+39,284) 3,261,501(+1,221)
including the Democracy Index. for obvious reasons, is the details ades, refrained from the prac- 49,414,314(+223,223)
In the latest 2020 Democracy of the respondents (or country tice for the first time for Inde- West Bengal
Index global ranking released on experts). In any case, these exer- pendence Day this year.The out- 1,538,563 (+673)
February 3, India slipped two pla- cises are largely academic in fit has also declared a unilateral
Goa
172,506 (+75) Madhya Pradesh 34,273,941(+73,042)
ces to 53rd (out of 167 countries), nature and I’m not sure what the ceasefire since May this year in
its overall score fell from 6.9 the government intends to gain by view of the pandemic situation. 1,447,323(+4,599) 792,036(+13)
37,804,639 Odisha
previous year to 6.6, and it was engagement with these agencies,” The chief minister had earlier
classified as a “flawed democ- said Rahul Verma, fellow at the urged Barua to come for peace
Karnataka (+68,639) 994,565(+1,058)
racy” along with countries Centre for Policy Research (CPR), talks after assuming power in 2,929,464(+1,431) 19,511,183(+33,382)
including the US, France, Bel- New Delhi. May this year. Sarma thanked 34,644,118 (+151,697) Puducherry Chhattisgarh
all Covid warriors, including 122,282(+79) Andaman and
1,003,746(+49) Nicobar
doctors, nurses, laboratory Lakshadweep 774,430
12,166,075 (+7,546)
technicians and ambulance 10,288 (+3) (+982) 7,548(+0)
drivers, for working tirelessly in 330,234(+281)
69,570(+17)
the pandemic. Noting that Cov-
id-19 vaccination for all eligible
people was progressing well in
the state, he said that 1.5 crore
Kerala
3,690,123(+18,582)
Tamil Nadu
2,588,781(+1,896)
Andhra Pradesh
1,993,697(+1,506)
Telangana
652,380(+245)
dered in 2018, was suspected to pended from 6 pm on Sunday for doses will be administered in 24,269,956(+334,180) 26,774,420(+138,957) 25,057,654(+59,284) 16,231,135(+6,205)
be the mastermind behind a 48 hours in the districts of East the next one week.
spate of IED attacks, police said. Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills,
According to the director-gen- South West Khasi Hillis and
eral of police R Chandranathan, Ri-Bhoi. “No kind of gathering,
he allegedly attacked police with public meeting or rally may be
a knife when his home was being held. Exemptions only for medi-
raided, provoking a retaliatory cal emergencies, Covid-19 and
shot in which he was killed. hospital duty are applicable,”
Earlier in the day, hundreds of deputy commissioner Kumari
Thangkhiew’s supporters car- Isawanda Laloo said.
ried black flags as the militant’s “Additional companies of the
body was being taken to the Central Reserve Police Force
cemetery. Police said the protest- (CRPF) have been requisitioned
ers vandalised government vehi- to ensure compliance to the
cles and set a police vehicle afire ‘total curfew’ order,” a top offi-
in Shillong’s Jaiaw area. cial in the secretariat familiar
A curfew in the Shillong with the development said. On
Agglomeration area of the state Saturday, Sangma said there was
capital was imposed from 8 pm ample evidence against Thang-
on Sunday till 5 am on August 17. khiew for his role in recent blast
Internet services were sus- incidents.
BHUSHAN KOYANDE/HT PHOTO
{ }
was no plan so far yet to cancel province after province and
the Delhi-Kabul-Delhi flight and raced to Kabul, stunned many,
that it was scheduled to operate including the US.
on Monday. However, the offi- The US sent helicopters to
cial said the airline was monitor- evacuate its staff from its mis-
ing the situation closely and will sion in Kabul and asked its staff
take appropriate action as and to delete all sensitive informa-
when required. tion.
Indian consulates in Kanda-
har and Mazar-e-Sharif – two of THE TWO-HOUR-
Afghanistan’s largest cities – TWENTY-MINUTE
were handed over to local staff
over the last four weeks and all
FLIGHT HAD TO
Indians evacuated via special HOLD IN THE AIR
flights. FOR NEARLY AN
Only two days ago, the minis-
try of external affairs said it was
HOUR, ACCORDING
not closing the embassy in Kabul TO PEOPLE AWARE
but the speed with which the OF THE MATTER
gun-toting Taliban conquered
10
Opinion
{ OUR TAKE }
E STA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 24
The exhaustion of
From 75 to 100, the carbon budget
India’s future Seven countries and the
EU have already used
By focusing on a policy agenda at Red Fort, PM up 74% of the carbon
Modi did well. The challenge is in execution
budget available to keep
I
n his 88-minute speech from the ramparts of the temperatures below the
Red Fort, to mark India’s 75th Independence 1.5 degree threshold.
Day, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi
India is a victim but will
weaved in India’s past, present and future. By
recognising the entire spectrum of India’s freedom have to be proactive
fighters — including Jawaharlal Nehru, whose
I
n the past three decades, the
legacy the ruling party is uncomfortable with — the science of the climate crisis
has progressed, but its politics
PM underlined that India’s struggle for freedom was has regressed. In 1992, in the
a collective enterprise and each citizen, known and Brazilian city of Rio de
unknown, deserved credit. By declaring August 14 as Janeiro, when the world met
to initiate action on the climate cri-
the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day — the sis, the science behind the accuracy
formal announcement was made on Saturday — the of how fossil fuels were warming the
PM was right to acknowledge the suffering and grief planet and its implications was still
uncertain. But enough was known to
that millions underwent at what should have been a sound a warning bell on this
moment of unadulterated joy. But while India needs impending catastrophe. This is why
to do more to memorialise its past, it is important the framework convention on cli-
mate change was agreed upon.
that the memory of Partition serves as a reminder of At the time, it was accepted that
the perils of the politics of hate and religious division the world needed to come together
and does not end up aggravating it. as these emissions crossed national
boundaries. It was accepted that
As is the right of the head of the government, PM countries had different responsibili-
Modi sought to highlight the improvement in ties to the contribution of green-
governance in the past seven years, with a focus on house gases in the atmosphere, and,
so, they needed to act together, but
welfare delivery. He also dealt with the pandemic — differently. Rich countries needed to
praising India’s vaccination programme and locally- drastically cut emissions and make
manufactured vaccines, while acknowledging there space for the poorer, emerging
countries to grow. But so that these
were difficulties and mourning the loss of those who countries could grow differently —
succumbed to the infection. He defended the
government’s record on agriculture when farm
protests continue to rage against new legal reforms,
made the small farmer the face of Indian agriculture, { STRAIGHTFORWARD }
and highlighted the need to focus on energy, Shashi Shekhar
manufacturing, infrastructure, innovation and
technology as sectors that needed a boost in the next
25 years. No one can dispute the need to combine
enhanced agri-productivity, leverage the new
economy, and work for equity as a three-pronged
Looking back at the 25th,
road map. The challenge, of course, is translating
this vision into reality — especially at a time when 50th I-Day anniversaries
the government has been less than enthusiastic
about a fiscal stimulus to tide over the current crisis am writing these words with a deep sense
and has embarked on (much-needed) reforms
without adequate consultation.
A key theme in the PM’s speech was the need to
I of grief, even as India celebrates its 75th
Independence Day. The monsoon session
of Parliament has shattered people’s faith
in parliamentary democracy. At this juncture,
it must be remembered that Independence
liberate citizens from the overbearing hand of the and the progress that followed have been
State, especially by removing administrative hurdles. achieved through the efforts of generation
This bureaucratic and legal clean-up is necessary, but
the government also needs to recognise that liberty
extends to the political realm. Ensuring the ease of
after generation. Let me explain by going back
to the last 50 years, which I have had the privi-
lege of witnessing up close.
Let’s start with September 1971. There were
living for citizens also requires the State to allow them
to express and organise themselves, without fear.
photographs of Indira Gandhi everywhere,
and the people of Prayagraj (then, Allahabad)
felt proud when they said that they were resi-
Indeed, that is the essence of freedom. A more
prosperous, a more harmonious, a more equal, a more
just, and a more free India must be the goal for 2047.
dents of the original city of the Jawaharlal
Nehru dynasty. Gandhi was known for her
eloquent speeches. We used to hear her
speeches on All India Radio, in which she was
often heard drawing the blueprint of India’s
An ambitious
golden future. However, the conditions on the
ground were starkly different.
The shadow of the 1965-1967 famine was
still looming over the country. Gujarat, Maha-
rashtra, and Rajasthan were also drought-
climate blueprint prone at the time. The country produced only
107.8 million tonnes of food grains. The agri-
cultural situation dipped, and as a result,
ndia will be “energy independent” in 25 years to India had to import about two million tonnes
I mark its 100th year of Independence, Prime
Minister (PM) Narendra Modi said in his
Independence Day speech. The government’s road-
of grain from the United States and other
countries. Society was imprisoned in the ruth-
less system of ration shops. People in villages
could not even see sugar for months.
map includes a gas-based economy, a Compressed Discussions over war with Pakistan were in
full swing. And as expected, war broke out in
Natural Gas and Piped Natural Gas network, and a the first week of December. India won a deci-
20% ethanol blending target. The plan will help sive victory over Pakistan, which was now
reduce energy import of over ₹12 lakh crore broken into two parts. The country was over-
whelmed with pride. Most of us even forgot
annually. The PM also announced that Indian about the growth rate that had slipped below
Railways has targeted becoming a net-zero carbon zero, the queues at ration shops, and the pains
emitter by 2030; he emphasised that the government of everyday life. This sentiment remained
even eight months after the country began to
is serious about circular economy (eliminating waste celebrate the 25th year of independence.
and pollution, keeping products and materials in use This was not unnatural, as the literacy rate
and regenerating natural systems); and announced a was only 35%. In those days, the infant mor-
tality rate was 138 of 1,000 newborns. The life
national hydrogen mission to increase the use of expectancy rate was 48.72 years. The British
green hydrogen as a cleaner alternative fuel. raj was over, but in the country, devotion to
Two other announcements are significant because kings remained. Political dynasties were tak-
ing advantage of this. Their numbers were
they are already in motion. First, the total installed increasing, and continue to, to this day.
renewable energy (RE) capacity, excluding large Now, fast-forward to 1997. This was the
hydro, has crossed the milestone of 100 GW out of
the target of 450 GW target by 2030. India is fourth
in the world in terms of installed RE capacity.
Second, the PM spoke of making India plastic-free.
On August 13, the government notified Plastic Waste
Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibiting
identified single-use plastic items by 2022.
The PM’s address shows that the government’s
ambition is clear. India is willing to take measures to
halt the climate crisis and opt for a less-polluting
development pathway. The world should
acknowledge this, and help the country through
finance and green technology. This will enable India
Independence and the progress that
(and the world) to not just achieve climate goals, but followed have been achieved through the
many of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. efforts of generation after generation REUTERS
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NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
with lower emissions of greenhouse remarkably different. Instead of
gases, mainly CO2 — the richer being punctuated with the usual suf-
countries would provide funds and fices of uncertainty, it now says,
technology. The politics of climate more often than ever, that it is “vir-
justice would enable cooperation. tually certain” and can speak with a
But since then, we have gone “high order of confidence” of the
downhill. Now, the Climate Change human-induced climate crisis
2021 report of the Intergovernmen- impact. It can even attribute this to
tal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) specific weather events. It indeed is
bluntly says that the world has run the age of the Anthropocene and we
out of time and excuses not to act. It will not go down well in history.
is code red for the planet, This is where politics
these normally circum- kicks in. The IPCC report
spect scientists have says there is a “near-linear” Instead of being punctuated with suffices of uncertainty, the 2021 IPCC
declared. They are now relationship between cumu- report says that it is ‘virtually certain’ and can speak with a ‘high order of
certain that it is human lative CO2 emissions and confidence’ of the human-induced climate crisis impact SHUTTERSTOCK
influence that has warmed the global warming they
the earth. That this Sunita cause. It says each 1,000 dom, Japan, Canada, and Australia total amount or in terms of per cap-
warmer world is already gigatonne CO2 (GtCO2) is emitted 75%. In the next two dec- ita. But now the world has run out of
beginning to see the impact
Narain likely to cause a 0.45°C ades, China, which was just 5% in carbon space.
— from extreme cold to increase in global surface the preceding period, jumped to We can keep insisting that we are
extreme heat of extreme temperature. The real twist contribute 13% of the carbon budget. the victims, but it will not be to
rainfall events. And that each of comes in the next finding, which In this way, the original seven and much avail. We need a strategy to
these events will trigger devastation says that for a 67% chance to stay China have appropriated 74% of the ramp up our actions to combat the
such as the droughts, floods or fires below 1.5°C, the remaining carbon budget from 1870 to 2019. And by climate crisis — because we have the
that we are witnessing today. This is budget — from January 2020 — is 2030, they will take up 60% of what advantage of doing things differ-
no longer about the future. It is the 400 GtCO2 and that at current rates remains to keep the world below ently. Also, we have the reason to do
present, and it will only get worse. of emissions, this will be exhausted 1.5°C. So, it’s apartheid, the climate this for our own benefit — clean air
This then is their next big cer- in the next 10 years. way. and clean energy. We must be stri-
tainty — the pace is accelerating and Think of the carbon budget like The question is: What do we do in dent on the need for global action;
this will mean that we could see an the cake that has already been eaten, India? We are victims of the impact stress on the inequity of inaction;
increase of 1.5°C in global tempera- and now there are crumbs available of the climate crisis. We know this and show leadership in not just
ture measured since 1870 by 2040 or for the rest to munch on. This is the and the IPCC reconfirms that we will walking, but running the talk. It is a
sooner. This is widely considered as real inconvenient truth of the cli- see the worst of the devastation in tall order given the fact that emis-
a guardrail of what is relatively safe. mate crisis. The fact is the carbon this increasingly warming world. sions of CO2 are still directly linked
But consider the fact that at an aver- budget has been disproportionately We are the world’s third highest to economic growth. But it is the
age increase of 1.09°C, we are seeing appropriated in the past — the poli- emitter of greenhouse gases (fourth order of the times we live in.
such horrific devastation. tics of action and inaction lies in this if we take EU-27 as a group) but the
For most of us, who have keenly inequity. Between 1870 and 1989, the scale of our past, current and future Sunita Narain is director-general, Centre
observed the language of climate United States, the European Union emissions is not comparable to the for Science and Environment, New Delhi
scientists, the 2021 IPCC report is (EU)-27, Russia, the United King- original 7+1 — not in terms of the The views expressed are personal
{ N V RAMANA } CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA
P
It seems that there is a lack of
quality debate in Parliament while
enacting laws. This leads to a lot of
litigation & the courts, in the
absence of quality debate, are
unable to fathom the intent and
sixth year of economic reforms in India. Com-
puters were becoming a part of life in many
sectors and mobile phones began making
their presence felt, albeit slowly. Little did we
know then that we were inching towards the
greatest changes in human civilisation. Edu-
A
object behind the new law.
cation was being privatised and businessmen
were opening colleges. It was no wonder that
the 2001 Census reflected its impact. India’s
literacy rate jumped tremendously, and now,
64.83% of the population was literate. The
infant mortality rate also reduced signifi-
The turn in Afghanistan
cantly. Now, only 73 of 1,000 newborns lost
their lives. The life expectancy rate increased
to 61 years. The Green Revolution made it pos-
and the rise of Taliban will
sible to feed a large and growing population.
By that time, only states had ayaram-gay-
aram (turncoat) governments. But soon, the
threaten Indian security
Centre began seeing this trend after the rise of
regional parties. At that time, Inder Kumar ith the fall of Kandahar, Herat, lier, and now, is Mullah Hibatullah Akhund-
Gujral was the prime minister (PM) elected by
a provisional coalition. It was as if the faction
of 40 rich people who ruled in Delhi during
the era of the slave dynasty had been re-estab-
lished. The situation at the borders was poor.
W Lashkar Gah, Ghazni, Pol-e- zada, the leader of the Taliban. Without the Tal-
Alam, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, iban, al-Qaeda’s jihad would be theologically
and now, for all practical pur- illegitimate.
poses if not officially, Kabul, to the Taliban, Many in India are suggesting that the gov-
the writ of the Afghan government is over. On ernment deepen its engagement with the Tali-
Terrorism also established its root in India.
After the Northeast, bad news began coming
from Kashmir. It was natural for Pakistan to
Sunday, the Taliban entered Kabul but didn’t ban. However, irrespective of the carrots
immediately mount a military offensive. being offered, the Taliban is unlikely to move
However, the message was clear and Presi- away from its basic medieval mindset. As
be ambitious in such an unfortunate time. dent Ashraf Ghani, along with his core team, Kabul falls, the preliminary aim of the Taliban
Two years later, the events in Kargil were the
result of this situation. The passion of the 25th
anniversary was missing in the celebrations of
the 50th anniversary of Independence.
left Kabul by the end of the day. There are iso- to establish an Islamic Caliphate in Afghani-
lated pockets of resistance all over, but the stan is close to being met. This will fulfill
Taliban is set to take control, if the interna- another theological precondition of jihad
tional community doesn’t intervene. (possession of territory) and will
Now, at the present moment. India has In hindsight, United States (US) lead to a surge in recruitment to
made tremendous economic progress in the president Joe Biden’s decision to al-Qaeda, as was evident in the case
last 74 years. Despite the Covid-19 attack, the withdraw from Afghanistan and of the Islamic State after the fall of
world believes that we will join the club of the continue negotiating with the Tali- Mosul. The emirate will become the
top three economic superpowers — if not ban deeply impacted the Afghan hub for spreading violent jihadi ide-
today, then tomorrow. This year, the Gross society. This process not only legiti- ology, and this jihad is unlikely to
Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated at 9.5% mised the Taliban, but also bolstered
Alok remain confined within the geo-
and India’s literacy rate has reached 78%. The its position in an extremely hier- Bansal graphical frontiers of Afghanistan.
infant mortality rate has dropped down to 28 archical, tribal society. After conquering Afghanistan,
per 1,000, and the life expectancy is about 70 From 1996 to 2001, when the Tali- the foot soldiers of the Taliban will
years. We can, and should, feel proud of this, ban controlled most of Afghanistan, not start tilling the land. They will
but in our neighbouring Sri Lanka, infant some areas in the north such as merely relocate to new battlefields to
mortality rate has come down to six per 1,000. Panjshir and Badakhshan province fight new wars. These could well be
So, while we are leaps ahead from where we could stall the Taliban’s offensive. in India, which, according to them,
started, we still have a lot of work to do. Their contiguity to Tajikistan is part of “Khorasan” — the arena of
Tension still persists at the borders. China ensured that the forces resisting the
Soumya “end of time” battles. The fall of
is still a major threat. However, India’s tough Taliban could be provided supplies Kabul could also result in the surge
stance on the border has forced China to from across the borders. However, Chaturvedi of new jihadi recruits from India for
retreat in many places, but to assume that the in the current onslaught, not only other terror groups.
threat is over would be a mistake. The Indian did Badakhshan fall, all the border This will create a significant secu-
government is aware of this, and that’s why crossings with the sole exception of Torkham rity threat for India. It is, therefore, essential that
the three armed forces have been brought with Pakistan were captured by the Taliban. all efforts are invested to stall an outright Tali-
under one command. The current Chief of This not only enabled the Taliban to fill its ban victory, even at this late stage. If the Taliban
Defence Staff, Bipin Rawat, has claimed that coffers by taxing the movement of goods and does succeed in capturing power on its own,
India can fight on two fronts. personnel, but more significantly, it made the India must rally behind anti-Taliban forces
If someone asked me what I consider to be Afghan government dependent on supplies which will consolidate in the coming weeks.
the country’s greatest achievement in the last through Pakistan. Even countries engaging with the Taliban are
50 years, my answer would be just one simple In the last few weeks, the Taliban has dis- uncomfortable with the Taliban’s ascendance,
word: Democracy. Every challenge and obsta- played its barbarity. They have shown that they as it threatens their long-term interests.
cle, we have overcome democratically. In do not believe in adhering to the assurances India should create an alliance with such
every civilisation, it is customary to learn from given by them during their talks in Doha and countries. Remember, the Taliban won’t be
one’s mistakes on the occasion of a birthday. elsewhere. The Taliban is bound to an obscu- friendly towards India, and will, sooner or later,
Will politicians take advantage of this oppor- rantist ideology, which aims to create a puri- pose a serious threat to India’s security.
tunity every year? Hopefully, before the next tanical Islamic Emirate, where women and It makes far greater sense for India to fight
session of Parliament, they will set an exam- minorities enjoy no rights. the Taliban in Kabul than to do so in Srinagar or
ple of harmony so that Parliament can dis- Those ignorant of the theological underpin- at Wagah.
charge its obligation with full dignity. ning of the Taliban have long talked of creating
a wedge between it and al-Qaeda which has Alok Bansal is director, and Soumya Chaturvedi
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan always talked of waging jihad in the name of is senior research fellow, India Foundation
The views expressed are personal Amir-ul-Mu’minin, who was Mullah Omar ear- The views expressed are personal
Editor: KUNAL PRADHAN
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021 11
World

A US Black Hawk military helicopter flies over the city of Kabul in Afghanistan on Sunday. The capital city was in the centre of the action throughout the day as Taliban fighters negotiated a peaceful transfer of power. AP

ENDGAME AS KABUL FALLS

No transitional govt PRESSURE ON
WHO ARE THE TALIBAN?
{ DONALD TRUMP } U.S. EX-PRESIDENT
in Afghanistan; PAK GROWS AS
proclamation of P TALIBAN GROUP
Islamic emirate soon, The movement’s inner workings and leadership have always been largely shrouded in secrecy.
say Taliban, forcing
The Taliban no TIGHTENS GRIP Here is a rundown of what is known about its structure, and other intriguing facts about the
President Ghani to longer has fear or ON POWER insurgents as they seek to return to power in Afghanistan
leave the country respect for America Agencies
Taliban

Agencies or America’s power. letters@hindustantimes.com Who’s who of the leadership fighters in a

vehicle in
the city of
letters@hindustantimes.com Suggesting that his successor KABUL: With the Taliban claim-
Haibatullah Akhundzada Herat in

KABUL: As Taliban leaders
entered Kabul on Sunday, poised
to retake total control of Afghan-
istan 20 years after they were
ousted from power by the US,
the insurgents said there will be
no transitional government and
the Islamic Emirate of Afghani-
stan would soon be declared.
That was the name of the
country under the Taliban gov-
ernment that was toppled by
US-led foreign forces after the
September 11, 2001 terror attacks
in America.
Two Taliban officials told
Reuters that forming a transi-
tional government was out of the
question and the group was
focused only on a complete
handover of power.
President Ashraf Ghani left
the country after Taliban fighters
entered the capital city of Kabul
earlier on Sunday.
On a day when Kabul fell into
the hands of the Taliban, the
United Nations refugee agency
said more than 550,000 people
in Afghanistan have fled their
A
Joe Biden’s Afghan policy has failed
the humanitarian response in
the country,” Shabia Mantoo
told The Associated Press.
While America faces criticism
for the deepening crisis, US sec-
retary of state Antony Blinken
rejected comparisons to the US
pull-out from Vietnam, as many
watched in disbelief at the sight
of helicopters landing in the
embassy compound to take dip-
lomats to a new outpost at Kabul
international airport. “This is
manifestly not Saigon,” Blinken
told ABC.
‘He left the country in
this difficult situation’
After Ghani flew out of the coun-
try, Abdullah Abdullah, head of
the Afghan National Reconcilia-
tion Council, said, “The former
president of Afghanistan left
Afghanistan, leaving the country
in this difficult situation. God
parliament will be recalled for
one day on Wednesday to debate
the government’s response to
the crisis. PM Boris Johnson also
called a meeting of his cabinet’s
emergency committee.
Nato forces stay put
The Nato is maintaining its dip-
lomatic presence in Kabul and
helping to keep the city’s airport
running, a Nato official told Reu-
ters on Sunday. “The Nato is con-
stantly assessing developments
in Afghanistan,” the official said,
adding the security of the alli-
ance’s personnel was paramount
and the Nato would continue to
adjust as necessary. The official
did not respond to questions on
whether the Nato planned to
hold a crisis meeting to discuss
the situation.
ing vast stretches of territory
across Afghanistan, the pressure
on the Pakistan government is
building up as Islamabad comes
under increasing scrutiny.
Emily Schmall, writing in The
New York Times, said that the US
and some other countries want
Pakistan to push harder for
peace in its neighbouring coun-
try. But some Pakistanis see a
Taliban’s win as inevitable, and a
few are even cheering for one.
For decades, Pakistan has
served as a sanctuary for the
Afghan Taliban. Officials have
also acknowledged that Taliban
fighters have homes and families
in Pakistan.
While internationally calling
for a peaceful solution, the gov-
ernment of PM Imran Khan has
been relatively quiet at home. It
has not spoken out against pro-
Taliban rallies taking place on
Pakistani soil. It also hasn’t con-
demned reported Taliban atroci-
ties as the group marched into
Kabul, writes Schmall.
“Pakistan is really in a bind,”
SUPREME LEADER Afghanistan.
AFP
He was appointed leader in a power transition after a
US drone strike killed his predecessor, Mullah Mansour
Akhtar, in 2016. His public profile has somehow been
limited to annual messages during Islamic holidays
Mullah Baradar
CO-FOUNDER
Abdul Ghani Baradar was raised in Kandahar, the
birthplace of Taliban. The Soviet invasion in the 1970s
turned him into an insurgent. Baradar and cleric Mullah THE RISE AND RISE OF THE INSURGENTS
Omar later founded the Taliban in the early 1990s
GENESIS MODUS GLOBAL
Mullah Yaqoob The Taliban, which means OPERANDI RECOGNITION
“students” in Pashto During their 1996-2001 Only four countries,
THE SCION language, emerged in
reign in the country, they including neighbour
He’s the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar. He 1994 around the city of enforced a hugely Pakistan, formally
Kandahar. They were one
heads the powerful military commission, which unpopular and recognised the Taliban
of the main factions
oversees a vast network of field commanders charged internationally condemned government when it was
fighting a civil war after strict version of sharia law. in power. Other countries
with executing the insurgency's strategic operations
the Soviets left the Women across the country around the world, along
country. They went on to
Sirajuddin Haqqani draw members from
were strictly barred from
working or studying; they
with the United Nations,
instead recognised a
HAQQANI NETWORK “mujahideen” fighters were confined to their different group holding
who, with the support of homes unless accompanied provinces to the north of
The son of a commander from the anti-Soviet jihad,
the US, repelled the by a male guardian Kabul as Afghanistan’s
Jalaluddin Haqqani, Sirajuddin doubles up as deputy Soviets back in the 1980s.
leader of the movement while heading the powerful outdoors. Public government-in-waiting.
Much later, they gained executions and floggings The US and UN imposed
Haqqani network, a US-designated terror group sole control over most
were also a common sight. strict sanctions on the
of Afghanistan, Western films and books Taliban. Even now, most

homes due to the conflict since
the start of this year. An update
published on Sunday by Geneva-
based UNHCR shows about
126,000 people were displaced in
the previous month to August 9.
“There is a need to support
should hold him accountable.”
In London, British lawmakers
were being called back from
their summer break to parlia-
ment to discuss the worsening
situation in Afghanistan.
Authorities said on Sunday that
w
proclaiming a powerful were banned. Cultural countries are showing no
says Elizabeth Threlkeld, a South Islamic emirate in 1996
Asia expert at Stimson Center in artefacts seen as signs of formally
and staying firmly in blasphemous were recognising the group
Washington, DC. “Even though power until 2001
READ: ‘Women Pakistan is really concerned destroyed diplomatically
will have about spillover violence and an
freedom, foreigners can leave’ influx of refugees, they want to
keep the Taliban on the side.”

Willing to work with them

if rights are respected: US
WASHINGTON/KABUL: The US is
willing to work with the Taliban
if they respect “basic rights” of
its people - especially of women
and girls - and do not harbour
terrorists, US secretary of state
Antony Blinken said in an inter-
view to CNN on Sunday.
“A future Afghan government
that upholds the basic rights of
its people and that doesn’t har-
bour terrorists is a government
we can work with and recog-
nise,” Blinken said in response to
a question if President Joe
Biden’s administration would
ever consider recognising a Tali-
ban-led government.
“Conversely, a government
that doesn’t do that, that doesn’t
A military helicopter flies near the American embassy in Kabul uphold the basic rights of its
on Sunday. AFP people, including women and
girls... that harbours terrorist
groups... that have designs on
the United States... that’s not
going to happen,” he said.
US embassy issues alert
The US embassy in Kabul has
suspended all its operations and
told Americans to “shelter in
place”, saying that it has received
reports of gunfire at the interna-
tional airport.
The US is racing to airlift dip-
lomats and citizens out of “With every city collapsing, human bodies
Afghanistan. “The security situa-
tion in Kabul is changing quickly collapse, dreams collapse, history and future
and the situation at the airport is collapse, art and culture collapse, life and
deteriorating rapidly,” the beauty collapse, our world collapses.
embassy said in a statement.
“There are reports of the airport Someone please stop this.”
taking fire.” — RADA AKBAR, Afghan photographer and activist
YASHWANT RAJ AND AGENCIES

724 die in Haiti quake, tropical storm looms
Reuters
letters@hindustantimes.com
PORT-AU-PRINCE: The death toll
from a devastating earthquake
in Haiti rose to 724 on Sunday
as rescue workers scrambled to
find survivors buried under
buildings a day after the 7.2
magnitude quake and as a tropi-
cal storm bore down on the Car-
ibbean nation.
The quake flattened hun-
dreds of homes and buildings in
a Caribbean nation which is still
clawing its way back from
another major temblor 11 years
ago and reeling from the assas-
sination of its president last
month.
Southwestern Haiti bore the
brunt of the blow, especially in
the region in and around the
city of Les Cayes. In a news con-
ference on Sunday, Haitian offi-
cials said the toll from the disas-
ter had climbed to 724 as the
rescue work continued.
Churches, hotels, hospitals
and schools were badly dam-
aged or destroyed, while the
walls of a prison were rent open
by the violent shudders that
convulsed Haiti.
“We need to show a lot of sol-
idarity with the emergency,”
said Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel
Henry, a neurosurgeon who
was thrust to the forefront of
the troubled country after the
assassination of President Jove-
nel Moise on July 7.
The rescue efforts are set to
be made more complicated by
the arrival of Tropical Storm
Grace, which is set to lash Haiti
with heavy rainfall on Monday.
There was also the possibility of
flash flooding, the US National
Hurricane Center said.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis
urged nations to send quick aid.
“May solidarity from everyone
lighten the consequences of the
tragedy,” he told pilgrims and
tourists at his Sunday blessing
in St Peter’s Square.
The United States sent vital
supplies and deployed a 65-per-
son urban search-and-rescue
team with specialised equip-
ment, said Samantha Power, the
administrator of the United
States Agency for International
Development.
Some Haitians spent Satur-
day night sleeping in the open,
traumatised by memories of the
magnitude 7 quake in 2010 that
struck far closer to the sprawl-
ing capital, Port-au-Prince, and
killed tens of thousands of peo-
ple. Access to the worst-hit
areas was complicated by a
deterioration in law and order
that has left key access roads in
the hands of gangs, although
unconfirmed reports on social
media suggested they would let
aid pass.
Ivory Coast records
first case of Ebola in
nearly three decades
ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast has
recorded its first case of the
Ebola virus, the first
occurrence of the deadly
disease in nearly three
decades. Officials at the
Institut Pasteur have
confirmed the case after
testing samples taken from
an 18-year-old Guinean
woman, health minister
Pierre N’Gou Demba said on
RTI state television on
Saturday. AFP
A
l
Lebanon fuel tank
explosion kills 28,
injures at least 80
BEIRUT: A fuel tank blast in
Lebanon on Sunday killed
28 people and left nearly 80
others injured, authorities
and medics said. The
Lebanese military said a fuel
tank that “had been
confiscated by the army to
distribute to citizens”
exploded. The blast
followed scuffles between
“residents that gathered
around the container to fill
up gasoline”. AFP
Canada’s parliament
dissolved, snap polls
to be held on Sept 20
TORONTO: Canada will have
snap polls on September 20
over two years before the
tenure of the ruling Liberal
Party government was to
come to an end. Canada’s
governor-general Mary
Simon agreed to dissolve
parliament on Sunday
following a nearly hour-
long meeting with Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau,
who has been pushing for
snap polls. HTC
12
Byju’storaise$1.5billion
at $21 billion valuation
The fundraising for
the country’s most
valuable startup is
expected to be closed
within a month
Anirudh Laskar
anirudh.l@livemint.com
MUMBAI: Online tutoring com-
pany Byju’s is in talks with sev-
eral investors to raise $1-1.5 bil-
lion at a valuation of nearly $21
billion, two people aware of the
development said.
India’s most valuable startup
is seeking a 27% jump from the
$16.5 billion valuation at which
the company raised funds in
June, the people said on condi-
tion of anonymity.
The fundraising is expected
to be closed within a month,
the people said.
Byju’s valuation has skyrock-
eted as the pandemic has
fuelled an online learning
boom as parents enrolled kids
in online classes, fearful that
they will miss out on classroom
teaching.
In the past four months,
Byju’s went on an acquisition
spree, buying higher education
platform Great Learning for
$600 million, kids’ digital read-
ing platform Epic for $500 mil-
lion, and test preparation pro-
vider Aakash Educational Ser-
vices for $1 billion in quick
succession.
“Demand for online classes
is increasing exponentially,
which is driving the business
and attracting investors. At
least four new large funds are
coming in, and a few existing
investors, too, are keen to up
their stake in Byju’s. The deal
will take Byju’s beyond $20 bil-
lion,” said one of the two peo-
ple. “The education space is
clearly hot right now, and the
company’s IPO plan is being
concretized. That’s the oppor-
tunity the investors are
enthused about.”
A spokesperson for Byju’s
TaMo lines up new Ixigo bet set to be a goldmine
models, looks to for Elevation, Sequoia, Fosun
enhance sales infra
Press Trust of India
feedback@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: Tata Motors plans to
drive in new models, expand
sales network as it aims to main-
tain its double digit market share
in the highly competitive domes-
tic market, as per a top company
executive.
The auto major, which sells
models including Nexon, Harrier
and Safari, has clawed its way up
to over 10% market share in the
passenger vehicle space in July
this year after a span of nine
years and now plans to hold on
to it with a slew of measures.
In order to bring additional
volumes and bring more cus-
tomers to its fold, the company
plans to add around 250 sales
outlets by the end of the fiscal.
“Already four months are
over and we are at a market
share of 10.3%. Still, we have two
big launches lined up, including
the Hornbill, so that is still to
come. Besides, we are continu-
‘European biz is no longer a cash drain’
Kalpana Pathak and
Deborshi Chaki
kalpana.pathak@livemint.com
MUMBAI: After reporting its
highest ever profit and revenue
for Q1FY22, Tata Steel Ltd is rac-
ing ahead with its deleveraging
and growth plans. In an inter-
view, T.V. Narendran, chief exec-
utive and managing director,
Tata Steel, said the current cycle
in the steel segment has not only
accelerated its efforts to delever-
age, but also ensure its European
operations are not a drain on the
company. Edited excerpts:
Is this boom in the steel
industry sustainable?
I think there are some struc-
tural changes that have hap-
pened, hence, I am not predict-
ing that steel prices will stay for-
ever. However, fundamentally
Tutoring boom
Byju’s is seeking a 27% jump from the $16.5 bn valuation at which it raised funds in June. A look
at the online education firm’s recent funding rounds and acquisitions:
FUNDING ROUNDS
Amount raised ($ mn)
Jan 2020 200
Jun 2020
Nov 2020 200
Mar 2021
Apr 2021
Jun 2021
BYJU'S BIG
ACQUISITIONS THIS
YEAR (in $ mn)
declined to comment.
China’s crackdown on for-
profit online tutoring compa-
nies to reduce the cost of edu-
cation for parents has also
prompted investors to look at
the booming Indian market.
Hedge funds are also keen to
buy shares of Byju’s as they aim
to reap big returns when the
company goes public.
In an April interview,
founder Byju Raveendran said
that the company will go for an
initial public offering in 18-24
IN THE PAST FOUR
MONTHS, BYJU’S
HAS BOUGHT
GREAT LEARNING
FOR $600 MILLION,
EPIC FOR $500
MILLION, AND
AAKASH SERVICES
FOR $1 BILLION IN
QUICK SUCCESSION
ously coming up with exciting
interventions in the existing
portfolio. So we are quite confi-
dent of maintaining this posi-
tion,” Tata Motors president,
Passenger Vehicles Business
Shailesh Chandra said.
When asked if the company
expects to sustain the double
digit market share going ahead,
he said: “That would be our aspi-
ration.”
Chandra noted that from
doing around 11,000 units per
month last year the company
has reached 30,000 units this
year and this turnaround has
been possible due to a series of
actions across marketing, plan-
ning and production.
“Important part is that we
have been able to service the
demand which we have been
able to generate with a slew of
measures,” he said.
Chandra said that the com-
pany has been able to build a
comfortable inventory for the
festive season as it would not
like to lose retail opportunity.
{ T.V. NARENDRAN } CEO AND MD, TATA STEEL
we believe that structurally the
industry is in a healthier place.
In the last cycle when things
were good, everyone invested in
capacity, including China. But
that era is over. The only country
that is adding capacity now is
India. However, in India it’s not
easy to add capacity. We believe
that the balance between both
demand and supply would be
better maintained now and,
hence, we will continue to invest.
Outside India, we will be self-suf-
ficient, and those businesses will
manage by themselves.
What is driving demand?
Fundamentally, infrastruc-
ture is going to be the biggest
driver of consumption. The gov-
ernment is spending more on
infrastructure than it has ever
done. Any infrastructure you
build is steel-intensive, as con-
Business
460
1,000
150
600 (Jul)
500
(Jul) (Jul)
Great Learning Toppr Epic
months.
“Byju’s will not only become
the largest startup but also the
fastest and the first Indian
startup to cross the $20 billion
valuation mark,” said the first
person.
Byju’s has more than 65 mil-
lion subscribers, but the edtech
startup has seen a faster
growth over the past year, with
at least 25 million new users
signing up to use its platform
after the Covid-19 pandemic-in-
duced lockdown was
announced last year in March.
“There are more than 3,500
edtech startups in India, but
when the first covid-19 out-
break happened, it was a chal-
lenge to educate students in an
online environment since the
public mindset about education
was completely physical-ori-
ented,” said the second person.
“Marketing skills played a
crucial role in helping Byju’s
grab the opportunity in the
online era to gain a major mar-
ket share,” the person said.
Ankit Agarwal
ankit.agarwal@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: Elevation Capital,
Sequoia Capital and Fosun Inter-
national—the financial investors
in ixigo—are set to reap bumper
returns as the travel platform
proceeds with its ₹1,600 crore
initial share sale.
They will earn at least 27%
annualized returns on their
investment in Le Travenues
Technology Ltd, the operator of
ixigo, according to an analysis
done by data intelligence plat-
form VCCircle based on esti-
mated equity valuation from the
IPO. Ixigo filed draft papers for
the share sale on Friday.
The biggest beneficiary will be
venture capital and growth
equity firm Elevation, previously
SAIF Partners, with a 12-fold
jump in its decade-long invest-
ment. Elevation, ixigo’s largest
and oldest investor with a
23.97% stake, had invested more
than ₹64 crore in 2011. The IPO
would value the investor’s stake
at ₹700-760 crore, giving it an
annualized return of 27-28%, the
struction accounts for 60% of
steel consumption anywhere in
the world. Also, as consumption
grows in automotive, appliances,
etc., steel demand will grow.
Growth will also come from the
focus on piped water for every-
one. If you are going to have the
oil and gas network being built
in India, that is a positive, too.
Valuation ($ bn)
8 options and make tax payments
1,450 10.5
12
13
15
1,500 16.5
950
(Apr)
Aakash Educational
Services
Source: Mint Research
With the explosive growth,
Byju’s valuation has seen a
meteoric rise this year.
In June, Byju’s raised $1.5 bil-
lion from UBS Group, Abu
Dhabi sovereign fund ADQ,
Blackstone Group, among oth-
ers, at a valuation of $16.5 bil-
lion.
In April, Byju’s had raised
over $1 billion from investors
led by Baron Funds, Facebook
co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B
Capital Group, and US-based
investment hedge fund XN
Exponent Holding.
The fundraising valued the
company at around $15 billion.
Last December, Byju’s raised
about $1.5 billion in three tran-
ches of Series F from investors
such as Black Rock and T.
Rowe Price at a valuation of $12
billion.
Some of Byju’s early-stage
financiers include Lightspeed
Venture Partners, Qatar Invest-
ment Authority, Owl Ventures,
General Atlantic, Tiger Global,
Tencent, Verlinvest and Sofina.
Ixigo is preparing for its
₹1,600 crore IPO. MINT
analysis showed. To be sure, Ele-
vation is looking to sell shares
worth up to ₹550 crore in the
IPO, making a partial exit.
For Sequoia, the IPO will mul-
tiply its five-year-old investment
by about 7.5 times, valuing it at
about ₹500 crore. Venture capi-
tal investor Sequoia, which had
invested about ₹67 crore back in
2016, holds about 16% stake and
will get more than 50% annual-
ized return as per the IPO pric-
ing.
The IPO will also bump up
Chinese conglomerate Fosun’s
Will you be looking at both
organic and inorganic
growth?
We would be looking at both.
For flat products, it will be
organic.
Also, as a company, we
believe that for flat products,
fewer, but larger sites is the right
way to go. For long products, it
will be fragmented, so there will
be different ways to grow for us.
Organic opportunities are there
for us particularly in Jamshed-
pur and Usha Martin sites.
The other is inorganic oppor-
tunities. We are participating in
the process of Neelachal Ispat
Nigam Ltd whenever it comes
out. We are growing through the
recycling route in long products.
We have set up India’s first recy-
cling facility in Rohtak, which is
now operational. We are looking
to convert scrap into steel in
Powered by
Paytm helps employees
exercise stock options
Tarush Bhalla
tarush.b@livemint.com
BENGALURU: One97 Communi-
cations Ltd, the parent of pay-
ments services provider Paytm,
is in talks with five lenders to
help employees borrow money
to exercise their stock options
before the company’s much-
awaited initial public offering
(IPO), two people aware of the
discussions said.
Paytm wants to help employ-
ees pay for buying their vested
if required, the people said,
requesting anonymity.
Stock options are taxed as a
perquisite when the employee
exercises the option to buy the
stocks. The exercise price is the
amount the employee pays to
buy the vested options.
The difference between the
fair market value of the shares
on the date of exercising the
options and the amount paid to
exercise the option is taxed
based on the salary bracket slab
of the employee.
In addition, employees may
have to pay capital gains tax if
they choose to sell their shares.
“Paytm (One97) is in talks
with financing institutions such
as IIFL, ICICI Bank and Edel-
weiss Capital to help its employ-
ees convert their employee stock
ownership plans into shares and
provide them loans to pay for
exercise price and tax payments.
These loans are expected to be of
Ola to deliver its e-scooters from October
Madhurima Nandy
madhurima.n@livemint.com
BENGALURU: Ola Electric Mobil-
ity Pvt. Ltd ended weeks of spec-
ulation on Sunday by unveiling
its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooter
models, priced competitively to
cater to value-conscious custom-
ers, as it takes on other two-
wheeler electric vehicles (EV)
and petrol vehicle brands.
S1 is priced at ₹99,999, exclud-
ing subsidies by state and gov-
ernments, while S1 Pro model is
priced up to ₹129,999.
₹33.5 crore investment in 2017
by 3.5 times to more than ₹115
crore, an annualized return of
about 33%.
Sequoia and Elevation did not
respond to queries on their
respective estimated returns on
the investments. Fosun could not
be reached.
In July, ixigo had raised ₹270
crore as part of a pre-IPO round
led by Singapore sovereign
wealth fund GIC. This round
assigned an equity valuation of
about ₹2,900 crore to ixigo.
According to VCCircle esti-
mates based on the equity valua-
tion of ₹2,900 crore that the pre-
IPO round fetched, the company
could seek a post-money equity
valuation of about ₹4,000 crore
in the IPO.
Ixigo was founded by Aloke
Bajpai, Dharmendra Yashovard-
han and Rajnish Kumar in 2007.
The company, which swung to
report net profits in the last fiscal
year for the first time, made
some acquisitions ahead of the
IPO to expand its business and
become more attractive to inves-
tors.
northern and southern India.
Are you still looking at exiting
your European operations?
We are not under any pres-
sure to exit these businesses.
There were two drivers for it.
One was that a consolidated steel
industry is good for Europe. But
the competition commission at
that time thought otherwise. So,
there was no point pursuing
consolidation if it does not get
regulatory clearance.
The second driving factor was
our need to deleverage and our
need to not have the European
business be a strain on growth
opportunities in India. The Euro-
pean business is no longer a cash
drain on us. However, in future if
there is an opportunity, we will
consider it on merit.
Full interview on livemint.com
Paytm is awaiting Sebi
approval for its ₹16,600 crore
initial public offering. HT PHOTO
the duration of 12 months,” said
one of the people cited above.
It is expected to facilitate a
loan size of around ₹100 crore
towards this end, helping 300-
500 employees who hold stock
options, the second person said.
A One97 spokesperson
declined to comment on the
development.
“The One97 management is
also in talks to absorb the inter-
est costs of the loans being pro-
vided to employees. The final
names of the lenders and total
credit size is expected to be
decided this week,” the second
person said.
Lenders, including Edelweiss-
backed ECL Finance Ltd and
ICICI Bank, provide these loans
Buyers can purchase its
e-scooters from September 8
with deliveries beginning in
October in 1,000 cities and towns
across the country.
Ola will sell its scooters
through an omnichannel model,
including both online and offline
experience centres that it is in
the process of setting up. It aims
to have one experience centre in
every city over the next three
months.
“The EV transition is very
important for our country and
the whole industry needs to
{ THE CROSSWORDS }
CRYPTIC CLUES
ACROSS
1 A sundry debtor not allowed to
develop (7)
5 Taking offence (5)
8 Being villainous, use no fair play (9)
9 A good starting point for a drive (3)
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bread (6)
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cold (3)
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DOWN
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cattleman (6)
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put up (8)
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7 Part of a lathe that could be altered (7)
11 Overworked pupils? (5,4)
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14 Sack for someone who takes money (7)
16 Container vehicle on the railway (6)
19 German river on which revellers like to
go (5)
20 Reduces injuries (4)
23 To love is just as well (3)
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS (16000)
CRYPTIC
QUICK
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TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW
MONDAY TUESDAY
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NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
BLACKSTONE TO
PAY PART OF EXIT
SALE PROCEEDS
TO SONA EXECS
to customers to exercise their
stock options.
“In case an employee fails to
pay back, the lenders usually
allow the individual to sell a por-
Swaraj Singh Dhanjal
swaraj.d@livemint.com
MUMBAI: Private equity firm
Blackstone is seeking share-
tion of their shares to pay the holder approval for an exit
loan. In case Paytm’s IPO is return incentive (ERI) plan that
delayed, employees also have the envisages to pay a compensation
option to sell their shares in the of between 1% and 4% of the pro-
grey market to pay back the ceeds that Blackstone will gener-
loan,” said a banker, requesting ate from a future sale of its stake
anonymity. in Sona Comstar (Sona BLW Pre-
Paytm’s liquidity exercise cision Forgings Ltd) to select
comes at a time it aims to more executives of the company, it
than double its ESOP (employee said in annual general meeting
stock option plan) pool to notice to shareholders.
reward employees before its Blackstone holds a 34.18%
November-end IPO. In a letter to stake in the auto component
shareholders last week, the com- maker through an entity called
pany said that it looks to alter the Singapore VII Topco III PTE. Ltd.
One97 Employee Stock Option “Under the ERI plan, Singa-
Scheme 2019 by more than dou- pore VII proposes to give the
bling its existing ESOP pool from identified employees cash pay-
24.1 million equity options to 61.1 ments from the proceeds it
million at a face value of ₹1 each. received/receives from a disposi-
The decision to expand its stock tion event (disposition pay-
options pool will be put to the ments). These disposition pay-
vote in the company’s extraordi- ments may be made in three
nary general meeting (EGM) on instalments, part at the time of
September 2, Mint reported ear- the disposition event and then
lier. on the first and second anniver-
Since its inception, Paytm has saries of Singapore VII’s com-
formulated two ESOP schemes, plete disposition of its owner-
One97 Employee Stock Option ship in the company, as per the
Scheme 2008 and One97 ERI plan,” said the notice of the
Employee Stock Option Scheme annual general meeting to be
2019, according to the draft held on September 9.
share sale documents filed with The amount of the cash made
the Securities and Exchange to the employees will depend on
Board of India (Sebi) in mid-July. the multiple of the invested capi-
Paytm is awaiting Sebi tal and returns realized by Singa-
approval for its ₹16,600 crore pore VII from the proceeds of the
initial public offering. stake sale, it said.
adopt it. We have to build the The demand came not just
technology in India. By 2025, all from the metros, as it is an urban
two-wheelers in the country mobility product, but also from
should be electric. The EV revo- smaller towns, Aggarwal said.
lution is here to stay whether the “The S1 and S1 Pro are indus-
incumbents like it or not. We try leading products with best-
want 50% of all electric two- in-class range, speed and cost,”
wheelers produced for the world he said.
to be made in India,” Bhavish The cheaper S1 scooter, with a
Aggarwal, chairman and group 2.98 kilowatt-hour battery pack,
chief executive officer of Ola, will have a range of 121km on a
said at a media round table. complete charge and will have a
Ola had received more than top speed of 90km per hour. The
100,000 pre-bookings for its S1 Pro will have a larger 3.97
scooter in the first 24 hours of KwH battery pack, which will
opening bookings. give it a range of 181km.
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10 Domesticated (4) 5 Contemptuous (8)
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14 Stock of wines (6) 7 Wide stretch (7)
15 Lethargic (6) 11 Filled with hate (9)
17 Portuguese navigator (8) 13 Exaggerated publicity (8)
18 Humiliating rebuff (4) 14 Speak favourably of (7)
21 Important historical period (3) 16 Brigand (6)
22 Canadian inland sea (6,3) 19 Purchaser (5)
24 The same (5) 20 Long upholstered seat (4)
25 Towing vehicle (7) 23 Part of bridle (3)
DIFFICUL
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Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and
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WEDNESDAY Sunset: Monday 30°c I 26°c
Partly cloudy sky at 06:59 p.m.
Sunrise: Tuesday Kolkata
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Moonset: Wednesday 36°c I 28°c
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NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021 13
Sport

Openers, Kohli let India down

First three wickets
fall for 55 as England
take control of Lord’s
Test on the fourth day
Sanjjeev K Samyal
England’s Mark Wood celebrates after taking the wicket of Rohit sanjjeev.samyal@htlive.com
Sharma at Lord’s on Sunday. ACTION IMAGES VIA REUTERS
MUMBAI: The frustration was
control of the game within an
hour of the start. While India’s
main focus was on finding a way
to negate the swing of James
Anderson, the England captain
stunned them by using Wood.
On the four days of play at
Trent Bridge and the first two
days here, the home team had
been essentially chased the
game. It was mainly due to the
he had come to the crease, fol-
lowed by another off Anderson,
and it looked like that. To his dis-
may, after hitting four fours to
reach 20, Kohli edged a ball well
outside off-stump from Sam Cur-
ran to Buttler. It was the third
time Kohli had been caught off
the edge in the series. The cheap
dismissal came after he was
sledged by Anderson, with

Sharma trips on caught on camera, through the

dressing room window, as Virat
Kohli flung something after get-
ting out. When he walked out to
starts provided by Rohit Sharma
and KL Rahul. There was every-
thing to play for in the first ses-
sion. Another solid opening
whom he has a running battle,
and who had marred his start to
the series by dismissing him first
ball at Trent Bridge.

the hook again, bat at the fall of Rohit Sharma’s

wicket, the conditions had
turned good for batting with the
sun having broken through. He
partnership and the pressure
would be on the home team.
Sharma and Rahul started omi-
nously; the former was timing
In the first innings too, he
couldn’t go on after being set,
out for 42 by edging Robinson.
Kohli’s scores in the series now

his go-to stroke got the start too, hitting three

Rasesh Mandani
rasesh.mandani@htlive.com
MUMBAI: England fast bowler
Mark Wood is on the top of his
run-up. Rohit Sharma is taking
guard. Wood has a spring in his
stride after dismissing KL Rahul.
England have realised there isn’t
much swing on offer and the
speedster has been brought on
first change quite early with a
short-ball plan.
Joe Root knows the Indian
openers are the ones amongst
the runs and there is a low-on-
confidence middle order to fol-
low. If the new ball does the
trick, it can potentially rip the
match open for the home side.
England move a fielder from
backward point to deep square
leg. Sharma knows what’s com-
ing. In that over, he’s already
pulled Wood once to the
stands—perfect transfer of
weight—to all round applause.
Wood dares Sharma to go for it
again. He does, but this time
Wood’s bouncer is a shade
higher and into his body. Even
before the waiting Moeen Ali
laps it up at deep square Sharma
knows he has failed to execute
his favourite shot. He’s walking
back ruefully looking at the bot-
tom edge of his bat, with India
two down and yet to take a lead.
This is the fifth instance of
Sharma being dismissed playing
a pull or hook in Tests. “If I see
the ball in my area, I have to play
the shot. That’s my shot. I have
got runs playing that shot,” he
had said after the first Test
where too he holed out in the
deep. He could well say that
again. But was it in his area? Did
the match situation require him
to play differently? This was the
sticks to his guns in the future.
Not for bravado but in continu-
ing to believe that for him it’s a
productive shot. “You got to be
ready to play your shots as well
because their bowlers are so dis-
ciplined, you hardly get any-
thing. So, you have to put the
balls (away) which are your
shots and, in your area,” he said
in Trent Bridge.
There’s no doubt the shot
belongs to him. A Cricinfo analy-
sis shows that between 2015-20
no batsman struck more sixes
(116) off the pull across formats
than Sharma. His strike-rate
when he pulls is a staggering
274.91, which is also the best
among all batsmen to score 500-
plus runs.
One could thus argue that for
Sharma it is just another shot
like an off-drive against the out-
swinger is for some batsman.
After all, he belongs in the all-
time top-ten list of Test openers
with the best average (61.25)
after 22 innings. They would
have used the short-pitched ball
against him from time to time.
In this series though, it hasn’t
proved to be very productive. In
10 pulls or hooks, Sharma has
delivered 2 sixes, 2 fours and 2
dismissals, according to CricViz.
Not worth the risk for rewards in
England. Not with the form he is
in.
“Rohit has made it clear it is a
shot that fetches him runs and
we’re backing him. It’s only that
you could be more selective. We
will be having those conversa-
tions,” batting coach Vikram
Rathour said after play on Sun-
day.
It’s a fine line. It didn’t matter
when he mistimed a pull on 212
against South Africa in 2019. But
crisp fours. But to his dismay he
again edged a ball well outside
the ball beautifully and his part-
ner was showing good judge-
ment of the off-stump. But Root
are 0, 42 and 20. What makes it
glaring is that at the other cor-
ner, Root has made 64, 109 and
off-stump. It was a blow from had a perfect plan. 180* in his three innings.
which India never really recov- He lulled the batsmen with For long recognised as the
ered, handing over the advan- two overs of Ollie Robinson premier batsman among the Fab
tage to England going into the before summoning Wood. While Four—Steve Smith, Kane Willi-
final day of the second Test at it looked the change was made amson and Root being the oth-
Lord’s. Within 24 overs, India because the tall fast bowler ers—it will be a bitter pill to
had let their chances substan- looked flat, there was a shrewd swallow for the India star.
tially diminish with the top three strategy. Confident against the After winning in Australia,
batsmen gone at the total of 55. moving ball, then rattle the bats- India were tipped to put it across
It was left to Ajinkya Rahane men with pace. Wood was charg- England mainly based on their
and Cheteshwar Pujara to sal- ing in from ball one, maintaining captain carrying the team’s bat-
vage the situation. With both a pace of 145kph plus. ting on his shoulders. Everyone
under tremendous pressure First, Rahul’s solid front foot was expecting a repeat of his
after a string of low scores, it was game was done in by a short of 2018 show when runs flowed off
mainly about survival first and length ball by Wood which Kohli’s blade and he finished
the result of the match took the caught him at the crease, induc- with 593 runs with two hun-
back seat. They put on a 100-run ing the edge. A trap was laid on dreds and three half-centuries.
partnership before falling in the leg-side with three fielders To his fans’ disappointment,
quick succession to hand over for Sharma’s love for the pull he has so far been eclipsed by his
the advantage to England. A 61 and hook. The flamboyant counterpart as the weakness of a
from Rahane and Pujara’s obdu- opener took the bait, and two fifth-stump line seems to have
rate 45 (206 balls) were the only overs later was caught at deep resurfaced for the India captain
positives for India. square-leg. like in 2014, when he was
At the end of the fourth day, His openers having suffered restricted to 39 runs in five Tests
India were 181/6 in the second the first failure of the series, it and 10 innings at an average of
innings with Rishabh Pant, their was crucial to India’s chances 13.40. This time he is getting the
only batting hope, on 14. Mark that their premier batsman and starts but has been unable to
Wood was the pick of the bowl- captain take charge. With not cash in.
ers with 3/40, restricting India to much to separate between the While Root has got back to
a lead of 154. Moeen Ali chipped two teams after the first innings, back hundreds, Kohli is search-
in by removing Rahane and then the day had started with both ing for his first century since
Ravindra Jadeja (3). fancying their chances. November 2019, when he got 136
After leading England’s bat- At 27/2, it was a situation tai- versus Bangladesh. In 2021, he
ting with an epic 180*, Joe Root lor-made for Kohli to hit form averages 27.10 in seven Tests.
pulled off some smart moves in and restore order. A cover drive The dip in form started from the
the field to help England take off Wood in the second over after New Zealand series early in
2020, when he averaged 19.33 in
the three Tests he played.
{ MOHAMMED SIRAJ } INDIA PACER
Spikes on ball
P TV footage of an England player
stopping the ball with spikes led
to a social media storm and
The celebration is for accusation of ball-tampering.
The incident happened in the
the haters. I will only 35th over by Ollie Robinson. An
England player passed the ball to
let my ball do the a teammate who trapped it
talking and hence under his shoe. Batting coach
Vikram Rathour though said it
this is my new did not look intentional.

third bumper in the over, and
between his six and getting out,
he did duck under one.
It could well be that Sharma
A
then if you have the ability to
reach a double in Test cricket,
you could well pick and choose style Brief scores: India 364 & 181/6 (C
Pujara 45, A Rahane 61, M Wood India captain Virat Kohli walks off after getting out caught behind off Sam Curran on Day 4 of the
the right moments. 3/40, M Ali 2/52); England 391. second Test against England at Lord’s on Sunday. GETTY IMAGES

INDIA@100
security challenges from Paki-
stan and China, without naming
the two countries, the PM under-
lined India’s battle against “ter-
rorism” and “expansionism” and
said the country would do all it
needed to strengthen the armed
forces. He did not, however,
mention the evolving situation
in Afghanistan, where the Tali-
ban reached the gates of Kabul
on Sunday, after a successful
military offensive across the
country.
India’s Olympic contingent
was present at the Red Fort, with
PM Modi hailing the success of
Indian athletes — with seven
medals across six sports, India
had its most successful run in
Tokyo this year.
The Opposition has criticised
the speech, with the Congress
accusing him of only making
announcements about schemes
in his Independence Day
speeches and not implementing
them. “He announces new
schemes but these are never
implemented or seen on the
ground. He says a lot of things
but never adheres to them,” sen-
ior Congress leader Mallikarjun
Kharge told reporters.
The Congress also took a
swipe at the PM for his
announcement of ₹100 lakh
crore for the infrastructure sec-
tor, saying he has been talking of
it since 2019. “It has been two
years since August 15, 2019. At
least, the 100 lakh crore figure
could have been changed,” Con-
gress chief spokesperson Ran-
deep Surjewala said in a tweet.
In his speech, the PM focused
on the past, present and the
future.
Looking back, he hailed the
contribution of a range of free-
dom fighters from across differ-
ent strands (both non-violent
and revolutionary) of the
national movement, spoke of
India’s struggle for the “mother-
land, culture and freedom”, and
reiterated that August 14 would
be henceforth marked as the
Partition Horrors Remembrance
Day. “It was one of the biggest
tragedies of the last century and
the memories of the pain per-
sist… people went through inhu-
man times... and many didn’t
even get a proper farewell. It is
important for them to be alive in
our memories.” The govern-
ment’s announcement to this
effect on Saturday triggered a
mixed response, with many hail-
ing it as a much-needed effort at
acknowledging the past while
others criticising it for reopening
old wounds which may aggra-
vate the politics of division.
Turning to the present, the
PM spoke of the Covid-19 pan-
demic as a huge challenge,
hailed Corona warriors for their
contribution, and highlighted
India’s vaccination programme,
the world’s largest such exercise.
“India doesn’t need to be
dependent on others for vacci-
nes. Imagine what would have
happened if India didn’t have its
own vaccine? Where would we
have got it?” While both Covis-
hield and Covaxin are manufac-
tured in India (the latter has also
been developed in India), the
government has come under
criticism for not ensuring timely
clearance to foreign-made vacci-
nes which would have helped
meet the supply deficit.
But the PM also acknowl-
edged the scale of the devasta-
tion without directly referring to
the second wave this summer,
which saw daily cases climb up
to over 400,000 and deaths cross
4,000 — widely seen by experts
as a conservative estimate. “It is
true that fewer people in India
have got infected, that we have
succeeded in saving more people
in terms of population ratio
compared to other countries. But
to say that we didn’t face chal-
lenges would be to close doors
for development in the future.
We have fewer resources, our
population is higher, our lifestyle
is different. Despite all our
efforts, we couldn’t save many
people and this intolerable pain
will stay with us.”
A large part of the PM’s
speech was focused on welfare
delivery, justice for vulnerable
segments and steps undertaken
for rural economy and farmers.
While outlining the various
welfare measures in the past
seven years — for instance, pro-
vision of gas cylinders through
the Ujjwala scheme, rural roads
and housing, toilets, electrifica-
tion, health insurance through
Ayushman Bharat, and financial
inclusion — the PM said it was
now time to move towards satu-
ration coverage. “The pace of
government schemes has
increased, they are meeting their
targets, the poor are benefiting
directly now. But we now need to
move towards 100% coverage.”
The PM made it clear — at a
time when the debate on reser-
vations, caste census, and cate-
gorisation of Other Backward
Classes (OBCs) has made its way
back in political discourse — that
there had to be “handholding” of
the marginalised. Beyond facili-
ties, this meant continued reser-
vations for Dalits, tribals, OBCs
and poor of general categories.
He also spoke of the need for
development to be all-inclusive
and all-encompassing, touching
all regions. “India’s east, North-
east, Jammu and Kashmir,
Ladakh, Himalayan region
states, coastal areas, the tribal
belt will become the basis of
India’s development in the
future.” The PM said there has
been balanced regional develop-
ment in both Jammu and Kash-
mir after the effective abrogation
of Article 370 and referred to the
establishment of the delimita-
tion commission and plans to
hold assembly elections; spoke
of Ladakh’s development poten-
tial; highlighted the enhanced
connectivity in the Northeast
and between the Northeast and
India’s neighbours to the east;
and focused on improved devel-
opment indicators in 110 aspira-
tional districts.
In terms of the rural economy,
the PM spoke of enhanced facili-
ties and connectivity in villages
giving rise to digital entrepre-
neurs, the value of cooperatives
in the backdrop of the formation
of a separate ministry of cooper-
{ }
ation at the Centre (led by Amit
Shah), and the role of self-help
groups, announcing a new
e-commerce platform to enable
such groups to market and sell
their products elsewhere.
But the PM’s focus was on
agriculture — in the context of
prolonged opposition to the new
farm laws pushed by the Centre
last year. The PM spoke of the
need to incorporate scientific
feedback to enhance production,
and why India must frame poli-
cies keeping in view the interests
of small farmers, even coining a
new slogan of how small farm-
ers are the “pride of India”. “80%
of India’s farmers own less than
2 hectares of land each; there is
increased fragmentation of land.
Past policies did not prioritise
these farmers. Agricultural
reforms are meant to benefit
these farmers”. The PM high-
lighted the government’s insur-
ance scheme, Kisan credit card,
farmers producers organisation,
construction of warehouses at
the block level, the PM-Kisan
scheme under which farmers get
an income assistance of ₹6000
each annually, Kisan rail links,
and steps to boost export poten-
tial of agriculture as evidence of
a shift in policy.
But along with this, with an
eye on the future, the PM also
flagged the role of sectors which
are essential for India’s future
development trajectory — “next
generation infrastructure...
world class manufacturing... cut-
ting edge technology... new age
technology”.
In this context, he referred to
Make in India (singling out elec-
tronics manufacturing and
indigenous defence production
as successes), the role of infra-
structure (with a focus on the
₹100 lakh crore national infra-
structure pipeline), the success
of startups (with a reference to
how they are the new “wealth
creators”, with many have
turned into unicorns of a valua-
tion in excess of $1 billion), and
exports (with an appeal to
Indian exporters to focus on
quality with an eye on global
markets). “Major reforms and
decisions need political will. And
in India, there is no shortage of
political will. The world knows
we are writing a new chapter of
governance”.
Redefining the idea of next
generation reforms, the PM
focused on the need to make ser-
vice delivery more accessible for
citizens till the last mile. “Earlier,
the government was in the driv-
ing seat. Now, times have
changed. We must end the
unnecessary interference of the
government and government
processes in the lives of citizens.
We have liberated people from
unnecessary laws... 15,000 com-
pliance requirements were
ended... Liberation from laws is
good for both ease of living and
ease of doing businesses.”
The PM also spoke of the role
of education, in light of the New
Education Policy, with a focus on
how education in one’s mother
tongue is a weapon in the fight
against poverty and need not be
an obstacle. Taking off from the
success of women athletes in the
Tokyo Olympics, the PM high-
lighted how women were excel-
ling in each field and ready to
take their space and it was the
duty of citizens, police, the crimi-
nal justice system and all stake-
holders to ensure women were
secure and had respect. He also
announced that Sainik schools
will now be open for girls too.
With climate emerging as a
key governance challenge —
with new warnings about how
the climate crisis is already
straining environment and will
have huge implications for
India’s political economy and
livelihoods — the PM said envi-
ronmental security was now a
part of national security.
He said that India was an
energy dependent nation, spend-
ing ₹12 lakh crore for its energy
needs every year — and declared
a goal of making India energy
independent by the 100th year of
Indian independence. The PM
also announced the launch of a
National Hydrogen Mission, a
mission circular economy, and
highlighted attempts in areas of
recycling, organic farming,
energy conservation, protection
of wildlife and increase of forest
cover, renewables.
“India is changing... it can take
difficult decisions and doesn’t
hesitate,” said PM Modi, refer-
ring to the decisions on Article
370, the rollout of the Goods and
Services Tax, implementation of
one-rank-one-pension, peaceful
resolution of the Ram Janma-
bhoomi dispute, constitutional
status to the backwards commis-
sion, district elections in Kash-
mir, record foreign direct invest-
ment , and surgical and air
strikes across the border.
GHANI FLEES
Kabul International Airport.
“This is manifestly not
Saigon,” he said on ABC’s “This
Week”.
The American ambassador
was among those evacuated,
said officials who spoke condi-
tion of anonymity. He was ask-
ing to return to the embassy, but
it was not clear if he would be
allowed to.
President Ghani flew out of
the country, two officials told
The Associated Press. Abdullah
Abdullah, the head of the
Afghan National Reconciliation
Council, later confirmed that
Ghani had left. “The former
president of Afghanistan left
Afghanistan, leaving the country
in this difficult situation,” Abdul-
lah said. “God should hold him
accountable.”
In a stunning rout, the Taliban
seized nearly all of Afghanistan
in just over a week, despite the
billions of dollars spent by the
US and NATO over nearly two
decades to build up Afghan secu-
rity forces. Just days earlier, an
American military assessment
estimated it would be a month
before the capital would come
under insurgent pressure.
The fall of Kabul marks the
final chapter of America’s long-
est war, which began after the
September 11, 2001, terror
attacks masterminded by al
Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden, then
harbored by the Taliban govern-
ment. A US-led invasion dis-
lodged the Taliban and beat
them back, though America lost
focus on the conflict in the chaos
of the Iraq War.
For years, the US has been
looking for an exit for the war.
Washington under then-Presi-
dent Donald Trump signed a
deal with the Taliban in 2020
that limited direct military
action against the insurgents.
That allowed the fighters to
gather strength and move to
seize key areas when President
Joe Biden announced his plans
to withdraw all American forces
by the end of this month.
On Sunday, the insurgents
entered the outskirts of Kabul
but initially remained outside of
the city’s downtown. Meanwhile,
Taliban negotiators in the capital
discussed a transfer of power,
said an Afghan official. The offi-
cial, who spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss details of
the closed-doors negotiations,
described them as “tense”.
It remained unclear when
that transfer would take place
and who among the Taliban was
negotiating. The negotiators on
the government side included
former President Hamid Karzai,
leader of Hizb-e-Islami political
and paramilitary group Gul-
budin Hekmatyar and Abdullah,
who has been a vocal critic of
Ghani.
Karzai himself appeared in a
video posted online, his three
young daughters around him,
saying he remained in Kabul.
“We are trying to solve the
issue of Afghanistan with the
Taliban leadership peacefully,”
he said, as the roar of a passing
helicopter could be heard.
Afghanistan’s acting defense
minister, Bismillah Khan
Mohammadi, didn’t hold back
his criticism of the fleeing presi-
dent. “They tied our hands from
behind and sold the country,” he
wrote on Twitter. “Curse Ghani
and his gang.”
The insurgents tried to calm
residents of the capital, insisting
their fighters wouldn’t enter
people’s homes or interfere with
businesses. They also said they’d
offer an “amnesty” to those who
worked with the Afghan govern-
ment or foreign forces.
But there have been reports of
revenge killings and other brutal
tactics in areas of the country the
Taliban have seized in recent
days — and the reports of gunfire
at the airport raised the spectre
of more violence. One female
journalist, weeping, sent voice
messages to colleagues after
armed men entered her apart-
ment building and banged on
her door.
“What should I do? Should I
call the police or Taliban?” Getee
Azami cried. It wasn’t clear what
happened to her after that.
Many chose to flee, rushing to
the Kabul airport, the last route
out of the country as the Taliban
now hold every border crossing.
NATO said it was “helping to
maintain operations at Kabul
airport to keep Afghanistan con-
nected with the world”.
One Afghan university stu-
dent described feeling betrayed
as she watched the evacuation of
the U.S. Embassy.
“You failed the younger gener-
ation of Afghanistan,” said Aisha
Khurram, 22, who is now unsure
of whether she’ll be able to grad-
uate in two months’ time. “A
generation ... raised in the mod-
ern Afghanistan were hoping to
build the country with their own
hands. They put blood, efforts
and sweat into whatever we had
right now.”
Sunday began with the Tali-
ban seizing Jalalabad — which
had been the last major city
besides the capital not in their
hands. Afghan officials said the
militants also took the capitals of
Maidan Wardak, Khost, Kapisa
and Parwan provinces, as well as
the country’s last government-
held border post.
Later, Afghan forces at
Bagram air base, surrendered to
the Taliban, according to
Bagram district chief Darwaish
Raufi. The prison at the former
U.S. base held both Taliban and
Islamic State group fighters.
14
Nico Ali Walsh. AP
MUHAMMAD
ALI’S GRANDSON
NICO WALSH
WINS ON PRO
BOXING DEBUT
Agencies
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
TULSA: Nico Ali Walsh made a
successful pro debut on Satur-
day night, winning in the first
round and then paying homage
to his grandfather, Muhammad
Ali.
Wearing trunks made for his
grandfather, Ali Walsh
knocked down his outmatched
opponent midway through the
first round before the middle-
weight fight was finally
stopped at 1:49 of the round
with Ali Walsh landing unan-
swered punches to the head.
“It’s been an emotional jour-
ney, this whole ride,” Ali Walsh
said. “Obviously, my grandfa-
ther, I’ve been thinking about
him so much. I miss him.”
The fight between Ali Walsh,
a 21-year-old college student,
and Jordan Weeks was notable
not because of anything the
two had done in the ring, but
because Ali Walsh was trying
to follow in his grandfather’s
large footsteps into boxing.
Still, Ali Walsh looked com-
petent for a relative novice and
displayed good hand speed and
power against Weeks, an MMA
fighter who had been stopped
in his last boxing match.
Ali Walsh celebrated with
family members in the ring aft-
erwards along with 89-year-old
promoter Bob Arum, who pro-
moted 27 of Muhammad Ali’s
fights.
“I’m a believer in genes,”
Arum said.
Ali Walsh said the white
trunks with black lining were
made for his grandfather, who
gave them to him. “I’m never
wearing these trunks again,” he
said.
Spurs jolt for champions City
Agencies
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
LONDON: Tottenham shrugged
off the absence of Harry Kane to
give Nuno Espirito Santo a
dream start as manager as Son
Heung-min’s strike beat League
champions Manchester City 1-0
on Sunday. Nuno left Kane out
with the England captain closely
linked with a move to City, who
showed why they are in need of a
natural goalscorer in a toothless
display.
City have already spent £100
million on Jack Grealish and are
prepared to smash the Premier
League transfer record once
more to get Kane by the end of
the month. The Spurs striker
was reportedly in the stadium,
but not on the pitch after return-
ing to pre-season training late in
his bid to force a move away
from his boyhood club.
Pep Guardiola’s men penned
in the home side for the opening
10 minutes, but were left to rue
not taking their chances as they
slipped to a fourth defeat in four
visits to the Tottenham Hotspur
Stadium without scoring.
Grealish could have won a
penalty as he was tripped on the
edge of the box by Oliver Skipp
and Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick
{ GERD MUELLER } 1945-2021
‘Everything that Bayern has become is due to Der Bomber’
Agencies
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
BERLIN: Gerd Mueller’s record
of 68 international goals in 62
games for West Germany
earned him the nickname ‘The
Bomber’ for his ability to
destroy countless defences. It
took Miroslav Klose more than
double the number of games to
finally reach the tally of 71, in
137 internationals, to better
Mueller’s mark.
In the 1971/72, Mueller, who
died Sunday aged 75 after bat-
tling Alzheimer’s, netted an
incredible 40 league goals in 34
games. The German league
record stood unchallenged
until Robert Lewandowski
scored for the 41st time on the
final weekend of last season.
Spurs’s Son Heung-Min celebrates after scoring against Man City in the Premier League on Sunday. AFP
was deflected inches wide. Fer-
nandinho then headed wide with
the goal gaping as Hugo Lloris
flapped at a cross, while Joao
Cancelo and Riyad Mahrez
sliced good chances wide.
However, buoyed by the
West Germany's Gerd Mueller scores the winner against
England during the 1970 World Cup quarters in Mexico.
Born on November 3, 1945,
Mueller’s career coincided with
a golden era for both West Ger-
man football and the rise of
return of a full house to their
62,000 capacity home, Spurs
grew into the game and soon
started causing City’s makeshift
defence problems. Guardiola left
out England internationals John
Stones and Kyle Walker due to
AP FILE
Bayern from second division.
His short, stocky frame with a
barrel-like chest led to coach
Zlatko Cajkovski saying: “What
Sport
their lack of pre-season training
and Tottenham targeted the
pairing of Nathan Ake and Ben-
jamin Mendy on the left of the
City defence.
Son saw a deflected shot fly
inches wide before the break in a
am I supposed to do with a
weightlifter?” But Mueller’s
powerful legs became the stuff
of Bayern folklore. As Franz
Beckenbauer said: “Everything
that Bayern has become is due
to Gerd Mueller and his goals.”
In 1965, Mueller, goalkeeper
Sepp Maier and Beckenbauer
helped Bayern win promotion.
The club never looked back. In
1970, Mueller became the first
German to be crowned Euro-
pean Footballer of the Year.
Bayern became German
champions for the first time in
1969, then won three straight
titles in 1972, 1973 and 1974.
Bayern’s dream team went on
to win the European Cup thrice
from 1974 to 1976. Mueller was
the club’s top scorer every sea-
son from 1964/65 to 1977/78.
At the 1970 World Cup finals
prelude of what was to come in
the winning goal. The South
Korean has been a persistent
thorn in City’s side and scored
his seventh goal against them on
55 minutes as he cut inside Ake
and fired low into the bottom
corner.
Liverpool cruise
Liverpool eased into the new
season as goals by Diogo Jota,
Roberto Firmino and Mohamed
Salah earned them a 3-0 victory
at promoted Norwich City on
Saturday.
With defensive linchpin Virgil
van Dijk back after nine months
out with a serious knee injury,
Liverpool enjoyed a relatively
trouble-free evening at Carrow
Road.
The focus was very much on
Dutchman Van Dijk whose
absence was a key factor in Liv-
erpool’s disappointing last sea-
son. “It was a tough game for
many reasons and 3-0 sounds
comfortable,” Van Dijk, who
signed a new contract with the
Anfield club this week, told Sky
Sports. “It’s about getting into
normal habits, shouting at your
team mates, repetition. I’ve
made great steps in pre-season
and this was another big step
today.”
in Mexico, Mueller scored 10
goals to finish top scorer,
before West Germany went on
to win the Euro 1972. Mueller
scored the winner in the 1974
World Cup final over the Neth-
erlands in Munich.
In 1979, Mueller accepted a
contract to play in the US with
Fort Lauderdale Strikers. He
retired in 1982 and descended
into a deep crisis, battling alco-
holism and depression. Bayern
never forgot their goal-scoring
hero and Uli Hoeness, who was
then manager, helped him to
get back on his feet. Mueller
earned his coaching licence in
1992 and became head coach of
the reserves in 1995/96. In
October 2015, it was announced
he was suffering from Alz-
heimer’s and in his later years
was rarely seen in public.
Osaka to help out
in Haiti quake relief
Agencies
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
LOS ANGELES: Naomi Osaka says
she is going to give all her pro-
ceeds from the WTA Tour’s
upcoming Cincinnati event to
Haiti which was rocked by a
devastating 7.2-magnitude
quake on Saturday. The highest
paid female tennis star has a
personal connection to Haiti:
Her father is from there. “Really
hurts to see all the devastation
that’s going on in Haiti, and I
feel like we really can’t catch a
break,” Osaka wrote on Twitter.
“I’m about to play a tourna-
ment this week and I’ll give all
the prize money to relief efforts
for Haiti. I know our ancestors
blood is strong we’ll keep ris-
ing.”
The massive quake struck
Haiti’s southwestern peninsula
killing at least 304 people and
leaving churches, business and
schools crumbled.
The 23-year-old Osaka was
born in Japan where her
A
l
Lahiri up 13 places in
Rd 3 at Wyndham
GREENSBORO: Anirban
Lahiri left a few birdie
chances but finished 3-
under 67 that saw him jump
13 places to Tied-28th after
the third round of the
Wyndham Championship.
Lahiri had an eagle and a
birdie. In Kent, Shubhankar
Sharma was 6-under
through 17 holes and headed
for top 5 when he double
bogeyed at Cazoo Classic
third round. He ended the
day at 4-under 68 and was 7-
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
Naomi Osaka. AFP
mother is from and has lived in
the US since age three.
Osaka’s father, Leonard Fran-
cois, is from the Jacmel region
on the southwestern peninsula
close to the epicentre the quake.
Osaka has said her upbringing
included learning about both
Japanese and Haitian culture.
Her Haitian grandparents didn’t
speak English so they only
spoke Creole to her.
This week’s Cincinnati tour-
nament is just the second event
for Osaka since she took a men-
tal health break.
under through 54 holes at
tied 19.
Youth archers win
team, mixed gold
LONDON: India’s cadet
recurve archers won the
men’s and mixed team gold
medals at the Youth World
Championships in Wroclaw
on Sunday. In the men’s
team final, Bishal Changmai,
Vickey Ruhal and Amit
Kumar beat France 5-3.
Changmai later joined
Tamnna in the mixed team
final to beat Japan 6-2.
Monday, August 16, 2021
City
Anil
Kapoor
‘Earlier, mom would make a
big deal out of it and now
Zenobia’s following suit’ P
Titas Chowdhury
titas.chowdhury@hindustantimes.com
oman Irani will be
B spending this Parsi New
Year shooting. And while
he isn’t the biggest fan of
virtual phone calls, he agrees
that it’s the only way to spend
some time with his family.
“Unfortunately, I’m not at
home today. The worst way to
celebrate the day is via a video
call but it’s also the only way
since it has become a part and
parcel of our lives now,” the
actor says.
Ask him about his fondest
memory of celebrating the
Parsi New Year and he shares,
“We used to get new clothes. I
also remember the food very
fondly. Thankfully, none of
that has changed. Earlier,
mom would make a big deal
out of it and now Zenobia
(Irani’s wife) is following suit.”
So what are his prayers for
the new year that begins
today? “I’m looking forward to
a new era, the post-Covid era.
Every religion and community
is hoping for prosperous,
peaceful and healthy days
ahead. And I’m sure that they
are also looking forward to
come together as families
and celebrate festivals.
We’ve lost a few people
and I hope that we slowly
limp back to normalcy,” says
Divya Dutta says 1st Indian
nomination at LA Diversity
film fest is super exciting
Rishabh Suri
rishabh.suri@htlive.com
ctor Divya Dutta says
A being nominated for the
Best Performance award
for her film Sheer Qorma at
Los Angeles Diversity Film
Festival (LADFF) is “sheer
joy”. The fact that it’s the first
ever nomination for an Indian
actor at the festival makes it
all the more special.
“My director, Faraz Arif
Ansari, broke the news to me.
I’m super excited because ek
toh vaise hi this is the first
nomination for me, and then
being the first Indian is a big
high. The film is doing very
special things,” says the
43-year-old. Dutta reveals she
was the first actor to come on
board the film that revolves
around LGBTQI+ people.
She feels the film was all
heart when she signed it, and
hence it could not have gone
wrong. “Every film is destined.
The way we shot the scenes
makes for the best part.
Sometimes, the scene itself
goes beyond the script. It has
happened with me even
earlier in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
(2013), and now again in Sheer
Qorma,” the actor recalls. She
is overwhelmed to see so
Delhi
the Made In China (2019)
actor.
Irani looks at the silver
lining and believes that the
ongoing pandemic has
brought families closer.
“During the pandemic, we’ve
spent more time with our
families than we could have
ever imagined. It’s important
to realise that family is
number one,” he remarks,
adding, “Festivals were
designed to bring families
together. We travel to
each other during
festivals. I might be
working today but I am
still close to my loved
ones.” An elaborate Parsi
spread completes the
auspicious occasion for
him. “My favourite is
the saas ni machchhi,
patrani machchhi, and
pulaao daal. I will
miss them this year
but the day I land in
Mumbai, Zenobia
will have them
prepared for me,”
he concludes.
Divya Dutta
many blessings coming in
with this film. “So many
people from the LGBTQI+
community have been
messaging Faraz. This film is
doing what it needed to do,
reach out to people. I think a
RHEA KAPOOR, KARAN
BOOLANI TIE THE KNOT
Karan
Boolani
PHOTOS:
YOGEN SHAH
Rhea
Kapoor
part of you has to be taken
home by the audience, that’s
why I’ve been here for 25
years” adds Dutta, who will be
seen next in Dhaakad
alongside Kangana Ranaut
and Arjun Rampal.
n4 PAGES. f @HTCITY t @HTCITY i @HTCITY y /USER/HT. ENTERTAINMENT & PROMOTIONAL FEATURES
A
ctor Anil Kapoor’s
daughter and producer
Rhea Kapoor got
married to her
boyfriend, Karan
Boolani, in a low-key ceremony on
Saturday at her father’s bungalow
in Juhu, Mumbai.
Ditching big fat wedding
revelries, the couple opted for a
private affair, celebrating the
moment with just their family
members, including sister Sonam
K Ahuja and Anand Ahuja, and
close friends.
After the ceremony, the father
of the bride stepped out to
distribute sweets to the paparazzi
standing outside the house,
urging them to bless the newly
wed couple. In a video that has
Arjun emerged online, he is seen saying,
Kapoor “Dil se de rahe hai, blessing do...
Jaise Sonam ko aapne wish kiya,
aaj Rhea ko wish kijiye, please.”
While the newly married Sonam
couple didn’t pose for the media K Ahuja
after the ceremony, they were and
clicked making an exit from the Anand
house. Rhea was seen in a red Ahuja
outfit with sindoor and a
sparkling ring on her finger.
Her husband Boolani looked
stunning in a sherwani.
HTC
→Read more on page 3
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/
DIRECTORPRIYADARSHAN
Festivals were
designed to bring
families together. We
travel to each other
during festivals. I might
be working today but I’m
close to my loved ones.
BOMAN IRANI,
Actor-producer Priyadarshan hits back
at Hera Pheri
allegations; says has no
influence in Bollywood
P
I made Hera Pheri
and went on to
make many more
films. I am sitting
on the 95th film of
my career. If I had
such behaviour,
PHOTOS: AFP | REUTERS
I would not have
STOP PRESS been in the
industry.
Sugandha Rawal
(Top) Priyadarshan, (inset) still from Hera Pheri
sequel. “I’ve nothing against anyone.
PRIYADARSHAN, Filmmaker
sugandha.rawal@hindustantimes.com
ilmmaker Priyadarshan has
The so-called incident happened 20
years ago. Why are you talking
about it now? And why should I say
that movie. How can that be
possible? I’m a small south Indian
As per Page Six, Jennifer F strongly denied allegations of
him abandoning his film
Hera Pheri midway and
trying to bungle the plans for a
sequel. He said he has no
I didn’t do this or that,” the director
shares, further adding, “I did that
movie and went on to do many
more films. I’m sitting on the 95th
film of my career. If I had such
filmmaker, I don’t have any
influence in Bollywood,” he
reasoned. To the claim of making a
depressing version, Priyadarshan
reminds us that the film starring
Lopez has deleted photos influence in Bollywood to even behaviour, I wouldn’t have been in Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and
with ex-fiance Alex think of concocting such a
conspiracy.
the industry.”
Talking about whether he
Paresh Rawal, was a remake of the
Malayalam film, Ramji Rao
Rodriguez on IG, including Recently, producer Firoz convinced actors to not do the Speaking (1989). “It was made frame
the one in which they kiss
Nadiadwala made several claims
against the director; from leaving
the 2000 film midway to making a
sequel, the 64-year-old asks if that
would have been the case, then how
have the makers made part two
by frame. It can’t be that I made a
depressing or overly long version.
The original was a super duper hit,
in front of Capitol Building. depressing version to try and
convince the actors to say no to the
with the same actors? “And I have
also worked with these actors after
and that’s why a Hindi remake was
made in the first place.”
PHOTO: AMAL KS/HT Status: At the movies; vaccinated
and ready to avail offers!
Anjuri Nayar Singh important. The uniform of our
anjuri.singh@hindustantimes.com
staff now reads: I am
vaccinated, are you?”
f you are vaccinated, it’s A spokesperson from
NOTE TO
READERS: Some
I time to treat yourself to
some great rewards at your
favourite movie theatre. With
Cinepolis tells us they have
plans to offer tickets at
discounted prices to patrons.
of the coverage cineplexes reopening their And for Delhiites, such as
that appears on doors to public in Delhi-NCR, banker Yogesh Verma, these
our pages is people are being welcomed offers are too tempting. “Ghar
paid for by the back to the original movie mein baithe films dekh ke
concerned
brands. No
viewing experience. bore ho gaye hain. It’s good
sponsored Food offers entice the most. news for us that halls are
content does or Amit Sharma, managing reopening.”
shall appear in director, Miraj Cinemas, says, “If people are worried about
any part of HT “We have come up with a sitting in the same hall with
without it being special F&B offers for those strangers, we are providing
declared as such who are vaccinated. We are them an option to opt for our
to our valued also spreading the message private screenings,” informs a
readers.
that getting vaccinated is spokesperson from Inox.
02 time out NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021

Titas Chowdhury

Parsi New Year ‘Wanted to T

his year marks the silver jubilee of
Sunidhi Chauhan’s musical journey, and
she believes “it’s just the beginning”. The
singer, who started her career at the age

is my favourite
of 11 with the song Ladki Deewani Ladka

be a dancer Deewana (Shastra; 1996), says, “Completing 25

years has given me the confidence to keep
doing what I love to do.”
Looking back at the experience of her first

day of the year: as a little film song recording, she tells us, “I remember
having five to six cups of tea before singing to
calm myself down. I was so wired and excited
about singing before a microphone for the

girl’
heroine of a big film!”
However, Chauhan reveals that becoming a

Amyra Dastur
singer didn’t top her bucket list. In fact, as a
little girl, she dreamt of becoming a dancer: “I
wanted to learn dancing. But my singing was
noticed a little more than my dancing. When
people around me kept telling me that I sing
well, I realised I wanted to learn it.”
The Maskhari (Dil Bechara; 2020) singer,
Titas Chowdhury
titas.chowdhury@hindustantimes.com
P who turned 38 on Saturday (August 14), admits
that she learnt music by listening to songs.
Our family in Mumbai will “Children in Delhi would learn singing in
myra Dastur holds her groups, but I wanted a special kind of attention

A childhood memories
related to the Parsi New
Year very close to her heart.
Reminiscing the time, the
actor says, “My favourite
memories are from when all
of us lived together before I
shifted out and my brother
went to the UK for work. We’d
always sneak out desserts
from the fridge while mom
wasn’t looking. Sometimes,
even my dad helped us if they
were on a high shelf. In fact,
Parsi New Year is my favourite
day of the year.”
Much like every year, she is
looking forward to spending
the day with her family
reliving the old times: “My
mom is the best cook in our
family; she makes the best
dishes on Parsi New Year. Our
family in Mumbai will get
together for lunch. My cousins
and I play cards. It’s our
favourite thing to do when the
four of us get together.”
For Dastur, festivals are also
about going easy on her diet
regimen. “I look forward to
get together for lunch. My
cousins and I play cards. It’s
from my guru. Instead, I started doing shows.
Once I started singing in films, I didn’t get the
chance to learn music,” shares the Delhi-born
our favourite thing to do. singer.
In 2016, Chauhan added a new feather to her
AMYRA DASTUR , Actor cap by starring in Playing Priya, a short thriller.
Ask about her acting plans for the future, and
she reveals, “I was supposed to start something
the kulfi that mom gets from on that front but the lockdown due to the
Parsi Dairy Farm (Mumbai). Covid-19 pandemic changed a lot of
It’s my favourite ice cream and situations. I’m open to acting and I look
I’ve eaten bowls and bowls of forward to exploring a new side of
it without any guilt. And that’s myself.”
exactly what I plan to do this
year as well!” she shares.
While the essence of
festivals may have changed P
with the pandemic, Dastur
hopes that they continue to be
I wanted to learn
all about “being with family dancing. But my
and your loved ones”. She
adds, “Festivals should be the singing was noticed a little
time to help the needy, give bit more than my dancing.
back to society and Mother
Earth.” And when people around me
Dastur says she hopes for a kept telling me that I sing
smooth reopening of the
country and no third wave. “I well, I realised I wanted to
also wish to see theatres
running and shoots resuming
learn it.
in full force,” the actor ends. SUNIDHI CHAUHAN, Singer

a n n in g T a t u m marks
Ch g his next
Why Cameron end of filmin s selfies
Diaz stepped with shirtles { DAILY HOROSCOPE }
ctor Channing Tatum recently shared a Monday, August 16, 2021
away from acting A shirtless selfie to commemorate the end
of filming Lost City of D, which is
scheduled for an April 2022 release.
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma (Astrologer and Vaastu expert) can be contacted at: Delhi: 011-47033152, 40532026 (Sat
to Mon); Panchkula: 91-172-2562832, 2572874 (Tues to Thurs); Mumbai: 09716145644 (Last week of every month)
The post was captioned: “And just like that...
our 1st Charlie yells ‘and that’s a wrap’ .. and I
ctor Cameron Diaz, during an feel myself coming back and the hair starts ARIES LEO SAGITTARIUS
A interview, opened up about how acting
occupied much of her life, which led
coming off. And now time... time for all the
things. Mine time.” Detailing that he is going to
MAR 21-APR 20 JUL 23-AUG 23 NOV 23-DEC 21

A L s
her to take a step back and reevaluate get “back to me before the next creative A relaxed day is foreseen, Your guesswork on the Boredom threatens to set
everything. According to The Hollywood adventure into someone and somewhere else,” you will be busy attending academic front comes in at work. Career
Reporter, she said, “When you do something the Magic Mike (2012) star added, “I’m so to personal matters. Plans right! Things are brighter planning seems important
at a really high level for a long period of time, happy and easy right now.” The post also for going abroad are on social front. You will be at this point of time. There
you’re the person who’s the talent. All parts of featured two other images of him getting a underway. You may feel dissatisfied able to complete some work allotted is no reason to refuse an offer for
you that isn’t, that has to be handed off to haircut in a makeup trailer. with a new development at work, but to you in record time. An angry travelling abroad. Delay in legal work
other people.” According to People magazine, it may not be as bad as it seems. family member needs to be pacified. can cause concern.
She explained that from the spotlight Lost City of D is an action-packed LOVE FOCUS: Togetherness with lover LOVE FOCUS: Celebratory mood may LOVE FOCUS: Expect a good time on
perspective, it’s as if she was “a machine”. But romantic comedy. ANI will prove immensely fulfilling. prevail on the romantic front! the romantic front.
for her “personal spiritual self” she realised, LUCKY NUMBER: 5 LUCKY COLOUR: LUCKY NUMBER: 7 LUCKY COLOUR: Sky LUCKY NUMBER: 8 LUCKY COLOUR: Sky
when she was 40, that the part of her that Peach Blue Blue
“functioned at a high level wasn’t enough”.
Diaz also reiterated that though she has a
“love” for acting, there were “so many parts”
of her life that she “wasn’t managing”. “I
TAURUS VIRGO CAPRICORN
APR 21-MAY 20 AUG 24-SEP 23 DEC 22-JAN 21
wanted to make my life manageable by me.

My routine in a day is what I can manage to
do by myself. It’s the best feeling,” she added.
After embracing a more simplistic life,
Diaz, 48, says, “I feel whole.” She also said
that since her time away from the spotlight
she has started a family, and doing “things I
didn’t have time for before”.
Diaz married musician Benji Madden in
2015, and gave birth to a daughter in 2019.
Her last acting credit was the 2014 remake of
Annie.
T I
You may have to be more
assertive at work to get
things done. Someone’s
prosperity is likely to
Cameron make you green with envy. A busi-
Diaz ness trip can become a turning point
PHOTO: for some entrepreneurs.
SHUTTERSTOCK LOVE FOCUS: Partner may not be in
talking terms with you.
LUCKY NUMBER: 22 LUCKY COLOUR:
ANI Dark Pink
You may get something
you had always desired.
Helping out on domestic
front will give you a sense
of satisfaction. Those in the upper tax
bracket will need to manage their
finances well. A property may come
to some through inheritance.
LOVE FOCUS: Romance may be high on
your list of priorities today!
LUCKY NUMBER: 11 LUCKY COLOUR: Pink
c
Remain alert at work, as
you may commit mistakes.
You will succeed in cutting
expenses by tightening
your belt. Those inclined towards
social work will find immense satis-
faction in serving others.
LOVE FOCUS: Sharing intimate
moments with lover is indicated.
LUCKY NUMBER: 4 LUCKY COLOUR: Light
Blue

GEMINI LIBRA AQUARIUS

MAY 21-JUN 21 SEP 24-OCT 23 JAN 22-FEB 19

G l a
Channing Judicious spending will This is your lucky day, You can be ticked off by a
Tatum; enable you to stretch your whatever you touch turns senior’s incomplete job. A
(inset) the money. Keeping cordial to gold! Your performance trip will enable you to
relations with those who on the work front will be meet people you’ve not
+
selfie he
shared matter will be the key to success on lauded. Achieving a distinction on met for long. Your aptitude on
PHOTOS: AL the academic front. the academic front is possible. academic front may be a great asset.
POWERS/AP AND LOVE FOCUS: Something special is LOVE FOCUS: Wedding vows likely for LOVE FOCUS: Romance holds special
INSTAGRAM/ likely to happen on romantic front. those in a long-term relationship. interest for you today.

3 1/ CHANNINGTATUM LUCKY NUMBER: 3 LUCKY COLOUR:

Saffron
LUCKY NUMBER: 2 LUCKY COLOUR:
Magenta
LUCKY NUMBER: 9 LUCKY COLOUR:
Golden Brown

0-- CANCER SCORPIO PISCES

JUN 22-JUL 22 OCT 24-NOV 22 FEB 20-MAR 20

+-!#.#(
C S
There are times you regret
decisions in your life, but
remember everything
P
Praise for a job well done Spending time with
at work is in store for friends is likely. This is not
some. Your efforts are the day to take liberties in

EDUCATION happens for the good. You
will have a reason to rejoice on the
professional front. Too much travel-
ADMISSIONS ling may get on your nerves.
LOVE FOCUS: A romantic evening is on
the cards for some.
LUCKY NUMBER: 1 LUCKY COLOUR: Light
Red
likely to result in a
favourable outcome on the academic
front. Excess in food or drink may
cause problems, if you’re not careful.
LOVE FOCUS: You may not be too
happy with the lover’s reaction.
LUCKY NUMBER: 6 LUCKY COLOUR: Sea
Green
business matters.
Lethargy may get you out of shape.
You will be able to achieve something
difficult on the academic front.
LOVE FOCUS: Lover can leave you for
someone else.
LUCKY NUMBER: 7 LUCKY COLOUR: Off
White

*"(

$$ { CALVIN AND HOBBES I BILL WATTERSON }
+
#(
+ +#%

+ +- /'

 

NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
lifestyle 03
Actor
Sidharth
Malhotra ► Singer Neha
re di wedding!
Vee
.

saluted Kakkar wished her

Indian fans, “Azaadi
Army, Navy Mubarak”
and Air Kunal
Force and Rawal
wrote,
“...Aur apne Shanaya
desh se bada Kapoor
koi dharam
nahi hota”
PHOTOS:
INSTAGRAM

R A TING
CELEB IT OF Mohit
Anshula
Kapoor

THE SPIR ISM

Marwah

Khushi Kapoor

PATRIO T ▲ Actor
.

Ajay Devgn
captioned
this photo
“...Grateful W
edding festivities of
film producer Rhea
Kapoor and filmmaker
From paying tribute to our
Defence
Karan Boolani, were nothing
short of a star-studded affair!
to freedom fighters Forces who
keep it flying
Cousins and friends attended
the celebrations dressed in
to feeling honoured high, no
matter”
their glamourous best. Those
present included designers
to represent India Kunal Rawal and Masaba
Gupta, cousins Anshula
on global platforms, ▲ Masaba Gupta
. Kapoor, Shanaya Kapoor,
Mohit Marwah and Khushi
celebs’ August 15 ▼ Actor
.
PHOTOS: YOGEN SHAH AND
INSTAGRAM Kapoor. HTC
Boxer Mary Kom Sonali
was steeped in pride extended her Bendre
warm greetings posted a
to all on photo
Actor Soha Ali Khan posted a snap with Independence holding the
daughter Inaaya and wrote, “...may you have Day Indian flag
the freedom to do what you choose...”

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar shared Cricketer Yuvraj Singh wrote on social

a throwback snap from the field and media, “Freedom is precious, let’s Tennis star Sania Mirza wrote, “... it has
wrote, “I have always worn the flag respect and enjoy it responsibly” been an honour to play and represent
on my helmet with pride...” my country every single time”

Aaliyah Ali Khan is

currently training in
western contemporary
dance forms

This LSR alumna is

a free-spirited
movement artist
Naina Arora
naina.arora@htdigital.in
iscipline is
D important with
anything that you
do. So, one must
practise everyday,” says
25-year-old Aaliyah Ali
Khan, who describes
herself as a “movement
artist”. For an artiste,
dance is the freedom to
express, and sharing the
same thought is this
graduate from Lady Shri
Ram College for Women
(LSR), Delhi University.
Khan, who is part of a
Young India fellowship
programme at a private
university in Haryana,
shares that her dance
journey began in Kolkata,
where she was introduced
to different art forms.
“Dance evolves a lot... I like
to follow the rules. If an
instructor gives directions,
I prefer to do it the right
way, without putting too
much of myself and my
movements. But, of late,
I’ve tried to understand the
beauty of simple
movements,” she says on
her learnings about dance,
adding that she’s “trying to
merge these two views”.
Talk about her
inspirations, and the
names that pop up are
legendary American
dancer Isadora Duncan
and acclaimed dancer-
choreographer, Akram
P
Last month, I
worked on
contemporary
and now it’s
lyrical jazz...
Taking it one
day at a time.
AALIYAH ALI
KHAN,
Movement artist
Khan. Now training in into it. I moved on to
modern, western Kathak, which is inclined
contemporary dance more with the way I like to
forms, under Benjamin move. I pursued Rabindra
Jacob, who has experience Sangeet, did a few plays. I
of over two decades, she danced throughout school.
shares, “I’m working on a But when I came to Delhi
few projects with the in class 10, I focused on
instructor.” academics,” says Khan,
The love of performing who also likes to read,
arts, however, beckoned paint, cook, and spend
her much early in life. “I time with her cat. “When I
learned Bharatanatyam as have time, I like to model
a kid, but I wasn’t much for friends,” she smiles.

#dilse
s Dearest Aman, Life is much
more beautiful because mine has
you in it, someone to keep me
smiling forever. Happy birthday.
Deepa
s Hi S, Betrayal of trust is
neither sweet nor salty. Have a
good day. Good morning. Me
s Dear Sweetu, Missing you
lot. Please don’t leave me please, I
Love You Lot. Yours Forever.
Devu
s Diya,
s Hi Baby, I really love you to I am coming to see Khush rehna. I love you so much. Your Bae
the moon and back. Ghar aaoge you this week. I
exams ke baad, I’ll make pakode wanted to surprise s Dear Jaan, All the best for your exams. I
for you. Muah. Your Bee you through this wish you the best for future. Meri good
column because I wishes aapke saath hain. Go Rock.
s Hi Poochoon, You are my love know you read it Your A
and life. Jaldi aaja.... party regularly.
karenge. Tera birthday sabko yaad Tera Love s Dear Janu, My Baby. Please be happy.
rahega. Your Jaan
Your Munmun
DISCLAIMER: Dil Se is a compilation of fun messages from our readers. The
s Dear Meena, You are the best views expressed belong entirely to the senders and are not to be construed
gift God has given me. Please as an endorsement by the publication. Send your messages to
humesha aisa haste rehna. meandmycity1@gmail.com.
04
SADHYA MEAL:
A FEAST TO
CONTENT THE
HEART
The 10 days of Onam celebrations are incomplete without this feast that
has over 25 dishes served on a banana leaf
Ruchika Garg
ruchika.garg@hindustantimes.com
A
widely famous harvest festival
of Kerala, Onam also celebrates
the yearly visit by the spirit of
Lord Vishnu’s Vamana avatar.
The revelries include a
spectrum of cultural events, and the
sumptuous Sadhya Thali is one of its
highlights. “The popularity of the Sadhya
meal in metro cities is rising, as food
lovers celebrate Onam with choicest of
dishes. The tempting aroma of the
vegetarian delights lavishly spread on
sparkling banana leaves garners an
appetite for all,” says Vetri Murugan,
head chef at Zambar, which is organising
Zambar Onam Sadhya from August
20 to 22.
WHAT ALL GOES INTO IT?
The celebratory grand thali includes
Uepperi (salted banana chips), Shakara
Varratti (jaggery chips), Inji Curry (ginger
curry), Mango Curry, Parippu with Ghee
(yellow daal), Sambar, Olan (pumpkin
curry), Pulissery (a dish of pumpkin and
yoghurt), Ellisheri (a mix of pumpkin and
lobia), Avial (mix veg), Chor (rice), Kaalan
(raw banana curry), Moru Kachiyathu
(buttermilk), Rasam, Pachadi (mix veg
raita), Pappadam (crackers) and other
food items. “Traditionally, 26 multi-
course vegetarian dishes are served
during lunchtime on the festive
occasion. There used to be an era
when 60 food items were served but
gradually, the count has gone down,”
says Gaurav Lavania, executive chef
at WelcomHotel Sheraton, which is
hosting The Grand Onam Feast, from
August 20 to 22 at Dakshin.
Rice, seasonal vegetables, coconut
shavings, grated coconut, coconut milk
and coconut oil are the basic ingredients
used in the preparation of most of the
dishes. “Kerala is a land of coconut trees
and it is found in abundance in the state.
Also due to the health benefits and ease
of accessibility, it is widely used in
cooking preparations,” says chef Reetu
Uday Kugaji.
THE SERVING STYLE
“A banana leaf is placed in a particular
manner and direction and the meal is
served and consumed in a sequence,” says
executive chef, Arun Sundararaj, Taj
Mahal. The tip of the banana leaf must be
towards the left side of the person
consuming it. “It begins with salt, chips,
papad, banana pickle, avial, and then
small amounts of dal (boiled), ghee, rice
and much more,” he adds.
#theburningquestion
For how long
can leftover
food be used?
Leftovers are a tricky business. One should always try
to eat fresh, but if you do have leftovers or live alone
and don’t want to keep cooking frequently, leftovers can
be a boon! They’re usually good in the fridge for two-
three days, or even a month if frozen correctly. What’s
fun is when you can upcycle your leftovers to create
something new for your next meal! When stored for a
longer period, meats tend to absorb their flavours.
Pulling the meat off the bone to use as a sandwich/taco/
wrap filling works beautifully.
Mashing leftover veggies or lentils
and using them as fillings is a
great idea, too! For breads,
once they start to harden after
three-four days, baking them
with some olive oil and herbs
can give croutons or chips.
Vegetarian food tends to last
a tad longer than non-
vegetarian food, but one
should always be particular
about how they store their
food (at a low
temperature) to
ensure longevity.
Disclaimer: The
views expressed
here are author’s
personal.
Vidushi
Sharma, Chef
Onam Sadhya has several health
benefits. “Banana leaves are packed with
natural antioxidants, and when warm
food is served on it, the antioxidants get
absorbed into the food. Moreover, eating
with hands benefits us in attaining
emotional and physical well-being,” says
Lavania.
RITUALS OF FEASTING
The food is eaten with the right hand,
without any cutlery. “The dishes in the
meal are served from left to right but they
are eaten from right to left. The Sadhya
can be concluded by drinking rasam or
buttermilk,” says chef Kugaji.
When one is done relishing the meal,
one should fold the upper half of the
banana leaf towards the lower half. “It
denotes that the person who has
consumed the meal is satisfied with the
delectable food. And if it’s folded other
way, it expresses the discontentment,”
says Kugaji.
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK
#inbrief
An intriguing
tête-à-tête
Author-actor Twinkle Khanna
recently took to Instagram to
share a post showing a delectable
platter of cute cupcakes beside a
book and some colour pencils. She
captioned it, “A Mad Hatter’s tea
party for two.” Given the classic
red velvet and chocolate delights
with sprinklers on top, we
believe it’s a tea party with
her eight-year-old daughter,
Nitara. She encouraged
other parents to make their
reluctant kids aged 7-9
years to read the book, The
13-Storey Treehouse, by
Andy Griffiths as it is silly,
funny and filled with
illustrations.
Cooking done
right
For actor Rakul Preet Singh, the
best way to enjoy an early pack-
up is to indulge in preparing food
with crew members. In a video
shared on Instagram stories, the
actor can be seen keenly
observing the preparation
of potato cubes and
cauliflower chunks. In the
absence of a proper
kitchen, the crew
members prepared the
dish on an induction cook
top. Singh captioned the
video, “Post-pack up
dedication. In-room chefs.”
In the subsequent stories,
she revealed how home-
cooked food is her favourite.
NEW DELHI
MONDAY
AUGUST 16, 2021
NEW DELHI
AUGUST 16, 2021
on Monday
Scan here
to visit
HTCityfoodies
l 1 small dry red chilli Then let the mixture cool down
Pineapple l Salt to taste at room temperature. Traditionally,
l Add beaten curd and mix 26 multi-
Pachadi METHOD thoroughly. course
l Make a smooth paste of coconut l Heat coconut oil in small frying vegetarian
INGREDIENTS paste and green chilli, mustard pan. Add a pinch of mustard food items
l 200g pineapple cubes seeds and cumin seeds. seeds, allow to crackle. Then add are served in
l 60g beaten curd l Keep the pan on low flame and one small dry red chilli and few the Sadhya
l 80g fresh coconut paste cook the pineapple cubes with curry leaves (do not burn Thali
l 1 green chilli little water and jaggery (do not them).
l 2g mustard seeds overcook). l Pour the tempering in the
l 4g cumin seeds l Then add the ground coconut Pachadi mixture.
l A pinch of turmeric powder paste and season with salt as per l Mix well and serve cold.
l A small piece of jaggery the taste.
l 10ml coconut oil l Mix well, simmer and cook for (By executive chef
l A few curry leaves two minutes on a low flame. Gaurav Lavania)
PHOTO: FACEBOOK
In the right
direction
In a heartwarming gesture, nearly
2,000 milkmen from Sitajakhala
Milk Cooperative Society, Assam,
have come forward to donate 15
paise per litre of milk they sell to
run the higher secondary section
of a school, which has reportedly
not received any government aid
so far. Uttam Deka, headmaster
of Sitajakhala Higher Secondary
School, where the children of the
milkmen are students, stated
that this financial help will go a
long way in sustaining the
school. He added, “We are
thankful to Sitajakhala Milk
Cooperative Society for helping
us with the financial aid.” What a
noble gesture!
PHOTOS: YOGEN SHAH, INSTAGRAM
Let’s talk about Homemade
food choices food is love
For some, pineapple on pizza is Olympic medallist Lovlina
regretful and for other mint Borgohain took to Twitter to
chocolate chip ice cream is gross. share a video of herself eating
Also, many feel that tomatoes some delicious Assamese food.
ruin a burger and Greek yoghurt is She also revealed that she was
just sour cream in disguise. Food eating home-cooked food
preferences is a controversial after a gap of a whole year. In
topic, something which people the 58-second video clip,
can be extremely passionate Borgohain is seen eating
about. Australian philosopher with the former Chief Minister
Damon Young took to Twitter to and current Union Minister of
ask his fans, “Tell me your most Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal.
genuinely controversial food They were eating some
opinion. I’ll start: mayonnaise steamed rice and curries, along
typically makes everything with some vegetables on the
worse,” he wrote. The post side. And the fact that
prompted people to come up with PHOTO: TWITTER everyone ate with hands
different kinds of reactions and impressed Twitter.
some were downright hilarious. Compiled by: Swati Chaturvedi