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National

- NTA chief removed as panel set up for agency overhaul

- New Delhi, Dhaka to hold talks on comprehensive ties

- No GST for hostel stay below ₹20,000, Railway services

- Upkeep time

- INDIA MPs not to assist pro tem Speaker

- Southern Railway suspends loco pilots for 46-hour ‘rest’

- BSF to recalibrate deployment along Pakistan border in Jammu in the wake of terror strikes

- JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna questioned on sexual abuse charge

- Season opener

- BJP should not avenge Ayodhya defeat by targeting saints and sages: Akhilesh

- YSRCP building razed in A.P.; contempt of court, says party

- Former The Hindu journalist Muralidhar Reddy no more

- Police Commissioners of Lucknow and Prayagraj transferred

- Probe into 1985 Kanishka tragedy still active: Canada

- Dalit man’s death in custody; BSP seeks action

- ‘If Centre adopts bulldozer tactics in House, it will be countered’

- Six arrested in Jharkhand in NEET case; Mukhiya kingpin, says EOU

- OBC activists in Maharashtra suspend fast after 10 days

- Enforcement of the anti-paper leak law a ‘whitewash’: Kharge

- 1,563 candidates to retake NEET today

- Water crisis: Atishi’s fast enters day two

- New criminal law Bill has no Section on rape of men, transgender people

- Erred in not crediting ICMR as co-inventor of Covaxin, admits Bharat Biotech

- First arrest made in ‘lynching’ of 3 cattle transporters in Arang

- Stringent regulations could hinder growth of AI in India: experts

- Programmme to fast-track traveller immigration launched at IGI airport

- Another bridge collapses in Bihar; no casualties reported

- Salman firing case: police trace new links to Bishnoi

- Taking U.P. lightly cost us badly: Axis My India chief

- Police arrest two for burglary at actor Anupam Kher’s office

- Summer of discontent

- Profile 1

- Profile 2

- Profile 3

Govt. removes NTA chief, announces CBI probe

Ashna Butani

NEW DELHI

Education Ministry constitutes expert panel to reform organisational structure of the agency Former ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan to head the panel; report to be submitted within two months Health Ministry puts off NEET-PG examination scheduled for today as a ‘precautionary measure’

Burning issue: Congress workers stage a protest over the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG results, in Varanasi on Saturday.PTI-

The Union government on Saturday removed Subodh Kumar Singh from his position as Director-General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has come under fire for an alleged paper leak and irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, and other examinations which it conducts.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced the postponement of the NEET-PG examination “as a precautionary measure”, just hours before it was due to be held on Sunday.

Conceding a persistent demand by students and the Opposition, the Education Ministry announced that the probe into the allegations of cheating and malpractice in the NEET-UG examination will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It noted that the Centre has enacted the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and vowed that “strictest action” will be taken against individuals and organisations found to be guilty.

These measures seem to be the first step in a promised overhaul of the examination system, with the Ministry constituting a seven-member committee of experts on Saturday to create a reform roadmap for the NTA and its processes.

Chaired by former ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan, the panel has been mandated to make recommendations on the structure and functioning of the NTA, reforms in the mechanisms of the examination process, and improvement in data security protocols, and submit its report within two months.

Unlike the NEET-UG, which was conducted by the NTA, an autonomous body under the Education Ministry, the NEET-PG is conducted by the National Board of Examinations, an autonomous body under the Health Ministry. In a statement issued late on Saturday night, the Health Ministry said that, given the recent allegations, it had decided to “undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of NEET-PG” and thus postponed the examination due to be held the next morning, promising to set fresh dates soon.

Regretting the inconvenience caused to candidates, the Health Ministry said it took the decision in the “best interest of the students” .

‘Compulsory wait’

An hour earlier, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet issued a notice giving additional charge of the NTA to Pradeep Singh Kharola, chairman and managing director of the India Trade Promotion Organization, until the appointment of a regular incumbent. It added that Mr. Singh, the current DG, has been placed on “compulsory wait” in the Department of Personnel & Training.

The Nationalist Congress Party called the NEET-PG postponement a “failure” on the part of the Union government.

The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association called the postponement of the PG examination “a shame”. Student leader Aishe Ghosh, former president of the Students’ Union of Jawaharlal Nehru University, said, “The entire system of ‘One Nation, One Exam’ has collapsed. If Dharmendra Pradhan has taken moral responsibility, he should resign immediately.”

New Delhi, Dhaka to hold talks on comprehensive ties

Kallol Bhattacherjee

NEW DELHI

PM Narendra Modi with Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday.SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

India and Bangladesh on Saturday agreed to begin a dialogue on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) paving the way for broader economic ties between the two neighbouring economies.

In his welcome remarks at Hyderabad House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two sides will intensify connectivity and energy collaboration, and announced that trade between the two countries is being conducted in the Indian currency.

“Between Akhaura and Agartala, the sixth India-Bangladesh cross-border rail link has been started. Cargo facility for India’s northeastern States has been started through the Khulna-Mongla Port. Both units of the 1,320-MW Maitree Thermal Power Plant have started generating electricity. Trade in Indian rupee has started between the two countries,” Mr. Modi said.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived here on Friday on a two-day visit, the first state visit by a foreign leader since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge for the third term.

Focus on connectivity

The two sides signed multiple MoUs covering maritime cooperation and economy, rail connectivity, oceanography, health and disaster management among others. Elaborating on the MoU on railway connectivity that was exchanged on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that apart from the six existing cross-border railway links between the countries, the document focuses on “transit that they afford between different parts of India through the territory of Bangladesh.”

“The connectivity essentially strengthens a very large part of economic infrastructure within Bangladesh,” said Mr. Kwatra.

It is understood that India will attempt to run a train service in the near future that will connect north-eastern States like Tripura with West Bengal through the territory of Bangladesh.

Welcoming Ms. Hasina, Mr. Modi announced that India will open an Assistant High Commission in Bangladesh’s Rangpur.

Rangpur, which is strategically located between West Bengal and Assam, is also important as it is nurtured by the waters of the Teesta, which is a matter of protracted negotiation between the countries.

Mr. Modi announced that a technical team from India will soon visit Bangladesh to discuss “conservation and management of the Teesta”.

The project is also likely to feature in the agenda when Ms. Hasina visits China next month, as China too has displayed interest in it.

Mr. Modi also announced that India will start issuing e-medical visas to deal with the surging demand for medical visas from Bangladesh.

No GST for hostel stay below ₹20,000, Railway services

Vikas Dhoot

NEW DELHI

Key decisions: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chairs the 53rd GST Council meeting in New Delhi on Saturday.PTI

Meeting after almost nine months, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday approved measures to ease compliance for small businesses, exempted hostel accommodation worth up to ₹20,000 a month and Railway services, and resolved to reconvene in August to initiate parleys on rejigging the multiple rates levied under the seven-year-old indirect tax.

With 11 new members from States such as Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Odisha, the council could only take up a part of its heavy agenda of clarifications and trade facilitation measures, but did grant some relief to taxpayers, including a waiver of interest and penalties on some past tax demands, along with steps to reduce litigation.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Council’s chairperson, said that members had agreed to roll out biometric-based Aadhaar authentication for all GST registrations across the country in a phased manner. She stressed that this will not only quicken the registration process but also curb the fraudulent use of input tax credits through fake invoices.

Future agenda

Apart from the GST exemption for hostel accommodation outside the campuses of educational institutions, which Ms. Sitharaman said would benefit students across India, especially those from rural areas, the Council also clarified the GST rates on several items. For instance, it was clarified that a number of products, including milk cans, sprinklers, carton boxes, and solar cookers, will now attract 12% GST, irrespective of use, material, or energy source.

At its next meeting, which Ms. Sitharaman said is likely after the Budget Session of Parliament, the Council will take up pending procedural issues on its agenda as well as broader challenges. These include the rationalisation of GST rates, which a ministerial group is tasked with, and the future of the GST Compensation Cess after its expiry in March 2026.

Upkeep time

Away from waves: Workers engage in maintenance and repair of deep-sea fishing vessels at a harbour in Mangaluru on Saturday. The annual fishing ban has been in effect from June 1 to July 31 in coastal Karnataka. H.S. MANJUNATH

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

The INDIA bloc leaders, who are part of a panel to assist pro tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab in administering oath to newly elected Lok Sabha members, will not be performing their duties, a senior Opposition leader said on Saturday. This could signal an escalation of tensions between the government and the INDIA bloc.

The Congress’s Kodikunnil Suresh, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s T.R. Baalu, and Sudip Bandopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress were part of the panel, but they will skip their duties to protest against the Centre’s decision to ignore Mr. Suresh despite his being the senior-most MP, sources said. Two other senior MPs — BJP leaders Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste — are also on the panel to assist the pro tem Speaker.

“By all convention and tradition, Kodikunnil Suresh should have been the pro tem Speaker,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told The Hindu in an interview.

While Mr. Mahtab has been elected for seven consecutive terms, the Congress MP from Kerala is an eight-term member. However, Mr. Suresh was not a member of the Lok Sabha in 1998 and 2004, and therefore, did not have an uninterrupted tenure in the House.

Southern Railway suspends 29 loco pilots for taking 46-hour ‘rest’

S. Vijay Kumar

CHENNAI

Trade unions say the staffers faced disciplinary action for taking mandatory rest along with weekly off as part of a protest from June 1; Railway official says there is no provision for such a rest period; employee union threatens to intensify stir

The loco pilots launched a protest on June 1 by taking 16-hour rest along with their weekly offs. File photoANIL KUMAR SASTRY

In an unprecedented move, Southern Railway has suspended at least 29 loco pilots and assistant loco pilots, and initiated disciplinary action against many others for taking a 46-hour break from duty.

Trade unions say the action was taken after the loco pilots took the mandatory 16-hour rest on return from outstation trip, along with their weekly off or periodic rest of 30 hours.

After several protests and representations demanding implementation of the rest schedule as per rules went unheeded, the loco pilots launched a protest on June 1, by availing headquarters rest (16 hours), along with their weekly off (30 hours).

Though a majority of the suspensions were revoked in a few days pending disciplinary action, the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) says the agitation would be intensified.

The suspension of loco pilots comes at a time when there are thousands of vacancies in the safety categories, especially of loco pilots, which forced the Railways to notify recruitment of 18,799 posts of assistant loco pilots, more so, against the backdrop of increasing train accidents.

The AILRSA has been alleging that the loco pilots were being deployed for long working hours without adequate rest as per rules, which was leading to stress and fatigue resulting in incidents such as overshooting of signals.

“There were clear-cut orders by the Ministry of Labour in 2001 and the Karnataka High Court in 2012 that we are entitled to headquarters rest (16 hours) and periodic rest (30 hours),” said AILRSA central organising secretary V. Balachandran.

Besides suspension, many locopilots were transferred or given minor punishments for taking part.

Railway’s response

Southern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer M. Senthamil Selvan said the loco pilots were rostered for eight hours of duty followed by eight hours of rest on outstation duty or 16 hours of rest at home station as per rules.

They were also given 30 hours of rest at home station, four times a month.

Asked if it was true that the staff had not been allowed to take 46 hours of rest despite a court order, Mr. Selvam said there was no provision to give 16+30 hours of rest.

BSF to recalibrate deployment along Pakistan border in Jammu in the wake of terror strikes

Vijaita Singh

NEW DELHI

The 192-km International Border in Jammu is secured by the BSF, while the 740-km Line of Control is under Army control.ANI

The Border Security Force (BSF) is likely to “recalibrate deployment” along the Pakistan border in Jammu, in the wake of at least four terror strikes in the past few weeks.

In just four days, between June 9 and June 12, 10 people — including a jawan from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) — were killed in militant attacks in Reasi, Doda, and Kathua districts.

Barring two unidentified terrorists who were killed in Kathua after residents alerted the police, none of the militants involved in the other three attacks have been apprehended so far.

On June 19, the Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested Hakam Din, 45, a resident who allegedly harboured the terrorists who attacked a bus carrying pilgrims in Reasi.

A senior government official told The Hindu that though it had not yet been established how the terrorists entered India, it has been decided to place additional Quick Reaction Teams and surveillance tools along the Jammu border to keep a close watch on the vulnerable sections.

High alert

“We will have to pull personnel from other sectors and deploy along Jammu. Preparations are under way. Though there is heightened alert, a recalibration of available strength and their deployment is under process. It has to be a combination of technology and human intelligence,” the official said.

An analysis of the incidents found that terrorists first struck a bus carrying pilgrims in Reasi on June 9. The next attack happened 89 km away at Kathua on June 11 at 7.30 p.m., when terrorists opened fire at villagers on being refused water. Hours later, around 2 a.m. on June 12, another attack was reported 56 km away at Chattargala in Doda, when terrorists were engaged by a joint patrol of the Army and police. This was followed by the fourth attack, around 8.20 p.m. the same day, when an encounter took place between terrorists and security forces, around 24 km away at Kota Top, Gandoh in Doda.

The 192-km International Border in Jammu is secured by the BSF, while the 740-km Line of Control — the effective border in the Kashmir valley and parts of Jammu — is under the operational control of the Army.

As reported earlier, since mid-2021, there has been an increase in targeted terror activities and infiltration into the Chenab Valley, comprising the Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban districts, and the Pir Panjal region, comprising the Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu, compared with the Kashmir valley.

Officials said that in previous major terror attacks in the region as well, the terrorists were yet to be identified.

JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna questioned on sexual abuse charge

The Hindu Bureau

Shivamogga

Suraj Revanna PRAKASH HASSAN

The police took Janata Dal(S) MLC Suraj Revanna to the Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime police station in Hassan district of Karnataka on Saturday within minutes of a complaint being filed against him at Holenarsipur for allegedly sexually abusing a man, who claimed to be a party worker.

It is said that the officers are inquiring into the complaint and are collecting evidence related to the allegations against him, which include abuse and threat of murder.

Deve Gowda’s grandson

Earlier, the Holenarsipur Rural police registered a case based on the complaint filed by the 27-year-old party worker.

The police registered the case against Mr. Suraj under Sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. A case has also been filed against Mr. Suraj’s associate Shivakumar.

Mr. Suraj is the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and son of former Karnataka Minister H.D. Revanna.

His brother, Prajwal Revanna, is already facing accusations of sexually harassing women and is in the custody of an SIT (Special Investigation Team).

‘Political conspiracy’

Mr. Suraj described the incident as a “political conspiracy” and that investigation would reveal the truth.

On Friday, Mr. Shivakumar filed a complaint with the police, alleging that the party worker sought money from Mr. Suraj and threatened that he would defame the MLC by making allegations of sexual abuse.

In his complaint lodged on Saturday, the alleged victim said the MLC had asked him to visit his farmhouse at Gannikada in Holenarsipur taluk on June 16 evening. As he went there, the legislator allegedly harassed him sexually.

The complainant claimed that during the recent Lok Sabha election, he had worked for Mr. Prajwal. The MLC had appreciated his work and shared his number, assuring him of “a settled life” ahead, the victim alleged.

He alleged that after the incident, the MLC reminded him of his political clout. Mr. Suraj also threatened him with dire consequences and said his family will be eliminated if he complained.

As per the complaint, Mr. Shivakumar told the victim that the MLC was ready to pay around ₹5 crore and asked him not to complain.

Later, Mr. Shivakumar had also threatened the victim that a complaint would be filed against him on charges of extortion and blackmail.

Season opener

Fiery contest: Snakeboats competing in the Moolam boat race on Pampa river at Champakulam in Kuttanad on Saturday. The Moolam race will be followed by several races across the region and other parts of Kerala in the coming months. SURESH ALLEPPEY

BJP should not avenge Ayodhya defeat by targeting saints and sages: Akhilesh

The Hindu Bureau

Lucknow

Akhilesh Yadav ANI

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should not take revenge for its defeat in Ayodhya by targeting the saints and sages of the temple city. He added that the security of respected saints should be reviewed and provided security.

The statement comes after Ayodhya’s Hanuman Garhi temple’s mahant Raju Das’s gunman, provided by the administration, was removed amid reports of clashes between Ayodhya District Magistrate Nitish Kumar and Mr. Das. The administration cited past criminal records of the saint for the action.

“Uttar Pradesh BJP should not take revenge for its defeat from the saints and sages of Ayodhya. Security of those who are truly gentlemen should be reviewed and provided safety,” Mr. Yadav wrote on X.

Mr. Das, who remained critical of local administration, had a heated verbal exchange with Mr. Kumar in the presence of two Uttar Pradesh Ministers, allegedly leading to the removal of a gunman. Afterwards, the mahant cautioned the administration that Ayodhya district officials would be responsible if any harm happened to him.

“If anything happens with me, the local administration will be responsible as they took away the gunman,” Mr. Das told reporters.

YSRCP office razed in A.P., party cries foul

The Hindu Bureau

GUNTUR

Brought to ground: The officials demolishing the YSRCP office building in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. G.N. RAO

An under-construction office building of the YSRCP, allegedly occupying 870.4 square metres illegally within the boat yard compound near the Prakasam barrage at Sitanagaram in Guntur, was demolished by officials of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority on Saturday.

The YSRCP had earlier filed a writ petition in the A.P. High Court and sought issuance of orders to the State government, the APCRDA and the MTMC not to take any coercive action against the structure until the case hearing was completed.

“The court had ordered a halt to any demolition activity. However, the CRDA proceeded with the demolition,” the party said.

Former

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

B. Muralidhar Reddy

B. Muralidhar Reddy, who worked for nearly three decades in The Hindu’s Delhi Bureau and served as the newspaper’s Pakistan and Sri Lanka correspondent, passed away at a city hospital on Saturday night after battling multiple health complications.

A widely respected journalist, Mr. Reddy, 64, started off as a city reporter when The Hindu launched its Delhi edition in the 1980s. As a political correspondent, he covered many major events for the newspaper. He also reported the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992.

In 2000, The Hindu posted him to Islamabad as its Pakistan correspondent and then to Colombo as the newspaper’s Sri Lanka correspondent. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Mr. Reddy had also worked with Mainstream and National Herald.

Lucknow, Prayagraj commissioners of police transferred

The Hindu Bureau

Lucknow

In a major bureaucratic reshuffle after the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday transferred the Commissioners of Police of Lucknow and Prayagraj.

Additionally, 14 other Indian Police Service (IPS) officers have also been transferred.

S.B. Shiradkar, an IPS officer of 1993 batch holding the post of Lucknow Commissioner of Police, is transferred as Additional Director-General of Police, Lucknow zone. Amrendra K. Sengar, an IPS officer of the 1995 batch, takes over as the Lucknow Police Commissioner.

Tarun Gauba, an IPS officer of the 2001 batch, is posted as the Prayagraj Police Commissioner, with the incumbent Ramit Sharma, an IPS officer of the 1999 batch, made ADGP, Bareilly zone.

In other key transfers, Prashant Kumar, Inspector General (IG), has been made IG, Lucknow Range.

The IPS officers who have been transferred include B.D. Paulson, Rajesh Dwivedi, Yamuna Prasad, Prem Chandra Meena, Prakash D., J.N. Singh, L.V. Antony, Dev Kumar, Vidya Sagar Mishra, Binod Kumar Singh, K. Satya Narayan, and Raghubeer Lal.

Probe into 1985 Kanishka tragedy still active: Canada

Press Trust of India

Ottawa

Investigations into the bombing of Air India Flight 182 remain “active and ongoing”, the Canadian police have said, ahead of the deadly bombing’s 39th anniversary memorial.

The Montreal-New Delhi Air India ‘Kanishka’ Flight 182 exploded 45 minutes before it was to have landed at London’s Heathrow Airport on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on board, most of them Canadians of Indian descent. The bombing was said to have been executed by Sikh militants in retaliation for ‘Operation Bluestar’ undertaken by the Indian Army in 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner David Teboul called the bombing the “greatest terror-related loss of life involving and affecting Canadians” in the country’s history as he offered “deepest sympathies, understanding and support to the families of the victims”. He said the trauma it caused had impacted generations. “We must never forget those innocent lives lost to this tragedy and other acts of terrorism,” he said.

India’s consulates in Vancouver and Toronto have planned a memorial service to mark the anniversary of the bombing.

Dalit man’s death in custody; BSP seeks action

Mayank Kumar

Lucknow

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Saturday demanded strict action against the police for the death of a Dalit man who was lodged in the Firozabad district jail. Akash, 25, was in judicial custody in connection with a theft case and died in a hospital on Friday. “The government should take strict action against the guilty police personnel and provide full help to the victim’s family,” she wrote on X.

The police have lodged an FIR against 45 named and 50 unidentified accused for rioting over the death of Akash.

‘If Centre adopts bulldozer tactics in House, it will be countered’

Sandeep Phukan

New Delhi

NDA and INDIA parties are almost evenly matched; the 2024 mandate is a personal, political and moral defeat of Modi, says the Congress leader ; in the 18th Lok Sabha, the Opposition will have to be heard, Bills have to be debated and sent to the standing committees for deliberations, says the party’s Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha, adding that Centre cannot push through Bills by suspending MPs

As the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha gets under way on Monday, Congress strategist Jairam Ramesh, who is the party’s Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha, talks about the Opposition’s plans. Edited excerpts:

The Congress is upset over Kodikunnil Suresh not being made the pro tem Speaker. How do you see this development. Do you see this as a sign of confrontation?

I think it’s a continuation of the bulldozer mentality. I don’t think that the appointment of Kiren Rijiju [as Parliamentary Affairs Minister], whom I know very well and is a good personal friend, inspire confidence that there will be a different way of dealing with Parliament. And the pro tem Speaker issue certainly has given further evidence. By all convention and tradition, Kodikunnil Suresh should have been the pro tem Speaker. There were only two legitimate claimants for this post: Kodikunnil Suresh and the other one is Virendra Kumar. And since Mr. Kumar is a Union Minister, therefore, it should have been Mr. Suresh. I think it is going to be the same bulldozing approach that they have had in last 10 years.

But now the Opposition numbers are quite different in this Lok Sabha.

One hundred per cent. The Opposition is not going to take it lying down. I don’t think that the Congress and the INDIA parties are going to allow this time. It cannot be the standard Modi-Shah [Prime Minister Narendra Modi-Home Minister Amit Shah] way of bulldozer tactics. The NDA and the INDIA group are almost evenly matched. We have the numbers and we know that the 2024 mandate has been a personal, political and moral defeat of a non-biological PM. That is the political reality.

This almost sounds like a threat, as if saying “we will not allow the House to function if you don’t agree to our demands”.

No, no. We have to be heard, Bills have to be debated and sent to the standing committees for further deliberations and so on. You cannot push through like the three criminal justice Bills, suspending 145 MPs from both Houses.

Take the case of relocating the statues of Gandhiji and Dr. Ambedkar. There is a committee on statues and portraits, which was not even constituted in the 17th Lok Sabha. All the statues, without any consultation, have been relocated and given some grandiose name called Prerna Sthal.

These are all signals that the bulldozing tactics, my way or Mr. Modi’s highway approach and not Nitin Gadkari’s.

If they want to persist with it, well they are now going to be met with a counter bulldozer.

What are your main issues for this special session of Parliament?

This is a short session as the first two days will be oath taking, the third day will be Speaker’s election and the fourth day will be the President’s Address. But there are very urgent issues. The whole issue of NEET [National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test] is a very urgent issue. On July 1, the three laws that were enacted in the previous session of Parliament to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure come into effect. These were controversial and opposed tooth and nail, but they were passed when 145 MPs had been suspended from both Houses of Parliament. These three draconian laws were passed in a most undemocratic and brazen manner.

Will the INDIA bloc consider putting up a candidate to contest the Speaker’s election if the government doesn’t offer the Deputy Speaker’s position to the Opposition?

These are issues on which ball-by-ball commentaries cannot be given. What happens will be subject to discussion, negotiations amongst the INDIA group leaders. Mr. [Congress President Mallikarjun] Kharge, who has generally been coordinating the meeting of leaders and floor leaders, will be meeting from June 24 onwards.

We had the last five years, the 17th Lok Sabha was the only Lok Sabha in history to function without a Deputy Speaker. In the 15th Lok Sabha [under Congress-led UPA II], Karia Munda, who was from the BJP, held the post. Even in the 16th Lok Sabha, there was a Deputy Speaker.

All I will say is that the BJP and Mr. Modi seems to be in a mood to continue with his bulldozer tactics. This only strengthens our resolve and our determination to confront him far more forcibly this time than we did in the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha.

What about the Leader of the Opposition’s post in the Lok Sabha? There is still no clarity if Rahul Gandhi will take up this role?

There is no constitutional requirement to announce the LoP immediately. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met and requested Mr. Rahul Gandhi to take over the position of the Leader of the Opposition. He is mindful of the sentiments of the members of the CWC. So, I think a decision on this will be taken by him very soon.

But usually the convention is that the LoP opens the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address.

I think in the next couple of days, it should get decided. But the sentiment of the Congress MPs is very clear. The sentiment of the INDIA parties is also very clear, if you see the warmth and the way they greeted Mr. Gandhi on his 54th birthday on the 19th June.

So, yeah the party MPs, the leaders have all expressed their views. And I am sure Mr. Gandhi is weighing all these factors and will take a decision soon.

Six arrested in Jharkhand in NEET case; Mukhiya kingpin, says EOU

The Hindu Bureau

Patna

Investigators have found that a partially burnt question paper recovered from a flat owned by one of the accused in Patna was allocated to a test centre in Hazaribagh; some 25 candidates were given question paper at a school in Bihar capital

United stance: National Students’ Union of India activists protest over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG entrance exam results, at Doranda College in Ranchi. ANIANI

The Bihar Police arrested six people from Deoghar in Jharkhand on Friday night in connection with the leak of question paper of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to undergraduate medical programmes. A team led by officials of the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar brought the six to Patna for questioning.

The Deoghar police said five Nalanda residents, Paramjit Singh, Baldev Kumar, Prashant Kumar, Ajit Kumar, and Rajiv Kumar, and one Panku Kumar were arrested from a house near the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the town.

Following a tip-off, another team of the Bihar Police visited Oasis School in Hazaribagh to record the statements of the examination controller and teachers.

In Hazaribagh, NEET was conducted in this school, apart from Vivekanand School, Xavier School, and DAV School.

Sent by courier

In Ranchi, the Bihar Police searched the premises of a courier agency at Kokar Chowk. Police officials said the question papers were sent to a few people in other States by courier. The police checked CCTV footage from the agency’s office and recorded statements of its employees.

A senior EOU official told The Hindu that the police had found that a partially burnt question paper it had recovered from a flat belonging to one of the accused in Patna was allocated to a NEET centre in Hazaribagh.

“We wanted to tally the burnt paper with the real question paper and requested the National Testing Agency to share the question papers. After tallying, we have come to know that the question paper series was allocated to a centre in Hazaribagh,” the official said.

The EOU may conduct brain mapping and narco-analysis tests on the accused, the official said.

The Jharkhand connection emerged after the name of Sanjeev Mukhiya, believed to be the kingpin of the paper leak, surfaced. Mr. Mukhiya first received the NEET question papers and answer sheets from an unknown “professor” on his mobile phone, an EOU official said.

Serial offender

For the past 20 years, Mr. Mukhiya, a resident of Nagarnausa village in Nalanda district of Bihar, have been involved in paper leaks. His son, Shiv Kumar, a doctor, is currently in jail in another case of paper leak.

Mr. Mukhiya was arrested for leaking the paper of the constable recruitment exam conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission in 2016. A former Class 4 government employee, he became a panchayat head and has considerable money and muscle power, the official said.

His wife, Mamta Devi, was defeated in the 2020 Assembly election as a candidate of the undivided Lok Janshakti Party in the Harnaut constituency.

“We have got the information that Sanjeev Mukhiya, alias Lootan, is the person who first received the question paper and the answer sheets on his mobile from an unknown professor. He is absconding and efforts are on to catch him,” the EOU official said.

Paper distribution

The official said on the night of May 4, 20 to 25 candidates had gathered at a play school in the Khemnichak locality of Patna where the NEET questions and answer sheets were distributed by Mukhiya. MBBS students from Patna and Ranchi were present as “solvers”. “The answer sheets were given to those students who had already paid money,” the official said.

Amit Anand and Nitish Kumar, who have been arrested by the EOU along with Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, could have been working for Mr. Mukhiya, the official said.

On Saturday, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav asked the EOU to catch Mukhiya at the earliest, and threatened to release photographs and other documents about the accused that may “embarrass” the Bihar government.

OBC activists in Maharashtra suspend fast after 10 days

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI

Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare with Chhagan Bhujbal at the protest site in Jalna on Saturday.Special Arrangement

OBC quota activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare on Saturday ended their hunger strike in protest against attempts to eat into the existing reservation pie, after meeting a delegation from the Maharashtra government. They warned the Eknath Shinde government that the protest would resume if their demands were not met.

The protest demanding that the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota remain intact ran as a counter to pro-Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s demand for Maratha reservation under the OBC category.

“We are temporarily suspending our protest. If our demands are not met, we will resume it,” Mr. Hake said from the protest site in Jalna district’s Wadigodri village.

He insisted that a “white paper” be issued to address objections to the government’s draft notification, which proposes issuing Kunbi certificates to Marathas who have already established their Kunbi status. Kunbis are an agrarian OBC community. This notification proposes granting Kunbi certificates to sage-soyare (relatives) of Marathas who have already confirmed their Kunbi status.

The delegation, comprising 12 members including Ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Atul Save, Girish Mahajan, Dhananjay Munde and Uday Samant, and Gopichand Padalkar, MLA, assured Mr. Hake and Mr. Waghmare of their inclusion in an all-party meeting on June 29 to discuss the quota issue.

Aim of reservation

Mr. Bhujbal affirmed that the OBC quota would remain untouched, and that action would be taken against the issuance of fake Kunbi certificates to some Marathas.

He said the Maratha community should seek separate reservations in government jobs and education, rather than claiming OBC status, stressing that reservation aims to address social backwardness, not poverty.

He also praised his Cabinet colleague and BJP leader Girish Mahajan for asserting that the draft notification concerning sage-soyare lacked legal standing.

Earlier in the day in Beed, OBC members blocked the Ahmednagar Highway by setting tires on fire.

They took to the streets insisting that their reservation rights remain intact.

Enforcement of the anti-paper leak law a ‘whitewash’: Kharge

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

Mallikarjun KhargeANI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday termed the enforcement of the anti-paper leak law a “whitewash”, and asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could not evade its responsibility in “promoting corruption and education mafia”.

The Centre on Friday night operationalised the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations and entails provisions for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to ₹1 crore for offenders.

In a post on X, the Congress president said 70 question papers were leaked in the past seven years, and sought to know why the BJP had taken no action so far.

“No matter how much effort BJP makes in the NEET scam, it cannot escape its responsibility in promoting fraud, corruption and education mafia,” Mr. Kharge said.

He said the law against paper leaks got the President’s assent on February 13, but was notified only on Friday night.

“When the Education Minister was asked about it in the press conference, he had said the law was notified... Why did the Education Minister lie that the law has been notified when the Ministry of Law and Justice had yet to frame the rules,” Mr. Kharge asked.

He said that on NEET too, the Supreme Court has said if there has been even 0.001% fraud, then action should be taken.

“Why is the Modi government not conducting the exam again even though the Education Minister has admitted to the irregularities?” Mr. Kharge asked.

Suspect questioned

The CBI on Saturday questioned a man in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh in connection with the UGC-NET paper leak case, officials said.

The suspect allegedly posted a portion of the paper on Telegram Messenger. A team of the CBI Anti-Corruption branch questioned the person, whose identity is yet to be disclosed.

The Central agency registered an FIR into the UGC-NET paper leak case on June 20 against unidentified people.

(With inputs from Mayank Kumar in Lucknow)

NTA to hold NEET re-test in seven centres today

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

NEET-UG candidates who were given grace marks for loss of time during the May 5 test can appear for a re-test in seven centres on Sunday. Six of the centres are new.

The Supreme Court has ruled that for those among the 1,563 candidates who opt to take the re-test, the marks in the re-test would be taken as the result, and their marks minus the grace marks in the May 5 test would be discarded.

The re-test is being conducted after the National Testing Agency cancelled the scorecards of these students who were granted compensatory marks for loss of time due to a delay in six centres in Meghalaya, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Chandigarh. Officials from the National Testing Agency and Education Ministry will be present at the test centres.

An NTA notification on June 13 said the re-test would be conducted between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on June 23. The tentative result date is June 30. On June 13, the SC recorded the Union government’s submission that the scorecards of the candidates granted compensatory marks would be cancelled. Aspirants have been protesting all over the country against allegations of paper leaks and marks inflation.

(With PTI inputs)

Water crisis: Atishi’s fast enters day two

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Delhi Water Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi’s hunger strike seeking the State’s “rightful” share of water from Haryana entered the second day on Saturday. The Minister has accused the neighbouring BJP-ruled State government of curbing the water supply to the Capital by over 100 million gallons per day (MGD), depriving 28 lakh people of their daily share of water.

“I will sit on the satyagraha until the Haryana government provides water to the people of Delhi. This hunger strike will continue till 28 lakh people of Delhi get water from Haryana,” the AAP leader said from the protest site in south-east Delhi’s Bhogal.

The BJP held a counter-protest in Okhla, with the party’s former Lok Sabha member from Delhi Ramesh Bidhuri blaming the AAP government for the water crisis.

New criminal law Bill has no Section on rape of men, transgender people

Alisha Dutta

NEW DELHI

With the non-inclusion of a Section 377 equivalent in BNS, rape of men and transgender persons will become a non-offence post July 1 Anand Grover senior lawyer

The suicide of a 23-year-old man, hours after he was gang-raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh, has shed light on the soon-to-be implemented Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) that does not have any Section that deals with rape of men and transgender persons.

On June 14, the U.P. Police filed a first information report (FIR) against four persons for allegedly raping the man at a hotel in the Chiluatal area of Gorakhpur district. While the police booked the four accused under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that deals with rape of a man, transgender person or an animal, alongside Sections dealing with extortion, theft, criminal intimidation, causing grievous hurt and criminal conspiracy, the case opened a debate on the future of such cases in the absence of Section 377 or its equivalent in the new code.

Speaking to The Hindu, advocate Karuna Nundy said that in the landmark Supreme Court judgment of Navtej Johar vs the Union of India, the Supreme Court had “read down” Section 377, and not “struck down”, implying that consensual sex between people of the same gender and transgender persons was no longer punitive, but the Section was retained since it was the only provision that covered the rape of men, transpersons and animals.

“With the striking down of Section 377 from the BNS, and with no alternative law in place, men or transgender persons who rape other men, transgender persons or animals will not be penalised for rape,” Ms. Nundy said.

Expressing concern over the future of justice in such cases, senior lawyer Anand Grover said that in the garb of “decolonising criminal laws”, the government removed Section 377 from the BNS Bill, which will reduce severity of the sentence once the crime is proven.

“In India, rape laws are not gender-neutral. Section 376 of the IPC only deals with rape against women and with the non-inclusion of a Section 377 equivalent in the BNS, rape of men and transgender persons will become a non-offence post July 1,” said senior lawyer Anand Grover. In such cases, only Sections related to grievous assault can be invoked, which have far less legal consequences than Sections related to rape, he added.

Cases registered before July 1, under Section 377, will continue to be governed by the IPC while those filed after that will not. “Two legal systems will run parallel and cases of the same nature will have different punitive consequences,” he warned.

Further, Supreme Court advocate Yashaswi S.K. Chocksey said, “When Section 377 is invoked, the intensity with which the case is treated is much higher when compared with a case where Sections related to grievous hurt are invoked. It’s reflected in the urgency of arrests or the ease of getting bail. In the latter case, if the accused is not arrested, he can tamper with evidence and impact the course of investigation.”

A senior official of the Delhi Police, who attended training sessions for the BNS, told The Hindu that in none of the training sessions were they instructed on how to deal with cases of rape of men and transgender persons.

Ms. Nundy also said that the non-inclusion of Section 377 would also imply that men who have committed anal rapes of their wives would also not face criminal consequences if the new code is not amended.

Mr. Grover said the non-inclusion would make animals especially vulnerable since those who rape them will go scot-free.

Those in distress can reach out to the 24x7 helpline: KIRAN 1800-599-0019

Erred in not crediting ICMR as co-inventor of Covaxin, admits Bharat Biotech

Jacob Koshy

NEW DELHI

ICMR’s role in the development of Covaxin was widely publicised by the government.

Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), the manufacturer of India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, said it had made an “inadvertent mistake” in not including scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as ‘co-inventors’ in patent applications filed in India and abroad to protect the intellectual property rights around the vaccine.

It would include their names in fresh filings for patent purposes, the Hyderabad-based firm said in a statement late on Saturday.

“BBIL has great respect for ICMR and is thankful to ICMR for their continuous support on various projects. Therefore, as soon as this inadvertent mistake was noticed, BBIL has already started the process to rectify it by including ICMR as co-owner of the patent applications for Covid-19 vaccine. Necessary legal documents are being prepared for it and BBIL will file those documents in the Patent office as soon as those are ready and signed,” the company said.

Response after report

The statement came on the day The Hindu reported, citing patent-linked documents, of the ICMR being uncredited as inventors.

This was despite a statement by the Health Ministry in Parliament that the intellectual property rights of Covaxin were “jointly owned” by ICMR and BBIL. Other than that, ICMR’s role in the development of vaccine was widely publicised by the government as well as ICMR’s own leadership through multiple channels during the pandemic.

‘In a rush’

By way of explanation, the company, in its press statement, said like other pharmaceutical companies working on Covid vaccines, it was faced with multiple challenges and “all organisations were in a rush” to develop vaccines and file the appropriate patents, prior to competitors or data being published in journals.

Bharat Biotech said it did not have “access” to its own agreement with ICMR that governed the terms of engagement between both entities regarding Covaxin as this was a “confidential document”.

The Hindu reached out to BBIL to clarify this point but did not get a response till the time of going to press.

“Bharat Biotech’s Covid vaccine application was filed in above circumstances and since BBIL-ICMR agreement copy, being a confidential document, was not accessible. Hence ICMR was not included in the original application. Though this was purely unintentional, such mistakes are not uncommon for the Patent office therefore Patent Law provides provisions to rectify such mistakes,” the statement said.

A day earlier, BBIL gave a different explanation to The Hindu on omitting ICMR’s name. BBIL had filed a patent for the “process” governing the manufacture of Covaxin. Moreover, the development of Covaxin was “fully funded” by Bharat Biotech and the ICMR had provided the strain and conducted clinical trials, a spokesperson reasoned in an email.

First arrest made in ‘lynching’ of 3 cattle transporters in Arang

Shubhomoy Sikdar

RAIPUR

Harsh Mishra sent to judicial custody ; police say he did not have links to any right-wing organisation or previous involvement in any such crime

Night of attack: The truck used to transport cattle when the lynching occurred at Arang in Chhattisgarh.Special Arrangement

The Raipur police on Saturday made the first arrest in connection with the ‘lynching’ of three cattle transporters from Uttar Pradesh in Arang, on the outskirts of Raipur. Harsh Mishra, 23, was part of the group that had allegedly assaulted the men and chased them, after which the three were found lying below the Mahanadi bridge in the early hours of June 7.

Additional Superintendent (Raipur Rural) Kirtan Rathore confirmed the arrest, and said that Mr. Mishra, a resident of Raipur, worked in a cement factory. A police statement added that fearing his arrest, Mr. Mishra had been hiding in a house belonging to a friend in Brosi, Durg district, and had locked the room from outside to mislead investigators.

Asked how Mr. Mishra was identified, Mr. Rathore said that he was among those who chased the truck in which the trio was travelling and local inquiries as well as phone location had established his presence at the spot.

Asked if the police had established how many people had been involved in the attack, Mr. Rathore replied in the negative and said they were verifying the different names that had cropped up during the investigation.

He also said that Mr. Mishra had no previous involvement in any such crime nor was he linked to any right-wing organisation, an allegation Qureshi’s family had levelled repeatedly.

While family members of the three deceased men — Saddam Qureshi and his cousin Chand Miya Khan both from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, and Guddu Khan, 35, from Shamli district — said that they had been chased down and assaulted by a mob, the police continued to remain tight-lipped about the exact sequence of events of the night. With Qureshi succumbing to his injuries on June 18, the investigations had hit a fresh roadblock, even as the police had maintained all along that they were checking video footage.

Meanwhile, with police officials saying Mr. Mishra’s custody was not required yet, he was remanded to judicial custody after being produced before a Magistrate court on Saturday.

Stringent regulations could hinder growth of AI in India: experts

Soibam Rocky Singh

New Delhi

At present, India does not have specific laws addressing generative AI.istockscyther5

As India grapples with the regulatory landscape for artificial intelligence (AI), a sector which has seen rapid development in recent years, experts opine that strict regulations could stifle the country’s burgeoning AI-driven economy.

Currently, India does not have specific laws directly addressing generative AI, such as deepfakes. It has instead introduced a series of advisories and guidelines to encourage the responsible development and implementation of AI technologies.

After a “deepfake” video clip of actor Rashmika Mandanna went viral on social media platforms last year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) asked social media intermediaries to take such content down within 36 hours, a requirement outlined in the IT Rules, 2021.

Plea in court

In December last year, the Delhi High Court asked the Centre to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL) plea against the unregulated use of AI and deepfakes.

Deepfake videos utilise AI to swap the likeness of a person in an existing video with someone else’s. Recently, concerns have grown around deepfake technology, as it can produce highly realistic fake videos that may be misused for spreading misinformation, creating fake news, or generating false narratives.

The petition said while technological development was happening by leaps and bounds, the law was moving at a snail’s pace.

While the High Court is scheduled to hear the petition in July, the MeitY on March 1 issued an advisory saying that all generative AI products, such as large language models on the lines of ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, would have to be made available “with [the] explicit permission of the Government of India” if they are “under-testing/ unreliable”.

However, after the advisory came under criticism from experts for being ambiguous, on March 15, 2024, MeitY issued a fresh advisory, dropping the requirement of obtaining “explicit permission” from the government.

The latest advisory said under-tested or unreliable AI products should be labelled with a disclaimer indicating that outputs generated by such products may be unreliable.

Jaijit Bhattacharya, president, Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research (C-DEP), said the advisory is, largely, about following the extant regulations, with an additional qualifier that all AI-generated content that can potentially cause disinformation should be clearly labelled as AI generated. “This advisory does not really hinder the industry,” he said.

Mishi Choudhary, founder of Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), suggested the government “should be ready to update existing laws to protect public interest and [guard against] future harm associated with the technology”.

Programme to fast-track traveller immigration launched at IGI airport

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Fast Track Immigration Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Saturday.

The initiative, designed for faster, smoother and safer immigration clearance, is likely to ease congestion at immigration counters. Other than New Delhi, the initiative was launched in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Ahmedabad airports in the first phase.

The Union Home Ministry said the programme would run on e-gates or automated border gates that would minimise human intervention in the immigration clearance process and would be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, Indian citizens and OCI cardholders will be covered, and foreign travellers will be included in the second phase.

The FTI-TTP will be implemented through an online portal and the Bureau of Immigration will be the nodal agency. To enroll in the scheme, the applicant has to register online on the portal with details and documents.

Under the process, as soon as the registered passenger reaches the e-gate, he/she will scan his/her boarding pass issued by the airlines at the e-gates to get the details of his/her flight.

The passport will be scanned and biometrics of the passenger will be authenticated at the e-gates. Once the identity of the passenger is established and biometric authentication is done, the e-gate will open and immigration clearance will be deemed to have been granted.

Another bridge collapses in Bihar; no casualties reported

Within a week, another bridge has collapsed in the Daraunda area of Siwan district in Bihar on Saturday. According to the local people, the bridge was 40 years old and collapsed due to soil erosion. As in the previous time, video of the bridge collapsing has been captured by villagers. The bridge had been connecting Patedhi Bazaar in Siwan and the Ramgarh panchayat in Darbhanga district. On Tuesday, a portion of an under-construction bridge that cost ₹12 crore had collapsed in Araria. The 100-metre bridge over the Gandak canal in the Maharajganj sub-division of Ramgarh panchayat collapsed early in the morning. No casualties have been reported.

Salman firing case: police trace new links to Bishnoi

In a major development in the case of gunfire in front of actor Salman Khan’s residence on April 14, the Mumbai Police on Saturday said an audio recording had been retrieved from the phones of one of the arrested suspects. The forensic investigation of the audio revealed that it matched the voice of Anmol Bishnoi, the Canada-based brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The audio file revealed that Anmol had been in constant touch with the shooter, a police official said. The police believe that the shooting was planned and executed by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang which has made several attempts on the life of the actor in the past.

Taking U.P. lightly cost us badly: Axis My India chief

Blaming an error of judgment for his exit polls going off the mark, Axis My India chief Pradeep Gupta has said taking Uttar Pradesh lightly in the last three phases of the elections cost it dear. Axis My India’s exit poll predicted 361-400 seats for the BJP-led alliance in the Lok Sabha election, including 67 seats in Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 members to the Lower House of Parliament. But the actual results showed the BJP getting 240 seats, missing the majority mark, and the party winning just 33 seats in U.P. “This is a lesson to never ignore any State when it comes to exit polls,” Mr. Gupta said in an interaction in New Delhi. PTI

Police arrest two for burglary at actor Anupam Kher’s office

The Oshiwara police in Mumbai have arrested two men for burgling actor Anupam Kher’s office on Veera Desai Road in Andheri West on the night of June 19, Deputy Commissioner of Police Raj Tilak Roushan said on Saturday. The burglars broke into Anupam Kher’s office premises during the night, making away with cash and valuables amounting to approximately ₹4.15 lakh, officials said. Earlier this week, Mr. Kher took to his Instagram handle and provided details of the burglary. In the video that he uploaded, the actor said that money and some film negatives had been stolen from the property. The police have registered a case against the accused.

with temperatures nearing the 50 degrees Celsius mark, the water crisis has only added to the city’s summertime woes

Sweltering city: A mirage seen on Kartavya Path in New Delhi. The city experienced several heatwaves this year. SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

A stone’s throw from Chanakyapuri, Delhi’s Diplomatic enclave, and not far from the Prime Minister’s residence, there is a fight for survival every time a water tanker enters Sanjay Camp. Residents of the area wait with a plastic oil container, a paint bucket, a petrol container, a tub or just about anything in which they can carry water back to their homes. On the other end of the line, at Munak canal that supplies water to Delhi from neighbouring Haryana, the Delhi Police have deployed a team to patrol the area to ensure there is no theft of water.

The severe water crisis in the national capital weighed down by gruelling heat has called for rationing of water across the city. While the Aam Aadmi Party-run Delhi government has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-run Haryana government for not releasing Delhi’s share of water, the BJP has blamed AAP’s mismanagement of water for the crisis.

Between a sweltering summer with maximum temperatures nearing the 50 degrees Celsius mark in many parts of Delhi and an acute water shortage, hospitals have taken to setting aside beds for heat stroke victims. There has been a ban on work at construction sites between noon and 3 p.m., so that the labourers do not face the brunt of the afternoon sun. On June 19, the minimum temperature was recorded at 35.2 degrees Celsius, the highest in the month of June for the period between 1969 and 2014, according to the India Metrological Department. The weather department has also declared that the number of days with a heatwave has been the highest this June over the past 15 years.

The Delhi government has declared 14 heatwave-related deaths so far. However, data from the Zonal Integrated Police Network of the Union Ministry, tabulated by the Centre for Holistic Development, showed that 192 homeless people died from heat stroke in Delhi between June 11 and 19.

(Text by Jaideep Deo Bhanj)

An ancient centre of learning

Sreeparna Chakrabarty

Nalanda University Years-long efforts to re-establish the ‘Mahavihara’, known as the first international residential school in the world and home for learned monks and teachers, from Nagarjuna to Aryabhatta, came to fruition last week as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a specially-designed new campus in Bihar

“Learning is being here,” calls out the rejuvenated Nalanda University, situated besides the picturesque Rajgir hills, about 90 km east of Patna in Bihar. An apt description for a place which is known as the first international residential school in the world, established roughly 500 years before the famed Oxford University. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a new campus of the varsity on June 19.

Although its history goes back to the times of the Buddha, the ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’, as it was known then, was founded in the 5th century CE by Emperor Kumaragupta, and it flourished for the next 700 years, promoting a syncretic learning experience.

The first residential university of the world was sustained by the conscientiousness of the learned monks and teachers, which included masters such as Nagarjuna, Aryabhatta and Dharmakirti. At its peak, it is believed to have possessed 2,000 teachers and 10,000 students.

Chinese travellers Hiuen-Tsang, who wrote detailed accounts about the university and was a student there himself for five years, says in his memoirs that there was a rigorous oral entrance test for students who wished to enrol and only about 20% qualified. The subjects that were taught at Nalanda included Buddhist scriptures (of both Mahayana and Hinayana schools), philosophy, theology, metaphysics, logic, grammar, astronomy and medicine.

The varsity attracted scholars to its campus from places as distant as China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and South East Asia. Those scholars have left records about the ambience, architecture, and learning at Nalanda, as well as about the profound knowledge of Nalanda teachers. The most detailed accounts have come from Chinese scholars.

The ruins of the seat of learning were first rediscovered in 1812 by Scottish surveyor Francis Buchanan-Hamilton. Later, in 1861, it was officially identified as the ancient university by Sir Alexander Cunningham. It was in March 2006, while addressing a joint session of Bihar State Legislative Assembly, that the late former President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, proposed the revival of the ancient university.

The ruins of the university had till then been a mere fascinating subject for historians and archaeologists.

Concurring ideas came simultaneously seeking the re-establishment of Nalanda: from the Singapore government; the leaders of 16-member states of the East Asia Summit (EAS) in January 2007 in the Philippines; and from the fourth East Asia Summit, in October 2009 in Thailand, according to the University website. Parliament of India passed the Nalanda University Act, 2010, and in September 2014, the first batch of students were enrolled.

Master plan

In total, 17 countries other than India — Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam — have helped set up the University. Ambassadors of these countries attended the inauguration of the campus by Mr. Modi.

In 2013, the master plan for the campus, proposed by renowned architect B.V. Doshi’s Vastu Shilpa Consultants, was chosen after an international competition. Built at an initial cost of ₹1,800 crore ($210 million) and spread over 485 acres, it is a large carbon footprint-free Net-zero campus. The design and architectural elements of the new campus are inspired by the original monasteries and buildings at the Nalanda Mahavihara. It includes over 100 acres of water bodies (Kamal Sagar ponds), an on-grid solar plant, a domestic and drinking water treatment plant, and a water recycling plant as well as over 100 acres of green cover. The University also has a 250-capacity Yoga Center, a state-of -the-art auditorium, library, an archival centre and a fully equipped sports complex.

The university's Visitor is the President of India. The chancellor and chairperson of the governing board is Prof. Arvind Panagariya. The Vice-Chancellor is Prof. Abhay Kumar Singh. The varsity offers Post Graduate and Doctoral programmes in Buddhist studies, philosophy and comparative religions; languages and literature; ecology and environmental studies; sustainable development and environment; and, international relations and peace studies. At present, students from over 20 countries are enrolled in various courses.

The university admitted its first batch of 15 students in 2014 to the School of Historical Studies and the School of Ecology and Environmental Studies. Nobel prize winning economist Amartya Sen, who had been associated with the project since 2007, was the first Chancellor and the then President, Pranab Mukherjee, the first Visitor.

Beginning of the decline

The university has also seen its fair share of controversies since its inception, notably the appointment of Gopa Sabharwal, a former Reader in sociology at a Delhi University college, to the post of Vice-Chancellor. Prof. Sen later recused himself from continuing as the Chancellor for a second term. He was succeeded by former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, who also left citing concerns about autonomy and political interference in academic matters.

The other wrangle is the narrative surrounding the decline of the university. While the dominant account is that it was destroyed by Turkish invader Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1200 AD, some experts claim that the varsity saw a natural decay coinciding with the decline of Buddhism in the region. “The reality is that there is no historical source that talks about Bakhtiyar Khilji destroying Nalanda,” says Namit Arora, author of the book Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization.

“Forty years after Khilji’s campaign, a Persian account by Minhaj al-Siraj speaks of Khilji’s destruction of a monastery and the killing of its monks. But this was not Nalanda. Scholars have firmly identified this monastery as Odantapuri, 12 km from Nalanda. It was described as located inside a fortified city (now at Bihar Sharif), a political and economic centre, and hence deemed a military target. There is no record of Khilji ever going to Nalanda, which had little political or economic allure, nor was it a thriving centre of religion at the time,” he told The Hindu.

“For over a century, Nalanda had suffered and dwindled owing to funding cuts, followed by active persecution by the Brahminical kings of the Sena dynasty. Many of its monks had fled south long before Khilji. Rather than a dramatic final end, Nalanda continued its long phase of decay and depopulation for decades after Khilji’s death (1206). Nalanda was in fact still limping along in 1234-36, supported by king Buddasena of Bodh Gaya, when Dharmasvamin, a monk from Tibet studied there and wrote about it,” he added.

Demands have also been raised in both the Bihar Assembly and the Rajya Sabha to change the name of Baktiyarpur Railway station, which is just 60 km away from the varsity.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has, though, dismissed these demands, saying Bakhtiyarpur was his birthplace. “When an Act on Nalanda University was tabled in Parliament, an MP had said the destroyer of the famed varsity had stationed his camp in Bakhtiyarpur. Now, a man born in the same place is rebuilding Nalanda University,” Mr. Kumar said in 2021.

The ‘power star’ of politics

Sumit Bhattacharjee

Pawan Kalyan The actor-turned-politician’s bet to bring the BJP and the TDP into an alliance, along with his JSP, has paid off as the NDA swept the State in recent elections

In the 2024 elections in Andhra Pradesh, actor-turned politician Konidala Pawan Kalyan, the founding president of the Jana Sena Party, proved that he is no ‘run-of-the-mill’ politician.

He exhibited his tenacity to hang on to the game of politics and hit back at his critics by scoring a 100% strike rate. His party candidates won all the 21 Assembly seats that they had contested and also secured two Lok Sabha seats, with huge majority.

Mr. Kalyan announced with a bang that he is here to stay. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was so impressed by his show of strength that in one of the meetings he referred to Pawan as ‘Yeh Pawan nahi, yeh Andhee hai’ (’He is not wind’, as Pawan in Hindi means wind, ‘He is storm’).

One among the top matinee idols in Telugu cinema, Mr. Kalyan’s political career has been a chequered one ever since he launched his JSP on March 14, 2014. He faced setbacks, but he never quit, as his elder brother, K. Chiranjeevi, a mega star in Telugu cinema, had done. Chiranjeevi had launched his Praja Rajyam Party in 2008, but quit the game after his first outing and merged his party with the Congress.

Though Mr. Kalyan had launched his party in 2014, he did not contest that year’s General and Assembly elections. He lent support to the National Democratic Alliance of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The NDA came to power in the residual State of Andhra, immediately after the bifurcation of the State.

But in 2019, he quit the NDA and went to the polls in an alliance with Left parties. The JSP could win just one seat with Mr. Kalyan himself losing in the two seats he contested. But the actor-turned politician did not lose hope. This time, he joined the NDA and laid the ground work for the alliance’s victory in the State.

In an earlier interview to The Hindu, Mr. Kalyan had stated he was drawn towards politics from his college days and was deeply inspired by the tall leaders from the Left wing such as Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Charu Majumdar. His vision document, ‘Ism’, released at the launch of his party in 2014, appears to be rooted in Left ideology.

Considered to be the ‘power star’ in the Telugu film industry, Mr. Kalyan, after the 2019 setback, worked tirelessly to get to the masses. His targeted campaign to address the issues of Uddanam region in Srikakulam, where chronic kidney disease has become an endemic health crisis, his outright support for the farmers of Amaravati, who were agitating against the YSR Congress government’s decision to shift the capital from the city, and numerous other campaigns moved him closer to the masses. Later he launched a state-wide yatra in his customised vehicle ‘Varahi’, aimed at strengthening the JSP’s connect with the voters.

Turning point

But the turning point was a meeting he had with Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the national president of the TDP and the current Chief Minister, at the Rajahmundry Central Jail in September, 2023. Mr. Naidu was then in remand over corruption allegations. Outside the jail, while addressing a press conference, Mr. Kalyan announced the tie-up with the TDP.

"I have been thinking all this while whether the TDP and Janasena must come together ahead of elections. I am in the NDA. It is my prayer that to fight against the atrocities of the YSRCP, the Janasena and the TDP must come together in the upcoming elections," he said.

He was clear that only an alliance could bring the rule of the YSRCP to an end. It is believed that Mr. Kalyan played the bridge between the TDP and the BJP to forge the three-party alliance. He also admitted that the JSP alone could not form the government. Nor did the party have the financial strength or backing to contest all 175 seats.

He settled for 21 seats and his focus was to win all of them. This gamble paid off. In the assembly elections, the NDA alliance won 164 seats, including the JSP’s 21, while the YSRCP’s tally sank to 11 from 141 five years ago.

A political novice 10 years ago, Pawan Kalyan is today the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Force of stability

Rahul Karmakar

Pema Khandu The Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, known for his hardline views on China and reform measures at home, has won a third term with a thumping majority

An accident propelled him from a district Congress president in 2010 to a Minister in the Arunachal Pradesh government within a year. He was 31 when his father, former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, died in a helicopter crash on April 30, 2011, leaving a void in Tawang district’s Mukto Assembly constituency. More than a decade later and a few days into his third term, the 44-year-old Pema Khandu has become the longest-serving Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh after Gegong Apang, who formed the first BJP government in the frontier State in 2003.

Diverse ethnic interests and dependence on funds from the Centre leave little scope to be politically adventurous in Arunachal Pradesh. Mr. Khandu, who saw three Chief Ministers and a 24-day President’s Rule in a span of five years and 74 days between the death of his father and his first term as Chief Minister, learnt to be cautious.

A few bold decisions of his government such as recommending permanent residence certificates to six communities not on the list of Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribes in February 2019, had led to large-scale violence. However, it did not take long for Mr. Khandu to tide over such crises, including alleged bids by some of his party colleagues to dislodge him.

Mr. Khandu has made it a point to downplay the periodic renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh by China. He has also been disinclined to follow New Delhi’s position on the country across the Line of Actual Control. “Arunachal does not share a border with China. The direct border is with Tibet. China occupied Tibet. Nobody can erase history,” he said in November 2020. He also said the State was unable to major projects funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank due to China’s “unethical” claim. This made him pressure the Centre for scrapping the population criterion in funding for Arunachal Pradesh.

There has virtually been no competition for the Khandu family in Tawang, especially in the Mukto Assembly seat, since 1990. This is evident from Mr. Khandu and his father having won a few elections unopposed.

Dramatic rise

Mr. Khandu’s rise to the top job in the State has had layers of drama. In 2011, he became the Minister of Tourism, Urban Development, and Water Resources. He kept a low profile as the Congress government faltered with Nabam Tuki replacing Jarbom Gamlin as Chief Minister, only to be dismissed by the Centre in January 2016. Then a “rebel” Congress government, headed by Kaliho Pul, was established in February 2016, but the Supreme Court had Mr. Tuki reinstated. Mr. Tuki sprang a surprise by resigning four days later and paved the way for Mr. Khandu to head the Congress government.

Three months later, he defected with a group of Congress MLAs to the regional People’s Party of Arunachal and in December 2016, his group joined the BJP. It was the second time in 13 years that the BJP ruled Arunachal Pradesh without winning the Assembly election.

Its penetration in the State during Mr. Khandu’s first term helped the BJP win 41 seats out of 60 in 2019 and five more in 2024. Building on the “political stability”, Mr. Khandu pledged to pursue a transformative reform agenda through 24 citizen-centric initiatives. He also promised to enhance women’s safety and promote gender equality in a State troubled by polygamy.

Mr. Khandu’s push for connectivity and tourism was evident from the Donyi-Polo Airport near the State’s capital Itanagar, which became a reality in November 2022 after years of uncertainty. In March 2021, he drove 140 km through jungles and slush in an off-roader to kill three birds with one stone — become the first CM to visit Vijaynagar, the State's most unconnected part on the Myanmar border, emphasise the need to carve a road to the place, and deliver the 4x4 vehicle for the Circle Office in Vijaynagar.

Now, as Chief Minister for the third time, Mr. Khandu promises to build on the initiatives he launched and implement the BJP’s vision “to make Arunachal Pradesh more developed”.

Regional

- BJP demands CBI probe, resignation of Minister in T.N. hooch tragedy

- Art empowers villages in a once-troubled part of Bengal

- 2 police personnel injured, 2 vehicles damaged in Jodphur communal clash

- Pinarayi rejects ‘anti-incumbency’ claims, asks BJP backers to introspect

- Maharashtra BJP holds meeting over Assembly polls

- Civic bodies run by Oppn. not invited for Mamata’s meeting, says Suvendu; alleges discrimination

- Haryana ‘double engine’ govt. for welfare of society, says CM

- Law Minister rules out probe by CBI

- Baseless: MPPSC on paper leak claims ahead of exams

- Video shows woman being beaten publicly in M.P.; 7 held

- Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: fermented with methanol and apathy

- Bedlam at Balodabazar: a day of protest and pandemonium

BJP demands CBI probe, resignation of Minister in T.N. hooch tragedy

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla terms deaths a man-made disaster and State-sponsored murder, accuses the DMK-led government of shielding those involved in the illicit liquor trade

Action taken: Police arresting BJP workers who staged a demonstration against the hooch tragedy without permission in Dindigul on Saturday. G. Karthikeyan

Holding the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu responsible for the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into it, and the immediate resignation of the State Prohibition and Excise Minister S. Muthusamy.

At a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the State government of shielding those involved in the illicit liquor trade. He said a majority of the victims in Karunapuram belonged to the Scheduled Castes and backward communities, and most of them were young breadwinners of their families.

Terming the deaths a “man-made disaster and State-sponsored murder for which the DMK government is solely responsible”, Mr. Poonawalla alleged that instead of taking action, the State government continued to “shield the villains of this ghastly crime”. In May 2023, 23 lives had been lost because of spurious liquor in Villupuram’s Marakkanam, and in Chengalpattu, he said.

“At that time, the State BJP leadership had exposed the nexus between DMK leaders and functionaries, and the entire ‘illicit liquor’ trade that is taking place in Tamil Nadu, but nothing was done...in this case too, in Karunapuram, the entire operation was taking place right in the middle of the town, right next to the court and police station,” Mr. Poonawalla said.

Silence questioned

He also questioned the silence of the Indian National Inclusive, Developmental Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders, including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, over the issue.

BJP national secretary Anil Antony alleged that after the relatives of some victims had earlier come out in public, the District Collector had, without referring to spurious liquor, said the deaths were due to a “mysterious illness”.

This “misinformation” led to more deaths, he alleged. In the 2021 manifesto, the DMK had promised abolition of alcohol, but the State Marketing Corporation’s revenue had been increasing significantly every year, he said. The State’s prohibition policy must be looked into, he said.

Art empowers villages in a once-troubled part of Bengal

Bishwanath Ghosh

Kolkata

Mrinal Mandal’s art workshops finds many takers ; since 2008, he has extended his project ‘Khwaabgaon’ to develop 12 villages, which used to be Maoist movement’s hotbed, and empower marginalised communities through a network of art

Artist Mrinal Mandal. Special Arrangement Special Arrangement

A Bengal artist who transformed a once-nondescript forest village into an art hub has now connected with several other surrounding settlements, which used to be the hotbed of the Maoist movement, to make art a way of life and empower marginalised communities.

It was in 2000 that Mrinal Mandal graduated from the Government Arts College in Kolkata, following which, as a landscape artist, he scanned the rural topography of Bengal to familiarise himself with various traditional arts. Then, in 2008, his native place, Jhargram, was gripped by the Maoist movement.

“Killings had become common. People would go missing. Places would be set on fire. This went on till the end of 2010. I felt deeply scarred. In 2011, I held an exhibition titled ‘Roots’ at the Ganges Art Gallery in Kolkata. It depicted the suffering of the people caught in the movement and the tremendous destruction of public property,” Mr. Mandal told The Hindu.

He then set up Chalchitra Academy, an artists’ collective, and in 2018, returned to Jhargram to make a nearby settlement called Lalbazar, a village inhabited by less than 100 people belonging to the Lodha tribe, his second home. There he began holding workshops, with the help of associates in Kolkata and indigenous artists, to train villagers in various forms of traditional art, including dokra, katum-katum and kantha stitching. Today, Lalbazar, given the sobriquet of ‘Khwaabgaon’ (village of dreams) by an admirer of Mr. Mandal’s efforts, is frequently visited by tourists coming to Jhargram. Art has not only added to the income of the villagers but also decorated the walls of the village’s homes.

By 2023, Mr. Mandal had extended his efforts to another village populated by the Santhal tribe. Today, 10 more surrounding villages in this part of West Bengal, that is, 12 villages in all, are part of what has become a network of art. Mr. Mandal wants to name the entire project — empowering villagers through art — ‘Khwaabgaon’.

2 police personnel injured, 2 vehicles damaged in Jodphur communal clash

Press Trust of India

Jodhpur

High alert: Police personnel standing guard after a clash in Jodhpur on Friday night. PTI

A communal clash erupted in a locality here in which two policemen were injured and two vehicles were damaged, police said on Saturday.

Jodhpur West DCP Rajesh Kumar Yadav said the clash began on Friday night over the construction of a gate in an Idgah near Rajaram Circle in the Soorsagar area here. The local residents opposed it saying that it would increase the movement of people in that area.

According to the police, the construction began on Friday evening. Subsequent confrontation turned violent later with stone-pelting, arson and vandalism. Police Commissioner Rajendra Singh said the situation is now under control and police have been deployed in the entire area. “We have imposed section 144 and have arrested 51 people so far,” he said.

Last night, tension escalated and some people pelted stones, injuring two police officers, Mr. Yadav said.

“A shop and a tractor were set on fire, and a jeep was vandalised,” a senior police officer said. “The police had to use batons and fired 4-5 rounds of tear gas shells,” he added.

A brief peace was also worked out by the police with the help of senior members from both communities but sudden stone-pelting turned the situation tense again.

Efforts are on to identify the houses from where stones were thrown at the police. By late Friday night, the situation was brought under control but tense. Heavy police and Rajasthan Armed Constabulary forces continue to be deployed on Saturday morning to maintain law and order.

Pinarayi rejects ‘anti-incumbency’ claims, asks BJP backers to introspect

The Hindu Bureau

Kozhikode

Time for reflection: Pinarayi Vijayan opening the State conference of the Kerala NGO Union In Kozhikode on Saturday. K. Ragesh

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has rejected the allegation that an anti-incumbency feeling among voters against the State government is among the reasons for the setbacks suffered by Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidates in the recent Lok Sabha elections, while asking those who supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to introspect if their stand is correct.

Opening the State conference of the Kerala NGO Union here on Saturday evening, he alleged that the Congress had reached a “consensus” with the BJP to weaken the LDF in the elections. The United Democratic Front (UDF) had the help of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) as well. He said the victory of the UDF candidates should not be viewed as a verdict against the LDF. A large section of the people in the State thought that a Congress-led alliance should come to power at the Centre.

“However, the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League should ask themselves if they have lost their face. Is the IUML, the second major constituent of the UDF, echoing the ideas of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the SDPI? That the Congress did not object to this is not something that they should be proud of,” he said.

Mr. Vijayan also took a dig at a section within the Christian community, which reportedly voted for Suresh Gopi, the victorious BJP candidate in Thrissur. “Those who helped the BJP should rethink if what they did was right. It is apparent that the Central government tried to influence those people. They did not think about the attacks against their own people who had to flee abandoning their properties.”

Maharashtra BJP holds meeting over Assembly polls

Abhinay Deshpande

Mumbai

A BJP leader said seat-sharing would be discussed further in future meetings with allies. PTI-

The Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday night convened a meeting to devise strategies for the upcoming Assembly election. The meeting, which reportedly lasted for over five hours, focused on election campaign planning and strategy finalisation.

The election for the 288-member State Assembly is expected to be held in October.

The meeting was attended by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, State president Chandrashekar Bawankule, Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar, senior leaders Raosaheb Danve and Pankaja Munde.

In the recent Lok Sabha election, the BJP’s representation in Maharashtra decreased from 23 seats to nine. The ruling coalition, Mahayuti, which includes the BJP, the Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), secured only 17 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, while the Opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), consisting of the Congress, the NCP (SP), and the Shiv Sena (UBT), won 30 seats.

Congress rebel Vishal Patil won as an Independent from Sangli.

More meetings would be held in the future and discussions about seat-sharing with allies would be addressed then, a leader said.

‘No talks yet’

As for the Opposition, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said that seat-sharing discussions for the election were yet to begin among the MVA partners, adding that all parties within the Opposition alliance were equal stakeholders.

He said that the MVA had contested the Lok Sabha election together, demonstrating how Maharashtra prevented the BJP from securing a full majority.

Suvendu claims discrimination over exclusion of Opposition-run civic bodies from Mamata’s meet

Shiv Sahay Singh

Kolkata

Alleging discrimination against municipalities which are being run by the Opposition parties, Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday highlighted a notification by the State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department where two civic bodies have been excluded from participating in a review meeting to be chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

There are about 120 civic bodies in the State, and only two — Taherpur and Jhalda — have boards run by the CPI(M) and the Congress respectively. The notification dated June 20, shared by Mr. Adhikari on social media, refers to the meeting on June 24 at Nabanna Sabhaghar where chairpersons of all municipalities, except these two, have been asked to attend.

“In West Bengal, democracy is of the party, by the party and for the party. Evidence: the CM will chair the Review Meeting of Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Development Authorities EXCEPT Taherpur & Jhalda Municipalities !!!” Mr. Adhikari said on social media.

He said the only reason for this is because these are the only ones where the Trinamool Congress does not have elected boards. “Can a government department discriminate in such a manner?” he said. The focus on the civic bodies comes at a time when in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP registered leads in about 120 civic bodies; and in 45 out of 144 wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

In another development, the Trinamool leadership issued show cause notice to two party councillors of KMC over a scuffle between their loyalists in the Patuli area.

Haryana ‘double engine’ govt. for welfare of society, says CM

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said on Saturday that the “double engine” government is dedicated to the welfare of all sections of the society, guided by the teachings and principles of Sant Kabir Das. Addressing a gathering on the occasion of 626th birth anniversary of Sant Kabir Das at Gohana in Sonipat district, Mr. Saini said, “The government has started many welfare schemes to make the poor economically and socially strong.” PTI

Law Minister rules out probe by CBI

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

Law Minister S. Regupathy said there was no need for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy as the State government was acting in a transparent manner.

He told mediapersons that no probe by the Central agency was ordered into similar incidents in the past. Asked why the DMK had sought a CBI probe into the death of two persons due to custodial violence at Sattankulam in 2020, Mr. Regupathy said the DMK had pressed for it as then CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami had sought to cover up the incident.

To a question whether the DMK failed to control the illicit brewing of liquor in the State, the Minister said the government had arrested many people under the Goondas Act.

Mr Regupathy said the aim of the AIADMK and Mr. Palaniswami had been to disrupt the Assembly proceedings since their party’s defeat in Lok Sabha polls.

Baseless: MPPSC on paper leak claims ahead of exams

The Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) on Saturday said claims about a paper leak ahead of the prelim test of the State service and State forest service exams and it being available on social media for ₹25,000 were misleading and baseless. In a release, MPPSC secretary Prabal Sipaha said, “Baseless and misleading news .... Both will be conducted on June 23 as scheduled. Action will be taken against those spreading misleading information.” PTI

Video shows woman being beaten publicly in M.P.; 7 held

A video of a woman being beaten in public by some men in the tribal-dominated Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh has surfaced on social media, following which the police have arrested all seven accused, including her brothers-in-law, an official said on Saturday. The video shows four men holding a woman and another man hitting her with a wooden stick. Police sources said the incident occurred on June 20 after the married woman allegedly eloped with a man. PTI

Kallakurichi hooch tragedy:

The gruesome tragedy in Kallakurichi district in north Tamil Nadu could have been avoided, S. Prasad says, after interacting with the relatives of those who died. The signs were there for the authorities to see; yet, the brewing of illicit arrack continued.

1 of 4 Devastating blow: The hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi district was enormous by all means. So many died at a short time. The bodies of some of the victims were cremated on the banks of Gomukhi River at Karuna- puram on Thursday. S.S. KUMAR The Hindu

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4 of 4 A lethal dose: The presence of methanol was high enough to send the residents of Karunapuram to various hospitals. The photo shows a patient being treated in the emergency ward of the Kallakurichi Government Medical College and Hospital. S.S. KUMAR The Hindu

An eerie silence has engulfed the narrow lanes of Karunapuram behind government offices and the Combined Court Complex in Kallakurichi town. Time and again, the silence gets punctuated by the sirens of ambulances entering the locality, followed by bouts of wails renting the air. Karunapuram village has plunged into collective grief. Almost every family here has lost either a breadwinner or a relative or a friend to spurious liquor, even as the toll continues to rise in one of the worst-ever hooch tragedies in Tamil Nadu in the recent past. The toll has reached 55, while 159 others are fighting for their lives at hospitals.

The deaths occurred after Karunapuram residents, mostly Dalits and those from disadvantaged groups like daily wage labourers and loaders, consumed the methanol-mixed hooch from local bootlegger Govindaraj, alias Kannukutty, on the night of June 18. Most of the victims who started dying since Tuesday night were from Karunapuram. As many as 31 persons died at the Kallakurichi Government Medical College and Hospital (KGMCH), 17 at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital in Salem, four at the Villupuram Government Medical College and Hospital, and three at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry.

The presence of methanol, a toxic industrial chemical, in the brew was high enough to send the locals who developed symptoms of breathlessness, abdominal pain, blurred vision, and diarrhoea to hospitals in Kallakurichi, Villupuram, and Salem from Tuesday night. Of them, 20 were referred to JIPMER.

First official response disappointing

The government has made arrests, acted against officials who could have prevented these deaths by cracking down on bootlegging, announced solatium for the family of the deceased and compensation for those under treatment, and offered to support the education of children in the villages affected by the tragedy. But the first official response was rather disappointing. Initially, as news of the death of three men after consuming spurious liquor came to light on June 19 (Wednesday), the district administration and the police sought to downplay it.

Collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath (since transferred) met media persons at the KGMCH. He tried to suppress information on the deaths and claimed that they were not caused by spurious liquor. He said one of the victims had been admitted to the hospital for stomach pain and was discharged on Tuesday and another victim died of seizure. It was a falsehood that was immediately exposed with a visit to Kallakurichi, where it was clear that the sale and consumption of spurious liquor were routine.

The district police issued a statement on a WhatsApp group of reporters and police personnel that the news of death of three persons was doing the rounds. The cause of death could be ascertained only through post-mortem, the police said, adding that there was no need to panic. In the meantime, the blood tests of those admitted to hospital indicated methanol poisoning.

A few hours after the authorities confirmed that five lives were lost, the government swung into action and ordered the transfer of the Collector and suspended Superintendent of Police Samay Singh Meena and eight other police officers. M.S. Prasanth was appointed as the Collector and Rajat Chaturvedi as the Superintendent of Police. The case was transferred to the Crime Branch-CID, which commenced its probe. Former High Court judge B. Gokuldas, who was appointed as the one-man commission, started his inquiry too. The toll in Kallakurichi is higher than the 22 lives that the last major hooch tragedy claimed, also in the northern districts of Villupuram and Chengalpattu.

A popular bootlegger

The CB-CID has so far arrested the bootlegger Govindaraj, his wife Vijaya, brother Damodaran, and Chinnadurai, the prime suspect who is believed to have supplied the brew to Govindaraj. Joseph, alias Raja, of Sankarapuram, who had supplied the brew to Chinnadurai, was also arrested.

While the Kallakurichi police are tight-lipped about the tragedy, Karunapuram residents allege that it is common knowledge that illicit liquor was sold freely in the area. When this reporter visited Karunapuram to meet the relatives of the victims, several of them said they had seen the bootlegger in the locality quite often. The suspension of the police officers points to the complicity of the authorities, especially the Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW) and the Kallakurichi town police, in the spurious liquor sale. The station is located a few hundred metres from Karunapuram.

Kannukutty had regular clients and rode his two-wheeler to deliver the liquor in plastic pouches, priced at ₹60 each. He even offered credit. The victims, many of them labourers and loaders, took to the brew to cope with their daily exertion. The police admit that a number of villages in the Kalvarayan Hills are notorious for arrack-brewing. The arrack made from ink nut, found in abundance in the hills, was mainly used for preparing the brew. The brewing has thrived as arrack is seen as a cheaper substitute for Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). Many residents in the hills also have no job opportunities.

A policeman said the brewers had spread their presence across remote hamlets and the forest fringes. “Realising this, former Superintendents of Police Ziaul Haque and N. Mohanraj launched crackdowns in the hills and destroyed the sources of arrack, despite pressure from the powers that be. However, the raids fizzled out after their tenure,” he said.

“It is common knowledge that spurious liquor is being sold with the involvement of policemen and politicians. While the small fries involved in bootlegging are arrested often, the big fish remain untouched. This emboldened the kingpins with political connections. The police could have cracked down on bootlegging had they wanted; but it is a lucrative business and they get good returns. A few local politicians, including those of the ruling party, have made a fortune from this nexus,” said some residents.

While the district police and the PEW released statements and videos frequently on the destruction of fermented wash and the seizure of arrack not exceeding 100 litres in the hills, moonshine silently made its way to Karunapuram under the patronage of the local police and politicians. They waited for the tragedy to happen rather than launch a crackdown.

Hike in liquor prices

The increase in the prices of IMFL brands, sold by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), in February this year drove the low-income groups towards cheaper illicit liquor. While the increase of ₹10 in the prices of ordinary and medium brands and ₹20 in the prices of premium brands fetched more income to the State, people started shifting to cheaper varieties, patronising the deadly moonshine.

As the toll kept rising, anger was palpable at Karunapuram against the district administration and the police. Locals alleged that illicit liquor had thrived in the locality and the police did little to clamp down on the dealers.

Murugan, 30, a loader and son of one of the victims Vijayan, said his father was a regular consumer of the brew, which had been freely available at Karunapuram and its vicinity over the past decade. The bootleggers were not facing any action. “When I questioned the bootleggers, they asked me to remain quiet. It is a matter of concern since the bootleggers openly said they were bribing the police and the powers that be every month. The bootleggers said they had the freedom to sell, thanks to overwhelming patronage, and none had the right to question them.”

“What are the locals supposed to do when the police are hand in glove with the bootleggers? As many as four youngsters of Karunapuram have lost their lives in the tragedy and a similar incident should not recur,” he added.

Deadly precursor

It seems no lessons have been learnt since the twin tragedies at Marakkanam, in the neighbouring Villupuram district, and in Chengalpattu district in May 2023. In the Karunapuram incident, Govindaraj, the bootlegger, reportedly enjoyed a flourishing business over the last one decade. He was a repeat offender and had been arrested nearly 20 times. But he sold the brew and distributed it through a network after he was freed every time. And he knew that the brew could kill.

“Even after Wednesday’s incident, spurious liquor was sold to the locals who had come to Karunapuram for the mass funeral. This only shows the kind of clout enjoyed by the kingpins and the nexus between the police and the arrack-sellers,” said a woman of Karunapuram.

Preliminary investigations and the tests, run on the brew seized from Govindaraj at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Villupuram, have confirmed the presence of methanol. The sale of methanol is banned by the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937, and rules govern its availability. But how it made its way to Karunapuram remains a mystery. The police said investigations had revealed that the methanol was procured from Puducherry. The probe will continue, and will result in several reports being filed. But the Karunapuram residents, who have lost so much, want the government to ensure that the crackdown on bootleggers is severe and complete and such tragedies are prevented in future.

Bedlam at Balodabazar: a day of protest and pandemonium

The district in Chhattisgarh saw violence over the desecration of Jaitkhams or victory pillars, considered sacred by the Satnamis, a community of Scheduled Castes. Shubhomoy Sikdar reports on the frustrations of the youth in the community, the leadership, and the political pell-mell

1 of 4 Charred: A burnt portion of the SP’s office in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district of Chhattisgarh; (below) police constable Akash Sharma, who was injured in the protest on June 10. A.M. FARUQUIA_M_ FARUQUI

2 of 4 We do not have anything against any community, but we have a right to know who is conspiring against us Sunil Barle A member of the Satnami community

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Rakesh Dewangan, a 41-year-old office assistant at the Balodabazar-Bhatapara Collectorate in Chhattisgarh, is accustomed to long workdays. After reaching office at 9 a.m. every day, he spends his time running errands for the managers, cleaning the office, and guiding the occasional visitor to the right official. Often, his days stretch into the late evening. June 10 was different.

There was commotion outside the Collectorate and people were running around searching for a safe space inside the building. “I could hear the commotion all along, but I was alarmed when I heard the glass of the façade cracking due to stone pelting. I wondered if I would be able to reach home at all,” says Dewangan.

The protest by Satnamis, a community of Scheduled Castes (SCs), over the desecration of Jaitkhams or victory pillars — tall, white pillars made of bamboo or wood that are considered sacred — had begun peacefully in another part of the district. Once it reached the Composite Compound, which houses offices of the District Collector, Superintendent of Police (SP), and other officials, it devolved into chaos and violence.

The SP’s office was torched, the collectorate damaged, 40 police personnel were injured, and over 150 vehicles set on fire, say the police. In the days after, when the cranes came to clear the debris, the charred SP’s office and the scattered glass and stones around the Composite Compound were reminders of the violence.

Unlike Dewangan, who escaped unhurt, constable Akash Sharma, 34, was in the middle of the action. “A stick missed me, but before I could regain my composure, another one hit me on my face. I was in plain clothes and handing over riot control gear and tear gas shells to my colleagues on security duty. I have never witnessed this in Balodabazar before,” says Sharma, touching the stitches on his face.

Seven FIRs were registered immediately and two later at the Kotwali police station, which is serving as the makeshift SP office. At least 137 people were remanded in custody as of June 19.

The unexpected turn of events in Balodabazar-Bhatapara — a district that houses the main seat of power for the Santami and Kabirpanthi communities, two sects with a massive following in Chhattisgarh — has put the spotlight on two related but distinct issues. First, the inability of the administration to assess the impact of the desecration that happened nearly a month before the violent protest and the fallout. Second, the simmering anger of the Satnami community over similar incidents against the backdrop of persistent socio-economic issues such as lack of job opportunities and equitable development.

Another significant consequence was the escalation of a political tug-of-war between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. This political skirmish intensified amid the relentless summer heat, further inflaming the political landscape, as both parties vied to hold on to the support base of a community that impacts elections in the State’s non-tribal central plains.

How it all began

On May 17, Kasam Das Bhaskar, the priest of Amar Gufa, a Satnami temple built on a hill in Mahakoni — a village nearly 3 km from Giraudpuri, where the Giraudpuri Dham, the biggest pilgrimage site for Satnamis is located — approached the police. In his statement, he said when he went to the temple on the morning of May 16, he found three Jaitkhams in front of the temple broken.

“They were cut with a saw and felled, which is an insult to the faith,” a part of his statement read. Based on this, the police registered an FIR for hurting religious sentiments and started investigations into the case.

The Satnami sect was founded by Guru Baba Ghasidas, a saint who spread the message of ‘Mankhe mankhe ek saman (Everyone is equal)’. The guru, who died in 1850, called the members of the sect followers of Sat Nam or The True One and dissuaded them from idol worship. The Jaitkhams became a crucial religious symbol.

The police soon arrested three migrant labourers from Bihar who allegedly damaged the Jaitkhams. The local administration also installed new Jaitkhams in place of the damaged ones. While investigators remained tight-lipped about the motive, local media coverage suggested that the three men had some payment dispute with a contractor, who hired them for construction work.

The follow-up action did not convince the members of the Satnami community, who wanted a deeper probe, arguing that the migrant labourers were innocent, and this was a conspiracy against the community that needed to be unearthed. Early protesters included voices from all political parties and they submitted memoranda to the District Collector, asking for a CBI probe.

While the rage over the Amar Gufa case started building up, another incident took place days later in another part of Balodabazar. During the shooting of a Chhattisgarhi film, someone allegedly removed the flag installed at a Satnami religious site and inscribed some words on a Jaitkham. While the director and one member of the cast were arrested, the incident exacerbated the already escalating situation.

There were reportedly munadis or announcements in different Satnami villages to join the protest on June 10. Multiple local sources further claimed that the response of some senior police officers also miffed the representatives of the community as the momentum built up.

Simmering anger

Sunil Barle, a Satnami youth from Bemetara district, says while he does not justify the violence, the anger itself was justified because when such incidents happen all that the community gets are assurances. Memoranda are simply received and discarded. “Such desecration happened in Shivrinarayan in Janjgir-Champa district recently, and in Dharampura in Kawardha earlier [2021]. We do not have anything against any community, but we have a right to know who is conspiring against us,” says Barle, standing outside Amar Gufa a day after the arson.

A bunch of youth accompanying him also shared similar views and called it the sentiment of the larger community. Sensing public anger over the issue and after the march, the Vishnu Deo Sai-led BJP government announced a judicial probe into the desecration on June 10.

Despite the announcement, the community went ahead with its demonstration at Dussehra Maidan in Balodabazar city, and also laid siege to the Collector’s office. Nearly 7,000 people received permission to hold a dharna, but the protesters soon started marching towards the Collector’s office and the mob allegedly turned violent.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the focus shifted to the events preceding it. The police probe unearthed that in the days running up to the event, controversial posts were posted on social media, some of them by representatives of the Bhim Regiment and Bhim Krantiveer, two local outfits that operate without registration but are active on social media.

While SP Sadanand Kumar and Collector K.L. Chauhan were removed and subsequently suspended, the incident also became a new flashpoint between the Congress and the BJP in the State. While the Opposition party mounted pressure on the government by announcing a Statewide protest on June 18, the BJP accused it of hatching the conspiracy behind the June 10 incident.

“In the programme (protest), some people systematically committed serious crimes like arson, loot, damage to government property, and attempt to murder, to defame the Satnami community, which is condemnable. Everything was executed in a planned manner. Anti-social elements torched about 150 two-wheelers and four-wheelers,” Minister and BJP leader Dayaldas Baghel said a day after the incident. While he claimed that Congress leaders, including former Minister Guru Rudra Kumar and incumbent MLAs Devendra Yadav and Kavita Pran Lahre, attended the demonstration, the leaders themselves said they had no role in the violence.

The showdown

A descendant of Guru Ghasidas, Kumar and his line of the family exert influence on the Giraudpuri area unlike other descendants, who are more influential in Arang near Raipur. The Congress leader said he would file a defamation case against Baghel and two of his partymen.

Stepping up the attack, the Congress also sent what they called a fact-finding team, led by Shivkumar Dahariya, a Satnami leader and former Minister, who recently lost the Lok Sabha poll from the Janjgir-Champa seat. Dahariya alleged that some of the vehicles were damaged by the police themselves and that the contractor, whose hired labourers had damaged the Jaitkhams on May 15-16, were from the BJP. Days later, the BJP also sent a five-member probe team, which focused on “de-escalation and meeting various community leaders”.

A police officer says there were ample signs of a conspiracy. “We found stones that are not present near the Collectorate premises; petrol bombs were used. So many protesters were mobilised. Someone had footed the bill for their food and travel from different parts of Chhattisgarh. It was a well-planned act.”

Among those arrested is Roop Kishore Navrange, a youth the police are calling the main conspirator behind the stone pelting and arson. “Navrange is the founder of an organisation called Bhim Krantiveer. Earlier, he was the district president of Bhim Regiment. He is accused of inciting people to join the protest through social media,” says the new SP, Vijay Agrawal.

Despite a similarity in names, neither Bhim Regiment nor Bhim Krantiveer have any direct association with the Bhim Army, the social base of the Aazad Samaj Party led by newly elected Member of Parliament Chandrashekhar Aazad.

However, Aazad himself joined the debate on June 15. He posted on X that in Raipur, the administration did not take any action even after more than a month of the desecration at Amar Gufa.

Distancing his own organisation from the violence, he wrote that the acts committed by anti-social elements were “extremely painful and condemnable…. I will reach Raipur soon and meet the victims’ families”.

Khushwant Saheb, BJP MLA and cousin of Kumar, acknowledged that there was public anger but defended the actions taken by the State government. “Such incidents have taken place earlier in Dharampura and Pallari, but the action was never this swift as it was in this case. The community was satisfied with the announcement of a judicial probe too, but it is the Congress that got anti-social elements to join the protest, giving a bad name to peaceful Satnamis,” he says.

In his 1995 book, Chhattisgarh Rediscovered (Vedantic Approaches to Folklore), historian H.L. Shukla wrote of the Satnamis: “As a class, they always act together, and are persistent assertors of their rights, real and fancied…”

The Satnami community is the biggest constituent of SCs in Chhattisgarh, which form 12.8% of its population. In the current political scenario, however, the community is divided between the supporters of Kumar and Saheb, although both branches of the family have a history of switching political allegiances.

The election results have also been mixed in Satnami-dominated areas. The BJP won the Janjgir-Champa seat — the only Lok Sabha seat in the State reserved for the SC community and one where Satnami votes decide the outcome — in the general election in May. The Congress had won all Assembly segments in the parliamentary seat in the State election held last November, in which it was voted out of power.

Legal expert B.K. Manish says an ongoing legal tangle on reservation has also enraged the community over time. It manifested first in a nude protest by 29 youth on the opening day of the Assembly’s monsoon session in Raipur last year. They were protesting against government jobs allegedly going to those holding fake SC/ST certificates. “Cleavages in SC/ST unity, which came to the fore soon after, made Satnamis desperate.”

Amit Jogi, president of the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J), alleges that both the BJP and the Congress want to weaken the unity of the Satnami community. He also points out that there is a leadership crisis that the youth have been facing. He adds that this frustration is coupled with shrinking employment prospects due to fewer government job opportunities.

“Almost all gurus of the Satnamis from Giraudhpuri to Bhandarpuri Dham have supported the government and not the community since 1980 due to their changing political ambitions. This is the reason that the community, which has been rebelling against slavery for centuries, has become completely leaderless socially and politically, and the youth have taken the place of the gurus,” Jogi says.

Edit

- What can the Railways do to stop accidents?

- Where does India stand with respect to G-7?

- Are heatwaves natural disasters?

What can the Railways do to stop accidents?

R.K. Radhakrishnan

What led to the mishap involving the Kanchanjunga Express in north Bengal? What is the protocol when automatic signals are not working? Would the Kavach system have averted a collision? Why is it taking time to be installed? What about manpower shortage?

Tragic event: The remains of a goods train which rammed into the Kanchan- junga Express, near New Jalpaiguri station, West Bengal on June 17. APDIPTENDU DUTTA

The story so far:

On June 17, a train accident killed 10 people and injured over 40 near New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, about 600 km from Kolkata. The mishap was caused when a goods train hit the 13174 Down Agartala Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express in the rear at 8.55 a.m. The two trains were manually cleared to run in the same block section, a mere 15 minutes apart, since automatic signalling was malfunctioning between the Ranipatra and Chattar Hat stations which fall under the Northeast Frontier Railway.

What was initial response of Railway Board?

The Railway Board initially said the prima facie cause of the accident was that the loco pilot of the GFCJ container train (goods train), who died in the accident, disregarded the Railways’ General and Subsidiary Rules (G&SR) and proceeded at normal speed which led to the collision with the Kanchanjunga Express. The Railways has ordered a statutory inquiry.

Who is at fault?

The Railway Board initially blamed the loco pilot of the goods train; this was later rescinded, but the damage had already been done. It is impossible to operate a train across a block section on the instruction of one person; there’s a chain of command and a list of procedures that need to be followed. For instance, the station masters of stations between which a train is running, the section controller (who is stationed at the divisional headquarters and monitors all rake movements), the signal staff and the gatemen between the stations have to be informed in a particular manner, and a line clearance obtained before a train leaves a station. If there is a discrepancy — like an automatic signal failure, for example — it has to be immediately escalated. In this case, the Katihar division (where the accident occurred) Railway Manager Surendra Kumar stated on record that the gateman had informed Rangapani station about the goods train on the same track as the Kanchanjunga Express. An inquiry will take into consideration this statement, and explore who all were privy to this information. While the inquiry will establish the shortcomings which led to the accident, the Railways has often been seen to take action against lower level staff, while officers at higher levels have gone scot-free after accidents.

Is signal failure a routine event?

In a paper, ‘Analysis Report by High Level Safety Review Committee,’ (2017), Mukesh Mehrotra, a chief signal engineer, noted that only 3% of the accidents in Indian Railways are due to “failure of equipment.” During signal failure, trains can be operated under caution. The station master issues a TA-912 notice, which authorises loco pilots to cross a signal in red during signal failures, and a ‘line clear’ ticket, under the G&SR. The combination empowers the loco pilot to move forward. In this situation, the rule book says that the “driver shall proceed cautiously, so as to stop short [at] any obstruction.” But if there is no prior indication that a signal is defective and the loco pilot suddenly encounters a red signal (stop sign) when the train is on the move, the loco pilot has to stop at the defective signal for a minute during day time, and for two minutes during night time. After this, the loco pilot is expected to proceed with extreme caution at a speed of 15 kmph. This procedure is not applicable when a ‘line clear’ ticket has been issued. Trains are not detained at wayside stations till the signals are set right. The only rule is that there should be only one train between two block sections at any given point of time. Another train can enter only after this train has left that block section.

Would Kavach have prevented the accident ?

Yes. But the much-touted anti-collision device, Kavach, was not installed on this route. Kavach would have slowed down the freight train (it was moving at 45 kmph at the time of accident) as the automatic braking system would have become operational. However, progress on implementation of Kavach has been slow because of lack of vendors. According to the Railway Board, the Kavach system is operational in only 1,500 km. The entire Railways spans nearly 68,000 km.

Railway accidents are rare if one takes this statistic into consideration: a minuscule 0.03 accidents happened per million km in both 2020-21 and 2021-22. But this number becomes infructuous if we consider the fact that there were 34 consequential train accidents in 2021-22 in which nine were killed and 45 injured. In 2022-23, however, there were 48 consequential train accidents. In fact, June 2023 witnessed the worst train accident in about two decades in Balasore, where nearly 300 passengers died.

How big of a role does human failure play?

Human failure is a major reason for accidents. In fact, almost all accidents in the recent past have listed human failure as one of the reasons. This includes the derailment of two passenger trains at Kothavalasa railway station (near Vizianagaram) in 2023; the disastrous accident in Balasore involving the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the Bangalore-Howrah Express and a goods train; and the 2018 derailment of the New Farakka Express.

But this is not applicable in this case. The crew of the GFCJ container train had complete rest before they signed on in the morning of June 17. Loco pilot Anil Kumar, who died in the accident, signed in at 6:44 am after a night off (he had more than 30 hours of rest). His assistant, ALP Monu Kumar, signed in at 06:42 am. His last sign-off was at 1 pm on June 15.

This cannot obliterate the fact that there are thousands of vacancies across Indian Railways for loco pilots. On June 20, the Indian Railways has pegged the vacancies at 18,799.

What more needs to be done?

Several committees have closely examined the question of Railway safety. While some of the recommendations have been accepted, others have not been considered for implementation. For instance, one of the most important recommendations of the Kakodkar Committee is related to division of responsibilities: “Three vital functions (rule-making, operations and the regulation) are all vested in the Railway Board. There is need for an independent mechanism for safety regulation. The Committee recommends the creation of a statutory Railway Safety Authority with enough powers to have a safety oversight on the operational mode of Railways.” At a macro-level, Ramesh Subramanian (Evolution and Diffusion of ICTs in Indian Railways: A Historical Analysis, 2022) argues that since “Indian Railways’ fortunes are vastly dictated by political needs rather than profitability,” capital available to be invested in newer technologies is limited. The Indian passenger cannot afford massive expenses for modernising the system.

Hence, the Union government has to prioritise. For starters, it needs debates in Parliament to forge a political consensus on the direction of growth of Indian Railways.

Where does India stand with respect to G-7?

Suhasini Haidar

What was on the agenda of the recent Group of Seven meet in Italy? How many times has India been invited? As a key player in the Global South, is its voice heard? What are some of the criticisms against the grouping?

Way forward: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the G-7 Outreach Summit, in Apulia on June 14. ANIANI

The story so far:

Leaders of the Group of Seven, the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Japan, the U.K. and Italy, met in Italy’s Apulia region from June 13-15, along with the European Union leadership, for a summit to discuss a host of issues. India has been invited to the outreach 11 times, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending it for the fifth time.

What was the G-7 summit hoping to achieve?

Bridging differences between the “West and the Rest”, finding new ways to fund support for the Ukraine war, investing in Africa and grappling with migration, climate change and artificial intelligence challenges, were all on the agenda for G-7 leaders. They agreed to make $50 billion more available for Ukraine, carving it out from frozen sovereign wealth funds of Russia, held a special “Energy for Growth in Africa” summit to spur investments in clean energy, attacked China for coercive trade practices, and met with leaders of 10 countries, including India, and multilateral organisations, as part of the “G-7 Outreach”, to discuss the concerns of the Global South. Apart from substantive issues, the G-7 grouping has also been trying to battle its own image, as a tired set of countries representing the old world of the ‘western elite’.

It was also widely commented upon that apart from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose party did well in this month’s European Parliament elections, all other G-7 leaders are battling tough election campaigns with sagging approval ratings.

How important is India to the G-7 process?

India has been an important part of the G-7 process for several years now, coming to the grouping’s attention in the 2000s for its steady growth figures during the global financial collapse. India is not only a key member of the Global South, and has hosted the “Voice of Global South” conference since 2023, it is also a member of the G-20 troika, along with Brazil and South Africa. Besides, Prime Minister Modi is a central figure at such outreaches, though India is not a member of the G-7.

Other countries whose leaders attended the outreach were Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritania, Tunisia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates, along with heads of the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations and the World Bank.

Is it an important platform for India?

For India, the outreach session of the G-7 meeting, that follows a day after the main G-7 deliberations, has always been an important platform to showcase its achievements and outlook to the world. The importance of the event and India’s participation can be gauged from the fact that Ms. Meloni called Mr. Modi during the election campaign to ensure his participation, and he travelled to Italy just four days after his swearing-in and even before he had proven his majority in Parliament. During the outreach session, Mr. Modi spoke about the importance of the Indian elections, which he called the “victory of the democratic world”, and the importance of harnessing technology and artificial intelligence to bridge global inequality, as well as a roadmap to fight climate change. He said it was important to pay heed to the Global South’s concerns, as it bears “the brunt of global uncertainties and tension”, a reference to how the developing world looks at unilateral sanctions as well as food, fertilizer and energy security. Mr. Modi spent most of his time in bilateral meetings and held talks with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ms. Meloni. He also met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was a special invitee, and after the photo-op with all the leaders, he spent a few minutes with U.S. President Biden.

He released a less cordial photo of his exchange with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reflecting the poor state of bilateral ties, but the G-7 outreach gave him the opportunity to meet global leaders and set priorities for his new term in office.

What is the future of G-7?

The G-7 is increasingly under attack for being an elitist, non-inclusive group, that doesn’t include three of the world’s top 10 economies, China, India and Brazil, or representation from the rest of the world, like the G-20 does, for example. In addition, the G-7, which has not increased its membership (in fact, it decreased it, by dropping Russia in 2014), is increasingly being challenged by a grouping like BRICS, that has now doubled its size from the original Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa grouping to include other countries and energy majors like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, as well as Egypt and Ethiopia. That the G-7 has been unable to change the course of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or stop Israel’s devastating bombardment of Gaza, or deterred China from its inroads into global connectivity and infrastructure and economic influence, is raising more questions about its relevance.

It remains to be seen how the G-7, which may have a different composition of leaders, given impending elections in the U.K. and the U.S., stands up to the challenge to re-invent itself as an effective grouping. It will next convene for the annual summit in Canada’s Alberta region in 2025; the question is whether India will continue to accept a spot on its margins.

Are heatwaves natural disasters?

Jacob Koshy

Who decides which disasters qualify for relief and aid? Are all heatwave deaths reported and counted?

The story so far:

North India has been bearing the brunt of the longest stretch of a heatwave in the last 15 years. Figures from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare suggest that at least a 100 have died from heat-related illnesses from March 1 to June 18 across India though this is likely to be significantly under-reported. The high number of deaths have revived discussions on labelling heatwaves as a natural disaster.

Are heatwaves a natural disaster?

The National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) is the key piece of legislation governing the roles of the Centre and States in responding to a natural disaster. The Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal body that governs the execution of this Act. Several disaster management authorities draw their powers from this legislation and they define which natural calamities qualify for state-backed compensation. The legislation is also the genesis of special funds — at the State-level and the Centre — that can be drawn upon for a disaster. As of now, 12 disasters are notified in the Guidelines on Constitution and Administration of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), namely cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, frost and cold waves. Heatwaves are yet to be included and this has to do with a government body that is unconnected to institutions under the NDMA.

Which is this body?

The 15th Finance Commission, the constitutional body that decides upon the revenue sharing between the Centre and States, had in its report “observed” that the list of notified disasters eligible for funding from SDRF and NDRF covers the needs of the State to a large extent and thus did not find merit in the request to expand its scope. States have appealed to the Finance Commission to expand the scope of natural calamities that can be considered a disaster as this makes them eligible for more funds.

However, in terms of the aforesaid guidelines, a State Government can use up to 10% of the annual fund allocation of the SDRF, with certain caveats, for providing immediate relief to the victims of natural disasters, other than the aforesaid 12 disasters, that they consider to be ‘disasters’ within a local context in the State. Thus, compensation awarded to those confirmed by State authorities as having succumbed to heatwaves comes from these tranche. The 16th Finance Commission headed by economist Arvind Panagariya may review fresh requests by States.

Are heatwave deaths rising in India?

Heatwave deaths in India decreased from 1,127 in 2017 to 374 in 2021, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, though these are classified as ‘accidental deaths’. In 2022, 33 deaths were reported, in 2023, none, and this year at least a 100 have been confirmed. While these are fewer than the 1,100 deaths in Andhra Pradesh in 2016, longer spells of heatwaves are becoming more frequent. State health departments are tasked with furnishing information to the Centre on heatwave- related illnesses and deaths. A challenge with classifying deaths due to heatwaves is that in several cases people succumb under the combined impact of high temperatures and existing co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease or hyper tension. Secondly, there are varying definitions of a heatwave. While temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius are considered to have heatwave-like conditions, it can also mean temperatures that are 4.5 degrees or more above what’s normal for any place. Several places in the Himalayan States with temperatures in the mid-30s have reported heatwaves, because it is several degrees above normal. There have been no official reports of heat-related deaths in these places. In most years, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan are the States that report most casualties from heat. There are medical guidelines to help doctors declare, or rule out, suspected cases of heatwave illness but these are often applied unevenly.

What measures do States have in place?

With the frequency of heatwaves rising, State, district, and cities have prepared heat action plans (HAPs). The NDMA and the India Meteorological Department are working with 23 States to develop HAPs. HAPs provide a snapshot of a region’s heat profile, including information on the number of past heatwave events, yearly trends in the summer maximum temperature, land surface temperature, and so on, followed by a vulnerability assessment which maps out regions that require immediate attention and a response plan.

Science

- Rotavirus vaccine: tortured data analyses raise false safety alarm

- The birth and growth of music

- Conclusive evidence that a terrestrial leech species can jump

- Self-medication

- Study in rats illuminates how the brain controls heart rate

- Study reveals how human gut reacts to intact fibrous foods

- Bacterial proteins keep cold-blooded worms alive

Rotavirus vaccine: tortured data analyses raise false safety alarm

R. Prasad

Two other self-controlled case series studies published in July 2020 and January 2021 also did not find Bharat Biotech’s Rotavac vaccine to be associated with increased risk of intussusception after any dose

Slamming the recently published paper by Dr. Jacob Puliyel from the International Institute of Health Management Research, New Delhi, on rotavirus vaccine safety, microbiologist Dr. Gagandeep Kang says: “If you do 20 different analyses, one of them will appear significant. This is truly cherry picking data, cherry picking analysis, changing the data around, adjusting the data, not using the whole data in order to find something [that shows the vaccine is not safe].” Dr. Kang was the principal investigator of the rotavirus vaccine trials and the corresponding author of the 2020 paper inThe New England Journal of Medicine, the data of which was used by Dr. Puliyel for his reanalysis.

Dr. Kang’s study was a post-licensure, hospital-based, active surveillance study carried out in 27 hospitals across 10 States in India. For the study, 589 infants 28 to 365 days of age who were admitted to hospitals due to intussusception (where a part of the intestine slides into an adjacent part of the intestine) and met certain criteria were recruited as study participants. The main objective was to monitor Bharat Biotech’s rotavirus vaccine (Rotavac) for any increased risk of intussusception after any dose of the vaccine.

Three doses of the vaccine are administered at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age. The vaccine was introduced into the universal immunisation programme in a few States in 2016 and across India in 2019.

Active surveillance

Since the phase-3 trial with only 6,799 participants was not powered to pick up cases of intussusception, there was active surveillance of hospitalised cases of intussusception. The NEJM study used the self-controlled case series method to assess the risk of intussusception after vaccine administration. The relative risk was calculated by comparing the incidence in three risk windows—one-seven days, 8-21 days, and 1-21 days after each dose of vaccine—with the incidence in all other observational non-risk periods for each case patient.

A case-controlled study was also done to see if there is a difference in the rate of risk among vaccinated and non-vaccinated. There was no increased risk of intussusception due to vaccination during the risk periods and in the case-controlled study. Two other self-controlled case series studies analysing the safety of the Rotavax vaccine in infants in India and published in the journalVaccineinJuly 2020, andJanuary 2021also did not find the vaccine to be associated with an increased risk of intussusception after any dose.

While the NEJM study restricted the analysis to 365 days in order to look at the risk more carefully, Dr. Puliyel shortened the period of observation to six months and found 59 cases in the high-risk periods and 90 cases in the low-risk window. Based on this, Dr. Puliyel concluded that the “risk of intussusception with the rotavirus vaccine was significantly higher in the high-risk period”. The premise for restricting the period of observation to six months is that intussusception peaks around seven months in the unvaccinated.

“No, it peaks anywhere between 6-15 months. Paediatric intussusception is generally seen around 10-12 months depending on which country you are in. It is towards the end of the first year of life that you see the most number of cases,” says Dr. Kang. “The distribution of all cases of intussusception in infants who are vaccinated in our study show the cases going up and staying high for a long time. It certainly doesn’t stop at seven months.”With nearly 55 cases, intussusception cases peaked at 31 weeks as per the NEJM study and remained high at 35-42 cases per week between 22 and 37 weeks, and 10-15 cases per week between 46 and 51 weeks.

“What we are seeing is a pattern of intussusception due to vaccination coming to hospital is no different from the natural pattern of intussusception coming to hospital. There is no peaking,” says Dr. Kang. Data shows cases of intussusception after each dose, and many more cases after the third dose but no peak. Explaining the reason for more cases seen after the third dose, Dr. Kang says it is because children are getting into the age when natural intussusception is increasing.

“One month after the third dose is when we have more cases anyway, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated,” she says.

Based on the premise that susceptibility to adverse events need not be highest immediately after vaccination, Dr. Puliyel had considered 21 days after any dose of the vaccine as the high-risk window. But across the world, published data show that if there is a risk with rotavirus vaccine it will happen within three weeks after the child gets a vaccine dose. As per CDC, “intussusception from rotavirus vaccination usually occurs within a week of receiving a dose of vaccine”.

Increased risk

In another analysis, Dr. Puliyel excluded the unvaccinated and found an increased risk of intussusception after the third dose of the vaccine.

“In the U.S., Australia, the U.K and other countries where they actually found increased risk of intussusception following vaccination, unlike our study of Indian children, the risk is usually in the first week after the first dose. You don’t get it after the second or third dose. A study in Brazil found a slight increase after the second dose.”

A meta-analysis of 10 self-controlled case series studies found the relative risks for intussusception were highest after the first dose and far lower after the second and third doses.

Importantly, 0.5 billion doses of Rotovac have been used globally to date. Developed countries with good AEFI reporting would have surely picked any increased cases of intussusception, particularly as it was known that rotavirus vaccines can cause more intussusception.

The birth and growth of music

1 of 2 Speaking of science D. Balasubramanian

2 of 2 Healing method: When you listen to music, your health appears to improve.Getty Images

The annual world music day was held on June 21, 2024. It is an occasion to look back at how music and rhythm have evolved from ancient times. As the study by Hattori and Tomonagapoints out, when a rhythmic piece was played to a group of chimps, they began to dance in tune! However, their vocal cords have not evolved to singing; they can only grunt: and listen to them. So, we humans not only owe many of our genes and our blood groups to the apes but also our sense of rhythm!

So then, when did we humans start singing and playing music on instruments? Researchers have established that we began speaking during the Old Stone Age (2.5 million years ago and continued until 10,000 BCE), and ‘singing’ a little later. That we could sing and play instruments came about 40,000 years ago, when it was discovered that a flute was made using an animal bone, with seven holes in it toplay ‘in tune’. It is well worth clicking on this site National Museum of Slovenia and enjoying it fully.

Ragam and talam

The actual musical notations seem to have been established in Europe and the Middle East during the 9th Century BCE, with spaced notations (‘do, re, ma, fa, po, la, ti’), for singing and instrument-playing Hymns. In India, it is believed to have been from the Vedic times (1,500- 600 BCE) with the notes (‘sa, re, ga, ma, pa, da, ni’). Dr Jameela Siddiqiwrites, that we have had the swaras (‘sa, re, ga, ma, pa, da, ni’). Whenyou can hearM S Subbulakshmi sing ‘Sobillu Saptaswara’ in Raga Jaganmohini, and Rupaka Talam, composed by Saint Thiagaraja (denoting that musical notes come from the navel, heart, tongue, and nose of our body). We have thus made significant advancements since those days by organising the notations in a geometric and classical way and inspiring our musical tastes.

But one does not need to be a connoisseur or a listener of only classical music, and only listen to M S Subbulakshmi, Bismillah Khan, Bach, Beethoven or Mozart, but also enjoy jazz, qawwali, popular and film music as many people do. They too are composed of the octave or parts of it- and with proper beats. Folk songs across the country, and even the world, are eminently enjoyable. A recent report by Allison Parshall in the May 17, 2024, issue of ‘Scientific American’ points out that folk songs across the world are similar and are enjoyed by everyone for their tone and tenor.

Benefits of music

When you listen to music, your health appears to improve. It does not matter whether it is prayer, vocal or instrumental, classical or traditional, popular and film songs. The Johns Hopkins University sitesays thatif you want to keep your brain young, play or listen to music. Learning to sing or play an instrument improves attention, memory, mood and quality of life. This is particularly important for school and college students. Some sources have even suggested that music learning or even listening helps elderly people avert age-related problems. India has several music academies across the country, which hold periodic festivals, where we listen to both established musicians and prominent youngsters singing and playing instruments in Carnatic, Hindustani and Western styles. Let us attend them and enjoy!

Conclusive evidence that a terrestrial leech species can jump

The Hindu Bureau

A new study presents video evidence that at least one species of terrestrial leech can jump, behaviour that scientists have debated for more than a century, published the footage and corresponding analysis in the journalBiotropica.

During two separate expeditions toMadagascar in 2017 and in 2023, lead author Mai Fahmy, a postdoctoral researcher at Fordham University recorded footage of leeches from the genusChtonobdellacoiling back on a leaf andthen taking off. The researchers compare this motion to a “backbending cobra,” or to a spring being pulled back.

In both cases, the leech keeps its body extended as it soars through the air to the ground, in a notable departure from their usual inchworm-like movements.

‘Little evidence’

Several other worm-like invertebrates can jump, including the legless larvae of gall midges which assume a loop posture before propelling themselves into the air, the larvae of Mediterranean fruit flies, “skipper flies” and several caterpillars, includingLymantria monachaandOrgyia leucostigma.

While naturalists and leech biologists have long argued about the ability of terrestrial leeches in the family Haemadipsidae to jump, with some making observations of leeches leaping in their travel notes, there has been little concrete evidence until now.

The lead author collected the jumping leech and identified it asChtonobdella fallax, a common species in Madagascar.

Understanding overall leech behavior is also important to conservation efforts because leeches — and more specifically, their blood meals — are increasingly being collected to survey vertebrate biodiversity.

Self-medication

Do wild chimpanzees seek out medicinal plants to treat illness and injuries?

A new study has found that chimpanzees appear to consume plants with medicinal properties to treat their ailments. The researchers combined behavioural observations of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) with pharmacological testing of the potentially medicinal plants they eat. They monitored the behaviour and health of 51 chimpanzees in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve in Uganda. They collected plant extracts from 13 species of trees and herbs in the reserve that they suspected the chimpanzees might be using to self-medicate, and tested them for their anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties. They found that 88% of the plant extracts inhibited bacterial growth, while 33% had anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers observed a male Chimpanzee with an injured hand seek out and eat fern leaves, which may have helped reduce pain and swelling. The results suggest that chimpanzees seek out specific plants for their medicinal effects.

Study in rats illuminates how the brain controls heart rate

While heart rate is predominantly controlled by the autonomic nervous system, it can be intentionally altered through training (for example, as people do in free diving), and now a new study in rats that learned to reduce their heart rate provides insights into how this works. Rats learned to reduce their heart rate within 30 minutes and achieved an approximately 50% reduction in heart rate after five days of feedback training, which persisted for at least ten days after the training period.

Study reveals how human gut reacts to intact fibrous foods

Researchers have delineated how diets either low or high in fiber can shape the metabolic landscape of the small intestines, according to their study involving 10 volunteers fed various diets. The findings demystify the complex digestive processes that break down fiber-rich foods as they travel through the gut, and show those foods support the release of a gut hormone named PYY that suppresses appetite. The research suggests that a fibrous food’s shape isn’t as important in evoking this hormone response.

Bacterial proteins keep cold-blooded worms alive

Cold-blooded Antarctic marine worms depend on two genera of bacteria to produce cryoprotective proteins that act like biological antifreeze to help them survive the harsh polar waters, a new study finds. Proteomic examinations showed that bacterially-derived cold-shock proteins and ice-binding proteins were present at nearly the same level as the worms’ own self-made proteins, supporting the hypothesis of a phylosymbiotic relationship.

Business

- ‘Govt. must borrow at market cost, not at a subsidised one’

- ‘Just 2% taxpayers face CGST notices’

- Centre notifies new Telecom Act effective June 26, replaces 138-yr-old Telegraph Act

- Tata Steel threatens to advance furnace shut down in U.K. amid strike call

- ‘Global textile industry worried about continuing weak demand’

- Garden Reach signs up with German firm for multi-purpose vessels

- States seek tweaks to 50-year interest-free loan scheme

- Govt. buys 71,000 tonnes of onion for buffer stock

- Deeptech start-ups count surges in 2023: Nasscom

- Coimbatore’s Propel acquires stake in Ireland-based Omega

‘Govt. must borrow at market cost, not at a subsidised one’

Prashanth Perumal

We must work towards eliminating it altogether, except for a minimum SLR for financial stability purposes; the RBI’s liquidity management too should be informed entirely by market liquidity considerations and not by the government’s public debt concerns, says the former RBI Governor

India needs to strengthen the rule of law to compete with the developed world, protect the independence of its central bank, and hold public officials, including IAS officers, more accountable, Duvvuri Subbarao, former RBI Governor and author of the recent book “Just a Mercenary?”, argues in an interview. Edited excerpts:

You say the IAS is no longer “the steel frame of India” and blame corrupt IAS officers rather than politicians for this. Why?

The common view is that the IAS today is not able to perform because of political pressure. But the question is why should IAS officers succumb to the carrots being dangled by politicians?

They do that because when they see one person who is of a weaker moral fabric succumbing to a politician and moving up the career ladder, they believe that they can’t afford to get left behind.

There are lots of reasons attributed for the moral and intellectual decline of the IAS, but I think the main reason is the perverted incentives; there is no system of rewarding good officers and penalising the bad officers.

In your book, you detail the pressures you faced from ministers in the UPA government while you were RBI Governor. But isn’t such pressure expected as the RBI Governor is appointed by politicians? What is the solution?

The government thinks of the RBI as part of the public sector system and treats it as part of itself.

But the RBI performs best when it is independent. The core mandate of the RBI is to maintain price and financial stability.

Delivering on this requires the RBI to take some decisions keeping in view the long-term sustainability of the economy even if inflicts short-term pain. But governments are concerned about the short-term pain and therefore tensions are inevitable.

The question is how can we manage these tensions amicably?

There has to be consultation between the RBI and the government, but in the end the central bank has to act independently.

Why do you say investors, when deciding to invest, care more about the rule of law than about free land or electricity offered by State governments?

When you ask investors what matters when they choose between States, they say, “even more important than sops is the rule of law”.

Bad rule of law can be quite costly to any business enterprise. If you have tax inspectors or compliance inspectors bothering businesses, corruption, or if there is politicisation of labour unions; all this can add to cost.

We are already seeing investments go to States that improve the rule of law, not necessarily to States that offer more sops.

What is the basis for your disagreement with the view that the Indian state is weak and that we need to boost state capacity to promote economic growth?

Generally, when people talk about state capacity, they talk in terms of, for example, number of employees or policemen or tax inspectors or teachers per unit of population. And then they say in India state capacity is low because we don’t have enough staff.

What I’m saying is that inadequate staff is not the main constraint. Our main constraint is inability or callousness to implement the rule of law. To give an example, is the problem of low achievements in education due to inadequate number of teachers or is it incompetent, ill-trained teachers? So, looking upon state capacity in terms of number of staff is wrong.

We must improve our system of rewards and penalties for government staff and enforce strict accountability.

The Centre’s high fiscal deficit during UPA rule was blamed for high inflation at the time. Can the RBI tackle this by refusing to monetise the fiscal deficit?

The RBI does not monetise government debt after the FRBM came into place.

It does not operate in the primary market, but does operate in the secondary market and so it still can either help the government or make it more costly for the government to borrow. There is also the financial repression in the way of banks being expected to hold a minimum SLR, which makes it cheaper for the government to borrow.

We must work towards eliminating it altogether, except for a minimum SLR for financial stability purposes, so that the government borrows at the market cost, not at a subsidised cost. Further, the RBI’s liquidity management should be informed entirely by market liquidity considerations and not by the government’s public debt concerns.

‘Just 2% taxpayers face CGST notices’

Vikas Dhoot

NEW DELHI

Sitharaman dismisses charges of harassment and complaints of too many notices being served under GST law by central administration as misinformed criticism; seeks to reassure assessees that Centre is committed to making their life easier

Making a point: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses a press conference after the GST Council meeting on Saturday. pti

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday firmly asserted that the Centre’s intent was to make GST assessees’ life ‘easier, simpler and less cumbersome’, stressing that criticism about the harassment of taxpayers and excessive notices being sent was misinformed opinion as most of the notices did not stem from the Central GST (CGST) administration.

“I want to reassure the assessees that our intent is to make their life easier,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

“We are working towards less and less compliance and I want to underline the fact on behalf of the CGST that notices are not being sent left, right and centre.. Most often, we are asked why so many notices?” she added.

“Only 1.96% of all active tax assessees have been sent any notice from the Central GST… Of the 58,62,882 active tax payers, just 1,14,939 assessees have been sent notices as of December 31, 2023,” the minister said, adding that States could send their own notices, but that was not something she was getting into.

Interest waiver

Meanwhile, the GST Council agreed to waive the interest and penalty on demand notices served under Section 73 of the CGST Act, for the period between 2017-18 and 2019-20, provided that taxpayers remit their dues fully by March 2025.

In a recommendation that should find mention in the Finance Bill to be presented with the Union Budget 2024-25 likely next month, the Council also suggested amendments to the CGST Act of 2017 so that the three-month period for filing appeals before the Appellate Tribunal will start from a date notified by the Government.

“This will give sufficient time to the taxpayers to file appeal before the Appellate Tribunal in the pending cases,” the Finance Ministry said.

Centre notifies new Telecom Act effective June 26, replaces 138-yr-old Telegraph Act

S. Ronendra Singh

New Delhi

The Centre, though partially, notified the Telecommunications Act on Friday to be effective from June 26, and provisions including sections 1, 2, 10, and 30 will be in place.

“The Central government hereby appoints the 26th day of June 2024, as the date on which the provisions of sections 1, 2, 10 to 30, 42 to 44, 46, 47, 50 to 58, 61 and 62 of the said Act shall come into force,” the gazette notification said.

While it aims to replace the 138-year-old Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, the new law contains many provisions of archaic Colonial law.

According to the Act, the rules extend to the whole of India and any offence committed or contravention made outside India by any person, as provided in this Act.

The Act focuses on user protection, reforms on right of way and optimal spectrum utilisation. But, it also allows the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security. That means the Centre can take control and management of, or suspend the operation of, or entrust any authority of the Centre to manage any or all of any telecommunication services, or any telecommunication network or part thereof, connected with such telecommunication services.

It also mandates telecom operators use verifiable biometric identification (Aadhaar) for new SIMs/ connections, which many felt threatened individuals’ privacy.

The Act, while clearly states that the auction route is the preferred mode for assignment of spectrum, the administrative process can be used for three clearly defined purposes, namely, public interest (like Metro, Community Radio, Broadcasting); government functions (Defence, Railways, Police); and cases where auction is not the preferred mode of assignment for technical or economic reasons (backhaul, satellite).

The approach to administrative assignment of spectrum for a range of telecommunications services, including many satellite-based services and in-flight and maritime connectivity, is a forward-looking initiative.

With these new rules in place, the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) will become Digital Bharat Nidhi, which can be used to fund research and development and pilot projects instead of just supporting the establishment of telecom services in rural areas.

It also adds a mandate to protect users from spam and malicious communications.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

Tata Steel threatens to advance furnace shut down in U.K. amid strike call

Suresh P. Iyengar

Mumbai

Tata Steel has threatened to shut its blast furnaces in the U.K., earlier than planned, amid an indefinite strike call given by a certain section of workers to protest against 2,800 job losses.

The company, which has a capacity to produce 3 million tonnes of steel a year in U.K., plans to shut down one blast furnace at the end of the month, while the second one is scheduled to be closed by September-end.

About 1,500 steelworkers based in Port Talbot and Llanwern in Wales have announced plans to begin an “all-out indefinite strike action” from July 8 against the company’s plans to close two blast furnaces and cut up to 2,800 jobs, said the trade union Unite.

This will be the first time in over 40 years that steelworkers in the U.K. have taken strike action aimed at severely impacting Tata Steel U.K. operations.

Reacting to the development, a Tata Steel spokesperson said the existing steel making assets, which are near the end of their life, are operationally unstable and causing unsustainable losses of £1 million a day.

“The preparations to close the blast furnaces and associated plants in Port Talbot are unchanged. However, if the safety and stability of our operations are put at risk by this action, we will be forced to accelerate those closure plans,” he said.

“Rather than taking strike action, we would have expected Unite to put our improved offer to its members, as previously accepted by all unions, including Unite,” he said.

Earlier, Tata Steel expressed concern over U.K. media reports that suggest the £1.25 billion investment will be put in peril due to policy differences between the Conservative and Labour parties during the ongoing election period. A Labour Party victory in the U.K. could result in funding and execution uncertainties at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant, and if the £500-million support is delayed, it could lead to higher capital expenditure (capex).

“Our main concern is if the proposed £500-million support package is delayed, reduced, or scrapped, given it has not been signed yet, resulting in a higher capex burden for Tata U.K.,” said a recent CreditSights report.

Meanwhile, three opinion polls conducted recently predicted a record defeat for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives and forecasted that the Labour Party would comfortably win a large majority after 14 years in opposition. The country will go to election on July 4.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

‘Global textile industry worried about continuing weak demand’

M. Soundariya Preetha

COIMBATORE

The global textile industry, including textile machinery and garment manufacturing, continues to be concerned about “weak demand” in the market, according to a recent survey.

‘Key concern’

The latest results of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS), which was conducted in the second half of May, show that most companies pointed to weak demand as the main concern since the end of 2022.

Inflation, high raw material prices, energy costs, logistics costs, and geopolitics are some of the other concerns.

“These factors are weighing on consumer and business confidence and are holding back demand to a certain extent,” said K.V. Srinivasan, president of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation.

The survey also revealed that the global textile value chain found itself still in a relatively poor state.

Awaiting improvement

However, companies across the board are anticipating an improvement in the business environment in the coming months.

The regions with the best business situation in May were Africa and South-East Asia, and except East Asia, other regions expect a better business situation in the next six months.

GRSE bags German order to build, deliver multi-purpose vessels

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. said it had signed an agreement with Carsten Rehder Schiffsmakler and Reederei GmbH & Co. KG Germany, for construction and delivery of four multi-purpose vessels of 7,500 DWT each with an option of building another four ships in the near future.

The vessels will be 120 metres long and 17 metres wide, with a maximum draft of 6.75 metres. Each can carry 7,500 metric tonnes of cargo, said GRSE, a ship building and repairing company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.

The vessels will have a single cargo hold, each to accommodate bulk, general and project cargoes. Containers will be carried on hatch covers. The ships will carry multiple large windmill blades on deck, the company said.

The company has been exporting warships since a decade. In 2014, the CGS Barracuda, an Offshore Patrol Vessel, built by GRSE, was exported to Mauritius. This was the first warship to be exported by India.

States seek tweaks to 50-year interest-free loan scheme

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

States have urged the Centre to make some improvements in the 50-year interest-free loan scheme for pursuing capital investments, under which the government has proposed to give them ₹1.3 lakh crore this year, the same amount as in 2023-24.

Ministers from States made suggestions related to the ‘Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment’, during pre-Budget consultations with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.

Ms. Sitharaman also heard out suggestions from State Ministers regarding the Union Budget, along with requests specific to their regions, and assured them that their ideas and inputs will get “due consideration... during preparation of the Union Budget”.

Apart from several States’ Finance Ministers, the meeting was attended by Chief Ministers of Goa, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, along with Deputy CMs of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.

“Finance Minister underlined Union Government’s support to States through timely tax devolution, Finance Commission grants, and arrears of GST Compensation being provided for providing stimulus to growth,” the Union Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

Govt. buys 71,000 tonnes of onion for buffer stock

The government has bought nearly 71,000 tonnes of onion so far this year for buffer stock, out of the total target of procuring 5 lakh tonnes for price stabilisation and it expects retail prices to ease with the progress of monsoon over most parts of the country. According to data compiled by the department of consumer affairs, the all-India average onion retail prices stood at ₹38.67 per kg on Friday, while the modal price was ₹40 per kg. pti

Deeptech start-ups count surges in 2023: Nasscom

India saw a significant surge in deeptech start-ups in 2023 with 480 new ventures emerging, making it the third largest pool globally, according to a report. However, technology industry body Nasscom and global consulting firm Zinnov, which prepared the report said, “Compared to start-ups across some other leading deeptech ecosystems, Indian deeptech start-ups receive a fraction of the median investment at every stage.” pti

Coimbatore’s Propel acquires stake in Ireland-based Omega

Propel Industries in Coimbatore has acquired a major stake in Omega Crushing and Screening of Ireland to expand its market presence in the European market. Senthil Kumar Varadharajan, Managing Director of Propel Industries, said in a press release that the collaboration with Omega will enhance product development and accelerate its introduction of state-of-the-art crushing and screening solutions, especially in the European market.

Foreign

- PM Modi likely to skip SCO summit in Kazakhstan; Xi, Putin, Sharif may attend

- Israeli attacks on Gaza City camps leave at least 42 dead

- Russia targets Kyiv’s power grid in ‘massive’ attack

- ‘Bend it’ in Brazil

- U.K. hard-right leader Farage says West provoked Ukraine war

- Pakistan Minister condemns Swat lynching

- Israel Army says Israeli civilian was shot dead in occupied West Bank

- U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea for joint military exercises

- China, France launch satellite to better understand the universe

- Taiwan detects 41 Chinese aircraft, seven naval vessels around island

PM Modi likely to skip SCO summit in Kazakhstan; Xi, Putin, Sharif may attend

Suhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to skip the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to be held in Kazakhstan next month, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to officiate in his place. According to sources aware of the decision, Mr. Modi has decided not to travel to Astana for the summit to be held on July 3-4, although he had earlier confirmed his presence, and an advance security team had conducted its reconnaissance survey there.

The summit hosted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Central Asian leaders and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Mr. Modi’s decision to miss the SCO Heads of State Council in Astana could also have a bearing on India’s participation in the SCO Heads of Government conference, due to be held in Islamabad in ‘Autumn 2024’, which Pakistan would host.

When asked on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal declined to confirm India’s participation in the SCO, saying that details of the visit were not yet “finalised”.

The sources cited the coming Parliament session, which will run from June 24 to July 3, as the reason for Mr. Modi’s decision.

In addition to the Speaker’s election and the President’s address to both Houses, the Prime Minister is expected to reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha between July 2 and 4.

The SCO, originally a Eurasian security and economic grouping promoted by Russia and China in 2001, includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan as full members. Iran and Belarus will be inducted this year.

Mr. Modi’s absence at the SCO, despite the presence of other international leaders, is likely to raise questions over India’s commitment to the grouping that it joined just seven years ago as a full member.Mr. Modi had visited Kazakhstan to attend the SCO Summit in 2017, but the setting has become more troublesome for New Delhi over the past few years. India’s tensions with Pakistan, which also was inducted in 2017, have often been the chief irritant at the conference, with leaders of both countries taking aim at each other over the issue of terrorism.

During the COVID pandemic in 2020-21, the SCO summits were held virtually. Since the military standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the deadly Galwan clashes of 2020, and the breakdown in ties, Mr. Modi has not met Chinese President Xi Jinping for a bilateral meeting anywhere, although he has engaged briefly with him on the sidelines of the G-20 in Indonesia in 2022 and the BRICS summit in South Africa in 2023.

Moscow ties

Since 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also made the discourse with Moscow more difficult. Although Mr. Modi met with President Putin at the SCO summit in Uzbekistan that year, the conversation was overshadowed by the conflict, and Mr. Modi’s statement that “this era is not of war”.

India and Russia have not held the annual Putin-Modi summit since then, and a possible meeting when India hosted the SCO for the first time in 2023 was avoided after the government decided to hold the summit virtually, due to “scheduling difficulties”.

Earlier this month, Mr. Putin’s foreign policy aide and senior diplomat Yury Ushakov had told TASS news agency that the Russian President was looking forward to meeting Mr. Modi at the conference, which was especially important “in the light of the elections in India, which have just finished”.

If Mr. Modi misses the SCO summit in July, it will be seen in sharp contrast to his attendance at the G-7 Summit in Italy last week, where India is not a member, but was invited to the ‘Outreach’ along with nine other countries.

All eyes will be on whether Mr. Modi will attend the BRICS summit in Kazan, hosted by President Putin at the end of October this year. The grouping that India is a founding member of, will welcome five new members, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, this year.

Israeli attacks on Gaza City camps leave at least 42 dead

Reuters

CAIRO

‘The occupation and its Nazi leaders will pay the price for their violations against our people, ’ says Hamas; IDF claims that its fighter jets struck two military infrastructure sites in northern Gaza

No let-up: People make their way through the rubble of buildings destroyed at the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Saturday.AFPOMAR AL-QATTAA

At least 42 people were killed in Israeli attacks on districts of Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian enclave on Saturday, the director of the Hamas-run government media office said.

One Israeli strike on houses in al-Shati, one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps, killed 24 people, Ismail Al-Thawabta told Reuters. Another 18 Palestinians were killed in a strike on houses in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood.

The Israeli military released a brief statement saying: “A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck two Hamas military infrastructure sites in the area of Gaza City.”

It said more details would be released soon.

Hamas did not comment on the Israeli claim to have hit its military infrastructure. It said in a statement the attacks targeted the civilian population and vowed “the occupation and its Nazi leaders will pay the price for their violations against our people.”

Footage obtained by Reuters showed dozens of Palestinians rushing out to search for victims amid the destroyed houses. The footage showed wrecked homes, blasted walls, and debris and dust filling the street in Shati refugee camp.

Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Mounting cost

The offensive has left Gaza in ruins, killed more than 37,400 people, of whom 101 were killed in the past 24 hours.

More than eight months into the war, Israel’s advance is now focused on the two last areas its forces had yet to seize: Rafah on Gaza’s southern edge and the area surrounding Deir al-Balah in the centre.

The Israeli military said forces continued “precise, intelligence-based” targeted operations in Rafah, killing many Palestinian gunmen and dismantling military infrastructure.

Russia targets Kyiv’s power grid in ‘massive’ attack

Agence France-Presse

Kyiv

Consistent strike: Ukraine is struggling to cope with a new wave of blackouts after relentless Russian attacks.APAlex Babenko

Ukraine on Saturday said Russia had launched a “massive” overnight attack on energy infrastructure in the west and south, adding that at least seven persons died in strikes elsewhere.

Russia launched 16 cruise missiles from land, sea and air as well as 13 attack drones, aiming at energy infrastructure in several regions.

Air defences downed all but four of them, it added.

The Energy Ministry said this was “the eighth massive, combined attack on energy infrastructure facilities” in the past three months, targeting the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Lviv in the west.

“Equipment at (operator) Ukrenergo facilities in the Zaporizhzhia and Lviv regions was damaged,” the Ministry said.

Ukrenergo said that two employees were wounded and hospitalised in Zaporizhzhia, where Europe’s biggest nuclear plant is located.

More than two years into the Russian invasion, targeted missile and drone attacks have crippled Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity and forced Kyiv to impose blackouts and import supplies from the European Union.

Ukrenergo said outages across the country would start earlier than usual on Saturday, running from 1100 GMT to 2100 GMT due to damage from the attacks.

In Zaporizhzhia, shelling over the last day also killed one civilian and destroyed residential buildings and infrastructure, according to the regional military administration.

Russia controls a part of the region and the nuclear plant. The Russian-appointed administration said Ukrainian attacks had damaged a substation linked to the city’s nuclear power plant but did not affect nuclear safety.

Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of the western Lviv region, said Russia “launched a missile attack on a critical energy infrastructure facility”, sparking a fire that was later extinguished.

Ukrainian troops based in the west shot down seven out of 10 cruise missiles fired by Moscow, the Lviv regional governor said.

Five civilians were killed by Russian shelling in frontline areas of the eastern Donetsk region over the last day, the head of the region, Vadym Filashkin said.

Moscow is trying to advance in the area near the town of Pokrovsk, where intense clashes took place on Saturday, Ukraine’s military said, adding the situation was “under control”.

In the southern Kherson region, a policeman manning a checkpoint was killed by a drone.

‘Bend it’ in Brazil

People take part in the Yoga ao Sol Nascer (Yoga at Sunrise) event at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on Saturday. AFPMAURO PIMENTEL

U.K. hard-right leader Farage says West provoked Ukraine war

Agence France-Presse

London

Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s anti-immigration Reform U.K. party, faced strong criticism on Saturday after saying that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Mr. Farage said “we have provoked this war”, while adding that “of course” it was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “fault”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters that Mr. Farage’s claim was “completely wrong and only plays into Putin’s hands”.

Labour leader Keir Starmer, who looks set to take Mr. Sunak’s job after an election next month, slammed Mr. Farage’s comments and said they were “disgraceful”.

“Anyone who is standing for parliament ought to be really clear that Russia is the aggressor”, he told reporters on the campaign trail.

Mr. Farage — a former European Union parliamentarian who has tried and failed to run for Westminster seven times — is seeking a seat for Clacton in east England in the country’s general election scheduled for next month.

Third place in polls

His party is polling third behind the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour parties, but is only predicted to pick up a few seats.

Even so, a surge of popularity for Reform U.K. since Mr. Farage took over as leader this month risks drawing away votes that the Conservative party sorely needs to win a fifth term in power.

Pakistan Minister condemns Swat lynching

Press Trust of India

Islamabad

Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday condemned the lynching of a man in the town of Swat for allegedly committing desecration of the Koran, lamenting how religion is being weaponised to justify “street justice” and “vigilantism”.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, while speaking during the Budget debate in the National Assembly, said that parliament had to take stern notice of “mob justice”.

On Thursday night, an enraged mob in Swat gunned down a tourist, dragged him through the town and later hanged him in full public view for allegedly committing desecration of the Koran.

Muhammad Ismail, a 40-year-old resident of Sialkot in Punjab province, was visiting the northwestern Pakistan hill resort town of Swat and was accused of having burnt the pages of Islam’s holy book in Madyan tehsil of Swat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Amid interruptions by Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Mr. Iqbal said, “Another mob lynching has happened in Swat and Pakistan is under scrutiny for it.” The 65-year-old secretary general of the PML-N further said that if this was an isolated incident “we could move past it”.

However, Mr. Iqbal then referred to similar incidents that happened earlier in Sialkot, Jaranwala and Sargodha.

The Minister also recalled an attempt on his life in 2018 when he was shot by a supporter of the religio-political party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan.

IDF says Israeli civilian was shot dead in occupied West Bank

AFPJAAFAR ASHTIYEH

The Israeli military said an Israeli civilian died after being shot near the occupied West Bank city of Qalqilya and that troops launched an operation in the area. The military and the Israeli police were investigating the circumstances of the death. In recent days, there have been several violent incidents in Qalqilya and its vicinity. afp

U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea for joint military exercises

AFPSONG KYUNG-SEOK

A U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a joint military drills aimed to better counter North Korean threats. The announcement came a day after South Korea summoned the Russian Ambassador to Seoul to protest a defence deal signed by President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un. afp

China, France launch satellite to better understand the universe

AFPADEK BERRY

A French-Chinese satellite blasted off on Saturday on a hunt for the mightiest explosions in the universe. The Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) is carrying four instruments — two French, two Chinese — that will seek out gamma-ray bursts, the light from which has travelled billions of light years to reach Earth. afp

Taiwan detects 41 Chinese aircraft, seven naval vessels around island

AFPYASUYOSHI CHIBA

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window, a day after Beijing said “diehard” advocates of Taiwan’s independence could face the death penalty. Seven naval vessels were also spotted during the time period. afp

Sports

- Kuldeep & Co. strangle Bangladesh after Hardik sets up a daunting chase

- Bowlers, Hope shine as West Indies thumps USA

- Can Afghanistan spring a surprise on the Aussies?

- 3Ws Oval a reminder of Caribbean cricket’s once glorious era

- Buttler’s England eyes massive victory to stay alive

- Knowledge of the conditions has helped, says Proteas’ de Kock

- It was a great catch, Buttler heaps praise on Markram’s effort

- It’s our destiny and our goal to win the World Cup, says Chase

- Want to finish with a victory over England, says USA skipper Jones

- scoreboard

- India will need to guard against complacency

- The wind factor— a decisive double-edged sword

- Chile and Peru in a hard-fought goalless stalemate

- Norris pips Verstappen for his second career pole

- Portugal breezes into round of 16; France-Netherlands match drawn

- Indian women’s compound team completes a hat-trick

- AITA confirms Sumit Nagal’s entry for Paris Olympics

- Gangjee holds on in close finish to win Selangor Masters

- Aditi manages to make the cut at KPMG Women’s PGA

- Dressel wins 50m freestyle at U.S. Olympic swimming trials

Kuldeep & Co. strangle Bangladesh after Hardik sets up a daunting chase

Press Trust of India

North Sound (Antigua)

The all-rounder’s unbeaten half-century takes India to 196, which was defended with ease by Rohit’s men, who remain undefeated in the tournament

1 of 2 Unique but effective: While Hardik unleashed his power with the bat, Kuldeep’s guile stole the show in the second half.ICC & AFP

2 of 2

Hardik Pandya produced an all-round show while Kuldeep Yadav foxed Bangladesh batters with his guile as India all but assured itself of a semifinal berth through a dominant 50-run victory in its second Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup here on Saturday.

Star batter Virat Kohli (37 off 28) found much-needed rhythm before Shivam Dube (34 off 24) and Hardik (50 not out off 27) pushed India to 196 for five.

Bangladesh could never really challenge India in the steep run-chase and ended up with 146 for eight.

Kuldeep (three for 19) made the Bangladesh batters look clueless with the effective use of googly and stock ball.

Bumrah (two for 13) produced a frugal effort as usual. Bangladesh skipper Najmul Shanto (40 off 32) played some attacking shots including two sixes over fine leg off Hardik but did not get support from others.

Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma (23 off 11) was happy to lose the toss at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and alongside Kohli, was able to play his shots from the get go unlike the earlier games.

After the top-order was dismissed, Rishabh Pant (36 off 24) brought the momentum back in India’s favour by collecting two fours and a six over deep midwicket off Mustafizur Rahman. Pant took the attack to Rishad Hossain before falling to the reverse sweep for the second consecutive innings. Dube and Hardik then shared a 53-run stand to take the innings forward. Hardik ended up with four boundaries and three sixes and took India close to 200, which was more than enough for Kuldeep & Co. to defend.

Bowlers, Hope shine as West Indies thumps USA

Press Trust of India

Bridgetown (Barbados)

Blazing away: Hope upped the ante to give his side’s Net Run Rate a much-needed boost. AFP

Opener Shai Hope blasted an unbeaten 82 as West Indies came back roaring to crush the United States of America by nine wickets in the T20 World Cup Group 2 Super 8 match here.

After bowling out the USA for a mere 128 in 19.5 overs, the West Indies batters went all guns blazing from the word go to knock off the target in 10.5 overs.

The Caribbean side, which had suffered an eight-wicket hammering from England, is now placed second with two points and a Net Run Rate of 1.814.

Johnson Charles fell for a 14-ball 15 with a couple of fours early on but the pair of Hope and Nicholas Pooran did the job for their side.

Hope clattered eight sixes and four fours to make 82 not out from just 39 balls, with Pooran reaching 27 not out from 13 balls with three sixes and a four.

The scores: USA 128 in 19.5 overs (Gous 29, Russell 3/31, Alzarri 2/31, Chase 3/19) lost to West Indies 130/1 in 10.5 overs (Hope 82 n.o., Pooran 27 n.o.).

Toss: West Indies; PoM: Chase.

Can Afghanistan spring a surprise on the Aussies?

Press Trust of India

Kingstown

Wankhede memories: Afghanistan will know how destructive Maxwell can be on his day.Getty ImagesGareth Copley

A stern test awaits Afghanistan as it takes on a rampant Australia in its T20 World Cup Super 8 Group 1 clash.

Coming off a 47-run thrashing at the hands of India, Rashid Khan’s men will be under pressure not just to record a win but also to improve their Net Run Rate (-2.350).

While Rahmanullah Gurbaz (178 runs) and Ibrahim Zadran (160) have been at the forefront of Afghanistan batting, they need more contributions from their middle and lower-order batters.

Both Fazalhaq Farooqi (15 wickets) and Rashid (nine) have made life tough for batters consistently and they will be crucial to stop the battery of in-form Australian batters.

David Warner (169 runs) and Travis Head’s (179) destructive opening pair can take down the best of bowling attacks and in such a scenario, Rashid’s use of Farooqi and himself could have a big impact on the proceedings.

The last time these two teams met was in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Glenn Maxwell had played a once-in-a-generation knock to notch up a sensational double century while battling cramps, with Pat Cummins providing sturdy support from the other end.

Afghanistan would certainly be motivated to exact revenge for that loss in a format in which it feels most comfortable.

3Ws Oval a reminder of Caribbean cricket’s once glorious era

Ashwin Achal

Bridgetown

Part of folklore: The busts of Barbados legends Worrell, Walcott and Weekes.Ashwin Achal

In the park outside the 3Ws Oval are the busts of three legendary cricketers — Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott and Everton Weekes. The trio, among the best batters of their generation, were born within a couple of miles of each other in the island of Barbados.

The 3Ws Oval can be found across the road, nestled in the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus. The quaint ground is named in memory of the popular Barbadians.

Impressive view

A massive statue of stumps stands guard over the green outfield. It is an impressive view that cannot escape the sight of the batters in the middle.

The exploits of the three ‘Ws’ is written in cricket folklore. The trio heralded a new era in West Indies cricket in the late 1940s, which until then had boasted of only one world-class batter in George Headley.

Worrell was the first black cricketer to captain the West Indies cricket team, and led the team in the famous 1960-61 tour to Australia.

Such was his popularity that the perpetual Frank Worrell Trophy, awarded to the winner of West Indies-Australia Test series, was commissioned at the end of that tour.

Walcott was arguably the best batter in the world in the 1950s. His numbers reached the zenith when he gave up the wicketkeeping gloves to focus purely on scoring runs.

World record

Weekes, a powerful strokeplayer, set a world record of five successive hundreds in Test innings. This still stands undefeated. The 3Ws Oval serves as a reminder of a once glorious era of Caribbean cricket.

Buttler’s England eyes massive victory to stay alive

Press Trust of India

Bridgetown

Defending champion England will need its power hitters to do the job against a demoralised yet tricky USA in its final Super 8 match on Sunday.

England batters couldn’t produce the big hits against South Africa, suffering a narrow seven-run loss.

West Indies’ massive win over the USA has opened up the group, leaving England with the task of pushing its Net Run Rate up. While South Africa is currently sitting atop the Group 2 with two wins, both West Indies and England have a win and a loss each with the former having a better NRR.

However, no team is assured of a semifinal berth and England will need to defeat USA by either 10 runs or at least with an over to spare to stay in contention for the semifinals.

For SA, a loss — even in a Super Over — against WI will knock it out of the race if England can achieve its task.

If the Proteas win and Jos Buttler’s men lose to USA, it will again be a three-way tie between WI, ENG and USA for the second spot.

Knowledge of the conditions has helped, says Proteas’ de Kock

AFPCHANDAN KHANNA

Quinton de Kock said knowledge of Caribbean conditions helped him propel the Proteas to a winning total against England. “I’ve played a lot of day T20s in the West Indies (in the Caribbean Premier League) and generally that [PowerPlay] is the most important time to score runs.”

It was a great catch, Buttler heaps praise on Markram’s effort

Getty ImagesRobert Cianflone

England captain Jos Buttler heaped praise on Aiden Markram’s catch to dismiss Harry Brook in the last over of the run chase. “It was a great catch and that’s what South Africa has prided itself on over a long period of time. They’ve always had great fielders,” Buttler said.

It’s our destiny and our goal to win the World Cup, says Chase

AFPRANDY BROOKS

Roston Chase, who took a three-wicket haul against USA, was delighted with West Indies’ emphatic performance. “It’s on the spinners to come back and pull the game back and that’s what we did today... it is our destiny and our goal to win the World Cup. So, from here on, we have to beat anyone we play,” he said.

Want to finish with a victory over England, says USA skipper Jones

AFPRANDY BROOKS

USA skipper Aaron Jones said he wanted to end his side’s campaign with a victory over defending champion England. “I think the game against England is important. Every time I put on a US jersey, I want to win the game, regardless of who we are playing against,” Jones said.

INDIA

Rohit Sharma c Jaker b Shakib 23 (11b, 3x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli b Sakib 37 (28b, 1x4, 3x6), Rishabh Pant c Sakib b Hossain 36 (24b, 4x4, 2x6), Suryakumar Yadav c Litton b Sakib 6 (2b, 1x6), Shivam Dube b Hossain 34 (24b, 3x6), Hardik Pandya (not out) 50 (27b, 4x4, 3x6), Axar Patel (not out) 3 (5b); Extras (w-6, nb-1): 7; Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs): 196.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-39 (Rohit, 3.4 overs), 2-71 (Kohli, 8.1), 3-77 (Suryakumar, 8.3), 4-108 (Pant, 11.4), 5-161 (Dube, 17.2).

BANGLADESH BOWLING

Mahedi 4-0-28-0, Shakib 3-0-37-1, Sakib 4-0-32-2, Mustafizur 4-0-48-0, Hossain 3-0-43-2, Mahmudullah 2-0-8-0.

BANGLADESH

Litton Das c Suryakumar b Hardik 13 (10b, 1x4, 1x6), Tanzid Hasan lbw b Kuldeep 29 (31b, 4x4), Najmul Hossain Shanto c Arshdeep b Bumrah 40 (32b, 1x4, 3x6), Towhid Hridoy lbw b Kuldeep 4 (6b), Shakib Al Hasan c Rohit b Kuldeep 11 (7b, 1x4, 1x6), Mahmudullah c Axar b Arshdeep 13 (15b, 1x4), Jaker Ali c Kohli b Arshdeep 1 (4b), Rishad Hossain c Rohit b Bumrah 24 (10b, 1x4, 3x6), Mahedi Hasan (not out) 5 (4b, 1x4), Tanzim Hasan (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-2, w-3) 5; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 146.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-35 (Litton, 4.3), 2-66 (Tanzid, 9.4), 3-76 (Hridoy, 11.1), 4-98 (Shakib, 13.3), 5-109 (Shanto 15.3), 6-110 (Jaker, 16.1), 7-138 (Hossain, 18.3), 8-145 (Mahmudullah, 19.5).

INDIA BOWLING

Arshdeep 4-0-30-2, Bumrah 4-0-13-2, Axar 2-0-26-0, Hardik 3-0-32-1, Jadeja 3-0-24-0, Kuldeep 4-0-19-3.

Toss: Bangladesh; PoM: Hardik.

India won by 50 runs.

India will need to guard against complacency

N. Sudarshan

BENGALURU

The South Africans, boosted by their spirited chase in the second ODI, will aim for an important win on the road to next year’s World Cup while the hosts eye a clean sweep

Ready for the battle: Smriti, captain Harmanpreet, and Renuka at a training session ahead of the third ODI. K. MURALI KUMAR K. MURALI KUMAR

India will look for a clean sweep while South Africa will aim for an important win on the road to next year’s World Cup when the two meet in the third and final ODI of the series, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.

India may have edged out the visitors by four runs in the last match to pocket the series, but South Africa, by coming within a whisker of chasing a world-record 326-run target, proved it was no laggard. India can ill-afford to drop its guard if it wishes for a spotless record.

While Smriti Mandhana notched up her second century on the bounce and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur returned to form with a hundred, there is a big question mark over opener Shafali Verma’s 50-over credentials. Sunday may well be her last chance to prove the critics wrong.

For South Africa, the game will be crucial to earn ODI World Cup qualification points. In that quest, the performances from skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp in the previous encounter will come as confidence boosters.

After the Proteas’ batting crumbled in the first ODI (122 all out), the pair scored first-rate centuries and made a good fist of chasing down India’s mammoth total. A few more runs from fellow top-order batters Tazmin Brits and Anneke Bosch can make the line-up fully rounded.

There are, however, two sources of intrigue ahead of the series-ender. It remains to be seen if India chooses to rotate its squad in order to keep the lot match-fit, for the caravan will move to Chennai next for the one-off Test and three T20Is.

Then, there is the fickle Bengaluru monsoon weather, which has so far shed its capricious nature and provided perfect conditions for cricket. The holiday crowd will expect more of the same.

The wind factor— a decisive double-edged sword

Ayan Acharya

Gros Islet (St Lucia)

Turning point: Livingstone was a victim of the wind factor against South Africa. AP

The Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet, St. Lucia, poses a unique challenge for teams competing in T20 World Cup matches due to its pronounced crosswind blowing from the Party Stand towards the Johnson Charles Stand. With average speeds of 15–16 kph, occasionally reaching up to 20 kph, this wind significantly influences gameplay, especially given the stadium’s low stands and open layout that offer minimal wind protection.

During the Super 8 match between England and South Africa on Friday, the wind played a decisive role. South African opener Quinton de Kock capitalised on the wind’s direction during his knock of 65, leveraging it to exploit his strong suit on the leg- side.

Conversely, England struggled to adjust, with key batters like Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali falling victim to mistimed shots into the wind.

One of the major setbacks came when Kagiso Rabada bowled a full toss, and Liam Livingstone smacked it into the wind, only to find Tristan Stubbs on the boundary, the wind resisting the ball’s flight.

Body blow

The body blow came when, with 14 needed off the last six balls, Harry Brook, batting on 53 off 36, tried to clear long-off, only for Proteas captain Aiden Markram to run back, leap, and hold on to the catch.

What made it more special was that the ball was carrying with the wind, so in that split second, Markram had to judge the correct speed and trajectory and time his jump. “I don’t think the TV does it justice,” de Kock said. “There was a massive left-to-right wind from my direction—maybe like 40–50 kph.

“It’s not that the ball’s just getting pushed, but also getting moved that way, and he actually turned on the inside, so the ball’s always moving towards the boundary.”

The Daren Sammy Ground hosts its final Super 8 match between India and Australia on Sunday.

With both teams featuring a blend of right-hand and left-hand players, they can leverage the wind advantage while batting, maximizing shots downwind and using it as a defensive option when bowling.

Chile and Peru in a hard-fought goalless stalemate

Agence France-Presse

Arlington

Off-target: Chile’s Sanchez reacts after fluffing his lines in front of goal against Peru.AP

Two-time Copa America champion Chile opened its bid for a third title with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Peru in Arlington on Friday.

A scrappy encounter at the Texas home of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team saw neither side manage to get on top before a result that boosts Argentina’s hopes of winning Group A.

Chile was left ruing a golden missed chance from veteran Inter Milan forward Alexis Sanchez in the 16th minute.

Sanchez, one of the heroes of Chile’s back-to-back Copa America victories in 2015 and 2016, was teed up in the six-yard box after a low pass from Victor Davila.

But with plenty of time and space, the 35-year-old scooped his shot over the bar as Peru was given a huge let-off.

That ended up being the best chance for Chile, which enjoyed 65% possession yet only managed one shot on target.

A disjointed game never really got going, with some 37 fouls breaking up play.

Peru’s best chance came near the hour mark when Gianluca Lapadula volleyed over from close range.

The result leaves Argentina, a 2-0 winner over Canada in the tournament’s opening game on Thursday, two points clear of the top.

Chile faces Argentina in its second match on Tuesday in New Jersey in a replay of the 2016 Copa Centenario final at the same venue.

Norris pips Verstappen for his second career pole

Agence France-Presse

BARCELONA

Edging ahead: Norris, right, shares a light moment with Verstappen after topping the qualifying race.REUTERS

McLaren’s Lando Norris produced a spellbinding late lap to deprive Max Verstappen of pole for the Spanish Grand Prix in qualifying on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row alongside his Mercedes teammate George Russell.

Verstappen looked nailed on to start Sunday’s 10th round of the season from the front of the grid. But in the last throw of the top-10 shoot-out Norris denied the Red Bull ace by a mere two hundredths of a second.

“Today was the perfect lap,” said Norris after only his second career pole. “Max seemed a bit stronger, but we made some changes,” added the Briton who won his maiden Grand Prix this season in Miami.

Verstappen, targeting a fourth straight World title, leads the championship by 56 points from Charles Leclerc, who starts Sunday’s race in fifth, with Norris seven points back in third.

Starting grid: Row 1: Norris (McLaren), Verstappen (Red Bull); Row 2: Hamilton (Mercedes), Russell (Mercedes); Row 3: Leclerc (Ferrari), Sainz (Ferrari); Row 4: Gasly (Alpine), Perez (Red Bull); Row 5: Ocon (Alpine), Piastri (McLaren); Row 6: Alonso (Aston Martin), Bottas (Sauber); Row 7: Hulkenberg (Haas), Stroll (Aston Martin); Row 8: Zhou (Sauber), Magnussen (Haas); Row 9: Tsunoda (RB), Ricciardo (RB); Row 10: Albon (Williams), Sargeant (Williams).

Portugal breezes into round of 16; France-Netherlands match drawn

Agence France-Presse

Dortmund

Opening salvo: Bernardo sets Portugal on its way to an easy win over Turkiye with this strike. AFP

Portugal swept into the last 16 of Euro 2024 on Saturday after comfortably seeing off Turkiye 3-0 and guaranteeing first place in Group F.

Bernardo Silva’s fine finish in the 21st minute, a comical Samet Akaydin own goal shortly afterwards and Bruno Fernandes’ second-half tap-in — set up nicely by Cristiano Ronaldo — gave Portugal a straightforward win in front of swathes of passionate Turkish fans in Dortmund.

On Friday, France and the Netherlands edged towards the last 16 after a 0-0 draw in Leipzig that failed to catch fire in the absence of Kylian Mbappe.

The French captain sat out the whole match from the bench after breaking his nose in France’s opening 1-0 win over Austria just four days ago.

Xavi Simons had a goal controversially ruled out for the Dutch, while Antoine Griezmann wasted two glorious chances for France.

A share of the spoils left the sides level on four points at the top of Group D, one ahead of Austria.

France takes on the Poles, while the Netherlands faces Austria in the final games of the section on Tuesday.

The results:

Group D: Netherlands 0 drew with France 0.

Group F: Georgia 1 (Mikautadze 45+4-pen) drew with Czechia 1 (Schick 59); Turkiye 0 lost to Portugal 3 (Bernardo Silva 21, Akaydin 28-og, Fernandes 56).

Indian women’s compound team completes a hat-trick

Sports Bureau

Firing away! Jyothi Surekha and Aditi watch Parneet in action. X@WorldArchery

The Indian trio of V. Jyothi Surekha, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Swami claimed its third consecutive compound women’s team gold medal of the season in the Archery World Cup Stage-3 in Antalya, Turkey, on Saturday. Priyansh took the silver medal in the men’s individual event.

The top-ranked Indian women’s side shot well to build a slender one-point lead in the opening end and built on it to beat Estonia, represented by Lisell Jaatma, Meeri-Marita Paas and Maris Tetsmann, 232-229 in the title clash.

The Indian women, who clinched the World title and the Asian Games gold last year, hit the bulls eye five out six times in the penultimate end and four times in the final end to assert their supremacy on an extremely hot day. This was their fourth straight World Cup Stage gold medal, including the Stage-4 gold in Paris in September last year.

Priyansh, who got a one-point lead in the opening end, scored a perfect score to pip Denmark’s European champion Mathias Fullerton 150-149 in the semifinals. The 21-year-old Indian lost to World No.1 Dutchman Mike Schloesser 149-148 in a keenly-fought final.

AITA confirms Sumit Nagal’s entry for Paris Olympics

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) announced the confirmation of Sumit Nagal’s entry for the Paris Olympics, in a statement issued here on Saturday. The doubles entry of Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji had been confirmed earlier. The 26-year-old Nagal is ranked a career-best 71 in singles following two Challenger titles this season, apart from a final. “The AITA extends its heartfelt congratulations to Sumit Nagal, Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji. We are confident that they will make the nation proud and inspire future generation of tennis players in India,” said Anil Dhupar, secretary-general, AITA.

Gangjee holds on in close finish to win Selangor Masters

Rahil Gangjee won the PKNS Selangor Masters despite six bogeys in his 3-over 73 on the final day as he prevailed over Deyen Lawson (69) by one shot, here on Saturday. The 45-year-old veteran, who had started the day with a five shot lead, finished at 8-under for the wire-to-wire win as Lawson was 7-under. It was Gangjee’s second win on the ADT after his 2018 success at Louis Philippe Cup in India. He has two Asian Tour wins — first in 2004 in Volkswagen Masters in Beijing and then 14 years later in Panasonic Open in Japan. In 2011 and 2012 he played on the Nationwide Tour in the USA and also played between 2020 and 2022 in Japan.

Aditi manages to make the cut at KPMG Women’s PGA

Aditi Ashok managed to squeeze inside the cut line despite three bogeys in the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sammamish (Seattle). The Indian had five bogeys and no birdies in her round of 77 as she totalled 5-over 149 after a first round of even par 72 at Sahalee Country Club. At 149 she is tied 64th and right on the cut line. In the second round, Sara Schmelzel played well to take advantage of easier scoring conditions in the morning to shoot a tournament-best 5-under-par 67 and share the lead with Amy Yang (68). Schmelzel and Yang are at 6-under 138 over two rounds, two shots ahead of first-round leader Lexi Thompson, Hinako Shibuno and Jin Young Ko.

Dressel wins 50m freestyle at U.S. Olympic swimming trials

Caeleb Dressel earned his first individual race of the Paris Games, winning the men’s 50-metre freestyle at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Friday night. Dressel, the winner of five gold medals in Tokyo, finished third in the first individual event, the 100 freestyle, which relegated him to the relay at that distance.

SM

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2 of 3 Game time French President Emmanuel Macron talks to young swimmers during the inauguration of the Olympic Aquatics Centre in Paris; and (below) French athletes pose with the Olympic Phryges mascot. (Getty Images)GONZALO FUENTES

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On a visit to Paris last year, I saw little enthusiasm for the Olympic Games, starting in the French capital next month. “We are not looking forward to it,” said a baker, summing up the sentiment: it will be like the lockdown, we will have to work from home, going out will become difficult (16 million visitors are expected), we will be paying for the Games for years. A few, however, looked forward to renting out their apartments for a fortune during the event.

According to The New York Times, “The Olympic Games Committee has issued assurance that Paris will be able to house 100,000 visitors during the Games… price boosting has already begun.” That is from a report ahead of the 1924 Games in Paris. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, as the French say.

The host city is seldom happy — succeeding in the bid is seen as the winner’s curse — but the world looks forward to the magic. You can be cynical or optimistic about the Games depending on which end of the metaphorical telescope you view it from, but magic it is.

Even if that magic started off with a chuckle in Paris. The mascot of the Games, the Phryges, is being seen as “clitoris in trainers”, the feminist’s answer to the phallic symbol that is the Eiffel Tower. It is too, an inadvertent pointer to one of the issues facing the Games, and humanity in general — the matter of the gender spectrum.

In fact, many of the world’s concerns — gender, environment, drugs, sexism, terrorism, cybersecurity, dislocation of communities, corruption in the establishment, financial overreach, excessive nationalism, racial inequity — can be seen in concentrated form at the Games over the years. If the Olympics are the best sport has to offer, they also display the fault lines in the real world. Sport and life are like facing mirrors, reflecting each other.

Clean and green Games?

Paris hopes the carbon footprint of the Games will be half that of London 2012 or Rio de Janeiro 2016. Construction has been minimal, with 95% of the venues being existing structures; equestrian events will be at the Château de Versailles, swimming in a cleaned-up Seine. President Emmanuel Macron — who announced that the national elections will be held in June-July, thus adding another degree of difficulty to the preparations — has pledged to swim in the river to show that it is clean. When it is clean.

The Seine is the venue for what promises to be a most spectacular Opening Ceremony involving boats carrying the 10,500 athletes before an audience of three lakh on its banks.

Winners will carry with them a sliver of history — the medals will have a bit of the Eiffel Tower in them, embedded from the iron that has been removed and conserved in the course of the many renovations of the 1889 structure.

Bedside tables are made from recycled shuttlecocks, dinner plates can be repurposed for they will have no logos, and the Olympic Village will have no air-conditioning. This might be the greenest Games ever.

Paris is Hemingway’s “moveable feast”, and so too are the Olympics. As an event, they might have lost some sheen — they are too costly (Greece went bankrupt after Athens 2004), disused stadiums abound, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a law unto itself — but the Olympics as an idea we must cherish, believing its ideals are attainable. It is a necessary myth.

It is also an important measure of who we are and what we can do. When Usain Bolt runs the 100 metres in 9.63 seconds, we are gratified — this is what we as a species are capable of. Bolt and Simone Biles and Michael Phelps and Elaine Thompson-Herah represent us, and we are relieved we don’t have to work as hard as they have. It is enough knowing their feats are possible, that our fantasies can be realised by others.

Perhaps that is the way to reconcile the contradictory nature of the quadrennial event. The attraction is not the institution, but the individual athletes, their skill, their courage.

We might like to believe that under the banner of the Olympics, our similarities will be highlighted, friendship and commonality will be the theme. Perhaps, as the author Simon Barnes put it, “The torch should be lit, and one by one the flags of the nations should be cast into it.”

Prestige of hosting

We can dream, but that isn’t what the sports-entertainment-marketing complex is about. NBC didn’t pay $7.65 billion (through 2032) to sink nationhood, however briefly. Triumphalism and jingoism are the keys to viewership.

We will hear in Paris speeches about how we must give peace a chance. But Russia will continue to attack Ukraine and the war in West Asia will continue despite the so-called ‘Olympic truce’ being in place.

The budget for Paris has already doubled — and counting — from its optimistic $5 billion. The Tokyo Olympics were budgeted for $7.5 billion but spent $35 billion. This puts India’s dream for 2036 in perspective. Boston withdrew from the 2024 bid, the mayor saying he “refused to mortgage away the future of the city”.

It will be interesting to see what Ahmedabad 2036 does if it wins the bid.

In 2012, a study in Oxford found that there had been a 252% cost overrun since 1976, the year Montreal was host. It took Montreal three decades to pay off its debts. Beijing’s Olympic stadium, the Bird’s Nest, cost $460 million to build, needs $11 million annually to maintain, and is now just a museum piece.

There is a good argument for hosting the Olympics either in one city — Athens, where it began in 776 BCE suggests itself — or for using the same venues in different continents in turn. Financially and environmentally, that makes the most sense, but the IOC is only too conscious of the prestige attached to hosting the Games, by authoritarian regimes seeking the world’s approval.

It is naive to believe that the Olympics are about sports alone. But, as the gold-winning hurdler Edwin Moses said, “Most people only care about watching the Olympics every four years and couldn’t care less about how they operate.”

The IOC has shown in recent years that it is suspended between morality and human rights on one side, commerce and dictator-pleasing (the Games in China, Russia) on the other. Pure coincidence, of course, but Albert Speer Jr., son of Hitler’s chief architect, was the lead designer for the Beijing Games 2008, and created the central axis.

Still, the Olympics, despite everything, continue to have meaning and relevance. They are a reminder of possibilities, a tribute to the human spirit. ‘Faster, higher, stronger – together’, the new motto contemporises the old one, bringing it in line with the concept of inclusivity. After all, to paraphrase poet Robert Browning, our reach should exceed our grasp.

The Olympics are magical. Or why would we stay awake till the early hours watching sports we have no idea about, cheering the winners, and just as importantly, those who tried and failed?

The writer’s latest book is Why Don’t You Write Something I Might Read?.

Resisting stereotypes of

Fair and inclusive representation in Indian literature continues to be a distant dream, say artists and activists as they articulate what they would like to read

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The arrival of Pride Month sends a rainbow-coloured shockwave through corporations and cultures globally, as brands change their logos and devise woke marketing campaigns. Over the last few years, a lot has been written about this sudden and temporary awakening. But despite our frequent and critical engagement with ideas of representation and diversity, we are far from their balanced applications. In most representations of queer identity, a sameness pervades.

In the introduction to their ground-breaking anthology of queer poetry from South Asia, The World That Belongs To Us, authors Akhil Katyal and Aditi Angiras write about the need to “disperse” and “splinter” the word ‘queer’. “People live their lives through a maddeningly complex slew of names, identities and gestures. ‘Queer’ only pretends to signpost them all, but it is precisely that, a convenient pretence, meant for book covers, not for all its contents.”

The challenge of representation, it seems, is its inability to incorporate a spectrum. We ask queer activists, voices and personalities about their vision for the way forward, and the queer stories, narratives and representation they’d like to see more of in literature. Edited excerpts:

Rights, interrupted

Sunalini Mathew

Brinda Karat on the rise of Hindu majoritarianism, its link with Manuvadi, and the impact of this combined force on society

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2 of 7 Coming together (From top) Artists portray the increasing atrocities on Dalit women highlighting the Hathras rape case, in New Delhi; a demonstrator at a march seeking justice for Bilkis Bano; and Brinda Karat. (Getty Images)

3 of 7 Hindutva and Violence Against Women Brinda Karat Speaking Tiger Books ₹450

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Brinda Karat’s Hindutva and Violence Against Women came out during peak Lok Sabha election time, when every day brought with it an unsettling feeling that members of the ruling party would say something so nasty that we wouldn’t be able to heal from the wounds. The “mangalsutra bhi bachne nahin denge (‘they’ will not let even your mangalsutra go)” comment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was blame twisted so out of shape, it pegged imagined future crimes on a Muslim minority whose women had in fact suffered at the hands of Hindutva, as the book proves. In fact, a part of Karat’s 90-page monograph talks about “the demonisation of Muslim men” being an “important aspect of the Hindutva project”, as she explains in this interview. Edited excerpts:

Question: The title is about women, but you talk about different groups of marginalised people: Dalits and Muslims, for example. Why?

Answer: The central point of this essay is not just the increase in cases of brutal violence against women over the last 10 years. We have seen horrific cases earlier too. To me, what is striking is that the government in power and dominant forces look at violence against women dictated by a changing framework which has two interlinked aspects — communal and Manuvadi majoritarianism — where the processes of justice get subverted. The approach is determined not by the need for justice for the victim, but it depends on the religious or caste identity of the victim and the perpetrator. This is my basic premise, and I link this with Hindutva’s approach to women. If the perpetrator happens to be Muslim, the entire Hindutva ecosystem is driven to select those cases of rape and sexual violence to talk about. If both the perpetrator and the victim belong to the majority community, it is the woman who is blamed, particularly if she belongs to an oppressed caste.

Q: What aspects of violence against women should we be particularly cognizant of?

A: Change is so under the surface that we don’t really see it and identify it until it hits us in our face. Take the Shraddha Walkar case [where a 27-year-old woman was brutally murdered allegedly by her live-in partner who had also subjected her to abuse]. The case throws up other issues: of a woman’s autonomy, the reasons a woman doesn’t walk out of a violent relationship, social stigmas, the strength she should get from society. You have to provide a social infrastructure for a woman to transform from a victim to a survivor. But in her case, all that was seen was the religion of the perpetrator. It’s extremely important to understand where we are and where we should be going. The current talk of naari shakti (women’s strength) is deafeningly silent on issues like domestic violence, dowry deaths. In the last 10 years there have been over 70,000 deaths of women linked to dowry and domestic abuse, but this is not considered an issue. I link this to what a woman’s place is, in the Hindutva framework.

Q: Considering we often speak in echo chambers, do you fear the book will only be read by those interested in feminism?

A: I do hope it will reach a larger audience. I would think there is an interest among young women who are grappling with some of the difficult situations [in the book] and this discussion may help.

Q: While all the incidents in the book are both heinous and heart-wrenching, which impacted you the most?

A: I cannot pick one; they all had a huge impact, but I do remember the 19-year-old tribal Christian girl in Manipur who saw her father and son killed in front of her eyes and was then stripped and gang raped. Later, that video was seen across the world. I cannot forget her courage and dignity. After that horrendous sexual violence, she kept silent about it for days. She couldn’t share it even with her mother. This speaks of our lack of structures, which should immediately get activated in such terrible times. That girl — her silence spoke to me more than any words; she was so alone in her experience. She later got the support of Kuki-Zomi women’s groups who have done whatever possible to help. But from the government’s side, there’s no movement to bring justice; the members of the mob are still free.

Q: Now that we see the third term of the BJP and its supporters, how do you see this term panning out in terms of violence and vitriol?

A: I don’t think we can gauge the deep penetration of Hindutva by just a vote count. The leopard does not change its spots. But I feel we do have space for discussions and for a rejuvenated movement; we just need to fight consciously to take forward people’s resistance as reflected in the setback suffered by the Hindutva forces in these elections.

Crackdown on dissent

Ziya Us Salam

Alpa Shah’s meticulous biography on the Bhima Koregaon accused is also an exposé of the misuse of state power

1 of 2 The Incarcerations Alpa Shah HarperCollins ₹699

2 of 2 Voicing out At a rally in Kolkata. (Getty Images) Getty Images

How does one summarise a richly detailed and painstakingly researched 560-odd page book, The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon and the Search for Democracy in India, by Alpa Shah? While it narrates the story of each of the 16 accused in the case with beguiling simplicity and without any embellishments, it is not your everyday leisurely read. Its best words, the most simple yet powerful ones, come not just with the stories of each of the accused but a little before the end.

Shah opens the chapter, ‘Clipping the wings of the last bastions of democracy’, with these words: “In the ‘mother of democracy’, 16 largely unconnected people from different parts of India — from Delhi in the north to Hyderabad in the south — found themselves thrown into jail between 2018-2020, accused of being Maoist terrorists, ‘Urban Naxals’... they were all ‘custodians of democracy’.... They had fought for the social justice of India’s most vulnerable sections of society.”

Sinister fabrication

Calling the Bhima Koregaon case, “a targeted state-driven attempt to silence the BK-16”, she reveals that the so-called evidence used to rally the public against the accused was fabricated, and not entirely without the blessings of those at the very top of the hierarchy. She writes, “Such is the extent of evidence tampering, that the BK case has become a landmark for research into cyber espionage.” If this is shocking, what comes later is startling. Shah reveals that the U.S.-based experts who took an interest in the cyber-data related to the BK case showed there was “a link between the police who made the arrests and those who hacked the computers”. The evidence was planted remotely through a hacker-on-hire mercenary gang infrastructure. Due to such wilful lies and sinister fabrication, the likes of Stan Swamy, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Anand Teltumbde, Hany Babu and others found themselves behind bars for years. Swamy died in judicial custody in 2021.

Of course, part of the reason for their prolonged incarceration was the communal politics of the day. Attention was drawn to the so-called ‘Urban Naxals’ to protect instigators of a communal riot at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018. In the riot, Hindutva leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide stood accused of mobilising Marathas against local Dalits with the former being imprisoned for a month. Around this time, a new narrative was spun and raids were conducted on the premises of BK-16 activists alleging that they had incited the violence. Despite their protests and claims of innocence, this led to the arrest of the BK-16 activists. “The BK case provides a window into how many state institutions, including the judiciary, have come to be dominated.... The police force appears to be ready to stand back and grant a long leash to offenders, even protect them, for instance, by overlooking the alleged crimes of Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, while at the same time, incarcerating those it wants to silence, like the BK-16.”

Sending a signal

The Hindutva activists’ angle was soon forgotten, with the help of the mainstream media. The focus shifted to ‘Urban Naxals’, and even an alleged death threat to the Prime Minister. Shah writes that the mainstream media was propagating the government’s version of events. “This was clear in the media trials that dramatically flashed the fabricated Modi assassination plot letter across the country, and declared the BK activists to be guilty before the matter even reached the courts. Those media outlets which challenged the regime’s version of events were targeted in order to be silenced.”

The BK-16 case was much more than a targeted attack on supposed Maoists. It was meant to send a strong signal to anyone daring to speak up. “Comply with the regime, hide inside your shell, or else you too may find yourself in jail,” is Shah’s brief analysis of the events.

One may never know why these activists who did not know each other until after their arrests were linked together by the state apparatus. But there were common threads of speaking for justice, for Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims. This emerging alliance of the weak, vulnerable and the marginalised had to be nipped in the bud.

Shah’s book raises pertinent questions. At one level, it is an unsettling human story of the activists. At another, it is an exposé of a system which uses different organs of the state to shape a politically convenient narrative. It’s a must-read book for the times.

never looks away

In a country that knows to avert its eyes, this equal rights activist is not a bystander

1 of 3 Pushing binaries Activist Harish Iyer. (Emmanual Yogini) Emmanual Yogini

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When Harish Iyer showed up on his first day at work wearing a blazer, albeit pale pink, the head of human resources had to remind him to be himself. Iyer had warned those interviewing him that he had failed his MBA and knew nothing about being in a corporate job. The equal rights activist had worked largely in the social sector and advertising, but Axis Bank went ahead and hired him as head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in 2021. That first day, Iyer said, he had been trying to be himself within the confines of male dressing. Now, he dresses feminine in salwar kameez. “It’s not a struggle to fit in as much as it is an everyday effort to stand out,” Iyer, 45, said.

Axis is among a handful of companies that lead the way when it comes to implementing equal opportunity in the workplace, from the #ComeAsYouAre policy to the self-reflective Pause for Bias sessions. The bank’s Women In Motion programme helps women bridge the gap from classrooms to workplaces. It was among the first to offer joint bank accounts for LGBTQIA+ couples and encouraged the community to list their partners as nominees.

Iyer was one of the petitioners in the marriage equality case. He’s attended more queer Hum Aapke Hain Koun style weddings than straight weddings since the Supreme Court struck down section 377 in 2018. “Nothing stops people from getting married,” he said. “It’s legal recognition of their marriage that they want.”

He describes himself as an everyday crusader, one who can never be a bystander in the face of violence, like a man hitting his wife on the train. For as long as he can remember, he has been a regular at the police cyber cell, armed with evidence of child sexual abuse on social networking sites. He’s protective of animals, describes his dietary preferences as “cheating vegan”, cares deeply about environmental issues and counsels rape survivors. He was a witness in the Tehelka rape case and a friend of Kolkata gang rape survivor Suzette Jordan. “I connected with them through the same thread of abuse that all of us go through,” he said. “Pain is a great binder, it imparts a sense of relatability.”

Pride, pain and passion

Some may remember the 2018 episode of Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate, where Iyer shared the story of his decade-long sexual abuse that started when he was seven years old, but it was not the first time he had spoken about this issue on television. In a country where most people prefer to secretly nurse their trauma, Iyer openly shares details of his horrific story.

As an abused child, he found parallels in nature. “I knew it’s exactly how animals feel when they know their end is near,” he said. “They struggle, then give up.”

“I used to hear the sounds of wind whistling, animals howling, birds flying out of trees leaving behind their nests. These were the images and sounds in my head and in them was a feeling of absolute escape from the space I was in, they helped numb myself,” he adds. “It explains why people and children who experience abuse are vivid in their imagination.”

Nearly a decade after a casteist “Iyer preferred” matrimonial ad that his mother and grandmother helped him write, and his subsequent justification of it in the face of an angry backlash, he is deeply regretful. “I should have said it’s wrong. I could have done better.”

In the corporate world, caste and religion are invisible on most diversity and inclusion charters. Companies don’t speak about these two big issues at all, even though some of them may have an internal reprimand mechanism in place to deal with casteism and Islamophobia. Many companies fear an upper caste backlash if they put their policies in writing. Even those firms that proudly have LGBTQIA+ employees likely treat gender as a binary in their annual reports. Real equity continues to be elusive in our workplaces.

‘Merit is not a leveller’

Iyer emphasises the importance of “intentionality” in corporate inclusivity practices. “When you are hiring people, say specifically that you are looking for LGBT employees or women or PWD [persons with disabilities],” he said. “Don’t say equal. We need more representation so that we become equal.” He cites Tata Steel’s effort to hire transgender employees as an example.

Iyer is constantly debunking the idea of ‘merit’. “Merit is not a leveller,” he tells people. “We don’t begin from the same place. Our opportunities and histories of oppression are not equal.” He is a big believer in merging the personal and the professional, and in the “audacity” of organisations that value personal experience and hire people such as himself who don’t have fancy degrees. “You draw so much from your personal lives and however much you try to divorce the personal and professional, you get valued only if you bring the personal to your professional space, whether it’s your strength or your weakness,” he said. “You can’t get rid of bias, make it an asset.”

Easy like Sunday morning

Berty Ashley

A lifetime of training for just 10 seconds: Jesse Owens, four-time Olympic gold medallist

Speed skater-cum-track cyclist Christa Luding of Germany at the Olympic Games in Albertville, France, in 1992. (Getty Images) Getty Images

1 On this day in 1894, the International Olympic Committee was founded in Paris. An initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who believed that organised sport can create moral and social strength, the first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens in 1896. At the 1912 games in Sweden, Coubertin himself won a gold medal for his effort ‘Ode to Sport’. In what now-defunct category did he win the medal?

2 Born this day in 1877, Norman Pritchard was a hurdler who won two silver medals at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Earlier, while studying at St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, he scored the very first football hat-trick on record. When Neeraj Chopra struck gold in javelin at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he overtook Pritchard’s record in athletics. What was his record?

3 Born this day in 1912, this English computer scientist loved running. He once said, “I have such a stressful job that the only way I can get it out of my mind is by running hard; it’s the only way I can get some release.” He almost qualified for the 1948 Olympics but had a leg injury. Who was this runner, whose work with the Enigma machine played a huge role in ending World War II?

4 Born this day in 1972, Zinedine Zidane is a French footballer who is one of the most successful coaches as well. He led the French team to the trophy at the 1998 FIFA Word Cup. Although he has never played at the Olympics, he made a cameo appearance as ‘Numérodis’ in the 2008 live action film of the comic book ______ at the Olympic Games. Fill in the blanks with another French icon.

5 Christa Luding Rothenburger is a German athlete who won gold for speed skating in 500m at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics. At the next one in Calgary four years later, she won gold in 1000m. In the break between both, she was convinced by her coach to take up cycling and progressed so well that she represented East Germany in cycling at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where she went on to win silver. What unique record does Christa have, which can never happen again?

6 At the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, the men’s pole vault event ended in a three-way tie for second place. After American Bill Sefton was eliminated in a jump-off, the two remaining athletes, both Japanese, refused to compete further. Officials chose one of them as silver medallist and the other for bronze. What did these two friends do with the medals after the games (in true friendship fashion)?

7 One of the places during the Olympic flame journey to the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics required a special flare carrier, which had a mix of oxygen-generating chemicals as well as magnesium in a finely powdered form. This allowed the flame to burn at 2,000 degrees Celsius creating enough pressure to keep even surrounding water from entering the tube. This was done so that the flame could be carried through what iconic place?

8 As part of the Olympic flame’s journey for the 1992 Albertville Olympics, it had to travel from Athens to Paris. During this trip, for the first time, it travelled faster than the speed of sound. What was its mode of transport?

9 This sport was contested as a team event in the Summer Olympics from 1900 to 1920. The teams consisted of six members each, and Great Britain has won five medals in it. It is the only land-sport in which you have to go backwards to win. What sport is this, which nowadays you mostly see only in fun picnics and at company outings?

10 The original Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger in Latin) was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin at the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. Since then, this year will be the first time the updated motto will be used. Now, “Citius, Altius, Fortius — Communiter”, what does it stand for?

A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’. @bertyashley

Two chances

Bob Jones

North-South vulnerable, South deals

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South in today’s deal was young Australian star Michael Whibley. One no trump showed 14-16 points and the three-heart bid was a re-transfer, showing at least invitational values. Whibley’s three spades was a rejection. Four diamonds promised a singleton diamond – a psyche trying to inhibit a diamond lead. Whew!

Whibley rose with dummy’s ace on the opening spade lead, felling the jack from East. There were 11 tricks, and either the clubs or the hearts might provide another. Should Whibley knock out the king of trumps right away, however, East might win and shift to a heart, forcing Whibley to decide immediately which suit to go after for the extra trick. Whibley wanted to combine his chances, so he immediately cashed dummy’s ace and king of clubs. That dropped the queen from West, so Whibley could lead a trump and he had no further problems.

Had the queen of clubs not fallen, Whibley would have cashed the ace and king of hearts, shedding a low club from dummy. A club ruff with the eight of spades would establish the suit and he could then safely lead another spade. A well-thought-out line of play.

Life in the

Vishal Sharma

Artificial general intelligence with human-like consciousness and problem-solving abilities is on the horizon

Illustration: Sreejith R. Kumar

The rise of artificial intelligence has transformed every aspect of our lives and has even challenged our understanding of the mind, brain, and consciousness. From the moment we wake up until we retire for the day, we encounter various AI tools that cater to our day-to-day requirements. From virtual assistants such as Siri and Alexa aiding daily tasks to recommendation algorithms on Netflix, personalised product suggestions on Amazon, predictive text on smartphones, navigation with Google Maps, fitness monitoring, fraud detection in banking, drone-assisted agriculture, personalised education platforms and chatbots such as ChatGPT, AI permeates every aspect of our lives, raising the fundamental question: “Are we propelling machines to mimic human beings, or are we transforming humans into machines governed by AI?”

It refers to the transformative process where machines, traditionally governed by programmed instructions, evolve to acquire artificial intelligence capabilities, leveraging machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing to process vast amounts of data, recognise patterns, self-learning and make autonomous decisions, thus behaving more like human beings.

In the age of AI, machines embedded with electronic sensors now possess super senses mirroring the perceptual abilities of humans such as sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch, granting them the ability to perceive and understand their surroundings akin to humans’ indispensable sensory capabilities. These sensors, ranging from infrared for dark environments to medical sensors monitoring health, not only mimic but enable them to acquire the abilities exceeding the traditional human senses, enabling machines to navigate and interact with the world more effectively than humans.

Furthermore, neural networks, a foundational concept of AI, inspired by the complex structure and function of the human brain, imitate the brain’s interconnected neurons that communicate via chemical and electrical signals.

Recent breakthroughs from MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, depicted that researchers have successfully created an artificial system of neural networks that not only simulates but also behaves like human brain. The research also discovered something really fascinating: the neural network figured out how to use less energy but still do its job effectively, just like how humans have learned over thousands of years to solve hard problems with less mental effort.

The emergence of digital humans, an AI entity with human-like faces that mimic human communication, heralds a new era in human-computer interaction, offering emotional engagement and practical applications across various industries.

Lil Miquela, a virtual online influencer who has nearly 3 million Instagram followers, exemplifies this trend.

According to IBM, as AI progresses, there is a strong possibility of achieving strong AI, mimicking human emotions, creativity, and other traits, aiming for artificial general intelligence (AGI) with human-like consciousness and problem-solving abilities. This ambition raises concerns, with scientists such as Geoffrey Hinton, who is called the godfather of AI, warning that future AI versions could pose risks as they become self-aware, generate and run their own computer code and learn unpredictably from vast amount of data sets.

Epistolary endeavours

Arun Sahu

A letter is a work of art. The paper, pen, and handwriting, paint emotions that a digital missive will fail to convey

“Who writes letters these days?” It crossed my mind as I opened the airmail.

It was from Roger, an old neighbour in Canada, where I lived for a few years as a diplomat. Roger and his sister had a fascinating Indian connection. Their parents served in the Royal Indian Air Force in British India, based in Kolkata, and after their service, they settled in Canada instead of the U.K. It was a two-page postcard. As I read through the handwriting, I could feel Roger’s presence and hear his voice. His lines of the alphabet were wonky, as was his speaking style. It returned memories and retold stories of humans in other parts of the world. It felt warm.

When I was young, I wrote letters to make penfriends in distant places. However slim the chances of getting a reply to a letter might be, one was always excited to introduce oneself to an unknown identity in anticipation of reciprocity. Initially, these were postcards, then inland letters and finally envelopes. Once one posts a letter, the wait for a reply begins. The postman becomes integral to one’s world of uncertainty, anticipation and imagination. It doubles if the letter is to a potential friend of the opposite gender. I made a few friends in this process.

A letter is a work of art — the paper, pen, ink, handwriting, the content, emotion and sentiments painting vivid emotions. As one writes, one keeps in mind the recipient and the impact the words will have on them. Sometimes, it could be a painstakingly laborious process. There could be a fear of losing a friend because of misuse of words, or one may unintentionally hurt the other’s sentiment.

My father used to say, “Good handwriting represents a propensity for knowledge and creativity.” He wrote hundreds of letters when I was in high school and college, all exceptionally thematic, on life, growing up, hope, aspiration, success and failure. As a child, I believed my father and tried to develop a neat and organised handwriting style. The communication between the hand muscles and a fountain pen nib is that of control and to be controlled, which is guided by one’s thought process. Ink adds colour to one’s writing.

Digital devices with digital pens and styluses in the market vary in look and comfort. I have tried a few but have yet to find one that can replicate that feeling of using a fine writing instrument.

I wondered whether Roger’s digital communication could have triggered the same intimacy as his letter.

The digital learning curve

N. Rama Rao

It takes time and patience to master the use of certain tech tools, especially if the person is a digital immigrant

As computers were not used for office work when I was in service, I had to pick up, post-retirement, some simple operations such as typing letters using MS Word and creating an email account.

Though there were voluntary organisations in my neighbourhood offering training for seniors on using digital and communication tools, I depended mostly on my smart grandchildren who offered to make me digitally literate, gradually.

Having learnt the ropes of the use of some of the digital tools, I occasionally ventured to handle things independently outside my home. But tasks that would be a child’s play for many, proved difficult for me mainly due to anxiety and minor age-related physical challenges.

Recently when I wanted to buy the monthly milk cards, I was taken by surprise when I was asked at the cash counter to make the payment only by “card” or using QR code. I could not do so in the absence of my debit card. I was not in the habit of taking it when I went out, for fear of losing it.

Once, at an ATM, my first few attempts to insert the debit card in the slot failed. Only with the help of another ATM client, the card could be inserted. When I was asked to enter my PIN, I keyed in the four digits that I recalled and lo!, it was rejected. After three failed attempts, I was flummoxed on learning that my card was temporarily blocked.

On another occasion, I had to change my address in the Aadhaar card. I went to a service centre where I was asked to give my previous cellphone number linked to my Aadhaar card. Having got it, the gentleman asked me to give the OTP which I would be getting on my previous cellphone. I could not do so as I was no longer using that defective instrument. Perhaps I had consigned it to a box in a corner of my shelf. I returned home with the pious resolution that I should fish out the cellphone and activate it with the help of somebody.

These were but a few such incidents which were somewhat discouraging. Yet, I was not deterred. I considered such experiences as stepping stones on the road to digital engagements.

George Netto

Many regard the onset of old age as a period of general physical and mental decline. This may be true to some extent but, overall, old age certainly does not incapacitate one as is generally feared. Far from doing so, it actually gives one a chance to relax and enjoy one’s post-retirement life to the fullest, if one’s blessed with a fair degree of health. As I see it, old age is just another phase of life like youth and middle age and should be treated as such.

As an octogenarian, experience has taught me that the first and foremost prerequisite to tackle ageing is a positive outlook coupled with an optimistic frame of mind. This will help see one through those difficult and trying periods that inevitably crop up now and then. To expect smooth sailing always is unrealistic.

I have found that an absorbing hobby is the best antidote to the ennui that often plagues the elderly with time hanging heavy on their hands. Spending one’s time as productively as possible, pursuing a passion or pastime, does help to banish boredom. The key is to keep oneself fully engaged somehow.

Of course, the usual infirmities of old age will make their presence felt. As a freelance writer, cognitive decline often sees me groping long for an elusive word or phrase that earlier came to me easily. It can be quite frustrating to say the least. Yet, being passionate about — or, at least, committed to — one’s hobbies and pastimes does give one a clear sense of purpose.

Sensible grand-parenting (without being overindulgent) is a fulfilling but often ignored option. Spending quality time daily with one’s grandchildren, teaching them and helping out with their school lessons or homework, will help build a strong bond with them, besides easing the pressure on their parents considerably. For my wife and I, it’s an integral part of our daily routine.

Of course, there’s nothing like occasional socialising to enliven the usually humdrum lives of the elderly. Besides being relaxing, it enables us to keep abreast of how our contemporaries are faring health-wise and otherwise. And, indeed, it gives one an opportunity to indulge in nostalgia — so dear to oldies — about one’s younger days when life was so radically different.

Aarushi Periwal

People are ready for some levity, and the international advertising festival’s new ‘Humour’ category is an acknowledgement

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5 of 5 Strike a balance (Clockwise from left) Fevicol’s funny fishing ad; Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’; Thai Life Insurance’s humorous ‘Unsung Hero’ ad; Bodyform’s ‘Womb Stories’; and Calm’s ‘The Last Photo’.

It’s like when Gretchen in Mean Girls, the iconic teen-flick parody, said, “That is so fetch!” and Regina, the film’s queen bee, bursts her bubble, “Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen! It’s not going to happen!”

In advertising, humour is ‘fetch,’ and global award juries seem to be Regina. Why else would Cannes Lions announce a humour category across disciplines starting this year? It’s because advertising is having a hard time laughing. Remember how hilarious ads were a couple of decades ago? Fevicol’s fishing rod was particularly a favourite in my household, followed closely by Asian Paints’ ‘Naya ghar... badhiya hai’. It was powerful when ads made you laugh.

‘Syllabus-ification’ of creativity

Those of you familiar with the advertising award landscape have seen trends come and go, and would know why I refer to humour as a thing of the past. Part of that is genuinely funny work not getting the biggest nods on global stages; causevertising has taken its place. It’s understandable; the global zeitgeist is not in a great place. We’re currently in the middle of two global conflicts, polarised political opinions, confusing social codes, and to top it all off, a pandemic that shaved off three-ish years of laughs.

Don’t get me wrong, the world undeniably needs powerful and impactful work such as Bodyform’s ‘Womb Stories’ in 2023, which dealt with the emotion, grief, and excitement that often comes with being a woman; Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ in 2020, that focused on brands being agents of change; or Calm’s ‘The Last Photo’ from last year, a campaign for suicide prevention. Even the ‘Unfiltered History Tour’, a guerrilla tour of the British Museum’s stolen artefacts — which landed India its first ‘Agency of the year’ title at Cannes Lions last year — was as purpose-led as it gets.

But not all such campaigns are executed with the same sincerity. Wokewashing is as deadly as being tone-deaf. As more brands embraced purpose and action, few remained committed to their causes. This has unfortunately led to a ‘syllabus-ification’ of creativity where purpose and humour aren’t mutually exclusive. I agree with what Andrew Robertson, CEO of BBDO Worldwide, said last year at Cannes Lions: “There’s a sort of misguided belief that brand purpose needs to be presented in a very serious way. And I don’t think it does... If brands are truly looking to make the world a better place, we could do a lot worse than make people laugh.”

Let’s laugh again

Laughter is not the opposite of sadness. Happiness is the opposite of sadness. Laughter is a reaction, and it can exist in both situations — a neglected truth pointed out by Daniel Sloss, a Scottish comedian. When the world goes up in flames, it still needs a jester for hope. Every laugh then becomes a tiny revolution.

So, why not award more funny ads? Why do we need a separate award category for it? Picture two scenarios in a jury room: one, where some jurors feel they’re unable to award humour-led work because of purpose-led work dominating, and two, where jurors feel humour-led work is getting ‘over-awarded’ despite the lack of a precise category fit. Whichever side you’re on, a separate category for humour feels like a win-win.

Brands and creatives have been given their holy trifecta — love, laughs, and roars. It’s the fiercest opportunity to stop underutilising the inventiveness of humour. And contrary to the worry that it is harder to make humour work across multi-platforms, I’d say humour is like a Swiss army knife that cuts through platforms. It can turn puns into PR, like CeraVe’s campaign with Michael Cera, rewrite the rules of hospitality as seen with Artotel Group’s ‘Rockstar Status’, and even make hyaluronic acid funny, as demonstrated by The Ordinary’s ‘Science over Celebrity’.

So what can we expect from this new category in the years ahead? I’m thrilled at the prospect that the next decade of advertising could be a multinational collaboration, where we borrow and learn from Thailand’s exaggerated, slapstick humour, such as Thai Life Insurance’s ‘Unsung Hero’, or South Africa’s political satire with campaigns like Nando’s ‘Last Dictator Standing’.

Imagine defying the dichotomous nature of humour in South Asia too — the kind where we crack jokes in ‘safe places’, not public spaces because we think it is ‘anti-culture’. For instance, ours isn’t a region that’s used to being sold anything via sarcasm. But as the region rapidly changes, our appetite for new genres of humour could proportionally rise. The last few years have shown us the kind of brilliant, funny work we can make. Will those make us proud on the world’s biggest stages? It’s exciting times ahead, and that is so fetch.

The writer is a founding

member and creative at Talented advertising agency.

When the rupee ruled

Shailendra Bhandare

From Akbar’s rupiya to the Rupay app that’s going international, tracing the adventurous run of India’s currency

Global reach (L-R) Akbar, painted by William Daniell; silver rupees from Akbar’s Agra mint, German East Africa, Dutch East Indies, and others; and a one rupee note issued for use in the Gulf. (Sarmaya Arts Foundation)

As India’s instant payment tech, UPI, conquers new international markets, it evokes a sense of déjà vu in those of us who study the history of money. Today, countries like Singapore, France, the UAE and Sri Lanka are using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to simplify trade. In centuries past and under the colonial apparatus, the rupee was used for much the same reason. Even until the 1960s, you could take your rupees and spend them in the Gulf countries, just like you would at home.

The history of how the national denomination of India originated, circulated and was consolidated to emerge as a ‘global’ currency is fascinating. The rupee is widely believed to be an ‘invention’ of Sher Shah Suri (ruled 1540-1545), the Afghan sultan of Delhi and founder of the short-lived Suri kingdom, although the etymology of the word ‘rupiah’ itself can be derived from the Sanskrit rupa or rupya, which meant either ‘fashioned/ wrought silver’ or ‘a form or impression’.

Suri organised coinage into two denominations: the silver rupiya weighing one tola or 11.66 grams and the copper dam, weighing 20 grams. Forty copper dams made a silver rupiya. The sultan then established mints across his kingdom, which ensured sufficient flow of coins for use, and mandated that the states under him would make and receive payments in coins, rather than commodities.

Worth its weight in silver

It was the sagacity and foresightedness of Akbar (ruled 1556-1605) that ensured the rupee’s position as a pre-eminent Mughal currency. Akbar continued with Suri’s reforms and monetary policies. When he expanded the empire of Hindustan from Kabul to Chittagong and from Kashmir to the Deccan, he set up mints across this vast expanse. Traders could trust that coins from Mughal mints would be of consistent weight and purity, so this form of currency became popular across the subcontinent. Incidentally, it was during Akbar’s reign that the word ‘rupiya’ first appeared on Indian currency.

The bulwark of Mughal currency was a steady supply of silver brought to India by trade-hungry Europeans in the 16th century. In order to buy spices, gems and textiles, the British, Dutch, Danish and French ‘East India Companies’ had to turn their silver into a currency that was trusted and accepted everywhere. Enter the rupee. By the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Companies made the Mughal rupee a ‘trade coin’ — it was exported to territories under their control, such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and used in local circulation. The design of the rupee became so familiar in these countries that when they started minting their own coins, they kept the distinct Mughal imprint, complete with Farsi inscriptions.

From Africa to the Gulf

In the 19th century, European powers launched currencies in the colonies to further their own agenda. Since the rupee had already been a familiar trade currency on the East African coast, the newly established colonies of German and British East Africa, Italian Somaliland and Portuguese Mozambique all started to issue their own ‘rupees’. The British enforced treaties to make the rupee legal tender in the Arab sheikhdoms of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the ‘Trucial States’ (the forerunners of modern UAE) and the Sultanate of Oman.

In fact, in 1956, the Reserve Bank of India launched a series of special notes to circulate exclusively in the Gulf. It was only in the 1960s, when the rupee was severely devalued, that the Arab kingdoms abandoned it and launched their own currencies. The last to abandon the Indian rupee was Oman in 1972. But five decades on, in 2022, things came full circle when the Sultanate embraced another Indian money innovation: a tech-enabled echo of the historic original called Rupay.

The writer is curator of South

Asian and Far-eastern Coins and Paper Money at Ashmolean Museum, the U.K.

The fifth in a series of columns by sarmaya.in, a digital archive

of India’s diverse histories and artistic traditions.

SM/SM

- Banking on the bedroom studio

- Misplaced pride

- The great siris of India’s cities

- Games of power and change

- green Humour

Banking on the bedroom studio

Anurag Tagat

As the DIY music movement gains traction in India, musicians are exploring new formats, and distribution companies are trying to empower them

1 of 6 Home advantage (Clockwise from far left) Anoushka Maskey; Rudy Mukta; Haniya Nafisa; Ritnika Nayan of MGMH; Arjuna Harjai; and Govind Thampi. (Lendrick Kumar, Yeashu Yuvraj and special arrangement)

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Anoushka Maskey’s 2020 song ‘September Embers’ has all the makings of an international hit. The folk pop tones have global appeal, and at over 1,28,000 streams on Spotify, it’s fair to say it has its own audience. Her song was not made in some state-of-the-art studio, but with producer Pranay Bakshi aka Cosmic Grooves at his home studio. The Sikkim-origin, Mumbai-based singer-songwriter, who started out by recording guitars and ukulele through a USB microphone on her Macbook, has since steadily upgraded to a “humble set-up” consisting of monitor speakers, electric guitar, MIDI keyboard, and a condenser microphone. “For me, there is no longing for a time in the future when I’ll have more equipment or resources. All the resources are already there,” says Maskey.

Down South, Kerala indie artist Haniya Nafisa has over 1,86,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, attracting a chunk of her over 3 lakh Instagram followers with homemade covers of popular songs. With a few film songs in her catalogue, she can evoke the intimacy of a lo-fi electronic pop sound on songs like ‘U good?’. “The quality of music or an artist is not dependent on the resources,” says Nafisa, who recorded ‘U good?’ in her bedroom — a collaboration with Gujarat-origin artist Krameri and Kerala producer 6091.

A genre-wise look at bedroom studio artists reveal pop, lo-fi, indie-folk and even hip-hop. These styles are popular perhaps because the songs don’t call for live recorded drums (like in rock or metal) or string sections (for more ambitious pop). Here, everything can be added through beat packs, sound libraries, plug-ins and digital audio workstations.

DIY your next album

Bedroom-produced music has been around for a while — from the Beach Boys in the 1960s (who recorded what are now considered the first two ‘lo-fi’ albums in 1967) to punk bands and the No Wave genre, and later, hip-hop producers. And like all movements in art, there’s a certain cyclical nature involved. Over the last decade, the rapid digitalisation of music making and distribution has fuelled this trend, and the pandemic helped the DIY music movement gain traction faster, especially among Indian musicians.

They followed in the footsteps of performers such as slacker rock artist Mac DeMarco, singer-songwriter Billie Eilish — whose Grammy winning album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, was recorded in her brother’s bedroom — and British singer Kenya Grace. The electronic-pop artist’s song ‘Strangers’, from her 2023 album The After Taste, was recorded entirely in her Hampshire bedroom, and it not only went viral but also topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart last October.

Closer home, Indian artists have become aware of the ease and economic logic behind knowing how to produce one’s own music. Where before it was solely compelled by a lack of resources, now it’s a creative decision as it gives artists control over every aspect of the production. “How I use what I have and how I collaborate with my community makes all the difference,” states Maskey.

Arjuna Harjai, based in the U.K., is known as the One Minute Composer. Through the YouTube series — in which he thinks up song ideas, seated at his home setup with his wife Divya Harjai — he says he is “rediscovering the joy of music-making”. The series, which launched this January, was spurred on by his subscribers pushing him to innovate “and present music in a more raw manner”, akin to a vlog. This has led to songs like ‘Winter ayun waliye’ and ‘Mangoge na?’, which have blown up on social media, with over 8,57,000 views and 67,000 views on YouTube, respectively.

Distributors come courting

The power of the internet and the democratisation of technology mean artists have access to a lot of music-making gizmos. Think digital audio workstations such as Steinberg Cubase, and compact, affordable recording equipment. Grace has talked about relying on her intuition and YouTube tutorials to master recording software Logic for The After Taste album.

And for those who want to scale up, there are a plethora of music distributors today who offer better reach through editorial playlist placements, AI-assisted marketing tools, and opportunities to pitch to music festivals. “After talking to a few artist friends, I found that DistroKid [an independent digital music distribution service] is affordable,” shares Nafisa, whose song ‘U good?’ is part of Spotify’s Malayalam Indie playlist. “It was easy to understand and navigate as a platform, and the artist gets a lot of freedom.” It runs on a yearly fee and lets artists release their content when they want. In Bengaluru, Rudy Mukta is also considering a bigger set-up. “I like the idea of slowly building up and learning about home studio equipment,” says the Toto Music Award-winning singer-songwriter, who started out with her friend’s iPad. “But I want to incorporate more live instrumentation in my songs.” And this will require professional intervention.

Artists, however, are wary about music distribution companies because they charge more for add-on services, and some take a cut of the revenue generated from streams. Still, companies such as Gurgaon-headquartered MADverse are justifying their prices. Founder and CEO Rohan Nesho Jain says they provide tools to bolster the DIY ethos of bedroom musicians, including an AI art cover generation tool. “We also offer data-driven insights that assist artists in understanding their audience and honing their strategies.” Over 51,000 artists from 60 countries have signed up to release music or use other MADverse services.

Compared to the year-old MADverse, Ritnika Nayan, the founder of music company MGMH, offers a different kind of interaction. Early last month, they launched their distribution service MGMH Groove, and they hope to be a conduit for artists to put their music on Spotify editorial playlists, take it on the road with a tour, and have it placed in TV shows or movies. “In a sense, the artist gets the support they require without signing exclusively to a label. We want artists to be empowered,” says Nayan, adding that they’ve got 15 releases scheduled and over 25 accounts in their first week.

Artists have their wishlists, too. Doha-raised Indian singer-songwriter Govind Thampi aka Thumpii, for instance, wants “more reliable ways of sending your music to playlist editors and other promotion partners”. Considering the rising number of bedroom artists today, they will soon be dictating more terms to distributors.

The writer is a Bengaluru-based independent music journalist.

Misplaced pride

Why India’s most recent Cannes glory is not just an occasion for celebration, but for introspection too

1 of 2 Newsmakers (Clockwise from far left) Nina Davuluri, Sameer Banerjee, Gajendra Chauhan, Anasuya Sengupta, Payal Kapadia, and Anurag Kashyap. (Getty images)

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Yes, we Cannes. That seemed to be the prevailing sentiment after India’s historic showing at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

Every year, India’s Cannes coverage typically follows a certain formula. First there’s a slew of photographs of Indian celebrities and quasi-celebs posing on the red carpet and a gush of reports about their outfits.

Then there’s a stream of finger-wagging articles bemoaning the fact that none of the red-carpetbaggers was there to promote actual films, that the world’s biggest film industry had again produced nothing that could be deemed Cannes-worthy.

Finally, someone shares an old photograph of Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Shyam Benegal at Cannes when Benegal’s Nishant (1975) was nominated for the Palme d’Or award and everyone wistfully sighs about the long-lost good old art-film days.

This year, India broke the jinx. The ‘nishant’ happened when Payal Kapadia took home the Grand Prix for her film All We Imagine As Light, and Anasuya Sengupta won the Un Certain Regard Best Actress prize for The Shameless. It led to widespread jubilation and social media celebration from Prime Minister Modi to Bollywood stars to former FTII chair Gajendra Chauhan.

But as many pointed out, it was a little ironic for Chauhan to “feel proud” that he was “chairman at the time when (Kapadia) was doing the course there” given that Kapadia is still fighting legal cases stemming from her involvement in months of protest against his appointment.

A taste of success

Chauhan, however, was an easy target for hypocrisy, a way to deflect attention from the rest of us. As filmmaker Anurag Kashyap said in an interview, India did not support these films. These “Indian” films were really French productions or self-funded or financed by the U.K. Film Lottery Fund. Even the Indo-French production is yet to receive its promised government rebate. Kashyap said Konstantin Bojanov, director of The Shameless, spent 10 years struggling with the film and chose Sengupta, an art director, as his lead after getting no interest from better-known actors. And the truth is, most Indians didn’t even know these films existed before they won their awards. We were too busy Googling influencer Nancy Tyagi and her DIY red-carpet outfits.

But while failure is an orphan, success has many mothers. Many Indians, especially movers and shakers, are patting themselves on the back about the Cannes success. It is proof positive of India’s rising global star. But Cannes is just the latest example of an old phenomenon. Indians will routinely puff up with pride about desi entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, ignoring the hard truth that many of those super-achievers went to America because they felt stymied and stifled in India.

When 17-year-old Sameer Banerjee won the Wimbledon Boys’ championship in 2021, a television channel in Assam called it a “proud moment for the Northeast” because his grandfather had been a general manager with an oil company in Assam in the 80s. That Sameer himself was actually American, the son of Indian immigrants, was an inconvenient fact that was brushed aside in the euphoria.

When Nina Davuluri faced some slurs after she won the Miss America title in 2014, a newspaper in India said, “Racist remarks sour Indian girl’s Miss America moment.” Davuluri had already categorically said she viewed herself as “first and foremost American” from Syracuse, New York and Oklahoma. No matter. Indians were ready to claim her success as their own achievement.

We did not root for them

But those were just stray strands of DNA pride and mostly limited to the media asking all-important questions like: ‘Do you like Indian food?’, ‘Do you watch Bollywood films?’, ‘Who is your favourite film star?’. It was a way to claim our little corner in their global success story.

The Cannes jubilation is more misplaced. As Kashyap and others have pointed out, these achievements belong to these indie filmmakers and actors alone. They struggled against all odds to make the films. They didn’t have the support of all those falling over themselves now to congratulate them. None of these people were rooting for them.

Will their success make it easier for the next Payal Kapadia to make an offbeat film? Will another Anasuya Sengupta attract the attention of filmmakers despite not having the traditional film heroine looks? Indie films will always be niche but will that niche get ‘un certain regard’ in India without needing the chhappa of a foreign award for Indians to take notice?

And when that film releases (and gets some godforsaken mid-afternoon or late-night slot), will we go to the multiplex to see it? That’s if it gets a slot at all. The Oscar-nominated documentary All That Breathes, which won an award at Cannes in 2022, never even got a theatrical release.

Perhaps, the Cannes moment is not just an occasion for celebration. But also a moment for introspection.

The great siris of India’s cities

Sunil Rajagopal

These majestic trees burst into bloom in summer, support hundreds of birds and insects, and inspire a myriad stories

1 of 3 Leafy guardians (Clockwise from far left) A siris captured in the late evening light; common picturewings; and a man walking under the vaagai. (Sunil Rajagopal)

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I live near a siris (Albizia lebbeck). It stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a copper pod, flanked by two smooth-skinned gulmohars. The siris, however, is not gregarious even with its own kind. It bends away from them, draping its rounded, umbrella-shaped shade gently over our yard. Trees do not like their canopies to touch.

Every year, I know summer is coming from the sudden abundance of tiny, wandering red ants and colourful picturewings framed against the sky. They arrive in time for the siris blooming in a burst of fluffy white pom-poms, which slowly turn a pale yellow, emanating a mellow fragrance that lingers on at night. Ants, flies and stingless bees swarm; butterflies like the restless green-tailed jay and the slower, iridescent great egg fly pause to settle on the flowers.

The picturewings hover over the trees in small groups on stained glass wings, filtering black and yellow light from the sky. They look aimless and slow but are actively hunting the flower feeders. In turn, the picturewings and bees are picked off mid-air by blue-tailed bee-eaters. Other birds also join the melee on the siris — flamebacks, white- throated kingfishers, drongos and tailorbirds all making use of this feast.

Who remembers the vaagai?

The siris is an Indian native and was once fairly widespread. Kalidasa personified Parvati with its delicate flowers in his Kumarasambhava. In Tamil, it is the vaagai, legendary in Sangam literature for its connotation to victory. Legends speak of Durga gathering her strength under a vaagai, before proceeding on her war with Mahisha. For this reason, garlands of its flowers were apparently worn by warriors.

Almost every part of the tree is considered useful as per Ayurvedic texts. Later, many trees with mimosa-like leaves came to be called vaagai or variations of it. In Kerala, the Madagascar-born gulmohar is often referred to as a vaaka.

How many of us can recognise or name a vaagai now? How many from Kerala would know the picturewings by their Malayali name, Onathumbi — literally the dragonfly of Onam. They would typically emerge during the harvest season, during August-September, to feast on the burgeoning insect population. Built-over wetlands and paddies have made them uncommon in cities, so much so that most of us have forgotten their names. The siris, too, is not as conspicuous now, ignored in places as an avenue tree due to its deciduous and reclusive nature.

Tapping into collective memory

Naming something has an unseen power. Especially in nature, which many of us deem indistinguishably homogenous. Names, especially those in the local tongue, lead to stories, and stories tap into our collective memories. Learning the name of a tree or a bird or an insect often means learning something about it: its uses, its ties with local culture and geography, or its connections to other forms of life. Naming a living being is also an awareness of its position in a seasonal cycle or its place in time.

Above all, we understand something best when it can be quantified, especially in terms of its usefulness. Picturewings, for example, serve as biological pest control. As creatures of all three realms — earth, water and sky — dragonflies are excellent indicators of wetland health. Terrestrial insects are declining globally at 9% per decade. This is a critical number when you consider insects pollinate 75% of global crops and 80% of wild plants. As the base of most food chains, fewer insects mean less food going around and yields dropping everywhere. An ecosystem ‘service’ that a value in billions of dollars would not do justice to.

Saviour of urban heat islands

Trees like the siris also combat heat island effects (which occur when natural land cover is replaced with pavements, buildings, and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat) and lower temperatures locally by several degrees. Not just by its shade but by allowing cities to perspire through leaf transpiration. They decelerate raindrops, and their roots control surface run-off to allow better percolation. Dense foliage lowers particulate and noise pollution. All this while boosting insect and bird diversity. The extent of these effects varies with species, their structural features and geographic suitability.

It may be interesting to study the impact of Cyclone Michaung on Chennai last December, juxtaposed with the presence of tree cover. At a glance, it would appear that localities with more tree cover and consequentially some amount of exposed soil for drainage fared better with flooding. They are also more likely to be the places with usable ground water availability. Unfortunately, public parks and privately owned gardens take up a lion’s share of our urban green spaces. Making trees an indicator also of discrepancies in socio-economic well-being, sustainability and liveability of a city.

The author is a birder and writer based in Chennai.

The third article in a series that looks at urban spaces as havens

for biodiversity and often overlooked species.

Games of power and change

Y.B. Sarangi

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2 of 4 Eyes on the prize (Clockwise from above) Indian athletes Mirabai Chanu and Neeraj Chopra; the Indian hockey team that won bronze at Tokyo 2020; and American swimming great Michael Phelps. (Shashi Shekhar Kashyap, K.R. Deepak & Getty Images)

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Paris 2024 will be the third edition of the Olympic Games to be held in the French capital after the first one in 1900 and the second, exactly 100 years ago, in 1924. Dubbed as Games Wide Open, the International Olympic Committee has taken some initiatives to set new benchmarks and emerge as a sensitive and responsible Games towards future generations. Fielding a Refugee Olympic Team for the third time in a row, comprising athletes from various conflict zones, underlines the need for a humanitarian approach in a world full of crisis.

Highlights from the upcoming Games and a reminder of some of the all-time greats from previous years:

l For the first time, the opening ceremony will be held outside a stadium — on the Seine river.

l Break dance will make its debut at the Olympics this year.

l The mascots, called the Phryges, are based on the traditional Phrygian hats that have been a symbol of freedom since the French revolution.

l A single emblem will be used for both the Olympics and Paralympic Games, signifying inclusivity.

l This will be the first Olympics where an equal number of male and female athletes, 10,500 in all, will take part.

l More than 100 Indian athletes are expected to participate in this edition.

l Javelin champion Neeraj Chopra, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, shuttler P.V. Sindhu, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and the men’s hockey team will be seen in action in Paris.

l India hopes to reach double digits in their medal tally this year. They won seven at Tokyo 2020.

l American swimmer Michael Phelps, with 28 medals, including 23 gold, is the most decorated Olympian in the world. He was the first athlete to secure eight gold medals in a single edition. Former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, with 18 medals (nine gold), is the most successful female Olympian. Among countries, the U.S. leads, with a total 2,638 Olympic medals (1,065 gold) over the years.

Rohan Chakravarty

Table of Contents

The Hindu Jun 23, 2024

National

NTA chief removed as panel set up for agency overhaul

New Delhi, Dhaka to hold talks on comprehensive ties

No GST for hostel stay below ₹20,000, Railway services

Upkeep time

INDIA MPs not to assist pro tem Speaker

Southern Railway suspends loco pilots for 46-hour ‘rest’

BSF to recalibrate deployment along Pakistan border in Jammu in the wake of terror strikes

JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna questioned on sexual abuse charge

Season opener

BJP should not avenge Ayodhya defeat by targeting saints and sages: Akhilesh

YSRCP building razed in A.P.; contempt of court, says party

Former The Hindu journalist Muralidhar Reddy no more

Police Commissioners of Lucknow and Prayagraj transferred

Probe into 1985 Kanishka tragedy still active: Canada

Dalit man’s death in custody; BSP seeks action

‘If Centre adopts bulldozer tactics in House, it will be countered’

Six arrested in Jharkhand in NEET case; Mukhiya kingpin, says EOU

OBC activists in Maharashtra suspend fast after 10 days

Enforcement of the anti-paper leak law a ‘whitewash’: Kharge

1,563 candidates to retake NEET today

Water crisis: Atishi’s fast enters day two

New criminal law Bill has no Section on rape of men, transgender people

Erred in not crediting ICMR as co-inventor of Covaxin, admits Bharat Biotech

First arrest made in ‘lynching’ of 3 cattle transporters in Arang

Stringent regulations could hinder growth of AI in India: experts

Programmme to fast-track traveller immigration launched at IGI airport

Another bridge collapses in Bihar; no casualties reported

Salman firing case: police trace new links to Bishnoi

Taking U.P. lightly cost us badly: Axis My India chief

Police arrest two for burglary at actor Anupam Kher’s office

Summer of discontent

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Regional

BJP demands CBI probe, resignation of Minister in T.N. hooch tragedy

Art empowers villages in a once-troubled part of Bengal

2 police personnel injured, 2 vehicles damaged in Jodphur communal clash

Pinarayi rejects ‘anti-incumbency’ claims, asks BJP backers to introspect

Maharashtra BJP holds meeting over Assembly polls

Civic bodies run by Oppn. not invited for Mamata’s meeting, says Suvendu; alleges discrimination

Haryana ‘double engine’ govt. for welfare of society, says CM

Law Minister rules out probe by CBI

Baseless: MPPSC on paper leak claims ahead of exams

Video shows woman being beaten publicly in M.P.; 7 held

Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: fermented with methanol and apathy

Bedlam at Balodabazar: a day of protest and pandemonium

Edit

What can the Railways do to stop accidents?

Where does India stand with respect to G-7?

Are heatwaves natural disasters?

Science

Rotavirus vaccine: tortured data analyses raise false safety alarm

The birth and growth of music

Conclusive evidence that a terrestrial leech species can jump

Self-medication

Study in rats illuminates how the brain controls heart rate

Study reveals how human gut reacts to intact fibrous foods

Bacterial proteins keep cold-blooded worms alive

Business

‘Govt. must borrow at market cost, not at a subsidised one’

‘Just 2% taxpayers face CGST notices’

Centre notifies new Telecom Act effective June 26, replaces 138-yr-old Telegraph Act

Tata Steel threatens to advance furnace shut down in U.K. amid strike call

‘Global textile industry worried about continuing weak demand’

Garden Reach signs up with German firm for multi-purpose vessels

States seek tweaks to 50-year interest-free loan scheme

Govt. buys 71,000 tonnes of onion for buffer stock

Deeptech start-ups count surges in 2023: Nasscom

Coimbatore’s Propel acquires stake in Ireland-based Omega

Foreign

PM Modi likely to skip SCO summit in Kazakhstan; Xi, Putin, Sharif may attend

Israeli attacks on Gaza City camps leave at least 42 dead

Russia targets Kyiv’s power grid in ‘massive’ attack

‘Bend it’ in Brazil

U.K. hard-right leader Farage says West provoked Ukraine war

Pakistan Minister condemns Swat lynching

Israel Army says Israeli civilian was shot dead in occupied West Bank

U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea for joint military exercises

China, France launch satellite to better understand the universe

Taiwan detects 41 Chinese aircraft, seven naval vessels around island

Sports

Kuldeep & Co. strangle Bangladesh after Hardik sets up a daunting chase

Bowlers, Hope shine as West Indies thumps USA

Can Afghanistan spring a surprise on the Aussies?

3Ws Oval a reminder of Caribbean cricket’s once glorious era

Buttler’s England eyes massive victory to stay alive

Knowledge of the conditions has helped, says Proteas’ de Kock

It was a great catch, Buttler heaps praise on Markram’s effort

It’s our destiny and our goal to win the World Cup, says Chase

Want to finish with a victory over England, says USA skipper Jones

scoreboard

India will need to guard against complacency

The wind factor— a decisive double-edged sword

Chile and Peru in a hard-fought goalless stalemate

Norris pips Verstappen for his second career pole

Portugal breezes into round of 16; France-Netherlands match drawn

Indian women’s compound team completes a hat-trick

AITA confirms Sumit Nagal’s entry for Paris Olympics

Gangjee holds on in close finish to win Selangor Masters

Aditi manages to make the cut at KPMG Women’s PGA

Dressel wins 50m freestyle at U.S. Olympic swimming trials

SM

Countdown to Paris 2024

Resisting stereotypes of queerness

Rights, interrupted

Crackdown on dissent

Harish Iyer: never looks away

Easy like Sunday morning

Two chances

Life in the times of AI

Epistolary endeavours

The digital learning curve

Who’s afraid of old age?

Cannes Lions 2024: Humour makes a comeback

When the rupee ruled

SM/SM

Banking on the bedroom studio

Misplaced pride

The great siris of India’s cities

Games of power and change

green Humour