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RNI REGD NO. ORIENG/2004/13647VOLUME 11, ISSUE 01 | FORTNIGHTLY

INDIAFIRSTS P E A K S Y O U R M I N D

ALL FOR THE POOR

Despite facing a financial crisisthat may soon force it to resortto open market borrowing, theNaveen Patnaik administration

has stuck to its populist policies

IF20150301

A STATEMENT OF INTENT

By coming down hard on corporate espionage withingovernment offices, the Narendra Modi administrationhas reaffirmed its commitment to fighting corruption

Only at Lalchand Jewellers

1 MARCH 2015 INDIA FIRST 3

Welcome to the latest scam on the block. Oris it? We don’t quite know yet, as investiga-tion into the corporate espionage case is

still ongoing with fresh arrestsbeing made almost every otherday until very recently.

Corporate espionage in NewDelhi’s corridors of power (liter-ally speaking) is not a new phe-nomenon – it has arguably beenthe national capital’s worst-keptsecret for at least a decade if nottwo.

So the recent crackdown by theDelhi Police on those involved inthis, although commendable onbetter- late-than-never grounds,has raised a question: Why now?Given that the Bharatiya JanataParty fought and won the gen-eral elections last year on theplank of corruption and theNarendra Modi government hasbeen around for almost a year,what took so long?

Theories abound, but mostpolitical pundits are putting itdown to Prime Minister Modi’stalent of tackling big and long-

standing problems with quick-fix but long-lasting so-lutions.

Take for instance the severe criticism he faced, par-ticularly in the social media, over the Rs 10-lakh-worthsuit he wore to one of his meetings with Barack Obamaduring the US President’s recent visit. Just when itseemed that he had finally been cornered, he put allthat criticism to rest by putting the suit under hammerand raising Rs 4.31 crore for his pet Clean Ganga proj-ect. What a master stroke.

Similar is the case, experts say, of the BJP govern-ment’s crackdown on corporate espionage: After a hu-miliating loss to the Aam Aadmi Party in the recentlyheld Delhi assembly elections, which all but broke theproverbial Modi wave and indicated the public’s risingdisillusionment with the BJP government over delaysin fulfilment of its electoral promises, the saffron partywas desperate to regain its fast-eroding credibility.

Therefore, this was as good a time as any to showthat the Modi government was committed to its anti-corruption promises and was ready to go to anylengths, including taking on powerful corporate giants,for the sake of the country and its people.

Whatever be the underlying reasons, and nevermind the timing, it is a good thing that the crackdownon corporate espionage has finally happened. Suchpurloining of confidential files from ministry offices isnot only a matter of great shame for the government

and the corporate community, butalso against the interests of thepublic and national security.

And if it at all is another one ofthose great Indian scams, as a for-mer journalist arrested in connec-tion with the case shouted outfrom the back of a police van to athrong of media persons, somehigh-profile personalities from thepolitical and bureaucratic as wellas the corporate worlds are verylikely to be implicated sooner orlater.

The stakes may even becomedangerously high, but if the Modiadministration fights this battlewith the conviction of truth andbrings the perpetrators to justice,it can make a truly lasting impres-sion on the electorate’s conscious-ness and will stand sure-footedlyto reap the rewards down the line.It should remember that no matterhow ugly the fallout of the case, itwill still be a golden opportunity. n

FROM

THE E

DITOR

’S DE

SK

A GOLDENCHANCE

Whatever be the underlying reasons, andnever mind the timing, it is a good thingthat the crackdown on corporateespionage has finally happened

By SUNJOY HANSEditor-in-Chief

4 INDIA FIRST 1 MARCH 2015

CONTENTS

19DEFENCE

STANDING THE TESTOF TIMEMinerva has proven itsmettle as the ultimateprep school for IndianArmed Forces

09COVERSTORY

A STATEMENT OF INTENTBy coming down hard on corporate espionage within governmentoffices, the Narendra Modi administration has reaffirmed itscommitment to fighting corruption

A GRIM GROUNDREALITYThe Early WarningSystem is notguaranteed to savelives during seismicdisasters

28SCIENCE

VIENNA CALLINGAlready a firm favouriteamong Indian travelers,the Austrian capitalcannot seem to haveenough of them

THE CRACKSWITHINIn Goa the ranks ofrebellious BJP MPsseem to be rising

14POLITICS

INDIAFIRSTEditor-in-Chief Sunjoy Hans[email : [email protected]]

Consulting Editor Pankaj Kumar

Associate Editor Siddhartha Tripathy

Senior Special Correspondent Kabita Dash

General Manager Bimal Ku. Bhanjdeo

Legal Advisors Yasobant Das, M.R. Mohanty

Orissa Correspondent H.K. Rath

Delhi Correspondent Samita Chaudhary

Special Correspondents Tarun Khanduja,Ashok Mehta

Production Head Debabrata Mishra

Assistant Art Director Prabhakar Hota

General Manager Finance Niranjan Das

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RNI Regd No. ORIENG/2004/13647Volume 11, Issue01, 1 March 2015, Fortnightly

email : [email protected]

S P E A K S Y O U R M I N D

34TOURISM


In a nutshell

With Friends like these …The Shiv Sena virtually termed the

BJP its ally in the Maharashtragovernment − "old wine in new bottle",and wondered what has changed sincethe erstwhile 15-year Congress-NCPrule. In an editorial in party mouthpieceSaamana, the Sena posed a direct ques-tion to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP):"What has changed with this new gov-ernment? If anyone knows, please en-

lighten us." It also attacked the BJP forwhat it termed its "failure" to nab thekillers of Communist leader and anti-toll tax activist Govind Pansare in Kolha-pur February 16. "Both the Dabholkarand Pansare murders took place inbroad daylight in full public view.Twenty teams are set up to probe thePansare killing. Many such teams wereformed for Dabholkar murder, but to noavail. What is happening in Maharash-tra? Will somebody enlighten us?" theeditorial demanded. Comparing it withthe murder of anti-superstition activistNarendra Dabholkar in Pune in August2013, the Sena said: "Chief Minister De-vendra Fadnavis and the governmenthas changed, but the system remainsthe same. It's the same old story, screen-play, heroes and villains, but in a newmovie." n

Crorepati Constable Araid at the house of an excise

department constable in Mad-hya Pradesh's Indore city recently re-vealed that he actually ownedproperty worth crores of rupees. Therevelation about RamchandraJaiswal's assets disproportionate tohis known sources of income wasmade during raids at different placesin the city following a Lokayukta com-plaint. Besides recovery of cash fromJaiswal's Sudama Nagar house, theteam also found that he actuallyowned many properties, includinghouses and a shop. n

Big Fat Yadav Wedding Over 500 superior quality Swiss cottages were erected at Saifai, the na-

tive village of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for thepre-wedding ceremony of his grandnephew which was also attended byPrime Minister Narendra Modi recently. Over 100,000 invites were sent outfor the 'tilak' ceremony of Tej Pratap Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Mainpuri,at Saifai, some 25 km from Etawah. He will get married to Raj Laxmi, theyoungest daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad, Feb-ruary 26 in Delhi. Modi arrived in Saifai on a special Indian Air Force (IAF)plane. He was welcomed by Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members.Modi wished the groom and interacted with other guests, including LaluPrasad. The prime minister also spoke to the children of the Yadav clan andshutter bugs went into frenzy as they caught the prime minister in a jovialmood, chatting with the children. Other than the Swiss cottages, 250 com-mon cottages for relatives have also been erected at the venue. All hotelsin Etawah, Mainpuri, Kannauj and Firozabad are booked for the guests. n


Comment ControversyRSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's com-

ments on Mother Teresa evokedcontroversy but the organisation deniedhe had criticised the Nobel laureate whospent her life in the service of the desti-tute. Bhagwat, while addressing a func-tion of a local NGO near Bharatpur, saidMother Teresa's service to the poor wasaimed at converting them to Christian-

ity. "People like Mother Teresa did goodwork and service. But the aim was toconvert the poor to Christianity. Thiskind of service is devalued if conver-sions are done in the name of service orwork," he said. Former chief ministerAshok Gehlot termed the statement"unfortunate". "She left her country andspent her life to provide service to thepoor. It is really a very unfortunate state-ment," he said. n

Cornered ChiefFormer Kerala chief minister V.S.

Achuthanandan was recentlypulled up at the state CPI-M conference

for breaching party discipline followingwhich he walked out of the meet. Duringthe morning session of the conference,a grim-looking Achuthanandan walkedout of the session. He was followed by abattery of reporters but the veteranheaded for his home at Punnapara, anddid not speak to anyone. A crowd gath-ered at his residence Alappuzha andshouted slogans in his support. Sourcessaid he was deeply hurt after being crit-icised over a party report tabled at meet-ing which has more than 50 pagesattacking the party veteran for his con-stant breach of party discipline. Stateparty secretary Pinarayi Vijayan wenthammer and tongs against his arch rivaland after an hour, Achuthanandan hitback at Vijayan. Trouble between thetwo has been a long standing problemfor the cadre party and over the years,

Vijayan's hold on the party has turnedstronger, while Achuthanandan hasbeen losing his ground in the party. n

RTI Misuse The Right to Information (RTI) Act

is fast turning into a weapon forgovernment employees to settle profes-sional scores in Himachal Pradesh.Though the maintainability of the pleasfiled by one government employeeagainst another for information pertain-ing to professional conduct is debatable,the filing of such "frivolous" or "per-sonal-in-nature" applications is on therise despite a state information commis-sion directive in this regard. "On an av-erage, more than 60 percent of the totalapplications are those relating to the is-sues of government employees," a sen-ior functionary in the information

Aide & Arrest West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shirked off any respon-

sibility over the arrest of entrepreneur Shibaji Panja who accom-panied her during her three-day visit to Bangladesh. Panja, against whomthe Delhi Police have issued a look-out notice, was detained at the NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose international airport upon his arrival from Dhaka.He was arrested on February 22. "There can be a case against a business-man … that is his [Panja's] matter. This is not related to me," Banerjee toldreporters over Panja's arrest. Opposition parties have slammed Banerjeefor 'dishonouring the country' by allowing Panja to be part of her delega-tion to Bangladesh. n


Amma’s Alpha Fan Karate master Shihan Hussaini recently got himself crucified for the

return of AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa as the Tamil Naduchief minister. The 46-year-old Hussaini, who is known for his daring acts,came out with this out-of-the-box idea − self crucifixion for six minutesand seven seconds − on the eve of Jayalalithaa's 67th birthday. "It was themost painful experience I have even undergone. I heard it was the mostpainful and realised that today," Hussaini said. "More than hitting the nailson the hands and legs, taking them out was extremely painful," he said.Hussaini said he blacked out briefly and after extraction of the nails by hisjuniors, he was rushed to a hospital where doctors checked him thoroughlyand took X-rays. The nails were hammered to his palms and legs while hewas tied to the cross. n

commission said, requesting anonymityas he is not authorised to speak to themedia. He said that a major number ofqueries are from those who want toknow not only professional but also per-sonal information about their col-leagues - subordinates or seniors.Several applications have been filed

seeking information on the income taxreturns of officers, names of theirspouses and even their marital status.Issues regarding promotion, elevationfrom state administrative or police serv-ices to the IAS (Indian AdministrativeService) or the IPS (Indian Police Serv-ice), transfers, drawing and disbursingpowers and bills raised by a fellow col-league as travel expenses constitute themajor chunk of RTI queries. n

Gender BenderThe strength of women members

of the Communist Party ofIndia-Marxist (CPI-M) in Tripura roseto a record 26 percent against 12 per-cent at the national level. "Around 26percent out of 87,691 CPI-M membersin Tripura are women. Always the per-centage of women members of theparty was higher in Tripura comparedto national proportion," Tripura CPI-M state secretary Bijan Dhar said. Hesaid that after the last state conferencein 2012, the number of party membersrose to 87,691 from 76,636 despite1,391 party members getting killed.Besides, another 707 members wereexpelled from the party on numerousgrounds and 7,072 members did notrenew their membership. At the na-tional level, 12 percent of the total1,065,406 members (as per 2013 data)are women. n


POLITICALLY INCORRECT

A fortnightly update on the faux pas of the movers and shakers of Indian politics

“Swine flu is a heartdisease … Hence, BMC willplant trees, developgardens and parks to checkswine flu”

As swine flu cases in thecountry cross the 10,000mark, Mumbai Mayor SnehalAmbekar called it a heartdisease. In Maharashtra, 83disease-related deaths havebeen reported so far.

“People have to move fromone place to another. Inmany cases, it spreadsfrom mosquito bites. Wehave asked the authoritiesto keep isolated bedsready to tackle thesituation”

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee shockedmany saying swine flu iscaused by mosquitos.

“Ghar wapsi is not a bad thing at all.It will continue till we bring backthose people who left their homes.India is a Hindu nation and no powerin the world can change that”

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) nationalgeneral secretary Ashok Tiwaridefends the controversial programand also demanded that theBangladeshi immigrants in thecountry be sent back.


Cover Story

A STATEMENT OF INTENT

By coming down hard on corporate espionage within government offices, theNarendra Modi administration has reaffirmed its commitment to fighting corruption


Late in the evening of February 17when Rakesh Kumar, LaltaPrasad and Rajkumar Choubey

drove into the high-security ShastriBhawan near the Parliament Housecomplex in New Delhi, they could nothave imagined making front-page head-lines, their embarrassed faces flashingacross news channels, a couple of dayslater.

After all, the trio had come well pre-pared as usual, armed with their forgedidentity cards, fraudulently acquiredtemporary passes, and an Indigo carsporting an unauthorised “Governmentof India” sticker.

It was supposed to be a routine oper-ation as Kumar and Prasad – aged 36and 30, respectively – would enter theoffices of oil, coal or power ministryusing duplicate keys, disable the surveil-lance cameras and photocopy classifiedofficial documents before beingwhisked away by Chaubey awaitingthem outside in the car.

And it was – only almost. No sooner had they got inside the car

to make off with the spoils once againthan the police, waiting and watchingpatiently all this while, sprang into ac-tion and caught them red-handed.

Convinced that such activities couldnot possibly be carried out so smoothlywithout insider help (two among thethree arrested were only former staffersand the driver had no past associationwith any ministry whatsoever), the po-lice kept the news under wraps as itbegan its interrogation.

Sure enough, the information pro-vided by the three led to the arrest ofAsharam, 58, and Ishwar Singh, 56, bothmembers of the multi-tasking staff inShastri Bhawan, on February 19.

And that was when the media and thepublic were apprised of what is turningout to be the biggest crackdown on cor-porate espionage in the history of freeIndia.

On this day Petroleum MinisterDharamendra Pradhan said that strictaction would be taken against those in-volved in the case and they would be"severely dealt with".

Meanwhile, Delhi Police Commis-sioner B.S. Bassi revealed that the docu-ments stolen from the ministry officeswere passed on to some corporatehouses in return for rewards.

"All those who are recipients of stolendocuments will be questioned and ac-tion taken. If the documents fall underthe purview of the Official Secrets Act,then the relevant sections will also beimposed,” he said, adding that those ar-rested were “involved in the act for a

long time”.Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime

Branch) Ravindra Yadav also joined in,stating that the stolen documents were"sold" to an individual of private energyconsultancy company and to those inthe petrochemical and energy indus-tries.

On February 20 the sensational caseassumed wider dimensions as sevenmore people, including a former jour-nalist, an energy consultant and officialsof corporate entities, were arrested. Thepolice complaint said the papers stolenincluded inputs for the forthcomingunion budget and a letter relating to thePMO.

Earlier in the day Santanu Saikia, whoruns a web portal, was arrested for hisalleged role in providing secret docu-ments of the petroleum ministry to cor-porate houses. Saikia is a formerjournalist who covered, among otherareas, crime and petroleum ministry be-fore he became an energy consultant.Soon, Prayas Jain, a Melbourne-based

energy consultant, was also arrested.While speaking to the press, Bassi said

that Saikia and Jain ran an independentwebsite where they uploaded the analy-sis of the documents which were photo-copies of the originals. "And thisinformation was further used by corpo-rate houses. They also shared this infor-mation with some individuals in returnfor money," he told reporters.

Police later in the evening arrestedfive senior officials of corporate entities.Those arrested were RIL corporate af-fairs manager Shailesh Saxena, JubilantEnergy senior executive Subash Chan-dra, Reliance ADAG DGM Rishi Anand,Essar DGM Vinay and Cairns India GMK.K. Naik.

They said the five executives werebooked under sections dealing withcriminal conspiracy and use of stolenproperty. With the seven arrests on theday, the total number of arrests in thecase went up to 12.

The first information report (FIR) filedon February 18 but made accessible to


the media only on February 20 detailedthe photocopies of documents recov-ered from the five people initially ar-rested in the case. Some of thedocuments were very recent and hadbeen signed a few days earlier.

Among the photocopied documentswas a monthly gas report of December2014 of the planning and analysis cell ofthe ministry. It was signed on February16. There was a letter of NripendraMisra, principal secretary to the primeminister. The photocopied documentsalso included "inputs material on natu-ral gas grid for inclusion in Finance Min-ister Arun Jaitley's budget speech for2015-16", the police said.

The budget is regarded as a top secretdocument till it is unveiled by the fi-nance minister in parliament. The infor-mation about leakage of budget inputscame three days before the commence-ment of the budget session of parlia-ment.

Bassi later said Lalta Prasad andRakesh Kumar lifted documents indis-

criminately. "The arrested people(Kumar and Prasad) did not steal partic-ular documents. They instead used tolift any document lying on the table," headded.

TIP OF THE ICEBERG?The police also mentioned about the

distinct possibility of the two receivinginstructions over telephone aboutwhich documents to pick while theywere on the job in the ministry offices.

Therefore, when Saikia shouted out toreporters outside the Crime Branch of-fice in New Delhi, while being taken tocourt, that the document leakage casewas “a Rs.10,000 crore scam and ... acoverup, there seemed to be a ring oftruth in it.

On the same day, while lauding theDelhi Police for cracking the petroleumministry document leak case, DelhiChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also ad-vised it to trace out those who had ben-efited from leaked information.

"Compliments Delhi police for bust-

ing espionage racket. During interroga-tions, police should try to reach top peo-ple, who would benefit from leakedinformation," Kejriwal tweeted.

Even Home Minister Rajnath Singhsaid later in the day that no guilty per-son would be spared in the case andstrong action would be taken againstthem.

Singh also said the governmentshould be commended for unearthingthe scandal. "We should be commendedas we found out that this was happen-ing, the culprits will be punished," hetold reporters.

"If we would have not been vigilant,this (scandal) could not have beenbusted," he added.

This crackdown had indeed been longin the making, being the result of a four-month investigation that intelligenceagencies carried out after national secu-rity adviser Ajit Doval expressed alarmover the leakage of highly confidentialinformation from government files intothe media.

The Delhi Police is likely to summonthe seniors of the five corporate officialsarrested in the petroleum ministry doc-ument leakage case asking them to joininvestigations, sources said on February22.

"We will soon be sending notices tothe seniors of all five arrested officials.We want them to join the probe," a po-lice officer said.

In addition, the police were also onthe lookout for an employee of the pe-troleum ministry named Lokesh, whowas part of the multi-tasking staff (MTS)in Shastri Bhawan.

Police said it is likely that Lokesh, whois missing at the moment, was workingfor another group of private companiesand leaking information to them.

"We are probing all the angles andmay register a new FIR in this regard,"said the officer.

Meanwhile, the five officials were sentto three days' police custody as policeraided two places in the city as part of itsinvestigations.

Those sent to police custody till Feb-ruary 24 were RIL corporate affairs man-ager Shailesh Saxena, Jubilant Energysenior executive Subash Chandra, Re-liance ADAG DGM Rishi Anand, EssarDGM Vinay and Cairns India GM K.K.Naik.

Around a dozen teams of the DelhiPolice's crime branch were alreadyworking on the case by this time.

ANOTHER RACKETThe Delhi Police on February 23 said

it has arrested another person in the


case relating to the leak of petroleumministry documents, and thus bustedanother espionage racket targeting thecoal, power and other ministries.

"We have arrested one more person,Lokesh, who used to provide stolen doc-uments of coal and petroleum ministryto some corporate houses. His arrest ledus to bust another racket," Delhi Policechief B.S. Bassi told the media.

Lokesh Sharma, in his 30s, was for-merly with the multi-tasking staff (MTS)at Shastri Bhawan. A resident of VijayNagar in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar area,Sharma was arrested from Dwarka.

Sharma, who has been part of theracket for more than two years, had twoforged identity cards of the coal andpower ministries and copies of varioussecret documents in his possession.

Police said Sharma was also attachedwith the first module busted by DelhiPolice Feb 17 night. He was also in touchwith former journalist Santanu Saikiaand Melbourne-based energy consult-ant Prayas Jain, to whom he used to pro-vide stolen documents. Both are incustody.

During investigation, police found outthat Sharma's father worked at one ofthe government ministries but have yetto identify which particular one. Policesources said Sharma not only stole doc-uments from the ministry of coal at theShastri Bhawan, but also from the min-istry of power at Shram Shakti Bhawan.

He was produced before the chiefmetropolitan magistrate Satish Arora ina court in Dwarka and was sent to fivedays' police custody. Sharma has beenbooked on charges of trespassing, theft,forgery, criminal conspiracy and receiv-ing stolen documents.

Sharma, who is currently employedwith Noida-based energy consultantcompany Infraline Energy, dealt withdocuments being stolen from coal andpower ministry and passed it to his em-ployers, police said, adding the firm hasa huge database of subscribers, both in-dividuals and corporates.

Police said a second FIR has been reg-istered against Sharma and some otherpeople as they were found to be part ofanother racket in which they used toprovide classified documents related topetroleum, power and some other min-istries.

The sources said the crime branch gotinformation about Sharma during theongoing probe into the petroleum min-istry leak that was unearthed on thenight of Feb 17, with the arrest of twoformer MTS employees of ShastriBhawan.

Sharma was connected with some

other people, who had relations withcorporate houses who used the stolendocuments provided by the accused tothem, police said. He was taken to Shas-tri Bhawan Monday to recreate thecrime scene.

Sharma, who went missing a day afterthe espionage case came to light, wasdetained a day before his arrest Sunday.On Monday, the Delhi Police team,meanwhile, detained around eight peo-ple working with different ministries in-cluding coal, petroleum and energyfrom Shastri Bhawan.

Of them, at least four belong toSharma's module while the remainingare associated with the first module.

Police sources also said that they wereon the lookout for Rajiv Singh, a coalministry employee and also some ofSharma's associates.

More arrests can take place includingthose from corporate and governmentsector, the sources added.

Police said they had recovered morethan 500 stolen documents from thepossession of all the 13 accused.

MORE IN THE NETAnother arrest would in order the next

day. A defence ministry employee wasarrested on February 24 for his allegedinvolvement in the leak of documentsfrom the petroleum and other min-istries.

Virender Kumar, a 31-year-old casualworker employed with the defence min-istry since 2010, was arrested for provid-ing a forged identity card along withofficial letterhead to Lalta Prasad, an ac-cused in the documents leak case.

Police, however, said no sensitive doc-uments were found leaked or stolenfrom the defence ministry.

Police said Virender only providedblank official letterheads to Prasad thatwere used to prepare forged letters.

These letters were used to project thata vehicle (registration no. DL13C-4734)– used by the accused while stealing thedocuments of the various ministries –was hired to perform official duties ofthe director of the Audit Defence Serv-ices.


"On the letters, it was shown that acontract was signed with Dharam SinghTravel Agency by the office of the direc-tor general of Audit Defence Services,"said Joint Commissioner of Police(Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav.

Virender, a resident of west Delhi'sUttam Nagar, was produced beforeChief Metropolitan Magistrate SanjayKhanagwal, who sent him to a day's po-lice custody.

Police told the court that Virender wasrequired for custodial interrogation tounearth details of the fake identity cardissued by him and the use of the min-istry's stamp on that card.

NO BIG FISH YETTalking to the media, Delhi Police

Commissioner B.S. Bassi said policehave so far not come across any evi-dence that senior officials of any min-istry were involved.

He also said investigators have so faronly come across "leakage and theft ofdocuments from petroleum, power andcoal ministries and not from any other

department"."Investigation so far has revealed that

the people who used to procure govern-ment documents used to rely on theemployees who are the lowest on theladder," Bassi said.

"They used to tell them that 'this per-son is the target, bring all the docu-ments you find in his office'. They usedto identify the document of their choicefrom the bunch. So far, we have notcome across the name of any senior of-ficer and neither have we had any evi-dence relying on which we can say so,"he said.

Asked whether police will questionsenior officials of security agencies re-sponsible for safekeeping of ShastriBhawan, which house these ministries,as how can CCTV cameras be shut downfor the period of theft and those moni-toring it did not come to know, Bassisaid: "We have no reason so far to sus-pect them or question them."

"We could not find any role of any of-ficial. Those found guilty will not beleft," Bassi assured.

Meanwhile, police questioned sevenemployees of the coal and petroleumministries for the second consecutiveday.

Lal Babu and Ranjit Mahto, employ-ees of the coal ministry, along with fivepetroleum ministry employees – Bhu-pendra, Amit, Virendra, Ram Kishoreand Surender – were those questioned.

Earlier in the day, RIL corporate affairsmanager Shailesh Saxena, Jubilant En-ergy senior executive Subash Chandra,Reliance Anil Dhirubahai AmbaniGroup (ADAG) deputy general manager(DGM) Rishi Anand, Essar DGM Vinayand Cairns India general manager K.K.Naik were also presented in court.

The court sent the corporate officialsto judicial custody till March 5.

CALL FOR LOBBYINGIn the wake of those sensational ar-

rests, the Associated Chambers of Com-merce of India reiterated their earlierdemand for legalising lobbying to im-prove transparency in government-in-dustry dealings.

“Each Indian and multinational com-pany should have a right to engage inlobbying groups to advance their line ofarguments and convince the decision-making authorities that they have merit.Lobbying should no more be consideredas a dirty word," Assocham secretary-general D.S. Rawat said.

Assocham said the only way to get ridof "corporate espionage" in the corri-dors of state machinery is introducingcomplete transparency and demolish-ing the four walls of secrecy around theprocess of "decision-making".

"In any case, why should the govern-ment decision-making concerning poli-cies which have a bearing on thecorporates be shrouded in secrecy,"Rawat asked.

The chamber had demanded thesame less than a year ago.

"Like in the US, we should make lob-bying legal with all the rules of trans-parency in place. In a competitivemarket, business players with conflict-ing interests are bound to fight for policyspace," Assocham had said.

”As long as advocacy arguments for oragainst a premise are being advanced ina fair and transparent manner and noulterior motives are attached. It is hightime, lobbying is not taken as a badword and professional lobbying firmsare allowed," he added.

The government had, in December2012, ordered an investigation into lob-bying activities by US-based Walmart toenter the Indian retail market.

WHAT’S AT STAKEAs India First went to press, 14 people

had been arrested and Delhi Police hadregistered two FIRs in connection withthe leak of classified documents relatedto various ministries, including coal, pe-troleum and natural gas, and power.

And as the investigation into this casecontinues, some big names of the gov-ernment corporate world may benamed. The Modi administration mayeven find itself opening up too big a canof worms.

Now that the corporate espionagecase is all out in the open, and will beunder intense media and publicscrutiny, the BJP government should fol-low it through irrespective of conse-quences.

That will more than make up for theground it has lost during the Delhi elec-tions. n

"Compliments Delhi police forbursting espionage racket.During interrogations, policeshould try to reach top people,who would benefit from leakedinformation”– Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal


With deep fissures within theCongress rendering themain opposition party vir-

tually toothless, the main opposition toGoa's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)seems to be from its own camp. Twofirst-time legislators from the saffronparty, Michael Lobo (Calangute) andVishnu Wagh (St. Andre) over the lastfew weeks have been upping pressureon Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar,accusing their own government of turn-ing a blind eye to rampant prostitution,corruption and unchecked police atroc-ities. Recently, Lobo took his protestagainst the BJP-led coalition govern-ment a notch higher by going on a day-long hunger strike to "highlight"rampant prostitution in the beachshacks in his constituency, which hostsinternationally renowned beaches likeCalangute and Candolim, and a brutalassault against ayoung student by twopolice constables.

"Something had to be done to bringthese issues to light. How can you turn ablind eye to prostitution and shacksserving as dance bars? Women in myconstituency are unsafe at night. Thegovernment has not been doingenough," Lobo pointed out.

Lobo, incidentally, has been accusedin a First Information Report (FIR) forrazing down night clubs from wheredance bars were allegedly functioning.

"There was prostitution happeningthere and the public reacted against it

because the government wasn't doinganything," Lobo added.

Wagh, the other BJP legislator on therebellion path, has been critical of hisparty's functioning over issues related togovernance and stifling of popular dis-sent against the government's policies.

A noted writer and dramatist, Waghearlier this month upped his ante afterthe state government started preparingthe groundwork for setting up of a cen-sor board to monitor tiatr, a more than100-year-old form of popular Konkanitheatre.

"There should be absolutely no cen-sorship of creative art," said Wagh, whohas been critical of the BJP on a wholerange subjects in recent times, rightfrom Prime Minister Narendra Modi'scontroversial name-emblazoned pin-stripe bandgala to the recent vandalisa-tion of churches in Delhi.

Apart from party MLAs, other inde-pendents MLAs like Rohan Khaunte,who had been supporting the BJP-led

coalition government until last Novem-ber, when Manohar Parrikar was chiefminister, has also switched hats for themoment.

"If this is the way the government isgoing to operate, I do not want to be apart of the support structure," saidKhaunte, a legislator from Porvorim, asuburb of Panaji.

The BJP however claims there is nothreat to the government and that theconduct of its MLAs, especially Loboand Wagh, was unbecoming.

"These are anti-party acts. We, as aparty, will never succumb to them," GoaBJP chief Wilfred Mesquita said whenasked to react to the dissent within theparty.

He also said that the BJP had a robustintra-party structure to discuss differ-ences of opinion.

"As MLAs they should have ap-proached the chief minister to resolveany problems which they face,"Mesquita added.

The BJP would however take solace inthe fact that, despite dissent, the govern-ment is well-placed as far as assembly-floor arithmetic is concerned, especiallyat a time when the Congress is a bitterlydivided house.

The BJP has 21 legislators in a houseof 40 and is also supported by two re-gional parties and their five legislators.Two other independent MLAs are also apart of the treasury benches, for an ef-fective strength of 28. n

Politics

TheCracksWithinIn Goa the ranks ofrebellious BJP MPs seem to be rising

"How can you turn a blind eyeto prostitution and shacksserving as dance bars? Womenin my constituency are unsafeat night. The government hasnot been doing enough”– Michael Lobo, BJP legislatorfrom Calangute


It is difficult to believe such an au-dience would ever be granted. It iseven more difficult to believe it

would provoke prompt administrativeaction. Over a dozen children – none ofthem above the age of seven – carryingcricket bats, wickets and crooked willowsticks they use for hockey sticks startedmarching towards the office of the dis-trict magistrate (DM), the top official ofthe area, in the north Kashmir town ofGanderbal the other day.

The harsh winter chill had reddenedthe cheeks of many children in thegroup, but for anybody seeing themmarch towards the administrative com-plex, it was difficult to imagine whetherit was the cold or the anger and excite-ment that had produced such blushingcheeks.

When a local, Bashir War, 64, askedthem where they were headed to, thechildren said they had to meet the DC(deputy commissioner/district magis-trate), Sarmad Hafeez, for "a big prob-lem we are facing".

"I laughed and told them jokingly, ‘Goquickly because the officer would bewaiting for you’,” War said.

The children continued their marchto the DM's office. At the outer gate,amused security guards asked them whythey wanted to meet the official.

The children, bubbling with confi-dence, said they had "problems to dis-cuss", something not essential for thesecurity guards to know about.

The humbled guards asked childrento deposit their bats, wickets and hockeysticks at the entrance before enteringthe DM's office.

The boys stared at each other, wentinto a huddle and finally agreed to keeptheir sports gear at the main gate onlyafter taking a firm assurance from theguards that these would be returned inthe same order in which these were de-posited so that the children would notbe confused about what belongs towhom after their meeting with the DM.

It took the personal security guards(PSOs) and the office attendants outsideSarmad Hafeez's room some time toyield to the demand for an unscheduled,but immediate interview with the DM.

"There is a playground which has been grabbed by people byplanting trees on it, the children said. They wanted me to restorethe playground to them. I have directed the local tehsildar(executive magistrate) to go to the spot and submit a reportimmediately about the status of the piece of land the children aretalking about”– Ganderbal district magistrate Sarmad Hafeez

Human Interest

No Child’s Play, ThisIn a bid to reclaim their lost playground, a bunch of under-sevens in Kashmir’s

Ganderbal town have successfully lodged a protest with the government

"I was a little confused when I saw allof them wearing pherans (local tweedover garments) and perhaps none abovethe age of seven. They entered the roomand wished me. I asked them to sit downand tell me what had been the reasonfor this unusual visit," Hafeez said.

"I was amazed to see the disciplinewith which the children sat as one ofthem narrated the problem. They saidthey play in the lawns and house com-pounds and get beatings every day foreither breaking a window glass or hittingan elder with a ball during a match."

"This had become intolerable forthem and they wanted my immediateintervention", Hafeez added.

The DM said the children informedhim about a playground in the town thathad become a willow forest because lo-cals had illegally planted trees on it.

"There is a playground which hasbeen 'grabbed' by people by plantingtrees on it, the children said. Theywanted me to restore the playground tothem. I have directed the local tehsildar(executive magistrate) to go to the spotand submit a report immediately aboutthe status of the piece of land the chil-dren are talking about", Sarmad said.

The DM said no time would be lost torestore the playground to children of thetown once its official status is estab-lished in the revenue records. "Yes, theplayground would be restored to chil-dren if it is recorded as state land. It isthe right of our children to play andhave fun," he said. Empowered, the chil-dren's delegation left the DM's officewith heightened spirits as guards at themain gate patiently waited to returntheir sports gear. n


President Barack Obama, withthe largest number of IndianAmericans in his administra-

tion, keeps dipping into the expandingtalent pool of the three million-strongIndian American community, to takecare of issues ranging from combatingterrorist propaganda abroad to nation'shealth at home. Last week, after an in-ternational conference on terrorism,Obama named Rashad Hussain, a Mus-lim of Indian heritage, as US SpecialEnvoy and Coordinator for StrategicCounter-Terrorism Communications.Son of immigrant parents from India,Hussain had since 2010 served as USSpecial Envoy to the 57-member Organ-isation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), tobuild partnerships with Muslim com-munities around the world.

Also last week, the White Housenamed Dhanurjay 'DJ' Patil as its first

chief data scientist to help shape poli-cies and practices to help the US remaina leader in technology and innovation.

Rajiv Shah, another son of immigrantIndian parents, recently left the USAgency for International Development(USAID) after five years at the helm ofthe agency engaged in a mission of end-ing extreme poverty and promoting re-silient, democratic societies.

At a little over three million, Ameri-cans of Indian ancestry make up aboutone percent of the US population, thecountry's third largest Asian ancestrygroup after Chinese Americans and Fil-ipino Americans. But they are America'sbest educated and the richest lot gainingprominence in every field from acade-mia to science and technology.

They run various businesses, ownabout 80,000 convenience stores andmanage over 20,000 motels – or Potels

as they have come to be known as mostof these are run by the Patel communityfrom Gujarat.

Over 100,000 physicians of Indian ori-gin take care of the nation's health.Many head America's top educationalinstitutions, including the prestigiousHarvard Business School. Now they aregaining a foothold in government andpolitics too.

With over a score of direct Obama ap-pointees in high places, two governors,a House member, a state attorney gen-eral and eight state legislators, IndianAmericans have over the years gainedpower and influence far beyond theirnumbers. And their power keeps grow-ing.

Among the recent Obama nomineeswas Arun Majumdar, an Indian Instituteof Technology (Bombay) alumnus whobegan serving as one of four US science

International

Obama’s Desi Dependables The US President has placed well over a score of Indian Americans in high places,including two governors, a House member, a state attorney general and eight state

legislators, to help him set things right at home and abroad


American Big Guns of Indian Make 1. Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy, US Surgeon General2. Richard Rahul Verma, Ambassador to India3. Rashad Hussain, Special Envoy and Coordinator for

Strategic Counter-Terrorism Communications4. Arun Majumdar, US Science Envoy5. Nisha Desai Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for

South and Central Asian Affairs6. Puneet Talwar, Assistant Secretary of State for Po-

litical-Military Affairs7. Arun Madhavan Kumar, Assistant Secretary of

Commerce for Global Markets and Director Gen-eral of the US and Foreign Commercial Service

8. Atul Keshap, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State9. Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director, Selec-

tUSA, International Trade Administration, US De-partment of Commerce (formerly US ambassadorto Belize, first Indian American ambassador in UShistory)

10. D.J. Patil, deputy chief technology officer for DataPolicy and chief data scientist

11. Sri Srinivasan, Judge of the US Court of Appeals forthe district of Columbia Circuit

12. Sunil Sabharwal, nominee Alternate Executive Di-rector of the International Monetary Fund

13. Preetinder Singh "Preet" Bharara, US Attorney forthe Southern District of New York

14. Indira Talwani, federal judge, Massachusetts15. Manish Shah, federal judge, Illinois16. Anita M. Singh, Chief of Staff and Counsellor Na-

tional Security Division (NSD) of Justice Depart-ment

17. Vanita Gupta, Assistant Attorney General leadingUS justice department's civil rights division

18. Ajay Banga, Member Advisory Committee for TradePolicy and Negotiations

19. Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri, Chairman NationalIndian Gaming Commission (NIGC)

20. Deven J. Parekh, Member Board of Directors, Over-seas Private Investment Corporation

21. Gargee Ghosh - Member, President's Global Devel-opment Council

Former officials:22. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the US States Agency

for International Development (USAID) from Jan-uary 7, 2010, to Feb 19, 2015

23. Aneesh Paul Chopra, served as the first Chief Tech-nology Officer of the US

24. Vivek Kundra, first chief information officer of theUS

25. Rohit "Ro" Khanna, Former Deputy Assistant Sec-retary in US Commerce Department

26. Neel Tushar Kashkari, interim Assistant Secretaryof the Treasury for Financial Stability from October2008 to May 2009.

Elected officials27. Amerish Babulal "Ami" Bera, US Representative for

California's 7th congressional district28. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, Governor of Louisiana29. Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley, Governor of South

Carolina30. Kamala Harris, Attorney General, California

Rashad Hussain

Rajiv Shah

Vivek Murthy Richard Rahul Verma

Nisha Desai Biswal Atul Keshap

Arun Majumdar

Dhanurjay Patil


envoys last month.Earlier in December, Vivek Murthy cre-

ated history as the youngest US SurgeonGeneral and the first of Indian descentafter cooling his heels for more than ayear for Senate confirmation as 'Amer-ica's doctor' in the face of strong opposi-tion by the powerful gun lobby.

But unlike Murthy, Richard RahulVerma sailed through the Senate to takeup his position as Washington's first In-dian American envoy in New Delhi aheadof Obama's historic visit to become thefirst US president to be the guest of hon-our at India's Republic Day.

With Verma in New Delhi and NishaDesai Biswal heading the State Depart-ment's South Asia bureau, Indian Ameri-cans are now watching US interests inboth capitals.

Biswal is assisted by Atul Keshap, an-other Indian American, while Puneet Tal-war as assistant secretary forpolitical-military affairs serves as a bridgebetween the State and Defence depart-ments. And Arun Madhavan Kumar as as-sistant secretary of commerce anddirector general of the US and ForeignCommercial Service is charged withboosting US trade.

Amid growing protests over the treat-ment of blacks, Obama chose VanitaGupta to lead the US justice department'scivil rights division charged with enforc-ing laws that prevent discrimination.

Another Indian American Anita M.Singh was picked up for a key job in theJustice Department's National SecurityDivision (NSD) to counter state-spon-sored economic espionage and prolifera-tion, including through cyberspace.Indira Talwani and Manish Shah becamethe first Asian American federal judges inMassachusetts and Obama's home stateof Illinois, respectively.

To clean up the Wall Street, Obamapicked up Preet Bharara as New York's USattorney. Known in India for his doggedprosecution of Indian diplomat DevyaniKhobragade, Bharara tasted his first de-feat in July after winning 85 insider trad-ing cases.

Earlier in his first term, Obama choseAneesh Paul Chopra as America's firstchief technology officer and Vivek Kundraas the first US chief information officer.

Rohit "Ro" Khanna served as deputy as-sistant secretary in the US Commerce de-partment before making an unsuccessfulbid for the US House seat last November.

And Neel Tushar Kashkari, who made afailed run for California governor in No-vember, earned the nickname of "700 bil-lion-dollar man" for leading the federalbank bailout plan from October 2008 toMay 2009. n

Arun Madhavan Kumar Vanita Gupta

Anita M. Singh Indira Talwani

Manish Shah Aneesh Paul Chopra

Vivek Kundra Rohit Khanna


It is an academy with a difference.The sprawling 10-acre MinervaAcademy campus near Chandi-

garh has a singular focus – to trainyoung men and women to be part of themilitary. With a track record of con-tributing over 35,000 officers to thearmy, Indian Air Force (IAF) and thenavy, the Minerva Academy, set up in1955 by J. Deol and her husband Lt. Col.I.S. Deol continues to be the most suc-cessful nursery for youths aspiring tobecome officers in the defence forces.

With legendary Param Vir Chakra(PVC) awardees, Kargil War hero CaptainVikram Batra and Flying Officer Nir-maljit Singh Sekhon, the first and onlyPVC awardee from the IAF, having beenMinervans, the academy surely feelsproud that some of the best known he-roes of India have been trained here.

"Cadets from Minerva have achievedmore (battle) honours than any regi-ment of the army," Ranjit Bajaj, the chiefoperating officer of the academy and amaternal grandson of founder Col. Deol,said at its campus about 15 km fromChandigarh.

Former army chief and laterArunachal Pradesh Governor GeneralJ.J. Singh had also trained at Minerva.Minerva's roll of honour includes sev-eral other top-ranking officers in allthree services.

Decorated Captain A.S. Cheema, who

summitted Mt. Everest, has also been astudent at Minerva.

"Our students have gone on to holdover 1,000 top positions in the Indianarmed forces. Every fourth officer in thearmed forces has been a student of Min-erva. About 10 percent of our studentsare now girls who wish to join the armed

forces," Bajaj said.The academy specialises in training

youth for the Services Selection Board(SSB), the first step towards entry intothe armed forces. The 10-day training,spread over 100 hours, includes grouptasks, physical obstacles, group discus-sions, interviews, public speaking andmore.

So stringent and effective is the train-ing methodology that even toilets, bath-room curtains and hostel walls carryinformation about the armed forces – sothat students utilise every minute oftheir time at Minerva.

The faculty comprises former officers

from defence forces who have been partof the SSBs and professionals. Amongthe popular faculty members over theyears has been 'Mani Sir' (real name K.Vasudeva Panicker) who has beenaround for nearly 35 years. Another fac-ulty member, Wing Commander S.P.Oberoi, 85, has been around for overthree decades.

At a recent event to mark 60 years ofthe academy, Vishal Batra, younger twinof PVC awardee Captain Vikram Batra,fondly remembered how both brothersfrom the hill town of Palampur in Hi-machal Pradesh learnt their first lessonsfor a career in the army at Minerva in1996.

"Vikram and I used to go to a neigh-bour's house in Palampur, as we did nothave a TV, to watch the serial 'Param VirChakra'. I never imagined that one daymy brother would win the PVC and be-come so famous," said Vishal Batra, whowas rejected twice by the SSB and nowhas a corporate job.

The academy, named after the RomanGoddess of War and Wisdom, was origi-nally founded by J. Deol in 1955 atShimla. It was briefly shifted to Jaland-har before moving to Chandigarh andlater to its present location near Chandi-garh. Col. Deol, who was commissionedinto the British Indian Army in mid-1940s, took premature retirement to bepart of Minerva. n

Defence

Standing the Test of TimeMinerva has proven its mettle as the ultimate prep school for Indian Armed Forces

"Cadets from Minerva haveachieved more (battle) honoursthan any regiment of the army" – Ranjit Bajaj, chief operatingofficer of the 60-year-oldMinerva Academy


Financial crunch notwithstand-ing, Naveen Patnaik govern-ment has decided to continue

with its major welfare schemes. The op-position is calling it populism at the costof exchequer but the government says itcannot turn its back on its commit-ments to the people.

The financial situation is bad to saythe least. The alarming fall in revenuecollection following large-scale closureof mines, the government is even con-sidering the option of public borrow-ings. But it would continue withschemes like distribution of Rs.1 per kgrice to the poor. An outlay of Rs.1402.99crore has been made for the scheme in2015-16.

The government has also decided tocontinue with the scheme for the distri-bution free bicycles among class X stu-dents for which an outlay of Rs.125 crorehas been made in the current budget. “Itis regrettable that while vital sectors likehealth are not getting due attention,money is being spent on populistschemes. No one seems bothered aboutstate’s rising debt burden,” said a seniorCongress leader.

There are many other populistschemes that Naveen Patnaik govern-ment has been pursuing. These include,apart from cheap rice and free bicyclesto students, financial assistance toyouth clubs, free blankets and free um-brellas to the poor. Special incentiveshave been given to labourers engagedon construction sites by offering themshoes, helmets and financial assistance.

What has further added to the stategovernment’s financial burden is the ex-pense on schemes like Biju KBK Yojanato ensure the development of the state’smost backward belt comprising the un-divided Kalahandi, Bolangir and Kora-put districts. Then there is Madhubabupension yojana which puts a burden ofRs 789 crore on the government.

However, the current financial condi-tion of the state is such that it has forcedthe government to reduce budgetary al-location to a number of important proj-ects including the five new proposedmedical colleges. It has also reduced theannual allocation for some major de-partments including Housing andUrban Development and the Coopera-tion department whose budgetary allo-cations have been was reduced by 30and 20 percent respectively.

Among the important projects whichhave been hit by state’s financial crunchare the much-talked-about Khurda-Bolangir railway project for which abudgetary allocation of only Rs.10 crorehas been made. Similarly, the allocation

State

All for the Poor Despite facing a financial crisis that may soon force itto resort to open market borrowing, the Naveen Patnaikadministration has stuck to its populist policies

Saroj Mishra


for the crucial Biju Expressway, an eco-nomic corridor between Jagdalpur andRourkela, connecting the south andwestern Odisha, is just Rs. 30 crore, de-spite the estimated cost of the projectbeing Rs.3200 crore.

Under the circumstances the statewould badly need the support of theCentre but currently it seems to be on awar path with the NDA-led governmentover issues such as the controversialland acquisition bill and the MMDR or-dinance.

The Biju Janata Dal has registered itsprotest over the Land Acquisition Bill.The stand of the party, which describedthe Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation &

Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015 as“anti-people”, is reflective of the con-cerns of Naveen Patnaik governmentwhich has been worried about indiffer-ent progress of some crucial industrialprojects following protests over land ac-quisition.

“We have definite objections to theBill. We protested as it has done awaywith the 80 percent consent clause andalso the provision for social impact as-sessment that were an integral part ofland acquisition act passed during theUPA regime,” said a senior party leader.Another leader asserted that protestswould continue till the concerns of thestate were taken into account.

The state government, according toBJD leaders had framed rules for landacquisition following the Land Acquisi-tion Act, 2013 brought by the UPA. Thatis why it opposed the ordinance prom-ulgated last December by the NDA gov-ernment to amend that piece oflegislation. “The NDA is doing it to suitits ends. We are opposed to it as it wouldhit the vulnerable sections of our popu-lation hard. We are now protestingagainst their bid to get a Bill passed onthe issue,” said a BJD leader.

The BJD’s main objection to the Billpertains to the disputed clause thatseeks to do away with the mandatory re-quirement of consent of 80 percent ofland losers, as contained in the 2013 Act,for acquiring land for government orprivate companies.

The state government, which hasbeen facing problems in acquiring landfor big-ticket projects like POSCO’s 8million tonne steel plant near Paradeep,is clear that deleting the clause wouldadversely affect the interests of the com-mon man. “This is anti-citizen,” said aBJD leader, adding that the new Bill alsodid not attach any importance to socialimpact assessment in land acquisitioncases.

The issue is crucial to a state likeOdisha where the pace of industrializa-tion has been hit by protests over landacquisition related issues. WhilePOSCO’s steel project continues to be ina limbo, ArcelorMittal, the world’slargest producer of steel, was forced toscrap its proposed 12 million tonne perannum venture in Keonjhar district in2013 after failing to acquire land.

Sources said that of the 50 proposedsteel projects for which the state govern-ment has signed MoUs, around 12 con-tinue to face land-related problems.Similar problems have also been dog-ging some of the power projects in Sun-dergarh and Kalahandi district whichare crucial to the state’s plans for dou-bling its power production.

However, a prominent industry leadersaid that waiving of the consent clausewould help accelerate projects whichhave not been moving for past some-time. “Land acquisition continues to bea major hurdle. A way out has to befound,” he said. On the other hand, aprominent civil society activist de-scribed the NDA move as anti-people.“They have no concern for the poor,” hesaid.

With state locking horns with theCentre on such ticklish issues, one won-ders whether it can get adequate finan-cial assistance from the Modi regime forits crucial welfare schemes. n


Enterprising people in tropicalKarnataka are experimenting ingrowing apples, mostly culti-

vated in the cold regions of HimachalPradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Horticulture scientist Chiranjit Par-mar from Mandi town in HimachalPradesh, who is the brain behind thesuccess of this temperate fruit in thetropics, has been providing technicalknow-how to growers in Karnataka.

The plantation is in the experimenta-tion stage and its commercial cultiva-tion is yet to take root.

Parmar said it could be done in othertropical areas like Kerala and TamilNadu where there is virtually no winterseason and it would revolutioniseIndia's apple cultivation.

The apple plantation in Karnataka hasstarted bearing fruit in less than twoyears. Normally, it takes six-seven yearsin the hills, Parmar noted.

The first apple saplings were plantedin 2011. Now more than 6,000 saplingshave been planted across Karnataka,mainly in Coorg, Tumkur, Chikmanglurand Shimoga areas. All of them weresupplied from the horticulture univer-sity nursery at Bajaura in Kullu.

The success has encouraged moreand more people to opt for apple culti-vation.

Parmar, a former horticulture expertof the Solan-based Y.S. Parmar Univer-sity of Horticulture and Forestry, whoexperimented after seeing the success-ful plantation of apples in tropical In-donesia, attributed the reason for thespeedy growth of apple saplings in Kar-nataka to the absence of the dormantphase there.

"In the hills, apple plants during win-ter shed leaves and remain dormant (anatural phenomenon which helps resistextreme cold). In Karnataka, there is nowinter and there is no dormancy stage.A plant continues to grow throughoutthe year and matures in a shorter dura-tion," he said.

According to him, a year-and-a-half-old apple plant in Karnataka can startbearing flowers. In the next seven-eightweeks, the fruits will be ready for har-vesting.

"In the hills, apple plants during winter shed leaves and remaindormant (a natural phenomenon which helps resist extreme cold).In Karnataka, there is no winter and there is no dormancy stage. Aplant continues to grow throughout the year and matures in ashorter duration”– Chiranjit Parmar, a horticulture scientist from Himachal Pradesh,who is guiding the apple cultivation project in Karnataka

Agriculture

An Unusual Growth StoryIf an ongoing horticultural experiment in Karnataka succeeds big time, it may be

raining locally cultivated apples across the Deccan soon

Parmar said that for growing apples atany place in the tropics, the minimumtemperature should not fall below 12 de-grees Celsius during any part of the yearand the maximum should remain below40 degrees.

The absence of winter helps growersget two crops a year unlike the hill stateswhere there is one crop, he said.

On planting new saplings in tropicalareas, Parmar said the saplings could beprocured only from apple-growing beltsin the hills after dormancy was over. Andthese should be replanted in less thantwo days.

But apples grown in tropical condi-tions have a shorter shelf life comparedto those grown in temperate areas.

Apples grown in Karnataka have atime period of 12-15 days, whereasthose from the hills have a time period

up to a month.Parmar said that in Indonesia, where

apple yield per hectare was 65 tonnes,10 times more than Himachal Pradesh,the farmers have developed a techniquethat changes natural biology of theplant. They physically remove the leavesafter the harvest.

This helps the plant bloom again aftertwo months and the next crop is readyafter four months -- which means twocrops a year.

Parmar said K. Nagananda in Ben-galuru has grown apples in pots in hisroof garden. Likewise, Janardhan atTarikedi near Chikmanglur has plantedapples along with areca nut.

Calistha D'Silva from Abburkatte inCoorg, who planted apple trees, in-formed him that the fruits tasted natu-ral. n


Hindi language publishers areadapting – and how – by offer-ing fresh content, launching

mobile apps and aggressively marketingtheir books to resurrect the genre's loststature against the giant rise of literaturein English.

To keep pace with ever-changingtechnology and reconnect with theirdwindling readership, one of India'soldest publication house – RajkamalPrakashan – has changed its businessmodel to present itself as an "evolving"publisher in tune with the times.

"Readers want change and as a publi-cation house if you fail to understandtheir requirements then your businessmodel will fail. So it was very importantfor us to go digital and publish e-books.Now, we have even launched an app,"said Rajkamal Prakashan managing di-rector Ashok Maheshwari.

"Also, there was a big void in the Hindipublishing industry. Either we had pulpfiction or literary writings, so we decidedto fill this gap and started publishingnovels that are contemporary, whichyoungsters can relate to," he added.

The winds of change can be seen fromthe way Rajkamal has understood thevalue of the online retail market.

A testimony to this change is its latestnovel "Ishq Me Shaher Hona" by jour-nalist Ravish Kumar, for which the pub-lication house signed an exclusiveonline deal with amazon.in . This was inline with what the publisher of PresidentPranab Mukherjee's "The DramaticDecade: The Years of Indira Gandhi" haddone by signing a three-week exclusivedeal with the online retailer.

The Hindi literary heritage boasts ofprominent writers like Premchand,Mohan Prakash and Amar Goswami,who heralded a new era by mirroring so-cietal evils through their writings. How-ever, the past two decades havediminished the aura of Hindi literatureand many blame the rise of link lan-guages for such a gloomy situation.

While many lament declining readinghabits for this slow death, others feelHindi readers are not "willing to shellout" money.

"The readers are there, but they arenot always willing to spend a lot ofmoney on Hindi books. Also, we don'thave enough budget to market ourbooks. So, in one way or the other, theindustry is suffering," said Kapil Bharad-waj, director, Shilpayan Publications.

"Another worry is the 'maintenanceof class' syndrome. The mindset isslowly becoming like if you are readinga Hindi book people will form opinionsabout you. They might presume youdon't know English," said Bharadwaj,adding they publish many critiques,novels and satires by prominent andnew writers alike.

They have also started publishingtranslations of Pakistani novels.

The World Delhi Book Fair saw pub-lishers and readers who were in pursuitof "fresh" writings.

"These days not many publishersbring out Hindi novels. They will eitherpublish management books or person-ality development books. Not many dareto commission new writers who arewriting about contemporary Indian so-ciety," Satyendra Prakash, a buyer,pointed out.

"So a fair like this allows niche readerslike me to touch base with publisherswho are focussing on new content."

Treading a different route altogetheris Diamond Books, which has been inthe industry for the past six decades and

is known for its comic strips like"Chacha Chaudhry" and "Billoo".

For Diamond, "aggressive marketing"is the route to reach out to India's hin-terland and Hindi translations of ChetanBhagat's "Half Girlfriend" and K. NatwarSingh's "One Life is Not Enough" rein-force its stronghold in the Hindi belt.

"These authors, whose controversialor best-selling books we publish, theyknow our reach. So, they don't hesitateto give their rights to us. We are notboasting but our marketing and networkare extremely strong," said NarayanSharma from Diamond Books' market-ing department.

"Trends have changed and peopledon't tend to lean towards literary stuff.They want books on personality devel-opment, marketing management andself-help books," he added.

This was evident from the Diamondstall at the fair, where the major chunkof books touched upon these topics andhardly any new writers or new novelswere spotted.

This, Bhardwaj felt, is because "notmany publishers want to take risk" andinstead focus on what suits their publi-cation best to flourish.

Given these pitfalls and furious com-petition from English literature andtechnology, Hindi literature is surelystriding to revive its reader base and re-gain its lost glory. n

Literature

Changing with the TimesFrom leveraging the latest technologies to overhauling their traditional content and

business models, Hindi publishers are trying every trick in the book to stay in business


Globetrotting elderly monk theDalai Lama, who is revered asa spiritual leader in the Orient

and the West, considers himself a citizenof the world. He loves to interact withthe public, especially youth, despite en-countering protests. Wearing his trade-mark maroon robes, the Nobel PeaceLaureate explains that the protesters areexercising their freedom of expression.

"Yes, there are people out there shout-ing at me. They are exercising their free-dom of expression," he explained to hisfollowers in Basel, Switzerland, aboutthe protest by the pro-Shugden group, abreakaway Buddhist group, outside hishotel. The Dalai Lama returned to Indiaon February 14 after concluding his two-week-long tour of Denmark, Norway,Switzerland and the US.

Feeling sorry for the demonstrationsby pro-Shugden supporters against himin Copenhagen last week, the DalaiLama said they were misinformed.

"The people manipulating thesedemonstrators and protesters, who arenot fully informed, do so for their ownreasons. I feel sorry for them in their ig-norance," he said.

Undeterred by the protests, the DalaiLama has made 38 trips just in the last13 months, to places within India andoutside. His aides say said the demon-strations by pro-Shugden supporters aremainly held out of India.

The foreign visits included the US,Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, Latvia,the Netherlands and Norway.

Interacting with a group of Danishparliamentarians in Copenhagen onFebruary 12, a post on his official web-site quoting the Dalai Lama said: "In1973, as I was about to set out on myfirst trip to Europe, BBC correspondentMark Tully asked me why I was goingand I told him that although I was arefugee I considered myself a citizen ofthe world."

But the spiritual leader, who chucklesthroughout his talks and often slaps vis-itors on their back, does not mind clari-fying to his followers that he has nomiraculous or healing power.

"Some may come because they feelthe Dalai Lama has some kind of mirac-ulous power. That's nonsense! Somepeople may feel the Dalai Lama hassome kind of healing power. But if thereare some real 100 percent guaranteedhealers here, I'd like to show them myknee. It has been giving me problems!"said a post on his website.

Officials of the Dalai Lama's office,which is based in Dharamsala, say thespiritual guru visits places only on invi-tation. These include invitations for var-

Spirituality

A Miracle MonkDespite his advanced age the Dalai Lama continues tospread the message of humanity worldwide

ious religious, social and cultural events. "His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself

takes a call on the invitation," said Ten-zin Taklha, joint secretary at the DalaiLama's office.

And he prefers visiting universitiesand educational institutions to speak onpeace, non-violence, environment, pro-moting human values and Buddhism.

Ever since he fled Tibet in 1959, the Ti-betan spiritual leader has travelled tomore than 50 countries and met with

presidents, prime ministers and crownrulers of major nations, said his aides.

In the past five years, the Dalai Lama'spreferred foreign destinations have in-cluded Japan, the US, Germany, Italy,Switzerland and France.

This summer, the Dalai Lama, 79, is allset to take off for Japan and Australia forhis teachings and public talks.

Before flying abroad, the spiritualleader will give a short teaching in hisabode Dharamsala on March 5. n


Be it the Metro, car, bike or work-place, most office-goers tend tosit at one spot at a stretch every

day at the cost of their health. So howabout taking a little time out to exerciseat your workplace every now and then?

A survey done by Qi Spine Clinic in2014 shows that 57 percent of profes-sionals in office jobs are affected by vis-ible symptoms of sedentary workplacebehaviour. Experts agree and suggestthat by taking breaks to stretch or to runon the spot, people can work towards ahealthier lifestyle.

"Desk work puts a huge mental andphysical stress on our bodies, especiallyon our lower back, leading to low backpain," said Garima Anandani, chiefspine specialist at Qi Spine Clinic.

"The combination of high stress atjobs (which puts people at greater riskfor habits such as smoking), sitting forlong periods (sitting for over two hoursat a stretch is considered a long period)at the desk in poor posture, and lack ofphysical activity, puts us at greater riskfor low back pain," she added.

Stressing the importance of an activelifestyle, Ibrahim Khan, master trainer atTalwalkars gym, said: "A sitting jobwould lead to lower back pain andspondylosis. A side effect of not workingout would be slowing down of BasalMetabolic Rate (the rate at which weburn our calories), and weight gain."

Leading holistic health guru MickeyMehta has some easy-to-follow solu-tions.

"Use the staircase at least three timesa day. Walk from your house or office tothe bus stand. After every two hours, getup from the chair and take a deep breathand stretch backwards. Then breatheout and come and touch your toes," hesaid.

"Twisting will also help. Hip rotationclockwise and anticlockwise is goodtoo," he added.

Another simple way to work out in of-fice is to run on the spot, suggests NeerajMehta, director of Growth For FitnessInstructors Fitness Academy.

"You can do that for 30 seconds or aminute. Then do a little bit of stretch-ing," he said.

Anandani is also in favour of stretch-ing.

"For the benefit of the back and neck,stretch from head to toe, beginning withthe neck. Slowly tilt your head towardsyour shoulder. Hold for 10 seconds. Doalternate sides. Next loosen up yourshoulders. Roll both shoulders forwardin a circular motion then backward. Re-peat 10 times," she said.

Tightening stomach muscles at work

health

How to Stop Beinga Sitting Duck

As high-stress, health-hazardous desk jobs increasinglybecome the order of the day, working out at the

workplace seems ever more imperative for a long and healthy life

is also possible."To work your abdominal muscles,

hold your stomach for a few secondswhen breathing in, then release whenbreathing out.

"If possible, get some fresh air in yourlungs by taking a walk outside," saidmaster trainer Aminder Singh at Any-time Fitness. For your hips, trykicking...in the air.

"Leg kick front is good for hips. Kickfront in a controlled way, do 10 countsfor each leg. Another one is side kick.Kick sideways in a controlled way, do 10counts for each leg," Khan said.

While taking the staircase is a must tokeep the legs strong, Singh also suggeststo sit upright on your chair andstraighten one leg out in front of you.

Your hands should rest on the chair.

Hold the position for three to five sec-onds. Repeat it between 12 and 20 times,then switch to the other leg, he said.

And just in case you don't want bingowings, don't forget to keep your arms fit.

"Stand up and place your hands (eachabout a shoulder width away from yourbody) on the desk, and twist them in sothey point towards your body then leanforward. "Then push your shouldersand elbows closer to the desk. Repeat itfive times," said Singh.

Thanks to computers, office work alsostrains the eyes, so you need to exerciseto strengthen them too.

"Gaze at a distant object for 15 to 30seconds, then relax eyes," said NeerajMehta.

Now stop sitting and reading, getgoing for a fitter and more active you. n


Maharashtra's coastal Konkanregion conjures up vivid, en-chanting images of virgin

beaches, the Arabian Sea and loominghillocks dotted by imposing seashoreforts and lush greenery.

There are snaky hilly roads huggingthe hillsides, with lush orchards of man-goes, especially the world-famousAlphonso variety, cashewnuts, chickoos,bananas, paddy fields in the valleys mir-roring the tall hills with big and smallvillages at regular intervals, all of whichmagically come alive during the annual10-day Ganesh festival during the mon-soon.

But, amidst the rugged, unexploitednatural beauty of Konkan, with abun-dant rainfall, spread across 31,000 sq kmin Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Rat-nagiri and Sindhudurg districts, there isseething unrest.

Barring a few tokenist tourism ven-tures, the region which has thrown upsix awardees of the Bharat Ratna –India's highest civilian honour – re-mains vastly underdeveloped with mas-sive unemployment plaguing the youthand gen-next, who are forced to migrateto Mumbai or Pune and other big citiesto take up marginal jobs.

"This region has been overlooked bythe government and industry for devel-opment. The problem is compoundedfurther since the 1970s. The migrantsslave in nearby cities and send moneyhome to their families. It is uncharitablyreferred to as a 'Postal Money OrderEconomy'," said Satish Parab, a top-notch insurance consultant andfounder-chairman of Mumbai's SuvarnaKonkan Foundation (SKF) NGO.

He lamented that although there aremany educational institutions and evena separate SSC/HSC examinationsboard, the region does not have a full-fledged university, except an agro-re-search varsity, Ratnagiri's Konkan KrishiVidyapeeth.

"Lacking opportunities, the Konkanyouth are virtually addicted to low-pay-ing jobs in the unorganized sector in thecities, eking out a bare living and send-ing a few thousand rupees to supporttheir families," Parab explained.

This month, SKF launched a missionto change the scenario and implementChhatrapati Shivaji's mission of “Swara-jya” (self-rule) with a minor twist –"Majha Swaraj" (my self-rule) – by mak-ing the youth independent of small-time jobs and equipping them withskills and abilities to become entrepre-neurs.

The region has given many national-level figures to the country, among them

Development

KONKAN’S DUEThis beautiful region of Maharastra boasts half a dozenBharat Ratna recipients but still suffers from chronicunemployment and outmigration

six Bharat Ratna awardees: in B.R.Ambedkar (born in Mhow, but hailingfrom Konkan), Lata Mangeshkar,Vinayak Narhari 'Vinoba' Bhave, SachinTendulkar, Pandurang Vaman Kane andMaharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve.

Some other prominent names are: BalGangadhar Lokmanya Tilak, Sarkhel(admiral) Kanhoji Angre, scholar R.G.Bhandarkar, religious preachers Pan-durang Sadashiv Sane Guruji, ShreeNarayan Vishnu alias Nana Dharmad-


hikari, his son Dattaraya alias Appasa-heb Dharmadhikari, renowned socialistleader Madhu Dandavate – and individ-uals who brought laurels in sports, thearts, culture, movies, music, academicsand other fields in India and globally toKonkan, already famous for its lips-macking 'Malvan' style of cuisine.

However, Parab lamented that all thisfailed to bring about the much-neededchange in the lives of the average Konka-nis, who continue to depend on small,slaving jobs while ignoring their inde-pendent entrepreneurial skills.

"The population of the coastal Maha-rashtra region is more than 2.5 crore (25million) – or roughly 10 percent of thestate's total as per 2011 Census. It isblessed with two major and 48 smallports. It has the Tarapur Atomic PowerStation and the upcoming Jaitapur Nu-

clear Power Project and other thingsdotting its 760-km-long coastline.

But there are only 11,000 industrialunits and barely 20,000 developed in-

"Lacking opportunities, theKonkan youth are virtuallyaddicted to low-paying jobs inthe unorganized sector in thecities, eking out a bare livingand sending a few thousandrupees to support theirfamilies”– Satish Parab, founder-chairman of Suvarna KonkanFoundation, an NGO

dustrial plots. The MIDC has 10 IT parksand there are six private industrial parks,60 SEZs, around 26,000 MSMEs and1,250 large enterprises, Parab said, quot-ing official statistics.

"But these do not generate sufficientemployment opportunities for the lo-cals. Thus, Konkanis comprise nearly 50percent of the migrant unorganizedworking population of Mumbai andThane. This must change. New entre-preneurial opportunities need to be cre-ated so that there is reverse migrationand pressures on the big cities reduce,"Parab said.

The SKF has already begun with amedia blitzkrieg, holding seminars andworkshops in schools, colleges and ex-isting business enterprises and reachingout to the ordinary Konkani village folk,emphasizing the quest for entrepre-neurship.

"Most people ask us: 'What about fi-nance?' I tell them that banks and otherinstitutions are flush with funds andready to finance big or small viable proj-ects. How many of you have approachedbanks with viable projects? At this, theylook down," Parab said.

Attempting to catch 'em young, SKF isdistributing thousands of informationbooklets, conducting online publicawareness drives and reaching outthrough social media networks and atbus stands from where the youth travelto and from Mumbai-Thane and at cin-emas and shopping plazas.

Although authentic figures of mi-grants are not available, Parab estimatesat least two people from each family – ornearly 50 percent of the working-ageKonkani population – fall in this cate-gory.

"If one Konkani becomes an entrepre-neur, he/she can create at least five newjobs. Then, Konkani youth will not bedriven to cities, they can work, learn andearn while living at home," Parab ex-plained.

"Our target is modest – 'ghar wapasi'of around 10 percent of the migrants –so that by 2025, the entire Konkan re-gion becomes a hub of entrepreneur-ship and self-sufficency in all economicrespects," Parab said optimistically.

The SKF will institute an annualKonkan Ratna Award for those who havealready taken to entrepreneurship andrepresent inspiring rags-to-riches sto-ries, a School of Entrepreneurs for cre-ating and crafting the Art ofEntrepreneurship, Balkadu Yojana forthe primary school children and show-casing the unique products of Konkan tothe world through promotion, brandingand modern marketing techniques. n


Proposals for an earthquake Early WarningSystem (EWS) for India -- similar to the onesuccessfully tested during the quake last year

in California -- is mired in a scientific controversy.The EWS detects the initiation of an earthquake

and issues warning alerts of possible forthcomingground shaking.

When a 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook theground below California's Napa Valley on August 24last year, the EWS gave a 10-seconds alert to residentsof San Francisco, about 50 km from the epicentre.

India's Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is con-sidering a similar system for Uttarakhand in thefoothills of the Himalayas. Seismologists at the IndianInstitute of Technology (IIT) in Roorkee were taskedwith building a prototype. And EWS was one thethemes for discussion at a December 11 symposiumon earthquake engineering to be held at the institute.

But Pune-based seismologist Arun Bapat, an asso-ciate of the US-based International Earthquake andVolcano Prediction Centre in Orlando, Florida, wassceptical. "EWS is a myth, it cannot mitigate seismicdisaster," Bapat said.

Bapat, who had predicted the December 26, 2004,tsunami long before it happened, said any EWS forUttarakhand will not be able to save lives within a

100-km radius. He saidhe had communicatedhis views to the ministry.

Energy released dur-ing an earthquake travelsaround the earth as twotypes of waves: primaryor P-waves which arenon-destructive and sec-ondary or S-waves whichcause the intense shak-ing and most damage.

But travelling nearlytwice as fast as S-waves,the P-waves arrive at theseismometer first. EWS

simply exploits this difference in travel time betweenthe two types of waves by sending out a warning tolocations ahead of the arrival of destructive S-wavesthere.

The warning time is usually in seconds, enough tostop trains, shut down heavy industries, airports andpower plants (including nuclear) but not enough forpeople to take cover, Bapat says. "This is especiallytrue if one takes into account the element of total sur-prise, the hallmark of all earthquakes."

If installed in northwest (Himachal/Uttarakhand)or in northeast Himalayas, EWS could provide at best22 to 35 seconds' warning time to residents of Delhiand Guwahati "but both the city authorities have toupdate the computer system and alarm issuingmechanism", Bapat said.

After detection of the P-waves, he said, it takesabout five seconds for the computer to determinethat a local tremor will develop into a damagingearthquake.

During this time, the destructive S-waves will al-ready have travelled at least 17 km. Therefore, thereis a "blind zone," about 20 km in all directions fromthe epicentre where no warning can be issued, he

Science

A GrimGroundRealityAlthough scientists in India are divided onthe utility of the Early Warning System inmitigating seismic disasters, there is nodenying that the EWS is not guaranteed tosave lives

“EWS has a role toplay as part ofearthquake riskmanagement, but itis not a solution initself”– William Ellsworth,a seismologist atthe US GeologicalSurvey


"The seismically active zonerunning from Iran to Malaysiaand on to Indonesia will not beable to avert the greatestcalamities with EWS”– Arun Bapat, an associateseismologist at the US-basedInternational Earthquake andVolcano Prediction Centre inOrlando, Florida

says. If the earthquake starts on an un-

known fault – not covered by the net-work of seismometers – the lead time torecognize the danger and issue the firstalert will be longer and hence the "blindzone" larger, he says. "This is a majordrawback with EWS considering that the

maximum destruction from earthquakeoccurs within 40-70 km radius from theepicentre."

In the US, the entire San FranciscoBay Area would lie within the "blindzone" whenever any of the major faultsalong the San Andreas Fault ruptures,says Bapat, adding that the situation

around the world was not very different. "The seismically active zone running

from Iran to Malaysia and on to Indone-sia will not be able to avert the greatestcalamities with EWS."

What Bapat says about the blind zonewas factual, admits William Ellsworth, aseismologist at the US Geological Sur-vey. "But it does not invalidate the valueof a warning system if it is part of a largerprogramme to reduce earthquake risk,"Ellsworth said in an email.

He said the larger programme shouldideally include public education onwhat to do before an earthquake strikes,during the event and after the shakingstops.

Ellsworth said that India faced a sig-nificant seismic hazard from greatearthquakes that will some day rupturethe faults that are uplifting the Hi-malayas. "EWS has a role to play as partof earthquake risk management, but itis not a solution in itself."

Says Vineet Gahalaut, a top seismolo-gist at the National Geophysical Re-search Institute in Hyderabad: "Japancurrently uses its EWS to issue warningsthree seconds after an initial ruptureand it has been extremely useful in therecent Tohoku earthquake. "For India, itis a must."

Ramesh Singh, a geologist at Chap-man University in California, agrees."Seismometers are not costly and con-necting signals with supercomputer canbe done without much expense," Singhsaid. "Roorkee is running a pilot projectbased on the arrival of P and S waves.This is a good idea to develop."

Bapat argues: "It is no doubt a goodidea but EWS fails totally to achieve itsdeclared goal within the 'blind zones'where expected levels of destruction arethe highest.

"Even outside the 'blind zones', wherewarnings of 5 to 30 seconds can begiven, the life-saving value of such alertsis questionable," he says. n


Rote learning techniques have long plagued theIndian education system, where even "scienceis taught like history". Infusing freshness into

a system where earning maximum grades takes priorityover understanding, experts have come up with solu-tions like teaching mathematics through video games– allowing students to go beyond the obvious.

"In our classrooms, science is taught like history –students are told about the concepts but don't get toexplore, experience or challenge. Our labs encouragechildren to find and verify what is written in the bookrather than explore and challenge concepts," saidRakesh Kumar, founder of Experifun.

Started in 2012, Experifun designs and develops cur-riculum-based affordable, innovative and exploratoryproducts for exploring in-classroom science concepts.

They allow students and teachers to conduct inno-vative science experiments and activities. The offeringcontains various kits covering the entire gamut of sci-ence for curricula like Central Board of Secondary Ed-ucation (CBSE), the Indian Certificate of SecondaryEducation (ICSE), Cambridge, International Baccalau-

Education

RallyingAgainst Rote There has hardly been any discerniblechange in the theory-based Indian educationsystem that has encouraged mugging uprather than understanding concepts.However, a number of private initiatives havestarted showing the way to an alternative,hands-on approach to education


"What we deeply need to realizeand understand is that a 90percent in exams should not be theultimate goal of learning since, inthe real world, if you cannot applywhat you have learnt, you lose outto others who may not have scoredbetter but can apply knowledgebetter. And to bring about a changein how education happens in thiscountry, we need to realize that achild, not a teacher, should be atthe centre of the learning processin a classroom”– Priyadeep Sinha, founder of GyanLab

reates and state boards.Agreed Priyadeep Sinha, founder, Gyan Lab – a start-up

working in the K-12 (Kg-Class 12) education space striving forfun in learning – said education today needs to be more "ap-plication-based".

"What we deeply need to realize and understand is that a 90percent in exams should not be the ultimate goal of learningsince, in the real world, if you cannot apply what you havelearnt, you lose out to others who may not have scored betterbut can apply knowledge better. And to bring about a changein how education happens in this country, we need to realizethat a child, not a teacher, should be at the centre of the learn-ing process in a classroom," Sinha said.

According to the India Labour Report 2007 by TeamLeaseServices staffing company, 90 percent of employment oppor-tunities require vocational skills but 90 percent of our collegesand schools output has bookish knowledge and that 57 per-cent of India's youth suffer from some degree of unemploya-bility.

The report also said that "the present education system fo-cuses on knowledge and rote-based learning, rather than ondeveloping broad abilities of application. While there havebeen numerous government committees set up that have rec-ommended changes in the course content and examinationpattern, little has been done to transform the system."

"There should be a hands-on approach that is geared moretowards problem solving rather than on 'memorizing withoutunderstanding'," it said.

Gyan Lab and Experifun are not the only initiatives that in-tend to engage students with education, encouraging them toapply their understanding to better use.

There are others like Nayi Disha, which builds educational-based computer games for preschool children and ThinkLABS,which instills a scientific temper in school students throughinnovative programmes and prepares college students for ca-reers in embedded systems and robotics.

"We are using Experifun science kits in our school for pastone year. Interest levels and conceptual understanding of stu-dents in science subject have improved as they can relate theconcepts in the book with application in the real," said ManishKumar, founder and country director, Seed Schools, Hyder-abad.

So, what do Nayi Disha games teach?"All our games are centred around baby alien Kaju, and the

world around him. Each game starts with a visually rich story,where Kaju comes across something peculiar, gets into trou-ble, or has to help somebody out. As humans, we forget theo-ries and formulas, but stories are something we latch on to.Starting out with a story really builds a bridge between thechild and the concepts she is learning," Nayi Disha Studios co-founder Kartik Aneja said.

He added that once the story is played, children have to helpKaju achieve a particular set of tasks through physical move-ments.

"No keyboard or mouse is used by the children. They jump,clap, flap, jiggle and wiggle to solve learning problems. Ourgames cover topics in math, languages and general knowledge(which includes science)," he said.

Shivangi Gaur, a parent, said that children prefer activitiesthat keep them engaged while also help them learn new con-cepts.

"Such initiatives are needed as they keep students engagedand help them understand concepts better. A lot of times, I relyon platforms like YouTube to add extra audio-visual touchwhile teaching my child. And to my surprise, he then under-stands it better," Gaur said. n


Seattle-based techie RashmiTambe wears her passion on thesleeve of her rugged jacket, along

with the dust, grime and road-grit gath-ered over thousands of miles she hasclocked on her motorcycle across conti-nents. Tambe, one of the several thou-sand bikers who have descended on thecoastal village of Vagator, 25 km fromGoa, for the two-day India Bike Week, isone of those slowly but surely swellingflock of young Indian women who areleisure-biking across the country andthe world with only their tough pantsand tougher will for company.

Tambe is one of the star speakers atthe event, which will also feature rockshows, BBQs, modified bikes, a cross-country riding expedition and all thegrunge elements which make up a bikerevent. Her résumé is of rock-hard pedi-gree. "A friend and I travelled 3,000miles from Seattle to Alaska. I've alsobiked solo over 5,000 miles across theexpanse of North America and 5,000miles through both central and westernEurope. I think I should be the first In-dian woman to do that," said.

Tambe also edits the Global WomenWho Ride project that attempts to trackdown a woman biker in every countrythat she rides through during her jour-neys. "The thing is there are not toomany women bikers as role models. Theproject aims to create resource aboutwomen bikers across the world and tofill that gap. I interview a woman motor-cyclist in every country I travelthrough," she said.

Tambe is not the only Indian womanbiker whose passion has ridden onwheels. For Coorg's Sangeetha Jairam,bike-love appears to be a case of a ge-netic hand-me-down. Her father bikedall the way from India to London on hisBMW R/25 more than two decades ago.

Sangeetha, a yoga instructor, onlytook her passion a few notches higher.Her bike travels have slipped in and outof the Silk Route through Kazakhstan,Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Southeast Asiaand the Himalayas, to name just a few.So hooked she is to biking that she callsthe activity her "friend, philosopher andguide".

"My first journey was in Bhutan. At

the time there were no mobile phones,ATMs and the like. The whole trip wasabout meeting people and making do,"she recalled.

"You can learn anywhere, anytime.Every time you travel and meet peopleand other motorcyclists, you alwayscome away with a new experience," shesaid, adding that she was setting hersights on her dream bike, a Ducati Mul-tistrada, in the near future. WhileSangeetha had a father who goaded herinto biking, for Delhi's Sonia Jain, own-ing a bike was taboo and she had toplead with her friends for a ride on amotorcycle. "My friends let me drivenear the house, but only in first and sec-ond gear, but my parents would neverbuy me a motorcycle then," Jain said.Her first biking break came in 2009,when Jain auditioned for the India BikeRally, a 4,500 km event spread across 21days. "That was my first long distanceriding experience. After that, there wasno turning back. I exactly knew what Iwould be doing for the rest of my life,"Jain said. The India Bike Week was heldon February 20-21. n

Lifestyle

The Rise of the Biker GirlsIndia’s young women motorcyclists are blazing new trails in more ways than one


While Hyderabad is more fa-mous for its biryani, haleemand other lip-smacking

dishes, one can't ignore its 'achar' orpickles. Achar, along with 'papad', addsthat extra taste to the typical Hyderabadispread. Families prefer the spicy acharin different varieties, especially whenthey go for simple meals, comprisingplain rice or 'khichdi' and dal.

Achar with 'papad' or 'murkul' or'dahi ki mirchi' satiate the appetite.Available in different tastes and in differ-ent varieties, pickles are all-timefavourites and a must for a majority offamilies, especially for lunch.

From Mir Alam Mandi and Chowknear the historic Charminar to Nam-pally, one finds many shops sellingachar and other items. While picklesmade in the unique Hyderabadi style areavailable at these shops, there are alsomany outlets in the twin cities of Hyder-abad and Secunderabad selling acharwith a distinct Andhra taste. Sometraders have also joined the bandwagonby supplying home-made pickles to 'ki-rana' shops. While mango pickle made

of raw mangoes and 'tarkari ka achar' orvegetable pickle are the fastest movingitems off the shelves, some old Hyder-abadi shops are famous for 'gosht kaachar' or pickle made of mutton. Onealso finds 'leemo' (lemon) ka achar, 'imli(tamarind) ka achar', 'tamatey (tomato)ka achar', 'aamla (gooseberry) ka achar'or 'gongura (edible leaf) ka achar'.

Deccan Achar, a leading store in Nam-pally, sells 30 varieties of pickles and isquite popular with the people.

"We don't compromise on quality. Weuse only quality ingredients," Sadiq BinMehfooz of Deccan Achar said.

A third-generation businessman,Sadiq said their varieties of achar in-clude 'chicken achar', 'green chilliachar' and 'red chilli achar'.

People coming to Hyderabad fromother states and even abroad make it apoint to buy achar in the city.

"Our achar also goes to the MiddleEast and other countries," said Sadiq.The NRIs visiting their relatives in thecity buy the famous achar while return-ing. Traders say that many families alsosend achar through friends to their near

and dear ones working in the Gulf. Most of the families in the past used

to make the pickles at home. They usedto buy 'kairi' (raw mango) in huge quan-tities, cut them into small pieces andstore the pickle they made for months.With changing times, people started de-pending on shops to buy them.

"We don't get time to make pickles athome and the process is also time-con-suming and tedious," said Sajida Kha-toon, a housewife.

This led to many pickle shops mush-rooming in different parts of the city.The achar made with more spices andwith a Hyderabadi recipe remain every-body's favourite. While achar is soldthroughout the year, the sales pick upduring summer, the mango season.After mango pickle, lemon and veg-etable pickles are in great demand. Peo-ple also prefer them for their longershelf-life.

Some shops are also famous for mut-ton and chicken pickles. For many, es-pecially students and bachelors, thesepickles replace curries and save the timethey spend on cooking. n

Food

Acharsto DieForLong loved by locals,the wide assortmentof Hyderabadi picklesshould be a must-tryfor those visiting thecity


There has been a marked in-crease in Indians visiting Vi-enna and a senior Austrian

official is hoping to "increase it to100,000 overnights by 2017".

"Since 2010, the number of nightsspent by Indians in Vienna grew ataround 18.5 percent to 65,000overnights in 2014," said ViennaTourism Board (VTB) Deputy Director,Isabella Rauter, who is currently on hermaiden trip to India.

Rauter said in an interview: "We hopeto increase it to 100,000 overnights by2017. The maximum number of Indiantourists hail from New Delhi, Mumbai,Ahmedabad and Chennai."

As the winter chill melts into spring,the beautiful Austrian capital of Viennais all set to celebrate the Sesquicenten-nial of its historic boulevard – the RingRoad, considered a jewel among streetsin the world, and a UNESCO World Cul-tural Heritage site since 2001, on thebanks of river Danube.

Tourism

Vienna CallingAlready a firm favourite among Indian travelers, theAustrian capital cannot seem to have enough of them

Rauter said now the SchonbrunnPalace and the Giant Ferris Wheel havebeen opened as wedding destinationsfor Indians and efforts are under way toattract Bollywood for movie shootings.

The 5.3-km Vienna Ring Road, orWiener Ringstrasse, is globallyrenowned for its architectural monu-ments and urban planning since its in-auguration on May 1, 1865 by AustrianEmperor Kaiser Franz Joseph.

Built over five decades, theRingstrasse is a vast treasure trove of ar-chitectural details, imposing buildings,sculptures and decorations on mansionfaces, designs of entrances and stair-wells and greenery.

"Once an elegant promenade for aris-tocracy, it is now an acclaimed urbanplanning project with magnificentbuildings, palaces and parks coming upin its vicinity, at which tourists from all

Giant Ferris Wheel at Vienna Prater Vienna Tourism Photo by Christian Stemper.


Imperial Palace on Ringstrasse seen fromroof of Natural History Museum ViennaTourism photo by Manfred Horvath.

"People can spend time in the 850 parks, 280 imperial parks andgardens dotting the landscape, making Vienna one of the greenestcities in the world, 400 species of roses bloom only in theVolksgarten (garden), day trips to the woods, Lobau and kidsrecreational areas. It is the only metro in the world with around1,700 acres of vineyards and wine cellars”– Vienna Tourism Board deputy director Isabella Rauter

over the world marvel," Rauter said.The Ringstrasse boulevard earned the

UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in2001, after its Schonbrunn Palace andthe palace gardens, complementing thecharms of the over 800 buildings built inRenaissance, Baroque and Gothic styles.

Now, Austria is preparing a vibrantcelebration for the Ringstrasse's Sesqui-centennial with a slew of year-long ac-tivities in arts, culture, night-life,cuisine, sight-seeing, good living, sportsand leisure, besides attracting more In-dians to join the festivities, smilesRauter.

The VTB is luring more cities withstrategic tie-ups with major tour opera-tors, targeting youth, honeymoonersand families, she added.

An important inaugural exhibition inMarch will showcase the constructionsin Vienna during the Nazi regime, whenthe city was considered as the 'Pearl ofThe Reich'.

Jewish entrepreneurs and bankerswho contributed handsomely to theeconomic upswing of the 19th century,lived and worked around theRingstrasse, will have a dedicated expofrom March onwards, she added.

The Wien Museum Karlsplatz will host

an exhibition tracing the boulevard'sbirth to its formal opening, showcasingrare blueprints, designs, models, photo-graphs of that era.

For the sight-seeing buffs, Vienna of-fers over 100 art museums, the leg-endary composer Beethoven's homeand grave, Mozart's grave, imposingchurches like St. Stephen's Cathedral,parliament house modelled like a Greektemple, Vienna State Opera, hailed asthe world's music capital, National The-atre with magnificent ceiling paintings,and Museum of Natural History, theworld's largest.

"People can spend time in the 850parks, 280 imperial parks and gardensdotting the landscape, making Viennaone of the greenest cities in the world,400 species of roses bloom only in theVolksgarten (garden), day trips to thewoods, Lobau and kids recreationalareas. It is the only metro in the worldwith around 1,700 acres of vineyardsand wine cellars," Rauter said.

Around the year, Vienna hosts over450 balls, starting with New Year's Eveball in the Imperial Palace or the OperaBall at the Vienna State Opera and theCarnival in January-February, besidesdiscotheques for more adventurous. n


Arare collection of Persian andIranian art and culture, com-prising the finest collections

from one of the oldest civilizations inthe world, is enthralling visitors at amonth-long exhibition in Mumbai. Ti-tled “Building Bridges Of Love – Sulh-E-Kul – Peace To All”, the expo covers erasof Khatamkari works, Minakari arts, Per-sian calligraphy, art photography andpaintings and miniatures. It has beenorganised at the Cosmic Art Gallery incollaboration with Ajmer's ChishtyFoundation and Mumbai's Iran CultureHouse.

"This is a rare expo, spanning theseven centuries-old Khatamkari works,or metal craftsmanship which is delicateand meticulous marquetry, with star-shaped incrustation patterns, and high-lighted by thin sticks of different types ofwoods and camel bones, and other dis-plays," said Jalpa Vithalani, a cosmichealer and director of south Mumbai'sCosmic Art Gallery.

At one time, it was so popular thatprinces and princesses learntKhatamkari techniques like they learntmusic or painting. Over seven centuriesold, it is still perennial in Iran's Shirazand Isfahan areas.

Also on display is Persian calligraphy,with the 35 letters of the ancient Iranianalphabet which was artistically ex-pressed on animal skins, or adorningworks of pottery, metallic vessels andhistoric buildings.

The collection of renowned Teherancalligrapher Bahadur Baghri on displayare beautiful and simple with eachpainting carrying the universalverses/messages which touch the view-ers' souls.

An important component of the exhi-bition is a special photo feature byChishty Foundation Director Haji SyedSalman Chishty entitled 'Journey to IranZameen' with some striking images ofIran, its people, its culture, arts and his-tory.

The 32-year old Haji Chishty, who isengaged in practical research on Sufitraditions and their impact on differentcultures and traditions, has lecturedaround the world on the topic and madea journey of exploration of Iran when hetook the pictures.

"The underlying message is to pro-mote spiritualism through harmony,peace and love for all, which was repre-sented by the 11th century saint, Sultan-ul-Hind, Gharib Nawaz Hazrat KhawajaMoinuddin Hasan Chishty of AjmerSharif," Haji Chishty said.

He is the 27th generation of 'GaddiNashin' of the world famous Dargah

Art

'Sulh-E-Kul':A Peek intothe Soul ofPersia


Khawaja Saheb - Ajmer Sharif - and theexhibition of Sufi Arts from around theworld was his brainchild, but held onlyin Ajmer since 2009, to breathe new lifeinto the dying Islamic arts.

"This is the first time the Sufi Arts ex-hibition is travelling out of Ajmer. Withthe advent of the digital era, Islamic artis dying without patronage; the greatartists have lost their relevance and theydid not pass on their knowledge to thenext generation," he explained.

Vithalani said that the Sufi Arts Festi-val in Ajmer, coinciding with ProphetMohammed's birthday celebrations,has now joined hands for the Persian artexhibition.

"Through the Sufi Arts Festival, weemphasise on understanding Islamfrom a creative perspective, which is notjust restricted to religious teachings.Islam is a highly advanced religion andscience, of which the new generation isunaware. Such exhibitions and moreplanned all over India soon can create

that awareness," Haji Chishty said.Haji Chishty's silent but powerful

photographs capture different aspectsof peace, love, the culture of Iran andhow people and nature blend in thatcountry, almost like visual poetry. (seeImages).

One section displays the fine artprints of renowned Persian painter andminiaturist Mahmoud Farshchian, now85, a native of Isfahan, the cradle of Per-sian arts and artists in Iran, currently liv-ing in the US.

"Master Farshchian's beautiful paint-ings depict a perfect synergy betweenmankind, animals and the surroundingnature and how they are inter-linked,inter-dependent and unified with eachother. His paintings and miniatures areinspired by ancient literature and po-etry, but are blended with modern tech-niques," Vithalani said.

A lure is the Minakari collection –roughly meaning colours of heaven – orenamelling and decorating metals or

tiles with colourful and baked coats withmina glaze, invented by ancient Per-sians and later spread to Mongolia,India and other parts of the world.

"This is the art of painting, colouringand ornamenting surface of metals byfushing brilliant colours over it, deco-rated in intricate designs or patterns ofbirds, animals, nature, flowers, in richhues of light blue, green yello and red,"Vithalani elaborated, showing the vari-ous breath-taking exhibits.

At the inaugural last week, Iran Cul-ture House Director Mahdi Zare said artis one of the most ancient and most fun-damental fields of crystallization andmanifestations of human soul.

"Human activities in art got devel-oped in various disciplines and peoplein different historical periods focussedon the artistic productions of each ofthese disciplines. These are the directrepresentation of the human identityand its compulsive emotional form,"Zare told the august audience. n


"Wild" is a road film aboutself-inflicted tortureand liberation. It is

about setting goals and forging aheadwith your resolution. It's also about en-durance and how "Problems don't stayas problems, they change to somethingelse".

Scripted by Nick Hornby, based onCheryl Strayed's memoir - "Wild: FromLost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail",it details Strayed's 1,100-mile hike fromthe Mojave Desert to the Oregon-Wash-ington border and tells the story of thepersonal struggles that compelled her totake the hike.

The film starts off in a dramatic man-ner. We hear Strayed (Witherspoon)panting, pained and exhausted, seatedat the edge of the cliff with her backpackstacked next to her, nursing her badlywounded feet.

She notices her dismembered toe-nailand yanks it off causing her to acciden-tally drop one of her shoes in the valley.Frustrated about the journey and loss ofher shoe, she hurls abuses and flings theother shoe in the valley and continuesher journey.

This sets the mood and tone ofVallee's "Wild" and sums up the mes-sage: When the going gets tough, thetough get going.

The film is layered. Narrated in a non-linear fashion, it encapsulates Strayed'sphysical as well as mental journey afterthe death of her mother, her failed mar-riage and her wild ways of living.

With suspense and style, warmth andhumour, the film sparkles. Apart frompowerfully capturing the terrors andpleasures of the trip, it unveils Strayed'scatharsis and grief especially in terms ofher relationship with her husband,mother and brother.

Director Valle, who had earlier deliv-ered Oscar-winning film "The DallasBuyer's Club" has intelligently crafted"Wild". He has a distinct style that iscompelling and it works.

"Wild" may not be an excellent pieceof art but with the right balance ofmelancholic and cheerful momentsalong with effective performances, hegrips you and keeps you hooked.

Packed with raw wounds and emo-tions, Witherspoon breathes life into theemotionally down and weather-beaten

Strayed. You can sense her fear and feelher pain and pleasures.

But it is Dern, as the warm and ma-tronly Bobbi Grey, Strayed's mother whosteals the show with her strong emo-tional act.

Thomas Sadoski as Strayed's husbandPaul is functional. Probably, it is his lim-ited screen time and underwritten char-acter graph that does not work for him.

The other co-stars who have their mo-ments of glory are Kevin Rankin as fel-low wanderer Greg and Mo Mcrae asJimmy Carter the ridiculously funny re-porter from Hobo Times. They definitelyleave an impact even in limited screentime.

Shot on a digital camera, cinematog-rapher Yves Belanger's frames from un-usual angles are a treat to watch. But itis the sound team that has done a daz-zling job. They have captured nature inall its glory.

The sound of the crickets, desertbreeze, the storm, the rain and the echoalternating with the pin-drop silence isall captured brilliantly.

Though slow and meandering, "Wild"will appeal to cinephiles. n

Movie Review

'Wild': An intelligently crafted filmTroy Ribeiro

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Michiel Huisman, GabyHoffmann, Kevin Rankin, W. Earl Brown, Mo McRae and Keene McRae;

Director: Jean-Marc Vallee; Rating: ***


I am nota bikinigirl:EvelynActress Evelyn Sharma, known for

her glamorous roles in films like“Yaariyan” and “Main Tera Hero”, saysshe will stun the audiences with hercompletely different avatar in her firstsolo film “Ishqedarriyaan” Evelyn waspresent at the poster launch of film"Ishqedarriyan". When asked to revealsomething about her character, she said:“It's a completely different characterfrom what I've played so far, but actuallyI have found myself in this role. Loveline,the character is much closer to the realEvelyn than most of the other roleswhich I've played so far.” “Because I ac-tually grew up in a small town and I amnot really the bikini girl when it comes tomy private life, so playing the role ofLoveline was really beautiful and com-pletely different experience,” she added.“Ishqedarriyaan”, directed by VKPrakash, stars Mahakshay Chakrabortyin the lead role. n

Will continue todo films: Soha Actress Soha Ali Khan, who tied the knot with Kunal Khemu

on January 25 this year, says she'll not take a break andwould continue to do films even after marriage. Soha was presentat a promotional event when she was asked if the audience wouldsee her in films after marriage. To that she said: "Yes, yes, of courseyou'll see me in films. Film 'October 31st' is in post productionnow...we have wrapped up the shooting." "In few days, I’l startshooting for 'Ghayal once again'. It will be a action-packed, greatfun movie. I'll get a chance to work with Sunny sir (Sunny Deol)in it. So, I'm really looking forward to it." she added. Soha furtherexpressed her desire to share screen space with her husbandKunal Khemu. "We have already done two films together...Obvi-ously... I believe Kunal (Kunal Khemu) is a great actor and it willbe fun working with him. Also we'll get a chance to spend sometime together (while working). But the script should be special.We have not got the special script yet," Soha said. Directed byShivaji Lotan Patil, "October 31st" also stars Vir Das in the lead. n


Hollywood

MonicaBellucciprefers to becalled a'Bond lady'Actress Monica Bellucci, who will play

the James Bond’s new love interest in“Spectre”, says she wants to be called a“Bond lady” instead of “Bond girl”. The 50-year-old, who will star opposite DanielCraig, 46, in the film believes the youthfulterm “Bond girl” is no longer applicable toher character, reports dailymail.co.uk. “Myfirst thought was, 'How can I be a Bond girlat 50?' After my audition (director) SamMendes told me that, for the first time inhistory, he wanted a woman of a similar ageto the actor playing Bond," she said. "I toldSam he would be a hero among women forcasting me in 'Spectre'. “Compared to theBond girls who have gone before me, I amso much more mature. I’d prefer to be calleda Bond woman or perhaps a Bond lady,” sheadded. 'Spectre' is slated to release Novem-ber 6, 2015. n

Don’t believe inreports : Emma“Harry Potter” star Emma Watson has urged fans

not to go with every report that the media pub-lishes. It was reported last week that Watson and PrinceHarry are dating each other but the 24-year-old took toTwitter Sunday to express her feeling on such rumours, re-ports dailymail.co.uk.s. “World. Remember that little talkwe had about not believing everything written in themedia?!” she tweeted. As per reports Harry sent Watson anemail to invite her out when she split from her boyfriendMatthew Janney after a year of dating. But Watson set therecord straight and tweeted saying: “Also..... marrying aPrince not a prerequisite for being a Princess.” She alsoposted a link to 1995 drama film “A Little Princess” whichincludes the line: “I am a princess. All girls are.” n


Book Review

Dhoni's magic, parenting woes and HinduismWith the Indian team riding high after registering their first win in the 2015 World Cup against arch-

rivals Pakistan, we have a book on the struggles and triumphs of Indian cricket team captain Ma-hendra Singh Dhoni; a mother's struggle to bring up her child in an Indian way in China and a critique ofHinduphobia in today's academia, media and popular culture - the book stack this fortnight has gems thatare relevant for today's time. Take a look.

1. Book: The Man, The Leader MSD;Author: Biswadeep Ghosh; Publisher:Rupa; Price: Rs.195; Pages: 245

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be re-membered for hitting the winning six for India in thefinal match of the 2011 World Cup against Sri Lankaand also for the hope he ignited in the hearts ofmany aspiring cricketers across the nation for gen-erations to come. The book highlights the cricketer'sstruggles during his growing up years, while alsoanalysing his career. Replete with images, the bookis an inspirational read.

2. Book: Visa, Stickers and OtherMatters of the Soul; Author LomHarshni Chauhan; Publisher: PanMacmillan; Pages: 294; Price: Rs. 299

One of the major concerns of Indian parents ishow best to pass on to their children the time-ho-noured traditions of Indian culture and spirituality,even as they try to raise global citizens. This novelis an endearing account of a young mother's ex-periments with raising her daughter in the Indianspiritual way while living in atheist China. As shebegins to educate her daughter, she is surprised bythe child's sense of understanding and realises thatparenting is her biggest life lesson, with her daugh-ter as her teacher.

3. Book: Rearming Hinduism: Nature,Hinduphobia and the Return of IndianIntelligence; Author: Vamsee Juluri;Publisher: Westland; Pages: 230; Price:Rs. 250

This is a handbook for intellectual resistance.Through an astute and devastating critique ofHinduphobia in today's academia, media and pop-ular culture, the author shows us that what theHinduphobia worldview denies virulently is notonly the truth and elegance of Hindu thought butthe very integrity and sanctity of the natural worlditself. By boldly challenging some of the mediaage's most popular beliefs about nature, historyand pre-history along with the usual Hinduphobicmyths about Aryans, invasions and blood-sacri-fices, the book links. Hinduphobia and its hubristo a predatory and self-destructive culture that per-haps only a renewed Hindu sensibility can effec-tively oppose. n

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