LONDON, MARCH 18An Indian-origin man in

the UK has been convictedof brutally raping a womanafter repeatedly attackingher with a brick.

39-year-old HardeepSandhu was convicted bythe Derby Crown Courtafter the DNA collectedfrom the crime scene inMay, 2013 matched withthe samples he had given ayear later after beingarrested for drunken anddisorderly behaviour.

Sandhu of Curzon Lane,Alvaston hit the woman,who was working as aprostitute at the time, witha brick, repeatedlypunched her and raped her

in a garden at the back ofHartington Street,Normanton, in May 2013,the Derby Telegraphreported.

Richard Thatcher, prose-cuting, told the jury: "Heattacked her ? punchingher repeatedly to the face,striking her with a brick,knocking her unconsciousfor a period of time and, inthe midst of the violentattack, raping her."

The attack lasted forabout two hours afterwhich Sandhu fled. As thewoman left the scene, shemet a couple who helpedher and called the police.

Scenes-of-crimes CONTD. ON PAGE 3

MUMBAITemperature: 330CPrecipitation:0%Humidity: 40%Wind: 23Km/hr

HAQSAADDAFIGHT FOR RIGHTThursday, March 19, 2015

After promising to focus on Delhi, ArvindKejriwal now says AAP will go national

LG Launches 105-Inch 5K TV WithIPS Display at Rs. 59,99,900

Shruti Haasan sings for‘Gabbar Is Back’ P8

PANAJI, MARCH 18Voting for the zilla panchay-

at (ZP) polls in Goa, whichhas 149 candidates in the fraycontesting from 50 con-stituencies, began Wednesdaymorning.

The polling process began CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Voting underwayfor Goa zillapanchayat polls

HISAR, MARCH 18A day after the main

accused in the Hisar churchvandalism was arrested, theNational Human RightsCommission (NHRC) hasissued notices to the ChiefSecretary and DGP, Haryanaand has asked for a report in

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Hisar church attack: NHRCissues notice to HaryanaDGP, Chief Secretary

MUNGER, MARCH 18A hardcore Maoist was

arrested on Wednesday fromBhimbundh forest area inBihar's Munger district, apolice officer said.

Acting on a tip off, the policeraided a hideout and nabbedthe ultra, identified as Dhanik

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Hardcore Maoist held inBihar's Munger district

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Senior AAP leader Yogendra

Yadav on Wednesday wel-comed the party's decision toexpand its organisation instates other than Delhi, a movehe has been long advocating,saying it will further "strength-en" the party.

Making a u-turn from Arvind Kejriwal's publicly CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Decision to expand base willstrengthen AAP: Yogendra Yadav

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Congress on Wednesday

launched a sharp attack onHRD Minister Smriti Iraniaccusing her of "interfering"with autonomy of higher edu-cation institutions, followingthe resignation of eminentnuclear scientist AnilKakodkar as Chairman ofBoard of Governors of IIT Bombay.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Cong attacks Smriti Irani over nuclearscientist Anil Kakodkar's resignation

JAMMU, MARCH 18Asserting that democracy is a

battle of ideas, J&K ChiefMinister Mufti MohmmadSayeed on Wednesday assuredthat opposition would not begagged and it should keep thegovernment on toes.

"It is your (speaker's) dutyand our (government's) duty --

we do not want to gag. Opposition has its viewpoint. CONTD. ON PAGE 3

We won't gag Opposition, theykeep the govt on toes: Mufti

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Family members of a 33-

year-old man, who died in aroad accident involving a rash-ly driven vehicle in 2013, havebeen awarded a compensationof over Rs 63 lakh by a Motor

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Delhi road mishap: Kinof 33-year-old man getover Rs 63 lakh

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Realty major DLF has

denied wrongdoing on theissue of membership in anexclusive club which it had topurportedly built for the resi-dents of one of its propertiesin Gurgaon -- a matter which

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

DLF says no wrong-doing in Gurgaon clubmembership case

P6P2

Weather ReportDELHITemperature: 280CPrecipitation:0%Humidity: 49%Wind: 16Km/hr

KOLKATATemperature: 360CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity:40% Wind: 14Km/hr

CHENNAITemperature: 340CPrecipitation: 10%Humidity:56%Wind: 18Km/hr

JAMMU, MARCH 18J&K Governor NN

Vohra Wednesday notedthat the final decision onthe continuation ofArmed Forces SpecialPowers Act (AFSPA) inthe state would be takenby the central govern-ment. "Keeping in mindthe fact that the situationis steadily improving, thegovernment will exam-ine the need for de-noti-fying 'disturbed areas'and this in turn, wouldenable the central gov-ernment to take a finalview on the continuationof the AFSPA in suchareas," he said while

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Centre to take final callon AFSPA: J&K Governor

Indian-origin man convict-ed of raping woman in UK

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Congress on

Wednesday appearedopen to a CBI probe intothe death of IAS officerDK Ravi Kumar inBengaluru which trig-gered widespread out-rage and a political con-troversy, and attackedBJP over its charge thatattempts were beingmade to "hush up" thecase.

"I can assure that theruling party has no con-

nection with any mafia.Essentially, this particu-lar issue will be dealtwith as the investigationunfolds and if it turnsthat a CBI enquiry isappropriate then thestate government willtake action. We haveconfidence that thepolice will conduct afree and impartial inves-tigation into this tragicdevelopment," saidparty spokespersonRajiv Gowda, a Rajya

Sabha member from thestate. The remarks cameeven as Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah today saidin Bengaluru that thiswas not a case to behanded over to CBI.

At the same time,Gowda was in agree-ment with the theorythat it was a "suicide."

Asked whether deathof Kumar seems to be acase of suicide as report-edly said by the Chief

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18After the viral video of a

young girl and her malefriend being mercilesslybeaten up in UttarPradesh's Hathras shockedmany, the victim shares herfears post the incidentwhich took place onFebruary 20.

The victim spoke exclu-sively with Zee Mediasharing how she's still trau-matised and the continuousthreats she is receivingfrom the assailants, one ofwhich posted the video

online to humiliate the girl.Though all six attackers

have been arrested by thepolice, the victim told thatshe constantly fears thatonce the assailants arereleased she will againcome under the attack. "Idon't feel protected at all,"she told. Talking abouthow her life has beenaffected, the girl told thatall her dreams have beencrushed and she is notbeing able to pursue herstudies due to the constant

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

DK Ravi death case: Congressready for CBI probe, if required

Hathras molestation incident: Howthe viral video affected victim's life

Vol. 1 Issue: 187 Price: Rs.3:00 Reg. No: DELENG/2014/58212 Delhi Edition Pages: 8 Website: www.saaddahaq.in Email: news.saaddahaq@gmail.com

TUNIS, MARCH 18Attackers opened fire on

Wednesday at a majormuseum in Tunisia's capi-tal, gunning down 17tourists as dozens moresprinted to safety. At least21 people in all werekilled, including two gun-men, but some attackersmay have escaped, author-ities said.

The attack on the famedNational Bardo Museum inTunis was the first on atourist site in years inTunisia, a shaky young

democracy that has strug-gled to keep Islamicextremist violence at bay.

It was not clear who theattackers were but security

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Terror attack in Tunisian capital leaves 21dead, mostly foreign tourists

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Replying to the letter sent by social

activist Anna Hazare, Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday saidthat her party will oppose the con-tentious Land Bill at all fora and willcontinue the fight against it.

Sonia's reply to Hazare's letter comeswithin two days after the latter appealedto the opposition parties to resist thegovernment's attempts to pass the LandBill in Rajya sabha when introduced inthe Upper House.

“The proposed new land law is not infarmers' interest. Congress will opposethe bill at all fora. Our fight on the issuewill continue,” replied Sonia.

Hazare's close aide Vinayak Patil hadon March 16 said, "Anna (Hazare) haswritten a letter to all the opposition par-ties to oppose the anti-farmer bill if it isintroduced in the Rajya Sabha.”

Patil was in the capital to meet theopposition leaders and also hand over amemorandum to all major oppositionparties.

He had further added, "We have alsosubmitted a memorandum to RuralDevelopment Minister Birendra Singhsince the bill has been introduced by hisMinistry.”

A united opposition on Tuesdaysounded its battle cry over the land

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Sonia Gandhi replies to Anna Hazare's letter, saysCongress will oppose anti-farmer Land Bill

WASHINGTON, MARCH 18H-1B workers replac-

ing Americans have min-imal skills and little or nobusiness knowledge, awhistleblower fromIndian IT giant Infosyshas said and asked law-makers not to increasethe number of muchsought-after visas andplug in the loopholes inthe immigration system.

Jay B Palmer, whosedvisa fraud case againstInfosys had led to a USD34 million visa fraud set-

tlement -- the largest inUS history -- alleged thatno matter who is chosen,no matter what their skill

set is, H-1B workers arecoming to the US andthey have to learn the

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

H-1B workers have minimalskills: Infosys whistleblower

AHMEDABAD, MARCH 18Amidst raging controversy on

Jammu and Kashmir government'salleged 'pro-separatist' moves, BJPchief Amit Shah said that his partywould not compromise on nationalinterest and could end its alliancewith PDP, if "Kashmir issue" is notsolved.

"People of this country haveblessed us like Lord Shiva andgiven us very big responsibility.BJP will never compromise onnational interest, merely to remainin power in Jammu and Kashmir,"

Shah said, addressing BJP workersin his Assembly constituencyNaranpura on Wednesday.

"The government (in J&K) hasbeen formed only to solve Kashmirissue and I have full trust that wewill find a solution to this issue. Ifit (solution of Kashmir issue) doesnot come about, then nobody canstop our party workers from leav-ing the coalition government,"Shah said.

Shah also said that BJP workersshould go to the people to spread

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

BJP will not compromise onnational interest to remain in

power in J&K: Amit Shah

If no instant justiceto rapists, suchcrimes will continue:Robert VadraNEW DELHI, MARCH 18

Expressing shock anddisgust at the rape of a 71-year-old nun in WestBengal, Robert Vadra onWednesday said that tillthere is "instant justice,"no matter which strata ofsociety the victims maybelong to, such crimes willcontinue to happen.

Vadra, son-in-law ofCongress chief SoniaGandhi, also said that

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

JAMMU, MARCH 18Kavinder Gupta, a

Bharatiya Janata Party legisla-tor, was on Wednesday elect-ed as the speaker of the stateLegislative Assembly.

After the Budget Session ofthe Assembly started here onWednesday, senior PDP leaderand Education Minister

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

BJP legislator electedJ&K Assembly Speaker

J&K Governor's addressdisappointing: CPI(M)

JAMMU, MARCH 18CPI(M) on Wednesday alleged that Jammu and

Kashmir Governor NN Vohra's address to theAssembly was "clueless on vital issues" and had no

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Congress president Sonia Gandhi,

former prime ministers ManmohanSingh and HD Devegowda, UnionMinisters Smriti Irani, NajmaHeptullah and Ram Vilas Paswan areamong over 300 MPS who are on theutility bill defaulters list of the NewDelhi Municipal Council. Others whofigure in the list of electricity and waterbill defaulters, which has been made

public by NDMC, are former UnionMinister Jainarain Prasad Nishad, LKAdvani, Digvijay Singh and JagdishTytler.

In the list of dues pending up toDecember 2014 billing cycle, 166 MPsfrom Lok Sabha and 151 MPs of RajyaSabha have figured.

Nishad, Devegowda and TelanganaCM K Chandrashekhra Rao top the list

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Sonia, Union ministers in NDMC defaulters list

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Bharatiya Janata Party presi-

dent Amit Shah has called ameeting of the Delhi MPs forthe first time after party's disas-trous performance in the DelhiAssembly polls.

The BJP chief will hold ameeting with the seven partyMPs at 6 pm today.

The meeting is being held forthe first time after the party wasdecimated to a single-digitnumber in the recently-heldAssembly polls.

While Aam Aadmi Partybagged 67 seats, BJP wonmerely three seats and Congresscould not win even a singleseat. Even BJP's chief ministe-rial candidate Kiran Bedi, who

was contesting on the KrishnaNagar seat in East Delhi, lost to

Aam Aadmi Party's SK Baggaby over 2,400 votes.

NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | MARCH 19, 2015Delhi News2 SAADDA HAQ

8 Additional judgesof Delhi HC elevatedas PermanentJudgesNEW DELHI, MARCH 18

Eight Additional Judges ofthe Delhi High Court havebeen elevated as PermanentJudges.

Justice Jayant Nath, JusticeNajmussahar Waziri, JusticeSanjeev Sachdeva, JusticeVibhu Bakhru, Justice ValluriKameswar Rao, JusticeSunita Gupta, Justice DeepaSharma and Justice VedPrakash Vaish, who areAdditional Judges of theDelhi High Court, have beenmade Judges in the same highcourt from the date theyassume charge of theirrespective offices, a LawMinistry statement said.

The sanctioned strength ofjudges of the High Court ofDelhi is 29 permanent Judgesand 19 Additional Judges,and now there is a shortage offour judges.

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18The Election Commission

(EC) on Wednesday issuedshowcause notices threateningde-recognition of six politicalparties, including the AamAadmi Party (AAP), for fail-ing to file their expenditurestatements for the last LokSabha polls.

Issuing a stern warning tothese parties, the poll-panelhas invoked the provisions ofsection 16(A) of the ElectionSymbols (Reservation andAllotment) Order whichempowers the Commission "tosuspend or withdraw recogni-tion of a recognised politicalparty" for violation of setnorms, even as it gave theseparties a final window of 20days to comply.

The parties, who have beenissued the notices today,include the AAP, Peoples Partyof Arunachal, Jharkhand

Mukti Morcha (JMM), KeralaCongress (M), National PeopleParty of Manipur and HaryanaJanhit Congress (BL).

The EC has taken the deci-sion after two of its earlier"reminders" in this regard tothese parties went unacknowl-edged, sources said.

According to rules, all polit-ical parties who have contest-ed the General Elections arestipulated to file their expendi-ture statements within a periodof 90 days to the EC, failingwhich they stand to lose theirelection symbol and therebytheir recognition.

The EC had earlier issuedreminders to these parties onOctober 22 and November 28last year and since it did notreceive the said expensesstatements from these parties,it chose to issue the "finals h o w c a u s e "notices.

EC notice to AAP, 5 oth-ers for de-recognition

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Aam Aadmi Party convenor and

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal, who is infamous forreversing his statements, didanother volte-face on Tuesdaywhen he cleared that he wanted theAAP to spread its wings outsidethe national capital.

Notably, Kejriwal, whileaddressing his party volunteers andsupporters at the oath-taking cere-mony, had promised to focus onthe national capital for the nextfive years and not deviate thistime. Later also, Kejriwal had saidthat the party was not a Napoleonwho was looking to conquer states.The last time he and his partymembers went to polls in GeneralElections, they had to face anembarrassing defeat.

However, tone of Kejriwal haschanged after assuming the officeof Delhi Chief Minister, probablyin a bid to keep the party intact.

On Tuesday night, AAP, which is

battling infighting, decided toexpand the party and contest pollsin other states to send a clear mes-sage to its rank and file ahead of itsNational Council meeting thatKejriwal was not opposed to suchsteps.

This is to be underlined here thatthis was the issue over which dissi-

dent leader Yogendra Yadav hadcome under fire as he had favouredAAP spreading its wings in someother states.

"The party will expand. We willwork to strengthen our organisa-tion in other states. A decision onin which states the party shouldcontest elections will be taken only

after looking at political capacityand leadership in those states,”senior party leader Sanjay Singhtold reporters after a two-hour-long meeting of AAP's PoliticalAffairs Committee, the party's topdecision-making body, held atKejriwal's Kaushambi residence.

Defending the party's decision,senior AAP leader Sanjay Singhstated that if Kejriwal said he willwork for Delhi, it does not meanthe party will not work on thenational front and that it will notstrengthen further.

Another AAP leader Ashutoshsaid the PAC will make decisionson the basis of assessments aroundthe nation.

We have never said anythingwhich meant that AAP would notwork on the national level, addedAshutosh.

Sources said that in the first PACmeeting of AAP held followingYadav and Prashant Bhushan’souster from the panel, the party

tried to achieve two goals.One, the Kejriwal camp wanted

to ensure they had the numbers inthe National Council (NC) meet-ing, which is to be held next week,in case of any major “crisis” whichrequires voting.

Second, the party also wanted tosend a clear message to the statevolunteers, who are in a majorityin the NC, that Kejriwal was infavour of contesting the polls insome states which have goodorganisational strength.

“Among the state volunteers,there is a large number of support-ers of Yadav. If there is any kind ofcrisis in the NC, we need to havenumbers on our side.”

“Most NC members are fromdifferent states. Yadav has beenappeasing the state committees bystrongly projecting himself assomeone who bats for them. Moreimportantly, he also has influencewith the state units,” said a seniorparty leader.

After promising to focus on Delhi, ArvindKejriwal now says AAP will go national

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18The Delhi High Court on

Wednesday sought a responsefrom the city government on aplea filed against unauthorisedand unrecognised play schoolsfunctioning here.

A division bench of ChiefJustice G. Rohini and JusticeR.S. Endlaw asked the Delhigovernment to file its responsewithin two weeks and postedthe matter for April 29.

The court`s order came on aPublic-Interest Litigation filedby NGO Social Jurist.

The NGO said that despitethe court`s 2008 order that nounrecognised school should beallowed to run in Delhi, thedirectorate of education hasdone nothing to ensure this,

resulting in "continuous exis-tence and mushrooming ofhundreds of unauthorised,unsafe and unrecognised playschools and pre-primaryschools in Delhi".

Advocate Ashok Agarwaland Khagesh Jha, appearingfor the NGO, told the court thatsome action-taken reports weresubmitted in the court but thesewere silent as to what action

the directorate proposed totake against such schools thathad not applied for recognitionand were still functioning. Theplea said the directorate in2013 invited applications forrecognition of schools runningclasses up to the elementarylevel but said that as pre-pri-mary schools are not coveredunder the Right to EducationAct, these schools can continueto function.

Allowing pre-primary andnursery schools to continue torun without obtaining recogni-tion is "illegal", it added.

In 2008, the high court askedthe government to frame ascheme for regularising andregulating these unregisteredinstitutions.

HC seeks Delhi governmentresponse on play schools

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18The resignation of

noted nuclear scientistAnil Kakodkar asChairman of Board ofGovernors of IIT Bombaywas raised in the RajyaSabha with Congressalleging government"interference" in the insti-tution and wanting a clar-ification.

Raising the issue duringZero House, Leader ofOpposition Ghulam NabiAzad said it was a matterof serious concern thattop people from educa-tional institutions wereresigning allegedly overdifferences with HRDMinister Smriti Irani.

He questioned why

Kakokdar resigned andwhat had transpiredbetween the Chairman ofthe Board of Governorsof IIT Bombay and theMinister, who is chairmanof the Search Committee,over the appointment ofthree new directors asthere were reported dif-ferences.

Azad said this is not thefirst time such thingshave happened and raisedprevious such instanceswhere R Shevgaonkarresigned as a director ofIIT Delhi citing some"unforeseen situations".

He also cited instanceswhere differences withDelhi University ViceChancellor had cropped

up last year and ques-tioned why such instanceswere leading to resigna-tions.

"We feel there is a lot ofinterference by the gov-ernment and due to this,such institutions of excel-lence will be choked.Government should clari-fy as to what is the reasonfor these resignations inthese institutions," hesaid. "The Prime Ministersays we will build topclass institutions and willgive more importance toIITs. These are presti-gious educational andtechnical institutionswhich are India's prideand are regarded theworld over. But top peo-

ple are leaving these insti-tutions due to differ-ences," he said.

Kakodkar, who is a for-mer chairman of AtomicEnergy Commission,resigned as the Chairmanof the Board ofGovernors of IIT Bombayapparently because of dif-ferences with the HRDMinistry over selection ofsome IIT directors.

Though Kakodkar'sterm comes to an end inMay this year, he agreedto continue till that periodafter being persuaded bythe HRD Minister, whohad a long telephonicconversation with himlast evening, ministrysources said.

Kakodkar's resignation: Congalleges govt interference

BJP president Amit Shah tomeet Delhi BJP MPs today

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18Several auto and taxi unions

on Wednesday protested Delhigovernment's decision to makeGlobal Positioning System(GPS) installation in their vehi-cles mandatory, saying thedevice won't serve its intendedpurpose of stopping "sexualharassment" in the capital.

Transport minister Gopal Raiheld a public hearing at Buraritransport authority where driv-ers of autorickshaws, taxis,radio taxis, e-rickshaws andgramin sewa raised their issuesbefore him.

At the hearing, most driversdemanded that GPS beremoved from the vehicles as inthe name of installing thisdevice, they are being "har-rased" by the officials.

"There is no benefit of GPSin autos as it has failed to serveits main purpose. There are sev-eral persons whose autos fittedwith GPS were stolen, but they

could not be found either bypolice or department.

"We are forced to get meterhaving GPS installed at a costof Rs 17,000 or Rs 18,000.Besides, we are also asked topay 2,700 anually and in thename of GPS, we are beingharassed. GPS won't stop rapein Delhi," Rishi, an autorick-shaw driver, said at the publichearing.

Unions also alleged thatdespite paying Rs 2,700, theyare given a receipt of Rs 1,350and suspected a "scam" in themanner in which it was beingdone.

Thereafter, Rai said that gov-ernment would ensure thatautorickshaw and taxi opera-tions can soon buy GPS atcheaper rates in the city.

"Transport Department will

enlist the companies which canprovide meters having GPSranging from Rs 8,000 to 9,000to auto and taxi drivers," theminister said.

Rai said that government willalso ensure that no corruptiontakes place at all offices ofTransport Department.

Transport department wasdirected to upload all detailspertaining to existing autos andtaxis stands across the nationalcapital so that they get to knowabout parking space reservedfor them and they could not bechallaned by the Delhi TrafficPolice.

The Minister also directed theofficials to implement 'HelpDesk' at all the transport officesand provide water facility.

Some issues were also sortedout by the minister at the spot.He also directed the transportdepartment to provide reservedseats for disabled persons infront raw inside the bus.

Auto unions ask govt not to imposeGPS, says "won't stop rape"

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18The Ryan International

School management onWednesday denied reports thatit had exhorted its students andteachers to join the BJP, sayingthe educational institution wasonly promoting the govern-ment`s `Swacch BharatAbhiyan`.

"School purely believes inproviding education and wewere very much part of thePrime Minister`s `SwacchBharat Abhiyan` where we werevery strongly supporting thiscampaign. We had no intentionof creating some kind of BJPmovement, it was purely a`Swacch Bharat` membershipAbhiyan where our staff hascontributed so much," saidSudha Singh, Senior Executive,Ryan International School.

"So, we wanted them to just

give a thank you kind of thingby being associated with thatcampaign," she added.

The school also deniedreports that it sent out messageson WhatsApp to parents andteachers providing a toll-freenumber for the BJP`s member-ship. "Any WhatsApp messagecannot be taken as an authenticmessage, anybody canWhatsApp anything, so wedon`t consider that at all. As faras salary is concerned, no whereanyone has any right to stop thesalary. It has never been doneand will never be done," shesaid. The Delhi Government hasissued a show cause notice tothe school over the membershipdrive reports with Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia order-ing the Deputy Director-levelofficer to conduct a probe in thisregard.

Ryan International denies reportsof asking students to join BJP

Steps recommended fordecongestion of DelhiNEW DELHI, MARCH 18

A high-powered inter-ministerial committee con-stituted under the chairmanship of UrbanDevelopment Secretary has suggested measures fordecongestion of Delhi, the Lok Sabha was informedon Wednesday.

The committee has deliberated on the matter andthe report is placed on Urban DevelopmentMinistry's website, Minister of State for UrbanDevelopment Babul Supriyo said in a written reply.

Major strategies recommended for decongestionof Delhi are bus service improvements, bus rapidtransit system corridor development, integratedroad network, intelligent transport system andcapacity building programmes.

Officers from government of National CapitalTerritory of Delhi are included in the committee andtheir proposals/recommendations have been consid-ered in the preparation of the report.

The committee has also suggested measures forparking pricing and management, multi modal inte-gration, bicycle sharing, non-motorised transportinfrastructure, and road retrofitting as per streetdesign guidelines.

Delhi Government issuesadvisory to schools tonot indulge in politicalactivity inside campusNEW DELHI, MARCH 18

Delhi Government on Wednesday issued anadvisory to all schools in the national capital tonot "indulge" in any political activity inside thecampus.

The move came following reports that a lead-ing private school's management had askedteachers and students to take membership of BJP.

"Education department has issued an advisoryto all the schools to desist from any kind of polit-ical activity and not to indulge in forcible mem-bership of any political outfit. Strict action willbe taken against those found flouting depart-ment's guideline," a senior government officialsaid.

Education Department has issued a show causenotice to Ryan International school and will sub-mit a report within three days.

A deputy director of education department isconducting an inquiry into the incident. "Schoolsmust desist from polluting young minds for polit-ical and monetary gains," Delhi government saidin a release.

However, school management refuted the alle-gations.

Continuation 3NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | MARCH 19, 2015SAADDA HAQ

Sonia Gandhi...acquisition bill as leaders of 14 political

parties, led by Congress president SoniaGandhi, marched to Rashtrapati Bhavan tourge President Pranab Mukherjee not to letthe government go ahead with the "anti-farmer bill".

The march saw an energised Congress takeon the Narendra Modi government over thebill, which they allege would allow corpo-rates to gobble up agricultural land.

Sonia Gandhi, with former prime ministerManmohan Singh standing next to her,declared that the opposition was determinedto defeat the land acquisition bill.

Gandhi said "democratic, secular and for-ward-looking forces are determined to defeatthe Modi government`s designs" to promotecorporate interests at the cost of farmers bytaking away their land.

Shouting slogans like "Narendra Modihosh me aao (come to your senses)" and"Modi sarkar hai hai (Modi governmentdown, down)", the around 100 MPs, led byGandhi, and Congress` Ghulam Nabi Azadand Ambika Soni, with Sharad Yadav andleaders of other parties, marched the aroundone km distance from Parliament House toRashtrapati Bhavan.

Around 20 of them went in to submit thememorandum -- signed by 28 leaders -- to thepresident.

The two-page memorandum said "all theprogressive, secular, democratic forward-looking forces are determined to defeat theModi Sarkar`s design to promote divisionand social disharmony.

"We request Rashtrapatiji to intervene toprotect the interests of the kisans (farmers),and impress upon the Modi sarkar, not to goahead with the amendment in the RajyaSabha."

Sonia, Union ...with their outstanding bills running into

lakhs.While Nishad owes the NDMC Rs 18.47

lakh, Devegowda and Rao owes Rs 1.49 and1.27 lakh respectively.

While former prime minister Singh owesRs 22,934, the dues of Gandhi and JairamRamesh are as low as Rs 193.68 and Rs 206.

Digvijay Singh is yet to pay Rs 25,484,Jagdambika Pal - Rs 30,953, Paswan - Rs49,464, Shashi Tharoor - Rs 7,374 andAdvani - Rs 3,311.

Union Ministers Irani and Heptullah havedues of Rs 12,934 and Rs 1,627 pendingagainst them.

Amar Singh, Moti Lal Vora, Rajpal SinghSaini, Palvai Govardhan Reddy and BirenderSingh owe Rs 1.47 lakh, 1.31 lakh, Rs 76,934and Rs 68,134 to the civic body respectively.

"NDMC has written to CPWD andHousing Committees to clear the dues of LokSabha and Rajya Sabha MPs. The utility billsof any person holding a constitutional post ispaid by CPWD while the electricity andwater bills for MPS' residences are deductedfrom their salaries," a senior NDMC officialsaid.

"We have sent notices earlier too remind-ing of the dues," he added.

The official, however, did not comment onwhether the civic body is mulling any actionlike discontinuing the power or water supplyagainst the defaulters if the dues are not paid.

The civic body has also released a separatelist of 859 former Lok Sabha MPs who areyet to clear their dues.

Topping the list is Congress leader Tytlerwith dues of Rs 16.97 lakh pending followedby BG Jalwali, Shiv Pratap Mishra and HaziGhulam Mohammad Khan with unpaid billsof Rs 7.67 lakh, Rs 6.27 lakh and Rs 5.40lakh respectively.

NDMC areas are home to the high andmighty of the city. While it has bungalows ofUnion Ministers and parliamentarians, manytop industrialists also stay in the area.Parliament House, buildings of all the min-istries, Supreme Court, high court and resi-dences of Supreme Court judges, seniorbureaucrats and senior military officers are inNDMC areas.

BJP will...the message that the party would not com-

promise on national interest.However, BJP's spokesperson Harshad

Patel in Gujarat said that Shah merely saidthat national interest is the party's priorityand he never categorically said anythingabout breaking the BJP's alliance with thePDP.

"He (Amit Shah) merely said that nationalinterest is our priority and BJP will not allowany anti-national activities on the soil ofJammu and Kashmir," Patel said.

BJP has been facing the ire of oppositionparties due to its alliance with PDP with theJ&K Chief Minister Mufti MohammadSayeed's recent decision to release separatistleader Masarrat Alam, only adding to itswoes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alsoclarified before the Lok Sabha that Alam'srelease is not acceptable and that the govern-ment won't tolerate any compromise on thenation's integrity.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh hadalso echoed the sentiments saying that hisgovernment's top priority was national secu-rity and not continuance of the government inthe state.

If no instant...

"when abroad, it's a shame to answer as anIndian on the happenings in our country."

In a post on social netwoking siteFacebook, Vadra said "Really shocks and dis-gusts me to read and watch the news on rapeof a 71-year-old woman. Especially one whohas dedicated her life to living under vows ofpoverty, chastity and obedience and to serv-ing all other living beings."

"An ascetic who voluntarily chose to leavemainstream society and live her life in prayerand contemplation in a monastery or con-vent," he added.

He said "rapes in our country seem to beout of frustrations and to simply overpowerand victims could be little girls or olderwomen.

"Till there is no instant justice, no matterwhich strata of society they may belong to,this heinous act will Continue," he added.

H-1B workers...needed skills once they get here."I cannot emphasise enough that the H-1B

workers that are replacing the US workershave minimal skills and little to no businessknowledge. The idea of knowledge transferis absurd; Americans are training these peo-ple on how to do their job," Palmer toldmembers of the Senate Judiciary Committeeduring a Congressional on immigration hear-ing yesterday.

"This is just cold hard facts. As statisticscan validate, most of these workers have onlya bachelor's degree: how is this specialisedtalent?" he wondered.

Palmer alleged that companies such asInfosys continue to abuse the B1 and H1Bvisa laws as well as the income tax andSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)guidelines.

"This is wide spread within the UnitedStates. Americans are being displaced atrecord numbers. Foreigners are working full-time jobs in the US without paying incometaxes and are not qualified," he said.

"In these difficult times, it is inconceivablethat Infosys and other foreign companies areavoiding paying income taxes, abusing visalaws and then laughing and saying, 'Law willfollow business, Business will not followlaw'. This quote is from Infosys' NanditaGurjar, who was the Global Head of Humanresources," he alleged in his testimony.

"I have read statements from NASSCOMstating that if the cap is not increased andwith the current visa restrictions, the Indianeconomy would suffer. Let me ask the com-mittee, what about our economy? H1B work-ers spend a minimal amount of money in theUS and usually live eight people to a room.These are indentured servants and most ofthe time they have to give kickbacks to theiroffshore managers," he said.

"What about the years and years of ignor-ing the laws. These companies maliciouslydo not hire Americans and look at ways tocircumvent policy and law instead of work-ing with it. Look at the stock and growth ofthese large foreign companies in a downenvironment -- they are not suffering," hesaid.

"However, they are still asking for more'handouts' to increase their margin. Everycompany is out to make a profit, but whenyou knowingly defraud the system, it is con-cerning. I have witnessed outsourcing com-panies bring over H-1B workers that havebeen trained by American workers and thenthey replaced the American workers," hesaid.

"Does this not violate the spirit of the H-1Blaws? The only specialized talent these work-ers have is they will work for low wages.These are tasks that an existing worker couldperform," Palmer said.

Terror attack...forces immediately flooded the area.

Tunisia's parliament building, next to themuseum, was evacuated.

Private television Wataniya showedmasked Tunisian security forces escortingdozens of tourists up nearby steps and awayfrom the danger, as armed security forcespointed guns toward an adjacent building.

Many elderly people, apparently tourists,ran in panic to safety, including at least onecouple carrying two children.

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said21 people were killed: 17 tourists, two gun-men, a Tunisian security officer and aTunisian cleaning woman. He said the deadtourists came from Italy, Poland, Germanyand Spain.

He said two or three of the attackersremained at large.

Several other people were reported wound-ed in the attack, including three Poles and atleast two Italians. The Italian ForeignMinistry said 100 other Italians had beentaken to a secure location.

Some of the Italians at the museum werebelieved to have been passengers aboard theCosta Fascinosa, a cruise liner making aseven-day trip of the western Mediterraneanthat had docked in Tunis.

Ship owner Costa Crociere confirmed thatsome of its 3,161 passengers were visitingthe capital today and that a Bardo tour was onthe itinerary, but said it could not confirmhow many passengers were in the museum atthe time.

The cruise ship recalled all the passengersto the ship and was in touch with localauthorities and the Italian Foreign Ministry.

Today's attack was a strong blow toTunisia's efforts to revive its crucial tourismindustry.

The National Bardo Museum, built in a

15th-century palace, is the largest museum inTunisia and houses one of the world's largestcollections of Roman mosaics among its8,000 works.

The museum is near the North Africannation's parliament, 4 kilometres from thecity center. A new wing with contemporaryarchitecture was built as part of a 2009 reno-vation, doubling the surface area.

Centre to...addressing the joint session of the state leg-

islature. "In this context, the coalition gov-ernment will thoroughly review the securityin J&K and examine the need and desirabili-ty of all the special laws which are beingapplied in the state," he said.

Vohra maintained that there has been "pro-gressive improvement" in the security envi-ronment in the state.

"In the recent years there has been progres-sive improvement in the security environ-ment. To build greater and sustained publicconfidence, the coalition government is com-mitted to ensure that the people of the stateare enabled to fully enjoy the peace and nor-malcy dividend," he said.

The Governor pointed out that the govern-ment would also address the concerns of thepeople living on the border and those in theremote and far flung areas of the state.

Vohra added that the state would work onreturning the land taken by the securityforces to its owners.

"A very important step which the govern-ment will implement shall be to ensure thatall lands, other than those which have beengiven to the security forces on lease, licenseor through acquisition under the provision ofthe land acquisition act; must be returned tothe rightful legal owners within a given timeframe," he said.

J&K Governor's...mention of restoration of Article 370 to its

original form and withdrawal of APSPA."The Governor's address was clueless

about vital issues. It was merely repetition ofthe alliance agenda and having no mention ofrestoration of Article 370 to its original form,no categorical commitment for the withdraw-al of Disturbed Areas Act and APSPA.

"Other important issues have also not beenreflected," the CPI (M) State Secretary andMLA of Kulgam, Mohammad YousufTarigami told reporters here today.

Tarigami regretted that there was also nomention of fixed timeframe for the rehabili-tation of flood victims of the state and waiv-ing off KCC loans of farmers and orchardowners who suffered huge losses due to dev-astating floods.

The CPI(M) leader regretted that the gov-ernment remained silent about concretemeasures to be taken to deal with the "alarm-ing" unemployment problem and the pay-ment of wages to thousands of contractualemployees.

Indian-origin ...officers had obtained DNA samples from

the garden. However, the identity of theoffender was not given out.

In October 2014, Sandhu was arrested fordrunken and disorderly behaviour, for whichhe was required to give a DNA sample. Thismatched the DNA samples collected from thescene of the May 2013 attack.

Thatcher told jurors that Sandhu gave aprepared statement in which he said he usedprostitutes but denied ever raping anybodyand said he did not know what he had beendoing on that date.

Hathras molestation...fear that there is to her life."It is the support of my family that is help-

ing me to carry on. I'm not been able to goout as well fearing how people will perceivewhat happened to me," she told.

Despite mounting pressure, the victim alsorevealed that she will not withdraw her com-plaint against the assailants.

The girl, who wish to continue her studies,however, not been able to out of fear,appealed for cooperation from the govern-ment in her fight.

Demanding strictest punishment to theattackers, the victim said that it will send astrong message to the society.

DK Ravi...Minister and whether it does not amount to

influencing the state police probe, Gowdasaid, "at first glance, it appears to be a case ofsuicide."

Pressed further he said, "when the investi-gation is over, then only you will be able tomake a definite statement...I am not sayingthat the suicide theory is cooked up."

Responding to questions about BJP's alle-gations on the issue, Gowda said, "if the BJPMPs are talking about various kinds ofmafias that is because they probably have ahistoric recollection of their own role mafiaslike iron ore mafia and various other mafiasthat brought them to power. I can assure thatthe ruling party has no connection with anymafia."

35-year old D K Ravi, AdditionalCommissioner of Commercial Taxes(Enforcement), was found hanging from aceiling fan in his room at his flat here onMonday, with police suspecting it to be acase of suicide prima facie.

Sticking to their guns, the Opposition in theKarnataka Assembly continued their dharna

for the second day today demanding a CBIprobe but the state government refused toyield, maintaining a CID probe would do.

A delegation of BJP MPs led by UnionLaw Minister Sadananda Gowda met HomeMinister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi andinsisted for a CBI probe.

After meeting Singh, Gowda, a formerchief minister of Karnataka, accused theCongress government in Karnataka of tryingto "hush up" the case by making it look likea "suicide".

Decision to...stated position of focusing in Delhi, the

party's Political Affairs Committee took adecision in this regard in a meeting last night.

"I am happy to know about this. I hadstrong faith that it (conflict) would finallyend on a positive note. Initially, the churninghad some poison, but I had immense faiththat finally, it would conclude with 'amrit',"Yadav told reporters on the sidelines of afarmers' event at Jantar Mantar.

Yadav also termed the party's decision toenhance the involvement of its volunteers inits decision-making process as a "good ges-ture" and hoped that a "blue print" would becharted out by Kejriwal.

"Our friends put forward few matters inPolitical Affairs Committee (PAC) such asexpanding of organisation, expanding party'swing outside Delhi and addressing volun-teers' notion. It was a really good gesture tomove forward.

We won't...We will like the Opposition to keep us on

toes", Sayeed told the state assembly heretoday.

The Chief Minister was speaking afterKavinder Gupta was unanimously elected asthe Speaker of the 12th J&K LegislativeAssembly. Gupta has served as Mayor ofJammu three times in the past.

"You (Speaker) are the custodian of thehouse. I always say that democracy is battleof ideas. I was watching Congress debates inUS. Everybody who speaks up makes apoint," the Chief Minister said.

"The opposition should highlight the mis-takes of the ruling government. I feel that wemay have also done mistakes when we werein opposition. Opposition has full rights to...I have full hope that this Assembly, which iseverything to us as an institution and thisAssembly is more important", he said.

Bating for a strong opposition, Sayeednoted, "Opposition should play theirrole...Discussions churn out good things. Butnoise do not make anything. We will sayopposition should not remain mute specta-tor".

The minister also congratulated the newlyappointed Speaker and exuded confidencethat he will conduct the business of theHouse admirably.

"I pray for your success and am sure youwill conduct the House efficiently by allow-ing both the Treasury as well as theOpposition Benches equal opportunities inputting forth their viewpoints," he said.

Congratulating the opposition members forsupporting the election of Gupta, DeputyChief Minister Nirmal Singh said that peoplehave reposed faith in a vibrant democracyand whole House should stand united instrengthening it further.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah inhis brief address congratulated the newlyelected Speaker and described him as thecustodian of the House.

Abdullah expressed hope that the Speakerwould provide equal opportunities to allmembers to highlight the issues of publicinterest. He assured him fullest cooperationfrom his party for smooth conduct of pro-ceedings of the House.

Gupta was also wished by Nawang RigzinJora, leader of Congress Party in the House;M Y Tarigami, CPI(M) MLA; independentMLA Hakeem Mohammad Yasin; Er AbdulRashid and Peoples Conference leaderBashir Ahmed Dar.

Cong attacks...Party spokesperson Rajeev Gowda said

"the HRD Minister has become a habitualoffender of continuous interference" andasked Prime Minister Narendra Modi tointervene to set it right.

Citing previous resignations from IITs, hesaid "Anil Kakodkar has resigned from IITBombay. It is one more blow to the HRD sec-tor..Last few months have seen a continuousdecline. Irani has sought to kill the very basicof independence and autonomy of highereducation institutions...

"Absolute incompetence of HRD ministryis destroying institutions. The morale ofIndia's top educational institutions is plum-metting. I am anguished at seeing the HRDministry rotting from the top," Gowdacharged.

The remarks of the Congress spokesperson,who is also an academician, came in thewake of reports that Kakodkar resignedapparently because of differences with theHRD Ministry over selection of some IITDirectors.

Kakodkar, whose tenure was supposed toend in May this year has, however, agreed tocontinue till that period after being persuad-ed by Smriti Irani who had a long telephonicconversation with him last evening, sourcesin the ministry said.

Insisting that the HRD sector is in a state of"crisis", the Congress leader also saw a pat-tern alleging that "interfence" had also hap-

pened during the previous BJP-led gover-ment when Murli Manohar Joshi was HRDminister.

"It is not that it is happening for the firsttime. It is not that we are seeing this kind ofinterference during BJP rule for the first time.

"When Murli Manohar Joshi was HRDMinister, he had reduced the independence ofIIMs. The story is the same whether it is pre-vious HRD minister or the new one," he said.

Voting underway...at 8 am. Though not many voters turned up

to exercise their franchise in the initial hour,the turnout is expected to go up after 10 am.

This is for the first time in Goa that ZPpolls are being held on party lines. BJP-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP)and Goa Vikas Party (GVP) have formed analliance to contest in all the constituencies,while Congress and NCP are not in the fray.

Congress and NCP leaders are supportingvarious candidates in different constituen-cies.

Polling is being held at 1,209 booths acrossthe state-- 628 in North Goa and 581 in SouthGoa.

Hisar church ...the matter within two weeks.The officials have also been directed to

report about steps taken for protection of reli-gious places of minorities in the state.

Haryana Police had yesterday arrested AnilGodara, the main accused in the vandalisa-tion of an under-construction church in a vil-lage in Hisar district.

The miscreants had placed an idol of Hindugod on the premises which was later removedby the police.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlierexpressed concern over the incident andasked the state government to submit areport.

Hardcore Maoist...Lal Pandit, Superintendent of Police Barun

Kumar Sinha said.A native of Goghladih village, Pandit was

wanted in connection with a landmine blastin the district on April 10, 2014, in which twoCRPF jawans were killed, he said.

A hardcore Maoist and member of the pro-scribed outfit's hit squad, there were fiveother cases of naxal violence lodged againsthim, the SP said.

Delhi road ...Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.MACT Presiding Officer Nikhil Chopra

directed the National Insurance Co Ltd,insurer of the offending trailer, to pay

Rs 63,39,600 to the wife, children and par-ents of the victim Manish Jha, who wasworking as the sales manager in a motorvehicle firm here.

"The deceased was 33 of age at the time ofthe accident and a father of two minor chil-dren. His death has left a permanent void inthe lives of the petitioners and no amount ofmoney could fill in the void. However, lifehas to move on," the tribunal said, while ask-ing the insurance firm to pay a compensationof Rs 63,39,600?to the petitioner.

As per the complaint, on the night of May9, 2013, Jha was hit by a rashly driven trailerwhile he was standing outside a shop bedsideMathura road. He was brought to the hospitalwhere doctors declared him dead.

The family members had approached thetribunal claiming Rs 90 lakh as compensa-tion.

In their written statements, however, driverand the owner of the offending vehicle haddenied any accident on account of rash andnegligent driving by the driver and stated thatthe FIR was registered falsely.

DLF says...has resulted in a police complaint."We have learnt from media reports that a

complaint has been filed against the compa-ny and its directors with regard to the mem-bership and management of one of the clubslocated in DLF City Phase V, Gurgaon, func-tioning under the name of 'Club Vita'," a DLFspokesperson said.

"Club Vita has a membership of over 500who use its facilities on a regular basis on avery nominal charge. It is stated that no buyerof the apartments was charged any amounttowards making of this club. Therefore, westrongly deny allegations of any wrong-doing," the spokesperson added.

Assistant commissioner of Sushant LokPolice Station, Rajesh Kumar, had said onTuesday that a case has been registeredagainst the company's chairman, vice chair-man, director and senior officials for cheat-ing and breach of trust on a complaint of thePark Place Homebuyers Association.

BJP legislator...Naeem Akhtar proposed the name of

Kavinder Gupta for the post. Gupta is an MLA from Gandhi Nagar con-

stituency of Jammu district. Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP

leader Nirmal Singh seconded the proposalafter which Gupta was unanimously elected.

Gupta replaces the Protem SpeakerMuhammad Shafi of the regional NationalConference.

He defeated senior Congress leader RamanBhalla in the state polls in December lastyear.

Editorial4 NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | MARCH 19, 2015SAADDA HAQ

BY SURYAKANT WAGHMORE

As Anna Hazare, the new ageGandhi consolidates his flockto protest against the govern-

ment’s anti-farmer land ordinance,one is reminded of the originalMahatma and his love for village lifeand polity. While Anna’s protest maybe more about the right to privateproperty of the farmers, Gandhi had amoral vision that was larger andbeyond just the risk of farmers losingtheir land. Gandhi saw village life asthe ideal form of intimate sacrificeand high culture, where an anarchybased on self-sacrificing moralswould sustain itself far from the messof modern industrial life and interest-driven politics. Can the presentdebate around the Land OrdinanceBill and the sharp criticism fromthose opposing it help us revisit therelevance of modernity to Indian vil-lages?

Land, power in village life

During a lecture on modernisationtheories of development and theimportance of Adam Smith, I sharedwith my class the history of progressin the United States and how fromonly 15 per cent of families havingflush toilets in the 1900s, almost 99per cent had them by the 1970s. Astudent from a semi-urban back-ground was not convinced. He askedme why rich landlords in UttarPradesh don’t have toilets in theirhomes despite having money. Wasthe U.S. experience relevant in ourcontext?

What the student was suggestingwas that I find a different logic ofeconomic progress for Indian vil-lages. In caste-ruled villages, themanagement of faeces is generallygoverned by gendered rules of touch,purity and pollution. Faeces is, there-fore, kept away from the home orremoved by a manual scavenger.Labour, caste and purity are thusbound coherently and peacefully invillage culture, unlinked to econom-ics.

B.R. Ambedkar strongly disagreedwith Gandhi’s celebration of villagelife and morals. He considered theidea of a village republic as one

based on undemocratic values. Hesaid, “What is a village — a sink oflocalism, a den of ignorance, narrowmindedness and communalism”.How relevant are Ambedkar’s obser-vations today? As relevant as theywere in the late 1940s. Even now,close to 67 per cent of India’s popu-lation live in villages. In 2000, abouttwo-thirds of rural Dalits were land-

less or near-landless and close to halfdepended on farm labour for theirlivelihood — including in Left-ruledStates. Much of the minimalistic landreforms in many States of Indiaended up providing land to the tillerand not to the labourer, which meantthat the Sudra castes became power-ful, landowning castes in rural India.

The dependence on landowningcastes for survival makes the Dalitassertion for freedom and dignity dif-ficult. Violence against Dalits thatincludes cutting off their noses orhands for transgressing caste normsis, therefore, nothing unusual.

Ambedkar’s cautioning against ruralmorality, however, is not merely rel-evant for Dalits.

Our village culture and values areintrinsically linked to a control ofland and agriculture. Land in presenttimes has turned out to be a majoreconomic resource — it gives accessto institutional credit, subsidies on

fertilizers, power, farm equipmentand almost institutionalised, decadalloan waivers. Some numericallypowerful landowning castes alsoenrol themselves as Below PovertyLine (BPL) families. Land, thus, is akey form of private property thatyields persistent rent, which is notnecessarily based on its actual meritand which is, of course, not taxed.Above all, land signifies power —how much dowry one gets in villagesmostly depends on the extent of landthe groom’s family controls. The cul-tural value attached to lands and itspatrilineal ownership has turneddaughters into bad debts.

Non-farm economy and ruralmilieu

Land makes certain castes ‘kingly’in rural communities. The control ofsuch castes on local politics aggra-vates masculine hubris. Land andagriculture, thus, partially constructthe localised cultural peace in ruralIndia.

City life is not free of caste preju-dices either but the vulgarity of itsform is minimised in an uprootedcontext of anonymity. Modernity andits key economic constituents ofurbanisation and industrialisationbring with them some basic norms ofcivility. No landlord in a city or smalltown can insist on tenants defecatingin the open. You cannot ask the casteof a person serving you chickennuggets at a fast-food outlet, or insiston knowing the caste of your fellowcommuter in a cramped local train.

The illiberal aspects of rural socie-ty are changing slowly due to marketpressures. Despite subsidies and the

absence of taxation, the social powerof farmers is rendered mildly vulner-able by a budding competitive mar-ket and non-farm possibilities in ruralIndia. Increasing urbanisation,migration, and non-farm employ-ment have added some degree ofmobility and freedom to the landlessin general and to rural Dalits in par-ticular. Landless labourers need not

search for work that provides respectand value in the lands of dominantlandowning castes alone. Increasingurbanisation, labour mobility andmonetisation of rural economy havehad significant poverty-reducingimpacts on Dalits. The prescriptionof classical economics to decongest(landless) labour from agricultureand farm dependency still remains ofutmost relevance. Even now, close to80 per cent of Dalits live in ruralareas providing cheap labour, withlimited productivity, to farms andfarmers.Past and present policies

The present government is enlarg-

ing the scope of the previous govern-ment’s economic policies by aggres-sively pushing for industrial mod-ernisation. There was, however,something peculiar about theCongress/United ProgressiveAlliance’s politics of displacementand land acquisition — when domi-nant castes lost their lands for publicand private purposes, they were gen-erally paid exorbitant compensationwhereas the colossal loss of triballands with minimal compensationwas treated like willing sacrifice fornational development.

The present government, on theother hand, has rightly thrown theeconomics of swadeshi back into thecloset. The BJP is working out a del-icate balance between free markets,capitalism and Hindutva, with thelast limited to the cultural-politicalsphere. In this new onslaught of themarket, Anna Hazare and his sup-porters would do well to help therural dominant classes get the bestpossible price for their land. If suc-cessfully passed, an unintended con-sequence of the Land Ordinance Billcould also mean the end of some ofour long-celebrated village morals,which Ambedkar rightly consideredas just plain narrow-mindedness. Itwas the freedom of Dalits andwomen that was put at permanentrisk by the bigotry of the village poli-ty and economy.

For Dalits and other landlessgroups, therefore, limiting their eco-nomic and cultural life to villagemorals and farm boundaries offerslittle space for livelihood negotiation.To them, land acquisition by the statefor hyper-industrialisation may notseem unreasonable. The NDA’s neweconomism and hyper-industrialisa-tion may well generate a new waveof liberal values that positively unset-tle our village economy and culture.

(Suryakant Waghmore is AssociateProfessor at Tata Institute of Social

Sciences, Mumbai. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

BY MEERA SRINIVASAN

“Idon’t like it here inJaffna; life has beenvery tough,” says 23-

year-old P. Alfred. If given achance he would “run back” toTamil Nadu, he says, to com-plete his B.Com degree.

Alfred’s family left Sri Lankain 1998 and spent more than adecade in a refugee camp inMandapam, Rameswaram,before returning in 2011, twoyears after the island’s warended.

“I studied inRamanathapuram. All myfriends are there; I don’t knowanyone in Jaffna,” he complains.“People here make fun of theway I speak Tamil saying it istoo colloquial.” With no way ofcontinuing his B.Com degree inJaffna, Alfred had little choicebut to assist his father, a fisher-man in Pasaiyur.

Alfred’s mother has, from thebeginning, dreamt of returningto her homeland some day. “Thechildren say I have ruined theirlives by opting to come back,”says the 51-year-old who doesnot want to be named.“You mayget all the facilities you need inIndia, but that is not my home,this is.” Shocked to find herhome destroyed completely inthe incessant shelling, she knewthere was little choice but to startall over again.

“We could have avoided allthis. I would have completed mycourse there and found a job,”says her daughter who studiedvideo editing in Tamil Nadu.“Our eldest brother could notstand it here, so he went back toRameswaram and works therenow.”

The conflicting views held bymembers of Alfred’s familyreflect the dilemmas that thou-sands who came back fromrefugee camps in India faceevery day. Caught between acompelling call to return to theirhomeland on the one hand andthe current realities of the war-torn region on the other, they

stand overwhelmed.

‘Struggling to settle’Refugees in India began

returning from 1987 onwards —when the Indian Peace KeepingForce began its operation in SriLanka — but some chose to goback to India because of the con-tinuing war and unrest in SriLanka. With the end of the warin 2009 signalling a more con-ducive environment for return,

over 9,000 persons returnedbetween 2009 and 2014. AsIndia and Sri Lanka now discussrepatriation of about one lakh SriLankan refugees remaining inTamil Nadu — over 65,000 incamps and the rest outside —families who returned after thewar caution those contemplatingtheir big move back.

“The process of return forrefugees can be made smootherif both governments put togethera comprehensive package.”

“Even with my parents help-ing us here, we are struggling tosettle down. I can’t imagine howsomeone can come back andstart their life from scratch withno assistance,” says 29-year-oldSivarooban Vasuki. Along withher husband she escaped to Indiain 2006, pregnant with her firstchild. “The shop we were run-ning in the Vanni was destroyedin a landmine attack. We did not

want to risk our lives and wedecided to leave. It was a night-mare,” she says.

Those who fled the countryduring such testing times —right from 1983 — spread them-selves largely across 110 campsin Tamil Nadu. While theyappreciate the support receivedin India, life in a refugee camp isnot easy, they say. In addition tothe pressure of living in crampedspaces, it was a big strain finan-

cially, says Vasuki, who returnedin 2011.

According to P. Laksala, who,after her return in 2012, has setup a small grocery store by tak-ing a loan, some support fromboth governments is crucial. “Iwas the only one in my family togo to India in 2006. My parentssent me because the LTTE wasforcibly recruiting teenagers atthat time. I escaped, but theytook my sister later.

She lost vision in one of hereyes during the war,” says theschoolgirl-looking 27-year-oldmother of two. Determined toput behind the trauma of the war,she works hard all day, babysit-ting, managing her shop, andweaving mats for an additionalincome.

Immediate challengeFinding some land or a home

to live in is an immediate chal-

lenge facing returnees. “Wehave no money to complete ourroof,” says KadirgamanDayaparanathan, pointing to thebare concrete walls that standabandoned beside his thatch-roofed hut in the small town ofValalai, Jaffna Peninsula. Box-like openings on the walls awaitwindow panels.

A beneficiary of the IndianHousing Scheme (India is help-ing build 50,000 homes for fam-

ilies displaced by the war),Dayaparanathan has alreadyborrowed Rs.3 lakh (approxi-mately Rs. 1,40,000 in Indianrupees) for the house. “Themason who charged Rs.1,000earlier charges Rs.1,300 now. Asper the Indian scheme, we get atotal of Rs.5.5 lakh for buildinga home, but with the rising costswe cannot finish building ourhomes within that sum,” he says,adding that he regrets havingdecided to come back fromIndia. Living off his son’sincome, the family is trying hardto piece their lives together afterover two decades of dislocationto a Virudhunagar camp from1990. Many people, likeDayaparanathan’s neighbourSinnathurai Selvarathinam, arestill unable to return to their landusurped by the Sri Lankan armyfor its High Security Zone.“When people like him who

stayed here during the war areunable go back to their ownland, what can those comingback after many years hopefor?” Dayaparanathan says.

For those who were born inIndia, like Dayaparanathan’sdaughter Danukiya, registeringtheir birth in Sri Lanka andobtaining relevant documents isa tedious process. “The SriLankan government does notaccept my Indian birth certifi-cate. I was asked to payRs.25,000 to get citizenshiphere,” says the 24-year-old,angry about being unable to pur-sue the diploma course she start-ed at Annamalai University inIndia. “People my age are strug-gling to find jobs here.”

Converting a diploma certifi-cate obtained in India to a docu-ment relevant here also comeswith a cost — Rs.37,000 —according to S. Sooriyakumary,president of the Organisation forEelam Refugees RehabilitationCeylon, which works withrefugees in India and returneesin Sri Lanka. “Considering thesituation of those returning afterdecades, the government couldbe more sympathetic and chargenominally for such paper work,”she says. The process of returncan be made smoother and moreviable if both governments puttogether a comprehensive pack-age. “Such an arrangement isnecessary for families to relo-cate, get documents includingtheir national identity cards andcitizenship certificates, and mostimportantly, find sustainablelivelihood,” she adds.

In addition to the efforts ofColombo and New Delhi, theprocess warrants active involve-ment of the Northern ProvincialCouncil administration which,according to returnees, has nottaken much initiative so far.

“It is as if everyone has aban-doned us. We are quite help-less,” says Danukiya. “Thosewho are considering gettingback should think not once, buttwice.”

There is something seriously problematic about thestate of affairs in the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-run West Bengal. Three days following the gang

rape of an elderly nun belonging to the Convent of Jesusand Mary school in Ranaghat in Nadia district, bydacoits, arrests of the culprits are yet to be made. Ratherthan acknowledging the seriousness of the problem ofcrimes against women in the State, the State governmenthas yet again sought to politicise the issue, initially insin-uating “religious fanaticism” to be responsible for thecrime. Later, the Chief Minister blamed the Opposition— the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and theBharatiya Janata Party — for what turned out to be spon-taneous protests against the incident in Ranaghat. This isnot to suggest that the robbery and rape incident inRanaghat could not have been a “hate crime”, a numberof which have been reported in other parts of the countryrecently. But for the government to jump the gun evenbefore apprehending any of the culprits just to scorepolitical brownie points is unacceptable. West Bengal,according to latest statistics released by the NationalCrime Records Bureau, ranked third in absolute numbersof crimes against women and among the high-rankingStates in incidences of rape in 2013. However the Statecannot be singled out. The issue of rape and other crimesagainst women is a national one and protests against theDelhi rape incident in 2012 have steadily turned the gazeon law enforcement agencies to effect better responses tothese crimes. What sets the TMC government — and MsBanerjee in particular — apart is its refusal to subjectthese issues to serious scrutiny and escape into conspira-cy theories. Ms Banerjee’s response to the incident in2012 in Park Street, Kolkata involving the gang rape ofSuzette Jordan — who succumbed to encephalitis recent-ly — was to term it a “made up incident” against her gov-ernment. Her party colleagues dismissed the rape allega-tion and also cast aspersions on Ms Jordan’s character.The police official in charge of the investigation of theincident was transferred after affirming that it was indeedgang rape. Meanwhile the main accused in the rape caseis yet to be apprehended by the Kolkata police nearlythree years since the incident. While crimes againstwomen are indeed a societal issue, there is much that theState could do apart from prevention. The State policeshould not be encumbered by political pressures as it setsout to bring culprits to book. The Chief Minister’s contin-ued reliance on conspiracy theories lends to unnecessarypoliticisation which leads to a dangerous drift even as itrenders law enforcement agencies ineffective.

‘Conspiracy’ as an easy way out Thursday | March 19, 2015

Home is not where the heart is... SAADDA HAQ

Our team will publish yourthoughts send us your artices at news.saaddahaq@gmail.com

Shaking up our village culture

Our village culture and values are intrinsicallylinked to a control of land and agriculture. Land in

present times has turned out to be a major economicresource — it gives access to institutional credit, subsi-dies on fertilizers, power, farm equipment and almostinstitutionalised, decadal loan waivers. Some numeri-

cally powerful landowning castes also enrol themselvesas Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. Land, thus, is a

key form of private property that yields persistent rent,which is not necessarily based on its actual merit and

which is, of course, not taxed. Above all, land signifiespower — how much dowry one gets in villages mostlydepends on the extent of land the groom’s familycontrols. The cultural value attached to lands and

its patrilineal ownership has turned daughters intobad debts.

Finding some land or a home to live in isan immediate challenge facing returnees.

“We have no money to complete ourroof,” says Kadirgaman Dayaparanathan,pointing to the bare concrete walls that

stand abandoned beside his thatch-roofedhut in the small town of Valalai, Jaffna

Peninsula. Box-like openings on the wallsawait window panels.

State Watch 5NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | MARCH 19, 2015SAADDA HAQ

HYDERABAD, MARCH 18Hyderabad Police has distrib-

uted 200 iPads with 3G connec-tivity to the verification officersof the Special Branch forspeedy verification of passportpersonal particulars forms(PPFs).

All the verification officersand the supervisory officershave been trained to use theiPads and the technologyrequired for speedy verificationof PPFs, a release issued by thecity police said.

Hyderabad Police receivemore than one lakh passportapplications for verificationevery year and so far the processused to be done mostly manual-ly. The Passport VerificationCell, which is the nodal agencyin the City Police, obtains thePPFs through a messenger, sortsthem out manually as per the

zones and the police stations inthe city and distribute them tothe field officers for verifica-tion.

The field officers also sendthe verified PPFs through themessenger to the PV Cell foruploading to the RegionalPassport Officer, it said.

"Matching of the PPFs withintelligence reports also takeconsiderable time leading todelays. With the introduction oftechnology, these delays areexpected to be reduced consid-erably, thereby reducing thetime required for verification,"the release said.

Average time taken for pass-port verification was 61 days in2012, 35 days in 2013 and 27 inthe last quarter of 2014.

"Due to the special drivetaken up from December 2014,there was tremendous improve-

ment in passport verification. InJanuary, 2015 average time wasreduced to 19 days, and furtherreduced to 13 days in February,"the release said.

With the new technology, timetaken for verification will bereduced further, the release said,adding that it would ensuregreater sense of accountabilityand transparency amongst theField Officers coupled withexpeditious disposal and sub-mission of Police VerificationReports.

"The maximum duration ofone week is fixed to the FieldOfficer to complete the verifica-tion. The applicants are alsorequested to remain available atleast for three days after filingthe application with RPO asmost of the enquiries are com-pleted within three days," therelease added.

JAMMU, MARCH 18The Jammu and Kashmir gov-

ernment would initiate a "mean-ingful dialogue" with all internalstakeholders, including all thepolitical groups, irrespective oftheir ideological views andpredilections, Governor N NVohra said.

"The (PDP-BJP) coalition willfacilitate and help initiate a sus-tained and meaningful dialoguewith all internal stakeholders,which will include all politicalgroups irrespective of their ideo-logical views and predilections.

"This dialogue will seek tobuild a broad-based consensus onthe resolution of all outstandingissues of J&K," the governor saidwhile addressing the joint sessionof the state legislature here onWednesday.

Invoking former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,Vohra said the coalition govern-ment would follow a similar

approach, "To enlarge the con-stituency of peace and deepen itssocietal mooring, the coalitiongovernment will take consideredpolitical initiatives.

"It would be recalled that theerstwhile NDA government ledby Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had ini-tiated a dialogue process with allpolitical groups including theHurriyat Conference, in the spiritof 'Insaaniyat, Kashmiriyat aur

Jamhooriyat," he said.The central government has

recently initiated steps for pro-moting deeper understandingwith our neighbours, Vohra said.

"The coalition government willstrive to support and strengthenthe approaches and initiativestaken by the Centre and buildingstakes for all in furthering peaceand development," he said.

This objective, the governor

said, would be pursued by initiat-ing suitable confidence buildingmeasures that would bring abouta positive change in the lives ofall "our people."

On the issue of return ofKashmiri Pandit migrants toKashmir, he said, "To strengthenand enhance societal harmony,my government will ensure thereturn of Kahsmiri Pandits withdignity, based on their rights asstate subjects. No efforts will bespared to reintegrating andabsorbing them in the Kashmirimilieu," he said.

The government will also workout a one-time settlement forrefugees from Pakistan occupiedKashmir of 1947, 1965, and1971, take measures for the sus-tenance and livelihood of theWest Pakistan refugees and con-stitute a delimitation commissionfor re-demarcating the legislativeassembly constituencies asrequired by law, he said.

J&K govt to initiate dialogue withall stakeholders in state: Governor

HYDERABAD, MARCH 18Over 70 Madiga Reservation

Porata Samithi (MRPS) activistswere taken into preventive custodyon Wednesday as police foiled theirattempts to hold a demonstrationnear Andhra Pradesh Assemblypremises here on the issue of cate-gorisation of scheduled castes.

"As a precautionary measure, over70 MRPS protesters were taken intopreventive custody near Nampallyrailway station itself," DeputyCommissioner of Police (CentralZone) VB Kamalasan Reddy said.

The MRPS activists raised slo-gans and tried to march towards theAP Assembly but police roundedthem up and packed them into vehi-cles.

Security was tightened withdeployment of additional forces inand around the Assembly premisesas police had earlier refused permis-

sion to All India MadigaReservation Porata Samithi toorganise a meeting and 'ChaloAssembly' programme today.

Besides, some members ofTelangana Vidyarthi NirudyogulaJAC were also taken into preventivecustody on Osmania Universitycampus, as they too attempted tohold a 'Chalo Assembly' march toprotest the Telangana government's"delay" in filling over one lakhvacancies in different departments,police said.

In view of the ongoing budget ses-sions of both the AP and TelanganaLegislatures, police have alreadyissued orders prohibiting any kindof Assembly, public meeting or pro-cession that has the potential tocause disturbance to public peaceand safety within 2-km radius of theLegislature buildings of both thestates.

With iPads, passport verificationgoes hi-tech in Hyderabad

CHANDIGARH, MARCH 18The Haryana government on

Wednesday said that an inquirywill be launched into "severalextensions" given to the RajivGandhi Charitable Trust for theconstruction of an eye hospitalin Gurgaon.

Replying to a question dur-ing the Question Hour inHaryana Assembly here,Haryana Development andPanchayat Minister O PDhankar said that questionswere raised over the manner inwhich "several extensions"were granted to the RajivGandhi Charitable Trust forconstruction of hospital andrules were changed to facilitatethis project.

"This issue (Rajiv GandhiCharitable Trust) was high-lighted by the media widely. It

also came into the press thatseveral extensions were givento it. The current extension (forconstruction of hospital) is2017.

I think the member of theHouse also wants that thisissue should be probed as sev-eral questions were raised overit...The state government willprobe why it was given severalextensions and why rules werechanged," Dhankar said on thefloor of the House.

MLA Om Parkash Yadav hadraised the question on the sta-tus of the charitable eye hospi-tal which was to come up atUhlawas village in Gurgaon.

Dhankar said the period ofconstruction was extended upto January 7, 2017 on therequest of the Trust datedFebruary 28, 2014.

CHANDIGARH, MARCH 18The Punjab government today pre-

sented Budget for the 2015-16 finan-cial year without proposing any newtaxes.

Presenting his fourth successiveBudget, Punjab Finance MinisterParminder Singh Dhindsa estimated adeficit of Rs 125 crore at the close of2015-16 financial year.

The receipts for the next fiscal havebeen proposed at Rs 60,585 crore asagainst Rs 54,096 crore in currentfinancial year.

Dhindsa said Rs 60,585 crorereceipts in coming fiscal include Rs46,229 crore of revenue receipts andRs 14,356 crore of capital receipts asagainst the current year figures of Rs42,742 crore and Rs 11,353 crore,respectively.

The expenditure has been proposedat Rs 61,814 crore as against the cur-rent year's figure of Rs 56,431 crore.

He said next fiscal's proposalsinclude Rs 52,623 crore of revenue

expenditure, Rs 4,857 crore of capitaloutlay, Rs 3,598 crore of repaymentof public debt and Rs 736 crore ofloans and advance disbursals.

Dhindsa said the fiscal deficit willbe 2.98 per cent of GSDP (GrossState Domestic Product) and revenuedeficit will be 1.60 per cent of GSDP.

He said that his Budget proposalswere of Rs 79,314 crore and annualplan was of Rs 21,174 crore.

"However, the effective Budgetsize is Rs 61,814 crore as the abovefigure (Rs 79,314 crore) contains aBudget provision of Rs 17,500 croretowards ways and means transactionsduring the current year," he said.

The Minister said, "The year beginswith a negative opening balance ofRs 69 crore. The total receipts arelikely to be Rs 60,585 crore. Theclosing balance at the end of 2015-16would be (-) Rs 125 crore."

He said the world is upbeat aboutIndia as our economy has entered intoa promising era with a series of eco-

nomic reforms ushered by the NDAgovernment at the Centre.

"These times present a uniqueopportunity to the state to uplift itsown economy by becoming a keypartner in the national economicgrowth process," he said, adding thatthe SAD-BJP alliance government inPunjab with support of NDA govern-ment at the Centre will herald a newdawn for Punjab.

Dhindsa said the Budget has beenprepared against a changed backdropcreated by increased devolutionsfrom the 14th Finance Commissionand a concomitant reduction in plantransfers to states in the UnionBudget.

"The steps and policies outlined inthe Budget for 2015-16 presented byme reflect on the commitment of thegovernment to put the state economyon path of sustained (and) high eco-nomic growth, the benefits of whichwill reach all sections of the society,"he added.

No new taxes proposed inPunjab budget for FY16

PATNA, MARCH 18Opposition BJP on

Wednesday criticised theBihar government over"non-availability" of basicmedicines in governmenthospitals and medical col-leges due to which thenumber of patients visitingthese hospitals has comedown.

Leader of OppositionNand Kishore Yadav saidin the LegislativeAssembly during Zerohour that as againstarrangements during NDArule when 33 medicineswere given to patients inOPD in district and blockhospitals and 112 medi-cines to indoor patients,today only 4-5 in OPD and

8-10 medicines in indoorare available.

Likewise, in medical col-leges also there was ashortage of medicines.

He said in Patna MedicalCollege and Hospital(PMCH) against 66 medi-cines available during theNDA regime, only 18 arepresent today in OPD andfor indoor patients against120 medicines only 40 areavailable at present.

Yadav, speaking onAdjournment notice ofparty colleagues PremKumar and Binod NarayanJha, said no antibiotics areavailable today in medi-cines. Besides, there wasan acute shortage of basicitems like cotton, pain

killers, bandage and gauge,among others.

He said the piquant situ-ation was due to non-func-tioning of Bihar MedicalServices and InfrastructureCorporation Ltd, earliertasked with purchase ofmedicines.

"After scam in medicinepurchase came into lightabout nine months back,the body is non-functionalcreating shortage of medi-cines," he said.

Yadav said that the gov-ernment has empoweredCivil Surgeon to purchasemedicines through tenderprocess. But, so far tendershave been floated only in21 districts out of a total of38.

Andhra Pradesh: MRPS protesterstaken into preventive custody

BJP criticises govt over shortageof medicines in hospitals

GUWAHATI, MARCH 18Assam Chief Minister

Tarun Gogoi Wednesdayalleged that Akhil Gogoi-led Krishak Mukti SangramSamiti (KMSS) had takendonations from rich and cor-porates, which was deniedand challenged by the RTIactivist.

"I welcome this (floatingof a new party) as it is goodfor democracy. I heard thatmany rich and corporatepeople have contributed toKMSS," the Chief Ministersaid.

Gogoi, however, said hedid not have any objectionto KMSS collecting moneyfrom the affluent class.

Reacting to the allegation,Akhil Gogoi of KMSS said,"He (Chief Minister) alwaysmakes a light comment justbefore any serious thinghappens. I challenge him toprove it (taking money fromcorporates). I have rejected

all corporate and capitalistfunding to our organisa-tion." Earlier during the day,KMSS announced to launchan independent politicalparty to fight Assemblyelections in Assam in 2016.

The new party, the nameof which has not been madepublic yet, will fight elec-tions against the existingones such as rulingCongress, BJP, AGP and

AIUDF, Gogoi said in hisinaugural speech at the 4thBiennial Convention ofKMSS at Moran inDibrugarh district.

About 5,000 delegates areparticipating in the three-day KMSS conventionstarting from today. Socialactivist and Gandhian AnnaHazare is expected to attendthe convention on March20.

Assam CM accuses activist AkhilGogoi of accepting donations

RAIPUR, MARCH 18The Congress has called for a

shutdown in Chhattisgarh onWednesday to protest against thepolice action against party workerson Monday.

The police had lathichargedCongress workers while they werecarrying out the 'Kisan Nyay Yatra'.

Several party leaders wereinjured during the demonstration.

On Monday, thousands ofCongress workers had gheraoed the

state Assembly to step up theirprotest against the Raman Singhgovernment.

The six-day-long Kisan NyayYatra had concluded in Raipur onMonday after passing through sixcities. It was led by state Congresschief Bhupesh Baghel.

The aim of the yatra was toprotest against rising corruptionduring the Raman Singh govern-ment and its failure to fulfill pollpromises.

Congress calls bandh in Chhattisgarhto protest against police action

CHANDIGARH, MARCH 18Congress Wednesday

attacked the Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjaband the SGPC inParliament for markingthe death anniversaries ofthe killers of IndiraGandhi and former Armychief Gen AS Vaidya inthe Nanakshahi calendar,with SAD saying it hadnothing to do with this.

Congress membersraised the issue in bothHouses seeking PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'sintervention and a direc-tion to the state govern-ment to withdraw the cal-endar brought out bySGPC, with the govern-ment saying it did notapprove the act.

In the Rajya Sabha, thematter was raised duringZero Hour by Ashwani

Kumar (Congress) whosaid "there cannot be amore unfortunate incidentin this country. Those whofought terrorists, theanniversary of their killersis being celebrated. It is ashame for the entirenation."

The issue was raised inLok Sabha by RavneetSingh (Cong) who askedthe government to declarethe calendar illegal sayingit could not have beenbrought out without theconsent of BJP which is apartner in the state gov-ernment.

Terming the episode as"shameful", Kumar soughtthe Prime Minister's inter-vention saying it was hisresponsibility "to say wewill not promote or acceptany such incident."

"I appeal to all parties

for a resolution that theincident be condemnedand direction given toPunjab government tostop this from takingplace. I appeal to PrimeMinister Modi to inter-vene," Kumar said in theUpper House.

Responding on behalf ofthe government, Ministerof State for ParliamentaryAffairs Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi said it was a "veryserious" issue and neitherBJP nor central govern-ment approved of it in anyway.

"We are against it.Those who are doing it,they are not promoted inany way by either our gov-ernment or by Punjab gov-ernment," Naqvi said.

The House saw acrimo-nious exchanges betweenCongress members and

Treasury benches, asSukhdev Singh Dhindsa(Akali Dal) rose to clarifyafter accusations weremade on the state.

"We have nothing to dowith it. We are not pro-moting anyone," Dhindsasaid.

Senior Congress leaderAmbika Soni and someother members also rosein protest and accused thestate government of pro-moting those behind it,leading to trading ofcharges between opposi-tion and treasurybenches.

Seeking to put the mat-ter to rest, DeputyChairman P J Kurien said"the Minister has made itclear that neither the gov-ernment nor the state hasany responsibility forthis."

Srinagar-Jammu highwayremains closed for fourth daySRINAGAR, MARCH 18

The strategic Srinagar-Jammu national highwayremained closed for the fourth consecutive day onWednesday as the authorities said restoration work wason in the over 300-km long road.

"Due to multiple landslides in the Ramban sector, theSrinagar-Jammu highway is still closed," a senior trafficdepartment official said. "Road clearance operations aregoing on and we are hopeful of restoring the highwayfor traffic by today (Wednesday) afternoon."

"After restoration, only stranded vehicles will beallowed to move to their destination and no fresh trafficwill be allowed till all the stranded vehicles arecleared," he added.

While nearly 2,000 vehicles have been stranded alongthe highway for the last four days, authorities have con-firmed that there were no passenger vehicles amongthem but trucks carrying various kinds of supplies toKashmir Valley.

Built in 1921 by the erstwhile Dogra Maharaja HariSingh, the highway is the landlocked valley's only roadconnection with the rest of the country.

Temporary closures of the road due to weather-relatedissues have traditionally helped hoarders and profiteershike prices of essential commodities by creating artifi-cial scarcity of goods in the region.

Congress attacks Akalis over calendarcommemorating Indira killers

'Probe into eye hospital proj-ect of Rajiv Gandhi trust'

The Milky Way galaxy maybe home to billions of plan-ets orbiting their host stars

in a "habitable zone" where lifecould theoretically exist,researchers said Wednesday.

Nasa's Kepler space telescope,launched in 2009 to search for so-called "exoplanets" outside ourown solar system, has alreadyfound thousands many of them insystems like our own with multipleplanets orbiting a star.

Using this data, researchers fromthe Australian National Universityand the Niels Bohr Institute inCopenhagen attempted to calculatehow many stars in the Milky Waycould have planets in their habit-able zones where liquid watercould exist the prerequisite for lifewhether primitive or complex.

"The calculations show that bil-lions of the stars in the Milky Waywill have one to three planets inthe habitable zone, where there isthe potential for liquid water andwhere life could exist," said astatement from the Niels BohrInstitute.

The findings of the study werepublished in the scientific journalMonthly Notices of the RoyalAstronomical Society.

The team used a new version ofa 250-year-old method called theTitius-Bode law, which correctlypredicted the position of Uranusbefore it was discovered.

According to the law, there is aratio between the orbital periods ofplanets in a solar system.

Therefore, if you know how long

it takes some planets to circle thestar, you can calculate the orbitalperiod of others, determine theirposition and find planets "missing"from the sequence.

"We decided to use this methodto calculate the potential planetarypositions in 151 planetary systems,where the Kepler satellite hadfound between three and six plan-ets," said researcherSteffen Jacobsen ofthe Niels BohrInstitute.

'Where life couldexist'

The team predict-ed a total of 228planets in the 151planetary systems,and one to threeplanets in the habit-able zone of each.

"According to thestatistics and theindications we have,a good share of theplanets in the habit-able zone will besolid planets wherethere might be liq-uid water and wherelife could exist,"said Jacobsen.

Extrapolating thecalculation to fur-ther afield, thismeant that in justour own galaxy,there could be bil-lions of stars withplanets in this possi-bly life-sustaining

zone, added the statement.Exoplanets are observed from

Earth through changes in thebrightness of their central star.

The light is partly blocked whenthe planet passes between Earthand its star.

The search for a planet capableof hosting life remains an academ-ic pursuit there is no solar system

close enough for mankind to reachit unless we develop time travel.

Since its launch, the Keplerspacecraft has scoured more than150,000 stars for exoplanets.

Astronomers have verified theexistence of about 1,000 farawayworlds identified by the telescope,and about 3,000 potential planetsawait scientific confirmation.

LG, besides launching its G Flex 2smartphone in India, has alsolaunched a 105-inch 5K Ultra HD

(UHD) resolution television set at a price tag ofRs. 59,99,900.

Carrying themodel number105UC9T, theKorean tech firm'sfirst 5K(5120x2160 pixels)panel television setfeatures an IPS dis-play with aCineScope 21:9aspect ratio. It alsofeatures 7.2 chan-nel audio with 150Watt speakers fromHarmon/Kardon.

The 105-inch 5KTV runs on webOSinterface. It isworth noting thatthe firm also fea-tured webOS in therecently announcedsmartwatch, the LGWatch Urbane LTE.As for the specifi-cations, the LG105UC9T 5K TVfeatures built-in Wi-Fi support alongsideMiracast, Wireless Display, Wi-Fi Direct,DLNA, HDMI, and USB connectivity. An 8-megapixel Web camera is also included on the5K television set for video conferencing.

Featuring the firm's True 4K Engine Pro pixelresolution upscaler, the LG 105UC9T 5K TValso sports the Direct LED backlight feature.

Some of the otherkey announcements at the LG Tech Show inNew Delhi included the LG 77 4K OLED TV,LG 98 4K ULTRA HD TV and LG Music Flowspeakers, but pricing and availability were not

detailed.

"LG Tech Show is all about reinforcing ourcommitment towards making life good and easy

for our con-s u m e r s .Thriving onInnovat ionfor BetterLife, thethird editionof LG IndiaTech Showwill bringpath-break-ing productsdriven by theconcept ofInternet ofT h i n g s .From mostp r o m i s i n gG-Flex 2 tovisual mas-terpiece 1055K TV andmuch antici-pated SmartInverter 2.0Refrigerator,these prod-ucts willsurely rein-state our

technology and design leadership deliveringelegance and performance to our customers'everyday lives," stated Soon Kwon, ManagingDirector, LG Electronics India during thelaunch.

LG Launches 105-Inch 5K TV WithIPS Display at Rs. 59,99,900 Lava announced the

start of the Android5.0 Lollipop update

rollout for its recentlylaunched Iris X1 Grandsmartphone, whichshipped with Android 4.4

KitKat out-of-the-box.

The Android 5.0Lollipop update for theLava Iris X1 Grand isbeing pushed out over-the-air (OTA) and usersshould receive a notifica-tion informing them aboutthe update when they con-

nect to the Internet, thecompany said. Users canalso manually check forthe update by going toSettings > About phone >Software update on theIris X1 Grand. The

Android

5 . 0L o l l i p o p

update is about 550MBin size.

Lava has not detailed thecomplete changelog forthe Android 5.0 Lollipopupdate; though on its blogit writes that the new OSupdate brings new lockscreen, new notificationcentre, and new UI.

Apart from MaterialDesign, Android 5.0Lollipop features animproved notification sys-tem; Kill Switch andimproved security;improved hardware key-board accessory support(including support formultilingual, emojiinput, search key, andimproved app and sys-tem key chords), supportfor 15 new languages(including Bengali,Kannada, Malayalam,Marathi, Tamil andTelugu); improvedaccessibility features(such as text contrastboost, colour inversion,and enhanced colour dif-ferentiation); improvedaudio, video, and cameracapabilities, andimproved Internet con-nectivity everywhereapart from more power-ful Bluetooth low energycapabilities.

The dual-SIM LavaIris X1 Grand waslaunched in January car-rying a price tag of Rs.7,326 - the company hadthen also promised anAndroid 5.0 Lollipopupdate. The Iris X1Grand features a 5-inchFWVGA (480x854 pix-els) IPS display. It ispowered by a quad-core1.3GHz MediaTekMTK6582M processor

coupled with 1GB ofRAM. The Iris X1 Grandsports an 8-megapixel rearcamera with dual-LEDflash and a 2-megapixelfront-facing camera. Therear camera is powered bya BSI II sensor and canrecord videos in full-HD.It features 8GB of inbuiltstorage that is expandablevia microSD card (up to32GB). The handset isbacked by a 2200mAh Li-

Android 5.0 Lollipop Update RolloutStarts for Lava Iris X1 Grand

NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | MARCH 19, 2015SAADDA HAQScience & Tech6

1. Deficit financing impliesA. printing new currency notesB. replacing new currency with worn out currencyC. public expenditure in excess of public revenueD. public revenue in excess of public expenditure\

2. In which of the following sequences the change inquantity of money leads to change in price level inthe Keynesian models?A. Change in quantity of money - change in invest-ment - change in employment and output - change inrate of interest - change in price levelB. Change in quantity of money - change in employ-ment and output - change in investment - change inthe rate of interest - change in price levelC. Change in quantity of money - change in invest-ment - change in rate of interest - change in employ-ment and output - change in price levelD. Change in quantity of money - change in rate ofinterest - change in investment - change in employ-ment and output - change in price level

3. Foreign Direct Investment ceilings in the telecomsector have been raised from 74 percent toA. 80 percent B. 83 percentC. 90 percent D. 100 percent

QUIZ TIME

Answer: 1(C), 2 (D), 3(D)

12:00AM MasterChefIndia : Extra Class01:00AM Ye HaiMohabbatein01:30AM Iss Pyaar Ko

Kya Naam Doon...Ek Baar Phir02:00AM Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai02:30AM Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas03:00AM Tu Mera Hero03:30AM Suhani Si Ek Ladki04:00AM Saath Nibhaana Saathiya04:30AM Tere Shehar Mein05:00AM Diya Aur Baati Hum05:30AM Nisha Aur Uske Cousins06:00AM Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam

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TV Channels Schedule TODAY’S STARARIES Today a friendship could develop into something more, Aries.

Someone you know fairly well but never thought of as a potentiallover could suddenly show a romantic interest in you and you couldrespond. Whether or not you choose to do anything about it dependson you. Circumstances and people change. Think twice before youdismiss this person. Don't do it because they're "just" a friend.

TAURUS A change in your working circumstances could make apositive difference to you, Taurus. Perhaps you've movedto another desk, room, floor, or building. Whichever it is,you will be less stressed out. Being near difficult people orsitting near a window where you can see out can rechargeyour batteries and make you more productive.

GEMINI Some intellectual knowledge that you gain today is apt to make asignificant difference in whatever creative projects you're workingon, Gemini. A friend or partner could help in some way. A currententerprise may go in a new direction or you could start a new proj-ect. Whatever it is, expect to feel inspired. Don't be surprised atthe exceptional quality of your work!

CANCER The healing of some childhood traumas could be triggered today,Cancer, perhaps through contact with someone who knew youthen. Don't be surprised if you shed a few tears. This is a normalrelease. You could also suddenly laugh like crazy. Once this is alldone, take your friend out for the evening and kick up your heels.That will help you lighten up and enable you to sleep.

LEO Some great news could come today, Leo, perhaps from alove partner. It might concern your relationship or it mightinvolve some sort of good fortune coming to either you oryour beloved. This bit of luck could free both of you in someway to further advance the relationship somehow. Don'tpanic and don't overanalyze it. Follow your heart!

VIRGO Have you been working very hard to increase your income?If so, Virgo, results might finally manifest. More availableincome usually necessitates working even harder, but inyour case, you might be able to relax for a while and thus ridyourself of all the stress and tension that's been building up.Thank your lucky stars, and make plans for your free time.

LIBRA Today, Libra, you should feel especially attractive, romantic, andsexy. Any current or potential romantic partner you encounter willprobably pay you lots of attention and want to make plans for thetwo of you to get together. This might be just what you need, as thelast few days may have been difficult. Get out of the house and havea little fun. Everyone needs to do this now and then!

SCORPIO Intuition could prove extremely valuable when it comes to dealingwith a sticky situation, Scorpio. You know all the rules, you knowall the proper methods for whatever you do, but today you couldbe driven to make decisions based on gut feelings rather thanrules or logic. Think of it as a valuable new tool for understandinghow to deal with people and make the most of it.

SAGITTARIUSSome gossip about a friend who has recently begun anew relationship could reach you today, Sagittarius. Thismight come as a surprise, as you'd never have expectedit of this person. You will be glad, because you want yourfriend to be happy. Don't be afraid to call and ask to hearall about it. It will be a pleasure for both of you!

CAPRICORN Minor changes in your money situation could make for abeautiful day, Capricorn. Perhaps you discover a bank errorin your favor, get repaid for a loan, or receive a generous gift.Whichever it is, it's likely to make it possible for you to makea purchase you've been thinking you had to postpone for awhile. Enjoy your good fortune and make the most of it!

AQUARIUS Today you might feel as though your mind is exploding, Aquarius.If you've been studying an intellectual or spiritual subject, insightscould be coming thick and fast. Concepts that never made senseto you before suddenly seem clear. You will need to write themdown, because even an elephant wouldn't be able to rememberthis many ideas and revelations. Make the most of them!

PISCES Emotions and memories that have been buried in your psyche couldsuddenly well up today, Pisces. At first you might not be able tomake sense of this. These memories could seem irrelevant to yourpresent life. Still, a little reflection might reveal why you're recallingthem now. Release whatever blockages these memories may havebeen causing. You could find your life changed in a subtle way.

Milky Way May Host Billions ofPlanets in 'Habitable' Zones: Study

SPORTSSPORTS 7SAADDA HAQNEW DELHI | THURSDAY | MARCH 19, 2015

SYDNEY, MARCH 18Spinners Imran Tahir and hat-

trick man Jean-Paul Duminy

shared seven wickets between themto help a clinical South Africaoutplay an unusually haplessSri Lanka by 9 wickets andenter the cricket WorldCup semi-finals, here onWednesday.

Leg-spinner Tahir (4-26) looked like a manpossessed whileDuminy (3-29)bagged the sec-ond hat-trick ofthis edition --after England'sSteven Finn -- asSouth Africasent the Lankanspacking for 133in 37.2 overs inthe first quarter-final of this edi-tion.

South Africa,who are keen toshrug off theirchokers tag,then came out tocomplete thebatting job in 18overs and regis-ter their first-everknockout win in the 50-over show-piece event.

Quinton de Kock (78 not out) andFaf de Plessis (21 not out) stitchedan unbeaten 94-run partnership toget the target without breaking asweat. Hashim Amla (16) was theonly casualty in an otherwise spot-

less innings.But the day surely belonged to

the spinning duo of Tahir andDuminy as they wrecked havocover what was consid-

ered a strongS r i

Lankanb a t -t i n g

unit.

Electing to bat at the SCG, Srilanka lost the plot from the verystart after the Proteas pace attackdismissed the openers in doublequick time to leave the islandersreeling at 4 for two.

But tweakers was introduced intothe attack in the 14th over withDuminy getting the ball ahead of

Tahir and the two spun a webaround the Lankan batsmen.

Thirimanne (41) shared a 65-runthird wicket stand with the now

retired Kumar Sangakkara(45), the veteran left-han-

der had

decided to quit ODIs after theWorld Cup, to bring some stabilityto the Lankan innings but theProteas spinners were relentless.

Tahir kept chipping in and off-spinner Duminy also joined forcesafter getting the dangerous AngeloMathews out for 19.

Duminy got Mathews out off the

final delivery of his eighth over andmuch to everybody's surprise gottwo more scalps at the start of hisninth over to complete his first-hat-trick in ODIs, which was also aWorld Cup first for a Proteasbowler.

The bat-ting bit

seemed like a formality for the ABde Villiers-led side as they startedthe innings much before the sched-uled break time. Breaking for din-ner at 40 for 1, South Africa gal-loped to their target.

South Africa now await the win-ner of the New Zealand-WestIndies last-eight clash, which is

slated for Saturday in Wellington.Sri lanka lost the plot from the

very start after the Proteas paceattack dismissed the openers indouble quick time to leave theislanders reeling at 4 for two.

Kyle Abbott got Kusal Perera (3)caught behind and then Dale Steynsent the in-form TilakaratneDilshan packing for a nought.

But it was man-of-the-matchTahir who started the rot with acaught and bowled effort to sendLahiru Thirimanne (41) back in thepavilion after a hard-workingknock.

Duminy after getting the wicketof Mathews on the final delivery

of the 34th over got Kulasekara(1) caught behind and thentrapped debutant TharinduKaushal plumb in front of thewicket at the start of the 35thover as the South Africancrowd went berserk at theMCG.

Sangakkara, who cameinto the match with record

four consecutive ODIhundreds, was a mutespectator at the non-strik-

er's end to this abject surrender.The veteran left-hander, to hiscredit, tried to get some runs inthe Lankan bag.

Sangakkara finally went toMorne Morkel, who had bowledwell throughout and finally got thereward.

Rain did put a stop to all the mad-ness after the ninth Lankan wicketfell but South Africa wasted notime in picking up the last scalp inLasith Malinga when play resumed.

ICC Cricket World Cup: South Africa crush listlessSri Lanka by 9 wickets to enter semis

MELBOURNE, MARCH 18Having decimated six

oppositions without muchtrouble, India's real titledefence starts with a trickyquarter-final clash againsta confident Bangladesh inthe ICC Cricket WorldCup, here tomorrow.

India with their power-packed performancethroughout the past onemonth have emerged asworthy contenders forretaining the Cup along-side former championsAustralia and co-hostsNew Zealand.

However the format ofthe tournament is such thatthe real test starts from theknock-out stages, whichmeans that effectivelythree matches can ensurethe Cup as qualification forthe last eight was a fore-gone conclusion.

However to India's cred-it, the initial momentumthat they seized after crush-ing Pakistan in the firstgame stayed with them

throughout the leaguephase.

South Africa were blownaway, UAE were no match,West Indies at best gave ascare, Ireland got pum-meled and Zimbabwenever had the bowling toshake India up.

So convincing has beenIndia's performance in thesix matches so far thatBangladesh, at least onpaper, do not even have theslightest of chance at the

MCG. But then 'Cricket is agame of GloriousUncertainties'. The tinynation has shown thegumption to fight it outhaving shown England thedoor and gave the 'BlackCaps' a run for theirmoney.

Call it irony butBangladesh unwittinglymade a contributiontowards ICC trying out thiscurrent format in WorldCup after they shocked

India in the 2007 edition ina round robin match at Portof Spain.

With only skipperMahendra Singh Dhonibeing the surviving mem-ber of that 2007 team thatwas trampled under relent-less pressure, the currentteam does not have any-one, who has scars of thatdefeat. So MashrafeMortaza and his boys canprove to be the proverbial'banana peel' on which

Dhoni and his boys canslip. As the tournamentreaches its business end,the margin for error is nownil and that is what willdemand double the intensi-ty from Dhoni's side withthe Cup now firmly insight. Qualitatively,Bangladesh are no matchfor India, who are certainlyoverwhelming favouritesgoing into the match.

Player by player, Indiaare quite a few notchesabove their opposition.Bangladesh will be hopingdearly that their formidableopposition have a bad dayin office which they cancash in.

If one compares the bat-ting, then India's top sixbatsmen are capable ofcompeting with the best inthe world whileBangladesh's willowwielders at best can betermed talented playerswith lack of consistency.

Rohit Sharma andAjinkya Rahane have

blown hot and cold in thistournament so far but ontheir day, they are equallydangerous like a ViratKohli or a Suresh Raina.

Shikhar Dhawan with337 runs to his credit isamong the top run-gettersin the competition. On hisday, he can murder anyopposition. He missed outagainst Zimbabwe, whichhas been a rarity in thecompetition and Mashrafe,Rubel Hossain and TaskinAhmed can have a roughday if the Delhi lad getsgoing.

Kohli has 301 runs in thetournament so far but it hasbeen more about goodstarts for him but post cen-tury against Pakistan, theIndian vice-captain hasfailed to convert into a bigscore getting into 30's and40's.

Raina is certainly bub-bling with confidence afterhis match-winning hun-dred against Zimbabwe ina tricky run-chase.

ICC World Cup 2015, 2nd quarter-final: India vs Bangladesh – PreviewCALIFORNIA, MARCH 18

A misfiring Rafa Nadalhad trouble hitting themark but the third seededSpaniard still had enoughto beat American DonaldYoung 6-4 6-2 on Tuesdayand advance to the fourthround of the BNP ParibasOpen.

Nadal, a three-timechampion at Indian Wells,looked out of sorts in asloppy opening set slam-ming an easy overheadinto the net to give Youngan early break and thenlater double-faulting tohand over another.

But the 47th rankedYoung was no better atfinding the target savingjust two of eight breakpoints as a fist-pumpingNadal walked off Stadiumcourt at the Indian WellsTennis Garden with thevictory.

While the opening set

was a comedy of unforcederrors the second sawNadal flash some of histop form as he raced to a5-1 lead closing out thematch in a tidy 80 min-utes.

Ninth seeded CzechTomas Berdych had earli-er kicked off anothersunny day of action with astraight-forward 6-4 6-2win over American SteveJohnson.

Jack Sock, however,will carry the Americanflag into the round of 16after rallying past 15thseeded Spaniard RobertoBautista Agut 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Thirteenth seededFrenchman Gilles Simonscored a comfortable 6-27-5 victory over Germanqualifier Michael Berrerwhile Czech Lukas Rosolwas a 6-4 6-7 (4) 7-6 (3)winner over DutchmanRobin Haase.

ADELAIDE, MARCH 18Pakistan and Australia go into

Friday`s World Cup quarter-finalburdened by a history of tension,setting the stage for an explosivecontest at the Adelaide Oval.

Pakistan`s head coach WaqarYounis admits previous matchesbetween the two teams have beenhard-fought and he expectedanother tough contest for a place inthe semi-finals.

"I won`t call Australia bitterrivals but there is a fierce rivalrythat should provide for a high-intensity game," Waqar, one of thegame`s great fast bowling expo-nents, said.

"We respect each other but donot give an inch on the field ofplay."

The hostilities began in 1981when Pakistani great JavedMiandad almost came to blowswith Australian fast bowler DennisLillee during a Test match in Perth.

Lillee appeared to have deliber-ately obstructed Miandad who wasabout to complete a single and hevolatile Pakistani pushed thebowler and threatened to hit him

with the bat.Lillee kicked Miandad before

the umpires and fielders inter-vened to stop things from gettingout of control.

Lillee was fined, but the incidentled to acrimonious verbal duelsbetween the two teams for the restof the series.

Miandad remembered the inci-dent as the worst of his career.

"It is hard to forget," saidMiandad. "We have that history ofbitter Test matches but I suppose

this is part and parcel of cricket."It was Miandad who in 1988

suggested Australia should "packtheir bags and go home" fromPakistan after controversial umpir-ing forced the Australians to reactsharply. The most notorious inci-dent between the two nations cameabout on Australia`s tour toPakistan in 1994 when ShaneWarne and Tim May alleged thenPakistan captain Salim Malikoffered them bribes to underper-form in the Karachi Test.

Cricket World Cup: History of conflictfor Australia and Pakistan SYDNEY, MARCH 18

Kumar Sangakkara became just thesixth player to score 500 runs at aWorld Cup before his record-breakingrun of hundreds came to an end duringWednesday`s quarter-final againstSouth Africa.

The 37-year-old left-hander cameinto this match on the back of a recordrun of four successive hundreds aftermaking 105 not out againstBangladesh, 117 not out againstEngland, 104 against Australia and124 against Scotland in the groupstage.

However, needing just four more for500 runs in the tournament,Sangakkara -- a losing finalist at the2007 and 2011 World Cups -- foundscoring more difficult against SouthAfrica, taking 28 balls to get to fivewith a three off Kyle Abbott.

With wickets tumbling around him,Sangakkara -- in what is set to be hisfinal ODI before retirement if SriLanka lose -- was eventually out for 45off 96 balls, including just three fours,as Sri Lanka collapsed to 127 for ninein the 37th over after the Islanders wonthe toss.

There have now been seveninstances of a batsman scoring 500runs at a World Cup, with India great

Sachin Tendulkar -- who performedthe feat twice -- holding the record formost runs at a World Cup with 673 atthe 2003 edition in Southern Africa.

Tendulkar also scored 523 runs at the1996 World Cup.

The other batsmen to have made 500

runs at a World Cup includeSangakkara`s Sri Lanka team-matesMahela Jayawardene (548 in 2007)and Tillakaratne Dilshan (500 in2011), as well as Australia`s MatthewHayden (659 in 2007) and RickyPonting (539 in 2007).

World Cup 2015: Kumar Sangakkara`ston run ends after joining 500 club

Misfiring Rafael Nadal reacheslast 16 at Indian Wells

JP Duminybecomes firstSouth Africancricketer to take aWorld Cup hat-trickNEW DELHI, MARCH 18

While the South African pace attack wasexpected to make life difficult for the SriLankan batsmen in the first quarter-final ofthe ICC World Cup 2015, it was JP Duminywho wreaked havoc with a hat-trick!

Duminy, who hadn't done anything sub-stantial with the ball so far in the series,raised the level of his game as he scalped thewickets of Angelo Mathews, NuwanKulasekara and Tharindu Kaushal off con-secutive balls.

Mathews was the first to go off the lastball of the 33rd over when he hit onestraight into the hands of du Plessis at mid-wicket. In his next over, 35th of the innings,Duminy bowled a flighted delivery toKulasekara which turned away from himand he edged it to the keeper. The debutantTharindu Kaushal was dismissed for a first-ball duck as he was trapped in front of thewicket.

Apart from Duminy, Imran Tahir was thepick of the bowlers as he scalped four wick-ets. The duo shared seven wickets betweenthem as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 133.

It was the second hat-trick of this WorldCup. England speedster Steven Finnclaimed the first hat-trick of the tournamentagainst Australia in the first match onFebruary 14.

Summer is here and with the mercurylevels rising every day, the heat andhumidity play a major role in our

lives, keeping us hot and bothered.Summer brings with it a host of skin prob-lems, some of which are:

SKIN TAN AND SUNBURN: A suntan is actually the body's defense

mechanism against strong sunlight and thevisible evidence of damage to the skin.Severe sunburn results in the redness ofthe skin, skin peeling and sometimes itch-ing.

Treatment:Avoiding sunlight and using a calamine

lotion during the day. Also taking an aller-gic tablet during the day and night for aweek along with a very mild steroid lotionat bedtime will help.

ACNE: Aggravation of acne (pimples) as the

heat, humidity, dead skin cells and oil tendto clog the pores thereby leading to come-dones (blackheads) and then acne.Hygiene plays an important role.

Treatment:Applying a 'mud-pack' once a week to

absorb the oil.Having plenty of water and taking sup-

plements of Vitamin A, zinc and antioxi-dants and applying an erythromycin gel atbedtime.

PRICKLY HEAT:Excessive sweating and increased dead

cell turnover blocks the sweat glands and

causes a rash-like picture commonlyknown as 'prickly heat' especially in thefolds of the skin where the sweat accumu-lates and maybe also on the the back. Thisleads to itching.

Treatment:Having cool showers, wear-

ing loose clothes, puttingtalcum powder after abath, applying calaminelotion on the rashes.

ROSACEA:This is charac-

terised by red andinflamed skinespecially on thecheek, chin andfrown areas ofthe face. Therash cana l s o

lead to tiny boils on the cheeks and maybeeven to severe acne if left untreated.

Treatment:Avoiding sunlight, using a soap-free

face wash and a good sunscreen, reducingstress with yoga, meditation, having anantacid or aloe vera juice in the morningon an empty stomach.

FUNGAL INFECTIONS OF THE SKIN:

This is very common in the hot andhumid weather. The fungi thrive in thehumid weather and areas where there isless aeration as in the folds of the skin

especiallyin peoplewho weartight cloth-ing, shoesthe wholeday longand syn-t h e t i cclothing.

Treatment:Having a shower

more often, using ananti-fungal powder in

the body folds after a bathand applying an anti-

fungal cream at bed-time on affected

areas.

DANDRUFF: Dandruff is a result of over-secretion of

oil on the scalp mixed with increased deadcell turnover, sweats and the pollutionaround. This leads to a 'scale' formation onthe scalp which is not only unhygienic butcan also lead to hairfall, itching and even-tually pimples on the forehead and back.

Treatment:Washing your hair often in summer.

Using a medicated shampoo containing 2per cent ketaconozole and ZPTO (zinc

pyrithione).Using home remedies like lemon juice

or curds on scalp before washing the hair.

INCREASED PIGMENTATION: Normal skin and skin with pigmentation

problems seems to look darker whenexposed to the summer sun. This isbecause exposure to sun activates themelanin to rise to the upper layers therebyincreasing pigmentation.

Treatment:1. Avoiding direct sunlight. 2. Using a

sunscreen of a good SPF mixed withcalamine lotion atleast 2-3 times in theday. 3. Using an umbrella and sunglasseswhile going out in the sun and sun visorsfor the car. 4. Using a skin lighteningcream at bedtime. 5. Taking supplementsof vitamin C, folic acid and antioxidants.

Body odour: This is a characteristicunpleasant body smell which is not onlydue to increased sweat accumulation butalso due to a bacterial decomposition ofthe same. This could be quite an embar-rassing condition for many.

To avoid body odour:1. Use loose, cotton clothing. 2. Have a

shower 2-3 times a day. 3. Use a medicat-ed soap especially in the body folds. 4.Use an anti-fungal powder and deodorantin the body folds. 5. Reduce caffeineintake and only drink herbal and green tea.6. Use a fragrance on clothes rather thanon the skin to prevent pigmentation.

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Prevent skin problems in summer

“Something good in the making.. Like reallygood! BOLLYWOOD! Here I come!” The per-son to tweet this is none other than the angry

young man of ‘Bigg Boss 8’. Gautam Gulati is ready toshow his talent on the silver screens now. He is making atransition from the TV world to the glamorous world ofB-town. The excited actor further wrote “Feels good tofinally sign my first Bollywood Film! #dreams. Baaki kidetails, baad mein mere dosto! Asta la vista! #happiness”

Since Gautam got famous on winning India’s biggestreality show, it is reported that he has signed two movies.He would be seen doing comedy as he told the media, “Iplay a con man in the first which rolls on April 1. And afilm director in the second which I will shoot for simulta-neously from April 20. They are both comedies.” Thoughhe has revealed the genre of his films, he is still mum onthe most interesting details! The actor maintains the sus-pense as to who he would be starring opposite- “I havejust 40 minutes of screen time, but I couldn’t resist sign-ing the film because of the leading lady.”

Gautam to becomeBollywood star

Na w a z u d d i nSiddiqui steals theshow with his com-

mendable acting skills. Hewas recently seen in‘Badlapur’ in a negativerole and the characterLayak couldn’t be better!The actor talks about hislatest and upcoming films.

Talking about his charac-ter in ‘Badlapur’, he says,“I did my job but being acommercial film, I wasn’tsure if the audience wouldnotice the finer details, likethe fact that I dye my hairafter coming out of prison.It was suggested that Ishould go to a salon but Ifelt Layak would colourhis hair himself, at home.”The film’s box office col-lections had been gigantic.By the end of third week-end, it had grossed Rs 485million! With this figure, ithad then become the sec-ond highest grosser for theyear. Though the film didoverwhelmingly at the boxoffice, the actor says thatcollections are not on his

priority list – “I enjoy theprocess of making a filmbut once it’s ready forrelease, I move on.” It issurprising to hear howmodest he is, even afterachieving great filmdom.He shares, “I give all myearnings to my brother andtake Rs 500 or may be Rs1000 from him for myneeds. Meri koi khwaishnahin hai, I'm happy mywife, Aaliya, who's beenthrough the struggle withme, is seeing the goodtimes too.”

He then talks about hisupcoming films. “For meit’s not about big or smallfilms but the story anddirector. New directors aremore focused. MountainMan should release inSeptember and Liar’s Diceby the year end. Thesefilms spend a year or twoon the festival circuit.Haramkhor is currently ontour and Dekh IndianCircus did interest somebuyers but beech mein kyahua mujhe pata nahin”

The actor would be seenin Mahira and Shah Rukhstarrer ‘Raees’. He says,“Shah Rukh is a big star.I’d heard the story ofRaees from RahulDholakia, my favouritedirector, two years ago.

Film achchi hai, with a bigproduction house.Role bhiachcha hai. And evenbefore I had signed thefilm people wanted me init. When the offer finallycame, it wasn’t difficult tosay yes.”

When he asked how hefeels working with B-townKhans, he replies- “Great!All of them have beenaround for 25 years ormore which is a really bigdeal for an actor. Theirjourney inspires me.”

Straight from Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Bollywood actresses run prettybusy and have a lot on theirtight schedule. The young

damsel Shruti Haasan is no exception!Looking at what she did recently, onecan infer that Shruti is rather a greatmulti-tasker. It is well known thatShruti pleases her audience with notjust her acting skills. Singing is anoth-er one of her fortes. She is currentlyshooting for her next ‘Gabbar Is Back’.Other than playing the female lead inthe film, Shruti has lent her voice too.The actress surprised people when sherecorded the song in just one hour –and that too without any breaks!Moreover, she managed all this afterhaving a long journey all the way fromthe south to Mumbai. Other than‘Gabbar Is Back’, the actress is busywith a couple of other films too andwas in south India for this purpose.

A source reported to the media onthis matter, “Shruti was shooting in thevillage of Pollachi for one of her films.This is one of 6 films of Shruti’s lineup that releases this year. Amidst herfilms schedules and her numerousbrand shoots, she had just half a day tocomplete this recording. After a 2 hourcar ride to Coimbatore and then a flightto Mumbai, Shruti landed and wentstraight into the recording studio.”

But how did Shruti manage such aquick performance? The source furtherreveals – “She had prepped the song inadvance and had worked on the voic-ing so that she can maximize her out-

put at the studio and that’s exactly whathappened. The music director got whathe wanted from her for the entire songwithin an hour post which she took aflight back to resume her shoot inPollachi.”

Shruti has a lot of projects in hand.She is working on her upcoming‘Welcome Back’ that is a sequel to thefamous 2007 ‘Welcome’. She is play-ing the lead along with John Abraham.The film would hit the screens on 29th

May this year. Yet another Hindi filmshe is busy with is ‘Yaara’ with IrrfanKhan. This one started shooting inJune last year. ‘Rocky Handsome’ isone more film that she is doing withJohn Abraham. Her upcoming Tamilfilm is ‘Poojai’ that is an action masalafilm. ‘Aagadu’ is Shruti’s Teluguaction comedy for which she is doing aspecial song and she has signed for‘Chimbudevan’ – a high budget Tamilfilm as well.

Shruti Haasan singsfor ‘Gabbar Is Back’With Alia Bhatt’s birthday

near, everybody had eyeson what this damsel

would get from her alleged lovers.Though Varun Dhawan got rid ofrumors sometime ago, Alia still hasSidharth Malhotra! The actress’sbirthday was on 15th March andSidharth’s gift was something relat-ed to a recent incident that hadmade headlines. Looking how pret-ty his lady love looks in her seflies,Sid gifted her a camera. This lavishgift is just the right for the‘Highway’ actress. The camera haslatest technology and comes with aspecial feature for clicking selfies.

From what rumors indicate, Alialoved the present and has startedusing it. Alia and Sidhrath havebeen hush hush about their relation-ship. But the actions of the two sayit all. They have been many a timesspotted arriving at and leaving par-ties together. Recently at a promo-tional event, the couple caughteveryone’s attention because ofwhat Sidharth did. Alia was posingfor the camera and the photogra-pher was busy taking her pictures.Sidharth took the camera from thephotographer and started clickingAlia’s pictures! No matter howmuch the couple deny their rela-tionship, one can clearly infer fromtheir off screen chemistry what isgoing on between the two.

Following this photoshootepisode, Alia attended 7th RoyalStag Mirchi Music Awards a few

days later. The reporters were eager to poke

their nose into Miss Bhatt’s affairsand they did- but at the cost of hear-ing a sharp reply from the actress.When they asked her about whatwas going on with SidharthMalhotra, there came Alia’sanswer- “What are you doingtomorrow night and with whom athome? Will you tell me? See this isnot the place to talk about this, andeither way because I love you guysso much, I will tell you that mehanging out with my friends is not a

big deal.”And when she was asked about

the incident when her allegedboyfriend grabbed the camera andcouldn’t stop the click-click, Aliahad an answer for that too. Shesaid, “We joke, we have fun. Hetook the camera because they hadalready taken so many pics and hesaid, ‘Give it to me. You want morepics, I will click it for you.’ So thatway.” Well, this way or that way,people can very well see how theyoung actors are bonding withevery passing day.

Here is what SidharthMalhotra gifted Alia Bhatt