CHICAGO (TIP): Michael Kuruvilla is set to make history as the first Malayalee American police chief in the US when he becomes head of the police force in Brookfield, a Chicago, Illinois, suburb. Currently Deputy Chief, Kuruvilla, 37, the first Indian-American hired by Brookfield police in 2006, is expected to take over from Edward Petrak, who is stepping down as chief effective July 12. Recommending Kuruvilla as his successor to Village Manager Timothy Wiberg, Petrak said. “We just have a great, talented bench of people here and for years and years to come.”
“I’m not ready to announce anything yet, but [Kuruvilla] would sure seem to be the logical way to go,” Wiberg told local Riverside-Brookfield Landmark. “I’ll be posting the job internally first and see what that results in.”
Kuruvilla was presented with the “40 Under 40” Award by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the world’s largest and most influential professional association for police leaders, in September 2020.
In nominating Kuruvilla for the award, Petrak wrote that his deputy was “an up-and-coming leader in our ever-changing field of law enforcement.
“Over the last 14 years, I have watched Mike grow from an eager learner to a true leader in our police department. His positive and progressive attitude is infectious and makes him a strong, naturally suited leader.”
Kuruvilla, joined the department in 2006 after obtaining a master’s degree in social work and then working as a police crisis worker in Brookfield.
“Although I have shed the formal title of social worker, my job still requires mediating between and for people in crisis and discord almost daily,” Kuruvilla wrote in his application for the award.
“Our profession has shifted immensely in recent years to increased mental health awareness, and I have proudly led the charge to model and teach my department members and those in neighboring communities how best to serve those in need.”
In addition to his role as a deputy police chief, Kuruvilla and his wife volunteer with a nonprofit that serves the needs of at-risk women victimized by the adult entertainment industry and human/sex trafficking. Kuruvilla has been a member of the organization’s board for more than six years.
“My ability and the opportunity to provide someone who may be suffering and in pain even just a moment of reprieve and peace is important and fulfilling to me,” Kuruvilla wrote.
“Kuruvilla has risen through the ranks of the Village of Brookfield Police Department rapidly leading into his 15th year of service due to his balanced approach, gifted intelligence, and perseverance,” according to his official profile.
In his command role, he oversees patrol and investigations and serves as the secondary lead for the entire department. He consistently exemplifies leadership, including stepping up to serve as acting chief during two major incidents while still a lieutenant.
He has also procured a grant to secure bulletproof vests for officers, taken the lead in understanding the state’s new laws regarding cannabis, and served for six years as president of the police union before his promotion to lieutenant, it said.
Kuruvilla has the distinction of being both the first Indian American hired at Brookfield and the first officer in the department to complete crisis intervention training.
Kuruvilla is also a board member and law enforcement liaison for a nonprofit that serves the needs of women victimized by the human and sex trafficking.
Finding motivation in helping those experiencing crises or chaos, Kuruvilla holds a deep sense of service and is proud to administer justice in his role as an officer, IACP noted.
“My ability and the opportunity to provide someone who may be suffering and in pain even just a moment of reprieve and peace is important and fulfilling to me,” he was quoted as saying.
NEW YORK (TIP): Every time a power list comes out or an Indian American success story is mentioned, typically it is the name of some of the most famous men of Indian origin. However, alongside every big stalwart like Sundar Pichai or Satya Nadella is also the success story of some Indian American women, who are making more than a dent in the glass-ceiling. The American Bazaar lists the top 3 richest Indian origin women in America today who are not just inspiring a new generation of immigrant women, but are changing the power dynamics in boardrooms too.
Jayshree Ullal, Net Worth: $1.43 billion
The president and CEO of Arista Networks, Jayshree Ullal is the topmost name when it comes to richest and most successful Indian origin woman in business in America today.
Ullal has the distinction of being the only Indian origin woman in the US to make it to the Forbes Billionaire Club. Ullal’s story is especially significant because her chart to success is totally self-made. Ullal’s success story, Arista Networks is a computer networking firm headquartered in Santa Clara. Ullal was appointed the CEO of Arista Networks in 2008. Before that she had worked in Cisco for 15 years.
Ullal was also featured on Forbes 2018 list of billionaires for her net worth $1.43 billion.
The London born and Delhi raised girl, Ullal came to the US at the age of 16 as a student. She graduated in electrical engineering from San Francisco State University and did her master’s in engineering management from Santa Clara University.
Ullal got a big break in her career when Cisco Systems acquired Crescendo Communications and she was made senior vice president of Data Center & Switching.
Ullal was also the first woman to receive the Entrepreneurial and Leadership award in Silicon Valley in 1999. Ullal owns about 5% of Arista’s stock. She lives in Saratoga, California.
Neerja Sethi, Net Worth: $1 billion
The next name on the big list is Neerja Sethi. Sethi’s success story began when she cofounded IT consulting and outsourcing firm Syntel with her husband Bharat Desai back in 1980.
What began in the couples’ small apartment in Troy, Michigan turned into a global success story. In 2018 French IT firm Atos SE bought Syntel for $3.4 billion. Sethi got an estimated $510 million for her stake.
Sethi, who has been working as an executive at Syntel since 1980, did not join Atos after the acquisition.
Sethi and her husband worked for IT firm Tata Consulting Services and met at work. Together they tried to create a similar model. They began their venture by investing just $2,000 out of their pocket.
Neha Narkhede, Net worth: $600 million
Neha Narkhede is cofounder and chief technology officer of Confluent, a streaming data technology company currently valued at $4.5 billion.
Narkhede’s first job was at Oracle, where she worked as a principal software engineer. She then joined LinkedIn as lead of streams infrastructure.
In 2011, Narkhede along with her colleagues Jun Rao and Jay Kreps created the Platform Apache Kafka. In 2014 she co-founded Confluent, a Palo Alto based startup.
She is also the co-author of the book “Kafka: The Definitive Guide.”
She along with her team at Confluent raised $125 million in 2019, bringing its total funding to $206 million in 2019.
And in April 2020, the company raised $250 million bringing its total funding to $456 million.
Pune born Narkhede studied at the University of Pune where she got her BSc degree in engineering. She did her MSc in technology from Georgia Tech.
History of a nation is probably one of the most important aspects of a nation’s life. History is the best educator and also the most important index of human mind. It is a record of human achievements and failures; of humanity and inhumanity of human beings; of the beauty and the ugliness of human life. Never to be ignored, history remains the best friend of a person, a community and a nation. Let us know our history.
In commemoration of the 4th of July, The Indian Panorama will bring toreaders, beginning July 2, 2021, the significant events from the US History, week after weeks.
July 2
July 2, 1776 – The Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the following resolution, originally introduced on June 7, by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia: “Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances. That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.”
July 2, 1788 – Congress announced the United States Constitution had been ratified by the required nine states and that a committee had been appointed to make preparations for the new American government.
July 2, 1881 – President James A. Garfield was shot and mortally wounded as he entered a railway station in Washington, D.C. He died on September 19th.
July 2, 1917 – A race riot occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, resulting in an estimated 75 African Americans killed and hundreds injured. To protest the violence against blacks, W.E.B. DuBois and James Weldon Johnson later led a silent march down Fifth Avenue in New York.
July 2, 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race in public accommodations, publicly owned or operated facilities, employment and union membership and in voter registration. The Act allowed for cutoff of Federal funds in places where discrimination remained.
Birthday – The first African American on the U.S. Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Nominated by President Johnson, he began his 24-year career on the High Court in 1967.
July 3
July 3, 1775 – During the American Revolution, George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
July 3, 1976 – The raid on Entebbe airport in Uganda occurred as an Israeli commando unit rescued 103 hostages on a hijacked Air France airliner. The jet had been en route from Tel Aviv to Paris when it was hijacked by pro-Palestinian guerrillas. Three hostages, seven hijackers and twenty Ugandan soldiers were killed during the rescue.
July 3, 1988 – Iran Air Flight 655 was destroyed while flying over the Persian Gulf after the U.S. Navy Warship Vincennes fired two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 290 passengers aboard. A subsequent U.S. military inquiry cited stress related human failure for the mistaken identification of the civilian airbus as an enemy F-14 fighter jet.
July 4
The Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776itter
July 4, 1776 – The Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress.
July 4, 1863- Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrendered to General Grant and the Army of the West after a six-week siege. With the Union in control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy was effectively split in two, cut off from its western allies.
July 4, 1882 – The “Last Great Buffalo Hunt” began on Indian reservation lands near Hettinger, North Dakota as 2,000 Teton Sioux Indians in full hunting regalia killed about 5,000 buffalo. By this time, most of the estimated 60-75 million buffalo in America had been killed by white hunters who usually took the hides and left the meat to rot. By 1883, the last of the free-ranging buffalo were gone.
Birthday – Novelist and short-story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His works included The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance.
Birthday – Song writer Stephen Foster (1826-1864) was born in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. Among his nearly 200 songs were Oh! Susanna, Camptown Races, Swanee River, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, and Beautiful Dreamer. He died in poverty at Bellevue Hospital in New York.
Birthday – Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) the 30th U.S. President was born in Plymouth, Vermont. He became President on August 3, 1923, after the death of Warren G. Harding. In 1924, Coolidge was elected President but did not run for re-election in 1928.
July 5
July 5, 1775- The Continental Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition expressing hope for a reconciliation with Britain. However, King George III refused even to look at the petition and instead issued a proclamation declaring the colonists to be in a state of open rebellion.
Birthday – Civil War Admiral David Farragut (1801-1870) was born near Knoxville, Tennessee. He is best remembered for his yelling “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” during an attack on his fleet by the Confederates.
Birthday – Promoter and showman P.T. Barnum (1810-1891) was born in Bethel, Connecticut. His American Museum opened in 1842, exhibiting unusual acts such as the Feejee Mermaid, Siamese Twins Chang and Eng, and General Tom Thumb. In 1871, Barnum opened “The Greatest Show on Earth” in Brooklyn, New York. He later merged with rival J.A. Bailey to form the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Birthday – Cecil J. Rhodes (1853-1902) was born at Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. As a South African millionaire and politician, he was said to have once controlled 90 percent of the world’s diamond production. His will established the Rhodes Scholarships at Oxford University for young scholars aged 18-25. Rhodesia was also named for him.
July 6
Louis Pasteur gave the first successful anti-rabies inoculation to a boy who had been bitten by an infected dog on July 6, 1885
July 6, 1885 – Louis Pasteur gave the first successful anti-rabies inoculation to a boy who had been bitten by an infected dog.
Birthday – Revolutionary War Naval Officer John Paul Jones (1747-1792) was born in Kirkbean, Scotland. He is best remembered for responding “I have not yet begun to fight!” to British opponents seeking his surrender during a naval battle.
July 7
July 7, 1898 – President William McKinley signed a resolution annexing Hawaii. In 1900, Congress made Hawaii an incorporated territory of the U.S., which it remained until becoming a state in 1959.
Birthday – Baseball pitcher Leroy R. (Satchel) Paige (1906-1982) was born in Mobile, Alabama. Following a career in the Negro Leagues, he became, at age 42, the first African American pitcher in the American League. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
July 8
July 8, 1776 – The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence occurred as Colonel John Nixon read it to an assembled crowd in Philadelphia.
July 8, 1943 – During the Nazi occupation of France, Resistance leader Jean Moulin died following his arrest and subsequent torture by the Gestapo. He had been sent by the Allies into France in 1942 to unite the fledgling Underground movement. In June of 1943, he was arrested in Lyon, tortured for eleven days but betrayed no one. He died aboard a train while being transferred to a concentration camp.
Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979) was born in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Birthday – Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979) was born in Bar Harbor, Maine. He served as Governor of New York from 1958 to 1973. He became vice-president under Gerald Ford in 1974, serving until January 20, 1977.
Cinema Village, after a year without cinemas in New York City, independent movie theater owner Nicolas Nicolaou has invited Abel Ferrara to jump start the re-opening of Cinema Village – now in its 58th year of operation – for a week-long retrospective and tribute to movie-going running Wednesday, June 30 through Thursday, July 8.
As a further celebration of the independent spirit, tickets for all shows will be $5.00. A ticket gets a filmgoer into any other show that day that is not sold out.
To kick things off, the advance screening Tuesday, June 29, 7:30 pm of the documentary “THE PROJECTIONIST” will be free. Ferrara and his band will be playing in the street that night. “Come share a movie in one of the great old school theaters,” said Ferrara.
Filmgoers are invited to join in celebrating a special screening of Ferrara’s newest film SIBERIA (Lionsgate), starring Willem Dafoe, alongside the New York theatrical premiere of “THE PROJECTIONIST” (Kino Lorber) a love letter to legendary New York City indie cinema impresario Nicolas Nicolaou himself and his four-decade legacy of operating the city’s most distinct neighborhood theaters. Nicolaou currently owns and operates Cinema Village in Manhattan, Alpine Cinemas in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and Cinemart in Forest Hills, Queens.
Cinema Village is located at 22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003 (east of Broadway). Tickets may be purchased in advance at cinemavillage.com or in-person at the box office.
‘ABEL FERRARA’S CINEMA VILLAGE’
PROGRAM (in alphabetical order)
4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH
DIR: Abel Ferrara l 1h 22m
In a large apartment high above the city lives our couple. They’re in love. Skye (Shanyn Leigh) is a painter, Cisco (Willem Dafoe) is a successful actor. Tomorrow at 4:44 am, the world will come to an end far more rapidly than even the worst doomsayer could have imagined. There will be no survivors. As always, there are those who, as their last cigarette is being lit and the blindfold tightened, will still hope against hope for some kind of reprieve. For a miracle. Not our two lovers. They – like the majority of the Earth’s population – have accepted their fate: the world is going to end. Starring: Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh.
THE CONFORMIST
DIR: Bernardo Bertolucci l 1h 48m
Synopsis: A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
THE DRILLER KILLER
DIR: Abel Ferrara l 1h 41m
An artist slowly goes insane from struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings and care for his two female roommates. This leads him to the streets of New York after dark where he randomly kills derelicts with a power drill.
DESPERATE LIVING
DIR: John Waters l 1h 30m
A neurotic society woman murders her husband with the help of her maid and, on the lam, escapes to Mortville, a homeless community ruled over by a fascist queen.
EL TOPO
DIR: Alejandro Jodorowsky l 2h 5m
A mysterious black-clad gunfighter wanders a mystical Western landscape encountering multiple bizarre characters.
HAPPY LIFE
DIR: Michael M. Bilandic l 1h 13m
New York Tunez, an all techno record store, is going under. The owner, Keith, a down and out trance DJ, struggles to cope with the changing cultural climate. In a final effort to save the store he organizes a rave. Unfortunately, 2009 is a far cry from the early ’90’s.
HONKY KONG
DIR: Stephen Gurewitz l 1h 18m
While touring Hong Kong on a work trip, an American chef stomachs the mounting regrets of a tumultuous affair from his past. Starring Sean Price Williams and Hannah Gross.
45
DIR: Abel Ferrara l 1h 20m
A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol. Starring: Zoë Lund, Bogey, and Albert Sinkys.
PASOLINI
DIR: Abel Ferrara l 1h 24m
A kaleidoscopic look at the last day of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1975. Starring: Willem Dafoe, Ninetto Davoli, Riccardo Scamarcio
cinemavillage.com/Now-Playing/pasolini-1.html
THE PROJECTIONIST
DIR: Abel Ferrara l 1h 21m
“The Projectionist,” by Abel Ferrara, the director of controversial cinema, traces the life and livelihood of friend and fellow cinephile Nicolas “Nick” Nicolaou, a Cypriot immigrant who moved to America as a young boy and began working as a teenager in a small neighborhood movie theater around Manhattan, defying gentrification, changing viewing habits and corporate dominance in the 1980’s, only to emerge decades later as one of New York City’s last independent theater owners (he currently operates Manhattan’s Cinema Village, Bay Ridge’s Alpine Cinemas and Forest Hills’ Cinemart). At once a walking tour of New York City’s evolving theatrical landscape, a history of movie-going over the last 50 years, and a moving tribute to friendship, tenacity and movie love, The Projectionist is an indelible tribute and timely paean to what going to the movies is all about. Starring: Abel Ferrara and Nicolas Nicolaou. cinemavillage.com/Now-Playing/the-projectionist.html
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
DIR: Jim Sharman l 1h 40m
A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
SIBERIA
DIR: Abel Ferrara l 1h 32m l
Clint is a damaged man who has retreated to a wintry remote mountain cabin where he hopes to find serenity. He runs a modest cafe where the rare traveler or native of the region visits. But even in his relative isolation he cannot find peace nor escape. On a fateful evening, to confront himself, he begins a journey by dogsled to the world he once knew. He travels through dreams, memory and imagination in an attempt to find his true nature. Starring: Willem Dafoe.
https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/siberia
TOMMASO
DIR: Abel Ferrara l 1h 55m
The story of an American artist living in Rome with his young European wife Nikki and their 3-year-old daughter, Dee Dee. Starring: Willem Dafoe, Cristina Chiriac, and Anna Ferrara.
You will be pampered a lot by your family today. They need to feel appreciated for their efforts towards you. You won’t face any major problems in your life today and it will only keep getting better. Do not rush into things and think about the next step. Your work needs a lot of time and attention from you, hence think twice before you decide to take this relationship further.
July 6
You will be relaxed in terms of your work to the point of being lazy as things will simply work out without requiring your time or effort. Luck is on your side when it comes to business and finances today. Your wellbeing will improve over the past few days, and positivity will arrive in your relationships. There is nothing that you can’t handle if you chose to remain calm and peaceful. Focus on being kind caring and gentle and make way for a very long-lasting relationship.
July 7
You will spend a lot of quality time with your loved ones. Your health will be good today but you will need to work on improving it even more. Even though you will have a lot of work today, it will be very beneficial for you. Any health concerns that you previously had will be alleviated today. Any situation that was causing you a lot of stress and hence health issues is likely to be resolved and hence you feel a lot better today.
July 8
A happy and jolly day for you today. Be prepared for a lot of amazing surprises. You are extremely close to finding that person that will support you in everything. Be open to the affection being shown to you. Today is a great day for your life to flourish into the next big thing. You will do okay today if you do not let your thoughts get to you as today is a sensitive day for you. Avoid any kind of stress today because your health is totally in your hands and you will need to make today count by making the correct choices.
July 9
Work on being resilient and self-reliant today, it will save you from a lot of losses in the future. Your business has been pretty down lately. Today might be different, do not over think and waste your time, keep working instead. Make sure you focus on yourself today and do not waste time on anyone else today.
July 10
You will experience a positive shift in your life today, which will keep you happy and bubbly throughout the day. Today you’re doing great in your life. Consider that the stars are in your favor today. Great things are coming your way. You will meet some new friends today which will be good for you.
July 11
Finances and prosperity are on your way today. Due to the immense luck, you have today. This could mean that at work you’ll be more satisfied with less amount of work. Make sure you make the most of the luck that you have today because it won’t last long. You will earn a lot of money from a new prospect today and all of your colleagues might be a little jealous of you today. The stars are really making you be the best you can be today. You’ll be really happy today, thinking about the deal you closed today.
This week you will be silly and immature because you’re laid back this week. You should thank your lucky stars because you will get away with everything and make sure that you’re not taking too many risks. Eventhough motivation is not your biggest virtue this week, you can still manage to do your best this week. You will get to learn a lot about your partner’s nature and behavior when things don’t work out their way which will help you feel secure about being in a relationship with them.
Taurus
You will love your business very much this week hence you will like to work under deadlines and pressures this week. Your passion for your business speaks volumes to you. You are always fearless and inspiring. You will do well if you work hard as well as smart this week. Things will be much better for you on the health aspect if you can stay calm and keep your mind tension free. The root cause of most of the health issues is stress this week.
Gemini
You’re likely to go on a spiritual journey this week, to find your purpose and life and get to know yourself better. This week will be quite intense for you but in a positive way. Your loved ones will not bother you and let you do your thing which is exactly what you need this week. You won’t spend much time with your loved one this week but things will be great between you and your loved one. You will receive an unexpected amount of empathy from them which will make you feel very confident about your relationship.
Cancer
Great opportunities will come to you this week, be careful about them, they can really work in your favor in the near future. Focus on outsourcing your work; it will be beneficial for your personal as well as professional life because you need to give your attention and time to both. Your health is doing good. It’s neither too great nor too bad. You might be overwhelmed with the amount of work you have, so remember to take out time for your health; it will pay you in the future. Physically you might need some help you get through all the obstacles this week as it will be a little tiring, but you will receive all the help you need easily.
Leo
Tough week for your Business this week as it will suddenly spiral downwards, you need to pick up the slack this week itself before it gets even worse. You will have to become the inspiration and motivate your employees this week, as they will be quite disappointed and low from the sudden blow to your business.
Virgo
Your love life is progressing rapidly. Taking the next step will be a good idea this week as you feel secured and confident in your partner. Their behaviorthis week will make you take the next step, as they are extremely supportive and pull their weight in this relationship. You have received more than you asked when it comes to your partner.
Libra
This week brings a minor health warning that you could suffer from long time cough and cold. At the same time, you might find that you are recovering from a disease, and you will need to take some time to care about yourself this week. If you are careful about what you eat and how you exercise, you will do amazing health wise and recover fairly quickly.
Scorpio
Your love life will be better than it’s ever been. If you have been trying to get a specific someone’s attention for a while now, luck will be with you this week. Live in the moment and try not to rush things. Your partner may have a good attitude towards you which will lead to solutions of misunderstandings. Your relationship which has been stuck at the same stage since a while now will move forward this week. You will experience a new sense of being this week as your relationship moves forward due to your efforts.
Sagittarius
This week is just a relatively easy week for you as you work with your team with ease and also have a lot of fun at work this week. Your work life will be the most positive part of your week. A very productive week is on its way for you this week. You will have a lot of work to do, which you will thoroughly enjoy.
Capricorn
Positive energies are mild for you this week. You have been lazy for a while now and the consequences of that are showing up this week. While it might seem like a negative thing, it is actually the biggest positive for you this week and it will help you in the long run to be more responsible.
Aquarius
You will feel really content and secure in your relationship this week. You can rest assured that this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and work on being the best partner yourself. You will face some serious and unavoidable obstacles in your business this week. You will find yourself alone in the entire mess as your business partner is likely to flee the wrecked ship. Your spouse will help you get out of this mess but they can only help you to a certain level. You will need to pull your weight when it comes to working hard this week.
Pisces
This week you will realize the importance of your family as you will have to go through something very challenging and difficult in your life this week itself. Make sure to express your gratitude to them and apologies for your past mistakes genuinely. Embarking on an unknown journey alone will be nerve wrecking even for someone who is as confident as you. You need to work on being disciplined and being punctual if you want to succeed as a lot of work and a lot less time lies ahead of you.
SOUTHAMPTON (TIP): India’s revered superstars failed to dazzle on the ‘D-Day’ as New Zealand’s canny operators and their classy skipper Kane Williamson deservingly walked away with the inaugural World Test Championship title after a composed eight-wicket win in the final that exposed multiple frailties in Virat Kohli’s team.
Just like that overcast morning at the Old Trafford two years back, India’s batsmen fluffed their morning lines against a familiar opposition, albeit with the red Dukes, and were skittled out for 170 on the best day for batting in a game marred by inclement weather.
A target of 139 wasn’t going to be difficult and Williamson (52 not out), after a brilliant match as captain, played sublime drives in a short chase on a balmy reserve day which was used to compensate for two days of cricket being lost to rain.
There was the trademark serene smile on his face which widened following a hug from his mate Ross Taylor (47 not out) in a very low-key celebration for a team that is high-profile in its own right.
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s two early wickets raised hopes of a twist in the tale but Williamson and Taylor doused them one patient stroke at a time. Perhaps the cricket Gods wanted a course correction for Williamson and his men, who were left high and dry during that evening at the Lord’s where twist of cruel fate and horrible rules robbed them off deserving glory in the 2019 World Cup.
That was not to be the case on Wednesday when their bowlers choked India, who seemed to be in pursuit of a draw to lay their hands on the glittering mace.
Williamson’s pacers completely rejected their idea and ensured that a World Cup had one winner and the deserving one at that.
For Kohli, this is the third failure in big ICC events after the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup.
He might just have one more shot, which is the T20 World Cup this year, and failing to win that could warrant some changes in the team hierarchy. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is worshipped because of three ICC trophies and it was ironical that India’s abject surrender happened on the same date on which the revered former skipper won the Champions Trophy in the same country eight summers back.
When India batted, it was only Rishabh Pant (41), who was ready to live and die by the sword while his seniors found it difficult to play the game of survival against the canniest of pace attacks.
By tea, India had another batting disaster with only 170 runs in their second innings leaving New Zealand with a target that they were expected to chase.
It was one of the worst batting performances on a good track with sun beating down.
Williamson is probably one of the few captains who have now got the Indian team out for less than 250 in six consecutive innings, a testimony to his brilliant cricketing acumen and near the perfect execution of plans by his bowlers.
Tim Southee (4/48) did the early damage with his swing bowling, Neil Wagner (1/44) bowled those hard “rib cage” overs coming round the stumps and Trent Boult (3/44), with his ability to bring it back into the left-hander, made for a brilliant few hours of Test cricket.
And then there was India’s nemesis Kyle Jamieson (2/30), who got his “bunny” Kohli third time in three Tests and twice in one to put the icing on the cake.
Pant fought for two and half hours for his 41 but it was more intent and less content as a cavalier devil may care approach didn’t get him too many runs.
The catch that Henry Nicholls took while running backwards was as good as one would witness at this level.
Pant’s dismissal did hamper India’s chances but before that an inspirational piece of captaincy from Williamson left an indelible mark.He got Wagner to come round the wicket to Jadeja and the left-arm “pounder” went wide enough to nearly cut the side crease and angled one for Jadeja to nick it behind the stumps.
Pant’s approach of dealing with the New Zealand attack was better than just being in the shell, something that did more harm than good for Cheteshwar Pujara (15 off 80 balls).
Before Pujara, the extra bounce outside the off-stump had the Indian skipper falling for it and BJ Watling got the easiest of catches in his final game for the Black Caps. Pujara’s abilities of grinding out bowlers have reached mythical proportions and once again he wasn’t looking to score.
The pressure built and Jamieson fired one in with the angle. Pujara wanted to remove his bat but it seemed the ball tailed him and Taylor got a regulation catch.
Ajinkya Rahane (15 off 40 balls) also didn’t last long and as it has happened with India often, their tail didn’t wag save for Mohammed Shami (13), who slashed three fours before Williamson cleverly deployed a “fly third-man” (neither short third-man nor the traditional third man) for the shot, which promptly landed in the fielder’s palms.
It was a day when everything went haywire for India and poor captaincy made matters worse. Source: PTI
Sant Kabirdas (1440-1518 circa) was a famous poet, saint and social reformer of India. His writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. Kabir Panth which is a religious community recognizes him as its founder and its members are known as Kabir Panthis, the followers of Saint Kabirdas.
His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar. The major part of Kabir’s work was collected by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, and incorporated into the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib. The hallmark of Kabir’s work consists of his two line couplets, known as Kabir Ke Dohe.
The birth anniversary of Sant Kabir is observed on Jyeshtha Purnima as per Hindu lunar calendar.
Sant Kabir is considered to be one of the greatest poets as well as mystics ever born in India. He believed that human beings are equal and being one with God is the ultimate aim of every individual. His love and devotion towards the Supreme One clearly reflects in his poetry. The Holy Guru Granth Sahib contains over 500 verses by the great saint, Kabir. The verses or dohas of Guru Kabir are still read by people with awe and admiration. Read on to explore the biography of Sant Kabir further.
Early Life
As per the life history of Saint Kabir, he was born in 1398 AD. It is said that he was found floating on a lotus leaf in a tank in Benaras by a Muslim weaver. The weaver took the vulnerable child under his care and following the traditional manner, gave him the name of ‘Kabir’, meaning ‘the great one’. Even at a young age, Kabir displayed enormous spiritual talent.
Meeting his Guru
Kabir always wanted to become a disciple of Ramanand. However, since he was a Muslim, it was next to impossible for him to get initiation from a Hindu. So, he took recourse to a trick. Ramanand daily went to the bathing ghat for his pre-dawn ritual ablutions. Kabir lay on the steps of the ghat in such a way that Ramanand stepped on him. Shocked at this incident, he chanted ‘Rama! Rama!’. Kabir said that since he had received teachings from him, in the form of the words ‘Rama! Rama!’, he was Ramanand’s disciple. Impressed with the intelligence of Kabir, Ramanand took him as his disciple.
Guru Kabir ke Dohe
The hallmark of Kabir’s works consists of his two line couplets, known as the ‘Kabir ke Dohe’. The Dohas reflect the deep philosophical thinking of the poet saint.
Philosophy
Sant Kabir believed in the Vedantic concepts of atman. He always advocated the Impersonal Aspect of God (Nirguna) and therefore, was against idol worship. As per his view, all human beings are equal and the societal caste system that is so widely prevalent in our country is fallacious. He said that true guru is the one who can be attained through direct experience. The common ways of realizing God, like chanting, austerities, etc, are worthless.
Teachings
Kabir spent much of his time in the company of Hindu ascetics, saints and Muslim sufis. So he imbibed the tenets of both the religions and realized the best of both. Allah and Ram were but names of the same God. He was to be found neither in temples nor in mosques, neither in Benares nor in Mecca but only in the heart of a true devotee.
Kabir’s philosophical tenets were extremely simple. He was known as the guiding spirit of the Bhakti Movement. He preached Bhakti or ‘Devotion’ through the medium of his ‘Dohas’. Kabir’s Dohas touched everybody’s heart and he was endeared by all. Following are the aspects on which kabir has expressed his ideas;
Love
Love for all was Kabir’s principal tenet. He emphasized that love was the only medium which could bind the entire human kind in an unbreakable bond of fraternity. Kabir detested the frivolities and rituals in Hinduism and Islam for, these could never bind together mankind. Hence he advised all to give up hatred and perpetuate love for one and all.
God
God was the focal point of Kabir’s religion and Kabir addressed him in different names. In his opinion God alone was Ram, Rahim, Govind, Allah, Khuda, Hari etc. But for Kabir, ‘Saheb’ was his favorite name. He said god was everywhere and His domain is unlimited. God was pure, sacred, existing, without form, light, endless and inseparatable. Hence God was all powerful and he could only be worshipped through love and devotion. In whatever name one addresses Him, God is one and has no second. Hence Kabir preached Monotheism.
Teacher
In Kabir’s dictum the Teacher or ‘Guru’ has been accorded the prime position. The teacher according to him was the incarnation of God. Kabirs had this realization only when he came in contact with Ramananda. It was the guidance of a teacher that led man in the proper direction and helped him in developing the right insight.
The Path of Bhakti
Kabir stressed that the only way to attain God was through the path of Bhakti. Intense love and devotion would surely lead one to the ultimate attainment of Godhood. Total submission at His feet helps one to reach him and this should be the ultimate goal of all was what Kabir emphasized. For this no rituals or ceremonies were needed, only purity of heart and unflinching devotion were the two essentials. Hence Kabir advised his followers to attain Godhood through the path of Bhakti.
Soul
Matters relating the soul were an integral part of Kabir’s spiritual messages. Soul according to him was life, breath and knowledge. It was a part of the ‘ultimate knowledge’. The soul itself was the creation and it also was the creator. It was also the knowledge and the knowledgeable. The soul was the creator of all things, it also was the destroyer. In Kabir’s opinion cows may be of different colours but milk was the same.
Hence, though different ideas and thoughts may be merging together, soul remained the same. Soul was one, inseparable and self-creating. It was the greatest creation of God. Kabir propounded many different views on soul. Hence it became very difficult to have an exact defamation of the soul.
Impermanence of the world
Kabir asserted the impermanence of all things in the world. All living and non living things like insects, animals, trees, rivers, mountains and human beings are only temporary and all would cease to exist some day. He advised his followers not to lament the death of something which was bound to die. Hence he emphasized that in this impermanent world, the only truth and permanent reality was God, who could be attained thought Bhakti.
Salvation
Liberation or salvation was another contention of Kabir. Liberation implied freedom from the pangs of life and death. Liberation according to him was a state of “fearlessness”. By citing an example he said just as water flows out of a hole in a pot and mixes with the water outside, similarly, after death the individual soul moves out of the gross body to merge with the cosmic soul. This is liberation.
New Delhi (TIP): S&P Global Ratings on Thursday, June 24, cut India’s growth forecast for the current fiscal to 9.5 per cent, from 11 per cent earlier, and warned of risk to the outlook from further waves of Covid pandemic. The agency lowered the growth outlook saying that a severe second Covid outbreak in April and May led to lockdowns imposed by states and sharp contraction in economic activity. “We forecast growth of 9.5 per cent this fiscal year from our March forecast of 11 per cent,” S&P said.
Stating that permanent damage to private and public sector balance sheets would constrain growth over the next couple of years, it projected India’s growth at 7.8 per cent in the next fiscal ending March 31, 2023.
“Further pandemic waves are a risk to the outlook given that only about 15 per cent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose so far, although vaccine supplies are expected to ramp up,” S&P said.
Indian economy contracted by 7.3 per cent in fiscal 2020-21 as the country battled the first wave of Covid, as against a 4 per cent growth in 2019-20.
GDP growth in the current fiscal was estimated to be in double digits initially, but a severe second wave of pandemic has led to various agencies cut growth projections.
Earlier this month, the RBI also cut India’s growth forecast to 9.5 per cent for this fiscal, from 10.5 per cent estimated earlier.
It said manufacturing and exports were less severely affected compared with 2020, but services were acutely disrupted. Consumption indicators such as vehicle sales fell sharply in May 2021 and consumer confidence remains downbeat. Source: PTI
New Delhi (TIP): About 40 percent of the money lost by banks in alleged frauds perpetrated by fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya has been recovered so far, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said after the sale of attached shares worth over Rs 5,800 crore on Wednesday, June 23.
According to the agency, the latest sale proceeds take the total value of recovery to Rs 9,041.5 crore, or 40 per cent of the over Rs 22,000 crore allegedly defrauded by the trio.
Commenting on the development, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted, “Fugitives & economic offenders will be actively pursued; their properties attached & dues recovered.”
The three, who fled overseas as probe against them gathered pace, are being investigated by central investigative agencies such as the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after they were alleged to have cheated banks, and these frauds have been categorised as among the country’s biggest criminal loan heist till date.
The central agency gave the low-down on these two cases — the estimated Rs 13,000 crore fraud allegedly carried out by diamond trader Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others in the Brady House branch of PNB in Mumbai and the about Rs 9,000 crore Kingfisher Airlines fraud triggered by Mallya — in a statement issued here.
It said the three “defrauded” public sector banks by siphoning off the funds through their companies which resulted in total loss of over Rs 22,000 crore (Rs 22,585.83 crore in definite numbers) to a clutch of banks.
The ED, empowered to probe such cases under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), went on to attach and seize total assets worth Rs 18,170.02 crore in these two cases that included Rs 969 crore worth of properties “located” abroad.
“The quantum of the attached and seized assets represent 80.45 per cent of the total bank loss of Rs 22,585.83 crore,” the ED said.
On Wednesday, out of these attached assets, the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) on behalf of an SBI-led consortium that lent money to Mallya sold fresh shares worth Rs 5,824.50 crore of United Breweries Limited (UBL), the agency said.
San Francisco (tip): Tech giant Microsoft reached a $2 trillion market capitalisation in trading, joining a small group of global companies that have crossed that threshold — including Apple.
Apple reached its own $2 trillion market cap back in August 2020.
Despite hitting $2 trillion in intraday trading on Tuesday, Microsoft’s valuation was about $300 million shy of the high-water mark by the time markets closed, AppleInsider reported.
Like Apple, Microsoft has benefitted from the work-from-home and remote education boom created as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since March 2020, when lockdowns began, Microsoft’s stock has surged 64 per cent.
Back in April, the company reported that its sales had risen 19 per cent year-over-year to $41.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020.
As of writing, Apple’s market valuation standards at $2.24 trillion, the report said.
Some analysts believe the Cupertino tech giant could become the first to hit a $3 trillion market cap within a few years. Along with the technology giants, oil company Saudi Aramco also once surpassed the $2 trillion mark. On Tuesday, its market valuation was $1.88 trillion.
Washington (TIP): Two astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) has successfully completed the deployment of solar arrays, which will soak up the sun’s energy to provide electrical power for the numerous research and science investigations conducted every day, as well as the continued operations of the orbiting platform.
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet in their eighth spacewalk of the year outside the ISS deployed the new ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) on the far end of the left (port) side of the station’s backbone truss structure.
The new iROSA was delivered to the ISS by the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft early this month. A Kimbrough and Pesquet successfully unfolded the solar array, bolted it into place, and connected cables to the station’s power supply to complete deployment.
In addition, the astronauts removed and stowed hardware in preparation for releasing the second iROSA from the flight support structure for installation.
The pair will work toward the second solar array upgrade, this one on the P6 truss’ 4B power channel, during another spacewalk.
The first pair of solar arrays were deployed in December 2000, with additional array pairs delivered in September 2006, June 2007, and March 2009. The first pair of solar arrays have provided continuous electrical power to the station for more than 20 years and are now showing signs of degradation, NASA said.
Developed by space infrastructure company Redwire, the iROSA or “flex blanket” solar array, which is around 3,000 pounds, was loaded in Dragon’s unpressurised trunk.
Each of SpaceX Dragon’s cargo launch missions will carry two arrays. Once installed, the six iROSA arrays will collectively produce over 120KW of power.
According to Redwire, the new iROSA arrays will improve the ISS’s power generation by 20-30 per cent.
Hubble telescope on halt after trouble
with payload computer: NASA
US Space agency NASA continues to work on the payload computer on the Hubble Space Telescope, which halted probably due to a degrading memory module.
Hubble, which has been watching the universe over the past 30 years, faced trouble with its payload computer on June 13. An attempt to restart the computer failed on June 14, NASA said.
“NASA continues to work on resolving an issue with the payload computer on the Hubble Space Telescope. The operations team will be running tests and collecting more information on the system to further isolate the problem. The science instruments will remain in a safe mode state until the issue is resolved. The telescope itself and science instruments remain in good health,” the space agency said in a statement.
The agency’s initial findings pointed to a degrading computer memory module as the source of the computer halt. When the operations team attempted to switch to a back-up memory module, however, the command to initiate the back-up module failed to complete.
Another attempt was conducted on both modules to obtain more diagnostic information while again trying to bring those memory modules online. However, those attempts were not successful, NASA said.
Bitcoin fell below US$30,000 for the first time since January, briefly erasing gains for the year and adding to losses sparked a day earlier when China’s central bank deepened a crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped to US$28,600, its lowest since early January, after giving up gains made during Asian hours. Its fall also pressured smaller coins such as ether.
Bitcoin tumbled 11per cent on Monday, its largest one-day drop in over a month, with losses of nearly 30per cent in the last week alone almost wiping out gains for the year-to-date. It was last down 2.3per cent at US$30,896.
The sell-off was sparked by the People’s Bank of China urging China’s largest banks and payment firms to crack down harder on cryptocurrency trading, the latest tightening of restrictions on the sector by Beijing.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a detailed probe against Google for alleged anti-competitive practices in the smart television operating systems market in the country.
After assessing a complaint, the watchdog has reached the prima-facie view that Google is dominant in the relevant market for licensable smart TV device operating systems in India.
In the order, the CCI said that prima-facie mandatory pre-installation of all the Google applications under Television App Distribution Agreement (TADA) amounts to imposition of unfair conditions on the smart TV device manufacturers.
France sues Apple over developer contracts tied to App Store
France is suing Apple over allegedly abusive contractual terms imposed on developers and startups that seek to sell their apps on the tech giant’s App Store, a spokesperson for the finance ministry’s consumer fraud watchdog told Reuters. France’s leading startup lobby France Digitale has joined the case, according to a court document seen by Reuters. The case will be heard at Paris’ commercial court on Sept. 17, a spokesperson for the court said. A spokesperson for Apple had no immediate comment.
Windows 11 is now official. Microsoft’s new Windows operating system has debuted nearly six years after the release of Windows 10 that took place in July 2015. The update, which is being called the “next generation” of Windows, comes with a massive redesign over its predecessor, starting from an all-new boot screen and startup sound to a centrally-placed Start menu and upgraded widgets. Windows 11 also removes elements including the annoying “Hi Cortana” welcome screen and Live Tiles. The Redmond, Washington-based company is essentially aiming to counter the likes of macOS and Chrome OS with its latest operating system.
One of the most notable changes, which we already saw in a recently leaked ISO, that Windows 11 brings to the users currently running Windows 10 is the new interface. It starts with a fresh setup screen and continues to give a fresh look and feel across all core Windows elements. There are rounded corners on menus and windows that look similar to the recent iPadOS release. You’ll also see the Start menu at the centre that is aimed at providing a modern experience.
It is for the first time, perhaps since the release of Windows NT 4.0 that was way back in 1996, when we are not seeing the Start menu on the left side — now located centrally. The transition of the Start menu also brings all the default icons such as Edge and File Explorer to the centre. This new positioning makes Windows 11 more familiar to people who use macOS or Chrome OS.
Palmerston North (TIP: As university students wait on their mid-year exam results, some will no doubt be thinking about more than just passing. Since COVID-19 pushed teaching and testing online last year, the issue of cheating has come into sharper focus.
Recent reports of University of Auckland students allegedly cheating in online exams highlighted the potential for dishonesty in a trust-based system.
But the problem also highlights a tension between cultures: the increasingly online world of higher education, and the everyday world of students.
This has made “cheating” in exams a more complex and evolving question than it once was. It also has implications for the credibility and value of university education and how we perceive student learning.
Traditionally, entry to university exams was controlled using student identity card photo checks. Set in large rooms, exams were invigilated to ensure students couldn’t communicate with each other in order to cheat.
Everyone had their place, and what students could take into the room was described and restricted. Teachers set the exams, the students sat them, exams were marked and final grades are given — simple enough.
COVID-19 changed all that. For institutions where “blended” (face-to-face and online) learning had already been integrated, the digital switch was not so dramatic.
Facebook is launching podcasts and live audio streams in the US on Monday to keep users engaged on its platform and to compete with emerging rivals.
Facebook says it is allowing public figures with verified accounts to start live audio rooms and invite anyone else to speak. A handful of podcasts will be available to people in the US at first and the company plans to add more down the line.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has appeared on the video streaming app Clubhouse in the past, hosted his own live audio room on his Facebook page last week.
“Live Audio Rooms and podcasts rolling out in the US is just the beginning of our audio journey,” wrote Fidji Simo, head of the Facebook app, in a blog post Monday.
“Looking ahead, we are working with creators who will use our audio tools to further develop and launch Soundbites — short-form, creative audio clips.”
But podcasts and live audio have also been an outlet for racism, misinformation and extremist material. Live audio is particularly difficult to moderate, compared with traditional social media posts.
Facebook, which announced its audio plans to push into audio streams in April, says its rules apply to live audio and podcasts and anyone can report offending material.
“In addition, our broader integrity and safety work and the tools we have built for proactively and automatically identifying harmful content are great building blocks, but we plan to adapt tech and processes as we learn more,” the company said in a prepared statement. Source: AP
In politics, Jammu and Kashmir is a thorny issue. The issue of Jammu and Kashmir or the Kashmir issue as it commonly referred to is more or less a consequence of the British design of the partition of India in 1947.
It was complicated by Pakistan’s invasion of Kashmir two months after the partition that led to merger of Jammu and Kashmir (that also included the Union Territory of Ladakh) with the Union of India, and the first India-Pakistan war.
The war ended with a ceasefire line separating the two armies. This line became the Line of Control (LoC) that placed a huge part of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh under Pakistan’s occupation.
However, LoC has not remained a constant through over seven decades. During 1950s and 1960s, China took advantage of the situation and captured Aksai Chin.
Successive governments have tried to maintain status quo since then reiterating India’s claim on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan. In 1990s, Parliament passed a resolution affirming India’s commitment to take back occupied territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
This status quo policy changed under the Narendra Modi government.
Two-and-a-half months into power, the Modi government stunned Pakistan by calling off diplomatic talks after its high commissioner met Kashmiri separatist leaders in Delhi ahead of official talks. It was a sharp departure from earlier approach. The Modi government accused Pakistan of interfering with internal affairs of India.
The J&K govt: 2015-2016
Election held in 2014 yielded a hung assembly.
– Ideological rivals, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) joined hands to form government.
– Mufti Muhammad Sayeed became the chief minister. He died in January 2016.
– His daughter Mehbooba Mufti became chief minister in April 2016.
July 2016
– Terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen’s top commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with the security forces. Protests erupted across the Kashmir Valley leading to violent clashes with security forces, and imposition of curfew. Several people died. Curfew was lifted after over 50 days.
September 2016
– This marked another major departure from status quo policy.
– Terrorists attacked the Uri army base,18 soldiers died.
– India carried out surgical strikes across the LoC in response.
– The government went public with the punitive action — a first in official record.
Fall of Mehbooba government
– In June 2018, the BJP pulled out of the Mehbooba Mufti government.
– Mehbooba was accused of going lenient on trouble-makers in Kashmir.
– Mehbooba Mufti charged, in turn, the Modi government of adopting a ‘muscular policy’ in Kashmir as against status quoist ‘conciliatory policy’ adopted by previous governments.
Clampdown on separatists—2016-2019
– The Modi government made a subtle change in policy towards the separatist leaders in Kashmir. They openly propagated anti-India views but they enjoyed perks and privileges from the government. This was questioned. By 2019, their security cover and financial assistance were gradually withdrawn. Their links to terror funding was investigated.
February 2019: Pulwama attack and Balakot strike
– On February 14, a convoy of security forces was targeted at Pulwama in Kashmir killing 40 soldiers. The Modi government responded — in a reminder of the surgical strike of 2016 — with an air strike hitting a terror camp in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
August 2019: The Kashmir decision
– The Modi government through an executive decision made Article 370 inoperative. Article 370 had a history and accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir state. The decision stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.
– The Modi government brought Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, which split Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir.
– Both units were made Union Territories. It was the first occasion when a state in India was turned into a Union Territory.
– Jammu and Kashmir was to have an assembly.
– The number of assembly constituencies was increased from 107 to 114 including 24 earmarked for PoK.
– Most mainstream leaders including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti were put under house arrest. Separatist leaders were arrested.
DDC polls: 2020
The government created a new elected body called the District Development Council for each of the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. It was the first election since Jammu and Kashmir was stripped off the special status.
Delimitation
– The increase in assembly seats in 2019 required delimitation of constituencies. It is a process of reorganising territorial boundaries of existing constituencies for election to various bodies.
n A delimitation commission under Justice (retired) Ranjana Desai was announced in early 2020. The process is underway and the commission was given an extension of one year in March this year.
New Delhi (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, June 24, met political leaders from Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) for the first such engagement since the region was stripped of its semi-autonomous status and statehood on August 5, 2019. Here is what the leaders and their parties said after the meeting:
Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) demanded the restoration of statehood and said they told Modi that the decisions taken in August 2019 were not in the interest of the people and should be reversed.
NC leader Omar Abdullah said they sought the restoration of the J&K cadre of the all-India services, which was merged with the Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories cadre. He added the Centre refused to discuss the restoration of special status claiming it was a “sub-judicial matter.” On delimitation, he said NC conveyed to Modi that it was not needed. “We told the Prime Minister that we do not stand with what was done on August 5, 2019. We are not ready to accept it. But we would not take the law into our hands. We will fight this in court,” he said.
People Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti said she highlighted the issue of “ongoing persecution” of Kashmiris and also asked Modi to resume dialogue with Pakistan “to boost trade and maintain peace in Kashmir”. She added the atmosphere has become “suffocating” in Kashmir. Mufti said she also spoke against the culture of booking people under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. She added she told Modi the government illegally abrogated J&K’s special status and conveyed to him they would get it restored legally through courts.
J&K Congress unit chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Modi’s “body language” reflected there has been a backlash from the voters of the Bharatiya Janata Party over how the abrogation of the region’s special status was carried out.
Former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Congress put forward five demands: immediate restoration of statehood, protection of land and jobs for the domiciles, return of Kashmiri Pandits, the release of political prisoners and assembly elections.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami said he told Modi it would have been wiser if this meeting was conducted before the nullification of Article 370. “We made it very clear Jammu & Kashmir is committed to remaining with India, but constitutional guarantees of Indian constitution should be given back.” Tarigami said there was “no assurance at all” regarding the fulfilment of the demands.
J&K Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh said he demanded full statehood and elections and that a delimitation process should be initiated only after an elected government is in place. Singh added he also complained about the absence of representatives from Ladakh.
People’s Conference leader Sajad Lone said there was a lot of “emotional bonding” between Modi and Kashmiri leaders and the meeting was held in a “cordial atmosphere.”
Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari said he also requested protection of land and jobs, improvement in infrastructure, and employment. He added Modi said delimitation would take place and this would be followed by the assembly elections. Source: HT
Statehood, delimitation: Key takeaways from PM Modi-J&K leaders meet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah held discussions with representatives from several political outfits of Jammu and Kashmir in a meeting that lasted over three hours on Thursday. Fourteen prominent leaders from Jammu and Kashmir took part in the meeting. Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval, MoS (PMO) Shri Jitender Singh and senior officials were also in attendance.
This was the first meeting of its kind since the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union territories in August 2019, where the following points were discussed.
Emphasis on delimitation
Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah stressed on delimitation and the subsequent elections that would follow a delimitation exercise. Soon after the conclusion of the meeting, PM Modi took to Twitter to convey that delimitation has to happen at a quick pace so that polls can happen and J&K gets an elected government that gives “strength to J&K’s development trajectory”. Amit Shah emphasised that the delimitation exercise and peaceful elections are important milestones in restoring statehood as promised in Parliament, the government said in a press release.
Demand for statehood
The leaders hailing from Jammu and Kashmir unanimously demanded the restoration of Kashmir’s statehood. People’s Conference leader Muzzafar Hussain Baig said, “All leaders demanded statehood. To which the PM said, the delimitation process should conclude first and then other issues will be addressed.”
Elections
The Prime Minister said during the meeting that the Union government was fully committed to the democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir and stressed conducting assembly elections similar to the District Development Council elections conducted last year. The Prime Minister also assured the representatives that an elected government cannot be substituted with a bureaucratic one.
Aspirations of Kashmiri youth
The Prime Minister talked to J&K leaders about the aspirations of the youth of Kashmir who, he said, are poised to provide political leadership in the coming years. ANI reported that PM Modi also discussed offering opportunities to the youth of J&K.
Development projects
Amit Shah credited J&K for coming a long way in terms of development. Around 90% saturation has been achieved in individual beneficiary Central Government schemes in J&K. Several major road projects, two new AIIMS, 7 new Medical Colleges have also been set up, according to the official press release. New industrial policy has been notified with a ?28,400 crore package to accelerate industrial growth with the aim of creating 4.5 lakh jobs, the release added.
Madrid (TIP): John McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus software, has been found dead in his cell in a jail near Barcelona, a government official has said. Hours earlier, a Spanish court issued a preliminary ruling in favor of the 75-year-old tycoon’s extradition to the United States to face tax-related criminal charges. Security personnel at the Brians 2 penitentiary near the northeastern Spanish city tried to revive him, but the jail’s medical team finally certified his death, a statement from the regional Catalan government said. The statement didn’t identify McAfee by name, but said he was a 75-year-old U.S. citizen awaiting extradition to his country. A Catalan government source familiar with the event who was not authorised to be named in media reports confirmed to the AP on Wednesday that the dead man was McAfee.
Spain’s National Court on Monday ruled in favour of extraditing McAfee, who had argued in a hearing earlier this month that the charges against him were politically motivated and that he would spend the rest of his life in prison if he was returned to the U.S.
The court’s ruling was made public on Wednesday and could be appealed. Any final extradition order would also need to get approval from the Spanish Cabinet.
Tennessee prosecutors charged McAfee with evading taxes after failing to report income made from promoting cryptocurrencies while he did consultancy work, as well as income from speaking engagements and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary. The criminal charges carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
The entrepreneur was arrested last October at Barcelona’s international airport. A judge ordered at that time that McAfee should be held in jail while awaiting the outcome of a hearing on extradition. (AP)
London/Moscow (TIP): Russia accused Britain on June 24 of spreading lies over a warship confrontation in the Black Sea and warned London that it would respond resolutely to any further provocative actions by the British navy off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea.
Russia summoned the British ambassador in Moscow for a formal diplomatic scolding after the warship breached what the Kremlin says are its territorial waters but which Britain and most of the world say belong to Ukraine.
Britain said Russia was sowing inaccuracies and disputed Russia’s account, saying no warning shots had been fired and that no bombs had been dropped in the path of the Royal Navy destroyer Defender.
Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Ambassador Deborah Bronnert to deliver a “tough demarche” – diplomatic jargon for a telling off – and spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused London of “barefaced lies”.
“We believe it was a deliberate and premeditated provocation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the incident, in which Moscow said it fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of the British destroyer.
“In the event of a repeat of unacceptable provocative action – if those actions go too far, no options can be ruled out in terms of legally defending Russia’s borders,” Peskov told reporters.
The Black Sea, which Russia uses to project its power in the Mediterranean, has for centuries been a flashpoint between Russia and its competitors such as Turkey, France, Britain and the United States.
Russia seized and annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and considers areas around its coast to be Russian waters. Western countries deem the Crimea to be part of Ukraine and reject Russia’s claim to the seas around it.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the warship was acting in accordance with the law and had been in international waters.
“The important point is that we don’t recognise the Russian annexation of Crimea,” he told reporters. “These are Ukrainian waters and it was entirely right to use them to go from A to B.” He also disagreed with the suggestion that relations with Russia were at an historic low. “I can remember times in my own lifetime when things have been far worse,” he said.
Britain has also disputed the Russian version of events, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab saying: “No shots were fired at HMS Defender.”
“The Royal Navy ship was conducting innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters,” he told reporters on a visit to Singapore: “We were doing so in accordance with international law and the Russian characterisation is predictably inaccurate.” Under international law of the sea, innocent passage permits a vessel to pass through another state’s territorial waters so long as this does not affect its security.
BLACK SEA DISPUTE
During its 2008 war with Georgia, Russia bristled at U.S. warships operating in the Black Sea, and in April the United States cancelled the deployment of two warships to the area.
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden say relations between the two former Cold War foes are at a low point after disputes over spying, hacking, election meddling, Ukraine, Belarus and human rights.
Ties between London and Moscow have been on ice since the 2018 poisoning with a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal, a mole who betrayed hundreds of Russian agents to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service. (Reuters)
Hong Kong (TIP): Hong Kong residents rushed in the early hours of June 24 to snap up copies of the final edition of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, forced to end a 26-year run after getting embroiled in a national security crackdown. Emotions ran high as supporters of the paper, which has faced an unrelenting squeeze since its owner and staunch Beijing critic, Jimmy Lai, was arrested under the security law in August 2020, queued for their last copies just after midnight. “I couldn’t sleep well for the past few nights,” said Tse, 60, a former medical worker, who leaned on a cart to support herself as she queued outside a newspaper vendor in the working class district of Mong Kok.
“I hope the reporters can stay true to their faith and keep working hard.”
Queues stretched at newsstands across the city after an emotional final print run at the headquarters of the paper, which was forced to shut after authorities froze its assets in a national security investigation.
“Thank you to all readers, subscribers, ad clients and Hong Kongers for 26 years of immense love and support,” the paper said in an online article.
“Here we say good-bye, take care of yourselves.” Some staff expressed anger and frustration at the shutdown.
“(After) today, there is no press freedom in Hong Kong … I cannot see any future in Hong Kong,” said Dickson Ng, 51, a designer at the paper.
“I feel very disappointed and angry today. I don’t understand why our limited group, company, and the newspapers were forced to stop operating under such circumstances.”
In anticipation of robust demand for its final print run, Apple Daily, which mixes pro-democracy views with celebrity gossip and investigations of those in power, printed 1 million copies, or more than 10 times its usual print run.
The shutdown deals the most serious blow yet to Hong Kong’s media freedoms and could potentially destroy the city’s reputation as an open and free media hub after Beijing imposed the security law on the global financial centre last year, media advocacy groups say.
Critics of the law say it is being used to crush dissent in the former British colony, an assertion authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong reject.
Officials in Hong Kong and China have repeatedly said media freedoms are respected but are not absolute.
Piling pressure on the beleaguered media group, broadcaster RTHK said the Science and Technology Park Corporation was reclaiming the land it leased to Apple Daily, citing multiple violations.
Apple Daily could not be reached for comment.
‘EXTREME REGRET’
Taiwan’s China policy-making Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement on Apple Daily’s closure saying it felt “extreme regret and solemnly condemned” that Hong Kong media has been unable to operate because of “political oppression” brought about by the national security law.
The Chinese foreign ministry said rights and freedoms could not jeopardise national security.
“I want to emphasise, Hong Kong is a society that has rule of law. Everyone is equal in front of the law, no one or no organisation is above the law,” a spokesperson for the ministry said. “All rights and freedom, including media freedom, cannot go beyond the bottom line of national security.” In Canada, Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said the forced closure of Apple Daily was a significant blow to freedom of press and speech in Hong Kong.
Last week, 500 officers raided the newspaper’s headquarters, with live feeds showing authorities sifting through reporters’ notes and other journalistic material in scenes that drew international condemnation.
Five executives were arrested and two – chief editor Ryan Law, 47, and Cheung Kim-hung, 59 – were charged with conspiracy to commit collusion with a foreign country and denied bail. On Wednesday, a 55-year-old columnist for the paper was also arrested under the national security law. (Reuters)
London (TIP): British scientists have warned of a “pretty miserable winter” in the UK this year due to new respiratory viruses likely to emerge, with further lockdowns a possibility. Professor Calum Semple, member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said that children and elderly people will be especially vulnerable to endemic viruses at the end of the year, Xinhua news agency reported.
Describing it as the “fourth wave winter”, he said: “I suspect we’ll have a pretty miserable winter because the other respiratory viruses are going to come back.” (IANS)
China to operationalise first electric train in Tibet, connecting Lhasa with NyingchiBeijing (TIP): China is all set to operationalise the first electric train in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet, connecting the provincial capital Lhasa with Nyingchi—a strategically located Tibetan border town close to India’s Arunachal Pradesh.
The 435.5-km Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway is expected to be inaugurated ahead of the centenary celebrations of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1, according to official media reports. The electricity transmission process has been completed and tested, Liu Yuxiang, Chief Engineer of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway, was quoted as saying by the state-run CCTV earlier. The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway into Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. It will go through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world’s most geologically active areas.
In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping had instructed officials to expedite construction of the new railway project, connecting Sichuan Province and Nyingchi in Tibet, saying the new rail line would play a key role in safeguarding the border stability. The Sichuan-Tibet Railway starts from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and travels through Ya’an and enters Tibet via Qamdo, shortening the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours. Nyingchi is prefecture level city of Medog which is adjacent to the Arunachal Pradesh border.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which is firmly rejected by India. The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC). Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the official daily Global Times earlier that “If a scenario of a crisis happens at the China-India border, the railway will provide a great convenience for China’s delivery of strategic materials.”PTI
Regina (Canada) (TIP): The chief of an Indigenous nation in Canada said on June 24 investigators have found 751 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school for Indigenous children — a discovery that follows last month’s report of 215 at another school.
Chief Cadmusn Delmore of the Cowessess First Nation made the announcement at a news conference.
Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous First Nations said he expects more graves will be found on residential school grounds across Canada.
“This was a crime against humanity, an assault on First Nations,” he said.
“We will not stop until we find all the bodies.”
The bodies were discovered at the Marieval Indian Residential School, which operated from 1899 to 1997 where Cowessess is now located, about 87 miles east of Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan.
Delorme said at one time the graves were marked but those who operated the school removed the markers.
“We are treating this as a crime,” he said.
The Cowessess and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous First Nations, which represents Saskatchewan’s First Nations, said a day earlier that “the number of unmarked graves will be the most significantly substantial to date in Canada.”
Last month the remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, were found buried on the site of what was once Canada’s largest Indigenous residential school near Kamloops, British Columbia. (AP)
Islamabad (TIP): A top Pakistani court on June 24 dismissed appeals by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in two corruption cases by an accountability court, as it described him as a “fugitive from law”.
“There is nothing in the Constitution or the rules to compel the court to decide on merits of an appeal filed by an accused person who has chosen to be fugitive from justice and while remaining so decides to disobey or frustrate the orders, directions and process of the court from which he seeks justice,” the Islamabad High Court Bench said.
A Bench comprising Justices Aamer Farooq and Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, in its nine-page judgment, said Sharif was a “fugitive from law hence has lost his right of audience before this court and we are left with no choice except to dismiss his appeal”. However, the court stated that Sharif can appeal for reinstatement of his pleas on return to the country. Sharif, 70, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London since November 2019 after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.
The three-time former prime minister—convicted in two corruption cases Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia Steel Mills—was declared a proclaimed offender in December 2019 by the Islamabad High Court after he failed to appear before it despite several warnings.
Sharif, who resigned as Pakistan prime minister in 2017, had sought quashing of the sentences handed to him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court in the two corruption cases in 2018.
The court had reserved its verdict on Wednesday after hearing from the NAB Additional Prosecutor Jahanzeb Khan Bharwana.
After dismissal of the pleas, the original sentence in the two cases have been reinstated.
The accountability court had in 2018 sentenced Sharif to 10 years in prison for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with NAB in the Avenfield case. His daughter, Maryam, was handed seven years imprisonment for abetment.
In the same year, he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case, where illegal investments were detected.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court has given multiple opportunities to Sharif to return to Pakistan and appear before the court to pursue his appeals.
However, the former prime minister’s family has maintained that there is a health risk in travel.
“[Nawaz] proceeded abroad and did not appear before this court despite [being] on bail and without any justification or basis, remained absent on a number of dates of hearing, hence this court was left with no option but to follow the procedure … and declared him as fugitive from law,” according to the judgement. (PTI)
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