the investigation into sunanda pushkar’s case has, until ... · saradha scam? i f 2 0 1 5 0 1 1 6...

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16 JANUARY 2015` 30

RNI REGD NO. ORIENG/2004/13647VOLUME 10, ISSUE 22 | FORTNIGHTLY

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

IN THE ROUGHAs one after another BJD

leader comes under the CBIscanner, can the immaculate

image of Naveen Patnaikhelp the party survive the

Saradha scam?

IF20150116

MIRED IN MYSTERYThe investigation into Sunanda Pushkar’s case has, until recently, been as

inexplicably puzzling as her murder itself

Only at Lalchand Jewellers

16 JANUARY 2015 INDIA FIRST 3

There is no smoke with-out fire, so goes an oldadage. The latest round

of investigation into the death ofSunanda Pushkar, wife of Con-gress MP and former union min-ister and United Nationsdiplomat Shashi Tharoor, finallyseems on the way to reaching itslogical conclusion – or so it ishoped. Amid the welter of information

emanating over the past coupleof weeks from police interroga-tion and media reports pertain-ing to what has now become afully fledged murder mystery, itwill be important for the sake ofposterity to winnow out onlythose truths that will truly mat-ter. For instance, it is immaterial

whether there was anythinghanky-panky between Tharoorand Pakistani journalist Mehr

Tarar, which apparently led to Pushkar’s public out-bursts against both, whether it be on Twitter or TVchannels, not long before her death. It is a personalmatter and need not be for public consumption, as ithas been made out to be thanks to the increasingmainstreaming of tabloid journalism. But if theremight even be an iota of truth to Pushkar’s declarationlast January that Mehr is or was an Inter-IntelligenceService (ISI) agent of some sort, then Tharoor’s ac-quaintance with Tarar assumes greater import anddoubtless ought to be of public interest. More impor-tantly, it might even have implications on Pushkar’smurder – who knows?Similarly, Pushkar’s statement to The Indian Express

about taking upon herself “the crimes of this man dur-ing IPL (Indian Premier League)” may be nothingmore than a wife venting her anger (Sunanda wasknown to have a short fuse) for whatever reasons – but,as senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy recentlypointed out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a re-cent letter urging him to order a CBI probe intoPushkar’s murder, the cause of her death may havesomething to do with her threat of disclosure of themoney laundering in the IPL scam.Moving on to the investigative process, it is not im-

portant whether there is any politics of vendetta atplay, which Tharoor is accusing the BJP of. FindingPushkar’s killers is, of course, top priority; but oncethat is done and dusted, it is important to dig deeperinto all the fireworks surrounding this matter at the

prestigious All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS) that wastasked with the responsibility tobring out some truths throughPushkar’s postmortem report. Forstarters, why did AIIMS forensicdepartment head Sudhir Gupta,who had also headed the panel setup for Pushkar’s autopsy, claim lastyear that he was pressured by topofficials to write in his postmortemreport that the death was "nat-ural"? If Dr Gupta was seriousabout his allegations, he has to beasked to name those names. Whowere these top officials that weretrying to obstruct the course of jus-tice? And what was their motive indoing so?Truths about these incidents will

not only help the investigationunder way, but also – from a bigpicture perspective – help identifyand weed out the bad eggs in thesystem. n

FROM

THE E

DITOR

’S DE

SK

NOT BESIDETHE POINT

“Amid the welter of informationemanating over the past couple of weeksfrom police interrogation and mediareports pertaining to what has nowbecome a fully fledged murder mystery, itwill be important for the sake of posterityto winnow out only those truths that willtruly matter”

By SUNJOY HANSEditor-in-Chief

4 INDIA FIRST 16 JANUARY 2015

CONTENTS

18NATION

COLD IRONYThe homeless in NewDelhi are choosing thestreets overgovernment nightshelters this winter

09COVERSTORY

MIRED IN MYSTERYThe investigation into Sunanda Pushkar’s case has, untilrecently, been as inexplicably puzzling as her murder itself

HIMACHAL LURESSKIERSWith snowfall aplentythis winter, themountain state hasbecome heaven forskiing enthusiasts

28TOURISM

THE ARMY’S COLDREALITY Indian soldiers, whomust often work ininhospitable weatherand unforgiving terrain,continue to be ill-clad,ill-equipped and ill-armed

THE SARADHAEFFECTThanks to the fallout ofthe mother of all ponzischemes in the country,Eastern India’s politicalequation with theCentre seems all butset for a reset

15NATION

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

Consulting Editor Pankaj Kumar

Associate Editor Siddhartha Tripathy

Senior Special Correspondent Kabita Dash

General Manager Bimal Ku. Bhanjdeo

Legal Advisors Yasobant Das, M.R. Mohanty

Auditor A.K. Sabat & Co. Chartered Accountants

Orissa Correspondent H.K. Rath

Delhi Correspondent Samita Chaudhary

Special Correspondents Tarun Khanduja,Ashok Mehta

Production Head Debabrata Mishra

Assistant Art Director Prabhakar Hota

General Manager Finance Niranjan Das

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RNI Regd No. ORIENG/2004/13647Volume 10, Issue22, 16 January 2015, Fortnightly

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

32DEFENCE


In a nutshell

Bumpy RideIndia's first all-women tourism taxiservice, flagged off three months

ago in Goa, has hit a roadblock. AChurch-operated NGO Centre for Re-sponsible Tourism (CRT) recently saidthat contrary to public knowledge, a pri-vate company was running the cab serv-ice and that the women drivers werebeing allegedly forced to drive at nightwith male passengers without any secu-rity. CRT blamed the Goa Tourism De-velopment Corp (GTDC) for the "scamand sham". According to Fr. MaverickFernandes, who heads Caritas (underwhich CRT functions), the social andcharitable wing of the influential RomanCatholic Church in Goa, the 10 womentaxi drivers roped in to drive the radio-taxi fleet were not even trained in basicmartial arts. GTDC launched the cabservice in October last year. Goa is oneof the leading beach tourism destina-tions in India and attracts nearly threemillion tourists annually. But the lack ofpublic transport, coupled with the needto ensure safer travel for women, led theGTDC to start the all-women taxi serv-ice. The media kit provided to journal-ists at the time suggested that the taxiservice was started by tourism authori-ties. n

Goa Drug MenaceLike the proxy political battle over

drugs in Punjab between the AkaliDal and the BJP, in Goa too the issue ofnarcotics and drug peddling is fast rous-ing political parties out of their post-New Year stupor. Several U-turns by

ruling party legislators and a ministerappear to have exposed the will of theruling BJP to take on the drug menace,especially after Prime Minister NarendraModi called for a battle against drugs inhis radio address to the nation in De-cember. Tourism Minister DilipParulekar, after declaring that he wouldshut down mega-scale EDM festivals ifany suspicious activity or drugs werefound at such events, lashed out at thedeceased Isha Mantry, linking the deathof the costume designer to binge-drink-ing, even before the post-mortem exam-ination. Goa attracts three milliontourists every year but is also known asa narco-tourism destination where

drugs are available in plenty and cheapespecially during the tourism seasonfrom October to March. Not even ChiefMinister Laxmikant Parsekar and CivilSupplies Minister Dayanand Man-drekar, both of whom hail from tourism-savvy coastal constituencies, haveescaped the accusations and counter-accusations. n

Being Supportive The Congress was ready to support

an AAP government again in theevent of a hung assembly in the capital,former chief minister Sheila Dikshitsaid. "It is logical that we would want a

Facing the MusicUnion Minister of State for Urban Development Babul Supriyo was

allegedly heckled by activists of West Bengal's ruling TrinamoolCongress and prevented from entering a school in his constituency Asansolrecently. Supriyo, who during the day visited several schools in his con-stituency and interacted with students on the 'Swachh Bharat' Mission,claimed local Trinamool leader and chairman of the Asansol MunicipalCorporation Jitendra Tiwari abused him and tried to attack his car. Duringthe Lok Sabha poll campaign last year, Tiwari filed a police complaint al-leging that Supriyo had entered a temple in a drunken state during one hispoll campaigns. Denying Supriyo's charges, Tiwari claimed that the J KNagar School authorities had repeatedly requested him to postpone hisprogramme till the admission process was over. "The school had repeat-edly urged him to postpone the programme till January 19 when the ad-mission process ends. Being a VVIP, his presence would haveinconvenienced the students who had come for admission. So we hadurged him not to attend the programme," he said. n


stable government, and if the needarises, the AAP will be our choice to keepcommunal forces at bay," Dikshit said.Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwalwas quick to react, saying "it means theCongress has already conceded andpeople should vote for the AAP insteadof the Congress." Congress' political incharge of Delhi P.C. Chacko describedDikshit's remarks as "her imaginationwhich has nothing to do with the party"."Whosoever has said that doesn't mat-ter. There is no question of supportingthe AAP," Chacko said. After winningjust eight seats in the 2013 election thatended 15 years of its rule in Delhi, theCongress propped up a minority gov-ernment of the AAP headed by Kejriwal.Dikshit, a three-time chief minister, wasdefeated in New Delhi constituency byKejriwal by nearly 26,000 votes. n

Capital Case

Of the outgoing legislators of the2013 Delhi assembly, the BJP had

the largest number of 30 crorepatisamong the 31 elected, as well as thehighest number of MLAs with criminalcases registered at 17, according to theAssociation for Democratic Reforms(ADR). Of the 28 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)MLAs, 12 were crorepatis while threehad criminal cases, ADR said quotingfrom criminal, financial and other back-ground details of MLAs in the 2013elctions. Of the eight Congress MLAs,seven were crorepatis, while two hadcriminal cases against them. Of all the70 MLAs clubbed together, 51 werecrorepatis and 25 had criminal casesagainst them. Of these, 67 were maleand only three were female - all from the

AAP. Of the 25 MLAs with criminal cases,20 declared serious criminal cases likeattempt to murder, dacoity and assaultagainst women etc., said ADR. n

Heritage Walk Over 400 Buddhist monks recently

took part in a 13-km 'heritagewalk' in Bihar in a bid to revive the an-cient route between Jethian and Venu-van which Gautam Buddha took afterattaining enlightenment. Monks fromover 30 monasteries in various countriestook part in the first heritage walk. Theancient route was taken by Buddhamore than 2,500 years ago. The heritagewalk from Jethian in Gaya district andVenuvan in Rajgir in Nalanda districtwas organised by the Bihar StateTourism Development Corporation(BSTDC). The heritage walk was part ofthe Rajgir festival to popularise theevent by following the footprints of Bud-

dha. Millions of Buddhists from acrossthe world including in China, Japan,South Korea, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand,Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, In-donesia, Malaysia and in the US and Eu-ropean countries regard the route as theholiest one. n

A Filmy Avatar Be it on expensive TV commercials,

internet space, popular social net-working sites, posters, other audio-video mediums or his followers dressedin colourful MSG attire moving aroundin malls − he is all over. As his first movie− "Messenger of God" or "MSG" − hitsover 4,000 screens across the countryJanuary 16, self-styled guru GurmeetRam Rahim Singh is ready to unveil hisnew avatar as a film star. The hype overthe release of the Hindi action-thriller isalready building up, especially amongthe 47-year-old spiritual leader's follow-

Flying HighDefending a paper presented at the Indian Science Congress which

claimed existence of aeroplanes in India thousands of years ago,Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan asked the Indian scientificcommunity not to be ashamed of the country's ancient history. Claimingthat India had vast knowledge in all fields, he said even international doc-uments mentioned about it. He said India was the most superior power inthe world not only in science, but even in medicine, art, culture, commerceand anything that one can think of. The paper presented at the 102nd IndianScience Congress, which concluded in Mumbai recently, claimed existenceof interplanetary aircraft and airplanes in India 7,000 years ago. n


ers. And, if the authorities at his DeraSacha Sauda sect are to be believed,there are over 50 million of them. Thesect leader is himself on a tight and hec-tic promotional tour of the movie coun-try-wide. "MSG' will also be dubbed inother Indian languages for an all-Indiarelease. The idea of making a movie andprojecting himself in rockstar fashion,according to Insan, was to "reach out toyouth". n

Chief ConcernCongress did not rule out the pos-

sibility of Rahul Gandhi becomingthe next party chief, taking over the reinsfrom his mother Sonia Gandhi, who hasbeen the party's longest-serving presi-dent. Party general secretary DigvijayaSingh has repeatedly demanded thatRahul Gandhi, who is vice president atpresent, should assume "full responsi-bility". Asked about the remarks, partyspokesperson Shobha Oza gave anopen-ended answer. "Both SoniaGandhi and Rahul Gandhi are our re-spected leaders. The party has a consti-tution and organisational elections aredue," she said. Digvijaya Singh hadmade the demand last week too, sayingRahul Gandhi has taken responsibility ofparty vice president and Sonia Gandhishould give him full responsibility of theAll India Congress Committee. n

Modinama from GujaratSharing the stage with people who

together control trillions of dollarsand give direction to world economy,Prime Minister Narendra Modi scaledhis idea of Vibrant Gujarat to that of 'Vi-brant India'. He called upon countriesand corporates to invest in India'sgrowth story and sold his 'Make in India'campaign to the world business com-munity. As the proceedings began atGandhinagar's Mahatma Mandir com-plex, Modi had UN Secretary GeneralBan Ki-moon, US Secretary of State JohnKerry, World Bank President Jim YongKim, the prime ministers of Bhutan andMacedonia, ministers from Britain, Aus-tralia, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada,Singapore and other countries, corpo-rate czars and top CEOs by his side."This event is perhaps the biggest gath-ering on earth where a budding entre-preneur has the opportunity to see thepresident of the World Bank. Where ayoung farmer, dreaming to set up a foodprocessing unit, can listen to the views

of the UN secretary general on issueslike food security," a visibly happy Modisaid. n

Solar Power for TribalSchoolsSchools and hostels being run by

Odisha's Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes development depart-ment will soon be given solar power-based electricity supply. Realising thedifficulty in ensuring an uninterruptedelectricity supply to schools and hos-tels located in the state's inaccessibleareas, the Odisha government has de-cided to set up solar-panel based elec-tricity facilities for them. The SC andST development department hasasked the district welfare officers andintegrated tribal development agen-cies (ITDAs) to identify high schools,Ashram schools and Sevashrams, lo-cated in most interior pockets of theirdistricts, to set up facilities for solar-panel based power supply. n

‘No Positive Agenda’Prime Minister Narendra Modi was resorting to personal attacks as

the BJP had no positive agenda for the upcoming Delhi assemblypolls, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said after being described as an "anarchist"by Modi. "The prime minister called me an anarchist, I have never in-dulged in such personal attacks. It seems that BJP is nervous and have nopositive agenda for Delhi polls," Kejriwal said soon after Modi's rally wherehe targeted Kejriwal for his "anarchist" remarks and asked voters to punishthe AAP in the assembly elections. The former chief minister said that Modispoke negatively of the Congress rule in Delhi and not of the 49 days of theAAP government. "This means we did a good job. We ended corruption inDelhi in 49 days. What has BJP done at the centre?" he asked. n


POLITICALLY INCORRECT

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

“The concept of four wives and 40 children willnot work in India and the time has come whena Hindu woman must produce at least fourchildren in order to protect Hindu religion”

A month after stoking controversy for callingMahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse apatriot, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MP SakshiMaharaj is now asking Hindus to have largefamilies to protect their religion.

“Those who dare insult Prophet Mohammeddeserve death and there is no need to initiatelegal procedure against them … I am ready topay the money if they [terrorists] come anddemand the declared reward”

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Haji YakoobQureshi Qureshi on the French cartoonists ofParis-based satirical magazine Charlie Hebdowho were recently shot down by terrorists.Qureshi had hit the headlines in 2006 afterdeclaring a reward of Rs. 51 crore for anyone whowould kill the Danish cartoonist who had createda controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammed.

“The real homecoming will be when peopleof other religions embrace Islam. Muslimsare being allured with Rs.5 lakh andChristians with Rs.2 lakh to convert. Onlyfive lakh? What a joke. Muslims can't leaveIslam even if you give them the wealth ofthe world”

Adding fire to the controversy overconversions, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(MIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi says that Islam isthe “real home” of all religions and hence thereal “homecoming” will be when people ofother religions embrace it.


Cover Story

MIRED INMYSTERY

The investigation into Sunanda Pushkar’s case has, until recently, been as inexplicably puzzling as her murder itself


Somewhere around thistime last year, there werefireworks aplenty in theworld of Shashi Tharoor,quite apparently in moreways than one. Just when it

seemed like Tharoor, the then Ministerof State for Human Resource Develop-ment, had finally left the “cattle class”controversy on social media websiteTwitter in 2009 and the IPL controversyin 2010 (which cost him his plum post asExternal Affairs Minister that year) farbehind him, yet another one erupted –this time, on a more personal front butvery much in public view, thanks to itsunfolding on Twitter again.It was a crying shame: The lovey-

dovey tweets on Tharoor's timeline, pur-portedly from Pakistani journalist MehrTarar; Tharoor’s denial of receiving anysuch tweets, with claims of his accountbeing hacked; the rejection of thoseclaims by Sunanda Pushkar, his thirdwife, who told the Economic Times thatit was in fact she who was sending thetweets of Mehr from Tharoor’s accountin a bid to expose the overtures of “aPakistani woman who is an ISI (InterServices Intelligence) agent” to a “flat-tered” Tharoor; Pushkar being quotedby the same paper as saying that she hadtaken upon herself “the crimes of thisman during IPL (Indian PremierLeague)” and “I will not allow this to bedone to me. I just can't tolerate this”;and her telling Indian Express, in a sep-arate interview, that she wanted to di-vorce Tharoor.Then, even as those tweets and inter-

views made headlines on January 16 andspilled over into politics, with the Leftand the BJP in Kerala calling for Tha-roor’s resignation from his post andouster from the cabinet over the ragingcontroversy (very untimely for Tharoorand his party, given that he was to benamed as a Congress candidate in theupcoming 2014 Lok Sabha elections) theTharoors issued a joint statement onFacebook, saying that that the tweetswere unauthorized, misrepresented andmisinterpreted and that the two “arehappily married and intend to remainthat way”.But that was, of course, not to be:

Pushkar was found dead the next day ather suite in The Leela Palace hotel insouth Delhi.According to the official police report

of the time, Tharoor – after attending theAll Indian Congress Committee (AICC)session in the morning and a meeting inthe evening – entered his hotel room be-tween 8-8.30 p.m. and found the mainhall of the suite open but Pushkar’s bed-

room locked from inside. The ministerthen had to call the hotel staff and useda "swipe card" to open the room wherehe found Pushkar, who was dressed in anightgown and had a quilt over her,lying on the bed. After this, the minis-ter's aides called the police, who arrivedon the scene at 9.15 p.m.

START OFCONTRADICTIONSTharoor's aide, Abhinav Kumar, had

told the media thereafter that Pushkarwas found dead and there was “no signof foul play, no poisoning." He had alsoexplained that the couple had checkedinto the hotel as their house in Delhi wasgetting painted.Meanwhile, T.P. Sreenivasan, a former

diplomat and close friend of Tharoorhad worriedly informed him of his wife's“serious” illness, for which she had “un-dergone treatment in France recently”.There were other reports, too, that saidthe couple had visited a leading privatehospital in Thiruvananthapuram re-cently and that certain tests were con-ducted on Pushkar. According to someother sources, Pushkar was diagnosed

with suspected systemic lupus erythe-matosus – a connective tissue disorderthat has no definite treatment.However, G. Vijayaraghavan, the doc-

tor who was treating Pushkar in Thiru-vananthapuram, said she was notsuffering from any grave illness. (Al-though, citing standard practice, he re-fused to share details about her illnesswith the media.)The next day, after a three-doctor

panel carried out the postmortem ex-amination (including autopsy, videogra-phy and photography) of Pushkar’sbody, the doctor leading the panel de-clared that Pushkar had "injury marks"on her body and that it was a "case ofunnatural, sudden death".This was Dr Sudhir Gupta from the All

India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS).A couple of days later, after the panel’s

report was submitted to Sub-DivisionalMagistrate (SDM) Alok Sharma, policesources said the post-mortem reporthad concluded that Pushkar’s death wasdue to drug overdose. It was also re-vealed that the dozen injury marks inthe upper extremity of her upper body –on one arm, hand, chin, and neck re-

Dr. Neerja Bhatla and Dr Amit Gupta of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) address a press conference regardingcontroversy over the autopsy report of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of former Union minister and Congress leader ShashiTharoor in New Delhi on July 2, 2014. Pushkar was found dead in her room at a five-star hotel in Delhi January 17.


gions – suggested a scuffle before herdeath.Police investigators had said it could

be a case of drug overdose or overdoseof sleeping pills. With two strips of al-prax drug had been recovered from herhotel room, a police officer said, "Thehuge quantity of consumption of suchdrug may affect functioning of brain andleads to a comatose situation.”On January 21, however, the SDM in

his conclusion of the report probingPushkar’s death said her post-mortemanalysis suggested that she died due topoison, adding that it would be “tooearly to say … if she had consumed poi-son or the drug consumed by her actedas poison". Sharma had also asked po-lice to trace the cause of poisoning andfind out whether Pushkar’s case was thatof murder or suicide.

OFF TRACKEverything that followed this line of

incomplete investigation was focusedmore on Tharoor and politics thanPushkar and her death. When no new breakthrough in the

case was seen or heard of in the follow-ing week and the trail seemed to be

going cold after a disturbingly quiet Feb-ruary, the Left opposition raised ques-tions in Kerala assembly in March overTharoor's alleged links with Tarar andalso demanded that the probe intoPushkar’s case be expedited. CPI-Mleader V.S. Achutanandan said that Con-gress leaders should answer why nocomplaint had been registered againstTharoor in connection with Pushkar'smysterious death."It's time that Defence Minister A.K.

Antony and other senior leaders in theCongress break their silence on the mys-terious death of Tharoor's wife,"Achutanandan said in a written state-ment issued in Thiruvanathapuram,pointing out that as per law, if a womandies an unnatural death within sevenyears of her marriage, a case should beregistered against her husband."Their marriage lasted under three

years and hospital authorities and po-lice have already gone on record statingthat her death was a mystery. Till now,no case has been registered against Tha-roor and the silence of Antony and thecentral government is baffling," he said.Achuthanandan's statement came

after a complaint filed by Tharoor withpoll officials over the slander unleashedagainst him by M. Vijayakumar, formerKerala assembly speaker and a seniorleader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist and also a close aide ofAchuthanandan.Towards the end of March, Pushkar’s

family members issued a joint commu-niqué to the media saying that despitetheir earlier individual statements thatthey suspected neither suicide nor foulplay in Pushkar's death, some elementsin the media and individuals with vestedinterests were continuing to pursue theangle of alleged poisoning, which wascausing them much distress. "Now that the leaked viscera report

has apparently concluded that there wasno poison in her system, as we alwaysbelieved,we request all concerned tostop their unfounded speculation," readthe statement signed by her father Lt.Col. (retd.) Pushkar Nath Dass, herbrothers and son. "We stress that wehave not received any official copy of thepost-mortem report or the viscera re-port, and only know what the media hasreported. We urge the police to concludetheir investigations at the earliest so thatshe can rest in peace."But it seems as if the case instead was

practically put to rest. Tharoor by this time had already filed

his nomination papers as the Congresscandidate from the Thiruvananthapu-ram Lok Sabha seat and the 2014 gen-

eral elections fever took over with ad-vent of April.

SHOCKING CLAIMSIt would not be until July – after

Gupta, the head of forensics departmentat AIIMS and the one who had headedthe panel that conducted Pushkar’spostmortem, alleged that he was pres-surised by top officials to manipulatethe report of Pushkar's autopsy andshow her death as "natural" – that thecase would see the light of the day onceagain.Reacting to the media reports carry-

ing Gupta’s revelations, Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan sought on July2 a report from the AIIMS. "In context ofhis promotion, Sudhir Gupta had writ-ten a letter to the health ministry. It wasonly after the media reports emerged, Ihave sought a detailed report on it fromthe AIIMS director," the minister said.The AIIMS administration in turn was

quick to categorically reject Gupta'sclaims."There was no attempt to changethe post-mortem," Neerja Bhatla of thedepartment of obstetrics and gynaecol-ogy said at a press conference on thesame day.AIIMS clarified that Gupta has filed a

case before the principal Central Ad-ministrative Tribunal (CAT) bench atNew Delhi regarding the promotion ofanother member of the faculty of foren-sic medicine."This case is sub-judice and final de-

cision of the honourable CAT isawaited," Bhatla added.In his affidavit, Gupta had alleged that

a decision was taken by AIIMS to pro-mote his junior as the head of depart-ment and to remove him.Gupta feared he was being removed

as he gave the "right post-mortem re-port", sources said.As the controversy gathered steam

once again, Tharoor in a statement fromThiruvananthapuram, which he stillrepresents in the Lok Sabha, said: "Uponthe tragic loss of my wife Sunanda andfrom the very beginning, I have re-quested for a thorough investigation bythe authorities to be conducted andconcluded rapidly and transparently.""I reiterate my request to bring this

protracted inquiry to a clear and defini-tive conclusion at the earliest, so as toput all speculation to rest," the now for-mer human resource development min-ister said in the statement issued in bothEnglish and Malayalam.The Congress on its part rebutted the

allegations made by Gupta."Trigger-happy reactions in the midst of sensa-tionalism can do a lot of injustice," party


spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvitweeted."AIIMS has said that there are no facts

on this allegation," he said in anothertweet.However, Bharatiya Janata Party

leader Subramanian Swamy made astern call for proper investigation."I have been saying this from the be-

ginning that she was murdered by a pro-fessional gang. There should be properinvestigations in this case as there arecertain new aspects which have comeout and which strongly indicate that shewas murdered," Swamy said.As of July 4, Delhi Police was still wait-

ing for the final autopsy report ofPushkar from AIIMS.Police had sought the AIIMS's views

after they found contradictions in theautopsy report submitted to the sub-di-visional magistrate and the viscera re-port which came a few days after theautopsy.The post-mortem examination which

was submitted to magistrate June 20 hadsaid the cause of death was "sudden"and Pushkar died of "drug overdose".The autopsy had also shown "Alprazo-lam poisoning". However, the viscera re-port had suggested of "no poisoning"and "no traces of Alprax tablets".After hearing Gupta’s plea, the CAT

bench in New Delhi restrained AIIMSfrom appointing the new head in itsforensic medicine department.

NEW TURNA few months later, in a leak of the

post mortem report from the CentralForensic Science Laboratory (CFSL)submitted to the Delhi Police by AIIMSstated that the cause of her death was"poisoning".The leaked report said that the AIIMS

medical board "had thoroughly pursuedthe various documents that were sub-mitted to them by the investigating offi-cers along with the post mortem reportand histopathology report of visceraafter which it was concluded the causeof Pushkar's death is poisoning"."Viscera are positive for ethyl alcohol,

caffeine, acetaminophen and cotinine,"it said.The report also revealed that the med-

ical report reserved comment on thespecific poison or chemical responsiblesince there was a lot of limitations onthe viscera report."The duration of injuries have been

opined already. However, the reason ofthese physical injuries, circumstantialevidences and statements have notbeen submitted by the investigative of-ficer," the report stated.

The Delhi Police., however, later re-ported that the latest forensic evidenceavailable in the death of Pushkar was"not conclusive”."The forensic report at the moment is

not conclusive, our inquest status ispending," Delhi Police CommissionerB.S. Bassi told reporters.Bassi said investigators would draw

their conclusion once they get conclu-sive evidence. "We believe in the questfor truth and whatever is required in thequest for truth... we have been doingand will continue doing," he said whileanswering a question about the role ofthe investigating officer."We are competent to carry out the

probe...Inquest is pending...And what-ever is required will be done," he added.Despite being harried by the media,

Tharoor, who was recently named byPrime Minister Narendra Modi to be oneof the ambassadors of the Clean Indiacampaign, refused to comment on thefresh autopsy report.Health Minister Harsh Vardhan,

meanwhile, distanced himself from thecontroversy. "It is a medico-legal case.This has nothing to do with the healthministry. It has nothing to do with me, Ihave no comments to offer," he said.Urban Development Minister Venka-

iah Naidu, however, called for a freshprobe in the case.

MURDER IT WASAnother couple of months later, after

the turn of the year, Bassi declared thatPushkar was indeed poisoned to death."We have got the final medical reportfrom AIIMS, and we have been told thatit was an unnatural death... It was not anatural death," the Delhi Police Com-missioner told the media."She died due to poisoning. Whether

the poison was given orally or injectedinto her body is being investigated," hesaid, adding the report from the AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences wasreceived on December 29. Bassi said the quantum of poison

given to Pushkar, who was 52, had notyet been ascertained. "For that we willsend her viscera abroad," he said,adding that a murder case had nowbeen registered anyway and a specialteam had been formed to probe thecase, which would be overseen byDeputy Commissioner of Police PremNath.Asked why it took almost a year for the

final medical report to come, Bassi saidthe interim report spoke of poisoningbut did not say it was an unnaturaldeath. "Even overdose (of medicines)can be poisoning."

Bassi also pointed out that Delhi Po-lice had sought the final medical reportfrom AIIMS several times earlier. "Nowthat we have got it, we are registering aFIR," he explained.

GETTING POLITICALAnd although Tharoor expressed

shock over the latest developments andstated that that a comprehensive inves-tigation be conducted so that “the un-varnished truth” could come out," theLeft and the BJP made fresh calls for hisresignation.Former chief minister V.S.

Achuthanandan said the Congressshould publicly apologise for "protect-ing" Tharoor when he was a minister inthe Congress-led central government."Now with a murder case registered,Tharoor should resign and make himselfavailable for the probe," the CommunistParty of India-Marxist leader said in astatement.State Bharatiya Janata Party president

V. Muraleedharan also asked Tharoor toresign from the Lok Sabha. "The Con-gress should apologise to the people forfielding him (in the Lok Sabha polls),"said Muraleedharan.However, the Congress in New Delhi

maintained that it was unclear whetherPushkar committed suicide or was mur-dered."Not yet certain whetherSunanda's death was suicide or mur-


der," Congress spokesman AbhishekSinghvi said, adding that the FIR was"just a beginning and not an end of alegal process"."As police have also said it's not at all

clear that whether it's a self-adminis-tered poison or outside-administeredpoison... every person has the full rightto be treated as completely innocent un-less and until a process of law goes be-yond and further," the Congress leaderpointed out.Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA govern-

ment asked Delhi Police to carry out a"free, fearless, and favourless" investiga-tion into the death of Pushkar. "TheBJP's mindset is investigative agenciesshould do their job freely, fearlessly,without favour. And the truth shouldcome out," said BJP spokesperson NalinKohli.BJP leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said

the confusion stood resolved as it wasnow clear that Pushkar's death was acase of murder and not a suicide, as itwas perceived initially.He said the case was not an act of po-

litical vendetta by the ruling party, andthe BJP would see it as just "anothercase of crime"."There is no politics in this, so BJP

would simply see this as another case ofcrime. Delhi Police is quite capable ofhandling this investigation and will en-sure punishment for the accused."

BJP's Subramanian Swamy, however,maintained a different view.Calling it "not an ordinary murder of

passion", Swamy alleged Pushkar wassilenced for attempting to tell the truth.He found "conspiracy of silence" in this"big murder" involving money that, heclaimed, could tarnish the image ofhigh-powered people who were in-volved in the incident.On January 7, a police team was

formed to investigate afresh Pushkar'smurder, B.S. Bassi said."The special team is looking into each

and every possibility of the case. What-ever is needed will be done," Bassi toldthe media. Informed sources said that aDelhi Police team visited the Kerala In-stitute of Medical Sciences in Thiru-vananthapuram last month to speak todoctors who had treated Pushkar.The same day, Tharoor alleged in a

letter made public that a police officertried to implicate him and a domestichelp in her mysterious death. In a letterto Delhi Commissioner of Police B.S.Bassi dated November 13, Tharoorurged the police chief to take actionagainst the officer.Tharoor said four police officers inter-

rogated his domestic help NarayanSingh for 16 hours on November 7 andfor 14 hours on November 8.On both days, he alleged that Narayan

Singh was repeatedly physically as-

saulted by an officer."Worse, that officerused the traumatic physical assault totry and intimidate Narayan into 'con-fessing' that he and I murdered mywife," Tharoor said.He quoted Bassi as telling him that

such conduct was "completely unac-ceptable and illegal".Delhi Police, however, denied the al-

legation.Bassi told CNN-IBN news channel

that he checked with his officers aboutthe allegations made by Tharoor andfound that no physical assault had takenplace. "I had received an email. I hadasked the concerned officers. Nothing ofthis sort was reported by them," he said.Bassi admitted he had spoken to Tha-

roor over telephone but said Delhi Po-lice believed in policing which wasgoverned by rule of law. "So in our polic-ing, we have no place for strong tactics.Anything of this sort is totally unaccept-able. In this case, when I checked withmy officers, they found nothing of thissort," Bassi added.Tharoor had said in his letter that the

police action amounted "to the use ofphysical coercion in the attempt toframe an innocent man". He said he andhis staff had always made themselvesavailable for any investigation "but thebehaviour of the officers towards mystaff is a matter of serious concern toany law abiding citizen".Nevertheless, taking forward its probe

into the murder of Pushkar, Delhi Policesummoned Tharoor’s domestic helpNarayan Singh, again for further inter-rogation. The special team investigatingthe murder of Tharoor's wife SunandaPushkar took Singh to an undisclosedlocation in south Delhi, an official re-vealed.

MORE REVELATIONSUpon access to the FIR in the murder

case, it was further discovered that "al-prazolam poisoning" was the reason forPushkar's death and that the injuries toher were caused by "blunt force" whichdid not cause death while her body alsobore injection and teeth bite marks."The circumstantial evidences are

suggestive of alprazolam poisoning,"said the three-page First InformationReport, adding poisoning was throughoral route but an "injectable route"could not be ruled out."All the injuries mentioned are caused

by blunt force, simple in nature, non-contributing to death and are producedin scuffle, except injury number 10which is an injection mark. Injury num-ber 12 is a teeth bite mark. The injuriesnumber 1 to 15 are of various duration

Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar


ranging from 12 hours to four days," theFIR said.The FIR also confirmed that Pushkar

was neither ill nor suffering from anydisease prior to her death."She was a normal, healthy individ-

ual. In view of the above analysis, deathdue to natural cause is ruled out. Thecause of death in this case is poisoning.The poisoning is through oral route,however injectable route too also can'tbe ruled out," the FIR said.Narrating the sequence of events, the

FIR says that then station house officer(SHO) of Sarojini Nagar police stationAtul Sood received a telephonic call onJanuary 17, 2014 from Tharoor's per-sonal secretary (PS) Abinav Kumar thatPushkar "has done something" in roomnumber 345 of Hotel Leela Palace. Adaily diary entry regarding the deathwas lodged the same day.Meanwhile, a friend of Pushkar, who

had dropped her to a south Delhi hotelfrom the airport, was questioned in con-nection with her murder, Delhi Policesaid, adding that 12 more people includ-ing Tharoor would soon be questioned.Sunil Trakru, a businessman and a

close friend of Pushkar, had been ques-tioned twice earlier, a few days beforethe registration of FIR (first informationreport) January 1, a police officer said.He said Trakru's name had surfaced

during the questioning of Tharoor's do-mestic help Shri Narayan Singh in No-vember last year. Singh was questionedfor a few hours, during which he re-vealed that the couple had a fight a daybefore Pushkar was found dead.Singh had also told police that Trakru

had dropped Pushkar from the Delhiairport to Hotel Leela Palace where shewas found dead in her room later.The couple had returned from Kerala

January 14 but Tharoor went to hishouse in Lodhi Colony, while Pushkarleft for the hotel.Delhi police officials also said that

they would soon question 12 more peo-ple including Tharoor, Pushkar's son

Shiv Menon, her two brothers AshishDass and Rajesh Pushkar and her cardi-ologist Rajat Mohan.They were also looking for a person

named 'Kaitie' whose name surfacedduring arguments between Tharoor andPushkar, overheard by Singh.Senior journalist Nalini Singh, with

whom Pushkar was believed to be intouch over phone before her death,would also be called to join the probe,the officer added.Besides, two of Tharoor's officers on

special duty (OSD) Shiv Kumar Prasadand Abhinav Kumar, along with driverBajrangi were also to be questioned.The special team investigating the

murder visited the hotel where theyquestioned the staff and also went to theroom where Pushkar had stayed.Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi told

media that he would brief them on thecase within three-four days after some-thing new came out during the ques-tioning and further enquiry. "As and when I get some relevant

input that I can share, I will definitely dothat. Wait for three-four days and I willbrief you in detail and answer all thequestions," Bassi said.

MISSING PIECESOn January 10 it was revealed, from

the third and latest autopsy reporthanded over to Delhi Police on Decem-ber 29, that the AIIMS board, which hadconducted the postmortem of Pushkar,had not been provided "the inventoryof the articles found at the crime scene”.However, it was noted that inventory

of articles collected from the spotneeded to be placed before the board."Inventory of the articles found at thecrime scene has neither been placed onrecord nor handed over to the board. Wehave been asking for it. It needs to beplaced before the board," said the re-port."Each of the above points is impor-

tant to find out the truth from the crimescene as well as the post-mortem exam-

ination, as mentioned in the authorita-tive book written by the well-known ex-pert S Ritz-Timme," it said. "In the hotel room, pieces of broken

glass were found on the carpet and nearthe curtain (suggestive of a scuffle)," thereport said. It also noted a big urinepatch mark found on the bed sheetbelow Pushkar's body."A big patch mark of urination was

found on the bed-sheet. It is due to ei-ther deep sleep or the unconscious stateof the victim for long hours. Later on,the CFSL report found cotinine, alcoholand acetaminophine traces in the urinesample," the report said.As India First went to press, Congress

MP Shashi Tharoor reached the na-tional capital and for possible question-ing by Delhi Police in connection withPushkar's murder. Arriving at the IndiraGandhi International (IGI) airport fromKerala at around 2 p.m. and while head-ing for his house in central Delhi's LodhiEstate, Tharoor did not reply to ques-tions from journalists, and merely said:"I have already spoken with the media(in Kerala)."He drove away in a car with his secu-

rity staff. After reaching home, he con-sulted his lawyers and discussed thecase. Policemen have been deployedoutside his residence.While the latest round of investigation

into Pushkar’s case has been going at afairly fast clip, it begs a good few ques-tions: What took the system so long – afull year – to get some investigation ofpossible consequence under way? Whywas there such inconsistency in the ini-tial autopsy reports? What made Tha-roor, or even other family members ofPushkar for that matter, so sure thatthere was no “foul play” at play in herdeath? Why did the doctor in charge ofthe Pushkar’s postmortem talk to themedia later about being pressurized bytop officials to manipulate the report ofPushkar's autopsy, which eventually ledthe CAT bench in New Delhi to restrainAIIMS from appointing the new head inits forensic medicine department? Whyand how was AIIMS not provided withthe inventory of the articles found at thecrime scene for so long a period, partic-ularly when they were crucial to theprogress of the investigation? Is there in-deed a strong nexus between nefariouselements operating within and outsidethe system, which has led to the investi-gation into the murder case as shroudedin mystery as the murder itself? Couldthe probe have reached this far in anycase had there been the same govern-ment at the Centre as last year?There is no knowing yet. n

Sunanda Pushkar`s husband Sashi Tharoor and her son Shiv Menon during hercremation at Lodhi Road crematorium in Delhi on January 18, 2014.


"You can cow down oth-ers but your arrestsand CBI threats willhave no effect on Tri-

namool. We will never be cowed down,”roared West Bengal chief minister andTrinamool Congress boss MamataBanerjee at the Narendra Modi govern-ment, while addressing a public meetingat the Kharagpur College Ground a daybefore New Year’s Eve.Banerjee is putting up a brave front,

but there is no denying that the Saradhascam – worth somewhere around Rs200-300 billion and involving close totwo million investors from all walks oflife – is well and truly threatening toshake up the political status quo in east-ern India.Over the past couple of weeks the

Central Bureau of Intelligence has beenturning up the heat on all those whosenames were linked with what is nowdeemed as the mother of all ponzischemes that India has ever seen – anda good many of them, as everyoneknows now, have turned out to be politi-cians of the ruling parties of West Bengal

and Odisha.On December 29, Trinamool Congress

leader Shankudeb Panda was ques-tioned by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) in connection with the scam.

Questioned for over three hours,Panda's statement was recorded underthe Prevention of Money LaunderingAct.The journalist-turned-politician, who

is currently general secretary of theparty's state unit, was also quizzedabout his alleged involvement with cer-

tain firms that had made some financialdealings with the tainted SaradhaGroup. He also submitted records of hisfinancial transactions and income of thepast few years.Perceived to be close to the party top

leadership, Panda arrived at the ED of-fice covering his face with a shawl tododge the waiting media. After ques-tioning, he left the office in a hurry with-out having a word with the journalists.Two weeks later, the CBI summoned

former railways minister Mukul Roy –considered West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee's right hand man andnumber two in the Trinamool Congress– for questioning on the same issue.Confirming that he has been called

for questioning, Roy said he would ap-pear before the CBI once he returns toKolkata."Question doesn't arise about any

summons but I have been informed bythe CBI. I am here (in Delhi) for a day ortwo, and once I go back to Kolkata, I willdefinitely meet the CBI people," Roy, aRajya Sabha member, told reporters inDelhi asserting he was not involved in

Nation

THE SARADHA EFFECTThanks to the fallout of the mother of all ponzi schemes in the country, Eastern

India’s political equation with the Centre seems all but set for a reset

"The nasty ploy of using theCBI as a political tool by theBJP continues. They could notfight us politically in Bengal inthe Lok Sabha elections. Sonow, these dirty tactics monthsbefore the corporationelections" – Derek O'Brien, TMC MP andspokesperson


any illegal or immoral act.

‘POLITICAL VENDETTA’Backing Roy – the key man in the

party's organisational structure and re-garded as the architect of its electoralvictories – the Trinamool called the peo-ple to hit the streets against the move.The party lashed out at the BJP-led

centre for its "political vendetta"."The nasty ploy of using the CBI as a

political tool by the BJP continues. Theycould not fight us politically in Bengal inthe Lok Sabha elections. So now, thesedirty tactics months before the corpora-tion elections," said the party's RajyaSabha chief whip Derek O'Brien."This is blatant vindictiveness. Is the

CBI being run by (Prime Minister)Narendra Modi's office or by Amit Shahat the BJP headquarters?" he asked.Describing the CBI as a "frontal office

for the BJP", Trinamool secretary gen-eral Partha Chatterjee said the peoplewill hit the streets against the "politicalvindictiveness of the BJP"."Party workers, supporters and com-

mon people will protest against theBJP's misuse of the CBI in every block ofthe state," he said.Claiming that the Trinamool frontline

leadership was involved in the scam,BJP national secretary S.N. Singh saidRoy's summoning was a major setbackfor the state's ruling party."Roy was the last person whom

Saradha chief Sudipta Sen had met be-fore he fled to Kashmir. So his summon-ing by the CBI is a significant step,"Singh said.While former state Congress presi-

dent Pradip Bhattacharya said Roy'ssummoning by the CBI "was immi-nent", Communist Party of India-Marx-ist politburo member Sitaram Yechurydemanded that properties of all thoseinvolved in the scandal should be con-fiscated and sold off and every personconnected to the graft be called forquestioning, irrespective of their posi-tions including Banerjee."The matter must be investigated in

its entirety and all those who are in-volved irrespective of their positionmust be quizzed and if found guilty, ac-tion must be taken against them. Moreimportantly, the money that was swin-dled from the poor must be returned byconfiscating and selling their properties,whatever position they may hold, in-cluding the chief minister," Yechurysaid.

IN ANOTHER STATEMeanwhile, on the same day, and in

what was a big jolt to the ruling Biju

Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha, the CBI in-terrogated party MP Rabindra KumarJena over his alleged link with the scam.According to sources in the CBI, Jena

was questioned for about three hoursfor his alleged link with the SeashoreGroup, a major chit fund player in thestate. The Lok Sabha member from Bal-asore appeared at the CBI office here at7.50 p.m. He is the second BJD MP to beinterrogated by the investigating agencyin the chit fund scam."I was questioned about some busi-

ness transactions with Seashore. TheCBI wanted some clarifications anddocuments over this. I have answered allquestions and provided all relevant doc-uments to the CBI," Jena told media per-sons after coming out of the CBI office.CBI sources said Jena headed the

Supratik group of companies, which hadavailed term loan of about Rs.18 crorefrom the Seashore group in 2010. He,however, paid back the loan in 2013, the

sources added. Jena was also the co-CEO of Balasore

Alloys from January 31, 2007 to January30, 2009. Later, he became managing di-rector of the same company till Novem-ber 2011. These intense interrogations of Tri-

namool’s and the BJD’s political leadersby the CBI were not a first in connectionwith the scam. Following the Saradha money trail,

the ED has already grilled a number ofTrinamool leaders, including several ofits MPs. While the CBI has taken intocustody Trinamool Rajya Sabha mem-bers Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose andTransport Minister Madan Mitra, the EDhas grilled a host of party leaders, in-cluding actor-turned MP MithunChakraborty and Textile MinisterShyamapada Mukherjee. And in Odisha,four BJD leaders (including Banki MLAPravat Tripathy, Mayurbhanj MP Ram-chandra Hansda, former MLA SubarnaNayak, all of who were even arrested)

and a BJD MP were already interrogatedbefore Jena.The questionings and investigations

will certainly not stop anytime soon, ei-ther. And these may take a toll on thepopularity of the two regional partiesthat have been going rock-steady intheir respective states irrespective ofwho is ruling at the Centre.

WHAT EXPERTS SAYRecently, state human rights panel's

former chief Asok Kumar Ganguly saidthe public standing of the Trinamool has"nose-dived" after the arrest and sum-moning of its top leaders in the scam."Trinamool's standing has nose-dived

in the eyes of the people. They came topower after winning a democratic elec-tion. Now, whatever the people under-stand about the situation, will happen,"said the former apex court judge.Observing that signs were ominous,

political analyst Anil Kumar Jana saidlatest move by the CBI has compoundedthe miseries of the Trinamool."Roy is central to Trinamool's scheme

of things and binds the party together.The Saradha issue has already created arift among its ranks and his summoningwill only fuel that. In case Roy is arrestedby the CBI, then Trinamool is headed fora definite doom," Vidyasagar Universityprofessor Jana told IANS.Echoing a similar view, political ana-

lyst Biswanath Chakraborty said it wasextremely difficult for the state's rulingparty to come out of the crisis."Roy is a massive figure in the party

and this will severely dent the moraleand confidence of party workers andsupporters. Already cornered over vari-ous issue, Trinamool is steadily headingtowards an existential battle and it looksextremely difficult for it to make an es-cape," Chakrabarty, a Rabindra BharatiUniversity professor, said.Political observers in Odisha, too, say

that the BJD is desperate for an imagemakeover after the unfolding of theSaradha scandal, among other scamsWhile the Central government is tight-

ening the screw on many of the who’swho of Trinamool and BJD thanks to thecrackdown by investigative agencies, theBJP is throwing down the gauntlet bylaunching campaigns such “Bhag Ma-mata Bhag” in West Bengal and “Ma-hasangram” in Odisha. The two parties doubtless have their

backs to the wall. Just how they will digthemselves out of this hole – or canthey? – is uncertain. But one thing is forsure: There will be some significantchanges in the region’s political land-scape, sooner or later. n

"Trinamool's standing hasnose-dived in the eyes of thepeople. They came to powerafter winning a democraticelection. Now, whatever thepeople understand about thesituation, will happen”– Asok Kumar Ganguly, formerchief of West Bengal HumanRights Commission


It was shadow boxing earlier be-tween the Shiromani Akali Dal andthe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in

Punjab. It is now graduating into a fightat the ground level. The two supposedallies are doing everything to step oneach others' feet.Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh

Badal, who is also the Punjab deputychief minister and home minister, haschallenged Prime Minister NarendraModi to stop the cultivation and pro-duction of drugs in BJP-ruled states likeRajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Badaleven wants Modi to take up the issue ofdrug smuggling into Punjab from Pak-istan with Islamabad.The reasons for Badal's latest postur-

ing vis-a-vis the BJP and Modi are nothard to analyse.Modi, during a recent radio address,

specifically mentioned Punjab's ram-pant drugs problem, upsetting theAkalis. Second, the Enforcement Direc-torate, under the union finance min-istry, summoned and questionedPunjab's powerful Revenue MinisterBikram Singh Majithia for over fourhours.Majithia, the younger brother of

union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal

(Sukhbir Badal's wife), had to face themusic following allegations by a drugracket kingpin that he (Majithia) waslinked to three NRIs accused of moneylaundering in a Rs.6,000-crore interna-tional synthetic drug racket busted byPunjab Police in 2013.As Majithia was questioned last

month, BJP leaders demanded that hequit the Punjab government. Chief Min-ister Parkash Singh Badal and SukhbirBadal ruled out his resignation.The Punjab government has now

started a PR exercise to "expose" thatthe drugs problem was not Punjab's cre-ation but "forced" on it by BJP-ruledstates, by Pakistan and Afghanistan andstates like Himachal Pradesh andHaryana where pharmaceutical unitswere producing synthetic drugs.After the Lok Sabha polls last year, re-

lations between long-time allies AkaliDal and BJP have been on the brink.Both have tried to embarrass one an-other.Be it through BJP leader Navjot Singh

Sidhu's barbs against the Badals, theBJP-led central government trying toupstage the Akalis by announcing en-hanced compensation to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims and the Akali Dal

trying to hit back when the compensa-tion was not implemented immediately,the controversy around Majithia or theirstand over drugs – both are trying tooutwit each other politically.The BJP is starting an anti-drugs cam-

paign in Punjab on January 22.At the same time, both the Badals last

month met BJP president Amit Shah inNew Delhi and, after posing for thephoto-op, declared that "all is well" be-tween both parties.Having tasted success in recent as-

sembly elections in other states, the BJPis looking at a bigger pie for itself in Pun-jab in the 2017 assembly polls. Till now,the Akali Dal used to give 23 seats to theBJP in the 117-member assembly tocontest.The BJP is in no mood to play second

fiddle. In that scenario, the BJP-Akali re-lationship could head the same way theBJP-Shiv Sena split in Maharashtra be-fore the assembly polls last year.On top of everything, the BJP has

turned down the Akali Dal's demand forthe release of 13 Khalistani teroristsfrom prisons.The BJP, its leaders say, is preparing it-

self for bigger things in Punjab – with orwithout the Akali Dal. n

Politics

ESTRANGED BJP-Akali ties have hit an abysmal low


Delhi Police might want to playthe good Samaritan but the al-ready overworked force are

not finding it easy to shift hundreds ofhomeless in the national capital to shel-ter homes, from where many are prefer-ring to stay away citing crowdedconditions and lack of hygiene.Policemen admit that they often have

to use "force" because of orders that nohomeless should be allowed to stay outin the bitter cold of Delhi's winter."It is not an easy task to convince

them (people sleeping outside). Theyusually prefer remaining outside till lateat night as they find it easy to get foodand blankets," said a station house offi-cer, who did not wish to be named."I took 12 homeless people staying

under a flyover to three separate nightshelters in my area. But two days later Ifound they had returned to the sameplace," he added. Delhi has 205 nightshelters."During the night, people would give

blankets if they were spotted on theroads. But they would sell the blanketsthe next morning," another police offi-cer said."The situation in a few night shelters

is also very bad. They lack basic ameni-ties and the toilets are poorly main-tained. There is also a shortage ofblankets. In the southwest, west andsoutheast districts, there is a huge short-age of blankets," a report prepared byDelhi Police said.The report also said that some 1,000

people had been "persuaded" to moveinto the shelters at night.As instructed by Lt. Governor Najeeb

Jung, Delhi Police have to start persuad-ing the city's homeless to utilise thenight shelters extended by the govern-ment and sleep inside them. They alsohave to submit weekly report to Jung.Recently, Jung asked the DUSIB (Delhi

Urban Shelter Improvement Board) tostart an active Whatsapp group on mo-bile number 8130135929, where peoplecan share information.The report said Delhi Police officers

inspected the night shelters betweenDecember 29, 2014, and January 4, 2015,

and found only 8,700 people sleepinginside against a capacity of 11,700.The report comes in the wake of 279

bodies being found in the city in De-cember 2014 alone, the majority ofwhom were homeless who died due tothe cold.Now, station house officers and assis-

tant commissioners of police (ACP),under the supervision of the deputycommissioner of police (DCP) con-cerned , inspect the shelters every nightand submit a daily report to SpecialCommissioner of Police (Law andOrder) Deepak Mishra.Police in the north district managed

to shift 300 homeless people to the shel-ters on the night of January 4."On an average, we daily shift 200

people to night shelters during the drivebetween 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Our pa-trolling staff drop off the homeless peo-ple in their vehicles," DeputyCommissioner of Police (North) MadhurVerma said.Delhi has 160 police stations under 11

police districts."We welcome the initiative taken by

Delhi Police. The Delhi administrationshould also take this matter very seri-ously, as it is their responsibility to lookafter the homeless," said Indu PrakashSingh, member of an NGO working forthe welfare of the homeless.According to another NGO, a stagger-

ing 30,958 homeless people have died inthe national capital in the past 10 yearsduring winter. n

Nation

ColdIronyThe homeless in New Delhiare choosing the streetsover government nightshelters this winter

"It is not an easy task toconvince them [people sleepingoutside]. They usually preferremaining outside till late atnight as they find it easy to getfood and blankets … I took 12homeless people staying undera flyover to three separatenight shelters in my area. Buttwo days later I found they hadreturned to the same place”– A station house officer,speaking on the condition ofanonymity


Braving sub-zero temperaturesand dense fog this winter andhighs of up to 45 degrees Cel-

sius last summer, India's Border Secu-rity Force (BSF) seized 361 kg of heroinin 2014 – its highest in a single year onthe border with Pakistan in Punjab.The seizure, according to BSF officials,

is worth over Rs.1,808 crore ($286 mil-lion) in the international market.The seizures (till December 30) this

year are higher than the previous recordof 322 kg recovered in 2013 along thebarbed wire fenced 553-km border be-tween India and Pakistan in Punjab.In 2012, the BSF recovered 288 kg

heroin in the Punjab sector, comprisingthe frontier districts of Amritsar, Gur-daspur, Ferozepur and Fazilka."The BSF does not want even a single

gram of drugs to enter through the bor-der. The high seizure of heroin along theinternational border is because our menare extra vigilant," BSF's Jalandhar-based Punjab-frontier Inspector Gen-eral Anil Paliwal said.The BSF, despite guarding the interna-

tional border in harsh weather condi-tions, has been targeted by Punjab'sruling Shiromani Akali Dal over thedrugs issue.To ward off attention from the Punjab

government's own failure to curb ram-pant drug abuse in the state, Akali Dalleaders, led by its president SukhbirBadal, the deputy chief minister and the

home minister, have been holdingprotests near border checkpoints.The protests earlier targeted the BSF,

blaming it for not checking smuggling ofdrugs into Punjab from the Afghanistan-Pakistan route. These were toned downto raise awareness on drugs.While Paliwal refused to comment on

the politics behind the protests, a seniorBSF officer, requesting anonymity, said:"Instead of protesting against the BSF,let Sukhbir Badal, his ministers andAkali Dal leaders spend a few nightswith BSF troopers who guard the border24x7 in sub-zero temperatures anddense fog with zero visibility. Let themexperience the bone-chilling duty thatour troopers do."BSF field commanders say bigger

seizures also show that heroin smug-glers in Pakistan and India have becomemore active in the past few years.The seizure of heroin by the BSF in

2011 was just 68 kg. It was 115 kg in2010, 120 kg in 2009 and 100 kg in 2008.The drug network operates along theAfghanistan-Pakistan-India route.While the BSF mans the international

border in the districts of Amritsar, Gur-daspur, Ferozepur and Fazilka, the high-est seizure of heroin this year, 187 kg outof 361 kg, was in the Amritsar sectoralone. BSF officials at the border have todeal with the border population as theagricultural fields of many of them areacross the barbed wire fence. The fence

itself is erected 300-800 metres insideIndian territory.The seizure of poppy husk and fake

Indian currency notes (FICN) from thePakistan side has, however, fallen thisyear.Compared to over 246 kg poppy husk

and over Rs.52 lakh worth of FICN, theseizures of these this year has been only33 kg and Rs.11.83 lakh this year. In2012, just 5.5 kg poppy husk was recov-ered.BSF troopers killed four Pakistani and

three Indian smugglers while exchang-ing fire near the border this year. SixteenIndian smugglers were arrested.The troopers, including women, say

they have to deal with extreme weatherand inhospitable terrain. The border inPunjab is manned by nearly 135 BSFbattalions."Though we use technology, the

troopers have to rely on their personalinstincts to monitor any movementalong the border. It is a tough job," anoperational commander of the BSF saidin the Amritsar sector.Smugglers from Pakistan use plastic

pipes to push heroin packets across theelectrified fence, bury them in fields orthrow the wrapped packets into Indianterritory.Their Indian counterparts later pick

these up. The connivance of Pakistanborder guards, Pakistan Rangers, withthe smugglers is not ruled out. n

Nation

A BoundlessBattleWhile the BSF deserves a pat on theback for seizing record-highvolumes of heroin along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab last year,the ever-bigger seizures alsoindicate increasing heroin-smuggling activity on both sides ofthe border


With global crude oil pricesgoing below $50 a barrel inthe first week of January,

India's finance and petroleum min-istries have found themselves at cross-purposes in a way that recalls theRoman two-faced god of the month,Janus.Before the first week of the New Year

ended, the Indian basket of crude oilcame down from $105 a barrel in April2014 to $49 on January 6.To make up for fall in taxes due to the

sustained decline in prices, the govern-ment, on New Year's Day, raised thebasic excise duty on petrol and diesel forthe third time in quick succession evenas the expected price reduction on fuelsfailed to materialise.Indeed, one can in jest point to the

conspiratorial aspects of a situation cre-ated in the past couple of weeks, wherewith such expectations at their height,and on a day when state-run oil mar-keters steeply cut rates of aviation fueland non-subsidised LPG, the website ofthe Indian Oil Corp (IOC) was reportedlyhacked by a Turkish group as a result ofwhich dates and data on price changeswere reflecting wrongly for some time. The government said the revenue col-

lected from the additional excise wouldgo towards funding an "ambitious infra-structure development programme", in-cluding 15,000 km of road construction,for the current and the next financialyear."However, retail price of petrol and

diesel will remain unchanged all overIndia despite additional excise duty ofRs.2/litre from midnight," PetroleumMinister Dharmendra Pradhan tweetedafter the excise hike on January 1.The money would fund welfare

schemes, Pradhan said.Taxes on petroleum products con-

tributed Rs.260,000 crore in 2013-14 tothe combined resource pool of the cen-tre and the states. Excise duty is the biggest component

of central tax revenue from petroleumand collection from the sector rose fromRs.68,000 crore in 2011-12 to Rs.77,000crore in 2013-14, which was more thanone third of its total excise duty collec-tions of Rs.179,000 crore in 2013-14.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told

parliament during its winter session thatthe additional excise imposed will helpthe government limit fiscal deficit to 4.1percent of the GDP in the current fiscal.While consumers have been spared

the impact of the excise hike, fuel priceshave a cascading effect on inflationaryprocesses and the duty increase will ar-tificially maintain the gap between the

Economy

Putting it Crudely Dwindling oil prices have pitted India’s petroleum andfinance ministries against each other in a zero-sum game

global and domestic price.The most significant piece of reform

in the sector has come with the deregu-lation of diesel in October after years ofsubsidizing the rich consuming thistransport fuel. The falling global crudeoil prices have helped the governmentreduce petrol price seven times sinceAugust and diesel price thrice since Oc-tober.On the other hand, excise duty hits

the oil companies hard, as all threestate-run refiners – IOC, Bharat Petro-leum and Hindustan Petroleum -recorded sequential drops in their grossrefining margins in the September quar-ter, as falling crude oil prices led to in-ventory losses. Indian Oil reported a netloss of Rs. 898 crore in the July-Septem-ber quarter against a net profit ofRs.1,683 crore in the same period lastyear, resulting in an inventory loss ofRs.4,272 crore.Lauding the government's decision to

hike excise duty on transport fuels, in-dustry chamber Assocham has called forinstalling an oil price regulatory mech-anism to ensure a surplus to be used in

hydrocarbons exploration and develop-ment."The oil and gas prices for the con-

sumer would have to be kept at a rea-sonable level adjusted every quarterthrough an independent mechanism tocreate surplus that could then beutilised in exploration and developmentof oil/gas fields," it added.Assocham said the principle in price

regulation should be to prevent precip-itate fall in consumer level prices andcreate as much surplus as possible.And what of this remarkable descent

of oil, whose low prices drove growth inthe post-War world, and is drivingIndia's concerned ministries to be atcross-purposes? Analysts ascribe quite a few reasons

for the slide in prices – a threat of reces-sion in Europe, cooling off of growth inChina, the shale boom in the US andsteady production from OPEC memberstates. OPEC's decision not to cut pro-duction despite prices being in down-ward spiral is being seen as driven bySaudi Arabia's long-term strategy todrive US shale out of business. n


Odisha is in the process of up-grading several airstrips in dif-ferent districts. The

government has conducted a feasibilitystudy and is in consultation with aircraftoperators to fly to these airstrips to ferrytourists and entrepreneurs.A senior official said that connecting

Bhubaneswar and Jeypore on the onehand and Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur,Jharsuguda and Rourkela on the otherby small aircraft would be economicallyviable.Most routes would get nine-seater

planes.The government also plans to put up

communication and surveillance appa-ratus, increase the length of runwaysand build boundary walls to keep strayanimals at bay.Odisha has 17 airstrips and 16 heli-

pads. Baring the Birasal airstrip inDhenkanal district, all other airstripshave existing runways that can takesmall aircraft.The government has entered into an

agreement with the Airports Authorityof India (AAI) to develop the Jharsugudaairstrip in western Odisha into a full-fledged airport with an investment of

Rs.210 crore.The airport's business will primarily

be driven by corporate travellers, offi-cials say.Vedanta Group firms have plants in

Jharsuguda. While there are a number ofsponge iron units in the Jharsuguda-Rourkela belt, the Ib valley region inJharsuguda is known for coal depositsand mines.The government has also proposed to

develop the Jeypore airstrip into a full-fledged airport over 310 acres. Thisairstrip covers a region rich with majorindustries, both in the private and pub-lic sectors.It would also link tourism spots."The government is in talk with sev-

eral private operators," said SharadKumar, the director of Biju Patnaik Air-port."They can operate small aircraft in the

existing airstrips which have 5,000 feetof runway," he said.The bigger planes require at least

7,500 feet of runway to land and take off.The airstrips would also need naviga-tional aids and control towers.The government is in the process of

developing five greenfield airports atRayagada, Paradip, Dhamra, Angul andKalinganagar to boost intra-state andinter-state civil aviation.The state-owned Industrial Promo-

tion and Investment Corp of Odisha Ltd(IPICOl) in association with the civil avi-ation department has initiated a roadmap to facilitate investment in aviationrelated activities.Odisha's draft industrial policy of

2014 also envisages developing existingairstrips.The government aims to provide

high-class civil aviation infrastructurefacilities and efficient and safe air serv-ices to meet the requirements of domes-tic and foreign trade and tourism, anofficial said. n

state

Off the GroundOdisha seems poised to finally realizing its civil aviation potential

"The government is in talk withseveral private operators …They can operate small aircraftin the existing airstrips whichhave 5,000 feet of runway”– Sharad Kumar, Director of BijuPatnaik Airport


These are hard times for chiefminister Naveen Patnaik andhis party. The worrying trend

that began for the Biju Janata Dal gov-ernment towards the end of 2014 con-tinues. What the party fears most is thefallout of the multi-crore chit fund scam.The BJD MP from Balasore, Rabindra

Kumar Jena has become the latest partyleader to be interrogated by the CBI inconnection with the scam. So rattled isthe party that some of its leaders, who atone stage had welcomed the CBI probeinto the ponzy scam, have begun accus-ing the central agency of acting with apolitical motive much in the same wayas Mamta Bannerjee in neighbouringWest Bengal.“There is hardly any doubt left that

the CBI is acting in a partisan manner.We have a feeling that it is targeting ourleaders at the behest of the BJP govern-ment at the Centre,” said a senior BJDleader. He was only echoing what partyMP from Cuttack, Bhatruhari Mahtabhad said the day the CBI had taken intocustody Banki MLA, Pravat Tripathy forhis alleged links with Artha Tatwa group.Mahtab had accused the CBI of deliber-ately targeting politicians and other highprofile persons.Ruling BJD leaders are once again

touting conspiracy theories though Jenahas himself admitted to have beenquizzed in connection with his linkswith the Seashore group. He was thefifth BJD leader and second party MP tohave been interrogated by the CBIwhich is looking into the affairs of 44ponzi companies in Odisha following aSupreme Court directive. Earlier, the CBIhad quizzed Mayurbhanj MP, Ramchan-dra Hansda who was subsequently ar-rested. The agency has also arrested BJDMLA from Banki, Pravat Tripathy andformer MLA, Subarna Nayak. Senior BJD leaders here said they were

convinced that the CBI is acting againsttheir leaders in a vindictive manner be-cause it wants to tarnish the party’simage at the instance of the Modi-ledBJP government at the Centre. This de-spite the fact that BJP president, AmitShah during his recent Bhubaneswar

State

IN THEROUGHAs one after another BJD leader comes under the CBIscanner, can the immaculate image of Naveen Patnaikhelp the party survive the Saradha scam?

visit had hardly attacked the chief min-ister and mentioned the chit fund scambut once or twice during his speech. A senior BJP leader said that BJD’s re-

action was born out of panic. “Theyknow that the CBI inquiry is going to ex-pose them completely. By the time theinquiry ends almost the entire BJD partywould be behind the bars. So they areaccusing the agency of acting in a partialmanner. The allegation is baseless andtime has come for the chief minister toresign,” he said.What is more worrisome for the BJD

is that not only BJP but also the Con-gress, the main opposition party, has de-cided to go on the offensive and launcha statewide agitation against the govern-ment on the chit fund issue. Newly ap-pointed Pradesh Congress Committeepresident Prasad Harichandan has saidthat party cadres would hit the streetssoon. “This is a tough time for us. Ourpublic image had never been dented soseriously,” admitted a ruling BJD leadernot willing to be quoted. The CBI has intensified its investiga-

tion into the multi-crore chit fund scamwith the agency’s joint director andother senior officials reviewing theprogress of cases so far. The central in-vestigating agency has arrested morethan a dozen people so far.On the other hand, the government is

struggling to save its image in manyother scams and scandals including theone concerning discretionary quota al-lotments. Recently the governmentmade a face-saving move by deciding tocancel all plots and houses allotted in

the state under the controversial discre-tionary quota (DQ). But the move drewmore brickbats than bouquets leavingthe ruling dispensation rattled.While the major opposition parties in-

cluding the BJP described the decisionas hasty and aimed at hoodwinking thepeople, civil society activists and legalluminaries slammed it as untenable in acourt of law.The government’s announcement

about a vigilance inquiry into the casesof houses and plots having been availedon the basis of false affidavits has alsoevoked ridicule, with opposition partiesdemanding a probe by an independentagency. “The government has taken no deci-

sion on the land scam in Odisha, whichis much bigger than just the land andhouses allotted through the discre-tionary quota. They don’t have thecourage to order a CBI inquiry into theland scam,” said BJP veteran Bijay Mo-hapatra who described the cabinet’s de-cision of cancelling discretionary quotaallotments made after January 1, 1995 asa step taken in haste. “I feel the government is terribly

scared of the BJP. That is why it has takenthis decision in haste,” said Mohapatraadding that strangely enough the TaskForce report on the basis of which thedecision had been taken was never everdiscussed by the cabinet.Asserting that the decision was aimed

at hoodwinking the people as it wouldnot stand the scrutiny in a court of law,Mohapatra demanded that chief minis-ter Naveen Patnaik make a statement on

“There is hardly any doubt leftthat the CBI is acting in apartisan manner. We have afeeling that it is targeting ourleaders at the behest of theBJP government at the Centre” – A senior BJD leader

the issue. “Neither the state governmentnor the Chief Minister has made anystatement on the issue in the last four tofive months. The statements that othershave made were essentially an attemptto protect themselves and cannot betaken as the statement of the govern-ment,” he said, adding that the rightcourse for the government would havebeen to make the Task Force report pub-lic and then lodge FIRs against the vio-lators. “Instead of doing that, thegovernment has said that the vigilancewill conduct an inquiry into the matter.Where is the need for another inquirywhen the issue has already been in-quired by the Task Force?” he asked,adding that everyone knew the fate ofinquiries entrusted to the Vigilancewhich was a state agency.As many as 1,791 allotments, includ-

ing 803 by Bhubaneswar DevelopmentAuthority (BDA), 921 by Cuttack Devel-opment Authority (CDA) and 67 byOdisha State Housing Board (OSHB),

stand cancelled following the cabinet’sdecision which came in the wake of acontroversy over discretionary quotawhich had been done away by govern-

ment in December 2011 but influentialpeople continued to avail plots andhouses under the quota.The Comptroller & Auditor General of

India (CAG) had asked the state govern-ment to terminate all irregular allotmentof plots including those made under thediscretionary quota even if construc-tions have already taken place on the al-lotted land.The ruling BJD, however, sought to

justify the government’s decision andslammed the BJP for its criticism of themove. “It is not for the BJP or its leadersto decide whether the decision wouldstand the test of law or not. It is the court which would take a call

on that,” said BJD spokesperson, PratapKeshari Deb. The big question, however, is will the

chief minister’s personal image survivethese scams and scandals? It is a milliondollar question because the party hasbeen winning elections on the strengthof his image. n


“The government has taken nodecision on the land scam inOdisha, which is much biggerthan just the land and housesallotted through thediscretionary quota. They don’thave the courage to order aCBI inquiry into the land scam” – BJP veteran Bijay Mohapatra,criticizing the cabinet’sdecision of cancellingdiscretionary quota allotmentsmade after January 1, 1995 as astep taken in haste.


Bollywood stars and cricketicons have something in com-mon – a pub in this uphill pic-

turesque Himachal Pradesh town thathas already gained prominence for at-tracting a steady stream of Tibet enthu-siasts, Buddhist scholars, backpackersand even Hollywood stars like RichardGere.On visits to the town, they raise a

cheer at the pub.Owners of the Mc'LLo restaurant-

cum-pub say Bollywood celebrities likePreity Zinta, Ranbir Kapoor, PriyankaChopra and yesteryear stars VinodKhanna, Dimple Kapadia and Dhar-mendra are among those who haveraised a toast at the pub.Even Hollywood's Pierce Brosnan has

once raised the toast in the pub.International cricketers like Adam

Gilchrist, Chris Gayle, Hashim Amla,Jonty Rhodes, Mahendra Singh Dhoni,Robin Singh, Virat Kohli and YuvrajSingh are among the fixtures in the pubduring the IPL matches at the HimachalPradesh Cricket Association's show-piece stadium in Dharamsala, locatedjust eight kilometres from Mcleodganj.The Who's Who has included busi-

nessmen Siddharth Mallya, Mohit Bur-man and Ness Wadia.Located at the town square, the quar-

ter-of-a century-old Mc'LLo, with a seat-ing capacity of 200 plus, has two floors,with a rooftop bar.The restaurant displays pictures of

celebrities from Hollywood to Bolly-wood stars, cricketers and modelswho've frequented the place."During the IPL seasons, this venue is

the favourite haunt, both for the playersand for the fans," owner Pankaj Chadha.He said Australian cricketer Gilchrist

is so impressed with the beauty ofMcLeodganj, known for its Tibetan arte-facts and traditional recipes like Tibetandumplings, that he promised to bringhis family here for a holiday.Chadha remembers the day when

cricketer Brett Lee spent the entire dayplaying his guitar in the restaurant."Actually he was a Kings XI player and

he was out of the team owing to an in-jury. He skipped watching the matchand spent the entire day playing the gui-tar."Chris Gayle, as usual, was the life of all

the night parties hosted by Kings XIowner Preity Zinta in Mc'LLo.The restaurant offers Indian, conti-

nental and Chinese cuisine, as also Ti-betan dishes like dumplings.For liquor connoisseurs, the pub has

on its premium wine list brands from atleast 15 countries, mainly Australia and

Food

Where the StarsShine and Dinein Little Lhasa

England cricketers Ian Bell, Stuart Borad (right) and Alistair Cook along with Mc'LLo owner Pankaj Chadha.

Kapil Dev (centre) at the Mc'LLo restaurant


n Getting to McLeodganj: By publicor private road transport fromDelhi via Chandigarh (500 km).It's an eight km steep uphill climbfrom Dharamsala. It is also con-nected by air and rail from Delhi.The airport is at Gaggal near Kan-gra town, some 40 km fromMcLeodganj. The nearest railwaystation is Punjab's Pathankottown, some 100 km fromMcLeodganj.

n Where to stay: Hotels, guesthouses, and even home stayswith local people (Rs.1,000-Rs.8,000). There are 91 registeredhotels with a capacity of 1,000.There is no five-star hotel in thevicinity.

n Nearby destinations: Tea estates,some of them set up by theBritish, in Palampur. Those whowant to mix leisure with spiritual-ism can visit Kangra, Baijnathand Jwalaji, known for prominentHindu shrines. Most of thesetowns are within a 40 km radiusof McLeodganj.

n A meal for two in Mc'LLo restau-rant would cost between Rs.1,000and 1,500 (without alcohol).

Hollywood star Pierce Brosnan at the Mc'LLo restaurant.

Ravi Shastri (left) at the Mc'LLo restaurant.

South Africa."A bottle of a top brand of wine costs

somewhere between Rs.2,000 andRs.5,000, depending upon the originand the vintage," Chadha said.The restaurant is known for offering a

platter of an authentic taste of Italy – athin crust wood-fired pizza and, ofcourse, pasta too."Our pizza gives a smoky flavor as it is

smoked in a wood oven. Others useelectrical ovens," he said."We have a special Chinese menu,

which includes traditional Tibetan cui-sine. Since most of our guests are Ti-betans and followers of the religion, weoffer typical dishes like momos andthukpa noodle soup, while the maincourse comprises mutton thenthuk andmutton gyathuk," Chadha said.McLeodganj is the uphill quaint town

about 500 km from New Delhi. Alsoknown as Little Lhasa, it's home to thou-sands of Tibetans who found a secondabode to preserve their unique faith,culture and identity.The mighty Dhauladhar peak in the

town's backdrop, the nearby British eratea estates and the spiritual pull of glo-betrotting Buddhist monk, the DalaiLama, is luring hundreds of thousandsof tourists. n


Asedentary lifestyle, bad foodhabits and obesity are some ofthe leading causes of Polycystic

Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) among Indianteenagers, with an estimated 10-30 per-cent adolescent girls being affected by it,health experts say."There is a strong association of obe-

sity and PCOS, especially when it hap-pens around adolescence. Theincidence of PCOS is rising and lifestylechanges, nutrition and dietary factorsplay a large role in this," said RanjanaSharma, senior consultant – gynaecol-ogy, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.Agreed Sandeep Chadha, executive

consultant, obstetrics and gynecology,Jaypee Hospital, Noida, who said thathormonal imbalance is the major "cul-prit" in PCOS cases.Among other reasons, he listed obe-

sity, sudden weight gain and, in somecases, genetic conditions."In the past one decade, a sedentary

lifestyle has taken the first place to cre-ate hormonal imbalance, and this leadsto Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. If we lookat urban India, approximately 15 per-cent young girls are falling to PCOSevery year in India," Chadha pointedout. PCOS leads to the formation ofmultiple cysts in the ovary and excessiveproduction of androgens (male hor-mones) and also causes increased facialand body hair, menstrual irregularitiesand acne."Symptoms like weight gain, patches

of the dark skin on the back of neck andother areas, irregular periods, unwantedhair growth and acne can lead to PCOS,"said Hrishikesh Pai, infertility expert atMumbai's Lilavati Hospital."However, not every individual devel-

ops PCOS if she has all of these symp-toms. Different people have differentsymptoms with differing levels of sever-ity," Pai said.He added that the symptoms usually

develop around late teens and early 20s,adding that teenagers suffering fromPCOS can often develop depression orpoor self esteem because of the effect ofthe other symptoms."It becomes challenging for some

teenagers in future when they plan tohave children," he said.According to Shivani Sachdev Gour,

director of SCI Healthcare, PCOS if un-treated can lead to many other compli-cations, including cancer.

"Type 2 diabetes due to insulin resist-ance, cholesterol and lipid abnormali-ties, increased risk of cardiovascularproblems, abnormal uterine bleeding,infertility due to hormonal imbalance,depression and increased risk of uterinecancer due to exposure to unopposedestrogen are some of the harmful effectsof untreated PCOS," Gour said.Chadha said that PCOS can be diag-

nosed by symptoms and signs, ultra-sound and hormone analysis, addingthat various hormone tablets are avail-able if women do not wish to conceive."If she wishes conception then ovula-

tion induction drugs along with weightreduction and insulin sensitizing agentsare used," he said.Gour added: "Weight loss in obese pa-

tients is the first line of treatment. It im-proves menstrual abnormalities,infertility. Adolescent girls should becounselled for lifestyle modification,

they should be encouraged to take partin physical activities and should adopthealthy eating habits."She added that medication to de-

crease insulin resistance and the pres-ence of male pattern of hair is also given."Surgery is the alternative procedure

for those who are resistant to medicalmanagement. Mechanical electrolysisand laser treatment are the optionsavailable for facial hair but only after theunderlying cause is corrected," Gour ex-plained.Highlighting the role of parents and

offering a word of advice to them,Sharma said: "They need to be madeaware and informed that this conditioncan affect the entire body. They need tounderstand two things: a) the rightweight should be maintained and b) im-mediate medical advice (should besought) as soon as the above symptomsare seen in a growing girl." n

Health

PCOS: A Growing Pain in Growing Girls

"In the past one decade, a sedentary lifestyle has taken the firstplace to create hormonal imbalance, and this leads to PolycysticOvary Syndrome. If we look at urban India, approximately 15percent young girls are falling to PCOS every year in India”– Sandeep Chadha, executive consultant, obstetrics andgynecology, Jaypee Hospital, Noida


Moving past its image as apopular textile, Indian sci-entists have tapped into

Assam's durable Muga silk to craft su-tures, used for closing wounds, thathave the potential for fast and efficienthealing.Muga, popularly known as golden silk

due to its glossy texture, is found in se-lect parts of Assam and is a product ofthe silkworm (Antheraea assamensis),unique to the northeast state. The fibrehas the highest tensile strength (abilityto withstand stress) among all naturalsilks and is known for its durability.Scientists in Assam modified the silk

fibre with polypropylene – a versatilesubstance that is commercially used inmaking surgical sutures – in addition toapplications in packaging, textiles, andhousewares, among others."We grafted polypropylene on Muga

(made of silk fibroin protein) by plasmaprocessing (a form of physics) and suc-cessfully produced sutures suitable forswift wound-healing. It is the best of allthe sutures produced," said JoyantiChutia, emeritus scientist and formerdirector of the Institute of AdvancedStudy in Science and Technology

(IASST), at Guwahati, on phone."The biomaterial was degraded inside

the system and wound-healing was ob-served within a few days," Chutia added.IASST is an autonomous institute

under the Indian government's depart-ment of science and technology.Wound-healing was observed in rab-

bits and the study was a collaborative ef-fort between scientists of IASST, AssamAgricultural University and the Laserand Plasma Technology Division ofMumbai's Bhabha Atomic ResearchCentre. The additions improved the silkfibre's physical and mechanical quali-ties so much so that the novel materialfulfilled the most crucial requirementsof ideal sutures for efficient wound-healing, Chutia said."Because of the processing, the muga

silk exhibited good anti-bacterial prop-erty (due to enhanced hydrophobic orwater-repellent effect) which is one ofthe most important facets for sutures,"she added. Also, the method used to fab-ricate these sutures is environment-friendly and non-hazardous, thescientist said.The researchers have applied for a

patent this year.

Chutia said Muga silk is till now lim-ited to conventional use as clothing ma-terial."Its utility as a potential suture bio-

material remains unexplored, althoughthe possibilities of this silk protein forapplication in tissue engineering andcontrolled drug delivery have been re-ported," she said.The focus is now on furthering the

drug delivery aspect of the biomaterial,she said.Amit K. Dinda, professor in the

pathology department at New Delhi'sAll India Institute of Medicine Sciences(AIIMS), said the new suture material, ifit adhered to regulatory norms, could bean important step in developing indige-nous materials."For India, sutures are very important.

This will be a good suture material toapproach the wound, to close thewound. If this material passes the strictguidelines and can protect from infec-tion, then it could be a very good thing.It also has to be cost-effective since mostsuture materials are imported," saidDinda, president of the Indian Society ofRenal and Transplant Pathology, on thephone. n

Science

Unlocking the Powers of Muga"Because of theprocessing, themuga silk exhibitedgood anti-bacterialproperty (due toenhancedhydrophobic orwater-repellenteffect) which isone of the mostimportant facetsfor sutures”– Joyanti Chutia,emeritus scientistand formerdirector of theInstitute ofAdvanced Study inScience andTechnology (IASST)


With record amounts of snowfalling, the pistes overlook-ing Himachal Pradesh's

popular tourist resorts Shimla and Man-ali have turned out to be a paradise forskiers."This is just the beginning of good ski-

ing days," skier and international coachRoshan Lal Thakur said.Thakur said the Solang slopes, just 13

km uphill from Manali, had more thanthree-and-a-half feet of snow cover andmore spells of snow were expected.Like Thakur, the Winter Games Feder-

ation of India secretary general, thereare a number of skiers who grew up withthe Solang slopes in their backyard.Skiing and winter adventure sports

organisers in Manali say more skiers willconverge with the reopening of roadsbetween Kullu and Manali."Our institute has lined up courses,

both for amateur and professionalskiers, from January 11 in Solang andNarkanda," said Randhir Singh Salhuria,director of the state-run Atal Bihari Vaj-payee Institute of Mountaineering andAllied Sports in Manali.Salhuria said the Solang slopes offer a

challenging run to both beginners andadvanced skiers. However, for begin-ners, not for professionals, theNarkanda slopes would be ideal.Currently, Narkanda, some 65 km

from Shimla, has more than two feet ofsnow.

Tourism

HimachalLuresSkiersWith snowfall aplenty this winter, the mountain statehas become heaven for skiing enthusiasts


"The snow quality ismarvellous [in Solang] andmoreover it's not crowded likeAuli and Gulmarg slopes ... We'rlooking at more snow" – Mudit Arora, a skier from NewDelhi

The Himachal Pradesh Tourism De-velopment Corp's (HPTDC) Hatu Hotelat Narkanda provides ski apparatus.According to the Met Office in Shimla,

it snowed heavily in Solang andNarkanda December 13-14, the season'sfirst snowfall."The snow quality is marvellous (in

Solang) and moreover it's not crowdedlike Auli and Gulmarg slopes," saidMudit Arora, a skier from Delhi."We're looking at more snow," he

added.Kufri, just a half-hour drive from

Shimla and known as a honeymooner'sparadise, has also turned out to be a hubfor skiers.Discovered as an ideal hill resort by

the British in the 1930s, Kufri emergedas a popular destination for wintersports due to good snowfall. For manydecades, it was a regular venue for thenational winter games. But in the pastone decade no winter sports activity wasorganised."This time, after a long, long break, we

have managed to revive skiing in Kufri,"private instructor Mohit Bragta said.Skiers said the Kufri slopes were

shorter and gentler, attracting mainlythe tourists and the first-timers.Besides skiing, the tourists in Solang

can enjoy snow scooter and sledging.A large number of private tour opera-

tors are providing both skiing apparatusand instructors to the skiers at Solang.Rohan Thakur, a travel agent in Man-

ali, is upbeat about the skiing seasonahead."As per queries we are getting, we're

eyeing a huge opportunity heading intothis season," he said.More than 50 private operators are

based in Solang to conduct activities inwinter sports for students, families andcorporates.Himachal Pradesh, whose economy is

highly dependent on tourism, attractsevery year tourists who surpass thestate's population of about 6.8 million.Kullu-Manali has emerged as a favouritetourist destination, followed by Shimlaand Dharamsala, the abode of the DalaiLama. n


The status of "National HeritageAnimal" to elephants has donelittle to save them, and at least

427 jumbos have perished in the lastseven years in Odisha. Though the stateclaims it has taken steps to protect theanimal, experts say industrialisationand urbanisation are the main reasonsfor elephant deaths.Elephants are continuously barging

into human habitations, triggering aconflict.At least 23 people and 26 elephants

have died in the ongoing human-animalconflict, until September, forest depart-ment officials said.A majority of elephants died unnatu-

ral deaths because of poaching, poison-ing and deliberate electrocution.According to the 2012 elephant cen-

sus, its population increased to 1,930from 1,886 in 2010, despite the death of149 elephants mostly due to poachingand electrocution.While 51 elephants died in 2009-10,

the toll was 83 in 2010-11, 68 in 2011-12,82 in 2012-13, and 70 in 2013-14, forestofficials said.A total of 353 people died in the

human-elephant conflict from 2009-10till September this year, sources said.However, the government has failed

to formulate any concrete strategy tosave the elephants which barge intohuman habitats, risking their lives aswell as wrecking havoc in the area.Though the government has been

planning to implement an "ElephantCorridor Management Plan" across 14jumbo corridors by cleaning water bod-ies, planting elephant fodder plants andensuing connectivity between habitats,the authorities have not been able to goahead due to mining and other reasons.As a result, the starving elephants

continue to raid human habitations."Elephant is a migrant animal. It can't

stay in one place. It will move to otherplaces in search of food. Industrialisa-tion and urbanisation has forced thejumbos to move everywhere, falling preyto poachers and deliberate electrocu-tion," wildlife activist Lala A.K. Singhpointed out.He said elephants are now found in 28

districts, out of 30 districts in the state.The expert uged both the government

and the civil society to shoulder respon-sibility for protecting the mammals.There are three elephant reserves in

the state – Mayurbhanj, Mahanadi andSambalpur – along with 14 elephant cor-ridors spread over 870 square km.Besides, nine fragmented corridors

are also formed.Though permission for notification of

Environment

Predicament ofthe PachydermAs elephants in Odisha continue to fall victim topoaching, poisoning and intentional electrocution, thegovernment is being accused of not doing enough fortheir conservation


the South Odisha Elephant Reserve andBaitarani Elephant Reserve were ac-corded in 2005, the state government isyet to notify these two elephant reserves.Elephants are even not safe in 19

sanctuaries and national parks in thestate, experts said.In order to protect the jumbos, the

government had allotted Rs.21 croreunder the Compensatory AfforestationFund Management and Planning Au-thority (CAMPA) for strengthening oftransmission lines across the elephantcorridors in 2013-14.It also allocated Rs.36 crore to the en-

ergy department to strengthen saggingpower lines this year.The government has also constituted

district-level coordination committeesin every district to protect the animalsfrom the live wires.But no concrete steps have been

taken to pull up the sagging electricwires."Both the departments are holding

coordination meetings to protect theelephants from live wires. The energydepartment is taking steps to pull up thesagging transmission lines," PrincipalChief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife)S.S. Srivastav.The elephants have also little chance

to survive due to rapid loss of habitatdue to mining activities and industriali-sation. Keonjhar, one of the most mineddistricts in India, earlier had a sizeablenumber of elephants.However, many jumbos have left fol-

lowing loss of habitation due to exces-sive mining.Officials say mining companies have

encroached upon forest land and dis-turbed the elephant corridor."Mining is one of the major reasons

for death of elephants in the state. Wewant industrialisation and progress, butit should not be at the cost of wildlife,"said Srivastav.The Karo-Karampada corridor identi-

fied by the forest department in Keon-jhar district passes by the Bolani minesof SAIL.The Odisha government has asked the

Centre to reserve the Kalarapat bauxitemines in Kalahandi district, which isalso coming under the Karlapat WildlifeSanctuary, to the Odisha Mining Corpo-ration.The borders of the sanctuary are

within one km from the bauxite re-serves. According to the EnvironmentProtection Act, 1986, an area of up to 10km from the border of any sanctuary orNational Park is termed "eco-sensitive"and no developmental or industrial ac-tivities are permitted. n


It's yesterday once more as IndianArmy soldiers in the icy Hi-malayas, to go by a parliamentary

panel's report, suffer a crippling short-age of snow boots, ski masks and am-munition, among others – precisely thecause of the crushing defeat inflicted bythe marauding Chinese forces in 1962.Parliament's standing committee on

defence, in its report tabled in the justconcluded winter session, says there's ashortfall of 447,000 ski masks, 217,388high-ankle boots, 186,138 bulletproofjackets, 13,09,092 brown canvas rubbersole shoes with laces, and 126,270 mos-quito nets."The committee is surprised over the

fact that such deficiencies of basic itemsof regular use, where no high-end tech-nology is warranted, were allowed toexist," the panel, headed by Major Gen-eral B.C. Khanduri (retd), said.An Indian Army representative was

quoted in the report as stating there is a"major deficiency in operation andtraining stock; inadequate capacity andquality issues of indigenous ammuni-tion by Ordnance Factory Board (OFB);and inadequate budget support for theAmmunition Roadmap".Thus, the committee recommended

that "necessary steps should be taken bythe (defence) ministry so that ammuni-tion in required quantity and of highquality is always available with army atany given time. Otherwise, in the opin-ion of the Committee, it would not bepossible for the country to sustain a warfor a longer period".As for the non-procurement of

186,138 bulletproof jackets, sanctionedin 2009, the committee felt that the fig-ure...must have soared in the last fiveyears due to increase in number of newrecruits and also the wearing down ofthe old stock"."The committee is perturbed over the

fact that such an important life-savingdevice has not been purchased by theministry, jeopardizing the lives of thou-sands of soldiers," it said.On the non-performance of the in-

digenous 5.56mm INSAS rifle that wasmeant as a replacement for the stan-dard-issue AK-47, the panel found it"shocking" that even in 53 years, the De-fence Research and Development Or-ganisation (DRDO) had not been able todevelop "a world-class basic productlike a rifle".The committee also expressed "sur-

prise" that the funds for raising a moun-tain strike corps (some 30,000personnel) was to be taken from thearmy's budget and there was no sepa-rate allocation.

Defence

The Army’sCold RealityIndian soldiers, who must often work in inhospitableweather and unforgiving terrain, continue to be ill-clad,ill-equipped and ill-armed


"The committee is leastconvinced with the reply of theministry that the allocation fordefence expenditure has beenconstrained by the overalleconomic and fiscal situation.Such a reply is routine innature and as per [our] view,the defence of the countrymust have precedence overother aspects and the ministryof finance should prioritize theentire budgetary allocationappropriately so that thereremains no dearth of funds forthe services and the security ofthe country is nevercompromised for want ofmoney”– A report from aparliamentary panel headed byMajor General B.C. Khanduri(retd)

"The committee is surprised to notethat for raising of this Corps, no separateallocation has been made in this year'sbudget," the panel said."As informed, an amount of Rs.5,000

crore has been earmarked for it, but it isnot over and above the actual budget al-located and the army has been asked toraise this corps out of its own budget," itsaid.The report added that only war

wastage reserves were being utilised forraising the corps, terming this impracti-cal."It seems very impractical and incon-

gruous that a new corps is being raisedwith war wastage reserves. The commit-tee feels that the ministry should doaway with its proclivity of ad-hoc plan-

ning and provide adequate budgetarysupport commensurate with the re-quirement of the mountain strikecorps," it said.To be based at Panagarh in West Ben-

gal, the mountain strike corps is meantto counter potential threats from China.It will be the army's fourth strike corpsafter the Pakistan-central formationsbased at Hissar, Ambala and Bhopal.The panel also pointed out the lack of

funds for the forces, and asked the gov-ernment not to use the economic situa-tion as an excuse for not increasingallocations."Although defence expenditure is in-

creasing in absolute terms over theyears, the percentage increase... since2000-2001 has not been consistent," the

report said."The committee is least convinced

with the reply of the ministry that the al-location for defence expenditure hasbeen constrained by the overall eco-nomic and fiscal situation. Such a replyis routine in nature and as per (our)view, the defence of the country musthave precedence over other aspects andthe ministry of finance should prioritizethe entire budgetary allocation appro-priately so that there remains no dearthof funds for the services and the securityof the country is never compromised forwant of money," the panel added.India on July 10 hiked its defence

budget by 12.43 percent, with FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley allocatingRs.229,000 crore ($38.15 billion) in thebudget proposals for 2014-15 that hepresented in the Lok Sabha.This is Rs.25,373 crore over the

Rs.203,672 crore allocated for 2013-14and Rs.5,000 crore over the Rs.224,000crore allocated in the interim budget for2014-15 presented ahead of the April-May general election. n


Aflying snake, known to be en-demic to Sri Lanka, has beensighted in Andhra Pradesh's

Seshachalam forests, some forest offi-cials and researchers say.According to researchers, this is the

first time that Chrysopelea taprobanicahas been sighted outside the island na-tion.The species, known to be found in dry

zone lowlands and parts of the interme-diate climatic zones in Sri Lanka, wasspotted at the Seshachalam BiosphereReserve in Chittoor district.It was about a year ago that the

species was seen in Chalama, a core for-est area about 25 km from the hill shrineof Tirumala.Morphological studies and DNA tests

proved that it was indeed Chrysopeleataprobanica, which glides by stretchingits body into a flattened strip.However, the researchers have re-

vealed this now after Checklist, a journalof biodiversity data, mentioned it in itslatest issue."We have the specimen and we sent

this to many international biodiversityorganisations," said M. Ravikumar, theconservator of forests in the WildlifeManagement Circle, Tirupati.Researchers Bubesh Guptha and N.V.

Sivaram Prasad conducted the studyunder the guidance of Ravikumar, incollaboration with Simon T. Maddock ofThe Natural History Museum in Lon-don, and V. Deepak of the Centre forEcological Studies at the Indian Instituteof Science (IISc) in Bengaluru."An adult specimen of C. taprobanica

was collected from the SeshachalamBiosphere Reserve of Andhra Pradesh,India, being the first record of this snakespecies from India, significantly extend-ing the known range of distribution ofthe species," the international journalsaid in its 10th anniversary issue.The forest official said the sighting of

the flying snake was another evidence ofthe rich biodiversity of the Seshachalamforests.He, however, said that unlike other

animals, it was difficult to observesnakes as they were mostly nocturnal.

Wildlife

Discovered: The Other Abodeof the Sri Lankan Flying Snake

"An adult specimen of C. taprobanica was collected from theSeshachalam Biosphere Reserve of Andhra Pradesh, India, beingthe first record of this snake species from India, significantlyextending the known range of distribution of the species”– Checklist, a journal of biodiversity data

Guptha said he also captured picturesof two more flying snakes spotted a fewmonths ago.He believes the species may have

moved between Sri Lanka and the dryzones of peninsular India before the tworegions got separated due to some nat-ural events about 17,000 years ago.According to the journal, an uniden-

tified specimen suspected to beChrysopelea taprobanica was pho-tographed in 2000 by V. Santharam in adeciduous forest patch in Rishi Valley ofAndhra Pradesh, but the specimen wasnot collected.The Seshachalam hill range is part of

the Eastern Ghats, which are a chain ofbroken hills in peninsular India. Theyhave been less explored for their biodi-

versity compared to the Western Ghats.The researcher feels the development

could throw more light on the rich bio-diversity of the Eastern Ghats."All talk about the Western Ghats but

we have come across rare species inthe Eastern Ghats as well. There is aneed for more long-term research,"Guptha said.The rare species found here in recent

times include Slender Coral Snake (Cal-liophis melanurus), Elliot's Shieldtail(Uropeltis ellioti), Brown vine snake(Ahaetulla pulverulenta) and Nagarju-nasagar Racer (Coluber bholanathi).Ravikumar said the Seshachalam

forests were rich in both flora and fauna."There are several endemic species," headded. n


In downtown Worli, it is commonto hear the strange greeting of 'As-salamu-Alaykum, Guruji' when-

ever an 80-year-old Muslim man stepsout of his modest home. He is noneother than renowned Sanskrit scholarPandit Gulam Dastagir, who over sixdecades has impressed theShankaracharyas, late prime ministerIndira Gandhi, RSS leaders and Islamicscholars, all with equal élan.Armed with a deep knowledge of both

Islam and Sanskrit, Pandit Dastagir canspeak with authority on any religioustopic – and earn their unabashed admi-ration.Born in Chikhali village in Solapur

district, Pandit Dastagir completed hisschooling before joining a governmentSanskrit institution."I was the only Muslim student in a

class of around four dozen Brahmins.My Brahmin Guruji developed a specialliking for me and encouraged me. I ac-quired my entire Sanskrit knowledge ofthe scriptures, Vedas and other textsthere," Pandit Dastagir said.Around mid-1950s, he shifted to

Mumbai and joined the Maratha Mandir

Sansthan's Marathi-medium Worli HighSchool as a Sanskrit teacher for allclasses.Two decades later, to comply with

professional requirements, he appeareddirectly for a Master's degree in Sanskritfrom Mysore University.After the Emergency, when the Janata

Party ruled India, Pandit Dastagir wassuddenly targeted. "They suspected Iwas a namesake Muslim propagatingthe RSS and Jana Sangh ideologythrough Sanskrit. It was only after a longinvestigation that they were provedwrong," the man chuckled.When Indira Gandhi returned to

power in 1980, she summoned him andwas surprised to discover that PanditDastagir was actually a 'Syedvanshi', orbelonging to a clan considered the di-rect descendents of Prophet Mo-hammed."She met me several times and appre-

ciated my knowledge and love for San-skrit. In 1982, she told the educationministry to appoint me as a 'RashtriyaSanskrit Pracharak'," Pandit Dastagirsaid.When baffled officials asked Gandhi

Literature

Portrait of aMuslim Scholar asa Sanskrit GuruPandit Gulam Dastagir is doubtless one of the finestproducts of a secular India

"Comparative study of different religions makes you morereasonable. I am not a fanatic, just an ordinary Muslim"

how should his duties be classified, shereportedly shot back: "He will teach uswhat needs to be done. Let him functionindependently."For two years, he toured India exten-

sively and propagated Sanskrit in gov-ernment and private institutions. Hequit the post after Gandhi's assassina-tion in 1984."I acquired MA in Sanskrit only in

1987 when I was around 50 years old al-though I was proficient in the languagelong before."Since his retirement, Pandit Dastagir

lectures on the similarities betweenIslam and Hinduism with reference tovarious aspects of one of the world'soldest and richest languages, Sanskrit."Sanskrit is not only for Brahmins. But

this perception made the masses reluc-tant to study it. I create awareness aboutSanskrit all over India among differentcastes and religions," he said.Pandit Dastagir explained that Hin-

duism does not recognize conversion orthe caste system. "The current craze forconversion has no basis in Hindu scrip-tures. It is not recognized. At best, youcan change a person's name, not hissoul from the religion of his/her birth,"he said.An old darling of the Rashtriya

Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), PanditDastagir credits the group with givinghim full encouragement to pursue hisvocation without having to change hisreligion.He feels the RSS was not against any

religion. "But if anybody threatens Hin-duism, they will hit back, irrespective ofthe opponent's religious beliefs," PanditDastagir said. He has also never encoun-tered objections from fellow Muslimsover his passion for Sanskrit. "Compar-ative study of different religions makesyou more reasonable. I am not a fanatic,just an ordinary Muslim."His love for Sanskrit has not made

him lose Islamic identity. He prays dailyat the mosque. "I have built up a huge li-brary of thousands of books on Sanskritand Islam which I study and propagate,"Pandit Dastagir said.He laments that there are many other

Muslim Sanskrit scholars in the countrybut financial constraints prevent themfrom propagating the ancient Indianlanguage.Pandit Dastagir's wife Vahida is a sup-

porting housewife. Their son Badiuj-jama is a Sanskrit scholar but runs ashop, elder daughter Gyasunissa Shaikhruns a Sanskrit research centre in Sola-pur, and their other daughter Kamrun-nisa Patil never pursued her father'spassion. n


Move over monochromesand experiment withcolours and bold prints;

give the little black dress a miss forskirts and crop tops – and emphasiseon bold and beautiful accessories toput your best fashion foot forward inthe New Year, Indian designers sug-gest.Skimpy dresses went passé from red

carpet events in the latter half of 2014,paving way for skirts in all forms, aswell as sassy crop tops. Designers saythe trend will continue to rule in 2015,as much for celebrities as for commonfashion-conscious girls.From the city streets to the interna-

tional runway shows of Jill Stuart andMichael Kors – crop tops have beenmaking a splash of sorts.Back home, it was actresses like

Sonam Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha,Malaika Arora Khan, Jacqueline Fer-nandez and Alia Bhatt who flauntedthe trend during movie promotions

and award nights."Skirts will make a big trend in 2015.

The ones with long slits, wrap skirtsand pretty much all kinds of skirts aregoing to be hot in 2015. Crop tops willalso make it for big trend this year,and they work both for relaxed casuallooks and for cocktail wear," said de-signer Kiran Uttam Ghosh.But before opting for this look,

make sure you're toned enough!If you wish to steer clear of a sensu-

ous and feminine look, try casualmaxi t-shirt dresses and denims."A maxi t-shirt dress is best for the

lazy girls as it is a one-stop for comfortand style. Also, denims in all formswill be huge along with sneakers, thatwere earlier restricted to gymwear."Running shoes are now being

paired with the most chic outfits. Ioften wear my sneakers with mydresses," said Ghosh.Bohemian glamour is also knocking

at the doors of the fashion world once

Fashion

What’sOut,What’s Infor 2015 "Bold African geometric prints, fluffyclouds prints, artistic ink splattersand over-scaled blurred imagery areall huge trends in terms of printedfabric for 2015. Tartans andhoundstooth will be a big trend tooalong with faux leather, texturedcottons, taffeta and organza" – Designer Swapnil Shinde


again, thanks to foreign celebritieslike Catherine Zeta Jones, NicoleRichie and Emma Stone, who havelately been seen experimentingwith this style.For designers, fringes and florals

will add some spunk to this look in2015."Fringes add a bohemian charm

to an outfit with an understatedflamboyance. The trend is going tobe seen on everything - dresses,skirts, jackets, bags, shoes, scarvesand pretty much everything in yourwardrobe."Florals are also making its way

in 2015 like never before. Fromlarge and loud to minute, it's allabout going floral this year," saidGhosh.The choices of out-of-the-box

fabrics and colours will also play ahuge role in boosting the glamourquotient in you."Bold African geometric prints,

fluffy clouds prints, artistic inksplatters and over scaled blurredimagery are all huge trends interms of printed fabric for 2015.Tartans and houndstooth will be abig trend too along with fauxleather, textured cottons, taffetaand organza," designer SwapnilShinde said.The colours that are likely to rule

the palette are shades of green –olive, leaf and emerald, along withamethyst, deep purple, mauve andpink. According to Shinde, suchcolours and fabrics will look goodon "clean lines, cocoon silhouettesfor an androgynous look."What about footwear and acces-

sories?"Chunky bibs in copper and

handcuffs with interesting animalor reptile motifs will steal the show.Boots are also a huge trend for theseason, closely followed by anklestrap heels," said Shinde. n


Movie Review

Funny, how more things change,the more they remain the same."Tevar", which is one of the

most engaging Bollywood masaladossiers in recent months, takes usthrough the crowded 'gallis', 'mohallas'and 'akhadas' of Agra and Mathura insearch of that elusive thing called love.This is a love story where most of the

playing-time is devoted to the protago-nists locked in a scuffle of the mostphysical and violent kind. And yet,there's a core of tenderness in the film,manifested in Sonakshi Sinha's meltingpleading eyes as she makes a run awayfrom the city's arch-goon GajenderSingh (Manoj Bajpayee,bang-on), who has taken ashine to her.Mind you, it's not a

lecher's lascivious love. It'strue love.Bajpayee interprets the

besotted goon's characterwith such intuitive warmththat you almost feel sorryfor this vicious uncouth'katta'-carrying ruffianturning into jelly when lovestrikes at a dance performance, whichincidentally could've been better chore-ographed.Never mind. There is no telling about

tastes, specially when a man loses hisheart while the local lass swirls twirlsand unfurls a wave of endless violencethat ends at Terminal 3 of the Delhi air-port.Bajpayee's character's love for the

spirited Radhika would have made for amore interesting case-study on the way-ward ways of the heart than the other li-aison between the hero and the heroine.As the love-smitten sociopath, Bajpayeeinstills inner reserves of wicked unex-pectedness in scenes that seem to bewritten to accentuate the demoniacalduffer's embarrassing attempts to be ro-mantic. Bajpayee takes the character be-yond the precincts of parodic evil.At the end of the day, "Tevar" is a

showcase for Arjun Kapoor's heroics, somuch so that the hero's friends – somuch an integral part of the mofussil

drama with Salman Khan in "TereNaam" or Tusshar Kapoor in "MujheKucch Kehna Hai" – are reduced to ababbling blur. Make no mistake, this isArjun Kapoor's one-way ticket to some'hero-giri'. And would Mahesh Babuplease move over?Indeed, the film offers Arjun the

chance to take his substantial stardomto the next level. He grabs the opportu-nity with both hands. From his stunningintroductory sequence where he makeshis way into a kabaddi match by in-dulging in some earthy parkour to theclimactic fist fight with Bajpayee, Arjundoesn't let go of even a moment of the

opportunity to juice his character for allthe adrenaline that it is worth.A film about characters on the run,

stands the risk of running out of breath."Tevar" averts the wheezy and adoptsthe breezy momentum of a narrativehurling towards a pre-empted bloody fi-nale. Oh yes, the film is violent. Ex-tremely so. But it is not the sickeninglife-sucking violence of "Ghajini" or therecent "Lakshmi".The action scenes, though stretched

out, are shot skilfully in the comicbookmode. You could almost see debutantdirector Amit Sharma thinking of theoriginal fights in the Telugu hit "Okkudi"being reproduced here in tactile terms.The narrative is pickled with cracker-

jack action sequences. And if Arjun isthe self-confessed 'Salman ka fan' heroof "Tevar", then action director ShamKaushal's kicks and grunts are the hero'shefty heroic ammunition.The supporting cast is sketchy at the

most with Deepti Naval trying bravely to

paint shades into her shadowy charac-ter. But it's the redoubtable Raj Babbarwho springs a surprise. Playing thewastrel hero's upright policeman-dadBabbar succeeds in swerving his stereo-typical character into unexpected areasof empathy.In fact, Babbar's character epitomises

the film's mood. We've seen the sameplot a million times. "Tevar" makes thefamiliar look fresh and engaging.If 2014 ended with a bang called "PK",

2015 if off to a flying start with thisbumpy joyride of a film, a cat-and-mouse chase film with smartly writtenscenes that leave us hankering for more.

In the film, Sonakshi'scharacter is shown to re-move all the 'matar fromthe paneer' whenever sheis served the dish. But wedon't mind taking thecorny dialogues whichcome with the captivatingscenes.Director Amit Sharma

takes a very basic plot of asmall-town boy on the runwith a hapless girl whom

the city's biggest goon wants to forciblymarry. This isn't the first time that Son-akshi has played the damsel in distress.She knows the character by heart.In a couple of sequences, such as the

one where Arjun smears holi colours onher face, and/or the pre-climactic inter-lude where he attacks Bajpayee with thearsenic of sarcasm, Sonakshi nails thecharacter. This is her best performanceafter "Lootera".Luckily for the script, Arjun and Son-

akshi look like the kind of people whocan bump into one another due to abizarre chain of events, and then fall inlove. The build-up to the couple's grow-ing mutual fondness doesn't have a con-vincing graph. But what the film has inhuge amounts, is inner faith in the filmyformula, and a virile fluency in the nar-rative pattern.This week, just forget about gods and

aliens. Just go have a good time watch-ing an unpretentious unapologeticmasala film. n

'Tevar' - masala at its best Subhash K. Jha

Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee; Director: Amit Ravindernath Sharma; Rating: ****


Bollywood

'Mary Kom' is for my dad:Priyanka Chopra"Mary Kom" was one of the top gainers at the Renault Star Guild Awards 2015 and

actress Priyanka Chopra, who played the main lead in the film, has dedicated itssuccess to her late father Ashok Chopra. "Thank u #starGuildAwards for the acknowledge-ments tonight...#MaryKom is for my dad.. Thank you for watching over me," tweetedPriyanka, who walked away with the best actress award for the film. Priyanka always found agreat support system in her father, who passed away after a battle with cancer in 2013. Adoctor by profession, he had retired from the Indian Army in 1997 as lieutenant-colonel.The "Fashion" actress also has a tattoo of "Daddy's Li'l Girl" on one of her forearms. Di-rected by Omung Kumar, the film was released September 5. Priyanka, who has earliercalled "Mary Kom" her toughest film ever, credited the film's team for the success of thefilm. "Congratulations to team #MaryKom for winning 5 tonight. @OmungKumar @Sai-wynQ, Sanjay Sir and everyone who made this possible," she wrote. At present, the actress isbusy shooting for her first period drama "Bajirao Mastani", which also stars DeepikaPadukone and Ranveer Singh. n

'Badlapur' is special :Huma QureshiActress Huma Qureshi, who will soon be seen in dark, intense and revenge

drama "Badlapur", says it's a special film for her as she got a chance towork with her favourite director Sriram Raghavan, who made sure she

was out of her comfort zone. At the launch of a magazine's cover recently, Humaopened up about her role in the movie, which also stars Varun Dhawan.

"In 'Badlapur', my character'sname is Jhumli. It's a special filmfor me because I got a chance towork with my favourite director,Sriram Raghavan. I'm a huge fanof him. And from the time I sawhis films, 'Ek Hasina Thi' ,'Johnny Gaddaar', I really wantedto work with him," she said.Huma, who has earlier been ap-preciated for her work in filmslike "Gangs of Wasseypur", "LuvShuv Tey Chicken Khurana", "EkThi Daayan", "D-Day" and"Dedh Ishqiya", believes the rolein "Badlapur" has challenged herin a different way. “About mycharacter, I would only say thatSriram (director) really put meoutside my comfort zone. I thinkJhumli is a character that I possi-bly did just because of him. I

don't think I would have put myself through playing such a difficult character,"she said. The actress even recollected one day during the shoot when she "literallybroke down". She hopes audiences "really enjoy how much hard work we havepulled together in the film". “Badlapur", which also stars Nawazuddin Siddiquiand Divya Dutta in key roles, is set to release February 20. n


Hollywood

Blanchett usesEmu oil for skinActress Cate Blanchett, 45, says she

swears by the power of Emu oil forkeeping her skin in check. "I tend to use re-ally basic creams, and I like to put an oil on,like an emu oil from Australia. It’s from theEmu (bird) and it’s really nourishing. I pre-fer an oil to a cream," dailymail.co.ukquoted her as saying. "In indigenous Aus-tralian culture, that’s the first oil they puton a baby because it’s so hydrating. It’s allpretty basic," she added. The product ismade from oil taken from the fatty tissueon an Emu's back. n

Gomez spottedholding Zedd'shandSinger Selena Gomez has sparked dating rumours

with Russian-German music producer and DJ Zeddafter they were spotted holding hands at a Golden Globeafter-party. On Sunday evening, while heading to the party,the 22-year-old was seen holding hands with Zedd, 25, asshe chatted up with Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux,reports dailymail.co.uk.The two looked like a couple as they made their way side

by side past a sea of people that included valets and party-goers. Earlier in the evening, Gomez was seen resting herarms on Zedd's shoulder while on the red carpet withmodel Cara Delevingne at the InStyle/Warner Bros party.Gomez looked thrilled to be with Zedd and was seenbeaming at him while he posed for the camera. n


Book Review

It was a friendly and perceptive policemanwho, seeing a confused teenager before him,may have helped launch a glorious career. It

was Rome, 1951, and the girl, searching for a leadingfilm production firm but finding the address shehad been given was of a police station, was wonder-ing if she had been duped. The policeman then toldher the "Ponti-De Laurentiis place" was next doorand put Sofia Lazzaro on the path that saw her be-come one of the world's best-known and accom-plished actresses. We know her as Sophia Loren.Born Sofia Villani

Scicolone Sep 20, 1934,in a small town nearNaples, Sophia Loren'sstory is a Cinderella-like legend - from achildhood where dep-rivation and hungerwere not far off to theglittering film careerwhere she worked withhousehold names andshe tells of her life withcandour, grace andcharacteristic aplombin her first autobiogra-phy - coming at the ageof 80.It makes no effort to

hide her scarcely envi-able childhood whereliving with her mater-nal grandparents (whoshe thought were herparents due to her ab-sentee 'father') and thefamily teetering on thebrink of impoverish-ment and danger as the Second World War raged upthe Italian peninsula - she herself got hit by shrap-nel in a bombing raid but a kindly American armysurgeon made the scar disappear.At that time she gave no indication of the allur-

ing woman she would become - getting nick-named Toothpick at school due to her scrawnybuild and dark colour before blossoming out as ateenager.It was a tortuous way ahead - beauty pageants

(with a home-made dress made out of the cur-tains), 'fotoromanzis' (the adored Italian photo-romances), uncredited film appearances

(including "Quo Vadis" where director MervynLeRoy was impressed with her despite her naïvebut enthusiastic "yes" to all questions includingwhat her name was), till that fateful search forthat production house of Carlo Ponti and Dinode Laurentiis. Then there was no looking back.During her career (which spans six-and-a-half

decades of her total eight - and still shows no signof ending), she has worked with the Who's Who ofthe film industry and she gives insightful accountsof Ponti (who despite being two decades older be-

came her husband),Cary Grant (whowanted to marry her),director Vittorio DeSica, Marcello Mas-troianni, Frank Sina-tra, Clark Gable,Gregory Peck, JayneMansfield (who suf-fered a "wardrobemalfunction" next toher at one Hollywoodbash), Charles "Char-lie" Chaplin, RichardBurton, Peter O'Toole,Marlon Brando, PaulNewman, Omar Sharif(their mothers held aneggplant cooking con-test), Audrey Hepburn(whose 'lunch' ex-plains how she main-tained the famouswaif-like figure) andmany more.There may be noth-

ing in this book whichmay not be known or

seem a revelation, but the way Sophia Loren tells it- as a Christmas Eve evocation of memories on find-ing a box of old photos and letters - makes it seema conversation carried out with the reader.Film stars have so much written about them that

their lives are virtually public knowledge. But howfar trusty are these reports about those experiencedin working in a make-believe world, donning arange of personas and moreover enjoying servicesof an extensive publicity machine. It is then we waitfor their memoirs, hoping to get a glimpse of theperson once the makeup is off.This is one such work. n

'Two Women' and More: A diva's remarkable story

Vikas Datta

Title: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: My Life ; Author: Sophia Loren; Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK; Pages: 352; Special Indian price: Rs.699

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