He was there for the oppressed when theyneeded him most, and he rid them of theirsuffering with the force of belief that his frail,

barely-covered body had in abundance. A 150 yearshence, Bapu’s need is being felt again, as acutely as

before. For, oppression and slaveryhave returned in the guise of

persecution and hatred.,And no,

common folksdon’t want Bapuback in a born-

again Avatar - lest some ‘Baba’ or miracle manassumes the mantle by fakery — and most certainlynot on TV. Don’t want Bapu to do rallies and givespeeches, never. Just be there for us, with us, in ourhearts and minds. The Mahatma was so different.

He was at once a saint and a revolutionary, apolitician and social reformer, an economist and manof religion, educationist and Satyagrahi; devoteealike of faith and reason, Hindu and inter-religious,nationalist and internationalist, man of action anddreamer of dreams. TheWest calls MahatmaGandhi “a universalman... as relevant todayas he was yesterday, as

he will be tomorrow”. They do genuinely. In Bapu’sown words: “After I am gone, no single person will beable completely to represent me. But a little bit ofme will live in many of you. If each puts the causefirst and himself last, the vacuum will to a largeextent be filled” was so haunting. The increasedvelocity of modern changes, we do not know whatthe world will be a hundred years hence. But yearsmay go their way, yet the principles of Satya andAhimsa, truth and non-violence are there to guide us.They are the silent stars keeping holy vigil above a

tired and turbulent world.

Hello, Bapu! …Give us the courage to follow you.

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

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VIJAYAWADA 9THE LASTING

LEGACY

VIJAYAWADA, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

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Published FromVIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

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Lord Venkateswara’sname included inNASA rocket to MarsPNS n TIRUPATI

The name of LordVenkateswara of the famoushill shrine at Tirumala, sten-cilled in micro chips andaffixed on NASAs Mars 2020Rover, would fly to the RedPlanet, former director ofNational Mission ofManuscripts andan ardent devo-tee V VenkataR a m a n aReddy saidhere onTuesday.

"I have sub-mitted the sacredname of LordVenkateswara and gotthe souvenir boarding pass inthe name of the Lord fromthe official website of NASA,"Reddy, also formerly profes-sor of Oriental ResearchInstitute in Sri VenkateswaraUniversity here, said. TheLord's name would be

among 10 million namesstencilled on microchipsaffixed on the Rover, theAmerican space agency hassaid. The submission ofnames at the NASA websitefor the "Send Your Name toMars" campaign ended onTuesday, Reddy said. "I am a

strong supporter ofPrime Minister

Narendra Modiand an ardentdevotee of LordVenkateswara,and I amdelighted to send

the name of theancient and world

famous Tirumalashrines presiding deity to

Mars," he said. NASA hadinvited the public to submittheir names to fly to the redplanet. The mission is sched-uled for launch in July 2020,with the spacecraft expectedto touch down on Mars inFebruary 2021.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Village/Ward Secretariats willstart functioning fromWednesday across the State.The Chief Minister will for-mally launch the new systemat Karapa in East Godavaridistrict. He reviewed thearrangements during thevideo conference with theCollectors and instructedthe officials to streamline thefunctioning of Village

Secretariats by Decemberand see that from Januaryonwards all the services areprovided to the people.

The Secretariats will pro-vide 500 types of services topeople and should be fullyfunctional by January. In themeantime, all infrastructureand needed equipment andlogistics should be provided,the CM told at the reviewmeeting.

Continued on Page 3

Village Secretariats willserve as role models: CM

PNS n NEW DELHI

Fifty per cent excess rainfallduring September helpedthe Telugu states of AndhraPradesh and Telangana toregister above normal rain-fall during southwest mon-soon period spread fromJune to September.

While Telangana receivedsix per cent excess rainfallduring the four month peri-od, it was 10 per cent abovenormal in neighbouringAndhra Pradesh, accordingto the IMD data on Monday.The two states may receivemore rains as the withdraw-al of southwest monsoon islikely to be delayed till

October 7. Despite nearly 40percent deficit in June due tothe delayed monsoon and itssluggish movement duringJuly, the heavy rains duringthe subsequent monthshelped both the states toovercome the shortfall. Forthe entire four-month peri-od, Telangana recorded 805.6mm rainfall against normalof 759.6 mm.

Continued on Page 3

50% excess rainfallduring SW monsoon

BAPU, WE MISS YOU… WE'LL NEVER FORGET YOU

OPINION 6PATH TO

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Today there is talk of war every-where. Everyone fears a warbreaking out between the two

countries. If that happens it will be acalamity both for India and forPakistan. India has written to the U.N.because whenever there is a fear of con-flict anywhere the U.N. is asked to pro-mote a settlement and to stop fightingfrom breaking out. India thereforewrote to the U. N. O. however trivialthe issue may appear to be, it could leadto a war between the two countries. Itis a long memorandum and it has beencabled. Pakistan's leaders ZafrullahKhan and Liaquat Ali Khan havesince issued long state-ments. I would take leaveto say that their argu-ment does not appeal tome. You may ask if Iapprove of the UnionGovernment approachingthe UNO I may say that Iboth approve and do notapprove of what they did.I approve of it, becauseafter all what else are theyto do? They are convincedthat what they are doing isright. If there are raidsfrom outside the frontierof Kashmir, the obviousconclusion is that it mustbe with the connivance ofPakistan. Pakistan candeny it. But the denialdoes not settle the matter.Kashmir has acceded theaccession upon certainconditions. If Pakistan harassesKashmir and if Sheikh Abdullah whois the leader of Kashmir asksthe Indian Union forhelp, the latter isbound to send

help. Such help thereforewas sent to Kashmir. Atthe same time Pakistan isbeing requested to getout of Kashmir and toarrive at a settlement withIndia over the questionthrough bilateral negoti-ations. If no settlementcan be reached in this waythen a war is inevitable. Itis to avoid the possibilityof war that the UnionGovernment has takenthe step it did. Whetherthey are right in doing soor not God alone knows.Whatever might havebeen the attitude ofPakistan, if I had my wayI would have invitedPakistan's representativesto India and we could

have met, discussed the matter andworked out some settlement. Theykeep saying that they want an amica-

ble settlement but they donothing to create the con-

ditions for

such a settlement. I shall thereforehumbly say to the responsible leadersof Pakistan that though we are now twocountries - which is a thing I neverwanted - we should at least try to arriveat an agreement so that we could liveas peaceful neighbors. Let us grant forthe sake of argument that all Indiansare bad, but Pakistan at least is a new-born nation which has more ever comeinto being in the name of religion andit should at least keep itself clean. Butthey themselves make no such claim.It is not their argument that Muslimshave committed no atrocities inPakistan. I shall therefore suggest thatit is now their duty, as far as possible,to arrive at an amicable understandingwith India and live in harmony withher. Mistakes were made on both sides.Of this o have no doubt. But this doesnot mean that we should persist inthose mistakes, for then in the end weshall only destroy ourselves in a war

and the whole of the sub-continent will pass intothe hands of some third

power. That will be theworst imaginable fate

for us. Ishudder tothink of it.Therefore thetwo Dominionsshould cometogether withGod as witnessand find a set-tlement. Thematter is nowbefore the UNO. Itcannot be withdrawnfrom there. But if Indiaand Pakistan come to asettlement the big pow-ers in the UNO will haveto endorse that settlement.They will not object to thesettlement. They themselvescan only say that they willdo their best to see that thetwo countries arrive at anunderstanding through mutualdiscussions. Let us pray to God is togrant that we may either learn to livein amity with each other or if we mustlight to let us fight to the very end. Thatmay be folly but sooner or later it willpurify us. Now a few words aboutDelhi. I came to know of the incidentswhich took place last evening throughBrijkishan. I had gone to the Camp forthe evening prayer. I came away afterthe prayer but he had stayed over totalk to the people in the Camp. Thereare some Muslim houses at as little dis-tance from the Camp. About four or fivehundred inmates of the Camp mostlywomen and children but also some men- issued out of the Camp to take posses-sion of the houses. I am told they did notindulge in any kind of violence. Some ofthe houses were vacant. They tried to takepossession even of the latter. The policewere near at hand. They immediatelywent to the spot and brought the situa-tion under control at about 9 O' clockaccording to the information I have. Thepolice have stayed on there. I understandthey had to use tear gas. Tear gas doesnot kill but it can be pretty painful.

(The Mahatma’s speech at the PrayerMeeting on 4th January 1948)

MohandasKaramch a n d

Gandhi, fondlyknown as Mahatma

Gandhi, breathed hislast on January 30,

1948, but he has beenbrought alive on the big

screen several times. As Indiais all set to celebrate 150th

birth anniversary of MahatmaGandhi, lets take a look at filmsessayed the role of Gandhi with elan.

‘Gandhi’ (1982)British actor Ben Kingsley's por-

trayal of Mahatma Gandhi inRichard Attenborough's 1982 Oscar-

winning film "Gandhi" is one that isetched on everyone's minds.

‘Hey Ram’ (2000)The Kamal Haasan-starrer film

revolved around India's Partitionand the assassination of Gandhi byNathuram Godse. Interestingly,Naseeruddin had auditioned for therole of Gandhi in Attenborough'sfilm. The role eventually went toKingsley. Naseeruddin's Gandhi in"Hey Ram" didn't received theacclaim that Kingsley's effort did, buthe was praised for nailing the act.

‘Nine Hours To Rama’ (1963) Mark Robson's English language

film is about the nine hours ofNathuram Godse's life before heassassinated Gandhi. Goidse wasessaywed by German actor HorstBuchholz.

‘Sardar’ (1993)The Ketan Mehta film on

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel hadAnnu Kapoor stepping into the

shoes of Gandhi. Apart from play-ing the great Indian leader on the bigscreen, Annu also lent his voice as nar-rator to "Khaar" -- a docudrama onGandhi's Dandi March.

"The Dandi March initiated byGandhiji was an iconic movementagainst the British and a milestone inIndia's movement for freedom," Annusaid last year.

‘The Making Of TheMahatma’ (1996)

Kapur, popular for playing theBengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi ontelevision, played Gandhi in ShyamBenegal's "The Making of TheMahatma". His role in the film, fetchedhim a National Film Award as BestActor.

‘Dr. BabasahebAmbedkar’ (2000)

The film didn't center around him buthe managed to make his presence felt inthe movie on BR Ambedkar, knownmainly for helping the the downtroddenand oppressed classes in India.

‘Gandhi, My Father’ (2007)His performance in the critically-

acclaimed film was lauded by many,including the Indian government thathonoured him with a National Awardfor his effort. "'Gandhi, My Father'happened in a curious way. FerozAbbas Khan (director) hadapproached me for Gandhi's role in hisfamous play 'Mahatma v/s Gandhi'. Iwas his first choice. Unfortunately, Iwas preoccupied with other businessinterests then, and it was my misfor-tune that I couldn't do it. So here I am,playing Gandhi in his directorialdebut," Darshan had said in an inter-view.

"Lage Raho MunnaBhai" (2006)

The Sanjay Dutt-starrer was prob-ably one of the most commercialBollywood films to feature. The filmwasn't just about the great leader buthis teachings were highlighted well inthe movie by filmmaker RajkumarHirani. It showed why Gandhi contin-ues to be relevant even today. Dilip wasalso honoured with a National FilmAward for Best Supporting Actor forhis act in the blockbuster. And theother films include "The Legend OfBhagat Singh" (2002); "VeerSavarkar" (2001); "Bose: TheForgotten Hero" (2004).

When India became free,Gandhi received anacknowledgement of his

mission for peace through a letterfrom Lord Mountbatten on 26 August1947. In his letter Mountbatten wrote:

"My dear Gandhiji, In the Punjabwe have 55 thousand soldiers andlarge scale rioting on our hands. InBengal our forces consist of one man,and there is no rioting. As a servingofficer, as well as an administrator,may I be allowed to pay my tributeto the One Boundary Force, not for-getting his Second in Command, Mr.

Suhrawardy?You should have heard the enthu-

siastic applause which greeted themention of your name in theConstituent Assembly on 15th ofAugust when all of us were thinkingso much of you....

"Yours very sincerely,Mountbatten of Burma"Mountbatten, who was clothed in

military uniform all his service life,holding arms in his hands, realisedthe strength, courage and the spirit ofcompassion of a sensitive humanbeing called Gandhi.

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 2, 2019 vijayawada 02Live as if you were todie tomorrow. Learn as

if you were to live forever."— MAHATMA GANDHI

This web portal onMahatma has 19.3 lakh pages and counting

The Gandhi Heritage Portal, a website containing19.30 lakh pages of content with 20,000 new pages

getting uploaded every month, is a treasure trove fora student of Mahatma Gandhi's life.

Www.gandhiheritageportal.org, launched six yearsago, has books, journals, photos, audio and video clips,cartoons, posters, stamps and other material on

Gandhi in the digital form. It also hosts an architec-tural documentation of 23 of the 39 important loca-tions associated with Gandhi's life, including "virtualtours", Virat Kothari, the IT head of the SabarmatiAshram here, which maintains the portal, said. Soon,people would be able to have a virtual reality experi-ence of websites related to Gandhi's life through the por-

tal, he added. "The portal is freely accessible," Kotharisaid.The Union Ministry of Culture gave Sabarmati AshramPreservation and Memorial Trust the responsibility todesign and maintain the website, which was launchedin September, 2013 by then prime minister ManmohanSingh.

Gandhi became a regular readerof newspapers after reachingEngland at the, age of 19. As a

school student in India, he did notread, them. He was very shy andcould not speak in a gathering. At

21, he first wrote nine articlesfor The Vegetarian an Englishweekly, on vegetarianism,Indian food habits, customsand religious festivals. Hisearliest writings show hiscapacity for expressing anyidea in simple directlanguage. After a gap of two

years, Gandhi again tookto journalism. From

that time onwardshis pen knew norest till the end ofhis life. He never

wrote anything onlyfor creating an

impression andcarefully avoided

exaggeration.His aim was toserve truth, toeducatepeople andto be usefulto his

country. On the third day of hisarrival in South Africa he was insultedin a court of law. He published anaccount of this incident in a localpaper and gained publicity overnight.At the age of 35, he took charge oflndian Opinion and through it heguided and unified the Indians inSouth Africa. A Gujarati edition of thisweekly was simultaneously printed atPhoenix. A series of articles ondietetics appeared in the GujaratiIndian Opinion, also the life sketchesof great men and women. He wantedto educate the public opinion, toremove causes of misunderstandingbetween the whites and the Indiansand to point out the drawbacks of hiscountrymen. He poured outhis soul in thecolumns ofIndian Opinionand publisheddetailedaccount ofthesatyagrahastrugglecarriedon in

South Africa. From his writingsoverseas readers could form a truepicture of the happenings in SouthAfrica. In his opinion the aim ofjournalism was service:"Journalism should never beprostituted for selfish ends orfor the sake of carrying alivelihood. And whateverhappens to the editors orthe journal, it shouldexpress views of the of thecountry irrespective ofconsequences. They willhave to strike adifferent line ofpolicy if theywanted topenetrateinto the

hearts ofthemasses."

The journalist in MahatmaGandhi’s vision on

KASHMIR

Much before ‘Make in India', Gandhi taught self-reliance

Though the 'Make-in-India' initiative toencourage self-reliance

in the country was launched byPrime Minister NarendraModi in 2014, its seeds weresown several decades ago bythe Father of the NationMahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi had promoted theuse of 'Khadi' clothing in the1920s as a twin-prongedapproach for empowering peo-ple with technology on the onehand and for opposing the

commercial interests of theBritish on the other, eminentGandhians said.

The Khadi movement hadthe objectives of boycottingimported foreign cloth andpromoting the spinning ofkhadi for self-employment.

"Technology is a powerfultool when it is given in thehands of people. Gandhi hadpromoted this alternativetechnology in the textile sec-tor that was affordable topeople. The vision behind

the movement was to makepeople self-reliant which ulti-mately led to fearlessness.The basic philosophy behindthe movement was to empow-er people with technology sothat they became fearless.This philosophy is relevant inthe present day as wellbecause people should be eco-nomically self-reliant," A.Annamalai, Director, NationalGandhi Museum said.

Though the 'Make-in-India'initiative to encourage self-

reliance in the country waslaunched by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in 2014, itsseeds were sown severaldecades ago by the Father ofthe Nation Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi had promoted theuse of 'Khadi' clothing in the1920s as a twin-prongedapproach for empowering peo-ple with technology on the onehand and for opposing thecommercial interests of theBritish on the other, eminentGandhians said.

10films

made onGandhi

Kashmir hasacceded the

accession uponcertain conditions.

If Pakistan harasses Kashmir

and if SheikhAbdullah who is

the leader ofKashmir asks theIndian Union forhelp, the latter isbound to send

help

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Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for anydamage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement beforeresponding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

A GENERATION OF FREEDOM-FIGHTERS INSPIREDAs the Father of the Nation and a hope

for thousands of people during thefirst half of the 20th century, MohandasKaramchand Gandhi (1869-1948) was asource of inspiration for a generation offreedom-fighters to leave homes, studies,jobs and give up a cosy life to free Indiafrom the colonial yoke, fondly recalled102-year-old freedom fighter HarohalliSrinivasaiah Doreswamy, marking theSesquicentennial of the Mahatma.

"I had the honour and privilege of see-ing and meeting Gandhiji for a couple oftimes in Bengaluru during the freedomstruggle and joined his non-violent move-ment to free the country from the impe-

rial rulers under his guidance and phe-nomenal leadership," a SpartanDoreswamy said.

Going down the memory lane,Doreswamy said he met Gandhiji for thefirst time in mid-1930s when he was ateenager at a state-run guest house inBengaluru where he was staying to recu-

perate from a bout of illness at the behestof then Mysuru Maharaja NalvadiKrishnaraja Wodeyar.

When Gandhiji gave the "Quit India" calland launched the final movement againstthe British Raj in August 1942, Doreswamywas arrested in December the same yearand was kept in the Bangalore central jail

for 14 months till March 1944 as adetainee. "I was inspired by Gandhiji somuch that he had a great influence on me.In his book 'My Early Life', I was touchedby his call to hug poverty and render vol-untary service to the poor and needy. Hiswords had a lasting effect on me to live afrugal life," said Doreswamy.

The last time the veteran freedomfighter met Gandhiji was in December1947 in Mumbai after India got inde-pendence on August 15 at a Congressrally. "Gandhji's death on January 30,1948 in New Delhi was a shock to mebecause I could not believe that some-one could even think of shooting him,

as he was a noble soul and lived for oth-ers," added Doreswamy. Doreswamy,born on April 10, 1918 near Mysuru,about 150km northwest of Bengaluru,joined the freedom movement when hewas in the intermediate college inBengaluru during the mid-1930s. Hewas arrested for joining the Quit Indiamovement along with his brother andother freedom fighters. "Though wewere caned and treated badly by theBritish, we followed Gandhiji's ideals ofnon-violence and satyagraha," remi-nisced Doreswamy.

- FAKIR BALAJI

When Gandhiji gave the "Quit India" call and launchedthe final movement against the British Raj in August1942, Doreswamy was arrested in December the sameyear and was kept in the Bangalore central jail for 14months till March 1944 as a detainee.

The Gandhi imprint:India's cinematicmuse down the ages

Mahatma Gandhi minced no words for his disdain for cinema, describing it as a "corruptinginfluence", but his imprint on celluloid has been indelible and varied, going from shades

of black and white to TechniColour. Gandhi, whose beliefs inspired an entire school of thought,influenced films down many decades, some based on his life, others on the values he inspiredin society and many in which he's the silent backdrop -- literally a picture on the wall -- to thehero's moral conflict. From "Jagriti" in 1954 to "Lage Raho Munnabhai" in 2006, the arc is long.Hindi poet Kavi Pradeep eulogised Gandhi in the "Jagriti" song, "De di azadi hamein bina khadag,

bina dhaal, sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamal' (You gave us freedom without using any weapons,o saint of Sabarmati, you are great), words which underscore reverence for the man and still rever-berate. Other films of the era recall the complex idealism that Gandhi represented. The 1957 DilipKumar starrer "Naya Daur" deals with the man versus machine debate. And V Shantaram's "DoAnkhen Barah Haath", released the same year, focuses on the rehabilitation of six criminals bya humane jail warden. More recently, "Lage Raho Munnabhai" gave new meaning to "Gandhigiri"through the story of a simple-hearted goon who finds guidance in Gandhi's teachings.

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 2, 2019 vijayawada 03

Governor Biswa Bushan Harichandan and his wife receiving a portrait of Goddess Kanakadurga on the temple premises inVijayawada on Tuesday after having darshan of presiding deity

GOVERNOR AAT DDURGA’S AABODE

An eye for an eyewill only make the

whole world blind— MAHATMA GANDHI

CAPSULE

SERVICE DELIVERY TOBE STRENGTHENEDVIJAYAWADA: As many as11,158 Village and 3,786 WardSecretariats will start functioningto strengthen the servicedelivery system of welfareschemes and public utilities. Forthe Village Secretary post,1,26,728 have qualified in thewritten test held for eight daysacross the State in 10 categoriesand before that about 2.4 lakhVillage and Ward Volunteerswere appointed on a monthlyhonorarium of Rs 5,000 each. VROs will look after landadministration and civil supplies,while the Survey Assistants willtake care of the land survey.ANMs will take care of medicaland health needs, whileVeterinary/Fisheries Assistantwill be working under the AnimalHusbandry Department. TheMahila police will be lookingafter women and child welfare,counselling and women'sprotection. Engineering Assistantwill be working on drinkingwater supply and all engineeringworks. Electrical Assistant's jobwill be to take care of powersupply, street lighting, serviceconnection and coordinationwith DISCOMS while MPEOswork under the Agriculture ofHorticulture Department andDigital Assistant will be thepointsman for all gadgets ofO&M. The Welfare Assistant willbe under Social/Tribal WelfareDepartment taking care ofpensions, SHGs, welfareprogrammes and housing.

INTERCITY EXP TRAINVIJAYAWADA:The Railway Boardhas decided to name Train No.12743/12744 Gudur -Vijayawada - Gudur Express as'Vikramasimhapuri AmaravatiIntercity Express' with immediateeffect.

RS 40 CROREALLOCATED TOFOREST DEPT VIJAYAWADA: The Stategovernment has allocated Rs 40crore to the forest departmentfor procuring more vehicles.Besides, it has initiated theprocess of filling 2,500vacancies. Principal Conservatorof Forest Pratip Kumar,addressing a press conferencehere on Tuesday, said that thebudget allocated to thedepartment can be utilised forthe Green Channel project.Pratip Kumar said a plan wasevolved to protect animals in theforest. The role of tribals isinvaluable in protecting theforests, he added.

Streamline sand supply: CM PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy instructed the officials tostreamline the sand supply intwo months during a video con-ference held at the Secretariat toreview the Spandana pro-gramme on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister said thework should be given to any-body, who is ready to transportthe sand at the price fixed by thegovernment directly withoutany tenders. He instructed theofficials to provide vehicles tothe unemployed youth belong-ing to BCs, SCs and STs throughcorporations and give the con-tract of transporting sand tothem.

Jaganmohan Reddy instruct-ed the officials to immediatelyaddress the issues relating to thesand supply and transportationand evolve a system that worksin the best interests of the peo-ple. He told the officials that thegovernment had decided topay Rs 4.90 per km to whoev-er comes forward to transportthe sand in the State and issueddirections to the officials toaddress the shortage of sand.

All sand reaches in the Stateshould be open and a JointCollector-level officer should beappointed as an in-charge forthe supply and transportation ofsand in the districts.

"Joint Collector rank officer

should be held responsible foronly supply and transportationof sand and as the floods havedecreased and sand is available,the price of sand also should bereduced. There should be achange in the system in the next60 days," he said.

District Collectors broughtto the notice of the Chief

Minister that the transportationof sand has become difficultdue to rain.

The Chief Minister hasdirected the officials to ensurethat corporations provide loansto BC, SC and ST unemployedyouth to buy vehicles which willbe used for transportation ofsand through contracts.

He also told the officials toensure no corruption takes

place in sand transportation."Don't encourage political rec-ommendations in sand supplyand transportation and thesand mafia should be eradicat-ed. I will give a free hand toofficials in this regard," he said.

The Chief Minister asked theofficials to set up check-postsat borders of the State andensure that sand is not export-ed to other States.

PNSn VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy will launch the YSRVahana Mitra scheme in Eluruon October 4 under which Rs10,000 financial assistance will bedistributed to auto, taxi and cabdriver-cum-owners.

The Chief Minister directedthe officials to deposit the moneyin encumbered accounts duringthe Spandana review meetinghere on Tuesday.

The approved documents ofthe scheme will be distributed tothe beneficiaries under the guid-ance of the respective districtMinisters and Collectors. "Atest run shall be conducted ontransferring the amount to theseaccounts. The money depositprocess will begin from October4 and an SMS will be sent to thebeneficiaries.

The eligible candidates candownload the sanction order,"said the Chief Minister.

Speaking on 'Kanti Velugu'scheme that will be implement-

ed from October 10, the ChiefMinister said that services werenot restricted only to govern-ment school students, but also tocover private school students. Healso asked the officials to preparethe data for the same.

As many as 42,360 ASHAworkers, 62,500 teachers, 14,000

ANMs and 14,000 public healthstaff are being trained to carryout the 'Kanti Velugu' scheme.The government will conductscreening for students at the gov-ernment schools from October10 to 16 and the treatment willbe provided from November 1to 31.

Clear NREGS dues,Naidu demands CMPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu has written an open let-ter to Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy on Tuesdayregarding the implementation ofMahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment GuaranteeScheme (MGNREGS) in theState.

He alleged that the govern-ment has not paid the dues ofwages under the scheme. Fieldassistants were removed fromservices by the governmentdue to which they are attempt-ing suicides, he said and addedthat one of them ended his liferight in front of Chief WhipGandikota Srikanth Reddy.

Naidu recalled officials ofthe forest department sayingthat they could not take up anyfurther works under MGN-REGS, as the payments were

not received for the earlierworks.

Already nine members ofthe MGNREGS Council metthe Minister concerned andofficials, but there was noresponse from them, he saidand disclosed that they sub-mitted a memorandum to theGovernor explaining the situ-ation, he added.

Naidu explained in the let-ter that the payments forMGNREGS will be released ona priority basis from the Uniongovernment regularly. Thegovernment should clear thedues first, he demanded andalleged that the State govern-ment is not following rules inregard to MGNREGS.

He requested the ChiefMinister to clear the duesunder MGNREGS immediate-ly and see that the works arenot slowed down.

n Jagan said the work shouldbe given to anybody, who isready to transport the sand atthe price fixed by thegovernment directly withoutany tenders

n He instructed the officials toprovide vehicles to theunemployed youth belongingto BCs, SCs and STs throughcorporations and give thecontract of transporting sandto them

The Chief Minister asked the officials toset up check-posts at borders of theState and ensure that sand is notexported to other States. Heappreciated SP of Krishna districtRavindranath Babu and the team ofNandigama for seizing vehicles, whichtransported sand illegally

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The government opened wineshops in the State on Tuesday.Reducing the number of out-lets from 4,380 to 3,500, theExcise Department has start-ed its own shops across theState. As per the department'sfigures, 3,300 shops have beenstarted. But, the number is lessthan the officially projectedfigure. The shops will functionfrom 11 am to 8 pm. The gov-ernment has issued an orderimposing 20% levy on theliquor sales in the night.

Excise Commissioner MMNayak said that the depart-ment has to locate 56 moreshops out of the 3,500. He saidonly three bottles of liquor,including beer, will be suppliedto a single customer. As manyas 3,317 shops come into exis-tence on October 1, he said. Ata few places, the public stagedprotests against setting up ofwine shops in their localities.In Vijayawada at Machavaram,Sitarampuram and otherplaces, local people stageddharnas and demandedremoval of the new wine shopsfrom there.

Responding to the protests,Excise Commissioner MMNayak said, "We have takencare of localities. We haveavoided the areas near temples,hospitals and schools. Wineshops will be closed wherev-er they are opposed."

He said the governmenthas recruited 12,000 employ-ees whose age is above 21years and their minimumqualification is Intermediate

through an outsourcing sys-tem. AP State BeveragesCorporation MD VasudevaReddy said 18% of liquorsales have come down whencompared to the same periodlast year. As many as 31 checkposts and 18 border mobileteams will monitor the situa-tion around wine shops, headded.

Enforcement Director P Hari Kumar said that 204villages in 93 mandals wereidentified where countryliquor is manufactured.

He explained that they arefocusing on avoiding countryliquor completely in the State.Village/Ward volunteers willbe helpful to the EnforcementDepartment in achieving sucha target, he added.

Govt begins liquor sale

As per thedepartment's figures,3,300 shops havebeen started. But, thenumber is less thanthe officially projected figure

Village Secretariatswill serve as rolemodels: CMContinued from Page 1

The Chief Minister explained the sched-ule of streamlining of the functioning ofVillage Secretariats. Village or WardSecretariats will start working fromOctober 2 and all the facilities, includingsmart phones to volunteers, computers andother furniture at Secretariats will bemade available to them by November-end.In December, all practical problems shouldbe solved and from January 1, the servicesshould be delivered perfectly, the ChiefMinister explained to officials.

Within 72 hours, ration cards, pensionand other services should be delivered afterreceiving an application, or complaintfrom the beneficiary, he has instructed."Without any discrimination, partiality,without corruption, the Village Secretariatsshould function. There should be goodcoordination between Village Secretariats,Collectors and department heads. If thishappens perfectly, it would be a rolemodel for the entire country," YSJaganmohan Reddy said.

Kodela's sonsurrendersin courtPNSn VIJAYAWADA

Former Speaker KodelaSivaprasad Rao's sonSivaramakrishna on Tuesdaysurrendered before a court invarious cases booked againsthim. He surrendered before theFirst Additional MunsifMagistrate Court atNarsaraopet in Guntur dis-trict. The court subsequentlygranted him anticipatory bail.

It may be recalled that theAndhra Pradesh High Court onAugust 31 had directed bothKodela and his son to surren-der in cases registered by thepolice against them on com-plaints by some people, whoalleged that the duo exploitedand harassed them during thepast few years. The High Courthad passed the orders whilerefusing to grant them anticipa-tory bail. Kodela, a senior leaderof TDP, committed suicide athis residence in Hyderabad onSeptember 16.

The TDP alleged that Kodelahad resorted to the extreme stepdue to harassment by theYSRCP government, whichbooked false cases against himand his family members. Theruling party, however, deniedthe allegations. After the TDPlost power in May and Kodelawas himself defeated in theNarsaraopet constituency, sev-eral cases were booked againsthim and his family members assome people approached policealleging that they exploitedthem through extortion duringthe last few years.

n "A test run shall beconducted on transferringthe amount to theseaccounts. The moneydeposit process will beginfrom October 4 and anSMS will be sent to thebeneficiaries. The eligiblecandidates can downloadthe sanction order," saidthe Chief Minister

n Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy directedthe officials to deposit themoney in encumberedaccounts during theSpandana review meeting

n The approved documentsof the scheme will bedistributed to the beneficiariesunder the guidance of therespective district Ministersand Collectors

Vahana Mitra to be launched on Oct 4 Kanna allegesYSRCP’sdiscriminationagainst templesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

BJP State President KannaLakshminarayana allegedthat the YSRCP governmentis promoting a particularreligion with the publicfunds.

The government is alsodiscriminating againstHindu temples, he added.

Speaking to the media atGuntur after the CoreCommittee meeting of theparty on Tuesday, Kannalashed out at the YSRCPgovernment stating thatTDP had made the econo-my of the State worse withits policies.

"We have been repeated-ly saying that there is nodifference between the TDPand the YSRCP," he said.

Govt committed to welfare ofsenior citizens, says TanetiPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Minister for Women and Child WelfareTaneti Vanitha said that the govern-ment is committed to the welfare ofsenior citizens and a separate StateCouncil will be established to solve theirproblems. The minister was the chiefguest of the programme organised tomark the International Senior CitizensDay here on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, the min-ister said that parents are Gods."Respecting elders is our culture andtradition. In the present days, we do notfind joint families and human valueshave totally collapsed," she added.

She said the present generation ofpeople are addicted to smart phonesand are not bothered about relationsand human values. In a few cases, thechildren after inheriting property, aredeserting their parents.

She said that it is the responsibilityof the children to take care of their par-ents failing which the parents can file

a case. A separate tribunal was estab-lished by the revenue division officialsto register cases under the Welfare ofParents and Senior Citizens Act. Shesaid that they have been organising var-ious awareness programmes for edu-cated senior citizens about the law toprotect themselves. She said that theold-age pension was increased to Rs

2,250 and would be enhanced to Rs3,000 in the days to come. In old age,most of the senior citizens suffer fromvision problems. They will be treatedunder the YSR Kanti Velugu and givenspectacles free of cost, she said andadded that Rs 10,000 pension was pro-vided by the government to senior cit-izens suffering from kidney problems.

Minister for Women and Child Welfare Taneti Vanitha lighting the traditional lamp to inaugurate theInternational Senior Citizens Day in Vijayawada on Tuesday

50% excessrainfall duringSW monsoonContinued from Page 1

Ten districts still have deficitsranging from four per cent to 23percent. During September,Telangana received 241 mmrainfall against normal of 163.9mm, an excess of 47 per cent.

Out of 33 districts ofTelangana, three districts reg-istered deficient rainfallbetween 20 and 23 per cent.Five districts had excess rain-fall while it was normal in therest of the state.

The excess rainfall inHyderabad during Septemberwas 116 per cent. The city onceagain received heavy rains onMonday, inundating low-lyingareas and affecting the normallife.

Andhra Pradesh received10 per cent excess rainfall. Theactual rainfall recorded in thestate was 565.2 mm againstnormal 514.4 mm.

PNS n MEDARAM

Sammakka-Sarakka Jataraheld by Koya tribe ofTelangana is the biggest trib-al festival in Asia, which isattended by one crore peopleon an average. This year thejatara is slated for February 5.

In this backdrop, ChiefSecretary SK Joshi called uponofficials of departments con-cerned to make good use ofthe funds and create amenitiesfor devotees visiting MedaramJatara. At least one crore devo-tees are expected to throng thetribal festival. He asked thedepartments to complete tasksentrusted to them byDecember-end.

He asked them to prepare amaster plan keeping in mindneeds of Medaram during thenext 10 years. Reviewingarrangements for the festivalwith higher authorities at BRKBhavan on Tuesday, he askedthem to make foolproofarrangements for a two-daySammakka-Sarakka festivalovercoming the lacunae expe-rienced during the last festival.

He insisted on reduction ofplastic use in the festival andwanted the organisers toensure eco-friendly measures.The government will provideemployment and implemententrepreneurship develop-ment programmes for thosewho give their land for the fes-tival.

The meeting reviewed san-itation, parking facility, busservices, drinking water sup-ply, electricity supply, trafficregulation and fire services.He asked the officials to givewide publicity on dos and

don'ts. Tribal welare secretaryMaheshdutt Ekka and MulugCollector Narayana Murthyand others spoke.

Panchayat Raj principalsecretary Vikas Raj, principal

secretary (home) RajivTrivedi, officer from FinanceDepartment Siva Sankar, trib-al welfare commissionerChristian Chongtu, endow-ments commissioner Anil

Kumar, fire services DGSanjay Kumar Jain and others,including senior officials fromforest and police departments,took part in the meeting.

CAPSULE

CYCLING FOR 'FITINDIA' CAMPAIGN Hyderabad: To mark the 150thbirth anniversary of MahatmaGandhi, Hyderabad CyclistsGroup is conducting a 50 km ridewith more than 200 cycliststaking part in it. RavinderNandanoori, founder ofHyderabad Cycling Group, saidthat they started HCG with twomembers and now there aremore than 600 active members.He says, "We wanted to dosomething different on GandhiJayanthi. Hence, I assumed whynot we involve schoolchildren tospread the message of Fit Indiacampaign started by PrimeMinister Narender Modi. Wealways pass on the message tothe community to stay fit."

TMREIS, IIT-HYD INK PACTHyderabad: Telangana MinoritiesResidential EducationalInstitutions Society (TMREIS) hassigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with theIndian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H), which wouldhelp in the development ofcurriculum and teaching,establishment of advancedlaboratories and conductingfaculty development programmesand students workshops. BShafiullah, IFS, Secretary,TMREIS and Prof BS Murthy,Director of IIT-H, entered into theagreement at the IIT-H campushere on Tuesday. The TMREIShopes that the MoU would help inachieving excellence and high-quality standards in academicprogrammes.

Chief Secy sets deadlinefor Medaram jatara works

PNS n HYDERABAD

In all, 2,500 government schoolsare functioning in Ranga Reddyand Vikarabad districts ofTelangana. Almost all theseschools have toilets, but they arenot being used by students asthey are unhygienic. Among

these government schools, someof them have been deprived ofrunning water to clean toilets.

To solve this problem, KondaVishweshwar Reddy, formerMP of Chevella, has embarkedon an innovative programme'Swachh Truck' that is first-of-its-kind in the country. This pro-gramme is not only keeps theschool toilets clean, but also pro-viding employment to ruralyouth.

A Swachh truck is a mini-truck equipped with an engine-driven pump, a water tank anda high-pressure water nozzle toclean the toilets. Each SwachhTruck cleans toilets in 26-30schools while providing onefull time, or two part-time jobsto the local youth. Rs 18,000would be paid per month forfull-time work, while Rs 9,000a month for part-time work.

Right now, three trucks arecleaning 75 schools in RangaReddy district by providingemployment to five rural youth.

n A Swachh Truck is a mini-truck equipped with anengine-driven pump, a watertank and a high-pressurewater nozzle to clean thetoilets

n Each Swachh truck cleanstoilets in 26-30 schools whileproviding one full time, ortwo part-time jobs to thelocal youth

n Rs 18,000 would be paidper month for full-time work,while Rs 9,000 a month forpart-time work.

Former MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy driving a Swachh truck, which will beused for cleaning school toilets in Ranga Reddy and Vikarabad districts ofTelangana, on Tuesday

Political families’ misrule a bloton Kashmir’s history: LekhiPNS n HYDERABAD

Alleging corruption by somepolitical families, whichruled Kashmir during thepast few decades , BJPspokesperson MeenakshiLekhi on Tuesday claimedthat people of the regionwere so angry that if restric-tions were lifted, they wouldprobably 'lynch' them.

She also maintained thatsituation in Kashmir wasnormal and there was nocurfew. However, she saidthere were curbs on internetin view of the likely falsepropaganda by 'vested inter-ests'. Lekhi was speaking tothe media on the sidelines ofan event organised by FICCILadies Organisation (FLO).

".... I am sure that thepeople, who are frustratedwith the actions of thesethree families, the politicalmaneuverability and thecontrol they have exercised,if restrictions are removed,they wi l l probably belynched on the roads ,because the kind of wrongsthey have committed in theState," she said without nam-ing anyone.

"They cheated the peopleof the State," she added.Lekhi pointed out thatminorities, including Hindusand several others in Jammuand Kashmir, had beendeprived of their rights,while many schemes couldnot be implemented due toArticle 370 in Jammu &Kashmir, which was abrogat-ed recently.

To a query on the AAPgovernment in New Delhioffering various sops to itscitizens, Lekhi said, "they arepoll gimmicks." "... People in

Delhi are far smarter andthey are not someone whowill be bought over by con-sumeristic perspective," shesaid.

On women's role in poli-

tics in the country, the BJPleader said, their participa-tion at grassroots level suchas panchayats and munici-palities was higher whencompared to other nations.

n Reviewing arrangements for thefestival with higher authorities atBRK Bhavan in Hyderabad onTuesday, he asked them to makefoolproof arrangements for a two-day Sammakka-Sarakka festivalovercoming the lacunaeexperienced during the last festival.

n He insisted onreduction of plastic use inthe festival and wantedthe organisers to ensureeco-friendly measures

n The meeting reviewedsanitation, parking facility, busservices, drinking water supply,electricity supply, traffic regulationand fire services

n Chief Secretary SKJoshi calls uponofficials to completethe works byDecember-end

A sea of humanity witnessed at Sammakka-Saralamma jatara at Medaram in Warangal distsrict (file photo)

1crore of peopleare likely to throngMedaram

The governmentwill provideemployment andimplemententrepreneurshipdevt programmesfor those who givetheir land for thefestival

n BJP spokespersonMeenakshi Lekhi on Tuesdayclaimed that people of theregion were so angry that ifrestrictions were lifted, theywould probably 'lynch' them

n She maintained that situationin Kashmir was normal andthere was no curfew. However,she said there were curbs oninternet in view of the likely falsepropaganda by 'vested interests'

n Lekhi pointed out that minorities, including Hindus andseveral others in Jammu and Kashmir, have been deprived oftheir rights, while many schemes could not be implemented dueto Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, which was abrogatedrecently.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi pointedout that minorities, including Hindus andseveral others in Jammu and Kashmir, hadbeen deprived of their rights

Moscow: The Embassy inIndia in Russian Federation, incollaboration with the LeoTolstoy Museum and Estateand the Institute of OrientalStudies, organised an exhibi-tion dedicated to the friend-ship between MahatmaGandhi and Leo Tolstoy at theTolstoy Estate in YasnaPolyana.

The exhibition titled"Tolstoy-Gandhi: The story ofpersonal transformationsacross continents bound by theinfinite possibilities of univer-sal love", was curated byGandhian scholar Birad

Rajaram Yajnik, Curator,Mahatma Gandhi DigitalMuseums, and showcased thecorrespondence between thetwo. The exhibition is alsoavailable in a digital format inboth Russian and English, andincludes audio and visual con-tent, which can be down-loaded on the phone. TheRussian version of the exhibi-tion will be launched onOctober 2 at the State Duma ofRussian Federation in Moscow.

This was done as part of theseries of commemorativeevents being organised by theEmbassy since October 2018

to celebrate Gandhi's 150thbirth anniversary.

The event at Yasna Polyanawas inaugurated by Minister

for Environment and ForestPrakash Javadekar, along withAmbassador of India to theRussian Federation DB

Venkatesh Varma, andEkaterina Tolstoy, Director ofthe Tolstoy Estate and grand-daughter-in-law of Leo Tolstoy.

Exhibition on Gandhi-Tolstoy bonhomie in Moscow

PNS n HYDERABAD

Minister for Panchayat Rajand Rural DevelopmentErrabelli Dayakar Rao onTuesday ordered engineeringofficials to complete drinkingwater storage tanks, which areunder construction in villages,immediately and said that hewould not tolerate keeping inpending any work related tothe Mission Bhagiratha.

Addressing engineering offi-cials here, he said that thewater resources are available inall districts and hence askedthem to run the water supplysystem properly. He said thathe would not tolerate anydelay in the implementation ofthe Mission Bhagiratha.

He told them to completeundertaking repairs to roads,dug up to lay the missionBhagiratha pipelines, as earlyas possible. He said he has beentouring villages to inspect theimplementation of the 30-daypanchayat development actionplan and noted that peoplehave complained of some hic-cups in the implementation ofthe Mission Bhagiradha.

He wanted the MissionBhagiratha works to be com-pleted to fulfil KCR's objectiveof supplying drinking water toall households in villages. Heexpressed dissatisfaction oversome officials not visiting thevillages and noted that therewere some minor problems invillages because of this phe-nomenon. He told the engi-

neering officials to transfersuch officials to other places toensure speedy execution ofthe works.

He asked them to entrustresponsibilities to those whoperform better and ensure thatthe works are completed. Heasked engineering officials toprepare the proposals to lay2400-km-long roads under thePradhanamantri GrameenaSadak Yojana in the state. He

advised the engineering offi-cials to invite proposals fromall 95 rural constituencies inthe state and accommodate thepanchayats adjudged the bestin the implementation of the30-day action plan under theGrameen Sadak Yojana forroad development.

Once the 30-day action planprogramme is over, he askedthe officials to speed uppreparing proposals.

Officials told to expediteMission Bhagiratha works

Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Errabelli Dayakar Raospeaking at a review meeting with the officials in Hyderabad on Tuesday

The minister wanted Mission Bhagirathaworks to be completed to fulfil KCR'sobjective of supplying drinking water to allhouseholds in villages. He expresseddissatisfaction over some officials for notvisiting the villages and noted that there weresome minor problems in villages

Konda sets anexample by launchingSwachh trucks

More schemesto benefit elderlyon the anvilPNS n HYDERABAD

Minister for Scheduled CastesDevelopment, MinorityWelfare and Senior CitizenWelfare Koppula Eswar saidthat the State governmentwill forge ahead by imple-menting many more welfareprogrammes for the elderlyand maintained thatTelangana is ahead of otherStates in implementingschemes for the elderly.

He was participating in theInternational Day for OlderPersons held under the aegisof the physically-challengedand senior citizens' welfaredepartment at RavindraBharati on Tuesday.

Pune hospital tells taleof night when Gandhiwent under the knife

The corridors of the Sassoon Hospital are abuzz withactivity as patients come in and doctors and other

staff members go about their work. Amid the bustle,a little-known anecdote about Mahatma Gandhiremains locked in a 400 sq ft room. It was a stormyday in 1924 when Gandhi had to be operated forappendicitis, a procedure that saw power supply cut

off due to a raging thunderstorm, a flashlight that wentout and finally a hurricane lamp that came to the res-cue. Ninety-five years on, the operation theatre at thegovernment-run hospital has turned into a memori-al but one that is not open to the public.

The room has, among things, a table, a trolley andsome instruments used for Gandhi's surgery, said Dr

Ajay Chandanwale, dean of the Sassoon GeneralHospital and B J Medical College. It also houses a rarepainting depicting Gandhi being operated on. Everyyear on October 2, Gandhi's birth anniversary, the hos-pital staff offer flowers and garlands are offered at theoperation theatre-turned-memorial, Chandanwalesaid.

WHEN GANDHI SURVIVED A LYNCH MOBMob lynching, the scourge of

India that has led to nearly a 100hundred deaths in the past few years,is hardly a new phenomenon. Around125 years ago, a young Indian lawyernamed Mohandas KaramchandGandhi faced a similar faceless andmindless mob in South Africa.

But unlike many in present-dayIndia, he was lucky to have survived.Had he not, the world would havenever known of Mahatma Gandhi.Barrister Gandhi arrived in SouthAfrica in 1893 to offer legal aid toDada Abdullah in his business andwithin three years established himselfas a political leader fighting againstapartheid and for the interests of

Indians in South Africa. For hisstruggle he established the NatalIndian Congress (NIC) on August 22,1894 and returned to India in 1896 tocontinue his fight here.

While he was at Rajkot, a 27-year-old Gandhi wrote and issued a "GreenPamphlet", in which he exposed the

condition of Indian indenturedlabourers and coolies in South Africaand the human rights violationsthere. The "Green Pamphlet" wastaken by the British as an anti-gov-ernment publication. When Gandhiwent back to Durban with his fami-ly, his ship was not allowed to dock

for three days. And when he finallydeboarded, he was beaten by the"whites".

He was saved by Durban PoliceSuperintendent R.C. Alexander's wifeSarah Alexander, who was passing bythe area and spread her umbrella overGandhi to cover him from the mob.Sarah also informed her husbandafter which the police reached thespot and rescued Gandhi. He wastaken to his friend Jeevanji Rustomji'shouse, where his wife and childrenhad already reached. His clotheswere torn, there were severe woundson his body. A doctor were called andhe was given first-aid.

But barely had he reached

Rustomji's house, the mob too arrivedthere and demanded Gandhi behanded over to it. On the advice ofPolice Superintendent Alexander,Gandhi disguised himself as a police-men and left the spot. The news ofGandhi being lynched reached theBritish government and ColonialSecretar y Joseph Chamberlaneordered action against the rioters.However, Gandhi requested againstthe action. "The attackers were young,they got confused with a wrong newspublished by Reuters," he wrote to thegovernment. He continued to workfor the Indian Natal Congress.

- SAROJ KUMAR

He was saved by Durban Police SuperintendentRC Alexander's wife Sarah Alexander, who waspassing by the area and spread her umbrella overGandhi to cover him from the mob. Sarah alsoinformed her husband after which the policereached the spot and rescued Gandhi

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 2, 2019 telangana 04When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truthand love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers,

and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall.Think of it--alwa

— MAHATMA GANDHI

In central Delhi, a Valmikitemple preservesmemories of Gandhi

It has been 72 years since Mahatma Gandhi lived in a roomin the Valmiki Temple premises here, but it could well have

been yesterday. His 'charkha', desk, wooden pen stand, 'aasan'and bed rest lie exactly as he had left it. The temple, whereGandhi's room is located on the left side, is dedicated toMaharishi Valmiki, who penned the Ramayana. It hostedGandhi for 214 days between April 1946 and June 1947.

Before his 150th birth anniversary, Gandhi's room,called 'Bapu Awaas', has been given a fresh coat of white-wash, says an assistant of the temple's caretaker, Krishna ShahVidyarthi.

Not many people know Gandhiji stayed here for more than200 days, says Dinesh Hiteshi Valmiki, a member of theValmiki Satsang Shiksha Kendra Mandal.

KHADIGRAM: A DREAM STILL ON CARDSShram Bharti 'Khadigram' was consti-

tuted to fulfil the dream of MahatmaGandhi to make people self-sufficient afterIndependence but the organisation itselfis seeking aid from others. The All IndiaSpinners' Association establishedKhadigram Bhavan on a piece of land pur-chased from Raja Kalanand SinghBahadur of Sultanganj in Noomer villageof Jamui district of Bihar on November 30,1943. On March 13, 1948, the Associationwas merged with Sarv Sewa Sangh - estab-lished under the chairmanship of DrRajendra Prasad on an appeal made byMahatma Gandhi in 1948.

Gandhian thinker Prasun Latant said

that the properties of the Association weretransferred to Sarv Sewa Sangh after themerger. It also had to manage the opera-tions of the association. Chairman of AllIndia Spinners' Association DheerendraMajumdar became the first Chairman ofSarv Sewa Sangh. Sarv Sewa Sangh start-ed 'Shram Bharti', its first centre under hisleadership on March 12, 1952. It was onhis appeal that the Sarvoday workers from

across the country developed it by plant-ing trees and building ponds. Thereafterit became a training centre of Sarvodayworkers.

"During their visit to Khadigram in1957, Dr Rajendra Prasad and JawaharlalNehru advised Dhreerendra Majumdar tocontinue working for the development ofKhadi. U.N. Devar, Acharya G.B. Kriplani,Jayaprakash Narayan, Zakir Hussain

applauded the work done by the Sanghand encouraged the volunteers," Latantsaid.

They not only built ponds but alsoopened schools for married women andlabourshops. Acharya Rammoorti alsocame here and managed the operation ofShram Bharti. Manjri Singh, a resident ofMuzaffarpur who has worked withAcharya Rammoorti, said, "Things dras-tically changed after the death of Acharyaand the current situation of Khadigramitself reveals that Bapu's dream of mak-ing people self-sufficient couldn't cometrue. Now, neither cotton is harvested herenor there is any brainstorming on khadi."

She said that looking at the bad admin-istration of this area, Acharya alongwith a German lady Sister Mary openedup women school on April 18, 2004, soas to provide education to the girls. ManjriSingh further said that the school whichhas helped in making more than 1,000girls self-dependent till 2015 is closedfrom last four years. Sarv Sewa Sanghwants to bring khadigram in its originalform as it was during its establishment.A steering committee will be formed tomanage the activities of Khadigram, headded.

- MANOJ PATHAK

The All India Spinners' Association establishedKhadigram Bhavan on a piece of land purchased fromRaja Kalanand Singh Bahadur of Sultanganj in Noomervillage of Jamui district of Bihar on Nov 30, 1943

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 2, 2019 nation 05Happiness is when whatyou think, what you say,

and what you do are inharmony."

— MAHATMA GANDHI

PNS n MUMBAI

A man has been arrestedhere for allegedly raping a 38-year-old Non-ResidentIndian (NRI) woman afterpromising to marry her, thepolice said on Tuesday.

The victim lodged a com-plaint against the accused atGamdevi police station inSouth Mumbai on September21.

The woman, a divorceeand mother of two, has beenliving in London for the last17 years.

According to the com-plaint, the incident took placeduring her visit here betweenJuly 10 to 27.

The victim knew theaccused, Junaid Ansari, since2015. Ansari, who runs amedical store, and the two gotto know each other when heprovided her medicines with-out prescription on one occa-sion.

The two started chattingon social media. During arecent Mumbai visit, theymet and went on dates, thepolice official said.

On July 21, they drove toGirgaum Chowpatty inAnsari's car. After promisingto marry her, he raped herinside the car, the womanclaimed.

After a few days shereturned to London. Theykept in touch.

PNS n PUNE

Maharashtra BJP chiefChandrakant Patil, fieldedfrom the Kothrud assemblyseat here, is battling perceptionof being an "outsider", but thecity unit of the ruling party hasrallied behind him to ensure hewins the October 21 electionwith a "thumping" majority.

Patil, who hails fromKolhapur, is a senior memberof the Devendra FadnavisCabinet and is also Pune'sGuardian Minister.

Currently a member of theMaharashtra LegislativeCouncil, the 60-year-old politi-cian is contesting his maidenassembly election. His namesfigures in the first list of 125candidates released by the BJPon Tuesday.

Sitting BJP MLA fromKothrud Medha Kulkarni wasdenied ticket this time to makeway for Patil.

Amid speculation tillMonday that Patil, a Maratha,may be fielded from Kothrud,a Brahmin-dominated con-stituency, some posters cameup in the area, demanding thata local candidate be giventicket and not an "outsider".

However, once Patil's can-didature was announced, thePune city BJP said all partyworkers and leaders are gearedup to make him victorious.

The party sought to dispelany suggestion of resentmentin its ranks and maintained

there was no issue of BJPworkers getting disappointedover the decision of not field-ing a local candidate.

"All BJP corporators, partyworkers and office- bearers ofthe city unit have decided tomake (Chandrakant) DadaPatil victorious with a thump-ing majority.

"Even Medhatai (Kulkarni),though a little disappointed(over denial of ticket), haslent her support and assuredshe and her supporters willwholeheartedly back

(Patil)," said Madhuri Misal,Pune city BJP president.

Misal, the sitting MLA fromParvati here, said the BJP willsweep the polls in the city, thecultural capital of Maharashtrawhich has over the yearsemerged an IT and educationhub.

She expressed confidencethe BJP will retain all the eight

seats currently in its kitty -Kothrud, Khadakwasla,Parvati, Kasba, Shivajinagar,Vadgaon Sheri, Hadapsar andPune Cantonment.

Patil, speaking to reportersin Mumbai, said Kothrud hasbeen a BJP stronghold and dis-missed any suggestion of beingan "outsider".

"I am not an outsider forPune and for Kothrud. I havebeen active in the city since myABVP days and people of theconstituency will not consid-er me as an outsider," said therevenue minister.

Abhay Deshpande, a politi-cal analyst, said there was nosafe constituency for Patil inhis native Kolhapur especiallyin view of the recent floods,which caused large- scaledestruction in the district.

That's why the BJP leadershipthough Kothrud was the safestconstituency for him, he said.

Deshpande said the currentreaction and disgruntlement insome sections of the city BJPwere temporary and there willnot be any difficulty in Patilwinning the seat.

PNS n KOLKATA

The NRC is "a must" fornational security and will beimplemented, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah declaredon Tuesday but made it clearthat Hindu, Sikh, Jain andBuddhist refugees will beaccorded Indian citizenshipbeforehand with the passage ofthe Citizenship (Amendment)Bill.

Addressing a BJP seminar onthe National Register ofCitizens, which has hithertoremained confined to Assam,the party president accusedWest Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee and herparty TMC of misleading thepeople on the issue.

The TMC has sought toproject the NRC exercise inAssam as an "anti-Bengali"move after nearly 12 lakhBengali speaking people,including a large number ofHindus, were left out of thefinal list of citizens published

on August 31."People of Bengal are being

misled on the issue of NRC. Iam here today to clear alldoubts on the BJP's stand ....Mamata Di is saying that mil-lions of Hindus will have toleave West Bengal. There can-

not be a bigger lie than this."I want to assure the

people of Bengal NRC will beimplemented but nothing ofthis sort is going to happen. Iassure all Hindu, Buddhist,Sikh, Jain refugees they won'thave to leave the country, theywill get Indian citizenship andenjoy all the rights of an Indiannational," Shah said in an

attempt to dispel fears over theNRC in the state.

Alarmed at the possibility ofthe NRC being replicatedin thestate, people have been rushingto government and municipaloffices in droves over the lastfew days to obtain documentsthat could prove West Bengalhas been their place of resi-dence for long.

NRC must for national security;will be implemented: Shah

Addressing a BJP seminar on the NationalRegister of Citizens, which has hithertoremained confined to Assam, the partypresident accused West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee and her partyTMC of misleading the people on the issue

Sitting BJP MLAfrom KothrudMedha Kulkarniwas denied ticketthis time to makeway for Patil

Patil battles ‘outsider' tag inPune; city BJP backs him

Chandrakant Patil

PNS n NEW DELHI

Hitting out at Amit Shah forsaying NRC is a must fornational security, CPI(M) gen-eral secretary Sitaram Yechuryon Tuesday said no law thatexcludes any faith can exist inIndia and the Union homeminister should stop "fosteringdivisions" in the country.

Yechury's remarks comesoon after Shah while address-ing a BJP seminar on theNational Register of Citizensin Kolkata said the NRC,which till now is restricted toAssam, is essential for thesecurity of the country andwill be implemented.

The home minister made itclear that Hindu, Sikh, Jain andBuddhist refugees will beaccorded Indian citizenshipbeforehand with the passage ofthe Citizenship (Amendment)Bill. "All faiths means ALLfaiths: Jews, Parsis, Hindus,Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims,Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists,Jains, non-believers & everyother. No law that excludesany faith stands the test ofIndia. HM must stop fosteringdivisions & attempts to dam-age India and hurt Indians,"Yechury said in a tweet.

"India rejected the two-nation theory put forth bySavarkar and Jinnah, andthat is our constitutionalprinciple. India belongs to allIndians, irrespective of theircaste, creed, gender, colour,creed, faith, eating habits,occupation or politicalbeliefs," he tweeted.

PNS n ALIGARH/ MAU (UP)

In a setback for the SamajwadiParty, the nomination papersfiled on its behalf for bypolls inIglas and Ghosi assembly con-stituencies were rejected onTuesday.

The papers filed by SumanDiwakar, a joint candidate ofthe RLD-SP from Aligarh'sIglas, were rejected by thereturning officer (RO) for lackof documents.

In Mau's Ghosi, the ROrejected the nomination papersfiled by Sudhakar Singh as anSP candidate. However, thepapers he had filed as an inde-pendent were found to be cor-rect.

Iglas Returning OfficerAnjani Kumar Singh saidDiwakar had not depositedForm B and a caste certificate"within the stipulated time"due to which her nominationwas rejected.

Diwakar, on the other hand,said she had reached the officeof the returning officer at 2.30pm on Monday with all relevantdocuments.

Diwakar said she was askedto "wait outside" the office till2.50 pm, raising suspicion, afterwhich she entered the officebefore the deadline of 3 pm.

"The person carrying FromB was deliberately preventedfrom entering the office before3 pm as part of a conspiracy,"she alleged.

RLD state president MasoodAhmad said the "manipulation" was symptomatic of the threatcurrently faced by the democ-ratic system in the country.

He said has party was"exploring" all legal options.

The returning officer forGhosi, Vijay Kumar Misra, saidthe nomination papers ofSudhakar Singh were rejectedon the ground that Form A andB submitted by the leader didnot carry the signature of partypresident Akhilesh Yadav.

"But another set of nomina-tion papers submitted bySudhakar Singh as an inde-pendent candidate has beenfound to be correct," the return-ing officer pointed out.

The rejection of nominationpapers led to protests by theparty workers who raised slo-gans against the governmentand the local administration atboth the places.

The bypolls for 11 assemblyseats in the state will be held onOctober 21.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Hindu parties on Tuesdayasserted in the Supreme Courtthat they never made any sub-mission during hearing in theRam Janmabhoomi-Babrimasjid land dispute whichmay disturb "communal har-mony" and "peace" but claimedarguments of their rivals borea communal character.

They also termed as "unwar-ranted" and "unfortunate", thesubmission of Muslim partiesthat the archeological report betrashed and said that nowthey allege that the excavatedwall was of an Idgah.

Questioning the submis-sions, the senior lawyer fordeity 'Ram Lalla' said it thenmeant that Mughal emperor

Babur came and demolishedthe Idgah and erected themosque and it also counteredtheir earlier stand that themasjid was built on a vacantland.

The submissions by theHindu parties evoked sharpreactions from the Muslimside which said that they didnot say anything which raisescommunal passion and more-over, how did the Muslimsknow before the digging of thesite that an Idgah existed

underneath the mosque. The arguments and counter

arguments resulted in a high-pitch verbal duel between thesenior advocates appearing forboth the sides before a five-bench Constitution benchheaded by Chief Justice RanjanGogoi which concluded 35thday of the hearing on the con-tentious legal matter.

"The uncalled for commentswere made by them (Muslimparties) during the hearingand we never made any suchsubmissions which wereagainst communal peace andharmony," senior lawyer C SVaidyanathan, appearing forthe deity, said, adding that thecomments like "Kaushlaya'slabour room" have been madeby them.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court hassaid it will consider the issue ofjudicial officers taking leavewithout the advocates and lit-igants being timely informedabout it, causing them incon-venience.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and C Hari Shankarwas hearing a PIL seekingdirections for prior intima-tion by judicial officers intend-ing to take leave, as done by thejudges of the high court.

The court said necessary

directions would be passed onthe administrative side.

The plea said one primehardship is that parties arenot given sufficient notice ofleave obtained by a judicial offi-cer.

Petitioner and advocateAmish Aggarwala said thejudges of the high court informthe registry well in advance ifthey are on leave and conse-quently when the final causelist is uploaded for the next day,advocates, litigants and otherindividuals are well informedabout it.

"This petition merely seeksthat courts of Delhi JudicialService merely follow the foot-steps of this court and timelynotice of officers' leave may beintimated to the public," he

said.The plea said though the

trial courts' websiteDelhidistrictcourts.nic.in has a'Judges on Leave section', thesame is redundant.

The petitioner claimed that

he routinely checks the 'Judgeson Leave section', only toobserve that updated list ofjudicial officers on leave for aparticular day is uploaded onlyafter about 11 am on the dayitself.

It sought the direction tojudicial officers of the Delhidistrict courts to inform theDistrict and Sessions Judge 24hours in advance of their inten-tion to take a leave.

It also said direction begiven that 'Judges on Leave sec-tion' of the district courts'websites be updated at least aday prior.

It said advocates are alreadyreceiving automated emailsand text messages from thewebsite of the court systeminforming about next dates ofhearings in their matters.

PNS n UJJAIN (MP)

Six government employeesand three others were bookedfor alleged irregularities inproviding LED lights and toi-lets at the Simhastha KumbhMela organised in Ujjain inMadhya Pradesh in May 2016,an official said on Tuesday.

MP Police Economic OffenceWing Superintendent (Ujjain)Rajesh Singh Raghuvanshi saidthe nine were booked after aninquiry into two private firmsthat had bagged these contracts.

In the first FIR related toLED lights, he said UjjainMunicipal Corporation DeputyCommissioner RP Shrivastava,Executive Engineer RambabuSharma and Sub engineer

Jitendra Shrivastava, along withdirector Rishi Seth and man-ager manoj Jain of Noida-based private firm HPL Electricand Power Limited have beencharged. In the second FIRpertaining to temporary toi-lets, those charged areSiddharth Jain, director ofBrick N Bond Infra Companyalong with Assistant EngineerPiyush Bhargava, ExecutiveEngineer Rakesh Srivastavaand Assistant Engineer ShyamSundar Sharma, all three of theUjjain Municipal Corporation.

Raghuvanshi said they havebeen charged under IPC sec-tions 409 (criminal breach oftrust by public servant), 420(cheating) and 201 (destroyingevidence of crime).

PNS n SHIMLA

Senior Congress leader AnandSharma on Tuesday alleged thatthe Centre's decision to reducethe corporate tax rate wouldbenefit only big firms, whileasserting that the country at pre-sent is facing the "worst" unem-ployment problem.

Addressing Congress work-ers at the party office here aheadof the bypolls to Dharamshalaand Pachhad assembly seats,Sharma said the BJP did notfight the last general electionson "real issues".

"The relief of corporate taxprovided by the centre wouldbenefit only big business hous-es," he alleged.

Sharma said the BJP foughtthe last general elections onIndo-Pak, nationalism andPulwama-Balakot issues, noton the "real issues".

"The BJP did not fulfill thepromise of providing twocrore jobs to the youth anddepositing Rs 15 lakh in everycitizen's bank account," theCongress leader said.

The country is facing the"worst" unemployment prob-lem since independence, he

alleged. Earlier, the HimachalPradesh Congress Committee(HPCC) submitted a memo-randum to the state governor,alleging economic slowdownin the country.

The state Congress led byits in-charge Rajni Patil sub-mitted the memorandum toGovernor Bandaru Dattatreyaat Raj Bhavan. State Congresspresident Kuldeep SinghRathore, Sukhvinder Sukhuand AICC secretary GurkiratSingh Kotli were part of thedelegation. In the three-pagememorandum, the Congresssaid India's GDP growth hastouched 5 per cent to a six-year low in the April-Junequarter this year.

The rejection ofnominationpapers led toprotests by theparty workerswho raisedslogans againstthe governmentand the localadministration atboth the places

AYODHYA

Arguments continue onwhether groups disturbed peace

Sitaram Yechury

Anand Sharma

‘Cut in corporate tax willbenefit only big firms’

6 govt officials, 3 others bookedin 2 Simhastha Kumbh cases

Man held for‘raping' NRIwoman

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel andC Hari Shankar was hearing a PILseeking directions for prior intimation byjudicial officers intending to take leave,as done by the judges of the high court.

‘Shah shouldn'tfoster divisions’

ASSEMBLY BYPOLLS

Rejection of paperssetback for SP

HC to consider issue of judicial officers’without notice

In a world that has reached unprece-dented levels of aggregate wealth, welook around and find that thehuman condition is far from satis-factory and deviates substantially

from the state of happiness that humanbeings normally would aspire to. We nowhave scientific evidence and mountingobservations about human-induced cli-mate change, the loss of biodiversity anda world population dominated by a smallnumber of the rich exploiting a large seaof poor people, who have no access to thevery basic services and facilities that wouldprovide an individual with a dignified andsecure existence. Increasingly, there is alsoa growing manifestation of racism anddeep prejudice in several societies today.

Mahatma Gandhiji’s solutions forsome of the ills of today acquire muchgreater relevance, given the growingprominence of some of the deficienciesand issues that are causing concern acrossthe globe. Mahatma Gandhi’s blend of pol-itics, combined with ethical and spiritu-al dimensions, is completely absent in thisday and age.

As he stated, “Democracy must inessence, therefore, mean the art and sci-ence of mobilising the entire physical, eco-nomic and spiritual resources of all thevarious sections of the people in the ser-vices of the common good of all.” He hada deep belief in and dedication to thePanchayati Raj as he advocated gover-nance being strengthened at the lowestlevel of the system. He believed “indepen-dence must begin at the bottom…It fol-lows, therefore, that every village has tobe self-sustained and capable of manag-ing its affairs.”

In the 70 plus years of independencethat India has attained, we have consistent-ly ignored the villages of this country,wherein almost two-thirds of the popu-lation still reside. The result has been theshameful existence of illiteracy, particu-larly of women, the absence of sanitation,healthcare, connectivity and marketaccess. With agriculture displacing labourthrough technological changes, employ-ment in rural areas has declined, leadingto massive migration into cities andtowns, with large slums co-existing sideby side with small islands of prosperity.

Unfortunately, India has pursued thepath of Western nations in a facileattempt to replicate industrialisationand urban living. Yet, the problems thatwe observe in our country are universal.The Oxfam report published each yearreported that in 2018, billionaires’ for-tunes grew 12 per cent worldwide,which amounted to an increase in $2.5billion a day. At the same time, the poor-est half of humanity, numbering 3.8 bil-lion, saw its income decline by 11 percent. Reflecting on these global trends,the fortunes of billionaires in India also

grew by 35 per cent last year, whichamounted to an increase of `2,200crore per day. Oxfam also found thatthe poorest 10 per cent of the coun-try’s population remained in debtsince 2004. Meanwhile, India added18 per cent new billionaires in 2018and their wealth crossed $ 400 billion.

Gandhiji was not opposed to cap-italism. In fact, he stated: “Capital assuch is not evil; it is its wrong use thatis evil.” He obviously understood thesubjugation of people under a totali-tarian or communist regime wouldonly trample the rights of the poor anddestroy the panchayats, which in hisview should be empowered for decision-making at the local level.

Most relevant today, however,would be Gandhian solutions in thefield of the environment. With the con-centration of greenhouse gases(GHGs), particularly carbon dioxide,major risks are occurring from theimpacts of human-induced climatechange. Gandhiji’s wisdom provides uswith a beacon light for the future.

When the Mahatma was asked ifhe would like to have the same stan-dard of living for India’s teeming mil-lions as was prevalent in England, heresponded by saying: “It took Britainhalf the resources of the planet toachieve this prosperity. How manyplanets will a country like Indiarequire?” He saw the driving force forthe destruction of the earth’s ecosys-tems and the environment as a reflec-

tion and manifestation of humangreed.” He said, “The earth providesenough for every man’s needs but notfor every man’s greed.”

His view was, therefore, thathuman beings must pursue a simpleway of life, one which does not bur-den the earth with the weight ofhuman activities. Pope Francis onSeptember 1 in his message on theWorld Day of Prayer for the Care ofCreation also stated: “It is also a sea-son to reflect on our lifestyles and howour daily decisions about food, con-sumption, transportation, use of water,energy and many other material goodscan often be thoughtless and harmful.Too many of us act like tyrants withregard to creation.”

One of the deficiencies of modernurban living is the complete alienationof urban societies from the beauty andwealth of nature. The fact that humanbeings derive the maximum amount ofhappiness from being close to naturehas been analysed by a number of psy-chologists, including Paul Bloom ofYale University. Gandhiji expressed hisreverence for nature when he stated: “Ineed no inspiration other than nature’s.She has never failed me yet. She mys-tifies me, bewilders me and sends meinto ecstasies.”

There is today an urgent need tobring about a shift in the practice ofwhat now goes under the title of eco-nomic development. The footprint ofhumanity on the ecosystems of this

planet has exceeded its biocapacity forwell over 40 years now and human beings are today living farbeyond the capacity of the earth’s bio-capacity.

This writer was the Chairman ofthe Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to2015. In this period and with recentreports of the IPCC, it has become evi-dent that major structural and lifestylechanges are essential now, involvingalmost a tectonic shift to Gandhianprinciples and practices. The problemof climate change, loss of biodiversityand destruction of ecosystems on thisplanet can only be solved through amajor shift, which would ensure thathumanity’s footprint on this planet israpidly reduced in size and that supe-rior substitutes, such as the beauty ofnature, which we have forgotten, pro-vide us with happiness and joy.

In Gandhiji’s view, the pursuit ofconsumerism and the multiplication ofmaterial needs must give way to anethic which eliminates greed, andmost importantly, reduces the external-ities that human society is imposing onthe ecosystems and natural resourcesof this planet. Those who raise thespectre of degrowth in the world needconvincing on regrowth, involvingrural development and resuscitation ofnature along with Gandhian principles.

(The writer is former chairman,Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange, 2002-15)

Seventy years ago, the Chinese Civil War cameto an end. The nationalist forces, led byGeneralissimo Chiang Kai-shek, fled from the

mainland to the island of Formosa, or what we todayknow as Taiwan, and the rest of the gigantic countrybecame the People’s Republic of China (PRC), led bythe then Chairman Mao Zedong. The Chinese had beenin a state of almost perpetual conflict with themselves,European colonial powers and the brutal Japaneseimperial forces for almost three centuries at this pointin time. Peace was hard-won but troubles for the coun-try were not over as Mao set off on a Soviet-inspiredrush to “modernise” his country and almost took it

back to where it started centuries ago as a result. Yet, today, the PRC stands as a shining example of how a country can, in the space

of just four decades, radically transform itself from a peasant economy to a manufac-turing and tech giant. The PRC, a nation very different from the one that Mao and hiscomrades in the Communist Party envisaged in 1949, is the success story of the late20th and early 21st century. The Chinese economy was $30.55 billion in 1952 and asof last year is at $13.6 trillion. But today, it stands at the crossroads. The nation is againled by a strongman without the economic pragmatism of his forbears. It is facing a revoltin the “free” city of Hong Kong, its economic and multi-cultural hub, and brutally repress-ing minorities, from Tibetans to the Uighurs. It wants a new Dalai Lama to be reincar-nated on its soil. It might be an economic superpower but China remains, as it has his-torically been, an extremely exclusivist society. Chairman Mao may not be terribly happyabout some of the social and cultural changes that the PRC has undertaken. In fact, hewould be shocked at the league of mega-rich entrepreneurs the booming Chinese econ-omy has spawned as communism in China today is best described as quasi-capitalist.The party machinery might remain and has preserved the nation as an oligarchy untilnow but for how much longer is the question. The country has its own severe socialissues. Its citizens are demanding more. The problems with Hong Kong are just a signthat things may not be moving in the direction that President Xi Jinping wants them to.Theycould even end up being early signs of a counter-revolution, one which will be foment-ed by Xi’s tough rhetoric that “no force can shake the great nation.” The trade war withUS and the economic imperialism beyond borders are sore points with the world. However,none of these facts should take away from the basic idea that overall, the PRC has beena success. The very fact that leaders of that nation, notably Deng Xiaoping, have throughtheir economic pragmatism lifted hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty is one ofthe most dramatic success stories of any modern nation.

One could look at celebrations of an icon in twoways. The first, literally to remember his sig-nificance in our lives and follow the tokenism

of saluting that in an exalted moment of nostalgic pride,then getting on with free time a national holiday guar-antees. The second is about measuring ourselves upto our past heritage and coming to terms with whatwe have forgotten and renewing our intended pledgeto live up to it. Either way, Gandhi Jayanti these dayshas been reduced to nothing but a value educationclass whose students are eagerly waiting for the peri-od bell. Fact is, the “father of the nation” is but anoth-er moniker for smart sells, one that now even has deriv-atives like “father of the country,” a me-too reflectionof our only global brand in the contemporary world

with politicians and thinkers across the world deifying him. His ideals and schemes areselectively chosen and quoted to suit individual goals and ambition. But as a nationalconscience and our spiritual core, Gandhi has long been forgotten. If anything, we arehappy to confine him in the role of a spiritualist, whose quotes we read and mouth, butseldom have the will or good intention to live with. In fact, the idea of India as it existstoday is an antithesis of his vision. One may disagree with his politics, which again needsto be seen in the complex context and predicaments of his time and his attempt at rec-onciling extremes. And since he wasn’t able to heal hatred, it lurks as a ghost in our DNA.But to outrightly confine him to that periscope in the reordered history of our times is notjust myopic but evasive. For Gandhi was a practicalist, not a halo. One who had a sci-entific temper, which he blended with the tradition he knew. One who was a realist andknew India needed its own template, simply because we have a civilisational strength todo that. What are the United Nations (UN) millennial goals if not Gandhian — sustain-able growth, resource mobilisation, clean and environment-friendly development and socialequity? Most important, his pilot projects showed that it was all possible by anybody.He always wanted to demystify himself, mindful about coming down to the level of thecommon man and elevating the latter in the process. If anything, we keep on mytholo-gising him, for it absolves us of all responsibility of assuming charge.

Democracy, he said, “necessarily means a conflict of will and ideas, involving some-times a war to the knife between different ideas.” That binary doesn’t exist anymore, thespirit of inquiry subjugated to a majoritarian will. “Freedom of a nation cannot be wonby solitary acts of heroism though they may be of the true type, never by heroism socalled.” Heroism today is about imposed iconisation and muscular triumphalism in pub-lic life. And, of course, amid the noise of the “one India” narrative, everybody has for-gotten Gandhiji’s definition of nationalism as it should be: “My patriotism is not an exclu-sive thing. It is all-embracing and I should reject that patriotism which sought to mountupon the distress or exploitation of other nationalities.” So while we pursue our SwachhBharat goals, follow the tenets of yoga and reinvent khadi, we need to reorient our think-ing to his karma yoga, one that is the essence of the Bhagwad Gita. His non-violencewas never passive but revolutionary, one that birthed many mass movements and wasthe precursor of all the candlelight vigils and protest rallies; he knew no weapons or sup-pression would work against the strongest tool: People. It would be a mistake to con-sider Gandhi as anti-industry or anti-technology. In fact, he was against industrial sys-tems that harmed the environment and entrenched a classist social order and would actu-ally have gone very well with the cleaner and flat-planing digital technologies of today.He advocated economically viability and encouraged local production and consumption,much before “Make in India” became a slogan. His rural empowerment was not aboutdole but encouraged farmers to think like any other producer of goods and engage indirect selling through cooperatives. He encouraged the use of farm waste as manure andemphasised food security. Agriculture, to him, was agri-business, enough to be the bedrockfor local self-development and devolution of power to the panchayats. Be it micro-financeor self-help groups, it was Gandhi who planted the seeds. And he codified the dignity oflabour, doing every chore himself. His idea of purna swaraj or true freedom was that ofinclusive growth that was only possible when you had freedom from hunger, unemploy-ment, fear and hatred. Ideals become heartless idols when we just put a face to them.Let us practise what we preach unthinkingly on this day.

Whither Gandhi?

Ban not the solution

Sir — The country took a reso-lution to get rid of single-useplastic on the Mahatma’s 150thbirth anniversary. This wasindeed a bold decision and it wasexpected that on this day, the cit-izens would give up its use com-pletely. The Prime Ministerissued an advisory to the StateGovernments to ban the produc-tion of certain kinds of articles ofsingle-use plastic. Strict enforce-ment of the orders was ensured.But perhaps our approach to dealwith the plastic problem is entire-ly wrong. In the past, several suchbans have been ordered butnothing changed on the ground.After a few days, it was businessas usual.

One of the biggest failures ofthe Government is that it hastaken up this task without doingits homework well. An alternativeto single plastics is either notavailable or has not yet been cir-culated far and wide. And thisform of plastic material is usedfor a gamut of everyday needs.Even the Mahatma insisted ontaking a holistic view of things.Piecemeal solutions were notcompatible with his way. The

elimination of single-use plasticmust be done in a phased man-ner. Bans can come later. First weneed an alternative to plastic.

Shubham Via email

Changed times

Sir — Two days before he wasmurdered on January 28, 1948,Mahatma Gandhi had said: “If

I am to die by the bullet of amad man, I must do so smiling.God must be in my heart and onmy lips.” This year on theMahatma’s death anniversary,some religious fanatics observed

that day by shooting at his effi-gy with a toy pistol. Then theyput garlands on the picture ofhis assassin, Godse, and circu-lated the video clip. During suchtimes, when people continue todeify Bapu, it is highly reassur-ing to listen to a speech by aschoolboy from Varanasi, AyushChaturvedi, who emphasised onlost Gandhian values.

He started his speech witha bang: “Ye kisne kahaa aapseaandhi ke saath hun, MainGodse ke daur mein Gandhi kesaath hun.” (Who told you thatI am swept up in the storm? Istand by Gandhi in the time ofGodse).” Then he spoke abouthow people remained ignorantabout Gandhian values andbeliefs. “If the Britisher, whokicked Gandhi out of the train,could anticipate that the manwould overthrow the British Raj,he would have never done it,”Ayush said. A schoolboy hasshown that Gandhi’s idea of sec-ularism will remain at the heartof India even amidst the hail-storm of Godse doctrine.

Sujit DeKolkata

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 2, 2019

Path to sustainable future

RK PACHAURI

Those who raise the spectre of de-growth in the world need convincing onregrowth, involving nature and Gandhian principles

I would like to ask scientists to doresearch to ascertain whether thereis ‘mangal’ (well-being) in lifeinstead of searching for life on‘Mangal’ (Mars)

Union Minister —Pratap Chandra Sarangi

The fact that people stereotype meas an action hero, I love it. Thattag... It's such a blessing. You needan identity. We all actors work hardto create that niche and identity.

Actor—Tiger Shroff

Thank you Mr Jaishankar for coveringup our PM's incompetence. His fawningendorsement caused serious problemswith the Democrats for India. I hope itgets ironed out with your intervention.

Congress leader—Rahul Gandhi

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

An icon who inspired the enemy

The 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhiis an opportunity for us to reaffirm his ideals ofnon-violence, equality and religious tolerance.

Rabindranath Tagore, who was averse to Gandhi’sidea of nationalism, bestowed the title of “Mahatma”on him in a remarkable show of liberalism. It was atribute to the incarnation of love on earth. In theDravidian south, in his famous poem in Malayalamtitled, My Master, poet Vallathol Narayana Menoncompared the Mahatma to the sky, a pure stream,a pristine lamp, a treasure trove and the moonlight.To him, Gandhi embodied the “renunciation” as prac-tised by Jesus Christ; the “acumen” of Lord Krishnain scheming strategy for the defence of justice (dhar-ma); “resolute faith” of Buddha to carry forward hismessage of non-violence (ahimsa); the “intellect” ofSri Sankara; and the “compassion” of Rantideva.

Humanity across the globe has shown great rev-erence to him. In his judgement after a court trial ofGandhi, Sessions judge RS Broomsfield said ratherapologetically, “It would be impossible to ignore thefact that you (Gandhi) are in a different category fromany person I have ever tried or am likely to have totry. It would be impossible to ignore the fact that inthe eyes of millions of your countrymen, you are a

great patriot and a leader.” The Mahatma was sen-tenced to imprisonment for six years. The judge con-tinued, “And I should like to say in doing so that ifthe course of events in India should make it possi-ble for the Government to reduce the period andrelease you, no one will be better pleased than I.”For Romain Rolland, who authored the book,Mahatma Gandhi: The Man who Became One withthe Universal Being, Gandhi “was the dawn of a newhope for humanity.” We are blessed to be born onthis soil where the Mahatma lived.

Haridasan RajanKozhikode

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

What would Mao say?

Gandhian ideals seem to have been overshadowed in modern timeswhen they can still steer not just India but the world out of chaos

Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China as we know it, might notrecognise the country he once controlled with an iron fist

op nion 06

Bapu’s long years of trial

Mahatma Gandhi had to struggleall his life to make people under-stand his ideas and beliefs.

Though his devoted followers gave himunconditional support and respondedpassionately to his calls, a gap alwaysremained between his ideas and theirimplementation. He was misunderstoodall through his life and afterwards.Though the Indian National Congress(INC) accepted non-violence as its creed,it had more than once defied him.Gandhi had to put his life at risk todemonstrate the power of satyagraha(power of truth) to his followers.

It was in 1922 when the gap betweenhim and his followers was the most explic-it. His decision to immediately stop theNon-Cooperation Movement after theChauri Chaura incident, in which protest-ers set the local police station on fire,killing all 22 policemen, baffled everyone,including his close associates like CRajagopalachari and Jawaharlal Nehru.Some of them even took it as a betrayaland termed him a British lackey. ButGandhi stood firm, saying that the peo-ple were not yet ready for a non-violentstruggle.

The disillusionment was so deepthat many young people, including RamPrasad Bismil, Chandra Shekhar Azadand Bhagat Singh, joined the armed strug-gle. INC and Gandhi had to counter thecreed of violence during the remainingpart of the freedom struggle.

Ten years later, the same thing hap-pened. Gandhi successfully led the CivilDisobedience Movement in 1930 thatstarted with the dramatic Dandi marchand forced the British Government toabolish salt tax and formally recognise theINC as the representative of the Indianpeople. The outcome in terms of socialreformation and organisational penetra-tion was also huge. The movement result-ed in the Government of India Act, 1935,which provided local provincial govern-ments to Indians. Above all, Britishauthority was discredited and eroded.

However, it could not satisfy aninfluential section of Congressmen for themovement failed in gaining indepen-dence. They concluded that theGandhian way of struggle would not yieldresults. These leaders, who were lodgedin Nasik jail, decided to form theCongress Socialist Party to revolutionisethe Congress. The group had people likeAcharya Narendra Dev, Jai PrakashNarain and Ram Manohar Lohia. TheCongress socialists openly opposed non-violence as the guiding principle anddeclared Marxism as their philosophy.However, Gandhi blessed the party andhelped it grow. In later years, Narain,Lohia and most other leaders shunnedMarxism as their creed and became fol-lowers of Gandhi. But by that time theMahatma was not there to see the change.

Gandhi remained in a dialectic rela-tionship with all his contemporaries,including Rabindranath Tagore, BRAmbedkar and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.Misunderstandings between them hadserious repercussions for theIndependence struggle.

After returning from South Africa,Gandhi went straight to Shantiniketanand stayed with Tagore for a month. Theinteraction led to a life-long friendship.

Gandhi called him Gurudev and Tagoregave him the title of Mahatma.However, Tagore was a staunch criticof the charkha (spinning wheel) andalso angry over Gandhi’s ideas on thecaste system.

Gandhi’s relationship withAmbedkar was never smooth. He wasvery critical of the Mahatma’s ideas ofgram swaraj. For Ambedkar, the villagesystem was oppressive and he believedthat the only way to bring socialdemocracy in India was to modernisethe villages. He was also stronglyopposed to Gandhi’s ideas on removalof untouchability and never endorsedthe term “Harijan” for the depressedclasses. He impressed upon untouch-ables the importance of self-help, self-elevation and self-respect and pre-ferred direct action against untoucha-bility. Gandhi never supportedAmbedkar’s direct action programmesbecause he felt that they would invitebacklash from caste Hindus.

Misunderstanding was at its peakwhen Ambedkar supported separateelectorates for the lower classes givenunder the Communal Award, 1932.Gandhi found it divisive and went onan indefinite fast. It forced Ambedkarto sign the Poona Pact on September24, 1932. Dalit leaders never acceptedGandhi’s move and considered ittreachery. They argued that the gener-al electorate did not allow true leader-ship to emerge and only stooges of theupper castes got elected. Was Gandhiopposed to the cause of Dalits? Whenwe look closely at the Poona Pact, wefind that Dalits got almost double thenumber of seats in provincialAssemblies and the Central Assembly.They were given reservation in jobs andeducation. Above all, the upper casteleadership recognised their rights afterdiscrimination and exploitation of cen-turies. Till date, reservation plays animportant role in taking Dalits towardstheir rights.

Gandhi faced a long and torturoustrial in the 1940s. Generally, his visit to

Noakhali, his Brahmacharya experi-ments and fast at Kolkata are consid-ered as the final trials. However, his tri-als began on September 1939 with thedeclaration of World War II and endedon January 30, 1948 with his death.During the period, his ahimsa was ontrial on several occasions.

Initially, Gandhi was sympatheticto the British but opposed to the war.The INC was hardly ready to accept hisform of non-violence and the party wasdivided on supporting the BritishGovernment in its war efforts. His mosttrusted lieutenant Nehru was ready tojoin the Allied forces to defeat the fas-cist forces. Gandhi’s other disciple,Subhash Chandra Bose ultimatelyjoined hands with the fascist forces. Oneof his trusted friends Rajagopalachariwas so desperate to join theGovernment that Gandhi had to askhim to resign from the Congress. Hisloyal soldiers such as Rajendra Prasadand Sardar Patel showed deviations andsupported the Bardoli resolution whichstated that Indians would cooperate inthe war if the British Governmentagreed to grant them independence.The Bardoli resolution of December 30,1941, even accepted Gandhi’s requestto relieve him from the responsibilityof “guiding” the INC. He had made thisrequest because he believed that sup-porting war efforts would mean anabandonment of non-violence.

However, the INC soon went backon its acceptance of Bapu’s request torelieve him and Gandhi was again at thehelm of affairs. However, Congressleaders were not ready to accept hisinterpretation and they viewed hisinsistence on non-cooperating with theBritish in their war efforts as supportto Japan.

Nehru was extremely unhappyover it and he vehemently opposedGandhi’s resolution at the CongressWorking Committee (CWC) meetingat Allahabad in April 1942. However,Nehru did not take much time toamend his line and supported the

Quit India resolution, which was a clearopposition to the British and the alliedforces.

Very few are aware of the painfulevents that followed Gandhi’s arrest onAugust 9, 1942, a day after the QuitIndia resolution was passed by the AllIndia Congress Committee at Mumbai.He was imprisoned at Yerawada Jail inPune. Kasturba Gandhi was also arrest-ed and she was imprisoned in ArthurRoad Jail in Mumbai. But was sent toPune after she became severely ill.

When Gandhi saw Kasturba in AgaKhan Palace, his first question was,“Did you ask for your transfer?” Howcould she ask for a favour when totalnon-cooperation was going on againstthe Government? After remaining illfor nearly 18 months, Kasturba died inthe prison for want of proper medicalcare. Gandhi had already lost his clos-est associate Mahadev Desai within aweek after his imprisonment atYerawada Jail.

When the British released Gandhion finding him in precarious health, hesaw that the people had violated hisprinciples of non-violence and most ofthe Quit India Movement was violentand bloody. He denounced the violence.Though Nehru and Patel took respon-sibility for the violence during themovement, Gandhi distanced himselffrom their sacrifices. It came as a shockto the heroes of the Quit IndiaMovement but Bapu did not change hisstand.

The final trial began when India’sIndependence was nigh. He tried hardto preserve unity but failed. Jinnah wasnot ready to believe him and theCongress leaders were not listening tohim. Communal violence across thecountry shook Gandhi. He alwaysclaimed to be a devout Hindu but waskilled by a fanatic Hindu who consid-ered him as an enemy of the Hindus.Did he deserve the trial?

(The author is editor of a news por-tal and writes on politics and rightsissues.)

Though the Mahatma elicited devotion, he remained in a dialectic relationshipwith most of his contemporaries, including Tagore, Ambedkar and Jinnah

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Lives of manyGandhis

Just like the Mahatma was part of the worldcommunity before his return to India, 154 of his

descendants also live abroad in six different nations

ANIL SINHA

GANDHI FACED ALONG AND

TORTUROUSTRIAL IN THE

1940S.GENERALLY, HIS

VISIT TONOAKHALI, HIS

BRAHMACHARYAEXPERIMENTS

AND FAST ATKOLKATA ARE

CONSIDERED ASTHE FINAL

TRIALS.HOWEVER, HIS

TRIALS BEGAN ONSEPTEMBER 1939

WITH THEDECLARATION OF

WORLD WAR IIAND ENDED ON

JANUARY 30,1948 WITH HIS

DEATH. DURINGTHE PERIOD, HISAHIMSA WAS ON

TRIAL ONSEVERAL

OCCASIONS

Life in the shadow of greatness is never easy. Mahatma Gandhi’s foursons discovered this the hard way. The eldest son, Harilal, rebelledagainst his illustrious parent and died a broken man. The tension between

Harilal and his father sprang from the conflict between Gandhi’s twin rolesas a father to a nation and to his children. Gandhi was only 18 when hisfirst son was born and Harilal was just six months old when his procre-ator left his family in South Africa to train as a barrister in London. ThoughGandhi understood the importance of spending time with his family laterand his two younger sons benefited from that, he was absent during Harilal’sgrowing years, which proved to be a rankler in their relationship. However,Harilal’s son Kantilal and his grandfather shared a warm relationship.

The Mahatma’s second son, Manilal, stayed back in South Africa tocontinue the civil rights crusade, while his younger siblings, Ramdas andDevadas, stayed with their mother Kasturba and their father. It’s a tall orderto live up to a legend, who, inspired an entire generation and continues toinspire the world even after seven decades of his demise. Gandhi’s descen-dants, his grandchildren and great grandchildren, in their own individual ways,carry forward a difficult legacy.

After Gandhi was cremated on the banks of the Yamuna River, mem-bers of the clan gathered at the funeral site to collect his ashes. Amongthem was 11-year-old Ramchandra, who was sifting through his grand-father’s warm ashes and helping his kin fill the copper urn. One of thebystanders gently wiped the ashes from Ramchandra’s hands with his hand-kerchief and then took it away as a memento. Though the young boy couldnot comprehend the significance of this reverent gesture at that time, ashe grew up, he realised what the Mahatma meant to the people of the coun-try. Ramchandra, who was the son of Gandhi’s youngest son Devadas andLakshmi, grew up to be a noted philosopher.

His siblings were Rajmohan, Gopalakrishna and Tara GandhiBhattacharjee. He had a doctorate in philosophy from Oxford and a doc-torate in physics too. He taught at the University of Hyderabad, Visva-BharatiUniversity, Punjab University, California Institute of Integral Studies andBangalore University. An intellectual, he lived a frugal life and died at theIndia International Centre in 2007 at the age of 70.

Just like Gandhi, who was part of the global community before hereturned to the land of his birth, the descendants of the Mahatma are alsoglobal citizens and 154 of them live in six different nations, other than India.

Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, Arun Manilal, who is the son ofGandhi’s second son Manilal, is the Mahatma’s fifth grandson. After work-ing for 30 years as a journalist for The Times of India, Arun along with hislate wife Sunanda left for the US in 1987 and is now a renowned activistand writer. The couple founded the MK Gandhi Institute for Non-Violenceat the Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2008 theinstitute was moved to the Rochester University, New York, and they tookthe message of non-violence and peace to hundreds of thousands of highschool and university students around America and much of the westernworld.

Arun’s son Tushar Gandhi runs the Mumbai-based Mahatma GandhiFoundation, an organisation involved in spreading Gandhian values and prin-ciples. Tushar recently criticised US President Donald Trump for calling PrimeMinister Narendra Modi “father of India” and said, “Those who feel the needto replace the Father of the Nation with a new one are welcome. Trumpmay also like to replace George Washington with himself.”

Another of Gandhi’s grandsons, Kanu Ramdas, known to all of us asthe child who walked ahead of the Mahatma, holding one end of his stickduring the 1930 Dandi march, grew up to be a distinguished NASA scien-tist. He passed away at a hospital in Surat in 2016 at the age of 87.

The Mahatma’s great granddaughter Medha, who is the daughter ofHarilal’s son Kantilal, was born and brought up in America and lives therewith her family. She is famous not just because of her lineage but also becauseshe herself is a glamorous TV personality and a DJ. She produced one ofthe most famous shows in Ohio, The Dave and Jimmy Show.

Most of the Mahatma’s family has kept away from politics, except forSumitra Kulkarni, the eldest daughter of Gandhi’s third son Ramdas, whocompleted a six-year term in Rajya Sabha, Rajmohan Gandhi who had con-tested and lost a Lok Sabha election in 1979 and Kantilal’s son Shantilal,who won an Assembly seat in Kansas in the 2012 US elections as aRepublican candidate. Kantilal’s son Shantilal and his American wife Susanwere in politics since the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was the US President.A doctor by profession, in 2011, Shantilal retired to enter active politics.

In retrospect, the lack of sufficient representation of Gandhi’s descen-dants in politics might have been a big loss for Indian politics, given theway it has evolved. Rajmohan Gandhi once admitted, “Some of us maybe self-effacing to a fault. We may have got lulled into the belief that to appearto be seeking leadership or position is bad. If there is a fire to be put out,you shouldn’t be self-effacing. You should put the fire out.”

Wherever, they are, Gandhi’s descendants live life across all continentson their own terms, holding up his legacy in their own unique ways.

(The author is a retired finance professional and a freelance writer)

Judith M Brown, Emeritus BeitProfessor of CommonwealthHistory, University of Oxford and

author of several books on MahatmaGandhi in her recent article 4 ques-tions Gandhi asked of himself, and ofall of us listed the following.1. What is religion? 2. How should one live?3. What is the nature of political

identity, particularly the nation? 4. How should one conduct oneself

in the practice of politics?Brown answered the questions

underlining the supreme importanceof non-violence and Gandhi’s radicalthinking. The opening lines of thearticle reads: “150 years after Gandhi’sbirth there are many Gandhis, in

India and worldwide. Diverse peopleand groups have valued and usedsome of his ideas and practices, orused his name to grace their own pro-jects. Sometimes he has beendeployed in support of causes whichhe would not have recognised. In areal sense, he has become globalproperty.”

On the question of religion,Brown writes, “for Gandhi, religionwas not a clearly packaged andlabelled set of beliefs and practices;neither was it a communal or semi-tribal identity. It was a pilgrimage insearch of truth, a lifelong searchingfor God as truth rather than for adivinity which could be described inany simpler way.”

In response to the second ques-tion she remarked that “Gandhi pro-nounced the powerful aphorism thatthere is enough in the world for theneeds of every man, but not for thegreed of every man..... His ownlifestyle in the last 25 years of his lifeback in India is well-known andGandhi was very aware of the adver-tising effect of his freely-chosenpoverty and simplicity in food, cloth-

ing and possessions.”In answer to the third question,

Brown mentions that “India was notto be defined by language or creed oreven place of birth and heritage. Whatmattered in making “an Indian” wasliving in the subcontinent, making itone’s home, and valuing its ancientand complex civilisation. The iden-tity of the nation was urgent in histime because of the imminent depar-ture of the British rulers and increas-ingly violent controversies over therelationship between national andreligious identity.”

Answering the final question, thehistorian writes, “Gandhi recognisedthat disagreement and conflict areinevitable in human society andinteraction between individuals andgroups.....Conversion rather thancoercion was his remedy for con-flict.......Even though non-violentmodes of public and political actionoften seem to have failed in his life-time and beyond, his life and teach-ing raise the perennial question of theright ways to behave in the publicarena.”

Now, let me attempt to extrapo-

late Brown’s standpoint by looking atpresent-day India, which is markedby many contradictions. The politi-cal setting is worrisome as the world’slargest democracy is contaminated bythe constraints of politics — from reli-gious hate crimes to politics oftokenism to politics of polarisationand corruption. In a sense, extreme,vocal ideologues are gaining groundon both the far-Right and far-Leftparties. Incidentally, each and everypolitical party, populated by individ-uals who have no moral compass, isperhaps the best explanation for theperilous state in which Indian democ-racy resides today. All of this makesabundantly clear something that haslong been obvious about India’sgrimy political mess.

Whether it’s religious hate crimes,let’s remember that Gandhi wasappreciative of India’s religious andlinguistic diversity and was againstpolitics of hate. In Bapu’s words, “Icame to the conclusion long ago . . .that all religions were true and alsothat all had some error in them, andwhilst I hold by my own, I shouldhold others as dear as Hinduism. So

we can only pray, if we are Hindus,not that a Christian should becomea Hindu … But our innermost prayershould be a Hindu should be a bet-ter Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim,a Christian a better Christian.”Through the decades, politicaltokenism in our country has becomenot just accepted but celebrated as theleaders indulged in wearing skull capor shawl, inflammatory advocacy ofcertain issues, lunch diplomacy andso on. Ironically, our political leaderslook up to Gandhi for inspiration,who never wore a skull cap and yetfasted for Muslims’ safety during theriots in Delhi and West Bengal at thetime of Partition. It goes to show howtokenism-ridden politics has beenquite successful in almost replacingBapu’s philosophy in wooing voters.After all, tokenism is what the polit-ical system sells to you and me.

We live in a paradoxical time assome political parties are gettingstronger and others weaker. While theformer is well-financed, well-organ-ised that bring a mass of resources tobear on campaigns and candidates,the latter’s linkages with voters have

grown weaker due to poor organisa-tional ability to lack of leadership.Incidentally, in an era of intense polit-ical polarisation, there is hardly anyparty which is ideologically cohesiveand is above political posturing.

It’s for this reason there is a ques-tion mark over the centrality ofpolitical parties as key institutions ofIndia and their increasing inability toperform functions seen as essential toa healthy performance of democra-cy. As Indian politics has acquired adarker shade, it’s time to revisitGandhi’s deep ethical view of politics.According to Spiritualizing Politics sec-tion of Mahatma Gandhi’s Leadership- Moral And Spiritual Foundations byYP Anand, Gandhi never sought apublic or political office or title. Hewas in politics for spiritual reasons.He explained in a speech in London“….although to all appearances mymission is political….its roots are, ifI may use the term, spiritual….I claimthat at least my politics are notdivorces from morality, from spiritu-ality, from religion….a man who istrying to discover and follow the willof God, cannot possibly leave a sin-

gle field of life untouched. I foundthrough bitter experience that, if Iwanted to do social service, I couldnot possibly leave politics alone.”

Now, let’s talk about another real-ity that is political corruption. Itthrives in our country. With socialmedia and the smartphone, we canhelp form an opinion fast but we can’thave political leaders agree that cor-ruption funds their politics.Concluding, India has been a repre-sentative democracy but, it’s yet to bea responsive democracy. And to bea responsive democracy, it needs toset right the political system. Ourcountry is in need of a political sys-tem that is committed to alter the self-seeking and shaky polity into steady,sensible and selfless one. In colum-nist Steve Chapman’s words, “The badnews is that our democracy does apoor job of giving the people whatthey want. The good news is that it’seasier to fix a rotten system than a rot-ten people.”

(The writer is former DeputyGeneral Manager, India InternationalCentre, New Delhi and GeneralManager, International Centre Goa)

Indian democracy representative, not responsiveFor our democracy to be reactive, the country is in need of a political system that is committed to alter the

self-seeking and shaky polity into a steady, sensible and selfless one

DEBASISH BHATTACHARYYA

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 2, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

V VENKATESWARA RAO

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 2, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

M&M tractor salesdown 2% at 37,011units in SeptNEW DELHI: Mahindra &Mahindra (M&M) on Tuesdayreported a 2 per cent declinein total tractor sales at 37,011units in September. Thecompany had sold 37,581units in the same month lastyear, M&M said in a regulatoryfiling. Sales of tractors in thedomestic market wasmarginally up at 36,046 unitsas compared to 35,953 unitsin the year-ago month, itadded. However, exportsdeclined 41 per cent at 965units as compared to 1,628units in September 2018, thecompany said. Commentingon the sales performance,M&M President - FarmEquipment Sector RajeshJejurikar said,"goodmonsoons, reservoir levelsand crop prices are allpositives going into the festiveseason.

Yes Bank sharescrack 20 pc inafternoon tradeNEW DELHI: Shares of YesBank went into a tailspin inafternoon trade on Tuesdaydespite a positive opening,tumbling nearly 20 per cent.The scrip came under massiveselling pressure in afternoontrade, giving up its early gainsand plunged 19.90 per cent toRs 33.20 -- its multi-year low -- on the BSE. On the NSE,shares plummeted 19.92 percent to Rs 33.15. It was thebiggest loser on both theSensex and Nifty. Meanwhile,according to the company'sfiling on the BSE on Tuesday,promoters have further sold2.16 per cent stake in thebank. Yes Capital, MorganCredits Pvt Ltd and RanaKapoor have sold 5.52 lakhshares or 2.16 per cent stakein Yes Bank through openmarket transaction duringSeptember 26-27.

Suzuki MotorcycleIndia sales up 2.11pc in SeptemberNEW DELHI: Suzuki MotorcycleIndia Pvt Ltd (SMIPL) onTuesday reported a 2.11 per centincrease in total two-wheelersales at 73,658 units inSeptember. The company hadsold a total of 72,134 units in thesame month last year, SMIPLsaid in a statement. In thedomestic market, SMIPL sold63,382 units during September2019 as compared with 63,140units sold in the same month lastyear, it added. "As we step in thefestive season, SMIPL isconfident to add more customersto the Suzuki family as we striveto achieve newer salesmilestones," SMIPL ManagingDirector Koichiro Hirao said.

Rate cut to rev up economy?RBI POLICY REVIEW MEET

PNS n MUMBAI

The RBI on Tuesday began itsrate-setting huddle amid wide-spread expectations that theMonetary Policy Committee(MPC) headed by GovernorShaktikanta Das would slashbenchmark interest rate torevive the sagging economy.

The Governor has alreadyhinted that the benign inflationprovides room for furthermonetary policy easing whilespace for fiscal space is limit-ed.

The government has alreadyannounced a series of measuresincluding steepest cut in cor-porate tax, rollback ofenhanced surcharge on ForeignPortfolio Investors, among oth-ers to jump-start growth whichhit a six-year low of 5 per centduring the first quarter of thecurrent fiscal.

The six-member MPC isscheduled to announce thefourth bi-monthly monetarypolicy for 2019-20 on Friday,October 4, after a three-daymeeting. There is no meetingof the panel due to nationalholiday on October 2, whichmarks birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi.

The central bank has alreadyslashed the repo rate four times

consecutively this yearamounting to 110 basis pointsin aggregate.

At its last meeting in August,the MPC reduced the bench-mark lending rate by an unusu-al 35 basis points to 5.40 percent.

The upcoming MPC meet-ing comes in the backdrop ofthe RBI's mandate to banks tolink their loan products to anexternal benchmark, like reporate, for faster transmission ofreduction in policy rates toborrowers, from October 1.

Ahead of the meeting, theDas-headed Financial Stabilityand Development Council

(FSDC) sub-committee tookstock of the prevailing macro-economic situation.

Earlier, the RBI Governorhad said the government haslittle fiscal space, giving hopesthat the central bank may pro-vide more monetary stimulusto prop up the economy.

The government's fiscalspace has been squeezed onaccount of cut in rates of cor-porate tax as well as loweringof GST rate on various goods.Revenue collection too hasbeen below the Budget esti-mates.

Experts opine that anotherrate cut is on the cards as the

government's hands are tiedand the onus of taking initia-tives now rests with the centralbank.

Shanti Ekambaram,President, Consumer Banking,Kotak Mahindra Bank, saidwith inflation still within theRBI's medium-term target of 4per cent, the MPC has theheadroom to cut the repo ratefurther.

"However, the recent volatil-ity in crude oil prices and thefiscal measures announced bythe government will have animpact on inflation in themedium term and the fiscaldeficit. Hence, we expect theMPC to be more measured inits response with a rate cut of20-25 basis points in theOctober policy," she said.

According to NAREDCOpresident NiranjanHiranandani, there is expecta-tion of a further 50 basis pointsrepo rate cut in the backdropof muted inflation whichstands lower than the expect-

ed 3.2 per cent.The further reduction of

repo rate will not only bringdown the lending rates but alsoincentivise investment andboost consumption, he said.

While economic activitiesare showing sings of sluggish-ness, the policy makers aredrawing solace from the factthat retail inflation remains inthe comfort zone of the centralbank.

Retail inflation inched up to3.21 per cent in August butremained within the RBI'scomfort zone. The RBI hasbeen mandated by the govern-ment to ensure that inflationremains below 4 per cent, withdeviation of 2 per cent oneither side.

Experts and industry feellow inflation provides enoughheadroom for the RBI to fur-ther lower the policy rate,especially when festive seasonhas just started. People makehuge purchases duringNavratras and Diwali.

The Governor has already hinted thatthe benign inflation provides room forfurther monetary policy easing whilespace for fiscal space is limited

Tata Motors salesdown 48 per centin SeptemberPNS n NEW DELHI

Tata Motors on Tuesdayreported 48 per cent decline intotal sales at 36,376 units inSeptember.

The company had sold atotal of 69,991 units in thesame month last year, TataMotors said in a statement.

Total domestic sales weredown 50 per cent at 32,376units as compared to 64,598units in September last year, itadded.

Passenger vehicle sales inthe domestic market duringthe month stood at 8,097 unitsas against 18,429 units inSeptember last year, a declineof 56 per cent, it added.

Commenting on the salesperformance, Tata MotorsPresident, Passenger VehiclesBusiness Unit Mayank Pareeksaid the industry continued todecline in September.

"Towards the end of themonth, there was an encour-aging response in terms of cus-tomer footfalls," he added.

Tata Motors said its com-mercial vehicle sales in thedomestic market last monthstood at 24,279 units as com-pared to 46,169 units in the

year-ago month, a decline of47 per cent.

Exports of commercialvehicles were at 3,800 units inSeptember as against 5,250units in the same month lastyear, down 27.6 per cent, itsaid.

"With the ongoing subdueddemand, we continued ourfocus on system stock correc-tion by driving retail andaligning production," TataMotors President CommercialVehicles Business Unit GirishWagh said.

"We are monitoring theimpact of the relief packageannounced by the govern-ment, and look forward toimproved demand fromrevival in consumption andspend in infrastructure pro-jects," he added.

Sensex tanks 362 pts; Yes Bank crashes 22 pcPNS n MUMBAI

The BSE benchmark Sensexplunged nearly 362 points onTuesday due to an across-the-board sell-off as financial sec-tor woes, auto sales slump andweak macro data spookedinvestors.

The NSE gauge Nifty tootanked 115 points to slipbelow the 11,400-level.

The 30-share Sensex, whichopened on a firm footing,crashed over 737 points in lateafternoon trade, before final-ly finishing at 38,305.41, down361.92 points or 0.94 per cent.The gauge touched a high of38,923.78 and a low of37,929.89 intra-day.

The broader Nifty toounderwent bouts of volatilitybefore closing lower by 114.55points, or 1 per cent, at11,359.90.

Yes Bank shares plummet-ed over 22 per cent, their fifthconsecutive session of fall, aspromoter Rana Kapoor andhis group entities sold anoth-er 2.16 per cent stake worth Rs510 crore.

Other major laggards were

IndusInd Bank, SBI, BhartiAirtel, ONGC, Tata Steel andReliance Industries -- fallingas much as 6.30 per cent.

Among the Sensex con-stituents, HDFC twins,Mahindra and Mahindra,Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Bank,

HUL and Asian Paints endedin the green.

The broader BSE smallcap,midcap and largecap indicesunderperformed the bench-mark, losing up to 1.61 percent.

Sectorally, telecom dropped4.53 per cent, followed by real-ty 3.88 per cent, tech 2.20 percent and IT 1.68 per cent.

Of the 19 sectoral gaugescompiled by the BSE, 17closed in the red.

Analysts said caution pre-vails among investors amid adeepening crisis at Punjaband Maharashtra Co-opera-tive Bank (PMC) and fraudallegations against companieslike Indiabulls HousingFinance Ltd (IHFL).

The Mumbai Police onMonday filed a case againstthe former bank managementand promoters of HDIL in the

Punjab and MaharashtraCooperative (PMC) Bank caseand said a special investigationteam will be probing the case.

Continuing their fall, IHFLshares dropped another 7.05per cent to close at Rs 237.50apiece. On the currency front,the rupee dropped 22 paise to71.09 against the US dollar(intra-day). Global crude bench-mark Brent Futures rose 0.51per cent to USD 59.55 a barrel.

The country's manufactur-ing sector activity inSeptember remainedunchanged amid subdueddemand conditions bothdomestically as well as exter-nally, a monthly survey saidon Tuesday. The IHS MarkitIndia Manufacturing PMI wasat 51.4 in September,unchanged from August andthereby posting its joint-low-est reading since May 2018.

‘Your kirana store can fight Amazon and Walmart’PNS n NEW DELHI

One of the most successfulSilicon Valley-Asia venturecapital firms is counting on thehumble mom-and-pop storethat dominates India's retaillandscape to hold its ownagainst Amazon.com Inc. andWalmart Inc.

Menlo Park, California-based GGV Capital, a $6.2 bil-lion investor in some of thebiggest unicorns in the U.S. andChina including Airbnb,Xiaomi Corp., and SlackTechnologies Inc., is backingstartups that serve the tiny,family-run businesses knownas kiranas.

"It's all about powering thelittle guys," said Hans Tung,managing partner, in a recentjoint interview with fellowinvestor Jixun Foo inBangalore, where the duo wasmeeting a dozen entrepre-neurs. "We're backing startupsthat provide technology and

working capital to makekiranas more efficient, so thatthese mom-and-pops canbecome e-commerce and lend-ing enablers in their commu-nities," Tung added.

From the poshest neighbor-hoods to teeming slums, typi-cal Indian kiranas are crampedspaces that can just about fit aking-size bed but are chock-fullof sacks of rice, lentils and dried

chili peppers. Their floor-to-ceiling shelves are stacked withtoothpaste and cooking oil,and their shopfronts festoonedwith colorful bags of potato

chips, tiny sachets of shampooand pickles. With their per-sonalized service, the storesusually offer door-step deliveryand interest-free credit.

GGV, which has focusedalmost exclusively on Chinaand the U.S. for two decades, isbullish about India. "We areseeing the same movie playedout a little differently in emerg-ing economies," said Tung."India can be very big over thenext 10 years." As much as 20per cent of the $1.9 billion fundraised by the VC firm last yearwill be allocated to India as wellas Southeast Asia.

India has the market size andtalent pool to make thingshappen and now investors arelining up with capital, said

Foo. GGV Capital will write$5-10 million in checks in thecase of very early-stage entre-preneurs and $50 millionchecks for later-stage startups,he said.

The firm has built an invest-ment strategy around kiranasbased on the premise it's betterto play with a model thatalready exists rather than build-ing new supply chains thatcould take as long as a decadeto materialize. GGV's first suchinvestment amount-ing "to tens ofmillions ofdollars" is inUdaan, aBangalore-based B2Bmarketplace

for small businesses, the part-ners said. More recently, GGVhas put money in Khatabook, amobile app that's a digital ver-sion of the bahi khata, or thehand-written ledger that own-ers of tiny businesses tradition-ally use to keep track of dailyaccounts. It's an earlier-stage betso the investment is "lower",Tung said.

Large global investors likeTiger Global Management,Lightspeed Venture Partnersand even consumer giantUnilever's investing arm arebacking technology startupsthat serve kiranas but GGVCapital is the first to crys-tallize a proposition thatgoes beyond India to include

the neighborhood-storeequivalents of

kiranas inI n d o n e s i a ,

Vietnam andL a t i nAmerica.

We're backing startups that provide technology and working capitalto make kiranas more efficient, so that these mom-and-pops canbecome e-commerce and lending enablers in their communities

HANS TUNG, Managing Partner, GVV Capital

PNS n HYDERABAD

Electronics major Samsungon Tuesday said it will bringultra-premium smartphone'Galaxy Fold' with a foldabledisplay, priced at Rs 1,64,999,in the Indian market laterthis month.

The phone, which hadreceived a lot of interest fromconsumers across the world,was unveiled earlier this year.The device was made availablein South Korea and the US lastmonth.

While there hadbeen reports ofissues with the dis-play screen andhinges initially, theSouth Korean techgiant is said tohave fixed thoseglitches.

"With GalaxyFold, we areredefining the mobilephone category, this is devicelike no other. The 'Fold' will setan entirely new benchmark fordesign and innovation. GalaxyFold is meant for those whowant only the best in theirlives, in terms of style, design,luxury and the latest in ser-vices," Samsung India ChiefMarketing Officer and SeniorVice President, MobileBusiness, Ranjivjit Singh toldPTI.

He added that customerswill have access to a dedicat-ed 24x7 concierge service toaddress any queries customersof 'Fold' may have as well asone-year Infinity Flex Displayprotection.

With a price tag of about Rs1.65 lakh, the device is prob-ably one of the most expensiveones in the Indian market. The512GB variant of Apple's lat-est iPhone 11 Pro Max is

priced at Rs 1,41,900, whileiPhone 11 (512GB) is

available for Rs1,31,900, as perApple's India web-site.

Samsung's ownflagships Galaxy S10+

and Note 10+ arepriced at Rs 73,900 and

Rs 79,999 respectively,according to the compa-

ny's website.The Galaxy Fold fea-

tures a 7.3-inch InfinityFlex Display on the inside thaton unfolding offers an experi-ence similar to a large-screendevice to customers. TheGalaxy Fold has been devel-oped over eight years followingthe debut of Samsung's firstflexible display prototype in2011.

The new hinging mecha-nism ensures the phone openssmoothly and naturally like abook. The fingerprint scannerhas been placed on the side. Thephone allows users to run mul-tiple apps at once, as well assupports app continuity thatallows content to transitionseamlessly from the cover dis-play to the main display.

Galaxy Fold features 12GBRAM, 512GB internal storageand 4,380mAh dual battery.

While there hadbeen reports ofissues with thedisplay screenand hingesinitially, theSouth Koreantech giant is saidto have fixedthose glitches

Samsung to bringGalaxy Fold to Indianmarket for Rs 1.65 lakh

PNS n NEW DELHI

Markets regulator Sebi hasdirected 11 promoters and for-mer promoters of SumeetIndustries to disgorge theunlawful gains, amounting toRs 4.7 crore obtained throughmanipulative trading in thescrip of the company.

The regulator has asked theentities to disgorge the amountsof wrongful gains within 45days along with an interestrate of 12 per cent per annumto be calculated from March 12,2007 till the date of payment,Sebi said in its order passed onMonday.

The ruling came after theregulator carried out investiga-tion into the suspected priceand volume manipulation inthe scrip ofS u m e e tI n d u s t r i e sb e t w e e nOctober 2006and March 2007.

Sebi notedthat the compa-ny had made anumber of posi-tive corporateannouncements and some ofthese were not implementedand further, the factum of non-implementation of such cor-porate announcements was notintimated to shareholders.

Besides, it was observed thatthe major counter party to thesales of promoter group entitieswas Purshottam Khandelwalwho had placed buy orders forshares of the firm that createdfalse appearance of trading andapparently there was no gen-uine intention to trade in thescrip of Sumeet Industries.

In this regard, Sebi in May2014, restrained the entitiesfrom accessing the securities

market and also directed themto disgorge the wrongful gain ofover Rs 4.69 crore.

However, the order was chal-lenged in Securities AppellateTribunal (SAT), which upheld

the regulator's orderbut directed Sebi tocalculate the quan-tum of unlawfulgains "in accordancewith any precisenorms providing arationale for arrivingat the amount to bedisgorged."

Accordingly, Sebithrough a detailed methodolo-gy to calculate unlawful gains,directed the promoter entitieson Monday to disgorge over Rs4.77 crore along with an inter-est rate of 12 per cent.

While calculating the inter-est amount, period between thedate of SAT order, i.e, June 30,2016 to the date of Sebi order,September 30, 2019 shall beexcluded, Sebi said.

In a separate order, Sebiasked managing director ofDeep Industries, RupeshbhaiKantilal Savla, to disgorge Rs1.74 crore of illegal gain madethrough insider trading in thescrip of the company.

WTO cuts global trade growthforecasts to 1.2 pc for 2019PNS n NEW DELHI

The WTO on Tuesday sharplycut global trade growth fore-casts for 2019 to 1.2 per centfrom the earlier 2.6 per cent,mainly due to trade tensionsand sluggish global economy.

This growth projection willnot augur well for India, as itis struggling to increase itsexports.

"Escalating trade tensionsand a slowing global economyhave led WTO economists tosharply downgrade their fore-casts for trade growth in 2019and 2020," the organisationsaid in a statement.

World merchandise tradevolumes are now expected torise by only 1.2 per cent in2019, substantially slower than

the 2.6 per cent growth forecastmade in April, it said.

It added that the globaltrade growth is projected togrow at 2.7 per cent in 2020,down from the previous pro-jection of 3 per cent.

"Risks to the forecast areheavily weighted to the down-side and dominated by trade

policy. Further rounds of tar-iffs and retaliation could pro-duce a destructive cycle ofrecrimination," the WorldTrade Organisation (WTO)said.

A sharper slowing of theglobal economy could pro-duce an even bigger downturnin trade, it added.

WTO Director-GeneralRoberto Azevedo said thedarkening outlook for trade isdiscouraging but not unex-pected.

"Job creation may also behampered as firms employfewer workers to producegoods and services for export,"he said, adding "resolving tradedisagreements would allowWTO members to avoid suchcosts".

The ruling cameafter the regulatorcarried outinvestigation intothe suspectedprice and volumemanipulation in thescrip of SumeetIndustries betweenOctober 2006 andMarch 2007

Sebi asks Sumeetpromoters to disgorgeillegal gain

WednesdayOctober 2, 2019

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

But for me, truth is thesovereign principle,which includes numerousother principles. Thistruth is not onlytruthfulness in word, buttruthfulness in thoughtalso and not the relativetruth of our conception,but the absolute truth, theeternal principle, that isGod. I have not yet foundhim but I’m seeking him

We visit Gandhi yet again, not just to understand why he is known as the father of the nation oras a symbol of greater good, but to know how human he was. We shall not be looking, for once,at how great he was but how he was like us, just another normal person. We look back at theman in the crowd, the similarities we shared, his beliefs and ideologies that made him known tous as the man he is. Who was Gandhi to himself? We try to understand him by going throughseveral anecdotes and revisiting his autobiography ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth'

andhi was aphilosopher andhis perspective ofthe world wereway ahead of histime in more

ways than one. Gandhinever deemed himself to bea man of worth, but whatmattered to him was hismeagre bits and attemptstoward making a change inthe world just because herefused to be the man, forwhom injustice was normal.

He was just another manin the crowd who was rea-ching out to his purpose inlife. A man who just like us,dealt with an incredible am-ount of uncertainties in thepath he chose. A man whowould turn into the mostadamant person in theroom once he’d find ananchor to base his faith on.But the ‘half-naked fakir’, ashe was called, found hissolace in his quest for truth.“But for me, truth is thesovereign principle, whichincludes numerous otherprinciples. This truth is notonly truthfulness in word,but truthfulness in thoughtalso and not the relativetruth of our conception, butthe absolute truth, the eter-nal principle, that is God. Ihave not yet found him butI’m seeking him,” wroteGandhi in his ‘Farewell’ tothe readers, a conclusion tothe autobiography that wasnever intended to be an aut-obiography, but a tale of ex-periments with life andtruth.

Gandhi could never trulyaccept his ‘Mahatma’ status

bestowed upon him. “Oftenthe title has deeply painedme,” he said. We all have ourmoments when we are hardon ourselves and Gandhiwas no different. “If any-thing that I write in thesepages should strike thereader as being touchedwith pride, then he musttake it that there is some-thing wrong with my questand that my glimpses are nomore than a mirage. Lethundreds like me perish butlet truth prevail.”

In his book, there is aresounding sense of uncer-tainty, a ‘what if ’ which weall deal with in our dailylives. And this sense of‘uncertainty’ was key inmaking his book and his lifean example. Every word hewrote or spoke reflected asense of responsibility hehad toward the people wholooked up to him.

“Writing an autobiogra-phy is a practice peculiar tothe west. I know of nobodyin the East who has writtenone, except among thosewho have come underWestern influence. Andwhat will you write? Supp-osing you reject the thingsyou hold as principles todayor revise in the future theplans of today, is it not likelythat the men who shapetheir conduct on the author-ity of your word, spoken orwritten, may be misled?”

This was the concernraised by Swami Anand toGandhi regarding the latter’sconsideration towards writ-ing an autobiography, findspride of place in the very

first pages of The Story ofMy Experiments with Truth.In terms of marriage andceremonies, Gandhi’s viewwas often considered radicaljust like any rebel. He wasvery vocal about how heconsidered such grandceremonies a futileinvestment of time,effort and expenses. Hewas also against childmarriage and the factthat he was marriedoff by his parents atsuch an early agewas something heregretted through-out his life.

“It is my painfulduty to have mar-ried at the age ofthirteen. I can seeno moral argu-ment in such apreposterouslyearly marriage,” he says. But nevertheless hisrelationship withKasturbha, stillremains one of themost iconic rela-tionships in history.

When he graced Hydduring freedom struggle

he year 1929 wasa big one forHyderabad as itwas whenMahatma Gandhiwas received in

Hyderabad railway station bythe founder of the VivekVardhini Educational Society,Waman Ramachandra Naik.

Mahatma had graced thecity with his visit to raisefunds for the freedom struggleand ended up raising Rs 15,000 in donations.Gandhi had said, “In order torun the freedom movementsuccessfully, I have come hereto receive donations. Ysouhave to cooperate with me to

reach our goal.”A hotbed of Telangana

movement in the early 1940s,the Vivek VardhiniEducational Society alsoplayed a big role in thenational freedom struggle.

Many leaders, includingMahatma Gandhi, visited theschool in the decades leadingup to the erstwhileHyderabad state's 1948 merg-er with the Indian Union.

Praising the communalharmony under Nizam’s rule,Gandhi had said, “I am veryhappy to know that in theNizam’s state, Hindus andMuslims are living together. Ihave come to know that the

Nizam has taken steps inbanning cow slaughter. TheBritish government has creat-ed differences among theHindu and the Muslims.”

Khammam also etched itsname in the freedom move-ment when Gandhiji visitedthe town on February 5, 1946.He reportedly addressed ameeting near the railway sta-tion a little later on the sameday spreading the message ofnon-violence and Swadeshimovement as a means toachieve independence for thecountry from the British rule,leaving an indelible impact onthe denizens of the town,sources said.

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Unique shrine for Gandhi

aintings have alwaysbeen an apt way ofportraying the livesof great leaders. Inthe run up toMahatma Gandhi’s

150th birth anniversary, car-toonist Shankar Pamarthy heldan exhibition of his drawingsand sketches exploringMahatma as a yogi, philoso-pher, leader and common man.

Mahatma Gandhi is knownas someone who gave up allworldly belongings to fight forthe freedom of our country. Tocelebrate the 150th birthanniversary of the father of ournation, Kalakriti Art Gallery ispresenting sketches titled

Mahatma 150 by cartoonist ShankarPamarthy and

curated by Ruchi Sharma. Gandhi is a favourite sub-

ject for many artists. To namea few Nandalal Bose, KAdimoolam, Gopi Gajwani,Haku Shah, Micky Patel andmany others have rendered theimage of Gandhi in their indi-vidualistic styles. And on thisoccasion of 150 years ofGandhi, the nation is payinghomage to the most lovableIndian leader.

The show is a selection ofover 40 sketches where Gandhiis envisioned as a yogi, aphilosopher, a triumphantleader and a common man.Each pose evokes its own aes-thetic quality without losingthe essence ofthe Mahatmaas a multifac-

eted persona.

The cartoonist hasused a variety of tech-niques — drawing inpencil, pen, ink andeven colour pencils —to demonstrateGandhi's philosophythrough pictorial,thoughtful and at timessatirical approaches.Every frame sums upthe perception thatGandhi is sharp andbold.

uilding shrines forgods and goddess isa common sight inIndia, but there area few shrines builtfor noble men and

great leaders. Nalgonda districtnow has the distinction of onesuch unique shrine that isbecoming quite popular. In afirst-of-its-kind structure,Pedda Kaparthy village nearChityal town of Nalgonda dis-trict in Telangana is home to aMahatma Gandhi templewhich has been drawing atten-tion from everywhere.

The father of the nation is

worshiped here as god whiledevotees come here to seekblessings and offer prayers.Gandhi temple that wasopened for public in September2014, is being maintained bythe Mahatma Charitable Trust.There are two priests here whooffer prayers to the presidingdeity, followed by specialhymns written exclusively forMahatma. The temple built onfour and a half acres of land,with plans afoot to furtherdevelop the shrine complexwith spiritual and peacefulattributes, also accommodates ameditation room.

B

P

Sketching throughthe Mahatma’s life

COMPILED BY K RAMYA SREE, V SATEESH REDDY, ANUSHKA PRADEEP

YEARS OFCELEBRATINGTHE MAHATMA

inger Justin Bieber and modelHailey Baldwin are married again.

The couple who secretly tied theknot last year, exchanged vowsagain in a larger ceremony in frontof family and friends on Monday,

reports people.com.The ceremony was held at the Montage

Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina by the MayRiver.

Bieber and Baldwin said their ‘I Do’s’ infront of 154 guests — including modelsKendall Jenner, Camila Morrone and JoanSmalls.

Even Bieber’s ex-girlfriend Caitlin Beadleswas also present at the wedding.

She documented the festivities on herInstagram story, which show her rav-ing over “gluten-free” cornbread atwhat appears to be the couple’srehearsal dinner.

Just before the wedding, theSorry hitmaker took to Instagramand shared a photo of a newAudemars Piguet watch he’dapparently splurged on.

“Got myself a lil weddinggift,” he captioned the image.

adma Shri AnuradhaPaudwal and deejay-composer DJ Sheizwoodhave collaborated tocome up with a newrecreation of the classic

bhajan Raghupati Raghav. The songwill be launched on the occasion ofMahatma Gandhi’s 150th birthanniversary on Wednesday.

DJ Sheizwood has recreated themelody of the song through a sym-phony of flute, santoor, guitar anddrums, to connect with the youthand also enhance the impact ofchanting.

“Raghupati Raghav is a devotionalsong loved by all. The bhajan goeson to affirm the presence of SitaRam, showering praise on them,

and concluding this simple truth:God and Allah are yournames/May God bestow wis-dom on all. If the Father of theNation didn’t believe in diversifica-tion of caste and religion, then whyshould we! On his birthday let usnot only revisit his bhajan but alsofollow what he preached,”Sheizwood said.

Paudwal, who has rendered thesong, said, “It was an honor torecord such a iconic song andlaunch it on the birth anniversary ofGandhiji. I hope the audience likesit.”

The song is released by ApekshaMusic. “What better day thanGandhi Jayanti to rememberGandhi ji by revisiting his song on

his 150th birth anniversary. Wewish to revive and develop thecountry’s cultural and spiritual con-sciousness, particularly globally, toidentify and root with traditionsand values,” said Ajay Jaswal andApeksha Jaswal of Apeksha Music.

P

ctress Aishwarya RaiBachchan will lend hervoice for Hollywood starAngelina Jolies characterin Disneys Maleficent:Mistress Of Evil in Hindi.

The central character Maleficent isvoiced by Jolie in the original version

of the much awaited sequelMaleficent: Mistress of Evil,

which is a tale of good versusevil.

Maleficent: Mistress OfEvil sees Maleficent and

her goddaughterAurora begin toquestion the com-

plex family tiesthat bind

them as they are pulled in differentdirections by impending nuptials,unexpected allies and dark newforces at play.

“Looking at how Angelina Jolie fitsMaleficent’s role down to the letter, itwas hard to imagine anyone elseessaying the character other thanAishwarya Rai Bachchan for ourlocal audience. We wanted to build astrong connect and bring her charac-ter to life in Hindi and feltAishwarya’s persona, which isfilled with elegance andpoise would be aperfect

blend,” said Bikram Duggal, Head —Studio Entertainment, Disney India.

Jolie reprises her iconic role asMaleficent in the follow-up to the2014 film.

Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil releasesin English and Hindi in theatresacross India on October18.

Vijayawada Wednesday October 2, 2019

10

ctress Amanda Seyfried wasall-energy as she continuedshooting for her new indiedrama film A Mouthful OfAir here.

The Mamma Mia! starwas spotted filming sceneswith both a real baby and aprop doll, reports

dailymail.co.uk.In between takes, she

was seen talking to firsttime director AmyKoppelman and evenkissing a puppy as hercolleagues laughed.

The Mean Girlsactress flaunted hertaut midriff in awhite tee wornunder a checkedshirt and a denimjacket. She alsowore a pair ofwashed out baggyjeans with rolled upbottoms and a pairof wedge heels.

A Mouthful Of Air is adapted from the

novel of the samename by

Koppelman, whowrote the adapt-ed screenplayand is alsodirecting.

DJ SHEIZWOOD,ANURADHA PAUDWAL

RECREATE RAGHUPATIRAGHAV SONG

SANJAYBAGS AWARDFOR MOSTINSPIRINGINDIANBOLLYWOODACTOR IN UK

anjay Kapoor has been in the industry for as long as three decades, and the actor has been apart of some of the best films in thepast. The actor has been recognisedfor all the performances he has put

together, and in fact, he is also relatively popular, which includes his performance in thelast web series that co-starred Manisha Koirala.And for that, the actor also received an awardfor his performance, for which he travelled toNorway last year.

And now, he has received an award at theHouse of Common Parliament of the UnitedKingdom, for being the Most Inspiring IndianBollywood Actor. About that, the actor said,“Every actor feels great while getting an awardand when you receive awards after 25 years ofbeing around, it’s reassuring that people stilllove you and like your work. Last year, inSeptember, I got an award for web series inOslo. Now, exactly a year later, I’ll be receivingan award in the UK for all the work that I havedone as an actor.”

He added, “It particularly recognises mywork in the last two years, starting from DilSambhal Ja Zara, to the web series and myrecent Bollywood release Mission Mangal. The web series has recently been nominated at the Emmys, which feels great. I’ve alwaysbelieved that sometimes, a 30-minute short film can do wonders to your career. The kind of platform the series gave me was heartwarming.”

A

AMANDA SEYFRIEDTRANSFORMS INTO

CHARACTER FORINDIE FILM

JUSTIN BIEBER, BALDWIN GET MARRIED PUBLICLY

S

celeb talks

S

A

AISHWARYA TO LEND VOICEFOR DISNEY'S MALEFICENT

uperstar Mahesh Babu,who is known for his fre-quent trips abroad, hastaken off to an undis-closed location along withhis family for a small

vacay. With his children gettingDussera holidays, the actor felt theneed to take a small break. He isn’trequired for the current leg of film-

ing of SarileruNeekevvaru,

which isgoing

on in

Hyderabad. However, itwon’t be all pleasure forthe actor as we are told thathe will be shooting for acommercial as well in for-eign shores. He will be join-ing the sets of SarileruNeekevvaru on October 13.

Presently, director AnilRavipudi is filming sceneson Prakash Raj who will beseen as a political leaderYeddula Nagendra in thefilm. We also hear that themakers have designed VijayaShanti’s house set on a 30-acrefarmland in the city outskirts.Adjacent to her house, a maizecrop has also been raised arti-ficially to give the film anauthentic look.

A joint production venturebetween Dil Raju, Anil Sunkaraand G Mahesh BabuEntertainment, the action-com-

edy, will fly into the cinemahalls next Sankranti.

— NG

Vijayawada Wednesday October 2, 2019

11

tollywood

SURENDERREDDY ONSYE RAA…In a freewheelingconversation with

NAGARAJGOUD,

Surender Reddyshares info about

his research forthe movie that

helped him getready with thescript within a

month

fter Surender Reddyaccepted Ram Charan’sproposal to directMegastar Chiranjeevifor his 151st film, thedirector began work-

ing on a signature stylish action-entertainer. However, days afterChiru’s comeback film Khaidi No150 released and its enormoussuccess meant the Megastar want-ed to revive his dream project SyeRaa Narasimha Reddy, the story ofwhich was with him for the past12 years. While Reddy jumped atthe offer after a couple of weeks,he wanted to give the story hisown spin-different to what waspenned by veteran scenaristsParuchuri Brothers. “Myresearch helped me to getready with the bound scriptwithin a month. NarasimhaReddy was labeled as abandit and a thief in thegazettes of British. Therewas also a mention of9,000 people helping himin his cause for freedomand that he was preparedfor death. Why would abandit attract so manypeople if it wasn’t for anoble cause, right? As I

dug deeper, I came to knowthat his 250 associates were

jailed in different parts of thecountry. The material inspired

me. Unlike other freedomfighters like JhansiLakshmibai andVeerapandiyaKattabomman, NarasimhaReddy didn’t command anarmy to rebel againstBritish. He inspired peopleto come along with himand he is different in thatsense,” the director exults.

The next stop forSurender was to get the

approval of ParuchuriVenkateswara Rao, who

liked it. Later, Chiru

was narrated. “He was shockedthat we completed the script with-in a month. I gave him a two-hournarration and in appreciation, heembraced me. The project kick-started from there and the pre-visualization alone took sixmonths of time,” the directorrecalls.

Set to open in multiple lan-guages today, the costume dramaalso features Kichcha Sudeep, VijaySethupathi, Jagapathi Babu,Nayantara and Tamannaah inother key roles, while Indiansuperstar Amitabh Bachchan willbe seen in a cameo. With so manycharacters, how difficult was tospin a cohesive story that did jus-tice to their talent and not slackenthe pace for even a minute? “Allthe characters includingNarasimha Reddy’s mother andwife fight for freedom. Sudeepaplays Avuku Raja, the most impor-tant supporting role. He is a kingwho joins Narasimha Reddy in hisquest for freedom. Back then, theregion from Bellary to Chennaiwas dubbed as Dattha Mandalam.Raja Pandi, a Tamilian (played bySethupathi) comes to know aboutNarasimha Reddy and tries to dohis bit. In a regular commercialfilm, the supporting charactersroles might be chopped at the edit-ing table to highlight the mainlead. As our film is the story of afreedom fighter, it was told as itwas supposed to be,” he asserts.

The massive budget-close to thetune of Rs 300 crore-was least ofSurender’s concerns. “Budgetnever made me nervous as it nevercrossed my mind. Rather, Charannever made me worry over it. Thedifficult task was to shoot with allstars by creating a comfortableatmosphere. Turns out, they werevery sweet, accommodative andreported to sets whenever I want-ed,” he informs, adding that thebiggest challenge that he had toconfront was to strike a fine bal-ance between keeping the filmgrand yet real. “It was the toughestjob of the lot. I gave my best. Plus,India was a wealthy country in the18th century before British plun-dered it. I wanted to project thatrichness as well.”

He cherishes working withChiranjeevi, saying that his cre-

ative inputs to the story helped thefilm shape up better. “The greatestquality of him is that if he has anydoubts, he would simply tell it tome and ask me to think. He wouldnever impose his will. If I can con-vince him, it's okay. If he doesn’t,we would sit with writers andreach a common ground,” he adds.

The film has been in the makingfor over two years and justifyingthe delay, Surender elucidates,“After we officially announced thefilm, it took us a year to go to sets.The pre-production had to bemeticulous for a film of this mag-nitude. The two war episodesalone were shot for 125 days, whilethe rest of the portions werewrapped up in 100 days. To get theright shot with a character on ahorse, we had to prep for threedays. We would get only one hourto get the shot right with the horse.If we get it in that time period, it'sgood; else, we had to wait for thenext day. Such instances werenumerous. Moreover, every day onsets there would be close to thou-sand people and to assemble themdaily is an easier said than donejob. Despite the best of planning,at times things don’t go your way.”

Surender isn’t losing sleep overthe running time of close to twohours and 50 minutes. Saaho,made on a budget of Rs 350 crore,was recently criticized heavily forits run time. When asked whetherhe felt the need to make his film alittle crisp after Saaho, he pointedout, “It’s a historical film and thereis content we need to tell even if itexceeds the regular run time. Ifthis was a commercial, maybe Iwould’ve trimmed down thelength.”

Part of his research for the filmhelped him discover many unsungheroes, whose life story, hebelieves, hasn’t been documentedto that of other freedom heroes.“Taking Sye Raa as an inspiration, Ihope other directors will bring thestories of many other heroes tolife,” he states, adding that next up,he wouldn’t see himself associatingwith an epic like Sye Raa. “It’s a bigheadache. It’s tough to get suchbudgets in the first place. I’m luckyto have got a producer like Charan.If I get an offer on the similar linesnext, I wouldn’t be taking it up.”

A

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t’s been more than twomonths since RanaDaggubati has been in theUS, seeking treatment tokidney ailment. While hehas denied being there

over health issues, saying that he is inthe US for a few weeks to researchabout his next and meet a few visualeffects companies for special effectsfor one of my upcoming project,sources indicated otherwise. He wasexpected to touch down Hyderabadlast month-end but it seems doctorswho have been treating him askedhim to extend his stay by anothermonth. In a latest still of him promot-

ing a brand, it’s evident, although heflashed a smile that he is not in thebest of health.

With him not recovered complete-ly, the waiting game for VirataParvam, which Rana committed to,continues. Director Venu Udugulahas shot a significant part of the film,which throws light on the Maoistmovement in the ’90s, specifically themoral dilemma that prevailed duringthat time, minus the Baahubali actortill now. The shoot was to resumesometime later this month but itseems the film will stare at anotherdelay. Rana has to put on someweight before he starts filming.

I

RANA extends hisstay in the US further

MAHESHon a short holiday

am, who has gifted an expensive coffee Kopi

luwak to Puri Jagannadh earlier this

February, has chosen to present another

memorable gift to his director who cele-

brated his 53rd birthday last Saturday.

Realizing his director’s passion for music,

the actor, who forged a great bond with the former

on the sets of their first collaboration iSmart

Shankar, presented him French made Devialet

Phantom Gold bluetooth speaker. The interna-

tionally renowned brand, known for superior

audio delivering quality, easily costs around

Rs 3 lakh in India including the stand and ship-

ping charges.Puri’s production partner Charmmee,

taking to Twitter, noted that the

director is pleased with

the gift and is liter-ally flying high.

Ram makes Puri's

b'day memorable

R

The challengewas to keep itgrand, yet real:

KARACHI: Satisfied withthe security of the ongo-ing limited-overs tour ofPakistan, Sri LankaCricket (SLC) on Tuesdaysaid they will take a callon playing the WorldTest Championshipscheduled to be heldhere in Decemberbased on the availabil-ity of their seniorplayers.

The PakistanCricket Board (PCB)

had initially invited SLCto play two Tests of the

ICC Test Championshipin Karachi and Lahorebut the Islanders insteadopted to play a limited-overs series of three ODIsand as many Twenty20matches.

The PCB has nowinvited the SLC to playmatches of the ICC TestChampionship inPakistan in December.

“The security for thisseries has been top notch

and we have no com-plaints. But for the Testswe have to think because

we are playing the WorldTest Championship and ifthree or four players whoare in the Test teamrefuse to come, we willthen have to see and takea call,” SLC PresidentShammi de Silva toldreporters.

Sri Lanka SportsMinister Harin Fernandoand the a top-level dele-gation of SLC includingPresident de Silva and

Secretary Mohan de Silvaare currently in Pakistanto assess the security fortheir team.

The Sports Ministersaid the Sri Lankan play-ers who have travelled toPakistan can vouch forthe security.

“We have to respecttheir (the Lankan players,who refused to travel)decisions. But the playerswho have come on the

tour have played insideand out of national teamand they could put pres-sure on the senior play-ers,” Fernando said.

“We initially wantedto play just three T20matches in Pakistan butthen we felt we need tosupport Pakistan more.We wanted to go aheadwith the tour becausethe team has to move on,”he added.

PTI n BENGALURU

Skipper Shreyas Iyer andSurya Kumar Yadav hit

responsible fifties as defendingchampions Mumbai registeredtheir first win in the VijayHazare Trophy after defeatingSaurashtra by five wicketshere.

After restrictingSaurashtra to 245/9 in theirElite Group A match at theAlur cricket stadium III,Mumbai romped home withtwo overs to spare courtesyIyer’s gritty 75 and Surya’sformidable unbeaten 85.

In the second Elite GroupA game, Hyderabad defeatedKarnataka by 21 runs to grabfour points.

India discard AmbatiRayadu, held the fort forHyderabad with an unbeaten87 and later slow-left armorthodox bowler B Sandeepgrabbed four wickets.

DK STARS IN TAMILWINJAIPUR: Skipper DineshKarthik starred with a superb

knock of 97 (62 balls, 8 fours,4 sixes) as Tamil Nadu beatBengal by 74 runs to notch upits fourth straight win in theGroup C here.

Sent in to bat, Tamil Nadu

was in a spot of bother at 123for 5 in the 37th over beforerecovering to finish with 286for 7 in 50 overs, thanks to asplendid century sixth-wicketpartnership between Karthik

and Shahrukh Khan (69 notout, 45 balls, 4 fours, 5 sixes).

In reply, Bengal wasbowled out for 212 in 45.3overs, thanks to a disciplinedeffort by the TN bowlers.

In other matches, Gujaratposted an easy seven-wicketwin over Rajasthan andServices put it across Railwaysrather comfortably.

E A S Y WIN FORC GARH DEHRADUN: Left-arm spinnerGurinder Singh claimed threewickets as Chandigarh defeat-ed Sikkim by four wickets ina rain-curtailed Plate Groupmatch.

Gurinder returned withfigures of 4-0-19-3 as Sikkimwere restricted to a paltry 111for four after electing to bat inthe rain-hit match that wasreduced to 21-overs-a-sideaffair.

In reply, Chandigarh werecruising at 65 for no loss in 61balls before losing quick wick-ets to be reduced to 106 for sixin the penultimate over.

Needing six runs from thelast over, Gurinder hit a

PTI n VISAKHAPATNAM

South African captain Faf duPlessis has “learnt” his lessons

from the disastrous tour of Indiafour years ago and hopes theteam’s young members will emergeas improved cricketers after thecurrent series.

South Africa had no answer tothe spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja,losing the four-match series 0-3.Du Plessis himself had a tough

time, scoring just 60 runs in seveninnings.

“What Test cricket in generaldo to you is, if there is a flaw in yourgame, it exposes it. Obviously lasttime we came here as a batting unitand personally myself found it dif-ficult in tough conditions. The factis that I needed to get better froma defensive and technical point ofview to adapt to play in tough con-ditions,” Du Plessis said on the eveof the first Test. He is among the

five squad members who hadtoured in 2015. The other four areKagiso Rabada, Dean Elgar, TembaBavuma and Vernon Philanderwho played just one Test before get-ting injured.

“It was tough for everyone, butit was huge value for me. After thatI started playing spin better. So Ithink all players have to go throughtough times to make them betterand understand where their poten-tial weaknesses are. And then

either you can disappear or comeback stronger.”

The series against India will beSouth Africa’s first in the World TestChampionship. Following a disap-pointing World Cup campaign, theteam is back on the road and alsoplay England and Australia in thenext six months. Du Plessis is look-ing forward to the challenge.

“It is a good time to be involvedwith a young team. A lot of seniorplayers are out and leadership

group has changed completely.Time to grow new leaders, the nextset of pacers, the next HashimAmla. I am excited about that.”

While they struggled againstthe spinners last time around andare expected to have a tough timeagain, du Plessis feels their numberone spinner Keshav Maharaj cantrouble the high-profile Indianbatting.

“In the past teams visitingIndia used reverse swing and extrapace to their advantage. Last timehere we felt the ball spun quite a bitand the spinner we have inMaharaj is as good as anyone in theworld. He would just be much asa challenge for Indian batters, heconcluded.

PTI n VISAKHAPATNAM

Limited overs phenomenonRohit Sharma starts life as aTest opener but the embat-

tled Rishabh Pant will not be therewhen India begins the experimentwith the first match against SouthAfrica here today.

At Pant’s expense,Wriddhiman Saha will play hisfirst international match in 22months after India captain ViratKohli confirmed that the Delhikeeper-batsman was beingdropped from the first Test ofIndia’s home season. While Indiawill be desperately hoping thatRohit replicates his limited overssuccess in the traditional format,the build-up to the experiment hasnot been ideal to say the least withthe batsman failing to score in theonly warm-up game before theseries.

But it won’t surprise many ifthe stylish opener scores a ‘daddyhundred’ here, like he is used toin the blue jersey.

Rohit is in the form of his lifebut could not be accommodatedin the middle-order in the twoTests in the West Indies but nowwith K L Rahul dropped due tolack of runs, Rohit opening theinnings could be a blessing in dis-guise for India.

In the net sessions ahead ofthe first Test, all eyes were on Rohitwho seemed very much deter-mined to make the most of theopportunity and improve his Testrecord.

In 27 Tests, he has made1585 runs at 39.62 while he is theowner of more than 10,000 runsin limited overs cricket.

The captain also confirmedthe availability of seasoned spin-ner Ravichandran Ashwin.Ashwin, who is yet to play inter-national cricket since he injuredhimself during the Adelaide Testwin last December, was not partof the Tests in the West Indies.

The rest of line-up looks set-tled with India fielding two pac-ers and as many spinners. If thewicket is turning, Hanuma Vihariwill be expected to contribute asthe third-spinner.

India are the overwhelmingfavourites against South Africawho have come here with a new-look squad. Only five players,

including skipper Faf du Plessis,were part of the squad thatreceived a 3-0 hammering fromIndia four years ago.

Not many are giving theProteas a chance in the series,especially if the ball starts to turn.Aiden Markram and Temba

Bavuma were amongst the runs inthe warm-up and that shouldgive them confidence ahead of thegame.

The pace trio of KagisoRabada, Vernon Philander andLungi Ngidi can trouble theIndians, especially with prediction

of overcast skies and spells of rainon all five days of the game.

India, who are aiming to wina record-breaking 11th consecu-tive series at home, need to bewary of South Africa’s potentpace attack comprising Rabada,Philander and Ngidi.

sport 12VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 2, 2019

PTI n NEW DELHI

World champion P V Sindhu slipped aplace to the sixth spot after a poor run

in the last two weeks but formerCommonwealth Games champion ParupalliKashyap continued his good run, breakinginto the top 25 in the latest BWF ranking onTuesday.

World Championship Gol medallistSindhu, who made early exits at the ChinaOpen and Korea Open, dropped to world No6 spot after five months and the former worldNo 2 shuttler will look to make amends atthe Denmark Open and French Open.

Former world No 6, Kashyap wasrewarded for his creditable semifinal finishat last week’s Korea Open Super 500 eventas he improved five places to reach the worldNo 25 spot.

“I am feeling good. I need to maintainfitness and keep working hard. May be, nowtop 20 by year end can be possible,” Kashyapsaid.

Saina Nehwal remained static at worldNo 8 spot despite her opening round loss atKorea, where she had to battle a stomach ail-ment.

Among other Indians, Kidambi Srikanth,B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma improveda place each to occupy the world No 9, 12and 17th spots respectively.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and ChiragShetty remained at the 12th spot in men’sdoubles, while Ashwini Ponnappa and NSikki Reddy, who had finished runners-upat Maldives, gained a spot to reach 19th.

PTI n NEW DELHI

India’s first-choice all-rounder Hardik

Pandya is set to missthe upcoming T20International seriesagainst Bangladeshsince his acute lower-back injury has resur-faced and may forcehim out of action for along period.

According to BCCIsources, Hardik willsoon fly to the UnitedKingdom for an assess-ment of the injury,which was first sus-tained during the AsiaCup in Dubai lastSeptember.

The Baroda all-rounder is the secondkey member in theIndian team after pre-mier speedster JaspritBumrah, who has beenruled out of theSouth Africa Testseries due to stressfractures in his lowerback.

“Hardik is also setto go the UnitedKingdom onWednesday to consultthe same doctor, whohad treated him duringthe first injury postAsia Cup. He is certain-ly not playing theBangladesh series buthow long he will be outis still not clear. We willknow after he comes

back from the UnitedKingdom,” a seniorBCCI source said.

It is being speculat-ed that Hardik mayhave to go for a backsurgery, which willkeep him out for aboutfive months.

“Hardik was leftout of Test squad as hedidn’t fit in the combi-nations. But then he isnot in Baroda’s VijayHazare team led byKrunal (Pandya).Everyone is keepingtheir fingers crossedand hoping that hedoesn’t need to gounder the knife. Thenhe won’t be back beforethe 2020 IPL,” the

source added.

PTI n VISAKHAPATNAM

India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday threw hisweight behind Rohit Sharma, saying his pro-

motion to the opening slot in Tests could endup making the line-up “more lethal” and the styl-ish batsman will be given enough “space” to findhis game in red-ball cricket.

“...If he does that (succeeds in the openingrole), then our batting order at the top becomesmore lethal. It is difficult to have a player likethat to not start every time,” said Kohli on theeve of the first Test.

“...If he comes into his own then the wholebatting order looks a completely different bat-ting order anywhere in the world,” added theskipper.

Asked if the management is thinking of giv-ing Rohit at least five to six Tests, Kohli said: “Weare not looking to rush him. There is a differ-ent pattern you follow in India and differentabroad. Opening is a spot where you have to givea player space to understand his own game.

“He will be given space to find his game andcome into his own,”

The skipper said it would be great for theteam if Rohit can play the role Virender Sehwagdid in his prime while insisting that the teamis not looking for any specific kind of approachfrom the stylish batsman.

“We are not looking at a certain kind of dis-play of batting from Rohit. It is about him find-ing his game at the top. Yes, his strength is totake the game forward. Like what Viru bhai usedto do for the team for a long period.

Kohli said whatever be the requirement,Rohit is experienced enough to improvise anddeliver the goods for the team.

“He definitely has the ability. If the wicketis challenging and then obviously you won’t seehim smashing the ball, he knows what to do.”

With the World Test Championship up forgrabs, the skipper said Rohit succeeding at thetop will help the team hugely.

“We have given people opportunities in thepast. Mayank (Agarwal) came into the system,KL had been there for a while, (Murali) Vijaywas there for a while. So there will always beroom for people to come in because of their per-formances.

“But we feel because we have a Test cham-pionship to look forward to and Rohit’s been inthe Test set up for a long time it’s about provid-ing him the opportunity and find that templatethat he wants to in Test cricket,” he said.

Virat Kohli speaks during press conference ahead of 1st Test PTI

Rohit will be givenenough space to findhis game: Kohli

Hitman begins life as Test openerIndia vs South AfricaLive from 9:30am ISTSTAR SPORTS 1 NETWORK

Rohit Sharma walks to bat at nets during India’s practice session on the eve of first Test against South Africa BCCI/Twitter

PTI n VISAKHAPATNAM

Wriddhiman Saha willreplace the struggling

Rishabh Pant in the Indian line-up for the first Test, captain ViratKohli announced here onTuesday, calling the Bengal play-er the “best wicketkeeper” in theworld.

The 34-year-old Saha was outof the team for a long time dueto injury and came back into theside during the two-Test series inthe West Indies. However, he didnot get to play there and Pant keptwickets in both the games.

“Yes Saha is fit and fine to go.He is going to start the series forus. His keeping credentials are for

everyone to see. He has done wellwith the bat whenever he has gota chance,” said Kohli on the eveof the first Test.

“It was unfortunate that hewas out with an injury. Accordingto me he is the best keeper theworld. With these conditions hestarts for us,” he added.

The skipper said Saha isalways going to be the first choicein the traditional format.

“...Saha was always the one wewould back as a pure keeper inTest cricket. He has done wellunder pressure situations in thepast for us, so it was just aboutfinding the right opportunityand the moment to bring himback in.”

Saha in for Pant

LESSONS FROM THE PASTDu Plessis says he learnt his lessons from 2015 tour

Lower back injury may keepHardik out for long period

TESTENCOUNTERS

Venue Tests Ind SA Draw

In India 16 8 5 3

In SA 20 3 10 7

Total 36 11 15 10

HIGHEST INNINGS TOTAL

Ind: 643-6 dec at Kolkata 2009-10

SA : 620-4 dec at Centurion 2010-11

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL SCORE

Ind: 319 V Sehwag at Chennai 2007-08

SA: 253*H Amla at Nagpur 2009-10

BEST BOWLING (INNINGS)

Ind: 7-66 R Ashwin at Nagpur 2015-16

SA: 8-64 L Klusener at Kolkata 1996-97FAISEL FFEATURES

TEAMSIndia's playing XI: RohitSharma, Mayank Agarwal,Cheteshwar Pujara, ViratKohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane,Hanuma Vihari, WriddhimanSaha, Ravichandran Ashwin,Ravindra Jadeja, MohammedShami, Ishant Sharma.South Africa: Faf du Plessis(capt), Temba Bavuma,Theunis de Bruyn, Quintonde Kock, Dean Elgar, ZubayrHamza, Keshav Maharaj,Aiden Markram, SenuranMuthusamy, Lungi Ngidi,Anrich Nortje, VernonPhilander, Dane Piedt, KagisoRabada, Rudi Second.

Sindhu out oftop 5 in rankings

Mumbai notch up first win

Tamil Nadu players return to pavilion after defeating Bengal in Vijay Hazare group C match in Jaipur on Tuesday PTI

Test C’ship in Pak will depend on seniors availability: SLC

Faf du Plessis bats during nets session PTI