US finding refutes India’s claim of shooting down Pak fighter F-16: American magazine

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April 5, 2019

The recent finding of the United State refutes India’s claim of shooting down Pakistani fighter F-16 just next day after Balakot airstrike. India claimed on February 27, 2019, that its air force shot down an F-16 fighter jet during an aerial dogfight. It is a setback for India.

It is noteworthy that India launched a counter-terror operation against a JeM training camp in Balakot. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in aerial combat and captured its pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1.

A U.S. count of the F-16s with Pakistan has found that none of them are missing and all the fighter planes were present. A prominent American magazine has claimed this. The count of the F-16 fighter planes in Pakistan has been completed, and all F-16 aircraft were present and accounted for, an unnamed defence official was quoted as saying by the magazine. On another hand, the Department of Defence did not immediately respond to a question on its count of F-16 fighter jets in Pakistan.

The Indian Air Force on February 28 displayed pieces of the AMRAAM missile, fired by a Pakistani F-16, as evidence to conclusively prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir.

Pakistan had categorically said that no F-16 fighter jets were used and denied that one of its planes had been downed by the IAF. After this Pakistan invited the United States to physically count its F-16 planes as part of an end-user agreement signed when the foreign military sale was finalised.

Letters to the Editor: April 5, 2019

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Web Team

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April 5, 2019

Why not wind up BSNL?

It is a matter of concern that public-sector BSNL is running under heavy losses and now it is planning for VSNL of its employees after the public-sector company failed to pay regular salaries to its staff. It is surprising that while private players like JIO are earning profits even after offering economical tariffs, BSNL is not able to retain or increase its client-base thus turning BSNL as a loss-generating company for public-exchequer.

BSNL should be better wound up like some very popular public-sector companies of earlier times HMT and IDPL. The Central government should also study how public-sector companies run at heavy losses to the tune of their winding-up while shares of private companies in the same field witness regular jumps indicating heavy profits. Rather public-sector companies with all government-support and not required to pay under-table payments like evil usually necessary for private operators.

Madhu Agrawal

Extend wishes on ‘Gudhi Padwa’ only in your mother tongue

New Year wishes are extended on the occasion of ‘Gudhi Padwa’ through SMS, social media or on meeting in person, by saying ‘Happy Gudhi Padva’. Very few people wish by saying ‘Shubha Gudhi Padva’ or ‘Gudhi Padvyachya Hardik Shubhechha’, ‘Gudhipadava ki Hardik Shubhakamanaye’ in their own mother tongue. Why do we extend wishes in English at our festivals? Why don’t we wish each other in our mother tongue? Why do we feel awkward to use mother tongue? Will we be able to do justice to our mother tongue if we are not extending even our wishes in our mother tongue? Few people say that sentiments should reach the other person let it be any language. There is no easier medium than own mother tongue for expressing feelings. Still, wrong thoughts are pampered. Let us make a resolution on the auspicious day of ‘Gudhi Padwa’ for discarding such wrong thoughts. People have a general feeling that ‘Gudhi Padwa’ is the Marathi New Year; but, ‘Gudhi Padwa’ is the first day of Hindu New Year and it is not limited to Marathi people but it is for all Hindus and it needs to be remembered.

Kishor Auti

Social Media and Polls

The upcoming General Elections is under severe shadows of growing social media influence and thus witnessing vigilant regulations under the guise of Model Code of Conduct. Further with the recent appointment of Nodal Officers at State Level to check the spread of fake news over social media, the Election Commission of India(ECI) is now fully geared up to fight the nuisance of fake news. No doubt one acknowledges the earlier move to create a dedicated Media Certification and Monitoring Committee(MCMC), the very quick penetration of information over social media has only compelled ECI to look for further necessary steps to curb the spread of fake news in the best interest to ensure ‘free and fair’ elections.

It is ironical to note that despite enforcing the usage of ‘Voluntary Code of Ethics for the 2019 General Election’, the seamless penetration of information over social media has further resulted ECI to find quick solutions — with the recent appointment of Nodal Officers at state level which comes critically at the eleventh hour ahead of elections.

Further, the ECI should now capitalise the very opportunity of its presence over social media. It can use Social Media to share key messages related to both the need for voter awareness and awareness to curb the spread of fake news under the ambit of Model Code of Conduct. Hence, the ECI can further constitute a new dedicated Social Media Policy Committee and it may be imparted under the aegis of the ECI’s new Social Media Cell. The suggested Social Media Committee may function in a decentralised manner from District to Central level through ‘Down-to-Top-‘ communication approach, as adopted currently.

The suggested move for a new Social Media Committee will not only help the ECI to monitor social media consistently but will also help ensure netizens to keep them consistently engaged through various voter awareness campaigns. Thus help ensure the ECI to strive to achieve complete voter turn through consistent social media presence out during the polling process.

Varun S D

Overlook manifestos!

The political party manifestos before the polls have no meaning as they are tall on promises and short on intentions and forgotten once the elections are over. All Party’s including Congress and BJP travel on the same boat on this score and the parameters to make your vote count should be to judge the candidates you intend to vote on the work the individual has done in your constituency. Many winning candidates would not show their face till the time of next elections which really is a pity in a democratic system where citizens are remembered and pampered only during the election time.

BJP has fallen short on promises they made in 2014 and Congress is making unrealistic promises this time which they could not fulfil in several decades they were in power. However, we need a government all the same at the Centre and citizens should vote for candidates who are honest, hardworking, educated and are active in public welfare programmes irrespective to the political party they belong. The franchise is the only tool citizens have to elect efficient leaders which should be used judicially to make every vote count!

S.N.Kabra

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Kanhaiya Kumar — Threat to BJP?

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Afternoon Voice

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April 4, 2019

CPI candidate and former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s student union Kanhaiya Kumar’s decision to contest Lok Sabha polls from Begusarai has sent BJP and Shiv Sena jitters. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had stated that BJP should defeat Kanhaiya Kumar at any cost. Addressing him as a “bottle of poison”, Raut stated in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana that BJP should make sure that Kumar is not elected in Lok Sabha even at the cost of tampering electronic voting machines (EVMs). The district election officer had sent notice to Raut for the violation of Model Code of Conduct by making comments against Kanhaiya Kumar.

Senior CPI(M) leader and MLA Jeeva Gavit told Afternoon Voice, “Kanhaiya Kumar is a young leader and can pose a challenge to BJP, which is trying hard to stop him from coming to power. Sanjay Raut has issued inappropriate comments against Kanhaiya Kumar; hence, the Election Commission has sent a notice to him. Kanhaiya Kumar is a true patriot and people take his comments seriously. Our national bureau will take a decision pertaining to the action to be taken against Sanjay Raut.”

Kanhaiya, who has formally joined CPI council, has already addressed more than 100 public meeting in every part of Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency as a part of his public dialogues or “Jan Samvad Karyakram”. BJP has fielded Union Minister Giriraj Singh against Kumar. Kanhaiya Kumar is emerging as a strong contender to challenge the BJP from Begusarai constituency. Both Kanhaiya Kumar and Giriraj Singh belong to the Bhumihar caste. An interesting contest is on the cards to see who manages to garner maximum votes. Kanhaiya has been actively campaigning from Begusarai for the last two months.

JD(U) MLA Kapil Patil said, “Kanhaiya Kumar is a patriot and supports poor people. I am confident that people will back him. It is not right to issue statements pertaining to EVM tampering. Patriotism is all about loving people residing from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. If you love the people living in the country, then you are a patriot.”

Kanhaiya Kumar had to face stiff opposition from local residents while campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls. They stopped the vehicle in which he was travelling and the crowd didn’t allow him to enter the village. His vehicle too was attacked by them. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Bajrang Dal activists chanted slogan ‘anti-national go back’ and waved black flags. Kanhaiya Kumar held BJP candidate Giriraj Singh responsible for the attack. Kanhaiya stated that Giriraj is worried about his defeat and hence, he had planned attack on his vehicle.

Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Prabhu said, “Saamana is a paper which promotes nationalism. Editor Sanjay Raut had written from patriotism point of view and there is nothing wrong in it. Somebody might have filed a complaint against Raut to the Election Commission and hence, they had sent a notice to him. Sanjay Raut possesses a good team who can give a reply to the Election Commission.”

Kanhaiya stated that Giriraj has accepted defeat and therefore, he is making a mockery of democracy by sending goons to attack him. Even security offered to him was withdrawn. Thus, political observers believe that it seems BJP has become anxious about Kanhaiya emerging victorious in the election and targeting him. Kanhaiya also added that Giriraj lacks an agenda and has been insulted by people. Kanhaiya further said that Giriraj becoming frustrated and resorting to violent activities is an outcome of the same.

BJP leader Manoj Kotak spoke to Afternoon Voice and stated, “According to me, Sanjay Raut had made the right comment against Kanhaiya Kumar. Kanhaiya can never be a threat as BJP is an ideology-driven national party. On the other hand, everybody is aware of what ideology Kanhaiya Kumar belongs to!”

Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in 2016 on the charges of sedition for allegedly organising an event in Jawaharlal Nehru University campus against the hanging of Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru. The police had filed the 1,200-page chargesheet against Kanhaiya Kumar and other student leaders in the sedition case. Kanhaiya termed his arrest as politically motivated. The arrests had triggered a huge controversy with the opposition slamming the police for working at the behest of BJP. After Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest, his popularity soared and protests were held across the country. The election will be held in Begusarai on April 29 and results will be declared on May 23.

Modern “Ravana” the Chandrashekhar to play key role in 2019

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Vaidehi Taman

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April 4, 2019

Chandrashekhar alias Ravan held a roadshow in Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and declared that he would be contesting against the latter. Chandrashekhar had shot into limelight after he led protests in Saharanpur and some other western UP districts following the killing of two members of the SC community in clashes with the powerful ‘Thakur’ community members.

The man who has united his community people against atrocities, who claims to be Ravan for those demons that are hiding beneath the mask of Rama by changing the narrative of today’s Ramrajya, is all set to play a crucial role in the 2019 elections. Chandrashekhar Ravan asked each and every Dalit in this country to throw out the BJP government in 2019. He is ready to support whoever is willing to do so. BJP is known to be a party of upper castes; since Modi came to power, there were raising incidences of atrocities against Dalits. He was imprisoned for a year on controversial charges of jeopardising national security, has been freed just in time to challenge the Dalit powerhouse status of Mayawati and others. Mayawati’s enrolment in an anti-BJP league is the key to whether the opposition will have any luck in stopping PM Modi from a second consecutive term. Akhilesh Yadav, another youth leader of Uttar Pradesh has expressed his willingness to give her pride of place in a partnership in Uttar Pradesh to block the PM from racking up a big score in India’s most crucial state — it elects 80 members to the Lok Sabha. Mainstream Dalit leaders like Ramdas Athawale and Ramvilas Paswan have repeatedly betrayed the community by compromising with feudal and communal forces to stay in power.

Mayawati also failed to meet Dalit aspirations despite being a four-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Today, they should be nervous of the Bhim Army which is making the older Dalit parties look increasingly irrelevant and out of touch with the aspirations of gen-next. Ravan feels Dalit needs justice, but UP has been ruled by the Dalit CM — Dalit mobilisation happened long ago. These days, it is time to stop the overreach. BSP leader Mayawati made every effort to counter the growing influence of Bhim Army by mobilising her party cadre in the region. Congress President Rahul Gandhi had his agenda and all set to try his luck again in UP. Though the Congress, SP, BSP all are against BJP whereas Ravan too has the same agenda but not happy with the rest of the three parties for not doing much for Dalits.

This new brigade of Bhim Sena that is said to be funded by some prominent Muslim leaders to divide Hindus is too much at decisive politics these days. Earlier it was always Hindu vs Muslim politics in India, where the political parties used to get the benefit by polarising the Muslim votes and used them as a vote bank. However, in the recent past, these parties have realised that the strategy actually started backfiring when Hindus too started voting united and obviously they are the majority of the population. So, as a new strategy, these political forces and Muslims are trying to play it smart by funding organisations like “Bhim Sena” which emerged from nowhere, to fight against the Hindu upper caste, so the entire battle can be settled on the caste politics. The intent is to divide the majority population on the basis of caste and unite the Muslim, other minority votes with Dalits and backward castes as they’ve realised that they won’t exist politically if Hindus start voting united.

Chandrashekhar titled himself as “Ravan”. He kept such title to demean Lord Rama who is worshipped by the majority and known as Maryada Purushottam but while glorifying Ravan, they forget that Ravan was actually a Brahmin and a literate one. Well! The one who is not worshiped by the majority becomes minority and Dalit’s political tool. So far, the Dalit politics had nothing to do with Dalit welfare, education, or rights but only interested in keeping them a so-called deprived community to bake politics. Some Dalit should actually question their Messiahs in politics, what is their contribution towards own community’s betterment and how much they earned for themselves in the name of ‘Dalit’ and ‘Bhimrao’? They have not spared a legend that has shown them a right path to live with self-respect and dignity, by mortgaging their loyalties to politics than the community itself. If Dalit leaders and their Politics could really change the fate of Dalits in India, trust me, today they wouldn’t have been on roads, protesting against the so-called upper castes. Meanwhile, no Dalit wants to be at par on merit basis with others in spite of being given all the facilities and reservations and the reason is that their political motive will come to an end.

Atrocities against Dalits have given them the topic to chew their vote bank sentiments. Why don’t they ever come aggressive or harsh educating their people about their rights? Why these Dalit leaders for their own advantage get sheltered under BJP-like parties? There are many Dalit leaders who are part of BJP/RSS wings; they have mortgaged their integrity by refuting Babasaheb’s preaching. The need of the hour is that the Dalit should fight against the Dalit leaders and bureaucrats who failed to serve their own community and serving the Brahmanical administration. Their fight should be against those people who sabotaged community, their fight should be against those leaders who took their votes but could not make much difference to their lives. Perhaps, this modern Ravan may stand up to the expiations. In future elections, he and his generation young aspirants in politics may play a crucial role against BJP and PM Modi. Let’s see whether they can collectively defeat the single powerhouse Modi or not!

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

No Indo-Pak; Kashmir wants independence: NC State secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari

By

Afternoon Voice

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April 4, 2019

Since the partition of India and Pakistan – Jammu and Kashmir has been an apple of eye for both the countries for no reason other than power politics, and between this power political fight, Kashmiris are the one who go through all the sufferings, deaths, and eventually end up being a political tool for their own local leaders as well as national leaders. Both – India and Pakistan claim to be the representative or the caretaker of J&K but no one come forward and solve the crisis of the state. The situation in J&K has become such severe that even they feel alienated by both Indian and Pakistan.

Talking about the crisis in J&K with Afternoon Voice, National Conference State secretary Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari said, “To be precise, to solve this issue in actuality, first of all, both India and Pakistan should stop doing politics on the issue and discuss the actual points that how can things be made good and the people of the state be in peace. Whenever, attacks or fights take place between India and Pakistan – Kashmiris suffer the most and die on both the sides, however, these nation – who claim to be the caretaker don’t even give a damn to all this. Looking at the innocent death, damaging and depressing situation in J&K, India and Pakistan should come together and make peace forever on this issue.”

Recently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in a statement said that the Article 370 and 35A which gives special status and restricts non-permanent residents to buy properties in Jammu and Kashmir is constitutionally vulnerable and also hampers economic development of the state. Therefore, it should be revoked from the Constitution. However, hitting back at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement of abandoning the special status for J&K, Jammu and Kashmir former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said that the relationship between the Union and the State will end if Article is revoked.

J&K was given a special status by granting Article 370 by the Indian government. Article 370 was introduced in the Constitution as a temporary solution to the crisis of J&K after it joined India after independence. The Article 35A of the Constitution gives power to J&K to define state’s permanent residents and their special rights and privileges. The Article was added to the Constitution through a presidential order of 1954 with the then government’s occurrence of J&K. Sheikh Abdullah took over reins from Dogra ruler after J&K’s accession and in 1949, he negotiated J&K’s political relationship with New Delhi, which led to the inclusion of Article 370 in the Constitution. The Article 370 guarantees special status to J&K and restricts Union’s legislative powers over three areas which include Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Communications.

Moreover, National Conference vice-president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah also slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that the BJP’s proxies in Kashmir were working on an agenda to abolish the Article 370 and 35A, which define the relationship of the state with the union of India. If you look at the period before 1990, J&K was among the fastest states of the country. No industry was left behind in the state then. You either forgot or have not been informed well enough that before the advent of militancy in 1989, there was no such complaint here. If J&K has suffered then it’s all because of militancy not these Articles. He further alleged that J&K was under severe threat and this threat is not new but has increased in the last few years since the BJP joined the state government in 2015.

“J&K will be diminished the moment 370 is abolished. Indian will never agree to leave J&K as it plays a crucial role in bringing mandate to the political parties. One government speaks about abolishing the Article; however, another one disagrees for the same. Overall, it’s a very important issue of our country that is creating a line that breaks the thread – India is banded with, and we must discuss about it. However, the fact is that neither Indian government nor any political party is serious about solving the issue rather than using it for their political benefit. They will never abolish the Article 370; simply because once the article is abolished they will lose all the rights in J&K which they would never want.” Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari added.

Relationship between India and Pakistan has been going bitter over the last some years and the Pulwama terrorist attack and then Indian Air Force strike in Balakot made it even bitterer. Since the general elections schedule was announced, the political parties are on an active and are not leaving any stone unturned to grab the vote banks – be it on the name of religion, cast or region. Communal politics has become an internal part of the national politics without which the elections process can’t be completed. It is the history of Indian elections that even before the elections process starts, communal tension, Hind-Muslim, Upper cast-Lower cast, East-West, North-South starts and the voters – instead of questioning the candidates and their manifestos which they will apply for the betterment of the nation after they come into power – rather fights on all these silly issues and in-between all this drama, the politicians as always get benefitted and do their politics and the country as always keeps running and falling on its own like an orphan.

“As far as the youth of J&K is concerned, if you ask them to say India Zindabad – they say it, and if you ask Pakistan Zindabad then they also say it also. I believe and this has nothing to do with politics that by and large one thing is clear that they want to be independent; neither have they wanted to go to Pakistan nor to India. They want their own space; they want freedom from both the countries.” He concluded.

Eventually, it still remained an unsolved issue that has been the reason for many killings of soldiers, civilian, displacement of homes, parting away family members and destruction of the most beautiful region. After the separation of Pakistan, many governments promised to solve the issue, they came to power and then sat in the opposition, but no party or government did anything fruitful, rather created havoc, hatred, communal tension in the state and got their political mileage and as always J&K, its people and its sufferings remain the same there.

4 BSF jawans killed in encounter with Maoists in Chhattisgarh

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Web Team

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April 4, 2019

Four Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were killed and two others injured on Thursday after an encounter with Maoists in Kanker district in Chhattisgarh. The incident comes just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha election in the state. Maoists have given a call for a boycott of the election. State police and paramilitary forces have intensified anti-Maoist operations ahead of the poll.

Police said, “The skirmish took place in a dense forest near Mahla village in Kanker district when a team of BSF’s 114th battalion was out on a search operation.” Deputy Inspector General (anti-Naxal operations) Sundarraj P said, “Four BSF troopers were killed and two injured in the incident. Additional security forces have been sent to the spot.”

Polling in the Kanker Lok Sabha constituency will be held in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 18. Polling in 11 constituencies in the state will be held in three phases on April 11, April 18 and April 23. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

Media and Mandate – Part II

By

Afternoon Voice

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April 4, 2019

In today time, media has become so powerful that it is in a position to make or completely break a government, it is usually conceded that Arvind Kejriwal might never have been the New Delhi Chief Minister, were it not for his brilliant performance on television and in public gatherings as well. The same is true about Narendra Modi who led his party to victory because of the dynamic confidence that he projected over the internet, television, radio and social media. Media brought change in India during the emergency by emphasising on the news about its excess and brutality and even a powerful Prime Minister like Indira Gandhi had to face the defeat in her next election. The media plays a distinctive role in bringing communal harmony which in turn preserves the secular fabric of the democratic country. However, media plays a very crucial role in shaping the public opinion and well as the democracy. It empowers the citizen through information and let them know that how great power they have in the form of vote. It also arranges debates, talk shows and discussion on burning social issues and contradicts the policies so that the different views regarding the same issues could be put forth.

So this can said that the politics and the media share a complex synergistic relationship and must be looked at in juxtaposition to one another. Media, politics and elections are intertwined together and media platforms have become the essential ground for the discussion of political narratives and discourses. With the general elections approaching, one will have to keep an eye out for the various kinds of campaigning that will be done through media by different political parties to gain the attention of the public. Accordingly, governance rather than the individual or the party should be the dominant frame in the elections. Unfortunately, this is not the norm as result of which the polity is highly fragmented. The politicians through the campaign always try to put the image first and performance at a backstage. Social media is nowhere taking them to a rational ground, in the name of two way communication and interactivity politicians are again flashing up their images and trying to play emotive. There will always be two set of values. Social media is no exception to it. Unfortunately, we are more interested in candidates personal attributes rather than his efficiency as a representative of the people which is why the fixation is with individuals. However, social media will help us keep a watch on candidates before and after the elections to ensure that there is no mismatch between promises made and fulfilled.

Accountability and transparency are the two most proper functioning of a democratic system, however, the nexus between corruption and administration intertwined by the politics seems to be destroying the serenity and the peace of the country. Democracy cannot be successful without free press and free press is essential as it is the voice of the people and the media should never fall as the victim to some monetary or any other temptations, and must keep delivering the information to the people honestly. Media plays a vital role in shaping the human minds and is considered the fourth pillar of democracy which makes us aware of various activities like politics, sports, economy, social and cultural activities, politics etc.

Media is like a mirror which shows us the bare truth which sometimes looks harsh and hitting. It is also assumed that most of the voter make their minds during the course of the campaign and be influenced by the news media and political propaganda that is also called as ‘political advertisements’. Political campaigns are completely based on agendas and there remains not a single agenda but sets of agendas which are designed carefully to attract the different classes of people, and this is done with the objective to divide and diverting people from being united over an issue. Media is changing the election campaigning patterns as it gives a single common platform for pluralistic content along with the linked pros and cons with almost every issue covered through the interactivity and generated discourses.

However, it is difficult to divert people and create agendas through media for a long run. As a consequent, it will be testing the ground realities of the political parties and will end up profiting the honest political campaigns. The dominant frame or the perspective used by the journalists while covering the elections emphasise more into which candidate is ahead, who is behind and what strategies are being used in the campaigns to attract the voters which is often called as a horse race in political sense. Moreover, in contrast, what voters need the most is the information and insight into what the candidate would do if elected? This will play a very important role in making the institutions and the democracy stronger with greater amount of debates and discussions on the kind of governance is needed to meet the challenges of the present and the future with providing the solution as well rather than questioning the earlier government.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)

In every lakh Indians, 310 die of poor diet

By

Web Team

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April 4, 2019

Even after 71 years of independence of India, we are still fighting with malnutrition and starvation like situations. There are thousands of people in the country, who are deprived of even 125 gm of whole grain per day. Low intake of whole grains is causing deaths and diseases in India. In every 1 lakh people, 310 persons die of poor diet in India annually. India ranked 118^thin the world in diet-related deaths. These facts are disclosed by a Lancet study. The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal.

According to study, China ranked 140th, with 350 deaths per 100,000 people, while the UK ranked 23rd (127 deaths per 100,000), and the US ranked 43rd (171 deaths per 100,000) after Rwanda and Nigeria 41st and 42^nd respectively. In 2017, the countries with the lowest rates of diet-related deaths were Israel, France, Spain, Japan, and Andorra. In 2017, an estimated 11 million deaths were attributable to poor diet. Diets high in sodium, low in whole grains, and low in fruit together accounted for more than half of all diet-related deaths globally in 2017.

The causes of these deaths included 10 million deaths from cardiovascular disease, 913,000 cancer deaths, and almost 339,000 deaths from type 2-diabetes. Deaths related to diet have increased from 8 million in 1990.

Globally one in every five people dies due to the lack of optimal amounts of food and nutrients on their plates. The report, which tracked trends in consumption of 15 dietary factors from 1990 to 2017 in 195 countries, showed that almost every region of the world could benefit from rebalancing their diets.

In 2017, more deaths were caused by diets with too low amounts of foods such as whole grains, fruit, nuts, and seeds than by diets with high levels of foods like trans-fats, sugary drinks, and high levels of red and processed meats.

Low intake of whole grains “ below 125 gm per day” was the leading dietary risk factor for death and disease in India, the US, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Russia, Egypt, Germany, Iran, and Turkey. In Bangladesh, low intake of fruits “below 250 gm per day” was the leading dietary risk.

Letters to the Editor: April 04, 2019

By

Web Team

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April 4, 2019

Playing to the gallery

Indian Premier League is taking a heavy toll of players, officials, umpires, and even coaches in the name of match-fixing. The recent victim for alleged match-fixing charges in IPL betting is levelled against former Indian Women’s team manager Tushar Arothe. The game is played on the cricketing field but matches are fixed away from the ground at Vadora. 18-eighteen member gang is arrested on the charges of match-fixing and the number may go up till the final. With top teams like Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challengers at the bottom of the table, more stakes will be floated to make them come to the top of the table as done in previous editions of IPL. The players are dancing to the tunes of bookies and that is a bad part of the 8-team competition.

Anandambal Subbu

BJP drops bomb on Somaiya!

BJP drops a bomb on Kirit Somaiya to keep their marriage with Shiv Sena intact as the sitting MP from Mumbai North-East is unceremoniously denied a ticket to please the Thackeray’s who were dead against Somaiya from contesting the elections. Kirit Somaiya should have been an automatic choice as he had won the last time with over 3 lakh votes and was very popular in his constituency. Sena forced BJP to sack Somaiya for exposing scams at BMC which clearly indicates that honesty is not the best policy when it comes to Indian politics and this is a blow to the clean image of our Prime Minister.

Kirit Somaiya may be outspoken but the learned Chartered Accountant was BJP’s most active MP from the city and our country needs leaders like him to speak and voice dissent against wrongdoings. PM Modi one thought should have intervened and batted for Somaiya who should have been given an opportunity to contest. The least BJP can now do is to nominate Somaiya to Parliament through Rajya Sabha and make amends!

S.N.Kabra

Expose this oppression of women!

Incidents of sexual exploitation of women working in various fields like films, corporate world, etc since last few years are being exposed to the world, through ‘Me too’ ‘hash-tag’ on ‘Twitter’. On similar lines, ‘Nuns too’ ‘hash-tag’ has been started. The population of Christians is the largest in the world as there are 157 Christian countries. Prayer-house of Christians is the church. The counselors in the church are known as pastors. It is a known fact that these pastors are always sexually exploiting devotees i.e. nuns working there. The number of Christians and churches is no less in India; but the secularists, progressive factions, organizations for women-empowerment do not say a word about the same. Why are even media keeping mum on this issue? It is very unfortunate that while criticizing Hindus involved in quackery at the personal level, media always spit venom against all Saints-‘Mahants’, ‘Sadhus-Sanyasis’ of Hindus. Under breaking news, a person holding a high post like Shankaracharya (Jayendra Saraswati) is insulted insolently by the media-persons, which is condemnable.

Shakuntala Baddi

Secularism blew away for illegal loudspeakers!

There are 2,940 prayer-houses in Maharashtra where there are illegal loudspeakers. Among them are mosques, madrasas, and durgahs with 1,766 illegal loudspeakers. The above information was brought forth under the ‘Right to Information’ Act. The Mumbai High Court has clearly directed for taking action against illegal loudspeakers on prayer-houses; but, there is no implementation of that order. If only in Maharashtra, there are about 3,000 illegal loudspeakers; it is better not to think about a number of illegal loudspeakers all over the country. The local government administrations and police pay no heed to complaints lodged by local residents on this matter. What do wise citizens think about this issue? Why is the Court’s order not being implemented? It is not right to cross approved sound-limit by committing a breach of Court’s orders and cause harm to other citizens whether it is during the festival period or making noise many times during the day by using such loudspeakers or during any other program. The topic of sound decibel-limits is often discussed during Hindus’ festival period but what about noise created through illegal loudspeakers throughout the year? How long is this to go on, is what people have started asking now. It is necessary as per Court’s orders to take cognizance of sufferings of local residents but taking legal action is always evaded. One, therefore, starts wondering whether all rules and regulations, laws are meant only for Hindus. Does secularism blow away at other times?

Rahul Patekar

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps to 6%; home and car loan to be cheaper

By

Web Team

-

April 4, 2019

A dream of own home and car of people may come true, as EMI of home or car loan is going to be eased. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent in the first bi-monthly monetary policy meet of the financial year (FY) 2019-20. It indicates that home or car loan will be cheaper.

It was the first back-to-back rate cut by the central bank since the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was formed in late 2016. In its last policy meet in February and the first under Governor Shaktikanta Das, the central bank had lowered the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) or 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent and changed the policy stance to neutral from calibrated tightening, adopted in October policy meet last year. Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends money to the commercial banks, in case of any shortfall of funds.

Most economists and market experts had forecast a rate cut amid benign inflation and slowdown in growth both at home and abroad. Inflation has remained below the RBI’s 4 per cent target for seven straight months but core inflation, which excludes food and fuel, is running closer to 5.5 per cent. A rate cut just a week before the start of seven-phase Lok Sabha elections is crucial for the ruling NDA party.

Khushru Jijina, MD and Piramal Capital and Housing Finance stated, “It is necessary to resurrect India’s consumer demand and economic growth before a synchronous downturn in advanced economies heighten market volatility. Today’s rate cut and moderation in liquidity coverage ratio coupled with recent instances of liquidity injections indicate that RBI is cognizant of these risks. These measures would certainly help ease liquidity and improve access to cheaper credit by India Inc as well as retail consumers.”

“The focus to align the Indian housing finance securitisation market as well as the secondary market for corporate loans with international best practices as announced today will essentially deepen these markets and ensure better price discovery. We look forward to the detailed notes on RBI’s decision to allow Non Deposit taking NBFCs to apply for Authorised Dealer licenses which is expected to expand the forex market,” Jijina added.