17092021 first india ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 291
n the 74 years of India’s
Independence, there have been
merely three leaders who have
not just carried out the role of
Prime Minister, but have gone
to the length of being the
synonym of a political pivot.
The nation, having seen 14 individuals
ascend to one of the highest offices, has
merely witnessed three leaders in
Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and
now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who
according to TIME magazine’s latest
influential people’s list, “dominated the
country’s politics like no one”.
When COVID-19 crisis hit the country, a
relentless Modi tried to instil
confidenceintheotherwise
scared nation. His
efforts, like
asking people to light lamps, beat steel
plates and clap so that they remain upbeat,
drew huge response. From his initiative to
periodically laud the Corona warriors by
show of semblance with them, to giving a
huge `20 lakh crore push to the economy
hit by the pandemic, to making efforts for
economic growth for which the numbers
now look favourable; underline that people
still trust Modi to lead the nation.
Interestingly, even with Opposition
levelling several accusations at him in
order to tarnish his no-nonsense and anti-
corruption image, an approval rating of
71% lays bare the fact that INDIA TRUSTS
MODI, and the trend is not going to change
anytime soon. Perhaps that is why, he has
featured in TIME Magazine’s ‘100 most
influential people in 2014, 2015, 2017 and
2020 and 2021, i.e. 5 times since coming to
power in 2014. Modi’s 7 year prime
ministerial tenure also has given a clear
message that there is no parallel to
team Narendra Modi-Amit Shah, a
political ‘couple’, made for each other!
At a time when most people think of a
peaceful, retired time after a lifelong of
hardwork, PM Modi starts his day before
daybreak and goes on to work, for the
nation, for the next 20 hours. Even former
US President Barak Obama publicly lauded
the mere three hours of sleep our 71 year
old PM takes.
In his 71st year, we at First India wish
the Prime Minister....the leader....the man,
happy returns of the day
.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. PM!
I
Happy
Birthday!
Birthday!
India Trusts
Modi!

PERSPECTIVE
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
02
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Vol2IssueNo.291
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lished by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First
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Editor-In-Chief:JagdeeshChandra.
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newsunderthePRBAct
GAIL owns about 74%
(13,700 kms) of existing
pipelines infrastructure in
28 states UTs sells
about 52% of natural
gas sold in India. 6000+
km of pipelines under
construction. 2000+ km
under construction through
JVs. Provides 65% of
India’s DPNG connections
55% CNG stations.
Hardeep Singh Puri
@HardeepSPuri SPIRITUAL SPEAK
With fools, there is no
companionship. Rather than to
live with men who are selfish,
vain, quarrelsome, and
obstinate, let a man walk alone.
—Buddha
TOP
TWEETS
Thank Tajik President
Emomali Rahmon for
receiving me. Conveyed
greetings of PM Modi.
Exchanged views on
recent developments in
Afghanistan and their
impact on regional security.
India and Tajikistan are
strong partners in fighting
terrorism, fundamentalism
and radicalism.
Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
This year also marks the
7th year of PM Modi. On
30 May 2019, He had
won a tremendous,
unprecedented mandate,
the most decisive one by
any leader in recent
history, an absolute
majority for a leader and
political party after
almost 3 decades. This
popular vote after 61crore
peoples cast their vote, was
a vindication of his first 5
years. This victory was
despite being targeted
almost continuously with
a vicious campaign of lies
and calumny by a
coalition of vested interests
he first time I travelled back to my
state Karnataka after joining the
council of Ministers was for Jan
Ashirwad Yatra. This Yatra took
methrough6districtsandallowed
me to meet hundreds of citizens,
Social leaders, and Karyakartas
through the 4 days of the Yatra.
Throughout the entire journey
,
there was a singular response
from those who came out to bless
me and wish me - the trust , faith
and pride that people felt in their
PM and leader Narendra Modi.
From a farmer in Shivamogga
thanking me for government’s
support to transform his life ; to
a housewife beneficiary of Ujwa-
la in Sirsi; to revered Swamijis in
the different Mutts I visited for
blessings; to the health warriors
and Karyakartas I visited to
thank for their service - they all
saw themselves as participants
in PM Narendra Modi’s vision of
a New India and so this outpour-
ing of affection, support and
blessings to me was because I
was also in Narendra Modi’s
team just as each of them were.
September 17 is Prime Minis-
ter Modi’s birthday. It is also
Vishwakarma day. Nothing de-
scribes Narendra Modi’s life and
20 years in Government as this.
His 13 years as CM and 7 years
have set new standards in Gov-
ernment leadership, hard work,
policy making and raised the bar
significantly for all those in pub-
lic life and public service.
But his impact on Indian poli-
tics goes beyond that. He has dis-
mantled myths of permanent po-
litical dynasties, corruption and
status quoism about our democ-
racy and about many issues in-
cluding the terror response that
haveprevailedsince1947whenwe
became an Independent country
.
He has also reset the confidence,
ambitions and aspirations of eve-
ry Indian. These achievements
are particularly significant today
and now, as we celebrate 75th year
of Independence and set our
sights on the future of India.
This year also marks the 7th
year of PM Modi. On 30 May 2019,
He had won a tremendous, un-
precedented mandate, the most
decisive one by any leader in re-
cent history
, an absolute majority
for a leader and political party
after almost 3 decades. This popu-
lar vote after 61crore peoples cast
their vote, was a vindication of
his first 5 years. This victory was
despite being targeted almost
continuously with a vicious cam-
paign of lies and calumny by a
coalition of vested interests.
His political and governance
philosophy has remained consist-
ent - around equal opportunity to
all. Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,
Sabka Vishwas.
In one of his first speeches of
his 2nd term he said
“This New India’s vision is mo-
tivated by the noble thoughts of
ShriNarayanaGurugreatspiritu-
alfigure,socialreformerandpoet:
“Jaati-BhedamMat-DweshamAd-
umIlladey Sarvrum Sodar-tvain
Vaadunn Matrukasthan Maanit”
That is, an ideal place is one
where people live like brothers
free from the discrimination of
caste and religion.
On this path of a New India,
rural India will be strong and ur-
ban India will also be empowered.
entrepreneurial India will attain
new heights and the dreams of
young India will also be fulfilled.
On this path of a New India, all
systems will be transparent, and
the prestige of honest country-
men will increase further;
infrastructure for the 21st cen-
tury will be built and all resourc-
es for creation of a powerful In-
dia will be mobilized.”
Narendra Modi delivered in
these 7 years, what most Govern-
ments weren’t able to do for dec-
ades. In areas ranging from
Cleaning up the Financial sector,
expanding economic opportuni-
ties to all, National Security, Re-
cord high Investments, Technol-
ogy , Art 370, new State of
Ladakh, Citizens Amendment
Act, Amicable resolution of Ram
Mandir etc. There’s much for all
of us to be grateful for.
But it is his leadership, fore-
sight and untiring hard work
during this last 18 months of the
COVID pandemic that we are
truly grateful for.
Throughout the CORONA cri-
sis, Modi’s leadership and Gov-
ernance was on full display. He
rallied every citizen to make it
the country’s collective resolve to
fight and overcome the virus –
leading all 1.4 Billion Indians
through this difficult Lockdown
period with calm.
When COVID pandemic hit us,
we had little or no capacity in PPE
manufacturing, limited hospital
and ICU beds, Patchy healthcare
capacity in states, limitations in
pharma, vaccine, equipment and
healthcare staff. As if these real
challenges weren’t daunting
enough, PM Modi also had to deal
with terrible behaviour of China
at our Northern borders and con-
tinuing terror by Pakistan and of
course some of India’s politicians
who seemed to see COVID-19 as a
political opportunity rather than
a time to serve and inept and/or
irresponsible CMs in some states.
But through it all, he led us un-
daunted. The personal effort put
in by PM Modi through this en-
tire time was super-human and
would tire out any normal person
many times over. The challenges
of designing the response even
when scientists and experts
themselves were struggling to
understand cause, consequences
and solutions can’t be overstated.
India’s resilience and response
during this pandemic was also
possible by many far-sighted deci-
sions of Narendra Modi in his
first term - unambiguous proof of
hisforesight.Thepoorandvulner-
able who were the most impacted
by the shock were provided quick
financial relief through the deci-
sion of Narendra Modi to create
Bank accounts for every Indian
through the JDY scheme. JDY, PM
GaribKalyanYojana,PDSandPM
Kisan have ensured that rural,
farmersandpoorarebackstopped
financially by the Government di-
rectly without any leakages. Digi-
talIndiahelpedcroresof peopleto
connect to Information and for
businessestocontinuetoremotely
work.SchemeslikeUjalaforCook-
ing cylinders, Jan Aushadhi Yo-
jana and PM Ayushman all came
in as great support to the common
people during this Pandemic. PM
Modis leadership has ensured In-
dia could handle the shocks and
keep deaths to much lower than
most other even more developed
nations.
As the past 18 months have
shown,Indianeededstrongleader-
ship capable of navigating India
through these choppy waters and
itisfortunatethatwehadhislead-
ership and fire-sight - prime mov-
ers for our national resolve and
achieving important milestones
in our fight against Covid like the
recent Sep 13th crossing of 75
crorevaccinationsbeingachieved.
The world is seeing deep tecton-
icchangespostCOVID.Indiatoois
emerging more resilient, Confi-
dent and Ambitious about its fu-
ture - led by PM Narendra Modis
vision of AtmaNirbharBharat for
the future and his strong belief
that India’s time has come. As he
said on August 15th this year, Yahi
Samai hai, Yahi Samai hai. This is
our time. This is our time.
This is also the year I complete
15 years of public service. I con-
sider it a singular honour and
privilegethatIhavehadtheoppor-
tunity to serve at a time of PM
Modi’sleadershipandbeawitness
to the irreversible and unstoppa-
ble rise of our country and all our
people under PM Narendra Modi.
The best way to celebrate PM
Modi’s birthday is for all Indians
to believe in and work towards his
dream of a strong, prosperous In-
dia for all. Sabka Saath, Sabka
Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, SABKA
PRAYAS. On this day, I wish him
many years of good health and
service to our motherland.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
RAJEEV
CHANDRASEKHAR
The writer is Union Minister of State for
Entrepreneurship, Skill Development. Electronics
Technology
India’s resilience and re-
sponse during this pan-
demic was also possible
by many far-sighted de-
cisions of Narendra
Modi in his first term - un-
ambiguous proof of his fore-
sight. The poor and vulnera-
ble who were the most im-
pacted by the shock were
provided quick financial relief
through the decision of Nar-
endra Modi to create Bank
accounts for every Indian
through the JDY scheme
SETTINGNEW
STANDARDSIN
GOVERNMENT
LEADERSHIP
MODI

Besides Patil, UP
Governor Anandiben
Patel, UHM Amit
Shah advised names
for selection
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Selec-
tion of ministers for the
Gujarat cabinet by the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) was a strategic
balancing of the caste
equation. Of the 25
members in the council
of ministers, seven
have been granted to
the influential Patidar
community, seven to
Other Backward Class
(OBC), four to Sched-
uled Tribe (ST), two
each to Brahmin,
Kshatriya and Sched-
uled Caste (SC) commu-
nities and one to Jains.
Turn to P6
Ahmedabad: Crediting
the BJP governments in
Gujarat, since Narendra
Modi’s first tenure, for
strengthening law and
order situation, Union
Home Minister on
ThursdaysaidthatBJP’s
continuoustenureshave
helped the state shed the
“curfew capital” tag and
being a safe and secure
state.
Shah said this while
virtually inaugurating
six newly-constructed
police stations and an of-
fice of Deputy Superin-
tendent of Police in
Ahmedabad rural.
“There was a time
when Gujarat was
known as the curfew
capital. Now, when you
ask a 20-year-old wheth-
er he has experienced a
curfew, he will certainly
answer in the negative.
Under the leadership of
(Narendra) Modi,
Anandiben (Patel), Vi-
jaybhai (Rupani) - and
now with Bhupendrab-
hai (Patel) taking over -
the BJP government
workedtostrengthenthe
law and order situation.
—Agencies
BJP WOOING PATIDARS OBCS
THROUGH CABINET INDUCTION?
THANKS TO BJP GOVTS, GUJ NO
MORE A “CURFEW CAPITAL”: SHAH
(L to R) Vadodara MLA Manisha Vakil, Kaprada MLA Jitu
Chaudhary, Morbi MLA Brijesh Merja, Nikol MLA Jagdish Panchal
and Majura Gate MLA Harsh Sangahvi at the cabinet swearing-in
ceremony on Thursday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Amit Shah at virtual inauguration of new police stations, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel also seen.
SKIPPER KOHLI TO SHED
VIRAT WORKLOAD
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 291
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI
Sensex jumped 418 points to end above 59,000 mark for the first time at
59,141. It touched a new high of 59,204 in intra-day deals. Meanwhile, its
NSE counterpart Nifty gained 107 points to 17,626. It hit a new peak of
17,645 during the session. 16 stocks closed in the green and 14 in the red.
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Shimla on Thursday
afternoon on a four-day visit to Himachal Pradesh during which he will
address the special session of the state assembly on 17 September to
mark the golden jubilee celebrations of statehood of the state.
SENSEX ENDS
ABOVE 59K, NIFTY
TOPS 17,600
PRESIDENT KOVIND
ARRIVES IN SHIMLA
ON FOUR-DAY VISIT
CORONA CATASTROPHE
GUJARAT
INDIA
30,570
new cases
431
new fatalities
22
new cases
00
new fatalities
Modi attacks Vista critics as he
opensDefenceMinistrycomplex
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi hit
out at the critics of the
Central Vista Project
while inaugurating the
Defence Offices Com-
plexes in New Delhi on
Thursday
.
The PM said those
who were attacking the
Central Vista Project
would conveniently re-
main silent as 7,000 em-
ployees of the Defence
ministry and the armed
forces shift to the two
new multi-storey office
complexes. The Defence
Offices Complexes are a
part of the Rs
20,000-crore Central
Vista Project.
“Today
, the country is
watching what we are
doing with the Central
Vista. These modern of-
fices will help those
connected with the
work of national secu-
rity in working effec-
tively,” Modi said, add-
ing that it was “a major
and significant step
towards the develop-
ment of a modern de-
fence enclave in the
capital.”
‘Asthana brought in
for better policing’
New Delhi: The Centre
Thursday defended IPS
officer Rakesh Astha-
na’s appointment as
Delhi Police Commis-
sioner, saying he has
been brought in to pro-
vide “effective policing”
on recent law and order
situations in the nation-
al capital. The govern-
ment also said it needs
to be given a leeway in
appointment of Delhi
Police Commissioner as
any “paediatric ap-
proach” would not be in
national interest.
The submission has
been made in a written
reply filed in response
to a PIL seeking quash-
ing of Asthana’s ap-
pointment, inter-cadre
deputation, and exten-
sion of service. The
court is expected to
hear the case next week.
New Gujarat Cabinet has no minister
who served in Rupani administration
Gandhinagar: The
BJP on Thursday in-
ducted 24 ministers, in-
cluding 21 who have be-
come ministers for the
first time, taking the
strength of the ministry
led by CM Bhupendra
Patel, a first-term MLA
and minister, to 25.
Political observers
say the BJP expects to
make an impact ahead
of the 2022 Gujarat As-
sembly polls with this
new-look ministry
.
Those sworn in at the
1.30 pm Raj Bhavan cer-
emony include former
Assembly Speaker Ra-
jendra Trivedi and for-
mer state BJP president
Jitu Vaghani. Governor
Acharya Devvrat ad-
ministered the oath to
10 cabinet ministers
and 14 ministers of
state, including five
ministers of state with
independent charge.
Centre outlines
‘bad bank’ plan
NARCL for NPA
New Delhi: The Union
Cabinet on Wednesday
cleared a proposal to
provide government
guarantee to security
receipts issued by the
National Asset Recon-
s t r u c t i o n
C o m p a n y
(NARCL) as
part of res-
olution of
bad loans,
sources said.
Indian Banks’ Asso-
ciation (IBA), entrusted
with the task of setting
up a bad bank, has
pegged the government
guarantee to be around
Rs 31,000 crore.
Head of Islamic State killed in Sahara: France
Paris: The leader of the
Islamic State in the
Greater Sahara died of
wounds from a drone
strike that hit him on a
motorcycle last month
in southern Mali, in a
French-led operation in-
volving backup from
US, EU, Malian and Ni-
gerien military forces,
French authorities said
on Thursday
.
The French govern-
ment did not disclose
how they identified him
as Adnan Abu Walid al-
Sahrawi, whose group
hasterrorisedtheregion.
France declared the
killing a major victory
against jihadists in Af-
rica and justification for
years of anti-extremist
efforts in the Sahel.
French government of-
ficials described al-Sah-
rawi as “enemy No. 1” in
the region and accused
him of ordering or over-
seeing attacks on
French aid workers.
V
irat Kohli To Step
Down As India’s
T20I Captain Af-
ter ICC T20 World Cup:
“Understanding Work-
load Important”Virat
Kohli announced on
Thursday that he will be
stepping down as India’s
T20I captain after the
completion of the upcom-
ing ICC T20 World Cup.
“I have been fortunate
enough to not only repre-
sent India but also lead
the Indian Cricket Team
to my utmost capability
.
I thank everyone who
has supported me in my
journey as the Captain
of the Indian Cricket
Team. I couldn’t have
done it without them - the
boys, the support staff,
the selection committee,
my coaches and each and
every Indian who prayed
for us to win.
PM Narendra Modi along with Union Minister for Defence Rajnath
Singh and Minister for Petroleum Natural Gas Hardeep Singh
Puri during the inauguration of the Defence Offices Complex, in
New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Delhi top cop Rakesh Asthana
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi
Cabinet ministers: Rajendra Trivedi, Jitu Vaghani, Rushikesh
Patel, Purnesh Modi, Raghavji Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Kiritsinh
Rana, Naresh Patel, Pradip Parmar and Arjunsinh Chauhan.
WITH MANY EMBASSIES CLOSED, BLACK
MARKET FOR VISAS THRIVING IN KABUL
Kabul: A number of travel agencies say that currently only
Pakistan visas can be obtained legally, but visas of a number
of other countries are being sold in the black market at high
prices, Tolo News reported. “The real price for a Tajikistan
visa is $60, but in the black market it is around $350 to $400.
The real price for Turkey’s visa is $120, but in the black mar-
ket it is selling for up to $5,000,” according to the director of
a travel agency in Kabul. Meanwhile, Taliban have barred fe-
male employees from entering the Ministry of Women Affairs
in Kabul, allowing only males into the building, an employee
of the ministry said. “Four women were not allowed to enter
the building”, Sputnik quoted the employee as saying.
“I have decided to step down as the
T20 captain after this T20 World
Cup in Dubai in October,” Kohli
wrote in statement that he shared
on his social media handles.
1 Kohli cited the “immense workload”
he has been managing for most of the
last decade, as an all-format player and
captain, as the reason for his decision
2 He also said that the decision was
taken after consulting people close
to him, head coach Ravi Shastri and
teammate Rohit Sharma
DECIDES TO STEP DOWN FROM
CAPTAINCY AFTER T20 WORLD CUP
CENTRE TO DELHI HIGH COURT
24 MINS SWORN IN
Hails Guj govt
for making
“radical changes”
in the law and
order situation
K KAMARAJ
INITIATED ‘NO
REPEAT’ POLICY
Cabinet ministers of
former CM Vijay Rupani
were unceremoniously
dropped from CM
Patel’s new council of
ministers under the
‘no repetition’ policy of
the BJP. With claims
that it was first time it
had been done, history
says otherwise. In fact,
this political spin was
first tried out in 1963
by then Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru, on
the suggestion of
Turn to P6

NEWS
04
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty’s ‘no repeat’ policy
for ministers has come
as a shock to incumbent
ministers in the former
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani‘s cabinet. It re-
mains to be seen wheth-
er the decision to over-
haul and induct new
ministers in CM Bhu-
pendra Patel’s cabinet
will yield favourable
results in the upcoming
2022 assembly elections
or not. However, sourc-
es from the party have
confirmed that a de-
tailed strategy was
planned to nullify their
influence among their
caste communities and
constituencies.
According to an in-
sider, the party’s big-
gest challenge was to
induct a Kadva Patidar,
who could balance out
the exit of former Dep-
uty Chief Minister Ni-
tin Patel, with strong
influence over the com-
munity in Mehsana and
North Gujarat. The
party had started pre-
paring for the situation
long ago. BJP state unit
president CR Patil in-
ducted Kadva Patidars
Rajni Patel from Be-
charaji (Mehsana) as
the general secretary
and former IAS officer
MS Patel as vice presi-
dent in the state unit.
Moreover, Visnagar
MLA Rushikesh Patel,
who has found a place
in the cabinet, has also
further strengthened
the ruling party’s re-
solve to neutralise Ni-
tin Patel’s influence in
the community
.
Another dilemma
faced by party leaders
was that of Thakor
leaders Dilip and Al-
pesh. The former is a
very senior leader from
North Gujarat, who was
dropped from the cabi-
net to include Kankrej
MLA Kirtisinh Vaghe-
la, who is a Pali Darbar,
which falls under Other
Backward Class (OBC)
category (same as Tha-
kors). Arjunsinh Chau-
han of Kheda was also
inducted into the cabi-
net to counterbalance
Congress’ Bharatsinh
Solanki and GPCC pres-
ident Amit Chavda’s
influence on the OBC
community in Central
Gujarat.
The political party
could not afford to ig-
nore the Koli commu-
nity, which makes up
24% of the total vote
bank. Therefore, keep-
ing with the ‘no repeat’
policy, Koli leaders Par-
shottam Solanki and
Kunvarji Bavaliya were
dropped. To counter
their influence, Olpad
MLA Mukesh Patel
from South Gujarat, RC
Makwana of Bhavna-
gar and Deva Malam of
Junagadh have been
chosen as ministers of
state in the cabinet.
Calculated move: BJP’s plan to induct ‘new’ ministers
STRATEGIC SHIFT
Leaders took into account Patidar,
Thakor and Koli community
votebanks to neutralize ‘influence’
of senior leaders
Junagadh MLA Deva Malam Kankrej MLA Kirtisinh Vaghela Bhavnagar MLA RC Makwana Visnagar MLA Rushikesh Patel
—PHOTOS
BY
HANIF
SINDHI
MEET YOUR MINISTERS
CM Bhupendra Patel: Home, General Administra-
tion Department, Information and Broadcast, Indus-
tries, Mines and Minerals, Capital Projects, Urban
Development, Urban Housing, Narmada and Ports
16 DISTRICTS NOT REPRESENTED IN
THE CABINET
EXCEPTIONS TO NO REPEAT
MINISTERS WHO ARE 1ST
-TIME MLAS
1) Dang
2) Tapi
3) Bharuch
4) Narmada
5) Chhota Udepur
6) Anand
7) Amreli
8) Botad
9) Porbandar
10) Kutch
11) Gir Somnath
12) Devbhoomi Dwarka
13) Aravalli
14) Dahod
15) Gandhinagar
16) Patan
Some of CM Patel's
ministers have prior
experience
Rajendra Trivedi - Minis-
ter of State for Sports
Cultural activities (2016-
2018), State Assembly
Speaker (2019-2021)
Raghavji Patel - Cabinet
Minister (1996-98)
Kiritsinh Rana - Minis-
ter, twice (1998-2002
2007-2012)
Purnesh Modi - Par-
liamentary Secretary
(2014-2016)
Bhupendra Patel Ghtalodia Chief Minister
Naresh Patel Gandevi Cabinet Minister
Pradip Parmar Asarwa Cabinet Minister
Arjunsinh Mehmadabad Cabinet Minister
Chauhan
Arvind Raiyani Rajkot East Minister of State
Kuberbhai Mansukhbhai Santrampur Minister of State
Dhindor
Gajendrasinh Pratinj Minister of State
Parmar
Kirtisinh Prabhat Kankrej Minister of State
sinh Vaghela
Raghavbhai Mahuva Minister of State
Makwana (Bhavnagar)
Vinodbhai Moradiya Katargam Minister of State
Devabhai Malam Keshod Minister of State
CABINET
MINISTERS
MINISTERS OF STATE
1. Kanubhai Patel:
Finance, Energy and
Petrochemicals
2. Rajendra
Trivedi: Revenue,
Law and Justice,
and Legislative
and Parliamentary
Affairs
3. Jitubhai Va-
ghani: Education
4. Rishikesh Patel:
Health and Family
Welfare, Medical
Education, Water
Resources and
Water Supply
5. Purnesh Modi:
Roads and Building,
Transport, Civil
Aviation, Tourism
and Pilgrimage
Development
6. Raghavji Patel:
Agriculture and
Animal Husbandry
7. Kiritsinh Rana:
Forest, Environ-
ment, Climate
Change, Printing
and Stationery
8. Naresh Patel:
Tribal Development,
Food and Civil
Supply
9. Pradip Parmar:
Social Justice and
Empowerment
10. Arjunsinh
Chauhan: Rural
Development and
Rural Housing
1. Harsh Sanghavi: Home,
Disaster Management, Police
Housing, MoS of Sports,
Youth and Cultural Activities,
NRI, Excise and Prohibition,
Border Security and Prisons
2. Jagdish Panchal: Cottage
Industries, Cooperation, Salt
Industry, Protocol, Industries,
Forest and Environment,
Climate Change, Printing
and Stationery
3. Brijesh Merja: Labour and
Employment, Panchayats,
Rural Development and
Rural Housing
4. Jitu Chaudhary: Kalpsar,
Fisheries, Narmada, Water
Resources and Water Supply
5. Manisha Vakil: Women
and Child Development,
Social Justice and
Empowerment
6. Mukesh Patel: Agriculture,
Energy and Petrochemicals
7. Nimisha Suthar: Tribal De-
velopment, Health and Family
Welfare, Medical Education
8. Arvind Raiyani: Transport,
Civil Aviation, Tourism and
Pilgrimage Development
9. Kuber Dindor: Higher and
Technical Education, Legisla-
tive and Parliamentary Affairs
10. Kirtisinh Vaghela: Pri-
mary, Secondary and
Adult Education
11. Gajendrasinh Parmar:
Food and Civil Supply
12. RC Makwana: Social
Justice and Empowerment
13. Vinod Moradia: Urban
Development and Urban
Housing
14. Deva Malam:
Animal Husbandry
Other former
ministers fall in line,
ask protesting
supporters to respect
'no-repeat' formula
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The an-
ticipated tension among
former ministers in Gu-
jarat has fizzled out in a
matter of 36 hours, leav-
ingtheBharatiyaJanata
Party line, and its image,
intact.
Even former deputy
chief minister Nitin Pa-
tel said that he was “not
unhappy” about the par-
ty’s decision to drop ex-
CMVijayRupani’sentire
cabinet.Theremusthave
beensomelogicandlong-
term planning behind
the move, he said.
Healsosaidthat,asthe
MLA from Mehsana, he
will contest the 2022 As-
sembly polls from there.
Headdedthathewillcon-
tinuetoruletheheartsof
followersandvoterseven
withoutholdinganypost
in public life.
Similarly
,Kolicommu-
nity leader and former
water supplies minister
Kunvarji Bavaliya ap-
pealedtohisworkersand
followers to withdraw
theirbandhcall,issuedin
Vinchiya after he was
droppedfromthecabinet,
and respect the party’s
decision. Former tour-
ism minister Jawahar
Chavda,toldhisfollowers
that he agreed with the
no-repeat rule, and asked
them to abide by it.
The followers of ex-
minister Dilip Thakor
blocked Chanasma road
to protest his exclusion
fromthenewcabinetbut
were later mollified.
Surprising, Leuva Patel
leader Jayesh Radadiya
and his followers re-
mained completely si-
lent on the issue.
“It was a unanimous
decision, discussed with
all and taken with larger
interest to create a new
leadership team. New
faces will deliver good
governance to the peo-
ple’s aspirations,” said
BhupenderYadav,Union
Minister and Gujarat in-
charge for the BJP
.
First India Bureau
Vadodara/Rajkot/Su-
rat:Inductionof various
MLAs into Chief Minis-
ter Bhupendra Patel’s
cabinet was celebrated
byBharatiyaJanataPar-
ty (BJP) workers across
the state on Thursday
.
Distribution of sweets,
bursting fire-crackers,
and dancing to the beats
of dholswereseenatBJP
offices in Vadodara, Ra-
jkot and Surat.
On inclusion of for-
mer Gujarat Vidhan
Sabha speaker Rajen-
dra Trivedi and MLA
Manisha Vakil into the
state cabinet, Dr Vijay
Shah, BJP president,
Vadodara said, “Two
MLAs from Vadodara
have been included in
the newly appointed
Chief Minister Bhupen-
dra Patel’s cabinet. We
welcome this decision
and congratulate the
CM and the team.”
The inclusion of
young and educated
ministers will benefit
the party in upcoming
2022 state assembly
elections, he added.
Supporters, party
leaders and members
gathered in large num-
bers after the names of
both leaders were an-
nounced. Office-bearers
including Vadodara
Deputy Mayor Nanda-
ben Joshi, Vadodara
Municipal Corporation
(VMC) councillors Jhe-
lumben Choksi,
Shwetaben Utekar were
also present for celebra-
tions.
Meanwhile, in Ra-
jkot, family members of
the newly appointed
minister from Rajkot
Arvind Raiyani were
ecstatic on receiving
the news. His cousin Pi-
yush Raiyani told First
India, “Our family is
very happy to see ‘sa-
heb’ become a minister.
This is his first tenure
as MLA from Rajkot
and now as a minister.
The entire city of Ra-
jkot is proud of his
achievement. It is all
because of our kar-
yakartas (workers) and
support of the public.”
Party workers and
office-bearers in dia-
mond city Surat cele-
brated induction of
four MLAs from the city
into the CM’s cabinet.
Majura Gate MLA
Harsh Sanghavi, Katar-
gam MLA Vinod Mo-
radiya, MLA Purnesh
Modi and Olpad MLA
Mukesh Patel have been
granted the opportuni-
ty to serve in the coun-
cil of ministers.
As soon as news of
the appointments
broke, people began
flocking to Sanghavi’s
residence to mark the
occasion. Family mem-
bers and friends gath-
ered to distribute
sweets and pastries
among well-wishers. A
similar view was wit-
nessed at MLA Moradi-
ya’s home.
On her son’s selec-
tion, Devi Sanghavi,
mother of Harsh Sang-
havi said, “He had al-
ways been in pursuit of
finding a way to help
people. We always knew
that he would not rest
until he did that. He has
always been very help-
ful to everyone.”
His wife, Prachi ech-
oed a similar sentiment.
“We are overwhelmed
by the news of this huge
opportunity to serve
people. It is a moment
of pride for us,” she ex-
claimed.
Nitin Patel announces he will
contest from Mehsana in 2022
Former Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel
PARTY WORKERS,
SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE
CABINET INDUCTION
SWEETS DISTRIBUTED, CRACKERS BURST AT RESIDENCES
OF MLAS FROM VADODARA, RAJKOT SURAT
Family members of Majure Gate MLA Harsh Sanghavi celebrate his inclusion with a cake.
Party workers bursting crackers in Vadodara.
BJP Vadodara president Dr Vijay Shah feeding sweets to workers.

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GUJARAT
05
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A mega
COVID-19 vaccination
drive will be held in
Gujarat on Friday
with an aim to cover
more than 35 lakh eli-
gible people in a single
day
, a senior health of-
ficial said on Thurs-
day
.
Those who are yet to
receivetheirfirstdoseof
vaccine and also those
whoareduefortheirsec-
ond dose will be covered
under the special drive,
Additional Chief Secre-
tary (Health) Manoj Ag-
garwal told reporters in
Gandhinagar.
“The aim is to cover
morethan35lakhbenefi-
ciaries and ensure 100%
vaccinationinthestate’s
7,500 villages,” he said.
Preparations for the
mega drive, especially to
cover the rural popula-
tion, have been complet-
ed and a review meeting
with all district collec-
tors and municipal com-
missioners was held via
video-conferencing to
make it a success, he
said.
A total of 5.33 crore
doseswereadministered
in Gujarat till Wednes-
day
, with 8,34,787 doses
administeredper10lakh
population, taking Guja-
rattotheforefrontof the
vaccination drive that
was launched on Janu-
ary 16 this year, he said.
“Gujarat leads among
thecountry’slargestates
in terms of COVID-19
vaccination. Hundred
percentpeopleabovethe
age of 18 have received
their first dose of vac-
cine across the state’s
5,906 villages, 104 prima-
ry health centres, 14 ur-
ban health centres and
17 talukas,” he claimed.
The official also said
that over 100 ‘Deendayal
Aushadhalaya’ (dispen-
saries) will become op-
erational in the state
from Friday on a pilot
basis, with the objective
of providing health care
to the state’s working-
class and poor families.
MEGA VACCINATION DRIVE IN GUJARAT TODAY
THIRD-WAVE PREP
Aim is to cover 35L beneficiaries
and ensure 100% inoculation
across 7.5K villages
EXTRA HANDS NEEDED TO AID
JAMNAGAR, NOT MATERIALS
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Jamnagar: The rain
may have ended
three days ago, but
Jamnagar is still
reeling from its ef-
fects. Garbage
washed up by the
floodwaters now
competes with soggy
household items dis-
carded from inundat-
ed homes along the
streets, literally
raising a stink, and
people are struggling
to clean up the mess.
“We need people who
can help us in cleaning
the mess. Our areas
are piled up with dis-
carded household
items and clothes
which have been dam-
aged by the rain. No
one has come to clear
the mess and the roads
are stinking,” one per-
son told this reporter,
asking not to be named.
A homemaker in Na-
tional Park, who iden-
tified herself as F Pa-
tel, said, “We are lucky
to receive food from
our community kitch-
en, but no one has
come here asking if we
need any help. No gov-
ernment authority has
made any effort to as-
sess the real situation.
Discarded wet items
from every house is ly-
ing on the street and
stinking.”
Deputy municipal
commissioner AK
Vasani told First India,
“Water entered around
10,000 houses in six
wards of the city and
left them half-sub-
merged. But the situa-
tion is under control,
including cleanliness.
We do not require any-
thing.”
However, residents
of areas including Bal-
nath society, Everest,
Tar Mohammad, Na-
tional, Galaxy, Golden
and Burhani Park out-
side Kalavad Naka
have been depending
on Good Samaritans
for basics.
Volunteers have
been providing people
with cooked food twice
a day. Similarly, many
businesses have come
forward to help with
cleaning. Relief teams
have also been taking
packets of milk and
fresh chappatis pre-
pared by women of Ra-
jkot’s Zakavi and Qutbi
areas to parts of Jam-
nagar.
Yusuf Modi, one of
the volunteers from
Jamnagar, said, “Our
community kitchen is
sending more than
2,000 tiffins containing
lunch and dinner to
the affected families.
We do not need food or
clothing but extra
hands, JCBs and trac-
tors to clear the mess.
Electricians, plumb-
ers, and mechanics are
also needed on priority
if life is to return to
normal any time soon.
14 developers show
interest in MMTH project
First India Bureau
Surat: In line with a
plan to redevelop Su-
rat and Udhana sta-
tions at a cost of
Rs1,285 crore in four
years, the Indian Rail-
way Station Develop-
ment Corporation met
with 14 developers in
a pre-bid meeting on
Wednesday
.
Adani Group, Kalpa-
taru Group, Cube Con-
structions, JKB Infra,
GMR, MBL Infra, Mon-
te Carlo, GR Infra,
Thornt Infra, PSP Pro-
jects, Virtual Retail
South Asia, Coin Asso-
ciates, Aegis India and
Adroit Financial have
expressed interest in
the Surat Multi-Modal
Transport Hub
(MMTH) project,
which will also cover
Udhana station, offi-
cials said.
Railways MD SK Lo-
hia said that both the
stations would be made
like international air-
ports, and would pro-
vide state-of-the-art
facilities to passen-
gers. Along with better
connectivity in sta-
tions, multi-modal
transport integration,
retail, real estate, em-
ployment opportuni-
ties will also be creat-
ed, which will also
usher in socio-econom-
ic transformation, of-
ficials said.
HC constitutes JTF to look
into pollution in Sabarmati
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
High Court on Thurs-
day constituted a
Joint Task Force
(JTF) to investigate
pollutants being dis-
charged in the Sabar-
mati river. The eight-
member JTF will be
headed by the Central
Pollution Control
Board’s Regional Di-
rector Prasoon Gar-
gava, and include en-
vironmentalists, as
well as officials from
the Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation
and the Gujarat pol-
lution control board.
Further, expressing
annoyance at the Gan-
dhidham Nagarpalika
for failing to abide by
its order, the High
Court has directed the
state to supersede the
elected body and ter-
minate the service of
the Chief Officer. The
Court had directed na-
garpalika to clear gar-
bage from around the
Gandhidham airport.
It noted that issue is
connected with airport
security and cannot be
taken lightly.
The division bench
comprising Justice JB
Pardiwala and Justice
VD Nanavati had initi-
ated suo motu proceed-
ings based on newspa-
per reports that un-
treated hazardous
waste was being dis-
charged into the river.
Naming Miroli Piyat
Sahakari Mandli Ltd as
one of the respondents
in the present litiga-
tion, the court directed
has asked it to file a re-
ply by September 23.
The High Court of Gujarat. —FILE PHOTO
149
05 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD,SURAT
ACTIVE CASES
8,15,446
TOTAL RECOVERED
23
RECOVERED
IN A DAY
10,082
TOTAL DEATHS
00 DEATHS
IN A DAY
8,25,677
TOTAL CASES
22 CASES
IN A DAY
COVID-19 UPDATE
A vaccination drive was held at St Paul’s Church at Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati area.
An artist’s impression.
NOTES OF ENCOURAGEMENT
The BSF band performs to encourage BSF cyclists on their way to Raj Ghat in New Delhi
as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotasav marking India’s 75th year of Independence at the
Sabarmati River Front in Ahmedabad on Thursday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
City admin says all is under control but ground reality speaks volumes to the contrary
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Even as
all stakeholders con-
tinue to work to-
wards rehabilitating
Jamnagar on a war
footing, locals say
that this week’s rain
has caused the worst
flooding in living
memory.
“Not only roads and
electric poles, but even
check dams have been
washed away. However,
farms are the worst hit.
It has been three days
since the heavy down-
pour ended, but it is
still difficult to differen-
tiate farm from river.
It’s certain that the
crops will die, but we
cannot know the exact
extent of the damage
until the waters re-
cede,” Ravi Buddhadev,
a local reporter, told
First India.
He said that Kalavad
and Jamnagar are
among the worst-hit.
“Village roads and high-
wayshavebeendecimat-
ed. Everywhere I go,
people need everything.
Even in areas where the
waters have begun to re-
cede, families need ra-
tions.Itwilltakemonths
forthingstonormalise,”
he added.
Flood-affected villag-
ers are not waiting
around for the authori-
ties to get things back
on track.
Hasmukh Yadav, a
resident of Alia village,
said that villagers have
already restored a
bridge over the nearby
river, which had col-
lapsed in the rain.
“We fixed the bridge
without waiting for
any help. We didn’t
have drinking water, so
residents of nearby vil-
lages sent us supplies.
These were the worst
rains in at least 60
years. No one in the
area remembers any-
thing like it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Jam-
nagar municipal corpo-
ration has deployed
about 1,200 sanitation
workers, in 64 teams, to
clean up the city
.
Worst rain in 60
years, locals say
The precise extent of damage
is yet to be ascertained.
Even as water recedes, the city and its neighbouring areas are still a mess, and need cleaning up.
—PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI
—FILE
PHOTO

INDIA
06
AFTERSCRAP,CENTRE NOTIFIESON
RULESFORTRIBUNALSAPPOINTMENTS
The tribunal hearings are on the basis of a petition filed by Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment on Thursday
issued a notification re-
garding rules for ap-
pointments to 12 tribu-
nals, or quasi-judicial
bodies, in various
fields, including the In-
come Tax Appellate Tri-
bunal.
This comes a day af-
ter an irritated Su-
preme Court repri-
manded the govern-
ment for its delay in
filling posts in tribu-
nals; a bench led by
Chief Justice NV Ra-
mana told Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta
“return with appoint-
ment letters (in two
weeks)... or (if appoint-
ments are not made)
cite the reason”.
“We are a democratic
country... follow the
rule of law,” the Chief
Justice reminded the
government. In a
charged hearing the
court singled out de-
layed appointments to
the NCLT, or National
Company Law Tribu-
nal, and criticised the
government for “cherry
picking” from a short-
list of 22 names.
The Chief Justice,
part of the selection
committee, said 544 peo-
ple had been inter-
viewed for the shortlist,
but “... only some were
appointed... rest went to
(a) wait list,” he ob-
served. The Solicitor
General’s replied that
“the government is en-
titled to not follow cer-
tain recommendations”
to which Justice L Nag-
eswara Rao, part of the
three-judge bench, shot
back that “What (then)
is the sanctity of the se-
lection committee
(headed by top court
judges)?” it did not go
down well.
MP Jairam Ramesh, asking that provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act of 2021, which revives an
ordinance struck down by the Supreme Court shall be declared unconstitutional.
May rob media’s freedom:
2nd HC setback on IT rules
BJP eyes record of
1.5 cr vax doses on
PM Modi’s B’day
Rawat meets Sonia, urges
to settle Punjab issue
Pan-India raids to nab
terror module mastermind
RaGa meets family of late senior
party leader Oscar Fernandes
New Delhi: Key sec-
tions of the country’s
new Information Tech-
nology rules that seek
to regulate digital me-
dia outlets were put on
hold on Thursday by
the Madras High Court,
which became the sec-
ond court to do so after
the Bombay High Court
last month.
“Prima facie there is
substance that the over-
sight mechanism to
control the media by
the government may
rob the media of its in-
dependence and the
fourth pillar of the de-
mocracy may not be
there at all,” the Ma-
dras High Court said.
“By way of abundant
caution, sub-rules 1
and 3 of Rule 9 of the
said Rules of 2021 will
remain stayed,” it add-
ed. Put on hold by the
Bombay High Court on
August 16, Clauses 1
and 3 of Rule 9 require
digital media outlets to
follow the code of con-
duct laid down by the
Press Council of India
and the country’s cable
TV code.
New Delhi: BJP is as-
piring to help create a
record by helping
achieve the nation max-
imum number of COV-
ID-19 vaccine inocula-
tions today on the birth-
day of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, party
sources said.
To achieve this mile-
stone, BJP is prepared
up its health volunteers
to ensure that the maxi-
mum people get their
COVID-19 vaccines on
the day, BJP sources
stated.India has admin-
istered more than one
crore COVID-19 vac-
cines in a day on earlier
occasions. The target
that BJP is aspiring is
to get more than 1.5
crore vaccines adminis-
tered on the day, the
BJP leader informed.
Senior leaders in the
Bhartiya Janta Party
said that the party will
try to see that the day
will be recorded in the
nation’s history
. —ANI
New Delhi: PunjabCon-
gress in-charge Harish
Rawat has met Sonia
Gandhi and Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra, and
sources said he has been
askedtosettletheraging
tussle within the party
as MLAs have once
again started raising
voices and seeking the
Legislative party meet.
Rawat met the two top
leaders here on Wednes-
day. He is also said to
have spoken to the top
Congress leaders in
Punjab. The MLAs have
demanded that two neu-
tral observers be sent
from Delhi so that they
can narrate their griev-
ances. The prime mov-
ers this time are Pargat
Singh and Tript Singh
Bajwa, both are close to
the state President Nav-
jot Singh Sidhu.
New Delhi: Pan-India
raids are being carried
out by anti-terror units
of the states and Delhi
Special Cell sleuths on
Thursday to nab sus-
pected mastermind of
the terror module Hu-
maid.
It is alleged that Hu-
maid, a relative of ar-
rested accused Osama,
who is a resident of
Delhi’s Jamia Nagar,
was coordinating the
entire terror network in
India.The police are
also looking for Osa-
ma’s father Humaid-ur-
Rehman. His wherea-
bouts are unknown.
“Last known location
of Humaid was in Uttar
Pradesh. We are in
touch with Uttar
Pradesh anti-terror
squad and raids are be-
ing carried out at vari-
ous places,” said a top
Indian Police Services
officer privy to the
probe. —ANI
Bengaluru: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday met family
members of late senior
party leader Oscar Fer-
nandes in Bengaluru.
State Congress presi-
dent DK Shivakumar
was also present. Gan-
dhi reached Bengaluru
to attend the last rites of
senior party Oscar Fer-
nandezwhopassedaway
on September 13.
The programme is
scheduled to begin by
paying respect to Fer-
nandez at Karnataka
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee office and later
Gandhi will also partici-
pate in cremetion. —ANI
PM Narendra Modi
Harish Rawat Sonia Gandhi
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: Secretary-
level vacancies in the
Union Government will
tot up to 20 by this end-
month if one adds the
number of secretaries
to retire by then to the
existing number of 13.
If no appointment is
effected between now
and end-month, it will
be described as an ‘un-
precedented situation’,
even from the standard
of the NDA administra-
tion whose considered
decision to keep critical
posts vacant has ac-
quired disturbing pro-
portions.
In the meanwhile it is
heard that the Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi may convene a
marathon meeting with
Union secretaries on
Saturday. If true, it
would assume more sig-
nificance in the back-
drop of large number
of vacancies.
It may be underlined
that in matters of tribu-
nal and HC vacancies, it
has earned the displeas-
ure of the Supreme
Court. But who will call
it to courts in keeping
secretarial appoint-
ments hanging no mat-
ter how it affects gov-
ernance? No one. Since
there is no substitute for
good governance, the
NDA administration
willfavornonebutitself
in urgently filling the
pending vacancies. Of
course, it is their choice
to help themselves.
It is believed among
officials, and one can’t
butexpecttheirbelief to
be justified sooner than
later, that the govern-
ment is probably work-
ing up to issue a whole-
sale list to fill all the 20
vacancies at one shot.
Currently, to cope
with 13 vacancies, 11
union secretaries are
given dual charges and
one among them is han-
dling triple responsi-
bilities.
WILL SECRETARIAL VACANCIES BE FILLED IN ONE SHOT?
NEW AVENUES?
Union Government will tot up to 20 by the end of this month.
With seven union secretaries retiring
this month, tally may touch 20 mark
SPECIAL POOJA
IN VARANASI
ED raids seize `3.88 crore
fromforeignexchangefirms
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
on Thursday said it
seized over Rs 4 crore
worth of Indian and for-
eign currency and bul-
lion in recent multi-city
raids against Hawala
operators based in
north India.
The searches were
carried out under pro-
visions of the Foreign
Exchange Management
Act against directors
and associates of Paul
Merchants Ltd, Quick
Forex Ltd, Supama Fo-
rex Pvt Ltd and Curo
India Pvt Ltd in Chandi-
garh, Panchkula, Mo-
hali, Jalandhar and
Delhi, the agency said
in a statement.
These “entities sent
outward remittances of
over Rs 475 crore to Sin-
gapore, Hong Kong and
the UAE on behalf of
shell or dummy entities
like Triple Streak
Dream Holidays, Wang-
ester Travels Pvt Ltd,
Peripatizo Travels Pvt
Ltd, Himalaya Tourism,
Ezax Holidays, and
Great Journey Tours
etc”, said official. —ANI
ED RAIDS AT
MANDER'S
HOME, OFFICES
New Delhi: The ED
on Thursday searched
the residence and
offices linked to hu-
man rights activist
and retired IAS Harsh
Mander as part of a
money-laundering
probe, a report
said. As per official
sources at least three
premises located in
Vasant Kunj, Adchini,
and Mehrauli are
being searched. The
raid by the ED came
shortly after Mander
and his wife left for
Germany, sources
reported. —PTI
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will hold bilat-
eral meetings with
Quad leaders in-
cluding US Presi-
dent Joe Biden and
other foreign lead-
ers during his US
visit later this
month besides at-
tending the first-in
person meeting of
Quadrilateral Secu-
rity Dialogue, the
Ministry of Exter-
nal Affairs (MEA)
said on Thursday.
Prime Minister
Modi is visiting the
US next week.
“Prime Minister
(Modi) will partici-
pate in the first in-
person Quad lead-
ers’ summit in
Washington on Sep-
tember 24. On Sep-
tember 25, he will
address the general
debate of the UN
General Assembly
at its 76th session.
While the PM is in
Washington, he will
also have a bilateral
meeting with Presi-
dent Biden,” Minis-
try of External Af-
fairs (MEA) spokes-
person Arindam
Bagchi said during
a press briefing.
—ANI
PM Modi to
hold bilateral
talks with
Biden: MEA
Rahul Gandhi at residence of late Oscar Fernandes. —PHOTO BY UNI
FORMER NCLAT CHAIRPERSON ALLOWED
IN OFFICE TILL SEPT 20: CENTRE TO SC
New Delhi: The Central government told the Su-
preme Court on Thursday that it has decided to allow
Justice (Retd.) AIS Cheema, former acting Chairper-
son of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT), to continue in office till September 20 and
the current chairperson M Venugopal will be asked
to go on leave until then. AG KK Venu appearing for
Centre told SC that the govt has decided that Justice
Cheema to continue in the office till Sept 20. —ANI
CRUCIAL READ
SC ALLOWS IMMERSION OF GANESH IDOLS
IN HUSSAIN SAGAR LAKE FOR LAST TIME
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed
the Telangana government to permit the immersion
of Ganesh idols made of
Plaster of Paris (PoP) in
Hussain Sagar Lake in
Hyderabad, only this year.
A Bench headed by Chief
Justice of India NV Ramana
said, “As a last chance we
allow the state to use this lake for immersing the idols.”
Telangana government told the Bench that Ganesh idols
will be lifted immediately from the lake through cranes
and it will only be a symbolic immersion. —ANI
K Kamaraj...
Tamil Nadu stalwart Ku-
marswami Kamaraj. All
senior ministers were
asked to resign and take
up party work. Six chief
ministers and Centre
ministers like Lal Baha-
dur Shastri, Morarji De-
sai and Jagjivan Ram
had resigned then.
BJP wooing
Despite BJP state unit
president CR Patil hav-
ing a free hand in forma-
tion of Chief Minister
Bhupendra Patel’s new
cabinet, insiders feel Ut-
tar Pradesh Governor
AnandibenPatelandUn-
ion Home and Coopera-
tion Minister Amit Shah
played an important role
in selection of MLAs.
The biggest shocker was
Surat (West) MLA
Purnesh Modi inclusion
in the cabinet. Sources
saythatModiwasinduct-
ed against Patil’s wishes,
as both are arch rivals.
The news was even kept
under wraps from party
MLAs as well as the me-
dia till the last minute,
even though his name
was finalized two days
ago. Olpad MLA Mukesh
Patel and Gandevi MLA
Naresh Patel are being
considered the picks of
Anandiben Patel. Ac-
cording to chatter, it was
believed that Majura
Gate MLA Harsh Sang-
havi was a close confi-
dant of Patil, but sources
from Surat have suggest-
ed that he is also in con-
tact with UHM Amit
Shah. Seven MLAs from
South Gujarat, five
from Central Gujarat,
six from North Gujarat
including Chief Minis-
ter Patel, and seven
from Saurashtra have
been inducted into the
state cabinet. The rul-
ing party has done its
due diligence for all
sub-caste equations too.
For instance, of the sev-
en Patidar ministers,
three are Kadva
Patidars and four are
Leuva Patidars. Balanc-
ing the OBC equation,
one minister is from
North Gujarat and
three Koli Patels from
Central Gujarat. The
southern and central
were given precedence
for tribal community
ministers. Beforeconfir-
mation of MLAs into the
cabinet, CM Patel, Patil,
Union Minister and Gu-
jarat incharge Bhupend-
erYadavwereinaclosed-
door meeting at the
Ahmedabad Circuit
House on Thursday to fi-
nalise the list.
FROM PG 1

TALKING POINT
07
EDUCATION
EDUCATION
IN AFGHANISTAN
IN AFGHANISTAN
I
n the two decades that fol-
lowed the fall of the Tali-
ban regime in 2001, signifi-
cant progress was made in edu-
cation in Afghanistan. By 2017,
the number of schools had
more than quintupled. School
enrolment, from grades one to
twelve, had reached 9.2 million
pupils, 39% of whom were
girls. This represented almost
a tenfold rise in enrolment, up
from just under one million
children (almost none of whom
were girls) in 2001.
The recent return of the Tal-
iban has therefore raised seri-
ous concerns about the future
of education – girls in particu-
lar. But to understand the pros-
pects, you first have to under-
stand what has come before.
In 2016, we conducted a
small-scale study to examine
how violent campaigns carried
out by the Islamic State (IS)
had affected education in Af-
ghanistan. The defeat of IS in
Syria and Iraq had pushed Is-
lamist fighters to seek sanctu-
ary in poorly governed regions
of Afghanistan.
We interviewed dozens of
educators, politicians and
teachers in Kabul and Jalal-
abad, the provincial centre of
Nangarhar province, which is
to the east of the capital. We
wanted to understand how
these complex security dynam-
ics were affecting education.
We found that Afghanistan’s
schools were caught between
deteriorating security condi-
tions, weak governance and
systemic corruption. Rebel
groups, including IS and the
Taliban, were capturing
schools and educational spaces
to extort resources and radi-
calise young people. This was
happening throughout the vast
rural areas that remained
largely under the control of
the Taliban, at the same time
as the US-supported govern-
ment was in power in Kabul.
These rebel groups were in-
doctrinating students into hat-
ing both the west and the Af-
ghan government institutions
on the grounds that they pro-
moted western values by re-
pressing Islam and Afghan
cultural identity. They also en-
couraged young people to car-
ry out attacks on the US-led
coalition forces.
EDUCATION CAN
FUEL CONFLICT
National governments and in-
ternational communities sup-
porting education in conflict-
affected contexts generally
view it as a vehicle for peace
and sustainable prosperity.
Education is indeed a means
of empowering learners. It cre-
ates new visions and employ-
ment opportunities to help
students secure a stable liveli-
hood.
This, however, is a slow pro-
cess. And education systems
are rarely neutral. For educa-
tion to lead to social change,
long-term political commit-
ment is crucial.
Without ensuring equity in
access and outcomes, along
with conflict-sensitive plan-
ning and delivery, increased
access to schools alone cannot
promote peace and social jus-
tice. On the contrary, as re-
search has shown, education
can be used to create and fuel
conditions of violent conflict.
It does so by hardening so-
cioeconomic inequalities, and
promoting values and ideas
that are perceived to be repres-
sive and a threat to local eth-
nic, religious and cultural
groups. Imported models of
education are seen to be im-
posed on these groups.
Several factors play into the
ways in which education can
fuel conflict. These include un-
equal access to education; bi-
ased history being promoted
for political purposes; text-
books being manipulated; and
hatred against certain groups
being encouraged. All of these
issues have contributed to Af-
ghanistan’s educational devel-
opment.
THE URBAN-RURAL
DIVIDE
While school enrolment – and
university attendance - has in-
creased in Afghanistan over
the last two decades, educa-
tional progress has largely
been concentrated in urban
areas. This meant that even as
urban populations were able to
use education as a ticket out,
rural communities were left
open to attacks from the Tali-
ban and IS.
Despite the developments in
education, few inroads were
made into mending divisions
between the Pashtun-dominat-
ed Taliban and different minor-
ity ethnic communities such as
Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks,
who have long faced persecu-
tion. Education could have
been a significant tool for na-
tional reconciliation through
recognition of ethnic, religious
and linguistic diversity
.
For the duration of the west-
ern military presence in Af-
ghanistan, the Kabul govern-
ment clashed with conserva-
tive forces, criminal groups
and local warlords, including
the Taliban, over control of the
education system, resources
and the curriculum to girls’
education.
Key education appointments
were repeatedly made not on
the basis of merit, but to con-
solidate power and influence
in the provinces. There have
been reports of widespread
corruption across the school
sector. Consequently, large
amounts of education funding
served the personal interests
of the political elites rather
than benefiting most deprived
Afghan communities.
The Taliban’s return to
power and the departure of
western forces has put an end
to the radical political dis-
course that has served these
militant groups for 20 years,
in the sense that the Taliban
have justified their struggle
as resistance to western occu-
pation.
Nevertheless, the three prob-
lems we identified in our re-
search – insecurity, corruption
and weak governance – will
continue to be major barriers
for Afghan children in access-
ing education. Even though
the Taliban have expressed a
commitment to education for
girls and to employment rights
for women, it remains to be
seen whether their ideology
has really changed. Only time
will tell whether education
policies and content in the new
Taliban era will promote eth-
nic and religious tolerance,
cultural diversity and global
citizenship.
The safety of learners and
their schools will also depend
on how the Taliban govern the
country and the new conflict
dynamics, involving ethnic
groups and ISIS-K, an extrem-
ist group that refutes the Tali-
ban’s supposedly moderate
political ideology.
TEJENDRA PHERALI
Associate Professor in Education
and International Development, UCL
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
Itwasa
battlefield
longbefore
theTaliban
returnedto
powerinthe
war-torn
country
Children make their way to school from their village in
the hills of Bamyan province to the west of Kabul.
—MAJORITY WORLD CIC /ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Educational opportunities for students in Kabul, pictured here, were far
greater than in rural areas. —TON KOENE /ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
With the return of the Taliban to power, the future of
girls’ education in Afghanistan hangs in the balance.
—TON KOENE /ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

I have observed that if we merely
criticize our learning stops,
appreciation results in new learnings
and open-mindedness- so choose wisely.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
UNPREDICTABLE SHOWERS: 100 HOURS
OF RAIN BRINGS DOWN DEFICIT TO 4%
Rainfall deficit reduced drastically across Gujarat and the country since September 13
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: India ex-
perienced unpredicta-
ble showers starting
September 13, when
usually the monsoon is
known to be retreating.
In 100 hours alone, cu-
mulative monsoon
rainfall progressed
from a deficit of 7 per
cent to 4 per cent on
September 15.
In these three days,
rain deficit in several
districts in Gujarat and
Odisha reduced 40%.
Until September 6, Gu-
jarat was deficit in sea-
sonal rainfall by 50%
but by September 13, it
experienced 14.5% of its
seasonal rainfall.
The entire country on
September 15 was 4%
deficit in rainfall. On
September 13, monsoon
rain was deficit by 7%.
So, nearly 50 per cent of
the gap was bridged in
just three days.
The India Meteoro-
logical Department is-
sued a forecast on Sep-
tember 16 warning of
heavy rainfall in Odis-
ha and Gangetic West
Bengal from Septem-
ber 18-20.
West Bengal, on Sep-
tember 15, received 700
per cent above normal
rainfall. Monsoon
shows little signs of re-
treating in Gujarat and
Odisha. On September
14, Saurashtra and
Kutch subdivision re-
ported 1,538 per cent
above normal rainfall;
the regions continued
to report over 700 per
cent above normal rain-
fall September 15.
Large excess rainfall
came down from 48%
of India’s total geo-
graphic area on Sep-
tember 14 to 29% Sep-
tember 15; rainfall defi-
ciency increased from
19 to 39 per cent — all in
a day’s time.
The country received
63% more than normal
rainfall compared Sep-
tember 14’s 129 per cent,
according to data by In-
dian Meteorological De-
partment.
Overthelastcoupleof
years, retreating mon-
soon has caused flood-
like situations in south-
ern states like Kerala,
Tamil Nadu and Karna-
taka due to climate
change. The September
fluctuations — which
Down to Earth is track-
ing — currently being
experienced by north-
ern states may be attrib-
uted to climate change.
DUCKLINGS DIE IN ODISHA
Hoarding war breaks out
between BJP and AAP
First India Bureau
Vadodara:Thehoard-
ing war between the
ty and Aam Aadmi
Party in Vadodara city
is intensifying. On
Thursday a controver-
sy arose over removal
of BJP hoarding by
Aam Aadmi Party
workers at Khanderao
Market Road near the
corporation gate. It
was a response to Aam
Aadmi Party hoard-
ings being taken down
from Gorwa area by
the corporation on the
previous day
.
Aam Aadmi Party
leader and former cor-
porator, Virendra
Rami,statedthat“
AAP
workers were pro-
voked because the
hoardings put up for
Ganeshotsav near the
Dashama temple in
Gorwa were taken
down by the corpora-
tion on Wednesday
.”
Aam Aadmi Party
workers arrived at
Khanderao Market on
Thursday and demon-
strated their dissatis-
faction. They took
down the hoarding of
ty, greeting the new
Chief Minister,atMar-
ket Char Rasta and
placed it near the cor-
poration gate at Khan-
derao Market.
Theyquestionedthe
municipal commis-
sioner regarding re-
moval of AAP hoard-
ings in the city and
requested to remove
all hoardings of other
parties put up at vari-
ous places in the city
.
Virendra Rami also
alleged that Aam Aad-
mi Party hoardings
were taken down at
the behest of BJP. “If
no action is taken in
this matter the party
will not hesitate for
fierce agitation” he
added.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: In an
emerging new trend, a
higher percentage of
non-resident Indians
(NRIs) are scouting for
properties in India for
self-use, according to
CII-Anarock Consumer
Sentiment survey
.
At least 53% of NRI
respondents who will
buy properties in India
in the coming months
will look at the property
for self-use, while 47%
will consider buying for
investment. The pre-
covid survey in the first
half of 2019 saw a re-
verse trend, with the
end-use to investment
ratio at 32:68.
As per the report, one
major factor influenc-
ing this change could be
that many NRIs sought
to return to India amid
the pandemic-induced
uncertainties and dwin-
dling job prospects
globally. Most saw the
top seven cities as the
best options, though
many are also consider-
ing smaller cities to be
close to their families.
Commenting on the
survey findings, Anuj
Puri, chairman, Ana-
rock Group, said: In
the recent years before
covid, many NRIs were
in wait-and-watch mode
amid the various struc-
tural reforms in the
economy and the real
estate industry. Before
the pandemic, many
NRIs keen on real estate
preferred commercial
properties—housing
was low on their wish
list. In short, the fallout
of covid on global econ-
omies and job prospects
has once again rekin-
dled housing demand
from NRIs.
The survey found
that the highest de-
mand was for luxury
properties with state-
of-art amenities. About
50% of NRI respond-
ents preferred luxury
properties priced more
than `1.5 crore, while
32% favored premium
properties priced be-
tween `90 lakh and `1.5
crore. Only 11% fa-
vored mid-segment
homes (priced `45-90
lakh), and just 7% were
interested in affordable
properties.
NRIsbuyingself-usepropertiesinIndiainabigway:Survey
NOSTALGIA?
At least 53% of NRIs buying properties in
India in few months are looking at it for
self-use, while 47% may buy for investment
—FILE PHOTO
The mangled car in Surat.
Radhika Soni of Vadodara with her biscuit-made Ganpati
Car collides with parked
truck, 3 killed, 2 injured
A’bad airport to be closed for 9 hrs from Nov 10
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad:
Ahmedabad’s Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel In-
ternational Airport will
be closed for up to nine
hours a day, except on
Sunday and national
holidays, between 10
November and 31 May
2022, due to major main-
tenance and rehabilita-
tion work that will be
carried out at the air-
port during that period.
The airport’s sole
runway, 05/23, will not
be available for land-
ing and take-off for
the period in which
rehabilitation work is
being carried out, said
a NOTAM (Notice to
Airmen) issued to pi-
lots.
An airline official
with direct knowledge
of the matter stated
that while the airlines
were informed about
the NOTAM on 15 Sep-
tember, the next day
they were informed
that the closure of the
airport could be post-
poned to December-Jan-
uary period as the orig-
inally scheduled clo-
sure could impact traf-
fic during the festive
season.
“Airline operations
will definitely be im-
pacted when the airport
is closed nine hours
daily for a long period,”
the airline official said.
“We haven’t planned
our operations around
this yet,” he added.
At present,
Ahmedabad airport is
being closed every Sun-
day from 11 am to 3 pm
for runway repairs,
which is to continue till
October. Ahmedabad is
one of the busiest non-
metro airports in the
country which con-
nects to several inter-
national and domestic
destinations.
‘Don’t waste food’
themed Ganpati
in Vadodara
First India Bureau
Surat: Three people,
including two brothers
from Surat, were killed
in an accident on Ich-
chapur-Hazira road on
Thursday morning.
The accident occured
when a passenger car
swerved and collided
with a parked truck
from behind at Kawas
Patiya.
Three passengers
died on the spot while
two critically injured
people were rushed to
hospital for treatment.
The speed of the car
was above the speed
limit. The whole car
overturned. The fire de-
partment team had to
cut the leaf with a cut-
ter and remove the body
.
According to details,
the deceased were iden-
tified as Dinesh
Balkrishna, resident of
Orissa and settled in
Surat from the past 15
years. Along with him
his brother Manas and
his relative Gautam
Guniyal died on the
spot. The severity of
the accident can be
gauged from the fact
that the fire depart-
ment team had to cut
the car with a cutter
and remove the bodies.
Dinesh has a photo
studio shop in Surat.
He was going to Kawas
to take his car and drop
off a friend with his
wife and brother.
Meanwhile, his car col-
lided with a truck on
the road.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Radhika
Soni, a resident of
Vadodara, Gujarat,
used 1008 biscuit
packets and 850
rudrakshas to deco-
rate her Ganesha
idol this year.
Through this act
Soni wanted to raise
awareness regard-
ing food wastage.
The idol of Lord
Ganesha has been
put up on a 5 feet tall
Shivalinga.
Soni used banners
to make people
aware of the plight
of people fighting
hunger. “I chose this
theme for social
awareness based on
my personal experi-
ence. During a func-
tion at my home,
there was a lot of
leftover food and we
found someone for
donation after great
difficulty. We real-
ized that food is not
something to be
wasted.
One-third of total
food is wasted every
day worldwide,
while so many peo-
ple sleep hungry.”
She stressed on her
motive ‘Don’t Waste
Food’ time and again
throughout the in-
teraction. “These
packets of biscuits
will be distributed
among poor chil-
dren after the im-
mersion of the idol,”
she added.
LIFE RETURNING TO NORMAL!
With the Sabarmati Riverfront practice area opened now for citizens, many started their daily morning exercises on Thursday.
—FILE PHOTO
AAP volunteers complain over BJP posters in Surat.
—
PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI
—FILE PHOTO

orn and brought up in
the Pink City, Jaipur,
Charmika Sharma
has always believed
in free will. She says
that you may not shift
your focus from what
destiny has always chosen for
you, you may try running
away from it, but, the universe
will always guide you towards
it. The young model who is
currently pursuing Mass
Communication shared, “My
biggest inspiration is my
mother, she has always taught
me to follow your heart even if
it means going against the
tide. I wish to be an inspira-
tion for others who underesti-
mate themselves because of
the false ideas that society
makes them believe in. I am
fond of communicating with
people, to know them, to know
their real stories, learn from
them and create a meaningful
life.”
Charmika, a model as well
as an actress is currently
working in
the serial
called, ‘Ghar-
ek-Mandir’, and she
further plans on making it big
in the world of glamour, to
establish a name that is
known by all. She further
shared, “I look forward to
opportunities where I may
learn and polish my skills,
I keep on challenging my-
self every once in a while.
My motto is to never stop.”
When asked what advice
would she give someone
starting, the alluring beau-
ty replied, “The new gen-
eration needs to be the
perfect blend of aware-
ness, smartness and sim-
ply wear the confidence
beautifully. They needn’t
worry about the features
or complexion or even
height.” Well, Mona was
very fortunate to have
learned so much at a young
age and she’s now using those
experiences as a platform to
speak truth to others.
The budding actress enjoys
listening to music which helps
her keeping calm from within.
She also travels across states
to gather an experience of a
new culture, traditions, fash-
ion and food among others.
WHEN IT COMES TO MODELLING,
IT ISN’T ALWAYS ABOUT
OVERCOMING YOUR FEARS, IT IS
ALSO ABOUT LETTING OTHERS
GROW ALONG WITH YOU,
BEING AN INSPIRATION FOR
OTHERS. ONE OF THE
SELECTED PARTICIPANTS
OF FIRST MISS INDIA’21
SHARES THE MESSAGE WITH
EVERYONE!
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
The Charming
The Charming
BEAUTY
BEAUTY
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
B
AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
DAMINI, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Seek opinion of expert
before opting for a health
supplement. You will
succeed in resolving
misunderstanding with family
members, normalizing ties. Seek
proper valuation of the property you
are planning to buy. You will remain
much in demand on social front.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
A sound financial health of
businessmen would enable
to give monetary benefits
to employees. Roadblock
in the matrimonial alliance of kin gets
cleared bringing happiness for entire
family. It is good day to confess your
love as stars appear favourable for
positive reply.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Avoid being indulgent in
your spending to balance
budget. Continue to put in
efforts at work and you will
see promising opportunities coming
your way. Matrimonial match for
siblings will bring happiness for
entire family. You will get a good
price for your property.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You may get a chance to
pursue old hobby. Health
tips from an expert will
enable you to get closer to
your fitness goals. Chances of being
misled by competitors in business are
high, so remain alert. Your generous
behavior would enable to enjoy some
lovely moments with family.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Yoga would help in raising
energy levels. Some of you
are going experience
emotional fulfillment on
romantic front. Place emphasis on
domestic affairs to enhance the
domestic tranquility and harmony.
Associating yourself with humanitar-
ian group would benefit you.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Long-pending arrears are
likely to be recovered.
Senior management will be
appreciative of your creative
inputs. Seek the opinion of your family
before finalizing a property deal. An
impromptu invitation to a function
from an unexpected friend is likely to
be received.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Don’t give a firm
commitment in financial
matters before considering
the viability of the project.
You succeed in completing an
important project well.
Disagreements on the family front
are foreseen. Your intuition will save
you from a tricky spot today.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Distant relatives may drop
in for a surprise visit.
Investment antiques and
jewellery would bring
handsome financial gains. On
professional front, recognition for
good work would motivate you to
work harder. Efforts will bring
desired results.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You will be greatly
benefited by investing in
companies of repute.
Develop a good adaptabil-
ity to handle pressurized situation on
professional front. Paying special
attention to plan your career would
give immense joy. You find things
moving in the way you want them.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
It’s a very good day to take
calculated risks in financial
matters.Those suffering
from chronic ailments may
find remarkable improvement in their
health. Today you will enjoy the trust
of senior management. Minor
domestic disputes may pop up, so
give attention to the family.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Better to consult an expert
in financial matters before
making an investment.
Your hard work and
dedication are likely to be noticed by
seniors. Family will be supportive of
career aspirations. A promising day
overall as you stay in limelight
without any efforts.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Successful implementation
of new ideas and projects
would add to your prestige
on the professional front.
Avoid raising controversial issues at
home to maintain harmony. It is a
wonderful day to build new
connections. Your relationship
requires you to be tactful.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
‘TAX THE RICH’
emocratic congress-
woman Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez has ig-
nited both controver-
sy and celebration af-
ter wearing a gown to
the Met Gala embla-
zoned in red graffiti text with
the statement “Tax the Rich”.
Appearing as a guest of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
at the annual fundraiser, (for
which tickets cost tens of
thousand dollars), the left-
wing politician wore a custom
gown by fashion brand Broth-
er Vellies, bringing with her
the label’s founder, the young
Black designer and activist
Aurora James.
Using fashion as a tool to ad-
dress wider social concerns
has, in fact, long been a strat-
egy for people seeking to make
the change — including wear-
ing these clothes in spaces of
influence.
From 19th century Suffra-
gettes who pounded the streets
in heels, ultra-feminine dress
and large “picture” hats to re-
fute claims that they were un-
womanly
, to patriot textiles in
the second world war, to Indig-
enousAustralianstreetclothes
and accessories by a brand
such as Dizzy Couture today,
dress has historically con-
veyed political messages, cre-
ating “looks” for generations
of change agents. Here are 5
clothing acts as provocations
that changed history
.
GEORGE
WASHINGTON’S SUIT
The founders of the
American Revolution
wished to break with
the old codes of Eu-
ropean aristocracy.
Much of the world
still had “sumptu-
ary laws”: legal
edicts that regu-
lated the types,
materials and
amounts of cloth, colours,
jewellery and accessories per-
mitted to various social
groups.
In North America, the for-
mal clothing codes of the old
regime were actively resisted:
men were not expected to
wear the expensive and col-
ourful embroidered silks typi-
cally worn to European
courts. Their imported fab-
rics were considered bad for
local economies, and their
elite air was at odds with the
idea that all men might now
be (relatively) equal.
President-elect George
Washington was sculpted by
Houdon in the late 18th cen-
tury with a button missing
from his waistcoat. This was a
deliberate gesture to show his
actions were more important
than his appearance. He also
wore plain, home-spun Ameri-
can woollen cloth for his inau-
guration instead of the expect-
ed silk or velvet. This was a
firm demonstration of North
American independence and
perhaps the first American
“business casual”.
THE ABOLITIONIST
HANDBAG
An abolitionist bag full of
anti-slavery pamphlets. ©Vic-
toria and Albert Museum,
London, CC BY-NC.
Since the late 18th
century
, a range of
objects from
j e w e l -
lery to printed dishes were
produced to critique the Slave
Trade.
British Quakers had advo-
cated for Abolition in 1783. The
Female Society for Birming-
ham (originally the Ladies So-
ciety for the Relief of Negro
Slaves, the first such group)
mobilised their anti-slavery
followers with handbags print-
ed with images and slogans
designed to gain support for
the Abolitionist movement.
The silk drawstring bags,
made by women in sewing cir-
cles, were presented to promi-
nent figures such as George IV
and Princess Victoria. The
bags contained newspaper ar-
ticles and tracts supportive of
Abolition.
The Slavery Abolition Act,
which provided for the imme-
diate abolition of slavery in
most of the British Empire
was passed ten years later, in
1833. A similar Act was rati-
fied in the USA only in 1865.
NO FEATHER HATS
The ostrich and exotic bird in-
dustry was massive in the 19th
century: as well as plumes,
women wore whole bodies of
birds as accessories, such as
hummingbird earrings.
The ostrich plume “double
fluff” industry was centred on
South Africa, where the
feathers were worth
more than gold. They
were exported to rooms in
London and New York where
exhausted young girls fin-
ished and dyed them for retail.
In 1914 a massive “feather
crash” saw the raw material
become close to worthless.
Young women interested in
the growing national park and
conservation movements ob-
jected to the trade on ecologi-
cal grounds. They simply
stopped wearing the fashion,
starting a global “anti-plum-
age” movement.
The women involved with
the Massachusetts Audubon
Society were so successful
that their lobbying led to the
first US federal conservation
legislation, The Lacey Act
(1900). Taxidermied birds,
feather boas and birds as ear-
rings became largely unfash-
ionable and were rarely seen
again in women’s fashion.
THE ACT UP T-SHIRT
The AIDS crisis of the 1980s-
90s saw the mobilisation of a
unique blend of activism born
from the women’s, Hispanic,
Black power and 1970s gay
movements. ACT UP New
York determined that only an-
ger and civil disobedience
would focus the attention of
government and big pharma
on the plight of mainly gay
men’s health.
A series of extraordinary
“zaps” or site-specific pro-
tests, often theatrical,
was engineered. ACT UP’s
membership included skilled
figures from advertising and
design who created unified and
stylish T-shirts, posters and
banners. The designs were
clean, slick and looked just like
good advertising.
As Sarah Schulman recent-
ly demonstrated in her 20-year
history of ACT UP, the bold T-
shirt designs both created op-
timum impact for ACT UP’s
protests on the TV news and a
new pro-gay identity. Worn
with Doc Marten shoes, leath-
er jackets, clean and tight
jeans or denim shorts, ACT UP
established the look of gay ur-
ban men for a generation.
Government bodies and
large drug companies were
shamed by the public protests
into adopting better and more
rational health messaging,
conducting better funded and
more equitable drug trials and
selling cheaper retrovirals.
WHEN KATHARINE
MET MAGGIE
In 1984, designer Katharine
Hamnett wore a t-shirt that
read, “58% DONT WANT
PERSHING” (a reference to
nuclear missiles) to a high
profile fashion evening attend-
ed by conservative Prime Min-
ister Margaret Thatcher.
Hamnett made her T-shirt
the night before, recognising
the opportunity she had, and
hid it under her coat upon en-
try. Its graphic format owes a
debt to both 1970s Punk and
ACT UP. She later recalled of
the widely photographed en-
counter with Thatcher:
She looked down and said,
“You seem to be wearing a
rather strong message on your
T-shirt”, then she bent down
to read it and let out a squawk,
like a chicken.
Social change needs its vis-
ual forms. Fashion is one of
them. Fashion is a brilliant
communicator of new ideas.
That we are reading about
AOC’s clothing “controversy”
shows she fully understands
fashion’s power.
Beyond
AOC’s ‘Tax
the Rich’
dress: 5 acts
of fashion
provocation
that changed
history
PETER MCNEIL
Distinguished Professor of
Design History, UTS, University
of Technology Sydney
D
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM

A
sequel to Welcome was also re-
leased in 2015, however, Mall-
ika wasn’t a part of it. Now, in
a recent conversation with
sources, when we asked the ac-
tress about a possibil-
ity of another se-
quel in the fran-
chise, here’s
what she said.
“Welcome ka
sequel banega
toh director
apni girlfriend
ko hi dalega na
usmein. Welcome
2 bana toh usmein
apni girlfriend ko
daal diya batao,
ab main kya
karun? ques-
tions Mall-
ika.
—Agency
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
11
S
amantha Akkineni made her act-
ing debut with Ye Maaya Chesave.
Since then, there has been no
looking back for her. However,
initially, when she got married, she had
no hope of a career. During an interview
she said.“When I got married, I did so
with no hope of a career, because of what
happened before me and all the examples
of the heroines who got married and took
break from their careers only to never
come back. That’s what I thought would
happen with me too.” —Agency
O
n Wednesday, Shilpa Shet-
ty Kundra was spotted leav-
ing from Mumbai airport
and paparazzi had
snapped her while she headed out
of the city
. Now, photos of Shilpa
visiting the holy shrine of Mata
Vaishno Devi in Jammu have
gone viral on social media amid
Raj Kundra’s case proceedings.
The businessman has been in
judicial custody since allega-
tions of his apparent involve-
ment in an adult films racket
came out. —Agency
AMOL JOINS
hands with TVF
B
e it films
or OTT
shows -
a c t o r
Amol Parashar
has made a
strong impact
with his acting
performances
and has an envi-
able lineup of
projects which
includes play-
ing Bhagat Singh in Sardar Udham
Singh and his first film as a lead with
Vishesh films, both set to release this
year. To take this to the next level, he
will be collaborating with the popu-
lar content studio TVF to develop a
show with them that he will also
helm as an actor. —CITY FIRST
A
fter Ajay Devgn, Vicky
Kaushal is off to the Mal-
dives to feature in the new
season of Into the Wild with
Bear Grylls.
Kaushal will ex-
plore the wild
with the British
adventurer and
survivalist in
Discovery’s re-
ality show that
tests the survival instincts of celeb-
rities. The channel confirmed that
Kaushal has given his nod to the
show, which will premiere first on
discovery+app. —Agency
I
n d i a n
O c e a n ’ s
Amit Kilam,
has a special
treat for music
lovers across
the country
. The
c e l e b r a t e d
drummer and
vocalist is all set
to introduce his
daughters Mey-
haa and Kaira
with ‘Roshè’, a
popular Kashmiri folk song, originally
penned by Kashmiri legend, Habba Kha-
toon. Sisters Meyhaa and Kaira are fi-
nally out with their soulful rendition of
the song which is an integral part of
Kashmir’s heritage. Amit Kilam also
lends his vocals to the track that takes
listeners through a rollercoaster of emo-
tions – hurt, agony, passion and rage all
entwined in a beautiful and heart wrench-
ing melody
. —CITY FIRST
TUNE INTO THE
HEAVENLY TUNES
A
fter a whirlwind year, Britney Spears re-
ceived a huge honor as the pop icon
graced Time magazine’s 100 Most Influ-
ential People list this year. The Toxic
singer, who recently broke her silence on her traumatis-
ing conservatorship which has been going on for the
past 13 years, was featured in the magazine under the
“Icon” section and was graced by words of apprecia-
tion, written by her pal and another 90s icon Paris Hil-
ton! Heiress Paris Hilton wrote of Britney: When I think
of Britney Spears, I see the sweetest soul. Despite the dark-
ness that has sur- rounded her life, Britney embodies
joy and shares the light of her
beautiful heart, forever the
superstar.” —Agency
Hamlin Scott
SPLIT UP?
S
cott Disick and Amelia Hamlin re-
cently parted ways following the
former’s DM drama regarding ex
Kourtney Kardashian. While nei-
ther Scott nor Amelia officially spoke
about their breakup, Hamlin’s mother
Lisa Rinna has now opened up about what
she truly felt about her daughter’s rela-
tionshipwithScott.Rinnasays“Youknow,
I have been quite nice about Scott Disick,
and I would never say that out loud. I
might have thought things that weren’t
very good.” She then further added, “Can
I atone for my thoughts?” —Agency
KANYE SUPPORTED KIM?
hile the world may
be divided over Kim
K a r d a s h i a n ’ s
unique Met Gala
2021 look, it seems
her estranged hus-
band, Kanye West is more
than impressed with it.
Kim turned up sporting a
unique, head-to-toe cov-
ered black outfit by Balen-
ciaga for the event.
Kanye took to his Insta-
gram to share few photos
of Kim from the Met Gala
and in the captions, simply
added the goat emoji, sug-
gesting that he meant to
call her GOAT (Greatest of
All-Time).
As for Kim’s Met Gala
outing, after the SKIMS
founder was spotted ar-
riving for the event with
a mysterious masked
man, fans assumed that it
was Kanye West making a
surprise appearance. Al-
though it was later clari-
fied that the person ac-
companying her was the
designer. —Agency
W
Vicky into the wilds...
Shilpa prays
for HUBBY?
Britney in
Britney in
TIMES!
TIMES!
Mallika isn’t
Welcome Back?
Way you go,
Samantha!
Kim Kardashian West
Kanye’s post
Samantha Akkineni
Mallika Sherawat
Shilpa Shetty Kundra
Shilpa spotted in Vaishno Devi
Vicky Kaushal
Amit Kilam with daughters
Meyhaa and Kaira
Amol Parashar
Scott Disick and Amelia Hamlin
Britney Spears

Janushi Raichura,
a 13-year-old
eighth-grade student
launched the third
book of her novel
series ‘Ventures of
Gem Land - The
Alchemic Presage’ in
the presence of her
family and friends
at AMA on Thursday.
‘Ventures of Gem Land’ is a Novel series based on fiction, illusion, and magic. The book is
published by Notion Press, and Janushi herself has designed the cover page and did the
editing part of her book.
S
ash and crown
organised an ex-
clusive role
modelling show
Mr and miss S and C
Rajasthan 2021. The
crown launching cere-
mony was done on Sep-
tember 15, 2021, at Bas-
ant Dhaba in Jaipur by
the patron of sash and
crown Sanjay Tiwari
and Dr Himani Ti-
warialongwithRJ
Abhi and RJ Nikh-
il of radio City 91.1
FM. 44 enthusiastic
contestants were short-
listed from 1100 con-
testants across India
and are now getting
trained at Pachewar
Garh Fort by the direc-
tor and owner of sash
and crown Ajay Ti-
wari. Fitness and zum-
ba session by Muiz
Rizvi and Vinita Soni,
followed by styling ses-
sions by Komal Natani,
Sakshi Choudhary
and Riya Shivani.
Intellectual round
was a brainstorm-
ing activity includ-
ing treasure hunt by
Yash Tiwari and RJ
Abhi and Ravi Thakur.
The jury included
ThakurSahabCol.Um-
rao Singh Pachewar,
RJ Abhi, Hemant Garg
(owner Starlife produc-
tions) and Ajay Tiwari.
Photography and cine-
matography for the en-
tire event is being done
by Nishant Jain and
Arjun Mudlair and
Akash.
The entire event is
being managed by the
Owner of MIG Enter-
tainers Paras Vijay and
Kratika Paliwal. The
Grand Finale will be
held at Pratishta Ban-
quet in the Grand Anu-
kampa, Shyam Nagar
on September 19.
—CITY FIRST
12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
THECOMEBACKSHOW
oyal Fables curat-
ed a fashion walk
entitled, ‘The
Comeback Show’
which was held
on Wednesday at
Bikaner House,
New Delhi. The heritage
events shall take place
onThursdayaswell.The
show witnessed a fash-
ion walk by Kazim Ali
Khan and Amber Tikari.
The royal regal show on
itsfirstdayalsoshowcased
a fashion show where the
members of the royal re-
gime took over the
stage and displayed
their royal avatars.
An exhibition was
also held where ex-
quisitearticlesfrom
differentstateswere
displayed.
Vaishnavi Ku-
mari and Maneka
Gandhi inaugurat-
ed the show with
lamplighting.The
first session wit-
nessed Vasudha
Rai in conversa-
tion with Manjari
Mishra, Alka
Rani Singh, Dr
Ravidarshan Vyas,
Rajya Vaid and Ru-
pal Shabnam Tyagi.
The show is being
organised by Anju
Khanna. The show
alsoexhibitedper-
formances by
K a m a k s h i
Khanna and
Umrao Khan.
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
R
—PHOTOS
BY
MANOJ
KESHARWANI
Divya Singh, Rupal Shabnam Tyagi and Mahima Kumari
Shivani Varma and Rhea Khanna
Radhikaraje Gaekwad
Neelam Pratap Rudya
Chandni Singh
(L-R) Anshu Khanna,
Maneka Gandhi and Jaykirti
Farah Ansari and
Maneka Gandhi
DURING THE DAY!
The UCO Bank’s Rajasthan regional office started
the Vijaydan Detha award in commemoration of the
eminent writer of Rajasthani and Hindi language to
mark the occasion of Hindi Day from this year.The
first award was conferred upon the veteran writer
and journalist Ish Madhu Talwar for his exemplary
work in Hindi literature.Assistant General Manager
of the bank G.L.Verma and the chief Manager
(Rajbhasha) Dr Sudhir Kumar Sahu felicitated him by
giving away the shawl and a citation in his honour.
Malviya Nagar MLA Kalicharan Saraf handed over the keys
of the ambulance (mortgage vehicle) of Rs 6 Lakh purchased
from the MLA fund to the Madhuban Crematorium
Development Committee. Also in Devnagar, Tonk Road,
while addressing the gathering present in the program, he
announced to give a freezer to keep the dead bodies safe in
the crematorium.
While employment has been a topic of concern during the Corona
crisis, Jaipur’s Business School is giving International Placements
amid the pandemic induced slow-down. The Director of Taxila
Business School, Kishore Sharma and Research and Innovation advisor
Dr Rajesh Kothari shared about the students’ journey of training, live
skills and projects, and learning the corporate culture. The students
are getting placed in top companies like Ernst and Young, SP Global,
ITC Ltd., Hindustan Unilever, Zomato and Reliance.
Ekam World Peace Festival has been celebrated in 100
countries for 3 years now with a single goal: To remind
humanity of their own innate ability to live at peace. While
announcing the 4th Edition of EKAM WORLD Peace Festival on
Thursday, the Ahmedabad (Gujarat) chapter of the launch had
attendees meditating together and holding heartfelt intention
towards nurturing world peace through fostering human
connection, as well as inner-peace within themselves.
Crowning the Beauties
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@
gmail.com
EVENT!
AFASHIONGALA!
MANSI BACHANI
F
orever Star India Awards is go-
ing to organise Forever Miss
and Mrs India Grand Finale,
Forever Fashion Week, and
Award Show at the Marriott Hotel on
Tonk Road from December 17 to 20 in
Jaipur. The grand finale and Forever
Fashion Week will see more than 150
fashion designers showcasing
their beautiful designer collec-
tions. This fashion week is going
to be India’s most unique show
in which many film personalities
will also participate. Apart from Miss
India, Mrs India, winners of every
city and state from all over India will
also participate in this show. The Su-
per Hero and Super Woman Awards
will also be given on 20 December. It
has become the first community in
the world to be named the FSIA com-
munity. 300 crown holders, 150 fash-
ion designers, and supermodels will
walk the ramp from across India in
the show. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
CITY FIRST
S
t Xavier’s College, Jaipur
conducted a seven-day
workshop from Septem-
ber 9 to September 15,
2021, for its teaching staff at
its new campus at Nevta on
‘Progressive Approaches
for Excellence in Teaching,
Learning and Research Dy-
namics’. The FDP was being
organised by Faculty Enrich-
ment and Exchange Pro-
gramme Cell in Collaboration
with MOOCs/SWAYAM Com-
mittee. The programme was
inaugurated by Rev Fr Dr A Rex
Angelo S.J, Principal, St. Xavi-
er’s College, Jaipur. He stressed
on enhancing the proficiency
of faculties in teaching and
learning to equip the stu-
dents with updated skills
with their expertise. This
workshop was envisaged
keeping in mind the need to
adopt progressive approaches
for enriching faculties with di-
verse means of learning, teach-
ing, and research dynamics.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Faculty
Development
Programme ROBOTICS @SKIT
S
KIT, Jaipur has
organised a 15
days industrial
training pro-
gram (Sept 1 to Sept 15,
2021) on Robotics: intro-
duction to innova-
tion under AICTE-
scheme for Promot-
ing Interests, Crea-
tivity and Ethics
among Students (SPIC-
ES). This training pro-
gram was jointly organ-
ised by Robotics club,
SKIT and Enovate Skill,
a start-up of NITTTR
Chandigarh under the
MoE, Govt. of India.
The training instruc-
tor Ajay Godara, CEO,
Enovate Skill spoke
about various as-
pects of technical
education to fill the
gap between Indus-
try and Academia. The
event was coordinated
by Brij Mohan Sharma,
Lalit Kumar Lata,
Sudesh Garg and Pooja
Choudhary
. —CITY FIRST
—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO
Rohini Sahi Neha Barwase
During the session
(L-R) Komal Natani, Ajay Tiwari and Sanjana Singh
(L-R) Ajay Tiwari, Dr Himani Tiwari, Sanjay Tiwari,
Om Prakash Saini, Pushpendra, RJ Abhi and RJ Nikhil
RJ Abhi from Radio
City 91.1 FM

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