First india ahmedabad edition-05 august 2020

Aditi Nagar
days ahead of
73rd Independ-
ence Day and
after a 28 year
long wait,
since demolition of Babri
Mosque in 1992, the morn-
ing of August 5, 2020 brings
a historic moment in the
life of almost 100 crore
Hindus of the country,
when the foundation stone
laying ceremony of a
1300-crore Ram Mandir
project will be carried out
at Ayodhya, mainly in the
presence of Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi, RSS
Chief Mohan Bhagwat, UP
CM Yogi Adityanath and a
few other related dignitar-
ies. In fact, it is a dream
come true, especially for
Narendra Modi and Amit
Shah. However, Shah, who
unfortunately, because of
being admitted in Medanta
Hospital in Gurgaon for Co-
rona treatment, will not be
able to attend the ceremony.
It was a tireless and 24/7
political and legal journey,
where Modi and Shah left
their mark and converted
Hindu sentiment and their
ray of hope into a Ram
Mandir construction reali-
ty. Infact, Modi-Shah-Bhag-
wat will always be remem-
bered in the Indian history
for their immense contri-
bution to convert a dream
into a ground reality. Hats
off to a close ‘monitoring’
by the Prime Minister and
Union Home Minister in
the Supreme Court, which
ultimately effectively put
up the Union government
and other related partys’
viewpoint in the court and
finally won the legal battle
on merit without creating
any religious or communal
tensions and even without
shedding a drop of blood.
However, it is a sad story
that the stalwarts of Ram
Mandir movement like LK
Advani, Murli Manohar
Joshi, Umar Bharti and
Kalyan Singh will not be
visible in this colorful cer-
emony, who had contribut-
ed a lot in the movement,
may be on Corona health
grounds.
AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 251
FINALLY
A REALITY NOW!
10

Bhopal: A Hanuman
Chalisa recital was
organised at former
Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Ka-
mal Nath’s residence
in Bhopal on Tuesday,
a day ahead of the
‘bhumi-pujan’ sched-
uled to be held at the
site for Ram temple,
Ayodhya.
Speaking after the
programme, the Con-
gress leader said “We
are sending 11 silver
bricks to Ayodhya
from the people of
Madhya Pradesh,
they were bought
with donations from
Congress members.
It’s a historic day
for which entire
country was
waiting. Ha-
n u m a n
Chalisa re-
cital was
done for
welfare of
the state’s
p e o p l e , ”
K a m a l
Nath said.
—Agenies
‘GRANDRAMTEMPLE
TOBEBIGGER,TALLER’
 The Ram Temple will be
161 feet in height and will be
almost double the size of the
original design.
 The temple will be con-
structed in Nagara style of
architecture and on the lines
of North Indian temple archi-
tecture.
 There will be five domes
instead of two as planned
earlier.
 The construction is ex-
pected to take three years.
 Ram temple to be built on
70 acres, temple and corridor
in three acres.
 In 67 acres of land,
museums, temples
of Sita, Laxman,
Bharat and Lord
Ganesha will be built.
 The Ram Temple model
was built in 1989 by the Sri
Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth
Kshetra Trust.
 The city will be decorated
with nearly 400 quintals of
flowers for the ‘bhoomi pujan’
of the Ram Mandir on Wedn-
wesday. The blue ‘aparajita’
or Vishnukanta flowers, that
are grown in the rural parts
of Bengaluru, have been
brought for the much-awaited
occasion. The double-toned
marigolds in orange and red
are being brought in from
Kolkata, while orchids are
being imported from Thai-
land. About 600 kg of red and
pink roses, 240 kg gerbera
and 300 kg carnations are
also being brought, reported
agencies.
 Apart from the ‘bhoomi
pujan’, PM Modi will also
unveil a Rs 5 postal stamp
with the new model of Ram
Mandir to commemorate
the event.
1528 Babri mosque built on
orders of Mughal emperor
Babur by his commander Mir
Baqi in Ayodhya.
1885 Mahant Raghubir Das
files a petition in the Faizabad
District Court, seeking
permission to build raise a
structure next to the mosque.
The plea is rejected.
1949 Idol of Lord Ram,
Goddess Sita found inside the
mosque by unknown persons.
Hindus call it divine appear-
ance and start offering
prayers.
1950 Two suits filed in a
Faizabad court by Gopal Simla
Visharad and Paramhansa
Ramachandra Das, seeking
permission to worship the
idols at the place.
1959 Nirmohi Akhara, a
party in the case in the
Supreme Court, files suit
seeking possession of the site.
1981 Uttar Pradesh Sunni
Central Waqf Board files suit
for possession of the site and
removal of idols.
1986 A local court orders
opening of the site and allows
Hindus to offer prayers.
1989 The Allahabad HC
orders status quo on the site.
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi-
led government at the Centre
lets VHP perform shilanyaas
for Ram Temple.
1990 BJP leader Lal Krishna
Advani starts Rath Yatra from
Gujarat to gather support for
the temple.
1992 Babri Mosque
structure demolished by
Karsewaks.
1993 Centre passes an Act
to acquire land in and around
the disputed site in Ayodhya.
1994 In the Ismail Faruqui
case, the SC rules that the
mosque is not integral to
Islam.
starts hearing to adjudicate the
ownership of the disputed site.
2003 The SC bars any
religious activity at the site.
rules trifurcation of the
2.77-acre disputed land
between UP Sunni Waqf
Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and
Ram Lalla Virajman.
2011 The SC stays the
Allahabad HC’s order.
2016 BJP leader Subrama-
nian Swamy files plea in the
Supreme Court seeking
permission to worship and
construction of Ram Temple at
the disputed site.
2018 The SC rejects all
interim pleas, including that of
Swamy, seeking to intervene
as parties in the case.
Advocate Rajeev Dhavan files
plea in the court requesting it
to refer the issue of reconsid-
eration of its 1994 judgment to
a larger bench which is denied.
The court forms a three-judge
bench instead to hear the
case.
January 2019 CJ Ranjan
Gogoi constitutes a five-judge
Constitutional Bench to hear
the case.
March 2019 The SC
appoints a mediation panel
headed by Judge (retd) FMI
Kallifulla for an out-of-court
settlement on March 8.
August 2019 The
mediation panel fails to reach
an amicable settlement. SC
begins hearing on August 6.
November 9, 2019 A
five-judge of SC bench led by
then Chief Justice of India
Ranjan Gogoi rules in favour
of Ram Lalla and says the
entire disputed land spread
over 2.7 acres will be handed
over to a trust formed by the
government, which will
monitor the construction of a
Ram Temple at the site.
February 5, 2020 Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
announces the constitution of
‘Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth
Kshetra, to oversee the
construction of Ram temple in
Ayodhya. —ANI
he Ram Tem-
ple in Ayodhya
will be grand-
er and bigger
compared to
the earlier plan with
three new domes added
to the design and the
structure’s height in-
creased by 20 feet.
The changes in de-
sign, which have the ap-
proval of Shri Ram Jan-
mabhoomi Teertha
Kshetra Trust, will en-
able more devotees to be
accommodated in the
precincts of the temple
and add to its magnifi-
cence. Shri Ram Janma-
bhoomi Teertha Kshet-
ra Trust has been set up
to oversee the construc-
tion of Ram temple. Ma-
hant Raju Das, senior
priest of Hanuman-
garhi temple in Ayod-
hya, said the temple
will have three more
domes.
“We want a magnifi-
cent temple and for
that, I would like to
thank the temple trust.
The temple will now
have more domes. It
will have three floors,”
Das said. Annu Bhai
Sompura, Manager of
Ram Mandir Nirman
Karyashala, had said
earlier that silver, gold
and copper would also
be used in the construc-
tion of the temple apart
from stones and wood.
PM Narendra Modi
will lay the foundation
stone of the Ram Tem-
ple on August 5.
Das said the new de-
sign will enable around
one lakh devotees to be
accommodated in the
temple for prayers.
He said each floor
will have theme associ-
ated with Lord Ram
such as childhood
“jhaanki” and Ram
Darbar.
“The temple will also
have mandaps like
katha mandap and nri-
tya mandap,” he said.
—ANI
T
An occasion to spread Lord
Ram’s messages: Priyanka
Sending 11 silver bricks for Ram
temple’s pujan, says Kamal Nath
New Delhi: The ‘bhoo-
mi-pujan’ for the Ram
temple, Ayodhya on Au-
gust 5 should be an oc-
casion for boosting “na-
tional unity, brother-
hood and cultural har-
mony”, said Congress
leader Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra on Tuesday.
The Congress gener-
al secretary in a state-
ment released in Hindi,
said that Lord Ram has
an impact on the cul-
ture of the Indian sub-
continent and around
the world and he be-
longs to everyone. Quot-
ing poets such as Maith-
ilisharan Gupt and
Nirala, the Congress
leader highlighted the
many attributes of the
Lord and added that
“Ram wants the welfare
of anyone, that is why
he is the ‘maryada pu-
rushottam’.”
“On August 5, 2020
the ceremony for bhoo-
mi-pujan of Ramlala’s
temple has been sched-
uled. With the blessings
of Lord Ram, may this
event spread his mes-
sages of national unity,
brotherhood, and cul-
tural harmony,” Vadra
said. —ANI
CELEBRATIONS GALORE!
FACTFILE
RAMARCHAN PUJA
BEGINS IN AYODHYA
BHOOMI PUJAN AT
TIMES SQUARE
Ayodhya: The four-phased
Ramarchan puja has begun
to invoke the major gods and
goddesses who consider Lord
Ram as their ‘Ishth’ (the god
of worship) at Ayodhya’s Ram
Janmabhoomi on Tuesday.
Gods and goddesses like Ma-
hadevi, Lord Shankar, Ganesh,
10 digpal and Shodash Mata
are worshipped in these
prayers, informed a priest.
New Delhi: Indians based in
the US are indulged in plan-
ning programmes to mark
the auspicious occasion on
August 5. The scheduled
programme would take place
from 7.30 pm to 9:30 pm
today. A diya ligting ceremony,
a bhajan programme and
speeches by eminent person-
alities and sweet distribution
will also be conducted.
TIMELINE TILL
BHOOMI PUJAN
IN AYODHYA
JUST 32 SECONDS OF
SHUBH MUHURAT
New Delhi: Priests and
religious leaders have said
that the muhurat or auspi-
cious time to lay the foun-
dation stone will last for 32
seconds.The muhurat will
begin at 12:44:08 PM and
come to an end at 12:44:40
PM on Wednesday.A total
of 175 guests, including
135 saints have been
invited for the ceremony.
LAL KRISHNA ADVANI
@_LKADVANI
PM Narendra Modi laying
foundation stone of Ram
Mandir is a historical
and emotional day
not only for me but
for all Indians
they were bought
with donations from
Congress members.
It’s a historic day
for which entire
country was
waiting. Ha-
n u m a n
Chalisa re-
cital was
done for
welfare of
the state’s
p e o p l e , ”
K a m a l
Nath said.
—Agenies
The temple will be con-The temple will be con-
structed in Nagara style ofstructed in Nagara style of
architecture and on the linesarchitecture and on the lines
of North Indian temple archi-of North Indian temple archi-
tecture.tecture.
 There will be five domesThere will be five domes
instead of two as plannedinstead of two as planned
earlier.earlier.
 The construction is ex-The construction is ex-
pected to take three years.pected to take three years.
 Ram temple to be built onRam temple to be built on
70 acres, temple and corridor70 acres, temple and corridor
in three acres.in three acres.
 In 67 acres of land,In 67 acres of land,
museums, templesmuseums, temples
of Sita, Laxman,of Sita, Laxman,
Bharat and LordBharat and Lord
 The city will be decoratedThe city will be decorated
with nearly 400 quintals ofwith nearly 400 quintals of
flowers for the ‘bhoomi pujan’flowers for the ‘bhoomi pujan’
of the Ram Mandir on Wedn-of the Ram Mandir on Wedn-
wesday. The blue ‘aparajita’wesday. The blue ‘aparajita’
or Vishnukanta flowers, thator Vishnukanta flowers, that
are grown in the rural partsare grown in the rural parts
of Bengaluru, have beenof Bengaluru, have been
brought for the much-awaitedbrought for the much-awaited
occasion. The double-tonedoccasion. The double-toned
marigolds in orange and redmarigolds in orange and red
are being brought in fromare being brought in from
Kolkata, while orchids areKolkata, while orchids are
being imported from Thai-being imported from Thai-
land. About 600 kg of red andland. About 600 kg of red and
pink roses, 240 kg gerberapink roses, 240 kg gerbera
and 300 kg carnations areand 300 kg carnations are
also being brought, reportedalso being brought, reported
agencies.agencies.
 Apart from the ‘bhoomiApart from the ‘bhoomi
pujan’, PM Modi will alsopujan’, PM Modi will also
unveil a Rs 5 postal stampunveil a Rs 5 postal stamp
with the new model of Ramwith the new model of Ram
Mandir to commemorateMandir to commemorate
the event.the event.
Sending 11 silver bricks for Ram
temple’s pujan, says Kamal Nath
Nirala, the Congress
leader highlighted the
tural harmony,” Vadra
said. —ANI
LAL KRISHNA ADVANI
@_LKADVANI
PM Narendra Modi laying
foundation stone of Ram
Mandir is a historical
and emotional day
not only for me but
for all Indians
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/
epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.
com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD
WEDNESDAY
AUGUST 5, 2020Ram Mandir
A REALITY NOW!
Ram Mandir
A REALITY NOW!
The proposed model of Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya. —PHOTO BY PTI
Yogesh Shrama
Jaipur: Former CM Bhai-
ron Singh Shekhawat,
who later became the V-P,
played an important role in
resolving the Ram Temple
issue. While leaving as CM,
he had promised that BJP
will return and so will Ram-
lala in Ayodhya. His words
have turned into reality.
The then PM, Chandrashek-
har had formed a commit-
tee with Sharad Pawar and
Shekhawat to resolve the
issue. When the committee
was on the verge of provid-
ing a solution, the Congress
withdrew support from the
Chandrashekhar- led gov-
ernment, which collapsed.
During the Shekhwat gov-
ernment’s rule, LK Adva-
ni’s Rath Yatra had passed
through Rajasthan and it
was due to Shekhawat’s
managerial skills that the
Yatra remained peaceful.
BABOSA’S WORDS COME TRUE

CORONA
ALERT
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27°C - 36°C
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
www.firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia
instagram.com/thefirstindia
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
2,534
DEATHS
65,704
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA
2,704 DEATHS 1,45,830 CASES
RAJASTHAN
732 DEATHS 46,679 CASES
INDIA
19,06,121
CONFIRMED CASES
39,819
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
16,142 DEATHS 4,57,956 CASES
TAMIL NADU
DELHI
WORLD
7,00,448
DEATHS
1,85,73,912
CONFIRMED CASES
Haresh Jhala
Ahmedabad:The state
high court in a recent
order observed that
Gujarat was at the bot-
tom of the list in terms
of COVID-19 sample
testing per million. It
has also directed the
government to in-
crease sample testing
across the state and
establish laboratories
in 11 districts, which
do not have testing fa-
cilities yet.
The principal bench
comprising Chief Jus-
tice Vikram Nath and
Justice JB Pardiwala in
an interim order passed
a few days ago, which
was released only this
week, categorically ob-
served, “The state is at
the bottom of the list
when it comes to testing
per million. There ap-
pears to be no reasona-
ble justification for such
restricted testing more
particularlywhenWorld
Health Organization
(WHO), Indian Council
of Medical Research
(ICMR) and Ministry of
Health and Family Wel-
fare, countries across
the world, and the states
across the nation are
seeking to achieve more
and more testing per
million. Turn on P8
HC asks state to increase nCov
testing, set up labs in 11 districts
The Court expressed
concern that Guj ranked
among the lowest in
terms of per million tests
1 yr on,Sonia may continue as interim chief
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur/New Delhi:
With Sonia Gandhi slat-
ed to complete one year
as Congress interim
President soon amid an
ongoing battle for one-
upmanship between
leaders close to Rahul
Gandhi and the Con-
gress veterans, she is
likely to continue in the
top post in the foresee-
able future, party sourc-
es said on Tuesday.
The sources main-
tained that “no discus-
sion is going on” at pre-
sent within the Con-
gress on the President’s
post, neither initiated
by the party nor any in-
dividual.
“There is no discus-
sion, and there is no
rule that we have to ap-
point a new President,”
the sources remarked.
Sonia Gandhi as-
sumed charge of the
topmost post again on
August 10 last year in
the wake of the resig-
nation by her son Ra-
hul Gandhi as Con-
gress President after
the 2019 Lok Sabha de-
bacle. Though the party
tried to persuade Rahul
not to resign, but he did
not budge, after which
the Congress Working
Committee appointed
her as the interim chief.
Sonia Gandhi has be-
come the longest serv-
ing Congress President
and has been credited
with the party’s victo-
ries in two successive
general elections in
2009 and 2004.
A party leader, who is
privy to all develop-
ments in the Congress,
pointed out that Sonia
Gandhi had just re-
turned from hospital
and the party was rally-
ing behind her to fight
theBJPonslaught.“She
is the rallying point for
all sections of the
party,” the lead-
er remarked.
Sonia Gandhi was ad-
mitted to the Sir Ganga
Ram Hospital last week
for routine tests and in-
vestigations and was
discharged on Sunday
afternoon.
Notwithstanding the
Congress position about
status quo on the party
chief’s post, there have
beendemandswithinthe
party to appoint a new
partyPresident.Leaders
close to Rahul Gandhi
have on at least three oc-
casions demanded that
he should be brought
back as Congress Presi-
dent. Turn on P8
ONCE AGAIN A
‘RELUCTANT’
RAHUL SKIPS THE
RESPONSIBILITY
In no mood to show mercy, Gehlot won’t take back rebels!
Ayodhya: Various reli-
gious ceremonies have
been conducted for the
past108daysbysaintsin
Ayodhya and Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
will take part in `muhu-
rat puja’ at 12.44 pm on
Wednesday as part of
‘bhoomi pujan’ for con-
struction of a grand
Ram temple. PM Modi
will arrive at 12:30 pm at
the Ramjanmbhoomi
and take part in various
prayers including the
main “bhoomi pujan”.
Govind Giriji Maha-
raj, treasurer of Shri
R a m j a n m b h o o m i
Teerth Kshetra Trust,
said that the religious
ceremonies will begin
from 8:30 am in the
morning and will con-
tinue till 12:30 pm.
“The Prime Minister
will arrive at 12:30 pm
and he will offer ‘puja’
for 15 minutes and take
‘sankalp’. First Lord
Ganesh will be wor-
shipped then he will of-
fer prayers of eight shi-
las. Some prayers at shi-
las we have conducted
already,” Giri told ANI.
“The muhrat of pooja
is at 12: 44 pm. He will
say words ‘prathistha-
payami’ and it is crucial
to be done in that
muhrat,” he said.
Elaborating on the
rituals to be performed
tomorrow by the Prime
Minister, the trust mem-
ber said that most im-
portant is `Kurm Shila’.
“The most important
is Kurm Shila - this is
right beneath the place
where Ram Lalla will be
seated. Turn on P8
Promise fulfilled! PM to attend
Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan
UPSC: 829 QUALIFY
Pradeep tops the exams
New Delhi: A total of
829candidateshavequal-
ified for civil services,
including IAS and IPS,
theUnionPublicService
Commission (UPSC) an-
nounced on Tuesday.
Pradeep Singh, Jatin
Kishore and Pratibha
Verma secured the first,
second and third posi-
tions respectively, the
Commission said with-
out sharing further de-
tails of the toppers.
A total of 829 candi-
dates have been recom-
mended for Indian Ad-
ministrative Service
(IAS), Indian Foreign
Service (IFS) and In-
dian Police Service
(IPS), among other
civil services, it said,
announcing results of
the civil services ex-
amination 2019.
Of the total qualified
candidates, 304 are
from General category,
78 from Economically
Weaker Section (EWS),
251 from Other Back-
ward Classes (OBC),
129 from Scheduled
Castes (SC) and 67 from
Scheduled Tribes (ST)
category, according to
the UPSC.
A total of 182 other
candidates have been
put in the reserve list, it
said. The selection has
been made against 927
vacancies reported by
the government.
“The result of 11 can-
didates has been kept
withheld, the UPSC said.
The civil services exami-
nation is conducted an-
nually in three phases --
preliminary, main and
interview -- to select can-
didates for the country’s
premier civil services.
People light earthen lamps written ‘Jai Shree Ram’ on the eve of the foundation laying ceremony of
Ram Temple, in Kanpur on Tuesday.
NARENDRA MODI
@NARENDRAMODI
Congratulations to all
the bright youngsters
who have successfully
cleared the Civil
Services Examination,
2019! An exciting and
satisfying career of
public service awaits
you. My best wishes!
SOG backtracks! Transfers
‘horse-trading’ case to ACB
First India Bureau
Jaipur: According to
sources, apparently,
under pressure from
New Delhi and Jaipur,
the Special Operations
Group (SOG) of Ra-
jasthan Police has
done a U-turn about
the three FIRs regis-
tered in July related to
the toppling of the
Ashok Gehlot-led gov-
ernmentbyrequesting
alocalcourttotransfer
theinvestigationtothe
anti-corruption bu-
reau (ACB), while also
takingoff Section124A
IPC(Sedition)fromthe
case based on legal
opinion, SOG said on
Tuesday, while also
takingoff Section124A
IPC(Sedition)fromthe
case based on legal
opinion, the SOG said.
After Congress had
accused Union Minis-
ter Gajendra Singh
Shekhawat and party
MLA Bhanwarlal
Sharma of conspiring
to topple the elected
government in Ra-
jasthan, the SOG had
registered two sepa-
rate FIRs on the com-
plaint of Congress
chief whip in the Ra-
jasthan Assembly Ma-
hesh Joshi. Joshi
lodged a complaint re-
garding three audio-
tapesthathadsurfaced
in social media after
which one Sanjay Jain
was arrested. Turn on P8
Raj CJ to hear
BSP MLA
merger issue
First India Bureau
Jaipur: The High
Court, on Tuesday, ap-
proved the application
of early hearing in the
matter of merger of
BSP MLAs in Congress.
The plea was submitted
by BSP and BJP MLA
Madan Dilawar.
Now, the hearing will
be held on Wednesday
at 10.30 am in the divi-
sion bench of Chief
Justice Indrajit Mahan-
ty and Justice Prakash
Gupta. The case is list-
ed at serial number 59-
60 in the supplementary
list. The BSP has chal-
lenged the order of the
single bench in the divi-
sion bench, demanding
dismissal of merger of
BSP MLAs in Congress.
The BSP, in its fresh ap-
peal, sought to put aside
the September 18, 2019,
Turn on P8
HC rejects PILs seeking Guv’s
removal & stay on MLAs salaries
Nizam Kantaliya
Jaipur: Rajasthan HC on Tuesday rejected
a petition seeking directions to the Union
government to advise the President to
remove the Governor of Rajasthan. At the
same time, the court also rejected two other
petitions including one that sought stay on
the salaries of MLAs. In the petition filed
by an advocate Shantanu Pareek in which
he said the Governor has failed to perform
his Constitutional obligations by not calling
the assembly session on the request by the
Rajasthan council of ministers. Turn on P8
ASHOK GEHLOT
@ASHOKGEHLOT51
#RamMandir’s foundation
stone ceremony to be
held on August 5 is an
opportunity for the Prime
Minister to show courage
and ask the people to take
a pledge to remove the
stigma of untouchability
on humanity and to treat
the Dalits, tribals and the
backward with equality.
Aditi Nagar
Jaipur: Contrary to an ongoing
speculation for a likely Sonia Gan-
dhi intervention to bring back
Sachin Pilot camp rebel MLAs
into Congress, an ‘adamant
and upset’ Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot has virtual-
ly closed this chapter, till
he holds the fort as the
Chief Minister of the state.
According to highly placed
sources, Gehlot has conveyed
his ‘mind’ to the top Con-
gress leadership in New
Delhi, including Sonia, Ra-
hul and Priyanka Gandhi.
The buzz is that a ‘con-
cerned’ Priyanka had her-
self phoned up Gehlot few
days back and had advised
him to find out the ‘ways and
means’ for a likely reproach-
ment with the Pilot camp. The
Chief Minister, who is already
upset with Pilot camp’s move
to break the party, was
reportedly not at
all receptive to
Priyanka’s
call and
rather
had a
‘plain talk’ with her mentor in the
Gandhi family. According to sources,
Gehlot’s reply and viewpoint was so
stern that she was stunned for a mo-
ment.
Subsequently, looking to Gehlot’s
hard stand and emotional outburst,
the Congress high command appears
to have dropped this issue, at least for
the time being. This development
puts a full stop on the ‘efforts’ of a
few senior Congress leaders, who
were trying hard for a reproachment
without knowing much about the
ground realities of Rajasthan.
According to a Gehlot camp source,
Gehlot’sviewpointisveryclearsaying
that if he takes a U-turn on this sensi-
tive issue at this stage then not only
the Congress will loose its face in the
general public but also the supporting
100 MLAs will feel demoralized. But
surprisingly, inspite of all this, still a
few people are trying to ‘reopen’ this
already ‘close’ issue. Political observ-
ers feel, that if, inspite of a clear Ge-
hlot ‘NO’, some pressure is bought on
himfromthehigherupsinNewDelhi,
then it may be counter productive and
Gehlot camp MLAs may even go to the
extent of creating a ‘new Pilot camp’
in the Congress party, which will com-
pletely shatter the dreams of Sonia-
Rahul-Priyanka-Ahmed Patel-Avi-
nashPandetokeepthepartyunitedin
the state. Turn on P8
Pradeep Singh

Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: Almost
a fortnight after the
state cabinet amend-
ed the Gujarat Fisher-
ies Act, 2003, local
fisherfolk are still un-
certain as to whether
the ordinance is a
boon or bane to them.
The new order em-
powers marine police to
search and seize fishing
boats for violating the
International Maritime
Border Line (IMBL).
They can also seize ves-
sels from other states
for fishing in Gujarat’s
waters.
The ordinance is
meant to improve the
security of the state’s
coast and 144 nearby
islands, while also en-
suring better catches
for the state’s fishing
communities. Howev-
er, there are some
concerns that it could
also lead to harass-
ment.
“The old Act was not
effective, so the state
has introduced the ordi-
nance targetting twin
benefits of security and
better fishing. However,
the question of whether
we will be able to catch
more fish is moot if this
leads to an increase in
police harassment,”
said Shailesh Maniyar,
president of Mandvi
Boat Owners’ Associa-
tion.
Yet, many are hope-
ful.
As Veljibhai
Masani, president of
the Veraval Fisheries
Association, ex-
plained: “Fishermen
from Maharashtra
and Karnataka enter
state waters to fish in
the Gulf of Khamb-
hat. Fish breed in this
area, so these fisher-
men not only catch
fish, but they also kill
the eggs, larvae and
juveniles. This then
adversely affects fu-
ture fishing prospects
of local fishermen as
well. So, if these out-
side fishermen are is
stopped, local fisher-
men will benefit.”
Masani said the state
has 15,000 fishing boats.
In addition, several
boats from Maharash-
tra and Karnataka are
also active in state wa-
ters. He added that, on
average, the annual
catch of Gujarat’s fish-
ermen is worth around
Rs900-Rs1,000 crore,
while fishermen from
Maharashtra and Kar-
nataka catch about
Rs100-Rs200 crore
worth of fish in Guja-
rat’s waters. “But, if a
fishing boat from Guja-
rat enters Maharash-
tra’s waters--especially
off the Ratnagiri coast-
-police or fisheries offic-
ers will seize it,” he
said.
He also points out
that the ordinance
could lead to more
confrontation. “The
possibility cannot be
ruled out. If we seize
more boats then Ma-
harashtra and Karna-
taka may retaliate,”
he said.
On the question of
security, Masani ex-
pects little from the ma-
rine police.
“They don’t have
enough staff or boats,
and they hardly ven-
ture out to high seas. If
they do sail out, they
only go about two or
three nautical miles be-
fore returning to
shore.”
President of Por-
bandar’s Fisherman
and Boat Association,
Bharat Modi agrees.
“For successful pa-
trolling, our marine
police will have to
spend more time at
sea. Only then can
true coastal security
be achieved. Unfortu-
nately, our teams are
neither acquainted
with life at sea nor
are they trained to
survive in rough seas.
Fishermen often have
to rescue marine po-
lice from rough seas.
We also see them re-
turning to land just
because the tide is a
little high or the sea
is a little rough.”
He too is worried that
granting more power to
the marine police would
result in more harass-
ment to fishermen.
But the authorities
seem confident.
Himanshu Shukla,
Deputy Inspector
General (ATS and Ma-
rine Task Force), said:
“The marine police is
fully equipped. With
95% staff, 22 police
stations and 45 out-
posts, they can suc-
cessfully handle the
task assigned through
the Fisheries Act or-
dinance.” He added,
“We will ensure that
the power is never
misused and fisher-
men are not har-
assed.”
NEWSAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020
04www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani
has assured adivasis
that the state govern-
ment will work towards
making amendments in
the Revenue Act to en-
sure that any given
property owned by a
tribalcanbetransferred
to their sibling. He also
reassured the scrapping
of Section 73 AA of the
Bombay Land Revenue
Code for land owned by
tribals.
Rupani chaired a
meeting with the Trib-
al Advisory Council
on Tuesday, where
various development
programmes for adi-
vasis were taken un-
der discussion. Post
the meet, State Tribal
Development Minister
Ganpat Vasava told
the media that the
state had released
Rs90,000 crore in
funds towards the
progress of adivasis.
Vasava added, “The
council’s main objective
is to undertake develop-
mental work that brings
economic growth to
tribals. The state has es-
tablished irrigation fa-
cilities worth Rs5 crore
and also set up residen-
tial schools and other
education facilities in
the tribal belt.”
In the past two dec-
ades, the state govern-
ment has connected
98% villages in the
eastern belt common-
ly known as the adi-
vasi belt. With the rest
of the villages falling
in forest areas devel-
opmental work is in
progress in those are-
as too. Another topic
discussed at the meet-
ing was a 15% reserva-
tion quota for tribals.
Addressing the me-
dia, Congress MLA and
whip Ashwin Kotwal
said, “We have raised
pending issues such as
inheritance rights. Un-
der the law, a brother
cannot transfer inher-
ited property to his
younger brother. The
law permits transfer of
property to the next
generation but, not to
brothers. It also does
not allow transfer of
property from tribals to
non-tribals.”
Kotwal claimed that
the chief minister had
promised to bring about
changes in revenue laws
that remove these dis-
crepancies and do right
by adivasis.
As per the 73AA code,
“Restriction on transfer
of occupancies of trib-
als to tribals or non-trib-
als (1) Notwithstanding
anything contained in
Section 73, an occupan-
cy of a person belonging
to any of the Scheduled
Tribes (hereafter in this
section and in section
73ABreferredtoas“(the
tribal)” shall not be
transferred to any per-
son without the previ-
ous sanction of the Col-
lector.”
The Congress whip
also raised an objec-
tion at the usage of
the term ‘vanvasi’ for
tribals. He said that
the terms adivasis and
tribals had been iden-
tified in textbooks too.
Therefore, addressing
them with any other
term cannot be ac-
ceptable.
CM to amend the Revenue Act to remove disparity for tribals
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
 Chief Minister Vijay Rupani may advise chang-
es to the law to grant inheritance rights to adivasis
Poll-waryCong
goesthrough
majorchurn
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
state unit of the
Congress party
seems to be going
through a major
upheaval with sev-
eral rounds of in-
spections being
conducted at the
eight constituen-
cies expected to
hold by-polls in
September. A sta-
tus report had al-
ready been submit-
ted to the party
high command last
month, after re-
view of the on-
ground situation
gained from sever-
al meetings.
The by-elections
have been called for,
after eight MLAs re-
signed from their po-
sition and also pro-
ceeded to defect from
the party. According
to party sources, for-
mer state Congress
presidents Siddharth
Patel and Arjun Mod-
hwadia are to be de-
clared candidates for
the Karjan and Ab-
dasa seats respective-
ly. The party has
struggled to find a
local candidate with
an influence on the
masses for the by-
polls.
The internal re-
port was submitted
to the high command
after the in-charges
of the constituencies
visited them and met
with the local lead-
ers. Post that, anoth-
er team from New
Delhi visited all eight
constituencies.
“The Congress
party is following the
same modus operan-
di as they did before
the 2017 assembly
polls. However, the
situation is different
this time. After an
internal assessment
report was submit-
ted to the high com-
mand, it sent a team
to inspect all the
eight constituen-
cies,” said a source in
the party.
The source also
admitted that the
team from Delhi
wasfromthe‘young
brigade’ and their
decision on the
nomination of can-
didates for the up-
coming by-election
will be final.
“The party is go-
ing through its
toughest phase in the
state. Currently,
there is no organiza-
tional structure and
only two post holders
namely state presi-
dent Amit Chavda
and working presi-
dent Hardik Patel.
There is a dire need
to strengthen the
party in South and
Central Gujarat,” as-
serted the source.
The source add-
ed, “Patel being
made the working
president has not
gone down well
with many senior
party members, es-
pecially the ones
from Saurashtra.
Another member’s
appointment was
about to be de-
clared soon. But,
the high command
decided to test the
waters and sent the
team first. They
have been charged
with observing
how the current
leaders are func-
tioning and review
their plan of action
to retain all the
eight seats.”
A team from Delhi
has been tasked
with the review &
recommendation of
candidates for
by-polls
FISHERIES ACT AMENDMENT
BOON OR BANE?
Fishermen unsure
Will the ordinance meet its target
of better catches for local fisherfolk,
or will it lead to harassment?
Representatives from various fisheries associations have, on numer-
ous occasions, asked both the state and Centre to induct youth from
the fishing community into the marine police force. They say that
these young people have inherited the skills to live on the water and
are closely familiar with the waters and various islands in the area.
And so, hiring them will make for more effective patrolling. The gov-
ernment can fill any gaps in formal educational qualification with crash
courses and training, they add.
Why not hire
youth from
the fishing
community
for coastal
security?
State Marine Force
24Marine Police
Stations
600Marine
Commandos
300Other Marine
Staff
1100 30Approved
Strength
Marine Inter-
ceptor Boats
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani
State Congress Office, Ahmedabad.

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: In a
very public display
of religious devo-
tion, the working
president of the Gu-
jarat Pradesh Con-
gress Committee
(GPCC) Hardik Patel
has donated Rs21,000
towards the upcom-
ing Ram temple at
Ayodhya.
Coming as it does a
day before the ground-
breaking ceremony for
the Ram Janmabhoomi
Mandir, Patel’s an-
nouncement is being
seen as another step in
the Congress party’s
move away from its per-
ceived image as a “par-
ty of and for Muslims
and Dalits”.
Patel is often seen
visiting temples—a
move that could help in
garnering more votes
in the upcoming elec-
tions by endearing him
to the faithful. In fact,
since he was named
working president of
the GPCC, he has visit-
ed all the famous tem-
ples in Saurashtra and
Central Gujarat.
“Patel’s temple visits
are well known. The
Congress is trying hard
to wipe out its image as
a party of and for Mus-
lims and Dalits. To re-
viveandsurviveagainst
a hardcore Hindu party
like the BJP, the Con-
gress has to show its
Hindutva,” said a sen-
ior Congress leader.
The party’s first steps
in the direction came in
therun-uptothe2017As-
sembly elections when,
for the first time, Rahul
Gandhi was seen attend-
ing prayers and pujas.
His visit to Somnath
Temple attracted atten-
tion and controversy.
However, the Patidar
leader on Tuesday an-
nounced that the
Rs21,000 donation was a
personal one from his
family.
“I have faith in reli-
gion, but I am not hard-
core. I hope Ram Rajya
will be there in Gujarat
and across the country
once the temple is built.
To me, Ram Rajya
means farmers’ wel-
fare, jobs for the youth,
women’s safety, free and
quality education for all
kids, development of
villages and economic
progress of the coun-
try,” Patel said.
Cong working prez donates `21K towards upcoming Ram temple
AYODHYA FEVER
l Step away from party’s image as
being ‘of and for Muslims and Dalits’
Hardik Patel. —FILE PHOTO
I have
faith in re-
ligion, but
I am not hardcore.
To me, Ram Rajya
means welfare for
farmer, jobs for
youth, safety for
women, free and
quality education
for kids and devel-
opment of villages.
—Hardik Patel,
GPCC working president
Will state hosp blunders never cease?Government hospital charges for Tocilizumab even as 1,020 fresh cases and 25 deaths take state tally to 65,704 and death toll to 2,534
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: In
more examples of a
state-run hospital
making headlines for
the wrong reasons, a
patient in Valsad died
in a COVID-19 ward
despite never being
tested for the disease,
and the Surat Civil
Hospital charged pa-
tients for the life-sav-
ing—and expensive—
Tocilizumab injec-
tion.
Relatives of a patient
in Valsad have alleged
that their family mem-
ber was kept in the
COVID-19 ward of the
local Civil Hospital for
five days without con-
ducting a test for the
novel coronavirus. The
patient died on Tuesday.
In the second inci-
dent, the New Civil Hos-
pital (NCH) in Surat
charged patients
Rs30,870foraTocilizum-
ab injection. First India
is in possession of a re-
ceipt issued to Lakshmi-
ben Lakhani and Kin-
nar Bhatia in exchange
for the above-mentioned
amount from the Rogi
Kalyan Samiti, NCH.
When the incident came
to light, the NCH dean
said the patients would
be reimbursed.
In the past 24 hours,
the state has reported
1,020 new cases.
Again, Surat leads
the list with 245 cas-
es: 194 from the city
and 51 from rural ar-
eas. Vadodara, while
still behind
Ahmedabad and its
153 cases, is third on
the list with 105 cas-
es. This is the first
time the city has seen
more than 100 new
cases in a single day.
Meanwhile, Rajkot
had 88 cases, Bhavna-
gar, 55, Junagadh, 37,
Gandhinagar, 28, Da-
hod and Kutch had 23
each, Panchmahal
and Jamnagar had 22
each, Narmada had
20, and Bharuch,
Botad and Gir Som-
nath had 16 each.
The state has con-
ducted 20,735 tests in a
span of 24 hours. There
are now 14,811 active
cases in the state, with
87 are on ventilator sup-
port. As many as 14,724
patients are in a stable
condition. OF the 25 pa-
tients died who died
overnight, 11 were from
Surat, four from Juna-
gadh, three each from
Ahmedabad and Jam-
nagar, and the rest from
three other districts.
With the fresh fatali-
ties, Surat’s death toll
has now risen to 643.
In the city, the high-
est number of cases (40)
were reported in Rand-
er zone, 20 cases in Cen-
tral zone, 23 in Varach-
ha-A zone, 24 in Varach-
ha-B zone, 10 in Lim-
bayat zone, 13 in Udhna,
37 in Athwa and 27 in
Katargam zone.
A medics takes a nasal swab for a COVID-19 test at Kasindra road near Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Health drive in Rajkot
after 12 vendors test +ve
Heavy rains expected to hit
A’bad over the next 2 days
First India Bureau
Rajkot: To ensure
that vendors, espe-
cially those selling
vegetables, do not
end up being super-
spreaders of the nov-
el coronavirus, the
Rajkot Municipal
Corporation (RMC)
on Tuesday initiated
a health check-up
drive for all vendors
in the city.
A medical health
camp was set up at Ju-
bilee Vegetable Mar-
ket on Sunday where
12 vendors tested posi-
tive for COVID-19. A
camp was also held at
Liludi Vokli near Ca-
nal Road.
Accordingtoapress
release by RMC, a to-
tal of 286 vendors
were screened, of
which, 212 people
were tested based on
their body tempera-
ture, nCov-related
symptoms and results
of the SPO2
test. Of
the total vendors test-
ed, 11 turned out to be
positive for the virus
from the Jubilee mar-
ket area.
Over 225 vendors
were screened at Li-
ludi Vokli and based
on their screening
tests and symptoms,
82 vendors were test-
ed for Sars-CoV-2.
Only one turned out
to be positive from
this lot of vendors.
On Tuesday, around
152 vendors were
screened in the Raiya
Dhar area, but no one
tested positive. All
vendors who passed
the screening tests
with normal reports
were issued health
cards.
RMC commissioner
Udit Agarwal told
First India, “Vendors
are people who move
from one place to an-
other. Therefore, in
order to ensure that
they do not turn out to
be superspreaders,
medical camps are be-
ing conducted by the
RMC to prevent the
spread of novel coro-
navirus.”
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The In-
dia Meteorological De-
partment (IMD) has
predicted widespread
rainfall in Gujarat,
with heavy to very
heavy showers in iso-
lated places of the
s t a t e — i n c l u d i n g
Ahmedabad—between
Tuesday and Friday.
Several parts of the
Saurashtra region, es-
pecially Gir Somnath,
Junagadh, Amreli and
Rajkot districts, re-
ceived heavy rainfall
on Tuesday.
Veraval in Gir Som-
nath received the most
rainfall, 132mm, be-
tween 6 am and 4 pm on
Tuesday, followed by
Mangrol in Junagadh
district with 121mm,
and Khambha, and Ba-
gasra in Amreli with
120mm and 119mm, re-
spectively, the State
Emergency Operation
Centre said.
The department has
also warned fishermen
not to venture into the
Arabian Sea along the
south and north Guja-
rat coasts until August
8, as the sea will be
rough with a wind
speed of up to 45-55
kmph due to squally
conditions. In view of
favourable monsoon
conditions, Gujarat is
very likely to experi-
ence an active wet spell
from August 04 to Au-
gust 07, the IMD stated,
adding that Daman and
Dadra-NagarHaveliwill
also receive light to
moderate rainfall.
“Saurashtra, south
Gujarat and the adjoin-
ing east-central districts
are likely to experience
fairly widespread to
widespread rainfall due
to a low-pressure area
that has formed over the
Bay of Bengal and a cy-
clonic circulation in the
south Gujarat region
and neighbouring areas
between 3.1km and
7.6km above mean sea
level,” said Jayant
Sarkar, director of India
Meteorological Depart-
ment, Ahmedabad.
NON-DISCLOSURE LEADS TO PROTEST
Almost a week after
the Rajkot Municipal
Corporation (RMC)
discontinued disclosing
the names of COVID-19
positive patients the Rajkot
unit of Congress party has
strongly protested this
decision. Few members of
the party including Gujarat
Mahila Congress president
Gayatriba Vaghela, leader
of opposition at RMC
Vashram Sagathiya,
Mansukhbhai Kalariya, Atul
Rajani will fast in protest
of the decision at RMC
Chowk from Wednesday
onwards. Speaking to
First India, Gujarat Mahila
Congress president
Gayatriba Vaghela said,
“The disclosure of names
is necessary in larger
public interest since those
infected with the virus
may not be able to provide
complete information of
people they had come in
contact with. The RMC
discontinued the practice
as soon as a rise in cases
was reported.”
“We contacted the RMC
commissioner twice for a
response but received no
proper justification. We
also wrote to the police
commissioner seeking
permission to fast for five
days, but were denied,”
added Vaghela.
First India Bureau
Surat: In a turna-
round for the dia-
mond industry of
Surat, local busi-
nesses are expecting
an upsurge in the
second quarter of
the year. So far,
around 30% of the
business has been re-
covered by diamond
units in the city. Dia-
monds worth Rs1,091
crore were exported
by Surti units until
the second week of
June. Most diamond
unit owners antici-
pate a speedy recov-
ery of business in
the month of August.
Dinesh Navadiya,
president of the Gem
and Jewellery Export
Promotion Council in
Surat, told First India,
“The number of units
operating in Surat has
increased in the last
one week. Those units
engaged in polishing
diamonds below 25 car-
ats will open their
units in the coming
days. The demand for
these diamonds has in-
creased significantly
in recent times.”
He added, “There
are a number of units
in remote areas of the
city. I think that these
units will play a major
role in recovery of
business. Since the
pandemic is mostly af-
fecting people in
crowded places, the
units in villages and
remote locations can
provide a much-needed
boost to the diamond
industry.”
Diamond sector expects shine will return soon
Recent rains caused part of Ahmedabad’s busy Satellite Road to
collapse on Tuesday. AMC barricaded it after locals complained.
Rajkot Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
WAIT STAFF, WAITING
An employee plays on his phone at the deserted food court of Gulmohar Park mall a day after the local civic body sealed the Ahmedabad One mall.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 251 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020
Those who had been
scattered preached the
word wherever they went.
—Acts 8:4
Spiritual
SPEAK
s the COVID-19
pandemic rages
on, our under-
standing of it is
i m p r o v i n g .
Through a combination of
epidemiology and physics
– including knowledge of
the virus’s character and
how aerosols float in the
air – we are learning more
about how the microbe in-
fects new hosts.
This understanding is
fueling hopes that we will
soon be able to counter the
pandemic more effectively.
But it has also led to some
contentious exchanges re-
garding the social sciences
andtheinteractionbetween
social norms and the law.
Ever since the pandemic
began to spread beyond
Wuhan and around the
world, there has been an
increasingly acrimonious
debate regarding which
preventive measures
should be decreed by gov-
ernment and enforced by
public officials and the po-
lice, and which should be
promoted as social norms.
Unfortunately, this debate
has become so polarized
that people are immediate-
ly classified as right-wing
or left-wing depending on
their view. Because people
often do not like to be cat-
egorized in this way, and
certainly not wrongly,
many are reluctant to ex-
press themselves on this
important question.
In fact, on many corona-
virus-related matters, we
need enforceable laws. Es-
pecially in the early days of
the pandemic, when people
understood little about the
virus, treating public-
health measures as matters
of personalchoicewasfolly.
Because some people de-
cided to gather in large
groups and not wear face
masks, the disease became
widespread in some coun-
tries, with Brazil under
President Jair Bolsonaro
andtheUnitedStatesunder
President Donald Trump
being prime examples.
But it would be equally
dangerous to swing to the
other extreme and make
governments solely re-
sponsible for changing our
behavior. Autocratic re-
gimes, in particular, are li-
able to use the pandemic as
a pretext to arrest oppo-
nents and silence dissent.
Furthermore, excessive
government control is of-
ten the first step toward
crony capitalism, whereby
a few big firms use the le-
vers of state power to stifle
competition and repress
wages.
Social norms are often
more effective than gov-
ernment mandates, be-
cause they allow a degree
of flexibility that statutes
cannot provide. In Ithaca,
for example, there is a
bridge on Forest Home
Drive that has featured in
studies of games and so-
cial norms, including in
William Ferguson’s book
Collective Action and Ex-
change. The bridge is so
narrow that cars can pass
only in one direction.
Regulating the traffic
flow by law might entail
makingitaone-waybridge,
or requiring cars to travel
from left to right in the
morning and right to left in
the evening. Or the law
might require drivers to
alternate, with one cross-
ing from left to right and
the next in the opposite di-
rection, resulting in wast-
ed space behind each car.
What happens in the ab-
sence of legal regulation is
far better. There is a norm
whereby three or four cars
cross in one direction, and
then the drivers behind
them stop, allowing three
or four cars to come from
the other side. Because the
norm, unlike a law, is flex-
ible, you might, if you are
in a hurry, decide to cross
the bridge as the fifth or
sixth car, delaying those
waiting on the other side
by a few seconds.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.PROJECT-SYNDICATE.ORG
CORONAVIRUS AND COMMON SENSE
A
Social norms are
often more
effective than
govnt mandates,
because they
allow a degree
of flexibility
that statutes
cannot provide
Top
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37 central laws
became
applicable to
J&K which
included laws
like Prevention
of Corruption
Act, Goods and
Services Tax
Act, Insolvency
& Bankruptcy
Code
ONE YEAR WITHOUT 370
ill August 05, 2019 the state of
Jammu & Kashmir had a
unique status in that it was
protected by the discrimina-
tory Article 35A and divisive
Article 370. These two articles
were utilised by the Kashmir-
centric leadership, which
also happened to be the ruling
class, not only to swindle
huge amount of funds re-
ceived from the Central Gov-
ernment but also to alienate
the Kashmiri Muslim popula-
tion from India. All this was
being done at the expense
of state’s solidarity with
blatant discrimination
against the other two re-
gions namely Jammu &
Ladakh. While the people
of Jammu & Ladakh want-
ed state’s complete integra-
tion and assimilation with
rest of India, the Kashmiri
leadership harboured the
dream of autonomy. This
exclusive ideology was
backed up by a separate
constitution, a separate
flag and to begin with a
separate Prime Minister.
There was disharmony in the
state and people of Jammu &
Ladakh wanted to be freed
from Kashmiri hegemony.
On that day, the coun-
try’s Home Minister Amit
Shah announced in the up-
per house of the nation’s
Parliament an epoch-mak-
ing historical decision of
the government to not
only make ineffective the
divisive Article 370 but
also abrogated discrimina-
tory Article 35 A of the
Constitution of India.
Both the impugned articles
were responsible for promot-
ing separatism, communal-
ismandterrorisminthestate.
All Kashmir centric parties
promoted separatism despite
swearingloyaltytotheConsti-
tutionofIndia.Onceknownas
“heaven on earth”, the state
was relegated to hell by the
inept and self-seeking Kash-
mirileadershipwhichwanted
the pot of militancy to contin-
ue to simmer. Precious hu-
man lives were being lost in
hundreds month after month.
Under the shelter of 370 and
35A, Kashmir was gradually
being distanced from New
Delhi. The gap between the
three regions was widening to
the point of no return. It ap-
peared then that New Delhi
was fast losing its grip on
Kashmir. A strong action like
the one of 05 August was need-
ed to stem the wrought. With-
out 370 life looks different.
The happiest lot are the
so-called “unseen orphans of
partition” or more popularly
known as the West Pakistan
refugees. It is a dream come
true for hapless West Paki-
stan refugees, Gurkhas and
Valmikis who number al-
most five lakh and had lived
a life of humiliation and ine-
quality for generations. They
became free citizens of free
India literally after 72 years
of independence. Now they
are also entitled to apply for
government jobs in the UT.
The people of Jammu &
Ladakh heaved a sigh of
relief from the Kashmiri
hegemony and dreamt of
an honourable life as equal
citizens. All provisions of
the Indian Constitution
were made applicable to
J&K. In addition, The Jam-
mu & Kashmir Reorganisa-
tion Act, 2019 was passed by
the Parliament enacting the
division of the state of J&K
into two Union Territories to
be called Union Territory of
Jammu and Kashmir and Un-
ion Territory of Ladakh.
37 central laws became
applicable to the UT J&K
which included laws like
the Prevention of Corrup-
tion Act, The Goods and
Services Tax Act, The In-
solvency and Bankruptcy
Code. These have helped in
fighting rampant corrup-
tion in the UT. An empow-
ered Anti-Corruption Bu-
reau is functional. IPC &
Cr PC are now applicable
like rest of the country.
To remove skewed distri-
bution of assembly seats fa-
vouring Kashmir, a fresh
delimitation commission has
been ordered which has al-
ready begun the exercise.
Scheduled Tribes will get po-
litical reservation.
Law and order is the major
beneficiary. The separatist
voiceshavebeencrushed.The
Hurriyat has become a non-
entity. The octogenarian sepa-
ratist leader Syed Ali Shah
Gilani has left the Hurriyat.
Thereisno“Hartal”Calendar.
Terrorism is on the de-
cline with the security
forces going all out to elim-
inate terrorism and the
terror support network.
There is no stone pelting
on the security forces nor
the flags of ISIS or Paki-
stan are being freely flown.
There is comparative calm
and peace is fast returning.
The pro-Pakistan voices
have been silenced with Pa-
kistan no more a stake holder
except abettor of jihadi ter-
rorism. Pakistan has been
told in unambiguous terms
that only issue as far as Kash-
mir is concerned relates to
vacation of the occupied ar-
eas known as POJK. Anti-
India political voices have
vanished like the hawala
money. National Flag flies
proudly on all government
buildings and everywhere in
the UT. J K Police has be-
come a highly motivated and
professional outfit with out-
standing achievements.
For the first time a sepa-
rate amount has been allo-
cated in the budget for em-
ployment generation. The
process has begun with an-
nouncement of recruit-
ment for about 10000 jobs
under the accelerated re-
cruitment process. The re-
quirement of interviews
has been done away with
for posts under class 3 and
4. New Domicile rules have
been framed and all gov-
ernment jobs including ga-
zetted have been reserved
for the domicile only.
The much needed develop-
ment has suffered a setback
despite adequate budgetary
support due to the onset of co-
rona pandemic. Nonetheless,
the administration under-
took the restoration of infra-
structure projects which had
been languishing for three to
four decades. 593 projects
costing 1313.24 crore pertain
only to road and bridges. 111
projects costing 2221.74 crore
had been completed till Feb-
ruary this year. The process
of black-topping all roads in
the state has begun with 100
crore being sanctioned as
first instalment. The govern-
menthadplannedtocomplete
about 2000 vital projects by
March 2021 but have been
hampered due to Corona.
Jammu has emerged as
higher education hub and
the work on AIIMS has
commenced. New Medical
and Engineering Colleges
have become functional.
The connectivity has im-
proved due to construction
of bridges. The real game
changer will be the Kandi
Dam and Ujh Barrage pro-
jects. The work on New Del-
hi – Katra super highway is
likely to commence soon.
Land banks have been cre-
ated to welcome the setup of
industrial units. A number of
foreign and domestic inves-
tors have shown interest in
investing in the state. Much
talked about Investors’ Sum-
mit had to be called off due to
the pandemic.
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
and Kutch to Katra, India is
one now.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
BRIG VETERAN
ANIL GUPTA
The author is a Jammu
based veteran, political
commentator, columnist, security
and strategic analyst
UNDER SHELTER OF
ARTICLE 370 AND
35A, KASHMIR WAS
GRADUALLY BEING
DISTANCED FROM
NEW DELHI. GAP
BETWEEN THREE
REGIONS WAS
WIDENING TO THE
POINT OF NO RETURN

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020
Army to choose from Tata, American
Stryker and Humvee for its armoured
protection vehicle requirements
New Delhi: Search-
ing for to offer ex-
tremely cellular ar-
moured safety auto-
mobiles to its troopers
in excessive altitude
terrains like Japa-
nese Ladakh, the
Indian Military is
trying to select
from three totally
different automo-
biles together with
the indigenous Tata
Wheeled Armoured
Safety together with
American Stryker In-
fantry Fight Automo-
bile and Humvee.
The Indian Mili-
tary has a necessity
for armoured infan-
try fight automobiles
for fast motion of
troops within the Jap-
anese Ladakh space
the place the Chinese
language have de-
ployed their ar-
moured personnel
carriers in massive
numbers. The power
is trying on the three
choices which em-
body the Tata WhAP
and the American
Stryker and Humvee,
defence sources in-
structed ANI.
The choices are be-
ing evaluated by the
power in the mean-
while and a choice on
this regard could be
taken quickly, they
stated.
Sources stated
throughout the analy-
sis course of, the in-
digenous platform
would definitely have
desire over the inter-
national merchandise
in assembly the neces-
sities of the Military.
Whereas the Tata
car is but to enter ser-
vice, the Stryker and
Humvee have been a
part of the American
defence forces for a
very long time now.
Tata WhAP, which
has been co-developed
with a DRDO labora-
tory, has undergone a
number of trials in
latest occasions to-
gether with excessive
altitude assessments.
The Strykers and
Humvee are report-
edly able to being
dropped from trans-
port plane together
with the C-130J and
the C-17s that are ad-
ditionally operated by
the Indian Air Drive.
Throughout the on-
going standoff with
the Chinese lan-
guage in Japanese
Ladakh, the Chi-
nese language
troops had come to
the Line of Precise
Management at a
number of factors to-
gether with Galwan
Valley, Sizzling
Springs, Gogra and
Patrolling Level 15 uti-
lizing heavy automo-
biles together with
Armoured Personnel
Carriers.
The Indian Military
makes use of numer-
ous Russian-origin
BMP infantry fight
automobiles, that are
utilized by the Mecha-
nised Infantry regi-
ments of the Indian
Military in deserts,
plains, and excessive
altitude areas. —ANI
INDIA EYING `1.75 LAKH CRORE IN TURNOVER
IN DEFENCE MANUFACTURING BY YEAR 2025New Delhi: The gov-
ernment is eyeing a
turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh
crore (USD 25 billion) in
defence manufacturing
by 2025 as it has identi-
fied the sector as a po-
tential driver to boost
the overall economy, ac-
cording to a draft of a
major policy prepared
by the defence ministry.
The draft Defence
Production and Export
Promotion Policy 2020
set an export target of
Rs 35,000 crore (USD 5
billion) in aerospace
and defence goods and
services in the next five
years, which has been
estimated as part of the
total projected turnover.
The policy is envis-
aged as overarching
guiding document of
the defence ministry to
provide a “focused,
structured and signifi-
cant” thrust to produc-
tion of military hard-
ware and platforms for
self-reliance and ex-
ports, officials said.
Officials said the pol-
icy is aimed at develop-
ing a dynamic, robust
and competitive de-
fence industry, includ-
ing aerospace and naval
shipbuilding, to cater to
the needs of the armed
forces.
In May, Finance Min-
ster Nirmala Sithara-
man rolled out a num-
ber of reform measures
for the defence sector
including making sepa-
rate budgetary outlay to
procure Indian-made
military hardware, in-
creasing FDI limit
from 49 per cent to 74
per cent under the
automatic route and
generating a year-
wise negative list of
weapons which
will not be al-
lowed to im-
port.
India is one of the
most lucrative markets
for global defence gi-
ants as it figured among
top three importers of
military hardware in
the world for the last
eight years.
According to esti-
mates, the Indian
armed forces are pro-
jected to spend around
USD 130 billion in capi-
tal procurement in the
next five years.
ThedraftDefencePro-
duction and Export Pro-
motion Policy (DPEPP)
also prescribed a frame-
work to reduce depend-
ence on imports and
takeforwardthe“Make
in India” initiatives
through domestic de-
sign and develop-
ment.
It also suggested
steps to promote
export of de-
fence products
to make India
become part of the glob-
al defence supply chain.
The officials said the
policy paper made sev-
eral key recommenda-
tions to boost defence
manufacturing so that
the sector compliments
the government’s aim
makethecountry’secon-
omy a USD 5 trillion one
by 2024.
The draft policy has
laidoutagoaltoachieve
a turnover of Rs 1,75,000
crore (USD 25 billion)
including export of Rs
35,000 crore (USD 5 bil-
lion) in aerospace and
defence goods and ser-
vices by 2025.
It also laid out goals to
create an environment
that encourages re-
searchanddevelopment,
rewards innovation, cre-
ates Indian IP (intellec-
tual property) owner-
ship and promotes a ro-
bust and self-reliant de-
fence industry. —PTI
Islamabad: A top Paki-
stani court has named
three senior lawyers as
amici curiae in the case
of Kulbhushan Jadhav
as it ordered the Paki-
stan government to
give “another chance”
to India to appoint a
counsel for the death-
row prisoner.
Kulbhushan Jadhav,
the 50-year-old retired
Indian Navy officer,
was sentenced to death
by a Pakistani military
court on charges of es-
pionage and terrorism
in April 2017.
India approached the
International Court of
Justice against Paki-
stan for denial of consu-
lar access to Jadhav and
challenging the death
sentence.
The Hague-based ICJ
ruled in July 2019 that
Pakistan must under-
take an “effective re-
view and reconsidera-
tion” of the conviction
and sentence of Jadhav
and also to grant consu-
lar access to India with-
out further delay.
A two-member bench
of the Islamabad High
Court (IHC) comprising
Chief Justice Athar Mi-
nallah and Justice Mian-
gul Hassan Aurangzeb
appointed the three law-
yersonMondayasitheld
a hearing of the petition
filedbythePakistangov-
ernment to appoint a
lawyer for Jadhav.
Amicus Curiae is a
lawyer appointed by a
court to assist in any
matter or case.
The court also or-
dered a larger bench to
be set up for the case. It
also directed the regis-
trar of the court to fix
the proceedings at 2 pm
on September 3 before a
larger bench.
“We appoint Mr Abid
Hassan Manto, Mr Ha-
mid Khan, Senior Advo-
cates of the Supreme
Court and former presi-
dents of the Supreme
Court Bar Association,
and Mr Makhdoom Ali
Khan, Senior Advocate
Supreme Court and for-
mer Attorney General
of Pakistan, as amici
curiae for our legal as-
sistance in general and,
in particular, to ensure
that the judgement of
the International Court
is effectively imple-
mented,” the court said
in its order.
The Pakistan govern-
ment in its petition has
claimed that Jadhav re-
fused to file a review
petition or an applica-
tion to reconsider the
verdict against him by
the military court.
Pakistan’s Attorney
General Khalid Javed
Khan said an ordinance
was issued to give an op-
portunity to India and
Jadhav to file a review
petition against the sen-
tence. —PTI
Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Top Pak court
appoints 3 senior lawyers as amici curiae
Kulbhushan Jadhav
Washington: In a huge
blow to Indian IT pro-
fessionals eyeing the US
job market, President
Donald Trump on Mon-
day signed an executive
order preventing feder-
al agencies from con-
tracting or subcontract-
ing foreign workers -
mainly those on H-1B
visa - from hiring.
The move came over a
month after the Trump
administration in June
23 suspended the H-1B
visas along with other
types of foreign work
visas until the end of
2020 to protect Ameri-
can workers in a crucial
election year.
The new restrictions
took effect from June 24.
The H1B visa, most
sought-after among In-
dian IT professionals, is
a non-immigrant visa
that allows US compa-
nies to employ foreign
workers in speciality
occupations that re-
quire theoretical or
technical expertise.
The technology com-
panies depend on it to
hire tens of thousands
of employees each year
from countries like In-
dia and China.
“Today I am signing
an executive order to
ensure that the federal
government lives by a
very simple rule, higher
American,” Trump told
reporters in the Oval
Office of the White
House before signing
the order against hiring
H1B visa holders for
federal contracts. —PTI
Setback: Trump signs new
order on H-1B visa hiring
President Trump with PM Modi
New Delhi: Theatre
doyen, legendary dra-
ma teacher and con-
noisseur of the arts
Ebrahim Alkazi died on
Tuesday after suffering
a heart attack, his son
said. He was 94.
Alkazi, who was the
longest serving director
of the National School
of Drama and mentored
generations of actors,
produced plays such as
Girish Karnad’’s “Tu-
ghlaq” and Dharamvir
Bharati’’s “Andha Yug”.
He is survived by his
son Feisal Alkazi and
his daughter Amal Al-
lana, both well known
theatre directors.
“Dad died this even-
ing at 2.45 pm after a
massive heart attack.
He was admitted to the
Escorts hospital the day
before yesterday,” his
son Feisal told PTI.
Alkazi, who tutored
acting greats such as
Naseeruddin Shah and
Om Puri, had been un-
well for a few days.
Tributes poured in
for the man, who was
NSD director from 1962
to 1977, and was de-
scribed variously as
“father of modern In-
dian theatre” and “last
of the Romans”.
President Ram Nath
Kovind said his death
leavesavoidintheworld
of performing arts.
“Ebrahim Alkazi,
doyen of Indian thea-
tre, mentored and in-
spired generations of
artists... A Padma Vib-
hushan recipient, his
legacy will live on. My
condolences to his fam-
ily, students and art lov-
ers,” the president said.
The film and theatre
industry also mourned
the death of the man
who strode like the pro-
verbial Colossus across
the stage.
“He was the father of
modern Indian theatre,
he established Indian
theatre the way we
know it. He only empha-
sised the importance of
training in theatre, if
you look at all the fa-
mous artistes in the
country, you will find so
many of them were
trained under him,”
said Suresh Sharma, di-
rectorin-chargeof NSD.
“Many like me owe
our passion for theatre
to this formidably
knowledgable man.
His contribution to so-
phistication and polish
in staging and impart-
ing a sense of disci-
pline to every aspect of
theatre work is une-
qualled,” Naseeruddin
Shah told PTI.
Alkazi was the “true
renaissance man”, “the
last Roman”, added film
and theatre actor Amol
Palekar.Palekar’’sguru,
Satyadev Dubey, was
trained under Alkazi.
For his contribution
to theatre, Alkazi re-
ceived awards including
the Padma Shri in 1966,
Padma Bhushan in 1991,
and India’’s second
highest civilian award,
Padma Vibhushan, in
the year 2010. —PTI
‘Father of Indian theatre’ Ebrahim Alkazi dies at 94
THE GURU OF GURUS
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
Shri Ebrahim Alkazi will
be remembered for his
efforts to make theatre
more popular and
accessible across India.
His contributions to the
world of art and culture
are noteworthy too.
Saddened by his demise.
My thoughts are with his
family and friends. May
his soul rest in peace.

INDIAAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020
BIHAR GOVT TO RECOMMEND CBI INQUIRY : NITISHPatna: “Today morn-
ing the DGP held talks
with Sushant’s father
KK Singh, who had
filed the FIR. He has
given consent for CBI
inquiry and we are sure
investigation will give
better results,” told Nit-
ish Kumar.
Meanwhile, Sanjay
Singh, spokesperson
Janta Dal said, the rec-
ommendation our end
for the CBI to takeover
the case has been sent.
LJP national presi-
dent Chirag Paswan
said, ‘On August 5 the
Supreme Court will
hear a petition seeking
transfer of the case to
Mumbai. Meanwhile
LJP leaders wrote a let-
ter to Kumar stating,
“The opportunity to
transfer the case filed in
Bihar to CBI is with you
today, if the probe is
handed over to Maha-
rashtra then the oppor-
tunity of CBI will slip.”
BJP leader Nishi-
kant Dubey also urged
the Centre to intervene
and Enforcement Di-
rectorate (ED) and Na-
tional Investigation
Agency (NIA) to inves-
tigate the matter. KK
Singh also added,
“Upon filing of the FIR,
the Bihar Police was
investigating the case
and we had always
wanted to go with CBI,
it happened today.” —ANI
SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT DEATH : BJP LEADER DUBEY URGES CENTRE TO INTERVENE AND ED AND NIA TO INVESTIGATE
In no mood...
Moreover, another im-
portant aspect of this
entire ‘reproachment’
story is that now this
has become too late,
where only Sonia, Ge-
hlot and Pilot cant take
a final call on this issue
because there is one
more player - BJP -
which has directly or
indirectly become a par-
ty or ‘factor’ to this en-
tire ongoing Gehlot-Pi-
lot tussle.
The saffron party’s
official stand is that
they have nothing to do
with Gehlot and Pilot’s
internal war in the par-
ty but still the ‘ground
reality’ is that during
the last couple of
months, Pilot has gone
‘too close’ to BJP and in
fact. Pilot and BJP have
become a ‘natural ally’.
So, LOP Gulab Chand
Katariya is well within
his jurisdiction saying
that let first Gehlot gov-
ernment fall, only then
BJP will come in pic-
ture and if required,
BJP can also bring a no-
trust motion against
the Gehlot government.
It clearly means that to
come back or not to
come back to Congress
fold is not entirely in
the hands of Pilot only.
Therefore, before tak-
ing any crucial political
decision, Pilot has to
consult his ‘political
friends’ in New Delhi’s
power setup, because
betrayal or breach of
trust are absolutely ‘un-
pardonable’ in the pres-
ent times. So in the
present circumstances,
a much talked about Ge-
hlot-Pilot reconcilia-
tion looks a distant pos-
sibility.
Raj CJ...
order passed by the Ra-
jasthan Legislative As-
sembly Speaker declar-
ing the merger of the
BSP MLAs with the
Congress. “It is, there-
fore, humbly prayed
that your lordships may
kindly be pleased to ac-
cept and allow this stay
application and be fur-
ther pleased to stay the
operation of the order
dated September 18,
2019, passed by Respon-
dent Number 1, during
the pendency of the spe-
cial appeal,” it said.
SOG backtracks...
The first FIR was regis-
tered on July 10, in
which the two accused,
Ashok Jain from Ban-
swara and Bharat Mal-
ani, were arrested and
are in judicial custody.
The second and third
FIRs were registered on
July 17. In the second
FIR, Bhanwarlal Shar-
ma, one of the 18 dissi-
dent Congress MLAs,
who is backing former
deputy CM Sachin Pi-
lot, a business-
man-turned-political
Sanjay Jain and one
Gajendra Singh were
booked. On July 17, the
ACB also registered a
case against the three
accused, who were
booked under relevant
sections of the Preven-
tion of Corruption (PC)
Act, 1988.
Advocate AK Jain too
had questioned the le-
gality of filing of FIR
u/s 124-A of IPC that
means ‘sedition’. He
had categorically men-
tioned in an article pub-
lished in First India re-
cently, that the alleged
actcouldonlybetermed
as an offence under Pre-
vention of Corruption
Act and offence u/s 124-
A will not stand before
court of law.
HC rejects...
He had demanded direc-
tions to the union gov-
ernment for advising
the President to remove
the Governor and it was
rejected by the division
bench of chief justice
Indrajit Mahanty and
justice Prakash Gupta
today as baseless.
Promise fulfilled!...
It is this ceremony that
we are conducting to-
morrow. A cone of Ba-
kul tree wood will be
kept in ceremony. This
isn’t an ordinary cone,
it is made of various
metals including gold
and silver. A lotus with
nine gems too will be
part of pujan which
will be offered to this
cone by PM,” he said.
HC asks...
Even ICMR and
MHOFW in their July 01
guidelines had empha-
sized more and more
testing.”
The court is hearing
suo moto and public in-
terest litigations related
to the novel coronavirus
outbreak. Last week, in
response to a petition by
theAhmedabadMedical
Association (AMA), the
state had opposed in-
creasing the number of
tests conducted on the
grounds that the associ-
ation had a vested inter-
est, and that its mem-
bers would benefit from
such an increase.
1 yr on...
Rajasthan Chief Minis-
ter Ashok Gehlot had
demanded it during a
CWC meeting. The de-
mand was echoed
during the meetings of
Congress’ Lok Sabha
and Rajya Sabha MPs in
July as well.
—Agencies
FROM PG 1
SSR’s lawyer welcomes CM’s move,
slams BMC for isolating Bihar cop
New Delhi: Advocate
Vikas Singh, the lawyer
of Sushant Singh Ra-
jput’s father, on Tues-
day welcomed Bihar
government’s decision
to recommend an in-
quiry by the Central
Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) in the case
related to the death of
the actor.
Singh also termed
the actions, investiga-
tion, and the behaviour
of Maharashtra Police
as unfortunate and ir-
responsible. “We want
justice in Sushant Sin-
gh Rajput case. We have
discussed with the fam-
ily of the victim, and
we hope that truth shall
come out. The CBI is a
premier investigating
agency,” Singh.
He also slammed the
Brihanmumbai Munic-
ipal Corporation (BMC)
for isolating the Bihar
cop, who was heading
the investigation into
the case related to the
death of the actor.
“I think, Maharash-
tra Police forcing the
investigators, for quar-
antine and isolation, is
quite unnatural and it
is a process, to obstruct
administration of jus-
tice. Police is treating
Rhea Chakraborty as a
victim, and it appears
that they donot want to
find the truth. —ANI
New Delhi: India wit-
nessed a single-day
spike of 52,050 COV-
ID-19 cases as the total
cases reached 18,55,746,
the Union Ministry of
Health and Family Wel-
fare said on Tuesday.
803 COVID-19 related
deaths were reported in
the last 24 hours. The
total cases include
5,86,298 active cases,
12,30,510 cured/dis-
charged/migrated and
38,938 deaths, the Minis-
try added.
Maharashtra seems
worst-affected with
1,47,324 active cases and
15,842 deaths. Tamil
Nadu reported 5,609
new COVID-19 cases
and 109 deaths. The to-
tal cases in Delhi have
risen to 1,38,482.
“India scales a new
high of 6,61,715 tests in
the last 24 hours,” said
the Health Ministry.
—ANI
Spike of 52,050, India
scales a new high
Vivo likely to quit as
2020 IPL sponsor
New Delhi: Chinesemo-
bilephonecompanyVivo
is likely to pull out as the
IPL’s title sponsor for
this year and is in talks
with the BCCI for an
“amicable separation”
amid rising Sino-India
diplomatic tensions.
The one year pullout
could be treated as a
moratorium period and
if the relations improve,
BCCI may look at ink-
ing a fresh three-year
deal with the company
from 2021 to 2023 on re-
vised terms. The IPL
will be held in the UAE
from September 19 to
November 10 this year.
“Yes, the discussions
are on between BCCI
office-bearers (presi-
dent Sourav Ganguly
and secretary Jay Shah)
with the representa-
tives of the company.
There is a possibility
that Vivo will not be ti-
tle sponsors for one
year,” a senior BCCI of-
ficial said.
While the IPL Gov-
erning Council on Sun-
day retained all the
sponsors, including
Vivo which annually
pays Rs 440 crore (ap-
proximately) as part of
a five-year deal lasting
till 2022, there is a
strong possibility that
the company might part
ways for a year.
The Board official
said that whenever a de-
cision is taken, it will be
amicable and the BCCI
is not looking at encash-
ing the bank guarantee.
“In different circum-
stances, if the sponsors
don’t keep commitment,
BCCI can encash the
bank guarantee which it
had earlier done in case
of errant franchises.
But here, both parties
are looking at an amica-
ble escape route,” the
official said. —Agencies
Domestic flight
ops continue to
soar: Puri
New Delhi: ‘Seventy-
two days after resuming
domestic flight opera-
tions post-COVID-19
lockdown, operations
continue to soar,’ said
Union Minister for Civ-
il Aviation Hardeep
Singh Puri.
Taking to Twitter, the
Minister said, “Domes-
tic operations continue
to soar. 3rd August 2020,
Day 72 till 23:59 hrs. De-
partures were 849.
78,155 passengers han-
dled. Arrivals were 846.
77,558 passengers han-
dled. Total movements
were 1695. Footfalls at
airports were 1,55,713.
Total number of flyers
were 78,155.” For pan-
demic and subsequent
lockdown, all domestic
and international flight
operations were sus-
pended in March. Op-
erations were resumed
on May 25. —Agencies
India: Pak’s new map is an
exercise in political absurdity
New Delhi: Condemn-
ing Prime Minister Im-
ran Khan for releasing
Pakistan’s new political
map laying untenable
claims to Indian territo-
ries, India on Tuesday
termed the act as an
“exercise in political
absurdity.”
“We have seen a so-
called “political map”
of Pakistan that has
been released by PM
Imran Khan. This is an
exercise in political ab-
surdity, laying untena-
ble claims to territories
in the Indian state of
Gujarat and our union
territories of Jammu
Kashmir and of
Ladakh,” the Govern-
ment of India said in a
stern statement. India
also slammed Pakistan
for their malafide in-
tentions and said it
confirms the reality of
“Pakistan’s obsession
with territorial ag-
grandisement support-
ed by cross-border ter-
rorism.”
This comes a day be-
fore the first anniver-
sary of the Indian gov-
ernment’s decision to
revoke Article 370
which gave special pow-
ers to the erstwhile
state of J & K. —ANI
Bombay High Court
postpones PIL hearing
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court on
Tuesday postponed
the hearing on the
Public Interest Liti-
gation, seeking
transfer of Sushant
Singh Rajput’s case
to the Central Bu-
reau of Investigation
(CBI) due to heavy
rains in Mumbai.
The matter was
scheduledtobeheard
by the bench of Bom-
bayHighCourtChief
Justice Dipankar
Datta. The PIL for
transferring the case
to the CBI has been
filed by Sameet Th-
akkar, through law-
yer Raspal Singh
Renu.
“Earlier Rhea ap-
proached Supreme
Court and filed a Peti-
tion for transfer of
the case to Mumbai
in view of the legal
position and transfer
it for the investiga-
tion to Mumbai. The
Bihar Police has no
jurisdiction to inves-
tigate the case legally
and otherwise,” add-
edRhea’slawyer. —ANI
New Delhi: Promi-
nent Maharashtra
ministers have ex-
tended the argument
to question the legal
sanctity of Bihar gov-
ernment’s recommen-
dation for a CBI probe
into the case.
“In the past 5
years, many such in-
cidents took place,
were all the cases
transferred to CBI?
Our Police is compe-
tent enough to han-
dle the Sushant
case,” Maharashtra
minister Anil Parab.
Shiv Sena leader
Sanjay Raut had ear-
lier claimed that the
decision was influ-
enced by the polls to
be held in Bihar.
The turf between
states started with al-
legations that Mum-
bai police was en-
gaged in a cover-up of
the case. This death
case has been sup-
ported by almost all
political parties.
Governor approves CBI investigation
amid Bihar-Maharashtra turf war
The actor was murdered and he did
not die by suicide : Narayan Rane
New Delhi: Senior
BJP leader in Maha-
rashtra Narayan Rane
has waded into Sush-
ant Singh Rajput
death case by alleging
that the actor was
murdered and did not
die by suicide. Rane’s
claim comes close on
the heels of Bihar
government recom-
mending a CBI probe
into a case of abet-
ment of suicide
against Rajput’s live
in partner Rhea Cha-
karborty and her fam-
ily members.
It has been accused
of shielding powerful
Bollywood interests
by Sushant’s family
and Bihar politicians
including deputy
chief minister Sushil
Kumar Modi.
“He was murdered.
The Maharashtra gov-
ernment is trying to
save someone. It is not
paying attention to
the case,” Narayan
Rane. —ANI
PRADHAN TESTS
COVID+VE
Dharmendra pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
# I got a test done
when I noticed symp-
toms of COVID-19 in
which my report is
positive. I am hospital-
ised on the advice of
doctors and recovering
Today morning
the DGP held talks
with Sushant’s
father KK Singh,
who had filed the
FIR, he has given
consent for CBI
inquiry, so we are
recommending for
the same. CBI
investigation will
give better results.
—Nitish Kumar, CM, Bihar
“The law is
clear. If the in-
cident has not
happened in our juris-
diction, we register a
‘zero’ first information
report [FIR], and
transfer it.” when.
—Param Bir Singh,
Mumbai Police Commissioner
“It is the re-
sponsibility of
the state gov-
ernment to maintain
law and order within
the state. In Maharash-
tra, it is the responsibil-
ity of Maharashtra’s
coalition government
led by Uddhav Thack-
eray to enforce the law.
Nitish Kumar should
read the Constitution
again. Nitish Kumar
or the Bihar govern-
ment cannot interfere
with the investigations
by trying to force its
way in”.
—Randeep Surjewala,
Congress’ Chief Spokesperson
AHMED PATEL
@ahmedpatel
Ridiculous & Mischie-
vous of Pakistan to
show J&K, Ladakh , Ju-
nagadh & Manavdar as
part of Pakistan. I want
to remind them that
due to Sardar Patel’s
tireless efforts in 1948
people of Junagadh
unanimously chose
to be a part of India
Publishing imaginary
maps will not reverse
these facts These mind-
less attempts expose
Pakistan’s nefarious
designs J&K, Ladakh
& Junagadh are an
integral part of India.
VIJAY RUPANI
@vijayrupanibjp
This action of
Pakistan is both
preposterous and
obnoxious. Guja-
rat condemns this
absurd act of Pakistan
unequivocally. This so
called “political map”
of Pakistan released
by Prime Minister
Imran Khan today is
a glaring example of
how disconnected
Pakistan PM is with
ground realities. Paki-
stan will never succeed
in its wicked design of
undermining the unity
and integrity of India.

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA
Does coronavirus
linger in the body?
AS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
ARE RECOVERING FROM
COVID-19, AN
UNANSWERED
QUESTION IS THE
EXTENT TO WHICH THE
VIRUS CAN “HIDE OUT”
IN SEEMINGLY
RECOVERED
INDIVIDUALS. IF IT
DOES, COULD THIS
EXPLAIN SOME OF THE
LINGERING SYMPTOMS
OF COVID-19 OR POSE A
RISK FOR
TRANSMISSION OF
INFECTION TO OTHERS
EVEN AFTER RECOVERY?
WHAT IS A CHRONIC
OR PERSISTENT VIRAL
INFECTION?
Achronic or persistent infection continues
for months or even years, during which
time virus is being continually produced,
albeit in many cases at low levels. Frequently
these infections occur in a so-called immune
privileged site.
WHAT IS AN IMMUNE
PRIVILEGED SITE?
There are a few places in the body that are
less accessible to the immune system
and where it is difficult to eradicate all viral
infections. These include the central nerv-
ous system, the testes and the eye. It is
thought that the evolutionary advantage to
having an immune privileged region is that
it protects a site like the brain, for example,
from being damaged by the inflammation
that results when the immune system bat-
tles an infection.
An immune privileged site not only is dif-
ficult for the immune system to enter, it also
limits proteins that increase inflammation.
The reason is that while inflammation helps
kill a pathogen, it can also damage an organ
such as the eye, brain or testes. The result
is an uneasy truce where inflammation is
limited but infection continues to fester.
But there is another way that a virus can
hide in the body and reemerge later. A
latent viral infection occurs when the virus is
present within an infected cell but dormant
and not multiplying. In a latent virus, the
entire viral genome is present, and infectious
virus can be produced if latency ends and
the infections becomes active. The latent
virus may integrate into the human genome
– as does HIV, for example – or exist in the
nucleus as a self-replicating piece of DNA
called an episome. A latent virus can reacti-
vate and produce infectious viruses, and this
can occur months to decades after the initial
infection. Perhaps the best example of this is
chickenpox, which although seemingly eradi-
cated by immune system can reactivate and
cause herpes zoster decades later. Fortunate-
ly, chickenpox and zoster are now prevented
by vaccination. To be infected with a virus
capable of producing a latent infection is to
be infected for rest the of your life.
Recovery from COVID-19 is delayed or
incomplete in many individuals, with
symptoms including cough, shortness of
breath and fatigue. It seems unlikely that
these constitutional symptoms are due to
viral persistence as the symptoms are not
coming from immune privileged sites.
Where else could the new coronavirus
persist after recovery from COVID-19?
Other sites where coronavirus has been
detected include the placenta, intestines,
blood and of course the respiratory tract.
In women who catch COVID-19 while
pregnant, the placenta develops defects in
the mother’s blood vessels supplying the
placenta. However, the significance of this
on fetal health is yet to be determined.
The new coronavirus can also infect
the fetus via the placenta. Finally, the new
coronavirus is also present in the blood
and the nasal cavity and palate for up to a
month or more after infection.
The mounting evidence suggests that
SARS-CoV-2 can infect immune privileged
sites and, from there, result in chronic
persistent – but not latent – infections. It
is too early to know the extent to which
these persistent infections affect the health
of an individual like the pregnant mother,
for example, nor the extent to which they
contribute to the spread of COVID-19.
Like many things in the pandemic, what
is unknown today is known tomorrow, so
stay tuned and be cautious so as not to
catch the infection or, worse yet, spread it
to someone else.
COULD PERSISTENT SYMPTOMS AFTER
COVID-19 BE DUE TO VIRAL PERSISTENCE?
COULD YOU CATCH SARS-COV-2 FROM A
MALE SEXUAL PARTNER WHO HAS
RECOVERED FROM COVID-19?
In one small study, the new
coronavirus has been detected in
semen in a quarter of patients dur-
ing active infection and in a bit less
than 10% of patients who appar-
ently recovered. In this study, viral
RNA was what was detected, and
it is not yet known if this RNA was
from still infectious or dead virus
in the semen; and if alive whether
the virus can be sexually transmit-
ted. So many important questions
remain unanswered.
Ebola is a very different virus
from SARS-C0V-2 yet serves as
an example of viral persistence in
immune privileged sites. In some
individuals, Ebola virus survives in
immune privileged sites for months
after resolution of the acute illness.
Survivors of Ebola have been docu-
mented with persistent infections
in the testes, eyes, placenta and
central nervous system.
The WHO recommends for
male Ebola survivors that semen
be tested for virus every three
months. They also suggest that
couples abstain from sex for 12
months after recovery or until their
semen tests negative for Ebola
twice. As noted above, we need
to learn more about persistent
new coronavirus infections before
similar recommendations can be
considered.
A LATENT INFECTION
VERSUS A PERSISTENT
VIRAL INFECTION
Herpes viruses are by far the most
common viral infections that estab-
lish latency.
This is a large family of viruses whose
genetic material, or genome, is encoded
by DNA (and not RNA such as the new
coronavirus). Herpes viruses include
not only herpes simplex viruses 1 and
2 – which cause oral and genital her-
pes – but also chickenpox. Other herpes
viruses, such as Epstein Barr virus, the
cause of mononucleosis, and cytomeg-
alovirus, which is a particular problem
in immunodeficient individuals, can also
emerge after latency.
Retroviruses are another common
family of viruses that establish latency
but by a different mechanism than the
herpes viruses. Retroviruses such as
HIV, which causes AIDS, can insert a
copy of their genome into the human
DNA that is part of the human genome.
There the virus can exist in a latent
state indefinitely in the infected hu-
man since the virus genome is copied
every time DNA is replicated and a cell
divides.
Viruses that establish latency in
humans are difficult or impossible for
the immune system to eradicate. That
is because during latency there can be
little or no viral protein production in the
infected cell, making the infection invis-
ible to the immune system. Fortunately
coronaviruses do not establish a latent
infection.
HOW DOES A VIRUS BECOME A LATENT INFECTION?
Latent HIV infection Active HIV infection

We all have a choice for the day
to come- to live it with anxiety or
to live it with faith. We all know
what is better!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
10
2NDFRONT
In a win-win situation for railways and farmers, first rake of 2,500 tonnes has left
Shishir Awasthi
Ahmedabad: The Cov-
id-19 crisis may have
spawned many an en-
trepreneur. And pub-
lic sector behemoth,
Indian Railways, is
one of them. With no
passenger footfalls,
the rail PSU has iden-
tified a win-win busi-
ness idea that will fa-
cilitate the onion
growers in Saurash-
tra region to sell their
bulbs in Bangladesh.
As part of this, the
first goods train with 42
wagons, containing
about 2,500 tonne of on-
ions from Rajkot and
Junagadh districts, on
Tuesday departed from
DhorajistationinRajkot
district to reach Darsha-
narailwaystationonthe
border of Bangladesh.
“The first rake for
Bangladesh is expected
to reach Darshana sta-
tionwithinthreedaysas
we have much better
path availability for
goods trains currently,”
said VK Tailor, senior
divisional commercial
manager, Bhavnagar Di-
vision of Western Rail-
ways.
Indian Railways
sources said attempts
were being made to ex-
plore new and innova-
tive ways to scale up
its commercial reve-
nues by tapping new
business avenues.
Tailor said, “Our
mainobjectiveisthatwe
shouldbeabletoachieve
as much freight earn-
ings as possible for the
railways. So we started
approaching trading
communities, APMCs,
merchants and bulk
buyers/industrial cus-
tomers to check their
transport require-
ments.”
He said as part of
this exercise they sur-
veyed the area of Ju-
nagadh, Dhoraji, Up-
leta and Gondal and
found that there were
huge quantities of on-
ion lying unsold with
the traders. The rail-
way officials then mo-
tivated them to trans-
port it to Bangladesh,
where there was a de-
mand.
Excited with this de-
velopment, Union Rail-
way Minister Piyush
Goyal tweeted that the
move is “Propelling ag-
riculture exports to eco-
nomically empower
farmers. In a first, rail-
ways are transporting
onions from Dhoraji in
Gujarat to Bangladesh.”
In 2018-19, Gujarat
produced about 7.2 lakh
tonne of onion -- 6.69
lakh tonne during the
rabi season and about
51,000 tonnes during
summer harvest season.
This year, the onion out-
put in the 2019-20 har-
vest season has been es-
timated by the Gujarat
Government’s Fourth
Advance Estimate, at
13.06 lakh tonne, a jump
of 80 per cent over the
previous year. This has
created a glut situation.
The prices fell from
`2,988perquintalinJan-
uaryattheMahuvamar-
ket,to`933perquintalin
June.
While the first on-
ion rake departed on
Tuesday, railway offi-
cials informed that
the traders are also
preparing to send an-
other onion rake in
the next few days. The
onion exports will not
only help the Railways
to boost its commer-
cial revenues, but will
also lift the onion pric-
es for the farmers.
Rlys’ novel solution to link Guj
onion farmers with Bangladesh
Onion farmers would now be able to sell their huge stocks to the neighbouring country.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The In-
dian Institutes of
Management, among
several such globally
reputed institutions
of higher education in
the country, are
known for gender eq-
uity.
But, in a unique de-
parture from the past,
the top two IIMs of
Ahmedabad and Banga-
lore have reported a fall
in the number of wom-
en in the new class. Not
only this, the other five
IIMs, including the two
recent entrants, have
more women then men
in the new batches.
IIMs Ahmedabad
and Bangalore will
see fewer women stu-
dents this year as
against their counter-
parts in Calcutta, Luc-
know, Kozhikode as
well as the newer ones
at Kashipur and
Raipur, which have re-
ported a rise in the
number of women
qualifiers.
According to experts,
one of the reasons for
this difference in the
gender ratio across the
IIMs could be that the
newer business schools
and IIMs Calcutta, Luc-
know and Kozhikode
have a provision where
they assign extra
weightagetofemalecan-
didates during the selec-
tion process. The same
doesn’t happen in the
case of Ahmedabad and
Bangalore, where they
let men and women to
compete on equal foot-
ing on merit.
At IIM Ahmedabad,
the proportion of wom-
en in the incoming class
has fallen to 21.7 per
cent from 23.71 per cent
last year.
“Achievements (on
women percentage)
are slow as the goal is
to not give extra cred-
its or specify a quota
for gender or other
diversity attributes in
the admissions pro-
cess,” Errol D’Souza,
Director, IIM
Ahmedabad, told a
section of the media.
The fall has been
moresteepinthecaseof
IIM Bangalore, where
thelatestbatchwillhave
29.9 per cent women, as
against as much as 37
per cent last year.
“IIMB has not made
any change to the se-
lection process vis-a-
vis women candidates
in the past three years.
Women fight for their
place at IIMB, along-
side men” Ashis
Mishra, chairperson,
admissions said.
Gender dichotomy at IIMs: A’bad has fewer women students
NEW DEVELOPMENT

IIM
Ahmedabad
and Bangalore
have a lower
number of
female
students while
other five IIMs
have more
NEW INITIATIVE
SC notice to Guj
over diluting
Factories Act
Except Morari Bapu, all
invited at Ayodhya event
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Tues-
day issued notices to
the Gujarat Govern-
ment on a petition
challenging its notifi-
cation extending
work hours under the
Factories Act without
overtime pay.
The petitioner, Guja-
rat Mazdoor Sabha, has
cited the April 17 notifi-
cation by the Gujarat
Labour and Employ-
ment Department
granting exemption to
all factories in Gujarat
from provisions of the
Factories Act, 1948,
about the daily 8-hour
work schedule subject
to a maximum of 48
hours a week with half
an hour breaks. For
overtime work, Section
59 of the Act prescribes
wages at double the
rates. The notification
gives exemptions
from these provisions
for the period from
April 20 to July 19,
2020. It says workers
could be made to
work for 12 hours a
day with a limit of 72
hours a week with a
30-minute break after
6 hours. The overtime
work will merely be
compensated at the
usual hourly rate, the
petitioner wondered.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Vishwa Hindu Pari-
shad has sent invites
to seven religious
leaders from Gujarat
for the ground-break-
ing ceremony for Ram
temple construction
in Ayodhya, but has
conveniently left out
popular Gujarati
preacher and Ram
‘kathakar’ Morari
Bapu who had an-
nounced the highest
Rs 18 crore donation
for the temple.
Even as the saints left
on Tuesday, there were
murmurs of surprise
that the organisers had
skipped Morari Bapu.
The Shri Ram Janma-
bhoomi Teerth Kshetra
trust’s general secre-
tary stated that 175 emi-
nent guests have been
invited. He said the invi-
tation list was prepared
only after “personally
discussing” with BJP
veterans LK Advani and
Murli Manohar Joshi,
lawyer K Parasaran and
other dignitaries.
Five of the 7 invited
saints took a Lucknow-
bound flight from here
on Monday and have al-
ready reached Ayodhya
for Wednesday’s event
and one more will reach
on Wednesday.
Those invited are,
Avichaldasji Maharaj
of Sarsa Gurugadi in
Anand district, Swami
Parmatmanandji Maha-
raj of Rajkot, Acharya
Krishnamani Maharaj
of Pranami Sampraday,
Shambhunath Tundiya
of Sant Savaiyanath
Dham in Ahmedabad,
Madhavpriyadasji Swa-
mi of Chharodi Gu-
rukul, Mahant Swamiji
of BAPS Swaminaray-
an sect and Akhilesh-
war Dasji Maharaj of
the Vishwa Hindu Pari-
shad (VHP),
Ahmedabad.
They all were invit-
ed for the grand ‘bhoo-
mi pujan’ in Ayodhya,
Gujarat VHP spokes-
person Hitendrasinh
Rajput said.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat BJP President CR
Patil has hinted at im-
plementing one-man-
one-post formula even
as he has launched a
consultative exercise
to decide on the reor-
ganisation of the
State and district
units of the party.
Sources said this
could mean that one
person could either be
in the government or
the party organisation,
but it isn’t clear if an
MLA or an MP would be
considered a post or not.
The outgoing chief Jitu
Vaghani is an MLA,
while Patil is an MP.
This strategy had to
be put on the back-
burner because of
intra-party politick-
ing and caste pres-
sures. But Patil wants
it to get new faces.
The other buzz is Pa-
til may not keep prom-
ises for 8 assembly by-
election tickets. Sources
foresee a tough fight on
5 seats and Patil may
drop some turncoats,
though 3-4 of them are
lobbying hard up to
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani and his deputy
Nitin Patel.
Meanwhile, the party
may field old guard At-
maram Parmar from
Gadhada and Kiritsinh
Rana from Limbdi and
induct them in the Cabi-
net if they win.
WARMING UP!
Gyms are being spruced up for re-opening on Wednesday for the first time after the novel
coronavirus-induced lockdown was lifted. They have been allowed to open under Unlock
3.0 guidelines. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
CR Patil wants one-man-one-post formula
1 year after abrogation of Article 370: another
example of triumphalism of “symbolism over
substance & narrative over facts.” There has
been no substantial change on the ground ,
section of Kashmiri Pandits are unhappy. In Leh-
Ladakh & Kargil a governance deficit is in place.
@ahmedpatel
Morari Bapu
Labour unions are angry with Gujarat Govt relaxing Factories Act
in favour of the industries.

y fascination with Mughal-E-Azam be-
gan, when at my mother’s behest, I had
to perform in a cultural show on ‘Mohe
panghat par Nandlal chhed gayo re…”.
I fell in love with Anarkali, those mis-
chievous eyes, lack of dance finesse but
a careless grace which oozed sex ap-
peal, the ádaa’of biting the lower lip
and of course the grandeur of the set!
Mughal E Azam is like the favourite
family aunt, everyone loves her, for
various personal reasons.
Years after watching, scenes stay
with us, be it Jodha hearing ‘Ma’ from
Salim after 14 years as she stands with
eyes closed, the legendary love scene
between Salim and Anarkali or the dia-
logues by the subdued Dilip Kumar as
Salim and regal Prithviraj Kapoor as
Akbar.
But it’s Madhubala who steals the
show, she still woos the audience with
her luminous beauty and her in-
nate strength as she stands up
to the emperor even as we cry
with her… hopelessly in
love!
I could go on and on about
the music which is best till
date and also how K Asif
converted the legend into a
glorious chapter of Indian
film history. But the most
talked about scene contin-
ues to be the Sheesh mahal
shot where the image of a
Madhubala twirling like a top
to the strains of Chhup na sake-
ga ishq hamara is captured
in hundreds of pieces
of fragmented
mirrors of the
Sheesh mahal.
AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY
AUGUST 5, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 11
60 years ago, today on 5 August, Mughal-E-Azam released in 150 theatres across India
simultaneously, it broke box office records and became the highest-grossing Indian
film of all time, a distinction it held for 15 years. City First remembers this iconic film which
cost 1.5 crores at the time and took 12 years!
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
M
Turn to P14
60 years ago, today on 5 August, Mughal-E-Azam released in 150 theatres across IndiaMughal-E-Azam released in 150 theatres across IndiaMughal-E-Azam
Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya!

First india ahmedabad edition-05 august 2020

First india ahmedabad edition-05 august 2020

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First india ahmedabad edition-05 august 2020