G7 or Gee 7; UK’s ‘Dear Leader’; What Deaths!

By Mehnga Singh 20th June 2021

The great and the good, in other words the rich, got together in Cornwall, Britain, with America declaring that it was back in business. As they desperately tried to show solidarity in purpose, their divisions shone through the World Fractured Democratic Front. Every few hours the word China emerged and unity broke with every one saying in unison, ‘China! China! China must be stopped!’ But as soon as said, Brexit took over.

Biden did get his way over one business: an agreement on making tech based businesses pay their share of tax. This had in fact been decided before and more or less agreed despite Britain dragging its feet. Britain was trying to safeguard its once pirate Islands now turned tax havens.

A G7 agreement on vaccinations was also achieved on a miserly 1 billion between them, falling short of the doses needed. The world has 7.6 billion souls or bodies to be vaccinated. About 2.8 Billion will be taken care of by China and India as they vaccinate their own. China probably is near to finishing while India has sort of started at Indian speed. That leaves about 2.5 billion still to be vaccinated after taking out Europeans, North Americans, Brits, Japanese, Russians and the Golden Middle East.

The conversation bounced back to China. China is Biden’s pet hate continuing another Trump policy. The rest superficially because in reality all of them need China’s trade. China, they said, must be stopped. Stopped from what was not clear. Stopped from being successful? Stopped from international influence that China is winning by giving vaccines, medical equipment and other developmental assistance etc to undeveloped countries?

America is worried about the Belt and Road project. It wants to set up a parallel one to win back friends and influence. It might be too late.

Biden couldn’t quite say, ‘China must not overtake US’. So he tried ‘China must be made to follow a rule based international order’ with Boris of Britain bellowing as an echo. France broke the party by reminding everyone that Boris of Britain was breaking international agreements. ‘Shh’ said Biden, ‘we are here to say China is out of order’. Then Germany’s Merkel waded in that Britain cannot unilaterally break international agreements. ‘Oh Shut up,’ said Boris, ‘stop being puritanical with rules.’ And round and round the circus went. Biden’s ‘China must follow rule based order’…. ending with Boris’ ‘stop being puritanical with rules’.

It must have appeared to be a right old comic opera seen from China’s TV. Fortunately, Chinese leadership doesn’t have sense of humour. America is back was more like old Father Biden trying to unite squabbling children. Difficult to see how they will take on China. Still they all stood at safe covid distance and smiled for the photos, saying Gee. It was more GEE 7 and less of G7.

DEATHS? WHAT DEATHS!

A man runs past the burning funeral pyres of those who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during a mass cremation, at a crematorium in New Delhi, India April 26, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

India’s Covid deaths have become a guessing game. This over obsessed bureaucratic country seems to have no idea of number of deaths. Government figures remain between 2,000 and 4,000 a day. What doesn’t add up is that so few deaths seem to have broken the crematorium system of India.

Before Covid, India’s daily death rate was between 25,000 and 30,000. That can be expected in a country of 1.4 billion. It wasn’t over stretched by any means. But if we are to believe the Government then an extra 3,000 deaths a day pushed the entire crematorium network over the threshold, so much that people were cremating their loved one on streets, fields, farms etc. Others were burying them in river banks etc.

Others are suggesting that the real figure is ten times the official count and that’s why people were using streets and fields to say last farewell to their loved ones. Perhaps the true figure will out some day soon.

HER MAJESTY, THE DEAR LEADER

There is no reason why the Queen of United Kingdom and head of Commonwealth should not be revered, respected and held in awe on demand as Kim Jung Un, Putin, Modi or MWB are by their people. Hence no other than the Education Secretary of Democratic and Free Speech Britain put pressure on a few Oxford students who dared to take her picture down in their common room. He said, “Oxford University students removing a picture of the Queen is simply absurd. She is the Head of State and a symbol of what is best about the UK. During her long reign she has worked tirelessly to promote British values of tolerance, inclusivity and respect around the world.” There! ungrateful students. And this minister has just been lecturing Universities to promote free speech and ideas! Prime Minister Boris echoed his sentiment in freedom Britain.

That’s exactly what Kim Jong UNs officials would be saying to any students daring to exercise democratic right in Democratic Republic of Korea. “Dear leader is Head of State, he has worked tirelessly to promote Korean democratic values, inclusivity and respect for the nation around the world!” So would Modi’s Bhakts and Putin’s youth league.

So democracy or no democracy, free speech or no free speech, there are somethings and some icons who are ‘dear leaders’ in all their respective countries.

However there is some difference in the way the unpatriotic, ungrateful and antinational (disrespecting of dear leaders really) people are punished.

In North Korea, if the ‘independent’ western press is to be believed, the ‘rascals’ would be marched promptly to the firing squad and made to repent their ungratefulness in afterlife.

In Russia, the ungrateful might be charged with some crime, or injected with a dye that fizzles their brain or body or be bungled into an unknown unlocatable prison.

India surprising might be different. On the whole not much will happen outside India’s independent press calling such people anti national while the patriotic Modi Bhakts would start a trolling race and even treat the anti-Modi group with iron rods punch up party.

In UK nothing and everything will happen. On the surface the students have freedom of choice. There won’t be police marching in with whips but enough political and public pressure will bear on them to make them appear to be anti-national, unpatriotic and ungrateful. And discreetly, the secret agencies, especially MI 5 will start a file on all the dissenters.

Right wing Tory minister Robert Jenricks said, ‘”I wouldn’t want anyone to disrespect her (Queen) out of ignorance in this way but I don’t think that we should waste too much time on student union politics.” Freedom of speech and choice is now ‘ignorance’ if it does not respect UK’s dear leader, the Queen.

And Left wing Manchester leader, Labour, Andy Burnham said, “We should always respect the Queen but particularly now given things that have happened in the last few months.”

“Let’s get a sense of proportion and a bit of respect. People can air their views but those kind of gestures are divisive actually – they just divide people, and I don’t think they achieve much, to be honest.”

So Queen, the dear leader of Britain, unites all parties. How one jumps from taking down a picture to become divisive is an algorithm only a politician can come up with. Fortunately the guy who led the removal of Her Majety’s picture is an American with very rich parents. Plenty of other British leaders joined in. But give some due to the rector of Magdalene College who said that it is just a students’ room and it’s their choice what they want on their wall.

So let’s not demonise North Korea, India and Russia only. Freedom loving UK is no different, getting into a national frenzy over a picture.

Taliban In Kabul: India’s Diplomatic Challenge

By Mahendra Ved 20th June 2021

Next-door to India, a regional event with global implications that is dreaded by all, whether in support or opposition, is happening. Well-armed and highly motivated, the Taliban are overrunning Afghanistan, fighting pitched territorial battles with the government forces, pushing them out of the vast countryside and confining them to the cities.

It may be a matter of weeks before the government in Kabul collapses because the political and military will of the world powers has also collapsed. There seems to be room only for diplomacy as war-weary US-Nato withdraw their soldiers, a process they may complete well before the September 11 deadline.

The Taliban appear unstoppable. They couldn’t care less what the world thinks of them. They are focused totally on regaining power and their own national issues. A recent interview a top Taliban leader gave ‘Foreign Policy’ reiterates their well-known and much-criticised approach to their women. There will be little education and no jobs for them once they return to power.

The Taliban calculate that the world will worship the victor. After all, they have huge untapped minerals to offer. Weren’t they, when in power, wooed for access and exploitation of Central Asia’s gas an oil – till 9/11 happened?

But the dread persists and it is not just due to uncertainties of what may lie ahead. The nations that are withdrawing from a war they cannot win after nearly two decades are frightened of terrorism in the shape of Al Qaida and the Islamic State returning to Afghanistan, along with and even without the Taliban at the helm. The extremist forces they created and battled by turns as per their expediency have acquired strength they cannot control. It’s déjà vu.

ALSO READ: Afghanistan – The Great Game Continues

This is most apparent in the Biden administration that had little choice – and inclination – to undo what the previous Trump administration handed down. Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Al Qaeda could regroup in Afghanistan in two years. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, told the US Senate Appropriations Committee that he agreed. It was the most specific public forecast of the prospects for a renewed international terrorist threat from Afghanistan since President Joe Biden announced in April that all U.S. troops would withdraw by September 11.

If America fears this even as it withdraws, unconditionally and completely, the France-based think tank, Center for the Analysis of Terrorism (CAT), in a paper published this month sees resurgence of Al Qaida, the IS and its numerous affiliates across a vast region that covers West, Central and South Asia as result of the forthcoming tectonic changes in Afghanistan.

The title and the focus are “the Pakistani Jihadis and Global Jihad” which India can hardly afford to ignore. It says, “…following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, one is likely to witness a resurgence of the Taliban and probably a more operational coordination between Pakistan-supported groups like the LET & JEM and the Taliban.”

It further says: “The current threat landscape and its evolution is strongly tied to the evolution, transformation and fragmentation of historical organizations active in the region since the late 80s and to the continuing alignment of political organs and elites’ interests in Pakistan with those of the Pakistani jihadi organizations (for example the annexation of Jammu and Kashmir), whilst several of these organizations have since adhered to the global agenda of terrorist organizations posing a direct threat to neighbouring countries, primarily India.”

Is it surprising that Pakistan castigates India as a ‘spoiler’ in Afghanistan for trying to deny the strategic advantage it hopes to gain, post-US withdrawal, from a new regime in Kabul? But Pakistan has own set of Cassandras to deal with in the shape of more refugees, more drugs and more sectarian violence. TTP, the Pakistani Taliban have the same ideological inclination as the Afghan Taliban they have hosted for two decades.

The situation is unenviable for India that sees repeat of its recent past. It was friendless when the Russians withdrew and the regime they had supported collapsed. It stands to become friendless again with a Taliban rise, this time having invested over USD three billion.

ALSO READ: India Must Remain Involved In US-Taliban Talks

India has little choice but to engage with the Taliban, and whoever else gains powers after the US-led evacuation. Indeed, its growing proximity to the US makes its presence more vulnerable from the very people it has opposed and criticised. The memories of the 1999 hijack of an Indian passenger aircraft to Kandahar are fresh and so are attacks on its interests by the Haqqani group, said to be working for Pakistan’s ISI.

When the Mujahideen took power in the early 1990s, MK Bhadrakumar, a senior diplomat well versed in the region’s affairs was dispatched. He met the new top leadership, including Burhanuddin Rabbani and Ahmed Shah Masud. Full advantage was taken of an airport refuelling stopover in Delhi by Rabbani and his men. The rapprochement took long, but it happened.

The diplomatic situation is many times more challenging, what with India being identified with the US and against the Sino-Pak alliance, with old allies Russia and Iran missing from its side.

India is a straggler in engaging with the Taliban leaders who have resented India. The past record has been one of mutual dislike and distrust. This is hardly the time to reminisce what India has done or can do in Afghanistan and the goodwill it has gained. The time is to salvage what is built and protect, even the embassy in Kabul and consulates in other Afghan cities.

This is by far the biggest diplomatic challenge with overwhelming security component that India faces in many years.

Petrol, Diesel Price Hike Hurting Industry, Says CII

By LokMarg 19th June 2021

By Shailesh Yadav

New Delhi [India], June 19 (ANI): Newly elected president and managing director of Tata Steel TV Narendran on Saturday said that petrol and diesel prices are hurting industries and it is the right time to cut down prices to give relief to the common man as well as industries.
Speaking to ANI, Narendran said, “The government has increased taxes on petrol-diesel for the last 3-4 years. Now Centre and State governments should come forward to provide relief to the people and industry of the country. Centre and State governments should discuss and come forward with some balance for rate cut in diesel and petrol.”

He further demanded that petroleum products should be brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

“I do not know what is the problem but the Centre and States should come to an agreement to bring petroleum products under GST. Citing an example of the aviation industry, Narendran said that airlines have to shell 60 per cent of the total cost on ATF and we demand that ATF should be also brought under GST,” said Narendran.

Talking about the impact of Covid 19 on jobs, he cited data that the rural unemployment rate has shot up from 8 per cent to 14 per cent which is almost double.

The CII president said, “The cumulative impact of two waves on incomes, livelihoods, and consumer sentiment, coupled with an increase in household medical expenses, are likely to impact consumer demand for some time.”

“So the government needs to give some relief by some short-term and focused GST rate cuts,” he added.

He said that by cutting 2-3 per cent GST rate on consumer good for six months government can provide some sort of relief to the common man who lost their job or faced salary cuts.

“I do not know when those people will see the job recovery who lost their jobs due to pandemic but once construction activity will start and the government will start pushing infrastructure spending, we can see job recovery as most of the medium and small entrepreneurs are linked to the construction industry,” said Narendran.

Mooting urgent financial support to shore up the economy, Narendran said the government has room to provide a Rs 3-lakh crore stimulus.

Narendran said that the industry is ready for the third wave if it comes. He said that AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria has stated that the third wave is inevitable and it could hit the country in the next six to eight weeks because we don’t seem to have learned from what happened between the first and the second wave as again crowds are building up, people are gathering so we need to always remember our Covid appropriate behaviour.

“This is of utmost importance. The industry has learned from the first wave how to deal with Covid-19. When the second wave hit we were worried but thankfully in the second wave we have not seen the migrant issue like last year. The second wave has taught us about oxygen emergencies and now the industry is also prepared for the third wave if it comes,” said Narendran

He said that government needs to boost up the vaccination drive from 30 lakh daily to a minimum of 70 lakh average daily vaccination doses from now till December 2021 to cover the entire adult population. (ANI)

Punjab Cong Crisis: CM To Meet AICC Panel, Sonia

By LokMarg 19th June 2021

By Siddharth Sharma

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is likely to meet members of the AICC panel concerning the state on June 22 in a fresh attempt by the party leadership to find an acceptable formula to end factionalism in the state unit ahead of assembly polls next year.
This will be his first meeting with the panel members after they had submitted a report to party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The AICC panel, which includes Mallikarjun Kharge, JP Aggarwal and Harish Rawat, has met Rahul Gandhi twice after submitting their report.

A senior leader told ANI on condition of anonymity that Rahul Gandhi has not disclosed anything about the decision which leadership wants to take.

Sources close to the Chief Minister said the meeting is aimed at finding a solution acceptable to him concerning various issues.

An important sticking point apparently is suitable accommodation of Navjot Singh Sidhu, with whom Capt Amarinder Singh has had differences.

The Chief Minister may also meet Sonia Gandhi.

Earlier in the first week of June, the Chief Minister had presented his side to the committee for three hours.

The committee had met party MLAs, MPs and other leaders. The complexity of the situation is evident from the time it is taking to find a solution with nearly two weeks over since the report was submitted.

Sources said that Rahul Gandhi is monitoring the developments but the party high command has not yet opened its cards.

They said Sonia Gandhi wants the committee to come up with a formula that is acceptable to all leaders.

The most important decision concerns that of the state Congress chief. There is also a possibility of the appointment of the Deputy Chief Minister and various election-related committees have to be finalised. (ANI)

Mumbai Clown Raising Awareness of COVID-19 in Slums

By LokMarg 19th June 2021

Volunteer social worker Ashok Kurmi is helping an army of young fans fight the coronavirus in Mumbai’s slums using an unusual accessory: a clown costume. Dressed in a bright red clown suit, complete with face paint and a rainbow-hued wig, the 37-year-old executive spends his days off disinfecting public spaces, distributing face masks, and spreading awareness about Covid19. Click here to watch the video.

June 2020- How Asia’s biggest slum contained he coronavirus

In one of the world’s most congested shanty towns, social distancing is not a luxury people can afford. And density is a friend of the coronavirus.

Imagine more than 650,000 people spread over 2.5 grubby sq km, less than a square mile. That’s a population larger than Manchester living in an area smaller than Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

Eight to 10 people live together in poky 100 sq ft dwellings. About 80% of the residents use community toilets. Homes and factories coexist in single buildings lining the slum’s narrow lanes. Most people are informal daily-wage workers who don’t cook at home and go out to get their food.

And yet Dharavi, a sprawling slum in the heart of Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital, appears to have brought an outbreak under control – for now.

Since the first case was reported on 1 April, more than 2,000 infections and 80-odd deaths have been reported here. Half of the cases have recovered.

Daily reported infections dropped from a high of 43 a day in May to 19 in the third week of June. The average doubling rate had gone up from 18 days in April to 78 in June.

The scale of the measures put in place – a mix of draconian containment, extensive screening, and providing free food to an out-of-work population – has been extraordinary.

Municipal officials say they have traced, tracked, tested, and isolated aggressively to halt the spread of infection. At the heart of this has been the screening effort, involving fever camps, doorstep initiatives, and mobile vans. The early door-to-door screening by workers in sweltering personal protective gear was not sustainable when the weather turned hot and muggy.

So the effort pivoted to the fever camps, where more than 360,000 people have been screened for symptoms so far.

At each camp, a team of half-a-dozen doctors and health workers in protective clothing screen up to 80 residents every day for temperature and blood oxygen levels using infrared thermometers and pulse oximeters.

People showing flu-like symptoms are tested for the disease on spot. Those who test positive are moved to local institutional quarantine facilities, a bunch of schools, marriage halls, sports complexes. More than 10,000 people have been put into quarantine so far. If their condition deteriorates, patients are moved to public and three private hospitals in the area

Are things still the same in 2021?

As Indian cities face record daily deaths, new cases have plunged in the Mumbai slum in recent weeks as officials bolstered anti-virus measures first put in place last year – from mass testing to disinfections in public areas, including bathrooms.

“The toilet is being cleaned every day since the last year as against once a week earlier. There’s soap and sanitiser and a box for disposing of sanitary pads that were otherwise strewn around,” Shaikh, 30, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“People are also more cautious now: they are using masks and sanitisers … exposure to deaths and infections has made everyone fearful,” said the mother-of-one.

Home to 850,000 people cramped in 55,000 mostly one-room homes, Dharavi’s confirmed coronavirus cases fell to nine on Monday – down from a one-day peak of 99 a month ago, according to local government data.

Residents and local officials say that is largely the result of lessons learned during last year’s first wave of cases when Dharavi defied expectations by tackling an initial surge in infections.

A testing protocol including free tests for tens of thousands of residents was revived as cases crept into double digits, fever camps were set up to scan for symptoms, and quarantine facilities set up last year were reopened.

Despite vaccine shortages, announcements have blared out from loudspeakers across the slum, urging residents to get vaccinated. Another campaign sought to overcome vaccine hesitancy by offering free soap to anyone getting their jab.

“There is a strong community outreach, contact tracing continues and toilets are being deep cleaned with jet sprays,” said Yusuf Kabir, water, sanitation, and health specialist with UNICEF, listing factors that helped the slum turn the tide.

Toilet operators and sanitation workers are more vigilant, Kabir said.

“No one can guarantee it won’t be affected in the third wave. But Dharavi is not complacent,” he said.

About a third of the world’s urban population lives in informal settlements like Dharavi, which lies at the heart of India’s economic hub, according to the United Nations.

Poor living conditions, malnutrition, and weakened immune systems make slum dwellers more vulnerable to contracting infections, disease experts have warned.

Wary of Dharavi’s potential to become a COVID-19 nightmare, Mumbai’s civic officials were closely monitoring cases in the neighbourhood when India’s deadly second wave took hold in March.

Initially, the slum’s quarantine centres were empty. Some experts suggested the metropolis might have moved towards herd immunity following last year’s outbreak.

“Everybody sensed if Dharavi was fine, Mumbai was fine. We slightly misjudged Dharavi’s quiet and calm as everything under control,” said Kiran Dighavkar, an assistant municipal commissioner with Mumbai’s civic body.

Cases in Mumbai and Dharavi steadily increased through March, peaking in April to a daily high of 11,000 cases, before steadily coming down to less than 2,000 on Monday.

“The 15 days from April 10 to 25 were horrible … We were going mad,” Dighavkar said, adding that lessons learned in the slum had helped the city as a whole respond to the crisis.

“We adopted the Dharavi model of aggressive testing and screening. And that actually helped,” Dighavkar said.

Paying Attention

Local politician and Dharavi resident Babu Khan spent years challenging Mumbai’s municipal corporation over poor hygiene, overcrowding, and rubbish-dumping in the slum that heightened the risk of disease.

But the COVID-19 crisis has forced both authorities and local people to rethink sanitation and public health issues.

“The coronavirus has changed a lot: doctors, health posts, ward officers are paying attention. Dharavi has got the attention we had been seeking all these years,” he said.

Local residents are more cautious, too, and the slum’s narrow streets are cleaner.

“After the first COVID-19 death in Dharavi last year, there was panic among people. They became alert and realised they had to save themselves,” Khan said.

Local doctor Sudhir Patil who has been practicing in Dharavi for years said the number of asthmatic bronchitis and tuberculosis cases has dropped over the last year as residents wear masks and take better care of their diets.

Despite a cautious optimism that the worst is over, officials are already making plans for a possible third wave, including setting up facilities for children, who are not yet eligible for vaccination.

“We can’t assume everything is okay… every wave has its own challenges,” said Dighavkar.

“But there is a positive impact of these changes in Dharavi on children who have had an early exposure to good habits. And that will be a permanent change.”

Hindutva Is Not A Firm, Must Come From Heart: Uddhav

By LokMarg 19th June 2021

Launching a veiled attack on the BJP, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said Hindutva is not a company and should come from the heart.

Addressing party workers on the occasion of Shiv Sena’s foundation day, Thackeray said, “Shiv Sena has emerged stronger than before. Some people are having stomach ache after losing power. They should take care of themselves. I cannot give them medicines but I will give them political medicine.”

The Shiv Sena leader said standing on one’s own does not mean just fighting elections but fighting for rights.

“Hindutva is not a company which, as they say, was left by Shiv Sena because we formed the government with Congress and NCP. Hindutva comes from the heart. We continue our fight for Marathi. We will fight for Hindutva. Hindutva is the pride of our country,” stated the chief minister.

He further mentioned the West Bengal elections and hailed chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her landslide victory.

“Mamata Banerjee manifested victory on her own strength. Bengali people have shown their own strength. It is called Swabal (self-power). Bengal took the right decision,” said Thackeray. (ANI)

US President Joe Biden, on Saturday, along with First Lady Jill Biden, announced the death of Champ, one of their two German shepherds, describing him as a “cherished companion” and a “sweet, good boy.”

According to Fox News, in an official statement, Bidens said, “Our hearts are heavy today as we let you all know that our beloved German Shepherd, Champ, passed away peacefully at home. He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family.”

“Even as Champ’s strength waned in his last months, when we came into a room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub. Wherever we were, he wanted to be, and everything was instantly better when he was next to us.”

Champ loved racing to catch their grandchildren as they ran around their backyard in Delaware, and chasing golf balls on the front lawn of the Naval Observatory.

“In our most joyful moments and in our most grief-stricken days, he was there with us, sensitive to our every unspoken feeling and emotion. We love our sweet, good boy and will miss him always,” the statement concluded.

Biden brought two dogs, Champ and Major, to the White House this year. Champ had been living with the Bidens since 2008 and was reportedly named by the president’s granddaughters. ‘Major’ was adopted in 2018 and is the first rescue dog to live in the White House.

In March, both dogs had returned to the White House after being sent to the family home in Wilmington, Delaware, for what the White House described as a pre-planned trip.

As per Fox New, this came after reports that Major had bitten a member of the White House security team and had been barking and lunging at other staffers. There had been no reports of bad behaviour from the older Champ. (ANI)

American First Family Loses Their ‘Champ’

By LokMarg 19th June 2021

Champ loved racing to catch their grandchildren as they ran around their backyard in Delaware, and chasing golf balls on the front lawn of the Naval Observatory.

In March, both dogs had returned to the White House after being sent to the family home in Wilmington, Delaware, for what the White House described as a pre-planned trip.

‘Police FIRs, Arrests Can’t Break The Spirit Of Dissent’

By LokMarg 19th June 2021

Nasreen Javed, 32, from Lucknow says the unfair methods used by a repressive state, like police FIRs and arrests, cannot crush the spirit of dissent in Indian democracy

Lucknow Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb ke liye jani jati hai. Yani yahan log ek doosre ki izzat karte hain, ek doosre ka sath dete hain (Lucknow is known for its inclusive culture and people here respect, support and take stands for each other). The government has tried its level best to break this cohesiveness, but they haven’t managed to so far. Nor have they managed nor will they succeed in breaking the spirit of young activists like Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Asif Iqbal Tanha, my fellow protestors or me.

The government had perhaps thought that if they arrest or unnecessarily hound youngsters, they might rot in jail for the rest of their lives, but the collective soul of India is far greater than the hatred that is brewing in it right now.

I have always raised my voice against injustice and untruth, but with CAA- NRC protests, I ensured that my voice is heard loud and clear and it doesn’t slow down. I was one among the group of 11 women who started the CAA protest at Ghantaghar in Lucknow and participated for 66 days in a row. With a three-month old adopted daughter in tow I braved it all. I have nearly eight to ten FIRs against me, all for taking a stand during the CAA- NRC protests. But I am not scared. I am not doing anything wrong.

***Nasreen Javed with fellow protestors in Lucknow***

Police acted in heartless manner to break our last year’s protests. Our blankets were taken away extreme cold; our food wasn’t allowed to reach the protest sites; they would pour cold water on the bonfires. I still remember an amber reaching my hijab and singing it when cold water was poured on the fire to put it out. But they cannot pour cold water over our spirit and dampen it.

ALSO READ: Nodeep Kaur Recounts Her Stay In Prison

Even if I have to go to the jail for this cause I am not scared. Sach ki takat alag hoti hai, uska jazba hi alag hota hai (Being on the side of truth lends you a different kind of courage). Perhaps we have the same courage, same spirit that our freedom fighters had during the Freedom Struggle. We are freedom fighters.

The police have been unrelenting in trying to find ways to break our spirit, but so far we have also managed to hold on. As Natasha Narwal said, having strong family support gives you the courage to carry on with your fight for truth. There were times when the police would wake my in-laws in the dead of the night and ask them to bring me to the police station (while I was at the protest site) or they would be arrested. Why hassle old people?

***Anti-CAA protestors hold indefinite fast in Lucknow***

I go to the court for hearing every 15 days and even with the fear of Covid-19 lurking everywhere I am standing strong. A life that has meaning in it is worthwhile. Thank God my family understands why I feel so strongly about CAA-NRC. It is about ‘exclusion’ while our Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb and even India at large is about ‘inclusion’.

We are raised in a way that we are taught to include. I wonder what’s going on in the minds of our leaders. They were subtly/indirectly saying that persecuted people from other countries, from communities other than Muslims would be granted citizenship. But can the government also ensure that their living standard would become better? What about the living standards of the people already settled here? Dialogue is the need of the hour.

As Told To Yog Maya Singh

Milkha Singh – A Legend On The Field And Beyond

By LokMarg 19th June 2021

Ace sprinter Milkha Singh was not just a legend on the field, but also a trendsetter off it. While his achievements on the sports field is well documented, the biopic on his life ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ inspired the whole nation and started the trend of ‘Sports Biopics’ in Bollywood.

The track legend’s willpower saw him overcome every hurdle and his journey from Govindpura to Delhi in 1947 and then to dominate the world stage in athletics was stuff dreams are made of. And it came as no surprise that the movie starring Farhan Akhtar was a blockbuster hit.
There had been a couple of movies based on sportspersons before ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, but none created the magic like this one. With Prasoon Joshi writing the script and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra directing it, the movie had success written all over it.

Indian screenwriter and chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Prasoon Joshi said the track legend was an inspiration for everyone.

“It was an honour to write Bhaag Mikha Bhaag which allowed me to explore Milkhaji’s life and learn a lot from it. Had just met him and his wife Nirmal Ji a few months back in Delhi and at 92 he was still looking forward to life. A doer an optimist whose positivity will always resonate with me,” said Prasoon.

Sharing how Milkha inspired him personally, Joshi said, “Milkha Ji was an inspiration for not only the film I wrote but In life; Unhone race lagayi. Woh mushkilon se bhaage nahi , daud lagai unke saath.” (He raced. He did not run away from difficulties, ran with them.)

While the film’s success is well documented, it also opened the doors for the genre of Sports Biopics. Since then there has been no looking back as directors and writers have come forward to recapture the lives of sports legends in order to tell their “untold” stories through movies.

In 2016, fans got another treat when ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’ a movie based on the life of legendary Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni went on floors. The movie – starring late Sushant Singh Rajput — shattered several records since its release and inspired the youngsters from the smaller towns of India to believe in dreams.

Three months later came Amir Khan starrer ‘Dangal’ which showcased the struggles of Indian wrestlers Babita Phogat and Geeta Phogat. The movie released in the year 2016 and became the highest-grossing Indian film ever bagging the titles of the fifth highest-grossing non-English film and the highest-grossing sports film worldwide.

Sports Biopics have since become a favourite with fans who love seeing the ‘off the field’ stories of their favourite athletes on the silver screen.

Coming back to Milkha Singh’s biopic, what made the movie more special is that the legendary athlete and his daughter, Sonia Sanwalka, co-wrote his autobiography, titled ‘The Race of My Life’– the book that inspired ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.’ Milkha had sold the film’s rights for one rupee and inserted a clause stating that a share of the profits would be given to the Milkha Singh Charitable Trust which was founded in 2003 with the aim of assisting poor and needy sportspeople.

While Milkha passed away due to COVID-related complications in a private hospital in Chandigarh late on Friday night, his legacy will live on forever. (ANI)

Pvt Participation Crucial In Vaccination: Health Ministry

By LokMarg 18th June 2021

Private sector engagement is critical for the success of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program to reach the largest possible number of people, the health ministry said in a briefing on Friday.

Dr VK Paul, Member, Health of the Niti Aayog, in the briefing said that private sector procurement of Covid-19 vaccines would also be a systematic process and state governments would play an important role when the Centre’s new vaccination program commences on June 21.
“75 per cent of domestically produced vaccines will be procured by the Centre and distributed to the state for free for implementation. 25 per cent will be done by the private sector. States will see the demand and vaccination capabilities of private hospitals in the state, aggregate it and share with the Centre,” Paul said.

“There will be a systematic flow of vaccines to the private sector as well. I am hopeful that in this way, there will be a lot of energy in the participation of the private sector and vaccination sites will increase,” he added.

He further said that states would be playing a facilitatory role by aggregating information and ensuring the spread of vaccinations.

“Private sector engagement is critical to the success of the vaccination program to reach the largest possible number of our people and we value that. In the present guidelines, this system has been streamlined as a partnership in which state governments play a facilitatory role of aggregation, ensuring spread, and small vaccination participation.

On June 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a centralised procurement system for COVID-19 vaccines, beginning from June 21, with 25 per cent of the procurement being made available for private sector, as well as free vaccinations for everyone above the age of 18. (ANI)