NEW DELHI : Owing to the lack of pioneering innovation and stalled funding, more than 90 per cent startups in India fail in the first five years, a study by software major IBM revealed on Wednesday.
 The startups in the country are facing funding roadblocks both at entry and exit stages while successful global startup ecosystems are well supported by active investor communities.  “We believe that startups need to focus on societal problems like healthcare, sanitation, education, transportation, alternate energy management and others, which would help deal with the issues that India and the world face,” said Nipun Mehrotra, Chief Digital Officer, IBM India/South Asia, in a statement.   More than 76 per cent of Indian executives pointed to the country’s economic openness as a major business advantage, while 60 per cent identified skilled workforce and 57 per cent of the executives said that a large domestic market provides significant advantages.  Seventy three per cent of Indian business leaders surveyed believe that ecosystems can help accelerate innovation and almost 80 per cent of the executives from established companies say collaboration with startups accelerates new ideas.   Seventy per cent of the venture capitalists believe that talent acquisition is one of the biggest challenges faced by Indian startups, and limited availability of necessary skills impedes growth.   “Stakeholders’ (established businesses, startups, VCs, Government, higher education) involvement and contribution is key to creating a conducive environment for the success of the startup economy,” the study noted.   The IBM study titled “Entrepreneurial India” was based on interviews with more than 1,300 Indian executives, including 600 startup entrepreneurs, 100 venture capitalists, 100 government leaders, 500 leaders of established companies and 22 educational institution leaders.

(With Inputs from IANS)

Over a million adolescents die globally every year due to preventable causes. This accounts for 3,000 young deaths each day, according to a latest report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Road traffic injuries, lower respiratory infections and suicides – attributed to mental health – are the biggest causes of death among adolescents.  In 2015, more than two-thirds of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and South-East Asia, the report says, adding most of these deaths can be prevented with good health services, education and social support. But in many cases, adolescents who suffer from mental health disorders, substance use, or poor nutrition cannot obtain critical prevention and care services – either because the services do not exist, or because they do not know about them.

Also, many behaviours that impact health later in life, such as physical inactivity, poor diet, and risky sexual health behaviours, begin in adolescence.

Data in the report, Global accelerated action for the health of adolescents (AA-HA!): Guidance to support country implementation, suggests huge differences in causes of death when separating the adolescent group by age (younger adolescents aged 10–14 years and older ones aged 15–19 years) and by sex.

In 2015, road injuries were the leading cause of adolescent death among 10–19-year-olds, resulting in approximately 115 000 adolescent deaths. Older adolescent boys aged 15–19 years experienced the greatest burden. Most young people killed in road crashes are vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

However, differences between regions are also stark. Looking only at low- and middle-income countries in Africa, communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, lower respiratory infections, meningitis, and diarrhoeal diseases are bigger causes of death among adolescents than road injuries, according to the report.

The picture for girls differs greatly. The leading cause of death for younger adolescent girls aged 10–14 years are lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia – often a result of indoor air pollution from cooking with dirty fuels. Pregnancy complications, such as haemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed labour, and complications from unsafe abortions, are the top cause of death among 15–19-year-old girls, the report says.

“Adolescents have been entirely absent from national health plans for decades,” says Dr Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director-General, WHO. “Relatively small investments focused on adolescents now will not only result in healthy and empowered adults who thrive and contribute positively to their communities, but it will also result in healthier future generations, yielding enourmous returns.”

Suicide and accidental death from self-harm, the report says, were the third cause of adolescent mortality in 2015, resulting in an estimated 67 000 deaths. Self-harm largely occurs among older adolescents, and globally it is the second leading cause of death for older adolescent girls. It is the leading or second cause of adolescent death in Europe and South-East Asia.

Adolescent health needs intensify in humanitarian and fragile settings, the report recommends. Young people often take on adult responsibilities, including caring for siblings or working, and may be compelled to drop out of school, marry early, or engage in transactional sex to meet their basic survival needs. As a result, they suffer malnutrition, unintentional injuries, pregnancies, diarrhoeal diseases, sexual violence, sexually-transmitted diseases, and mental health issues.

NEW DELHI : The government has installed necessary security in batches to protect its key networks from the cyber attack by ransomware virus ‘WannaCrypt’, Information Technology Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said on Tuesday.

“On ransomware, since March, the government of India has been on high alert. We have already installed the necessary security in batches as far as the government key networks are concerned,” said Sundararajan at the inaugural session here of Broadband India Forum.

“We have not got any reports of widespread infection. There have been very few isolated instances and we continue to be on watch,” she added.

Sundararajan said that apart from five or six isolated instances, there are no reports of any significant damage in the country.

“CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) which is the national agency which monitors and tracks this activity, has affirmed that in India, there were five or six isolated instances, one of about 18 computers of the police in Andhra, as well as about five odd instances, one in Kerala where one of the Panchayat computers were affected,” she told reporters here.

“Apart from that, there have been very small fragmented, isolated machines, standalone machines which have been affected. Overall, there was no report on any kind of substansive scale to indicate that Indian systems have actually been affected.”

The IT Secretary added that a multi-agency monitoring team is already continously monitoring and assessing the situation on a round-the-clock basis.

Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday had said the cyber attack by ransomware virus ‘WannaCrypt’ had nearly zero impact in India.

“We are strengthening our cyber security. After talking to Microsoft, we had asked people to install patch system in March. This ongoing attack not only had minimum, but nearly zero per cent impact, in India. We are strengthening our areas,” the Minister had said.

Speaking about the IT sector, Sundararajan said: “It (the IT sector) is continuing to grow at 7-8 per cent, it is forecast to grow at that rate. It has created five lakh jobs in the last two years.”

“There may be some changes in the profile of work or the profile of verticles within the IT sector because that is a dynamic sector. But we have it on categoric record from the industry that large scale job losses have not hampered at all. There is nothing unusual in the pattern of the employment scenario as far as the IT sector is concerned,” she said.

(With Inputs from IANS)

PATNA : The Income Tax Department on Tuesday conducted raids at over 22 places in Delhi and Haryana in connection with alleged Rs 1,000 crore benami land deals involving RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Besides the Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo, the IT raids were also carried out on the premises of party MP P.C. Gupta’s residence as well as several businessmen and real estate agents in Delhi and Haryana’s Gurugram and Rewari.

The raids started around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, in which over 100 officials were involved. 

Income Tax officials also searched over 10 premises of some government officials.

The IT Department’s action comes in the wake of the allegations made by former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.

Modi has accused Lalu Prasad and his children – Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and Rajya Sabha Parliamentarian Misa Bharti – of being involved in corrupt land deals. 

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said if there was documentary proof or solid evidence against the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and his family then the central government should take legal action.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had demanded a CBI probe into the “shady” land deals.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has alleged that RJD chief’s daughter Misa Bharti has not disclosed these alleged assets in her election affidavit and has demanded that the Election Commission take action against her. 

The BJP leader also alleged that the land deals were done during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as Union Railway Minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. 

Following the IT raids, Sushil Kumar Modi, who has been repeatedly accusing Lalu Prasad and his family in the “benami” properties case, told the media in Patna that his stand was “vindicated”.

(With Inputs from IANS)

CHENNAI : The CBI on Tuesday raided the residences of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram here in connection with the grant of FIPB approvals when he was the Finance Minister. Chidambaram has termed it vendetta politics and declared the raids will not stop him from being critical of the government.

A team of 11 CBI officials entered the Haddows Road residence of Chidambaram on Tuesday morning and carried out searches.

According to sources, 17 other locations in Chennai, Karaikudi, Delhi and Noida were also searched by CBI sleuths in this connection.

The early morning raids at the former Finance and Home Minister’s residence were conducted in connection with Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearances given to INX Media (now called 9X Media) when it was run by Peter and Indrani Mukherjea, and Chidambaram was the Finance Minister.

Separate Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) teams conducted searches at more than 17 locations in Chennai, Karaikudi, Delhi and Noida besides Mumbai and Gurugram.

The CBI raids come close on the heels of an Enforcement Directorate probe into the affairs of Karti Chidambaram who they allege was involved in FEMA violations and money laundering.

According to the investigating agency allegations, Karti was linked to a firm, Advantage Strategic Ltd, whose name cropped up in various cases.

Chidambaram has said there are no allegations against him or his son.

“The government, using CBI and other agencies, is targeting my son and his friends. The government’s aim is to silence my voice and stop me from writing, as it has tried to do in the cases of leaders of opposition parties, journalists, columnists, NGOs and civil society organizations. All I will say is, I shall continue to speak and write.”

In a statement issued on Tuesday, a little after the raids began, Chidambaram said “FIPB approval is granted in hundreds of cases. The five Secretaries who constitute the FIPB, the officials of the FIPB Secretariat and the competent authority in each case are the public officials. There is no allegation against any of them. There is no allegation against me.”

Terming it vendetta politics, the former Finance Minister said, “every case was processed according to law and approval was granted or refused in accordance with the recommendations of the FIBP consisting of five Secretaries to the Government of India.”

Karti Chidambaram has maintained that he will come out clean as there was nothing to hide. He said he had cooperated with probe agencies and has paid all his taxes.

“The case against me has been foisted purely out of political reasons and vendetta. Nothing can be proven against me and I have not done any crime. It has been done mainly to muzzle my father’s voice against the government,” he said.

Congress legislative leader in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Karaikudi Ramaswamy visited Chidambaram’s residence and later told media persons that there was nothing in the case that was being made out.

“It is just a ploy to discredit and destroy the reputation and image of the Congress party,” he said.

The agency’s move comes a day after it filed an FIR against Karti Chidambaram and Indrani Mukherjea in the case.

The case — registered under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in 2010 — involves foreign investment by three Mauritius-based companies in INX Media.

The ED had earlier issued a show-cause notice to Karti Chidambaram and INX Media for alleged FEMA violations of over Rs 40 crore.

The ED also issued a similar notice to a Chennai-based firm, Vasan Health Care Private Limited, for alleged forex violations of over Rs 2,000 crore.

“The total amount of contravention identified on different counts and found to have been committed by Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited in the sale transaction of shares of Vasan Health Care to overseas investors is around Rs 45 crore,” the ED notice said.

“Show-cause notice has been issued to Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited, its directors and also to Karti Chidambaram who appears to be the controller and ultimate beneficiary in these transactions,” it added.

(With Inputs from IANS)

NEW DELHI : Making it clear that it was unwavering in its support on the Palestine issue, India on Tuesday strongly backed a political solution to the problem through sustained dialogue and expressed the hope for an early resumption of talks between Palestine and Israel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India’s stand after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who had on Monday sought India’s help to solve the Palestine issue with Israel.

After the talks, India and Palestine signed five agreements including on cooperation in agriculture, IT and electronics, health and youth affairs and sports.

“We had extensive exchange of views on the situation in West Asia and the Middle East peace process,” he said while jointly addressing the media with Abbas following delegation-level talks here.

“We agreed that the challenges in West Asia must be addressed through sustained political dialogue and peaceful means,” he said.

“India hopes for early resumption of talks between Palestinian and Israeli sides to move towards finding a comprehensive resolution.”

On Monday, addressing a gathering at the India Islamic Cultural Centre here, Abbas said that he would seek the help of Modi’s good offices in reaching a solution to the Palestinian issue which would help in the fight against terrorism in that part of the world.

Modi said on Tuesday that India has been “unwavering in its support of the Palestinian cause”.

“And, we hope to see the realisation of a sovereign, independent, united and viable Palestine, co-existing peacefully with Israel,” he said, ahead of his visit to Israel scheduled for July this year.

He also said that India would continue to extend cooperation in building infrastructure in Palestine and contribute to improving the lives of its people.

“We will continue to support the development and capacity-building efforts of Palestine,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the five agreements signed following Tuesday’s talks “are reaffirmation of our intent to strengthen cooperation in this direction”.

Modi also referred to a flagship techno-park project India was undertaking in Ramallah and said particular emphasis was being laid on the areas of information technology, youth and skills development.

He also called for enhancing cultural exchanges between the two sides and sought the participation of the Palestinian people in the International Yoga Day to be observed next month.

On his part, Abbas expressed his appreciation for India’s continued support and solidarity for the Palestinian cause on international forums and said he would work to deepen the bilateral relationship.

He said he updated Modi on his meeting with US President Donald Trump regarding the Middle East peace process and his talks with his German and Russian counterparts Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Vladimir Putin, respectively, on the issue.

Abbas also condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and voiced support for all regional and international efforts to fight this menace.

Earlier in the day, Abbas was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan here following which he paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the visiting dignitary and discussed issues of bilateral interest.

Abbas arrived here on Sunday on a four-day visit to India. This is his fifth visit to India and the third state visit after his visits in 2008 and 2012.

He is being accompanied by a delegation comprising Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Abu Amr, Foreign Minister Riad Malki, Diplomatic Advisor Majdi Khaldi, Presidency Spokesperson Nabil Aburdeineh and Palestine’s Chief Judge Mahmoud Habbash.

(With Inputs from IANS)

With the Supreme Court refusing to fast-track it and pushing for out-of-court negotiations, it is evident no legal verdict can resolve the vexed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.  Way back in 1993, the apex court had indicated that any court verdict is fraught with risks. Although much water has flown down the Sayaru since then, Ayodhya remains a dispute that cannot afford a loser.  A case connected with the sentiment and security of all Indians cannot be ruled upon as an ordinary title dispute. Any solution that entails a winner and a loser will be no solution. Such a verdict is bound to trigger passions and destroy communal harmony.  Suppose the court rules in favour of Muslims, Hindus will not take it lightly. And if it is the other way, it will create bitterness and insecurity among Muslims. The resultant jubilation among Hindus will only further vitiate the precarious communal equations.  So, it is a national duty for all well-meaning Indians to make all-out efforts for a win-win solution. Despite the odds, India has no choice but to push for an amicable solution that guarantees the building of a grand Ram temple without hurting the sentiment of the Muslim community.  Such a solution calls for major compromises and can emerge only when a spirit of give-and-take prevails.  For this, Muslims must concede that this disputed land has a lot of religious significance for the Hindus. On their part, the Hindus should show a lot of restraint and not indulge in anything that will trigger any feeling of insecurity and alienation.  This is no mean challenge and surely there is no shortcut. Of the many proposals being fiercely debated in social media, I see a lot of hope in a 2003 formula envisaged by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.  That the three-option proposal is still relevant speaks a lot about its depth.  Unlike others, Sri Sri has always advocated a “consent-of-all” while pushing for a Ram Mandir. He often emphasizes that prolonging the issue is not in the interest of the nation and it will fuel fundamentalism.  His proposal can offer the Muslims an opportunity to earn goodwill and save it from further political isolation.  His preferred option of Muslims gifting to the Hindu community the place where the makeshift Ram temple stands and withdrawing all cases over that piece of land which is holy to millions of Hindus is prefaced with the offer of the majority community assuaging the Muslims about past hurts — ostensibly referring to the demolition of the Babri Mosque.  In case of this proposal not finding favour, he suggests the gifting of the place by the Muslim community to Hindu saints, who in turn help build a grand mosque in Faizabad.  And as a last resort, he talks about Parliament enacting legislation that will provide for gifting the Ram Janmabhumi to the Hindu community and maintaining the status quo of all other places of worship.  This should also warm the heart of the Muslims as such legislation will safeguard the mosques in Kashi and Mathura and prevent rabble-rousing over thousands of temples allegedly destroyed by Moghul invaders.  Keeping in mind Sri Sri’s impartial approach, it will be in the interest of the nation, and particularly of the Muslim community, to let him take the lead in hunting for a win-win deal. He has a track record of brokering truce even in unlikely conflicts. Will the Muslims of India sieze the proposal with a big heart?  (M. Rajaque Rahman is a former journalist and author associated with Art of Living. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached on rajaque@gmail.com)

The Hague India on Monday demanded before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Pakistan annul the death sentence of alleged spy Kulbushan Jadhav and see that he was not executed as his trial was held under “farcical” circumstances in violation of the Vienna Convention.
  “I urge the ICJ to ensure that Jadhav is not executed, Pakistan reports to this court that the action (of not executing him) is taken and that no action is taken that might prejudice the rights of India in the matter of Jadhav,” noted lawyer Harish Salve submitted in his over hour-long presentation before ICJ President Ronny Abraham in the Hague.  The ICJ had last week stayed the execution of Jadhav on a petition by India, which approached the UN court after 46 years on an issue with Pakistan.  The former Indian Navy officer was awarded the death sentence by a Pakistani military court last month, a year after he was arrested on espionage charges. India says Jadhav has been kidnapped and framed. Islamabad has rejected 16 Indian requests for consular access to Jadhav, who is held at an unknown prison in Pakistan.  The brunt of Salve’s argument was that the entire matter of arrest, chargesheet and trial of Jadhav were all done in violation of the UN Charter and Vienna Convention in farcical circumstances and on concocted charges as Jadhav was not given legal assistance to defend himself.  Salve, who led the Indian legal team at the Hague-based ICJ, said the matter was “grave and urgent” and hence India approached this court which took up the case “at such a short notice”.  The Indian lawyer told the court that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran on March 16, 2016, brought to Pakistan, presented as an alleged Indian spy and confession was extracted in custody before a magistrate. He was incommunicado and the trial was also held incommunicado.  He urged the ICJ President to take note of the farcical nature of the circumstances of the military court.  Salve said the provisions of the Vienna Convention recognised that any prisoner has a right to be tried by an independent tribunal as established by law and he should be tried in his presence and defended by legal aid assigned to him. In Jadhav’s case all the basic provisions of human rights were “thrown to the wind”, he said.  The facts presented by India establish the violation of all principles of UN charter and Vienna Convention because of the nature of the trial which destroyed any credibility or sanctity of the army court’s decision sentencing him to death, he said.  Salve cited three past similar cases in which the international court had intervened. These cases include Paraguay versus the US in which the court decided that the American government needed to take steps to give rights of access of a Paraguayan national.  In Germany versus the US, Salve said, the court held that execution of a German national was “an irreparable damage to justice”. He also referred to a case between the US and Mexico in which lives of 54 Mexicans were at stake as they faced execution.  After the court adjourned for a three-hour break to hear Pakistan’s arguments, Salve told the media outside that he expected India to be provided justice by the court.  Earlier, Deepak Mittal, Joint Secretary, of the Pakistan, Afghanistan, India Desk at the Ministry of External Affairs, told the court in his opening remarks that there was a fear that Jadhav may be executed soon even before the decision of the UN court.  “Jadhav has not got the right to get proper legal assistance and the right to consular access. There is an immediate threat to him to be executed even before a decision is passed.”   “India learnt from press reports that the death sentence was awarded to Jadhav on the basis of an alleged confession. Pakistan has not provided the chargesheet, any documents on the case despite repeated requests.  “It is clear that Jadhav has been denied of his right to seek legal counsel. Jadhav’s parents have applied for visa to travel to Pakistan which has fallen on deaf ears.”  V.D. Sharma, Joint Secretary (Legal and Treaties) in the MEA, said Pakistan had failed to comply with all its legal obligations by denying consular access to Jadhav since his arrest in March 2016.  Sharma also urged the court to restrain Pakistan from “giving effect to the sentence awarded by the military court” and to direct it to annul its decision.  The day-long hearing, which began on Monday morning, involves two sessions of an hour-and-a-half each to India and Pakistan to make their cases.  Pakistan’s session is to begin in the afternoon.

NEW DELHI : The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to hear on Monday the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the alleged Indian spy sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.  An Indian legal team led by former Solicitor General Harish Salve is already in the Hague.   “We may have a hearing on Monday…,” Salve said, after India won the stay over Jadhav’s death sentence at the ICJ last week.  India is scheduled to first argue its case. This would be followed by arguments from the Pakistan team led by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf.  The Indian team is expected to focus on the violations of the Vienna convention by Pakistan on the issue of denying consular access to Jadhav, and on the lack of transparency in the Pakistani military court, which India said was “illegal”.  India moved the ICJ last week to save Jadhav after Pakistan denied consular access despite 16 requests.  Pakistan has said the Indian move to approach ICJ was an attempt to divert attention from “state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan” and that it was analysing the ICJ’s authority in the matter.

NEW DELHI : The Central government on Monday told the Supreme Court that if the latter invalidates the men-centric triple talaq that is discriminatory to Muslim women, then it would bring a new divorce law that would be fair and equal to both men and women in the community.

As Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi argued against triple talaq and stressed the need to strike it down, the five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar asked him if this is done, then what will happen to Muslim men who went to end their marriage.

“If we accept that giving unfettered rights to a husband is bad and we strike down triple talaq, then where will Muslim men go for divorce,” asked Justice Uday Umesh Lalit who, along with the CJI, Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer are on the constitution bench.

Without losing a moment, Rohatgi told the bench that if they strike down all three practices – triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy, then the government will bring a new law.

At this, Chief Justice Khehar said that the top court was not just the “guardian to the Constitution but also that of the Minorities Act”.

At the outset of the hearing, the Attorney General urged the court to examine not just the validity of the triple talaq vis-a-vis the Constitution but also that of the nikah halal and polygamy too.

However, the court, citing the limited time that is available, said that as of now, it would focus on the validity of triple talaq, leaving other two issues for the future.

In the course of the hearing pointing to the inertia in the evolution of the Muslim Personal Law, Rohatgi said that as far as Hindus were concerned, various steps were taken to bring their laws in conformity with the Constitution but that has not happened with Muslims, who had a Shariat Act in 1937, then in 1939 and then some change in 1986 in the wake of Shah Bano case.

The court was apparently unimpressed when he said that he cited the Constitution’s Article 14 and 15 to highlight the discrimination being faced by the Muslim women, noting that these articles are all against the state.

Terming his position “very difficult”, the court said that attempts to invoke Article 14 without the state was a “white wash”.

As Rohatgi emphasised on gender equality of Muslim women including with their counterparts in other religions and in other Islamic countries, the court said that he was talking of gender equality, equality between religions and equality between the people of different countries and in this way, all marriage laws should go and civil marriage was the only course.

The court said that marriage as an institution is crystallised by religion, drawing an objection from him and inviting a comment from the bench that if marriage was not rooted in religion, then what was it.

Appearing for the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, senior counsel Kapil Sibal told the bench that the “issue is not talaq, the issue is patriarchy” or a state of society which is inherently discriminatory of this or that religion.

Describing the issue as “highly complex” which can’t be resolved easily, he referred to Hindu Code under which customs are still protected, noting that even under 2006 Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, a father can bequeath his entire property to his son without giving anything to his daughter.

Noting that the Constitutions protects personal laws and all patriarchal societies are discriminatory, Sibal said that all law s that applies to Hindus, Muslims, and other religions must be tested on the grounds of discrimination.

Representing the government, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that Islam ic practices as practised in India were not “pure Islam” but an “anglicised” form of the religion. 

(With Inputs from IANS)