NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the 52^nd Jnanpith Award on Prof. Sankha Ghosh on Thursday. 

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that a poet and critique par excellence, a teacher of reputation, a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award, way back in 1977, Padma Bhushan Prof. Sankha Ghosh is indeed the most deserving recipient of this award.

A professor of Bengali and an authority in his own right on the works of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Prof. Sankha Ghosh represents the fluid brilliance that characterizes India’s multifarious literary genius.  It is indeed an example of his brilliant fluidity that an author who strove to master Bengali academically, expressed himself in perhaps the most difficult literary genre of poetry.

The President said that in conferring the award on Prof. Sankha Ghosh the selection board noted that his poetic idiom and experiments with various poetic forms mark his greatness as a creative talent. They also observed that Prof. Ghosh’s poetry, while conveying messages, have remained free from polemics. One look at his works, be it Adim Lata- Gulmomay, Murkho Baro Samajik Noy or Baborer Prarthana, to name a few, and one would be left in no doubt about every word of the observations mentioned by the selection board to be to the point and correct.

The President said an ardent writer of Bengali poetry, his literary works reflect a rare poetic style that encompasses not only a lyrical style but also a deep reflection of the social milieu. His poetry often takes on superficiality in our society and are indeed a candid commentary on contemporary issues. He said that he was sure that as a teacher, Prof. Ghosh would have positively influenced the impressionable minds of his students, as much as enriching the readers of his literary works.

PM Modi, launched UDAN – the Regional Connectivity Scheme for civil aviation, from Shimla Airport. Under this scheme, flights have begun today from Shimla, Nanded and Kadapa Airports. 

While addressing he said the lives of the middle class are being transformed, and their aspirations are rising. He said that given the right chance, they can do wonders. He added that the aviation sector in India is filled with opportunity. Mentioning the scheme name – UDAN – Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik – he said that aviation was once considered the domain of a select few, but that has changed now. He said that new civil aviation policy marks an opportunity to cater to the aspirations of the people of India. Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are becoming growth engines, and enhanced aviation connectivity between them will be beneficial. He said the UDAN scheme will help the tourism sector in Himachal Pradesh to get a boost.

The Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Virbhadra Singh and the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shri R.N. Choubey were also present during the launch.

NEW DELHI: Veteran Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna who played daring roles on the screen lost his valiant fight against cancer and breathed his last in a Mumbai hospital on Thursday. He was 70.
As one who began his career in late 70s depicting roles of villains and dacoits in a number of hit Hindi movies, he effortlessly switched over to playing leading roles and rose to new heights in his career in Bollywood.It was Sunil Dutt who picked him up to play a supporting role in his film “Man Ka Meet” in 1968. The movie turned out to be a hit and there was no looking back for Vinod Khanna. 
Born on October 6, 1946 in Peshawar, now in Pakistan, Vinod Khanna completed his education in Mumbai and met veteran actor Sunil Dutt in a party. Incidentally, both Sunil Dutt and Vinod Khanna also switched over to politics, While Mr. Dutt became a Congress Lok Sabha member from Mumbai, Vinod Khanna represented Gurdaspur in Punjab in the Lok Sabha for the BJP. He had also won the 2014 general polls from the same seat for the party. 
In his career on the silver screen, he shared space with superstar Amitabh Bachchan but stood his ground and carved out his own identity as an actor who never overplayed his roles. There was a certain statement of underplay in his acting which became his style as well. At the height of his career in Bollywood, Vinod Khanna took a break to join Osho in his ashram in Pune and donned saffron robes for quite some time. 
His roles in hit movies like “Aan Milo Sajna”, “Mera Gaon, Mera Desh” , “Saccha Jhoota” and off-beat film “Mere Apne” were greatly appreciated by the film buffs. Of late, he was seen in Salman Khan starrer  “Dabang”. He is survived by his wife Kavita and sons Akshay and Rahul.

Just a day before this attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh had said that more than 20,000 youth from the Naxal-affected regions of the State were being trained in skill development. 

Speaking at the Niti Aayog meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister had said that his government was working on a rapid action plan to increase mobile and internet connectivity in remote tribal areas.

He said Chhattisgarh was the first state to make legislation and give right to skill development for youths. Taking the skill enhancement programme to a different level, the government started livelihood colleges in every district. The State government was spending over Rs 400 crore from its budget annually on skill development. He suggested that an arrangement should be made by sector skill council to provide training of evaluators and trainers.

For effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Mr Singh said Chhattisgarh would become an open defecation free state by October 2, 2018. The State government has worked on the strategy of providing encouragement amount to the beneficiaries only after three months of toilet construction. Drawing attention towards the unused toilets, the Chief Minister suggested that a proposal to make unused toilet usable should be sanctioned.

He said that under the vision document 2030, the State government was working on achieving five targets. The state is focusing on removal of poverty, strengthening the panchayats, providing nutrition, health facilities, quality education, safe drinking water and strengthening infrastructure.

Supporting GST, the Chief Minister said his government was moving fast towards its implementation. He suggested that e-portal by GSTN should be made easy and convenient for businessmen. He said that module of the form filled by businessmen should be provided to them in advance so that they get used to the new system.

On digital India, the Chief Minister said that the state has created a digital army of about 16 lakh people, who make the citizens aware about digitalization and cashless transactions. He said that more than 10 lakh cc cards have been distributed among the farmers and 10 thousand merchants have been brought on board UPI based digital payment app BHIM and Aadhar based digital payment system. Under SKY scheme 1700 towers would be set up in rural areas and 45 lakh people will be distributed smart phones.  He said to encourage digital payment in rural areas regional rural banks should be given mobile and internet banking permission by the RBI.

The people in the national capital have taken strong exception to the arrogance of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal by unequivocally rejecting his Aam Aadmi party in the election to the three civic bodies in the city. 

This paved the way for the BJP to win overwhelmingly for the third consecutive time. The lotus party has beaten the incumbency factor by fielding new candidates and sealing AAP’s fate. There is no doubt that this is a vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is the face of the BJP. 

Rejecting the gimmicks of Kejriwal, the electorate ensured that the AAP supremo gets a wake up call by hitting the ground with a nasty thud. The AAP is staring at the meltdown in barely two years after having won the 70-member Delhi Assembly with a landslide of 67 seats in 2015. The remaining three seats went to the BJP.

Kejriwal made matters worse by continuing his tirade about EVMs being rigged. Further, he was audacious that the people of Delhi must accept responsibility for any spread of diseases by re-electing the BJP to the civic bodies where they had failed to deliver. 

Except for the reverses in Delhi and the battleground state of Bihar in the Hindi heartland, Modi has been highly successful in garnering votes and leading the Lotus party to victory as evidenced with the recent mind boggling triumph in the critical state of Uttar Pradesh. 

The MCD polls did not buck that trend coupled with the sensex touching an all time high. Modi’s record in winning elections since he became Prime Minister in May 2014 has been remarkable so far. 

On the other hand the message is unambiguous for Kejriwal that he should come down from his high horse, do some serious introspection and start delivering on the multitude of promises or take the highway to political oblivion. 

Plagued by infighting in both the AAP and the Congress, their leaders who were ignored switched sides by joining the BJP which benefitted the saffron brigade. The AAP finished a poor second and the Congress came last in third place. 

That inevitably led to a spate of resignations accepting responsibility for the defeat. The Congress continues to be at the receiving end of the saffron brigade at the hustings though its vote share in Delhi has risen from nine per cent in 2014 to about 22 per cent. 

Having been Delhi chief minister for three consecutive terms, Shiela Dixit was not even invited to campaign in Delhi. She attributed the party’s rout to poor planning and lack lustre campaigning. 

Kejriwal is himself to blame for his overarching approach of seeking to upset the Congress applecart in Punjab where the AAP came a cropper, not to speak of the party’s pathetic performance in Goa. The coterie around him has been the spoilers. It is surprising that Kejriwal refused to read the writing on the wall after the drubbing in Rajouri Garden recently. 

The AAP has got a lashing in the civic body polls as it just glossed over the very issues that it brought to the fore which catapulted it to power in Delhi. In the last four elections held in the national capital since 2013, there have been massive vote swings each of which have been different from the last one. 

The massive vote swing against the AAP this time was such that its vote share dipped to 26 per cent, nearly half of what it got in 2015 when it won hands down.   

It has become imperative for the AAP and in particular Kejriwal to stop blaming the EVMs, accept defeat graciously and focus on governance. He has suddenly woken up to the reality that he has to work in tandem with the civic bodies for the disposal of garbage as well as a host of other issues afflicting Delhi. These include cleaning the drains along with ensuring there is no backflow in the sewers in the monsoon leading to contamination of drinking water. 

All this while since he became chief minister, Kejriwal refused to have a single meeting with any of the civic bodies. There is no option for him but to end the fued with the BJP for the betterment of Delhi.  

His ambitions of becoming a national alternative failing to take off, Kejriwal must accept responsibility for not only hurting the interests of the AAP but posing a threat to the existence of the fledgling party itself. If those in the AAP do some sincere soul searching, they will find the answers to the debacle that was staring everyone in the face.

(T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. Views are personal.) 

NEW DELHI: Facing criticism in the wake of Sukma ambush in Chhattisgarh in which 25 CRPF personnel were killed by well-armed Maoist cadres, the Centre on Thursday asserted that the policy of security along with development has been successful and brought down the violence figures in Chhattisgarh. 
In a clarification, Union Home Ministry said that there has been 7% decline in overall violence incidents since 2013. The Left Wing Extremists are, in fact, in retreat and resorting to desperate attacks. 
A Bastaria Battalion has been sanctioned recently with a strength of around 750 to be recruited from the local tribals. Similarly, 10 Special India Reserve Battalions (SIRB) and 56 India Reserve Battalions are being raised in the LWE areas, the Ministry said.  The MHA dubbed as “incorrect” observation in certain media reports that lack of financial resources were a reason for casualty of valuable lives of police and CRPF personnel which are being lost in the battle against Left Wing Extremism. 
“The funds released for Security Related Expenditure Scheme have increased from Rs. 575 crores in 2011-12, 2012-2013, 2013-2014 to Rs. 675 crores in 2014-15, 2015-2016, 2016-2017. The above increase is in spite of the fact that States now get a greater share (42%) of the Centre’s tax resources. Earlier this used to be only 32%.,” the clarification said. 
Denying that Chhattisgarh Police was in a shambles, the Home Ministry said that in addition to 45,000 Central Forces, over 20,000 State Police personnel are posted in Bastar region. Recruitment is an ongoing and continuous process. For a force of 70,000, about 3,000 policemen retire every year and there is always a pipeline of 6,000 people under recruitment, it pointed out. 
The Chhattisgarh police forces are well equipped and a Bastar package for police was introduced in end-2015. The Home Ministry asserted that there was complete coordination between Centre and State forces. 
“In fact 2016 has been the most successful year in anti-LWE operation. As compared to an average of 30 Naxals killed every year, 135 Naxals were neutralized in 2016 which is three times the number of police personnel killed. Even in 2017, 32 Naxals have been killed so far which is more than the average annual killings of Naxals before 2015. It is wrong to say that 72 CRPF personnel have sacrificed their lives in 2017. As a matter of fact 38 CRPF personnel have been martyred in Chhattisgarh in 2017. These figures clearly indicate that anti-Naxal operations are achieving success,” the statement said. 
As many as 58 Mine Protected Vehicles (MPVs) are available in Chhattisgarh to the CAPFs and 30 are under process for procurement through the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB). 42 Bullet Proof vehicles are also available and 210 Bullet Protected Vehicles (BPVs) are under process for procurement. 
On the development front, various initiatives have been taken recently such as sanction of a 5,412 kms road project at a cost of Rs. 11,725 crores, inclusion of all 35 worst affected LWE districts in the skill development programme, providing Navodaya and Kendriya Vidyalayas, banks, ATMs and post offices in these districts. 
On the health front, the flagship NHRM programme is followed up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on a constant basis and a super speciality hospital has been approved recently at Jagdalpur by way of upgradation of Jadgalpur Medical College. 
The next of kin of the martyred jawans currently get around Rs. 84 lakhs as assistance, the statement said. 
The Home Ministry clarified it has not issued any directions regarding not showing grieving widows on TV channels but it was a suggestion verbally made keeping in mind the sensitivities of the bereaved families and the fundamental decency of not intruding to the privacy of the grieving families.

This book – THE BHISHMA WAY : Ancient Dharma For Modern Business and Politics – authored by N Balasubramanian embodying a unique blend of holding senior positions in the private corporate sector and switching to academia believes that Bhishma Pitamah in the ever timely epic Mahabharata comes to the rescue of the modern day manager, politician or bureaucrat. As the upholder of truth and dharma, Bhishma’s life has been shaped by the difficult choices he makes. Even when his decisions are questionable, he serves as a role model. 

Justice in a civilised commonwealth depends upon three constituents: the value systems of the realm, the standards of dharma or righteousness, and the emphasis placed on the practice of truth. The impression Bhishma proffers is one of a man of great dignity, forbearance, courage, integrity, justice and above all selfless service for a chosen cause. In a business context many successful companies in India have said no to corruption and bribery as it goes against their value system. This has denied them growth opportunities, but they have withstood the temptation of rationalising corruption. 

The former Chairman of Tata group J R D Tata was once asked how he would define their set up. He said they felt a certain pride that they were ‘somewhat different from others’. He wondered “what would have happened if our philosophy was like that of some other companies which do not stop at any means to attain their ends. I have often thought of that and come to the conclusion that if we were like other groups we would be twice as big as they are today. What we have sacrificed is a 100 per cent growth, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.” 

Likewise, among the values that Azim Premji had learned and wished to implement in Wipro was the total commitment to integrity in operations and anti-corruption in corporate relationships. Bribery was anathema, whether it was direct or indirect through intermediaries. Although profit making is considered a legitimate human objective — being included as one of the four Purusharthas (objectives of human life) of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha — it is interesting to note that not many business corporations articulate shareholder wealth maximisation as their primary purpose in their vision statements and codes of values. 

A big challenge faced by companies is how they adhere to their corporate values while finding appropriate means to achieve desired ends. Bribery is perhaps the most common that companies and business leaders have to cope with. Corruption of course need not always be in monetary terms, although most often it is. On his part the author says “I have trained myself never to be concerned about the result. What I should be concerned about is the means and when I am sure of the purity of the means, faith is enough to lead me.” 

Then fundamental values of protecting the dignity of women, and that too a princess, were breached by Duryodhana and his associates in the presence of the blind, but all knowing Dritharashtra and other elders. That disgraceful act should have been stopped and Duryodhana and his colleagues chastised but that did not happen. Instead Bhishma told the pleading Draupadi that morality was subtle. There is also the overarching value principle of respecting a woman’s honour. Bhishma that great repository of wisdom, obviously could not decide and did the next best thing under such circumstances — pass the buck to another. He referred the matter to the accused himself. 

Considering his compromised position, Yudhishthira remained silent and the question remained unresolved. But often, a non-decision, or silence, is a decision in itself; in the absence of an affirmative instruction from Bhishma to ‘cease and desist’ from the proposed act of disrobing. However, when Draupadi prayed for divine intervention she was supplied a never ending stream of cloth thus protecting her modesty. Quite often upright people choose the path of indifference or least resistance. It is an area of serious concern where politicians in public service and individual directors in corporations perhaps need to introspect and if what they are doing is not in sync with their own conviction, they need to address that issue head on only to ensure their credibility. 

Raja Dharma or the principles of governing a Kingdom or a country keeping in mind the interests of its people seeks to strike a balance between an overly-powerful state and the preservation of order and peace. Coalition dharma is perhaps to the family of unique dharmas, popularised in modern day governments with more than one power centre operating concurrently. The alleged irregularities in 2G Spectrum scam or the coal mines allocation are classic examples of inappropriate handling of dharmic conflicts. 

Conflicts are not uncommon between different dharmic principles applicable to individuals and corporations. A major contribution of Bhishma in the field of governance is his detailed postulations in the duties of the king or the state. Every society be it a large country or a tribe, needs a framework to survive, sustain and grow. Everything rests on truth, a categorical imperative. Truth is knowledge and it is the ordinance. Truth is the observance of vows and fasts. It is on truth that the heaven rests. Forgiveness is the quality that comes into play when one has the largeness of heart to ‘forgive’ an exposed person, both for his action and inaction, as the case may be. Thus forgiveness is seen as a concomitant attribute of truth; otherwise, there may be little to differentiate between truthfulness and vindictiveness, if one’s aim in being truthful was only to gain satisfaction by exposing some other person or entity. 

The Mahabharata is focussed on the eternal battle between the just and the unjust, between good and evil. In many ways Bhishma has been an integral part of the many decisions and momentous events in the epic. In conclusion the author stresses there is a core of substantive contribution which is relevant to contemporary governance, possibly with some adaptations. Some of these are of eternal relevance to suit the needs of changing civilisation. 

Nothwithstanding his faults Bhishma stands out. Overall, he stands out as a giant offering wise counsel to the world on statecraft, in running a welfare commonwealth and personal qualities that are necessary for success in every walk of life. “Bhishma is India’s offering to the world to study and appreciate, to adapt and follow, or, where necessary to critique and discard, but under no circumstances can we afford to ignore the principles he expounded.” The book is both instructive and thought provoking having been derived from an unusual perspective. It focusses on governance in business and governments and demonstrates how governance and justice are inextricably connected. 

Senior IPS officer Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar has been appointed as new DG of CRPF. He is currently serving as Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau  (NCB) – an ADG rank post which has temporarily been upgraded to a Special DG rank. Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar belongs to the 1983 batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS). 

Bhatnagar will be replacing acting DG Sudeep Lakhtakia.

CRPF was functioning without head since February 28, 2017.

MOSCOW: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday conveyed India’s strong solidarity with Russia in the wake of the recent terror attack in St Petersburg, he said the scourge of terrorism remains the primary security challenge for all peaceful countries.

Having successfully addressed the threat of terrorism for over three decades, he said, India will steadfastly partner all friendly countries confronted with the challenge of terrorism. Mr. Jaitley said India will continue to strengthen ongoing cooperation in counter-terrorism with its partners. 

Cautioning that terrorism was being reinvented in newer and even more dangerous manifestations, Mr. Jaitley said the manipulation of young minds by fundamentalist groups using new technologies and social media has already caused long-term damage to our societies. “One manifestation of this is the recent string of lone-wolf attacks in many countries,” he said. 

Addressing the 6^th Moscow Conference on International Security in Moscow today, Mr. Jaitley described as a “positive” development the territory acquired by ISIS in the Middle East has begun to be effectively challenged by several countries. “This is reassuring and should be taken to its logical conclusion. Cooperation between major powers in this effort can become a template for similar steps elsewhere,’’ he said.

Without naming Pakistan, Mr. Jaitley said that opportunistic efforts by some states should be resisted which go on to support terrorist proxies by training, funding or providing safe havens to such groups for their limited objectives. 

“Distinctions are still sought to be made between good and bad terrorists, despite all the evidence and experience to the contrary. Terrorism will recoil on those who nurture it,’’ he told the conference. The Defence Minister stressed upon the need for a coherent and sustained international response to the global nature of terrorism which was now widely acknowledged. 

Describing the Moscow Conference has one of the most important global forums for discussions on contemporary security matters, Mr. Jaitley said that Moscow is one of the key centres for decision-making on global security issues in keeping with Russia’s significance and influence in world affairs. 

Even as the government on Tuesday announced that it would `review’ and `revise’ its Left Wing Extremism (LWE) policy in the wake of the killing of 25 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans in Chhattisgarh, the National Human Rights Commission also condemned the attack saying that the a loss of life of any innocent person, whether in force or a civilian, was a matter of violation of human rights. 

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who announced that a high level meeting would be convened in New Delhi on May 8 to review and revise—if need be—the government’s policy on LWE. Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of 10 States and District Magistrates from all Naxal-affected districts have also be invited for this crucial meeting. Mr Singh made this announcement at Raipur this morning after paying homage to 26 CRPF jawans who were killed in a Naxal ambush in Sukma. 

The National Human Rights Commission, in a statement issued here, said it stands for upholding human rights of all in the country and is consistent in its firm belief that the acts of violence are an anti-thesis to the struggle for protection of human rights, a statement issued by the NHRC said. As part of a civilized nation, every citizen should stand up in condemning all such incidents that lead to death and destruction in place of development, peace, progress and prosperity. As part of a civil society, if we can question and make the security forces accountable for failing in their duties, we are also accountable for our duties towards nation building, the statement added. 

The human rights panel has described the attacks on the security men as a cause of worry and said there was a need for self-introspection on part of all the stakeholders in the interest of the country.  

It is expected that the State will take note of the sacrifices made by the personnel of CRPF in maintaining the rule of law and creating an environment of peace and security in the country, and the aggrieved families would be suitably compensated, the panel has said. 

Meanwhile, the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister N. Venkaiah Naidu has questioned the silence of the human rights activists over the CRPF killings and accused them of tacitly supporting the naxals.

In a statement, Mr Naidu said while the nation was shocked by the killing and violence, the so-called sympathizers and proponents of human rights had maintained baffling silence. These activists raise voice and react violently if an extremist or a terrorist is killed by police but take shelter in silence when large number of jawans and innocent people get killed by those who operate underground, kill and run. 

“Are Human Rights only meant for those who chose violence in furtherance of their outdated ideologies and not for security personnel and common people? “Why are the Human Right activists silent when such inhuman acts are mindlessly committed by outlawed elements,” the Minister sought to know.  
“I am constrained to infer that such motivated acts of violence are being resorted to with tacit support from the so called human rights advocates in desperation to derail the positive narrative emerging from the ongoing efforts by the Central and State governments to ensure that fruits of development reach the last of the poor there by enabling rapid economic development,”he said. 
There is an urgent need to build strong public opinion against such violent acts by outlawed elements and the so called human rights activists who have double standards and do not uphold similar rights of security personnel, their families and the innocent people who fall victim to such anti-national activities, the Minister added.