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Article123.pngThe sudden announcement of new BJP chiefs in UP, Karnataka, Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh during the Hindu New Year earlier this month is a pointer to gearing up its loins for next year’s assembly elections particularly in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. The strategy is to tap the other backward classes through those having strong Sangh moorings.  Attention will be concentrated in the country’s most populous state of UP which provides the maximum number of 80 seats in the Lok Sabha and 31 in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP-led NDA is in a minority. This is proving to be a major handicap for the centre in passing critical legislation for giving an impetus to economic growth. The pledge of “aache din aane wale hai” has taken a back seat because it has been a huge let down for the people even as the Narendra Modi government is about to complete two years in office. Barring Assam, where the voting in the assembly election has been completed, the democratic process will be on till  May 16  in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the lone union territory of Puducherry.

The counting is fixed for May 19 when the results will be announced. The four states and Puducherry account for 51 seats in the Rajya Sabha. It is not a small number considering that the strength of the House of Elders is 250.After facing a humiliating defeat in Delhi and the battleground state of Bihar in the cow belt last year, it is only in Assam that the BJP has any chance of winning, thanks to its creditable performance in the state during the 2014 general elections. In West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry the saffron brigade might end up among the also ran. This became all the more evident when BJP president Amit Shah launched a frontal attack against Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa asking the people to defeat the most corrupt chief minister lock, stock and barrel. As of now it appears Jayalalithaa, who considers Prime Minister Narendra Modi a good friend, stands a good chance of becoming the chief minister for a record fifth time. If she retains power, it will be for the first time in 27 years. In West Bengal the Lotus party has lost its vote share by more than half compared to the last general elections when it had touched 18 per cent. It was the Hindi heartland and in particular UP which propelled the saffron brigade in securing a majority of 282 seats in the Lok Sabha for the first time since it was formed in 1980.

BJP’s UP show in 2014 polls

The BJP managed to win a mind boggling 71 out of 80 seats in the Lok Sabha from UP. Its allies won two which boosted the NDA’s tally to 73 setting a new benchmark. The BJP and the RSS activists had succeeded in polarising the votes. Can it be repeated nearly 36 months later in the assembly elections in UP next year. That is where the catch is. The situation remains fluid with the SP at the helm of affairs in Lucknow. People are disappointed with chief minister Akhilesh Yadav literally running a police raj. BSP Supremo Mayawati sees a great opportunity and is digging her heels in. She has been the only woman Dalit former chief minister of UP. The disillusioned people in the state particularly the MY (Muslim and Yadav) combine might be inclined to swing towards the BSP as she has ensured maintenance of law and order during her stewardship of the state in the past. She has assured the people that she will not indulge in building memorials for backward and oppressed icons like Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, her mentor Kanshi Ram or even herself. She will focus on allround development and bettering the life of the down trodden and the poor.

BJP takes calculated gambit

In a calculated gambit, the BJP brass has zeroed in on Keshav Prasad Maurya as the new BJP chief of UP. He is an MP from Phoolpur after having lost two assembly elections. This constituency was represented by the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Maurya is expected to boost the party’s hardline Hindutva agenda and reach out to the non-Yadav backward castes in UP. His elevation over several other senior leaders comes as a surprise. Maurya can be a liability for the BJP as he faces charges in 10 criminal cases including murder, promoting enmity between groups, hurting religious sentiments, criminal conspiracy and rioting. BJP spokespersons have downplayed Maurya’s criminal background saying that the cases were “”politically motivated”” during his activism and participating in andolans. He belongs to the most backward caste among the OBCs and has been part of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for more than a decade. The BJP drew pointed attention to lacking a leader from the Maurya caste. He sold tea and newspapers during his childhood which rings a loud bell with Modi having taken that route and risen to become the country’s chief executive. It is also aimed at building leaders among the intermediate castes.

The Congress reacted sharply criticising the Lotus party for nominating a “”tainted”” person with a criminal background which had exposed their true nature. It regretted that the BJP has not been able to find a single face having a clean image in UP. With assembly elections also due in Punjab next year, the BJP zeroed in on union minister Vijay Sampla sending shock waves among those jostling for the post. His impact in the state will be marginal because the BJP’s fortunes remain tied to that of the Akali Dal. He hails from a poor family and has worked as a labourer in Jallandhar and later in the Gulf. A Dalit, Sampla had struggled to become a sarpanch and since then has gone on to become an MP and union minister. First and foremost he will seek a larger share of seats from the SAD in next year’s assembly elections in Punjab. B S Yeddyurappa makes another comeback as the chief of the Karnataka BJP. A prominent Lingayat face, credit goes to him for forming the first BJP government in Bengaluru in the South. He was earlier forced to resign as chief minister over graft allegations and quit the party to float his own political outfit which failed to make any mark.

He is currently representing Shimoga constituency in the Lok Sabha having returned to the BJP ahead of the 2014 general elections. His main task is to uproot the Congress government in Karnataka. Assembly elections are due in the state in the first half of 2018. Former MP Tapir Gao, who has been made President of the Arunachal Pradesh BJP, is the only person without any Sangh moorings and relatively unknown K Lakshman picked as chief of the Telengana party unit.

(The writer is a senior journalist and commentator. The views expressed are personal.)”

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Article122.pngWith nearly five-decade old warm and close Cuba-India ties when Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was very much talked about in global affairs, Cuban Ambassador to India Oscar J. Martinex Cordoves said that India can contribute substantially in the economic development of the communist island. Mr. Cordoves named the areas like IT, biotech, non-conventional energy, pharmaceuticals and tourism where India can play a leading role in developing trade and business ties with Cuba.

Talking to media-persons here on Thursday, the Cuban envoy who took up his diplomatic assignment in New Delhi only a few months ago, said that Indian political establishment and people have a lot of goodwill and support for Cuba from the days of Fidel Castro and Indira Gandhi which could go a long way in expanding ties in all spheres.  “”As Indian economy remains a bright spot in the world and promises to grow rapidly, Cuba can benefit from it and also be India’s gateway to the Latin American region,”” he said.

Last month, Cuba witnessed a historic visit to Havana by U.S. President Barack Obama, first by an American president in the past eight decades. A month later, from April 16 to 19, the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba was held in Havana which took note of President Obama’s visit but remained critical of the US, doubting that it would undermine the Communist revolution. The Cuban Ambassador said that it was “”very brave”” of President Obama to undertake the visit to Havana and urge people to move forward, forgetting the past and history. “”But it is not easy, we are still badly affected by the blockade and sanctions,”” he said.

“”It is a long and difficult process to get to normalize relations where Cuba demands the lifting of economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed more than half a century and despite the intentions of President Obama, is still in full force,”” he said. He also reiterated the demand for the return of the island, the illegally occupied territory by the US in the Guantanamo naval base, against Cuba’s will for more than a century.

Mr. Cordoves said that Cuba wants to have an efficient economy based on the concept that socialist is a society of equal opportunities for all with social justice. He said that free health care and education system had been much appreciated the world over. He said that Cuban economy has to contribute to the essential material support to enable the socially just distribution of wealth. The strategic objective of the Cuban model is to promote a socialist society which is sustainable in economic, social and environmental aspects and committed to ethical, cultural, and political values forged by the Revolution.

The envoy said the young generation in Cuba wants to benefit from modern technology, telecom and internet in a collective way. He said the Cuban Communist Party congress also assessed that the next five years until 2021 would be decision for Cuba as the period would be gradual transition to hand over main responsibilities of the country to the new generation of Cubans. Cuba also needs to develop more economic special zones and encourage the vibrant private sector so that economy performs well on all parameters which is essential for social and equitable growth, he said.

The Cuban envoy said that India had extended a line of credit to Cuba three years ago and on its basis some projects had been taken up. He said that tourism was a thriving sector in Cuba and his country would encourage Indian tourists who are known to be avid globe trotters to visit the island which would also give a boost to its economy. In 2015 nearly 3.5 million foreign tourists had visited Cuba, showing a rise of 20 per cent over 2014 figures. Cuba-India bilateral trade has been rather low, about 38 million US dollars in 2013-14.”

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Article126.png”” alt=””Article126″” />The Ministry of External Affairs has revoked the passport of liquor baron Vijay Mallya who is said to be in U.K. for the past one month. He is facing legal proceedings for alleged default of bank loans to the tune of Rs. 9,000 crores. “”Having considered the replies furnished by Vijay Mallya to the show cause notice, factors brought by Enforcement Directorate, and non-Bailable warrant under the PMLA Act, 2002, issued by Special Judge, Mumbai, the MEArevoked the passport of Mallya under Section 10 (3) (c) and 10(3)(h) of the Passports Act, 1967,”” MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Sunday.

The Ministry had earlier reiterated that the Central government was committed to get Mr. Mallya back home to face justice. It had also consulted legal opinion on the reply given by Mr. Mallya’s lawyer to the show-cause notice issued to him. “”We are considering steps for Mr. Mallya’s deportation,”” Mr. Swarup had said on Friday. Last week, the MEA had suspended Mr. Mallya’s passport in accordance with the advice of the ED.

The Enforcement Directorate had asked the MEA to revoke Mr. Mallya’s passport for non-cooperation in the ongoing probe against him. He had ignored the summons issued by the ED on three earlier occasions and failed to present himself before the investigating agency. The former boss of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines and a Rajya Sabha member faces a stiff legal battle ahead as the NDA government has given enough indications that it would take all steps to recover loans taken from various banks and bring him to justice.”

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Article125.png”” alt=””Article125″” />More women are likely to accept contraceptive methods post an induced abortion or post abortion care, a study has shown. As high as 81 per cent of the women accepted modern contraceptive methods immediately post abortion, the study says. This study “”Associations Between Abortion Services and Acceptance of Postabortion Contraception in Six Indian States”” highlights the prevalence and attributes of post abortion contraceptive acceptance from 2,456 health facilities in six states, among 292,508 women who received abortion care services from July 2011 through June 2014.

Of the 81% women who accepted modern contraception immediately after abortion: 53% prefer short-term methods like oral contraceptive pills, condoms and injectables, 11% intrauterine devices, and 16% sterilization, according to the study authored by Sushanta K. Banerjee, SumitGulati, Kathryn L. Andersen, Valerie Acre, JanardanWarvadekar, and DeepaNavin. Women receiving induced abortions or post abortion care are at high risk of subsequent unintended pregnancy, and intervals of less than six months between abortion and subsequent pregnancy may be associated with adverse outcomes.

Further, post abortion contraceptive acceptance increased from 68 percent in the first month of the intervention to 88 percent towards the end of the intervention period, suggesting that program improvements and post-training provider support visits to health facilities likely helped integrate post abortion contraception into comprehensive abortion care. Says Dr. Sushanta Banerjee, Senior Advisor, Research and Evaluation, Ipas Development Foundation: “”Post abortion contraception is an integral component of comprehensive abortion care services. It needs to be seen as a part of the package of services for women seeking safe abortion services rather than a standalone intervention. It provides an opportunity for a CAC trained provider and the woman to discuss her ability to effectively manage her reproductive choices. It also offers a unique opportunity for counseling on management of future pregnancies and prevention of unplanned pregnancies as per her health and convenience.””

Postabortion contraceptive acceptance was highest among women who were aged 25 years and older, received first-trimester services, received induced abortion, and attended primary-level health facilities. Comprehensive service-delivery interventions, including ensuring availability of skilled providers and contraceptive commodities, offering clinical mentoring for providers, identifying and addressing provider bias, and improving provider counseling skills, can increase postabortion contraceptive acceptance and reduce unintended pregnancy, the study says.

In India, Ipas Development Foundation (IDF) collaborates with state health systems to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity resulting from unsafe abortion by implementing a comprehensive abortion care model to improve access to safe abortion services at all levels of health facilities (primary, secondary, and tertiary) in rural and urban areas. The comprehensive abortion care (CAC) model is integrated into the health system, and interventions are characterized by training of providers, facility preparation, post-training provider follow-up and mentoring, monitoring of performance data, community-level education, and advocacy.

This study was conducted in six Indian states where IDF collaborated with state governments between July 2011 and June 2014. These are Maharashtra from the western region, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand from the central region, Rajasthan from the northern region, and Bihar and Jharkhand from the eastern region. These states contain 33 percent of the country’s population and account for an estimated 27 percent of the total number of annual induced abortions.

During the three-year study period, 292,508 women received abortion services from 2,456 IDF supported health facilities in six states. As many as 37 percent women were aged 24 years or younger, almost two-thirds of the women (65 percent) requested induced abortion services and the remaining 35 percent received treatment for incomplete abortion or post abortion complications. A large majority received abortion services in the first trimester (91 percent) and only 2 percent in the second trimester. Gestational age was missing for 7 percent of cases, primarily among women who presented with incomplete abortion.

Women predominantly underwent surgical abortion (83 percent), including manual/electric vacuum aspiration (MVA/EVA) (76 percent) or dilation and curettage (7 percent), while 15 percent received medical abortion (MA) using mifepristone and misoprostol. Because the IDF intervention was primarily focused on the public health system, the majority of abortion cases were recorded at public facilities (82 percent).

“”Woman centered CAC training is much more than training doctors on conducting the abortion procedure. It also includes training on contraceptive technologies, counselling, infection prevention, reproductive rights, management of complications etc. post abortion contraception is a critical component of safe abortion services. Ensuring availability of counselling services and access to contraceptive choices increases the chances of women accepting post abortion contraception services and thereby reducing future requirements of abortion services. If the woman seeks abortion because she could not get contraception, we have failed her. If she leaves without post abortion contraception, we have failed her again,”” says Dr Bannerjee.”

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hrisikeshmukherjee.png”” alt=””hrisikeshmukherjee”” />Filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee kept his films simple, based on middle class mores like his own. His comedies have provided rip roaring laughter and kept the audience regaled. Author Jai Arjun Singh makes it clear the book “”The World Of Hrishikesh Mukherjee”” is not a biography but an analysis of a creative person’s career. It reveals things about Hrishida, his influences and beliefs, how he interacted with people, the culture he came from and the circumstances he worked in. The director-editor-scriptwriter conceded that there was a lot of him in the movies he directed, some more than others. It is all about his life and personality. The book does not examine all the films that Hrishida directed or his biases. Essentially it is an enthusiast’s tribute to some of the things he finds most stimulating about Hrishida’s universe.

In a lot many ways this has been a journey of self discovery for the author. The emphasis is on themes and talking points by looking at specific films or sequences sometimes embellished with anecdotes. In the process several films like Mem Didi, Musafir, Anuradha, Alaap, Asli-Naqli and Ashirwad which may not ring many bells for casual or young viewers are discussed as are scenes or motifs from runaway hits like Gol Maal, Chupke Chupke, Mili, Abimaan, Anand, Bemisal and Guddi.

Hrishida’s directorial career spanned four decades. Initially when he came to Bombay in February 1950 he wondered aloud why should there be songs after every few scenes. It was perplexing as he loved music. It is one of the many contradictions in his personality. He spent the rest of his 56 years in the western metropolis never returning to live in his native West Bengal even though he had made a name in Calcutta. Going back was not an option.

To start with Hrishida worked for Bimal Roy in pivotal films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta and Madhumati. Though his main role at that time was as editor, his work encompassed other areas like screenplay writing. He turned Salil Choudhury’s story about a rickshaw-wallah into a 24-page screenplay that would become Do Bigha Zamin. Despite the international influences of Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Kurosawa, the stories Roy dealt with were either rooted in Bengali literature and culture or about the issues facing a young nation state in its first decade after independence; the plight of voiceless farmers still trapped in an undemocratic world, caste discrimination, the class divide, the status of women. After having undergone his apprenticeship with Roy, Hrishikesh was ready to strike out on his own.

Almost throughout his career, Hrishida would make films that would fall into two categories: the sombre drama and the light hearted comedy. Hardly any one of his serious films was as solemn as Satyakam and hardly any of the light films as full bloodedly lunatic as Biwi aur Makaan. Beyond the out and out comedies there have also been films like Anand and Mili where the protagonist is suffering from a terminal disease but the film itself aims to a degree to comfort and reassure for lightness of touch. The author believes Hrishida’s films have always taken the side of young people, usually clear sighted and practical about change.

A notable feature of his cinema is the pointed contrast between two types of old men. The first is the stern, patriarchal figure who is rooted in an orthodox view of family and society, bent on enforcing rules and keeping young people in line. What is revealing is when Hrishida was low on motivation and creativity, he made earnest films that sometimes descended into pedantry, but when he came out of his depressed phase he did so spectacularly with Gol Maal. Many of Hrishida’s best films are about how minor transgressions may occur, how small battles may be won, within the boundaries of a society when roles tend to be predefined: where certain divides are very hard to bridge, family is sacrosanct, young people are expected to unconditionally ‘respect their elders’ (even when those elders are being unreasonable or behaving more immaturely than the youngsters) and women are permitted to dream only so long as those dreams don’t clash with their principal duties within the family structure.

Though Chupke Chupke may seem too frothy a work to even be discussed in such terms, look at its last scene. Family and community have been neatly reaffirmed: one married couple has been reunited, another young couple has just been wed, new bonds have been formed in the presence of approving elders, it has been established that everyone is comfortable middle class, that the person who shook up this society wasn’t really the driver, James, who is on the outskirts of this group.

On the face of it what can be more conformist than this, wonders the author. In the symbolism laden film Bawarchi, the narrative begins with a runaway cook (who can’t take any more of the bickering Sharma family) feeling guilty about the old man of the house not getting his morning tea. Raghu the multi-talented Bawarchi who replaces him, isn’t content cooking for the large clan; he must bring them together too.

Hrishida’s attention to detail, sympathy for people who might very easily have been caricatures, would continue throughout his career as a director. It is seen time and time again in comedy scenes where the comedians are not objects of mirth but well realised people who may be used to sharply comment on a situation, even when the framework is broad slapstick. Around the time of the Emergency when he was depressed Hrishida made high minded films like Arjun Pandit and Naukri about the state of the nation. Like some of his later works it has patches of shoddiness and an unfinished quality. However, at the end it provides a nuanced view of what patriotism and heroism can really mean.

A subject of some of Hrishida’s best films is how men and women move tentatively towards achieving parity in a relationship. How this happens not in a utopian world but within the assumptions of an often orthodox society where gender roles tend to be defined and ‘progressiveness’ doesn’t mean completely shaking up the status quo; it can mean something subtler, such as a man becoming more subtle, gradually becoming more sensitive to his wife’s inner life and learning new things about himself, his emotional dependence, his capacity for love, his own feminine side in the process.

The Amitabh-Jaya starrer Abhimaan is one of cinema’s finest depictions of threatened individuality and a marriage under pressure highlighted by good pacing, a gently mournful score (by Ravi Shankar) that acquires new depths the more you listen to it, and wonderful performances. Hrishikesh often spoke of wanting to do something off the beaten track. He threw up his hands and said: “”One’s attitude to life is often reflected in one’s art. I am basically a middle class man with middle class values, and I can make no other kind of film.””

Time and again the impression one gets of Hrishida, who to some degree or the other managed to retain his way of making movies right till the end, even as he thought himself to be a sell out. Happily others don’t have to be as conservative about Hrishida’s work as he himself was, observes the author. Some food for thought for movie buffs.

TR

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator.)
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Article129.png”” alt=””Article129″” />Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry will lead Pak delegation to the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process meeting which is being held in New Delhi on Tuesday. Sources in the government said that Indian Foreign Secretary Dr. S. Jaishankar is likely to a have a meeting with Mr. Chaudhry on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia conference which is purely Afghanistan-centric. It will be for the first time that the two Foreign Secretaries will be meeting since the January 2 Pathankot air base terror attack which India has blamed on Pak-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group, headed by Masood Azhar. Sources said the Dr. Jaishankar would raise the Pathankot terror attack issue with his Pakistani counterpart. Pak Foreign Secretary is also likely to have bilateral meetings with other delegations.

The 14-nation Heart of Asia grouping was established in 2011 and Pakistan has played an active role in it as a platform to discuss regional issues, including security, economic cooperation and connectivity among Afghanistan, its neighbours and regional countries with a view to promote lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. Pakistan had hosted the fifth Heart of Asia Ministerial conference in Islamabad on December 9, 2015. Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad said, in a statement, that it looks forward to active participation in the senior officials meeting of the Heart of Asia process “”reflecting our commitment to efforts for promoting long term peace and stability in Afghanistan.””

Sources in the Pakistan High Commission said Mr Chaudhry is scheduled to travel to the Indian capital on Tuesday morning and return home in the evening. Pakistani High Commission said no bilateral meetings had been scheduled for Mr. Chaudhury with Indian officials. It is likely that he will have an informal interaction with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. A statement issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad said the Pakistani delegation will “hold bilateral meetings with other leading delegations attending” the Heart of Asia meet.

A Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had visited India this month to probe the attack in which seven security personnel were killed. The foreign secretary-level talks have been hanging by a fine thread though both sides have maintained that they have been in touch and the dialogue would be held at a mutually convenient date. Recently, Pakistani High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit stirred a new controversy, by saying that the talks had been “”suspended.”””

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Article128.png”” alt=””Article128″” />The fresh session of Parliament beginning on Monday after both Houses having been prorogued to enable the government to tackle the political and constitutional crisis in Uttarakhand is going to be stormy with the main Opposition Congress determined to put the NDA government on the mat. Though the Uttarakhand issue continues to be in the hands of the Court with the Supreme Court staying the decision of the state High Court quashing the imposition of President’s rule in the state, Opposition is going to go hammer and tongs at the Modi government. The session which is to be on till May 13 with 15 sittings has its plate full as the main agenda is to complete the financial business regarding the General Budget and the Railway Budget for the current financial year.

Clearly the mood of the opposition was made clear at the all party meeting the Lok Sabha Speaker Mrs Sumitra Mahajan had convened on Sunday where the Uttarakhand issue was raised Congress’ leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said after the meeting that the party MPs would move an adjournment motion seeking a discussion on it under Rule 56. But, this was countered by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy who said “”to my knowledge, the matter is before the court and when the issue is pending in court and a decision is yet to come, there is no scope for a discussion on it. The Speaker has to take a decision on it.”” Speaker Mahajan, too, appeared to share the government’s view.

Even though the government is keen on pushing through the GST Bill and several other important legislation being on the agenda, but, with the numbers stacked against the government in the Rajya Sabha, it is going to be tough going for the ruling NDA government. Though Speaker Mahajan said she hoped the resumed session would be a smooth affair, the mood of the opposition indicates otherwise specially the major opposition Congress which appears determined to take the government to task on the Uttarakhand issue undeterred by the fact that it has only 44 members in the Lok Sabha. Besides the Uttarakhand issue, there are several others which are expected to figure specially the ongoing severe water shortage in all the 91 major reservoirs with the storage in them in the country according to official figures standing at 22 per cent.

The ongoing crisis at NIT in Srinagar, the Pakistan stand on the visit of its team to India on Pathankot terrorist attack and various other issues. “”Drought across the country is a major issue and there was a demand by all for a discussion on it. All have extended their support. We all hope that the coming Lok Sabha session will function smoothly,”” she said. According to Rudy “”there was complete assurance from all the political parties that the House will run smoothly and the environment
looked very good. All have assured and there is a broad consensus that Lok Sabha should function smoothly and all parties have said this in one voice,” which will be known when both Houses meet tomorrow.”

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Article127.png”” alt=””Article127″” />Pointing to the wide gap in the people-judge ratio, Chief Justice of India Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, could not hide his tears and turned emotional in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while referring to the unprecedented pressure under which the judges in the country were working. The CJI said the government should raise the number of judges from the current 21,000 to 40,000. At the joint annual meeting between Chief Ministers and Chief Justices, Chief Justice Thakur said, “”It is for development of this country, that I beseech you to rise the occasion. You cannot shift the entire burden to the judiciary. There is a limit to judges’ capacity.””

The Prime Minister, who was not expected to speak at that point, assured the judiciary that his government was serious about addressing the issues. “”If a closed door and close team norms allow, I will definitely try to find a way out,”” he said, according to a NDTV report. An average Indian judge handles 2,600 cases in a year, compared to just 81 in the US, Chief Justice Thakur pointed out. The lower courts handle 2 crore cases a year – the discrepancy never fails to shock judges visiting from abroad, he said.

Justice Thakur said that since 1987, when the Law Commission had recommended increase in the number of judges from then 10 per 10 lakh people to 50 but “”nothing has moved””.

In his remarks made in Hindi, Prime Minister Modi said that he could understand the agony of the CJI Justice Thakur but added that there would have been reasons for things to remain same from 1987 to 2016. He said that he would not like to go into details but added “”Jab Jage Tabhi Savera”” (Morning is when you wake up). He said the challenge was how to reduce the past burden and at the same time move ahead.

The Prime Minister said that ample precautions should be taken while drafting, debating and making laws so that ambiguity and interpretation in the court would not arise and anybody taking a decision would not face the dilemma. “”We will have to move towards that kind of efficiency gradually,”” he said adding that the burden of all laws was too much for the common man. He said that his government had started the review of 1500 to 1700 such laws dating back to 1800 or 1850 and had become irrelevant. Such laws, Mr. Modi said, were being misused by those who did not want any work to be done.

Conceding that CJI Justice Thakur had pointed out several crucial aspects, the Prime Minister said that the issues could be sorted out by a few top government functionaries and a team of CJI in a closed door meeting. “”We will find ways to resolve these problems. I am not that kind of person who will go away after listening to these problems. I have taken them seriously and I will try and find some way out,”” Prime Minister Modi said.”

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Article135.png”” alt=””Article135″” />Several memories lay in a shambles as a massive blaze swept through the floors of the iconic National Museum of Natural History in the heart of India’s national Capital. If you grew up in Delhi, chances are you have at least one photo of yourself as a child posing in front of the giant dinosaur statue in the lawns of National Museum of Natural History. Now the dinosaur is perhaps the only stark remnant of the 38-year of institution gutted in a massive fire. The fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday in the museum located in FICCI building at Mandi House in Central Delhi, where some repair work was underway. The fire quickly spread to all other floors of the building and could be brought under control by the firefighters after a four-hour long battle. The museum had been conceptualised by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1972. Its collection included 160 million year old fossile bone of a Sauropod, ostrich bird egss, preserved butterflies, stuffed animal and birds, herpetological specimens and dioramas.

An Indian rhino have been a visible crowd puller at the museum especially for children during the summer vacation months. The nostalgia found echo in numerous tweets, blogs put out by many, who used to frequent the place during the 80s and 90s. “”It is indeed a tragic incident. Loss of collection is losing a vital piece of history. Natural history collections are invaluable piece of scientific knowledge. It just highlights the value of taking utmost care of such a treasure trove,”” Deepak Apte, Director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) said.

“”It is a matter of deep sorrow and anguish that a fire has gutted the entire museum of natural history. It used to be quite a popular among children. Even I frequented the place both as a father and as an environment minister, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted.”

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Article131.png”” alt=””Article131″” />The European region has managed to eliminated malaria, becoming the first region in the world to do so, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on the World Malaria Day observed on April 25. The number of indigenous malaria cases dropped from 90,712 in 1995 to zero in 2015 in 32 European region countries. The fete was achieved just a year after the World Health Assembly resolved to eliminate malaria from at least 35 countries by 2030. In 2015, all countries in the WHO European Region reported, for the first time, zero indigenous cases of malaria, down from 90 000 cases in 1995. Outside this region, 8 countries reported zero cases of the disease in 2014: Argentina, Costa Rica, Iraq, Morocco, Oman, Paraguay, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates.

Another 8 countries each tallied fewer than 100 indigenous malaria cases in 2014. And a further 12 countries reported between 100 and 1000 indigenous malaria cases in 2014. Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. There are five parasite species that cause malaria in humans, and two of these species, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, pose the greatest threat.

The “Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030”, approved by the World Health Assembly in 2015, calls for the elimination of local transmission of malaria in at least 10 countries by 2020. WHO estimates that 21 countries are in a position to achieve this goal, including 6 countries in the African Region, where the burden of the disease is heaviest.

“Our report shines a spotlight on countries that are well on their way to eliminating malaria,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme. “WHO commends these countries while also highlighting the urgent need for greater investment in settings with high rates of malaria transmission, particularly in Africa. Saving lives must be our first priority.”

Since the year 2000, malaria mortality rates have declined by 60% globally. In the WHO African Region, malaria mortality rates fell by 66% among all age groups and by 71% among children under 5 years. The advances came through the use of core malaria control tools that have been widely deployed over the last decade: insecticide-treated bed-nets, indoor residual spraying, rapid diagnostic testing and artemisinin-based combination therapies. But reaching the next level—elimination—will not be easy. Nearly half of the world’s population, 3.2 billion people, remain at risk of malaria. Last year alone, 214 million new cases of the disease were reported in 95 countries and more than 400 000 people died of malaria.

The efficacy of the tools that secured the gains against malaria in the early years of this century is now threatened. Mosquito resistance to insecticides used in nets and indoor residual spraying is growing. So too is parasite resistance to a component of one of the most powerful antimalarial medicines. Further progress against malaria will likely require new tools that do not exist today, and the further refining of new technologies.

Last year, for the first time, the European Medicines Agency issued a positive scientific opinion on a malaria vaccine. In January 2016, WHO recommended large-scale pilot projects of the vaccine in several African countries, which could pave the way for wider deployment in the years ahead. Vigorous leadership by the governments of affected countries is key. Governments must strengthen surveillance of cases to identify gaps in coverage and be prepared to take action based on the information received. As countries approach elimination, the ability to detect every infection becomes increasingly important.

Reaching the goals of the “”Global Technical Strategy”” will require a steep increase in global and domestic funding—from $2.5 billion today to an estimated $8.7 billion annually by 2030, WHO said in a statement. Through robust financing and political will, affected countries can speed progress towards malaria elimination and contribute to the broader development agenda as laid out in the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.”