Tremors were felt in parts of northern India, including Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh's Noida after a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region. The tremors lasted up to 20 seconds according to some reports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor to inquire about the situation. Meanwhile, the SOG in Rajasthan continues its investigation into the REET paper leak case, with ADG Ashok Rathore warning that no accused will be spared regardless of their stature. Protests over the case continue with the BJP Yuva Morcha planning a 'Jail Bharo And
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1. STRONG TREMORS
FELT IN DELHI,
NOIDA, J&K AFTER
EARTHQUAKE IN
AFGHANISTAN
Tremors were felt in
Jammu and Kashmir,
Delhi and nearby cities
this morning after a mag-
nitude 5.7 earthquake
with its epicentre in the
Afghanistan-Tajikistan
border region was
reported. Some residents
in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida
tweeted the ground
shook for at least 20
seconds. People in Delhi
also tweeted they felt the
tremor. Meanwhile, PM
Narendra Modi on Satur-
day called up J&K Lt
Governor Manoj Sinha
to inquire about the situ-
ations in Union Territory
following earthquake
tremors in the region.
JAIPUR l SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 241
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SHIMLA
FREEZES AT
-2.1°
c
himla recorded its lowest
temperature this year with the
mercury dropping to -2.1 degrees
Celsius on Saturday, according to the
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
As the cold intensified in Himachal
Pradesh in the past 24 hours, the
temperature in Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti
district dropped to -12.5 degrees Celsius.
S
LATA MANGESHKAR’S
HEALTH VERY CRITICAL
Veteran singer Lata Man-
geshkar, who was admitted
in ICU of a Mumbai hospital
since last month, is very
critical and shifted back on
ventilator. Singer Asha Bho-
sle visted her at the hospital.
GOVT PLACES ORDER
FOR CORBEVAX DOSES
The Centre has placed a
purchase order with Biologi-
cal E for five crore doses of
Covid vaccine Corbevax each
costing Rs 145 excluding
taxes, official sources
said on Saturday.
GIVEN THE ANGER OF PEOPLE...
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party chief Akhilesh
Yadav on Saturday said
that given the anger
among the people of Ut-
tar Pradesh (towards
the state government),
the SP-RLD alliance is
going to get 400 out the
total 403 Assembly seats
in the upcoming elec-
tions.
Referring to the Hath-
ras rape case, Yadav
said the victim neither
received proper treat-
ment, nor a respectful
cremation after her
death. “Family of the
daughter from Hathras
wanted justice, they
wanted to cremate her
respectfully. But what
did people of this Govt
do? They didn’t let it
happen. Had she re-
ceived proper treatment
at hospital, she would
perhaps have been alive
today,” he said.
SP National President Akhilesh Yadav with RLD chief Jayant.
BSP FIELDS KHWAJA
SAMSUDDIN AGAINST
YOGI IN GORAKHPUR
Lucknow: The BSP on
Saturday released a list
of 54 candidates for the
upcoming Uttar Pradesh
Assembly elections,
fielding Khwaja Samsud-
din against Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath from
Gorakhpur Urban con-
stituency. In its latest list,
the Mayawati-led party
has given tickets to seven
Muslim candidates.
MODI TO ATTEND
HYBRID RALLY IN
BIJNOR ON MONDAY
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi will
be holding a rally that will
be hybrid in nature on
Monday at about 11:30
am. PM will be physically
present in Bijnor. In this
rally, the Prime Minister
will cover three districts
of UP: Bijnor Moradabad
and Amroha, thereby,
covering 18 assembly
constituencies in total.
SP-RLD will win 400
seats in UP: Akhilesh
AMIT SHAH HAD ON FRIDAY CLAIMED
BJP WINNING 300 SEATS IN THE STATE
“In the event of administrative committee not selecting a
uniform, clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public
law and order should not be worn,” said government order.
IT’SSAFFRON
SCARVESV/S
HIJABINK’TAKA!
Bengaluru: In a bid
to put an end to the
simmering hijab
(head scarf) contro-
versy in Karnataka,
the state government
Saturday directed
banning clothes
“which disturb equal-
ity, integrity and pub-
lic order” in schools
and colleges.
The government
has invoked 133 (2) of
the Karnataka Educa-
tion Act-1983, which
states that a uniform
style of clothes
has to be worn com-
pulsorily
.
MAA SARASWATI DOESN’T
DIFFERENTIATE, GIVES
EDU TO ALL, SAYS RAHUL
New Delhi: On the
occasion of Saraswati
Puja, Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi alluding
to the decision by the
college authorities not
to allow wearing the
hijab in classroom,
tweeted “We are rob-
bing the future of the
daughters of India by
letting students’ hijab
come in the way of
their education.”
Karnataka bans
clothes that ‘disturb
public law and
order’ in education
institutions
In first poll meet after
attack,Owaisi asks
SP leaders to join him
Baghpat: AIMIM chief
Asaduddin Owaisi on
Saturday asked Sama-
jwadi Party leaders to
join hands with him to
oust the BJP from power.
“I appeal to my broth-
ers to vote not only with
the sole aim of defeat-
ing BJP candidates but
vote for ensuring the
victory of our people in
the fray,” Owaisi said,
campaigning for his
party candidate Anees
in Baghpat’s Asara vil-
lage in Chaprauli.
Itwashisfirstmeeting
after Thursday’s attack
on him in western UP
.
Owaisi said joining
hands with him would
only be to the benefit of
SPleaders,andthatstay-
ingwithAkhileshYadav
would be their undoing.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi
216-ft ‘Statue of Equality’
inaugurated by PM
Hyderabad: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Saturday inau-
gurated the 216-foot-tall
‘Statue of Equality’,
honouring the 11th-cen-
tury Hindu saint Ra-
manujacharya. “This
statue of Ramanu-
jacharya ji is a symbol
of his knowledge, de-
tachment, and ideals,”
he said.
According to the
Prime Minister’s Of-
fice, the Statue of
Equality commemo-
rates Ramanujacharya,
who promoted the idea
of equality in all as-
pects of living includ-
ing faith, caste and
creed.
“Today Ramanu-
jacharya ji is giving us
the message of equality
in the form of a huge
Statue of Equality,”
said the Prime Minister.
The statue has been
conceptualised by Jee-
yar Swami of Sri Ra-
manujacharya Ashram.
Telangana CM KCR skips airport welcome
The 216-foot-tall ‘Statue
of Equality’, honouring the
11th-century Hindu saint
Ramanujacharya is made of
‘panchaloha’, a combination
of five metals: gold, silver,
copper, brass, and zinc and
is among one of the tallest
metallic statues in sitting
position, in the world.
The statue is mounted on
a 54-feet-high base building,
named ‘Bhadra Vedi’. The
buildings has floors devoted
for a Vedic digital library and
research centre. (Inset):
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi performed a ritual
at ‘Yagyashala’ during the
inauguration of the statue.
AFTER CHANNI, NOW KCR SKIPS RECEIVING MODI
Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached
Hyderabad on Saturday on a six-hour visit
but Telangana Chief Minister K Chan-
drasekhar Rao skipped welcoming him at
the airport. This is the second time in two
months that PM Modi was not received
at the airport by a state Chief Minister.
In January, Punjab CM Charanjit Channi
skipped the customary airport welcome to PM.
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur:RajasthanChief
Minister Ashok Gehlot
onSaturdaysaidthatthe
state government is pro-
moting sports and creat-
ing a conducive environ-
ment for sportspersons
inthestatewithfullcom-
mitment.
With this purpose, he
said, the world’s third-
largest stadium is being
built at Chaump near
Jaipur.
Addressing the foun-
dation stone laying cer-
emony of the Interna-
tional Cricket Stadium
through video confer-
ence, he said that it was
a golden day for cricket
in Rajasthan and the
dream of the players
and sports lovers is go-
ing to be fulfilled.
He said that it was
the dream of the then
RCA President Dr. CP
Joshi which the current
President Vaibhav Ge-
hlot is going to fulfill
with the cooperation of
the State Government
and BCCI. Turn to P8
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
A golden day for cricket in Raj: Gehlot
FOUNDATION STONE FOR WORLD’S 3RD LARGEST STADIUM LAID
l `280 crore stadium
with a seating capacity of
75,000 is to come up on
100 acres of land at
Chaump in Jaipur
l CM urges BCCI
President Sourav
Ganguly and Secretary
Jay Shah to give priority
to Rajasthan in hosting
international matches
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot blamed the former Comptrol-
ler and Auditor General Vinod Rai behind the ousting of
the UPA government in 2014. He said that due to Vinod Rai’s
statements about 2G spectrum and Coalgate, an atmosphere
was created in the country against the then UPA government.
CM, during virtual function of ICAA, said, “I remember Vinod
Rai who was not a chartered accountant but a bureaucrat. Rai
had said that there was a scam of Rs 1.76 lakh crore. A few
days back, he apologized in writing to Sanjay Nirupam.”
As per new excise policy, licences can be renewed for two
years. Provision has been made for composite liquor
shops across the state where country, beer and foreign liquor
will be available at a single shop. There will be 7,665 shops
in all and will open from 10 am to 8 pm. There has been no
increase in the licence fee of bars at hotels and restaurants.
Rajasthan State Beverage Corporation will be allotted AC
model shop on annual licence fee. Licences will be issued for
liquor shops on basis of annual licence fee at all airports. P7
‘VINOD RAI WAS REASON BEHIND UPA DEFEAT’
STATE GOVT ISSUES NEW EXCISE POLICY
3. RAJASTHAN
JAIPUR | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022
03
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Shubham Jain
Ajmer: Traditional
‘Chadars’ were present-
ed on behalf of Gover-
nor Kalraj Mishra and
CM Ashok Gehlot on
the occasion of the
810th Urs of Khwaja
Moinuddin Hasan
Chishti at the Ajmer
Sharif Dargah in
Ajmer. Governor’s ADC
Rajarshi Raj Varma,
visited the Dargah with
the ‘Chadar.’ He was ac-
companied by adminis-
trative officials. He
prayed for state’s peace
and prosperity read
out Governor’s mes-
sage, wherein, Mishra
stated that Khwaja Sa-
heb gave the message of
love humanity and is
knownas‘GaribNawaz’
because of his helping
nature towards poor.
In the meanwhile, the
Chairman of Waqf
Board Khaanu Khan
Budhwali offered a
‘Chadar’ on behalf of
CM Gehlot. Prayers
were offered for peace
and prosperity in the
state at Asthana Sharif
inside the Dargah. The
message sent by CM Ge-
hlot was read at the
‘Buland Darwaza’,
wherein, the Chief Min-
ister Ashok Gehlot said
that Gareeb Nawaz gave
us the message to help
the weak the desti-
tute. Today, in the name
of religion, efforts are
being made to weaken
society. Message of
brotherhood given by
Gareeb Nawaz becomes
all the more relevant in
today’s day and age.
Guv Mishra, CM Gehlot’s chadars offered @ Ajmer Sharif Dargah
810TH
URS OF KHWAJA MOINUDDIN CHISHTI
COVID-19 SCARE: RAJ REPORTS 19
DEATHS, 5,602 FRESH CASES IN 24 HRS
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Rajasthan on
Saturday recorded 19
more deaths and 5,602
new cases of COVID-19,
officials of Health De-
partment informed.
According to the
Health Department, the
new cases include 916 in
Jaipur, 615 in Jodhpur,
465 in Alwar, 341 in
Udaipur and 311 in
Sriganganagar.
On Friday, 9,309 peo-
ple recovered from the
infection in the state,
while 51,143 Covid-19 pa-
tients are under treat-
ment in the state, the
officials said while shar-
ing about the rate of in-
fection in the state.
Of the 19 deaths re-
ported in Rajasthan, six
were reported in Jaipur,
three in Sirohi, two each
in Sikar and Bikaner
and one each in Karauli,
Udaipur, Jodhpur,
Bhilwara, Barmer and
Pali. The state’s Covid
deathtollstandsat9,372,
informed the officials of
the Health Department.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: The fresh Covid
guidelines issued by the
Home Department on
Friday
, doing away with
night curfew and in-
creasing the limit of
guests in marriages and
other functions, were
enforced from Saturday
.
The night curfew was
imposed from 11 pm to 5
am, which has been re-
moved now.
Moreover, in further
Covid restrictions
which were imposed,
devotees can now offer
prasad, garlands and
other items related to
worship at various tem-
ples.
The Approval has al-
ready been given to
open schools from
Classes 10th to 12th.
To attend public
events, it is mandatory
for people to be fully
vaccinated.
However, permission
has to be taken from the
administration by the
people for organising
these functions.
Ziauddin Khan
Jaipur: In a major ac-
tion for violating fire-
safety norms, JMCH’s
Fire Branch Vigilance
team under the supervi-
sion of Dy Commission-
er Ashish Kumar Ver-
ma, on Saturday, sealed
2 major malls one res-
taurant in city for not
taking the fire NOC
installing the fire fight-
ing equipment properly
.
Both the malls name-
ly OK Plus Tower at
Ajmer Road, Vishal
Mega Mart at MI Road
and Gulabi Nagri Res-
taurant located near
Collectorate are situat-
ed at a prime location,
which witnesses maxi-
mum footfall.
Verma said that dur-
ing random inspection,
fire-fighting equipment
weren’t found to be ap-
propriate. Besides, all
thethreebuildingopera-
tors didn’t even have a
permanent fire NOC of
theCorporation,hesaid.
First India Bureau
Jodhpur: Providing
respite to additional de-
gree holders in the
REET exam, the High
Court on Saturday, or-
dered the authorities
concerned to include
them provisionally,
which will, however, be
subject to the final ver-
dict of the Supreme
Court.
The High Court has
earlier denied recogni-
tion to the additional
degree holders in the
REET exam, which was
challenged in the Apex
Court. While the case is
pending in the Supreme
Court, the additional
degree holders request-
ed the High Court to
provide them at least
interim relief.
After hearing both
sides, Justice Arun
Bhansali gave condi-
tional respite to the ad-
ditional degree holders.
The ruling will equal-
ly be applicable to all
the additional degree
holders.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: JMC Heritage
Mayor Munesh Gur-
jar’s trouble doesn’t
seem to end as council-
lors of Hawamahal
zone have also started a
revolt against her. They
held a meeting under
the leadership of Depu-
ty Mayor Aslam Fa-
rooqui on Saturday. It
was unanimously
agreed that if the face
Mayor is changed, then
a Muslim councillor of
Hawamahal zone
should be made the
Mayor. Councillors of
Adarsh Nagar, Kishan
Pol Civil Lines pro-
tested to change the
Mayor. Now, with coun-
cillors of Hawamahal
zone joining the protest,
Gurjar’s trouble will
only increase.
Nirmal Tiwari
Jaipur: The National
Green Tribunal (NGT)
has imposed a fine of Rs
25 crore on Hindustan
Zinc Limited for violat-
ing environmental
norms in Bhilwara.
At the same time, the
NGT also ordered to
constitute a three-mem-
ber committee to assess
the damage caused to
land and water in the
area and to make a plan
for its restoration.
The panel will also as-
sess the damage caused
to people’s health and
livestock in the area
and will work for their
improvement. A bench
headed by Justice
Adarsh Kumar Goyal
issued directions. He
instructed HZL to de-
posit fine amount to
DM, Bhilwara within
three months. The
bench ordered forma-
tion of panel, which
will include representa-
tives of CPCB, RPCB
DM, Bhilwara. Panel
was directed to file a
compliance report by
April 30, 2023.
Relief to people as govt
eases Covid-19 norms
Six deaths were reported
in Jaipur on Saturday
916 new cases were
detected in Pink City A vaccination
camp under the
joint aegis of
Pink City Press
Club and Health
Department was
organised at Club
premises on
Saturday
65 journalists
aged 60 years
above, along with
their respective
families, were
given booster
doses during the
camp organised
on Saturday
A vaccination
camp was also
organised for
children aged
15 to 18 years,
informed the
President of
the Press Club
Mukesh Meena
and the Club’s
General Secretary
Ramendra Solanki
HIGHLIGHTS
JMCH seals 2 famous malls, 1
restaurant for fire-rule violations
JMC HERITAGE TO CONDUCT E-AUCTION OF
30 HOUSING, COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES
CM Gehlot to offer Sonia’s ‘Chadar’ at Dargah
6 months on, Garasiya’s
body to reach Delhi
from Moscow today
REET: HC relief to
addl degree holders
JMC Heritage
Priyanka Gandhi with the victim’s family. —FILE PHOTO
NGT IMPOSES `25 CR PENALTY ON HZL
FOR FLOUTING ENVIRONMENTAL NORMS
NAGAUR MAN HELD FOR STEALING
500 LED TELEVISIONS IN NEW DELHI
New Delhi: A 39-year-old manager of a ware-
house was arrested from Rajasthan for alleg-
edly stealing 590 LED TVs from his employers’
godown here, police on Saturday said. The
accused has been identified as Dinesh Chittlan-
gia, a resident of Nagaur in Rajasthan, they said.
On Tuesday, one Kamal Toshniwal had lodged a
complaint regarding theft of 590 LED TVs from
his godown in Sant Nagar, East of Kailash, police
said. On technical surveillance of billing system
of firm, two e-way bills were found issued in the
name of M/s SS Electronics, police said. —PTI
Jaipur: JMC- Heritage will conduct e-auction of 30
properties including 12 residential commercial plots
18 shops at various prime locations. Corporation
commissioner Avdhesh Meena said that plots at Janata
Colony, Saket Colony will be auctioned on Feb 22- 23.
Similarly, a commercial plot behind Jawahar Nagar
will be auctioned on Feb 24- 25. Besides, 18 shops at
Sanjay Bazar will be e-auctioned on Feb 24- 25, 2022.
Jaipur: CM Ashok Gehlot
other Congress leaders
will offer a ‘Chadar’ on
behalf of Congress Presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi ex-
President Rahul Gandhi
at Ajmer Sharif Dargah on
Sunday. Gehlot along with
AICC gen secy in-charge
for Rajasthan Ajay Maken,
PCC President GS Do-
tasra, National President
of Congress Minorities
Dept Imran Pratapgarhi
will visit the Dargah to
offer the ‘Chadar.’
Bundi: Kota ACB team arrested an Excise Inspec-
tor, Vinod Sharma for taking a bribe of Rs 20,000.
However, the inspector’s driver Farazuddin fled with
the money. The ACB team is searching for him. Kota
Additional SP Thakur Chandrasheel Kumar said that
complainant Ashish Mayank said that Sharma took
away six boxes of liquor from his partner Bharat
Kothari’s licensed composite liquor shop and threat-
ened to implicate him his salesman in a false case
and demanded Rs 25,000.
BUNDI: EXCISE INSPECTOR HELD FOR
TAKING ` 20,000 BRIBE
Jaipur: UDH Department has sent a proposal to the
RPSC regarding vacant posts of Assistant Engineers
(AENs). Approval
has been sought
for relaxation of
rules. UDH sent the
proposal to finance
department for
approval. Owing to
pendency of matter,
the UDH sent the proposal to RPSC. The personnel
department has given conditional approval wherein,
approval needs to be taken from finance department
and RPSC.JENs have been awaiting promotions for
11 yrs. 108 posts of AENs are lying vacant.
UDH SEEKS RPSC’s HELP TO FILL UP VACANT
POSTS /HOUSING DEPT JENs TO BE PROMOTED
NEWS DIGEST
Mahesh Sharma
Jaipur: Finally, after a
long fight for justice, the
body of Hitendra Garasi-
ya, lying in Russia for
over six months, will
reach New Delhi’s Indira
Gandhi International
Airportat9:15amonSun-
day. Garasiya was from
GodwavillageinUdaipur.
After an order of Raj
HCNationalGenSecre-
tary of Congress, Priyan-
kaGandhiraisedthemat-
ter, the state government
also became alert. Assis-
tant Commissioner Vi-
mal Sharma working at
Bikaner House, New Del-
hi will be present at the
airport along with the
team on behalf of the
state government. The
body will be first handed
over to the representa-
tives of Rajasthan govt,
whowouldhanditoverto
relatives. Garasiya’s son
Piyush is in New Delhi
with Bundi Congress
leader Charmesh Shar-
ma. On Saturday, Garasi-
ya’s wife Asha Garasiya
anddaughterUrvashileft
for New Delhi.
Sharma, who has been
campaigning to bring Ga-
rasiya’s body back to In-
dia for his last rites, said
that according to officials
the body will come safely
.
All relatives have been
called to New Delhi for
identificationafterwhich
they can leave for
Udaipur. DNA test will be
considered only if the
body is not identified.
Hawa Mahal councillors
protest against Munesh
A ‘Chadar’ was offered on behalf of Governor Kalraj Mishra at the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin
Chishti at Ajmer on Saturday. Guv’s ADC Rajarshi Raj Varma offered the ‘Chadar’ at the Holy shrine.
A health worker takes swab sample for Covid-19 testing at Kanwatiya Hospital.
12,40,673
TOTAL CASES
5,602 IN A DAY
916 IN JAIPUR
9,309
TOTAL RECOVERED
9,372
TOTAL DEATHS
19 IN A DAY
6 IN JAIPUR
51,143
ACTIVE CASES
COVID-19
UPDATE
—PHOTO
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
Chairman of Raj Waqf Board Khaanu Khan Budhwali other
Congress leaders offered a ‘Chadar’ on behalf of CM Ashok
Gehlot at Dargah Sharif in Ajmer on Saturday.
4. PERSPECTIVE
JAIPUR | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022
04
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Vol 3 Issue No. 241
RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B.
Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk
Road, Jaipur. Published at 304,
3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das
Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001,
Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Make level paths for
your feet,” so that the
lame may not be disabled,
but rather healed.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Anguished to learn about the demise
of veteran BJP leader C Janga Reddy
Ji. He was one of the two BJP MPs
who had won in the 1984 elections.
His contribution towards saving the
democracy in the 1975 emergency
and strengthening BJP can never be
forgotten. My condolences. Om Shanti
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
Saraswati Namastubhyam, Varde
Kamarupini. Vidyarambham
Karishyami always in Siddhidharbhatu.
Warm wishes on the festival ‘Basant
Panchami’, which is celebrated to
commemorate the arrival of spring
and worship Goddess Saraswati, the
goddess of learning and knowledge.
TOP TWEETS
STRICTER RULES
ARE NEEDED TO
REGULATE SOCIAL
MEDIA IN INDIA
ndia has close to 700
million internet us-
ers. The Central gov-
ernment had intro-
duced new Interme-
diary Liability Rules last year to
make social media platforms
more accountable by ordering
them to ensure traceability of
end-to-end encrypted messages.
With India being among the top
three internet markets it is able
todictatetermstothesocialcom-
panies which countries like the
US and UK have not been able to
do. In these countries the voices
for freedom of individuals are
far more assertive than in India.
The Central government is
now open to the idea of stricter
rules to make social media more
accountable, provided the oppo-
sition parties are willing to
come on board. Earlier the op-
position has attacked such
measures as being in violation
of freedom of expression. For
the protection of citizens, espe-
cially women, the government is
in favour of consensus for strict-
er accountability. The Bullibai
website which attacked the dig-
nity of Muslims is what has
prompted the government to
mull over stricter rules.
I
ontroversy over
hijab is getting
bigger in Karna-
taka with the BJP
and Congress tak-
ing up opposing positions on
the wearing of headscarves
by Muslim women. The row
began in early January when
six students of Udupi’s Gov-
ernment Pre-University Col-
lege attended classes don-
ning headscarves. This was
said to be in violation of col-
lege dress code which per-
mitted hijab on campus but
not inside class rooms. It
then spread to a private col-
lege at Bhandarkar where
school authorities clamped
the ban although their pre-
scribed dress code allows hi-
jab inside classrooms. At an-
other govt college in Byndoor
area, the college shut its gate
on hijab-wearing students
after protests by saffron
shawl-wearing Hindus.
Hijab is a controversial
piece of garment in some
other countries too. In the US
hijab is a right guaranteed as
freedom of speech and free-
dom of religion by the First
Amendment. In January this
year, French Senate voted in
favour of a ban on wearing of
hijab in sports competitions
for neutrality
, French secular
values. Head scarves are also
banned in French schools.
The Indian Constitution
guarantees religious free-
dom, which includes wearing
hijab, a religious symbol.
Many view it as a political
statement, while others look
at it as an indicator of Islam-
ic fundamentalism. If a con-
troversial issue like hijab
surfaces out of the blue then
there has to be a political mo-
tive. Ex-Karnataka CM Sid-
daramaiah said that prevent-
ing students from attending
class over hijab is to rob them
of their fundamental right
while State’s HM Araga is of
theviewthat studentsshould
wear neither hijab nor saf-
fron shawl to college.
KARNATAKA GOING
FRENCH WAY ON HIJAB
Hijab is a
controversial piece of
garment in some
other countries too. In
the US hijab is a right
guaranteed as freedom of
speech and freedom of
religion by the First
Amendment
C
Why more Indians should invest
in global equities, but do not!
necommonquestionthatIfre-
quently get asked is if we as
Indian residents can invest in
global equity markets. As an
equity investor whose day job
istoallocatecapital,Iamoften
surprisedatthisunfamiliarity
or lack of awareness. Sure, a
numberof fundshaverecently
sprung up offering Indians
limited exposure to foreign eq-
uities but it remains a very
small segment of the overall
market for investments.
Many Indians, however,
have taken a strong liking to-
wards domestic equities. In-
terestrateshaveremainedlow
andwouldprobablyremainso
for some time. This has creat-
ed a dearth of fixed-income
investment options. The Indi-
an stock market has not disap-
pointed and has generated
bumper returns for many
,
with over 25 million new De-
mat accounts in 2021. An indi-
vidual invested in any domes-
tic index fund would have
made a return of more than
50% over the past two years.
My hunch is that over a
long-time horizon, anyone in-
vested in Indian markets
should do reasonably well.
Volatility in the Indian stock
market should open up oppor-
tunities for skillful investors
but this also begs the all-im-
portant question - should you
putallyoureggsinonebasket
or if I may say – should you
invest only in Indian stocks?
Diversification purely as
an end-goal should never be
pursued but there are some
extraordinarily dominant
and highly resilient compa-
nies worth investing outside
the Indian equity market. In
fact, if one were to make a list
of the world’s top ten compa-
nies not just in terms of mar-
ket capitalization but also in
the sheer quality of the busi-
ness, one would be hard-
pressed to find an Indian com-
pany on it. Even if one goes
beyondthiscursorylist,there
are hoards of quality busi-
nesseslistedindifferentstock
exchanges across the world.
Thankfully, quite a few are
now opening up to this reali-
ty of investing in foreign
markets. There is certainly a
growing appetite as evi-
denced in an increase of 28%
in foreign investments (in-
cludes both equity and debt)
by Indians in 2021. Not just
that, SEBI is now seriously
considering increasing the
overseas investment cap for
domestic mutual funds. This
should open up more options
for those looking at alterna-
tives to Indian equities.
However, despite the shift
in momentum, there remains
onlyafractionof Indianswho
have warmed up to the possi-
bility of investing overseas.
As consumers of various
American/European compa-
nies, Indians happily spend
both their precious money
and time on many of their
products/services. What then
is stopping many from invest-
ing in stocks outside India?
To my mind, there are a
number of reasons why this
has happened. One, many are
just genuinely unaware and
consider investing overseas
something that is beyond
theirreach.Insimplerwords,
their financial advisors
haven’t done a great job of
explaining how easy it is to
set up an international bro-
kerage account. Second,
there is a general skepticism
towards foreign markets and
people are quick to disregard
this option as non-serious.
They are fearful of perma-
nent loss of capital even
though the same individuals
may be invested in sub-par
companies in India.
Third, the Indian state in a
way discourages from remit-
ting capital abroad beyond a
certainlimit.UndertheLiber-
alized Remittance Scheme, an
individual can only transfer
up to $250,000 per year for eq-
uity investments. This isn’t
exactly prohibitive but for
HNIsthisisn’tliberalenough.
During those rare massive
market dips, this limit proba-
bly acts as a major spoilsport.
Finally
, the taxation for for-
eignequitiesisnotjusthighly
inefficient but is also exces-
sive. STCG tax for foreign eq-
uities is charged at par with
one’s income tax slab while
LTCG tax only kicks in if se-
curity is held on to for a mini-
mum of two years (at the rate
of 20%). In contrast, LTCG
tax for domestic equities is
charged at 10% and that too
for a holding period of one
year. This tax discrimination
between foreign domestic
equities is difficult to make
sense of and should really be
doneawaywithforthebenefit
of individual investors.
Fortunately, the Finance
Minister has shown agility
and flexibility with regard to
the reduction in corporate tax
rates. A large number of vot-
ers would be thrilled if that
same urgency were applied to
personal income tax reform.
Many more Indians would be
more open to investing in the
world’s greatest businesses
and the process enriching
themselvesandtheirfamilies.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
O
ARIHANT PANAGARIYA
The writer is a graduate of Columbia
University a portfolio manager at
Hundred Ten Capital in London
Finally, the taxation for
foreign equities is not just
highly inefficient but is also
excessive. STCG tax for
foreign equities is charged
at par with one’s income
tax slab while LTCG tax
only kicks in if security is
held on to for a minimum
of two years (at the rate of
20%). In contrast, LTCG
tax for domestic equities is
charged at 10% and that
too for a holding period of
one year. This tax
discrimination between
foreign domestic equities
is difficult to make sense of
and should really be done
away with for the benefit of
individual investors
Many Indians, however,
have taken a strong liking
towards domestic
equities. Interest rates
have remained low
and would probably
remain so for some time.
This has created a dearth
of fixed-income
investment options
Promoted by
Shree Cement Limited
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6.
7. Chandigarh/New Del-
hi: Congress on Satur-
day denied rumours of
a rotational Chief Min-
ister arrangement in
Punjab. Rahul Gandhi
will announce just one
name as the chief min-
isterial candidate to-
morrow, sources said.
Amidst the heated
contest for the top job
in the State, there was
earlier a buzz that Gan-
dhi would announce
two chief ministerial
candidates in his big
reveal in Ludhiana on
Sunday to accommo-
date both state Con-
gress chief Navjot Sin-
gh Sidhu and current
chief minister Charan-
jit Singh Channi.
Notably, this comes a
day after Channi’s
nephew Bhupendra
Singh Honey was ar-
rested by the Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED)
in an illegal sand-min-
ing case.
A jittery Sidhu has
stepped up his attack
on his own party as
Channi seems to be the
frontrunner for the
post. The state Con-
gress chief had yester-
day launched a direct
attack at his rival
Charanjit Singh Chan-
ni and said the party
must choose someone
“honest and with a
clean track record”.
Congress has recently
givenseveralindications
that Channi was fa-
voured for the top job. It
is also running a public
survey through IVR (In-
teractive Voice Re-
sponse) calls to allow
people of the state to
choose who they favour
for the post. Sources say
Channi is leading that
survey as well. —PTI
INDIA
JAIPUR | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022
06
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Kathmandu: Ice on a
glacier near the sum-
mit of Mount Everest
that took millennia to
form has shrunk dra-
matically in the last
three decades due to
climate change, a new
study has shown.
The South Col forma-
tion may already have
lost around 55 metres
(180 feet) of thickness in
the last 25 years, accord-
ing to research led by
the University of Maine
and published this week
by Nature.
Carbon dating
showed the top layer of
ice was around 2,000
years old, suggesting
that the glacier was
thinning more than 80
times faster than the
time it took to form, the
study said.
At that rate, South
Col was “probably going
to disappear within
very few decades”, lead
scientist Paul Mayews-
ki told National Geo-
graphic. “It’s quite a re-
markable transition,”
he added.
The South Col glacier
is around 7,900 metres
(26,000 feet) above sea
level and a kilometre
below the peak of the
world’s highest moun-
tain. Other researchers
have shown that Hima-
layan glaciers are melt-
ing at an accelerating
rate. As the glaciers
shrink, hundreds of
lakes have formed in
the foothills of Himala-
yan mountains that
could burst and un-
leash floods.
Nepali climber Kami
Rita Sherpa, who has
climbed Everest a re-
cord 25 times since 1994,
told media on Saturday
he had witnessed chang-
es on the mountain
firsthand.
“We now see rock ex-
posed in areas where
there used to be snow
before. Not just on Ever-
est, other mountains
are also losing their
snow and ice. It is wor-
rying,” Mr Sherpa told
media.
Himalayan glaciers
are a critical water
source for nearly two
billion people living
around the mountains
and river valleys below.
They feed 10 of the
world’s most impor-
tant river systems and
also help supply bil-
lions of people with
food and energy. —PTI
Mt Everest’s highest glacier rapidly losing ice: Study
CLIMATE CHANGE
NIP AND TUCK BATTLE IN PUNJAB CONG:
NO ROTATION OF CM POST, SAY SOURCES
Amritsar: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu
on Saturday said that his Punjab model is one to
change the lives of the people of the state. Address-
ing a press conference, the Punjab Congress chief
said, “Did Navjot Singh Sidhu deviate from politics of
issues? Did Sidhu deviate from policies? Did Sidhu
deviate from budgetary allocations? Did Sidhu open
his business or liquor store? My Punjab model is
one to change lives of children, youth, and people
of the state.” Speaking about the Congress’ plan to
announce the Chief Minister candidate, Mr Sidhu said,
“Today Punjab has to decide a major thing; CM will be
elected if there are 60 MLAs (for the Congress). No-
body is talking about the 60 MLAs. Nobody is talking
about the roadmap for a government to be formed.”
MY PUNJAB MODEL IS TO CHANGE
LIVES, SAYS NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU
Based on public feedback, CM face
announcement likely today
Sidhu ups ante against Channi, hints
party to pick ‘untainted’ candidate Sedition case filed
against Rashtriya
Lok Dal candidate
in UP
Manipur Chief Min-
ister files nomina-
tion from Heingang
constituency —
seat he never lost
since 2002
SP doing politics
of appeasement,
only BJP can do
development in UP:
Rajnath Singh
Won’t vote in elec-
tions, if schools
don’t reopen,
protests Punjab
teachers, parents
U’khand: CM
Dhami holds
door-to-door
campaign, de-
mands Centre for
trains from Tanak-
pur to Ayodhya
BJP likely to an-
nounce manifesto
for Uttarakhand
assembly elections
on February 6-7:
Sources
ELECTION BUZZ
Chandigarh: Congress
MP Manish Tewari has
broken his silence on
being excluded from
the party’s star cam-
paigners list for Punjab
polls, media reported.
Tewari, a sitting MP
from Anandpur Sahib
took to Twitter after he
and other prominent
members of the G-23
didn’t find space in the
campaign list. “I would
have been pleasantly
surprised if it would
have been the other
way around. The rea-
sons are also no state
secret,” Tewari tweeted.
The Congress MP was
responding to the news
report on the absence
of prominent Congress
leaders from the star
campaigner list and
also to former TMC MP
Abhijit Mukherjee.
New Delhi: Congress
party on Saturday released
a list of as many as 30
‘star campaigners’ for the
ensuing third phase of UP
assembly elections. The
list includes names of top
party leaders including
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra, Ghulam
Nabi Azad, Rajasthan CM
Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot,
Mohammed Azharuddin
and others. Surprisingly,
Congress president Sonia
Gandhi and former prime
minister Manmohan Singh
are missing from the list.
Lucknow: Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath on
Saturdaysaidthatdevel-
opment and bulldozer
willmovetogether—de-
velopment for people
and bulldozer for crimi-
nals — when he retains
power after March 10.
Speaking at an elec-
tionrallyinShamli,Yogi
began his speech by ex-
tending his good wishes
to the people for ‘Basant
Panchmi’andthenmade
a scathing attack on the
alliance of SP and RLD.
He appealed to the
people to ensure the
victory of the BJP in
the forthcoming assem-
bly elections “to pre-
vent ‘palayan’ like in
Kairana and Kandhla
and riots like that of
Muzaffarnagar.”
Equating ‘palayan’ of
Kairana with that of
exodus of Pandits from
Kashmir, Yogi reiterat-
ed that now “sisters and
daughters are not only
safe in Kandhla and
Kairana but in the en-
tire state.” —Agencies
Chennai: A meeting of
parties, that have repre-
sentation in the Tamil
Nadu Assembly
, on Sat-
urday unanimously re-
solved to send again a
Bill seeking exemption
for the state from the Na-
tional Eligibility cum
Entrance Test’s purview
to Governor R N Ravi to
get Presidential assent.
The meeting, chaired
by Chief Minister MK
Stalin at the Secretariat,
passed a resolution to
convene a special sitting
of the Assembly and get
the Bill adopted again
and send it to the Gover-
nor to forward it to the
central government to
get Presidential assent.
The main opposition
AIADMK,thoughdidnot
take part in the meeting
declareditssupporttoall
legal initiatives aimed at
getting the test scrapped
in Tamil Nadu. The BJP
did not take part in the
meeting. —PTI
DROPPED FROM CONG CAMPAIGNERS’
LIST, TEWARI SAYS ‘NOT SURPRISED’
UP POLLS: GEHLOT, PILOT AMONG STAR
CAMPAIGNERS FOR THIRD PHASE
1 2
New Delhi: The
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) has issued a whip
to all its Rajya Sabha
MPs to be present in the
House on February 8.
The official commu-
nique, addressed to all
BJP Rajya Sabha MPs,
stated, “All BJP mem-
bers in Rajya Sabha are
hereby informed that
some very important
business will be taken
up for discussion and
passing in the Rajya
Sabha on Tuesday, Feb-
ruary 8, 2022.”
It added, “All mem-
bers of BJP in Rajya
Sabha are therefore re-
quested to be positively
present in the House
throughout the day on
Tuesday, February 8,
2022 and support the
government’s stand.”
However, Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)
Member of Parliament
KJAlphons,whosought
to amend the Preamble
to the Constitution, was
on February 4 absent in
the Upper House of Par-
liament when his turn
to introduce the Private
Member’s Bill came.
The 2022 Budget Ses-
sion began earlier on
January 31 with Presi-
dent Ram Nath Ko-
vind’s address to both
the Houses of Parlia-
ment— Lok Sabha and
Rajya sabha.
The first part of the
Budget Session, which
will continue till Febru-
ary 11, will have 10 sit-
tings.
The second part of
the session will begin
after a month-long re-
cess from March 14 and
conclude on April 8 in
which there will be 19
sittings. —ANI
BJP ISSUES WHIP TO ITS RS MPS
Asks them to be present on
Feb 8 to support govt’s stand
Development,
bulldozer to
move together:
Yogi in Shamli
TN: Unanimous anti-NEET
bill to be sent again to Guv
IN THE COURTYARD
ODISHA: JOURNALIST KILLED IN IED
EXPLOSION TRIGGERED BY MAOISTS
LEGISLATION VALID TILL IT IS DECLARED
UNCONSTITUTIONAL BY COURT OF LAW
Bhubaneswar: A
journalist was alleg-
edly killed in an IED
explosion triggered by
Maoists in Kalahandi’s
Madanpur Rampur
block, police said on
Saturday. The journal-
ist was identified as Rohit Biswal, a local scribe
working with Odia daily, Dharitri.
New Delhi: The SC observed that a law passed by
legislature is good law till it is declared as unconsti-
tutional by a competent Court or till it is declared as
unconstitutional by a competent Court or repealed.
The declaration by a Court that a statute is uncon-
stitutional obliterates the statute entirely as though
it had never been passed, the bench observed.
Mumbai: BJP leader and former Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis’ wife Amruta Fadnavis on Friday
claimed that 3 per cent of divorces in Mumbai are
happening due to traffic jams. “I am saying this as a
common citizen. Once I go out, I see several issues
including potholes, traffic. Due to traffic, people are
unable to give time to their families and 3 per cent
of divorces in Mumbai are happening due to it, so I
advise the state government to pay more attention to
its mistakes,” Fadnavis said.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday approved
a revised protocol for disposing bodies of Parsi
Covid-19 victims. This came after the Centre and
community members reached an agreement accord-
ing to which the “Tower of Silence” will be covered
with an iron grid so that birds and animals cannot
come into contact with the corpses placed inside.
Approving the scheme, the bench lauded the efforts
of Senior Advocate Fali S. Nariman and the Solicitor
General in reaching the settlement.
3% DIVORCES IN MUMBAI TAKE PLACE
DUE TO TRAFFIC: AMRUTA FADNAVIS
REVISED PROTOCOL FOR DISPOSAL OF
BODIES OF PARSI COVID VICTIMS OK’D
Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad
Yadav on Saturday completely quashed the specula-
tion that he would step down from the post and son
Tejashwi Yadav could take over as the next party
president. “Those who run such news reports are
fools. We will get to know whatever happens,” Lalu
Yadav told media persons in New Delhi when asked
if Tejashwi Yadav will be made the national president
of the party.
Patna: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA)
on Saturday, 5 February, wrote a letter to the CJI, NV
Ramana, and urged him
to resume physical hear-
ing in the top court as
COVID-19 cases in Delhi
are plummeting, reported
media. The association
added that strict adher-
ence to COVID protocols
should be ensured during physical hearings. The letter
said that the DDMA took this decision after considering
the bed occupancy at health centers in Delhi.
THOSE SPREADING NEWS OF TEJASHWI
BECOMING RJD CHIEF ARE FOOLS: LALU
SC BAR ASSN URGES CJI TO RESUME
PHYSICAL HEARING IN TOP COURT
CRUCIAL READS
Rajya Sabha
clocks 100 per
centc productiv-
ity in first week,
replies from
Prime Minister,
Finance Minister
next week
Chair cannot
decide to take
up private bill on
amending Pream-
ble: Rajya Sabha
Dy Chairman
No proposal for
National Agricul-
ture Disaster Man-
agement Scheme:
Government
SIDELINES
Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi with
State Cong chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
8. NEWS
JAIPUR | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022
07
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Licence renewal for 2
yrs, shops at airports
RSBCL to get AC model shops; 20% rebate to bars in hotels
Kashiram Choudhary
Jaipur: The Rajasthan
government has issued
a new excise policy ac-
cording to which licenc-
es can be renewed for
two years. Licence hold-
ers of existing liquor
shops will not need to
apply separately and
can retain the shop by
depositing the fixed
amount.
Old licence holders
have been given exemp-
tion till February 28 to
deposit the composite
fee.Torenewthelicence
of shops, the amount
willhavetobedeposited
by March 7 and the an-
nual guarantee amount
willhavetobedeposited
by March 14.
A provision has been
made to give a 20 per
cent rebate in fees for
taking licence for five
years for bars at hotels.
Government run Ra-
jasthan State Beverage
Corporation (RSBCL)
will be allotted air con-
ditioned model shop on
annual licence fee.
These model shops will
be run by private part-
ners.
Licences will be is-
sued for liquor shops on
the basis of annual li-
cence fee at all the air-
ports of the state. Here
premium liquor, herit-
age liquor, premium
wines and beer would
be available.
Five dry days in a
year on Jan 26 and 30,
August 15, Oct 2, Jan 30
and Mahavir Jayanti.
Budget for spreading
awareness against
drugsincreasedfromRs
10 to 50 crore.
TAKEAWAYS
We need to expand and improve quality
of our education system, says BD Kalla
The Union Budget
could not bring
smiles to people’s faces.
Will the state budget do
that? Health and educa-
tion are considered im-
portant.Shweta Mishra
Awasthi talks to Educa-
tion Minister BD Kalla
to know what is needed
to strengthen the educa-
tion system of the state
and what we should ex-
pect from the CM in his
budget.
Education is an im-
portant sector. What
new is being done to
strengthen it?
TheUnionbudgetdoes
not have anything new
for this sector. We expect-
ed that the government
would provide a special
package for the trans-
formededucationsystem
where both online and of-
fline classes are conduct-
ed because of the new
challengesduetothepan-
demic. But this did not
happen. However, at the
state level, we would like
to expand our education
system. We don’t know
what CM Ashok Gehlot,
who is also the Finance
Minister, has in store for
us. We hope that the CM
would make special pro-
vision for situations
whenschoolshavetocon-
duct online classes. He
should provide us with
financial resources so
that online classes are
conductedsmoothlyfrom
Classes 1 to 10.
Covid has affected
education in both
schools and colleges.
Do you think online
education has become
mandatory and some-
thing new should be
introduced to make it
better?
Yes, it is necessary to
introduceneweducation-
al content considering
the transformed educa-
tion sys-
tem. I have
requested
the CM to
keep this in mind while
making the budget.
The budget is paper-
less. Everything is be-
ing digitised now. Do
you think the educa-
tion system will also
become digital?
Certainly
, if every-
thing becomes online, it
wouldeventuallybecome
paperless. In the new cal-
endar in schools, Satur-
dayshavebeenmarkedas
‘bagless’ days when our
focus would be to engage
them in extracurricular
activities on this day
.
Although education
continued through on-
line classes, there have
been discrepancies.
What are we doing to
fix them?
Teachers are teaching
in the same way as they
taught during offline
classes but the grey area
in online classes is that
if a student gets dis-
tracted, the teacher can-
not imme-
diately no-
tice it.
During of-
fline classes, there is
one-to-one contact be-
tween the teacher and
the student.
What is being done
for the expansion of
English medium
schools?
The CM has an-
nounced to open 1,200
Mahatma Gandhi Eng-
lish medium schools of
which 562 schools have
been opened. 81,000 stu-
dents have already regis-
tered here. We hope to
strengthen this in the
next two years and we
also plan to introduce
English at the pre-pri-
mary level.
Do we plan to con-
duct PTM in Ra-
jasthan too on the lines
of government schools
in Delhi?
I recently held a meet-
ing with the School Man-
agement and Develop-
ment Committee across
the state and instructed
them that monthly PTMs
must be conducted
through webinars.
How do you plan to
deal with school drop-
outs at primary and
secondary levels?
We are planning to
start a scholarship with
the help of the Centre in
which 65,000 students
got the registration done
and 32,500 participated.
We provide a monthly
scholarship of Rs 1,000
to the winners. We try to
bring back the dropouts.
and I believe that in Ra-
jasthan the percentage
of school dropouts has
gone down and literacy
is increasing.
Last year
, the educa-
tion budget was Rs
36,000 crore. Do you
think the fund should
be increased this time?
Yes, I wish that our
budget is more this time.
We have made efforts for
this and hope that the
education department
gets funds as expected.
BD Kalla in an interview with Shweta Mishra of First India news.
Six including two policemen die
in separate road mishaps in Raj
First India Bureau
Jaipur/Udaipur/Tonk:
Two policemen died in
separate accidents in
Dausa and Raisinghna-
gar on Saturday
.
A police constable
Ratanlal Meena, posted
in Sikandra police sta-
tion, died on the Alwar-
Dausa district border
when a car hit his bike
while he was going to
his village Nangal Bal-
lupura. Tahala police
shifted him to Rajagarh
hospital but he suc-
cumbed to his injuries.
In the other incident,
a police constable
Manoj Kumar Vishnoi
of Raisingh Nagar of
Sri Ganganagar dis-
trict, who was undergo-
ing treatment for the
last three years after
being grievously hurt
in a road accident, lost
the battle for life and
breathed his last on Sat-
urday
.
In Udaipur, husband
and wife died on Friday
night when a speeding
container hit a bike at
Maddi intersection un-
der Pratap Nagar PS
area of Udaipur. Ac-
cording to report, Bher-
ulal and his wife Babli
Bhai were going to-
wards their village Sa-
roli. A container hit
them near Maddi.
In Tonk, grandmoth-
er and grandson were
killed when oil tanker
hit a Bolero on in the
Barona area. Another
injured youth has been
admitted to the hospi-
tal. The police handed
over the bodies to the
relatives after the post-
mortem.
Three-day Cong ‘Chintan Shivir’ begins
today to chalk out plan for Budget session
First India Bureau
Jaipur: With the As-
sembly session sched-
uled to start from
Wednesday, the Con-
gress is organising a
3-day ‘Chintan Shivir’
(brain-storming camp)
beginning Sunday to
chalk out a floor coor-
dination plan so as to
show unity within the
party as well as among
the parties supporting
the Gehlot govern-
ment. The camp will be
held in a 5-star hotel
situated on Delhi Road
here which will be at-
tended by all the legis-
lators of the Congress
and alliance partners
as well as the Inde-
pendents backing the
coalition. Importantly,
the camp is being or-
ganised ahead of the
upcoming Rajya Sabha
elections. Top Con-
gress leaders, includ-
ing Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot, state in-
charge Ajay Maken,
PCC chief Govind Sin-
gh Dotasra and former
CM Sachin Pilot will
‘educate’ the MLAs on
maintaining unity.
They will give them a
lesson or two on how to
retort to the diatribes
of the Opposition in
the House.
SIGNS OF BIG
CHANGES IN THE
ENERGY DEPT!
The focus The tenure of
Jaipur Discom MD, Naveen
Arora ended about 1 week ago.
Since then till now neither the
charge has been given to any-
one nor is anyone responsible
for the post of Managing Direc-
tor. The tenure of Ajmer-Jodhpur
Discom Managing Director
is also completing on Febru-
ary 14. According to sources,
now a discussion is going on
at the government level about
the three discoms. The brain-
storming session among the
big bosses is going on whether
to give extension to existing
officers or responsibility to new
officers. In the midst of all this,
there is a discussion of giving
a big responsibility to a retired
expert technocrat.
—Vikas Sharma
Ratanlal Meena —FILE PHOTO
Woman with 2
kids jumps into
well, all die
First India Bureau
Ajmer: Rachna Gur-
jar (26) wife of Sukh-
pal died by suicide by
jumping into a well
along with her two
children Anu and Ka-
nil in Dumada vil-
lage of Mangliawas
police station
area. The bodies of
both the children, in-
cluding woman, have
been taken out and
kept in the mortuary
of the hospital. The
maternal side al-
leged that their
daughter was not ed-
ucated. For this rea-
son, her husband and
other in-laws used to
torture and beat her.
CM Ashok Gehlot and PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra
INTERVIEW
NEW EXCISE POLICY
9. COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
57,45,845
TOTAL DEATHS
31,07,47,081
TOTAL RECOVERED
39,20,27,116
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
5,01,143
TOTAL DEATHS
4,02,47,902
TOTAL RECOVERED
13,31,619
ACTIVE CASES
4,20,80,664
TOTAL CASES
7,55,34,190
ACTIVE CASES
Walking away is not always a
sign of giving up, many times it
is moving on to do better things,
leaving strife behind.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
JAIPUR | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
POSTAL REG NO. JPC/004/2022-24
WHY IS SPEAKER
UPSET WITH
MAHUA?
AftertheBJP
,thefire-
brand leader of
TMC, Mahua Moitra,
has now locked horns
with LS Speaker Om
Birla as well. Mahua
was ‘allotted’ 13 min-
utes to speak on the
President’s address.
Speaking in the House
on Thursday, it was not
even 5 minutes that she
spoke when Rama Devi,
who was sitting on
chair, interrupted Ma-
hua - ‘Why are you
speaking so angrily?’
Mahua’s flow was dis-
turbed. She could not
even speak for 10 min-
utes that her mic got
turned off. Although
she did not
miss even
to reply
to Rama.
S h e
turned
to the chair and said - ‘I
am angry as such I am
speaking so.’ After this
Mahua lodged her com-
plaint with Birla, but
when she did not got
any suitable reply from
there, she tweeted about
this incident - ‘Who is
Chair to obstructs my
precious time? Whether
I speak in anger or with
love, it is not your job to
decide my tone. Birla
said without naming
anyone, “Comment
should not be made on
Chair inside or outside.’
He instructed respected
members of House that
no member whether in
Houseor outsideHouse,
should make comments
about Chair on social
media or in media. Now
there is a split in TMC
over Mahua as she had
already annoyed
her party su-
premo
Mamata by
s p e a k i n g
a g a i n s t
Adani-Ambani and
Mamata has also pub-
licly scolded Mahua for
this. On behalf of TMC,
Sudip said in defense of
Mahua, ‘The speaker is
above the party
.’
PUNJAB ELECTIONS
ENTANGLED IN
DERA POLITICS
As assembly polls
are round the cor-
ner as such attention to
deras, their prowess,
and circumambulation
of politicians around
them is very common.
First of all, let’s talk
about Sachkhand Bal-
lan Dera of Jalandhar.
When Channi was a mi-
nor minister in Cap-
tain’s govt, he had taken
Sidhu with him to this
dera, to get the bless-
ings of his Guru
Ranjan Das to be-
come CM. Guruji
said to Channi-
‘My bless-
ings are
with you,
then why
don’t you
only be-
c o m e
CM?’ See the coinci-
dence, after two months
Channi became the CM
of the state. As soon as
he became the CM,
Channi rushed and
reached the shelter of
his guru. Sachkhand
Ballan Dera is a dera of
Ramdasi sect, to which
Channi himself be-
longs. This dera has a
significant influence in
8-10 assembly seats of
Punjab. It is an impor-
tant dera affecting 32%
of the Dalit population
of Punjab. Harsimrat,
Kejriwal, Mann all
these leaders are also
making rounds of dif-
ferent deras everyday
.
PRIYANKA IN A
CHANGED AVATAR!
Recently
, an incident
like Hathras was
repeated in Buland-
shahr of UP. The media
was showing the age of
the victim as 21 years
old in all the reports,
while in the official doc-
uments the age of the
victim was 17 years. Pri-
yanka lashed out at the
media on this matter
and raised the question
that why does the media
back down from show-
ing the truth these days,
since the victim is 17
years old, so this case
comesunderthePOCSO
Act. A journalist slowly
told Priyanka, “Do you
want to implicate us in
cases?” That is, ‘If you
write the truth, you will
be in trouble’.
BE CAREFUL FROM
FEB 8 TO MARCH 18
Mars and Venus are
traveling together
from February 8 to
March 18 so this can be a
bit difficult time for the
people of Taurus, Pi-
sces, Virgo and Scorpio
signs. This is prediction
of the country’s well-
known astrologer
Rajesh Hasija, who has
made many accurate
predictions in the past
as well. Hasija, who has
worked for more than 2
decades in the top posi-
tions of IB and just to
pursue this knowledge,
he took VRS. Hasija
claims that the rise of
Taurus in the horoscope
of India, being the lord
of both the malefic plan-
ets Mars and Venus and
the visit of 8, 9 house in
transit has also brought
new indications for the
elections to 5 states. It
may also have an impact
on 2024 polls.
DHAMI’S SURPRISE!
Recently
, the theme
song of BJP was
launched for the state of
Uttarakhand. But the
most surprising thing
was that PM Modi was
seen alone on the stage,
but U’khand CM Push-
karSinghDhamiwasnot
visible anywhere. A
press conference was
also held by the BJP on
this occasion. The pres-
ence of Anil Baluni and
BJP’s U’khand in-
charge Pralhad Joshi
was being seen on the
stage of the press confer-
ence, but even there the
CM was not visible any-
where. A journalist
raised a direct question
in this press conference
that ‘BJP should count
anyfiveachievementsof
its 5 years’, on this ques-
tion Pralhad Joshi got
furious and said - ‘We
have not come here to
give exams, ask some-
thing else’. The journal-
ists present were
stunned. The press con-
ference ended, without
counting any achieve-
ments. But sensing the
exigencies of the situa-
tion, the BJP people
startedclarifyinginfront
of the journalists - ‘Joshi
ji is from Karnataka, so
he could not understand
Hindi properly
.’ Anyway
,
in this ‘theme song’ only
Modi govt was praised,
the state govt
did not get
proper at-
tention.
RPN WAS ANGRY
WITH RAHUL’S
BEHAVIOUR
RPN Singh had actu-
ally made up his
mind to leave the Con-
gress long back. He was
in charge of Congress
in Jharkhand for a long
time. A year ago, he had
met Rahul and demand-
ed RS seat from
Jharkhand for himself,
then Rahul was pleased
with him and gladly
agreed to it. But in the
meantime, Jharkhand
CM Soren was constant-
ly pleading with Rahul
about RPN that ‘you
should keep an eye on
him, they want to desta-
bilize coalition govt of
Jharkhandandisopenly
playing in hands of BJP
people’. After several
months, Rahul called to
meet RPN said, ‘You
were sent to J’khand to
save party
, but there you
have brought party to a
dismal condition’. RPN
had decided that he did
notwanttostayinCong.
As soon as Swami Pras-
ad Maurya left the BJP,
theBJPopeneditsdoors
for RPN.
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
PUSHKAR S DHAMI
PRIYANKA GANDHI
MAHUA MOITRA RAHUL GANDHI RPN SINGH
LS SPEAKER OM BIRLA
DR CP JOSHI’S DREAM OF STADIUM
FULFILLED BY VAIBHAV: CM GEHLOT
BE A SPORT! RAJASTHAN WILL NOW HAVE FOUR INTERNATIONAL-LEVEL STADIUMS
From P1...
Rajasthan will now
have four international-
level stadiums. Recall-
ing connection of Ra-
jasthan with cricket,
Gehlot urged BCCI
President Sourav Gan-
guly and Secretary Jay
Shah to give priority to
Rajasthan to host inter-
national matches.
DR CP JOSHI said that
youth of the state will
get better opportunities
for sports in the coming
time due to the stadium.
VAIBHAV GEHLOT
said there was a desire
of sports lovers, crick-
eters, and common peo-
ple that an internation-
al level stadium should
be built in Jaipur.
SOURAV GANGULY
said that after the con-
struction of the inter-
national stadium in
Jaipur, Kolkata stadium
will be behind. Ganguly
also recalled the time
he spent during the
Ranji and Duleep Tro-
phy matches at the
Sawai Mansingh Stadi-
um in Jaipur.
JAY SHAH said I will
give my best foot for-
ward in helping RCA,
BCCI will also help RCA
in fulfilling the dream
of world class interna-
tional cricket stadium.
CREATING A CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR SPORTSPERSONS
First India Bureau
Jaipur: CM Ashok Ge-
hlot on Saturday said
that the state govt has
taken several decisions
in 3 years to provide
good opportunities to
future generation by
creating best environ-
ment for edu in Raj.
In a pre-budget meet-
ing with the stakehold-
ers of the education sec-
tor, CM said that educa-
tion is one of topmost
priorities of state govt.
Gehlotsaidthatchildren
from poor needy fami-
lies can also get quality
edu in English medium,
theirconfidenceincreas-
es, and they are not left
behind in competition,
with this vision, state
govt has taken an impor-
tantinitiativetorunMa-
hatma Gandhi Eng med
schools. Dr BD Kalla,
Ramesh Meena, Zahida
Khan, Rajendra Singh
Yadav, Ashok Chandna,
Dr Subhash Garg, Usha
Sharma, Arvind Mayar-
am, Govind Sharma,
Niranjan Arya, Pawan
Goyal and others were
also present.
CM: Raj govt has taken imp
steps for Eng medium schools
CM Ashok Gehlot addresses pre-budget dialogue with representatives
from medical sector on Saturday. Also seen are Usha Sharma, Akhil
Arora Niranjan Arya. CM also presided Edu budget meet on Saturday.
CAs PLAY CHIEF ROLE IN
NATION-BUILDING: GEHLOT
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur: CM Ashok Ge-
hlot said on Saturday
that it is the important
responsibility of a CA
to bring financial
awareness by under-
standing various as-
pects related to econo-
my. CA audit is always
considered reliable, as
it is done after a lot of
scrutinies. In such a
situation, it is their re-
sponsibility to play an
important role in na-
tion-building while
maintaining their cred-
ibility, he said. Gehlot
was addressing the in-
augural session of the
Sub-Regional Confer-
ence of the Central In-
dia Regional Council of
ICAI online. CIRC Pres-
ident Nilesh Gupta and
Vice Prez Atul Gupta
were also present.
Maken to offer
Sonia’s chadar,
attend Chintan
Shivir today
First India Bureau
Jaipur: On a four-day
tour, Rajasthan Con-
gress in-charge Ajay
M a ke n
arrived
J a i p u r
on Satur-
day late
at night .
Today, at
12:30 pm,
he along with CM
Ashok Gehlot will offer
Sonia Gandhi’s Chadar
on the occasion of Urs
of Khwaja Moinuddin
Chishti at Ajmer Sharif
Dargah. After return-
ing to Jaipur, he will at-
tend Chintan Shivir at 5
pm wherein Congress’
and ally MLAs will take
part. Tomorrow, he will
hold talks with MLAs.
CM Ashok Gehlot addresses foundation stone laying ceremony
of International Cricket Stadium through VC on Saturday. Also
seen here are Dr CP Joshi, Dr Mahesh Joshi, GS Sandhu, Sourav
Ganguly, Jay Shah, Vaibhav Gehlot, Shashikant Sharma others.
Vaibhav Gehlot performs
Bhumi Pujan for upcoming
Int’l cricket stadium of RCA
at Chaump on Saturday. His
daughter Kashwini office
bearers of RCA also present.
BIRLA OFFERS CHADAR
On behalf of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Chadar will be
presented at Ajmer Sharif Dargah on the occasion of Urs
of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Speaker Birla presented
this chadar to the enlightened people of Muslim society
at his Delhi residence on Saturday. According to sources,
Om Birla will be on day-long visit to Kota today. Birla will
express condolence on demise of former MP Brijraj Singh
and will attend local events before leaving for New Delhi.
In pre-budget meet,
State Level Tax Advi-
sory Committee gave
suggestions. These
suggestions should be
included in budget so
that entrepreneurs
can get benefit of it.
—Ashok Gehlot, CM
KEY FEATURES
l THE INTERNATIONAL
CRICKET STADIUM
IS BEING BUILT ON A
LAND OF ABOUT 100
ACRES IN CHAUMP
IN JAIPUR
l IT WILL HAVE A
CAPACITY OF 75,000
SPECTATORS
l THE FIRST
PHASE WITH THE
CAPACITY OF 45,000
SPECTATORS WILL
BE COMPLETED AT A
COST OF `280 CRORE
l THE SECOND PHASE
WILL HAVE THE
CAPACITY OF 30,000
SPECTATORS
l BCCI WILL GIVE A
GRANT OF `100
CRORE TO RCA FOR
THE STADIUM
First India Bureau
Jaipur: CM Gehlot dur-
ing virtual function of
ICAA said ’The mere
speech of Vinod Rai cre-
ated an environ against
us, against our UPA
govt. Though false alle-
gations were made,
country at that time
considered that Rai was
right there was cor-
ruption of Rs 1.76 l cr.
Then govt changed,” he
said. He also said that
CAs have credibility in
society which has to be
increased. He said govt
had done a great job and
for 1st time, a rights-
based era was ushered
in and RTI, RTE, NRE-
GA were given as rights,
Dr Manmohan had diff
kind of aura in world.
PRE-BUDGET DIALOGUE
WITH MEDICS, DOCS
CM Ashok Gehlot on
Saturday said that
intention of state govt
is to make Raj a model
state in field of health
services and many steps
have been taken in this
direction in 3 years.
He said govt has made
arrangements to provide
free treatment up to Rs
5 lakh to eligible families
through Chiranjeevi
Swasthya Bima Yojana.
CM: CAs have
credibility in
society that has
to be increased
10. ou started mod-
elling at the
young age of
13, how did
that come
about?
As a child in
school, I used to face a
lot of bullying and I de-
cided to enter this world
to gain confidence. It re-
ally helped as winning
the local level pag-
eant gave me a
boost and recogni-
tion which
helped me
bloom and
stride for-
ward.
You are the reigning
Miss Teen India Uni-
verse, crowned at Miss
Teen Diva 2020? What
does that mean to you?
For me, it is a major
responsibility as I will
be representing my be-
loved nation at the inter-
national pageant and it
is also a beautiful oppor-
tunity to witness my
dreams come true. It
means a lot to me to be
able to achieve this at 19
years of age and I feel
that the world is my oys-
ter when I look ahead.
What are your prepa-
rations for represent-
ing India at the Miss
Teen Universe pageant
happening in Dubai
from 27th February to
7th March?
I am under training
with Ritika Ramtri at
The Tiara Pageant
Training Studio and
the grooming and
pageant train-
ing has al-
ready done
wonders for me.
I am also working
closely with the
Miss Teen Diva team
and National Director
Nikhil Anand on all as-
pects.
Who is your idol?
My mother, Renu Pa-
reek is my idol. I have
learnt all my life skills
from her, she is abso-
lutely the best and a
wonder woman. My fa-
ther and sister are my
biggest support system.
What is your message
to young girls who as-
pire to be part of the
glamour industry?
It is a difficult indus-
try to be in, be prepared
to work hard, have a dis-
ciplined life and be con-
sistent in your efforts.
The benefits are awe-
some so keep your focus
and stride ahead.
You are completing
your BBA as you con-
tinue to pursue your
modelling career. How
do you manage to do
justice to both?
My mother has in-
stilled the importance
of education in me very
strongly and I am com-
mitted to both. As far as
‘doing justice’ is con-
cerned, there is enough
time provided one wants
to do something. I keep
a specific schedule so
that I get time for stud-
ies and also for my mod-
elling.
You have been involved
in charitable work
also, do throw some
light on the same?
I have been working
for more than a year
now on my project of
raising awareness on
the prevention of sexual
assault and bullying.
I visit schools and
labourer camps
for this cause to
talk to children and
guide them. Also, I work
with my grandmother in
her organisation, The
Honour Till – which is a
beautiful concept to in-
stil honesty and values
in children where they
put up unmanned stalls
with goods with price
tags and a till to en-
courage children to
pay the correct
amount regard-
less of a human
presence or
not.
JAIPUR, SUNDAY
FEBRUARY 6, 2022
09
AT HER FEET
UNIVERSE
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
Y
An
ecstatic
Wachi
after
the
being
crowned
the
Miss
Teen
India
Universe
CITY FIRST IN AN EXCLUSIVE CONVERSATION WITH WACHI
PAREEK, THE REIGNING MISS TEEN INDIA UNIVERSE WHO
WILL REPRESENT INDIA AT THE MISS TEEN UNIVERSE
PAGEANT IN DUBAI, DURING HER VISIT TO THE PINK CITY
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Wachi
enjoys
reading
the
First
India
during
her
visit
to
the
newspaper
office
11. 10
ETC
JAIPUR | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
PARI, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Sticking to
workout routine
may benefit you
on the health
front. Meeting
relatives at a
marriage or party
cannot be ruled
out. Support from
the family may
seem most encouraging for those aiming
an academic pursuit. A passion-filled
evening is foreseen.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
A lot of time
may be wasted
in socialising,
but you will love
every moment
of it. You will
succeed in
surmounting the
odds to get a
stalled job back on the tracks. Something
concerning property will work out in your
favour. A romantic outing is on the cards
and promises much fun and frolic.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You will manage
to ignore
distractions and
interruptions at
work to complete
a pending task
in time. Job
prospects for
those freshly out
of professional institutes will brighten up
soon. Those not in a stable job can expect
permanency. Health will be satisfactory,
as you remain regular in workouts.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
A rethink is in
order for those
going in for a
heavy investment.
Recovering a
loaned amount
from someone
will not pose
much difficulty.
You will manage to defuse tensions
prevailing at home by your tactful ways.
A work trip is on the cards for some. You
manage to weave magic your lover.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Homemakers
will get a chance
to implement
their ideas. You
are likely to be
recognised for
your efforts on
the professional
front. Chance of
a raise is possible for some. Timely and
correct decision will help you in saving a
lot of money. You will be able to de-stress
yourself completely today.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Spirituality will
have a special
allure for you.
Your innovative
ideas on the
professional front
are likely to be
well received.
Good health will
keep you fit and energetic. You are likely
to expand your social circle. You are likely
to get immense fulfillment in your current
romantic relationship.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
A major
purchase may
make a dent in
your savings,
but will help
in keeping up
with the flow
.Speculation may
not be profitable
and you can very well burn your fingers.
Some of you may get hard pressed to
find a good match for someone eligible
among the family members.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Homemakers can
exceed budget
in doing up
their homes. An
old friend or a
relative is likely
to pay you a visit.
You succeed
in putting an
ambitious project on the tracks and cross
all hurdles in making it a success. Love
beckons and promises to give immense
joy and fulfillment.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
A profitable day
for entrepreneurs
is envisaged.
You may be
played upon
for spending
on someone
else’s needs
and desires.
Homemakers are likely to enjoy the day
in the company of neighbors and friends.
Fatigue threatens in a long journey, but
adequate breaks will keep you going.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
It is one of those
days when you
will feel satisfied
with whatever
you do today on
the social front.
Those seeking
love may not
get lucky, but
persistence will pay! A friend or relative
can touch a sensitive nerve and get
you all upset. A job switch needs to be
considered.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Satisfaction is
foreseen for the
image conscious
people trying to
achieve perfect
figure and
physique. Your
efforts on the
academic front
will keep you in contention. You are likely
to spend an enjoyable time with a close
relation today. Your helping hand to
someone in need will be appreciated.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Financial worries
evaporate as
new avenues of
earning open up.
You will put in
extra efforts to
complete a task
entrusted to you.
Your academic
aspirations may take some time to get
realised. A contentious property issue
may not show any signs of getting sorted
out amicably, so have a backup plan.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
Indian Food Legends Folktales
How They Shape Our
Food Beliefs Culture!
tories we grow up
with have more influ-
ence on us than we
can imagine. Stories
deeply impact our be-
ing and our under-
standing of things.
This is the reason why chil-
dren are more fascinated by
stories than anyone else, be-
cause to a curious mind of a
child, stories give them the
power to go beyond worldly
boundaries.
As kids, most of us grew up
with many mythology stories
and folktales narrated to us by
our elders; sometimes to teach
an important lesson, other
timestohelpusunderstandour
culture and beliefs better. Just
take a minute and think about
those tales that you have
heard— you’ll be amazed to re-
alizethatsomanyof themwere
rife with references to food.
Throughout the narratives
of food folktales, fables, po-
ems, etc., one common link
that emerges is that our ances-
tors strongly believed in the
sacredness of food and its vir-
tues. In fact, across Indian cul-
tures, worshipping food is an
integral part of any festival as
a token of gratitude to nature
for helping mortal beings sus-
tain life through food.
Whether it is through tales
of the favourite foods of the
Indian deities or the legends
around food, such food stories
deeply signify and impact our
relationship with food. As a
matter of fact, they also add to
our culinary choices and expe-
riences to an extent. Hence, we
decided to share some of the
food folktales that we have
grown up hearing and all of
them have morals and a deeper
meaning attached to them.
THE LEGEND OF DEVI
ANNAPURNA
So the story goes like this –
One day, Lord Shiva while
playing a game of dice with
Goddess Parvati that he sup-
posedly won using unfair
means, asserts that everything
in the world is a ‘Maya,’ an il-
lusion, including food. This
upsetParvatiasshewashailed
as the goddess of all material
things, including food. There-
fore, Parvati decides to disap-
pear in order to teach Shiva
the importance of food to sus-
tain life on earth. In her ab-
sence, there is widespread
chaos in the entire universe.
There are no fruits on the trees
and no grains left on the land
resulting in hunger, famine,
and all sort of human terrors
started to happen.
This made Shiva realize the
variety of worldly things, es-
pecially food. Parvati then re-
appears in her most benevo-
lent form as Goddess An-
napurna, bringing the sor-
rows of people to end and
blessing the earth with abun-
dance and nourishment in
form of food. As Annapurna,
she carries a golden bowl of
rice in one hand and a golden
ladle in the other hand.
Moral: For us, this story
signifies how important it is to
respect the food and more im-
portantly where it comes from.
Our primary nurturers, the
farmers, and our mothers are
all avatars of Annapurna and
we must always honour them,
respect them.
WHEN LORD GANESH TAUGHT THE
LESSON OF HUMILITY TO KUBER
Kuber, the god of wealth
wanted to organize a grand
feast that would showcase the
power of his wealth. Swelled
with pride, he visits Lord
Shiva and Goddess Parvati,
regarded as the gods of all the
gods, to invite them to the
feast personally. Parvati then
asks Kuber the occasion for
hosting such a grand feast
and observes Kuber struggle
to give a proper reply. Under-
standing his intentions, Par-
vati politely tells him that
they wouldn’t be able to at-
tend the feast but promises
that their young son, Lord
Ganesha would definitely
grace the occasion. She sub-
tly hints to Kuber that little
Ganesha has a voracious ap-
petite and seeks assurance
that he will be able to feed to
him well.
Kuber blinded by his riches
feels that feeding a young one
wouldn’t be difficult and starts
the preparations for the feast.
On the day of the feast, Kuber
welcomes Ganesh and serves
him a wide variety of exotic
delicacies in gold utensils. To
Kuber’s surprise, Ganesh eats
all the food served to him and
keeps demanding more. Kuber
relentlessly tries to arrange
food but Ganesh doesn’t have
the patience to wait and starts
eating everything that he can
lay his hands including the
gold utensils. Embarrassed for
not meeting his promise and
realizing his mistake, he runs
to Shiva and Parvati to seek
help. Shiva then confronts him
and tells him that Ganesh isn’t
satisfied with the meal be-
cause it is served with pride.
He gives a small bowl of puffed
rice and tells him to serve it to
Ganesha with love and humil-
ity in his heart. He accepts his
mistake and follows his in-
struction. As he returns, Ku-
ber feeds Ganesh the puffed
rice, eating which Ganesh
feels full and satisfied.
Moral: We should not
boast about our wealth and
should stay grounded. More
importantly, we should never
think of ourselves to be supe-
rior based on our worldly
possessions.
THE STORY BEHIND THE
CHYWANPRASH FORMULATION
Did you know how Chywan-
prash, a popular ayurvedic
formulation of amla along
with many other jadibutis and
herbs, known to boost immu-
nity came into being?
The roots of this age-old
ayurvedic jam can be traced
back to Charaka Samhita but
the origins of Chywanprash
are attributed to a legend of
two sages restoring the youth
and vigour of an old Indian
sage named Chywana, hence
the name.
It is believed that Chyawan
was prematurely born due to
which he suffered from many
healthchallengesthatincluded
degeneration of all body tis-
sues leading to early aging.
Evenafterbeingofferedprotec-
tion from a king and an offer to
marry a princess from his
kingdom, the feeble sage could
not marry a young princess as
he would not be able to satisfy
her. Divine intervention by
twins, Ashwini Kumara allevi-
ated the sage from his problem.
They created a formulation,
intaking which Sage Chay-
wan’s youth, strength, and vig-
our were restored.
CONCLUSION
There are countless such nar-
ratives from mythology, Vedic
scriptures, and other telltales
that have shaped our beliefs
and our connection with food.
These stories give soul to
the food we consume and link
us to our ancestral heritage,
attaching a deeper meaning to
our existence. However, the
younger generations seem to
be deprived of these food folk-
lores that can be attributed to
multiple reasons, leading
them to have a more superfi-
cial connection with their
food. It’s time that we bring
back the native folklores alive
to help our children develop
richer and deeper experiences
with food.
ABOUT CAULDRON SISTERS
Ratika Richa Khetan, two Sis-
ters, started Cauldron Sisters in
2015. It started as an exotic food
gift hamper business, but their
love for food encouraged them
to start culinary workshops, food
deliveries, and slowly and gradu-
ally it turned huge as restaurants
and cafes started approaching
them for consultancy.
S
