Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Thank you for your cinema, Mr. Sen!' that was published in Navi Mumbai

Thank you for your cinema, Mr. Sen!

With the passing away of Mrinal Sen, India has lost a good filmmaker. He has won multiple National Film awards. He depicted social reality in an artistic manner. He was one of the towering figures of Indian cinema. The Great Trios of Indian Cinema were Mrinal Sen, Satyajit Ray and Ritwick Ghatak. Mrinal Sen won various national and international awards, including the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 2003.

Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee had worked in four of his films. He was the last of the directors to usher in the golden era in Bengali cinema. Mrinal Sen was heavily influenced by parallel cinema and introduced a new kind of film-making with his unusual camera movement, non-linear narrative, discontinuities and freeze frames — something that Indian cinema had never witnessed before him.

In his career spanning across seven decades, Mrinal Sen created 34 works and these included 27 feature films, four short films and five documentaries. His first film was Raat Bhore (in 1956) and last was Aamar Bhuvan (in 2002). Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome ushered in a new wave of film-making in India.

Mrinal Sen was a major film-maker nationally and internationally. His interest in cinema started after he stumbled on a book on film aesthetics — Film as Art by Rudolf Arnhiem. Amitabh Bachchan did his first voice over for Mrinal Sen’s film Bhuvan Shome. He was paid ₹300 for his work.

Mrinal Sen was undoubtedly one of the finest filmmaker the country had ever produced. His death is a great loss to the Indian film industry. He was was one of the greatest exponents of the new cinema which we call the cinema of social realism, a genre that began with Ibsen in Europe. He shall be ever remembered for his artistic presentation of socio-economic problems of our time. All his films were realistic and his handling of themes were always brilliant. His films will surely stand the test of time.

Sen was among the select few Indian filmmakers whose films were truly worth going miles to see. His death is an irreparable loss for Bengali as well as national cinema. May his soul rest in peace!

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Should PMs spend public money for travelling abroad?' that was published in Newsband

Should PMs spend public money for travelling abroad?

With just a few months left of his tenure, Narendra Modi has clocked 48 foreign trips, 10 more than his predecessor Manmohan Singh and has raised a bill of ₹429.28 crore, just ₹64 crore less than his predecessor for hiring chartered flights. The bills for chartered flights for four tours totalling ₹19.32 crore have not been “settled due to paucity of funds” in this financial year. PM’s chartered flights cost ₹429 crore, just ₹64 crore less than his predecessor. The PMO owes ₹375.29 crore in respect of aircraft maintenance. During Modi’s tenure, the bill for PM’s aircraft maintenance exceeds by ₹731.58 crore that of his predecessor.

Dr. Singh was never a silent Prime Minister. In fact, he used to hold long briefings during his foreign tours with the contingent of Indian journalists accompanying him. Modi took only a very small group of journalists. Modi's trips are fruitful to our country since his trips had lot of actions and were business-filled. It cannot be compared with previous which profit less and vision less and just enjoying public money.

Essential expenses need not be the issue of discussion. Leaving aside which Prime Minister made how many trips and what the costs were, has anyone thought it fit to get an idea of what good came out of these trips for the country? Looking at the countries of the world at large, in general, countries in the West do not see their presidents, chancellors or prime ministers tooling around the world unless it serves some purpose other than those of themselves? These trips should serve the needs of the country not the collection of memories and souvenirs.

Whatever may be the expenditure, India earned good reputation and got recognized globally. That is why there are many to listen to Modi during his tours, which was not happening with other dignitaries India ever had.

But the thing is while the cost of air travel of the present PM appears lesser than under the ex-PM, the cost of aircraft maintenance under the present regime is almost double, how?

It is felt that the secular brigade is trying to create an issue out of a non-issue. No one stopped Manmohan Singh from visiting foreign countries. He did not do so out of his own choice. The Congress, even now, does not understand the difference between costs incurred on the international travel/visits of the Indian PM and pocketing of state funds for own personal use. It considers both to be the same and is desperately trying to conjure a "scam" out of thin air. They are twisting facts and presenting everything as anti-Modi (and anti-Hindu in other contexts).

Modi spends less than the former PM is the important point because there is a widespread perception that Modi spends a lot on travel. The media has the responsibility to present 'facts and place them in context'. In general, we can understand why the press is against Modi. The achievements from foreign visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in all respects more prominent and beneficial for the country. The mutual relationship between the countries Modi visited and India, is found to be economically productive and India became closer in attracting the foreign investments. The expenses incurred in chartered flights by the present Prime Minister is justified.

Despite recent decline in public perceptions in India, Modi foreign tours definitely raised India profile. He is the first Prime Minister who held road shows and open houses in football stadiums at London and New York. The important measure beyond the numbers is, if India influence and perceptions are improved.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Online monitoring' that was published in Newsband

Online monitoring

Laws seeking to regulate online activity, especially on social media, will have to be tested against two fundamental rights: free speech and privacy. Norms relating to data protection are essential but attempts to regulate online content are seen with suspicion. There arises doubt whether freedom of expression is violated.

Regulating online content could be blocking websites, disabling accounts, removing content and intercepting communication. That breaches privacy. For surveillance and monitoring of personal computers the government has sought feedback from social media and technology companies. Supreme Court had come up with landmark decision holding that privacy is a fundamental right. Some of these rules may have to be tested against the privacy case judgment, The court, however, has favoured stringent rules to curb online content that promotes child pornography or paedophilia, foments sectarian violence or activates lynch-mobs.

While regulating online content, a balance is struck between legitimate public interest and individual rights. To catch one thief punish all indirectly. It is not a true Democracy.

Unfortunately man had made every blessing from inventions into curses in some way because man is essentially driven by self-interest that leads ambitious and greedy elements to overstep the use ethics of inventions. Without a clear line between privacy and security concerns it gets more challenging for States to ensure security of their territory and people from nefarious elements. Precisely for this reason the evil outfits use privacy walls to carry out their plans to predate on the society. It is indeed true that ambitious rulers may also use this excuse to snoop into the private deals of their competitors and an element of risk creeps into every strategic step to ensure well-being of people. The devil in men finds new ways to circumvent every protective steps of civilized society and the latter should also be working on updating their strategies. As they say, the Kurukshetra is not a one-time event but a symbolism for the rise and fall of human civilizations.

Privacy is the fundamental right of every citizen but day by day a lots of crimes such as hacking of account and site and spreading of fake news etc. are happening through internet. So that surveillance on internet activity is good idea.

It is not that all fundamental rights can be protected at all costs. Due to technological developments, sometimes the protection of one fundamental right such as right to life cannot be ensured without compromising the extent to which other rights are granted. If in the interest of overall protection of right to life of all citizens, some other rights such as right to privacy might have to be compromised. With changing times the citizenry and the government has to be sensitive to this issue and the messenger who is bringing this change should not be faulted.

Online communication through social medias have both pros and cons. The polity has the responsibility to monitor the operation of such medium with surveillance to guarantee that it is used for constructive purposes. Hence restrictions on the usage of such platform should be a balanced one of arresting misuse and at the same time keeping privacy on information passed and kept through the medium.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India might have to face huge challenges' that was published in Newsband

India might have to face huge challenges

The first Indian Ports Global Limited which has come up at Iran’s Chabahar and the takeover of operations of the Shahid Beheshti port is a milestone in India’s regional connectivity and trade game plan. Chabahar port opens up a permanent alternative route for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia, given the hurdles in the direct route through

Pakistan. It gives India’s bilateral ties with Iran, a major oil supplier and potential trade market for India, a big fillip.

India, Afghanistan and Iran have decided to hold an international event in February 2019 to promote Chabahar. The Chabahar port has received a waiver from the U.S. sanctions on Iran for the moment, but these concessions could be withdrawn any time, given the constant upheaval in the administration. The possibility of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, after the pullout from Syria, will add to security concerns for Afghanistan and impact on the Chabahar route as well. With Chabahar, India has done well to keep a place in the intricate connectivity network of the region.

This is not a zero sum game. Additional connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia creates multiple options for land locked countries. We have already seen how Pakistan sought to turn Afghanistan into a vassal and forcibly turn it into “strategic depth”. But as for peaceful nation like India, we win simply by promoting economic development, connectivity, and freedom.

Why the US should object if this would give them an alternative route to Afghanistan to supply their troops if Pakistan does not play ball. Besides Pakistan has been unreliable with the counter terrorism and this alternative supply route will give them a better leverage to deal with them. Although Iran is also not on friendly terms with the US they

are more civilized and diplomatic to deal with if the safety of US personals or the development of Afghanistan is the primary objective.

The spoiler game Pakistan can play in Chabahar once Taliban gets upper hand in Afghanistan. Chabahar is strategically vital for India, but the port is also beneficial to Russia, China, Iran, and Central Asian countries for their trades. India should take these countries into confidence and apprise them about the threats posed by Taliban. If India is

able to convince these countries, they can spoil the Pakistan’s game. As for the USA, the way situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, and America is pulling out some of their troops, they will not try to bring Chabahar in their sanction list in future. Also, as India has taken over port operation, the country will not back down to any sanction threat from the USA. For the moment, the greatest risk to Chahabar is not from the USA, but Pakistan and Taliban, or Pakistan, Taliban, and China. India needs to use all their strategies and channels to keep the port under our control and operational in future also.

India is wise to develop Chabahar as a multi-purpose project, not merely as an alternate route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan. The primary emphasis should be to benefit Iran and India bilateral trade.

The under construction export processing zone along with a plant to produce urea for export to India is the centre-piece of this cooperation. The worst case is if the Taliban takes over after the US withdraws and shuts India out of Afghanistan. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst should be India’s stance.

Hope this will manage little bit of our petrol price as well as development in Afghanistan. India should use this opportunity well to increase its Afganistan and Central Asia connectivity. Chabahar port connectivity will strengthen Iran-India relationship and Afghan trade.

India should develop Darwinian strength to adapt itself to environment, the harsh realities of competition and animosity. Even so, it will need the kind of logic and determination of Iran and the kind of patience and endurance of Afghanistan to keep India from falling prey to global politics.

In a more rational world, America / NATO would have been using Chabahar as a trouble free route to Afghanistan, not weighing whether the project should be sanctioned. Whatever the pressures, India should maintain a durable economic relationship with Iran, buying both oil and gas. We should not allow such an important relationship to be affected by whim and caprice.

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movie released in Navi Mumbai’ (Simmba) that was published in Newsband

New movie released in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Simmba

Simmba is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Rohit Shetty and written by Yunus Sajawal and Sajid-Farhad. A spin-off of the Singham franchise, the film was produced by Shetty under his banner Rohit Shetty Picturez and Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banner Dharma Productions. It stars Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan and Sonu Sood, with Ajay Devgn reprising his role of Bajirao Singham. The film follows Sangram "Simmba" Bhalerao, a corrupt police officer hailing from the same town as Singham, who is forced to lead a more righteous path after tragedy strikes those near him. While some action sequences were based on those from the Telugu-language film Temper (2015), the plot of Simmba remained original.

Sangram "Simmba" Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh) is an antiheroic orphan-turned-cop from Shivgadh, the same town where Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn) was raised. In other words, Simmba is an orphan from Shivgadh from where our beloved Singham was born and raised. But contrary to Bajirao's integrity, Simmba enjoys and takes full advantage of the lifestyle of a corrupt cop. Contrary to the philosophies of Singham, Simmba believes that a Corrupt Officer's life is an ideal life which inspires him to become one. Simmba enjoys all the perks of being an immoral and unethical Police Officer. However, when Simmba's loved ones are abused, he finds himself transformed and forced to choose a more righteous path. Thus a twist in the tale transforms him and forces him to choose the righteous path.

The film has Ranveer Singh as ACP Sangram "Simmba" Bhalerao, Sara Ali Khan as Priya Bakshi, Ajay Devgn as DCP Bajirao Singham, Akshay Kumar as Veer Suryavanshi, Sonu Sood as Durva Ranade, Vrajesh Hirjee, Ashutosh Rana, Siddhartha Jadhav as Santosh Tawde, Arun Nalawade, Sulbha Arya, Ashwini Kalsekar as Meera Shori, Vijay Patkar as Constable Ramesh Kelkar, Saurabh Gokhale, Ashok Samartha, Vaidehi Parshurami, Suchitra Bandekar, Tusshar Kapoor (cameo), Kunal Khemu (cameo), Shreyas Talpade (cameo), Arshad Warsi (cameo) and Karan Johar (cameo in “Aankh Marey”).

The songs of the film are composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Lijo George - DJ Chetas and S. Thaman while the lyrics are written by Shabbir Ahmed, Rashmi Virag, Kumaar and Kunaal Verma. The film has songs like "Aankh Marey" sung by Mika Singh, Neha Kakkar, Kumar Sanu, "Tere Bin" by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Asees Kaur, Tanishk Bagchi, "Aala Re Aala" by Dev Negi, Goldie, "Mera Wala Dance"           Chetas by Neha Kakkar, Nakash Aziz, "Bandeya Re Bandeya" by Arijit Singh, Asees Kaur, "Simmba Theme 01" by Tanishk Bagchi and "Simmba Theme 02" by S. Thaman.

Dinesh Kamath's Score in Blog crosses 5.75 Lakhs Views on 25 December 2018

Dinesh Kamath's Score in Blog crosses 5.75 Lakhs Views on 25 December 2018

The following countries (which are arranged in proper order) have most number of Dinesh Kamath's Blog Readers:

When Ex Custom Officer Dinesh Kamath left Indian Customs and became bankrupt, many people said, "Dinesh Kamath is finished". But Dinesh Kamath fought back and became a Rich and Famous Journalist and Blogger

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Sneha Chabria is ‘Mrs Navi Mumbai’' that was published in Newsband

Sneha Chabria is ‘Mrs Navi Mumbai’

1st Runner Up is Mrs Lavanya Kothapeta while 2nd Runner Up is Mrs Mussarat Rehaman

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: D S Entertainment had organized Mrs Navi Mumbai Beauty Contest. The winner of this event was Sheha Chabria who is a housewife, hotel businesswoman and the mother of two children.

The organisers of this event came up with this completition mainly to provide a platform to the housewives of Navi Mumbai to display their talents with utmost confidence. This competition had two groups: Premium and Classic. The Premium Group consisted of participants under forty years of age, while Classic Group had those over forty.

The runner up in this contest was Lavanya Kothpeta while the second runner up was Musrat Rehman. In all, 21 beautiful women tried their luck to win the crown in the final round. These beauties showed the combination of both beauty and brains and answered confidently the questions put forward to them by the judges. The resident of Seawoods, especially, displaye terrific self-confidence and answered all the questions brilliantly and thus won the ‘Mrs Navi Mumbai’ Crown.

The event took place on 25 December 2018 at CIDCO Auditorium, Vashi, and it got a solid response from the city residents of Navi Mumbai who attended the event in huge number and cheered the contestants.

Here is the list of Winners:

Winner - Mrs Sneha Chabria

1st Runner Up - Mrs Lavanya Kothapeta

2nd Runner Up - Mrs Mussarat Rehaman

Best Hair: Lavanya Kothapeta

Best Eyes: Gauri Doshi

Mrs Photogenic: Amrita Nilatkar

Best Skin: Priyanka Panchal

Best walk: Preet Kaur

Mrs Inspiring: Jyoti Parihar

Most Generous: Kalpana Parkar

Mrs Navi Mumbai Queen: Priyanka Panchal

Most popular: Ankita Mehani

Classic winners

Winner: Vidya More

1st Runner up: Deepika Rawat

2nd Runner-up: Rajlaxmi

Most Popular: Urmila Dange

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'React legally against someone who utters something legally' that was published in Newsband

React legally against someone who utters something legally

The intimidatory power of the mob made the Ajmer Literature Festival abruptly cancel veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah’s keynote address after he spoke about the dangerous amount of power that mobs wield in India. He spoke of the growing insecurity over being targeted by vigilante groups. “There is complete impunity for those who take law into their own hands,” said Mr. Shah. “I feel anxious thinking about my children.”

Even an expression of anxiety is twisted out of context and portrayed as disloyalty to the nation. That a mere expression of anxiety about lawlessness and vigilantism could be fraught with such repercussions is deplorable in a democracy. Three years ago, another actor, Aamir Khan, was hounded for expressing alarm about growing intolerance;

Governments have often given in to the mob’s diktats. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of those in power to support those who feel threatened for their views and to come down hard on those who attempt to silence them with intimidation and threats.

Every individual has the right to express his opinion in a democratic country. But when a celebrity expresses his opinion there will be reaction from people for and against his view. But while opinions can be expressed no abuse of individual is acceptable. The main reason for the commotion is due to media playing up the issue for the benefit of TRP or similar thing. If media just reports if at all and ignore the remark as individual's view it is good. Taking the same as a subject for discussion is not desirable. Few persons may have extreme views and that is not the country's opinion. Politicising every issue must be stopped for the good of the country.

The pre-election "fears" and "intolerance" debates are ignited once again, and likely to continue till the general elections. The leftist press will keep the embers aflame till then. India, in which majority of population follow Hinduism, is the most tolerant society and state. Any opinion contrary to this is highly mischievous. And that is what Naseeruddin Shah has indulged in.

The fact is people of various Muslim denomination like Sunnis, Shias, Bohras, Ismailies, Ahmedias etc live peacefully in India, which is a Hindu majority country. Can Naseeruddin Shah name one Muslim majority country in the world where all denomination of Muslims feel safe, let alone people of other religion like Hindus.

If Shah has a right to his views so are others who criticise him. Hence do not indulge in this kind of pamphleteering. The atmosphere of intolerance and chaos is now the normal in our so called secular country. India has been a mixing pot of diverse cultures and customs but nowadays it is being regularly threatened by some jingoists. We became a sovereign country but not definitely democratic. Words in our preamble of the constitution have become powerless in the hands of some extreme right wing groups. A person cannot even say about the situation of our country, it is horrible. The central government should look into the matter seriously.

Naseeruddin Shah has every right to express his opinion about anything but as an important public figure he also have a moral responsibility to quote things which should not draw public ire. He expressed what he felt but that may not to be necessarily true. Moreover some incidents should not be generalized to fix the sentiments of the nation. His intention might not be wrong but the choice of words surely is.

Lynching, vigilantism, etc. deserved to be condemned outright; such people should never feel that they can indulge in such acts and get away with it. But there can be no denying that Hindus have been on the receiving end ever since independence: their religious customs & rights are constantly interfered with, their temples are taken over by the government, their population is converted by hyper proselytism that is funded by astronomical sums of the breaking India forces.

Some years ago, when Shri Ashok Chavan was CM of Maharashtra, there was a threat from similar forces against the release of an SRK film. The police were instructed to hold firm and the CM watched the film himself. That was the end of the matter. It would have been a fine gesture if CM Gahlot had graced the Ajmer literary festival and shared the dais with Naseeruddin Shah.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'In India, minority is better treated than majority' that was published in Newsband

In India, minority is better treated than majority

Imran Khan should learn from India on inclusive politics, says AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, Member of Parliament and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). He further says, “Unlike Pakistan, India has seen multiple Presidents from oppressed communities.

Owaisi hit out at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan over the latter’s remark that he would show the Narendra Modi government “how to treat minorities”. Owaisi said that Khan should instead take a lesson from India’s inclusive politics and minority right. “According to the Pakistani Constitution, only a Muslim is qualified to be President. India has seen multiple Presidents from oppressed communities,” he added.

Indians should appreciate Owaisi for putting India First and rightly responding to Pak PM. This candid statement of Owaisi must open the eyes of the likes of Khan in both Pakistan and India. Yes, this type of thought and communication by AIMIM president to Pak will improve Indo-Pak relation.

In India, a Muslim can be President, Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Central Minisaters, Vic Chancellors, top ranks in military, Defence scientists, cricket captain. Minorities can run political parties and cotest. Can this happen in Pakistan?

Owaisi has rightly said that Khan should learn from India how to treat with minorities. He has proved himself as a true Indian by giving such comments. Best and befitting reply to Imran Khan. Everyone should appreciate the statement of AIMIM leader in respect of political realities of India and Pakistan. Irrespective of political ideology, all political parties of the country should come out in support of non-religious neutral democratic spirit of the India. Impressed by Owaisi comment, even though, he is a staunch critic of BJP.

Lastly, who agrees that ours is a Country with Multiplicity of religions, Castes, Culture and tradition where we all live in harmony, respect each other? Indeed India is a unique country at the world map. Our Country has a Composite Culture. But the fact is, in India, it is majority which gets treated shabbily - look at Hindus in Kashmir. Yes, minorities in India do not get equally treated; instead they get special treatment which majority doesn't get. It is strange but true!

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Attempt to give relief to the banks' that was published in Newsband

Attempt to give relief to the banks

The banks’ recapitalisation plan is good idea, but funds must be distributed prudently. The government has come up with this move considering the fact that there are just months to go for the general election. The Centre is thinking of infusing an additional ₹41,000 crore into public sector banks. This will take the total planned funds infusion into banks this year to ₹83,000 crore.

The latest fund infusion will help a number of public sector banks to climb out of the Reserve Bank of India’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework. The government is obviously keen to free up the banks from restrictions on lending. But it flies counter to the RBI’s basic objective in keeping these banks under the PCA framework, which is to nurse them back to good health.

The government should not apportion extra capital to these weak banks instead of supporting the ones that are on the recovery path. While the idea of infusing more money into banks is not bad per se, given that they are grappling with inadequate capital, a lot depends on how and to which banks this money is distributed.

PSU bank unions had called strike on December 21. It will observe strike also on December 26. The strike call given by the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) expected to hit banking operations across the country. However, private sector banks would continue their usual business as they are not part of the strike. AIBOC joint general secretary Ravinder Gupta said that they have demanded wage revision based on the minimum wages formula without linking to profits or paying capacity. Besides, the union has also opposed the proposed merger Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.

As far as on line banking and ATMs are concerned, bank employees are being sidelined and this strike will prove it. If they think that they can disrupt they are in for a shock.

Anyway, the government proposal in Parliament for an additional ₹41,000 crore to recapitalise public sector banks, over and above the already budgeted ₹65,000 crore, if approved by the House, this would take the total recapitalisation package for the current financial year to ₹1,06,000 crore, of which the government plans to utilise ₹83,000 crore over the remaining portion of the year.

The government aims at four broad categories. The first is to help banks meet the regulatory capital norms. The second is aimed at helping banks currently under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework to come out of it by improving their capital. The third category of banks to receive capital would be the non-PCA banks that are in danger of crossing the threshold into the PCA framework. The fourth would be to provide regulatory and growth capital to banks that are undergoing mergers, such as Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank, and the Bank of Baroda, which are to be merged into a single entity.

The best thing is that whichever PCA banks have shown performance in terms of reduction of net NPAs to 6% and improvement in return on assets will be given capital. The names of these banks are yet to be decided. There were some banks that did not need the additional capital as they were on a healthy base. These include State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, and Vijaya Bank. Punjab National Bank is in breach of the PCA benchmark, so it is a likely candidate for additional funds.

The recognition of NPAs, a process which started in 2015, has made considerable headway and is almost complete. The last quarter has shown that there is an improved performance, and the downward slide in the NPAs would commence.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Good gesture by Pakistan' that was published in Newsband

Good gesture by Pakistan

Hamid Nihal Ansari, an engineer from Mumbai who spent six years in a Pakistani prison at last returned to India. One can imagine the plight of the young man, who had crossed over into Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2012 on a mission to save a woman he had befriended online and been arrested for espionage. The authorities there put him through a trial in a military court. In December 2015, the court sentenced him to three years in prison.

All through his ordeal, Ansari’s parents kept alive the struggle to bring him back. The Ministry of External Affairs applied sustained diplomatic pressure on Islamabad. Ansari was released after he completed his sentence on December 15, although it had received another month from a Peshawar court to finish the formalities.

The credit goes to citizens’ groups in both countries that helped the family, particularly lawyers and human rights activists in Pakistan who worked together to ensure Ansari’s release.

Ansari’s release is just one positive happening. But what about the conviction of Kulbhushan Jadhav, and instances of prisoners like Sarabjit Singh dying in Pakistani jails? Both India and Pakistan must dedicate themselves to freeing hundreds of other prisoners who remain in each other’s jails. Pakistan holds 471 Indian prisoners while India holds 357 Pakistani prisoners. There needs to be a more humane approach.

Ansari had entered Pakistan to save one of his friend who was found guilty by the government of Pakistan. It is of course heartening to welcome Ansari back home after his unwise adventure to Pakistan.

It would be a canny decision if both the countries firstly verify that if the person who have trespassed the borders is innocent or not, what is his/her motive and also the native country must be informed immediately about such kind of activities. This can only be possible if there is trust and better understanding between the countries. Both the governments must act positively and release innocent prisoners and let them go to their respective countries. Both sides must identify innocent prisoners and see that they are freed unconditionally.

Though it’s a good gesture by Pakistan but was it Ansari’s identity of Muslim that was considered by Pakistan for his release? Would they have released a Hindu or Sikh in similar situation or would they be made to languish whole life in jail?

There are very definitive steps that Pakistan has to take before any meaningful dialogue can start and Pakistan is well aware of them. The bilateral relationship between the countries is in a moribund stage without revival for a long time. Yet there is hope for its revival after the cricketer turned politician takes charge and his continuous invitation for peace between the two. But India's stand for talk only after Pakistan stops terror attacks on India is reasonable.

Dinesh Kamath's news "Grand Finale of Mrs Navi Mumbai Contest to be staged on 25th December 2018 at CIDCO Auditorium, Vashi' that was published in Newsband

Grand Finale of Mrs Navi Mumbai Contest to be staged on 25^th December 2018 at CIDCO Auditorium, Vashi

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: D S Entertainment has been holding the Mrs. Navi Mumbai Beauty Contest since last four years, thus providing a platform to the Navi Mumbai female residents to display their talents. This contest has two groups – Premium and Classic. Those under forty years belong to Premium Group while those above forty are of Classic group. In all 25 ladies will try to win the contest in the final round. Mrs Navi Mumbai Contest will be held on 25 December 2018 at CIDCO Auditorium at Vashi.

Last year, this contest was based on concept called ‘Save Daugters, Educate Daughters’ or ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padao’. Sakhi Foundation will provide help to these needy ones. A Pres Conference was organized to provide information about this contest to the members of the press. The organizer of this contest Dipak Shetty said, “Mrs Navi Mumbai Contest is being organized to encourage married women to come forward and use the platform confidently to display their talents. In the past many such women had participated in this contest and thus proved themselves. The winner of last year Kiran Rajput proved to be the winner of Mrs India 2018 at state and national level. We also do social work through the medium of this contest.”

Present during the press conference were organizer Dipak Shetty, Raunak’s Parvez Khan, Mrs Navi Mumbai 2018 winner Kiran Rajput, Mrs Navi Mumbai Classic winner Sunita Ghaitadak, Sanjiv Kumar, Priti Singh Ranga, Sakhi Foundation’s founder Nazneen Shaikh, Afsa Kapadia (IIDT), Rohit Sachdeva (Sanchi Wedding Studio), Puja Singh, Shubhangi Ravat (Vivia Saloon) and other important persons.

For further information contact Anagha PR at 9022744040, 7208480599 Tel: 02249717188.

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Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Throttling free expression by misusing law' that was published in Newsband

Throttling free expression by misusing law

It is shocking to hear about the detention of a journalist in Manipur under the stringent National Security Act for a social media post. This is misuse of power. This is violation of his rights as a citizen. This is utter disregard for constitutional provisions that uphold individual liberty.

The Facebook post of Kishorechand Wangkhem was in its criticism of the Manipur Chief Minister and his party. He called the Chief Minister a “puppet”. Nothing wrong. So a magistrate granted him bail. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh could not tolerate the journalist being set free, he was arrested again a couple of days later and detained under the NSA, which provides for detention for a year without bail. Remember that The NSA can be used only against those advocating armed insurrection or violent disaffection. This journalist posed no threat to public order or security.

The NSA advisory board consists of three members who are, or have been, or are qualified to be high court judges. There are protests and the outrage against the incarceration of Mr. Wangkhem. This is clear throttling of free expression by misusing the law.

Can someone file appeal in court against such detention order?

Dinesh Kamath's Favorite Quote

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'J&K under President’s rule' that was published in Newsband

J&K under President’s rule

President’s rule has come into force in Jammu and Kashmir. President Ram Nath Kovind signed the proclamation paving the way for imposition of Central rule in the State. The state was placed under Governor’s rule on June 20 after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP government led by Mehbooba Mufti. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the decision.

To be factual, there never ever was democracy in jnk, Kashmir valley in particular. There always was imposition of laws against the will and wish of Kashmiris on both sides of border. By repeating same formula again and again, the result will not change. Unless the perspectives move from micro to macro level, President Rule is neither a solution nor a saviour. Government should consider, besides psychological impact on Kashmiris, the true cost of tax payer money. Current Kashmir situation serves vested interests of few elite and powerful in this triangular battle.

Maybe imposing President Rule in J&K will give relief to innocent local civilians’ population in terms of peaceful environment to carry out their routine day to day activity related to carry out their education, trade, business and job activities in the Land of Paradise. But still, there is great need to apply healing touch to bring peace, unity and harmony in the Kashmir Valley. Hopefully, President may devise suitable mechanism with due cooperation and coordination of local prominent people to regress terrorism and bring normalcy.

President's Rule in J & K was the expected outcome. Vigilance of the highest order and preempting of internal strife and terrorism is the need of the hour.

Inability to form a single majority party in a democratic state will lead to unrest in the state. People of J&K will start losing faith in the government. President rule is not the permanent solution. Youth is already disturbed with unemployment and army. A stable government is needed in the state as various challenges are being faced by people of state. Besides security, law and order problem should also be addressed as early as possible.

The interference by outside powers like Pakistan and China is the main cause of the unrest in Kashmir. That has to be tackled by improving relations with those countries instead of confrontation. There is a different way also. Militancy in Sri Lanka was crushed with a heavy hand and same was done in Punjab. There is no reason it can't be done in Kashmir. What is needed is political will. That's all.

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movies released in Navi Mumbai’ (The Accidental Prime Minister and Zero) that was published in Newsband

New movies released in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

The Accidental Prime Minister

The Accidental Prime Minister is a 2018 Indian biographical political drama film, presented by Rudra Production (UK), Bohra Bros in association with Dr Jayantilal Gada (Pen India Limited). Directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte and written by Mayank Tewari. The film stars Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh, the economist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014 under the United Progressive Alliance. The film is based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Sanjaya Baru.

Based on the memoir by Indian policy analyst Sanjaya Baru, the Accidental Prime Minister explores Manmohan Singh's tenure as the Prime Minister of India, and the kind of control he had over the cabinet and the country. The story touches on several scams that took place under the reign of Congress. Everything happened in the public domain, whether it was 2G, 3G, or the coal scam. There was something wrong which is why the Congress lost the last election by the biggest ever margin. It’s all there in the film but tackled sensitively. And at the end of the day, it is an entertaining film, not a documentary.

The movie has Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of Republic of India during 2004 to 2014, Akshaye Khanna as Sanjaya Baru, political commentator, Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi, former president of Indian National Congress, Aahana Kumra as Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Sonia Gandhi, Arjun Mathur as Rahul Gandhi, son of Sonia Gandhi, Vimal Verma as Lalu Prasad Yadav, Avter Saini as Lal Krishna Advani, Anil Rastogi as Shivraj Patil, Ajit Satbhai as P. V. Narasimha_Rao, former Prime Minister of India, and Chitragupta Sinha P. V. Ranga_Rao,Elder son of P.V.Narasimha Rao.

Zero

Zero is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, written by Himanshu Sharma and directed by Aanand L. Rai. It was jointly produced by Colour Yellow Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment's Gauri Khan, and stars Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.

It follows Bauua Singh, a short man from Meerut who, after having difficulty finding a marriage partner, finds a companion in Aafia Bhinder, a NASA scientist with cerebral palsy. However, leading superstar Babita also gets close with him, testing his first relationship. This love triangle takes them to far-off cities, and thrusts Bauua on an adventure to discover both his true love and completeness in a life lived to the fullest.

The film has Shah Rukh Khan as Bauua Singh, a short man, Anushka Sharma as Aafia Yusufzai Bhinder, a NASA scientist with cerebral palsy, Katrina Kaif as Babita Kumari, an alcoholic Bollywood actress, Abhay Deol as Babita's love interest, R. Madhavan, Tigmanshu Dhulia as Bauua’s father, Sheeba Chaddha as Beena Singh, Brijendra Kala as marriage alliance officer, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Guddu Singh, Javed Jaffrey (voice-over at a dance competition) and in special appearances are Salman Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Sridevi, Alia Bhatt, Karisma Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Deepika Padukone, Ganesh Acharya and Remo D'Souza.

The film's soundtrack was composed and produced by Ajay−Atul. Tanishk Bagchi worked as a guest composer. Lyrics are written by Irshad Kamil and Kumaar. The movie has songs like "Mere Naam Tu", "Issaqbaazi", "Husn Parcham" and "Heer Badnaam".

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Prevent fire' that was published in Newsband

Prevent fire

Fire safety norms for hospitals are needed. The devastating fire at the Andheri hospital of the Employees State Insurance Corporation in Mumbai killed at least eight people. This show how much low priority fire safety gets in India. This calls into question the precautions taken by the authorities.

The Fire Department says that the hospital had failed an inspection recently and was served a notice. ESIC is a welfare organisation working to protect the health and well-being of the labour sector. The Andheri horror evokes memories of the AMRI hospital blaze in Kolkata seven years ago, in which 92 people died. This year, critically ill patients had to be carried outside by relatives during a fire at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.

Minimum requirements for multi-storeyed structures are alarms, sprinkler systems, specified-width staircases, smoke barrier enclosures and checks against storage of combustible materials in areas where patients are kept.

Priority should be given to human health not money. Huge number of hospitals presently busy in making money not in saving lives of people. It is now the second incident occurred due to carelessness of hospital authorities. After failing the inspection why the department flagged them to go forward? Both hospital authorities and fire departments should be questioned.

There are simple instructions in engineering that regular inspection of a building or any property can be done internally or externally by authorized security officials not only on fire but also on normal work. Defects can also be rectified in maintenance. Which is only 5 to 10 percent of the total cost. This practice is very easy to be followed.

The mother of all these fires is the Uphaar cinema fire. It took decades for anybody to be convicted and when it came time for punishment, the Supreme Court let the guilty go free. We have a legal system where the guilty are never punished. And, we then claim to be shocked every time there is negligence.

Coming back to the fire at Andheri - According to the staff union, mishaps are not new in the hospital. In March, there was a fire in the hospital’s kitchen and four days before the incident, a Cobra emerged out of the scrap lying on the premises. A union member said that after the snake emerged, he wrote to the hospital management to clear the scrap. The management then wrote to the NBCC contractor, but nothing happened. Small fires are a routine occurrence. But eight people have lost their lives.

Why did the hospital not have CCTV cameras, a disaster management protocol? The condition of the staff quarters has been pathetic for years now. Why didn’t the administration penalise the contractor for the repeated delays? The hospital building, constructed in the 1970s, neither has a fire brigade NOC nor an occupation certificate from the MIDC. It did not have fire-fighting equipment except fire extinguishers.

The MIDC fire brigade has only one fire station in SEEPZ for the entire industrial area. When asked about challenges during Monday’s firefighting, they said the biggest challenge was that of bedridden patients. They brought down most of the patients on their shoulders. Both fire brigades worked in tandem.

Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that the State government would conduct an inquiry and submit a report to the Central government. This is a very unfortunate incident.

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Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Rahul Gandhi to be projected as PM candidate?' that was published in Newsband

Rahul Gandhi to be projected as PM candidate?

Dravida Munnetra Kazgham (DMK) President M. K. Stalin’s proposed that Congress President Rahul Gandhi should be the opposition’s common Prime Ministerial candidate in 2019. But there is a broad understanding among the opposition parties that the issue of the name to lead the opposition will be decided after the elections. There are people who had enough of opposition unity. What they want is a stable Government in India for another decade.

Stalin is desperate to become CM in Tamil Nadu. But Tamil Nadu elections are due only in 2021. DMK even lost deposit in RK Nagar by elections under his leadership. Even by elections are conducted in 20 constituencies but there no guarantee to win enough seats. So his hope is to bring the Congress ruling at the Centre and dissolve Tamil Nadu assembly to face fresh assembly elections. Till BJP is ruling at the centre this is not possible. So he is trying to self-proclaim himself as national leader. But outside Tamil Nadu he is common man. Just because he happened to be the son of Karunanidhi he is having some advantages. Otherwise he is having limited role to play at the national level.

To win the 2019 parliamentary election itself the general public will expect somebody to be projected as the PM candidate. So hold a national referendum to elect the opposition PM candidate. Include Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banarjee, Chandrababu Naidu, Mayawati, Akilesh Yadav and whoever is aspiring to be a PM candidate. Ultimately you have to narrow it down to 2 or 3 persons maximum. We cannot forget that Sonia Gandhi had made Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister at the time she could not be a Prime Minister. Because of her Italian origin, there was great controversy and she simply had to step aside. Now it is left to be seen as to what will happen in case of Rahul Gandhi.  

Ultimately, the more important question is whether Indian politics of the future will be in the hands of well-settled vote-banks such as farmers, traders, workmen, students, artists, the disabled, the unemployed etc. in addition to or in place of existing groups operating.

Sycophancy is quite common among Dravidian Leaders and Stalin is no exception and DMK would like to celebrate his utterance of naming Rahul as next PM. Media has magnified Stalin’s proposal as if it has been agreed to by all constituents of Congress coalition. Only proper way is to decide it in the closed meeting of coalition partners among themselves.

All State level parties very well know that Congress Party will definitely get more seats than their party, even in worst scenario. Now all pretend that they are very big brother in their respective states and keep the arm close to their chest just to bargain from the grand old party, but the voters in particular irrespective of different states will be interested either in the National Parties or the alliance with the participation of National Parties, as the voters have lot of past experience in which the opposition crumbled due to power struggle even with good mandate.

So all State Parties should come together and shed their big brother attitude for a better result, otherwise the voters will reject them if they fail to join a National Party alliance.

On a day when the Congress party had sought to present a united opposition at the swearing-in ceremonies of its Chief Ministers in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, leaders from several opposition parties distanced themselves from Dravida Munnetra Kazgham (DMK) President M. K. Stalin’s proposal to project Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the opposition’s common Prime Ministerial candidate in 2019. This shows how hollow is Rahul Gandhi's candidature for PM of India.

Stalin was a bit hasty in his suggestion. At the outset he should have confabulated with all the political leaders in the matter of choice of PM candidate. Post elections, there will be fierce competition for the top post, everybody staking claim. Hard to arrive at a consensus; they may even zero in on Modi.