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Archives for August 2017

‘Deadline for linking Aadhaar with government schemes is now Dec 31’

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various government schemes for benefits will be extended till December 31.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Amitava Roy and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar said the challenge to the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme would be heard in the first week of November.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told the court that the existing deadline of September 30 would be extended by three months.

Venugopal made the statement after senior counsel Shyam Divan, appearing for a batch of petitioners, said that if government was inclined to extend the deadline, then the matter could be heard in November.

(IANS)

Anna Hazare slams PM Modi over inaction on Lokpal, plans fresh agitation

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New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the union government’s inaction on Lokpal and threatened to launch another round of agitation in the national capital.

The anti-corruption crussader in his letter mentioned that he would continue to campaign in Delhi till Lokayukta isn’t appointed and Swaminathan report isn’t implemented.

The 80-year-old activist in hs letter mentioned that he will reveal the date and place of his agitation in the national capital in his next letter.

Slamming the Narendra Modi-led government, Hazare said that his protest will be aimed predominantly against the Modi government’s apathy in appointing a Lokpal even after three years in the Centre.

“It has been six years of a historical movement that aimed at creating a corruption-free India. But even after six years, the government has not drafted a definitive law to end corruption,” Hazare’s letter to PM says.

“For three years now, I kept reminding your government on the appointment of Lokpal and Lokayukts as well as on the welfare of farmers, but you neither replied to my letters nor took any action,” he wrote.

The letter demands that a Lokpal (ombudsman) be appointed at the Centre, a Lokayukta in every state, and a Citizen’s Charter on ending corruption be adopted by the government.

(Agencies)

Doctors engage in verbal spat in operation theatre, newborn dies

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Udaipur: The operation theatre of Udaipur’s Umaid hospital turned into a virtual battle ground on Tuesday when a verbal spat broke between two doctors operating on a pregnant woman.

In a video captured by a staff member in the operation theatre on a mobile phone, both the doctors were seen arguing loudly, calling each other names and even threatening each while conducting an emergency surgery on a pregnant woman, lying on the operation table.

The emergency operation was underway due to the low heartbeat of the foetus, which is when the incident took place.

Both doctors kept fighting, as one was seen involved in the surgery.

When one of the doctors – the obstetrician – finally delivered the baby at a hospital in Rajasthan, the baby didn’t survive.

According to a report in NDTV, the argument erupted between doctors – Ashok Nainwal and ML Tak – during an emergency caesarean surgery scheduled because of the feeble heartbeat of the foetus. It appears to have started when Dr Nainwal, the obstetrician, questioned whether the patient had eaten before the operation. The anaesthetist, Dr Tak, reportedly tried to have a junior doctor carry out tests, which Dr Nainwal did not agree with.

“You stay within your aukat (limits),” Dr Nainwal, in green scrubs and surgery attire, is seen screaming at the anaesthetist.

It quickly degenerated into shouting and name-calling. A nurse and another doctor are seen trying to stop them and remind them that a surgery was underway.

Rajasthan High Court took cognizance of incident of verbal spat between the doctors in the operation theatre at Umaid Hospital and asked the hospital to submit a report by 2 pm on Wednesday.

The Principal of Sampurananda Medical College, AL Bhat, has said he was informed about the “viral” video, where two of the doctors were quarreling and using indecent language inside the operation theatre.

“This is condemnable and a disrespect of the operation theatre,” Bhat said.

He informed that both the doctors have been removed from their post.

Bhat also revealed, “A committee has been established to look into the matter and based on this committee’s report, a strict action will be taken against them.”

Condemning the whole incident, Prinipal Bhat also said they have recommended the government to take this matter seriously.

The onlookers have said that the intensity of the fight was such that the doctors would have beaten up each other.

Amidst the spat, the doctors standing inside the operation theatre kept looking on, as mere spectators.

(Agencies)

Tropical storm Harvey displaces 30,000 in Texas, USA

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US disaster agency says 50 counties in Texas are affected by the flooding, as weather forecasters predict more rain.

by Al Jazeera

More than 30,000 people are expected to be placed in temporary shelters in the US state of Texas due to widespread flooding caused by Tropical Storm Harvey, US officials said, with more rain expected in the coming days.

Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said on Monday that 50 counties in Texas are affected by the floods, which were brought about by an estimated six months-worth of rain falling in the last three days alone.

“We have not seen an event like this. You could not draw this forecast up, you could not dream this forecast up,” Long said.

Earlier, Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed an additional 1,000 National Guard troops, on top of the 3,000 already sent in the flood-stricken state, which is the size of France, Belgium and Switzerland combined.

Texas officials said Monday that six more people are feared to have died in the Houston area as a result of the storm and flooding.

Tricia Bentley, spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office in Harris County – which includes the city of Houston – confirmed six deaths since Sunday that are “potentially tied to Hurricane Harvey”.

She was unable to specify the cause of death, explaining that “some people may have had a medical emergency and just could not seek help because of the flooding”.

The fatalities were distinct from unconfirmed reports that a family of six had died in a van caught in floodwaters.

Three people were previously confirmed to have died after Harvey hit Texas on Friday. In Houston, a woman drowned when she left a car that had stalled in high water. Another man was found dead in a flooded Wal-Mart parking lot in Galveston County.

And one person was killed when a house caught fire in the Rockport area, where Harvey made landfall.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro, reporting from Houston, the largest city in Texas, said that in the last 48 hours, emergency agencies have received some 6,000 calls for help.

She said that between 300 to 400 households are still waiting to be reached by rescuers as of 13:00 GMT on Monday.

Our correspondent also said that the flooding is expected to rise in some parts of Houston, as authorities are expected to open dam and levies in the area, to ease pressure from continuous rain.

Al Jazeera’s weather presenter Richard Angwin reported that the “worst is probably yet to come”, saying that the storm, which is moving only at an estimated five kilometres per hour, could dump more rain in the coming days.

“We are only half-way through the rainfall,” he said.

“The storm is going nowhere very fast. It is going so slowly. There’s still a lot still coming out of it, picking up warm water in the Gulf of Mexico.”

‘Catastrophic’

In some areas just north of Houston, rainfall has already reached 1,000mm in the last three days, which our correspondent described as “catastrophic”.

Aside from the 50 counties affected in southern Texas, a portion of south-western state Louisiana was also affected by Harvey, which made landfall late on Friday as a Category 4 hurricane.

Harvey has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, but the damage it has left is extensive.

About 450,000 people are anticipated to apply for disaster assistance, which would make them eligible for financial support, possible replacement of property and other disaster-related aid.

President Donald Trump is expected to visit Texas on Tuesday, but not Houston as flooding in the US’s fourth largest city continues.

Harvey is the first major natural disaster to hit the US Trump’s presidency. On Sunday, he convened a cabinet meeting by telephone in response to the disaster.

Harvey was the fiercest hurricane to hit the country in 13 years, and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961’s Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record.

‘Fire and destruction’ as Myanmar army targets Rohingya

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Human Rights Watch says satellite data show fires have razed 100km of land in Rakhine state in the wake of crackdown.

More than 3,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Satellite data accessed by a rights body shows widespread fires burning in at least 10 areas in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, following a military crackdown on the country’s Muslim Rohingya population.

Residents and activists have have accused soldiers of shooting indiscriminately at unarmed Rohingya men, women and children and carrying out arson attacks.

However, authorities in Myanmar say close to 100 people have been killed since Friday when armed men, reportedly from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), launched a pre-dawn raid on police outposts in the restive region.

Myanmar authorities say Rohingya “extremist terrorists” have been setting the fires during fighting with government troops, while Rohingya have blamed soldiers, who have been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings.

A government spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.

“The Burmese government should grant access to independent monitors to determine the sources of fires and assess allegations of human rights violations,” the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Tuesday.

HRW said fires have razed 100km of land – an area larger than that burned during a crackdown by the Myanmar military following attacks by Rohingya fighters in October 2016, when data from the group suggested some 1,500 buildings were destroyed.

Witness statements

The locations of the fires correlate with some witness statements and media reports describing blazes deliberately set, the group said.

“This new satellite data should cause concern and prompt action by donors and UN agencies to urge the Burmese government to reveal the extent of ongoing destruction in Rakhine State,” Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director, said in a statement.

“Shuffling all the blame on insurgents doesn’t spare the Burmese [Myanmar] government from its international obligations to stop abuses and investigate alleged violations.”

Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, “is deeply concerned at the reports of civilians being killed …,” according to a statement from spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Guterres called on Bangladesh to step up assistance to civilians escaping the violence, noting “many of those fleeing are women and children, some of whom are wounded”.

More than 3,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar, where the ethnic Muslim minority faces persecution, in the past three days, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Monday.

Bangladesh has said there are thousands more Rohingya massed on its border with Myanmar, where it has stepped up patrols and pushed back hundreds of civilians who have tried to enter.

On Monday, Bangladesh detained and forcibly returned at least 90 Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar.

About 87,000 refugees entered Bangladesh in 2016 following the military crackdown.

Ethnic cleansing

The UN believes the army’s response may amount to ethnic cleansing, allegations denied by the government of Aung San Suu Kyi and the army.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has proposed joint military operations with Myanmar against Rohingya fighters in Rakhine state.

At the weekend, as violence in Rakhine worsened, Bangladesh’s foreign minister summoned Myanmar’s charge’d affaires in Dhaka to express “serious concern” at the possibility of a fresh refugee influx.

There are already almost 400,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in squalid camps near its border with Myanmar.

In a goodwill gesture, Thai Prime Minister on Tuesday said his country was preparing to receive people fleeing fighting in Myanmar.

“Thailand’s defence ministry and security are preparing to receive various displaced people,” Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters. “We will provide them with shelter like in the past … and send them back when they are ready.”

I-T dept imposes Rs 7.9K cr penalty on Vodafone for tax dues

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New Delhi: The Income Tax Department has imposed Rs 7,900 crore penalty on the tax demand of the same amount on a unit of billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its decade old sale of mobile phone business in India to Vodafone Group Plc.

In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the company said its unit Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd had late last year received a tax demand notice of Rs 7,900 crore and on August 9 received a penalty order of a similar amount.

The CK Hutchison unit continues to dispute the validity of those taxes, it said. Hutchison Telecom, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd, had received a draft assessment order from the Indian Tax Authorities dated November 24, 2016 on “the alleged gains” made in the 2007 deal with Vodafone.

The tax department on January 25 this year issued the final assessment seeking Rs 7,900 crore in taxes on capital gains made in the Rs 16,430 crore deal. Now, the tax department has by an order dated July 3 imposed “a penalty of approximately Rs 7,900 crore”.

The company said “taxes cannot be validly imposed” as the tax demand order was passed on “the basis of retrospective legislation seeking to overturn the judgement of the Supreme Court of India in January 2012, which ruled that the Acquisition was not taxable in India, are in violation of the principles of international law.”

“Accordingly, the company continues to believe that the tax orders would not have any effect on the company’s financial condition or the results of its operations for any period,” it said. Vodafone had in 2007 acquired 67 per cent stake in the mobile-phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa, now part of CK Hutchison.

(Agencies)

Nine coaches of Duronto Express derail

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Asangaon: The engine and nine coaches of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailed between Vasind and Asangaon stations in Maharashtra early today following a landslide, a senior railway official and a PTI reporter on- board the train said.

The accident took place at 6:36 am. No passenger is reported to be injured in the incident so far, Sunil Udasi, Chief PRO of the Central Railway, said. Udasi said the derailment was caused due to a landslide. “The cause (of derailment) is sudden landslide due to heavy rains. But graciously enough, the driver did an excellent job of applying emergency breaks,” he said.

However, another railway official said the exact cause of the derailment was not yet clear. “It is suspected that a portion of the tracks was washed away due to heavy rains in the Kasara Ghats section since there has been long spell of incessant and torrential rains since the past few days,” the official said. The train had a total of 18 coaches.

Helpline numbers have been set up at CSMT, Thane, Kalyan, Dadar and Nagpur stations to help passengers. A PTI reporter, Justin Rao, who was on-board the train said, “At least six coaches along with the engine slipped off the tracks”. Rao, who was travelling in the A-2 coach that derailed, said the accident happened when most of the passengers were sleeping.

“While we were sleeping, we felt a jerk and several passengers fell off their berths. When we got up, we found our train’s bogies derailed”. “Few people were stuck in the washrooms and were rescued by some passengers by breaking glasses of windows,” Rao said. Rao said, “Though relief and rescue came a bit late, everything was fine once the Central Railway team arrived.”

A team of doctors as well as senior officers are at the spot. Proper arrangements have been made to transport stranded passengers from the site to CSMT or other destinations by buses and taxis. Traffic operations in the affected section have been stopped and few trains have been diverted and short- terminated, official said. A statement issued by the Central Railway said, “12859 CSMT-Howrah Gitanjali Express has been diverted via Kalyan- Karjat-Pune-Daund-Manmad route.”

“Sectional officials and railway workers have arrived at the spot and the entire team has swung into action to rescue stranded passengers and restore traffic in the affected section,” Udasi said. “Our rescue team along with the Accident Relief Train along with engineering staff has reached the spot,” he said. This is the fourth train derailment in the country in a a span of 10 days.

About 100 passengers were wounded when 10 coaches of the Kaifiyat Express train derailed in UP’s Auraiya district after crashing into a dumper which strayed on to the tracks. Fourteen coaches of the high-speed Utkal Express jumped the tracks on August 19, with one of them crashing into a house adjacent to the track near Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, claiming 23 lives and over 60 injured.

On August 25, six coaches of the Andheri-bound local train derailed in Mumbai, injuring six of its passengers.

(Agencies)

Court adjourned its hearing on Yeddyurappa

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Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court adjourned its further hearing till Wednesday on the petition filed by former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.

B.S. Yeddyurappa was registered against two corruption cases by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on land denotification.

Justice Aravind Kumar adjourned the matter citing paucity of time and the ACB assured the court that it would continue its undertaking of not summoning or arresting Yeddyurappa till the next date of hearing, as it had promised last week.

(Agencies)

SABIC RESTORES GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL IN INDIA, EFFORTS APPLAUDED BY KARNATAKA EDUCATION MINISTER

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Bengaluru: SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, inaugurated the newly renovated, school building of ‘Government Primary School’, located at Sompura near SABIC Technology Center (STC) site Sarjapura, under SABIC’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative in collaboration with its NGO partner Rotary Bangalore South. Chief Guest, Shri Tanvir Sait, Honorable Minister of Primary and Secondary education, Government of Karnataka and dignitaries from the state government, education department and panchayat, graced the event.

Shri Tanvir Sait, Honorable Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Government of Karnataka, who couldn’t make it to the inauguration event, sent his best wishes and appreciating SABIC said, “I highly appreciate SABIC’s efforts to carry out the construction of dilapidated school under their CSR Initiative in collaboration with Rotary, which is a great example for other corporates to follow.”

SABIC, in collaboration with Rotary Bangalore South, embarked upon the renovation and reconstruction of Government Primary School in 2016. The deterioration of the school building due to its age, mainly catering to the children from less privilege rural backgrounds, had led to a drop in students’ strength over a period of time.

Janardhanan Ramanujalu, Vice President, SABIC, South Asia & ANZ said, “The modernization and restoration of the school demonstrates SABIC’s commitment to continually improving the lives of the communities it operates in, as well as its support of education. SABIC has been supporting education in many ways including school infrastructure upgradation in Bengaluru and Vadodara. Renovation of the school building in and around Sarjapura has helped us in providing better learning environment to the children. With the restoration of the school, SABIC aims to provide equal access to education and reduce the infrastructure gaps to provide better facilities for students from less privileged rural back grounds. ”

SABIC undertook the reconstruction of the school over a period of 7 months, which included reconstruction of classrooms, principal’s room, renovation of kitchen area, construction of separate toilets for boys and girls, renovation of new assembly area for morning assembly, new play area equipment for the playground, purification system for providing drinking water facility for the school, installation of CCTV security cameras and finally the whole structure was painted to give the school a new life. Apart from the reconstruction of Sompura lower primary school, SABIC provided drinking water filters, benches, school bags, note books, library books, almirah for library, in 10 schools in the nearby areas. We also donated an E-Learning system in two schools in Sarjapura, Anekal Taluk to help improve the education facilities.

Kishan Gurram, Director & Site Head, SABIC Technology Center, Bengaluru reiterated SABIC’s commitment to education by stating that after renovation of the school, students’ strength has increased and it has also helped provide a conducive and safe learning environment for the children.

With employee engagement at the core of SABIC’s corporate social responsibility, SABIC employees volunteers across India spent over 350 hours volunteering for the initiative in last two years, working closely with the program partners and supporting with on-ground logistics. This school was also included for various CSR activities that are organized by SABIC in schools such as They See, They Learn, vision screening program of SABIC, health check camps, Teacher’s Day education awareness activities and school bags distribution.

PP Sridhar BR, Ex- President Rotary Bangalore South said, “We have been partnering with SABIC on the modernization and restoration of schools in Sarjapura for the past 3 years and the impact generated through the efforts is noteworthy. Primary education is an important area that requires urgent attention and is vital for strengthening the education system in our country.”

In alignment with SABIC’s global CSR policy, SABIC in India focuses its CSR efforts on the promotion of education, with special attention to less-privileged children and youth. As a part of our CSR efforts to support sustainable education, SABIC has in the past restored and upgraded schools with enhanced infrastructure and is working on more such projects. SABIC runs several initiatives in coordination with CIPET at either end of the know-how spectrum supporting the National skill development objective.

SABIC in Asia, through our signature Lights of Our Future program, with a syllabus created by SABIC employee-volunteers, teaches young children about saving water, conserving energy, managing waste, and reducing our carbon footprint. The program has reached more than 2,100 students in Singapore and China this year.

SABIC’s CSR programs in India are aligned with CSR RAISE strategy (Reputation, Audience, Innovation, Strategy and Endurance). To read more about SABIC’s CSR strategy and find out more about our CSR programs, please see https://www.sabic.com/en/sustainability/corporate-social-responsibility

NOTES TO EDITORS
SABIC should be written in every instance in all uppercase.
High-resolution photos are available upon request.

ABOUT SABIC

SABIC is a global leader in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We manufacture on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.

We support our customers by identifying and developing opportunities in key end markets such as construction, medical devices, packaging, agri-nutrients, electrical and electronics, transportation and clean energy.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 18.77 billion (US$ 5 billion) in 2015. Sales revenues for 2015 totaled SR 148.09 billion (US$ 39.49 billion). Total assets stood at SR 328.22 billion (US$ 87.53 billion) at the end of 2015.

SABIC has more than 40,000 employees worldwide and operates in more than 50 countries. Fostering innovation and a spirit of ingenuity, we have filed more than 10,960 patents, and have significant research resources with innovation hubs in five key geographies – USA, Europe, Saudi Arabia, South East Asia and North East Asia.

The Saudi Arabian government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent publicly traded on the Saudi stock exchange.

At SABIC, we combine a rich track record of doing what others said couldn’t be done with a deep understanding of our customers. But our true impact is as a collaborative partner who can help our customers achieve their ambitions by finding solutions to their challenges. We call this ‘Chemistry that matters™’.

ABOUT SABIC IN ASIA

Established in the 1980s, SABIC Asia has over 40 offices and close to 3,000 employees across the region. With 10 manufacturing and compounding sites in China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand, SABIC constantly strives to better serve our customers in the Asian region. A leading global organization in research and technology, we have two Application Centers in Moka, Japan and Sungnam, Republic of Korea and four Technology Centers in Bengaluru, India, Shanghai, China, and Suwon and Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

Nostalgia: Saira Banu

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This is a tribute to Celluloid Silver Screen’s evergreen actress Saira Banu whose 77th birth anniversary fell on 23rd Aug, 2017. Saira Banu was also known as Saira Bano. She was one of the most popular Indian Hindi film actresses and the wife of the evergreen actor Dilip Kumar. She had acted in many Bollywood films between 1961 & 1988.

Saira Banu was born in India to actress Naseem Banu & film producer Mian Ehsan – ul – Haq, who produced the film Phool in Mumbai & the film Wadah in Pakistan. Her maternal grandmother was the courtesan Chamiyan Bai, also known as Shamshad Begum of Delhi (not to be confused with the famous playback singer of yesteryear Shamshad Begum who was from Amritsar, Punjab). Her niece is former actress Shaheen Banu who is the daughter of her brother Sultan.

Saira Banu spent a significant part of her childhood in London, and went to a finishing school. Her maternal grandmother was from Hasanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Her paternal grandfather, Muhammad Suleman, was an architect who served as the Chief Engineer of New Delhi and was later involved in the construction of Jinnah’s Mazaar in Karachi. Her paternal grandmother, Khatoon Begum, was from Old Delhi’s Mohalla Churiwalan and a daughter of the scholar Khan Bahadur Maulvi Abdul Ahad (1849 – 1920). Her paternal grand – aunt, Khadeeja Begum, was married to the Shah Imam of Jama Masjid in Delhi, Ahmed Bukhari.

Saira Banu was 16 years old in 1960, the year she made her debut in Hindi films. She said in a programme that she had basic talent and little dancing experience. Her peers all were classically trained: which was why she wasn’t put in the top league. Saira started taking Kathak & Bharatnatyam lessons with success and trained herself professionally. Soon she became a dancer and her films flaunted more of her dance.

Saira Banu made her acting debut opposite Shammi Kapoor in the year 1961 in Junglee for which she earned her debut Filmfare nomination as “Best Actress”. The famous song from this movie “Yaahoo!!!!! Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe” sung by Mohammed Rafi was a big success. Junglee was written by Agha jani Kashmiri, who also coached her in Urdu dialogue delivery, given his background in Urdu literature & poetry from Lucknow. Junglee also instantly made her a successful actress throughout the 1960’s as well as early 1970’s.

Saira Banu’s image was that of a romantic heroine for love stories in the 1960’s till 1967. She did one more film opposite Shammi Kapoor named Bluff Master directed by Manmmohan Desai. Some of her successful romantic films included Jhuk Gaya Aasman & Aayi Milan Ki Bela’ with Rajendra Kumar & April Fool with Biswajeet & 5 films with actor Joy Mukherjee namely Aao Pyar Karen, Saaz Aur Awaaz, Door Ki Awaz, Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai & Shagird. She did a double role in the film Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai.

Saira Banu’s 1st film to release after her marriage in 1966, was Aman opposite Rajendra Kumar and she continued to act as the lead heroine till the year 1977. But it is said that the turning point of her career was the comedy & love story Padosan in 1968 opposite Sunil Dutt, which brought her to the top league of the successful actresses and thereafter she started receiving more offers.

Her films with Navin Nischol were very successful like Victoria 203 & Paise Ki Gudiya. In an interview she quoted that she regretted missing the chance of working with Rajersh Khanna. She quoted “I was supposed to work with him in Choti Bahu (1971) but I could not because I was ill. I shot with him for 2 days and found that he was very charming, humble & a shy person”. She did earn 3 additional Filmfare nominations as Best Actress for Shagird (1967), for Diwana (1968) & for Sagina (1974).

Saira Banu’s valiant attempts to establish a reputation as an actress after Sagina & Bairaag (all 3 with Dilip Kumar) & films like Hrishikesh Mukherji’s Chaitali met with limited success although each of them were critically acclaimed. Her only film to be successful at the Box – Office turnstiles opposite her husband was Gopi. She also had stable pairing with Dharmendra which included Jwar Bata, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Resham Koi Dori, Pocket Maar, International Crook & Chaitali.

She also did Pyaar Mohabat with Dev Anand & films with Manoj Kumar, namely Shaadi, Poorab Aur Paschim & Balidaan. She established herself as a versatile actress, post her marriage, with her performances in Padosan, Victoria 203, Jhuk Gaya Aasman, Sagina, Chaitali and with each of them belonging to different genres. She was paired with Vinod Khanna in Aarop wherein the song “Naino Mein Darpan Hai” became a chartbuster in 1974. Her pairing with Sunil Dutt continued to be good at the Box – Office turnstiles with films like Nehle Pe Dehla being successful in 1976. The song “Sawan Ka Mahina Aagaya” became very popular in 1976. However, with films like Daaman Aur Aag, Mounto, Zameer, Koi Jeeta Koi Haara becoming disasters and with some of her films being kept on hold for release like Faisla, Mera Vachan Geeta Ki Kasam, Aarambh, she decided not to sign any more films.

Hence in 1976, Saira chose to end her film career. Subsequently she weathered a storm in her marriage in 1980, when her husband married a girl named Asma, which was quickly resolved. She then appeared in a cameo opposite her husband in Duniya (1984) wherein the song “Teri Meri Zindagi” became very popular. Her last film Faisla where she was cast opposite Vinod Mehra which was completed in 1976 but released in 1988.

Saira Banu married actor Dilip Kumar in 1966. Saira Banu was the 3rd highest paid actress in Hindi Cinema from 1963 – 1969 & the 4th highest paid actress from 1971 to 1976.

Actress Shaheen is her niece. She is Saira Banu’s brother Sultan Ahmed’s daughter.
Saira Banu’s husband Dilip Kumar revealed in his 2014 memoir “Dilip Kumar: The Substance And The Shadow” that she became pregnant in 1972 with their son, but at that time she developed high blood pressure in her 8th month of pregnancy and the doctors couldn’t save the baby, which had unfortunately been strangulated by the umbilical cord. After that, they never had children, believing that it was God’s will.

Saira Banu’s some memorable films were Junglee (1961), Shaadi (1962), Bluff Master (1963), Door Ki Aawaaz (1964), Aao Pyaar Karein (1964), Aayee Milan Ki Bela (1964), April Fool (1964), Saaz Aur Awaaz (1966), Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai (1966), Pyaar Mohabbat (1966), Shagird (1967), Diwana (1967), Aman (1967), Padosan (1968), Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan (1968), Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969), Gopi (1970), Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Victoria No 203 (1972), International Crook (1973), Resham Ki Dori (1973), Jwar bhata (1973), Sagina (1974), Pocket Maar (1974), Zameer (1974), Paise Ki Gudiya (1974), Saazish (1975), Chaitali (1975), Hera Pheri (1976), Bairaag (1976), Nehle Pe Dehla (1976), Kala Aadmi (1978), Duniya (1984) & Last but not the least Faisla (1988).

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