Archives for March 2021

Savie Karnel 

‘The Nameless God,’ tells the story of two children who hold friendship above all. Theirs is a childhood where imaginations run wild and nothing is impossible. The kids pray to God for a day off and good marks. When both Ganeshji and Fakirbaba fail to answer their prayers for good marks, Bachchu and Noor conclude that gods have too much workload, and so they create a new God, a nameless god who would listen only to them. The god works the first miracle- a sudden holiday is declared. When they go out to thank, they are stuck in the riots that breakout after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Will their new nameless god help them?

The book has received rave reviews from readers of all age groups.  Readers have said that the book has taken them on a nostalgic trip to the childhood and children have discovered a different world of the 90s which has unknown to them. The book has proven to be a conversation starter.

Writer and journalist Alladi Jayashree in her review has compared the characters in the book to those in R K Narayan’s book Swami and Friends. “A child’s gaze on the reality of a communal cauldron that once boiled over, and continues to simmer into the 21st century. Bachchu and Noor and Seema are adorable and redolent of the young denizens of Malgudi. Moon Aunty, and Bachchu’s secret wish to see a skeleton are a delight, and are among the many charming twists in a tale that packs just the right amount of Suspense,” she said.

International Publishing Consultant Jayashree Bhattacharjee has called it “A powerful story by a debut novelist with a strong voice.” She further said, “We are at such a critical juncture of our nationhood that books like The Nameless God are essential to kick-start difficult conversations.”

In a world polorised by religious beliefs, The Nameless God, shows us a different way of being. In the 90s, communal violence was witnessed throughout India. But our society picked up the pieces and continued to live harmoniously. This was possible because of the many untold stories where people went beyond religious barriers to help others. The Nameless God is one such story of friendship and understanding that shows the pointlessness of boundaries created by different faiths

The book is funny, has adventure and in a simple way has dealt with complex issues like secularism, propaganda, democracy and the Indian constitution. This book is a must read for children and people of all ages. The book is sure to take grown ups on a nostalgic trip to their childhoods.

The book is published by Red Panda, the children’s book imprint of Westland Publications. The author Savie Karnel grew up in the coastal town of Karwar. He worked as a journalist with The New Indian Express, Mid Day and Talk magazine in Bangalore. ‘The Nameless God,’ is her debut novel.

The comments came a day after Adityanath addressed a rally in minority-dominated Malda district where he alleged that cattle smuggling and ‘love jihad’ were continuing unabated in the state.

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday of misleading the people in West Bengal and said the party would campaign in favour of the TMC for the Assembly election.

The comments came a day after Adityanath addressed a rally in minority-dominated Malda district where he alleged that cattle smuggling and “love jihad” were continuing unabated in West Bengal and the Mamata Banerjee government was endangering national security by indulging in “appeasement” politics.

In a statement, Yadav said the BJP wanted to come to power in the state by spreading “confusion and propaganda” during the Assembly polls.

“The Samajwadi Party will not allow this conspiracy of the BJP to succeed,” he added.

He alleged that Adityanath was “misleading” the people and appealed to the voters not to fall prey to the designs of the BJP, which “indulges in politics of hate”.

“It’s in the interest of democracy to be cautious of it (BJP),” the SP leader said.

Yadav said SP vice president and former minister Kiranmoy Nanda would conduct an election campaign in support of the TMC in the state.

Incidentally, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had also met TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee two days ago.

“West Bengal is home to a large number of Hindi-speaking people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand,” he had said, adding the RJD’s stand is to provide “full support” to Banerjee.

The high-stakes elections in West Bengal, poised to be a tough contest between the TMC and the BJP, will be held in eight phases between March 27 and April 29.

Votes will be counted on May 2.

They said an unidentified person called the 112 emergency response number of the Uttar Pradesh police at around 9 am and claimed that a bomb was kept inside the monument.

NEW DELHI/AGRA: The Taj Mahal complex in Agra was vacated on Thursday morning following a hoax bomb call, officials said.

They said an unidentified person called the 112 emergency response number of the Uttar Pradesh police at around 9 am and claimed that a bomb was kept inside the monument that is conserved by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and protected by armed personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The Uttar Pradesh police immediately informed the CISF personnel, who asked the visitors to vacate the premises of the iconic 17th-century monument and launched anti-sabotage checks around 9:15 am.

“Nothing suspicious has been found and the checks are almost done,” a senior CISF officer said in Delhi.

The hoax call has been traced to Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, another officer said.

MUMBAI: Petrol price can go down to Rs 75 a litre across the country if brought under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but there is a lack of political will, which is keeping Indian oil product prices at one of the highest in the world, economists at SBI said on Thursday

Diesel will come at Rs 68 a litre and the revenue loss for the Centre and states will be only Rs 1 lakh crore or 0.4 per cent of GDP, according to the calculation by the economists made under the assumption of global crude prices at USD 60 a barrel and exchange rate at Rs 73 per dollar.

At present, every state has its own way of taxing fuels, while the Centre also collects its own duties and cess. Petrol prices have touched Rs 100 per litre in some pockets of the country and concerns are being expressed about the high taxation which is making the fuels dearer.

The SBI economists said bringing petrol and diesel under the goods and services tax is an unfinished agenda of the GST framework and getting the prices under the new indirect taxes framework can help.

“Centre and states are loathe to bring crude oil products under the GST regime as sales tax/VAT (value added tax) on petroleum products is a major source of own tax revenue for them. Thus, there is lack of political will to bring crude under the ambit of GST,” they said.

At present, states choose to levy a combination of ad valorem tax, cess, extra VAT/surcharge based on their needs and these taxes are imposed after taking into account the crude price, the transportation charge, the dealer commission and the flat excise duty imposed by the Centre, they explained.

Assuming for the crude prices and dollar rate, transportation charges at Rs 7.25 for diesel and Rs 3.82 for petrol, dealer commission of Rs 2.53 for diesel and Rs 3.67 for petrol, cess of Rs 30 for petrol and Rs 20 for diesel which will be divided equally between the Centre and states, and GST rate at 28 per cent, the economists came at the final price estimates.

It said that a growth in the consumption – diesel going up 15 per cent and petrol by 10 per cent – has been used to assess the Rs 1 lakh crore fiscal impact of getting petroleum prices under GST. An increase of USD 1 in the crude oil prices will push up the petrol price by around 50 paise and diesel prices by around Rs 1.50, and bring down the overall deviation by around Rs 1,500 crore under the baseline scenario, it said.

States, which have the highest share of tax revenues at present, will be the biggest losers if the system shifts to GST, it said, quickly adding that such a move will help consumers pay up to Rs 30 less.

Interestingly, the simulation exercise suggests that when crude oil price declines by USD 10 per barrel, Centre and states could save close to Rs 18,000 crore, if they keep the petrol prices at baseline prices without passing the benefit to consumers, which is higher than the savings of Rs 9,000 crore when the crude prices go up by a same measure.

“We thus recommend the government build up an oil price stabilisation fund which can be used in bad times for compensating revenue loss by cross subsidising fund saved from good times, without hurting the consumer,” it said.

For the LPG cylinders, the economists proposed an increased and graded subsidy may be provided to poor consumers which can be tapered off over a period of, say, 5-years. Meanwhile, the note said the latest revenue and expenditure numbers could lead to lowering of fiscal deficit to 8.7 per cent in FY21, down from 9.5 per cent in the revised budget estimates.

They said that it is highly likely that the Government might cancel its Rs 49,000 crore borrowing planned in the last fortnight of March.

Addressing a webinar on the implementation of the Union Budget provisions in the education sector, he said the new National Education Policy has encouraged the use of local language

NEW DELHI: Doors are being opened for talented youth in several sectors such as space, atomic energy and agriculture as limiting knowledge and research is a big injustice to the country’s potential, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.

Addressing a webinar on the implementation of the Union Budget provisions in the education sector, he said the new National Education Policy has encouraged the use of local language and now it is the responsibility of all academics and experts of every language to prepare the best content available in the country and the world in Indian languages.

This is definitely possible in this era of technology, he asserted.

Modi said education, skill, research and innovation were the second biggest focus of budget after health.

“The Union Budget has broadened our efforts to link education with employability and entrepreneurial capability,” he said.

As a result of these efforts, India today is among the top three countries in terms of scientific publications, Modi said.

Limiting knowledge and research is a big injustice to the country’s potential, the prime minister said.

“With this thinking, doors of several sectors such as space, atomic energy, DRDO, agriculture, are being opened for our talented youth,” Modi said.

To build a self-reliant India, confidence in the youth of the country is important, he said, asserting that confidence only comes when the youth has complete faith in their education and knowledge.

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has formed a four-member high-level committee to conduct a probe into an incident where girls were allegedly stripped and forced to dance by policemen at a hostel in Jalgaon, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Wednesday.

The minister made the announcement in the state Assembly after the issue was raised by opposition members.

BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar targeted the Maharashtra government, suggesting it was not serious over the issue.

According to media reports, some girls from a hostel in Jalgaon complained that people from outside and policemen were allowed to enter the facility on the pretext of a probe and some girls were forced to strip and dance.

A video clip of the same has also surfaced.

“It is a very unfortunate incident. A four-member high-level committee of officials has been formed to conduct a probe into it. they have been asked to submit a report in two days. Action will be taken as per rules after the report is submitted,” Deshmukh said.

Before the minister made the announcement, Mungantiwar said the incident is very serious.

He alleged the government was only taking note of such an incident and called for stricter action.

Replying to him, Deshmukh said, “All information about the incident is being taken.

The entire video recording and other documents are sought and statements are being recorded.

” Strict action will be taken as per rules after gathering all the information, he said.

Objecting to it, Mungantiwar said the police already have all the information about the incident.

” If the police machinery is not going to take information after spending Rs 15,000 crore, why this government (is needed then)?” the BJP leader said.

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said there is a video clip (of the incident) and it would have been a different case had it been just a news report.

The video clip of a girl being forced to dance after stripping her is a serious matter, he said.

“Our expectation is that you take immediate action sensitively,” the leader of opposition said.