From Hussey’s congratulatory message to a non-vegetarian diet, N Jagadeesan’s stunning turnaround with record five hundreds

The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 21-11-2022 | 07:40 pm

From Hussey’s congratulatory message to a non-vegetarian diet, N Jagadeesan’s stunning turnaround with record five hundreds

By Venkata Krishna B Last Tuesday as the news filtered in that Chennai Super Kings had decided to release N Jagadeesan was on his way to the second of his five hundreds. On Monday, he would slam 277 against Arunachal Pradesh in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bengaluru but he remembers that second hundred (168) against Goa just after the CSK news.A special message slid down his WhatsApp. It was from the Australian and CSK veteran Mike Hussey. “He sent a lovely congratulatory message and asked me to keep going. Hopefully, there is more in store,” Jagadeesan tells The Indian Express.The CSK jolt had woken him up, he says. “You do start thinking about it. But it was good in a way to be honest as it gave me a new perception as to where I should improve my game. I was actually very happy about how I handled it,” he says.Jagadeesan started with 114 against Andhra and followed it up with 107 vs Chhattisgarh, 168 vs Goa, 128 vs Haryana before making a headline-making 277 against Arunachal Pradesh on Monday to surpass Kumar Sangakkara, Alviro Petersen, Devdutt Padikkal. En route, he combined with Sai Sudarshan to stitch 416 runs for the first wicket (another world record).To say no batter has come close to frustrating the selectors and the Tamil Nadu team management in recent times would be an understatement.Records galore in Bengaluru 🔥🔝Take a look at some magical milestones from the Tamil Nadu innings courtesy of @Jagadeesan_200 & B Sai Sudharsan 👏👏Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/LIs4Hkd0gM#ARPvTN | #VijayHazareTrophy pic.twitter.com/wq1Ym0rUcT— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 21, 2022From being touted as the next big thing, in Chennai’s league cricket circles, Jagadeesan was now being referred to as the “second innings batter.” It was a dig at his habit of making runs when the outcome of the match was more or less decided.The only other time Jagadeesan trended on social media, prior to his accomplishments on Monday, was back in June. In a TNPL fixture, after being run-out at the non-striker’s end for backing-up far, he showed his middle-finger to state team-mate Baba Aparajith.And as he endured another disappointing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 outing where he tallied only 118 runs in six innings, Chennai Super Kings released him back into the auction pool earlier this week. One-by-one the doors were being shut on a talented player and the last one by CSK, must have been especially hurting as he represents Vijay CC, a First Division team owned by India Cements under whose umbrella CSK is part of.“Over the moon and relieved,” is how AG Guruswamy, Jagadeesan’s coach, feels just minutes after his ward wrote his name into history books. The 70-year-old has been coaching Jagadeesan at the SNR College Grounds ever since he was an eight-year-old.“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time… not the five hundreds or world record, but just to see him score again. He was under pressure before he left and if he had failed in the opening game, he may have been dropped. But he has made the opportunity count,” the coach told this newspaper.Before the tournament began, Jagadeesan dashed off to Coimbatore to cut all the noise. With a strong family support – his father Rajan Narayanan has even prepared a wicket on the terrace of one of their properties – Jagadeesan would slowly regain the confidence back.And Guruswamy would suggest one most important thing. “The boy has always had a good work ethic. But it looked like too many cooks had spoiled him. So it was hard to find where he was going wrong. But when we dug deeper, we found that he was looking to improve his T20 strike-rate (118.61) to 150 and above. Now, that is not his game. So we told him to forget about that for the time being and look to get back to runs,” Guruswamy added.“The T20 influence was there to see. He was taking power-hitting training and it is bound to have affected other aspects of the game. So before the tournament, all that he did was to play the defensive shots and play as close to the body. That is a non-negotiable for an opener. It was all about getting the basics right… I know it is a cliché, but it is what it is,” Guruswamy says.When he boarded the flight to Bengaluru for the Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign, everyone including the opener knew that he was on borrowed time as the selectors were sharpening the axe.“Actually, I wasn’t thinking of anything. All I wanted was to stay in the present and follow my routine and go back to the basics,” Jagadeesan says. “To be honest, expectations have always been there and I have always seen it as a good thing because it shows people see something special in me. I’ve been working on my game for years and I knew I would eventually turn around,” he said.While runs did dry up, there was also another reason why the Tamil Nadu selectors persisted with the opener. One of the fittest in the squad, according to the team management Jagadeesan’s work ethics have been second to none. There have been days where has featured in First Division cricket in the day and attended IPL training sessions in the evening.Top Sports News NowEngland vs Iran, FIFA World Cup 2022 Live ScoreSix reasons to watch Iran vs England world cup game today: Will Iran footballers and fans protest?Amidst turmoil back home, Iran open their campaign against group-favourites EnglandClick here for more And having seen the fitness parameters, during the middle of the recent IPL, Jagadeesan even converted into a non-vegetarian as he didn’t want to miss out on anything extra. It is something that came totally out of the blue for his parents, and while they agreed to it, it came with a condition. “We never stopped him. If it is going to improve his fitness, then why not. The only condition from his Amma was, he shouldn’t eat non-veg at home.”It isn’t an easy ask by any means to try meat, something Jagadeesan hasn’t been fond of since childhood. “I just depends on how you think about it. When I started, I felt it was going to make me better and obviously when I’m in that sort of mindset, it is going to be easy to adapt. You have to keep learning new things to make you better and food, diet is just another aspect,” Jagadeesan says.

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Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra is meant to divide India, says BJP chief Nadda
The Indian Express | 16 hours ago | 22-11-2022 | 05:40 pm
The Indian Express
16 hours ago | 22-11-2022 | 05:40 pm

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress’ cross-country march ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ led by Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J P Nadda Tuesday termed it a facade for its ‘Bharat Todo’ (translated as Dividing India) agenda as the party had sided with those who chanted slogans against the execution of Afzal Guru and India. Nadda also called the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) a party of “banners” that would “lose election deposits in all 67 seats of Himachal Pradesh and also in Gujarat” in the Assembly polls.BJP candidate Jetha Ahir, who is also the deputy Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly, said that the BJP would “send a naked Kejriwal back to Delhi”.Speaking at an election rally at Shehra in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district where Ahir is the candidate, Nadda took a dig at the Congress party for organising a ‘Bharat Jodo’ rally after being part of an alleged anti-India sloganeering on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus.Nadda alleged that when Congress did not respect former deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who united the nation, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who gave due respect to the leader by building his statue.“Now I am told Rahul Gandhi has finally arrived to campaign in Gujarat. Better late than never. But only the Congress knows if it is doing a ‘Bharat Jodo’ or ‘Bharat Todo,” he said.He reminded the gathering about the prolonged delay in hanging Afzal Guru, the mastermind in the 2001 Parliament attack, in February 2012 when the Congress was in power. Nadda said, “They (Congress) are people who say ‘Afzal hum sharminda hain tere kaatil zinda hain’, (translated as Afzal we are ashamed your killers are alive). They rue the hanging of Afzal, who was given capital punishment by the Supreme Court, and whose clemency petition was rejected by the then President Pranab Mukherjee.”The university had witnessed protests in the campus in protest against the death sentence awarded to Afzal Guru.“Rahul Gandhi stands with such people in JNU and in that same event there were also slogans that said ‘Bharat tere honge tukde tukde inshallah inshallah’ (translated as ‘India, you will be chopped into pieces’). He (Rahul) should first piece together his own party and then go out to unite the country.”Nadda came down heavily on Rahul Gandhi for walking along with Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan activist. “Who is he (Gandhi) roaming with? Medha Patkar? Do you know who she is? She is the one who stood against Gujarat and delayed the completion of the Sardar Sarovar project for 15 years by orchestrating mindless protests. Instead of protecting the rights of the poor, she created obstacles in the raising of the height of the dam,” the BJP president said.Nadda said that today the dam is complete and the water reaches Saurashtra and fills up 115 dams and provides water round the clock to the people there. “After Modi became the Prime Minister, in 17 days, he gave permission to raise the dam by 17 metres. Do you want to vote for people who suppress the voice of Gujarat and are opposed to development?” he asked.The Gujarat assembly elections are slated to be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The results of the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections held on November 12 would be announced on December 8.Nadda lashed out at the Congress for “shedding crocodile tears” for the issues related to tribals and the Other Backward Communities (OBC). “There are tribal people and OBCs in this audience today. Which other party has thought about tribals and OBC other than the BJP? Many will shed crocodile tears but the one who has tried to change your fate on the ground is the BJP under the leadership of Modiji. Why didn’t anyone from the tribal community ever sit in the seat of the President for so many years?”Nadda heaped praises on PM Modi, who first made a Dalit sit on the President’s chair, and then made a tribal woman – Draupadi Murmu – the President. He has given the tribal community respect in the world, he said while criticising the Congress for never holding an annual tribal day.He lauded the PM for taking measures to set up a tribal welfare institute, document the contribution of the tribals in the freedom struggle, and do research on the contribution of tribals to nation-building.Nadda said that the Congress “played” with the OBC community for years in the name of creating commissions. “It is Modiji who turned the Commission into a national body – the National OBC Commission and gave the respect that OBCs deserve.”Without naming Kejriwal, Nadda also attacked the Aam Aadmi Party, saying that in Uttar Pradesh, the AAP contested in 350 seats and lost their deposit in 349. “In Uttarakhand, they lost their deposit in 68 seats and their CM candidate switched over to the BJP. During the Goa elections, when I landed in Goa, I was stunned to see the number of banners they had put up there – the face of the same leader (Kejriwal) and the locals were so hopeful saying, ‘See the results when they come’. I said, let’s wait. And what happened? They lost their deposit in 35 of the 39 seats They are a banner-based party, we are a cadre-based party,” he criticised.Nadda also hailed various development schemes under the leadership of PM Modi such as Ayushman Bharat scheme, Indira Awas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana and the Covid-19 vaccines. Nadda said that during his tenure as MLA, many people approached seeking medical aid for expensive surgeries. “Poor people would come to ask for a grant of Rs 2 lakh and I would have to tell them that I can give you Rs 1 lakh but it was as good as giving nothing because how can you save someone’s life by giving only half the amount needed for the treatment? So when I became the union health minister, Modiji gave me a huge responsibility and told me to make healthcare free for all poor,” Nadda said, recalling the measures taken by the then government which paved way for Ayushman Bharat scheme under which poor persons can avail of medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per year.Regarding Covid-19 vaccines developed in India, Nadda said that while it took decades for India to get vaccinations for other illnesses in the past, India produced two Covid-19 vaccines within nine months due to “the leadership of Modiji”.The former minister said that it took 25 years for a TB dose to reach India, 28 years for Tetanus vaccine to be available in India and a century to have a vaccine against Japanese Flu. “The vaccine had been ready in 1906 in Japan but came to India in 2006. But look at when Covid-19 struck the world in 2020 Modiji had formed a task force immediately. And within nine months, we had not one but two vaccines,” he said.At a time when Europe has not been able to come out of Covid, Nadda said that India has been able to thwart Covid. “No one is wearing a mask and people are sitting so close. This is the protective shield of Modiji’s vaccine given to the 19 crore people. The United States has not been able to finish its vaccination programme. We have given vaccines to 100 countries, out of which 48 have received our vaccination for free. We are not a country who takes, but a country who gives,” the BJP president pointed out.Nadda asked the audience to “protect” Jetha Ahir until December 5, so that he could “protect you after December 8”. “It is your duty to make Jetha win. It is your contribution to nation building and development,” he said.Five-term MLA Ahir, who also addressed the crowd, said that the party workers in Shehra had set a “target of 1 lakh victory margin”. “Like Arjun only saw the fish eye in Mahabharata, you only have to see the button of the ‘Kamal’ (BJP symbol of lotus) in the voting booth. Our workers have fixed a target that we are going to win Shehra by 1 lakh votes. There is no doubt that the BJP is going to form the government in Gujarat,” Ahir said while adding that Kejriwal’s promise of freebies is not going to work as “Modiji has been giving us free benefits for a long time”. The people of Gujarat trust the BJP, Ahir said. 

Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra is meant to divide India, says BJP chief Nadda
Goa has good infrastructure, need to focus on coaching, says sports director Ajay Gaude
Times of India | 1 day ago | 22-11-2022 | 02:40 am
Times of India
1 day ago | 22-11-2022 | 02:40 am

Panaji: Ajay Gaude has been in sports administration for the last five months and has seen enough from close to know where the problem lies.After stints as an educationist, deputy collector, and someone with expertise in revenue, panchayats, law and order, Gaude’s first assignment after his promotion to a senior scale officer was sports.As director of the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA) and executive director of Sports Authority of Goa (SAG), Gaude had the best view of Goan sports. He is now no longer with SAG, but as sports director continues to push for reforms.“There is no system in place, and I am open about it,” Gaude told TOI. “There is no structure that is followed. There is no discipline, in terms of punctuality and conduct of officials. Public interface and efficiency was lacking when I stepped in. That was the big challenge.”Goa’s lack of progress in sports in the last two decades, Gaude said, can be judged from chess queen Bhakti Kulkarni winning the Arjuna Award, 21 years after Bruno Coutinho became the second Goan to win the prestigious sports award in 2001.“What SAG and DSYA has done over a period of time is create only infrastructure, no human resource. This has badly affected Goa. We kept creating infrastructure, focused on infra and that explains why, despite the best of facilities, our teams, including football, lose against states who we used to defeat easily in the past. We need to bring in good coaches, (introduce a) good coaching system and only then talent will grow.“Sports cannot progress with just basic training. We need to focus on coaching. We now have one of the best Khelo India training centre here with the brightest coaches. These coaches, who have produced Olympians, will help nurture talent. In coming years, if I continue here for more time, surely you will see the sports department making progress,” said the director, DSYA, who has built quite a reputation for himself during his brief association with sports.The director was all praise for chief minister Pramod Sawant and secretary (sports) Ajit Roy for their strong support.“There are lot of challenges. The department is now in a position where I can start implementing (ideas). I got very good support from the chief minister and administrative guidance from the secretary (sports), right from the beginning. He is a brilliant guide,” said Gaude.The sports director is also turning focus to youth affairs, by his admission, neglected for a long time.“The department has two wings – sports and youth affairs. Youth affairs is neglected. This year when I took charge, the budget was prepared, and I have planned for 100 percent utilisation (of the budget). We’ve made tribal plans, sub plans. We want to show that funds can be effectively used,” said Gaude.

Goa has good infrastructure, need to focus on coaching, says sports director Ajay Gaude
UPSC Essentials: Key terms of the past week with MCQs
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 21-11-2022 | 07:40 pm
The Indian Express
1 day ago | 21-11-2022 | 07:40 pm

Essential key terms from the last week’s news headlines or between the lines categorised as per the relevance to the UPSC-CSE syllabus along with the MCQs followed.Why in news?— Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday (November 13) addressed the East Asia Summit on the last day of his visit to Cambodia, as the three-day Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit concluded.KEY TAKEAWAYSWhat is the East Asia Summit?— Beginning in 2005, 16 participating countries comprised this grouping, with their first meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These members were the 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.— ASEAN’s 10 member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The United States and the Russian Federation joined at the 6th East Asia Summit in 2011.— Simply, the EAS is an ASEAN initiative and refers to the annual Meeting of Heads of States/Governments of these countries, where they are able to discuss common concerns and interests.— Its creation was based on the idea of enhancing cooperation among East Asian countries and those in the neighbouring regions. Six priority areas of cooperation were identified – environment and energy, education, finance, global health issues and pandemic diseases, natural disaster management, and ASEAN Connectivity.— In the past, the issues of claims over the South China Sea, the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea, terrorism, the actions of North Korea and the conflict situation in Myanmar have been discussed by the countries.What are the EAS’s links with India?— This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.— In a joint statement, ASEAN-India acknowledged the deep civilisational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges between Southeast Asia and India which have grown stronger over the last 30 years, providing a strong foundation for ASEAN-India relations.— VP Dhankhar on Saturday announced an additional contribution of USD 5 million to the ASEAN-India science and technology fund to enhance cooperation in sectors of public health, renewable energy and smart agriculture.— According to a 2021 statement by the Prime Minister’s website, “ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership stands on a strong foundation of shared geographical, historical and civilizational ties. ASEAN is central to our Act East Policy and our wider vision of the Indo-Pacific.”WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW- ASEAN— The annual summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) under the chairmanship of Cambodia was held from November 10 to November 13. Amid the war in Ukraine and contestation between US and China, the 10-member regional grouping stressed its common interest and concern, such as strengthening energy cooperation and people-to-people connectivity.— Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo mentioned the idea of a new Cold War amid increasing tensions between the United States and China, saying ASEAN would not become “a proxy to any powers”.— With a combined population of 700 million people that has long been seen as a relatively stable and unified grouping, especially when compared to other regions of the world like Europe or South Asia, ASEAN has also remained important for India. We explain its history and development.What is India’s link with ASEAN?— Apart from the individual ties that India has had with these countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said ASEAN is central to India’s Act East policy, which focuses on the extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region. The policy was originally conceived as an economic initiative but has gained political, strategic and cultural dimensions including the establishment of institutional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation. In 2018, ASEAN leaders were the chief guests at India’s republic day parade.— India is part of the ASEAN Plus Six grouping, which includes China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia as well.— In 2010 a Free Trade Agreement was also signed and entered into force between India and ASEAN. While India was part of negotiations to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2020, it ultimately decided not to do so. However, in the largest seven years trade has grown in terms of value, barring the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.— ASEAN itself has recently faced issues that complicate coordination, such as the rise of China and its claims over the South China Sea (many of which compete with claims of ASEAN members like the Philippines) and the issue of military conflict in Myanmar.Point to ponder: In the wake of China-US rivalry, India needs to reboot its ASEAN strategy. Comment.1. MCQ:The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as (2016)(a) G20(b) ASEAN(c) SCO(d) SAARCWhy in news?— Ten years after the enactment of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which deals specifically with child sexual abuse, an analysis of POCSO cases across India has found gaps in its implementation – including increasing pendency of cases and a high rate of acquittals.— The analysis, titled ‘A Decade of POCSO’, was carried out by the Justice, Access and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI) Initiative at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, in collaboration with the Data Evidence for Justice Reform (DE JURE) program at the World Bank. It analysed a total of 230,730 cases from 486 districts spanning 28 states and Union Territories, from 2012 to February 2021. Case laws, policy interventions and case metadata was collected from the eCourts, the digital platform which gives information on pending cases, court orders, etc.KEY TAKEAWAYSWhat is POCSO, and why was it enacted in 2012?— The Constitution of India has incorporated several provisions to protect the rights of children and India has also been a signatory to landmark international instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, etc., However, India lacked any dedicated provision against child sexual abuse. Cases would be tried under different provisions of the Indian Penal Code, which was found to be ill-equipped.— In the 1990s, a child sexual abuse racket was busted in Goa, following which the state government enacted a law to promote child rights in 2003. Also, the Special Expert Committee under Justice VR Krishna Iyer presented a draft code for child rights in India – the Children’s Code Bill, 2000.— These two initiatives established the basis for dedicated legislation against child sexual abuse. In 2005, the Department of Women and Child Development prepared a draft bill to address different offences targeted against children.— The Study of Child Abuse, a 2007 report published by the Ministry of Women and Child Development covering 13 states with a sample size of 12,447 children, 2,324 young adults and 2,449 stakeholders, looked at different forms of child abuse and found that 50.76% of children surveyed reported having faced one or more form of sexual abuse. Contrary to the general perception then, the overall percentage of boys reporting experiencing sexual abuse was much higher than that of girls.— In September 2010, the Ministry of Women and Child Development prepared a draft Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2010 which after several rounds of revisions came into force as the POCSO Act on Children’s Day – 14 November, 2012.What are the key findings on crimes against children?— The analysis has found that 43.44% of trials under POCSO end in acquittals while only 14.03% end in convictions. For every one conviction in a POCSO case, there are three acquittals.— Acquittals are significantly higher than convictions for all the states studied. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, acquittals are seven times more than convictions; and in West Bengal, acquittals are five times more than convictions. In Kerala, the gap between acquittal and conviction is not very high with acquittals constituting 20.5% of the total disposals and convictions constituting 16.49%.— Out of 138 judgements looked at in detail by the study, only in 6% of the cases were the accused people strangers to the victim. While in 44% of the cases, the relationship between the victim and accused had not been identified, 22.9% accused were known to the victims, 3.7% were family members and 18% of cases had a prior romantic relationship.— As per data published by the National Crime Record Bureau in 2021, in 96% of the cases filed under the POCSO Act, 2012, the accused was a person known to the child victim – in 48.66% of cases, the accused is either a friend or a romantic partner of the victim.— In these 138 cases, the study has found that 5.47% of victims were under 10 years of age, 17.8% between 10-15 years and 28% between 15-18 years. The age of the victim in 48% of cases was not identified.— While the age of the accused was not identified in 63.6% of cases, in the rest around 11.6% of accused were between 19-25 years of age and 10.9% were between 25-35 years; 6.1% of accused were between 35-45 years and 6.8% were more than 45 years old.— Offences of penetrative sexual assault (31.18%) and aggravated penetrative sexual assault (25.59%), which prescribe the most stringent punishments under the POCSO Act, together comprise over half of all POCSO cases.What is the quality of justice under POCSO?— The study has found on average, it takes 509.78 days for a POCSO case to be disposed of – whereas it has been stipulated under the Act that such cases need to be disposed of within a year.— Though the pendency of POCSO cases was increasing gradually over the years, there was a sharp increase in the number of pending cases between 2019 and 2020, which could be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report has observed that one of the primary reasons for this is the slow pace of investigation by the police and the delay in depositing samples with the Forensic Science Laboratories.— A total of 22.76% of cases were disposed of by virtue of transfers from one court to another, and “one-fifth of the cases in this dataset ended in transfers’’, said the study. Since POCSO cases are supposed to be tried by the Special Court, the transfers indicate “either administrative mismanagement or wrongful appreciation of facts by the police”.— While the percentage of transfers out of total disposals was only around 8% in 2013, it rose to a little over 19% in 2019 and a startling 42% in 2020. The report has found this trend “concerning’’ for the time wasted as cases are transferred from one court to another.How do different Indian states fare?— Delhi has the highest number of POCSO trials in the country with 13.54 cases per 100,000 population in 2018 – which does not necessarily mean the number of incidents of sexual offences is higher, but that there is increasing awareness and reporting of cases. But Delhi also had the highest average case length in the country in 2020, at 1,284.33 days.— Chandigarh and West Bengal are the only states where the average time taken for convictions is within one year. States like Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Sikkim, Chandigarh and the NCT of Delhi seem to have a much higher reporting of POCSO cases.ALSO READ |UPSC Essentials: Weekly news express with MCQs — World population, pension scheme and more— The five districts with the highest number of POCSO trials (pending and disposed) are: Namchi (Sikkim), New Delhi, Central Delhi, Medak (Telangana) and West Garo Hills (Meghalaya).— Uttar Pradesh has the highest pendency with more than three-fourths (77.77%) of the total POCSO cases filed between November 2012 and February 2021 pending. On the other hand, at 80.2%, Tamil Nadu has the highest disposal percentage. — Five districts with the highest pendency percentages include Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Hardoi (Uttar Pradesh), Budaun (Uttar Pradesh), Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) and Howrah (West Bengal).What are the gaps in implementation?— According to the study, “support persons” are not being appointed in most POCSO cases. The Supreme Court had also noted that in 96% of cases, a support person was not provided to the victim.— A support person may be a person or organisation working in the field of child rights or child protection, an official of a children’s home or a shelter home having custody of the child, or a person employed by the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), who hand holds the victim through the entire legal process.— The analysis further notes POCSO courts have not been designated in all districts. As of 2022, 408 POCSO courts have been set up in 28 States as part of the Government’s Fast Track Special Court’s Scheme. There is a lack of Special Public Prosecutors appointed specifically to handle POCSO cases, and even when they are appointed they are often employed for non-POCSO cases.(Source: 10 years of POCSO: An analysis of India’s landmark child abuse law by  Esha Roy )Point to ponder: Where does POCSO lacks ?2. MCQ: With respect to POCSO, consider the following statements1. “Children” according to the Act are individuals aged below 16 years. 2. POCSO was first enacted in 2012.Which statements is/are correct?a) Only 1b) Only 2c) Both 1 and 2d) Neither 1 nor 2Why in news?— Kashi Tamil Sangamam began on Thursday.KEY TAKEAWAYS— Legend has it that King Parakrama Pandya, who ruled over the region around Madurai in the 15th century, wanted to build a temple to Lord Shiva, and he travelled to Kashi to bring back a lingam. While returning, he stopped to rest under a tree — but when he tried to continue his journey, the cow carrying the lingam refused to move.—Parakrama Pandya understood this to be the Lord’s wish, and installed the lingam there, a place that came to be known as Sivakasi. For devotees who could not visit Kashi, the Pandyas had built the Kasi Viswanathar Temple in what is today Tenkasi in southwestern Tamil Nadu, close to the state’s border with Kerala.What is the history of ties between Kashi and Tamil Nadu?— The connection between Kashi and the Tamil region is deep and old, said Dr Vinay Kumar of the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). “Much later, another king, Adhivir Ram Pandyan, after returning from a pilgrimage to Kashi, constructed another Shiva temple in Tenkasi in the 19th century,” Dr Kumar said.— There’s more: “Sant Kumara Gurupara from Thoothukudi district had negotiated with the princely state of Kashi to get a place for the consecration of Kedarghat and Vishvesvaralingam in Varanasi. He also composed Kashi Kalambagam, a collection of grammar poems on Kashi,” Dr Kumar said.What is the Kashi Tamil Sangamam?— The month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam, which begins in Varanasi on Thursday, will celebrate the many aspects of the historical and civilisational connection between India’s North and South. Some 2,400 people from Tamil Nadu will be taken to Varanasi in groups for visits that will last eight days and will include, besides an immersive local experience, trips to Ayodhya and Prayagraj. “The broader objective is to bring the two knowledge and cultural traditions (of the North and South) closer, create an understanding of our shared heritage and deepen the people-to-people bond between the regions,” the official note for the event, organised by the Ministry of Education, says.— This is in sync with the National Education Policy, 2020 which emphasises “on nurturing a generation that is modern and in sync with the 21st-century mindset, while being rooted in the Indian culture and ethos”, officials said.— BHU and IIT-Madras are knowledge partners for the event, and the Ministries of Culture, Tourism, Railways, Textiles and Food Processing have been roped in as stakeholders, besides the government of Uttar Pradesh and the Varanasi administration.— Educationist Chamu Krishna Shastry, chairman of the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti under the Ministry of Education that proposed the Sangamam, said that since ancient times, higher education in Southern India was not considered complete without a visit by the scholar to Kashi. “The connection between the two centres of knowledge (Kashi and Kanchi) is evident in the similar themes in literature, and the presence of the name Kashi in every village in Tamil Nadu,” Shastry said. “Kashinath is a popular name in Tamil Nadu.”— Besides the Kasi Viswanathar temple in Tenkasi, there are hundreds of Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu that bear the name of Kashi — there are some 18 of them in the area around Chennai alone, Shastry said. “People from Rameswaram would take a dip in the Koti teertha (in the temple) before visiting Kashi for darshan; and they would bring back (Ganga) water from Kashi for abhiseka at the temple in Rameswaram. Only this would complete their pilgrimage at a time when it took six months to travel between Kashi and Rameswaram,” he said.— Shastry also mentioned the connection between the traders dealing in silk saris and textiles from Bananas and Kanchipuram, and architectural, culinary, and other kinds of connections. “We have just started the process of discovery and reconnection,” he said.(Source: Kashi Tamil Sangamam begins Thursday: What is the ancient connect between Kashi and the Tamil land? by Divya A )3. MCQThe first freight village of India is being developed ata) Haldiab) Srinagarc) Varanasid) AhemdabadWhy in news?— The 14th Dalai Lama was Saturday conferred the Gandhi Mandela Award 2022 at Thekchen Choeling in Dharamshala’s McleodGanj by Himachal Pradesh governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.KEY TAKEAWAYSWhat is the Gandhi Mandela Award?— A government of India registered Trust, the Gandhi Mandela Foundation is a non-profit organisation, formed with the motive to promote Mahatma Gandhi’s and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela’s values of non-violence. It has constituted an international prize, the Gandhi Mandela Award.— The foundation instituted the award on the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, MK Gandhi.Who gets the award and how are they selected?— The award is given to personalities who have carried forward the legacies of Gandhi and Mandela by making significant contributions in the fields of Peace, Social Welfare, Culture, Environment, Education, Healthcare, Sports and Innovation.ALSO READ |UPSC Essentials: Case Study — IAS officer bridging gap in learning outcomes— This time, the awardee, Dalai Lama, was selected by a jury including former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan and Justice Dipak Misra, former Supreme Court Judge Gyan Sudha Misra, former Chief Justice of Nepal Justice Kedarnath Upadhyay and former Chief Justice of Bangladesh Justice MD Tafazzul Islam.Eminent nominees of the Gandhi Mandela award— Eminent nominations in the 1st Edition of the Gandhi Mandela Award in 2019 included Prime Minister of Nepal Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, first president of Bangladesh Late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, first president of Sri Lanka late Don Stephen Senanayake, former deputy Prime Minister of India Lal Krishna Advani and other head of states and governments.Which other peace prize the Dalai Lama received?— The Tibetan spiritual leader is the recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. “The Dalai Lama has developed his philosophy of peace from a great reverence for all things living and upon the concept of universal responsibility embracing all mankind as well as nature,” the Nobel website says. He has also received several other awards.(Source: Dalai Lama receives Gandhi Mandela Award: What is this honour by Dorjee Wangmo)Point to ponder: As mature states and a regional powers, it is time that India and China should stop viewing the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community as a “political card”. Comment.4. MCQ:Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiography credited toa) Mahatma Gandhib) Mao Zedongc) Nelson Mandelad) Dalai Lama

UPSC Essentials: Key terms of the past week with MCQs
Margao football enthusiast recalls his trip to Spain 40 yrs ago to watch WC matches
Times of India | 2 days ago | 21-11-2022 | 07:25 am
Times of India
2 days ago | 21-11-2022 | 07:25 am

PANAJI: On Sunday, as the Fifa World Cup kicked off in Qatar, Jacinto Barreto Miranda remembered the day 40 years ago when he boarded the flight to Spain to watch football matches. He didn’t know what to expect as he headed towards Barcelona to watch the World Cup matches live. All that he carried with him was the enthusiasm and the passion for the beautiful game. Even 40 years ago, the World Cup was a big attraction, though not the world’s biggest sporting spectacle that it is now and Jacinto, a former teacher and referee from Margao, was one of the first Goans to watch World Cup matches live. “I managed to see all the World Cup games played in Barcelona in 1982,” Jacinto told TOI with a twinkle in his eye. It helped that his brother lived in Germany, and sister-in-law worked as a teacher in Spain. He was told to come to Barcelona where accommodation could be arranged. The 1982 World Cup was the first to have 24 teams, expanded from 16 nations in previous editions. It was the first to be played at 17 different stadiums in 14 cities and Jacinto was in the right place at the right time as Barcelona hosted eight games at two different venues. “FC Barcelona's home stadium (Camp Nou) hosted five games and since this stadium has such a massive capacity (of above 1 lakh), tickets were available at a discount. You could just go to the stadium and there would be tickets available outside for a discount,” said Jacinto. The other venue was Sarria Stadium, home of RCD Espanyol from 1923 to 1997, and this one was much smaller where “tickets were still available, but at a premium”. Sarria Stadium had a capacity of approximately 40,000. When Jacinto reached Barcelona and was attending the first game, he realised he was not the only Goan in the world’s more famous city. There was Gines Viegas, owner of ‘O Coqueiro’, the popular restaurant in Porvorim where serial killer Charles Sobhraj was arrested, and Vilas Sardesai, former president of the Goa Football Association and vice-president of the All India Football Federation. Both Gines and Vilas have passed away. “It was a coincidence that I met the two of them in Barcelona,” said Jacinto. “Those days there were no cellphones to communicate, so we would assemble at one point and then move inside. We were really lucky to see the games in Barcelona. I have always been a football enthusiast, so to see some of the world’s best players in action was a dream come true.” Jacinto, now 83, counts himself among the fortunate football fans to have witnessed two of the most remembered matches. The first is a fiery clash between South American rivals, Argentina and Brazil, where Diego Maradona—not yet a superstar—was red-carded for kicking midfielder Joao Batista in the groin. Brazil won 3-1. “A lot of people hesitated to come to Barcelona but not the Brazilians. We were told that there were about 16,000 Brazilian fans there for the World Cup. For the Brazil versus Argentina game, the smaller stadium was full of Brazilians, who hurled the choicest of abuses (at their archrivals) all through the game,” recounts Jacinto. The second is a World Cup classic as Brazil, with one of the all-time great squads, saw their dreams shattered by Italy 3-2. While the Brazilians believed in the fluid attacking style that had won them three World Cups between 1958 and 1970, Italy ensured it was the system, and defensive discipline, that triumphed. “1982 is the only World Cup that I watched but the experience has stayed with me, even 40 years later. The football was great, the atmosphere even better, but what made it special was the attitude of the Spanish people. They were warm, friendly and welcoming,” says Jacinto.

Margao football enthusiast recalls his trip to Spain 40 yrs ago to watch WC matches
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