Home Blog Page 386

Can SEBI be bold, turn markets organic?

Shantanu Guha Ray
-
1
Can SEBI be bold, turn markets organic?

In the corridors of markets in Mumbai, three names are in high circulation. SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) chairman Ajay Tyagi, whole time member SK Mohanty and Executive Director Nagendraa Parakh.

The buzz is simple but strong. That this troika could have done a lot to stem the rot in the NSE (National Stock Exchange of India) co-location scam but did nothing and squared up the tables, reminding many of the Cotton-eyed Joe song of the American Civil War that stretched between 1861-65. In short, you see many things, know everything but still do not react.

And now, the very probe — ridiculed by many as a desktop investigation — and the clean chit to top officials of NSE who were allegedly involved in the co-location scandal and even indicted by SEBI and fined Rs 1,000 crore, is making many sit up and take notice.

Everyone is asking: Why, why, why did the SEBI remain silent?

Among the voices, the one that was most powerful was that of Ashok Jhunjhunwala, chairman of SEBI’s technical advisory committee who raised the issue of preferential access to select clients for executing market orders and its dangerous impact on the market. Speaking at an event organised by SEBI and National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), Jhunjhunwala made it clear that both co-location and high-speed trading were prone to manipulation and fraud, and that traders could game the system in connivance with market players to get faster access to price-sensitive information. He said this was a serious issue which the capital market regulator had grappled with time and again.

“Price-time priority is the mantra of any exchange, which basically says that orders will be executed strictly on ‘first come first served’ basis. But is there fairness in processing? Does every customer get a fair chance to execute the order based on price-time priority?” asked Jhunjhunwala, also a professor at IIT Madras. He said the principle of price/time priority refers to how orders are prioritised for execution. First, orders are ranked according to their price and orders of the same price are then ranked depending on when they were entered. “Today all technology systems have multiple gates and each of them have separate queues. It’s very difficult to say that price-time priority is being strictly followed,” Jhunjhunwala said.

Jhunjhunwala said the process was prone to cause gaps, not healthy for the markets. Consider the case of a person from a state in the North East who may take longer in reaching the exchange gate than someone in Mumbai. Now traders close to the Exchange building will reach the entry gate faster and it is needless to mention that co-location computers within the Exchange will be the fastest. So there is a clear cut anomaly. “Co-location and high speed computers can place thousands of orders in 10 milliseconds. So if I am in Chennai and place an order in say 5-8 milliseconds, someone with a co-location facility can place thousands or orders in that time,” said Jhunjhunwala, adding: “So, traders are spending huge amount of money to stay micro or nano seconds away from the exchange leaving those who trade in milli-seconds, or in seconds far behind. This is basically unfair.” For the record, one second is equal to 1,000 milli seconds and 1 milli second is equal to 1,000 micro seconds. 1 micro second is equal to 1,000 nano seconds. “There is a tendency to cheat and manipulate if I can get ahead of others and make more money,” said Jhunjhunwala, adding that the challenge was to increase liquidity without compromising on fairness.

Let’s not forget algo and high-frequency trading contribute about a third of market volumes in India.

Those who pushed colo or high-speed trading argued that it boosted liquidity and encouraged investor participation, especially from institutional investors. Be that as it may, the exchange has a bias in promoting such trades considering that such activity is monetarily rewarding for the exchange, observed Jhunjhunwala.

His comments came at a time when SEBI said NSE officials did no wrong and absolved them of all charges. Denial of service by intermediaries such as brokers, particularly if done deliberately, was another serious issue that the regulator needed to look into, warned Jhunjhunwala.

But still, SEBI gave all a clean chit. The list of those exonerated include Ravi Narain (former MD & CEO), R. Nandakumar (former senior vice president, VP for operations), Mayur Sindhwad (chief operating officer, COO for trading), Sankarson Banerjee (chief technology officer, CTO for projects), G. Shenoy (CTO for operations), Suprabhat Lala (vice president, regulations), Ravindra Apte (former CTO), N. Muralidharan (former CTO) and Jagdish Joshi (former head for Colo). And this happened after five years after a whistleblower’s letter was published in Moneylife newsmagazine about the alleged scandal, the issue is back to square one. And now, the SEBI order says nothing was done to cause unfair advantage and there was nothing in the system through which brokers could make crores of rupees of illegal profit.

So how does one handle the issue. For example, if the market goes up and investors cannot sell, it’s a lost opportunity. It is known to many that the Technical Advisory Committee of SEBI had, in its 2016 report, concluded that there were systemic lapses at the NSE, and had asked the market regulator to probe ‘collusion’ at different levels in the exchange. This is on the record and very, very fundamental to market. Said a top hand of an exchange: “We don’t want only organic food and medicine but also organic markets. If price and time is sacrosanct the access and nature of access should ensure that all have similar time and price. By letting some at high speed, high frequency and colo, we are making markets inorganic to its basic assumption. The issue of organic nature of price and time is not relevant only at the time of matching trade but also at the time of inputs and outputs into the system as these price streams decide the priority and ranking of where a price will be ranked and with what time stamp it will be ranked.”

Jhunjhunwala raised the same issue, saying algo and colo create price and time disadvantage to many at the cost of few in creating a queue which is always advantageous for those who can change prices more rapidly using Algo and then communicate it more quickly to the queue versus the rest of the market due to time and speed advantage. Now, the matching trade prices and time would have been different if all had the same speed and time. 

So what happened. First, manipulation took place in creating the price and time queue by those in algo and colo versus the rest of the market. Secondly, manipulation took place in reacting to a market price and at a time as the broker in algo plus colo could react faster then what the rest of the market could see based on naked eye versus the system reading algo. It was clear that the queue was dominated in price and time by algo and colo users and the rest of the market was crowded out in the queue time and price.

“If we can generate a simulated queue devoid of colo and algo orders then we will see that the price discovery which would be based on equivalence and it will be at a very different price and time and also between different set of counter party then what was achieved during colo and algo queues vowing out the organic market users,” said the official, speaking on conditions of anonymity.

And this is not an Indian syndrome. A new study, first printed by the globally acclaimed Wall Street Journal said high-frequency traders earn nearly $5 billion on global stock markets a year by taking advantage of slightly out-of-date prices, imposing a small but significant tax on investors. The study by Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s financial regulator, shed ample light on a controversial practice called “latency arbitrage,” in which ultrafast traders seek to react to fresh, market-moving information more quickly than others can. 

“Such information could range from corporate news to economic data to price fluctuations in other stocks or markets. Electronic trading firms invest in sophisticated technology, such as networks of microwave antennas linking exchanges thousands of miles apart, to process such information and execute trades in millionths of a second,” said the study.

Interestingly, the FCA’s study came around the time politicians in both Europe and the US, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren pushed for a financial-transaction tax, a policy aimed in part at curbing high-speed trading. The study could also fuel efforts by exchanges to restructure their markets to limit latency arbitrage—for instance, by introducing split-second delays before trades, popular as speed bumps.

Experts claim latency arbitrage raises costs for investors by making everyone in the markets less likely to post competitive price quotes for stocks, knowing such quotes could get picked off by speedy traders. It means investors get slightly worse prices whenever they buy or sell shares. 

Although that is a tiny number—less than one-half of one-hundredth of 1%—the study’s authors say it adds up. If latency arbitragers made a similar rate of profits elsewhere, they would have earned $4.8 billion on stock exchanges around the world in 2018, including $2.8 billion at U.S. exchanges, said the FCA study.

The study, said Wall Street Journal, found that about one-fifth of trading activity at the London Stock Exchange was concentrated in brief “races” between firms seeking to engage in latency arbitrage. In such races, two or more firms attempt to trade the same stock at the same time, but only the first can profit by being the quickest to execute its trade.

During the period examined in the study—43 trading days from August to October 2015—about 22% of trading volume in FTSE 100 stocks took place in such races, which on average lasted 81 millionths of a second, the study found. The FTSE 100 is the UK’s large-cap index, with companies as BP PLC and Vodafone Group PLC.

The FCA’s study relied on more than 2 billion electronic messages that trading firms sent to the LSE, or that the exchange sent to traders, during that period. 

Such data—which hasn’t been used in past studies of latency arbitrage—showed failed attempts to trade as well as actual trades. That allowed the authors to reconstruct the tiny bursts of activity in which multiple firms raced to seize the same brief profit opportunity.

The data also showed only a few firms can profit from latency arbitrage, a finding that likely reflects the cost of building and maintaining the technology needed for ultrafast trading. More than 80% of races in FTSE 100 stocks were won by the same half-dozen firms, the study found.

Is SEBI listening?

Khan of Kalat is the last symbol of a dead system: Dr Allah Nazar Baloch

News Intervention Bureau
-
1
Khan of Kalat is the last symbol of a dead system: Dr Allah Nazar Baloch

Suleman Dawood –the so-called “Khan-e-Kalat” is politically dead and is merely the last symbol of a stereotypical tribalism in Balochistan. 

Pro-independence and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) leader Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch said that the Baloch national movement has undergone a systematic evolutionary process where it cannot rely on any person or personality, and it is the collective heritage of the Baloch nation. Entire Balochistan is the backbone of this movement and the Baloch nation has delegated the responsibility of representing the freedom movement to political parties and to the armed organizations and not to any individual.

Dr Allah Nazar added that for the last few days, an American journalist, Armstrong Williams, has been showcasing the so-called Khan-e-Kalat on his TV show and has begun to confer Suleman Dawood with such titles as “King of Baloch”. This only shows that the system from which the West has liberated itself and succeeded in forming welfare states and modern societies, but for the “Enslaved Third World”, they still yearn for the same system.This contradictory approach is against the spirit of Balochistan liberation movement and is a futile attempt towards the preservation of the system already rejected by the Baloch nation. “Balochistan has made it clear that the decision of their national destiny and national representation is the collective authority of the Baloch nation and no external force or group can be allowed to assign anyone on their whims.”

Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, leader of the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). Dr Allah Nazar is fighting for Balochistan's independence from the illegal occupation of Pakistan.
Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, leader of the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). Dr Allah Nazar is fighting for Balochistan’s independence from the illegal occupation of Pakistan.

Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch reiterated that the main reason for the cause of slavery in Balochistan was the negative, reactionary and compromising thinking amongst tribals. Because of this a great country and civilization is under the occupation of a force that neither has history nor a civilization. He further explained that Khan-e-Kalat is the last symbol of a rotten system. “They will certainly be interested to invigorate those who want to negotiate the future issues with a few individuals rather than the Baloch nation or its collective leadership. They know that nationalist parties and organizations uphold national interest, while a few individuals prefer perks and privileges for themselves.”

“We want to make it clear that the stereotypical tribalism and tribal system in Balochistan have died their natural death. Therefore, placing a royal crown on the head of a so-called Khan-e-Kalat cannot alter ground realities, nor can a politically dead person be imposed on Baloch nation,” he said. 

Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch said that the Baloch people have made immense sacrifices for their freedom and this journey of great sacrifices continues. But we make it clear that the Baloch people have not made these sacrifices to appease an individual or to celebrate a king, but for their collective national survival. The projection of a rejected person in such a manner is an insult to the entire nation. Because Suleman Dawood has no political affiliation in Balochistan and he is not an active part of the struggle for independence. By using him as a pawn, in the present scenario, will only harm the Baloch freedom movement on the global stage. “Such deals may possibly benefit an individual which we completely reject.”

China’s anti-India diplomacy at Pakistan’s behest will boomerang upon it

Onkareshwar Pandey
-
2
China’s anti-India diplomacy at Pakistan’s behest will boomerang upon it

China, for long, has remained an enigma to the world, a closed country that is difficult to understand and deal with. With India, this limitation in understanding Chinese intentions increases manifold due to the inherent trust deficit that exists between the two nations. In the present scenario, Pakistan, undoubtedly, is the biggest reason behind the stress in relations between the two countries. China is unable to say no to Pakistani demands to intervene internationally in the Kashmir issue and for India this becomes a very big setback in taking relations forward.

There was so much positivity post the Wuhan Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in April, 2018. Despite a very successful dialogue the Chinese chose to call for a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, under the any other business format. UNSC held closed-door consultations on the Kashmir issue without granting an open meeting that China pushed for at the behest of a desperate Pakistan. Further, the member countries reiterated their position that India and Pakistan address their issues bilaterally.  The outcome of the meeting was a considerable embarrassment for China.

India, once again, chose to ignore the Chinese move at the UNSC and went ahead with the scheduled summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping in October 2019 at Mamallapuram in Chennai. The Chinese were specific in their assertion that Kashmir would remain a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and that the country has no issue with Ladakh having been converted into a Union Territory (UT).

Now, within months of this pact, China was back to old tricks. Another UNSC meeting to discuss J&K was convened at the behest of China on 15th December 2019. “In view of the seriousness of the situation and the risk of further escalation, China would like to echo the request of Pakistan, and request a briefing of the Council … on the situation of Jammu and Kashmir,” China is reported to have written to the Council members.

In less than a month, on 15th January 2020, China called for a third meeting on J&K. “Because we want to work for de-escalation and work for regional peace and stability, this is out of goodwill. However, if the Indian side interprets it in other way, that will be a wrong interpretation,” said Chinese spokesperson Geng Shuang in defence of this move. The meeting was closed door, but, a statement by a French diplomatic source clearly elucidates the mood of the UNSC. “France has noted the request of a UNSC member (namely China) to raise the issue of Kashmir once again in this body. France’s position has not changed and is very clear: Kashmir issue must be settled bilaterally, as we have stated on several occasions,” said the French diplomatic source. Once again the member countries of the UNSC have refused to be drawn in the matter that they wished to remain bilateral between India and Pakistan. There was no detailed discussion on the subject.

Experts are of the opinion that China is seriously denting its international prestige by succumbing time and again to the Pakistani pressure with regards to Kashmir. The world understands that the Chinese support is an outcome of its investments in Pakistan and, as such, they are not ready to give serious cognisance to the same. 

While not achieving anything for Pakistan, China is losing out its diplomatic goodwill with India and the world at large. It is for this reason that despite the many summits and a good equation between the highest leaders of the two countries, relations are not progressing between Indian and China. India is unwilling to cease cooperation the United States, Japan and Australia to jointly strengthen the Indo-Pacific region. India is also looking very closely at Chinese efforts in neighbouring countries to further its Belt Road Initiative. Collaborative efforts in countries like Afghanistan are also being adversely affected by the cold war like situation that is presently prevalent.

China needs to realise that it has more to contend with than just Pakistan. The sensitive situation at Hong Kong is not easing despite many efforts and now Taiwan has also witnessed a resounding re-election of the nationalist Tsai Ing-wen as President. Her defeat due to some harsh economic policies was a foregone conclusion till China emerged as the central issue in the election campaign, then, she became unbeatable in what can be deemed to be a Taiwanese assertion of their national identity. It is notable that India did not invite a Taiwanese representative for the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in view of Chinese sensitivities.

New Delhi may well be pushed into a change of its diplomatic posture with regard to Taiwan if China continues to blindly support Pakistan. The US has welcomed Tsai’s victory as a demonstration of Taiwan’s “robust democratic system.” It has further described Taiwan as a, “shining example for countries that strive for democracy, prosperity and a better path for their people.”

Notably, Chinese investments in Pakistan are coming under deep scrutiny for their lack of transparency and the attendant possibility of fostering corruption. Such a hint has been given to Pakistan by high functionaries of the White House who feel that the unjustified cost escalations in the work done on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would lead Pakistan into a debt trap.

Self interest in economic terms is the only certainty in the dealings of China, and this is the predominant reason for it toeing the Pakistani line. However, Chinese interests may be better served by a change in policy towards Pakistan to one that is more acceptable in the global comity of nations. It should give leverage to India to step out and build a stronger relationship. It is time to put some weight behind the summit meetings that seem to go so well and then end up with a whimper.

Govt unlikely to cut income tax rates in the General Budget 2020

Mahua Venkatesh
-
0
Govt unlikely to cut income tax rates in the General Budget 2020

The salaried class have little reasons to cheer. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is unlikely to announce any big tax breaks for the 5.5 crore people who pay income tax. Instead, in the upcoming Union Budget on 1st February the government is expected to bring in a big booster dose for the rural sector, including the farmers. “The focus will be on the rural sector….we have to see how we can increase rural consumer demand and ways by which people in the rural areas can increase their spending,” a person with knowledge on the upcoming General Budget said.

The Narendra Modi-led government is currently staring at an approximate Rs 2 lakh crore shortfall in direct and indirect taxes. In the last two decades, this will be the first time when the government will miss its direct tax collection target.

Besides, the over ambitious disinvestment exercise for the current fiscal year too has failed to take off.

In September, last year, the government slashed corporate tax rates from 30% to about 25% to boost the economy. However, despite this, consumer demand has remained weak. Economists and think tanks have been prescribing a cut in personal income tax rate to leave more money in the hands of people. “Slashing corporate tax rate has added to the woes..direct tax collection is set to fall short of target and the move did not even spur consumer demand..instead of reducing corporate tax the government should have cut personal income tax..however, now with such huge shortfall in tax collection, there is almost no room for further reduction in personal income tax,” the official said. 

The government had set the disinvestment target at Rs 1.05 lakh crore for the current financial year. However, the government is set to miss the target by about Rs 50,000 crore with failure to find takers for national carrier Air India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) by March end.

While growth rate for the second quarter of the current financial year slowed to 4.5%, the pace of job generation clocked a dismal 2.8% in 2018-19, according to Care Ratings. The International Monetary Fund has predicted a 4.8% growth rate for the full financial year.

Policy uncertainty has risen significantly with the recent unrest and protests against the government over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the status in Jammu and Kashmir. The Narendra Modi government has to realise that it needs to offer political and social stability in order to boost investments.

The immediate focus of the government should be to boost economic growth of the country and revive Brand India for investors.

Protest at Karachi Press Club for release of Balochistan’s ‘Missing Persons’

News Intervention Bureau
-
0
Protest at Karachi Press Club for release of Balochistan’s ‘Missing Persons’

Several family members of “missing persons” of Balochistan staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club along with civil society members on Sunday, demanding the safe release of their loved ones.

The protesters said that their near and dear ones had been picked up by Pakistani security agencies but their whereabouts had not being declared.

This protest was organized by the relatives, civil society members and the colleagues of “missing persons” of Balochistan. They demanded that their loved ones be released and their whereabouts be made known to all.

Among the protesters was Rashid Hussain Baloch’s mother, Mahzaib Baloch and several other relatives of the Sindhi Activists.

Mother of Rashid Hussain Baloch at the Karachi Press Club. She demanded that Pakistani security agencies release her son.

Speaking to reporters, Mahzaib Baloch said, “My uncle Rashid Hussain Baloch had been abducted on false charges from UAE on 26th December 2018.” She said that the officials of UAE detained her uncle without an arrest warrant and they deported him to Pakistan. Mahzaib further demanded that her uncle Rashid Hussain Baloch be produced before court if he was involved in any offence at all.

Interview Part-2: Gopal Krishna Agarwal, National Spokesperson BJP (Economic Affairs)

Mahua Venkatesh
-
0
Interview Part-2: Gopal Krishna Agarwal, National Spokesperson BJP (Economic Affairs)

Part-2 of the Interview with Gopal Krishna Agarwal, National Spokesperson BJP (Economic Affairs). Gopal Krishna Agarwal explains When & How will the Indian Economy respond to steps taken by the Narendra Modi government.
Click on the link below to watch Part-2 of this interview on the YouTube Channel of News Intervention.

Sale of Mohun Bagan & a novel of tears in Kolkata

Shantanu Guha Ray
-
0
Sale of Mohun Bagan & a novel of tears in Kolkata

The outright sale of India’s most iconic club, Mohun Bagan, happened around the time a Bengali novel on aspirations of a football coach hit the stands in Kolkata. Probably it was a mere coincidence but what is interesting is that both, the sale of the club and the launch of the novel, had a tinge of sadness, a mood of realism.

Kolkata-based RPG-Sanjiv Goenka Group bought out Bagan in a hush-hush deal, triggering vociferous reactions from supporters across the globe. Group CEO Sanjiv Goenka said the club was acquired to push the group’s sporting ambitions. At the same time, footballers, actors and politicians started promoting seasoned journalist and anchor Gautam Bhattacharya’s book, Bar Pujo, which translates into worshiping the goalposts. It is a strange and unique Bengali custom where priests offer prayers to goalposts on the first day of the Bengali New Year — always in mid-April — and seek sporting success.

Interestingly, both the book and the sale of Mohun Bagan once again brought the fading fortunes of the Kolkata soccer clubs together in limelight. The book, written in Bengali language, triggered debates across colleges, clubs, and coffee stores about what would save football clubs of Kolkata: Passion, or cash? Or both?

So let’s talk about the novel first. 

Gautam Bhattacharya’s novel “Bar Pujo” is about the struggle and journey of a football coach in Kolkata

Protagonist Archit Mukherjee is a soccer coach who does a decent job with the Tatas — a dream for many in Kolkata — and wants a team that should be Kolkata’s answer to a top English Premier League club, say Manchester United or Liverpool. He is aware of the standards of the game in the city, and in the country. He is very, very realistic. He remembers India last won a decent soccer trophy in 1974 when the nation was crowned joint champions with Iran in U-20 Asia and thereafter it has been a long, long slide. But he still wants parents to push their children to play soccer but not hate cricket because Saurav Ganguly is the state’s biggest icon. More importantly, he wants the passion that was in existence in the 70s to return to Kolkata’s vast green cover — its called Maidan that translates into a big field — and the clubs to regain glory and help the city regain the title of Mecca of Indian football. But the coach is not day-dreaming, he knows India is ranked 108 out of 210 nations by FIFA and an unlikely destination for aspiring footballers. So the local youngsters give football a miss in Kolkata but a steady stream of young men from West Africa and parts of Asia keep landing in the eastern Indian metropolis, hoping Kolkata will be the first step on the road to football stardom. 

Mukherjee knows he has a long way to go.

Mukherjee wants — the book claims repeatedly — the passion to grow, he wants the rise of the youth power. His example of passion is not only limited to footballers, it is for all those who love the game. For him, this very passion could exist even in a gatekeeper punching tickets for entry to the stadium. The book has an interesting incident about how one lanky gatekeeper, Hituda to many, found a person coming late for an East Bengal match and asked him the reason. The person, a diehard fan, said he was coming straight from the crematorium after completing the last rites of his son. Mukherjee seeks similar passion from everyone. For him, passion is the way forward.

Football clubs in Bengal struggle for cash, yet it’s the ‘passion’ that runs these clubs.

Mukherjee knows he is Ekalavya, smarter and faster than Arjuna. Like the proverbial story of the epic Mahabharata and Guru Dronacharya seeking a finger of Ekalavya to slow down his fiery arrows and please Arjuna, Mukherjee knows he has to fight alone, he will not have too many big guns on his side. He, only he, must find a way out of the Chakravyuha, or the Circle Of Death. But Mukherjee is not old fashioned, he is the modern Ekalavya who will not sacrifice his finger because he knows the Guru is biased. Mukherjee wants to rule with modern understanding of the game, he wants to walk into a supermarket knowing well what he will buy and then cook a meal and serve. He wants to have the power of Sir Alex Ferguson, he will ignore the star status of his footballers. Yet, he will plug them all over the media. He understands the importance of social media, he knows if a top corporate acquires a club it will run on cash and carry and not only on emotions. Mukherjee is a thinking coach, like a seasoned director, he knows. He also knows the importance of social media’s impact on the game. He is the master chef.

This is not a hop-skip-jump novel, it is brilliantly crafted, very, very nostalgic for those who followed Kolkata football because there are similar examples of such coaches in the city who live with their hopes, ambitions and pains. The author is clear that only the coach knows how a victory is rarely credited to him, it is almost like getting the smallest slice of a birthday cake. The rest is always reserved for the captain, players and team management. The coach is a lone ranger, a silent observer, the boy on the burning deck.

The author reflects on the life and times of successful coaches, failed coaches. In some ways it reflects the life and times of men and women of his profession, journalists. Bhattacharya’s words about a tired coach walking with a huge sports bag can easily be turned into a tired journalist walking home after arguing unsuccessfully with his editor over whether or not to write a big scandal involving a corporate giant. Mukherjee knows he cannot leave the game, he has to be a part of the system to change the system. And change is inevitable. He knows he will only be worshipped if he is successful. Past and failures are rarely remembered.

Like it happened when Mohun Bagan got sold, the incident triggered breaking headlines even as the Department of Posts and Telegraph issued a postage stamp for Parimal “Chuni” Goswami, former Mohun Bagan captain and top footballer who had once turned down an offer from Tottenham Hotspur to spend his entire footballing career at Mohun Bagan. It was all about passion for Goswami, who recently completed 82 years. But very few linked Goswami’s sacrifice to the sale of the club. Arguments still continued, there were some in Kolkata for whom Mohun Bagan was national pride because it was the first Indian club to defeat a British team to win the IFA Shield in 1911. The victory was seen as a path-breaking win against the British rulers of the subcontinent. But the novel also reminded us that the victory was 108 years ago, around the time British royal rulers came to India to kill tigers. I have a feeling the novel reflected the writing on the wall, highlighting the change that many claimed was inevitable in Kolkata’s football clubs. Actually, it reminded football fans in Kolkata that in the new financial year, Mohun Bagan could even have a new name and a new jersey. In short, age-old sentiments will have to take a break. From now on, wealth and heritage will have to walk hand-in-hand, side-by-side.

Passionate soccer fans at a football match in Kolkata

Mukherjee knew what will be the new heartbeat of Indian football, even though he wept silently in his heart because he wanted a rerun of the glorious 70s. He would be very happy to retain the heritage but knows with changing times, he has to blow with the wind. So the protagonist of the novel keeps his passion intact, thinks about football even from a hospital where he is being treated for low blood pressure following the death of a close friend. Mukherjee lives for another day, another life, and another match. His team wins the trophy riding on the players’ passion.

Football has died many deaths in Kolkata, only to rise like the proverbial Phoenix. An East Bengal-Mohun Bagan match gets no advertisements but over a lakh of supporters without the hype of pink balls and pink coloured lights created to generate crowd at cricket stadiums. There are no big anchors, no great commentary, no cheerleaders, no nothing. But there is passion, there is a deafening roar every time a top club scores a goal. Bhattacharya has talked about this very passion that draws people to such matches. Many know how football clubs are run in Kolkata: Players are rarely paid on time, club owners struggle hard to find players from distant Africa, Spain or Latvia. There are times when the clubs non-playing staff go home without paychecks. Lack of cash means the players will not give their best during a match, it is almost like no hot water in the showers after training. In such cases, only passion works. Just pure, unadulterated passion.

Bar Pujo has reminded many in Kolkata to think about football, and think passionately.

Coronavirus alert: High level meeting at PMO

News Intervention Bureau
-
0
Coronavirus alert: High level meeting at PMO

On the instructions of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr. P. K. Mishra chaired a high level meeting on the Coronavirus outbreak in China.

During the meeting, the officials apprised the Principal Secretary on the recent developments, preparedness and response measures associated with the spread of Coronavirus.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare briefed the Principal Secretary on hospital preparedness, laboratary preparedness, measures taken for the Capacity Building of the Rapid Response teams and the extensive surveillance activities undertaken by the Ministry.

Principal Secretary also reviewed the preventive measures taken by other Ministries like the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The officials assured the Principal Secretary that the situation is being closely monitored by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in close coordination with various other Union ministries as well as State governments and Union Territories.

So far, 20,000 people from 115 flights at 7 international airports have been screened. National Institute of Virology labs all over the country are fully equipped to test the virus. All State and District health authorities have been alerted and are in the loop.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Secretary Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Secretary External Affairs Vijay Gokhale, Secretary Defence Ajay Kumar, Secretary Health and Family Welfare Preeti Sudan, Secretary Civil Aviation Pradeep Singh Kharola and several other top officials attended the meeting.

Padma Awards 2020 Announced

News Intervention Bureau
-
0
Padma Awards 2020 Announced

On the eve of 71st Republic Day of India, Padma awards were announced today. The Padma Vibhushan for this year has been awarded to a total of seven prominent personalities, while 16 have been given the Padma Bhushan, and 118 have been given the Padma Shri. This year the President has approved conferment of 141 Padma Awards including 4 duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one). Thirty four of the awardees are women and the list also includes 18 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 12 posthumous awardees.

Eminent personalities, including former union ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes, Olympian boxer Mary Kom, former Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth have been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan on the Republic Day this year.

Former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, industrialists Anand Mahindra and Venu Shrinivasan, Olympian badminton player P V Sindhu, former Nagaland Chief Minister S.C. Jamir and Jammu and Kashmir politician Muzaffar Hussain Baig have been awarded with the Padma Bhushan.

Producer Ekta Kapoor, director Karan Johar, actor Kangna Ranaut and singer Adnan Sami will receive the Padma Shri.

Congratulating the Padma awardees, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Congratulations to all those who have been conferred the Padma Awards.” The Prime Minister said the awardees include “extraordinary individuals who have made exceptional contributions to our society, nation and humanity”.

Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year.

Full List of Winners:

Baloch freedom fighters must step up their efforts to free Balochistan

Dosten Baloch
-
1
Baloch freedom fighters must step up their efforts to free Balochistan

Pakistan’s state brutalities in Balochistan continued unabated in 2019, like in the previous years. Last year Islamabad’s barbarism across occupied Balochistan reached newer heights. This state-sponsored barbarism included unprovoked military operations, killing of Baloch dissidents, forced disappearances during operations, torturing of people, looting, burning houses and forced evacuations of inhabitants from their ancestral villages in Balochistan.

In 2019, the occupying state of Pakistan intensified its tactic of forcibly disappearing Baloch women and children.

Dwindling CPEC

However, even as Pakistan Army’s tyranny and atrocities were carried on in Balochistan, the Baloch militant organizations also stepped up their armed activities that resulted in loss of life and resources to the Pakistani armed forces. The attack on Gwadar port by Baloch militant organisations received international attention. The Baloch Liberation Army took responsibility for this attack on the Gwadar Continental Hotel that went on for nearly 26 hours. In this attack four Baloch freedom fighters were martyred whereas several armed personnel of Pakistan and other foreign investors were killed.

Apart from the militant Baloch armed organizations that are fighting for Balochistan’s independence from Pakistan, there are several other Baloch independence political parties and human rights organizations who continue to protest peacefully at the national and international platforms. They strive to show gross human rights violation across Balochistan by Pakistan. They also reach out at various international platforms in order to highlight the issues of Balochistan.

The year 2019 also saw the situation of exploitative China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) dwindle. The hustle-bustle in CPEC construction activities and Chinese movements in Balochistan have significantly reduced giving an impression that the project might be delayed or fail altogether. The corridor’s apparent failure and China’s disinterest has provoked the occupying Pakistani forces to further increase their atrocities and restrictions on the Baloch people. This seems to be a desperate approach to satisfy Chinese security requirements that has devastated the whole Balochistan and fulled pent-up anger and dissatisfaction against Pakistan.

This year also saw some so called “Baloch nationalists”, who were in the Pakistani Parliament and were part of their projects, change track and adopt different kinds of approaches to save their respective positions. The National Party (NP) who had previously played a key role in implementing this strategic CPEC, started opposing the economic corridor through its newspaper statements. The party started raising slogans against the state to restore their trust within the Baloch nation. However, I see this change in their approach as a blackmailing tactic against the establishment to restore their position in Pakistan’s parliament. Also, even as the BNP remained stuck with a slogan of ‘six points’, they also remained partners to the Imran Khan government in Islamabad.

Forced Disappearances in Balochistan

Four Baloch women were forcefully disappeared from Awaran by Pakistani state agencies in 2019. Widespread anger and protests helped in getting them released. BNP declared this as their success, while the BNP leaders also expressed their wish for greater provincial autonomy and the inclusion of historical Baloch land in Balochistan which currently is part of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

So, on the one hand Baloch pro-independence organizations and parties have stepped up their efforts and struggle for freedom, on the other hand Pakistan has increased its oppressive polices across Balochistan. This situation has exposed the role and integrity of parliamentary ‘nationalists’.

Pakistan’s problems

The success of Balochistan freedom fighters has seriously weakened Pakistan’s apparatus in Balochistan. This can also be seen in the internal developments of Pakistan’s establishment. This year, one of the biggest party of Pakistan, Ulema-e-Islam opposed the government by their protests and then many party leaders joined them. Besides these political parties, Pakistani courts and military organization’s atmosphere remained overheated over the extension of the post of their army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and then over the decision to execute former General and President Pervez Musharaf.

International economic organizations and FATF (Financial Action Task Force) have listed Pakistan in the grey list of countries for its support towards terrorism. This is bound to create economic difficulties for Pakistan that has been totally reliant on IMF and Saudi Arabia to keep its economy afloat.

The condition of minorities in Pakistan is also deteriorating by the day. Protests for the release of thousands of dubiously disappeared persons continue. Pakistan Army continues to dump the mutilated bodies of political workers in different parts of the country. In this situation, all the nations that are currently under illegal occupation by Pakistan have to come together on a single platform to gain freedom.

International scenario

Due to violent protests the regimes of Iran and Iraq in 2019 have been changing their track from one side to the other,  using their military powers to trample protests. The presidential elections in Afghanistan were successfully conducted and Ashraf Ghani once again got the hot seat. Afghanistan has been in the limelight because of their ongoing talks with the Americans and Taliban.

The cold war like scenario between South Asian neighbours Pakistan and India have continued and there were several instances in 2019 when it looked like the two countries will go for an all-out war. The trade war between US and China can push this region into further complexities.
The situation in Occupied Balochistan has deteriorated rapidly. Hence 2019 has shown a bloody picture like in the previous years.

Pakistan’s “Kill and Dump Policy”

The occupying state of Pakistan carried out 626 military operations against the Baloch nation in 2019. In these operations, 785 people have been forcefully kidnapped and have now disappeared which includes a large number of women and children. Also during this year, 302 dead bodies were found, of these 80 had been killed by Pakistani forces and while the exact motives of 144 killings were not found, 78 dead bodies went unrecognized. The burning and demolition of houses across Balochistan and looting them has also continued. More than 1,416 houses were looted, 200 houses burnt, 321 persons were released from the torture cells of state forces and 42 new check posts were built in Occupied Balochistan as Pakistan continues with its barbaric policy in Balochistan.

Furthermore, no motives were found for the deaths of these missing people. Because of state barbarism, thousands of Baloch families were compelled to migrate to Iran, Afghanistan and in the internal areas of Balochistan and Sindh and southern Punjab in Pakistan.

If we compare the devastation in Balochistan, it is in no means lesser than to those other regions that have been declared as war zones by the United Nations and other superpowers. Balochistan’s situation is much worse but the international community does not bother to focus on Balochistan, thus giving the occupying state of Pakistan an exemption to increase its policy of barbarism in Balochistan. So Baloch organisations and political parties fighting for freedom have to struggle really hard in order to show Pakistan’s real image to the world.

Missing Persons of Balochistan

The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) has been struggling for the last 10 years. They have been trying to show and uncover the state barbarities in front of the world. In the year 2019, organisation fighting for Balochistan freedom were busy with human rights issues and they struggled to draw the attention of the world towards the Baloch nation.

Yet, it can be said that Balochistan is not raising a coherent and forceful voice at international platforms. The Baloch freedom fighters and Baloch political parties who are struggling for Balochistan’s independence need to come on a single platform and speak in a forceful voice so that the world can get a clear understanding about the Balochistan issue. This will double the hopes of Baloch nation for freedom from Pakistan.

Baloch leadership has to also think about national interests of Balochistan and then catch the world’s attention towards them. This will counter-balance and negate those Baloch parliamentarians who only want to further their political ambitions at the expense of Baloch national struggle for independence. Whether it is the National Party (NP) or Balochistan National Party it will not be able to further enslave aspirations for an independent Baloch nation or cover up the Baloch genocide. All those who are fighting for Balochistan independence need to understand the present geo-politics where occupying forces of Pakistan have been weakened economically and politically. There is a massive social unrest across Pakistan, tussle among superpowers such as China, US and Russia, and situation is tense in South Asia, Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle East. In the wake of these developments, the strategy for Balochistan’s freedom struggle needs to be right and efforts streamlined. If the Baloch make a concerted effort, Balochistan will soon be a free nation. 

1...385386387...485Page 386 of 485

News Intervention is the new age digital media platform that has news analysis, opinion pieces, news briefs, news videos and documentaries.
News Intervention raises all those issues that may have been overlooked by big media houses or have been deliberately buried to serve vested interests. We firmly believe that each life matters and every individual regardless of religion, nationality, race, caste or creed must have the right to live life with dignity.

Contact us: editor@newsintervention.com

© Copyright - NewsIntervention