Latest news with #Malini
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
‘A house 7 km away does not mean home': Residents protest as Vrindavan temple corridor work begins
PROTESTS over the Uttar Pradesh government's plans to build a corridor for the Banke Bihari Temple in Varanasi have got a new lease of life due to remarks by BJP leader and Mathura MP Hema Malini. Four days ago, a video surfaced of Malini, the local MP, saying: 'Banke Bihari Corridor will be constructed. Those opposing it can be shifted somewhere else. We will make the corridor for sure.' Residents facing displacement had earlier met Malini to air their grievances, and had been assured that their demands would be considered. Soon after, the BJP issued an official statement saying the video of Malini was not new, but taken before the Lok Sabha election of 2024, and that 'it is not complete but edited'. The statement quoted the MP as saying 'she has complete understanding of Brijwasis' faith. While The Indian Express could not reach Malini despite several attempts, the uncertainty of residents such as Radha Mishra, 54, and her neighbours has grown. Mishra lives in a four-storey building just 10 metres from Gate No. 5 of the Banke Bihari Temple, past a rusting iron gate. Against the peeling paint of the walls of her house, a portrait of 'Banke Bihari', revered as the combined form of Krishna and Radha, stands out. 'I came to this house in 1982 after marriage. We also own five shops nearby. The rent pays for our dal-roti. Where will we go if they break our house?' Mishra says, her face pale against her yellow sari. The Supreme Court nod for the project to develop a 'Banke Bihari Corridor', for the benefit of devotees, came on May 15. The Court also allowed the government to utilise temple funds to purchase 5 acres to build the corridor, at an estimated cost of around Rs 1,000 crore. This was a modification of an Allahabad High Court order which had accepted the government's development plan but barred access to temple funds. The temple priests are opposed to the government accessing the funds, seeing it as an erosion of their traditional authority over the running of the religious place. The plan is to have a corridor on the lines of the one at Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, also built under the BJP government. Within days of the Court order, the Yogi Adityanath government passed an ordinance to set up a trust to manage the Banke Bihari temple and to oversee the development of the corridor. The families displaced would be rehabilitated in Rukmini Vihar and Sunrakh Bangar areas of the Mathura-Vrindavan region, 7 km away, the government announced. District Magistrate, Mathura, Chandra Prakash Singh says the changes are needed to cater to an increasing footfall. 'The number of visitors on a normal day is between 30,000 and 60,000, and on festivals goes up to 3 lakh. The lanes around the temple are too narrow to handle this huge number,' says the DM. Three years ago, the Banke Bihari Temple saw a stampede during the Janmashtami rush, killing three dead and leaving seven injured. Nimish Goswami, 32, says they are in the dark even on details of the compensation. 'They are telling us they will give us a flat. I spent about Rs 1.12 crore to build this house. We have 24 members here. How many flats will the government give us? Can we continue to live as a joint family?' Asking why the circle rates had not been increased for years if this was the government plan, causing a loss to home owners like them, Goswami says: 'No one asked us (anything), and when we go to the authorities, they don't meet us. Then they say they have the people's support! We will never support this.' The vice-chairman of the Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA), Shyam Bahadur Singh, says four large plots have been earmarked for the Rukmini Vihar housing scheme. Around 350 one- and two-bedroom flats will be constructed initially, he says. 'If needed, additional land in the vicinity will be identified. Efforts are also being made to gain the consent of remaining stakeholders,' he says, adding that they are ensuring that relief reaches all. 'The verification that was carried out two years ago, is now being redone… We are taking every aspect into consideration, if the house is used for business, or is occupied by the owner, how many storeys.' Asserting that 'no one is protesting against the corridor, not even those affected', the DM adds that all genuine demands are being looked into. 'People will also be allocated shops in the developed corridor.' Awanish Kumar Awasthi, advisor to CM Adityanath, has also been deputed by the government to bring residents around. For many, it's more than about houses – it's the loss of tradition. Goswami's 81-year-old father, Manmohan, is one of the sevayats at the Banke Bihari Temple. Says Goswami: 'My father does not touch anybody or anything before touching the idol. We clear the roads when he walks to the temple. If we are shifted 7 km away, how will we sustain his beliefs?' Around 1,500 such sevayats have been staying in lanes adjacent to the temple premises for generations. Anant Kumar Gaud, 34, says he is a 12th-generation sevayat. He says government officials 'forcibly' entered his house to take measurements. 'We were born here… the house has memories of our forefathers. Giving us a house 7 km away will not make it home.' Brij Krishna, 58, also a sevayat, says: 'People in these lanes believe that one day Krishna will take human form. Their attachment with God is different… The government is doing what Hiranyakashipu did to Prahlad.' The reference is to the mythological story about a boy whose belief in God was severely tested, before God came to save him. Criticising the project, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai says that in the name of development, 'destruction' is taking place. 'This is similar to what happened in Varanasi (during the corridor development)… There are temples located inside houses which are over 100 and 500 years old,' says Rai, who belongs to the Varanasi region himself. Samajwadi Party leader Sanjay Lathar, who was earlier the Leader of the Opposition, UP Legislative Council, asks why the BJP government does not begin with the Gorakhnath Temple if such changes are needed. The difference is that Adityanath is the mahant of the Gorakhnath Temple, Lathar says, adding: 'A temple belongs to people and no trust should take over. Power should be with sevayats who have taken care of the temple for years.' At the spot, the survey work is happening at a steady pace. Tehsildar Saurav Yadav says they have finished surveying more than 30 houses and several shops attached to them. 'We are ensuring there is no discrepancy.' The outlets being surveyed include small eateries, flower shops, and those that sell items such as portraits of Krishna, which are all dependent on the devotees visiting the shrine. Some of these shops have been run by the same families for generations. Kusum Devi's husband Hote Chand has run his barber shop for 40 years. 'Two days ago, officials came and took measurements of my house. They knocked and I let them in. Sarkari log hain, bahas nahin kar sakte (They are government officials, we can't argue with them),' says the 55-year-old.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India in talks with Australia to source rare earth minerals following China restrictions: Australian official
India is in talks with Australia for rare earth minerals , an Australian official stated. The development comes amid rare earth magnet shortage caused by Chinese export restrictions. "They (India and Australia) are talking about rare earth and there are blocks available. So there is an opportunity for India to take an early-stage block and have tie-ups with a few companies," Malini Dutt , Trade and Investment Commissioner, New South Wales Government, Australia, said. Furthermore, both private and public sectors in India have expressed interest in copper blocks in Australia, she said on the sidelines of India Energy Storage Week (IESW) 2025, organised by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). "There is a lot of interest around copper as well, given some of the conversations I have had. The interest is both from private sector and a PSU which is quite on the hunt for copper (blocks),' Malini said. 'You are aware there are smelters and companies like Adani has made a big investment. There is capacity available. There is an abundance of copper. That is one area people are looking at," she explained. Live Events The domestic auto and white goods sectors have been affected due to China's restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and magnets . China controls over 90 per cent of the global processing capacity for magnets, used across multiple sectors including automobiles, home appliances and clean energy. Critical materials include samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium and lutetium, which are essential in electric motors , braking systems, smartphones and missile technology.
Indian Express
08-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
India in talks with Australia to source rare earth minerals, says official
India is in talks with Australia to source rare earth minerals, an Australian official said on Tuesday. The development assumes significance in the wake of rare earth magnet shortage caused by Chinese export restrictions. 'They (India and Australia) are talking about rare earth and there are blocks available. So there is an opportunity for India to take an early-stage block and have tie-ups with a few companies,' Malini Dutt, Trade and Investment Commissioner, New South Wales Government, Australia, said. Besides rare earth, both private and public sectors in India have shown interest in copper blocks in Australia, she said on the sidelines of India Energy Storage Week (IESW) 2025, organised by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). 'There is a lot of interest around copper as well, given some of the conversations I have had. The interest is both from private sector and a PSU which is quite on the hunt for copper (blocks),' Malini said. 'You are aware there are smelters and companies like Adani has made a big investment. There is capacity available. There is an abundance of copper. That is one area people are looking at,' she explained. China's restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and related magnets are affecting the domestic auto and white goods sectors. China controls over 90 per cent of the global processing capacity for magnets, used across multiple sectors including automobiles, home appliances and clean energy. Critical materials include samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium and lutetium, which are essential in electric motors, braking systems, smartphones and missile technology.
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Business Standard
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
India in talks with Australia to source rare earth minerals, says official
India is in talks with Australia to source rare earth minerals, an Australian official said on Tuesday. The development assumes significance in the wake of rare earth magnet shortage caused by Chinese export restrictions. "They (India and Australia) are talking about rare earth and there are blocks available. So there is an opportunity for India to take an early-stage block and have tie-ups with a few companies," Malini Dutt, Trade and Investment Commissioner, New South Wales Government, Australia, said. Besides rare earth, both private and public sectors in India have shown interest in copper blocks in Australia, she said on the sidelines of India Energy Storage Week (IESW) 2025, organised by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). "There is a lot of interest around copper as well, given some of the conversations I have had. The interest is both from private sector and a PSU which is quite on the hunt for copper (blocks), Malini said. You are aware there are smelters and companies like Adani has made a big investment. There is capacity available. There is an abundance of copper. That is one area people are looking at," she explained. China's restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and related magnets are affecting the domestic auto and white goods sectors. China controls over 90 per cent of the global processing capacity for magnets, used across multiple sectors including automobiles, home appliances and clean energy. Critical materials include samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium and lutetium, which are essential in electric motors, braking systems, smartphones and missile technology. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Your tears are the target: Why Sitare Zameen Par isn't a movie, it's a war cry
The first time I met Malini Chib, I was apprehensive. She 'walked' in an electric wheelchair, and 'talked' by pressing the keyboard of a small typing instrument with 'one little finger'. Cerebral Palsy did that to her. How was I to talk to 'such people'? I took a deep breath, pointed to her wheelchair, bent down to her level, and said: "Too bad an excellent career is out of the question for you." As she looked puzzlingly, I added, "Stand-up comedy." Wait, what? Why did I say that? Would she be offended? Am I being insensitive? A million questions ran ultramarathons inside my head. And then Malini laughed. A staccato of "he-he-he-he", crisp and breathless, like hiccups of joy tumbling over each other, head falling back as if the moment had possessed her. Then: silence; not because it was over, but because the next wave was charging up, too big to stay contained as a rip-roaring laughter erupted from somewhere deep inside her gut, a full-body surrender to delight. Yes, she was drooling, and coughed between laughs – side effects of her condition, but she didn't care and neither did I, as I couldn't help laugh at how bad a joke I had cracked. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship filled with everything from laughter, tears, fights, to angry outbursts filled with 'f-bombs' hurled at each other. You know: a typical dosti. 15 years later, I can understand her even on the phone (a side effect of spending too much time with her infectious presence). And along the way, I have made many other 'disabled' friends thanks to Malini's organization ADAPT – Able Disabled All People Together: Nilesh Singit (a hard talker who doesn't mince words), Farhan Contractor, Zenia Malegamwala (one of the most vivacious dancers I know), Utpal Shah (a great accountant)... to name a few. Hence, when the darkness of the theatre swallowed me up, and Aamir Khan flickered to life on the big screen, I was apprehensive — have director RS Prasanna and Aamir done a good job? But instead of Aamir Khan, the superstar, the safe harbour of familiar entertainment, Sitare Zameen Par throws you headfirst into an abyss you didn't know lived inside. This isn't a film about disability. It's a surgical incision into the collective soul of a society that worships 'normal''while bleeding out its own humanity. I watched Gulshan Arora, Aamir Khan's arrogant, height-obsessed basketball coach, sneer at his new team of "neurodivergent misfits," and a cold recognition seized me. That sneer? I had worn it. That impatience? I have lived it. That bone-deep discomfort around difference and disability ("Yeh kya baat ko pagal mat bolo")? It's the scaffolding I had built my life around before I met Malini. As Gulshan barked orders at the ten luminous souls the world calls disabled, the real horror dawned on me: We—you and I—are the monsters in this story, the real villains, just like Gulshan. The sugar coating for a bitter pill: Let's be brutally honest. Aamir Khan is the glittering lure, the brand name that gets our privileged tashreef aka derriere into seats. The film weaponises his stardom against our complacency. His Gulshan isn't acting—he's holding up a funhouse mirror to our collective apathy. Remember the flicker of discomfort you felt when you saw a man with Down Syndrome struggling to order coffee while the barista looked past him? That's Gulshan. Recall the internal sigh when an elderly woman with a walker slowed your hurried pace on the pavement? That's Gulshan. His journey from dismissive coach to humbled human isn't a character arc; it's an intervention staged in Dolby surround sound. As he stumbles, fails, and finally sees these ten individuals—not as diagnoses of their condition, but as Satbir with his fierce loyalty, Guddu conquering his terror of water, Golu radiating infectious joy, Lotus navigating the world with quiet grace—the cracking sound isn't just in the theatre speakers. It's the brittle shell around your own heart fracturing. A moment captures this transformation with devastating simplicity. Gulshan, defeated and raw, says: "Jinka dil itna bada ho, unmein koi kami kaise ho sakti hai." The line hangs in the air, a verdict on our own transactional lives. The real constellations: Forget Khan. The film's beating, radiant heart lies in its ten debut stars—Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, Simran Mangeshkar. These aren't actors playing disability; they are artists sharing fragments of their lived realities with a rawness that scalds the soul. When Guddu (Gopi Krishna Varma) finally overcomes his paralysing fear of bathing, the triumph isn't scored with soaring violins but with the quiet, earth-shattering power of a human being claiming agency over his own body. When Golu (Simran Mangeshkar) dances with abandon, her joy isn't performative; it's a supernova erupting in the stifling darkness of a world obsessed with "normal". As one audience member, the brother of a special needs man, wrote in an emotional letter to Aamir Khan Productions: "My elder brother, who is specially-abled, just kept staring at the now blank screen, silent tears quietly streaming down his face. And then he turned to me and whispered the words that will stay with me for the rest of my life: 'Yeh bilkul hum jaise hai na?'" And that's just one letter. Let me tell you, Aamir, RS Prasanna and Aparna Purohit (producer), tens of millions of others—the Malini's, Nilesh, Farhan, Zenia and Utpal's of the world, I know, would be saying the same thing. The uncomfortable arithmetic of our shared brokenness: We cling to the myth of able-bodied invincibility, of the 'normal'. But let me ask you: when you were born, were you normal? You were a bumbling idiot and had to be taken care of by your parents for years. So was I. So was my father, in the last two years of his life before he passed away. He wasn't normal, like I wasn't when I was born, yet the world didn't point fingers at us. Why do we point it at 'them'? Then, there are cold, hard numbers. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) figures from 2011, about 15% people in the world are disabled. That's around 1 billion people, a number that's increasing due to population growth, the rise of chronic diseases, and improvements in measurement metrics. And 15% of India is approximately 222 million Indians. Now, consider the families and friends of these 15%, the parents and siblings of all the disabled people, allies like Kartar Paaji (Gurpal Singh) in the film offering unwavering support, and the total population touched by disability swells to over 50%. Now add into this the infant who can't speak, the elders who forget or need help walking, the chronically ill, even me who has myopia, and you'll realise that over 90% of us are navigating some form of disability right now. So, in this actual normal, where is the place of the mythical 'normal' the world keeps harping about? Disability, as you can hopefully see, isn't a tragic exception; it is the baseline condition of being human. We enter this world utterly dependent, wailing for care. If we live long enough, we exit it frail, often needing that same care again. The years in between? We're just temporarily able-bodied, constructing elaborate fortresses of competence to hide our inherent vulnerability. The film's quiet genius lies in showing how those we label "disabled" expose this truth daily. They master courage without masks, navigate a world not built for them with relentless resilience, and offer radical tenderness in a world shimmering with cynicism. Their light persists, despite our attempts to curtain it. The architects we erased: Malini, Mithu, Sathi—giants among us: Now, I'd like to call to attention the character who's the actual 'hero' in the film. No, it's not Gulshan or the kids. To me, it is equally, perhaps more so—the character of Kartar Paaji, the ally of the disabled. When the world refused to care, he lent his hand and his understanding, bringing, as he does in the film, Gulshan, to understand the truth that there is no normal. I have been fortunate enough to know many dozen such Kartar Paaji's in my life. Take Malini's parents, Dr Mithu Alur who started Spastic Society of India in 1971 (which became ADAPT in the new millennium). Or Sathi Alur who married her later and became more than her own father ever became to Malini and helped the Spastic Society to become a national movement in the next two decades, then a global one—at least spanning the global south, in the last two. They, and the thousands of people who joined them in the preceding decades, didn't just start schools; they declared war on a nation's indifference, brick by painful brick. Sathi Alur, the self-effacing strategist, built systems where none existed. They fought for inclusion when "disability" was a whispered shame. Their pioneering work birthed the very awareness this film commodifies. Yet, how many people walking into multiplexes this weekend know their names? We celebrate the glittering surface, ignoring the bedrock. This film exists because people like Malini and Nilesh refused to let cerebral palsy silence their voice. It exists because millions of parents turned their living rooms into war rooms for dignity. The bitter pill coated in political sugar: Even the film's journey to our screens reveals our national discomfort with raw truth. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) delayed its release, demanding five edits. The most jarring? A mandated quote from the Prime Minister is plastered in the opening frames. Nothing wrong with that, except one word in it 'divyang' (divinely-abled). It rings hollow for many disability rights activists because it's a saccharine euphemism that airbrushes the daily struggles, systemic barriers, and raw grit required to navigate an inaccessible India. It turns lived reality into feel-good inspiration. Forcing this quote onto the film feels like a desperate attempt to reframe an uncomfortable societal mirror. True inclusion doesn't need governmental disclaimers; it needs staircases turned to ramps, inclusive classrooms, and hearts unlocked by stories like Guddu's victory over water, not political posturing. Why you must sit in that darkness and let it scorch you: Go. Go watch the film. Not for charity. Not for Aamir. Not even for the ten breathtaking stars. Go because Sitare Zameen Par is the reckoning we've spent lifetimes avoiding. It forces us to confront the horrifyingly beautiful truth: We are all, every single one of us, gloriously, irrevocably broken. Our abilities are fleeting illusions. Our independence is a carefully constructed myth. We are all, fundamentally, interdependent. Go, so you can connect with fragile, beautiful, imperfect humanity. As the final frames fade and the harsh theatre lights stab your eyes, you'll fumble for your phone, desperate to re-enter the numbing noise of the "real" world. Don't. Sit in the devastating silence. Let the tears come – not tears of pity for "them," but tears of recognition for us. For every time you averted your gaze. For every time you chose efficiency over empathy. For every fortress you built around your own fragility. Sitare Zameen Par isn't just entertainment. It's a collective funeral for the myth of normalcy. It's a baptism in the messy, magnificent truth: Every human has a star, a sitara, inside them; it's just that the darkness stops us from seeing it. The darkness isn't out there. It's the shadow we cast when we refuse to acknowledge our own light, and the light in every shattered, beautiful piece of humanity around us. Go. Be broken. Only then can we begin to mend this fractured world, one raw, authentic, perfectly imperfect heartbeat at a time. The stars on Earth aren't in the sky. They're sitting next to you, waiting for you to finally see them. The greatest disability is not in the body or mind but in the soul that refuses to see its own reflection in the broken mirror.
