IPL 7 2014

IPL 7: RCB eye winning return to India against Hyderabad

Royal Challengers Bangalore started IPL 7 as one of the hot favourites but three consecutive defeats has been a reality-check for them, and they would want to get their act together in their first home game of the season when they meet Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
RCB and Hyderabad have had somewhat similar run in the tournament so far, with Bangalore just above them on the leaderboard on net run-rate.

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Bangalore's success, like in the previous seasons, remains dependent on their explosive batting line-up led by Chris Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli, along with Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers, but still they haven't scored the runs to win consistently.
IPL 7: RCB eye winning return to India against Hyderabad
Both Bangalore and Hyderabad will look to score enough runs to be competitive while their bowling looks in reasonable order. (BCCI)

They won their first two matches to start the season, but have lost the next three to end their UAE leg on a sorry note. The team will hope that home conditions bring the luck back for them, as it did for Mumbai Indians who returned to winning ways at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday with a win against Kings XI Punjab.
Gayle missed the first four matches of for RCB and returned with a 20-run blast in an over. In the past, RCB have won mostly when the Jamaican fired at the top, though players like Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers are proven match-winners; however, they haven't produced the runs expected of them.
The team was bowled out for their lowest score of 70 by Rajasthan Royals and then limited to 124 for 8 by Kings XI Punjab, which is in start contrast to the batting talent they have in their ranks.
RCB's bowling, which was considered by many to be weak, has fared better than their batting despite not having big totals at their back to defend. Legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been the surprise package with seven wickets from five games.
Hyderabad's situation isn't impressive either with two wins from five matches so far. Only their Australian recruits Aaron Finch and David Warner have left a mark with the bat, though Lokesh Rahul showed his talent with 46 off 40 balls in the game against Mumbai.
Shikhar Dhawan's silent bat has hurt the the team big time as they rely on him for good starts at the top and the middle order has been almost non-existent, with Darren Sammy lower down the order not doing the damage he has been known to inflict.
Like RCB, Hyderabad's bowlers have done better than the batsmen. Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have led the pace department with consistent performances, with Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma bowling their legspin effectively.
In the end, it would be a fair assessment that both the teams will look to score enough runs to be competitive while their bowling looks in reasonable order.

Points Table

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	Points	NRR
Chennai Super Kings	6	5	1	0	0	10	+1.189
Kings XI Punjab	6	5	1	0	0	10	+1.039
Rajasthan Royals	6	4	2	0	0	8	+0.471
Kolkata Knight Riders	6	2	4	0	0	4	-0.160
Royal Challengers Bangalore	5	2	3	0	0	4	-0.207
Sunrisers Hyderabad	5	2	3	0	0	4	-0.642
Delhi Daredevils	6	2	4	0	0	4	-1.067
Mumbai Indians	6	1	5	0	0	2	-0.726

Modi is reaching..........

Modi is reaching out to India's Muslims
– and they may vote for him

BJP efforts to win over Muslims, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, could well be effective if voters see it 

as a safe option

BJP Leader Narendra Modi Campaigns In Gujarat
'If Modi is to come to power, it will likely be as part of a ­coalition. This has forced the BJP to scramble for as many votes as possible.' Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty
On an unlit lane in Juhapura, a Muslim neighbourhood of Ahmedabad, the largest city in India's western state of Gujarat, 20-year-old Muslim Faizan Mansuri plays cricket on his smartphone. Juhapura, where I have lived since 2012, has few paved roads or sewage systems and each year about 2,000 children are denied an education because of a lack of schools. Once a mixed Hindu and Muslim area in the 1970s, today almost all of us 400,000 residents are Muslim.

Faizan, who is voting for the first time, believes this election is about the economy and looking forward: "I know about the riots, I know about the problems Muslims face in this country, but I am going to vote for [Narendra] Modi. He is good for the economy and if Modi becomes prime minister, he will be able to improve the economy in time for my graduation in 2016 when I start searching for a job."

Faizan's comments would make Modi, the front-running prime ministerial candidate representing the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), drool as he tries to woo India's Muslim vote in this election.

In order for any single party to form the government, it needs to secure 272 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament that will select India's next PM. Most argue that the BJP will fall short of this total as no single party has secured a majority of seats since 1989. If Modi is to come to power, it will likely be as part of a coalition. This has forced the BJP to scramble for as many votes as possible, including reaching out to a segment the Hindu nationalist party has often ignored: India's Muslims.

India has the world's second largest Muslim population with about 176 million Muslims making up 14% of the population. The election will be largely decided on by the outcome of two states: Uttar Pradesh, which has 200 million residents and 80 seats in the Lok Sabha, with a Muslim population of 18%; and Bihar which has about 100 million and 40 seats with a Muslim population of 16.5%.

The BJP has been in overdrive for the past few months trying to win over these two states and their large Muslim populations. In March, Modi gave a speech in Bihar to a predominantly Muslim audience at which he boasted that Muslims in Gujarat are wealthier and better educated than in any other parts of India. Supporters of Modi even released a music video showing Muslim men and women dressed in odd-looking hats and scarves with feathers stuck in them. I can confirm Muslims in India do not dress like this. In some ways, the BJP's outreach efforts resemble a comedy skit by the American duo Key and Peele where the Tea Party is shown as all too eager to embrace a black supporter so they can clean up their image of being a predominantly white movement.

In fact the BJP is so serious about embracing Muslim voters that in its election manifesto, the party promised the restoration of Muslim heritage sites and a commitment to promoting Muslim education. The manifesto did not, however, explain why Modi's government opposed efforts to provide funds for the reconstruction of the mosques and shrines destroyed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, or why they tried to block funds for minority scholarships in Gujarat.

And yet despite this, Modi's outreach plan is working. MJ Akbar is one of India's most celebrated Muslim writers who once compared Modi to Hitler. In March, Akbar announced he was joining the BJP. But can Modi convince other Muslims to vote for him? And does he really need their support?

According to a poll by the Indian broadcaster NDTV, 8% of Muslims in the key state of Uttar Pradesh are expected to vote for Modi. In Gujarat, this number is even higher – about 15%. The reasons for this are varied. Some Muslims in Gujarat support the BJP because they are frustrated with the Congress party which, like the BJP, has also instigated and benefitted from religious riots. Others support the BJP because they believe Modi will bring India out of its economic slump. But some Muslims support Modi, at least in Gujarat, out of fear.

A Muslim physician in Ahmedabad had his clinic burned down during the riots of 2002. Today the halls leading to his office are filled with tiles depicting Hindu gods and goddesses that he hopes may act as a deterrent during future riots in Gujarat, which he fears is a matter of when, not if. In this election, he will be voting for Modi's BJP when Gujarat heads to the polls on 30 April. "I vote for my safety now," he says. "I have two children and maybe if Hindus know I am a BJP voter, they will see me as one of the good Muslims."

This is the BJP effect: it has convinced many Hindus in India that the rational, forward-thinking, patriotic Muslims are the ones who support Modi and the bad Muslims are those who speak critically of Modi record, including his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The BJP would like voters to believe that its new Muslim supporters have been fully welcomed as equals to the party's predominantly Hindu base. But the reality is quite different. When the cameras and tape recorders are switched off, Muslim supporters of the BJP say they understand that they are an accessory – not a companion – in Modi's efforts to become India's next prime minister.

• This article was amended on 23 April 2014. The original article stated that 292 of 543 seats need to be secured for a single party to form government when in fact it is 272.

Pakistan Air Force Today

Five F-16 fighter jets from Jordan inducted into Pak Air Force

Source:- Google.com.pk
Pakistan Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, speaking at the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Base Mushaf in Sargodha where the force received the fighter planes, said the induction of these jets will further increase efficiency of the Air Force.

He said the PAF is fully prepared for an operation against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

His remarks came as the government is engaged in efforts for a peace dialogue with and the banned outfit.

Ambassador of Jordan and senior PAF and Army officers attended the ceremony.

According to reports, Pakistan had signed a contract with Jordan for the supply of 13 fighter jets.

The inclusion of these jets would take the strength of the PAF F-16s to 76.

It has been reported that PAF had agreed to purchase an entire squadron from Jordan, consisting of 12 A models and one B model.

The jets "were in good condition since they had attained Mid-Life Update (MLU) and they would be providing service for another 20 years with almost 3,000 hours on average available to them for flying", according to a media report.

Geo News...... Jang blocked

Geo, The News, Jang blocked illegally in cantonments

Source:- Google.com.pk

ISLAMABAD: Geo TV has been blacked out in all cantonment areas and hawkers are not being allowed to distribute daily Jang and The News to subscribers.

It appears as if the ghost of General Ziaul Haq is still haunting the freedom of the press like it had done during the worst dictatorship during the late ’70s and ’80s.Geo TV invited the wrath of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) by airing the apprehensions of senior journalist Hamid Mir through his brother, that too after the near fatal attack on the senior anchorperson.

Instead of using legal means, some forces have directed all the defence institutions and cantonments to black out Geo TV from cable, and the order was complied with in no time. The hawkers in the Cantt areas have also been directed not to supply daily Jang and The News in cantonments all over Pakistan.

The forces who only know how to use muscle instead of reasoning and logic did not wait for the decision of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) where the ISI has lodged a complaint against the Jang Group and instead started implementing the contents of this complaint in the cantonments and defence institutions.

Adoption of legal battle to achieve a remedy against a wrong is always appreciated but, despite knowing the fact that only Pemra can order closure of any channel, these forces have themselves assumed the job of the regulator and have ordered cable operators in Cantt areas not to air Geo TV, which by no means is legal.

However, the poor cable operators have no other choice but to bow before the all-powerful men in boots.Importantly, 95 percent population of cantonments is civilian but they too are forced to bear the consequences of the illegal order originated out of garrisons of blacking out Geo TV and not letting the hawkers to sell/ distribute ‘Daily Jang’ and ‘The News’ in the areas controlled by the Pakistan Army.

Every institution has its jurisdiction and it must remain within the ambit of its jurisdiction otherwise things get worse. If any institution has any issues with Geo TV, there are proper forums where such issues could be addressed. For instance, there is the forum of Pemra and also the courts but some forces only know to use force instead of application of laws.

It is not the first time that the Jang Group has been subjected to such censorship as the subscribers have not forgotten the 1997 and 2007 blackouts by the powerful governments but in the end, it was sanity that prevailed and not the senseless power.

The Jang Group has always been adopting the legal means to fight the wrongs done with it and still many cases, including defamation, are pending before the courts.In the present case, despite adopting the legal channel of action against Geo TV through a complaint lodged with Pemra, the forces, without waiting for the outcome of the complaint, have illegally imposed censorship on Pakistan’s most popular media group. However, the Jang Group lives in the hearts of people; it can be blacked out on cable, hawkers can be stopped from selling its newspapers but how can someone remove Geo/Jang/The News from the hearts of millions of Pakistanis?