The Railways will make 3,000 special bogies for “divyangs” (persons with disabilities) by 2018 to make their travel comfortable and hassle-free, an official said on Tuesday. These bogies will have various facilities to ensure the differently abled passengers or “divyangs” have smooth train travel, said Kamlesh Pandey, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) in Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, he said the special bogies will be interlinked, will have more seats, space and signage to locate them. Pandey is in Nagpur for a review meeting of welfare schemes launched for “divyangs” in Nagpur district. This initiative has been taken to make rail travel more convenient for divyangs, he added. Pandey informed that around 180 Government buildings in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur will be made accessible to divyangs with various facilities like ramps, lifts and disable -friendly sound system.

The project has been sent to the Central Government for approval, he said. “Earlier, there were seven categories of persons with disabilities in the Disability Act, 1995. Now 21 more categories have been included in the Act. These include mental illness, thalassemia, dwarfness and acid burn,” Pandey said. “Similarly, reservation in these categories have been increased from 3 per cent to 4 per cent,” he added.

Hambantota (Sri Lanka) : Hundreds of opposition supporters and farmers today protested the Sri Lankan government’s plan to lease a southern seaport to a Chinese-controlled joint venture in exchange for the heavy loans to build the port.

The protesters led by Marxist party People’s Liberation Front said the proposed partnership is akin to a sellout of the country.

The government wants to lease the loss-making port to a joint venture company in which China will have 80 per cent ownership. The lease period will be 99 years.

The government also proposes to lease 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares) in Hambantota district and adjoining Moneragala district for an industrial zone.

Protesters carried placards that read “hands off our lands” or “Stop selling Hambantota port.”

D K Sumathipala said farmlands are at risk of being taken over for the industrial zone and he was determined to fight.

“We are farmers; we can’t move out of our lands,” he said.

“I was born here, we have nowhere to go,” said Premawathie Samarasekara, also a farmer. “We will not give away our lands to the Chinese,” she said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told a gathering today that private lands will not be taken over for the industrial zone. He said the partnership was the only way to free the country from the debt burden.

China invested over USD 1.2 billion in the Hambantota port in what some analysts call its “string of pearls” strategy in countries surrounding India.

Sri Lanka’s government criticised the project before being elected in 2015 but later approached China seeking help to make it viable.

Following Adolf Hitler’s suicide in 1945, the rights to his infamous autobiography, Mein Kampf (translation: “My Struggle”) were transferred to the state of Bavaria, who refused to ever publish the controversial book in Germany.

However, the country’s copyright law dictates that texts enter the public domain 70 years after the author’s death, meaning anyone could publish the work from 2016 onwards.

To some controversy, the Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ) released the first reprint of the anti-semitic manifesto last January, the two-volume book selling out on Amazon’s German site within hours.

The IfZ has since revealed that 85,000 copies of the heavily annotated Mein Kampf have sold since January, making it one of the year’s bestsellers in Germany. A sixth print of the book will reach bookstores later this month.

Many commentators have expressed their worry that the IfZ is inadvertently spreading Nazi propaganda.

Addressing these controversy surrounding the reprint, Andreas Wirsching, the director of the IfZ, told The Guardian: “To the contrary, the debate about Hitler’s world view and his approach to propaganda offered a chance to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies, at a time in which authoritarian political views and rightwing slogans are gaining ground.”

The institute reportedly collected data from regional booksellers that pointed to customers primarily being ‘interested in politics and history as well as educators, and not reactionaries or rightwing radicals’.

Despite various countries expressing an interest in the annotated version, for now, only translations to French and English are planned.

India will give a calibrated “hard” response to terror activities that will compel Pakistan to completely rethink its strategy on supporting insurgency and terrorism here, says new Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat.

Gen Rawat, who as the Vice Chief was actively involved in the surgical strikes on terror camps across the LoC, also feels while it has to be ensured that “pain” is felt by the terrorists and their supporters, the response need not be in the same manner always. He brushes aside Pakistan’s threat of use of tactical nuclear weapons, saying such statements will not deter India when it comes to defending our borders.

“While we do agree that we have to retaliate and ensure that the pain is felt by the terrorists and their supporters, the response need not be the same every time,” the army chief told PTI in an interview here. Gen Rawat, who took over as the 27th chief on December 31, said, said “We will calibrate the response in a manner it hits them hard and compels them to think in the long run whether they need to completely rethink their strategy on supporting insurgency and terrorism in our state”.

He was asked about Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s statement that enemy needs to feel the pain too. Gen Rawat also said that not every incident needs to be seen from the same perspective as there are “large number” of terrorists operating in the valley who are always attempting to carry out some sort of violence against the security forces and citizens. Asked about Pakistan’s threat of using tactical nukes, the army chief said nuclear weapons are weapons of deterrence.

“And if Pakistan is reviewing their strategy on use of nuclear weapon, it is something that they have decided to strategise,” he said adding that Pakistan’s statements doe snot find favour either with India or with the international community. Gen Rawat said one will have to wait and see what call Pakistan takes finally. He said that the government, which decides the nuclear policy, may not be deterred by the threat in case India is forced to get into a confrontation with Pakistan along the borders.

Responding to a question on whether India needs to revisit the “no first use policy”, Gen Rawat said all policies are subject to review. “Any policy that is made is subject to analysis and review. If a review is necessitated and it is felt that this review is necessary, we will go along with the government,” he said. He said India is a democracy and nuclear policy is not decided at his level but by the government.

“There are various guidelines that have been formulated and it will be issued. But if a review has to be taken, directions will come from the hierarchy,” he said. He also spoke extensively on modernisation of the army and said “time has come to imbibe new technology and adapt them to weapon system and equipment that we wish to bring and induct into the armed forces”. Admitting that while not everything can be made in India, he said the army is also looking at collaborating with some of the international firms manufacturing weapons and finally looking at Transfer of Technology which will give a boost to domestic industry.

Mumbai, Jan 6 : Indian cricket entered a new era as Virat Kohli was today officially anointed captain for all three formats as he took over leadership for the limited-overs series against England where veterans Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra will make a comeback.

While Mahendra Singh Dhoni, after more than nine years at the helm, will play only as keeper-batsman, the national selection committee under MSK Prasad’s chairmanship named rookie Delhi keeper Rishabh Pant in the T20 squad giving an indication as to whom they consider Dhoni’s successor.

The selection committee meeting today had its share of drama and was delayed by three hours on technical grounds before a go ahead from the Lodha panel set the proceedings rolling.

Today’s meeting was convened by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri after joint Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary stood disqualified owing to the Supreme Court verdict, which sacked the entire BCCI top brass last week.

Among the notable omissions, Ajinkya Rahane has been dropped from the T20 team and Pant replaces him as a batsman who will also be Dhoni’s understudy in limited overs for the time being.

“We know what Mahi is all about, he is a captain by nature, a leader from the front,” Prasad showered accolades on the outgoing captain.

Yuvraj was in splendid form during the Ranji Trophy and scored 672 runs in five games at an average of 84 with a highest score of 260 against Baroda before he took a break due to his marriage.

“We should appreciate how Yuvraj has played. He did extremely well in domestic cricket, which has been appreciated,” Prasad told mediapersons about Yuvraj, who is making a comeback nine months after the World T20 last year.

The two teams saw veteran Nehra, who underwent surgery after sustaining an injury during IPL, make a comeback. His selection indicated the dearth of quality left-arm seamers in the horizon and no one can question Nehra’s craft with the white kookaburra. .

India’s limited overs cricket will usher in a new era with the national selectors expected to name Virat Kohli as the captain when they pick the squad for three ODIs and three T20 Internationals against England on Friday. Test skipper Kohli is expected to be anointed captain of the limited overs teams also, after Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to step down from the job in a surprise decision on Wednesday.

While there should not be any doubt regarding Kohli taking over as skipper of the limited overs team, the selectors have the onerous task of choosing the two squads having a right balance as there has been a spate of injuries to top players recently.

Two key Mumbai batsmen — Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane — have been ruled out with injuries, which may give a chance to out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan, if he’s declared fit, to open the innings with K L Rahul, unless the selectors spring a total surprise and bring in a newcomer.

Karnataka’s Rahul missed the ODI series against New Zealand due to an injury while Delhi batsman Dhawan too got injured in the preceding Test rubber against the Kiwis. The left-handed Dhawan last played in an ODI in Australia in January last. After flopping in the first two matches, he struck a purple patch in the remaining three games of that series to make a century and two half centuries.

Karun Nair, who scored a brilliant triple hundred in the fifth and final Test against England in Chennai, is expected to be chosen in place of Rahane whom he also replaced in the Test team. A question mark, however, remains regarding key spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who cited an injury after the conclusion of the 4-0 Test drubbing of England and has not played in Ranji Trophy for his state team Tamil Nadu. He also missed the ODI series against New Zealand as he was rested to keep fresh for the subsequent Test rubber against England.

Second off-spinner Jayant Yadav was out ruled out of the last Test of the series against England due to an injury and it would be interesting to see whether the two slow bowling all-rounders will be chosen by the selectors without proving match fitness. Although Dhoni has stepped down as captain of the limited overs team, he has made himself available to play under a new captain, which should be Kohli, and this has been conveyed to the selectors who, thus, will choose him over other claimants.

New organ discovered inside human body by scientists (and now there are 79 of them)

Known as the mesentery, it was previously thought to be just a few fragmented structures in the digestive system.

Although its function is still unclear, the discovery opens up “a whole new area of science,” according to J Calvin Coffey, a researcher at the University Hospital Limerick who first discovered it.

“When we approach it like every other organ… we can categorise abdominal disease in terms of this organ,” he said.

“Now we have established anatomy and the structure. The next step is the function. If you understand the function you can identify abnormal function, and then you have disease.

“Put them all together and you have the field of mesenteric science.”

The research has been published in The Lancet medical journal.

Following its reclassification, medical students are now being taught that the mesentery is a distinct organ.

Gray’s Anatomy, the world’s most famous medical textbook, has been updated to include the new definition.

Medical students and researchers can now investigate what role the mesentery might play in abdominal diseases, which it is hoped could ultimately lead to new treatments.

The organ is a double fold of peritoneum – the lining of the abdominal cavity – that holds our intestine to the wall of our abdomen.

It was described by the Italian polymath Leanardo da Vinci in 1508, but it has been ignored throughout the centuries, until now. The heart, brain, liver, lungs and kidneys are the vital organs, but there are another 74 that play a role in keeping us healthy.

China has begun its first freight train service to London from Yiwu, a famed wholesale market town in the eastern province of Zhejiang, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The train will travel for 18 days over more than 7,500 miles (12,000 km) to reach Britain from China, Xinhua said. It will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before arriving in London.

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron raised some eyebrows with allies by pitching Britain as the pre-eminent gateway to the West for investment from China and proposing to make London the main international trading centre for offshore yuan.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said the relationship with China remains “golden” as she seeks to bring in billions of dollars in Chinese investment as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said he agreed “in-principle” with his cabinet colleague M Venkaiah Naidu’s suggestion of allowing registration to vehicles only after production of parking space availability certificate to the authorities.

However, the Road Transport and Highways Minister said the idea requires discussion with stakeholders before it could be implemented. “In principle, I agree to the suggestion of Mr Naidu but there is a practical problem… There is need for discussions before going ahead (in this regard),” he told reporters here. He was responding to a query about Naidu’s suggestion that no car or vehicle should be registered without adequate parking space availability, in a bid to decongest the roads.

“There are more numbers of cars in a house than family members. There is no underground parking and vehicle is parked on the roads which have become parking plazas. How will people walk on the road? Accidents are taking place,” he said, adding parking of vehicles on the roads has become another problem in the cities now. Gadkari further pitched for making available parking spaces in offices and other public places for the convenience of the people and decongesting the road.

He stressed the need for moving towards a society which has various options including underground and mechanised parking. Gadkari was also of the view that those clicking and sending the photographs of vehicles parked on roads could be incentivised with paying some money, while imposing fine on the vehicle owners. “In future, it would be mandated (that) no permission would be given to any construction without a toilet… no car or vehicle should be registered without adequate parking space availability certificate,” Naidu, the Union Urban Development Minister, had said last month.

New Delhi : The Department of Revenue has promised to refund tax claims of exporters within seven days under the new GST regime, thus addressing a major concern of the sector, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today.

The minister also said that exporters would get interest on the refund if it is delayed beyond two weeks.

Exporters have been demanding ab-initio exemption from payment of taxes under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime arguing that delay in refunds often takes months and also results in blocking the working capital. They also stated that exports need to be encouraged in view of the global slowdown.

The minister recently raised the issues of exporters in the GST Council meeting.

The concern of the exporters was that the refund should not take too long, she told reporters after chairing the meeting of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion here today.

In today’s meeting, the exporters were assured “that on 90 per cent of the amount (of refund), within seven days, the refund will be made and if there is an undue delay, interest will be paid on the amount due,” Sitharaman said.

Elaborating on the issue, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said the Department of Commerce has been taking up this matter with the Department of Revenue (DoR).

“GST clearly provides that the taxes must be paid and that the refund will be provided. So since the regime is so structured, in order to see that there is minimum pain to the exporters, what the DoR has committed that 90 per cent of the refund will be made within seven days. Delays beyond that would invite interest payment,” she said.

She said the remaining 10 per cent will be subject to whatever verification revenue department is required to do.

“This assurance satisfies the exporters,” she added.

Revenue department will work on the details to ensure that exporters do not suffer because of delay in refund.

Teaotia said exporters will get interest if the refund is delayed beyond two weeks.

“The issue about interest payment, what that amount would be and whether it would kick in after two weeks…that detail DoR would decide,” the Commerce Secretary said.

Further, the secretary said that on the issues related to tax treatment of SEZs under GST, the Department of Commerce has made representations before the GST Council.

“We are looking for favourable consideration of our submissions,” she said.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry has recently suggested to the GST Council to exempt leather and plantations sector from the GST ambit.

New Delhi, Jan 6 : Metro’s Phase IV, featuring six corridors measuring over a hundred kilometre that will take the network to the outer areas of the national capital and make the airport more accessible, was today approved by the Delhi government.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a tweet, said the decision will “go a long way” in reducing congestion and pollution in the city. “A big decision by Cabinet today,” he tweeted.

With the completion of 103-km-long Phase IV, the total length of the metro corridor in the city will cross the 450-km mark. Its Detailed Project Report (DPR) was cleared in June 2016.

The mega project, as part of which 72 new stations will be built, will cost over Rs 50,000 crore, which is to be borne equally by the state and the Centre, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.

“The next clearance has to be given by the Union government. Once it is done, work will start. The project will come up within six years of initiation of construction work,” Sisodia said.

The proposed corridors are Rithala – Narela (21.73 km) Inderlok Indraprastha (12.58 km), Tughlakabad Aerocity (20.20 km), Lajpat Nagar Saket G-Block (7.96 km), Janakpuri (west) – RK Ashram (28.92 km) and Mukundpur-Maujpur (12.54 km).

While as per the revised DPR, the Tughlakabad line was to stretch till Terminal 1 of Airport, the proposal cleared by the Cabinet says it will end a station before.

“Some changes have been made,” Sisodia said when asked about the changes brought in the final approved version of the project.

Of its total length, 67 km would be elevated and the rest underground, Sisodia said, adding that the mass rapid transit’s ridership will increase by about 8.5 lakh once it is operational.

“Monthly progress report of the project will be submitted to the Delhi government,” Sisodia said.

Earlier in June, the DPR prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was cleared despite demands by a few MLAs for bringing about minor tweaks in the routes.

The length of the currently operational corridors is around 213 km and Phase III, which will see a staggered launch in 2017, will add another 140 km to it.

Extra care must be taken to alleviate sufferings of the poor triggered by economic slow down which has become unavoidable post demonetization, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday.

Demonetization, while immobilising black money and fighting corruption, may lead to “temporary slowdown” of the economy, the President said addressing the Governors and Lt Governors through video-conferencing from Rashtrapati Bhavan here. “We all will have to be extra careful to alleviate the suffering of the poor which might become unavoidable for the expected progress in the long term,” Mukherjee said.

He said that while he appreciates the thrust on transition from entitlement approach to an entrepreneurial one for poverty alleviation, he is not too sure that the “poor can wait that long”.”They need to get succour here and now so that they can also participate actively in the national march toward a future devoid of hunger, unemployment and exploitation,” the President said.

Mukherjee said the recent package announced by the Prime Minister will provide some relief. There will be elections in as many as seven states this year and the dates for elections in five of them have already been announced, the President said. “The conduct of free and fair elections has made our democracy one of the most vibrant in the world. Elections reflect the attitudes, values and beliefs of the people towards their political environment,” he said.

Cautioning about competitive populism, electoral rhetoric and vote bank politics during elections, Mukherjee said noisy debates can “deepen the fault-lines in the society”. “Goodwill must prevail between different communities. At times, harmony may be put to test by vested interests. Communal tensions may rear their ugly head. Rule of law must form the sole basis of dealing with any such challenging situation,” the President said.

He said the Governors and Lt Governors command respect and attention of the people of their state and they can play a role in easing tensions in the society. “Through your interaction and wise counsel, you can play an important role in easing the tensions in the society,” he said in his address. He said, “In a pluralistic democracy like ours, tolerance, respect for contrary views and patience are a must which have to be preserved.

“India’s strength lies in her diversity. The multiplicity in culture, faith and language is what makes India special. There will always be divergent strands in public discourse. We may argue. We may disagree. But we cannot deny the prevalence of multiplicity of opinion,” Mukherjee said. The President asked Governors and Lt Governors to inculcate among the citizens of their states this fundamental ethos of the civilisation.

Mukherjee said the year gone was a year of mixed fortunes. “It began on a very promising note with the economy performing well, overcoming the weak global economic trends. GDP growth of 7.2 percent in the first half of 2016-17 — same as that of last year– is a pointer to the fact that our economic recovery has been on solid grounds,” he said.

In 2014 and 2015, below normal rains had caused rural distress but a good monsoon in 2016 is expected to improve agricultural production and increase rural employment and incomes, Mukherjee said. “Though our exports have been affected by weak global demand, we have a stable external sector. Reviving exports will remain a challenge but we can overcome it by improving the competitiveness of the domestic industry,” he said.

The President asked the Governors and Lt Governors to protect, preserve and defend the Constitution as they had taken an oath when they assumed this exalted office. “This pious document protects the liberty of the people and promotes the well-being of the citizens. It decrees inclusiveness, tolerance, self-restraint, and protection of women, senior citizens and weaker sections as essential ingredients of our polity. Our institutions of democracy must operate on these vital features,” he said.

Mukherjee said strong credible institutions lead to good governance ensuring a healthy functioning of the democracy. The President also asked them to work with the academic leaders to effect holistic changes for quality up-gradation in the institutions of higher learning. He also asked them to promote art and culture in their respective states.

“As I have said elsewhere, art and culture are our link with the past. They provide the foundation for our current thought and by extension, the platform for our future action.

They also provide a stable base to life and make it possible for us to have a joyous existence. “With art and culture, we can experience life in its fullest and most meaningful form. They add to the overall happiness and well-being of the society,” he said.

New Delhi, Jan 4 : Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, who led the five-judge constitution bench in the Supreme Court which had struck down the controversial NJAC Act for appointment of judges, was today sworn in as the 44th Chief Justice of India.

President Pranab Mukherjee administered the oath of office and secrecy to Justice Kehar at the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Khehar took oath in the name of God in English at the ceremony where the Opposition was conspicuous by its absence.

Then CJI, T S Thakur had last month recommended the name of Justice Khehar, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, to be his successor.

Justice Khehar, 64, will be the first Chief Justice from the Sikh community. Justice Thakur demitted office yesterday.

Justice Khehar will hold the tenure for over seven months till August 27.

Besides heading the bench in NJAC matter, Justice Khehar has also headed a bench which had set aside the imposition of President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January.

He was a part of the bench which sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy to jail while hearing the matter relating to the refund of money invested by people in his two companies.

Justice Khehar also headed a bench which recently gave a significant verdict holding that the principal of ‘equal pay for equal work’ has to be made applicable to those engaged as daily wagers, casual and contractual employees who perform the same duties as the regulars.

While the turf war between the judiciary and the executive over the appointment of judges for higher judiciary has intensified, Justice Khehar on the occasion of Constitution Day on November 26 had responded to the tirade from Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi by saying the judiciary was working within its “lakshmanrekha”.

“Judiciary is mandated to shield all persons, citizens and non-citizens alike, against discrimination and abuse of State power. Liberty, equality and dignity of citizen have flourished substantially in India due to the pro-active role of judiciary in the country,” he had said.

New Delhi, Jan 4 : The high-stakes assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases between February 11 and March 8, while Punjab and Goa will go to polls together on February 4, Uttarakhand on February 15 and Manipur in two phases on March 4 and 8, with counting to be held on March 11.

Announcing the poll schedule for five states, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said the seven-phased UP Assembly polls for 403 constituencies will be held on February 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, March 4 and 8.

He said over 16 crore people will participate in these polls for a total of 690 constituencies in five states, for which the Commission has set up 1.85 lakh polling stations, which are 15 per cent more than those set up in 2012 polls.

The CEC flanked by the two Election Commissioners A K Joti and O P Rawat announced that the poll process will commence with the issue of notification on January 11 for Punjab and Goa polls where candidates can start filing their nominations.

“The Model Code of Conduct will come into immediate effect and will apply on political parties and state governments concerned, besides the Central government in terms of announcements in these states,” Zaidi told reporters.

The CEC said candidates will have to open a fresh bank account for all election expenses and all expenses above Rs 20,000 will be made through cheques from their respective accounts. He added that all donations will also be accepted through cheques.

The maximum limit for expenses for each candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand is Rs 28 lakh, while that in Goa and Manipur is Rs 20 lakh, he said. .

London, Jan 6 : British Prime Minister Theresa May hailed the “exceptional” contribution of British Sikhs in the UK’s economy, charity and armed forces as the community marked the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

Describing the occasion of Prakash Parv as a “very special anniversary”, the British Prime Minister said the occasion highlighted values of equality, respect and fairness, and helping those less fortunate.

She said in her message: “Time and again I have seen these values put into practice, from visiting gurdwaras to attending the Sikh war memorial in Derby. Indeed, when we celebrate Vaisakhi soon, we will be reminded once again how the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji enrich our wider society.

“This anniversary is also a chance to remember that British Sikhs have made and continue to make an exceptional contribution to business, professions, charity and our armed forces.

“So may I take this opportunity to wish all those celebrating a very blessed and happy Gurpurab.”

The new Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Y K Sinha, Deputy high commissioner Dinesh K Patnaik and other senior officers of the Indian High Commission in the UK also joined Sikh devotees in the UK yesterday in prayers at the historic Shepherd’s Bush Gurdwara Sahib, the oldest gurudwara in Europe.

The high commissioner was presented with a ‘Siropa’ by the Gurudwara Committee on the occasion.

While paying homage to Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji, Sinha referred to the Sikh Guru’s “noble qualities and his sterling contribution to humanity”.

He also recalled how his parents, from his early childhood, instilled in him great reverence for the teachings of the Guru and how he took great pride in the fact that he hailed from Patna, the city that was the birth place of the 10th Sikh Guru.

Veteran actor Om Puri, who successfully straddled movie careers in Bollywood and the West, died on Friday in Mumbai.

Puri, 66, suffered cardiac arrest, his friend and actor Anupam Kher told Reuters.

Puri cut his teeth in the 1980s with alternative art cinema that found a niche audience in India, playing several memorable characters that depicted the angst of the times.

“He showed that you didn’t have to be ‘fair’ and ‘good-looking’ to be a protagonist,” Saeed Akhtar Mirza, who directed Puri in one of his earliest films, “Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai” (Why does Albert Pinto get Angry?), told Reuters.

“It was just the force of his personality and his performance.”

Several Bollywood stars, fans and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to pay their respects.

“Who dare say Om Puri is no more? He lives through his work,” actor Kamal Hassan tweeted.

An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India and later, the National School of Drama, the actor’s work in Govind Nihalani’s “Ardh Satya” (Half-Truth) and later “Aakrosh” (Rage) won him several accolades.

Along with Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, Puri was seen as one of the stars of the alternative cinema movement that contrasted sharply with Bollywood’s often crass content.

His distinctive baritone, and ability to switch seamlessly between art house, Bollywood, Hollywood and British film, made him an international star, one of the few Indian actors to cross over to the West before the likes of Irrfan Khan and Priyanka Chopra made the jump.

In a shocking decision, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has informed the BCCI, that he wishes to step down as the captain of the Indian Cricket Team from the One Day Internationals and the T20 Internationals formats of the game.

He will be available for the selection in both ODI and T20 format. For a long time, there has been speculations about how long MS Dhoni will continue as the captain of the limited over squads in light of Virat Kohli’s success in the longer format. By suddenly announcing this decision, Dhoni has silenced his critics and shut down all the rumours in his own inimitable way.

Mr Rahul Johri, Chief Executive Officer of the BCCI said, “On the behalf of every Indian cricket fan and the BCCI, I would like to thank MS Dhoni for his outstanding contribution as the captain of the Indian team across all formats. Under his leadership, Indian team has touched new heights and his achievements will remain etched forever in the annals of Indian cricket.”

Dhoni captained India in 199 ODIs and 72 T20Is and led the country to their second ODI World Cup in 2011 and into the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup. India also won the inaugural World T20 under Dhoni’s leadership. In ODIs, India also clinched the Champions trophy in 2013 under his leadership. Just based on mere statistics, MS Dhoni is India’s successful captain so far and a glorious chapter in country’s cricketing history has come to an end. The only consolation is that a worthy successor in Virat Kohli is waiting in the wings to take over the reigns of captaincy. Also MS Dhoni will still be playing the game and fans will hope that unburdened by the shackles of captaincy, Dhoni will show his trademark Mahi style of cricket at the twilight of his career.