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Politics, cinema dominant themes in Goa

PANAJI, Dec 23: Two of India’s biggest obsessions -politics and cinema- were the dominant themes that saw Goa grab headlines in the year 2004. The International Film Festival of India seemed to be one of the issues around which politics was played and elections were won or lost.

IFFI and the "development" that it would bring to the state was definitely one of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s pet topic of conversation at election rallies and meetings.

The year started with the formal declaration by then Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj that Panaji would host the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2004, triggering a string of allegations by the opposition Congress and other groups that the Government "was in too much of a hurry to host the festival and breaking all rules in the process."

With the Lok Sabha elections in April, IFFI once again figured as one of the main issues with Congress accusing the Parrikar-led Government of bypassing rules in order to get the infrastructure ready in time and said this was one of the many ways that corruption was pervading the system during the BJP rule.

Parrikar on the other hand consistently stressed on his good governance record but his party could retain only one of the two seats it had in the previous Lok Sabha.

While most anaylysts credited the Congress’s win in south Goa to its candidate Churchill Alemao’s mass appeal and the fact that the constituency had a majority population of Catholics, others felt that Parrikar’s development mantra had not yet percolated down to the grassroots.

Even after the Lok Sabha elections, the drama of Goa politics showed no signs of subsiding, and within a month parrikar played another hand, sacking his flashy Tourism Minister Miccky Pacheco from the cabinet and inducting his arch rival Mathany Saldhana.

Officially, Parrikar cited "differences in style of functioning" for removing pacheco, but political circles were rife with speculation that miccky was proving to be more of a liability than an asset to Parrikar and that his rival Mathany Saldanha, the lone UDGP MLA in the Assembly was more "useful."

Ironically, hardly one month after that as Goa was playing host to the BJP’s national "Chintan Baithak", Pacheco withdrew support from the Government and joined hands with the Congress "in an effort to support secular forces."

Not to be outdone at the the fact that his number had been reduced by one in the forty member Assembly, Parrikar wooed Poinguinim MLA and Congressman Isidore Fernandes.

Fernandes resigned from the Assembly seat, joined the BJP and won the by-election by a much larger margin than before, thus cementing the BJP’s position and allowing Parrikar to turn his attention to his pet project of IFFI.

The whole of Panaji was abuzz with activity in the weeks and months leading up to IFFI, with the Government determined to prove a point not only to the detractors, but many in Delhi who thought goa would not come up with the required infrastructure. There was uncertainty as to whether goa would host the event or not till a month before the festival.

Parrikar spent 75 crore on infrastructure like a four-screen multiplex, roads, bridges and beautification of the Panaji city, even as he was attacked consistently for bypassing rules and building projects without following the tendering process.

As the event progressed, however, it was obvious that goa as a venue was a huge hit with almost everyone, including delegates, the film industry and even locals, who despite initial complaints about the traffic and crowds, joined in the celebrations with full enthusiasm.

Improptu music concerts on the sidewalk, stilt walkers, dancers and movie screenings on giant screens at the beaches were huge successes although there was some criticism of the organisational aspect of the festival.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Jaipal Reddy announced that Goa would host the event again next year but stopped short of pronouncing it as the permanent venue.

Besides IFFI, the other big event of the year was the exposition of the relics of St Francis Xaiver, which is held every ten years and attracts lakhs of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world.

The trial run of the much touted skybus project of the Konkan Railways took a tragic turn when a bogey crashed into a pillar, killing one of its engineers on the spot. KRCL MD B Rajaram was forced to postpone the national launch of the project.

Yet another tragic event took place on the football field with the death of Goa’s top striker Cristiano junior, a Brazilian playing for dempo club on the footbally field.

Junior’s death has raised a great deal of questions in terms of safety standards followed by football clubs in the country as well as the medical facilities available to players on the field. (PTI)

‘Band’ controversy dominated year in West Bengal

KOLKATA, Dec 23: A string of general strikes during 2004 and the raging controversy over the right to strike dominated the political scenario in West Bengal known for its ‘bandh culture’.

The controversy over the right to strike by political parties gained ground after the Calcutta High Court termed the Trinamool Congress-sponsored 12-hour bandh on December three "illegal and unconstitional".

The state witnessed as least six bandhs called by different political parties, three of them within a span of 17 days, to protest the fuel price hike, while a strike was enforced at the call of CITU earlier.

Not to be left behind, senior CPI-M leader and Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty had also given a call for a 30 minute ‘Chakka Jam’ (halt traffic programme) throughout the state protesting the petro price hike.

The issue of right to strike brought political parties together.

Another highlight of the year was the near decimation of Trinamool Congress in the May Lok Sabha poll with the party managing to retain only the seat of its supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Alhtough the TC chief put up a brave face, the party suffered desertion with two of its former MPs Sudip Bandopadhyay and Nitish Sengupta crossing over to the Congress.

Congress, though improving its position primarily in north Bengal, continued to be overshadowed by Trinamool Congress in south Bengal districts.

TC’s poll ally BJP experienced fierce internal feud with former Union Minister Tapan Sikdar floating a parallel platform.

Manintaining its sway, the ruling Left front retained all three Assembly seats where byelections were held.

After lying low for a long time, hardline naxalite outfits resurfaced in the state with a public rally in the heart of the city.

The state was not free from Naxalite violence as a large part of west Midnapore and Purulia districts witnessed the killings of several security personnel.

After being in the opposition in Parliament for decades senior CPI(M) leader Somnath Chatterjee received the party’s nod to become the first Communist Speaker of Lok Sabha.

The issue of criminalisation of politics in the state came to the fore with arrest of anti-social ‘Hatkata’ Dilip and Avtar Singh, husband of CPI(M) MP and former athlete Jyotirmoyee Sikdar.

The opposition parties claimed Dilip had links with Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty. Avtar Singh was arrested in a sleaze racket run from his hotel.

The state also had to cope with the theft of Rabindra Nath Tagore’s Nobel medal from Rabindra Bhavan museum at Santiniketan. Despite a CBI probe, the medal has remained untraced.

In sports, ace swimmer and city girl Bula Chowdhury became the first woman to cross what is metaphorically called the seven seas when she swam the Palk Strait from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi in India.

The majestic eden gardens hosted the BCCI platinum jubilee one-day cricket match between India and Pakistan with the visitors romping to a four-wicket win thanks to the maiden ton by Salman Butt.

However, the occasion, which presented an opporutnity for massive celebrations, passed off without much lustre despite the presence of a host of former skippers from India and Pakistan as the match was held in the backdrop of the uncertainty in the BCCI after the incomplete agm in September followed by umpteen legal battles.

The India-South Africa test, which came shortly after the Indo-Pak tie, failed to draw much crowd but fans at the eden had much to cheer for as the hosts registered an eight-wicket triumph to pocket the two match series.

The test also saw veteran leggie Anil Kumble pick up his 434th victim, to equal legendary allrounder Kapil Dev’s record as India’s highest wicket taker. Kumble went on to break the record against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

But more than the on-field heroics, it was the off-field drama surrounding the cricket board’s AGM that grabbed the headlines for days together.

In an atmosphere surcharged with tension, court battles and accusations, Ranbir Singh Mahendra became the new BCCI president scraping past Maharashtra strongman and Union Minister Sharad Power 16-15 riding on a casting vote by outgoing BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya after a 15-15 tie.

However, the AGM remained inconclusive as two listed businesses could not be taken up in view of a stay order passed by a Chennai court on the appointment of Dalmiya as the board’s patron-in-chief.

The top Indian cricketers reaped a huge finacial bonanza as the much-delayed contract system for graded payment came into force from October 1 with the top 20 players placed in three categories inking their approval in the city.

Earlier in the year, the BCCI cracked the whip slapping a seven-month ban on first class cricketer Abhijit Kale for trying to influence the national selectors for a place in the Indian team.

On the soccer field, India had their dismal campaign for a world cup berth going down 0-4 to Japan in a qualifying match under lights. Ignominy was added to insult as the salt lake stadium plunged into darkness due to a power cut which delayed the second half by 29 minutes.

City giants east Bengal continued their spectacular run annexing the national league title for the second time on the trot and adding the local league honours to their already swelling bag of successes.

East Bengal also raced into the last eight of the AFC cup by steering past island FC (Maldives), Negri Sembilan (Malaysia) and Geylang FC (Singapore) in the group league. In the quarter final, east Bengal finished goalless with Syria’s Al-Jaish here, before losing 0-3 in damascus.

Myanmar’s finance and revenue football club emerged surprise winners in the 110th IFA shield getting the better of Mohun bagan 5-3 in the final.

Three leading sportspersons of the state got enmeshed in Murky affairs. rt 12231050 del pri espl nat .Kolkata des4 year-wb 5 lst

While East Bengal Soccer players Sasthi Duley and Dipankar roy were booked by the police for allegedly harbouring a fugitive miscreant, Athlete Pinky Pramanik was taken into custody after a revolver was found from his bag.

But Pramanik was absolved when it was discovered that she had been framed by a gang of eve-teasers.

On the economic side, Kolkata continued to be an attractive destination for big-ticket it companies like Wipro.

Recently, Wipro spectramind started its BPO operations in salt lake where 1000 software professionals would be engaged for carrying out high-end outsourcing jobs of foreign clients.

Wipro chairman Azim Premji had also sought more land from West Bengal Government to expand outsourcing operations.

Besides Wipro, several other companies like HSBC data processing and ICRA had announced starting captive BPO operations from the city.

Retailing had also come up in a big way in the city with the opening up of city centre, Kolkata’s second shopping mall after forum to house a multiplex.

The Ambuja group also opened its first multiplex in the city under the name 89 cinemas during the year.

House construction activity gathered momentum in the state with the coming up of new town which is promised to be a bigger township than salt lake.

Another major milestone achieved was the announcement of first ever housing project involving fdi which is being promoted by two Indonesian industrial groups,Selim and Ciputra. The cost of the project is valued at Rs 350 crore.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani formally announced the setting up a call centre in the city at infocom seminar organised by NASSCOM. (PTI)

IA, Alliance Air to acquire aircraft to fly to small cities

NEW DELHI, Dec 23: With an aim to link the unconnected destinations in the country, Indian Airlines and its subsidiary Alliance Air would soon acquire small aircraft to fly to smaller cities, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here today.

"We will be soon induct smaller aircraft into the public sector undertaking so that small cities around metros and important states could be well connected," he said while launching the Delhi-Dehradun flight operated by low cost Airline Air Deccan.

Asked whether small planes were being acquired by the Indian Airlines and Alliance Air, he said "it will be the same plan — leasing and acquisition."

To begin with, Alliance would introduce six small aircraft and the IA board was already working on it.

Admitting that infrastructure at various airports was not adequate, Patel said his ministry would take a holistic view of the situation and try and remove all bottlenecks.

Airports Authority of India has nearly 145 airports under its jurisdiction out of which only 80 are operational. "Of the operational airports, at least 15 to 20 need an upgradation urgently," he said, adding his ministry would act as a facilitator for growth of the industry.

Expressing the hope that the year 2005 would see the dream of an ordinary man to fly coming true, he said "last few months have shown an encouraging trend of increase of 30 per cent passenger load in the aviation sector. vlc

Patel complimented Air Deccan for connecting smaller cities of the country from where "traditional airlines have been shying away."

He said he had seen an encouraging trend whereby mps were demanding air connectivity to their constituency or state rather than a train. "This is definitiely an encouraging thing," he said.

He said the Aviation Ministry would welcome anyone coming to the "club" for setting up a new airline, provided the company met all the requirements set by the Government.

To a question whether pushing alliance air towards flying to smaller cities was a precursor for making it a low cost airline, Patel said all he wanted was to make the airline compete in the changing scenario.

About the continued disruption of flight schedule due to fog, he said it depended on the airlines whether they wanted to train their pilots on Cat III, III-A and III-B landing systems. "After all it is their loss," he added.

Earlier, Air Deccan MD, G R Gopinath, requested the aviation ministry to provide basic navigational facilities at airports in smaller cities.

Air Deccan began its programme of connecting the national capital with seven neighbouring destinations in Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The low cost airline started the Delhi-Dehradun and Delhi-Jaipur flight from today while its flight to Kanpur and Amritsar would begin from tomorrow. A flight between Delhi and Agra will commence from December 25.

Commercial operations to all the seven destinations would begin from Decemeber 27 with 18 flights being operated on a daily basis by two ATR aircraft. (PTI)

IHT controversy, DTH service mark 2004 for I&B sector

NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Controversy over the publication of international Herald Tribune cocking a snook at the decades-old cabinet resolution barring Indian editions of foreign newspapers, setting up of a Group of Ministers (GoM) on the print media, launch of DTH service of DD and uproar over the sacking of Anupam Kher as censor board chief marked the year 2004 for the information and broadcasting sector.

The publication of IHT in May came as a bolt from the blue as it came just when the Congress-led UPA assumed Power and S Jaipal Reddy took charge of the ministry for the second time.

Caught off guard over the publication of the IHT by Hyderabad’s Midram publications, the Government dubbed it as a "complete violation" of the 1955 cabinet resolution but to no avail. The paper’s editor M J Akbar contested it, saying he was within "constitutional rights" to publish the paper and carried on with the printing.

Red-faced, all the Government could do was to bundle out the then registrar of newspapers of India G D Beliya and put a senior official in the ministry on "compulsory wait", an euphemism for keeping an official without any posting.

A fallout of the IHT controversy was the Government going in for a Group of Ministers (GoM) to take a "comprehensive" look at the entire paradigm of print media, including the issue of foreign investment in the sector as well as other things like syndication rules.

The erstwhile BJP-led NDA had allowed 26 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in ‘news and current affairs’ publications and 74 per cent in ‘speciality/technical journals’. What stand the Government adopts in the backdrop of support from the Left parties that are none too happy over FDI in the crucial sector remains to be seen.

When quizzed on the matter of FDI, Reddy, who is himself a member of the GoM, expressed himself against FDI in print media, saying media product was different from the product of any other industry.

However, he made it clear that the Government did not propose to rollback the investment caps in the sector. "There have been adequate safeguards. As of now, the present regime will continue," he said.

Another issue that kept the ministry in news was the unceremonious sacking of versatile actor Anupam Kher as Censor Board Chief, allegedly at the behest of the Left parties who are the Government’s biggest supporter.

Crying foul, Kher alleged the move was initiated after CPI(M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet labelled him as "an RSS man" in an article in CPM journal "people’s democracy".

Dismissing the charge that he was an "RSS man", Kher attacked the Left parties for his "humiliating" removal saying he was "dumped by those in power for a mere 60 seats (in Lok Sabha)."

"They are so dependent on Surjeet that if asked to bend, they crawl," an upset Kher fumed, squarely accusing the veteran CPM leader for his ouster.

On other issues, the Congress-led UPA, like its predecessor, continued to keep the controversial CAS under cold storage while TRAI allowed seven per cent increase in the cable charges from December 26 this year in view of inflation, a development set to burn the pockets of cable TV consumers from the new year.

Another highlight of the year was the launch of the DTH service of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati. Offering 33 TV and 12 radio channels, the service boasts of being the first free-to-air service on the DTH platform in the world.

The field already has a player in Zee-promoted ASC enterprises dish TV. It seems headed for a big competition with the Rs 1,600 crore Star-Tata joint venture, space TV, awaiting a final nod from the Government. It will be interesting to see what marketing strategy the entertainment biggie adopts as Zee and Prasar Bharati are enjoying the first-mover advantage with 1.5 lakh and one million subscribers respectively.

The only sore point for the Government in the DTH sector remains on how to address the free flow of pornography from the platform, virtually impossible from the technological side. The Government seems aware of this sensitive issue and is likely to tackle it in the new downlinking policy it proposes to come out with shortly.

The Government has said it would formalise the new policy soon and will look into issues like allowing FII investment in news channels and making registration mandatory for foreign channels beaming to India. Currently, only 26 per cent FDI investment is allowed and FIIs are out of the picture.

Also, in order to have an effective control over channels beaming to India but uplinking from abroad, the Government may ask them to register themselves in India and set up an India office, among other such measures. This is expected to help it tackle issues like pornography as it will have power to control these channels.

On the consumer side, TRAI came out with a much-needed regulation for the broadcasting sector.

Going all out for unlimited sharing of content on a non-discriminatory basis in its interconnection regulation, the regulator recommended a "must provide" clause among broadcasting and cable service providers on a non-discriminatory basis, virtually stirring a hornet’s nest among broadcasters desirous of maintaining their exclusivity.

Another important development was in TRAI’s recommendations aimed at spurring growth in the radio sector, especially FM. Aiming to encourage more and more players to set up FM radio stations, the regulator recommended the high licence fee regime be ended and new players, for the second phase of licensing, enter into a revenue share model.

The Government, however, raised objection to this recomendation on the contention that an annual licence fee at four per cent of gross revenue was unacceptable as it would reduce the mop up to lower single digit figures (in rupees crore) against the over Rs 100 crore as per the current licence fee set-up.

Undettered by the Government’s objection, TRAI stuck to its guns saying a high licence fee model was "not sustainable" and thus needed to be replaced.

Not only this, the regulator made another major policy recommendation and said it favoured the broadcast of news and current affairs programmes on private FM.

Another effort on the radio sector was TRAI’s recommendation on community radio.

In line with its plan to increase the scope of community radio stations in India, it recommended lifting of the restrictions on coverage of news and current affairs in community radio ventures and allowing commercial advertising, apart from making the venture free of any licence fee. (PTI)

JD(U) appeals to CEC for single-phase polls in Bihar

NEW DELHI, Dec 23: JD(U) leaders led by party President George Fernandes today met the Chief Election Commissioner and appealed for holding the forthcoming Assembly election in Bihar in a single phase to prevent "misuse" of Government machinery by the ruling RJD.

"We told the Election Commission that single-phase polls would ensure that impartial elections are held as the ruling party will not be able to misuse the Government machinery in its favour," senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar told reporters after the meeting with CEC T S Krishnamurthy here.

"Polls spread over three phases will help RJD in facilitating movement of their muscle power in different parts of the state," Kumar said.

He also alleged that RJD would ensure that sensitive poll booths would be manned by those Government and police officers who are partisan to their party.

Former Union Minister and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav was also part of the delegation that met Krishnamurthy.

Kumar also welcomed the Election Commission’s action against RJD for breach of Model Election Code of Conduct and said this has sent "positive signals".

On today’s meeting, he said the Election Commission gave them a patient hearing, although they also put forth their difficulty in implementing the recommendations.

He quoted the Commission as having said the dates of the polls have been scheduled as per the availability and deployment of the para-military forces. (PTI)

Chanakya of Indian politics, P V Narasimha
Rao, is no more

NEW DELHI, Dec 23: The Chanakya of Indian politics, statesman-scholar Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao, will be remembered most for setting India on the course of economic reforms and liberalisation as the Prime Minister of the country from 1991 to 1996.

The dour, unsmiling Rao, who was invited to head a minority Congress Government after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during the May 1991 elections, surprised everyone by becoming the first Prime Minister from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to complete his full term.

But the one event that sullied his record was the December 6, 1992, demolition of the Babri Masjid.

After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991, Rao was chosen to lead the Congress party, and when Congress won a plurality in Parliament later that year Rao became Prime Minister.

Virtual bankruptcy of foreign exchange reserves and a stagnant economy helped Narasimha Rao to win political consensus on dismantling protectionism and the GDP grew by an average of 5.5 per cent.

He moved decisively toward free-market reforms, reducing the Government’s economic role, instituting austerity measures, and encouraging foreign investment. He was often confronted by Hindu religious unrest and by opposition within his own party.

In 1996, a corruption scandal rocked the Government. When General Elections were held in May, the Congress was defeated and he lost the Prime Ministership.

He retained leadership of the Congress party until late 1996. In 2000, Rao was convicted of conspiring to buy votes in Parliament prior to a 1993 no-confidence vote, but the verdict was overturned in 2002.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, his able Finance Minister was Dr Manmohan Singh who is now the Prime Minister and the Finance Secretary was Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia who is now the deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

Before moving to the Centre, Rao was Minister of Law, Endowment, Health and Education in Andhra Pradesh before he was chosen as Chief Minister in 1971 when Kasu Brahmananda Reddy was asked to step down by the Congress high command in the wake of the Telangana agitation after he had served as one of the longest Chief Ministers of the state.

Rao’s Chief Ministership saw a violent agitation in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema region, which was an aftermath of the Land Ceiling Act, which he had personally supervised and drafted.

The landmark Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Land Ceiling Act was probably the first act in India, which was brought with retrospective effect and saw an immediate violent reaction from the powerful landed gentry cutting across the caste configurations in the state.

This ultimately led to his downfall and a short spell of President’s rule in Andhra Pradesh but Rao crossed the Vindhyas to play an important role in national politics.

As Prime Minister, Rao survived a no-confidence motion in 1993, but was convicted in 2000 for allegedly bribing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs to support him during voting on the motion in the Lok Sabha. However, the High Court overturned the judgement but not before Rao became the first Prime Minister to be convicted by a court of law in India for a bribery charge.

After his retirement from politics, Rao published a book titled "The Insider" which chronicles the rise of a person through the ranks of Indian politics.

Narasimha Rao, son of P Ranga Rao, was born on June 28, 1921, in an Agrarian family belonging to Karimnagar of Andhra Pradesh.

A post Graduate in Arts and Law, Rao was educated at the Osmania, Bombay and Nagpur universities.

His political baptism took place in 1938 during a protest against the then Nizam Government, when it banned the singing of Vande Mataram in his college. Rao later gave up his legal practice and actively participated in the Quit India movement.

In 1951, he was a full-time Congress worker and became the vice-president of the Hyderabad State Congress Committee.

He was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 1957 from Manthani constituency, which he represented for the next 20 years. He held several ministerial posts in the state before becoming the Chief Minister from 1971 to 1973.

Indira Gandhi made rao the general secretary of the Congress party during the emergency. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 and in the years that followed held the portfolios of External Affairs, Home, Defence and Human Resource Development under Mrs Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi.

As Minister of External Affairs, Rao chaired the III conference of UNIDO at New Delhi in January 1980, within a few days of assuming charge. He also chaired a meeting of the group of 77 at New York in March 1980.

His role at the conference of Foreign Ministers of non-aligned countries in February 1981 earned him wide appreciation.

Rao had shown keen personal interest in international economic issues and led the Indian delegation to the conference of the group of 77 on ECDC (Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries) at caracas, in May 1981.

In 1982 and 1983 under the shadow of the Gulf war, the non-aligned movement asked India to host the seventh summit. This also meant India assuming the chair of the movement and Indira Gandhi becoming its Chairperson.

Rao presided over meetings of Foreign Ministers of non-aligned nations on the eve of the New Delhi summit and also at the United Nations both in 1982, when India was asked to host the summit and the following year when, at the initiative of the movement, informal consultations amongst heads of State and Government from diverse nations across the world were held in New York.

Rao was also the leader of the special non-aligned mission that visited countries in west Asia in November, 1983 in an effort to resolve the issue of the Palestian Liberation Organisation. Rao was associated actively with the Common Wealth heads of Government meeting in New Delhi and with the action group set up by the meeting on the question of cyprus.

He was Home Minister at the time of the assassination of Indira Gandhi and served as HRD minister under Rajiv Gandhi.

He did not contest the 1991 election for health reasons, but fate willed otherwise.

Rao was a polyglot who could speak several languages. He was known for his Hindi version of famous Telugu novel "Veyi Padagulu" and Telugu version of Marathi novel Pan Lakshat Kon Gheto.

He had five daughters and three sons. His eldest son P V Ranga Rao was a minister in the Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh and his youngest son P V Rajeswara Rao a Lok Sabha member from Secunderabad. Another son is a doctor.

His wife had pre-deceased him. (UNI)