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Indian Express
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Indian Express
‘It's like reintroducing a lost language': How parents, schools in Delhi are gently nudging kids back to reading
Six-and-a-half-year-old Zain Ali would polish off his dinner only if there was a steady stream of YouTube car videos playing alongside. Worried about his growing dependence on the gadget, his father, Mohammad Mati, swapped the phone for glossy car magazines and a storybook on Lightning McQueen, the star of Pixar hit Cars — and watched the glow of the screen give way to the rustle of pages being turned. 'By picking topics he already likes, it's getting easier to shift his attention from videos to books,' says the Noida resident. 'It's a slow process, but definitely worth it.' Other parents are making similar trades. Delhi-based Shweta Arora curbed her son Anhad's marathon gaming sessions by signing up the fourth-grader for cricket and swimming, while Noida mother Jyoti Karakoti Bajetha is reviving bedtime stories to break, what she calls, her children's growing 'addiction' to reels and shorts. 'At first, I felt relieved when I gave the phone to my child… mealtimes became easier,' says Arora. 'But, it came at a cost.' Over time, the child started losing concentration and became aggressive. Her efforts are now to introduce her son to books, which she says 'is like reintroducing a lost language'. Several families in Delhi-NCR are now on a mission to help their children reclaim their imagination and curious spark — one book, one practice, and one page at a time. Dr Bhavna Barmi, a senior clinical child psychologist at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in Delhi, says that 'compared to previous generations, today's primary school children — especially in urban or semi-urban areas like Delhi NCR — are exposed to higher levels of digital content from an early age'. As a result, she says reading as a leisure activity has declined. 'Many children today associate reading with schoolwork rather than relaxation or imagination. There's a reduction in deep, sustained reading. We see more fragmented attention, a preference for short texts like comic panels or YouTube shorts, and a reduced ability to follow longer narratives,' she adds. Dr Barmi also says that parental time constraints and lifestyle changes have meant less shared reading at home, which was previously a norm in many households. At some homes, though, the ritual is making a quiet comeback. Salil Bhati, an avid reader himself, feared that the shelves filled with Amar Chitra Katha and books by Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton, which he'd lovingly stocked in his East of Kailash home for his two children, might never compete with the hypnotic glow of the digital world, especially after the pandemic. Another worry was that the children were comparatively slow to pick up reading compared to their classmates. So he started small: picture books of animals with a few sentences per page, mythological tales with bright illustrations, and simple adventure stories. And the gentle approach paid off. He still remembers the evening his daughter breezed through an entire book in one sitting. 'That's when I realised something had changed,' he says, laughing at how 'even jazzy book covers' now stop the children in their tracks. The siblings have also taken to the daily DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) session at Delhi Public School (DPS) East of Kailash, a school-wide pause when every student sinks into a book of choice for 15 minutes. Like DPS, several Delhi-NCR campuses have been pulling out every bibliophilic trick they know to draw children back into reading. At Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, a programme called 'The Human Library' invites pupils to 'borrow' their peers for one-on-one conversations. 'It helps children confront prejudice and stereotypes,' says Naina Nagpal, the school's Primary Years Programme coordinator. 'Members of the Health and Wellness Club share real-life stories — like living books — so classmates can question, discuss and replace myths with understanding.' Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Lodi Estate, set up its first-graders for the summer with audiobook links — like Meri Saheli (My Friend) on StoryWeaver — so a child can press play and follow the words. At Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, the low shelf in the junior library doubles as quiet therapy: self-esteem primers such as Alexandra Penfold's Big Feelings and Emily Winfield Martin's The Wonderful Things You Will Be sit beside classics like Cinderella. Librarian Madhuri once doubted boys would pick the fairy tale book — until they checked it out as eagerly as anyone else. Bluebells International School in Kailash Colony has filled its junior library with colour-coded stacks, puppet nooks, Braille rows, and self-help-themed picture books. Meanwhile, at ITL Public School in Dwarka, Barkhaa, a reading series curated by the National Council of Educational Research and Training, is lined up by theme — food, games, animals — while at Ramjas International School in RK Puram, junior librarian Chandana Ghosh holds skits in her classes where students role play story characters. Librarians at these schools say the rule of a good book is simple: if it can coax a child to turn one more page, it earns a place on the shelf. The thumbed spines reveal which ones are favourites. At Bluebells International, body-positivity picture books such as Tyler Feder's Bodies Are Cool and James and Lucy Catchpole's You're So Amazing! sit beside L. Pichon's romp through a child's dairy, titled Tom Gates Is Absolutely Fantastic [at Some Things]. A Class V reviewer has taped his review onto the library's bulletin board: '… this book is all about school trips and I love it. I take this book with me wherever I go'. Senior librarian Shweta Gulati clocks a steady demand for Ruskin Bond's The Cherry Tree, Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile, Paro Anand's classroom sketches in School Ahead, and Deepa Agarwal's Himalayan quest Caravan to Tibet. At Birla Vidya Niketan in Pushp Vihar, Asha Nehemiah's whodunits, Roopa Pai's mythology retellings, and Deepak Dalal's eco-adventures are barely back on the shelves before they circulate again. At Ramjas, Geronimo Stilton, Dog Man, and Cat Kid Comic Club are the most popular, along with encyclopedias about animals, planets, and space. Community networks reflect a similar trend. The Free Libraries Network (FLN) — an online group of over 200 librarians, educators, and enthusiasts — reports that short books like Payal Kho Gayi, Gajapati Kulapati, Ismat ki Eid, Guthli Has Wings, and The Why Why Girl are especially popular among first-generation readers at the primary school level (whether or not they are formally enrolled). Then there are small community libraries, tucked away in the city's villages, which keep the joy of reading alive. At one such space in Dwarka's Sector 23, a 10-day summer camp, which began in the last week of May, is in full swing. On day 4, nine first-generation readers — aged 5 to 13 — from Pochanpur village and nearby lanes perch on chairs a size too tall, feet dangling, eyes fixed on an assistant librarian holding an illustrated folktale. 'Gufa ke andar Aladdin bandh ho gaya… aapko kya lagta hai aage kya hoga? (Aladdin is trapped in the cave. What do you think will happen next?)'. 'Rub the chirag (lamp)!' one shouts. 'He won't get out!' another guesses. The librarian turns the page, smiling as every head follows. 'Children are curious. It's access that they lack,' says Purnima Rao, FLN Director. 'Reading needs to be free, informal, and inclusive. If books are locked away in cupboards, kids won't feel welcome,' she adds. Back at Bhati's home, there has been progress — his nine-year-old daughter now reads entire books aloud to her younger brother, who is in Class II. 'We never forced the children to read. It had to come naturally,' the father smiles.
New Indian Express
18-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Twins who were born together, died together in Poonch shelling, buried side by side
POONCH: Twins Urba Fatima and Zain Ali, both aged 12, from Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir, were born together and died together on the morning of May 7, after a shell fired by Pakistani troops struck them while the family of four was trying to escape the shelling and move to safer ground. The twins, who had shared every moment of their short lives, now lie buried side by side in the graveyard. The family of four, Urba, Zain, their father Rameez Ahmad Khan, and their mother Ursha Khan, had been living in a rented accommodation in the Dongas area of Poonch town. When the shelling began on the night of May 7, fear gripped the family, especially the children, who were terrified after hearing the loud explosions and blasts for the first time in their lives. 'The twins' father called one of his relatives (brother-in-law) to pick them up from the area and move them to safer locations,' said one of their uncles, Altaf Ahmed. Their uncle reached the area at around 6.30 am while the shelling was still ongoing.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
India-Pakistan tensions: 'Whether there is war or ceasefire, our children will not come back'
For Maria Khan, the ceasefire this weekend between India and Pakistan came too who lives in Indian-administered Kashmir, lost her nephew and niece - 12-year-old twins Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima - to cross-border shelling on 7 May. Their parents, her sister Urusa and brother-in-law Rameez Khan, were also injured and are still in earlier that day, India had launched a series of strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in retaliation for an earlier militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 strikes were followed by a series of military actions from Islamabad and Delhi that went on till Saturday, including heavy cross-border shelling and drone living along the Line of Control (LoC), the de-factor border between India and Pakistan, were the most vulnerable as shells fell near their who lives in Poonch, a town in Indian-administered Kashmir near the LoC, is among dozens of people who lost family members in the conflict. On the night of 6 May, Zain, Urwa and their parents had no idea that in a few hours, India would launch "Operation Sindoor", the name given to the operation against every other day, Zain and Urwa came back from school, did their homework, played a bit, had dinner and then went to wasn't yet dawn when the Khan family heard the sound of gunfire just a few kilometres away from their they hunkered down at home and waited for a relative to come pick them up, Maria says."My sister was holding Urwa's hand and my brother-in-law was holding Zain's hand. They had just left the house when suddenly a shell exploded [nearby]. The splinters hit them - Urva died right there and Zain was flung somewhere in the force of the explosion," Maria adds that her sister kept calling out to Zain. When she finally spotted him, a stranger was performing CPR on the boy, trying to revive him. But he was ceasefire appears to hold after accusations of violationsHow backchannels and US mediators pulled India and Pakistan back from the brinkMeanwhile, Rameez lay bleeding and unconscious. Urusa, in shock after seeing what had happened to her children, was shaken out of her stupor by bystanders and her husband was rushed to hospital - first a local one in Poonch and later to a bigger hospital in Rajouri, about four hours his injuries are serious, he was shifted again to a hospital in Jammu city, another four-hour journey. Maria says that Urwa and Zain were the centre of their parents' lives. Rameez, a teacher, wanted to give them the best education they could get and hence, they shifted to a house that was closer to the children's school, called Christ 9 May, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed in a press briefing that during heavy shelling along the LoC, a Pakistani shell had fallen behind Christ School in Poonch town and exploded.16 Indians were killed on the morning of 7 May in the shelling by Pakistan. Pakistan has said that at least 30 civilians have died since India launched its retaliatory strikes on 7 Maria says, still doesn't know about the deaths of his children - his injuries are serious and the family doesn't want to upset the shelling on 7 May, hundreds of people left Poonch and other border towns to escape to safer areas. They are slowly returning after the ceasefire."The government should have informed people living near border areas earlier, so that they could leave from there and go to a safe place. Perhaps then our children would have been with us today," she says."If war is necessary for the country's security, we support it," says Maria. "We are also saddened by the Pahalgam attack, but we should also think about the lives of those living near the border. Are we not humans?" she asks."Now, whether there is a war or ceasefire, our children will not come back."Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook ALSO READ:Watch: How tensions escalated between India and Pakistan'It felt like the sky turned red', says witness to India strike in PakistanVillagers tell BBC they survived shelling in Indian-administered Kashmir
Scroll.in
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
21 civilians killed in J&K in four days of India-Pakistan conflict
Twenty-two Indian civilians, including five children, lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir in four days of the military action between India and Pakistan, said police and district officials. Five members of Indian armed forces were also killed in action between Wednesday and Saturday. India and Pakistan reached an agreement to put an end to the skirmishes that escalated on May 7 with the Indian military strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The Pakistan Army had retaliated to the strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The highest number of casualties was reported from the Jammu region of the Union Territory. Fifteen persons died in Poonch district, which came under heavy artillery firing from the Pakistan Army. Among the dead were Zain Ali and his sister Urwa Fatima. The 14-year-old twins, both students of Class 5, were killed on May 7 when an artillery shell landed outside their home in Poonch town, just as the family was leaving for a safer area. The children's father Rameez Khan was injured in the shelling. A seven-year-old girl, Maryam Khatoon, was also killed by a shell that day when she was sitting in the compound of her house in Poonch town. In Mankot village in Poonch district, 32-year-old Balvinder Kaur was killed on Wednesday as the area came under heavy artillery fire. A mother of three children, Kaur's youngest child is just a year and a half old. A 46-year-old cleric, Qari Muhammad Iqbal, who taught young children at Madrasa Zia-ul-Uloom in Poonch was also killed on May 7. Following his killing, several television channels had identified him as a 'terrorist' who had been 'neutralised' by Indian strikes on Pakistan on May 7. The cleric's family strongly objected to the allegations. The Poonch Police issued a statement, clarifying that Iqbal, was a 'respected religious figure in the local community and had no affiliation with any terror outfit'. Two shopkeepers in Poonch were killed by shells on Wednesday. Amreek Singh, 55, the sole breadwinner in his family, ran a small grocery shop. He was killed when he went out to open his shop. He is survived by two daughters and a son. Ranjit Singh, a 48-year-old local shopkeeper, who was outside Amreek Singh's shop at the time, was also killed. Amarjeet Singh, a 54-year-old retired soldier, was killed after he was hit by splinters of a shell when he was on his way home from a gurdwara on Wednesday morning. Six others died in Poonch that day, including a 13-year-old child, Vihaan Bhargav. On Saturday, 56-year-old Rashida Bi was killed when her house was hit by a shell in Kanghra-Galhutta village of Poonch. The sole civilian casualty reported in the Kashmir valley was from Baramulla district. Nargis Begum, a 47-year-old housewife, was killed in cross-border shelling in Uri area. Begum died while trying to move her 14-year-old daughter, who has a heart condition, to a safer area. Two residents of Bihar were killed on Saturday when shells hit an industrial area in Rajouri district – two-year-old Aisha Noor and 35-year-old Muhammad Shohib. The same day, Raj Kumar Thappa, the additional district development commissioner, Rajouri, was killed when a shell hit his official residence. Non-civilian deaths On Wednesday, Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar of the Army was killed in Pakistani shelling in Poonch. Sunil Kumar, 25, a rifleman of J&K Light Infantry, died of wounds suffered during overnight gunfire and shelling in RS Pura sector on Saturday. Sergeant Surendra Kumar Moga, a 36-year-old medical assistant attached with the Indian Air Force's 36 Wing, was killed in a Pakistani strike in Udhampur on May 10. The same day, Border Security Force Sub-Inspector Mohammad Imteyaz was killed in the RS Pura sector of Jammu due to shelling. Pawan Kumar, a resident of Himachal Pradesh and an Army subedar major, was killed in the Krishna Ghari sector of Poonch on May 10.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Data From Centuro Global Reveals How Flaws in the Skilled Worker Visa Could Undermine the Government's Growth Mission
Only 32% of work visas since 2021 have gone to highly skilled professionals in growth sectors Vital industries, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy and defence, are being severely impacted by a failing system There was a 32% drop in Skilled Worker visas issued in Q3 2024 compared to the previous year LONDON, April 07, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New analysis of Home Office immigration data reveals that just 32% of visas issued for work go to high-skilled professionals in the eight key sectors outlined in the Government's industrial strategy. This suggests the government could substantially reduce migration while also safeguarding the growth of key businesses. A raft of restrictions to the Skilled Worker visa in 2024 made it more challenging and expensive to hire through this route. But this measure, targeted at firms using immigration as a hiring strategy of first resort, has created unintended consequences for higher-value recruitment due to problems with the visa's design. The Skilled Worker visa route currently caters for a broad selection of high and low-skilled occupations. This means that any restrictions intended to discourage using immigration to fill lower-skilled roles will also hinder high-value firms' access to genuinely scarce skill sets. How to Fix the UK's Broken Visa System from Centuro Global reveals that industries such as engineering, defence, software development, and life sciences are suffering from acute talent shortages, exacerbated by a 32% drop in Skilled Worker visas issued in Q3 2024 compared to the previous year. If left unchecked, these shortfalls could jeopardise national missions like AI, net zero and the future of the City of London. The report exposes the severe impact of recent skilled worker visa restrictions on businesses and critical industries. The findings show that businesses report significant financial damage, with many struggling to fill key roles due to tightened immigration policies. Its launch closely follows the announcement from government watchdog, the National Audit Office, that officials do not fully understand the UK Skilled Worker visa, and the Home Office cannot say what the immigration mechanism is contributing to the economy. Key sector insights from the report include: Advanced manufacturing – 55% of firms report skill shortages, but only 10,875 visas were issued for highly specialised roles between 2021 and 2024. Clean energy – With a green skills gap of 184,000 workers, visa uptake is far below industry needs. Creative and digital industries – A 33% skills shortage, but Skilled Worker visa holders make up just 3.2% of the workforce. Financial and professional services – A 160,000-person skill gap, yet only 67,617 visas issued over four years for top-tier roles. Life sciences – 133,000 more workers are needed by 2030, but only 16,227 visas issued for highly skilled professionals. Zain Ali, CEO and co-founder of Centuro Global, stated: "The UK's visa system is unfit for purpose and fails to differentiate between roles critical to our economy and those that could be filled domestically. "The recent report by the National Audit Office confirmed what businesses have been telling us for months: frequent and unpredictable changes to visa rules make workforce planning almost impossible. Immigration policies should be shaped by labour market realities, not short-term political pressures." In April 2024, the government raised the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker visa by 48% to £38,700, restructured the occupation list, and imposed restrictions on dependents for Health & Care visa holders. While these changes aimed to reduce net migration, they have inadvertently hurt industries that rely on highly skilled foreign workers. Centuro Global consulted a panel of executives from large multinationals in key strategic sectors, including engineering, telecommunications, construction and energy, on the impacts they had experienced due to these changes. The findings show that over half (55%) of businesses report moderate-to-severe financial damage, with 22.2% struggling to fill key roles due to tightened immigration policies. To address the crisis, Centuro Global proposes replacing the current Skilled Worker visa with a new Growth Visa, focused on high-skill sectors that drive economic growth while ensuring better workforce planning. Key recommendations include: Prioritising high-skill sectors – prioritise applicants for jobs in industries driving economic growth. Raising qualification thresholds – require a minimum of an RQF Level 6 (Bachelor's degree). Capping salary threshold increases – limit future hikes to 5% at a time to avoid sudden business shocks. Sector-specific weighting – adjusting the points system to favour strategic industries. Cross-government task force – establishing an interdepartmental Growth Visa Joint Unit to oversee evidence-based policy changes. Meena Sangar, founder and fractional chief people officer at TalonX Ltd, said: "I've gone through the process of hiring skilled talent before, and it's always very difficult. Why would a company go ahead and hire a skilled worker from another country when it's going to be more expensive and more time-consuming? It shouldn't have to be so difficult." Zain continued: "A smarter, growth-focused visa system is needed to ensure businesses can access top global talent while maintaining control over immigration. Our proposal offers a balanced, long-term solution to protect jobs, investment, and Britain's global competitiveness." With industries already struggling to fill specialist roles, the report calls on the government to act urgently. For more information and to read the full report, visit For editorial information or requests, email centuroglobal@ ABOUT CENTURO GLOBAL Launched in 2020, Centuro Global is an AI-powered SaaS platform that ensures a company's global expansion and mobility needs are serviced compliantly in one place. With the Centuro Connect platform, every step of the global expansion journey, from tax, legal, and immigration to payroll and HR, is found in one system, allowing companies to trade in any jurisdiction with ease and efficiency. Please see an explainer video here. View source version on Contacts Editorial Contact: YourStory PR for Centuro GlobalCenturoGlobal@ +44(0)7867488769 Sign in to access your portfolio
