Perhaps in 2007 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shared his dream of having breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul. In his address to the 79th annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Singh had shared his heart-warming vision of a “long-term peace treaty” with Pakistan: “I earnestly hope that relations between our two countries become so friendly that we can generate an atmosphere of trust between each other and that the two nations are able to agree on a treaty of peace, security and friendship”.

No arrests have been made in the case as yet.

A brief debate was held amid an unprecedented din with members from Left and Right in the Well denouncing “dictatorial ways” of the government in pushing through the much talked about legislation when Parliament is paralysed over various scams.

“Loktantra ki hatyari sarkar, nahin chalegi…” chanted BJP members who were joined by Left members in denouncing the Congress-led coalition.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, whose brainchild is the food security bill, was prominent among those present. Gandhi, who is also UPA Chairperson, virtually led the treasury benches in marshalling forces in favour of the legislation.

Flanked by parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath, she was seen gesturing to members to make sharp but brief speeches. Nath look amused at the situation.

Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj appeared to have been caught off guard as Girija Vyas, who was in the chair, took up the bill for consideration after the House approved the extension of the JPC on 2G scam till the Monsoon session.

BJP members were so agitated that they started thumping the side table of the Presiding Officer to draw the attention of Vyas who chose to ignore their protest.

After food minister KV Thomas sang paeans of the key bill in the din, the inconclusive discussion saw Sanjay Nirupam (Cong), Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool), Sanjeev Naik (NCP) and Bhakta Charan Das (Cong) speaking briefly on the proposed measure.

Members from Shiromani Akali Dal, a constituent of NDA, were seen demanding a Supreme Court-monitored SIT probe into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

As the din continued, the House was adjourned for the day.

The Food Bill aims to give legal right over a uniform quantity of 5 kg foodgrains at a fixed price of Rs. 1-3 per kg via ration shops to 67% of the population.

Last week, the amendments to the Food Bill, which was originally introduced in Parliament in December, 2011, was moved in the Lok Sabha but discussion could not take place due to disruption of proceedings on several issues, including ‘coalgate scam’.

Thomas has made it clear that there are no plans to take the Ordinance route to implement the Bill, in case government fails to ensure its passage in the current session of Parliament that has been marred by frequent disruptions.

Thomas said last week: “If an Ordinance is not replaced with a Act, then the beneficiaries will lose their legal right and the entire Public Distribution System (PDS) would get affected.”

He said the Bill could be implemented through an executive order to an extent of supplying 5 kg of foodgrains to each person at an highly subsidised rate. “But an executive order will not ensure the legal right,” he said.

Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool), who laid his speech on the table, said the legislation seeks to reduce the entitlement of foodgrains of families living below the poverty line from the existing 35 kg to 25 kg per household per month.

He said studies show that a household consisting of two adults and as many children requires 50 kg of foodgrain per month.

Taking cognisance of the offence and registering the case, the court posted it to May 12 for recording of the statement of the complainant.

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH or vasopressin) which is stored in the pituitary gland of the body plays an important role  in causing diabetes insipidus, because when ADH level increases, the kidney reabsorbs the water and excretes large amount of urine. In this condition, lesser amounts of water conservation occur and urine is excreted in a diluted form.

Sign and symptoms of diabetes insipidus

The signs and symptoms may include the following:

- Excessive thirst
- Frequent urination
- Bedwetting
- Nocturia (urge to urinate through the night)
- Dryness of skin
- Fussiness
- Fever
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Constipation
- Enlargement of bladder
- Discolouration of urine
- Infants may have lack of growth

Causes and features of diabetes insipidus

Diabetes insipidus occurs because of the improper regulation or handling of fluids inside the body. Generally, the kidneys filter and pass all the body fluids from the blood. This is then stored in the bladder temporarily in the form of urine. The production of ADH or vasopressin, which is an antidiuretic hormone greatly, affects the excretion rate of urine.

1. Central diabetes insipidus

In central diabetes insipidus, secretion of antidiuretic hormone is very less. If any part of the brain is affected or injured, it directly affects the formation and storage of antidiuretc hormone. Factors such as surgery of the brain, head injuries, infections, tumours of the brain, sickle cell disease, blockage of brain arteries and sometimes genetic factors are also responsible for this.

2. Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus

Normally kidney conserves water and makes it concentrated due to a response or signal to kidney according to the ADH level, but in nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, the kidney does not respond to the signals of ADH. Nephrogenic diabetes can be inherited, but there are certain drugs which are responsible for causing the diabetes insipidus such as lithium. It is also seen when Calcium levels in the blood increases and potassium level decreases.

3. Dipsogenic diabetes insipidus

Dipsogenic diabetes insipidus occurs when there is an imbalance in the process of thirst which may lead to excess of thirst and urination.

4. Gestational diabetes insipidus

Gestational diabetes is seen only in pregnant women  because during pregnancy hormonal levels are high, and they are indirectly responsible for causing this type of diabetes.

Prevention and treatment of diabetes insipidus

Diabetes insipidus can be hereditary as well as due to various other factors also. It can be prevented by exercising regularly, by maintaining weight, taking healthy and proper diet and reducing other risk factors like elevated blood pressure and cholesterol level. Smoking should be avoided as it increases the chances of causing diabetes insipidus.

Besides these, there are certain medications that help in diabetes insipidus such as desmopressin which is given orally in the form of tablet. It can also be taken as nasal spray or via injection. Besides, hydrochlorothiazide may also be given or in combination with other drugs especially in nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.

The screening also saw celebrities like Parineeti Chopra, Abhay Deol, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D’Souza, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rahul Khanna, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ranveer Singh, Randeep Hooda, Gauri Shinde, Punit Malhotra, Abhishek Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Sonam Kapoor, Ritesh Sidhwani and Kalki Koechlin.

“Bombay Talkies is lovely, lyrical, aching. It made me smile and cry. And it made me understand why I love Hindi movies so much. Do watch,” said film critic Anupama Chopra via Twitter.

It started with grandfather Prithviraj, a silver screen pioneer from the 1920s. Then came his son, the legendary Raj Kapoor, known as “the Showman” and “India’s Charlie Chaplin” for his roles as a loveable tramp.

Raj’s three sons followed him into acting, with Rishi leading the way as his generation’s romantic hero. Now Rishi’s son Ranbir, 30, is touted as “the future of Bollywood” and his niece Kareena is a leading actress.

That’s not to mention the Kapoor spouses, cousins, in-laws and other relatives who have taken a shot at movie stardom with varying degrees of success.

“The audiences have always welcomed us and given an opportunity and we’ve lived up to it,” Rishi tells AFP at his sprawling bungalow in the film capital Mumbai, which he shares with wife Neetu, an actress, and their rising star son.

The three of them will appear together in the film ‘Besharam’ (Shameless), which Rishi is just back from shooting in New Delhi. He jokes that he is done talking in interviews about his son, whose fame is fast eclipsing his own.

“Whenever I talk about Ranbir… whatever I’ve said about him is in the headlines,” he says in theatrical mock anger. “The article’s about me, not my son!”

But he is clearly delighted that Ranbir is continuing the family tradition, which he puts down to “our purpose, our resolve, our passion for cinema”.

The lineage keeps producing talent — Ranbir won critical acclaim for his turn as the deaf-and-mute hero of last year’s hit ‘Barfi!’ — but it also shows the power of a surname in an industry still mired in nepotism.

As Indian cinema marks its centenary today, the main rivals to the title of “Bollywood’s first family” are the Bachchans.

Veteran superstar Amitabh Bachchan married actress Jaya Bhaduri and their son Abhishek has followed them into the movies, albeit to much less acclaim, and married model and actress Aishwarya Rai.

Among other famous film families are the Dutts, the Bhatts, the Deols, the Akhtars, the Chopras and the Johars.

“I’m a brand ambassador of nepotism,” admitted director and producer Karan Johar at a recent conference on cinema in Mumbai.

“If my father was not a film producer and he didn’t have that kind of contact with other illustrious filmmakers, I would probably have been a fashion designer, I would have been in the world of advertising.”

In showbiz worldwide it helps to have connections, but India is especially fond of its dynasties. In politics, 42-year-old Rahul Gandhi may run to be his family’s fourth-generation prime minister in polls next year.

Indian businesses also tend to stay in the family, be the small roadside food stalls or sprawling conglomerates such as consumer goods giant Godrej and the Reliance energy and telecoms empires.

“Networks count for a lot in India. It’s not just merit. If your father’s in the business, he has an established network and that’s very important,” says Dipankar Gupta, a former sociology professor.

“Democracy tends to mask in India that the patron-client relationship is essential, it keeps things going at every level.”

A few outsiders have managed to break into cinema.

Johar’s nepotism comments were made at a panel titled “Gatecrashers who made the party: the Out of Towners in Bollywood”, which highlighted a handful who have shown it is possible.

Megastar Shah Rukh Khan, ranked as India’s top celebrity by Forbes, had no starry childhood but a middle-class upbringing in Delhi.

Half-British Katrina Kaif, one of Bollywood’s highest-paid actresses, was brought up abroad, not speaking Hindi, and “had an ice cube’s chance in hell of making it”, according to an April edition of Filmfare magazine.

“I think it has become a more accessible space in the last 15 years. The pearly gates to the kingdom have opened up a little bit, especially for filmmakers,” says film critic Anupama Chopra.

She adds however that nepotism remains a “big part” of the industry: “the son of an actor invariably becomes an actor”.

Rishi insists that hard work and talent are crucial to make it to the top — not every Kapoor has hit the big time. But if you are one of the lucky ones, he sees little sense in diverting from the family path.

“It’s plain logic. Why would I want to become a rocket scientist when I’m good as an actor?” he laughs.

“It’s middle classes, young people, people who have never voted before, exactly like what happened in the Arab world. We are going to sweep this election,” Imran told The Sunday Times.

An outspoken critic of US drone attacks inside Pakistan targeting Taliban and al Qaeda elements, Khan has argued that the CIA-operated unmanned aerial attacks kill thousands of civilians and stoke resentment that creates more supporters for the militants. If elected, Imran said he would also withdraw all troops from Pakistan’s tribal areas that border Afghanistan.

“Pakistan’s seemingly uncontrollable slide into a sectarian nightmare appears to have gained further momentum,” says the overview at the start of the 359-page book packed with scholarly articles and military data. Although the focus of the yearbook is on South Asia and China, the country studies also cover Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

The book says that the militant Deobandi Islamists in Pakistan have now launched a campaign to cow down sources of potent social and political resistance such as the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM). “What is very worrying is that the army is clearly abandoning its earlier pretence of readiness to take on Islamic zealots head on and sections of the establishment seem more willing now to be just silence accomplices.”

The book says there appeared to be “an unholy nexus” of the Pakistan Army with Islamic radicals. It said some retired generals had entered into secret deals with Taliban factions to either secure the release of captured Pakistani soldiers or to prevent army units from being targeted.

The Penang State Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng together with a group of other people was present at the prayer ceremony held at temple. But the Sikhs in the country have reacted to the act of Jagdeep, son of prominent Malaysian lawyer and opposition leader Karpal Singh. The Gurdwara Sahib Kangar president Pritpal Singh has described Jagdeep’s act as an insult to Sikh religion, the basic tenet of which is never to shave their hair.

Pritpal said Jagdeep had forgotten the fundamentals of his own religion in his bid to uphold his cause against money politics. Jagdeep’s facebook shows he and his family were not Amritdharis and he has cut his hair and was not wearing a turban. But this time he has shaved bald, according to a report by the New Straits Times yesterday.

“Cutting your hair or going bald without any medical reason is unacceptable. It is worse coming from a public figure like him,” the New Straits Times quoted Pritpal as saying. “There are many other ways of showing one’s displeasure. As a Sikh, it is his communal duty to bear in mind the sensitivity of all Sikhs and their religion,” Pritpal said. Lawyer Ranjit Singh Dhillon has also criticised Jagdeep for forsaking his religion for cheap political stunts. “For a Sikh to go bald in public is too much. It is an insult to the religion and the community,” said Ranjit.