New Delhi (ILNS):A letter has been sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a request to add Section 493A in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to stop Conversion and Love Jihad.

The letter has been written by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. He wrote: Many Individuals and Organizations have started mass conversions of SC-STs in rural areas and situation is very alarming. The mass religious conversion of the socially and economically downtrodden men, women and children, and, in particular, from the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe community, is on the rise in past 20 years, though India is a victim of the religious conversions for many centuries. The Organizations operate very smoothly, targeting socially economically downtrodden men, women and children, and in particular, from Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe community, with fraudulent tricks such as mass prayers of miracle healing and marketing campaigns of black magic.

The letter further states: The evidence of the deceitful religious conversion is available in social media. Foreign funded individuals and NGOs are given a road map and monthly target of religious conversion. It is necessary to state that as per 2011 census, Hindus are 79 percent, down from 86 percent in 2001, (millions converted continue to record as Hindus to get reservation in Jobs and other benefits). Presently, Christians are majority in Mizoram (88 percent), Nagaland (88 percent) and Meghalaya (75 percent) and there is significant population in Manipur (42 percent), Arunachal (31 percent), Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal. Muslims are majority in Lakshadweep (96.20 percent), Kashmir (95 percent) Laddakh (46 percent) and there is significant population in Assam (34.20 percent), West Bengal (27.5 percent), Kerala (26.60percent), UP (19.30 percent), Bihar (18 percent). At this rate, if no action will be taken, Hindus will become minority in 2050 throughout the India, which was once a complete Hindu majority country.

Upadhyay, has suggested that Government can maintain discipline and reduce forceful conversion by amending Section 493 IPC and adding Section 493A, whereby a convict found guilty would serve imprisonment of 5-10 years with fine of Rs 50,000 to 5,00,000. The letter further says that the Centre can empower the National Human Rights Commission to deal with the affairs of religious groups and analyze religious discrimination among them.

The letter addressed to PM Modi also demands enactment of a law which strictly bans or scrutinizes foreign funds which many a times operate under the hide of an NGO. The letter also says: It is necessary to state with dismay that the Government has done little or nothing to stop religious conversions by force and luring gifts/money.

Read Also: Amravati land scam: Supreme Court stays high court gag order, but case remains with HC

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Lawyer writes to PM, urging the addition of Section 493A in IPC to stop conversion and love jihad - India Legal

While brown-skinned characters from India and its neighbors have been featured in English films for a long time, they often fall prey to stereotypes.

Hollywood productions (and English films in general) have to go a long way in terms of representation of identities like the so-called 'brown identity'. While brown-skinned characters from India and its neighbors have been featured in English films for a long time, they often fall prey to stereotypes or appropriation. Even though portraying an Indian character and their struggles might seem like 'Oscar bait', some of the elements in these stories hardly feel relatable to local Indians as well as the Indian-American diaspora.

RELATED: The Simpsons: Apu's 5 Worst Scenes (& 5 Fans Actually Loved)

Actors and filmmakers like Aziz Ansari, Gurinder Chadha, Hasan Minhaj, and Dev Patel are changing the perspective to an extent, portraying characters and writing stories beyond the 'curry-eating', 'mystical and exotic' narratives. Otherwise, with popular shows and movies, some stereotypes can, unfortunately, be formed in the heads of non-Indian viewers.

In many depictions, Indians are equated to being Hindus. Surely, Hinduism is a major religion in the country but its diverse landscape also harbors Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, and other faiths. Hence, showing all American-Indians as worshippers of the idols of Hindu gods and goddesses, complete with Hindu-style offerings and incense sticks is just generalizing Indians under one category.

Further, even with the Hindu Indians, not all of them are intensely devout believers. Just like the generic and dominant American Christian characters in popular media, some might be of stronger faith while some might hardly worship their deities at all.

It has been automatically assumed that all Indian accents are more than often funny-sounding and grammatically incorrect. The root cause of this was racial ignorance and the earlier depictions of Indians by white actors (wearing brownface) like Peter Sellers in The Party and Fisher Stevens in Short Circuit.

Of course, the stereotypical 'Indian accent' reached disastrous heights with the character Apu in The Simpsons. Apu was so offensive to the diaspora that even a documentary called The Problem With Apu got released in 2017, dissecting the stereotypes and racial microaggressions the character presented. Actor Kal Penn even revealed how some studios wanted him to have an 'authentic Apu accent' in his roles! Recently, Apu's voice actor Hank Azaria apologized and stepped down from the role.

India has a concerning rate of social inequality and poverty. Some films like Lion have tried showing a financially-troubled protagonist in a realistic light and empathetic light. But otherwise, foreign films often tend to romanticize poverty (or show 'poverty porn' as some might say) or paint the entirety of India as a backward nation with no modern infrastructure. The Darjeeling Limited, Million Dollar Arm, and many others mock and generalize Indian cities as having nothing but shoddy shacks of buildings and half-naked children.

Indian directors frame their scenes in the backdrops of ruined buildings, crowded streets, and cows in the middle of traffic, but they paint the context as being from a particular area in India, rather than generalizing the entire country as an undeveloped urban jungle.

Movies that deal with the interaction of foreign and Indian characters evoke pity sympathy, but maybe, they can do better with a more empathetic portrayal rather than a sympathetic one. Lion and Million Dollar Arm both depict white characters turning the fates of poor Indians. Both are based on true stories and do justice to their source material to an extent.

However, Indian representation should also involve portrayals of self-independent characters who can make it on their own, rather than depending on white people all the time. Colonial cultural hegemony is unfortunately still engrained in India after two centuries of British rule. The 'fair skin' is still glorified even in Indian communities, with fair skin being equated to a very desirable quality. Hence, bolder Indian lead characters are needed not just to fight the generic white savior narrative, but the racist biases that some Indians themselves internalize in their thoughts.

Bollywood is the name largely attributed to the Hindi film industry. However, India produces films in the rest of its languages too, with some modern gems acquiring critical acclaim at international film festivals too. These languages can range from Assamese to Malayalam to Bengali, and so on. Further, not every Indian film is riddled with Bollywood cliches like musical numbers, grandiose sets, and majestic gestures of romance.

Scenes like the final dance to Jai Ho in Slumdog Millionaire and the wedding scene in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel reinforce the notions that Indian celebrations mostly involve grand, choreographed song and dance like a typical Bollywood film.

Cults like those in Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom, and the spiritual journeys in India as shown in Eat, Pray, Love, paint India as a highly 'exotic' land filled with mysticism and superstitious beliefs.

RELATED: 10 Things From The Indiana Jones Franchise That Haven't Aged Well

The argument against this stereotype can again be explained as the point for India's multi-religious identity. Not all Indians are blind worshippers of bearded mystics and gurus. As of last year, about 2.9 million Indians are atheists, while some consider themselves to be rationalists despite holding onto their religious identity. Otherwise, India is a diverse land of its own, rather than an exotic, archaic, and divine fantasy-world of sorts.

India does boast of historic classical and folk music styles, having exported maestros like sitarist Ravi Shankar to the rest of the world. Still, such forms of music hardly make way to the Indian music mainstream in today's times. Film music or independent music usually dominates the playlists of many Indian demographics. Many independent artists are experimenting or reinterpreting foreign genres too, be it hip-hop or electronica.

That's why rather than relying on a 'traditional' sound, films shot in India can feature several new-age Indian artists and their musical styles.

Indians, Arabs, Koreans, and many other immigrants get mocked for their names that are difficult to pronounce by the dominant citizen groups in the countries they settle. Some even have to Anglicize or shorten their names for the convenience of the Westerners. Instead of mispronouncing or changing the names of the people from this diaspora, maybe the Hollywood narrative can make an effort to accurately show some Indian names. It's not that difficult always.

RELATED: The Simpsons: 10 Things Fans Need To Know About Apu

Even though today, foreign productions do try to accurately portray Indian characters and their names, there used to be Indian characters with names complicated and exaggerated beyond measure. The biggest case yet again is Apu's surname, Nahasapeemapetilon. Older films were even more careless in christening their Indian characters. In Annie (1978), an Indian bodyguard was simply named Punjab (an Indian state, hardly ever used as a person's name).

Indian food might provide a spicier culinary experience to Americans or Britishers who are not used to the taste. There's an actual term 'Delhi Belly' referring to the upset stomach that foreign tourists have when they visit India.

RELATED: No Reservations And 9 Other Delicious Movies Where Food Is The Star

Western portrayals have often reduced Indian food as something heavily spicey or gooey that leads to diarrhea. Such tropes are played around with Jon Hamm and Alan Arkin's character in Million Dollar Arm. Another done-to-death stereotype is referring to Indian gravy dishes as 'curry'. There are so many diverse meat and vegetable-based dishes from all Indian states that it's hard to categorize any particular Indian dish as a curry. A good alternative to such cliches can be The Hundred-Foot Journey that normalizes the cooking habits of Indians.

Indian-Americans were often shown as shop clerks, drivers, doctors, or any other supporting character. Often reduced to caricatures with the aforementioned accents, they were hardly given any scope for character development or background stories.

However, now, with slightly higher representation, this attitude is changing. Examples like Aziz Ansari's lead role in Master of None and Rahul Kohli in The Haunting Of Bly Manor are helping in giving Indian-origin American and British actors a more nuanced and multi-layered portrayal.

NEXT:Haunting Of Bly Manor: 5 Of Owen's Funniest Puns (& 5 Most Memorable Quotes)

Next The Big Bang Theory: 10 Hidden Details About Penny That Everyone Missed

Hailing from and based in India, Shaurya Thapa harbors interests in freelance journalism, cultural diversity, and critical analyses on films and TV of varied genres.

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10 Stereotypes Indians Are Tired Of Seeing In Western Films And TV - Screen Rant

LUCKNOW : With the Uttar Pradesh government clearing an ordinance to deal with religious conversion solely for marriage, Muslim leaders on Wednesday reacted with caution saying it should be ensured that it does not infringe upon the constitutional right to freedom of religion.

The state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Tuesday given its nod to the draft ordinance providing for jail up to 10 years and fine of 50,000 for those violating its clauses.

The good thing is that the new ordinance does not use the term love jihad and the forced conversion which has been termed as illegal and punishable is something that is already held as crime in the Muslim law. In the Quran also, the Allah has said force in religion is not justified and so we have no objection to punishment over it," senior member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Khalid Rashid Farangimahli told PTI.

Love jihad is a term coined by a section of Hindu groups for Muslim men allegedly forcing women to convert in the guise of love and marriage.

We are of the opinion that for peace and communal harmony, it is needed that Muslims and Hindus marry in their own communities. We have no objection to whatever we have seen in the ordinance," Farangimahli said.

The AIMPLB member stressed that whenever any law is enacted, it is based on the intention that there would not be any discrimination with anyone.

We also expect that this law will not be used wrongly. The legal expert will have to see that the law does not raise a question mark on the constitutional right to freedom of religion for all Indians. Otherwise, we have no objection to this law," he said.

Shaista Amber, president, All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board, however, said there was no need for such a law.

If anyone is getting married on the basis of deceit and forcibly getting the other person converted, there should be a stringent law for it and we already have laws for it. There was no need to bring a new law," she said.

Stressing that there are laws to check deceit in marriage, Amber said if the government has decided to bring a new law, it should also be ensured that it is not misused and peoples right to freedom of expression is not harmed.

Another senior AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani reasoned if two adults get married, even if they belong to different castes, religions or even nations, their marriage is their private right.

The apex court has also accepted this fact, Jilani, also a senior counsel, said.

Muslim religious leader Sajid Rashidi, however, saw in it an attempt to polarise the society ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections.

Law already exists against forced conversion, but since the elections to the West Bengal assembly are due there is a need to prepare a political ground and create hatred between Hindus and Muslims," he alleged.

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I have forced myself to write a response to Yogendra Yadavs latest column in ThePrint in which he has stigmatised the rise of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen or AIMIM as a worrisome news.

Even though the highly superficial critique of psephologist-turned-politician Yogendra Yadav does not make sense logically, it does make sense as a public display of bte noir. If we pay close attention, we will realise that what a wide range of politicians say about the success of Asaduddin Owaisis party in the Bihar assembly election comes from a sense of reluctance in accepting the fact that Muslim votes are no longer their private deposit that they can keep taking for granted.

The rise of AIMIM, outside Hyderabad, and more specifically in Indias Hindi heartland, has rattled most of the secular political fronts equally. When the Bihar election results were announced, giving the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) another five years despite a decent fight from Tejashwi Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal (RLD)-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB), many Congress leaders were unhappy. At one point, it felt as if the Congress was more dejected with the AIMIM winning five seats in what once used to be its stronghold, Seemanchal, than losing the election overall.

One of the Congress tallest Muslim leaders from Bihar, Tariq Anwar, wrote on Twitter saying NDA should thank Owaisi for helping them form government for another term in Bihar. The Youth Congress official Facebook page shared several posters and cartoons suggesting the same thing the AIMIM is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s B-team and that Owaisi has helped the NDA win Bihar. But the election data destroys all such claims. This is not the first time, though, that Congress leaders have made this superficial claim. During the Telangana assembly election in December 2018, Rahul Gandhi had said: TRS is BJPs B-team, AIMIM is BJPs C-team.

Also read: The BJP does not want Owaisi, the BJP does not need Owaisi

Yogendra Yadavs critique is pejoratively clever. He alleges that the AIMIM is a particularly pernicious political outfit. He explains the history of the Hyderabad-based party and tries to delegitimise it by questioning its loyalty and allegiance to India for its positioning in the India or Pakistan episode, when Hyderabad was an independent state. I am yet to see any other political partys loyalty being questioned for what its founding members did before 1947. We know about the Congress celebrating Hindu Mahasabha founder Madan Mohan Malviya, other Hindu nationalists like Lala Lajpat Rai and even V.D. Savarkar.

Even when the Congress is criticised for its past, the criticism lies around its mistakes and blunders, or at most for its Muslim appeasement. However, the AIMIM has not been labelled dubious by Yogendra Yadav for its mistakes. Instead, the partys loyalty and allegiance to India has been questioned.

Furthermore, Yogendra Yadav also alleges that the AIMIM is a communal outfit. He, however, is sincere enough to acknowledge that the AIMIM is not the only communal outfit. He writes that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the Milli Council, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), and various factions of Kerala Congress are equally communal. The AIUDF, as Yadav suggests, is different only in the sense that it does not carry communalism in its name. I wonder what stopped him from including the Indian National Congress (INC), which represents Brahmins; Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which represents Baniyas; Samajwadi Party (SP), which represents Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh; Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which represents Yadavs in Bihar; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which represents Dalits in UP, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which represents Rajbhars; Apna Dal, which represents Kurmis; and Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi (VBA), which represents Dalits in Maharashtra, among others. It should be noted that Yogendra Yadav only chose to name the parties that represent three minority communities Sikhs, Christians and Muslims.

In the end, Yogendra Yadavs biggest concern is that Asaduddin Owaisis AIMIM may well be the right partner that Hindu majoritarian politics is looking for. I am afraid that he needs to be reminded that Hindutva politics has already won two Lok Sabha elections, and has seemingly compromised all the State institutions, without the help of AIMIM. The Narendra Modi government has been re-elected with a greater majority than before, and his popularity has been on rise despite everything. Hindu majoritarian politics was indeed looking for opportunities, which were served to them by the secular leaders themselves. The reception of Ram Mandir bhoomi pujan by secular parties legitimised Hindu majoritarian politics. So did the reception of the Ayodhya verdict by secular parties and the repeated silence of these parties on issues that concerned Muslims.

Also read: Why UP opposition parties are jittery after Owaisi performance in Bihar

It is easier for Yogendra Yadav to look the other way, but the reality is that since Modis second term, Hindu majoritarian politics has shifted from Hindu khatre mein hai (Hindus are in danger) to Musalmano ko darr ke jeena padega (Muslims have to live in fear). The BJP does not need Asaduddin Owaisis party to make their point. Secular parties have failed to establish social justice by failing to give Muslims their fair share of representation while taking Muslim votes for granted until now. The reports of Sachar Committee, Kundu Committee and numerous other researches clearly indicate the failure of secular parties vis--vis Muslims. These parties have paved ways for Hindu majoritarian politics to not just operate but to bloom. It is the inconsistent policies of the secular parties that must be blamed. That was the only opportunity Hindu majoritarian politics was looking for. We are past that. Yogendra Yadav and others are afraid that if Muslims start voting for a Muslim-led party, almost every secular front will have to become what they really are political outfits representing different castes. The AIMIM is not a secular party because Hindus do not vote for it. The Samajwadi Party is a secular party because Muslims also vote for it other than Yadavs.

Yogendra Yadav is getting it wrong. He is trying to shift the blame of bringing Hindu majoritarian politics from the Hindu majority to Muslims as if Hindu majoritarian politics would cease to exist had it not been for Asaduddin Owaisi or any other Muslim political outfit. It is about time that members of the Hindu community start owning their own mess instead of blaming Muslims as the BJP does.

Yogendra Yadavs secularism demands Muslims to vote for Hindu-led parties just as they have been doing almost religiously since 1947. Muslims voting for the AIMIM a Muslim-led party in his view, means Muslims are rejecting secularism. This binary is highly problematic. If Yogendra Yadav suggests that in order to save secularism, Muslims should give up their best chance of getting truly represented, this secularism must not be saved. Asaduddin Owaisis rise lies in the response (or lack of it) of secular parties to the BJPs Hindu majoritarian politics. Yogendra Yadav must not assume the AIMIM will be a Muslim BJP. Instead, for a change, the Hindu majority should, for once, rally behind a Muslim leader and save Indian secularism. After all, no politician stands as tall as Asaduddin Owaisi in countering Hindu majoritarian politics or in displaying the secular ethos of the Constitution in their public speeches. Yogendra Yadavs unwillingness to acknowledge that a Muslim leader who is not sanctioned by existing secular parties can be secular, is Islamophobia.

Sharjeel Usmani is a student leader and the National Secretary of Fraternity Movement. Views are personal.

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Hindu temple, believed to have been constructed 1,300 years ago, has been discovered by Pakistani and Italian archaeological experts at a mountain in Swat district of northwest Pakistan. The discovery was made during an excavation at Barikot Ghundai. Also Read - After Coronavirus Ends, Arrangement For Lord Ram's Darshan Will Be Made From Every UP Village: Yogi Adityanath

Announcing the discovery on Thursday, Fazle Khaliq of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Department of Archaeology said that the temple discovered is of God Vishnu. It was built by the Hindus 1,300 years ago during the Hindu Shahi period, he said.

The Hindu Shahis or Kabul Shahis (8501026 CE) was a Hindu dynasty that ruled the Kabul Valley (eastern Afghanistan), Gandhara (modern-day Pakistan), and present-day northwestern India. During their excavation, the archaeologists also found traces of cantonment and watchtowers near the temple site.

The experts also found a water tank near the temple site which they believed used by the Hindus for bathing before worship. Khaliq said that Swat district is home to thousand-year-old archaeology sites and the traces of the Hindu Shahi period have been found for the first time in the area.

Dr Luka, the head of the Italian archaeological mission, said this the first temple of the Ghandhara civilisation discovered in Swat district.

Swat district is among the top 20 sites in Pakistan which is home to every kind of tourism like natural beauty, religious tourism, cultural tourism and archaeological sites. Several worship places of Buddhism are also situated in Swat district.

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1,300-Year-Old Hindu Temple Dedicated to God Vishnu Discovered in Northwest Pakistan's Swat - India.com

Indias talented young batsman Shubman Gill is quite excited to be in Australia with the national team which is his first trip Down Under. Gill is a part of the Indian ODI and Test squads and would be looking to stake his claim on the big stage.

Gill spoke about the upcoming series against Australia in chat with his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The video of the conversation was posted by KKRs official Twitter handle.

"I am really looking forward to Australia because this is my first trip. As a kid growing up, I always watched the matches between India and Australia. I am really excited," said the star opener.

The 21-yar-old was KKRs highest run-scorer in the recently concluded IPL 2020 and the national selectors acknowledged his performance by selecting him for Indias tour of Australia. Gill scored 440 runs from 14 innings at a decent average of 33.80 and a strike-rate of 117.96.

"The fact that a lot of my friends are travelling with the team, so it will be fun and exciting. I have not really set any personal goals, but I am really looking forward to the tour," the right-hander added.

Gill is widely considered as a bright future prospect for the Indian team with many former cricketers and fans calling him Indias next big thing.

While many might not know about it, Gill has already made his ODI debut having played two games against New Zealand last year, although he could only manage 16 runs from those two innings.

This time, however, he has a fantastic opportunity to cement his spot in the Indian side with regular limited overs opener Rohit Sharma being rested. It is widely being speculated that it will either be Gill or Mayank Agarwal, who will open the Indian innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan.

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Australia vs India: Don`t have any personal goals, says the talented Shubman Gill - Zee News

Patels Copperfield looks like an Asian masquerading as Charles Dickens English hero born to a privileged mother(Morfydd Clark, who later in the film show up with incestuous bizarreness as David Copperfields love interest). There is no explanation at all as to why Davids mother is unmistakably Caucasian while the son looks as brown as the toast she enjoys at her breakfast every morning.Much later David has a Caucasian friend James whos played by Aneurin Barnard and his mother is a Black woman played by Nikki Amuka-Bird! Jamess mother has an important role in the impressionable David life.When they are together I could only see the films producers trying to please as many communities and countries as possible. This is Gone With The Wind with blizzards blowing away physical credibility.

It was very hard for me to concentrate on the characters function in the sprawling Victorian coming-of-age saga when the director was way too taken up with converting Charles Dickens epic novel into a cauldron of cultural cosmopolitanism. Lets look beyond colour and race by all means. But not at the cost of a films credibility!

This version of David Copperfield displays a distinctive atmospheric flavour, but little else. The characters are stifled by their cinematic creators insouciance, a creative aggression that takes Dickens book by the horns, if you know what I mean . The film is crisp in tone and cockily non-literary on flavour. Though the novel is here blissfully dismantled , the essence of the original and much of the story and characters remain.

There is a fine supporting cast of British/English actors bustling around in their eye-catching costumes trying to look as eccentrically Victorian as wine forgotten in a sailors cellar.

Yes. Dickens novel has travelled far and wide. It has now reached a place where the author would find it hard to recognize his hero. Dev Patels David Coopperfield is a very enthusiastic performance. It is also very brown.

Image Source: Instagram/aneurin.b , IMDb, youtube/searchlightspictures

They say the best things in life are free! Indias favourite music channels 9XM, 9X Jalwa, 9X Jhakaas & 9X Tashan are available Free-To-Air. Make a request for these channels from your Cable, DTH or HITS operator.

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The Personal History Of David Copperfield Review: Dev Patels Performance As The Title Character Of Dickens' Classic Is Very Enthusiastic - SpotboyE

Bhavana Acharya

At a time when stock markets have charged ahead and worry about volatility is in the air, most conservative or moderate risk investors are told to turn to hybrid funds. The equity-debt blend helps keep returns afloat across equity and debt market cycles, goes the understanding.

Within hybrid funds, though, there are six categories. Each is distinct from the other in its performance potential and risk level. All hybrid funds dont automatically suit all investors or all time-frames. Heres how the hybrid fund categories compare on key performance metrics.

The hybrid categories considered here are as follows: arbitrage, equity savings, conservative hybrid, balanced advantage, and aggressive hybrid. Multi-asset allocation funds have been skipped though they are hybrid funds, there are very few funds in this category to identify category trends; these funds also need a much longer timeframe for performance assessment and as it is new category, we do not have such a long track record.

Losses and volatility

Hybrid funds can be used primarily for two reasons:

-to give better returns than debt without going after pure equity. This is mostly for the more aggressive investors who want more mileage from their investments.

-to give some exposure to equity without the attendant risk. This is more for moderate and conservative investors, who dont want to miss better returns but cant take the risk that comes from pure equity.

Either way, whats key here is the risk containment. That can be measured by the occurrences of losses, the depth of such losses, and how volatile returns can be. So, consider the past three years, since it covers different equity market cycles. The table below shows the worst return each category has delivered on an average, for different time-frames within this three-year period.

Based on rolling return for each period from Nov.2017 to Nov 2020

As you can see, arbitrage funds are the best at keeping losses in check. The category that slips the most during corrections is the aggressive hybrid category. Stretching this period farther back to five years also sees hybrid aggressive funds fare similarly; the categorys worst average one-year performance was a 22.6 percent loss.

Now, consider the frequency at which such losses occur. The table below shows the proportion of times each category slipped into losses, on an average, for different time-frames. This time, were going further back to 2015.

Based on rolling return for each period from Nov.2015 to Nov 2020

The sharp sell-off in March-April this year sent many equity savings and balanced advantage funds tumbling. For many equity savings funds, this swift correction accounted for much of the periods where shorter-term returns slipped into losses. This goes to show that even in categories where equity exposure is low, a quick and steep stock market fall can wipe out a chunk of the gains.

Volatility in returns tracks the same trend. Aggressive hybrid funds are by far the most volatile, followed by balanced advantage funds. Conservative hybrid and equity savings funds are similar in terms of volatility while conservative hybrid funds are predominantly debt, bond prices do react to interest rate changes or expectations and there will be volatility to that extent. This apart, where conservative hybrid funds adopt duration to book gains on yield rallies, volatility can see a spike.

Portfolios and risks

So what explains the differences in loss probabilities and volatility within each category? The answer lies in how much each category holds in equity, derivatives, and debt. In their derivative calls, funds primarily take the opposite position in the futures market on the stocks in their portfolio (they also take other mispricing opportunities, all collectively termed as arbitrage).

This serves to negate equity risk; the more a fund takes these derivative calls, the less equity it has thats left open to market movements. Its this open or unhedged equity that influences losses, volatility as well as returns.

Arbitrage funds hedge the entire equity exposure, which makes them the lowest risk hybrid funds. And therefore, they do not show loss instances beyond any one-month period. Aggressive hybrid funds dont hedge at all, except in rare cases. The extent to which they fall is thus the highest among hybrid funds. And given that these funds also dip into mid-cap and small-cap stocks, periods such as 2018 and 2019 saw these funds slide more than some large-cap equity funds.

The table below shows how the unhedged equity has been over the past 12 months, other than arbitrage funds. The same trend will hold for earlier periods as well.

Conservative hybrid funds are the lowest on equity exposure. Given SEBIs rules, these funds cannot go above 25 percent in open equity. On an average, in the past year, these funds have held 21 percent in equity. But on the flip side, with no restrictions on debt, some conservative hybrid funds have significant credit risk. More, their changing debt strategy also lends to uncertainty.

Balanced advantage funds are free to change allocations based on market conditions, unlike equity savings funds which need to define their exposure to equity, debt and derivatives in their mandate. The category, therefore, sports wide differences in their equity, derivative and debt holdings as well as the manner in which these change over the months.

Performance across time-frames

On the other hand, when markets rally or over the long term, funds with a bigger open equity exposure will deliver better. On a rolling three-year return in the past eight-year period, the average return for aggressive hybrid funds was 9 percent. The best return in this period was a good 20.1 percent. Thats far above balanced advantage funds, where the maximum return was 16.2 percent.

However, in categories such as arbitrage or even equity savings, returns will be similar whether long-term or short. Arbitrage funds are very similar to liquid funds in terms of return; they do not gain from equity market movement. Equity savings funds have low equity allocations, which caps how much returns can rise even in prolonged market rallies.

The table below shows the average returns for one-year, two-year and three-year periods for each category based on rolling returns since 2017.

How to know which category to use

Two factors help determine whether hybrid funds will work for you and which one to go for timeframe and risk appetite. Another factor that can play a role is your need for tax efficiency.

For a very short-term horizon of six months to one year, arbitrage funds can be used by those who seek tax efficiency, as an add-on to debt holdings. No other hybrid category fits.

For timeframes of 1-3 years, equity savings funds can similarly be used by those in the higher tax-brackets. These funds offer a better return profile than arbitrage funds. As with arbitrage, use them along with debt funds. High-risk investors can allocate more to these funds, while conservative investors need to keep exposure limited.

You can also use conservative hybrid funds for 2-year holdings and longer, but fund selection needs care. These funds can change debt strategies, take on duration risk, or credit risk. You may inadvertently have a riskier fund than the timeframe calls for. Balanced advantage funds work for a 2-3 year horizon but only by aggressive investors, when used along with pure debt funds.

For a 3-5 year timeframe, balanced advantage funds fit well as they do not fall as much as hybrid aggressive funds do, while being better on returns than equity savings or conservative hybrid funds. Exposure can be decided based on risk level.

Very long-term portfolios can use any category. But note that arbitrage and equity savings funds would be lower-returning than debt funds. Balanced advantage funds can partly replace debt funds for very aggressive investors who do not prefer debt funds. Aggressive hybrid funds can be used for equity exposure, but note that it may be easier to maintain an asset allocation using pure equity and pure debt funds.

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How to choose the right hybrid fund based on your investment horizon - Moneycontrol.com

Conscientiousness, defined as "wishing to do what is right, especially to do one's work or duty well and thoroughly," has emerged as the key trait requirement for astronauts that will live and work on the surface of Mars millions of miles from Earth, according to a new study.

This trait was identified as more important than honesty, humility, emotionality, extroversion, openness and agreeableness.

"Conscientiousness, an individual personality trait, can be thought of as a pooled team-resource," said Julia McMenamin, the study's first author and a doctoral student in psychology at Western University in Canada, in a statement. "The more conscientiousness a team is, the better they will likely be at accomplishing tasks."

Conversely, traits like "social loafing," or the habit of a team member putting in less effort than when they work solo, are undesirable in a potential Marstronaut. Traits that seem counterproductive and negative behaviors are likely to cause more trouble and disruptions in a team environment.

The researchers consider these traits and behavior "non-negotiable" for long-duration spaceflight crews.

A careful focus on crew selection, emphasizing effective communication and very detailed work and planning processes, could help avoid any negative factors.

Some of the same things identified in the study could be used to help people coping with isolation during the pandemic as well.

Currently, NASA is targeting the 2030s for the first human mission to Mars. Depending on the alignment of Mars and Earth for launch and landing and the duration of the mission on the Martian surface, this crew could spend five years together -- not including training together beforehand.

To test what this crew dynamic might be like ahead of a real mission, researchers studied a team of five "astronauts" during an exercise analogous to a Mars mission. This event was hosted by the Austrian Space Forum in Oman in 2018. The Dhofar region of Oman is a good analog for the Martian environment in terms of isolation and extreme conditions.

McMenamin was joined by Natalie Allen, a professor of psychology at Western Univeristy, and Ottawa-based space exploration company Mission Control Space Services Chief Science Officer Melissa Battler for the study.

The AMADEE-18 analog space mission lasted for four weeks. Five astronauts, including four men and one woman between the ages of 28 to 38, lived in a simulated Mars environment.

Before, during and after the mission, the astronauts filled out surveys addressing the performance of their team and any team conflicts as well as their stress levels.

At the end of the mission, the astronauts rated themselves and each teammate. They also answered questions about their behavior in their respective roles and identified any counterproductive behaviors, including social loafing.

This particular team worked well together as a team, but the researchers were not surprised because they had prepared for their "mission." The team was also supported by field and mission control teams.

The team members were also familiar with each other before the mission began. All of these factors can be identified in examples of positive teamwork on Earth, the researchers said.

"How familiar team members are with one another has been shown to help teams work better together likely because it provides team members with knowledge about each other and helps them communicate better and more efficiently," McMenamin said.

Stress is a common negative factor that can influence team performance on Earth and in space. It's distracting, increases anxiety, causes cooperative difficulty, increases task overload and contributes to destructive emotions.

"Anyone who has worked on a team knows conflict amongst team members can harm team performance and make for a negative experience. When people argue about how to get things done, or get into personal disagreements, there is less time and energy left for completing tasks," McMenamin said.

"What's interesting is that there are different types of conflict, and so long as interpersonal issues and arguments about how to go about accomplishing tasks are avoided, differences in views and opinions might actually improve team performance likely because this allows for the team to benefit from each member's knowledge and perspective."

Given that this particular analog mission only lasted for about a month, the researchers are interested to know how things might play out over the course of a long-duration mission.

"Major issues caused by psychological distress and interpersonal problems don't tend to show up until months or even years spent in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment, which highlights the need for longer-duration simulations," McMenamin said.

Being a good team player has almost always been part of the astronaut playbook, going back to the days of the Apollo missions.

Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino spoke to CNN in September about the Netflix series "Away," which focuses on an international crew leading the first human mission to Mars. Massimino served as a consultant for the show.

The show crew was most interested in hearing about the human side of being an astronaut, Massimino said. For example, they asked him about the emotional aspects of leaving your family behind on Earth, the camaraderie between the crew and "what it's like in your heart and soul, rather than the process," he said.

Massimino, who flew on multiple missions during the Shuttle era, told them that "the Earth looks like heaven. It makes you realize we're so lucky to be here."

Regarding the teamwork aspect of spaceflight, "we really do love each other as astronauts," Massimino said. "It's like a hybrid between a family member and a friend. You really do care about each other. And there were seven of us on the Shuttle crew. We became like a family, having all of these experiences in training and spaceflight. They're extraordinary and there is not anything I wouldn't do for these people."

Massimino was selected to be an astronaut in 1996. When asked about the traits that would be important for astronauts going to Mars, he said he feels that the selection process would be similar to the way NASA chooses astronaut candidates now for long-term spaceflight on the International Space Station.

"We're looking for people who would be good candidates for long-duration spaceflight that get along, personalities that would let things roll. If things go wrong, you make mistakes because you're not perfect, you need to be able to roll with it. They should be able to contribute and be a good positive crew member, not only for their crewmates, but the people helping them back on Earth."

One of the most important aspects that helps the crew's morale and performance is a connection to Earth and the people they care about on it -- something that will be increasingly more difficult as a spacecraft leaves Earth for Mars, causing communication delays.

People tend to think of astronauts as superheroes, Massimino said.

"But we're really just regular people who care about each other and have really awesome jobs."

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Astronauts on a Mars mission will need to be 'conscientious' to work well together - CNN

November 23, 2020 12:00 ET | Source: Wisekey International Holding SA

WISeKeys Cybersecurity AI technology creates a platform that helps connected devices to become intelligent devices, organize themselves into trusted networks to learn from attacks, defend themselves, and transfer this intelligence to other devices within the network

FacebookLinkedBig Data collected from IoT devices can help WISeKey customers detect and predict future behavior and optimize productivity across industries through predictive maintenance on equipment and machinery

Geneva, Zug, Switzerland November 23, 2020 WISeKey International Holding Ltd (SIX: WIHN) (WISeKey), a leading Swiss cybersecurity and IoT company announced today that it has fully integrated the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) chip embedded with cryptographic Root of Trust (RoT) and problem-solving Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions as part of its Vertical IoT Platform. WISeKeys IoT cybersecurity Vertical Platform allows IoT devices to organize themselves into trusted networks based on mutual authentication, identity and integrity.

The integration of arago technology is accelerating this process as arago has a large recurring customer base and licensing model which is expected to bring significant synergies to WISeKey and strengthen WISeKeys position in the fast-growing Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) market. The ability to authenticate and remotely manage millions of networked, automated devices and equipment is becoming pervasive: from the factory floor, to the hospital operating room, to the residential home, everything from refrigerators, watches and wearables, to wine bottles, is connecting and communicating via the Internet.

WISeKey owns everything necessary to authenticate users and devices. With arago, the authentication is extended to data and action. The arago platform has an oAuth-based identity that is used to control access to any data point or AI activity which can easily be integrated with the WISeKey services.

The increasing adoption of AI and IoT convergence is one of the primary factors that is driving the growth of the market. Over the past five years, a rapid surge in the adoption of AI IoT cloud services has been witnessed. It is driven by its capabilities to provide enterprise wide array of resources they can utilize to scale, orchestrate, and support their operations.Addingsecure AI cloud services from Switzerlandin cooperation witharago, using Swiss data centers and Swiss alps mountain bunkers to store the personal data generated by users and enterprises. WISeKey, is the first e-security company in the world to offer decentralized Trust Models and PKI architecture. In addition, WISeKey allows data ecosystems to be federated via a unique digital identity, enabling users to interact while maintaining control of their personal data. Users have the have the freedom to choose where their data resides and who is allowed to access it. By decoupling content from the application and digital identity itself, users will be able to use their data as currency and develop digital data dividends-based solutions as consumers have a right to know and control how their data is being used and be able to monetize their data.

The WISeKey IoT cybersecurity Vertical platform is producing an unprecedented amount of Big Data as WISeKey has an install base of over 1 billion IoT secure microchips since 2010 invirtually all IoT sectors(autonomous cars, smart cities, drones, anti-counterfeiting, smart lights, servers, mobile phones, etc.). Big Data collected from IoT devices can help WISeKeys customers detect and predict future behavior and optimize productivity across industries through predictive maintenance on equipment and machinery.

As the rapid expansion of connected devices and VaultIC chips connected to the IoT continues, the sheer volume of data being created by them will increase to a mind-boggling level. This data will hold extremely valuable insight into whats working well or whats not by pointing out conflicts that arise and providing high-value insight into new business risks and opportunities as correlations and associations are made.

The IoT Industry is a game changer new business segment for WISeKey. An estimated 50 billion IoT devices are expected to be connected by the end of 2020, while worlds population is estimated to grow to 6.8 billion; thus, there will be more than 7 IoT devices per person connected to the internet by 2020.

As a result, it is anticipated that this year already the number of IoT devices will surpass the number of mobile devices. By 2021, this number is expected to grow to 1.8 billion PCs, 8.6 billion mobile devices, and 15.7 billion IoT devices, and by 2035, the amount of data usage is expected to grow more than 2,400 times, from 1 exabyte to 2.3 zettabytes. A huge and increasing amount of sensitive data that will need to be protected by the IoT chips (such as the ones produced by WISeKey) will be interchanged between connected devices and back-end servers, allowing companies to provide users with new type of applications. These applications will be designed to offer increased control over the use of resources, improve efficiency in power grids, optimize processing of information in industrial environments, secure autonomous vehicles, provide better and higher quality healthcare services and personalized experience for shopping or leisure, among others.

This new technology enables IoT connected devices which can provide a recognized identity and a valid integrity report to communicate with peer devices within the community. WISeKey offers a range of contact and contactless secure microcontrollers that share consistent secure 8-/16-bit RISC CPU performance, strong security mechanisms, and enhanced crypto engines to optimize performance and power consumption. The products also provide high-density, low-power EEPROM technologies. Designed to meet the most stringent security requirements, many of these products are EAL5+ Common Criteria security-certified.

This new capability will enable authenticated sensor data. Currently, most IoT devices are not built with embedded secure systems, which makes these devices vulnerable to exploits. By integrating AI into the IoT hardware and platform, objects connected to the Vertical Platform can develop their own cybersecurity behavior and make smarter and safer decisions.

Objects secured with these IoT chips produce a huge amount of Big Data that when analyzed with AI can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens. The WISeKey platform allows the IoT device equipped with these chips to send authenticated data to the cloud using a dual factor authentication at the device level. Imagine a smartcard sending authenticated data of each component of the car to predict when these parts will require maintenance and to digitally sign all the logs required to prove that service was provided. This platform which can be used in different industrial applications allows optimized productivity across industries through predictive maintenance on equipment and machinery, creates truly smart homes with connected appliances and provides critical communication between devices including self-driving cars and smart homes. The possibilities that IoT brings to the table are endless.

WISeKeys technology creates a platform that helps connected devices to become intelligent devices that can learn from attacks, defend themselves, and transfer this intelligence to other devices within the network.

Additionally, WISeKeys technology provides smaller IoT manufacturers that do not have the resources or expertise to perform thorough security analysis of their products will the ability to adopt this platform, reducing the number of unprotected products that are released to consumers.

About WISeKey

WISeKey (NASDAQ: WKEY; SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN, NASDAQ: WKEY) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the Internet. WISeKey microprocessors secure the pervasive computing shaping todays Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install base of over 1.5 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile phones, crypto tokens etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens. Our technology is Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKeys Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust (RoT) provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visitwww.wisekey.com.

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This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA), the FinSAs predecessor legislation or advertising within the meaning of the FinSA, or within the meaning of any other securities regulation. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.

The securities offered will not be, and have not been, registered under the United States of America Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States of America, absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of said Act.

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WISeKey's Cybersecurity AI technology creates a platform that helps connected devices to become intelligent devices, organize themselves into trusted...