Vandana
@vandana_menon
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Journalist @ThePrintIndia . Alum @PulitzerCenter @Penn
India
Joined June 2009
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Super honoured to receive the Ramnath Goenka award for feature writing ☺️
Always grateful to
@RamaNewDelhi
and
@ShekharGupta
for believing in me!
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Came to Times Square expecting Ram Mandir celebrations, as promised by the American India Public Affairs Committee. So far, have not seen any digital ads...but saw this instead.
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There's a LOT of money being spent by Hindu groups in the US. My report:
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Delhi MCD’s first transgender member, Bobby Kinnar of
@AamAadmiParty
, celebrates her win in Sultanpuri
@ThePrintIndia
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Long read:
The women waste pickers of Pimpri Chinchwad have just won a rare battle: they were awarded 7.5 crores in a first-of-its-kind legal victory. This is a story of determination, dignity, desire — pieced together over 12 years of struggle.
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Property is the proof of the Malayalis’ prosperity abroad. And now Kerala has millions of empty houses — home to nothing but ghosts and memories.
My report for
@ThePrintIndia
on how a state full of empty houses points to a deeper economic problem:
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Protests have broken out. The East Coast Sikh Coalition Group is protesting the Ram Mandir ad.
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The ads have started running, on average once every 15 minutes. In the foreground,
@JagdishSewhani
, Pres of American India Public Affairs Committee
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Spent Holi with a group of North Indian migrants in a village outside Coimbatore. This is a Bihari couple with their Tamil landlords.
It’s so sad that rumours of anti-North Indian violence were politicised in Tamil Nadu — when the reality is peaceful socioeconomic coexistence.
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Touchdown Colombo, where a strict curfew has just been announced for the rest of the weekend. I’m here covering the crisis in Sri Lanka for
@ThePrintIndia
— stay tuned for updates.
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Bhajans and dancing amongst those celebrating the Ram Mandir groundbreaking.
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A van is running counter-ads to the Times Square billboard. Organized by a coalition of groups including Coalition Against Genocide,
@IAMCouncil
and
@Hum_CAFI_Hai
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Chairman of the Ramjanmabhoomi Celebrations Committee of USA
@JagdishSewhani
in front of the digital ad at Times Square
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India hasn't had a proper caste-based census since 1931 — and 1931 was the British Raj's cheapest census, conducted by people who didn't understand caste. Denying the problem won't fix it.
Read our PastForward for more insights on the caste census:
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All of Colombo seems to be on the streets now that curfew is over. Incredible scenes here at the historic Independence Square:
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So far, no ads on the NASDAQ billboard, owned by
@BrandedCities
. They're the only ad company to have responded to advocacy campaigns run by
@Hum_CAFI_Hai
@SASIinNYC
@IAMCouncil
and other groups.
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Sri Lanka’s entire cabinet resigns, except for PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. Protests are continuing.
@ThePrintIndia
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Anurag Maloo’s rescue from the clutches of Mount Annapurna was a breathless race against time, and his survival nothing short of a miracle.
My ground report from Kathmandu for
@ThePrintIndia
:
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BREAKING: A new cabinet is being appointed in Sri Lanka. Pres. Gotabaya Rajapaksa invited MPs of all parties to accept ministerial posts. Ali Sabry has been sworn in as the new Finance Minister
@ThePrintIndia
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It’s a tug-of-war between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. And each state is pulling at the brittle papers of the past.
What’s at stake is the history of modern Hyderabad.
My latest for
@ThePrintIndia
:
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Long read:
BIBCOL in Bulandshahr is India's only PSU producing polio vaccines, and was at the forefront of India's fight against polio. But today, the plant and its workers are caught in a costly limbo.
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Gold loans are usually a last resort for people because gold ornaments hold such sentimental value. A rise in gold loans and gold auctions — because people aren’t able to pay off their debts — are signs of deep economic distress.
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The question of what the money is used for is still murky.
One definitive goal — with a transparent money trail — is putting pressure on the American educational system to change the way Hindus and Hinduism are represented.
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It’s just vile and shocking. The police closure report claims that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit and died by suicide because he was afraid his “real caste identity” would be discovered — an insult to his family and those who fight for him.
My report:
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The two groups are trying to one-up each other and finish each other's chants.
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“The singular problem in Ashoka is that faculty members are oblivious to the fact that there are donors who have a different worldview.They think the money has just fallen from heaven,”said a former prof,adding that an estimated 80% of donors are right-wing or support the govt.
Nine-year-old Ashoka University is asking the most important question. Who am I?
@antarabaruah__
reports
#ThePrintGroundReport
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Things I learn on the field: in southern Tamil Nadu, Subhash Chandra Bose has come to be seen as a Thevar community leader. I’ve seen countless posters/paintings with Bose alongside Thevar symbols—and schoolchildren, when asked, know him as a Thevar leader who fought the British!
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Reporting from Balasore, Odisha for
@ThePrintIndia
. This is the Book of the Dead — of the 275+ who died in the train accident, nearly 200 are still unidentified. Hopeful families have been coming to the Balasore Collectorate to flip through it, looking for their loved ones.
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✨Career update✨
Today’s my first day back at
@ThePrintIndia
as Senior Writer! I’m excited to get started — please email vandana.menon
@theprint
.in if you have any tips/leads to send my way.
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The Kerala govt has officially banned the RSS from conducting activities — like mass drills, weapons training, gatherings — on temple premises.
Read my ground report from June for
@ThePrintIndia
when the issue first came up at the Sarkara Devi Temple:
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Excellent news: Anurag is awake, recovering, and in good spirits. He's just arrived in Delhi for further medical treatment.
Anurag Maloo’s rescue from the clutches of Mount Annapurna was a breathless race against time, and his survival nothing short of a miracle.
My ground report from Kathmandu for
@ThePrintIndia
:
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This is a story of a woman MP, a lawyer, a businessman, and a dog — and the dog is the opening act that made the personal political.
But it's also a story about politics’ favourite sexist punchline.
Read mine and
@ishadrita
's profile of
@MahuaMoitra
:
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For the first time, Malayalam actress Bhavana is breaking her silence on her sexual assault and Dileep in an interview with
@BDUTT
:
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The town of Sriperumbudur has become India’s electronics manufacturing capital, and in its success lies the story of two competitions: the Western world’s push to turn India into a counter to China; and Tamil Nadu’s own heady growth story.
My latest:
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Home Minister
@AmitShah
is the chief guest at the launch of
@sanjeevsanyal
’s new book, “Revolutionaries: The Other Story of How India Won it’s Freedom.”
@ThePrintIndia
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Eery silence on Colombo’s streets this morning. Protests were planned for today but most people are wary of attending. Several roads are barricaded by police, and 600+ people were arrested last night for violating curfew. A social media shutdown was imposed around 1 AM last night
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LuLu's chairman M.A. Yusuff Ali is like a corporate ambassador pulling off deals that diplomats dream of. And it helps that he's close to PM Modi.
My latest report
@ThePrintIndia
on how the LuLu Group is dominating the Indian mall — and meat — market:
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Hi. My baby niece has been diagnosed with an incredibly rare condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. The drug for treatment costs 16 crores ($2.1m)
Please please share. We are grateful for any and every contribution. Please keep Diya in your thoughts!
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Opposition MPs chant “Go Gota, Go!” at a protest organised during curfew hours in Colombo.
@ThePrintIndia
#SriLankaCrisis
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There's a new temple freedom movement bubbling up across India: it's a tug-of-war between States and temples over control of wealth and worship.
Over the past month, I've reported from various states on how govts are trying to tackle temple administration.
🧵on
#TempleTussle
:
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When he’s not in training camps or busy winning medals, Neeraj Chopra returns to Panipat to lend a hand on the family farm, play with his pet dog Tokyo, and cruise around the village in a tractor or his black Ford Mustang.
Read my profile of the Olympian:
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@ChinnappaChirag
@AmpakCares
According to a Times Square public service official, anywhere between $5k to $100k a day, depending on size of the billboard and duration of the ad.
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The ad has not been running since early afternoon. Groups of people have begun gathering, waiting for the ad to resume.
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I spent some time in Kerala trying to understand the inner politics of the Bishop Franco rape case, why he was acquitted, and why the church is reluctant to address the claims of the survivor and her supporters.
@ThePrintIndia
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"Harris’ parents — one Jamaican, one Indian — will be the reason for excitement, not her record, not the agenda proposed by Biden. This is sadly the cynicism of identity politics.”
-
@vijayprashad
in an important piece by
@AnandWrites
on Kamala and caste:
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“The government is cornered and helpless. They have no solutions. The only option they have now is to go home,” Opposition MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said at their protest today.
My first dispatch from Sri Lanka for
@ThePrintIndia
:
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Super interesting story by
@simrin_sirur
on "water divining" — the indigenous practice of locating groundwater reserves based basically on vibes:
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Congress leader
@RahulGandhi
is visiting his constituency Wayanad for the first time since his disqualification as an MP, along with
@priyankagandhi
. The town of Kalpetta is getting ready to receive him.
@ThePrintIndia
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And it wouldn't have been possible without the trade union, KKPKP. It's not just a victory for the women and for the working class — but a victory for the idea of a union itself.
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They not only got their wages back, they achieved something bigger: they've created better working conditions for sanitation workers, reinstated the primacy of trade unions and did the unthinkable—holding power to account.
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Had the pleasure of speaking to
@BDUTT
about her experiences covering covid — and how the pandemic changed her reporting. Her new book
#HumansOfCovid
is out now.
Watch
@ThePrintIndia
’s
#PageTurner
, produced by
@Reeti__Agarwal
, here:
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Good morning from Colombo, where curfew has lifted and people are protesting on the streets. Cars passing by honk their support.
@ThePrintIndia
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The situation here in India is terrifying. All social media feeds are full of requests for ambulances, hospital beds, oxygen, medicines, crematorium/graveyard numbers. It was clear India was unprepared a year ago, but how is it worse now?! This fear, panic, pain is heartbreaking.
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The intensely private YS Bharathi Reddy plays the part of a shock absorber for Jagan — a sobering force in a whirlwind of drama & political nastiness in Andhra Pradesh.
I got to spend a day with the CM’s wife on the campaign trail. Here’s what it’s like:
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Syrian Christians “are known as thottavishwasikal: those who believe only what they touch...It will not be easy to convince them about the love that the BJP and the RSS have suddenly started professing towards Christians in Kerala.”
My ground report:
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This is the story of how the unassuming Ahilyabai — who went from nearly committing sati to becoming undisputed ruler of the region — succeeded where men before her failed.
Read our latest
#PastForward
for
@ThePrintIndia
:
@raghav_bikh
@LaeeqHumra
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Seventy-two hours after the triple train tragedy, the dust has settled over Bahanaga Bazar.
Read my ground report from Odisha for
@ThePrintIndia
:
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Biden, while naming Vanita Gupta associate attorney general, referred to her as the "daughter of immigrants from India," then turned around to look at Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and asked "Sound familiar?"
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The protests are still continuing here in Colombo, despite the rain and dark streets. This was taken from my hotel room. The most popular refrain from the day is “Thief, thief Gota.”
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Mountaineer Anurag Maloo’s brother
@aashish_09
is holding a press conference on his rescue here in Kathmandu. “Anurag is Back,” says the screen behind him. Anurag is still in a critical condition.
@ThePrintIndia
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"This is a muslim fight and a feminist fight."
Please watch
@khanthefatima
's new documentary exploring the repercussions of the hijab ban on the lives of students and teacher.
Death threats, lost friendships, a bleak future. Months after Karnataka’s hijab ban, the hijabi students and teachers continue to suffer.
I worked on this documentary highlighting their plight, dreams, aspirations, anxieties and more. Please watch.
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Kerala is cashing in on this business of selling luck. Lotteries are now an indelible part of the state's economic, cultural, and literal landscape.
My report for
@ThePrintIndia
on how the state lottery sells lofty dreams to small people:
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"It is in moments of great power that we can be the best versions of ourselves...and that is what we need right now, whether that's you staying at home or passing a trillion dollar stimulus bill."
--
@nelufar
from
@DohaDebates
on today's
#SreeCovid19Call
with
@sree
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Well, this year started on a positive note for me…covid positive. Stay safe, everyone.
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He read from the constitution.
Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad gave "inflammatory speech" at Jama Masjid due to which crowd started moving from mosque towards Delhi Gate, says police in its FIR
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"two women"
JUST IN: Two women share the 2020 Nobel chemistry prize for work in genome editing, a technique described as "rewriting the code of life."
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We demand an immediate judicial inquiry from the highest level, and security for the Loya family and Niranjan Takle: Hartosh Singh Bal, Manisha Sethi, Shabnam Hashmi, Syeda Hamid, Colin Gonsalves, Apoorvanand, on circumstances of CBI Judge Loya's death
@ThePrintIndia
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There are no unguarded moments in Bollywood — an industry in which the paparazzi and celebrities are partners in crime.
My latest for
@ThePrintIndia
on the Indian paparazzi:
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Secondly, many of the Tamils Bose recruited to the INA from Singapore and Malaysia were Thevars. And so the INA has been memorialised not as a nationalist army, but a Tamil army fighting to overthrow the British.
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Hear from the story from the women and the union reps in their own words:
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Biden just won New Jersey (phew!) but I found a surprising number of Trump supports among the desi community earlier today. My report:
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Major excitement as Congress leaders
@rahulgandhi
and
@priyankagandhi
land in his constituency, Wayanad.
@ThePrintIndia
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As far as I can tell, there are two reasons for this. Muthuramalinga Thevar, an important Thevar leader and politician (figure on the extreme left), was close to Bose and a member of the Forward Bloc — and so by extension, the community has also adopted Bose as a figurehead.
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The women are no strangers to struggle—social or legal. The war over the nonpayment of wages lasted between Dec 2012-May 2013, and Jun 2013-Jun 2015, during which they seemed to fall through the municipal corporation’s cracks into the contractors’ clutches.
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I have been here since 9:00 AM, and have spoken to public officials and workers who've been here since 6 AM. No one has seen these images.
(Love the Alamy stock photo watermark placement though)
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"She came out without a uterus—and both her kidneys. It took Sunita eight days to realise that her body had been hollowed out by unscrupulous, fly-by-night doctors."
Absolutely shocking state of affairs.
@jyotiyadaav
reports:
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Someone joked that roads in Sri Lanka are now two lanes: one for regular traffic, and the other for fuel queues. Currently trying to drive between two queues for fuel, on either side of the road.
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"Nearly all of the films have one thing in common: They are hyperpolitical, nationalist, and suspicious of India’s liberals and Leftists."
Important deep dive into Bollywood's sudden spate of right-wing nationalist films by
@dastina2191
:
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In Tamil Nadu, there was a macabre new twist to the everyday anxieties that North Indian migrants face: Disinformation. Spread by the usual suspect — WhatsApp forwards.
My report on the rumours of violence against Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu:
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For those who can afford it, life largely continues as normal in Sri Lanka — except for power cuts and fuel shortages. Everyone’s aware of their privilege, but no one’s sure what to do with it.
My latest from Colombo for
@ThePrintIndia
:
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A story of resilience in these heartbreaking times.
The Vachathi case is a massive failure of the state. The villagers' 31-year fight for justice is paved with grit and solidarity — and a recent judgement has amplified their truth.
Reporting from TN:
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I spoke to
@anirvan
and
@berkeleywali
about the legacy of South Asian activism in Berkeley. On Tuesday, the city finally named a street after Kala Bagai, one of the earliest South Asian activists on the west coast.
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Bose's death is not only a national obsession, but also the first major political event between India and Taiwan.
@sowmiyashok
went looking for clues in Taiwan, "where the mystery supposedly begins but where, in fact, it ends." Great story:
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Living abroad? Check. A high-paying dream job? Check. A group of fun friends? Check.
Read my story on how Indian influencers are fuelling the American Dream:
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"How weird, and how American, to receive a miracle injection between shelves of diet energy drinks and microwaveable pork rinds...In India, by contrast, getting even a single shot was like getting through a needle’s eye." By
@rkarnad
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These blind spots mean that if anyone wanted to write a history of the development of postcolonial India, they would be hard-pressed to do so — at least through the National Archives.
My report for
@ThePrintIndia
:
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Incidentally, spotted this poster today outside Pondicherry. Clearly Prabhakaran still looms large…with Veerappan. Party is Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi.
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