OLYMPICS

Olympics is over. Our contingent is back. People are disappointed since we could get only 2 medals and that too by girls who were under dogs in their events. All kinds of comments have started appearing in media. Many say that India is not a sports Nation. Some say why waste money when our team can not get medals.

Are we really a non sporting country ? If this was so, how so many of our sports men and women could achieve world class standard and qualify  to participate in Olympics? In fact, this year's team has shown great potential and there  have been wast improvement in their performance. If we were a non sporting nation, we could not have been the champion in hockey since 1940s. Also if we analyse the performance of our team, we find that many missed the medal by few critical points only. In some cases it was just touch & go scenario.

Having said that about our team, what was really lacking was the official machinery responsible to look after them.And the most disgusting part have been their repeated poor performance since decades.

What is the remedy? Simple ; present IOA & sports authorities need to under go major surgery. Still better disband them and let Government deal with it directly. A long term systematic planning should be worked out so that young boys and girls are picked up from schools, scientifically examined and trained for a particular sports for which found suitable. The Ex- sports persons of national & international standings to be inducted in managing the affair. It should also be ensured that those individuals who achieve certain standard, say up to State or National level in any game/sports,be provided respectable jobs

The old saying that:-
"Kheloge, koodoge hoge kharaab, padhoge likhkhoge hoge nawab"

has to be gotten rid of  from parents mind. In this respect Khel India Khel started by the Government is a good beginning. If attitude is correct, the future is bright & and also coming of medals

SULTANA DAKU

                                         SULTANA DAKU

                                                ( By M.G.Singh)          

Approximately a month back, there was a short programme on Sultana Daku,   shown on television-Epic channel. It was almost after a period of 6-7 decades that this name rang the bell and brought back old memories of our childhood. At the tender age of 6-8 years, I and other siblings of our large joint family used to enjoy stories of this mysterious man narrated by our elders. During school days, we had a chance to see a play titled “Sultana Daku” which was staged in a collage in which my father, a senior police officer of the district, played the role of Sultana. The year was around 1946-47 and the drama, like any favourite movie had left its deep impression on our young mind. The net result was that soon a drama party was set up with the active participation of all the siblings and other kids of our village and staging the  play of Sultana Daku became one of our favourite past time during summer vacations. This adventure, or to say extracurricular  activity continued till we passed out from our schools and moved to other cities for higher studies as boarding students. In collage, the sports and other activities soon over shadowed the craze for theatre and we gradually forgot about Sultana Daku.

WHO WAS SULTANA DAKU:

The brief account of Sultana on the television, regenerated the desire to know more about our childhood Robin Hood. Accordingly, I went through various sources to know more about him but found that official accounts on this man have been few; those that did come out were largely irrelevant and in a few cases, were clearly sponsored or concocted. I could, however, learn that a book was written on him by an author named Surjit Saraf with title “Confession of Sultana Daku”- a historical fiction, which was published by Penguin Books India in 2009. A while ago, a movie was also made on him but that again was mostly based on imaginative scenarios mixed with some unconfirmed facts. The story mostly revolved around the love of Sultana and a dancing girl Putli Bai ( also known as Phul kuwar)- in short, an usual Bollywood MASALA.

There were also some books & film reviews etc which again did not provide much  information as these too were  based on notes made by a British officer, Lt colonel Samuel Pearce, who ironically had played a major role in capturing Sultana. His special task force led by a junior fat British officer, Freddy Young, had captured Sultana from the Nainital forest area. Col Samuel Pearce was supposed to have recorded Sultana’s biography as narrated by the individual the night before he was supposed to be hanged in Haldwani prison. Interestingly while Sultana’s narration was in rustic local Hindi language, the scribbling by Samuel was in English.

It is also claimed that Sultana belonged to a Bhantu tribe of Chambal area in Madhya Pradesh (MP). The tribe was declared by the British government as extremely backward, following their traditionally criminal activities for survival. Thus, as a policy decision, Sultana and other young lads were brought from their villages to Nazibabad by the authorities and kept in a prison where they were supposedly enrolled in the   Salvation Army camp to undergo reform training. However, Sultana, rebellious by nature, did not like the working conditions laced with religious preaching by the Christian missionary and managed to escape from the camp. The escape obviously resulted in regular chase and harassments by the police, gradually leading to occasional encounters. This further motivated him to organise his own gang which  started conducting small robberies for survival, resulting in  terrorising and looting of rich people in central north  areas of UP. While the exact period of these events have not been recorded anywhere, it seems that these events occurred approximately in the early 1920s. Eventually, Sultana Daku was captured near Nainital and hanged on 8^th July 1924, when he was in his late 20s.

 SULTANA-A FREEDOM FIGHTER ?

The accounts narrated in Saraf’s book do not, however, tally with many details about this Robin Hood. According to Sultana, he claimed to be a descendent of Sishodia Rajput, Maharana Pratap Singh, the king of Mewar (Rajasthan). He had named his horse Chatak which was the name of Rana Pratap’s mount.  There is no doubt that Sultana was highly influenced by the character of his mentor. Rana Pratap’s bravery, patriotism and concern for his people are well known. He not only fought many battles with Mughal king Akbar, he was also the only king who had never surrendered till his death. It is also to be noted that Chambal area is mostly inhabited by Sikarwar Rajputs. Sikarwar and Sishodia Rajputs both are Suryavanshis and descendents of Lav- the son the Lord Ram Chandra of Ayodhya who is revered as God by Hindus in India. The Sikarwars purportedly had their kingdom at Vajaypur Sikri near Agra. After losing the battle at Khanwa fought between the Mughal invader Babur and the confederation of Rajput army lead by Rana Sangram Singh, Vijaypur Sikari was destroyed and renamed as Fatehpur Sikari by the victor Babur. The Sikarwars had to vacate Vijaypur Sikari and fled from there to number of remote areas including Dhaulpur, ravines of Chambal river, forests of Gahban (now known as Gahmar in Ghazipur), Azamgarh, and towards Rajasthan, Bihar etc. Thus, irrespective of his ancestry, it is very obvious that Sultana considered the British to be invaders and he put himself in the shoes of his hero to alleviate the suffering of his people and free them from the clutches of  foreign rule.

Interestingly Sultana, whose full name was Sultan Singh named his dog Rai Bahadur. This clearly shows his disliking for the Baniya (Business) community, Zamindars (big land holders) land lords and a like, whom the British authorities had showered with ludicrous  titles like Sir, Rai Bahadur, Highness etc. It is also true that many such rich Indians were the stooge of the British Government in India and assisted the Raj for their own selfish gains. This was the reason that most targets of Sultana were such rich people.  He never attacked or robbed the Rajputs and the poor as he  identified himself as one of them. He also purportedly never kept the loot for himself but was rumoured to have distributed in to the poor and the needy in the community.

WHY SULTANA WAS MADE TO JOIN SALVATION ARMY:

The book and other reports suggests that Sultana as a young boy along with others of similar age group were taken away from their villages and enrolled in the Salvation Army by the British Govt. The aim, at least as explained by the Government, was to re-train these young poor village lads as good citizens. But was this the real aim of the British Government?

In this context it is necessary to know the real meaning of Salvation Army. According to the Oxford English dictionary-:-

“Salvation Army is a religious and missionary organisation structured on quasi-military lines for revival of religion and helping the poor “

In the context, we should also recollect the famous  address of Lord Macaulay to the British Parliament on 2nd Feb.1835 on India, which was as under:-

“ I have travelled across the length and breath of India and have not seen one person who is a bagger, who is a thief, such wealth I have seen in the country; such high moral values; people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign  and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-steam, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation”

It is obvious therefore, that the aim of the British Raj was to follow Macaulay’s game plan to convert poor Indians to Christianity. Sultana’s enrolment in to Salvation army was part of it. However, Sultana’s high morale values and patriotism over shadowed their efforts. It is for this reason that he can safely be called as a rebel against occupying forces, rather than a Dacoit (Daku)

EFFECT OF INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE ON SULTAN SINGH:

If we reflect upon the history of India’s struggle for independence, we find that the period in which Sultana was active was precisely the period when the struggle for independence was in full swing. Gandhi had returned to India from South Africa on 9^th January,1915.Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an ardent nationalist, who helped lay the foundation stone for India’s independence by building his own defiance of British Rule, was already making headlines. By the time he died on 1^st August, 1920, he was already recognised as the Father of the Indian National Movement. In UP, activities of Chandra Shekhar Azad (born 20 July 1906; died 27 February 1931) a hard liner, were already in full swing in and around  Allahabad. The famous train robbery in 1925 at Kakori near Lucknow and also the killing of Assistant Superintendent of police Saunders had already brought his name into limelight alongside other heroes of the freedom fighters. We should also not forget the massacre of Jallianwala bagh in 1919, which had the tremendous impact on Indians. Was Sultana not aware of these developments? In a way he too was doing the similar work against the British Raj and therefore, not less than any other freedom fighter. If he was declared a dacoit by the Government, we must place this in this context. After all, the same government had also declared Azad, Batukeshwar, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and many others as criminals. 

It is unfortunate that, like many forgotten freedom fighters, no efforts have been made to investigate and record the real back ground and accounts of Sultana Daku. However, it is interesting to mention that people particularly those belonging to the Sultana’s area of operation still speak very high of him and regard him as a hero –a messiah for poor and terror for the rich sympathisers of British govt. It is said that Sultana had captured an abandoned fort in Nazibabad and had made it his headquarter. The fort was built about 400 years ago by Nawab Nazibudaula, and was Sultana’s most favourite hideout. Not only does this fort still exist, but more interestingly, it is known as ‘Sultana Daku Ka Kila’.Following are few pictures of the fort.

                                   

                                                       Sultana ka kila  (from distance) 

                                 

             
                                                           Main gate of the fort

Outer Veranda

                                                 Stairs going to 2nd floor with dead ends

SIKARWAR RAJPUTS ...Chapter-2

Chepter-2

Top of Form

SIKARWAR RAJPUTS’

              Some time back in Aug 2014, I had in my blog, tried to put down a brief history of the Sikarwars.  Based on some more information  given by Indian  historians like Dr. Devi Singh Mandawa in his book “Rajput Shakhaon Ka Itihaas” and others ,I am continuing  my article on Sikarwars further.

             The battle of Kanhua ( also spelled as Khanwa- a village between Agra & Vijaypur Sikri) which was  fought  between Mughal  invader Babur  and confederation of Rajputs lead by Rana Sanga on 17 March 1527,was a major turning point  in the history of Rajputs. While the defeat of Rana Sanga resulted in a major setback to the confederation in general, it particularly proved disastrous to Sikarwars of Vijaypur Sikari.

             Babur destroyed the fort of Vijaypur Sikari and  re- named it as Fatehpur Sikari. Dham Dev  who had participated in the battle with his three sons, viz. Prithu, Ahaman and Ram Dhalku, had to escape from there  to take shelter in to the forest of Dhaulpur. However, soon  Dham Dev was able to re-organise his remaining force, captured the nearby fort of Sarsaini and handed it over to his youngest son Ram Dhalku. In present day scenario it could be safely said that most of the inhabitants of Chambal area are descendent of Ram Dhalku. Dham Dev also captured Khairagarh and its adjoining areas which he gave to his eldest son Prithu to rule. ( Some historians  have mentioned the name of Dham Dev as Dhandu Dev and as such should not be confused)

           With the aim to take back Vijaypur, Dham Dev along with his second son Ahaman, again fought with Babur near Agra. But luck did not favour him and he lost the battle. His son Ahaman too got killed in this battle. A number of similar efforts to establish its own kingdom continued by the Sikarwars but did not materialise. Thus finding no alternative they further spread in other parts of India

                                                                ************

NATIONAL EMBLEM

NATIONAL EMBLEM

        The Emblem of the Indian State is an adaptation from the  Sarnath (Varanasi)  Lion Capital of Ashoka the great. It was adopted by the  Government of India on 26 January, 1950.

         In the original, there are four lions standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculpture in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the capital is crowned by a Wheel of the law ( DHARMA  CHAKRA).

   

         In the State Emblem, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on the right and a horse on left and the outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell shaped lotus has been omitted.  The words “ SAtyameva Jayate” from “Mundaka Upanishad” meaning  “TRUTH  ALONE TRIUMPHS” are  inscribed below the abacus in the DEVANAGARI script.

Our National Song

,
In my previous blog I had mentioned about our National anthem.

Many of us get confused between National anthem and the National song. Our national song is VANDE MATARAM written by Bankimchandra Chatterji and during freedom struggle, was a source of inspiration to us.It has an equal status with  JANA GANA MANA and was first sung in 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.

Following is the text of its first stanza:-

Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam.
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Shubhrajyotsna pulkitayaminim,
Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,
Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,
Sukhadam varadam,Mataram!

Shri Aurobindo rendered  its English translation in prose form as under:-

I bow to thee, Mother,
Richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
the Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
the Mother,giver of boons, giver of bliss.

Enjoy learning and singing it.

Full anthem with sound

National Anthem

1st to 5 th stanza of the national Anthem. Please also listen the full anthem given in the end with sound on.

National symbol, flag & anthem

                         FLYING OF NATIONAL FLAG AT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

               

Recent announcement by the Education Minister to daily  hoist the national flag at all the educational institutions in India is a welcome step. The requirement took birth when some anti India activities came to notice at Jawahar Lal University (JNU) where, besides raising various anti national slogans by some students group, our tri-colour was  also torn and insulted.

Apart from the above mentioned incident, I have noticed that, many of us do not care & give proper respect to our national flag and other symbols. Just a few days ago, the national flag at the office of District Magistrate of district Dehradun (Uttarakhand), was hoisted upside down by the police guards. They had put the green colour of the flag on top and the saffron portion  down. It was only corrected when the mistake was pointed out by some people. Such occurrence are not rear. One keeps seeing & reading about such incidents quite frequently.

I have ,therefore taken the opportunity to give some basic details about our National symbols, National flag, National anthem, national song etc .for those who probably  never had an  opportunity to know about these things.

NATIONAL FLAG

Indian National flag is horizontal tricolor of deep saffron (Kesari) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. Ratio of the width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel which represents the Chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of King Ashoka (grand son of Samrat Chandragupta Maurya). Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes.

Design of the flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July,1947.

The three colours of the flag indicate:-

Deep Saffron  :Valour & courage

White               : Purity & peace

Deep Green    : Prosperity.

NATIONAL ANTHEM

Composed by Ravindra Nath Tagore, the song was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of 5 stanzas. How ever, the first stanza consists full version of the National Anthem. Playing time of this full version is approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting of first and last lines of the stanza is also played on certain occasions. Playing time for which is approximately 20 seconds.

THE SIKARWAR RAJPUTS OF INDIA

                                                      
Hi folks,
I have been thinking since long to pen down a brief account of my clan- the Sikarwar Rajputs of India.So here is a brief  history which may be of some interest to some of you.


   SIKARWAR RAJPUTS

INTRODUCTION

The SIKARWARS are a royal warrior clan from Northern India. Their early history is very unknown due to lack of importance in keeping history. The clan name SIKARWAR is derived from SIKAR district of Rajasthan which they ruled for generations. It is included by British historian TOD, amongst the 36 royal races which claim to be descent from LAVA the son of King Ram of Ayodhya.  

            Sikarwars are known to be a very brave and fierce fighters and were well known to fight  unto death but never to surrender. This was one reason for their very low population. In a battle, they formed the “HARAVAL TUKADI” which used to be the first line of offence to face the enemy. According to British historian A.H. Bingley, Sikarwars are among the few races which are considered to be the best fighting soldiers.

EARLY HISTORY

           SIKARWARS established Vijaypur Sikari in 823 AD when Rana Bhatribhat was the ruler of Mewar in Rajasthan. Rao of Sikar was one of the invitees to Chitor during the coronation of Rana Sangram Singh (later popularly known as Rana Sanga) as mentioned in history books. Sikarwars also built the Agra fort, then known as Ajargarhi fort.

           The rular of Sikri during later part of 1400 AD was one  JAIRAJ DEV. He had three sons named Kamdev (the eldest), Dham dev and  Vikram Pratap Dev, the youngest

KAMDEV:-  Kamdev proceeded along with his army towards Madhya Pradesh in South and subjugated the Muslim aborigines called Cheras. He established himself in the area of MORENA, GWALIOR and JHANSI etc. Thus ancestors of SIKARWARS toward Morena etc had migrated much before the arrival Mughals.

DHAM DEV :- He was crowned as the ruler of Sikri in 1504 AD. Rana Sangram Singh (Rana Sanga)  who was still the prince of Mewar ( his coronation was in 1505 AD), attended the coronation on behalf of his father Rana Rai Mal. Both Dham Dev and Sangram Singh were known to be very close friends.

VIKRAM DEV:- While DHAM DEV was crowned as Ruler of Sikri, it was Vikram who managed most of the affairs of the state.

           

                                                                      -2-         

            A detailed description of a queen from Sikri was given by Bhaduriya Rajputs. RAJA SHALYA DEV (1194-1208 AD) referred to as SELLA DEV by British historians, was an illustrious ruler of his age. Taking advantage of the disorder prevailing in the country during Ghouri Shah’s invasion, Raja Shalya Dev had attacked and plundered Meerut and Farrukhabad. When QUTUBUDDIN AIBAK attacked BHADAURA GARH in 1208, a fierce battle accompanied and great slaughter took place in which SHALYA DEV was slain. It is said that his pregnant wife who was daughter of Rao of SIKRI escaped and with the help of two loyal servants reached Sikri.

BATTLE OF KHANWA also spelled as Kanwah/ Kanhua)

            During the battle of Khanwa ( village between Agra-Vijaypur Sikri) which commenced on 17 March,1527 AD, between the confederation of Rajputs lead by Rana Sanga and Mughal invader BABUR, DAM DEV not only joined the confederation but provided complete administrative, logistics & operational support to  Sanga. In fact the complete Rajput army  of 1.80 lakh stayed in side and around the Sikri fort for more than a month.  Each house hold of Sikri rose to the occasion to assist in the stay of the force including in cooking food to compensate shortage of cooks etc. Enough ration was also collected and stocked inside the fort, even before the battle started as Rana had planned to capture Agra.

            Earlier Sanga had liberated North India from Afghan ruler, Ibrahim Lodi and was confident of defeating Babur. Unfortunately this could not materialize as Mughals captured  Agra with speed. The Rajputs caused many a Mughal casualties during the night battle. This was after the Rajputs had lost during the day. The main reason for this sudden defeat was due to betrayal of one of the close aid, SILHADI (Siladitya), a TOMAR Rajput chieftain of North East Malwa,  who held a large contingent of 30,000 men, joined Babur’s camp at the critical moment of the battle.

           Rana Sanga was badly wounded and had to be evacuated from the battle field. Thus the command of the Rajput’s withdrawing forces devolved on the shoulder of Dham Dev, which he  conducted with fair amount of discipline and control. The wounded Rana Sanga  and  also the SIKARWAR’S Deity- MATA KAMAKHYA, were loaded on camels and under  protection of a group of Rathor Rajput warriors, transported to the safety in the Aravali mountains. Mean while, walls of the Sikri fort were blown out with guns by Babur’s army and finally captured. 

           

                                                                     -3-

            The defeat in battle of Khanwa was a ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­major set-back in the history of Rajputs.While this resulted in the advent of Mughal rule in the region, the Rajputs had to disperse far and wide to safe their religion and families from the Babur’s atrocities. Sikarwars in particular, suffered more as the battle of Khanwa was fought in their ruled area and Babur considered Vijaypur Sikri as the main cantonment (Chawani) of the Rajputs confederation army. After the victory, the town of Vijay pur Sikri was also re-named as Fatehpur Sikri by Babur. 

“Fatehpur  Pukarat Mughals Naam More Nagari ko,

Vijaypur Nagari Aaz Fatehpur Bhayo Ree”

That’s how Vidyadhar, Bard had narrated the re-naming.

           BABUR himself, while describing the battle of Khanwa in his Baburnama,  had mentioned DHAM DEV RAO at least twice in his book along with that of RANA SANGA, MEDINI RAO, RAO CHANDER SEN, SILHADI (SHILADITYA), MAHMOOD KHAN LODI, HASAN KHAN MEWATI etc.

MIGRATION FROM SIKRI:

            Once this major battle was lost by Rajputs, they had no option but to disperse and migrate to safer locations. Their major  settlements of Sikarwars  had been in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and few in Maharashtra & Gujarat. A detail list of their districts/villages is attached separately.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

(Gotra, Kuldev, Kuldevi, Flag)

Gotra-Sankritayan (Those living in Sikarwari region of Agra & Morena district follow Bhardwaj Gotra)

Prawar- Three, viz. Sankrit, Angiras & Aurav

Ved -  Yajur Ved,    Up Ved- Dhanur

Ved Paad- Dakshin,  Shikha- Dakshin, Chand-Anurisp, Branch-Madhyami, Sutra- Katyaan.

Bird-Owl, Kul Devta- Shiv,  Kul Devi (Eisht) –Mata Kamakhya.

                                                                        -4-       

Flag – Golden red with Bal Surya embossed on it.

 Narrating the genealogy of Sikarwars, the bards say that “Brijraj Dev was the son of Naurang Dev, grand son of Anurag Dev and great grand son of Prayag Dev.

ADDITIONAL INPUTS:

It is well known fact that after independence of India, the government and most of the Indian historians never took much interest to find facts about the Rajput history. It was projected  as dark period of the Indian history. For them the golden period in India started only with the arrival of Mughals. Obviously this was done intentionally as a result of close proximity of Nehru/Gandhi family with Muslims in some way or other, details of which are already in public domain.

The myth that Mughal emperor Akbar established Fatehpur sikri as his capital and nothing existed before that, has been negated by the very fact that it was Babur who renamed vijaypur Sikri to Fatehpur Sikri.  Very few people know that in the year 1999-2000 AD an excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was conducted at the CHABELI TILA of Sikri which yielded a rich crop of Jain statues- hundreds of them, including the foundation stone of a temple with date. The statues were a thousand years old of Bhagwan ADI NATH, RISHABH NATH, MAHAVIR and Jain Yakshainis - says Swaroop Chandra Jain, the senior leader of the Jain community. The excavation, after two years of work, was suddenly stopped by the government.

DV Sharma, former Superintending archaeologist of the ASI in Agra who supervised the excavations told IANS- ‘’we found scores of damaged statues piled up and with dates and also a manuscript. These are now lying in the guest house of Fatehpur Sikri. They should have gone ahead to engage experts to carry out research on these subjects”.

Sharma further added –Quote “My book of Fatehpur Sikri excavations is there in the ASI library with complete details of the findings which un- mistakenly point to a flourishing trade and pilgrimage centre of both the Jains and the Sikarwars. Akbar built a few structures and modified others that were already there. Who demolished the temples and the statues is a subject which further research alone can establish” unquote.

Talking to IANS, Bhanu Pratap Singh, the author of “JAIN DHARM KA PRAMUKH KENDRA THA FATEHPUR SIKRI” said that “Sikri existed much before Akbar. The excavation has clearly established this fact.” Basing his arguments on the excavations by the ASI Bhanu Pratap Singh further reiterated that the antique pieces, statues and structures, all point to a lost culture and religious site, more than 1,000 year ago.

  of India:

Nepal visit by NAMO

Please see my blog on Nepal dated 7 Aug.2014. Here are few pictures taken during our visit to Kathmandu & Pokhara.

The above photo is of SHIV LING in Darbar Squire, Kathmandu.

An other Temple in Darbar Squire.. Its made of all wood.

A portion of Swayambhu Nath TempleAdd caption

Most of the temples and houses in Nepal  have extensive wooden carvigs. This is a door made of wood with very intricate designs. Below is upper portion of main gate of a temple

AThe sun rise in Pokhara is worth seeing. The peaks ( Annapurna-III & Machchipychi turns golden with sun rays falling on them.dd caption

Momos ( both veg/not veg) is a popular food item here. Cheap, testey & readily available every where.

Add caption

BABAR'S SEPULCHERE IN KABUL- VISIT BY INDIRA GANDHI

I have not been a History student  but after my retirement from Government service, my inquisitiveness to know more about our history forced me look for all available material on the subject .I got this opportunity when my second daughter,Dr. Rashmi Singh, after passing her   graduation in history & Masters in International Relations, left  for London to join LSC for her PhD in 2002. After departure of my all the three kids abroad for study/job I started taking stock of  all the books littered in the house. 

Since all the three children were voracious readers, there were good number of books in the house needing proper storage and accountability. This provided me  an opportunity to go through a large number of History books  left by Rashmi.

While reading History books ,I was surprised to learn that almost all the Indian historians had called the RAJPUT period as DARK period. While enough meitrial was available on RAJPUTS,  their kingdoms, valor and so on, hardly much space was provided by any historian.

There could be many reasons for it which need to be explored. The recent book of Mr. Natawar Singh, a former deplomat and a Minister in congress ruled government, does give some food for thought in this direction.

OUT LOOK dated 11 Aug.2014, an Indian periodical, published an article  titled " A Friend And A Gentleman" on Natwar Singh, by  Mani Shankar Aiyar ( another diplomat & a Minister in Congress Govt.). Aiyar narreted an incident, the gist of which is as under:-

" In the immediate wake of Mrs Indira Gandhi becoming  Prime Minister, her one early trip abroad was to Kabul, On her visit she  insisted  to visit .Babar's Tomb which Natawar Singh arranged. Babar was not an Afghan hero. Hence ,the tomb, located on a hill top, was grossly  neglected. Both Indira & Natwar had to toil up the climb on foot.to reach the grave.

 She ( Mrs Gandhi)  seemed overwhelmed by the occasion and stood silently before the humble sepulchre for several minutes. Then she heaved a sigh  and murmured " Natwar,I've had my moment with history"..

While there is nothing unusual for the Indian Prime Minister to visit Babar's tomb, one wonders if she had similar sentiments for the brave Rana Sangram Singh (Popularly known as Rana Sanga) of Mewar who bravely fought Babar. And if she ever took time to visit the SAMADHI of Rana Sanga at  Chittorgarh?

The answer to many questions as to why our historians refer to Rajput history as Dark period, lies in such neglects by our own leaders.

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Nepal visit by NAMO

INDO-NEPAL RELATIONS: VISIT OF NAMO Indian Prime minister Shri Narendra Modi ( I prefer to call him NAMO as its more catchy & gives a sense of personal touch) visited Kathmandu on 3-4 August 2014. It has been a historical event in context of Indo-Nepal relations. Media & experts in both countries gave an extensive coverage to this visit giving all the positive side of it. What, however, was missed by most, was why it took an Indian PM so long to visit this strategically important neighbor? The last visit was 17 years back by IK Gujral who himself had a sort stint as PM. Nepal always had a fascination for me since 60s.While in Army and later in Special Frontier Force, when I was handling a special operation in Arunachal Pradesh, travel from Delhi to the rail head- Tinsukhia or Dibrugarh in Assam was in it self a mission, These two stations were the take off point for Siang, Lohit and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh. In those days there was only one train ie. Assam Mail running between Delhi to Tinsukhia/Dibrugarh involving almost 3 days. The Broad gauge was only up to Barauni Jn & beyond it was meter gauge. The train between Barauni to Tinsukhia used to run under the command of the Army with the Senior most officer travelling acted as the Train –in-charge. The stations between Barauni till final destination had special attraction of foreign goods smuggled from Nepal. The wanders on stations, carrying imported items like Chinese fountain pens, cut pieces of trouser and shirt cloth etc. would sell their goods to travelers and even take advance orders for any particular item for next trips. During the visit of our daughter and son-in-law in December,2013, we suddenly decided to go on vacation to some new place and Kathmandu propped up as the best option. Our stay in Kathmandu was more than rewarding. We enjoyed every bit of our stay and found people very friendly, hospitable and helpful. We also happened to come across few retired soldiers of Gorkha Rifles Regiments of Indian Army who were too respectful and eager to help. We also spent few days at Pokhara- another fascinating town of Nepal. Why UPA Government at Delhi did not give required importance to Indo-Nepal on its part. can only be called a misplaced diplomatic priority, which NAMO has tried to bring back on line. Nepal is not only a buffer state between India and Tibet (now China) but have many things in common. Since majority population in both countries are Hindus, our historical,religious and cultural sentiments are entwined very deep. Besides,a large number of Nepali nationals are working in India with sizable number in Defense forces. Nepal has huge natural assets as most of the rivers flowing in Nepal from China finally feed our rivers as well. I have already given an account of it in my previous blog on “our most revered river- GANGA.”. On the whole, a master stroke by NAMO. I only hope all the decisions taken during his visit to Nepal are implemented on ground as well and soon. By the way some tips for those who plan to visit Kathmandu in near future- a. Fly from Delhi to Kathmandu on a clear day and try to get window seat on the left side of the air craft. This will give you lovely view of the Himalaya and its many snow clad peaks. On return flight, sit on right side. b. Try stay in Thamel which is central place of Kathmandu town with all the activities through out day & night c. Must try Nepali local beer. Popular brands are “ GORKHA” & “EVEREST” d. If interested in genuine Khukhari, purchase it from the authorized Nepal Khukhari shop in Thamel run by a retired Colonel of Nepal Army. e. If travelling in winter & wish to purchase jackets, coat parkas, wind cheaters etc, better get in Kathmandu. There are shops dealing genuine mountaineering equipments including American North Face brands Lastly, do get a travel guide book on Nepal & browse on inter-net various sites like trip advisor etc for more details.

Showing Red apple to people by Congress

Election for the 16th LS is over & results will be announced tomorrow ie 16th May 2014.


What so ever may be the out come of this election. But it is clear that congress led government had been so far successful in fooling poor people of India. Two  points which clearly emerge  in this respect are crystal clear -


(a) Announcing projects for welfare of poor people but not really following them in real sense has been the trick number one. Take the case of Rural employment scheme, Right to education, Right to food program etc. While lots on propaganda continue to be generated about these schemes, the reality on ground are disemal.


(b) Its policy of divide & rule has been the master stroke which it has followed since independence. While it has neglected the majority community, it has tried to appease the minority Thus intentionally creating a rift between communities. Prime minister Manmohan Singh's remark that " minority has first right on the natural resources of India" has been most damaging. similarly its policy of taxing income of temples while exempting others has also been disappointing. Poor people do wonder why Muslims are given subsidy for Huj why no such benefit  given to poor Hindus? There are many more anomalies which devide the society.
BJP's manifesto to have a common Civil Code is a corrective major in respect.


Hopefully if modi becomes PM and BJP get enough majority, India will change for better & country will get more cohesive & united.

Election for 16th Parliament in India

General Election in India for the 16th Lok Sabha has finally come to an end on 12 May 2014. The result will come out on 16th when the fate of candidates & there parties will be known to the Nation.


This time election was with a difference. Desire of the voters was obviously to get rid of the Congress lead UPA Government. The emergence of Mr Narendra Modi- the 3 time Chief Minister of Gujrat State was the 1st master stroke of the BJP President Raj Nath Singh. This was in spite of strong resistance of the old guards in the party like Advani, MM Joshi,  Sushma Awaraj and others.




The 2nd master stroke of Raj Nath Singh was to get Modi contest from Varanasi. Being from East Uttar Pradesh him self, he is fully conscious of the backwardness of this region. In fact, the region also called as Poorvanchal, has been neglected by the Central govt since India's independence in 1947. The reason for this utter neglect by Congress (which mostly ruled India since 1947), has been the militant nature of people of this area. During independence movement, it was this region which followed Subhash Chandra Bose style of liberation struggle. Remember 1857, the Ist war of independence ( sadly many intellectuals call it mutiny) and the soldier who ignited the rebalion? He was Mangal Pandey from District Balia. Poorvanchal has also been the area of operation of Thakur Kuwar Singh of District Aara,who, with a small army had fought British forces following the guerrilla tactics. till his death.


People of Poorvanchal, who till date, have been deprived of development, now see a ray of hope in Modi.
 Let us hope BJP comes with thumping majority to anable his new Government to carry out desired development of Porvanchal & fulfill the ambitions of  poor people of this area.


 

j&k -the true story

J&K- THE TRUE STORY:
For the benefit of our young friends, here is a brief account of the J&K problem between India & Pakistan. It would be seen from the facts that  Pakistan, have been, by presenting distorted historical account, formenting insurgency and terrorism and forcefully occupying area called POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir),tried to change the demography of the valley. While in POK, it has brought in people from Punjab & permanently settled them, it has been trying to get rid of the Hindu population. With the result a large number of Kashmiri Pundits have been forced to vacate the valley & live like refugees in other parts of India.
Since the present demography has become in its favour in the valley, it keeps on harping on having plaebisite.

From the brief description, it is also emply clear why no referendom on any issue can take place in the Valley

                                                      NEGLECT OF OUR REVERED RIVERS                                                            

(A thought ignited on the eve of World Water Day, we talk & celebrate every year, But is that enough?)

 

Recently, while cleaning my book shelves, I came across an old cassette containing songs of the Bollywood film “JIS DESH MAIN GANGA BEHATI HAI”.   As it was a film I had seen during my college days, I sat down to listen to the cassette. The old memories immediately returned, and with them came a flashback of the golden days of hostel life.

The time was 1955 to 1961 and the place was Allahabad. My college was located on the banks of Yamuna river. The confluence of the three great rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and the mythological hidden Sarswati, known as sangam, was  just half a nautical mile from our location.  The college had a dozen of its own cutter boats which were a big hit with all the hostellers, particularly those with an interest in rowing and swimming.  Spending few hours of the day at or in the river was the usual routine of most of the students living in the hostels then.  

Could we drink the river water directly without any hesitation?  That was a question that never even occurred to anyone in those days.  Both the rivers were not only revered as sacred but their water was unquestionably clean, hygienic and perfectly fit for human consumption.

But that was then! In 2012, I happened to pay a short visit to Allahabad, after a period of over 50 years. The beautiful memories of the past were so strong that on reaching Allahabad, I could not resist an urge to go and visit my college and its beautiful river front with the hope of seeing the boats lined up along the banks, carrying the college insignia and furling colorful flags.  But where were the river and the boats?

Sadly they were all gone. The river which had almost touched the parapet of the college premises had now drifted two or three hundred meters away. It was no more the magnificent, over a mile wide, river that I had left in the 1950s, but rather looked like an ordinary stream.  The college boats, I was told, were sold off too as few students were interested in water sports due to the polluted waters. The worst thing one noticed was the heaps of garbage littered all over the river banks.

I had left Allahabad in early 1961, and after completion of the initial training, was commissioned   in the Indian Army in mid June 1963. As luck would have it, my first posting was in an elite Mountain Artillery regiment which at that time was stationed at one of the cantonments in Uttar Pradesh. The regiment had just returned after taking part in the Indo-China war of 1962 and was in the process of recouping & re-organizing.  This period of calm did not last long and its batteries were ordered to urgently move to forward areas on the Indo-Tibet border.  The battery, in which I was posted, was assigned to move to a forward location in the Garhwal region.  (An artillery regiment consists of four batteries, each equipped with four mountain guns). Since this was for the first time that the army was being inducted in the area, every operational and logistic detail had to be worked out from scratch. We prepared ourselves accordingly, and a special train was requisitioned to bring the battery comprising of over 200 men, 100 or so horses and mules, guns, and other arms and equipment to the railhead at the foothill of the Himalayas. That railhead was Rishikesh, at the time a small religious town full of big and small temples that were lined up along the mighty river Ganga.  Thus my association with Ganga was again revived.

 We moved from Rishikesh to our destination on foot, following the track which ran along the river and reached our post in twelve days, covering a distance of about 150 kilometers.  The movement of the battery was difficult and strenuous, as at many places the track had either been washed away due to landslides or was too narrow to negotiate with the horses and mules carrying full loads. During the journey we also had to take into account many other factors such suitable camping sites en route, transport of food & fodder for the men and animals, security considerations, communication and so on. Yet at no stage was the requirement of water ever considered. The reason was simple. The fast flowing rivers, streams and waterfalls along the route provided ample guarantee of clean and potable water.  Unfortunately, can anyone afford to neglect the requirement for water to day if undertaking a similar military move? The answer simply is no! 

Incidentally, that trip was also when I learned that the river Ganga is only  named as such from Dev Prayag about 40 kilometers upstream from Rishikesh where the rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda meet.  My long stay in the region also gave me the opportunity to explore almost the entire Indo-Tibet border and its numerous passes leading into Tibet.  The most interesting aspect of these explorations was the realization of the love and respect the local people have for the river Ganga.  This is one reason why so many tributaries are named after the Ganga, including Dhauli ganga, Dharma ganga, Gauri ganga, Hanuman ganga, Rishiganga, Akash ganga, Patal ganga, Garud ganga, Birahi ganga and Ramganga.

 

The two incidents narrated above were to elucidate the condition of our most revered rivers, the way they were fifty years ago, and their terrible condition today. No doubt that India has made tremendous progress in various fields in the past four or five decades. But it has also maintained a blind eye towards the preservation of the most vital element that is required for the very survival of all living being on this earth: water! 

All along the Ganga and its tributaries, where earlier stainless steel, brass or copper containers to carry holy water were sold to pilgrims, one only finds rows and rows of plastic water bottles of various brands. After all, most of the river water is now not safe to drink.  According to some experts, over 19,659 tons of garbage and other harmful chemical wastes are dumped every year in the Ganga alone.  Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for 55.4% for this dumping, while West Bengal shares 18.8%, thus achieving the first & second positions in this contest for self-destruction.

Worse still, our blind religious faith also contributes significantly to polluting the Ganga. For instance, in Varanasi alone, over 32,000 bodies are cremated at the Ganga’s two cremation ghats every year and use 16,000 tons of wood.  If we take into consideration the number of such cremations in other cities and towns along the river, the amount of wood used and pollution of air and water is astounding.  Why can’t the government and the society work towards banning such damage to the environment and instead ask people to perform such rituals at electric crematoria instead?

 

The scenario looks even bleaker when we view this issue in terms of international relations and its complications, particularly viz-a viz our neighboring countries. For instance, it is a well know fact that most of the rivers in northern India originate from the Tibetan plateau.  Can there be any guarantee that China will not divert the course of some or all of these rivers to quench the thirst of its own parched northern areas? This should be of particularly serious concern as China has already built a number of dams on rivers flowing into India, including the Brahmputra, the Sutlej and the main Indus streams. Can we imagine the consequences if some of the Ganga’s tributaries that originate in Tibet and pass through Nepal to eventually join the main river are diverted by China to meet its own need?

We know that the holy river Ganga desperately needs fresh water from its tributaries, and rivers from Nepal alone account for 46 per cent of its flow. Their contribution grows to 71 per cent during the lean season. This is an issue that our foreign policy must address urgently and forcefully, particularly when our past experiences on treaties with China have not been encouraging.

Moreover, Asia is a comparatively dry continent, with less than one-tenth of the fresh waters of South America, less than one fourth of North America, one third of Europe and even a little less than Africa. Despite this, Asia is also the world’s largest and most populous continent, with India and China holding the bulk of the human populations.

In many ways, both countries are already drawing on tomorrow’s water to meet today’s needs and at this rate, that day is not far when India at least will be forced to import water from abroad.  This has major consequences for our dreams of becoming a strong, developed nation, as we cannot move forward while we lack the most vital of resources. Not surprisingly, and as many experts predict, there is a good chance that the next war will be fought over the issue of water!

In conclusion, one must emphasize that India’s prime concern today should be to conserve its water resources instead of planning manned missions to the moon.

                                                                                                                                                      By MG Singh