Tuesday, 23 August 2016

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

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

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 8th 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 9th 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 1st 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

Saturday, 9 July 2016

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


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

Monday, 4 July 2016

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.



Tuesday, 28 June 2016

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.










Saturday, 14 May 2016

National Anthem

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