Also read, Kargil's first hero and a truly humbling experience http://satyameva-jayate.org/2011/08/21/kargils-first-hero/
|| Satyameva Jayate ||
satyameva-jayate.org
A letter frm Dr N K Kalia, proud father of Capt Saurabh Kalia]]>
|| Satyameva Jayate ||
satyameva-jayate.org
from the Archives...]]>
From, "There's less of Krishi in Bharat now...", here are the numbers...
Barely 58% rural India is now engaged in farming...
This constitutes less than 60% of their income...and only 40% depend on it as main source of income http://j.mp/1znhsC5]]>
The problem at the heart of the black money problem is the nexus between those who receive discretionary favours (private business in the sectors listed above) and those who provide these favours or even those who lobby for these favours on behalf of private interests (the polity in general with a central role for the government).
Unless this nexus is broken, there is little chance that the primary cause of black money generation will be nullified.
But who will bell the cat? Given the enormous amount of resources that are required to fight elections, can we expect political parties to slay the goose that lays the golden egg? In the absence of a policy which reforms the electoral system (e.g. public funding of elections has been proposed as a solution), we the electorate might as well sit back and enjoy the show-biz of illegal foreign bank accounts being played out on the 24-hour news channels..."
- Ajit Karnik @ http://j.mp/1znd1al]]>
Brief excerpt below...
**
"Too many believe that education is only about ‘making a living’ when, in fact, it is also about ‘making a life.’
Yes, later education should prepare one for a career, but early education should instil the self-confidence to think for ourselves, to imagine and dream about something we absolutely must do in life.
A proper teaching of Sanskrit can help in fostering a sense of self-assuredness and humanity, much in the way that reading Latin and Greek did for generations of Europeans when they searched for their roots in classical Rome and Greece.
This is the answer to the bright young person who asks, ‘Why should I invest in learning a difficult language like Sanskrit when I could enhance my life chances by studying economics or commerce?’ Sanskrit can, in fact, boost one’s life chances.
A rigorous training in Panini’s grammar rules can reward us with the ability to formulate and express ideas that are uncommon in our languages of everyday life. Its literature opens up ‘another human consciousness and another way to be human’, according to Pollock."
**
From "Sanskrit, taught well, can be as rewarding as economics" http://j.mp/1sMW3R8]]>
PM Indira Gandhi has held the Pakistani air strikes as a declaration of war against India. Indian forces are preparing for a massive and coordinated air, sea, and land assault.
By the second week of December, Pakistan is edging closer to the brink of defeat.
The Pakistani air force has suffered heavy losses. On the eastern front, Pakistan’s 14 Squadron has been all but destroyed. Indian air force now controls the eastern front.
The icy heights of Jammu & Kashmir are still seeing some action. This includes men of 18 Squadron, “The Flying Bullets”. These men are bravely repulsing the Pakistani attacks in spite of lack of familiarity with the terrain and having had no time for acclimatisation. Even in these freezing temperatures, the morale of the men remains high.
On 14 December 1971 – even as Pakistan is on the verge of surrendering – Srinagar airfield is attacked by six Pakistani F-86 Sabre jets.
What happened next is best described in the Citation for Param Vir Chakra that was awarded to Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon:
....
"Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was a pilot of a Folland Gnat detachment based at Srinagar for the air defence of the valley against Pakistani air attacks. In accordance with the international agreement dating back to 1948, no air defence aircraft were based at Sirinagar, until the outbreak of hostilities with Pakistan.
Flying Officer Sekhon was, therefore, unfamiliar with the terrain and was not acclimatised to the altitude of Srinagar, especially with the bitter cold and biting winds of the Kashmir winter. Nevertheless, from the outset of the war, he and his colleagues fought successive waves of intruding Pakistani aircraft with valour and determination, maintaining the high reputation of the Folland Gnat aircraft.
On 14 December 1971, Srinagar Airfield was attacked by a wave of six enemy Sabre aircraft.
Flying Officer Sekhon was on readiness duty at the time. However, he could not take off at once because of the clouds of dust raised by another aircraft which had just taken off.
By the time the runway was fit for take-off, no fewer than six enemy aircraft were overhead, and strafing of the airfield was in progress. Nevertheless, in spite of the mortal danger of attempting to take off during an attack, and in spite of the odds against him. Flying Officer Sekhon took off and immediately engaged a pair of the attacking Sabres.
In the fight that followed, at tree top height, he all but held his own, but was eventually overcome by sheer weight of numbers. His aircraft crashed and he was killed.
In thus, sacrificing himself for the defence of Srinagar, Flying Officer Sekhon achieved his object, for the enemy aircraft fled from the scene of the battle without pressing home their attack against the town and the airfield.
The sublime heroism, supreme gallantry, flying skill and determination, above and beyond the call of duty, displayed by Flying Officer Sekhon in the face of certain death, set new heights to Air Force traditions."
Such was the bravery, skill and determination displayed by Flying Officer Sekhon that even Salim Baig Mirza, the pilot who shot him down praised him.
Flying Officer Sekhon was 27 years old. He is the only recipient of the Param Vir Chakra from the Indian Air Force.
जय हिंद, जय भारत! - शांतनु
Saluting our Heroes: Fg Off Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC
satyameva-jayate.org
From the Indian Army website: The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on la...]]>
Here's a brief excerpt..
"The good news first: young Indians are far more literate than their older counterparts, and gap in literacy rate between men and women is closing fast.
...(Unfortunately), the mortality rate of young girls is significantly greater than that of boys..."
More below...जय हिंद, जय भारत! - शांतनु
State of the girl child in India..
blog.thenumerateindian.com]]>
Bharathi was not only a freedom fighter and a social reformer far ahead of his times, he was also one of the greatest poets of his age..His poetry inspired the masses to fight against colonial rule..
Even more interestingly, he was probably one of the earliest leaders of the freedom struggle who had a clear view on enterprise, liberty and individual freedoms...
As KV Sarma mentions in his post about "The Visionary" http://j.mp/vewRcl,
"apart from being a Patriot at core...(he was) a true representation of Indian Right that supported enterprise and freedom during the time when “Gandhian Socialism and respect to Gandhi” was considered Nationalism"
Pl also read (and share) this 2-part series on Mahakavi Bharati by Aroon Raman, "We say Vande Mataram: Bharati" http://j.mp/IOKphQ from which the concluding lines:
"As we rush through the 21st century, impatient in many ways with our past, we would do well to reflect in passing on this many-faceted son of India who gave so completely of himself to the liberty of his motherland."
Some of you may know that he was a contemporary of VVS Iyer and Sri Aurobindo and there is a museum in Pondicherry where he moved in 1908 to escape arrest.
Pl take a moment to remember this extraordinary man today..and pl share this with your friends and especially the younger ones in your family.. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat! - Shantanu
]]>
A brief excerpt below:
"...The Congress “idea of India” envisions a country in which most people will always be poor and illiterate so that benevolent people like Sonia and Ms Roy can continue to offer “alleviation” services.
What Modi offers, as he did in Varanasi last week, is not poverty alleviation but the hope of prosperity.
So when he talked to the desperately poor weavers of Varanasi, he reminded them that the poorest, most illiterate Indian mother dreamed that her daughter would wear a Banarasi sari on her wedding day. This meant that the market for their saris was vast and growing, so all they needed to do was to find a way of tapping into it.
He did not tell them that they should continue living in windowless hovels in dismal streets and that he would provide them with cheap food grain to make things easier. He did not tell them that he may never be able to create real jobs for their children but they would be ‘guaranteed’ 100 days of employment a year. Even at the highest minimum wage, this comes to less than Rs 30,000 a year.
....
Think of this and you might find it easier to understand why the people of India rejected the Congress so brutally that it is not even in a position to give us an opposition leader in the Lok Sabha..."
जय हिंद, जय भारत! - शांतनु
Fifth Column: The doomsday club
indianexpress.com
The point I am making is that there exists in Delhi today a doomsday club that does not miss any chance to predict that India is finished.]]>
Gurcharan Das: मुक्त बाजार का मंत्र
gurcharandas.blogspot.com
Official blog of Gurcharan Das. He is the author of India Grows at Night: A Liberal Case for a Strong State (Penguin 2012);The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma (2009),India Unbound (2000),a novel,A Fine Family (1990),a book of essays The Elephant Paradigm (2002) & an anthology o…]]>
Period.
Explained: Article 66 A
indianexpress.com
A batch of petitions have alleged that the section tramples upon the Fundamental Right to freedom of speech and expression, and asked that it be declared unconstitutional.]]>
Late November, 1961, Elizabethville, Congo.
For men of 3/1 Gorkha Rifles, the last few days have been grim. Their colleagues have come under repeated attacks by the Katanga forces.
One of the senior officers, Major Ajit Singh has been taken captive…and his driver brutally murdered while on a mission to rescue UN officials. The honour of Gorkhas is on the line.
The deployment is unusual because the troops are part of the UN Peace Keeping Forces. In fact the UN operation in Congo (Organisation de Nations Unies au Congo, ONUC 1960-63) will go down in history as the mission in which the largest number of Indian troops participated.
The initial contribution has been enlarged to Brigade level comprising 1 Dogra, 2 Jat, 3/1 Gorkha Rifles, a squadron of 63 Cavalry, 4 Mahar and others. Moise Tshombe, the leader of the breakaway Katanga province commands thousands of troops under Belgian army officers.
Although a ceasefure was effected in September 1961, the situation is worsening again. The job of restoring normalcy has fallen on Indian troops.
In the days leading up to December, the Gorkhas decide to re-consolidate.
Read what happened next at the link below...
Please take a moment to remember these heroes...and do share these stories with the young ones in your family and among friends..
जय हिंद, जय भारत! - शांतनु
Saluting our Heroes: Capt Gurbachan Singh Salaria, PVC
satyameva-jayate.org
From the Indian Army website: The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on la...]]>
The Indian troops on the border have been mobilised and are in a state of full alert.
On the evening of of 3rd December, Pakistani aircrafts strike against cities and towns on the western border.
PM Indira Gandhi declares the strikes as an act of war against India and orders mobilisation and counter-attacks.
On the morning of 4th December, men of 14 Guards are ordered to capture a position near Akhaura on the border between Tripura and Bangladesh.
...The area is strategically important ....Operations in this sector are critical to deny the Pakistani army access to the Dhaka Chittagong road (Pg 19, Liberation War of Bangladesh)
The key to the capture of Akhaura is the Pakistani position at Gangasagar, 6½ km west of Agartala that is well-fortified and strongly defended by the Pakistani army.
Lance Naik Ekka is part of the left forward assault force on this position. The attack begins in the early hour of the dawn.
The Indian troops soon come under intense shelling and smalls arms fire from strongly fortified enemy positions.
Here is what happened next (courtesy, Bharat-Rakshak.com):
"Lance Naik Ekka observed that an enemy light machine gun was belching deadly fire from a bunker, causing heavy casualties to his company.
Unmindful about his personal safety, he charged the enemy bunker, bayoneted two enemy soldiers and silenced the light machine gun. Though seriously injured in this encounter, he continued to fight alongside his comrades with courage, securing bunker after bunker.
After battling through a distance of 1½ km, when Lance Naik Ekka and his comrades reached the northern end of the objective, an enemy medium machine gun opened up from the second floor of a well-fortified building. It inflicted heavy casualties on the Indian troops and help up their progress.
Once again Lance Naik Ekka, rose to the occasion.
Unmindful of his personal safety, he crawled to the building and hurled a grenade into the bunker. One enemy soldier was killed and the other injured. But the MMG could not be silenced. Lance Naik Ekka then scaled the sidewall to enter the bunker. He bayoneted the enemy holding the bunker and silenced the deadly weapon".
With the MMG silenced, the company was soon able to close in and secure Gangasagar. The loss of Gangasagar forced the Pakistani troops to vacate Akhaura.
Unfortunately Lance Naik Ekka – grievously injured – did not live to see the day..."
As his citation noted, “In this action, Lance Naik Albert Ekka displayed the most conspicuous valour and determination and made the supreme sacrifice in the best traditions of the Army”.
The Param Vir Chakra awarded posthumously to Lance Naik Albert Ekka was the only one on the Eastern front in the 1971 war.
As you go about your day today, please take a moment to remember the braves who made India feel proud by their acts of valour and supreme sacrifice and please share their inspirational stories widely with your friends and fellow citizens.
जय हिंद, जय भारत! - शांतनु
Saluting our Heroes: Lance Naik Albert Ekka, PVC
satyameva-jayate.org
From the Indian Army website: The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on la...]]>
"...despite the fact that Sanskrit is the liturgical language of Hindus...the body of non-religious writing in Sanskrit is enormous.
In fact, it is likely that secular Sanskrit literature is greater in volume than that in any other classical literature, quite possibly as big as Greek and Latin put together.
...
Of all these diamonds in our backyard -- for instance, Aryabhatiya in astronomy, Ashtadhyayi in linguistics, Mudrarakshasa in drama – quite likely the most sober, ruthless and practical is Chanakya’s Arthashastra.
An exhaustive account of statecraft, this is astonishingly up to date even if you read it today, some 2500 years later. It stands to reason because human nature hasn’t changed much in a couple of millennia, apparently: people like power, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
As a practical manual of how to run a nation, the text is incomparable."
***
You can now download the English translation of the entire text here https://app.box.net/shared/a8lrexipop
Forget Kissinger; India should use the Arthashastra for world domination
www.firstpost.com
Of all the diamonds in our backyard -- Aryabhatiya, Ashtadhyayi, Mudrarakshasa – the most sober, ruthless and practical is Chanakya’s Arthashastra.]]>
Many of you may already know about its beneficial impact on cancer treatment, its ability to slow down Alzheimer's and its antiseptic properties....For those who are more curious, here is a post from the archives: http://satyameva-jayate.org/2005/11/14/turmeric-and-cancer-treatment/
]]>
He was a man far ahead of his times - and I am not just referring to his research in the field of wireless communications..
He was also a plant physiologist and spent much of his later life studying the effect on plans under different kinds of stimulation...
And how many of you knew he was the first Indian scientist to be elected to The Royal Society – in London- almost a 100 years ago, in 1920?!
Here is more on him...and the second part http://j.mp/1CsOYsW
An Unsung Hero...
satyameva-jayate.org
Thanks to Mohit who first alerted me to this site maintained by Varun Aggarwal on Sir J C Bose - the unsung hero of Indian Science. Varun's site details Sir J C Bose's contribution to the field of ...]]>
Can't ensure security of women by curbing their freedom: CJI Dattu
www.firstpost.com
Chief Justice of India HL Dattu on Wednesday said security of women, in the wake of spate of cases of sexual assaults, could not be secured by curbing their freedom as is being advocated in some quarters.]]>
PMO using Big Data techniques on mygov.in to translate popular mood into government action
economictimes.indiatimes.com
Modi PMO is employing Big Data techniques & taking PwC’s assistance to translate popular mood via data analysis into govt action, creating a new governance model.]]>
It was a profoundly moving experience..almost like being in a sacred place....Left me speechless...
Pl take a moment today to remember this hero...
जय हिंद, जय भारत! - शांतनु
An Open Letter to Mr. Unnikrishnan
satyameva-jayate.org
A heartfelt note of gratitude from Dr S Kalyanaraman-ji. Please read in full. . *** An Open Letter to Mr. Unnikrishnan *** Dear Mr. Unnikrishnan, You do not know me but I owe you a great debt. It s...]]>
Knowing the abysmal state of history education in our schools - and the general ignorance about all places and events east of Kolkata - most of you would be forgiven for not realising what I am talking about..
So let me share a little story about this remarkable general, a fascinating figure in Indian history..and the Battle of Saraighat.
This was the battle that saw a decisive defeat for the invading Mughal army and ensured that Assam remained independent of the Mughals..
Some of you may know that "Assam was the only state of India, which defeated successive attempts by Delhi Sultans and Mughal emperors.
Starting from the invasion of Bhaktiyar Khilji in early thirteenth century to the invasions of the Mughal armies of Aurangzeb in the late seventeenth century. Assam defeated seventeen such invasions.."
A few of you would also know that Lachit Barphukan has a medal named after him that is awarded to the best cadet passing out of the NDA.
As you go about your day today, please take a moment to remember this great hero of India…and please do share this story with others - especially the younger ones in the family - so at least they do not forget the history which we never learnt...
जय हिंद, जय भारत! - शांतनु
Remembering our Heroes - Lachit Barphukan & the Battle of Saraighat
satyameva-jayate.org
March 1669: The Mughals, still smarting under their defeat at the hands of Ahom forces led by Lachit Barphukan two years back are not taking any chances this time. A large army of "30,000 infantry,...]]>