My Vision of the World !

Mary Kom - The First Indian Boxer

2014-12-23T11:21:00.000+05:30

Untitled Document

Personal information
Mary Kom is an Indian Boxer
Full name	:	Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom
Born	:	1 March 1983 Kangathei, Manipur, India
Residence	:	Imphal, Manipur, India
Spouse (s)	:	K (Karung) Onkholer Kom
Sport
Country	:	India
Sport	:	Boxing (Rated at 46kg, 48kg, 51kg)
Coached by	:	M. Narjit Singh, Charles Atkinson
Medal record
Indian Women's boxing
Summer Olympics
Bronze	:	2012 London - Flyweight (51kg)
World Amateur Boxing Championships
Gold	:	2010 Bridgetown - 48 kg
Gold	:	2008 Ningbo City - 46 kg
Gold	:	2006 New Delhi - 46 kg
Gold	:	2005 Podolsk - 46 kg
Gold	:	2002 Antalya - 45 kg
Silver	:	2001 Scranton - 45 kg
Asian Women's Boxing Championship
Gold	:	2012 Ulaanbaatar - Flyweight
Gold	:	2010 Astana - Flyweight
Gold	:	2005 Kaohsiung - Pinweight
Gold	:	2003 Hissar - Pinweight
Silver	:	2008 Guwahati - Pinweight
Asian Games
Bronze	:	2010 Guangzhou - Flyweight
Gold	:	2014 Incheon - Flyweight
Indoor Asian Games
Gold	:	2009 Hanoi - Pinweight
Asian Cup Women's Boxing Tournament
Gold	:	2011 Haikou - 48 kg
Witch Cup
Gold	:	2002 Pécs - Pinweight

Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom (born 1 March 1983), also known as MC Mary Kom, Magnificent Mary or simply Mary Kom, is an Indian boxer. She is a five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. She is the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category and winning the bronze medal. She has also been ranked as No. 4 AIBA World Women's Ranking Flyweight category

She launched her much-awaited autobiography, Unbreakable, at the Forum Mall in Bangalore on 11 Dec '13. Mary Kom also has started India's first female-only fight club at Imphal to teach thousands of girls to defend themselves against sexual violence in India.

Personal life
Mary Kom was born in Kangathei, in Churachandpur district of Manipur. Her parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom, worked in jhum fields. She completed her primary education from Loktak Christian Model High School, Moirang, up to her class VI standard and attended St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang, up to class VIII. She then moved to Adimjati High School, Imphal, for her schooling for class IX and X, but could not pass her exam. She did not want to reappear for her exams so she quit her school and gave her examination from NIOS, Imphal and graduation from Churachandpur College.

Although she had a keen interest in athletics from childhood, it was the success of Dingko Singh that inspired her to become a boxer in 2000. She started her training under the close eye of M. Narjit Singh, Manipur State Boxing Coach at Khuman Lampak,Imphal.

Return to boxing
After an eight-year break, she won a silver medal at the 2008 Asian Women's Boxing Championship in India and a fourth successive gold medal at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in China, followed by a gold medal at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam.

In 2010, Kom won the gold medal at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in Kazakhstan, and at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in Barbados, her fifth consecutive gold at the championship. She competed in Barbados in the 48 kg weight class, after AIBA had stopped using the 46 kg class. In the 2010 Asian Games, she competed in the 51 kg class - the lowest in the contest - and won a bronze medal. In 2011, she won gold in the 48 kg class at the Asian Women's Cup in China, and in 2012 took the gold medal in the 51 kg class at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in Mongolia.

Olympic Games
Mary, a five-time world champion, had won several medals in the 46 and 48 kg categories. She was forced to shift to this category and gain weight two years ago after the world body decided to allow women’s boxing in only three weight categories—the lowest one being 51 kg.

At the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, Kom was competing not just for the championship itself but also for a place at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the first time women's boxing had featured as an Olympic sport. She was defeated in the 51 kg semi-finals by Nicola Adams of the UK (to whom she would eventually lose in the semifinal of the London 2012 Olympic Games as well), making this the first year since the championship began that Kom did not win a medal, but did succeed in getting a place for the Olympics. She was the only Indian woman to qualify for boxing event, with Laishram Sarita Devi narrowly missing a place in the 60 kg class.

The first Olympic round was held on 5 August 2012, with Kom defeating Karolina Michalczuk of Poland 19-14 in the third women's boxing match ever to be fought at the Olympics. In the quarter-final, the following day, she defeated Maroua Rahali of Tunisia with a score of 15-6. She faced Nicola Adams of UK in the semi-final on 8 August 2012 and lost the bout 6 points to 11. However, she stood third in the competition and garnered her first olympic Bronze medal. Manipur Government decided to award Rs 5 million and two acres of land to Kom in the cabinet meeting held on 9 August 2012. She carried the Indian tricolour during the closing ceremony of the 2012 summer Olympics in London.

Super Fight League
Kom appeared on the final episode of the Super Fight League's mixed martial arts reality show - SFL Challengers. During this time Kom was in talks with owners Raj Kundra and Sanjay Dutt to work with the SFL in some manner other than being a fighter. On 24 September, the Super Fight League announced that Kom will serve as the SFL's brand ambassador.

Achievements

International Titles
Year	Place	Weight	Competition	Location

2001	Second	48	Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships	Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
2002	First	45	Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships	Antalya, Turkey
2002	First	45	Witch Cup	Pécs, Hungary
2003	First	46	Asian Women's Championships	Hisar, India
2004	First	41	Women's World Cup	Tønsberg, Norway
2005	First	46	Asian Women's Championships	Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2005	First	46	Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships	Podolsk, Russia
2006	First	46	Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships	New Delhi, India
2006	First	46	Venus Women's Box Cup	Vejle, Denmark
2008	First	46	Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships	Ningbo, China
2008	Second	46	Asian Women's Championships	Guwahati, India
2009	First	46	Asian Indoor Games	Hanoi, Vietnam
2010	First	48	Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships	Bridgetown, Barbados
2010	First	46	Asian Women's Championships	Astana, Kazakhstan
2010	Third	41	Asian Games	Guangzhou, China
2011	First	48	Asian Women's Cup	Haikou, China
2012	First	41	Asian Women's Championships	Ulan Bator, Mongolia
2012	Third	51	Summer Olympics	London, United Kingdom
2014	First	51	Asian Games	Incheon, South Korea

National

Gold – 1st Women Nat. Boxing Championship, Chennai 6–12.2.2001
The East Open Boxing Champ, Bengal 11–14.12.2001
2nd Sr World Women Boxing Championship, New Delhi 26–30.12.2001
National Women Sort Meet, N. Delhi 26–30.12.2001
32nd National Games, Hyderabad 2002
3rd Sr World Women Boxing Champ, Aizawl 4–8.3.2003
4th Sr WWBC, Kokrajar, Assam 24–28.2.2004
5th Sr WWBC, Kerala 26–30.12.2004
6th Sr WWBC, Jamshedpur 29 November-3.12.2005
10th WNBC, Jamshedpur lost QF by 1–4 on 5.10.2009

Awards and recognitions

Padma Bhushan (Sports), 2013
Arjuna Award (Boxing), 2003
Padma Shree (Sports), 2010
Contender for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, 2007
People of the Year- Limca Book of Records, 2007
CNN-IBN & Reliance Industries' Real Heroes Award 14.4. 2008 Mon
Pepsi MTV Youth Icon 2008
‘Magnificent Mary’, AIBA 2008
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, 2009
International Boxing Association's Ambassador for Women's Boxing 2009 (TSE 30 July 2009 Thur)
Sportswoman of the year 2010, Sahara Sports Award

For the Bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics

₹ 50 lakh (US$83,000) cash award from the Rajasthan Government.
₹ 50 lakh (US$83,000) cash award and two acres of land from the Manipur Government.
₹ 20 lakh (US$33,000) cash award from the Assam Government.
₹ 10 lakh (US$17,000) cash award from the Arunachal Pradesh Government.
₹ 10 lakh (US$17,000) cash award from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (India).
₹ 40 lakh (US$66,000) cash award from the North Eastern Council.

Movies
In 2012, Sanjay Leela Bhansali confirmed that a biographical film will be made on the life of Mary Kom starring Priyanka Chopra in lead role. The movie is directed by Omung Kumar and would release on September 5, 2014.

Source : Wikipedia

- r@j Krishnasinh

Yash Chopra - Indian film Director, Screenwriter and film Producer

2012-10-22T14:47:00.000+05:30

Yash Chopra was an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer
Born	:	27 September 1932 Lahore,(British India)
Died	:	21 October 2012 (aged 80) Mumbai
Occupation	:	Director, Filmmaker, Script writer, Producer
Years active	:	1959–2012
Spouse (s)	:	Pamela Chopra (1970–2012)
Children	:	Aditya Chopra Uday Chopra
Relatives	:	B.R. Chopra (Brother) Dharam Chopra (Brother)
Signature	:

Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 – 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, predominantly working in Hindi cinema. Chopra began his career as an assistant director to I.S. Johar and his elder brother, B.R. Chopra. He made his directorial debut with Dhool Ka Phool in 1959, a melodrama about illegitimacy and followed it with the hard-hitting social drama Dharmputra (1961). Encouraged by the success of both films, the Chopra brothers made several more movies together during the late fifties and sixties. Chopra then rose to prominence after the commercially and critically successful drama, Waqt (1965), which pioneered the concept of multi-starters in Bollywood.

In 1973, Chopra founded his own production company, Yash Raj Films, and launched it with Daag: A Poem of Love (1973), a successful melodrama about a polygamous man. His success continued in the seventies, with some of Indian cinema's most successful and iconic films, including the action thriller Deewar (1975) which established Amitabh Bachchan as the "angry young man" of Bollywood, the romantic drama Kabhi Kabhie (1976) and Trishul (1978). The eighties marked a professional setbacks in Chopra's career as several films he directed and produced in that period failed to leave a mark at the Indian box office, notably Silsila (1981), Mashaal (1984) and Vijay (1988). However, in 1989, Chopra directed the commercially and critically successful cult film Chandni which became instrumental in ending the era of violence in Bollywood and bringing back music into Hindi films.

Chopra then directed and produced the cult classic Lamhe in 1991. Starring the then-débutant Shahrukh Khan, it showed a sympathetic look at obsessive love and defied the image of the conventional hero. Since then, Chopra directed three more romantic films, all starring Khan; Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) before he announced his retirement from directing in 2012. Chopra is chairman and founder of both the motion picture production and distribution company Yash Raj Films which ranks as India's biggest production company as of 2006 and the Yash Raj Studios. BAFTA presented him with a lifetime membership for his contribution to the films, making him the first Indian to receive the honour in the 59-year history of the academy. His last movie was Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012).

Early life
Chopra was born on 27 September 1932 in Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan), to a Punjabi family. The youngest of eight children, the oldest of whom was almost 30 years his senior, he was largely brought up in the Lahore house of his second brother, B.R Chopra, then a film journalist. Chopra went to Jullundur in 1945 to continue his education and later moved to Ludhiana in Punjab (in India) after the partition. He was originally ought to pursuit a career in engineering. However, his passion for filmmaking led him to travel to Bombay (now Mumbai) where he initially worked as an assistant director to I. S. Johar, and then for his director-producer brother, B.R. Chopra.

In 1970 Chopra married Pamela Singh and together they have two sons Aditya and Uday, born in 1971 and 1973. respectively. Aditya is also a film director and producer and holds the position of vice-chairman and general manager of Yash Raj Films while Uday is an assistant director turned actor who made his acting debut in 2000 in his brother's film Mohabbatein.

Early career
Chopra received his first directorial opportunity in 1959 with the social drama Dhool Ka Phool. Produced by his elder B.R.Chopra and starring Mala Sinha, Rajendra Kumar and Leela Chitnis. The film revolved around a Muslim bringing up an `illegitimate' Hindu child. The film was well received by critics and became the fourth highest grossing film of the year. Encouraged by their success, the Chopra's made another hard-hitting social drama, Dharmputra (1961) which was one of the first films to depict the scenario of partition of India and and the Hindu fundamentalism. The film marked the debut of Shashi Kapoor in a fully fledged role and was awarded with the National award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The theatres screenings of the film were disturbed with violent demonstration due to the raw reconstruction of the partition riots and sloganeering featured in it. This led Chopra to never make a political film again.
Chopra's collaboration with his brother continued in the form of 1965's film Waqt which featured an ensemble cast including Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana, Balraj Sahni, Madan Puri, Sharmila Tagore, Achala Sachdev and Rehman. The film became a commercial and a critical success and is acknowledged as a 'found film' of the 'lost and found' genre. Setting many other trends, it was one of Indian cinema's first multi-starrers, a mode which became increasingly popular among the producers during the 1970s. It also began the now obligatory style of depicting wealth and social classes. Additionally, Chopra received his first Filmfare Best Director Award for the film. In 1969, Chopra directed two movies which were again produced by B. R. Chopra. The first was Aadmi Aur Insaan, the Chopra film to feature Dharmendra in the lead. It was an average grosser. He then directed, Ittefaq, a suspense movie based on a Gujarati play, depicting the events of a single night. Shot in a month and on a low budget, the film was deemed unusual by critics as it was one of the first Hindi films which did not have any songs or an interval. it was eventually declared a semi-hit at the box office and won Chopra an other Filmfare award for best director.

1993–2012

In 1993, Yash Chopra directed newcomer Shah Rukh Khan along with Juhi Chawla and Sunny Deol in the musical thriller Darr. The movie was the the story of an obsessed lover (Khan) and the lengths to which he goes to get the girl (Chawla) who is already happily engaged to another man (Deol). The film was not only a runaway success but is considered a cult classic today. It also established Khan as a bankable star. He then directed, produced and co-wrote the 1997 highly successful romantic musical Dil To Pagal Hai, starring yet again Khan in a love triangle with Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor. It was the first Bollywood movie to be shot in Germany. The film became the second highest grosser for the year. It won many awards, including sweeping seven Filmfare Awards including that of Best Film and three National Awards, notably for Best Film providing popular and wholesome entertainment yet again. Chopra then took a sabbatical from directing and focused solely on producing films for over eight years. However, in 2004, he returned to direction through the love saga Veer-Zaara. Starring Khan again, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji in the leading roles, the film was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas, with a worldwide gross of over 940 million and was screened at the 55th Berlin Film Festival to critical appreciation. The film which narrated the love story of an Indian air-force officer veer Pratabh Singh (Khan) and a Pakistani woman, Zaara Haayat Khan (Zinta) was appreciated by critics. Rama Sharma from The Tribune write, "Giving love its due, Yash Chopra has understandably linked the script to the life of a common man. The pace is exacting. Drawing from the best of the two countries, the story is made more colourful by a spray of the Punjabi culture — be it celebrating Lohri in India or visiting a dargah in Pakistan. He has handled the script cleverly. Whenever the pace begins to slacken, he introduces a new character and a twist."

In September 2012, in an special interview with actor Shahrukh Khan on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, Chopra announced that Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) would be his last directorial venture and that he will opt to focus on his production company and his personal life. For the shoot of the last remaining song in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, director Yash Chopra had a grand vision: a sari-clad Katrina Kaif romancing Shah Rukh Khan in the lush meadows of the Swiss Alps. But unfortunately, his illness, caused by a bout of dengue, stymied the plan for the song, which would have reflected his trademark directorial style. Chopra’s trip to Switzerland with SRK and Katrina had to be cancelled after he passed away.

Death
Yash Chopra was admitted to Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai on 13 October 2012 due to Dengue. He died on 21 October after a brief battle with the illness.

Filmography Producer

Daag (1973)
Kabhi Kabhie (1976)
Doosra Aadmi (1977)
Trishul (1978)
Noorie (1979)
Kaala Pathar (1979)
Silsila (1981)
Nakhuda (1981)
Sawaal (1982)
Mashaal (1984)
Faasle (1985)
Vijay (1988)
Chandni (1989)
Lamhe (1991)

Darr (1993)
Aaina (1993)
Yeh Dillagi (1994)
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
Humko Ishq Ne Maara (Telefilm) (1997)
Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
Mohabbatein (2000)
Mujhse Dosti Karoge! (2002)
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (2002)
Saathiya (2002)
Hum Tum (2004)
Dhoom (2004)
Veer-Zaara (2004)
Bunty Aur Babli (2005)

Salaam Namaste (2005)
Neal N Nikki (2005)
Fanaa (2006)
Dhoom 2 (2006)
Kabul Express (2006)
Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007)
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)
Chak De India (2007)
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007)
Aaja Nachle (2007)
Tashan (2008)
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008)
Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008)
Roadside Romeo (2008)

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008)
New York (2009)

Dil Bole Hadippa (2009)
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009)
Pyaar Impossible (2010)
Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)
Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge (2011)
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011)
Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011)
Ishaqzaade (2012)
Ek Tha Tiger (2012)

Assistant Director

Ek Hi Rasta (1956)
Naya Daur (1957)
Sadhna (1958)

Director

Dhool Ka Phool (1959)
Dharmputra (1961)
Waqt (1965)
Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969)
Ittefaq (1969)
Daag (1973)
Joshila (1973)
Deewaar (1975)
Kabhi Kabhie (1976)
Trishul (1978)
Kaala Patthar (1979)

Silsila (1981)
Mashaal (1984)
Faasle (1985)
Vijay (1988)
Chandni (1989)
Lamhe (1991)
Parampara (1992)
Darr (1993)
Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
Veer-Zaara (2004)
Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)

Awards

National Film Award <em>(Producer)

1998, National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Dil To Pagal Hai
2005, National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Veer-Zaara

Filmfare Awards

1965, Filmfare Best Director Award, Waqt
1969, Filmfare Best Director Award, Ittefaq
1973, Filmfare Best Director Award, Daag
1975, Filmfare Best Director Award, Deewar
1991, Filmfare Best Movie Award, Lamhe
1995, Filmfare Best Movie Award, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
1997, Filmfare Best Movie Award, Dil To Pagal Hai
2004, Filmfare Best Movie Award, Veer-Zaara
2006, Filmfare Power Award
2007, Filmfare Power Award
2008, Filmfare Power Award

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yash_Chopra

- r@j

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - BAPU

2012-09-19T16:33:00.000+05:30

Untitled Document

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Born	:	2 October 1869 Porbandar, Kathiawar Agency, British Indian Empire
Died	:	30 January 1948 (aged 78) New Delhi, Dominion of India
Cause of death	:	Assassination by shooting
Resting place	:	Cremated at Rajghat, Delhi.
Nationality	:	Indian
Other names	:	Mahatma Gandhi, Bapu, Gandhiji
Alma mater	:	Alfred High School, Rajkot, Samaldas College, Bhavnagar, Inner Temple, London
Known for	:	Prominent figure of Indian independence movement, propounding the philosophy of Satyagraha and Ahimsa advocating non-violence, pacifism
Children	:	Harilal Manilal Ramdas Devdas Child who died in infancy
Parents	:	Putlibai Gandhi (Mother) Karamchand Gandhi (Father)
Spouse	:	Kasturba Gandhi
Signature	:

Early Years
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born in Porbandar in the present day state of Gujarat in India on October 2, 1869. He was raised in a very conservative family that had affiliations with the ruling family of Kathiawad. He was educated in law at University College, London. In 1891, after having been admitted to the British bar, Gandhi returned to India and attempted to establish a law practice in Bombay, without much success. Two years later an Indian firm with interests in South Africa retained him as legal adviser in its office in Durban. Arriving in Durban, Gandhi found himself treated as a member of an inferior race. He was appalled at the widespread denial of civil liberties and political rights to Indian immigrants to South Africa. He threw himself into the struggle for elementary rights for Indians.

English barrister
In 1888, Gandhi travelled to London, England, to study law at University College London, where he studied Indian law and jurisprudence and to train as a barrister at the Inner Temple. His time in London was influenced by a vow he had made to his mother upon leaving India, in the presence of a Jain monk, to observe the Hindu precepts of abstinence from meat and alcohol as well as of promiscuity. Gandhi tried to adopt "English" customs, including taking dancing lessons for example. However, he could not appreciate the bland vegetarian food offered by his landlady and was frequently hungry until he found one of London's few vegetarian restaurants. Influenced by Henry Salt's writing, he joined the Vegetarian Society, was elected to its executive committee, and started a local Bayswater chapter. Some of the vegetarians he met were members of the Theosophical Society, which had been founded in 1875 to further universal brotherhood, and which was devoted to the study of Buddhist and Hindu literature. They encouraged Gandhi to join them in reading the Bhagavad Gita both in translation as well as in the original. Not having shown interest in religion before, he became interested in religious thought.

Gandhi was called to the bar in June 1891 and then left London for India, where he learned that his mother had died while he was in London and that his family had kept the news from him. His attempts at establishing a law practice in Bombay failed because he was too shy to speak up in court. He returned to Rajkot to make a modest living drafting petitions for litigants but was forced to close it when he ran afoul of a British officer. In 1893, he accepted a year-long contract from Dada Abdulla & Co., an Indian firm, to a post in the Colony of Natal, South Africa, then part of the British Empire.

Struggle for Indian Independence (1915–47)
In 1915, Gandhi returned to India permanently. He brought an international reputation as a leading Indian nationalist, theorist and organizer. He joined the Indian National Congress and was introduced to Indian issues, politics and the Indian people primarily by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Gokhale was a key leader of the Congress Party best known for his restraint and moderation, and his insistence on working inside the system. Gandhi took Gokhale's liberal approach based on British Whiggish traditions and transformed it to make it look wholly Indian. Gandhi took leadership of Congress in 1920 and began a steady escalation of demands (with Intermittent compromises or pauses) until on 26 January 1930 the Indian National Congress declared the independence of India. The British did not recognize that and more negotiations ensued, with Congress taking a role in provincial government in the late 1930s. Gandhi and Congress withdrew their support of the Raj when the Viceroy declared war on Germany in September 1939 without consulting anyone. Tensions escalated until Gandhi demanded immediate independence in 1942 and the British responded by imprisoning him and tens of thousands of Congress leaders for the duration. Meanwhile the Muslim League did cooperate with Britain and moved, against Gandhi's strong opposition, to demands for a totally separate Muslim state of Pakistan. In August 1947 the British partitioned the land, with India and Pakistan each achieving independence on terms Gandhi disapproved.

Champaran and Kheda
Gandhi in 1918, at the time of the Kheda and Champaran Satyagrahas.
Gandhi's first major achievements came in 1918 with the Champaran and Kheda agitations of Bihar and Gujarat. The Champaran agitation pitted the local peasantry against their largely British landlords who were backed by the local administration. The peasantry was forced to grow Indigo, a cash crop whose demand had been declining over two decades, and were forced to sell their crops to the planters at a fixed price. Unhappy wIth this, the peasantry appealed to Gandhi at his ashram in Ahmedabad. Pursuing a strategy of non-violent protest, Gandhi took the administration by surprise and won concessions from the authorities. In 1918, Kheda was hit by floods and famine and the peasantry was demanding relief from taxes. Gandhi moved his headquarters to Nadiad, organising scores of supporters and fresh volunteers from the region, the most notable being Vallabhbhai Patel. Using non-cooperation as a technique, Gandhi initiated a signature campaign where peasants pledged non-payment of revenue even under the threat of confiscation of land. A social boycott of mamlatdars and talatdars (revenue officials within the district) accompanied the agitation. Gandhi worked hard to win public support for the agitation across the country. For five months, the administration refused but finally in end-May 1918, the Government gave way on important provisions and relaxed the conditions of payment of revenue tax until the famine ended. In Kheda, Vallabhbhai Patel represented the farmers in negotiations with the British, who suspended revenue collection and released all the prisoners.

Khilafat movement
In 1919 Gandhi, with his weak position in Congress, decided to broaden his base by an appeal to Muslims. The opportunity came from the Khilafat movement, a worldwide protest by Muslims against the collapsing status of the Caliph, the leader of their religion. The Ottoman Empire had lost the World War and was dismembered, as Muslims feared for the safety of the holy places and the prestige of their religion. Although Gandhi did not originate the All-India Muslim Conference, which directed the movement in India, he soon became its most prominent spokesman and attracted a strong base of Muslim support with local chapters in all Muslim centers in India. His success made him India's first national leader with a multicultural base and facilitated his rise to power within Congress, which had previously been unable to reach many Muslims. In 1920 Gandhi became a major leader in Congress. By the end of 1922 the Khilafat movement had collapsed. Gandhi always fought against "communalism," which pitted Muslims against Hindus in politics, but he could not reverse the rapid growth of communalism after 1922. Deadly religious riots broke out in numerous cities, including 91 in U.P. (Uttar Pradesh) alone. At the leadership level, the proportion of Muslims among delegates to Congress fell sharply, from 11% in 1921 to under 4% in 1923.

Salt Satyagraha (Salt March)
Original footage of Gandhi and his followers marching to Dandi in the Salt Satyagraha
Gandhi stayed out of active politics and, as such, the limelight for most of the 1920s. He focused instead on resolving the wedge between the Swaraj Party and the Indian National Congress, and expanding initiatives against untouchability, alcoholism, ignorance and poverty. He returned to the fore in 1928. In the preceding year, the British government had appointed a new constitutional reform commission under Sir John Simon, which did not include any Indian as its member. The result was a boycott of the commission by Indian political parties. Gandhi pushed through a resolution at the Calcutta Congress in December 1928 calling on the British government to grant Indiadominion status or face a new campaign of non-cooperation with complete independence for the country as its goal. Gandhi had not only moderated the views of younger men like Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru, who sought a demand for immediate independence, but also reduced his own call to a one year wait, instead of two.
The British did not respond. On 31 December 1929, the flag of India was unfurled in Lahore. 26 January 1930 was celebrated as India's Independence Day by the Indian National Congress meeting in Lahore. This day was commemorated by almost every other Indian organisation. Gandhi then launched a new Satyagraha against the tax on salt in March 1930. This was highlighted by the famous Salt March to Dandi from 12 March to 6 April, where he marched 388 kilometres (241 mi) from Ahmedabad to Dandi, Gujarat to make salt himself. Thousands of Indians joined him on this march to the sea. This campaign was one of his most successful at upsetting British hold on India; Britain responded by imprisoning over 60,000 people.

Partition and independence, 1947
As a rule, Gandhi was opposed to the concept of partition as it contradicted his vision of religious unity. Concerning the partition of India to create Pakistan, while the Indian National Congress and Gandhi called for the British to quit India, the Muslim League passed a resolution for them to divide and quit, in 1943. Gandhi suggested an agreement which required the Congress and Muslim League to cooperate and attain independence under a provisional government, thereafter, the question of partition could be resolved by a plebiscite in the districts with a Muslim majority. When Jinnah called for Direct Action, on 16 August 1946, Gandhi was infuriated and visited the most riot prone areas to stop the massacres, personally. He made strong efforts to unite the Indian Hindus, Muslims and Christians and struggled for the emancipation of the "untouchables" in Hindu society. On 14 and 15 August 1947 the Indian Independence Act was invoked. In border areas some 10—12 million people moved from one side to another and upwards of a half million were killed in communal riots pitting Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. But for his teachings, the efforts of his followers, and his own presence, there perhaps could have been much more bloodshed during the partition, according to prominent Norwegian historian, Jens Arup Seip.
Stanley Wolpert has argued, The "plan to carve up British India was never approved of or accepted by Gandhi...who realised too late that his closest comrades and disciples were more interested in power than principle, and that his own vision had long been clouded by the illusion that the struggle he led for India's freedom was a nonviolent one."

Assassination
See also: Assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Raj Ghat, Delhi is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi that marks the spot of his cremation.
On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was shot while he was walking to a platform from which he was to address a prayer meeting. The assassin, Nathuram Godse, was a Hindu nationalist with links to the extremist Hindu Mahasabha, who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by insisting upon a payment to Pakistan. Godse and his co-conspirator Narayan Apte were later tried and convicted; they were executed on 15 November 1949. Gandhi's memorial (or Samādhi) at Rāj Ghāt, New Delhi, bears the epigraph "Hē Ram", (Devanagari: हे ! राम or, He Rām), which may be translated as "Oh God". These are widely believed to be Gandhi's last words after he was shot, though the veracity of this statement has been disputed. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the nation through radio :

"Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere, and I do not quite know what to tell you or how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the father of the nation, is no more. Perhaps I am wrong to say that; nevertheless, we will not see him again, as we have seen him for these many years, we will not run to him for advice or seek solace from him, and that is a terrible blow, not only for me, but for millions and millions in this country."—Jawaharlal Nehru's address to Gandhi.

Funeral procession of Gandhi at New Delhi on 6 February 1948
Gandhi's death was mourned nationwide. Over 2 million people joined the 5 mile long funeral procession that took over 5 hours to reach Raj Ghat from Birla house, where he was assassinated. Gandhi's body was transported on a weapons carrier, whose chassis was dismantled overnight to allow a high-floor to be installed so that people could catch a glimpse of his body. The engine of the vehicle was not used, instead 4 drag-ropes manned by 50 people each pulled the vehicle. All Indian owned establishments in London remained closed in mourning as thousands of people from all faiths and denominations and Indians from all over Britain converged at India House in London. The government suppressed the RSS, the Muslim National Guards, and the Khaksars, with some 200,000 arrests. Gandhi's death and funeral linked the distant state with the Indian people and made more understand the need to suppress religious parties during the transition to independence for the Indian people.

Awards

Monument to M.K. Gandhi in New Belgrade, Serbia. On the monument is written "Non-violence is the essence of all religions".
Time magazine named Gandhi the Man of the Year in 1930. Gandhi was also the runner-up to Albert Einstein as "Person of the Century" at the end of 1999.The Government of India awards the annual Gandhi Peace Prize to distinguished social workers, world leaders and citizens.Nelson Mandela, the leader of South Africa's struggle to eradicate racial discrimination and segregation, is a prominent non-Indian recipient. In 2011, Time magazine named Gandhi as one of the top 25 political icons of all time.
Gandhi did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, although he was nominated five times between 1937 and 1948, including the first-ever nomination by the American Friends Service Committee, though he made the short list only twice, in 1937 and 1947. Decades later, the Nobel Committee publicly declared its regret for the omission, and admitted to deeply divided nationalistic opinion denying the award. Gandhi was nominated in 1948 but was assassinated before nominations closed. That year, the committee chose not to award the peace prize stating that "there was no suitable living candidate" and later research shows that the possibility of awarding the prize posthumously to Gandhi was discussed and that the reference to no suitable living candidate was to Gandhi. When the 14th Dalai Lama was awarded the Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that this was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi."

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi

- r@j

Larry Page - Co-founder and CEO of Google Inc

2012-09-12T16:25:00.000+05:30

Untitled Document

Co-founder and CEO of Google Inc.
Born	:	Lawrence Page March 26, 1973 (age 39) East Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Residence	:	Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Nationality	:	American
Alma mater	:	University of Michigan (B.S.) Stanford University (M.S.)
Occupation	:	Computer scientist, internet entrepreneur
Known for	:	Co-founder and CEO of Google Inc.
Salary	:	$1
Net worth	:	US$ 18.7 billion (2012)
Title	:	CEO of Google
Spouse	:	Lucinda Southworth (m. 2007)
Signature	:

Lawrence "Larry" Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Sergey Brin, is best known as the co-founder of Google. On April 4, 2011, he took on the role of chief executive officer of Google, replacing Eric Schmidt. As of 2012, his personal wealth is estimated to be $18.7 billion, ranking him #15 on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. He is the inventor of PageRank, which became the foundation of Google's search ranking algorithm. Together, Brin and Page own about 16 percent of the company's stock.

Early life and education
Larry Page was born in East Lansing, Michigan. His father, Carl Page, earned a Ph.D. in computer science in 1965 when the field was in its infancy, and is considered a "pioneer in computer science and artificial intelligence." Both he and Page's mother, Gloria, were computer science professors at Michigan State University. Page's mother is Jewish but he was raised without religion.

During an interview, Page recalled his childhood, noting that his house "was usually a mess, with computers and Popular Science magazines all over the place". His attraction to computers started when he was six years old when he got to "play with the stuff lying around". He became the "first kid in his elementary school to turn in an assignment from a word processor." His older brother also taught him to take things apart and before long he was taking "everything in his house apart to see how it worked". He said that "from a very early age, I also realized I wanted to invent things. So I became really interested in technology and business. Probably from when I was 12, I knew I was going to start a company eventually".

After enrolling in a Computer Science Ph.D. program at Stanford University, Page was in search of a dissertation theme and considered exploring the mathematical properties of the World Wide Web, understanding its link structure as a huge graph. His supervisor Terry Winograd encouraged him to pursue this idea, which Page later recalled as "the best advice I ever got". Page then focused on the problem of finding out which web pages link to a given page, considering the number and nature of such backlinks to be valuable information about that page, with the role of citations in academic publishing in mind. In his research project, nicknamed "BackRub", he was soon joined by Sergey Brin, a fellow Stanford Ph.D. student.

"At the time Page conceived of BackRub, the Web comprised an estimated 10 million documents, with an untold number of links between them. The computing resources required to crawl such a beast were well beyond the usual bounds of a student project. Unaware of exactly what he was getting into, Page began building out his crawler. The idea's complexity and scale lured Brin to the job. A polymath who had jumped from project to project without settling on a thesis topic, he found the premise behind BackRub fascinating. "I talked to lots of research groups" around the school, Brin recalls, "and this was the most exciting project, both because it tackled the Web, which represents human knowledge, and because I liked Larry".

Brin and Page originally met in March 1995 during a spring orientation of new Ph.D. candidates. Brin, who had already been in the program for two years, was assigned to show some students, including Page, around campus, and they later became friends.

Business
In 1998, Brin and Page founded Google, Inc. Page ran Google as co-president along with Brin until 2001 when they hired Eric Schmidt as Chairman and CEO of Google. In January 2011 Google announced that Page would replace Schmidt as CEO in April the same year. Both Page and Brin earn an annual compensation of one dollar. On April 4, 2011, Page officially became the chief executive of Google, while Schmidt stepped down to become executive chairman.

Personal life
Page married Lucinda Southworth at Richard Branson's Caribbean island, Necker Island in 2007. Southworth is a research scientist and sister of actress and model Carrie Southworth. They have one child. Page has been reported to have dated Marissa Mayer.

Awards and recognition
PC Magazine has praised Google as among the Top 100 Web Sites and Search Engines (1998) and awarded Google the Technical Excellence Award for Innovation in Web Application Development in 1999. In 2000, Google earned a Webby Award, a People's Voice Award for technical achievement, and in 2001, was awarded Outstanding Search Service, Best Image Search Engine, Best Design, Most Webmaster Friendly Search Engine, and Best Search Feature at the Search Engine Watch Awards."

In 2002, Page, along with Sergey Brin, was named to the MIT Technology Review TR100, as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35.

In 2003, Page, along with Brin, received an honorary MBA from IE Business School "for embodying the entrepreneurial spirit and lending momentum to the creation of new businesses.In 2004, they received the Marconi Foundation Prize and were elected Fellows of the Marconi Foundation at Columbia University. In announcing their selection, John Jay Iselin, the Foundation's president, congratulated the two men for :their invention that has fundamentally changed the way information is retrieved today.

He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2004. Also that year, Page and Brin were named "Persons of the Week" by ABC World News Tonight.

In 2005, Brin and Page were elected Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2002 the World Economic Forum named Page a Global Leader for Tomorrow and in 2004 the X PRIZE chose Page as a trustee for their board.

Page received an honorary doctorate from the University of Michigan in 2009 during graduation commencement ceremonies.

In 2011, he was ranked 24th on the Forbes list of billionaires and as the 11th richest person in the United States.

- r@j

Steve Jobs - Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc

2012-09-10T15:41:00.000+05:30

Untitled Document

Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Apple Inc.
Born	:	Steven Paul Jobs February 24,1955 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	:	October 5, 2011 (aged 56) Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Cause of death	:	Pancreatic cancer
Nationality	:	American
Ethnicity	:	Syrian, German
Alma mater	:	Reed College (dropped out)
Occupation	:	Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Apple Inc. Co-founder and CEO, Pixar Founder and CEO, NeXT Inc.
Years active	:	1974–2011
Board member of	:	The Walt Disney Company
Spouse	:	Laurene Powell (1991–2011, his death)
Signature	:

Synopsis
Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, to two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave him up for adoption. Smart but directionless, Jobs experimented with different pursuits before starting Apple Computers with Stephen Wozniak in the Jobs's family garage. Apple's revolutionary products, which include the iPod, iPhone and iPad, are now seen as dictating the evolution of modern technology.

Steve Jobs - Early Life
Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, to Joanne Schieble (later Joanne Simpson) and Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave their unnamed son up for adoption. His father, Abdulfattah Jandali, was a Syrian political science professor and his mother, Joanne Schieble, worked as a speech therapist. Shortly after Steve was placed for adoption, his biological parents married and had another child, Mona Simpson. It was not until Jobs was 27 that he was able to uncover information on his biological parents.

As an infant, Steven was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs and named Steven Paul Jobs. Clara worked as an accountant and Paul was a Coast Guard veteran and machinist. The family lived in Mountain View within California's Silicon Valley. As a boy, Jobs and his father would work on electronics in the family garage. Paul would show his son how to take apart and reconstruct electronics, a hobby which instilled confidence, tenacity and mechanical prowess in young Jobs.

While Jobs has always been an intelligent and innovative thinker, his youth was riddled with frustrations over formal schooling. In elementary school he was a prankster whose fourth grade teacher needed to bribe him to study. Jobs tested so well, however, that administrators wanted to skip him ahead to high school—a proposal his parents declined.

After he did enroll in high school, Jobs spent his free time at Hewlett-Packard. It was there that he befriended computer club guru Steve Wozniak. Wozniak was a brilliant computer engineer, and the two developed great respect for one another.

Apple's origins
Woz, whose interest in electronics had grown stronger, was regularly attending meetings of a group of early computer hobbyists called the Homebrew Computer Club. They were the real pioneers of personal computing, a collection of radio jammers, computer professionals and enlightened amateurs who gathered to show off their latest prowess in building their own personal computer or writing software. The club started to gain popularity after the Altair 8800 personal computer kit came out in 1975.

The knowledge that Woz gathered at the Homebrew meetings, as well as his exceptional talent, allowed him to build his own computer board — simply because he wanted a personal computer for himself. Steve Jobs took interest, and he quickly understood that his friend's brilliant invention could be sold to software hobbyists, who wanted to write software without the hassle of assembling a computer kit. Jobs convinced Wozniak to start a company for that purpose: Apple Computer was born on April 1, 1976.

The following months were spent assembling boards of Apple I computers in the Jobses' garage, and selling them to independent computer dealers in the area. However, Wozniak had started work on a much better computer, the Apple II — an expandable, much more powerful system that supported color graphics. Jobs and Wozniak knew deep down it could be hugely successful, and therefore Jobs started to seek venture capital. He eventually convinced former Intel executive turned business angel Mike Markkula to invest $250,000 in Apple, in January 1977. Markkula was a big believer in the personal computing revolution, and he said to the young founders that, thanks to the Apple II, their company could be one of the Fortune 500 in less than two years.

Macintosh
However, because of his hot temper and his relative inexperience in technology or management, Steve Jobs was thrown out of the Lisa project. He felt absolutely crushed by this decision. As a revenge, he took over a small project called Macintosh, a personal computer that was supposed to be a cheap appliance, 'as easy to use as a toaster'. In 1981, Steve Jobs became head of the Macintosh project, and decided to make it a smaller and cheaper version of the Lisa, complete with a GUI of folders, icons and drop-down menus, and a mouse.

The three years it took to develop Macintosh were some of the most productive and intense for Steve Jobs. He formed a small group of dedicated, young, brilliant engineers who stood fully behind his vision of a computer 'for the rest of us'. They saw themselves as 'pirates' against the rest of Apple, 'the Navy'. The team antagonized both the Apple II group and the Lisa group, because the Mac was competitive of both. Yet in 1983, after it became clear the Lisa was turning into another major flop for Apple, all of the company's hope started to rest on the Macintosh. Steve was supported in his mission by John Sculley, Apple's new CEO whom he hired in 1983 to help him run the company and groom him into a future chief executive.

Leaving Apple
On January 24 1984, after Apple had run a very memorable TV commercial for the SuperBowl ('1984'), Steve Jobs introduced Macintosh at the company's annual shareholders meeting. The product was launched in great fanfare and for the first few months, it was very successful.

However, by early 1985, sales were plummeting, but Steve Jobs refused to acknowledge it and continued to behave as if he had saved Apple. This created a lot of tension within the company, especially between Steve and the CEO, John Sculley, who used to be very close but now stopped talking to one another.

In May 1985, Steve Jobs started trying to convince some directors and top executives at Apple that Sculley should go. Instead, many of them talked to Sculley, who took the matter to the board of directors. The board sided with Sculley and a few days later, announced a reorganization of the company where Steve Jobs had no operational duties whatsoever — he was only to remain chairman of the board.

Steve was aghast: Apple was his life, and he was effectively kicked out of it. After four months spent traveling and trying out new ideas, he came back in September with a plan: he would start a new computer company aimed at higher education, with a small group of other ex-Apple employees. When Apple learned of the plan, they declared they would sue him as he was taking valuable information about the company to compete with it. As a result, Steve Jobs resigned in September 1985, and sold all but one of his Apple shares, in disgust. He went ahead with his plan anyway, and incorporated NeXT. Apple dropped its lawsuit a few months later.

Pixar
To understand how Steve Jobs got out of his nadir, let's go back eight years earlier, in late 1985. At the time, George Lucas, who was in the middle of an expensive divorce, was selling the computer graphics division of his Lucasfilm empire. Steve Jobs had millions in the bank, after having sold all his Apple stock, and was interested. In early 1986, he bought the small group of computer scientists, and incorporated it as Pixar. The founders of Pixar, Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, had gotten together in the late 1970s with a common vision of making films using computer animation only. But they also knew no computer was powerful enough at the time, and they would have to hold out for a couple decades before their dream could materialize.

For the first five years of Pixar, Steve Jobs set a goal for the company to sell high-end computer graphics workstations for institutions, such as hospitals or even the army. The animations group led by John Lasseter was very small at the time, and only survived because it provided good publicity for the power of the Pixar rendering software. Steve Jobs understood this when the studio won an Academy Award for its short movie 'Tin Toy' in 1989. However, just like NeXT's, sales of Pixar hardware were microscopic, and the company went software-only in 1990.

Back to Apple
Business wasn't all sunshine and roses at Apple. In the decade following Steve's departure, the computer maker had milked all the cash it could from the Macintosh and its successors, surfing on the wave of the desktop publishing revolution that the Mac and the laser printer had made possible. But in 1995, after Microsoft had released Windows 95, which was a pale but working copy of the Mac OS, sales of Macintosh computers started plummeting.

The Amelio-Jobs cooperation didn't last long, though: Apple lost $700 million in the first quarter of 1997, and the board decided to get rid of its CEO. Jobs effectively organized a board coup with the complicity of his billionaire friend Larry Ellison, and after a tenure that lasted exactly 500 days, Amelio was gone. In August 1997, Jobs took the stage at Macworld Boston to explain his plan for Apple: he had gotten rid of the old board of directors, and made a deal with Microsoft to settle patent disputes and invest $150 million in the struggling Silicon Valley icon. One month later, on September 16, 1997, Jobs accepted to become Apple's interim CEO.

iPod nation
The first digital music player that people loved, iPod was a commercial success from the day it debuted. It was released, of course, as Mac-compatible only, because its goal, just like iMovie or iDVD, was to help sales of Macs. But it came at a time when a lot of people needed a good MP3 player, and despite its rather high price tag, a lot of PC users ended up buying it too, hacking it so they could use it on their machines. This had Steve Jobs and his team think a great deal: should they keep making a Mac-only iPod, or should they open it to Windows, too? Although Jobs was opposed to the latter idea, he eventually relented, and the first Windows iPods were introduced in July 2002 at Macworld New York.

Steve posing with iPod minis, 2004

Although iPod changed the music industry and the way everybody listen to music, the most important change it carried was probably that of Apple. The wild success of iPod proved to all the company's employees, starting with Jobs himself, that they were right to strive for perfection and ease of use — unlike the Mac, which still didn't make it past the 5% marketshare, iPod garnered Microsoft-like numbers of 80% of sales of MP3 players. It was iPod that revealed the future of Apple, not only as a PC manufacturer, but as a consumer electronics powerhouse. It was also iPod that broadened the company's expertise in the manufacturing, logistics and distribution of a mainstream digital device in gigantic proportions. Finally, it was iPod which, through the crowds it attracted to the company's retail stores, finally helped the Mac business of Apple, whose growth rate outpaced that of Windows PCs starting in 2005.

Apple Inc.
iPhone was not only a breakthrough digital convergence device ("an iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator" all in one), it was also a force of disruption of the traditional phone business. Just like for the iTunes Store, Steve Jobs had negotiated landmark deals with wireless carrier AT&T before he introduced iPhone — without ever showing it to them! In exchange for exclusivity, the carrier would pay Apple a share of all their iPhone subscription revenues. And of course, AT&T could not put any software on the iPhone, and no logo either. This was an inversion of the traditional master-slave relationship that carriers entertained with phone manufacturers. In the long run, it really put the phone industry upside down.

Unlike iPod, all of Apple understood that iPhone would be a successful and rules-changing device, starting with their own company. That's why Steve Jobs announced that its name would change from Apple Computer Inc. to Apple Inc. Macs still mattered, but accounted for a minority of Apple's revenues already, and this decline would not stop any time soon. Apple had become the most prominent digital device company.

The original iPhone was successful already: despite its $399 price tag, Apple sold 6 million of them during its existence. But sales really started to skyrocket in 2008, after Apple introduced the cheaper iPhone 3G (at a subsidized $199 price) and the App Store. Just like the Windows-compatible iPod, Steve Jobs was originally opposed to letting third-party software on the iPhone. But the demand was so high that he eventually relented, and introduced the iPhone SDK and the App Store in March 2008.

It is impossible to overestimate the impact of the iPhone App Store, which ushered in a new era in mobile software. Thousands of developers started writing apps for the iPhone platform, which became a competitive advantage for Apple that no other company has been able to catch up with to this day. Apple proudly showed off this rich choice of software in its TV ad campaign 'There's an app for that' that ran for over two years.

Ushering in the Post-PC era

WWDC 2011

The iPhone had spun off the idea for a tablet device back in 2005, and it was time to restart that project, which of course led to the introduction of iPad. Although some speculated it would run Mac OS X, it was decided that iPad would in fact run the same operating system as iPhone, now called iOS. It would therefore benefit from the rich variety of apps already present in the iPhone App Store.

Although iPad was welcomed by mixed reviews when it was introduced in January 2010 (some dubbed it a "larger iPod touch"), it was always clear to Steve Jobs that it was 'the biggest thing [he'd] ever done' — the ultimate post-PC device, an eventual replacement of PCs for the average user. He laid out his vision clearly at the D8 conference in May 2010, where he compared PCs to trucks, which still existed after cars were invented but were only for professional, niche use. This perspective on iPad was reiterated in a series of TV commercials where the narrator, the 'Apple voice', explained how revolutionary iPad was and how the revolution had 'only just begun'.

Steve Jobs keynotes
Apple is famous for its entertaining, world-class product presentations, that attract press coverage (read: free advertising) from the entire world — and there is no debate as to who built this reputation. Steve Jobs's celebrity and charisma made him "the closest thing to a rock star in the world of business". During his second tenure at Apple, between 1997 and 2011, he appeared 4 to 7 times a year (when he was healthy, of course) to unveil new products during one of his trademark 'keynotes'. While he was notoriously a capricious speaker who refused to rehearse in his late twenties, he perfected his art at NeXT, and came back to Apple as the best showman of the industry.

The Apple keynotes were more common in the early 1990s, because broadband Internet and video streaming were far from mainstream yet, making it necessary for Steve Jobs to physically go and preach the Apple gospel in several cities, and for the company to hold conferences to show off their new products. At the time, Jobs spoke at Macworld San Francisco in January, at Macworld Tokyo in February, at WWDC in May or June, at Macworld New York in July, and at the Paris Apple Expo in September. He also spoke at discrete media events and often at the desktop publishing conference Seybold.

Steve Jobs typically started his keynotes by some corporate news, such as the company's revenues or retail store numbers. Then a series of mini-segments would follow, either introduction of minor products such as software upgrades or product line refreshes, guest speakers (e.g. developers), product demos, or new commercials. Then, at the end, would come the biggest announcement (typically preceded by Steve's 'One More Thing…' joke) where the most important new product was unveiled. At some events, the audience was also treated with a musician's guest performance to close the show. You can see some of these 'tricks' in our video page Steve-isms

Steve Jobs & Money
Steve Jobs used to say: "I was worth about over a million dollars when I was 23 and over ten million dollars when I was 24, and over a hundred million dollars when I was 25 and… it wasn't that important — because I never did it for the money". The truth is that although he never spent his money lavishly, Jobs often used it politically in the course of his career.

Steve's sister Mona Simpson said during her eulogy "This is not to say that [Steve] didn't enjoy his success: he enjoyed his success a lot, just minus a few zeros. He told me how much he loved going to the Palo Alto bike store and gleefully realizing he could afford to buy the best bike there. And he did." There was a little more to that. Steve received a private jet (a Gulfstream V) as a gift from the Apple board in 2000, which he used to take his family to Kona Village in Hawaii almost every year. He bought a new model of the same car every 6 months (a Mercedes SL55 AMG in his later years), so he wouldn't have the legal obligation to get a license plate — and he was a reckless driver to boot. And in 2010-2011, he spent a considerable of time designing a yacht with a glass deck, which he hoped to use to take his family on vacation, and to eventually retire. Yet all these millionaire perks where nothing compared to what he could afford with his $8.3 billion dollar net worth (in 2011)… compare and contrast with his good friend Larry Ellison, multi-billionaire co-founder of Oracle.

After Jobs's death, a controversy arose again about his lack of any philanthropic initiatives. The refrain goes that Jobs never gave money to philanthropy, and that after shutting down Apple's philanthropic arm in 1997, when the company was in dire straits, he never reinstated it later. He wouldn't talk about it to his biographer Walter Isaacson either. The truth is that he made donations to a couple of institutions, including the Stanford Hospital, and that he was a big help in the (RED) campaign by creating a red iPod. However, he did not spend his time picking up charities, feeling he served a better cause by working for Apple and creating money that his shareholders could distribute. He actually started a foundation in 1986, but closed it after 15 months, as he spent all his time at NeXT.

Final Years
On October 5, 2011, Apple Inc. announced that co-founder Steve Jobs had died. He was 56 years old at the time of his death.

- r@j

Bill Gates - Co-founder and Chairman of Microsoft

2012-08-31T13:37:00.000+05:30

Synopsis
Entrepreneur Bill Gates, born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington, began to show an interest in computer programming at the age of 13. Through technological innovation, keen business strategy, and aggressive competitive tactics, he and his partner Paul Allen built the world's largest software business, Microsoft. In the process, Bill Gates became one of the richest men in the world.

Bill Gates - Early Life
He had an early interest in software and began programming computers at the age of thirteen. In 1973, Bill Gates became a student at Harvard University, where he meet Steve Ballmer (now Microsoft's chief executive officer). While still a Harvard undergraduate, Bill Gates wrote a version of the programming language BASIC for the MITS Altair microcomputer.
Did you know that as young teenagers Bill Gates and Paul Allen ran a small company called Traf-O-Data and sold a computer to the city of Seattle that could count city traffic?

Bill Gates & Microsoft
In 1975, before graduation Gates left Harvard to form Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. The pair planned to develop software for the newly emerging personal computer market.
Bill Gate's company Microsoft became famous for their computer operating systems and killer business deals. For example, Bill Gates talked IBM into letting Microsoft retain the licensing rights to MS-DOS an operating system, that IBM needed for their new personal computer. Gates proceeded to make a fortune from the licensing of MS-DOS.
On November 10, 1983, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, Microsoft Corporation formally announced Microsoft Windows, a next-generation operating system.

Bill Gates Philanthropist
Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, have endowed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with more than $28.8 billion (as of January 2005) to support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning.

MS DOS The Operating System History
From a Quick and Dirty Operating System a giant walks (ms-dos), in 1980, IBM first approached Bill Gates and Microsoft, to discuss the state of home computers and Microsoft products.
Windows 1.0 To Windows Beyond 2000

Windows is the graphical user interface for IBM and IBM compatible machines, this article discusses the origins of Windows and where Windows is heading.

Top Books on Bill Gates
Authorized and unauthorized books on Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman and the youngest self-made billionaire in history.

Personal life
Bill and Melinda Gates, June 2009
Gates married Melinda French on January 1, 1994. They have three children: daughters Jennifer Katharine (born 1996) and Phoebe Adele (born 2002) and son Rory John (born 1999).

The family resides in The Gates's home, an earth-sheltered house in the side of a hill overlooking Lake Washington in Medina. According to King County public records, as of 2006 the total assessed value of the property (land and house) is $125 million, and the annual property tax is $991,000.

His 66,000 sq ft (6,100 m2) estate has a 60-foot (18 m) swimming pool with an underwater music system, as well as a 2,500 sq ft (230 m2) gym and a 1,000 sq ft (93 m2) dining room.

Also among Gates's private acquisitions is the Codex Leicester, a collection of writings by Leonardo da Vinci, which Gates bought for $30.8 million at an auction in 1994. Gates is also known as an avid reader, and the ceiling of his large home library is engraved with a quotation from The Great Gatsby. He also enjoys playing bridge, tennis, and golf.

Gates was number one on the Forbes 400 list from 1993 through to 2007 and number one on Forbes list of The World's Richest People from 1995 to 2007 and 2009. In 1999, Gates's wealth briefly surpassed $101 billion, causing the media to call him a "centibillionaire". Since 2000, the nominal value of his Microsoft holdings has declined due to a fall in Microsoft's stock price after the dot-com bubble burst and the multi-billion dollar donations he has made to his charitable foundations. In a May 2006 interview, Gates commented that he wished that he were not the richest man in the world because he disliked the attention it brought. Gates has several investments outside Microsoft, which in 2006 paid him a salary of $616,667 and $350,000 bonus totalling $966,667. He founded Corbis, a digital imaging company, in 1989. In 2004 he became a director of Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company headed by long-time friend Warren Buffett. In March 2010 Bill Gates was bumped down to the second wealthiest man behind Carlos Slim.

Gates at the World Economic Forum in 2007
Born	:	William Henry Gates III October 28, 1955 (age 56) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Residence	:	Medina, Washington, U.S.
Nationality	:	American
Alma mater	:	Harvard University (dropped out)
Occupation	:	Co-founder and Chairman of Microsoft Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO of Cascade Investment Chairman of Corbis
Years active	:	1975–present
Spouse	:	Melinda Gates (m. 1994)
Net worth	:	US$ 61 billion (2012)
Signature	:

- r@j

Mark Zuckerberg - Chairman & CEO of Facebook

2012-08-30T16:20:00.000+05:30

Synopsis
Born on May 14, 1984 in Dobbs Ferry, New York, Mark Zuckerberg co-founded the social-networking website Facebook out of his college dorm room. He left Harvard after his sophomore year to concentrate on the site, the user base of which has grown to more than 250 million people, making Zuckerberg a billionaire. The birth of Facebook was recently portrayed in the filmThe Social Network.

Early Life
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984 in Dobbs Ferry, New York, into a comfortable, well-educated family. His father, Edward Zuckerberg, ran a dental practice attached to the family's home. His mother, Karen, worked as a psychiatrist before the birth of the couple's four children—Mark, Randi, Donna and Arielle.
Zuckerberg developed an interest in computers at an early age; when he was about 12, he used Atari BASIC to create a messaging program he named "Zucknet." His father used the program in his dental office, so that the receptionist could inform him of a new patient without yelling across the room. The family also used Zucknet to communicate within the house. Together with his friends, he also created computer games just for fun. "I had a bunch of friends who were artists," he said. "They'd come over, draw stuff, and I'd build a game out of it."
To keep up with Mark's burgeoning interest in computers, his parents hired private computer tutor David Newman to come to the house once a week and work with Mark. Newman later told reporters that it was hard to stay ahead of the prodigy, who began taking graduate courses at nearby Mercy College around this same time.
Zuckerberg later studied at Phillips Exeter Academy, an exclusive preparatory school in New Hampshire. There he showed talent in fencing, becoming the captain of the school's team. He also excelled in literature, earning a diploma in classics. Yet Zuckerberg remained fascinated by computers, and continued to work on developing new programs. While still in high school, he created an early version of the music software Pandora, which he called Synapse. Several companies—including AOL and Microsoft—expressed an interest in buying the software, and hiring the teenager before graduation. He declined the offers.

Time at Harvard
After graduating from Exeter in 2002, Zuckerberg enrolled at Harvard University. By his sophomore year at the ivy league institution, he had developed a reputation as the go-to software developer on campus. It was at that time that he built a program called CourseMatch, which helped students choose their classes based on the course selections of other users. He also invented Facemash, which compared the pictures of two students on campus and allowed users to vote on which one was more attractive. The program became wildly popular, but was later shut down by the school administration after it was deemed inappropriate.
Based on the buzz of his previous projects, three of his fellow students—Divya Narendra, and twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss—sought him out to work on an idea for a social networking site they called Harvard Connection. This site was designed to use information from Harvard's student networks in order to create a dating site for the Harvard elite. Zuckerberg agreed to help with the project, but soon dropped out to work on his own social networking site with friends Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin.

Zuckerberg at the 37th G8 summit in 2011.
Born	:	Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (1984-05-14) May 14, 1984 (age 28) White Plains, New York, U.S.
Residence	:	Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Nationality	:	American
Occupation	:	Chairman & CEO of Facebook, Inc.
Years active	:	2004–present
Known for	:	Co-founding Facebook in 2004; world's 2nd youngest self-made billionaire (2012)
Net worth	:	US$ 10.2 billion (2012)
Awards	:	TIME Person of the Year 2010

- r@j

Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj !

2012-06-11T11:15:00.000+05:30

Coronation Day of Shivaji Maharaj

The Saffron morning of the Rising Sun of Hindavi Swarajya

On the 13th day (trayodashi) of the first fortnight of the month of 'Jyeshtha' as per the Hindu calendar, in the year 1596, the coronation ceremony was held to enthrone Punyashlok Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as the King of Hindavi Swaraj. The grand function took place atop the 5,000-ft high Raigad fort in Maharashtra. He became thereafter a full-fledged Chhatrapati - a Hindu emperor in his own right. The occasion holds up for the Hindu people inspiring lessons for their future march - perhaps unequalled by any other single event during the past 3-4 centuries of their history. It is the golden day of glory in the history of Hindusthan and Hindus.

A tribute to Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj

When Hindustan was burning under barbaric attacks by the Mughals and when Hindus were loyally serving the Muslims Adilshahs and Badshahs all over India, there was oppression of women, cows, language and temples. The Sultans had converted the whole country into a slaughterhouse. Hindu society was going towards annihilation under Muslim assaults and the blazing Sun of independence had set. In such adverse conditions, exhibiting great bravery, valour and sacrifice, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj established the independent sovereign Hindavi Swaraj by defeating Mughal kings and thus protected Hindus, Hindu Dharma and Hindustan. It was these almost superhuman challenges that Shivaji had accepted even as a teenaged boy. He encouraged Hindus to obliterate Muslim attackers. He created a great future for Hindustan. Thus unto Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, undoubtedly, belongs the chief credit of lighting up the torch of the final freedom struggle against the backdrop of several centuries of Islamic aggression, and ultimately reducing that foreign slavery to ashes. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj created self-confidence amongst Hindus. He made Hindus realize that they had the might of lions but were leading their lives like sheep.

Shivaji Maharaj visited major shrines in Maharashtra before his coronation. He also performed pujas for Mahadeva, Bhavani and other Deities. The ceremony was going on from 30th May to 6th June i.e. for a full week. The crowning was being done with the chanting of holy Veda-mantras and sprinkling holy water from seven rivers and seven seas. People from all castes were allowed to anoint (sprinkle) the king with Panchamrit and holy waters from different places. While anointing him, they used to say. "You are our crowned king (Chhatrapati Raje), you are our protector. We pray unto you to please look after us like a father." Simultaneously the Ved Mantras were resounding in the hall.

As Shivaji mounted the throne for the coronation, the priests chanted the holy verses. Musical instruments began to play and the artillery of all the forts fired salvos of their guns. The main priest held the royal umbrella and hailed him as Shiva Chhatrapati. He was conferred the title of 'Kshatriya Kulavantas Sinhasanadheeshwar Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' by the priest.

This uprising by the Marathas was to protect the Hindu religion, to toss away the yoke of foreigners and to establish an independent and powerful Hindavi Samrajya (empire). All efforts of Shivaji were overflowing with intense patriotism. People also had become aware of it and hence he was welcomed every where in India, be it the South, North, East or West, as 'the protector of Hindus'. Hindus thought him to be a supporter of their cause.

The contemporary history, legends and literature of that time are full of appreciation and respect for him. There were requests pouring in for Shivaji to rescue Hindus from many towns and states of India. When the Marathas tore the green flags of Muslims and hoisted saffron flags, no Hindu had dared to get crowned after the fall of the kingdom of Vijayanagar. This crowning ceremony was a blow to the invincibility of Muslims. Shivaji had the feeling that he was not protecting his own kingdom but was striving for the protection of Dharma.

Rightly did the great Hindi bard Bhushana, who forsook the royal favours of the Mughal court to come over to Shivaji to record his glories, sing :

Kashiji ki kalaa jaati, Mathura masjid hoti |

Shivaji na hote to sunnat hoti sab ki ||

(Had not there been Shivaji, Kashi would have lost its culture,Mathura would have been turned into a mosque and all would have been circumcised.)

The motto Shivaji inscribed on his coin even at the early stage of his endeavours amply reflects the age-old Hindu ideal pulsating in Shivaji's mind

His seal which read in Sanskrit :

Pratipatchandralekheva vardhishnurvishwavanditaa |

Shaahasoonosshivasyaisha mudraa bhadraaya raajate ||

'This Royal Seal of Shivaji the son of Shahaji, ever increasing in splendour like the moon on the first day of the bright half of the lunar month, shall shed auspicious benevolence and commands the homage of the entire world.'

The successors of Shivaji, the Peshwas had carried the Hindu (saffron) flag right up to Kabul and ultimately crippled the Mughal seat of power, which had remained unchallenged for several centuries never to rise again. They had rightly grasped the life mission of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Swami Vivekananda once remarked in these glowing terms: "Shivaji is one of the greatest national saviours who emancipated our society and our Dharma when they were faced with the threat of total destruction. He was a peerless hero, a pious and God-fearing king and verily a manifestation of all the virtues of a born leader of men described in our ancient scriptures. He also embodied the deathless spirit of our land and stood as the light of hope for our future."

Thus the celebration of the coronation day of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj carries the spirit of victorious resistance against foreign aggression and presents a glorious vision of national freedom rich with its Hindu content. In today's unstable and perilous times, to get inspiration to win over such a situation, it is necessary for all patriots to celebrate this day with great gusto.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Biography: An everflowing spring of inspiration

The biography of Shivaji Maharaj has an answer for any problem faced by a Hindu or Indian politicians; however for this purpose the biography should be read with shrewdness and insight. If read by Hindus with the immoderate vision of Gandhi with respect to non-violence, truth, pleasing Muslims, or through the coloured spectacles of Nehru, who with the concept of 'all religions are equal', meted out inferior treatment to Hindus, then Hindus will not even become aware of when they were circumscribed ! Gandhi, Nehru and their descendants had created terror in the minds of the people about what they would have to suffer if they even uttered the name of Shivaji Maharaj. In fact Shivaji Maharaj has been totally eliminated from the history text books at the Secondary school level. History on Shivaji Maharaj is taught and finished in the 3rd or 4th standards as if they are fairy tales for children to read and forget. Politicians have ensured that the youth and adults do not get any inspiration from the biography of Shivaji Maharaj simply because it is an ever flowing spring of inspiration for Hindus ! This article is a small effort made to get a sip of water from this pure spring on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj tomorrow ! - Compiler: Shri. Sanjay Mulye, Ratnagiri

Shivaji Maharaj’s inspiration to protect Hinduism !

Since childhood Shivaji Maharaj was fully aware that he had to fight the Mughals. In his book 'Chatrapati Shivaji Maharajanche Saptaprakaranatmak Charitra’ Malhar Ramrav Chitnis has described the mindset of Prince Shivaji when living with his father Shahajiraje at Vijapur. He pens Prince Shivaji’s thoughts as, “ We are Hindus. These Yavans (Muslims) are inferior to us. There is none more inferior than them. I am distressed by serving them, eating food served by them, flattering them or even greeting them. It is so wrong to see the ridicule of one’s own religion. As we walk down the road we see cows being slaughtered. At that time I feel like beheading the killers and the distress grows even more. What is the use of living to see a cow being tormented ? I am compelled to remain silent because of being reprimanded by my father otherwise I feel like killing the one indulging in cow slaughter. It is not at all good to be in the company of Muslims. So also it is inappropriate to go to the court (darbar) of the emperor or to visit any wealthy man.” As soon as he returned from the Vijapur court he would bathe and change his clothing. It is at this very age that young Prince Shivaji showed his valorous nature by chopping off the hand of a butcher who was dragging a cow for slaughter in another kingdom !

Inspiration endowed by Chatrapati Shivaji is very clear from the above incidents. The biographer has strengthened this further in the following words of Shivaji Maharaj, “ We are Hindus. The entire southern region has been invaded by the Muslims and our religion is going downhill. Hence one should not hesitate to sacrifice even one’s life to protect religion. By doing so one would add to one’s treasure of valorous deeds”. Soon thereafter by taking the vow of Raieshvari and conquering the `Torana’ fort Shivaji Maharaj revealed his nature to the world.

Talk about Muslims in Shivaji’s army and their valorous deeds !

Today people are talking of the concept of `equality of religions’ in society. The Congress party is trying to depict him as non-communal and secular. Nowadays some Hindu protagonists are trying to drag Shivaji Maharaj into the camp of secularism by making statements such as `there were Muslim soldiers in his army’. Really these are pearls of wisdom by these so-called ardent (hypocritical) lovers of Hinduism!

In this context the author of the book 'Marathi Riyasati' and a great historian, Sardessai writes, 'Towards 1649, 500-700 Pathans from Vijapur came to Shivaji Maharaj in search of jobs. Though he did not approve of employing them, he listened to the counsel of Gomaji Naik Pansabal who advised that `these people have come after hearing about your popularity so please do not disappoint them. If you remain adamant that you will employ only Hindus and that you do not need others then you will not be able to establish a kingdom. So include all eighteen communities of all four varna (classes) of society and allow them to carry out their own duties". So he employed the servitors of Radho Ballal Korde. However the current Hindu protagonists are ignorant about the facts in this context and about how the monarch also ensured that there were spies to keep watch on those Muslim soldiers !

If these 500- 700 soldiers made any attempt to divide the army then as was prevalent in those days he would also not hesitate to punish them (by throwing them over the cliff). It was not like today when a perpetrator of a heinous crime against the Indian Parliament, instead of being hanged, goes scot free simply because he is a Muslim !

In this context a historian researcher Mr. Ninad Bedekar says, 'A new idea that Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had 'several' Muslims in his army is being projected. I will quote a few names. You can give me the rest !' When Prince Shivaji came to the Jagirs of Pune, Indore and Supe, of the representatives of Shahajiraje only three were Muslims, namely Siddi Ambar Bagdadi, Jainkhan Peerzade and Bahalimkhan. Another Muslim associated with Shivaji Maharaj was Nurkhan Beg, the chief of his infantry. But the truth is that later at some juncture all these people were driven off because no mention of their names is made anywhere in the historical annals. After the year 1675 these people were nowhere in the picture.

The British army also employed Indians as soldiers. Afzal Khan who attacked Shivaji Maharaj employed 3000 Maulas in his army, but can we call him secular ? Why then is this cord of secularism wound tightly (like an iguana) only around the necks of Hindus? Claiming that Shivaji Maharaj was secular simply because he had a few Muslim soldiers in his army is an indicator of an over liberal intellect.

Promotion of Sanskrut in honour of Hinduism !

In the fight for independence and establishing his own kingdom, in every aspect Shivaji Maharaj did everything possible to promote Hinduism. His assembly of eight ministers was formed based on Hindu ideals. One comes across this concept of eight ministers in the Ramayan and the Mahabharat. King Dashrath too had eight ministers. In the Shantiparva of the Mahabharat also it has been suggested that an exchange of thoughts of eight ministers is necessary. During the coronation ceremony, Maharaj changed the Persian names of the ministers to Sanskrut as follows–

Thinking of Sanskrut names to rename various ministers or forts was a hobby of this great king. In September 1665, that is around the time of Dasra before leaving on a journey he named all the forts from his kingdom. Malhar Ramrav Chitnis in the biography of the monarch, 'Chatrapati Shivaji Maharajanche Saptaprakaranatmak Charitra' has spoken about the forts saying, "At each place after place Maharaj would build a new fort to frighten the enemy. Varugad, Bhushangad, Mahimagad, Vardhangad, Sadashivgad, Macchindragad are some of them". In the book 'Marathyancha Itihas' it is said, "Shivaji Maharaj loved Sanskrut. There are several instances to testify this. He changed the names of forts to Raigad, Vishalgad, Suvarnagad, Vijaydurg, Prachandgad and Pandavgad."

Consequences of not receiving inspiration from the biography of Shivaji Maharaj

Lokmanya Tilak was the first to start the celebration of the birth anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj. He was followed by Svantrya Veer Savarkar in 1908 in London. Both these leaders were fully aware of the importance of this biography, but Gandhi and Nehru both kept strict vigilance over this text ever since the independence of India. This is how the fact that a handful of Muslims invaded and destroyed Hindu kingdoms and gained control over the Hindu empire is not known to most Hindus after 1920.

In fact it is because of this misguidance that they accepted the division of India without offering any resistance to it. Non-acceptance of this biography which would have inspired Indians has resulted in the return of Muslim powers in the form of Pakistan and Bangladesh, to overpower Hindus. It is because the incidents of Shivaji Maharaj tearing open Afzal Khan's abdomen and chopping off Sahishtekhan's fingers being kept secret that today we so easily allow a compromise by releasing hard core terrorists in return for release of the kidnapped daughter of an Indian Muslim Minister, Mufti Mohammed.

India's External Affairs Minister flies to the Kandahar desert in a special plane only to release criminals who have butchered Hindus ! In Kashmir Bitta Karate who beheaded 16 Hindus is released on parole ! In the 13 days after killing Afzal Khan, Shivaji Maharaj conquered 16 forts and in contrast within a year of India becoming independent, our politicians lost 1/3rd of our motherland in Kashmir to enemies ! Fearing Shivaji's valour, as long as he was alive, Aurangzeb did not dare to even talk about conquering South India. Yet today the cunning, crafty Musharraf arrives in India to disrupt an Agra conference or dares to hang the Indian tricolour upside down on his personal aircraft.

His subjects being fully aware of the struggle between Righteousness and unrighteousness !

Just as Maharaj was fully aware that he had to fight the Mughals so also were his subjects. The situation was such that people were worried as to whether their Maharaj would return alive from the Agra jail. Despite that, the leaders of home rule (svarajya) and the Maulas did not get unnerved and as per the plan of Shivaji Maharaj they protected his kingdom and ruled it in his absence.

The Maulas were prepared to sacrifice even auspicious events in their families and were willing to face the jaws of death. Sinhagad, Pavankhind, Agra,... how many more forts does one need to quote ? In this struggle between Righteousness and unrighteousness many parents lost their sons and several women were widowed. They were all fully aware of why they were fighting the Mughals. Rather than wishing that their husbands stay at home, these women supported them in their mission against the Mughals. They clearly choose widowhood, rather than wishing their husbands remain passive but safe as this would have only kept their marital status intact superficially as the women folk would have been raped by the Mughal sardars.

Compare this noble attitude of theirs to the tantrums thrown by the relatives of victims of the plane hijacked by terrorists to Kandahar. Both the central government and the majority of people of India seem to forget whom they are fighting this battle against. The entire country is testimony to this.

The politicians of today and most of the people are still unaware of why we drove the British out of India. Our revolutionary Indian heroes have not shed blood in vain. If only we were to understand this then we would not have played cricket matches with Pakistan which is all set to wipe out Hindus in Kashmir, the land of Sage Kashyap. We would also not have given refuge to Bangladeshi infiltrators and would have driven off the Chinese ambassadors who have tried to stake a claim on Arunachal Pradesh. All this is a consequence of not being inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to fight for independence and home rule !

Beautiful flowers blossom from the creeper of Bharatiya Rajdharma !

When describing Shivaji Maharaj his admirer Mr. M.S. Vabgaonkar writes, "Shivaji is a radiant flower which has blossomed from the Bharatiya creeper of Rajdharma. The great promoter of Bharatiya Rajdharma, Kautilya in His holy text the Arthashastra, has imagined an ideal king and two thousand years later this king has taken birth in the form of Shivaji. The king described by Kautilya was one who emphasised on spying, who took full responsibility for procuring all the benefits of an attack onto himself, who was disinterested in worldly and sexual pleasures and was well versed in law and religion besides having an unblemished character and punishing subjects only when required. Even this has proved right as per Kautilya's description in case of Shivaji.

After 1920 the creeper of Bharatiya Rajdharma was nurtured with the harmful manure of 'equality of all religions', pleasing Muslims, etc. and thus from it sprang a number of poisonous flowers in the form of Mohandas-Jawaharlal or Manmohan-Soniya. To stop the blossoming of such vicious flowers, the Bharatiya Rajdharma creeper must be punished with the support of the Sanatan Vedic religion and then watered with pure water from the Ganga in the form of the biography of Shivaji Maharaj ! When this happens, then from every leaf of the creeper will spring beautiful flowers like Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Only then will this creeper reach the skies !

-r@j

Maharana Pratap - Mewar's greatest hero - History Of Chittorgarh

2012-06-09T10:36:00.001+05:30

Born: May 9, 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan
Father's Name: Maharana Udai Singh II
Mother's Name: Rani Jeevant Kanwar
Died: January 29, 1597 in Chavand

Maharana Pratap was born on May 9th 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. His father was Maharana Udai Singh II and his mother was Rani Jeevant Kanwar. Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor. Maharana Pratap was the eldest of twenty-five sons and hence given the title of Crown Prince. He was destined to be the 54th ruler of Mewar, in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

In 1567, when Crown Prince Pratap Singh was only 27, Chittor was surrounded by the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar. Maharana Udai Singh II decided to leave Chittor and move his family to Gogunda, rather than capitulate to the Mughals. The young Pratap Singh wanted to stay back and fight the Mughals but the elders intervened and convinced him to leave Chittor, oblivious of the fact that this move from Chittor was going to create history for all times to come.

In Gogunda, Maharana Udai Singh II and his nobles set up a temporary government of the kindom of Mewar. In 1572, the Maharana passed away, leaving the way for Crown Prince Pratap Singh to become the Maharana. However, in his later years, the late Maharana Udai Singh II had fallen under the influence of his favorite queen, Rani Bhatiyani, and had willed that her son Jagmal should ascend to the throne. As the late Maharana's body was being taken to the cremation grounds, Pratap Singh, the Crown Prince decided to accompany the dead body of the Maharana. This was a departure from tradition as the Crown Prince did not accompany the body of the departed Maharana but instead prepared to ascend the throne, such that the line of succession remained unbroken. Pratap Singh, in deference to his father's wishes, decided to let his half-brother Jagmal become the next king. However, knowing this to be disastrous for Mewar, the late Maharana's nobles, especially the Chundawat Rajputs, forced Jagmal to leave the throne to Pratap Singh. Unlike Bharat, Jagmal did not willingly give up the throne. He swore revenge and left for Ajmer, to join the armies of Akbar, where he was offered a jagir - the town of Jahazpur - in return for his help. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Pratap Singh became Maha Rana Pratap Singh I, 54th ruler of Mewar in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

The year was 1572. Pratap Singh had just become the Maharana of Mewar and he had not been back in Chittor since 1567. His old fort and his home beckoned to him. The pain of his father's death, and the fact that his father had not been able to see Chittor again, troubled the young Maharana deeply. But he was not the only one troubled at this time. Akbar had control of Chittor but not the kingdom of Mewar. So long as the people of Mewar swore by their Maharana, Akbar could not realize his ambition of being the Jahanpanah of Hindustan. He had sent several emissaries to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to sign a treaty but the letter was only willing to sign a peace treaty whereby the sovereignty of Mewar would be intact. In the course of the year 1573, Akbar sent six diplomatic missions to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to the former's suzerainty but Rana Pratap turned down each one of them. The last of these missions was headed by Raja Man Singh, the brother-in-law of Akbar himself. Maharana Pratap, angered that his fellow Rajput was aligned with someone who had forced the submission of all Rajputs, refused to sup with Raja Man Singh. The lines were completely drawn now - Akbar understood that Maharana Pratap would never submit and he would have to use his troops against Mewar.

With the failure of efforts to negotiate a peace treaty in 1573, Akbar blockaded Mewar from the rest of the world and alienated Mewar's traditional allies, some of whom were Maharana Pratap's own kith and kin. Akbar then tried to turn the people of the all-important Chittor district against their king so they would not help Pratap. He appointed Kunwar Sagar Singh, a younger brother of Pratap, to rule the conquered territory, However, Sagar, regretting his own treachery, soon returned from Chittor, and committed suicide with a dagger in the Mughal Court. Shakti Singh, Pratap's younger brother now with the Mughal army, is said to have fled the Mughal court temporarily and warned his brother of Akbar's actions.
In preparation for the inevitable war with the Mughals, Maharana Pratap altered his administration. He moved his capital to Kumbhalgarh, where he was born.He commanded his subjects to leave for the Aravali mountains and leave behind nothing for the approaching enemy - the war would be fought in a mountain terrain which the Mewar army was used to but not the Mughals. It is a testament to the young king's respect amongst his subjects that they obeyed him and left for the mountains. The Bhils of the Aravalis were completely behind him. The army of Mewar now raided Mughal trade caravans going from Delhi to Surat. A section of his army guarded the all important Haldighati Pass, the only way to get into Udaipur from the North. Maharana Pratap himself undertook several penances, not because his finances forced him to do so, but because he wished to remind himself, and all his subjects, why they were undertaking this pain - to win back their freedom, their right to exist as they wished. He foreswore that he would eat from leaf-plates, would sleep on the floor and would not shave. In his self-inflicted state of penury, the Maharana lived in mud-huts made from mud and bamboo.

In 1576, the famous battle of Haldighati was fought with 20,000 Rajputs against a Mughal army of 80,000 men commanded by Raja Man Singh. The battle was fierce though indecisive, to the Mughal army's astonishment. Maharana Pratap's army was not defeated but Maharana Pratap was surrounded by Mughal soldiers. It is said that at this point, his estranged brother, Shakti Singh, appeared and saved the Rana's life. Another casualty of this war was Maharana Pratap's famous, and loyal, horse Chetak, who gave up his life trying to save his Maharana.

After this war, Akbar tried several times to take over Mewar, failing each time. Maharana Pratap himself was keeping up his quest for taking Chittor back. However, the relentless attacks of the Mughal army had left his army weaker, and he barely had enough money to keep it going. It is said that at this time, one of his ministers, Bhama Shah, came and offered him all this wealth - a sum enabling Maharana Pratap to support an army of 25,000 for 12 years. It is said that before this generous gift from Bhama Shah, Maharana Pratap, anguished at the state of his subjects, was beginning to lose his spirit in fighting Akbar.

In one incident that caused him extreme pain, his children's meal - bread made from grass - was stolen by a dog. It is said that this cut into Maharana Pratap's heart deeply. He began to have doubts about his resolute refusal to submit to the Mughals. Perhaps in one of these moments of self doubt - something each and every human being goes through - Maharana Pratap wrote to Akbar demanding "a mitigation of his hardship". Overjoyed at this indication of his valiant foe's submission, Akbar commanded public rejoicing, and showed the letter to a literate Rajput at his Court, Prince Prithiraj. He was the younger brother of Rai Singh, the ruler of Bikaner, a State established some eighty years earlier by the Rathores of Marwar. He had been compelled to serve Akbar because of his kingdom's submission to the Mughals. An award-winning poet, Prithiraj was also a gallant warrior and a longtime admirer of the brave Maharana Pratap Singh. He was astonished and grieved by Maharana Pratap's decision, and told Akbar the note was the forgery of some foe to defame the Mewar king. "I know him well," he explained, "and he would never submit to your terms." He requested and obtained Akbar's permission to send a letter to Pratap, ostensibly to ascertain the fact of his submission, but really with a view to prevent it. He composed the couplets that have become famous in the annals of patriotism:

The hopes of the Hindu rest on the Hindu; yet the Rana forsakes them. But for Pratap, all would be placed on the same level by Akbar; for our chiefs have lost their valour and our females their honour. Akbar is the broker in the market of our race: he has purchased all but the son of Udai (Singh II of Mewar); he is beyond his price. What true Rajput would part with honour for nine days (nauroza); yet how many have bartered it away? Will Chittor come to this market ...? Though Patta (an affectionate name for Pratap Singh) has squandered away wealth (on warfare), yet he has preserved this treasure. Despair has driven man to this market, to witness their dishonour: from such infamy the descendant of Hamir (Hamir Singh) alone has been preserved. The world asks, from where does the concealed aid of Pratap emanate? None but the soul of manliness and his sword ... The broker in the market of men (Akbar) will one day be surpassed; he cannot live forever. Then will our race come to Pratap, for the seed of the Rajput to sow in our desolate lands. To him all look for its preservation, that its purity may again become resplendent.

The now-famous letter led to Pratap reversing his decision and not submitting to the Mughals, as was his initial but reluctant intention. After 1587, Akbar relinquished his obsessive pursuit of Maharana Pratap and took his battles into Punjab and India's Northwest Frontier. Thus for the last ten years of his life, Maharana Pratap ruled in relative peace and eventually freed most of Mewar, including Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh, but not Chittor. Bhagwat Singh Mewar: "Maharana Pratap Singh (was) called the light and life of the Hindu community. There were times when he and his family and children ate bread made of grass."Maharana Pratap became a patron of the Arts. During his reign Padmavat Charita and the poems of Dursa Ahada were written. Palaces at Ubheshwar, Kamal Nath and Chavand bear testimony to his love of architecture. These buildings, built in the dense hilly forest have walls adorned with military-style architecture. But Pratap's broken spirit overpowered him in the twilight of his years. His last moments were an appropriate commentary on his life, when he swore his successor, Crown Prince Amar Singh to eternal conflict against the foes of his country's independence. Maharana Pratap was never able to win back Chittor but he never gave up fighting to win it back.

In January 1597, Rana Pratap Singh I, Mewar's greatest hero, was seriously injured in a hunting accident. He left his body at Chavand, aged 56, on January 29, 1597. He died fighting for his nation, for his people, and most importantly for his honor.

- r@j

True Friend !

2012-01-03T23:11:00.000+05:30

Friend gives you smile
But true friend gives you happiness

Friend will lie about you
But true friend won’t tell your weakness

Friend knives your back
But true friend will slog your face

Thousands friends come when you’re happy
But only one true friend comes when you cry

Friend comes when he needs you
But true friend comes when you need him

Friend leaves when everybody does
But true friend comes when everybody leaves

Friend comes and leaves
But true friend is yours foreve.

- r@j

My Dad !

2011-12-25T18:08:00.001+05:30

God has took the warmth of the sun,
Speed faster than gun,

Force stronger than gravitation,
Than he was able to make the relationship of father & son.
This is very strong relationship,

Co operating with each other in situation of hardship,
Loving each other from hearts deep,

Walking together on every slope and steep.
God has took the calmness of moon,

And decided to gift father as boon.
(Dedicated to my dad………with love)

माँ आज भी रोती है !

2011-12-22T06:03:00.000+05:30

माँ तब भी रोती थी जब बेटा रोटी नही खाता था। माँ आज भी रोती है जब बेटा रोटी नही देता है।

जिस दिन मैं इस दुनिया में आई, रोती हुई आँखें थी मेरी माँ की,

गम के नहीं वो ख़ुशी के थे आंसू, आँखें तब नाम थी मेरी माँ की,

उस दिन से रोती है मेरी माँ, आज भी नम आँखें हैं उसकी,

बचपन में मुझे चलना सिखाया, माँ ने ही माँ कहना सिखाया,

मुझे अगर कभी चोट लग जाती, तब मेरी माँ की आँख भर आती,

दर्द से तब मेरी माँ रोती थी, आज भी नाम आँखें हैं उसकी,

जब पढने को कॉलेज जाना था, और रहने मुझे हॉस्टल जाना था,

माँ की गीली आँखों ने मुझको, उस रोज़ भी रोकना चाहा था,

उस दिन मेरी माँ रोई थी, आज भी नम आँखें हैं उसकी,

सोचती हूँ ये कभी कभी मैं, क्या उसका आंसू से है नाता,

आज मैं उससे दूर हूँ इतना, तब भी मेरी माँ रोती है,

जनम से मेरे रोती रही है, आज भी नम आंखें हैं उसकी,

आज मैं तेरे पास नहीं हूँ, माँ पोछ्ले आज आंसू तू अपने,

ये बात सुनके माँ फिर रोई थी, आज भी नम आँखें हैं उसकी…

મારી સપનાની દુનિયા !

2011-12-05T15:41:00.000+05:30

ન હોઉં તારી સાથે તો ત્યારે મને યાદ કરજે,

ભૂલો તો ઘણી કરી છે, પણ મને માફ કરજે,

દોસ્તી ના દાખલા માંથી નારાજગી ને બાદ કરજે,

રાહ જોઇશ FACEBOOK માં તમારી ,આવીને ત્યાં મારી ફરીયાદ કરજે,

જેવો છુ એવો ન હતો પહેલા ,

એ સમજાય ત્યારે મને સાદ કરજે,

દુનિયામાં કેટલીયે દોસ્તી તૂટે છે અને તૂટતી રહેવાની,

પણ મિત્રતા ની મિસાલમાં તો આપણી દોસ્તી નું જ નામ કરજે,

જ્યારે પણ એકાંત માં યાદ મારી આવે ,

બસ એક પ્યારીસી SMILE કરજે......!

હા, હું ? ન હોઉં તારી સાથે તો ત્યારે મને યાદ કરજે. :)

My Vision of the World !

Mary Kom - The First Indian Boxer

Yash Chopra - Indian film Director, Screenwriter and film Producer

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - BAPU

Larry Page - Co-founder and CEO of Google Inc

Steve Jobs - Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc

Bill Gates - Co-founder and Chairman of Microsoft

Top Books on Bill Gates

Mark Zuckerberg - Chairman & CEO of Facebook

Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj !

Maharana Pratap - Mewar's greatest hero - History Of Chittorgarh

True Friend !

My Dad !

माँ आज भी रोती है !

મારી સપનાની દુનિયા !