a-little-about-everything

Will of the People Must Prevail

2021-01-08T13:09:00.000+05:30

On 19^th November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln spoke about 273 words that eventually became the bedrock of the concept of democracy. Lincoln said:

“…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”[i].

Some 46000 soldiers from Unionists and Confederates had given up their life in the Civil War at the Battle of Gettysburg and President Lincoln called upon the nation to immortalize their sacrifice in the cause of democracy with the above words.

President Donald Trump, some 157 years later, on 7^th January 2021 said, ““If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,”[ii] Incited by his remarks, a crowd vandalized the hallowed premises of the Capitol Hill, a symbol of American democracy for 250 years now. Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the assault on the Capitol was "fomented by Mr. Trump," writing that "his use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice. Our Constitution and our Republic will overcome this stain and We the People will come together again in our never-ending effort to form a more perfect Union, while Mr. Trump will deservedly be left a man without a country," Mattis added[iii].

Four protesters died on the Capitol giving up their lives to undo what President Lincoln hoped America will become – a nation that is prepared to shed blood to defy, deny and brutalize the representational character of democracy just because one man believes that the system has not favored him for re-election.

America will never be the same again - a nation that has stood as the beacon of democracy, albeit forging its democratic credentials through fire. The Capitol incident is also a worrisome indicator of the nature of politics for power that is surging its head across the globe. A development that ordinary people everywhere must take note of owing to its effect on the fundamental freedoms that are at stake.

There is little need to discourse the merits of democracy. People have a fundamental right to choose the government of their choice through the ballot. It is people will that renders democracy possible. America’s own Constitution so loftily proclaims:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America[iv].

The Constitution of the largest democracy in the world, India, also proclaims:

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation[v];

It needs no convincing to understand that the people are the reason why governments exist. When governments, more specifically the elected representatives of the people who are in power defy the very fundamentals that are necessary for peaceful transition of such power, democracy stands in peril.

The incidents in Capitol Hill may have been brought under control. The pristine environs may be restored in a short while. Vandals may be brought to justice. But the faith of people in democratic process that has been damaged would not be easy to restore. More importantly, the faith in polity that has suffered will take generations of politicians to reinstate.

America is standing at a crucial juncture in its own history. As the sole super power, in a geopolitical climate that is potentially explosive, in a world that is fighting a pandemic of mammoth proportions, in a world economy that needs little encouragement to slide down further, the choices that American people will make would determine whether America will retain its moral supremacy as a democracy.

We must believe that the will of people would prevail. The future of democracy across the world depends on it.

[i] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/abraham-lincoln-birthday-gettysburg-address-civil-war-us-president-trump-a8206946.html

[ii] https://time.com/5926883/trump-supporters-storm-capitol/

[iii] https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-us-capitol-secured-dc-protest/

[iv] https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-constitution/#:~:text=We%20the%20People%20of%20the,for%20the%20United%20States%20of

[v] https://www.constitutionofindia.net/constitution_of_india/preamble

Farewell 2020, Welcome 2021!!

2021-01-01T16:44:00.003+05:30

2020!!

Like every other years that passed by, 2020 also arrived to our expectations, dreams, aspirations and desires. A year in which one more step towards these would be taken; a year in which some more sense of fulfilment would be added.

And then Corona happened. Man made disasters are not new to mankind. We have had quite a handful before. The earlier human catastrophes engineered innovation in medical response. Corona engineered geopolitics!! Even as the world gathered its best medical brains and scientists to evolve a medical response, Corona pushed America and its allies close to a war - in trade, in diplomacy, in military alliances and in diplomatic maneuvers.

Even countries like India, who had generally been cautious in upping the ante went out to revitalize QUAD; Japan shed its defence policy to re-shape its Self Defence Forces (SDF) for offensive roles, and down South in Australia vociferous calls were made for international investigation. China went into hyper drive and sent its forces into Ladakh against India, pushed its fences across the borders with Nepal and Bhutan; the dormant CPEC showed renewed vigour to the extent that the Baluch went up in arms!!

Europe, Africa and South America became cautious about Chinese imports; America expelled scientists with Chinese funding even from Harvard and WHO was rattled with allegations of colluding with China. Hong Kong and BREXIT were relegated to the 'other news'; Think Tanks all over the world took up China as the single point object of analysis and economies around the world scrambled down in fear and panic.

All just because one more pandemic infested mankind? No, because Corona is different. Virus or no virus, Corona engineered geopolitics.

As we roll into 2021, the world is yet to come to terms with Corona. Yes, vaccines have been announced, countries for a change are stockpiling medicines and we will overcome this too. But the geopolitical aftermath that Corona set rolling will take a long time to overcome. Our options to do so will not be new, but they will be hard.

We will need sanity across the spectrum of political leadership; we will need a lot less war mongering by the media and arms lobby; we will need to respect international law regime and believe that in abiding by it our guarantee for a safer world depends.

Countries that propel their self interest by any means at their disposal and countries that delight in being or aspire to be dominant powers in world or regional stage need for once to stop and think. Countries that voice solidarity for a free world but sell weapons and technology to friends and foes alike must desist. Countries that have the economic means should step forward to provide for countries that do not have the economic muscle to acquire vaccinations.

Children who have lost their schooling due to Corona must be technologically assisted to continue education; farmers, small business and daily wagers whose sustenance is threatened must be provided for. Millions stranded away from near and dear ones due to pandemic conditions must be facilitated to feel safe and wanted, if not re-united, with their loved ones.

At no other time of earlier pandemics we needed these more - peace and humanity.

If Corona has proved to be different, then it is for us to prove that humans are different too.

Let's hope that our inherent belief in our own goodness prevails!! So grant us God.

Podcast: The Prince

2020-04-16T20:24:00.000+05:30

Please listen to me narrating a story from the history of India's freedom struggle in this podcast:

https://anchor.fm/ramesh-srinivasan/episodes/Pages-from-History-Indias-Freedom-Struggle-ecrqm1

Poetic Justice and the Prodigal Son

2020-04-09T20:31:00.000+05:30

Societies tell their stories in a manner quite different from the way historians narrate them. While historians look for proof in the way of archaeological evidence, copper plates, etc, rarely do they admit folklore or other oral traditions as credible evidence of a historical occurrence.

Strangely, in yet other instances historians tend to over look credible proof as substantial enough to acknowledge the emotions that underwrite historical occurrences. It happens when history is written by those who perhaps desire that the society of which the history is written at best remain ignorant of the justice that history does to some of its actors in ways that only history knows best.

This is one such story - the story of William Collins Jackson, who set the stage of history aflame in which one of the greatest sons of India was consumed, Veerapandiya Kattabomman.

Jackson, William Collins was born in 1763 in a humble British family. By the reference of some well-wisher of the family, young Jackson was employed as a Writer by the EIC in 1781. In 1783, he became Assistant to the Secretary to the Select Committee and in 1785 became Deputy Secretary to the Select Committee. In the initial years of his employment in Madras and Bombay, Jackson’s fortunes were against him, though he managed to grab the attention of the Board of Governors in Madras who eventually made him Deputy Secretary in the Military and Political Department in 1786. He also served as Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese Translator. His fortunes turned favourable when, in 1790 he was appointed Secretary in the Mlilitary, Political, and Secret Department, and Judge Advocate-General. Though he had built a modest fortune by then[1], the duties enrusted upon him began to tell upon his health and he requested the Board of Governors for change of vocation. Heeding to his request, the Board appointed him as Collector of Ramnad and Collector of the Southern Polygar Peishcush, in 1797.

On 12 March 1797, he took over as Collector at Ramnad. In the ensuing two years, he came to lock horns over the collection of Peshcush from Veerapandia Kattabomman. Bommu initially preferred to arrive at a compromise. However, the council Jackson received from some elements of his Cutchery inimical to Bommu resulted a deadlock and his failed attempt to arrest Bommu.

In his own memoir[2] published in London in 1812, Jackson suspected the Military President of EIC to have indirectly sided with Bommu which resulted in Bommu being returned to his Palayam with no more than an advice to comply with EIC directives.

In the meanwhile, allegations of improper appropriation of wealth by the Collector began falling on the ears of the Board. At least two specific instances of him asking for a ‘nuzzer[3]’ of 20000 and 18000 pagoda[4] from various sources came to be investigated by the Board of Governors. Jackson also made use of his position to trade privately in clothes and cotton, though such practice was prohibited by EIC nonetheless indulged by most English officials in India.

Together, both the instances of failure to secure Bommu and allegations of impropriety resulted in EIC asking Jackson to relinquish his duty[5] and returned to England. He returned to London in 1799 and eventually resigned from Company Service in 1812.

Jackson’s life took a different turn in London. With the wealth he had acquired in Madras Province, he purchased an elegant home at 11, Gloucester Place in London’s fashionable West End, and Mr Jackson had recently acquired a country estate in Langley, Buckinghamshire[6]. He had one son, William Jackson Burkes Collins who was born 1792. Jackson Jr was destined to inherit the family estate and a handsome £ 50000 at the passing of his father.

The Jr however had more than mere pleasure of being an Esquire’s son to give to his father. Wealth at his disposal made him frequent the brothels of London and indulge in improper public conduct, resulting in his arrest at least thrice and incarceration in Old Bailey. Every time Jackson Sr would use his moneys and connections to get his son out of Old Bailey, Jackson Jr managed to avail himself of another ignoble opportunity. Between 1810 and 1812, Jackson Jr indulged in a public fraud that became the theme of London society talk. The dismayed father, with the help of Sir George Shee (his brother-in-law) and few other factors eventually managed to save his son from Old bailey again on the condition that he would be deported to the Penal Colony in Australia.

In 1812, Jackson Jr was deported to Australia. He died in Sydney purportedly due to malaria in 1828 at the age of 36.

William Collins Jackson, the father, died in 1814, aged 51 and broken hearted. The trials and tribulations of the Jackson family of the London years became a theme for study of ‘wealthy Nabobs and their profligate sons”[7].

[1] Jackson even had his portrait done by John Smart in 1787 in the fashion of Victorian elites. The portrait is in a private collection in Germany. See: http://www.historicalportraits.com/Gallery.asp?Page=Item&ItemID=1875&Desc=Portrait-miniature-of-a-Gentleman,-possibly-William-Collins-Jackson-|-John-Smart

[2] Jackson, WC (1812), Memoir of the Public Conduct and Services of William Collins Jackson, Esq. Late Senior Mechant on the Company’s Madras Establishment, Smith & Co: London, Pp 53-54.

[3] Nuzzer – gift. The Mughal custom of accepting personal gifts by officials of the Mughal administration was followed with fervor by many EIC officials resulting in the amassment of wealth beyond honorable means.

[4] See the comment on Star Pagoda at Note 2.

[5] The Ramnad Committee forwarded their proceedings to the Governor in Council on the 31st day of December 1798; and on the very day they were received at Madras, viz. the 4th of January 1799, the Collector was “dismissed from his employ;” not for any measure originated in his public conduct, but “on Ly” for having written (after he had notified his intention to resign) a private letter to a Member of the Board of Revenue, containing some wholesome and salutary advice. “Considering,” said Lord Clive and his Council, “considering the important situations which Mr. Jackson has filled, and the repeated testimonies of approbation which he has obtained from this

Government, and from the Honorable Court of Directors, we have had much concern in manifesting this serious mark of our displeasure: but individual pretensions, however splendid, or meritorious, MUST Yield To the weighty NECESSITY OF SUPPORTING THE CONSTITUTED AUTHORITIES OF GOVERNMENT”. (Pp53-54 of the Memoir).

[6] Nicola Phillips, A Case Study of the Impact of Wealth on the Criminal Justice System in Early Nineteenth-Century England, Crime, Histoire & Sociétés / Crime, History & Societies, Vol. 17, n°1 | 2013, 29-52.

[7] Nicola Philips, The Profligate Son: Or, a True Story of Family Conflict, Fashionable Vice, and Financial Ruin in Regency England, OUP Oxford, 24-Oct-2013.

Bommu

2020-04-03T20:22:00.000+05:30

The Poligar (Palayakkarar) of Panchalankurichi stands tall among the torchbearers of revolt against the British at a time when the East India Company (EIC) had established itself as the sole military power in control of swathes of land much larger than their parent country, England. After battle of Plassey in 1757, only three kingdoms remained unsubdued by the English cannon and it’s Native Infantry (ironically!!). The Marathas to the west, Nizam of Hyderabad in the Deccan and Hyder Ali/Tipu Sultan of Mysore. It would be a mere matter of five decades before these three will come under the English control and a hundred years before Queen Victoria will proclaim herself as the Empress of India.

Between the later destiny of England and the evil designs of East India Company stood one man atop the ramparts of a modest mud fort at Palayamkurichi – Veerapandia Kattabomman.

Bommu Naicker as he was popularly called was just 39. Married to Rani Jakkammal, the lady with the name of his family deity for whom he had constructed a temple at Palayamkurichi, He was a fearless warrior. When the Nawab of the Carnatic tried to establish his control over the Poligar dominions in the southern districts of Tamil country, Bommu refused to accept the Nawab’s suzerainty. Many Poligars in the region endorsed his views, Bommu came to be viewed as a rebel by the Nawab.

The Nawab had also liberally availed loans from East India Company in order to live the life of a king. Some 900000 Star Pagoda[1] worth of loans later, the EIC entered into an agreement with the Nawab in 1793. Under the terms of the agreement, the EIC was given powers to collect Peshcush (tributes) and Kisti (taxes) from the Poligars and peasant/traders to make good Nawab’s loan. Couched in appropriate words, the agreement gave unrestrained power to EIC to collect the revenues, even using force when necessary. Of course, the Nawab was obliged to pay extra for the expenses of the ‘force’ when so used[2].

It is in this background, the Collector of Ramnad/Tinnevely (Tirunelveli), William Collins Jackson, sent an ‘advisory’ to Kattabomman to pay up his dues in 1793. Not receiving favorable reply, Jackson entered into an elaborate political play that eventually unwound in the form of siege of Panchalankurichi. Though it was a mud fort, it stood the siege for nearly five months. In the aftermath of this debacle, EIC was left with little choice but to pull every trick under its hat to subdue Kattabomman, for, his successful stand had fanned the embers of revolt amongst other Poligars. EIC went about proclaiming Kattabomman as a bandit and indulged in a maligning campaign to dent his appeal amongst other Poligars. Obviously, Kattabomman became the most wanted bandit in British India history.

Led by Major John Alexander Bannerman, EIC troops eventually succeeded in breaching and reducing the mud fort in their next attempt. Even though, Bommu lost his able deputy Vellaiyathevan, he escaped capture. Roaming around incognito in the realms of Pudukkottai, Kattabomman was arrested by the soldiers of Vijaya Raghunatha Thondaiman, Raja of Pudukkottai, and handed over to the EIC. By the time Bommu was hunted and captured, Jackson was replaced by Stephen Rumbold Lushington, as Collector of Ramnad/Tinnevely.

In a trial that was aimed at sending a strong message to other Poligars, in as much as ending smothering the fire of revolt in Kattabomman, he sentenced to death by hanging. The public hanging, much in the form of mediaeval fanaticism of the Crusades, was carried out at Kayathar by Major Bannerman. Bommu was hung from a tamarind tree and his body was left there to rot for the public to see.

Bommu had two brothers and two sisters but no progeny of his own. Even though very little is known about his kith and kin, there are reports that some descendants of him still live at Panchalankurichi. Government of Tamil Nadu has re-erected the mud fort and housed a memorial for Bommu at the site. India Post honored his memory with a stamp on the 200^th Death Anniversary in 1999.

School Text Books in Tamil Nadu and books on the history of India celebrate him as the hero of the First Revolt against British Rule. Statues of Kattabomman adorn the pride of place in many a towns and cities of Tamil Nadu, including Panchalankurichi.

The Indian Navy’s establishment INS Kattabomman was commissioned on 20 Oct 1990 by then President, Shri R Venkataraman.

Tamil cinema immortalized Veerapandia Kattabomman’s story in 1959 by a movie by the same title, with Tamil Cinema’s leading actor Shivaji Ganesan playing Bommu. BR Pantulu’s movie dialogues have gained common usage in Tamil language in every context that is appropriate. A great box-office success, it was premierred in London and then released in India. It ran for 25 weeks continually and was even dubbed in Hindi as Amar Shaheed. It also received a ‘Certificate of Merit ' at the Afro-Asian Film Festival in Cairo.

Among the five hundred odd Tamil folk ballads, Kattabomman Kathai (Story of Kattabomman) remains the most popular along with that of Raja Desing. Scholars like S Ganeshram have rendered the Tamil version into English.

Media reports of peasant activists in Karnataka and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh even show that Kattabomman’s dialogues (from the movie of course, but drawn from historical records, as the below given evidence suggests) have been used to drive home the message of their agitations to authorities concerned.

Source: Mukund, Kanakalatha, The View from Below: Indigenous Society, Temples, and the Early Colonial State in Tamilnadu, 1700-1835, Orient Blackswan: New Delhi. 2005

[1] A Star Pagoda was the coin of exchange in Southern Provinces from 1740 to 1807. Each coin weighed 3.4 gms in gold and carried Vishnu on the Obverse and a star on the reverse.

[2] Treaty with the Nabob Mahomad Ali dated 1 2th July 1792, in Collection of Treaties with the Native Princes and States of Asia concluded on behalf of the East India Company, 1812, United East India Company(Publisher): London, P 424-433.

Note & Acknowledgement: The above material is a short synthesis of the study on Veerapandia Kattabomman that the Author has undertaken. The study is guided by the curiosity to find the full and correct version of the political and economic circumstances leading to the eventual hanging of Kattabomman in 1799. The lives of main players in the historical stage viz., Jackson, Lushington and Major Bannerman will be visited in the subsequent posts. Author wishes to place his acknowledgement and gratitude to sources in public domain where

[1] A Star Pagoda was the coin of exchange in Southern Provinces from 1740 to 1807. Each coin weighed 3.4 gms in gold and carried Vishnu on the Obverse and a star on the reverse.

Angels in Cancer Ward

2020-03-24T17:17:00.000+05:30

A friend of mine shared The Starfish Story the other day on WhatsApp. The young girl in the story is seen picking up starfish left on the beach by the tide one by one and throwing them back to the sea. An old man approaches her and says, “There are thousands on the beach….you cannot possibly make a difference”. The girl walks to pick yet another star fish and throws it back to the sea and then says: “It makes a difference for that one”.

Even as I read the story, memories of an incident in RR Army Hospital, Delhi came rushing to my mind.

A friend of mine was admitted there to undergo spinal surgery. It was a sunny Sunday and I was staying just across the road. My wife made something for the friend for lunch and so I just walked across to call on him. He was in good cheer and we chatted for some time before I took leave to go home. Instead of taking the lift, I decided to walk down all the three floors.

As I turned into the corridor of the floor below, I noticed three ladies standing by the side wall. Well dressed and holding themselves so graciously, I couldn’t help lingering my look a little while. Just then, one of them turned and happened to catch me looking at them. And, she smiled as graciously.

I bowed my head and said, “Good Morning”.

“Good morning, how do you do?” she said.

“I am fine, ma’am. I am Wing Commander Srinivasan. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?” I said.

“Oh, I am Mrs….. My husband is a Colonel. Well, yeah, actually things are not pretty okay for someone. So, we were just wondering what next?”

The chivalrous soldier in me rose to the occasion. Stepping forward, I said, “Can I do something, ma’am?

She looked at me for a few seconds and then said, “Perhaps not. But you can come in and have a look”.

She led me then into the Ward with the sign board – Terminal Patients.

The ward was full of young and old, with everyone apparently having the messenger from the Maker standing at hand. Notwithstanding the life support or other medical equipment that surrounded their beds, each one propped, waved, raised a hand and smiled looking at the three ladies. Many of them called out “mai” (mother) in voices that were laced with love. Their eyes glistened and wherever the ladies stood, hands reached out and held to them.

The ladies in turn sat by the bedside, holding hands, placing their palms on cheeks and simply ruffling the few curls still left on those pates. Their eyes were also moist but they poured out a compassion that ran like a river, immersing everyone in the ward.

Even I stood there watching, my eyes welled. It felt though my chest was caught in pincer, squeezing a strange emotion that I knew not the name. I cried.

The Colonel’s wife came over to me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. Led by her, I went over to a bed where a patient was cocooned in a plethora of medical equipment. Ironically, it looked as though the plethora of tubes running around and through him were actually sucking the juice of life out of him. The scrawny, skeletal body screamed a song of pain, though his lips hardly moved. There was not enough fluid in him even to moist his eyes with misery. I was immobile, both in body and mind, even to think what he must be going through.

She looked me into the eye and guided my sight to a board that hung by the bed. The patient was on Chemo for over six months. And, now the light of life was exiting him, anytime. He was just 23.

I stood frozen in a cocktail of emotions.

All our life, we spend every neuron of our energies into controlling things around us. We seek constantly to embolden and fortify our lives with money, material comforts, power, position and accolades. We crave to bring newer vistas under our power, seeking them not only in planet Earth, but also in the Moon, Mars, and the universe beyond.

We have everything and have the power to possess anything that we set about to want. Yet, thins fleeting thing called life refuses to bow down in front of our colossal might. It enters and leaves our beautiful bodies at will, sometimes devastating this cage of bones and muscles in ways that no human eye ever wants to see. At least, never want to imagine affliction with one’s own body.

What use is that power which conquers the mighty oceans and mountains and vales, yet remains so vulnerable to a thing that eyes cannot see? What use is that power which conquers worlds beyond, yet is bereft of the power to understand the world within?

The Colonel’s wife gently touched my shoulder again. I turned and walked slowly towards the entrance door. As I stood there, she patted me gently, not needing words to communicate. Both of us remained quiet for some time.

As I turned to look at her, she said quietly, “Please pray. He will be gone any time now”.

I bowed my head and nodded as I left.

I pray every day, even though I know he is gone long back.

There are thousands of starfish on the beach. You may not rescue any of them. But when you pray, you do not know to which when you are making the difference.

PS: I have come to believe that there are angels on Earth, especially in Cancer Wards.

Tale of Three Cities and Three Women

2020-03-18T14:55:00.000+05:30

Story I: Madras

This is a tale of three cities – Madras, Bombay and Calcutta - and three women. In fact these are three stories that together built what would eventually come to be known as “the Crown Jewel of British Empire” – British India.

Madras

Francis Day- for those who are familiar with the history of Madras, along with Andrew Cogan, is the founder of Madras. But then, the raison d’etre for founding Madras was not merely commercial. It was a story of love.

In 1625 AD, the English East India Company (EIC) managed to obtain permission from the Raja of Chandragiri to build a fort on the Coramandal coast 35 miles North of Pulicat Lake, in a place called Durgarajapatnam, One of the main persons who assisted EIC to secure the permission was Arumugam Mudaliar[1] who was the accountant of the village. Grateful to Arumugam Mudaliar, EIC named the fort Armagon – in the manner in which they could pronounce his name!! For the next 14 years, EIC conducted its trade procuring fine cottons, silks and textiles from the areas adjoining Pulicat, including Conjivaram (Kanchipuram).

Francis Day, in his capacity as Factor of Armagon, traveled across the landscape to conduct his trade. In the process, he developed “liaison” with a Tamil lady who lived in a village near the coast of present day Marina beach. His love for the woman grew in time to make it necessary for him to visit her village frequently.

By 1639, Armagon nearly fell into disuse, being struck by malaria amongst other commercial reasons, necessitating the establishment of alternate site since the trade in the area was considerable. So in 1639, 22 August to be precise, Francis Day succeeded in obtaining the grant on lease for two years a ten-mile strip of sand closer to a village called Madraspattinam[2]. In due course, Fort St George was built at the beach by Francis Day. Work on the fort was commenced in 1640[3].

With the establishment of a trading post guarded by a fort, at last, later Sir Francis Day could continue his visits to the lady of his heart without much ado. That Madras, now Chennai, grew into the Presidency town and the seed from which East India Company will go on from a mere trading corporation into the master of Hindustan is of course, a matter of later history.

Story II: Bombay

Bombay

“On 23 June 1661 a marriage treaty agreeing upon the union of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza of Portugal was signed. Catherine brought a dowry of £500,000, as well as Bombay, Tangier and the right of free trade with the Portuguese colonies, and also popularized tea-drinking in Britain”[4].

The map and route to ‘Bumbye’, which was part of the marriage contract, unfortunately went missing though the Lord Chancellor believed it to be somewhere near Brazil[5]. Finally, fourteen months after the marriage, Sir Abraham Shipman with 450 men arrived to claim Bombay for his King. His entry into the port was blocked at gun point since the Portuguese Governor of Bombay had received no instruction to handover the port. It would take three more years and the death of Sir Shipman and nearly two thirds of his force (due to fever and heat), for the Portuguese to hand over Bombay to the British. By then, even though he inherited Bombay as his dowry, Charles II did not want the trouble of ruling these islands and in 1668 persuaded the East India Company to rent them for just 10 pounds of gold a year[6].

Twenty years later, the English had grown bold enough in Bombay to even attack Mughal fleet, of an empire that was in its peak military prowess under Emperor Aurangzeb. While they managed to capture over a dozen Mughal ships in 1688, a year later in 1689, the Mughals retorted by landing a large force in Bombay docks and laying siege to the fort. Hundreds fled and many were killed when the fort eventually fell. Thoroughly subdued, the British sued for peace.

Notwithstanding such declines in its life, Bombay became the capital of East India Company in 1687 and continued as such till 1708, after which it shifted the capital to Calcutta.

Reverting back to Catherine of Braganza, Charles II was advised by many and he himself had shown only a ‘disinterested acceptance[7]’ for the marriage with her. But for this marriage, British possession of Bombay would had had to perhaps wait till the final conquest of Marathas by Major General Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) in 1803 AD.

Catharine of Braganza may never have known India personally. But Bombay (Mumbai now) would never have the history it has, but for her.

Story III: Calcutta

Calcutta

In the aftermath of the catastrophic battle with the Mughals in 1689[8], Mughals had seized all the EIC trading forts at Bombay, Hugli, Kasimbazar, Masulipatnam and Vizagapatnam. The Surat factory, one of the oldest in India, was also closed. British Factors and their men were arrested and kept in chains in Surat castle and Dhaka Red Fort under conditions insufferable to English pride. It is only when Aurangzeb was satisfied that the English had repented and submitted themselves to Mughal authority, he agreed to forgive them[9].

This fiasco led one young Company Factor named Job Charnock to look for alternate place for establishing a trading post in what would in due course became Calcutta. In August 1690, Charnock began building a settlement in the swampy ground between two villages of Kalikata and Sutanuti in Bengal, with the permission of now condescending Nawab of Bengal[10].

Even though Charnock was accused of even brutality to Indian prisoners and mismanagement,[11]he had an interesting personal story.

Charnock had served as the Company Agent in Patna, Bihar, between 1659 and 1664. While on one of his many trips to procure saltpeter for the Company, he chanced upon the Sati of a young widow. Smitten by her beauty, Charnock sent his soldiers to forcibly take her away from her gruesome fate and eventually married her[12]. At the time of rescue, she was reportedly of fifteen years of age and of a Rajput princely family. Charnock christened her ‘Maria’, though she continued to practice her native faith. She even managed to influence Charnock into accepting practices of her faith so much so that when she died later, Charnock buried her and continued to sacrifice a cockerel over her grave in her memory every year[13]. He fathered many daughters by her and they were married into wealthy English families. In fact, Mary, his first daughter was married to Sir Charles Eyre, the First President of Fort William, Calcutta.

There were raging controversies about celebrating Job Charnock as the founder of Calcutta. Primarily the challenge to this distinction came from one of the oldest families in Calcutta, of Lakshmikanta Majumdar and his descendants, who claimed that the land in question belonged to them and it was merely leased to Charnock for 99 years by Lakshmikanta Majumdar. The Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta instituted a commission of five eminent historians to study the issue. Based on the recommendations of the Commission, the High Court ruled in May 2003[14] that Job Charnock cannot be held as the founding father of Calcutta and therefore 24 August 1690 cannot be held to mark its birthday[15].

But there is adequate historical evidence to prove that the young widow rescued by Job Charnock played a key role in his life.

That brings me to the end of the Tale of Three Cities and Three Women who shaped history of India, whether they consciously knew it or not.

[1] http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2024%20No%203/the-forgotten-harbour.html

[2] Through his Dubash (Translator) Beri Timmappa, whose proximity to Ayyappa Naik, brother of Damerla Venkatappa Naik of Wandiwash (Vandavasi), Francis Day procured the permission. Persian Horses and military protection was offered in returned to the Naik. See: The Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume (1994), Asian Educational Services, Chennai. Pp 160-164. ISBN 8120605373, 9788120605374

[3] Dalrymple, William. The Anarchy, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2019. P 21.

[4] https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/charles-ii-and-catherine-of-braganza-a-loveless-marriage/

[5] Dalrymple, William. The Anarchy, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2019. P 22.

[6] https://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/trading/bombay/history.html

[7] See Footnote 4 above

[8] Popularly known as “Child’s War” named after the British Director of East India Company Sir Josiah Child who believed that the English sword can put the Mughals into place.

^{^[9]} Dalrymple, William. The Anarchy, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2019. Pp 24-25.

[10] Dalrymple, William. The Anarchy, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2019. Pp 24-25

[11] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Job-Charnock

[12] Alexander Hamilton, A New Account of the East Indies (1727), ed. William Foster, 2 vols (London: Argonaut, 1930), Vol. II, pp. 8–9.

[13] Moorhouse, Geoffrey (1971): Calcutta, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974

[14] Sabarna Roychowdhury Paribar ... vs The State of West Bengal And Ors. on 16 May, 2003 (citation: (2003) 2 CALLT 625 HC)

[15] For details see: https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/20030602-job-charnock-not-the-founder-of-kolkata-calcutta-high-court-792769-2003-06-02. See also: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Job-Charnock-not-Kolkatas-founder-Expert-committee/articleshow/36080070.cms

A Matter of Faith

2019-11-25T14:16:00.000+05:30

The curious thing about history is, it just occurs.

Indian history particularly, appears to be one long occurrence in the course of humanity with as many probabilities and improbabilities; ponderable and imponderable; myths and realities, generously concocted so as to defy an ordinary mind. This is also one such story that may belie belief but for the fact that it is a fact of history.

Yesterday, we happened to drive down to Bhavani, a town that sits on the confluence of two major rivers of South India, the Cauvery and Bhavani. Right at the confluence of both the rivers is the Sangameswara Temple, literally meaning “Lord of the Confluence”. My mother was born in this town, at a mere walking distance from the temple and my father joined school here. The story of their union in marriage is 60 years old, but as full of life as these two mighty rivers to the Tamil region!

So, we were in the temple. As is customary, we prayed to the Lord first and then proceeded to the mother’s sanctum. She is called Vedanayaki, meaning ‘the one who is the soul of Vedas or the one who presides over the Vedas’. After our prayers at her sanctum, as we completed the circumambulation of the inner sanctum, we saw a stone inscription. Frankly, there are so many inscriptions in every temple that one merely passes by them generally. We were about to do the same when a name and date in the inscription caught our attention – William Garrow, 11-01-1804. Now, here is the story:

William Garrow (1776-1815) was the Collector of Coimbatore District. Once he arrived at Bhavani and was resting in the travelers’ bungalow (incidentally adjoining the temple and even today looks every bit colonial!!). Sometime in the night, he felt as though a young girl was in front of him, beckoning him to come out of his room. Being curious and unable to think anything more, William came out of his room. As he tried to follow the young girl, she disappeared into the temple that adjoins the bungalow.

Even as he tried to follow her, William Garrow was startled to find the whole roof of the room which he just left came crashing down. A shocked and frozen William Garrow could not even hazard to think of his fate had he stayed indoors. In the course of the excitement that followed the collapse of the roof, the reminder of the night passed and the priests of the temple arrived for “ushat Kala pooja” (ritualistic pooja of the early morning). Finding the Collector at a loss, the priests made three holes in the outer wall of the temple facing the deity and asked him to see whether the girl who saved his life was inside [The present wall was constructed much later. At the time of the incident, the wall was very close to the ‘dwaja sthamba’ (flag post) from where one could see the sanctum.

Even as William Garrow looked inside, he realized that the girl who appeared before him in the night was Vedanayaki Thayar (mother), who was present in all her glory inside the sanctum.

Not just grateful, but William Garrow thereon became an ardent devotee of the Mother. He presented an ivory palanquin for the mother on 11 January 1804 and continued to visit the temple for seeking Her blessings.

This story inscribed in the stone plaque took me to check on William Garrow. What I found makes me say what I said in the beginning: The curious thing about history is, it just occurs.

William Garrow was born to Edward Garrow (1751-1820), who joined the East India Company as a junior writer in 1769 at the age of 18. He later served as Mayor of Madras in 1782. Edward Garrow, apart from marrying Sophia Dawson of England in Fort St George, had many Indian women as his begums [Please read William Dalrymple’s White Mughals[1]. It was common among white men to keep many begums, in the style of the Mughals in India]. William Garrow was born to the native women and Edward Garrow. William also had a sister, Myra. Edward and Sophia also had a son, George. Sophia and George spent their life only in England whereas William followed his father and served East India Company with distinction.

William Garrow rose to be the Collector of Coimbatore and is distinguished as an able administrator. His name figures as the first Collector to have sent English shikaris to Nilgiris in 1812, paving way for the English to habitat Ootacamund[2].

It is also interesting to note that while William’s father made his fortunes in India, his uncle, Sir William Garrow (1760-1840), is credited to be one of the most brilliant barristers in English history. In fact, it was Sir William Garrow (the uncle) is credited with the Adversarial System of jurisprudence that many countries follow today[3]. With the BBC TV series Garrow’s Law and this book Sir William Garrow is about to enter the nation’s consciousness for his ‘gifts to the world’ - as the originator of the modern-day presumption of innocence, the right to universal legal representation and access to justice in a criminal court, expert crossexamination and early traces of human rights[4].

The Sangameswara temple is also a treat to art/culture lovers with some extraordinary and exquisite sculptures that reflect the architectural traditions of Tamil Nadu.

Bhakthi as India teaches us, is not just about rituals and practices. It is about faith that transcends cultures.

[1] Dalrymple, William. (2003). White Mughals: love and betrayal in eighteenth-century India. New York: Viking.

[2] Vijaya Ramadas Mandala (Ed) (2019). Shooting a Tiger: Big-Game Hunting and Conservation in Colonial India, New Delhi: OUP.

[3] John Hostettler and Richard Braby (2009), Sir William Garrow: His Life, Times and Fight for Justice, London: Waterside Press Ltd.

[4] https://www.wildy.com/isbn/9781904380559/sir-william-garrow-his-life-times-and-fight-for-justice-hardback-waterside-press

Imaging Our Gods

2019-11-21T16:46:00.000+05:30

One of my friends recently sent me a message asking whether I knew that the Shiv Ling is made as per scientific principles. I asked him to explain the scientific principles. He replied saying he was told emphatically by his guru that it is written in the shastras that Ling is the ultimate expression of divinity and therefore it is the most scientific physical representation. I asked him to find out which ‘shastras’ and ‘what is scientific’. He replied that he felt offended by such agnostic questions coming from me.

I was taken back though it was nice to see someone so devoted to his guru. While I expressed my sincere apologies to him for offending his sensibilities, I thought I must also share what little bit that I do know.

There are two periods of Indian history when India can be said to have reached the pinnacles of intellectual acumen. First was from 2500 to 500 AD and the next is from 400 to 1500 BC. In the first period came the Vedas and Upanishads as the result of a peaceful pastoral Indian community searching for the purpose of life. The second period saw the birth of Vedanga (the six sciences), mathematics, astronomy, astrology and a host of other sciences. One of the Vedangas is the science of constructing divine images called SHILPA SHASTRA. In fact experts believe though Panini and Patanjali of 500 BC were familiar with images of gods, no evidence exists of constructing ‘pratima’ for worship. The art and science of constructing images for worship grew thereafter and in 1500 AD, the SHILPA SHASTRA was written.

There are very few experts who can be said to know the Shilpa Sashtra now. In the early 1930s, Dr AN Tagore, Dr A Coomaraswami, Mr OC Ganguly, etc were considered to be expert art-critics with deep insights into Shilpa Shastra.

It is Shilpa Shastra that defines what measurements are to be taken in constructing images of gods. Measurements in Shilpa Shastra are in ‘angula’. An ‘angula’ is 1/4th of a ‘musti’, meaning closed fist. Sukra Niti, Maya Sastra and Matsya Puran further give various measurements and criteria for constructing the images of gods with stone, metal or even painting them. Together with these measurement standards and the rites to be performed to install the stone/metal image of a god for worship is known as the AGAMA Shastra.

The measurements are for three purposes – to give aesthetic beauty, to mark the purpose of that particular image and to physically symbolize the god as described in Purans. For example, gods with the thumb of the open palm of either hand touching the chest symbolize ‘protection’. That means the bhakt will seek to be protected by the deity. The image with the palm touching the abdomen symbolizes ‘vardhan’, that means the bhakt will seek boons. There may be deities with one palm near the chest and another near the abdomen. This deity is worshipped for both protection and boons.

Now let us see the construction of Shiv Ling. In the Shiv and other Purans, Shiv is the only god described as TRIMURTHI. Brahma, as we know is just Brahma. In so far as Visnu is concerned, we say ‘Sivaya Visnu rupaya, Siva Rupaya Visnave’ – meaning both are same. So, TRIMURTI is a god who has to be represented as the one carrying out all three functions in equal measure. Also, he cannot be represented in human form as the description of Brahma, Visnu and Siva is quite distinct from each other. Therefore, Trimurti is represented as an oval (all encompassing, the whole), mounted on a circular platform with a base. Each of these segments is to be of equal height to symbolize that He carries on the three acts of creation, protection and destruction equally.

This is the science behind Shiv Ling. Have a great day.

Tamil Architectural Traditions

2019-11-17T20:49:00.000+05:30

A mention of Tamil Nadu automatically invokes a culture that, as one school of historians say, predates the Indus Valley Vedic culture. Whether that claim is supported by archaeological evidence is a question that we must consider separately. But, Tamil culture bequeathed to the world some of the finest achievements in the field of architecture, irrigation, sculpture, dance, drama and literary renderings that remain unparalleled.

One unique expression of the finesse of Tamil culture is the Brihadeeswara Temple at Tanjore. However, during a recent visit to that area, we came across two more temples which are mirror images of Brihadeeswara, Tanjore, that was built by Rajaraja Chola I in 1010 AD.

The first is another Brihadeeswara temple built by Rajaraja's son Rajendra, after his conquest of the regions of the Ganges up North at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. This was built in 1035 AD.

Rajendra's son, Rajaraja II also built a mirror image, the Airawatheswara temple at Dhravaram near Kumbakonam some time in 1155 AD or a little later. We were amazed at the similarity and realized that the son and grandson of Rajaraja I, in deference to their elder, made only the linga and the nandi (sacred bull of Shiva) smaller. In another post, a bit more of their history will be shared. For now, here are pics of Airawatheswara temple.

History Shapes Society The Way We Say It

2019-10-02T16:43:00.000+05:30

Yesterday, the proverbial curiosity caught the cat of my imagination. We were actually watching the Navrathri program on TV. Srimad Shankaracharya Swami (the young pontiff) of Sharada Peetam of Sringeri was holding darbar at the completion of days' pooja. As the events happened, my mind wandered off. The history of Sri Sharada Peetam commences in 8th century. It was established by Adi Shankara himself. The twelve hundred years of its existence saw tumultuous events unfolding in the subcontinent.

To start with, between the 7th and 12th centuries, Chalukyas, Pallavas, Pandavas, Badami and Rashtrakutas dominated the southern peninsula, not to mention Kakatiyas, Kalachuris and Kadambas. Their empires rose and shrank with time till about the advent of Moghuls in India. Then came the Bhamani Sultans (Birar, Bidar, Golconda and Gulbarga) and the Vijaynagar empire. These were followed by Maratha, Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Arcot, Tipu Sultan and the East India Company.

The question that rankled my mind was "Is it possible that Sri Mutt of Sringeri remained unaffected by these ebbs and flows that rocked the country?" It is then, I started looking first into the history of the Mutt as published in its own website https://www.sringeri.net/jagadgurus

I can only invite with all humility any and all lovers of history to visit the website for it contains, though not in the strict historical pedagogy, the events of this country played at different times in curious and interesting narratives. We find equally compelling stories of great kings and sultans paying homage to the Sri Mutt as well as reprehensible acts of Pindaris of Maharashtra pillaging the sanctity of it. These instances give us the political-social-economic perspectives necessary to understand the parts of subcontinental history that remain hidden from academic texts.

As I read through this website, another thought preys at my mind. We appear to be content with knowing as little (if at all) of the history of our own race (if we consider Indians as one race?) and happily accept correct or controversial versions that mostly western scholars have constructed for us. When the rising tenor Right Wing historians' narratives (like for example the Aryan Invasion Theory) strikes at us, we take refuge in consolatory gestures. History has neither Right or Left Wing narratives. It is a narrative that is by itself. I do hope that readers of this blog will help me access sources that would shed "as it were" perspectives on the history of this subcontinent.

Bhagwat Gita Chapter 2 2 8 2019 10 02

2019-10-02T15:44:00.001+05:30

Understanding Research

2019-09-06T18:31:00.001+05:30

Writing a Research Proposal - The Six Step Guide

2019-09-06T18:17:00.001+05:30

Formulating the Basics of Academic Research

2019-09-05T23:01:00.001+05:30

Open Access peer reviewed online journal of social and strategic studies

2019-06-30T23:12:00.001+05:30

Take a look at these search results: https://twitter.com/search?q=%40E_JSSS&s=09

Vanchi

2019-04-09T21:49:00.000+05:30

On 17 June 1911, Robert William Escourt Ashe boarded the Maniyachi Mail at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. Ashe and his wife Mary Lillian Patterson, were on the way to Kodaikanal (a hill station near Madurai) to visit their four children. Ashe was the Collector of Tirunelveli and was instrumental in sending VO Chidambaram Pillai to life imprisonment on charges of sedition. The story of VOC, popularly known as Kappalottiya Thamizan, is by itself a legend in Tamil Nadu.

While Ashe and his wife waited for their train to move, two young men boarded their first class compartment. One of them, a well dressed youth of about 25, came abreast of Ashe and pulling out a pistol shot Ashe in the chest. Ashe collapsed dead on his seat. Before Mary Patterson could react, the two men exited the coach and went separately their way. The young man with the pistol ran to the toilet in the end of the platform. A short while later, his body was recovered from the toilet, pistol in hand. He had shot himself through the mouth. In his pocket was a note that claimed his intention to shoot Ashe as a protest against the coronation of King George the Vth, King and Emperor of India. Ashe was the only Englishman to be shot dead in South India during the Indian Independence struggle.

The young man was VANCHI aka Vanchinathan aka Shankaran.

Born into a brahmin family, Vanchi's generation of young men in Madras Province (as Tamil Nadu was known at that time) were deeply moved by VOC when he launched the Swadeshi Steamship Navigation Company in 1906. Challenging the greatest naval power on its own singular prowess on the seas was like a spark that kindled the fires of freedom struggle in their hearts. In the two years that VOC's ships broke British monopoly on the seas, a swell of pride stoked the patriotic fervor in thousands of hearts. That Ashe as collector of Tirunelveli did everything in his might to ensure disbanding the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, eventually succeeding in framing VOC on charges of sedition sending him to jail for 80 years, was not something that the young generation was willing to take submissively. At least, Vanchi did not think so.

Vanchi had carried only two bullets in his pistol. He was clear, after killing Ashe, that he will end his life than face a trial for murder. He left behind a wife who was apparently pregnant at the time of his death. However, no direct descendant of Vanchi is alive.

One hundred years after Vanchi's death, on 18 June 2011, the son of Vanchi's younger brother, Hariharan, received an email from Robert Ashe, grandson of Robert William Escourt Ashe. The email said:

"On this day of sad but proud remembrance, we, the grandchildren and great grandchildren of Robert William Ashe would like to extend to the family of Vanchi Iyer, a message of reconciliation and friendship. Vanchi was an idealist political campaigner whose zeal for the freedom of his beloved India sent Robert to his early grave. Moments later, he took his own young life. All who act fervently in the political arena, both ruler and oppressed, risk making mortal mistakes, and we who are fortunate enough to live on, must forgive and live in peace together[i]."

The email, sent by the family of the late British Collector of Tirunelveli, conveys the philosophically broadminded disposition of Ashe family to the act of Vanchi. Hariharan on his part acknowledged the email and went further to note that both Vanchi and Ashe merely did what they perceived as their duty at that time. No ill will prevailed on personal front, then or now.

We must bow to the Ashe family for their honorable acknowledgement of Vanchi’s sacrifice. But, in celebrating Vanchi we would truly celebrate India.

Jai Hind.

[i] http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/late-british-officer's-kin-sent-letter-to-killer's-kin/5/16690/

Bajrang Bali Ki Jai

2019-03-10T17:48:00.000+05:30

On the 10th of October 1962, the Chinese crept up the hills around Thagla in the Namka Chu valley. Facing them were three Indian Companies: 4 Grenadiers, 9 Punjab, 1/9 Gorkha, 2 Rajputana Rifles and 01 Platoon of Assam Rifles.

The Chinese had arrived with their 11th Div with 3 regiments, equaling a brigade. They had lined the hills with over 150 guns of 82 mm and 120 mm. The numerical superiority was around 20:1.

Lt Col Rikh of 2n Rajput had taken stock. He had 150 bullets per rifleman, 17 magazines (28 rounds each) per LMG and 2 grenades per soldier. The battalion's 3" (2 & 3 inch) mortars had 60 rounds of ammo, equal to five minutes firing time. But then, he also knew what the Chinese did not know: his men were Rajputs.

At 05:14 hrs on 20 Oct 1962, the Chinese opened up their 150 guns. 82 and 120 mm shells were raining over every square inch of the Rajput position. After 15 to 20 minutes of heavy shelling, Chinese infantry moved from top and bottom of the hills. The battle was joined soon.

Chinese came in wave after wave and by the third wave, Rajputs had nearly run out of ammunition. Though they had taken heavy casualties, they were determined to repulse the Chinese onslaught. They did not wait much. The fourth wave of Chinese descended on them in quick succession.

Major BK Pant of the Rajputs saw that his men were hopelessly outnumbered and severely wounded. Though he himself was wounded in the leg and shoulder in earlier fighting, he virtually dragged himself from trench after trench, rallying his men to fix bayonets and hurl the Chinese wave down in the smog over the slopes of the hill that reeked of blood and gore. Picking himself painfully up a small overhang, he let out a blood curdling war cry that sent his men charging down the slopes. The Chinese took heavy casualties and withdrew the attack.

They realized that tough as they are, the Rajputs, it was BK Pant who was the pivot of their fierce motivation. When their next wave came, they sited the ridge on which Major BK Pant was propped up, gun in hand, rallying his men. A burst of Chinese machine gun fire was directed at him, ripping him through his chest and shoulder.

Though mortally wounded, Major BK Pant, raised himself up and let out a roar. He held his head high in the Rajput tradition and told his men: Men of the Rajput Regiment, you were born to die for your country. God has selected this small river for which you must die. Stand up and fight like true Rajputs.

As he collapsed, he let out the war cry of the Rajputana Rifles - BAJRANG BALI KI JAI.

Out of the 112 Rajuts under his command, 82 died in the battle. The Rajputs lived up to their motto :

Veer Bhogya Vasundhara (वीर भोग्य वसुंधरा ) "The Brave Shall Inherit the Earth"

The 7th Infantry Brigade under which the 2nd Rajput had faught was commanded by Brigadier JP Dalvi. Brig Dalvi wrote an authentic but moving account of the 1962 war in his 'Himalayan Blunder'.

Foot in Mouth

2019-02-23T15:48:00.001+05:30

United States government designated Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 2001, listing it along with its ilk like Al Quaeda, Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI), Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B), Harakat ul-Mujahideen (HUM), Indian Mujahedeen (IM) and Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT).

Active since 2000, JeM is headed by former senior Harakat ul-Mujahideen leader Masood Azhar upon his release from prison in India in exchange for 155 hijacked Indian Airlines hostages. The group’s aim is to annex the state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan and expel international forces from Afghanistan. JeM has openly declared war against the United States.
JeM was implicated in the beheading of US journalist Daniel Pearl and assassination attempts on Pervez Musharraf. In 2016, JeM was involved in the attack on an Air Force base at Pathankot that shook India. It has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on security forces in the valley of Kashmir. On 14 February 2019, A Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist named Adil Ahmad Dar, a Kashmiri local, was identified as the attacker of the CRPF convoy that claimed the life of 40 jawans.

The incident sent shock waves across India and around the world. There has been a public outpouring of grief and anger that threatens to wash over the normally tolerant Indian society. The PM of India of course responded with an assurance that the culprits of Pulwama and their masters will not go unpunished.

Terrorism across the world has been condemned as the most reprehensible act that a state can connive with. It is against international behavior that responsible states are expected to abide by. In a globalized world, such behavior is fraught with the dangers of isolation and sanctions that could sting. Yet, the PM of Pakistan today states brazenly that India would face the consequences if it acts against Pakistan. Pakistan has been sheltering JeM and liberally supporting its activities in India and Afghanistan.

The Pakistani PM’s statement exposes the shallow lip service the country has been paying to counter threat of terrorism. The brazen threat that he meets out to India does not seem to come from a country that is conscious of its duties to the international community at large, both on moral and legal grounds. The fact that he chose to convey veiled threats to India reflects the shallow hold that he has on the affairs of his state, reflecting rather the stranglehold that terror groups have on the government of Pakistan.

Pakistan, with the world’s 5th largest population (over 207 million), a nominal GDP per capita of $1,641 in 2018 ranking 147th in the world. It ranks 150th in Human Development Index as assessed by UNDP. Pakistan ranks 117/180 in international corruption perception index (Transparency International), 139/180 in Worldwide Press freedom index (Reporters without borders), 110/167 in Democracy Index (Economist Intelligence Unit) and the top 20th in the Failed States Index.

Pakistan is also home to five terror organizations (Al Quaeda, Jaih-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Omar, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Sipah-e-Sahiba. Pakistan’s connections with Haqqani Network are public knowledge.
In an atmosphere where international condemnation on JeM attack in Pulwama is flooding the world media, the democratically elected PM of Pakistan, Imran Khan, chooses instead to say that Pakistan will retaliate if India attacks. He expects that the Indian government to bend its knees in front of the terror tycoons who control Pakistan lest the wrath of the sovereign might of Pakistan fall on India. It is not clear as to where Pakistan and its PM rank in humour index. Instead of grabbing the opportunity to wipe the venomous blood in the veins of his country, he chooses to threaten spilling of Indian blood.

Great leaders do not wait for opportunities to knock on their doors and then go consulting their appointment books to see if the door can be open. They grab fleeting opportunities to open doors that bring in amity, cooperation and prosperity in their wake. An opportunity such as this where Pakistan can choose to behave like a responsible state can be missed only to its own peril. The vortex of violence that Pakistan has fostered in India and Afghanistan is already consuming the flower of its youth. In a country where poverty poses the most serious challenge to its governance, the door of opportunity to cooperate on terrorism thereby stepping into the bandwagon of collective prosperity can be sacrificed for protecting terrorist havens only by leaders who are consumed by their desire for self-preservation.

The Prince

2019-02-20T18:31:00.000+05:30

On 13 March 1910, the police arrested a 26 old man in Paris and deported him to Britain. In Britain, he was to be kept under maximum security. The British government had ensured that the arrest was kept under wraps and that neither general public nor the Indian community in London got any winds of it. He was to be sent to Bombay to face charges that were as yet not even known to the British parliament. It would suffice to surmise that the young man was a special prisoner. Why else British authorities prepare a full ship to transport a single prisoner to India?

The ship SS Morea had special guards and a carefully designed cage in which the young man was to be kept chained. British instructions to the special guards were curiously akin to forest guards tasked to transport dangerous carnivores. The ship left the shores of England and in due course called its port on 08 July 1910 at Marseilles in France for replenishment. Sensing that the ship was in port, the young man made a daring escape. He swam ashore in his shackles and ran into a couple of French policemen on patrol. Unfortunately, he did not speak French and the policemen wouldn’t understand English. As he tried to mime his way through, the British guards from the ship arrived and it did not take much of explaining by them to get him back into custody.

Deciding that he was too dangerous to be conveyed by just one ship and his guards, British government dispatched a naval frigate to escort SS Morea to Bombay. Of course, the British authorities took care to stow the young man into a 4’X4’ cage for the reminder of the journey under heavy chains. The ship reached Bombay on 22 July 1910. In the dock, as the ship berthed, soldiers with their rifles and bayonets lined up every feet of the gangway. When the entire dock had been so secured the young man was taken under escort to a police van that carried him on to Yeravada, Pune. Thus the young man arrived to a reception befitting a prince, even though he was in chains.

He was indeed the prince among Indian freedom fighters. A prince whose mere writings sent shudders down the spine of an Empire that had hundred thousand men in arms in India; a prince who invoked a passion among his countrymen for freedom like how the wind stokes a forest fire. Unlike Machiavelli who wrote of how a prince should be, this prince had written how the British had ravaged the country through and after the mutiny of 1857. Of course, he was the first person ever who called 1857 the first war of independence. His book The History of the War of Independence was to become the inspiration for Sardar Bhagat Singh and later to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. This prince spoke of war in open terms and he was no advocate of conciliation in the manner that many others thought of their relations with the Empire.

The prince then, was to be meted with the princeliest among the punishments that British Empire had devised for those who thirsted for freedom with their souls – banishment to Kaalapani, the infamous Circular Jail in Port Blair. The trail against him proceeded in the most expected manner of a farce on legal systems in the world and ended in June 1911. On 04 July 1911, he was transported to Port Blair.

The prince was assigned to the hardest of labors in the jail like chopping wood, manually pulling the oil mill and a score of other menial and physically straining tasks. After ten years of condemnation in Port Blair, he was finally moved back to mainland and lodged in Ratnagiri jail. It took another three years for the prince to be set free in 1924, although on restrictive conditions. The prince, in the new found freedom from chains, actively taught and wrote against the colonial masters advocating resistance. In fact his words on the proposal of partition of India reverberate with solemn truth even today:

“MY PERSONAL VIEW IS THAT WE MUST VIGOROUSLY PROTEST AGAINST THE CREATION OF A MOSLEM STATE INDEPENDENT OF THE CENTRAL INDIAN STATE. WE WILL NOT SIGN WILLINGLY THE DEATH WARRANT OF THE INTEGRITY OF HINDUSTHAN”.

The prince is the only Indian for whom the Empire enacted a separate law that could be used to arrest him in London; he is the only Indian again over whom a case was laid at the Office of International Arbitration in the Hague contesting his arrest and deportation on French soil in Marseilles; a prince for whom two empires, France and Briton, had to stand in the court to justify his arrest and custody; a prince who thereby made his own history – just like a prince.

The name of the prince is Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, more popularly Veer Savarkar.

The Four Seasons of Patriotism

2019-02-19T21:48:00.000+05:30

Barack Obama, unarguably one of the greatest contemporary American Presidents, is quoted to have said:

"We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense".

One of the most important aspects that his statement highlights is that there can be no freedom without commitment; that there can be no freedom without patriotism.

It is perhaps interesting to sit back and look at ourselves on occasions when we feel patriotic. We will be amused to find that our patriotism is of four seasons.

The first season starts with the arrival of national days like our independence day, constitution day, etc. With the advent of social media, we get a flood of messages, often repetitive and from people of whom you are convinced that they are incapable thinking beyond the shadow of their shoes. But then what the heck? You get reeducated on the significance of such occasions; the people who penned your national anthems; what the founders of your constitution said or unsaid; the great bind (I still am on the look out for it for the past half a century) that connects us one people; etc, etc. Of course for the majority of kids (I am not sure if kids could be 16 and below. After all every one is a kid to their parents), such days are usually granted holidays to spend time with family and friends.

The second season arrives with the disembarkation of a coffin that is wrapped in the colors of the country. The media makes a beeline to the funerals in which smartly dressed soldiers (police, etc) lift their guns on to their shoulders and fire empty shells into the air. The whole community gathers around the glare of cameras to tell the world how proud they are that the man in the casket died. What they do not say of course is how happier they are that their own youngster finished his engineering or MBA from MITs, Harvards, UCLAs and the like, and is entrenched in a war with corporate honchos that is much more grueling. They regret that the sacrifices that their wards have made (think of those board meetings lasting into mid nights, those un-celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, those missed holidays or time with family) simply go unsung.

The third season arrives with dazzling insights. Standing in front of the jury and judges for having committed such innocuous acts like cheating millions out of unsuspecting investors, declaring solvency after building empires out of the sweat of millions, and such like. One does wonder why freedom doesn't include the freedom to loot? Is anybody holding the early Americans, Australians, Britons, French, Dutch, Spaniards and Portuguese (did I leave out any one...) for what they did to the natives just to get hold of the wealth of the land. Why then are they making such a fuss now? After all, I am no Columbus or Captain Cook. It's my own country and these others seem to have what I desire of them...

The fourth is a season of opportunities. It usually belongs to the political class and sometimes to the wealthy and influential movers and makers of the nations. They, of course, have the privilege of invoking it in times when they find that the going is not exactly not in the directions that are to the liking of their ilk.

The four seasons of patriotism apply to every sovereign territory that we may belong. They are universal. And, these are the seasons that apply to every region irrespective of the terrain that any nation can claim of. They do not belong to a terrain or climate. They are universal. That is the beauty of patriotism.

The Trial of 1922

2019-02-19T20:39:00.000+05:30

Justice Broomfield knew that the law under which the man on the dock was being tried was cruel and favored the masters over slaves. He also knew that as a judge it was his duty to uphold the law for it was enacted by a competent Crown. The only thing that he could do was to make the proceedings absolutely impersonal and let the laws prevail over personal feelings. All that he did to show his personal admiration for the accused was to bow to him, as judge, before taking his judicial seat.

And, the man on the dock bowed back, smiling as he ever was, that disarming smiles that had endeared him to millions. His name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Gandhi was accused of inciting the populace of India by his writings in Young India, a paper that he published from 1919 to 1931. He wrote from his heart and was never in doubt over what he asked the millions who read or heard his writings to demand. He asked them to demand what was their right, a right that Bal Gangadhar Tilak had so eloquently put as जन्म सिद्ध अधिकार (Right by birth), and the right to be masters of their own destinies. Freedom from colonial rule that he so out earnestly asked his countrymen to ask for through his writings was seen as sedition by the Colonial Masters who had levied the charge against him for “bringing or attempting to excite disaffection towards the British Government established by law in British India”.

The trial court was packed to the brim. Thousands of followers stood outside the court premises, silently but defiantly in the eyes of the amassed police forces. They did not sing or chant or indulge in activities that would belie the great faith that Gandhi had on them. Satya or truth, he had often said, will prevail. Violence, he believed with all his heart and soul, would beget nothing but more violence and in the melee truth will be lost. So the swollen crowds stood patiently without a murmur.

Inside the court room, on the 18^th March 1922, Justice Broomsfield proceeded to conduct the trial as per law. He was not surpriced when Gandhi eagerly pleaded guilty. However, the Advocate General (Sir JT Strangman along with Rao Bahadur Girdharlal Uttamram, Public Prosecutor of District Ahmedabad) representing the Crown insisted on reading out the full extent of incitements that Gandhi had caused in the eyes of the Crown, by his writings in Young India. Gandhi gave forth his bewitching smiles for each of the accusations and again in the end, pleaded guilty to all the charges. Justice Broomfield then proceeded to ask Gandhi whether hhe would like to say anything before the judgment was announced. Gandhi said yes. He had come prepared with a statement which, with the permission of the judge, he proceeded to read. As the courtroom in which Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, Pandit MM Malaviya, N C Kelkar, Smt JB Petit, and Smt Anasuyaben Sarabhai were also present among the public, he concluded his statement by saying:

“If one has no affection for a person or system, one should be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection, so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite to violence…. I have no personal ill-will against any single administrator, much less can I have any disaffection towards the King’s person. But I hold it to be a virtue to be disaffected towards a Government which in its totality has done more harm to India than any previous system. India is less manly under the British rule than she ever was before. Holding such a belief, I consider it to be a sin to have affection for the system. And it has been a precious privilege for me to be able to write what I have in the various articles tendered in evidence against me.

In fact, I believe that I have rendered a service to India and England by showing in non-co-operation the way out of the unnatural state in which both are living. In my opinion, non-co-operation with evil is as much a duty as is co-operation with good. But in the past, non-co-operation has been deliberately expressed in violence to the evil-doer. I am endeavoring to show to my countrymen that violent non-co-operation only multiples evil, and that as evil can only be sustained by violence, withdrawal of support of evil requires complete abstention from violence. Non-violence implies voluntary submission to the penalty for non-co-operation with evil.

I am here, therefore, to invite and submit cheerfully to the highest penalty that can be inflicted upon me for what in law is deliberate crime, and what appears to me to be the highest duty of a citizen. The only course open to you, the Judge and the assessors, is either to resign your posts and thus dissociate yourselves from evil, if you feel that the law you are called upon to administer is an evil, and that in reality I am innocent, or to inflict on me the severest penalty, if you believe that the system and the law you are assisting to administer are good for the people of this country, and that my activity is, therefore, injurious to the common weal”.

Pin drop silence prevailed in the court when Gandhi finished. He proceeded to fold the paper in which he had penned his statement, tuck it in his famous ‘loin cloth’, and turning to the judge, bowed. Justice Broomfield contemplated for some time and then proceeded to announce the gravest punishment that law could impose on a charge of sedition – six years of imprisonment. A smiling Gandhi cheerfully nodded when the judge completed his pronouncement. After having completed his judicial duty, Justice Broomfield added to the judicial verdict by saying:

“I should like to say …. if the course of events in India should make it possible for the Government to reduce the period and release you, no one will be better pleased than I."

And then the honorable Mr Broomfield rose, and bowed to Gandhi. In Gandhi’s own words:

“So far as the sentence itself is concerned, I certainly consider it is as light as any judge would inflict on me, and so far as the whole proceedings are concerned, I must say that I could not have expected greater courtesy”.

Gandhi’s trial of 1922 bears eloquent testimony to a process of law and courage of conviction that are beyond physical description. There is a spiritual quality that can be felt both in the accused and judge that marked the world of those years in a different class.

Such is the story of courage and conviction.

Kattabomman, the First Among Freedom Fighters

2018-10-11T16:21:00.000+05:30

Jagaveera Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Polygar of Panchalankurichi, was hanged from a tamarind tree at Kayathar in Tamil Nadu on 16 Oct 1799. His crime was refusal to pay taxes to the East India Company. Little did KC Jackson, Collector of Tirunelveli, realize that he had actually lit a fuse on Polygar revolt than put out the fire called Kattabomman.

Born on 02 January 1760 to Jagaveera Pandiyan and Arumugathammal, the Polygar of Panchalankurichi, Kattabomman revolted against British sovereignty when the Collector of Tirunelveli ordered him to pay taxes. The Nawab of Arcot, suzerain over Polygars of the south had failed to pay his dues to the Company and left it to the Company to collect the dues themselves. With this free hand, the Company had set about collecting huge amounts from the peasantry, to the peril of the country side.

Initially Kattabomman agreed to pay the taxes as per norm and even went over to Ramanathapuram to meet the Collector. However, Jackson was haughty and made Kattabomman wait for days together even to consent to meet him. Incensed, Kattabomman returned to his fort and thereafter refused to pay taxes. The Company then sent an army to collect the taxes and bring Kattabomman. The Company army was defeated by Kattabomman and his allies.

The new collector of Tirunelveli, Lousington, changed the tactics and invited Kattabomman for talks. Playing on the Tamil sense of pride, Lousington lured Kattabomman to come alone, leaving his body guards away. When Kattabomman arrived with only his head of army, Sivasubramanya Pillai. Lousington arrested both. However, Kattabomman escaped with Pillai and reached Panchalankurichi back. War now was inevitable.

The mud fort at Panchalankurichi fell to the canons of the Company. However, an injured Kattabomman escaped to a forest near Pudukottai with handful of his followers. Pillai was arrested by British, after a battle with Kattabomman's troops near Nagalapuram. Pillai's head was severed by British and put up on a spike in Panchalankurichi.

In the mean time, regional satraps like the King of Pugukottai and Polygars like Ettappan of Ettayyapuram aided the British and actually betrayed, arrested and handed him over to the British. The date was 02 Oct 1799. Lousington conducted a farce trial for nearly 15 days and on the 16th October, ordered that Kattabomman be hanged to death. Major Banerman of the Company hanged Kattabomman from a tamarind tree at Kayathar and left the body there as a warning to other Polygars. A great son of the Tamil people was thus betrayed, and hanged like an ordinary criminal.

Unfortunately for the British, hanging and shaming of Kattabomman did not bring about peace and subjugation of Tamil lands. Between March 1799 and July 1805, for over six years, the Polygars rose in revolt against the British Company. OOmaithurai, brother of Kattabomman, Maruthu Pandiyan brothers, Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of Malabar and Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder, among others, led repaeted attacks on Company troops mostly adopting to guerrilla tactics. They attacked Company barracks in Coimbatore, Salem and Dindigul area, Trichy and elsewhere harrying the Company to no end. The King of Ramanathapuram actively supported the Polygars. Panchalankurichi fort, rebuilt by Oomaithurai became the epicenter of operations.

Eventually, forces led by Lt Col Agnew laid seige and eventually razed Panchalankurichi fort in May 1801. Oomaithurai and Maruthu Pandiyan brothers were captured , after their escape from the fort near Kalayar Kovil. They were hanged by the Company troops in November 1801 near Odanilai. Other Poligar rebels were slowly subdued over the next few years.

16th October 2018 would mark 219th Anniversary of the sacrifice by Kattabomman. It is a day that truly must mark Tamil pride with great solemnity.

Government of India honoured Kattabomman with the release of a postage stamp and Indian Navy has a Naval station INS Kattabomman at Tuticorin. A memorial is built at Panchalankurichi and Kayathar to honour the great warrior.

The Story of Bikaner Camel Corps

2018-10-09T10:15:00.001+05:30

The Ganga Risala / Bikaner Camel Corps of Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner

The Bikaner Camel Corps was a former army regiment that operated under the Imperial Service Troops of India and took part in the First World War and the Second World War. The Imperial Service Troops of India were the official armed forces of the princely states of India under the British Empire. The unit served along with the British Indian Army, when their service was demanded by the British administration. The British Indian regiment was also a part of the Presidency Armies in British India.

The Bikaner Camel Corps was formed in the year 1889 by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner state. The unit was initially raised as the Ganga Risala unit after the British authorities in India accepted the offer of the ruler to create an army of around 500 soldiers. The Princely State of Bikaner followed the tradition of utilising armed forces mounted on camels. Later in 1900, Maharaja Ganga Singh led the regiment of Ganga Risala during its participation in the Boxer Rebellion in China. The troops of the armed force later took part in the Somali Uprising in Somaliland from 1902 to 1904; and also fought in Egypt during the First World War. In the year 1915, the unit fought against Turkish forces at the Suez Canal.

In one engagement the Maharaja himself fired many rounds at the enemy, and after their defeat led the Ganga Risala in pursuit. Ganga Singh also fought on the French front and represented India at the Paris Peace Conference after the war. When India's membership in the proposed League of Nations was being denied, on the grounds that it was not a self-governing state, the Bikaner Maharaja successfully stated India's case: "Where it is a question of securing the peace of the world, the important fact must be borne in mind that India represents one fifth of the entire human race." The Bikaner Camel Corps also provided valuable military services during the Second World War in the Middle East. The unit was aided by the Bijay Battery, which was also a camel-mounted unit.

After the country acquired independence from the supremacy of the British Empire in India on 15th August 1947, the nation was segregated into 2 geographical parts by the Partition of India. Thus, the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan were formed. Accordingly the British Indian Army was also divided amongst the 2 newly formed nations. The Bikaner Camel Corps unit was assigned to the modern Army of independent India.

Later in the year 1951, the regiment was amalgamated with the Jaisalmer camel troops in order to raise the Ganga Jaisalmer Risala. Later it was unit with the Grenadiers and was designated as the 13th battalion. The Ganga Jaisalmer Risala was dismounted in 1974 and underwent conversion into standard infantry. It continues to serve as a regular infantry battalion under the name 13 Grenadiers (Ganga Jaisalmer). Post 1971 the unit has seen action in counter insurgency operations in the states of Punjab and Assam. The Ganga Risala still survives though as a part of the Border Security Force, retaining the name Bikaner Camel Corps. It has to its credit one Kirti Chakra and one Shaurya Chakra among numerous other awards. It is the only camel cavalry operated by present day armed forces.

The Tale of Pedangi

2018-09-18T21:20:00.000+05:30

Kings, generals and conquerors of the middle to early modern age had one thing in common. They rode to their victories on their mounts. It is but natural then that the horses of these great warriors became as much part of the history as their masters created.

The pecking order on great mounts perhaps should start with that of Bucephalus, the black Thessalian mount with a white star on its forehead, that Alexander the Great rode to conquer the world. It is said that Alexander and Bucephalus were soul mates. It is also said that Bucephalus died in the battle of Hydaspes in 326 BC. For Indophiles, it is at Hydaspes that Alexander defeated Porus, or as Indians call him, Purushottam, the King who stood the might of Alexander. Legend has it that Bucephalus was buried Jalalpur Sharif outside Jhelum in Pakistan. Shortly after the death of his mount, on his way back to Macedonia, even Alexander fell to poison (at least that is what the legends say). Selucus I who governed the Indian territories of Alexander even had gold coins minted in honor of Bucephalus.

One of the everlasting legends, in all propriety, belongs to Marengo, the Arabian silver grey steed that carried Napoleon Bonaparte to his victory in Austerlitz. Marengo also was witness to Napoleon’s nemesis at Waterloo. Marengo was carried off to England as a war prize and, as of today, his skeleton is displayed in the Royal Army Museum, Chelsea, England. It is said that even his hooves have been made into snuff boxes and jewels.

It is unfortunate that in India, horses that played part of its history have remained at best part of its folklore, but hardly ever its national symbols. Little do the histories of such mounts play a part in Indian national psyche. If royal mounts in India have such legacies little wonder then that lesser ‘mortals’ among the family of mounts find even rarer mention. But, here is a story that we reckon as different not of the past, but the present India.

The bay mare of the Spanish breed, the mule (hoof number 15328) joined the Indian Army’s RVC service in 1962. Immediately upon her induction she was deployed in the Indo-Chinese operations in a desolate spot of the North East called Pedong. Surprisingly, the young mule survived the horrors of her deployment earning the notice of the Commanding Officer (CO) of the platoon with which she was deployed with remarkable fortitude and stamina. She was promptly christened “Pedongi” by the platoon. However Pedongi earned her spurs nearly a decade later in the 1971 war with Pakistan. While transporting vital arms supply to one of the far flung posts, Pedongi and her mates came under fire from Pakistani troops. After killing the mule drivers, Pakistani troops took the mules captive and employed them for their own purposes. While in the employ of the new masters, Pedongi decided to live upto the saga of valour that Indian Army is famous for. One fine day, having been loaded with the Medium Machine Gun (MMG) to be carried to one of the Pak posts, Pedongi gave its masters the slip and ran back to the Indian lines with the MMG. She trotted nearly 20 Kms before she found her own platoon to ‘report’ to. The CO of 853 AT Company, realizing the gravity and the valour of the mule, raised a citation for bravery for Pedongi. Pedongi was conferred the ‘Vir Chakra’, one of the highest military awards for bravery in the face of enemy by the government of India. Major Chunni Lal Sharma, CO, of her battalion, made Pedongi the mascot of his battalion. Finally, in 1992, Pedongi was specially taken to Delhi where she was presented with a bravery citation and a blue velvet ceremonial rug at the 223 Corps Day Function.

The brave Pedongi made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘Longest-Serving Military Mule’ in 1997 before passing away peacefully in Bareilly on March 25, 1998. She was nearly 39 years old, indeed the longest serving army mule at her death.