THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS TALKS AGAINST CASTEIST HEGEMONY IN SOUTH ASIA

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS TALKS AGAINST CASTEIST HEGEMONY IN SOUTH ASIA INDIA AGAINST ITS OWN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

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Friday, May 28, 2010

US Periphery Indian Subcontinent Bleeds in Suicidal Unprecedented Violence as INSURGENCY help the Hegemony Continue Ethnic Cleansing! Most Intriguing Question Remains UNANSWERED why the Maoists Claiming Commitment and concern for the Masses should In

US Periphery Indian Subcontinent Bleeds in Suicidal Unprecedented Violence as INSURGENCY help the Hegemony Continue Ethnic Cleansing! Most Intriguing Question Remains UNANSWERED why the Maoists Claiming Commitment and concern for the Masses should Indulge in Genocide Culture Brahaminical Zionist to Make Grounds for Military Option! Just Remeber the Experience of Repression in Seventies and Eighties to Curb the Naxal and Sikh Insurgencies!

Train Sabotage: Who removed the fish plates?


PM, Obama hold telephonic talk


Indian Holocaust My fathers Life and Time- Three Hundred SEVENTY Eight

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

The Indian Railways said sabotage by suspected Maoist guerrillas may have caused the train derailment in West Bengal!

'We suspect it is a case of sabotage. The driver (of the passenger train) has reported to have heard a large sound. There was definite tinkering with the tracks,' member railway board Vivek Sahai told reporters here.

The engine and 13 coaches of a Mumbai-bound passenger train derailed and were hit by a speeding goods train in West Bengal early Friday.


He said Maoists were observing black week since past midnight. 'We had issued a red alert,' he said.


Sahai said the deaths were mainly caused by the goods train hitting the three derailed coachs of the Howrah-Kurla Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express.


'There have been earlier cases of sabotage but never of this scale,' the railway board member said.


US Periphery Indian Subcontinent Bleeds in Suicidal Unprecedentd Violence  as INSURGENCY help the Hegemony Continue Ethnic Cleansing! Most Intriguing Question Remains UNANSWERED why the Maoists Claiming Commitment and concern for the Masses should Indulge in Genocide Culture Brahaminical Zionist to Make Grounds for Military Option! Just Remeber the Experience of Repression in Seventies and Eighties to Curb the Naxal and Sikh Insurgencies!At least 76 passengers of a Mumbai-bound express train were killed when Maoists derailed it in the wee hours of Friday with five of the 13 coaches that jumped the tracks also being hit by an oncoming goods train.

200 passengers were also injured in the derailment of of the Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express in West Midnapore district, about 150 kms from Kolkata at around 1:30 am, when the train was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations, South Eastern Railway officials said.

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On the Otehr hand, in LAHORE PakistanHeavily-armed Taliban terrorists wearing suicide vests stormed two mosques of minority Ahmadi sect packed with Friday worshippers here, killing at least 62 people and injuring scores others in the first major attack in Pakistan's heartland of Punjab since March.


Wielding automatic assault rifles and laced with grenades, the militants ran into the two mosques situated miles apart in coordinated attacks, seized hostages and set off running battles with the police.


The gunmen from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP's) Punjab wing struck the jam-packed mosques, where over 1,500 worshippers had gathered for Friday prayers, at 1.45 pm local time. They lobbed grenades and fired indiscriminately.



Railway officials said bodies of 71 persons have been recovered so far from the train wreckage.

Several passengers are feared trapped in the worst smashed S-5 compartment of the train which bore the brunt when the speeding goods train ploughed through the derailed coaches. Officials feared that the death toll could go up.

Five of the derailed carriages that slammed into the goods train were badly crushed and flipped on their sides with body parts clearly visible amid the twisted metal.

Rescue workers with bolt cutters struggled to free anyone still alive inside.

There was confusion on the exact cause of the disaster in the Maoist stronghold with Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee blaming it on a 'bomb blast' at the rail track while top brass of the West Bengal Police said it was an act of sabotage since fish plates were found removed.

DGP Bhupinder Singh, who said blast theory was yet to be established, also said pendral clips which are used to hold sections of tracks together were found missing over a 50-metre stretch at the accident spot. Some passengers also said they heard no blast.

"It is a clear case of sabotage. The Maoists have done it," Singh said.

Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram said in New Delhi the disaster appeared to be an act of sabotage, but it was not yet clear whether explosives were used in the blast.

Mamata said TNT explosives and gelatine sticks were also found at the accident site. Railway General Manager A P Mishra too said these materials were found on the tracks.

She said a patrol engine had passed through the disaster spot half an hour earlier, but the timing of the blast proved disastrous with a portion of the line being blown away.

IGP (Law and Order) S Karpurakayastha said in Kolkata that Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA)has left two posters near the rail tracks "clearly owning responsibility" for the derailment. The attack came as the Maoists observe a 'Black Week'.

A PCPA spokesman Asit Mahato later denied the group's involvement.

Five of the 13 derailed coaches fell on an adjacent track and were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite direction, Additional Superintendent of Police, Jhargram, Mukesh Kumar said.

Of the injured persons, 78 were admitted to the Kharagpur Railway Hospital, 39 to the Midnapore State General Hospital and 25 to Kharagpur Government Hospital.

Some of the injured were treated beside the track while the most serious cases were evacuated by IAF helicopters.

Gyaneshwari Express derails, hit by goods train in Bengal; 71 dead, 200 injured
NDTV Correspondent, Friday May 28, 2010, Kolkata

The incident occurred at 1:30 am when the train was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations, about 135 km from Kolkata.

But confusion prevailed over whether a bomb blast by Naxals or an act of sabotage by removal of fish plates led to the derailment. Police said about a one-foot section of track was missing.(One foot section of track missing: Police chief)


While Home Minister P Chidambaram said that train derailment in West Bengal appears to be a case of sabotage, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee says a blast as part of a "calculated attack" caused the Gyaneshwari Express to first derail and then get hit by a goods train. (Read:Bomb blast caused derailment: Mamata)

Finanace Minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, contradicted the statements of both the ministers and said, "I don't know what is the cause. When I last checked, there was no evidence of either an explosion or sabotage activity."

Meanwhile, the West Bengal police have said that Maoist-backed organization People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) has claimed responsibility for the accident.

"Two posters belonging to the Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) have been found at the site," West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh told NDTV.

Bodies of the passengers were removed from the mangled remains of the ill-fated coaches and the injured taken out with the help of gas cutters, a South Eastern Railway spokesman said.

"65 bodies have been recovered. The toll could go up," West Bengal Home Secretary Samar Ghosh said.

He also said that the over 200 injured have been shifted to different hospitals and the condition of some of them is critical.(Watch: Injured rushed to Kharagpur hospital)

Gyaneshwari Express train derailment

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2010 Gyaneshwari Express train derailment
LocationWest Midnapore, West Bengal
Date28 May 2010
1.30 am IST (UTC+05:30)
Attack typeSabotage/bombing
Death(s)71[1]
Injured149
BelligerentPolice Santras Birodhi Janosadharan Committee (People's Committee against Police Atrocities)[2]
Suspected belligerentCommunist Party of India (Maoist)

The Gyaneshwari Express derailment occurred on 28 May 2010 in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal, India.[3] It was disputed as to whether sabotage or a bomb caused damage on the railway track, which in turn led to a train's derailment before an oncoming goods train hit the loose carriages killing at least 71 passengers.[4]

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Background

The derailment occurred 90 minutes after a Communist Party of India (Maoist) 4-day bandh in the area began.[5] It was termed a "black week" and security was put on high alert.[6]

[edit] Derailment

The state police chief stated that Maoist Naxalites claimed responsibility for removing a 46 centimetres (18 in) length of railway track.[7] At 1:30 am local time a train with 13 carriages passing over the missing track derailed. The Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express was travelling from Howrah to Mumbai.[3] The derailed train was then struck by a goods train travelling in the opposite direction.[3] Twenty-six bodies had been recovered from the wreckage; though at least 71 have been killed.[4] The missing track was between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations.[3] A section of the rail track was found to be missing and fishplates were loosened suggesting sabotage.[7][8]

Initially there was uncertainty as to whether the attack was a result of a blast or due to derailment of the train. Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee, said a bomb blast was part of a "calculated attack" that caused the train to derail.[9]

[edit] Rescue operation

Officially, 26 bodies were found, and a rescue team was working to find more bodies. Indian Air Force helicopters were pressed into service at the accident spot, and airlifted some of the injured passengers to hospitals.[7] A medical train was sent to the location.[10] At least one person trapped in the train appeared to be alive.[11]

[edit] Responsibility

After the West Bengal police said that the Gyaneshwari Express accident "appears to be the work of Maoists," the CPI (Maoist) claimed responsibility for the derailment.[7] Police also found pamphlets belonging to a Maoist-backed organisation at the site.[7][12]

The Police Santras Birodhi Janosadharan Committee (People's Committee against Police Atrocities) were also reported to have claimed responsibility.[4]

[edit] Reaction

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his grief over the loss of lives.[13] The government of India said it would give Rs. 5 lakh to the kin of the dead and offer jobs to family members.[10] The Government of West Bengal announced that they would bear the cost of treatment for the victims.[7]

Indian Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the location of the accident where she said she was aware of the Maoist-declared blackdays and security had been increased.[14] Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, condemned the attack.[11]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sanjoy Majumder. "'Maoist sabotage' kills 71 on train in eastern India". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10178967.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-28. 
  2. ^ CNN-IBN. 28 May 2010. 16:$0 IST.
  3. ^ a b c d "15 dead, Gyaneshwari Express derail after blast". Indian Express. 28 May 2010. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/15-dead-gyaneshwari-express-derail-after-blast/624837/. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  4. ^ a b c "68 killed as Maoist attack Maharashtra-bound train". Hindustan Times. 28 May 2010. http://www.hindustantimes.com/68-killed-as-Maoist-attack-Maharashtra-bound-train/Article1-549604.aspx. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  5. ^ "'Sabotage' behind India train crash". Al-Jazeera. 28 May 2010. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/05/201052804354131331.html. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  6. ^ Magnier, Mark (28 May 2010). "India train crash leaves 65 dead in West Bengal state". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-trains-20100528,0,6845745.story. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f "At least 25 dead in India train blast and collision". BBC News. 27 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/10178967.stm. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  8. ^ Gyaneshwari Express accident One foot section of track missing
  9. ^ "Bomb blast caused train derailment: Mamata Banerjee". Ndtv.com. 2010-01-20. http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/bomb-blast-caused-derailment-mamata-banerjee-28354.php. Retrieved 2010-05-28. 
  10. ^ a b NDTV. 28 May 2010. 7:30.
  11. ^ a b NDTV. 28 May 2010, 16:45 IST.
  12. ^ Gyaneshwari Express accident maoist flag found
  13. ^ PM expresses grief over loss of lives in mishap involving Gyaneshwari Express
  14. ^ "Mamata rushes to mishap spot, says Railways aware of Maoist Black Day - Oneindia News". News.oneindia.in. 2007-10-30. http://news.oneindia.in/2010/05/28/mamatarushes-to-mishap-spot-says-railways-aware-ofma.html. Retrieved 2010-05-28. 

Charu Majumdar

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Charu Majumdar

Charu Majumdar (Bangla: চারু মজুমদার) (1918–1972) was a communist revolutionary from India. He was born in 1918 at Siliguri, West Bengal. His father was a freedom fighter. Majumdar dropped out of college in 1938. In 1946, he joined the Tebhaga movement. He was briefly imprisoned in 1962.

During the mid 1960s Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal organized a leftist faction in Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) in northern Bengal. In 1967, a militant peasant uprising took place in Naxalbari, led by the Majumdar-Sanyal group. This group would later become known as the Naxalites, and eight articles written by him at this time - known as the Historic Eight Documents - has been seen as providing their ideological foundation: arguing that revolution must take the path of armed struggle on the pattern of the Chinese revolution. The same year, Majumdar and Sanyal broke away and formed the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries which in 1969 founded the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)—with Majumdar as its General Secretary.

He was captured from his hide-out on July 16, 1972, and died in police custody at the Alipore Central Jail on July 28, 1972.

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Meanwhile,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama today held a telephonic conversation during which they discussed matters related to the first Strategic Dialogue scheduled to take place on June three besides regional issues. "The two leaders discussed the forthcoming Strategic Dialogue between the two countries scheduled next week in Washington," a statement from the Prime Minister''s Office said.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will be travelling to Washington for the Strategic Dialogue with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on June 3. The statement noted that both sides attach great priority to the dialogue as a means to strengthen bilateral engagement on a wide range of issues including high technology trade, science & technology, civil nuclear cooperation, agriculture, human resource development, security and other strategic issues.


The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest, the statement said. During the conversation, Obama conveyed condolences on the loss of lives resulting from the air crash in Mangalore last week.


The Prime Minister told Obama that a warm welcome awaited him and his family when they visit India. Obama is slated to undertake his first visit to India this year and dates for it are being finalised.



ODAY - 28 May, 2010


65 dead in WB train accident

At least 65 people were killed when a Mumbai-bound passenger train derailed and was hit by a speeding goods train in West Bengal. More

http://in.yahoo.com/?p=us

Train Sabotage: Who removed the fish plates?

Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) have claimed responsibility for the derailment of an express train!

I have written time and again about the Corporate Friendly Character of Indian Communists, Marxists and Maoists led by the Brahamins only! If they believe in Overthrowing the State Power, then why they chose the Innocent Masses, already selected to be KILED by the Free Market Democracy as the Targets! They attacked the Express Train while NEVER they have attacked any Goods Train which would have served their Purpose very well! Why do they want to be IDENTIFIED as KILLERS to ENTRAP entire ABORIGINAL Landscape countrywide amidst the Media Hype, Civil Society and Intelligentsia, not to mention the Political Parties and MNCs Crying for Blood! Why?

People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) is not Maoist, the Brahaminical Civil society and Intelligentsia told again and again!TMC Chief and the Railway Minister who did not mention at all the Maoist SABOTAGE theory or PCPA Involvement and claimed that the Train was Blasted, in fact Shared Dias with PCPA Leaders including Chhtaradhar Mahato. TMC MP Kabir Suman continues to support PCPA and he wrote CHHATRADHARER GAAN while the Civil Society as well as Intelligentsia have NEVER Ceased to support PCPA.Buddhadev and CPIM leaders allege frequently MAMATA MAOIST Connection while Mamata has coined MAOIST MARXIST Junction in Bengal against Opposition! Even during Live TV coverage, the Change Brigade lost no Opportunity to Connect the MOST CONDEMNABLE Massacre to Imminent Kolkata Municipal Corporation and statewide Local Bodies Election! why?
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The TMC Politics has created waves of so called Change en cashing Insurgencies in Singur, Lalgarh, Nandigram and Darjeeling, the nation must not forget!The known Leftists having all and every thing in the Marxist Rule, has crossed the Fence and Indulged in either Extreme Left or Extreme Right politics. Each one us pose as MOST Resistant and have been enrolled in Pay Roll of Indian Railway. Eminent Artist JOGEN Choudhari wrote an EDIT page article published in FREE Sovereign Market and Manusmriti Hegemony Mouth Piece Anand Bazaar Patrika and presented an Excellent Blue Print of SLUM Development pleading Thirty Percent Commercial Use of Slum Area, replicating the Mediocre gang of Bengali economists led by ABHIRUP Sarkar and Sugal Marjit. Abhi Dutt Majumdar and Naba Dutt lead the Campaign against Monopolistic Aggression but they have Nothing to say against ECONOMIC Reforms and Free market democracy! Mahashweta Devi, Manas Joardar, Sunand Sanyal, Tarun Nashkar and Sujat Bhadra lead the Human Right Brand but they NEVER demanded Justice for genocide Victims for full Three Decades!Eminent Artist SHUBHO Prasanna and Play writer, drama Personality Bratay Basu have become the spokespersons for TMC while Joy Goswami, Shaoli Mitra and others follow SHUBHOPRASANNA to have Pay Package from Indian Railway! All these Intellectuals do share Dias with Naxal Activists and Group and always had friendly Relations with PCPA. All of them seem to be in Extreme Pain while shedding Crocodile Tears for the Tribal Landscpae in Bengal only. Eminent Crusader for the Aboriginal Landscape as well as Humanscape Mahashweta Devi is Supreme in Bengali Civil Society and supports Mahato as well as Kabir Suman. This Pro Naxal Brahaminical Brigade has NO sympathy for the tribals and Refugees stranded in Cross Fire! Most of the ICONS on TV Screen attacked CPIM and Defended Ms Mamata Banerejee and her CRIMINAL Negligence as Indian Railway Minister!They speak the same language as the Politicians are accustomed to!

We should go back to the History of Communist, Marxist and Maoist movement led by the Bengali marxists to understand the Politics of Eurasian Brahamins zionst. Charu Majumdar himself adopted Annihiliation of Class Enemy to destroy the Mass Movement and Peasants` uprising to address Indian Agrarian Crisis folowed by Green Revolution! It killed the Peasants` Movement in India once for all time. The Brahaminical romance with Revolution is Indulged in Uraban Sexy dreams which Kills once againPeople`s Popular Resistance against the Economic ethnic Cleansing, LPG Mafia, Hegemony,Fascism, Imperialism and Political Economis of EXCLUSION! just go Through all the Novels narrating the Naxal story for Example HAZAR CHURASIR MAA ( Mahashweta devi), KALBELA, KAL PURUSH, UTTARADHIKAR and Garbhodharini (Samaresh Majumdar), Agni Balaka(Abul Bashar), Basudahra(Tilottoma Majumdar), films like Kolkata 71 (Mrinal sen), writings of SUNIL Gangopaddhya, Poetic History of Joy Goshwami! It is like the Rituparno Ghosh Film SAB CHARITRA Kalponic which relates to ANURANAN, BONG Connection and Styajit Ray Films!

How big is the Maoist threat?

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Reuters

Posted: May 28, 2010 at 1227 hrs IST
Train derailment

New Delhi Maoists rebels have in recent months stepped up attacks in response to a government security offensive to clear them out of their jungle bases.

Here are some questions and answers about the Maoists and their threat in India:

WHO ARE THE MAOISTS?

The Maoist want to overthrow the Indian state through armed struggle. Officials say the rebels have plans to overthrow the government by 2050. They started their an armed struggle in 1967 with a peasant revolt in Naxalbari village in West Bengal state but were initially crushed.

After regrouping in the 1980s, they began recruiting hundreds of poor villagers, arming them with bows and arrows and even rifles snatched from police and government armouries.

The rebels now buy weapons from Chinese smugglers and are in touch with other militant groups operating in India, including groups in Kashmir and the northeast, says the government. They are equipped with automatic weapons, shoulder rocket launchers, mines and explosives.

Indian authorities say they are led by Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishanji, who is in charge of militant activities, and Ganapati, the political leader.

HOW BIG IS THE MOVEMENT?

The rebels have an estimated 20,000 combatants, including 6,000-8,000 hardcore fighters.

Maoist rebels have made inroads in nearly a third of the country's 630 districts, according to the government.

They operate across a red corridor stretching from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh to the central state of Chhattisgarh and into West Bengal, bordering Nepal and Bhutan.

They remain hidden in dense forest bases and move around villages in remote areas.

HOW BIG A THREAT ARE THEY TO INDIA'S STABILITY?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the insurgency as the biggest internal security challenge since independence. More than 1,000 attacks were recorded in 2009 and 600 people were killed. The Maoists regularly attack railway lines and factories, aiming to cripple economic activity.

HOW BIG IS THE RISK TO INVESTORS?

While the economic impact may be small compared with India's trillion dollar economy, the insurgency and the sense that it is worsening signals that India does not fully control its territory and adds to risks for companies considering investments.

With the rebels controlling vast swathes of mineral-rich areas, the government has often struggled to transport coal to power and steel firms. The rebels extort about $300 million from companies in India every year to fund their movement, police and officials say.

WHAT COMPANIES HAVE BEEN IMPACTED?

The effect of the Maoist insurgency has already taken its toll on business. Work on a $7-billion steel plant by India's third largest steel producer, JSW Steel Ltd, has been delayed. Frequent rebel strikes have hit production and shipment at firms such as India's largest miner of iron ore, NMDC Ltd's and state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd.

Rebels sided with farmers during violent protests against government moves to acquire farmland for industry, forcing the scrapping of a Tata Motors' Nano car plant and a $3 billion chemicals hub complex in eastern India. Protests by farmers have also delayed work on two separate plants by the world's leading steelmakers ArcelorMittal and POSCO in eastern India.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/How-big-is-the-Maoist-threat/624888/
 

Bomb blast caused train derailment: Mamata Banerjee

NDTV.com - ‎12 hours ago‎
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has said a bomb blast as part of a "calculated attack" caused the Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express to first derail and then ...

Mamata rushes to mishap spot, says Railways aware of Maoist Black Day

Oneindia - ‎10 hours ago‎
Kolkata, May 28 (ANI): Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the Railways is on red alert and there had been patrolling on the tracks just ...

Mamata shielding Maoists, says Biman Bose

Sify - ‎59 minutes ago‎
West Bengal's ruling Left Front chairman Biman Bose Friday accused Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to shield Left-wing rebels and said she should ...

Mamata Banerjee faces Maoist music

Merinews - ‎7 hours ago‎
Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee prefers to ignore Maoist threat by denying the presence of the red rebels in Bengal. But Friday's attack on railways will ...

Mamta suspects Maoists hand in derailment

Oneindia - ‎8 hours ago‎
... train derailment caused to the Mumbai bound Howarh -Kurla express train was a case of bomb blast according to the Union railway Minister Mamta Banerjee. ...

Different UPA voices on cause of rail accident

Sify - ‎30 minutes ago‎
While Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said the blast was caused by a blast, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said he suspected sabotage behind the derailment ...

Blast caused accident, probe ordered: Mamata Banerjee

Thaindian.com - ‎12 hours ago‎
Jhargram (West Bengal), May 28 (IANS) Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday ordered a probe into the train accident in West Bengal that claimed 65 lives ...

Attack was well calculated: Mamata to NDTV

NDTV.com - ‎12 hours ago‎
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Rs 5 lakh ex gratia announced

Central Chronicle - ‎1 hour ago‎
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... 'security lapse' that led to derailment of the Kurla-bound Gyneswari Express but Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said law and order is a state subject. ...

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Blast caused derailment: Mamata

indiablooms - ‎11 hours ago‎
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Maoists may be responsible for the misdeed, says Mamata

MyNews.in - Vikas Mehta - ‎11 hours ago‎
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Maoists hand suspected in train derailment: Mamata

Press Trust of India - ‎14 hours ago‎
Jhargram (WB), May 28 (PTI) Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today suspected the involvement of Maoists in the derailment of the Gyaneshwari express today ...

Rlys under Mamata soft towards Maoists: CPM

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Railway has become a soft target: Mamata

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Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee who rushed to the accident site in West Bengal on Friday morning, appeared helpless in dealing with the situation. ...

Train accident in West Bengal: One accident, one government, yet different views

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WB govt concern over Mamata's security

Press Trust of India - ‎May 27, 2010‎
Kolkata, May 27 (PTI) Concerned over Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's reluctance to follow security procedures during her public appearances, ...

Railways says it's a blast, IB says no

MyNews.in - ‎11 hours ago‎
Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee too had hinted at an explosion on the tracks. However, Intelligence Bureau reports have ruled out the possibility ...

Maoist hand suspected in West Bengal train accident

Ganpati News (blog) - ‎12 hours ago‎
According to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, the train was first blasted by a bomb at the hands of the Maoists. The accident took place in the rural part ...

Help out affected people: PM to railways

indiablooms - ‎12 hours ago‎
"It is a very unfortunate incident," railway minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the spot, said. The minister, who rushed to the spot, announced Rs 5 ...

Bomb blast caused train derailment: Mamata

Expressindia.com - ‎5 hours ago‎
Jhargram (WB) Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday that a "bomb blast" triggered by Maoists on the rail track caused the derailment of the ...

Mamata suspects blast, won't blame Maoists yet

IBNLive.com - ‎10 hours ago‎
PTI Jhargram, West Bengal: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said a "bomb blast" triggered by Maoists on the rail track caused the derailment of ...

What caused the train derailment?

NDTV.com - ‎6 hours ago‎
While Home Minister P Chidambaram said that train derailment in West Bengal appears to be a case of sabotage, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said a blast ...

Railway minister reaches blast spot, orders enquiry

Hindustan Times - ‎15 hours ago‎
Railway minister Mamata Banerjee inspected the site where at least twenty passengers were killed and 150 injured when suspected Maoists blasted rail tracks ...

Maoist cult of death

The Hindu - ‎40 minutes ago‎
"We are sorry," said a Communist Party of India (Maoist) spokesperson after a bomb went off under a crowded bus in Chhattisgarh earlier this month, ...

Rly security forces should've been vigilant: Biman

Hindustan Times - ‎4 hours ago‎
PTI The Gyneswari Express tragedy could have been averted if the Railways and its security forces were more vigilant in the Maoist-infested area, ...

Railways may halt night operation in 5 Naxal-hit states

NDTV.com - ‎10 hours ago‎
PTI, Friday May 28, 2010, New Delhi After the Maoist attack on the Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express in West Bengal today, the Railways is considering ...

Railways a soft target for anti-national forces: Minister

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Kozhikode: The Railways have become a 'soft target' for 'anti-national forces', Minister of State for Railways E. Ahamed said on Friday, after suspected ...

Left parties seek PM's intervention for rail safety

Press Trust of India - ‎5 hours ago‎
New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) Left parties today condemned the "Maoist sabotage" which led to the train accident in West Bengal, castigated the Railway Ministry ...



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What caused the train derailment?

NDTV.com - ‎9 minutes ago‎
Barely a week after Prime Minister asked his Ministers not to air their difference of opinion in the public, the top UPA Ministers have again been found ...

Different UPA voices on cause of rail accident

Sify - ‎32 minutes ago‎
Ministers of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Friday spoke in different voices on the cause of the rail accident in West Midnapore district of West ...

Maoist cult of death

The Hindu - ‎42 minutes ago‎
"We are sorry," said a Communist Party of India (Maoist) spokesperson after a bomb went off under a crowded bus in Chhattisgarh earlier this month, ...


"It appears to be a case of sabotage where a portion of the railway track was removed. Whether explosives were used is not yet clear," Chidambaram said in a statement.
more by P Chidambaram - 9 minutes ago - NDTV.com (208 occurrences)


Mamata shielding Maoists, says Biman Bose

Sify - ‎1 hour ago‎
West Bengal's ruling Left Front chairman Biman Bose Friday accused Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to shield Left-wing rebels and said she should ...

Rly security forces should've been vigilant: Biman

Hindustan Times - ‎4 hours ago‎
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Mamata rushes to mishap spot, says Railways aware of Maoist Black Day

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NDTV.com - ‎10 hours ago‎
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Timeline of articles
Number of sources covering this story

What caused the train derailment?
‎9 minutes ago‎ - NDTV.com

Bomb blast caused train derailment: Mamata Banerjee
‎12 hours ago‎ - NDTV.com

Railway minister reaches blast spot, orders enquiry
‎15 hours ago‎ - Hindustan Times

Images

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Oneindia
NDTV.com
NDTV.com
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Suspected sabotage derails train in India; 71 dead

The Associated Press - Bikas Das - ‎25 minutes ago‎
SARDIHA, India — Rescuers scoured the wreckage of a passenger express train Friday that derailed and collided with a cargo train in eastern India, ...

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By Agency Reporter The death toll in the train collision in eastern India has gone up to 71, a railways spokesman said. At least 149 people were injured ...

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BHUBANESWAR: Alarmed at the train tragedy near Jhargram in West Bengal, Orissa government today said it would take up train security issue with the railway ...


"We will take up the matter with the railway ministry. The state will examine all aspects on safe rail movement in Orissa," Chief minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters while reacting to Maoist attack on Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Super Delux Express in neighbouring West Bengal.
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Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa

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Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa

Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa DVD cover
Directed byGovind Nihalani
Produced byManmohan Shetty, Govind Nihalani
Written byMahasweta Devi (novel)
Govind Nihalani (screenplay)
Tripurari Sharma (dialogues)
StarringJaya Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Joy Sengupta, Nandita Das, Seema Biswas, Milind Gunaji
Music byDebjyoti Mishra
CinematographyGovind Nihalani
Editing by Deepa Bhatia
Release date(s)March 20, 1998 (India)
Running time152 min
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998) (Hindi: हज़ार चौरासी की माँ; English: The Mother of Corpse No. 1084) is an Indian feature film that deals with the life of a woman who loses her son, a Naxalite, to the violence that is a result of his adopted ideology.

The film is directed by Govind Nihalani and is based on Magsaysay and Jnanpith award recipient Mahasweta Devi's Bengali novel Hajar Churashir Ma. The screenplay is written by Nihalani and the dialogues by Tripurari Sharma. The film stars Jaya Bachchan as Sujata Chatterjee, Anupam Kher as Dibyanath Chatterjee, Milind Gunaji as Inspector Saroj Pal, Seema Biswas as Somu's mother, Joy Sengupta as Brati Chatterjee and Nandita Das as Nandini Mitra. It marks Jaya Bachchan's return to acting after a gap of 18 years.

In 1998, Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

[edit] Cast of characters

[edit] External links

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  1. AsiaMedia Naxalbari: the naxalite movement in India

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On the Naxalite Movement: A Report with a Difference

By Sumanta Banerjee. An EPW article

The official bibliography on causes of popular discontent in India and ways to tackle it has been expanding at as impressive a rate as discontent itself. Our government can boast of a staggering collection of statistical data, reports of investigations, research papers, recommendations, among other things, that by its sheer size can absolutely bowl over any archivist.

Amongst the major institutions, the Planning Commission can claim to be the most reliable repository of comprehensive information of such a nature – and also a helpless witness to the government's unpardonable apathy to its important proposals for remedying the situation all these years. Further, the commission's role has been reduced from the position of a steering to that of a merely indicative nature by the present generation of policymakers, who prefer to leave planning to the magnates of the market economy, instead of the state. Yet, the government's need for hard statistical facts and figures, and understanding of what is happening at the ground level (apart from the feedback provided by its intelligence agencies), makes it dependent on the intellectual resources of the still extant Planning Commission.

It thus periodically sets up expert groups which review the state of poverty, collect, verify, and collate facts, arrange and then make deductions from them to prepare reports. As a result, we are lucky enough to get, at regular intervals, immense information that lay bare the grassroots reality – some confirming what we had always known, some revealing hitherto unknown, even worse, cases of atrocities on the poor. Along with such information, these reports also end up with the usual obligatory list of remedial measures – which may sound repetitive, but cannot be wished away since they had remained unimplemented all these years.

The latest exercise in this direction is the report of an expert group set up by the Planning Commission entitled Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas, dated March 2008.

It is an important document, which while meticulously arranging the latest facts and figures, rigorously examines the causes of the continuing economic exploitation and social discrimination in the adivasi and dalit-inhabited areas even after 60 years of independence. It is significant that this particular expert group was set up by the government in May 2006, in the background of increasing Naxalite activities in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

The group consisted of a variety of people ranging from veteran ex-bureaucrats (like D Bandyopadhya who chaired it, and is well known for his implementing the Operation Barga land reform measure in West Bengal, and S R Sankaran who heads the Hyderabad-based Committee of Concerned Citizens which had been trying to bring the Andhra Pradesh government and the Maoist rebels to the negotiating table) to retired police officers like Prakash Singh, ex-director general of police, Uttar Pradesh and Ajit Doval, former director of the Intelligence Bureau. From the other end of the spectrum, we have well known activists and academics like K Balagopal of the human rights movement and Sukhadeo Thorat, chairman of the University Grants Commission among others.

That a mixed bag of this nature, consisting of experts from different disciplines with differing opinions, could prepare a consensus report on several contentious issues and come up with a unanimously agreed set of recommendations, suggests that all is not lost.

Activists struggling for a change in the prevailing bleak socio-political situation, can make use of the report to educate the otherwise indifferent and passive middle classes about the basic issues of economic equity and social justice, which are fast disappearing in the urban public mind.

Dalits, Adivasis and Naxalites

Although the terms of reference did not specifically mention Naxalites (or Maoists), the group's brief was to identify causes of unrest and discontent in areas affected by "widespread displacement, forest issues, insecure tenancies and others forms of exploitation like usury, land alienation and imperfect market conditions…". Clearly, such areas fall in the above-mentioned five states – and significantly enough, the group organised field visits in these areas to observe the situation at first hand, on the basis of which it has come out with stark revelations that expose the culpability of the state in denying the poor their basic rights, the treachery of a corrupt bureaucracy to implement the laws, and its complicity with a trigger-happy police to suppress popular protest.

All these explain, as the report states in unambiguous terms, why the victims of such official crimes support the "extremists" – the term used for Maoists. Maintaining that "the main support for the Naxalite movement comes from dalits and adivasis", the group concentrated on these two sections (termed as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes respectively in official parlance) which comprise about one-fourth of India's population, the majority living in rural areas.

Apart from the high levels of poverty, the dalits suffer from various types of disadvantages like limited employment opportunities, political marginalisation, low education, social discrimination, and human rights violation. As for the adivasi population, besides remaining backward in all aspects of human development including education, health, nutrition, etc, they have been steadily losing their traditional tribal rights and command over resources. The report points out in this connection the administration's failure to implement the protective regulations in scheduled areas, which has resulted in land alienation, forced eviction from land, dependence of the tribals on moneylenders – made worse often by "violence by the state functionaries".

All these facts as described in the report may not come as a surprise to those who have followed the findings of earlier publications like the National Commission on scheduled castes and scheduled tribes; the government of India Report of the Expert Group on Prevention of Alienation of Tribal Land and Its Restoration (2004), as well as the various reports by civil rights groups. But the present report stands out from them in several respects. It explains the causes and success of the Naxalite movement in a particular territorial stretch by locating it in the macroeconomic scene today.

Incidentally, every dalit and adivasi poor in India have not joined the Naxalite movement. There are many states with pockets of high proportion of adivasis and dalits but little Naxalite influence, as in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The report quite rightly points out that "poverty does create deprivation but other factors like denial of justice, human dignity, cause alienation resulting in the conviction that relief can be had outside the system by breaking the current order asunder". It adds that for such a violent upheaval to happen, there is the likelihood of the "spread of awareness and consciousness". And this is where, as the report suggests, the Maoists have played a significant role by stepping into the craters of dalit and adivasi deprivation in the five states, and organising the deprived for their rights.

Its authors situate the Naxalite movement in the historical context of the "development paradigm pursued since independence", which they assert, has "aggravated the prevailing discontent among marginalised sections of society". While explaining the current surge in Naxalite activities, they slam the neoliberal "directional shift in government policies towards modernisation and mechanisation, export orientation, diversification to produce for the market, withdrawal of various subsidy regimes and exposure to global trade" as "an important factor in hurting the poor in several ways".

Following this conceptual approach, they look at the Maoist movement in a way that is different from the prevalent official attitude which primarily blames the Naxalites for the violence. Instead, the present report lays stress on the "structural violence which is implicit in the social and economic system" and which in the opinion of its authors prompts the radical groups to justify their own violent acts. At the same time, the authors distance themselves from the Naxalites, who "are engaged in a violent fight against the state for overpowering and overthrowing it", and who, they feel "exploit the situation for their own political gain by giving the affected persons some semblance of relief or response. Thereby they tend to legitimise in the eyes of the masses their own legal or even illegal activities." Yet, the authors of the report have to admit that the Naxalites have indeed carried out certain socio-economic reforms in their areas of control.

Naxalites as a Surrogate State

From the investigation carried out by the Planning Commission group of experts in the Naxalite areas, it appears that the Maoists are actually carrying out the reforms that the executive ought to have implemented, and are replacing the judiciary and the police in ensuring law and order for the poor and the oppressed. Take for instance their findings relating to land redistribution. In Bihar, the government had taken under its possession land which had been declared as beyond the ceiling that a landlord can own. The government, the report states, "has the power to distribute such land to the poor, but has failed to do so". On the other hand, "the Naxalite movement has succeeded in helping the landless to occupy a substantial extent of government land whether for homesteads or for cultivation".

Similarly, in the forest areas of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Orissa and Jharkhand, the Naxalites have led the adivasis to occupy forest lands that they should have enjoyed in the normal course of things under their traditionally recognised rights, but which were denied by government officials through forest settlement proceedings that have "taken place behind the back and over the head of the adivasi forest dwellers". While the government remained indifferent to the need for paying minimum wages to the adivasi tendu leaf gatherers in Andhra Pradesh, the Naxalites by launching a movement have secured increases in the rate of payment for the picking. The practice of forced labour ('begari') in the same state, under which the toiling castes had to provide free labour to the upper castes – and which should have been abolished by the government under Articles 14 to 17 of the Constitution – was done away with due to a "major upsurge led by the Naxalites in the late 1970s and early 1980s of the last century…". Commenting on the "peoples courts" set up by the Naxalites in their areas of control, the report observes that "disputes are resolved in a rough and ready manner, and generally in the interest of the weaker party".

While drawing our attention to these positive effects of the Naxalite movement, the authors of the report also come out against the high level of violence that its cadres indulge in, and from a bourgeois democratic liberal viewpoint assert: "…no state could agree to a situation of seizure of power through violence when the Constitution provides for change of government through electoral process."

But their findings also reveal how despite change of government, successive rulers who get elected use and misuse laws to suppress the poor and the disadvantaged. There is a design behind this continuity. The rulers, irrespective of party affiliations, are lackadaisical and sloppy in implementing pro-poor legal measures. But the moment the Maoists try to enforce those measures they are quick to use against them with extreme efficiency another set of laws – the draconian laws that have been enacted over the years (e g, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act; Chhattisgarh Public Security Act; Andhra Pradesh (Suppression of Disturbances) Act, etc). As the authors of the report rightly observe, Naxalite attempts to redistribute land have been "defeated by the state's determined opposition to letting lawless means succeed, even for the beneficial purpose of giving land to the landless".

In order to put an end to this anomalous state of affairs where the law enforcement agencies breach the laws while the lawless "extremists" enforce them, the authors of the report have recommended among other things modifications to some laws (e g, the Land Acquisition Act), effective implementation of protective laws in favour of the dalits and adivasis, better coordination between different programmes (e g, Backward Region Grant Fund and National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme), and extension of panchayati raj to the scheduled areas.

Asserting that the Naxalite movement has to be "recognised as a political movement with a strong base among the landless and poor peasantry and adivasis", they warn the government against resorting to "security-centric" measures like setting up vigilante groups such as Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh. Instead, they have called for "an ameliorative approach with emphasis on a negotiated solution", and urged the government for a resumption of the peace talks with the Naxalites which was initiated in October 2004, but broke down in January 2005.

Their proposal should be welcomed by all. But the authors should have gone into the causes of the failure of the past talks. To recapitulate, the government of Andhra Pradesh sat with the then People's War Group (now merged into Communist Party of India-Maoist) in October 2004, and agreed to a ceasefire till December 16 that year, and promised to consider in the meantime the Naxalites' main demand for distribution of land among the landless. But when the then Congress government failed to keep that promise, the Naxalites stepped in to forcibly distribute the land. The government retaliated immediately by sending its police which gunned down Naxalite cadres in the forests of Warangal, West Godavari and other districts in January 2005. (Yet another example of the state's abdication of responsibility for helping the landless, followed by its active intervention to oppose whenever the Naxalite try to carry out that responsibility.) At that time, the Naxalites came out with a public statement blaming the state police for violating the norms of the October truce, and withdrew from the talks.

Future of a Negotiated Settlement

Given this background, if there is to be another round of talks, both the Maoists and the Indian state have to be circumspect, balancing their respective long-term objectives with their immediate goals. The Maoists may have to shelve their maximalist aim of seizure of power for the time being, and negotiate with the state in the humanitarian interest of the thousands of poor and innocent families who have been caught in the crossfire between the police and the Naxalites.

As for the Indian state, let us be frank.

In quite a large swathe of inaccessible territory, the state's writ does not run, and the Naxalites have been able to establish a parallel and alternative order that has largely benefited the poor – especially the dalits and adivasis (as acknowledged by the present report, despite reservations about their violent methods). In any future talks therefore, the state should recognise this reality and legitimise the positive Naxalite contribution to the implementation of the pro-poor laws – which the state had failed to carry out. In other words, the government should negotiate a settlement that allows the Naxalites to run their administration in their pockets of control – on the lines of the settlement arrived at with the Naga rebels of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak Muivah) who have not given up their arms and run a parallel government in parts of Nagaland.

Referring to the Indian government's conciliatory approach to such insurrectionary groups, the authors of the report raise the legitimate question: "Why a different approach to the Naxals?" "The answer", as Bob Dylan sang, " 'is blowin' in the wind".

http://sanhati.com/articles/802/

Soft target for militants in Lahore

BBC News - ‎2 hours ago‎
The pattern of attack in Lahore is by now all too familiar for the residents of Pakistan's cultural capital. There has been something of a lull in the grand co-ordinated assaults. The last major attack was in March when a double suicide bombing killed ...

Taliban militants attack Lahore mosques, kill 70

Times of India - Omer Farooq Khan - ‎2 hours ago‎
ISLAMABAD: Terror revisited Pakistan's cultural city, Lahore, when Taliban militants simultaneously attacked twin-mosques of minority religious sect during Friday prayers, that left at least 70 people dead and more than 90 injured. ...

80 killed in terror attacks on two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore

Hindustan Times - ‎1 hour ago‎
Taliban guerrillas wearing suicide vests fired indiscriminately and lobbed grenades as they stormed two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect Friday, taking worshipers hostage and sparking gun battles with police that left at least 72 people dead before ...

Taliban attack on Lahore mosques ends, 62 killed

Sify - ‎51 minutes ago‎
Lahore: Firing indiscriminately and lobbing grenades, Taliban guerrillas wearing suicide vests stormed two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect on Friday, taking worshipers hostage and sparking gun battles with police that left at least 62 people dead ...

Lahore terror siege ends, at least 45 killed

Sify - ‎3 hours ago‎
Over 1500 hostages were freed as the terror siege of the two mosques which were raided by a dozen of heavily armed Taliban suicide attackers ended after nearly three hours of heavy gun battle between the security forces and the militants. ...

In pictures: Lahore attacks

BBC News - ‎2 hours ago‎
Militants have attacked two mosques packed with worshippers in the Pakistani city of Lahore, leaving dozens of people dead. Security forces flooded the area shortly after the attacks, which targeted mosques belonging to a minority sect during Friday ...

Eyewitness: Pakistan mosque attack

BBC News - ‎4 hours ago‎
Gunmen have attacked two mosques of the minority Ahmadi Islamic sect in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing dozens, officials say. Saleem Ulhaq Khan was inside one of the mosques, in the Model Town area. He describes what happened. ...

2 mosques of minority Islamic sect in Pakistan attacked

SahilOnline - ‎13 minutes ago‎
Lahore: "70 men were killed and 78 other were injured when two mosques belonging to the Ahmadi community in Pakistan was attacked by gunmen and suicide bombers during Friday prayer here", said Sajjad Dhutta, city coordinator officer. ...

Siege of Lahore mosques ends; over 60 dead, thousands rescued

NDTV.com - ‎4 hours ago‎
Heavily-armed terrorists stormed two packed mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in the Pakistani city of Lahore during Friday prayers, firing indiscriminately with automatic weapons and lobbing grenades. Over 60 people were killed, but hundreds held ...

India condemns terrorist attacks in Lahore

Oneindia - ‎1 hour ago‎
New Delhi, May 28 (ANI): The Government of India has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks that caused mayhem in Pakistan's Lahore city on Friday. "Government strongly condemns the terrorist attacks in Lahore that have claimed the lives of scores of ...

Timeline of articles

Timeline of articles
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Soft target for militants in Lahore
‎2 hours ago‎ - BBC News

Pakistan: Terrorists storm mosques; fire, lob grenades
‎8 hours ago‎ - NDTV.com

Ahmadis' worship places attacked, five killed
‎8 hours ago‎ - The News International

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Gunmen hold hundreds hostage, kill dozens in mosque attacks in Lahore, Pakistan
RT  -  5 hours ago Watch video



Gunmen attack two Pakistani mosques
ITN NEWS  -  5 hours ago Watch video



Lahore attacks: death toll rises
Express Tribune  -  8 hours ago Watch video



Terrorist attack in Model Town Lahore
Express Tribune  -  8 hours ago Watch video




28/05/2010

Train Sabotage: Who removed the fish plates?

Jhargram (WB) : At least 71 passengers of a Mumbai-bound express train were killed when Maoists derailed it in the wee hours of Friday with five of the 13 coaches that jumped the tracks also being hit by an oncoming goods train. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said that a "bomb blast" triggered by Maoists on the rail track caused the derailment of the Howrah-Kurla express train and that TNT explosives and Gelatine sticks were found at the accident site.

150 passengers were also injured in the derailment of of the Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express in West Midnapore district, about 150 kms from Kolkata at around 1:30 am, when the train was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations, South Eastern Railway officials said.

Railway officials said bodies of 71 persons have been recovered so far from the train wreckage.

Several passengers are feared trapped in the worst smashed S-5 compartment of the train which bore the brunt when the speeding goods train ploughed through the derailed coaches. Officials feared that the death toll could go up.

Five of the derailed carriages that slammed into the goods train were badly crushed and flipped on their sides with body parts clearly visible amid the twisted metal.

Rescue workers with bolt cutters struggled to free anyone still alive inside.

There was confusion on the exact cause of the disaster in the Maoist stronghold with Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee blaming it on a 'bomb blast' at the rail track while top brass of the West Bengal Police said it was an act of sabotage since fish plates were found removed.

DGP Bhupinder Singh, who said blast theory was yet to be established, also said pendral clips which are used to hold sections of tracks together were found missing over a 50-metre stretch at the accident spot. Some passengers also said they heard no blast.

"It is a clear case of sabotage. The Maoists have done it," Singh said.

Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram said in New Delhi the disaster appeared to be an act of sabotage, but it was not yet clear whether explosives were used in the blast.

Mamata said TNT explosives and gelatine sticks were also found at the accident site. Railway General Manager A P Mishra too said these materials were found on the tracks.

She said a patrol engine had passed through the disaster spot half an hour earlier, but the timing of the blast proved disastrous with a portion of the line being blown away.

IGP (Law and Order) S Karpurakayastha said in Kolkata that Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA)has left two posters near the rail tracks "clearly owning responsibility" for the derailment. The attack came as the Maoists observe a 'Black Week'.

A PCPA spokesman Asit Mahato later denied the group's involvement.

Five of the 13 derailed coaches fell on an adjacent track and were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite direction, Additional Superintendent of Police, Jhargram, Mukesh Kumar said.

Of the injured persons, 78 were admitted to the Kharagpur Railway Hospital, 39 to the Midnapore State General Hospital and 25 to Kharagpur Government Hospital.

Some of the injured were treated beside the track while the most serious cases were evacuated by IAF helicopters.

Source: Indian Express

28/05/2010

Train derailment: Maoist-backed PCPA claims responsibility

Helplines have been set up at Kharagpur - (0322) 255751 and 255735, Howrah - (033) 26382217, besides a toll free number 10722. Helplines have also been set up at Tatanagar (0657) 2290324, 2290074, 2290382, at Rourkela (0661) 2511155, Chakradharpur (06587) 238072 and Jharsuguda (06445) 270977.

Kolkata: Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) have claimed responsibility for the derailment of an express train that left at least 65 dead and over 150 injured early today.

"The PCAPA have left two posters near the rail tracks clearly owning responsibility for the derailment of the Kurla-bound Gyaneswari Express," IGP (Law and Order) S Karpurakayastha said here.

The posters read, "We earlier demanded withdrawal of the joint security forces from Jangalmahal (West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia) and end of CPI(M) atrocities, but those demands were not met."

Another poster demanded immediate withdrawal of the joint forces from the area. Police have seized both posters.

On October 27 last year, the PCPA had detained the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express for eight hours during a bandh called by the outfit.

Nearly 400 villagers owing allegiance to the PCPA had blocked the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express at Banstala halt in Jhargram.

The blockade was enforced as part of an indefinite bandh in the district to protest security force operations in the area.

Earlier the day, sixty-five passengers of a Maharashtra-bound express train were killed early on Friday and 200 injured in a Maoist attack which led to derailment of 13 coaches that were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite direction.

The bodies of the passengers were removed from the mangled remains of the ill-fated coaches of the Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express and the injured taken out with the help of gas cutters, a South Eastern Railway spokesman said.

"65 bodies have been recovered. The toll could go up," West Bengal Home Secretary Samar Ghosh said.

The incident occurred at 1:30 am when the train was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations, about 135 km from here, South Eastern Railway officials said.

In Kolkata, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Surojit Karpurokayastha said that according to preliminary investigation, fish plates were found removed at the derailment site.

Earlier, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said the derailment followed a blast apparently triggered by Maoists who are observing a 'black week'.

"We suspect Maoist hand behind the blast," Member (Traffic) Railway Board Vivek Sahai said. He said the driver of the train heard a loud explosion after which the train derailed. Railways are investigating if the tracks were tampered with, he said.

Five of the 13 derailed coaches fell on an adjacent track and were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite direction, Additional Superintendent of Police, Jhargram, Mukesh Kumar said.

Indian Air Force helicopters were pressed into service at the accident spot to airlift some of the injured to the hospitals.

Banerjee, who reached the accident spot, said a patrol engine had passed through the area half an hour earlier, but the timing of the blast proved disastrous with a portion of the line being blown away.

She announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of each of the dead and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.

This is the second Maoist attack on civilians this month. Naxals had blown up a civilian bus in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on May 17, killing at least 36 people, including 12 Special Police Officers.

Source: Indian Express

Orissa to take up train safety issue with railway ministry

Times of India - ‎35 minutes ago‎
BHUBANESWAR: Alarmed at the train tragedy near Jhargram in West Bengal, Orissa government today said it would take up train security issue with the railway ministry as over six lines in the state were identified as vulnerable to Maoist attack. ...

Deadly force

BBC News - ‎1 hour ago‎
Friday's train crash in India has been blamed on "sabotage" by Maoist rebels. It was the latest in a series of rebel attacks after the government launched an offensive against them. The BBC's Soutik Biswas asks whether the rebels are gaining the upper ...

Railways to halt night running of trains in WB, Orissa

The Hindu - ‎2 hours ago‎
PTI The Indian Railways on Friday decided to halt night running of some important trains in West Bengal and Orissa following the Maoist attack on Gyaneswari Express early on Friday in West Midnapore district that claimed over 70 lives. ...


"We will take up the matter with the railway ministry. The state will examine all aspects on safe rail movement in Orissa," Chief minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters while reacting to Maoist attack on Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Super Delux Express in neighbouring West Bengal.
more by Naveen Patnaik - 35 minutes ago - Times of India (1 occurrences)


76 die as Maoist sabotage derails train in West Bengal(2ndIntro Roundup)

Sify - ‎1 hour ago‎
Bengal), May 28 (IANS) At least 76 people were killed and about 200 injured Friday after the engine and 13 coaches of a Mumbai-bound train derailed and rolled over following Maoist sabotage and were hit by a freight train in West Bengal's West ...

Gyaneshwari Express derails, hit by goods train in Bengal; 71 dead, 200 injured

NDTV.com - ‎2 hours ago‎
At least 71 passengers were killed and 200 injured when 13 coaches of Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express derailed in West Midnapore district early today. Five of these coaches were also hit by a speeding goods train. (See Pics) The incident occurred at ...

Did the railways run pilot train ahead of Gyaneshwari?

Sify - ‎2 hours ago‎
Did the railways run a pilot train before the ill-fated Howrah-Kurla Gyaneshwari Express traversed the Maoist hotbed around Jhargram in West Bengal's West Midnapore district? Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee says yes, but sources in the railways ...

68 dead in Gyaneshwari Express blast by Maoists in West Bengal:(Lead)

Sify - ‎3 hours ago‎
At least 68 persons dead and over 200 injured when Mumbai bound Howrah-Kurla Gyaneshwati Express train collided with a goods train following blast near Jhargram in West Bengal's West Midanpore District in the wee hours of Friday. ...

Maoist cult of death

The Hindu - ‎26 minutes ago‎
"We are sorry," said a Communist Party of India (Maoist) spokesperson after a bomb went off under a crowded bus in Chhattisgarh earlier this month, killing 24 civilians, "but it could not be helped." Friday's tragedy in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur ...

Hamid Ansari expresses grief over West Bengal railway mishap

Sify - ‎3 hours ago‎
Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari has expressed deep grief and shock at the tragic loss of life and injuries to passengers resulting from the derailment of the Mumbai bound Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express in West Bengal ...

71 killed as trains derail in Bengal

Sify - ‎3 hours ago‎
Jhargram: At least 71 people were killed and about 200 injured early on Friday when a Mumbai-bound passenger train derailed, after a part of the track was sabotaged, and was rammed by a goods train in a Maoist bastion of West Bengal. ...

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Orissa to take up train safety issue with railway ministry
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65 killed as Maoist attack Maharashtra-bound train
‎12 hours ago‎ - Hindustan Times

Fifteen die as train derails in West Bengal
‎14 hours ago‎ - Sify

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27/05/2010

DRDO fires `swadeshi missile' at armed forces

New Delhi: The head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India's premier defence research organisation, said that responsibility for the low-level of self reliance in defence systems should not be borne by it alone.

DRDO fires `swadeshi missile' at armed forces

DRDO Chief V K Saraswat feels that the stake holders (India's Armed Forces) should opt for more indigenous weaponry.

DRDO Chief V K Saraswat was reacting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's declaration that India is lagging behind in indigenisation of defence products.

The Prime Minister, who was speaking on the occasion of National Technology Day at DRDO Bhavan on Wednesday, said that while the achievements of the research organisation should be lauded, in many areas competitors have 'often moved at a faster pace'.

DRDO fires `swadeshi missile' at armed forces

The armed forces feel that the DRDO promises too much but delivers too little.

"It is a fact that our current level of self-reliance in Defence R&D is less than our capabilities and it needs to be stepped up significantly," Singh said.

Saraswat declared at the same function that the burden for the low level of self reliance on defence technology should be shared by all stakeholders.

DRDO fires `swadeshi missile' at armed forces

There are also issued of inordinate delays in delivery of promised weaponry which makes off-the-shelf purchase from global markets more meaningful.

"DRDO has long been held responsible for the level of self reliance in defence systems, but it must be understood that the responsibility for self reliance should be shared by all stake-holders of MoD and cannot be placed on DRDO alone, which neither has the power to impose its products on its customer nor the mandate or capacity to produce the developed systems all by themselves," Saraswat said.

DRDO fires `swadeshi missile' at armed forces

The prime minister feels that there must be some amount of indigenisation of weaponry but is caught between the armed forces and DRDO.

However, giving the example of the civil nuclear deal, the Prime Minister advised scientists to stay ahead in the curve and develop the capacity to 'compete, to innovate and to deliver on time'. "If our systems are strong and robust, the world will respect us and be willing to work with us. This was the lesson we learnt in the process of negotiating the civil nuclear deal with the international community," Singh said.

He also pointed out that defence projects are lagging behind and emphasised that DRDO should work in tandem with the defence forces and industry.

Source: The Indian Express


The Great Indian Novel

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The Great Indian Novel  
AuthorShashi Tharoor
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Roman à clef, Satirical, Historical novel
PublisherViking Press
Publication date24 August 1989
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages384 (first edition, hardback)
ISBN ISBN 0-670-82744-4 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC Number24069762
Dewey Decimal823 20
LC ClassificationPR9499.3.T535 G7 1989c
Followed byShow Business (1992)

The Great Indian Novel is a satirical novel by Shashi Tharoor.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Plot introduction

It is a fictional work that takes the story of the Mahabharata, the epic of Hindu mythology, and recasts and resets it in the context of the Indian Independence Movement and the first three decades post-independence. Figures from Indian history are transformed into characters from mythology, and the mythical story of India is retold as a history of Indian independence and subsequent history, up through the 1980s. The work includes numerous puns and allusions to famous works about India, such as those by Rudyard Kipling, Paul Scott, and E. M. Forster.

The Mahabharata is an epic tale describing the dynastic struggle over the throne of the kingdom of Hastinapur between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, two branches of the heirs of the king Shantanu. In this novel, Tharoor recasts the story of the nascent Indian democracy as a struggle between groups and individuals closely related by their personal and political histories. Through his cantankerous narrator, Tharoor takes an irreverent tone towards figures such as Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who are ordinarily treated with reverence by Indians.

[edit] Explanation of the novel's title

The phrase "great Indian novel" is an allusion to the long-standing idea of the "Great American Novel" and is also a pun, roughly translating "Mahabharata" (maha "great"; Bharata "India"). The Mahabharata, which is not a novel but an epic poem, can be understood, according to Tharoor, to represent Hinduism's greatest literary achievement and thus serves as an appropriate paradigm in which to frame a retelling of recent Indian history.

A significant characteristic of Tharoor's version of the story is the emphasis on the older generations (e.g., Bhishma, Dhritarashtra, and Pandu) and the resulting de-emphasis on the actions of the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

[edit] Plot summary

The organization of the sections and chapters of the novel mirrors the organization of the Mahabharata and the themes and events addressed in each allude to themes and events of the mirrored sections of the epic. The novel has 18 "books," just as the Mahabharata has 18 books and the Battle of Kurukshetra lasted for 18 days.

[edit] The First Book: The Twice-Born Tale

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Beginning."

In this section, Ved Vyas ("V.V."), the narrator, recounts his personal history; the seduction of Satyavati by the Brahmin Parashar and his own birth; the origin of Ganga Datta from the union of Shantanu and the now absent Maharanee (whom he met on the banks of the Ganga and who had had seven suspicious miscarriages); the marriage of Shantanu and Satyavati and Ganga Datta's vow of chastity; the birth of Chitrangada and Vichitravirya and the latter's marriage; Ved Vyas's insemination of Ambika and Ambalika; the vow of revenge against Ganga Datta taken by Amba; the birth of Dhritarashtra and Pandu; and the assignment of Ganapathi by Brahm's Apsara Agency to transcribe Ved Vyas's memoir, which V.V. describes as the "Song of Modern India."

[edit] The Second Book: The Duel With the Crown

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Assembly Hall." The title of this section alludes to Paul Scott's The Jewel in the Crown. Ved Vyas also compares his memoir to The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian by Nirad Chaudhuri. The British resident's equerry is named "Heaslop," an allusion to a character in A Passage to India.

Introduced is the character of Sir Richard, the British resident at Hastinapur, who is complaining about the increasing radicalization of Ganga Datta, who is still serving as regent of Hastinapur. Sir Richard and his equerry discuss the intricacies of Indian language including the terms jemadar, bhisti, and lota. At one point, Sir Richard refers to Ganga Datta as "Ganga Din."

Ved Vyas discusses the upbringing of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidur Dharmaputra under the care of the regent, Ganga Datta. Dhritarashtra was intimidated by the atmosphere of Indian schools and took to British education like a fish in water, excelling in debate and taking a liking to Fabianism. Pandu, while strong and courageous, lacked judgment and took rash actions. Vidur's principal characteristic was modesty, and he became a skillful member of the Indian Civil Service.

Ganga Datta arranges Dhritarashtra's marriage to Gandhari, who, it has been prophesied, will bear a hundred sons. Pandu is wedded to Kunti Yadav, a beauty whose reputation is stained by a youthful affair with Hyperion Helios and also to the lisping Madri of the royal house of Shalya. Vidur is wedded to Divaki, daughter of Raja Devaka. Ganga Datta then announces his intention to leave the regency of Hastinapur to pursue a spiritual life.

Discovering the suffering of the people of Motihari, Ganga Datta embarks on his first protest campaign. Gangaji is arrested and he pleads guilty to defying a police order, but his action results in a victory for the peasants of Motihari.

[edit] The Third Book: The Rains Came

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Forest." The title of this section alludes to Louis Bromfield's The Rains Came.

Sir Richard refers to a brother, David, "who spends his time drawing pictures of animals." He also refers to a "terrorist" named Aurobindo (an allusion to Aurobindo Ghosh). The viceroy is named Lord Chelmsford. The court of Hastinapur has an English secretary Maurice Forster, who doesn't understand India and "prefers tutoring young boys to performing his more routine secretarial duties." Sir Richard also refers to the province's Lieutenant-Governor Scott. Pandu's physician is named Dr. Kimindama.

Sir Richard is furious about the events of Motihari and Heaslop notes that Gangaji had never formally resigned from the regency of Hastinapur. The regent having committed sedition, Hastinapur can now be annexed by British India.

Dhritarashtra and Gandhari's marriage is off to a good start. The devoted young bride has resolved to forever cover her eyes with a blindfold so that she is deprived of whatever her husband is deprived of. Pandu is also enjoying his two sexually expert wives. While enjoying sexual congress with both at once, he suffers a "massive coronary thrombosis" and is prohibited from ever again engaging in sexual intercourse. Pandu joins Gangaji's movement and instructs his wives to seek other sexual partners so that they may still bear him heirs. Kunti reveals that in her youth she bore Hyperion Helios's child but sent the baby boy down the river in a basket.

Gandhari the Grim gives birth not to a hundred sons, but to one daughter, Priya Duryodhani, who is to be the equivalent of a thousand sons.

[edit] The Fourth Book: A Raj Quartet

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Virata." The title of this section alludes to Paul Scott's Raj Quartet.

Hastinapur is annexed to the British Presidency of Marabar (an allusion to the "Marabar Hills," which figure prominently in A Passage to India). The people of Hastinapur are milling in the streets, threatening revolt. There is a rumour that Gangaji will address a rally at the Bibighar Gardens (an allusion to the "Bibighar," which figures prominently in A Jewel in the Crown). Heaslop counsels Sir Richard to let passions dissipate on their own, but Sir Richard instead calls in Colonel Rudyard and the Fifth Baluch, which starts firing on the unarmed gathering in the Bibighar Gardens. Almost 400 people are killed and more than a thousand are injured.

After the Bibighar Gardens Massacre, Colonel Rudyard is retired with a half-million pound pension. An unnamed Nobel Prize-winning poet (an allusion to Rabindranath Tagore) returns his knighthood. Gangaji kicks off the Quit India Movement (an allusion to the Quit India Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi). Bungling assassins kill a Professor Kipling instead of Colonel Rudyard. This Professor Kipling was the racist teacher whom a young Pandu had struck, resulting in the end of Pandu's formal education.

Vidur resigns from the civil service but Gangaji and Dhritarashtra order him to rescind his resignation. Dhritarashtra becomes head of the Kaurava Party and Pandu becomes the party's chief organizer.

Kunti bears the sons of Dharma (a young magistrate), Major Vayu of the palace guard, and Devendra Yogi: Yudhistir, Bhim the Brave, and Arjun. Exhausted, Kunti calls a halt to the cuckolding and Madri begs to be permitted to take up the torch. She has an affair with the twins Ashvin and Ashwin and bears the twin sons Nakul and Sahadev.

[edit] The Fifth Book: The Powers of Silence

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of War Preparations." The title of this section alludes to Paul Scott's The Towers of Silence.

During an epidemic, a Sarah Moore persuades her brother, the manager of a jute mill in Budge Budge, near Calcutta, to offer the mill workers a bonus. After the epidemic, the workers refuse to give up the bonus and are locked out. Sarahbehn enlists Gangaji's aid and Gangaji embarks on his first protest fast. The British Raj directs the Mill Owners' Association to give in.

[edit] The Sixth Book: Forbidden Fruit

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Bhishma."

A rift begins to develop between Dhritarashtra and Pandu, both working within the Kaurava Party to further the cause of Indian independence, with Pandu advocating a harder line than that pursued by Gangaji and Dhritarashtra. Gangaji attends the Round Table Conference hosted by the British government. Mahadeva Menon, a Kaurava Party official from Palghat, persuades Gangaji to do something about the tax on mangoes. Gangaji kicks off the Great Mango March, which prompts Pandu to leave the Kaurava Party.

In Chaurasta, a Kaurava protest turns violent and Gangaji calls off the mango agitation. Gangaji is called for a meeting with the viceroy and entertains an uncomfortable Sir Richard with the tale of why he drinks goat's milk instead of cow's milk.

[edit] The Seventh Book: The Son Also Rises

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Drona." The title of this section alludes to Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.

Ved Vyas describes the divisions in Indian society engendered by British policy and the formation of the Muslim Group under the figurehead leadership of the Gaga Shah, an "overweight sybarite." The arrogant and (literally) brilliant Mohammed Ali Karna, the son of Kunti and Hyperion Helios, educated by the generosity of Indra Deva, the employer of Karna's adoptive father, rises to prominence as a lawyer and as a member of the Kaurava Party. Dhritarashtra insults Karna upon discovering that his (adoptive) father is a chauffeur. Kunti sees Karna and realizes that he is her firstborn son. The story is told of how Indra Deva gave him the surname "Karna," the "Hacker-Off," after Karna circumcised himself with a knife. Karna leaves the movement and goes to England, but the Gaga Shah invites Karna back to India to lead the Muslim Group.

[edit] The Eighth Book: Midnight's Parents

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Karna." The title of this section alludes to Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children.

The five Pandavas and Priya Duryodhani grow up, each revealing their characters. Priya tries and fails to poison and drown her cousin Bhim. While playing cricket, the Pandavas meet the sage Jayaprakash Drona who tells the tale of his son, Ashwathaman, and his insult at the hands of Ronald Heaslop, which led him to his mission of educating young Indians in order to facilitate the overthrow of the British. The Pandavas choose Drona to be their tutor.

Pandu decides to seek the presidency of the Kaurava Party and Dhritarashtra fears that there is a good chance he will lose the election to Pandu. Gangaji persuades Dhritarashtra to step down in favor of a less prominent figure, and untouchable. Thus, if Pandu wins the election, then Gangaji and Dhritarashtra will not be seen as having suffered a defeat.

[edit] The Ninth Book: Him — Or, the Far Power-Villain

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Shalya." The title of this section alludes to Rudyard Kipling's Kim and to M. M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions.

Pandu is elected president of the Kaurava Party and a struggle begins between him and Gangaji for control over the direction of the party. Gangaji outmanoeuvres Pandu, who loses a vote of confidence and resigns.

Ved Vyas switches to verse to tell Pandu's story. Pandu forms the Onward Organisation (an allusion to the All India Forward Bloc), the OO. Pandu allies himself with the Nazis and the Japanese against the British and forms the Swatantra Sena (an allusion to the Indian National Army formed by Subhash Chandra Bose) to fight against British forces on the Burmese front. Pandu sends for Madri to join him and the sight of her wearing a military uniform begins to break down his control over his carnal desires. While fleeing from defeat in Singapore by air, Pandu and Madri succumb to their passion. Pandu dies of a heart attack and the plane is shot down, killing Madri as well.

[edit] The Tenth Book: Darkness at Dawn

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Sleeping Warriors." - title may be an allusion to Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon"

Ashwathaman joins the Pandavas as the students of Drona in the military, terroristic, and nationalistic arts. When Arjun has to share an academic prize with Ekalavya, the son of a maidservant, Ekalavya admits that he has been sharing in the Pandavas' lessons while standing outside the door. In exchange for payment for his tuition, Drona demands that Ekalavya cut off his own right thumb and give it to Drona. Unlike in the original Mahabharata, Tharoor's Ekalavya refuses and flees in horror. Drona has a good laugh.

Karna considers his options after the Muslim Group's candidates are bested by Muslim members of the Kaurava Party in the elections. Karna proposes a coalition government in the legislative assembly of the Northern Province. Vidur urges Dhritarashtra to accept Karna's proposal, even though the Kaurava Party controls enough seats in the Northern Province to rule without a coalition. Mohammed Rafi, a Muslim Kauravaman, urges rejection of Karna's offer and Dhritarashtra and Gangaji concede. Karna is resolved to find other means of gaining power.

The viceroy and Sir Richard consider what to do in reaction to the initiation of the Second World War. Sir Richard relates the story of Sir Francis Younghusband, who inadvertently annexed Tibet. ("He'd really intended just to see the tourist spots and to get a few good pictures of the Potala Palace, but one of his rifles went off accidentally and when he then saw all the notables on their knees cowering he couldn't really disappoint them by not conquering them.") Sir Richard persuades the viceroy to declare war on Germany without consulting the elected governments of the provinces.

Kaurava Party legislators react to the declaration of war by resigning en masse. The absence of the Kaurava Party in the administration benefits the Muslim Group, which takes over the government in three provinces. Gangaji initiates the Quit India Movement and the leaders of the Kaurava Party are imprisoned. The emboldened Muslim Group begins calling for a separate Muslim state, to be called Karnistan (the "Hacked-Off Land").

Amba, planning her revenge on Gangaji, goes to a plastic surgeon for a sex-change operation.

Following the end of the war, the Kaurava Party does well in the election, but the Muslim Group's strength is not diminished. The British government charges with treason the soldiers who joined Pandu's Swatantra Sena. Viscount Bertie Drewpad is appointed viceroy. His wife, Georgina, is excited at the prospect of dallying with lusty Indian men.

While Dhritarashtra plans to meet the new viceroy, his wife, Gandhari the Grim, lies dying, calling Priya Duryodhani her "son."

[edit] The Eleventh Book: Renunciation — Or, the Bed of Arrows

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Women." Lord Drewpad announces the British intent to withdraw from India on Aug, 15, 1947, to Dhritarashtra, Mohammed Rafi, Ved Vyas, Sardar Khushkismat Singh, and Karna. Dhritarashtra and the Kaurava Party agree to the Partition of India. A Mr. Nichols is assigned to draw the border between the two new countries, to the derision of an experienced administrator named Basham. Vidur assists the viceroy in making decisions related to the transfer of power.

Gangaji initiates an experiment in eliminating sexual desire by inviting Sarah-behn to sleep in his bed. While violence tears India apart, Dhritarashtra initiates an affair with Lady Drewpad. While India celebrates independence, Amba, now Shikhandin the Godless, assassinates Gangaji.

[edit] The Twelfth Book: The Man Who Could Not Be King

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Peace." The title of this section alludes to Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King. Ved Vyas refers to "Children being born at inconvenient times of the night who would go on to label a generation and rejuvenate a literature," which alludes to Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Drona's secretary is called Sir Beverley Twitty, K.C.M.G.

Jayaprakash Drona, now serving as Minister of State for Administrative Reform, gets his opportunity for revenge against Ronald Heaslop, who has lost everything in the rioting. Drona, instead of answering Heaslop's long-ago refusal to help him with co-ordinate cruelty, he offers Heaslop a job.

Georgina Drewpad's affair with Dhritarashtra (now prime minister of India) continues. On 26 January 1950, the day India becomes a republic, she gives birth to a daughter, who is given up for adoption and given the name Draupadi Mokrasi.

Vyabhichar Singh ("Mr. Z"), the maharaja of Manimir, tries to avoid acceeding either to India or Karnistan. Mohammed Rafi urges Dhritarashtra to ensure that Manimir remains part of India. Vidur, now Principal Secretary for Integration, counsels patience, hoping that Sheikh Azharuddin, a Kaurava ally, might be able to overthrow Mr. Z. Dhritarashtra decides to let Karna, now governor-general of Karnistan, make the first move, which he does, leaving the Indian government the perfect excuse to send in Khushkismat Singh, the Minister of Defence, with Indian troops. Vidur goes to Devpur to get Vyabhichar Singh to sign the instrument of accession, and persuades Colonel Bewakuf Jan to disturb the maharaja from his sporting with a Frenchwoman. Vidur states his case while the maharaja is fellated under an "enormous silk razai." The maharaja is finally persuaded to sign by his companion, "a steatopygous blonde wearing nothing but a look of panic." Vidur helps the maharaja flee to Marmu, his winter capital.

The Pathans invading Manimir get drunk and the Indian Army parachutes into Devpur. Dhritarashtra snatches defeat from the jaws of victory by halting the Indian Army's advance and calling in the United Nations.

Professor Jennings delivers a critique of his student, D. Mokrasi.

[edit] The Thirteenth Book: Passages Through India

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Bhishma's Final Instructions." The title of this section alludes to E. M. Forster's A Passage to India.

Drona decides to resign from government and do "constructive work" in rural areas, taking Ashwathaman with him. The five Pandavas they also want to go along and break the news to Kunti, their chain-smoking and still glamorous mother. In order to secure her blessing, Yudhishtir promises never to disobey his mother.

Dhritarashtra consults V. Kanika Menon, India's high commissioner in London, regarding what he should do about the increasing popularity of Drona and the Pandavas. Kanika counsels Dhritarashtra not to allow the Pandavas to attain too much political power, but Dhritarashtra is too idealistic to take the advice. Priya Duryodhani, however, is listening and she takes Kanika's advice seriously.

Vidur, now Secretary of the Home Ministry and head of the Central Bureau of Intelligence, goes to a Drona land reform rally to warn the Pandavas that Priya Duryodhani is plotting against them. Vidur arranges for the Pandavas to hide out in Varanavata with Kunti.

Karna, who has not been well, dies when he tries to pull a car out of the mud with his bare hands. Kunti, hearing the news, repeats her firtborn son's final gesture -- by shaking her fist at the sun.

[edit] The Fourteenth Book: The Rigged Veda

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Horse Sacrifice." The title of this section alludes to the Hindu sacred work the Rig Veda.

Purochan Lal, the owner of the hotel where Kunti is staying, is an agent of Priya Duryodhani. Vidur intercepts the cables and sends a coded message explaining that the house is coated with lac and will be set fire. The building is burnt, but Vidur arranges their escape while letting the world believe they have perished in the fire.

Vidur tells Dhritarashtra about a joke by Winston Churchill botched by Khushkismat Singh. After discussing the Manimir situation, Dhritarashtra appoints Kanika to replace Singh as Minister of Defence.

The Pandavas wander India sticking up for the rights of the downtrodden. The refuse to take sides between two corrupt landlords, Pinaka and Saranga (whose men attacked a man named Hangari Das).

Dhritarashtra and Kanika start the "non-aligned" movement. They decide to annex the Portuguese colony of Comea.

Bhim saves a beautiful girl from her abusive brother, Hidimba ("a large man with a small goatee"), and weds.

The Chairman of the People's Republic of Chakra, watching the annexation of Comea by India, orders the Chakar People's Liberation Army to cross the Big Mac Line and annex the nation of Tibia, on the Indian border. In order to enter Tibia from the province of Drowniang, however, Chakar troops must cross into territory claimed by India.

Bhim has a baby son, Ghatotkach, who is born in the town of Ekachakra. Sahadev challenges the champion wrestler Bakasura and is trounced. Kunti is annoyed with her other sons for allowing Sahadev to go through with it.

The Chakars annex a piece of Indian territory and the humiliation breaks Dhritarashtra's heart and he dies.

[edit] The Fifteenth Book: The Act of Free Choice

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Hermitage." Dhritarashtra leaves nothing in his will to Draupadi Mokrasi and her adoptive father worries that he will not be able to find her a suitable husband.

The Kaurava Party's Working Committee appoints the "honest but limited" Shishu Pal to replace Dhritarashtra as prime minister.

Ved Vyas convenes a training camp where the Pandavas are captivated by Draupadi. Priya Duryodhani is annoyed that Draupadi is drawing the attention away from her lectures and orders Ved Vyas to get Draupadi married. In Ved Vyas's mind, only Arjun is good enough for Draupadi, but he realises that Arjun will not be faithful to her. Priya Duryodhani decides to match her up with Ekalavya, of whom Drona had demanded his right thumb, and, apparently with whom Priya Duryodhani had had a youthful fling. Draupadi chooses Arjun, but through a misunderstanding, Kunti instructs the Pandavas to share equally the "surprise" they have brought home. All five Pandavas marry Draupadi, Ved Vyas using his father's magic to ensure that she is a virgin for each of the five successive wedding nights. Bhim's wife leaves him.

Perceiving India as weak following its defeat at the hands of the Chakars, Karnistan invades Manimir again. Shishu Pal directs a successful counterattack. Shishu Pal dies of a heart attack after signing a cease fire.

Unable to find a successor that is universally unobjectionable, the Working Committee is persuaded by Ved Vyas to appoint Priya Duryodhani.

The Pandavas work out a strict schedule to share Draupadi's bed. Arjun violates the rule when he goes to retrieve the manuscript of a speech while Yudhishtir and Draupadi are together. Under the rules, Arjun is banned from his conjugal rights for a year. Arjun decides to spend the year as a "roving correspondent" for a newspaper and, in addition to witnesses the condition of the people, he finds a new sexual companion in every locale he visits.

Arjun ends up in Gokarnam where he meets Dwarakaveetile Krishnankutty Parthasarathi Menon (known as "Krishna"), the local Kaurava Party secretary who has recently unseated the local political machine boss, Kamsa. When Arjun first sees Krishna, he is using a traditional dance form, Ottamthullal, as a medium for social satire. Arjun and Krishna become close friends and Arjun falls for Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Krishna advises Arjun to woo her through abduction. In the dark, a confused Arjun mistakenly abducts Kameswari. A second attempt is more successful and the two are married.

Arjun cables Draupadi, telling her that he is bringing home a new maid, making their eventual meeting rather uncomfortable. However, by the time Draupadi and Subhadra give birth to their sons, Prativindhya and Abhimanyu, they are as close as sisters.

[edit] The Sixteenth Book: The Bungle Book — Or, the Reign of Error

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Maces." The title of this section alludes to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

The Kaurava Party is dealt a blow in state and local elections, although still holding a majority in the national Parliament. Yudhishtir suggests that new leadership is needed. Priya Duryodhani agrees to a national election. Yudhishtir is named deputy prime minister, but is shut out of the Cabinet by Priya Duryodhani and Yudhishtir resigns.

Ashwathaman, Drona' son and the leader of a socialist splinter party, is invited by Priya Duryodhani to join the Kaurava Party Working Committee. Priya Duryodhani takes Ashwathaman's side in advocating the elimination of the privy purses of India's former princes. Yudhishtir resigns from the Working Committee. Priya Duroydhani and Ashwathaman then champion a bill to nationalise the banks.

Dr. Mehrban Imandar, the president of India, dies. The Kaurava Old Guard thwarts Priya Duryodhani by nominating Ved Vyas as the Kaurava Praty's candidate for president. Priya Duryodhani backs Ekalavya as an independent candidate. The Working Committee expels Ekalavya from the Kaurava Party for opposing the party's official candidate. Before the Working Committee can act to expel Priya Duryodhani, Ekalavya narrowly wins the election.

Priya Duryodhani splits the Kaurava Party, forming the Kaurava Party (R) ("R" for "real") to oppose the Kaurava Party (O) ("O" for "official" or "old guard"). Priya Duryodhani wins with the support of the Left.

Jarasandha Khan, the military dictator ruling Karnistan, decides to call elections. The Gelabin People's Party, representing the Gelabi people of East Karnistan, wins a majority in the Karnistani Parliament. Zaleel Shah Jhoota persuades Jarashanda Khan to declare the election results null and void and declare martial law in East Karnistan. Priya Duryodhani enters the conflict on the side of the Gelabins and the Gelabi Desh War results in the creation of a new nation-state. The success against Karnistan boosts Priya Duryodhani's popularity, but her rule grows increasingly oppressive.

[edit] The Seventeenth Book: The Drop of Honey — A Parable

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Great Journey."

Drona leads the opposition to Priya Duryodhani's rule. Priya Duryodhani is convicted of electoral misconduct. Shakuni Shankar Dey, a Bengali lawyer and president of the Kaurava (R) Party, counsels her to declare a Siege and seize dictatorial powers. President Ekalavya concedes to the seizure of emergency powers. Priya Duryodhani orders the arrest of her political opponents.

[edit] The Eighteenth Book: The Path to Salvation

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Ascent to Heaven." Ved Vyas refers to the Kama Sutra as the "Great Indian Novelty."

Priya Duryodhani calls elections. Ved Vyas chooses Krishna to lead the opposition campaign. Priya Duryodhani thus gets Krishna's experienced Kaurava Party grassroots electoral machine. At a critical moment, Krishna persuades Arjun that he should criticise Priya Duryodhani's administration instead of remaining a disinterested reporter. Bhim, Nakul, and Sahadev stay out of the campaign, refaining from endorsing either party. The People's Front defeats the Kaurava (R) Party.

Drona and Ved Vyas consult with the parties of the People's Front coalition to choose the new prime minister. Their ultimately erroneous choice is Yudhishtir. Ashwathaman is appointed head of the party organisation. The People's Front leadership gathers at the Taj Mahal for a ceremonial oath.

The return of Krishna to local politics marks the beginning of the failure of the People's Front. Yudhishtir proves to be "as stiff and straight-backed and humourless as his critics had always portrayed him, and his colossal self-righteousness was not helped by his completely inability to judge the impression he made on others." Yudhishtir becomes a target of fun in the national and international press when he admits to drinking his own urine. The "strongmen" of Yudhishtir's cabinet are locked in squabbles and Yudhishtir "remained tightly self-obsessed, seemingly unaware that half of those who sat on the executive branch with him were busily engaged in sawing it off."

Priya Duryodhani, labeling the faltering government as the "Backward Front," begins to gain political strength again. As Zaleel Shah Jhoota is toppled in another Karnistani military coup, Priya Duryodhani runs rings around her prosecutors while being tried for subverting the constitution.

Yudhishtir suffers another publicity blow when he attends a speech by a holy man who uses the word "Untouchables" instead of "Harijans." Ashwathaman criticises Yudhishtir and the party organisation awaits word from an ailing Drona that it is time for Yudhishtir to go. Yudhishtir dispatches Sahadev to tell Drona that Ashwathaman's plane has crashed. When asked Yudhishtir confirms that "Ashwathaman is dead" and Drona dies without throwing support to Yudhishtir's opponents in the People's Front.

When Ved Vyas confronts Yudhishtir regarding his lie about Ashwathaman, Yudhishtir says that early that day he had caught a cockroach, named it Ashwathaman, and killed it; thus, his statement to Drona was not a lie. Ved Vyas refuses to accept Yudhishtir's explanation and abandons him. In any case, Yudhishtir's deception is ultimately pointless. The government falls and Priya Duryodhani is victorious in the next election.

Ved Vyas sees a vision in which the Pandavas, Draupadi, and Krishna hike up a mountain. One by one they are killed, except for Yudhishtir, who reaches the top. When Kalaam, the god of time, offers to bear Yudhishtir to the court of history, Yudhishtir refuses to leave his faithful dog behind. The dog reveals himself to be Dharma, Yudhishtir's father, and the three board Kalaam's chariot together. In the court of history, Yudhishtir is stunned to find a place of honour given to Priya Duryodhani.

[edit] Characters in "The Great Indian Novel"

Figures from history and characters from the Mahabharata can be directly correlated to characters in the book or to more general allegorical references. In many cases, characters are related to multiple real personages and vice versa:

Character from the NovelMahabharata CharacterHistorical Figure
Ved Vyas (V.V.-ji), the narrator, 88 years old and forced into retirement from politics, dictates his memoir Vyasa, son of the wandering sage Parashar and fisherman's daughter Satyavati; author of the Vedas and the Mahabharata; father of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidur; when Ambika and Ambalika were sent to him to be inseminated, his ugliness caused Ambika to close her eyes (resulting in Dhritarashtra's blindness) and made Ambalika turn pale (resulting in Pandu's physical infirmity)C. Rajagopalachari ("Rajaji"), close associate of Gandhi and last governor-general of India, Sanjeeva Reddy, ex-Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh, ex-speaker Lok Sabha, defeated by V.V. Giri in the presidential election in 1969, though being the official Congress candidate, last elected as President in 1977. Acharya Kriplani, who along with Jayaprakash Narayan, was instrumental in getting Morarji Desai elected unanimously as Prime Minister candidate of the Janata party in 1977. V. V. Giri, writer, orator, politician, labour activist, freedom fighter; served in many offices, including as governor of several states, president of India and labour minister.
Ganapathi, a young South Indian scribe sent by Ved Vyas's friend Brahm to transcribe the tale; he is described as having a "big nose and shrewd, intelligent eyes," an "elephantine treat, broad forehead," a "substantial belly" and "dragging an enormous trunk behind him"Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god who wrote down Vyasa's account of the Mahabharata  
Kanika, Minister of Hastinapura and Duryodhani's advisorKanika, Minister of HastinapuraKrishna Menon, the defence minister during the China war
Ganga Datta (Gangaji or the Mahaguru), a celibate spiritual leader who begins his career as the regent of Hastinapur Bhishma (Devavrata), celibate son of Shantanu and the river Ganga; his oath of celibacy led him to reject Amba; regent who rules Hastinapur in the absence of a legitimate ruler in the line of Satyavati, his father's second wife Mahatma Gandhi ("Gandhiji" or the Mahatma), spiritual leader of the independence movement, who advocated celibacy
Lady Georgina Drewpad, wife of the viceroy and lover of Dhritarashtra Edwina Mountbatten, wife of the viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, who, it is rumoured, was a paramour of Nehru's
Dhritarashtra the blind, the son of Ved Vyas and Ambika, the elder heir to VichitraviryaDhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastinapur Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, often termed a blind idealist
Pandu the pale, the son of Ved Vyas and Ambalika, the younger heir to Vichitravirya, who is cursed with a heart condition that prevents him from enjoying sexual intercourse; he allows his two wives sexual freedom so that they may bear him sons (the five Pandavas). He dies when he finally succumbs to the charms of his second wife on an airplane.Pandu, brother of Dhritarashtra, who suffers from a curse that says he will die if he ever engages in sexual intercourse (he eventually dies when he has sex with his second wife); his two wives take advantage of a spell through which they bear the sons of the gods (the five Pandavas)Shubhash Chandra Bose, the independence leader who, in contrast with Gandhi, took up arms against the British and accepted help from the Axis powers in establishing the Indian National Army. He was last seen boarding an airplane that disappeared in flight.
Vidur Hastinapuri (Vidur Dharmaputra), the wise, the son of Ved Vyas and Ambika's maidservantVidura, son of Vyasa and a maid, who was sent by Ambika and Ambalika to avoid having to have intercourse with him again; prime minister to Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Duryodhan; saved the Pandavas' lives on multiple occasionsSardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who forced the accession of the princely states and established the Indian Administrative Service
Jayaprakash DronaDrona, the instructor in the arts of warfare to the Pandavas and KauravasJayaprakash Narayan, a former freedom fighter who opposed the rule of Indira Gandhi; leader of the Janata Party, which defeated Congress in the 1977 elections
Draupadi Mokrasi ("Di Mokrasi"), illegitimate daughter of Dhritarashtra and Lady Drewpad, and wife to all five PandavasDraupadi, wife to all five Pandavas Democracy
Viscount DrewpadDrupada, the Raja of Panchala, and lifelong enemy of Drona; father of Draupadi and Shikhandi Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India
Ronald Heaslop, a British official who was once friends with Drona, but when Drona asks him for assistance, Heaslop insults him Drupada, the Raja of Panchala, who was a childhood friend of Drona, but when Drona asked for his help, Drupada insulted him A reference to a character (also a British official in the days of the Raj) from A Passage to India by E. M. Forster.
Gandhari the GrimGandhari, Dritarasthra's long suffering wifeKamala Nehru, who endured the many sexual infidelities of her husband, Jawaharlal Nehru
Shakuni Shankar DeyShakuni, Gandhari's wily brother, who helps Duryodhan by taking advantage of Yudhishtira's gambling addiction to engineer the Pandavas' exileSiddhartha Shankar Ray, who held emergency dictatorial powers in West Bengal during the Naxalite uprising .
Shishu Pal, Dhritarashtra's short-lived successorShalya, Madri's brotherLal Bahadur Shastri, the second prime minister, who directed a military victory against Pakistan, but died while attending cease-fire talks
Gaga Shah, founder of the Muslim Group Aga Khan III, nobleman and imam of the Ismailis and one of the founders of the All-India Muslim League
Amba/Shikhandin, one of three royal sisters seized by Ganga Datta to be wives to Vichitravirya; Amba was in love with Raja Salva of Saubal and in the end was rejected by Salva, Vichitravirya, and Ganga Datta; she swore revenge on Ganga Datta and was instrumental in his eventual deathAmba/Shikhandi (Shikhandini), who was rejected as a wife by Bhishma and was reborn as a man to get revenge; eventually instrumental the death of Bhishma at KurukshetraNathuram Godse, the killer of Gandhi
Ambika and AmbalikaAmbika and Ambalika, the sisters of Amba, who were married to Vichitravirya. When Vichitravirya died without issue, they were sent to Ved Vyas to be impregnated; horrified by Ved Vyas's appearance, Ambika closed her eyes and Ambalika turned pale with fear; on a second occasion, Ambika sent her maidservant to Ved Vyas in her stead 
the Kaurava Partythe Kauravas, the villains led by Duryodhan, who usurp the Pandavas from the rulership of Hastinapurthe Congress party
Kaurava Party (Real) the Congress (I) Party
Kaurava Party (Old Guard)  the Indian National Congress (Organisation)
Priya Duryodhani, the autocratic villain, daughter of Dhritarashtra and head of the Kaurava Party Duryodhana, eldest of Dhritarashtra's 100 sons, leader of the Kauravas Indira Gandhi, daughter of Nehru, and third prime minister, who, in the early 1970s, declared an "emergency" and seized dictatorial powers
Mohammad Ali Karna, son of Kunti and Hyperion Helios, the leader of the Muslim Groupo and father of Karnistan; known as Khalifa-e-Mashriq ("Caliph of the East")Karna, the elder brother of the Pandavas, who becomes an associate of Duryodhan after the Pandavas reject him Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan, who began his career as a colleague of Nehru and Gandhi in the Indian National Congress; known as Quaid-e-Azam ("Great Leader")
the People's Frontthe Pandavas, the heroes led by Yudhisthirthe Janata Party
Yudhishtir Yudhishtira, eldest of the five Pandava brothers, who embodies the concept of dharma, justice, honesty, virtue; the son of Kunti and the god Yama Morarji Desai, the honest but ineffective fourth prime minister; the Indian Judiciary
BhimBhima, the second Pandava, who embodies the concept of strength; son of Kunti and the god Vayu The Indian Army, seen as the sole incorruptible institution in Indian society
ArjunArjuna, the third Pandava and an expert archer, who served as supreme commander of the Pandava forces at Kurukshetra; son of Kunti and the warrior god Indrathe Indian news media
Nakul and Sahadev The two youngest Pandavas; twin sons of Madri and the Ashwins, the Light of Sunrise and the Light of SunsetThe Civil Service and the Foreign Service
Khushkismat Singh, the Sikh defence minister who embarrasses himself by botching a joke Sardar Baldev Singh, India's defence minister. Khushwant Singh, journalist, essayist, satirist, and humourist
D. Krishna Menon, a local South Indian politician, Arjun's friend and advisorKrishna, God, and Arjun's charioteer at Kurukshetra  
EkalavyaEkalavyaV. V. Giri, writer, orator, politician, labour activist, freedom fighter; served in many offices, including as governor of several states, president of India and labour minister. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, the Indian president who assented to Indira Gandhi's seizure of emergency powers
Dr. Mehrban Imandar Zakir Hussain (politician), the third president of India, whose death sparked a struggle between Indira Gandhi and her Congress Party colleagues
Jarasandha Khan, the president of Karnistan who moves to suppress the Gelabins; defeated in the Gelabi Desh WarJarasandha, a powerful king who is defeated only when Bhima, Arjuna, and Krishna work together to tear him in two Ayub Khan or Yahya Khan, Dictators of Pakistan
Zaleel Shah Jhoota  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, successor to Yahya Khan
Vyabichar Singh Hari Singh, raja of Kashmir in 1947

[edit] Major themes


[edit] Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

Certain places and events in the novel can also be correlated to real places

Place in the NovelActual Place
Gelabin ("Gelabin" is anagram of "Bengali". Also a pun: "(a) girl I've been" as opposed to "been girl") Bengal
Manimir ("money" as opposed to "cash")
Summer capital, Devpur
Winter capital, Marmu ("marmalade" as opposed to "jam"
Kashmir
Summer capital, Srinagar
Winter capital, Jammu
Karnistan ("The Hacked Off Land") Pakistan
Comea ("come" as opposed to "go")Goa
Great Mango MarchGandhi's Great Salt March
the Hastinapur Massacre at the Bibighar Gardens the Amritsar Massacre at Jallianwallah Bagh
Chakra (and its capital Snoop-ing) China and its capital Peking ("peek-ing")
the annexation of Hastinapurthe annexation of Oudh
the Siegethe Emergency, during which Indira Gandhi seized dictatorial powers
the Northern ProvinceUnited Provinces of Agra and Oudh
Laslut ("slut" as synonym for "whore")Lahore


[edit] Release details

  • 1989, UK, Viking (ISBN t/k), Pub date 15 August 1989 (First edition)
  • 1989, India, Viking Press (ISBN 0-670-82744-4), Pub date 24 August 1989, hardback (First edition)
  • 1990, UK, Penguin Books (ISBN t/k), Pub date March 1990, paperback
  • 1990, India, Penguin Books (ISBN 0-14-012049-1), Pub date 26 July 1990, paperback
  • 1991, USA, Arcade (ISBN 1-55970-116-1), Pub date ? April 1991, hardback
  • 1993, USA, Arcade (ISBN 1-55970-194-3), Pub date ? April 1993, paperback
  • 1994, UK, Picador (ISBN 0-330-33490-5), Pub date 20 May 1994, paperback
  • translations into French (Seuil), German (Claasen Verlag: hardback, Suhrkamp: paperback), Italian (Frassinelli), Malayalam (DC Books), Spanish (Akal)
Fight Naxals politically, don't ignore Salwa Judum threat: CPI leader D. Raja Sujay Mehdudia
"The only way to bring peace is to restore civil administration in tribal areas"

"Salwa Judum victims have not got justice"

Killings of CRPF jawans killings in Chhattisgarh condemned


NEW DELHI: Asserting that Left wing extremism had to be fought politically and ideologically, Communist Party of India MP D. Raja called upon the Union government to rework its strategy in dealing with naxalism, stating that the only way to bring peace was to restore the civil administration and provide justice in tribal areas.

Mr. Raja, who intervened during the Rajya Sabha debate on the recent attack on the CRPF in Chhattisgarh, also came down heavily on the government-sponsored vigilante group, Salwa Judum, which he termed a threat to democratic politics.

He said the State government's failure to give justice had made the problem worse. "The victims of Salwa Judum have not got justice and they have not been given rehabilitation." Quoting intelligence figures, he said Maoist numbers had swelled by at least 22 per cent since Salwa Judum began.

Condemning the killings of CRPF jawans in the strongest terms, Mr. Raja said the tribal people in Chhattisgarh are today increasingly getting alienated. "In the name of mining operations, in the name of projects, in the name of development they are being evicted from their place of living. The forest wealth is being handed over to the corporate sector and to the MNCs. Neoliberal policies which are imposed on the tribal people of Chhattisgarh have created this kind of situation," he argued.

He said the Chhattisgarh government had agreed on October 17, 2008 to rehabilitate and compensate villagers whose houses had been burnt down by the Salwa Judum. However, nothing had been done. "The Union government, despite acknowledging in court that Salwa Judum has burnt houses and committed illegal acts, continues to glorify and praise [it]. If you say Left-wing extremism is a threat to parliamentary democracy, Salwa Judum, a non-state player, is also a threat to the democratic politics," he remarked.

On February 2, 2010, he said, the Supreme Court asked Nandini Sundar, Kartam Joga, Manish Kunjam and other petitioners before it to file a comprehensive rehabilitation plan. "The State government in Chhattisgarh took two weeks to file a response but has not done anything till now." The main aspects of this rehabilitation plan were to: (a) identify affected persons through survey, (b) hold sittings of district judges in block headquarters, etc., (c) deal with heinous crimes like rape, murder and restore essential services in the villages. All this was to be supervised by a senior retired judge or retired secretary to the Union government, he said.

Responding to Home Minister P. Chidambaram's statement that "human rights activists" should guarantee that Maoists would not again demolish schools the government rebuilds, Mr. Raja asked whether the government was ready to guarantee that "schools will be allowed to run as schools, not as camps of security forces." School buildings in tribal areas had been taken over by the security forces, he said. "Can [Mr. Chidambaram] assure the nation that school buildings will be used for schooling the children of tribal people?"

Quoting The Hindu report of April 14, 2010, Mr. Raja said the Maoists had indicated that they were ready for a simultaneous ceasefire. "Can the government remain adamant? [The Home Minister] says that if [the Maoists] abjure violence, then only [the government] can speak. But ceasefire or giving up violence has to be a matter agreed upon by two sides."

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/21/stories/2010042153941200.htm
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    26 Feb 2010 ... A recent statement by a pro-Vidarbha leader that he would welcome ... Meanwhile, seized Naxal literature being analyzed by the security ...
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Mrinal Sen

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Mrinal Sen
মৃনাল সেন
BornMay 14, 1923 (1923-05-14) (age 87)
Faridpur, East Bengal, British India

Mrinal Sen (Bengali: মৃনাল সেন, also spelled Mrinal Shen) is a famous Bengali Indian filmmaker.[1] He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the University of Calcutta. As a student, he got involved with the cultural wing of the Communist party . Although he never became a member of the party, his association with the socialist Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA ) brought him close to a number of like-minded culturally associated people.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Early life

His interest in films started after he stumbled upon a book on film aesthetics. However his interest remained mostly intellectual, and he was forced to take up the job of a medical representative, which took him away from Calcutta. This did not last very long, and he came back to the city and eventually took a job of an audio technician in a Calcutta film studio, which eventually launched his film career.

[edit] His directorial debut

Mrinal Sen made his first feature film, Raatbhor, in 1955. It had iconic Uttam Kumar who wasn't a star then.The movie was a let-down. His next film, Neel Akasher Neechey (Under the Blue Sky), earned him local recognition, while his third film, Baishey Shravan (Wedding Day) was his first film that gave him international exposure.

[edit] Sen and New Cinema in India

After making five more films, he made a film with a shoe-string budget provided by the Government of India. This film, Bhuvan Shome (Mr. Shome), finally launched him as a major filmmaker, both nationally and internationally. Bhuvan Shome also initiated the "New Cinema" film movement in India.[2]

[edit] Social context and its political influence

The films that he made next were overtly political, and earned him the reputation as a Marxist artist.[3] This was also the time of large-scale political unrest throughout India. Particularly in and around Calcutta, this period underwent what is now known as the Naxalite movement. This phase was immediately followed by a series of films where he shifted his focus, and instead of looking for enemies outside, he looked for the enemy within his own middle class society. This was arguably his most creative phase.

[edit] Depiction of Kolkata

In many Mrinal Sen movies from Punascha to Mahaprithibi, Kolkata features prominently. He has shown Kolkata as a character, and as an inspiration. He has beautifully woven the people, value system, class difference and the roads of the city into his movies and coming of age for Kolkata, his El-Dorado.[4]

[edit] Experimentation, recognition and acclaim

During this period, he won a large number of international awards. It could be argued that although his films show the development of ideas from existentialism, surrealism, Marxism, German expressionism , French Nouvelle Vague and Italian neorealism, in their stylistic nuances, these films often parallel the cinema of Woody Allen.[citation needed] Like Allen's cinema, Sen's cinema for the most, do not provide a happy ending or a definitive conclusion (unlike many of the films of Sen's better known contemporary Satyajit Ray). In many of Sen's later films, the audience becomes a participant in the process of the development of the plot. The director invites and provokes the audience into a shared process of forming multiple conclusions, that are at the same time unique and different. The director does not play the role of god, his audience does. It is not really surprising that unlike Allen who has a steady niche audience in the Western literati and aficionados, Sen's experimentation with parallel cinema had significantly cost him much of a devoted audience composing of largely the Calcutta based westernized intelligentsia.

Mrinal Sen never stopped experimenting with his medium. In his later films he tried to move away from the narrative structure and worked with very thin story lines. After a long gap of eight years, at the age of eighty, he made his latest film, Aamaar Bhuvan, in 2002.

During his career, Mrinal Sen's film have received awards from almost all major film festivals, including (Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Montreal, Chicago, and Cairo). Retrospectives of his films have been shown in almost all major cities of the world. He has also received a number of honorary doctorate degrees (D.Litt Honoris Causa) from various universities. Mrinal Sen was also elected as the president of the International Federation of the Film Societies. He received the Taj Enlighten Tareef Award which is given for a lifetime contribution to the world of cinema in 2008. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th edition of the Osian's Cinefest Film Festival 2008.

[edit] Awards

[edit] National awards

National Film Awards

Best Director
1969 Bhuvan Shome
1979
1980 Ek Din Pratidin
1984 Akaler Sandhane
Best Screenplay
1974 Padatik
1983 Akaler Sandhane
1984 Kharij

Filmfare Awards

Critics Award for Best Film
1976 Mrigayaa
Best Screenplay
1984 Khandhar

[edit] International awards

Moscow International Film Festival - Silver Prize
1975 Chorus
1979 Parashuram

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Special Jury Prize
1977 Oka Oori Katha

Berlin International Film Festival
Interfilm Award
1979 Parashuram
1981 Akaler Sandhane
Grand Jury Prize
1981 Akaler Sandhane

Cannes Film Festival - Jury Prize
1983 Kharij

Valladolid International Film Festival - Golden Spike
1983 Kharij

Chicago International Film Festival - Gold Hugo
1984 Khandhar

Montreal World Film Festival - Special Prize of the Jury
1984 Khandhar

Venice Film Festival - Honorable Mention
1989 Ek Din Achanak

Cairo International Film Festival - Silver Pyramid for Best Director
2002 Aamaar Bhuvan

[edit] State honours

He is also the recipient of many state-awarded honors.

[edit] Trivia

  • He is a friend of Gabriel García Márquez and had often been invited as a judge in international film festivals.
  • In 2004, Mrinal Sen completed his autobiographical book, Always Being Born.

[edit] Quotations


  • As you walk into the world, after having been groomed by a film institute, I sincerely wish you a very tough time.
  • All film makers have to be social scientists.
  • You have to see a lot of things...You just have to keep improvising...In Akaler Sandhane ,almost 60% of the final script is improvised.
  • You have to fight for everything...Usually all film makers say they are realists when they really are fantasizing all the time.
  • I like it when my film is appreciated. If it is liked by the masses, it becomes commercially viable.If it doesn't,you either collapse like I do or you say that "I don't care'". That is a defence mechanism.
  • A film has to be an experience that has to be felt,it cannot be merely be argued over.

[edit] Filmography[6]

[edit] Feature Films

[edit] Short Films

  • Ichhapuran (The Wish Fulfillment) (1970)
  • Tasveer Apni Apni (Portrait of an Average Man) (1984)
  • Aparajit (Unvanquished) (1986-87)
  • Kabhi Door Kabhi Paas (Sometimes Far, Sometimes Near) (1986-87)
  • Swamvar (The Courtship) (1986-87)
  • Aina (The Mirror) (1986-87)
  • Ravivar (Sunday) (1986-87)
  • Aajkaal (These Days) (1986-87)
  • Do Bahene (Two Sisters) (1986-87)
  • Jit (Win) (1986-87)
  • Saalgira (Anniversary) (1986-87)
  • Shawl (1986-87)
  • Ajnabi (The Stranger) (1986-87)
  • Das Saal Baad (Ten Years Later) (1986-87)

[edit] Documentaries

  • Moving Perspectives (1967)
  • Tripura Prasanga (1982)
  • City Life - Calcutta My El Dorado (1989)
  • And the Show Goes On - Indian Chapter (1999)

[edit] Films on Mrinal Sen

  • Ten Days in Calcutta - A Portrait of Mrinal Sen (Directed by Reinhard Hauff) (1984)
  • With Mrinal Sen (Directed by Sanjay Bhattacharya and Rahul Bose) (1989)
  • Portrait of a Filmmaker (Directed by Romesh Sharma) (1999)

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Memories from Mrinalda". Rediff. Rediff.com. February 1, 2005. http://us.rediff.com/movies/2005/feb/02mrinal.htm. Retrieved January 27, 2010. 
  2. ^ Vasudev, Aruna (1986). The New Indian Cinema. Macmillan India. ISBN 0333909283. 
  3. ^ Thorval, Yves (2000). Cinemas of India. Macmillan India. ISBN 0333934105. 
  4. ^ "Mrinal Sen movies and Kolkata". http://www.gomolo.in/features/article.aspx?ArticleID=249. 
  5. ^ The International Who's Who 2004
  6. ^ "Mrinal Sen". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0784019/. Retrieved January 27, 2010. 

[edit] External links

Are India's Maoist rebels winning the war?

Tribespeople in Lalgarh, West Midnapore
Tribespeople in parts of West Bengal support the rebels

Friday's train crash in India has been blamed on "sabotage" by Maoist rebels. It was the latest in a series of rebel attacks after the government launched an offensive against them. The BBC's Soutik Biswas asks whether the rebels are gaining the upper hand.

It is not surprising that Maoist rebels are being blamed for the derailment of an express train in India's West Bengal state, in which 71 passengers were killed.

The police claim they have found posters signed by a local Maoist militia claiming responsibility for removing part of the track, which led to the train skidding off and colliding with a freight train coming in the opposite direction.

West Midnapore district, where the incident happened, is the hotbed of Maoist rebellion in West Bengal, one of the states where the rebels have a presence.

Tribespeople dominate the district, especially the forested Junglemahal region bordering Jharkhand state.

They feel ignored and deprived by the Communist government which has been ruling the state since 1977. Most live in abject poverty. The only visible signs of "development" I spotted during a trip to the area some years ago were cheap liquor shops.

Strong support

Fed up with the state of affairs, Junglemahal's tribespeople even agitated for a separate state.

When neighbouring Jharkhand was carved out as a separate state, their alienation grew and they were quick to welcome the Maoists, who wield most influence in areas which are poor and dominated by tribespeople.

Security forces on an anti-Maoist operation in West Midnapore
The security forces are on the backfoot after a spree of rebel attacks

The Lalgarh area in Junglemahal is the rebels' most formidable stronghold.

In February, they stormed a police camp in Lalgarh, killing 24 policemen.

Rebels love to describe Lalgarh as a "liberated zone" where the state has withered away - schools and medical centres have closed down because teachers and doctors are afraid to attend, and policemen are confined to the police stations fearing reprisals.

Friday's incident in West Midnapore demonstrates how the rebels are taking the battle to their enemies ever since the federal government launched an offensive in what is known as India's "red corridor" earlier this year.

This comprises 223 of India's 636 districts in 20 states which the government says are "Maoist affected", up from 55 districts in nine states six years ago.

Ninety of these affected districts, the government says, are experiencing "consistent violence."

The rebels have been carrying out attacks with impunity in recent months - two major attacks Dantewada in Chhattisgarh state left more than 100 people dead, including 75 paramilitary troops.

But there are also theories that in this case the Maoist script went slightly awry.

Maoists frequently tamper with railway lines and often these lead to minor derailments; a number of such attempts have been caught well in time. There have been hijackings but no major attacks on civilian transport with such a death toll.

In the past year, Maoists have carried out 32 attacks on railways, mainly in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh - but no major casualties have been reported.

Support for the Maoist cause across India generally will be dented by such an attack, just as it was after the assault on troops in Dantewada.

Following the twin Dantewada attacks, the government said it was reviewing its strategy for fighting the rebels, who have refused to respond to repeated government offers for talks.

Analysts say that the strategy of "clearing, holding and developing" rebel-affected areas evidently inspired by the US strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan is not working.

'Visible retreat'

One reason, they say, is that the surge of security forces and resources on the ground are not sufficient enough to take on the rebels who are spread over a vast swathe of remote mineral-rich forest lands.

Lalgrah road
Maoists call Lalgarh a "liberated zone"

The government is now in a "visible retreat" after a spree of rebel attacks, says security analyst Ajai Sahni.

He believes that a lack of adequate forces, training and intelligence is leading to these "disasters".

"Unless local capacities for intelligence and operations are enormously augmented, this [offensive] can go nowhere, and lot of lives are going to be lost for no useful purpose," Mr Sahni says.

But the under-equipped local police and intelligence-gathering networks remain Indian security' s weakest link, and there no visible efforts to bolster them.

The government appears to be confused over how the rebels should be tackled - there are differences in the ruling Congress party itself on whether the state should strike hard against it's own people.

Recently federal home minister P Chidambaram requested wider powers to deal with the rebels, saying that he had been given a "limited mandate."

He said the chief ministers of some of the worst affected states have asked for air power to be used against the rebels - a measure that the government has refused to sanction.

Analysts believe that many states are not doing enough to take on the rebels, leading to a "centralisation" of the problem.

The site of the train crash in West Bengal on 28 May 2009
The train '"sabotage" was one of the biggest attacks launched by the rebels

"The principal responsibility for dealing with the Maoists remain that of the states; the first responders, the local police stations, have to be strengthened and equipped to deal with the task on their own."

Till that happens, the rebels will be seen to have an upper hand in what promises to be long drawn out and bloody conflict, the like of which India has never seen.

EE ALSO
Profile: India's Maoist rebels
06 Apr 10 |  South Asia
Battling the Maoists in Jharkhand
27 Mar 10 |  South Asia
Support slips away from India's Maoists
15 Apr 10 |  South Asia
Why India's Maoists are strong in Chhattisgarh
06 Apr 10 |  Video and Audio
Country profile: India
05 May 10 |  Country profiles

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Page last updated at 18:16 GMT, Friday, 28 May 2010 19:16 UK






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