The Distorted History

When the then Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court P. B. Chakraborty asked the British PM Lord Clement Atlee in 1947 the all important question as to”what was the extent of Gandhi’s non violent movement’s influence upon the British decision to quit India?” His response was with a smirk “M-I-N-I-M-A-L and he spelt it out with sarcasm. In a letter addressed o the  publisher of Dr. R. C. Majumdar’s book  “A History of Bengal”, the Chief Justice wrote:-

 “My direct question to lord Atlee was that  since Mahatma Gandhi’s “Quit India” movement had tempered off quite some time ago and in 1947 no such compelling situation had arisen that would necessitate a hasty British departure, why did they have to leave”.

In his reply Lord Atlee cited several reasons and the most important among them was being the erosion of loyalty to the British Crown among the Army and Navy personnel as a result of the military activities of Netaji  Subash Chandra Bose. Another reason cited by him was the fear among British soldiers of the Army consisting of Sikh, Ghurkha, Maratha, etc, who has fought and won against all odds against the Japanese army, whom the British feared most.

The fear originated from the WW-II and later reached its peak during the great Naval Mutiny of 1946. This Naval Mutiny of 1946 was amongst the biggest blow the British received during their 200 year stay in India.  The revolt started on HMS Talwar and was a result of poor service, racial discrimination, poor food and anger at the court martial of INA personnel.  The revolt by the 25,000 ratings of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) achieved what two generates of non violent movement could not. It brought the naked truth of fear of death in the hearts of British soldiers and civilians in India.   The revolt spread like wildfire thanks to the signal’s and telegraphic unit of the Navy from Karachi to Calcutta in no time  and was soon joined not only by some sections of Army but by Air Force who refused to lift troops to Bombay. The strike gathered huge support not only from the civilians but also from the trade unions and police. The strike was over by 23 Feb 2016 due to the efforts made by Sadder Patel and Jinnah where most of the demands of the stinking soldiers were met even though Mahatma Gandhi was against this strike and asked the soldiers not to go on strike. However, they could not stop the discharge, dismissal or release of the striking sailors from the Royal Indian Navy as a result of mutiny. It was only in 1972 that 472 sailors of the RIN were granted freedom fighters pension.

The Naval mutiny of 1946 communicated to the British that their hold on Indian Armed Forces was badly weakened and the British could not continue to hold onto India with the help of Indian soldiers any longer. Without the support of Navy over 100,000 British troops, civilians, administrators and their families were in no position to make it to Britain safely.  At the very least a large number of them would have been slaughtered. The British knew his and started packing bags a day after and finally quit India in haste. This is what Lord Atlee was referring to in his reply.

Another fact hidden from the Indian citizen is regarding the date on which Indian flag was first hoisted and it is generally known that it was flown on 15 Aug 1947 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Lal Nehru on Lal Kila in New Delhi. But a little known fact has escaped the attention of most of the citizens except a few who have visited Port Blair in Andaman and had seen the plaque where it is written that the for the first time the Indian flag was flown by Subash Chandra Bose on 30 December 1943, when he was declared the commander of the Provincial Azad Hind after it was liberated from the British by the Japanese and the INA.

Another fact hidden from the Indian citizen is regarding the date on which Indian flag was first hoisted and it is generally known that it was flown on 15 Aug 1947 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Lal Nehru on Lal Kila in New Delhi. But a little known fact has escaped the attention of most of the citizens except a few who have visited Port Blair in Andaman and had seen the plaque where it is written that the for the first time the Indian flag was flown by Subash Chandra Bose on 30 December 1943, when he was declared the commander of the Provincial Azad Hind after it was liberated from the British by the Japanese and the INA.

 Recently, I came across a news item where the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) had asked the Indian Government to give reply to an RTI query as to whether the Taj Mahal was built by Shahjahan as taught in history books or was built by Raja Man Singh of Amer and gifted to Shahjahan by his son Raja Jai Singh. I do not know what the Govt will reply but a simple Google of the word “Badshahnama” meaning the official record of the king’s court, will take you to the official site of Indian Archives. It is here the parchment (Page 403, Vol 1) along with its translation can be found which will give one the information that in fact it was built by Raja Man Singh and gifted to Shahjahan by his son Raja Jai Singh. For a more detailed reading, fact and their interpretation the curious citizen can read the book “Taj Mahal-The True Story” by P. N .Oak, or the research done by Stephen Knapp on Taj Mahal and its history. It is labelled by most of our historians as “The Alternate History”. But what an Indian wants is not the alternate history but the true history.  Will we ever get over the appeasement policy and have the courage to rewrite the correct history for the benefit of ages to come?  well that is a million dollar question.

Tribute to Prof Yash Pal

Today’s newspaper carried sad news of the passing of Prof Yash Pal yesterday. A brilliant scientist and astrophysicist, who did great work in the field of cosmic rays, was advisor to planning commission, and was the Chairman of university Grant Commission besides being awarded the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. He  was popular with the students for his TV series ‘Turning Point” and  for his weekly column in the Hindustan Times, where he answered questions relating to science. I always waited for the day when his column will appear in the newspaper. His answers were always to the point and explained in a very simple way so that anyone with simple knowledge of science could understand. It was this column which gave me a chance to meet this simple, down to earth but otherwise a brilliant scientist for a short time in Delhi. It was his answer to a very fundamental question which one reader has asked. The question was:-

“The temperature of earth is around 35 degree centigrade while that of sun’s outer ring is about 2-4000 degree centigrade. Hence the temperature is increasing as you travel from Earth to the Sun. Then why it is that Shimla which is 6000 Ft closer to the sun is colder then Chandigarh?”

A phenomenon, which most of us have experienced but few have bothered to ask the question and try to find the answer.

I remember during my childhood and even till I graduated from Allahabad University , all of us(My sister, self and my brother) had the privilege of the early morning company of Prof Rajendra Singh, alia Rajju Bhaiya” whose house was in the same compound as my father’s. Prof Rajendra Singh would come to our house in the morning to have a cup of tea and read newspaper but the most important reason was to talk to us, give us scientific puzzles and enhance our reasoning power to develop a scientific temper. A teacher who was widely respected, admired, revered and his class was always full in the university. He would explain the most complicated principles and formulae’s of physic in simple, lucid way that all of us would remember it by heart. The problems which he would pose to us ranged from, Why it is easier to skate on water than on glass, If you drill a hole from north to south pole and drop a tennis ball then where it will go, If the tunnel has vacuum then what would happen t the ball, If you go near the sun in a spaceship and had the capability to come out of it then why would you burn to death if you came out on the side facing the sun and freeze to death f you came out on the shadow side of the ship, what will happen to your weight as you travel from equator to pole, etc. I had just joined the university when the question of a hill station being colder than plain was asked to me. It took me quite some time to find the answer only to be told that I was on right path but only had half the answer. It took again quite some time again before I could muster the courage to give the answer which I thought was right. To my surprise he agreed with my answer.

Prof Yash Pal did answer the question in a very simple and lucid way but it had one flaw. I wrote a letter to him explain where the flaw was and what should have been the correct answer. I forgot about the letter as I never thought that I will get a reply from this great scientist. I was in corporate world after leaving Air Force and that branded me as a scientific fool in the eyes of general public. But to my surprise I got a reply from him after about two months asking me to meet him on my next visit to Delhi. After a couple of months I was in Delhi for some company work as our Head Office was in Delhi and rang him up. He immediately remembered me and asked me to meet him next day.

It was a short meeting and I was thoroughly impressed by his simplicity, scientific temper, his ability to listen to other and to ask the right question. But what impressed me most was him humility to accept other’s point of view as being correct. He asked me about my education and teachers. I told him that I am a postgraduate in Physics from Allahabad University, which impressed him as at that time Allahabad University was considered to be the Cambridge of East. I gave him the answer which I had given to Prof Rajendra Singh and he listened to it, asked two questions and was satisfied by my reasoning. Then he asked me about my teachers and on being told that my scientific temper and reasoning was shaped by none other than Prof Rajendra Singh, whom he knew very well, and had asked me this question while I was doing the graduation, closed the topic by saying that when you are a student of this great teacher then you cannot be wrong. Such was his simplicity and humility.

The passing away of this great simple, humble  scientist who always advocated for a scientific temper which is now missing in students  is not only a loss to the nation but also to the scientific community and students at large. May his soul rest in peace.

Azadi From What?

Recently there have been a lot of videos, news items and statements from the designer politicians and would be student politicians regarding the use of word Azadi. They talk of azadi in Bastar and Kashmir and mostly just the word azadi. I do not know what they want the azadi from in a democratic country. Azadi in expressing their opinion, it is already there but it comes with a responsibility as all freedoms do. Azadi to hold demonstration and hold seminars well that is there too, albeit with a responsibility of not disturbing the public.  If they want azadi in harassing the public, holding to ransom the education system then it is not azadi but is called hooliganism and goondagardi and then they should have the guts to hear criticism, accept punishment and understand the restrictions that come along with each freedom.

 Have these people ever asked the citizens of India as to what they want azadi from rather than forcing their sense of misguided azadi on others and expecting that shouting, fighting, holding educational institutes to ransom and public at large means azadi. Yes we also want azadi. We want azadi from these so called student leader shaming the country and holding educational institutes to ransom. We want azadi from these so called designers and marginalized politicians from disturbing the educational institutes and lives of our son’s and daughter’s. We want azadi from this corrupt and irresponsible political system which gives rise to murderers and criminals to become our leaders and representatives. We want azadi from these corrupt political parties that use public funding for their personnel use and use black money to fund their elections. We want azadi from the corrupt civil servants who demand bribe for even doing their work for which they are paid by our taxes. We want azadi from this filth which decorates our cities and emits the foul smell. We want azadi from this pollute atmosphere where it is becoming difficult even to breathe. We want azadi from this policy of appeasement of certain classes of the society by the elected representatives. We want azadi from this system of reservation to be replaced b a system which will help the poor citizen in getting a decent house to live, decent food to eat, decent medical facilities and good education system for their children so that they can become responsible citizens. We want azadi from the overpopulation which eats away the progress we make. We want azadi from this badly maintain roads, buses, trains to be replaced with decent transportation system. We want azadi from this traffic jams which we face every day and poor driving conditions and bad drivers on the road. We want azadi from the power cuts; no supply of electricity in villages, no roads, no basic facilitates like telephone what to talk of broad band and post office.

I can go on and on and probably list a thousand more things from which a common man wants azadi but do these student leaders and so called designer politicians and actors ever come to this common man to ask as to what all azadi we want. They are more interested in forcing their sense of azadi on us. Who gives them the right to do so? By all means hold seminar, discuss, give suggestions and advice the policy makers about improvement in the system and make all positive comments but for heaven’s sake do not talk about the motherland or breaking the nation or pass unwarranted comments about the brave armed forces personnel. By all means praise them; thank them for the freedom they provide you for enjoying this life and the freedom they guarantee by fighting against the enemies of the nation. The nation as such does no ask anything from you but only gives you these freedoms selflessly without demanding from you anything back in repayment but expects you to adhere to the laws of the nation and sentiments of its people and armed forces.

Sad State of Affairs

Girls are being molested in the night or on road and fields, accident victims lying on the road with nobody to help them and elderly persons lying helpless or being murdered at home, this is what one keeps reading in newspapers or seeing on the TV channels. Is the society become so self centred that people just walk by or stand and watch or more importantly they have time to make a video but do not come forward to help the victim? It is very simple to blame the non adequateness of the police personnel or lack f CCTV or to the insensitivity of the persons watching but very few persons really sit back and analyse as to why this is happening and why the society or its members are becoming so insensitive?

Today, there were two news items in the newspaper. One was the announcement by the Delhi Govt of giving cash award of Rs.2000/= to a person who takes the accident victim to the hospital and of being given a certificate. The other was the story of the person, a retired army havaldar, who called the police and ambulance and stood by the two victims of Dec 2012 case and helped them.  The story goes on to say that due to frequent call by the police to give evidence and the frequent visit to the courts, he lost his job in a firm and now even finds it difficult to feed his family. I d not think he will ever venture out to help another victim. This is not the end; another person who took accident victims to the hospital and made a police complaint was arrested and put in police lock up for two days on the false charge that he had caused the accident. No doubt people just video the accident and upload on you tube but after hat just walk away or just stand and watch and maybe one odd person may ventures the courage to inform 100 about it, which invariably arrives too late. Stories like this are numerous and everybody blames the society and its member for insensitivity. Firstly police cannot be everywhere as the ratio f one policeman to the number of citizens is probably lowest in world and not to talk about the corruption and politicization of its personnel. Of course there is a need for sensitizing the police personnel, increasing their number, freeing them from VIP duties and politicization and better equipment and pay but that is one part of the problem. The other part is the sensitization of the society which cannot be done by cash award or a piece of paper. The fear needs to be removed that the citizen will not be harassed, will not have to make frequent rounds of police station and then the courts as the case will drag on for years and in every hearing he has to spend money from his pocket and take leave and waste time and effort to be just told that another date of the case has been given due to some reason. This frequent leave applications and absence may just cost him his job as was the case with the havaldar. It is this fear of police, visits to police stations, endless waiting, and harassment just to give statement and on top it all the fear of cross examination by them and may be arrest by the police. If this was not all, then after the case is filed the same things starts all over again in the courts. All this harassment forces a person’s to think whether he has done a right thing by helping and whether he will he do it again. At the same time the general public who become aware of his ordeal, and bad news travels like lightning to other person, will shy away from doing any such good or helpful act. It is this fear which needs to be removed not just by some directions from the court or by the government but by actually following it on the ground and making the authorities and citizens aware of it.

During my corporate life, after a career in armed forces, I had to travel about 80-100 km every day to the factories in other state, and have had my share of problems of helping the accident victims. I have even brought them to the hospital and informed police about it. I had my share of bad  experiences of vehicles not stopping people refusing to help, doctors refusing to attend patients,  asking me my  details first, insisting on forms being filled up, information to police, non availability of stretchers or ambulances and one lady doctor even had the guts to tell me as to why I have brought this gutter insect to the government hospital and the police taking their time to arrive, asking me my details and even going to check my car for dents and signs of accident, refusing to lodge a complaint and at time even questioning my motive and threatening me with detention and arrest. During these difficult times it was only my knowledge of law and the acquaintanceship with senior officials which helped. But does a common citizen have access to these senior officials and has even a basic knowledge of his legal rights or responsibilities. These are the main reasons why people stand, watch, make videos but refuse to help the person by just walking away and even if they have witnessed it just decide to keep quiet about it and feign ignorance so as not to get involved in the long drawn out process and harassment at the police station and in the courts. It is for the executive and judiciary to take notice of these factors and work together in order to remove the fear from the mind of common citizen and in its absence any other simple measure will not be of any help at all.