The Machhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi town is now news because the most awful incident took place, on 30 October 2022.  A hanging bridge after the renovation was opened to the public for which people paid money to purchase the tickets and the bridge collapsed killing many people (more than 140) and also many injured (around 100).  The collapse of the bridge has raised many questions. It seems that more people were allowed than its capacity to move. Some TV channels showed many people dancing on the renovated bridge. Now the question arises why so many people were allowed to move beyond its capacity. Another important point is whether there is any ‘Cut Money’ or ‘Commission Money’ involved during the renovation as in our country this is found in many cases. In this regard by saluting a brave police officer of West Bengal, I wish to mention that one Burdwan police officer-in-charge, Sandip Sen made a comment while inaugurating a Kali Puja on 26 October 2022 in West Bengal.  He mentioned that “to build a new road… a contractor usually aims for a 40 percent margin at best. Thereafter, he expects to pocket a further 20 percent himself. The BDO gets four percent, the OC five, and others still get five. Meaning nearly 75 percent of the call money will become cut money, so one can only imagine the quality of finished projects”(The Telegraph Online, 31/10/22).

Anyway, the saddest part here (bridge collapse) is that innocent lives were lost because of the callousness of ‘some’ people. Recent news has revealed that two employees of a firm involved in the renovation work of the Morbi bridge have been arrested. I request top officials of the Gujarat Government the main culprits should be brought into the book and they should be punished. It seems that this a ‘man-made disaster’ so our Union Government and all the State Governments should take lessons from this disaster so that innocent lives are not lost in the future.

Another ‘man-made disaster’, unfortunately, occurred in Seoul, South Korea on Halloween event on 29 October 2022 at least 154 people including a total of 26 foreign nationals were among those killed. Among the 154 dead, 26 were foreign nationals, from the United States, China, Iran, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia, Norway, France, Russia, Austria, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The event took place after three years as during COVID -19 it did not take place as restrictions and social distancing were lifted.  I feel this is also a ‘man-made disaster’ as more people gathered than the capacity of the area. It is observed that tens of thousands of people flooded into the area in central Seoul to celebrate Halloween – but panic erupted as the crowds swelled, ‘with some witnesses saying it became hard to breathe and impossible to move’ (CNN Online, 31/10/2022, What we know about the deadly Halloween disaster in Seoul).

This is also a lesson to our Union Government and all the State Governments so that with proper planning ‘man-made disaster’ can be avoided i.e., more people should not be allowed to assemble than the capacity of the area. Anyway, in both cases, many innocent lives were lost.   I pray to Almighty God to bestow eternal peace on the departed souls

The death of Mulayam
Singh Yadav is sad as he was a great political leader and his
contribution to Indian politics in general in our country and Uttar Pradesh in
particular from time to time has been highlighted in many prints and electronic
media.  With a political career straddling more than six decades, being
elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) seven times and the Member of the
Legislative Assembly (MLA) 10 times, the veteran politician was a prominent
political leader. In 1992, Yadav set up his own Samajwadi Party (Socialist
Party). He served three non-consecutive terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar
Pradesh, and also served as the Minister of Defence, at the Government of
India. Later on, his son the young Akhilesh Yadav became Chief Minister of
Uttar Pradesh in 2012. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s controversial statement on rape
many Indians did not take in the good sense. Anyway, he was often referred to
as Netaji by party leaders, workers, and others (reason which may be
understood). But as a senior citizen and academician, I cannot accept. In this
context, I wish to mention all Indians even many Pakistanis and Bangladeshis
talked about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s immense contribution to the freedom
movement of India. So, Netaji means Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It is pertinent
to mention that Mahatma means Gandhiji. Indians have accepted Mahatma for
Gandhiji then why some people will use Netaji for Mulayam Singh Yadav? Many
newspapers highlighted ‘Netaji’ for Mulayam Singh Yadav.  Can they write
for any other stalwarts? Here I wish to mention a few lines about Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose’s contribution to those who are not aware.  While Subhas
Chandra Bose was Congress President, many admired him for his energetic role
and that is why he was elected President of Indian National Congress for two
consecutive terms but had to resign in the mid of second term due to
ideological differences with Gandhiji as Mahatma Gandhi preferred Pattabhi
Sitaramaiah, but he was defeated.   It is believed that albeit
Pattabhi Sitaramaiah was a Telugu person hailing from the southern part of
India but many persons of the southern region of India voted in favour of
Netaji Subhas. Anyhow, while Netaji was Congress President he carried out many
remarkable works – one was his initiative to keep Assam with India as then
Muslim League leaders’ had different game plans. In 1938, Assam was passing
through great political turmoil as there was a serious political problem –
Muslim League vs. Congress. During that time, Gopinath Bordoloi invited Netaji
(President of Congress at that time) to come to Assam and intervene. Netaji
Subhas Chandra immediately rushed to Assam and strongly advocated the formation
of the ministry under the leadership of Gopinath Bordoloi.  As a sequel,
Assamese youths were happy and a booklet on Netaji was published by some
enthusiastic students of Cotton College in 1939, under the umbrella of the All
Assam Progressive Youth Association (AAPYA, formed at that time).  
While Netaji Subhas was Head of the Indian National Army (INA) or Azad Hind
Fauj, Dr. (Mrs.) Lakshmi Swaminathan met him in Singapore and decided to join
the freedom movement as she was impressed with the charismatic speech of Netaji
Subhas. She as   Captain Lakshmi headed a regiment called Jhansi Rani
Laxmi Bai Regiment.  It was the first regiment headed by a lady in Asia
with around 1000 women personnel. Also, it is pertinent to mention that around
60,000 persons consisting of all religions were in Azad Hind Fauj and brigades
were in the name of great personalities like Gandhi brigade, Nehru brigade, Azad
brigade, Subhas brigade, Rani of Jhansi regiment.  

No Indian can forget Netaji’s
great statement, ‘You give me your blood and I will give you
Independence!’ 

Kailasagiri is a hilltop park within Visakhapatnam city, Andhra Pradesh a wonderful tourist place with pristine beauty. The place was developed by the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (popularly known as VMRDA) and spread over to an area of 380 acres of land covered with exciting landscape gardens consisting of rich flora and tropical trees. Kailasagiri is located around 10 kilometers from the Visakhapatnam Railway Station and around eight kilometers from Visakhapatnam Bus Station. The Government of Andhra Pradesh awarded Kailasagiri as “the Best Tourist Spot” in 2003. The hilltop is well connected by all means of transport. It was reported that on average, three lakh Indian and foreign tourists visit the park every year. To protect the environment, VMRDA has declared the hill a plastic-free zone, a praiseworthy step. A cable car connects to the top of the hill, the first of its kind in Andhra Pradesh which I had the opportunity to enjoy. Also, it is pertinent to mention that Kailasagiri is a favourite location among filmmakers all over India. In addition to the eye-catching and holy statues of Bhagawan Shiva and Goddess Parvathi, the hilltop has many wonderful attractions such as the Titanic viewpoint, floral clock, Shanku-Chakra Namas of Bhagawan Venkateswara of Tirupati, gliding point, delicious food courts, etc. The floral clock one of the biggest in India with a diameter of 10 feet is located here. There is a Shanti Ashram on the top of the hill, where one can get huge peace by spending time in meditation. A number of wonderful viewpoints have been developed all around the hilltop. A capsule lift has been provided to fascinate the visitors to view the beauty of blue seawaters and the city along with the stunning beauties of the hilltop from further heights.

During my Kailasagiri visit in the month of September 2022, apart from watching the natural pristine beauty by the train, I felt happy that the train resolved many issues as many senior citizens can enjoy the beauty by sitting on the train as both sides were open so can watch through the windows. Also, those who had leg/knee/ankle problems or other health problems need not walk for long distances. While moving by train as I was in a non-airconditioned (non-AC) coach, observed beautiful butterflies, a few flying insects through windows entered our coach and came out. I personally felt as if these were well-coming us. It is pertinent to mention that altogether five coaches were attached to the train engine. Out of these, three were non-AC coaches and two were AC coaches but all had only chair cars. Each coach can accommodate 50 people. And the journey period was 20 minutes that is every after 20 minutes new people could board the train. Also, it may be mentioned here that the cost of a ticket per person for an AC coach was Rs. 150 and for a non-AC coach it was Rs.100. The most significant advantage of the running of such a train was that it generated employment for many youths such as ticket sellers, ticket checkers, train maintenance, cleaners, etc. The train was operated under the banner of ‘Sarada Roadways Kailasagiri Hills Tour’. Also, another noteworthy point is that there were many shops in the tourist place selling different items and some shops were owned by minorities (Muslims) which is the beauty of our country depicting religious harmony. Anyway, I suggest to all the State Governments wherever technically feasible and economically viable such a project (train journey of 20 to 30 minutes) may be implemented in the tourist places. 

(The author expresses his gratitude to Dr. P L K Murthy, Proprietor, Visakha Ads; Chairman, Public Relations Society of India, Visakhapatnam Chapter and Sri T. Lakshmi Pathi, former Chief Engineer, Vishakhapatnam Port Authority for arranging the visit to the place as well as in carrying out the study)

Dr. Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad

On the occasion of senior citizen’s day August 21, 2022, I salute senior citizens because I believe senior citizens are still the guiding spirit of any country, any society, or even any family. Senior citizens as per Income Tax’s interpretation in India, “An individual resident who is 60 years or above in age but less than 80 years at any time during the previous year is considered as Senior Citizen for Income Tax purposes. A Super Senior Citizen is an individual resident who is 80 years or above, at any time during the previous year”. According to the law in India, a “senior citizen” means any person being a citizen of India, who has attained the age of sixty years or above. The concept of World Senior Citizen Day was initiated by the former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. He instituted it the day after signing a Proclamation on August 19, 1988. Later on December 14, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared August 21 as World Senior Citizens Day. Anyway, in the context of India, it may be mentioned that “according to Population Census 2011 there are nearly 104 million elderly persons (aged 60 years or above) in India; 53 million females and 51 million males. A Report released by the United Nations Population Fund and HelpAge India suggests that the number of elderly persons is expected to grow to 173 million by 2026. According to the Report of the Technical Group on Population Projections for India and States 2011-2036, there are nearly a 138million elderly persons in India in 2021 (67 million males and 71 million females) and is further expected to increase by around 56 million elderly persons in 2031. Both the share and size of the elderly population are increasing over time. From 5.6% in 1961 the proportion increased to 8.6% in 2011. The proportion increased to 10.1% in 2021 and is further likely to increase to 13.1% in 2031. For males, it was marginally lower at 8.2%, while for females it was 9.0%”.  (vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/senior-citizens-welfare).

In the context of world senior citizens, I wish to mention a few points from the Report on “World Population Ageing 2019” published by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, New York, 2020. “Globally, there were 703million persons aged 65 or over in 2019. 1 The region of Eastern and South-Eastern Asia was home to the largest number of older persons (261million), followed by Europe and Northern America (over 200 million)”. Another important finding is “Over the next three decades, the number of older persons worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching more than 1.5 billion persons in2050. All regions will see an increase in the size of the older population between 2019 and 2050. The largest increase (312 million) is projected to occur in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, growing from 261 million in 2019 to 573million in 2050. The fastest increase in the number of older persons is expected in Northern Africa and Western Asia, rising from 29 million in 2019 to96 a million in 2050 (an increase of 226 percent). The second fastest increase is projected for sub-Saharan Africa, where the population aged 65 or over could grow from 32 million in 2019 to 101 million in 2050 (218 percent). By contrast, the increase is expected to be relatively small in Australia and New Zealand (84 percent) and in Europe and Northern America (48 percent), regions where the population is already significantly older than in other parts of the world”. It may be noted here that “Not only has the absolute number of older persons increased globally but also the share of older persons in the total population has increased and is projected to continue to grow in all regions. The percentage of persons aged 65 or over worldwide has grown from 6 percent in 1990 to 9 percent in 2019 and is projected to increase further to 16 percent in 2050”. Lastly, I wish to mention from the Report that, “In 2019, the largest numbers of persons aged 80 or older were found in Europe and Northern America (53.9 million) and in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (48.6 million). By 2020, more than half of the population at ages 80 years and above will live in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (177 million), followed by Europe and Northern America (109 million.). The largest increments in the population at ages 80 and above – in all cases over 250 percent – are projected for Northern Africa and Western Asia, for Oceania, and for Eastern and South-Eastern Asia”. From the UN Report, it is evident that the longevity of senior citizens (65 years and above, UN has taken into account 65 years as a senior citizen) in the world has been increasing. 

I was born in a joint family and observed the behaviour of some citizens in our family and still cherishing their knowledge, wisdom, and guidance, which in one word is fantastic.  

After 34 years of
Left –front rule (communist rule) in West Bengal a political change took place
in 2011 in the State. The people of West Bengal expected lots of
development from the new government under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee,
first woman Chief Minister of the State. In 1977, the Left-front won a
majority of seats in the State legislative elections and became the ruling
party. It is pertinent to mention that I am a retired professor and when I was
in service in an organisation of the Government of India for official and
academic purposes I visited across the state of West Bengal. I had the
opportunity to interact with the people from grass root level to different
levels including officials and others. One major problem I observed was the serious
unemployment issue, refugee issues, high density of population etc..  It
is pertinent to mention that as per the ‘Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation
Department of the Government of West Bengal, the census figures show the number
of refugees from East Pakistan in 1971 was nearly 6 million (60 lakh) and in
1981, the number was assessed at 8 million (80 lakh)’. Anyway, the people of
West Bengal had lots of expectations from the State Government but talk of some
leaders and scandals have lowered the image of the All India Trinamool
Congress. Indians always want to see a political leader who should be free from
corruption. A few cases I am highlighting as a senior citizen I am pained
because the State produced a number of great personalities in all the fields-
cultural, religion, literature or freedom movement. First case which took place
in 2014 June, “TMC MP Tapas Pal has threatened to kill opposition
CPM workers and have their women raped if a single ruling party worker was
attacked. The comments triggered an uproar and sparked condemnation by
opposition parties with CPM demanding that the Lok Sabha Speaker take suo motu
cognisance of Pal’s outburst and disqualify him. (The Times of India,
30/6/2014). Tapas Pal was a great actor and I had the opportunity to watch many
movies acted by him and observed he was a brilliant actor but after such
statements I had no respect for him. Simply for political reason rape and
killing cannot be accepted. Another case is post poll violence which was a
great news in the after the announcement of results of the 2021 West Bengal
Legislative Assembly election, declaring that the incumbent Trinamool Congress
government would be returning to power for the third time, violence broke out
in some parts of West Bengal where many people in the present party in power
played devil’s role. Now corruption is in a State where so called ‘Bhadralok’
(gentlemen) live.  The case of Partha Chatterjee glaringly reveals the
fact that he was not honest. “In an exclusive interview with India Today, former
General Secretary of West Bengal College and Universities Professor’s
Association (WBCUPA), Baisakhi Banerjee said that Partha Chatterjee knew of
massive corruption in the education department but he did not take action”
(Suryagni Roy, Kolkata, July 31.2022, India Today). It is known to readers that
  Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee (female) were
arrested as crores of money were recovered from them by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) officials and many other valuable items. Another great leader
of the arrest of Trinamool’s Congress was Anubrata Mandal, by the CBI for his
alleged involvement in cattle smuggling scam. Here also he accumulated huge
amounts of money as properties. Interestingly, the body guard of Anubrata
Mandal is also a beneficiary. A police Constable, Saigal Hussein deputed by the
State administration as the personal security guard of Anubrata Mondal, “may
have built up property worth Rs 80-100 crore, Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) sources said. His fortunes include both movable and immovable properties.
He is currently in the custody of the CBI on charges of cattle smuggling.
Hussein, considered a powerful man in the inner coterie of Mandal, who, too, is
facing similar charges, has palatial houses at Domkal in Murshidabad, luxury
apartments near Shantiniketan and in Kolkata New Town, all in the names of his
daughters, wife, and even domestic help, sources say, adding the Bengal Police
Constable also has two petrol pumps” (The Pioneer, August 16, 2022).  It
is pertinent to mention that  “on March 15, 2001, that Banerjee rocked the
Vajpayee government by resigning as railway minister in protest against NDA’s
‘inaction’ against Samata Party leader and defence minister George Fernandes
after his name cropped up in Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly’s conversation
with the Tehelka correspondent” (CL Manoj, March 16, 2016, he Economic Times). It
is really surprising that when so many Trinamool party leaders’ names are being
discussed, Trinamool supremo is playing a different role. Unfortunately, many
other types of corruption such as ‘Cut-money’ (commission from a project) etc.,
are always in the news. The corruption now has been proved in West Bengal.  Truth cannot be suppressed permanently.

 Because of poverty many families and many youths in our country could not reach the zenith albeit they have potential. . Regarding poverty, I wish to mention that John Boyd Orr, the first Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)   used the calorie concept to explain poverty which was the minimum value of foods a human being required to sustain a good life. In India, poverty has been defined based on a minimum daily requirement of 2,400 and 2,100 calories for an adult in rural and urban areas, respectively which subsequently has been converted to income earning.

Here, I am presenting a case of a youth who in spite of living in extreme poverty has reached the zenith because of strong dedication, devotion, and sincerity.

Achinta Shewli of West Bengal (resident of Howrah) brought gold to the country in the Commonwealth Games but in his childhood in weight-lifting but he passed awful days because of extreme poverty. Arranging good food, particularly protein food was a dream for the families. It is fact that in general Bengali people irrespective of caste or religion eat non-vegetarian items like fish, chicken, mutton, and egg. In childhood eating, the non-veg item was a dream​ for Achinta. His father was a rickshaw van driver earning a paltry amount and unfortunately, his father passed away in April 2013 (38 years age) when Achinta was just 11 years old. After the death of the father, the two brothers Alok and Achinta helped the mother with the lace work. Both the brothers dreamed of becoming weightlifters. But it was not easy to dream where they had to fight to get two meals.  After his father’s death, his grandfather did everything for them. 

​According to him, the goal is to get a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Commonwealth Games medal will give Achinta confidence to get the same. It may be mentioned that Achinta’s brother Alok told Anandabazar Online, “One day when I was a child, my brother was crying because he wanted to eat chicken -​meat. But later on at that age, he understood the financial condition of the house. After that, he did not cry.”

Achinta’s coach Ashtam Das said, “I had many players who were physically better than Achinta, but they did not have the hunger for sports, which I saw in Achinta.” Achinta’s coach Ashtam Das left his BSF job to train potential weight-lifters. In view of his financial condition, he trained him free of cost. 

Achinta Shewli started weightlifting in the year 2011, admiring his brother who was also a former Weightlifter. Ashtam Das admitted him to the Army Sports Institution in Pune. Since then Achinta’s studies and sports have been going on there. He got a job in the army last year 2021). It seems Ashtam Das spent his personal money on the development of weight lifters but the State Government did not extend any support for the infrastructure development of the ‘practicing center’ although everyone knows the State Government has been spending huge money on much unproductive expenditure. So, I suggest to the State Government please look into such issues as such expenditure is known as ‘Development Expenditure’ i.e. development for human resource.

(Basic inputs collected mainly from two editions of Anandabazar Patrika (Bengali editions), Kolkata, 1/8/22 and 2/8/22)

—

 To get rid of British rule many Indians fought or came forward to protest, as the British with the attitude of colonial feelings tortured /insulated Indians for trivial issues.   Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab, Patharighat, previously known as Patharughat, in Assam, etc., are two cases I am mentioning here out of many cases depicting the barbaric behaviour of the British rule.  In our history books from primary to secondary standards always a few names have been highlighted as if for them we have got independence. We all know huge sacrifices made by Shahid Bhagat Singh,  Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Khudiram Bose, Surya Sen (Masterda), Kushal Konwar, Birsa Munda,  and many others but their names are not highlighted as desired by Indian citizens. Anyway, one great name in the freedom movement who designed the Indian flag which many Indians in present generations may not know I am presenting as today his birthday. He is Pingali Venkayya (but on the postal stamp Venkaiah has been printed) who was born on 2 August 1876   and passed away on 4 July 1963. He was born at Bhatlapenumarru, near Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh.  I visited Machilipatnam and really like the pristine beauty of the place. Anyway, it was formerly known as “Masulipatnam or Masulipatam, city, eastern Andhra Pradesh, southern India. Masulipatam was the first British trading settlement (1611) on the Bay of Bengal. From 1686 to 1759 the city was held by the French and Dutch until it was finally ceded to the British, who captured the city and fort from the French in 1759. The ruined fort is still a point of interest” (britannica.com/place). 

Venkayya met Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) when he was posted there as part of the British Indian Army. There he observed the soldiers had to salute the Union Jack (the British National flag). After returning to India, he decided to create a national flag for the country (source: Steena Joy 13 August 2021 news.yahoo.com).  Further, according to indiatoday.in/2 August 2018, he was also a linguist and a writer. In 1913, he delivered a full-length speech in Japanese. Such credentials gave him interesting titles like ‘Japan Venkayya’, ‘Patti (cotton) Venkayya’ and ‘Jhanda Venkayya’.

He also published a booklet in 1916 offering thirty designs of what could make the Indian flag. Throughout all Congress sessions between 1918 and 1921, he persistently supported having a flag of our own. Venkayya’s design for the National Flag was finally approved by Mahatma Gandhi in a Congress session held in Vijayawada in 1921.

It is heartening to mention that “Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy urged the Centre (in 2021) to confer the Bharat Ratna to Pingali Venkaiah who designed the National Flag, posthumously.  He also felicitated Ghantasala Sitamahalakshmi, daughter of late Venkaiah, while the inauguration of the 75-week-long “Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav” in the State. The Chief Minister presented ₹ 75 lakh to Sitamahalakshmi and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the Centre confer the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna on Venkaiah posthumously” (ndtv.com/india-news/ Updated: March 13, 2021). 

A postage stamp in his honour was released in 2009. Also, the Vijayawada station of All India Radio has been named after him in 2014. I am reiterating in the postal stamp Pingali Venkaiah has been printed. 

My salute to  Pingali Venkayya  (Venkaiah)  on his birthday 2 August 2022 as every year we unfurl our National Flag on 15 August and 26 January on the occasion of Independence Day and Republic Day respectively.

 In India corruption, fraud, etc. almost everyday news.  The corruption case of West Bengal political leader and former minister Partha Chatterjee is now great news. Anyway, corruption has penetrated China also. Generally, we think because of one-party communist rule corruption is less in China. Sometimes we read about leaders of China’s rude behaviour towards Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang. But while going through the two editions of South China Morning Post, 21 and 29 July 2022, also Bloomberg newspaper of New York, I have astonished to know about the level of corruption in China. Let me highlight the facts based on secondary sources. In the Henan branch of the Bank of China, (BoC) around 1000  people gathered and protested in July 2022 as April 2022 onwards their deposits have been frozen because of corruption. They raised the slogan ‘give my money back’. But unfortunately in white dresses some people came and beat the protestors awfully. It is pertinent to mention that a sum of 6 million US dollars in Chinese money amounts to 40 billion Chinese Yuan had been swindled by the local gangs. The newspaper itself has questioned how such a huge amount of money was stolen. The people are now scared if such a level of corruption takes place in other local banks then what will happen to the economy? Another problem recently faced by the Government of China is protests by common citizens. According to the newspaper Bloomberg, New York (July 19, 2022, Updated on July 20, 2022), President Xi Jinping faces “a surprise challenge from middle-class homeowners who are watching their family wealth slip away with a sustained slide in the property market, which makes up a fifth of China’s economic activity. Some 70% of household wealth in China is tied up in property”. Further it is evident from Bloomberg news that “now ordinary Chinese people are publicly revolting, with rapidly escalating boycotts on mortgage payments spread across at least 301 projects in about 91 cities. These homeowners accuse developers of failing to deliver apartments they’ve already paid for: the value of mortgages that could be affected has swelled to an estimated 2 trillion Yuan ($297 billion)”.  

The third news regarding corruption is done by a former Chinese Police boss Fu Zhenghua. According to South China Morning Post  (29/7/22) “once one of China’s most powerful police chiefs, stood trial on Thursday (28/7/22) for taking bribes worth over 100 million Yuan (US$14.9 million) and hiding his brother’s alleged crimes. Fu, 67, who appeared before the Changchun Intermediate People’s Court in the north-eastern province of Jilin on Thursday (28/7/22), admitted all charges”.

All these evince that corruption has penetrated even in China that too in a massive way.  I was in China and observed in general people were scared of talking about Government policy. I politely raised the Tiananmen Square protests to a few people but all avoided the question.  From Wikipedia, we know in the Tiananmen Square protests started on 15 April and were forcibly suppressed on 4 June 1989 when the Government declared martial law and sent the People’s Liberation Army. Troops armed with assault rifles and accompanied by tanks fired at the demonstrators (mostly students) as result many were killed and many injured.  

The bonding between humans and pets is always something that is very close to one’s heart and gives joy to both parties all the time. So many organizations and human beings have been doing different types of welfare service activities for animals. On the other hand, some people and some business organizations awfully kill animals to make jackets, woollen clothes, etc. Regarding foods, it may be mentioned that many in the world eat the meat of animals and birds. The choice of food habit is personal and I have observed many only eat fish, many do not eat beef, many do not eat pork, etc. But many so-called ‘human beings’ for economic reasons (profit motive) torture the animals awfully and kill them. In this regard, an organization known as PETA has been doing excellent work by highlighting cruelty towards animals and I sometimes become disturbed by watching the cruel videos and reading the news shared with me by PETA which are very heart-wrenching. Sometimes I feel all human beings are not kind enough towards the animal and these a few are only name sake human beings. A few cases I will highlight for the benefit of readers. Before that, I wish to mention PETA which in full form stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, and PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally.

“PETA opposes speciesism (meaning discrimination based on species), a human-supremacist worldview, and focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment business. We also work on various other issues, including the cruel killing of rodents, birds, and other animals who are often considered “pests” as well as cruelty to domesticated animals.

PETA works through public education, investigative news gathering and reporting, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns” (www.peta.org/about-peta).  PETA has shared the following information with me which I am simply highlighting so full credit goes to PETA and the source is email PETAUKInfo <info@peta.org.uk> (dated 30/6/22).

 “Terrified dogs cower and whimper as they watch a worker drag away a yelping dog, bludgeon her, cut her throat, and strip off her skin. Dogs, cats, and other individuals are being violently killed before their skin is stolen and turned into clothing or accessories.

PETA is working to stop cruelty and transform the fashion industry:

Thousands of kind people are swearing off leather after viewing PETA UK’s eye-opening exposés revealing the horrors of live export, crude slaughter, and the hideous facilities in China where dogs are skinned for work gloves or leather trinkets. We can do more to protect cows, sheep, dogs, and other animals, but we need your support.

A growing number of iconic brands are joining the ranks of Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger by dropping exotic skins – preventing reptiles from languishing in putrid pools before workers bash in their heads or scramble their brains. PETA entities are seizing every opportunity to ramp up pressure on Louis Vuitton and Hermès, too. Any amount you can give before midnight will help keep the momentum going.

After casting a spotlight on the suffering of alpacas, sheep, and goats who are hit, kicked, pinned down, and even knelt on at shearing operations, we’re encouraging massive global retailers to cut ties with cruelty and empowering consumers to leave violence out of their wardrobes”. 

Another piece of information received from PETA is “The use of animals in cosmetics tests is banned in the European Union, but as a result of an apparently erroneous interpretation of the law, rabbits and other animals still endure pain and torment in laboratory experiments – blinded, poisoned, or dying in fear and pain for the sake of a can of hairspray or a bottle of sunscreen”. And the way fur from Angora rabbit is taken out from a live rabbit is unbelievable. The way they scream sometimes I feel the person is not a human being simply a devil soul. So like PETA, I also appeal to all please do not wear Angora woolen dresses.

I feel cruelty towards animals should be stopped because only for the benefit of human beings that too business interests animals are awfully tortured and left for dead.

The bonding between humans and pets is always something that is very close to one’s heart and gives joy to both parties all the time. So many organizations and human beings have been doing different types of welfare service activities for animals. On the other hand, some people and some business organizations awfully kill animals for making jackets, woolen clothes, etc. Regarding foods, it may be mentioned that many in the world eat the meat of animals and birds. The choice of food habit is personal and I have observed many only eat fish, many do not eat beef, many do not eat pork, etc. But many so-called ‘human beings’ for economic reasons (profit motive) torture the animals awfully and kill them. In this regard, an organization known as PETA has been doing excellent work by highlighting cruelty towards animals and I sometimes become disturbed by watching the cruel videos and reading the news shared with me by PETA which are very heart-wrenching. Sometimes I feel all human beings are not kind enough towards the animal and these a few are only name sake human beings. A few cases I will highlight for the benefit of readers. Before that, I wish to mention PETA which in full form stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, and PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally.

“PETA opposes speciesism (meaning discrimination based on species), a human-supremacist worldview, and focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment business. We also work on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of rodents, birds, and other animals who are often considered “pests” as well as cruelty to domesticated animals.

PETA works through public education, investigative news gathering and reporting, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns” (www.peta.org/about-peta).  PETA has shared the following information with me which I am simply highlighting so full credit goes to PETA and the source is email PETAUKInfo <info@peta.org.uk> (dated 30/6/22).

 “Terrified dogs cower and whimper as they watch a worker drag away a yelping dog, bludgeon her, cut her throat, and strip off her skin. Dogs, cats, and other individuals are being violently killed before their skin is stolen and turned into clothing or accessories.

PETA is working to stop cruelty and transform the fashion industry:

Thousands of kind people are swearing off leather after viewing PETA UK’s eye-opening exposés revealing the horrors of live export, crude slaughter, and the hideous facilities in China where dogs are skinned for work gloves or leather trinkets. We can do more to protect cows, sheep, dogs, and other animals, but we need your support.

A growing number of iconic brands are joining the ranks of Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger by dropping exotic skins – preventing reptiles from languishing in putrid pools before workers bash in their heads or scramble their brains. PETA entities are seizing every opportunity to ramp up pressure on Louis Vuitton and Hermès, too. Any amount you can give before midnight will help keep the momentum going.

After casting a spotlight on the suffering of alpacas, sheep, and goats who are hit, kicked, pinned down, and even knelt on at shearing operations, we’re encouraging massive global retailers to cut ties with cruelty and empowering consumers to leave violence out of their wardrobes”. 

Another piece of information received from PETA is “The use of animals in cosmetics tests is banned in the European Union, but as a result of an apparently erroneous interpretation of the law, rabbits and other animals still endure pain and torment in laboratory experiments – blinded, poisoned, or dying in fear and pain for the sake of a can of hairspray or a bottle of sunscreen”. And the way fur from Angora rabbit is taken out from a live rabbit is unbelievable. The way they scream sometimes I feel the person is not a human being simply a devil’s soul. So like PETA, I also appeal to all please do not wear Angora woolen dresses.

I feel cruelty towards animals should be stopped because only for the benefit of human beings that too business interests animals are awfully tortured and left for dead.

Across the world and also in our country there are many Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) working in various fields. Here, I am presenting the case of  “Society for Assam Agri-Horticultural Development” locally popular as  “SAAHDEV”  a Non-Governmental   Organisation (NGO) located in Guwahati which is working for the development of rural farming communities of Assam, especially for the resource crunch poor farmers. SAAHDEV   is comprised of senior citizens, who had long experience in the Agri-horticultural sector. It started its work in 2021 after registration under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.

Presently, SAAHDEV initiated a project for the production of quality winter paddy seeds viz.,  Ranjit Sub-1 variety, a submergence tolerance variety,  in a flood-prone area of Assam at   Durung village (Kamrup district) which is about 50 kilometers away from Guwahati. This variety was developed by the Assam Agricultural University and made available in 2018.

Incessant rain and a subsequent flood occur almost every year from June to September in this area (Durung village and its vicinity) and thus damage a vast area of paddy crops. Even if farmers try to do re-transplanting (if seedlings are available at that time), it will not help farmers to get their due return as the ideal time of transplantation is over. Therefore, the growing of submergence tolerance variety is one of the solutions at Durung village for which Ranjit Sub -1 variety is an alternative.

 SAAHDEV in collaboration with the Regional Agricultural Research Centre, Nagaon of Assam Agricultural University (AAU) organized a day-long programme on 12 Jun 2022 at Durung ( Khetri) distributing 20 Kilograms of breeder seeds to 20 farmers at the rate of one kilogram each. Also, imparted training to the farmers on the production of the breeder to foundation seeds, then to certified seeds of paddy.

It may be mentioned that Dr. Hemen Kalita, Agricultural Scientist, Regional Agricultural Research Centre, Nagaon, of Assam Agricultural University, attended as a resource person in the training and explained various aspects of seed production techniques to the farmers. Dr. Bhubaneshwar Burman, President of “SAAHDEV”, Bijoy Sarathi Sarma, Ramendra Kumar Bhuyan workers, and executive members of SAAHDEV attended the programme and discussed future steps on the project with the farmers and chalked out a detailed plan for production.  It is pertinent to mention that the yield of Ranjit Sub-1 is around 7,500 kilograms per hectare.

Further, it may be mentioned that the Government of India has already initiated measures to inspire farmers of flood-affected Kharif (sali) paddy to shift from regular sali paddy seeds to submergence tolerant varieties.  Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Agricultural Universities of India have developed other varieties viz., Swarna sub-1, Ranjit sub-1, etc.

It has to be admitted that the Government organizations cannot do it alone so, NGOs, Farmers’ Association, and others should come forward to take up seed production of such varieties in remote areas of the country, particularly in the flood-prone areas.

I extend my gratitude to my friend Bijoy Sarathi Sarma, Worker and Executive Member of SAAHDEV, Guwahati (bijoysarathi@yahoo.com) for providing the necessary inputs to publish the article.

Nikhat Zareen young girl of Telangana (born June 1996) has recently won the gold medal in Istanbul, Turkey where World Boxing Championship (2022) was recently held. It is pertinent to mention that on 19 May 2022, Zareen won the gold medal in the 52 kilograms, Flyweight category at the Women’s World Championship defeating Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas. Zareen became the fifth Indian women’s boxer to win a gold medal at the World Championships, joining Mary Kom, Laishram Sarita Devi, Jenny R. L., and Lekha K. C. (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikhat_Zareen).

She has shown us the path to success by doing hard labour. I had the opportunity to listen to her interview on India Today TV. According to her, some of her relatives were not happy that she should continue boxing because of socio-cultural reasons and complained also. But her footballer father always supported her in boxing by wearing short dresses and also her mother did. Thus, it is evident that when someone is in good work/mission, a few persons whether friends or relatives or ‘so-called well-wishers’ will try to block the person’s carrier. In this context, I wish to mention one line of a poem from a legendary personality Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.  In 1905 Tagore wrote Jôdi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tôbe Ekla Chôlo Re (“If no one responds to your call, then go your own way alone”), which is commonly known as Ekla Chôlo Re. Many people including sportspersons said me about this poem. Anyway, Nikhat Zareen has shown the young Indian girls, to continue sports and games without any botheration. She is also good in study  (completed her B.A.). Also, I had the opportunity to listen to her English conversation on TV. She with a wonderful accent with awesome communication skills lucidly presented.

 Zareen was born on 14 June 1996 to Mohammad Jameel Ahmed (a football player) and Parveen Sultana in Nizamabad city of Telangana. She completed her primary education at the Nirmala Hrudaya Girls High School in Nizamabad. Zareen was introduced to boxing by her father, who trained her. Later on, Nikhat was inducted into the Sports Authority of India in Vishakhapatnam to train under Dronacharya awardee, I.V. Rao in 2009. A year later, she was declared the ‘golden best boxer’ at the Erode Nationals in 2010.

Many great personalities including our Prime Minister congratulated her. According to her, she was excited when her favourite actor Salman Khan of Bollywood congratulated her. She earlier had won many awards inter alia of which are: Women’s Junior and Youth World Boxing Championships (2011), Youth World Boxing Championships (2014), Nations Cup International Boxing Tournament (2014),  16th Senior Woman National Boxing Championship (2016), Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament (2019), Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament (2019), Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament (2022). It glaringly reflects that almost every year she had won an award.

 Before conclusion, it may be mentioned here that during the interview on India Today TV  she expressed that her dream is to excel in Commonwealth Games (2022) and then the Olympics which will be held in 2024.  

All Indians feel proud and happy about her outstanding achievement and performance.  My personal salute to her in college and university days I was a player and played hockey at the national level and wish her very good luck.  

Prof Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad 

On this International Nurses Day on 12 May, I offer my salute to all Nurses including Florence Nightingale as when I was born (a little more than 65 years ago) in addition to others a nurse took care of me to take a breath in this world.  So, I have huge regard for all medical staff as my father completed his MBBS in the early 1950s rendered his selfless service to human beings in general and the poor in particular. 

This year like the earlier two years because of the awful impact of COVID19, people of the world irrespective of rich or poor, caste, creed, religion, language, etc., have been observing the services rendered by the nurses along with other medical staff. Even a few nurses have passed away while nursing the patients and many have been infected with the coronavirus.  

Anyway, every year 12 May is celebrated as International Nurses Day in commemoration of the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. It may be mentioned here that Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820 in a wealthy and well-connected British family at the Villa Colombia. She was a British social reformer and statistician, and the founder of contemporary nursing. Moreover, she was a great human being and had feelings for sufferers, and for this reason, she came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organized to care for wounded soldiers.

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has announced the new theme for International Nurses Day (IND) 2022: Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health, focusing on the need to protect, support, and invest in the nursing profession to strengthen health systems around the world.  According to the publication, “Nurses: A Voice to Lead Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health”   by the INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF NURSES (2022)

The benefits of protecting the safety of nurses include the following:

• Reduced hospital-acquired infections

• Greater productivity, increased job satisfaction, and improved retention of nurses

• Improved workplace health and safety, which improves patient safety and patient outcomes

• Supporting stronger and more resilient health systems

• Reduction in workplace induced injury and illnesses and improved health and wellbeing

• Improved return on investment.

Also, it is evident from the publication that “WHO estimates that from January 2020 to May 2021 at least 180,000 health and care workers died as a result of COVID-19 (WHO 2021b). These deaths are a terrible tragedy. In addition to the human toll, the ever-expanding ripple effect is the growing and irreplaceable gap in the health workforce leading the world’s pandemic response”.

The President International Council of Nurses Dr. Pamela Cipriano said: “Nurses have suffered tremendously throughout the pandemic. They have been unnecessarily exposed to the virus, faced attacks from the public, suffered from extreme workloads, and continue to be underpaid and undervalued. If governments continue to put off investing in the health workforce, it will be to the detriment of health systems everywhere. There is no health without a healthy workforce!

‘The International Nurses Day case studies that we have been collecting portray the incredible work of nurses, and our IND theme for 2022 will continue to promote nursing work and fight for nurses’ rights to a safe working environment, decent wages, and full participation in decision-making.”

Florence Nightingale although has passed away on 13 August 1910 but will remain alive in the hearts and memories of millions in the world for her humanitarian service.

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Padmabhusan Manna Dey was born on 1 May 1919 in present Kolkata the day which coincides with International Labour Day. By reading Manna Dey’s life, I have understood for reaching the zenith there is no shortcut to hard labour.

In India, from time to time many great singers were born and among the famous classical singers, a few great personalities are: Tansen, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Dr. Balamuralikrishna, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, M S Subbulakshmi, Pandit Jasraj, and many others. On the date of 1 May 1919 naturally one name crops up as Padmabhusan Manna Dey. He is a legendary figure in Indian music. And that is why he received many awards inter alia of which are: Padmabhusan Award, Padma Shri Award, Bongo Bibhusan Award,  given by the Government of West Bengal; Lifetime Achievement Award by Filmfare; Hony D.Lit Award from Jadavpur University; Dadasaheb Phalke Award; First Akkshaya Mohanty Award by the  Government of Odisha; National Film Award, Best Male Playback Singer for the Hindi film \”Mere Huzoor”.  His original name was Probodh Chandra Dey, and he was born on 1 May 1919 in present Kolkata.  He received his early education, in a small pre-primary school popularly known as Indu Babur Pathshala. Later on, he went to Scottish Church Collegiate School to complete both his schooling and intermediate studies. He completed his graduation from Vidyasagar College. From the very childhood, Manna Dey had a special liking for sports viz., wrestling, and boxing. Anyway, it is pertinent to mention that during his intermediate study at Scottish Church College, Manna Dey’s singing talent came to the limelight. He learned singing mainly from his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey and from Ustad Dabir Khan. It is heartening to mention that Manna Dey stood first for three consecutive years in three different categories of inter-collegiate singing competitions. In 1942, Manna Dey accompanied his renowned uncle Krishna Chandra Dey on a visit to Mumbai. There he met another legendary figure Sachin Dev Burman and Manna Dey started working as an assistant music director. Later on, he also assisted other famous music composers for some time and then decided to work independently. While working as a music director for different successful Hindi films Manna Dey was keen to learn  Hindustani Classical music, which he could do from two classical stalwarts, Ustad Aman Ali Khan and Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.

In 1943, Manna Dey started his career in playback singing with the film Tamanna. The musical score was set by his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey and he had to sing a duet with Suraiya. The song was an instant hit. The people across the country loved the song. In 1950, Mashal was the second film where Manna Dey got the opportunity to sing a solo ‘Upar gagan vishal’, and this time the melody was created by Sachin Dev Burman. In 1952, Manna Dey sang both for a Bengali and a Marathi film of the same name and storyline – Amar Bhupali and established himself as a booming playback singer. Thus, he reached in zenith in the music world.  It is found from the different reports, publications that Manna Dey has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of his career in many Indian languages.

On 18 December 1953, Manna Dey married Sulochana Kumaran from Kerala. They were blessed with two daughters. The versatile genius singer passed away on 24 October in Bengaluru, at the age of 94 years where he settled permanently. Because of his versatile and melodious singing, he will be in the heart of millions of generations after generations of Indians.  

(Some inputs about Padmabhusan Manna Dey have been collected from the website http://www.mannadey.in/index2.html)

Every year 22 April is celebrated as Earth Day across the world.  Earth Day symbolizes the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The theme of this year Earth Day 2022 is Invest in Our Planet.

We all are surviving and eking out our livelihoods from this earth so the earth is nurturing us and we must be grateful to earth. In all religions,​the importance of earth has been highlighted.  In Hindu ‘Bhumi Puja/Pujan’ is known to many. In general,​it means the tradition of offering prayers to Mother Earth before beginning construction work.

A few lines about the earth on Earth Day I am highlighting from the website nationalgeographic.com for the benefit of readers.

With a radius of 3,959 miles, Earth is the fifth largest planet in our solar system, and it’s the only one known for sure to have liquid water on its surface. Earth orbits the sun once every 365.25 days. Since our calendar years have only 365 days, we add an extra leap day every four years to account for the difference.

Though we can’t feel it, Earth zooms through its orbit at an average velocity of 18.5 miles a second. During this circuit, our planet is an average of 93 million miles away from the sun, a distance that takes light about eight minutes to traverse.   Almost 70 percent of Earth’s surface is covered in oceans of liquid water that average 2.5 miles deep. These bodies of water contain 97 percent of Earth’s volcanoes and the mid-ocean ridge, a massive mountain range more than 40,000 miles long (nationalgeographic.com).

According to the website earthday.org/ for Earth Day 2022, we need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). The Great Global Cleanup is a worldwide campaign to remove billions of pieces of trash from ​neighbourhoods, beaches, rivers, lakes, trails, and parks — reducing waste and plastic pollution, improving habitats, and preventing harm to wildlife and humans. It is also evident from the website that the fashion industry is responsible for over 8 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.  Sustainable Fashion refers to a clothing supply chain that is ecologically and socially responsible. Now is the opportunity to shift the industry and consumers away from the fast fashion model and toward sustainable practices in sourcing, production, distribution, marketing, and consumption. While discussing Earth Day a case from Hyderabad may be referred (earthday.org/).   

In the context of Earth Day, a case from Hyderabad, India may be highlighted.  Pragati Resorts was established by a dynamic Telugu person Dr. G.B.K Rao presently CMD of the Pragati Resorts Group gets enormous credit as this bio-diversity park was established in 1994 near Hyderabad city which was totally barren with the awful climatic conditions before 1994. The water in the area was at an awfully low level due to the mining of limestone which made the land unfit for cultivation even. Dr. G.B.K Rao selected the land-based on three criteria – i) it is away from the city and also away from the highway, ii) the area is totally non-cultivable /barren, and iii) totally very low level of water. Now, the area has been turned into heaven and the people call it “Pragati is Heaven on Earth”. Around 800 varieties of herbal heritage and medicinal plants, other rare mother plants, and trees inter alia are Kalpavriksha (also known as Kalpataru), have been planted in Pragati. This is spread over an area of 2500 acres.  In the Resorts, there is a provision of ‘Amrutha Ahaaram’ (meaning Amrita/lifesaving foods), and this special 3-day package has been designed to boost immunity levels naturally to fight against any type of virus or bacteria.

On Earth Day, 2022 a famous name from India who is an eminent environmentalist also should be mentioned. He is Professor K. Purushotham Reddy, a former Professor of Osmania University, Hyderabad. In many forums across the country, he has highlighted the importance of the environment for the survival of human beings by discarding the water, air, and noise pollution.  And for this, he organized peaceful agitation also to save mother Earth.

On Earth Day, 22 my Salute to the people, who have been working to make Earth Clean and Green and also helping to make it free from pollution.  In this regard, two names which I have already mentioned, I am reiterating Dr. G.B.K Rao and Professor K. Purushotham Reddy.