tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9962402753702030182024-03-14T10:29:23.276-07:00thinkersstableThis is a stable for thinkers, who share their own experiences, thoughts and graze on views and visions of others..
Tweet @japs99jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.comBlogger370125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-10728411209559277572021-11-02T19:09:00.005-07:002021-11-02T19:13:22.532-07:0021 years after Jassi murder, Mithu comes face to face first time with her 'killers'<p><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>deposes against Jassi's mother Malkit Kaur and uncle Surjeet Badesha </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>cross-examination today</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>#jassi; Mithu: Jassi honour killing case </b></span><br /></p><p style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Jupinderjit Singh</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Tribune News Service</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Chandigarh, November 2 <br /></p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Over 21 years after the “honour killing” of
his wife and Canadian citizen Jassi, Mithu came face to face for the
first time with her mother and uncle, both facing charges in a Sangrur
court for allegedly ordering Jassi’s killing. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-C7izai0nEe7dRDqzoZ4aTBD3kSSQ3m1kN98lBOGwYuTXbYs8I56DzZ1F3kDpBWkK6m43Ycj3PEJcYRzVg-fa3Wb95EmolEKDmmmPzhPTrkNSvsVBqv2WFb4WOu0WruHjDceP2ZrEMUg/s1145/IMG-20211103-WA0000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="414" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-C7izai0nEe7dRDqzoZ4aTBD3kSSQ3m1kN98lBOGwYuTXbYs8I56DzZ1F3kDpBWkK6m43Ycj3PEJcYRzVg-fa3Wb95EmolEKDmmmPzhPTrkNSvsVBqv2WFb4WOu0WruHjDceP2ZrEMUg/w141-h320/IMG-20211103-WA0000.jpg" width="141" /></a></p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Mithu gave his testimony on October 29 in
the case before the court of Additional Sessions Judge Smriti Dhir,
narrating the sequence of events where they had first met in 1994, fell
in love, got secretly married in April 1999 before contract killers,
allegedly hired by Jassi’s mother Malkit Kaur and maternal uncle Surjeet
Singh Badesha, killed Jassi in June 2000 and left Mithu in fields,
thinking he had died of multiple stabs.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Mithu survived to tell the horrific tale,
which has been the subject of several international documentaries, TV
shows, a book and movies.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Mithu, who is facing a separate trial under
the NDPS Act and has been in Ludhiana jail since May last year, was
brought amid tight security with at least 25 guards.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Surjeet was brought from Kapurthala jail,
where he is incarcerated while facing the trial. Malkit had got bail
from the Punjab and Haryana High Court last year.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Mithu has faced seven different cases since
the murder, including rape and drugs smuggling. He was acquitted in six
of those. He has been claiming that he was falsely implicated in the
cases to pressure him to strike a compromise in the murder case.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Malkit and Surjeet were extradited to India
in January 2019 after a long legal battle and dramatic twists in India
and Canada. Mithu, in several media interviews, stated that he was alive
only to fight for justice for Jassi and confront her mother. “I wanted
to ask her if marrying for love and not as per parent’s wishes was such a
big crime?” However, Mithu and the accused were kept at bay amid heavy
police security. The case will again come up for hearing tomorrow when
the defence lawyers would cross-examine Mithu.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Mithu had last met Malkit before marrying
Jassi secretly. The mother and daughter were visiting Surjeet’s house in
Kaunke Khosa near Jagraon. Surjeet lived in a villa, while Mithu lived
in a two-room house behind it. Surjeet and Malkit were reportedly
against Jassi’s wish to marry Mithu as the prospective bridegroom was
poor and belonged to the same village as Jassi’s mother.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">Of the 12 contract killers allegedly hired
by the accused, three, including a dismissed sub-Inspector of the Punjab
Police, were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;"><b><span style="font-size: 18px;">Face to face</span></b></p>
<p style="font-size: 18px;">During Mithu’s testimony, which went on for
almost two hours, Malkit (mother) and Surjeet (uncle) were present in
the court room. He identified them during his deposition. Ashwani
Chaudhary, Mithu’s lawyer</p><p>first published: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/jassis-husband-to-be-cross-examined-today-333531<br /></p>jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-74023787864002119662018-02-21T19:04:00.000-08:002018-02-21T19:04:49.026-08:00Middle : Admit it, no child’s play<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30.72px; margin: 0px 0px 7.68px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">key words: Middles, school admissions, police officer, CM</span></h1>
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<b></b></div>
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<b>Jupinderjit Singh</b></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 19.2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 19.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> ASKED what is tougher — scaling the Everest or their child’s admission in an institute of choice — parents would surely choose the latter, without blinking an eye.</span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 19.2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 19.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Each parent has some experience — an ordeal through fire — to share on this subject. Hapless parents often go for sifarish to anyone, who they think has the right contacts in the right places: politicians, bureaucrats, cops, journalists, to name a few. </span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 19.2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 19.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> A daunting task, but one that offers unique lessons of life. Not very long ago, I faced such a challenge. A friend’s son could not get through a certain school, despite rich parents and powerful connections. My ego hit the ground with a thud when my name too was added to the ‘high and mighty’ who had failed to deliver! </span><br />
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</div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> A Punjab SP suffered similar humiliation over his daughter’s admission. Trying again, he got ‘recommendation’ from the DC and the DIG and went in person to request the principal. He waited for over an hour outside her office. All the power and aura of his uniform melted away. He was asked to come the next day. He waited again, in civvies, when, to his astonishment, he saw an SHO simply walk into the principal’s office. The SHO noticed him when he came out of the office. Bingo, the SP’s daughter got admission. That day, he said, he understood the real meaning of the police term ‘mauke da afsar’. </span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 19.2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 19.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> The son of a senior journalist was not good in spoken English, but was proficient in his mother tongue, Punjabi. He was not selected. The exasperated father somehow managed to see the principal. After all arguments and influence failed, he begged her to listen to a story. He recounted how a Punjabi couple worked hard to educate their son and send him abroad for higher studies. The son did well and got a job there. He returned after over a decade but conversed in English. The parents cried, saying for them he was dead as they could not talk to him. “I will not discourage my son from speaking in his mother tongue as that is the language his parents and grandparents understand,” he said firmly. The son got admission.</span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 19.2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 19.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> I was never at home with the idea of using influence for admissions. Once, a colleague was tense over the admission of his daughter and believed that only a recommendation from the CM’s office will work. He got it, but was unhappy about using it for this purpose. He went to meet the principal with the letter in his pocket. “Madam, I have a letter of recommendation from the CM’s office for the admission of my child. I can get more also. But I am not comfortable with it. I don’t want to start my child’s education using influence.”</span><br />
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</div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> The principal smiled, admitting she was taken aback. “I have never come across such a parent. People approach us boasting of money or position. I can handle that. How do I respond to you?” she said, pausing, and adding, “Your child is admitted. With parents like you, she surely has the values to deserve it.”</span><br />
<div>
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<div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28.8px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
courtesy: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/musings/admit-it-no-child-s-play/547602.html</div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-16597876565834034852017-10-26T04:53:00.000-07:002017-10-26T04:57:01.662-07:00"shoot me in my sleep” - Maharaja Hari Singh on Acession Day of Kashmir to India, 70 years ago<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is the Accession Day of Jammu and Kashmir. Capt Deewan, the ADC of Kashmir's last king, Maharaja Hari Singh, told me the dramatic moments of this day in 1947 when the reluctant king agreed to accede to India. This full page article was published in The Tribune on October 26, 2011. A first ever interview of the ADC, who died two years later. The late Maharaja is said to have adopted him later. Capt Deewan performed last rites of the late Maharaja some years later, instead of his son Karan Singh.<br />
Read on.<br />
---<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
THE <span class="il">MAHARAJA</span> SPURNED MOUNTBATTEN’S ADVICE<br />
“If you do not hear Indian planes tomorrow morning, shoot me in my<br />
sleep” is what <span class="il">Maharaja</span> <span class="il">Hari</span> <span class="il">Singh</span> told him after signing the<br />
Instrument of Accession on October 26, recalls the <span class="il">Maharaja</span>’s ADC in<br />
conversations with JUPINDERJIT <span class="il">SINGH</span><br />
<br />
<br />
The <span class="il">Maharaja</span> with the ADC<br />
<br />
<br />
Captain Diwan <span class="il">Singh</span> was fondly described as an adopted son of <span class="il">Maharaja</span><br />
<span class="il">Hari</span> <span class="il">Singh</span>. The last ADC to the last <span class="il">Maharaja</span> of Jammu & Kashmir is<br />
now 87 years old but remembers vividly those dramatic weeks that led<br />
to the state's accession to India. Excerpts from conversations with<br />
him are reconstructed below :<br />
<br />
"There was considerable talk about the options before the state, of<br />
acceding either to India or Pakistan, in early 1947. But it acquired<br />
urgency during Lord Mountbatten's visit to the kingdom between June 18<br />
and June 23. I have reasons to believe that the option was officially<br />
raised for the first time by Lord Mountbatten."<br />
<br />
Mountbatten and the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> did not discuss the issue till the second<br />
last day of the former's six-day trip to Srinagar. On that day,<br />
<span class="il">Maharaja</span> Sahib and Lord Mountbatten went on a drive together. <span class="il">Maharaja</span><br />
sahib was at the wheels and there was no one else in the car. I was<br />
later told that Lord Mountbatten had asked the King to join Pakistan.<br />
"I advise you to join Pakistan," were his exact words.<br />
<br />
We were in another car following the two of them. The <span class="il">Maharaja</span><br />
apparently asked Mountbatten for a meeting next day, i.e. June 23 at<br />
11 am with their entire staff to discuss the issue.<br />
<br />
The <span class="il">Maharaja</span>, however, did not go to the meeting the next day.<br />
Instead, he handed over a letter to me for Lord Mountbatten in which<br />
he stated that he would not be able to go ahead with the meeting. I<br />
handed over the letter to a staff member of Lord Mountbatten. From a<br />
distance I could hear Mountbatten shouting. He was out of my ear shot<br />
but he was clearly fuming.<br />
<br />
As the partition between India and Pakistan became a reality in<br />
August, Jammu and Kashmir was on tenterhooks though the <span class="il">Maharaja</span>'s<br />
heart was always with India. He would often say, "I can't send my<br />
population to the hawks" whenever the subject cropped up.<br />
<br />
Indeed Jinnah, the first Sadar-e-riyasat of Pakistan, tried to meet<br />
the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> twice. He first requested to meet him officially to<br />
discuss the Accession to Pakistan but the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> declined. This was<br />
before August. Later, in September, Jinnah again wanted to spend some<br />
days in the valley on health grounds as he was not well and claimed<br />
doctors had advised him to rest for a few days and away from his usual<br />
environment. But the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> again declined. He could see through<br />
Jinnah's move and was never inclined towards him.<br />
<br />
At the same time, the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> was not happy at the insistence of<br />
Pandit Nehru to involve Shiekh Abdullah in the process. Sheikh<br />
Abdullah was in jail at that time as he had started a Quit Kashmir<br />
movement in 1946. The <span class="il">Maharaja</span> was upset, especially after Sheikh<br />
Abdullah hung the ruler's pictures round the neck of dogs and took out<br />
a procession in the valley. Much later, after his release and<br />
Kashmir's accession to India, Sheikh Abdullah wrote a letter to the<br />
<span class="il">Maharaja</span> saying he was never against him personally and launched the<br />
movement for ushering in democracy in the Valley.<br />
<br />
Pandit Nehru of course had a soft corner for Sheikh Abdullah although<br />
even he had to jail him later. Nehru possibly nursed a grudge against<br />
the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> who did not allow him to enter the state in 1946 when the<br />
Quit Kashmir movement was boiling. While it is widely believed that<br />
the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> put him under arrest at Kohila bridge near Uri, the<br />
gateway to the valley, I would like to put on record that actually<br />
Nehru was never arrested. He was merely stopped from going to the<br />
Valley and politely told to stay in the official guest house of the<br />
<span class="il">Maharaja</span> near the bridge.<br />
<br />
The <span class="il">Maharaja</span> sent his personal cook and servants to take care of<br />
Pandit Nehru. After a few days, Maulana Azad, the then President of<br />
the Indian National Congress came seeking Pandit Nehru's release,<br />
which surprised the <span class="il">Maharaja</span>. I remember the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> exclaim, " But<br />
he was never arrested. He is free to go." But Pandit Nehru was furious<br />
at not being allowed to enter the Valley and that began an unfortunate<br />
personality clash between the two well-meaning personalities.<br />
<br />
It is right to say that the unexpected tribal attack prompted the<br />
<span class="il">Maharaja</span> to sign the Instrument of Accession with India and hastened<br />
the process. He felt Jinnah had ditched him. It also strengthened his<br />
belief that future of Jammu and Kashmir was secure with India and not<br />
with Pakistan. Moreover, Pakistan already had cut off all supplies of<br />
essential items like oil, vegetables and pulses, to India.<br />
<br />
The <span class="il">Maharaja</span> in fact had a prenomination about the attack by tribals,<br />
which began on the night of Oct 21. On that day, the King was<br />
scheduled to visit Bhimber Tehsil in Mirpur (now in Pakistan) and left<br />
for the destination from Amar Palace in Jammu in the morning. However,<br />
when he reached Jewel Chowk, a few kms from the palace, he suddenly<br />
asked us to go to Kathua instead. Later, he flew to Srinagar in the<br />
late afternoon. That same night tribals attacked and we learnt later<br />
that a group of tribals were waiting to ambush him in a forest on way<br />
to Poonch.<br />
<br />
The King flew to Srinagar and when we reached there by road the next<br />
morning, everyone knew about the tribal invasion. Much to my surprise,<br />
I saw the King in battle fatigue. He wanted to go to the front. He<br />
asked us to get ready for battle and save the motherland. It took a<br />
lot of persuasion by me, Brigadier Rajendra <span class="il">Singh</span> and others to make<br />
him change his mind. Brigadier Rajendra <span class="il">Singh</span>, who was the Chief of<br />
his Army, assured him that he would be leading his troops to the<br />
front.<br />
<br />
I was present there. I remember an agitated Mahaharajs saying, "What<br />
would they do to me, kill me, let them." But Brig Rajendra <span class="il">Singh</span> told<br />
him he would not be killed. "They would treat you well, force you to<br />
sign on papers and show the world that the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> has acceded to<br />
Pakistan," the Brigadier told him.<br />
<br />
When the tribals were close to Srinagar on Oct 25, the King had to<br />
leave. Again it was done after much persuasion. He left on oct 25<br />
night at 2 am with me in the car. He was quiet on the way. But the<br />
moment we reached Jammu in the morning, he took a step out of the car,<br />
turned his head towards Kashmir and said with melancholy, " we have<br />
lost Kashmir."<br />
<br />
Later that day, he signed the accession. The papers were signed in the<br />
<span class="il">Maharaja</span>'s room in the Amar Palace. The Instrument of Accession was<br />
signed in <span class="il">Hari</span> Niwas, Jammu.<br />
<br />
Contrary to propaganda abroad that India forcibly got the documents<br />
after the tribal invasion, the instrument was actually signed before<br />
Indian troops landed in Kashmir. In fact, the <span class="il">Maharaja</span> had laid down a<br />
clause (and this is well-known) that if Indian troops did not land,<br />
the agreement would become null and void.<br />
<br />
The <span class="il">Maharaja</span> actually laid down the condition that if the Indian Army<br />
and the Air Force did not reach the Valley the next day, the accession<br />
would stand cancelled.<br />
<br />
Later that night, he told me, " If you don't see or hear Indian planes<br />
in the morning, shoot me in my sleep."<br />
<br /></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-2698766023437279292017-09-10T21:23:00.001-07:002017-09-10T21:25:29.309-07:00the controversies on inter-faith marriages in Kashmir<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
the controversies on inter-faith marriages in Kashmir<br />
<br />
<br />
Knot at a cost<br />
<br />
Many youngsters are going in for inter-faith and inter-caste marriages to script the<br />
story of a new Kashmir, but this is proving costly with various communities resorting<br />
to violence to thwart such alliances, writes Jupinderjit Singh<br />
<br />
Photo: Kuldip Dhiman<br />
<br />
<br />
LOVE, they say, can bridge many a gap. Therefore, a large number of second-generation Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians are increasingly choosing the "bond of love" over a communal or caste one in the strife-torn valley of Jammu and Kashmir despite a violent suppression of such alliances. Many persons have either been killed in the process or been forced to kill their feelings. Many are living in hiding and many outside the state. Those who continue to live here are treated like outcastes by their communities and families. Yet, the inter-community love affairs go on.<br />
<br />
Soon after Rajnish Sharma married a Muslim girl, Amina, he landed in lock-up and was later found dead in police custody<br />
WEDLOCK: Soon after Rajnish Sharma married a<br />
Muslim girl, Amina, he landed in lock-up and was<br />
later found dead in police custody<br />
<br />
Members of the Mahila Sangharsh Samiti demand justice in the Rajnish death case<br />
FAIR PLAY: Members of the Mahila Sangharsh Samiti demand justice in the Rajnish death case<br />
Photos: Anand Sharma<br />
<br />
Even though such marriages are seen as a veiled bid to decimate the numerical strength of a community in the state, where the demand for a separate homeland is raging since decades, inter-faith marriages form an undercurrent of a new Kashmir. But are they a solution?<br />
When Amina Yusuf of Kashmir and Rajnish Sharma of Jammu fell in love eight years ago in Gulmarg, they dreamt of a new life and a new Kashmir. A Kashmir where, like them, people from different faiths could not only dare to marry but also live together peacefully.<br />
<br />
But that was not to be. By Amina’s own admission before the Jammu police and the media, the couple went on to marry against the wishes of the families and the diktats of their community leaders in August last year. But they could live together only for a few days. Rajnish was booked on the charge of kidnapping and forcibly marrying the 26-year-old Amina, aka Anchal Sharma post marriage.<br />
<br />
He was "picked up" by the cops on September 29 and found dead in the Srinagar police’s custody on October 4. `A0 A judicial investigation is on in the case. Amina, after living with her in-laws for three months, returned to her parents’ house this January. Later, Amina retracted from the love affair in a statement before a Srinagar court. She claimed she had been forced to marry. The court hearing is on.<br />
<br />
There are many others like them. "On an average, we get one such case daily in Jammu city itself. Often, it is easier to trace and catch a militant than a runaway couple," admits a senior police official requesting anonymity. "We go by the law. The girlparents file a case of kidnapping and add the charge of rape later. It boils down to the girl’s stand. If she deposes before a court that she had gone of her own will, which happens rarely, the law protects the couple," says the senior police officer.<br />
<br />
He narrates documented tales of runaway couples being recovered from places as far off as Goa and Siliguri. "Couples elope the world all over. But in this state, it acquires far more serious proportions," he says, pointing towards the communal divide. "No community here wants its members to join another community after marriage. The community members fear that one by one, their numbers will dwindle and the demographic change can affect the separatist demand. Interestingly, parents don’t mind if their son brings a girl from another community and converts her".<br />
<br />
"But when it comes to their daughters marrying outside the community, there is violence and bloodshed," says former DGP M.M. Khajuria. Enquiries reveal that such runaway couples are found in each colony and region of the militancy-hit state. Many are going through the painful process of having to face society. Others have settled down, albeit in isolation, after braving it all.<br />
<br />
Many Kashmiri Pandits marrying Muslims or vice-versa are those whose parents are still living through the wounds of the separatist movement. Elders of different communities openly scoff at the suggestion that the younger generation is scripting the story of a new and mixed society that would never be able to seek division on the lines of community, caste or race.<br />
<br />
The marriages between Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims arouse the strongest passions. "There was a time when Kashmiri Pandits marrying Dogri boys or girls was a big no-no. Now, you find hundreds of such cases," reveals a sociologist, preferring anonymity out of fear of a backlash. The case of Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims is significant. The Pandits driven out of the valley have a natural grudge against the Muslims. The latter, too, demanding a separate state for their community, are naturally averse to any such alliance. But their second generation is determined to follow the diktats of the heart.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, the first family of the state, the Abdullahs, are the most secular. Union Minister and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah is married to a Christian. His son and serving Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is wedded to a Sikh girl. His sister is married to a Hindu, the Union Minister of State for Telecommunications, Sachin Pilot. But it isn’t smooth sailing for everyone.<br />
<br />
<br />
"What wrong did we do?" asks Shabnam with her husband Ravi Sharma (names changed) holding her hand tightly in their two-room rented house in the city. "We are both working in a multinational company. We liked each other, respect each other’s religion and told our parents of our decision to marry. But there was a volcano of a protest. We had no option but to elope. We got married but were caught. He was booked for kidnapping but the court came to our rescue. Now, we are living happily," she says. Some even take the fight up to the Supreme Court. The case of a Muslim girl from Doda and a Hindu youth from Nagrota is a case in point.<br />
<br />
The apex court provided security to this love-lorn couple, hounded by relatives and cops. Anjum, 19, a Muslim from Doda, and Khemraj, 24, a Hindu from Nagrota, eloped few months ago. Both belong to influential families. They are reportedly living in hiding.<br />
The undercurrents have not escaped the eye of social observers. Dr Niharica Subash, assistant professor, sociology, Jammu University, has met 115 such couples who have crossed the social boundaries, "Couples from Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Christian families, especially the Dogris and Kashmiri Pandits, are running from their homes and marrying. Of these, a Hindu-Muslim, and specifically a Kashmiri Pandit-Muslim marriage, is a cardinal sin and<br />
often results in violence, as happened in the Amina and Rajnish case".<br />
<br />
Conversion after marriage becomes the main issue. The DGP remembers how a Sikh girl despite marrying a Muslim in England spent a torturous life for years. She wanted to follow her religion but there was opposition. She pulled along for a few years. But when it came to the children’s religion, she left the family.<br />
<br />
Dr Niharica recalls her experiences in meeting two such couples, "Some Hindu girls had got converted. One of them agreed to talk to me on the condition that I wouldn’t disclose that she was originally a Hindu. She had adjusted so well in her new life". Another case was even more telling. "This woman, originally a Hindu, just refused to acknowledge that. She showed me the door, saying she was born a Muslim".<br />
<br />
And it is not that all are living unhappily. "Ayaz and his Hindu wife are living happily in Jammu with both practising their respective religions. Even Ayaz’s sister, married to a Hindu, is living happily. Both had got their marriages solemnised outside the state in a court.<br />
<br />
"This trend of going outside the state for marriage has been noted in most of the cases," asserts Dr Niharica, "Most of the couples I have met, married outside the state, especially in Chandigarh and New Delhi. A few return to the state. They can get married here but the repercussions would be immediate, while outside the state they can get a safe haven."<br />
<br />
Saranjit Kaur cites from her M. Phil study on emerging trends of marriages, "There was a time when no community married out of caste or clan. But slowly, a change is coming. Dogris and Pandits are marrying, though there is opposition, but most of the parents accept the alliance once the grandchildren are born.<br />
<br />
"The children of Kashmiri Pandits, especially those born in Jammu after migration, identify themselves with the people and culture here. They accept them, unlike their parents, who were forced to leave the valley."<br />
<br />
The biggest opposition is to Hindu-Muslim marriages. "In Jammu and Kashmir, it is feared that such marriages can affect the majority of a population in a given area. For instance, if Hindu and Sikh girls marrying Muslims practice their faith, the Muslim majority is affected in the valley. The whole aim of the secessionist movement, or demand for leaving India for Pakistan is the rendered useless," she reasons. There is trouble for Dalit-Brahmin marriages as well. Rahul Dev of the Progressive Students Association shares the trouble he faced on marrying a Pandit girl.<br />
<br />
He belongs to the Other Backward Classes. His wife, Rosy, is a Brahmin. Both studied law together in college. When they decided to marry, all hell broke loose." "The religious and caste lines are so deeply set. My father is an ex-serviceman. He accepted after two years that I was marrying a Brahmin girl. He still says he did not feel as much pain from the two bullets that pierced him while fighting the enemy as much he did at his son marrying outside the caste," says Rahul. "But he still doesn’t visit our house," adds Rosy.<br />
<br />
first published in -- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100207/spectrum/main1.htm<br />
<br />
<br />
HOME<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-40482536876855407242017-09-10T20:28:00.002-07:002017-09-10T20:28:49.402-07:00“Now, I can ask Jassi’s mother if our love was such a big crime?” : Mithu (husband of Jassi)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Key words:
Jassi murder case; justice for jassi ; Mithu, Sukhwinder, Kaunke</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Now, I can ask Jassi’s mother if our love was
such a big crime?” : Mithu (husband of Jassi)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">“I braved
death and threats and fake police cases to see this day”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Jupinderjit
Singh </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“I survived for this day only when the killers
of my wife, Jassi, would be sent to India and face trial for her murder. I
braved death and threats and fake police cases in 17 years of struggle for
justice to see this day.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Says
Sukhwinder Singh alias Mithu reacting to the Canadian Supreme Court’s decision
on Friday allowing extradition of Jassi’s mother Malkiat Kaur and maternal
uncle Surjit Singh Badesha (Malkiat’s elder brother). </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">“Now, I can
confront Malkiat Kaur face to face and ask her why she considered her
daughter’s love for me such a big crime that she got her killed,” Mithu added,
his voice choking.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">After the
murder on June 8, 2000 by 14 contract killers,<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Punjab Police had charged both with conspiracy to murder Jaswinder Kaur
alias Jassi for marrying Mithu against family wishes. Police charge sheet said
both planned the conspiracy in Canada and got it executed in India.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mithu drives
a truck these days to earn a living and was on the road since early morning.
“The whole purpose of my existence post Jassi’s murder is to see her mother and
Uncle behind bars one day and pay for the crime,” he said.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">“Jassi and I
got married with honour. Her parents may have been mad at us if I had not
married Jassi. We followed the sanctity of marriage. I am still her husband. I
have spurned hundreds of marriage offers. I want to tell her mom my love was
true and committed to Jassi in life and beyond,’ said Mithu, who did not budge
despite false police cases against him and offers to crores of ruppes and land
to withdraw his statement against Jassi’s mother and Uncle.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mithu and
Jassi’s story is a well known international honour killing case which has been
subject of a movie, book and<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>documentary
by the National Geogrpahic.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hailing the verdict, Mithu laments the
Canadian government never allowed him to plead for the extradition in<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>their courts, “ I believe today that there is
justice in Canada. The government had stone-walled my request to visit
Canada<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>to pursue the case,” he said.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Sukhwinder
Singh alias Mithu of Kaunke Khosa said he had weaved a life of love and
happiness with Canada-born Indian girl Jaswinder Kaur Jassi in the late 1990s.
But when they got married against the wishes of Jassi’s parents, the dream life
could be lived for a few weeks only. Both were attacked by a group of contract
killers allegedly hired by Jassi’s mother and an uncle. Jassi died. Mithu
survived, but only to live a life full of sufferings. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mihtu had
recently moved the two-member Justice Mehtab Singh Commission of Inquiry into
false cases registered by the Punjab Police in the last 10 years. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The range of
cases against him varies from rape, for which he spent three-and-a-half years
in jail before his acquittal, to rioting, snatching and even drugs smuggling.
He has been booked six times in different cases and has already been acquitted
in four. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">“The cops
who arrested me were sympathetic, but they wanted me to forget all about Jassi
and my fight for justice… I have even declined several marriage proposals
coming my way. I can’t share my love for Jassi with anyone,” Mithu told The
Tribune. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Every offer of a compromise I declined
resulted in a new case against me,” he has claimed before the commission. His
application has been registered and notices have been sent to the police. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">“From an
initial offer of Rs 10 lakh to the latest Rs 1.5 crore besides the ownership of
14 acres of land or a well-settled life abroad, the supporters of the accused
have promised it all to me. But I can’t trade my love for all this. I just want
Jassi’s mother and uncle to be punished for what they did to her and me,” said
Mithu. His voice trembling in between as his torrid life flashes before his
eyes. EOM</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-54289873462204128462017-08-24T22:57:00.001-07:002017-08-24T23:00:50.852-07:00When "premis" , gave away their property to Dera Sacha Sauda <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
</h3>
<div class="post-header">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
Premis” ( mainly farmers) registered their houses , shops in the name of dera on a call given to do so.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Jupinderjit Singh<br />
<br />
As the nation sees the frenzy of followers of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who faces a verdict in a rape case against him in Panchkula Special CBI court today, there is a history of such seeminlgy mad following of a dera head. While in 2007, three followers committed suicde when the Dera head was summoned to the court, in 2012, many of them willing gifted their small houses and shops as a gift to the dera on a call given to do so.<br />
<br />
On October 26, 2012, about 68 followers of Dera Sacha Sauda
‘gifted’ their land, both rural and urban to a ‘Force Wing’ of the sect that has remained mired in several controversies. Next day, 45<br />
more properties ranging from few Kanals to several acres were made in the name of a Shah Satnam Ji Green ‘S’ Welfare Force Wing of the Dera.
The total number of such sale deeds were 113.<br />
<br />
The gift came in the time of shrinking landholdings and debt on farmers.<br />
<br />
As many as 41 sale deeds were executed at the Tehsil office Bathinda in favour of Shah Satnam Ji Green S Welfare Force Wing of the Dera Sacha Sauda , Sirsa. Another 21 sale deeds were executed in Talwandi Sabo on that day. The Tribune had reported the development exclusively..<br />
<br />
The process went late into the evening. Employees at the Tehsil were seen compiling the list of the sale deeded in the presence of some legal experts representing the Dera. One followere even gifted 13<br />
acres of land.<br />
<br />
Tehsil Sources the sale deeds were executed legally with all the requisite revenue paid<br />
to the government.<br />
<br />
Most of the Urban sale deeds were of Paras Ram Nagar and Lal Singh Basti in the city. The “premis” as the followers are called executed the sale deed of small to medium size plots.<br />
<br />
Among the rural areas, most of the sale deeds were of Baluana and Rai Singh Wala villages. Tehsil sources said the “premis” said the sect Guru would give them many more land in return. The Shah Satnam Ji Green ‘S’ Welfare Force Wing is a special volunteer group constituted by the sect guru, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for providing disaster relief.<br />
<br />
The “premis”(followers) who gifted land today were mainly from GehriBhagga , Chugga Kalan and Bhaagu villages in the district. Talking toThe Tribune, some of the “Premis” got quite agitated at the queries.They said they were free to give or take land. The “Premis” maintained they were not worried about the impact on financial condition of afamily if they give part or major portion of their land.<br />
<br />
“The Dera has given us so much. Its spiritual powers ad benevolence starts from where your science and education ends. We can give everything to the Dera as what ever we have is given by it,” said<br />
Choor Singh of Bhaagu village.<br />
<br />
He has “gifted” one acre out of his seven acres of land. When asked if the donation would affect the annual earnings of the family he said the Dera Head would give them anything they desire, “My son is in Indian Army and my daughter is with the Punjab Police. What ever we made was because of the Dera. I can give all my land. We just want the Media to write the Truth and whatever I said.”<br />
<br />
Mohinder Singh , another “Premi” said he has six acres out of which he has given one acre ,” It must be for someone’s good. We donate blood, ration and whever we are in trouble and need something the Dera helps. I don’t know for what purpose the land was required. I only<br />
know I am giving it in safe hands and it will serve someone.”<br />
<br />
A perusal of some of the sale deeds revealed that the gifted property was mainly ancestral. Some of the property was bought several years<br />
ago.<br />
<br />
EOM</div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-15215779083312893242017-08-24T07:34:00.005-07:002017-08-24T07:34:58.045-07:00Why the Sacha Sauda Dera has so many followers?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">key words: Ram Rahim, Dera Sacha Sauda, rape, dera culture</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is not
just about spirituality, subsidised food and free treatment besides equality of
all castes and humility of the management are pull factors for the followers</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jupinderjit
Singh</span></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Besides
spirituality, there seems to be many other attractions which attract people to
become followers of the Sacha Sauda dera in Sirsa in droves.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
controversial dera is hogging limelight again these days with the dera head Ram
Rahim Singh facing a verdict in a rape case against him tomorrow. Lakhs of
followers have made a beeline to Panchkula where a Special CBI court will
deliver the verdict tomorrow afternoon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thousands of
others are gathering in the worship centres called the ‘Naam Charcha Ghar’ in
Haryana and Punjab praying for the verdict in the dera head’s favour, who they
call ‘pita Ji’ lovingly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But why so many people throng the dera and
follow the sect head who has courted several controversies besides starring in
two films based on him. He is probably the only sect head in India who has
acted in a film. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Caste
equality in the dera is one such reason. “We get mental peace in the spiritual
environment in Sirsa dera and at the various Naam Charcha houses in our city.
But above all, the dera life provides an equal status to all castes,”says Prem
Insaan, a resident of a poor colony near the Railway Station, Bathinda.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He adds
there is still so much discrimination in society on the basis of caste. “It is an
open fact that different communities and castes have their own temples and
Gurdwaras in Punjab and Haryana but in our dera all are equal. We all have one
sir name-Insaan. It means Human. The dera advocates humanity. We may be Hindu,
Sikh or anything but we have failed to end the caste divisions in the
society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In dera, the divisions are
erased,” insisted Prem Insaan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For some,
the humble ranking of managements is an attraction. Sukhveer Insaan, a dalit
from Mansa said the dera management has devised nomenclature like Insaan to
advocate not just equality but humility also,”The managements divides state
into zones which are further divided into unit. Each unit is headed by a man
given the title Bhangi Dass. The word ‘Bhangi’is an offensive word used
otherwise for lower caste people. But when the unit head is called this, it
gives the word respect. That is why so many people of lower castes are
followers of the dera.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
subsidised food and free medicines is a huge attraction, “The dera headquarter
in Sirsa and the district units provide subsidised ration to the members. This
comes as huge boon for poor families. Unlike the government schemes like free
ration for Below Poverty Line families which are often delayed or marred with
corruption, the supply of subsidised ration is smooth and equal for all in the
dera,” said a Bathinda based Sikh follower Swaran Insaan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The dera
followers have high concentration in Malwa region of the state. These comprise
of districts, Sangrur, Barnala, Mansa, Bathinda, Fazilka, Faridkot and
Ferozepore. Most of these are close to the Sirsa district of Haryana where the
dera headquarter is situated and thus they are influenced by the dera
activities. This region is plagued with deadly diseases like cancer apart from
knee problems due to bad quality of water. The dera offers free treatment to
these patients. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“There is a
set system of providing free treatment. A Bhangi dass collects slips from
followers in his area about the ailment they are suffering from. He
co-ordinates with the dera headquarters and takes appointment. The free
treatment along with spiritual environment is a great pull for a poor patient
or others from even middle class also,” revealed a Bhangi Dass from Sangrur.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prof. Pramod Kumar, Director
Institute for Development and Communication on mushrooming of deras</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Deras and
religious Babas are the poor cousins of religion. They are the schoolmaster of
subaltern poor and middle class. They have emerged as messengers of God between
the people and the God.<br />
<br />
Not only this, these mediators of God swept away the faith of their followers
in politics, courts, government and even markets. Notwithstanding this, their
appeal amongst people is a tonic which is embraced by the political leaders.
All the political parties try to outdo each other to woo deras. On the other
hand, deras are issuing the diktat to induce people to vote according to their
faith rather than their conscience. It is violative of the secular principles
and free and fair elections. It appears that people have swallowed the
make-believe pills being traded by the political parties that the misuse of
deras is justified. In turn, these Deras and religious ‘babas’ are provided
shield against rule of law to allow them to promote their commercial
enterprise, personal leisure and also act as a medicine for poverty and
inequities.</span></div>
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jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-27644425193419667272017-05-08T08:29:00.000-07:002017-05-08T08:29:56.732-07:00this punjab village of drug smugglers has a web of escape holes through walls <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
Cops grapple with holes in drug nest</h1>
<span style="color: #555555; float: left; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0; padding: 0em 0em 0.5em 0em; width: 100%;">At Jagraon village, smugglers use escape routes in houses to fox police</span><span class="storyText"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0em 0em 0em 0em; padding: 0em;">
<strong><strong>Jupinderjit Singh</strong></strong></div>
<div style="margin: 0em 0em 0em 0em; padding: 0em;">
<strong><strong>Tribune News Service</strong></strong></div>
<strong>Kul Gehna (Jagraon), May 7</strong>
Inhabitants of this “village of drug smugglers”, located close to the
Sutlej in Jagraon, are all too aware of the proverb “vanish into thin
air” as each of the 35-odd houses built in a cluster has an escape
route. The secret passage is used by criminals to escape every time the
police come calling.
More than 60 FIRs have been registered against its residents over the
past two years — nearly 200 of its 300 residents, barring children, have
been named in at least one drug smuggling case.<br />
<br />
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<span class="storyText"> A web of square or circular holes of different sizes in the walls
connects each house, allowing smugglers to flee during police raids. The
smugglers move from one house to another before landing in the fields.
They then make a dash for the river, crossing it before the police can
reach them. For a well-built cop, it is difficult to follow them through
the holes.
Another series of small holes in the walls are used to quickly dispose
of drugs in case of a raid. Contraband, including heroin, smack and
opium, packed in small pouches is moved from one house to another till
the police call off search. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">The Jagraon police have plugged these holes in the past, but new ones reappear soon after the raids.
In a rare access to these houses, The Tribune found small gates in the
boundary walls, big enough for a child to pass through. A few days ago,
the police plugged these escape routes with bricks and locked the small
iron gates.
“It is literally a cat and mouse game,” says Jagraon Senior
Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh, who ordered the plugging of
holes soon after taking charge last month. “But it is a painstaking task
as the smugglers try to be one step ahead of the police. It is not easy
for an officer to ensure the holes are plugged at all times.” </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">Assistant Sub-Inspector Balour Singh, who oversaw the plugging operation
recently, says he knows the “horoscope” of each family and pays them
regular visits to ensure the escape routes remain shut. “Your life is
always on the line when to visit the village. Women embrace you,
pleading for mercy or grapple as the situation warrants. Children clutch
on to your legs, restricting your movement. A number of policemen have
been injured in the process,” he says.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText"> The house of alleged high-profile smuggler Paramjit Singh, alias Pamma,
is located right at the entry to the village. Its high walls and
air-conditioners inside point to the lifestyle he enjoys. “Most of
villagers, including Pamma, are farm labourers. Some drive
tractor-trailers for sand miners. It is hard to acquire air-conditioners
or cars from daily wages,” says the ASI.
Four other notorious smugglers belonging to the village have been on the
run ever since the new Congress government turned the heat on drug
smugglers.
A resident, who claims to have given up smuggling a long time ago, says
most of the village houses were “kutcha” in the beginning. “Villagers
have graduated from smuggling illicit liquor in pouches or bottles to
poppy husk in gunny bags and then opium in polythene bags. They have now
switched to the easier and more lucrative “chitta” (heroin), which can
be easily concealed in small pouches.” As “chitta” business flourished,
almost all houses were rebuilt, says the ASI.
</span><br />
<hr />
<div style="margin: 0em 0em 0em 0em; padding: 0em;">
<strong><strong>‘Cat and mouse game’</strong></strong></div>
"It is literally a cat and mouse game... It is a painstaking task as the
smugglers try to be one step ahead of the police. It is not easy for an
officer to ensure the holes in the walls are plugged at all times." <strong>Surjeet Singh, Jagraon SSP</strong>
<hr />
<strong>Safety exit in 35 houses</strong>
<ul>
<li>A web of square/circular holes in the walls connects each of 35 houses, allowing drug smugglers to flee during police raids</li>
<li>The smugglers use the route to escape into the fields and
subsequently cross the Sutlej. It’s hard for well-built cops to follow
them through the holes</li>
<li>Another series of small holes in the walls are used to quickly dispose of drugs in case of a raid</li>
</ul>
</div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-74314890996529387282016-12-11T20:21:00.004-08:002016-12-11T20:21:52.723-08:00Here’s Bhagat Singh’s pistol, out of oblivion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
Here’s Bhagat Singh’s pistol, out of oblivion</h1>
<span style="color: #555555; float: left; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0; padding: 0em 0em 0.5em 0em; width: 100%;">The Tribune tracks down weapon that changed course of history at BSF centre in Indore</span><br />
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<strong><strong>Jupinderjit Singh</strong></strong></div>
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<strong><strong>Tribune News Service</strong></strong></div>
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<strong><strong>Indore, November 22</strong></strong></div>
Lying in oblivion for almost half a century as just another of the 294 relics at the Border Security Force’s Central School of Weapons and Tactics in this Madhya Pradesh town, Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s pistol is finally getting revered status here.<br />
<br />
Till recently, Assistant Commandant Vijendra Singh, who imparts briefings on the history of weapons to trainees, would talk about a US-made .32 Colt rimless and smokeless pistol as a small chapter in the growth of weapons from 1531 onwards.<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15.2px; line-height: 22.8px;"><br /></span>
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All that changed after a four-part series by The Tribune — based on the findings of an Indian historian in Lahore — and subsequent reportage on the possible whereabouts of the freedom fighter’s pistol.<br />
<br />
The weapon was used in the killing of British police officer JP Saunders in Lahore on December 17, 1928, and played a pivotal part in the Lahore conspiracy case that saw Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev being hanged and attaining legendary martyr status.<br />
<br />
Assistant Commandant Vijendra now devotes a lot of time talking about the weapon and its rich history while the trainees, including a group of DSPs on a refresher course, vie with each other to get photographed with it.<br />
<br />
“I am overcome with emotion as I hold the great martyr’s pistol in hand. I have held so many weapons in my long career but none like this one,” says IG Pankaj, who is the director of the BSF weapons’ school.<br />
<br />
“No one here had any idea that the pistol belonged to Shaheed Bhagat Singh,” he admits candidly.<br />
<br />
After The Tribune furnished details of the pistol to him to look for in the BSF records, a team found an entry in an old register but an obstacle came up next to locate the exact weapon. For preservation purposes as well as for better display, all weapons in the museum are painted black. The staff had to remove the paint to find the real one. “We removed the paint and to our great joy, the number 168896 came out clearly on the barrel with matching details.”<br />
<br />
Commandant HS Bedi and other officers of the BSF confide that the discovery of the pistol in their museum was news for them. “It is amazing. It was always here and no one knew it,” he says.<br />
<br />
Such is the craze that the museum is witnessing an unprecedented footfall. The weapon is now kept separately in a glass case on a pedestal. But the description about its importance is yet to be displayed alongside.<br />
<br />
“We are preparing a special place for displaying the pistol along with Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s portrait and documents at the new museum building that is under construction. We would prepare a gallery of the documents, including clippings of The Tribune that brought the weapon back from oblivion,” the IG says.<br />
<br />
In Chandigarh, publisher Harish Jain, who has penned several books on Shaheed Bhagat Singh, can’t hide his excitement. “No photograph of the pistol is available anywhere. This is the first time it would be in public domain.” Co-author and historian Malwinderjit Singh Waraich says it would be a dream come true for him to see the pistol.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-71674241115626047592016-12-11T20:13:00.000-08:002016-12-11T20:13:04.883-08:00Bhagat Singh’s pistol found in BSF’s Indore museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Bhagat Singh’s pistol found in BSF’s Indore museum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #555555; float: left; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0; padding: 0em 0em 0.5em 0em; width: 100%;">US-made Colt was on display along with other weapons, but there was no mention of its history</span><br />
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<strong>Jupinderjit Singh</strong></div>
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<strong>Tribune News Service</strong></div>
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<strong>Chandigarh, November 8</strong></div>
Believed to be “missing” for years, the pistol used by Shaheed Bhagat Singh to kill Assistant Police Superintendent John Saunders in Lahore on December 17,1928, has been found at the BSF’s Central School of Weapons and Tactics (CSWT) museum at Indore where it had been on display without any mention of its history.<br />
<br />
Historians had been raising questions about the pistol. The Tribune, that recently carried a series of reports on the martyr’s court case files and the “missing” pistol and other exhibits, had found that the pistol was in possession of the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, till October 1969.<br />
<br />
The IG and Commandant, Pankaj, CSWT, today called up The Tribune, informing that the number of the pistol, an automatic .32 bore US-made Colt (butt number 460-m and body number 168896) “match with a pistol in our records.” The Tribune had sent him details of the pistol accessed from the files of the Phillaur academy.<br />
<br />
“We have found it. The numbers sent match with those on the pistol. It will now be displayed with the martyr’s name,” the IG said excitedly.<br />
<br />
The Tribune had reported two days ago that the pistol was last seen at the Phillaur academy on October 7, 1969, when it was moved, along with seven other weapons, to the CSWT, Indore. On the same day 39 years ago, a special tribunal of three judges had delivered the death sentence to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.<br />
<br />
The pen with which one of the judges had signed the death sentence was shifted from the Police Academy to the Punjab Cultural Department and subsequently to the museum in Bhagat Singh’s memory at his native village Khatkar Kalan. But his pistol could not be traced.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the Punjab Congress said, “It is not just just a weapon. It’s a symbol of our fight against oppressive (British) rule. We will bring the martyr’s pistol back to Punjab.”<br />
<br />
<hr />
<span style="color: red;"><strong>Cong to seek copies of martyr’s files from Pak </strong></span><br />
<br />
Jalandhar: Congress Legislature Party chief Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday promised to seek copies of the files pertaining to Shaheed Bhagat Singh from Pakistan if his party comes to power in the state. Paying tributes to the martyr at Khatkar Kalan village (Nawanshahr) on the second day of his Jawani Sambhal Yatra, Channi said some of the files related to the trial of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were in the archives of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “However, most of the record has come out through individual efforts. The researchers, not the governments, have mainly compiled his writings.” TNS</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-29253701139786191192016-11-06T22:42:00.000-08:002016-11-06T22:42:11.501-08:00Bhagat Singh’s pistol was last seen in Phillaur 47 yrs ago Records show it was transferred to Indore, historians ask govt to trace it<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span class="storyText">A path-breaking finding on Shaheed Bhagat Singh.</span></b><br />
<span class="storyText">Historians and Researchers on Shaheed Bhagat Singh have finally got something to cheer. The Tribune has found traces about the missing pistol used by the great freedom fighter to kill a British Police official John Sanders. The whereabouts of the pistol were not known since 1930. Anyone who can throw some further light (please contact me 9872999203; Jupinderjit Singh, Special Correspondent, The Tribune. Chandigarh)</span><br />
<span class="storyText"><br /></span>
<span class="storyText">Bhagat Singh’s pistol was last seen in Phillaur 47 yrs ago Records show it was transferred to Indore, historians ask govt to trace it</span><br />
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<span class="storyText">Jupinderjit Singh</span><br />
<span class="storyText">Tribune News Service</span><br />
<span class="storyText">Chandigarh, November 7 </span><br />
<span class="storyText">Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s pistol with which he
killed Assistant Police Superintendent John Saunders in Lahore on
December 17, 1928, was last seen at the Punjab Police Academy (PPA),
Phillaur, on October 7, 1969. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">The automatic .32 bore pistol of Colt US make with butt no. 460-m and
body no. 168896, was transferred to the Central School of Weapon and
Tactics (CSWT) of the BSF in Indore the same day.
However, CSWT officials said the pistol was not exhibited in their museum. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">Earlier in its four-part series, The Tribune highlighted that researcher
Aparna Vaidik had, through a rare access to case files of the martyr,
found that the weapon was missing. Based on the record of 160 files
lying at Punjab State Archives in Lahore, she said the weapon could be
either at Lahore Fort, police malkhana, Gwalmandi, Lahore, or the PPA,
Phillaur. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">On its pursuit, The Tribune found the records related to the
weapon. As per a record register of the PPA, it was among the eight
weapons transferred to the CSWT on October 7, 1969.
Kuldip Singh, Director, PPA, said no reason had been given for the
transfer of the weapon. “Eight weapons, including the martyr’s pistol,
were taken to CSWT, Indore, by a BSF commandant as per our records.”</span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">With the latest discovery, it is now known that the weapon was in India
at least in 1969. Earlier, as per the records, the weapon was given to
DSP (CID) NK Niaaz Ahmad Khan in Lahore on October 16, 1930.
Assistant Commandant Vijay Roy, CSWT, said no such weapon was displayed
in their museum at present. “We don’t have it there, but we will look
into the records. It might have been transferred to another museum,” he
said.
Meanwhile, historians have termed it an important discovery.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText"> Gurdev
Singh Sidhu, who has also authored a book on the martyr, said:</span><br />
<span class="storyText"> “The
revelation is an important discovery. We at least know that the pistol
was in India and is within our reach somewhere. The Punjab Government
should make efforts to trace it..”
“If the pistol reached Phillaur, then the other exhibits must also be
brought here,” said Harish Jain, Chandigarh-based publisher and
researcher on Bhagat Singh.</span><br />
<span class="storyText">first published : November 7, 2016 .. The Tribune. </span></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-26540938192456805562016-09-25T06:23:00.002-07:002016-09-25T06:23:41.530-07:00Middle - Chess on LoC<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="storyText">Jupinderjit Singh</span><br />
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<br />
<span class="storyText">MY first visit to Uri town, the latest target of
a terror attack, was some 13 years ago. I was visiting the Valley as a
journalist and not a tourist. The situation was such that from Jammu to
Srinagar, there was fear of a terror strike. Only two dhabas were open.
At one of the dhabas, a group of soldiers nearly took away our taxi,
saying they were in hot chase of militants. The taxi driver pleaded
against it. Fortunately, I had an Army letter authorising my visit to
the forward areas. It saved the driver for that day. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">The Brigadier at Uri was warm and welcoming. He had deputed a young
Captain to look after me. “Be safe, no adventurism,” the Brigadier
cautioned me in a chilling voice and a smile that gave me goose bumps.
We drove in a Jonga on the zigzag road that climbed one hill and came
down the other. The Jhelum, the de facto border between India and
Pakistan, criss-crossed the Valley, flowing beautifully in the deep
gorge. We passed tiny hamlets and apple and apricot orchards. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">The destination was an advanced military camp near a village called
Sultan Dhakki, a few hundred metres short of the LoC. I was thrilled to
inhale the aroma of roasted meat that wafted from somewhere in the
vicinity. The Captain pointed down the hill towards two large vessels,
where food was being cooked by soldiers in the open in the village
common ground. That would be our dinner. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText"> I was delighted. But still worried about the night stay in bunkers. I
needn’t have. After a few turns, we stood in front of an opening in a
rocky hill. It was a khul ja sim sim experience. I could have fathomed
that the Army had burrowed into the hills and created an accommodation,
no less than a five-star stay. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">After bathing, we sat outside for a cup of tea and snacks. The spot was
at a safe angle from the enemy behind the hills. “You will see Diwali at
night as rockets will fly,” chuckled the officer. His soldiers
grinned. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">As we talked, the conversation veered around on how soldiers kept their
mind off death and bullets. “I play chess,” the Captain said. “Voila! I
too,” I exclaimed. Soon, two armies were set in black and white on the
chessboard. It took me no more than 10 moves to grab the rook and the
queen. The officer was visibly hurt. He was losing in front of his
jawans, who sat around us in a semicircle. He lost the second too, after
much struggle. One last game, he said, ordering meat for both of us in a
tone that expressed his anger. He won the third. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">Back in the lodge, he sipped beer and remarked: “I was flustered. It was
not about losing or winning. It was about you killing my army while it
had not moved from its squares. No jawan would like an officer, or for
that matter a government, that lets this happen to them.”</span><br />
<span class="storyText">first published in The Tribune Sept 23, 2016 </span></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-53909622235421933822016-09-09T21:45:00.000-07:002016-09-09T21:45:09.370-07:00Sidhu came, spoke but did he conquer?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">#navjot sidhu #punjab politics #AAP #Akalis #fourth front #bains</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jupinderjit Singh</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After a long wait Cricketer, commentator, TV personality and ex-MP of the BJP, Navjot Singh Sidhu came before media , spoke but did he conquer? This is the question he left gapping after about 45 minutes of speech peppered liberally with his oft-heard Sidhuisms based on couplets and idioms.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For a man who chose to speak through his wife and MLA and namesake Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu for last over two years, the four time BJP MP revealed , to quote his own words, just a trailer about the political happenings involving him for quite some time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">He had remained mum like his well-guarded silence over several chapters of his life sports as well as political life. For instance, he is yet to reveal why he left India’s cricket tour of England mid-way over some tiff with the captian, Mohd. Azharudin. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">No kind of questioning and cajoling of all these years by media or others have cracked him up to reveal the secret.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of the scores of issue he raised with thumping of chest and animated hand gestures at the press meet on Thursday, Sidhu’s speech can be summarised in three main parts.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One, that he was tired of being used as a decorative piece by his parent party-the BJP, the alliance partner-the Akalis and the prospective partner –the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Second , on his political plans, he left the media and the state residents with another 15 days of wait to reveal the future plans-whether he will float a party or not.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And the third and the seemingly most important and most stressed by him was that he has been sacrificing and will sacrifice anything for the preservation of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat. Sidhu gave examples of how he spurned offers of money, position and other attractions to continue his principled life where he puts the state above his party and his own self. The third point is where the people of the state would like to know more from him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sidhu asserted to make any sacrifice for Punjab but in the same breath he answered a query on continuing with the Kapil comedy show. Pat came the reply, “I have been doing shows and politics earlier also.” It clearly means that he will continue to do so. Sidhu sand his wife, who is a BJP MLA from Amritsar –east continue to be members of the party. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sidhu has not resigned from the BJP. For him, all doors are open. His wife has been most vocal critic of the Badal led SAD-BJP government. She has been demanded breaking up of alliance. Sidhu too dwelt long on how Badals were a block in his dreams of making Amritsar city, a modern city. He used less harsh words for the BJP and by not resigning he continues to cling on to the party. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Has he given enough indications about his intent to Punjab voters. They are already caught in a three way poll fight. Will they want a fourth one in him? Will he deliver in 15 days or like the Sidhu of past few years he will play the victim, the one who is persecuted by all and yet keep his options open. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sidhu has reversed his fortunes and what people said about him in his past. He was called a stroke less wonder by cricket critics. he went on to become sixer sidhu. he was called shy and introvert. he left it all behind by becoming a no holds barred commentator and speaker. Perhaps, he willtake cue from that. The wait for 15 days has begun.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(the writer is a special correspondent with The Tribune. This is his personal blog)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">EOM</span></span></div>
</div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-29116187872749582312015-12-21T04:30:00.003-08:002015-12-21T04:31:16.575-08:00Middle - The Tolerant Indian<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="storyText">key words: Middles. creative writing, tolerance, Indian, Prime Minister Narendra Modi</span><br />
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<span class="storyText"><br /></span>
<span class="storyText">Jupinderjit Singh</span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">MR Prime Minister, </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">like millions of Indians, I
too am aghast at the ongoing debate on intolerance in the country. I am
not writing this to take a side. There are too many intellectuals busy
in arguing and counter-arguing the issue.
But yes, I am pained, rather deeply pained. For, no country and its
citizens are more tolerant than us. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">I can prove you that. Our life is
all about tolerating something or the other every moment of our
existence.
Start from the air we breathe or the water we drink. I wonder if anyone
has more tolerating immunity than us. Anti-pollution policies are
framed, crores are spent and yet we tolerate the deterioration in these
basic elements of our survival. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">We call our river sacred and yet we
tolerate its pollution. We are so tolerant on throwing all kind of
pungent, poisonous stuff in water bodies and still happily take dip in
those.
Not just rivers, we tolerate people throwing garbage on roads and
streets. In fact, our tolerance starts in the wee hours of the day.
Loudspeakers atop a religious place shake us out of our slumber and
disturb children’s studies. We let it be.
The milk we drink is without the promised nutrition. The fruits and
vegetables we eat are laced with chemicals and contain dangerous metals.
But do we complain? No. We tolerate. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">We also ignore people jumping red lights. We tolerate people jumping
queues or forming a third or fourth queue on a road. We tolerate people
pushing and jostling us at bus stands, railway stations and markets. We
tolerate when VIPs get preferential treatment. We even smile and embrace
our destiny when VIPs first get darshan of deities in religious places.
We tolerate never-ending serials, high-decibel meaningless TV debates;
we tolerate the same kind of movies and see them happily. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">We tolerate
paying 10 times more for popcorns and water.
We tolerate political parties promising the moon during every election
and we don’t remind them. We tolerate listening again and again to their
anti-poverty slogans. We play along with their divisive politics. We
tolerate riots. We tolerate scams.
Our farmers tolerate spurious seeds and ineffective pesticides. They
tolerate selling potato for Re 1 kg only to buy it later at Rs ten a kg.
We tolerate delayed medicare and salaries. We tolerate when merit is
ignored merit and remain happy in the ‘chalta hai’ attitude. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storyText">As a nation, we tolerate the regular killing of our jawans at the
borders. We even take the brutal beheading of our jawans in our stride.
We tolerate those occupying our lands. We smile when they interpret our
offer of friendship as weakness.
We forget soon the bomb and terror attacks on our motherland. We
tolerated for long a PM who rarely spoke and the one who seems to be
staying more abroad than in the country.
No, Mr PM. The whole debate and accusation of India being an intolerant
country is wrong. We are tolerant in each breath we take.</span></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-80826434667340349412015-11-08T22:04:00.001-08:002015-11-08T22:04:41.211-08:00Middle-Beyond the Divide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="storyText"> Key words : Indo-pak border, indo-pak unity, border life, crossborder firing, Istanbul, UK, Atatturk Airpot</span><br />
<span class="storyText">Beyond the divide</span><br />
<span class="storyText">Jupinderjit Singh</span><br />
<span class="storyText"> </span><br />
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<span class="storytext">IT was music to my ears when I overheard a
conversation in chaste Punjabi after spending four days in Istanbul where one
could converse in either Turkish or English. I had just settled in a waiting
lounge at the Ataturk Airport after the tiring security checks. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="storytext">Behind me sat three middle-aged, burqa-clad women,
with a young man and a man of about 50. They discussed shopping and the
food they had brought along. I was enjoying their conversation when a security
officer asked for their passports. The woman coolly switched to British-accent
English, much to my surprise. </span><br />
<span class="storytext">The officer asked them several questions. They
responded politely. As he left, one of the women cussed and switched back to
Punjabi: “These goras try to act smart and superior but we have handled many of
them.” All smiled. </span><br />
<span class="storytext">Soon, another officer came along to check their
passports again, this time concentrating on the younger male in the group. He
also asked questions from an Indian, seated near the Pakistanis. It seemed the
officer was headed towards me when he got a call on his walkie-talkie and
walked away. This time the Indian vent his ire in Punjabi:</span><br />
<span class="storytext"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They single us
out — Indians and Pakistanis — especially when one is headed to England.” The
woman joined in, calling him brother: “Nice of you to bracket Indians and
Pakistanis as ‘us’. The westerners ruled us, looted our jewels and resources
and left us poor, forcing us to migrate to their countries.” I wanted to
participate in the conversation but hesitated, perhaps because of the years of
hatred for Pakistan. I come from a border village whose land is divided by the
Radcliffe Line. I have seen cross-border firing and terrorism from close
quarters in J&K. The Indian continued: </span><br />
<span class="storytext">“They ruled us due to our petty divisions. Even now we
are fighting amongst ourselves.” The older man agreed: “True, the avaam
(public) has suffered much. If we were united, our economy would have been
better.” The conversation weighed on me. Later in Manchester, I went to a
grocery store to buy a SIM card. I started conversing in English but the
shopkeeper stopped me: “Appan taan ik haan. Apni zubaan vich gal karo (We are
one. Let us speak in our mother tongue).” I asked if he was from India. “No,
Lahore but the ancestry is the same.” </span><br />
<span class="storytext">I told him my village Khalra-Bhikhiwind (now in Tarn
Taran) was less than 15 km from Lahore. I also shared that my
father-in-law was born in Lahore and had an Indian passport. He was always
singled out for questioning at airports. He responded with an insightful smile.
“The world has moved on. But we are still stuck in time. The British have given
us the opportunity to live together in their country. If we can coexist here,
enjoy each other’s festivals, why can’t we do it back home?” he asked, pointing
to ‘Happy Diwali’ greetings outside his shop.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
first published in The Tribune dated November 9, 2015. </div>
<br /></div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-35259447933308528402015-05-29T21:10:00.001-07:002015-05-29T21:10:19.611-07:00Aruna's rapist traced, regrets the incident<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="title" id="headline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: OpenSans-CondensedBold; font-size: 24px; text-align: justify; width: 758px;">
Aruna Shanbaug’s assailant is alive: Tired of memories, I want to die</h1>
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A sweeper at the hospital, he brutally assaulted “didiji” Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse who remained in a vegetative state for 42 years, triggering a debate on euthanasia before her death. </div>
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By pritha chatterjee | 30 May 2015</div>
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For 42 years, says Sohan Lal Singh, son of Bharta Valmiki, life has been a penance. “I gave up non-vegetarian food, bad habits like smoking bidis and drinking. I had a daughter before I was sentenced, and she died while I was in jail. She died because I made a mistake. For many years after my release, I didn’t touch my wife. A son was born 14 years after I left jail.”<br />
<strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/cant-press-fresh-charges-against-sohan-lal-police/" title="Can’t press fresh charges against Aruna Shanbaug’s assailant Sohan Lal: Police">Can’t press fresh charges against Sohan Lal: Police</a><br />
All this, because of the “haadsa” (incident) with “Aruna didiji”. “Mujhe bahut pachchtava hai. Main unse aur apne bhagwan se maafi maangna chahata hun (I have deep regret, I want to seek forgiveness from her and god).”<br />
[related-post]<br />
The “haadsa” Sohan Lal refers to took place the night of November 27, 1973 at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. A sweeper at the hospital, he brutally assaulted “didiji” Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse who remained in a vegetative state for 42 years, triggering a debate on euthanasia before her death on May 18 this year.<br />
<strong>READ: </strong><a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sunday-story-a-girl-called-aruna/" title="Sunday Story: A girl called Aruna Shanbaug">A girl called Aruna Shanbaug</a><br />
Sohan Lal spent 7 years at the Yerawada jail in Pune. And then disappeared. Some said he had moved to a Delhi hospital, other said he died of tuberculosis, still others said AIDS had got him.<br />
But all these years, he lived in his ancestral home in Dadupur and then moved to his father-in-law’s house in Parpa, both villages in western Uttar Pradesh. He worked as a labour hand to make ends meet. Age has caught up with him — he says he is 66 but his son puts his age at 72 — but he continues to work for a labour contractor at a power plant 25 km away.<br />
Wearing a rudraksha mala and carrying a photograph of his guru in his wallet, Sohan Lal says he learnt of Shanbaug’s death only after a journalist from the Sakal newspaper came looking for him earlier this week. The television in their two-room house was not working — the village was without electricity for a week — and the family does not read newspapers.<br />
“I leave home at 6 am for work and return by 8 pm. I get Rs 261 a day. I have to cycle nearly 25 km to work. Where is the time to read newspapers?”<br />
Sohan Lal lives with his wife, two sons, a daughter and three grandchildren. His sons also work as labour hands, earning Rs 200-300 a day. One of his two daughters is married and lives elsewhere. His wife has gone to Pune to attend a wedding in the family.<br />
He rubbishes reports that he had returned to KEM Hospital after serving prison time.”My son told me newspapers wrote this. That I tried to kill her (Shanbaug)... I could barely sleep for 10 years after the incident. How was it possible for anyone to go back to the hospital after such a thing? I left Mumbai, why would I go back to the hospital to see her?”<br />
He had also heard that people believed he had died of “a deadly disease.” “My son would tell us these things and my wife would cry. I wish I had died. My sons would have taken care of her. I am tired of the memories, I want to die now.”<br />
Reluctant to discuss the KEM Hospital incident, he opens up after moving away from fellow workers and neighbours. “Everything happened in a fit of rage. There was a fight, it was dark, and I panicked. We both hit each other, I may have pulled the ornaments they said I stole during the scuffle. There was no rape... they beat me up in the police station and kept saying it was rape. I did not rape her, it must have been someone else,” he claimed. Later, he says he does not “remember anything” about the rape.<br />
He spoke of a “troubled relationship” with Shanbaug who was with the animal experimentation unit at KEM Hospital. “Aruna didiji was always picking on me. She knew I was scared of dogs... there were other sweepers, but she picked me each time the dogs had to be fed or their cages swept. I told the doctor in charge and my supervisor to transfer me, I complained about her but no one listened. Who listens to a jamadar (sweeper)?”<br />
He can’t recall the date of the incident that “destroyed everything.”<br />
“That night I had gone to ask Aruna didiji for leave for a few days. My wife’s mother, who then lived in the house where I now live, was very ill. My wife wanted to visit her but Aruna didiji refused. She said if I took leave, she would complain about me in writing, saying I did no work, that I stole dog food, and still wanted leave,” he said.<br />
“I had not done any such thing. I was scared of dogs, so how could I steal their food?... I had seen Aruna didiji playing cards with ward boys and other nurses during duty hours. When she threatened to complain and not give me leave, I told her I would tell her supervisor about her. After that, there was an argument and a physical fight. I don’t know what I did in rage,” he said.<br />
Eldest son Kishan says that four years ago, he told his father about the rejection of the euthanasia plea on behalf of Shanbaug. “My father prays twice a day, but that day after I told him, he prayed five-six times. I told him what the papers said, that her family was gone, that she had been living in the hospital. He was agitated and began trembling. When the Supreme Court rejected the plea, he became stable again.”<br />
“He does not talk about the case, and we don’t feel comfortable asking him. In our culture, you cannot ask a father what he did to a woman. But my uncles have told me so many times how he destroyed our lives. We could have lived in Mumbai...”<br />
Younger son Ravindra says his mother told him about the case when he was 12. “She told me I should forgive my father, that the papers were exaggerating his crime. She said my brother was angry with my father but I should love him because he had made a mistake. But he never even sent me to school. I cannot even write my name, how do I forgive him?”</div>
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jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-28552100323626589042015-05-20T06:26:00.000-07:002015-05-20T06:26:26.872-07:00Anna's interview : people in Punjab have slept for long<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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on record<br />
‘People have slept far too long’<br />
Jupinderjit Singh talks to Anna Hazare Social activist<br />
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Tribune photo: Pawan SharmaTHE chinks in their organisational structure notwithstanding, Anna Hazare and Gen (retd) VK Singh managed to draw sizeable crowds during their “Jantantra Yatra” in Punjab last week. The yatra began from Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. Unlike his previous rallies and agitations, he was not flanked by one-time favourite comrades Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi. Instead, VK Singh, who had fought a long battle with the UPA government over his date of birth, brushed shoulders with him. Both leaders attracted fans during the rally. Ex-servicemen made a beeline to meet the General. Women and children were missing at the rallies but some waited for long at the place where Anna had a transit accommodation. Women were seen touching his feet while carefully covering their head with a “dupatta”. Some children supported his “'Mein Anna hoon” cap and shook hands with him.<br />
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The motive is not just spreading awareness among the masses about the corrupt system and the need for change. Anna aims to mobilise people for a “mega Jan Sansad” in New Delhi in September. He called upon people to submit their names and phone numbers so they could be incorporated in his battle for change. People did not respond in thousands but some did. People criticised the security ring of his volunteers, bouncers and the police around him, saying his inaccessibility did not make them optimistic about his talk on the common man’s empowerment. Excerpts:<br />
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Why did you launch the campaign, which you describe as a second freedom movement, from Punjab? Are you satisfied with the response?<br />
<br />
We have got an overwhelming response from Punjab. The people of the state have always been known as fighters. They fought invaders for centuries. Punjab is my “karam bhoomi”. It is here that I fought the 1965 war. It is here that I got my awakening of dedicating my life for the cause of people. I chose Punjab as it was here that I read a book by Swami Vivekananda on devoting one’s life for the welfare of people. I was 26-year-old then. I was unhappy with life and was contemplating suicide when the awakening came about. Punjab has produced many martyrs. I sought their blessings in cleansing the country they had saved while sacrificing their life.<br />
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Did you attract anticipated crowds?<br />
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I am satisfied. We did not organise big rallies. Our venues were markets and street corners. I could see people waiting for long for our rath yatra to arrive. They cheered us. I told them the yatra was not funded by anyone. The vehicles were running on the personal expenses of the occupants and the open donation given by people.<br />
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What is the objective of your campaign?<br />
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We have had agitation and hunger strike against corruption in the system and the idea is to empower the common man through the office of the Jan Lok Pal. This nationwide journey is to contact the masses outside their houses and educate them on how politicians and bureaucrats had become their masters instead of their servants. We are inviting people to join us at the “Jan Sansad” in New Delhi in September. People have slept for too long.<br />
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Is your aim to change the government or change the system?<br />
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I have been saying at my rallies that I am not against any political party or individual. I am against the prevailing corruption in the country. I am against the milling of the common man. I am against price rise. I want a system where people choose their leaders directly. Why do we need political parties or groups with their biases, regionalism and selfish vote banks? People should recommend honest and virtuous persons to Parliament.<br />
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Will the Jantantar Morcha contest elections or support any political party or group?<br />
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Our present aim is to shake the system with the “Jan Sansad”. After that we will see what has to be done.<br />
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Arvind Kejriwal was once your close aide. Is there any possibility of reconciliation?<br />
<br />
Kejriwal wanted to float a political party. I had reservations about it. But I am in constant touch with him even now. We spoke two days ago only. I advised him not to go for his proposed hunger strike. The “forces” want to finish us off. They want to divide us. I am with anyone who honestly stands against corruption.<br />
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The Morcha does not have much organisational structure. How will it mobilise people to support its agenda?<br />
<br />
People will come. They have to realise that tainted persons are dangerous for the country. At present, over 160 MPs are tainted. Over 30 ministers are facing charges. This has to stop.<br />
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What kind of model of governance do you have in mind?<br />
<br />
I want a system where only deserving people should go to Parliament. I want the common man to have the power to reject the tainted, the greedy, the corrupt and the criminals. It is people who brought freedom. It is people who formed Parliament. Those sent inside Parliament were mere representatives of people. But now they have become masters. I want a system of Parliament where honesty and character of a leader are important, and not his power and money. </div>
jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-78862525225377153562015-04-25T22:19:00.000-07:002015-04-25T22:19:10.404-07:00Predicting earthquakes - <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9 Methods to Predict Earthquake are 1. Unusual Animal Behaviour, 2. Hydrochemical Precursors, 3. Temperature Change, 4. Water Level, 5. Radon Gas, 6. Oil Wells, 7. Theory of Seismic Gap, 8. Foreshocks, 9. Changes in Seismic Wave Velocity !</strong></div>
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Prediction is concerned with forecasting the occurrence of an earthquake of a particular intensity over a specific locality within a specific time limit. Normally prediction is of three types viz. long, medium and short range prediction.<img alt="" src="http://www.shortparagraph.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.701961); border: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230); height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 3px; vertical-align: bottom;" title="More..." /></div>
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While long range prediction is concerned with forecasting the occurrence of an earthquake a number of years in advance, medium term prediction is to be done a few months to a year or so and the short term prediction implies forecast ranging from a few hours to some days in advance.</div>
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Medium and short range predictions are very useful because they can help in saving the largest population from disaster in terms of life and property. Scientists believe that it is possible to predict major earthquakes by monitoring the seismicity caused by natural earthquakes, mining blasts, nuclear tests, etc.</div>
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However, no flawless technique has been developed to predict the earthquakes till date. Most of the methods and models are beyond the scope of the present work and only a few simple methods and models will be discussed here.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Unusual Animal Behaviour</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: </b></h3>
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It is a well established fact that animals are endowed with certain sensory perceptions denied to human beings. Some of the animals have much better power of sniffing, hearing, seeing and sensing than the human beings. The unusual behaviour of animals prior to earthquakes received wide publicity after the Haichang earthquake in Liaoning province of China, in February 4, 1975 was successfully predicted.</div>
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Although fluctuations in water levels and radon content in water were given due consideration, behaviour of animals was not overlooked in the process of earthquake prediction. On the morning of February 4, 1975, a moderate forestock hit the city of Haichang and by 2 p.m. a general alert was proclaimed.</div>
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Within six hours, the area was rocked by a devastating earthquake of 7.3 magnitude but almost all the one lakh residents were saved. Chinese are considered to be pioneers in recognising the unusual behaviour of animals preceding a quake as an important indicator to predict an impending earthquake, particularly since the accurate prediction of Haichang quake of 1975.</div>
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In fact, national war against earthquakes was launched in 1966 with an effective slogan, “Rather a thousand days with no earthquake than one day with no precaution.” Chinese report was presented at the Intergovernmental meeting convened at UNESCO, Paris in February 1976. This stimulated considerable interest among scientists.</div>
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However, it should be mentioned that abnormal behaviour of animals prior to a devastating earthquake was noticed earlier also in different parts of the world. In Japan large number of rats were seen every day in a restaurant in Nagoya City, which suddenly disappeared on the evening prior to Nobi earthquake of 1891.</div>
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Similar observations about rats were reported at two earlier occasions i.e., Kanto earthquake of 1923 and Sankriku earthquake of 1933. In China, unusual behaviour of rats was reported before 1966 Hsingtai earthquake in Hopei Province (300 km from Beijing).</div>
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In 1835 dogs escaped from the city of Talcahuano in Chile before the earthquake struck the city. Flocks of birds flew inland before the Chilean earthquakes of 1822 and 1835. Monkeys became restless a few hours before the Managua earthquake of 1972 in Nicaragua.</div>
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In summer of 1969, just before the Bahai quake (July, 1969), the custodians of Tientsin Zoo had observed that swans suddenly scrambled out of water and stayed away, a Manchurian tiger stopped pacing, a Tibetan yak collapsed, pandas held their heads in paws and moaned; and turtles were restless.</div>
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Hens and cocks were reported restless about an hour’s before in 1896 Ryakya earthquake in Japan. In Yugoslavia, birds in zoo started crying before 1963 earthquake. Deer gathered and cats disappeared from villages in northern Italy two or three hours before damaging earthquake of 1976.</div>
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Just before the earthquake which occurred in 1906 along the San Andreas Fault, horses whined and cows stampeded. In other cases cows about to be milked became restless before the shock. Bellowing of the cattle at the time of shock was very commonly reported. Howling by dogs was reported during the night preceding the earthquake.</div>
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Abnormal behaviour just before an earthquake has also been noticed among animals who live underground, like snakes, insects and worms, and those living in water (fishes). Abundant fishes were caught in just before the 1896 earthquake in north western coast of Japan and the Tango earthquake of 1927. However, in Kanto earthquake (1923) fishes were reported to have disappeared.</div>
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Just before the Edo earthquake (November 11, 1855), many grass snakes were reported to have come out of the ground near the epicentral areas even though it was severe cold winter. Very unusual behaviour of dogs was reported just before the Turkey earthquake (November 24, 1976). Barry Ralleigh of the U.S. Geological Survey noticed that the horses were fidget just before the earthquake of 28 November 1974 in Hollister (California).</div>
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In India, unusual behaviour of animals with respect to earthquake was noticed early in 1892. Animals were noticed to sniff the ground and exhibit nervousness such as a dog shows in the presence of an unaccustomed object, at the time of Govindpur (Manbhoom) a February 19, 1892. During the recent earthquakes of Uttarkashi (1991), Latur (1993), Jabalpur (1997), Chamoli (1999) and Bhuj (2001) there were isolated cases of unusual behaviour of pet dogs.</div>
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Extensive research is being carried on all over the world about the unusual behaviour of animals with respect to prediction of the earthquake. China and Japan are fore-runners in this regard. The USA has also shown keen interest in unusual behaviour of animals as a useful indicator of earthquake prediction.</div>
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The Stanford Research Institute, California, under the ‘Project Earthquake Watch’ has a network along the San Andreas Fault. This group keeps a watch on the behaviour of about 70 animal species. Dr. B.G. Deshpande has compiled a list of 87 animals which have been watched all over the world and whose behaviour might sense as an advance indicator of impending quake. Some of these which may be easily observed by the city dwellers are; cockroaches, crows, dogs, donkeys, ducks, fowls, frogs, geese, goats, horses, mice, monkeys, pigs, pigeons, rats, sheep, squirrels, swans and snakes.</div>
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The Group of Earthquake Research Institutes of Biophysics, China (1979) has arrived at the following conclusions after an extensive survey of animal behaviour before a strong earthquake.</div>
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(i) Most animals show increased restlessness before an earthquake.</div>
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(ii) The precursor time varies from a few minutes to several days, with increased restlessness at 11 hours which becomes still more marked about 2 to 3 hours before the earthquake. In general precursor times of various animals are mostly within 24 hours before the earthquake.</div>
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(iii) These observations have been noticed predominantly in high intensity or epicentral region close to active faults.</div>
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(iv) Abnormal behaviour of the animals is observed during earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more.</div>
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(v) More intensive response can be noticed with the increase of intensity of earthquakes.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Hydrochemical Precursors</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: </b></h3>
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Chemical composition of underground water was observed on a regular basis in seismically active regions of Tadzhik and Uzbekistan. These observations yielded following results.</div>
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(i) Concentration levels of dissolved minerals and gaseous components remained almost constant during seismically inactive period.</div>
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(ii) An appreciable increase in concentration of dissolved minerals was noticed 2 to 8 days before an earthquake. Variations in level of underground water, the pressure of artesian water, the discharge of water sources and temperature of underground water were also noticed during this period. These variations are large in the event of a strong earthquake.</div>
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(iii) After the earthquake, anomalies in concentrations of the gaseous and mineral components disappear.</div>
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According to India Meteorological Department report, significant pre-disaster and post disaster hydro geological changes rendering the ground water turbid were observed during the Jabalpur earthquake in Madhya Pradesh (1997).</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Temperature Change</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">:</b></h3>
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There seems to be some relation between temperature and earthquakes. A considerable rise of temperature by 10°C and 15°C was reported before earthquakes in Lunglin in China (1976) and Przhevalsk in Russia (1970). The epicentral distances of these earthquakes where observations were taken in hot spring/well were 10 and 30 km and precursory periods were 42 and 72 days respectively.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Water Level</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: </b></h3>
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There are drastic changes in water level in several wells just before a major earthquake. There was a fall in water level a few days before the Nankai earthquake in Japan (1946). Rise of water level by 3 and 15 cm was reported before Lunglin (China) and Przhevalsk (Russia) earthquakes.</div>
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Similarly, water level rose by 3 cm a few hours before the earthquake in Meckering in Australia (1968). In China rise of water level in wells was observed before earthquakes of Haicheng (1975), Tangshan (1976), Liu- quiao and Shanyin (1979).</div>
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Experiments in water level variations have been conducted in Kurile Islands to predict the earthquakes of 4 and more on Richter scale. For this purpose wells upto 410-670 metres depth at epicentral distances upto 700 km are used. This is an effective technique for observing the deformation of the earth’s crust. The model on which the forecasts of earthquakes is based shows that 3 to 10 days before an earthquake, the water level begins to fall. After a short period, it starts rising when the earthquake strikes.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5. Radon Gas</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: </b></h3>
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Radon is a radioactive gas which is discharged from rock masses prior to earthquake. It is dissolved in the well water and its concentration in the water increases. Such an increase was reported in Tashkent in 1972 where increase in concentration varying from 15 to 200 per cent was noticed about 3 to 13 days prior to an earthquake.</div>
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In China, 50% and 70% increase in radon concentration was reported 18 and 6 days respectively before the Tangshan (1976) and Luhuo (1973) at Langfang and Guzan stations which were located 130 and 200 km epicentral distances for two cases. In 1995, a correlation in radon anomalies at four sites in Kangra and one site in Amritsar with the time of occurrence of Uttarkashi earthquake (1991) was reported.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6. Oil Wells</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: </b></h3>
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Large scale fluctuations of oil flow from oil wells prior to earthquakes were reported in Israel, northern Caucasus (Europe) and China. These earthquakes which occurred in 1969, 1971 and 1972 gave rise to increased flow of oil before their occurrence. It has been suggested that when the tectonic stress accumulates to a certain level, the pore pressure within a deep oil bearing strata reach its breaking strength causing oil to sprout along the oil wells.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7. Theory of Seismic Gap</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: </b></h3>
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Seismicity gap is a region where earthquake activity is less compared with its neighbourhood along plate boundaries. Soviet seismologist S.A. Fedotov studied the seismic record of 12 large earthquakes which rocked northern Japan between 1904 and 1963. By plotting the size of each tremor- struck area, he found that each quake segment abutted the next contiguous one without overlapping, as if each deep seated crack had been shut off by a barrier at the ends of the fracture zone.</div>
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Each large earthquake was in a segment that was quiet for the last 39 years or so. Fedotov predicted that those segments which were quiet for some time will be hit by earthquake sooner or later. Three of these blocks in Kurile Island were struck where according to Fedotov an earthquake was due. Thus evolved the theory of seismic gap in earthquake prediction.</div>
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Based on this theory Dr. Kiyo Mogi of Tokyo succeeded in predicting a few earthquakes in Japan. Three geophysicists—Masakazu Ohtake, Tosimatu Matumoto and Gary V. Latham—working at Taxas University’s Marine Science Institute had predicted a major earthquake in southern Mexico around the town of Puerto Angel based on the theory of seismic gap.</div>
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On 29 November, 1978, a severe earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale with an epicentre within a kilometre of the predicted site struck the area. A seismic gap predicted quake also occurred along the San Andreas Fault (Fig. 8.3).</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.shortparagraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/clip_image00223.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #3088ff; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Stretch of seismic gap" border="0" class="aligncenter" height="254" src="http://www.shortparagraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/clip_image002_thumb23.jpg" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.701961); border: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230); display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 15px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;" title="Stretch of seismic gap" width="567" /></a></b></div>
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In India, three seismic gaps have been identified—one in Himachal Pradesh which lies along the plate boundary between earthquakes of Kangra (1905) and Kinnaur (1975); the second called ‘Central gap’ between 1905 and 1934 earthquakes, third called ‘Assam Gap’ in northeast India between earthquakes of 1897 and 1950. Identification of these gaps can go a long way in predicting the earthquakes in these areas.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8. Foreshocks</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: </b></h3>
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Generally major earthquakes are preceded by minor shocks known as foreshocks. These foreshocks provide valuable dues to the occurrence of a strong earthquake. Some of the earthquakes have been successfully predicted on the basis of study of foreshocks. In addition to unusual behaviour of animals, the Haichang earthquake in China (February 4, 1975) was predicted by studying the increased seismicity from December 1974 to February 1975.</div>
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The Oaxaca, Mexico earthquake of November 1978 was also successfully predicted on the basis of foreshock observations. Foreshocks have been detected a few days to a month in advance with the help of closely located seismic stations in Himachal Pradesh for several earthquakes like Anantnag (1967), Dharmasala (1968), Kashmir (1973), Kinnaur (1975) and a few others. Uttarkashi earthquake of October 20, 1991 was preceded by foreshocks on October 15 and 16 with magnitude larger than 3.5 on Richter scale.</div>
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The most recent Bhuj earthquake of January 26, 2001 was also proceeded by foreshocks in December 2000. But there are some other earthquakes which are proceeded by foreshocks. Therefore, this is not a flawless method and has to be supplemented by other methods of earthquake prediction.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9. Changes in Seismic Wave Velocity</b><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: </b></h3>
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We know that P, S, and L waves originate from the focus of an earthquake. P and S are called body waves because they travel through the body of the earth, while L waves are known as surface waves because they move along the upper crust of the earth. P waves are faster than the S waves and reach seismographs first.</div>
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The time lag between the arrival of P and S waves is called lead time. Russian seismologists found that this lead time began to decrease significantly for days, weeks and even months before the earthquake. But just before the quake hit the area the lead time was back to normal. A longer period of abnormality in wave velocity presaged a larger quake.</div>
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Taking the cue from the Russians, Lynn Sykes, Scholz and Aggarwal conducted laboratory, experiments on rock samples in 1973. These experiments showed abnormal change of ratio of velocities of P waves and S waves before the earthquake.</div>
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This ratio is expressed as V<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">p</span>/V<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">s</span>. The duration of V<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">p</span>/V<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">s</span> anomaly depends upon the fault or dimensions of the aftershock area. After the Garm region of the former USSR, V<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">p</span>/V<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">s</span> anomalies were noticed in Blue Mountain Lake earthquake in the USA in 1973. The velocity anomaly period for this earthquake was about 5 days and the decrease in velocity was about 12 per cent.</div>
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Similar decrease in velocity ratio was reported before the damaging Haichang (February 4, 1975), Songpan-Perigwu (August 16, 1966) and bungling (1976) earthquakes in China. In Japan, 7 to 40% decrease in the velocity ratio ranging from 50 to 700 days before the main earthquakes were recorded. In Tehran 14% decrease in velocity was reported 1 to 3 days before three earthquakes in 1974.</div>
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Immediately after the Gujarat earthquake of 2001, the Survey of India mooted a network of 300 permanent Geographical Positioning System (GPS) stations all over the country to monitor earth movements round the clock—which help in predicting earthquakes.</div>
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If the GPS systems are located along the known active faults, it is possible to monitor movements of active faults or breaks in the earth’s crust. Though no precise prediction can be made about the location and magnitude of an earthquake, minor movements are an indication of an impending earthquake because it reflects the force coming from below the crust.</div>
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jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-75693048585795151662015-04-25T20:23:00.001-07:002015-08-12T08:08:33.861-07:00The impregnable fort of bahadurgarh, patiala<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /><br />The ancient Bahadurgarh Fort discouraged invaders due to its unique impregnable architecture. Today, it is unable to even withstand the onslaught of the elements, says </b></span><span style="color: #ff0010; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Jupinderjit Singh</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b>A crumbling citadel</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b><img align="right" alt="No longer the "impregnable structure." Photo by Gautam Singh" border="1" src="http://www.tribuneindia.com/1998/98oct10/saturday/3tt2.jpg" height="166" hspace="1" vspace="1" width="230" /></b></span><span style="color: #ff0010; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>W</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">HEN Nawab Saif Khan laid the foundation stone of a <i>kuchi garhi</i> (mud fort) in 1658 AD at his<i> </i>native village, Saifabad, now popular as Bahadurgarh, near Patiala, he may have never imagined that the small fort would earn the distinction of ‘an impregnable citadel’ and would also be revered for all times to come for its association with Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru. It is said that the Guru stayed for nearly two months at this fort before he went to Delhi and attained martyrdom at the hands of Aurangzeb.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">However, this 340-year-old fort, which was made <i>pucca </i>by Nawab’s descendant Maharaja Karam Singh, is in a dilapidated condition today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Nawab Saif-ud-Din Mah-mud, popularly known as Faqirullah, was a foster brother of Aurangzeb. After his retirement as the subedar of Kashmir, he came to his village, Saifabad, and settled there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The date of the foundation of the fort can be deduced by an inscription found on an inner gate of the fort. The Persian chronographic inscription has been composed by well-known poet Sheikh Nasir Ali of Sirhind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">According to "abjad calculation" of the inscription, the date of foundation of the fort comes to 1658 AD.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Saif Khan, a pious Muslim, also constructed a mosque in the fort in 1668. The date is again calculated from an inscription found on a marble stone on one of the walls of the mosque. This mosque is today known as Saif Khan’s Mosque.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The fort was held by the descendants of Saif Khan up to the reign of Maharaja Amar Singh (1765-82) when it was annexed to the Patiala state. Chhota Rasulpur village was given to the remaining descendants of Saif Khan with a life pension of Rs 7 a day to Gul Begh Khan, the last commandant of the fort. This <i>jagir</i> remained till 1947 when the recipients migrated to Pakistan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The fort was made <i>pucca</i> in 1845 by Maharaja Karam Singh, a descendant of Maharaja Amar Singh. It was Maharaja Karam Singh who gave the fort the present name of Bahadurgarh, in memory of Guru Tegh Bahadur who had paid a visit to the place during the time of Saif Khan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The ancient citadel that discouraged many invaders due to its unique impregnable architecture is today unable to withstand the weathering.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">It was called impregnable as three huge walls and two broad and deep moats full of crocodiles had to be crossed to penetrate into the fort. The strong structure has given way due to the vagaries of nature as few hands have came forward to save the ancient fort.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The circumference of the fort is 1 mile, 536 yards and 2 feet. It is an oval-shaped structure. It was once surrounded by two huge and broad circular walls. The 29-foot high outer wall was 110 feet away from the inner one. In between, there was a ditch full of crocodiles. The outer wall was surrounded by another moat 25 feet deep and 58 feet wide. There was a similar moat separating the inner wall from the third one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><img align="left" alt="The fort had a specially designed chanel to supply water. Photo by Gautam Singh" border="1" src="http://www.tribuneindia.com/1998/98oct10/saturday/3tt3.jpg" height="319" hspace="1" vspace="1" width="230" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">As it was impossible for invaders to cross these walls and crocodile-filled moats, the only other method to penetrate the fort was through its main entrance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">This route taken by many was found to be extremely difficult. The meandering path that led from the entrance to the inner palace obstructed any speedy penetration by the invading army. These invaders were also subjected to firing when they were on the path through the holes in the walls. Any attempt to break the gates was successfully foiled by the defenders who poured boiling oil on the elephants or soldiers through specially designed holes in the roof tops of these gates.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Today, the outer wall has collapsed at many places. The moats have got filled up with sand and wild vegetation. At many places, the wild vegetation has been cleared by villagers living nearby, who have encroached upon the land to cultivate it. Cracks have appeared on the inner walls too, as weeds and shrubs have sprouted on the walls. The third floor of the residential complex in the fort has fallen apart completely, while the second floor has given way at a number of places. Trees, wild shrubs and grass growing in the fort have speeded up the deterioration of the fort. Even the wood carvings on the doors and windows along with paintings, murals and designs on the walls have been destroyed with years of neglect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The most distressing factor has been the collapse of the water channel bridge whose construction was an amazing engineering feat. It supplied water to all parts of the forts through a specially designed water channel on the roof tops of the buildings of the fort. Water, drawn from a well with the help of two elephants, flowed into these channels. Besides supplying water for drinking, the channel also operated fountains, especially those on the side walls of the queen’s bathing place. This room, made of marble, was recently cleaned up by the commando battalions. It was discovered that the water, through the numerous mouths of the pipe in all four walls, fell in the inner <i>sarovar</i> where the queens or other royal women bathed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The water passing through the channel also cooled the inner palace rooms by conditioning the air passing through it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Today, the water supply system and air conditioning system is not in working condition as the well from which the water was drawn has gone dry and is filled up with rubble and garbage. Further, the bridge connecting the water channel and the fort buildings has fallen. Even the sides of the channel in which the water was carried have broken, and at some places the channel has completely disappeared.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A number of tunnels were also present in the fort. It is believed that these tunnels were dug up to the Qila Mubarak in Patiala to save rulers whenever Quila Mubarak was attacked. Various pathways, suggesting a tunnel, can still be seen in the fort. They have been blocked by the rubble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b><img align="right" alt="Murals and designs on the walls have been destroyed with years of neglect. Photo by Gautam Singh" src="http://www.tribuneindia.com/1998/98oct10/saturday/3tt1.jpg" height="166" hspace="2" vspace="2" width="230" /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Even the two inscriptions, one on the inner gate and the other on the mosque, that inform about the founding of the fort as well as of the mosque can be read today with great difficulty. The ancient mosque, constructed in 1668 by Nawab Saif Khan, is in a pathetic condition too. The rear walls of the mosque had collapsed some years ago. Today, Punjab Police commando battalions that have a permanent residence in the fort have carried out repairs in the mosque. Though this repair work has saved the mosque from crumbling further, due to the absence of professional expertise in renovating ancient buildings, the mosque has lost its original grandeur and sheen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">G.S. Dhillon, commandant and in charge of the fort, says: "We have done whatever we could do. The material with which the mosque was made could not be found. No professional experts of the Department of Conservation came forward all these years to save the mosque. So under such circumstances the repair work done by the commandos is commendable".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In fact, the commando battalions inside the fort have done their bit to save the fort from further deterioration. They have cleared many pools and fountains of wild vegetation and rubble. Even the trees that grow through the fort walls are cleared from time to time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">But even this continuous clearing has not provided the desired results. The trees and shrubs manage to find a way of sprouting from one place or another. It is not possible to keep an eye on everything, said Dhillon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The condition of the fort further worsened in 1984, when it was used as a temporary jail during the then <i>jail</i> <i>bharo andolan</i> of the Akalis. Various terrorists were also kept in custody in this fort.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Apart from its rich architecture, the fort has got a religious significance as well. Nawab Saif Khan was a great admirer of Guru Tegh Bahadur. The Guru is said have visited Saifabad at the invitation of the Nawab. Two gurdwaras were built to commemorate the visit of the Guru to the fort. One gurdwara is in the fort and the other in the garden (then called Panch Bati Garden) to the north of the fort.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">It is also believed that Saif Khan mediated between the Guru and Aurangzeb over the issue of Kashmiri Pandits. The Nawab knew about the problems faced by Pandits as he had remained subedar of Kashmir for a considerable time. He reportedly held various talks with Aurangzeb and tried to dissuade him from fighting with the Sikh Guru.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">It is a pity that nothing is being done today to save this historic structure from going to ruin. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">key word : citadel, fort, impregnable citadel </span><br />
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jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-37203447487319221322015-02-03T06:22:00.000-08:002015-02-03T06:22:46.471-08:00Delhi elections: Rajouri Garden - jarnail singh vs jarnail singh vs jarnail singh <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div>Namesakes may queer pitch for many candidates<br />
Jarnail vs Jarnail vs Jarnail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIr2g8GLhdBYxQJAacHyUSn33CIXGjUnpua3qzDUlud98cUZU2jlzzrexmEORxrUKnh-777jEdWXAD9_X3oO2Tyv3R51avbv_3obOxrR_DBIg3U5Bw-KKnx6fo8KbYLzFKL2jrBHWoqU/s1600/jarnail+vs+jarnail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIr2g8GLhdBYxQJAacHyUSn33CIXGjUnpua3qzDUlud98cUZU2jlzzrexmEORxrUKnh-777jEdWXAD9_X3oO2Tyv3R51avbv_3obOxrR_DBIg3U5Bw-KKnx6fo8KbYLzFKL2jrBHWoqU/s320/jarnail+vs+jarnail.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In Rajouri Garden, besides AAP's Jarnail Singh, two other Independent candidates Jarnail Singhs are in the fray<br />
Two women candidates from Rajouri Garden, Livis Chandela and Suman Chandela, sahre the same last name as that of Congress candidate Meenakshi Chandel<br />
In Tilak Nagar, BJP candidate Rajiv Babbar is up against another Rajiv Babbar, and Duli Chand of the Congress is faced with a 60-year-old mason called Duli Chand<br />
<br />
Jupinderjit Singh<br />
<br />
Tribune News Service<br />
<br />
New Delhi, January 31<br />
It is Jarnail singh vs Jarnail Singh vs Jarnail Singh in the Rajouri Garden Assembly seat from where Akali candidate Manjinder Singh Sirsa is seeking a re-election on the SAD symbol and entire Akali leadership from Punjab is campaigning for him.<br />
The real Jarnail Singh, also known as Jarnail Singh Patarkar, who threw a shoe on ex- Home Minister P Chidambram, to project injustice to anti-sikh riots victims, already has a bad taste in his mouth over the similar ploy against him in the parliamentary elections. He had polled 3.82 lakhs votes. But another Jarnail Singh got about 85,000 votes and the third got about 6,000. Though BJP candidate Parvesh Sharma won by over 2.50 lakh votes, Jarnail Singh feels the confusion caused by the namesake candidates cost him and the party.<br />
This Assembly elections, there are again two other Jarnail Singhs in the fray. Both are Indepdnent candidates. “We are specially educating voters to look for the symbol ‘broom’ of our party than the name. Also, earlier, all Jarnail Singhs were listed together but this time there would be other names in between.<br />
Not just him, over 20 candidates in the current elections are facing challenge from their own name. Congress candidate Meenakshi Chandela also from Rajouri Garden, whose family name Chandela holds some command as her father Dayanand Chandela had won the seat earlier. There are two other women candidates with the same last name – Chandela. They are Livis Chandela and Suman Chandela.<br />
Shazia Ilmi, who has left AAP had also the same problem. She lost the RK Puram Assembly seat by only 326 votes in 2013. In Tilak Nagar all the BJP, Congress and the AAP candidates are facing the same problem. BJP candidate Rajiv Babbar is up against another Rajiv Babbar, and Duli Chand of the Congress is faced with a 60-year-old mason called Duli Chand.jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-87862423141970251542015-02-03T04:39:00.000-08:002015-02-03T04:39:15.649-08:00kiran vs kejri - who should delhi vote for?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div>Kejri vs Bedi: Delhiites weigh all options for top job<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zFrm1PkLsY8zQOJ1fAK8piYOjlmXB0Z-z-9tiA_z49G85TUMYa6_JD-rmrKwYjZ8zngxlPVYHciVEqImxypoHc8y2RRNVhgAh-6x-dbjbk6roxvzQsM8qHgtWlV9lslDiMFhskcqeE0/s1600/bedi+vs+kejriwal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zFrm1PkLsY8zQOJ1fAK8piYOjlmXB0Z-z-9tiA_z49G85TUMYa6_JD-rmrKwYjZ8zngxlPVYHciVEqImxypoHc8y2RRNVhgAh-6x-dbjbk6roxvzQsM8qHgtWlV9lslDiMFhskcqeE0/s320/bedi+vs+kejriwal.jpg" /></a></div>Jupinderjit Singh<br />
<br />
Tribune News Service<br />
New Delhi, February 2<br />
<br />
While Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi are busy campaigning for the Delhi Assembly elections, voters are weighing all options to elect the best suitable candidate for the top job.<br />
<br />
In a bid to understand the challenges a CM faces, Delhiites reason, correctly, whether to give Kejriwal a second chance or let a former cop rule the Capital. Sandeep Singh, an autorickshaw driver, will vote for Kejriwal. “Other leaders and parties are seasoned drivers. Arvind is like a first-time driver of an autorickshaw. It was natural to lose balance. He deserves a second chance,” he says.<br />
<br />
However, Raghu Yadav, a taxi driver, says: “We gave him the wheels of our car. He banged it straight into a pole. How can you give command to the driver again and put lives of others in danger?”<br />
<br />
Subash Sharma, a shopkeeper in Shahdra, says: “Bedi has changed too many parties. I can’t understand her vision and viewpoint from the interviews I have watched so far. She seems confused herself. How will she govern us?”<br />
<br />
But Shruti, an assistant manager at a local hotel, thinks Bedi should be the first choice for women. “She took on politicians when she was the Delhi IG. She won’t succumb to pressure and will give importance to women security,” she says.<br />
<br />
The conflict on whether the choice should be made on local or national issues is also noted. Rakhi, who is also working at a local hotel, says she wants same party to govern the country and the Capital. “I think we should have one party in power at both places. Otherwise, there would be conflict. I voted for Kejriwal last time but his government had lot of conflicts with the Centre,” she says.<br />
<br />
But for Charanpreet Singh of Rajouri Garden, adequate parking facility in his area is the main issue. “I don’t know about issues of drugs and governance. Inadequate parking space is a daily trouble for me. My business suffers due to traffic jams. I will vote for the one who sets a deadline for the completion of multi-level parking facilityhere,” he says. jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-55712489329123340002015-01-21T04:57:00.000-08:002015-01-21T04:57:12.442-08:00jagtar singh Tara : Pak spy agency planned a Hollywood-style rescue for Beant-killer Tara<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><br />
Pak spy agency planned a Hollywood-style rescue for Beant-killer Tara<br />
Tara<br />
why was Tara extradited in two days??<br />
<br />
<br />
Jupinderjit Singh<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBZ1LkCNDUArioIxGDIMId9cJoUvmFYIxjJiKFp6PnjJ4ErOVUGKn9joHARwM-1p-EpU5DzK7k8H2KHyzQhscKzmf-gOMMi6qu6x9A5G8xuxO5vkXs4VuBaU89XNW849drqyz6TAUgEo/s1600/IMG_0317.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBZ1LkCNDUArioIxGDIMId9cJoUvmFYIxjJiKFp6PnjJ4ErOVUGKn9joHARwM-1p-EpU5DzK7k8H2KHyzQhscKzmf-gOMMi6qu6x9A5G8xuxO5vkXs4VuBaU89XNW849drqyz6TAUgEo/s320/IMG_0317.PNG" /></a></div>The ‘Argo’ plot<br />
<br />
ISI was planning an ‘Argo’ film kind of rescue operation for Tara (pic). ‘Argo’ was a political thriller based on a famous US-Canada joint operation of the rescue of six US diplomats from Tehran by showing them as part of a film<br />
The ISI was supposed to send a 20-member cultural troupe to Thailand<br />
Tara was supposed to take the place of one of the members when the troupe returned<br />
The cultural troupe did visit Thailand but Tara could not move out due to vigil<br />
<br />
Tribune News Service<br />
<br />
Chandigarh, January 18<br />
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan was planning an ‘Argo’ film-kind of rescue operation for the Beant Singh assassin Jagtar Singh Tara to help him flee from Thailand in the garb of a member of a cultural troupe from Pakistan around Christmas last.<br />
<br />
Highly placed sources revealed the Punjab police got a whiff of the plan from their sources in a European country. The police were already on the trail of the Khalistan Tiger Force chief Jagtar Singh Tara in Thailand. It increased surveillance and presence at exit points. A Major-rank officer with the ISI is said to have shared the plan with a UK-based operative, who further leaked it.<br />
<br />
‘Argo’ film was a political thriller based on a famous US-Canada joint operation of the rescue of six US diplomats from Tehran by showing them as part of a film crew. They were trapped in Tehran following an attack on the embassy during the 1979-1981 US-Iran crisis. The Punjab police interrogation of Tara so far is concentrating on the weekly dinner meetings of the heads of various terrorists organisations which concentrated on Punjab.<br />
<br />
“With the help of the Thailand police and central agencies, we had issued look-out notices for Tara — both for his real identity as well as of the assumed identity of Gurmeet Singh (clean-shaven). As he could not move out, ISI official Major Noor (common name for such ISI officials) hatched the plan to send a 20-member cultural troupe to Thailand.<br />
<br />
Tara was supposed to take the place of one of the members when the troupe returned,” said a police official.<br />
<br />
Terrorist-supporting organisations in Europe had collected Rs 1.5 crore for the rescue operation of the ISI. Major Noor had hired one Sultan Bari to task his Thailand-based brother Khailat Bari alias Akhtar Bari for help in hiding Tara and felicitating his escape. The cultural troupe did visit Thailand but Tara could not move out due to the vigil on him.<br />
<br />
Tara is the third chief of a terrorist organisation arrested by the Punjab police in last six months. A police official revealed that it was a record of sorts that three out of six main terrorist organisations based in Pakistan under the aegis of the ISI were now behind bars in Punjab. The police have in custody Rattandeep Singh, head of Babbar Tiger Force of Khalistan (BTFK); Mintoo, head of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF); and Tara, head of Khalistan Tiger Force.<br />
<br />
The other three remaining in Pakistan are Babbar Khalsa headed by Wadhawa Singh Babbar, Khalistan Commando Force chief Paramjit Singh Panjwar and Khalistan Zindabad Force Ranjit Singh Neeta.<br />
<br />
Police sources said they had information about every movement of Tara. “It was no mean task tracing and arresting Tara. He was a mastermind of the assassination of late Chief Minister Beant Singh and had slipped out of the high-security Burail Jail through a tunnel. Our intelligence network made tracking him possible on foreign soil. We learnt he had reached Thailand in August last year. We ran a check and spotted him at the airport CCTV footage. We told the Thailand police, which wanted us to get an arrest warrant.”<br />
<br />
Sources said the warrants were taken in the name of Tara who had, by then, changed his identity. “We even told the Thai police about the locality he was living in there. <br />
<br />
Tara didn’t oppose his extradition<br />
A process that usually takes years was completed in two days, say police officials<br />
<br />
Jupinderjit Singh<br />
<br />
Tribune News Service<br />
<br />
Chandigarh, January 20<br />
Jagtar Singh Tara, Khalistan Tiger Force chief and mastermind behind former Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassination, was extradited to India within a mere two days of his arrest as he did not contest the plea moved by New Delhi in Thai court.<br />
<br />
Sources in the Punjab Police said Tara himself requested for extradition, a process that usually took years. The extradition, however, does not bar India from giving him death penalty if any court finds him guilty of committing crime under rarest of rare cases.<br />
<br />
Tara was arrested on January 5 and the Thai court ordered his extradition on January 7. He was flown to India on January 15 after the completion of various formalities. “Tara’s lawyers and supporters pleaded before the court that his trial should be conducted in some other country. They felt Thai courts were unfair to them. As they could not decide a country where they wanted to face trial, we prevailed upon the court that the accused party’s choice cannot be considered. By then, Tara too filed his appeal,” said an official.<br />
<br />
Sources said Rajinder Singh Sohal, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Rajpura, reached Bangkok on January 13 for co-ordination with the Thai authorities. A three-member police team headed by Tejinderjit Singh Virk, DSP (counter-intelligence), reached Bangkok on January 15.<br />
<br />
Officials said the arrest was the culmination of an operation taken up by central agencies in August last on the basis of leads provided by the Punjab Police.<br />
<br />
Sources said Tara had told investigators that he along with his Pakistan-based associates wanted to carry out killings in Punjab, and that they had even shortlisted some leaders. Tara is learnt to have stayed in Ganganagar, Kurali and Fatehgarh Sahib (at a dera headed by a self-styled woman saint) for a few months before escaping to Pakistan through Nepal and Thailand.<br />
<br />
Police officials said he was giving some conflicting replies about his whereabouts after he escaped from the Burail Jail in January 2014. They said his claims were being verified. jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-2485112449494901182015-01-20T22:06:00.000-08:002015-01-20T22:06:41.595-08:00drugs in Punjab : when use turned to abuse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div>DRUG PROBLEM IN PUNJAB: HIGH ON DEMAND<br />
How use turned to abuse in Punjab<br />
Jupinderjit Singh<br />
The scale of the problem can be disputed in Punjab, not its existence. Drug use in the state has since long taken the shape of drug misuse, then abuse and increasingly, the worst form: addiction. That is classified as a disease, calling for medical treatment. The World Health Organisation prefers an over-arching term: drug dependence. The body politic has not stopped sparring over the issue, but the body’s rotting. It needs help, a forceful and forced correction.<br />
<br />
How use turned to abuse in Punjab<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZOrc7vXrPwXrQU0fiX_KxiUlAmVpCBz14-PEbBf5JOur7SKY0PWIBHrPYvGusopdw69xd__wvK3dD91bBFTPHDQ8ypP3VySXK3coyyPLNFg1ck2hIRVi_uFl2qlU7u_mA05a1VoyeKU/s1600/IMG_0316.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZOrc7vXrPwXrQU0fiX_KxiUlAmVpCBz14-PEbBf5JOur7SKY0PWIBHrPYvGusopdw69xd__wvK3dD91bBFTPHDQ8ypP3VySXK3coyyPLNFg1ck2hIRVi_uFl2qlU7u_mA05a1VoyeKU/s320/IMG_0316.PNG" /></a></div>YOUTH MORE INTO IT<br />
<br />
Illicit drug use is largely a youth phenomenon. Prevalence rates go up through the teens and peak among persons aged 18-25<br />
Typical age for people receiving treatment is late 20s or early 30s<br />
More males consume drugs worldwide. In most of Europe, however, female drug use is half, or less, than that of males<br />
Drug addicts are usually the first suspects when it comes to crimes like snatching or robberies. In Punjab, 1,260 cases of snatching were registered till October last year<br />
<br />
Drug abuse factors in state<br />
<br />
Unemployment<br />
Peer influence<br />
Culture of consumption, masculinity<br />
Thrill-seeking, curiosity<br />
Mix of frustration, boredom, laziness<br />
Lack of support during stress<br />
Low self-worth<br />
<br />
Drug addiction is not a Punjab-specific problem, though social, cultural and economic patterns over several years encouraged its proliferation because of lack of discouragement. It is an affliction that’s been allowed a firm footing in the border state, becoming almost an accepted way of life as those who could make a difference looked the other way. Now that the political class does seem to be looking at the mess, is it the right way?<br />
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Drug use — primarily the intake of opium — had been part of the social and cultural compass long before Punjab was partitioned and then divided. That said, drug abuse was always considered an exception, not the rule — it was lampooned in comic characterisation and looked down upon. “In folk literature, songs and movies, we always had a drug addict in the plot. But he was never the hero. He was always made fun of. Those who took even liquor avoided meeting the parents and even one’s spouse,” says Dr Gurbhajan Gill, former head of the Punjabi Sahit Akademi. “It was even considered healthy, and people in the Malwa belt still feel small doses of opium are good for health,” he points out. “The influence also comes from the prevailing culture in neighbouring Rajasthan where opium was, and still is, served like paan in weddings.”<br />
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The use increased with the advent of the Green Revolution in the state. More work in the fields brought more labourers and the demand of poppy husk and opium increased manifold. Dr Gill recalls how it was common for big farmers to supply opium and poppy husk to labourers, “since it served like machine oil”. Similarly, industrialisation in the country opened more routes for Punjabi truck drivers and they took to poppy husk and opium as they felt it helped them in driving for longer hours.<br />
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Lethal transition<br />
It was the transition from poppy husk and opium and its usual suspect users to the lethal heroin or smack, and later synthetic drugs, that rang alarm bells, says Dr Rajiv Gupta, who heads the Punjab Psychiatrist Association. Experts trace it to the heavy flow of heroin through the then unfenced border with Pakistan in the 1980s. Narco-terrorism’s push came after 2000, and the impetus was in 2007 when China and Japan cracked down on heroin smuggling and India emerged as one of the biggest markets. The entry point: Punjab.<br />
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A study by Prof PS Verma of the Chandigarh-based Institute of Development and Communication points out how India was sandwiched between the “golden triangle” of drugs — Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand — and the “golden crescent” of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where opium was produced and smuggled. The year 2007 saw a 10-time increase in the recovery of heroin in Punjab.<br />
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With more heroin, popularly known as chitta or white powder, being pushed into the state from across the border and trucks full of poppy husk and opium reaching the state from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the trade assumed large proportions. It was Maqboolpura, a congested colony in Amritsar, that first pricked the conscience of the region when The Tribune in 1999 reported about the death of 30 householders in three years who had fallen prey to addictive substances and called it the “locality of widows”.<br />
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Over 3.3 lakh addicts were registered for treatment in various de-addiction centres across Punjab from June 15 to December 15 last year as part of the massive drive against drug abuse. As many as 22,700 jail inmates were also provided treatment, as the police arrested 45,000 persons for narcotic smuggling or possession in 2014 alone.<br />
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Deadly drugs like heroin and synthetic tablets have made it into an organised crime, consuming lives, destroying families and damaging the image of a people and a state. Add to that the growing evidence of pharmaceutical opioid abuse where addicts are graduating to injecting formulations with opium-like qualities (hence called opioids). Among pharma opioids are buprenorphine, pentazocine and dextropropyxyphyne. Over-the-counter cough syrups like Corex and Benadryl too are much in demand.<br />
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Rural context, joblessness<br />
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Does easy supply lead to addiction, or does the demand result in increased supply? Why did Punjab so easily fall into the drug trap?<br />
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Studies point to some striking aspects of Punjab’s drug addiction problem. It has a predominant rural context and the users are relatively affluent, unlike in the rest of the country. The drugs used are mostly injectable, which are commonly associated with urban settings.<br />
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The intensity and extremity of the addiction too is a unique Punjabi occurrence. Experts explain it in terms of the deep-rooted cultures of consumption and masculinity, the declining growth rates of the rural economy, the influx of migrants, the impact of unemployment on educated rural youth, and the culture of aspiration and expectation, which quickly swerves to depression when things don’t fall in place.<br />
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Research studies also point to the failure of Punjab’s industrial sector to absorb the increasing number of employable youth from rural areas, and the cultural attributes that inhibit educated youth from taking up certain jobs, especially in the farm sector. There’s also a clash between unemployment and the culture of aspiration among the many affluent young men in rural Punjab, who are at the centre of the problem. Frustration, boredom and laziness are all experienced simultaneously, as an expert puts it. Those who can, migrate; those who are unable to can be easy prey.<br />
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No one exactly knows the extent of the drug problem in the state; the varied figures that are often quoted are based on sporadic studies and anecdotal instances. When Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi remarked during an election rally in 2012 that 70 per cent of Punjab’s youth were under the influence of drugs, the figure may have been questionable, but what was relevant was the start of a debate. Now that it’s taken shape of a political slugfest, the core issue of the huge battle against drugs is still lost in the war of words.<br />
For BSF, it’s a battle of wits<br />
<i>ways of smuggling drugs into punjab<br />
In sub-zero temperature at midnight, a Border Security Force jawan stands in a water-filled field near the Pakistan border fence, his eyes and ears straining for any movement. It’s a battle of wits and the drug smugglers often have an upper hand. All they have to do is throw a packet over the fence or push it through a pipe for waiting conduits.<br />
The BSF’s counter trap has to be so perfect that local smugglers are caught with the booty and those across the fence are liquidated. It is a tough call since if the jawan shoots at the front, he loses the smugglers at the back and if he shoots at smugglers at the back, then injuring or killing someone without drug recovery is a bigger problem.<br />
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35 ways of hiding drugs<br />
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Security agencies have detected 35 ways of hiding drugs in a truck or a mini-truck. The smugglers either make a cavity, a culvert, a hole, a cabinet, a compartment, a false floor, or hide drugs in the roof, toolbox, the wheels, seats, fuel tank and even the chassis. — Jupinderjit Singh</i><br />
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Jarring political response: Sparring<br />
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There's a perception in Punjab that the politicians of all hues and even the police are beneficiaries of the drug trade, and are part of the problem. Retired DGP Shashi Kant Sharma went on to claim that the new narco-political elite used drug money to fund elections.<br />
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Punjab Police have tried to shed the image with huge recoveries, busting of drug gangs and sustained crackdowns. But a senior police officer points to the difficulty in letting go of notions: “More drug recoveries show the security agencies are more alert and serious about the issue, but the media and the Opposition say it means an increase in smuggling and higher consumption!”<br />
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The politicians have chosen the easy way out: sparring and what sounds more jarring, dharnas. The Shiromani Akali Dal organised one against the Border Security Force, the Bharatiya Janata Party plans “4,500 rallies” and the Congress has one lined up on January 22.<br />
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The Congress claims the drug smuggling went up when the Akalis came to power in 2007 and is still increasing, while the Akalis stress that they were the ones who launched a campaign to “save the youth of the country as Punjab was just a transit point for smuggling and not the main consumer”. Both the parties forget how satirist and Aam Aadmi Party MP from Sangrur Bhagwant Mann based his entire election campaign on drugs and won a famous victory.<br />
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It was when an arrested drug lord named Cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia as having a role in the flourishing drug racket, a claim flatly denied, that the politicking reached a feverish pitch, but the issue confronting Punjab was again ignored.<br />
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‘Denial is the biggest mistake’<br />
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The first and foremost priority should be to avoid the denial mode on drug addiction by everyone, feels Chandigarh-based Institute for Development and Communication Director Dr Pramod Kumar. “There’s an abdication syndrome prevailing among all. Unfortunately, the debate has been reduced to sermonising that who should do what.” he says.<br />
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“The demand of vice is a bigger problem than the one who lures you to bad habits. We must check the supply in any forceful way we can, but the focus should be the recipient, the one who is seeking the supply. For that, the role of each one of us is important. I would put the role of parents on the top,” he adds.<br />
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Dr Kumar says it must be acknowledged that the debate on drugs, the politics and the counter-action may be entirely new or new in a different way, but drug intake was always present in the history and culture of this region.<br />
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“The enormity of a problem is not the function of numbers. Even if one person is taking drugs, it is a problem. Sadly, drug abuse has emerged as a new currency in politics,” he opines.<br />
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Earlier, the use of drugs was the currency to woo voters, now all politicians are trying to harp on preventing drug abuse as the way to woo voters — Dr Pramod Kumar, Director, Institute for Development and Communication.<br />
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first published on http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/perspective/how-use-turned-to-abuse-in-punjab/31353.html<br />
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writers info : jupinderjit singh <br />
japs99@gmail.com<br />
9872999203jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-90963226159971698542015-01-06T03:12:00.001-08:002015-01-06T03:12:54.166-08:00Punjab takes on centre on drugs, talks about punjabi identity issues also<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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Don’t blame Punjab, Centre should stop narcotics supply from other states: Sukhbir<br />
Lashes out at BJP-ruled Goa & Rajasthan for drug culture, calls it national conspiracy<br />
Don’t blame Punjab, Centre should stop narcotics supply from other states: Sukhbir<br />
Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal at the ‘awareness rally’ against drugs at Attari. photo: Vishal Kumar<br />
Don’t play politics on drug issue: BJP<br />
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With the SAD opening up a front against the Centre, of which it is also a part, the BJP today counselled it saying that drug abuse and drug mafia were “serious issues on which politics should be avoided”.<br />
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Jupinderjit Singh & PK Jaiswar<br />
Tribune News Service<br />
Gharinda (Amritsar), January 5<br />
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Adopting a tough posture on the drugs issue, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said labelling Punjab as a state of drug addicts was a national conspiracy, akin to the spread of terrorism in the state, to defame the residents, especially Sikhs.<br />
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The dharna-cum-awareness rally organised by SAD here against the inflow of drugs also became a platform for the Akalis to reclaim the status of numero uno for the state which had led in making sacrifices in the freedom struggle, post-Independence wars and for being the food bowl of the country.<br />
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Speakers also used the impressive rally to highlight the alleged victimisation of the state for generations by claiming that injustice was meted out to Punjab as Punjabi-speaking areas in other states were not given to it and Sikhs were labelled terrorists. Speakers also underlined that the state, and especially the Akalis, have turned out stronger after countering such conspiracies.<br />
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Sukhbir led the party leaders in demanding complete sealing of the international border with Pakistan, special allocation in the national Budget for the BSF for use of technology to man the borders, and to include the issue of cross-border smuggling on the agenda for talks with Pakistan. In an indirect attack on the BJP, Sukhbir Badal, Bikram Majithia and other speakers asked if states like Gujarat (home state of PM Modi) or Maharashtra suffered losses due to Partition or wars before and after Independence. Sukhbir specifically mentioned Goa, which has a BJP government, for being the most-drug infested state where all kinds of drugs were available openly. He also accused Rajasthan (again a BJP-led state) for its failure to prevent smuggling of drugs into Punjab. He, however, blamed the past Congress governments in the Centre and Rajasthan for the mess.<br />
While refraining from blaming Narendra Modi, who had talked about the problem as a Lok Sabha poll promise of the party and recently in his radio programme, for the conspiracy, SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal accused Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi specifically and the Congress party in general for hatching a conspiracy to defame the state.<br />
"Rahul started all this a few years ago when he claimed that 70 per cent of the state's youths were addicts," said Sukhbir. He, in response to a media query, said he welcomed Modi's drive against drugs but it should be a national drive.<br />
"It is tragic that while Punjab grows food for the rest of the country, the other states are growing drugs for sending those to Punjab," he said.<br />
The party leaders, barring Sucha Singh Langah, stayed clear of blaming the Border Security Force (BSF) in their speeches or targeting the BJP, which is launching a drive against drugs from January 22.<br />
They insisted that the BSF needs to be empowered further with latest technology to deal with smuggling from across the border.<br />
Langah sought control over the BSF arguing that the state should have the power to transfer BSF officials and jawans. But other speakers lauded the role of the security agencies while underlining that it was Punjab that fed food to the jawans and Punjabis who faced enemy tanks. <br />
Langah also took a pot-shot at the BJP saying it hurts (the Akalis) when friends (BJP) injure them while attacks of the Congress could be handled.<br />
Majithia, who drew a huge response from the rally held in his home district, took on Congress state president Partap Singh Bajwa saying his family was involved in drug smuggling.<br />
He said the label of drug addiction was a challenge to the state but those who have hatched the conspiracy know that Punjabis respond in equal measure when their self-respect is challenged. He said linking him with drug smugglers was a part of the conspiracy.<br />
first published : http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/don-t-blame-punjab-centre-should-stop-narcotics-supply-from-other-states-sukhbir/26756.htmljupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-996240275370203018.post-69217653915289020762014-12-28T04:41:00.000-08:002014-12-28T04:41:58.699-08:00 Punjab Drug story : only recovery of Heroin increased , others dropped<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CvDwvs44RDUMBlrNl7fX4W0U6x6hLWF9uknJPXycjyslym4MqkyyTdr19uHfF9HPf2IKUmzL9ROUr6HZxHhPNOXEilQGTXOvgZFwtFfB1sDn7VHXwO1sK8SQ3WjxC7XmSiosByGqiNU/s1600/drug+menace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CvDwvs44RDUMBlrNl7fX4W0U6x6hLWF9uknJPXycjyslym4MqkyyTdr19uHfF9HPf2IKUmzL9ROUr6HZxHhPNOXEilQGTXOvgZFwtFfB1sDn7VHXwO1sK8SQ3WjxC7XmSiosByGqiNU/s320/drug+menace.jpg" /></a></div>Heroin is recovered by BSF mainly.<br />
pb govt claims the BSF not doing enough falls flat<br />
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Jupinderjit Singh<br />
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Tribune News Service<br />
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Chandigarh, December 26<br />
The passing year is being labelled as the year of state’s fight against drugs. The matter gained prominence with Opposition parties taking on the government on its alleged failure to contain the menace.<br />
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had made it part of his election campaign and had recently tagged Punjab as the worst-hit state.<br />
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Official statistics, however, reveal a contrasting picture. The state registered lesser number of FIRs and arrested lesser number of people in drug-related cases as compared to the last year.<br />
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The state witnessed a seizure of 570 kg of heroin worth Rs 3,000 crore against 416 kg last year. But most of the contraband was seized by the Border Security Force. Other drugs such as opium, smack, charas, cocaine and poppy husk seized by the state police were in lesser quantity as compared to last year. A police officer remarked such figures did not matter in their fight against drugs. “We had launched a massive crackdown this year, but we were never lenient earlier also. It has become a political issue. We are always after the anti-social elements.”<br />
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The officer argued that there was lesser number of drug cases due to the continuous drive against the menace the previous years.<br />
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Last year, the number of NDPS cases was 14,654, at least 68 per cent higher as compared to 2006 (as per the National Crime Records Bureau). The police registered 13,975 FIRs till December 16 this year. Similarly, 16,821 persons were arrested in NDPS cases in 2013 against 16,421 this year.<br />
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The police managed to avoid controversies like slapping a woman and her father and killing of an ASI by a man stalking his daughter, but drew flak for the alleged cold-blooded murder of two brothers by an Akali leader in connivance with policemen in Machhiwara. An SSP was suspended and several policemen were booked in the case. The police managed to arrest a group of terrorists from Malaysia and Thailand. Those arrested were linked to Sikh militants Neeta and others who are presently hiding in Pakistan. The police recovered arms and ammunition from canals and ponds in Jagraon. The incident was a reminder of the dark days of terrorism.<br />
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The acquittal of all accused in the seven-year-old Shingar Cinema blast case put the police in a spot. They will have to scurry for answers on justice to the families of those died in the blast. There was a slight increase in the cases of attacks on policemen. At least 460 such cases were registered as compared to 452 last year and 427 in 2012.<br />
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Police officials complained of politicisation of the department with the formation of a new seat of power, halqa in charge. It is alleged that station house officers have been told to report to the respective halqa in charge.<br />
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The year also saw the involvement of a group of senior police officers led by an Inspector General of Police in shady land deals. The accused allegedly invested black money in a project and later used force to recover the money. Incidents of snatching remained a major worry. There were 1,260 snatching cases against 1,051 last year. The figure is conservative as it is estimated that only one out of five victims of snatching lodges an FIR.jupinderjithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07514974058846841861noreply@blogger.com0