THE JASWANTGARH WAR MEMORIAL

For any soldier of the Indian Army ,the famous memorial of 1962 war between India and China at Jaswantgarh stands taller than even the 14000 ft high Sela Pass along the steep, serpentine mountainous road to monastery town at Tawang in western Arunachal Pradesh.

It is not because of the altitude of its location but for the inspiration it gives to Indian soldiers guarding the frontier with China.

A journey towards the picturesque Tawang through pristine hills of Arunachal Pradesh can't be complete without a stopover at Jaswantgarh Memorial that stands testimony to an Indian soldier's unparallel bravery.

And for Indian Army jawans and officials, it is a must-visit site to pay obeisance to Rifleman Jaswant Singh, Maha Vir Chakra, of 4 Garhwal Rifle, who laid down his life resisting the Chinese Army's march for about 72 hours along with two other soldiers during the 1962 war.

Singh was then captured and hanged at the same place where the memorial now stands, by Chinese invaders. The memorial is about 14 km away from Sela Pass.

It is more of a temple than a war memorial for Indian Army soldiers. The Army has put a section of its soldiers at round the clock duty at Jaswantgarh to look after the memorial which is located about 500 kilometers away from Guwahati, the gateway to the Northeast in Assam.

The temple-like Jaswantgarh memorial has a garlanded bronze bust of Jaswant Singh who is referred as Baba by soldiers, a portrait of the war hero and his belongings including the Army uniform, cap, watch, and belt. The earthen lamp before the portrait of Jaswant Singh burns round the clock.

For his six caretakers from 19 Garhwal Corps of Indian Army, Baba Jaswant Singh, MVC, still exists. They serve Baba bed tea at 0430 hrs, breakfast at 0900 hrs and dinner at 1900 hrs, oblivious of the reality that that the war hero is no more alive.

They make his bed for him, polish his shoes and deliver the mail sent by his admirers. They even clear the mails the next morning after 'he has gone through them'. They change his bed sheets every Tuesday.

These soldiers not only serve Baba. They reneder yeoman service for travelers along the hazardous portion of mountain terrain. Besides coming to rescue of travelers in trouble, they run a snack store where they serve tea, coffee and delicious samosas and pakoras to refresh the tired tourists, charging a nominal price that goes to upkeep of the war memorial.

The Indian Army sentinels at Jaswantgarh complain about the lack of electricity at the war memorial. It is lit up only for two hours in the evening through a diesel generator. They also fear that the roadside portion of the memorial is under severe threat from landslide.

One of the three historic bunkers at Jaswantgarh has already been damaged due to landslide while another one is in imminent danger unless something is done urgently to save it.

For the heroic effort of Rifleman Jaswant Singh, of the 4 Garhwal Rifle was awarded battle honour Nuranang, the only battle honour awarded to any Army unit in the Sino-Indian war of 1962.

Source:The Hitavada

SALUTE TO A HERO

Khudiram Bose was a freedom fighter, who was one of the youngest revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. He was born on 3rd December 1889. Trailokyanath Basu, his father was a Tahsildar of the town and mother Lakshmipriya Devi was a religious lady. His birth place was Bahuvaini in Medinipur district, West Bengal. Khudiram Bose was influenced by the notion of karma in the Bhagvad Gita , and was involved in revolutionary activities to free mother India from the clutches of British rule.

Dissatisfied with the British policy of the partition of Bengal in 1905, he joined Jugantar - the party of revolutionary activists. At the tender age of sixteen, Bose left bombs near police stations and made government officials his victims. On the charges of carrying out a series of bomb attacks he was arrested. In Muzzafarpur, Bihar,on 30th April, 1908 Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki planned to assasinate the Chief Presidency Magistrate Kingsford.

The magistrate was known for his blatant judgements against the freedom fighters. They waited for Kingsford's carriage to come in front of the gate of European Club and blew up a carriage which was not carrying Kingsford. As a result of this unfortunate incident two innocent British ladies - Mrs.Kennedy and her daughter were killed. Both the revolutionaries fled the crime scene.

Later Prafulla committed suicide and Khudiram was arrested. On the charges of bomb attacks carried out by Khudiram Bose, he was sentenced to death at the age of 19.He was hanged to death on 11 August 1908.

Source:mapsof india.com

BHAGAT SINGH: ABIDING RELEVANCE

The year 2007 has a remarkable bearing on India’s historic struggle for freedom. It marks the 250th anniversary of the battle of Plassey; the 150th anniversary of 1857; the 60th anniversary of 1947; and the birth centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

Through the course of this year, many aspects of the life and work of Bhagat Singh have been written about. While Bhagat Singh continues to remain an icon for modern-day Indian youth, the fact that needs to be underlined is that he and his associates acquired the status of living legends even in their brief life time. This is confirmed by the fact that the British clandestinely advanced the hanging of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev fearing a public outrage. In an unprecedented manner, these legendary heroes of the Indian freedom movement were hanged until death at dusk on March 23, 1931 instead of the 24th morning. The British tried to surreptitiously dispose the bodies at Hussainwallah on the banks of the Sutlej.

In the few years of his active political life, being just over 23 years of age, when the British executed him, Bhagat Singh, along with his associates had radicalised the freedom struggle. The Delhi bomb case (“to make the deaf hear”) and the murder of British officer Saunders to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai due to the severe lathicharge in the anti-Simon Commission protests brought on to the agenda of the freedom struggle, a militancy hitherto unknown.

HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES

A brief recollection of the historical circumstances of that period is important to understand this and the consequent abiding relevance of Bhagat Singh to contemporary India. All these revolutionaries enthusiastically participated in the non-cooperation movement launched by the Congress under Gandhiji’s leadership in August 1920. However, when Gandhiji withdrew this movement in February 1922 following the attack on the police station in Chauri Chaura calling it a “Himalayan blunder”, the disappointment and the consequent frustration was rampant among the youth. Some historians believe that this withdrawal forced the unspent energy of the masses into fratricidal channels. The spurt in the number of communal riots is often cited as evidence. It is precisely in this period that alternatives to the Congress were being sought. The fledgling Communist Party formed in 1920 brought together the various communist groups across the country at a convention in 1925 at Kanpur. The same year, the RSS was founded in Nagpur. It was in the course of these tumultuous years that three distinct visions on what ought to be the character of independent India emerged.

The Congress, in response to these developments, defined its vision of independent India as being a secular democratic republic. The communists articulated their vision as one that will consolidate the secular democratic republic by transforming the political independence gained by the country into the true economic independence of all its people, i.e., socialism.

The third vision in complete contradistinction to the above two sought to define the character of independent India on the basis of the religious denomination of its people. This had a twin expression. The RSS advocating its fascistic vision of a rabidly intolerant “Hindu Rashtra” and the Muslim League seeking the partition of the country to establish an Islamic republic. The ideological battle amongst these three visions, in fact, continues till date and the present-day political developments can be properly understood only within these parameters. In this battle, Bhagat Singh was closest to the communist vision and, in fact, independently moved towards communist ideological foundations. Bhagat Singh was not a lone hero but part of a remarkable group of revolutionaries. It was at Bhagat Singh’s intervention, at a secret meeting that took place in Ferozeshah Kotla at Delhi on September 8, 1928, that the Hindustan Republican Association was rechristened as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. Socialism was now accepted both as a goal and the ideological foundation of their activities. Though Chandrashekhar Azad could not attend the meeting being underground following the famous Kakori incident in August 1925 and the hanging of his associates Ram Prasad Bismal, Ashfaqullah, Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh in November 1927, he had given his prior approval to the decisions taken at this meeting.

CONTRIBUTION TO MODERN INDIA

While many today seek to appropriate the legacy of Bhagat Singh and his associates, if a proper justice of their contribution to the evolution of modern independent India is to be done, then that must be based on Bhagat Singh’s own writings. For a youth barely in his twenties, Bhagat Singh, in his times, was fairly well-read. His diaries released by the National Archives on the 50th anniversary of his martyrdom revealed the vast range of contemporary writers that he read. Though Bollywood has now made his reading of Lenin famous, in his diaries, extensive quotations from various writers are there, including the famous concluding lines of the poet, Percy Byshee Shelley’s magnum opus, “The mask of anarchy”:

“Rise like lions after slumber

In unanquishable number,

Shake your chains to earth like dew

Which in sleep had fallen on you

Ye are many – they are few.”

Everyday, during their trial, Bhagat Singh and B. K. Dutta used to enter the courts shouting the slogan “Inquilab Zindabad”. When the court questioned them on the meaning of this slogan, they submitted written statement which says: “I, Bhagat Singh, was asked in the lower court as to what we meant by the word `Revolution’. In answer to that question, I would say that Revolution does not necessarily involve a sanguinary strife, nor is there any place in it for individual vendetta. By Revolution we mean that the present order of things which is based on manifest injustice must change.

“This is our ideal and with this ideology for our inspiration we have given a fair and loud enough warning.

“Revolution is the inalienable right of mankind. Freedom is the imprescriptible birth right of all. The labourer is the real sustainer of society. The sovereignty of the people is the ultimate destiny of the workers.” Thus, the slogan `Inquilab Zindabad’ was immortalised during our freedom struggle.

UNSHAKEABLE CONVICTION

There are various elements of Bhagat Singh’s life that have contributed to his immortal legend, heroism, sacrifice, the political clarity and the ability to catch the imagination of the people. The Hindi film industry has now converted this legend into an icon. During the first few years of this century, at least six films have been made on this revolutionary. The last in this series being the very creative effort, Rang De Basanti. The title of the film comes from the immortal song which Bhagat Singh and his associates supposedly sang as they were marching to the gallows. Though the film was come under severe criticism for its alleged projection of nihilism, the essential thrust is being missed. In actual life, many individuals may associate passionately with a political project due to various reasons and under varied circumstances. The moot question, however, is, when it comes to the crunch, whether these individuals stand up to their political convictions, or, not. This is the acid test. The protagonists in this film (including one who vacillates) embrace a sure death out of conviction and not being pushed into that position by circumstances. The option to opt out was always there. But, they choose not to do so.

This is exactly what Bhagat Singh and his associates did. They marched to death with a smile. When the hangman offers him to pray before death, he says, “I have neither fear of death nor belief in God”. In terms of political belief, while firmly abjuring “the cult of the bomb and the pistol”, as Bhagat Singh himself notes, they chose to throw the bomb at the Delhi assembly and murder Saunders with pistol under the firm belief that these actions would galvanise the youth to seek freedom.

Contrast this, with those political commentators who in the wake of team India’s historic win of the twenty-20 cricket world cup have sought to suggest that new India’s icons are far removed from the traditions of anti-imperialism that galvanised earlier generations of Indian youth. They need to note that popular Hindi cinema is, by far, the most reliable barometer of popular Indian opinion and sentiment. During the first six years of this decade, as stated above, six mainstream successful films have been released on Bhagat Singh! This is the reaction of the overwhelmingly youthful population of India.

However, in their effort to erase the impact of the finest traditions and legacy of revolutionary struggles that shaped the contours of modern independent India, these pundits of liberalisation spare no opportunity or effort to facilitate the transformation of modern India into a subordinate ally of world imperialism today. The ongoing national debate on the Indo-US nuclear deal and the grave implications it has on India’s sovereignty and independent foreign policy is, indeed, taking place in this very birth centenary year of Bhagat Singh.

The recollection of Bhagat Singh’s legacy, thus, is of contemporary relevance in today’s continuing battle between the three visions that we spoke of above and more importantly to safeguard and strengthen India’s economic sovereignty and, thus, its pride of place in the international comity of nations.

Source:Sitaram Yechury :Cpim.

THE MAN WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN.

Every morning for 22 long years, a frail diminutive man, clad in a loincloth would trudge two kilometres to a hillock of solid rock and chip away at it with a hammer and chisel.

Dasrath Manjhi was building a memorial to his wife Phaguni Devi.A poor man's Taj.Not for its esthetics but for its symbolising human power and spirit of endurance.

Dasrath eked out a living as a farm hand, toiling in the fields of local landlords on bare subsistance.One day,in the early 60's ,his wife Phaguni fell ill and Dasrath set off with her to the nearest hospital .She died on the way.If only there was no hillock blocking the road to the town,Dasraths wife would have made it to the hospital in time, and perhaps survived.

The villagers of Gelaur,in Bihar had to take a circuitous route and travel 19km. to Wazirganj, the nearest district town. It was because of the massive 360ft. long, 25ft. high and 30 ft. wide rock that came in the way of the shortest possible route between the village and the town.

Dasrath decided to alter the topography with a chisel and hammer to cut through the rock.After 22 yrs. of hard work he finished in mid 80's.The mountain had yeilded to man!

The Nitish ministry has promised to make a pucca road to connect the village with Wazirganj town, and a hospital in Gelaur itself.

The recognition that had been denied to Dasrath during his lifetime came after his death.After his death few days ago,the govt. brought his body to Gaya.Dasrath was given a state funeral in presence of dignitaries.

Dasrath Manjhi is remembered by everyone in his village as 'Dasrath Baba'.In caste ridden Bihar he would have never qualified for this title in normal circumstances, which only a Brahmin is entitled to.Dasrath was a Musahar, a caste which traditionally ranks among the lowest of the low.Musahars derive their caste name from thier unusual occupation- they dig through rat holes after harvest, and search for grains stored byt he bandicoots.(moos in local lingo) under the ground.When there is not enough grain they are known to hunt and eat bandicoots to keep hunger at bay.

This modest and selfless man is a fable for our times.An apt sobriquet for him as they know him in Gelaur, "The man who moved a mountain"

Source: Outlook dated 3 sep

WHERE ARE THE TIGERS????

This is the story of the conflict between the people of two small adivasi or tribal villages, which led to several violent confrontations in 2005. The two villages were Dhain and Dhobh Jhirna, in Hoshangabad district in the state of Madhya Pradesh (MP). The former were trying to evict the latter from the lands they had been tilling for some years on the edges of the Pachmarhi-Bori Tiger sanctuary. This would read like any other inter-village conflict over land. The only difference in this case was that the entire conflict was instigated and presided over by the forest department of the government of MP. Dhain is one of the fifty odd villages that lie deep within the sanctuary and the government has decided to relocate them outside the sanctuary, so that the tigers may have an undisturbed habitat. The people of Dhain were allotted lands at the edge of the sanctuary technically part of forest lands. Accordingly the forests were cleared and new hutments built. However some of the lands earmarked for the people from Dhain, had already been under cultivation. These were being tilled by some of the people of a neighbouring village Dobh Jhirna. They did not have title to those lands but had been illegally cultivating them for over a decade. The two villages were also at loggerheads over pastures for their animals as the forests cut down had been the pasture for Dobh people. Now instead of amicably sorting out the matters between the two villages the forest department sought to pit the new settlers against the old settlers and instigate a violent conflict between them. In this they were helped by the district authorities including the local police.
On hearing of the conflict a local socialist organisation of Adivasi peasants, Kisan Adivasi Sanghatan reached the place and had extensive discussions with the villagers, pointing out the need to maintain peace among the two villages and understanding the underlying factors. Several hundred villagers marched to the district collector’s office demanding action against the police and forest officials and an amicable settlement of conflict between the villages. Subsequently it was decided to place all the issues in perspective before all the villages threatened with relocation and galvanise them into action. A village to village contact programme was initiated just before the onset of monsoons. It was pointed out to the villagers that what happened at Dobh was a pattern that was repeated ad nauseum in all such cases of relocation. The government just did not have the land to relocate people and most of the so-called free land was already under occupation of marginal peasants who have toiled on those lands and as such cannot be made to give up their rights. Under such conditions the government sought to pit the villagers against each other. The villagers were persuaded not to agree to relocation from their existing sites and anyway they were being offered far inferior land in exchange. The villagers pointed out that the forest officials visited them repeatedly threatening them with dire consequences if they did not shift to new sites. They were told that even if they continued to stay they will be alone as all the other villages would have shifted, they will not be allowed to use forest roads, or have access to pasturage, or wood or other minor forest produce essential to their survival. The villagers were surprised at such measures as they knew for certain that there were no tigers in the forests around and that the forest officials had concocted pugmarks to cook data regarding a nonexistent tiger population. It was obvious that the forest officials had done this to garner the international grants for tiger conservation!
Thus a nascent movement of resistance is shaping up among the villages located inside the sanctuary area. The main problem before them is their lack of contact or communication with the outside world. They live in inaccessible forests and all approaches to their villages are monitored by the forest department. The Kisan Adivasi Sanghatan which has taken up their case has a weak organisational structure and will find it difficult to rise up to the challenge of organising these distant village people. Its earlier successful project of ensuring fishing rights in the Tawa reservoir to a cooperative of tribal fishworkers displaced by the dam, is now under threat as the forest department has ruled that the reservoir is within the sanctuary and as such no fishing could be allowed as per sanctuary laws. It is a matter of deep concern if the organisation can tackle the two issues together given its meagre resources.. The Indian state has been asserting its ownership and control of tribal lands so as to garner international investments, whether for mines, dams or for various projects for conservation of forests. The conservation of tropical forests has become essential for international capital, in view of the global environmental crises being precipitated by the unbridled emission of toxins and burning of fossil fuels by its industries. These forests have also proved to be the inexhaustible genetic assets from which to draw upon for the bio and genetic engineering industries, and as such have become too valuable to be left in the control of the local communities. Over the last century and quarter the state has sought to gradually tighten its hold over the forests and their assets. The control has reached unprecedented dimensions during the last two decades even as the tribal people have begun asserting their rights. The rapid depletion of the tiger population despite the growing control of the Indian state over the forests has in effect questioned the very legitimacy of its claim to protect the forests. It is increasingly becoming clear that neither the trees, nor the genetic resources including the animals are safe under the sole protectorate of the Indian state. In fact it is now amply established that it is the forest department which has been responsible for the decimation of the forest resources in its charge. The disappearance of the tiger standing at the apex of the forest ecosystem not only symbolises this process but has also set the alarm bells tolling.
Hunting tigers, traditionally regarded as the masters of the forests, symbolised valour and the claim to rule. What was a major feat in the pre firearm days became a wanton pastime in the colonial period. The tigers were hunted down mercilessly by the colonial and feudal rulers and their lackeys who wanted to emulate their masters. There was also an unprecedented intervention in the tiger habitat, deforestation and decimation of lesser animals. Over the last few decades tiger shikar is out of fashion with the elites. Yet tigers are being killed in large numbers to cater to a growing international market for tiger skins, bones etc. During the last few years illegal tiger poaching has been on the increase. This has been accompanied by shrinking and degradation of the tiger habitat.
Any government report on the matter will tell us that the principal reason for this shrinking and degradation of the tiger habitat is the growing demographic pressure on forests. In other words the forest dwellers and those eking out a living on the margins of the forests are being accused of encroaching on the forests and disturbing the delicate ecological balance. Even while we investigate this problem of demographic pressure we should remember that the principal exploiter of Indian forests is the Indian state which earns crores of rupees annually from the sale of forest produce. This is in addition to the amount earned illegally by the functionaries of the forest department and politicians associated with illegal felling trade of forest produce. Hence to place the problem at the door of the starving tribal household is to divert from the issue.
Nevertheless we need to address the problem of marginal peasants and tribal people encroaching upon the forests which promises to blow into a major confrontation. The secular demographic upswing has not been accompanied by any radical redistribution of lands of landlords in the region or by any generation of alternative employment in the forms of industries. This has forced the marginal farmers not only to increase dependence upon minor forest produce and animal herding but also to encroach on forest lands to cultivate some lands. They have put in decades of toil and now are threatened with eviction on the plea that they have no title to the lands.
On the other hand the government is also trying to resettle the project affected villages cheaply, by forcing them to settle on disputed lands on the edges of the forests. Instead of buying them land equivalent to the ones they would be losing at appropriate costs or acquiring them from the landlords of the region the government is trying to get the poor tribal peasants to subsidise the cost of tiger conservation.
The fact remains that despite all these sacrifices demanded of the tribal people tigers continue to vanish and schemes are being drawn up to protect non-existent tiger.

SPARE A MOMENT FOR YOUR PLANET.......

Ice plays an important role in our environment in form of glaciers, ice caps on mountains, sea ice and snow.Snow reflects the suns heat and thus helps cool the earth.
Snow free earth absorbs heat.As ice disappears, earth retains more of the suns heat.The earth warms up thus causing more melting of ice.A viscious cycle is born..and adds to global warming.
Our planet is getting hotter.This is evident in the Arctic where the average temperature has risen twice as compared to rest of the world in the past few decades.
Depletion of sea ice causes devastation to the flora and fauna adapted to the Arctic temperatures and in addition to the people dependent on them.The Arctic has become the final dumping ground for wastes from the industrial world brought by the sea and currents.Melting ice will have a global impact too.A rise in temperature is leading to decreasing snow in the Himalayas,this will in turn affect the freshwater systems via revers thus affecting plants ,animals and humans dependant on this water.
Melting sea ice will cause the sea level to rise, posing a danger to people living in low lying areas and coastal areas, focing them to move out and further disturb the atmosphere.
This issue demands immediate attention of the public and policy makers.Environmental protection is the need of the hour.
Make a small but significant step...SAY NO TO PLASTIC

THE LADY'S REVOLT!1878-1882

The status of women in our society has been extensively debated upon,but no attempt has been made to highlight the role of women who dared to raise a voice in the society of yesteryears.
King Bhairamdeva of Bastar was married to two sisters Jugraj Kunwar Devi and Suwarna Kunwar Devi-sisters of the Silpara zamindar of Rewa state.It is believed that the king later got involved with a muslim lady of Persian creed named Nawa Bai.This angered the queen Jugraj Kunwar Devi who revolted openly against the king.This incident is known as' Rani cho ris 'or annoyance of the queen.
Under the imperial rule women were opressed.The king was allowed many legal and illegal marriages and the woman was expected to be subjugated to him.According to law they could be jailed for leaving the husband and divorce was next to impossible.Male supremacy was the order of the day.
Jugraj Kunwar Devi revolted with her women soldiers and launched a womens liberation movement.When arrest was imminent she fled to Raipur and continued her struggle from there.She later became the Prime minister of Bastar.Her revolt brought desired results.Her husband was forced to divorce the Persian lady!!!!
May her tribe increase!!!!

One head for every tree

This was the slogan popularised by Nagul Dorla, the hero behind the Koi rebellion.He protested against the felling of sal trees in south Bastar.The contract was given to Contractors from Andhra Pradesh.when the English smelt danger they even offered to guard the labourers felling the trees! But Dorla with his men continued protests and resorted to beheading one person for every tree they felled.The Nizam of Hyderabad was flustered and prompted the British to withdraw the contract.Thus one man and his army saved the sal forests of South Bastar..How many people do we behead now for the amount of damage they are doing to the forests??What if these massive projects come up in bastar with their evil intentions??How many heads will roll??Nagul Dorla we need you now!!

Bastar has produced many heroes ,most of them we dont know much about...Dhurva Rao of Lingagiri,Yadu Rao of Bhopalpatnam,Babu Rao of Monempally and Venkat Rao of Ghotepal to name a few.All hanged by the British for having raised their voice.
Today's situation too demands a struggle for freedom.Freedom from exploitation and oppression.Anybody with a clear mind and reasoning can see who is the real terrorist in bastar..the opportunists out to quench their thirst by exploiting the naive locals.Do we need a Yadu Rao,Gundadhur,Gaind Singh or a Bhanjdeo to get us going??
But going back in history anybody who differed to agree with the so called ruling party was hanged by the Britsh,shot by the erring government or in the present situation termed a naxalite!!Little wonder then,that the locals have adopted a policy of Ignorance is bliss!!

Salute to Shaheed Gaind Singh

Gaind Singh was the Zamindar of Paralkot,that lies to the south west of Kanker.It formed an important part of the Kakatiya kingdom.The English and the Marathas impinged on the Adivasis way of life and they felt threatened.The policies of the English made them insecure in their own land.Under the leadership of Gaind Ssingh they united in paralkot demanding for a free Bastar.The protest picked up rapidly...
The Marathas teamed up with the English to stop this uprising.On 12 Jan 1825 Gaind Singh was arrested and was hanged on 20 Jan 1825 in his own palace........
Another unsung hero in our history...

Another forgotten freedom fighter of Bastar

Queen Swarna Kunwar was the wife of Bhairam Deo ,the 18th Kakatiya ruler of Bastar.The king showed little interest in administration which prompted her to take over the reins.A very ambitious lady, she was efficient too.After the Muriya uprising she became increasingly popular among the people.This made the English insecure.The death of Bhairam Deo saw his minor son Rudrapratap on the throne and the English took over as he was a minor.The Queen was sidelined.She felt that administration belonged to the Royals.Along with her trusted Diwan, Lal Kalendra Singh she chalked out a plan t oust the English.She was angered by the policies of the English and she called for a Muriya Raj in Bastar.She withdrew support from Rudrapratap too.In 1909 Oct. on dussera she addressed thousands of people in Tadoki and called for an uprising.The Bhumkal Movement thus had a birth .It was led by Gunda Dhur.7 Feb 1910 she united people and Geedam was captured..She continued relentlessly till Bhumkal Movement was crushed by the British.On 5 march 1910 she was imprisoned and sent to Raipur where she died.
A salutation to this brave woman who has not yet found her right place in history....

A fairy tale????

Once upon a time,in a mesmerising land surrounded by forests and mountains lived a king named Shri Pravir Chandra Bhanjdeo,the Kakatiya ruler of Bastar.A king who was adored by his subjects.He lent a ear to their every woe and they in turn pledged their lives for him and called him God.The fairy tale ends here...because they all didnt live happily ever after.In fact they didnt live at all.
On a fateful day ..March 25 ,1966 he was killed in police firing in his own palace at Jagdalpur along with many of his people.Some people claim it was because he had planned a rebellion.Some say he incited his people to rebel and led the attack against the police.But, popular belief is that the Congress had him killed as part of their pre-mediated plans to oust him.He was their political rival,and an electoral threat.He was popular among the people and could bring about a mass uprising if he wanted to.Although he was a King he was democratic in his thoughts and approach.Would the Congress stand a chance against such a powerful person????
His death remains a mystery...Officially the death toll was twelve including the king.wounded were twenty.But the police had fired sixty one rounds.A common story says that truckloads of bodies were dumped into the Indravati at night.Why was he killed???was it the congress?was it the famine and the black marketing of rice?was it because he opposed iron leaving his state from Bailadila?? or was it because he spoke for the people???This mystery needs to be unravelled if we need to understand the past of Bastar which will pave way for its future............