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26 JANUARY 201726 JANUARY 2017

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Republic Day Greetings

India is celebrating its 68th Republic Day on 26 January 2017. It was on this historic day, 67 years ago, that the Constitution of a newly independent India, adopted by the

Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949, came into force.

This Constitution, the longest written constitution in the world , enshrines the ideals and aspirations that guided India’s peaceful freedom movement.

The Embassy family joins me in conveying our warmest greetings and best wishes to all fellow Indians in the State of Qatar on India’s 68th Republic Day.

India, a country of nearly 1.3 billion people, the world’s largest democracy and the third largest economy in purchasing power parity terms, is on course for its tryst with destiny. On this joyous occasion of our Republic Day in Qatar, we also celebrate the historically deep-rooted and friendly ties between India and Qatar, and renew our gratitude to the Government and the people of Qatar for nurturing the friendly relations between our two great countries, and for their hospitality to the large, hardworking and diverse Indian .community in Qatar.

On this occasion, we would also like to congratulate our friends in the State of Qatar for the rapid strides being made by them in the fields of education and research; infrastructure; business, finance and investments; sports; travel and tourism; and other areas. It is heartening to note that Qatar is well on course towards achieving the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.

Mutual cooperation in diverse sectors including energy, petrochemicals, investments, infrastructure, project exports, education, culture, health, human resources, as well as media and information technology, has been steadily growing within an excellent framework provided by historic relations and regular and substantive engagement, including at the highest levels of the two Governments. Three high-level visits during the last two years, including the State visit of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AI Thani, Emir-of Qatar, to India in March 2015, the visit of Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, to Qatar in June 2016 and the visit of H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa AI Thani, Prime Minister & Minister of Interior of Qatar, to India in December 2016, and the multitude of Agreements and MOUs signed

during these visits, are an eloquent testimony to our steadily growing bilateral ties.

These milestone visits imparted fresh momentum to our deep-rooted and multi-faceted cooperation. There were also a number of other official visits and those by business delegations for participation in trade and industry events.

Both our countries are keen to expand partnerships for mutual benefit. Besides official interactions, people-to-people contacts and initiatives by the private sector are energizing dialogue and cooperation in various sectors. Indian companies are today pursuing collaborations in infrastructure, communications and information technology, energy and other areas in Qatar, to the mutual benefit of both sides. With its huge and growing energy needs, India greatly values Qatar’s vital partnership in the energy sector. There is a large and expanding market for Qatar’s LNG, LPG, and petrochemical products in India.

The extensive infrastructure development in Qatar as it prepares to host the prestigious FIFA World Cup in 2022, and the acknowledged competences of India’s corporate sector, offer attractive opportunities for cooperation. The huge potential for significantly increasing Qatar’s investment in India, taking advantage of the new business-friendly policy environment, also presents a win-win scenario for both countries.

Both sides have been taking active steps to further expand the economic and commercial partnership, with several positive developments. It has been decided to set up a Qatar-India Joint Business Council. Defence and security cooperation is also proceeding apace. An Indian Coast Guard Pollution Control Vessel ICGS Samudra Pavak is visiting Doha on this occasion, to interact with the Qatari Coast Guard and enhance bilateral cooperation .

Cooperation in cultural and youth affairs is another’ important pillar of the bilateral relationship. We have just set up the Indian Sports Centre, which will function under the aegis of the Embassy of India, to focus on promoting various sports activities within the Indian community in Qatar and enhancing cooperation and understanding with other communities. The move is also aimed at providing all possible assistance to our host country in the run-up to the 2019 World Athletics Championships and 2022 FIFA World Cup.

India fond ly recalls and appreciates Qatar’s support, as a co-sponsor, to its Resolution at

the United Nations General Assembly declaring 21 June as the International Day of Yoga (lDY). We look forward to the support of the Qatari authorities for the third lDY celebrations in June 2017.

Our cultural engagements include participation at the various activities planned during the Silk Road Festival being organised by KATARA from 23 March to 1 April 2017. We are grateful to the Katara team for their whole-hearted support and cooperation .

Ensuring the wellbeing and welfare of Indian nationals in Qatar is the highest priority for the Embassy of India. Our interface with the community, and our outreach to the labour classes in particular, since it is they who need our assistance the most, is being continuously expanded both directly and through the medium of apex community organisations. We remain in close contact with the authorities concerned in Qatar, to ensure the welfare of our workers and other Indian nationals, and appreciate their cooperation and support. We welcome the recent policy reforms announced by Government of Qatar to protect the rights of expatriate workers, and look forward to enhanced support and assistance in this area.

I am delighted that this year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held from 7-9 January 2017 in Bengaluru, witnessed the presence of more than 150 representatives from Qatar, making us the delegation with the largest profile at this event. This year’s event was also special as Dr. R. Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank and a universally respected member of the Indian community in Qatar, was accorded the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by the Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

As we celebrate our 68th Republic Day, I warmly congratulate the Indian community in Qatar for all that they do for the development and progress of their host country, and for further strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation between India and Qatar.

P. KumaranAmbassador of India

Ambassador’s Message

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P. Kumaran

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMohammed Salim Mohamed

ADVERTISING MANAGERAli Wahba

SUPPLEMENT COORDINATORRenu Malhotra

DESIGNAbraham Augusthy

CHAIRMAN

Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi

IMAGE PROCESSINGMohd Sajad Sahir

PRODUCTIONViswanath Sarma

TYPESETTINGSebastian TK Deepak John

ADVERTISING CONTRIBUTORSMoinuddin PashaMuhammad ShammasReji ThattilRocela BautistaSavio FernandesSP Singh

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AT A time when the growth in jobs has not kept pace with the rising number of claimants, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi’s ‘Startup India’ project holds high importance. The Indian Gov-ernment is concerned over the rise in unemployment despite the fact that the nation is logging the fastest economic growth in the world.

According to the latest Asia-Pa-cific Human Development Report, India faces a serious challenge of finding jobs for a growing popu-lation over the next 3S years. The report said that between 1991 and 2013, the size of the “working age” population increased by 300 mil-lion whereas only 140 million could be absorbed in the economy. It is in this context, the government’s twin pet projects - ‘Make In India’ and ‘Startup India’ - seem a perfect answer to the issue.

There is an urgent need to create more jobs when the manu-facturing sector is witnessing a slump due to the knock-on effect of a global slowdown in China. The national manufacturing poli-cy has suggested that the share of manufacturing in GDP needs to be increased to 25 percent in order to create 100 million jobs in the com-ing decades. Therefore, startups along with the ‘Make In India’ ini-tiative will be the next job creating industry in the years to come.

Today, India has the third high-est number of startups in the world behind the US and Britain. Nasscom estimates software startups alone will create 800,000 jobs by 2017. Several companies keen to invest sniff high potential in a country where cheap engineering talent is available for setting up a back office.

It is hoped the Indian Govern-ment’s initiative early this year by offering a slew of tax breaks for companies as well as investors will act as a catalyst in supporting new businesses. The government has announced cheaper and faster pat-ent applications, offering up to 80 percent rebates on the cost of pat-ents besides setting up a Rs10,000 crore special fund for startups. Ex-perts believe that exemptions from tax and compliance inspections for three years will prove to be a shot

in the arm for the sector. India is seen as one of the

world’s fastest growing startup hotspots in the backdrop of a rapid expanding population of internet users. Mobile internet user base in the country has steadily increased from 15.1 percent in 2013 to 34.18 percent in 2016. In 2016, 43.8 per cent of internet users in India had purchased products online. In 2019, this figure is expected to grow to 64.4 percent.

India is on the threshold of a second-generation digital revo-lution, which will change the dynamics in new economy enter-prises like healthcare, education, e-commerce, hospitality, agri-culture and rural leading to the

creation of new jobs. Encouraged by the growing digital buyer pen-etration, several venture capital funds have raised billions of dol-lars for their Indian investments in recent years. Japan’s Softbank and WeWork, a New York-based provider of shared office space, are among several companies that have announced their India plans. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has forecast that Indian e-commerce will surge to $220bn by 2025 from about $11bn last year.

Besides the software, there is considerable investor interest in startups in areas like healthcare software for the poor or low cost solar panels for homes. India offers a huge market as far as investment

in social impact startups is con-cerned. Millions of people in rural India still have no access to clean and potable water, toilets and elec-tricity. The rural segment is growing at a healthy pace of 8-10 percent per annum and is expected to add $100bn in consumption demand by 2017.

The Government is getting an encouraging response and billions of dollars in funding for a push into solar energy after PM Modi prom-ised to provide electricity to every village before the end of 2018. The Modi Government has drawn up ambitious plans to raise solar ca-pacity five-fold to 100,000 MW by 2022 to meet the growing power needs and create jobs.

India is the youngest startup na-tion in the world as close to 70 per cent of the entrepreneurs are less than 35-years-old. About three to four IT startups are born every day in India. Over the years, there has been a tactical shift in the mindset of the youth who want to be seen as job creators than job seekers. And

‘Startup India’ is a perfect platform to give wings to the dreams of the youth of the country.

Startup India: A right idea at the right time

India is on the threshold of a second-generation digital revolution, which will change the dynamics in new economy enterprises like healthcare, educa-tion, e-commerce, hospitality, agriculture and rural leading to the creation of new jobs.

EVEN a year after the launch of the ‘Skill India’ programme, a lot of impetus is being given to it as the initiative aims at training the youth of the country in specific skills through which they can earn a livelihood and live with pride. With an aim to generate surplus manpower of, at least, five crore over the next decade with skilled labour, India will be able to tackle global challenges.

It is estimated that a meagre 2.3 percent of the workforce in India has formal training as compared to the UK (68 percent) and the US (80 percent).

Since the launch of ‘ Skill India’, a number of training universities, insti-tutes and schools have mushroomed across the country and tied up with the state governments to enroll the maximum number of youth. So far, over 55 lakh people have received training and 23 lakh people have been employed. Over the last year, the number of training centres crossed the 3,000 mark and the Government has tied up with around 250 training partners. The campaign’s vision is to train over 40 crore people by 2022 in different skills.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana-2 As of]uly 18, 2016, 17.931akh candidates were trained out of 18 lakh who

enrolled. In 2015, the scheme had an outlay of Rs1,500 crore, with a target to cover 24 lakh persons within the next year under skill training (including 10 lakh under Recognition of Prior Learning).

Modi last year approved the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PM-KVY) with an outlay of Rs12,000 crore to impart skilling to one crore people over the next four years (2016-2020). Under this scheme, around 60 lakh youth will get trained and skill training would be imparted based on industry-led standards aligned to the National Skill Qualification Framework.

India International Skill Centres The first anniversary of ‘Skill India’ saw announcement of 50 India In-

ternational Skill Centres, slated to open by the end of 2016. In the first phase, 15 centres were launched by President Mukherjee. The first 15 centres will be in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan.

India Skills Online President Mukherjee inaugurated India Skills Online, a national compe-

tition under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and NSDC, to select the best talent to lead India’s participation at the bien-nial World Skills International Competition scheduled at Abu Dhabi in 2017.

National Labour Market Information System (LMIS) It is a single window to aggregate supply and demand trends in the In-

dian skill development ecosystem. This is an integrated set of institutional arrangements, procedures, mechanisms and data systems designed to pro-duce labour market information as per global standards and best practices.

National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme This ambitious scheme has an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore with a target of

5O lakh apprentices to be trained by 2019-20. The scheme would be imple-mented by Director General of Training (DGT) under MSDE. It provides for incentivising employers to engage apprentices. Apprenticeship training is considered to be one of the most efficient ways to develop skilled manpower.

Hub of skilled manpower

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Priyadarshi Dutta

The 15th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention was held in Bengaluru, Karna-taka from January 7 to 9, 2017. The first annual

convention was held between Janu-ary 9 and 11, 2003. January 9 was adopted as the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas or Overseas Indian Day based on the recommendations of a High Level Committee constituted in Au-gust, 2000.

The then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was keenly in-terested in the issue of overseas Indians. The oversubscription of the Resurgent India Bonds in 1998, when India was battling sanctions post-Pokhran II, showed their strong faith in an emerging India.

In a post-liberalisation environ-ment the Indian diaspora was willing to engage back with their country of origin. India becoming an IT power hub, fast growing economy and atomic power gave the diaspora much needed confidence. It was on display at various places – from sports field to trade conferences and international meets.

The concerns of the overseas Indians had been on the mind of the Indian leadership for long. The House of Commons in Britain was forced to investigate, as early as 1841, into the pitiable condition Indian indentured workers in Mau-ritius. This was within a few years of beginning of the indentured system following the abolition of slavery in British Empire (1833). Way back in 1894, the Madras ses-sion of Congress had adopted a resolution against disenfranchise-ment of the Indians in South African colonies. The Congress adopted similar resolutions at Poona (1895), Calcutta (1896), Madras (1898), La-hore (1900), Calcutta (1901) and Ahmedabad (1902) sessions.

In those days the question of overseas Indians pertained mostly to Indians in South and Eastern Af-rica. It is they who had launched

numerous struggles against en-croachment on their rights by the local British government. The Gandhi-Smuts Agreement, 1914 signified a major victory for them.

But there were overseas Indians in South East Asia viz. Burma, Sin-gapore, Malaya, Thailand etc. Many of them contributed towards India’s freedom movement in the 1940s by volunteering in or funding the Azad Hind Fauz of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Of particular interest could be the stories of those teen-aged Tamil girls, born in rubber plantations of Malaya, who decided to shoulder guns for the independ-ence of India, a country they had never actually seen.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas memorialises the arrival of Ma-hatma Gandhi to India on January 9, 1915. He had spent 21 years in South Africa fighting for the rights of Indian community. His tech-nique of Passive Resistance, which he named Satyagraha, was devel-oped in South Africa before being implemented in India.

In the colonial world that Gan-dhi inhabited the profile, status and condition of the overseas Indians were markedly different from to-day. Those were the days when one could not have been starry-eyed about ‘going abroad’ and ‘set-tling abroad’. A bulk of those who migrated abroad went for toiling in plantations or factories under Indenture System (to Africa, West Indies, Fiji etc), Kangany System (to Sri Lanka) and Maistry System (Burma). But they deserve credit as the pioneers who reversed the reli-gious prohibition on seafaring that had fallen upon the Hindu society in the medieval ages.

In colonial times racial dis-crimination was instituted as a state policy by the colonial government. But the de-colonization brought in its wake another set of problems. In Gandhi’s lifetime itself the Indians in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Burma (Myanmar) entered a critical phase with Ceylonese and Burmese popu-lation respectively wanting to get

rid of them. The first two legisla-tions passed by the D S Senanayake government in independent Ceylon deprived almost a million people of Indian origin of their citizenship. While Indians might have captured power in Mauritius, they have been reduced to a miniscule minority in Myanmar. Thus Indians face a new kind of racialism in those erstwhile colonies.

The age of colonialism was an age of maritime empires. Till late 1950s, steamships were the most dependable mode of inter-conti-nental travels. In early 1960s, the air plane replaced ship as the most preferred mode for long distance travels. It reflected upon the pat-tern of migration in terms of reach, human resource quality and con-nectivity with India.

Coincidentally around the same time the passage of Immigration and Nationality Act, 1965 in the USA paved path for immigration of highly skilled professionals and students. This historic piece of leg-islation changed the size and profile of the Indian immigrant commu-nity. From a meager 12,000 in 1960 the number of Indian immigrants

has risen to 2.5 million now. Such educated and successful immi-grants are providing sinews to the Indian Diaspora.

But there is another side of the coin. When during the years of ‘So-cialism’ India remained trapped in poor economic growth rate, the im-migrants to the West were somewhat apologetic about their Indian identity. In India also the Non Residents Indi-ans were perceived as escapers.

But faster economic growth rate post-Liberalization, India’s emergence as IT power hub and the advent of Vajpayee govern-ment etc boosted the morale of the overseas Indians. The advent of satellite television, Internet and rising tele-density in the 1990s meant overseas Indians could be in regular touch with India. It was now possible for an overseas In-dian to spend time thinking the interests of his mother country. In-dians, resident and overseas, could commonly exercise opinion on bol-stering India’s position in the world stage. This gave rise to the concept of ‘New Global Indian’ as the title of magazine launched from Boston in 2008 by Kanchan Banerjee stated.

But overseas Indian commu-nity, in several parts, continues to face severe challenges of racism, religious fanaticism and legisla-tive disabilities. As against popular misconception not everyone is successful. Thus it is not yet time to lower the baton raised by Gandhi in South Africa in the 1890s.

(The writer is a columnist and independent researcher based in New Delhi. The opinions expressed above are his personal.)

The Overseas Indians have come a long way

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Sudhirendar Sharma

It is befitting to dedicate Swami Vivekananda’s birthday, January 12, to the youth of the country whose entrepreneurial ambition and consumerist desires need be exposed to countervailing moral and ethical values for bringing sanity to their attitudes and actions. It makes for a compelling case as today’s youth are fed on a celebrity overdose in a market-driven consumerist culture.

Unlike other growing economies that face the risk of an ageing workforce, India is poised to become the world’s youngest country with 64 percent of its population in the working age group by 2020. This ‘demographic dividend’ offers a great opportunity for the country. Not just by numbers, the youth make 34% contribution to the country’s Gross National Income as well.

India’s population is expected to exceed 1.3 billion by 2020 with a median age of 28 which is considerably less than the expected median ages of China and Japan. The working population of India, is expected to increase to 592 million by 2020, next only to China (776 million), point-ing to the fact that youth will make a significant contribution to country’s economic development. However, growing up in a hyper-connected space of the virtual world this aspiration class needs directions to contribute to the efforts of nation building. Enhancing their labour force participation in improving productivity will only realize part of their energies. The Na-tional Youth Day is thus an opportunity to connect youth to the ethos of the country. Although January 12 is celebrated every year as the National Youth Day since 1985, the youth-targeted schemes and programmes of the government are predominantly guided by the National Youth Policy 2014..

The Government of India currently invests more than Rs 92,000 crore per annum on youth development programmes or approximately Rs 2,710 per young individual per year, through youth-targeted (Rs37,000 crore for higher education, skill development, healthcare) and non-targeted (Rs55,000 crore food subsidies, employment) programmes.

In addition, the State Governments and a number of other stakeholders are also working to support youth development and to enable productive youth participation. However, individual organizations working on youth issues in non-Government sector are small and fragmented, and there is a felt need of enhanced coordination between the various stakeholders.

It must, however, be noted that all through history, youth have been the harbingers of change – from winning independence for nations, to creating new technologies that upset the status quo, to new forms of art, music and culture. Supporting and promoting the development of youth therefore is one of the foremost priorities, across all sectors and stakeholders.

Bringing youth to the mainstream of change

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Priyadarshi Dutta

Exactly one hundred years ago in June, 1916 a stylish Gujarati bar-rister mocked at a new visitor in Kathiwari dress to Gujarat Club, Ahmedabad. The barrister kept playing cards with his friends, even

as the visitor delivered a lecture to a tiny audi-ence in the lawn. He knew that visitor was none else than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who had set up his Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad after returning from South Africa. But the barrister, a successful criminal lawyer, had no interest in Gandhi’s pursuits. But as Gandhi persisted with his visits for talks, the barrister decided to attend once out of sheer curiosity.

The talk sounded like a religious discourse rather than political speech. Yet something changed permanently inside the 41-year old unemotional barrister. Gandhi’s words kept haunting him for days till he became ‘reluctant recruit’ to Satyagraha’s cause. But being a prag-matic individual to the core, he did not openly join it until 1917.

That year Gandhi was recognised as India’s political messiah after Champaran Satyagraha. He then became a loyal disciple of Gandhi, and subsequently became his most capable lieu-tenant. Whatever Gandhi conceptualised, he organised; whatever were Gandhi’s plans, he implemented. He burnt down his European suits and adopted dhoti-kurtamade of Khadi. He was Sardar Ballabhbhai Jhaveribhai Patel (1875-1950), the Iron Man of India.

Patel was born on October 31, 1875 at Nan-diad (Khera district of Gujarat), around 200km from Surat. He hailed from the community of Leva Patels, believed to have descended from warrior caste, though traditionally engaged in cultivation. They have a history of bravery and hard labour. Patel hailed from an agriculturist family, and virtually grew up in the fields. He always introduced himself as a farmer/agri-culturist, even at the height of legal or political career. He had three brothers and one sister. Out of them Vithalbhai Jhaveribhai Patel (1873-1933), Bar-at-Law, became the first Indian President (Speaker) of the Central Legislative Assembly.

Patel showed his promise as a popular leader as an elected representative of Ahmedabad Mu-nicipal Corporation (1917-1928). He was able to not only outsmart the British officialdom, but took several constructive initiatives for the townspeople. While being President of the Cor-poration (1924-1928) he once presented a unique example of ‘Swachh Bharat’.

Patel, along with volunteers, cleaned the streets of Ahmedabad with brooms and dustcart,

beginning with Harijan Basti (Dalit quarters). As the Plague broke out in Ahmedabad in 1917, he worked almost round the clock with his volun-teers to help the victims and their families. He worked at great personal risk of infection as Lokmanya Tilak had done during Pune Plague, 1896. The strain broke Patel’s robust health, but sealed his reputation as a mass leader.

Around the same time Khera Satyagraha (1918), a forerunner to epic Bardoli No-Tax Campaign (1928), reinforced Patel’s leadership qualities. Though the tax settlements demanded by the peasants at Kheda (Gujarat) were not fully met, it had two important results. First it led to recognition of peasants as stakeholders in de-termining land taxes, and it brought Gandhi and Patel together. A decade later Gujarat was rav-aged by floods after the torrential rains of July 23, 1927. Patel mounted a Herculean mission to rescue and rehabilitate the flood victims, which brought him to nationwide focus. The Bombay government (Gujarat was then part of Bombay Presidency) recommended him for an award, which Patel politely declined.

This humility was the hallmark of Patel even after his great victory at Bardoli (1928). He was reluctant to stand up at Calcutta Congress in December, 1928. After repeated persuasion he stood up in the audience amongst delegates from Gujarat, and had to be physically forced to come to the dais. Bardoli (Dist. Surat) was Patel’s Kurukshetra. He gave extraordinary leadership to successful tax resistance campaign that rolled on for three months.

Only Tilak’s Famine Relief Campaign in Maharashtra (1896) could be compared to it in

organisational brilliance. Patel organised the Satyagraha on military pattern though com-pletely non-violent. He himself was the Supreme Commander (Senapati) and under him were Sec-tor Commanders (Vibhag Patis), and under then volunteers (Sainik). The battle field covered 92 villages and 87,000 peasants. He ran a thorough information network involving horse mounted messengers, bhajan singers, paper printers etc. His success at Bardoli, attracted the attention of the whole British Empire. But the best rec-ognition came from a farmer of Nanifalod, in Bardoli Taluka. Kuverji Durlabh Patel said in an open meeting, “Patel you are our Sardar’. Thereupon the title ‘Sardar’ attached to him permanently.

Patel’s disciplinarian approach was legen-dary. Self-discipline was Gandhi’s mantra. But Patel brought the organisational discipline and cohesion necessary for mass movements. Pa-tel arrived on the political scene exactly when Indian politics hit mass-movement stage. John Gunther, the American journalist, who surveyed Asian politics in 1930s found Patel ‘party boss par excellence’. He found Patel a man of action, of practicality, the man who got things done.

Patel’s organisational capacities were at test as independence approached. There was a threat of India’s balkanization had the princely states, numbering around 565, not joined Indian Union. Some like Travancore wanted to remain free, whereas others like Bhopal and Hyderabad conspired to join Pakistan, though not conta-gious to it. Partly by diplomacy and partly by coercion, Patel won over the princely states to join the Indian union. Force had to be applied in the case of Hyderabad, where Razakars had unleashed terror on subject population.

As independent India’s first Home Minister, he dealt with onerous responsibilities of reset-tling Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan and organising the civil services etc. Philip Mason, ICS, said Patel was a natural administrator who did not seem to need any prior experience. Ka-ka Kalekar, Gandhi’s close associate, said Patel belonged to the illustrious class of Shivaji and Tilak though he was an unquestioning follower of Gandhi. Patel completed 75 years in 1950, in a broken health due to excessive strain. He passed away in Mumbai on December 15, 1950. On the death bed he betrayed no anxiety about his family, but about the condition of the country. It is a pity that the legacy of Patel suffered from neglect. The present government has done well to rectify the wrongs of history, and highlight Patel as India’s master nation builder.

(The writer is an independent researcher and columnist based in New Delhi. The views expressed are his personal.)

Sardar Patel: Organiser par excellence

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Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) officials with the new Ambassador P

Kumaran, who is also a Patron of ICC, at the Indian Embassy in Qatar.

Indian Ambassador P Kumaran inaugurating the 15th Free Asian

Medical Camp along with Fatima Sultan Al Kuwari, Director,

Community and Public Relations at Ooredoo, Ali Saif of Qatar

Charity, Fathiya Al Meer, Central Region Director, PHCC, Dr Joji

Thomas, President of Indian Doctor’s Club, Faisal V T of Indian

Islamic Association, and other officials at Thumama Primary Health

Care Centre.

ICC marks National Sport Day

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ON September 26, 2016, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched eight satellites into the Low Earth Orbit. This PSLV C-35 mission is unique in many ways.

It once again proved the reliability of India’s most dependable workhorse, the Polar Satel-lite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

This was PSLV’s 36th successive, successful launch. Also, this mission has send a key Indian weather satellite into the space. With this mis-sion, ISRO for the first time placed satellites in different orbits in a single attempt. Few in the world have the capability to launch satellites into two different orbits in a single mission. Recently, European Union’s Vega launch vehicle demon-strated this capability.

PSLV C-35 launched a 371kg weather satel-lite (SCATSA T-l) into the Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (Polar SSO) at an altitude of 720km. As per, the standard PSLV configuration, this satellite was delivered in the orbit approximately within 17 minutes after the launch. Here the real techni-cal challenge for ISRO scientists was to ensure the correct placement of the remaining seven satellites into a different orbit. This has been one of the longest missions ever undertaken by ISRO and it lasted for 2 hours and 15 min-utes. The last and the fourth stage of the PSLV launcher was to perform the required maneu-vers and the main challenge was to switch on and off the engine twice during a period of ap-proximately two hours. With the cut-off of the fourth stage, SCATSAT-l satellite was placed in the orbit. Later, after 1 hour and 5 minutes, two engines of PSLV fourth stage were reignited and fired for 20 seconds. This allowed the craft to enter into an elliptical orbit, and subsequently

50 minutes later the PSLV’s fourth stage fired its engines again for another 20 seconds. This second firing ensured the entry into a correct orbit for remaining seven satellites.

SCATSAT-l is an important addition to the Indian inventory of meteorological satellites.

The satellite would assist India’s weather forecasting services and also contribute in improving the existing cyclone detection and tracking services. SCATSAT-l can also be consid-ered as a replacement satellite for Oceansat-2, which was launched in 2009 with a five years of designed life. Because of the enhanced ap-plication potential of SCATSAT-l, the new replacement unit is expected to provide data inputs with greater accuracy.

In this mission, apart from the weather satel-lite, there are two other satellites with an Indian stamp on them. These are PISAT and PRATHAM the satellites developed by educational institu-tions. The remaining satellites include three commercial payloads from Algeria (ALSAT-lB, 2B and IN) and a payload each from Canada (NLS-19) and the United States (Pathfinder-I).

The important aspect of this mission that should not go unnoticed is that India is encour-aging university students to develop satellites. ISRO has been promoting the participation of students in its space programme for the last few years. Since 2009, ISRO has launched nine student satellites. ISRO provides technical guid-ance in designing, fabrication and testing to the student community. And it is the students who have to do the actual planning, designing and construction of the satellites.

One such ‘product’ is PRATHAM which is a result of almost one decade of convincing, conceptualisation, planning, learning, experi-mentation, designing and production by the

students of Indian Institute of Technology-Bom-bay (lIT-B). The lOkg micro satellite has been designed to measure the Total Electron Count (TEC) in the ionosphere with a resolution of lkm x lkm location grid. This satellite has been devel-oped with an approximate budget of Rs1.5 crore.

The students of IIT- B worked hard to make their dream a reality. Initially, the pioneers of this idea thought it would take them around two years to realise their dream. However, from the drawing board to the actual launch, it took eight years and seven graduating batches to finish the job. With the student community being the Prin-cipal Investigator (PI), several batches of students ensured that when they pass out, the satellite’s mantle was passed on systematically to the next.

As this IIT-B satellite would be measuring the electron count in the ionosphere, this informa-tion could assist in detecting tsunamis, reduce communication errors, and improve the accu-racy of the Indian alternative to the GPS system.

Other co-passenger satellite carried by PSLV C-35 is PISAT, built with the involvement of stu-dents from PES University, Bengaluru and its consortium. The 5.25kg remote sensing nanosat-ellite will take snapshots of Earth, with the focus on India. It has a three-axis image stabilising system and the telemetry and telecommand sys-tems on board the satellite will help in tracking and maintaining the satellite post launch.

The PSLV C-35 launch has proved yet again the innovative character of ISRO, as the Indian space agency has always been a forward looking organisation ensuring maintenance of socio-economic focus of its space agenda. Now it is also increasingly engaging young minds in order to ensure that the existing group of rocket scientists pass on the mantle of leading all future missions to the young blood.

ISRO achieves another milestone with two-orbit mission

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INDIA successfully conducted the fourth and final experimental test of its indigenously developed Inter Continental Ballistic Missile, ICBM, Agni-V from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on December 26 2016. The nuclear-capable

missile with its strike range of over 5,000km was test-fired from its canister on a launcher truck.

Designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the three stage solid propellant missile will now go for user trials before its induction into the tri-service Strategic Forces Command (SFC ) which manages India’s nuclear arsenal. The 17.5 metre long, 50 tonne missile can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one ton. It can be transported and swiftly launched from anywhere.

The surface to surface Agni V missile is the most advanced among the Agni series, having new technologies incorporated with it in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine. The Circular Error Probable, CEP on board makes it one of the most accurate strategic ballistic missile of its range class in the world. This is important because a highly accurate

ballistic missile increases the “kill efficiency” of the weapon. It will allow Indian weapons designers to use smaller yield nuclear warheads while increasing the lethality of the strike. In other words, Indian defence forces will be able to deploy a much larger nuclear force using less fissile material than other nuclear powers.

Incidentally, India has also started working on Agni-VI. It will be capable of being launched from submarines as well as from land, and will have a strike-range of 8,000–10,000km.

Agni series of missiles was conceptualised by Indian defence planners in the 1980s keeping in view India’s threat perceptions particularly from its neighbours. The two-stage Agni technology demonstrator, with a solid-fuel first stage, was first tested at the Interim Test Range in Chandipur in 1989. It was capable of carrying a conventional payload of 1,000kg or a nuclear warhead. This technology demonstrator evolved into the solid-fuel Agni-1 and Agni-2 missiles later. India then developed the single-stage Agni-1, which was first tested in January 2002. The 700–1,250km range Agni I missiles are rail and road mobile and powered by solid propellants. Thereafter, India developed the 2,000–2,500km range Agni–II

missiles and 3000-3500km range Agni III missiles which were claimed to be a part of the credible deterrence against China and Pakistan. All these three missiles of Agni series have already been inducted into Indian Army

On January 20, 2014 India successfully test fired the 3,000–4,000km Agni-IV missile. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies that includes indigenously developed ring laser gyro and composite rocket motor, the two stage Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, IRBM, Agni IV can take a nuclear warhead of one tonne. It is now undergoing field trials before induction in the armed forces. With thetest firing of the three stage Inter Continental Ballistic Missile, Agni V,India’s missile development program has now reached a new high. Defence experts are of the view that with the successful test firing of Agni V, the country has sent a strong message on its strategic capabilities.

Successful test launch of Agni V

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WITH its green initiatives, In-dian Railways is reinforcing its commitment to envi-ronmental sustainability and steadily proceed on a greener path. Indian Rail-

ways has taken several initiatives which reaffirm its obligation towards minimizing the impact of its operations on the environment.

Bio-Toilets in trainsIn order to contribute to ‘Swachh Bharat’

mission launched by Prime Minister, Ministry of Railways have taken up a mammoth task of providing human discharge free bio-toilets in all its coaches and the this task would be com-pleted by September 2019. With the provision of bio-toilets in all its coaches, discharge of human waste from trains on to the ground would be completely stopped which in turn would help in improving cleanliness and hygiene. Indian Rail-ways have already provided 40,750 bio-toilets in its coaches till middle of this year and in the current financial year, it plans to fit additional 30,000 bio-toilets.

After extensive research and field level ex-perimentation, Indian Railways have introduced Bio-toilets in trains that will contribute cleaner, environment friendly and more efficient dis-charge of human waste. The under slung tanks below the coach toilets have specially developed inoculums which continuously keep on decom-posing the waste and regenerate itself. As a result no replenishment of bacteria is required and toilets are totally maintenance free.

The technology has been developed jointly by Indian Railways and Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) for railway passenger coaches. This environment friendly, low cost and robust technology, is the first of its kind in Railway Systems in the world

First Green Train CorridorTo mark the beginning of this journey to-

wards ‘Swachh Bharat’, Ministry of Railways

recently started 114km-long First Green Train Corridor — Rameswaram-Manamadurai track, free from human waste discharge from trains. Accordingly, 10 passenger trains consisting of 286 coaches moving over this section have been provided with bio-toilets.

After Rameswarm-Manamadurai, Okha-KanalasJunction (141km), Porbandar-Wansjaliya (34km) and Jammu-Katra (78km) would also be taken up for making them free from human waste discharge from trains. For this around 35 trains consisting of nearly 1110 coaches would be further provided with bio toilets and the work is underway. These sections and stations were chosen, because the number of trains originating and terminating at these stations and sections are few, thus making it operationally easier and faster to make them human-discharge free.

In order to carry out efficient disposal of waste, Indian Railways has decided to provide separate dustbins for collections of biodegrad-able (wet waste) and non-biodegradable (dry waste) on the platforms and all passenger inter-face areas in A1 & A category stations apart from vending stalls. Zonal Railways will train the staff engaged in cleaning duties at railway stations for separate collection and further handling for final disposal of segregated dry and wet waste from the dustbins.

Indian Railways had already instructed for efficient disposal of waste arising out of pantry car services and static units as also to provide adequate dustbins on platforms and by the side of stalls at all railway stations for environment friendly disposal of waste

Indian Railways will provide different coloured dustbins and polythene liner bags for bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste viz. Green for bio-degradable and Black for non-biodegradable. In the first phase. Zonal Railways will ensure provision of separate dust-bins for segregated collection of garbage at all A1 category stations immediately, followed by

‘A’ category stations on or before the end of this year.

Countrywide mass mobilization activities on cleanlinessTo commemorate the second anniversary of

the country’s Swachh Bharat Mission, country-wide mass mobilization activities were carried out on cleanliness and for Open Defecation Free communities. In keeping pace with the programme, Indian Railways undertook in-tensive cleanliness drives on all stations. All stations wore the ceremonial look with post-ers and banners spelling the message loud and clear to the travelling public that the Railway is their travelling home. Railway officer and staff donned the ceremonial caps interacting with the travelling public and conducting inspections at station premises. Anti-littering slogans were posted at various locations. Dustbins for garbage were provided and awareness programmes were undertaken. All major stations on the Northern Railway were inspected by all levels of hierar-chy from top executives and supervisory cadres. A drive on garbage handling and disposal was also undertaken at railway stations, Trains and Depots. Tree plantation ceremonies were held at various places.

Earmarking each day with specific focus area for spruce-up, the cleanliness programme has certain defined themes like Swachh Stations (Clean Stations), Swachh Rail Gaadi (Clean Train), Swachh Neer (Clean Water), Swachh Parisar (Clean Complex), Swachh Samarpan (Dedication for ensuring Cleanliness), Swachh Aahar (Clean Food) etc. Indian Railways is committed to continue this Cleanliness drive on sustained basis.

The Indian Railways has been constantly ap-pealing to all rail users to express their solidarity through greater public support and an active public co-operation to make the Railways a place of pride and rail journey a pleasant experience.

Indian Railways: A Journey towards Swachh Bharat

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THAT India is a rising power with the poten-tial to become a global economic powerhouse needs no reiteration. The question is how

should India fuel this growth in a clean and sustainable manner. In the first phase of industrialisation that benefitted the West, the de-veloped countries of today pushed for growth at all costs - now, that they have achieved a certain level of wealth and well-being, they are pushing for cleaner and sustainable renewable energy sources which are more expensive than fossil fuels.

India, in 2016, does not have this option of racing forth at what-ever cost and then cleaning up the mess later. Extreme weather con-ditions as a symptom of climate change, for example, is a phe-nomenon that adversely impacts several thousands of Indians. Going green, going clean is not a choice or a trend. It is imperative for us to survive and thrive.

It is against this backdrop that the Government of India’s Jawaha-rlal Nehru National Solar Mission must be viewed. Administered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, this initiative was launched in 2010 to generate 22 GW of so-lar energy by 2022. In 2015, the

Government revised these figures and set an ambitious target of 100 GW by 2022. This is split into 40 GW of rooftop projects and 60 GW oflarge and medium grid-connect-ed projects. The project cost has been pegged at Rs6,00,000 crore.

As expected, when the Gov-ernment had announced the new targets last year, there was some scepticism - are we being too ambi-tious? Will the Government be able to deliver? Will other stakeholders do their bit? These are legitimate questions and slowly but steadily, the answers are emerging.

A year after the Union Govern-ment put solar energy at the core of the India story, it is heartening to note that the country is on the right track. According to Joint Sec-retary Tarun Kapoor at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy: “As on March 2016, solar installation stood at 6,700 MW. At present, it is around 7,700 MW. Cumulative capacity of 17,000 MW is expected by March 2017. From 2017-18 on-wards, we need to add 15,000 MW each year”. These are impressive figures but that’s not all. Kapoor added, “Around 20,000 MW of so-lar capacity is in the pipeline and out of that around 14,000 MW is being installed”.

One of the greatest assets India

possesses is abundant sunshine that this tropical country receives for long periods in high intensity, and it is only in the fitness of things that the Government effectively leverage this asset to its full poten-tial. Scalability is another important factor in this equation. Notably, solar power can be generated on a distributed basis and allows for rapid capacity addition within a short make time span.

However, there are some chal-lenges along the way. Solar energy is still inherently dependent on high absolute costs. Space and storage is another challenge, especially during monsoon months as solar panels along with peripheral items and materials are space intensive. To work through these challenges, the mission has adopted a phased approach with progress evaluations and target reviews based on and at par with the global trends. The plan is to ensure both centralised and decentralized promotion and penetration of solar energy and to create suitable conditions to allow solar energy’s nationwide usage thrive and flourish.

In this context, two factors were highlighted by Kapoor. First, the so-lar tariffs have fallen as low as 4.34 a kWhr which should come as a re-lief to those who were concerned

that high input costs would Solar energy unviable. This low figure was reportedly quoted by Fortum Finnsurya Energy to secure the con-tract for setting up a 70 MW solar plant under NTPC’s Bhadla Solar Park tender. Of course, as Kapoor pointed out, “Tariff has been vary-ing across locations. Developers have their own calculations to make projects viable and sustain-able”. However, he did make clear that, “low tariffs are coming from various tenders” and that the Bhad-la figure was not a one-time thing.

The second issue is that of de-centralisation. As of now, most solar projects are concentrated in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. These states have taken the lead in this field many years before the Un-ion Government decided to put solar power on national agenda.

The question now is: How do we incentivise the other states to follow suit? For this, the Union Gov-ernment is offering “viability gap funding for projects in states where solar penetration is relatively low and aiming to bring down tariff to a comparable Rs4.50 a kWhr.

This is an achievable target, especially if recent trends in solar energy field are anything to go by. In the past few years, the sector has grown rapidly in India, with installed solar capacity increasing from 18MW in 2010 to 3,800 MW in 2015. Consequently, the price of solar energy has come down - from Rs17.90 per unit in 2010 to under Rs7 per unit in 2015. Continued re-search and development in the field, along with scalability should make solar energy even more accessible and affordable in recent years.

A year after the Union Government put solar energy at the core of the India story, it is heartening to note that the country is on the right track.

The solar powerhouse

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It is estimated that 18,000 villages in the re-mote areas do not have access to electricity in the country. The conventional approach to solve this problem is to provide connec-tivity through centralised electricity grids. However this solution is not only capital

intensive and comes with high financial costs, but it also has high environmental costs due to power transmission form conventional power generation stations. In contrast to this, the small scale decen-tralised off grid solutions, especially installation of solar power will meet the needs with provision of reliable power supply.

What are these off grid solar power sys-tems and how does this work?

Solar power has enormous capacity to gener-ate power without causing pollution; it is one of the main sources of clean energy and alternate to burning fossil fuels. The installation of cap-tive solar power plants, roof top solar systems is essentially geared towards connecting to the existing countrywide power grids. In contrast to this the off grid systems are those which utilises the solar energy at decentralised household or village level. Solar Home Systems, with solar panels to generate power for individual homes

is an easy way to connect those who are deprived of power connection, it can also act as stand by during the severe power cuts in the countryside.

The installation of solar irrigation pumps is another off grid power initiative that is being suc-cessfully tried out in many parts of the country. Though the initial capital costs are high, over the years it pays back the owner through provision of cheap uninterrupted power over with very little maintenance costs. This has the potential to resolve the power crisis as well as provide energy and food security to the farming community.

Providing cheap solar lanterns has the

possibility to replace the fossil based polluting kerosene that is used for lighting in many parts of rural India. Similarly, micro grids supported with battery can store the power. This can provide easy access to recharge mobile sets and power the telecommunication systems in remote hill areas. Solar powered refrigeration systems in Primary Health Centres can store the lifesaving medicines in the countryside.

The solar driers for agricultural processing and industrial use, and water heating systems are already in use that needs to be supported under the ongoing solar mission. These systems lead to reduction in consumption of conventional energy resulting in saving the energy. The Prime Minister has given the approval for increasing the capac-ity of solar mission to 100 GW by 2022. Already 40 companies have come forward to install solar home systems. Accessing energy is strongly linked to achieving millennium development goals. The lack of accesses to modern forms of energy leads to energy poverty. In India 360 million people live without grid connectivity, suffering energy poverty. The Solar Mission has the capacity to alleviate this population above energy poverty and provide regu-lar and clean source of renewable power.

Alleviating energy poverty through solar power

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Sarira Brara

NASEEM Bano was an amateur and a beginner when she had come to the trade fair in Delhi to display

her craftsmanship in 1995. This time with over two decades of ex-perience and a national award in her kitty, Naseem Bano has a wide variety of chiken work to show case at the Hunar Haat organised for the first time, at the International Trade Fair in Delhi to encourage the ar-tisans from minority communities from across the country. She has brought kurtas and other apparels done in excellent chicken work with innovative designs and colour combinations.

“I have put all my savings into it and hopefully, I will be able to earn a decent amount of money on my investment,” says optimistic Naseem Bano who has also been teaching this art to poor girls and women in a locality near Lucknow where she lives. She wants them to learn this art when they are young, so that they too are able to employ themselves gainfully. Naseem feels that despite having won a National Award for her skills in this craft, and having had sufficient exposure at various levels, her earnings do not match the talent, hard work and toil that goes into creating high stand-ard chiken work.

She says that though her young son has a lot of interest in this art and also has a flare for creative de-signs, he did not opt for it and chose to study biotechnology instead of expanding this family business. Naseem says that weavers arti-sans and craftsman and woman like her need all the help, encour-agement and incentives from the government and the civil society to display and market their crea-tive traditional wares at all possible platforms which may help them im-prove their sale. “Otherwise, how do you expect us to compete with large business houses who aggres-sively sell their products in big malls and even online”, she asks.

Platforms like Hunar Haat and other incentives are needed for craftsmen and women to give a boost to their earnings but also to keep traditional arts alive, says Islam Ahmed who makes exquisite lac bangles and other jewellery. Adept at making lac bangles in a matter of minutes, Islam Ahmed displays his talent and creates lac bangles in the colour chosen by his customers right in front of their eyes. He however, laments that it is becoming difficult to keep such arts alive because it is get-ting very difficult to earn enough to match today’s life styles. It is for this reason that both his sons, he says, refused to carry on their art work that has been going on for generations.

These two master craftsmen came across this author at the Hu-nar Haat at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi organised under the USTTAD scheme (Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts&Crafts for Development) of Ministry of Minority Affairs. Several State and National Awardees representing as many as 26 states and Union Territories have come from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Bihar, North Eastern states and even Kerala displayed their and craft work at the Hunar Haat.

USTTAD: Promoting Tradional Arts And CraftAlthough minority commu-

nities are known to hold a rich heritage of traditional skills, arts and craftsmanship, in today’s world of competitive market, glo-balization, and the deteriorating socio economic condition of master craftsmen and artisan , as many of the craftsmen pointed out, young generation is not keen to pursue the traditional arts . It was in this backdrop that the USTTAD scheme was worked out.

This initiative is one of the many steps taken by the government to improve the lot of the minority communities in India. It is not limit-ed to giving incentives to traditional artisans and craftsmen but also building their capacities in every which way to withstand the com-petition and preserve and promote their art. USTTAD was launched last year in May in Varanasi with a mul-ti-pronged objectives. This includes building capacity of master crafts-men and artisans and training the young generation ,standardising of identified arts and crafts and their documentation.

For facilitating and promoting marketing of the traditional art and craft products, USTTAD also helps establish linkages of traditional skills with the global market. The

scheme also provides for institu-tional support for up-gradation of Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts. USTTAD Fellowship for Research and Development is an-other step towards promoting the Hunar of our traditional craftsmen.

Documentation and marketingThe scheme also envisages

setting up of Craft Museums for curating traditional arts and crafts. In order to support to minority craftsmen and artisans for marketing their products. the Ministry of Minority Affairs seeks the help of national level prestigious institutes like NIFT ( National Institute of Fashion Technology), NID (National Design Institute and IIP (Indian Institute of Packaging) for helping in designing, developing the range of products, packaging and organising exhibitions, tying up with e-commerce portals to increase the sale, building brands and working in are and craft clusters.

USTTAD scheme is expected to help not only in preserving and promoting our traditional art and craft but also give a dignified life style and higher standard of living to our crafts men and women endowed with unmatched talent, expertise and passion to take forward India’s rich heritage.

Hunar Haat: Empowering minorities

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The UNESCO World Her-itage Committee added three new sites to the World Heritage List. The Nalanda University ru-ins, Chandigarh’s Capitol

Complex and the Khangchendzon-ga National Park in Sikkim were added to the list of protected sites in July at the 40th session of the com-mittee, bringing India’s total to 35 recognised heritage sites.

The programme to list and protect heritage sites around the world started in 1972 with the Con-vention Concerning the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natu-ral Heritage being adopted by the UNESCO general conference. Over 44 years, 192 countries have ratified the convention, making it among the most adhered to global treaties. Other sites across India in this il-lustrious list include the Taj Mahal in Agra, the monuments in Hampi, Goa’s churches and convents, the

Sundarbans in West Bengal and Assam’s Kaziranga National Park.

Nalanda University ruins The Nalanda site in Bihar com-

prises the archaeological remnants of a scholastic and monastic institu-tion dating to the third century BC. Located about 100km from Patna, Nalanda was a centre oflearning until the 13th century AD. Celebrat-ed for its role in the transmission and dissemination of knowledge over an uninterrupted period of 800 years, Nalanda is also the most ancient university in the Indian subcontinent. Much of the site re-mained undiscovered until the 19th century when the Archaeological Survey ofIndia began to excavate the area.

Capitol Complex, Chandigarh Spread over 100 acres, the

Capitol Complex is popular among tourists. It is home to many admin-istrative buildings and monuments, including the Palace of Assembly,

the Government Secretariat, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the famous Open Hand monument, Geometric Hill and the Tower of Shadows.

Khangchendzonga National Park

Sikkim’s Khangchendzonga National Park is India’s first mixed world heritage site. Located in the Himalayas in northeast India, the national park includes a vast diver-sity of valleys, plains, caves, lakes, glaciers and forests. According to

UNESCO, the park exhibits one of the widest altitudinal ranges of any protected area worldwide and is home to the world’s third-highest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga or Kanchenjunga. Covering a quarter of Sikkim’s area, the park is a favourite among trekkers for its biodiversity. Khangchendzonga is home to many animals such as the musk deer, Himalayan tahr, the red panda and the snow leopard. This makes it an important ecological site. It is also an important cultural site.

Three more sites in World Heritage List

Khangchendzonga National Park

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DID you know that Indian mythology mentions how kalaripayattu was born after Shiva’s battle with his father-in-law, Daksha, one of the prajapatis or

lords of creation? Later, Shiva taught this martial

art to Parasurama, the sixth incanation of Ma-havishnu, who, in turn, taught it to 21 of his disciples and then opened 108 kalaris – schools or gyms—across Kerala.

Today, kalaripayattu is considered to be the

mother of all martial arts. The first mention of the word, kalari, appears in Sangam literature to describe a combat arena and a battlefield. Eve-ry warrior during the period received military training and it is considered as one of the oldest fighting systems in existence.

Popular and widely practiced in southern states, the martial art form was banned by the British. the idea was to ensure the locals did not pose threat to the Britishers. The martial art form started getting revived post-Independence.

But it had lost its patrons - the princely states - by then. However, it is back in focus now. Today, kalaripayattu is a source of living and special per-formances are conducted for tourists, especially foreigners visiting the southern states. Its growing popularity has resulted in it crossing over to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Traditionally, the Shaolin Temple martial art of China was introduced by Buddhist patriarch and founder of Chan’ (Zen) Buddhism, Bodhidharma (450-523 AD), who came from India. There are three schools practicing different styles of kalar-ipayattu - northern, central and southern schools/ styles. But what is fundamental to all these styles is the harmonious synergy of art, science and medicine. Various movements in kalaripayattu are based on animal actions and the poses too are named after animals.

The martial art form is said to have developed in jungles when hunters observed the fighting techniques of animals. Trained in an enclosure called kalari, 21ft x 42ft, the martial art form in-volves striking, grappling, kicking and leaping actions. Kalaripayattu has strongly influenced the evolution of several of Kerala’s theatre and dance forms, most prominently Kathakali and Theyyam.

Also, film stars across India and different parts of the globe have contributed to its popu-larity by promoting kalaripayattu, both on and off-screen. Malayali superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty, Hong Kong- based Hollywood ac-tor and martial artist Jackie Chan and Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano are among the celebrities who are trained in kalaripayattu. So it can be said that kalaripayattu seems to have got the respect and fame it deserves. And with kalaripa-yattu masters like Meenakshiamma Gurukkal, septuagenarian martial art expert, the future of kalaripayattu looks bright.

The growing popularity of this medieval mar-tial art form can be gauged from the fact that it has caught the savvy of metro denizens. Kalaripayattu is now being taught in schools and academies in the country. It not only helps one achieve perfec-tion by increasing flexibility, strength, immunity and overall health, its regular practice makes the body agile and dynamic and at the same time, it improves concentration, patience, self-discipline and self-awareness.

A holistic approach to train the body and mind

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