The first freedom
fighter and martyr Shree Mangal Pandey was born in village Nagwa District
Ballia. He was famous for bravery amongst his colleagues.An english scholar
“Fisher” has written that Shri Mangal Pandey was having all qualities
of a good soldier. He was so brave and capable to embrace his death peacefully.
According to the records available in Jabalpur
museum( general order books). Shri Mangal Pandey was due to be executed on 18th
April but he was hanged ten days before i.e. 8th April and it was kept secret.
Because english rules were well aware of the fact that if Mangal Pandey remains
alive it will endanger British rule.
Thus Mangal Pandey became the first freedom fighter
and martyr of 1857. The name of Mangal Pandey became an emblem of revolt
against British rule. He was a soldier of the 34th Native Infantry whose attack
on a superior officer came to be recognised as the event that sparked India’s
First War of Independence. Little is known of his life before that momentous
incident but he has been declared a martyr since.
On March 29, 1857, at Barrackpore near Kolkata,
Mangal Pandey started an open mutiny, inviting his comrades to join him. Pandey
attacked his British sergeant and wounded an adjutant. The office in charge,
General Hearsay, noticed that Pandey was in the throes of some sort of
‘religious frenzy’, and ordered a jamadaar to arrest him. The latter refused.
Surrounded by guards and European officers, Pandey tried to commit suicide by
shooting himself. He was seriously wounded, and promptly arrested. Following a
court-martial on April 6, he was hanged at Barrackpore on April 8, 1857. As a
collective punishment for his act, the entire regiment was also dismissed.
According to records at the Jabalpur Museum,
Pandey was to be executed on April 18. But he was hanged 10 days earlier to
prevent the regiment from harbouring ill will against superiors. The English
were also aware that news of Pandey’s death could spark more unrest. Going by
the date on which he was executed, Mangal Pandey became the first freedom
fighter and martyr of 1857. His name has since been synonymous with revolt.
Month: January 2019
Kunwar Singh
Kunwar Singh was one
of the leading figures of the Indian Movement of 1857-59. A scion of Rajpur
nobility he was born in Jagdishpur in the Shahabad (Now Bhojpur) District of
Bihar about 1777 and was destined to die a hero in the Great Rising of 1857.When
India rose against British authority in 1857, Babu Kunwar Singh was already
past his prime being nearly eighty years old.
Despite his age and failing health, when the
call to fight came, the old lion plunged into the thick of it and for nearly a
year battled against the British forces with grim determination and undaunted
courage.
In Bihar, Kunwar Singh was the chief organizer
of the fight against British. He assumed command of the soldiers who had
revolted at Danapur on 5th July. Two days later he occupied Arrah, the district
headquarter. Major Vincent Eyre relieved the town on 3rd August, defeated
Kunwar Singh’s force and destroyed Jagdishpur. Kunwar Singh left his ancestral
village and reached Lucknow in December 1857. In March 1858 he occupied Azamgarh.
However, he had to leave the place soon. Pursued by Brigadier Douglas, he
retreated towards his home in Bihar. On 23 April, Kunwar Singh had a victory
near Jagdishpur over the force led by Captain Le Grand, but the following day
he died in his village. The mantle of the old chief now fell on his brother
Amar Singh who, despite heavy odds, continued the struggle and for a
considerable time ran a parallel government in the district of Shahabad. In
October 1859 Amar Singh joined the rebel leaders in the Nepal Terai.
The part which Kunwar Singh played in the First
War of Independence marks a glorious chapter in the chequered history of his
country. After harrying the British at the head of a devoted band of followers
for nearly a year Kunwar Singh was forced to retreat to his ancient seat at
Jagdishpur. It is believed that while crossing the Ganga on his way to
Jagdishpur he was wounded in the arm by the pursuing forces and the old warrior
severed the injured limb and flung it into the Ganga as his last offering. Soon
after he fought his last battle near Jagdishpur on the 23rd April, 1858 in
which the British forces were completely routed. Kunwar Singh passed away the
next day.
To honor his memory and his contribution to
India’s freedom movement, the Republic of India issued a commemorative stamp on
23rd April, 1966.
Bhikari Thakur
Bhikari Thakur, popularly known as “Shakespear of Bhojpuri” was born in a barber-family on 18th
He went Kharagpur to earn
He established Dance Party in the native village and began to play Ram Lila, sing songs and took interest in Social-works. Now he writes dramas, songs
His literary creations including Dramas ( Bidesiya, Beti-
Bhikari Thakur – The
Shakespeare of Bihar
Bhikari Thakur is best known for the creation of
the twentieth century theatre form Bidesia. Bhikari Thakur was a barber (a
backward Caste) who abandoned home and hearth to form a group of actors who
dealt with issues of confrontation: between the traditional and the modern,
between urban and rural, between the haves and the have-nots. Appreciative
native Bhojpuri audiences consider Bhikari Thakur as the incomparable founder
father, propagator and exponent par excellence of this form. He was a folk
poet, a folk singer, a folk dancer and actor.
The narrative of Bidesia has been made so
effective through the medium of vibrant dances and pleasing music and based on
such life-like stories that it presents a realistic picture of the poor joint
families of the region.
The Bhojpuri taste is so theatrically inclined
that it will not hesitate even to undertake long journeys to witness a
performance. Like in many other folk forms, the female roles in Bidesia are
played by the male actor-dancers. Normally they wear dhoti or shirt trousers
but they sport long hair and make it and ornament it like women’s hair. Dance
forms an integral part of this form, in fact it’s the essence of the
performance, which starts with dance in order to attract a large audience. Once
this is done the Bidesia starts. The actors, besides dancing take on female
roles in different dramatic contexts. Inspite of the advent of various other
modes of entertainment, Bidesia remains the most popular and refreshing
relaxation for the Bhojpuris. Through his plays, he gave voice to the cause of
poor laborers and tried to create awareness about the poor situation of women
in bhojpuri society. He always stood and spoke against casteism and communalism
in the same cultural tunes. People from this region are very fond of and feel
proud of his contribution to the local cultural traditions. His plays and his
style of theatre are very popular for their rhythmic language, sweet songs and
appealing music. His plays are a true reflection of bhojpuri culture. Almost
all of his works focused on the day-to-day problems of lower castes/classes. He
used satire and light-hearted comments to maximum effect to put forward his
views on social ills and other problems plaguing Bhojpuri society.
He was born on December 18, 1887 at the village
of Kutubpur in the district of Saran, Bihar. His mother’s name was Shivakali
Devi and father was Dalsingar Thakur. He belonged to a naai (barber) caste, one
of the most backward castes in Indian society. The traditional work of his
caste was cutting hairs and assisting brahmins in marriage as well as in death
ceremonies. They were also used by dikus to send and distribute ceremonial (in
cases of marriages and deaths) and other messages in the village and nearby
areas. They acted like postal workers in the traditional-feudal village setup.
In one of his works he says: “Jati Hazzam more
Kutubpur mokam… Jati-pesha bate, bidya naheen bate babujee”. In this he speaks
about his own caste and regrets that his caste people are distributing letters
to all without knowing the importance of the letter, or the alphabets. He clearly
understood the power of education and continuously chided his people for being
illiterate and bounded by jajmani (patron-client) relations with the dikus.
Among the masses of Bihar and other
Bhojpuri-speaking areas, he needs no introduction. But the so-called mainstream
‘culture’, like always, has conspired to keep mum about his contribution,
actively avoiding even mentioning his name. Hence, there are no serious
documented accounts of his works till now. He is greatest flag bearer of
Bhojpuri language and culture. Bhojpuri is widely spoken in major parts of
Bihar including Jharkhand, some parts of eastern UP and Bengal. He is not only
popular in this linguistic belt but also in the cities where Bihari workers
migrated for their livelihood. Many criticized him for upholding feudal and
Brahminical values, which to some extent may be true. Despite the support and
legitimation of few brahminical and feudal values in his works, he always
pioneered the vision of a just and egalitarian society and this is the
difference we have to understand. No vision of egalitarian and subaltern
society can be even imagined under these idiotic and nonsensical shadows of
Brahminical values.
Though his plays revolved and evolved around
villages and rural society, they still became very famous in the big cities
like Kolkatta, Patna, Benares and other small cities, where migrant labourers
and poor workers went in search for their livelihood. Breaking all boundaries
of nation he, along with his mandali, also visited Mauritius, Kenya, Singapore,
Nepal, British Guyana, Surinam, Uganda, Myanmar, Madagascar, South Africa,
Fiji, Trinidad and other places where bhojpuri culture is more or less
flourishing.
Bidesia, as a vibrant mode of a regional
cultural expression, rugged and unsophisticated in form and rich in variety, is
a powerful expression of cultural heritage of weaker section of society.
Bhikari Thakur, through his artistic talents and bitter experiences, developed
it by picking up elements from Ramlila, raslila, birha yatra and other
performative elements and molded it into a totally new and wonderful style
known now as bidesia. Bidesia means migrated people, who left their home in
search of livelihood, but in the larger context Bhikari’s bidesia not only
migrated from the lands but also from their culture also. Many people get
confused between the bidesia style and his play Bidesia. Actually, he did all
his plays in bidesia style which is very similar to nautanki, but later his
theatrical style was known from his famous production Bidesia.
He has written as well as directed and performed
ten major works; beginning with a non-serious vasant-bahar based on the
dhobi-dhobin dance he saw somewhere.
After Thakur’s death in 1971, his theatre style
and use of bhojpuri language are continually being abused by the music industry
in producing bhojpuri songs and plays replete with sexual innuendo. This is
like a counter-revolution of the brahmin-bania combine against all the ideals
that Bhikari Thakur propagated through his art. The dikus have no relations
based on social reality and always aim to get maximum monetary profits on the
basis of cultural vulgarity. This market forced a shift from Bhikari Thakur’s
socio-economic oriented plays to mere sexual fantasy and cheap entertainment. This
reflects the creative bankruptcy of dikus against which we dalit-bahujans
should come forward and play a vital role to safe guard our anti-diku legacy in
which Bhikari Thakur is one of the big stars in the galaxy of Dalit-bahujan
revolutionary artistes.
His major productions include: – Bidesia, Bhai-
Birodh, Beti-Viyog or Beti Bechba (seller of daughter), Kalyuga Prema (Love in
Kalyuga), Radheshyam Behar (based on krisna- radha love), Ganga-asnan
(ceremonial bath in ganga), Bidhwa- vilap, Putrabadh (killing of son), Gabar-
Bichar (based on an illegitimate child), and Nanad Bhojai.
1. Bhai-Virodh (opposition from brother)
This play deals with the theme of joint family,
which is a very prominent feature of Bihar’s rural society. Three brothers are
separated due to lack of confidence and respect for each other on the
instigation of a person outside their family. However, at the end they realize
the importance of living together but not before a lot of harm had actually
taken place.
2. Beti-Viyog or Beti- Bechwa (seller of
daughter)
This play is considered a very progressive play.
Bhikari Thakur through this play criticizes the wide-spread custom of selling
young girls in marriage to much older men. This custom prevailed in
Bhojpuri-speaking areas until recently. The protagonist is a young girl whose
father sells her to an older person.
3. Kalyuga- Prem
Through this play Bhikari Thakur talks about the
bad effects of drinking. The lone wage earner of the family is a drunkard and
often visits prostitutes. This extravagance soon leads to the pauperization of
his family. His whole family including his wife and son suffers tremendously
because of the bad habits of the head of the family. Later in the play the wife
and son decide to confront him but to no avail. Later being fed up with his
father’s immoral ways, the son runs away from the family and goes to Calcutta
to earn money to eventually return and rescue his mother.
4. Ganga-Asnan
Malechu is from a village. His wife wants to go
to bathe in the Ganga but his mother is too old to do so. The wife finally
prevails and they set out but not after loading much luggage for his old mother
to carry on the way. Before they reach the Ganga a quarrel ensues and Malechu
beats up his mother. At the banks of the Ganga, his mother gets lost in a fair.
In the same fair, his wife is seduced by a sadhu with the promise of giving her
a son. Malechu finds her in the nick of time and epiphany dawns on the both of
them who then find the mother and beg her forgiveness. The story is a critique
both of the distance between parents and their children in a situation where
old parents are completely dependent on their children and also of the tantric
culture of sadhus who most often are conmen.
5. Vidhwa-Vilap (The weeping widow)
The story is about how widows are treated within
their homes. It is seen as an extension of Beti-bechwa for more often than not
young girls married to old men; spend most of their lives as widows. The story
reflects the hatred and seclusion a widow has to suffer in brahminical society
for no fault of her own.
6. Gabar-Dichor
It the story of an illegitimate son of Garbari
and Galij’s wife. Galij returns from the town to find the village gossiping
about his son’s parentage. He wants to take Dichor back to Calcutta with him.
But both Galij’s wife and Garbari intervene. A quarrel ensues as each of them
claims Dichor as their own. The panchayat is called and they decide that Dichor
be divided into three pieces. A man comes and maps Dichors body and agrees to
do the job for four annas a piece. The mother relents refusing to pay and
giving up all claim on the son. The panchayat sees the light and Dichor is
allowed to stay with his mother. Almost all his plays took their themes from
society but were molded in Bhikari’s new progressive and revolutionary style.
When asked why he took to theatre, Bhikari answered, “I used to watch Ramlila
and Raslila. When in Ramlila, Vyasji gave sermons to people; I also thought I
could also give sermons to my people”. This dream came true and till his last
day he served his people through his sermons, which unlike diku sermons were
based on real life. But our legendary cultural figure is no more among us. He
breathed his last on July 10, 1971 after giving us a new lease of life.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Dr. Rajendra Prasad,
son of Mahadev Sahai, was born in Zeradei, Bihar on December 3, 1884. Being the
youngest in a large joint family “Rajen” was greatly loved. He was
strongly attached to his mother and elder brother Mahendra. In Zeradei’s
diverse population, people lived together in considerable harmony. Rajendra
Prasad’s earliest memories were of playing “kabaddi” with his Hindu
and Muslim friends alike. In keeping with the old customs of his village and
family, Rajen was married when he was barely 12 years old to Rajvanshi Devi.
Rajen was a brilliant student; standing first in
the entrance examination to the University of Calcutta, he was awarded a
Rs.30/month scholarship. He joined the famed Calcutta Presidency College in
1902. His scholarship, ironically, would pose the first test of his patriotism.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale had started the Servants of India Society in 1905 and
asked Rajen to join. So strong was his sense of duty toward his family and
education that he, after much deliberation, refused Gokhale. But the decision
would not rest easy on him. Rajen recalled, “I was miserable” and for
the first time in his life his performance in academia declined, and he barely
cleared his law examinations.
Having made his choice, however, he set aside
the intruding thoughts, and focused on his studies with renewed vigor. In 1915,
Rajen passed the Masters in Law examination with honors, winning a gold medal.
Subsequently, he completed his Doctorate in Law as well.
As an accomplished lawyer, however, Rajen
realized it would be only a matter of time before he would be caught up in the
turmoil of the fight for independence. While Gandhiji was on a fact finding
mission in Chamaparan district of Bihar to address grievances of local
peasants, he called on Rajendra Prasad to come to Champaran with volunteers.
Dr. Prasad rushed to Champaran. Initially he was not impressed with Gandhiji’s
appearance or conversation. In time, however, Dr. Prasad was deeply moved by
the dedication, conviction and courage that Gandhiji displayed. Here was a man
alien of the parts, who had made the cause of the people of Champaran his own.
Dr.Prasad decided that he would do everything he could to help, with his skills
as a lawyer and as an enthusiastic volunteer.
Gandhiji’s influence greatly altered many of Dr.
Prasad’s views, most importantly on caste and untouchability. Gandhiji made Dr.
Prasad realize that the nation, working for a common cause, “became of one
caste, namely co-workers.” Dr. Prasad reduced the number of servants he
had to one, and sought ways to simplify his life. He no longer felt shame in
sweeping the floor, or washing his own utensils, tasks he had all along assumed
others would do for him.
Whenever the people suffered, Dr. Prasad was
present to help reduce the pain. In 1914 floods ravaged Bihar and Bengal. Dr.
Prasad became a volunteer distributing food and cloth to the flood victims. In
1934, Bihar was shaken by an earthquake, which caused immense damage and loss
of property. The quake, devastating by itself, was followed by floods and an
outbreak of malaria which heightened misery. Dr. Prasad dove right in with
relief work, collecting food, clothes and medicine. His experiences here led to
similar efforts elsewhere too. In 1935, an earthquake hit Quetta. Dr. Prasad
was not allowed to lend a hand because of Government restrictions.
Nevertheless, he set up relief committees in Sind and Punjab for the homeless
victims who flocked there.
Dr. Prasad called for non-cooperation in Bihar
as part of Gandhiji’s non-cooperation movement. Dr. Prasad gave up his law
practice and started a National College near Patna, 1921. The college was later
shifted to Sadaqat Ashram on the banks of the Ganga. The non-cooperation
movement in Bihar spread like wildfire. Dr. Prasad toured the state, holding
public meeting after another, collecting funds and galvanizing the nation for a
complete boycott of all schools, colleges and Government offices. He urged the
people to take to spinning and wear only khadi. Bihar and the entire nation was
taken by storm, the people responded to the leaders’ call. The machinery of the
mighty British Raj was coming to a grinding… halt.
The British India Government utilized the one
and only option at its disposal-force. Mass arrests were made. Lala Lajpat Rai,
Jawaharlal Nehru, Deshbandhu Chittranjan Das and Maulana Azad were arrested.
Then it happened. Peaceful non- cooperation turned to violence in Chauri
Chaura, Uttar Pradesh. In light of the events at Chauri Chaura, Gandhiji
suspended the civil disobedience movement. The entire nation was hushed. A
murmur of dissent began within the top brass of the Congress. Gandhiji was
criticized for what was called the “Bardoli retreat.”
Dr. Prasad stood by his mentor, seeing the
wisdom behind Gandhiji’s actions. Gandhiji did not want to set a precedent of
violence for free India. In March 1930, Gandhiji launched the Salt Satyagraha.
He planned to march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi seashore to break the salt
laws. A salt satyagraha was launched in Bihar under Dr. Prasad. Nakhas Pond in Patna
was chosen as the site of the satyagraha. Batch after batch of volunteers
courted arrest while making salt. Many volunteers were injured. Dr. Prasad
called for more volunteers. Public opinion forced the Government to withdraw
the police and allow the volunteers to make salt. Dr. Prasad then sold the
manufactured salt to raise funds. He was sentenced to six months
imprisonment.
His service on the various fronts of the
movement for independence raised his profile considerably. Dr. Prasad presided
over the Bombay session of the Indian National Congress in October 1934.
Following the resignation of Subhash Chandra Bose as the President of the
Congress in April 1939, Dr. Prasad was elected President. He did his best to
heal the rifts created between the incompatible ideologies of Subhash Chandra
Bose and Gandhiji. Rabindranath Tagore wrote to Dr. Prasad, “I feel
assured in my mind that your personality will help to soothe the injured souls
and bring peace and unity into an atmosphere of mistrust and chaos…”
As the freedom struggle progressed, the dark
shadow of communalism which had always lurked in the background, steadily grew.
To Dr. Prasad’s dismay communal riots began spontaneously burst all over the
nation and in Bihar. He rushed from one scene to another to control the riots.
Independence was fast approaching and so was the prospect of partition. Dr.
Prasad, who had such fond memories of playing with his Hindu and Muslim friends
in Zeradei, now had the misfortune of witnessing the nation being ripped into
two.
In July 1946, when the Constituent Assembly was
established to frame the Constitution of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected
its President. Two and a half years after independence, on January 26, 1950,
the Constitution of independent India was ratified and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was
elected the nation’s first President. Dr. Prasad transformed the imperial
splendor of Rashtrapati Bhavan into an elegant “Indian” home. Dr.
Prasad visited many countries on missions of goodwill, as the new state sought
to establish and nourish new relationships. He stressed the need for peace in a
nuclear age.
In 1962, after 12 years as President, Dr. Prasad
retired, and was subsequently awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest
civilian award. With the many tumults of his vigorous and accomplished life,
Dr. Prasad recorded his life and the decades before independence in many books,
among the more noted of which are “Satyagraha at Champaran” (1922),
“India Divided” (1946), his autobiography “Atmakatha”
(1946), “Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar, Some Reminisences” (1949), and
“Bapu ke Kadmon Mein” (1954).
Within months of his retirement, early in
September 1962, his wife Rajvanshi Devi passed away. In a letter written a
month before his death to one devoted to him, he said, “I have a feeling
that the end is near, end of the energy to do, end of my very existence”.
He died on 28 February 1963 with ‘Ram Ram’ on his lips.
Pride of Bihar
Ustad Bismillah Khan was the third classical musician after Pt
Ravi Shankar and Smt M S Subbulakshmi to be awarded Bharat Rathna, the highest
civilian honour in India.
The gentle genius of Bismillah Khan was perhaps single handedly
responsible for making Shehnai a famous classical instrument. Traditionally
used to play music during marriages, Shehnai is the counterpart of south indian
nadaswaram. It is also used to play music in temples.
Simplicity was the way of life for Ustad, It retains the old world charm of a Benaras life… his
chief mode of transport was a cycle-rikshaw, even after he became one of the
most respected musician !
The legendary shehani maestro, a man of tenderness, a man who believed in
remaining private and who believed that musicians are supposed to be heard and
not seen. Bismillah Khan was born on March 21, 1916 at Bhirung Raut Ki Gali, in
Dumraon as the second son of Paigambar Khan and Mitthan. He was named as
Qamaruddin to rhyme with Shamsuddin, their first son. His grandfather, Rasool
Baksh Khan uttered “Bismillah” after looking at the newborn, thus he
was named Bismillah Khan.
His ancestors were court musicians in the princely state of Dumraon in Bihar and he was trained under his uncle, the late Ali Bux `Vilayatu’, a shehnai player attached to Varanasi’s Vishwanath Temple. He brought Shehnai to the center stage of indian music with his concert in the calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937. There was no looking back. It was Khan Sahib who poured his heart out into Raga Kafi from Red Fort on the eve of India’s first Republic Day ceremony.
Khan had the rare honor of performing at Delhi’s Red Fort on the eve of India’s
Independence in 1947. He also performed Raga Kafi from the Red Fort on the eve
of India’s first Republic Day ceremony, on January 26, 1950. His recital had
almost become a cultural part of the Independence Day Celebrations telecast on
Doordarshan every year on August 15th. After the Prime Minister’s speech from
Lal Qila (Red Fort) in Old Delhi, Doordarshan would broadcast live performance
by the shehnai maestro. And this tradition had been going on since the days of
Pandit Nehru.
Where others see conflict and contradiction between his music and his religion,
Bismillah Khan had seen only a divine unity. Music, sur, namaaz is the same
thing. His namaaz was the seven shuddh and five komal surs. Even as a devout
Shia, Khan Sahib was also a staunch devotee of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of
music.
His honorary doctorate from the Benares Hindu University and Shantiniketan
bespeaks of his fame. He was bequeathed with the Sangeet Natak Academi Award,
the Tansen Award of the Madhya Pradesh government and also the prestigious
Padma Vibhushan.
On August 17, 2006, Khan was taken ill and admitted to the Heritage
Hospital, Varanasi for treatment. He died after four days on August 21, 2006
due to a cardiac arrest. He was ninety years old. He is survived by five sons,
three daughters and a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The Government of India declared one day of national mourning on his death. His
body was buried at Fatemain burial ground of old Varanasi under a neem tree
with 21-gun salute from Indian Army.
He played in Afghanistan, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Canada, West Africa, USA, USSR,
Japan, Hong Kong and almost every capital city across the world.
Bihar more happening tourist spot than Goa?
Celebrated as the
party destination in India, Goa appears to have lost its ‘happening’ tag to the
humble Bihar. Data collected by the Union tourism ministry appears to indicate
that Bihar attracted a larger number of foreign tourists in 2009 than Goa.
The government’s India Tourism Statistics report
shows that while 4.2 lakh foreign tourists visited Bihar in 2009, Goa drew
about 3.7 lakh losing its place in the top 10 destinations in India. Industry
hands say that the economic downturn was largely responsible for the sharp
decline in the number of tourists. Increasing number of adverse reports on the
safety of women and declining law and order situation may also have been
responsible for the drop in numbers. In fact states like Kerala and Rajasthan
that have been hot international favourites have suffered the most in 2009
thanks to the global economic situation. While the number of foreign tourist
arrivals dropped by 27% in Rajasthan from 14.7 lakh in 2009 to 10.7 lakh in
2008, Kerala saw 5.4 lakh tourists arriving in 2009. Andhra, that remains
numero uno for domestic tourists, also witnessed stagnation with tourist
arrivals increasing from 7.8 lakh to just 7.9 lakh between 2008 and 2009.
Delhi lost its place as the top ranking state in
2008 to Tamil Nadu that saw a 16.7% increase in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs)
in 2009. The top 5 states in FTAs were TN (23.6 lakh), Maharashtra (19.9 lakh),
Delhi (19.5 lakh), Uttar Pradesh (15.32 lakh) and West Bengal (11.8 lakh).
United States continued to send the maximum
number of tourists in 2009 as it had in 2008. The top 10 source countries in
2009 were USA, UK, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Canada, France, Germany, Australia,
Malaysia and Japan. These countries accounted for 64% of the total foreign
tourist arrivals in 2009.
Government will look into Bihar Industries Association demands: Official
PATNA: The government
will pay heed to the Bihar industrialists’ demands of VAT reimbursement,
relaxation in commercial taxes and allowing them to create their own industrial
areas, among others, to boost industrial growth in the state, said principal
secretary, industries, Alok Kumar Sinha, at an interactive session with members
of Bihar Industries Association (BIA) here on Saturday.
Sinha said he would call a meeting next week of
officials of his department to discuss the suggestions made by the BIA members
for industrial development in the state. He also assured the BIA members to
arrange their meeting with Bihar State Electricity Board ( BSEB) officials to
discuss their demand for reducing power tariff for industries.
40000 Bihar children missing, says Amod Kanth
PATNA: The magnitude
of human trafficking in Bihar is alarming as about 35,000 to 40,000 children
from the state were missing and nobody knew about their whereabouts, said former
Delhi police commissioner Amod Kanth. There was no human development indicator
in Bihar, resulting in the frequent use of child labour and violation of law
dealing with it, he said.
Speaking on the first day of the three-day
seminar on ‘Training of Master trainers: To combat human trafficking’,
organized jointly by the crime investigation department (CID) of Bihar police
and Save the Children, a civil society organization, here on Monday, Kanth
stressed the need to redefine human trafficking as the present definition did
not deal with the issue in its entirety. The Central government was working on
a new manual to make it clear, he said, adding that the Immoral Trafficking Act
discussed only about commercialization of sex and the Juvenile Justice Act talked
only about children between 6 and 8 years of age.
Throwing light on the complexity of the issue,
Kanth said human trafficking was related not only to prostitution but also with
forced marriage, child sex and organ transplant. He said the present definition
was itself so complex that it was creating problem in tackling the real issue.
Addressing the inaugural function, DGP
Abhayanand said human trafficking was the worst form of rights violation and
reiterated the Bihar police commitment to eliminate this evil from the state.
The DGP asked police officials to behave
properly with victims of human trafficking, be alert about any information in
this regard and take cognisance on priority basis.
Speaking on ‘Coordination: Police, community and
civil society organization’, member of Bihar Public Service Commission and
retired IPS officer, Rajyabardhan Sharma, said the local police should take the
media help in busting the gangs involved in human trafficking. He, however,
felt the media was not giving proper space to such serious issues.
State programme coordinator of Save the
Children, Nitu Prasad, said the victims needed support as kids took to crime
because of lack of awareness about law.
ADG (CID) A S Nimbran, IG Arbind Pandey and DIG
Kamal Kishore were also present on the occasion.
Land Issues – JMM youth wing leader shot in Bokaro
BOKARO: Four motorbike-borne miscreants shot dead Amit Manjhi, district president of the Jharkhand Chatra Yuva Morcha (JCYM), students wing of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), while he was on his way to residence at Adarsh Cooperative under Sector-XII police station here on Saturday night. Land dispute with local builders is said to be the reason behind his murder.
Police have arrested three accused whom the kin of the deceased have named in the FIR soon after his murder. The incident has sparked off protest among JMM workers, who assembled at the Bokaro General Hospital (BGH) in large numbers and raised anti-slogans against district police demanding arrest of the murderers soon.
JMM leaders, including Basant Soren, youngest son of party chief Shibu Soren, and the state president of JCYM, Dumri MLA Jagarnath Mahto have given a 24-hour ultimatum to the district police officials to solve the case and arrest criminals or else the party workers will launch an agitation.
Based on the complaint lodged by elder brother of the deceased, Karamchand Manjhi, police have arrested Manoj Pandey, Virender Yadav and Pinto Singh alias Druv Kumar Singh from their homes. Pinto is a resident of Sector-VI, Yadav resides in Chas and Pandey is from Sector-XII. “We are interrogating the trio – all involbed in land business – to bring the truth. A few days ago, they have entered in an altercation with Manjhi because he was opposing them from leveling lands at Satanpur,” he said.
According to sources, the incident occurred on Saturday night when Manjhi was riding his motorbike on his way back home. The miscreants opened fire on his running motorbike following which he fell down. Manjhi struggled to escape but criminals again shot him dead. The local police reached the spot after residents informed them about the gun firing and recovered Manjhi’s body lying in a pool of blood around 300 meters from his motorbike near Adarsh Cooperative.
Police also found two country-made pistols along with two used cartridges from the spot. Criminals have shot four bullets on his head, hand and back side. Manjhi, son of a retired Bokaro Steel Ltd employee, was a resident of Bharat Ekta Cooperative. Before the incident, he had food at a makeshift shop with his father Jaleshwar Manjhi and mother in Sector XII/C Shopping Center. Later, he went alone saying that he will reach home soon.
Karamchand said two days ago, Pinto had called him on his phone and told him to stop Manjhi from interfering their business or it will be bad for him. However, a month ago Virender and Manjhi also had a fight over a land issue of which FIR has been lodged with the police station. “These builders were leveling a land which is worship place of tribal and Manjhi has stopped them doing so. This has developed enmity against Manjhi for them,” said Karmchand.
Basant Soren said, “The incident is very unfortunate. Manjhi was a good student leader and helped poors and so he has been targeted by land mafias. “The JMM has taken the incident very seriously and we will not remain quiet until each of the criminals will be sent behind bars,” he said. Bokaro SP Kuldeep Dwivedi said it was a planned murder following a land dispute. Police have arrested three accused and raids are on to nab other absconding person.
Probe reports point to land loot in Bokaro
- Bari cooperative colony,
- Manmohan Singh cooperative,
- Adarsh cooperative,
- Sattan hillocks,
- Chira Chas, Chas,
- Jogidih colony and
- Kuer Singh colony
The spectre of a land scam has raised its head in Bokaro with outgoing deputy commissioner Amitabh Kaushal saying that non-transferable land in various areas might have been sold off illegally by government officials.
This comes at a time a multi-crore scam involving 800 acres of non-transferable state and private land has rocked Deoghar.
In August, Kaushal had ordered an inquiry after laying hands on incriminating documents that suggest illegal sale of at least 20 acres at Bari cooperative colony, Manmohan Singh cooperative, Adarsh cooperative, Sattan hillocks, Chira Chas, Chas, Jogidih and Kuer Singh colony. The DC had formed a team, comprising deputy collectors and Chas (Bokaro) SDO Sudhir Ranjan, to conduct preliminary investigations.
The team inspected the sites under scanner and detected irregularities in allotment of land, including gair majrua, tribal land and forestland. They found out that even the Garga riverbed has been encroached upon.
“A massive land loot cannot be ruled out in Bokaro. But I do not want to take any measure in haste. Rather, all documents of the disputed land must be studied thoroughly first. If foul play is detected, an eviction drive will be carried out and the plots handed over to their rightful owners,” Kaushal, who has been transferred to Ramgarh as DC, said.
“But as I have been transferred, the ball will be now in the new deputy commissioner’s court,” he added.
Asked whether his transfer had anything to do with exposure of the land scam, the DC said: “No comments. It’s the prerogative of the government.”
Incidentally, the land controversy at Bari cooperative and nearby areas first broke in 2005-06 during the tenure of former deputy commissioner Amrendra Partap Singh (now industries secretary). Singh had also ordered an inquiry, but the matter was swept under the carpet soon after his transfer. Reports of illegal land dealings have also come from another posh locality, Lohanchal cooperative, prompting the deputy commissioner to stop the ongoing registration process of land there.