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INTERESTING FACTS: WHEN INDIA GOT FREEDOM BUT DIDN’T KNOW WHAT ITS BOUNDARIES WERE

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At the conference in New Delhi where Lord Mountbatten disclosed Britain’s partition plan for India (left to right) Indian nationalist leader Jawaharlal Nehru (1869 – 1964), adviser to Mountbatten Lord Ismay, Viceroy of India Lord Louis Mountbatten, and President of the All-India Muslim League Muhammad Ali Jinnah. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

When India got freedom, but didn’t know what its boundaries were
TIMES NEWS NETWORK, 22.8.21


On the midnight of August 15, 1947, we knew that India had kept its tryst with destiny, we knew that the subcontinent had been divided, that we were now two countries, India and Pakistan, but what we didn’t know was where India ended and Pakistan began. The boundary lines were still unknown.

    That had been Viceroy Lord Mountbatten’s idea. He didn’t want the celebrations to be marred by recriminations on both sides. As if that was possible.

    The British had long lost the opportunity for a peaceful and orderly handover of power. With the failure of the 1942 Cripps’ mission and then the three-member 1946 Cabinet delegation (with Sir Stafford Cripps playing the key role again), partition was inevitable. But how do you divide a subcontinent? Drawing the line was never going to be easy.

    The man chosen for the task was Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a man who hadn’t travelled further east than the Gibraltar. But it fell on this 48-year-old Inner Temple barrister to do this impossible task– and that, too, in just five weeks.

    While Radcliffe may have known little or nothing of India, he was, after all, the ultimate establishment man, which is probably why he was picked for the job. He had studied at Haileybury (Clement Attlee, the British Prime Minister then, also went to the same school) and then Oxford. After that, he had a brilliant career as a barrister. During the war, he had been director-general in the Ministry of Information, responsible for censorship and propaganda. It was Radcliffe who had run a campaign against Nehru’s sister Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit when she visited the United States. Radcliffe had also harassed P.G. Wodehouse ‘when he made ill-judged broadcasts while in German captivity’, wrote Patrick French.

    So, the Establishment Man reached India and began work as a ‘neutral umpire’ in New Delhi on July 8. He would live separately, guarded by a massive Punjabi armed with two pistols. He would take his own decisions; no one would be around to influence him. But it wasn’t such a secluded existence for Radcliffe, after all. He dined with British military commander Claude Auchinleck (maybe the Auk needed consoling; his wife had run away with his friend), Lord Mountbatten, Punjab Governor Sir Evan Jenkins and many other members of the British high society.

It’s hard to believe that Radcliffe did not discuss the boundary issue with the others, who all knew much more about India than he did. But more than anything else, Radcliffe had a cheat sheet. In February 1946, the ever-underrated Archibald Wavell, the Viceroy of India, was unceremoniously sacked by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, while sending in Mountbatten, as he had drawn up a contingency plan. Wavell knew what was coming. And he understood the need for a well-thought-out boundary line. Helping him were Reforms Commissioner V.P. Menon and Benegal Rau.

So, what did Radcliffe have to go with? Maybe some advice from veterans, Wavell’s map, and outdated census data. And with this, he had to divide a subcontinent in 36 days. Its people, villages, rivers, canals, roads. And to compound matters, the weather was frightfully hot, and Radcliffe came down with a bout of dysentery.

Seventy-four years later, it might be easy to say, ‘Poor fellow, he was only a lawyer with a brief; what more could he possibly have done? But in 1947, everything hinged on this lawyer and his brief. Would he award Gurdaspur to India or Pakistan? Would he really award a part of Ferozepur to Pakistan, so that it had better control over its water supply?

In fact, he almost gave away a part of Ferozepur to Pakistan. In the first week of August, during a lunch with his commissioners at a club in Simla, he said he would give Pakistan a part of Ferozepur because India was getting Gurdaspur. But that was not to be. When word got out, there was frenzied behind-the-scenes activity that made the ‘neutral umpire’ change his mind– and the boundary line — within days.

He handed over all the Awards to Mountbatten on August 13, but Mountbatten ruled that the Awards would not be made public till August 16. So, on August 15, a free India still did not know its exact boundaries.

When at 5 pm, on August 16, Liaquat Ali Khan, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Baldev Singh gathered in the Council Chamber of Government House, three hours after the Awards had been sent to them, no one looked happy. It would be months before things settled down. For the moment, freedom had arrived, and with it the horrors of Partition.

For Radcliffe, it was time to go home. He boarded a flight out on August 17. He never came back. Later, when a reporter asked him if he would ever like to visit India, he said: ‘God forbid. Not even if they asked me. I suspect they would shoot me out of hand– both sides.’

The piece also includes the following pictures and press clippings

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PICTURE
SEPT 1947
REFUGEES CROWD ONTO TRAINS FOR PAKISTAN AS THEY LEAVE NEW DELHI
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PRESS CLIPPING
AUG 18, 1947
PUNJAB & BENGAL BOUNDARY AWARD ANNOUNCED
NO AGREED SOLUTION: WIDE DIVERGENCE OF OPINION

ASSENT TO CHAIRMAN’S OWN DECISION

DEMARCATION OF BORDERS OF DIVIDED PROVINCES

AUG 18
MOVES TO RESTORE PEACE IN PUNJAB… PINDI CUT OFF FROM REST OF INDIA
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AUG 19
PUNJAB PROMISED AID IN SUPPRESSING DISORDERS… PLANS FOR IMMEDIATE CONCERTED ACTION FORMULATED
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AUG 23
ENDING PUNJAB AND QUETTA LAWLESSNESS … PAKISTAN CABINET’S DECISION

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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BOOK REVIEW: 21 UNBREAKABLE LAWS OF MONEY by Brian Tracy

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Brian Tracy says one of your major goals in life should be financial independence. One must aim to reach a point where one has enough money so that one doesn’t have to worry about money again. The good news is that financial independence is easier to achieve today. We are surrounded by more wealth and affluence than ever before. So, I picked up a book for you, written by Brian Tracy, “Twenty-One Unbreakable Laws of Money.” I have summarised the gist of the book into 12 points. Let’s begin.

  1. The Law of Cause and Effect

Everything happens for a reason; there is a cause for every effect. You can acquire whatever amount of money you really want if you will just do what others have done before you to achieve the same results. And if you don’t, you won’t. It is as simple as that. The most important expression of this universal law is that “Thoughts are causes and conditions are effects.” The most important principle of personal or business is simply this: You become what you think about most of the time.

  1. The Law of Belief

Whatever you truly believe, with feeling, becomes your reality. When you are absolutely convinced that you are a financial success in the making, you will engage in a behaviour that will make it come true.

  1. The Law of Attraction

You are a living magnet; you invariably attract into your life people, situations and circumstances that are in harmony with your dominant thoughts. When you develop a burning desire for financial success and think about it all the time, you set a force field of positive emotional energy that attracts people, ideas, and opportunities into your life to help you make your goals turn into realities.

  1. The law of Abundance

We live in an abundant universe in which there is sufficient money for all who really want it and are willing to obey the laws governing its acquisition. There is plenty of money available for you. There is no real shortage. You can virtually have all you really want and need. The first corollary of the Law of Abundance says that people become wealthy because they decide to become wealthy. The second corollary of this law says: People are poor because they have not yet decided to become rich.

Why aren’t you rich already? Write down all the reasons you can think of. Go over your answers one by one with someone who knows you well and ask them for their opinion. You may be surprised to find that your reasons are mostly excuses that you have fallen in love with.

  1. The Law of Time Perspective

The most successful people in any society are those who take the long-term period into consideration when making their day-to-day decisions. People with long-term perspectives are willing to pay the price of success for a long, long time before they achieve it. They think about the consequences of their financial choices and decisions in terms of what they might mean in five, ten, fifteen and even twenty years from now. As you begin thinking long-term and organising your financial life and priorities with your future goals and ambitions in mind, the quality of your decisions improves, and your life starts to become better almost immediately.

The first corollary of the Law of Time Perspective says: Delayed gratification is the key to financial success. The second corollary of this law says: Self-discipline is the most important personal quality for assuring long-term success. The third corollary of this law says: Sacrifice in the short-term is the price you pay for security in the long-term.

  1. The Law of Saving

Financial freedom comes to the person who saves ten per cent or more of his income throughout his lifetime. One of the smartest things that you can do is to develop the habit of saving part of your salary every paycheck. Begin today to save ten per cent of your income, off the top, and never touch it. This is your fund for long-term financial accumulation and you never use it for any other reason except to assure your financial future.

If you are in debt and ten per cent is too much for you, start by saving one per cent of your income and living on the other ninety-nine per cent. When you become comfortable living on ninety-nine per cent of your income, increase your savings rate to two per cent.

7. The Law of Conservation

It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, that determines your financial future. Many people make a lot of money in the course of their working lifetimes. Sometimes, during boom periods, people greatly exceed their expectations and make more money than they ever thought possible. The true measure of how well you are really doing is how much you keep out of the amount that you earn.

Calculate your true net worth as of today. Make a list of all your assets and value them at the amounts you could actually get for them if you had to turn them into cash quickly. Add up all your bills, credit card balances and mortgages and then subtract them from your assets to get your net worth today. Now divide the number of years you have been working by your net worth. The result is the net amount you have actually earned each year after your costs of living. Are you happy with it? If not, start doing something about it today.

  1. Parkinson’s Law: Expenses rise to meet income

Parkinson’s Law is one of the best-known and most important laws of money and wealth accumulation. It was developed English writer C. Northcote Parkinson many years ago, and it explains why most people retire poor. This law says that, no matter how much money people earn, they tend to spend the entire amount and a little more besides. Their expenses rise in direct proportion to their incomes.

  1. The Law of Investing

Investigate before you invest. This is one of the most important of all the laws of money. You should spend at least as much time studying a particular investment as you do earning the money to put into that particular investment. You have worked too hard to earn it and taken too long to accumulate it. Investigate every aspect of the investment well before you make any commitment. Ask for full and complete disclosure of every detail. If you have any doubt or misgivings at all, you will probably be better off keeping your money in the bank or in a money market investment account.

The corollary of the Law of Investing says: If you think you can afford to lose a little, you’re going to end up losing a lot. Another corollary of the law of Investing says: Only invest with experts who have a proven track record of success with their own money. Invest only in things that you fully understand and believe in. Take investment advice only from people who are financially successful at taking their own advice.

  1. The law of Compound Interest.

Investing your money carefully and allowing it to grow at compound interest will eventually make you rich. Compound interest is considered one of the greatest miracles of all human history and economics. Albert Einstein described it as the most powerful force in our society. When you let money accumulate at compound interest over a long period, it increases more than you can imagine.

The first corollary of this law says: The key to compound interest is to put the money away and never touch it. If you ever touch that money, you lose the power of compound interest, and though you spend only a small amount today, you will be giving up what could be an enormous amount later on. If you start early enough, invest consistently enough, never draw on your funds and rely on the miracle of compound interest, it will make you rich.

An average person earning an average income who invested Rs 1000 per month from the age of 21 to age 65, and who earned a compounded rate of 10% over that time, would retire with a net worth of 1,11,80,000. Begin a regular, monthly investment account and commit yourself to investing a fixed amount for the next five, ten or even twenty years. Select a company with a family of mutual funds and investment instruments, and keep your money working, month after month and year after year.

  1. The Law of Accelerating Acceleration

The faster you move towards financial freedom, the faster it moves towards you. The more money you accumulate, the more success you achieve, the faster money and success seem to move towards you, from a variety of different directions. Everyone who is financially successful today has had the experience of working extremely hard, sometimes for years, before they got their first real opportunity. But after that, more and more opportunities flowed into them, from all directions.

The first corollary of the law of Accelerating Acceleration says: 80% of your success will come in the last 20% of the time you invest. This is a remarkable discovery. Just think! You will achieve only about 20% of the total success possible for you in the first 80% of the time and money that you invest in an enterprise, a career or a project. You will achieve the other 80% in the last 20% of the time and money that you invest.

Peter Lynch, the former manager of the Magellan Mutual Fund, one of the most successful mutual funds in history, would often buy the stock of a company that did not increase in value for several years. Then it would take off and go up ten or twenty times in price. This strategy of picking stocks for the long term eventually made him one of the most successful and highest-paid money managers in America.

  1. The Law of Real Estate

The value of a piece of Real Estate is the future earning power of that particular piece of Real Estate. The value of any piece of Real Estate is determined by the income that can be generated by that property when it is developed to its highest potential from this moment in time onward into the future. A piece of property may have sentimental value to a particular owner, but its dollar value is directly related to its future earning power.

There are vast areas of many large cities where property values are declining because growth and development have come and gone, and will probably not return. Every day, men and women are selling homes and properties at less than what they paid for them, or losing them to foreclosure because these properties have declined in earning power and therefore in value.

The first corollary of real estate is: You make your money when you buy it, and you realise it when you sell. This is very important. It is by purchasing a piece of Real Estate at the right price and under the right terms that you can sell it at a profit. Many people think that they will make their money when they sell the property, irrespective of how they purchased the property or at what price. The more carefully you investigate a piece of Real Estate and the more thoroughly you prepare a purchase offer, the more likely it is that you will get the kind of deal that will enable you to sell that Real Estate at a profit later on.

The second corollary of the Law of Real Estate is the location: The three keys to real estate selection are location, location and location. Your ability to choose a piece of real estate in an excellent location will have more of an impact on the future earnings of that real estate than any other decision that you take.

Another corollary of the law of real estate is: Real estate values are largely determined by general economic activity in the area and by the number of jobs and the level of wages. Generally, property increases at three times the level of population growth and two times the rate of inflation. When you purchase property in a fast-growing community, you are virtually ensured of above-average increases in value.

Conclusion

There are four keys to success with money. First, earn as much as you possibly can. Do everything possible to excel in your field so that you are paid extremely well for what you do.

The second key to money is that you hold on to it as much as you can.

The third key to money is for you to reduce and control your costs of living. Buy less expensive items. Put off important buying decisions for a day, a week or even a month so that when you finally do make the decision, it is a good one. All wealthy people are very careful with their money and their expenditures. That’s how they became wealthy.

This is a wonderful time to be alive. It has never been more possible for you to make more, save more, accumulate more and grow your money faster than it is today. Your job is to take full advantage of the wide range of opportunities that are available to you. Your job is to apply these laws to fulfil your financial destiny and become wealthy in your working lifetime.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Publications of Kamlesh Tripathi

BOOK TITLE: GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in eight prestigious libraries of the US, which include Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed at MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in the libraries and archives of Canada; the Open Library; Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India; Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore and the Library of Cancer Aid and Research Foundation, Mumbai. The title also finds a mention in a book titled ‘Enduring Cancer: Life, Death and Diagnosis in Delhi’ by Dwaipayan Banerjee, published by the Duke University Press).

BOOK TITLE: ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(It is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; It is also available for reading in the Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

BOOK TITLE: AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(This is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity, which is the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2014. It is catalogued and included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California; Berkeley Library, University of California; The Peshastin Public Library and The George Public Library near Washington, a Northern Central Washington Libraries branch; the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library in Arizona in the US and the Salina Public Library, Kansas, USA.

BOOK TITLE: REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan-India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, which works for child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD, Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016).

BOOK TITLE: TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read, not only for salesmen but for any reader. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: RHYTHM … IN POEMS

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems are about our day-to-day life. Poems from this book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times, Bhavan’s Journal and Arunachal Times and Goan net. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha).

BOOK TITLE: MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available on Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

BOOK TITLE: AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(It is the story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA. It was recently included in the digital library of the world-renowned company APPLE. Included in the library of Friends of Tibet and Maharashtra Mitra Mandal Library in Bandra, Mumbai.

(POEMS, SHORT STORIES AND ARTICLES OF KAMLESH TRIPATHI PUBLISHED IN NEWSPAPERS, JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES)

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Speaking Tree: 1. Basant Celebrates Ma Saraswati, Shiv, And Spring 1.2.25; 2. Mahashivratri: A Night of Divine Illumination, 26.2.25; 3. Kabir Spun Indic Syncretism Through His Dohas, 12.6.25;

BHAVANS JOURNAL

Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars, June, 15 & 20, 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22; 27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. The Nag Mandir 30.6.23; 40. The Story of Garuda 30.7.23; 41. Janmabhoomi vs Karmabhoomi 31.8.23; 42. The Ghost Town of Kuldhara 15.9.23; 43. The Tale of Genji 15.10.23; 44. The Soul Connection 1.12.23; 45. Book review: Jungle Nama … a story of the Sundarban 16.3.24; 46. Book review: A Forgotten Chapter 16.5.24; 47. Exploring Ancient Egypt, 1.8.24; 48. The Story of Dhruva, 16.8.24; 49. Two Hundred Years of Tea in Assam 16.9.24; 50. The Cosmic Messenger 16.10.24; 51. Biblioburro: The Four-Legged Library 16.11.24; 52. The Cologne Cathedral 1.1.25; 53. Gandhi to Mahatma 16.1.25; 54. Huxley’s Take on Translated Works 16.3.25; 55. Ernest Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory 1.7.25;

THE SHILLONG TIMES

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: Happy New Year 8.1.23; 2. Poem: Spring 12.3.23; 3. Poem: Right and Wrong 20.3.23; 4. The Gush of Emotion—Writing, 26.3.23; 5. The Nag Mandir, 7.5.23; 6. Poem: Mother 7.5.23; 7. Poem: Rain Rain 9.7.23; 8. Poem: You Come Alone You Go Alone 6.8.23; 9. Poem: Rain Rain (Second Time) 10.8.23; 10. Poem: Guru Teacher 1.10.23; 11. Poem: Autumn … The Interim Heaven 15.10.23; 12. Poem: Happy Diwali 12.11.23; 13. Overcoming Blindness: Learn it the John Milton Way 10.12.23; 14. The Happy Prince and The Happy Man’s Shirt 31.12.23; 15. Annus Mirabilis -2024 7.1.24; 16. Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi- Incidents that Shaped Gandhi in South Africa 28.1.24; 17. Poem: Together But Not Made For Each Other, 11.2.24; 18. The Birds Bees and The Spiders of Nicholas Guildford and Jonathan Swift 25.2.24; 19. The Overcoats of Nikolai Gogol and Ruskin Bond 10.3.24; 20. The Ethnic Colours of Holi 24.3.24; 21. A Lesson from Dalai Lama, 21.4.24; 22. Poem: Morning Walk 28.4.24; 23. Trip to Rhine Falls, Switzerland, 19.5.24; 24. Poem: Hurt 2.6.24; 25. Poem: Your Conscience Was My Sign On 16.6.24; 26. Poem: The Eerie Ways of Time 7.7.24; 27. Poem: Celebrating the T20 World Champions 14.7.24; 28. Read to Rise above mediocrity, 4.8.24; 29. Poem: Desire vs Reality 11.8.24; 30. Jack Ma’s Pristine Advice to Employers, Employees and the Youth 22.9.24; 31. Tagore and Kipling 3.11.24; 32. Poem: Merry Christmas 22.12.24; 33. Poem: The Sunset Point, 5.1.25; 34. Cancer Warning Labels on Alcoholic Beverages, 12.1.25; 35. Poem: Hope … In the Arc of Twilight, 19.1.25; 36. Basant Panchami celebrates the Arrival of Spring 2.2.25; 37. Poem: The Falling World Order, 9.2.25; 38. A Peep into Native American Literature, 23.2.25; 39. Poem: Good day, Bad day 9.3.25; 40. Reincarnation of Dalai Lama in a free World, 6.4.25; 41. Ambedkar: Fighting the Caste Monster, 13.4.25; 42. Switzerland: The Scenic Mount Titlis & Lucerne 18.5.25; 43. Poem: A Ray of Hope 8.6.25; 44. Poem: Monsoon Melodies 27.7.25;

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE

Article: 1. The Magic of Reading 11.12.23; 2. Gandhi to Mahatma 29.1.24; 3. Geography of Solitude 8.4.24; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 22.4.24; 5. A Source of Inspiration, 29.4.24; 6. The Four-Legged Library, 12.5.24; 7. Age and Achievement, 10.6.24; 8. Read … To Rise Above Mediocrity, 1.7.24; 9. Crusade for a College, 25.8.24; 10. Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory (Panorama) 27.9.24; 11. Short story: Love in the Air, 20.10.24; 12. Short story: The Prick of Conscience, 5.1.25; 13. Lost in translation, 6.1.25; 14. Travellers’ tales 20.1.2025; 15. Audit your days 17.2.25;

THE ARUNACHAL TIMES

Poem: 1. Hope—In The Arc of Twilight, 13.8.23; 2. Poem: Spring 3.3.24; 3. Poem: The Morning Walk 10.3.24;

BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: SPRING, 1.4.23; 2. Poem: Mother, 1.6.23; 3. Poem: Rain Rain, 1.8.23; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 1.6.24; 5. Read to rise above Mediocrity 1.8.24; 6. Poem: Merry Christmas 1.12.24; 7. Poem: Happy New Year 1.12.24; 8. The Enduring Colours of Holi 1.2.25; 9. Poem: Global Warming, 1.4.25; 10. Pahalgam Carnage 1.6.25; 11. Life Lessons 1.6.25;

THE GOAN NET NEWSPAPER

Poem: 1. Autumn – The Interim Heaven, 6.10.24; 2. Reader’s Rewind 17.11.84; 3. Reader’s Rewind: The Irony of Tash Moustache or Mooch 5.12.24; 4. The Sunset Point 22.12.24; 5. Reader’s Rewind: The Joy of a Morning Walk, 3.1.25; 6. Harmony in creation 26.1.25; 7. Poem: What is truly Good for me? 2.1.25; 8. Poem: We both were left behind, 9.2.25; 9. India Afloat like Ship of Theseus, 23.2.25; 10. Maha Shivratri: A night of divine illumination, spiritual awakening, 26.2.25; 11. Poem: Good Day Bad Day, 2.3.25; 12. After Birth, Death is the First Spiritual Tip, 30.3.25;

CITY ESSENCE MAGAZINE

Three Love Stories: A Comparison, July 7. 2025;

SRIJON MAGAZINE

Articles & Poems: Poem: 1. Global Warming 1.5.25; 2. India Afloat Like The Ship of Theseus 1.5.25; 3. Reincarnation of the Dalai Lama In A Free World.

ARTICLES IN THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE ESAMSKRITI

Aritcles: 1. 29.12.2020: Indica by Megasthenes; 2. 14.3.22: About The Dimasa Kingdom Assam; 3. 10.12.22: Grand Trunk Road–Uttarapath; 4. 5.10.23: The Ghost Town of Kuldhara Near Jaisalmer;

(ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

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Pakistan: An Atrocious Copy-Paste Master … by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Operation Sindoor was launched on 7 May 2025, in retaliation for the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22 April, in which 26 civilian tourists lost their lives.

    Pakistan is an atrocious copy-paste master. After having lost the plot, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif implemented several measures to create a false image among the Pakistani public that they had emerged victorious. This, despite their Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) having called his Indian counterpart to request a cessation of hostilities.

    After the temporary suspension of armed hostilities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Adampur air base in Punjab on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, to boost the morale of the armed forces. Modi’s visit came just days after Indian armed forces executed Operation Sindoor with clinical precision. Air Force Station, Adampur, was one of the active bases during the mission. PM Modi was welcomed with chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram,” as air warriors and soldiers celebrated the operation’s success. Copying the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move, Shehbaz Sharif also decided to visit the forces. However, lacking the courage to do so effectively, he merely stood on a tank to address them. He was widely ridiculed and trolled for this: Khet mein tank, jeet ka prank.

    The Government of India formed seven all-party parliamentary delegations to visit various countries as part of a strategic diplomatic outreach, aiming to garner international support and convey India’s stance: that India is a peace-loving nation suffering from terrorism originating in Pakistan. As expected, Pakistan mimicked this move too, sending a delegation under Bilawal Bhutto abroad to falsely portray Pakistan as a victim rather than a perpetrator of terrorism.

    But this act of imitating India isn’t new for Pakistan. It began with Mohammad Ali Jinnah himself. In his piece ‘Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah’, Dr B. R. Ambedkar describes Gandhi and Jinnah, noting that Jinnah and the Muslim League copied Gandhi and the Congress even before India’s independence. The Qaid-i-Azam of Pakistan simply followed Gandhi’s lead. The politics between these two iconic figures became a contest of one-upmanship from Jinnah’s end. If Gandhi was the Mahatma, Jinnah had to be Qaid-i-Azam. Pakistan has always believed in copying India, a pattern visible even during Jinnah’s lifetime. Jinnah didn’t innovate; he imitated Gandhi.

    Politics in the hands of these two great leaders turned into a competition of extravagance. If Gandhi was known as the Mahatma, Jinnah insisted on being known as Qaid-i-Azam. If Gandhi had the Congress Party, Jinnah ensured the existence of the Muslim League. If the Congress had a Working Committee and an All India Congress Committee, the Muslim League had to have its own Working Committee and Council. A session of the Congress was inevitably followed by one of the Muslim League.

    If the Congress issued a political statement, the Muslim League had to issue one too. If the Congress passed a resolution of 17,000 words, the Muslim League’s resolution had to be at least 1,000 words longer. If the Congress President held a press conference, the Muslim League President followed suit. If the Congress addressed the United Nations, the Muslim League made sure not to be outdone.

    Gandhi insisted Jinnah admit he was one of the Muslim leaders; Jinnah insisted Gandhi admit he was a Hindu. This dynamic is clearly depicted in Ambedkar’s piece, ‘Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah’.

    During the partition, Jinnah and the Muslim League imitated Gandhi and the Congress Party. This could have been a great moment for the Congress to reflect, mock, and point out Pakistan’s persistent habit of mimicry, showing that the mindset of Jinnah and the Muslim League carried on into the Pakistani state post-partition and portraying Congress as the lynchpin of India.

Instead, the Congress began mimicking Pakistan—and in doing so, fell from grace. Big opportunity lost.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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INTO THE SUNSET YEARS by Kamlesh Tripathi

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    As we continue to grow old, our perspectives and lifestyles keep changing. Life is never static, they say. The only permanence is impermanence. The way we see the world at 20 is vastly different from how we perceive it at 40, 60, or even 80. Though it’s often said that age is just a number. The number subtly but significantly influences how we view the remaining time on Mother Earth, and how we choose to live in it. If we consider the average human lifespan as 100 years, the first 50 mainly involve learning, growth, and striving, while the second half leans towards reflection, realignment, and seeking deeper spiritual meaning.

    From the moment we are born, we can imagine a hundred years ahead, when the world seems filled with immense opportunities. The future expands like Parkinson’s law, filling the available hundred years. It appears to be brimming with opportunities, ambitions, and several ladders to climb. There’s a blend of excitement and apprehension. But success isn’t guaranteed. The path ahead is tough and winding. At this stage, the focus is on acquiring knowledge, developing skills, and laying down the foundation for a meaningful career and life. We put effort into education, training, and competition. The aim is to secure positions in top institutions or prestigious jobs that offer stability and high rewards. Once these goals are attained, our focus naturally shifts. The initial craving for academic success gives way to pursuits of professional, social, and financial achievement. These are early energetic years of ambition and diligent effort, reaching their peak in climbing the corporate and social ladders. These initial years are about proving oneself and establishing identity and worth in a demanding world. Although moments of introspection occur, the main focus remains on external achievements, recognition, financial security, and maintaining one’s social standing. The mind stays alert, the spirit driven. The challenges are seen as obstacles to overcome rather than signs to slow down.

    However, as time advances and we approach retirement, something shifts. We start to realise that our time on Earth is limited. There is a gentle yet persistent awareness that our stay here is temporary, and life is, in fact, a journey. At the peak of our professional success, many of us begin to experience a spiritual void, long concealed by material pursuits and external ambitions. This often marks the beginning of the search for inner peace, mostly after you retire. Thoughts about the next phase, the second innings, begin to surface. Questions once ignored now become central. What is the purpose of all this? What lies beyond this life? How should one prepare for the journey hereafter? The ancient Hindu tradition comprehensively captures life through its four ashrams. It provides a roadmap of life’s journey in the stages of Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and Sannyasa.

    As we approach life’s sunset, Shloka 2.22 in the Gita starts reminding us that the body is temporary, but the soul is eternal. The decay of the physical body is not an end, but a transition, much like changing clothes. The Shloka softens the fear of death by framing it as a natural and graceful process of renewal. It emphasises detachment, acceptance, and the continuity of the soul’s journey:

‘Vāsānsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro’parāṇi,
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāni
anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī.’  (Just as a person gives up old garments and puts on new ones,
so does the embodied soul discards worn-out bodies and takes on new ones).

    Although conceived in an era bereft of mechanical clocks and the Gregorian calendar, they continue to offer timeless wisdom. Today, with our lives measured meticulously in minutes and milestones, we are more aware than ever of time’s passage. This awareness also serves as a reminder to pause, reflect, and live consciously. Ultimately, age isn’t merely about growing old. It is about growing wiser. It teaches us that ambition must be balanced with awareness. Success must eventually give way to surrender, and while youth is about becoming, age is about understanding. Life, after all, is not a race but a journey, a fleeting passage through time. May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace. Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Who is Shiv?

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(20/2/25, SPEAKING TREE ECONOMIC TIMES)


WHO IS SHIV?
ANUP TANEJA
    When we speak of Shaivism, the question arises, ‘Who is Shiv?’ In Puranas, we come across different depictions of Shiv–benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient yogi who lives like a mendicant on Mount Kailash, and also as a householder who is married to Parvati and has two sons, Ganesh and Kartikey. In his fearsome aspect, he is depicted as the slayer of demons. As the patron God of yog, meditation and arts, Shiv is revered as Adiyogi.
Among his various representations in art, the most popular is Nataraj, the Lord of Dance. The iconographical attributes of Shiv are as the serpents adorning his neck; the crescent moon; Ganga flowing from his matted hair; the third eye on his forehead as Trilochan; the trishul, trident, as his weapon; Nandi, the bull, as his vehicle; and the damru, drum, that represents the cosmic sound of creation.
In contrast, in the inner dimension, Shiv is perceived as Neel Purush, the Blue Being. Ultimate Reality, who abides in the highest spiritual centre in the sahasrar region, the brain. In Kashmir Shaivism, the inquiry about Ultimate Reality starts not with the third person but with the first person, with Shiv ‘here’– within oneself as one’s own higher Self.
With the mind getting dissolved in consciousness, realisation dawns upon the seeker that nothing exists apart from Shiv.

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The Making of Film Kundun on His Holiness The Dalai Lama

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Inauguration Note – Kundun (Koon-dohn)

    His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday marks a day of peace, wisdom and compassion. He is not only a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also a global symbol of peace and compassion.

    It is with great honour and deep respect that we inaugurate the screening of Kundun (koon-dohn), a deeply moving and visually stunning film directed by Martin Scorsese (Skaw-say-zee) and written by the late Melissa Mathison. Based on the life and teachings of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Kundun (Koondohn) offers a powerful and poetic portrayal of one of the most revered spiritual leaders of our time.

    The film takes us on a journey through a critical period in Tibetan history, spanning from 1937 to 1959—a time of both great spiritual promise and immense political upheaval. Beginning in the rural province of Amdo, where the young reincarnation is discovered, Kundun (Koondohn) follows the Dalai Lama’s path to Lhasa, his spiritual and political development, and ultimately, his decision to flee into exile as Tibet faces brutal suppression by the Chinese Communist regime.

    The word “Kundun” (Koon-dohn), meaning “presence” in Tibetan, beautifully captures the essence of the Dalai Lama’s enduring influence. More than just a biographical account, the film serves as a meditation on faith, identity, compassion, and resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity.

    Visually, the film is a masterpiece. Cinematographer Roger Deakins captures the rich textures and sacred landscapes of Tibet with painterly elegance. The hypnotic and emotionally resonant score by Philip Glass heightens the spiritual and contemplative tone, blending seamlessly with the film’s narrative and imagery. Every frame is a tribute to Tibetan culture, tradition, and philosophy.

    Despite the political controversy that surrounded its release, Kundun (Koondohn) remains a landmark in spiritual cinema. It was courageously made, despite global political pressures, and continues to shine as a quiet but powerful act of cultural preservation and artistic integrity.

    We are grateful to Martin Scorsese (Skaw-say-zee), Melissa Mathison, and the entire creative team for their dedication to telling this story with honesty and reverence. As we watch Kundun (Koon-dohn) today, may we reflect not only on the life of the Dalai Lama but also on the universal values of peace, non-violence, and the strength of the human spirit.

    Let this screening be more than a cinematic experience—let it be a moment of reflection, dialogue, and inspiration.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Literature: Rejected Then Revered–The Literary Life and Afterlife of American Author Herman Melville

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    Any struggling author might find consolation in knowing that Herman Melville (1819-1891) didn’t have it so easy, either. His story of literary success and failure is as relevant now as it was in his time. An author makes a splash on the literary scene, and the public demands more of the same, only to find that the author has moved on. His growth as a writer no longer allows him to produce the same type of work that the public wants, and his stardom begins to fade. This is how we understand Melville today as a misunderstood genius. His stardom extended beyond the circumference of his readers’ taste.

    Travel narratives were once the most popular genre in the nineteenth century. Americans were fascinated by foreign cultures, specifically, as a means to understand their place in the global world. Today, we recognise Melville for his whale of a masterpiece, Moby-Dick. But it was his first two works, Typee and Omoo, that made him most famous. Typee was an autobiographical travel narrative based on his real-life experience of being held captive by cannibals after he deserted the whaling ship Acushnet in 1841. The cannibals on the Marquesas Islands were fortunately friendly and fun-loving, and Melville was able to leave and find his way back home. People were captivated by the exotic story, and the title Typee made Melville an immediate sensation. He followed it up with “Omoo,” another adventure story set in the Polynesian islands, and it appeared as though Melville had a long way to literary fame ahead of him.

        With new fame, a new wife, and a blossoming friendship with fellow writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, Melville began working on another novel. In 1849, he published Mardi, a novel that marked a shift in style and substance. Like Hawthorne, Melville also became interested in writing romance, in which he was free to create a work based on symbolic representations of ideas rather than specific facts from his real life.

    Mardi was a forerunner to Moby-Dick. The book was panned by readers and rejected by the public, who just wanted to hear exciting sea-faring adventures.

    Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick, in many ways was a patchwork. It was a mix of styles, narrative, points of view, and literary forms. It contained dictionary entries, word etymologies, whaling manual entries, elaborate, contorted sentence structures, and biblical allusions. It was part comedy, part tragedy, and part epic. For all its complexity, the book was a masterful mix of all these features and was regarded as a work of genius.

    Moby-Dick starts with that iconic line in literature: “Call me Ishmael.”  Ishmael, the narrator of the book, decides he has had enough of land and joins the crew of a whaling ship, named Pequod. As he waits to set sail, he finds himself sharing a room at an inn with another crew member, Queequeg, a cannibal and harpooner from the South Seas, and they quickly form an unlikely friendship. They don’t meet their mysterious captain, Ahab, until after the ship sets sail. Ahab announces to the crew that this will not be a run-of-the-mill whaling trip. They are on a mission to find a formidable white whale named Moby Dick, which once claimed Ahab’s leg in a violent attack and destroyed his ship. The crew is now part of Ahab’s monomaniacal quest to avenge his attack. They encounter Moby Dick three times, until the great White Whale finally crushes the ship, taking Ahab down with it into the vortex of the sea after the rope of Ahab’s harpoon catches his own neck. Ishmael is the only crew member who survives to tell the tale, floating atop Queequeg’s coffin.

    At its core, Moby-Dick is an allegorical quest narrative, but the complexity of the book lends itself to multiple interpretations. Some readers view it as a cautionary tale about the hubris of humanity in attempting to control nature, while others see Ahab’s mission to kill Moby Dick as a fight against evil. Others interpret it as Ahab’s obsession as a battle against evil, or even as a search for God or divine truth. For both Ahab and Ishmael, the whale is the centre of the book, a mysterious, gigantic creature that symbolises the ineffability of nature. Both try to come to terms with the whale – Ahab with his harpoon and Ishmael with his exhaustive lists of whale anatomy, dictionary of whaling terms, and passages clipped from whaling manuals.

    The name “Ishmael” itself is symbolic. In the Bible, Ishmael is the outcast son of Abraham, suggesting that Melville’s narrator is a kind of societal outsider, observing life from the margins.

       Moby-Dick barely made a ripple when it was published. It took more than seventy years for it to come into its own, finally recognised as the literary masterpiece it is. Hawthorne, to whom the book was dedicated, was one of the few people who praised the book.

    After the early success of Typee and Omoo, Melville never again found popular acclaim. The rest of his life was spent writing in obscurity, disillusioned by the need to cater to the public’s tastes in order to survive. Many of his works after Moby-Dick, such as the short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” a parable about the incompatibility of commerce and the human spirit, and The Confidence-Man, a book satirising the level of faith people like Emerson put in the goodness of human nature, are testaments to his bitterness. Melville died relatively unknown but has now become recognised as the author of (in some minds) “the great American novel.”

    The next time you go to pick up that cup of Starbucks, remember this fun fact: Starbucks is named after Starbuck, the first mate of the illustrious Pequod.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Literature: Three love Stories: A Comparison by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Press the link below to read:

https://cityessence.in/THREE-LOVE-STORIES:-A-COMPARISON

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Literature: Three love stories published today in Cityessence.

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Don’t miss this unique comparison of three short stories.

Written by Kamlesh Tripathi

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th Birthday Marks a Day of Peace

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His Holiness The Dalai Lama

    The birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is celebrated annually on July 6 by Tibetans and Buddhists worldwide. This will be his 90th birthday. He was born in 1935 in Taktser, a small hamlet in north-eastern Tibet. His Holiness is not only the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also a global symbol of peace and compassion. His birthday is much more than a mere celebration of his life. Rather, it is an occasion to reflect on his teachings and the pristine values that he upholds.

    Tenzin Gyatso was recognised as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama when he was just two years old. By the age of 15, he assumed full political authority in Tibet during a period of rising tensions with China. In 1959, following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, he was compelled to flee to India, where he has lived in exile ever since. From his base in Dharamshala, he continues to lead the Tibetan people spiritually and politically, canvassing for a peaceful resolution to the Tibet issue globally.

    Despite his forced displacement, the Dalai Lama has never strayed from his goal of peace. He remains a man who continues to smile despite losing his kingdom. His advocacy for peace earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, recognising his efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Tibetan struggle. He has become an icon of conscience in a world torn apart by conflict and intolerance over the decades.

    The Dalai Lama is regarded as a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. His birthday is observed with reverence and gratitude as followers reflect on his teachings. They renew their commitment to ethical living, non-violence, and spiritual practice.

Celebrations usually involve prayer ceremonies, cultural performances, and community gatherings. Monasteries conduct long-life prayers for His Holiness, while laypeople light butter lamps, hang prayer flags, and offer incense. Songs, dances, and traditional Tibetan opera are performed in honour of the occasion. Elders share stories of the Dalai Lama’s life and the values he promotes. Children often dress in traditional attire.

    In Dharamshala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, the festivities are especially lively. Tibetans and international visitors gather at the Tsuglagkhang Temple, the Dalai Lama’s main temple, to participate in religious rituals and listen to speeches honouring his contributions to world peace and the preservation of Tibetan culture.

Beyond the Tibetan community, many non-Buddhists and global admirers of the Dalai Lama also take the day as an opportunity to reflect on his universal preachings. Schools, universities, and spiritual centres may organise meditation sessions, peace talks, or humanitarian activities inspired by his teachings.

    The Dalai Lama’s birthday acts as a global reminder of the power of kindness, empathy, and inner peace. His fundamental message — that all human beings deserve happiness and that compassion is the basis of true peace — resonates with people from all walks of life, regardless of religion or nationality. He often says, “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”

    As the Dalai Lama advances into the later years of his life, his birthday also prompts questions about the future of the Tibetan movement and the succession of the Dalai Lama institution. Despite humongous uncertainties, his ongoing commitment to peace offers hope and inspiration to millions.

    In a world often perceived as fractured and unstable, the Dalai Lama’s birthday provides a moment to pause and reconnect with core human values. It is not merely a day to honour a revered spiritual teacher but also an occasion to renew a global commitment to compassion, understanding, and peace. Such magnificent personalities are born perhaps once in a millennium. My salute to him.

(The writer Kamlesh Tripathi is the author of ‘Awadh Assam and Dalai Lama … The Kalachakra’)

Written by Kamlesh Tripathi

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