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Dravidian Iron for the Aryan Horse … Devdutt Pattanaik aryan horse

August 20, 2025article, UncategorizedAryan, brahmins, Dravidian Iron, history, india, kamlesh tripathi, philosophy, POLITICS, religion, rig veda, shravan charity missionshravancharitymission

DEVDUTT PATTNAIK 16/8/25 ECONOMIC TIMES
DRAVIDIAN IRON FOR THE ARYAN HORSE

(Aryans came for newly smelted iron and offered domesticated horses in exchange. They were neither invaders nor migrants: they were traders.)
PICTURE OF DEVDUTT PATTNAIK
AUTHOR OF BUSINESS SUTRA

    Colonial historians argued the ‘Aryan invasion theory’ that light-skinned chariot-riding people destroyed Harappan cities, conquered India, enslaved local dark-skinned people and created the caste system. To counter this, there was the ‘out of India’ theory popularised by many Brahmins, that Harappa was Vedic, that Aryans were originally India who migrated out of India, taking civilisation to the world. Both were wrong. Neither explained what motivated these Aryans to move in, or out, of India.
    Now it seems increasingly clear that Aryans came for (newly smelted) iron, and they offered (newly domesticated) horses in exchange. Aryans were neither invaders nor migrants: they were traders. And like many merchants and sailors, they had local wives, which accounts for the spread of their genes (R1aZ93), language (proto-Sanskrit) and patriarchal culture in India.
    In Hindu myth, the horse-headed Vishnu rescued the Vedas and gave them to Brahma for safekeeping. For over 3,000 years, Brahmins of India have therefore meticulously transmitted the Vedic songs containing some of the oldest descriptions of horses, chariots and composite bows in the world (Rig Veda 1.163.10 and 6.75.2). The Brahmins saw these Vedic hymns as timeless (sanatan), not of human origin (a-paurusheya). Today, thanks to ancient DNA analysis, archaeology and linguistics, we know that this is not true.
    Horses, originally bred for meat and milk, were fully domesticated only 4,000 years ago, around 2000 BC, in the region north of the Black and the Caucasian sea, west of the Ural mountains. The early horse were too small for adult humans to ride. This led to invention of the earliest spoked-wheel chariots, light light enough to be pulled by horses. They have been found in burial sites in Southern Russia, at Sintashta, east of the Ural mountains, also dated to 2000 BC. Composite bows (made of wood, bow and sinew) were invented around the same time, at the same place. This new military technology (horse, chariot, bow) spread to Egypt (indicated by wall art) in the east, Scandinavia (indicated by bronze statues) in the north and China (indicated in burial sites) and India (expressed in Vedic poetry) in the east by 1500 BC. With the horse-breeders, spread a new language Proto-indo-European (PIE).
    The eastern migration saw the spread of a gene variant found only in Steppe pastoral men, present in Y-chromosome, identified as R1a-Z93. It is currently seen across Central Asia, Iran and amongst all Brahmins of India. Those with these gene have another mutation that enables adults to digest milk. North Indians can digest milk easily. South Indians prefer curd.
The men who came bearing these genes referred to themselves as Aryan or noble (this term was appropriated by racist Europeans causing much academic confusion). Rig Vedic verse (Mandala 4, Sukta 24) refers to bargaining a fair price. These traders would have had to repeatedly return to Central Asia to fetch more horses as horses do not breed in India. A simple fact that most people miss. The monsoon climate is not conducive to horse breeding.
So Aryans were neither invaders nor migrants. They were traders, probably with wives on either side of the mountain trade route. The mothers gave their children voiced aspirated consonants (gh, jh, h, dh, bh) and retroflex consonants (t, d, n, s).
The spoked-wheel chariot pulled by horses could carry two men: a driver and an archer. This image is immortalised in the Bhagavad-Gita, with Krishna holding the reins of four white horses, and Arjuna holding his mighty bow, the Gandiva. Both riders blow conch shells. The Rig Veda does not mention this conch-shell; the Atharva Veda does. They are only found off the Gujarat coast, in the Indian Ocean.
Recent excavations in Keeladi, Tamil Nadu, are drawing attention to iron smelting technology that was invented in India, in regions associated with Dravidian and Munda languages. This requires very high temperatures. Sites in Deccan have ash mounds indicating a long-standing enquiry into fire technology. Along with Anatolia (modern Turkey) and Africa (Bantu people), India seems to be another site where iron was first extracted. This could be a good reason why Aryans came to India from the Oxus river basin through treacherous mountain passes (not flat enough for wheeled wagons).
Horse breeding in India came very late, after 1400 AD, in parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra. So for nearly 3,000 years, every year, horse breeders would bring their horses from Central Asia for local Indian kings, who would use the horse in war, to conquer new lands, and even slaughter them as part of land acquisition ceremonies (Ashwamedha). Traders had no reason to ‘invade’ or ‘migrate’ to India. They had to go back to fetch more horses from Central Asia, where horse breeding was easy.
(SKETCH: ILLUSTRATION DEVDUTT PATTNAIK)

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SPEAKING TREE: THE MEANING OF LIFE

August 19, 2025Uncategorizedart, feminism, kamlesh tripathi, POLITICS, science, shravan charity mission, THE MEANING OF LIFE, travelshravancharitymission

THE MEANING OF LIFE
SPEAKING TREE ECONOMIC TIMES
NAJIB SHAH

    Hope, wrote Alexander Pope, lies eternal in the human breast. To never despair, even in the bleakest of winters. And, nothing exemplifies this more than the soul-stirring story of Viktor Frankel, who survived the horrors of Auschwitz through his search for the meaning of life.
    In his ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ written after his liberation from the concentration camp, he talks about the source of his will to live. To paraphrase: we are bound to face adversities. How you handle these vicissitudes is determined by your attitude. And, attitude is something that each of us controls. This determines what becomes of you mentally and physically. This is true also of suffering that is a part of life–without suffering and death, human life would not be complete. The test is how we react to the suffering.
    We need to have a higher purpose– a goal that will help us overcome the challenges. Frankel quotes. Nietzsche, ‘He who has a why to live can bear almost any how’, to explain this.
    The meaning of life is found in our choice to do the right thing. Frankel helped his fellow prisoners by emphasising that striving for meaning, not power nor pleasure, is what keeps us alive.
    These lessons are even more relevant today. A positive attitude, willingness to take responsibility and a purpose in life will help each of us find meaning in our lives. Life is, after all, far too precious to fritter away aimlessly.

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

August 18, 2025article, column, short article on politics, Uncategorized1947, archbald wavell, august 15, baldev singh, british, claude auchinleck, clement attlee, council chamber, ferozepur, freedom, government house, gurdaspur, history, india, Jawaharlal Nehru, kamlesh tripathi, kashmir, liaquat ali khan, lord mountbatten, pakistan, partition, POLITICS, punjabi, radcliffe, sardar patel, shravan charity mission, sir stafford cripps, viceroy, vijaya lakshmi panditshravancharitymission

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

**
PICTURE
SEPT 1947
REFUGEES CROWD ONTO TRAINS FOR PAKISTAN AS THEY LEAVE NEW DELHI
**
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
**
AUG 19
PUNJAB PROMISED AID IN SUPPRESSING DISORDERS… PLANS FOR IMMEDIATE CONCERTED ACTION FORMULATED
**
AUG 23
ENDING PUNJAB AND QUETTA LAWLESSNESS … PAKISTAN CABINET’S DECISION

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INTERESTING FACTS: HOW HYDERABAD, JUNAGADH HELD UP INDIA’S INTEGRATION

August 12, 2025article, Uncategorizedarticle, bhopal.dewan, bombay, british, british commonwealth, dominion, history, hyderabad, india, indore, jinnah, jodhpur, junagadh, kamlesh tripathi, kerala socialist party, maharaja holkar, national flag, nawab of bhopal, Nizam, oudh, pakistan, POLITICS, sardar vallabhbhai patel, shah yusuf mirza, shravan charity mission, travancore, wajid ali shahshravancharitymission

HOW HYDERABAD, JUNAGADH HELD UP INDIA’S INTEGRATION
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Under British rule, India contained more than 500 princely states that, upon independence, had the choice of joining either India or Pakistan. But uniting the dominion was no easy task, and several princely states held out for autonomy. But Sardar Patel’s special skills–of persuasion, sometimes maybe a little coercion–made them fall in line.

AUG 17 (PRESS CLIPPING)
HYDERABAD (DN.), SATURDAY

“Today when I bid Farewell To the last of the Residents in my State, it is still my desire and the desire of Hyderabad to remain within the family of nations known as the British Commonwealth which looks to His Majesty the King as the living symbol of its unity,” declared the Nizam proposing the toast of Mr. C. G. Herbert, the last Resident in Hyderabad at a Farewell at the Jubilee Hall last night.

1/Hyderabad

After Independence, the princely state of Hyderabad decided against joining India, with the Nizam preferring to remain a “sovereign state” under the British Commonwealth. Hyderabad was a key strategic state between India’s north and south, which ruled out complete autonomy as an option for the government.

AUG 19 (PRESS CLIPPING)
MORE CLASHES IN SECUNDERABAD
TRANSPORT PARALYSED

From Our Own Correspondent
HYDERABAD (Dn.) Aug. 18
Owing to a fresh outbreak of communal trouble, Secunderabad town has been almost isolated. Railway and bus services have ceased to function, and all approaches to the town have been cordoned off by the armed police.

Hyderabad refused to sign the Instrument of Accession, the standard legal framework offered to all princely states to join India, following which it signed a ‘standstill agreement’ to maintain the status quo for a year. But Hyderabad was also seeing communal violence break out, and was struggling to quell a communist uprising and the growing influence of an extremist Muslim militia. In September 1948, the continued instability in the state resulted in the Indian Army attacking Hyderabad as part of ‘Operation Polo’ and annexing it.

2/JUNAGADH

Upon Independence, the nawab of Hindu majority Junagadh opted to join Pakistan despite not sharing a border with it. The Indian government, unhappy with the accession, feared further communal violence if Junagadh was allowed to join Pakistan. To force a reversal, the government secured the accession of two of Junagadh’s vassal states, cut off supply lines to the state and surrounded it with its troops. In Bombay, a ‘provisional government of Junagadh’ was set up and led the popular agitation against the accession to Pakistan, after which the nawab fled to Karachi, allowing India to annex the state. A plebiscite was also held in February 1948, with more than 90% of the vote in favour of joining India.

AUG 21 PRESS CLIPPING

ACCESSION OF JUNAGADH TO PAKISTAN

UNION DISAPPROVAL
—-***—-
BHOPAL MAY JOIN INDIAN DOMINION
From Our Special Representative
NEW DELHI, August 20. Strong objection has been raised by the Dominion Government of India to Junagadh’s

3/INDORE

Indore was among the few princely states that had yet to accede to India prior to August 15. But Maharaja Holkar’s acceptance came just hours after Independence — positive news for the government as Hyderabad and Junagadh resisted.

PRESS CLIPPING
AUG 21
INDORE’S ACCESSION
On midnight of August 14/15 when British Paramountcy lapsed, only four of those States contiguous with the Indian Dominion had still not acceded to the Indian Dominion. If these, Indore has now signed the Instrument of Accession, which, however, is said to have reached the States Department six hours after the lapse of Paramountcy.

4/Oudh

Though Oudh, in present-day UP, had been annexed by the British just before the 1857 rebellion, Yusuf Mirza, the grandson of its last ruler Wajid Ali Shah, ‘assumed sovereign authority’ of the territory after a secret coronation.

PRESS CLIPPING
AUG 17
    SHAH YUSUF “ASCENDS” OUDH THRONE
    LUCKNOW, Saturday: Shah Yusuf Mirza, grandson of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last king of Oudh, has issued a “royal proclamation formally ascending ‘the throne’ and assuming all the sovereign authority’ and power over the dominions of Oudh’ by virtue of our right of inheritance and in the name of our people.”
    The proclamation followed a two-hour meeting of the council of Action of the Oudh Restoration Mission held yesterday evening.
    It is reported that a quiet Coronation was held at midnight, where Prince Yusuf Mirza was installed on the throne at Sheesh Mahal, the ancient palace of the Nawab of Oudh. The ceremony was attended by members of the Royal Family of Oudh and members of the Council of Action.
    The territory … Of Oudh comprises

KEY STATES THAT PAVED THE WAY TO UNITY

Some major princely states ultimately joined the dominion prior to Independence, laying down a marker for others, but not without making it difficult for the government.

5/TRAVANCORE

In 1946, the dewan of Travancore had insisted the state would remain independent after the British left but was willing to sign treaties with India and Pakistan. Some British politicians and Mohammad Ali Jinnah supported the prospect of an independent Travancore, which buoyed the dewan. But in July 1947, the dewan survived an assassination attempt by a member of the Kerala Socialist Party. The incident led to a change of heart and Travancore acceded within days.

6/BHOPAL

The nawab of Bhopal, which was a Hindu-majority state, had close ties with Jinnah and saw Congress as an adversary. He feared Independence would leave Muslims ‘helpless, unorganised and unsupported’ and turn India into a communist nation, and suggested Bhopal would remain independent. But a letter from Lord Mountbatten — and seeing other princely states accede– changed the nawab’s mind. The only concession he sought was for the announcement of the accession to be delayed to 10 days after Independence.

7/JODHPUR

Jodhpur was an exception among states that had hesitated to join India — it had a Hindu ruler and a Hindu-majority population. Though the king was willing to join India, he was also negotiating terms with Pakistan in July 1947. Losing Jodhpur, a border state, would have dealt a major blow to India as it may have pushed neighbouring states towards Pakistan. But Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel intervened, offering some concessions and asking him whose side he would take in the event of communal clashes, after which the king agreed to accede.

(TIMES OF INDIA 22/8/21)

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POETRY & POLITICS, IN LOVE & WAR – FAIZ

July 30, 2025article, author profile, autobiography, book corner, Uncategorized1974, america, art, bangladesh, beirut, bhutto, books, FAIZ, general zia, HUMANISM, kamlesh tripathi, liaquat ali, marxism, movies, pakistan, pakistan times, partition, photography, POLITICS, semitic, shravan charity missionshravancharitymission

FAIZ’S WORK ENDURES BECAUSE ITS CORE IS HUMANISM

A heartbroken teenager, a lecturer in English who was drawn to Marxism, a pioneer of the subcontinent’s political poetry, a supporter of Iran’s Islamic Revolution but not an Islamist, and finally self-exiled in Beirut after General Zia executed Bhutto – Faiz always said it was the early years that shaped the poet in him.

Aur bhi dukh hain zamane mein mohabbat ke siva, rahaten aur bhi hain vasi ki rahat ke siva, mujh se pahli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang (The world has other problems… other comforts than a lover’s embrace. So, my love, don’t ask I love you like I once did). That’s Faiz marrying romance and politics.

In 1932, Angarey (Fire), an anthology of mostly feminist short stories, was banned but inspired the Progressive Writers Association, of which Faiz was an integral part. He left the army in 1947 to edit the left-leaning The Pakistan Times, disillusioned by Partition’s communal violence — Ye daagh daagh ujala ye shab-gazida sahar, vo intezaar tha jis ka ye vo sahar to nahin (This light stained by darkness is like dawn tainted by dusk. This isn’t the dawn we awaited).

Arrested in 1951for the conspiracy to overthrow Pakistan’s Liaquat Ali govt, he published two books from jail. Dast-e Saba and Zindan Nama. He never gave up on hope: Qafas udaas hai yaaro saba se kuchh to kaho. Kahin to bahr-e-khuda aaj zikr-e-yaar chale (The cage is sad and silent. Say something to the breeze. For god’s sake, let’s talk about my beloved).

On release four years on, he found Pakistan had distanced itself from the Soviets, his inspiration, and aligned with America, which he despised. In 1974, Bangladesh, at Mujibur Rahman’s request, he composed, Ham ki thahre ajnabi itni mudaraton ke baad. Phir banege ashna kitni mulaqaton ke baad (Despite the hospitality, we remain strangers, and who knows how many meetings it will take to become friends again).

Once Zia arrested Bhutto, Faiz self-exiled to Beirut as editor of Lotus- a magazine to promote non-Euro-centric Asian and African writing. But Faiz felt uprooted, longing for his people: Mere dil, mere musafir, hua phir se hukum sadir, ki vatan-badar hon hum tum (My heart, my traveller, the order is issued again, we are exiled again).

His most popular work, Hum Dekhenge, is a poem of dissent. Some find it anti-Hinduism — it’s just as anti-Islam. Inspired by Iran’s Islamic revolution, sourced from the Quran’s Surah al-Waqi’ah – the inevitability of Qayamat (doomsday)- experts are still divided over Hum Dekhenge’s message. A literal translation of key lines: ‘Idols would be removed from Kaaba to establish Allah’s rule.’ But these could also mean: Every idol – false gods and tyrants – will be removed from the house of God that is earth.’ Faiz was no Islamist but simply charmed by the people’s fight to depose the Shah.

The poem’s climax, Utthega anal haq ka nara, jo mai bhi hu or tum bhi ho. Bus raj karegi khalke khuda jo mai bhi hu or tum bhi ho. Anal haq means ‘I am the truth.’ In Semitic religions, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, there’s strict duality between God and his creation. In contrast, the Sufi anal haq resonates with the Advait concept of aham brahmasmi or ‘I am one with God.’ The poem’s message then is that humans are the ultimate truth — divinity is within humanity, hence the divine right to self-rule.

(TIMES OF INDIA 5.7.25)

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Author Sam Dalrymple on India-Pakistan Divide

July 6, 2025article, author profile, autobiography, book corner, Uncategorizedaden, afghanistan, art, asiatic federation, bamiyan buddha, bangladesh, bhutan, british india, cyril radcliffe, dhirubhai ambani, dubai, east india, history, hyderabad, india, indian empire, jinnah, kamlesh tripathi, pakistan, partition, POLITICS, project dastaan, Sam Dalrymple, shravan charity mission, william dalrymple, yemenshravancharitymission

22/6/25 Times of India

SAM DALRYMPLE

WE TREAT INDIA-PAK HOSTILITY AS INEVITABLE, BUT THESE DIVIDES FORMED WITHIN LIVING MEMORY (FOR THE RECORD)

Sam Dalrymple was set for a career in particle physics until a family trip to Afghanistan to visit the remains of the Bamiyan Buddha rerouted him into history. He started a virtual reality project connecting Partition survivors, which, in turn, inspired his debut book 'Shattered Lands', tracing the unravelling of the Indian Empire. In an interview with Neelam Raaj, he talks about why our complex pasts shouldn't be ignored.

Q. Several years ago, you co-founded Project Dastaan, connecting those displaced by the 1947 Partition through virtual reality. Was it Dastaan that sparked off this deep dive into the five partitions or something else?
A. Dastaan was very much the origin of the book. In 2018, my college friends and I began reconnecting individuals displaced in the 1947 Partition of India, the largest forced migration in history, to their ancestral villages through VR. It was while researching the impact of Partition on Tripura and North East India for Dastaan that the book idea first came together: I was chatting with an academic in the region, and when I asked about Partition, he said, "Which one? Burma in 1937, Pakistan in 1947 or Bangladesh in 1971." That conversation made me think about the multiple ruptures and borders that have carved their way through the subcontinent.

Q. The five partitions you write about are the separation of Burma, Arabia and Pakistan from India, the division of 500 princely states, and finally, the creation of Bangladesh. Why did you want to tell this story?
A. We live with the consequences of these partitions every day. Just look at the recent war between India and Pakistan. Today, South Asia is one of the most bordered regions in the world, and you can actually see its borders from space. However, 100 years ago, none of these borders were foreseen. Demands for 'independence' were widespread, but no one could have suspected that the nations India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen and Burma would soon emerge from the wreckage of British India. Nor would anyone have imagined that tiny princely states like Bhutan and Dubai would last until the end of the century, while massive states like Hyderabad would not.

Q. Your book challenges some widely held beliefs, like the idea that India's borders were drawn solely by Cyril Radcliffe. Could you tell us more about that?
A. Cyril Radcliffe was famously charged with drawing the Partition border that would slice through British India. Jinnah had suggested his name because he had never been east of Paris, and supposedly his obliviousness would make him impartial. This, of course, had deadly consequences. But what we often forget is that he only drew the lines dividing Punjab and Bengal. Both the LoC and the entire stretch of the India-Pakistan Border from the Arabian Sea to Sri Ganganagar - collectively 81% of the present India-Pakistan Border fence-result from the decisions of seven local princes and have nothing to do with Radcliffe. Thirty-six per cent of the border with East Pakistan (modern Bangladesh) was made by another ten. Had states like Jodhpur joined Pakistan, or had states like Bahawalpur joined India, the border would look very, very different.

Q. The chapter on the Arabian Peninsula ties a global moment -- the British withdrawal from Aden (now in Yemen)-- to a personal story about Dhirubhai Ambani. How did that shape the trajectory of Reliance?,
A. We often forget today that Aden was the Dubai of the 1960s. It was the great business hub of its time, and this remained the case right until 1967 when the British pulled out and the revolutionary NLF took over. Dhirubhai Ambani had worked in Aden until the late 1950s, and after the British evacuation from Aden, he found himself perfectly placed to hire his dispossessed colleagues and found use of 'a ready-made source of educated managers, accountants and salesmen, drilled to European standards'. He had just ended a business partnership with his cousin and gone solo, forming a new company called Reliance Commercial Corporation. Reliance ballooned in the years after the fall of Aden, underpinned by a generation of Indian-origin Adenis versed in free market capitalism rather than Nehruvian socialism.

Q. Given that your book comes out against the backdrop of India-Pakistan tensions, what is the perspective you hope readers will take away?
A.So often, we treat the hostility between India and Pakistan as inevitable. Even President Trump chimed in, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that India and Pakistan had been fighting "for a thousand years, probably longer than that." But this really isn't the case. These divisions were formed within living memory --as were the divisions between India and Bangladesh, Burma and Yemen, etc. Today, the region's borders have become so embedded in our subconscious that it is easy to forget there were other possibilities for a post-colonial South Asia. Several prominent national figures, including PM Nehru and Burma's founding father Aung San, had once spoken of an 'Asiatic federation' in the 'not very, very distant future', a 'United Nations of South Asia' encompassing India, Pakistan, Ceylon and Burma. Long after the British departed, many still hoped the new borders might prove temporary. Yet in every single one of these countries, governments have made sure to paper over the shared cross-border heritage of their peoples. The last decade has witnessed the decline of globalisation, the strengthening of borders and the resurgence of nationalism across the world. India's partitions are a direct warning of what such a future might hold.

Q. Your Dad, historian William Dalrymple, sparked a lot of debate recently, saying that academics don't make their work as accessible as popular historians. Where do you stand on this?
A. I don't think they have to stand in opposition at all. We obviously need both.
***

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INTERESTING FACTS: THE MEN WHO SHAPED INDEPENDENT INDIA’S PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT

July 2, 2025article, article, skill development, national wealth, PMO, Rajiv Pratap rudy, BJP, HRD, Human resources, Smriti Irani, USA, billion dollars, usa, japan, china, france, germany, india, russia,, Uncategorizeddemocracy, history, india, news, POLITICSshravancharitymission

(THE MEN WHO SHAPED INDEPENDENT INDIA’S PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT. THE TIMES OF INDIA 29/10/21)

Behind The Scenes Of India’s Early Legislatures, Two Secretaries Laid The Foundation For Parliamentary Administration And Proceedings

The visible part of a vibrant legislature is members of Parliament (MPs) passionately debating critical national issues that shape the country. But a secretariat independent of the government, working tirelessly in the background supporting legislative functioning, is the backbone of Parliament. Two officers of Parliament Maheshwar Nath Kaul and Sham Lal Shakdher devoted themselves to creating an efficient parliamentary administration for the national legislature of independent India.
    Before Independence, Vithalbhai Patel, the first president of the Central Assembly, ensured the legislature’s secretariat was responsible to its presiding officer, not the government. It was called the Legislative Assembly Department, and it was this department Kaul joined in 1937. Rising through the ranks, Kaul became secretary to the constituent assembly.
    It was here that he helped in moulding provisions relating to Parliament in the constitution. Then, he was at the helm of administration in the provisional Parliament and finally took charge of the Lok Sabha secretariat. Shakdher’s journey to the Lok Sabha administration started in the newly created Department of Parliament Affairs. He was its first secretary in 1949. After that, he followed his mentor Kaul to Parliament as an officer on special duty and finally became his deputy in the Lok Sabha secretariat. He later succeeded Kaul as the Lok Sabha secretary.
    Our constitution empowers the two houses of Parliament to make their own rules of procedure and have separate secretarial staff.
(PICTURE OF KAUL AND SHAKDHER: Kaul was the first secretary-general of the Lok Sabha and later became a Rajya Sabha MP. He was succeeded by Shakdher. They jointly wrote the treatise on parliamentary procedure)
    Kaul and Shakdher put together a foundation of sound procedures and a responsive secretariat to implement them. For example, in 1952, in the first Lok Sabha of independent India, the rules provided that the House would start functioning at 10.45 am. The timing was subject to the Speaker’s instruction. It also provided that MPs give their questions 10 days in advance to enable ministers to answer them. Implementing these two simple rules, among many others, required a coordinated organisational effort by the Lok Sabha secretariat.
    First, then-Speaker G V Mavalankar directed that the House would start functioning at 8.15 am. It meant a group of secretariat personnel would have to arrive hours before to open clean and ready the precincts of Parliament for the day. Another group would have to prepare the day’s schedule, answers to questions, and parliamentary papers. They would also make copies of each document for every MP.
    Watch and ward staff would assist MPs and direct the public to galleries to watch the House proceedings. When the proceedings would start, a record of every word said in the legislative chamber would be kept and then published. Parallelly, secretariat personnel would check that the questions submitted by MPs for the following days comply with the rules of procedure. They would then send them to the respective ministries for their responses and collate their answers. Then the process would start all over again for the next day.
    Occasionally, there were hiccups. On June 5, 1952, Lok Sabha MPs were in for a surprise when they reached the Parliament. They saw the flag of Great Britain flying on the building instead of the Indian tricolour. Agitated MPs demanded answers from the government. A few days later, Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru would clarify in the House that it had occurred due to improper understanding of instructions.
    Kaul and Shakdher ensured procedural and operational aspects of parliamentary functioning worked seamlessly. With the support of colleagues, they designed rules not only for the conduct of business in the legislative chamber but also in its committees. They also supported state assemblies and Parliaments of other countries on constitutional and procedural matters of legislatures.
    During his tenure, Kaul started Parliament’s academic journal. In its inaugural issue, he laid down the need for a journal as a tool for disseminating parliamentary information and as a vehicle for sharing insights on the institutions functioning. Writing in the same issue, Shakdher described an ideal parliamentary official as objective, nonpartisan, patient and committed to the country’s service.
On retiring, the Lok Sabha speaker appointed both Kaul and Shakdher as honorary officers of the House. The president nominated Kaul to the Rajya Sabha as an MP, and Shakdher became the chief election commissioner. Their enduring legacy is the seminal book, ‘Practice and Procedure in Parliament’. Popularly referred to as Kaul and Shakdher, it is the first port of call for everyone interested in the functioning of our Legislatures. The book, updated by the Parliament secretariat, occupies a prominent place in every legislative chamber in the country.

(THE TIMES OF INDIA 29/10/21 BY CHAKSHU ROY, Head of Outreach, PRS Legislative Research)

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29/10/21

HOW HYDERABAD CAME TO THE INDIAN UNION

May 26, 2025article, articles, column, Uncategorized1947, 565 princely states, august 15, general, history, hyderabad, india, indian-history, kamlesh tripathi, Mir Osman Ali Khan, mountbatten, Muslimeen, Nizam, POLITICS, razakars, sardar vallabhbhai patel, shravan charity mission, VP Menonshravancharitymission

    Over two years leading up to August 15, 1947, India’s first home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, along with the Ministry of States secretary VP Menon, managed to convince almost all the 565 princely states to join India. Most princes came on board without a fuss. But other princes required more persuasion, and some refused to join until a show of force from the Indian government changed their minds. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad, was among the few holdouts.
    In July 1947, Patel had said the only alternative to cooperation was ‘anarchy and chaos’, setting the tone for how the government would deal with princely states that opted against joining the dominion. When Hyderabad said it would rather remain a ‘sovereign state’, it sparked a year-long standoff between the Nizam and the government.
    Hyderabad was a key strategic state between India’s north and south. One constitutional expert at the time worried that an independent Hyderabad would force India to ‘live without the midriff’. Patel said it would be like ‘a cancer in the belly of India’.
    Within Hyderabad, a three-way tussle was underway between the Nizam, the Hyderabad State Congress and the communists. The Nizam was also supported by the Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen and its paramilitary wing called the Razakars. After the Nizam refused to sign the instrument of Accession, he agreed to sign a ‘Standstill Agreement’ in November 1947, which maintained the status quo for the time being.
But as the months wore on, the Nizam and the government were unable to reach an agreement. In the meantime, the extremist Razakars grew stronger, Hindu-Muslim tensions rose and a communist uprising added to the state’s instability. In June 1948, Lord Louis Mountbatten, India’s last viceroy, left office and urged the Nizam one last time to consider acceding to India. With Mountbatten gone, Patel decided to take direct action and sent the Indian army into Hyderabad in September.
It took just four days for the Indian army’s ‘Operation Polo’ to take Hyderabad. Estimates suggest 42 Indian soldiers and more than 2,000 Razakars died in the fighting. During the invasion, communal violence also led to anywhere between 30,000 and 2 lakh civilian deaths. On September 17, the Nizam officially surrendered. He called for a ceasefire and banned the Razakars, whom he later blamed for forcing him to keep Hyderabad independent. On September 18, Operation Polo was terminated, and Hyderabad was absorbed into India.

MAIN POINTS

SEPTEMBER 11, 1948,
Moving troops to Secunderabad.
Pandit Nehru Explains India’s Objective
Restoration of Order: Primary Aim
SEPTEMBER 17, 1948
Indian Army Tanks Cross Border
Resistance in the Stronghold of Razakars Smashed

Times of India 12.9.21

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POEM: THE PAHALGAM CARNAGE

April 29, 2025poem, POETRY, Remembrance, Uncategorizedamir khusrau, april, baisaran valley, Hindu, india, kamlesh tripathi, kashmir, meadows, pahalgam, pakistan, POLITICS, short story, shravancharitymission, terrorism, terroristshravancharitymission

–“If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here,” said Amir Khusrau, a renowned Indian Sufi poet, about Kashmir. But the Pahalgam perpetrators have made it bloody—

In the Baisaran valley in Pahalgam,

On the 22^nd of April 2025,

While the tourists were freaking out in the meadows,

Helping themselves to a picnic lunch,

Under the bright sun.

The terrorist struck,

With all their brutality,

Killing 26 able-bodied Indians,

In the worst of atrocities.

It all happened in the beating heart of the Anantnag district,

Where the Lidder River whispers through the valley,

And the tall mountains stand in majestic grace,

In the Vale of Kashmir.

The gruesome carnage was committed,

By AK-47-toting terrorists,

On a day that was meant to be peaceful and joyful,

Which humanity will never forget.

They say,

Terrorism doesn’t have a religion,

But the terrorists proved it otherwise,

When unable to recite the Kalma,

They shot those hapless Indians,

In an inhuman style.

But the Indians,

Never thought like that,

For they were always united in great style,

1.4 billion to be precise.

The terrorists asked the victims to undress,

To prove their religion,

And that proved the point,

That terror has a religion.

The victims were mostly young,

They were all bright,

They all had ambitions,

To come up in life.

The worst came when they were shot dead,

In front of their wives,

Who wailed for their safety,

But the lethal Pakistani terrorists,

Failed to sigh.

Being born a Hindu is no crime,

Being born in any religion is divine,

But perpetrating terrorism,

Is a terrible crime.

It’s like Alexander Fleming versus Mikhail Kalashnikov,

One invented penicillin,

And the other AK-47,

One saved a life, the other killed the hapless,

Kalashnikov must be turning in his grave,

Seeing the legacy of his invention.

Five Lashkar terrorists,

Brought India to an emotional halt,

But let there be no doubt,

In the minds of the killers and their handlers,

The young India is 65% of 1.4 billion,

That will not forget its revenge.

–Terrorism is the worst crime against humanity. Life is only a sojourn on Planet Earth. Live with that in mind—

***

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AMBEDKAR: FROM CASTE TO CONSTITUTION

April 10, 2025article, articles, author profile, autobiography, casual causerie, column, Uncategorizedbackward classes, bernard shaw, Bhim Rao Ambedkar, caste, columbia university, constitution, dalit, gray's inn, history, india, kamlesh tripathi, london school of economics, mahar, mhow, mp, news, POLITICS, shravan charity mission, story, tribalsshravancharitymission

Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s life indeed serves as a beacon of inspiration for those committed to equality, social justice, and dismantling oppressive systems. His insights into the caste system were groundbreaking and remain relevant even today. His statement about the caste system being a “monster” that must be eradicated for any real political and economic reform resonates deeply. By acknowledging that caste is not just a division of labor but also a division of people, Ambedkar illuminated how deeply it harms not only individuals but society as a whole.

His critique of the caste system’s eugenic claims and its failure to produce a better society reflects his understanding of how it stunts human potential. Caste, in his view, doesn’t just harm the oppressed; it also disorganizes the social fabric of those who perpetuate it. Ambedkar’s assertion that caste doesn’t improve the race but instead demoralizes it points to a broader critique of how hierarchies and inequality can stunt collective progress.

These perspectives are not just theoretical but were put into action in his tireless efforts to reshape India’s Constitution, fight for the rights of Dalits, and challenge the deep-seated social structures that perpetuated caste-based discrimination. His contributions laid the groundwork for a more just and equitable society, making him one of the most significant social reformers in modern history.

He was born into a Mahar family, one of the castes considered untouchable in the rigid caste hierarchy of India, on April 14, 1891, in Mhow, Madya Pradesh, where his father served in the army. Despite facing severe social discrimination, his early life was marked by a strong desire for education and an urge to challenge the status quo that oppressed people like him.

He studied at some of the best institutions globally, including Columbia University and the London School of Economics, where he earned doctorates in Economics. He later trained as a lawyer at Gray’s Inn, London, and became one of the most highly educated individuals in India at that time. Dr. Ambedkar’s life was devoted to fighting for the rights of the Dalits and the marginalized communities in India. His famous slogan, “Educate, Agitate, Organise”, continues to resonate, urging oppressed people to seek knowledge, actively resist oppression, and unite for their rights. Bernard Shaw once stated, “Dr. Ambedkar’s struggle against the caste system and his determination to free the Indian masses from the shackles of superstition and inequality was truly revolutionary. He understood that real progress could only come through education and social reform.”

As the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India, Dr. Ambedkar played a pivotal role in shaping India’s legal and political framework. His vision helped enshrine fundamental rights such as equality, freedom of religion, and the abolition of untouchability in the Constitution. His contributions were critical in ensuring that India’s Constitution became a beacon of justice and equality, not just for Dalits but for all marginalized groups. He held a belief that, Constitution is not just a lawyers’ document but a vehicle of life, and its spirit is always the spirit of age.

He was also a staunch advocate for women’s rights and fought for their protection and upliftment within Indian society. He was instrumental in introducing provisions for reservations for Dalits, Tribals, and Other Backward Classes, ensuring their access to education and employment. Author of umpteen titles, he chose to embrace Buddhism as a response to the caste-based discrimination entrenched in Hinduism. His conversion was a radical act of defiance and transformation.

His contributions to the Indian Constitution and his steadfast fight against caste-based discrimination laid the foundation for the rights of the marginalized in India. In 1990, India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, was posthumously awarded to him. The salutation “Jai Bhim”, popular among his followers, remains a powerful symbol of his ongoing impact. ‘I want all people to be Indians first, Indian last and nothing else but Indian’ He said.

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Tag Archives: POLITICS

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HOW HYDERABAD CAME TO THE INDIAN UNION

POEM: THE PAHALGAM CARNAGE

AMBEDKAR: FROM CASTE TO CONSTITUTION