Widow of war hero granted disputed land

Rahul Gandhi moved at plight of soldier's wife
Updated: Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 17:05 [IST]
Ranchi, Sept 26: The plight of Balamdin, wife of Albert Ekka, a soldier who died fighting in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, moved Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he came to know that the five-acre plot of land allotted to his family by the government turned out to be disputed.
"We apprised him of our plight, told him about the disputed land, now in a court, and urged him to help find a job for me. We are very happy to meet Rahul Gandhi," said Bhisent, who was nine-months-old when his father Lance Naik Albert died while fighting Pak troops at Ganga Sagar.
Albert was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra. "He assured us to help in whatever way possible," Bhisent, who met Gandhi along with his mother here, said. Over two decades ago, the government had allotted the land to the family in Gumla district as a mark of respect to the soldier's sacrifice.
The land was, however, allotted without proper inquiry and later it was found out that it belonged to someone else. Gandhi, who placed a wreath at the Bhagwan Birsa Munda Samadhisthal here this morning, left for Bokaro to finish with his two-day engagement in Jharkhand. PTI
Rahul Gandhi moved at plight of soldier's wife

Gandhian Engineering is not just for the poor

CJ: Sheila Panickar Wed, Oct 14, 2009 10:06:15 IST

WHAT BRANCH of engineering would be the most crucial for the 21st century? Electrical Engineering? Aeronautical Engineering? Computer Engineering? Electronics Engineering? No. None of these. It will be ‘Gandhian engineering’. Dr RA Mashelkar, Chairman, National Innovation Foundation and President of Global Research Alliance in his lecture highlighted the emergence of Innovation and focus on Gandhian Engineering to a large gathering of NIT-W Alumni and students at the Golden Jubilee and Foundation Day of NIT-W Alumni meet at the campus.

Dr Mashelkar started the address at 11:45 am exactly at the same time and day 50 years ago Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone for the Institute. Dr. Mashelkar, Chairman of National Innovation said it gave him immense pleasure to be part of the NIT-W Golden Jubilee Celebration as it was a Mashelkar Committee in 1998/99 that had reviewed RECs and recommended that they be converted to National Institute of Technology (NIT).
Read the article: Gandhian Engineering's crucial role in 21st century
Read 37 pages of the innovative concept: Gandhian Engineering is not just for the poor

Father of the Nation: Inspirational stories

GENEROSITY
Mahatma Gandhi went from city to city, village to village collecting funds for the Charkha Sangh. During one of his tours he addressed a meeting in Orissa. After his speech a poor old woman got up. She was bent with age, her hair was grey and her clothes were in tatters. The volunteers tried to stop her, but she fought her way to the place where Gandhiji was sitting. "I must see him," she insisted and going up to Gandhiji touched his feet. Then from the folds of her sari she brought out a copper coin and placed it at his feet. Gandhiji picked up the copper coin and put it away carefully. The Charkha Sangh funds were under the charge of Jamnalal Bajaj. He asked Gandhiji for the coin but Gandhiji refused. "I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh," Jamnalal Bajaj said laughingly "yet you won't trust me with a copper coin." "This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands," Gandhiji said. "If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn't mean much. But this coin was perhaps all that the poor woman possessed. She gave me all she had. That was very generous of her. What a great sacrifice she made. That is why I value this copper coin more than a crore of rupees."
For more INSPIRING STORIES FROM GANDHIJI'S LIFE: click here

World marks Gandhi's 140th anniversary

One hundred forty years ago this month Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Gujarat, India -- destined, as no one could have guessed, to restore "the jewel in the crown" of a foreign empire to its homeland. We join many in celebrating the birth -- or what the Mahatma himself wanted to call "spinning wheel birthday" -- that shows, on the one hand, the unlimited potential of a human being to become a force for lasting change and reminds us, on the other hand, how much further the change he launched has got to go. We invite you to join us for that celebration and continue the work.
Celebrate 140 years of Gandhian Nonviolent Resistance

2:33pm Friday 2nd October 2009
Political leaders paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on the 140th anniversary of his birth today, which is also World Non-Violence Day.

India’s prime minister Manmohan Singh joined the leader of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party L K Advani in New Delhi at Rajghat, the memorial to the Mahatma (meaning Great Soul).

Others who attended included the country’s vice president and leader of the main ruling Congress Party Sonia Gandhi.

The event is also celebrated as World Non-Violence Day and Mr Obama urged all nations to “live his ideals and celebrate the dignity of all human beings”.

On the day marking the birth of a man who gave up everything to live an austere life, German luxury penmaker Montblanc unveiled a limited edition fountain pen in honour of Gandhi.

Only 241 pens, each with a price tag of 17,000 euros (£15,600), will be manufactured - one for each mile he walked to the shore in Dandi where he protested a colonial tax on salt.

Born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the man characterised by his dhoti - a loose cloth around his waist - and spectacles, was the pioneer of a mass civil disobedience movement based firmly on total non-violence which led to the end of British colonial rule and independence for the country in 1947.
World marks Gandhi's 140th anniversary
Nation pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 140th birth anniversary

Mahatma is Obama’s hero

Power Profiles showcase successful people who you can learn from. If there is any golden rule to follow, take advice from people who are already there.
The Hindu: Thursday, Sep 10, 2009
WASHINGTON: United States President Barack Obama has said if given a chance he would like to have a meal with his “real hero” Mahatma Gandhi, although the apostle of peace did not eat a lot.

Mr. Obama’s response came to a question from a ninth grade student at the Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, who asked him if he could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who it would be.

“Dinner with anyone dead or alive? Well, you know, dead or alive, that’s a pretty big list,” he said amidst laughter. “You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine,” Mr. Obama said. “Now, it would probably be a really small meal because he didn’t eat a lot.”

He said Gandhiji was someone who has inspired people across the world for the past several generations. “He [Gandhiji] is somebody whom I find a lot of inspiration in. He inspired Dr. King [Martin Luther], so if it hadn’t been for the non-violent movement in India, you might not have seen the same non-violent movement for civil rights here in the United States,” he said. — PTI
Mahatma is Obama's hero

Contribution of the Armed Forces to the Freedom Movement

Dear Friends,
This to inform you of the publication of my latest book, CONTRIBUTION OF THE ARMED FORCES TO THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT IN INDIA. This was the result of project that I did in 2007-08 for the USI.
I am attaching the front and rear jacket and a copy of the contents page.
Regards
Maj Gen VK Singh (Retd)


Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research
United Service Institution of India New Delhi
Contribution of the Armed Forces to the Freedom Movement in India
Maj Gen VK Singh
knowledge world
KW Publishers Pvt Ltd
New Delhi
Contents
List of Abbreviations v
Glossary of Hindustani Terms vii
Prologue ix
1 The Vellore Mutiny –1806 1
2 The Barrackpore Mutiny – 1824 11
3 The Great Indian Mutiny – 1857 19
4 The Singapore Mutiny – 1915 55
5 The Peshawar Mutiny – 1930 69
6 Mutinies and Revolts During World War ii81
7 The Air Force Mutiny - 1946 91
8 The Naval Mutiny – 1946 105
9 The Jubbulpore Mutiny – 1946 131
10 Nationalism in the Armed Forces 151
11 The Soldier’s Contribution to Indian Independence 167
Bibliography 185

REAR JACKET
The saga of India’s independence movement has been documented by scores of Indian and foreign authors, but none has documented the role of the Indian soldier in the struggle for freedom from British rule. The general public remains unaware and the nation’s leaders have never acknowledged or appreciated the part played by the military in this important chapter of our history. Some lost their lives, while many were deprived of their livelihood and liberty, without recognition or compensation. This book attempts to undo this injustice and acquaint the nation with the soldier’s contribution to the freedom movement.

Except for the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857, also called the First War of Indian Independence, historians have virtually ignored the uprisings by soldiers that occurred during the British Raj, many of which were politically motivated and inspired by a spirit of nationalism. Though the mutiny of 1857 was quelled, the spirit of nationalism that it kindled could not be extinguished. A number of smaller mutinies and revolts took place during the next 90 years, especially during the two World Wars and immediately after wards. These rebellions were instrumental in the decision of the British Government to pull out of India in August 1947.

The non violent struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi is universally credited for India’s independence in 1947. However, documentary evidence of that period conclusively proves that the crucial factor in the British decision to quit India was the realization that they could no longer trust the Indian military to maintain control over India. Had the Indian Armed Forces remained staunch, British rule would have continued for at least another 10 to 15 years.

Major General VK Singh is career soldier who was commissioned into the Corps of Signals on 27 June 1965. He served in the Army for 37 years, his last appointment being Chief Signal Officer of the Western Army. In November 2000 he joined the Cabinet Secretariat, (R&AW), where he served up to June 2004, when he retired from government service.

Major General VK Singh’s varied interests include adventure sports, military history and journalism. A regular contributor to magazines and journals, many of his short stories and poems were published in the Illustrated Weekly, Filmfare, Femina and Eve’s Weekly in the seventies and eighties. In later years he took to professional writing and has authored four books. His previous books are Through – Saga of the Corps of Signals (2001); Leadership in the Indian Army - Biographies of Twelve Soldiers, (2005); History of the Corps of Signals, Volume II, (2006) and India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in 2007.

Order the Book
Delhi: KW Publishers Pvt Ltd, 4676/21, Ansari Road, New Delhi - 110002.
tel 23289555, 23264676 e mail mail@kwpub.in and knowledgeworld@vsnl.net
Bombay: 15 Jay Kay Industrial Estate, Linking Road Extn., Santa Cruz,(W), Mumbai 400054

Remembering the Mahatma

In today's world filled with acts of violence and intolerance under the guise of faith and community, Gandhi's principles of restraint and understanding stand out as the only voice of reason. Gandhiji had an unwavering belief in peace over war and a tolerance towards all men. Many of his quirks, like using a pencil down to a small stub to prevent wastage, reusing envelopes, and walking whenever possible are perfectly understandable today when we are all trying to be 'Green'.

He believed that we all have a choice. You can choose to help the needy, choose to be tolerant of others' beliefs and a choice of peace. Live a good, healthy life, free from chains of slavery, prejudice and hate.
Visit webpage for Quiz: Remembering the Mahatma