Happy Republic Day

                                     On this auspicious day of Republic Day, I am sharing some brave stories of women freedom fighters who have etched their names in the pages of history . The names are long forgotten and the dust have settled on those pages ,as not many have the appetite and patience to dwell and deliberate on past in ‘Modern’ India of today, where people in certain quarters hurl epithets “Nationalist” or “Patriot” in a fashion that it sound as insults. I am here trying to apprise my fellow readers with few women freedom fighters, who made supreme sacrifice in the service of their beloved motherland. It is due to the concerted efforts of our freedom fighters that laid the foundations of the Republic—Liberty, equality, fraternity .

Kittur Chennamma -

                                  Chennamma was born in Kakati, a small village in Karnataka and became ‘Queen of Kittur’ after her marriage to Raja Mallasarja. After their son's death in 1824 she adopted Shivalingappa, and made him heir to the throne , which was rejected by British as they wanted to usurp the kingdom. Interestingly, policy of lapse has yet not been implemented by then. This led to the war, and, Rani Chennamma lead an armed rebellion against the British East India Company in 1824. Rani Chennamma fought valiantly and caused severe loses to the British and became victorious in the first wave of attack by British which was repulsed, but soon reinforcements came to strengthen British forces.The British incurred heavy loses, which includes death of nephew of Thomas Munro. But due to limited resources to continue the war, Rani was ultimately captured and imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort, where she died on 02 February 1829. Rani Chennamma's legacy and first victory are still commemorated in Kittur, during the Kittur Utsava held on 22–24 October annually.

Pritilata Waddedar --

                                     Pritilata Waddedar was a Bengali revolutionary nationalist . Born in a middle-class Vaidya-Brahmin family at Chittagong (Bangladesh). Being a meritorious student, she pursued her graduation in philosophy with distinction from Bethune College, Calcutta. Under the influence of nationalists, while pursuing her education destiny gave her opportunity to put her contribution in freedom struggle. Her colleague Kalpana Dutta introduced Pritilata to the revolutionary leader Surya Sen. Although Surya Sen was reluctant to include Pritilata in his group, but her determination to eliminate British supremacy impressed Surya Sen immensely who accepted Pritilata as the woman comrade and member in his revolutionary group. It was Pritilata’s intelligence, strategy and efforts that helped Surya Sen and other members to attack the armory raid, telegraph office, railway lines and make the uprising of Chittagong successful on on 18 April 1930. To avenge the death of innocent teenage comrades in Jalalabad encounter, Surya Sen’s next strategy was to attack the Pahartali European club which had a board titled – “Dogs and Indians are not allowed”. Surya Sen selected Pritilata who led a team of fifteen revolutionaries and attacked the club on September 23rd 1932. Although the attack on the club was successful and the club was torched, Pritilata was injured with bullet, she consumed cyanide capsule and embraced death to escape being arrested.

Suniti Choudhury & Santi Ghose -
                                        The two brave hearts , who made me sit and drop my jaw in admiration were Suniti Choudhury and Santi Ghose.

                                      Suniti Chowdhury was born on 22 May 1917 in Comilla of Comilla District of Bengal (present Bangladesh) while Santi Ghose was born on 22 November 1916 in Calcutta, India. Both of them were fierce nationalists and joined Jugantar party, a militant revolutionary organization which "used murder as a political technique to dislodge British colonial rule like Anushilan party in Bengal . On 14 December 1931, Ghose, then 15, and Suniti Chowdhury, who was 14, walked into the office of Charles Geoffrey Buckland Stevens, a British bureaucrat and the district magistrate of Comilla , notorious for cruelty, under the pretense that they wanted to present a petition to arrange a swimming competition amongst their classmates. While Stevens looked at the document, Ghose and Chowdhury removed automatic pistols which were hidden under their shawls and shot and killed him. In February 1932, Ghose and Chowdhury appeared in court in Calcutta. Being a minor, both of them were sentenced to jail for 10 years but in 1939, after having served seven years of her sentence they were released because of the amnesty negotiations between Mahatma Gandhi and the British Indian government.

Judiciary In India

                                         In our democracy, the three arms of the state namely the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature on which rests the smooth functioning of the country are in dire need of reforms. It is not without reason that people are disappointed with present state of judiciary, numerous cases(corruption cases etc.) have recently highlighted the flaws and shortcomings of our judicial system. Legal experts, social activists, civil society have been unequivocally asking to initiate reforms but the apathy of the present establishment is disheartening. Time and again,we keep hearing about necessity of reforms and efforts by govt but situation doesn’t alter on ground.

                                     In present circumstances, the legal apparatus and infrastructure have faltered and failed to keep pace with the rising population, changing times, transformed societal structure. The judicial apparatus appears obsolete, stuck in time zone and completely oblivious of ground realities. Riddled with old fashioned procedures, it has almost become defunct. A section of politicians, corrupt business houses, media, judges etc. are in league to maintain status quo, taking comfort in dysfunctional judiciary as it serves their interests.

                                        There are many instances in public domain about the corruption in judiciary, many incidents of the judiciary misusing its official position for personal gain but the matter is not pursued efficiently to nail and punish the culprits. Indian Constitution made Indian judiciary sort of a self-regulatory independent body but in house accountability system seems ineffective .  The judiciary is self protective except in rear case of Former Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan or impeachment proceeding of Calcutta high court judge Soumitra Sen which are publicized and known . The judiciary has used its immense power provided in Constitution only to stonewall both criticisms and accountability.

                                  One of the potent weapon in the hands of judiciary, is the ‘Contempt of Court’. It is an effective tool to stifle public criticism or independent evaluation of the judiciary. While deterring people from making unwarranted attacks on judiciary, the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, has also stifled debate. That’s why judiciary’s conduct is hardly discussed or debated in the media.And now attempts are made to exempt the judiciary from the purview of the Right to Information Act. These steps only make the judicial system opaque causing doubts on the integrity of the system in people’s mind.

                                    The recent turmoil in judiciary when the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court in an unprecedented manner, broke ranks and publicly questioned the leadership of Chief Justice of India . The grievances of esteemed judges over allocation of cases or other issues further showcased the necessity to implement judicial reforms thus improving the  transparency and accountability . There is no doubt that the judiciary is in dire need of speedy and effective reforms, ranging from appointing of judges, to instituting a transparent and non-partisan structure.

                                   In the eyes of common man, Judiciary has yet not lost its prestige. People still believe that when the walls of establishment becomes deaf , oppressive and arrogant the judiciary is the savior of downtrodden, the conduct and decision making by courts isn’t questioned. The courts are considered final authority and verdicts are respected and believed fair even when decisions are not according to one’s preference. For a vibrant democracy, it is essential and prudent to have a well oiled judicial system for speedy justice and swift disposal of cases so that faith over judiciary remains unchallenged.

The Fault In Our Stars

                                        Maybe one of the finest movies i have stumbled upon after long time ,i would like to advise all of my friends to go and watch this beautiful ,simple ,enigmatic ,brilliant movie "The fault in our stars". It's about love ,life ,and mostly about living life. I think its dark ,thoughtful rather ingenious way to put life in ones perspective. The protagonist beautifully portrays life (struggle) at the periphery of death.

                                          Two teenagers Hazel and Augustus struggling with life threatening diseases embarked on a romantic journey after they meet and fall in love at a cancer support group. Incredible movie with beautifully executed storyline , worth watching.

My Brief History by Stephen Hawking

                                           The book 'My Brief History' is - a very short autobiography of Stephen Hawking . In my opinion, he is probably the most renowned scientist in the world today, partly because of his disability and partly because of his commendable work in theoretical physics like black holes, time travel and quantum theory. The book is about his life's journey from his childhood (in postwar London) to his ground-breaking work in cosmology and quantum physics.The book is a small memoir, however it gives us valuable insight into the life of Stephen Hawking. My Brief History is a great read for those, who are fans of Stephen Hawking and those who would like to know more about  him.

                                          The book starts from the youth days of Hawking, when he had passion for working train models, boats, planes etc. as he himself describes that he had "an urge to know how systems works and how to control them." From his school days when his father wanted him to pursue Biology as he believes there were more jobs in it while Hawking found biology uninteresting, a subject that was a bit too descriptive to him. He chose to study Mathematics and went on to become a renowned figure in the world of physics. The following chapters described his struggle when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. His deteriorating health lead him into depression from where he needed motivation to fight all odds which came in the form of his first wife Jane Wilde. Life took a turn for the better and he started devoting himself to his work and thus attained marvelous achievements in his work. 

                                        This book is a subtle reminder of how impediments made Stephen Hawking only more resolved, more determined to rise in his life as a role model for millions worldwide. As he himself describes in the end  "I have had a full and satisfying life. I believe that disabled people should concentrate on things that their handicap doesn't prevent them from doing and not regret those they can't do." A wonderful , inspiring book, a must read for all.