This exposes the real face of the BJP

 'This is the real purpose behind the arrest, and it is not about controlling corruption.''It is like taking Amit Shah into custody before the 2024 elections.''How will it affect the BJP's election machinery?'

Bharatiya Janata Party supremo and Prime Minister Narendra D Modi is greeted by All
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami
at the NDA meeting in New Delhi, July 18, 20

On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate raided another Tamil Nadu minister. Last month, the ED raided Minister Senthil Balaji, leading to Governor R N Ravi dismissing him, then rescinding his order in a couple of hours.What kind of repercussions will these ED raids have on the 2024 elections in Tamil Nadu?

Dr Ramu Manivannan, Visiting Professor of Political Science at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, discusses the likely political scenario with Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

Professor Manivannan, former head and professor of political science at Madras University, is a keen observer of Tamil Nadu politics.The concluding segment of a two-part interview:

Do you think the BJP used the governor to improve its Hindu vote share in the state?

This was to improve the party's visibility. This is what the BJP has been doing everywhere, all the time.

They try to increase their visibility not through a political process or developmental work, but through such acts.Their ally, the AIADMK has lost its way and it is completely under the thumb rule of the BJP.

So, they have found that this is one way of staying alive in front of the media as media visibility is very important for them.

Will this kind of visibility get the BJP votes?

No, it won't get them votes. It at least makes them the subject of discussion and keeps them alive.

After that, they have to do one good thing covert the attention to votes.On the other hand, the DMK has to make only one mistake and they are out. And for the BJP, it needs only right to get in.This is how the system works for those in power and for those not in power.That's why the BJP wants to constantly engage people by all means.

Has this incident put the DMK on the back foot?

Certainly not. The DMK has come out very strongly out of the Senthil Balaji incident.

The chief minister's letter is a very interesting one. He wrote, 'Though your letters require only an outright disregard, I am writing to you to clarify both the facts and law on the issue on hand,'.

Anyone with a sense of politics will know how strong his reply is.This incident also has shown that a state government can stand up and tell the governor where his place is.

That's why I earlier asked whether this incident helped the DMK government win public support.

Ultimately who is the winner, the DMK or the BJP or the governor?

The ultimate winner is the DMK. It has been able to bring out the fact that the governor is just a tool of the Centre.People also know that Senthil Balaji and many other politicians are corrupt, and nobody said, withdraw the cases, withdraw ED. But the process must be respected.The way in which the governor acted delegitimised the relevance of the office of the governor. Also, respectability.

He (Governor Ravi) acted the same way when he was the governor of Nagaland. You may know that he was not even given a farewell by the state government.

Because he was a meddling governor?

Many governors meddle with the state government, but you can't humiliate an elected government. He continues to do so in Tamil Nadu.With the strong backing from the Centre, he keeps on meddling. In one way, this exposes the real face of the BJP.

Will the people of Tamil Nadu see the real face of the BJP?

Certainly. People know also. The real crisis in Tamil Nadu or for that matter in Kerala is that the Opposition parties are creating space for the BJP.Even when people see the real face of the BJP, other parties are facilitating and keeping them alive in state politics. That's the real crisis.

Do you think Stalin has come out stronger in front of the people of Tamil Nadu?

Certainly. The DMK has had its share of challenges and problems, but the general consensus among people is that it has come out much stronger after this incident.The other states are also backing Tamil Nadu.Also, the credibility of the office of the governors across the country is going down much faster.

On the other hand, the BJP is rewarding the most intrusive governors, like they elevated the governor of West Bengal as the Vice President.By doing so, they are encouraging other governors to conduct themselves in a similar fashion.

Politically, what kind of impact will Senthil Balaji's arrest have on the 2024 elections?

The most important factor is the western districts, which Senthil Balaji looks after, will not have very capable hands to handle the 2024 election.This is the real purpose behind the arrest, and it is not about controlling corruption.It is like taking Amit Shah into custody before the 2024 elections. 

How will it affect the election machinery of the BJP? 

Similarly, the DMK will have a problem.The clear strategy of the BJP is, it wants to keep Senthil Balaji out of election work.He is very effective in election management particularly in the western districts of Tamil Nadu where the BJP has a semblance of mobilisation. So, they want to cut him off from those districts.

Will it adversely affect the DMK?

It is expected to adversely affect the DMK. And the DMK knows this is the reason why the BJP wants to attack Senthil Balaji. So, the DMK will never sacrifice him.It will defend him as there is a political price involved in this.Politics is like a game of ping pong.

Is it advantage DMK right now?

It was able to keep the governor in check. Every time, the governor attacked, the DMK has been able to fight back.Right now also, the governor has been pushed back.

So, it is advantage DMK despite being a chink in the armour.

Source: rediff

CHANDRAYAAN EXCLUSIVE! 'This is text book precision!'

'You declare a date, time and place for the landing two months in advance and exactly at that moment, it touched on the moon.'

    India's third lunar mission -- Chandrayaan-3 -- landed near the south pole of the Moon,
a place where no spacecraft has travelled so far, at 6.04 pm IST, August 23, 2023.

Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to Moon, was launched on the 22nd of October 2008. And G Madhavan Nair was the chairman of ISRO then.

It was a successful mission.

Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019 consisted of a lunar orbiter, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover. Unfortunately, it failed to have a soft landing on the south pole of the moon.

Chandrayaan-3 landed on the polar region of the moon on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

"What we had put on the drawing board in those days, my followers have succeeded in accomplishing it. So, I was really thrilled and excited by the event," G Madhavan Nair tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

What was going through in your mind when you saw Vikram the lander successfully land on the south pole of the lunar region?

In fact, way back in 2005 itself, we were dreaming of this event; how to touch down on the moon.

Of course, we were not able to make a soft landing for Chandrayaan-1, but we deposited our flag there.

Since then, it was our wish that we should be able to land on the surface of the moon, collect the samples and bring them back.

So, it was something like a dream come true moment as far as I am concerned.

What we had put on the drawing board in those days, my followers have succeeded in accomplishing it. So, I was really thrilled and excited by the event.

In your book, Rocketing Through the Skies: An Eventful Life at ISRO, you have written about how the idea to deposit the Indian flag came about...

The spacecraft was almost getting ready when A P J Abdul Kalam, the then President of India, asked me a simple question, 'Don't you think you should leave a permanent mark on the moon when you go all the way up there?'

I told him, 'Today's technology and capabilities are limited. Not only that, the payload's capabilities are also limited. So, it will be difficult...'

Though I spoke about the difficulties to him, after coming back, we brooded over it. Then, a bright mind came with the idea that we could do something like throwing a stone to the moon surface from the orbiter.

So, we came up with something like a capsule which can be thrown from the orbiter to the moon.

Of course, it would be impacting with a high velocity which would result in it breaking into pieces.

So, we had its panels painted with our Tricolour on it. The idea was, even after a break up, the Tricolour would on the surface of the moon.

That was how we designed the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) to be carried aboard Chandrayaan-1.

How do you compare these three Chandrayaan missions?

In those days, moving out of the earth's orbit itself was a big challenge.

We mastered the technology in Chandrayaan-1. Also, all the mission calculations, trajectory and tracking were established during Chandrayaan-1.

But most of the observations were done through remote sensing camera, hyper spectral imaging, etc.

We received those signatures on the ground and it was by looking at the data that we confirmed the presence of water in the polar region and also the presence of helium-3.

Which was unknown to the world till then?

Yes. Though there were several missions from other countries, we were the first to announce to the world that there was water in the polar region.

That was a major achievement of Chandrayaan-1.

Also, we identified the locations where Helium-3 was in plenty.

We also did the mapping of other minerals, elements and ice.

Then, a high resolution map of the lunar surface with its craters, mountains, etc was generated during Chandrayaan-1.

I would rate Chandrayaan-1 was 100% successful.

In the case of Chandrayaan-2, it was to be a follow-on of Chandrayaan-1.

We wanted to confirm the observations we made through remote sensing parameters, were accurate and could be validated.

Chandrayaan-2 was planned very similar to Chandrayaan-1 with the orbiter.

But the landing module would carry a rover that would land on the surface of the moon and pick up samples from the surface.

Unfortunately, just 2 kilometres away from the surface of the moon, it developed some problems, and the mission did not fully succeed.

But the orbiter is still alive. In fact, that will be used as a relay station for Chandrayaan-3.

In short, we will be using the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter as a backup communication link between the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander and the ground stations.

I would say, Chandrayaan-2 was 95% successful.

Now, in the case of Chandrayaan-3, corrective measures were implemented based on whatever failures that had happened to Chandrayaan-2.

It was re-validating the technology. Of course, its failure gave a lot of valuable lessons on how to manage a mission on the lunar surface.

Those lessons were put in the action plan by making design changes, strengthening the instruments, etc.

Chandrayaan-3 was fully tested and calibrated based on the changes.

Finally, we saw text book precision in its performance.

You declare a date, time and place for the landing two months in advance and exactly at that moment, it touched on the moon. This is what is text book precision!

It was a remarkable achievement.

Now, the Rover has moved out of the capsule, and it will be going around taking samples and sending the data back to us.

That will be a reconfirmation of whatever observations we had made earlier.

Which was the most challenging part of Chandrayaan-3 mission? Was it moving from horizontal to vertical position, or reducing the speed from 6000 km per hour to zero before landing, or soft landing...

We have gone around the moon earlier also. This is the third time we are doing it. So, it was a proven technology for us.

Whereas, breaking from the lunar orbit and landing on the surface of the moon is the most challenging and crucial part of this mission.

And everything is controlled by the onboard computer.

Does that mean, once the spacecraft is out there in the space, you have no control over it?

Yes, there is no intervention possible from the ground. It means whatever we have planned and simulated onto the onboard computer has to be perfect.

Only then the mission can be achieved.

Finally, when the Rover was above the surface of the moon, it looked at the location whether it was suitable or not and then decided to have the landing carefully.

The entire operation was done by the onboard computers.

Man landed on the moon way back in 1969. Why is it that no country looked at the south pole of the moon till now?

Why did it remain a dark area for so long?

In those days, the technology was limited, the power of the type of tracking equipments were limited... With all those limitations, we were able to reach only the region of 20 degree latitude.

And people were concentrating on that region.

Once the presence of water is confirmed in the polar region by us, there has been a lot of interest in the south pole.

Because of the presence of water, what are the possibilities available for future missions to the polar region?

For life support, water is the most essential element.

In addition, you can have a base there if you want to have inter-planetary travel since oxygen and hydrogen can be generated from water.

You can learn more about other planets with this region as the base.

You can also study how the moon has originated.

Also, you can find out about the minerals, contents of the ionised particles and the rare elements that are there. This knowledge will be very useful to mankind.

It is also interesting to study whether any seismic vibrations occur on the moon like what we see on earth.

The possibilities are a lot...

Source: rediff

Maharashtra man killed for celebrating Ambedkar birth anniversary

 Seven people have been arrested in Maharashtra's Nanded district for allegedly killing a 24-year-old Dalit man for celebrating Dr B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary, police said on Saturday.

Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only.

The incident took place at Bondhar Haveli village on 2 June 2023, said an official of Nanded Police.

The deceased was identified as Akshay Bhalerao. Bhalerao was passing by on Thursday evening when the accused were celebrating the wedding of a man from a so-called upper caste community and some of them were carrying swords, the police official said.

On seeing Bhalerao and his brother Akash, one of them allegedly said 'these people should be killed for celebrating Bhim Jayanti (Ambedkar's birth anniversary which falls on April 14) in the village,' the official said.  It led to a heated exchange during which Akshay Bhalerao was beaten up and stabbed to death, the official said.

His brother was also beaten up.  Akshay Bhalerao was taken to a nearby hospital but he was declared dead before admission.

A First Information Report was registered under the Indian Penal Code for murder, attempt to murder, rioting and assault as well as under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and seven accused were arrested, the official said.

Further probe was on, he added.

90-yr-old gets lifer for killing 10 Dalits 42 yrs ago

 Firozabad District Court on Thursday convicted a 90-year-old man of murdering 10 Dalits and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The convict, Ganga Dayal, was also asked to furnish a fine Rs 55,000.

The killings, which happened 42 years ago, had sent shock waves across the country.

'In the event of default on the payment of the fine, the accused will have to undergo additional imprisonment of 13 months,' the court said.

Government advocate Rajeev Upadhyay said, "In 1981, there was violence in Sadupur village in which 10 people were mercilessly killed and two people were injured. A case was registered in connection with the incident. Ten people were identified as accused during the investigation. The case was registered under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code."

Advocate Upadhyay further said that initially, the case went to trial in Mainpuri and later, after the carving out of Firozabad as a separate district, the case was transferred to a court in Firozabad.

"Following the high court order, after the formation of Firozabad district, the case was transferred to Firozabad. Ganga Sahay, who was the only accused alive was sentenced to life imprisonment and awarded a fine of Rs 55,000 by the district court and sentenced to life imprisonment. This decision will send a message to the entire country," the lawyer said.

A relative of one of the victims, Maharaj Singh, said he wasn't born at the time of the incident but his elders told him that four of his family members were killed and six others in his uncle's neighbourhood were also butchered.

"The conviction and sentencing of the only surviving accused came after 42 years. It would have been better if it had come when the elders in my family were alive and 9 other accused persons were also punished," he added.

The case dates back to 1981 when 10 people from the Dalit community were murdered and two more were injured. A case was registered against the 10 accused persons.

Shikohabad police station was in Mainpuri district when this incident took place and it later merged with Firozabad after it was declared a separate district in 1989.

After the investigation, the police filed a charge sheet against 10 accused in court. However, during the trial, nine of the accused persons died.

Medieval Maharashtra Saint - Saint Chokhamela

 A great Marathi Saint who took the wicked to task and entreated before God for the sake of the distressed. Chokhamela wrote many abhangas, some of which are autobiographical in nature. He was one of the first Depressed class poets in India. His wife, Soyarabai was also a saint-poetess, belonging to Mahar caste. She had written numerous verses out of which only sixty two are known presently. Lord Vithoba protected Chokha in the same way in which He protected Saint Janabai, the maid servant of Saint Namdev in similar circumstances.

saint chokhamela

He was born in 13th century. Chokhamela was a saint in Maharashtra in the 13th to 14th century. He belonged to the Mahar caste considered untouchable in India during those days. He was born at Mehunaraja, a village in Buldhana district. He lived in a place called Mangelvedha near Pandharpur, Maharashtra. The details about his life are not available historically. The available details are collected from the writings of Saint Mahipati who took lot of strain in collecting the details from the legends about Chokhamela and his abhangas (devotional hymns) and those of his close relatives in addition to the abhangas of other comtemporary saints. Chokhamela wrote many abhangas, some of which are autobiographical in nature . He was one of the untouchable poets in India.

Statue of Sant Chokhamela at his Samadhi in Pandharpur

Chokhamela lived with his wife Soyarabai and son Karmamela in Mangalvedha. Chokhamela's hereditary task was to remove dead animals from people's homes and farms and to dispose of them beyond the town limits (this was the task that was traditionally performed by Mahars in Maharashtra). As a lower-caste person, Chokhamela was forced to live outside the town in a separate settlement meant for members of the untouchable community. But his saving grace was the Lord himself and his close association with saints. His family members also followed varkari cult and his wife and son followed the varkari tradition. His sister, Nirmala and her husband, Banka (who was the brother of his wife, Soyarabai) also were the members of the varakari cult.

Chokha with his wife Soyarabai used to go to Pandharpur on the day of 'Ekadashi' to attend the Puja and celebrations. But because of his birth in the lower caste he was not allowed to enter the temples or attend any celebrations, so he used to stand at a distance and watch. On one such occasion at Pandharpur, Chokhoba and Soyarabai saw a person in white clothes with a Vina(a musical instrument) in his hand and doing kirtan (singing the songs about Lord) and lot of people were standing around him. He was none other than the great Saint Namdev. After the kirtan was over, all the people started touching the feet of Saint Namdev to show gratitude. But Chokha and Soyarabai stayed at a distance as they were aware that, due to their lower caste, people would not allow them to touch the feet of Saint Namdev.  Saint Namdev observed this and asked them to come closer. He told Chokha that "God never distinguishes his children due to high caste or low caste, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. It is pure love and devotion that distinguishes a 'Bhakta' (devotee) from an ordinary man". The couple was very happy on hearing this, they bowed before Saint Namdev. Saint Namdev kept his hand on the Chokha's head and chanted the name of Lord Pandurang for 3 times. He told Chokha to continuously chant the name of Lord Panduranga. By doing so he would be able to meet the Lord and manage all sorrows and happiness in the Samsara (worldly life).  Chokhamela migrated to Pandharpur. He was moved by Namdev’s teachings and became a disciple of the great saint-poet.  After this kirtan, Chokhoba’s life was completely changed. Devotion to Lord Vithoba became the goal in his life. Even though he was uneducated, he started composing abhangas on Lord Vithoba and also about his experiences in his own life.

Later he came and settled in Pandharpur. Being untouchable, he was not allowed by the upper caste people to enter in the temple; he was not allowed to come even to the main door of the temple. He therefore built a hut on the other side of the river, Chandrabhaga beyond Pandharpur.

When he was staying at Pandharpur, Chokha’s brother-in-law Banka became a disciple of Chokha. The whole family including Chokha, Banka, his son Karmamela, wife Soyara and sister Nirmala were devotees of Vitthal.  

Saint Tukaram paid tribute to Chokamela in one of his abhangas which says: “you are a tome of ideologies, Innumerable are the wicked that you have taken to task.” Chokhamela was a Saint from Saint Jnaneshwar’s clan with Saint Namdev as his Guru.

There is even a popular folk lore that when his wife was pregnant, it was the Lord Vitthal himself who came to her in the guise of her sister-in-law and looked after her and became her midwife during her delivery. His son Karmamela also became a Saint. There are some beautiful abhangas composed by Soyrabai, Karmamela, brother-in-law, Banka and sister, Nirmala. Chokhamela was a saint of the highest order. He would consider God present in everyone and in everything. He considered himself as a servant of Lord Vitthal, just like a Mahar was the servant of the Village Chief.

Saint Dnyaneshwar who wrote Dnyaneshwari Geetha in Marathi, became the main cause of spirituality reaching the masses in the thirteenth century. Saint Chokhamela sang in one of his abhangas that the blemished should come and return cleansed—which the village messenger could proclaim. So proclaiming, he carried the spiritual devotion found in the Varkari sect to his neglected brethren. All the Saints including Saint Dnyaneshwar earnestly felt that every person in the society, including people from the lowest class, should get an opportunity for developing their soul spiritually. Saint Chokhamela showed to the masses the path towards spirituality using the Bhaktimarga (devotional path) through his abhangas. Saint Chokhamela was always concerned about the progress of his neglected and downtrodden brethren. He attempted social reform through the medium of devotional path through his compositions and asserted the need to grant equal rights to all in the society, reduce the disparity among the people and eliminate the struggle between different classes. While analyzing Saint Chokhamela’s devotion, one experiences a mute wail concealed in his abhangas. His compositions are replete with culture, endurance, deep devotion to the Lord and loyalty to oneself and exhibit a sense of his internal anguish. He posed a question to the Lord as to why the society called him a lesser mortal and that with that position how could it be possible to serve the Lord. He was assailed by questions like: Why should he bear this type of torture; he also appealed to the Lord saying that in the eyes of the Lord all the people were his children and that being the position, why then this discrimination. His abhanga compositions are extremely poignant along with his unswerving devotion. His compositions reveal the misery, neglect and mental torture that he had suffered. In some abhangas, he had mentioned that he had come for taking the “leftovers”. He also said that some people were tainted at birth, by taking birth in a lower caste. He raised the question whether such a person should continue to be tainted throughout his life and he also asked who was exactly impure.

Along with the depth of emotions, his compositions also reveal his literary talent. Chokha used to constantly chant the name of Vithoba and clean the temple premises daily. However, he was not allowed to enter the temple due to his birth in the Mahar caste. His habitual place was at the outer doors of the temple before the threshold. Many of his poems humbly refer to his standing there, seeking God’s Compassion. There are very little historical records about Chokhamela’s life. But there are several legends and references about him in his own writings and in those of the compositions of other saint-poets of his times.

                                        

One day Chokha was said to be standing at the door of the temple from morning till late in the evening. At nightfall, the priests locked up the doors and went away. As Chokha stood there, fully immersed in devotion, Vithoba himself came out, exclaimed in distress to see Chokha patiently waiting, embraced him, and led him by the hand to the innermost sanctum where he lovingly embraced him. The night was spent by him in the company of the Lord, after which Vithoba playfully removed his tulsi garland which the Varkaris used to wear as a mark of their identity and put it around Chokha’s neck. Next day early in the morning, Vithoba led Chokha out of the temple, still with the garland on. Chokha, in a state of extreme ecstasy lay down on the sands of the river in a trance position. In the temple the priests observed that Vithoba’s gold necklace was missing and remembering that Chokha had been at the temple doors last night, they were enraged by the fact that the temple was not only polluted but the necklace also was stolen by Chokha. But the priests found Chokha still dazed, with a gold necklace around his neck. He was punished for the crime. Chokha was tied to bullocks and was about to be dragged to death but the animals which stood firm and did not move an inch despite the whip-lashing on them. The legend came to an end with Vithoba revealing Himself to the entire public, holding the bullocks by the horns. The Lord protected Chokha in the same way in which He protected Saint Janabai, the maid servant of Saint Namdev in similar circumstances.

One day someone questioned the futility of Chokha’s devotion to Vithoba. Humiliated and deeply hurt Chokha stopped taking food and wept continuously till Vithoba appeared before him, embraced him, took him inside the temple and talked to him. The temple priests were outraged as they felt that the temple was again desecrated by Chokha. The priests became angry and ordered him to stay the other side of the river Chandrabhaga. However it is said that Vithoba started visiting Chokha daily and both of them used to eat food together. One day the priest was passing by Chokha's hut when Chokha was eating food with God and Soyara was serving them. The priest, his mind being impure, could not see God. Soyara spilled the curd on Vithoba's clothes by mistake. Chokha exclaimed, "Oh! Soyara you have soiled Vithoba's clothes". The priest felt it was a deliberate attempt by Chokha to show his devotion and slapped on the face of Chokha.  Later, having touched a Mahar, he bathed in the river. On coming back to the temple, the priest was stunned to see Lord Vitthal's swollen cheek. He realized the intensity of Chokha's devotion towards the Lord. He went to Chokha, asked for his forgiveness and requested him to pacify the Lord. Chokha's prayers and request pacified Vithoba.

The chief gate of Vithoba temple, Pandharpur.The small blue temple in front of the gate is saint
Chokhamela's memorial (samadhi).

Chokha was forced to return to Mangalavedha as the people there wanted to construct a wall in order to separate people of the lower castes from others. While he was working there, he was killed when the wall collapsed and was crushed. Namdev deeply grieved the death of a great devotee, went to Mangalvedha to find his remains and picked up those bones that murmured Vitthal, Vitthal, Vitthal. The bones were buried at the bottom of the steps outside the gate of the main temple at Pandharpur where Chokha used to stand all day long. A Samadhi was built at that place in Chokha’s honour. The small blue temple in front of the main gate of Vithoba temple in Pandharpur, is saint Chokhamela's memorial (samadhi). All devotees can visit Chokha’s shrine before climbing up to have darshan of Lord Vithoba. It is said that, when the wall collapsed, Lord Pandurang appeared in front of Saint Namdev and asked him to bring the bones of Chokhoba and construct a Samadhi in front of his temple as Chokhoba had a strong desire that his body should be buried in front of the Panduranga temple.

In the living tradition of the Varkari community Chokha’s abhangas continue to be sung, not only by the lower castes but also by all communities of pilgrims. Saint Banka, his brother-in-law expressed his sentiments about Saint Chokha in his abhanga, saying that Chokha was completely pure without any dirt in him and that  he was kind and fully devoted to the Lord. Saint Namdev expressed that Chokha was great in his duty and had an utmost devotion  towards the Lord and was a great Saint.

While working on preparing a collection of Chokha’s compositions, some researchers found approximately 350 of his abhangas which are available now. Many of his abhangas are popular even now.

The poet Chokhamela was a  Mahar devotee of Vitthala and Mahars used to refer to their social superiors as “Johars”. In one abhanga, Chokhamela paid obeisance, in all humility, to Lord Vithoba, as his Johar-parent and offering himself as a servant of his servants and pleaded for giving to him any leftovers of food other devotees had consumed. An abhanga on Saint Kanhopatra was written in 14th century by Chokhamela. His abhanga was used in Marathi drama written on Saint Kanhopatra and the drama was performed in 1931 or about that period.

There is no documented information available about the year of birth of Chokhoba but there are many popular stories about Chokhamela’s birth, here is one of them. Patil from Koregaon got very good crop of mango one year, so he wanted to send a basketful of mangoes to Lord Vithoba’s temple in Pandharpur as a gesture of gratitude. He called a Mahar couple named Sudam and Savitri and, asked them to deliver the mangos with his letter to the priest in Pandharpur. On their way to Pandharpur, the couple saw a hungry old man, as they didn’t have anything other than the mangoes, they offered a mango to him. The old man tasted it and returned it to the couple saying that it was sour. Since this mango was tasted they kept it separately in the basket. After reaching Pandharpur, the couple gave the basket with mangoes and the letter to the priest. On counting the mangoes the priest found that one mango was less. Suddenly the couple remembered the mango which was tasted by the old man on their way to Pandharpur. So they checked the basket, but they found a baby boy in it instead of the mango. They thought that this was a blessing of Lord Vithoba and named the baby as ‘Chokhamela’. In Marathi ‘chokha’ means ‘tasted’.

Sant Soyarabai: His wife was also a saint-poetess, belonging to Mahar caste. She followed the path shown by her saint husband. She had written numerous verses out of which only sixty two are known presently. In her abhangas, she exhibited displeasure to God for ill treatment to the untouchable community and making their life miserable. She addressed herself as Chokha’s Mahari. The main themes in her poems are always the plight of untouchables and their devotion to God.

What an ugly and moving tale of the caste system in those days. Late Shri B.R. Ambedkar, leader of the ‘Untouchables’, belonged to the same Mahar community as Chokhamela and was instrumental in safeguarding the equality of all people in the Indian Constitution.

India to acquire military hardware worth Rs 70,584 cr.

India on Thursday approved capital acquisition of a plethora of indigenously-developed military hardware including indigenous BrahMos missiles, marine diesel engine, artillery gun system, electronic warfare suits and utility helicopters at a cost of Rs 70,584 crore as part of a mega procurement plan.

Indian Army's Brahmos Missile System during the Republic Day Parade
at Kartavya Path, in New Delhi.

Out of the total acquisition plan, the Indian Navy's proposals constitute more than Rs 56,000 crore, which largely included Shakti Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, maritime helicopters and other key equipment, officials said.

All the platforms and weapons systems are being procured from domestic sources.

The other key military hardware which are being procured included long range stand-off weapon (LRSOW), K-9 Vajra-T gun system, 155mm/52 caliber advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS) and gun towing vehicles (GTVs) for the Indian Army.

The approval to the procurement proposals has been accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, an official statement said.

The approval for a medium speed marine diesel engine is seen as a significant step as for the first time, India is venturing into the development and manufacturing of such engines indigenously.

The go ahead to the fresh procurement proposals came amid the nearly three-year standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh with China.

The DAC accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition amounting to Rs 70,584 crore and all the procurement will be made under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.

The total approval granted for capital acquisition in the financial year 2022-23 now stands at Rs 2,71,538 crore, out of which 98.9 per cent of the procurement will be sourced from the Indian industries, the officials said.

'Such quantum of indigenous procurement will not only galvanise the Indian industries towards achieving the goal of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) but also reduce India's dependency on foreign vendors to a large extent,' Singh's office tweeted.

About Navy's proposals, the defence ministry said while the additional procurement of BrahMos missile system will enhance the maritime strike capabilities and anti-surface warfare operation, the addition of utility helicopters will multiply the operational readiness of the force.

Similarly, Shakti systems will equip and modernise the frontline Naval ships to counter any Naval operations by the adversaries, it said.

'To keep pace with the emerging technologies and counter the adversaries in the Western and Northern front, the necessity of the new weapons and its integration with the delivery platforms was felt by the government,' the ministry said.

'To achieve the same objectives, the DAC accorded the approval to Indian Air Force's proposal for Long Range Stand-Off Weapon (LRSOW) which will be indigenously designed, developed and integrated on SU-30 MKI aircraft,' it said.

'For artillery modernisation, in addition to the ongoing Dhanush Gun System and K-9 Vajra-T Gun System, AoN for procurement of 155mm/52 Caliber Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) along with High Mobility Vehicles (HMVs) and Gun Towing Vehicles (GTVs) for the Indian Army was accorded by the DAC,' it said.

'It (DAC) also accorded AoN for procurement of Advance Light Helicopters (ALH) MK-III from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Coast Guard. The helicopter will be able to carry a suite of surveillance sensors which will enhance the surveillance capabilities,' the ministry said.

'It will also give full night capability and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability for operations of the Indian Coast Guard,' it said.

KSLTA cancels Bjorn Borg's felicitation in Bengaluru: Here's why!

 

Tennis legend Bjorn Borg is in the Garden City for the ongoing edition of the
Bengaluru Open.

The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, which had organised a ceremony to felicitate tennis legend Bjorn Borg on Tuesday, cancelled the event without citing any reason.

A KSLTA official claimed that the ace tennis player was busy watching his son Leo Borg's match with Taiwanese player Hsu Yu Hsiou and hence it was 'put on hold'.

However, some reports claimed that Borg, who won 11 Grand Slam titles in his career, was upset with the delay in arrival of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at the venue. Bommai was supposed to attend the event at 10.30 am, according to the schedule.

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had said in the daily schedule of the programme that Bommai will only interact with Borg and another legendary tennis player from India, Vijay Amritraj. Bommai was late by about an hour.

The KSLTA official whom PTI spoke to said, "Borg was not unhappy. He was enjoying his son's match. We did plan his felicitation but he was busy watching the match."

An official from the CMO said there was no official programme of Bommai felicitating Borg or Amritraj. "There was no official programme of felicitating the players but once the CM goes to any event, some events like felicitation is added there, which is common," the official pointed out.

He also added that Bommai got delayed due to an event of launching 'Ambaari Utsav' air-conditioned buses of KSRTC at Vidhana Soudha.

Borg and Amritraj were in Bengaluru in connection with the Bengaluru Open tennis tournament on the KSLTA premises.