Excelsior... Nation

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee

Vajpayee not to
celebrate Holi

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has decided not to celebrate Holi at.......more

Buddha statues

Bamiyan Buddhas-
greater loss to India

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: As the world mourns the loss of the tallest Buddha statues at Bamiyan, for India...more

British military records
confirm Bose’s death
in plane crash

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: British military documents, obtained from its Tokyo Embassy, and the ....more

Ulemas condemn
destruction of Buddha
statues in Bamiyan

LUCKNOW, Mar 4: Prominent Muslim Ulemas have condemned the destruction of Buddha statues in ....more

SC crystallises guideline
for compulsory retirement

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: Close on the heels of government deciding to cut its work force, a broad eight-point ....more

HC suspends lifer
for 13 accused

JAIPUR, Mar 4: Rajasthan High Court has ordered suspension of the life imprisonment sentence given by .....more

‘Drought in Pak can fuel
Sindh-Punjab pol battle’

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: A major drought, that has severely threatened Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of......more

Bike expedition to
promote Indo-Pak relations

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: Aimed at promoting peace between India and Pakistan, a four-member motorcycle ....more

Bamiyan Buddhas- greater loss to India

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: As the world mourns the loss of the tallest Buddha statues at Bamiyan, for India, which sought world intervention to prevent the ravage, the loss is a lot more, for its association with the Bamiyan Buddhas was not just spiritual and cultural.

To the Indian archaeologists goes the credit of having conserved the gigantic Buddhas hewn out of a sandstone mountain more than 1500 years ago — a task that took nearly a decade and was a challenge to which only the Indians had responded 30 years ago.

"It was a daunting task," said Rakhaldas Sengupta, retired Director Conservation of the Archaeological Survey of India who lead the 15-member Indian team in 1969 under a joint Indo-Afghan project, which a regarded as one of the greatest works on conservation.

Standing tall at 53 meters and 38 metres respectively at an altitude of 2,500 metres the two gigantic structures in the picturesque Bamiyan Valley, were a marvel in itself combining the Indian and Iranian schools of sculpture that evolved at this confluence of great civilizations on the famous silk route of yore, recalls Sengupta noting that he had taken up the job at a time when foreign experts were not willing to lay their hand on the Buddhas.

Sengupta’s main work there comprised buttressing the outer rock cover of the bigger statue "that had suffered a crack due to a quake. This long crack that used to get filled by water during the rains and condense to ice in the winter threatened to push apart the cover and expose the huge shrine to the vagaries of nature.

"Our main job was to take care of this crack, which was done with the help of a drilling engineer from the geological survey of india. Holes were drilled in rocks at select points and inserted with rods, which were then concretized to provide anchorage to the outside piece."

But for those who think that the world’s tallest Buddhas were destroyed by the Taliban in the 21st century, Sengupta says the face and half a limb of the bigger Buddha was not there when they had taken up the work in 1969. The upper garments of the statutes were also degenerating.

The Buddhas were first targeted by Mongol ruler Chengis Khan in the 14th century. In the medieval times also during the reign of Aurangzeb the statues were vandalised, said Sengupta.

"The faces were destroyed as the invaders burnt them, he said explaining that the facial expressions to the statues were made with the help of wooden frames, which were later plastered with a unique mix of lime, mud, wool and straw for the final shape.

"The plaster, which speaks volumes for the craftsmanship of the people of that age, was required because sculpting the mountaing was very difficult. It was not just sandstone but also made of pebbles which rendered chiseling impossible," explained Sengupta, who was decorated with pademshree for the monumental task.

The Indian team, which comprised engineers, chemical restorers as well as photographers and even mansons, however, did not reconstruct the faces. They were simply left untouched.

The basic premise of conservation was to just preserve a monument in its present state, said Sengupta noting they neither added nor removed anything from the monuments.

All they did was to rock-bolt the outer structure and touch up the statues and the garments, after studying the original plaster casts— "an exercise left to the masons who used the hit and trial method to arrive at the right mix," recalls Sengupta.

It took them nine-working seasons to accomplish the task, recalls the octagenarian expert noting that the job was stopped during the winter months as snow-fall rendered the statues out of bounds then.

Sengupta recalls how they had gone to Afghanistan as part of the Indo-Afghan bilateral project after the then monarch Zaheer Shah had appealed to the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for conservation of the statues that stood at the verge of being lost forever.

"It cost the Indian Government all of Rs 20 lakh then, which included the cost of the team and the chemicals and equipment used for the project. The Afghan authorities provided labour and accommodation for the Indian team," recalls Sengupta.

And it was a labour of love that emerged at the end of nine years. Not only was the work acclaimed worldwide, but Indian experts were called on to make a project study of the Angkor Vat in Cambodia.

Sengupta was associated with the initial plans at Angkor Vat, but the Bamiyan had taken its toll on him. A cardiac patient by the end of Bamiyan conservation, Angkor Vat was accomplished by his successors. Indian conservationists had by then arrived to rescue culture and preserve it for mankind. Only to lose the Bamiyan in 23 years. (PTI)

British military records confirm Bose’s death
in plane crash

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: British military documents, obtained from its Tokyo Embassy, and the statements of the survivors of the august 18, 1945 plane crash conclude that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose died in that mishap.

The Col. J G Figgess inquiry report, which was submitted to the British Government on July 24, 1946, says: "It is confirmed as certain that SC Bose died in a Taihoku Military Hospital (Nammon Ward) some time between 1900 hrs and 2000 hrs local time on the 18th August 1945. The cause of death was heart failure resulting from multiple burns and shock."

Lt Col. Figgess, then working in the office of military adviser to the UK liaison mission in its Tokyo Embassy, had based his report on the statements of some of the survivors of the plane crash.

"The aircraft was AK.21 heavy bomber (Sally). Just after taking off from the Taihoku air strip enroute to tokyo at about 1430 hrs on the 18th August 1945, there was a sudden explosion in the port engine which broke off from the main plane causing the aircraft to go into a spin and crash to the ground, just off the end of the runway. The fuselage burst open and the petrol tanks exploded on impact with the ground," said a recorded statement of Lt Col. Nonogaki, who was a passenger on the same plane with Bose from Saigon onwards.

"S C Bose was sitting next to the petrol tank and owing to the cold, had just previously donned a rather tight-fitting type of jacket which could not easily be removed after the crash when bose was lying on the ground in flames," said Lt Col. Nonogaki.

"Habibur Rahman (personal aide to bose) and Nonogaki between them succeeded in beating out the flames and bose was removed immediately to a nearby emergency dressing station where the burnt clothing was cut away from his body. He was then taken in a Japanese Army truck in a prostrate condition but still conscious to the nearest army hospital, known as the Taihoku Military Hospital (nammon ward) where he arrived shortly after three PM," said Lt Col. Figgess in his report.

The report, which was made available to uni by Mr B R Tamta, a retired bureaucrat, carries graphic details of moments before and after the crash. The former commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and a great admirer of the Netaji, has been deeply involved in research work on the great Indian patriot both within the country and abroad.

Lt Col. Nonogaki supervised the admittance of Bose to the hospital and heard the report of his subsequent death, but did not himself see any more as he returned to Tokyo by the next departing aircraft, the report points out.

Sub Lt (medical) Tsuruta Toyoshi, who treated Netaji till his last moments at the Taihoku Military Hospital and also issued the death certificate, said in his recorded statement that Bose was lying on a stretcher without any clothes on. "Bose was conscious but suffering from third degree burns on his face and all over his body with little chances for survival. He was administerd a camphor injection and his burns were dressed...After resting for a while, he asked for water and later carried on a conversation with Rahman in an Indian language for 15-20 minutes."

According to Tsuruta, four hours later, bose suffered a relapse and even after another shot of camphor, he sank into a coma and died shortly afterwards (a little after seven p.m., local time).

The report points out that later in the evening, there was a discussion between Tsuruta, Rahman and another officer on the possibility of embalming the body and taking it to Tokyo. "But the doctor (Tsuruta) expressed doubts about his ability to ensure preservation in the extreme heat. Towards midnight, a hastily made coffin arrived from the headquarters of the Taiwan Army and the body was placed in the coffin and covered with a sheet.

"The following morning, the coffin was taken away and Tsuruta understands that it was cremated, although he was not an eyewitness to the process," it says.

When quizzed by Lt Col. Figgess about the positive identification of Bose, Tsuruta had said there was no documentary evidence since all the clothes and personal identification were destroyed before the patient arrived in his (hospital) ward. "But it was a matter of common knowledge that bose was in the aircraft and there could not possibly be any error in identity." (UNI)

Ulemas condemn destruction of Buddha
statues in Bamiyan

LUCKNOW, Mar 4: Prominent Muslim Ulemas have condemned the destruction of Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, by the Taliban militia and termed their act as "unislamic and barbaric".

Islam has no relation with the Taliban act of destroying idols or places of worship of other religions and the act only displays their lack of knowledge about their religion, said Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, Islamic Scholar and Vice President of Muslim Personal Law Board.

"Their act is very shameful and has saddened the entire community," Sadiq said adding all Muslim states should unite against such a move and strongly oppose such intolerant and irreligious acts.

Another eminent Muslim scholar and member of Muslim personal law board, Sajjad Nomani condemned the move and said it appeared to be the handiwork of a few misguided people who neither had concern for Islam nor for international repurcussions arising out of their actions.

"It is a very sad incident and it is the duty of Muslim scholars and Ulemas to use their good offices to prevent international sanctions and subsequent isolation of Afghanistan had resulted in the Taliban taking on the world through such barbaric acts.

Mushtaq Ahmed Siddiqui of All India Babri Masjid Action Committee appealed to the Taliban to stop the destruction of the priceless Buddha statues and hand the relics over to nations eager to have them.

"Such actions put the entire community in the dock and could have a bearing on the community across the globe," Zafaryab Jilani, convenor of Babri Masjid Action Committee said.

Taliban has taken an undesirable and hasty step, he said adding the militias who controlled almost 90 per cent of Afghanistan should have first consulted the Rabita Alam-e-Islami, the organisation of Islamic experts with its headquarters in Saudi Arabia before taking such a step in the name of Islam.

The Muslim leaders also condemned the extremist Hindu organisations who had turned their ire on the community following developments in Afghanistan. (PTI)

SC crystallises guideline for compulsory retirement

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: Close on the heels of government deciding to cut its work force, a broad eight-point guideline for compulsory retirement has been crystallised by the Supreme Court saying a public servant can be compulsorily retired if he was no longer useful to the general administration.

"Whenever the services of a public servant are no longer useful to the general administration, the officer can be compulsorily retired for the sake of public interest," a bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice K G Balakrishnan said in a recent judgement.

The bench made it clear that ordinarily the order of compulsory retirement was not to be treated as a punishment coming under Article 311 of the Constitution.

Article 311 provided that no civil servant could be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to the authority which appointed him without an inquiry affording him chance to defend.

Under the third rule, the bench said "for better administration, it is necessary to chop off deadwood, but the order of compulsory retirement can be passed after having due regard to the entire service record of the officer."

While passing the compulsory retirement order, the authorities should take note of any adverse entry made in the confidential record and give due weightage to that, Justice Balakrishnan said writing the judgement for the bench. Justice Balakrishnan said even uncommunicated adverse entries in the confidential record could be taken into consideration by the authorities as a reason for compulsorily retiring a public servant.

However, the bench warned that the order of compulsory retirement "shall not be passed as a short cut to avoid departmental enquiry when such course is more desirable."

If an officer was given a promotion despite an adverse entry in his confidential record, it could no longer be cited as a reason for his compulsory retirement, Justice Balakrishnan said and warned that "compulsory retirement shall not be imposed as a punitive measure."

This order was passed while dimissing an appeal filed by the Gujarat Government against a High Court order directing reinstatement of an executive engineer, who was compulsorily retired while he was put under suspension.

The bench said the inquiry against the engineer was not completed within a reasonable time and despite the review committee not recommending the compulsory retirement, the Government chose to retire him two years before time.

It upheld the High Court order saying the authorities did not wait for the conclusion of the inquiry and decided to dispense with the services of the respondent merely on the basis of allegations which had not been proved.

The bench said added to this was the fact that there were no adverse entries in the service record to support the order of compulsory retirement. (PTI)

HC suspends lifer for 13 accused

JAIPUR, Mar 4: Rajasthan High Court has ordered suspension of the life imprisonment sentence given by the lower court here to 13 accused and described the judgement as "shocking to judicial conscience."

Hearing the argument of the council Suresh Sahani for the appellant, the double bench of the High Court, comprising Justice K S Rathore and Justice Arun Madan, ordered suspension of the life imprisonment sentence of the petitioners.

"In our view this is not a rarest of the rare cases to which extreme penality should have been awarded, which is shocking to the judicial conscience," both Rathore and Madan said in their judgement.

The 13 accused were convicted under Section 326/149 IPC by the special judge Sawaimadopur.

The bench, allowing the petition for hearing, suspended the sentence till final disposal of the appeal. (PTI)

‘Drought in Pak can fuel Sindh-Punjab pol battle’

NEW DELHI, Mar 4: A major drought, that has severely threatened Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan, may lead to a serious political battle between these provinces and Punjab on the water-sharing issue, according to Pakistani media reports.

The reports paint a very grim picture of the situation with some saying that Sindh "will have no water after March 15" as the present water levels of the Indus were "likely to be exhausted by the middle of this month" resulting in large-scale famine stalking the region.

The media has also regularly reported deaths due to water shortage in different parts of Sindh and Baluchistan and destruction of most of the crop planted this season.

While water sharing dispute between these provinces and Punjab has had a long history, the recent chapter begins with the 1991 water apportionment accord between Punjab and Sindh which is being interpreted differently by the Governments of these provinces, leading to political battle and war of words between their leaders.

Punjab, the Sindhi and Baluch leaders say, has always dominated over the other provinces not only in terms of financial resources, but also being at the helm of affairs in Pakistan politics. Over half the annual budget is spent on developmental activities in Punjab, they say.

"A decade after the Indus water accord, the battle between Sindh and Punjab for the river water rages on relentlessly," Pakistani Journal, Newsline, said.

It said the 1991 accord had become "ineffective" as "the mistrust between the two provinces (Punjab and Sindh) has now grown to such extent that both are accusing each other of doctoring data on water releases at various points."

In fact, the heated exchanges between leaders and officials of the two provinces became so intense at a recent meeting of the Indus river system authority, that the services of Pakistan Army’s engineering corps had to be enlisted to carry out surveys instead of the respective state authorities.

In Baluchistan, 23 out of 26 districts have been severely hit by the drought and migration has started from these areas.

The Sindh Irrigation Department issued a "red alert", the news international said, asking municipal, provincial and federal bodies to arrange water at their own level.

According to a report in the recorder, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies had alerted Islamabad about the gravity of the situation in which millions of people have been affected by failure of rains continuously for the past few seasons. It said Pakistan had a rich water base which was "never exploited by Government due to lack of political will and absence of long-term vision. The general public either because of ignorance or apathy did not pay any considerable heed". (PTI)