Indomitable
Sam Bahadur
The Brig.
(Retd.) S. N. Sachadeva
 There is
saying that "victory
has many parents, defeat
is an orphan." So
the 1971 victory has many
claimants, of being its
architect, but the fact
of the matter is that it
was Sam Hormusji Framji
Jamshedji Manekshaw's
strategic vision and
character which ensured
that we didn't enter the
war prematurely. And we
only started when we were
ready. And thus we made
the enemy play to our
tune rather than we
played to enemy's tune.
Correlated with that, one
must give credit to the
then Prime Minister, Mrs
Gandhi, who despite all
political pressures had
the audacity to accept
the advice of a
professional, and not to
hustle him into doing
anything prematurely. The
operations of 1971 were
planned by him, conducted
by him, and won by him.
war days were a relaxed
atmosphere in the
headquarters, there was
never tension and the
mornings would start
going around getting
details of what had
happened in the last 24
hours. He would get
briefing when he came
into the office around 9
or little earlier. He
would then push off to
the PM, everyday, brief
her, come back, and then
the Defence Minister
would walk across to his
office, get briefed. Then
there would be a chiefs
of staff meeting, and
orders would be issued
for 24 hours. . .....more
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Mian
Deedo The real hero of
Jammu
Dr. J.S. Dev
 Mian Deedo
was born in March 1780 in
Jagati village situated
about 15 kms from Jammu
to the west of Nagrota.
His father Mian Hazari
was from fifth generation
of Raja Hari Dev who
ruled Jammu during second
half of seventeenth
century. Raja Hari Dev
gave a few villages as
Jagir to the ancestors of
Mian Hazari. Mian Deedo
though very active from
childhood was not lucky
enough to receive formal
education, yet he
attained mastery in sword
warfare while young.
Being revolutionary in
approach he raised a gang
of like minded young men
and started settling the
disputes of poor people
on the spot to save them
from litigation. He
always helped poor
against exploitation by
Shahukars. With the
passage of time more and
more youngmen joined him
and his influence
extended beyond Jammu
upto Reasi and Udhampur.
Raja Jeet Singh Aroor,
the ruler of Jammu was a
weak person and incapable
ruler. The real powers
were enjoyed by Mian Mota
Singh in running the
administration. Mian Mota
was alleged to have
murdered Jeet Singh's
father Mian Dalel Dev
Singh and brother Bhagwan
Singh. Rani Bandrali the
wife of Raja Jeet Singh
hated Mian Mota and
wanted to remove him from
power.
In 1808 the Sikh forces
under the command . ....more
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Spice
Trail
Indians are
known for their weakness
for food. And why not ?
Which single country can
boast of so many styles
of cuisines happily
co-existing side by side?
It is also reflected in
the other love of the
countrymen- films, many
of them named after
condiments. Shoma A.
Chatterji takes a tour of
masala-trail in the film
world
What do films like Mirch
Masala, Garam Masala,
Cheeni Kum, Hope and a
Little Sugar, Chocolate,
etc. have in common? The
films are as different as
chalk from cheese but
they generously borrow an
ingredient of food for
their titles even though
this spice or condiment
has nothing to do with
the theme or story except
in rare cases. Perhaps
they are pointers to the
average Indian's passion
for food and everything
that goes into its
making. Mira Nair's
Mississippi Masala had
nothing much to do with
food. Yet she could not
resist the temptation to
use masala in the title.
Is it because she is an
Indian and masala is a
part of our lifestyle? It
reminds us of a
Canada-based homesick NRI
Srinivas Krishnan made
Masala (1993) starring
Saeed Jaffrey and Zohra
Segal which had no links,
direct or indirect, to
any spices, Indian or
international, and yet he
named it Masala.. ......more
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DRINKS
That ‘Boost’Energy
Jyotshna
Pandit
 X likes to
dance through the night.
And what keeps the
28-year-old Delhi
professional going is a
power drink that is the
rage among the young. Mix
it with vodka, and the
night is hers.
Kavita Babu doesn't get
the same kick when she
sees those sleek cans
that are meant to help
you work all day and
party all night. Instead,
the medical scientist
gets jolt of
apprehension.
A doctor specialising in
emergency medicine and
medical toxicology at the
University of
Massachusetts, US, Babu
cannot fathom why such
drinks are there in the
market when the long-term
effect of many of their
ingredients has hardly
been studied.
Many imbibers of energy
drinks are not aware that
their can is full of
caffeine-the same
stimulant that gives you
a kick in the morning in
a cup of coffee. The
caffeine in an energy
drink is supplemented
with a wide variety of
amino acids, B vitamins
and herbal supplements.
An energy drink is often
touted as a dietary
supplement, but experts
warn that it is anything
but.
Babu, who has carried out
a study on this, is
particularly concerned
about the high caffeine
content of these
beverages which are a hit
with youngsters all over
the world, including in
India. "They're
present everywhere... but
we know so little about
the long-term effects of
high dose . ........more
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Indian
Heritage is Victim of
Mismanagement
Suraj Saraf
Was the
legendary Indian rope
trick a reality or mere
creation of some fertile
brain may be
anyone’s surmise,
but increasing vanishing
Indian heritage is a
harsh reality.
The other day replying to
a question in Parliament,
Indian Culture and
Tourism Minister Ms
Ambika Soni had said that
thirtyfive protected
monuments including
twelve in the union
capital are untraceable.
To top that feat, she had
also said that as on date
it may not be possible to
fix the responsibility
for the loss.
Replying to another
question she had also
said that the loss had
also included 58 Indian
heritage sculptures from
government museums and
protected monuments.
The minister’s reply
seems to be a gross under
statement when seen in
the light of claims made
by some other
authoritative persons.
Moreover, what is
particularly of deep
concern is the way
artifacts from museums
are stolen away despite
multi level tight
security. . . ......more
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Alcohol
effect on Blood Sugar
Dr Jitendra
Singh
Sir Winston
Churchill once
cryptically remarked,
‘’I have taken
more out of alcohol than
alcohol has taken out of
me’’. In other
words, Churchill, who
lived upto a ripe old age
of 80 in robust health,
was of the firm view that
the advantage he had
gained from regular
consumption of alcohol
far outweighed the
disadvantage that he
might have suffered in
the hands of alcohol.
Nevertheless, there has
always been a great deal
of confusion with regard
to the varied effects of
alcohol in general and
particularly in those
suffering from Diabetes
Mellitus.
In a Diabetic, the effect
of alcohol on Blood Sugar
depends not only on the
amount of alcohol
consumed but also on the
amount of alcohol
consumed in relation to
food and the content of
food consumed. The
official statement of
American Diabetes
Association (ADA)
cautions that
anticipating the effect
of alcohol on Blood
Glucose is difficult.
A number of diverse
biological and
environmental factors
could also have a bearing
on the ultimate effect
observed. These include
individual preponderance,
individual genetic
make-up and the nature ........more
Religion
is the purityof the inner
soul
Acharya
Mahaprajna
Mahavira
organized the world on
the basis of relativity.
He said that the streams
of oneness and
differences flow
together. In this flow of
co-existence there is no
space for the thought
'either you or I'. I
cannot be without you and
you cannot be without me.
You and me can only be
together. Conflict is not
natural. Hatred is not
natural. Co-operation and
balance are natural: to
accept the existence of
others as of oneself, to
accept the individuality
of the self.
Along with the acceptance
of the idea that all men
are one, there should
also be the acceptance
that each man is
different. All men are
one is a relative
principle. Relative unity
cannot exist without
difference. Between men
there are many
differences in their
nature, occupation and
activities. On the basis
of this, one mans is
different from another.
This is the real
acceptance of human unity
and differences.
Mahavira explained the
above principle from the
perspective of religion.
He said that in the human
being both oneness and
differences co-exist and
both are real. Therefore,
they cannot become the
basis of religion. If on
the basis of oneness we
love mankind then can we
hate them . ......more
Meat
also threatens
planet’s survival
Maneka
Gandhi
Every
environmental scientist
warns that meat no longer
threatens just animals or
human health but the
planet’s very
survival. With grain
prices at an all time
high, 26 countries are
suffering from food
crises. Burma has lost
its crops in Cyclone
Nargis. Our own wheat has
been damaged by
hailstorms in May!
We’ve gone from
grain exporter to
importer. The time for
seminars is past,
we’re already in the
midst of global warming,
it’s time to act.
Global warming refers to
a significant rise in the
planet’s temperature
making it uninhabitable.
It happens thus: the
earth is warmed by energy
from the sun. In order to
maintain its temperature,
the earth must radiate
some of that energy back
into the atmosphere.
However, certain
atmospheric gases form a
blanket around the earth,
allowing solar radiation
to penetrate, but
preventing it from
escaping. The more these
greenhouse gases, the
hotter the earth.
The major greenhouse
gases include carbon
dioxide, methane, and
nitrous oxide. This
article deals with
methane because it . ......more
Himalayan
Subtropical Pine Forests
Iftikhar H
Khan
Pine is a
large evergreen conifer
with a more or less
pyramidal crown with a
massive branch system
(Sahni, 1960). It is a
tall tree with long clear
straight bole, usually
reaching up to a height
of 55 m. The Himalayan
Subtropical Pine Forests
are the largest in the
Indo-Pacific region. They
stretch throughout most
of the 3,000-kilometer
length of this the
world's youngest and
highest mountain range.
Some scientists believe
that climate change and
human disturbance are
causing the
lower-elevation oak
forests to be gradually
degraded and invaded by
the drought-resistant
Chir pine (Pinus
roxburghii), the dominant
species in these
subtropical pine forests.
Biologically, the
ecoregion does not harbor
exceptionally high levels
of species richness or
endemism, but it is a
distinct facet of the
region's biodiversity
that should be
represented in ......more
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