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Most of the people of all age group are free from major illness that require hospitalistion, bed rest, etc. They are engaged in their roles in daily life, such as students, housewives, office-goers, workers, etc., and all of them need some programme of exercise for maintaining fitness and health.

Yoga is the most effective ways of maintaining healthier life. A large number of people prefer to spend a little time as possible on an exercise routine or yoga. Inertia is one of the fundamental laws of nature, and the tendency of not doing any effort for the maintenance of health is very wide spread.

Detailed below are some of the yoga techniques that can be practiced regularly despite busy schedule, over-crowded homes or others similar constraints of life. Health is a state of an individual that is a sum total of various situations concerning the body and mind. All of them may be summarised in one basic requirement – that all the organs must perform their functions effectively and condition to be fulfilled. But in fitness there is more emphasis on action, activity, or a particular task. Overall fitness and health are words that mean the same state of an individual. While recommending a minimum set of yoga techniques, this definition of health has been considered. It includes techniques that ensure efficient working of all organs and parts of the body such as the vital organs, muscles, joints, glands, tissues and all functions such as digestion, respiration, blood circulation, secretion, excretion, reproduction and functions of the nervous system. The keep-fit-yoga routine discussed here includes five techniques. These are (i) movements of joints, (ii) postures, (iii) deep breathing, (iv) relaxation and (v) meditation.

Movements of joints: This is called ’sandhichalana’ In this technique, the joints of the body are removed in a sequence, and each joint undergoes a full movement. The steps in movement of joints include the following.
Movement of the hands:
1. Sit with the legs stretched together in front of the body.

2. Keep the arms parallel to the legs with palms facing down. Maintain a distance of nine to twelve inches between the hands.

3. Keep the neck and back erect.

4. Stretch the fingers out, opening the hands, and then close the fingers against the palms, forming tight fists. Repeat these finger movements ten to twelve times with the palms facing down. Next is movement of the wrist joint.

5. Hold the palms and fingers loosely and move the hands up and down at the wrist joint seven to ten times.

6. Turn the palms inside, facing each other, and repeat the movements of the wrist joint seven to ten times.

7. Turn the palms upward, facing the roof above, and move the wrist joints seven to ten times.

8. Turn the palms outward , and repeat the wrist movements seven to ten times.

9. Rotate the wrist joints so that the hands move in a circular fashion. Rotate them ten times each in both, clockwise and anti-clockwise directions.

10. Next, exercise the elbow joints by moving them ten times each in vertical and horizontal planes.

11. Lastly, move the shoulder joints as if you are rowing a boat.
It is important to remember that you should not move the legs or back during all the steps described above.

Movement of the neck: neck exercise are done by moving the neck in four different ways.

1. Keep the legs as for the movements of the hands. Keep the hands behind the hips, reclining the back slightly

2. First, do forward and backward movements ten times by moving the chin up and down.

3. Next, do sideward movements ten times by bringing the left ear near the left shoulder and then the right ear near the right shoulder. While doing the sideward movements, the chin should move in a semi circle.

4. The third movement involve turning to the left ant right shoulders. Repeat this movement also ten times.

5. The fourth movement is circular where the chin is rotated from right shoulder to left shoulder in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions.

Movement of the lower limbs:
Detailed below are the steps for movement of the lower limbs. The feet are first moved in four different ways.

1. Keep the feet apart in straight and bend the toes forward and backward

2. Next, rotate the feet inward and outward followed by moving them forward and backward. Lastly , move the feet in a circular fashion.

The knee joints are moved in different ways.

1. Raising the feet from the ground.

2. Bring the heels near the body by bending the legs from the knees in a vertical and horizontal position.

3. Lie down on the back with right leg straight on the ground.

4. Bring the left knee near the chin, keeping the right one on the ground

5. In the third movement, bend both the knees together and touch them with the chin.

6. Do a rolling action by raising the hips and the neck alternately

All the joint movements should be tried only after learning the correct technique for yoga expert. You will need about three to four minutes to complete the above exercises. They will help keep all the joints of the body supple and flexible.

At the end of the movement of the joints, you need to practice postures of asanas. The joint movements are not mentioned in any ancient traditional texts of yoga. However, They have been included in this issue because they are very beneficial to every one and are good starters for an exercise routine
michael.tker2008@aol.in

I strongly believe only a strong Congress led government in India can preserve the secular identity on the global spectrum of democratic freedom.
The recent atrocities meted out to the Christians in various parts of the country especially in Orissa and Karnataka clearly shows light to the hidden agenda of the B.J.P who covets power in the next coming parliamentary election. Most disturbing fact is that these blatant attack have taken place in two of the B.J.P led states.

Anti Christian agenda of radical Hindu organizations has exposed the double standards of BJP which on one hand is lending not so hidden support to the Bajrang Dal’s and other radical Hindu organizations who’s brutal attack on Christians across several states display terror tactics to spread their message of hard core Hindutva and on the other hand Mr. L. K. Advani is condemning these terror tactics as “a shameful crime against humanity”.

I strongly feel that all the violence in Orissa and Karnataka is very important part of hidden agenda of BJP to spread communalism in society’s nooks and corners, come to power in the states, and, under the government’s protection go all out to wreak on the social fabric, an unambiguous, aggressive communal divide. Organizations like the RSS, VHP and the Bajrang Dal, are front line militant wing of BJP through them BJP unleash vicious and often wild propaganda against the minorities and organize riots, kill people and demolish properties.

The perpetrators move with the confidence that when the state acts it will be on their behalf. The law of the land is the last concern on their minds. I strongly feel that instead of issuing a statement now, Mr. Advani should have used his influence to prevent such “a shameful crime against humanity”.

It is the responsibility of the media to unmask BJP’s hidden agenda to protect India from the vicious cycle of majority state backed terrorism and marginalized minority terrorism which has already been started and being fueled by communal BJP parivar’s stridency.
Let’s only pray together that the faithful is fenced around by the guardian angels of Almighty God!
Michael

The true face of Communist ideaology, blood bath for power

Don’t be surprised. This is just an assimilation of the numerous speeches given out by the leaders of the Left parties over the decades. The archaic ideology, senility settled down in the cadres of the party, the octogenarian patriarchs….. all this is what the Left has come to symbolize today. The ever present blockade to any kind of growth plans the government might have, the Left parties can be assumed to be at the fore front of every dharna, gherao, bandh that you might come across in any part of the country. A personal opinion it might be, but, I doubt that outside the party lines and the camaraderie any sane Indian actually likes the Left policies. Their following among the masses owes more to tradition and brutal force rather than anything else. The failed and outdated ideology is what they have managed to cling on to even today.

Blockade for a developed India

Some say that the biggest FDI India has received in its history is the entry of communist ideology amongst the citizens and political parties. Their true intentions can never be gauged easily. What is the logic behind the decisions and statements made by the party heads is totally lost on me. Otherwise how could you explain the pullout of Marxist cadres from the Quit India Movement of 1942 at the last moment with the quote that the party had changed its thinking on the matter. Or how could one forget the call to usurp the newly established government in 1950’s with an armed uprising only to back down at the last minute and leave the hapless comrades to suffer the retaliation of the government forces while the party heads coolly made it in and out of jails without much delay or fuss.

In the nation where everyone denounces the emergency of 1975 till date, CPI was the only political party in support of it (apart from Congress of course). The communist ideology has failed in today’s time but the Left seems to cling on to it harder than a drowning man would to a floating plank. The rigidity in the party structure and the lack of young blood/generation amongst the party ranks has left the CPI, CPI (M) without any leader with remotely charismatic personality in its ranks. One of the major reasons Left has managed to stay put in the political circles is because of the feared ‘comrade raj’ in every state it holds a presence in. Brute force is what has helped Left to survive the tide of time. A good example – Quenching of protests in Nandigram in 2007 over land relocation issue.

At a time when the communist parties all over the world are shifting their stance to be more receptive to foreign investments and development projects and funds, the Indian faction continues to live by the ideology set by Marx in 1920’s. The hardcore communist regimes of Russia and China too have softened so much over the past decades. So much so that China today is the biggest receiver of FDI in the world. It has allowed unrestricted access to its territory to foreign players while the CPI threatens to bring the government down on talks of offloading government holdings in the companies. Their efforts concentrate more on getting done what they think is right rather than what is good for the nation as a whole.

The angst of the Left over the hike in fuel prices when every oil company was suffering huge losses due to crude price rise globally is quite bewildering. The funds that government has to cough up to make up for these losses have to come from somewhere. Most of the times it comes from the funds allocated for rural development and healthcare projects for the poor. So the proponents of pro-poor policy are taking away the funds that were allocated for the development of the poor in the first place. So who’s good are the Left parties really thinking when they oppose the price hike?

All this seems to reflect that the ideology of the left parties is not clearly thought through. How would otherwise explain their current stand in the face-off against the government over the nuclear deal. Knowing that they don’t stand a chance to bag majority in the elections if they are held now and accepting that they don’t want to see a BJP government at the centre, they are left with only Congress government at the centre as an option which not surprisingly is what we have right now. So why anyone in his right mind would topple a stable government just few months before polls when it wants the same government after the polls in the first place?

Hard to understand or defend the logic behind the decisions taken by the Left we are but mere bystanders to the political circus that is the Left we can only hope that people fight against the atrocities of Left and give them a resounding defeat so that they stay away from all kinds of decision making in the country…………

Bharath matha Ki Jay! Long Live India!

The man behind the quest was Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) – a devout Roman Catholic whose nightlong vigil in a Lisbon chapel before commending himself to the unsure waters had finally paid off. and if ‘Christians and spices’ were his twin pretext at the outset, da Gama’s successive visits to India, first in 1500 to set up a ‘factory’ or a trading base, then in 1502 to wreak havoc on the port and Arab trading vessels alike, proved that Portugal and its prime sailor had other things on their mind as well.
The Portuguese were probably here to stay, and da Gama was to earn himself the distinction of Governor of all Portuguese possessions in India in the twilight of his life.

While da Gamma paved the way for the Portuguese to India, Dom Alphonso D’Albuquerque (1495-1515) chalked out and consolidated Portugal’s trade routes to India during the sixteenth century.

Kerala

Albuquerque was an imperial rather than a commercial emissary of Portugal. Harnessing strategic ports mainly in the Persian Gulf, along the west coast of India and beyond, overrode the need to garner support of the local rulers. This drove him to capture Goa on the west coast of India in 1510, Melaka (Malacca) on the Malay peninsula in 1511, Hormuz at the opening of the Persian Gulf in 1515, Bassein in 1534, Daman and Diu in 1535 and Colombo in 1597. The series of offensives proved that the Portuguese were the new rulers of the roost.

Their mercantile and imperial strategies were paralleled by a drive to convert the masses to Roman Catholic Christianity. Temples disappeared from the Goan landscape to be replaced with churches, monasteries and seminaries. As the Portuguese Viceroy in India, Albuquerque encouraged mixed marriages with the intent of procuring fresh recruits, especially in the form of offsprings, to serve the Portuguese project in India and elsewhere.

However, with the rise of military, political and maritime mights like the Dutch and the English, History forced the Portuguese in India into the wings.

Unable to cast its net much further than Goa after being united to Spain, Portugal’s focus of interest shifted from India to more lucrative lands.

The Arrival of Dutch

The Dutch sailed their ships eastward for the first time in 1595. However, their first stop was not India but Jakarta in Indonesia where they lost no time in establishing their monopoly over the spice trade. India was significant only insofar as it constituted part of the great Asian trade route that the Dutch had developed and that cut through Ceylon and Cape Town.

Even though in 1602, when the Dutch East India Company was chartered, the Dutch harboured no military ambitions about India, around 1605, a fleet of thirty-eight ships dispatched by the Dutch East India Company inflicted a crushing defeat on Portuguese ships off Johore and the Dutch wrested the fortress at Ambiona from Portuguese control. The unstoppable Dutch then went on to seize secret Portuguese maps and oceanic charts detailing the trade routes with India. These were soon to serve as guides to the eastern waters.

Arrival of English

The English entered the East Indies almost as the same time as the Dutch. However, the English were quick to realise that the Dutch were unwilling to share their turf in the East Indies with them. The tenacity with which the Dutch refused to relent on the East Indies forced the British to turn to India. Spices in India abounded in the south but the trade monopoly of the local rulers and other Europeans had to be broken.

The British East India Company was established by the Royal Charter in 1600, and in course of time, the Protestant Dutch and English would embark upon the common project of eroding Catholic Spain and Portugal’s trade monopoly in the Indian Ocean.

It is interesting to note, however, that although the Dutch had their ‘factories’ in Cochin, Nagapatam and even up in Agra, they did not give the idea of military expansion in India much thought. The spice trade was rewarding and they were quite content with just that.

French Also Making Forays Into India

The Dutch and the English were not the only nations to take an interest in India in those days.The seventeenth century also saw the French making forays into India. While the success stories of the Dutch and the British East India Companies were a motivating factor, the reasons for setting up the French East India Company were not mercantile.
The initial wave brought along men of letters, explorers, adventurers, missionaries et al. Jean Baptiste Tavernier and François Bernier’s vivid accounts of the Mughal kingdom and beyond went a long way in moulding Europe’s impressions about this distant, exotic and opulent land.

The French set up their first trading post in 1666 at Surat. The Sultan of Golconda then allowed them to set up another trading post in Masulipatam on the Coromandel Coast in 1669. In 1670, the Sultan gave the French land in Pondicherry. In the next two decades, the French obtained trading concessions in Bengal and Chandernagore, and established a post at Mahe on the Malabar coast of southwest India.

But the French East India Company did not turn out to be as prosperous as the Dutch and the British East India Companies.
Meanwhile, the British had made some important moves.

British Developed Strong Relations With Mughals

Sir Thomas Roe arrived at the Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s court as the envoy of King James I of England, and stayed in India from 1614-1618. While William Hawkins had already initiated successful diplomatic relations with the Mughal court, Roe consolidated them further, gaining in the process not only friends in the Mughal court but also the Emperor’s permission to establish a British East India Company trading post at Surat. Roe’s diplomacy with the Mughals paid off so well that by 1618, the East India Company became their unspoken naval aide.

Henceforth the commercial rise of the British in India was meteoric. By 1661, Bombay was given to Charles II of England as dowry when he married Catherine of Braganza. Bombay was then dutifully passed on to the British East India Company. By 1708, around the dawn of the Modern Indian Era, the British found themselves quite comfortably placed in India, at least commercially.

and Aurangzeb’s exit from Indian History in 1707 and its aftermath were to eventually throw up the new keepers of India’s destiny – the British.

The Decline of Mughal Court

The decline of the Mughal empire after Aurangzeb’s death was shockingly swift. (See Medieval Indian History). Power and glory bowed out to disarray and disgrace The state treasury ran dry. It was clearly an oft repeated moment in History when devoid of will, a dynasty lingered on, waiting to be saved or damned.

The Advent of Nadir Shah

A series of disastrous invasions against Delhi finally broke its spirit. The first of these was led by the famous Persian king, Nadir Shah in 1739. At the time, the court in Delhi was fending off the Maratha offensive.
One of the finest ministers of the Mughal court , Nizam-ul-Mulk met Nadir when the latter arrived near Delhi and talked him out of his initial idea of sacking Delhi by offering him Rs 50,00,000. The matter would have been settled had not one of Nizam’s rival generals at court convinced Nadir Shah that the latter was being short-changed. Delhi’s legendary wealth could not be relinquished for so paltry a sum.

Soon Nadir Shah marched over to Delhi in time to have a khutba read in his name. Unfortunately, it was around the same time that a rumour about Nadir Shah’s death spread in Delhi. Not only was this news greeted with jubilation by the inhabitants of Delhi, some of them went so far as to actually attack a few Iranian soldiers. No one could have forseen the consequences.

On March 11, 1739 an order was issued by Nadir Shah. Delhi witnessed yet another blood bath. Chandni Chowk, the fruit market, the Dariba bazaar and the buildings around the Jama Masjid were burnt to cinders. Each and every inhabitant of the area was killed in retaliation. People living around the area still point at the Khooni Darwaza (Gateway of Slaughter) in the old city and talk of the massacre as though it had taken place only the previous day. The royal treasury was sacked and its contents seized. When Nadir Shah left Delhi after 57 days, he also took along with him the fabulous Peacock Throne of the Mughals and the last remnants of the Mughal pride.

Lead by Ahmad Shah Abdali, an ex-general in Nadir Shah’s army, the Afghans were the next raiders of Delhi. Abdali led as many as seven invasions into India between 1748-1767.

In January 1757, Abdali captured Delhi. What followed was a carnage of the Nadir Shah vintage. After pillaging Delhi, the Afghans overran most of Northern India. It is said that after the sack of Mathura, Brindaban and Gokul, for `seven days the waters of the Jamuna flowed a blood-red colour.’

An outbreak of cholera in Abdali’s army forced him to withdraw, though not before making the Delhi court cough up around 120,000,000 rupees. He also demanded, and got Kashmir, Lahore, Sirhind and Multan. This, unfortunately, was not the last time that Abdali was to invade India.
and a retiring Delhi court would leave it to the Marathas to counter Abdali’s next invasion. Unable to resist the immense riches of Delhi, Abdali stormed the city again. On January 13, 1761, he took on the Maratha confederation, and humbled the Marathas in the third and final battle of Panipat, rooting out the possiblity of Maratha dominion over North India, at least for the next decade.

Abdali returned in 1764, driven once again by his lust not so much for power as for gold. His sixth invasion had the Sikhs, who had by then carved out a kingdom for themselves under the famous Maharaja Ranjit Singh, up in arms. The determined Sikhs, who never allowed the Marathas to establish themselves up north, now put up a stiff resistance. When Abdali invaded India for the last time in 1767, he met his comeuppance at the hands of the Sikhs who then took Lahore and Central Punjab. However the areas extending from Peshawar and beyond remained with Abdali.

The Slow Rise of British

Against this troubled backdrop, the British rise to power was slow, but remarkably steady. Slow because the British had an uphill task to accomplish; first there were the French to deal with. The commercial rivalry amongst the British and the French had its roots in the prevailing political situation in Europe.
As long as the French carried on business in a small way in India, the British left them to themselves. But between 1720 and 1740, the French East India Company’s trade with India recorded almost a ten-fold growth to measure upto half the volume of that the British East India Company at the time. The stakes were too high for either to ignore – especially since the British East India Company generated more than ten percent of England’s revenue.

The Rise of Carnatic War

This was the time when the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) had broken out in Europe, following Fredrick the Great of Prussia’s seizure of Silesia in 1740. The French and British found themselves in opposing camps in this war. Later, during the Seven Years War (1756-63), both were at loggerheads with each other once again, supporting rival camps. These two European wars were to have an immediate bearing on India’s political destiny.

Between 1746-48, the French and English finally came to blows in the first Carnatic War (1746-48) in the Deccan. Two more of these wars sealed the fate of the French East India Company in India.

The first Carnatic War was perhaps a fallout of the Austrian War of Succession. The fight was over Madras and though the French had captured it, it was given back to the English as part of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748. In the meanwhile the British and French had got their fleets upto the Indian mainland – an important development as the balance of power within the mainland was fast slanting in favour of the Europeans. and Dupleix, the French governor of the time, decided to turn the tide in France’s favour.

A shrewd and resourceful character with great diplomatic skills and a fine understanding of local politics, Dupleix was nevertheless difficult to work with because of his nervous temperament and inadequate military knowledge.

The opportunity Dupleix was waiting for came his way in 1748 when the Nawab of Arcot (in present Tamil Nadu) died leaving behind the question of succession unresolved. Dupleix succeeded in having a Nizam of his choice, Chanda Sahib enthroned. The new Nizam was supported by the old Nawab’s grandson, Muzzafar Jung, and backed by French troops under the able command of de Bussy. The idea was to close in on Madras by surrounding it with French territory.

Everything would have gone off as planned but for Robert Clive who arrived in Madras as a clerk and proved himself to be a brilliant strategist. He laid the seige of Arcot in 1751 with a mere 210 men, turning Dupleix’s dream into a nightmare. Chanda Sahib was killed and a British nominee was placed on the throne of Arcot. Recalled to France in 1754, Dupleix retired in ignominy.

Dupleix was succeeded by Godeheu, who sued for peace with the British. Both the French and the British agreed not to interfere in India’s internal matters and went back to their old positions. The French also agreed to give up everything they had taken so far. Godeheu was denounced for having ‘signed the ruin of the country and the dishonour of the nation’, but the damage was done. The British had emerged much stronger after the second Carnatic War.

The third and final phase of this Anglo-French war for supremacy was precipitated by the Seven Years War in the shape of the third Carnatic War (1756-63). However, despite very fine French generals like de Bussy and Lally, the British inflicted a crushing defeat on the French who ended up losing practically everything they had in India.

The dream of the ‘dominion de l’empire de la France’ in India was over. and thanks to their naval supremacy, greater resources and steadier support from Europe, the British had emerged as the clear winners.

British Rose To Power In India

Thereafter, the British steadily rose to power in India, at least till the Uprising of 1857.

The Uprising was a culmination of a number of factors. People were growing increasingly resentful of Britain’s political and cultural motives in India. But the mandatory use of Enfield Rifles, and cartridges greased with animal tallow – pig or cow – that were to be readied by mouth by practising Hindus and Muslims in the Sepoy Army of Indian troops, precipitated the event.

There is enough evidence to support the fact that the Uprising had been planned for months before the actual outbreak. However, revolutionaries failed to spread the word about it beyond Central India and Delhi, and the Uprising did not quite unfold as planned. Had it gone according to schedule, the Uprising would have broken out in many areas simultaneously and been difficult for the British to contain. However, as things turned out, trouble erupted sporadically in various places in May 1857 and there was little, if any, coordination between the outbreaks. For the British, quelling such a rebellion was hardly intimidating.

The Revolt of 1857

Stories about the British and Indian confrontation in Delhi in 1857 abound. Tales of valour and bravery about both sides alternate with accounts of unimaginable horror and destruction.

The poet-Mughal in Delhi, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Tatia Tope of Gwalior (Gwalior itself did not rebel, Tope was merely a general), the Rani of Jhansi too joined in the rebellion as they had their own interests to protect. None of them would actually have rebelled had the British not rethought the `compensation’ that these rulers were being paid in exchange for a share in the governance.

The people of Delhi, Lucknow, Gwalior and the rest of India, however, had nothing to gain, at least not personally. Their war was not for a private kingdom; they were fighting for freedom.

Scholars and historians who have revisited the event have tried to define the Uprising in terms that were at times limiting or expansive – a simple Mutiny, India’s first National War of Independence, a Princely plot, to name few. In any case, it would be difficult to package the event in a single neat definition.

Following the Uprising, the British Crown in Parliament formally took over the responsibility of ruling India from the British East India Company.

What was happening in the Indian society all this while was difficult to overlook. A cultural revolution had been taking place even before the Uprising of 1857. Sati was banned, the Arya Samaj was a new religious alternative, education for women was encouraged and a whole new breed of intellectuals – mostly from Bengal – were making their presence felt. This new breed of Indians was a power to reckon with.

After the Uprising, India was poised at the dawn of a new era of political awareness.

Indian National Congress Came Into Being

In December 1885, despite the Governor General of India, Lord Dufferin’s reluctance to endorse the idea, Allan Octavian Hume formed the Indian National Union (which would soon be renamed Indian National Congress), alongwith seventy-two learned Indian delegates hailing from different parts of the country. The Indian National Congress’ first meeting took place in Bombay in 1885, and was presided over by W C Bonnerjee.

In its early phase, referred to as the phase of the Moderates (1885-1905), the Congress pledged loyalty to the British. The moderates were a class of elite erudite men who were into philosophy and intellectual discussions; the much more popular peoples’ leaders were to follow. One of the most prominent leaders, Dadabhai Naoroji, wrote extensively to highlight the drain of wealth from India to Britain.

The Congress was soon to enter a turbulent phase, and in 1907, during the session at Surat, there was an open split in the party. The moderates led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta and those that the British qualified as extremists headed by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, parted ways. The Congress would regain its vitality only years later (1919-1934) under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1905, Lord Curzon’s brainchild, the partition of Bengal was implemented. The decision evoked sharp reactions from all quarters of India. The day on which the partition came into effect was observed as a day of mourning and fasting throughout Bengal. Rabindranath Tagore, the famous Nobel-laureate and writer, passionately spoke out against it. This was the time when the Swadeshi movement was first launched; Indians participated in auto-da-fés of foreign goods and turned to indigenously manufactured articles. Lots of young leaders from Bengal took up the task of educating people. On August 15, 1906, a National Council of Education was set up under the educationist Aurobindo Ghose.

The government came down heavily on the agitators, disrupting meetings, insulting leaders and beating up peaceful protestors. In 1907, Lala Lajpat Rai and Sardar Ajit Singh were deported from the Punjab. In 1908, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was arrested and sentenced to six years of prison. Aurobindo Ghose was arrested, prosecuted and although acquitted, he chose to retire to Pondicherry.

The agitation against the partition of Bengal (although the partition was revoked in 1911) ushered in the age of Indian nationalism. It was a question of time before this nationalistic fervour settled down to the more concrete issue of how India was to cast aside the British yoke.

Indian National Movement Continues

While Great Britain was entangled in World War I, India’s national movement, despite being at a nascent stage, continued to throw up surprises. In December 1915, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the first nationalist leader with a deep understanding of India’s grassroots, and a considerable following, voiced the idea of Home Rule (`swadeshi’, was a word the British were wary of). It was for the first time that someone had alluded to Home Rule being the goal of the Indian National Movement. On April 28, 1916, the Home Rule League was founded, with its headquarters in Poona (Pune). Tilak went on a whirlwind tour of the country, appealing to everybody to unite under the banner of Home Rule League. Annie Besant who subscribed to the cause herself assisted him in this task.

The implications of the Home Rule movement were clear to all now. The independence of India was the goal of the Indian national movement. But while the idea of independence was swiftly gaining ground, for the most part, the bougeoisie was still unsure about whether it needed to jump into the fray or hold itself at bay. Meanwhile the Crown rule decided to tighten the clamps. Laws were formulated to prevent agitations, undesirable elements were banned from entering India, propaganda came under government scrutiny – the British had reason to be nervous.

Gandhiji

and then, as Jawaharlal Nehru would later say, Gandhi came.

He was not anyone’s idea of a charismatic leader. Just a short, thin, shrivelled man, with what Sarojini Naidu called `Mickey Mouse ears’ and a twinkle in his eyes. He talked of ahimsa, or non-violence and ahimsa would finally disarm the British.

When Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi finally returned to India from South Africa at the age of 46, his arrival was preceded by his formidable reputation as a political leader. Moments after having docked at Bombay, he was asked to lead the National Movement.

Gandhi, however, declined, opting to get to know India thoroughly. The first causes he chose to associate with were minor local affairs, and the nationalist leaders of the time did not know what to make of this almost too-mild, too-moral and too-impractical maverick.

During 1917-18, with revolutionary conspiracies being on the rise within the country, the British grew progressively uneasy. To counter these, Justice S A T Rowlatt proposed the Rowlatt Acts. Among other things, this act empowered the government with special wartime controls that included the right to try political cases without a jury, and gave the provincial governments along with the centre, the power to imprison without trial. Gandhi, in his typical style, said that the repressive Rowlatt Acts raised issues of trust and self-respect, and hence needed be met with a moral response in the form of a hartal, or a protest that entailed striking work on April 8, 1919.

The Massacre At Jallianwala Bagh

The flashpoint came in Punjab. On April 12, 1919, General R E H Dyer who had taken over the troops in Punjab the day before, prohibited all meetings and gatherings. So when a group of unarmed people congregated at the Jallianwala Bagh, a walled park with only a single narrow entrance, on April 13, 1919 to celebrate the Sikh festival of Baisakhi. What followed was to blight the pages of Indian History and its peoples’ minds for a very long time to come. A peaceful congregation had been transformed into an unmitigated blood bath.

Later, during the court martial, General Dyer coldly observed that he had fired only 1600 rounds of ammunition on the crowd as that was all he had. He added that he would have fired more had he so deemed fit.

The brutality of the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre shocked the country. It also shook the moderates out of their stupour and brought Gandhi out in the open.

Congress Launched Non-Cooperation Movement

In 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian National Congress launched the first movement of protest – the Non-Cooperation Movement. It involved surrendering all titles, honorary offices and nominated posts in local bodies. Government functions and darbars were to be boycotted. Parents were requested to withdraw their children from government schools and colleges. Indians stayed way from the British courts and army, and were to stand for elections to government and legislative bodies. Ahimsa or non-violence was to be observed strictly.

The magnitude of the Non Cooperation Movement amazed every political leader in India. Gandhi’s approach was not so meek after all. The idea appealed immensely to popular imagination and suddenly, in a single sweep, the Non-Cooperation Movement had touched every man on the street. People came out in droves to support Gandhi and his movement.

The government machinery did not actually break down, but came under visible strain. Unfortunately, at a time when the movement was showing signs of success, in Chauri Chaura, a mob of 3000 people killed 25 policemen and one officer. Similar incidents had taken place earlier on November 17, 1921, in Bombay and on January 13, 1922, in Madras. On February 7, Gandhi suspended the movement. He was arrested on March 13, 1922. Suddenly, the future of swaraj, or self-rule within a year seemed uncertain.

Gandhi came under fire from several quarters for disassociating himself from the Non-Cooperation Movement. The man of the masses took the masses along when he made his exit. and this was not to be the only time when differences of opinion cropped up in the Congress about Gandhi’s actions. and each time, in the end, people invariably gave in to the Mahatma. Gandhi had won over the heart of an entire nation.

In 1927 the British government set up a committee headed by Sir John Simon to review the state of affairs in India. However, the committee that came to be known as the Simon Commission did not include even a single Indian. The Congress took umbrage to the omission.

At this time, young radicals like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose were insisting on making total independence the goal of the Congress. At midnight, on December 31, 1929, Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled the Tricolor on the banks of the river Ravi in Punjab and the Congress called for purna swaraj, or complete Independence. January 26, 1930, was declared as Independence Day. From February 14 to 16, 1930, the Congress Working Committee met at Gandhi’s famous ashram in Sabarmati and requested him to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement ‘at a time and place of his choice.’

On February 27, the plan for the agitation was made public. The entire nation was in ferment. Everyone, including the British, was curious to see what the Mahatma would do next.

On March 12, 1930, accompanied by 78 colleagues of the Sabarmati Ashram, Mahatma Gandhi embarked on a 60-mile march to the sea coast of Dandi. He intended to defy the new salt taxes that the government had levied and that would directly impact each and every peasant. To begin with, the government thought it better to ignore the event. However, soon the entire country was abuzz with hartals, protests, agitations, processions. The rising tide of discontent had to be checked. Gandhi was arrested on May 5, 1930. Abbas Tyabji took the relay to lead the movement. When Tyabji was arrested, Sarojini Naidu, the nightingale of India, replaced him.

All over India, the mood was upbeat, the atmosphere tense and the people on the streets. Louis Fischer wrote about the Civil Disobedience: “The British beat the Indians with batons and rifle butts. The Indians neither cringed nor complained nor retreated. That made England powerless and India invincible.”

First Round Table Conference

When the first Round Table Conference was held in London from November 12, 1930 to January 19, 1931, not a single member of the Congress attended it. The British now appealed to the Congress to work with them. Lord Irwin also declared that Mahatma Gandhi and the other members of the Congress Working Committee would soon be freed to consider the matter ‘freely and fearlessly.’

The Mahatma and Lord Irwin finally met. The result was the Gandhi-Irwin pact. Amongst other things, the Civil Disobedience Movement was withdrawn under the pact, and a second Round Table Conference with Congress participation was agreed upon. This peace did not last long. Gandhi attended the Second Round Table conference in London in 1931 as the sole representative of the Congress. He demanded control of foreign affairs and defence, and the matter of minorities, with little help from Muhammad Ali Jinnah, His Highness the Aga Khan and Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, ended in a complete deadlock. Gandhi returned to India on December 28, 1931 empty-handed.

By May 1934, the Civil Disobedience Movement had been completely withdrawn.

During World War II, the Congress decided that India should co-operate with Britain on the understanding that complete independence would be granted to India after that. The British, however were unwilling to discuss the issue of independence during wartime. This had the members of the Congress wondering about the intentions of the government. Meanwhile, the divide between Jinnah’s Muslim League and the Congress’ aims and demands had grown sharper. In early 1940, Jinnah declared Pakistan as the goal of the League.

After the fall of France in 1940, Gandhi declared, “We do not seek independence out of Britain’s ruin.” The British reply to this was an offer to discuss an Indian constituent assembly, as well as Dominion status `after the war’. The offer was spurned. This resulted in yet status would be another deadlock not to be resolved till 1947.

The Launching of Quit India movement

Gandhi with his usual innovative skill now had the country and Congress rallying behind him. The moment had arrived to launch the Quit India movement. The unnerving part was that the launch of another Civil Disobedience Movement could coincide with the Japanese advances from the far-east towards India. “After all,” Gandhi said, “this is open rebellion.” The country was willing to court risks for the freedom that was to be won.

The movement was launched on August 8, 1942 in Bombay. Gandhi declared: “I want freedom immediately, this very night, before dawn, if it can be had. You may take it from me that I am not going to strike a bargain with the Viceroy for ministers and the like… Here is the mantra, a short one, that I give you… Do or die. We shall either free India or die in the attempt.”

From 1942 onwards it was quite clear that the countdown to an independent India had begun.

Arrival of Lord Mountbatten

In 1946, Lord Mountbatten arrived in Delhi amid a buzz of political activity. After World War II, the British seemed keen to wash their hands off India. For their part, the Indians were not loathe to such an idea.

However, there were too many emotional ties – the British and the Indians went too far back together for the British to just pack up and leave. Mountbatten was entrusted with the responsibility of transferring power to the Indians, safeguarding British interests and prestige for future interaction with independent India and Pakistan. and in the bargain, if Partition was inevitable, the nations would have to live with the realisation and the consequences

Partition of India

It was one of the worst movements of people in recent history after that of the Jews in the World War II. A nation was dismembered. On August 15, 1947 – India kept her ‘tryst with destiny’. Midnight bore her the precious gift of freedom. Following an announcement on August 17, 1947 Pakistan became the other independent state.

Gandhi, the father of the nation, did not join in the celebrations that followed. He was elsewhere working in riot torn areas, praying for peace. For him independence was tinged with sadness and disappointment. He was ready to withdraw from active politics.

Accusations of siding with the Muslims and giving Pakistan away too easily, dogged Gandhi since the day the state of Pakistan was declared. On January 30, 1948, a Hindu fundamentalist called Nathu Ram Godse shot the Mahatma. India lost the man who, alongwith so many others, had taught it to dream of independence, and to throw a bridge between that dream and reality. and on August 15, 1947, Indians had walked across that bridge.
Michael

First Love Marriage: Resembles procedural programming language. We have some set functions like flirting, going to movies together, making long conversations on phone and then try to fit all functions to the candidate we like.

It is a throwaway type of prototype as client requirements rises with time thus it is a dynamic system and difficult to maintain.

Family system hangs because hardware (called parents) is not responding.

You are the project leader so u are responsible for implementation and execution of PROJECT- married life.

Client expectations include exciting feature as spouse cooking food, washing clothes etc.

Acceptance test possible you can try before you Buy.

Love Marriage is like Windows, beautiful n seductive…. Yet one never knows when it will crash!

Now for the Arranged Marriage :Similar to object oriented programming approach. We first fix the candidate and then try to implement functions on her. The functions are added to supplement the main program. The functions can be added or deleted.

Requirements are well defined so use of waterfall model is possible

Compatible with hardware (Parents).

You are a team member under project leader (parents) so they are responsible for successful execution of project Married life.

All these features are covered in the SRS as required features.

Product is sold on an as is where is basis. Product once sold will not be taken back!

Arranged Marriage is like Unix… boring n colorless… still extremely reliable and robust.

I have a love affair for the past 11 years and I gonna prove all critics who say NO to LOVE marriage, WRONG!

“Your career is literally your business,” said, Theodore Levitt, author and educator.
These are challenging times … and tough times.
What makes the situation so much more difficult is the way people handle these tough times. Like others, the possibility of downsizing and company lay-offs is REAL.
The key question that each of us should be asking is: “What am I going to do?”
Be careful not to shift responsibility of job preservation or career enhancement on someone else. And that, my fellow agents, is a dangerous position to take. In “Choose Greatness For Your Life Today,” I read, “We must stop (seeking to blame) external people and forces in our lives and begin consciously choosing appropriate responses.”
So I ask you, are you taking responsibility for yourself, your job, and your future? Or are you simply sitting on the sidelines, hoping things work out? A call to action: Take responsibility for making good things happens.
As writer Sara Henderson says, “Don’t wait for a light to appear at the end of the tunnel. Stride down there … and light the bloody thing yourself.”
So what are the appropriate responses to these challenging, insecure times? (Here comes the “born” instructor in me…)
1. Focus on your replacement value?
*If you’re ever going to have control over your career, you must have an answer to each question. They are as follows:
a) What am I going to do to increase my value in the market place?
b) What am I going to do to demonstrably increase my value to my current employer? Or to my clients and customers?
c) What am I going to do to increase my value to prospective future employers?
d) What am I going to do to make myself so valuable that I’m the least likely to be cut or the last to be cut?
2. Stop the excuses
* “There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than achievement.” These people will never turn into great success stories.
3. Refuse to settle for “good enough.”
*Focus on 5 things that will make you more valuable to your employer or your customers.

Michael

Ever feel that there is not enough time in the day to get things done? Do you often feel time-pressured? Have a problem with procrastination or figuring out how to prioritize your days? If you said yes to any of these questions, then you should know that you are not alone. You fall into the category of millions of people under time associated stress. Much of your stress can be alleviated through effective time management. Although you may feel that you are not a good manager of your time, there are strategies that you can learn and apply to your life in order to gain more control of the use of your time. Follow the following 6 tips and begin to live life like its smooth sailing!
Become a Great Writer
You’re probably asking yourself, ‘What in the world does being a writer have to do with time-management?” Well, that’s a great question and I’m glad that you asked. The answer is EVERYTING! Effective time management begins with planning your time, which means WRITING down your plans on paper. There is power in the pen! There are literally thousands of thoughts that race through your mind throughout the course of the day. In order to focus your time on what’s really important requires you to have something tangible to look at. That requires you to decide now to write down every task you will need to accomplish. This not only includes on the job tasks, but at home stuff also. Remember, write, write, and write!
Schedule Your Priorities
Effective time-management begins with scheduling and anticipating upcoming activities and events both personally and professionally. This is where goal setting will assist you enormously in prioritizing what is on your schedule of things to do. Setting written down goals will help you to differentiate between what is urgent and vital, what can be done now and what can wait.
Invest In a Planner
I find that a daily planner is a very effective tool in helping you to become a better manager of your time. I would suggest purchasing a weekly-at-a-glance planner and then write down everything you need to accomplish in it. I like the weekly planners as opposed to the daily planers because you can open it up and have your entire week in front of you at one time. You can simply transfer your already written down goals to your planner in addition to the on-the-job tasks that you must fulfill.
Write a “To Do” List
Sometimes you may have more on your plate than you’ve bargained for. Writing a “to do” list will help you to overcome your feelings of being overwhelmed. When you find yourself to be extremely busy or unexpected things pop up, take the time out the night before to write a “to do” list. Decide in order of priority what things you absolutely must get done and by what time. Write it down and do it.
Learn To Say “No”
This is a difficult task for some people. Some people do not want to be perceived as a non-team player or make others feel that are not important enough to do favors for. Trust me; your peace of mind is not worth sacrificing to appease others. Remember, you cannot be all things to all people and you cannot do everything that everyone asks you to do. That type of mentality will drive you to a nervous break down. Keep in mind that you are saying no to the request and not the person. Mature people can accept when you truthfully are not in a position to accept any additional projects at this time.
Learn To Delegate
There will be times in your life both on the job and off when you will need to enlist the assistance of others. This is simply wise decision making. When you simply have too much before you to do, consider what things you can pass on to others to do for you. Most people really do not have a problem giving a helping hand to others when the need arises. You are human and sometimes you have more to do than what is humanly possible. Utilize the services of others and by the same token, be ready to assist others in their time of need.
So there you have it folks, 6 tips to help you have more smooth sailing days. Utilize the suggestions and you will definitely be able to enjoy your time much more instead of wondering where time has gone without you feeling productive. Plan and prosper!

One of the more interesting aspects of the Law of Attraction is found in it’s teachings. Essentially, it teaches people how to think and not what to think. This process of learning how to think helps the practitioner to focus the mind. Many people discover that focusing the mind, helps improve their life.

The Secret that took the world by storm did a great job in introducing the universal Law of Attraction, and the possibility of anyone acquiring great material possessions. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s not wrong to be well fed, well clothed, drive a nice car and live in a nice home. If you create a feeling of self that’s capable and worthy, you’ll attract what you want. You can take care of yourself as well as others.

The main points of the Law of Attraction are to be grateful for the things you have in your life. To improve your life by focusing your thoughts on the positive things instead of the negative.

There are many people that see the Law of Attraction as a deeply religious experience. Connecting them to others and to a higher power.

The numbers are just as large that consider the Law of Attraction spiritual but not religious. Religious or just spiritual, the results are the same: To change our way of life for the better through the change of our thinking.

Even if you consider the Law of Attraction as neither religious nor spiritual, the benefits are the same. You are what you think. Your thoughts are manifested into reality and you definitely wish to get the most out of life with the Law of Attraction.

As far as I could understand no one enters into marriage intending it to end. No one thinks that will happen to them.

You wanna be?

Yet you’d have to be a supreme ostrich not to have some awareness of the odds of your marriage lasting “‘til death do you part.”

So here are a few keys to increase your chances of your marriage being one of the successful ones. (You know the kind: when the press asks you on your 80th anniversary, “What’s the secret of a successful marriage?”)

Successful Marriage Key 1 – Know Your Outcome.

Ideally, you should do this before you propose or accept the proposal, but it’s never too late to change!

Ask yourself, (not your beloved – yourself!), what kind of relationship suits you.

For example, whilst equality may be one of your ideals, if you’re scrupulously honest with yourself, are you actually naturally drawn to being dominant in other areas of your life?

If you’re bossy at the office, (even if you’re not the boss), the leader and motivator of your social group, it’s unlikely you’ll be happy being a mouse at home! If that’s your personality type, for you to have a successful marriage, choose a spouse who’s happy being led by you.

On the other hand, if you’re comfortable being the deputy, and you’re a great organizer as long as someone ’s told you how they want their filing cabinet sorted or their garden to look, then you don’t want a mousy partner if your marriage is to succeed.

Are you extrovert or introverted in nature? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? How resistant are you to change like moving house or career change?

Give yourself a personality workout. It’s these kind of characteristics far more than “interests in common” that make a couple compatible.

If you’re already well into a marriage by the time you read this, at least you know where to look, (inside yourself!), for where the causes of any struggle might lay. Once you get some clarity about this, have a really deep and honest conversation or ten with your spouse.

Successful Marriage Key 2 – Learn Each Other’s Language.

It has been said that only 7% of communication is verbal. The old chestnut of “my wife doesn’t understand me” – the almost cartoon excuse for an extra-marital affair – isn’t going to wash in the twenty first century.

The main reason that couples don’t understand each other is because they don’t know each other’s language. I’m not talking about what you say in words.

You each will have codes. Facial expressions, tones of voice and of course, codes of conduct. These are behaviors each of you will have grown up with. I know of at least one couple whose marriage suffered badly in the early days because whenever they argued the wife would leave the room, whilst the husband was yelling “Don’t you dare walk out on me!”

It turned out that he had grown up in a family who believed that no matter how big or bad the disagreement, you stayed until it was resolved. His wife, on the other hand, grew up in a family where it was considered the ultimate insult to dignity to be shouted at, and you simply didn’t stay in a room where that was going on.

Once they discovered this, they were able to at least come to some agreement about how to disagree!

Successful Marriage Key 3 – Dare to be honest.

It sounds simple but this can be the toughest one of all because every one of us has fears that if “you knew X about me, you wouldn’t like me.”

We all have them because no one gets through childhood without ever receiving some kind of message that parts of us are not perfect. We are reminded that it ’s rude not to say thank you, impolite to belch publicly and so on.

Then there are social, moral and religious codes that we are “obliged” to follow, not to mention legal rules. Most of us, at times, walk tightropes on some of these areas of life, and a few of us have even been known to cross the odd line from time to time. (No one I know ever has, of course! But I’ve heard the rumours).

But the more you are prepared to “psychologically unpack” with your nearest and dearest, the more you’ll build up trust between you, but there ’s a much more important result to this.

You’ll feel more loved, because you’ll discover that the parts of you that you yourself had thought unacceptable, even unlovable, are now accepted and cherished as part of you by the person who matters to you most.

In return, you’ll love her or him all the more for loving you.

Now who’d want to leave a marriage like that?