Ustad Bismillah Khan was the third classical musician after Pt
Ravi Shankar and Smt M S Subbulakshmi to be awarded Bharat Rathna, the highest
civilian honour in India.
The gentle genius of Bismillah Khan was perhaps single handedly
responsible for making Shehnai a famous classical instrument. Traditionally
used to play music during marriages, Shehnai is the counterpart of south indian
nadaswaram. It is also used to play music in temples.
Simplicity was the way of life for Ustad, It retains the old world charm of a Benaras life… his
chief mode of transport was a cycle-rikshaw, even after he became one of the
most respected musician !
The legendary shehani maestro, a man of tenderness, a man who believed in
remaining private and who believed that musicians are supposed to be heard and
not seen. Bismillah Khan was born on March 21, 1916 at Bhirung Raut Ki Gali, in
Dumraon as the second son of Paigambar Khan and Mitthan. He was named as
Qamaruddin to rhyme with Shamsuddin, their first son. His grandfather, Rasool
Baksh Khan uttered “Bismillah” after looking at the newborn, thus he
was named Bismillah Khan.
His ancestors were court
musicians in the princely state of Dumraon in Bihar and he was trained under
his uncle, the late Ali Bux `Vilayatu’, a shehnai player attached to Varanasi’s
Vishwanath Temple. He brought Shehnai to the center stage of indian music with
his concert in the calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937. There was no
looking back. It was Khan Sahib who poured his heart out into Raga Kafi from
Red Fort on the eve of India’s first Republic Day ceremony.
Khan had the rare honor of performing at Delhi’s Red Fort on the eve of India’s
Independence in 1947. He also performed Raga Kafi from the Red Fort on the eve
of India’s first Republic Day ceremony, on January 26, 1950. His recital had
almost become a cultural part of the Independence Day Celebrations telecast on
Doordarshan every year on August 15th. After the Prime Minister’s speech from
Lal Qila (Red Fort) in Old Delhi, Doordarshan would broadcast live performance
by the shehnai maestro. And this tradition had been going on since the days of
Pandit Nehru.
Where others see conflict and contradiction between his music and his religion,
Bismillah Khan had seen only a divine unity. Music, sur, namaaz is the same
thing. His namaaz was the seven shuddh and five komal surs. Even as a devout
Shia, Khan Sahib was also a staunch devotee of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of
music.
His honorary doctorate from the Benares Hindu University and Shantiniketan
bespeaks of his fame. He was bequeathed with the Sangeet Natak Academi Award,
the Tansen Award of the Madhya Pradesh government and also the prestigious
Padma Vibhushan.
On August 17, 2006, Khan was taken ill and admitted to the Heritage
Hospital, Varanasi for treatment. He died after four days on August 21, 2006
due to a cardiac arrest. He was ninety years old. He is survived by five sons,
three daughters and a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The Government of India declared one day of national mourning on his death. His
body was buried at Fatemain burial ground of old Varanasi under a neem tree
with 21-gun salute from Indian Army.
He played in Afghanistan, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Canada, West Africa, USA, USSR,
Japan, Hong Kong and almost every capital city across the world.
Celebrated as the
party destination in India, Goa appears to have lost its ‘happening’ tag to the
humble Bihar. Data collected by the Union tourism ministry appears to indicate
that Bihar attracted a larger number of foreign tourists in 2009 than Goa.
The government’s India Tourism Statistics report
shows that while 4.2 lakh foreign tourists visited Bihar in 2009, Goa drew
about 3.7 lakh losing its place in the top 10 destinations in India. Industry
hands say that the economic downturn was largely responsible for the sharp
decline in the number of tourists. Increasing number of adverse reports on the
safety of women and declining law and order situation may also have been
responsible for the drop in numbers. In fact states like Kerala and Rajasthan
that have been hot international favourites have suffered the most in 2009
thanks to the global economic situation. While the number of foreign tourist
arrivals dropped by 27% in Rajasthan from 14.7 lakh in 2009 to 10.7 lakh in
2008, Kerala saw 5.4 lakh tourists arriving in 2009. Andhra, that remains
numero uno for domestic tourists, also witnessed stagnation with tourist
arrivals increasing from 7.8 lakh to just 7.9 lakh between 2008 and 2009.
Delhi lost its place as the top ranking state in
2008 to Tamil Nadu that saw a 16.7% increase in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs)
in 2009. The top 5 states in FTAs were TN (23.6 lakh), Maharashtra (19.9 lakh),
Delhi (19.5 lakh), Uttar Pradesh (15.32 lakh) and West Bengal (11.8 lakh).
United States continued to send the maximum
number of tourists in 2009 as it had in 2008. The top 10 source countries in
2009 were USA, UK, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Canada, France, Germany, Australia,
Malaysia and Japan. These countries accounted for 64% of the total foreign
tourist arrivals in 2009.
PATNA: The government
will pay heed to the Bihar industrialists’ demands of VAT reimbursement,
relaxation in commercial taxes and allowing them to create their own industrial
areas, among others, to boost industrial growth in the state, said principal
secretary, industries, Alok Kumar Sinha, at an interactive session with members
of Bihar Industries Association (BIA) here on Saturday.
Sinha said he would call a meeting next week of
officials of his department to discuss the suggestions made by the BIA members
for industrial development in the state. He also assured the BIA members to
arrange their meeting with Bihar State Electricity Board ( BSEB) officials to
discuss their demand for reducing power tariff for industries.
PATNA: The magnitude
of human trafficking in Bihar is alarming as about 35,000 to 40,000 children
from the state were missing and nobody knew about their whereabouts, said former
Delhi police commissioner Amod Kanth. There was no human development indicator
in Bihar, resulting in the frequent use of child labour and violation of law
dealing with it, he said.
Speaking on the first day of the three-day
seminar on ‘Training of Master trainers: To combat human trafficking’,
organized jointly by the crime investigation department (CID) of Bihar police
and Save the Children, a civil society organization, here on Monday, Kanth
stressed the need to redefine human trafficking as the present definition did
not deal with the issue in its entirety. The Central government was working on
a new manual to make it clear, he said, adding that the Immoral Trafficking Act
discussed only about commercialization of sex and the Juvenile Justice Act talked
only about children between 6 and 8 years of age.
Throwing light on the complexity of the issue,
Kanth said human trafficking was related not only to prostitution but also with
forced marriage, child sex and organ transplant. He said the present definition
was itself so complex that it was creating problem in tackling the real issue.
Addressing the inaugural function, DGP
Abhayanand said human trafficking was the worst form of rights violation and
reiterated the Bihar police commitment to eliminate this evil from the state.
The DGP asked police officials to behave
properly with victims of human trafficking, be alert about any information in
this regard and take cognisance on priority basis.
Speaking on ‘Coordination: Police, community and
civil society organization’, member of Bihar Public Service Commission and
retired IPS officer, Rajyabardhan Sharma, said the local police should take the
media help in busting the gangs involved in human trafficking. He, however,
felt the media was not giving proper space to such serious issues.
State programme coordinator of Save the
Children, Nitu Prasad, said the victims needed support as kids took to crime
because of lack of awareness about law.
ADG (CID) A S Nimbran, IG Arbind Pandey and DIG
Kamal Kishore were also present on the occasion.
BOKARO: Four motorbike-borne miscreants shot dead Amit Manjhi, district president of the Jharkhand Chatra Yuva Morcha (JCYM), students wing of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), while he was on his way to residence at Adarsh Cooperative under Sector-XII police station here on Saturday night. Land dispute with local builders is said to be the reason behind his murder.
Police have arrested three accused whom the kin of the deceased
have named in the FIR soon after his murder. The incident has sparked off
protest among JMM workers, who assembled at the Bokaro General Hospital (BGH)
in large numbers and raised anti-slogans against district police demanding arrest
of the murderers soon.
JMM leaders, including Basant Soren, youngest son of party chief Shibu Soren, and the state president of JCYM, Dumri MLA Jagarnath Mahto have given a 24-hour ultimatum to the district police officials to solve the case and arrest criminals or else the party workers will launch an agitation.
Based on the complaint lodged by elder brother of the deceased,
Karamchand Manjhi, police have arrested Manoj Pandey, Virender Yadav and Pinto
Singh alias Druv Kumar Singh from their homes. Pinto is a resident of
Sector-VI, Yadav resides in Chas and Pandey is from Sector-XII. “We are
interrogating the trio – all involbed in land business – to bring the truth. A
few days ago, they have entered in an altercation with Manjhi because he was
opposing them from leveling lands at Satanpur,” he said.
According to sources, the incident occurred on Saturday night
when Manjhi was riding his motorbike on his way back home. The miscreants opened
fire on his running motorbike following which he fell down. Manjhi struggled to
escape but criminals again shot him dead. The local police reached the spot
after residents informed them about the gun firing and recovered Manjhi’s body
lying in a pool of blood around 300 meters from his motorbike near Adarsh
Cooperative.
Police also found two country-made pistols along with two used
cartridges from the spot. Criminals have shot four bullets on his head, hand
and back side. Manjhi, son of a retired Bokaro Steel Ltd employee, was a
resident of Bharat Ekta Cooperative. Before the incident, he had food at a
makeshift shop with his father Jaleshwar Manjhi and mother in Sector XII/C
Shopping Center. Later, he went alone saying that he will reach home soon.
Karamchand said two days ago, Pinto had called him on his phone
and told him to stop Manjhi from interfering their business or it will be bad
for him. However, a month ago Virender and Manjhi also had a fight over a land
issue of which FIR has been lodged with the police station. “These
builders were leveling a land which is worship place of tribal and Manjhi has
stopped them doing so. This has developed enmity against Manjhi for them,”
said Karmchand.
Basant Soren said, “The incident is very unfortunate.
Manjhi was a good student leader and helped poors and so he has been targeted
by land mafias. “The JMM has taken the incident very seriously and we will
not remain quiet until each of the criminals will be sent behind bars,” he
said.
Bokaro SP Kuldeep Dwivedi said it was a planned murder following a land
dispute. Police have arrested three accused and raids are on to nab other
absconding person.
The spectre of a land scam has raised its head in Bokaro with
outgoing deputy commissioner Amitabh Kaushal saying that non-transferable land
in various areas might have been sold off illegally by government officials.
This comes at a time a multi-crore scam involving 800 acres of
non-transferable state and private land has rocked Deoghar.
In August, Kaushal had ordered an inquiry after laying hands on
incriminating documents that suggest illegal sale of at least 20 acres at Bari
cooperative colony, Manmohan Singh cooperative, Adarshcooperative, Sattan hillocks, Chira Chas, Chas,
Jogidih and Kuer Singh colony. The DC had formed a team, comprising deputy
collectors and Chas (Bokaro) SDO Sudhir Ranjan, to conduct preliminary
investigations.
The team inspected the sites under scanner and detected
irregularities in allotment of land, including gair
majrua, tribal land and forestland. They found out that even the
Garga riverbed has been encroached upon.
“A massive land loot cannot be ruled out in Bokaro. But I do not
want to take any measure in haste. Rather, all documents of the disputed land
must be studied thoroughly first. If foul play is detected, an eviction drive
will be carried out and the plots handed over to their rightful owners,”
Kaushal, who has been transferred to Ramgarh as DC, said.
“But as I have been transferred, the ball will be now in the new
deputy commissioner’s court,” he added.
Asked whether his transfer had anything to do with exposure of
the land scam, the DC said: “No comments. It’s the prerogative of the
government.”
Incidentally, the land controversy at Bari cooperative and
nearby areas first broke in 2005-06 during the tenure of former deputy
commissioner Amrendra Partap Singh (now industries secretary). Singh had also
ordered an inquiry, but the matter was swept under the carpet soon after his
transfer.
Reports of illegal land dealings have also come from another posh
locality, Lohanchal cooperative, prompting the deputy commissioner to stop the
ongoing registration process of land there.
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BOKARO: Taking a note of
a steep rise in incidents of land scams that dupe many people, Bokaro deputy
commissioner Uma Shanker Singh on Wednesday urged the residents to verify
land-related documents from the government office concerned before buying flats
or houses from builders and real estate agents.
TNN | Feb 20, 2014, 10.07AM IST
Singh made this appeal after a fresh case of land scam was
busted in an inquiry constituted by him. A builder launching housing project
named Golden City in Chas block has allegedly duped more than 100 people for a
sum of about Rs 3 crore. The company had purchased 71 acres of land, but sold a
chunk of more than 10 acres on the basis of fake documents.
After receiving complaints from the residents, Singh constituted an inquiry
headed by Chas circle officer Naresh Soni and special officer Krishna Kumar.
They found that the builder has fraudulently sold land to the residents showing
fake sale deed and agreements.
Singh said that a
notice was sent to the builders asking them to present documents before the
officials, but they failed to appear before the panel. However, when residents
started demanding their money back, the builder threatened them with dire
consequences.
The accused have been identified as Sushil Kumar Singh, Sunil Kumar, Sudhir
Kumar, Anil Kumar and five others. “Based on the report, I have directed
the officials to take strict legal action against the accused. We have also
asked the police to take necessary measures to ensure that those cheated by the
builder get their money back,” said Singh. He also urged the people of the
district to “verify land status before purchasing flats or bungalows from
builders or middlemen. Do not keep your eyes closed while buying houses as it
will make you suffer”
Bokaro has witnessed many lands scam cases in which builders first acquire
lands in an unauthorized manner and then sell it to residents. Singh also
warned builders to not to indulge in such unfair practices because they are not
being spared if caught someday. Rising population and rapid industrialization
has inflated land prices and boosted the real estate business here.
Jayaprakash Narayan was born on October 11, 1902, in Sitabdiara, a village on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. His father Harsudayal was a junior official in the canal department of the State government and was often touring the region. Jayaprakash, called Baul affectionately, was left with his grandmother to study in Sitabdiara. Since there was no high school in the village, Jayaprakash was sent to Patna to study in the Collegiate School While in school, Jayaprakash read magazines like Saraswati, Prabha and Pratap, books like Bharat- Bharati, and poems by Maithilsharan Gupta and Bharatendu Harishchandra which described the courage and valor of the Rajput kings. Jayaprakash also read the Bhagwad Gita. He excelled in school. His essay, “The present state of Hindi in Bihar” won the best essay award. He joined the Patna College on a Government scholarship.
Jayaprakash was married to Prabhavati, daughter of lawyer and nationalist Brij Kishore Prasad in October 1920. Prabhavati was very independent-minded and on Gandhiji’s invitation, went to stay at his ashram while Jayaprakash continued his studies.
Jayaprakash, along with some friends, went to listen to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad speak about the Non-cooperation movement launched by Gandhiji against the passing of the Rowlatt Act of 1919. The Maulana was a brilliant orator and his call to give up English education “like leaves before a storm, (Jayaprakash was) swept away and momentarily lifted up to the skies. That brief experience of soaring up with the winds of a great idea left imprints on (his) inner being.” Jayaprakash took the Maulana’s words to heart and left Patna College with just 20 days remaining for his examinations. He joined the Bihar Vidyapeeth, a college run by the Congress. After the Chauri Chaura incident in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the Non- cooperation movement was suspended. Most students returned to their colleges.
After exhausting the courses at the Vidyapeeth, Jayaprakash decided to go to America to pursue his studies. At age 20, Jayaprakash sailed aboard the cargo ship Janus while Prabhavati remained at Sabarmati. Jayaprakash reached California on October 8, 1922, and gained admission to Berkeley in January 1923. To pay for his education, Jayaprakash picked grapes, set them out to dry, packed fruits at a canning factory, washed dishes, worked as a mechanic at a garage and at a slaughter house, sold lotions and accepted teaching jobs. All these jobs gave Jayaprakash insight regarding the difficulties the working class faced.
Jayaprakash was forced to transfer to Iowa State when fees at Berkeley were doubled. He was forced to transfer to many universities thereafter. He pursued his favorite subject, Sociology and received much help from Professor Edward Ross, the father of Sociology.
In Wisconsin, Jayaprakash was introduced to Karl Marx’s “Das Capital”. News of the success of the Russian revolution of 1917 made Jayaprakash conclude that Marxism was the way to alleviate the suffering masses. He delved himself into books by Indian intellectual and Communist theoretician M.N. Roy. His paper on Sociology, “Social Variation”, was declared as the best of the year.
Jayaprakash had to cut his doctorate short when news came that his mother was seriously ill. Jayaprakash returned to India in November 1929, “a mature young man with an enquiring mind, original in his thinking, and with the fierce, idealistic desire to devote himself to serve society.” For Jayaprakash it was not enough that the nation attain political freedom. To him, the definition of freedom was freedom from hunger, poverty and ignorance.
While Jayaprakash became a believer of the Communist school of thought, Prabhavati became an ardent Gandhian. He respected Prabhavati’s choice and did not force her to change her views. In 1929, both Jayaprakash and Prabhavati left for the Congress session at Lahore under Jawaharlal Nehru’s presidentship. There Nehru invited Jayaprakash to join the Congress, an offer that Jayaprakash gladly accepted. He began work in the Labor Research Cell of the Congress at Allahabad.
Following the 1930 Dandi March, most of the top Congress leaders were arrested. Jayaprakash immediately set up an underground office at Bombay to continue Congress work. He traveled all over the nation, printing, distributing and organizing secret meetings. After an underground meeting of the Congress Working Committee in Banaras, Jayaprakash went to Madras where he was arrested. The next day the newspaper headlines screamed, “Congress Brain Arrested!”
In the Nasik jail, Jayaprakash had the opportunity to meet thinkers like Ram Manohar Lohia, Ashoka Mehta, Minoo Masani, P. Dantawala and Achyut Patwardhan. They all were impatient for freedom and agreed to steer the Congress toward the goal of socialism. Jayaprakash was released from jail in 1933.
In 1934, Jayaprakash and his friends formed the Congress Socialist Party under the Presidentship of Acharya Narendra Deva and secretaryship of Jayaprakash himself. The group intended to function as the Socialist wing within the Congress party and aimed to make socialism the goal of the Congress. In a book “Why Socialism?” (1932), Jayaprakash explained why socialism would be right for India. He was adored by the youth for his idealism.
Jayaprakash was arrested for speaking against Indian participation in the Second World War in February 1940 and sent to Deoli detention camp in Rajasthan. Jayaprakash was appalled at the conditions in Deoli. He organized a hunger strike to protest the conditions in 1941. The Government immediately released him. He was again arrested in 1942 for participating in the Quit India movement. In November 1942, Diwali night, Jayaprakash along with five others escaped the prison by scaling the 17 feet high wall while the guards remained distracted by the festivities. A Rs. 10,000 reward was offered for Jayaprakash’s capture, dead or alive. Jayaprakash escaped to Nepal and organized a guerilla army called the “Azad Dasta”. Jayaprakash and Ram Manohar Lohia were captured briefly but were rescued by the Azad Dasta members, who set fire to a hut to distract the guards. Both freedom fighters escaped to Bihar. Finally the British closed in on Jayaprakash in Amritsar when he was on his way to Rawalpindi to meet Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan. Jayaprakash was taken to Lahore Fort, notorious as a “Torture chamber” on September 18, 1943. 16 months of mental and physical torture followed. Jayaprakash was put in solitary confinement for the first month. Then came interrogations, physical torture and humiliation. Jayaprakash was released from jail on April 12, 1946.
Jayaprakash returned to a nation he could barely recognize. Talk of partition and riots between Hindu and Muslims dominated the atmosphere. Jayaprakash rushed to Bihar to assist in curbing the riots. He pleaded with the Congress Working Committee not to accept the partition plan.
Independence finally came on August 15, 1947. Within a year Gandhiji was assassinated. Prabhavati hid her sorrow behind the spinning wheel, but Jayaprakash’s mind “churned (with) grief and horror.” He began to see the wisdom in Gandhiji’s insistence on truth and non-violence.
The Socialists lost to the Congress in the 1952 elections. Nehru invited Jayaprakash to join the Cabinet. When Nehru could give no assurances on the implementation of Jayaprakash’s 14 point plan to reform the Constitution, the Administration and Judicial system, nationalize the banks, redistribute land to the landless, revive Swadeshi, and setup cooperatives, Jayaprakash refused the offer.
Jayaprakash turned his attention to the trade unions he was President of. He, along with the unions was able to get a minimum wage, pension, medical relief and housing subsidy introduced. At the same time, Jayaprakash was keenly watching events in Russia. The bloody purges and imprisonment convinced Jayaprakash that communism was not for India. He realized that Gandhiji’s success in the freedom struggle had showed that it was possible to bring about change without sacrificing one’s values.
On April 19, 1954, at a meeting in Gaya, Jayaprakash made the dramatic announcement of dedicating his life (jeewandaan) to Vinoba Bhave’s Sarvodaya movement. He renounced all self-interest, gave up his land in Sitabdiara, and withdrew from all personal activity to devote the rest of his life to the movement. Prabhavati was delighted at this declaration. Jayaprakash set up an ashram at Hazaribagh, a poor and backward village. He gave Gandhian concepts a new dimension by using modern technology to uplift the village.
Jayaprakash believed that every village should be like a small republic – politically independent and capable of taking its own ecisions. It was a marriage of Gandhian-Indian concepts and modern Western democracy. His thoughful, well-researched and brilliant book, “The Reconstruction of Indian Polity,” won him the Ramon Magsaysay Award.
In June 1971, Sarvodaya workers in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, received a letter threatening to kill them. The area was continuously threatened by Naxalites, which was made up of young men. Jayaprakash walked into the heart of Naxal territory armed only with love and sympathy. He knew that the cause of the violence was that the youth were frustrated because of poverty and unemployment. He lived in Musahari block for many months and experimented to alleviate the problems of the Naxals. Jayaprakash was also a key person in acquiring the surrender of dacoits in the Chambal Valley.
On April 15, 1973, Prabhavati died of cancer, leaving Jayaprakash alone.
1974 ushered in a year of high inflation, unemployment and lack of supplies and essential commodities. Jayaprakash was asked to lead a peaceful agitation by the Navanirman Andolan of Gujarat. On April 8, 1974, at the age of 72, he led a silent procession at Patna. The procession was lathi charged. On June 5, 1974, Jayaprakash addressed a mammoth crowd at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. He declared, “This is a revolution, friends! We are not here merely to see the Vidhan Sabha dissolved. That is only one milestone on our journey. But we have a long way to go… After 27 years of freedom, people of this country are wracked by hunger, rising prices, corruption… oppressed by every kind of injustice… it is a Total Revolution we want, nothing less!”
On June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court held the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, guilty on charge of corrupt practices in the election. Jayaprakash advised her to resign until her name was cleared by the Supreme Court. Instead, she clamped Emergency on June 26. Jayaprakash was arrested and sent to Chandigarh where he was kept prisoner in a hospital. “My world lies in shambles around me,” he cried. As his health worsened, he was moved to a hospital in Bombay.
Finally in January 1977, Emergency was lifted. Fresh elections were declared. Under Jayaprakash’s guidance several parties united to form the Janata Party. The party incorporated all of Jayaprakash’s goals in its manifesto.
Jayaprakash was weak and helpless by that time. He felt his work was done, but he had to sorrowfully witness the collapse of the Janata Party government. Jayaprakash died on October 8, 1979. People hailed him as “Lok Nayak” or leader of the people. Vinoba Bhave said after Jayaprakash’s death that Jayaprakash considered himself only a “Lok-sevak,” or servant of the people.
