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Problems multiply as tourists throng Shimla
Official’s relative encroaches upon Nagar Parishad land, allege residents
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HP Secretariat canteen runs on 40 domestic cylinders
76-yr-old needs help for son’s treatment
Counselling to curb domestic violence
Village of 1,400 sans doctor
vignettes
Bhakra Dam oustees long for water
Leopard attacks panic villagers
States need not blindly go for central health programmes
New animals add life to Gopalpur park
Himachal diary
E-samadhan hardly offers any solution
Dearth of teachers may affect implementation of RTE Act
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Problems multiply as tourists throng Shimla
Shimla, May 18 Scant respect for traffic rules and absence of general civic sense are adding to the grim situation, further compounding the problems of the police and other agencies, entrusted with proper traffic management. Haphazard parking along narrow roads, curves and busy junctions is choking the "Queen of Hills" with vehicles as traffic jams have become the order of the day, practically throughout the day. Earlier, traffic congestion was restricted to school hours and office hours but these days it takes an hour to commute from end of the town to the other at any time of the day. Despite the construction of a bypass, it is still Cart Road which takes almost 80 per cent of the traffic load of the state capital. Though traffic cops are on the job trying to enforce traffic rules but when it comes to government vehicles, especially those flashing beacon lights and blaring hooters the police is helpless. They aggravate the traffic situation as they force their way zipping past others even if there is no space. Several vehicles of bureaucrats, with uncovered beacon lights flout traffic rules using hooters while going to drop children to school, with the cops looking on helplessly. Even as far as the parking of vehicles is concerned, it is the government vehicles of VIPs that are the main culprit. While in most places near Shimla Club, near the Lift on The Mall, private vehicles are fined for parking, government vehicles with red lights get away with anything. "We have written to senior officials in the Secretariat and other offices to direct their drivers to keep the beacon light covered when the officer is not travelling in the vehicle and park these at only designated places or else they too will be challaned," said SSP RM Sharma. He added the rules were the same both for government as well as private vehicles. He also sounded a warning note to those who were using beacon lights without authorization. Vehicles of several politicians who are no longer holding office, political party office-bearers and retired officials still use beacon lights on their vehicles. Even as there is talk of strengthening tourism infrastructure in terms of better roads, more parking slots and other facilities, popular destinations like Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala crumble under the pressure of traffic and strained civic amenities. The least one can offer to those coming here to enjoy natural beauty is to provide free flowing traffic, ample parking spaces, regular water supply and cleanliness which seems a far cry in the present state of affairs.
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Official’s relative encroaches upon Nagar Parishad land, allege residents
Hamirpur, May 18 This person has not only encroached upon the land but has also raised a structure here. The Parishad authorities had removed a public toilet from this place sometime back and the encroachment by a close relative of a member of Parishad has raised suspicion in the minds of the residents. Some residents are of the opinion that the existing public toilet was removed from this place, which was providing convenience to many persons and was demolished in a systematic manner to facilitate a close relative of a member of the Parishad. The decision to remove the toilet from the existing place was passed sometime back following which it was demolished. “But the manner in which the illegal kiosk was constructed has raised suspicion since this person has already started selling food items here,” feel many. According to sources, some people in the Parishad had allowed this person to use the space for business purpose but he has encroached upon the land by raising an illegal kiosk. President of Parishad Deep Kumar said, “The resolution to remove public toilet from the place was passed in the house as some people had objected to it.” “We had allowed the person to make use of this place to earn a living,” he added. Executive officer of Parishad VK Sharma said, “We had asked this person to stop using the place after reports of encroachment came to light. We will discuss the matter in the next meeting of the house also.”
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HP Secretariat canteen runs on 40 domestic cylinders Mandi, May 18 Babus have made the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) its handmaiden to run the loss-making HP Secretariat canteen using 40 domestic cylinders instead of commercial cylinder for their benefit. The HPTDC serves the babus tea and samosa at the price of Rs 1.50 each, butter toast at Rs 2 and Janta Meal at rate Rs 4.50 and rates have not been revised since 1980. “There are some who prefer breakfast, lunch and even packed dinner in the canteen as it is very cheap here,” sources said. RTI Bureau Mandi president Lawan Thakur, who sought the information under the RTI, appealed to the state Chief Information Commissioner CIS) as the PIO, HP Secretariat, did not respond for five months. Only after the CIC had pressurised, the babus provided the information. Surprisingly, a commercial venture has been running the canteen. The HPTDC had suffered losses worth Rs 2.16 lakh from April 2008 to March 2010, from this canteen that was monitored by the General Administration Department (GAD), which itself was one of the defaulters, the information revealed. It has also exposed hollow claims of Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala, who has been conducting raids at private dhabhas to keep a tab on the misuse of domestic cylinders. But, the HPTDC has 40 such cylinders and it is suspected that many are given to private users free of cost. The information revealed that in spite of running the canteen on no-profit-no-loss basis, it had turned out to be the HPTDC’s mandatory loss-making venture to feed the babus at the cost of the public ex-chequer. Thakur said it was surprising that the despite checking the misuse of the domestic cylinders, the HP Secretariat had been misusing them. RTI bureau said Dhawala should visit the canteen before he preached his gospel of misuse of domestic cylinders to the masses. The HPTDC has to recover Rs 7.9 lakh each year; Rs 15,438 from the Planning Department; Rs 30, 650 from the Public Relations Department; Rs 10, 966 from the press secretary to Chief Minister and Rs 49, 954 from GAD. Thakur said he had not got the complete information and had filed an appeal with the CIC. Managing Director, HPTDC; director and food and civil supplies officials said the matter was not brought to their notice. But the domestic cylinders cannot be used in the canteen, they added.
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76-yr-old needs help for son’s treatment
Nurpur, May 18 Chander Singh said his son was a brilliant student when he got through his matriculation examination by scoring excellent marks. “Unfortunately, one day he fell in the house of his maternal uncle when he was 23. Later, his legs turned frail and he became disable”. Pawan, who could be the only bread earner in the family, became a burden for it. He has been lying straight for the past many years and all efforts failed to treat him. The hapless father has spent all his saving as well as service pension on the treatment of his son in various private hospitals in Pathankot and PGI, Chandigarh, but his son could not recover despite assurances by doctors. So far no government or NGO has come forward to his rescue. He has pinned hope on the treatment of his son at Fortis Hospital, where doctors have claimed for having treated one such patient with same medical history. He has appealed to philanthropists and voluntary organisations to come to his aid so that his bedridden son could be treated. Chander Singh recently approached Yogesh ‘Sundri’, patron of local unit of HIMOUTKARSH, an NGO, who gave him monetary assistance to shift his son to PGI. He has also offered to collect public donations on his behalf. He can be contacted at 09816050850.
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Counselling to curb domestic violence
Kangra, May 18 Raising the issue here today, BM Dutt, director of Nari Shakti Sangathan (NSS), an NGO running a Family Counselling Centre (FCC) under the aegis of Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) and also notified as service provider under the Domestic Violence Act, said, "We feel that our capacities as counsellor and service providers are under utilised because a sizeable number of domestic violence cases which can be resolved more effectively by counselling are being pushed to court due to the system prevailing at the moment." He said, "The police and protection officers, who are receiving such cases, fear action against them if they feel to consider to refer such cases to the FCC for counselling prior to putting them in court in the absence of clear cut instructions from the top." Dutt said during 2009-10 the NGO had developed rapport with some of the police stations and protection officers of the area around Dehra and managed to lay hand on about 41 domestic violence cases out of which reconciliation and compromise were arrived at in 31 cases, there was no separation, while four cases were referred to court and four were dropped. Dutt, in a letter to the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, proposed that in order to contain domestic violence in a bigger way the cases reported to the police and protection officers from aggrieved women, should be forwarded to accredited NGOs for family counselling prior to putting them in court, so that only those cases were sent to court which could not be resolved through counselling. The effort would not only bring harmony in relationship of the couples in distress but also save valuable time of courts and relieve the courts from the overburden of domestic violence too, Dutt said.
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Village of 1,400 sans doctor
Bharmour, May 18 The village only has an ayurvedic dispensary that too is functioning without a doctor and other staff for the past about four years and people suffering from various ailments have been facing a lot of hardships. Residents of the village having a population of about 1,400 have urged the government to post a doctor and other staff at Kugti so that medical care could be provided to patients.
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vignettes
The Punjab Government Records, 1911, give a list of 30 Shimla hill states (SHS), prepared by Capt PC Kennedy, Assistant Deputy Superintendent, were merged along with Chamba, Suket, Mandi, Hindoor, Sirmaur and Bushahr to form Himachal Pradesh on April 15, 1948.
A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance." The 30 hill states were Jubbal, Kotgarh, Balsan, Ravin, Khaneti, Karanglu, Delath, Saari, Navar, Dodra Kwar, Theog, Ghoond, Punder, Bharoli, Beja, Saangri, Darkoti, Tharoach, Keonthal, Bagahat, Baghal, Kuthar, Kumharsain, Bhajji, Mehlog, Dhami, Koti, Madhan, Kunihar and Maangal. Sardar Patel had then uttered that some of these states were so small that even a petty dot on the map of India was larger for its size. No wonder, after the formation of Himachal, we used to hear anecdotes about the prince of a particular state climbing a tree and chopping fodder for his cows. In hills, the prince on the throne was the Supreme Court, his son the High Court and grandson the lower court. A lower court once went for inspection of disputed land. A peon accompanied the court. On way fell a rivulet. The peon was ordered to carry the court on his back and cross it. The portly court in all its splendour piggybacked the skeletal peon who had removed his shoes and had tucked his pajama up as precaution against getting wet. Cautiously he moved with about two maunds of flesh on his back. Right midstream, he slipped and swoosh! slosh! splash! the court fell in the flowing water (See sketch). The court was furious, the peon apologetic. As contempt of court, a fine of Rs.10, his two-month salary, was slapped on the peon who wailed over his 'phooti kismet'. The Shimla hill states (SHS) Gazetteer of 1910 gives the story of Bhambu Rai, Chief of Khaneti whose fort on a high hill was two miles north of Baghi. He would walk and horse-ride 80 miles before taking his breakfast. Up early, he would go 20 miles to have bath in Sutlej near Rampur and then cover 40 miles to Hatkoti for praying the deity there and return 20 miles to his fort for breakfast. Bhambu met Rana Kirat Chand who, terrorised by Mahmud Ghaznavi, ran away from Gaya and, courtesy Bhambu, settled on a piece of land in Bushahr. He died there leaving his pregnant wife to the care of Bhambu but before she could deliver she also died and the child was forced out of her dead body while placing it on funeral pyre. The child, by accident, got carried away by river Sutlej but was rescued to succeed Bhambu to become Raja Uggan Chand. I am also reproducing two anecdotes on princely states that Late KC Chauhan, a retired IAS and land-revenue expert, had told me. A defaulter in paying land-revenue was given the punishment of carrying a face of millstone, about 10-15 kg. in weight, and walk 20 miles; each village from where the defaulter used to pass would add another face to his load; most defaulters would break on way and those who survived were nearly dead at the final post. The other strange punishment for land-revenue evaders was that the culprit was made to stay put in a locked room where the villagers were ordered to go one by one and defecate. In fifteen days of lock up, the culprit would lose his posture due to reek, stink and stench and would come out with vow never to evade payment of land-revenue in future. See, the past is really an enjoyable place for off and on visits.
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Bhakra Dam oustees long for water
Bilaspur, May 18 Residents of the “new” Bilaspur town being constructed about two km above the old town, which is still on the bank of 72-km-long lake Gobind Sagar, are daily struggling to get even a few buckets of water from the 11 drying water tanks of the IPH department that are fed by depleted hill streams. Earlier, the old town was located on the Sutlej, also called Gobind Sagar where trillions of tonnes of water remain collected for over 8 months a year. At least 150 natural water streams, bowalies, nullahs and wells pouring out of the nearby Bandla hill perpetually fed the town. This was one of the most voluminous water-fed places of the then princely state of the same name. The IPH authorities, perplexed as they are, for they cannot “create water” in the water-starved tanks, mislead everybody with false figures (which no body here takes seriously) that every resident is being provided with 90 litre water every 24 hours although norms are for 130 litre. Also, total 19- 20 lakh litre water is being provided to the residents here under water “rationing” every 24 hours. The department has assessed that the town requires about 60-lakh litre potable water daily while only 33 per cent is available. Earlier, the Congress had provided funds worth Rs 5.28 crore for lifting water for the town from the Ali khud and this scheme was declared by then Chief Minister to be completed within one year, but nothing has been done hitherto. Besides, the BJP had also “inaugurated” another Rs 65-crore scheme two years ago that boasted of bringing water from Kol Dam lake, 35 km from here, which would take shape in the next three years after completion of the dam that is expected to be completed by 2012. Till then, the residents are doomed to bear with the same situation.
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Leopard attacks panic villagers
Bilaspur, May 18 There are reports of leopard attacks and panic spreading in the areas every now and then as many leopards are said to be on the prowl to prey on their cattle, even those tied in the cowsheds. The reports said a leopard killed the buffalo that belonged to Satya Devi of Parnaal village near Ghumarwin, which had worried the villagers regarding safety of their cattle and school children as well. In Ghaneeri village near Suharghat in Naina Deviji constituency, Geeta Ram lost his goat and a pet dog to a leopard. Earlier, at Bhadraun village in Hawaan gram panchayat, Bir Singh Thakur was surprised to find that his goat had been eaten away by a leopard during the night. The goat was tied in the cowshed. There have been persisting reports of the leopard attacks in the Kothi, Musaur, Bhated, Gaahar, Marhana, Bamm, Ghandalwin and Pantehada areas of Ghumarwin sub division. The villagers under the Naina Deviji constituency have been demanding that these carnivores be removed away from their areas.
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States need not blindly go for central health programmes
Shimla, May 18 "The disease profile of a region was largely determined by the geographical conditions, climate, lifestyle, socioeconomic status and other such local factors. There are different causes for outbreak of diseases in different areas that have to be tackled accordingly. A uniform health programme could not be implemented in such a varied scenario to yield the desired results", he said while emphasising the need for evolving an indigenous health strategy based on the country's own traditional knowledge and experiences with the modern system of medicine. International agencies like the World Bank and UNICEF were pursuing the agenda of the developed western world as evident from the conditions imposed for granting financial assistance, which only made things worse. Even the World Health Organisation (WHO), though a great facilitator, had been affected with the entry of certain vested interests and corrective steps must be taken to cure the apex health organisation, observed Kale, who was in the state capital for a two-day brain-storming session to help formulate an indigenous health policy held early this week. Even small countries like Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Indonesia had banned the pentavalent vaccine following serious after-effects on the vaccinated children, including death, were observed. However, India was still following the dictates of international agencies without a thorough evaluation of such interventions. The new drugs were being developed and tested in the western countries which had a temperate climate whereas most parts of the country fell in the tropical zone. Thus, the policy of introducing such products without proper evaluation in the local conditions did not stand to reason. The first issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Research was brought out in 1914 and till now thousands of research articles had been published but the vast scientific knowledge generated had not been taken into consideration while formulating health programmes for the country which was unfortunate. On the other hand, the agencies like UNICEF were obsessed with pushing the case of life-saving drugs without taking into consideration the varied conditions prevailing in different countries. The government did not go for an injectible anti-polio vaccine even after taking a decision in this regard knowing full well that oral drops were not as effective under pressure from international agencies. All this had to be changed to protect the larger interests of the country and its people for which a health policy based on countries own ground realities would have to be formulated. Regarding female foeticide he said that a solution could be found to the problem if the period for medical termination of pregnancy was reduced from the existing 20 weeks to 10 weeks. It was not possible to ascertain the sex of the foetus within this short period. Holland already had already made such a provision.
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New animals add life to Gopalpur park
Palampur, May 18 The animals were welcomed by the Zoo staff and later they were medically examined by a team of veterinary experts, headed by Dr RS Kishtwaria, a wildlife consultant from HP Agricultural University, Palampur. Blood samples of the animals were collected for a laboratory examination and specific health management and feeding instruction were given to the officials concerned. A male lion was treated for captivity and one lioness for transportation related cage injuries. Three bears were treated and shifted in the main bear enclosure after observing all precautions to avoid fight with the earlier group. Everything seems to have worked out fine, as all animals are hale and hearty. Few years ago, there used to be a big group of lions at Gopalpur, but with death of these animals, the lion enclosure remained vacant for a long time. According to Dr Kishtwaria, “Now, we do not expect diseases because of improved design of new lion enclosure although one has to be vigilant particularly in monsoons and winters as our previous experience has shown that the animals are most susceptible to skin and respiratory infections during these seasons”. On asking about breeding of animals at the park, he said, “Certain set of guidelines laid down by the Central Zoo Authority are to be followed before undertaking captive breeding, most important being DNA fingerprinting”. As the tourist season is catching up in the state, an addition in the number of lions and black bears at this park is proving to be a crowd-puller. A number of tourists and wildlife lovers visit the park every day to have a glimpse of new animals and other species of deer and birds. According to them, the addition of healthy and active animals is a welcome step. However, the park needs more parking space, as the existing parking lot gets congested and vehicles are parked outside, making the entry gate on the highway an accident-prone spot. One of the visitors also suggested that huge boulders on the boundary of bear enclosure should be made its part for simulating their natural habitat and the fence can be reinforced with transparent fiber sheet so that visitors may not tease them and at the same time, they can have a closer view.
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Himachal diary
Established and upcoming artists were provided the much-needed platform to display their talent by the Himachal Art Heritage Society, which organised a four-day exhibition at Gaiety Theatre this week.
As many as 30 works in oil, acrylic and water colours of 20 artists from all over the country, including seven from Himachal Pradesh, were exhibited (See photo). All these works were created by artists during various national workshops organised at different places by the Sundernagar-based society. Secretary of the society Navin Dhiman , an established artist himself, said that it was the first exhibition though his society had till date organised eight national workshops. The society could do much more for the promotion of art in the state if the government extends support to it. Introduction of fine art as a subject at the senior secondary level could go a long-way in this regard. Inaugurating the exhibition Manisha Nanda, principal secretary, language, art and culture, suggested the setting up of an art village to promote the traditional Kangra school of miniature painting and contemporary styles. She also released a collection of Hindi poetry "Swar Lehriayan" authored by Promila Bhardwaj on the occasion.
Free coaching for BPL students
When many private educational institutes lose no opportunity to extract money from students for various educational courses, Hamirpur-based M& M Educational Services has decided to provide free coaching to students living below poverty line and other weaker sections for the JBT entrance examination. The inspiration for this came after the management learnt that many poor students were unable to join this course due to lack of money for getting coaching. Institute director Manoj Kumar said a 25-day coaching course for the selected candidates would begin on June 2. He said the students coming from distant places would also be provided free residential accommodation. The institute has also urged the Chief Minister to arrange free travel for such students for joining coaching at Hamirpur.
World Nursing Day
The celebration of the World Nursing Day attracted attention to the fast-changing requirements of the profession in terms of practical training and update of knowledge. At one such functions held in Mandi, Public Works Minister Gulab Singh Thakur underlined the need for starting refresher courses for the nursing staff to help them keep abreast with the latest development and update their professional skills to suit the fast-changing healthcare needs, particularly the rapid advancement of technology. He assured the district nursing association of taking up the need for filling posts of staff nurse in the zonal hospital and other health institutions with the Chief Minister and the Health Minister. Saying that the government was committed to providing health services at the doorstep in remote villages, the decision to appoint 449 doctors and 605 staff nurses and other paramedical staff in the state was a step in this direction. He said that all trained nurses had been employed by the government and 12 nursing colleges and 27 nursing schools had been opened in the state in the past two years to ensure that the candidates did not have to go outside the state to pursue nursing education. Thakur also announced a grant of Rs 21,000 for the District Nursing Association for carrying out its activities. (Contributed by Rakesh Lohumi, D.P.Gupta and Kuldeep Chauhan)
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E-samadhan hardly offers any solution
Ghumarwin, May 18 Launched with much fanfare, the system has failed to live up to the expectations of the people, as their grievances remain largely unsolved. The authorities, however, claim to have solved the majority of the grievances which they receive online. As per the website, e-samadhan received 7,335 grievances till May 16, of which 5,663 were redressed and the rest
are pending. However, the majority of the grievances has been disposed of only on the website while the ground reality is otherwise. Contrary to the state government claims to readdress grievances within 5 to 15 days, officials of the department concerned take months. Gian Chand, a resident of Kot-Hatwar village, has been struggling to get removed a wheel illegally installed by Mansa Ram, of the same village, on a government potable line for the past 10 years. His repeated complaints to the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal have failed to yield results. The 75-year-old man even complained to Ravinder Ravi, IPH Minister, chief engineer, and superintending engineer, IPH, Hamirpur, against the illegal installation of a wheel by an alleged close associate of a former Congress MLA, on the branch line running between Jhanda and Thai in Kot village, but nothing has been done in this regard. He said he finally registered his complaint (IPH/20105) at e-samadhan in January this year. The complaint was entertained on January 11 by engineer-in-chief Rakesh Kumar Sharma. A day later, Bhim Sen, principal secretary to chief minister, marked the application to Bilaspur circle of the IPH. Finally, the application was marked to Satish Kumar, assistant engineer, IPH Ghumarwin, who sent his men to visit the site on April 29. Eyewitnesses revealed that the man, who had got the wheel illegally installed by influencing IPH employees almost 10 year ago, chased away the IPH men and used abusive language. Interestingly, what the assistant engineer wrote in his comments in the action-taken column of the e-samadhan was shocking. The officer commented that the wheel valve was installed nearly 10 years ago. The wheel is operated by a department official as per time schedule but there are still chances of tempering the water supply. He also wrote that it was not possible to shift the wheel due to local disputes. The department is ready to provide a parallel line to houses located beyond the installed wheel, if beneficiaries submit an NOC from landowners to lay pipeline from other suitable route. Members of five affected families, however, said certain local officials of the department are hand in glove with Mansa Ram, and have been trying to befool them.
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Dearth of teachers may affect implementation of RTE Act
Chamba, May 18 The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has implemented the RTE Act from the current academic year. The Act envisages free and compulsory education to all children falling within the age group of six to 14 years; besides it provides 25 per cent reservation for economically weaker section for admission to Class I in private schools. The Act mandates improvement in quality of education for which the school teachers would need to be qualified with adequate professional degree. A large number of untrained teachers is another problem in the educationally and economically backward districts. When contacted the deputy director of primary education for Chamba district disclosed that at least 30 per cent posts of teachers had been lying vacant in government middle schools and 20 per cent posts of teachers in government primary schools of the district. “In Chamba district, there are 1,116 primary schools and 238 middle schools run by the state government which will be covered under RTE,” revealed deputy director of primary education. Moreover, resentment prevails among the parents of students over the deteriorating standards of schools in Chamba district and the fact that teachers are transferred without taking into consideration the actual need of schools, the subjects and the pupil-teacher ratio. Schools in the rural and the far-flung areas of the district are understaffed whereas schools in the urban areas are normally overstaffed. Teachers who have links with politicians get postings in the schools of their choice in and nearby their homes and villages. As a result, nearly hundred schools in the district are being run by single teacher while a large number of schools are crying for requisite staff requirements. Norms like the pupil-teacher ratio, sections and the number of periods per week as formulated in the education code are flouted to adjust the ‘favourites’. The responsible officers of the Education Department are helpless due to ‘political interference’ and have become mere transferring authorities. During this month, the transfers of a number of teachers have been proposed to be made under the guise of rationalisation schools. “We are constrained to follow the dictates of some politicians with regard to transfers and adjustments”, revealed an official of the Education Department. In order to curb this practise stringently with a view to strengthening education network in the state, the state government has recently taken deterrent measures to rationalise the staff position in rural educational institutions thereby improving the standard of education in the state.
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With tourists flocking the hill town to beat the heat, traffic woes for both locals as well as visitors have worsened, necessitating the need
for better traffic management.
A close relative of a sitting member of the Hamirpur Nagar Parishad has allegedly encroached upon the Parishad’s land in the heart of main market, where a public toilet existed sometime back.
Nurpur, May 18
Bilaspur, May 18
Established and upcoming artists were provided the much-needed platform to display their talent by the Himachal Art Heritage Society, which organised a four-day exhibition at Gaiety Theatre this week.
As many as 30 works in oil, acrylic and water colours of 20 artists from all over the country, including seven from Himachal
Pradesh, were exhibited (See photo). All these works were created by artists during various national workshops organised at different places.
It means, we the Himachalis, were still sleeping under the yoke of princely states when India had woken up to life and freedom. Remember the 'tryst with destiny' speech of Jawaharlal Nehru delivered to the Constituent Assembly on August 14, 1947: "At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. 