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Great Escape to Kabul SLICE OF HISTORY: A
photograph taken during the visit of Netaji Subash Chander Bose to
Amritsar with other revolutionries at the Bara Makan hub. — A Tribune photograph |
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NRI alleges harassment for dowry Fitting finale for fashion exhibition Ruby makes name in
martial arts
Patient gets new lease of life Plans to restart govt boys college
Workshop on
Bhagat Puran Singh Forest Department initiates afforestation drive Brahma Kumaris tie rakhis to Pak
prisoners Theft in nursing
college |
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Netaji was one of the greatest leaders of the Independence Movement. Freedom fighters of Amritsar were witness to a great event; Netaji’s escape from Kolkata to Kabul through the Holy City. Varinder Walia and Ashok Sethi write about one of the best-kept secrets The Independence Movement produced many towering personalities, whose larger than life images still evoke wonder and amazement. The struggle was bifurcated into two streams – the revolutionary and the peaceful non-cooperation movement. Both played their parts in gaining independence for our nation. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi headed the peaceful non-cooperation against the British while at the forefront of the revolutionary movement was Netaji Subash Chander Bose. The twin movements were two paths to achieve the same goal – an Independent India. History has left many questions unanswered regarding Netaji, who eventually founded the Indian National Army (INA) for armed struggle against the British rule. Many commissions and more than half a century later, we still grope in the dark about the ultimate fate that befell Netaji. While many theories and ‘facts’ float around regarding the final journey he undertook, there is one escape that is well chronicled and relates to the Holy City of Amritsar. Slice of history It is sad that most students of modern Indian history are oblivious of one of the best-kept secrets; legendary Netaji Subhash Chander Bose’s ‘great escape’ from Kolkata to Kabul through the Holy City. His brief stop over at Amritsar en route to Afghanistan generated tremendous patriotic fervour among local residents. A local freedom fighter, resident of Bara Makana - the hub of revolutionaries - established Netaji’s escape to Kabul in disguise with active help of revolutionaries of Punjab. Before his ‘great escape’, British authorities had imprisoned Netaji 11 times. At the outset of World War II, in a daring act, he reached Germany by a lengthy, dangerous and treacherous route. In July 1940, Netaji was arrested and sent to prison again for planning to lead a march demanding the removal of a memorial to the victims of the Black Hole of Kolkata. He felt that there was little that he could achieve in India under the circumstances. So, he planned an escape from India to go to the Soviet Union, and then on to Germany in his fight against the British. Bose’s house in Kolkatta was kept under surveillance. With two court cases pending, he felt the British would not let him leave the country before the end of the war - it has been suggested that he was desperate to see his wife, who was in Berlin. This set the scene for Bose’s ‘Great Escape’ to Germany, via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union with a stop over at Amritsar. Journey to Kabul Inspired revolutionaries, including women, from Amritsar pledged to support Netaji to achieve complete freedom. Women played a crucial role in the economic boycott campaigns and often participated in the non-cooperation movement with as much or even greater enthusiasm than their male counterparts. Chittaranjan Das (C.R.Das), Lala Lajpat Rai, popularly called ‘Punjab Kesari’ (Lion of the Punjab), Dr Saifudin Kitchlew, along with prominent Afghan leader and other revolutionaries from Punjab were with Netaji. Netaji had never been to Afghanistan, and did not speak the local language, Pashto. He enlisted the help of Mian Akbar Shah, then a Forwad Bloc leader in the North West Frontier Province. Shah suggested a novel disguise for Netaji, to act deaf and dumb, and let his beard grow like the tribesmen. Local Muslim revolutionaries, including Dr Kitchlew, were instrumental in giving invaluable tips to Netaji to understand Islamic culture. Before escaping to Kabul, Bose contacted a Communist
organisation to ask if they would help him across the border into Afghanistan, and then the USSR. In the winter of 1940-41, the great journey began. Disguised as a Muslim life insurance agent, Netaji escaped from his family home in Kolkata in the middle of the night. He boarded a train at a remote rural station, and travelled to Peshawar, on the border between Punjab and Afghanistan. Kabul in the 1940’s was a truck-stop village with Embassies. Bose, still posing as a deaf-mute, stayed at truck-drivers’ hotel for weeks, trying to contact the Russians, who suspected that he was a British agent trying to infiltrate the Soviet Union. Next, Bose contacted the Germans. They were intrigued by his ideas, but dragged their feet. Eventually the Italians rescued him. The Italian diplomat in Kabul was fascinated by Bose’s plans. He gave Bose an Italian passport and the name Orlando Mazzotta, and persuaded the Germans and the Russians to help him. Finally, in March of 1941, Bose travelled to the Soviet border in a diplomatic car, took a train to Moscow, and then flew to Berlin. In 1942, Netaji formed the Indian National Army (INA) in the Far East - the Japanese occupied areas, and was its supreme commander until his death in 1945. Subhash Chander Bose was born in 1897. A brilliant student at the Calcutta Presidency College, he earned a first-class undergraduate degree in philosophy. He then went to Cambridge and finished his work in two years instead of three. At his father’s insistence he joined the Indian Civil service (ICS). As an ICS officer, he joined the Calcutta City Corporation as its secretary at the request of Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, then the Mayor of Calcutta. Bara Makan
revolutionaries Bose visited the hub of nationalist movement, a small locality ‘Bara Makan’ in the Islamabad Area in Amritsar and interacted with local leaders to put up a united front to oust the British and set up an Indian state. Mr Avinash Mohinderu, whose family was original resident of Bara Makana said this locality was frequently visited by great revolutionaries, including Comrade Sohan Singh Josh and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. The mention of Netaji still ignites a spark in the second generation of Bara Makana. They exuberantly share their knowledge of the visit. Mr Mohan Lal, the son of late Karamchand Mahendru (who had the rare picture of Netaji at Bara Makan), said his father was part of the party who welcomed Netaji. His father would tell them of Bose’s fighting acumen and his many victories in Burma and Assam. Many believe that Netaji was unfairly sidelined by the establishment, but the old residents of Bara Makana still admire the ‘Patriot of Patriots’, as Gandhiji described Netaji. He was an intellectual and his Azad Hind Fauj had members of all communities. Netaji had found a large number of recruits from Amritsar. Netaji’s slogan, ‘Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi doonga’ was repeated in Amritsar before he left for Kabul and the enthusiastic city residents responded to the call in a big way. Mr Avinash Mohinderu said efforts would be made to preserve the site (twelve houses), originally constructed by twelve friends who had settled in the outskirts of Amritsar, far from the walled city. The Bara Makan was the only Hindu area surrounded by Muslim population before the Partition. The area also witnessed one of the bloodiest massacres, near the railway crossing. Punjab
connection Netaji’s had visited large tract of the land of Five Rivers before escaping to foreign shores. One of his visits was to Sangrur. In 1938, Netaji, while going from Lahore to Hisar in a train, inspired the people for a revolution. He made short speeches at stations when the train halted for some time - at Amritsar, Dhuri, Sangrur, Sunam and Lehragaga. At Sunam, Netaji addressed a very large gathering. He exhorted the people to be ready for great sacrifices and not to be afraid of princes in struggle for independence.
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Veteran playback and bhajan singer Narendra Chanchal said he was “completely innocent” in a Copyright Act violation case, filed at Amritsar against him by Brij Bharadwaj, a son of late Chaman Lal Bharadwaj, a lyricist. “I have never claimed anywhere that the song belonged to me or that I penned it. Certain people have indicted me wrongly as I had sung on the basis of whatever matter was provided to me by the music company concerned. I am going to file a defamation suit. My intentions are very clear and I am innocent,” said a visibly hurt Chanchal. Bharadwaj has alleged that Chanchal had rendered the song, penned down by his father, without prior permission of his father or the family. “The court will issue its verdict but I want to put forth my point of view,” said Chanchal. On being asked about his absence in films, Chanchal said, “I feel that film people don’t need me anymore. But, I am doing my work with full satisfaction.”
— Varinder Singh
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NRI alleges harassment for dowry Fate and her husband have played a cruel joke on Ms Meenu Dhillon. She helped her husband secure his NRI dream but then ended up without a roof over her head and discarded by him. Ms Dhillon, an NRI, never thought that her husband would throw her out after she had helped him get settled in Canada. The deserted wife narrated her tale of woes to her family and said she was left with no choice but to come to India to file a criminal case against her husband, Mr Gurpreet Singh Aulakh, his father Mr Sucha Singh and mother Mrs Barinder Kaur, of Guru Har Rai Avenue. Ms Dhillon’s father, Mr Gurbachan Singh, approached the police, which registered a case under Section 498-A, 406 of the IPC at the Islamabad police station. Mr Gurbachan Singh, in his complaint to the police, alleged that his son-in law had harassed his daughter, demanding more dowry. He further alleged that when they failed to meet their demands, the accused threw his daughter out of the house in Canada. A case has also been filed with the police in Canada in this regard against Mr Gurpreet Singh, he added. Ms Dhillon said their marriage was solemnised on January 28, 2005, and her husband, Mr Gurpreet Singh, after getting immigration visa, started demanding dowry. He also physically assaulted her. After two months of marriage he allegedly threw her out of his house in Toronto. She further alleged that Gurpreet’s parents, who were in Amritsar, asked her parents to send Rs 10 lakh to her husband for starting business in Canada. She alleged that when Gurpreet’s parents came to know that her parents would file a complaint with the police fled to Canada on a tourist visa in July.
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Fitting finale for fashion exhibition Airhostess trainees of the Frankfins institute showcased their talent during a catwalk on the concluding day of the two-day Fashion Forecast exhibition organised at Hotel Mohan International. A grand spectacle of designer clothing in different hues set the ramp on fire. A spectator said the professional show by amateur models made the audience applaud the confidence of the budding airhostesses. Sashying to famous Punjabi pop numbers, the models exhibited western ensembles, Indian dresses - sarees and lehngas – and received tremendous applause from the audience. The participants at the fashion forecast exhibition provided costumes and jewellery. Some models wore the dresses of airhostesses to show their class as air-cabin crew. Handicraft items and other products produced by the inmates of the Tihar Jail and Amritsar Central Jail were a major draw at the two-day exhibition. Inaugurating the exhibition, the Minister of Excise and Taxation, Mr Sardool Singh, lauded the efforts of the jail administration for providing training to the inmates to make them economically independent and self-reliant. Promoter of the exhibition, Ms Tania Chatha, said more than 65 entrepreneurs had brought exclusive items to show their skills. It was a big draw for the public. Linen, household items, handicrafts and antique furniture pieces got the major response Ms Nini Kapoor, a compulsive shopper, said it was a lifetime experience to be at the exhibition where the entrepreneurs had put up fine pieces of jewellery and clothing. She picked up some pieces for her house at a reasonable prices.
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Ruby makes name in
martial arts Martial arts expert Ruby took on the organisers and floored them when she found the Indian National Flag missing at the Asian Sport For All Associations held in Busan, South Korea last year. She came out the next day to find three Tricolour proudly fluttering at the venue. Ruby has not confined herself to any one martial art; in fact she practices many. Karate, taekwondo, wushu, gymnastics and hae dong kumdo (a Korean sword game) are part of her repertoire. She participated in several national and international championships of these sports and carved out a niche for herself. Now, she goes to participate in international conventions of these games as an official. Her first martial art sport was karate. She secured the gold medal in the India Karate Cup in 1996 and had
acquired silver medal in the National Full Contact Karate Championship a year earlier. She was declared the best karate player and took the gold medal in the National Open Full Contact Karate Championship. She repeated the same result in the 2006 edition too. The second martial sport she learned was taekwondo. She took the silver medal in the National Women Taekwondo Championship held in Bangalore in 2002. Besides, she attended several courses and camps to train youngsters. She took coaching at the World Taekwondo Academy and International Taekwondo Academy. She also dabbled in wushu, a Chinese martial art. She claimed the silver medal in the 10th National Wushu Championship held in New Delhi in 2001 and the gold in the fourth Punjab State Men and Women Wushu Championship. In gymnastics, Ruby participated in the Punjab State Junior and Senior Championship in 1999-2000 and in the Senior State Gymnastics Championship. She received training in hae dong kumdo, a Korean sword game, in South Korea. She attributes her success to her family and coaches. She said her coaches Mahesh Verma, Ish Devgan and Shammi Rana guided her through. Apart from this, she officiated in the All-India Open Martial Arts Championship on karate 2003, the All-India Indira Gandhi Open Wushu Championship 2002, National Taekwondo Championship 2005, besides others.
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Tinkering with time: 13 countries, 1 dial An idea can launch an invention. Time goes by and the idea remains in the realm of though without getting translated into concrete reality. Local Chheharta resident Jaswinder Singh Namdhari (22) not only captured an elusive idea, but also translated it into reality. Time definitely goes by, not once but 13 times over, for he has played with time. Namdhari has made a watch that denotes times of 13 countries simultaneously. The Limca Book of Records and the Ajanta Clock Company have reportedly approached Namdhari for details about his ‘invention’. Namdhari, a watch mechanic, said his watch denotes times of India, Bangladesh, the UK, Japan, the USA, Australia, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan, Switzerland, Dubai and Zimbabwe. The idea of making such watch struck him after seeing a number of wall clocks denoting times of various countries in a hotel at New Delhi. It took him more than a month to give concrete shape to that idea. Namdhari couldn’t continue his formal his education after Plus Two due to circumstances at home. He started learning repairing of watches in the Hall gate area. The circumstances haven’t been able to stop his imagination, as he likes to work on problem areas. For his new watch, he set the pins in a way that the dial of the watch fitted inside the watch also rotates with the pins denoting the time simultaneously. Anything new interests him, as he likes to make new inventions. He already has a few ideas in his mind, which he wants to translate into reality.
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Patient gets new lease of life A team of doctors in the city successfully operated upon 22-year-old Paramjit Kaur, suffering from a rare heart defect called ‘Aneurysm of Sinus of Valsalva of Heart’. The difficult surgery was performed at the Escorts Hospital. Dr Harshbir S. Pannu, chief cardiovascular surgeon, said the patient, the wife of a daily wager, was admitted to the hospital in a breathless state. He said it took the team three hours to complete the surgery that required stopping the heart for 40 minutes and putting the patient on an artificial device. He said the doctors had used a special synthetic cloth to suture between two chambers of the heart, as the patient had suffered a heart attack-like condition, from bursting of the Aorta (main blood artery) at the root of the heart into its right-sided chamber. This had caused severe pain and subsequently breathlessness, he added. Dr Pannu said the condition was one of the rarest and death rate in these cases was high. He said there were no visible symptoms of the ailment. Dr Pannu said doctors and employees of the hospital had donated nearly Rs one lakh to cover the cost of Paramjit Kaur’s surgery.
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Plans to restart govt boys college Parliamentary Secretary for Higher Education Rajkumar Verka has announced plans to restart the Government College for Boys. Mr Verka said he had been requesting the government to grant approval to this project for a long time as the college was being run with skeleton staff and without proper infrastructure. The government had discontinued the college as soon as it came to power, much to the dismay of the city residents. He said he would try to create a proper campus and make sure that adequate funds were allocated for the project. He added that the Chairman of the Improvement Trust and MLA, Mr Jugal Kishore Sharma, had pledged Rs 2 crore as grant and suitable land for the college in the colonies developed by the trust. The Government College of Boys opened in 1997 amid much fanfare. But it was closed down four years later due to government’s inability to provide proper infrastructure to the college. The new announcement had come as a blessing for the lower-middle and middle class in the city who could not afford the exorbitant fee structure of private colleges. After the concerted efforts by senior Akali leader Manjit Singh Calcutta and BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla, the college was opened and run in a deaf and dumb school building, owned by the District Red Cross Society. The college was closed down since it did not have enough infrastructure including regular staff, classrooms, a library and a playground, despite assurances from the political leaders.
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Workshop on
Bhagat Puran Singh A two-day workshop on ‘Towards Independent Living and on Inclusive Society — Promoting Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ was organised to commemorate the 14th death anniversary of Bhagat Puran Singh, the founder of the Pingalwara - a charitable home for the insane, aged, incurably sick, and destitute. The programme started with shabad kirtan by Pingalwara children, followed by a dance by mentally challenged children. A 20-minute film on ‘Pingalwara’ was also screened. Dr Inderjit Kaur, president, All-India Pingalwara Society, welcomed the guests. Mr Dinesh Gupta, chairman, Friends Organisation, New Delhi, who has cerebral palsy with serious difficulties in speech and physical movements, spoke on independent living for persons with disability. He stressed upon a need of independent living homes and supportive living homes, as essential requirement, particularly when the parents or guardians were no more. He proposed three-four rooms in the local community set-up where education and vocational training in basic computer and Internet application, typing and staking of up-plate, recreational activity like yoga, art and music, public awareness and medical care would be provided to inmates. Mr Vinod Kumar Mishra, from Sahibabad, said there was no limit to learning and education of the person with disability, irrespective of the extent and kind of disability. ‘Khamoshian’ a 40-minute documentary film was also screened which dealt with the struggle of a young woman with hearing impairment to win back her estranged husband. Mr Kaushik from Guwahati presented a paper on ‘Economic Rehabilitation’ and gave information about his organisation ‘Atamnirbhar’. On the first day of the workshop, Mr J.K. Mehta from ‘Parwaar- National Foundation of Parents Association’ gave a presentation on ‘Person with Disability and Power of Media’. Mrs Poonam Natrajan, Chairperson, National Trust for Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities spoke on length on ‘Towards Independent Living and on Inclusive Society’. She urged the families to move away from ‘over protection’ and ‘less expectation’.
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Forest Department initiates afforestation drive
To cover all vacant government and private lands in the district, the Forest Department has initiated a major afforestation drive. District Forestation Officer Mahavir Singh said the Ministry of Environment and the Punjab Government had taken a conscious decision to provide forest cover to all the vacant lands in and around the city. Launching the drive at the Medical College, Mr Mahavir Singh said the college had earmarked five-hectare in the campus where the department would plant 5,000 saplings. He said there were plans to add 10,000 more trees within and outer the periphery of the city. The officer said the department had identified several vacant areas in the school, colleges and the periphery of the town to undertake large-scale plantation. He added that the paramilitary forces including the BSF, CRPF and CISF had approached the department to provide saplings. Mr Mahavir Singh urged various institutions, NGOs and banks to take the initiative and assured them that the department would provide plants for the drive. Citing examples of Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, he said the gurdwara management had started a kar sewa for planting trees in and around the villages and around the roadsides to compensate for the loss of trees being axed for widening the roads.
— OC
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Brahma Kumaris tie rakhis to Pak
prisoners Not withstanding the present strained relations between India and Pakistan, several women tied rakhis on the wrists of Pakistani national languishing in the Central Jail during a special function organised by the jail authorities. A group of Brahma Kumaris visited the jail to wish good luck to convicts and undertrials. On the occasion, DIG prison Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said most prisoners, including Pakistan nationals, were moved by the emotional experience, as they had never imagined that someone cared for them. The gesture of the Brahma Kumaris touched an emotional chord with the prisoners. Brahma Kumaris later offered sweets to all the inmates. Veteran Communist leader Satya Pal Dang was also present on the occasion.
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Sister tutor of the College of Nursing, Ms Charanjit, recently claimed that valuable equipments were stolen from the college building located in the Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Government Hospital here. In letter to the principal of the college, Ms Rajrani, she said the theft came to light on August 4. In the store, the locks were found broken and many objects missing, she added. She enclosed a list of 107 items with the letter which were lost in the burglary. The All India Youth Association has taken up the matter. It has written to DIG (Border Range) and SSP. Its president Ravinder Sultanwind feared involvement of staff members in the theft. The principal forwarded the letter and list of stolen items to the hospital’s medical superintendent and Majitha Road police station. — OC
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