India – Page 16 – Take off with Natarajan

” Why My 92-Year-Old Grandfather Left the City to Build a School in His Village…” ?

February 1, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Shalini Narayanan’s 92-year-old grandfather has started a school for children in Sikhra village of Uttar Pradesh. He left behind the comforts of a city life, and decided to go back to his native place to help students get access to quality education. Amidst several challenges, and the problems of living in a village, this is how he did it all.

Seven years ago, my grandfather decided to give up the comforts of urban life to return to his native village and start a school there. He is 92 years old today – his dream school is up and running, and he has been changing many lives for the past few years.

Located in Sikhra village in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, this school has been built with the aim of providing easily accessible education to children living there.

My grandfather at the school reception

My grandfather had left his village and lived in the city for about half a century. But when he looked behind after having spent several years of life working for his family, he realised that he had enough money, but there was no one around him who needed it. That was when he decided to set up a school. Sikhra already had a government school for students till Class 8. But after that, children had to travel for about 7km to reach the school where they taught students of Class 9 and beyond. That is why most of the girls and several boys dropped out after class 8.

So he started the Tikaram Smarak Inter-College, an English-medium high school affiliated to the State Board, where students from Class 9 to 12 would study. But he realised his mistake within a couple of years. Students coming from government schools were not qualified enough for higher classes. Unless he thought of something else, there was no way he could get them ready for the board exams. That was when he started the primary wing in the school, which has around 200 children now.

While his age makes it very difficult for grandpa to live in a village, but he continues to stay there even during the winters. I can picture him sitting in his dark, cold room during the nights, thinking about the past and the present. But each morning comes with some hope.

His inspiring spirit defies his age, as he gets ready to welcome the little ones for their lessons.

Some students at school

Not many have the courage to wish him good morning or interact with him. People in the village respect him a lot, and everyone calls him ‘Baba’. One angry rebuke and the entire class is silent. I think this is what keeps him glued to the project – the way he inspires respect, the way students touch his feet, and how everyone greets him when they see him.

But even after the school building was ready, and it received the affiliation, there was still no time for him to rest on his laurels. Who would manage the school after him – that was his biggest worry. In the last four years, he approached many institutions and missionaries that are running schools in Delhi, corporate organisations working in rural India and other education trusts, but nothing materialised. Nobody is interested in his project because the school is located in a very remote area. He is still trying to negotiate with different organizations.

Additionally, there are other daily occurrences that add on to the pressure – like many children don’t come to school during the harvesting season, parents keep asking him to excuse their child from some classes, and more. The school makes no profit and barely manages to run with the funds coming from my grandfather’s fixed deposits. But it is operational. Children now have an option to attend a school that actually provides education.

I remember visiting the school two years ago and meeting a little girl who had won the school essay competition. Her parents were so proud! That same girl went on to score 88 percent in high school.

Thinking about my grandfather reminds me of a quote by my Hindi teacher – “Be your own guru, your own teacher. Light the lamp and march on without fear.”

Source……Shalini Narayanan in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

Children in Rural India Have Found a New Way to Travel the World. And It’s Heartwarming…

January 31, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

With the motto ‘Inform, Communicate & Empower!’, New Delhi-based organisation Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) finds sustainable ICT solutions for marginalised communities to overcome information poverty and enable better access to benefits and rights in rural India.

Udita Chaturvedi witnessed a positive change in Rajasthan’s villages. Parents and children are embracing computer literacy. Read about her experiences.

Last month, I was in Alwar district of Rajasthan (Alwar is about 160 km from Delhi), accompanying two foreign nationals who’re shooting for a film in India. They are documenting how lives are changing in this country due to digital literacy.

While the filmmakers were busy shooting in a Community Information Resource Centre (CIRC), established byDigital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) to promote digital literacy and social awareness, I was sitting among some mothers and their children, discussing their lives and understanding the difficulties they face.

It was during this conversation that I learnt that most of the mothers in Mungaska, a slum-like locality in Alwar, are either illiterate or school dropouts. While they chose not to study or were forced to drop out of school, they all wanted proper education for their children.

Meena is the mother of an extremely talented eight-year-old boy. The boy, Aman, is born into a family of professional bhapang players and is, in fact, the youngest bhapang player himself — he started learning at the age of three!

Eight-year-old Aman is the youngest bhapang player in the village. Photo: Udita Chaturvedi

Aman, his elder brother, and sister are the first school-going generation of the family. While several efforts are being made by the family to ensure that bhapang doesn’t prove to be a dying art, it is not the reason the younger generation is attending school. The reason is that Meena believes, “Education can make or break a person, but mostly make.”

Aman’s mother only studied till class 5, because, back then, there was no school in Mungaska for students who wanted to study beyond class 5. “Education is important for everything today. Whether you want to use a computer or get a government job, school education has become a must,” says Meena.

But what made her realise this?

“I have seen smart children grow up, playing in the lanes of our colony. There’s nothing wrong in playing. In fact, I encourage Aman to play after school. But I’ve seen those smart children grow into useless 20-year-olds as well. They still play cricket in the lanes all day long and live off their father’s income. What will they do when their father is no more? How will they feed their wife or children?” she questions.

Meena is very sure she wants Aman to study, and not just till class 12. She wants him to go to college. At the same time, she doesn’t want Aman to give up on his musical talents. In fact, she believes Aman will be able to take their family’s music to a wider audience around the globe, if he’s well educated and digitally literate.

“He can do so much with the Internet,” she says.

Rimpy, a young mother of three children — two girls and a boy, has similar views. Rimpy never went to school because she “wasn’t interested in studying”. However, when her children give her the same excuse in the morning, they’re scolded and pushed out of the house.

“Education makes people independent. It helps them get a job, or even fight society. I know my life could have been very different had I been to school. If nothing else, I could have at least brought in some extra income into the house. Maybe my family would even listen to my opinions more,” she says.

Rimpy, a mother of three, believes education can make a person independent. Photo: Udita Chaturvedi

Rimpy is a housewife. One of her friends studied till class 12 and got married. However, a year later her husband died and she returned to her parents’ house in Mungaska. Here, she enrolled at a CIRC, established by DEF, and took computer lessons. Rimpy wishes she had been to school too, because learning computers at the age of 30, with no education at all, was far more difficult than she had imagined. While her widow friend aced, she lagged behind. Now, Rimpy doesn’t want her children to face a similar fate.

“School education is as important as computer training. In fact, all schools should also teach children how to use computers,” she says.

There are many others like Meena and Rimpy who understand the value of education — both traditional and digital — because they themselves have been deprived of it for some reason or the other.

In today’s time, where knowledge of computers has become crucial, English has become an aspirational language and a degree has become mandatory for jobs. It is silly to not go to school or learn computers, believes Rafia, the mother of a nine-year-old girl. “Even Modi (Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi) wants the youngsters to learn computers today,” she adds.

However, I would be lying if I say that every child in Mungaska understands the importance of education. While a lot of them enjoy going to school or learning computers in a group at the CIRC, there are some who only attend school because they’re forced by their parents or only because they get to play games or use Google Search after an hour of practicing on Microsoft Office.

Google Search, in fact, seemed like the second favourite — after Facebook, of course — feature of the Internet for most children.

Aman uses Google Search to travel, though his travel has been restricted to Alwar and Delhi so far. He says, “The day before, I searched for Qutub Minar on Google after I read about it in my school textbook. Do you know how tall it is? It’s 240 feet tall.” He was right, I cross-checked on the Internet.

The story was no different in Chandauli village where Sahil was coincidentally looking up the Taj Mahal, when I entered the CIRC there.

When I asked him what he was doing, he replied, “People from America come to India to see the Taj Mahal, so I wanted to see it too. But I can’t travel to Agra, it’s very far. So I am looking it up on Google.”

A student explores the Taj Mahal through Google Images. Photo: Udita Chaturvedi

Sahil showed me at least a dozen different pictures of Taj Mahal, each from a different angle. By the time he finished, he had inspired other children at the centre to look up some city or the other. Somebody used Google Search to travel to Agra while another travelled to Jaipur.

A kid even asked Will, one of the filmmakers in our group, where he was from and then looked up “America”. But he soon lost interest and searched for the Red Fort in Delhi instead.

The visit to Alwar gave me a whole new perspective about how these CIRCs are impacting society. It’s not just about digital literacy and learning how to operate Microsoft Office tools, but so much more. DEF has eight CIRCs in as many villages of Alwar district (and a total of 150 across 23 Indian states) where the poorest of the poor spend their time learning computers, playing with the Internet, and utilising various digital tools. It is interesting how these digital resource centers are making children, youth — both, boys and girls — and their families look at education in a non-traditional manner.

At these centers, the locals, who had never stepped out of their village, are now travelling to various parts of the country and the world, and learning about things that they had only heard of. These villagers, who are first-time learners of digital tools, are not just learning but are also teaching us that a connected digital device is just not a tool for digital literacy, but a tool that impacts them socially, behaviourally, economically and perhaps even responsibly.

Featured image source: Facebook

Source…….About the author: Udita Chaturvedi is a former journalist who now works with Digital Empowerment Foundation and writes stories of impact in the areas of digital literacy,education, and women empowerment. She can be reached atudita@defindia.org or through her Twitter handle @uditachaturvedi. .www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

IN PICTURES: An Indian Artist Portrays Train Engines in a Way They Were Never Seen Before!

January 31, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Kishore Pratim Biswas used to live near a locomotive workshop in Kolkata when he was a child. It was very easy for one to spot steam locomotives every now and then, and as an enthusiastic 5-year-old kid, he loved to run out and watch them go. He would then come back home and sketch what he saw. A giant locomotive surrounded by steam – the aura of that picturesque scene attracted him tremendously, and inspires him even today. The firemen and drivers at the workshop became his friends, and they would usually gather around to look at his sketches. He remembers listening to their stories and trying to sketch all their emotions on a piece of paper.

Today, 42-year-old Kishore has his art studio in Mumbai and he is working on a series of paintings based on this memory. He calls the series the ‘Nostalgia of Steam Locomotives’. He graduated in Fine Arts from Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata, spent a few years in his hometown, and then moved to Mumbai in 2009.

In spite of all the years that have passed, the nostalgia still lingers on. Have a look at these incredible sketches to understand his bond with locomotives.

Source………Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

Kolkata Girl Makes It to Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Developing Pathbreaking Underwater Drones…

January 30, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

28-year-old Sampriti Bhattacharyya, a PhD scholar from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has designed an underwater drone that can map ocean floors at places where GPS does not work. She is the founder of Hydroswarm – a startup that designs and markets small, autonomous drones for ocean exploration and maritime big data. These drones are shaped like an egg and are roughly the size of a football.

Sampriti, who hails from Kolkata, has been featured among Forbes’ top 30 most powerful young change agents of the world.

She pursued engineering from St. Thomas’ College of Engineering & Technology in Kolkata and then went to Ohio State University to study aerospace engineering. She later switched to robotics at MIT.

The absence of any easy way to study ocean floors inspired her to create an underwater robot. As of now, remotely operated autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) are used to explore the deep sea. They are deployed for missions like studying oil spills, environmental monitoring, search operations, etc. But AUVs are very costly and mission-oriented. They are not used to study the ocean on a day-to-day basis to understand the underwater environment better.

This is what Sampriti wants to change with Hydroswarm, by developing drones that can roam the oceans and collect data all the time.

“Underwater navigation has been a reality for many years but for advanced searches you need maps that are as refined as, say, the Google map. This is where my drone comes in. It can map the ocean, sitting on its bed, and you can zero in on the minutest objects, living or non-living. You can even map underwater pollution with the help of his drone,” she told The Times of India when she was in Kolkata for some time recently.

These drones can withstand the immense pressure in deep oceans, can cover up to 100 square meters in one hour, and can swim across the ocean floors mapping the topography, studying aquatic life, etc.

To commercialize her drone by starting a company, Sampriti joined a business programme at Harvard Business School. She was one of the top eight contenders to reach the finals of MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, winning $15,000.

All pictures: Twitter

Source……..Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

How Barefoot College Trained 700 Rural Grandmothers to Be Solar Engineers & Electrified 20000 Homes…?

January 29, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

A vocational training college in Rajasthan, started by well known educator and activist Sanjit Bunker Roy, is responsible for lighting up the homes of thousands of poor villagers across the world.

Tilonia is a small village in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district. On the face of it, Tilonia is like any other village in India. One can see large tracts of semi-arid land, flocks of sheep on the roads, and women whose heads are covered with the pallus of brightly coloured sarees.

However, what sets Tilonia apart is that it is home to the Social Work and Research Centre, popularly known as Barefoot College. This institute is known all over the world for training rural people in vocational skills.

In the 1970s, Sanjit Bunker Roy, an educator and social activist decided to give something back to society and set up Barefoot College in Tilonia.

Photo source: Youtube

The college is spread over eight acres and runs completely on solar energy.

Bunker, who studied at Delhi University, says: “My elitist education almost destroyed me. In fact, the biggest reasons why the poor will always remain poor are the literate man and woman — products of the formal education system. This system makes you look down on villages.”

According to him, the formal system of education demeans and devalues the traditional knowledge and practical wisdom that the poor value. He says his real education started during his initial years in Tilonia when he was working as an unskilled labourer — blasting wells for water.

“I lived with very poor and ordinary people under the stars and heard the simple stories they had to tell of their skills, knowledge, and wisdom that books and university education can never teach you. My real education started when I saw amazing people – water diviners, traditional bonesetters and midwives – at work. That was the humble beginning of the Barefoot College,” he adds.

Though the college started with the aim of providing solutions to the water problems of rural India, its mission soon changed to sustainable development and empowerment of the marginalised. In fact, the courses offered at the institute are rooted in the Gandhian philosophy of making villages self-reliant.

“But it was not Gandhi or Marx who inspired the work of the college, but very ordinary people with grit, determination, and the amazing ability to survive with almost nothing,” says Bunker.

Students, primarily women, are selected from the poorest of villages and are taught vocational skills in different areas like solar energy, healthcare, education, handicrafts, and so on. The college provides basic health services to the villages through a team of doctors, midwives, and dentists.

It imparts education to women and children by keeping their different needs in mind. There are crèches for small children whose mothers work all day. There are night schools for children who help in the fields or tend to animals during the day. And bridge courses for those among them who wish to join day school. There is an emphasis on hands-on learning. Even the lessons offered are practical in nature. The children are taught about how democracy works, how to take care of a sick animal, how land is measured, etc.

Barefoot College is probably best known for producing hundreds of ‘barefoot’ solar engineers.

In 2003, the college decided to train illiterate rural women as solar engineers. The biggest challenge at the time was to convince donors, policy makers, as well as the male members of the community to accept the ‘impossibility’ that these women could be trained.

“Do you know why we insisted on women? Because training men is pointless. They will grow restless and go to big cities in search of jobs. Women have more patience to learn the skill. And especially since they are from poor families, they will stay back home and prove their worth to their communities,” says Bunker.

This training of women — to teach them how to install, repair, and maintain solar lighting units — did not stop in Rajasthan. Today, the institute trains women from countries like Afghanistan, Bhutan, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Fiji, etc. It boasts of having over 700 solar ‘mamas’ in 70 of the least developed countries in the world. These women, from isolated and non-electrified villages, congregate in Rajasthan for a few months. To overcome the language barrier, they are taught through sign language.

They memorise the permutations and combinations of wires through colour codes.

Barefoot College brought three women from Afghanistan to Tilonia and trained them. After they went back, their village became the first ever solar-electrified village in the country. These women went on to train 27 others and now there are over a 100 solar-electrified villages in Afghanistan.

The College also trained grandmothers from Sierra Leone. They lit up the first village in the country with the sun’s energy.

The idea caught on and now there is a Barefoot Vocational Training Centre in Sierra Leone.

Under the India Technical Economic Cooperation Programme of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Barefoot College has trained nearly 700 rural grandmothers to be solar engineers and electrify over 20,000 houses in different countries.

Barefoot College is funded by various organisations and grants. Barefoot College applied for the HCL Grant and through this grant, it wanted to implement the Barefoot model of alternate community-based education and skill development in the five districts of Rajasthan, by empowering and educating children, women, and youth and setting up 25 crèches and 50 bridge schools in these districts. To know more about Barefoot College, contact the team on their website.

About HCL Grant

There are about 3.3 million NGOs in India doing commendable work in various areas aimed at inclusion and development. The HCL Grant has been launched to support the institutionalization of the Fifth Estate comprising individuals and institutions formed and led by the citizens of the country through the creation of strong governance frameworks and management capabilities. An endeavour of the HCL Foundation, HCL Grant envisions to build sustainable communities by supporting NGOs and individuals who are doing path-breaking work towards high impact transformation in rural India. In the first year, HCL Grant has identified the best NGOs in the area of rural education. To know more about the HCL Grant: http://www.hcl.com/hcl-grant

source……..Meryl Garcia in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

We Must Salute this Hero …

January 27, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

The terrorists were armed with AK-47s, grenades, pistols, knives, many rounds of ammunition.

Sepoy Jagdish Chand’s weapons were his bare hands and enormous courage. He died, but not before he had felled one of India’s enemies.

Archana Masih/Rediff.com speaks to the family of Sepoy Jagdish Chand, one of the 7 soldiers martyred in the terrorist attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station, who was awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously for his courage on Republic Day.

Martyred soldier Jagdish Chand in a photograph taken when he was posted in Kashmir. Photographs: Kind courtesy: Kiran Bala.

Last week Snehalata returned to her home in Basa village in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district after immersing her martyred husband’s ashes in the Ganga in Haridwar.

Sepoy Jagdish Chand, 48, died battling terrorists at the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot on January 2. He was in the cookhouse when terrorists launched an attack and killed three of his mates.

Unarmed, the trooper ran after one of the terrorists and wrestled him to the ground. The terrorist was armed with an AK-47, grenades, knives, many rounds of ammunition. Sepoy Jagdish Chand’s weapons were his bare hands and enormous courage. He turned the terrorist’s own rifle on him and shot him dead. Tragically, he was felled by another terrorist’s bullet.

Sepoy Jagdish Chand had served 25 years in the Indian Army’s 7 Dogra Regiment and was re-employed by the Defence Security Corps after retirement from the army. He had served in Srinagar, Leh and with the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka, where he had won two medals for duty, says his family.

IMAGE: Martyred soldier Sepoy Jagdish Chand served in the Indian Army for two-and-a-half decades and served in Indian Peace Keeping Mission in Sri Lanka.

The family in Basa received the news of his passing at 10.30 the following morning. They had seen him just a couple of days ago when he had stopped en route to Pathankot where he had been posted from Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.

“He was very particular about his attendance and very proud of the fauj,” says his daughter Kiran Bala on the telephone.

“He spent that day going to the post office, transferred some money into our account and in the evening called some relatives over for a meal. He loved his food and enjoyed inviting our relatives who lived nearby,” says Kiran who is doing an MA in Economics.

At 6 the next morning, the soldier bade his family goodbye. His wife quickly packed his tiffin and he was off with another fauji friend who was also returning to base.

In less than 48 hours Sepoy Jagdish Chand was dead. The news of the Pathankot siege had started coming on television and the worried family called his mobile phone several times only to find it switched off.

As a trooper for the Defence Security Corps, which is entrusted to guard military installations, he was stationed at the Pathankot airbase, one of India’s frontline airbases. He was posted at the DSC mess when the terrorists opened fire.

As his family followed the news, their hearts raced in anxiety. His phone went unanswered repeatedly. “We called his friend there and were told that he was alright. So we thought of nothing untoward,” says daughter Kiran.

“On the first day the press was reporting the names of two other soldiers who had been martyred. My father’s name was not among them,” she adds.

The next day someone called from the Pathankot Air Force Station and when she answered the phone, the caller asked for a male member of the family. The girl called a cousin who was given the sad news.

IMAGE: Martyred soldier Sepoy Jagdish Chand had visited his family a couple of days before his death.

Two jawans killed in the Pathankot attack were from Himachal Pradesh. Last year, seven of the state’s soldiers from the 6 Dogra Regiment were among the 18 killed in a terrorist ambush in Manipur.

Himachal Pradesh has had a long tradition of sending its men to the armed forces. Three Param Vir Chakra awardees, including the first Param Vir Chakra recipient Major Somnath Sharma, hail from the state. Fifty-two soldiers from Himachal Pradesh died in the Kargil War of 1999.

“Three generations of my family have been in the army. My grandfather, father and now us — among we four brothers, three joined the army,” says retired soldier Piar Singh, 58, Sepoy Jagdish Chand’s elder brother.

One brother is still serving in the Indian Army.

In every other house in the village, he says, resides a retired soldier. At one time every house sent a soldier or two to the armed forces. “There are only a few serving jawans in the fauj now. Nowadays our boys are not able to qualify in the selection process and are getting rejected,” says Piar Singh.

IMAGE: Son Rajat and wife Snehalata immerse Martyr Sepoy Jagdish Chand’s ashes in the Ganga.

Sepoy Jagdish Chand’s son Rajat, 21, had tried getting recruited into the army, but was unsuccessful.

Kiran says she is encouraging her younger sister to try for the armed forces.

The family has received Rs 20 lakhs (Rs 2 million) in two cheques and a cash amount of Rs 45,000 so far. Since the death will be treated as a battle casualty, his family will continue to receive the pay he drew. Sepoy Jagdish Chand’s funeral was attended by state ministers, officials, defence personnel and many locals.

Kiran, the oldest of the martyr’s children, has been told by many to be strong. ‘You are the eldest; you have to be a source of strength to your mother and siblings,’ she was counselled by those who came for the funeral.

She does not remember much of what happened that day. It is a haze of permanent grief.

“It’s a day we never want to remember. It’s the day the world ended for us.”

Source……….Archana Masih / Rediff.com in http://www.rediff.com

Natarajan

11 Tales of Valour….We Must Know and share…

January 27, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

As India celebrates its 67th Republic Day, Rediff.com takes a look at some brave men who stood their ground to protect their country from those who sought to bleed it.

Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami (ASHOK CHAKRA – POSTHUMOUS)

Honoured For: On the intervening night of September 2-3, 2015, Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami was part of an ambush in Haphruda forest at Kupwara district of Jammu & Kashmir.

At about 2015 hours, there was a fierce encounter with four terrorists wherein two of his comrades were injured and pinned down.

Lance Naik Mohan along with his buddy dashed forward to rescue their injured colleagues, knowing well the risks to their own lives.

He first assisted in eliminating one terrorist. Sensing grave danger to three of his wounded colleagues, Lance Naik Mohan with utter disregard to his own personal safety, charged at the remaining terrorists drawing intense fire from them.

He was hit in the thigh. Unmindful, he closed in and eliminated one terrorist, injured another and was again shot in the abdomen.

Undeterred by his injuries, he hurled himself on the last terrorist and killed him at point blank range before succumbing to his wounds. Lance Naik Mohan not only killed two terrorists, but also assisted in neutralizing the other two and save the lives of three of his wounded colleagues.

Subedar Mahendra Singh, Sena Medal (KIRTI CHAKRA)

Honoured For: Subedar Mahendra Singh was a veteran of numerous firefights, where, time and again his inspiring leadership, resilience and courage resulted in outstanding successes.

He had been awarded Sena Medal on the Line of Control for exemplary courage and initiative wherein he shot dead a Pakistan Regular Army in 2013.

On September 2, 2015 at 2015 hours, contact was established with terrorists in Darel forest at Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir resulting in multiple splinter injuries to two comrades.

Displaying exemplary leadership, the JCO moved with Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami to evacuate his comrades, drawing heavy fire in the process. Sensing the danger to his men, Subedar Mahendra immediately returned fire and displaying raw aggression charged and eliminated one terrorist at close quarters.

His audaciousness startled the other terrorist who opened indiscriminate fire at him. Undeterred, he closed in with the terrorists when one terrorist rushed out firing and grievously wounded Subedar Mahendra in the abdomen.

Despite his injury which paralysed him below the waist, he shot dead the terrorist at point blank range. Heedless of the threat posed by the terrorist fire and his incapacitating wound, he, in order to prevent any further casualties, forbade all attempts to evacuate him and endured tremendous pain to extricate himself.

Sepoy Jagdish Chand (KIRTI CHAKRA – POSTHUMOUS)

Honoured For: Sepoy Jagdish Chand was posted with 546 Defence Service Platoon attached with 18 Wing Air Force.

On the night of January 01/02 2016 at 0330 hours, while working on bonafide military duty at Defence Service Corps lines, five to six heavily armed terrorists entered the lines and opened indiscriminate fire on the troops working in the said location.

The heavy firing resulted in two of his colleagues being fatally wounded.

Showing presence of mind and conspicuous bravery Sepoy Jagdish Chand unmindful of his own safety ran after the closest terrorist, chased and overpowered him. Sepoy Jagdish Chand snatched the terrorist’s weapon to shoot him dead.

In the process two more terrorists in vicinity opened fire on SepoyJagdish Chand killing him on the spot.

The great presence of mind, unmatched bravery and valour by Sepoy Jagdish Chand minimized further loss of lives and gave time for the quick reaction teams in the vicinity to react. Sepoy Jagdish Chand’s actions was also a setback to the terrorists.

Colonel Santosh Yashwant Mahadik (SHAURYA CHAKRA – POSTHUMOUS)

Honoured For: Colonel Santosh Yashwant Mahadik, — a dynamic officer from the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) — was commanding 41 Rashtriya Rifles from July 2014.

Col Santosh with his inspirational leadership and humane skills and altered the narrative of kupwara town through successful Operation Sadbhavana initiatives in education, sports and health care.

Colonel Santosh was leading a search operation based on specific input about the likely presence of terrorists in general area Manigah Forest of Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir on November 17, 2015.

At about 1215 hours, he received an input about the likely movement of terrorists in the forested area near Kashmiri Manigah.
Always having led from the front, Colonel Santosh alongwith his Quick Reaction Team expeditiously moved to the suspected site. As the team was deploying, they came under heavy and effective fire of terrorists hiding in the forest.

Pinned down by the terrorists fire in the open, he immediately maneuvered to outflank the terrorists and engaged them from an advantageous position.

Undeterred by the heavy volume of terrorists fire, Colonel Santosh provided his troops an opportunity to take cover. In the fire fight however, he suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Unmindful of his grievous injuries, Colonel Santosh kept the terrorists pinned down till he was evacuated. He later succumbed to his injuries and attained martyrdom.

Major Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj (SHAURYA CHAKRA)

Honoured For: Major Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj launched a special operation in Awankhu village in Phek district of Nagaland, 120 km from the closest existing Assam Rifles post on the night of July 13, 2015.

Negotiating thick forests and treacherous slopes in extreme and inclement weather, Major Praphul’s party reached the target at 2300 hours, July 15, 2015.

At 2345 hours, on observing some movement around a hut, Major Praphul along with a buddy pair closed in to ascertain the movement upon which they drew heavy volume of fire.

Sensing danger to his party, in the absence of any cover and accurate incoming fire, Major Praphul charged onto the hut and neutralized one terrorist at point blank range.

During this action, he sustained gun shot wound in his right elbow as also his weapon was hit by a bullet, thereby jamming it. Despite profusely bleeding, with his weapon now non functional and his party pinned down, Major Praphul crawled and lobbed two grenades in the hut and neutralized the second terrorist.

Major Anurag Kumar (SHAURYA CHAKRA)

Honoured For: Major Anurag Kumar was leading a helicopter inserted 9 PARA (Special Forces) team in search and destroy operations at Lidder Panzal in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on August 26/27, 2015.

Post insertion, Major Anurag led his squads to the location where terrorists were last seen and organized the search.

At 1400 hours on August 26, 2015, the officer observed suspicious movement behind boulders and deployed his squads before shouting a challenge which drew indiscriminate terrorist fire.

Realising the grave threat to his men from the ricocheting bullets, the officer risked his safety and under covering fire of Havildar Virender Singh and Naik Javid Ahmad Chopan closed in with and eliminated one terrorist.

Major Anurag then established a cordon to cut off escape of remaining terrorists.

At 1100 hours on August 27, 2015, a terrorist attempting to break the cordon rushed out firing indiscriminately. Unmindful of the heavy fire, Major Anurag engaged and shot dead the terrorist at close quarters. He further engaged one trapped terrorist in a conversation thereby assisting Naik Chopan in his apprehension.

Major Sandip Yadav (SHAURYA CHAKRA)

Honoured For: Major Sandip has been operating in Pulwama since July 2013 and his flair for generating intelligence and conduct of operations is exemplary.

On August 10, information was received about the presence of terrorists in village Ratanpur at Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Major Sandip while moving cross country noticed a suspicious movement in a paddy field. The two terrorists immediately opened indiscriminate fire at the officer.

Major Sandip stood his ground and retaliated the fire which pinned down the terrorists. Undeterred by heavy fire and showing exceptional presence of mind, the officer redeployed his team which prevented the escape of terrorists.

On August 11, after a grueling eighteen hours of firefight, Major Sandip decided to crawl close to the terrorists in an open area without any cover. As he was doing so, he came under heavy fire. Unmindful of the grave danger, he crawled close and eliminated both the terrorists. The bold action not only ensured elimination of two Lashker terrorists but also prevented collateral damage.

Lieutenant Harjinder Singh (SHAURYA CHAKRA)

Honoured For: On June 5, 2015, Lieutenant Harjinder Singh was the commander of an ambush point in Jammu and Kashmir.

At 2230 hours, a group of three terrorists was spotted.

Lieutenant Harjinder Singh continuously tracked the movement of the terrorists and immediately assessed the situation and engaged the infiltrators.

The effective fire forced the terrorists to move along the anti-infiltration obstacle system to a higher ground. The terrorists split into two groups to divert attention and escape.

At 0500 hours the officer moved to engage the terrorists. Displaying exemplary courage, he accurately fired the Multi Grenade Launcher and neutralized the first terrorist. In the meantime, the second terrorist opened with automatic fire.

Undeterred by the terrorist fire, the officer closed in with the terrorist and neutralized him at close quarters. Despite grave danger to him, the officer continuously maintained contact with the terrorists and eliminated them in a surgical manner.

Naik Satish Kumar (SHAURYA CHAKRA – POSTHUMOUS)

Honoured For: Naik Satish Kumar had been serving with the 21 Rashtriya Rifles since April 7, 2015.

On December 4, 2015, he was commanding a small team as part of search and destroyed operation in Boban Wastar Forest.

Observing speed and stealth, he led his small team to the likely target area, searching the forest cautiously.

At 1305 hours, Naik Anil was suddenly fired upon by terrorists injuring him.

Realising Naik Anil being hit, Naik Satish Kumar crawled ahead to a fallen tree, engaged and eliminated one terrorist at close range. He then provided Naik Anil first aid and ensured his timely evacuation.

Simultaneously, the second hidden terrorist opened fire injuring him on his right leg. Unmindful of his injury, Naik Satish engaged this terrorist and despite profuse bleeding closed in, lobbing two hand grenade towards the terrorist who was still firing and killed him.

However, during his assault towards the terrorist he suffered another gunshot wound and attained martyrdom.

Naik Kheem Singh Mehra (SHAURYA CHAKRA)

Honoured For: On the night of August 8, 2015, three terrorists attempted infiltration in Lara locality along Jumagund Nar on the Line of Control at Jammu and Kashmir. Naik Kheem Singh Mehra was deployed as a part of an ambush to prevent their escape.

At 0530 hours, the terrorist group was spotted by Naik Kheem Singh moving in the jungle across Jumagund Nar towards Line of Control. Displaying tenacity, grit and total audacity, Naik Kheem Singh advanced across the Nala, climbed on the opposite spur and engaged the terrorists at close range killing one terrorist on the spot and preventing their escape.

Heavy exchange of fire commenced between the terrorists, Naik Kheem Singh’s ambush party. Taking cover of boulder and trees, the terrorists maneuvered to flank the main ambush party. Sensing imminent danger to own party, Naik Kheem Singh with utter disregard to personal safety, broke cover and charged the terrorists killing another terrorist in close quarter fire fight.

Sepoy Dharma Ram (SHAURYA CHAKRA – POSTHUMOUS)

Honoured For: On May 25, 2015 Sepoy Dharma Ram was part of a patrol launched by Major Kobitirha Sanyal towards village Kanjikul at Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.

At 1300 hours the patrol came under sudden heavy volume of fire from a nearby house. Sepoy Dharma Ram exhibited exemplary presence of mind to warn his team of the direction of fire and encountered the terrorist fearlessly in a direct firefight.

He selflessly put himself in the face of terrorist fire and fought with nerves of steel to prevent any team member from getting injured.

During the firefight, the individual sustained two bullet wounds on his back and thigh. Unmindful and undeterred from the grave injury and although bleeding profusely the individual exhibited exemplary field craft to crawl to an appropriate position from where he brought accurate fire on the terrorist and injured him gravely. The terrorist was thus neutralised and identified as Lashkar-e-Tayiba District Commander.

Source……..www.rediff.com

Natarajan

These 25 Children Received the National Bravery Award This Year. Here Are Their Inspiring Stories…

January 26, 2016January 26, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

They saved their friends, parents, and neighbours from drowning, electrocution, thieves and a lot more – these 25 children, who were honoured with the National Bravery Award this year, displayed immense courage and risked their lives to protect their loved ones. Here are their awesome stories.

New Delhi witnessed the gathering of some of India’s bravest children on January 24, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the National Bravery Awards to them. From a 16-year-old who fought off a tiger, to a 13-year-old who lost his life while trying to save his friend from drowning – these three girls and 22 boys showed incredible bravery in the face of some very dangerous situations.

“For the award winners, this act of bravery should not become an end in itself. Life must continue to evolve and the children should continue to develop their careers and continue to serve society to the best of their abilities,” the Prime Minister told them during the event.

The National Bravery Award scheme, initiated by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), was started with the aim of awarding children in the age group of 6-18 years, who display outstanding bravery and inspire other children with their actions. The awards consist of five categories including the Bharat Award, Sanjay Chopra Award, Geeta Chopra Award, Bapu Gaidhani Award and the General National Bravery Awards. The awardees receive a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize. Bharat Award winners get a gold medal, while the others receive silver. As a part of ICCW’s sponsorship program under the Indira Gandhi scholarship scheme, each child is also receives the financial assistance to complete his or her schooling.

Here are the astounding stories of this year’s winners.

1. Shivampet Ruchitha, Telangana

8-year-old Shivampet Ruchitha became the youngest person to receive the award this year. On July 24, 2014, Ruchita saved two of her school mates when a train hit their school bus. She noticed that their bus had stopped on a railway track and a train was coming towards them. Showing extraordinary presence of mind, she pushed two students out of the window and jumped off the bus herself too. Unfortunately, she could not save her younger sister who was sitting in the front row. Her younger brother sustained severe injuries, but he has recovered now. 16 students, the driver, and the conductor lost their lives in that accident. She was honoured with the Geeta Chopra award.

“It feels good to have the limelight and get an award from the Prime Minister. But I wish I was able to save my sister, too, as we all miss her,” she told The Indian Express.

2. Arjun Singh, Uttarakhand

In July 2014, a tiger entered 16-year-old Arjun Singh’s house in Uttarakhand. He showed extreme courage and fought it off, saving his mother’s life who had fainted as soon as the tiger entered. Arjun went into a room and picked up a sickle to fight the tiger. As it was too small to hit from a distance, Arjun grabbed a stick and waved it towards the tiger. He did not stop until the villagers reached there and the animal ran away on seeing the crowd. Arjun received the Sanjay Chopra award.

3. Late Shivansh Singh, Uttar Pradesh

Shivansh Singh, a 14-year-old medal-winning swimmer from Faizabad, was posthumously honoured with the prestigious Bharat Award. He lost his life while trying to save his friend from drowning in the Saryu River.

“I wish he was here. Seeing all these boys and girls enjoy their moment of glory, I wish my son could have been part of this,” his mother, Neelam Singh, told The Telegraph.

4. Late Gaurav Kawduji Sahastrabuddhe, Maharashtra

Gaurav was only 15 when he lost his life while rescuing four of his friends from drowning in the Ambazari lake. He was a good swimmer and had gone to the lake one afternoon in June 2014. While playing in the water, his friends suddenly started drowning. According to the police, Gaurav swam for 20 minutes and rescued them all. But while trying to pull out the last boy, he hit his head on a submerged stone and drowned. He received the Bharat Award.

5. Aromal SM, Kerala

12-year-old Aromal is one of the six winners from Kerala. He saved two women from drowning in a 14-feet pond and was honoured with the Bapu Gaidhani Award.

6. Rakeshbhai Shanabhai Patel, Gujarat

This 13-year-old received the Bapu Gaidhani Award for saving a boy who accidentally fell into a well.

7. Ramdinthara, Mizoram

On January 2, 2015, Ramdinthara saved two boys who were stuck on a transformer fence. The 15-year-old pulled the boys out with his bare hands and took them to the hospital. Son of a tea-seller, Ramdinthara was walking past the transformer when he saw that two boys were struggling to free themselves after falling on the fence. He overcame his fear in just a few seconds and grabbed their hair to pull them up. He received the Bapu Gaidhani Award.

8. Abinash Mishra, Odisha

Abinash Mishra, 12, saw his friend drowning in Kushabhadra River. Without thinking twice, he just jumped into the river and swam to the shore after saving his friend. He is one of the recipients of the General National Bravery Award.

9. Chongtham Kuber Meitei, Manipur

13-year-old Chongtham Kuber Meitei became a local hero after he jumped into a 10-feet deep well to save a girl from drowning. He was awarded with the General National Bravery Award.

“I won’t lie, I was really scared. But I had to jump into the well to get to her. She would have drowned,” he told The Telegraph.

10. Kashish Dhanani, Gujarat

10-year-old Kashish protected his 15-months-old sibling from a German Shepherd. He received the General National Bravery Award.

11. Muhammad Shamnad, Kerala

14-year-old Muhammad Shamnad showed outstanding courage when he risked his life to save a little girl from drowning in a pond. He received the General National Bravery Award.

12. Mohit Mahendra Dalvi, Maharashtra

14-year-old Mohit saved his 10-year-old neighbour from drowning in Banganga Lake last year. When Krishna Pashtye slipped into the lake, Mohit was the only one of the hundreds of onlookers who had the courage to dive into the lake and save her. He was honoured with General National Bravery Award.

“I knew how to swim and so jumped in confidently. I saw the girl’s leg had stuck in mud in a ditch. I tried to get her leg out and managed to pull her out. When we came out, others rushed and helped us,” said Mohit, an orphan who lives with his paternal aunt.

13. Abhijith K.V, Kerala

15-year-old Abhijith was honoured with the General National Bravery Award for saving his friend from drowning in a 25 feet deep pond.

14. Sarwanand Saha, Chhattisgarh

Sarwanand Saha received the General National Bravery Award for saving a man from drowning in Mahanadi River.

15. Sai Krishna Akhil Kilambi, Telangana

This 15-year-old saved his mother from electrocution. His mother came in contact with a live electric wire at their residence in Agapura when she was washing the floor. Sai Krishna was quick to think on his feet and he instantly rushed forward to turn off the mains supply while making sure that he did not step into the water. He was honoured with the General National Bravery Award.

16. Dishant Mehndiratta, Haryana

On April 4, 2015, Dishant Mehndiratta was at his home in Panchkula, with his mother and younger brother. His father had just left for work when a stranger knocked at the door asking for him. The family invited him in and Dishant’s mother, Archana, called her husband to inform about the visitor. His father couldn’t recognise the man and asked him to come later. This was when the stranger asked if he could use the toilet. And while Archana was leading the way to show him the bathroom, he suddenly took out a knife and put it on her neck. He started threatening the children, asking them to bring out all the cash and valuables. Dishant made a quick plan and fell down on the man’s feet pretending to plead with him. And after a few seconds, he suddenly stood up, grabbed the knife from his hand, and threw it away. The family raised an alarm and got him arrested. Dishant received the General National Bravery Award for this courageous act.

17. Joena Chakraborty, Chhattisgarh

When a man snatched away her father’s mobile phone, 10-year-old Joena Chakraborty started running after him without wasting a single second, and brought the phone back.

“I knew he would head for a narrow alley, so I reached there before him and caught his legs even though people were shouting that he had a knife,” she said.

18. Nilesh Bhil, Maharashtra

Nilesh Bhil from Kothli was awarded the General National Bravery Award for saving a boy from drowning.

19. Beedhovan, Kerala

14-year-old Beedhovan saved a boy from electrocution and was honoured with the General National Bravery Award.

20. Nithin Philip Mathew, Kerala

13-year-old Nithin was honoured for saving his neighbour’s family after their house caught fire in a cylinder blast.

21. Bhimsen, Uttar Pradesh’

On November 16 last year, a boat got overturned in Sarayu River. 12-year-old Bhimsen, who was present on his own boat, jumped into the water and saved 14 people from drowning.

22. Angelica Tynsong, Meghalaya

Angelica Tynsong, 13, from Ri Bhoi district, saved her 7-month-old brother when their house caught fire on February 1, 2015. Her brother was sleeping while she was washing clothes, and their parents were not present in the house at the time of the incident.

23. Anandu Dileep, Kerala

14-year-old Anandu Dileep was going to his tuition class with his friends. They were crossing a bridge when his friend slipped and fell into the 10-feet-deep canal. Anandu jumped into the water and rescued him.

24. Maurice Yengkhom, Manipur

Maurice was playing on the terrace with his friend who suddenly got an electric shock. Had it not been for Maurice’s presence of mind, his friend would have lost his life. The 14-year-old picked up a cane chair and started hitting him till he was free.

25. Vaibhav Ramesh Ghangare, Maharashtra

Vaibhav Ramesh Ghangare from Wardha also received the General National Bravery Award. He saved a 6-year-old child from drowning.

All pictures: Twitter

Source……..Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

India’s Cultural Diversity and Military Strength on Display at Republic Day Parade….In Pictures …

January 26, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Hello, India. It’s our 67th Republic Day today. The celebrations took place as per protocol. The Prime Minister offered tributes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti and the parade commenced from the gates of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest for this year’s parade. For the first time ever, there was also a French contingent taking part this year.

Here are the highlights of today’s parade:

All photos: Doordarshan

Source……..Meryl Garcia in http://www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

” This Is the Place Where All Indian National Flags Are Manufactured…”

January 26, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

The Indian flags seen fluttering atop the Red fort, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Supreme Court, other government buildings, and many such places – they are all manufactured in Hubballi. The Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha (KKGSS) is the country’s only national flag manufacturing unit and it is located in Bengeri village of Dharwad district.

KKGSS has been certified as the sole manufacturer and supplier of the Indian flag to the entire country, by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.

The flags are made in conformation with the guidelines laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

KKGSS’ khadi manufacturing units are located in Bagalkot, from where the cloth is first sourced. It is then divided into three lots, dyed accordingly and cut into the required shapes. The chakra is printed on the white cloth and the three pieces are stitched together. The flags are then ironed and packed.

Find out all about the manufacturing unit here:

Making Indian flags is a difficult job because manufacturers have to follow strict guidelines. According to the Flag Code for India, there are nine different sizes in which the flag is made. The smallest one is 6×4 inches and the biggest one – hoisted on buildings and forts with high mast – is 21×14 feet. The guidelines include that the width and length of the flag should be in the ratio 2:3 and that the chakra should be printed on both sides.

The flag hoisted on Red Fort, Rashtrapathi Bhavan and medium-size government buildings is 12×8 feet.

The original video was published here.

Featured Image Credit: Flickr

Source…..Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan