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The Daily Janchetna

Year11, Issue:8, Tuesday, Nov.10,2020.

. Message of the Day .

History is a mirror for a community, country and nation to watch its past to have a better future. Glorifying events generate confidence and energy for a better performance. Though the losses occurred due to destructive events can’t be recovered, one can learn a lot to stall their reoccurrence. To our hard luck, our forefathers in the ancient age did not bother about the occurring events because life for them was simply a gift of the Almighty. In the medieval period, the Sikhs did make glorifying history but could not maintain its record. We are passing through a democratic age in modern times, but history has been made to revolve around the rulers. Whatever is composed under the patronage of the rulers bears characteristics of the fiction in which everything except names and dates is fictitious.

. History of the Day.

In April 1792, the newly elected Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia, where it believed that French émigrés were building counterrevolutionary alliances; it also hoped to spread its revolutionary ideals across Europe through warfare. On the domestic front, meanwhile, the political crisis took a radical turn when a group of insurgents led by the extremist Jacobins attacked the royal residence in Paris and arrested the king on August 10, 1792. The following month, amid a wave of violence in which Parisian insurrectionists massacred hundreds of accused counterrevolutionaries, the Legislative Assembly was replaced by the National Convention, which proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the French republic. On January 21, 1793, it sent King Louis XVI, condemned to death for high treason and crimes against the state, to the guillotine; his wife Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) suffered the same fate nine months later.

. Today’s History .

10th November

President Pranab Mukherjee extended Diwali greetings to the countrymen hoping that the festival of light serves as a catalyst for "greater unity within our country". In his message, Mukherjee said: "On the joyous occasion of Diwali, I convey warm greetings and good wishes to all my fellow countrymen in India and around the world."

Kerala ruling front legislator George quits assembly

Kerala ruling front's estranged legislator P.C. George announced his resignation on Tuesday that would be handed over to state assembly speaker N. Sakthan. The 65-year-old Kerala politician and six-time legislator George is currently suspended from the Kerala Congress (Mani) for his constant attack on party supremo and state Finance Minister K.M. Mani.

Intex launches smartphone at Rs.10,390

Domestic handset-maker Intex Technologies on Tuesday launched another smartphone Aqua Super at a price of Rs.10,390 in a further expansion of its series of 3GB RAM phones. The 4G-enabled phone comes with a 5-inch HD IPS display and is powered by a 1GHz Mediatek quad-core processor. "Intex has always ensured superior quality products for its consumers. Keeping our customers in mind and the cluttered market of feature rich phone, the 3GB RAM Aqua Super will surely be a front-runner for performance and multi-tasking," Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, mobile business head, Intex Technologies, said.

Diwali celebrated in Tamil Nadu with traditional fervour

Diwali was celebrated in Tamil Nadu with children and adults bursting crackers and offering prayers. People had the special sesame oil bath and wore new clothes. There was a brief spell of rain early in the morning that slightly delayed the bursting of crackers. However, the sky soon cleared. "We got up early. After an initial round of cracker bursting we had our bath. Then the second round of cracker bursting started," J. Muralidharan, a public sector employee said.

Madrassa teachers call off hunger strike after 40 days

The hunger strike by teachers of unrecognised madrassas from West Bengal, pressing for better pay and state aid, was called off on Monday after the state government accepted most of their demands, a representative of the teachers said. The strike was on its 40th day and was withdrawn at 4 p.m. "The state government has agreed to most of our demands including the inclusion of 495 madrassas under the state Madrassa Education Board. We will meet with the representatives of the state government on November 16 to discuss how the demands will be implemented," the representative said.

Deep depression crosses Puducherry shore

The deep depression that was over the Bay of Bengal crossed the Puducherry coast affecting normal life, said the India Meteorological Department. According to the Tamil Nadu government, five people lost their lives due to rains. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa announced a solatium of Rs.4 lakh for the families of the five people. According to the weather department, rains are expected in many districts of Tamil Nadu.

. Current .

Who are the real Indians ?

I am a Kashmiri, so I would like to call Kashmiris as the real Indians.

My ancestors migrated from Kashmir to Madhya Pradesh about 200 years back, and were in the  service of the Nawab of Jaora ( in Western Madhya Pradesh ) for several generations. So I would like to call Madhya Pradesh as the real India.

My grandfather Dr. K.N. Katju shifted to U.P. as a lawyer, first to the District Court, Kanpur in 1908, and then to the Allahabad High Court in 1914. I was born in Lucknow in 1946, and grew up in Allahabad, which I regard as my home town. So I would like to call the people of U.P. as the real Indians.,

I have close connections with Bengal, Orissa ( where my grandfather was Governor ) and Tamilnadu ( where I was Chief Justice ).. So I would like to call the people there as the real Indians

But these are only my emotional opinions.

Thinking rationally, I believe that the real Indians are the Keralites, because they have in them the quintessential qualities of Indians.

As I have explained on my blog ' What is India ? ', ( see justicekatju.blogspot.in ), India is broadly a country of immigrants, like North America, and that explains the tremendous diversity here---so many religions, castes, languages, ethnic and regional groups, etc. The ancestors of perhaps 95% people living in India today came from abroad ( the original inhabitants are the pre Dravidian tribals known as the Scheduled Tribes e.g. Bhils, Gonds, Santhals, Todas, etc ).. So to live united and in harmony we must respect every group of people. In my opinion the Keralites do this the best, and therefore they are symbolic and represent the whole of India. So they are the real Indians, and all of us must try to emulate them and imbibe their spirit.

I regard Kerala as the real India because it represents a microcosm of India. As I said, India is broadly a country of immigrants. the essential quality of Kerala is its openness to external influence--Dravidians, Aryans, Romans, Arabs, British, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Marxists, etc.

The Christians of Kerala belong to the oldest Christian group outside Palestine. It is said that one of the disciples of Jesus, St. Thomas, came to Kerala. Jews came here and settled down in Cochin when  they were persecuted by the Romans after demolition of their temple in 72 A.D. Islam came here through traders, and not through armies, as in the north. The Scheduled castes never suffered the discrimination that they suffered in the rest of India. One of their sages Sree Narayan Guru, who was an Ezhava, is venerated by all communities in Kerala. Adi Shankaracharya ( whose home town Kaladi in Kerala I have visited ) travelled throughout India and established the 4 well known centres of Hinduism, Sringeri in the South, whose first head was Mandan Mishra ( renamed Sureshwaracharya ) whom he defeated in a famous debate, Puri in the East, Dwarka in the West, and Jyotirmath in the North.

 In the Badrinath temple in the Himalayas the head priest is always a Namboodri Brahmin from Kerala, who is called the Rawal, and his deputy, the Naib Rawal, is also from the same community. The Rawal has a tenure of 5 years, after which the deputy Rawal becomes the Rawal.

The Keralites had trade relations over 2000 years ago with Carthage, Rome ( many Roman coins have been found in Kerala ), Arabs, etc  Kerala has produced great artists, mathematicians ( the great mathematician Aryabhatta is said to be from Kerala ), martial arts, handicrafts. enlightened Kings, and sages, etc.

Keralites are great travellers, and everywhere in the globe one will find Keralites. There is a joke that when the American astronaut Neil Armstrong landed on the moon on 1969 he found a Keralite there offering to sell him tea. There was never any tradition in Kerala against travelling abroad, nor of ritual defilement for crossing the 'kala pani ' as among many communities in North India.

Keralites abound in the Middle East. I was invited to Qatar last year by some Keralite Muslims, and found that in Qatar.there are more Keralites than local Arabs. In Dubai too I found numerous Keralites. In Bahrain there are more Keralites than Bahrainis.

 When I was a University student and lawyer in Allahabad I would often go to the Coffee House. I found that most of the waiters there were Keralites, and I became friends with many of them. In many hospitals in India and abroad the nurses are Keralites. I believe there is no illiteracy in Kerala

Keralites are hard working, modest, and intelligent. They are broad minded, liberal, cosmopolitan and secular in their views ( though no doubt there are a few exceptions ). All Indians must learn from them.

Long live the Keralites !