1. Art and Diseño

12
www.samajweekly.org
29th JANUARY to 11th FEBRUARY 2015
On 24 January 2015, Mr Vinod
Tawade, Minister for School
Education, Sports and Youth Welfare,
Higher and Technical Education
tweeted
that
Government
of
Maharashtra (GOM) will buy 10 King
Henrys Road NW3 (where Dr
Ambedkar lived in 1921-22), and turn
it into a memorial for Dr Ambedkar.
There has been considerable worldwide media interest in this since the
news broke that the house had been
put up for sale. Mr Tawade's
announcement has been received with
considerable delight and pride by
Ambedkarites here in the UK and
around the world.
10 King Henrys Road is already
regarded as a significant and culturally historic site for Ambedkarites. It is
in this house, Dr Ambedkar enriched
his academic studies at the London
School of Economics and Grays Inn,
and strengthened his resolve to challenge Untouchability, and British Rule
in India. As part of the celebration of
the centenary of Dr Ambedkar's birth
organised under the auspices of the
Federation of Ambedkarite and
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29th JANUARY to 11th FEBRUARY 2015 NEWS
NEWS ART & CULTURE POLITICS RELIGION LITERATURE FASHION KIDS FILMS
ART & CULTURE POLITICS RELIGION LITERATURE FASHION KIDS FILMS
SAMAJ WEEKLY
PDP tries to heal its rift,
calls meet on Jan 24
Mr Ramdas Athawale MP, Mr R K
Gaikwad, IAS (Former Secretary
GOM), Mr Ramesh Katke, Deputy
Registrar Department of Cooperation,
GOM have worked non-stop to secure
the house - particularly in the last 14
days when there was a serious risk the
house would be sold to a private
developer. Mr Gautam Chakravarty
FABO UK together with Mrs Saroj
10am in London where he broke the
news personally about the GOM's
decision to buy the house. Ms Dass
invited the minister to the view the
house and straight after that she
accompanied the Minister to a meeting with Mr Ranjan Mathai, India's
High Commissioner to London.
In response, to Mr Tawade's
announcement Ms Dass said,"I am
in the sale of the House - will be
remembered by Ambedkarites around
the world.
Arun Kumar, General Secretary,
FABO UK said, "After a prolonged
suspense, timely decision is made to
secure this property otherwise we
would have lost a very important piece
of our heritage and history. This is the
biggest tribute to Babasaheb Dr
there to honour the memory of the
great man." She recalled Dr
Ambedkar's pioneering work for the
cause of the deprived classes and
expressed the hope that the commemorative plaque would continue to
serve as a reminder of Dr Ambedkar's
achievements. The then Acting High
Commissioner for India, Mr Krishna
V. Rajan said "One of the things he
A dream finally coming true - An International
Memorial to Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar in London
Buddhist Organisations UK (FABO
UK), English Heritage recognised in
1991, 10 King Henrys Road, NW3 and
installed a 'blue plaque' on the exterior
of the property with the words "DR
BHIMRAO RAMJI AMBEDKAR
1891-1956 Indian Crusader for Social
Justice lived here 1921-22".
When the house came on the market for £3.1 million and was brought
to the attention of Ambedkarite groups
by Mr Harbans Lal Virdee at the end
of August 2014, Ms Santosh Dass
MBE, President FABO UK immediately wrote to Mr Prithviraj Chavan,
the
former
Chief
Minister
Maharashtra with a request that GOM
fund the purchase of the house and
allow Ambedkarites to turn it into a
fitting memorial for Dr Ambedkar.
She followed this up with letters to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too.
Since then, Ms Dass and colleagues in
Mumbai - Padma Shri Kalpana Saroj,
√Ó≈‹ ÚΔ’ÒΔ
also lobbied the Government of India
and met Mr Ajit Doval in Prime
Minister Modi's office on 31
December 2014 and handed copies of
Ms Dass's letters to the CM GOM and
Prime Minister Modi. This coincided
with Mr Chakravaty's visit to India for
his very successful World Peace
Buddhist Convention in Surat,
Gujarat, in January 2015 in which
over 30,000 people participated.
After months of email exchanges,
phone calls and meetings, on 22
January 2015 by Ms Dass and colleagues in India, Mr Rajkumar
Badole, Minister for Social Justice and
Special Assistance finally (with the
thanks to Mr Gaikwad) emailed an
official letter to the Estate Agent with
copies to Ms Dass and the High
Commission in London. On the same
day Tawade, who was on an official
visit to London, invited Ms Dass to a
meeting with him on 23 January at
delighted that the Government of
Maharashtra has begun the legal
process to secure the Architect of the
Constitution of India - Dr Ambedkar's
- former residence in north London.
This follows my letter to the former
CM of the Government of
Maharashtra, on 1 September 2014
and the robust lobbying since. Mr
Vinod Tawade gave me this good
news on 23 January 2015 in person at
meeting in London. I invited the
Minister to come with me and visit 10
King Henrys Road NW3. Fortunately
he was able to adjust his diary and
obliged just before he flew back to
India. Straight after visiting the house
we met India's High Commissioner in
London where the Minister asked the
High Commission to begin the legal
process to acquire the house.
I am thrilled with Mr Tawade's public statements that the house will be
turned into a memorial to Dr
Ambedkar. We have a lot of work to
do still to make sure we achieve this
and deliver Dr Ambedkar's legacy.
Just for this initiative to get this far has
already brought so many people
together from across the continents
wherever the South Asian diaspora has
reached. For untold generations of
people to come, 10 King Henry's Road
will become a place of pilgrimage for
people around the globe inspired by
the fractious history of civil rights, the
potential successes of social activism
and, of course, Dr Ambedkar's legacy.
With this fillip, the cause can only
grow from strength to strength."
GOM's decision to buy the house
on 22 January - at such a critical point
NEW DELHI: In its bid to end the stalemate on government formation in
Jammu and Kashmir, the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) is trying to
evolve a consensus within the party on
having a broad-based alliance with the
BJP.
The PDP has already rejected NC’s
support offer.
The party has been vertically divided
on the issue with some leaders voicing
their concerns on joining hands with the
BJP and others favouring an alliance
with the saffron party on the grounds that
there should be greater coordination
between the Centre and the state for its
overall development. The party top brass
has now called a meeting of its leaders
and office bearers on January 24 in
Jammu to elicit their views on government formation.
All options – whether to go with the
BJP or accept the unconditional support
offered by the Congress – will be dis-
HC upholds BJP govt decision on 58 as retirement
age in Haryana
Ambedkar, the Father of the Indian
Constitution on the Republic Day of
India. This memorial can provide a
national and international centre for
people to visit to learn about
Ambedkar, his life, his ideas, his
achievements, and his work."
FABO UK was established in 1985
to take Dr Ambedkar's contribution on
democracy, human rights and social
justice to the wider world. The dedicated hard work of his followers have
resulted in Dr Ambedkar's statues
have been installed in Columbia
University, London School of
Economics and Simon Fraser
University in Canada. These places
have become a source of inspiration
for students and teachers alike and
also places of pilgrimage for the visitors. Similarly the new Ambedkar
Memorial in London will provide a
national and international centre for
people to visit and learn about
Ambedkar, his life, his ideas, his
achievements, and his work.
At the unveiling of the blue plaque
on 6 December 1991, Mr Hattersley
MP, the then Deputy Leader of the
Labour Party said he was greatly honoured to be asked to unveil the plaque
and he mentioned that Indian democracy as advocated by Babsaheb
Ambedkar was still continuing as the
largest democracy in the world. Ms
Glenda Jackson, actress and now an
MP said she was "delighted to be
[Dr Ambedkar] stood for was strengthening India's unity despite its great
diversity," he added "I thought it would
be useful to remind ourselves of this
when we reflect on his life and work.
In other words, Dr Ambedkar, a
champion of human rights with
unimpeachable credentials and father
of the Constitution, made it clear
years ago that human rights should
not be confused with, nor used as a
pretext to achieve, self-determination
for parts of our land. " Mr Rajan concluded by praising "the dedication
and the commitment" of the
Ambedkar Centenary Celebration
Committee UK, of its President
Chahal, General Secretary Gautam.
In response to the latest developments Mr. Gautam Chakravarty
Joint General Secretary, FABO UK
said: "We began the work to install
the memorial plaque outside 10
King Henrys Road in 1974. It took
us until 1991 to secure the necessary permission and unveil the blue
plaque. To be in a position now in a
matter of months and have an official
commitment
by
the
Government of Maharashtra that
the house will be paid for by them
and turned into a memorial is like a
dream come true to me. We have to
thank Ms Santosh Dass, FABO
UK's President, and colleagues in
India for working so hard on this
since September 2014"
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and
Harayna high court on Tuesday
upheld the decision of the Manohar
Lal Khattar-led BJP government on
rolling back the retirement age of
state government employees from 60
years to 58 years. Questioning the
intentions of the previous Bhupinder
Singh Hooda in taking this decision
just ahead of the assembly polls, the
HC held that this was apparently
done "to garner support of particular
vote bank". "The timing of such a
decision is not lost on this court. The
state assembly elections were around
the corner.
The PDP has already rejected NC’s support offer.
cussed threadbare. The PDP has already
rejected the support offer from the
National Conference (NC), arguing that
“You can search throughout the entire universe
for someone who is more deserving of your love
and affection than you are yourself, and that
person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe,
deserve your love and affection.”
-Buddha
Dr Nanda appointed as
GADVASU Ludhiana VC
LUDHIANA: Dr Amarjit Singh Nanda, vice-chancellor
of Nana Deshmukh University of Veterinary and Animal
Sciences, Jabalpur (MP) has been appointed as new VC of
the in Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences
University (GADVASU) at Ludhiana. Dr Nanada has
already worked as a professor of Veterinary Gynaecology
and Obstetrics in (GADVASU) and has remained a founder
Director of Research besides serving as the Animal
Husbandry Commissioner, Government of India.
STUNNED ECONOMIC GROWTH IN INDIA
It is generally acceptable that
‘people matter’ in ecnomic
growth but in India we are experiencing higher growth in selected people with a very little support to ecnomic devolpment and
accountability in governance by
empowering people. Twenty four
years since redorms began, that
positive side is far weak, unvertain, unsustainable and limited to
selecte d section of our society.
What we acieved (higher level of
FDI, more exports, new banking
and insurance, rapid rise in per
capita income in terms of dollar,
abolation of licence raj, industri-
I share work, love life with my father
Sonam Kapoor
ctress Sonam Kapoor is certainly a daddy’s
girl as she shares everything related to her
work and love life with her father, actor-filmmaker
Anil Kapoor. “I am very close to my dad. He is a
good adviser and not strict at all. I share about my
work, love life with my father and he doesn’t share
these secrets even with my mom,”
Sonam told reporters in a group interview. The actress is currently busy
promoting her film ‘Dolly Ki Doli’.
where she plays the role of outspoken
and fun-loving girl. Talking about her
role in the film, Sonam said: “I prepare for each film but for this film, I
read a lot of books. Also, I read lot of
books based on con.”
A
the recent vote was against Omar
Abdullah’s party.
Having held a series of informal talks
with the BJP so far, the PDP could
initiate a structured dialogue after
getting the go-ahead at Saturday’s
deliberations.
The will also discuss the
February 7 Rajya Sabha elections
on four seats from the state. PDP
sources told HT that the names of
former MP Mehboob Beg and PDP
national spokesperson Dr Sameer
Kaul are on the top of the party’s
list of aspirants.
With the term of leader of the
opposition in the Rajya Sabha
Ghulam Nabi Azad coming to an
end next month, the Congress has
stepped up its back channel negotiations
with
the
National
Conference and independents to
ensure his return to the upper
house. At the meeting, the PDP will
also elect its new president with
Anantnag MP Mehbooba Mufti all set to
retain her post.
13
al efficiency) is
important but what
we foregone or did
not achieve (control
on fiscal deficit,
external debt, ,
unemployment,
poverty, price-rise,
inequalities
poor
governance, social
sector neglect, low
level of infrastructure and human
devolpment environment degradation, serious financial troubles in educational, artistic
& other organizations,
poor allocation between present and future, crimes,
corruption-ra,
violence, insecurity, conflicts etc.) is more important and requires our special attention. Through in
terms of economic
growth, India is jumping
forward but in terms of
‘Social respones’ the situation is near to a big crisis as is obvious from socioecnomics unrest . The problem
has been with us for a long time
Kamaljeet Singh social-ills,
98146-78590
now.
The trend has, in time, aroused
dismay and anger. Continuing
uncontrolled economic problems
have ultimately led to despair. We
are nowhere near the goal of an
egalitarian society. The crux is that
marginalizing the marginalized
can’t be termed as economic
growth. India needs skilled personnel in volumes along with the culture of honesty, integrity and trustworthiness. These qualties are not
just moral in nature but when
imbibed by the society leads to real
economic devolpment. Economic
Development is to remove pock-
marks from India’s face in terms of
inequalties, poverty, unemployment, corruption etc. No debut,
there are many gains but the
growth of injustice is perishing our
gains written in golden letters. The
recent inequality adjusted HDI
shadows our objectives behind
economic policy. The problem of
unequal distribution must be
attacked from all sides with determined efforts . However success in
possible only if administrative and
political will is not only strong but
also dedicated and efficient. Much
has to be done to bring inclusive
growth in real form.
‘Time to take Indian sport to next level’
NEW DELHI: “I have grown up in
an environment where the dominant
narrative of Indian sporting achievement was ‘we can’t’. These achievers
have fought hard, built on
each other’s body of work
and knowledge and have
today changed the script to
‘we can’. They’ve eaten
away practically every
stereotype or excuse one
can think of,” Rahul Dravid
said at the inaugural TCM
Sports Lecture here on
Tuesday.
Rahul Dravid said improvements
in the performances of Indian athletes, especially women, suggest the
country is on the cusp of becoming a
sporting power. Few would doubt
that it was Dravid’s huge partnership
with VVS Laxman against Australia
at the Eden Gardens back in 2001
that had changed the way people
looked at Indian cricket. It was during
that partnership that the duo defeated
that dominant narrative of ‘we can’t’.
India had won before,
including the World Cup in
1983 and the World Series
in 1985, but they, as is
acknowledged by cricket
pundits, were yet to show
the ability to come back
from the brink. “At first, we
were thinking of not getting
embarrassed,” the former
India skipper told a packed audience
delivering a lecture full of anecdotes
and appealing to corporate India to
take sports forward. INSPIRATION
For his generation, not getting embarrassed was a major priority. But
Dravid had enough people to look up
to in Indian sports and get inspired —
from swimmer Murlikant Petkar, who
won gold at the 1972 Paralympics and
has fought the odds all his life, to
Abhinav Bindra, whose Olympic
gold lifted the batting great during his
tough phase. Dravid said improvements in the performances of Indian
athletes suggest the country is on the
cusp of becoming a sporting power.
An example of this was the way
women have started bringing laurels
to the country. “Saina Nehwal and
Sania Mirza are building on what PT
Usha and MD Valsamma began. We
may not be able to match the USA
just yet, but we need to follow a similar path,” he said. IMPROVE
FACILITIES That, according to him,
is making sports facilities and
grounds available for common people and corporate India investing in
sports, especially as it can immediately put the town or city on the
world map.