Vandana Shiva, Environmental Acivist

Vandana Shiva sits primly in her emerald-green sari, a stack of papers balanced precariously on one knee. She exudes the quiet self-assurance of a confident scholar - not surprising, given her training as a nuclear physicist. In recent years, though, her focus has shifted light years away from the world of quarks and protons. Today she is one of the South's best-known environmentalists.

And it's here where her scientific back ground comes in handy. She argues with clarity and commitment - defending her views with an array of well-marshaled statistics and examples. Ms Shiva believes that Western society is mesmerized by a dangerous and pervasive myth: the belief that economic growth and the power of technology will inevitably combine to relieve mass poverty.

'Everything we have been taught in contemporary times is that monocultures are necessary, to increase both production and growth. But this kind of thinking is really one-dimensional. It negates our true human and ecological state, which is diversity. And we destroy this at our peril. Let me give you some examples.

'The "Green Revolution" was supposed to bring Western technology to the aid of Third World farmers. But instead of wealth the new high-yielding seeds brought poverty and environmental destruction. These capital-intensive technologies also led to an economic monoculture. Institutions like the World Bank loaned money around the world to every developing country to do the same thing.

'But uniformity is not nature's way; diversity is nature's way,' she explains. Soon, she adds, there was a backlash. 'When Third World farmers began to grow single crops, plants that for centuries had provided communities with essential vitamins were suddenly declared "weeds" and doused with pesticides. In some villages in India blindness increased severely because the so-called "weeds" had been the community's only source of Vitamin A... Genetic changes to shorten the height of grain and increase yield led to a scarcity of straw; that meant less humus, depleted soils and eventually fewer grazing animals.

The end result of all this was not more but less food. Reducing the financial support for farmers will only make it easier for multinational corporations to tighten their grip on global markets.

'Open-door policies,' she says, 'will remove all restrictions on imports and exports, inevitably converting Third World's subsistence food production into a market for big business.' It's not surprising that peasant movements worldwide oppose these kinds of open markets. 'For them maintaining diversity is a matter of survival. There will be no Indian culture if there are no Indian farmers to regenerate and continue that culture.'

Diversity, she insists, cannot be maintained by foreign corporations whose main aim is optimum yield from one product in order to gain maximum profit. The names of the six corporations that control the global grain trade roll off her tongue: Cargill, Continental Grain, Louis Dreyfus, Bunge, Andre and Mitsui Cook. These companies market the high-yielding seeds that are the heart of the ' Green Revolution'.

Ms Shiva argues that these new seeds are not all they're made out to be. 'In India I've discovered that farmers can grow more grain and lose money. In the group of farmers I worked with those planting their own seeds earned 3,000 rupees a year. Others planting Cargill's "new improved" hybrid seed netted only 297 rupees after the harvest because most of their earnings were used to pay for inputs like fertilizer and pesticides.'

Relaxed rules on biotechnology will allow companies to genetically engineer, patent and sell new organisms without having to account for their long-term effects on health or the environment. 'The hazards of biotechnology will not be like the hazards of the chemical industry." Ms Shiva warns.

Such threats cannot be treated casually 'Whether it's in the technological or economic domain, we are constantly being tricked into seeing growth where there is actually the production of scarcity. We have become totally numb to what disappears. By flattening the world to economic values we devalue ourselves. We assume there is only one economy - the market place. We forget that people have their own economies - taking care of themselves. Biodiversity is related to cultural diversity because cultures are also systems that renew - systems of value, of perception and of lifestyle. Human beings need a social economy that exchanges things other than money and that produces for reasons other than profits.'

She is working with Indian farmers to re-build seed banks in the hope of strengthening biodiversity. And to pursue sustainable farming techniques without expensive inputs from the agro-chemical companies. But if push comes to shove she argues that creative non-cooperation - 'creating conditions for survival while rejecting an imposed system of authoritarianism' - is the only way forward.

It may seem an impossible task to change such a powerful global system. But Ms Shiva is undaunted. 'It's not the first time we have tried to change a global system. Fifty years ago people were doing it all over the world and they succeeded. That time the political system was the colonial empires of Europe. When small steps are taken by large numbers of people momentous things can happen.'

Vandana Shiva is Director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource in Dehradun, India.

Source: New Internationalist Magazine http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Heroes/Vandana_Shiva.html

Srinivasa Ramanunja : Great Indian Scientist

Srinivasa Ramanujan Biography

Born: December 22, 1887
Died: April 26, 1920

Achievements: Ramanujan independently discovered results of Gauss, Kummer and others on hypergeometric series. Ramanujan's own work on partial sums and products of hypergeometric series have led to major development in the topic. His most famous work was on the number p(n) of partitions of an integer n into summands.

Srinivasa Ramanujan was a mathematician par excellence. He is widely believed to be the greatest mathematician of the 20th Century. Srinivasa Ramanujan made significant contribution to the analytical theory of numbers and worked on elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite series.

Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu. His father worked in Kumbakonam as a clerk in a cloth merchant's shop. At the of five Ramanujan went to primary school in Kumbakonam. In 1898 at age 10, he entered the Town High School in Kumbakonam. At the age of eleven he was lent books on advanced trigonometry written by S. L. Loney by two lodgers at his home who studied at the Government college. He mastered them by the age of thirteen. Ramanujan was a bright student, winning academic prizes in high school.

At age of 16 his life took a decisive turn after he obtained a book titled" A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics". The book was simply a compilation of thousands of mathematical results, most set down with little or no indication of proof. The book generated Ramanujan's interest in mathematics and he worked through the book's results and beyond. By 1904 Ramanujan had begun to undertake deep research. He investigated the series (1/n) and calculated Euler's constant to 15 decimal places. He began to study the Bernoulli numbers, although this was entirely his own independent discovery. He was given a scholarship to the Government College in Kumbakonam which he entered in 1904. But he neglected his other subjects at the cost of mathematics and failed in college examination. He dropped out of the college.

Ramanujan lived off the charity of friends, filling notebooks with mathematical discoveries and seeking patrons to support his work. In 1906 Ramanujan went to Madras where he entered Pachaiyappa's College. His aim was to pass the First Arts examination which would allow him to be admitted to the University of Madras. Continuing his mathematical work Ramanujan studied continued fractions and divergent series in 1908. At this stage he became seriously ill again and underwent an operation in April 1909 after which he took him some considerable time to recover.

On 14 July 1909 Ramanujan marry a ten year old girl S Janaki Ammal. During this period Ramanujan had his first paper published, a 17-page work on Bernoulli numbers that appeared in 1911 in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. In 191,1 Ramanujan approached the founder of the Indian Mathematical Society for advice on a job. He got the job of clerk at the Madras Port Trust with the help of Indian mathematician Ramachandra Rao.

The professor of civil engineering at the Madras Engineering College C L T Griffith was interested in Ramanujan's abilities and, having been educated at University College London, knew the professor of mathematics there, namely M J M Hill. He wrote to Hill on 12 November 1912 sending some of Ramanujan's work and a copy of his 1911 paper on Bernoulli numbers. Hill replied in a fairly encouraging way but showed that he had failed to understand Ramanujan's results on divergent series. In January 1913 Ramanujan wrote to G H Hardy having seen a copy of his 1910 book Orders of infinity. Hardy, together with Littlewood, studied the long list of unproved theorems which Ramanujan enclosed with his letter. Hardy wrote back to Ramanujan and evinced interest in his work.

University of Madras gave Ramanujan a scholarship in May 1913 for two years and, in 1914, Hardy brought Ramanujan to Trinity College, Cambridge, to begin an extraordinary collaboration. Right from the start Ramanujan's collaboration with Hardy led to important results. In a joint paper with Hardy, Ramanujan gave an asymptotic formula for p(n). It had the remarkable property that it appeared to give the correct value of p(n), and this was later proved by Rademacher.

Ramanujan had problems settling in London. He was an orthodox Brahmin and right from the beginning he had problems with his diet. The outbreak of World War I made obtaining special items of food harder and it was not long before Ramanujan had health problems.

On 16 March 1916 Ramanujan graduated from Cambridge with a Bachelor of Science by Research. He had been allowed to enrol in June 1914 despite not having the proper qualifications. Ramanujan's dissertation was on Highly composite numbers and consisted of seven of his papers published in England.

Ramanujan fell seriously ill in 1917 and his doctors feared that he would die. He did improve a little by September but spent most of his time in various nursing homes. On February 18, 1918 Ramanujan was elected a fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society and later he was also elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of London. By the end of November 1918 Ramanujan's health had greatly improved.

Ramanujan sailed to India on 27 February 1919 arriving on 13 March. However his health was very poor and, despite medical treatment, he died on April 6, 1920.

INDIAN-HEROS

http://indian-heros.blogspot.com/

This is about real life Indian heros post independance in the contempory landscape today who have done something and achieved something. This is a tribute to them... a salute to the "Common Man who is capable of uncommon things.... the carrier of Indian into the 21st century"

This site is a dear project to me...I wish to make it an ongoing one and am looking for moderators who can help increase the knowledge base into something inspiring and substantial. This has to be a team effort... a non-profit venture....

Let me know ur comments.....

Raghu (raghu@nandan-india.com)

Kishan Lal ,  Braver than film heroes, in real life

who saved hundreds by defusing bombs ,dies unheard, unsung

There were no official words of condolence nor were any wreaths laid as the body of "Chacha Bomb Squad" was consigned to the flames here yesterday.
  

  The exploits of unsung hero , Kishan Lal , or "Chacha Bomb Squad" as he was popularly known among his former colleagues in the Punjab police, will not find mention either in history books or in the numerous books written on terrorism in Punjab.However,those who worked with Chacha still carry vivid memories of this lean man bending over a live bomb and studying for some time before snapping at the circuit of the device in order to defuse it.

    When bomb  explosions vy Pakistan-backed terrorists were a comman occurrence in this holy city ,the one member bomb squad of Chacha helped save hundreds of lives by defusing the devices . Kishan Lal must have defused at least a dozen bombs hidden by terrorists in the busy lanes and by-lanes , in vehicles and in trains. But he received no laurels for these acts except for the occasional letter of appreciation  .

    The services of Chacha, Who had retired as a subhedar from the army ,were sought by the Punjab police inthe late 1980s as the department was hampered by the lack of a bomb disposal expert here .He rejoined the police in 1989 as a special police offer (SPO) and left the organization three years ,let down by the attitude of his superiors who were always on the look for an opportunity to berate him.

    At the height of terrorism when unidentified objects were detected , the wireless sets would frequently blare "Chacha Bomb Squad lab ke edhar aa" (Chacha Bomb Squad come here quickly) . Shopkeepers of the busy Katra Ahluwalia area cannot forget that fateful day in 1991 ,when disposing a bomb in pouring rain ,himself sustained injuries which led to his arm being partially disabled .

     Due to his army background ,Chacha could handle complex bomb circuits as he proved in 1992 when he defused a bomb planted in a compartment of the Frontier Mail minutes before it was explode.

    But recognition eluded him .For all his acts of courage , Chacha's name was never considered  for any bravery award and neither was he compensated for his medical bills .

    Senior police officers often took the credit for any bomb that Chacha defused .On the plea of certain well-meaning local citizens ,however ,Chacha's name was forwarded to the state home department for the shaurya chakra but his file continues to gather dust in the department .

Source: http://www.legalserviceindia.com/leaders/great_unknown_indians.htm

Ravi Kuchimanchi and Aravinda Pillalamarri: Founders of AID

Aravinda and Ravi are AID (Asociation for India's Development) volunteers who returned to India to take up full-time grassroots development work and activism. They are involved in various efforts in Maharashtra, MP and Andhra Pradesh, and are based in Bombay and Vishakapatnam. Ravi Kuchimanchi founded AID in 1991 while working on his PhD in Physics at the University of Maryland. He initiated the weekly chapter service hours to promote volunteerism and democratic decision-making, India Beckons, AID's cultural program, and has served as the editor of Dishaa, AID's newsletter. He returned to India in January 1998. Since then he has given direction to various aspects of our work, most importantly, with the struggle in the Narmada valley, initiating local community development, visiting projects and providing in-depth reports, and ideas for alternative energy devices.

L. S. Aravinda grew up in the USA, and from an early age was very active in the social justice and environmental groups. In AID, she found a likeminded set of volunteers interested in sustainable village development. She played a key role in improving AID's publications and expanding the scope of our thinking, to include the external factors that cause poverty such as unfair global trade practices, government policies, and destructive projects and so on.
Aravinda returned to India in June 1998. She works closely with people's movements like Narmada Bachao Andolan and NAPM, and is finding ways in which AID volunteers can support such movements. Aravinda and Ravi established the Eco-friendly Center and shop in Mumbai, and have started women's savings groups, childrens libraries, organic farming and other rural initiatives in villages near Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.

I have been fortunate to meet both of them 2 times... once when I was a student at Texas A&M University and they had come to initiate a chapter there.. and another time in this small village in interior maharastra called Bhilgaon. The first visit was an eye opener for me as to the frustration I felt saying that I wanted to so much for my country.... but what can I do from so far away.... I was pulled into AID and felt that was one of the best times of my stay in the US. Sall acts of importance... did contribute to substantial efforts. The second time was a life-memorable event. I had gone as a representative of AID wherein we had financed a microhydel project to this village. Here Ravi and Arvinda too had come and I saw the commitment and love in their eyes for development... Ravi was literally helping the men move stones, rocks, mud, cement as well overlooking the entire project... Arvinda was like a rustic lady wit the kids... she reciprocated the love they professed and had such a rapport with them! Kudos to these two people who have done a great service to rural India... they are the reasons for INDIA SHINING!

Ravi Kuchimanchi ( 7 items )
Founded AID in 1991 while getting his PhD in Physics at the University of Maryland. He initiated India Beckons, AID's cultural program, and has served as the editor of Dishaa, AID's newsletter, from 1993 to the present time. He played a central role in initiating weekly meetings of AID chapters known as Community Service Hours to inspire volunteerism, create leaders and provide a participatory structure for decision-making. He returned to India in January 1998 to work full-time on involved with various aspects of AID like, most importantly, interacting with Narmada Bacho Andolan, initiating local community development efforts in villages near Rajamundri,Srikakulam, etc,.,visiting several AID Projects and providing in-depth reports and co-ordinating with AID Chapters in India.One of his innovative idea has now resulted into the development of the Pedal Power Generator, which has the potential of being used in village level as an alternative source for energy.

L S Aravinda ( 1 items )
JeevanSaathi Aravinda Pillalamarri has been working with AID since 1995 and has played a key role in expanding AID's vision and mission. One of her most important contributions has been to advocate a model of participatory development where issues of social justice are at the heart of developmental work. Thus she has been instrumental in forging AID's solidarity with grassroots people's movements like Narmada Bachao Andolan and the NAPM. Aravinda moved to India in 1998 on completing her Master's degree in South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin and has since worked full-time for AID. She also holds a Master's Degree in Library Sciences from Simmons College, Boston.
Aravinda's work in India includes· championing models of livelihood that are based on ecologically sustainable methods of production,
· building networks of fair trade within the context of marketing traditional artisanal work,
· creating learning resources that the educated and urban middle class may use to understand the perspectives and analyses voiced by the people central to the processes of social change, who are too often marginaised from prevailaing development planning owing to poverty and oppression.
· supporting cultural and political expression in local and tribal languages
She has worked with AID-India in promoting village libraries, organic farming, women's groups, and sustainable technological innovations through the AID Rural Technology Resource Center in Orissa. She is a visiting Faculty at the Jagannath Institute for Technology Management in rural Orissa.
Aravinda has written for The Hindu, Economic & Political Weekly and is working on "Signals in the Fog", a book-in-progress that reflects lessons learned during the course of her work with AID. Aravinda is married to Ravi Kuchimanchi, and they have one daughter, Khiyali.
You can find her articles at AID's publications page.

You can find more information in AID at http://sahyadri.aidindia.org/ Your support in terms of efforts, compassion and volunteership is welcome!

http://www.aidindia.org/ad/mail/contactus.php

IC 57556 Capt Vikram Batra 13 JAK RIF (Posthumous)

On 20 Jun 99, 13 JAK RIF was tasked to capture Point 5140. Capt Vikram Batra, in an audacious move, decided to attack the enemy position from the rear along a sheer cliff face. Undaunted by fire, the officer, followed by five of his men climbed up and hurled two grenades into the enemy Sangar. As three enemy soldiers came out, he single handedly engaged them in close fire fight and killed all three. Mortally wounded, he went back and called forward his men, regrouped them and led them to capture Point 5140.For his sustained display of the most conspicuous personal bravery and junior leadership of the highest order in the face of the enemy, Capt Vikram Batra has been awarded the PARAM VIR CHAKRA Posthumously.

Next to kin/Address:- Mr GL Batra (Father)
                              House No 295, W-5
                              Palampur.Kangra (HP)- 176661

 

Major Sudhir Walia (Ashok Chakra), Posthumous

Major Sudhir Kumar, 9 Parachute (Special Forces), SM plus Bar to SM hailing from District Kangra (Himachal Pradesh), was commissioned into the 3rd Jat Regiment on 11 June 1988. . On 29 August 1999, Major Kumar led an assault on a militant hideout in Kupwara district. He killed four militants before succumbing to their bullets. However, till the end came, he was directing his commandos on radio set and refused evacuation in spite of serious injuries on his chest, face and arms. For his conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy, Major Sudhir Kumar was awarded the highest peace-time gallantry medal, Ashoka Chakra, posthumously. His father, former Subedar Major Rulia Ram Walia, received the award from the President of India, on behalf of his brave son.

 

 

Brigadier Sher Jang Thapa, MVC

In 1947, the 6 J&K Rifles commanded by Lt Col Sher Jang Thapa was moved to Skardu in Ladakh to ensure its security against an emminent Pakistani onslaught.

On February 11, 1948, Skardu was surrounded by an enemy of about 600 troops, while the strength of soldiers under Lt Col Thapa was only 130. Sporadic fighting continued all through February but in March the raiders strengthened by new supplies intensified their fire. Gradually, the Indians ration position started worsening. The enemy tried to persuade them to surrender. The offer was outrightly rejected by Lt Col Thapa.

The night of August 13, 1948, saw a fierce battle at Skardu between Pakistani and Indian troops. Lt Col Thapa and his men repulsed an attack of around 200 raiders. But now Thapa knew he could not hold on any longer and he ordered his men to leave Skardu in small numbers. Thapa recalls, "We used our last box of ammunition. Everyone knew our plight and there was panic and chaos all over ... my troops fought under very adverse conditions and held Skardu for six months and three days. Then I was left with no alternative but to surrender." On 14th August after withstanding a heroic seige of 6 months Skardu finally gave in.

Throughout the period of siege, Lt Col Sher Jang Thapa showed outstanding leadership and great determination in holding out ... in spite of the enemy offering him liberal surrender terms and knowing that there was no hope of ever being relieved. By his personal example and indomitable spirit he kept the morale of both his troops and civilian refugees at a high level ... his conduct has been in the best traditions of the Indian Army. For his sustained gallantry, Lt Col Sher Jung Thapa was awarded the Mahavir Chakra.

But for his siege of Skardu in the Ladakh region of Kashmir for over six months, Ladakh might have been wiped out from the Indian map. Brigadier Sher Jang Thapa is remembered and revered as the Hero of Skardu. His heroic deeds are today part of the glorious history of the Indian Army.

Lt Col Thapa retired as a Brigadier in 1960. He died in Dharamsala in 1999 at the age of 90 years.

 

Captain Saurabh Kalia (IC No. 58522F)

Born at Amritsar (Punjab), hailing from Palampur in District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, Captain Saurabh Kalia was brilliant in academics and effortlessly secured scholarships throughout his schooling years. After completing his graduation in May 1997, Saurabh was selected in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in August 1997, through the Combined Defence Services and was commissioned on December 12, 1998.

Lt. Saurabh  was posted  with the  4 JAT Regiment (Infantry) IC No. 58522F in the Kargil Sector. In the first fortnight of May 1999, he went out for Patrol Duty three times to check the infiltration in the Kaksar area of Kargil. Lt. Saurabh was hailed as the First Officer to give information of the large-scale intrusion of the Pakistan Army and infilitrators in the area.

After the intrusion was detected in area, his Commanding Officer deputed a slightly older Junior Officer to check the strategic Bajrang Post. Lt. Saurabh, however, volunteered to go there himself and went in place of the deputed officer. Here, the troops were fired upon by the enemy. These brave Indian soldiers kept fighting as reinforcements couldn't reach in the day, any movement in the daylight would come under the direct enemy fire.

The Indian troops ran out of ammunition, their signal instrument went out of order and finally they got encircled by about 200 Pakistan soldiers and were captured alive, before the reinforcement reached at that height.

No trace of this entire patrol was left and Skardu Radio of Pakistan reported that Lt. Saurabh Kalia and his five men were captured alive. They were in their captivity for over twenty-two (May 15,1999 to June 6-7, 1999) days and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture as evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9,1999. They did not break while undergoing this unlimited barbarism. This speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit, determination, tenacity and valour and the whole nation is proud of them.

The enemy indulged in the most heinous act of burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot rods, removing eyes, chopping off various limbs and organs of these soldiers besides inflicting all sorts of physical and mental tortures before shooting them down. Lt. Saurabh Kalia's skull was fractured and most of the bones and teeth broken. He had a bullet injury in the temple indicating that he was finally shot dead.

In his memory a Saurabh Van Vihar has been made near Neughal in Palampur and a museum (Saurabh Smiriti Kaksha) has been raised in his house at Palampur.

 

Verghese Kurien: Father of the white revolution

Born: November 26, 1921
Achievement: Known as the "father of the white revolution" in India; Winner of Ramon Magsaysay Award; Awarded with Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), and Padma Vibhushan (1999).

Dr. Verghese Kurien is better known as the "father of the white revolution" in India. He is also called as the Milkman of India. Dr. Varghese Kurien was the architect behind the success of the largest dairy development program in the world, christened as Operation Flood. He was the chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) and his name was synonymous with the Amul brand.

Born on November 26, 1921 in Kozhikode, Kerala, Dr. Verghese Kurien graduated with Physics from Loyola College, Madras in 1940. Subsequently, he did his B.E.(Mechanical) from the Madras University and went to USA on a government scholarship to do his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University. In between, he completed special studies in engineering at the Tata Iron and Steel Company Institute at Jamshedpur, Bihar, in February 1946 and underwent nine months of specialized training in dairy engineering at the National Dairy Research Institute of Bangalore.

Dr. Verghese Kurien returned from America in 1948 and joined the Dairy Department of the Government of India. In May 1949, he was posted as Dairy Engineer at the Government Research Creamery, a small milk-powder factory, in Anand, Gujarat. Around this time, the newly formed cooperative dairy, Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Limited ((KDCMPUL), was engaged in battle of survival with the privately owned Polson Dairy, which was a giant in its field. Enthused by the challenge, Dr. Verghese Kurien left his government job and volunteered to help Shri Tribhuvandas Patel, the Chairman of KDCMPUL, to set up a processing plant. This led to the birth of AMUL and the rest is history.

In 1965, the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, created the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) under the leadership of Dr. Verghese Kurien to replicate the success story of Amul throughout the country. In 1973, Dr. Kurien set up GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) to market the products produced by the dairies. Under Dr. Kurien's stewardship India became the as the largest producer of milk in the world,

During his illustrious career, Dr. Verghese Kurien won many accolades and awards. These include: Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1963), Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), Krishi Ratna Award (1986), Wateler Peace Prize Award of Carnegie Foundation (1986), World Food Prize Laureate (1989), International Person of the Year(1993) by the World Dairy Expo, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Padma Vibhushan (1999).

 

This great man is an understated and underhonoured individual…. If you feel that he deserves more please leave him a message on the comments section

 

Compiled by Raghu