New Delhi, February 22

Nationalism and the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are being misused to construct a “militant and purely emotional” idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday, in an apparent attack on the BJP.

Addressing a gathering at the launch of a book on Jawaharlal Nehru’s works and speeches, Singh said if India is recognised in the comity of nations as a vibrant democracy and, if it is considered as one of the important world powers, it was the first prime minister, who should be recognised as its main architect.

Nehru had led this country in its volatile and formative days when it adopted a democratic way of life, accommodating divergent social and political views, Singh said.

India’s first prime minister, who was very proud of Indian heritage, assimilated it, and harmonised them into the needs of a new modern India, he said. “With an inimitable style, and a multi-linguist, Nehru laid the foundation of the universities, academies and cultural institutions of Modern India. But for Nehru’s leadership, independent India would not have become what it is today,” Singh said.

“But unfortunately, a section of people who either do not have the patience to read history or would like to be deliberately guided by their prejudices, try their best to picture Nehru in a false light. But I am sure, history has a capacity to reject fake and false insinuations and put everything in proper perspective,” he said.

The book ‘Who is Bharat Mata’ by Purushottam Agrawal and Radha Krishna, contains selections from Nehru’s classic books Autobiography, Glimpses of World History and the Discovery of India; his speeches, essays and letters from pre and post independence years; and some of his most revealing interviews. It was first brought out in English and now its Kannada translation has been released.

The book also comprises reminiscences and assessments of Nehru by some of his contemporaries such as Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Aruna Asaf Ali, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, among others.

“It is a book of particular relevance at a time when Nationalism and the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are being misused to construct a militant and purely emotional idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens,” he said.

Singh also extensively quoted Nehru, saying he had asked, “Who is this Bharat Mata?, whose victory you wish?”

“The mountains and rivers, forests and fields are of course dear to everyone, but what counted ultimately is the people of India… spread out all over vast land,” Singh quoted Nehru as saying.

In the pages of this carefully complied anthology, Nehru emerges as a remarkable man of ideas and as a leader who, despite the compulsion’s of politics, remained a true democrat, the former prime minister said.

Nehru’s legacy continues to be of immense significance—“perhaps more today than at any other time in our history”, he said.

“The purpose of this book is to show to the entire world and more particularly to India, how Pandit Nehru and his idea of India, built on Gandhian principles, harmonising the past and the present free from communal discords, is the only way to promote the inevitable plurality of our country,” he said.

Nehru makes a very significant and time relevant remark on the dangers of leadership falling into a trap and getting removed far away from the common people whom they are supposed to serve, Singh said.

“Conceit, like fat on the human body, grows imperceptibly, layer upon layer and the person whom it affects is unconscious of the daily accretion. Fortunately, the hard knocks of a mad world tone it down or even squash it completely, and there has been no lack of these hard knocks for us in India.

“The school of life has been difficult one, and suffering is a hard task master,” he quoted Nehru as saying.

In an atmosphere, when emotions are deliberately provoked and the gullible are misled by false propaganda, misusing communication technology, this book makes a refreshing break through, Singh said. — PTI

23 years after it wowed the West, ‘the Patiala Necklace’ went missing, only to be rediscovered in bits and pieces

Francesca Cartier Brickell

In the summer of 1925, the head Cartier Paris salesman was summoned to the elegant Hotel Claridge on the Champs-Élysées by a very distinguished client. One of the richest men in the world, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala didn’t do things by halves. With five wives and a world-renowned appetite for every conceivable type of luxury, from Rolls-Royces to aircraft to diamonds, he personified Eastern splendour. When Jacques had visited him in India fourteen years earlier, the Maharaja had been more interested in selling gems than buying them, but now he had decided to update his heirlooms into a collection that would put his fellow Indian rulers in the shade.

Knowing from experience that the Indian ruler didn’t like to be kept waiting, M. Muffat had made his way briskly from 13 Rue de la Paix toward Claridge. On arrival at the enormous royal suite, the salesman was shown through to the sitting room and asked to take a seat at a table by the window. As he waited for his esteemed client to appear, a large wooden box was carried over and placed in front of him. Several minutes later, the imposing thirty-four-year-old ruler entered the room and gave instructions for the box to be opened.

Muffat peered inside. It was filled with what seemed to be hundreds of crumpled pages of newspaper. As he glanced up, confused, the Maharaja urged him to look closer. Muffat carefully opened one of the sheets of paper, and a large Burmese ruby fell onto the table. As the ruler nodded his approval, Muffat kept going. The next paper enclosed a diamond as large as his thumbnail. And then another. And another. There were white diamonds, yellow diamonds, brown diamonds, diamonds with a greenish tint, others with a hint of pink. There were deep red rubies and vivid green emeralds. There were bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. Muffat, a connoisseur of gemstones who had worked at Cartier for more than twenty years, tried hard to hide his awe and assume a professional expression.

The Maharaja of Patiala told Muffat that he was looking for his gems to be reset in a more modern style. He wanted, he explained, to have jewels worthy of a king. Muffat nodded respectfully and took out his notebook and silver pen. “What are you doing?” the Maharaja asked. Muffat replied that he was simply writing down each piece of jewellery and every individual gemstone in the box so there would be a record of all the jewels that the ruler was depositing with Cartier. “I don’t need that!” the ruler responded quickly, never doubting for a second that Cartier was to be trusted. “Please just take them!”

It would take Cartier three years to turn the Maharaja’s gems into a collection of jewels that would go down in jewellery history. There would be head ornaments, anklets, armlets, and traditional Indian jewels from a hathpul (worn on the back of the hand, linking bracelet and finger rings) to a diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire nath (nose ring). More than two hundred pearls were drilled to make a single bracelet. But the piece de résistance was a necklace of such brilliance that it outshone everything else. Containing a staggering 2,930 diamonds and weighing over a thousand carats, it was mounted in platinum and enhanced by Burmese rubies. And at its center was the yellow 234.6-carat De Beers diamond, the size of a golf ball and the seventh-largest diamond in the world.

For all its splendour and importance, the Patiala commission didn’t actually end up being financially that attractive for Cartier, primarily because the Maharaja supplied most of his own gemstones. But it did do wonders for Cartier’s image in the West, where Indian rulers were the personification of untouchable magnificence. When Cartier displayed the Maharaja’s gems in an exhibition on 13 Rue de la Paix, visitors flocked from all over the world to see them. J.P. Morgan, The New York Times reported, “was heard to say he had never seen anything like it.” “We are transported into the world of the One Thousand and One Nights,” the French magazine L’Illustration exclaimed. “This is a dream world, the incarnation of a fugitive Oriental dream! … The beauty and significance of this collection surpass the imagination.” If there had been any doubt as to Cartier’s prominence in the jewellery world, this made it crystal clear. “In America, where we are fond of naming Kings, Cartier would be the King of Precious Stones. If it has not formally received the title, still it exercises its sovereignty. On two sides of the ocean, in the old continent as well as the new, Cartier is the uncontested master of gems.”

The Patiala necklace sparkled under the light of the Indian sun for two generations, a symbol of power, wealth, and exquisite European taste, but in 1948 it sparked controversy when it was reported missing from the Patiala royal treasury. Nothing was heard of it for a further thirty-four years, at which point the De Beers diamond mysteriously reappeared, without the necklace, at a 1982 Sotheby’s auction (valued at $3 million). Sixteen years after that, part of the necklace appeared in a small antiques shop in London. Obviously, the De Beers stone was missing, but so were all the other big diamonds. It was bought by Cartier, who replaced the missing stones with replicas. It is said that if the necklace were in its original form today, complete with all the diamonds, it would be worth at least $30 million.

— Excerpted with permission from the publisher 

Washington, February 22

US President Donald Trump is encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, the White House said on Friday, emphasising that any successful dialogue between the two neighbours would be possible only if Pakistan cracked down on terrorists and extremists on its territory.

“I think what you’ll hear from the President is very much encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, encouraging the two countries to engage in bilateral dialogue to resolve their differences,” a senior administration official said, when asked whether Trump would offer to mediate on the Kashmir issue again during his upcoming Indian visit.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will lead a 12-member American delegation to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

“We continue to believe a core foundation of any successful dialogue between the two (Indian and Pakistan) is based on continued momentum in Pakistan’s efforts to crack down on terrorists and extremists on its territory. So we continue to look for that,” the official said.

“But I think the President will urge both countries to seek to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control (LoC) and refrain from actions or statements that could increase tensions in the region,” said the official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

Responding to a question on the Afghanistan peace process, the official said the United States would just encourage India, as it did with regional countries, to do whatever it could to support this peace process so that it could be successful. PTI

Col CJS Khera(Retd) receiving designation letter from the Chairman Brig Nawab Heer, Gen Secy  Capt Ranjit Singh Dhaliwal,,Vice president Lt Col Narwant Singh and other executive members  

( Extracts from Chairman Speech)

The  sustained  hard work of Col CJS Khera (Retd) Gen Secy of Sanjha Morcha ( All India Ex-servicemen Joint  action Front)  , has been reognised Internationally as he has been designated as Director(Hony) of Sr Veteran Association of Ontario, Canada on 21 Feb 2020. His outstanding contribution towards the welfare of ESM/war widows/martrys familes/childrens   and keeping the veterans and service personnel equally well  informed through his Blog since 2009 and now web site www.sanjahmorcha.com  about Defence related News , has received tremendous appreciation  from all  in India and Abroad . The web site is famous with all  Indian veteran settled in India and abroad . his attitude of always  ready to resolve problems of ESM is well Known

The District Magistrate has issued the ban order in exercise of his powers under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)

he orders will remain in force till April 6. (File Photo)

The district Magistrate on Thursday ordered to ban meat shops within a radius of 1000 meters of the air force station. The magistrate also banned throwing of the residue in the open area to ensure that birds are not attracted to it. The orders will remain in force till April 6.

The District Magistrate has issued the ban order in exercise of his powers under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The concerned Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Tehsildar, and Naib Tehsildar will ensure compliance and promulgation of the orders.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 20

For the first time since the British made New Delhi their capital, Army’s main working offices, including the “operations room”, would be located outside the Lutyens zone — the coveted piece of real estate that houses the seat of power of the Government of India.

In 1911, the British shifted the capital from Kolkata to Delhi and the Army Headquarters located at Fort William were moved along with it.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lay the foundation stone for the new complex located in Delhi Cantonment tomorrow. The new building will be located along the Parade Road in the cantonment and will be just 3 km away from Dhaula Kuan on the Delhi-Gurgaon road.

With new road connectivity, traffic jams are a thing of the past. Most residential accommodation for middle-level officers is located closer to the new building, making travel easier.

At present, the Army Chief and senior-most top brass are located in South Block, while their support and other offices are at Sena Bhawan located behind South Block and six other locations.

Once the new building comes up, the Army Chief and few senior-most officers would be seated close to where the Central Government would build its offices under the new plan for the Central Vista. Key officials like the DGMO would be at the new location.

A total of 6,014 offices will be constructed, which will have offices for 1,684 officers, both military and civilians, and 4,330 subordinate staff.

Ddefence minister to lay stone today

Called ‘Thal Sena Bhawan’, the proposed building is to be constructed at Delhi Cantonment opposite Manekshaw Centre over 39 acres. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lay the foundation stone for the new complex